JP2002108687A - Device and method for distributing contents - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely reproduce distributed contents by terminal equipment at the destination of distribution. SOLUTION: This method comprises recognition steps (S06, S07) for recognizing the information of application software installed in terminal equipment, a judgment step (S08) for judging whether or not contents can be reproduced by the terminal equipment from a result obtained by the recognition steps and the file format of the contents to be distributed to the terminal equipment, conversion steps (S09, S10) for converting the file format of the contents into a file format reproducible by the terminal equipment based on the information obtained by the recognition steps when it is judged that the contents can not be reproduced in this judgment step, and a distribution step (S11) for distributing the contents whose file format is converted in this conversion step to the terminal equipment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a content distribution apparatus for distributing content to terminals connected via a network, and a content distribution method used in the apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the widespread use of the Internet, it has become common practice to receive various digital contents, such as text data, music data, still / moving image data, and graphic data, for a fee or free of charge. For example, instead of conventional cassette tapes and mini-discs, portable music players that can store music data distributed using a personal computer on a medium and enjoy the music are multi-product products. Has been

[0003]

However, in order to play back music data in, for example, the MP3 (MPEG1 audio layer 3) format, one of application software generally called MP3 playback software is required.
When a user receives some digital content from a terminal, the application software that matches the file format of the digital content must be installed on the terminal in advance. Without it, the digital content cannot be played.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a content distribution apparatus and a content distribution apparatus capable of reliably reproducing a distributed content at a destination terminal. It is to provide a method.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
What is claimed is: 1. A content distribution apparatus for distributing content to a terminal connected via a network, comprising: a recognition unit configured to recognize information of application software installed in the terminal; and information obtained by the recognition unit. A determining means for determining whether or not the content can be reproduced by the terminal based on a file format of the content to be distributed to the terminal; and information obtained by the recognizing means when the determining means determines that the content cannot be reproduced. A conversion unit for converting the content into a file format that can be reproduced by the terminal based on the content, and a distribution unit for distributing the content whose file format has been converted by the conversion unit to the terminal.

With such a configuration, even when the content to be distributed cannot be directly reproduced at the terminal of the distribution destination, the content is automatically determined and the file format of the content is converted before distribution. So
The terminal that has received the distribution can surely reproduce the content.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the recognition means registers in advance information of application software installed in the terminal.

With this configuration, in addition to the operation of the first aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to convert the file format immediately upon receiving a content distribution request from the terminal. Since the determination can be made, the time required for data communication can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the recognizing means transmits information of application software installed from the content when the terminal requests distribution of the content. It is characterized by obtaining.

With this configuration, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, in order to recognize the information of the application software installed in the terminal at the time of distributing the content, a file format is used. The conversion is performed only when the conversion is absolutely necessary, and unnecessary file format conversion can be avoided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a notifying means for notifying the terminal that the content distributed by the distribution means has been converted from a file format. It is characterized by the following.

[0012] With this configuration, in addition to the operation of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to notify that the distributed content is not the original file format but the converted content, thereby providing a new content. It is possible to urge the user of the terminal device that it is necessary to install various application software.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content distribution method for distributing content to a terminal connected via a network, wherein the method recognizes information of application software installed in the terminal. A recognition step to perform, a determination step of determining whether or not the content can be reproduced by the terminal based on a result obtained in the recognition step and a file format of the content to be distributed to the terminal. A conversion step of converting the content into a file format playable on the terminal based on the information obtained in the recognition step when determining, and distributing the content whose file format has been converted in the conversion step to the terminal. And a distribution step.

According to such a method, even when the content to be distributed cannot be directly reproduced on the terminal of the distribution destination, the content is automatically determined and the file format of the content is converted before distribution. So
The terminal that has received the distribution can surely reproduce the content.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a content distribution service system with member registration will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 exemplifies a schematic configuration of the entire system. Reference numeral 11 denotes a public switched telephone network (PSTN, ISDN,
And various types of wireless communication networks) and the Internet.

The public telephone 1 is connected to the network 11.
2 via a PDA (Personal Digital
Assistants: Personal digital assistants) 13
However, a personal computer 14 with a built-in modem
And PHS (Personal Handypho
ne System: a PHS terminal 16 having a data communication function via a base station (CS) 15 constituting a second-generation cordless telephone system network is connected as a terminal receiving digital content distribution. I do.

However, for the network 11,
A content distribution server 17 for distributing digital content is connected. This content distribution server 17
Is a processing program for converting a file format of digital content to be distributed, which provides a service for distributing various kinds of desired digital content only to terminals registered as a member in advance with membership registration. And a database (DB) 18 for both registered member information and various digital contents.
It is assumed to be stored in.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

FIG. 2 shows a series of processing contents at the time of digital content distribution executed by the content distribution server 17. At first, digital contents transmitted from any terminal via the network 11 are shown. By repeatedly determining whether or not a content distribution request has been received, the process waits (step S01).

When the distribution request is received, the identification information of the terminal that has transmitted the distribution request is checked (step S02), and the terminal is registered as a member in advance. It is determined with reference to the database 18 whether or not it is (step S03).

If the terminal that has sent the distribution request has not been registered as a member, the requested digital content cannot be distributed as it is. After notifying the terminal of a message indicating that the user wants the terminal (step S12), the process returns to step S01 to wait for reception of a new distribution request.

If it is determined in step S03 that the terminal that has sent the distribution request has been registered as a member, then a list menu of digital contents stored in the database 18 is displayed on the terminal side. After transmitting the list data to the terminal as described above, it waits until one of them is selected (step S
04, S05).

At this time, according to the capacity of the display screen on the terminal side and the number of digital contents stored in the database 18, a list of digital contents is classified by type.
For example, it may be displayed hierarchically according to audio data, still image data, moving image data + audio data (video data), text data, and the like.

FIG. 3A shows an example of a list of digital contents displayed on the PDA 13 having a relatively small display screen capacity on the terminal side. Here, "video clip 1" to "video clip 4" are shown. This shows a state in which the video data of the title "" is displayed and "video clip 2" is selected.

When the selection of the digital content is made in this way, the digital content is determined in step S05, and a request for transmitting information on all the application software installed at that time to the terminal is issued. It transmits (step S06).

FIG. 3 (2) shows the PD at this time on the terminal side.
This is an example of a progress message displayed at A13.
For example, a state in which a message such as “Please wait while searching for a file format that can be played back to other customers” and a symbol indicating the progress stage is displayed.

In response to this request, upon receiving information on all application software installed from the terminal (step S07), the content distribution server 17 determines the file format of the selected digital content and the terminal Whether or not it is necessary to convert the file format of the selected digital content and distribute it, corresponding to the application software installed in the application software, that is, the application software capable of reproducing the selected digital content as it is It is determined whether it is not installed in the terminal (step S08).

Here, only when it is determined that the file format of the digital content needs to be converted, the content distribution server 17 uses the file conversion processing program to first convert the selected digital content to which file format. Is selected (step S09), and based on the selected result, the digital content is actually converted into a file format that can be played by the terminal (step S09).
10).

Thereafter, the digital content whose file format has been converted in step S10, or the digital content in the original file format if it is determined in step S08 that conversion of the file format is not necessary, is transmitted to the terminal. (Step S11).

FIG. 3C shows an example of a progress message displayed on the PDA 13 which is the terminal receiving the distribution. For example, a message such as "Please wait for a while during content distribution" and a progress stage are shown. This shows a state where the symbol shown is displayed.

When the distribution of the digital content is completed, the content distribution server 17 terminates the series of processes in FIG. 2 and returns to the process from step S01 to wait for the reception of a new distribution request.

FIG. 3D shows an example of an end message displayed on the PDA 13 which is the terminal that has received the distribution at the end of the distribution. Here, for example, an icon of the distributed digital content is displayed as a shortcut on the display screen of the PDA 13 together with a message such as “Distribution has ended. Please use again”. In this state, the shortcut is still displayed on the desktop, and the distributed digital content may be easily reproduced by selecting and specifying the shortcut.

As described above, even in the case where the content desired to be distributed cannot be directly reproduced at the terminal of the distribution destination, the content distribution server 17 automatically determines the content, converts the file format of the content, and then distributes the content. Therefore, the terminal that has received the distribution can reliably reproduce the content without being aware of such a state.

In the above embodiment, when a distribution request is issued from a terminal, information on application software installed in the terminal is checked, and if necessary, the file format is converted before distribution.

As described above, since the information of the application software installed in the terminal is recognized at the time of distributing the content, the conversion is performed only when the conversion of the file format is absolutely necessary.
Unnecessary file format conversion can be avoided.

On the other hand, unlike the above embodiment, information of all application software installed in each terminal may be registered in the database 18 for each registered member in advance.

In this case, it is possible to determine whether or not it is necessary to convert the file format immediately upon receiving the content distribution request from the terminal and selecting the digital content to be distributed. Can be shortened.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a content distribution service system with member registration is shown, but it is needless to say that the present invention is not particularly limited to member registration.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, even when the file format of the requested digital content is converted and then distributed to the terminal, the digital content is distributed without explicitly indicating whether or not such conversion has been performed. However, during the conversion or distribution, the specified digital content is in what file format, which file format was converted before distribution, and what kind of application software was originally installed. If the terminal cannot be reproduced if it has not been reproduced, the user of the terminal can be prompted that new application software needs to be installed.

In the above embodiment, the content distribution server 17 which distributes digital content in response to a request is provided.
Explained that it also converts the file format,
Instead of a server device that distributes content, for example, an Internet service provider that distributes content directly to a terminal, a device located in the middle of a data communication path transmits a file format of data to a terminal that is distributed. The content may be converted and then delivered.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments, at least one of the problems described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved and the effects described in the column of the effect of the invention can be solved. In a case where at least one of the effects described above is obtained, a configuration in which this component is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

[0044]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, even when the content to be distributed cannot be directly reproduced at the terminal of the distribution destination, the file format of the content is automatically converted by judging this. Since the distribution is performed later, the terminal receiving the distribution can surely reproduce the content.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, it is not necessary to convert the file format immediately upon receiving a content distribution request from the terminal. Can be determined,
The time required for data communication can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, at the time of distributing the content, information of the application software installed in the terminal is recognized. The format conversion is performed only when the format conversion is absolutely necessary, and unnecessary file format conversion can be avoided.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, by notifying that the distributed content is not the original file format but converted. The user of the terminal device can be prompted that new application software needs to be installed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even when the content to be distributed cannot be directly reproduced at the terminal of the distribution destination, the content is automatically determined and the file format of the content is distributed. As a result, the terminal that has received the distribution can reliably reproduce the content.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an entire system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary flowchart showing processing content at the time of content distribution executed by the content distribution server according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing an example of a shift state of a display screen in a terminal which receives content distribution according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Network 12 ... Public telephone 13 ... PDA 14 ... Personal computer (PC) 15 ... Base station 16 ... PHS terminal 17 ... Content distribution server 18 ... Database (DB)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A content distribution device for distributing content to a terminal connected via a network, comprising: recognition means for recognizing information of application software installed in the terminal; A determination unit for determining whether or not the content can be reproduced by the terminal based on the information obtained in the above and the file format of the content to be distributed to the terminal; and, when the determination unit determines that the content cannot be reproduced, the recognition unit. Conversion means for converting the content into a file format playable on the terminal based on the information obtained in the step, and distribution means for distributing the content whose file format has been converted by the conversion means to the terminal. An information distribution device characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The content distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recognizing means registers information of application software installed in said terminal in advance. 3. The content distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recognizing means obtains information on installed application software from the content when the content distribution is requested from the terminal. 4. The content distribution apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies the terminal that the content distributed by the distribution unit has been converted from a file format. 5. A content distribution method for distributing content to a terminal connected via a network, comprising: a recognition step of recognizing information of application software installed on the terminal; Based on the result obtained in the recognition step and the file format of the content to be delivered to the terminal, a determination step of determining whether or not the content can be played back on the terminal. A conversion step of converting the content into a file format playable on the terminal based on the information obtained in the recognition step; and a distribution step of delivering the content whose file format has been converted in the conversion step to the terminal. An information distribution method characterized in that: