JP4551372B2 - Content recording apparatus and content recording method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content recording apparatus and a content recording method for recording content received via a network such as the Internet, and in particular, a content recording apparatus and a content recording method for receiving and recording content having variations in compression rate and audio level. About.

  In recent years, a network environment such as the Internet has been improved, and contents such as audio data are often provided to user-owned terminal devices via the network, and many contents are disclosed on the network.

  A content distributor selects content to be registered in accordance with the quality of the site where the content is distributed, publishes a Web page on which the selected content is arranged, and provides each content (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

However, in the conventional technology, there is a variation in the compression rate and the audio level of the content distributed at each site. When content such as “news” is distributed at a low compression rate, the storage area is limited. The problem is that the number of contents that can be recorded in a terminal device that is used wastefully and has a small storage area is reduced, and the user must adjust the volume each time content with different audio levels is played back. (For example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-183199 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to automatically adjust the compression rate and the audio level for storage even when content having variations in the compression rate and the audio level is received. The object is to provide a content recording apparatus capable of recording in an area.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration.
A content recording apparatus according to the present invention is a content recording apparatus that receives compressed content via a network and records the received content in a storage means, the decoding means for decoding the content, and decoding by the decoding means Volume level adjusting means for adjusting the volume of the content set to a set reference volume level, and encoding the content adjusted to the reference volume level by the volume level adjusting means at a set reference compression rate An encoding unit , a network connection unit that receives the content based on a content list described in a meta-language, and whether or not to perform volume level adjustment and compression rate adjustment based on the content described in the content list Adjusting determination means for determining, and When it is determined that neither the volume level adjustment nor the compression ratio adjustment is performed by the adjustment determination unit, it is determined that the received content is recorded as it is in the storage unit and only the volume level adjustment is performed. In this case, after decoding by the decoding means, the volume level adjusting means adjusts the reference volume level, and the encoding means encodes the content encoded at the reception compression rate in the storage means, When it is determined that only the compression rate adjustment is performed, the content encoded by the encoding unit with the reference compression rate is recorded in the storage unit after being decoded by the decoding unit, and the adjustment determining unit Both volume level adjustment and compression ratio adjustment If it is determined, the content is encoded by the decoding means, adjusted to the reference volume level by the volume level adjusting means, and further recorded by the encoding means at the reference compression rate in the storage means. characterized in that it.

  Furthermore, the content recording apparatus of the present invention includes a compression rate determination unit that determines the compression rate of the content, and is determined that only the compression rate adjustment is performed by the adjustment determination unit, and is determined by the compression rate determination unit. If the compression rate is higher than the reference compression rate, the received content is recorded in the storage means as it is.

The content recording method of the present invention is a content recording method for receiving compressed content via a network and recording the received content in storage means, based on a content list described in a meta language. Receiving content, determining whether to perform volume level adjustment and compression rate adjustment based on the contents described in the content list, and determining that neither volume level adjustment nor compression rate adjustment is performed the case records directly to the storage means the content received, when it is determined to perform only the volume level adjustment, after decoding, to adjust the criteria volume level, further compression rate at the time of reception When the content encoded in step 1 is recorded in the storage means and it is determined that only the compression rate adjustment is performed , After decoding, when recording the content that has been encoded with standards compression ratio in said storage means, determines to perform any of the compression ratio adjustment and the sound volume level adjustment, after decoding, the reference The content adjusted to the volume level and further encoded with the reference compression rate is recorded in the storage means.

  Further, the content recording method of the present invention determines the compression rate of the content, determines that only the compression rate adjustment is performed, and receives the received content when the determined compression rate of the content is higher than the reference compression rate. The content is recorded in the storage means as it is.

  The content recording apparatus and the content recording method of the present invention decode received content, adjust the volume of the decoded content to a set reference volume level, and set the content adjusted to the reference volume level to a set reference compression By encoding the content at a rate and recording the content encoded at the reference compression rate in the storage means, the compression rate and the audio level can be set to the reference compression rate even when content with a variation in the compression rate and the audio level is received. And automatically adjusts to the reference volume level and records it in the storage means. If content that is not related to quality, such as “News”, is distributed at a low compression rate, it is converted to a high compression rate and stored. By recording on the means, the storage area can be used effectively and Be regenerated to that content, in each case, an effect that the user does not need to perform volume adjustment.

  Furthermore, the content recording apparatus and the content recording method of the present invention receive content based on a content list described in a meta language, and perform volume level adjustment and compression rate adjustment based on the content described in the content list. If it is determined that neither the volume level adjustment nor the compression ratio adjustment is performed, the received content is recorded in the storage means as it is, and if it is determined that only the volume level adjustment is performed. After decoding, adjust to the reference volume level, record the content encoded with the compression rate at the time of reception in the storage means, and if it is determined that only the compression rate adjustment is to be performed, after decoding, at the reference compression rate When the encoded content is recorded in the storage means and it is determined that both volume level adjustment and compression rate adjustment are performed. After decoding, adjust the volume level to the reference volume level, and record the content encoded with the reference compression ratio in the storage means, so that the volume level adjustment and compression ratio adjustment can be used separately for each content list. The content can be recorded in the storage means in an appropriate state.

  In addition, the content recording apparatus and the content recording method of the present invention determine the compression rate of the content, and convert the compression rate of the content to the reference compression rate when the determined compression rate is lower than the set reference compression rate. By configuring so, content distributed at a low compression rate can be automatically identified and converted to a standard compression rate without bothering the user, and the storage area can be effectively utilized. There is an effect that can be done.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a distribution server that distributes compressed audio data to an embodiment of a content recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an embodiment of the content recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an automatic adjustment setting screen displayed on the display unit illustrated in FIG. 2.

  The content recording device 30 of the present embodiment is an information processing device such as a personal computer or an audio player that operates by program control. Referring to FIG. 1, the content recording device 30 is distributed to the distribution servers 10a to 10d via a network 20 such as the Internet. Each has a function of receiving and recording the recorded compressed audio data 12a to 12d.

  The distribution servers 10a to 10d are servers managed by managers such as distributors that provide a distribution service of the compressed audio data 12a to 12d, respectively, and links to the compressed audio data 12a to 12d are described. RSS files 11a to 11d are prepared. The RSS files 11a to 11d are content lists described by one RSS (Rich Site Summary) of the XML (Extensible Markup Language) specification, and the content recording device 30 is described in the RSS files 11a to 11d. The compressed audio data 12a to 12d, which is the content that is being processed, is received. The compressed audio data 12a to 12d is audio data such as PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) compressed by a compression format such as MP3. The compression rate and the audio level of each compressed audio data 12a to 12d are the distribution server 10a. Is appropriately set by an administrator who manages 10 to 10d.

  In the RSS files 11a to 11d, a <CHANNEL> element in which a channel (program) name of compressed audio data to be provided is described, and information (compressed audio data name or the like) for specifying the compressed audio data to be distributed are described. <ITEM> element and <ENCLOSURE> element describing a link to compressed audio data. In the present embodiment, the RSS file 11a for providing the channel name “XX news” is provided to the distribution server 10a, and the RSS file 11a is provided for providing the channel name “XX corner” to the distribution server 10b. The file 11b includes an RSS file 11c for providing the channel name “XX channel” to the distribution server 10c, and an RSS file 11d for providing the channel name “XX music” to the distribution server 10d. It shall be prepared.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the content recording device 30 operates according to the control program and controls each unit, a network connection unit 32, an audio decoder 33, a normalization processing unit 34, an audio encoder 35, and a memory 36. A data storage unit 37, a display unit 38, an operation unit 39, a D / A converter 40, and an audio output unit 41.

  When the CPU 31 reaches an instruction or a set time, the CPU 31 obtains compressed audio data 12a to 12d based on the RSS files 11a to 11d prepared in the distribution servers 10a to 10d with respect to the network connection unit 32. And a storage process for recording the received compressed audio data 12a to 12d in the data storage unit 37 is executed. Further, the CPU 31 refers to the <CHANNEL> element of the RSS files 11a to 11d and the automatic adjustment setting information recorded in the data storage unit 37, and further determines the compression rate of the received compressed audio data 12a to 12d. Thus, it is determined whether or not to automatically adjust the compression rate and whether or not to automatically adjust the volume level in the channel name of the content to be downloaded.

The network connection unit 32 has a function of communicating with the distribution servers 10a to 10d via the network 20, and receives the compressed audio data 12a to 12d from the distribution servers 10a to 10d based on the RSS files 11a to 11d.

  The audio decoder 33 is data expansion means for decoding the compressed audio data 12a to 12d received from the distribution servers 10a to 10d into uncompressed audio data such as PCM, and the audio encoder 35 is not compressed such as PCM. Data compression means for encoding audio data at a reference compression rate set in advance or set by a user. Therefore, after the compressed audio data 12a to 12d are decoded by the audio decoder 33 and then encoded by the audio encoder 35, the compressed audio data 12a to 12d can be converted into the reference compression rate. Functions as a compression rate conversion means for performing a compression rate conversion process for converting the compressed audio data 12a to 12d received from the distribution servers 10a to 10d into a reference compression rate.

  The normalization processing unit 34 is volume level adjusting means for automatically adjusting the volume of uncompressed audio data such as PCM decoded by the audio decoder 33 to a preset reference volume level. A conversion process that maximizes the input level in a range where the sound quality is not changed (the sound is not distorted) is executed as a normalization process. Note that the normalization process executed by the normalization processing unit 34 is configured to perform mapping to the absolute coordinate system, so that it is possible to avoid re-adjusting data that has been subjected to the normalization process in the past. It has become. In addition, since the volume of noise included in the sound before conversion may increase as it is due to the normalization process, it is preferable that the user can select whether or not to perform the normalization process.

  The memory 36 has a storage area for storing various data necessary for the operation of the CPU 31, the network connection unit 32, the audio decoder 33, the normalization processing unit 34, and the audio encoder 35, and compressed audio data by the network connection unit 32. 12a to 12d download ring buffer, decoding ring buffer used for decoding processing by the audio decoder 33, normalizing ring buffer used for normalization processing by the normalization processing unit 34, and encoding by the audio encoder 35 An encoding ring buffer used for processing is allocated.

  The data storage unit 37 is a recording unit such as a hard disk or a flash memory that records the compressed audio data 12a to 12d received from the distribution servers 10a to 10d after the compression rate conversion process or the normalization process.

  The display unit 38 is a display unit such as a liquid crystal display, for example, and displays an automatic adjustment setting screen 50 for setting whether or not to automatically adjust the compression rate and the audio level for each channel name, and the data storage unit 37. Various guidance screens related to the reproduction output of the compressed audio data recorded in the above are displayed. As shown in FIG. 3A, the automatic adjustment setting screen 50 displays a list of channel names to be received, whether or not to automatically adjust the compression rate for each channel name, and whether or not the audio level is set. It is a screen for the user to set whether or not to perform automatic adjustment. In the automatic adjustment setting screen 50 shown in FIG. 3A, the compression rate and the audio level are not automatically adjusted for the compressed audio data of the channel name “XX news”, and the channel name “XXX” is displayed. Only the compression rate is automatically adjusted for the compressed audio data in the "Corner", and only the audio level is automatically adjusted for the compressed audio data in the channel name "XX Channel". The channel name is "XX Music". Is set so as to automatically adjust the compression rate and the audio level, and the setting content of the automatic adjustment setting screen 50 is data as automatic adjustment setting information as shown in FIG. Recorded in the storage unit 37.

  The operation unit 39 is an input unit such as a keyboard, and automatically sets whether to automatically adjust the compression rate and the audio level for each channel name based on the automatic adjustment setting screen 50 displayed on the display unit 38. An adjustment setting input, various inputs for receiving the compressed audio data 12a to 12d from the distribution servers 10a to 10d, and various inputs for reproducing and outputting the compressed audio data recorded in the data storage unit 37 are accepted.

  The D / A converter 40 converts audio data, which is a digital signal, into an analog signal and outputs the audio from an audio output unit 41 such as a speaker.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the content recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operations of the first to fourth processes shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the parallel processing operation in the embodiment of the content recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is the download process in the embodiment of the content recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining specific operations of decoding processing and storage processing, and FIG. 8 is for explaining specific operations of normalizing processing and encoding processing in the embodiment of the content recording apparatus according to the present invention. It is a flowchart of.

  When the CPU 31 of the content recording device 30 reaches an instruction or set time by the user, the compressed audio data 12a to 12d based on the RSS files 11a to 11d prepared in the distribution servers 10a to 10d with respect to the network connection unit 32 is obtained. Instruct the download process to get The addresses on the network 20 such as URLs (Uniform Resource Locator) of the RSS files 11a to 11d may be stored in advance or may be input by the user.

  The network connection unit 32 acquires the RSS files 11a to 11d from the distribution servers 10a to 10d via the network 20, and analyzes the description contents of the RSS files 11a to 11d to determine whether updated content exists. Judgment and download processing for receiving the compressed audio data 12a to 12d of the updated content via the network 20 are executed.

  Next, the CPU 31 refers to the <CHANNEL> element of the RSS files 11a to 11d and the automatic adjustment setting information recorded in the data storage unit 37, so that the channel name of the content for which the download process is executed is It is determined whether or not the flag is ON (step A1), and whether or not the compression flag is ON (step A2, step A7).

  When neither the audio flag nor the compression flag is ON, that is, when the compressed audio data 12a which is the content of the channel name “XX News” is received from the distribution server 10a based on the RSS file 11a, FIG. The first process shown in a) is executed (step A3). In the first process, a storage process for recording the compressed audio data 12a (bit rate α kbps) received by the download process executed by the network connection unit 32 in the data storage unit 37 as it is is executed.

  When the audio flag is not ON and the compression flag is ON, that is, when the compressed audio data 12b which is the content of the channel name “XX corner” is received from the distribution server 10b based on the RSS file 11b, the CPU 31 The bit rate of the compressed audio data 12b received by the download process is determined from the information in the header area (step A4). Further, the CPU 31 determines whether or not the determined bit rate α is larger than the bit rate β of the encoding process executed by the audio encoder 35, that is, the encoding process in which the compression rate of the compressed audio data 12b is executed by the audio encoder 35. It is determined whether or not the compression rate is higher than the reference compression rate (step A5), and when the determined bit rate α is not larger than the bit rate β of the encoding process executed by the audio encoder 35, FIG. When the determined bit rate α is higher than the bit rate β of the encoding process executed by the speech encoder 35, the second process shown in FIG. 5B is performed. Is executed (step A6). In the second process, the compressed audio data 12b (bit rate α kbps) received by the download process executed by the network connection unit 32 is once expanded to PCM or the like by the decode process executed by the audio decoder 33, and then the audio encoder A storage process is executed in which the compressed audio data 12b is re-compressed at a bit rate β smaller than the bit rate α of the compressed audio data 12b by the encoding process to be executed, and the compressed audio data 12b converted to the reference compression rate is recorded in the data storage unit 37.

  When the audio flag is ON and the compression flag is not ON, that is, when the compressed audio data 12c which is the content of the channel name “XX channel” is received from the distribution server 10c based on the RSS file 11c, FIG. The third process shown in c) is executed (step A8). In the third process, the compressed audio data 12c (bit rate α kbps) received by the download process executed by the network connection unit 32 is once expanded to PCM or the like by the decode process executed by the audio decoder 33, and then the normalization processing unit The compressed audio data 12c is adjusted to a predetermined volume level by the normalizing process executed by the 34, and further re-compressed by the encoding process executed by the audio encoder at the same bit rate α as that at the time of reception, and the volume level is adjusted. Storage processing to be recorded in the unit 37 is executed.

  When both the audio flag and the compression flag are ON, that is, when the compressed audio data 12d that is the content of the channel name “XX music” is received from the distribution server 10d based on the RSS file 11d, FIG. The fourth process shown in (d) is executed (step A9). In the fourth process, the compressed audio data 12d (bit rate α kbps) received by the download process executed by the network connection unit 32 is once expanded to PCM or the like by the decode process executed by the audio decoder 33, and then the normalization processing unit 34 is adjusted to a predetermined volume level by the normalizing process executed by 34, and further re-compressed at a bit rate β smaller than the bit rate α of the compressed audio data 12d by the encoding process executed by the audio encoder, and the volume level is adjusted. A storage process for recording the compressed audio data 12d converted into the compression rate in the data storage unit 37 is executed.

  In the present embodiment, five processes of a download process, a decode process, a normalize process, an encode process, and a storage process are performed, and each process is executed in parallel. That is, the compressed audio data 12a to 12d are configured by a series of processing units called AAUs (Audio Access Units), and as shown in FIG. Real-time processing is performed every n AAUs using a ring buffer for normalization, a ring buffer for normalization, and a ring buffer for encoding.

  In the download process, referring to FIG. 7A, the network connection unit 32 waits for the page of interest in the download ring buffer to be “empty” (step B1), and the page of interest in the download ring buffer is “empty”. ”, AAU × n are downloaded and stored in the target page of the download ring buffer, the“ input ”flag is added to the target page, and the target page number of the download ring buffer is updated (step B2). ). Next, the network connection unit 32 determines whether or not a process stop condition such as a data end is met (step B3), and repeats the operations of step B1 and step B2 until the process stop condition is met. If it matches, the download process is terminated.

  Also, in the decoding process, referring to FIG. 7B, the audio decoder 33 waits for the page of interest in the download ring buffer to become “ON” (step C1), and the page of interest in the ring buffer for decoding is Waiting for “processed” (step C2), if the page of interest in the download ring buffer is “on” and the page of interest in the decoding ring buffer is “processed”, focus on the download ring buffer. The AAU × n stored in the page is decoded and stored in the target page of the decoding ring buffer, and the target page “empty” flag of the download ring buffer is attached, and “ With the “unprocessed” flag, and a decoding ring buffer and download To update the attention page number of the use ring buffer (step C3). Next, the audio decoder 33 determines whether or not a process stop condition such as a data end is met (step C4), and repeats the operations of step C1 and step C3 until the process stop condition is met, thereby satisfying the process stop condition. If they match, the decoding process ends.

  Further, in the normalization process, referring to FIG. 8A, the normalization processing unit 34 waits for the target page of the decoding ring buffer to become “unprocessed” (step D1), and also focuses on the normalization ring buffer. Wait for the page to be “processed” (step D2). When the page of interest in the decoding ring buffer becomes “unprocessed” and the page of interest in the normalization ring buffer becomes “processed”, the decoding ring The volume level of AAU × n stored in the buffer page of interest is adjusted and stored in the page of interest in the normalization ring buffer, the page of interest of the decoding ring buffer is marked with the “processed” flag, and the ring buffer for normalization Add an “unprocessed” flag to the page of interest Updating a's ring buffer, the page of interest number of decoding ring buffer (step D3). Next, the normalization processing unit 34 determines whether or not a process stop condition such as a data end is met (step D4), and repeats the operations of step D1 and step D3 until the process stop condition is met. If it matches, the normalizing process is terminated.

  Further, in the encoding process, referring to FIG. 8B, the audio encoder 35 waits for the target page of the normalizing ring buffer to become “unprocessed” (step E1), and also the target page of the encoding ring buffer. Waits for “processed” (step E 2), and when the target page of the normalization ring buffer becomes “unprocessed” and the target page of the encode ring buffer becomes “processed”, the normalization ring buffer Encode the AAU × n stored in the target page of the image, store it in the target page of the ring ring buffer for encoding, attach the target page “processed” flag of the ring buffer for normalization, and display the target page of the ring buffer for encoding Is flagged as "unprocessed" and encoded To update a ring buffer, the attention page number of the normalization for the ring buffer (step E3). Next, the audio encoder 35 determines whether or not a process stop condition such as data end is met (step E4), and repeats the operations of step E1 and step E3 until the process stop condition is met, thereby satisfying the process stop condition. If they match, the encoding process ends.

  Further, in the storage process, referring to FIG. 7C, the CPU 31 waits for the target page of the encoding ring buffer to become “unprocessed” (step F1), and the target page of the encoding ring buffer is “empty”. ”, AAU × n stored in the page of interest of the ring buffer for encoding is output to a file by recording it in the data storage unit 37, and a“ processed ”flag is attached to the page of interest and The page number of interest in the ring buffer is updated (step F2). Next, the CPU 31 determines whether or not a process stop condition such as data end is met (step F3), and repeats the operations of step F1 and step F2 until the process stop condition is met, and if the process stop condition is met. The storage process is terminated.

  A series of download processing, decoding processing, normalization processing, encoding processing, and storage processing using the download ring buffer, decoding ring buffer, normalizing ring buffer, and encoding ring buffer allocated to the memory 36 in this manner. By executing the processing in parallel for every n AAUs, processing can be performed at a speed that is almost the same as normal download. It is assumed that normalization processing, encoding processing, and decoding processing are performed in hardware, and processing can be performed in a short time compared to the acquisition speed of AAU from the network 20, and (according to the download processing of AAU * 1) Time)> (time required for AAU × 1 decoding processing, normalizing processing, encoding processing, and storage processing), it is possible to perform apparent real-time processing by simply downloading one AAU in advance. .

  In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not to convert to the standard compression rate by referring to the <CHANNEL> element of the RSS files 11a to 11d and the automatic adjustment setting information recorded in the data storage unit 37. Although it is configured to determine, it may be determined from the description contents of the description tag of the <CHANNEL> element described in the RSS files 11a to 11d or the description contents of the description tag of the <ITEM> element. For example, when a character string “news” is present in the description tag of the <CHANNEL> element, it is possible to apply a rule of always converting to a standard compression rate. Further, in cooperation with the distribution source, for example, when a character string meaning “recompressible” exists as an element of some tag, it may be automatically recompressed, and further, the RSS files 11a to 11d The elements may be displayed on the display unit 38 so that the user can make an individual determination.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the received content is decoded by the audio decoder 33, the volume of the decoded content is adjusted to the reference volume level set by the normalization processing unit 34, and the reference volume level is set. The CPU 31 encodes the content adjusted to the standard compression rate set by the audio encoder 35, and the CPU 31 is configured to record the content encoded at the standard compression rate in the data storage unit 37, so that the compression rate and the audio level are recorded. Even when content with a variation is received, the compression rate and the audio level can be automatically adjusted to the reference compression rate and the reference volume level and recorded in the data storage unit 37. High if content is delivered at a low compression rate By converting it into a reduction ratio and recording it in the data storage unit 37, it is possible to effectively use the storage area, and even when different contents are reproduced, the user does not need to adjust the volume each time. Play.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the content is received based on the content list described in the meta language, and the CPU 31 performs the volume level adjustment and the compression rate adjustment based on the content described in the content list. If it is determined that neither the volume level adjustment nor the compression ratio adjustment is performed, the received content is recorded in the data storage unit 37 as it is, and it is determined that only the volume level adjustment is performed. After the decoding by the audio decoder 33, the normalization processing unit 34 adjusts the reference volume level, and the audio encoder 35 records the content encoded at the compression rate at the time of reception in the data storage unit 37, and only the compression rate adjustment is performed. If it is determined to be performed, the audio encoder 33 decodes the audio encoder 5, the content encoded with the reference compression rate is recorded in the data storage unit 37, and when it is determined that both the volume level adjustment and the compression rate adjustment are performed, after being decoded by the audio decoder 33, the normalization processing unit 34 By adjusting the reference volume level and recording the content encoded by the audio encoder 35 at the reference compression rate in the data storage unit 37, the volume level adjustment and the compression rate adjustment can be used separately for each content list. The content can be recorded in the data storage unit 37 in an appropriate state.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the CPU 31 determines the compression rate of the content, and when the determined compression rate is lower than the set reference compression rate, the audio decoder 33 and the audio encoder 35 compress the content. By converting the rate to the standard compression rate, content distributed at a low compression rate can be automatically identified and converted to the standard compression rate without bothering the user. There is an effect that the area can be effectively used.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is obvious that the embodiments can be appropriately changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. For example, as an example of a meta language, an RSS file is used for explanation, but there is no problem even if another type of meta language is used. In addition, the number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be set to a number, position, shape, and the like that are suitable for implementing the present invention. In each figure, the same numerals are given to the same component.

It is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a distribution server that distributes compressed audio data to the embodiment of the content recording apparatus according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of the content recording apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an automatic adjustment setting screen displayed on the display part shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of embodiment of the content recording apparatus based on this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of the 1st-4th process shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the parallel processing operation | movement in embodiment of the content recording apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the specific operation | movement of the download process in the embodiment of the content recording device based on this invention, a decoding process, and a storage process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the specific operation | movement of the normalization process in the embodiment of the content recording device based on this invention, and an encoding process.

Explanation of symbols

10a to 10d Distribution server 11a to 11d RSS file 12a to 12d Compressed audio data 20 Network 30 Content recording device 31 CPU (Adjustment determination means)
32 Network connection (network connection means)
33 Audio decoder (decoding means, compression rate conversion means)
34 Normalize processing unit (volume level adjustment means)
35 Voice encoder (encoding means, compression rate conversion means)
36 memory 37 data storage section (storage means)
38 Display unit 39 Operation unit 40 D / A converter 41 Audio output unit 50 Automatic adjustment setting screen

Claims (4)

A content recording device that receives compressed content via a network and records the received content in storage means,
Decoding means for decoding the content;
Volume level adjusting means for adjusting the volume of the content decoded by the decoding means to a set reference volume level;
Encoding means for encoding the content adjusted to the reference volume level by the volume level adjustment means at a set reference compression rate;
Network connection means for receiving the content based on a content list described in a meta language;
Adjustment determination means for determining whether to perform volume level adjustment and compression ratio adjustment based on the contents described in the content list,
If the adjustment determination means determines that neither the volume level adjustment nor the compression ratio adjustment is performed, it is determined that the received content is recorded in the storage means as it is and only the volume level adjustment is performed. In the case of being decoded, after the decoding by the decoding unit, the volume level adjusting unit adjusts the reference volume level, and the encoding unit records the content encoded at the reception compression rate in the storage unit. When it is determined that only the compression rate adjustment is performed, the content encoded by the encoding unit with the reference compression rate is recorded in the storage unit after being decoded by the decoding unit, and the adjustment determining unit Either the volume level adjustment or the compression ratio adjustment If it is determined that the content is also to be performed, the content is encoded by the decoding means, adjusted to the reference volume level by the volume level adjusting means, and further encoded by the encoding means at the reference compression rate. A content recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium. Comprising compression rate determination means for determining the compression rate of the content;
When it is determined by the adjustment determination means that only the compression ratio adjustment is performed, and the compression ratio determined by the compression ratio determination means is higher than the reference compression ratio, the received content is recorded in the storage means as it is. The content recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   A content recording method for receiving compressed content via a network and recording the received content in storage means,
  Receiving the content based on a content list described in a meta-language;
  Determining whether to perform volume level adjustment and compression ratio adjustment based on the content described in the content list;
  If it is determined that neither the volume level adjustment nor the compression rate adjustment is performed, the received content is recorded in the storage means as it is,
  When it is determined that only the volume level adjustment is performed, after decoding, the volume is adjusted to a reference volume level, and the content encoded with the compression rate at the time of reception is further recorded in the storage unit.
  When it is determined that only the compression rate adjustment is performed, after decoding, the content encoded with a reference compression rate is recorded in the storage unit,
  If it is determined that both the volume level adjustment and the compression ratio adjustment are performed, after decoding, the volume is adjusted to the reference volume level, and the content encoded with the reference compression ratio is recorded in the storage unit. A content recording method characterized by the above.   Determine the compression rate of the content;
  4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein it is determined that only the compression ratio adjustment is performed, and if the determined compression ratio of the content is higher than the reference compression ratio, the received content is directly recorded in the storage unit. The content recording method described.

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