WO2011045868A1

WO2011045868A1 - Play list generation device, play list generation method, play list generation program, and recording medium

Info

Publication number: WO2011045868A1
Application number: PCT/JP2009/067940
Authority: WO
Inventors: 恭子巽
Original assignee: パイオニア株式会社
Priority date: 2009-10-16
Filing date: 2009-10-16
Publication date: 2011-04-21

Abstract

A play list generation device (100) extracts a predetermined content from a plurality of contents and generates a play list. Each of the contents is correlated with a corresponding keyword. A display unit (101) dynamically displays a display relating to the keywords on a display screen (110). A specification unit (102) receives a specification input to specify one of the keywords. A generation unit (103) generates a play list by using a content correlated to the specified keyword. The specification unit (102) can specify a plurality of keywords. The display unit (101) causes the display screen (110) to always display information relating to the specified keyword and continues dynamical display of information relating to keywords other than the specified keyword until the specification input is completed.

Description

PLAYLIST GENERATION DEVICE, PLAYLIST GENERATION METHOD, PLAYLIST GENERATION PROGRAM, AND RECORDING MEDIUM

The present invention relates to a playlist generation device, a playlist generation method, a playlist generation program, and a recording medium that generate a playlist that defines the playback order of content. However, use of the present invention is not limited to the above-described playlist generation device, playlist generation method, playlist generation program, and recording medium.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a content playback device that plays back music or the like, the storage capacity has been increasing. Along with this, it has become possible to use a large amount of content data that was difficult to carry in the past even on the go, and a method for effectively using these content data has been devised. Yes. As an example of such a technique, for example, a technique for automatically generating a playlist indicating the playback order of content is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). In Patent Document 1 below, a playlist that matches the user's preference is automatically generated based on information such as the number of times the content has been played.

JP 2008-204506 A

However, the user's mood and situation when viewing the content vary from time to time, and the content that the user wants to view varies naturally. In the above prior art, although it is possible to generate a playlist that matches the general preference of the user, it is not possible to generate a playlist that matches the user's mood and circumstances at that time. As an example. On the other hand, in order for the user to manually generate a playlist according to the mood of each time, it is necessary to select desired contents one by one from a huge number of contents, which is cumbersome Is given as an example.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a playlist generation apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 extracts a predetermined content from a content group consisting of a plurality of contents and generates a playlist. A keyword associated with each of the contents, a display means for dynamically displaying a display relating to the keyword on a display screen, and a designation means for accepting a designation input for designating any of the keywords; Generating means for generating a playlist using the content associated with the keyword designated by the designation means (hereinafter referred to as “designated keyword”), and a plurality of the keywords are received from the designation means. The display means can display the specified keyword in advance. The display is always displayed on the display screen, and the dynamic display of the display of the keyword other than the specified keyword (hereinafter referred to as “non-designated keyword”) is continued until the designation input by the designation unit is completed. To do.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a playlist generation method for generating a playlist by extracting predetermined contents from a group of contents composed of a plurality of contents, each of which is related to the contents. A keyword is associated, a first display step for dynamically displaying a display related to the keyword on a display screen, an input step for accepting a designation input designating any of the keywords, and a designation specified in the input step A display related to a keyword (hereinafter referred to as “designated keyword”) is always displayed on the display screen, and a dynamic display of a display related to the keyword other than the designated keyword (hereinafter referred to as “non-designated keyword”) is input to the display. A second display process that continues until the specified input in the process is completed, and the previous A generation step of generating a playlist using the contents specified keyword is associated, characterized in that it contains.

Further, the playlist generation program according to the invention of claim 10 causes a computer to execute the playlist generation method according to claim 9.

Further, a recording medium according to an eleventh aspect of the invention is characterized in that the playlist generation program according to the tenth aspect is recorded in a computer-readable state.

It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the playlist production | generation apparatus concerning Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the playlist production | generation process by a playlist production | generation apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of a content reproduction apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the play list production | generation screen in a content reproduction apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the play list production | generation screen in a content reproduction apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the play list production | generation screen in a content reproduction apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the play list production | generation screen in a content reproduction apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the play list production | generation screen in a content reproduction apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the play list production | generation process by a content reproduction apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the database structure of a content database. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the database structure of a keyword database. It is explanatory drawing which shows the layout modification example (example 1) of a play list production | generation screen. It is explanatory drawing which shows the layout modification example (example 1) of a play list production | generation screen. It is explanatory drawing which shows the layout modification example (example 1) of a play list production | generation screen. It is explanatory drawing which shows the layout modification example (example 2) of a play list production | generation screen. It is explanatory drawing which shows the layout modification example (example 3) of a play list production | generation screen. It is explanatory drawing which shows the layout modification example (example 3) of a play list production | generation screen.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of a playlist generation device, a playlist generation method, a playlist generation program, and a recording medium according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the playlist generation device according to the embodiment. The playlist generation apparatus 100 according to the embodiment includes a display unit 101, a specification unit 102, and a generation unit 103, and generates a playlist by extracting predetermined content from a content group including a plurality of contents.

The playlist generated by the playlist generation device 100 is used, for example, to define the content playback order by a content playback device (not shown). For example, the playlist generation device 100 extracts predetermined content (in this embodiment, content related to a keyword specified by the user) from a content group composed of a plurality of contents recorded in the content reproduction device. , Generate a playlist. Further, the content group may be content stored in a content server that can communicate with the playlist generation device 100 and the content reproduction device, for example. The content specifically includes, for example, music, moving images, still images, information services, and the like.

The related keywords are associated with the contents constituting the content group. Examples of keywords include the genre of the content, the name of the artist who created or demonstrated the content, the name of the award that was awarded, the date of publication, and the region. Generally, a plurality of contents are associated with one keyword. A plurality of keywords may be associated with one content.

The display unit 101 dynamically displays on the display screen 110 a display related to keywords associated with each content in the content group (hereinafter referred to as “keyword display”). The keyword display is, for example, one (or a plurality of) thumbnail images of content associated with the keyword, an icon indicating the keyword, or the like.

The display unit 101 displays, for example, a display related to a content in which a keyword display area in which a keyword display is displayed on the display screen 110 and a keyword (hereinafter referred to as “designated keyword”) designated by the designation unit 102 described later. A content display area to be displayed. The display related to the content is, for example, a thumbnail image of the content or an icon in which the title of the content is written. Then, the display unit 101 dynamically displays the keyword display within the keyword display area. The dynamic display is, for example, a scroll display of keyword display.

Thus, the reason why the keyword display is dynamically displayed is to facilitate the keyword specification even when the number of keywords is large. In general, as the number of contents in a content group increases, the number of related keywords also increases. In this case, in order to simultaneously display all keyword displays on the display screen 110, the size of each keyword display must be reduced. If the size of the keyword display is small, it is difficult to visually recognize the keyword display, or it is difficult to touch the keyword display (such as when the designation unit 102 described later is a touch panel using the display screen 110). It becomes difficult to specify. In addition, it is possible to divide and display the keyword display into a plurality of groups. However, a user operation (for example, clicking the “next group” button) is necessary to display the next group, which is complicated. is there.

Therefore, the playlist generating apparatus 100 dynamically displays the keyword display so that all keyword displays are displayed on the display screen 110 while keeping the size of the keyword display at an appropriate size. As a result, the user can easily specify keywords even when the number of keywords is large.

The designation unit 102 receives a designation input for designating any of the keywords. The designation unit 102 is a touch panel using the display screen 110, for example, and accepts a designation input by detecting that the user has touched the keyword display of a desired keyword. In addition, the designation unit 102 receives a designation input, for example, by detecting that the user has spoken a desired keyword or by detecting that a desired keyword has been designated via a remote control or an operation button. May be. A plurality of keywords can be designated from the designation unit 102.

When a keyword is specified via the specifying unit 102, the display unit 101 always displays a display related to the specified keyword on the display screen 110, and displays related to a keyword other than the specified keyword (hereinafter referred to as “non-specified keyword”). Is continuously displayed until the designation input through the designation unit 102 is completed. Thus, the user can specify another keyword while confirming the specified keyword on the display screen 110. Further, since the display related to the content associated with the specified keyword is displayed on the display screen 110, the user can check the content related to the specified keyword (that is, the content constituting the playlist), and select the keyword. Can be specified.

Examples of the method for displaying the designated keyword include the following methods.
(1) The keyword display of the designated keyword is fixedly displayed around the edge of the keyword display area, and the dynamic display of the display regarding the non-designated keyword is continued.
(2) The keyword display area is divided into a designated keyword display area in which the designated keyword is displayed and a non-designated keyword display area in which the non-designated keyword is displayed, and is not designated until designation by the designation unit 102 is performed. When the keyword display is dynamically displayed in the keyword display area and the specified keyword is specified, the specified keyword display is moved to the specified keyword display area, and the dynamic display of the display regarding the unspecified keyword is performed. Continue on.

In addition, since the designated keyword is always displayed on the display screen 110, if the number of designated keywords increases, the keyword display area is occupied by the designated keyword display, and it becomes impossible to display non-designated keywords (new keywords). Can no longer be specified). In order to prevent this, the display unit 101 may determine the display size related to the designated keyword in the keyword display area based on the number of designated keywords. Specifically, for example, when the number of designated keywords exceeds a predetermined number, the designated keyword display is reduced to half of the initial value. At this time, the size of the display regarding the non-designated keyword instead of the designated keyword may be determined, or the size of both the display regarding the designated keyword and the display regarding the non-designated keyword may be determined. Good.

The generating unit 103 generates a playlist using content (hereinafter referred to as “specified content”) associated with a keyword (hereinafter referred to as “specified keyword”) specified by the specifying unit 102. More specifically, the generation unit 103 extracts content associated with the specified keyword from the content group, sets a playback order for the extracted content, and generates a content list.

When a plurality of keywords are specified by the specifying unit 102, the generating unit 103 generates a playlist using content in which all the specified keywords are associated, for example. Thereby, it is possible to easily extract desired content from a huge number of contents. Similarly, when a plurality of keywords are designated, for example, a content list may be extracted using content associated with any of the designated keywords.

The generation unit 103 generates a playlist using all specified content, for example. In addition, when the playback time of the playlist is specified, the generation unit 103 generates a content list by extracting a predetermined number of contents from the specified content so that the playback ends within the playback time. May be. The playback order of the designated content may be determined randomly or based on a predetermined rule.

Next, playlist generation processing by the playlist generation apparatus 100 will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of playlist generation processing by the playlist generation device. First, the playlist generation apparatus 100 dynamically displays a keyword display on the display screen 110 by the display unit 101 (step S201).

Next, the playlist generating apparatus 100 determines whether or not a keyword is specified via the specifying unit 102 (step S202). When a keyword is not specified (step S202: No), it returns to step S201 and continues dynamic display of keyword display. When a keyword is designated (step S202: Yes), the display unit 101 fixes the designated keyword display (designated keyword display) on the display screen 110 (step S203). Here, fixing on the display screen 110 means that the designated keyword display is always displayed on the display screen 110, and the designated keyword display is not necessarily displayed statically.

Until the keyword specification via the specifying unit 102 is completed (step S204: No), the playlist generating apparatus 100 returns to step S201 and repeats the subsequent processing. When the keyword specification ends (step S204: Yes), the playlist generation device 100 generates a playlist by the generation unit 103 (step S205), and ends the processing according to this flowchart.

As described above, the playlist generation apparatus according to the embodiment generates a playlist by allowing the user to specify a keyword suitable for the mood and situation at that time. Thus, the user can obtain a playlist that matches the mood and situation at that time without specifying individual contents.

Also, the playlist generation device 100 dynamically displays a display relating to the keyword. Thereby, even when the number of keywords is large, the keyword display can be efficiently displayed on the display screen. Also, the playlist generation apparatus 100 always displays the display related to the specified keyword on the display screen without dynamically displaying it. Thereby, the user can select another keyword while confirming the keyword already specified.

Also, the playlist generation device 100 forms a keyword display area and a content display area on the display screen 110, and displays the content associated with the specified keyword in the specified content area. As a result, the user can specify the keyword while confirming the contents constituting the playlist. In addition, when a plurality of keywords are specified by the user, the playlist generation apparatus 100 generates a playlist by extracting content associated with all the specified keywords. This makes it possible to extract content that is more suitable for the user's mood and situation. In addition, the playlist generation apparatus 100 displays a thumbnail image of content associated with the keyword as a display related to the keyword. Thereby, the user can intuitively recognize the content of the keyword, and can easily specify the keyword.

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied with the portable content playback device 300 as the playlist generation device 100 will be described. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the playlist generation apparatus 100 is integrated in the content reproduction apparatus 300. In the present embodiment, the content is described as music.

(Hardware configuration of content reproduction apparatus 300)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the content reproduction apparatus. A content reproducing apparatus 300 according to the embodiment includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, a recording / reproducing unit 304 for recording / reproducing various data, a recording unit 305 for recording various data, an audio I / F (interface) 306, a speaker 307, an input. A device 308, a video I / F 309, a display 310, and a communication I / F 311 are provided. The components 301 to 311 are connected by a bus 320.

The CPU 301 governs overall control of the content reproduction apparatus 300. The ROM 302 records programs such as a boot program and a content reproduction program. The RAM 303 is used as a work area for the CPU 301. That is, the CPU 301 controls the entire content reproduction device 300 by executing various programs recorded in the ROM 302 while using the RAM 303 as a work area.

The recording / reproducing unit 304 controls reading / writing of data with respect to the recording unit 305 according to the control of the CPU 301. The recording unit 305 records data written under the control of the recording / reproducing unit 304. As the recording / reproducing unit 304, for example, a magnetic disk drive or optical disk drive, and as the recording unit 305, for example, HD (hard disk), FD (flexible disk), flash memory, MO, SSD (Solid State Disk), memory card, etc. Can be used.

An example of information recorded in the recording unit 305 is content data. The content data is, for example, music data, still image data, moving image data, or the like. In this embodiment, the content data is music data. The content reproduction device 300 reproduces content data recorded in the recording unit 305 in accordance with a user operation. In addition to the main data constituting the content itself, the content data includes accompanying information such as the title name and player name of the content. Information on the content recorded in the recording unit 305 can be managed, for example, in a content database described later.

The audio I / F 306 is connected to a speaker 307 for audio output. The audio I / F 306 performs D / A conversion on the audio data of the content data instructed to be reproduced, and outputs the audio data from the speaker 307 as audio. Note that the speaker 307 may be detachable from the content reproduction apparatus 300, or may be located away from the main body of the content reproduction apparatus 300.

The input device 308 is configured by a remote controller, a keyboard, a touch panel, and the like provided with a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, and the like. The input device 308 may be realized by any one of a remote controller, a keyboard, and a touch panel, or may be realized by a plurality of forms.

The video I / F 309 is connected to the display 310. Specifically, the video I / F 309 is output from, for example, a graphic controller that controls the entire display 310, a buffer memory such as a VRAM (Video RAM) that temporarily records image information that can be displayed immediately, and a graphic controller. And a control IC for controlling the display 310 based on the image data to be processed. The display 310 displays icons, cursors, menus, windows, or various data such as characters and images. When the content to be played back by the content playback apparatus 300 is image data, the played back content image may be displayed on the display 310 or may be displayed on the video I / F 309 on another display (for example, than the display 310 of the content playback apparatus 300). A large display) may be connected and displayed on another display 310.

The communication I / F 311 is connected to the network via radio and enables data transmission / reception via the network. By using the communication I / F 311, the content reproduction device 300 can also acquire content data via a network.

1 uses the programs and data recorded in the ROM 302, RAM 303, recording unit 305, and the like in FIG. 3, and the CPU 301 executes predetermined programs to control each unit. To achieve this function.

(Outline of playlist generation processing)
Next, a playlist generation process based on the playback history by the content playback device 300 will be described. The content playback device 300 has a content playback function for playing back content such as music. For content playback, the content specified by the user is played in the specified order, the random playback that plays back the randomly extracted content, the playlist playback that plays back the content along a pre-generated playlist, etc. There are various methods.

Among them, the playlist reproduction is that the user selects contents one by one from the content group recorded in the content reproduction apparatus 300, generates a playlist, and reproduces along the playlist. It is common. However, when the number of contents recorded in the content reproduction apparatus 300 is enormous, it is a very complicated task to generate a playlist by specifying individual contents. For this reason, the content reproduction apparatus 300 associates a keyword with each content, and generates a playlist using the content related to the keyword specified by the user. Thereby, the user can generate a playlist with a rough image suitable for the mood and situation of each occasion, instead of individually specifying the contents in the playlist.

4 to 8 are explanatory diagrams showing an example of a playlist generation screen in the content reproduction apparatus. When the generation of a playlist is instructed by the user, the content reproduction device 300 displays a playlist generation screen 400 on the display 310 as shown in FIG. The playlist generation screen 400 includes a keyword display area 410 and a content display area 420.

In the keyword display area 410, a keyword display 411 representing a keyword related to the content recorded in the content reproduction device 300 is displayed. The keywords related to the content include, for example, the genre of the content, the name of the artist who created or performed the content, the name of the award winning, the date of announcement, and the region. Generally, a plurality of contents are associated with one keyword. A plurality of keywords may be associated with one content.

In the example of FIG. 4, the keyword display 411 indicates “Award” indicating that the content is a work that has received some award, “Movie” indicating that the content is movie music, and indicates that the content is a work of a female artist. Keywords such as “Woman”, “Animation” indicating that the music is used for animation, and “Relax” indicating that the music is suitable for relaxing are displayed.

The keyword display 411 in FIG. 4 includes a text display of each keyword and one thumbnail image among contents related to each keyword. This makes it easier for the user to recall the content indicated by the keyword. The keyword display 411 may be configured by only one of the text display and the thumbnail image, for example.

In the keyword display area 410, keyword displays 411 are arranged in the vertical direction with respect to the display 310. The keyword display 411 scrolls in the vertical direction (arrow S direction), and keywords not shown in FIG. 4 are displayed in the keyword display area 410. Note that scrolling may be performed automatically with the passage of time, or may be performed with a scroll operation by the user. The display 310 is a touch panel, and the above-described scroll operation by the user is performed, for example, by moving around the keyword display in the vertical direction. In the following description, it is assumed that the keyword display 411 is automatically scrolled, and the moving direction is from the lower side to the upper side of the display 310.

Also, the user selects a keyword by touching the keyword display of the desired keyword. When a keyword is selected, the content reproduction apparatus 300 displays a selection frame 412 around the keyword display of the specified keyword and highlights the specified keyword as shown in FIG. Further, the content reproduction device 300 displays a thumbnail of the content associated with the specified keyword in the content display area 420.

In the example of FIG. 5, the keyword “Movie” is selected, and the content display area 420 displays a thumbnail image 421 of the content associated with the selected keyword “Movie”. Thereby, the user can confirm the content associated with the selected keyword, that is, the content included in the playlist to be generated from now. The playback order of the content in the playlist may be determined in association with the display order of the thumbnail images 421 in the content display area 420, or may be determined randomly. In addition, when the number of contents associated with the selected keyword is large, the content display area 420 may be divided into a plurality of pages, or the content to be displayed may be appropriately selected and displayed.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, the content reproduction device 300 moves the keyword display (designated keyword display) 413 a of the designated keyword above the keyword display area 410. When the content reproduction apparatus 300 moves the designated keyword display 413a to the uppermost stage of the screen, the content reproduction apparatus 300 stops the movement at that position and displays the fixed display on the uppermost stage of the screen. On the other hand, the other keyword display (normal keyword display) 411 is scrolled again in the direction of arrow S, the normal keyword display 411 reaching the top of the screen disappears from the screen, and a new keyword is displayed from the bottom of the screen. To. In the example of FIG. 6, the keyword display 411 of the keyword “Award” disappears, and the keyword display 411 of a new keyword “Earth” is displayed from the lower part of the screen. In addition, although the designated keyword display 413a is displayed at the upper part of the screen, the normal keyword display 411 controls the display so as to scroll under the designated keyword display 413a, for example.

The user can specify a new keyword from the normal keywords that scroll. When a keyword is newly specified, the content reproduction apparatus 300 displays a selection frame 412 and highlights the specified keyword as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 7, the keyword “Animation” is selected as the second keyword.

Also, the content reproduction device 300 extracts content associated with both of the two specified keywords (“Movie” and “Animation”), and displays the thumbnail image 422 in the content display area 420. A thumbnail image 422 shown in FIG. 7 differs from the thumbnail image 421 shown in FIG. This is because the content group of the thumbnail image 421 in FIG. 5 is content extracted using only the keyword “Movie” as a search condition, whereas the content group of the thumbnail image 422 in FIG. 7 includes the keyword “Movie” and This is because the content is extracted using “Animation” as a search condition.

As described above, when a plurality of keywords are specified, the content reproduction apparatus 300 extracts a content associated with all of the specified keywords (and conditions) and generates a playlist. As a result, it is possible to extract content more suitable for the image requested by the user from among a large number of contents. Note that the content extraction condition is not limited to the “and” condition, and for example, content associated with any of the designated keywords may be extracted (or condition) to generate a playlist. In addition, for example, a function that defines a correlation between specified keywords may be generated, and the keywords may be weighted to extract content.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the content reproduction apparatus 300 moves the second designated keyword display 413b above the keyword display area 410, and moves the second designated keyword display 413b below the first designated keyword display 413a. Stop at. On the other hand, the content reproduction apparatus 300 scrolls the normal keyword display 411 as it is, erases the non-designated keyword display reaching the top of the screen from the screen, and displays a new non-designated keyword from the bottom of the screen. By repeating such an operation, it is possible to generate a playlist by narrowing down contents using keywords from many contents.

Next, the procedure of playlist generation processing by the content reproduction device 300 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of playlist generation processing by the content reproduction apparatus. In the flowchart of FIG. 9, the content reproduction device 300 stands by until there is a playlist editing instruction from the user (step S901: No loop). The playlist editing instruction is performed, for example, by selecting “playlist editing” in the operation menu. Note that the editing of a playlist includes a process of newly generating a playlist in addition to a process of changing the contents of a playlist that has already been created.

When there is a playlist editing instruction (step S901: Yes), the content reproduction device 300 extracts keywords associated with the content stored in the device itself (step S902). Then, keyword display using thumbnail images corresponding to each keyword is displayed in the keyword display area of the playlist generation screen (step S903). If the number of keywords extracted in step S902 is larger than the number of keyword displays that can be displayed in the keyword display area at one time, only a part of the keyword display is displayed in step S903. The remaining keyword display is displayed on the play list generation screen as the keyword display, which will be described later, is scrolled.

The processing of steps S902 and S903 will be described in more detail. In step S902, the content reproduction device 300 searches, for example, a content database (content database) stored in the device itself, and extracts keywords. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the database structure of the content database. The content database 1000 of FIG. 10 is a record related to one content for each row. Each record includes title information 1001 indicating the title of the content, artist information 1002 indicating the name of the artist who performed or produced the content, image data representing the content (for example, a thumbnail image of an album jacket) 1003, and the content. Information such as related keyword information 1004 is added. Such information may be acquired from the outside via CDDB (Compact Disc DataBase) or may be registered by the user. For example, the user can set an arbitrary keyword for a certain content. A plurality of keyword information 1004 can be registered for one content.

When performing the processing of steps S902 to S903 using only the content database 1000, the content reproduction device 300 first searches the keyword information 1004 of each record and extracts all the keywords in the content database 1000 (step S902). ). Then, for each keyword, one thumbnail image of the content associated with the keyword is selected and displayed as a thumbnail image corresponding to the keyword (step S903).

Also, in order to perform these processes quickly, keywords associated with content may be stored in a database in advance. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the database structure of the keyword database. The keyword database 1100 in FIG. 11 is a record indicating one keyword per line. Each record includes information such as keyword information 1101 indicating a keyword, image data 1102 of thumbnail images corresponding to the keyword, and title information 1103 of content associated with the keyword. The image data 1102 is, for example, a thumbnail image of content associated with the keyword. A plurality of image data 1102 may be registered for one keyword.

When performing the processes of steps S902 to S903 using the keyword database 1100, the content reproduction apparatus 300 first extracts all the keyword information 1101 of each record (step S902). Then, one thumbnail image corresponding to each keyword is selected and displayed (step S903). When a plurality of image data are registered for one keyword, for example, image data other than the previously displayed image data is selected and displayed.

Returning to the description of FIG. 9, the content reproduction apparatus 300 scrolls the keyword display within the keyword display area (step S904). Until any keyword is designated (step S905: No), the content reproduction device 300 returns to step S904 and continues scrolling the keyword display. The keyword is designated by touching the keyword display of a desired keyword using the touch panel function of the display 310, for example.

When any keyword is designated (step S905: Yes), the content reproduction apparatus 300 highlights the keyword display of the designated keyword and moves it to the end of the keyword display area (step S906). The highlighted display is, for example, surrounding the keyword display with a designation frame 412 shown in FIG. Further, the end portion of the keyword display area is, for example, an end portion on the scroll direction side of the keyword display, and is the upper direction of the screen shown in FIG. In step S906, if another designated keyword display is already at the end of the keyword display area, the newly designated keyword display is moved to a position adjacent to the designated keyword display.

Subsequently, the content reproduction device 300 extracts the content associated with the keyword specified in step S905 (step S907), and displays the thumbnail of the extracted content in the content display area (step S908). At this time, if there are a plurality of designated keywords, for example, contents associated with all the designated keywords are extracted.

Until there is a play list reproduction instruction (step S909: No), the content reproduction apparatus 300 returns to step S904 and repeats the subsequent processing. The user designates keywords while viewing thumbnails in the content display area until the content list content (content displayed in the content display area) becomes desired. Also, the play list reproduction instruction is performed, for example, by pressing one of the thumbnails in the content display area.

If there is an instruction to play a playlist (step S909: Yes), the content playback device 300 generates a playlist using the content extracted at that time (step S910). Then, the content is reproduced along the playlist (step S911), and the processing according to this flowchart is terminated. For example, the playlist playback apparatus 300 sets the content indicated by the thumbnail pressed for the playback instruction of the playlist as the content to be played back first, and appropriately determines the playback order of the remaining content to generate the content list.

Through the processing as described above, the content reproduction device 300 generates a playlist and reproduces the content. The user can generate a playlist suitable for the current mood and situation only by specifying a keyword without specifying individual contents.

(Modified layout of the playlist generation screen)
In the layout of the playlist generation screen 400 shown in FIGS. 4 to 8, the proportion of the designated keyword display in the keyword display area increases as the number of designated keywords increases. When the occupying ratio of the designated keyword display increases, the area where the non-designated keyword display is displayed becomes narrow, and it becomes difficult to designate a new keyword. In order to prevent this, the layout of the playlist generation screen may be as shown below.

FIG. 12 to FIG. 14 are explanatory diagrams showing a modified layout example (example 1) of the play list generation screen. In the playlist generation screen 1200 of FIG. 12, a keyword display area 1210 is provided in the horizontal direction below the display 310, and a content display area 1220 is provided thereon. Also, on the left side of the content display area 1220, a designated keyword display area 1230 for displaying a designated keyword is provided. In the keyword display area 1210, the keyword display 1211 is scroll-displayed in the horizontal direction (arrow S direction). In the content display area 1220, a thumbnail display 1221 of the content associated with the specified keyword is displayed.

In FIG. 12, the keyword “Award” is designated in the keyword display 1211. In this way, when any one of the keywords is designated, the designated keyword display 1212 moves in the direction of the designated keyword display area 1230 (the screen left direction) as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 14, the designated keyword display 1212 moves to the uppermost stage of the designated keyword display area 1230 and is fixedly displayed. The same operation is repeated when the second and subsequent keywords are designated. In this way, by separating the area that displays the specified keyword display from the area that displays the normal keyword display, even if the number of specified keywords increases, the keyword can be specified without disturbing the display of the normal keyword display. Can be made easier.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a layout modification example (example 2) of the playlist generation screen. A playlist generation screen 1500 in FIG. 15 includes a keyword display area 1510 and a content display area 1520. This is the same as the playlist generation screen 400 shown in FIG. The keyword display area 1510 displays a normal (not specified) keyword display 1511 and a specified keyword display 1512. In the content display area 1520, a thumbnail image 1521 of the content associated with the specified keyword is displayed. Here, in the playlist generation screen 1500, when the number of designated keywords exceeds a predetermined number, the thumbnail size of the normal keyword display 1511 is reduced, so that more normal keyword displays 1511 can be displayed. . As a result, even if the number of designated keywords increases, the number of normal keyword displays 1511 to be displayed can be secured to facilitate the keyword designation.

It should be noted that the case where the number of designated keywords is equal to or greater than a predetermined number can be, for example, half of the number of keyword displays that can be displayed in the keyword display area 1510 (eight in the example of FIG. 15). Further, instead of reducing the size of the normal keyword display, the size of the designated keyword display may be reduced, or the size of both the normal keyword display and the specified keyword display may be reduced.

FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 are explanatory diagrams showing a playlist generation screen layout modification example (example 3). The play list generation screen 1600 of FIG. 16 includes a keyword display area 1610 and a content display area 1620, and this is the same as the play list generation screen 400 shown in FIG. In the keyword display area 1610, a normal (undesignated) keyword display 1611 and a designated keyword display 1612 are displayed. In the content display area 1620, a thumbnail image 1621 of the content associated with the specified keyword is displayed. In FIG. 16, the designated keyword display 1612 (and the selection frame) is shaded for convenience of explanation.

As shown in FIG. 17, on the playlist generation screen 1600, the scroll display of the normal keyword display 1611 passes over the thumbnail image of the designated keyword display 1612. Although the thumbnail image of the designated keyword display 1612 becomes difficult to visually recognize due to the passage of the normal keyword display 1612, since the text of the designated keyword is displayed in the selection frame of the designated keyword display 1612, which keyword is designated by the user. You won't lose track of what you are doing. As a result, even if the number of designated keywords increases, the number of normal keyword displays 1611 to be displayed can be secured, and the keyword can be easily designated.

As described above, the content reproduction apparatus 300 generates a playlist by allowing a user to specify a keyword that matches the mood and situation of the moment. Thus, the user can obtain a playlist that matches the mood and situation at that time without specifying individual contents.

Also, the content playback device 300 scrolls the keyword display on the playlist generation screen. Thereby, even when the number of keywords is large, the keyword display can be efficiently displayed on the display screen. Further, the content reproduction device 300 does not dynamically display the display relating to the specified keyword, but always displays it on the display screen. Thereby, the user can select another keyword while confirming the keyword already specified.

Also, the content playback device 300 forms a keyword display area and a content display area on the playlist generation screen, and displays the content associated with the specified keyword in the specified content area. As a result, the user can specify the keyword while confirming the contents constituting the playlist. In addition, when a plurality of keywords are specified by the user, the content reproduction apparatus 300 extracts a content associated with all the specified keywords and generates a playlist. This makes it possible to extract content that is more suitable for the user's mood and situation. Further, the content reproduction apparatus 300 displays a thumbnail image of the content associated with the keyword as the display related to the keyword. Thereby, the user can intuitively recognize the content of the keyword, and can easily specify the keyword.

In this embodiment, the content constituting the playlist is the content stored in the content reproduction device 300. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a storage device (for example, a content server) owned by the user of the content reproduction device Etc.) and content that can be used by the content playback device 300, such as content that can be acquired via a content distribution service used by the user.

Also, the playlist generation method described in the present embodiment can be realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. This program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a hard disk, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, and a DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. The program may be a transmission medium that can be distributed via a network such as the Internet.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Playlist production | generation apparatus 101 Display part 102 Specification part 103 Generation part 110 Display screen

Claims

A playlist generation device that extracts a predetermined content from a content group consisting of a plurality of contents and generates a playlist,
Each content has associated keywords,
Display means for dynamically displaying a display relating to the keyword on a display screen;
Designation means for accepting designation input for designating any of the keywords;
Generating means for generating a playlist using the content associated with the keyword specified by the specifying means (hereinafter referred to as “specified keyword”),
A plurality of the keywords can be designated from the designation means,
The display means always displays a display relating to the designated keyword on the display screen, and dynamically displays a display relating to the keyword other than the designated keyword (hereinafter referred to as “non-designated keyword”) by the designation means. A playlist generating apparatus that is continued until the designated input is completed.
The display means forms, on the display screen, a keyword display area where a display related to the keyword is displayed and a content display area where a display related to the content associated with the specified keyword is displayed, and the keyword display area The playlist generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a display relating to the keyword is dynamically displayed.
When the designated keyword is designated by the designation means, the display means fixedly displays a display related to the specified keyword around an end of the keyword display area, and displays the dynamic display of the display related to the non-designated keyword. The playlist generating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the playlist generating apparatus continues.
The keyword display area includes a designated keyword display area in which the designated keyword is displayed, and a non-designated keyword display area in which the non-designated keyword is displayed.
The display means dynamically displays the display relating to the keyword in the non-designated keyword display area until the designation by the designation means, and when the designated keyword is designated, the display relating to the designated keyword is displayed. 3. The playlist generating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the playlist generating apparatus moves to the designated keyword display area and continues the dynamic display of the display regarding the non-designated keyword in the non-designated keyword display area.
3. The display unit according to claim 2, wherein the display unit determines a size of at least one of a display related to the specified keyword and a display related to the non-specified keyword in the keyword display area based on the number of the specified keywords. Playlist generation device.
The play list generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dynamic display by the display means is a scroll display of the display related to the keyword.
The said generation means produces | generates the said play list using the said content with which all the said several keywords were linked | related, when the said several keyword is designated by the said designation | designated means. Playlist generation device.
The playlist generation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the display relating to the keyword is a thumbnail image of the content associated with the keyword.
A playlist generation method for generating a playlist by extracting predetermined content from a content group consisting of a plurality of contents,
Each content has associated keywords,
A first display step of dynamically displaying a display relating to the keyword on a display screen;
An input step for receiving a designation input for designating any of the keywords;
The display related to the keyword specified in the input step (hereinafter referred to as “specified keyword”) is always displayed on the display screen, and the display related to the keyword other than the specified keyword (hereinafter referred to as “non-specified keyword”) is displayed. A second display step of continuing the dynamic display until the designated input in the input step is completed;
Generating a playlist using the content associated with the designated keyword; and
A play list generation method characterized by including:
A playlist generation program for causing a computer to execute the playlist generation method according to claim 9.
A computer-readable recording medium on which the playlist generation program according to claim 10 is recorded.