JP2014017677A - Content management device, electronic apparatus, content reproduction device, content management method, content management control program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate exhaustive reproduction of topics without overlapping.SOLUTION: A content selection unit 107 for determining a reproduction order of topics included in each content extracted from a content accumulation unit 105 selects one topic from among topics determined to have overlapping items by a topic overlapping determination unit 108 in accordance with a preset selection criterion, and determines a reproduction order added with the selected topic.

Description

  The present invention relates to a content management apparatus that extracts a content desired by a user from a plurality of accumulated content and determines a playback order of topics to be played back from topics included in the extracted content.

  There are products that record all the channels of a broadcast program for several days and search for the program that the user wants to view from the recorded content. For example, the digital recording / reproducing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is equivalent.

  Usually, when viewing a recorded broadcast program, a list of recorded broadcast programs is displayed, and a user selects a desired broadcast program.

  However, as described above, when all the channels of a broadcast program are recorded for several days, the number of recorded programs becomes enormous. Therefore, the user selects a desired broadcast program from a list of recorded broadcast programs. Takes time and is inefficient.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, when a trader views a broadcast program and gives information to each corner of the program or program, the program or corner corresponding to the keyword is selected from the recorded programs based on the keyword input by the user. A technique for shortening the time until the user selects a desired broadcast program by presenting is disclosed.

  In addition to Patent Document 1, a function for narrowing down desired contents based on a user's viewing / search history, a genre selected by a user, an input keyword, and the like on a video posting site and a VOD (video on demand) service Is installed to shorten the time until the user selects a desired broadcast program.

WO 2006/035850 (April 6, 2006 international publication)

  By the way, in the function disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the like, a function for narrowing down a broadcast program (hereinafter referred to as content) desired by the user from a keyword input by the user, a viewing / search history of the user, or the like, a plurality of contents are included. Listed as a playback playlist.

  However, the content listed in the playback playlist may include the same content in duplicate. For example, re-broadcast and main broadcast, the same news, and different programs with the same story of the comedian will be listed separately.

  For example, as a result of performing a keyword search for the corner, as shown in FIG. 20A, the same content is duplicated and displayed as a list (listed up). Further, as a result of keyword search for drama as a genre, as shown in FIG. 20B, the rebroadcast and the main broadcast are overlapped and displayed as a list.

  For this reason, when a user selects content, the problem of becoming redundant arises.

  Also, if you try to comprehensively play back a topic related to a certain field without duplication, the user needs to search for the next content after the playback of one content, and the list of content with overlapping topics Since it is displayed, the user needs to find an unviewed topic by himself / herself.

  For example, when three channels of news programs (contents) are listed in the playback playlist as broadcast programs, the topics (political news) topics (topics) from the news programs of each channel can be viewed without duplication. In order to do this, as shown in FIG. 20 (c), the user has only to search and view topics A to E from the reproduction playlist.

  Therefore, comprehensively reproducing a topic in a certain field without duplication is a very time-consuming process for the user.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its purpose is to list topics that are listed without duplicating topics included in contents when extracting desired contents from a plurality of accumulated contents. It is an object of the present invention to provide a content management apparatus that makes it easy to comprehensively reproduce topics in a certain field without duplication.

In order to solve the above problems, the content management apparatus of the present invention provides
A content extraction unit that extracts a plurality of contents according to an arbitrary extraction criterion from a content accumulation unit that accumulates a plurality of contents that are divided into topics and to which topic identification information for identifying the content of each topic is added;
A topic playback order determination unit that determines a playback order of topics to be played back from topics included in each content extracted by the content extraction unit;
A topic duplication determination unit that determines whether or not the content of each topic is duplicated from the topic identification information of the topic included in each content extracted by the content extraction unit,
The topic playback order determination unit
A topic selected from the topics determined to be duplicated by the topic duplication determination unit is selected according to a preset selection criterion, and a playback order of the topics including the selected topic is determined. doing.

  According to the above configuration, when a plurality of contents are extracted from the content storage unit according to an arbitrary extraction criterion, and the order of topics to be played back is determined from the topics included in the extracted contents, the contents are duplicated. From the determined topics, one topic is selected according to preset selection criteria, and the playback order of the topics to which the selected topic is added is determined. can do.

  Since the topics having the same contents do not overlap in the playback order of topics determined in this way, topics related to a certain field can be comprehensively continuously played back without overlapping.

  Therefore, as in the past, when a topic related to a certain field is continuously reproduced comprehensively without duplication, when the reproduction of one content is completed, the user does not need to search for the next content, and the topic is duplicated. By displaying the list of contents that are being displayed, it is not necessary for the user to find an unviewed topic, so that it is possible to view the contents desired by the user very efficiently.

The topic playback order determination unit
Remember previously played topics,
When one topic is selected according to the selection criteria set in advance from the topics determined to be duplicated by the topic duplication determination unit, and the selected topic is included in the previously played topic It is preferable to determine the playback order of topics without adding the topic.

  Here, if there is a topic to be included in the playback order this time in the previously played topic, it is highly possible that the topic has been viewed, so it is preferable not to include it in the playback order of the topic determined this time.

  Therefore, as in the above configuration, the previously played topic is stored, and one topic is selected from the topics determined to have duplicate contents according to a predetermined selection criterion, and the selected topic is selected. Is included in a previously played topic, the topic playback order is determined without adding the topic, so that it is possible to set the playback order to include only the topics that have not been viewed. it can.

  As a result, the user can view only the unviewed topic without seeing the viewed topic, so that it is possible to eliminate unnecessary viewing of the topic and efficiently view the topic.

The topic playback order determination unit
Remember previously played topics,
When one topic is selected according to the selection criteria set in advance from the topics determined to be duplicated by the topic duplication determination unit, and the selected topic is included in the previously played topic If the content of the topic has been updated from the content of the topic at the time of the previous playback, it is preferable to add the topic. If the content has not been updated, it is preferable to determine the playback order of the topics without adding the topic. .

  Here, even if there is a topic to be included in the playback order this time in the previously played topic, the content of the topic may be updated. In such a case, the topic is not included in the playback order. Is disadvantageous to the user.

  Therefore, as in the above configuration, one topic is selected from the topics determined to have duplicate contents according to a preset selection criterion, and the selected topic is included in the previously played topics. If the content of the topic is updated, add the topic, and if the content is not updated, determine the playback order without adding the topic. Even if it is already done, it can be arranged in the playback order of topics whose contents have been updated.

  Thereby, since the user does not overlook the topic whose contents have been updated even if the user has already viewed the content, it is useful for the user.

  In addition, since the topic that has not been updated is not reproduced, it is possible to eliminate unnecessary viewing of the topic and to efficiently view the topic.

The topic playback order determination unit
Remember previously played topics,
When one topic is selected according to the selection criteria set in advance from the topics determined to be duplicated by the topic duplication determination unit, and the selected topic is included in the previously played topic If the content of the topic has been updated from the content of the topic at the time of the previous playback, check if the viewing invalid setting has been set. If the viewing invalid setting has not been set, add the topic and view If the invalid setting is made, it is preferable to determine the playback order without adding the topic.

  Here, even if there are topics to be included in the playback order this time in the previously played topics, and the contents of the topics have been updated, the user can watch the topics before the update. When it is determined that the user is not interested, it is preferable that the viewing invalid setting is performed for the topic, and the user does not need to view the topic even if the viewing invalid setting is updated.

  Therefore, as in the above configuration, one topic is selected from the topics determined to have duplicate contents according to a preset selection criterion, and the selected topic is included in the previously played topics. If the content of the topic has been updated, check if the viewing disable setting has been made. If the viewing disable setting has not been set, add the topic and if the viewing disable setting has been set By determining the playback order without adding the topic, the playback order is made up of the topics that the user wants to watch among the topics that have been viewed, as well as unviewed topics. be able to.

  Thus, even if the topic has been viewed and the content has been updated, the user can be prevented from viewing a topic that the user is not interested in, which is beneficial to the user.

The topic duplication judgment part
Changing the criterion for determining whether or not the content of each topic is duplicated from the topic identification information of the topic included in each content extracted by the content extraction unit according to the external input Is preferred.

  Here, if the criterion for determining topic overlap is raised or lowered, there are cases where it is determined that the same topic is overlapped, and cases where it is determined that the topic is not overlapped. In other words, increasing the determination criterion makes the overlap determination stricter, and decreasing the determination criterion reduces the overlap determination.

  Therefore, the duplication judgment becomes strict by changing the criteria for judging whether the contents of each topic are duplicated from the topic identification information of the topics included in each content according to the external input. There is a big difference in the number of topics when the topics to be played back are determined from the same topic group. In other words, if there is an instruction from the outside to raise the judgment criterion, duplication judgment becomes severe, so the number of topics when the topic to be played back is determined from the topic group increases, and the judgment criterion is lowered from the outside. When there is an instruction, duplication determination is unsatisfactory, and the number of topics when a topic to be played back is determined from the topic group is reduced.

  As described above, if it is possible to change the determination criterion for the overlap determination by the external input, the user can continuously reproduce according to his / her preference.

The above topic identification information is "when", "where", "what", "what", "what"
Including information indicating the following five items:
The topic duplication judgment part
It is preferable that topic overlap is determined based on information indicating at least one of the information indicating the five items.

  As described above, the topic identification information includes information indicating five items “when”, “where”, “what”, “what”, “what”, and information indicating these five items. Of these, duplication of topics is determined by information indicating at least one item, so duplication determination can be tightened by increasing the number of items included in the topic identification information.

  In addition, the number of items used for duplication determination varies depending on the genre of the topic (for example, political news, social news, weather information, comedy program, drama, etc.). Therefore, the above items may be changed according to the genre of the topic.

  The present invention relates to a content extraction unit that extracts a plurality of contents according to an arbitrary extraction criterion from a content accumulation unit that accumulates a plurality of contents that are divided into topics and to which topic identification information for identifying the content of each topic is added. A topic playback order determination unit that determines the playback order of topics to be played back from topics included in each content extracted by the content extraction unit, and each content extracted by the content extraction unit. A topic duplication determination unit that determines whether or not the content of each topic is duplicated from the topic identification information of the topic, and the topic reproduction order determination unit has the content duplicated by the topic duplication judgment unit Select one topic from the determined topics based on preset selection criteria By determining the playback order of the topics to which the selected topic has been added, when a single topic is played back in an exhaustive continuous manner without duplicating topics related to a certain field, It is not necessary to search for the next content, and since content with overlapping topics is displayed in a list, it is not necessary for the user to search for an unviewed topic. The effect that can be watched.

It is a schematic block diagram of the content management device of the present invention. (A)-(e) has shown the example of the template for every genre. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows the content list according to category about the news program in each Ch. This is information on the topic playback order in which topics are arranged in the continuous playback order. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a content storage process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a content reproduction process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a content reproduction process. (A) is a figure which shows the list of the topics of the political news watched by last night (previous), (b) is the topic of each Ch broadcasted last night (previous)-this morning (this time). It is a figure which shows a list. It is a figure which shows the list of the topics reproduced this morning (this time) extracted from the political news shown in FIG.8 (b). It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a content reproduction process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a content reproduction process. (A) is a figure which shows the list of the information (including identification information) of each topic of the news (program 1) at 11:00 am, (b) is each topic of the news (program 2) at 7:00 pm It is a figure which shows the list of information. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a content reproduction process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a content reproduction process. (A) is a figure which shows the list of the information (including identification information) of each topic of the news (program 1) at 11:00 am, (b) is each topic of the news (program 2) at 7:00 pm It is a figure which shows the list of information. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a content reproduction process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a content reproduction process. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows the topic of the comic story content from which a video source differs. It is a schematic block diagram of another content management apparatus of the present invention. (A) (b) is a figure which shows the list of the result using the conventional content narrowing-down function, (c) is a figure which shows the list of the extracted content.

[Embodiment 1]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows.

(Outline of the content management apparatus)... FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a content management apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the content management apparatus 1 includes a content input unit 101, a topic identification information input unit 102, a content storage unit 105, a content selection method determination unit 106, a content selection unit 107, and a topic duplication determination unit 108. It is out.

  The content input unit 101 receives input content and sends it to the content storage unit 105. Here, the input content is a broadcast program, a moving image of a moving image posting site, or the like.

  The topic identification information input unit 102 receives topic identification information generated outside the content management apparatus and sends it to the content storage unit 105. Here, the topic identification information is information for identifying the topic content included in the content. For example, the content management device distributor divides the content into topics and considers the genre of each topic. It is assumed that the information is input and acquired by the content management apparatus from a communication path or the like.

  Details of the method for creating the topic identification information will be described later.

  The content storage unit 105 stores the content sent from the content input unit 101 and the topic identification information sent from the topic identification information input unit 102 in association with each other. That is, the content accumulation unit 105 accumulates a plurality of contents that are divided into topics and to which topic identification information for identifying each topic content is given.

  The content selection method determination unit 106 receives a user instruction and determines a content selection method for selecting content stored in the content storage unit 105. Here, the content selection method indicates a selection criterion for selecting content, and a method for selecting content in consideration of a user's viewing / search history, a content selected from a genre selected by a user, or an input keyword. There are ways to choose. That is, when the user instructs which content selection method is used to select content, the content selection method determination unit 106 determines the content selection method, and this content selection method is used as the content selection unit 107 in the subsequent stage. To tell.

  The content selection unit 107 selects the content stored in the content storage unit 105 according to the content selection method determined by the content selection method determination unit 106. That is, the content selection unit 107 extracts content that matches the selection criteria specified by the user from the content stored in the content storage unit 105.

  That is, the content selection unit 107 divides a plurality of contents according to an arbitrary extraction criterion from the content accumulation unit 105 that accumulates a plurality of contents that are divided into topics and to which topic identification information for identifying the contents of each topic is added. It functions as a content extraction unit for extraction.

  The content selection unit 107 selects the content to be output according to the determination result by the topic duplication determination unit 108 at the subsequent stage.

  That is, the topic duplication determination unit 108 determines whether the contents of topics included in each content are duplicated from the topic identification information associated with each content extracted by the content selection unit 107. The determination result is sent to the content selection unit 107.

  The content selection unit 107 leaves one of the topics determined to be duplicated by the topic duplication determination unit 108 from each content extracted from the content storage unit 105, and removes the remaining content as a predetermined reference. The order in which the topics are reproduced is determined, and is output as topic reproduction order information or a reproduction playlist (reproduction content or content list). This topic playback order information is output to, for example, a content playback device (not shown). The content playback apparatus plays back the topics in order based on the input topic playback order information.

  That is, the content selection unit 107 selects one topic according to a preset selection criterion from the topics determined to have overlapping contents by the topic overlap determination unit 108, and adds the selected topic. It functions as a topic playback order determination unit that determines the topic playback order and outputs the information.

(Topic identification information creation method) ... Figure 2
Here, how to create the topic identification information will be described below.

  First, program / video content is divided into topics.

  Next, a genre appropriate for the divided topic is selected.

  Then, topic identification information for identifying each topic is created using a template prepared for each genre.

  Fig.2 (a)-FIG.2 (e) have shown the example of the template for every genre.

  That is, FIG. 2A shows a template when the topic is political news. In the case of political news, the name of a person / organization subject to news, the location of the occurrence of the news event, and the date and time of occurrence of the news event are items for specifying the topic. From these three items, it is possible to manage “who”, “when”, and “where” the news is for the event that has occurred, so that the topic can be identified.

  FIG. 2B shows a template when the topic is social news. In the case of social news, classification (car accidents, murders, etc.), date and time of occurrence, and place of occurrence are items for specifying topics. From these three items, it is possible to manage “what”, “when”, and “where” the news is about the event that has occurred, so that the topic can be identified. In this case, “who” need not be an item for topic identification. This makes it possible to identify news such as incidents where the criminal is not known.

  FIG. 2C shows a template when the topic is weather information. In the case of weather information, the information sender (ex. Japan Meteorological Agency), the weather information target (ex. Typhoon xx), and the information transmission date and time are items for specifying the topic. From these three items, the topic of the latest information on typhoon xx and earthquake information can be identified.

  FIG. 2D shows a template when the topic is a comedy program. In the case of a comedy program, the name of the person / organization that performed the comedy story and the name of the comedy story are items for specifying the topic. It is to manage these two items, “the name of the person / organization that performed the comedy story” and “the name of the comedy story”, and even if the comedy shows off the same story on a different program, It is possible to judge.

  FIG. 2E shows a template when the topic is drama. In the case of a drama, the name of the drama and the station that produced the drama are items for specifying the topic. By managing these two items, “drama name” and “production station” as topic identification information, even if the rebroadcast and the main broadcast are recorded on the same recording medium, it is determined that the content has the same content. Making it possible.

  In the present embodiment, for content topic division, genre selection, and topic identification information assignment, a person who has viewed the content (for example, a vendor who sells or manages the content management device) manually outside the device. Like to do. However, it may be created outside the apparatus, and the user may generate information, or the contractor may automatically generate information.

  In another embodiment to be described later, an example is described in which the apparatus automatically performs content topic division, genre selection, and topic identification information assignment.

(Overview of comprehensive viewing without duplication) ... Figures 3 and 4
In the content management apparatus 1 configured as described above, as described above, the content selection unit 107 is one of the topics determined to be duplicated by the topic duplication determination unit 108 from each content extracted from the content storage unit 105. The content from which the remaining content is deleted is output as a playback content or a content list.

  That is, since there are no overlapping topics in the playback content or content list, the content can be played back comprehensively and continuously.

  For example, consider a case where the content management apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration is installed in an apparatus that records all the broadcast wave channels for several days and searches for the program that the user wants to view from the recorded content.

  In response to a user instruction, when the content selection method determination unit 106 determines “overlapping viewing mode without duplication” in a certain field as the content selection method, the content selection unit 107 selects a topic belonging to the field from the content storage unit 105. All are acquired, topic identification information of each topic is sent to the topic duplication determination unit 108, and it is determined whether or not there are duplicate topics. One topic is selected according to the above rule, and topic playback order information is output so that continuous playback is performed together with non-overlapping topics.

  Specifically, it is as follows.

  FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C show content lists for each category of news programs in each Ch stored in the content storage unit 105.

  FIG. 4 shows reproduction content in which political news topics are extracted without duplication from the content list shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, and the topics are arranged in the order of continuous reproduction.

  The political news in the Ch1 news program shown in FIG. 3 (a) consists of topics A, B, and C. The political news in the Ch2 news program shown in FIG. 3 (b) consists of topics A, B, and D. The political news in the Ch3 news program shown in FIG. 3C includes topics A, B, and E, and it can be seen that topics A and B overlap in Ch1 to Ch3. 4 includes the topic A of Ch1, the topic B of Ch1, the topic C of Ch1, the topic D of Ch2, and the topic E of Ch3, and the topics A, B, C, D, and E are included. It is designed to play continuously in this order.

  That is, in the content management apparatus 1, first, when the user selects “overlapping viewing mode without duplication” of political news as the content selection method, the news content of each broadcast channel shown in FIGS. , Political news is extracted (all topics are extracted), and duplicate topics are determined from the topic identification information for all the extracted topics. From the non-overlapping political news topics A to E shown in FIG. The playback content is output.

  In this way, comprehensive viewing of political news desired by the user is enabled.

  Here, as a method of selecting one content from among the overlapping topics, “the newest broadcast time”, “the longest playback time”, “favorite Ch (ex. There is a method of selecting “a thing broadcasted by Ch) that performs the most” as a selection criterion.

  In addition, the order in which topics are continuously played back is determined by “the order in which the number of duplicates is large”, “the order in which broadcasting time is new”, “the order in which playback time is long”, “favorite ch / program order”, and the like.

  In the content management apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration, as described above, the comprehensive viewing without overlapping of topics is possible because the topic identification information can be managed so that the content can be managed in units of topics when the content is accumulated. This is because the topic duplication is determined using the topic identification information assigned to the content when the reproduced content is output.

  Hereinafter, content storage processing and content reproduction processing according to the present embodiment will be described.

(Content accumulation processing) ... Figure 5
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of content accumulation processing.

  First, content is input (step S101). Here, the input content is directly stored in the content storage unit 105, and is used for processing for adding topic identification information in subsequent steps.

  Next, the input content is divided into topic units (step S102). Here, examples in which the content is divided into topic units are shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, for example.

  Subsequently, an appropriate genre is selected for each topic (step S103). Here, if the content is a broadcast program, the genre includes political news, social news, weather information, comedy programs, dramas, and the like.

  Next, information for identifying a topic (topic identification information) is created using a template (step S104). Here, the template shown in FIGS. 2A to 2E is used as a template.

  Finally, topic identification information (topic identification information) and content are linked and recorded (step S105). That is, the content with the topic identification information is stored in the content storage unit 105.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the content viewer manually performs the topic division, genre selection, and topic identification information generation in the content accumulation process. However, these processes can be automatically performed in the content management apparatus. An example in which content accumulation processing is performed in the content management apparatus will be described in an embodiment described later.

  Next, content reproduction processing that matches the viewing method desired by the user from the content accumulated in the content accumulation unit 105 by the above-described content accumulation processing will be described.

(Content reproduction processing)...
6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the flow of content reproduction processing. Here, a description will be given assuming a news program as the content that the user desires to view.

  First, as shown in FIG. 6, the user's viewing history is acquired (step 201). Here, the viewing history of the news program up to the user's previous viewing is acquired.

  Next, the maximum value (Nmax) of the number of news programs broadcast since the previous viewing is acquired (step S202).

  Subsequently, the variable N = 0 is set (step S203).

  Then, it is determined whether or not the variable N is smaller than Nmax (step S204).

  In step S204, when the variable N is smaller than Nmax (Yes), the maximum value (Mmax) of topics in the Nth program is acquired (step S205).

  Next, the variable M = 0 is set (step S206).

  Next, the process proceeds to step S209 shown in FIG. 7, and it is determined whether or not the variable M is smaller than Mmax.

  If the variable M is smaller than Mmax in step S209 (Yes), the process proceeds to step S210, and it is determined whether or not a topic having the same content as the Mth topic exists in the topic playback order information (step S209). S210). Here, the topic reproduction order information is information describing the order in which topics created by topics of news programs broadcast since the last viewing are reproduced.

  If it is determined in step S210 that a topic having the same content as the Mth topic does not exist in the topic playback order information (No), the process proceeds to step S211 and the topic is placed at a predetermined position in the topic playback order information. Add And it transfers to step S214, 1 is added to the variable M, it transfers to step S209 again, and it is determined whether the variable M is smaller than Mmax.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S210 that a topic having the same content as the Mth topic exists in the topic playback order information (Yes), the process proceeds to step S212, and the topic is designated as the Mth topic. It is determined whether to view or not. That is, when the Mth topic overlaps with the topic included in the topic playback order information, the current topic is viewed in the order of the topic playback order information, or the corresponding topic is M Determine whether to watch on the topic of the eye. This may be determined by the user, and as described above, “the most recent broadcast time”, “the longest playback time”, “the preferred Ch (ex. Which topic is to be viewed may be automatically determined based on selection criteria such as “things broadcasted in Ch)”.

  In step S212, when it is determined that the corresponding topic is viewed as the Mth topic (Yes), the process proceeds to step S213, the topic reproduction order information is updated, and the process proceeds to step S214. In this case, the topic playback order information is updated so that the topic is viewed as the Mth topic.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S212 that the corresponding topic is not viewed as the Mth topic (No), the process proceeds to step S214. In this case, the corresponding topic is viewed in the order described in the current topic playback order information.

  The processing from step S210 to step S214 is repeated until the variable M becomes equal to Mmax in step S209.

  Therefore, in step S209, if the variable M becomes equal to Mmax (No), the process proceeds to step S207 shown in FIG. 6, the variable N is incremented by 1, and the process proceeds to step S204.

  In step S204, the above processing is repeated until the variable N becomes equal to Nmax.

  Therefore, in step S204, if the variable N is equal to Nmax (No), that is, if the determination of topic overlap is completed for all news programs broadcast since the last viewing, the process proceeds to step S208. The topic is reproduced according to the topic reproduction order information updated by this process.

  Thereby, the user can perform comprehensive viewing of the news program broadcast since the previous viewing without overlapping topics.

  In the above viewing process, topic duplication is determined for news programs broadcast since the last viewing, and topic playback order information is created. Topics may also be included.

  Therefore, when a topic is viewed according to the topic playback order information, it is possible to view the topic without duplication, but the already viewed topic is also viewed again.

  Therefore, in the following second embodiment, an example will be described in which only the unviewed topics excluding the already viewed topics are included, and the playback order of topics without overlapping topics is determined.

[Embodiment 2]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention.

  In the second embodiment, the content selection unit 107 functioning as a topic playback order determination unit stores previously played topics, and the topic duplication determination unit 108 determines that the contents are duplicated. Example of selecting one topic from the topics according to preset selection criteria and determining the playback order of topics without adding the topic when the selected topic is included in a previously played topic explain. Specifically, it is as follows.

  FIG. 8 (a) shows a list of topics of political news that have been viewed up to last night (previous) (information of previously played topics), and FIG. 8 (b) is from last night (previous) to this morning (this time). A list of topics of each Ch broadcasted in the meantime (topic reproduction order information created this time) is shown.

  Here, since the topics A, B, and D shown in FIG. 8A are topics that the user has already viewed, the topics A, B are extracted from the political news topics of each Ch shown in FIG. 8B. , D is the remaining topic except D.

  FIG. 9 shows a list of topics to be reproduced this morning (this time) in political news. That is, FIG. 9 shows topic playback order information created by unviewed topics (Topic C of Ch1 and Topic E of Ch3).

  Here, viewing processing for viewing only an unviewed topic in exhaustive viewing without topic overlap will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

  10 and 11, steps S201 to S214 are the same as the processes shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 of the first embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, step S301 for unviewed topic determination processing is inserted between step S209 and step S210.

  That is, in step S209 shown in FIG. 11, when the variable M is smaller than Mmax (Yes), the process proceeds to step S301, and it is determined whether or not the Mth topic is unviewed. Specifically, referring to the history of topics that have been viewed so far, if a topic having the same content as the Mth topic exists in the viewing history, it may be determined that the content has been viewed. If it is determined that the Mth topic is not unviewed (No), the process proceeds to step S214, and the variable M is incremented by one. That is, since the Mth topic has already been viewed, it is not added to the topic playback order information.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S301 that the Mth topic has not been viewed (Yes), the process proceeds to step S210, where topic duplication is determined. In this case, even if the Mth topic has not been viewed, if it is a duplicate topic, it will not be added to the playlist.

  By executing the above processing, topic playback order information consisting only of unviewed topics can be created.

  In the second embodiment, topic playback order information that allows only unviewed topics to be viewed is created. However, even for a topic that has already been viewed, a part of the content may be updated. In the following third embodiment, an example will be described in which the playback order of topics is determined based on unviewed topics and topics that have been viewed and whose contents are updated.

[Embodiment 3]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention.

  In the third embodiment, the content selection unit 107 functioning as a topic playback order determination unit stores previously played topics, and the topic duplication determination unit 108 determines that the contents are duplicated. Select one topic from the topics according to the selection criteria set in advance, and if the selected topic is included in a previously played topic, add the topic if the content of the topic has been updated. If the contents are not updated, an example of determining the playback order of topics without adding the topic will be described. Specifically, it is as follows.

  FIG. 12A is a list of information (including identification information) on each topic (including identification information) of news at 11:00 am (program 1), and FIG. It is a list of information on each topic of the news (program 2) at that time (topic reproduction order information created this time).

  Here, “topic 1 of program 1” and “topic B of program 1” which are new topics of the news (program 1) at 11:00 am shown in FIG. 12A, and 7 pm shown in FIG. 12B. When comparing “Topic A of Program 2” and “Topic B of Program 2” of the news of time (Program 2), “What”, “Where”, and “Topic A of Program 2” Since “what” and “how” are the same and “when” is different, it is determined that the program has the updated information.

  Here, the user views the topics A and B acquired from the 11:00 am news shown in FIG. 12A on a portable terminal such as a cellular phone during the lunch break from noon.

  Next, the topics A and B acquired from the news at 7:00 pm shown in FIG. 12B return home after 8:00 pm, and the user views them on the television at home. At this time, since topic A has been updated among topics A and B, topic B is listed in the topic playback order information, and topic B that has not been updated is not listed in the topic playback order information. For this reason, the user views only the updated topic A.

  Here, in the comprehensive viewing without overlapping of topics, viewing processing for viewing a topic that has been viewed and is updated in addition to an unviewed topic is shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. This will be described below with reference to the flowchart.

  13 and 14, steps S201 to S214 are the same as the processes shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 of the first embodiment, and step S301 is shown in FIG. 11 of the second embodiment. Since it is the same as step S301, detailed description is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, step S401 for determining a topic that has been viewed and whose content has been updated is connected to the No branch in step S301.

  That is, in step S209 shown in FIG. 14, when the variable M is smaller than Mmax (Yes), the process proceeds to step S301, and it is determined whether or not the Mth topic is unviewed. Here, when it is determined in step S301 that the Mth topic has not been viewed (Yes), the process proceeds to step S210, and topic overlap determination is performed. In this case, even if the Mth topic has not been viewed, if it is a duplicate topic, it will not be added to the playlist.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S301 that the Mth topic is not yet viewed (No), the process proceeds to step S401, where it is determined whether the information on the viewed topic has been updated. For example, in the topic A of the program 1 in FIG. 12A and the topic A of the program 2 in FIG. 12B, “what”, “where”, “what”, and “what” are the same and “when” If they are different, it is determined that the topic information has been updated.

  If it is determined in step S401 that the information on the viewed topic has been updated (Yes), the process proceeds to step S210, where topic duplication is determined. In this case, even if the Mth topic is unviewed and the information of the viewed topic is updated, if the same topic exists in the topic playback order information, the information is added to the topic playback order information. It will never be done.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S401 that the information on the viewed topic has not been updated (No), the process proceeds to step S214, and the variable M is incremented by one. That is, since the Mth topic has already been viewed, it is not added to the topic playback order information.

  By executing the above processing, it is possible to create topic playback order information obtained by adding a topic that has been viewed and updated to an unviewed topic.

  In the third embodiment, the playback order of a topic that has been viewed and is added to a topic that has been viewed is added to an unviewed topic. However, even if the topic has been updated, it is updated. If the user is not interested in viewing the previous topic, it may be set not to view. In the following Embodiment 4, an example will be described in which even if an updated topic is viewed, if the user is not interested in viewing the topic before the update, the user is not viewed.

[Embodiment 4]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention.

  In the fourth embodiment, as in the third embodiment, the playback order of the topics is determined based on the unviewed topic and the topic that has been viewed and the content of which has been updated. With respect to the updated topics included in the list, a setting is made so that the topics that the user does not want to view are not viewed.

  That is, in the fourth embodiment, the content selection unit 107 functioning as a topic playback order determination unit stores previously played topics, and the topic duplication determination unit 108 determines that the contents are duplicated. If one topic is selected from the selected topics according to preset selection criteria, and the selected topic is included in the previously played topic, if the content of the topic is updated, Example of checking whether viewing is disabled, adding the topic if viewing is not disabled, and determining the topic playback order without adding the topic if viewing is disabled explain. Specifically, it is as follows.

  FIG. 15A is a list of information (including identification information) of each topic (including identification information) of news (program 1) at 11:00 am, and FIG. 15B is 7 pm It is a list of information on each topic of the news (program 2) at that time (topic reproduction order information created this time).

  Here, “topic 1 of program 1” and “topic B of program 1” which are new topics of the news (program 1) at 11:00 am shown in FIG. 15A, and 7 pm shown in FIG. 15B. When comparing “program 2 topic A” and “program 2 topic B” in the news of the time (program 2), the topics A and B of program 1 and topics A and B of program 2 are all “what” “Where”, “what”, “what”, and “what” are the same and “when” is different, so it is determined that the program has the updated information.

  Here, the user views the topics A and B acquired from the 11:00 am news shown in FIG. 15A on a portable terminal such as a cellular phone during the lunch break from noon. At this time, among topics A and B, for topic B, a setting of “Do not view even when topic is updated” is set (viewing invalid setting).

  As a method for performing the setting of “Do not view even when topic is updated”, the user may set from the menu. In this case, it is conceivable that a topic not to be viewed is set to be skipped.

  In addition, when the content management apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is installed in a portable terminal that can be operated by voice input, the user says, “I will no longer see this topic” by voice, By doing so, a setting of “do not watch even if topic is updated” may be performed.

  In this way, with the setting of “Do not watch even if topic is updated”, topics A and B acquired from the news at 7 pm shown in FIG. 15 (b) return home after 8 pm, A user views on a television at home. At this time, since both topics A and B have been updated, they are listed in the topic playback order information, but for topic B, the setting “Do not watch even if topic is updated” is set. Users do not have to watch.

  Here, in comprehensive viewing without duplication of topics, in addition to unviewed topics, viewed topics that have already been viewed and whose contents have been updated are viewed, but topics that the user has set viewing disabled are not viewed. The viewing process for doing so will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  16 and 17, steps S201 to S214 are the same as the processes shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 of the first embodiment, and step S301 is shown in FIG. 11 of the second embodiment. Step S301 is the same as step S401, and step S401 is the same as step S401 shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, step S501 is newly connected to the Yes branch of step S401 in addition to step S401 for the process of determining a topic that has been viewed and whose content has been updated.

  Step S501 is a process of determining whether or not the topic whose information has been updated is set not to view.

  That is, in step S209 shown in FIG. 17, when the variable M is smaller than Mmax (Yes), the process proceeds to step S301, and it is determined whether or not the Mth topic is unviewed. Here, when it is determined in step S301 that the Mth topic has not been viewed (Yes), the process proceeds to step S210, and topic overlap determination is performed. In this case, even if the Mth topic is not viewed, if it is a duplicate topic, it is not added to the topic playback order information.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S301 that the Mth topic is not yet viewed (No), the process proceeds to step S401, where it is determined whether the information on the viewed topic has been updated. For example, “What”, “Where”, “What”, and “What” are the same in the topics A and B of the program 1 in FIG. 15A and the topics A and B of the program 2 in FIG. If “when” is different, it is determined that the topic information has been updated.

  If it is determined in step S401 that the viewed topic information has not been updated (No), the process proceeds to step S214, and the variable M is incremented by one. That is, since the Mth topic has already been viewed, it is not added to the topic playback order information.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S401 that the information on the viewed topic has been updated (Yes), the process proceeds to step S501 to determine whether or not the setting for not viewing the updated topic is valid. To do. Specifically, referring to a list of topics that are set to topics that are not viewed, “what”, “where”, “what” and “what” are the same and “when” is different from the Mth topic. If the topic exists in the list not viewed, it may be determined that the setting not viewed is valid.

  In step S501, when it is determined that the setting for not viewing the updated topic is valid (Yes), the process proceeds to step S214, and the variable M is incremented by one. That is, since the setting of not viewing the Mth topic is effective, it is not added to the topic playback order information.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S501 that the setting not to view the updated topic is not valid (No), the process proceeds to step S210, and the topic overlap is determined. In this case, even if the Mth topic is unviewed and the information of the viewed topic is updated, if the same topic exists in the playlist, it is added to the topic playback order information. There is no.

  By executing the above processing, a topic that has already been viewed and has been updated is added to an unviewed topic, and a topic that is set to be viewed by the user for the updated topic is set. Playback order can be determined.

  In the embodiments so far, if the topic duplication determination is the same content, the template shown in FIG. 2 is used as the topic identification information. However, even for the same content, the degree of topic duplication determination is adjusted. You may make it do.

  In other words, even if the content is the same, instead of using all items of “when”, “where”, “what”, “what”, and “what” as topic identification information, duplication determination is not performed. The overlap determination may be performed using some items. This example will be described in the fifth embodiment below.

[Embodiment 5]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention.

  In the fifth embodiment, the topic duplication determination unit 108 duplicates the content of each topic from the topic identification information of the topic included in each content extracted by the content selection unit 107 functioning as a content extraction unit. A description will be given of an example in which the determination criterion for determining whether or not the input is changed according to an external input. Specifically, it is as follows.

  In the content management apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a first duplication determination mode that performs duplication determination of topics using all items of topic identification information, even for the same type of content, and a part of topic identification information It is assumed that the second duplication judgment mode in which the duplication judgment of the topic is performed using the item is executed. That is, in the fifth embodiment, the criterion for determining whether or not the content of the topic is duplicated is different between the first duplication judgment mode and the second duplication judgment mode by the topic duplication judgment unit 108. The first overlap determination mode and the second overlap determination mode can be selected according to an external input (mode selection signal by the user). Specifically, it is as follows.

  FIGS. 18A to 18C show topics of rakugo content with different video sources.

  Here, in the topics shown in FIGS. 18 (a) to 18 (c), when the rakugo content of the rakugo family A is presented without duplication, both the first duplication judgment mode and the second duplication judgment mode are used. The creation of a reproduction playlist in this case will be described.

  In the first duplication determination mode, when “what”, “what”, “when”, “where”, and “how” are the same, it is determined that the topics are duplicates.

  Therefore, in the first duplication determination mode, it is determined that the topic is a different topic when the date and place are different even in the same program, so that “DVD B chapter B” in FIG. 18B and FIG. It is determined that “VOD1 chapter C” overlaps.

  Accordingly, “Topic A of Program 1” in FIG. 18A and “Chapters B of DVD1” in FIG. 18B are listed in the reproduction playlist.

  That is, when the first duplication determination mode is executed, the user views “program A topic A” in FIG. 18A and “DVD 1 chapter B” in FIG. 18B.

  On the other hand, in the second duplication judgment mode, topic identification information is less than in the first duplication judgment mode, and when “what”, “what”, and “what” are the same, it is judged as a duplicate topic.

  Therefore, in the second duplication determination mode, it is determined that the topic is a different topic when the date and time are different even in the same program, so all the topics in FIGS. 18A to 18C are duplicated. It is determined.

  As a result, only “program A topic A” in FIG. 18A is listed in the topic playback order information.

  That is, when the first duplication determination mode is executed, the user views only “topic A of program 1” in FIG.

  In this way, by changing the information amount of topic identification information that serves as a reference for duplication determination, the number of topics listed in the topic playback order information can be changed even for content of the same genre. That is, it is possible to determine topics to be listed in the topic playback order information according to the user's preference.

  In the content management apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, topic division processing, genre selection, and assignment of topic identification information in content storage processing in the content storage unit 105 are performed manually outside the device. May be performed automatically. In the following sixth embodiment, an example in which the apparatus performs topic division, genre selection, and topic identification information assignment will be described.

[Embodiment 6]
The following will describe still another embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 19 is a schematic block diagram of the content management apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment.

  The content management apparatus 2 differs from the content management apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment in that topic division, genre selection, and topic identification information addition are performed as shown in FIG. It is the point provided with the part 102a, the genre selection part 103a, and the topic identification information provision part 104a.

  The topic dividing unit 102a analyzes the content sent from the content input unit 101 and divides the content into topics. Specifically, when moving to another topic in a program, special sound effects may be sandwiched, so that the sound can be divided as a break or divided using information presented by the broadcast station. do it.

  The genre selection unit 103a selects a genre corresponding to each topic from the contents of the divided topics. Specifically, a genre may be automatically selected from words frequently used in divided topics based on genre information of program information multiplexed on broadcast waves.

  The topic identification information assigning unit 104a assigns topic identification information for identifying each topic so as to be associated with content stored in the content storage unit 105 from the content input unit 101. At this time, the topic identification information adding unit 104a analyzes the contents of each topic, and uses the genre-specific templates as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2E for the topic identification information corresponding to the genre. Generated and assigned to the associated content.

  By using the topic dividing unit 102a, the genre selecting unit 103a, and the topic identification information adding unit 104a, topic identification information is added to the content input to the content input unit 101 and stored in the content storage unit 105. be able to.

  According to each of the embodiments described above, various content playback methods can be realized.

  For example, it is conceivable to change the content that is continuously played back according to the time zone and the playback location.

(1) Continuous playback mode for morning time (ex. For busy hours before going to work in the morning)
In this case, when performing comprehensive viewing without duplication, as a method of selecting one content from among the overlapping topics, the content with the shortest playback time is selected, and many topics are selected in a short time. Can be viewed.

(2) Daytime continuous playback mode (ex.
In this case, when performing comprehensive viewing without duplication, as a method for selecting one content from among the overlapping topics, select content that contains many pre-set exciting keywords. Activating the brain, preventing drowsiness.

(3) Continuous playback mode in the bathroom (ex. Taking a bath and relaxing)
In this case, when performing comprehensive viewing without overlapping, as a method of selecting one content from overlapping topics, the number of characters in a section where a human voice is uttered = slowly Select the content of the chatter that you have made, making it possible to relax more.

  It should be noted that the continuous playback mode may be automatically played back when playing back at a specific time or place as described above, or the user can sequentially switch the continuous playback mode regardless of the specific time or place. It may be selected or set in advance, and continuous playback may be performed in that mode.

  It is also conceivable to realize reproduction of various contents dealing with the same topic.

  (1) It is possible to continuously watch all programs on all channels that deal with the same topic, know various ways of thinking about the topic and the point of coverage, and also know the program that suits your taste. .

  (2) Scenes that deal with the same topic in a specific program are reproduced in order from the time when they were first aired (or reproduced in an order that goes back in time) so that the passage of time of the topic can be easily understood.

<Electronic equipment>
The content management apparatuses 1 and 2 having the above-described configuration can be mounted on an electronic device such as a BD recorder or a television with a recording function.

<Content playback device>
The content management apparatuses 1 and 2 configured as described above may be configured to connect to the content reproduction apparatus as described above, and the content reproduction apparatus reproduces the content according to the topic reproduction order determined by the content management apparatus. The content management device and the content reproduction device may be directly connected by wireless or wired connection, or may be connected via a network.

<Method>
The present invention can also be realized by the following method.

  In other words, the content management method of the present invention is configured such that a plurality of contents can be divided according to an arbitrary extraction criterion from a content accumulation unit that accumulates a plurality of contents that are divided into topics and assigned topic identification information for identifying the contents of each topic. A content extraction procedure to be extracted, a topic playback order determination procedure for determining a playback order of topics to be played back from topics included in each content extracted in the content extraction procedure, and each of the contents extracted in the content extraction procedure A topic duplication determination procedure for determining whether or not the content of each topic is duplicated from the topic identification information of the topic included in the content. From the topics determined to be duplicated Select one of the topics by the boss was selection criteria, it is characterized by determining the reproduction order of topics plus selected topic.

<Program / Recording medium>
Each unit included in the content management apparatuses 1 and 2 may be configured by hardware logic. Alternatively, it may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as follows.

  In other words, the content management devices 1 and 2 each have a CPU such as an MPU that executes instructions of a program that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the program, and a RAM ( Random Access Memory) and a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the program and various data.

  The object of the present invention is not limited to the case where the electronic book display program for realizing the content management devices 1 and 2 is fixedly held in the program memory, but the program code (executable program, This can also be achieved by supplying a recording medium recording an intermediate code program or a source program) to the content management apparatuses 1 and 2 and reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium. .

  The recording medium is not limited to a specific structure or type. That is, the recording medium includes, for example, a tape system such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. System, IC card (including memory card) / optical card, etc., or semiconductor memory system such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM (registered trademark) / flash ROM.

  The object of the present invention can be achieved even if the content management apparatuses 1 and 2 are configured to be connectable to a communication network. In this case, the program code is supplied via a communication network. The communication network is not limited to a specific type or form as long as it can supply program codes to the content management apparatuses 1 and 2. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication network, etc. may be used.

  The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. For example, even with wired lines such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth (registered trademark), 802.11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone It can also be used by radio such as a telephone network, a satellite line, and a terrestrial digital network. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and the embodiments can be obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. The form is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be suitably used for all devices that store and play back content, such as a broadcast program recording / playback device, a television with a recording / playback function, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content management apparatus 2 Content management apparatus 101 Content input part 102 Topic identification information input part 102a Topic division part 103a Genre selection part 104a Topic identification information provision part 105 Content storage part 106 Content selection method determination part 107 Content selection part (content extraction part) , Topic playback order determination section)
108 Topic Duplication Determination Unit

Claims (11)

A content extraction unit that extracts a plurality of contents according to an arbitrary extraction criterion from a content accumulation unit that accumulates a plurality of contents that are divided into topics and to which topic identification information for identifying the content of each topic is added;
A topic playback order determination unit that determines a playback order of topics to be played back from topics included in each content extracted by the content extraction unit;
A topic duplication determination unit that determines whether or not the content of each topic is duplicated from the topic identification information of the topic included in each content extracted by the content extraction unit,
The topic playback order determination unit
A topic selected from the topics determined to be duplicated by the topic duplication determination unit is selected according to a preset selection criterion, and a playback order of the topics including the selected topic is determined. Content management device. The topic playback order determination unit
Remember previously played topics,
When one topic is selected according to the selection criteria set in advance from the topics determined to be duplicated by the topic duplication determination unit, and the selected topic is included in the previously played topic The content management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reproduction order of topics is determined without adding the topics. The topic playback order determination unit
Remember previously played topics,
When one topic is selected according to the selection criteria set in advance from the topics determined to be duplicated by the topic duplication determination unit, and the selected topic is included in the previously played topic If the content of the topic has been updated from the content of the topic at the time of the previous playback, the topic is added. If the content has not been updated, the playback order of the topics is determined without adding the topic. The content management apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The topic playback order determination unit
Remember previously played topics,
When one topic is selected according to the selection criteria set in advance from the topics determined to be duplicated by the topic duplication determination unit, and the selected topic is included in the previously played topic If the content of the topic has been updated from the content of the topic at the time of the previous playback, check if the viewing invalid setting has been set. If the viewing invalid setting has not been set, add the topic and view The content management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein if the invalid setting is made, the playback order of the topics is determined without adding the topic. The topic duplication judgment part
Changing the criterion for determining whether or not the content of each topic is duplicated from the topic identification information of the topic included in each content extracted by the content extraction unit according to the external input The content management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The above topic identification information is "when", "where", "what", "what", "what"
Including information indicating the following five items:
The topic duplication judgment part
The content management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein topic duplication is determined based on information indicating at least one of the information indicating the five items.   An electronic apparatus comprising the content management apparatus according to claim 1.   A content playback apparatus for playing back topics in the playback order of topics determined by the content management apparatus according to claim 1. A content extraction procedure for extracting a plurality of contents according to an arbitrary extraction criterion from a content storage unit that stores a plurality of contents that are divided into topics and assigned topic identification information for identifying the contents of each topic;
A topic playback order determination procedure for determining the playback order of topics to be played back from the topics included in each content extracted in the content extraction procedure;
A topic duplication determination procedure for determining whether or not the content of each topic is duplicated from the topic identification information of the topic included in each content extracted in the content extraction procedure,
The topic playback order determination procedure is as follows:
A topic selected from the topics determined to be duplicated in the topic overlap determination procedure is selected according to a preset selection criterion, and the playback order of the topics including the selected topic is determined. To manage content.   A content management control program for causing a computer to execute each procedure of the content management method according to claim 9.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the content management control program of Claim 10.

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