JP2010157978A - Reproduction apparatus and method of controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately control content acquisition from a medium. <P>SOLUTION: When a content list is required to be displayed, a connected medium is detected and information on content stored on the medium is obtained. When the content to be reproduced is specified by a user operation according to the displayed list, it is determined whether the specified content exists on a plurality of mediums. When the specified content exists on the plurality of mediums, a schedule set for each medium is obtained, and the presence of temporal duplication between the reproduction time of the specified content and the schedule is checked, according to a preset priority for each medium. As a result of the check, if there is no medium with duplication, it is determined as being a specified content acquiring medium. If all the mediums have duplications, the medium having the least duplication time is determined as being the specified content acquisition medium. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a playback device and a playback device control method, and more particularly to a playback device and a playback device control method for selecting and acquiring content from a plurality of media.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of imaging devices such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras, the digitization of video content such as still images and videos, and the increase in storage capacity, the number of video content that can be handled by users has increased. ing.

  In addition, with the improvement in performance of personal computers, application software for handling digitized video content on personal computers has become widespread. In such application software, various ideas are incorporated so that the user can easily handle such a large amount of video content. For example, there is application software that has a function of automatically classifying a large amount of video content into folders for each purpose or displaying each folder for each shooting date.

  In many cases, a digital television receiver (hereinafter referred to as digital television) or a digital video recorder as independent hardware incorporates a device that can easily handle a large amount of video content. For example, there is a device that has a function that allows you to easily display and store video content that exists on the media simply by installing a memory card with non-volatile semiconductor memory or connecting a USB device. To do.

  On the other hand, with the increase in video content, users are increasingly holding content in multiple media. For example, a still image taken with a digital camera is first recorded on a memory card in the digital camera. Thereafter, the user backs up the storage contents of the memory card to another medium or takes out the data recorded on the memory card to another medium in order to take out favorite contents from the still image recorded on the memory card. Move or duplicate to.

  Examples of other media include a personal computer hard disk, an external hard disk such as NAS, and a digital video recorder. NAS is an abbreviation for Network Attached Storage. In recent years, a large-capacity memory card is often built in or attachable to a mobile phone terminal, and the memory card built into the mobile phone terminal can be used as the other medium described above. is there. In addition, for the purpose of publishing specific content, still images recorded on a memory card in a digital camera are frequently uploaded to a video sharing server on the Internet.

  In the environment as described above, the same video content may exist in a plurality of media. FIG. 10 shows an example of a plurality of media that can be accessed by a digital television, for example, and video content existing in each media.

  In the example of FIG. 10, a memory card attached to the digital television and a hard disk (HDD) built in the digital television are shown as examples of media that can be accessed by the digital television. Furthermore, examples of media that can be accessed by a digital TV include a DMS that supplies video content to the digital TV via a network such as a LAN, and a video sharing service that allows viewing of the video content via the Internet. Note that LAN is an abbreviation for Local Area Network, and DMS is an abbreviation for Digital Media Server.

  Further, in the example of FIG. MTS and B.I. JPG, contents on the internal hard disk MTS, B.M. JPG, C.I. JPG and D.M. Contents C. MTS, DMS JPG, D.M. MTS and R.M. Each JPG is recorded. On the other hand, in the video sharing service, contents A. MTS can be viewed. According to the example of FIG. MTS exists in a plurality of media such as a memory card, a built-in hard disk, and a video sharing service.

  As a list display of contents when these same contents exist in a plurality of media, several display methods can be considered as illustrated in FIG.

  FIG. 11A shows an example of a method of displaying a list of only thumbnail images of existing contents for each medium. FIG. 11B shows an example of a method for displaying a list of thumbnail images of all contents together with information indicating respective storage destination media. FIG. 11C shows an example of a method of displaying a list so that thumbnail images of content do not overlap without being aware of the storage medium. In any of the display methods of FIGS. 11A to 11C, when the user selects a thumbnail image of video content that the user wants to view, reproduction of the selected video content is started.

  By the way, when video content is acquired from a medium, it is conceivable that the acquisition time of the video content varies depending on the communication speed with the acquisition destination medium and the access status to the medium.

  Conventionally, when acquiring data such as video content that is duplicated in multiple media from a specific media, in order to obtain the data more efficiently, the optimal media is selected according to the access status of each media. It was common to select as an acquisition source. As a result, the user can efficiently acquire data without being aware of the content acquisition destination medium.

  In Patent Document 1, a plurality of download request destinations in which the same file exists are selected in consideration of the load, and the files existing in the selected download request destination are each divided. A technique is described in which a file portion is downloaded from each download request destination so that the divided portions constitute one file.

JP 2003-157197 A

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, the access state of the media at the time of acquiring the video content is considered, but the change in the access state of the media that occurs during the content acquisition is not considered.

  In particular, reproduction of moving image data is performed by decoding and outputting while sequentially acquiring data portions. For this reason, depending on the recording time length of the moving image data, there is a possibility that the access state of the medium may change due to an external factor in the middle, and it may not be sufficient to consider the state at the time of content acquisition. In particular, there is a concern that during the reproduction of moving image data, a load on the medium from which the moving image data is acquired is generated, so that the reproduction process of the moving image is delayed and the convenience of the user is impaired. Such a problem may occur not only with moving image data but also with audio data.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a playback apparatus and a playback apparatus control method capable of appropriately controlling acquisition of content from a medium.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a playback device for streaming playback of content including at least one of video data and audio data, and a plurality of connection means for connecting to a plurality of output devices for storing the content And managing means for managing the scheduled access time set for each of the plurality of output devices, and when reproducing the content commonly stored in the plurality of output devices from any of the plurality of output devices For each of the plurality of output devices, the determination means for determining whether there is a temporal overlap between the scheduled access time managed by the management means and the playback time for reproducing the content, and the determination result of the determination means A determination means for determining an output device having the least temporal overlap among a plurality of output devices as an output device for acquiring content; A reproducing apparatus characterized by having a reproduction means for playing a streaming in content output from the determined output device.

  The present invention also provides a control method for a playback device for streaming playback of content including at least one of video data and audio data, each of a plurality of output devices for storing content connected to a plurality of connection means A management step for managing the scheduled access time set for each of the plurality of output devices when reproducing the content commonly stored in the plurality of output devices from any of the plurality of output devices. A determination step for determining whether or not there is a temporal overlap between a scheduled access time managed by the management step and a reproduction time for reproducing the content, and a plurality of output devices based on the determination result of the determination step A determination step for determining an output device with the least amount of time overlap as an output device for acquiring content; A control method characterized by comprising a reproduction step of streaming playback of content that is outputted from the constant output device.

  The present invention also provides a playback device for streaming playback of content including at least one of video data and audio data, and a plurality of connection means for connecting to a plurality of output devices for storing the content, and each of the output devices A management unit that associates and manages the scheduled access time set for the scheduled access time and the type of processing to be performed at the scheduled access time; and for each of the plurality of output devices, When a table in which a priority of 1 is set and content stored in common in a plurality of output devices are reproduced from any of the plurality of output devices, each of the plurality of output devices is managed by a management unit. Determining means for determining whether there is a temporal overlap between the scheduled access time to be played and the playback time for playing back the content; A determination unit that determines an output device that acquires content from a plurality of output devices based on a determination result of the unit, and a playback unit that performs streaming playback of the content output from the output device determined by the determination unit; The means determines the output device as the output device for acquiring the designated content when there is an output device determined by the determining means that there is no temporal overlap between the scheduled access time and the playback time, When it is determined that there is a temporal overlap in all of the output devices, the first priority and the second priority set in advance for each of the plurality of output devices are used to specify The playback device is characterized in that an output device that acquires the content that has been recorded is determined.

  The present invention also provides a control method for a playback device for streaming playback of content including at least one of video data and audio data, each of a plurality of output devices connected to a plurality of connection means for storing content. A management step that associates and manages the scheduled access time set for the scheduled access time and the type of processing to be performed at the scheduled access time, and the content that is commonly stored in the multiple output devices A determination step for determining whether or not there is a temporal overlap between the scheduled access time managed by the management step and the reproduction time for reproducing the content for each of the plurality of output devices when playing from A determination step for determining an output device that acquires content from a plurality of output devices based on the determination result of the determination step; A playback step for streaming playback of the specified content from the output device determined in the fixed step, and the determination step is determined by the determination step that there is no time overlap between the scheduled access time and the playback time. If there is an output device, the output device is determined as the output device that acquires the designated content, and if it is determined that all of the plurality of output devices have temporal overlap, Acquire specified content using the first priority set for each type of processing performed at the scheduled access time and the second priority set in advance for each output device. And determining an output device to be controlled.

  According to the present invention, acquisition of content from media can be appropriately controlled.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a digital television receiver 100 as a playback device that plays back content including at least one of video data and audio data to which the present invention can be applied. Hereinafter, the digital television receiver 100 is abbreviated as the digital television receiver 100.

  In the digital television receiver 100, the internal hard disk 119, the media management unit 120, the screen configuration unit 105, and the still image decoder 110 are connected to the bus 130. Further, a network I / F 118, an external memory I / F 118, a content acquisition / management unit 116, a scheduler 115, a light receiving unit 113, a control unit 112, and a memory 111 are connected to the bus 130. Each unit connected to the bus 130 can exchange data with each other via the bus 130.

  The memory 111 includes, for example, a ROM and a RAM, and stores operation information by a user operation on the digital television receiver 100 and various GUI data for configuring a GUI according to the operating state of the system. The memory 111 stores a program for controlling the operation of the digital television receiver 100 in advance. The GUI data is, for example, image data or text data.

  The control unit 112 has a CPU, for example, and operates using the RAM unit of the memory 111 as a work memory in accordance with a program stored in advance in the ROM unit of the memory 111 to control the entire digital television receiving apparatus 100.

  The remote control commander 114 (hereinafter abbreviated as “remote controller 114”) is provided with various operators for receiving user operations, for example, and modulates and transmits predetermined commands generated according to operations on the operators to infrared signals. To do. The light receiving unit 113 receives and demodulates the infrared signal transmitted from the remote controller 114, extracts a command, and supplies the command to the control unit 112. The control unit 112 controls each unit of the digital television receiving device 100 according to a program in accordance with the supplied command. As a result, the digital television receiver 100 can operate in accordance with an operation on the remote controller 114.

  A digital television broadcast signal input from an antenna or cable is input to the tuner unit 101. The tuner unit 101 performs processing such as demodulation and error correction on the input digital television broadcast signal, and generates digital data in a format called a transport stream (hereinafter, TS). TS is a stream in which video data and audio data for a plurality of channels and section format data are time-division multiplexed in units of TS packets. The type of data stored in the payload of the TS packet is identified by the PID in the header of the TS packet.

  The separation unit 102 separates various data from the TS input from the tuner unit 101 based on the PID. Of the data separated from the TS, video data and audio data are supplied to the video decoder 103 and the audio decoder 104, respectively.

  On the other hand, of the data separated from the TS, section format data is supplied to a stream data processing unit (not shown). The section format data includes PSI / SI signals related to digital broadcasting services, data broadcasting data, and the like. The SI signal is program arrangement information, and includes digital television broadcast programs and service information. An electronic program guide (EPG) is displayed based on information included in the SI signal. PSI is an abbreviation for Program Specific Information, and SI is an abbreviation for Service Information. The stream data processing unit extracts and interprets the PSI / SI signal from the section format data, and passes the obtained information to the control unit 112.

  The video decoder 103 decodes the video data supplied from the separation unit 102 and supplies the decoded video data to the screen configuration unit 105 described later. The video decoder 103 can also decode video data supplied from an internal hard disk 119, an external memory I / F 117, and a network I / F 118, which will be described later, via the bus 130 or the like. The video decoder 103, a video output unit 107 and a control unit 112, which will be described later, operate in cooperation to constitute a playback unit.

  The audio decoder 104 decodes the audio data supplied from the separation unit 102 and supplies the decoded audio data to the audio output unit 106. The audio decoder 104 can also decode audio data supplied from an internal hard disk 119, an external memory I / F 117, and a network I / F 118, which will be described later, via the bus 130. The audio output unit 106 converts the supplied audio data into an analog audio signal, performs predetermined processing such as amplification processing, and outputs the analog audio signal to the speaker 109.

  The still image decoder 110 decodes encoded still image data acquired from a memory card or USB device connected to the external memory I / F 117 and the built-in hard disk 119.

  The screen configuration unit 105 combines the video data decoded by the video decoder 103, the still image data decoded by the still image decoder 110, the GUI data stored in the memory 111, and the like to configure the screen. The GUI data is read from the memory 111 by the control unit 112 in accordance with, for example, a user operation on the remote controller 114 or the operating state of the system, and is supplied to the screen configuration unit 105. The screen configuration unit 105 generates display data for displaying the GUI on the display unit 108 based on the GUI data, and synthesizes the generated display data with video data supplied from, for example, the video decoder 103 to generate a video output unit. It supplies to 107.

  An external memory I / F 117 as a connection means performs data input / output processing with an external memory connected to the digital television receiver 100. Here, the external memory is a memory card using a non-volatile semiconductor memory, or a USB device in which a recording or storage medium can be built or mounted. Examples of the recording or storage medium that can be built in or attachable to the USB device include an optical disk, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, a hard disk, and a magnetic tape. The USB device can be handled as one recording or storage medium when viewed through the USB I / F.

  A network I / F 118 as a connection unit controls communication via a communication network such as a LAN or the Internet. The digital television receiver 100 communicates with a NAS, DMS, and video sharing server (not shown) existing outside the digital television receiver 100 via a network I / F 118 via a communication network such as a LAN or the Internet. Can do. With DMS, for example, information regarding video content that can be output can be acquired by performing communication using a protocol defined in DLNA. In addition, for NAS and video sharing servers, for example, information regarding video content that can be output can be acquired by performing communication using TCP / IP. In the following, NAS and DMS are collectively described as DMS.

  DLNA is an abbreviation for Digital Living Network Alliance. TCP / IP is an abbreviation for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol.

  The built-in hard disk 119 records and stores the above-described TS data, video content acquired from the memory card or USB device via the external memory I / F 117, that is, moving image content. The video content stored in the built-in hard disk 119 is read from the built-in hard disk 119 in accordance with a playback instruction from the control unit 112 and supplied to the above-described separation unit 102 and still image decoder 110.

  The scheduler 115 as management means manages and controls various operation schedules of the digital television receiver 100. Specifically, the scheduler 115 performs schedule management such as a recording reservation specified by the user and a firmware update process for acquiring data via a digital television broadcast signal. The scheduler 115 stores the set schedule in a schedule management table, which will be described later, and performs schedule management.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a schedule management table held by the scheduler 115. In the example of FIG. 2, the schedule management table includes items of schedule ID, contents, related information, target media, start time, end time, and used capacity.

  The schedule ID is a unique identifier assigned by the scheduler 115 to manage the schedule. The contents indicate the contents of the schedule, and the scheduled access time for the medium is described. In a more specific example, viewing reservation, recording reservation, firmware update reservation and defragmentation for media are described as contents. Defragmentation is a process aimed at improving the use efficiency of the internal hard disk 119. The related information is information necessary for implementing each schedule content, and various SI information (NID, SID and EID) for specifying broadcast contents, and an encoding type (compression rate) applied at the time of recording and recording. ) Etc. NID is an abbreviation for Network_ID, SID is an abbreviation for Service_ID, and EID is an abbreviation for Event_ID. The target medium is a medium scheduled to operate when the schedule is executed. The start time is the scheduled time at which the schedule is started, and the end time is the scheduled time at which the schedule ends. The used capacity is the amount of data used in the target medium when the contents of the schedule are executed.

  Note that the medium is not limited to a simple storage or recording medium, and includes, for example, an output device or system capable of storing video content and outputting predetermined video content from the stored video content in response to a request.

  The media management unit 120 manages media that can connect to the external memory I / F 117 and the network I / F 118 and can acquire video content. For example, the media management unit 120 monitors the connection state of the external memory I / F 117 described above, and when the connection of the external memory is detected, the detected information of the external memory (for example, the type and identification information of the external memory) is detected. get. In addition, the media management unit 120 can acquire information on media connected via the network I / F 118. For example, the media management unit 120 monitors the connection status of media registered in advance or indicated by address information input by a user operation via the network I / F 118, and acquires information on the connected media. To do.

  The content acquisition / management unit 116 serving as a search unit, a determination unit, and a determination unit acquires content information from various media managed by the media management unit 120 and creates a content list based on the acquired content information. For example, the content acquisition / management unit 116 searches for video content stored in the external memory based on information in the external memory managed by the media management unit 120. Further, the content acquisition / management unit 116 accesses the media based on the information of the media connected via the network I / F 118 managed by the media management unit 120, and searches for viewable video content. Further, the content acquisition / management unit 116 searches for video content stored in the internal hard disk 119.

  The content acquisition / management unit 116 stores the acquired video content information in association with the media information as a content information table. Although details will be described later, the content information includes a recording format of content data, a creation date and time (shooting date and time), a recording time length, and the like. Based on this content information table, the content acquisition / management unit 116 manages duplication of video content and sort processing.

  In addition, when the same video content is duplicated in a plurality of media, the content acquisition / management unit 116 determines a media from which the video content is acquired. A method for determining the acquisition destination medium will be described later. Whether or not a plurality of contents are the same video content can be determined based on, for example, the file name, creation date and time (shooting date and time), and file size of the video content.

  Note that the same video content is generated by duplicating video content on a certain medium. For example, when the video content on the first medium is duplicated and stored in the second medium, the same video content exists in the first medium and the second medium.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a content information table held by the content acquisition / management unit 116. The content information table includes items of content ID (ContentID), recording medium, file name, recording format, shooting date / time, recording time, file size, and thumbnail image. The recording format includes items of a video format and an audio format.

  The content ID is an identifier for uniquely identifying the content that is given by the content acquisition / management unit 116 to manage the content data. The recording medium indicates a medium in which the content is recorded. When the same content exists in a plurality of media, all the media are described. In particular, for a medium capable of a plurality of connections, an identifier such as a MAC address that can identify the medium is described. The recording format is divided into a video format and an audio format to describe the compression format. The file name describes the file name of the content data. The shooting date and time describes the date and time when the content data was created. The recording time describes the recording time length of the content data. The file size describes the file size of the content data. In addition, the thumbnail image describes an upper part indicating a pointer to the memory 111 storing the thumbnail image acquired from the video content. If the content data is still image data, the audio format and recording time are not described.

  Next, video content list display according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of basic processing for displaying a list of video contents according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, a method of displaying a list of video content using a method of displaying the same content existing in a plurality of media without overlapping, as described with reference to FIG. 11C in the background art. To do. Note that a series of processing execution instructions for each processing unit in each step of the flowchart of FIG. 4 is all performed by the control unit 112 according to the program.

  Prior to the execution of the flowchart of FIG. 4, the user performs an operation for requesting a list display of content using the remote controller 114. A command corresponding to this operation is modulated into an infrared signal, transmitted from the remote controller 114, and received by the light receiving unit 113. The light receiving unit 113 demodulates the received infrared signal, extracts a command, and passes it to the control unit 112.

  In first step S <b> 201, the control unit 112 monitors whether or not there is a content list display request due to a user's operation on the remote controller 114. If there is a content list display request by a user operation, the process proceeds to step S202, and the media management unit 120 searches for a connected medium from which content can be acquired.

  In the next step S203, the control unit 112 requests the content acquisition / management unit 116 to acquire content information for each medium searched in step S202. In response to this request, the content acquisition / management unit 116 acquires content information from the connected media searched by the media management unit 120. The content information acquired in the first embodiment is, for example, the file name, recording format, creation date / time (shooting date / time), recording time length, and file size of the content. In the next step S204, the content acquisition / management unit 116 creates or updates the content information table to be held based on the content information acquired in step S203.

  The control unit 112 requests the content acquisition / management unit 116 to acquire content information for all connected media and to create and update the content information table. In the next step S205, the control unit 112 determines that, among all media connected to the digital television receiver 100, content information has not been acquired and content information tables have not been created or updated. Determine if it exists. If it is determined that there is a medium from which content information has not been acquired, the process returns to step S203, and content information is acquired from the next medium from which content information has not been acquired.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S205 that content information has been acquired from all connected media, and the content information table has been created and updated, the process proceeds to step S206. In step S206, based on the content information table created or updated in step S204, a list display of content recorded on the connected media is displayed on the display unit 108. More specifically, the control unit 112 causes the still image decoder 110 to decode the thumbnail image based on the content information table created in step S204. Then, the screen display unit 105 forms a list display screen using the decoded thumbnail images.

  When a thumbnail image of content that the user wants to view is selected by the user's operation on the remote controller 114 while the video content list is displayed, the digital television receiver 100 starts playback of the selected video content.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of video content reproduction processing according to the first embodiment. Here, a method for determining a medium from which video content is acquired will be described, particularly when the same video content exists in a plurality of media. Also in the flowchart of FIG. 5, it is assumed that all instructions for executing a series of processes for each processing unit are comprehensively performed by the control unit 112 according to a program.

  While the video content list is being displayed (step S401), the control unit 112 waits for the designation of the video content to be played, for example, by a user operation on the remote controller 114 (step S402). When the reproduction video content is designated by the user operation, the process proceeds to step S403. In step S403, it is determined whether or not the video content designated for reproduction exists in a plurality of media. The determination in step S403 is performed based on the content information table managed by the above-described content acquisition / management unit 116.

  If it is determined that the video content designated for reproduction does not exist in a plurality of media, the process proceeds to step S409 to be described later. In other words, this is a case where the video content designated for reproduction exists only in a single medium.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S403 that the video content designated for reproduction exists in a plurality of media, the process proceeds to step S404. In step S404, the content acquisition / management unit 116 determines a candidate medium (hereinafter referred to as an acquisition destination media candidate) from which video content designated for reproduction is acquired.

  Here, the content acquisition / management unit 116 predefines the priority order regarding the content acquisition order for each medium. When the same content is duplicated in a plurality of media, the content acquisition / management unit 116 determines acquisition media candidates according to this priority. The priority order for each medium is determined in consideration of whether the data transfer state in the medium is easily influenced by external factors. In other words, media with a data transfer state that is less susceptible to external factors are given higher priority and video content is preferentially acquired.

More specifically, the priority order of the video content is defined as the following formula (1) so as not to be affected by the communication speed due to the insertion / extraction of the memory card or USB device and the network load. The priority order according to the equation (1) is set as a default priority order (second priority order).
Internal hard disk> Memory card> USB device>DMS> Video sharing service (1)

  According to this equation (1), in the digital television receiver 100, the built-in hard disk 119 has the highest priority, and is the medium on which video content should be acquired most preferentially. Hereinafter, the priority order is lowered in the order of the memory card connected to the external memory I / F 117 and the USB device. In addition, the priority order of DMS connected via a network I / F 118 via a LAN or the like is lower, and the priority order of video sharing service connected via the Internet is lowest.

  Note that the default priority order is not limited to the order of the formula (1), and can be defined in other orders according to the digital television receiving device 100 and the usage environment of each medium. For example, the default priority order may be adaptively changed according to the usage frequency of each media user.

  In step S404, the content acquisition / management unit 116 determines acquisition destination media candidates according to the default priority order and the media described in the content information table. As an example, consider the case where the video content with content ID = 0003 is designated as the playback content in the example of FIG. 3 described above. Since the video content exists in the memory card and the DMS, the acquisition destination media candidate is determined to be the memory card in accordance with the above equation (1).

  When the acquisition destination media candidate is determined, the process proceeds to the next step S405, and the schedule of the determined acquisition destination media candidate is acquired by the scheduler 115 from the schedule management table. In the example of FIG. 2 described above, the memory card is managed as schedule ID = 0002, the start time is 14:30 on August 16, 2008, and the end time is 15:54 on August 16, 2008. Scheduled recording is scheduled.

  In the next step S406, the content acquisition / management unit 116 checks temporal overlap with the media schedule determined as the acquisition destination media candidate based on the playback time of the video content designated for playback. Then, in the next step S407, it is determined whether or not there is a temporal overlap.

  With reference to FIG. 6, the temporal overlap with respect to the schedule in the acquisition destination media candidate media will be described. Here, it is assumed that the content with content ID = 0003 is designated by the user as video content to be reproduced, and the designated time, that is, the time at which reproduction is to be started is 14:00.

  In this case, as described above, the video content with the content ID = 0003 for which reproduction is specified exists in the memory card and the DMS based on the content information table (see FIG. 3), and the recording time (reproduction time) is 50 minutes 35. It turns out that it is second. Next, it can be seen that the memory card is the medium from which the video content is to be acquired in preference to the DMS in accordance with the default media priority shown in the above equation (1). Therefore, the memory card schedule is confirmed based on the schedule management table (see FIG. 2). According to the schedule of the memory card acquired from the schedule management table by the scheduler 115, it can be seen that the recording reservation of 1 hour and 24 minutes is scheduled for the memory card from 14:30 to 15:54 on the same day.

  Therefore, when the video content with the content ID = 0003 is reproduced from the memory card, as illustrated in FIG. 6, it can be seen that there is a temporal overlap in access to the memory card for about 20 minutes from 14:30.

  If it is determined from the determination result in step S407 that there is a possibility that the access destination media candidate may be temporally duplicated by playing the designated video content, the process proceeds to step S408. The In step S408, it is determined whether or not there is a medium that has the same video content as the video content that has been designated for reproduction, and for which the schedule has not yet been acquired in step S405. If it is determined that there is none, the process proceeds to step S409 to be described later.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S408 that there is a medium whose schedule has not yet been acquired, the process returns to step S404. Then, the medium having the next lowest priority with respect to the medium whose schedule has been acquired in the previous process is determined as the acquisition destination media candidate.

  If it is determined in step S407 described above that there is no possibility of occurrence of temporal duplication of access to the acquisition destination media candidate media by playing the designated video content, the process proceeds to step S409. In step S409, a playback video acquisition medium for acquiring video content to be played back is determined.

  For example, when the process proceeds from step S407 to step S409, the medium determined as the acquisition destination media candidate in step S404 is determined as the reproduction video acquisition medium. Further, for example, when the process directly proceeds from step S403 described above to step S409 (“N” in step S403), video content to be reproduced exists only in a single medium. Therefore, the media is determined as a playback video acquisition media.

  Further, for example, when the process proceeds from step S408 to step S409, it means that there is a temporal overlap in access in all media in which video content to be reproduced exists. In this case, for example, the medium with the shortest access overlap time is determined as the reproduction video acquisition medium. Note that this is not limited to this example, and for example, it is possible to adopt a process that adopts a method of determining the acquisition destination medium in consideration of the communication speed and the overlap time of each medium.

  When the reproduction video acquisition medium is determined in step S409, the process proceeds to step S410, the video content is acquired from the medium, and the acquired video content is streamed and reproduced in the next step S411.

  In this example in which the content indicated by content ID = 0003 in FIG. 3 is designated as the video content to be reproduced, the content with content ID = 0003 is acquired from the DMS. Then, after the video content data is acquired (buffered) by a predetermined capacity, reproduction is started (step S411). In addition, the reproduction of the video content is performed while sequentially acquiring video content data of a predetermined capacity along the time series of the reproduction time of the video content.

  As an example, processing for streaming playback of video content stored in a memory card will be schematically described. For example, the control unit 112 reads video data based on video content stored in the memory card by a predetermined capacity via the external memory I / F 117, and temporarily stores the video data in the RAM unit of the memory 111, for example. The video decoder 103 sequentially reads out, decodes and outputs the video data stored in the RAM unit of the memory 111 for each decoding unit. The video data output from the video decoder 103 is supplied to the display unit 108 via the screen configuration unit 105 and the video output unit 107. When the video data stored in the RAM unit of the memory 111 is read out by a predetermined amount or more, the control unit 112 reads the next video data from the memory card via the external memory I / F 117 and stores it in the RAM unit of the memory 111. Accumulate.

  As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the digital television receiving device 100 can acquire video content from an optimum medium in consideration of an access schedule for the medium. Thereby, the responsiveness with respect to a video content and a user's operativity can be improved.

  In the first embodiment, the identification of the same video content is determined based on the file name, shooting date / time (recording date / time), and file size, but this is not limited to this example. For example, it is also possible to decode video content and compare the decoded images in chronological order to determine whether or not they are the same video content.

  In the first embodiment, the same video content existing in a plurality of media has been described as being displayed without being overlapped when displayed in a list, but this is not limited to this example. The video content list display method may be, for example, a method of displaying all content regardless of duplication, or a method of displaying for each medium.

  It should be noted that the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the concept or the main features thereof. Accordingly, the first embodiment described above is merely an example in all respects and should not be interpreted in a limited manner.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment of the present invention has different characteristics in the acquisition medium determination process according to the first embodiment described above. Hereinafter, the description according to the second embodiment will be focused on the differences from the first embodiment described above. Description of the configuration and operation common to the first embodiment described above will be omitted as appropriate in order to avoid complexity.

  In the second embodiment, when the playback video acquisition medium is determined, information indicating the type (content) of the schedule is used in addition to the overlap between the playback time of the video content and the schedule of the media. This makes it possible to flexibly perform the video content acquisition process in consideration of the certainty of the schedule process.

  In the second embodiment, the content acquisition / management unit 116 holds, for each medium, an acquired media table that is a table in which priorities indicating which media should acquire video content according to the schedule contents are described. FIG. 7 shows an example of the acquired media table. Circled numbers in the cells indicate the priority order (first priority order) of each medium with respect to the media schedule contents. The schedule contents describe a schedule managed by the scheduler 115.

  FIG. 7A describes the priority of each medium according to the schedule contents of the internal hard disk 119, that is, for each type of schedule. FIG. 7B describes the priority order of each medium according to the schedule contents of the memory card. FIG. 7C describes the priority of each medium according to the schedule contents of the USB device. FIG. 7D describes the priority order of each medium according to the DMS schedule contents.

  The case of the built-in hard disk 119 in FIG. 7A will be described as an example. In this example, five types of schedule contents of the internal hard disk 119 are defined: “viewing reservation”, “recording reservation”, “firmware update”, “defragmentation”, and “none” when no schedule is set. Has been.

  Here, “firmware update” and “defragmentation” are processes performed with the internal hard disk 119 involved in the digital television receiver 100. For example, defragmentation is a process for optimizing the data arrangement in the internal hard disk 119, and the internal hard disk 119 is continuously accessed for a relatively long time.

  The firmware update is a process for updating a control program stored in the memory 111 for the purpose of adding a new function or correcting a defect to the digital television receiver 100. As a distribution method of this control program, there are a method of connecting a memory card or a USB device in which the program is described, and a method of distribution using the Internet or a digital broadcast signal.

  In particular, distribution of firmware update programs using digital broadcast signals has a distribution schedule. The distribution schedule is distributed, for example, as session format data in the TS. The scheduler 115 receives the firmware update program according to this distribution schedule, and updates the firmware. In the second embodiment, when updating the firmware, the internal hard disk 119 or a memory card connected to the external memory I / F 117 is used as a storage area for temporarily saving existing program data. Thus, even when the firmware update process fails, it is possible to return to the firmware program before the update process and perform an operation.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 7A, when the schedule for the internal hard disk 119 is “none”, the priority order of each medium is the default priority order described using the expression (1).

When the schedule for the internal hard disk 119 is “firmware update” or “defragmentation”, the priority of each medium is set to the lowest priority of the internal hard disk 119 as illustrated in the following equation (2). . In other words, the firmware update or defragmentation schedule is defined such that the internal hard disk 119 is least likely to be selected as the video content acquisition medium.
Memory card> USB device>DMS> Video sharing service> Built-in hard disk (2)

When the schedule for the internal hard disk 119 is “viewing reservation”, the priority of each medium is set to the highest for the memory card and the lowest for the video sharing service, as exemplified by the following equation (3). .
Memory card> USB device> Built-in hard disk>DMS> Video sharing service (3)

Further, when the schedule for the internal hard disk 119 is “recording reservation”, the priority of each medium is set to the highest for the memory card and the lowest for the video sharing service, as illustrated in the following equation (4). Is done. Also, in the case of recording, unlike the case of viewing where data is read, data is written. Therefore, the priority order of the internal hard disk 119 is lowered by one level compared to the case of “viewing reservation”, making it difficult to select. ing.
Memory card> USB device>DMS> Built-in hard disk> Video sharing service (4)

  In the second embodiment, the acquired media table specifies that there is as little processing overlap as possible for processing that requires more certainty, such as firmware update and defragmentation. For example, according to the schedule contents of the built-in hard disk 119 in FIG. 7A, the priority is set to the lowest among the media for firmware update and defragmentation. Similarly, with respect to the memory card of FIG. 7B and the USB device of FIG. 7C, the priority order for firmware update is set to the lowest among the media.

  On the other hand, when the schedule for the medium is only the reading process (viewing reservation), it is defined that the video content is acquired from the medium even if the process is duplicated. In the example of FIGS. 7A to 7C, the priority order of each medium with respect to the viewing reservation is the third place out of the fifth place.

  In addition, there is a medium that can be expected to have a higher video content acquisition and processing speed than a case where the video content is acquired via a network, for example, even if there is a writing process on the medium. Also in this case, it is defined that video content is acquired from the media even if the processing is duplicated.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of video content reproduction processing according to the second embodiment. Here, a method for determining a medium from which video content is acquired will be described, particularly when the same video content exists in a plurality of media. In the flowchart of FIG. 8 as well, it is assumed that all instructions for executing a series of processes to each processing unit are comprehensively performed by the control unit 112 according to a program. In the flowchart of FIG. 8, the processes common to the flowchart of FIG. 5 in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

  First, prior to execution of the flowchart of FIG. 8, a list of video contents is displayed according to the procedure described with reference to FIG. While the video content list is being displayed (step S401), the control unit 112 waits for the designation of the video content to be played, for example, by a user operation on the remote controller 114 (step S402). When the reproduction video content is designated by the user operation, the process proceeds to step S403, and it is determined based on the content information table whether or not the video content designated for reproduction exists in a plurality of media. If it is determined that the video content designated for reproduction does not exist in a plurality of media, the process proceeds to step S409.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S403 that the video content designated for reproduction exists in a plurality of media, the process proceeds to step S404. Then, the content acquisition / management unit 116 determines an acquisition destination media candidate based on the media described in the content information table and the default priority shown in the above-described equation (1).

  When the acquisition destination media candidate is determined, the process proceeds to the next step S405, and the schedule of the determined acquisition destination media candidate is acquired by the scheduler 115 from the schedule management table. In the next step S406, the content acquisition / management unit 116 checks temporal overlap with the media schedule determined as the acquisition destination media candidate based on the playback time of the video content designated for playback. Then, in the next step S407, it is determined whether or not there is a temporal overlap.

  If it is determined in step S407 that there is a possibility of time overlap in access to the media of the acquisition destination media candidate by playing the designated video content, the process proceeds to step S801. In step S801, the content acquisition / management unit 116 determines whether or not a schedule for media having a higher priority than the media has been acquired from the corresponding schedule contents in the acquired media table corresponding to the media as the acquisition destination media candidate. .

  That is, the content acquisition / management unit 116 acquires the content of the media schedule of the acquisition destination media candidate based on the schedule management table (see FIG. 2) held by the scheduler 115. Then, referring to the acquired media table corresponding to the media, the media having a higher priority than the media are confirmed for the acquired schedule contents, and it is determined whether or not the schedule has been acquired for the media. If it is determined that there is a medium that has a higher priority than the medium and has not yet been acquired, the process returns to step S404 with that medium as the next acquisition destination media candidate.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S801 that the schedule has been acquired for all the media having higher priority than the acquisition destination media candidate media, the process proceeds to step S409.

  If it is determined in step S407 described above that there is no possibility of occurrence of temporal duplication of access to the acquisition destination media candidate media by playing the designated video content, the process proceeds to step S409.

  In step S409, a playback video acquisition medium is determined. For example, when the process directly proceeds from step S403 described above to step S409 (“N” in step S403), the video content to be reproduced exists only in a single medium. Therefore, the media is determined as a playback video acquisition media.

  Further, for example, when the process proceeds from step S407 to step S409, the medium determined as the acquisition destination media candidate in step S404 is determined as the reproduction video acquisition medium.

  Further, for example, when the process moves from step S801 described above to step S409, it means that there is a temporal overlap in access in all media in which video content to be reproduced exists. In this case, the reproduction video acquisition medium is determined based on the priority order of each medium described in the acquisition medium table of all the media in which the video content to be reproduced exists and the access overlap time.

In determining the media, the schedule contents are reflected in an order that takes into consideration the certainty required for processing so that schedules that place greater importance on the certainty of processing do not overlap. According to the certainty required for processing, as illustrated in the following equation (5), the priority of defragmentation, which is the schedule with the highest certainty required, is the lowest, and the firmware update is the next priority. Is lowered. On the other hand, the priority of “none”, which is the schedule with the lowest required certainty, is set highest. In the viewing reservation and the recording reservation, since the recording reservation in which data is written is more reliable, the priority is lowered.
None> Viewing reservation> Recording reservation> Firmware update> Defragmentation (5)

  An example of the process of acquiring the playback video content when the process proceeds from step S801 to step S409 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, for example, the content acquisition / management unit 116 confirms the schedule contents of the medium with the highest default priority for all the media on which the video content to be reproduced exists (step S901).

  In the next step S902, the content acquisition / management unit 116 refers to the acquired media table based on the schedule contents for the media whose default priority is the highest in step S901. Then, it is determined whether there is a medium having a higher priority. If it is determined that the medium does not exist, the medium is determined as a reproduction video acquisition medium.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S902 that there is a medium with a higher priority, the process proceeds to step S903. In step S903, the content acquisition / management unit 116 refers to the schedule management table held by the scheduler 115, and confirms the contents of the schedules that are temporally duplicated for all media having higher priorities. Then, in the next step S904, it is determined whether or not the contents of the schedule are duplicated.

  If it is determined that the schedule contents are not duplicated, the process proceeds to step S905. In step S905, the content acquisition / management unit 116 determines the medium having the highest priority based on the schedule content as the playback video acquisition medium according to the above-described equation (5).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S904 that the schedule contents are duplicated, the process proceeds to step S906. In step S906, the content acquisition / management unit 116 determines the medium having the highest default priority as the playback video acquisition medium. At this time, there may be a case where a plurality of media whose schedule contents overlap and a medium whose schedule contents do not overlap with each other are mixed. In this case, the playback video acquisition medium can be determined using the priority order based on the schedule contents as in step S905.

  This will be described using a more specific example. As an example, it is assumed that the video content designated for reproduction exists in the internal hard disk 119, the memory card, and the DMS, and the firmware update, recording reservation, and viewing reservation are set as the schedule contents, respectively. Also, it is assumed that all media overlap in time with the schedule in which the video content playback time is set. A method for determining a playback video acquisition medium in this case will be described.

  First, the schedule of the internal hard disk 119 having the highest default priority is confirmed (step S901). In this example, it is assumed that firmware update is scheduled for the internal hard disk 119, and this schedule overlaps with the playback processing of the video content for which the playback instruction is received. Therefore, a medium having a higher priority than the internal hard disk 119 is confirmed from the acquired media table (step S902). Referring to FIG. 7A, it can be seen that the memory card and the DMS have a higher priority than the internal hard disk 119, so the schedule contents of the memory card and the DMS are confirmed (step S903). In this example, it is assumed that a recording reservation is set in the memory card schedule and a viewing reservation is set in the DMS schedule.

  Since the schedule contents of the memory card and DMS do not overlap (step S904), the priority order is determined based on the schedule contents in step S905. In this case, the internal hard disk 119 is already required to have the highest certainty of firmware update, that is, the schedule having the lowest priority based on the schedule content is set. On the other hand, schedule contents set in the memory card and DMS are viewing reservation and recording reservation, respectively. According to the above equation (5), the priority order based on the schedule content is higher than the firmware update, and the viewing reservation has a higher priority than the recording reservation. Therefore, DMS is determined as the playback video acquisition medium.

  When the playback video acquisition medium is determined in step S409, the process proceeds to step S410, the video content is acquired from the medium, and the acquired video content is played back in the next step S411.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the video content acquisition destination medium is determined using the schedule type in addition to the reproduction time of the video content and the overlap of the media schedule. Therefore, it is possible to acquire appropriate video content in consideration of certainty of scheduled processing.

  In the second embodiment, four types of schedule reservations, viewing reservation, recording reservation, firmware update, and defragmentation are given as examples of schedules, but this is not limited to this example. For example, the same effect can be expected even when the operation of another application such as virus scanning is defined in the acquired media table.

  In the second embodiment, when the schedule contents overlap between media, the acquisition destination medium is determined among the media according to the default acquisition order. However, this is not limited to this example. For example, it is possible to perform processing such as determining the acquisition destination medium based on the length of the overlap time between the schedule and the video content playback time.

  In the above description, the present invention has been described as being applied to the case where video content including moving image data is acquired and played back, but this is not limited to this example. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where audio data is sequentially acquired and reproduced along a time series.

  In the above description, the digital television receiver 100 that receives a digital television broadcast is applied to each embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. That is, for each embodiment of the present invention, it is also possible to apply an information device that does not have a digital television broadcast reception function or display function, such as a computer that can be connected to a medium storing video content. It is.

<Other embodiments>
Each of the above-described embodiments can also be realized in software by a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of a system or apparatus. Accordingly, the computer program itself supplied to the computer in order to realize the above-described embodiments by the computer also realizes the present invention. That is, the computer program itself for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is also one aspect of the present invention.

  Note that the computer program for realizing each of the above-described embodiments may be in any form as long as it can be read by a computer. For example, it can be composed of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, but is not limited thereto.

  The computer program for realizing each of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the computer via a storage medium or wired / wireless communication. Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program include a magnetic storage medium such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, and a magnetic tape, an optical / magneto-optical storage medium such as an MO, CD, and DVD, and a nonvolatile semiconductor memory.

  As a computer program supply method using wired / wireless communication, there is a method of using a server on a computer network. In this case, a data file (program file) that can be a computer program forming the present invention is stored in the server. The program file may be an executable format or a source code.

  The program file is supplied by downloading to a client computer that has accessed the server. In this case, the program file can be divided into a plurality of segment files, and the segment files can be distributed and arranged on different servers.

  That is, a server apparatus that provides a client computer with a program file for realizing each of the above-described embodiments is also one aspect of the present invention.

  In addition, a storage medium that encrypts and stores a computer program for realizing each of the above-described embodiments is distributed, and key information for decryption is supplied to a user who satisfies a predetermined condition, and the computer has the computer. May be allowed to install. The key information can be supplied by being downloaded from a homepage via the Internet, for example.

  In addition, the computer program for realizing each of the above-described embodiments may use an OS function already running on the computer.

  Further, a part of the computer program for realizing each of the above embodiments may be configured by firmware such as an expansion board mounted on the computer, or may be executed by a CPU provided in the expansion board. Also good.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an example of the digital television receiver as a video reproduction apparatus which can apply this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the schedule management table which a scheduler hold | maintains. It is a figure which shows an example of the content information table which a content acquisition / management part hold | maintains. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the basic process which performs the list display of the video content by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows a process of an example of the video content reproduction | regeneration by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the time overlap with respect to the schedule in the medium of an acquisition destination media candidate. It is a figure which shows an example of the acquisition media table in which the priority which shows from which media should acquire video content according to the contents of a schedule was described. It is a flowchart which shows a process of an example of the video content reproduction | regeneration by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a process which acquires reproduction | regeneration video content using an acquisition media table. It is a figure which shows the example of the some video media which can be accessed by digital television, and the video content which exists in each media. It is a figure which shows the example of a list display of the content in case the same content exists in several media.

100 Digital Television Receiver 111 Memory 112 Control Unit 114 Remote Control Commander 115 Scheduler 116 Content Acquisition / Management Unit 117 External Memory I / F
118 Network I / F 118
119 Internal hard disk 120 Media management unit

Claims (11)

A playback device for streaming playback of content including at least one of video data and audio data,
A plurality of connection means for connecting to a plurality of output devices for storing the content;
Management means for managing the scheduled access time set for each of the plurality of output devices;
When the content stored in common with the plurality of output devices is reproduced from any of the plurality of output devices, the scheduled access time managed by the management unit for each of the plurality of output devices; Determining means for determining whether or not there is a temporal overlap with a reproduction time for reproducing the content;
A determination unit that determines, based on a determination result of the determination unit, an output device having the least temporal overlap among the plurality of output devices as an output device that acquires the content;
And a playback unit for streaming playback of the content output from the output device determined by the determination unit. The determination means includes
The output device is determined according to a priority set in advance for each of the plurality of output devices, and the output device determined to have no temporal overlap is determined as the output device that acquires the content. The playback apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the priority is set higher for an output device whose data transfer state is less susceptible to external factors. A control method for a playback apparatus for streaming playback of content including at least one of video data and audio data,
A management step of managing a scheduled access time set for each of a plurality of output devices for storing the content connected to a plurality of connection means;
When the content stored in common with the plurality of output devices is reproduced from any of the plurality of output devices, the scheduled access time managed by the management step for each of the plurality of output devices; A determination step for determining whether or not there is a temporal overlap with a reproduction time for reproducing the content;
A determination step of determining, based on the determination result of the determination step, an output device having the least temporal overlap among the plurality of output devices as an output device for acquiring the content;
And a reproduction step for streaming reproduction of the content output from the output device determined in the determination step. A playback device for streaming playback of content including at least one of video data and audio data,
A plurality of connection means for connecting to a plurality of output devices for storing the content;
A management unit that associates and manages a scheduled access time set for each of the output devices and a type of processing performed at the scheduled access time;
For each of the plurality of output devices, a table in which a first priority is set for the type of processing performed at the scheduled access time;
When the content stored in common with the plurality of output devices is reproduced from any of the plurality of output devices, the scheduled access time managed by the management unit for each of the plurality of output devices; Determining means for determining whether or not there is a temporal overlap with a reproduction time for reproducing the content;
A determination unit that determines an output device that acquires the content from the plurality of output devices based on a determination result of the determination unit;
Playback means for streaming playback of the content output from the output device determined by the determination means;
The determining means includes
When there is an output device determined by the determination means that there is no temporal overlap between the scheduled access time and the playback time, the output device is determined as an output device that acquires the designated content. ,
When it is determined that all of the plurality of output devices have the temporal overlap, the first priority and a second priority set in advance for each of the plurality of output devices; And determining an output device for acquiring the designated content. The determination means, when it is determined by the determination means that there is a temporal overlap for all of the plurality of output devices,
Based on the type of the process corresponding to the scheduled access time that overlaps the playback time of the output device with the second highest priority, which is managed by the management means, Obtaining the type of the process in which the first priority higher than the first priority set in the type is set;
If the acquired processing types overlap each other, the output device with the second highest priority among the output devices set with the scheduled access time corresponding to the overlapping processing types is Decide on the output device to get the specified content,
If the acquired processing types do not overlap with each other, the output device in which the scheduled access time corresponding to the processing type with the highest first priority is set is set as the designated 6. The playback apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the playback apparatus is determined to be an output apparatus that acquires content. The determining means includes
As a result of referring to the table, when there is no type of processing in which the first priority order higher than the first priority set in the type of processing is set,
The playback apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the output apparatus having the second highest priority is determined as an output apparatus that acquires the designated content. The playback apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a lower priority is set in the table for the type of processing that requires more certainty for the output apparatus. . 9. The second priority order is set higher for an output device whose data transfer state is less susceptible to external factors. Playback device. A control method for a playback apparatus for streaming playback of content including at least one of video data and audio data,
A management step for associating and managing a scheduled access time set for each of the plurality of output devices connected to a plurality of connection means and storing the content, and a type of processing performed at the scheduled access time; ,
When the content stored in common with the plurality of output devices is reproduced from any of the plurality of output devices, the scheduled access time managed by the management step for each of the plurality of output devices; A determination step for determining whether or not there is a temporal overlap with a reproduction time for reproducing the content;
A determination step of determining an output device that acquires the content from the plurality of output devices based on a determination result of the determination step;
A playback step for streaming playback of the specified content from the output device determined in the determination step;
The determining step includes
When there is an output device determined by the determination step that there is no time overlap between the scheduled access time and the reproduction time, the output device is determined as an output device that acquires the designated content. ,
A first priority set for each type of the processing performed at the scheduled access time for each of the plurality of output devices when it is determined that all of the plurality of output devices have the time overlap. A control method for determining an output device for acquiring the designated content by using a ranking and a second priority preset for each of the output devices.   A program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the playback device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and claims 5 to 9.

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