JP2011029977A - Information processing apparatus, and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to automatically download a leading portion relating to other recommended contents while securing a storage region for a leading portion of recommended contents even without performing any special operation. <P>SOLUTION: A storage section 7 includes a first region (normal storage region 12) for storing contents data and a second region (leading portion region 13) for storing a leading portion of contents data. Therefore, if dedicated regions for the leading portions are partitioned, the merit of not affecting other storage regions is obtained but the number of downloadable leading portions is limited. When storing a subsequent portion of data in the first region in the case of playing back the leading portion, a CPU 4 first secures a blank region sized correspondingly to a magnitude of the leading portion in the first region and then stores the subsequent portion. After the playback of the leading portion, the CPU 4 moves the leading portion stored in the second region to the blank region, thereby making a space in the second region. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to processing of download data in an information processing apparatus. The present invention relates to a technology for processing automatic download and acquired data in a download-type video distribution service using, for example, a network.

Some broadcast program recording devices have a function of automatically recording a program on the basis of a set keyword and viewing history without special designation by a user. For example, there is known an apparatus that improves the convenience of the user by dividing the recording area of the storage medium according to a user's instruction, performing genre classification, and recording information (see Patent Document 1).
When a user records a broadcast program, the entire program cannot be viewed unless all of the content is recorded to the end. However, in a download-type video distribution service using a network such as the Internet, it is not necessary to record content data from the beginning to the end at once. That is, for the purpose of reducing the capacity of the storage medium, only the data at the beginning of the content that the user is likely to view is automatically downloaded in advance, and the subsequent data is downloaded when the user actually views (patent Reference 2).

JP 2004-220696 A JP 2005-135008 A

As described above, if the area for downloading and storing only the top part of the content that the user is likely to view (hereinafter referred to as recommended content) is divided and secured, the other storage areas are not affected. Benefits are gained. On the other hand, there arises a problem that the number of downloadable head portions is limited. Therefore, when new recommended content is found and it is desired to download the data, it may be possible to delete the oldest content in order, but this is not necessarily beneficial to the user. It is troublesome for the user to check and delete the data at the top downloaded as recommended content.
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method that can automatically download a head portion of another recommended content by freeing a storage area for the head portion of the recommended content without requiring a user to perform a special operation. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus that acquires and reproduces data from an information distribution apparatus via a network, the first area for storing the data, and the data Storage means having a second area for storing the head part of the data, and acquiring the head part and storing it in the second area, and reproducing the head part, acquiring a subsequent part of the data and When the subsequent part is stored in the first area, a blank area having a size corresponding to the size of the head part is secured in the first area, and then the subsequent part is stored and stored in the second area. Control means for controlling the leading portion to move to the blank area.

  According to the present invention, since the user can reproduce and view the head portion and the subsequent portion of the data acquired from the information distribution apparatus without being aware of the remaining capacity of the storage area, the convenience of the user is improved.

It is a block diagram which shows the system configuration example which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the division of the storage area of a storage part. It is a flowchart explaining the example of a process at the time of initialization. It is the flowchart which showed the example of the procedure about download of a head part file. It is the flowchart which showed the example of the procedure about reproduction | regeneration of a head part file, and download of a subsequent part. (A) shows an example of processing for storing the data of the subsequent portion in the free area in the normal storage area, and (B) shows the process for moving the top part file from the head partial area to the blank area of the normal storage area. It is.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a service for distributing information via a network such as the Internet will be described as an example. The server 1 as an information distribution apparatus holds video and music content data prepared by a content distributor. The server 1 is connected to an information processing apparatus 3 that constitutes a user terminal through a network transmission path 2. The user can view the content by downloading the content data from the server 1 and reproducing the data in the user terminal.

  The information processing apparatus 3 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 4 as a control means, and receives a user operation instruction using a remote controller (hereinafter abbreviated as a remote controller) to the CPU 4. Part 5 is provided. The CPU 4 is further connected to a nonvolatile memory 10 that stores various setting information. The information processing apparatus 3 includes a transmission / reception unit 6, a storage unit 7, and a playback unit 8. The transmission / reception unit 6 receives content data and transmits / receives commands via the network transmission path 2 under the control of the CPU 4. The accumulation unit 7 accumulates content data acquired by downloading in a predetermined storage area. Then, the playback unit 8 plays back the stored content data. The CPU 4, the transmission / reception unit 6, the storage unit 7, and the reproduction unit 8 are connected by a bus 11 and can transmit and receive information to and from each other. The reproduced content, a list of reproducible content, and the like are displayed on the screen of the display unit 9 by the reproduction unit 8.

  First, settings performed by the user for the storage unit 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 conceptually shows the storage area of the storage unit 7. The area is divided into a first area (hereinafter referred to as a normal storage area) 12 and a second area (hereinafter referred to as a head partial area) 13 according to user settings. The normal accumulation area 12 is an area for accumulating the entire content data, and the head partial area 13 is an area for storing only the head portion of the data.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing at the time of initial setting by the user. First, in S31, the storage area is divided into a normal storage area 12 and a head partial area 13 in accordance with a user setting instruction. The size of each area can be arbitrarily specified. This setting is performed by the user operating a remote controller (not shown) to display a setting screen on the screen of the display unit 9. The head part of the content mentioned here is the head part of the recommended content that is automatically searched according to the user's preference or the like. Specifically, the CPU 4 analyzes the preference using parameters indicating genres, performers, and the like included in the program information based on user viewing information, download history information, and the like. In order to automatically extract and acquire the top part of the content that matches the analysis result, the server 1 is automatically accessed via the transmission / reception unit 6 and the network transmission path 2, and It is assumed that data is downloaded and stored in the top partial area 13. Note that a procedure for downloading a file including data at the head portion (hereinafter referred to as the head portion file) will be described later.

  In the next S32, the upper limit of the number of downloads of the first partial file is set according to the user's operation instruction. In other words, since the setting screen is displayed on the screen of the display unit 9 under the control of the CPU 4, the user operates the remote controller (not shown) while watching this screen to arbitrarily set the upper limit value of the number of the first partial files. it can. The CPU 4 receives the setting instruction information from the remote control I / F unit 5 and calculates the size of the first partial file (denoted as L) (S33). The value of the size L is calculated from the capacity value of the top partial area 13 and the upper limit value of the number of downloads of the top partial file. That is, when the capacity value of the first partial area 13 is denoted by M and the number of downloadable first partial files is denoted by N, the value of the size L is obtained from “L = M ÷ N”.

When the user completes the above settings, the upper limit number N of files that can be downloaded and the data indicating the capacity value M of the head partial area 13 are stored in the nonvolatile memory 10 connected to the CPU 4. Further, even when the capacity value M of the first partial area 13 or the download upper limit number N of the first partial file is changed according to a user instruction, the CPU 4 again determines the size of the first partial file based on the capacity value M and the upper limit number N. The value of L is calculated. Then, the contents of the nonvolatile memory 10 are updated.
Next, the procedure for downloading the first partial file will be described with reference to FIG. First, in S40, the download of the top part file is started. When the CPU 4 accesses the server 1 via the transmission / reception unit 6 and the network transmission path 2 during the idle time of the CPU 4 and finds the recommended content, the download is automatically started.

  When downloading the first partial file in the next S41, the CPU 4 compares the size L calculated as described above with the size of the file being downloaded. As a result, if the file size being downloaded exceeds the calculated value of size L, the process proceeds to S42. If not, the download is continued and the determination of S41 is repeated. That is, the download continues until the size of the file being downloaded matches the value of the calculated size L, and thereafter, the process proceeds to S42 and the download is interrupted. In the next S43, the CPU 4 determines whether or not the number of downloaded files exceeds the set upper limit number N. As a result, if the number of downloads of the first partial file has not reached the upper limit, the process proceeds to S44, the target file is set as the first partial file related to another recommended content, and the process returns to S40 and continues. The processes in S40 to S42 are repeated until the number of downloads reaches the upper limit number N. When the number of downloads reaches the upper limit number N in S43, the above series of processes ends.

  As described above, with respect to the data at the head portion of the recommended content, the CPU 4 accesses the server 1 through the network transmission path 2 and automatically downloads the head portion area without an explicit instruction from the user. 13 is accumulated.

Next, a processing example when the user instructs the apparatus to reproduce the first partial file will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, the user operates a remote controller (not shown) to instruct to display a list of recommended contents on the screen of the display unit 9. The CPU 4 that has received the instruction via the remote control I / F unit 5 creates a title list of the first partial file. At that time, the CPU 4 searches the head partial file group stored in the head partial area 13 in the storage unit 7 and creates the list. Then, after the data based on this list passes through the playback unit 8 as a recommended content list, it is sent to the display unit 9 and displayed on the screen (S51).

  Next, content selection processing is performed (S52). While looking at the recommended content list displayed on the screen of the display unit 9, the user selects content desired to be reproduced by remote control operation. The CPU 4 receiving the instruction via the remote control I / F unit 5 instructs the storage unit 7 to send the selected head partial file to the reproduction unit 8 and also instructs the reproduction unit 8 to reproduce. give. The playback unit 8 decodes the first partial file and starts content playback (S53). An image of the reproduced content is displayed on the screen of the display unit 9. At this time, since the file to be played is the first part file that has been downloaded, the user cannot view the content to the end unless the subsequent part of the content is downloaded.

  In order to download the subsequent part, when the head part file is selected, the CPU 4 refers to the calculated value of the size L. The CPU 4 causes the server 1 to send out the data that continues in time from the position of the data corresponding to the value of the size L in the entire content data, that is, the data after the head portion (this is the subsequent portion). Request. Upon receiving this request, the server 1 sends the requested data to the information processing device 3 via the network transmission path 2. However, since the download start timing depends on the network speed, it must be taken into consideration. In order to know the effective speed of the network, the CPU 4 is notified of the actual data reception speed from the transmission / reception unit 6. Considering that the amount of data stored in advance in the normal storage area 12 is sufficiently large according to the difference between the content playback data rate and the download speed, the CPU 4 asks the server 1 Request download start.

The data of the subsequent portion to be downloaded is normally stored in the accumulation area 12. FIG. 6A shows such a state. In this example, data of contents A to N are stored in the normal storage area 12 and there is a free area 14. First, a blank area 15 is secured at the head of the empty area 14 in the normal storage area 12 (S54 in FIG. 5). This blank area 15 has a capacity corresponding to the size of the first partial file from which reproduction has started. Thereafter, the subsequent portion is downloaded (S55), and the data of the subsequent portion is stored in an area adjacent to the blank area 15 in the empty area 14.
Immediately before the reproduction of the target first partial file is completed, the CPU 4 instructs the reproduction unit 8 to continue reproduction of the subsequent portion stored in the normal accumulation area 12. As a result, the user can view the content without interruption.

  When the user views the content from the beginning to the end at once, the CPU 4 determines whether or not the reproduction of the file already downloaded as the head portion is finished (S56). This determination is repeated until the reproduction of the file is completed, and the process proceeds to S57 at the end. Here, the CPU 4 moves the data of the head partial file from the head partial area 13 to the blank area 15 (an area secured at the head position of the empty area 14 of the normal storage area 12). FIG. 6B shows such a state. In this example, n head portions 1 to n (see heads 1 to n in the figure) are stored in the head portion area 13. An example of reproduction is shown. After the data of the first portion 1 is moved to the blank area 15, the data can be erased or overwritten at the place where the data has been stored so far. As a result, an empty area is created in the head part area 13, and the head part of the new recommended content can be downloaded and stored in this space area. In the normal storage area 12, the data of the subsequent part is arranged immediately after the data of the first part file after movement, and is stored in a continuous state. Therefore, the first part and the subsequent part are stored in one continuous content file. Can be summarized.

  Note that if the viewing is interrupted by the user's operation instruction before the CPU 4 starts downloading the subsequent portion, the above processing is not performed. In addition, after the CPU 4 starts downloading the subsequent part, if the user interrupts the viewing by the user operation, the user may view the subsequent part later. For this purpose, the data of the subsequent part is downloaded (see S55) and the head part file is moved to the blank area 15 (see S57).

1 server (information distribution device)
3 Information processing device 4 CPU
6 Transmission / Reception Unit 7 Storage Unit 12 Normal Storage Area (First Area)
13 First partial area (second area)
14 Free area of normal storage area 12 15 Blank area

Claims (5)

An information processing apparatus that acquires and reproduces data from an information distribution apparatus via a network,
Storage means having a first area for storing the data and a second area for storing a head portion of the data;
When the head part is acquired and stored in the second area, and the head part is reproduced, the size of the head part is obtained when the subsequent part of the data is acquired and stored in the first area. A control means for controlling to secure a blank area of a size corresponding to the first area, store the subsequent part, and move the head part stored in the second area to the blank area An information processing apparatus comprising:   The control means, after reproducing the head part, moves the head part from the second area to the blank area reserved in the empty area of the first area, thereby The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the subsequent portion is stored in a continuous state in the first area.   The control means, after reproducing the head part, moves the head part from the second area to the blank area secured in the empty area of the first area, and then The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a head portion related to different data is stored in a location where the data is stored. A transmission / reception means for acquiring content data from the information distribution apparatus via a network;
The control means stores the first portion of the content data automatically extracted based on user viewing information or download history information in the second region, and stores the subsequent portion of the content data in the first region. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is stored in an area adjacent to the secured blank area. An information processing method for acquiring and reproducing data from an information distribution device via a network,
Partitioning the data storage area into a first area for storing the data and a second area for storing a head portion of the data;
Obtaining the head portion and storing it in the second area;
When reproducing the head portion, when acquiring the subsequent portion of the data and storing the subsequent portion in the first region, a blank region having a size corresponding to the size of the head portion is stored in the first region. Storing the subsequent portion after securing,
Moving the head portion stored in the second area to the blank area.

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