JP2006203629A - Recording control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the control of one of a plurality of video recorders connected to a LAN to be performed from the outside. <P>SOLUTION: A video recorder 12a is connected to video recorders 12b and 12c through a LAN 14. Three words assigned to the three video recorders 12a-12c each including its own video recorder are held in the video recorder 12a. When receiving a recording request including content information and an arbitrary word from a mobile telephone 18 through the Internet 16, the video recorder 12a determines whether or not the word included in the received recording request coincides with one of held words. When the result of the determination is positive, a command compliant with the recording request received is issued to one of the video recorders 12a-12c, or preferably to a recorder whose word coincides. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording control apparatus, and more particularly to, for example, a recording control apparatus that controls a plurality of content recording apparatuses connected to a network.

  Conventionally, an example of this type of device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this prior art, address information is assigned to each of a plurality of recording devices, and a dedicated remote controller is attached. The signal transmitted from each remote controller includes model information of the recording apparatus to which the remote controller is attached. A conventional recording control apparatus registers model information and address information for each recording apparatus.

When a user wants to record content in a desired one of a plurality of recording devices, the user operates a remote controller attached to the recording device. When receiving a signal from the remote controller, the conventional recording control device transmits a command to the recording device indicated by the model information included in the received signal based on the registered address information. Thereby, the content can be recorded in a desired recording device.
JP 2003-219486 A [H04Q 9/00, H04L 12/28]

  However, in the prior art, if the operation is performed in a place where the remote control signal does not reach the recording control device, the content is not recorded on any recording device.

  Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a recording control device that can control any one of a plurality of content recording devices connected to a network from the outside.

  The recording control device according to the first aspect of the invention is a device control device that controls a plurality of content recording devices connected to a network, and holds a plurality of first identification codes respectively assigned to the plurality of content recording devices. First holding means, receiving means for receiving a recording request including content information and an arbitrary first identification code through a network, and a first identification code included in the recording request received by the receiving means is held by the first holding means. A discriminating means for discriminating whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied with any one of the plurality of first identification codes, and a recording request received by the receiving means when the discrimination result of the discriminating means is affirmative Issue means for issuing an instruction to any one of a plurality of content recording devices.

  The first holding unit holds a plurality of first identification codes respectively assigned to the plurality of content recording devices. When the receiving unit receives the recording request including the content information and an arbitrary first identification code, the determining unit includes a plurality of first identification codes held in the first holding unit in the first identification code included in the received recording request. It is determined whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied with any one of the identification codes. The issuing means issues an instruction according to the recording request received by the receiving means to any one of the plurality of content recording apparatuses when the determination result of the determining means is affirmative.

  While holding a plurality of first identification codes respectively assigned to a plurality of content recording apparatuses, a recording request including content information and an arbitrary first identification code is received. When the first identification code included in the received recording request satisfies a predetermined condition with any one of the plurality of held first identification codes, a command according to the received recording request Since the content is issued to any one of the content recording devices, any one of the plurality of content recording devices can be controlled from the outside.

  A recording control apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is dependent on the first aspect, and further comprises a detecting means for detecting a content recording apparatus capable of executing a command according to the recording request received by the receiving means from a plurality of content recording apparatuses. The issuing means issues a command to the content recording device detected by the detecting means.

  The detecting means detects a content recording apparatus capable of executing a command according to the recording request received by the receiving means from the plurality of content recording apparatuses. The command according to the recording request is issued toward the content recording device detected by the detecting means.

  Since the content recording device that can execute the command according to the recording request is detected and the reservation setting is performed for the detected content recording device, the content can be recorded more reliably.

  A recording control apparatus according to a third aspect of the invention is dependent on the second aspect, wherein the predetermined condition includes a condition that the first identification code is coincident, and the issuing means determines whether the detection result of the detecting means is received by the receiving means. An instruction is issued to the corresponding content recording device when the corresponding content recording device corresponding to the included first identification code is included.

  When the first identification code included in the received recording request matches any one of the plurality of first identification codes held, the instruction according to the received recording request is content corresponding to the matched first identification code. Issued to the recording device.

  By storing the correspondence relationship between the content recording device and the first identification code, a desired one of the plurality of content recording devices can be controlled from the outside.

  The recording control device according to the invention of claim 4 is dependent on claim 3 and selects any one of the detection results of the detection means as an alternative content recording device when the detection result of the detection means does not include the corresponding content recording device. The issuing means further issues a command to the alternative content recording device when the result of the detection means does not include the corresponding content recording device.

  When the corresponding content recording device cannot record, one of the recordable content recording devices is selected as the alternative content recording device, and the command is issued to the alternative content recording device.

  A recording control device according to a fifth aspect of the invention is dependent on any one of the first to fourth aspects, and requests a recording through a network to determine which of the plurality of content recording devices is the content recording device for which the command is issued by the issuing means. A notification means for notifying the transmission source of

  The notifying means notifies the recording request transmission source of which of the plurality of content recording apparatuses has received the instruction in accordance with the recording request.

  The transmission source of the recording request can know in which of the plurality of content recording devices the content is recorded.

  A recording control apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the invention is dependent on the fifth aspect, further comprising second holding means for holding a plurality of second identification codes respectively assigned to the plurality of content recording apparatuses, and the notification means is a second one. Of the plurality of second identification codes held by the holding means, the second identification code assigned to the content recording apparatus for which the command has been issued by the issuing means is notified.

  The notification is performed using a second identification code different from the first identification code included in the recording request. For this reason, the secrecy of the first identification code is increased, and as a result, the risk that a plurality of content recording devices are operated by others from the outside can be reduced.

  A recording control apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the invention is dependent on any one of the first to sixth aspects, and the content information includes time information indicating a recording start time and a recording end time.

  Recording according to desired recording start time and recording end time, that is, reservation recording can be performed.

  The recording control apparatus according to the invention of claim 8 is dependent on claim 7, and the receiving means includes mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail including a recording request.

  Reservations can be set using e-mail from outside.

  A recording control apparatus according to the invention of claim 9 is dependent on claim 7, wherein the recording request is registered in the server, and the receiving means includes search means for searching for the recording request registered in the server.

  Reservations can be set through the server from outside.

  The recording control apparatus according to the invention of claim 10 is dependent on claim 7 and further comprises an input page transmitting means for transmitting an input page for accepting an input operation of a recording request.

  Reservation settings can be made in real time from outside.

  The recording control device according to the invention of claim 11 is dependent on claim 10 and further comprises selection page transmission means for transmitting a selection page for accepting a selection operation of the alternative content recording device.

  When the corresponding content recording device cannot record, the alternative content recording device can be selected from outside in real time.

  A recording control program according to a twelfth aspect of the invention holds a plurality of first identification codes respectively assigned to a plurality of content recording devices in a processor of the recording control device that controls the plurality of content recording devices connected to the network. A holding step, a receiving step for receiving a recording request including content information and an arbitrary first identification code through a network, and a plurality of first identification codes included in the recording request received by the receiving step. A discriminating step for discriminating whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied with any one of the one identification code, and a plurality of instructions according to the recording request received by the receiving step when the discrimination result of the discriminating step is affirmative Issue the issue step to issue to any one of the content recording devices Make.

  According to the present invention, any one of a plurality of content recording devices connected to a network can be controlled from the outside.

  The above object, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the content recording system 10 of this embodiment includes three video recorders 12a, 12b and 12c. Television monitors 20a, 20b and 20c are connected to the video recorders 12a, 12b and 12c, respectively.

  The video recorders 12a, 12b, and 12c are installed in the living room, bedroom, and child room, respectively, and are connected to each other via the LAN 14. Therefore, the IP addresses “192.168.1.9”, “192.168.1.10”, and “192.168.1.11” are assigned to the video recorders 12a, 12b, and 12c by the LAN 14, respectively. The user is given the nicknames “living room”, “bedroom”, and “children's room”.

  The video recorder 12a is configured as shown in FIG. The video recorders 12b and 12c are configured similarly. Referring to FIG. 2, video recorder 12a includes a decoder 30a. A broadcast signal received by an antenna (not shown) is decoded into a video signal by the decoder 30a. The video signal output from the decoder 30a is given to the MPEG codec 32a and subjected to MPEG compression processing. The compressed video signal output from the MPEG codec 32a is recorded on the hard disk 46a by a hard disk drive (HDD) 44a, and then read from the hard disk 46a by the same HDD 44a.

  The compressed video signal read from the hard disk 46a is given to the MPEG codec 32a and subjected to MPEG expansion processing. The video signal output from the MPEG codec 32a is encoded into a composite video signal by the encoder 34a. The composite video signal output from the encoder 34a is input to the television monitor 20a. The RAM 38a provides a work area for the MPEG codec 32a and the CPU 40a to perform processing.

  Here, as an example, a case where a broadcast signal according to an analog system is received and the received broadcast signal is recorded on the hard disk 46a (46b, 46c) is shown. Since the present invention does not depend on the signal format or the recording method, the application target is not limited to the configuration shown in FIGS. For example, the broadcast signal input to the decoder 30a (30b, 30c) may be a digital signal, and the medium for recording the signal may be an optical disk or a semiconductor memory.

  Thereby, the compressed video signal of the program is recorded on the hard disk 46a, and the video of the same program is displayed on the television monitor 20a. Hereinafter, a video signal for one program is referred to as “content”.

  When the video recorder 12a is activated, the CPU 40a generates the directory tree (main tree) shown in FIG. 3 in the hard disk 46a. This main tree is used to manage content in the internal hard disk, that is, the hard disk 46a. Referring to FIG. 3, the directory tree includes a root directory “/”. Below the root directory “/” are two directories “home” and “mnt”, and below “home” is “data”. Furthermore, “mpeg” and “contents” are provided below “data”. The content in the hard disk 46a is placed in “mpeg”, and information on the content in this “mpeg” (hereinafter “content information”) is written in “contents”. The content information includes a content identifier, a path, a capacity, and the like. Similarly, in the video recorders 12b and 12c, a main tree (see FIG. 3) is generated at the first activation.

  Video recorder 12a also includes a network controller 36a. The network controller 36a is connected to each of the network controller 36b of the video recorder 12b and the network controller 36c of the video recorder 12c via the LAN 14. At this time, the CPU 40a mounts a directory tree (subtree) for managing the contents in the hard disks 46b and 46c, that is, the external HD, in the directory tree (main tree) of FIG.

  Specifically, the CPU 40a requests the CPU 40b to acquire a directory tree in the hard disk 46b. As shown in FIG. 4, the portion below “data” of the directory tree acquired in this way is mounted as a sub-tree for managing the contents in the hard disk 46b below “mnt” in the main tree. . This sub-tree includes “192.168.1.10”, and “mpeg” and “contents” are provided below “192.168.1.10”. The content in the hard disk 46b is placed in “mpeg” under “192.168.1.10”, and the content information is written in “contents”.

  Next, the CPU 40a requests the CPU 40c to obtain a directory tree in the hard disk 46c. As shown in FIG. 5, the portion below “data” of the directory tree obtained in this way is further mounted as a sub-tree for managing contents in the hard disk 46c, below “mnt” in the main tree. The This sub-tree includes “192.168.1.11”, and “mpeg” and “contents” are provided below “192.168.1.11”. The content in the hard disk 46c is placed in “mpeg” under “192.168.1.11”, and the content information is written in “contents”.

  With such a mounting process, the CPU 40a can use the hard disks 46b and 46c as external HDs in addition to the hard disk 46a which is a built-in HD. A similar mounting process is performed in the video recorders 12b and 12c. As a result, each of the CPUs 40b and 40c can also use the three hard disks 46a, 46b and 46c.

  When the mounting process is completed, the CPU 40a generates the correspondence table shown in FIG. 6 in the hard disk 46a based on the tree of FIG. In the correspondence table, an IP address, a nickname, and a password are described for each of the three video recorders 12a, 12b, and 12c. Of these three types of identification information, the IP address is used when communicating between recorders. The nickname is used when a user's selection operation is accepted through an OSD (On Screen Display) screen. The word is used when a recording reservation is made from an external terminal such as the mobile phone 18 via the Internet 16. In this embodiment, the recording reservation is performed using electronic mail.

  Here, the nickname is a kind of identification information arbitrarily given to each recorder by the user. Immediately after the end of the mounting process, the nickname is not described in the correspondence table. Therefore, when accepting the selection operation, the IP address is used as identification information of each recorder. After the nickname is assigned, the nickname is used instead of the IP address. In addition to the IP address, the model name, model number, product name, or the like can be used as identification information presented to the user before giving the nickname.

  The word is also a kind of identification information arbitrarily given to each recorder by the user, but is not displayed when a selection operation is accepted. The password is described in the reservation setting mail as identification information and password indicating the recording destination recorder when making a recording reservation from outside the house (see FIG. 27). That is, when the CPU 40a receives the reservation setting mail, the CPU 40a identifies the recording destination recorder by collating the word described in the received mail with the word described in the correspondence table, and at the same time authenticates the user.

  When the generation of the correspondence table is completed, the CPU 40a displays an OSD screen on the television monitor 20a via the OSD generation circuit 50a, receives a selection operation and an input operation through the displayed OSD screen, and names according to the received operation. Processing such as change, word registration, recording reservation, and playback is executed. When the name is changed or the word is registered, the directory tree and the correspondence table are updated.

  The OSD generation circuit 50a is a signal (OSD signal) corresponding to the OSD screen shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, 14 to 16, 19, 19, 22 to 24, 32 and 33 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 40a. Is generated.

  More specifically, after generating the correspondence table, the CPU 40a instructs the OSD generation circuit 50a to generate an initial menu screen as shown in FIG. The screen generated by the OSD generation circuit 50a is given to the television monitor 20a through the addition circuit 52a.

  Referring to FIG. 7, on the initial menu screen, a message explaining the configuration of content recording system 10 and four options “name change”, “word word registration”, “recording reservation” and “playback” are presented. The The message is described using the IP address described in the correspondence table of FIG. When “name change” is selected from the four options, the initial menu screen is updated as shown in FIG. The selection is performed via the cursor key, OK / cancel key, etc. of the operation panel 42a (the same applies hereinafter).

  In the recorder selection screen of FIG. 8, a message prompting the selection of a recorder whose name is to be changed, and three options “192.168.1.9”, “192.168.1.10”, and “192.168 .. 1.11 "is presented. Here, when “192.168.1.9” is selected, the recorder selection screen in FIG. 8 is updated as shown in FIG. In the name input screen shown in FIG. 9, an input field for inputting a new name is presented together with the selected “192.168.1.9”. When “Living” is entered in the input field, the CPU 40a updates the directory tree of FIG. 5 as shown in FIG. 10, and further updates the correspondence table of FIG. 6 as shown in FIG. The character information is input via the numeric keypad of the operation panel 42a (the same applies hereinafter).

  Referring to FIG. 10, in the updated tree, identification information 84 is added below “data”, identification information 86 is added below “192.168.1.10”, and “192.168.”. The identification information 88 is added below 1.11 ″. The input “living” is described in the identification information 84.

  Referring to FIG. 11, in the updated correspondence table, “Living” is described next to the nickname column corresponding to video recorder 12a, that is, “192.168.1.9”.

  When the same processing is repeated and the nickname assignment to the video recorders 12a to 12c is completed, the correspondence table and the directory tree are updated as shown in FIGS. In the tree of FIG. 12, “living room”, “bedroom”, and “child's room” are added to the identification information 84, identification information 86, and identification information 88, respectively. In the correspondence table of FIG. 13, "living room", "bedroom", and "children room" are entered in the nickname columns of the video recorders 12a, 12b, and 12c, respectively.

  When the update of the directory tree and the correspondence table is completed, the menu screen shown in FIG. 14 is displayed on the television monitor 20a. In this menu screen, the message is described using the nicknames “living room”, “bedroom”, and “child room” described in the correspondence table of FIG.

  Here, when “registration” is selected, the menu selection screen in FIG. 14 is updated as shown in FIG. On the recorder selection screen of FIG. 15, a message prompting the user to select a recorder to be set for wording and three choices “living room”, “bedroom”, and “child's room” are presented. When “Living” is selected here, the recorder selection screen is updated as shown in FIG.

  In the message input screen shown in FIG. 16, an input field for inputting the message is presented together with the selected “living room”. When “open sesame” is entered in the input field, the CPU 40a updates the directory tree of FIG. 12 as shown in FIG. 17, and further updates the correspondence table of FIG. 13 as shown in FIG. If the inputted word is already registered, the CPU 40a displays an error screen as shown in FIG. 19 and prompts for another word.

  When the same processing is repeated and registration of three words corresponding to the three video recorders 12a to 12c is completed, the correspondence table and the directory tree are updated as shown in FIGS. In the tree of FIG. 20, “hirake sesame”, “abura kadabura”, and “chichinpui” are added to the identification information 84, the identification information 86, and the identification information 88, respectively. In the correspondence table of FIG. 21, “Hirake Sesame”, “Obura Kadabura”, and “Chinchipui” are registered in the word field of the video recorders 12a, 12b, and 12c, respectively.

  When the update of the directory tree and the correspondence table is completed, the menu screen shown in FIG. 22 is displayed on the television monitor 20a. When “recording reservation” is selected here, the menu selection screen of FIG. 22 is updated as shown in FIG. In the recorder selection screen of FIG. 23, a message that the recorder (reservation source) that is currently accepting the reservation operation is “living”, and a message that prompts the user to select a recorder (recording destination) to be scheduled for recording. Three options “Living Room”, “Bedroom” and “Children Room” are presented. Here, when “Bedroom” is selected, the recorder selection screen is updated as shown in FIG.

  In the reservation information input screen shown in FIG. 24, an input field for inputting reservation information, that is, a broadcast channel, a date and a title of content to be recorded is presented. The channel and date / time must be entered, but the title may be omitted. The CPU 40a generates reservation information as shown in FIG. 25 in the hard disk 46a based on the information input in the input field. Referring to FIG. 25, the reservation information includes a channel, date / time, recording destination, and content ID. Such reservation information is created for each reservation recording, and a reservation number is added to the created reservation information.

  The recording destination is described as “/mnt/192.168.1.10/mpeg/movie 1 (December 24, 10: 00_living) .mpg” according to the directory tree of FIG. The content ID is the last part “movie 1 (...)” Of the recording destination information. In other words, the title, the recording date and time, and the identification information of the reservation source recorder are used as the content ID.

  Later, the CPU 40a executes scheduled recording according to the reservation information shown in FIG. 25 through the HDD 44b. When the scheduled recording is completed, the content ID and the path are written in the content information 82 in the directory tree shown in FIG. 20 (see FIG. 26).

  In addition to the recording reservation by the operation panel 42a of the recorder main body as described above, the CPU 40a also makes a recording reservation in accordance with an electronic mail from the mobile phone 18. That is, when the user wants to make a recording reservation from outside the house, the user transmits a reservation setting mail as shown in FIG. The transmitted reservation setting mail is temporarily stored in the mail server 22.

  In the e-mail in FIG. 27, address information and sender information, a word “abura kadabura”, and reservation information are described. The reservation information includes the broadcast station identification code “A3015”, the recording start date and time “20041225251800”, and the recording end date and time “20041225251900”.

  The CPU 40a periodically receives mail. When the reservation setting mail is received from the mail server 22, it is determined whether or not the message described in the received mail is registered in the correspondence table (see FIG. 21). If the determination result is affirmative, the hard disks 46a to 46c are checked. Detect the remaining amount. Then, based on the detection result and the reservation information, it is determined whether or not the recorder corresponding to the word can execute the recording according to the reservation information described in the reservation setting mail. If the determination result indicates that recording is possible, reservation information as shown in FIG. 25 is generated in the hard disk 46a.

  In the case of the mail of FIG. 27, “Obura Kadabura” is registered in the correspondence table of FIG. 21 and the corresponding recorder is “Bedroom”, so reservation information with the hard disk 46b as the recording destination is generated. After the generation, the CPU 40a returns a reservation completion notification mail shown in FIG. The mail in FIG. 28 describes a message notifying that the recording reservation is set to “bedroom” as instructed.

  If the corresponding recorder is not recordable, the CPU 40a selects an alternative recorder. Specifically, if there is one recordable recorder, that recorder is selected, and if there are a plurality of recorders, the recorder with the largest remaining amount is selected. There is also a method in which priorities are given to the video recorders 12a to 12c in advance, and the one with the highest priority is selected.

  After the selection, the CPU 40a generates reservation information that uses the hard disk of the alternative recorder as a recording destination. After the generation, the CPU 40a returns a reservation completion notification mail shown in FIG. The mail in FIG. 29 describes a message notifying that recording to the designated “bedroom” is impossible, and therefore the recording reservation is set to “living room”.

  If the word described in the reservation setting mail is not registered in the correspondence table, the CPU 40a returns an error notification mail shown in FIG. The mail in FIG. 30 describes a message notifying that recording reservation cannot be made because the words do not match. If there is no recordable recorder, the CPU 40a returns an error notification mail shown in FIG. The mail in FIG. 31 describes a message notifying that recording reservation cannot be made because there is no recorder capable of recording.

  The CPU 40a receives a reservation operation from inside and outside the house in the above-described procedure, generates reservation information with any of the hard disks 46a to 46c as a recording destination, and executes a recording process according to the generated reservation information. When such scheduled recording is completed, the content ID and path as shown in FIG. 26 are written in the content information 82 in the directory tree shown in FIG.

  The content recorded on the hard disks 46a to 46c can be reproduced by any of the video recorders 12a to 12c. For example, a menu screen as shown in FIG. 32 is displayed on the television monitor 20a based on the content information 82. When “Play” is selected here, the menu screen is updated as shown in FIG.

  In the content selection screen of FIG. 33, content IDs of all the contents stored in the hard disks 46a, 46b and 46c are presented. When “Movie 1 (December 24, 10: 00_Living)” is selected, the CPU 40a reads the compressed video signal of “Movie 1 (...)” From the hard disk 46b through the HDD 44b.

  The read compressed video signal is given to the MPEG codec 32a through the network controller 36b, the LAN 14, and the network controller 36a, and subjected to decompression processing. The expanded video signal is encoded by the encoder 34b, and thereby converted into a composite video signal. Such a composite video signal is input to the television monitor 20a, and an image of “movie 1 (...)” Is displayed.

  More specifically, the CPU 40a controls the main task shown in FIGS. 34, 36 to 38 and 40, the remote reservation setting task shown in FIG. The scheduled recording task shown is executed in parallel. A program corresponding to these flowcharts is stored in the ROM 38a.

  Referring to FIG. 34, first, in step S1, mount processing (see FIGS. 3 to 5) is executed, and a correspondence table (see FIG. 6) is generated. Subsequently, a remote reservation setting task (described later) is started in step S3, a menu screen (see FIG. 7) is displayed based on the correspondence table in step S5, and a loop consisting of steps S7, S9, S11 and S13 is entered. .

  If the name change button is pressed, YES is determined in the step S7, and the process shifts to a step S15. In step S15, a name change process (described later) is executed. Then, it returns to step S5. When the registration button is pressed, YES is determined in the step S9, and the process proceeds to a step S17. In step S17, a word registration process (described later) is executed. Then, it returns to step S5.

  When the recording reservation button is pressed, YES is determined in the step S11, and the process proceeds to a step S19. In step S19, a reservation setting process (described later) is executed. In step S21, a timer recording task (described later) is activated, and then the process returns to step S5. If the play button is pressed, YES is determined in the step S13, and the process shifts to a step S23. In step S23, a reproduction process (described later) is executed. Thereafter, the process returns to step S5.

  Referring to FIG. 35, when the remote reservation setting task is activated, it first waits for a predetermined time to elapse in step S31. When a predetermined time has elapsed since the task activation or the previous mail reception, the process moves to step S33 to receive the mail.

  In a succeeding step S35, it is determined whether or not the received mail is a reservation setting mail (see FIG. 27). If there is no reservation information in a predetermined format starting with “open” in the received mail, it is determined that the received mail is not a reservation setting mail, and the process returns to step S31.

  If the received mail is a reservation setting mail, in step S37, any one of the words in the mail, that is, the character string sandwiched between “open” and “tv” is registered in the correspondence table (see FIG. 21). It is determined whether or not the two words match. If no match is found, an error notification mail as shown in FIG. 30 is transmitted in step S55, and then the process returns to step S31.

  If the word in the mail matches any one of the words in the correspondence table, the process proceeds to step S39, where the remaining amount of the hard disks 46a to 46c is evaluated and whether or not the recording date / time is duplicated is checked. In a succeeding step S41, it is determined whether or not the recorder corresponding to the word can be recorded based on the result of the evaluation and the check. If the corresponding recorder can record, reservation information (see FIG. 25) with the hard disk of the corresponding recorder as a recording destination is generated in step S43, and then the process proceeds to step S51.

  If the corresponding recorder is not recordable, the process moves to step S45 to determine whether there is another recordable recorder. If the determination result is negative, an error notification mail as shown in FIG. 31 is transmitted in step S55, and then the process returns to step S31.

  If the determination result in step S45 is affirmative, an alternative recorder is selected in step S47. Specifically, if there is only one recorder capable of recording, it is selected as an alternative recorder, and if there are a plurality of recorders, the recorder with the largest remaining HD is selected as the alternative recorder. Then, in step S49, reservation information with the hard disk of the alternative recorder as the recording destination is generated, and then the process proceeds to step S51.

  In step S51, a scheduled recording task (described later) is activated. In step S53, a reservation completion notification mail as shown in FIG. 28 or FIG. 29 is transmitted according to the recording destination, and then the process returns to step S31.

  The name change process in step S15 is in accordance with a subroutine shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 36, first, a recorder selection screen (see FIG. 8) is displayed in step S61, and it is determined whether or not the selection is completed in the next step S63. When any recorder on the screen is selected, the process proceeds to step S65 to display a name input screen (see FIG. 9). In step S67, it is determined whether or not the input is completed. If the determination result is affirmative, the correspondence table is updated in step S69 (see FIGS. 6, 11, and 13). Then, the process returns to the upper layer routine.

  The word registration process in step S17 follows the subroutine of FIG. 37 in detail. Referring to FIG. 37, first, a recorder selection screen (see FIG. 15) is displayed in step S81, and it is determined whether or not the selection is completed in the next step S83. When one of the recorders on the screen is selected, the process proceeds to step S85 to display the word input screen (see FIG. 16). In step S87, it is determined whether or not the input is completed. If this determination result is affirmative, the correspondence table is updated in step S89 (see FIGS. 13, 18 and 21). Then, the process returns to the upper layer routine.

  The reservation setting process in step S19 follows the subroutine of FIG. 38 in detail. Referring to FIG. 38, first, a recorder selection screen (see FIG. 23) is displayed in step S101, and it is determined whether or not the selection is completed in the next step S103. When any recorder on the screen is selected, the process proceeds to step S105 to display a reservation information input screen (see FIG. 24). In step S107, it is determined whether or not the input is completed. If the determination result is affirmative, reservation information (see FIG. 25) with the hard disk of the selected recorder as the recording destination is generated in step S109. Then, the process returns to the upper layer routine.

  Referring to FIG. 39, when the reservation recording task is activated, CPU 40a first waits for the arrival of the recording start time described in the reservation information (see FIG. 25) in step S121. When the recording start time comes, the process proceeds to step S123, and a recording start command is issued. In the example of FIG. 25, since the recording destination is “/mnt/192.168.1.10/mpeg/movie 1 (...) .Mpg”, the recording start command is issued toward the HDD 44b. The content ID “movie 1 (...) .Mpg” described in the reservation information is attached to the recording start command.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S125 and waits for the recording end time described in the reservation information to arrive. When the recording end time comes, the process proceeds to step S127, and a recording stop command is issued. In the example of FIG. 25, the decoder 30b decodes the broadcast signal of channel “8” into a video signal and the MPEG codec 32b is decoded during the period from when the recording start command is issued until the recording stop command is issued. The HDD 44b records the compressed video signal in the file “movie 1 (...) .Mpg” on the hard disk 46b.

  In step S129, the content information 82 (see FIG. 26) is registered in “contents” under “192.168.1.10” in the directory tree (see FIG. 20). In step S131, the reservation information corresponding to the reserved recording processed through steps S121 to S129 is deleted. In step S133, it is determined whether there is another unprocessed recording reservation. If the determination result is affirmative, the process returns to step S121. When all the recording reservations have been processed, this task is finished.

  The reproduction process in step S23 follows the subroutine shown in FIG. 40 in detail. Referring to FIG. 40, first, a content selection screen (see FIG. 33) is displayed in step S171, and it is determined whether or not the selection is completed in next step S173. When any content on the screen is selected, the process proceeds to step S175 to issue a playback start command.

  In the example of FIG. 33, “movie 1 (...)” Is selected. Therefore, the CPU 40a refers to the path “/mnt/192.168.1.10/mpeg/movie 1 (...) .Mpg” described in the content information 82 (see FIG. 26), and addresses information “192. A reproduction command is issued to the hard disk drive of the recorder corresponding to 168.1.10 ", that is, the HDD 44b. The content ID “movie 1 (...)” Described in the content information 82 is attached to the reproduction command.

  In response to the reproduction command, the HDD 44b reads the MPEG file “movie 1 (...) .Mpg” from the hard disk 46b. The read MPEG file is given to the MPEG codec 32a through the network controller 36b, the LAN 14, and the network controller 36a. It is given to the MPEG codec 32a. The MPEG codec 32a expands the compressed video signal included in the read MPEG file, and the encoder 34a encodes the expanded video signal into a composite video signal. The composite video signal output from the encoder 34a is applied to the television monitor 20a, whereby the video of “movie 1” is displayed on the television monitor 20a.

  In step S177, it is determined whether the end of the content has been detected or whether the stop button has been pressed. If the determination result is affirmative, a playback stop command is issued in step S179, and the process returns to the upper layer routine.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the video recorder 12a is connected to the video recorders 12b and 12c via the LAN 14. The hard disk 46a of the video recorder 12a that accepts a recording reservation from the outside stores a correspondence table (see FIG. 21) that describes three words assigned to the three video recorders 12a to 12c including itself.

  When the video recorder 12a receives a reservation setting mail (see FIG. 27) including reservation information and an arbitrary word from the mobile phone 18 through the Internet 16, the word included in the received mail includes a plurality of words described in the correspondence table. It is determined whether or not it matches any one. When the result of the determination is affirmative, the reservation setting according to the received mail is set to one of the video recorders 12a to 12c, preferably the video recorder with the matching word, that is, the video corresponding to the word included in the received mail. To the recorder. In this way, the reservation setting for any one of the video recorders 12a to 12c can be performed from the outside using the electronic mail.

  In addition, since the alternative video recorder is selected when the corresponding video recorder cannot record, the content can be recorded more reliably. Furthermore, since the reservation destination is notified, it is possible to know in which of the video recorders 12a to 12c the content is recorded. In addition, since the nickname is used for the notification, the confidentiality of the word is increased, and the risk that the video recorders 12a to 12c are operated by others from the outside can be reduced.

  Other embodiments will be described below. The configuration of this embodiment is shown in FIG. In the above-described embodiment, when recording reservation is performed from outside the house, the reservation information is registered in the mail server 22 in the form of e-mail. In this embodiment, the reservation information is registered in the reservation server 24 through a Web page. . Except for this point, the second embodiment is the same as the above-described embodiment. Therefore, FIGS. 2 to 26, FIGS. 28 to 34, and FIGS.

  Each of the video recorders 12a to 12c is configured as shown in FIG. The video recorder 12a that accepts the recording reservation from the outside executes the mounting process in the manner shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, generates the correspondence table shown in FIG. 6, and the name in the manner shown in FIGS. Make changes and registrations. The reservation operation at home is performed using the screen of FIG. 24, and reservation information as shown in FIG. 25 is generated. After recording according to such reservation information, content information 82 as shown in FIG. 26 is written in the directory tree (see FIG. 20).

  The reservation operation from outside the house is performed using the reservation information registration page of FIG. That is, when the reservation server 24 receives a reservation information registration request from the mobile phone 18 through the Internet 16, the reservation server 24 transmits the page shown in FIG.

  As a result, the page of FIG. 42 is displayed on the LCD monitor of the mobile phone 18. The page of FIG. 42 presents an input field for inputting a word and an input field for inputting reservation information, that is, information such as a recording channel, date / time, and title. When the input is completed, the input message and reservation information are returned from the mobile phone 18 to the reservation server 24.

  The returned word and reservation information are temporarily stored in a hard disk (not shown) of the reservation server 24. When the reservation registration is completed, the reservation server 24 transmits a registration completion notification page shown in FIG. 43 to the mobile phone 18.

  The CPU 40a periodically searches the reservation server 24. If the reservation information is registered, the word attached to the information matches any one of the words described in the correspondence table (see FIG. 21). Determine whether or not. If the determination result is affirmative, the remaining amount of the hard disks 46a to 46c is detected, and based on the detection result and the reservation information, can the recorder corresponding to the word attached to the reservation information perform recording according to the reservation information? Determine whether or not.

  If the corresponding recorder is capable of recording, reservation information (see FIG. 25) with the hard disk of the corresponding recorder as the recording destination is generated. After the generation, the CPU 40a transmits a reservation completion notification mail shown in FIG.

  If the corresponding recorder is not recordable, the CPU 40a selects an alternative recorder, generates reservation information with the alternative recorder's hard disk as the recording destination, and the reservation completion notification mail shown in FIG. 29, as in the previous embodiment. Send. If the message attached to the reservation information does not match any message described in the correspondence table, an error notification mail shown in FIG. 30 is transmitted. If there is no recorder capable of recording, an error notification mail shown in FIG. 31 is transmitted.

  The operation of the CPU 40a is shown in FIGS. 34, 44, and 36 to 40. The remote reservation setting task activated in step S3 of FIG. 34 is executed according to the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 44 includes step S33a instead of step S33 in the flowchart of FIG. In step S33a, the reservation information registered in the reservation server 24 is searched.

  The operation of the reservation server 24 is shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 45, in step S201, it is determined whether there is a registration request. When the registration request is received, a reservation information registration page (see FIG. 42) is transmitted to the request source in step S203. In step S205, the process waits until the input to the reservation information registration page is completed. When the input is completed, the process proceeds to step S207 to register the reservation information according to the input. After registration, a registration completion notification page (see FIG. 43) is transmitted in step S209, and then the process returns to step S201.

  According to this embodiment, the reservation setting for any one of the video recorders 12a to 12c can be performed through the reservation server 24 from the outside.

  Other embodiments will be described below. The configuration of this embodiment is shown in FIG. When making a recording reservation from outside the house, in the above-described two embodiments, the reservation information is registered in the external server (the mail server 22 or the reservation server 24) by operating the mobile phone 18, and the registration information of the external server is stored in the video recorder 12a. However, in this embodiment, the information is not registered in the external server, and the video recorder 12a performs the reservation setting in real time according to the operation of the mobile phone 18. Except for this point, the second embodiment is the same as the above-described two embodiments. Therefore, FIGS. 2 to 26, FIGS. 32 to 34, and FIGS.

  Each of the video recorders 12a to 12c is configured as shown in FIG. The video recorder 12a executes the mounting process as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, generates the correspondence table shown in FIG. 6, and performs name change and word registration as shown in FIGS. . The reservation operation at home is performed using the screen of FIG. 24, and reservation information as shown in FIG. 25 is generated. After recording according to such reservation information, content information 82 as shown in FIG. 26 is written in the directory tree (see FIG. 20).

  Reservation from outside the house is performed using the reservation setting page of FIG. That is, when the network controller 36a receives a reservation setting request from the mobile phone 18, the CPU 40a transmits the page of FIG. 47 to the request source through the same network controller 36a.

  As a result, the page of FIG. 47 is displayed on the LCD monitor of the mobile phone 18. In the page of FIG. 47, an input field for inputting a word and an input field for inputting reservation information are presented. When the input is completed, the input message and reservation information are returned from the mobile phone 18 to the network controller 36a.

  The returned word and reservation information are notified to the CPU 40a through the network controller 36a. The CPU 40a determines whether or not the notified word is coincident with any one of the words described in the correspondence table (see FIG. 21). If the determination result is affirmative, the remaining amounts of the hard disks 46a to 46c are detected, and it is determined whether or not the corresponding recorder can record based on the detection result and the reservation information.

  If the corresponding recorder is capable of recording, reservation information (see FIG. 25) is generated with the hard disk of the corresponding recorder, that is, the hard disk 46b as the recording destination. After the generation, the CPU 40a transmits a reservation completion notification page shown in FIG.

  If the corresponding recorder is not recordable, the CPU 40a transmits an alternative recorder selection page shown in FIG. In the page of FIG. 49, all recordable recorders are presented. When any recorder on the page is selected as an alternative recorder, reservation information with the hard disk of the alternative recorder as a recording destination is generated, and a reservation completion notification page shown in FIG. 50 is transmitted. If the word attached to the reservation information does not match any word in the correspondence table, an error notification page shown in FIG. 51 is transmitted. If there is no recorder capable of recording, an error notification page shown in FIG. 52 is transmitted.

  The operation of the CPU 40a is shown in FIGS. 34, 53, and 36 to 40. The remote reservation setting task activated in step S3 of FIG. 34 is executed according to the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 53 includes the step S31a instead of the step S31, the step S33b instead of the step S33, the steps S47a and S47b instead of the step S47, and the step S55 in the flowchart of FIG. Step S55a is provided, and Step S57a is provided instead of Step S57.

  In step S31a, it is determined whether there is a reservation setting request. When the reservation setting request is received, a reservation setting page (see FIG. 47) is transmitted to the request source in step S33b.

  In step S47a, an alternative recorder selection page (FIG. 49) is transmitted, and in subsequent step S47b, the selection of the alternative recorder is waited for.

  In step S55a, a reservation completion notification page (see FIG. 48 or 50) is transmitted, and in step S57a, an error notification page (see FIG. 51 or 52) is transmitted.

  According to this embodiment, the reservation setting for any one of the video recorders 12a to 12c can be performed from the outside in real time. Further, when the recorder corresponding to the inputted word cannot be recorded, the alternative recorder can be selected from the outside in real time.

  In this embodiment, the video recorder 12a executes the reservation setting process in real time according to the operation of the mobile phone 18, but the external server, for example, the reservation server 24 of FIG. 41 may execute the same process. .

  In each embodiment, the video recorder 12a has a function of accepting a recording reservation from outside, but the video recorder 12b or 12c may have a similar function. Another device having a similar function may be connected to the LAN 14.

  In each embodiment, the mobile phone 18 is used when making a recording reservation from the outside, but various devices having a communication function such as a personal computer and a personal digital assistant (PDA) can be used.

  In each embodiment, the video recorders 12a to 12c are communicably connected by a mount method (see FIGS. 3 to 5), but may be connected by other methods such as a DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) method. Good.

  In the above, the content recording system 10 including the three video recorders 12a, 12b, and 12c has been described. However, the present invention can be applied if there are at least two video recorders. Further, the present invention is not limited to a video recorder, and can be applied to a system using various content recording devices such as an audio-only recorder and a general-purpose personal computer.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to a system in which a plurality of video recorders each having a built-in fixed HDD are connected via a network, but includes, for example, a video recorder having a fixed HDD and a removable HDD, and a rewritable DVD with the fixed HDD. The present invention can also be applied to a video recorder having two or more storage media in one video recorder, such as a video recorder or a video recorder having a fixed HDD and a memory card.

It is a block diagram which shows one Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a video recorder. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of a directory tree. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a directory tree. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a directory tree. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of a correspondence table. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of an OSD screen. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an OSD screen. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an OSD screen. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a directory tree. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a correspondence table. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a directory tree. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a correspondence table. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an OSD screen. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an OSD screen. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an OSD screen. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a directory tree. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a corresponding table. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an OSD screen. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a directory tree. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a correspondence table. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an OSD screen. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an OSD screen. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an OSD screen. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of reservation information. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of content information. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of an email. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an email. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an email. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an email. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an email. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an OSD screen. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of an OSD screen. It is a flowchart which shows a part of operation | movement of CPU. It is a flowchart which shows another part of CPU operation | movement. It is a flowchart which shows the other part of CPU operation | movement. It is a flowchart which shows a part of others of CPU operation | movement. It is a flowchart which shows a part of CPU operation | movement. It is a flowchart which shows another part of CPU operation | movement. It is a flowchart which shows the other part of CPU operation | movement. It is a block diagram which shows the other Example of this invention. FIG. 42 is an illustrative view showing one example of a Web page used in the embodiment in FIG. 41; FIG. 42 is an illustrative view showing another example of a Web page used in the embodiment in FIG. 41; FIG. 42 is a flowchart showing one portion of CPU operations of the embodiment in FIG. 41; It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a reservation server. It is a block diagram which shows the other Example of this invention. FIG. 47 is an illustrative view showing one example of a Web page used in the embodiment in FIG. 46; FIG. 47 is an illustrative view showing another example of a Web page used in the embodiment in FIG. 46; FIG. 47 is an illustrative view showing another example of a Web page used in the embodiment in FIG. 46; FIG. 47 is an illustrative view showing still another example of a Web page used in the embodiment in FIG. 46; FIG. 47 is an illustrative view showing another example of a Web page used in the embodiment in FIG. 46; FIG. 47 is an illustrative view showing another example of a Web page used in the embodiment in FIG. 46; FIG. 47 is a flowchart showing one portion of CPU operations of the embodiment in FIG. 46;

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Content recording system 12a, 12b, 12c ... Video recorder 14 ... LAN
16 ... Internet 18 ... Mobile phone 40a, 40b, 40c ... CPU
44a, 44b, 44c ... Hard disk drive (HDD)
46a, 46b, 46c ... hard disk

Claims (12)

A device control device for controlling a plurality of content recording devices connected to a network,
First holding means for holding a plurality of first identification codes respectively assigned to the plurality of content recording devices;
Receiving means for receiving a recording request including content information and an arbitrary first identification code through the network;
It is determined whether or not the first identification code included in the recording request received by the receiving unit satisfies a predetermined condition with any one of the plurality of first identification codes held by the first holding unit. And a issuing means for issuing a command in accordance with the recording request received by the receiving means to any one of the plurality of content recording devices when the determination result of the determining means is positive. Recording control device. A detecting means for detecting a content recording apparatus capable of executing a command according to the recording request received by the receiving means from the plurality of content recording apparatuses;
The recording control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the issuing unit issues a command to the content recording apparatus detected by the detecting unit. The predetermined condition includes a condition that the first identification code matches,
The issuing means issues the command to the corresponding content recording apparatus when the detection result of the detecting means includes a corresponding content recording apparatus corresponding to the first identification code included in the recording request received by the receiving means. The recording control apparatus according to claim 2. A selection means for selecting any one of the detection results of the detection means as an alternative content recording device when the detection result of the detection means does not include the corresponding content recording device;
4. The recording control device according to claim 3, wherein the issuing unit issues the command to the alternative content recording device when a detection result of the detection unit does not include the corresponding content recording device.   5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies the recording request transmission source through the network which of the plurality of content recording devices is the content recording device for which the command is issued by the issuing unit. A recording control apparatus according to claim 1. A second holding means for holding a plurality of second identification codes respectively assigned to the plurality of content recording devices;
6. The notification unit according to claim 5, wherein the notification unit notifies a second identification code assigned to a content recording apparatus for which an instruction is issued by the issuing unit among a plurality of second identification codes held by the second holding unit. Recording control device. The recording control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content information includes time information indicating a recording start time and a recording end time.   The recording control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the receiving unit includes a mail receiving unit that receives an electronic mail including the recording request. The recording request is registered with the server,
The recording control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the receiving unit includes a search unit that searches for a recording request registered in the server.   The recording control apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising an input page transmitting unit configured to transmit an input page for receiving an input operation for the recording request.   The recording control apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising selection page transmission means for transmitting a selection page for accepting a selection operation of the alternative content recording apparatus. To a processor of a recording control device that controls a plurality of content recording devices connected to a network,
A holding step for holding a plurality of first identification codes respectively assigned to the plurality of content recording devices;
A receiving step of receiving a recording request including content information and an arbitrary first identification code through the network;
Discrimination for discriminating whether or not the first identification code included in the recording request received in the reception step satisfies a predetermined condition with any one of the plurality of first identification codes held in the holding step And a issuing step for issuing an instruction according to the recording request received by the receiving step to any one of the plurality of content recording devices when the determination result of the determining step is affirmative , Recording control program.

Images