JP5060536B2 - Media player, information acquisition method, database server, and information providing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a data processing technique, and more particularly, to a media player, an information acquisition method executed by the media player, a database server, and an information providing method executed by the database server.

  A media player that downloads title information corresponding to a recording medium to be executed from a remote database on the Internet has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4195084

  The number of titles and chapters of content that can be recorded on a recording medium is steadily increasing. For example, one DVD medium can include up to 99 titles, and each title can include up to 99 chapters. Furthermore, Blu-ray (hereinafter also referred to as “BD”) media can include a maximum of 999 titles, and each title can include a maximum of 999 chapters. Therefore, the related information of the content that the media player should acquire from the outside, such as title information and chapter information, increases as the number of titles and chapters increases.

  Furthermore, the media player has become more multifunctional, and when executing a certain content, the media player needs to obtain various related information related to the content or other content from the outside and provide it to the user.

  Thus, the amount of information to be acquired from the outside when the media player executes content is increasing. However, an information acquisition technique for a media player and an information provision technique for the media player in consideration of this have not been sufficiently proposed so far.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a technology that can suitably cope with the increase in the amount of information to be acquired from the outside when executing content in a media player. That is.

  In order to solve the above problems, a media player according to an aspect of the present invention is an apparatus that processes content recorded on a predetermined medium, and obtains a media-dependent ID for identifying the content from the media. From an external database server that holds, for each type of media, a table that associates an acquisition unit, a media-dependent content ID, and key information in a format suitable for the database server for identifying content in the database server A key acquisition unit that acquires key information associated with the type of media to be processed and the content-dependent content ID, and a database server that associates and holds content key information and content related information, Relevant information associated with the acquired key information is collected at a time. Acquisition that sequentially issues an acquisition request for related information necessary at that time, including the acquired key information, on condition that content related information is required during content processing As a response to the acquisition request, the request issuing unit includes a related information acquisition unit that acquires necessary related information from the database server among the related information associated with the acquired key information.

  Another aspect of the present invention is an information acquisition method. This method is executed by a device that processes content recorded on a predetermined medium, and obtains a media-dependent ID for identifying the content from the media, the ID of the media-dependent content, and the content in the database server For identifying the type of media to be processed and the ID of the media-dependent content from an external database server that holds a table that associates key information in a format suitable for the database server for each type of media. The step of obtaining the associated key information and the related information associated with the obtained key information from the database server that associates and holds the key information of the content and the related information of the content are acquired at a time. Rather than the content being processed A step of sequentially issuing an acquisition request for related information necessary at that time including the acquired key information to the database server on condition that continuous information is required, and an acquired key as a response to the acquisition request Obtaining necessary related information from the database server among the related information associated with the information.

  Yet another embodiment of the present invention is a database server. The database server is a database server, and the related information holding unit holds the related information of the content in association with key information in a format suitable for the database server for identifying the content in the database server; A key holding unit that holds, for each type of media, a table that associates a media-dependent ID for identifying content recorded on the medium and key information of the content, and content recorded on a predetermined medium. When a media type to be processed and a media-dependent content ID are notified, a key providing unit that provides key information corresponding to the notification content to the media player and related information required during content processing Request media that includes the provided key information to request Relevant information associated with the provided key information as a response to the acquisition request, rather than providing the media player with the relevant information associated with the provided key information and the acquisition request receiving unit that receives from the layer A related information providing unit that sequentially provides necessary information to the media player.

  Yet another embodiment of the present invention is an information providing method. This method is executed by a database server and is media-dependent for identifying the type of media and the content recorded on the media from a media player that processes the content recorded on a predetermined media. When the content ID is notified, a table for each type of media in which the ID of the media-dependent content is associated with the key information in a format suitable for the database server for identifying the content in the database server. A step of providing key information corresponding to the notification content to the media player, a step of accepting an acquisition request including the provided key information for requesting related information required during content processing from the media player, Content key information and related information The related information associated with the provided key information is not provided to the media player all at once, but is associated with the provided key information as a response to the acquisition request. Sequentially providing necessary information among the related information to the media player.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a representation of the present invention converted between an apparatus, a method, a system, a program, a recording medium storing the program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique that can appropriately cope with the case where the amount of information to be acquired from the outside increases when content is executed in a media player.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the media processing system which is embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the media player in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the database server of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of a key table typically. It is a figure which shows the structure of a related information table typically. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the media player in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of S12 of FIG. 6 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the database server of FIG.

Before describing the embodiment of the present invention, an outline will be described first.
Some media players that read recorded data on media and provide content such as video and music to users acquire information related to the content from an external database server, and provide the related information as content is provided. There is something to offer the user. For example, there is a CD player that acquires and displays related information such as the title name and performance time of each music piece from an external database server when executing the CD media.

For DVD media and BD media, various attribute information of contents such as a number of titles, chapters, menus, etc. (hereinafter also referred to as “attribute objects”) in one medium.
Exists. When the media player should acquire related information for each attribute object, the related information to be acquired by the media player is an enormous number and data amount as a whole. In addition, with the increase in the functionality of media players, media players need to obtain various related information from the outside and provide them to users when executing certain contents.

  As described above, the amount of related information that the media player should acquire from the outside increases, and the method of acquiring related information at a time when executing content occupies many resources of the network and the media player. This is not the preferred method. In the present embodiment, an information acquisition technique in a media player that should acquire a huge amount of related information as a whole when content is executed, and an information providing technique for the media player are proposed.

  The media player according to the present embodiment generates an ID for identifying the content (hereinafter also referred to as “content ID”) based on the content data when processing the content. Then, based on the content ID, key information (hereinafter also referred to as “content key”) for accessing the related information of the content is acquired from the database server in advance. Thereafter, when the related information of the content becomes necessary in accordance with the execution state of the content or the user operation, the necessary related information is acquired from the database server based on the content key each time.

  As a result, even if the related information of the content is an enormous amount of data as a whole, the media player sequentially acquires only the relevant information required at a certain point in time. Can be reduced.

  The content key is data optimized for a format suitable for the database server, in other words, DBMS (DataBase Management System) software installed in the database server. In this embodiment, it is 4-byte data. On the other hand, the content ID is a media-dependent format, and is data determined based on recording data of the media, that is, content data. In the present embodiment, the data is 60 bytes. That is, the content ID is not in a format suitable for the database server, and the media player acquires a content key in a format suitable for the database server, and uses the content key in acquiring related information.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a media processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The media processing system 100 includes a media player 20, a database server 50, a mail order site server 70, and an online encyclopedia server 72. These devices are connected to each other via a communication network 14 including known communication means such as LAN / WAN / Internet.

  The DVD medium 10 is a DVD-video standard medium on which video data compressed by MPEG-2 is recorded. The media player 20 reads the video data recorded on the DVD medium 10 and decompresses and reproduces the content of the video data (hereinafter also referred to as “content”) (hereinafter also simply referred to as “execute”). The execution result is displayed on the display 12. In addition, various operations such as selection of titles, chapters, menus, and execution / stopping of reproduction are accepted from the user, and processing corresponding to the operations is executed. The media player 20 may read various recording media such as CD media and BD media as well as DVD media, and execute the content.

  The database server 50, the mail order site server 70, and the online encyclopedia server 72 provide the media player 20 with related information regarding the content executed in the media player 20. The database server 50 holds content related information that can be executed by the media player 20. In the present embodiment, as information related to the content, information on each title included in the content and information on the chapter of each title are held in association with the content key optimum for the content.

  The mail order site server 70 is a database server for a website that provides mail order services for various contents. In the present embodiment, as information related to a content, information on other products recommended for purchase by the viewer of the content is held in association with a content key optimum for the content. The online encyclopedia server 72 is a website database server that provides an online encyclopedia service. In the present embodiment, as information related to a content, information on a performer appearing in the content is held in association with a content key optimum for the content.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the media player 20 of FIG. Each block shown in the block diagram of the present specification can be realized in terms of hardware by elements and mechanical devices such as a CPU and a memory of a computer, and in terms of software, it can be realized by a computer program or the like. Then, the functional block realized by those cooperation is drawn. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software. For example, a part of each functional block may be held in the memory of the media player 20 as software and executed by the processor, and another part may be implemented as hardware in an electronic circuit.

  The media player 20 includes a media reading unit 22, an operation detection unit 24, a content execution unit 26, a display control unit 28, an ID acquisition unit 30, an ID notification unit 38, a key acquisition unit 40, and a key holding unit. 42, an acquisition request issuing unit 44, and a related information acquisition unit 46. The key holding unit 42 is a storage area for storing content keys for acquiring content-related information from the database server 50, mail order site server 70, and online encyclopedia server 72.

  The media reading unit 22 reads the video data recorded on the DVD medium 10 into the memory of the media player 20. The operation detection unit 24 detects a user operation for content execution via an input device (not shown). The display control unit 28 causes the display 12 to display the content execution result in the content execution unit 26. In addition, when displaying the execution result of content, the relevant information of the content acquired from the outside is also displayed appropriately.

  The content execution unit 26 executes the content of the DVD medium 10 by executing decompression processing and reproduction processing on the read video data. Further, the content of the DVD medium 10 is executed in accordance with the user operation detected by the operation detection unit 24. Further, when the content execution unit 26 needs the related information of the content during the execution of the content, the content execution unit 26 requests the acquisition request issuing unit 44 to acquire the necessary related information, and acquires the acquired related information. Accept from unit 46. In other words, the related information of the content is not acquired all at once, but only the related information necessary for the execution of the content is sequentially acquired.

  The ID acquisition unit 30 acquires the content ID of the DVD medium 10 determined according to the recording data of the DVD medium 10. The ID acquisition unit 30 includes a file detection unit 32, a data extraction unit 34, and an ID determination unit 36.

  The file detection unit 32 selects “VIDEO_TS.IFO” for controlling the behavior of the entire DVD media 10 from among the data files recorded on the DVD media 10, and “for controlling the behavior of each of the plurality of title sets”. VTS_xx — 0.IFO ”(xx is a natural number padded with 0). In this embodiment, as “VTS_xx — 0.IFO”, “VTS — 01 — 0.IFO” for controlling the first title set, and “VTS_yy — 0.IFO” for controlling the last title set (yy is the last title set) 2 files) are detected. Hereinafter, “VIDEO_TS.IFO” and “VTS_xx — 0.IFO” are collectively referred to as “DVD control file”.

  The data extraction unit 34 extracts a part of the data of each file from each of the DVD control files detected by the file detection unit 32, and extracts data having a predetermined length from the beginning of each file as conversion target data. To do.

  The length of the conversion target data extracted from “VIDEO_TS.IFO” is a plurality of pieces of attribute information of the content of the DVD medium 10, specifically, information indicating the recording positions of the plurality of title sets in the DVD medium 10 (hereinafter referred to as “DVD_TS.IFO”). , Also referred to as “address”). That is, the conversion target data extracted from “VIDEO_TS.IFO” includes TT_SRPT (TABLE OF TITLES), VMGM_PGCI_UT (MENU PROGRAM CHAIN TABLE), VMGM_C_ADT (MENU CADD ADDRESS TABLE), VMUM_PMU Included various addresses are included.

  The length of the conversion target data extracted from “VTS_xx — 0.IFO” is determined so as to include a plurality of attribute information of the title set, for example, the addresses of the menu and video data in the DVD medium 10. That is, the converted data extracted from the "VTS_xx_0.IFO" is, VTS_TMAPT (TIME MAP TABLE), VTSM_C_ADT (MENU CELL ADDRESS TABLE), VTSM_VOBU_ADMAP (MENU_VIDEO_OBJECT_UNIT_ADDRESS_MAP), VTS_C_ADT (CELL_ADDRESS_TABLE), is recorded as VTS_VOBU_ADMAP (VIDEO_OBJECT_UNIT_ADDRESS_MAP) etc. Various addresses are included.

  The ID determination unit 36 inputs the conversion target data extracted from each DVD control file into a predetermined hash function, acquires a fixed-length hash value, and combines the hash value of each conversion target data with the content ID Determine as. Specifically, the ID determination unit 36 inputs the conversion target data of each of the three DVD control files into a SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm) -1 function, and obtains a 20-byte hash value for each conversion target data. To do. Then, 60-byte data obtained by concatenating the hash values of the three pieces of conversion target data as character strings is determined as the content ID.

  Here, the reason why the ID that can uniquely identify the content of the DVD medium 10 is determined in the ID acquisition unit 30 will be described. A moving image compression algorithm represented by MPEG-2 increases compression efficiency by inter-frame prediction or motion compensation using a motion vector. Thereby, the compressed data of a certain content and the compressed data of a content whose content is different from the content have different data sizes. That is, the recording position of the content in the recording medium changes if the content is different.

  Therefore, the address recorded in “VIDEO_TS.IFO” is different for each content with high probability. That is, by setting the ID reflecting the conversion target data extracted from “VIDEO_TS.IFO”, the uniqueness of the ID can be secured with a high probability. Furthermore, since the address recorded in “VTS_xx_0.IFO” is a detailed address related to the attribute information of the title set, an even higher probability can be obtained by setting the ID reflecting the conversion target data extracted from “VTS_xx_0.IFO”. Can guarantee the uniqueness of the ID. Thus, the ID acquisition unit 30 increases the uniqueness of the ID by determining the ID that reflects the address of each of the plurality of pieces of attribute information regarding the content.

  Also, according to the configuration of the ID acquisition unit 30, different content IDs may be used for DVD media on which similar content is recorded, for example, DVD media on which a normal version video and a special version video of the same title are recorded. Is determined. In other words, different content IDs are determined for a certain video content before and after the modification.

  The special version video is typically a part of the content of the normal version video. Such a difference between the normal version video and the special version video is reflected in the address of each title set recorded in “VIDEO_TS.IFO” and the address of each attribute information recorded in “VTS_xx — 0.IFO”. It will be. If the content is partially modified, the address of the title set after the modified title set is different from that before the modification, and the address of the attribute information recorded in “VTS_yy_0.IFO” is also modified. It will be different from the previous one. For example, when information is added to the content, the address, that is, the recording position on the medium is shifted backward after the modification as compared to before the modification. Accordingly, the ID acquisition unit 30 determines a content ID different from the content ID of the normal version video for the special version video.

  Note that the ID acquisition unit 30 may determine the content ID according to the address of the content when other recording media such as CD media and BD media are read instead of the DVD media. Further, when content identification information is set in advance on a recording medium to be executed, the identification information may be acquired as a content ID.

  The ID notification unit 38 notifies the database server 50 of information indicating the type of media (for example, CD, DVD, BD, etc.) read by the media reading unit 22 and the content ID acquired by the ID acquisition unit 30. The key acquisition unit 40 acquires the notification key, that is, the content key corresponding to the media type and the content ID from the database server 50 and records it in the key holding unit 42.

  When the acquisition request issuing unit 44 receives from the content execution unit 26 a request that content related information should be acquired, the acquisition request issuing unit 44 transmits a related information acquisition request to the database server 50, the mail order site server 70, or the online encyclopedia server 72. . In this acquisition request, the content key stored in the key holding unit 42 and information for specifying the related information to be acquired in the acquisition request among the related information of the content (hereinafter referred to as “acquisition target specifying information”). Called).

  The related information acquisition unit 46 receives the related information specified by the acquisition target specification information from the database server 50, the mail order site server 70, or the online encyclopedia server 72 as a response to the related information acquisition request and notifies the content execution unit 26 To do. When the content key of other content and the transmission destination information of the acquisition request are received as the related information, not the necessary related information itself, the content key is stored in the key holding unit 42. Thereafter, the acquisition request issuing unit 44 transmits a related information acquisition request including the content key of the other content to the external device specified by the transmission destination information, so that the related information acquisition unit 46 acquires necessary related information. .

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the database server 50 of FIG. The database server 50 includes a key holding unit 52, a related information holding unit 54, an ID receiving unit 56, a key providing unit 58, an acquisition request receiving unit 60, and a related information providing unit 62.

  The key holding unit 52 is a storage area for storing a key table in which content IDs and content keys are associated with each other on the content of a recording medium that can be executed in the media player 20. The key holding unit 52 holds a key table for each type of recording medium, for example, CD, DVD, BD. Thus, provision of content keys corresponding to various recording media that can be executed in the media player 20 is realized.

  FIG. 4 schematically shows the configuration of the key table. In the key table shown in the figure, a 60-byte content ID is associated with a 4-byte content key. The key record 80a that is a record related to the first content and the key record 80b that is a record related to the second content different from the first content will be described later. Returning to FIG.

  The related information holding unit 54 is a storage area for storing a related information table in which related information of content is associated with its content key. FIG. 5 schematically shows the configuration of the related information table. Information on titles included in the content is recorded in the title information column. In the chapter information column, chapter information included in each title is recorded. Note that “actual data” in FIG. 5 indicates that title information and chapter information itself are recorded, not a content key.

  In the series work column of FIG. 5, a content key of another content that is a series work of content is recorded. In the recommended work column, related information of the content recorded in the mail order site server 70, for example, the content key of other content to be recommended to the viewer of the content is recorded. In the performer information column, the content key is recorded for the relevant information of the content recorded in the online encyclopedia server 72, for example, the information of the performer appearing in the content. The related information record 82a that is a record related to the first content and the related information record 82b that is a record related to the second content will be described later. Returning to FIG.

  The ID receiving unit 56 receives information indicating the type of media executed in the media player 20 and a notification of the content ID of the media from the media player 20. The key providing unit 58 refers to the key table corresponding to the notified media type and transmits the content key corresponding to the notified content ID to the media player 20.

  The acquisition request receiving unit 60 receives a request for acquiring related information from the media player 20 regarding the content being executed in the media player 20 (hereinafter also referred to as “the content”). The related information providing unit 62 refers to the related information table and transmits the related information specified by the acquisition target specifying information among the related information of the content associated with the content key to the media player 20.

  Here, a process when the related information specified by the acquisition target specifying information is related information of other content will be described. The “other content” includes content different from the content, and even if the content is the same as the content, actual data of related information is held in the mail order site server 70 or the online encyclopedia server 72 other than the database server 50. Content that is included. In this case, the related information providing unit 62 includes the content key of the other content and the destination information of the acquisition request (for example, the host name of the database server 50, the mail order site server 70, the online encyclopedia server 72, etc.) as the related information of the content. IP address) is transmitted to the media player 20. This causes the media player 20 to issue a related information acquisition request using the content key of the other content to the related information holding device of the other content.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the media player 20 of FIG. The media reading unit 22 starts reading recorded data from the DVD medium 10 to be executed (S10). The ID acquisition unit 30 executes a content ID acquisition process, which will be described later, and acquires the content ID of the DVD medium 10 (S12). The ID notification unit 38 transmits information indicating the type of media to be executed and a content ID to the database server 50. The key acquisition unit 40 receives the content key corresponding to the transmission content from the database server 50 and stores it in the key holding unit 42 (S14).

  The content execution unit 26 executes the content (the content) of the DVD medium 10 according to the recording data of the DVD medium 10 read by the media reading unit 22 and the user operation detected by the operation detection unit 24 (S16). . When the relevant information is required during the execution of the content (Y in S18), the acquisition request issuing unit 44 sends an acquisition request for the necessary related information including the content key of the DVD medium 10 to the database server. 50. As a response to the acquisition request, the related information acquisition unit 46 receives the necessary related information from the database server 50 and sends it to the content execution unit 26 (S20).

  When the related information of the other content is required (N of S18) instead of the related information of the content (Y of S22), the acquisition request issuing unit 44 needs to include the content key of the DVD medium 10. An acquisition request for related information of other contents is transmitted to the database server 50. The related information acquisition unit 46 receives the content key of the other content from the database server 50 and stores it in the key holding unit 42 (S24). Subsequently, the acquisition request issuing unit 44 transmits an acquisition request for the related information of the other content that is necessary, including the content key of the other content, to the external apparatus that holds the related information of the other content. The related information acquisition unit 46 receives actual data of related information of other content from the external device and sends it to the content execution unit 26 (S26).

  If neither the related information of the content nor the related information of other content is required (N in S22), S24 and S26 are skipped. The display control unit 28 causes the display 12 to display the content execution result in the content execution unit 26 including the related information of the content acquired in the related information acquisition unit 46 (S28). When the reading of the DVD medium 10 is finished (Y in S30), the process of this flow is finished, and when the reading is continued (N in S30), the process returns to S16.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing in detail the operation of S12 of FIG. The file detection unit 32 detects the IFO file of the video manager and the IFO files of the first and last title sets, that is, three DVD control files among the files recorded on the DVD medium 10 (S40). The data extraction unit 34 obtains data to be converted from each of the three DVD control files, that is, data having a predetermined length from the top of the file (S42). The ID determination unit 36 inputs each of the conversion target data to the SHA-1 function, and acquires a hash value corresponding to each of the conversion target data (S44). Then, the data obtained by combining the three hash values is determined as the content ID (S46).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the database server 50 of FIG. When the ID receiving unit 56 receives a notification of the media type and the content ID from the media player 20 (Y in S50), the key providing unit 58 refers to the key table corresponding to the type of the media and refers to the content ID. The content key corresponding to is transmitted to the media player 20 (S52). When the notification of the content ID is not received (N in S50), S52 is skipped.

  When the acquisition request receiving unit 60 receives an acquisition request for related information from the media player 20 (Y in S54), and the acquisition request specifies related information of other content (Y in S56), the related information providing unit 62 transmits the content key of the other content to the media player 20 as the related information of the content (S58). When the acquisition request specifies related information of the content (N in S56), the related information providing unit 62 transmits actual data of the related information of the content to the media player 20 (S60). If the related information acquisition request is not received (N in S54), S56 to S60 are skipped.

  Next, the operation of the media player 20 will be further described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. When executing the first content, the media player 20 notifies the database server 50 of the content ID of the key record 80a, and acquires the content key of the key record 80a. When the title information / chapter information needs to be displayed during the execution of the first content, the media player 20 sequentially acquires the title information / chapter information of the related information record 82a using the content key. Further, when information on the series work of the first content is required, the content key recorded in the series work column of the related information record 82a is once acquired and recorded in the related information record 82b using the content key. Get the data.

  Also, when a recommended work for the first content is required, the content key recorded in the recommended work column of the related information record 82a is once acquired, and the recommended work is obtained from the mail order site server 70 using the content key. Get information. Similarly, when the performer information of the first content is required, the content key recorded in the performer information column of the related information record 82a is once acquired and the online content server 72 uses the content key. Acquire performer information. It should be noted that the trigger for acquiring the content related information may be automatically determined based on the content execution state in the media player 20, or may be determined according to an explicit user operation.

  According to the media player 20 of the present embodiment, even if the related information of the content to be executed is an enormous amount of information as a whole, only the content key for accessing the related information of the content is acquired in advance. Get only the relevant information that was needed when it was needed during the execution of the content. Thereby, the resource occupation amount of the communication network 14 and the media player 20 can be reduced. In other words, even if it is related information of the content, related information unnecessary for execution is not acquired, so that efficient resource use is realized.

  Further, according to the media player 20, the content ID is determined based on the address information of the content of the recording medium. The number of recording media titles and video / audio stream information, such as codec information, number of streams, language information, etc., are likely to overlap even if they are different contents. Also, the total playback time and each chapter time are unlikely to overlap, but it is difficult to be completely unique. On the other hand, as described above, each of a plurality of contents at least partially different has different address information. Therefore, according to the media player 20, a content ID that can uniquely identify the content is determined.

  Thus, by determining the ID that can uniquely identify the content, it is possible to acquire related information that is different for each content and that is necessary for the execution of the content. Furthermore, the ID determination logic is not complicated, can be easily implemented, and a quick ID determination process is realized. Furthermore, since a fixed-length content ID is determined using a hash function, the data capacity necessary to hold the content ID is specified in advance, and the media player 20 and the database server 50 can be easily implemented.

  According to the database server 50 of the present embodiment, since the key table is held for each type of recording medium to be executed by the media player 20, various types of recording media that can be executed by the media player 20 can be supported. Become. In the related information table, since the related information is associated with a content key in a format suitable for the database server 50 instead of a content ID depending on the storage medium, the related information is efficiently stored and related information is stored. Efficient access to is realized.

  Further, since the database server 50 holds the content key of other content as related information of the content, the media player 20 collects related information necessary for executing the content from various information providing apparatuses on the network. it can. Further, since the actual data of the related information is held only by the related information holding device, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of duplicate information management and information inconsistency.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. is there.

  In the above embodiment, as “VTS_xx — 0.IFO” from which conversion target data is to be extracted, “VTS — 01 — 0.IFO” for controlling the first title set and “VTS_yy — 0.IFO” for controlling the last title set. IFO "was detected. In the modified example, in addition to these, DVD control files for which other title sets are controlled may be the target for extracting conversion target data. As the number of target files from which conversion target data is extracted increases, the uniqueness of the ID of the DVD medium 10 increases, but costs such as the time required for the ID generation process also increase. Therefore, it is desirable to determine the number of target files from which conversion target data is extracted by comparing the uniqueness of the ID and the ID generation processing cost.

  The media player 20 may be a dedicated device for processing recording media, or may be various information processing devices having a recording media reading function, such as a PC or a game machine. The content key may be a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) for identifying information resources on the network such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator).

  It should also be understood by those skilled in the art that the functions to be fulfilled by the constituent elements described in the claims are realized by the individual constituent elements shown in the embodiments and the modification examples or by their cooperation.

  20 media player, 22 media reading unit, 24 operation detection unit, 26 content execution unit, 28 display control unit, 30 ID acquisition unit, 32 file detection unit, 34 data extraction unit, 36 ID determination unit, 38 ID notification unit, 40 Key acquisition unit, 42 Key holding unit, 44 Acquisition request issuing unit, 46 Related information acquisition unit, 50 Database server, 52 Key holding unit, 54 Related information holding unit, 56 ID receiving unit, 58 Key providing unit, 60 Acquisition request receiving Department, 62 related information provision department, 100 media processing system.

Claims (8)

An apparatus for processing content recorded on a predetermined medium,
An ID acquisition unit for acquiring, from the medium, a content ID that is an ID for identifying the content and is determined based on content data recorded on the medium;
And a content ID, a key to identify the content in the database server, an external database server that holds the first key information and the table that associates the database was specified by a server for each type of media A key acquisition unit for acquiring first key information stored in a table corresponding to a type of media to be processed and corresponding to the acquired content ID;
The database that holds a table in which first key information of content is associated with content-related information that is information to be provided to a user when a predetermined object included in the content is displayed during playback of the content Rather than acquiring related information associated with the acquired first key information from the server at a time, the acquisition is performed on the condition that it is time to display the object during content playback. An acquisition request issuing unit that sequentially issues an acquisition request for related information to be displayed at that time, including the first key information,
As a response to the acquisition request, a related information acquisition unit that acquires, from the database server, related information to be displayed among the related information associated with the acquired first key information;
With
The table in which the first key information of the content and the related information of the content held by the database server are associated is the information held by the first key information and another database server different from the database server. Including a correspondence with the second key information defined by the other database server,
The database server provides the second key information and the location information of the other database server on the network when receiving an acquisition request for information held in the other database server. Yes,
When the related information acquisition unit acquires the second key information and the location information from the database server as a response to the acquisition request, the acquisition request issuing unit includes the acquired second key information. , Issuing an acquisition request for the related information to be displayed to the other database server according to the acquired location information ,
The related information acquisition unit acquires the related information to be displayed, which is associated with the acquired second key information, from the other database server. The related information acquisition unit, in response to the acquisition request, a key to identify the information of different other content from the content being reproduced, the constant in the database server that holds the information of the other contents When the acquired third key information is acquired from the database server, the acquisition request issuing unit sends an acquisition request for the information of the other content including the acquired third key information to the other content. To the database server that holds the information
The said related information acquisition part acquires the information of the said other content matched with the said acquired 3rd key information from the database server holding the information of the said other content, 1. The media player according to 1. Executed by a device for processing content recorded on a predetermined medium;
Obtaining from the medium a content ID that is an ID for identifying the content and is determined based on content data recorded on the medium;
And a content ID, a key to identify the content in the database server, an external database server that holds the first key information and the table that associates the database was specified by a server for each type of media From the first key information stored in the table corresponding to the type of media to be processed, the first key information associated with the acquired content ID,
The database that holds a table in which first key information of content is associated with content-related information that is information to be provided to a user when a predetermined object included in the content is displayed during playback of the content Rather than acquiring related information associated with the acquired first key information from the server at a time, the acquisition is performed on the condition that it is time to display the object during content playback. Sequentially issuing an acquisition request for related information to be displayed at that time, including the first key information, to the database server;
As a response to the acquisition request, acquiring from the database server the related information to be displayed among the related information associated with the acquired first key information;
With
The table in which the first key information of the content and the related information of the content held by the database server are associated is the information held by the first key information and another database server different from the database server. Including a correspondence with the second key information defined by the other database server,
The database server provides the second key information and the location information of the other database server on the network when receiving an acquisition request for information held in the other database server. Yes,
As a response to the acquisition request, when the second key information and the position information are acquired from the database server, an acquisition request for the related information to be displayed including the acquired second key information is acquired. Issuing to the other database server according to location information ;
Obtaining the related information to be displayed associated with the obtained second key information from the other database server;
An information acquisition method further comprising : In a device for processing content recorded on a predetermined medium,
A function of acquiring from the medium a content ID that is an ID for identifying the content and is determined based on content data recorded on the medium;
And a content ID, a key to identify the content in the database server, an external database server that holds the first key information and the table that associates the database was specified by a server for each type of media A function of acquiring first key information stored in a table corresponding to a type of media to be processed, and corresponding to the acquired content ID;
The database that holds a table in which first key information of content is associated with content-related information that is information to be provided to a user when a predetermined object included in the content is displayed during playback of the content Rather than acquiring related information associated with the acquired first key information from the server at a time, the acquisition is performed on the condition that it is time to display the object during content playback. An acquisition request issuing function for sequentially issuing an acquisition request for related information to be displayed at that time, including the first key information,
As a response to the acquisition request, a related information acquisition function for acquiring, from the database server, related information to be displayed among the related information associated with the acquired first key information;
Realized,
The table in which the first key information of the content and the related information of the content held by the database server are associated is the information held by the first key information and another database server different from the database server. Including a correspondence with the second key information defined by the other database server,
The database server provides the second key information and the location information of the other database server on the network when receiving an acquisition request for information held in the other database server. Yes,
When the related information acquisition function acquires the second key information and the position information from the database server as a response to the acquisition request, the acquisition request issue function includes the acquired second key information. , Issuing an acquisition request for the related information to be displayed to the other database server according to the acquired location information ,
The computer program characterized in that the related information acquisition function acquires the related information to be displayed associated with the acquired second key information from the other database server. A database server,
Information related to content, which is information to be provided to a user when a media player that processes content recorded on a predetermined medium, displays a predetermined object included in the content during reproduction of the content, in the database server. a key for identifying the content, and related information holding unit for holding the first key information table associating been specified by a corresponding database server,
This is an ID for identifying the content recorded on the medium, and a table in which the content ID determined based on the data of the content recorded on the media and the first key information of the content is associated with the type of media A key holding unit for holding each;
When the media type and the content ID are notified from the media player, the first key information is stored in a table corresponding to the notified media type, and is associated with the notified content ID. A key providing unit for providing the key information to the media player;
An acquisition request receiving unit that receives from the media player an information acquisition request including the provided first key information, which requests related information that needs to be displayed during content playback in the media player;
The related information associated with the provided first key information is not provided to the media player at one time, but the information acquisition request among the related information associated with the provided first key information. A related information providing unit that sequentially provides the media player with the related information that is required to be displayed in the media player by providing the requested related information to the media player;
With
The table in which the first key information of content and the related information of content held by the related information holding unit are associated with each other is held in another database server different from the first key information and the database server. a key to identify the information, which includes an association between the other second key information has been specified by a database server,
When the acquisition request receiving unit is an information acquisition request including the provided first key information and receives an acquisition request for information held in the other database server, the related information providing unit In order to cause the media player to issue an information acquisition request including the second key information to the other database server, as a response to the information acquisition request including the first key information, A database server, characterized in that the second key information to which the position information is added is provided to the media player. The table associated with the first key information of the content and the related information of the content held by the related information holding unit is the information about other content different from the content among the related information of the content. a key to identify the information content, the third key information is specified by a database server that holds the information of the other contents, associating the first key information of the content Is,
When the acquisition request receiving unit is an information acquisition request including the provided first key information and receives an acquisition request for information on the other content, the related information providing unit In order to issue the information acquisition request including the third key information to the database server holding the information of the other content , the third key is used as a response to the information acquisition request including the first key information. 6. The database server of claim 5, wherein information is provided to the media player. A method executed by a database server,
Content ID that identifies the type of media and the content recorded on the media from the media player that processes the content recorded on the predetermined media, and is determined based on the content data recorded on the media when there notified, and a content ID, a key to identify the content in the database server, the key for each type of media that associates the first key information has been specified by a corresponding database server Referring to the table, the first key information stored in the key table corresponding to the notified media type and the first key information associated with the notified content ID is provided to the media player. And steps to
Content related information that is information to be provided to the user when the media player displays a predetermined object included in the content during playback of the content, and needs to be displayed during playback of the content in the media player Receiving an information acquisition request including the provided first key information from the media player, requesting related information that has become
Referring to the related information table that stores the first key information of the content and the related information of the content in association with each other, the related information associated with the provided first key information is provided to the media player at once. Rather than providing the related information requested by the information acquisition request among the related information associated with the provided first key information to the media player, display is required in the media player. Sequentially providing the related information to the media player;
With
The related information table is a key to identify the first key information of the content, the information held in the different other database server and the database server, specified by a said other database servers Including the correspondence with the second key information provided,
When the information acquisition request including the provided first key information is received and the information acquisition request held in the other database server is received, the media player acquires the information including the second key information. In order to issue a request to the other database server, the second key information to which the location information on the network of the other database server is added as a response to the information acquisition request including the first key information. An information providing method, further comprising the step of providing to the media player. On the database server
Content ID that identifies the type of media and the content recorded on the media from the media player that processes the content recorded on the predetermined media, and is determined based on the content data recorded on the media when there notified, and a content ID, a key to identify the content in the database server, the key for each type of media that associates the first key information has been specified by a corresponding database server Referring to the table, the first key information stored in the key table corresponding to the notified media type and the first key information associated with the notified content ID is provided to the media player. Function to
Content related information that is information to be provided to the user when the media player displays a predetermined object included in the content during playback of the content, and needs to be displayed during playback of the content in the media player An acquisition request reception function for requesting related information obtained from the media player and requesting an information acquisition request including the provided first key information;
Referring to the related information table that stores the first key information of the content and the related information of the content in association with each other, the related information associated with the provided first key information is provided to the media player at once. Rather than providing the related information requested by the information acquisition request among the related information associated with the provided first key information to the media player, display is required in the media player. A related information providing function for sequentially providing the related information to the media player;
Realized,
The related information table is a key to identify the first key information of the content, the information held in the different other database server and the database server, specified by a said other database servers Including the correspondence with the second key information provided,
When the acquisition request reception function is an information acquisition request including the provided first key information and receives an acquisition request for information held in the other database server, the related information provision function In order to cause the media player to issue an information acquisition request including the second key information to the other database server, as a response to the information acquisition request including the first key information, A computer program for providing the media player with the second key information to which position information is added .

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