JP2003264899A - Information providing apparatus and information providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To diversify a providing form of contents associated information typified by a CM. <P>SOLUTION: This invention provides an information providing apparatus for providing contents and their associated information as a premises. As one example of the attached information, there is a CM. The information providing apparatus is characterized in that it comprises a provision control section for controlling contents and their associated information to have different providing forms on the basis of prescribed control information (e.g. charging information for indicating whether or not a viewer of the providing apparatus agrees with charging). The provision control section revises at least one of a sound image localizing position, a sound volume, a sound effect and a reproduction time as to at least either of the contents and their associated information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information presenting device for presenting content and its accompanying information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in providing information by radio broadcasting / television broadcasting, it has been widely practiced to broadcast commercials (CM) before and after the program content to be viewed. Such commercials are a source of income for maintaining the management of broadcasters, and the
Viewing M has the advantage that you can use the broadcast free of charge.

[0003]

Recently, although services for charging viewers by paying for broadcasting and information provision are being performed, it is not appropriate to use the conventional method to stream commercials in such services. . That is, there are viewers who want to watch CMs and those who do not, so if you pay for broadcasting or information provision, you can use C
The viewer who approves the charge, rather than letting M watch, is C
It is appropriate to take measures such as not having to watch M.

However, it is possible that the viewer who has approved the billing desires to view the CM, and further, it may be preferable to change the presentation form of the CM regardless of the billing state of the viewer. However, conventionally, no response has been made to such a request, and the current situation is that CMs are uniformly viewed.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a conventional sound field of a content and CM. In FIG. 16, the white ellipse represents the content sound field B1, and the hatched ellipse is CM.
It represents the sound field B2. The size of these ellipses B1 and B2 represents the volume. The same applies to FIGS. 9 to 10 described below.

Conventionally, when reproducing a speaker, FIG.
As shown in (A), the content and CM are generally localized in front of the viewer M, and when the headphones are reproduced, both the content and CM are placed in the viewer's M head as shown in FIG. 16 (B). It was common to localize.

As described above, when the content and the CM are localized and reproduced in almost the same area, it is difficult to hear one of them. Therefore, conventionally, the time for presenting the content and the time for presenting the CM have been separated, so that the viewer has to view the content and the CM in different time zones.

The present invention has been proposed based on the above conventional circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to diversify the presentation form of content accompanying information represented by CM.

[0009]

That is, the present invention is premised on an information presenting apparatus for presenting content and its accompanying information. An example of the accompanying information here is CM
Can be mentioned.

In such an information presentation device, the content and its accompanying information are generated based on predetermined control information (for example, billing information indicating whether the viewer of the information presentation device has approved the billing). The present invention is characterized in that a presentation control unit that controls the presentation modes to be different from each other is provided.

[0011] The presentation control unit, for at least one of the content and its accompanying information, the sound image localization position,
Change at least one of volume, sound effect, and playback time. For example, one of the content and its accompanying information is presented in the in-head localization, and the other is presented in the out-of-head localization.

According to the present invention having the above-described presentation control unit, it is possible to diversify the presentation form of the content accompanying information represented by CM.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a CM information presenting apparatus in the present embodiment, and its configuration will be described below together with an operation of presenting program contents and CM to a viewer. In the following description, the program content is simply referred to as “content” or “program”.

First, there are two contents and two CMs.
The audio is in the channel stereo format, and as shown in FIG. 1A, the content (L, R) on the time axis and the CM (L,
R) are alternately transmitted from a transmitter (not shown). The transmitting device here means at least content and C
Any device that transmits M and M may be used.

One of the signals of the two channels is input as an input signal (R) to the signal separation unit 2R through the input terminal 1R of the CM information presentation device. Similarly, the other of the signals of the two channels is the input terminal 1L of the CM information presentation device.
Is input to the signal separation unit 2L as an input signal (L).

The input signal (R) is separated into a content signal (R) and a CM signal (R) by the signal separation section 2R and input to the CM presentation control section 3R. Similarly, the input signal (L) is separated into the content signal (L) and the CM signal (L) by the signal separation unit 2L and input to the CM presentation control unit 3L.

The signal separation units 2R and 2L may be switches that switch the content and the CM received alternately according to the reception timing. Here, for example, if information indicating a CM is added to the CM, the CM can be separated by the signal separation units 2R and 2L.

The CM signal (R) is sent to the CM presentation controller 3
In R, it is converted into a format for presentation by the CM control information and becomes a CM presentation signal (R). Similarly, the CM presentation control unit 3L converts the CM signal (L) into a format for presentation by the CM control information to form a CM presentation signal (L). The “presentation format” mentioned here means a format after the CM presentation control processing described later is performed.

The CM presentation signal (R) and the content signal (R) are added by the adder 4R and converted into sound waves by the right side converter 5R of the headphones. Similarly, the CM presentation signal (L) and the content signal (L) are added by the adder 4L and converted into sound waves by the left side converter 5L of the headphones.

Here, the CM control information means control information used in the CM presentation control process. Hereinafter, a case will be described in which information indicating whether or not a viewer approves viewing of content for a fee (hereinafter referred to as “billing information”) is adopted as CM control information.

That is, when the viewer approves or does not approve the charge using an operation unit (not shown) such as a keyboard or a remote controller, the CM control information indicating that is C
The M presentation control unit 3R / 3L is notified. CM like this
The form of inputting the control information to the CM presentation control units 3R and 3L is not limited to the form of being input from the operation unit such as a keyboard or a remote controller. For example, the same effect can be obtained by reading a recording medium recording information indicating whether or not the viewer has approved the billing.

As a result, the CM presentation control section 3R / 3L
When receiving the CM control information indicating that the viewer did not approve the charge (hereinafter, such a state is referred to as “uncharged state”), the CM signal (R) (L) is passed as it is. Let Therefore, in this case, the viewer will watch the CM.

On the other hand, when the CM presentation control units 3R and 3L receive the CM control information indicating that the viewer has approved the billing (hereinafter, such a state is referred to as a "billed state"), The signals (R) and (L) are cut off. Therefore, in this case, the viewer does not watch the CM. [Configuration of Computer System] The CM presentation device can be realized by a computer system. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the computer system according to the present embodiment, and the configuration will be described below.

The CPU 20, ROM 21, RAM 22, display unit 23, operation unit 24, voice interface 25, input / output unit 26, and hard disk 30 are connected to the bus line B. A program 32 for executing the CM presentation control process and a control program 31 for executing the signal separation process, CM control information input process, parameter read process, etc. are stored in the hard disk 30. .

First, the CPU 20 reads the boot program stored in the ROM 21, and reads the content and CM.
Enter the reception state of. As a result, when the content and CM are input to the input / output unit 26 from the line, the input / output unit 2
The demodulator 6 demodulates the content and CM and temporarily stores them in the RAM 22.

Next, the CPU 20 controls the control program 3
1 and CM presentation control processing program 32 to call R
The content in the AM 22 and the CM are separated. And
Using this RAM 22, CM presentation control processing such as sound field control processing and volume control processing is performed based on the CM control information, and the CM presentation signals (R) (L) that are the processing results are output to the audio interface 25. .

The viewer uses the operation unit 24 to perform an operation of approving the charge. Once the billing is approved by the viewer,
This is notified to the content distributor through the input / output unit 26 and the line. In addition, CM control information indicating that billing has been approved by the viewer is stored in the RAM 22 and the CM is
Used in the presentation control process.

There are cases in which filter coefficients, etc., which will be described later, are supplied from the line. The filter coefficient is transferred to the RAM 22 or the hard disk 3 through the input / output unit 26.
It is stored in 0 and used in the CM presentation control process. [Operation Example] The operation in the present embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

It is monitored whether the CM control information has been updated (step S1). When it is detected that the CM control information has been updated, the input processing of this new CM control information is performed (step S1: Yes → S7). The new CM control information thus input is used in the CM presentation control process as indicated by the broken line in the figure (step S3).

Taking the case of FIG. 5A as an example, the contents and CM are the contents (L, R) and CM on the time axis.
(L, R) are alternately transmitted from a transmitter (not shown). Then, one of the signals of the two channels is input as the input signal (R) and the other is input as the input signal (L).

The input signal (R) is separated into a content signal (R) and a CM signal (R), and the input signal (L) is separated into a content signal (L) and a CM signal (L) ( Step S2). These CM signals (R)
(L) is subjected to CM presentation control processing to become a CM presentation signal (R) (L) (step S3).

As described above, in the CM presentation control process, when the CM control information indicating that the viewer has not approved the billing is received, the CM signals (R) and (L) are passed through as they are. . On the other hand, when the viewer receives the CM control information indicating that the billing has been approved, the CM signals (R) and (L) are cut off.

The content signals (R) (L) and the CM presentation signals (R) (L) are reproduced (step S4). As a result of this reproduction processing, the viewer is notified of the content signal (R).
(L) stereo sound and CM presentation signal (R)
The stereo sound consisting of (L) will be viewed.

The reproduction process (step S4) includes an addition process and an acoustic conversion process. Since these processes are not the main point of the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

The above procedure is repeated until the processing of the signal to be presented is completed (steps S5 → S1). Signal separation processing (step S2) and CM presentation control processing (step S3)
And continues while the content and CM are received.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the viewer who has approved the charging does not have to view the CM. Of course, there is a merit that viewers who do not approve the charge can use the broadcast free by viewing the CM. (Embodiment 2) In the first embodiment, it is not necessary to watch the CM in the charged state, but in the present embodiment, the sound of the CM depends on whether the charged state or the uncharged state. I try to control the place and volume.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the CM presentation device according to the present embodiment, and only the points of the configuration different from those of the first embodiment will be described below. [Signal Separation Unit 2] First, the signal separation unit 2 will be described together with the transmission form of content and CM.

FIG. 5A shows a mode in which contents and CMs are transmitted alternately. This transmission form has already been described in the above-mentioned first embodiment, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

FIG. 5B shows a mode in which the content and the CM are simultaneously transmitted on different transmission channels (in FIG. 5, the range corresponding to one channel is indicated by a bold line. The same applies to FIG. 7). ). According to such a transmission form, the content and the CM can be simultaneously reproduced by the CM presentation device.

Since a 2-channel stereo has an L channel and an R channel, a 4-channel transmission path should be provided when transmitting 2-channel stereo contents and CM in the transmission mode shown in FIG. 5B. become.
Of course, by multiplexing the content and the CM by a well-known method such as digital time division multiplexing or frequency multiplexing, 2
A channel transmission line may be provided, or a 1-channel transmission line may be provided by further multiplexing the signals of these two channels.

AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) and DT
When data is compressed and transmitted in a format such as S (Digital Theater System), AC3, etc., FIG.
As shown in (C), the content and the CM may be stored in the same packet, and the content and the CM may be separated when the packet is received. For this purpose, it is necessary to store a CM or a flag indicating the CM in an empty area other than the content area or a unique information area.

Here, when the signals of two channels are multiplexed, the multiplexing is released to obtain the input signals (R) and (L). The input signals (R) and (L) are supplied to the signal separating unit 2 by a method corresponding to the multiplexing method of content and CM.
Decoded in R · 2L.

That is, when the content and the CM are time-division multiplexed, the content signal (R) sample and the CM signal (R) sample are separated and taken out from the sample sequence. On the other hand, when the content and the CM are frequency-multiplexed, the frequency of the content signal is converted into the audio frequency to be the content signal (R), and the frequency of the CM signal is also converted into the audio frequency to generate the CM signal (R). ) And separate and take out.

FIG. 5D shows a mode in which content and CM are mixed and transmitted. When this transmission form is adopted, the signal separation unit 2R (2L) described below is provided.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the input terminal 1
The input signal (R) input to R is input to the CM extractor 11R and the subtractor 12R included in the signal separation unit 2R. The CM extractor 11R extracts a CM signal from the mixed input signal (R) and sets this CM signal as a CM signal (R). The subtractor 11R converts the input signal (R) to C
A content signal (R) is obtained by removing the M signal. If such a signal separation unit 2R is provided, the content signal and the CM signal can be separated from the transmission signal in which the content and the CM are mixed.

When the billing information is used as the CM control information, the CM extraction accuracy may be changed by inputting the CM control information to the CM extractor 11R. That is, in the uncharged state, the extraction accuracy is lowered and the CM signal component remains in the content signal.
On the other hand, in the charged state, the CM is accurately extracted and the CM signal component is not left in the content signal.

In FIG. 5D, it is assumed that the content and CM are transmitted as PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) data. PCM refers to converting an analog signal such as voice into a digital code by a three-step process (sampling) of sampling, quantization and coding.

When data is transmitted in the PCM sample format, CM may be stored in part of the bit area. For example, when transmitting 24-bit linear PCM data, the content is stored in the upper 16 bits and the CM is stored in the lower 8 bits.

By doing so, the signal and the CM can be separated by dividing the bits of the sample data by the signal separating units 2R and 2L. If the most significant bit of the CM thus separated is bit-shifted to match the most significant bit of the content, the volume of the content and the C
The volume of M is the same.

According to the CM presentation device to which the present invention is applied,
Content is also commercialized by performing the above bit shift
Can also be played normally. On the other hand, according to the CM presentation device to which the present invention is not applied, since the bit shift is not performed, there is a problem that the reproduced CM becomes a small noise.

In this example, the CM may be 8-bit PCM data or compressed data. However, when the CM presentation device to which the present invention is not applied handles only 16-bit data, for example, only the content can be heard as it is. The solution to this problem will be described later.

As another example, consider the case where the data width is only 16 bits. In this case, for example, the upper 15 bits of 16-bit data is the content area and the least significant bit is the CM area. As a result, the dynamic range of the content is degraded by about 6 dB, but this is not a serious problem. If there is no problem with the sound quality of the content,
Further, a large number of CM areas may be taken.

In this case, for example, the least significant bits of eight PCM samples may be collected to form one 8-bit CM sample. In this way, the CM reproduction time is shorter than the content reproduction time, but there is no inconvenience because the CM may usually be shorter than the content.

Also in this case, the CM may be PCM data or compressed data. However, according to the CM presentation apparatus to which the present invention that handles only 16-bit data described above is not applied, the CM is reproduced as noise because it is stored in the least significant bit of the PCM sample.

When the transmission time and the transmission speed are different between the content and the CM, a CM signal storage unit may be provided in the CM presentation control unit 3. If the CM signal storage unit is provided in this manner, it is possible to separately set the presentation time of the CM and the presentation time of the content, and it is possible to present the CM many times. When it is desired to reproduce the content and the CM at the same time, the CM is transmitted in advance while another content is being transmitted, and the fact that the CM has been postponed can be recognized by the receiving side. It should be.

On the contrary, if the CM is stored in the upper bits and the content is stored in the lower bits, it is possible to prevent the content from being reproduced normally. For example, CM
When the CM is reproduced without being separated, a problem that the volume of the CM is reproduced is large, and when the CM is compressed data, noise occurs.

That is, according to the CM presenting apparatus to which the present invention is not applied, whether the content is disturbed by the CM,
And content will not be played normally. Of course, in the CM presentation device to which the present invention is applied, the separated contents are bit-shifted, so such a problem does not occur. Therefore, even in the CM presentation device that does not apply the present invention that handles only the above 16-bit data, the content is reproduced simultaneously with the CM, and it is not possible to listen to the content alone.

FIG. 7E shows a mode in which the content and the CM are mixed and then transmitted in the PCM format, and separately from this, only the CM data is distributed to other bits and transmitted. It should be noted that “content + CM” in FIG. 7 (E) indicates that the content and the CM are first mixed and then become PCM data.

In this case, as in the case of FIG. 5D, PCM data “content + CM” and CM data (PCM
It may be either data or compressed data).
Since the CM data is stored in the separated lower bits, “content + CM” is stored by the method described with reference to FIG.
Only the content signal can be extracted by subtracting the CM signal from the signal. When the CM data is compressed data, the CM data is naturally used for subtraction after decoding.

FIG. 7F shows a mode in which a signal in which the content and CM are mixed is transmitted and the CM signal is transmitted. Also in this case, only the content signal can be extracted by subtracting the CM signal from the "content + CM" signal by the method described with reference to FIG.

If the transmission mode described in FIGS. 7E and 7F is adopted, the existing C that does not have the function of separating CMs is used.
According to the M presentation device, the content and the CM are reproduced without being separated. Therefore, the problem that only the content is reproduced in the non-charged state does not occur. [Sound field control unit 7] Next, the sound field control unit 7 will be described.

The sound field control section 7 reads the parameters described later from the parameter storage section 10. Then, based on the parameters thus read out, the signal separation units 2R-2
By subjecting the CM signal (R) (L) from L to head related transfer function processing, the sound field localization position of this CM signal (R) (L) is changed.

The principle of sound source localization will be described below in order to explain the sound field control section 7 in more detail.

That is, as shown in FIG.
The transfer function from o to the viewer's right and left eardrums is G ₁ respectively
· G ₂ and then, respectively a transfer function from the headphone 5R · 5L to the eardrum of the viewer right-left and C _R · C _L. When the sound source R is located at the position of the target sound source Ro under this condition, a G ₁ R signal is given to the viewer's right eardrum and a G ₂ R signal is given to the viewer's left eardrum. .

Therefore, between the sound source R and the headphone 5R
Converter H installed in₁Characteristics of G₁/ C _RAnd sound source R and
Converter H provided between the dphone 5L₂Characteristics of G₂/
C_LI will keep it. In this way, the viewer's right eardrum
To the converter H₁(G₁/ C_R) × C_R
× R = G₁The signal of R will be given, and the viewer's
Transducer H on the left eardrum₂(G₂/ C
_L) × C_L× R = G₂The signal of R will be given.
These signals G₁R and G₂R is the target sound source Ro in free space
Is the same as the sound wave signal given to the left and right eardrum from the position
The sound source R was localized at the position of the target sound source Ro.
become.

The principle of locating the sound source L at the position of the target sound source Lo is similar.

That is, the transfer functions from the target sound source Lo to the viewer's right and left eardrums are G ₃ and G ₄ , respectively, and the transfer functions from the headphones 5R and 5L to the viewer's right and left eardrums are C _R and C _L , respectively. And When the sound source L is located at the position of the target sound source Lo under this condition, a G ₃ L signal is given to the viewer's right eardrum and a G ₄ L signal is given to the viewer's left eardrum. .

Therefore, between the sound source L and the headphone 5R
Converter H installed in₃Characteristics of G₃/ C _RAnd sound source L and
Converter H provided between the dphone 5L_FourCharacteristics of G_Four/
C_LI will keep it. In this way, the viewer's right eardrum
To the converter H₃(G₃/ C_R) × C_R
× L = G₃The signal of L will be given and the viewer's
Transducer H on the left eardrum_Four(G_Four/ C
_L) × C_L× L = G_FourThe signal of L will be given.
These signals G₃L and G_FourL is the target sound source Lo in free space
Is the same as the sound wave signal given to the left and right eardrum from the position
The sound source L was localized at the position of the target sound source Lo.
become.

When the sound source R is moved from the position of the target sound source Ro to the position of the target sound source Lo, the transfer coefficient may be changed from H ₁ · H ₂ to H ₃ · H ₄ . That is, the target sound source Ro
The stereo signal which has been processed in advance so as to be localized at the position is subjected to transfer function processing of H ₁ (G ₁ / C _R ) and H ₂ (G ₂ / C _L ). Therefore, for such a stereo signal, the transfer functions of G ₁ and G ₂ are canceled and G 1
To give the transfer function of ₃ · G ₄ , G ₃ / G ₁ and G ₄ / G ₂
The transfer function processing of With this configuration, the sound source R can be moved from the position of the target sound source Ro to the position of the target sound source Lo.

As described above, the sound field control section 7 determines, based on the parameters read from the parameter storage section 10,
By subjecting the CM signals (R) and (L) from the signal separation units 2R and 2L to head-related transfer function processing, the sound field localization position of the CM signals (R) and (L) is changed. There is. Therefore, for various localization positions of the CM signal, if a conversion formula (parameter) for changing the localization position to a desired position is stored in the parameter storage unit 10 in advance, the CM signal can be transmitted to the desired position. The localization position can be changed.

That is, when a CM signal is received, the frequency component and the phase component of the CM signal (R) (L) are analyzed to estimate the localization position of the CM signal. Then, if the conversion process is performed on the CM signals (R) and (L) using the conversion formula stored in the parameter storage unit 10 in association with the localization position, the localization position of the CM signal is changed to a desired position. You can do it.

Further, the parameter stored in the parameter storage unit 10 may be each characteristic (for example, filter coefficient) of the converters H _{1 to} H ₄ other than the above conversion formula. That is, a plurality of target sound source transfer function G _1, G _2, ···, each filter coefficient for _{G n G 1 / C R,} G 2 / C L, G 3 / C R, G 4 /
C _L, ···, stored in the parameter storage unit _{10 G n-1 / C R} , the G _n / C _L as a parameter. With this configuration, if the filter coefficient set in each of the converters H _{1 to} H ₄ is changed according to the moving state of the target sound source, the CM is moved to a desired position.
The localization position of the signal can be changed.

In the above description, the case where the localization position of the sound image is changed has been exemplified, but acoustic effects such as reverberation and reverberation may be added. That is, CM signal (R) (L)
By changing the reverberation time and reverberation time set to, the sense of distance of the sound source can be changed.

An example of the CM presentation form will be shown below.

As shown in FIG. 9A, it is premised that, for example, the content signals (R) and (L) are signals that are localized within the head of the viewer M when reproduced as they are. Also, C
It is premised that the M signals (R) and (L) are signals that are localized to the left and right and the rear of the viewer M when reproduced as they are.

In the charged state, the sound image localization position of the CM is reproduced without changing it. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9A, the content is localized in the head of the viewer M, and the CM is localized outside the head of the viewer M and in the rear part. , Viewer M, content and C
M and M can be distinguished and heard. On the other hand, in the uncharged state, as shown in FIG. 9B, the CM is localized in the head of the viewer M to make it difficult to listen to the content. [Volume Control Unit 8] Next, the volume control unit 8 will be described.

The volume control unit 8 reads the target parameter from the parameter storage unit 10. Then, the volume of the CM signals (R) and (L) is changed based on the parameters thus read.

That is, in the uncharged state, as shown in FIG. 9B, the CM is localized in the head of the viewer M, so that the content becomes difficult to hear. However, even if the CM is localized in the viewer M's head in this way, the content is not completely inaudible.

Therefore, when the reproduction is continued as it is, the volume control section 8 makes the volume of the CM louder than the volume of the content, as shown in FIG. 9C. By doing so, it is possible to make the content more difficult to hear.

According to the CM presentation mode as described above, the viewer who has approved the billing can distinguish between the content and the CM and listen. On the other hand, it is difficult for viewers who do not approve the charge to listen to the content.

In the charged state, the contents are localized in the head of the viewer M, and the CM is localized outside the head of the viewer M and in the rear part. However, this CM presentation form is limited to this. It is not something that will be done. That is, the volume of the CM may be zero in the charged state.

Another CM presentation mode will be described below with reference to FIG.

First, in the charged state, as shown in FIG. 10 (A), the CM presentation control unit 3 sends a CM signal (R) (L).
Is localized to the left and right of the viewer M and to the rear. Further, a sound field control unit (not shown) for the content signal is provided in the path of the content signal (R) (L) shown in FIG. 1 or 4, and the content signal is viewed by the sound field control unit for the content signal. The person is localized in front of M. As can be seen from the size of the ellipse shown in this figure, the CM is presented at a volume slightly lower than that of the content.

On the other hand, in the uncharged state, as shown in FIG. 10B, the CM signals (R) and (L) are presented at a volume slightly higher than that of the content. Then, when the content is continuously viewed as it is, the CM is presented at a volume much higher than that of the content, as shown in FIG. Of course, the volume of the CM may be relatively increased by lowering the volume of the content.

Although it has been described that the CM is localized out of the head, the content may be localized out of the head and the CM may be localized in the head as shown in FIG. 11 (A). Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 11B, the content may be localized in the head and the CM may be localized out of the head. Furthermore, the content and the CM may be localized outside the head at different positions.

Further, in the above description, the structure provided with the volume control section 8 for controlling the volume of the CM is illustrated, but a similar volume control section can be provided on the content side. If such a content volume control unit is provided, the volume of the content is gradually decreased when the charge is not approved,
Finally, the volume can be controlled to be zero.

Further, another CM presentation form will be described with reference to FIG.

Here, here, the content signal (R)
It is premised that (L) and CM signals (R) and (L) are signals that are localized within the head of the viewer M when the headphones are reproduced as they are. An example of such a signal which is localized in the head is a normal stereo signal.

First, in the uncharged state, in order to localize the content signal (R) (L) in front of the viewer M, the sound field control unit for the content signal is added to the content signal (R) (L). Localize control. Similarly, with respect to the CM signals (R) and (L), the CM presentation control unit 3 performs localization control so that the CM signals are localized in front of the viewer M.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 12A, the content and the CM are localized and reproduced in substantially the same area in front of the viewer M, and the volume of the content is changed. The volume of the CM is almost the same. It goes without saying that it is difficult to listen to such contents and CM separately.

On the other hand, in the charged state, as shown in FIG. 12B, the CM (or the content) is localized to the left and right and the rear of the viewer M. By doing this, the viewer M
With the cocktail party effect, the content and the CM can be distinguished and listened to, so that no inconvenience occurs when only the content is desired to be heard or only the CM is desired to be heard.

Although the CM is localized to the left and right and the rear of the viewer M in the charged state, the present CM presentation mode is not limited to this. That is, in the charged state, the volume of the CM may be lowered or the volume of the CM may be set to zero. [Configuration of Computer System] The CM presentation device can be realized by a computer system. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the computer system according to the present embodiment, and the configuration will be described below.

As described in the first embodiment, C
The PU 20, ROM 21, RAM 22, display unit 23, operation unit 24, audio interface 25, input / output unit 26, and hard disk 30 are connected to the bus line B. In the hard disk 30, a program 32 for executing the CM presentation control process and the signal separation process C
A control program 31 for executing M control information input processing, parameter reading processing, and the like is stored.

First, the CPU 20 reads the boot program stored in the ROM 21, and reads the content and CM.
Enter the reception state of. As a result, when the content and CM are input to the input / output unit 26 from the line, the input / output unit 2
The demodulator 6 demodulates the content and CM and temporarily stores them in the RAM 22.

Next, the CPU 20 controls the control program 3
1 and CM presentation control processing program 32 to call R
The content in the AM 22 and the CM are separated. And
Using this RAM 22, CM presentation control processing such as sound field control processing and volume control processing is performed based on the CM control information, and the CM presentation signals (R) (L) that are the processing results are output to the audio interface 25. .

The viewer operates the operation unit 24 to approve the charge. Once the billing is approved by the viewer,
This is notified to the content distributor through the input / output unit 26 and the line. In addition, CM control information indicating that billing has been approved by the viewer is stored in the RAM 22 and the CM is
Used in the presentation control process.

Note that there are cases where filter coefficients, etc., which will be described later, are supplied from the line. The filter coefficient is transferred to the RAM 22 or the hard disk 3 through the input / output unit 26.
It is stored in 0 and used in the CM presentation control process. [Operation Example] The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

It is monitored whether the CM control information has been updated (step S11). When it is detected that the CM control information has been updated, this new CM control information is input (step S11: Yes → S18). The new CM control information input in this way is used in a CM presentation control process including one or both of a sound field control process and a volume control process, as indicated by a broken line in the figure (step S).
13 → S14).

Taking the case of FIG. 5A as an example, the contents and CM are the contents (L, R) and CM on the time axis.
(L, R) are alternately transmitted from a transmitter (not shown). Then, one of the signals of the two channels is input as the input signal (R) and the other is input as the input signal (L).

The input signal (R) is separated into a content signal (R) and a CM signal (R), and the input signal (L) is separated into a content signal (L) and a CM signal (L) ( Step S12). These CM signals (R)
(L) is subjected to CM presentation control processing and becomes a CM presentation signal (R) (L) (steps S13 → S14).

The content signal (R) (L) and the CM presentation signal (R) (L) are reproduced (step S15).
As a result of this reproduction processing, the viewer is notified of the content signal (R).
(L) stereo sound and CM presentation signal (R)
The stereo sound consisting of (L) will be viewed.

The above procedure is repeated until the processing of the signal to be presented is completed (steps S16 → S11). Signal separation processing (step S12) and CM presentation control processing (step S)
13, S14) is continued while the content and the CM are received.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the sound field and volume of the CM are controlled depending on whether the state is the charged state or the uncharged state. Moreover, the control modes are various as described above.

The modification of the sound image localization position is not limited to the above. That is, although the case where the stationary position of the sound image localization is changed has been described above, the sound image localization position may be dynamically changed (the sound image localization position is moved), or the moving speed thereof may be changed. You may do it. At this time, the volume may or may not be changed.

As described above, the sound image movement can be realized by changing the control characteristic by the conversion formula, changing the stored filter coefficient, or the like. These conversion formulas and filter coefficients are transmitted together with the contents and CM, and the sound images of the contents and CMs transmitted in this way are changed based on the conversion formulas and coefficient data transmitted together. You may
Similarly, the volume parameter may be transmitted together with the content or CM, and the volume of the content or CM thus transmitted may be changed based on the volume parameter transmitted together.

In the above description, the sound image localization position and volume of the CM are changed, but the CM reproduction time may be changed. That is, the CM program may be divided in advance into a plurality of sections such as the first half, the middle, and the second half and transmitted, and the section to be reproduced may be selected depending on the charging state. By doing so, it is possible to reproduce the entire CM in the uncharged state and to reproduce a part of the CM (for example, the latter half) in the charged state.

Which section is to be reproduced is determined in advance in the CM.
The provider can decide. To do that, CM
The CM signal may be provided with an identifier for identifying the first half portion, the middle portion, and the second half portion. In this way, when the desired identifier is detected, only the section identified by this identifier can be extracted and reproduced.

Alternatively, C divided into a plurality of sections
It is also possible to give priority to M one by one and select a section to be reproduced according to the priority and the charging state. By doing so, it is possible to reproduce all of the CM in the uncharged state and to reproduce a part of the CM (eg, only the section with the highest priority) in the charged state. (Third Embodiment) In the first or second embodiment, the CM information presenting device side performs the CM sound image localization process. However, the transmitting device side may perform the CM sound image localization process in advance. Good. Hereinafter, only the points of the present embodiment different from the first or second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 7G shows a mode in which a CM signal pre-recorded by binaural recording is transmitted. Binaural recording is a recording method in which voice is recorded by two microphones attached to the ears of a mannequin (dummy head). The sound recorded in this way is affected by the reflection and diffraction of the mannequin's auricles and face, so when the headphones are played back, the sound field localization at the recorded location is well reproduced. It

FIG. 7H shows a mode in which a CM signal subjected to virtual sound image localization processing in advance is transmitted. Figure 7 (G)
When the transmission form of (H) is adopted, the CM presentation control unit that performs the CM localization control process may not be provided on the CM presentation device side.

The CM presentation mode in this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.

Here, the content signals (R) (L)
Is assumed to be a signal which is localized within the head of the viewer M when reproduced as it is. Also, CM signal (R) (L)
Is assumed to be a signal that is localized to the left and right and the rear of the viewer M when reproduced as it is.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7G, CM
When the signals (R) and (L) are pre-recorded by binaural recording, or as shown in FIG. 7 (H), the CM signals (R) and (L) are recorded.
C has been previously subjected to virtual sound image localization processing, this C
When the M signal (R) (L) is reproduced as it is, FIG.
As shown in, the content and the CM are localized at different positions. Therefore, according to such a CM presentation form, the content and the CM are provided by the cocktail party effect that the talk of a specific partner can be heard even in a noisy place.
And can be heard separately.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 12 (B), a binaurally recorded CM may be transmitted so as to be localized out of the head at a position different from the content. By doing so, even if the CM presentation control units 3R and 3L in the first embodiment are omitted and the CM signals (R) and (L) are reproduced as they are, the content and the CM can be distinguished and listened by the cocktail party effect. Therefore, the object of the present invention can be achieved.

CM signal (R) by binaural recording
The same effect can be obtained by generating the CM signal (R) (L) by virtual sound image localization processing that generates the localization position of the CM sound source by signal processing instead of generating (L). In this virtual sound image localization processing, the transfer function to the position where the CM is desired to be localized and the viewer M's right and left auricle or eardrum is measured for an average viewer M, and this transfer function is added to the CM signal. Go ahead. (Embodiment 4) In Embodiments 1 to 3 described above, the case where the content or CM is reproduced by the headphones has been described, but here, the case where the content or CM is reproduced by the speaker will be described. When the sound is reproduced by the speaker, the sound of the right speaker reaches the left ear, and the sound of the left speaker reaches the right ear, so it is necessary to cancel this crosstalk.

Hereinafter, only the points of this embodiment different from any of the above-described first to third embodiments will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 14, the right speaker S
The transfer functions from P _R to the viewer's right and left eardrums are respectively C ₁ and C _2, and the transfer functions from the left speaker SP _L to the viewer's right and left eardrums are C ₃ and C ₄ , respectively. Under this condition, the sound of the right speaker SP _R should not reach the left ear,
Further, in order to prevent the sound of the left speaker SP _{L from} reaching the right ear, the transmission paths of C ₂ and C ₃ may be deleted and only the transmission paths of C ₁ and C ₄ may be made.

Therefore, the characteristic of the converter H _A is set to −C ₂ / C ₄ and the characteristic of the converter H _B is set to −C ₃ / C _1, and the feedback path where these converters H _A and H _B cross each other is set. Is provided. By doing this, the converter H _B erases the transmission path of C ₃ and
Since there is only _one transmission path, the left speaker S
The P _L sound does not reach the right ear. Further, since the converter H _A erases the transmission path of C ₂ and only uses the transmission path of C ₄ , the sound of the right speaker SP _R does not reach the left ear.

By providing such a crosstalk canceller, signals similar to those in the case of headphone reproduction shown in FIG. 8 can be given to the left and right ears of the viewer by the converters H _{1 to} H ₄ . That is, it is possible to realize the sound image localization similar to that of the headphone reproduction even in the speaker reproduction.

Note that the normal stereo signal is sound-localized forward when the speaker is reproduced as it is. Therefore, when reproducing the content signal (R) (L) which is a normal stereo signal by the speaker, this content signal (R)
The sound field control unit for localizing (L) forward is not necessary.

Further, instead of the above-mentioned headphones and speaker, earphones or earphones may be used for viewing. In this case, it is preferable to use a transfer function corresponding to an earphone or a earphone in the process of changing the localization position of the sound image. (Embodiment 5) When handling audio / video integrated contents such as digital television broadcasting and DVD,
The localization position of the CM sound image may be changed and presented so as to correspond to the screen display of the CM image. As a specific example, when the display position or the screen size of the advertising product or the advertising talent superimposed on a part of the screen changes, the localization position and volume of the CM sound image are changed corresponding to the CM image. Can be considered.

For example, the television screen T shown in FIG.
Shows a CM image of an overseas trip overlaid on a program image of a rock music concert. In this CM video, a talented woman explains the attractiveness of destinations and low prices while moving alongside an aircraft, which is an image of overseas travel.

The sound of rock music is stereo-localized at the position of the screen in front of the viewer. On the other hand, the localization position of the CM sound image (the explanation sound of the talent, the sound of the aircraft, the sound of the image of the destination, etc.) is changed so as to correspond to the screen display of the CM image (the image of the talent, the image of the aircraft, etc.). For example, the arrow F1 in FIG.
When the talent woman in the CM image moves from left to right on the screen as shown in FIG. 15, as shown by an arrow F2 in FIG. CM in order
Change the localization position of the sound image.

Modifications and applications of the first to fifth embodiments will be described below. [Monophonic System] Although the embodiment in which the CM signal is a stereo signal has been described so far, even when the CM signal is a monaural signal, one or both of the sound image localization and the sound volume may be changed. Alternatively, the monaural signal may be converted into a pseudo stereo signal. [Multi-channel stereo system] Digital TV broadcasting and D
Even in a multi-channel system of three or more channels such as VD, it is possible to change and present the localization position of the CM signal. In this case, if the control characteristics (frequency, phase, reverberation, reverberation, etc.) for sound image localization in each system are given to each channel, the localization position of the CM sound image can be changed more diversely than in the case of 2-channel stereo. can do. [CM Control Information and Parameters] Up to now, the case has been described as an example where the billing information is adopted as the CM control information. By adopting the billing information as the CM control information in this manner, the viewer can be urged to bill, so that the income of the content distributor can be expected to increase.

However, the CM control information used in the present invention is not limited to the billing information as long as it is information for changing the sound image localization and volume of the transmitted CM signal. For example, CM according to the age of the viewer
When it is desired to change the sound image localization or volume of the signal, the age information or the birth date information of the viewer may be adopted as the CM control information.

In the second embodiment, the conversion formulas for changing the localization positions of the CM signal to desired positions are stored in the parameter storage unit 10 in advance. did. Then, the target conversion formula is read from the parameter storage unit 10, and the CM is converted using this conversion formula.
It was decided to perform presentation control processing.

However, what is stored in the parameter storage unit 10 as a parameter is not limited to the above conversion formula. That is, any information can be used as long as it can perform the same CM presentation control process as when the above conversion formula is used. For example, even if the set of transfer functions (G ₁ , G ₂ ) indicating the localization position of the CM signal and the filter coefficient defining this transfer function are stored as parameters, The same CM presentation control process can be performed. Of course, these parameters are
Instead of storing it in the parameter storage unit 10 in advance,
It may be transmitted together with the content or CM and stored in the parameter storage unit 10. [CM] CM refers to information associated with content regardless of whether or not it is related to content.

For example, when the music software of a singer is transmitted as the content, the latest information that is private in some sense, such as concert information and new music information of the singer, as well as frequently visited shops and favorite clothes, is also relevant. It may be provided as incidental information of the content. Further, so-called bidirectionality may be provided such that not only the accompanying information is unilaterally provided from the content provider, but also the accompanying information is provided when the viewer desires. [Choice of whether or not to watch CM] In most of the past, if the viewer approves the charge, it is not appropriate to uniformly watch the CM as in the conventional case. The form in which it is not necessary to watch the CM has been described.

However, as described in the section [CM], the CM used in the present invention is not always an obstacle for the viewer. That is, the CM transmitted together with the music program may include information useful to the viewer, such as concert information of a singer who appears in the music program.

Therefore, if the viewer approves the charge,
Instead of uniformly disallowing the CM to be viewed, the viewer may be inquired about whether or not the CM should be viewed. In this way, even a viewer who has approved the billing can view the CM if the CM includes information useful to him / herself.

[0130]

As described above, according to the present invention, the viewer who has approved the charging does not have to view the CM. of course,
Viewers who do not approve the bill have the advantage that they can use the broadcast free of charge by viewing the CM.

Further, according to the present invention, the sound field and volume of the CM are controlled depending on whether it is in the charged state or the uncharged state. Moreover, the control modes are various as described above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main part of a CM information presentation device to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a computer system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a CM presentation operation according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a main part of a CM information presentation device to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a transmission form of content and CM adopted in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a separation unit adopted in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a transmission form of content and CM adopted in the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining CM sound image localization and CM sound image movement adopted in the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a presentation sound field of content and CM in the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a presentation sound field of content and CM in the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a presentation sound field of content and CM in the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a presentation sound field of content and CM in the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a CM presentation operation according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining CM sound image localization and CM sound image movement in speaker reproduction according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a CM presentation form according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a presentation sound field of conventional content and CM.

[Explanation of symbols]

1R, 1L input terminals 2R, 2L signal separation unit 3R, 3L, 3 CM presentation control unit 4R, 4L adder 5R, 5L speaker 6 reproduction section 7 Sound field controller 8 Volume control section 9 control unit 10 Parameter storage 11R CM extractor 12R subtractor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06F 17/60 326 G06F 17/60 326 332 332 H04B 1/16 H04B 1/16 Z H04H 1/00 H04H 1 / 00 B (72) Inventor Tomokazu Ishikawa 1006, Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 5D062 CC01 CC13 CC15 CC20 5K061 BB01 BB07 DD00 FF01

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A presentation device for presenting content and its associated information, comprising: a presentation control unit for controlling, based on predetermined control information, the content and its associated information to have different presentation modes. An information presentation device characterized by: 2. The presentation control unit according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the sound image localization position, the volume, the sound effect, and the reproduction time is changed for at least one of the content and its accompanying information. Information presentation device. 3. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presentation control unit presents one of the content and its accompanying information in the in-head localization and the other in the out-of-head localization. 4. The presentation control unit presents one of the content and its accompanying information in pseudo stereo.
The information presentation device described in. 5. The information presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the presentation control unit presents one of the content and its accompanying information in a multi-channel system. 6. The information presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the presentation control unit presents a sound image included in the accompanying information at a localization position corresponding to a video included in the accompanying information. 7. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving unit that receives the incidental information together with the content. 8. The information presentation device according to claim 7, wherein the incidental information received by the receiving unit is information that has been binaurally recorded in advance. 9. The information presentation device according to claim 7, wherein the incidental information received by the receiving unit is information that has been subjected to virtual sound image localization processing in advance. 10. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a separating unit that separates the content received by the receiving unit and its associated information. 11. The information presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined control information is billing information indicating whether or not a viewer of the information presentation device has approved billing. 12. The information presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the accompanying information is a commercial related to the content. 13. An information presentation method for presenting content and its accompanying information, wherein the content and its accompanying information differ from each other based on charging information indicating whether or not a viewer of the information presenting device has approved the charging. An information presenting method characterized by controlling so as to provide a presentation form. 14. A computer-readable storage medium for causing a computer to execute processing for controlling content and accompanying information thereof to have different presentation forms based on billing information indicating whether or not the user of the computer has approved billing. program.