JP2002341876A - Information transmission and reception system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve eagerness to bay to a user for charged contents, and to distribute data for trial listening in which the copyright of contents is protected to the user. SOLUTION: An information server 1 has a data storage means 12 for trial listening to store data 5 for trial listening generated by superposing and digitizing additional information to analog information including the same contents as charged contents so that the charged contents 4 can be trially listened to and the analog information is not completely played back in the same form. The data for trial listening can be downloaded from the information server to a user terminal 2 through a communication network 3. The charged contents can be also downloaded through the communication network similar to the case with the data for trial listening by providing the information server with a charged contents storage means 11 to store the charged contents.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information transmitting / receiving system for distributing information via a communication network such as the Internet, and more particularly to a system for receiving audio information and video information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, music, video, and the like are distributed in various forms using a communication network such as the Internet. The distributed contents such as music and video can be broadly classified into two types: free contents that can be downloaded and viewed for free, and paid contents that can be downloaded and viewed for a fee. In the delivery of paid content, for example, only the user who has paid the fee is allowed to access the paid content, or the paid content is encrypted and the decryption key is sold to the user for a fee.

On the other hand, in order to sell a large number of pay contents, it is necessary for the user to know what the contents of the pay contents are. For example, it is possible to view only a part of the pay contents. Information that has been deliberately degraded in quality by increasing the compression ratio of paid content is distributed as free content. The user can know the content of the free content by trial-playing the content.

[0004] In this specification, free contents for which the contents of such pay contents such as music and video are known will be referred to as trial listening data. Therefore, in the present specification, for not only the music content but also the video content, for example, information on only a part of the content or information obtained by deteriorating the image is referred to as trial listening data.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However,
If only part of the complete content (paid content) is used as the trial data (free content), the content of the paid content may not be sufficiently transmitted to the user, and the user's willingness to purchase the paid content. May not be improved. Also, if information with an increased compression ratio of complete content (paid content) is used as the trial data (free content), quality such as sound quality and image quality will be degraded, and the content of the paid content will be insufficient for the user. In some cases, it may not be transmitted, and it may not be possible to improve the user's willingness to purchase paid content.

On the other hand, when trying to solve the above problems,
The trial data may be made as close as possible to the original paid content, but in this case, for example, by processing the trial data, the user can obtain the same or similar quality as the paid content from the trial data. This makes it possible to create information, and not only cannot protect the copyright of the content, but also makes it impossible to sell paid content as a business.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an information transmission / reception system for improving the user's willingness to purchase paid content and distributing preview data to the user so that the copyright of the content can be protected. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides another method for preventing an information server from reproducing analog information containing predetermined content in the same manner as the analog information. It stores digital information that is digitized by superimposing analog additional information, so that the user terminal can receive the digital information.

That is, an information server storing information,
An information transmitting and receiving system including a user terminal capable of communicating with the information server, wherein the information server includes:
Storage means for storing digital information which is digitized by superimposing other analog additional information on analog information including predetermined content so that the analog information cannot be reproduced in exactly the same form; and storing the digital information in the storage means Transmitting means for transmitting the digital information, wherein the user terminal has a receiving means for receiving the digital information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information server, comprising: an information server comprising: a first digital information comprising a digital audio signal and / or a digital video signal; The information is stored with the second digital information, which is digitized by superimposing other analog additional information that prevents the analog information from being reproduced in the same manner, and the user terminal performs the first and the second processing. 2 digital information can be received.

That is, according to the present invention, there is provided an information transmitting / receiving system comprising an information server storing information and a user terminal capable of communicating with the information server, wherein the information server includes a digital audio signal and / or Alternatively, the first storage means for storing the first digital information composed of a digital video signal, and the analog information including the same content as the first digital information cannot be reproduced in the same form as the analog information. A second storage unit for storing digitized second digital information superimposed with other analog additional information, and a transmission unit for transmitting the first and second digital information, An information transmission / reception system is provided, wherein the user terminal includes a receiving unit that receives the first and second digital information.

Further, it is a preferable aspect of the present invention that the additional information includes a content related to the first digital information. Further, it is a preferable aspect of the present invention that the sound quality or the image quality of the second digital information is the same as the sound quality or the image quality of the first digital information.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an information transmitting / receiving system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the information transmission / reception system of the present invention. The information transmission / reception system shown in FIG. 1 includes an information server 1 on the information distribution side, a user terminal 2 on the information reception side, and a communication network 3 such as the Internet for connecting the information server 1 to the user terminal 2.

The information server 1 has a pay content storage means (first storage means) 11 for storing pay contents (first digital information) 4 and a trial listening data (second digital information) 5 for storing trial data (second digital information) 5. It has a data storage means (second storage means) 12, a transmission / reception means 13 for transmitting / receiving information to / from a user terminal, and a charging means. In the following description, the trial data 5 can be downloaded from the trial data storage unit 12 to the user terminal 2 without limitation, but the download of the paid content 4 from the paid content storage unit 11 to the user terminal 2 is restricted. When the user downloads the paid content 4, for example, the charging of the paid content 4 by the charging means 14 or the like is performed. Note that a plurality of information servers 1 can be installed, and the trial listening data 5 can be charged. Further, the pay content storage means 11 and the trial data storage means 12 may be the same storage means or different storage means.

On the other hand, the user terminal 2 is a device having transmission / reception means (not shown) for transmitting / receiving information to / from the information server 1 via the communication network 3, and as shown in FIG. Assistant: digital mobile terminal 2a, notebook computer 2b, desktop computer 2c, mobile phone 2d, and the like. Note that the user terminal 2 may further include a storage unit and a reproduction unit, store the information downloaded from the information server 1 in the storage unit, and reproduce the information using the reproduction unit. It is also possible to record information downloaded using the user terminal 2 on, for example, a recording medium and develop and reproduce the information on another reproducing apparatus.

Next, a description will be given of an information creation method and information creation apparatus for the trial listening data 5 distributed by the information server 1 constituting the information transmission / reception system shown in FIG. In the following, an example in which the content is music information will be described. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an information creating apparatus for creating paid content and free content. FIG. 2A is a configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of an information creating device that creates the pay content 4.
An A / D converter 22 and an encoder 23 are provided. Here, the A / D converter 22 digitally converts the analog master information 21 which is the basis of the pay content to be created, and the encoder 23 encodes the analog master information 21 to create the pay content 4 as digital data. .

On the other hand, FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an information creating apparatus for creating free contents (data for trial listening), which includes a mixer (superimposing means) 24, an A / D converter 22, It has an encoding unit 23. Here, the mixer 24 includes the analog master information 21 which is the basis of the paid content 4 corresponding to the trial data to be created,
Additional information (analog additional information) 6 to be added to be created as the trial listening data 5 is superimposed and combined into one analog audio signal or analog video signal.
The / D converter 22 converts the analog signal into a digital signal, and the encoder 23 encodes the analog signal to create the trial data 5 as digital data. Note that it is also possible to convert the digitized pay content 4 into analog information using a D / A converter, and then superimpose the additional information 6 on the analog information in the mixer 24.

In the information creating apparatus shown in FIG. 2, pay contents 4 and trial listening data 5 are created from analog recorded analog master information 21.
It is also possible to create pay content 4 and trial listening data 5 from digitally recorded digital master information. In this case, the digital master information is
The analog master information 21 may be created from the digital master information by converting the digital master information into an analog signal by the / A conversion means, and the analog master information 21 may be input to the information creating apparatus shown in FIG.

In this way, the additional information 6 is recorded inseparably from the analog master information 21 to create digital data. Therefore, when decoding digital data, only the additional information 6 is deleted and the analog master information 21 is deleted. It is impossible to extract. Further, since the encoding method by the encoding means 23 when creating the trial data 5 is the same as the conventional method, the trial data 5 can be reproduced using the conventional decoding means and reproducing means.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the timing at which the additional information is superimposed when the trial listening data is created. In addition,
Hereinafter, as an example, a mode in which the trial listening data 5 is music information will be described. Also, music information for one song is shown in a band, the left side of the band-shaped music information is the first part of the music, and the right side is the last part of the music. FIG. 3A shows sample data 5 in which additional information 6 which does not originally exist in music information (that is, analog master information or pay content) is superimposed on the first and last portions of music information for one song. FIG.

Examples of the additional information 6 include information such as introduction of an artist (performer), introduction of music, behind-the-scenes of recording, promotion information, and the like, which enable the music to be enjoyed and listened to. Date, sales source, source of trial data 5, purchase method, purchase site,
It is preferable to use information for purchasing this music as the paid content 4, such as the amount of money. Also, at the beginning of a song (music information), information that allows the user to enjoy and listen to the music is superimposed, and at the end of the song, information for purchasing the music as pay content is used. Is preferred. Further, as in the case of broadcasting a song on a radio or the like, it is preferable that the atmosphere of the song is not impaired by superimposing the additional information 6 on the song with the voice of a DJ (disc jockey) on the radio. Thus, by reproducing the trial listening data 5, the contents of the pay contents 4 can be clearly understood.

The timing at which the additional information 6 is superimposed, the length of the additional information 6, the balance between the volume of the additional information 6 and the volume of the music, and the like are arbitrary. As shown in FIG.
It is also possible to superimpose the additional information 6 before the music starts or in the middle of the music, or to continue the additional information 6 from the beginning to the end of the music as shown in FIG. As described above, the method of superimposing the additional information 6 on the song is performed within a range that does not impair the atmosphere of the entire song with the consent of the copyrighted individual or group in consideration of the artist's intention and the intention of the seller. It is preferably performed.

It is also preferable that the superimposition of the additional information 6 eliminates the value of the trial data 5 as a product, so that the trial data 5 is clearly different from the pay content 4. As a result, the user is not satisfied with the reproduction of the trial listening data 5, so that the user's willingness to purchase the paid content 4 can be improved, and secondary use such as unauthorized copying can be prevented, , It is possible to create the trial listening data 5 that can protect the copyright existing in the.

It is preferable that the music itself can be heard from the beginning to the end. Conventionally, in most cases, only a part of a song can be heard due to a copyright problem. However, according to the present invention, the atmosphere of the song is impaired, or the sampling rate or the frame rate is reduced to lower the sound quality. Since the copyright is protected and unauthorized copying is prevented, the entire music can be provided to the user as the preview data 5.

Next, a case where a user downloads information in the information transmitting / receiving system of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 shows the HTML distributed by the information server.
This is an example in which a web page described in (Hyper Text Markup Language) is displayed on a browser. FIG. 4A is an example in which the free delivery web page 31 is displayed on a browser. The free distribution web page 31 displays a preview link 32 for downloading the trial data and a purchase page link 33 linking to a pay distribution web page 41 for purchasing a song. Further, it is preferable to display the link so that the correspondence between the link and the song name or the artist name can be clearly understood.

The user browses the free delivery web page 31 having a trial listening link to the trial listening data 5 and selects (clicks) the trial listening link 32 corresponding to the trial listening data 5 to listen to the trial. Data 5 can be downloaded. At this time, the trial listening data 5 can be previewed (streamed) at the same time as the download, or can be temporarily stored in the memory of the user terminal 2 and then reproduced using the reproducing means. For example, if the user listens to the preview data 5 and likes the song, the user selects (clicks) a purchase page link 33 that links to the pay distribution web page 41.
Then, the user browses the pay distribution web page 41 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4B shows a pay distribution web page 4.
This is an example in which No. 1 is displayed on a browser. On the pay distribution web page 41, a purchase link 42 for downloading the pay content 4 is displayed. The user browses the pay distribution web page 41 and selects (clicks on) the purchase link 42 corresponding to the pay content, whereby the music information without the additional information 6, that is, the analog sound source is completely digitized. The paid content 4 can be downloaded. In this case, it is preferable to confirm that the user intends to pay for the paid content 4 and charge the charged content using a charging unit or the like. As a result, it is possible to determine whether or not to purchase a song after trial listening to the entire song based on the trial listening data, and to immediately purchase the song. Also, here, the free delivery web page 31 and the paid delivery web page 41 are different pages, but the preview link 32 and the purchase link 42 can be displayed in the same web page.

FIG. 5 shows a case where the trial listening data downloaded from the information server is reproduced on the user terminal.
It is an example displayed on the display means. User terminal 2 (PD
The screen 51 of A2a) displays the title of the music information stored in the user terminal 2, the artist, information on the music being reproduced, and the like. For example, when the preview data 5 is music information in the MP3 format, the pay distribution web page 41
URL (Uniform Resource Locator: address information)
If information such as 52 is described in the ID3 tag of MP3, it is possible to automatically display the URL 52 of the pay distribution web page 41 related to the trial listening data 5 being reproduced. Furthermore, by using the description of the URL on the ID3 tag and the superimposition of the additional information 6 in combination, the existence of the pay distribution web page 41 is effectively indicated, and the user is efficiently displayed on the pay distribution web page 41. It is possible to guide.

In the above-described embodiment, the pay content 4 and the trial listening data 5 are stored in the information server 1 and can be distributed via the communication network 3 as follows. However, other embodiments are also possible. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the information transmitting / receiving system of the present invention. Unlike the information transmission / reception system shown in FIG. 1, the information server 1 is configured to have no means related to the pay content 4 such as a billing means or a pay content storage means. In this configuration, only the trial listening data 5 can be downloaded from the user terminal 2, and the pay content 4 cannot be downloaded.

The information transmission / reception system shown in FIG.
As in the information transmission / reception system shown in FIG. 1, the trial data 5 can be downloaded from the information server 1 to the user terminal 2, and the user can preview the trial data 5. On the other hand, with respect to the pay content 4, a recording medium 61 such as a CD (Compact Disc: compact disc) or a DVD (Digital Video Disc) on which the pay content 4 is recorded is created, and the pay medium 4 does not pass through the communication network 3. To mail or store sales to the user.

In each of the above embodiments, music information is mainly described as content. However, video information and other information can be used as content. For example,
When the content is video information, the video information is superimposed as additional information 6 such as introduction of the creator and performer, introduction of the video, creation story, release date, purchase method, purchase site, amount of money, etc. as character information. It is also possible to insert the additional information 6 as a narration, and to further display a narrator performing the narration on a part of the screen (for example, the lower right of the screen).

It is also possible to superimpose and display information that is not directly related to the video information. As a result, it is possible to prevent the trial listening data 5 from being illegally copied and to prevent the trial listening data 5 from being screened, thereby protecting the copyright. In particular, by superimposing the additional information 6 on both the audio information and the video information, the unauthorized use of the trial listening data 5 is more reliably prevented, and the user's willingness to purchase the paid content 4 is more effectively improved. It becomes possible.

[0033]

As described above, according to the information transmitting / receiving system of the present invention, the information server stores the free content in which the additional information is superimposed on the pay content in an analog manner, and the user terminal listens to the preview content. Since the data for use (free content) can be received, it is possible to improve the user's willingness to purchase the paid content by listening to the data for trial listening. It should be noted that this pay content can also be distributed via a communication network such as the Internet in the same manner as the trial data. In addition, since the additional information is superimposed in a form that can be clearly recognized, secondary use of the trial listening data for business purposes, unauthorized copying, and the like becomes impossible, and the copyright of the content can be protected.

Further, by setting the preview data free and paying the paid content, the user can easily download the preview data without excessive caution about charging. In addition, by creating preview data so that the entire song can be previewed instead of a limited portion of the song, or by creating preview data without deteriorating the image quality or sound quality, the user's paid content can be previewed. Purchase motivation can be improved. Also, by providing the additional information as guidance by DJ or the like, the user hears the voice of the DJ every time the data for trial listening is reproduced, so that it is possible to always stimulate the willingness to purchase paid content.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an information transmission / reception system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an information creating apparatus for creating paid content and free content.
FIG. 1A is a configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of an information creating apparatus that creates paid content. FIG. 1B is a configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of an information creating apparatus for creating free content (data for trial listening).

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a timing at which additional information is superimposed when creating trial data. (A) is trial listening data created by superimposing additional information at the beginning and end of a song. (B) is preview data created by superimposing additional information at the end of a song from the beginning of the song to the beginning of the song. (C) is trial listening data created by superimposing additional information from the beginning to the end of the music.

FIG. 4 is an example in which a web page described in HTML distributed by an information server is displayed on a browser.
(A) is an example in which a web page for free distribution is displayed on a browser. (B) is an example in which a pay distribution web page is displayed on a browser.

FIG. 5 is an example displayed on the display means when the trial listening data downloaded from the information server is reproduced on the user terminal.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the information transmission / reception system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 information server 2 user terminal 2a PDA 2b notebook computer 2c desktop computer 2d mobile phone 3 communication network 4 paid content (first digital information) 5 data for trial listening (second digital information: free content) 6 additional information 11 Paid content storage means (first storage means) 12 trial listening data storage means (second storage means) 13 transmission / reception means 14 charging means 21 analog master information 22 A / D conversion means 23 encoding means 24 mixer 31 free delivery Web page 32 Preview link 33 Purchase page link 41 Paid distribution web page 42 Purchase link 51 Screen 52 Paid distribution web page URL 61 Recording medium

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An information transmitting and receiving system comprising an information server storing information and a user terminal capable of communicating with the information server, wherein the information server converts analog information including predetermined content into analog information. Storage means for storing digital information which is digitized by superimposing other analog additional information so that the information cannot be reproduced in exactly the same form; andtransmission means for transmitting the digital information stored in the storage means. An information transmitting and receiving system, comprising: a receiving unit that receives the digital information. 2. An information transmission / reception system comprising an information server storing information and a user terminal capable of communicating with the information server, wherein the information server comprises a digital audio signal and / or a digital video signal. First storage means for storing the first digital information; and other analog additional information so that the analog information including the same content as the first digital information cannot be reproduced in exactly the same form. And a second storage unit that stores the second digital information digitized by being superimposed, and a transmission unit that transmits the first and second digital information. An information transmitting / receiving system having a receiving means for receiving the first and second digital information. 3. The information transmission / reception system according to claim 1, wherein the additional information includes a content related to the first digital information. 4. The information according to claim 1, wherein the sound quality or the image quality of the second digital information is the same as the sound quality or the image quality of the first digital information. Transmission / reception system.