JP2004282634A - Meta-data description method for contents, transmission method and content receiving reproducing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a meta-data description method for describing, as meta-data, information joining together a certain program as an element and another program relating thereto, a meta-data transmission method and content receiving and reproducing apparatus for making possible a link between contents or transmission and reception control or the like of the target contents. <P>SOLUTION: On a transmitting side, a single or a plurality of meta-data 2 corresponding to main contents 1 are generated. In the meta-data 2, search/view information of the main contents 1 or slave content information and the like are described. The main contents 1 and the meta-data 2 are sent to a content receiving side through broadcasting 3 or a communication network 4 as a transmission channel. On the receiving side, received meta-data 6 are used to be able to search the main contents 5 or to view the main contents 5 in various styles on the basis of the information described in the meta-data 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a metadata description method, a transmission method, and a content reception / playback apparatus associated with content received from broadcast or communication, and in particular, describes information about another content related to content as metadata. Accordingly, the present invention relates to a metadata description method, a transmission method, and a content receiving / reproducing device that enable a link between the contents and reception control of the target content.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Heretofore, in the MPEG-7, TV Anytime Forum, and the like, a description method of metadata that enables efficient search and browsing of contents has been standardized. These metadata description systems define the syntax (grammar) and semantics (meaning) of the metadata.
[0003]
In the data broadcasting in the satellite digital broadcasting and the TV Anytime Forum, program arrangement information (Service Information) for configuring a program table, a program location table (Program Location Table) for configuring an ECG (Electronic Content Guide), and the like are provided. Is defined.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Conventionally, program arrangement information as program table configuration information is independent metadata, and there is no provision to link a certain program as an element and another related program. Further, since it is basically for forming a character-based program guide, for example, a trailer of a moving image cannot be used as an element of the program guide.
[0005]
The program position table can be regarded as metadata associated with the content, and a program table for a plurality of contents can be configured. Here, each entry describes information of the content itself including an identifier and the like, but cannot further describe position information of the content related to the content. Therefore, a method of describing a program related to each of a plurality of entries in a program table or performing navigation from the program to another program when a certain entry in the program table is selected is realized. Can not do it.
[0006]
Although the use of these metadata description methods is not standardized, it is necessary to consider control of a content receiving / reproducing apparatus using metadata for advanced viewing of programs and the like. At present, there is no provision for adaptively switching the operation of the reception / reproduction device using metadata as a trigger.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional technology, and has as its object to describe, as metadata, information linking a certain program as an element and another program related to the program, in other words, a content-related information. Metadata that describes information about other content to be performed as metadata, a meta data transmission method that enables transmission and reception control of links between those contents and target content, and reception of the content A playback device is provided.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for describing metadata associated with content received from broadcast or communication, wherein at least one metadata is associated with the same content, and at least one metadata is associated with the content. A first feature is that information on another content related to the content is described in the data.
[0009]
According to this feature, it is possible to provide a metadata description method capable of enjoying a more advanced content viewing mode such that, for example, viewing of another content associated with the main content can be started while viewing the main content. become.
[0010]
Also, the present invention provides a content receiving / playback apparatus, based on a metadata interpreting means for analyzing metadata described using the metadata description method, and a metadata analysis result by the metadata interpreting means. A second feature resides in that a receiving means for receiving another content related to the content is provided.
[0011]
According to this feature, it is possible to provide a content reception / playback device that can enjoy a more advanced content viewing mode such that, for example, viewing of another content associated with the main content can be started while viewing the main content. Become.
The present invention also provides a method for transmitting metadata, wherein the metadata described in the metadata description method is transmitted along with or included in the content, or transmitted on a different route from the content, or on a different time zone. There is a third feature in the above point.
[0012]
According to this feature, the content and the metadata can be efficiently transmitted from the transmission side to the reception side.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
[0014]
FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a method of transmitting content and metadata according to the present invention. First, on the transmitting side of the content (hereinafter, main content 1), one or more pieces of metadata 2 corresponding to the main content 1 are generated. As the description format of the metadata 2, XML (extensible Markup Language) or the like can be used.
[0015]
FIG. 1 (a) assumes that broadcasting and communication are used as transmission channels. The main content 1 and its metadata 2 transmitted from the transmitting side are transmitted through channels 3 and 4 for broadcasting and communication. Sent to the receiving side. Note that reference numerals 5 and 6 are assigned to the main content and the metadata that have reached the receiving side, respectively, and these are the same contents as the main content 1 and the metadata 2.
[0016]
Since the metadata 6 describes search / viewing information of the main content 5 and subordinate information, etc., the receiving side searches for the main content 5 using the received metadata 6, The user can view the main content 5 in various forms based on the information described in the main content 6. Further, according to the sub content information, the sub content 7 can be accessed and the sub content 8 can be received via the communication line 4. An operation example of the content receiving side will be described later with reference to FIG.
[0017]
FIG. 1B shows an example in which the main content 1 and the metadata 2 included therein are transmitted to the content receiving side via the communication line 4. On the receiving side, in the same manner as described above, the main content 5 is searched based on the received metadata 6 and the main content 5 is viewed in various forms based on the information described in the metadata 6. You can go. In addition, the sub content 7 can be accessed by the sub content information. In the above example, broadcasting and communication are assumed as transmission channels, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the acquisition route of main content / main metadata and sub content can be any combination of broadcasting and communication. For communication, either a dedicated network or a public network can be used.
[0018]
Next, an example of a transmission format of the main content 1 and the metadata 2 created on the content transmission side will be described with reference to FIG.
[0019]
The metadata 2 generated on the content transmission side is included in the main content 1 as shown in FIG. 2A, or is included in the main content 1 as shown in FIG. Are formed separately.
[0020]
That is, in the case of FIG. 2A, the content 1 includes a content header 1a, various parameters 1b, user data 1c, and content data 1d, and the metadata 2 is included in the user data 1c. The metadata 2 is composed of a metadata header 2a and metadata 2b, and it is preferable that the metadata header 2a describe the same identifier as the identifier described in the header of the content 1. The metadata 2b is described in a text format or a binary format.
[0021]
In the case of FIG. 2B, the metadata 2 is created separately from the main content 1 as shown. The main content 1 may be formed of audio and video, or may be formed by multiplexing these.
[0022]
Next, in the case of FIG. 2A, it is preferable that the metadata 2 be included in the main content 1 and transmitted, and in the case of FIG. However, the content may be transmitted through a completely different route or time zone from the main content 1. When transmitting the metadata 2, the metadata in a text format described in XML or the like may be converted into a binary format.
[0023]
Next, the present invention provides a method for describing information about another content 7 related to the main content 1 in the metadata 2. Since the information about the content 7 is described according to the metadata 6 associated with the received main content 5, the sub content 7 can be handled by giving some control to the receiving device while viewing the main content 5. Become like
[0024]
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the main content 5 is a trailer of a certain program which is preview extracted from the main program, and the sub content 7 is the main program itself, when the user is watching the trailer of the program, By giving the control to view the main part of the program to the receiving device, it is possible to provide functions such as starting reception of the main part of the program.
[0025]
In another example, the main content 5 is a main part of a certain program, and the sub-content 7 is a main part of another program that forms a series with the main content (for example, a main part of a program broadcasted in the next week). In this case, when the receiving apparatus is controlled to view the main program of the series broadcast in the next week while or after viewing the main program, the recording of the main program to be broadcast in the next week is reserved. Function can be provided.
[0026]
When handling the subsidiary content 7, if the position of the content 7 is described according to the main metadata 5a, the subsidiary content 7 can be directly specified, but the metadata 7a (hereinafter, referred to as the metadata) associated with the subsidiary content 7 If the reference to the position description element of the sub-content described in the (sub-metadata) is described in the main metadata 5a, the sub-content 7 can also be specified via the sub-meta data 7a.
[0027]
Here, as shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the main content 5 is a trailer of the program and the sub content 7 is a main part of the program. At this time, the main part of the program is (1) currently being broadcasted, (2) being scheduled to be broadcasted in the future, (3) being able to be received on the communication network, (4) being already received by the receiving device, and Forms such as those recorded in the included storage device are conceivable. In addition, there are two types of reception of the main part of the program: (A) free one and (B) paid one (charged one).
[0028]
According to these modes, information of the content 7 is described according to the metadata 5a as shown in FIG. In the case of the above (1) and (2), as shown in FIG. 4 (a), information on the date and time when the subsidiary content is broadcast and the channel for receiving the broadcast wave, and in the case of (3), FIG. ) Describes information on the address of a server on the communication network where the subsidiary content is held. In another example, a reference identifier of the content is described as shown in FIG. 3C, and the location information of the content is obtained by performing the location resolution of the content using the identifier. You can also. Regarding the location resolution of the content using the reference identifier, a method defined in the TV-Anytime Forum can be used. The illustrated example uses this method.
[0029]
Next, a function of confirming reception of content by metadata analysis in the content reception / playback apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the content receiving apparatus is controlled by the user to receive the sub content, first, the process of step S1, that is, the analysis of the position information of the sub content described in the metadata is performed. Next, in step S2, it is determined whether or not the subsidiary content specified by the analysis has been stored. When the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S3 to read the file of the subsidiary content.
[0030]
On the other hand, if the determination in step S2 is negative, the process proceeds to step S4 to specify the position of the sub content. By specifying the position, the server address of the subsidiary content, the broadcast date and time, the channel, and the like can be known. In step S5, the attribute of the subsidiary content is analyzed. In step S6, it is determined whether or not the sub content is a pay content. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S7 to perform a charging process.
[0031]
In step S8, it is determined whether or not the sub content is being broadcast. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S9 to start receiving. On the other hand, when the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S10, and it is determined whether there is a broadcast schedule. When the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S11 to determine whether a recording reservation is made. If a recording reservation has been made, the process proceeds to step S12, where a recording reservation is made. If there is no recording reservation, the process proceeds to step S16 to end the confirmation.
[0032]
When the determination in step S10 is negative, the process proceeds to step S13, in which it is determined whether or not the subsidiary content is in a server on the network. If this determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S14 to determine whether or not to receive. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S15 to start receiving. On the other hand, when the determination in any of steps S13 and S14 is negative, the process proceeds to step S16, and the confirmation is completed.
[0033]
To summarize the above processing, the content reception / playback apparatus performs the following operation. When the sub-content is the above (1), that is, when the main part of the program is currently being broadcast, the receiving device sets a reception channel from the position information of the sub-content and starts receiving the sub-content. In the case of (2), that is, in the case of broadcasting in the future, the receiving device obtains information on the scheduled broadcast date and time of the slave content and the information of the scheduled receiving channel. Make a recording reservation. In the case of (3), that is, when the main part of the program can be received from the communication network, the receiving apparatus obtains the address of the server holding the subsidiary content on the communication network from the position information of the subsidiary content. , A reception request is issued, and reception of the subordinate content is started. Further, in the case of (4), that is, when the receiving device has already received the information, information on where the corresponding sub-content is stored in the storage device included in the receiving device from the already received content list. Then, the sub content is read from the storage device and the reproduction of the sub content is started.
[0034]
In the cases of (1) to (3), if the sub-contents are charged as shown in (B) above, the user is asked before step S7 to confirm whether to receive the paid content. If the pay content is to be received, charging control is performed at some timing, such as before receiving the content or making a recording reservation.
[0035]
Next, FIG. 6 shows a functional block diagram of the receiving and reproducing apparatus of the embodiment. The content and metadata received from the broadcast or communication via the reception interface 11 are separated by the demultiplexer 12 into content a and metadata b. The content a is stored in the storage device 13 when recording is performed, and is displayed on the display unit 16 via the content decoding unit 14 and the reproduction control unit 15 when reproducing simultaneously with reception.
[0036]
On the other hand, the metadata b is interpreted by the metadata interpreting unit 17, the information on the viewing mode is sent to the playback control unit 15, the information on charging is sent to the charging control unit 18, and if it corresponds to the recording reservation, the recording control unit 19 When receiving a broadcast or receiving content on a network, a signal is passed to the reception control unit 20. When the position information of the content is described as a reference identifier, the position is resolved by the position resolution unit 21 into the position information.
[0037]
The control signal from the charging control unit 18 is sent to the reproduction control unit 15, the control signal from the recording control unit 19 is sent to the storage device 13, and the control signal from the reception control unit 20 is sent to the reception interface 11. Output signals from the charging control unit 18, the recording control unit 19, and the position solving unit 21 are sent to the reception control unit 20.
[0038]
The main content and the metadata associated with the main content can be regarded as one content (hereinafter, item) as a set. The combination of the main content and the metadata can be repeatedly transmitted at a fixed time interval using a single or a plurality of transmission channels, or a plurality of items in a broadcast channel using a carousel transmission method or the like. In this case, the receiving side may sequentially reproduce the received main content. In another form, the plurality of items can be transmitted simultaneously, and the receiving side can simultaneously reproduce a plurality of received main contents. As a result, a plurality of combinations of metadata and content can be transmitted efficiently.
[0039]
FIG. 7 shows an example of a transmission method other than FIG. Here, the main content 1 and the metadata 2 associated therewith can be transmitted over different routes or time zones. This is the case, for example, in that only the metadata 2 with a relatively small capacity is transmitted using the communication channel 4 and the main content 1 with a relatively large capacity is transmitted using the broadcast channel 3.
[0040]
As described above, when the main content 1 and the metadata 2 are transmitted through different routes and time zones and received by the receiving device, the main content identifier and the like described in the metadata header as shown in FIG. 2 are used. Then, the main content 1 and the metadata 2 are associated again in the receiving device. As a result, using the metadata received separately from the main content, the related main content can be searched, and the main content can be viewed in various forms based on the information described in the metadata. Or you can.
[0041]
Another transmission method will be described. This transmission method is, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), a case where the routes on which the main content 1 and the sub content 7 are provided are different. For example, a provider that provides a trailer of a program as the main content 1 distributes a trailer of a program on a network with the permission of a broadcaster that broadcasts the main part of the program as the sub content 7 and broadcasts the sub content 7 This is a form of receiving from waves. As a result, it is possible to view the sub content described in the metadata.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, information of another content (sub-content) related to the content (main content) is described in the metadata associated with the content (main content) provided by broadcasting or communication. By doing so, while viewing the main content, it is possible to start watching the content, make a recording reservation, etc., and enjoy a more advanced content viewing mode.
[0043]
Further, according to the second to fourth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to effectively describe information for specifying the position of the sub content.
[0044]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to effectively receive the sub content by interpreting the metadata. According to the invention of claim 6, it becomes possible to receive the subordinate content through an efficient route. According to the invention of claim 7, it becomes possible to adaptively receive or access the sub content according to the location or the situation of the sub content. According to the invention of claim 8, free or paid content can be adaptively received. According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of combinations of metadata and content can be effectively received and reproduced.
[0045]
Further, according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to describe the relation from the trailer of the program to the main body of the program. According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to solve the relation between a certain program and another program in the series. According to the twelfth aspect, the metadata can be described in the XML language, and can be efficiently described.
[0046]
According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, since the metadata is transmitted accompanying or included in the content, efficient transmission can be performed. According to the fourteenth to sixteenth aspects, more efficient transmission can be performed. According to the seventeenth aspect, it is possible to accurately and effectively associate a content with one or more pieces of metadata.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a content and metadata transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transmission format of metadata.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between a main content and a sub content.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a description example of main content metadata according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a function of confirming reception of content by metadata analysis in the content reception / playback apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a content reception / playback apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of another transmission method of content and metadata.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 5: Primary content, 2, 6: Metadata, 7, 8: Secondary content, 11: Receiving interface, 12: Demultiplexer, 13: Storage device, 14 ... Content decryption unit, 15 ... Reproduction control unit, 16 ... Display unit, 17 ... Metadata interpretation unit, 18 ... Charging control unit, 19 ... Recording control unit, 20 ... A reception control unit 21; a position resolution unit;

Claims (17)

In a method for describing metadata associated with content received from broadcast or communication,
A content metadata description method, wherein one or more pieces of metadata are associated with the same content, and information about another content related to the content is described in at least one piece of metadata. 2. The content metadata description method according to claim 1,
A content metadata description method, characterized in that at least one of location information of the content or a reference identifier of the content is described as information on another content described in the metadata description method. 3. The content metadata description method according to claim 2,
Position information of another content described in the metadata description method, if the content can be received from the broadcast, at least broadcast date and time, is configured from information about the broadcast channel,
If the content can be received from a communication, the content metadata description method comprises at least information on a server on the network where the content is stored. 3. The content metadata description method according to claim 2,
A content metadata description method, wherein the reference identifier of another content described in the metadata description method is interpreted as content location information by content location resolution means. A metadata interpreting means for analyzing metadata described using the content metadata description method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A content receiving / reproducing apparatus, comprising: receiving means for receiving another content related to a certain content based on a result of analyzing the metadata by the metadata interpreting means. The content receiving and reproducing apparatus according to claim 5,
A content receiving / reproducing apparatus, comprising: receiving means for receiving another content described using the metadata description method from the same or different path as the main content. The content receiving and reproducing apparatus according to claim 5,
Means for starting reception of the another content when the another content is currently receivable from the broadcast,
Means for making a reservation for receiving the content when the content can be received from a future broadcast;
Means for receiving the content from the server when the content can be received from the communication;
A content receiving / reproducing apparatus, comprising: at least one of means for reading out the content from the storage apparatus and starting reproduction when the content is stored in the storage apparatus. The content receiving / reproducing device according to claim 6 or 7,
Means for specifying whether to receive the another content,
Means for starting reception of the content when the content is designated to be received by the means and the content is free content;
A content receiving / reproducing apparatus, comprising: when the content is designated to be received by the means and the content is a pay content, a means for confirming permission to receive the content. In the content receiving and reproducing apparatus,
Means for sequentially reproducing a plurality of combinations of metadata and content for a specified time in the order received;
A content receiving / reproducing apparatus comprising at least one of means for simultaneously reproducing a plurality or a part of all received combinations. In a method for describing metadata associated with content received from broadcast or communication,
The content associated with the metadata is a program trailer (program guide) created based on the program,
Another content associated with this is the program body,
A metadata description method capable of describing a relation from a program trailer to a program body by analyzing the metadata. In a method for describing metadata associated with content received from broadcast or communication,
The content associated with the metadata is a program,
Another content associated with this is another program that makes up the series,
A metadata description method for analyzing a relationship between a certain program and another program in the series by analyzing the metadata. The metadata description method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 10, and 11,
The metadata description method is defined in an XML-based language, and the metadata is described in an XML language. In the method of transmitting metadata,
A method of transmitting metadata, wherein the metadata described in the metadata description method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 10 and 11 is transmitted together with or included in the content. In the method of transmitting metadata,
12. Metadata described by the metadata description method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 10, and 11, wherein the metadata is transmitted on a different route, a different time zone, or a different route and time zone from the content. Metadata transmission method. The method for transmitting metadata according to claim 13 or 14,
A method for transmitting metadata in which a plurality of combinations of metadata and content are transmitted using one or more transmission channels, each of the combinations is repeatedly transmitted at fixed time intervals, or a plurality of combinations are transmitted collectively. The method for transmitting metadata according to any one of claims 13 to 15,
When transmitting a plurality of metadata and its associated content using the metadata transmission method, the metadata and the content are transmitted on different routes or time zones, and the metadata and the content are associated again on the receiving side. A method for transmitting metadata, characterized in that: The method for transmitting metadata according to claim 16,
In order to associate the metadata with the content, the same identifier as the identifier described in the header of the content is described in all metadata, and the content is associated with one or more metadata using the identifier. Metadata transmission method characterized by the following.

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