JP2006054793A - Video recording and reproducing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video recording and reproducing system in which only such a viewer as viewed and listened to a CM video image can view and listen to program information (main video image) without altering the systems of television broadcast significantly. <P>SOLUTION: The video recording and reproducing system 1 comprises an HDD 14 for receiving and storing at least one set of serial CM video image 33 and main video image 35 and program information 30 having control information (CM attribute information 32, main attribute information 35) of the CM video image 33 and main video image 36, a section 15 for reading out the program information 30 stored in the HDD 14, a section 17 for reproducing the CM video image 33 and main video image 36 from the program information 30 read out at the reading section 15, a function 62 for verifying whether the program information 30 is valid or not from control information, and a control unit 16 for allowing reproduction of the main video image 36 at the reproducer 17 when the program information 30 is judged to be valid by the verifying function 62 and the CM video image 33 of the program information 30 is reproduced for a predetermined time at the reproducing section 17. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing system for recording and reproducing program information by television broadcasting or the like.

  With the improvement of information processing capability, advancement of video digitization technology, and the increase in storage media density and capacity, the program information from TV broadcasts is digitized and recorded on a storage medium (eg, hard disk or DVD). Recording / playback apparatuses are beginning to become widespread (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the case of a recording / playback apparatus using a hard disk as a storage medium, unlike a conventional video tape, a long-time video can be recorded without replacing the storage medium. For this reason, an increasing number of viewers are recording by the recording reservation function and watching them together when there is time, rather than watching a program when the television broadcast is being made.

JP 2004-23588 A

  In this way, when viewing a program recorded in the recording / playback device, the commercial video (hereinafter referred to as “CM video”) inserted in the program is fast-forwarded by a fast-forward playback function or the like provided in the recording device. Often skipped and not watched. However, many television programs are produced with income on the assumption that commercials are broadcast and viewed by viewers of the programs. That is, the viewer can view the program without paying a viewing fee for the program. Therefore, if many viewers watch the program after recording the program on the recording / playback device, the program producer (television station) will be cut off if the CM video part is skipped. As a result, there was a problem that viewers could not watch TV programs for free.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and only a viewer who has watched a CM video can view the main video (program) without greatly changing a television broadcasting system or the like. An object is to provide a recording / playback system.

  In order to solve the above problems, a recording / playback system according to the present invention includes at least one set of continuous CM video and main video, and control information of the CM video and main video (for example, CM attribute information in the embodiment). 32) receiving and storing the program information (for example, the HDD 14 in the embodiment), a reading unit for reading the program information stored in the storage unit, and CM from the program information read by the reading unit A playback unit that plays back the video and the main video, a verification unit that verifies whether the program information is valid from the control information (for example, the verification function 62 in the embodiment), and that the program information is valid by the verification unit And a control unit that allows reproduction of the main video by the reproduction unit when the CM video of the program information is reproduced for a predetermined time by the reproduction unit. That.

  At this time, the control information includes CM video playback time information (for example, the playback time 32b in the embodiment), and whether or not the control unit permits playback of the main video with the playback time information as a predetermined time. Is preferably configured to determine. Further, the control information includes time information (for example, the CM broadcast date and time 33c in the embodiment) of the CM video and the main video, and the verification unit determines whether the program information is valid based on the time information. It is preferably configured to determine. The control information includes CM program information (for example, the program code 32a in the embodiment) indicating the main video corresponding to the CM video, and main video identification information for identifying the main video (for example, the program code 35a in the embodiment). Preferably, the control unit is configured to allow the reproduction of the main video by the reproduction unit when the CM program information matches the main video program information.

  Furthermore, a recording / playback system according to the present invention includes a recording / playback apparatus having the above-described storage unit, readout unit, playback unit, and control unit, and a management apparatus having the above-described verification unit (for example, management in the embodiment). Server 61) and a network for connecting the recording / playback device and the management device to transmit and receive data.

  When the recording / playback system according to the present invention is configured as described above, when playing back program information recorded in the recording / playback device, the video is played back and viewed unless the CM video is played back for a predetermined time. Therefore, the program provider is guaranteed to view the CM video. Further, it is possible to prevent program information from being reproduced by unauthorized means by determining whether or not the CM video or the like is valid from the time information of the CM video or the like. Further, by comparing the CM program information of the main video corresponding to the CM video with the main video identification information for identifying the main video, it is possible to prevent the main video from being reproduced by unauthorized means. It is possible to prevent the attribute information from being falsified by managing the verification unit with a management device connected via a network, and to improve reliability.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The recording / playback apparatus according to the present invention transmits control information such as a CM video playback time to program information carried by radio waves transmitted from a broadcasting station, and receives and records the program information. The side (that is, the recording / playback apparatus according to the present invention) monitors whether or not the CM video is played back as scheduled, and controls whether or not to play back the subsequent video (program). is there. In the present embodiment, a description will be basically given of a television broadcast using radio waves (so-called terrestrial analog broadcast) as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and digital broadcast (terrestrial digital broadcast) Satellite digital broadcasting), cable broadcasting such as CATV, streaming broadcasting via the Internet, and the like.

  First, a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment, the program information 30 carried by the radio wave transmitted from the broadcasting station has a data structure as shown in FIG. 1A, and is a start for detecting the start of the CM video 33. Information 31, CM attribute information 32 in which the program code and playback time of the corresponding main video 35 of the CM video 33 are set, the end information 34 for detecting the end of the CM video 33, the main video (originally ), The main attribute information 34 in which the program code of 36 and the like are set, and the main video 36.

  The control information such as start information 31, CM attribute information 32, end information 34, and main attribute information 35 is continuous with the video signal (CM video 33, main video 36) for convenience of explanation in FIG. Although it is expressed as data, for example, in television broadcasting, it can be transmitted using VBI (Vertical Blanking Interval) etc., which is a fixed blank portion inserted between frames of an image. A conventional transmission / reception apparatus (technology) for television broadcasting can be used. At this time, the audio signal corresponding to the video signal is transmitted by another radio wave. In addition, when the program information 30 including such video and audio signals is transmitted by digital broadcasting (including cable broadcasting and Internet broadcasting), the data signal portion provided separately from the video signals and audio signals includes the above-described information. Control signals are loaded and encoded, and then transmitted in packet units.

  Here, the CM attribute information 32 has, for example, a data structure as shown in FIG. 1B, and at least the program code 32 a of the main video 36 corresponding to the CM video 33 and the playback time of the CM video 33. 32b and a CM broadcast date and time 32c at which the CM video 33 is broadcast. On the other hand, the main attribute information 35 has a data structure as shown in FIG. 1C, for example, and at least a program code of the main video 36. The CM broadcast date and time 32c includes time information (year / month / day / hour / minute / second) when the CM video 33 is broadcast. Further, when a time limit for reproducing the CM video 33 is set, an expiration date 32 d is set in the CM attribute information 32.

  1A shows a case where one CM video 33 and one main video 36 are configured. However, when a plurality of CM videos 33 are inserted between the main videos 36, FIG. The data structure of 1 is repeated (the following embodiments are also upset). Further, the above-described CM attribute information 32 is configured to include hash information 32e, and the hash information 32e includes hash information of the CM video 33 (data of a predetermined number of bits obtained by converting the CM video 33 by a one-way function). , The hash information 32e transmitted at the time of reproduction of the CM video 33 and the hash information of the CM video 33 to be reproduced are calculated and compared, so that the CM video 33 of the recorded program information 30 is obtained. It is also possible to prevent the content from being tampered with and being reproduced illegally.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the recording / playback apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment corresponding to the program information 30 having such a data structure includes an antenna 11 that receives radio waves from a broadcasting station, and radio waves received by the antenna 11. Is demodulated (and further decoded in the case of digital broadcasting) to obtain video / audio and control information, and the received video / audio and control information is stored in a storage device (for example, a hard disk (HDD)) 14. A storage unit 13; a reading unit 15 that reads video / audio and control information stored in the HDD 14; a control unit 16 that controls whether or not the read video information and audio information are reproduced by a method described later according to the control information; A playback unit 17 that outputs video and audio to a display device (for example, a television receiver) 20 for playback, and playback of video and audio played back by the playback unit 17 Composed of the playback time measurement section 18 which measures between. The antenna 11, the receiving unit 12, the storage unit 13, and the HDD 14 are the same as those of a conventional hard disk recording device.

  Now, a method for reproducing the video and audio information stored in the HDD 14 (a method for reproducing the program information 30 recorded in the HDD 14) will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the functions normally implemented in the recording apparatus such as selection of which of the plurality of recorded program information 30 is to be reproduced are the same as those of the conventional hard disk recording apparatus. Since there is, explanation is omitted.

  First, video / audio information (CM video 33 and main video 36) and control information (start information 31, CM attribute information 32, end information 34, and main attribute information 35) read from the HDD 14 by the reading unit 15 are as follows. It is passed to the control unit 16. When the control unit 16 detects the start of the CM video 33 based on the start information 31 (S100), the program code 32a of the main video 36 and the playback time 32b of the CM video 33 (hereinafter referred to as “scheduled playback time”) are obtained from the CM attribute information 32. The CM broadcast date and time 32c and the expiration date 32d are acquired (S101).

  Here, from the CM broadcast date and time 32 and the expiration date 32d set in the CM attribute information 32, confirmation of the validity of reproduction of the CM video 33, that is, whether or not the current date and time is within the expiration date is confirmed. (S102) If it is outside the expiration date, error information indicating that the CM video 33 and the main video 36 cannot be reproduced because it is out of the expiration date is output to the display device 20 (S108). On the other hand, when the current date and time is within the expiration date, the CM video 33 is played back by the playback unit 17 and output to the display device 20 (the video and audio are output in synchronization), and the playback time (hereinafter, referred to as “playback time”). (Referred to as “actual playback time”) is measured by the playback time measuring unit 18 (S103).

  When the playback of the CM video 33 is finished and the control unit 16 detects the end of the CM video 33 by the end information 34 (S104), the actual playback time of the CM video 33 measured by the playback time measuring unit 18 and the attribute information in S101. The scheduled reproduction time acquired from 32 is compared (S105). When the actual playback time does not match the scheduled playback time (for example, when the CM video 33 is skipped by the fast-forward playback function), the control unit 16 outputs error information indicating that the video 36 cannot be played back to the display device 20. (S108). On the other hand, when the actual playback time and the scheduled playback time match, the control unit 16 compares the program code 32a set in the CM attribute information 32 with the program code 35a set in the main attribute information 35. (S106) If they match, the video 36 is subsequently played back by the playback unit 17 and output to the display device 20 (S107). On the other hand, if the program codes 32a and 35a do not match, the control unit 16 outputs error information indicating that the main video 36 cannot be reproduced to the display device 20 (S108).

  Thus, by adding control information (start information 31, attribute information 32, and end information 34) to video information (CM video 33 and main video 36), only when the CM video 33 is played back according to the scheduled playback time. Since the main video 35 can be configured to be played back, the program producer and the program provider (CM video requester) are guaranteed to play the CM video 33. Further, as described above, these control information 31, 32, 34, and 35 are included in the VBI of the program information (video signal), so that the conventional transmission / reception apparatus is not significantly changed. The recording / playback apparatus 10 can be realized. Further, an expiration date during which the CM video 33 can be reproduced can be set, and even if the CM video 33 is reproduced for a predetermined time, the program set in the control information (CM attribute information 32) of the CM video 33 By comparing the code 32a and the program code 35a set in the main video 36, it is possible to prevent the main video 36 from being reproduced by playing the illegal CM video 33.

  In addition, when the control information 31, 32, 34, 35 is placed on the VBI or the like of the program information 30 in this way, it is not stored in the HDD 14 and is viewed simultaneously with the broadcast using a normal television receiver (ie, CM video). Since the additional signal 31, 32, 34, 35 can be ignored and reproduced, the conventional television receiver can be handled.

  In the above embodiment, the main attribute information 35 (the program code 35a corresponding to the main image 36) is transmitted at the beginning of the main image 36 and compared with the program code 32a set in the CM attribute information 32. The control unit 16 controls whether or not to reproduce the main video 36. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the main attribute information 35 is transmitted to the main video 36 at predetermined time intervals. The control unit 16 compares the program codes 32a and 35a each time the main attribute information 35 is detected, and further stops the subsequent reproduction of the main video 36 if they do not match. It is possible to prevent unauthorized reproduction of the video image 36 by making a fine check. In the above-described embodiment, the case where the expiration date is checked for the reproduction of the CM video 33 has been described. Similarly, the main broadcast date and time 35b and the expiration date 35c are set in the attribute information 35, and the expiration date is set. It is also possible to configure so that the main image 36 can be reproduced only within.

  Next, a recording / playback system 1 according to the present invention will be described as a second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the recording / playback system 1 transmits, receives and records information such as the playback time of the CM video to the program information carried by the radio wave transmitted from the broadcasting station 40. On the other side (that is, the recording / reproducing apparatus 10 '), it is monitored whether or not the subsequent video is reproduced by monitoring whether or not this CM video is reproduced according to the scheduled time. This is a case where the management server 61 of the management center 60 connected via the network is equipped with a function for judging the validity of CM video or the like and is configured to transmit and receive data in cooperation with the management server 61. Note that, in this embodiment, a description will be basically given of a television broadcast using radio waves as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and can be applied to a digital broadcast or the like. The management center 60 manages the recording / reproducing apparatus 10 'as will be described later.

  Now, the recording / playback system 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the program information 30 carried by the radio wave transmitted from the broadcasting station 40 is the same as that described in the first embodiment (FIG. 1). The recording / reproducing apparatus 10 'according to the second embodiment basically has the same configuration as the recording / reproducing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. Are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. The recording / reproducing apparatus 10 ′ is connected to a network 50 such as the Internet, and a communication unit for transmitting / receiving information to / from the management server 61 (verification function 62) of the management center 60 connected to the network 50. 19.

  A method for reproducing video and audio information stored in the HDD 14 of the recording / reproducing apparatus 10 ′ in the recording / reproducing system 1 having such a configuration will be described. The flowchart of the process in the second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, and will be described with reference to FIG. First, video / audio information (CM video 33 and main video 35) and data information (start information 31, attribute information 32, and end information 34) read from the HDD 14 by the reading unit 15 are passed to the control unit 16. . When the control unit 16 detects the start of the CM video 33 based on the start information 31 (S100), the program code 32a of the main video 36 and the playback time of the CM video 33 (as in the first embodiment) are determined from the CM attribute information 32. CM broadcast date and time 32c and expiration date 32d are acquired (S101).

  Here, the control unit 16 transmits the CM broadcast date and time 32c and the expiration date 32d to the management server 61 via the communication unit 19, and the current date and time is within the expiration date by the verification function 62 installed in the management server 61. And whether the result is received (S102). If the management server 61 determines that the current date and time is outside the expiration date, the control unit 16 outputs error information indicating that the CM video 33 cannot be reproduced because the expiration date is out of date to the display device 20 (S108). On the other hand, if it is determined that the current date and time is within the expiration date, the control unit 16 reproduces the CM video 33 by the reproduction unit 17 and outputs the CM video 33 to the display device 20 (outputs the video and audio in synchronization). ) And the reproduction time (hereinafter referred to as “actual reproduction time”) is measured by the reproduction time measuring unit 18 (S103).

  When the playback of the CM video 33 is finished and the control unit 16 detects the end of the CM video 33 by the end information 34 (S104), the actual playback time of the CM video 33 measured by the playback time measuring unit 18 and the attribute information in S101. The scheduled reproduction time acquired from 32 is compared (S105). When the actual playback time does not match the scheduled playback time (for example, when the CM video 33 is skipped by the fast-forward playback function), the control unit 16 outputs error information indicating that the video 36 cannot be played back to the display device 20. (S108). On the other hand, when the actual playback time and the scheduled playback time match, the control unit 16 compares the program code 32a set in the CM attribute information 32 with the program code 35a set in the main attribute information 35. (S106) If they match, the video 36 is subsequently played back by the playback unit 17 and output to the display device 20 (S107). On the other hand, if the program codes 32a and 35a do not match, the control unit 16 outputs error information indicating that the main video 36 cannot be reproduced to the display device 20 (S108).

  As described above, also in the second embodiment, since the main video 35 can be played back only when the CM video 33 is played back according to the scheduled playback time, the program producer and the program provider (CM video) That the CM video 33 is reproduced. Further, as described above, these control information 31, 32, 34, and 35 are included in the VBI of the program information (video signal), so that the conventional transmission / reception apparatus is not significantly changed. A recording / reproducing apparatus 10 'can be realized. Further, an expiration date during which the CM video 33 can be reproduced can be set, and even if the CM video 33 is reproduced for a predetermined time, the program set in the control information (CM attribute information 32) of the CM video 33 By comparing the code 32a with the program code 35a set in the main video 36, it is possible to prevent the main video 36 from being reproduced by unauthorized means. Here, in the second embodiment, since the expiration date is checked by the management server 61 connected to the network 50, even if the time (clock) setting of the recording / playback apparatus 10 'is changed. The CM video 33 is not reproduced outside the expiration date, and the reliability is improved.

  As in the first embodiment, the main attribute information 35 is transmitted to the main video 36 at predetermined time intervals, and the program code 32a is detected each time the main attribute information 35 is detected by the control unit 16. , 35a are compared, and if they do not match, the subsequent playback of the main video 36 is stopped, so that a finer check can be made to prevent unauthorized playback of the main video 36. In addition, the main broadcast date and time 35b and the expiration date 35c can be set in the main attribute information 35 so that the main video 36 can be reproduced only within the time limit. Alternatively, the CM broadcast date and time 33c, the main broadcast date and time 35b, and the expiration dates 33d and 35c are not transmitted as the program information 30, but are managed by the management server 61, and are extracted by the program codes 33a and 35a transmitted from the recording / playback apparatus 10 ′. It is also possible to configure to compare them.

  Further, in the above embodiment, a case is shown in which when the recorded program information is reproduced, the main video 36 cannot be reproduced unless the CM video 33 is reproduced at a predetermined time. However, the playback number of each program is stored in the HDD 14 by the control unit 16, and after the predetermined number of playbacks, the control unit 16 does not play the CM video 33 (even if fast-forwarding is skipped). The video 36 can be configured to be reproducible, or the CM video 33 can be deleted from the HDD 14 and the video 36 can be replayed at any time. At this time, even if the CM video 33 is not played back, the time limit for playing the main video 36 may be limited by the main broadcast date and time 35b and the expiration date 35c.

It is a data structure figure which shows the data structure of the program information which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function of the video recording / reproducing apparatus concerning this invention. 4 is a flowchart of program information reproduction according to the present invention. 1 is a block diagram of a recording / playback system according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function of the video recording / reproducing system based on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Recording / Playback System 10, 10 ′ Recording / Playback Device 14 HDD (Storage Unit)
15 Reading unit 16 Control unit 17 Playback unit 30 Program information 32 CM attribute information 33 CM video 36 Main video 61 Management server (management device)
62 Verification function (Verification part)

Claims (5)

A storage unit that receives and stores at least one set of continuous CM video and main video, and program information including control information of the CM video and the main video;
A reading unit for reading the program information stored in the storage unit;
A reproducing unit for reproducing the CM video and the main video from the program information read by the reading unit;
A verification unit that verifies whether the program information is valid from the control information;
When the program information is determined to be valid by the verification unit and the CM video of the program information is reproduced by the reproduction unit for a predetermined time, the reproduction by the reproduction unit is permitted. And a recording / reproducing system. The control information includes reproduction time information of the CM video;
The recording / playback system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to determine whether or not to allow the playback of the main video by using the playback time information as the predetermined time. The control information includes time information of the CM video and the main video,
The recording / playback system according to claim 1, wherein the verification unit is configured to determine whether the program information is valid based on the time information. The control information includes CM program information indicating the main video corresponding to the CM video, and main video program information for identifying the main video,
The control unit is configured to allow the playback of the main video by the playback unit when the CM program information matches the main video program information. The recording / playback system according to any one of 3). A recording / playback apparatus having the storage unit, the reading unit, the playback unit, and the control unit;
A management device having the verification unit;
5. The recording / reproducing system according to claim 1, comprising a network that connects the recording / reproducing apparatus and the management apparatus to perform data transmission / reception.

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