JP2002158989A - Unit and method for reproducing contents - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To harmonize contents being reproduced according to a schedule with contents being reproduced based on the select operation of a user. SOLUTION: When an arbitrary position in contents reproduction area A is pointed during reproduction of a promotion contents, interactive contents corresponding to the promotion contents are reproduced. When a selected object area B in a console area B is pointed, interactive contents corresponding to a selected object are reproduced. When an eventless state sustains for a specified time during reproduction of the interactive contents, a transition is made to an idling state. When a reproduction start time of next contents is reached subsequently according to a schedule, a corresponding URL is delivered from a schedule management section 123b to a Web browser 123a to bring about a promotion content reproduction mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for reproducing content according to a predetermined schedule, and more particularly to a technique for reproducing content selected by a user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The applicant of the present invention has proposed to reproduce and display contents for promoting sales of merchandise on a display of a sales floor in a retail store such as a drug store. In this proposal, for example, a content and a schedule are transmitted in advance from a content management side to each store using a communication channel of satellite communication or the Internet, and the content is reproduced according to the schedule. The content is prepared in, for example, HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or XML (Extensible Markup Language) and includes text, images, audio files, and the like. It is possible to promote the sale of the product by selecting the desired content according to the relationship with the product at the counter or the time zone.

[0003] By the way, in addition to the above-described display at the sales floor of the retail store, the display is provided on a table of a restaurant, a coffee shop, a karaoke store, or the like, and the content is reproduced in accordance with the schedule in the same manner as described above. It is also conceivable to provide advertisements by providing information on services.

[0004] However, displays arranged in restaurants and the like are suitable not only for providing contents unilaterally but also for providing contents interactively. For example, it is also desirable to provide information on fortunes, information on weather forecasts, and other various genres under the user's selection, and print out a hard copy of the information. Further, there is a case where it is desired to obtain desired information by connecting to the Internet as an information source. Therefore, in a restaurant or the like, it is an issue how to harmonize the content reproduced according to the schedule with the interactive content reproduced based on the operation of the user.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a harmony between contents to be reproduced according to a schedule and contents selected based on an interactive operation of a user. It is an object of the present invention to provide a content reproduction technology capable of reproducing both contents by holding it.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a configuration as described in the claims is adopted. Here, before describing the present invention in detail, the description of the claims will be supplementarily described.

[0007] That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, in a content reproducing apparatus: means for storing a predetermined content reproduction schedule irrespective of a user operation; Means for sequentially reproducing a plurality of contents on a content reproduction screen according to a schedule; means for selecting content in accordance with a user operation; replacing the selected content with the content being reproduced on the content reproduction screen; A means for reproducing the content reproduction screen is provided. Then, after the reproduction of the selected content is completed, the reproduction of the content according to the content reproduction schedule is restarted on the content reproduction screen.

In this configuration, provision of unilateral contents and provision of interactive contents can be provided in harmony.

[0009] The content reproducing apparatus may be able to simultaneously display the content reproducing screen and the selection operation screen, and the reproduction of the interactive content may be started by a user operation on the selection operation screen.

[0010] In addition, when a predetermined content is regenerated according to the content reproduction schedule, a content corresponding to the predetermined content is reproduced when a user operation is performed on the content reproduction screen. It may be.

In this case, a new content can be selected from the reproduced content itself.

The contents include text information, audio information,
Image information and the like, which can be described in various languages such as HTML, XML, and BML (broadcast markup language). The content is transmitted and reproduced using various transmission paths such as a bus in a computer resource, a local communication network (LAN), a wide area communication network, the Internet, and a satellite communication channel. Various types of playback means can be used for content playback, and the display device includes a liquid crystal display device, a CRT,
A plasma display or the like can be used.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a content reproducing apparatus includes: means for reproducing a plurality of contents on a content reproduction screen according to a predetermined content reproduction schedule; Means for reproducing the content selected by the user based on the operation on the content reproduction screen in place of the content displayed on the content reproduction screen; when the reproduction of the content selected by the user ends, Means for reproducing a predetermined content on the content reproduction screen until the reproduction start time of the content at the next reproduction timing; and starting from the reproduction start time of the content at the next reproduction timing, replacing the predetermined content with the predetermined content. Next, the content whose playback timing comes next is And it is provided with a means for reproducing the tool playback screen.

In this configuration, the provision of one-sided contents and the provision of interactive contents can be provided in harmony, and in particular, there is a merit that a joint between the two contents is smoothly shifted.

The present invention can be realized not only as an apparatus or a system but also as a method. In addition, it goes without saying that a part of such an invention can be configured as software. Also, it goes without saying that a software product used for causing a computer to execute such software is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to, for example, a store system in a family restaurant. In this figure, a store 10 includes a satellite communication receiving device 101, a web server 102, and an application server. 103, database management system 104, proxy server 105, checkout server 106, print server 107, content reproduction terminal 1
20 ₁ to 120 _N and the like. Computer resources in the store 10 are connected to the LAN 108.

[0018] The satellite communication receiving apparatus 101 provides a content provider.
From the content transmission server 201 of the service site 20.
The content is transmitted to a satellite communication channel (transmitting facility 202, communication satellite
50, receiving equipment 203).
The received content is the content of the web server 102.
Are stored in the storage unit 102a. Also proxy server 1
05 is the content reproduction terminal 120₁~ 120_NFrom etc
Requesting proxy access to the Internet 30
It is. Content playback terminal 120₁~ 120 _NEtc.
Public on the Internet 30 via the roxy server 105
Web from open web servers 301, 302, etc.
You can get the page and play it.

[0019] positioned in the store 10, the content reproduction terminal ₁₂₀ 1 to 120 _N are arranged on the customer area 10a table. Preferably, one is arranged for every table. Satellite communication receiving device 101, web server 1
02, application server 103, database management system 104, proxy server 105,
The checkout server 106, the print server 107, and the like are arranged in the store management area. The checkout server 106 includes a receipt printer (not shown).
It is preferably used with a settlement device such as an OS.
The print server 107 includes a color printer 107a, executes a print job from the content reproduction terminal ₁₂₀ 1 to 120 _N and the like.

The web server 102 is a web server (HTTP)
-Text transfer protocol)
Therefore, the client (the content reproduction terminal 120)₁~ 1
20 _NHTML) according to the request
A document (may be an XML document or the like) is returned to the client.
The application server 103 is a web server 102
The program name sent from the client via
Various processes are executed based on the arguments. Ap
Web server 102 instead of application server 103
CGI (Common Gateway Interface) professional
Grams may be used. Database management system 10
4 manages various databases. data
The base is various information used for searching for change information, for example,
Holds member information and usage history.

Although FIG. 1 does not show a router, a DNS (Domain Name System) server, an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server, a POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3) server, etc., it may be used as necessary. Of course. In addition, various servers may be mounted on one host if possible.

FIG. 2 shows the contents reproducing terminals 120 ₁ to 120 _1.
Shows schematically the structure of 20 _N, in this figure,
Each of the content reproduction terminals 120 _{1 to} 120 _N includes a computing hardware 121, an operating system 122, an application 123, and the like. Computing hardware 1
Reference numeral 21 is based on an ordinary personal computer, personal digital assistant, or the like. The computing hardware 121 includes, in particular, a touch panel 121a and a liquid crystal display device 121b. Web browser 1 for application 123
23a, a schedule management unit 123b, a user event monitoring unit 123c, a console display control unit 123d, and the like.

FIG. 3 shows the contents reproducing terminals 120 ₁ to 120 _1.
Shows the external appearance schematic of a liquid crystal display device 121b of 20 _N, in this figure, the liquid crystal display device 121b includes a content reproduction area A in the upper console area B at the bottom
have. The liquid crystal display device 121b is provided with a touch panel 121a that covers the liquid crystal display device as shown by a broken line, and the content reproduction area A and the console area B can be pointed using the touch panel 121a.

FIG. 4 shows the contents reproducing terminals 120 ₁ to 120 _1.
Each of the functions of the content reproduction terminals 120 _{1 to} 120 _N includes a web browser 123a, a schedule management function, and a content management terminal 20 _N (which may be referred to as a content reproduction terminal 120 as a representative). Unit 123b, a user event monitoring unit 123c, a console display control unit 123d, and the like. The schedule management unit 123b supplies the network address of the content to the web browser based on the schedule data. The schedule data includes, for example, a pair of a content reproduction start time and a content URL (uniform resource locator) as shown in FIG. Web browser 123a sends U
Upon receiving the RL, the corresponding content is retrieved from the web server 102 inside the store or the external web servers 301 and 302 and reproduced using a browsing request such as GET. Hereinafter, the content reproduced based on the schedule may be referred to as promotion content for convenience. The user event monitoring unit 123c receives an event (pointing information) input via the touch panel 121a, activates various routines, and performs various controls. The console screen is sequentially generated based on the predetermined sequence data and passed to the console display control unit 123d to transition the display of the console area B. In addition, the URL is prohibited from being passed from the schedule management unit 123b to the web browser 123a based on the user event. This prohibition state is released when there is no user event for a predetermined time. The web browser 123a sends the URL from the user event monitoring unit 123c.
Is received from the web server 102 inside the store or the external web servers 301 and 302 and reproduced using a browsing request such as GET.
In the following, the content reproduced interactively based on the event of the user as described above may be referred to as interactive content for convenience.

The reproduction output from the web browser 123a is reproduced in the content reproduction area A of the liquid crystal display device 121b, and the reproduction output from the console display control unit 123d is reproduced in the console area B of the liquid crystal display device 121b.

FIG. 5 shows the contents reproducing terminals 120 ₁ to 120 _1.
Shows the transition of the operation state of the 20 _N. As shown in FIG. 5, while the promotion content is being played,
When a reproduction start request (schedule event) occurs according to the schedule, the next promotion content is reproduced. Also, in this state, when pointing is performed at an arbitrary position in the content reproduction area A, the interactive content corresponding to the promotion content is reproduced. When the pointing is performed on the selected object area in the console area B, the interactive content corresponding to the selected object is reproduced.

If the anchor area of the content reproduction area A or the selected object area of the console area B is selected while the interactive content is being reproduced, the interactive object corresponding to the anchor area or the selected object area is reproduced.

If no event continues for a predetermined time while the interactive object is being reproduced, the state shifts to the idling state. In the idling state, for example, idling content such as “Please wait” is displayed. Of course, the corresponding image display may be accompanied by audio output. In the idling state, when the playback start time of the next content comes according to the schedule, the corresponding URL is sent from the schedule management unit 123b to the web browser 123a, and the mode is set to the promotion content playback mode.

Further, this embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 7 shows a mode of content acquisition. As shown in FIG. 7, the content of the web server 102 in the store 10 is accessed via the LAN.
Web servers 301 and 30 on the Internet 30
2 are accessed via the proxy server 105 and the Internet 30. Note that charging control is performed using a coin shooter or the like, an access log to the content is recorded, and the checkout server 106
Can perform charge management.

FIG. 8 explains the reproduction operation of the promotion content and the like. In this figure, the promotion content is taken out and reproduced according to the schedule data (,). The above operation is repeated according to the schedule data. When the content reproduction area A is pointed while the promotion content is being reproduced, the interactive content corresponding to the promotion content is taken out and reproduced. The promotion content includes advertising content and program content for guiding a program (interactive content) selected in the console area B. Interactive content corresponding to the advertising content is, for example, an advertiser's homepage or a specially prepared webpage. is there. Thereby, it is also possible to conduct commercial transactions using the Internet or the like. The interactive content corresponding to the program content is the interactive content constituting the program.

The Internet 3 via program contents
When accessing 0, the user may be charged based on the access log. When accessing the Internet 30 via the advertising content, the advertiser or the advertising client may be charged according to the access log.

As described above, a predetermined content can be selected and reproduced only by pointing the content reproduction area A.

FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 explain the reproduction of the interactive contents constituting the program. In FIG. 9, when a selection object on the console is pointed, the interactive content corresponding to the selection is reproduced, and by pointing the selection object area of the interactive content to another interactive content, transition to another interactive content can be made. By this transition, a predetermined service, for example, information acquisition or print service can be received. In the examples of FIGS. 9 and 10, a coloring book can be acquired.

FIG. 9 shows an example in which the description of a program is browsed by selecting the "HOME" button on the console, and then the contents are shifted to the contents of each program. When the user operation is not performed for a predetermined time (time-out process), the display returns to the promotion screen.

FIG. 10 shows a case where a program is selected using the channel (program) selection button in the console area B. In this example, the “coloring” of “character 3” is finally selected, and if the “print” button is selected in this state, a print job is sent to the print server 107, and the “coloring” of “character 3” is printed by the printer 107a.
Printed by. Also in this case, when the user operation is not performed for a predetermined time, the display returns to the promotion screen.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the content. The example of FIG. 11 illustrates a configuration example of interactive content of “CH.1”. In this example, the content is described in HTML. The same applies to other contents.

FIG. 12 shows the transition between the reproduction of the promotion content and the reproduction of the interactive content. When a user event is input, the reproduction of the interactive content is immediately started instead of the reproduction of the promotion content. . On the other hand, when the reproduction of the interactive content is terminated due to the non-input state for a predetermined period, the reproduction shifts to the reproduction of the promotion content via the idling state. The idling state continues until the reproduction of the subsequent promotion content starts, and the promotion content does not start from the middle.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be further described with reference to a flowchart.

FIG. 13 shows the operation of reproducing the promotion content, the details of which are as follows.
This process is started each time the playback start time of the content arrives. [Step S10]: It is determined whether the interactive content or the idling content is being reproduced. If so, the process ends. When the content is not reproduced, the reproduction of the promotion content is not prohibited, and the process proceeds to step S11. [Step S11]: Retrieve the URL of the interactive content whose playback start time has arrived. [Step S12]: URL is input to the web browser 123a.
give. [Step S13]: Web browser 123a is GET
Retrieve interactive content on request. [Step S14]: The retrieved content is reproduced on a liquid crystal display device or the like.

FIG. 14 shows an operation when the interactive content is reproduced in response to a user operation (user event), and the details are as follows. This process is started when a user event occurs. [Step S20]: If the pointing area is the selected object area of the console area B, step S2
Go to step S1 for the content reproduction area A
Proceed to 4. Otherwise, do nothing. [Step S21]: The interactive content corresponding to the selected object in the console area B is reproduced. [Step S22]: A user event monitoring process is performed.
Details of this processing will be described with reference to FIG. [Step S23]: After exiting the user event monitoring process routine in accordance with the user event, it is determined whether or not the anchor area has been pointed. If the anchor area is not pointed, step S2
Return to 2. When the anchor area is pointed, the process proceeds to step S24. [Step S24]: UR embedded in anchor area
L is passed to the web browser 123a. [Step S25]: Web browser 123a is GET
Retrieve the corresponding interactive content on request. [Step S26]: The extracted content is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 121b. [Step S27]: User event monitoring processing (FIG. 15)
See). Although a predetermined interactive object is reproduced even when the selected object in the console area B is pointed, it is easily understood from the above, and therefore, the description is omitted here for convenience.

FIG. 15 shows the operation of the user event monitoring process, the details of which are as follows. Fired when a user event is entered. [Step S30]: It is determined whether or not the user event has not been input for a predetermined time. When the input has been made, the process is terminated. If not, the process proceeds to step S31. [Step S31]: Transition to an idle state and play the idling content. [Step S32]: It is determined whether or not the playback start time of the subsequent promotion content has arrived. If the playback start time has not arrived, the process is repeated. If the playback start time has arrived, the process proceeds to the schedule event process of FIG.

This is the end of the description of the embodiment.

According to this embodiment, the promotion content and the interactive content can be reproduced in harmony. In addition, since the plurality of content reproduction terminals reproduce the promotion content in synchronization, it is easy to harmonize with the music in the store and the guide broadcast, and the promotion content can be selected according to the time zone.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the content reproduction area A and the console area B are arranged in a tile shape, but they may be overlapped. A button for instructing an interactive operation may be provided in the content reproduction area A so that interactive content can be reproduced by operating this button. Further, the control may be performed by a mechanical operation button.

The schedule data is provided to the content reproduction terminal from the server in the store or from the content providing site, and is managed by the schedule management unit of the content reproduction terminal. However, the schedule data is stored outside the content reproduction terminal. Based on this, the content may be pushed to the content reproduction terminal. In this case, the content may be transmitted individually, or may be transmitted by multicast or broadcast. The content may be, for example, broadcast content.

The schedule can be specified by an absolute time or a relative time, and the reproduction order of the contents may be specified. Also, the reproduction start control may be performed by transmitting control information (generation start command) for starting reproduction from the outside to the content reproduction terminal.

Further, in the embodiment, the reproduction of the interactive content is prioritized over the reproduction of all the promotion contents. However, it is also possible to provide a predetermined criterion and perform a detailed priority control. For example, a promotion content of a predetermined class may be inferior only to a predetermined interactive content, may be prioritized to other interactive contents, and may be reproduced continuously. In this case, it is preferable that a message such as "Please wait" is displayed.

Further, the place where the content reproduction terminal is arranged can be variously selected and is not limited to a family restaurant or the like. It is also suitable for other restaurants, coffee shops, and karaoke stores, and is also suitable for being placed in retail stores such as financial institution stores, gas stations, convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores, and drug stores. You may arrange in the facility of a public institution.

Further, it is preferable to arrange a plurality of units in a facility such as a store, but it is also possible to arrange only one unit according to the use or the like.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention, the content to be reproduced according to the schedule and the content to be reproduced by the user's selection can be reproduced in harmony.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention as a whole.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a content reproduction terminal according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an outline of the external appearance of the content reproduction terminal in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing a functional configuration of the content reproduction terminal of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a transition diagram of an operation state of the content reproduction terminal in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating schedule data.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a content acquisition mode according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for reproducing the promotion content according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for selecting interactive content using a console area according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for selecting interactive content using the console area according to the above-described embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the interactive content according to the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining in detail a transition between a promotion content playback state and an interactive content playback state in the above embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a reproduction operation of the promotion content.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when a user event occurs.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a user event monitoring process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Store 10a Customer Service Area 20 Content Providing Site 30 Internet 50 Communication Satellite 101 Satellite Communication Receiving Device 102 Web Server 102a Content Storage Unit 103 Application Server 104 Database Management System 105 Proxy Server 106 Checkout Server 107 Print Server 107a Color Printer 120 Content Playback Terminal 121 Computing hardware 121a Touch panel 121b Liquid crystal display device 122 Operating system 123 Application 123a Web browser 123b Schedule management unit 123c User input processing unit 123d Console display control unit 201 Content transmission server 202 Transmission equipment 203 Reception equipment 301, 302 External web server

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Ken Negami 3-16-3 Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Brando Inc. (72) Inventor Yoshihide Tsuda 3-16-3 Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Brando Inc. F term (reference) 5C064 BA07 BB01 BC10 BC20 BC23 BD02 BD08

Claims (19)

[Claims] A means for storing a predetermined content reproduction schedule irrelevant to a user operation; a means for sequentially reproducing a plurality of contents on a content reproduction screen according to the content reproduction schedule; Means for selecting the content, and means for reproducing the selected content on the content reproduction screen instead of the content being reproduced on the content reproduction screen, and the reproduction of the selected content is completed. A content reproducing apparatus, wherein reproduction of the content according to the content reproduction schedule is restarted on the content reproduction screen. 2. A content reproducing apparatus capable of simultaneously displaying a content reproduction screen and a selection operation screen, means for storing a content reproduction schedule, and sequentially reproducing a plurality of contents on the content reproduction screen according to the content reproduction schedule. Means for selecting a content in accordance with a user operation on the selection operation screen; means for reproducing the selected content on the content reproduction screen instead of the content being reproduced on the content reproduction screen. A content reproducing apparatus, comprising: after the reproduction of the selected content is completed, restarting reproduction of the content according to the content reproduction schedule on the content reproduction screen. 3. The content reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a new content is selected based on a user operation on the content selected and reproduced according to the user operation. 4. A request for reproducing a content corresponding to the predetermined content when a user operation is performed on the content reproduction screen while the predetermined content is being regenerated according to the content reproduction schedule. Item 4. The content reproduction device according to item 2 or 3. 5. The content reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the content corresponding to the predetermined content is reproduced on the content reproduction screen instead of the predetermined content. 6. The content according to claim 2, wherein the content corresponding to the predetermined content is a content selected by a series of user operations started by a user operation on the selection operation screen. Content playback device. 7. The content reproducing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of contents reproduced according to the content reproduction schedule are one of a program content and an advertisement content, and the predetermined content is the program content. 8. A means for reproducing a plurality of contents on a content reproduction screen according to a predetermined content reproduction schedule, and replacing a content selected by a user based on a user operation with a content displayed on the content reproduction screen. Means for playing back the content on the content playback screen, and, when the playback of the content selected by the user is completed, playing the predetermined content on the content playback screen until the next playback start time of the content starts to be played back. Means for reproducing the content whose playback timing comes next, on the content playback screen, instead of the predetermined content, from the time of starting the playback of the content where the playback timing comes next. Characteristic content playback device. 9. The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined content reproduction schedule is set by time. 10. The content reproducing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a content is selected based on a user operation on a content selection screen reproduced alongside the content reproduction screen. 11. The content reproducing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined content includes a content indicating to a user that the user is waiting. 12. A content reproducing apparatus used together with another content reproducing apparatus and reproducing a plurality of contents in synchronization with the other content according to the same content reproduction schedule. 13. A playback control method for a content playback device, comprising: arranging a plurality of content playback devices according to claim 1; and synchronizing the content playback schedules of the plurality of content playback devices. . 14. A step of storing a content reproduction schedule; a step of sequentially reproducing a plurality of contents on a content reproduction screen according to the content reproduction schedule; a step of selecting a content according to a user operation; Reproducing the content on the content reproduction screen in place of the content being reproduced on the content reproduction screen. 15. A content reproduction method capable of simultaneously displaying a content reproduction screen and a selection operation screen, wherein: a step of storing a content reproduction schedule; and sequentially reproducing a plurality of contents on the content reproduction screen according to the content reproduction schedule. Performing a step of selecting content according to a user operation on the selection operation screen; and reproducing the selected content on the content reproduction screen instead of the content being reproduced on the content reproduction screen. A content reproducing method, comprising: 16. A step of displaying a plurality of contents on a content reproduction screen according to a predetermined content reproduction schedule, and replacing a content selected by the user based on a user operation with a content displayed on the content reproduction screen. Displaying the content on the content reproduction screen, and, when the display of the content selected by the user is completed, displaying the predetermined content on the content reproduction screen until the next reproduction timing of the content starts to be reproduced. And a step of displaying, on the content reproduction screen, the content whose reproduction timing comes next, in place of the predetermined content, from the time of starting the reproduction of the content that comes next at the reproduction timing. Characteristic content Raw method. 17. A step of storing a content reproduction schedule; a step of sequentially reproducing a plurality of contents on a content reproduction screen according to the content reproduction schedule; a step of selecting a content according to a user operation; Reproducing a content on the content reproduction screen in place of the content being reproduced on the content reproduction screen. 18. A content playback computer program for simultaneously displaying a content playback screen and a selection operation screen, a step of storing a content playback schedule, and a step of storing a plurality of contents according to the content playback schedule. Sequentially reproducing the content, selecting the content in accordance with a user operation on the selection operation screen, and replacing the selected content with the content being reproduced on the content reproduction screen on the content reproduction screen. A computer program for reproducing content, which is used for causing a computer to execute the steps of reproducing. 19. A step of displaying a plurality of contents on a content reproduction screen according to a predetermined content reproduction schedule, and replacing a content selected by a user based on a user operation with a content displayed on the content reproduction screen. Displaying the content on the content reproduction screen, and, when the display of the content selected by the user is completed, displaying the predetermined content on the content reproduction screen until the next reproduction timing of the content starts to be reproduced. Performing the step of displaying, on the content reproduction screen, the content whose reproduction timing comes next instead of the predetermined content from the time of starting the reproduction of the content that comes next at the reproduction timing. Used to make A computer characterized by
program.