JP2008301248A - Recording and playback apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording and playback apparatus which is capable of automatically uploading recorded contents to a server without considerably increasing a recording region of the server. <P>SOLUTION: An upload history storage section 8 stores therein a history of video contents transferred to a relay server 30 in the past, an upload management means 16' determines whether or not content attribute information of video contents newly recorded in a content recording section 5 is associated with content attribute information of video contents being stored in the upload history storage section 8, and automatically transfers the newly recorded video contents to the relay server 30 in a case where it is determined the content attribute information is associated therewith. Furthermore, when it is determined that the attribute information is associated with the content attribute information of the video contents being stored in the upload history storage section 8 and a difference between a recording start time and a playback start time is shorter than a predetermined value, the upload management means 16' automatically transfers to the relay server 30 video contents of which a recording time is shorter than a predetermined value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention transfers and accumulates video content recorded by a recording / playback apparatus to a relay server via a network, forwards the video content accumulated in the relay server to a user terminal via the network, and forwards it to the user terminal The present invention relates to a recording / playback apparatus in a video content viewing system for playing back video content.

  Conventionally, remote operations such as recording reservation of a video recorder at a remote location and acquisition of information of recorded content have been performed using a user terminal such as a mobile phone or a personal computer. The usage pattern configured with devices used for such purposes is referred to herein as a remote recording reservation system. FIG. 13 shows the overall configuration of a conventional remote recording reservation system. The user terminal 106 means a personal computer (personal computer) 104, a mobile phone 105, or a personal digital assistant (PDA) (not shown), and a terminal device that allows the user to operate the video recorder 101 at home from outside. That is. The user terminal 106 performs operations such as recording reservation and information acquisition of recorded content on the video recorder 101 via a network such as the Internet 103.

  The video recorder 101 is a device that records and stores content on a recording medium (such as an optical disk, a hard disk, or a memory) like a DVD recorder or a hard disk recorder. The video recorder 101 is always connected to the Internet 103, and performs setting of recording reservation, transmission of information of recorded content, and the like in response to a request from the user terminal 106.

  The relay server 102 plays a role of relaying communication between the user terminal 106 and the video recorder 101. Usually, a router (not shown) is interposed between the video recorder 101 and the Internet 103, and an IP address (private IP address) that is valid only within Ethernet (registered trademark) is set in the video recorder 101, for example. Therefore, the user terminal 106 on the Internet 103 side cannot directly communicate with a device with the private IP address (video recorder 101). Therefore, the relay server 102 installed on the Internet 103 is required. First, the video recorder 101 performs TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) connection with the relay server 102, and then the user terminal 106 connects to the relay server 102, so that the user terminal 106 can communicate with the video recorder 101 through the relay server 102. become able to.

FIG. 14 shows a communication procedure among the video recorder 101, the relay server 102, and the user terminal 106. A communication procedure will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIGS. 15, 16, and 17 show a user login screen, an operation menu screen, and a recorded content list screen that are displayed on the user terminal 106, respectively.
(1) The video recorder 101 transmits a connection request to the relay server 102.
(2) The relay server 102 confirms whether the video recorder 101 is legitimate (recorder authentication), and transmits a connection permission to the video recorder 101 when the connection is permitted.
(3) The video recorder 101 which has received this enters a reception waiting state and maintains this TCP connection.
(4) The relay server 102 periodically transmits an HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) request in order to maintain the connection.
(5) Next, the user terminal 106 inputs the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the relay server 102 and connects to it.
(6) The relay server 102 sends an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) file of the login screen to the user terminal 106.
(7) The user terminal 106 displays a login screen as shown in FIG. When the user ID and password are input here, the user terminal 106 transmits an HTTP request for requesting login.

(8) The relay server 102 receives this request and checks whether the user is a legitimate user from the user ID and password (user authentication). Next, it is confirmed whether or not the user's video recorder 101 is connected to the relay server 102. If it is connected, the HTML file of the operation menu screen is transmitted.
(9) The user terminal 106 displays an operation menu as shown in FIG. When the recorded content list button is pressed here, the user terminal 106 transmits an HTTP request for requesting a recorded content list (hereinafter referred to as a recorded content list request) to the relay server 102.
(10) The relay server 102 receives the recorded content list request and transmits it to the video recorder 101.
(11) The video recorder 101 receives a recorded content list request, and stores a program title of the recorded content, a recording date and time, a broadcasting station, a recording mode, and an image (hereinafter, a thumbnail) in which one scene of the content is recorded as a still image. Is converted into an HTML file and transmitted to the relay server 102.
(12) The relay server 102 receives the HTML file of the recorded content list and transmits it to the user terminal 106.
(13) When the user terminal 106 receives this, a thumbnail of the recorded content as shown in FIG. 17 is displayed.

  Through such a communication procedure, the user terminal 106 can acquire and check a list of recorded contents. Similarly, in the case of recording reservation setting, data flows in the order of the user terminal 106 → the relay server 102 → the recorder 101 → the relay server 102 → the user terminal 106. As described above, it is known to perform recording reservation of the video recorder 101 and acquisition of information of recorded content from the user terminal 106.

  Next, as a conventional technique, a system according to Patent Document 1 below includes a registration terminal installed in a video content production company, a search / reference terminal installed in a general user's house, the Internet, an application server, The video server is composed of a DB (database) server connected to the application server, and the video content in the MPEG-2 format is transferred from the registered terminal to the application server and then stored in the database server. When the search / reference terminal issues a request for paying out (downloading) the content, the application server reads the video content compressed in MPEG-2 from the database server, and automatically and rapidly converts the MPEG-2 format content to MPEG. By delivering the content while converting it to the -4 format, a content payout service in a different compressed format on the Internet is realized by preparing only one content in the MPEG-2 format. Thus, a method for viewing video content on a search / reference terminal is disclosed.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 2 below, an e-mail including the URL of the video data uploaded to the server (or the scheduled recording has been completed) is sent to the terminal device, and the terminal device selects the URL included in the e-mail. Then, a system is disclosed in which the reproduction of moving image data starts.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-232860 (Abstract, FIG. 1) JP 2006-191483 A (Abstract)

  Here, if the system of Patent Document 1 is applied to the remote recording reservation system as it is, the search / reference terminal of Patent Document 1 can be replaced with the user terminal 106 in the remote recording reservation system as shown in FIG. Similarly, the application server and database server of Patent Document 1 can be replaced with the relay server 102, and the registration terminal installed in the video content production company or the like is the video recorder 101 installed in the user's house or the like.

  However, in the system of Patent Document 1, the content that can be viewed on the user terminal 106 is limited to that stored in the relay server 102. Further, when all the content recorded in large quantities on the video recorder 101 is uploaded to the relay server 102, the recording area of the server 102 increases. Since the server 102 is usually shared by a plurality of users (a plurality of recorders 101 are connected), the management and maintenance cost of the server 102 increases.

  On the other hand, in the system of Patent Document 2, the content that can be viewed on the user terminal is limited to the reserved recording. For example, it is not possible to view on the user terminal what has been automatically recorded by manually learning the user's preference with a video recorder or manually recorded. Further, since the upload completion notification means is email, it is not possible to select the content to be viewed from the user terminal. Furthermore, since all the reserved recording contents are uploaded to the server, the recording area of the server is increased similarly to Patent Document 1, and the management and maintenance cost of the server is more than necessary.

  Therefore, as a method for solving the problems of Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is conceivable to manually control the “upload operation from the video recorder to the relay server” from the user terminal to save the recording area of the relay server. However, in this method, the user needs to manually perform an upload operation from the video recorder to the relay server, and it is very troublesome to perform this every time for each content.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of automatically uploading recorded content to a server without greatly increasing the recording area of the server.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention transfers the video content recorded by the recording / playback apparatus to a relay server via a network and stores it, and the video content stored in the relay server via the network In a recording / playback apparatus used in a video content viewing system that transfers to a user terminal and plays back the video content transferred to the user terminal,
Recording means for recording video content together with content attribute information;
History storage means for storing a history of video content previously transferred to the relay server;
It is determined whether or not the content attribute information of the video content newly recorded in the recording unit is related to the content attribute information of the video content stored in the history storage unit. Transferring the video content to the relay server,
It is characterized by having.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention transfers the video content recorded by the recording / playback apparatus to a relay server via a network and stores it, and stores the video content stored in the relay server on a network. In a recording / playback apparatus used for a video content viewing system that plays back the video content transferred to the user terminal through the user terminal,
Recording means for recording video content together with content attribute information, a recording start time, and an initial reproduction start time;
It is determined whether or not the content attribute information of the video content newly recorded in the recording means is related to the content attribute information of the video content stored in the recording means. Means for transferring the newly recorded video content to the relay server when the difference from the first playback start time is shorter than a predetermined value;
It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, the content automatically transferred to the relay server matches the content attribute information transferred in the past, matches the content attribute information transferred in the past, and there is a difference between the recording start time and the reproduction start time. Since the recording time is short and the recording time is short, the recorded content can be automatically uploaded to the server without greatly increasing the recording area of the server.

As a result, based on the history information of the uploaded content, it is possible to select content that is closely related to a program that has been viewed on the user terminal in the past and automatically upload it to the relay server. Further, it is possible to determine whether the program is a program that the user wants to watch immediately (looks forward) based on the difference between the recording time and the playback time of the recorded content, and can automatically upload the program to the relay server. It is also possible to select a recorded content with a short recording time and automatically upload it to the relay server.
Furthermore, the following effects can be obtained.
* Troublesome upload operations (manual operations) can be reduced.
* User-specific content (user terminal viewing content) can always be prepared in the relay server. At the same time, content is carefully selected, so that the recording area of the relay server can be saved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The video content viewing system of the present invention includes a video recorder 1 shown in detail in FIGS. 1 and 2, a relay server 30 shown in detail in FIG. 3, and a user terminal 51 shown in detail in FIG. The overall configuration is the same as in FIG.

1-1. Internal Configuration of Video Recorder 1 FIG. 1 shows the internal configuration of the video recorder 1 of the present invention. Here, the operation of each block (means) constituting the video recorder 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The digital tuner unit 2 demodulates a broadcast signal received from a terrestrial digital television broadcast or a BS / CS digital television broadcast and outputs an MPEG2-TS (transport stream). This stream is input to the stream switch unit 201 and sent to the stream recording processing unit 3 during recording. The stream recording processing unit 3 records this stream on the content recording unit 5 (recording medium such as an optical disk, a hard disk, or a memory). At this time, MPEG2 data is converted into MPEG4 format and recorded simultaneously. This is because the MPEG4 content is prepared for the mobile phone as the user terminal 51 because MPEG4 is adopted in the standard moving picture format of the mobile phone. As described above, the content recording unit 5 includes MPEG2 content for playback on the recorder 1 main body and MPEG4 content for viewing on the user terminal 51 at the same time.

  When recording is started, the stream recording processing unit 3 captures a still image, compresses the still image such as JPEG or GIF, and generates a reduced image (hereinafter referred to as a thumbnail) used for a content selection screen or the like. Are stored in the thumbnail recording unit 4 (recording medium such as an optical disk, a hard disk, or a memory). The above is the operation at the time of video recorder recording. When playing back on the television monitor 7, the stream playback processing unit 6 reads the MPEG2 stream of the recorded content from the content recording unit 5 and sends it to the stream switch unit 201. This stream is separated into video and audio by the demultiplexer unit 202, and the video is demodulated by the MPEG2 decoding unit 203. The demodulated data is output to the television monitor 7 through a digital interface such as HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) (or after D / A conversion).

  On the other hand, the video recorder 1 is always connected to the Internet 11 through a network transmission / reception unit 21. The network transmission / reception unit 21 includes an Ethernet (registered trademark) controller and a protocol stack such as TCP / IP, and exchanges data with other devices via the Internet 11. First, the HTTP connection processing unit 22 starts operating, generates HTTP data for connecting to the relay server 30, and passes it to the network transmission / reception unit 21. The network transmitting / receiving unit 21 adds a TCP / IP / Ethernet (registered trademark) header to the HTTP data and connects to the relay server 30 via the Internet 11. After the connection with the relay server 30, when the HTTP request from the relay server 30 is received by the network transmission / reception unit 21, the received data is passed to the HTTP request analysis means 19 inside the CPU 13.

  A portion surrounded by a broken line of the CPU 13 indicates a software module group operating on the CPU 13. The HTTP request analysis means 19 is also one of the software modules. The HTTP request analysis unit 19 analyzes the content of the received HTTP request, and in response to the request (thumbnail transmission request, content deletion request, upload request), the thumbnail acquisition unit 14, the content deletion unit 15, the upload management unit 16 ′, and An instruction is given to the HTTP response generation means 18. The thumbnail acquisition unit 14 passes the thumbnail data read from the thumbnail recording unit 4 to the HTTP response generation unit 18. The content deletion unit 15 searches the content recording unit 5 for the content to be deleted and deletes it, and passes the deletion result to the HTTP response generation unit 18.

  The upload management unit 16 ′ manages the content to be uploaded to the relay server 30 and passes the uploaded content data to the HTTP response generation unit 18. As shown in FIG. 2, the upload management unit 16 ′ includes an upload history management unit 25, a priority content determination unit 26, a short content determination unit 27, and an upload data generation unit 28. Details of the upload management unit 16 ', the upload history storage unit 8, and the reproduction time history storage unit 9 will be described in the next section (1-4. Operation of upload related module).

  The HTTP response generation means 18 receives data output from each module, generates response contents (hereinafter referred to as HTTP response data), and passes them to the network transmission / reception unit 21. The network transmission / reception unit 21 transmits this data to the relay server 30 via the Internet 11. Also, an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) data analysis means 17 decrypts the EPG data taken out by the EPG data extraction unit 10 and returns it to the original character data and image data, which are converted into the EPG data storage unit 12 (optical disc). Or a recording medium such as a hard disk or memory. The EPG data stored in the EPG data storage unit 12 is read when being reproduced on the television monitor 7 and sent to the television monitor 7 via the graphic display unit 202. The above is the internal operation of the video recorder 1.

FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the relay server 30, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the user terminal 51.
2. Configuration of Relay Server 30 The relay server 30 includes a video recorder connection unit 31, a user terminal connection unit 37, a network transmission / reception unit 43, and a content recording unit 44. Specifically, the video recorder connection unit 31 includes a recorder authentication unit 32, an HTTP response processing unit 33, an HTTP request processing unit 34, a video recorder connection unit inter-process communication unit 35, and a content registration unit 36. Specifically, the user terminal connection unit 37 includes a user authentication unit 38, a content search / read unit 39, a user terminal connection unit inter-process communication unit 40, an HTTP response processing unit 41, and an HTTP request processing unit 42.

3. Configuration of User Terminal 51 The user terminal 51 includes a user interface processing unit 53 that accepts an operation input 52, a display unit 54, an HTTP response analysis unit 55, an HTTP request generation unit 56, a network transmission / reception unit 57, and a video signal reproduction process. Part 58. Details of the internal configurations of the relay server 30 and the user terminal 51 will be described with reference to FIG.

1-2. Uploading Content Using GUI (Graphical User Interface) Next, an operation method for uploading content from the GUI of the video recorder 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is a screen image output from the video recorder 1 and displayed on the television monitor 7. FIG. 5A shows a list of recorded contents displayed on the television monitor 7. Nine thumbnails 71 are displayed on one screen, and the cursor 72 is moved on the thumbnail 71 on the screen by operating the up / down / left / right buttons (not shown) of the remote controller. In the upper left screen 70, a playback image of the content at the position of the cursor 72 is displayed, and in the text display frame 74, program information (recording date, recording start / end time, broadcast station of the content currently being played back) , Title, etc.). As the cursor 72 is moved downward, the scroll bar 73 moves and the next nine screens are displayed. Reference numeral 75 denotes an upload icon.

  When a determination button (not shown) on the remote controller is pressed at the position of the cursor 72, the screen shifts to a “content reproduction designation and upload screen” as shown in FIG. The text display frame 76 displays program information to be reproduced or uploaded. When the “upload to server” button 77 is pressed here, the content displayed in the text display frame 76 is transmitted to the relay server 30 of FIG. 2 and registered and stored in the relay server 30. The content uploaded to the relay server 30 can be deleted by pressing a “delete from server” button 78. The operation method for uploading content from the GUI of the video recorder 1 has been described above.

1-3. Next, a communication procedure for downloading content from the relay server 30 to the user terminal 51 will be described. FIG. 6 is an operation flow showing the communication procedure of the video recorder 1, the relay server 30, and the user terminal 51. 7 shows a screen image displayed on the mobile phone as the user terminal 51, 80 is a display range of the mobile phone, 81 is a “view” button, 82 is a “cancel” button (contents on the relay server 30 are displayed). (Button for deleting), 83 is an “acquisition” button (button for requesting upload of content), 84 is a “view next” button (button for proceeding to the next recorded content list), and 85 is “recording” A “delete contents” button, 86 is a “return to menu” button (a button to return to the operation menu), 87 is a “viewing preparation” button (this button cannot be pressed), and 88 is a “view” button.

The connection procedure between the video recorder 1 and the user terminal 51 will now be described along the operation flow of FIG. 6 and with reference to FIGS. 7, 1, 3, and 4.
R1: When the video recorder 1 is first activated, the HTTP connection processing means 22 in FIG. 1 encrypts a unique ID possessed by the recorder 1, generates an HTTP request for requesting connection to the relay server 30, and transmits / receives the network transmission / reception unit. 21 sends this request to the Internet 11.
S1: The relay server 30 receives this HTTP request from the Internet 11 by the network transmission / reception unit 43, analyzes the content by the HTTP request processing means 34, and determines whether the recorder 1 is authentic by the recorder authentication means 32 ( Recorder authentication).
S2: When the relay server 30 determines that the recorder 1 is legitimate, the HTTP response processing unit 33 generates a packet permitting connection, and the network transmitting / receiving unit 43 transmits the data to the Internet 11.

R2: The video recorder 1 receives the response from the relay server 30 by the network transmission / reception unit 21, confirms that the HTTP connection processing unit 22 is connected to the relay server 30, and waits in the reception state.
S3: The relay server 30 periodically transmits packets to maintain the connection with the video recorder 1. The HEAD method with a small amount of data is used for the packet to be transmitted.
R3: The video recorder 1 waiting in the reception state receives the HTTP request from the relay server 30 and returns a response.
The connection procedure between the video recorder 1 and the relay server 30 has been described above.

Next, a procedure from when the connection between the user terminal 51 and the relay server 30 is established until the content is reproduced on the user terminal 51 will be described.
U1: The URL of the relay server 30 is input at the user terminal 51.
U2: The HTTP request generation means 56 of the user terminal 51 generates an HTTP request for requesting connection to the relay server 30, and the network transmitting / receiving unit 57 transmits this request to the Internet 11.
S4: The relay server 30 receives this request by the network transmission / reception unit 43, analyzes the content by the HTTP request processing unit 42 of the user terminal connection unit 37, generates an HTML file of the login screen by the HTTP response processing unit 41, The network transmitting / receiving unit 43 transmits this.

U3: At the user terminal 51 that has received this, a login screen as shown in FIG. 15 is displayed.
U4: When the user ID and password are input at the user terminal 51 (operation input 52), the user interface processing unit 53 passes the user ID and password to the HTTP request generating unit 56, and the HTTP request generating unit 56 performs login. Generate and send the requested HTTP request.
S5: The relay server 30 receives this request, analyzes the contents by the HTTP request processing means 42, and checks the user ID and password by the user authentication means 38 to confirm whether the user is a legitimate user (user authentication).
S6: If the user is a legitimate user, the HTTP response processing means 41 generates and transmits an HTML file of the operation menu.

U5: When the user terminal 51 receives the HTML file by the network transmission / reception unit 57, the HTTP response analysis unit 55 analyzes the HTML and passes it to the display unit 57. An operation menu as shown in FIG. 16 is displayed on the screen.
U6: When the recorded content list is selected from the items of the operation menu, the HTTP request generating means 56 generates and transmits an HTTP request for requesting the recorded content list.

S7: When this request is received, the relay server 30 analyzes the content by the HTTP request processing means 19, and the user terminal connection unit inter-process communication unit 40 passes this data to the video recorder connection unit inter-process communication unit 35. The video recorder connection unit inter-process communication unit 35 passes this data to the HTTP request processing unit 34, and this request is transmitted to the video recorder 1 via the network transmission / reception unit 43.
R4: Upon receiving this request, the video recorder 1 analyzes the request content by the HTTP request analysis means 19, and the HTTP response generation means 18 lists the thumbnail images read by the thumbnail acquisition means 14 (generates a recorded content list). Then, it is converted into HTML and transmitted to the relay server 30.

S8: Receiving the HTML of the recorded content list, the relay server 30 analyzes the content by the HTTP response processing unit 33 of the video recorder connection unit 31, and the user terminal connection unit process via the video recorder connection unit inter-process communication unit 35. The data is transferred to the inter-communication means 40, and this data is transmitted from the HTTP response processing means 41 to the user terminal 51.
U7: When this is received by the user terminal 51, the content is analyzed by the HTTP response analyzing means 55, and a recorded content list as shown in FIG. 7A is displayed on the screen.
U8: When the “view” button 81 is pressed here, the HTTP request generation means 56 generates and transmits an HTTP request (hereinafter referred to as a content viewing request) for requesting content viewing (moving image data download).
U9: On the user terminal 51, a message indicating that the download is in progress is displayed on the screen until the download of the moving image data is completed.

S9: Upon receiving this, the relay server 30 analyzes the content by the HTTP request processing means 34, and reads the moving image data of the content from the content recording unit 44 by the content search / reading means 39.
S <b> 10: The relay server 30 transmits the read image data to the user terminal 51 using the HTTP response processing unit 41.
U10: The HTTP response analyzing means 55 of the user terminal 51 switches to a viewer screen (not shown) installed in the user terminal when the download of the content is completed, and starts reproducing the content.
U11: Pressing the stop button on the viewer screen stops playback.

1-4. Operation of Upload Related Module Here, the “function for automating the upload operation from the video recorder to the relay server based on the upload history and content information executed by the video recorder”, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described. The upload operation is automated by the following modules shown in FIG.
(1) Upload history storage unit 8
(2) Playback time history storage unit 9
(3) Upload management means 16 '

The role of each module is shown below.
(1) Upload history storage unit 8
The upload history storage unit 8 receives attribute information (hereinafter, referred to as “content information”) of the content that has been uploaded by the upload management unit 16 ′ that has received the operation input 22 from the GUI or the instruction from the user terminal 51 (HTTP request received from the Internet 11). Upload content information). Uploaded content information includes a unique ID (hereinafter referred to as content ID) added to each content, a program title, a recording start time / end time, a broadcasting station, EPG information (performers, program content, program genre, etc.), Consists of weekly recording flags. The upload content information is stored in the upload history storage unit 8 in the form of a list shown below (hereinafter referred to as an upload content list).
・ Number of uploaded contents (NumOfContent)
・ Upload content information
・ Upload content information
・ Upload content information
(After this, upload content information will continue for the number of NumOfContents)
That is, in the upload content list, the number of contents stored in the list (NumOfContent) is followed by the number of upload content information corresponding to the number of NumOfContents.

(2) Playback time history storage unit 9
When the recorded content is reproduced, the reproduction time history storage unit 9 reads out the content information recorded by the content recording unit 5 and records the time until it is reproduced on the television monitor 7 or the like, that is, A difference between the recorded time and the reproduced time (hereinafter referred to as a recording / reproduction time difference) is obtained and stored in the form of a list shown below (hereinafter referred to as a recording / reproduction time difference list). The recording / playback time difference is calculated when the recorded content is played back for the first time, and is not calculated during the second and subsequent playbacks.
・ Number of contents played (NumOfContent)
・ Recording and playback time difference information
・ Recording and playback time difference information
・ Recording and playback time difference information
... Thereafter, time difference information continues for the number of NumOfContents.
That is, in the recording / playback time difference list, the number of reproduced contents (NumOfContent) and the recording / playback time difference information for each content follow the number of NumOfContents. The recording / playback time difference information is composed of the recording / playback time difference and content attribute information (content ID, program title, recording start time / end time, broadcasting station, EPG information (information about performers, program contents, program genre, etc.). Is done.

(3) Upload management means 16 '
As shown in FIG. 2, the internal configuration of the upload management means 16 ′ is the following four software modules:
a) Upload history management means 25
b) Priority content determination means 26
c) Short content discriminating means 27
d) Upload data generation means 28
It consists of The role of each module will be described below.

a) Upload history management means 25
Based on the uploaded content information read from the upload history storage unit 8, the upload history management unit 25 selects content that is closely related to content details (attribute information), such as a title having the same name as the program title, as the content recording unit 5 (all recordings). The information of the found content is searched from the content) and notified to the upload data generating means 28. (→ In the subsequent process, the selected content is uploaded to the relay server 30.) This is, for example, a program in which content uploaded in the past is broadcast every week (program set to “weekly reservation”) The user only uploads this content for the first time, and the upload history management means 25 automatically performs the rest. In addition, programs that match the genre information and performers of content uploaded in the past are also subject to automatic upload, so that the user can select a favorite program as automatic upload content.

b) Priority content determination means 26
The priority content discriminating unit 26 reads the recording / playback time difference list from the playback time history storage unit 9 and preferentially finds content having a small value of the recording / playback time difference from the list, and notifies the upload data generation unit 28 of the content. (In the subsequent process, the selected content is uploaded to the relay server 30.) This uses a user action request that the user wants to watch the favorite program as soon as it is recorded. The priority content determination unit 26 determines the content to be uploaded by learning such user behavior. The uploaded content is newly registered in the upload history storage unit 8.

c) Short content discriminating means 27
In the short content discriminating means 27, the content information is read from the content recording unit 5, the recording time is calculated from the recording start time / end time, and a threshold value that is the upper limit of the recording time is set in advance. The upload data generation means 28 is notified. (→ In the subsequent steps, the selected content is uploaded to the relay server 30.) For mobile phones and the like, short content that can be viewed in a little free time or travel time such as a place to go is suitable. In addition, it is a result of assuming that short information programs such as news and weather forecasts are often viewed.

d) Upload data generation means 28
The upload data generation means 28 reads from the content recording unit 5 an MPEG4 file of content corresponding to the content information received from each module (25 to 27) (content information selected for upload). Further, the thumbnail data of the same content is read from the thumbnail recording unit 4, and data of the HTTP body part is generated. This data is sent to the HTTP response generation means 18. (After that, the network transmission / reception unit uploads it to the relay server 30.) In this way, the upload management means 16 ′ is periodically activated by the functions of the above four modules 25 to 28, and the relay server 30. Upload to.

1-5. Upload Communication Procedure Here, an operation of automatically uploading content from the video recorder 1 will be described using a flowchart.
<Upload management means>
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the upload management means 16 ′. The operation procedure will be described with reference to FIG. The upload management means 16 'is usually asleep (step 12-1), but is awakened by an instruction from the HTTP request analysis means 19, has an internal counter, and is regularly (for example, every hour or every day). The software modules are executed in the order of upload history management processing (step 12-2), priority content determination (step 12-3), and short content determination (step 12-4). After that, it sleeps until there is an instruction from the next HTTP request analyzing means 19. The upload management means 16 ′ is a module that repeatedly performs such operations.

<Upload history management means>
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the upload history management unit 25. This will be described below with reference to a flowchart.
Step 13-1: First, the upload content information list is read from the upload history storage unit 8. The upload content information list stores the number of stored upload content information (NumOfContent) and the number of upload content information. The uploaded content information is referred to one by one from the list. First, a memory for counting the uploaded content information read from the list is secured. This memory area is called a content read counter (hereinafter referred to as RC), and 0 is set in RC.

Step 13-2: If the RC value is smaller than the number of contents stored in the upload content information list (NumOfContent), the process proceeds to the next step 13-3. If so, exit this module.
Step 13-3: One piece of upload content information is extracted from the upload content information list, and RC is incremented by one.
Step 13-4: Refer to the program title (title A) of the extracted upload content information, and search all recorded contents (content recording unit 5) for the same title name or a title name including title A To do.
Step 13-5: If the target content is found, proceed to upload data generation step 13-10. If no content is found, the process proceeds to step 13-6 for the next search.

Step 13-6: Next, look at the weekly recording flag of upload content information (a flag that is set to 1 when a weekly program is recorded with a weekly reservation). The same content (recording start time / end time, broadcast station, content having the same information as the program title) is searched from all the recorded content.
Step 13-7: If the target content is found, the process proceeds to upload data generation step 13-10. If no content is found, the process proceeds to step 13-8 for the next search.

Step 13-8: Further, referring to the EPG data of the uploaded content information, the content having the same EPG information as the genre information and performer information of this content is searched from all the recorded content.
Step 13-9: If the target content is found, proceed to upload data generation step 13-10. If no content is found, the process returns to step 13-2 to read the next uploaded content information from the list.
Thus, the upload content information is repeatedly read from the list, the target content is searched, and the upload is performed.

  Next, before describing the upload data generation unit 28, operations of the HTTP request analysis unit 19 and the HTTP response generation unit 18 that are closely related to the upload data generation unit 28 will be described. Usually, an HTTP request (HEAD method) is periodically transmitted from the relay server 30 to the video recorder 1 of FIG. The video recorder 1 receives this request at the network transmission / reception unit 21 via the Internet 11. The network transmission / reception unit 21 removes headers such as Ethernet (registered trademark), TCP, and IP, and sends HTTP data to the HTTP request analysis means 19. The HTTP request analysis unit 19 analyzes the request content and performs processing according to the request content. When the above HEAD method is received, the HTTP request analysis unit 19 notifies the upload management unit 16 '.

  The upload data generation unit 28 in the upload management unit 16 ′ passes the generated HTTP response data to the HTTP response generation unit 18. The HTTP response generation unit 18 sends this data to the network transmission / reception unit 21, and the network transmission / reception unit 21 transmits this data to the relay server 30 via the Internet 11.

<Upload data generation means>
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the upload data generation unit 28. Hereinafter, the operation of the upload data generation means will be described.
Step 14-1: Based on the content information obtained from the upload history management means 25, the priority content determination means 26, and the short content determination means 27 in the preceding stage, the content recording unit 5 reads the target content data (encoded in MPEG4). File).
Step 14-2: Subsequently, the thumbnail data of the read content is read from the thumbnail recording unit 4.
Step 14-3: These are collectively delivered to the HTTP response generation means 18 as the body of the HTTP response.

<Priority content discrimination means>
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the priority content determination unit 26. This will be described below with reference to a flowchart.
Step 15-1: First, the recording / playback time difference list is read from the playback time history storage unit 9. A memory for counting recording / playback time information read from the list is secured. This memory area is also called a content read counter (hereinafter referred to as RC). Set RC to 0.
Step 15-2: If the RC value is smaller than the number of contents stored in the recording / playback time difference list (NumOfContent), the process proceeds to Step 15-3. If larger, the process proceeds to step 15-5.

Step 15-3: One piece of recording / playback time information is extracted from the recording / playback time difference list. The RC value is incremented by 1.
Step 15-4: If the recording / playback time difference included in the recording / playback time difference information is within 24 hours, for example, the recording / playback time difference information is copied to the memory. 24 hours means that the recorded content has been played back within 24 hours, and is defined here as “within 24 hours = program that the user wants to watch”. Other times may be set for this time. Then, it returns to step 15-2 and repeats this operation.

Step 15-5: If a content whose recording / playback time difference is within 24 hours is found, the process proceeds to Step 15-6. If no content is found, exit this module.
Step 15-6: The content with the shortest recording time is selected from the extracted content. This is because it is defined as “content to be viewed on the user terminal = content with short recording time”.
Step 15-7: Next, the content having the same title as this content is searched from all the recorded content (content recording unit 5). If no title is the same, the contents searched every week (programs with the same day of the week, recording start time / end time, and broadcasting station) are searched. If there is a match in EPG information (genre or performer), the content is extracted.
Step 15-8: If the target content is found, proceed to upload data generation step 15-9 to execute upload. If the content is longer than one hour, this module is terminated without executing the upload.

<Short content discriminating means>
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the short content determination unit 27. This will be described with reference to the following flowchart.
Step 16-1: It is confirmed whether all the contents in the content recording unit 5 have been read. If not all have been read, the process proceeds to the next. If all reading has been completed, this module is terminated.
Step 16-2: Content information is read from the content recording unit 5.
Step 16-3: The recording time is calculated from the recording start time and end time.
Step 16-4: When the recording time threshold value is set to 30 minutes, for example, the recording time is compared with the threshold value. Proceed to generation step 16-5. This is because it is defined as “content to be viewed on the user terminal = content with short recording time”. On the other hand, if it is larger than the threshold value, the process returns to step 16-1, and the next content information is extracted.
When the processing in upload data generation step 16-5 is completed, the process returns to step 16-1 again, the next content information is extracted, and the above processing is repeated.

1-6. Summary Finally, the embodiment is summarized as follows. The video recorder 1 automatically uploads when the following content is recorded.
(1) Content closely related to content that has been uploaded before This content is related to content that has been viewed on mobile phones in the past, such as genre information added to each program and performers This corresponds to programs that match or drama broadcast every week. (This process is performed by the upload history storage unit 8 and the upload history management means 25)
(2) Content that is closely related to the content recorded in the past and that has a short time between recording and playback of the content. From the judgment that it is a program that has been made, it is subject to automatic upload. It also includes content that is played back while recording. This process is performed by the reproduction time history storage unit 9 and the priority content determination unit 26.
(3) Content with short recording time Short content is often viewed at short times such as travel time. In addition, since the recording area of the relay server 30 is not increased unnecessarily for a short program, it is a target for automatic uploading. For example, the upper limit of the recording time is set in advance, and if it is a program within 5 minutes, it is an upload target. This process is performed by the short content determination unit 27.

By installing such a function, the following effects can be obtained.
-Since the video recorder 1 automatically searches for and uploads content that is closely related to the uploaded content based on the history information of the content uploaded in the past, the user does not have to manually perform the upload operation each time. .
Since the relay server 30 can always prepare a short program suitable for the program that the user is watching every week or the free time when going out, the user can view the content immediately.
Since only limited content is placed on the relay server 30, the recording area of the relay server 30 can be saved. The management cost of the server 30 can be reduced.

  It should be noted that the present invention can provide the same effect not only when the video data captured by the video camera or the digital still camera is transmitted to another device via the Internet but also by the video recorder 1.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the video recorder in the video content viewing-and-listening system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the upload management means of FIG. 1 in detail. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the relay server in the video content viewing-and-listening system of this invention. It is a block diagram of the configuration of a user terminal in the video content viewing system of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the reproduction | regeneration navigation screen and upload designation | designated screen of the video recorder of FIG. It is the flowchart which showed the video recorder and relay server in the video content viewing system of this invention, the connection establishment procedure between user terminals, and the content viewing procedure. It is explanatory drawing which shows the recorded content list screen displayed on the user terminal of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the upload management means of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the upload log | history management means of FIG. 2 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the upload data production | generation means of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the priority content discrimination | determination means of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the short content discrimination | determination means of FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a remote recording reservation system according to the present invention. It is the flowchart which showed the communication procedure between the video recorder of FIG. 13, a relay server, and a user terminal. It is explanatory drawing which shows the user login screen displayed on a user terminal. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operation menu screen displayed on a user terminal. It is explanatory drawing which shows the recorded content list screen displayed on a user terminal. FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a system combining FIG. 13 with another conventional system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Video recorder 2 Digital tuner part 3 Stream recording process part 4 Thumbnail recording part 5 Content recording part 6 Stream reproduction | regeneration processing part 7 Television monitor 8 Upload history preservation | save part 9 Playback time history preservation | save part 10 EPG data extraction part 11 Internet 12 EPG data preservation | save Part 13 CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Thumbnail acquisition means 15 Content deletion means 16 Upload management means 17 EPG data analysis means 18 HTTP response generation means 19 HTTP request analysis means 20 User interface processing means 21 Network transmission / reception part 22 HTTP connection processing means 23 Operation input 25 Upload history management means 26 Priority content determination unit 27 Short content determination unit 28 Upload data generation unit 30 Relay server 31 Video recorder connection unit 32 Recorder authentication unit 33 HTTP response generation unit 34 HTTP request analysis unit 35 Video recorder connection unit inter-process communication unit 36 Content registration unit 37 User terminal connection section 38 User authentication means 39 Content search / readout means 40 User terminal connection section Inter-process communication means 41 HTTP response generation means,
42 HTTP Request Analysis Unit 43 Network Transmission / Reception Unit 51 User Terminal 52 Operation Input 53 User Interface Processing Unit 54 Display Unit 55 HTTP Response Analysis Unit 56 HTTP Request Generation Unit 57 Network Transmission / Reception Unit 70 Content Playback Confirmation Screen 71 Thumbnail Image 72 Cursor 73 Scroll Bar 74 Reproduction Program Information Display Frame 75 Upload Icon 76 Reproduction Program Information Display Frame 77 Upload Instruction Button 78 Button for Deleting Content on Server 80 Display Range of Mobile Phone 81 “View” Button 82 “Cancel” Button ( (The button for deleting the contents on the relay server)
83 “Request” button (button to request content upload)
84 “View next” button (button to go to the next recorded content list)
85 “Delete recorded content” button 86 “Return to menu” button (Return to operation menu button)
87 “Preparing to watch” button (This button cannot be pressed)
88 “View” button

Claims (2)

The video content recorded by the recording / playback device is transferred to and stored in a relay server via a network, and the video content stored in the relay server is transferred to a user terminal via the network and transferred to the user terminal. In a recording / reproducing apparatus used in a video content viewing system for reproducing the video content that has been recorded,
Recording means for recording video content together with content attribute information;
History storage means for storing a history of video content previously transferred to the relay server;
It is determined whether or not the content attribute information of the video content newly recorded in the recording unit is related to the content attribute information of the video content stored in the history storage unit. Transferring the video content to the relay server,
A recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: The video content recorded by the recording / playback device is transferred to and stored in a relay server via a network, and the video content stored in the relay server is transferred to a user terminal via the network and transferred to the user terminal. In a recording / reproducing apparatus used in a video content viewing system for reproducing the video content that has been recorded,
Recording means for recording video content together with content attribute information, a recording start time, and an initial reproduction start time;
It is determined whether or not the content attribute information of the video content newly recorded in the recording means is related to the content attribute information of the video content stored in the recording means. Means for transferring the newly recorded video content to the relay server when the difference from the first playback start time is shorter than a predetermined value;
A recording / reproducing apparatus comprising:

Images