JP2005063171A - Transmitting device and receiving device of contents - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content receiving device enabling a user to efficiently select a content. <P>SOLUTION: In the content receiving device 2, a communication processing part 23 receives a digest including a part of all or partial contents accumulated in the remote content transmitting device 1 and an address list including respective address positions of partial contents included in the digest. A reproduction part 25 reproduces the digest received by the communication processing part 23. A digest selective input part 26 outputs a predetermined signal by the user's operation. A content request processing part 22 receives the output signal from the content selective input part 26, and extracts the address positions of the partial contents which are reproduced at the time of receipt of the output signal from the address list received by the communication processing part 23. The communication processing part 23 further transmits a content delivery request including the address positions extracted by the content request processing part 22 to a digital network 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a transmission device and a reception device, and more specifically to a transmission device that transmits content and a reception device that receives content distributed by the transmission device.

  Through a network typified by the Internet, a device (hereinafter referred to as a content transmission device) that can remotely provide content to a device (hereinafter referred to as a content reception device) installed either at home or outdoors has spread. ing. As a specific example, a very large number of broadcast sites or content servers exist as content transmission devices on the Internet. In addition, a home server device as another example of a content transmission apparatus can store a large amount of content in a large-capacity storage medium and distribute the content to a home or outdoor content reception apparatus. As described above, since there are many contents that can be obtained through the network, many techniques for searching for the contents that the user desires among them have been proposed.

Examples of content receivers incorporating the above-described search technology (hereinafter referred to as conventional content receivers) include the following. A conventional content receiving apparatus displays a search screen after acquiring a program guide from a music transmission site as a content transmitting apparatus, which exists in plurality on the Internet, and thereby allows a user to search for a music program as an example of content. I am doing so. Further, according to the conventional content receiving apparatus, the user can search for a favorite music program based on the humming of the song by the user or personal preference information. Accordingly, the user can efficiently select a desired music program from a huge number of music programs provided by a plurality of music transmission sites on the Internet (see, for example, JP-A-2001-202368). .
JP 2001-202368 A

  However, the conventional content receiving apparatus requires a display device of a certain size in order to display the search screen. Therefore, there is a problem that a user cannot select content easily and efficiently in a content receiving device having a relatively small display device, such as AV equipment used in homes or automobiles.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a content transmission device and reception device that allow a user to select content easily and efficiently.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a content transmission device, wherein a content storage unit stores a plurality of contents at mutually different address positions, and all or all of the content stored in the content storage unit Extract a partial content from each of some content, generate a digest from the extracted partial content and store it in the content storage unit, the digest generated by the digest generation unit, and the content included in the digest And a communication processing unit for transmitting at least the address position.

  Preferably, the content transmission device further includes a content search unit that searches and reads at least partial content stored for the predetermined content from the content storage unit according to a predetermined search condition. The digest generation unit preferably generates a digest from the partial content read by the content search unit.

  In addition, the content transmission device receives a digest request including identification information for identifying the content stored in the content reception device prior to distributing the content to the remote content reception device. Preferably, the part searches and reads out contents other than the contents specified by the digest request received this time from the contents storage part.

  The communication processing unit preferably multiplexes and transmits the digest generated by the digest generation unit and the address list including the address position of the partial content included in the digest.

  The second aspect of the present invention is a content receiving device, which includes a digest including a part of all or a part of content stored in the content transmitting device from a remote content transmitting device, and the digest. A communication processing unit that receives an address list including address positions of partial contents, a reproduction unit that reproduces a digest received by the communication processing unit, and a content selection input unit that outputs a predetermined signal by a user operation And a content request processing unit that receives the output signal from the content selection input unit and extracts the address position of the partial content being played back at the time of receiving the output signal from the address list received by the communication processing unit. Here, the communication processing unit further sends out a content distribution request including the address position extracted by the content request processing unit.

  In addition, the content receiving apparatus preferably further includes a content storage unit that stores at least one content. Here, the communication processing unit sends out a digest request including identification information for uniquely identifying all the contents stored in the content storage unit in order to request a digest of the content stored in the remote content transmission apparatus. To do.

  A third aspect of the present invention is a method in which a content transmitting apparatus that accumulates a plurality of contents at mutually different address positions transmits a digest of the content to the content receiving apparatus. Alternatively, a partial content is extracted from each of the partial contents, and a generation step for generating a digest from the extracted partial content, a digest generated in the generation step, and an address position of the content included in the digest are transmitted at least A transmitting step.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method in which a content receiving device requests distribution of content stored in a content transmitting device, and all or part of the content transmitting device stores from the content transmitting device. A digest including a part of the content, a reception step of receiving an address list including the address positions of each partial content included in the digest, a playback step of playing back the digest received in the reception step, and a content receiving device An address position extracting step for extracting the address position of the partial content reproduced at the time of the user interface operation from the address list received in the receiving step in response to the user interface operation of Address position extracted in step And a sending step for sending a content distribution request including the.

  As described above, according to the first to fourth aspects, the content transmitting apparatus transmits a digest generated by concatenating a part of a plurality of contents, and the content receiving apparatus reproduces the received digest so that the user can reproduce the digest. While listening to the content, the user can specify the content that is the target of the content distribution request only by operating the user interface installed in the content receiving device. As a result, the user can select desired content from a plurality of contents easily and efficiently.

  Further, since the content transmission device includes the content search unit, the content reception device can acquire a digest that does not include unnecessary partial content. In addition, by transmitting the identification information of the content stored locally in the content receiving device to the content transmitting device, the content search unit can search for content not stored in the content receiving device. Therefore, the content transmission device can generate a digest from the content not stored in the content reception device. Thus, file synchronization between the content transmission device and the content reception device can be easily achieved.

  In addition, the content transmission device multiplexes the digest and the address list, so that the content reception device can transmit the content distribution request more easily.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a block configuration of a content transmission device 1 and a content reception device 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a content transmitting apparatus 1 typically transmits content represented by an Internet radio program to one or more remote content receiving apparatuses 2 through a digital network 3 represented by the Internet. . The content receiving device 2 selects and receives one or more contents from the plurality of contents provided by the one or more content transmitting apparatuses 1 through the digital network 3, and further receives each received content. Reproduce.

  Specifically, the content transmission device 1 includes a content storage unit 11, a communication processing unit 12, a distribution processing unit 13, a content list input unit 14, and a digest generation unit 15, as shown in FIG.

  The content storage unit 11 stores a plurality of contents generated by converting an Internet radio program into digital data, for example. Here, each content is stored in the content storage unit 11 at a predetermined address position. Furthermore, the content storage unit 11 also stores the digest generated by the digest generation unit 15 and the address / playback time list (both will be described in detail later).

  The communication processing unit 12 receives a content distribution request sent from the content receiving device 2 through the digital network 3.

  In response to the content distribution request received by the communication processing unit 12, the distribution processing unit 13 reads out the requested content from the content storage unit 11, and performs content distribution such as streaming distribution or buffering distribution, for example. Necessary processing is performed on the read content.

  The communication processing unit 12 further sends the content processed by the distribution processing unit 13 to the digital network 3.

  The content list input unit 14 is a user interface of the content transmission device 1. The user operates the content list input unit 14 to input items necessary for creating an address / playback time list (described later). Here, typical input items include the title of each content stored in the content storage unit 11. The content list input unit 14 passes the input items to the digest generation unit 15.

  The digest generation unit 15 uses the content stored in the content storage unit 11 and the items sent from the content list input unit 14 to generate a digest and an address / playback time list. Is stored in the content storage unit 11. Detailed processing of the digest generation unit 15 will be described later.

  The communication processing unit 12 further receives a digest request sent from the content receiving device 2 through the digital network 3.

  In response to the digest request received by the communication processing unit 12, the digest generation unit 15 reads the digest and address / playback time list stored in the content storage unit 11, and passes the read to the communication processing unit 12. .

  The communication processing unit 12 further generates an information set by multiplexing the digest and the address / playback time list sent from the digest generation unit 15, and sends the generated information set to the digital network 3.

  Specifically, the content receiving device 2 described above includes a digest request input unit 21, a content request processing unit 22, a communication processing unit 23, a content address storage unit 24, and a playback unit 25, as shown in FIG. And a digest selection input unit 26.

  The digest request input unit 21 is a user interface for designating that the user of the content receiving device 2 requests a digest. As a specific example, the digest request input unit 21 is a button disposed on the housing of the content receiving device 2, and generates and outputs a predetermined signal in response to a press by the user.

  First, the content request processing unit 22 creates data for requesting a digest in response to the output signal of the digest request input unit 21 and passes the created data to the communication processing unit 23 as a digest request.

  The communication processing unit 23 sends the digest request sent from the content request processing unit 22 to the digital network 3. Further, after transmitting the digest request, the communication processing unit 23 receives the information set (that is, the digest and the address / playback time list) transmitted from the content transmitting apparatus 1. Thereafter, the communication processing unit 23 passes the digest included in the information set received this time to the playback unit 25, and passes the address / playback time list sent along with the digest to the content request processing unit 22.

  The playback unit 25 plays back the digest received from the communication processing unit 23.

  The content request processing unit 22 creates an address / time code list from the address / playback time list received from the communication processing unit 23 and stores it in the content address storage unit 24. The address / time code list will be described later.

  The digest selection input unit 26 is a user interface of the content receiving device 2. As a specific example, the digest selection input unit 26 is a button arranged on the casing of the content receiving device 2, and generates and outputs a predetermined signal in response to pressing by the user. When the user wants to acquire the content that is the basis of the favorite digest from the content transmitting apparatus 1 while referring to the digest reproduced by the reproducing unit 25, the digest selection input is performed while the favorite digest is being reproduced. The part 26 is pressed to specify that the content is to be downloaded. In response to the designation by the user, the digest selection input unit 26 generates a predetermined signal and outputs it to the content request processing unit 22.

  In response to the output signal of the digest selection input unit 26, the content request processing unit 22 creates a content distribution request including the address position of the content that is the basis of the digest that is currently being reproduced, according to the process described in detail later. To the communication processing unit 23.

  The communication processing unit 23 sends the content distribution request created by the content request processing unit 22 to the digital network 3. Further, after transmitting the content distribution request, the communication processing unit 23 receives the content transmitted from the content transmission device 1 and passes the currently received content to the reproduction unit 25.

  The playback unit 25 further plays back the content received this time.

  Here, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the content transmission apparatus 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the content receiving apparatus 2 shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing procedure of step B205 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, detailed operations of the content transmission device 1 and the content reception device 2 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, in FIG. 2, when an item is sent from the content list input unit 14, the digest generation unit 15 of the content transmission device 1 reads each content in the content storage unit 11 and extracts a part of the read content. And connecting partial content. Here, the part extracted in the content is not an essential matter in the present embodiment, and may be from the beginning of the content until a predetermined time has elapsed, or may be a part in the middle of the content, It may be only the introduction part. The digest generation unit 15 stores the digest obtained as a result in the content storage unit 11. Further, the digest generation unit 15 generates an address / playback time list and stores it in the content storage unit 11 (step A101).

  Here, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the address / playback time list created in step A101. In FIG. 5, the address / playback time list includes the number of contents included in the digest generated in step A101, and a set of data length, address position, and playback time for each of the partial contents constituting the digest.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a specific example of the address / playback time list created in step A101. According to the example of FIG. 6, the digest is composed of three partial contents, and the address / reproduction time list is xx as the data length, aa as the address position, and T1 as the reproduction time for the first content. Including. The address / reproduction time list includes yy as the data length, bbb as the address position, and T2 as the reproduction time for the second content. Further, the address / reproduction time list includes zz as the data length, cccc as the address position, and T3 as the reproduction time for the third content.

  After the above step A101, the content transmission device 1 waits for a digest request from the content reception device 2.

  The user of the content receiving device 2 presses the digest request input unit 21 in order to obtain a digest held in the content transmitting device 1. In response to this pressing, the digest request input unit 21 generates a predetermined signal and outputs it to the content request processing unit 22. Here, in FIG. 3, the content request processing unit 22 generates a digest request in response to the output signal of the digest request input unit 21. The communication processing unit 23 sends the digest request generated by the content request processing unit 22 to the digital network 3 (step B201). After the above step B201, the content reception device 2 waits for a digest to be sent from the content transmission device 1.

  Here, FIG. 2 will be referred to again. In the content transmission device 1, the communication processing unit 12 further receives the digest request sent to the digital network 3 in step B201 (step A102). In response to the digest request received by the communication processing unit 12, the digest generation unit 15 reads the digest and the address / playback time list (see FIGS. 5 and 6) from the content storage unit 11, and performs communication processing on each. Pass to part 12. The communication processing unit 12 further multiplexes the digest and the address / playback time list sent from the digest generation unit 15 and sends the information set to the digital network 3 (step A103). Here, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the data structure of the information set sent out by the communication processing unit 12 in step A103. In FIG. 7, the information set includes at least an address / playback time list and a digest composed of a plurality of partial contents. After the above step A103, the content transmission device 1 waits for a content distribution request from the content reception device 2.

  Here, FIG. 3 will be referred to again. In the content receiving device 2, the communication processing unit 23 receives the information set sent to the digital network 3 in step A103 (step B202). Thereafter, the communication processing unit 23 passes the address / playback time list included in the information set received this time to the content request processing unit 22, and passes the subsequent digest to the playback unit 25.

  After receiving the address / playback time list, the content request processing unit 22 starts with the address / time code in which the playback start time and playback end time are described for each address position of the partial content constituting the digest. A list is created, and the newly created list is stored in the content address storage unit 24 (step B203).

  Here, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the address / time code list generated in step B203. FIG. 8 shows an address / time code list generated when the address / playback time list shown in FIG. 6 is received. In FIG. 8, the address / time code list is a list in which the start time and end time of each partial content in digest playback are linked to the address position where each partial content is stored in the content storage unit 11. When the content receiving apparatus 2 receives the address / reproduction time list as shown in FIG. 6, the address / time code list is aa as the address position and 00:00 as the reproduction start time for the first partial content. 00 and T1 as the reproduction end time. Note that the reproduction start time of the first partial content is a reference time for digest reproduction. The address / time code list includes bbb as the address position, T1 as the reproduction start time, and T1 + T2 as the reproduction end time for the second partial content. The address / time code list includes cccc as the address position, T1 + T2 as the reproduction start time, and T1 + T2 + T3 as the reproduction end time for the third partial content.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 3, after receiving the digest received at step B202, the playback unit 25 plays back the currently received digest (step B204).

  After the above step B204 is completed, the content request processing unit 22 performs step B205. Here, as described above, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing procedure of step B205. Hereinafter, detailed processing in step B205 will be described with reference to FIG. The user of the content receiving device 2 refers to the digest reproduced by the reproduction unit 25 and, when there is a favorite content, presses the digest selection input unit 26 while the content is being reproduced. In response to this pressing, the digest selection input unit 26 outputs a predetermined signal to the content request processing unit 22. The content request processing unit 22 waits for reception of the signal output from the digest selection input unit 26 (step C301), and when receiving the output signal, the playback unit 25 counts from the start of digest playback. The elapsed time from the start of the reproduction is acquired (step C302). Next, the content request processing unit 22 performs step C303, and first accesses the address / time code list in the content address storage unit 24, and then the playback start time and playback end described in the address / time code list. In each combination of times, it is checked which combination includes the elapsed time acquired in step C302. When the content request processing unit 22 finds one combination of the playback start time and the playback end time, the content request processing unit 22 acquires the address position of the content associated with the target combination (step C303). The content request processing unit 22 records the address position acquired as described above in the content address storage unit 24 (step C304). After step C304 ends, the content request processing unit 22 returns to step C301.

  In step C301, when there is no received signal, the content request processing unit 22 determines whether or not the reproduction of the digest by the reproduction unit 25 has ended (step C305). If the digest reproduction has not ended, the content request process 22 returns to step C301, but if the reverse is true, the process of FIG. 4 ends (step B205).

  Here, FIG. 3 will be referred to again. Next, when the address position is recorded in step B205, the content request processing unit 22 creates a content distribution request including the first recorded address position and passes it to the communication processing unit 23. The communication processing unit 23 sends the content distribution request created by the content request processing unit 22 to the digital network 3 (step B206). Thereafter, the content receiving device 2 waits for the content requested this time to be sent from the content transmitting device 1.

  Here, FIG. 2 will be referred to again. In the content transmission device 1, the communication processing unit 12 receives a content distribution request sent from the content reception device 2 through the digital network 3 (step A104). In response to the content distribution request received by the communication processing unit 12, the distribution processing unit 13 reads the content from the address position included in the current content distribution request in the content storage unit 11, for example, streaming distribution or buffering distribution The processing necessary for content distribution is performed on the read content. The communication processing unit 12 further sends the content processed by the distribution processing unit 13 to the digital network 3 (step A105). Thereafter, in the content transmission apparatus 1, the communication processing unit 12 waits for a predetermined time that a new content distribution request is transmitted from the content reception apparatus 2 (step A106), and receives a new one. In such a case, the distribution processing unit 13 performs step A105 with reference to the address position specified in the newly received content distribution request. In the opposite case, the content transmission device 1 ends the process of FIG.

  Here, FIG. 3 will be referred to again. In the content receiving device 2, the communication processing unit 23 receives the content sent to the digital network 3 in step A 105 and passes the currently received content to the playback unit 25. The playback unit 25 further plays back the content received this time (step B207). Thereafter, the content request processing unit 22 waits for the playback unit 25 to finish playing the content received this time (step B208). When the content playback is finished, the content request processing unit 22 records the content address storage unit 24 in step B205. It is determined whether or not unselected ones remain in the address positions (step B209). If there is no unselected address position, the content receiving device 2 ends the process of FIG. However, if an unselected address position remains, a content distribution request including the address position recorded at the head of the unselected address positions is created and passed to the communication processing unit 23. The communication processing unit 23 sends the content distribution request created by the content request processing unit 22 to the digital network 3 (step B210). Thereafter, the content receiving device 2 waits for the content requested this time to be sent from the content transmitting device 1. As described above, in the content receiving device 2, steps B207 to B210 are repeated until all the content designated by the user in step B205 is reproduced.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the content transmitting apparatus 1 generates a digest in which a part of a plurality of contents is connected, and generates an address / playback time list for the generated digest. Further, the content transmission device 1 transmits the address / playback time list to the content reception device 2 together with the digest. In the content receiving apparatus 2, the user can specify a favorite content by pressing the digest selection input unit 26 while the digest is being reproduced. Further, refer to the address / time code list. Thus, the content receiving device 2 can specify the address position of the partial content being reproduced. The content distribution request is generated and transmitted using the address position specified in this manner, and then the content receiving apparatus 2 can reproduce all the specified content. Therefore, in content distribution using a digest, the user can acquire the entire content by an easy method such as repeatedly pressing the digest selection input unit 26 while listening to the partial content included in the digest. Can do. As a result, even if the content receiving device includes a relatively small display device, the user can efficiently select content.

  In the present embodiment, the content transmission device 1 has been described as exemplarily delivering an Internet radio program. However, the content attribute that can be distributed by the content transmitting apparatus 1 may be any one of video, audio, still image, audio, and data, or a combination thereof.

  Further, the content transmission device 1 has been described as distributing content to the content reception device 2 via the digital network 3. However, the content transmission medium is not limited to the digital network 3, and the content transmission device 1 distributes the content to the content reception device 2 through a wireless communication link formed ad hoc between the content transmission device 1 and the content reception device 2. It doesn't matter. In such a case, there are less restrictions on the installation positions of the content transmission device 1 and the content reception device 2, for example, the content transmission device 1 is installed in one vehicle and the content reception device 2 is installed in another vehicle. Content distribution can be performed between them. In addition, content distribution may be performed through a standardized bus such as IEEE1394. In such a case, in a certain living space, the content transmission device 1 is installed in one room, the content reception device 2 is installed in another room, and content distribution can be performed between them. In addition, the content transmission device 1 and the content reception device 2 may perform content distribution via a transmission path such as a local area network, an in-vehicle network, and a dedicated communication line.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the content receiving apparatus 2 exemplarily acquires the content in the order selected by the user after the digest reproduction ends. However, the above-described content acquisition order is an example, and the content acquisition timing may be any time. For example, the content receiving device 2 may send out a specified content distribution request immediately after receiving a signal from the digest selection input unit 26 in step C301. In addition, the content receiving device 2 is provided with a preset input unit having a plurality of buttons, and the content receiving device 2 uniquely corresponds the address position of each content specified by the user to each button of the preset input unit. Then, it is stored in the content address storage unit 24. Thereafter, when the user operates any button included in the preset input unit, the content receiving device 2 may transmit a content distribution request including the address position associated with the currently operated button. . Thereby, it becomes possible for the user to acquire the contents in the order of preference.

  In the above embodiment, in step A103, the communication processing unit 12 transmits an information set having the data structure shown in FIG. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the data structure of the information set may be other. Here, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing another data structure of the information set transmitted in step A103. In FIG. 9, the information set differs from that shown in FIG. 7 in that it includes an address list instead of the address / playback time list and further includes a number of markers corresponding to the number of partial contents. The fact that the information set shown in FIG. 9 includes some partial contents is the same as that shown in FIG. First, the address list will be described. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the address list shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, the address list includes the number of contents included in the digest, and a set of data length and address position for each partial content read when the digest is generated. Here, FIG. 9 will be referred to again. In FIG. 9, the marker constitutes a part of the digest, is added immediately before each partial content included in the digest, and further includes the order from the beginning of the subsequent partial content digest. Each marker and each partial content included in such an information set are sent to the playback unit 25. Each time the playback unit 25 receives a marker, the playback unit 25 passes the order included in the currently received marker to the content request processing unit 22. When the digest selection input unit 26 is operated, the content request processing unit 22 acquires the address position of the content being reproduced from the address list using the order received this time, and stores the acquired address position in the content address storage unit 24. Record.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a block configuration of the content transmission device 4 and the content reception device 5 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 11, the content transmission device 4 is different from the content transmission device 1 in FIG. 1 in that it further includes a content search unit 41. Other than this, there is no structural difference between the two content transmission apparatuses 1 and 4, and therefore, in FIG. 11, the same reference numerals are assigned to the components corresponding to the configuration of FIG. 1, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The content search unit 41 searches for and reads one or a plurality of contents stored in the content storage unit 11 based on the input search condition.

  Further, the content receiving device 5 is different from the content receiving device 2 of FIG. 1 in that it further includes a content storage unit 51. In addition to this, there is no structural difference between the two content receiving apparatuses 2 and 5, and therefore, in FIG. 11, components corresponding to those in FIG.

  The content accumulation unit 51 accumulates each content transmitted from the content transmission device 4 through the digital network 3 together with the title assigned thereto. It should be noted here that file synchronization is not always established between the content storage unit 51 and the content storage unit 11 on the content transmission device 1 side. That is, there may be contents that are stored in the content storage unit 11 but are not stored in the content storage unit 51.

  Hereinafter, operations of the content transmission device 4 and the content reception device 5 illustrated in FIG. 11 will be described. Hereinafter, the characteristic operations of the content transmission device 4 and the content reception device 5 will be mainly described. That is, in the operations of the content transmission device 4 and the content reception device 5, those corresponding to the operations of the content transmission device 1 and the content reception device 2 described in the first embodiment are simplified.

  The user of the content receiving device 5 presses the digest request input unit 21 in order to obtain a digest held in the content transmitting device 4. In response to this pressing, the digest request input unit 21 generates a predetermined signal and outputs it to the content request processing unit 22. When receiving the output signal of the digest request input unit 21, the content request processing unit 22 reads the titles of all the content currently stored therein from the content storage unit 51. Next, the content request processing unit 22 generates a digest request including all titles acquired this time, and sends the digest request to the digital network 3 through the communication processing unit 23. Thereafter, the content receiving device 5 waits for a digest to be sent from the content transmitting device 4.

  In the content transmission device 4, when the communication processing unit 12 receives the digest request via the digital network 3, the content search unit 41 performs partial processing on the content to which a title not included in the current digest request is assigned. The content and the corresponding address / playback time list are searched and read from the content storage unit 11. Thereafter, the digest generation unit creates a digest by concatenating the partial contents read by the content search unit 41, and the created one and the address / playback time list read by the content search unit 41 are subjected to communication processing. The information is transmitted to the digital network 3 through the unit 12 as an information set in which both pieces of information are multiplexed. Thereafter, the content transmission device 4 waits for a content distribution request to be sent from the content reception device 5.

  Thereafter, content distribution is performed between the content reception device 5 and the content transmission device 4 as described in the first embodiment. As a result, file synchronization between the content transmission device 4 and the content reception device 5 can be easily performed.

  In the present embodiment, the content transmission device 4 exemplarily transmits a digest for content not stored in the content reception device 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the content transmission device 4 may distribute the content itself not stored in the content reception device 4 to the content reception device 4. In this case, in the content receiving device 4, the playback unit 25 may play back the received content, but the received content may be stored in the content storage unit 51 so that the user can play back the content at a desired time. I do not care.

  In the present embodiment, the content storage unit 51 illustratively stores content and the title of each content. However, the above-described stored information is an example, and the content storage unit 51 may store the content identification number instead of the title. That is, comprehensively speaking, the content storage unit 51 may store content and identification information that can uniquely identify each content.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the content receiving device 5 has transmitted a digest request including a title of unstored content to the content storage unit 51. A digest request may be sent. In this case, in the content transmitting apparatus 4, the content search unit 41 searches the digest and the address / playback time list for content according to the search condition specified by the digest request, and reads out the content from the content storage unit 11.

  The content transmission device and the content reception device according to the present invention can be applied to an in-vehicle device, an AV device, a computer, and the like that can acquire content by a simple operation on the content acquisition side.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a block configuration of a content transmission device 1 and a content reception device 2 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the content transmitter 1 shown in FIG. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the content receiver 2 shown in FIG. The flowchart which shows the detailed process sequence of step B205 shown in FIG. Schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the address / playback time list created in step A101 shown in FIG. Schematic diagram showing a specific example of the address / playback time list created in step A101 shown in FIG. Schematic diagram showing the data structure of an information set sent out by the communication processing unit 12 in step A103 shown in FIG. Schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the address / time code list generated in step B203 shown in FIG. Schematic diagram showing another data structure of the information set sent in step A103 Schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the address list shown in FIG. The schematic diagram which shows the block structure of the content transmitter 4 and the content receiver 5 which concern on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 4 Content transmission device 11 Content storage unit 12 Communication processing unit 13 Distribution processing unit 14 Content list input unit 15 Digest generation unit 41 Content search unit 2, 5 Content reception device 21 Digest request input unit 22 Content request processing unit 23 Communication processing Unit 24 content address storage unit 25 playback unit 26 digest selection input unit 51 content storage unit

Claims (8)

A content transmission device,
A content storage unit for storing a plurality of contents at different address positions;
A digest generation unit that extracts partial content from each of all or part of the content stored in the content storage unit, generates a digest from the extracted partial content, and stores the digest in the content storage unit;
A content transmission apparatus comprising: a communication processing unit that transmits at least a digest generated by the digest generation unit and an address position of a content included in the digest. The content transmission device further includes a content search unit that searches and reads at least partial content stored for the predetermined content from the content storage unit according to a predetermined search condition,
The content transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the digest generation unit generates a digest from the partial content read by the content search unit. The content transmission device receives a digest request including identification information for identifying the content stored in the content reception device prior to distributing the content to a remote content reception device;
The content transmission device according to claim 2, wherein the content search unit searches and reads content other than the content specified by the digest request received this time from the content storage unit.   The content transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication processing unit multiplexes and transmits the digest generated by the digest generation unit and an address list including an address position of a partial content included in the digest. A content receiving device,
Communication for receiving, from a remote content transmission device, a digest including a part of all or a part of the content stored in the content transmission device, and an address list including the address positions of each partial content included in the digest A processing unit;
A playback unit for playing back the digest received by the communication processing unit;
A content selection input unit that outputs a predetermined signal by a user operation;
A content request processing unit that receives an output signal from the content selection input unit and extracts an address position of the partial content being played back at the time of reception of the output signal from the address list received by the communication processing unit; ,
The content receiving apparatus, wherein the communication processing unit further sends out a content distribution request including the address position extracted by the content request processing unit. The content receiving apparatus further includes a content storage unit that stores at least one content,
The communication processing unit sends a digest request including identification information for uniquely specifying all content stored in the content storage unit in order to request a digest of the content stored in the remote content transmission device. The content receiving device according to claim 5. A content transmitting apparatus that stores a plurality of contents at different address positions transmits a digest of the contents to the content receiving apparatus,
A generation step of extracting partial content from each of all or a part of the content stored in the content transmission device, and generating a digest from the extracted partial content;
A digest transmission method comprising: a transmission step of transmitting at least the digest generated in the generation step and the address position of the content included in the digest. A method in which a content receiving device requests distribution of content stored in a content transmitting device,
A receiving step of receiving a digest including a part of all or a part of the contents stored in the content transmitting apparatus and an address list including address positions of partial contents included in the digest from the content transmitting apparatus; When,
A reproduction step of reproducing the digest received in the reception step;
Address position extraction for extracting the address position of the partial content reproduced at the time of operation of the user interface from the address list received in the reception step in response to the operation of the user interface of the content receiving device Steps,
A content distribution request method comprising: a content distribution request including the address position extracted in the address position extraction step.

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