JP4584226B2 - Content recording / reproducing system, content recording / reproducing apparatus, content recording / reproducing program, and computer-readable recording medium recording the content recording / reproducing program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content recording / reproducing system, a content recording / reproducing apparatus, a content recording / reproducing program, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the content recording / reproducing program is recorded, and in particular, a content recording / reproducing system suitable for viewing content. The present invention relates to a content recording / reproducing apparatus, a content recording / reproducing program, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the content recording / reproducing program is recorded.

  In recent years, users can enjoy AV (Audio Visual) content anywhere in the home by connecting digital home appliances such as PCs (Personal Computers), TVs (TeleVisions), and hard disk recorders to each other via a network. Home network technology is drawing attention.

  By the way, with the widespread use of digital hard disk recorders that can perform recording and playback at the same time, new programs such as so-called chasing playback, in which a program that is currently being broadcast is continuously recorded and the program is viewed from any point where it has already been broadcast. A new viewing style is being established.

  In such a situation, the user has a potential need to continuously watch time-shifted content on a hard disk recorder installed in a room on another hard disk recorder installed in another room. Have

  In Patent Document 1, in a digital video recorder / home server in which devices A and B can communicate with each other via a home network, when the device A performs a moving viewing operation, the built-in digital video recorder unit performs live until then. When recording of the program being viewed is started, and after receiving a time shift playback instruction from the device B, the recorded program is read from the recording start point and distributed to the device B from the recording unit. A technique for reproducing is disclosed.

In Patent Document 2, content recording during the movement time is performed by the movement source device, and after the movement is completed, the content recording is performed by using the movement destination device, and the tuner and storage of the movement source device are released early, A technology is disclosed in which content recorded during a movement time is transmitted to a destination device using either streaming or copying.
JP 2004-363659 A JP 2005-217586 A

  However, since the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 transmits content using streaming, until the transmission of content data recorded in the digital video recorder unit built in device A to device B is completed. In this case, the digital video recorder unit of the device A is occupied, and other users cannot use the device A to record other content data, and other users have an opportunity to use the device A. There was a problem of being robbed.

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, content is transmitted using streaming, copy, or move. For this reason, when transmitting using streaming, there exists a problem similar to patent document 1 mentioned above. Also, when transmitting using copy or move, if audio or video content is played back in real time at the same time as receiving the content data, transmission of the subsequent packet is delayed due to retransmission processing of the packet in which packet loss has occurred. For this reason, there is a problem that the reception side cannot receive the packet even when the packet playback time is reached, the real-time property is impaired, and video and audio cannot be reproduced smoothly.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to view content that has been viewed on a device that efficiently uses the communication band of the network according to the communication state of the communication network. Content that can be transmitted and released at an early stage, and can be continuously time-shifted on another device without losing real-time performance even when the network communication status is poor A recording / reproducing system, a content recording / reproducing apparatus, a content recording / reproducing program, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the content recording / reproducing program is recorded.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a content recording / playback system includes a transmission-side recording / playback device and a reception-side recording / playback device. The transmission-side recording / playback device includes a transmission-side output control unit that outputs a content for which at least one of an image and a sound changes with time, and a content that is output by the transmission-side output control unit. Content after interruption instruction that encodes the content after the interruption instruction is received on condition that the interruption instruction is accepted by the interruption instruction reception unit and the interruption instruction reception unit that accepts the interruption instruction to interrupt viewing A transmission-side recording start control unit that performs control to start data recording.

  The receiving-side recording / playback apparatus is provided with a continuation instruction receiving unit that receives a continuation instruction to continue viewing the content for which the interruption instruction is received by the interruption instruction receiving unit, and a continuation instruction that is received by the continuation instruction receiving unit. When the continuation instruction is received, the continuation instruction is received by the receiving-side first recording start control unit that performs control to start recording the content data after the continuation instruction that encodes the content after the continuation instruction is received. And a transmission request unit for requesting transmission of content data after an interruption instruction whose recording has been started by the transmission side recording start control unit.

  The transmission-side recording / playback apparatus further controls to end the recording of the content data after the interruption instruction started by the transmission-side recording start control unit on the condition that the transmission request unit requests transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction. The content data after interruption instruction whose recording has been started by the transmission side recording end control unit and the transmission side recording start control unit are the partial data from the beginning of the content indicated by the content data after interruption instruction. A division unit that divides the data into certain first content data and second content data that is a continuation of the content indicated by the first content data, and the transmission request unit requests transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction. If the content data is received, the content data is indicated at the same time. The first transmission control unit for transmitting the first content data divided by the dividing unit to the receiving-side recording / reproducing apparatus in the stream method in which the content is output, and the transmission request unit requesting transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction On the condition that the content indicated by the content data is output, the second content data divided by the dividing unit is transmitted to the receiving recording / reproducing apparatus in a copy method in which the content data is received in a batch. A second transmission control unit.

  The receiving-side recording / reproducing device further includes a receiving-side first output control unit that outputs the content indicated by the first content data transmitted from the first transmission control unit of the transmitting-side recording / reproducing device to allow the user to view the content. The reception-side second recording start control unit that performs control to start recording of the second content data transmitted from the second transmission control unit of the transmission-side recording / playback device, and the reception-side first output control unit perform the first content. A reception-side second output control unit that outputs the content indicated by the second content data whose recording has been started by the reception-side second recording start control unit after the content indicated by the data is output; The reception side first recording start control unit is connected to the content indicated by the second content data output by the reception side second output control unit. And a third output control unit receiving side to output in order to view the user content indicated by the instruction to continue after content data recording is started me.

  According to the present invention, the transmission side recording / reproducing apparatus outputs the content for viewing by the user, receives an interruption instruction for interrupting the viewing of the output content, and confirms that the interruption instruction has been received. As a condition, control is performed to start recording content data after an interruption instruction that encodes the content after the interruption instruction is received.

  The content after the continuation instruction is received on the condition that the continuation instruction to continue viewing the content for which the interruption instruction has been received is received by the receiving-side recording / playback apparatus and the continuation instruction has been received The control for starting the recording of the content data after the continuation instruction encoded is performed, and the transmission of the content data after the suspend instruction when the recording is started is requested on condition that the continuation instruction is accepted.

  Also, on the condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested by the transmission-side recording / playback apparatus, the control for ending the recording of the content data after the interruption instruction is performed, and the interruption instruction when the recording is started The subsequent content data is first content data that is a part of data from the beginning of the content indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction, and the remaining data subsequent to the content indicated by the first content data. The content data is divided into two content data, and the divided first content data is transmitted to the receiving-side recording / playback apparatus in a stream format on the condition that transmission of the content data after the suspension instruction is requested. On the condition that the transmission of the second content data is divided by the copy method. There are transmitted to the receiving side recording and reproducing apparatus.

  In addition, the receiving side recording / reproducing apparatus outputs the content indicated by the first content data transmitted from the transmitting side recording / reproducing apparatus for the user to view and the second content transmitted from the transmitting side recording / reproducing apparatus. After the control for starting the data recording is performed and the content indicated by the first content data is output, the content indicated by the second content data for which recording has been started is output and output for the user to view. The content indicated by the content data after the continuation instruction for which recording has been started is output so as to be viewed by the user so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the second content data.

  For this reason, the content that was output for the user to view on the transmission-side recording / playback device is output for the user to perform time-shifted viewing on the reception-side recording / playback device. At this time, an interruption instruction was accepted The first content data, which is a part of the data recorded from the beginning, is transmitted to the receiving-side recording / playback apparatus in a stream format, and the rest of the content indicated by the first content data is transmitted. The second content data, which is data, is transmitted to the receiving-side recording / playback apparatus by a copy method. For this reason, it is possible to transmit the content recorded by the transmission-side recording / playback apparatus by efficiently using the communication band of the network according to the communication state of the communication network. In addition, as soon as the first content data is received by the receiving-side recording / playback device, the content is output from the beginning, while the content indicated by the first content data is being output, Content data can be transmitted. As a result, content that has been viewed on the transmission-side recording / playback device can be transmitted in a shorter time by efficiently using the communication band of the network according to the communication state of the communication network, and the transmission-side recording / playback device can be released early. It is possible to provide a content recording / playback system capable of continuously time-shift viewing on a receiving-side recording / playback apparatus without impairing real-time performance even when the communication state of the network is poor. it can.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a content recording / playback apparatus includes a transmission-side output control unit that outputs a content for which at least one of an image and a sound changes with the passage of time, and a transmission-side output. The interruption instruction receiving unit that receives an interruption instruction to interrupt the viewing of the content output by the control unit, and after the interruption instruction is received on condition that the interruption instruction is received by the interruption instruction receiving unit On the condition that a recording-side recording start control unit that performs control to start recording of content data after an interruption instruction that encodes content and a continuation instruction to continue viewing the content for which the interruption instruction has been received are received Content after continuation instruction that encodes content after continuation instruction is received by receiving side recording / playback apparatus Control to end recording of the content data after the stop instruction started by the transmission-side recording start control unit is performed on the condition that the control of starting the recording of the data is performed and the transmission of the content data after the stop instruction is requested. The content data after interruption instruction whose recording has been started by the transmission side recording end control unit and the transmission side recording start control unit is a part of data from the beginning of the content indicated by the content data after interruption instruction. Content on the condition that the content is divided into one content data and second content data that is the remaining data after the content indicated by the first content data, and transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested A stream in which the content indicated by the content data is output while data is received The first transmission control unit that transmits the first content data divided by the division unit to the receiving-side recording / playback device and the content data on the condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested And a second transmission control unit that transmits the second content data divided by the dividing unit to the receiving-side recording / reproducing apparatus in a copy method in which the content data is received in a batch, not while outputting the content.

  Then, the content indicated by the first content data transmitted from the first transmission control unit is output by the reception-side recording / playback device to allow the user to view and the second content transmitted from the second transmission control unit. After the control for starting the data recording is performed and the content indicated by the first content data is output, the content indicated by the second content data for which recording has been started is output and output for the user to view. The content indicated by the content data after the continuation instruction for which recording has been started is output so as to be viewed by the user so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the second content data.

  According to the present invention, the content recording / playback apparatus outputs the content for viewing by the user, receives a suspend instruction to suspend viewing of the output content, and accepts the suspend instruction. After the interruption instruction is received, control is performed to start recording of content data after the interruption instruction that encodes the content, and the continuation instruction to continue viewing the content for which the interruption instruction has been received is received. On the condition that the continuation instruction is received by the receiving recording / reproducing apparatus, the control is started to start the recording of the content data after the continuation instruction that encodes the subsequent content, and the transmission of the content data after the suspend instruction is requested. Content data after an interruption instruction started by the transmission-side recording start control unit Control for ending recording is performed, and the content data after the interruption instruction for which recording has started is the first content data that is a part of the data indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction, and the first content data The first content that is divided into the second content data that is the remaining data after the content indicated by the one content data and that is divided by the stream method on condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested The divided second content data is transmitted to the receiving-side recording / reproducing apparatus by the copy method on condition that the data is transmitted to the receiving-side recording / reproducing apparatus and the transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested. Then, the content indicated by the first content data transmitted from the first transmission control unit is output by the reception-side recording / playback device to allow the user to view and the second content transmitted from the second transmission control unit. After the control for starting the data recording is performed and the content indicated by the first content data is output, the content indicated by the second content data for which recording has been started is output and output for the user to view. The content indicated by the content data after the continuation instruction for which recording has been started is output so as to be viewed by the user so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the second content data.

  For this reason, the content that has been output for viewing by the user is output for the user to perform time-shifted viewing by the receiving-side recording / playback device. At this time, the content is recorded on the condition that an interruption instruction has been received. First content data, which is part of the data from the beginning, is transmitted to the receiving-side recording / playback apparatus in a stream format, and the second content is the remaining data following the content indicated by the first content data Data is transmitted to the receiving-side recording / reproducing apparatus by a copy method. For this reason, the content recorded by the content recording / playback apparatus can be transmitted by efficiently using the communication band of the network according to the communication state of the communication network. In addition, as soon as the first content data is received by the receiving-side recording / playback device, the content is output from the beginning, while the content indicated by the first content data is being output, Content data can be transmitted. As a result, content that has been viewed on the content recording / playback apparatus can be transmitted in a shorter time by efficiently using the communication band of the network according to the communication state of the communication network, and the content recording / playback apparatus can be released early. It is possible to provide a content recording / reproducing apparatus capable of continuously time-shifted viewing on the receiving side recording / reproducing apparatus without impairing real-time performance even when the communication state of the network is poor.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, the content recording / playback apparatus receives an interruption instruction for interrupting viewing of the content output for the user to view by the transmission side recording / playback apparatus. The content of the received content that has been controlled to start recording content data after the interruption instruction that encodes the content after the interruption instruction is received on condition that the interruption instruction has been received. A continuation instruction receiving unit that accepts a continuation instruction to continue viewing and a continuation instruction that encodes the content after the continuation instruction is received on condition that the continuation instruction is received by the continuation instruction reception unit The receiving side first recording start control unit that performs control for starting the recording of the content data and the continuation instruction receiving unit perform the continuation instruction. The transmission request unit requesting transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction whose recording is started by the transmission-side recording / playback device and the transmission request unit requesting transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction On the condition that the recording of the content data after the interruption instruction started by the transmission-side recording / playback apparatus is terminated, and the content indicated by the content data is simultaneously output while the content data is received, In order to allow the user to view the content indicated by the first content data, which is a part of the content indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction that has been recorded by the transmitting recording / reproducing device transmitted from the reproducing device. Output by the receiving side first output control unit and the transmission request unit When the transmission of the content data after the instruction is requested, the content data is transmitted from the transmission-side recording / playback apparatus in a copy method in which the content data is received in a batch rather than being output. Control is performed to start recording the second content data, which is the remaining data of the content indicated by the first content data, of the content indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction that has been recorded by the transmitting recording / reproducing apparatus. Second content data whose recording is started by the second recording start control unit on the receiving side after the content indicated by the first content data is output by the second recording start control unit on the receiving side and the first output control unit on the receiving side 2nd output control part which outputs in order to make a user view the content shown by this And the content data after the continuation instruction started by the reception side first recording start control unit so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the second content data output by the reception side second output control unit. A reception-side third output control unit that outputs the content for viewing by the user.

  According to the present invention, the content recording / playback apparatus receives the interruption instruction indicating that the content recording / playback apparatus interrupts the viewing of the content output for the user to view by the transmission side recording / playback apparatus. On the condition that the interruption instruction is received, the content that has been controlled to start recording the content data after the interruption instruction after encoding the content after the interruption instruction is received is to be continued. On the condition that the continuation instruction is received, control is performed to start recording content data after the continuation instruction that encodes the content after the continuation instruction is received on condition that the continuation instruction is received. On the condition that the recording was started by the sending recording / playback device, The recording of the content data after the interruption instruction started by the transmission side recording / reproducing device is terminated on the condition that the transmission of the data is requested and the transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested. In order for the user to view the content indicated by the first content data, which is a part of the content indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction that has been recorded by the transmission-side recording / reproducing device transmitted from the device. This is indicated by the content data after interruption instruction that is output by the transmission-side recording / reproducing apparatus transmitted from the transmission-side recording / reproducing apparatus by the copy method on condition that transmission of content data after interruption instruction is requested. Of the content indicated by the first content data In order to allow the user to view the content indicated by the second content data that has been recorded after the content indicated by the first content data has been output. The content indicated by the content data after the continuation instruction for which recording has been started is output so as to be viewed by the user so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the output second content data.

  For this reason, the content that was output for the user to view on the transmission-side recording / playback device is output for the user to perform time-shifted viewing on the content recording / playback device. At this time, the interruption instruction was accepted. The first content data, which is a part of data recorded from the beginning of the content recorded on the condition, is transmitted to the content recording / playback apparatus in a stream format, and is the remaining data subsequent to the content indicated by the first content data Certain second content data is transmitted to the content recording / playback apparatus by a copy method. For this reason, it is possible to transmit the content recorded by the transmission-side recording / playback apparatus by efficiently using the communication band of the network according to the communication state of the communication network. In addition, as soon as the first content data is received by the receiving-side recording / playback device, the content is output from the beginning, while the content indicated by the first content data is being output, Content data can be transmitted. As a result, content that has been viewed on the transmission-side recording / playback device can be transmitted in a shorter time by efficiently using the communication band of the network according to the communication state of the communication network, and the transmission-side recording / playback device can be released early. It is possible to provide a content recording / playback apparatus capable of continuing time-shifted viewing on the content recording / playback apparatus without impairing real-time performance even when the network communication state is poor. .

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, a content recording / reproducing apparatus includes a transmission side portion and a reception side portion. The transmission-side portion includes a transmission-side output control unit that outputs a content for which at least one of an image and sound changes with time, and a content that is output by the transmission-side output control unit. The interruption instruction reception unit that receives the interruption instruction indicating that the interruption is to be interrupted, and the content data after the interruption instruction that encodes the content after the interruption instruction is received on condition that the interruption instruction is received by the interruption instruction reception unit. A transmission-side recording start control unit that performs control to start recording.

  On the condition that the receiving side part has received a continuation instruction accepting a continuation instruction to continue viewing the content for which the suspend instruction was accepted by the suspend instruction accepting unit, and a continuation instruction is accepted by the continuation instruction accepting unit, The continuation instruction is received by the receiving-side first recording start control unit that performs control to start recording the content data after the continuation instruction that encodes the content after the continuation instruction is received, and the continuation instruction reception unit. As a condition, a transmission request unit that requests transmission of content data after an interruption instruction whose recording has been started by the transmission side recording start control unit is provided.

  The transmission side portion further performs control to end the recording of the content data after the interruption instruction started by the transmission side recording start control unit on condition that the transmission request unit requests transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction. The content data after interruption instruction whose recording has been started by the transmission side recording end control unit and the transmission side recording start control unit is a part of data from the beginning of the content indicated by the content data after interruption instruction. A division unit that divides the data into one content data and second content data that is a continuation of the content indicated by the first content data, and that the transmission request unit requests that transmission of the content data after interruption is requested. As a condition, the content indicated by the content data is received at the same time as the content data is received. The first transmission control unit that transmits the first content data divided by the division unit to the transmission destination recording / reproducing device and the transmission request unit requested transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction. The second content data divided by the dividing unit is transmitted to the transmission destination recording / reproducing apparatus in a copy method in which the content data is received in a batch rather than being output while the content indicated by the content data is output. 2 transmission control part.

  The reception-side portion further includes a reception-side first output control unit that outputs the content indicated by the first content data transmitted from the first transmission control unit of the transmission-source recording / playback device so that the user can view the content. A reception-side second recording start control unit that performs control for starting recording of the second content data transmitted from the second transmission control unit of the original recording / playback device, and a reception-side first output control unit that uses the first content data as the first content data. A reception-side second output control unit that outputs the content indicated by the second content data whose recording has been started by the reception-side second recording start control unit after the indicated content is output; The reception-side first recording start control unit records data so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the second content data output by the side second output control unit. There and a third output control unit receiving side to output in order to view the content indicated by was initiated continuation instruction after the content data to the user.

  According to the present invention, the transmission side portion outputs the content for viewing by the user, receives an interruption instruction for interrupting the viewing of the output content, and is provided on the condition that the interruption instruction is received. Then, control is performed to start recording content data after an interruption instruction in which the content after the interruption instruction is received is encoded.

  In addition, the content after the time when the continuation instruction is accepted is encoded on the condition that the continuation instruction to continue viewing the content for which the suspend instruction is accepted is accepted by the receiving side part and the continuation instruction is accepted. Control for starting the recording of the content data after the continuation instruction is performed, and on the condition that the continuation instruction is accepted, transmission of the content data after the suspend instruction when the recording is started is requested.

  In addition, on the condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested by the transmission side part, the control for ending the recording of the content data after the interruption instruction started is performed, and the content after the interruption instruction where the recording is started is performed. First content data that is a part of data from the beginning of the content indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction, and second content that is the remaining data subsequent to the content indicated by the first content data The first content data divided is transmitted to the transmission destination recording / reproducing apparatus in a stream format on the condition that transmission of content data after interruption instruction is requested, and transmission of content data after interruption instruction is transmitted. The second content data divided is transmitted by the copy method on the condition that the request is made. It is transmitted to the recording and reproducing apparatus.

  Further, the reception side portion outputs the content indicated by the first content data transmitted from the transmission source recording / reproducing device to allow the user to view the second content data transmitted from the transmission source recording / reproducing device. After the control for starting recording is performed and the content indicated by the first content data is output, the content indicated by the second content data for which recording has started is output and output for the user to view. The content indicated by the content data after the continuation instruction for which recording has been started is output so as to be viewed by the user so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the second content data.

  For this reason, the content that was output for the user to view on one content recording / playback device is output for the user to perform time-shifted viewing on another content recording / playback device. At this time, an interruption instruction is accepted. The first content data, which is a part of data recorded from the beginning of the content recorded on the condition that it has been transmitted, is transmitted to another content recording / playback apparatus in a stream format, and the continuation of the content indicated by the first content data The second content data, which is the remaining data, is transmitted to another content recording / playback apparatus by a copy method. For this reason, the content recorded by a certain content recording / reproducing apparatus can be transmitted using the network communication band efficiently according to the communication state of the communication network. In addition, as soon as the first content data is received by another content recording / playback apparatus, the content is output from the beginning, while the content indicated by the first content data is being output, 2 Content data can be transmitted. As a result, content that has been viewed on a content recording / playback apparatus that efficiently uses the communication band of the network according to the communication state of the communication network is transmitted in a shorter time, and the content recording / playback apparatus is released early. It is possible to provide a content recording / playback apparatus capable of continuously time-shift viewing on another content recording / playback apparatus without impairing real-time performance even when the communication state of the network is poor Can do.

  Preferably, the transmission side output control unit outputs the content by notifying the content or outputting content data encoded with the content to the outside, and the reception side first output control unit is configured to output the first By notifying the content indicated by the content data or outputting the first content data to the outside, the content indicated by the first content data is output, and the second output control unit on the receiving side outputs the second content data By outputting the content indicated by or outputting the second content data to the outside, the content indicated by the second content data is output, and the third output control unit on the receiving side uses the content data after the continuation instruction. Broadcast the content shown or output the content data after the continuation instruction to the outside It allows to output the content indicated by the instruction to continue after content data.

  Preferably, the dividing unit divides the content data after interruption instruction into first content data and second content data based on characteristics of the content data after interruption instruction. The characteristic is, for example, the distribution speed of the content indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction.

  According to the present invention, the content data after the interruption instruction is divided based on the characteristics of the content data after the interruption instruction. Therefore, the content data after the interruption instruction can be divided so that the content data after the interruption instruction can be transmitted more efficiently according to the characteristics of the content data after the interruption instruction.

  Preferably, the information processing apparatus further includes a state acquisition unit that acquires a communication state of a communication network that connects the destination recording / playback apparatus and the own device, and the dividing unit is interrupted based on the communication state of the communication network acquired by the state acquisition unit. The post-instruction content data is divided into first content data and second content data. The communication state is, for example, a bandwidth amount of the communication network.

  According to the present invention, the content data after the interruption instruction is divided based on the communication state of the communication network connecting the transmission destination recording / reproducing apparatus and the own device. For this reason, the content data after the interruption instruction can be divided so that the content data after the interruption instruction can be transmitted more efficiently using the communication network according to the communication state.

  Preferably, the dividing unit includes the content after interruption instruction so that the time when the first content data is transmitted by the first transmission control unit and the time when the second content data is transmitted by the second transmission control unit are the same. The data is divided into first content data and second content data.

According to the present invention, the transmission bandwidth amount of the first content data is BW ₁ (bps (Bits Per Second)), the transmission time is t ₁ (seconds), the transmission bandwidth amount of the second content data is BW ₂ (bps), Assuming that the transmission time is t ₂ (seconds) and the content data size after interruption is C (bit), C = BW ₁ × t ₁ + BW ₂ × t ₂ , and t ₂ decreases as t ₁ increases. , t ₁ is smaller the greater the t _2. In addition, the transmission time t (seconds) of the content data after the interruption instruction combining the first content data and the second content data is the larger value of t ₁ and t ₂ . Therefore, t is minimum when t ₁ = t ₂ . For this reason, if the time for transmitting the first content data by the first transmission control unit and the time for transmitting the second content data by the second transmission control unit are divided so as to be the same, the content after interruption instruction The time that data is transmitted is minimized. As a result, the first content data and the second content data obtained by dividing the content data after the interruption instruction can be transmitted more efficiently.

  Preferably, it further includes a packet division unit that divides the content data after the interruption instruction into a plurality of packets, and the division unit performs a content time every time the packet divided by the packet division unit is transmitted by the first transmission control unit. Thus, by sequentially allocating packets from the first to the last, a first distribution unit that divides the content data after the interruption instruction into the first content data, and the packet divided by the packet division unit is transmitted to the second A second distribution unit that divides the content data after the interruption instruction into the second content data by distributing packets sequentially from the last to the first in terms of time each time transmitted by the control unit; The first transmission control unit and the second transmission control unit are distributed by the first distribution unit and the second distribution unit. The packet, respectively, and transmits the first content data and second content data.

  According to the present invention, the content recording / playback apparatus divides the content data after the interruption instruction into a plurality of packets, and sequentially transmits the divided packets from the beginning to the end every time the divided packets are transmitted. The content data after the interruption instruction is divided into the first content data by distributing the packets, and each time the divided packets are transmitted, the packets are sequentially transmitted from the last to the first in time. Is allocated, the content data after the interruption instruction is divided into second content data, and the distributed packets are transmitted as the first content data and the second content data, respectively.

  In other words, the divided packets are transmitted in the stream method sequentially from the first to the last of the content, and the divided packets are transmitted in the copy method sequentially from the last to the first of the content. Sent by. Therefore, the first content data is transmitted without dividing the content data after the suspension instruction in advance so that the time when the first content data is transmitted and the time when the second content data is transmitted are the same. And the time when the second content data is transmitted are substantially the same time (a difference between the time required to transmit one packet at the maximum). Almost minimal. As a result, the first content data and the second content data obtained by dividing the content data after the interruption instruction can be transmitted more efficiently without dividing the content data after the interruption instruction in advance.

  Preferably, a 1st transmission control part transmits 1st content data using the communication system which ensures a data communication speed.

  According to the present invention, even if the communication state of the communication network changes, the data communication speed is guaranteed, so that the output of the content indicated by the first content data can be prevented from being disturbed.

  Preferably, a content receiving unit that receives content from the outside is further provided, the transmission-side output control unit outputs the external content received by the content receiving unit, and the transmission-side recording start control unit is the content receiving unit The recording start control unit performs the control to start recording the content data after the interruption instruction that encoded the external content received by the receiver, and the reception-side recording start control unit continues the encoding of the external content received by the content receiving unit Control to start recording of content data after instruction is performed. The content from the outside is, for example, broadcast content.

  According to the present invention, external content is received by the content recording / playback device, the received external content is output by the transmission side portion of the content recording / playback device, and the received external content is encoded. The recording of the content data after the interruption instruction is controlled, and the receiving side portion of the content recording / playback apparatus starts the recording of the content data after the continuation instruction in which the received external content is encoded. Control is performed.

  For this reason, the content from the outside that was viewed on a certain content recording / playback apparatus can be continuously time-shifted on another content recording / playback apparatus according to the communication state of the communication network.

  Preferably, the information processing apparatus further includes a ratio determining unit that determines a ratio of dividing the content data after the interruption instruction into the first content data and the second content data, and the dividing unit instructs the interruption based on the ratio determined by the ratio determining unit. After that, the content data is divided.

  According to the present invention, the ratio of dividing the content data after interruption instruction into the first content data and the second content data is determined, and the content data after interruption instruction is divided based on the determined ratio. For this reason, since the content data after the suspension instruction is divided based on a predetermined ratio, the content data after the suspension instruction can be transmitted more efficiently.

  Preferably, an inquiry unit that inquires of at least one other content recording / playback apparatus whether there is content for which the interruption instruction has been received by the interruption instruction receiving unit, and a list of contents inquired by the inquiry unit are displayed. The continuation instruction receiving unit receives a continuation instruction for one of the contents output by the list output control unit.

  According to the present invention, whether or not there is content for which an interruption instruction has been accepted is inquired to at least one other content recording / playback apparatus, and the inquired content is output to be displayed in a list and output as a list An instruction to continue one of the received contents is received. For this reason, even if there is a plurality of content data after an interruption instruction, one can be selected and time-shifted viewing can be continued.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, the content recording / playback program includes a transmission program and a reception program, and is executed by the content recording / playback apparatus. A transmission program for outputting a content for which at least one of an image and a sound changes with time to be viewed by a user, a step for accepting an interruption instruction to interrupt the viewing of the output content, and On the condition that the interruption instruction is accepted, the content recording / playback apparatus is caused to execute a step of starting recording of the content data after the interruption instruction that encodes the content after the interruption instruction is accepted.

  The receiving program encodes the content after the step of accepting the continuation instruction and the step of accepting the continuation instruction to continue viewing the content for which the suspend instruction is accepted, and on the condition that the continuation instruction is accepted The content recording / reproducing apparatus includes a step of performing control to start recording of content data after a continuation instruction and a step of requesting transmission of content data after a suspend instruction when recording is started, on condition that the continuation instruction is received. Let it run.

  The transmission program further includes a step of performing a control to end the recording of the content data after the interruption instruction started on the condition that the transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested, and the content after the interruption instruction when the recording is started The first content data that is a part of data from the beginning of the content indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction and the second content that is the remaining data subsequent to the content indicated by the first content data And a stream method in which the content indicated by the content data is output at the same time as the content data is received on the condition that the transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested. Step for transmitting one content data to a destination recording / reproducing apparatus And the second content divided by a copy method in which the content data is received in a batch, instead of outputting the content indicated by the content data, on the condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested And causing the content recording / reproducing apparatus to execute the step of transmitting data to the transmission destination recording / reproducing apparatus.

  The reception program further outputs the content indicated by the first content data transmitted from the transmission source recording / reproducing device for viewing by the user, and the second content data transmitted from the transmission source recording / reproduction device. A step of performing control to start recording, and a step of outputting the content indicated by the second content data for which recording has started after the content indicated by the first content data is output, The content recording / playback apparatus executes a step of outputting the content indicated by the content data after the continuation instruction for which recording has been started so as to be viewed by the user so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the output second content data Let

  According to the present invention, content that has been viewed on a content recording / playback apparatus that efficiently uses network communication standby according to the communication state of the communication network is transmitted in a shorter time, and the content recording / playback apparatus can be A content recording / playback program capable of being continuously time-shifted viewed by other content recording / playback devices without losing real-time performance even when the communication state of the network is poor, and A computer-readable recording medium on which a content recording / reproducing program is recorded can be provided.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram showing connection of hard disk recorders 10 and 20 to a network 30 in the embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a hard disk recorder 10 and a monitor 40 are installed in room 1. In the room 2, a hard disk recorder 20 and a monitor 50 are installed.

  The hard disk recorders 10 and 20 play back video content and music content recorded as content data on an internal hard disk serving as a recording unit and output the content to the outside. Note that the content is not limited to video content and music content, and may be other content as long as at least one of an image and sound changes with the passage of time. The hard disk recorders 10 and 20 record content input from the outside as content data on an internal hard disk.

  The monitors 40 and 50 are connected to the hard disk recorders 10 and 20, respectively, and output content reproduced by the hard disk recorders 10 and 20 as at least one of video and audio.

  The network 30 is a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11e compliant wireless LAN (Local Area Network), or power line carrier communication (hereinafter referred to as “PLC (Power Line Communications)”). It is.

  The hard disk recorder 10 and the hard disk recorder 20 are connected via a network 30. The hard disk recorders 10 and 20 can transmit and receive content data to and from other hard disk recorders via the network 30.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining that the content being viewed on the hard disk recorder 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is continuously time-shifted on another hard disk recorder 20.

  Referring to FIG. 2, first, the user is viewing the content output from hard disk recorder 10 live. That is, the hard disk recorder 10 receives content data from the outside and outputs the content indicated by the received content data for the user to view on the monitor 40.

  When the user makes a viewing interruption request, the hard disk recorder 10 continues to receive content data from the outside, stops outputting the content, and records the received content data on the hard disk.

  When the user moves around the room and makes a time-shift viewing resume request, the hard disk recorder 20 receives content data from the outside and records the received content data on the hard disk. When the user makes a time shift viewing / listening resume request, the hard disk recorder 10 transmits the recorded content data to the hard disk recorder 20 by the stream method and the copy method.

  Here, the stream method is a method in which the content indicated by the content data is simultaneously output by the receiving device while receiving the content data. In addition, the copy method is a method in which the content data is received in a batch at the receiving device while the content indicated by the content data is not output.

  When the hard disk recorder 20 receives the content data from the hard disk recorder 10 in a stream format, the hard disk recorder 20 receives the content data and simultaneously outputs the content indicated by the content data for the user to view on the monitor 50.

  When the reproduction of the content indicated by the content data received by the stream method is completed, the hard disk recorder 20 causes the monitor 50 to allow the user to view the content indicated by the content data received by the copy method and recorded on the hard disk. Output.

  When the reproduction of the content indicated by the content data received by the copy method is completed, the hard disk recorder 20 uses the monitor 50 to display the content indicated by the content data received from the outside and recorded on the hard disk after the time shift viewing / listening resume request. Output for viewing.

  In this way, while moving between rooms, the user cannot view the content live, but the content during this time is recorded by the hard disk recorder 10 and the user resumes viewing the content again on the hard disk recorder 20. Then, the content recorded by the hard disk recorder 10 is transmitted to the hard disk recorder 20, so that the viewing can be started again from the position where the user interrupted the viewing.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of the functions of the hard disk recorders 10 and 20 in the embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, hard disk recorder 10 includes a control unit 110, a recording unit 120, an input unit 130, an output unit 140, a communication unit 150, a reception unit 160, and a playback unit 170.

  Control unit 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory (including an external storage device), and the CPU performs data calculation and storage in the memory using the memory as a work area in accordance with a program stored in the memory.

  The recording unit 120 is a hard disk because it is a recording unit of a hard disk recorder in the present embodiment. However, the recording unit 120 is not limited to a magnetic disk such as a hard disk, and may be another recording medium as long as it can read and write data. For example, the recording unit 120 may be a semiconductor recording medium such as a built-in memory or a memory card. It may be an optical disk such as a CD (Compact Disc) or DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or a magneto-optical disk such as an MO (Magneto-Optical disk). However, in the present embodiment, it is desirable that the recording unit 120 can read and write at high speed and has a large capacity in order to play back video content.

  The input unit 130 includes operation units such as a playback button, a stop button, a recording button, and a viewing interruption request button for inputting a request to interrupt the viewing of content, and controls an operation signal received from the operating unit. Transmitted to the unit 110. Input unit 130 is not limited to receiving an operation signal from the operation unit, but may be received from a remote controller or a mobile phone having an infrared communication function.

  The output unit 140 is controlled by the control unit 110 to output a predetermined signal, for example, content data of a video content or a video signal to the outside. In the present embodiment, the output unit 140 outputs a video signal to the external monitor 40.

  The communication unit 150 is controlled by the control unit 110 and transmits predetermined data to other devices or receives predetermined data from other devices via the network 30.

  The receiving unit 160 receives a broadcast signal of terrestrial digital broadcast or BS (Broadcasting Satellite) broadcast from the antenna 161, demodulates the broadcast signal, and decodes it into content data of the broadcast content. In this embodiment, the receiving unit 160 receives a broadcast signal from the antenna 161, but is not limited thereto, and receives a broadcast signal of cable TV broadcast from a cable for cable TV. Alternatively, a broadcast signal transmitted via the Internet may be received.

  The reproduction unit 170 is controlled by the control unit 110, decodes video data such as MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) data in the content data, and delivers the decoded video data to the output unit 140 as a video signal.

  The monitor 40 includes a display unit 41 composed of a liquid crystal display device (hereinafter referred to as “LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)”). The display unit 41 displays the video signal output from the output unit 140 of the hard disk recorder 10 as a video.

  Hard disk recorder 20 includes a control unit 210, a recording unit 220, an input unit 230, an output unit 240, a communication unit 250, a reception unit 260, and a playback unit 270. The functions of the control unit 210, recording unit 220, output unit 240, communication unit 250, reception unit 260, and playback unit 270 of the hard disk recorder 20 are the control unit 110, recording unit 120, output unit 140, and communication of the hard disk recorder 10, respectively. The functions of the unit 150, the receiving unit 160, and the reproducing unit 170 are the same.

  The input unit 230 includes operation units such as a play button, a stop button, a recording button, and a viewing resumption request button for inputting that the content is to be continuously viewed. The control unit 110 receives an operation signal received from the operation unit. To communicate. The input unit 230 is not limited to receiving an operation signal from the operation unit, but may be received from a remote controller or a mobile phone having an infrared communication function.

  The monitor 50 includes a display unit 51. The function of the display unit 51 is the same as the function of the display unit 41 of the monitor 40.

  The control unit 110 of the hard disk recorder 10 includes an output control unit 111, an interruption instruction receiving unit 112, a recording start control unit 113, a recording end control unit 114, a data dividing unit 115, a first transmission control unit 116, A second transmission control unit 117.

  The control unit 210 of the hard disk recorder 20 includes a continuation instruction receiving unit 211, a first recording start control unit 212, a transmission request unit 213, a first output control unit 214, a second recording start control unit 215, and a second An output control unit 216 and a third output control unit 217 are included.

  In the hard disk recorder 10, the output control unit 111 controls the output unit 140 so that the content is output for viewing by the user. Here, the output control unit 111 controls the output unit 140 so that the content data of the broadcast content received, demodulated and decoded by the reception unit 160 is decoded by the reproduction unit 170 and output to the monitor 40 as a video signal. . The display unit 41 of the monitor 40 outputs the video signal output from the output unit 140 as a video.

  The interruption instruction reception unit 112 receives a viewing interruption request from the user to interrupt the viewing of the content controlled to be output by the output control unit 111 via the input unit 130.

  The recording start control unit 113 starts recording content data decrypted by the receiving unit 160 after the viewing interruption request is received on condition that the viewing interruption request is received by the interruption instruction receiving unit 112. The recording unit 120 is controlled.

  On the other hand, in the hard disk recorder 20, the continuation instruction receiving unit 211 inputs a viewing resumption request from the user to the effect that the viewing of the content for which the viewing interruption request has been received by the interruption instruction receiving unit 112 of the hard disk recorder 10 to be continued. Accept through.

  The first recording start control unit 212 records the third data decoded by the receiving unit 260 after the viewing resumption request is received on the condition that the viewing resumption request is received by the continuation instruction receiving unit 211. The recording unit 220 is controlled to start.

  The transmission request unit 213 records on the hard disk recorder 10 via the communication unit 250 and the network 30 by the recording start control unit 113 of the hard disk recorder 10 on the condition that the viewing resumption request is received by the continuation instruction receiving unit 211. Request transmission of started content data. Here, the hard disk recorder 10 is requested to transmit content data, but the present invention is not limited to this, and transmission of content data whose viewing has been interrupted to another hard disk recorder or device of the same function connected to the network 30. May be requested.

  In the hard disk recorder 10, the recording end control unit 114 records the content data started by the recording start control unit 113 on condition that the transmission of the content data is requested by the transmission request unit 213 of the hard disk recorder 20. The recording unit 120 is controlled to finish.

  The data dividing unit 115 converts the content data whose recording has been started by the recording start control unit 113 into the first data that is a part of the content indicated by the content data and the content indicated by the first data. The remaining data is divided into second data.

  The first transmission control unit 116 receives the first data divided by the data division unit 115 from the recording unit 120 in a stream format on condition that the transmission request unit 213 of the hard disk recorder 20 requests transmission of content data. The communication unit 150 is controlled to read and transmit the data to the hard disk recorder 20 via the network 30.

  The second transmission control unit 117 copies the second data divided by the data dividing unit 115 from the recording unit 120 by a copy method on the condition that the transmission of the content data is requested by the transmission request unit 213 of the hard disk recorder 20. The communication unit 150 is controlled to read and transmit the data to the hard disk recorder 20 via the network 30.

  In the hard disk recorder 20, the first output control unit 214 controls the output unit 240 to output the content indicated by the first data transmitted from the hard disk recorder 10 so that the user can view the content. Here, the first output control unit 214 outputs the first data transmitted from the hard disk recorder 10 to the recording unit 220 while buffering the first data in the recording unit 220 so that the first data is output to the monitor 50 as a video signal. 240 is controlled. The display unit 51 of the monitor 50 outputs the video signal output from the output unit 240 as a video.

  The second recording start control unit 215 controls the recording unit 220 to start recording the second data transmitted from the hard disk recorder 10.

  The second output control unit 216 outputs the content indicated by the second data that has been recorded by the second recording start control unit 215 after the content indicated by the first data is output by the first output control unit 214 to the user. The output unit 240 is controlled so as to output for viewing. Here, the second output control unit 216 controls the output unit 240 so that the second data recorded in the recording unit 220 is read out, decoded by the reproduction unit 270, and output to the monitor 50 as a video signal. The display unit 51 of the monitor 50 outputs the video signal output from the output unit 240 as a video.

  Here, an example of a method for continuously reproducing the content indicated by the first data and the content indicated by the second data without a break will be described.

  Reproduction time information is attached to each packet. For example, a time stamp value added to the head of a packet, PCR (Program Clock Reference, clock information), DTS (Decoding Time Stamp) in content data included in the packet, and PTS (Presentation Time Stamp) , Display time) can be used as reproduction time information.

  Then, the control unit 210 reads a packet having the reproduction time information closest to the reproduction time information of the currently reproduced content block from the recording unit 220, and the reproduction unit 270 decodes and monitors the content block included in the packet. By outputting to 50, it is possible to continuously play back the content.

  Note that the method for continuously playing back content is not limited to this, and other methods may be used.

  The third output control unit 217 indicates the third data that has been recorded by the first recording start control unit 212 so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the second data output by the second output control unit 216. The output unit 240 is controlled to output the content to be viewed by the user. Here, the third output control unit 217 controls the output unit 240 so that the third data recorded in the recording unit 220 is read out, decoded by the reproduction unit 270, and output to the monitor 50 as a video signal. The display unit 51 of the monitor 50 outputs the video signal output from the output unit 240 as a video.

  Here, an example of a method for continuously reproducing the content indicated by the second data and the content indicated by the third data without a break will be described.

  Pattern matching is performed between the data at the end of the second data and the data at the tip of the third data. Pattern matching is a method of comparing consecutive bit strings of a certain length in two data, and assuming that both bit strings completely match and are regarded as the same data.

  Then, by detecting the overlapping portion, it is possible to continuously reproduce the content by starting reproduction from the content after the overlapping portion of the third data after reproducing the content indicated by the second data. . Alternatively, after the content before the overlapping portion of the second data is reproduced, the content indicated by the third data may be reproduced from the beginning.

  Note that the method of continuously playing back content is not limited to this, and may be a method using the above-described playback time information or another method.

  As described above, the content output for the user to view on the hard disk recorder 10 is output for the time shift viewing on the user on the hard disk recorder 20, and at this time, the first data transmitted by the stream method and Since the data is divided into the second data transmitted by the copy method and transmitted to the hard disk recorder 20, the content recorded by the hard disk recorder 10 can be efficiently transmitted according to the communication state of the network 30. As a result, the content being viewed on the hard disk recorder 10 can be continuously time-shifted on the hard disk recorder 20 efficiently according to the communication state of the network 30.

  The functions of the control units 110 and 210 of the hard disk recorders 10 and 20 may be realized by a hardware circuit included in the control units 110 and 210, or software may be used as described later. It may be realized by being executed by 110, 210.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, broadcasts are received by the receiving units 160 and 260 of the hard disk recorders 10 and 20, respectively. In the second embodiment, broadcasts are received by external devices such as the receiving units 62 and 72 of the televisions 60 and 70, respectively, and the received broadcast signals are input to the hard disk recorders 10A and 20A, respectively. To do.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of the hard disk recorders 10A and 20A in the second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, hard disk recorders 10A and 20A in the second embodiment are replaced with video from external devices in place of receiving units 160 and 260 of hard disk recorders 10 and 20 in the first embodiment, respectively. Video input units 180 and 280 for receiving signal input are included. The other functions of hard disk recorders 10A and 20A in the second embodiment are the same as those of hard disk recorders 10 and 20 in the first embodiment, and therefore, repeated description will not be repeated.

  Televisions 60 and 70 in the second embodiment include receiving units 62 and 72 in addition to display units 41 and 51 of monitors 40 and 50 in the first embodiment, respectively.

  In the televisions 60 and 70, the receiving units 62 and 72 receive the terrestrial digital broadcast and BS broadcast signals from the antennas 63 and 73, respectively, demodulate the broadcast signals, decode them into content data of the broadcast content, Video data such as MPEG data in the content data is decoded and transferred to the display units 61 and 71 as a video signal. The display units 61 and 71 display the video signals transferred from the receiving units 62 and 72 as videos, respectively.

  The receiving units 62 and 72 output the decrypted content data to the hard disk recorders 10A and 20A, respectively.

  In hard disk recorders 10A and 20A, video input units 180 and 280 accept input of content data from televisions 60 and 70, respectively.

  Then, as described in the first embodiment, the reproduction units 170 and 270 are controlled by the control unit 110, and MPEG data of the content data received by the video input units 180 and 280, respectively. Such video data is decoded and transferred to the output units 140 and 240 as video signals.

  In the televisions 60 and 70, the display units 61 and 71 display the video signals output from the hard disk recorders 10A and 20A as videos, respectively.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, video signals are output to the external monitors 40 and 50 from the output units 140 and 240 of the hard disk recorders 10 and 20, respectively, and the video is displayed on the monitors 40 and 50. In the third embodiment, video is displayed on the hard disk recorders 10B and 20B.

  FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of the functions of the hard disk recorders 10B and 20B in the third embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, hard disk recorders 10B and 20B in the third embodiment are replaced with display units 190 and 290 in place of output units 140 and 240 of hard disk recorders 10 and 20 in the first embodiment, respectively. including. The other functions of hard disk recorders 10B and 20B in the third embodiment are the same as those of hard disk recorders 10 and 20 in the first embodiment, and therefore, repeated description will not be repeated.

  Display units 190 and 290 display the video signals decoded by reproduction units 170 and 270 as videos, respectively.

[Fourth Embodiment]
The configuration of the device in the fourth embodiment is the same as the configuration of the device in the first embodiment described in FIG. In the fourth embodiment, the functions of the control units 110 and 210 of the hard disk recorders 10 and 20 described with reference to FIG. 3 are executed by the control units 110 and 210 as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Is realized.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the transmission side process and the reception side process executed by the transmission side and reception side hard disk recorders 10 and 20 in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 6, first, in transmission-side hard disk recorder 10, in step S111 of the transmission-side processing, control unit 110 controls reception unit 160 to receive, demodulate, and decode the broadcast being selected. Then, the playback unit 170 is controlled to decode the content data of the decoded broadcast content, and the output unit 140 is controlled to output the decoded video signal to the external monitor 40.

  In step S112, control unit 110 determines whether a channel selection operation has been received via input unit 130 or not. If it is determined that the channel selection operation has been accepted (YES in step S112), control unit 110 returns the process to be executed to the process in step S111.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the channel selection operation has not been received (NO in step S112), in step S113, control unit 110 determines whether a viewing interruption request has been received via input unit 130. If it is determined that the viewing interruption request has not been received (NO in step S113), control unit 110 returns the process to be executed to the process in step S112.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the viewing interruption request has been received (YES in step S113), in step S114, the control unit 110 starts recording the content data of the broadcast content decoded by the receiving unit 160. To control. In step S115, control unit 110 controls playback unit 170 and output unit 140 to stop decoding the content data of the broadcast content and outputting the video signal.

  Next, in the receiving-side hard disk recorder 20, in step S221 of the receiving-side process, the control unit 210 determines whether a viewing resumption request has been received via the input unit 230. If it is determined that the request to resume viewing has not been received (NO in step S221), control unit 210 repeats the process in step S221.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that a request to resume viewing is accepted (YES in step S221), in step S222, control unit 210 determines whether there is broadcast content whose viewing has been suspended due to acceptance of a viewing suspension request. Queries the other hard disk recorder 10. Here, the control unit 210 may make an inquiry as to whether other devices connected to the network 30 have an interrupted broadcast.

  In the hard disk recorder 10 on the transmission side, in step S121, the control unit 110 determines whether or not there has been an interruption broadcast inquiry from the hard disk recorder 20. When it is determined that there is no inquiry about interrupted broadcasting (NO in step S121), control unit 110 repeats the process of step S121.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is an interruption broadcast inquiry (YES in step S121), the control unit 110 transmits information indicating the interruption broadcast to the hard disk recorder 20 in step S122. The information indicating the interrupted broadcast includes, for example, information indicating a device where the broadcast is interrupted, information indicating the time when the broadcast was recorded up to that time, and information indicating the name of the broadcast content. Information indicating the name of the broadcast content is acquired from, for example, an EPG (Electronic Program Guide). Here, since there is a suspended broadcast depending on the process flow, information indicating the suspended broadcast is transmitted. However, if there is not always a suspended broadcast due to the process flow, it is determined whether there is a suspended broadcast. If there is an interrupted broadcast, information indicating the interrupted broadcast may be transmitted.

  In the hard disk recorder 20 on the receiving side, in step S223, the control unit 210 determines whether or not information indicating an interrupted broadcast has been received from the hard disk recorder 10. If it is determined that the information indicating the interrupted broadcast has not been received (NO in step S223), control unit 210 repeats the process in step S223.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that information indicating interrupted broadcasts has been received (YES in step S223), in step S224, the control unit 210 views a list of interrupted broadcasts received from the hard disk recorder 10 or other devices to the user. The output unit 240 is controlled so as to output the signal. The display unit 51 of the monitor 50 displays a list of interrupted broadcasts output from the output unit 240.

  FIG. 7 is a display screen diagram showing a list of interrupted broadcasts output from the receiving-side hard disk recorder 20 in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, the information indicating the interrupted broadcast transmitted from hard disk recorder 10 and received in step S223 includes “apparatus A” as information indicating the apparatus where the broadcast is interrupted, and information indicating the interrupted broadcast. It is assumed that “20 minutes” is included as information indicating the time when the broadcast was recorded by the time of transmission, and “Soccer World Cup_Argentina vs England” is included as information indicating the name of the broadcast content.

  Similarly, the information indicating the interrupted broadcast that is transmitted from the devices that are “device B” and “device C” respectively and received in step S223 is transmitted. “Device B” and “Device C” as information indicating the device, “40 minutes” and “40 minutes” as information indicating the time when the broadcast was recorded until the information indicating the interrupted broadcast was transmitted, and broadcast Information indicating the name of the content includes “Comedy Theater” and “Baseball_Hiroshima vs. Hanshin”.

  Based on the information indicating the interrupted broadcast received from each device, the control unit 210 sets “device A”, “20” as the contents of the “device name”, “recording time”, and “content name” fields, respectively. "Minute" and "Soccer World Cup_Argentina vs England", "Equipment B", "40 minutes" and "Comedy Theater" and a list including "Equipment C", "40 minutes" and "Baseball_Hiroshima vs Hanshin" And output from the output unit 240. As a result, a list of interrupted broadcasts as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display unit 51 of the monitor 50.

  In step S <b> 231, the control unit 210 determines whether an interruption broadcast selection operation has been received via the input unit 230. If it is determined that the selection operation has not been accepted (NO in step S231), control unit 210 repeats the process in step S231.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the selection operation has been accepted (YES in step S231), in step S232, the control unit 210 controls the reception unit 260 to receive, demodulate and decode the selected broadcast, and decode the selected broadcast. The recording unit 220 is controlled to start recording the third data that is the content data of the broadcast content that has been received.

  Next, in step S233, the control unit 210 has selected a recording stop request for requesting stop of recording of the selected broadcast and a distribution request for requesting transmission of recorded content data. The data is transmitted to the device in which the broadcast is recorded, here, the hard disk recorder 10.

  In the hard disk recorder 10 on the transmission side, in step S131, the control unit 110 determines whether a recording stop request and a distribution request are received from the hard disk recorder 20. When determining that it has not been received (NO in step S131), control unit 110 repeats the process of step S131.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the recording stop request and the distribution request have been received (YES in step S131), in step S132, the control unit 110 records to stop recording the content data that has been recorded in step S114. The unit 120 is controlled. At this time, since the receiving unit 160 is released, the user of the hard disk recorder 10 can freely use the receiving unit 160. Here, the recording of the content data is stopped when the recording stop request is received. However, the recording of the content data may be stopped after a certain time has elapsed after receiving the recording stop request.

  Next, in step S140, the control unit 110 executes a recording data dividing process for dividing the content data recorded in the recording unit 120. The recording data dividing process will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of recording data division processing executed by the transmitting-side hard disk recorder 10 in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 8, in step S141, the control unit 110, the hard disk recorder 10 to obtain the amount of bandwidth R _n available. Here, the usable bandwidth amount refers to the total bandwidth amount that can be used by the device itself, excluding the bandwidth used by other devices for communication.

When the network 30 is a wireless LAN or a PLC LAN, the control unit 110 can acquire an available bandwidth amount R _n by making an inquiry to a control station that performs communication section allocation.

On the other hand, when the network 30 is an Ethernet (registered trademark) LAN, for example, the control unit 110 of the hard disk recorder 10 transmits a dummy packet to the hard disk recorder 20 via the communication unit 150 and the network 30 and is required for transmission. by measuring the time, it can be the device itself to get the amount of bandwidth R _n available.

Further, the control unit 110 continuously transmits dummy packets to the hard disk recorder 20 through the communication unit 150 and the network 30 for a certain period of time, and measures the capacity that can be transmitted within that time, whereby the bandwidth that can be used by the device itself R _n (Mbps) can be acquired.

Incidentally, if the network 30 is a private network of the hard disk recorder 10 and 20, instead of obtaining the amount of bandwidth R _n at step S141, with a nominal bandwidth of the network 30 memory stored in advance as a band quantity R _n In this case, the data may be read out.

Next, in step S142, control unit 110 acquires content data distribution speed R _c (Mbps) from information included in the content data. Here, the delivery speed is a speed at which content data is delivered.

  In digital terrestrial broadcasting, the transmission rate of content data is about 20 (Mbps), and in BS digital broadcasting, the transmission rate of content data is about 24 (Mbps). Therefore, in the case of these broadcast contents, instead of acquiring the distribution speed in step S142, a distribution speed predetermined according to the type of broadcast may be read from the memory.

Next, in step S143, the control unit 110 acquires the size S _c (MByte) of the content data recorded in the recording unit 120. In step S144, control unit 110 divides content data recorded in recording unit 120 into _first data having a size of S ₁ (MByte) and second data having a size of S ₂ (MByte). . Here, S ₁ and S ₂ are calculated by Equation (1) and Equation (2), respectively.

S ₁ = S _c × R _c / R _n (1)
S ₂ = S _c × (R _n −R _c ) / R _n (2)
Here, if the transmission time of the first data is t ₁ (seconds), the transmission time of the second data is t ₂ (seconds), and the size of the content data recorded in the recording unit 120 is S (MByte), S = R _c is a _{× t 1 + (R n -R} c) × t 2, t 2 is decreased the greater the t _1, t ₁ becomes smaller the greater the t _2. Further, the transmission time t (seconds) of the content data combining the first data and the second data is the larger value of t ₁ and t ₂ . Therefore, t is minimum when t ₁ = t ₂ .

Thus, in order to divide the content data, the content data may be divided by the ratio of the bandwidth. That is, the ratio between the data amount S ₁ of the first data transmitted by the stream method and the data amount S ₂ of the second data transmitted by the copy method is S ₁ : S ₂ = R _c : (R _n −R _c ) Divide the content data so that As a result, the size S ₁ of the first data and the size S ₂ of the second data may be calculated by the above formulas (1) and (2).

If the content data is divided and transmitted in this way, the transmission time t ₁ of the first data and the transmission time t ₂ of the second data are the same, and the transmission time of the content data combining the first data and the second data t is minimized. As a result, the first data and the second data obtained by dividing the content data recorded in the recording unit 120 can be efficiently transmitted.

  After step S144, control unit 110 returns the process to be executed to the transmission side process that is the caller of the recording data division process.

  Returning to FIG. 6, in the hard disk recorder 10, after step S140, in step S150, the control unit 110 executes a recording data transmission process. In hard disk recorder 20, after step S233, in step S250, control unit 210 executes time shift reproduction processing.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of recording data transmission processing and time shift reproduction processing executed by the transmission-side and reception-side hard disk recorders 10 and 20 in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 9, in step S <b> 151, control unit 110 streams the first data divided in step S <b> 144 to reception-side hard disk recorder 20 via network 30 in step S <b> 151. The communication unit 150 is controlled so as to start transmission using UDP (User Datagram Protocol). The transmission protocol is not limited to UDP, and transmission may be performed using RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) or another protocol.

  In the receiving-side hard disk recorder 20, in step S251, the control unit 210 determines whether or not the first data is received from the transmitting-side hard disk recorder 10. When determining that it has not been received (NO in step S251), control unit 210 repeats the process of step S251.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the first data has been received (YES in step S251), in step S252, control unit 210 controls communication unit 250 to start receiving the first data from transmitting-side hard disk recorder 10. Then, the output unit 240 is controlled so that the received first data is decoded by the reproduction unit 270 while being buffered in the recording unit 220 and output to the monitor 50 as a video signal. The display unit 51 of the monitor 50 outputs the video signal output from the output unit 240 as a video.

  In the transmitting-side hard disk recorder 10, in step S152, the control unit 110 transfers the second data divided in step S144 to the receiving-side hard disk recorder 20 via the network 30 by a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol). ) To control the communication unit 150 to start transmission. Thereafter, the control unit 110 returns the process to be executed to the calling side transmission side process of the recording data transmission process.

  In the receiving-side hard disk recorder 20, in step S253, the control unit 210 determines whether or not the second data is received from the transmitting-side hard disk recorder 10. When determining that it has not been received (NO in step S253), control unit 210 repeats the process of step S253.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the second data has been received (YES in step S253), in step S254, the control unit 210 starts the recording of the second data received from the transmitting-side hard disk recorder 20. 220 is controlled.

  Thereafter, in step S255, control unit 210 determines whether or not the reproduction of the first data is finished. If it is determined that the reproduction has not ended (NO in step S255), control unit 210 repeats the process in step S255.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the reproduction of the first data has been completed (YES in step S255), in step S256, the control unit 210 decodes the second data recorded in the recording unit 220 by the reproducing unit 270. The output unit 240 is controlled to start output to the monitor 50 as a video signal. The display unit 51 of the monitor 50 outputs the video signal output from the output unit 240 as a video.

  Thereafter, in step S257, control unit 210 determines whether or not the reproduction of the second data has ended. When it is determined that the reproduction has not ended (NO in step S257), control unit 210 repeats the process of step S257.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the reproduction of the second data has been completed (YES in step S257), in step S258, the control unit 210 causes the reproduction unit 270 to decode the third data recorded in the recording unit 220. The output unit 240 is controlled to start output to the monitor 50 as a video signal. The display unit 51 of the monitor 50 outputs the video signal output from the output unit 240 as a video. Thereafter, the control unit 210 returns the process to be executed to the receiving side process that is the calling source of the time shift reproduction process.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the transmission of content data from the transmitting-side hard disk recorder 10 to the receiving-side hard disk recorder 20 in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 10, in hard disk recorder 10, in step S144 described above, the content data is divided into 16 packets, and the first half packets of packet numbers 1 to 8 are transmitted by the stream method. The latter half packets with packet numbers 9 to 16 are the second data transmitted by the copy method.

  Here, the bandwidth of the network 30 is time-divided into a non-contention period and a contention period by the control station. In the non-contention period, the UDP protocol is used for the transport layer. On the other hand, in the contention period, a TCP protocol is used for the transport layer, and when a packet collides, the packet is retransmitted.

  In the present embodiment, the transmission of the first data stream method started in step S151 is assigned a non-contention period band, and the second data copy method transmission started in step S152. Is allocated bandwidth for the contention period.

  For transmission of the first data, the UDP method is used in the band of the non-contention period. For this reason, in the UDP method, even if a packet loss occurs, the packet is not retransmitted. However, since it is a non-contention period, there is little possibility of the packet loss, so the stream method while maintaining the reliability in data transmission. It is possible to ensure real-time playback of content on the Internet.

  In addition, since the CSMA / CD method is used for the transmission of the second data, packet lost due to packet collision or the like may occur, but the lost packet is retransmitted by the TCP method. Reliability can be ensured.

  For example, when the network 30 is allocated to the transmission of the first data by the hard disk recorder 10 in the non-contention period, packets with packet numbers 1 to 4 are transmitted by the hard disk recorder 10 to the hard disk recorder 20.

  Next, since the network 30 is in a contention period and each device connected to the network 30 can freely transmit a packet, as a result of the packet number 11 or 12 colliding with another packet, the packet number 11 or 12 The packet is retransmitted, and as a result, packets with packet numbers 9 to 12 are transmitted to the hard disk recorder 20 by the hard disk recorder 10.

  Next, the network 30 is set to a non-contention period, and packets with packet numbers 5 to 8 are transmitted to the hard disk recorder 20 by the hard disk recorder 10. Then, the network 30 is in a contention period, and as a result of the packet number 14 colliding with another packet, the packet number 14 is retransmitted. As a result, the packets numbered 13 to 16 are transferred to the hard disk recorder 10. Is transmitted to the hard disk recorder 20.

  In the hard disk recorder 20, the packet of packet number 1 received by the stream method is sequentially received and reproduced by the reproduction unit 270 and the output unit 240 while being buffered in the storage unit 220. When the packet with the packet number 8 received by the stream method is reproduced, the packets with the packet numbers 9 to 16 received by the copy method have already been received and stored in the storage unit 220. After the reproduction of the packet with the number 8 is finished, the packets with the packet numbers 9 to 16 are sequentially read from the storage unit 220 and reproduced by the reproduction unit 270 and the output unit 240.

[Fifth Embodiment]
In the first embodiment and the fourth embodiment, after the content data started to be recorded by the hard disk recorder 10 is divided in advance into the first data and the second data, the first data is streamed. The second data is transmitted to the hard disk recorder 20 by a copy method.

  In the fifth embodiment, content data that has been recorded by the hard disk recorder 10 is divided into packets, and the packets are sequentially streamed from the first to the last in the content data as the first data. The packet is sequentially transmitted from the last to the first in the content data as the second data by the copy method.

  The configuration of the device in the fifth embodiment is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment described in FIG. In the fifth embodiment, the functions of the control units 110 and 210 of the hard disk recorders 10 and 20 described with reference to FIG. 3 are executed by the control units 110 and 210 by software shown in the flowchart of FIG. Is realized.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the transmission side process and the reception side process executed by the transmission side and reception side hard disk recorders 10 and 20 in the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 11, the transmission-side process in the fifth embodiment is replaced with a recording data division process in step S140 and a recording data transmission process in step S150 of the transmission-side process in the fourth embodiment. In this process, the recording data transmission process of S160 is executed. Accordingly, the processing other than step S160 of the transmission side processing in the fifth embodiment is the same as the transmission processing in the fourth embodiment, and therefore, repeated description will not be repeated.

  Moreover, since the receiving side process in 5th Embodiment is the same as the receiving side process in 4th Embodiment, the overlapping description is not repeated.

  In the hard disk recorder 10 on the transmission side, after step S132, in step S160, the control unit 110 executes a recording data transmission process. In hard disk recorder 20 on the receiving side, after step S233, in step S250, control unit 210 executes time shift reproduction processing.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of recording data transmission processing and time shift reproduction processing executed in the transmission-side and reception-side hard disk recorders 10 and 20 in the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 12, in hard disk recorder 10 on the transmission side, in step S161, control unit 110 divides content data recorded in recording unit 120 into packets. If the recording format of the content data is MPEG-2TS (Transport Stream) format, it is divided into packets of 188 (byte) units.

  In step S162, control unit 110 determines whether there is an untransmitted packet among the divided packets. If it is determined that there is no untransmitted packet (NO in step S162), control unit 110 returns the process to be executed to the transmission side process that is the caller of the recording data transmission process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is an untransmitted packet (YES in step S162), in step S163, the control unit 110 determines whether transmission of the previous packet transmitted by the stream method has ended. to decide. If it is determined that the process has not been completed (NO in step S163), control unit 110 advances the process to be performed to the process in step S166.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the transmission of the previous packet in the stream method has been completed (YES in step S163), in step S164, the control unit 110 determines the most recently transmitted packet among the untransmitted packets. The communication unit 150 is controlled to start transmission as the first data by the stream method.

  In the receiving-side hard disk recorder 20, as described above, when it is determined that the first data has been received (YES in step S251), in step S252, the control unit 210 receives the first data from the transmitting-side hard disk recorder 10. The output unit controls the communication unit 250 to start reception of one data, decodes the received first data in the recording unit 220 while decoding it in the playback unit 270, and starts output to the monitor 50 as a video signal. 240 is controlled. The display unit 51 of the monitor 50 outputs the video signal output from the output unit 240 as a video.

  Next, in step S165, control unit 110 determines whether there is an untransmitted packet among the divided packets. If it is determined that there is no untransmitted packet (NO in step S165), control unit 110 returns the process to be executed to the transmission side process that is the caller of the recording data transmission process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is an untransmitted packet (YES in step S165), in step S166, the control unit 110 determines whether transmission of the previous packet transmitted by the copy method has ended. to decide. When it is determined that the process has not been completed (NO in step S166), control unit 110 returns the process to be executed to the process in step S163.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the transmission of the previous packet in the copy method has been completed (YES in step S166), in step S167, control unit 110 determines the last packet in time among untransmitted packets. The communication unit 150 is controlled to start transmission by the copy method as the second data. Then, the control part 110 returns the process to perform to the process of step S162.

  In the receiving-side hard disk recorder 20, as described above, when it is determined that the second data has been received (YES in step S253), in step S254, the control unit 210 receives the data from the transmitting-side hard disk recorder 10. The recording unit 220 is controlled to start recording the second data.

  As described above, by executing the processing from step S161 to step S167, the content data recorded in the recording unit 120 is substantially divided into the first data and the second data. One data is transmitted by the stream method, and the divided second data is transmitted by the copy method.

However, if the first data and the second data are transmitted by the processing from step S161 to step S167 as in the fifth embodiment, the processing from step S141 to step S144 in FIG. 8 of the fourth embodiment is performed. by in process calculated to transmit the divided into first data and second data, in advance, the first data to obtain the delivery rate R _C and size S _c of the bandwidth quantity R _n and content of the network 30 Since it is not necessary to calculate the sizes of the first data and the second data, the content data can be divided into the first data and the second data and transmitted more efficiently.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the transmission of content data from the transmitting-side hard disk recorder 10 to the receiving-side hard disk recorder 20 in the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 13, in the hard disk recorder 10, the content data is divided into 16 packets in the above-described step S161, and the packets are sequentially streamed in the forward direction from the first to the last in time. Are transmitted as the first data, and packets are transmitted as the second data sequentially in the reverse direction from the last to the first in time.

  For example, packets are transmitted as the first data in the order of packet numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,. Further, packets are transmitted as second data in the order of packet numbers 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11,.

  By transmitting in this way, the transmission times of the stream method and the copy method become substantially the same time (a difference in time required for transmitting one packet at the maximum). For this reason, as described above, the time for transmitting the content data recorded in the storage unit 220 is substantially minimized. As a result, the first data and the second data can be efficiently transmitted without dividing the content data recorded in the recording unit 120 in advance.

  According to the hard disk recorders 10 and 20 in the present embodiment, compared to the case where the copy method is used alone, the real-time property can be ensured and the video can be smoothly reproduced on the destination hard disk recorder 20, and Compared with the case where the streaming method is used alone, the source hard disk recorder 10 can be released earlier.

In the fourth embodiment described above, the bandwidth amount R _n is acquired in step S141 in FIG. 8, and the sizes of the first data and the second data calculated using the bandwidth amount R _n are stored in the recording unit 120. The recorded content data was divided and transmitted. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the content data recorded in the recording unit 120 is divided into a plurality of parts, and each part is sequentially transmitted to the hard disk recorder 20, and the part is transmitted for each part. The previous bandwidth amount may be acquired, and the portion may be divided and transmitted by the sizes of the first data and the second data calculated using the bandwidth amount. Thereby, the first data and the second data can be transmitted more adaptively to the state of the network 30.

  In the embodiment described above, one type of communication medium is used as the network 30. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and different types of communication media may be used for transmitting the first data and the second data. For example, wireless LAN and Ethernet (registered trademark), wireless LAN and PLC, Ethernet (registered trademark) and PLC, or a reverse combination thereof may be used for transmitting the first data and the second data, respectively. Good. Further, a combination of other communication media may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the transmission side and reception side devices have been described as hard disk recorders. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the devices on the transmission side and the reception side may be different devices, and one or both of the devices may be, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), a home server, a TV, It may be a mobile phone or PDA (Personal Digital Assistants).

  In the embodiment described above, the bandwidth of the network 30 is time-divided into a non-contention period and a contention period by the TDMA method, and packets are retransmitted by the CSMA / CD method in the contention period. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a communication band may be allocated using HCCA (Hybrid Coordination Function (HCF) Controlled Channel Access) used in a wireless LAN system, or TDMA and CSMA in a PLC are used in combination. A communication band may be allocated using a protocol.

  In the above-described embodiment, the non-competing period and the competing period are divided by time division. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the entire frequency band may be divided into several bands by an FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access) method, and each band may be assigned to a non-competing band or a competing band. In CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), a unique code is assigned to each band, and the carrier wave is modulated by this code so that the entire band is divided and each band is assigned to a non-contention band or a competition band. May be.

  In the above-described embodiment, transmission is performed using the stream method during the non-contention period, and transmission is performed using the copy method during the contention period. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of bands may be transmitted in a stream system in one band and transmitted in a copy system in another band without being divided into a non-competing band and a competing band. Alternatively, a plurality of bands may be divided into a non-competing band and a competing band, and transmitted using a stream system in one non-competing band and transmitted using a copy system using another non-competing band. In addition, a plurality of bands may be divided into a non-competing band and a competing band, and transmitted using a stream method in one competing band and transmitted using a copy method using another competing band. However, it is preferable to use a non-contention band for transmission in the stream system.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is a network block diagram which shows the connection of the hard-disk recorder to the network in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the time shift viewing / listening of the content currently viewed with the hard-disk recorder in embodiment of this invention by another hard-disk recorder. It is a functional block diagram which shows the outline of the function of the hard disk recorder in embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the outline of the function of the hard-disk recorder in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the outline of the function of the hard-disk recorder in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the transmission side process and reception side process which are each performed with the hard disk recorder of the transmission side and the reception side in 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a display screen figure which shows the list | wrist of the interruption broadcast output from the hard disk recorder of the receiving side in 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the recording data division | segmentation process performed by the hard disk recorder by the side of transmission in 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the recording data transmission process and time shift reproduction | regeneration process which are each performed with the hard disk recorder of a transmission side and a reception side in 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating transmission of the content data from the hard disk recorder by the side of transmission in the 4th Embodiment of this invention to the hard disk recorder by the side of reception. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the transmission side process and reception side process which are each performed with the hard disk recorder of the transmission side in the 5th Embodiment of this invention, and a reception side. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the recording data transmission process and time shift reproduction | regeneration process which are each performed with the hard disk recorder by the side of transmission in the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating transmission of the content data from the hard disk recorder by the side of transmission in the 5th Embodiment of this invention to the hard disk recorder by the side of reception.

Explanation of symbols

  10, 10A, 10B, 20, 20A, 20B Hard disk recorder, 30 network, 40, 50 monitor, 41, 51 display unit, 60, 70 TV, 61, 71 display unit, 62, 72 reception unit, 63, 73 antenna, 110, 210 control unit, 111 output control unit, 112 interruption instruction reception unit, 113 recording start control unit, 114 recording end control unit, 115 data division unit, 116 first transmission control unit, 117 second transmission control unit, 211 continuation Instruction receiving unit, 212 First recording start control unit, 213 Transmission request unit, 214 First output control unit, 215 Second recording start control unit, 216 Second output control unit, 217 Third output control unit, 120, 220 Recording Unit, 130, 230 input unit, 140, 240 output unit, 150, 250 communication unit, 160, 260 reception , 161, 261 antenna, 170, 270 reproduction unit, 180 and 280 video input unit, 190, 290 display unit.

Claims (18)

A content recording / reproducing system including a transmitting side recording / reproducing device and a receiving side recording / reproducing device,
The transmission-side recording / reproducing apparatus is
A transmission-side output control means for outputting a content in which at least one of an image and a sound changes with the passage of time so as to allow the user to view and listen;
An interruption instruction receiving means for receiving an interruption instruction to interrupt the viewing of the content output by the transmission side output control means;
On the condition that the interruption instruction is received by the interruption instruction receiving means, the transmission side recording start is performed for starting the recording of the content data after the interruption instruction that encodes the content after the interruption instruction is received. Control means,
The receiving-side recording / reproducing device comprises:
A continuation instruction receiving means for receiving a continuation instruction to continue viewing the content for which the suspend instruction has been received by the suspend instruction receiving means;
On the condition that the continuation instruction is received by the continuation instruction receiving means, the receiving side first performs control to start recording the content data after the continuation instruction that encodes the content after the continuation instruction is received. Recording start control means;
Transmission request means for requesting transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction, which has been recorded by the transmission side recording start control means, on condition that the continuation instruction is accepted by the continuation instruction acceptance means;
The transmission-side recording / reproducing device further includes:
Transmission-side recording for performing control to end recording of the content data after interruption instruction started by the transmission-side recording start control means on condition that transmission of the content data after interruption instruction is requested by the transmission requesting means Termination control means;
The content data after interruption instruction that has been recorded by the transmission-side recording start control means, the first content data that is a part of data from the beginning of the content indicated by the content data after interruption instruction, Division means for dividing the second content data, which is the remaining data after the content indicated by the first content data;
On the condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested by the transmission requesting means, the content data is received and the content indicated by the content data is output at the same time, and is divided by the dividing means. First transmission control means for transmitting the first content data to the receiving-side recording / reproducing device;
In the copy method in which the content data is received in a batch rather than being output on the condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested by the transmission request means, the division is performed. Second transmission control means for transmitting the second content data divided by the means to the receiving-side recording / reproducing apparatus,
The receiving-side recording / reproducing device further includes:
Receiving-side first output control means for outputting the content indicated by the first content data transmitted from the first transmission control means of the transmitting-side recording / reproducing apparatus to allow the user to view and listen;
Receiving-side second recording start control means for performing control for starting recording of the second content data transmitted from the second transmission control means of the transmitting-side recording / reproducing apparatus;
After the content indicated by the first content data is output by the reception-side first output control means, the content indicated by the second content data that has been recorded by the reception-side second recording start control means is designated as a user. Receiving side second output control means for outputting for viewing by
The continuation-instructed content data started to be recorded by the reception-side first recording start control means so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the second content data output by the reception-side second output control means. A content recording / playback system, comprising: a reception-side third output control unit that outputs the displayed content to allow a user to view the content. A transmission-side output control means for outputting a content in which at least one of an image and a sound changes with the passage of time so as to allow the user to view and listen;
An interruption instruction receiving means for receiving an interruption instruction to interrupt the viewing of the content output by the transmission side output control means;
On the condition that the interruption instruction is received by the interruption instruction receiving means, the transmission side recording start is performed for starting the recording of the content data after the interruption instruction that encodes the content after the interruption instruction is received. Control means;
After the continuation instruction that encodes the content after the continuation instruction is received by the receiving-side recording / playback device on the condition that the continuation instruction to continue viewing the content that has received the suspend instruction is received The recording of the content data after the interruption instruction started by the transmission-side recording start control means is terminated on condition that the control for starting the recording of the content data is performed and the transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested. Transmitting side recording end control means for performing control,
The content data after interruption instruction that has been recorded by the transmission-side recording start control means, the first content data that is a part of data from the beginning of the content indicated by the content data after interruption instruction, Division means for dividing the second content data, which is the remaining data after the content indicated by the first content data;
The first content divided by the dividing unit in a stream format in which content data is received and content indicated by the content data is output simultaneously on the condition that transmission of content data after the interruption instruction is requested First transmission control means for transmitting data to the receiving-side recording / reproducing device;
On the condition that the transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested, the content indicated by the content data is not output, but the content data is received in a batch and is divided by the dividing means Second transmission control means for transmitting the second content data to the receiving-side recording / reproducing device,
The reception side recording / playback apparatus outputs the content indicated by the first content data transmitted from the first transmission control means to allow the user to view and transmits the content from the second transmission control means. After the control for starting the recording of the second content data is performed and the content indicated by the first content data is output, in order for the user to view the content indicated by the second content data that has been recorded. A content record that is output for the user to view the content indicated by the content data after the continuation instruction that has been started to be continuous with the content indicated by the output second content data Playback device. The transmission recording / reproducing apparatus accepts an interruption instruction to interrupt the viewing of content in which at least one of an image and sound changes with the passage of time output for the user to view by the transmission recording / reproducing apparatus. Content that has been controlled to start recording of content data after the interruption instruction encoded after the interruption instruction is received on condition that the interruption instruction has been received. A continuation instruction accepting means for accepting a continuation instruction to continue;
On the condition that the continuation instruction is received by the continuation instruction receiving means, the receiving side first performs control to start recording the content data after the continuation instruction that encodes the content after the continuation instruction is received. Recording start control means;
Transmission request means for requesting transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction that has been recorded by the transmission-side recording / playback device, on condition that the continuation instruction is received by the continuation instruction reception means;
On the condition that the transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested by the transmission requesting unit, the recording of the content data after the interruption instruction started by the transmission side recording / reproducing device is terminated and the content data is received. At the same time, in the stream method in which the content indicated by the content data is output, the content indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction that is started to be recorded by the transmitting recording / reproducing device transmitted from the transmitting recording / reproducing device. Receiving-side first output control means for outputting the content indicated by the first content data, which is a part of the data from the beginning, for the user to view;
The transmission is performed in a copy method in which the content data is received in a batch rather than being output on the condition that the transmission request means requests transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction. The remaining data subsequent to the content indicated by the first content data among the content indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction transmitted by the transmitting recording / reproducing device and transmitted from the side recording / reproducing device. Receiving-side second recording start control means for performing control for starting recording of certain second content data;
After the content indicated by the first content data is output by the reception-side first output control means, the content indicated by the second content data that has been recorded by the reception-side second recording start control means is designated as a user. Receiving side second output control means for outputting for viewing by
The continuation-instructed content data started to be recorded by the reception-side first recording start control means so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the second content data output by the reception-side second output control means. A content recording / reproducing apparatus, comprising: a reception-side third output control unit that outputs the content to be viewed by a user. A content recording / playback apparatus including a transmission side portion and a reception side portion,
The transmitting side part is
A transmission-side output control means for outputting a content in which at least one of an image and a sound changes with the passage of time so that the user can view the content;
An interruption instruction receiving means for receiving an interruption instruction to interrupt the viewing of the content output by the transmission side output control means;
On the condition that the interruption instruction is received by the interruption instruction receiving means, the transmission side recording start is performed for starting the recording of the content data after the interruption instruction that encodes the content after the interruption instruction is received. Control means,
The receiving part is
A continuation instruction receiving means for receiving a continuation instruction to continue viewing the content for which the suspend instruction has been received by the suspend instruction receiving means;
On the condition that the continuation instruction is received by the continuation instruction receiving means, the receiving side first performs control to start recording the content data after the continuation instruction that encodes the content after the continuation instruction is received. Recording start control means;
Transmission request means for requesting transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction, which has been recorded by the transmission side recording start control means, on condition that the continuation instruction is accepted by the continuation instruction acceptance means;
The transmitting portion further includes:
Transmission-side recording for performing control to end recording of the content data after interruption instruction started by the transmission-side recording start control means on condition that transmission of the content data after interruption instruction is requested by the transmission requesting means Termination control means;
The content data after interruption instruction that has been recorded by the transmission-side recording start control means, the first content data that is a part of data from the beginning of the content indicated by the content data after interruption instruction, Division means for dividing the second content data, which is the remaining data after the content indicated by the first content data;
On the condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested by the transmission requesting means, the content data is received and the content indicated by the content data is output at the same time, and is divided by the dividing means. First transmission control means for transmitting the first content data to a destination recording / reproducing apparatus;
In the copy method in which the content data is received in a batch rather than being output on the condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested by the transmission request means, the division is performed. Second transmission control means for transmitting the second content data divided by the means to the transmission destination recording / reproducing apparatus,
The receiving part further comprises:
Receiving-side first output control means for outputting the content indicated by the first content data transmitted from the first transmission control means of the transmission source recording / reproducing device to allow the user to view and listen;
Receiving-side second recording start control means for performing control for starting recording of the second content data transmitted from the second transmission control means of the transmission source recording / reproducing apparatus;
After the content indicated by the first content data is output by the reception-side first output control means, the content indicated by the second content data that has been recorded by the reception-side second recording start control means is designated as a user. Receiving side second output control means for outputting for viewing by
The continuation-instructed content data that has been recorded by the reception-side first recording start control means so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the second content data output by the reception-side second output control means. A content recording / playback apparatus, comprising: a reception-side third output control unit that outputs the content to be viewed by a user. The transmission-side output control means outputs the content by notifying the content or outputting content data in which the content is encoded to the outside,
The reception-side first output control means outputs the content indicated by the first content data by notifying the content indicated by the first content data or by outputting the first content data to the outside. ,
The receiving-side second output control means outputs the content indicated by the second content data by notifying the content indicated by the second content data or by outputting the second content data to the outside. ,
The receiving side third output control means notifies the content indicated by the content data after continuation instruction, or outputs the content data after continuation instruction to the outside, so that the content indicated by the content data after continuation instruction The content recording / playback apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:   The content recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the dividing unit divides the post-interruption content data into the first content data and the second content data based on characteristics of the post-interruption content data.   The content recording / playback apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the characteristic is a delivery speed of content indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction. Further comprising a state acquisition means for acquiring a communication state of a communication network connecting the transmission destination recording / reproducing apparatus and the own device;
5. The division unit according to claim 4, wherein the dividing unit divides the post-interruption content data into the first content data and the second content data based on a communication state of the communication network acquired by the state acquisition unit. Content recording / playback apparatus.   The content recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the communication state is a bandwidth amount of the communication network.   The dividing means interrupts the time so that the time when the first content data is transmitted by the first transmission control means and the time when the second content data is transmitted by the second transmission control means are the same. 5. The content recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the post-instruction content data is divided into the first content data and the second content data. Further comprising packet dividing means for dividing the content data after the interruption instruction into a plurality of packets;
The dividing means includes
Each time the packet divided by the packet dividing means is transmitted by the first transmission control means, the packets are distributed sequentially from the first to the last in terms of content, after the interruption instruction. First distribution means for dividing content data into the first content data;
Each time the packet divided by the packet dividing means is transmitted by the second transmission control means, the packets are distributed sequentially from the last to the first in terms of content. Second distribution means for dividing content data into the second content data,
The first transmission control means and the second transmission control means transmit the packets distributed by the first distribution means and the second distribution means as first content data and second content data, respectively. 4. The content recording / reproducing apparatus according to 4.   5. The content recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first transmission control unit transmits the first content data using a communication method that guarantees a data communication speed. It further comprises content receiving means for receiving content from outside,
The transmission-side output control means outputs the external content received by the content receiving means,
The transmission-side recording start control means performs control to start recording the content data after the interruption instruction in which the external content received by the content receiving means is encoded,
5. The content recording / playback according to claim 4, wherein the reception-side recording start control means performs control to start recording the content data after the continuation instruction obtained by encoding the external content received by the content receiving means. apparatus.   The content recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the external content is a broadcast content. A ratio determining means for determining a ratio of dividing the content data after the suspension instruction into the first content data and the second content data;
5. The content recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the dividing unit divides the content data after the interruption instruction based on the ratio determined by the ratio determining unit. Inquiry means for inquiring at least one other content recording / playback apparatus whether there is the content for which the interruption instruction has been received by the interruption instruction receiving means;
A list output control means for outputting the contents inquired by the inquiring means to display a list;
5. The content recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the continuation instruction receiving unit receives a continuation instruction for one of the contents output by the list output control unit. A content recording / playback program executed by a content recording / playback apparatus including a transmission program and a reception program,
The transmission program is
Outputting the content in which at least one of the image and the sound changes with time to allow the user to view the content;
Receiving an interruption instruction to interrupt the viewing of the content being output;
On the condition that the interruption instruction is accepted, the content recording / playback apparatus executes a step of starting recording of content data after the interruption instruction that encodes the content after the interruption instruction is accepted. Let
The receiving program is
Receiving a continuation instruction to continue viewing the content for which the interruption instruction has been received;
Performing a control to start recording content data after a continuation instruction that encodes the content after the continuation instruction is received on the condition that the continuation instruction is received;
The content recording / playback apparatus is caused to execute a step of requesting transmission of content data after the interruption instruction when recording is started, on condition that the continuation instruction is received,
The transmission program further includes:
Performing a control to end the recording of the started content data after the interruption instruction on the condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested;
The content data indicated by the first content data and the first content data, which is a part of the content data indicated by the content data after the interruption instruction, from the beginning of the content data after the interruption instruction that has been recorded. Dividing into second content data which is the remaining data of
The transmission of the first content data divided in a stream format in which the content indicated by the content data is simultaneously output while receiving the content data on the condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested Transmitting to the recording / reproducing apparatus;
The second content divided in a copy method in which the content data is received in a batch, instead of outputting the content indicated by the content data, on the condition that transmission of the content data after the interruption instruction is requested Transmitting the data to the destination recording / reproducing device, causing the content recording / reproducing device to execute,
The reception program further includes:
Outputting the content indicated by the first content data transmitted from the transmission source recording / reproducing device to allow the user to view the content;
Performing control to start recording of the second content data transmitted from the transmission source recording / playback device;
Outputting the content indicated by the second content data, which has been recorded, after the content indicated by the first content data is output, for the user to view;
Outputting the content indicated by the content data after the continuation instruction for which recording has been started so as to be viewed by the user so as to be continuous with the content indicated by the second content data being output. A content recording / playback program to be executed by an apparatus.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the content recording / playback program according to claim 17 is recorded.

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