JP2005136775A - Tv-phone device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a TV-phone device which stores image and voice data received from a connected TV phone, and transmits desired image and/or voice data to the connected TV phone. <P>SOLUTION: The TV-phone device comprises: a public communication network connecting means 1 which is connected to a public communication network; a TV-phone protocol processing means 2; a command analyzing means 3; an image decoding means 6 and voice decoding means 7 and 8 which are connected to the TV-phone protocol processing means 2; encoding means 9 and 10 which are connected to the decoding means 6 to 8; a DTMF sound detecting means 5 which detects DTMF sound from voice data decoded by the voice decoding means 7 and outputs it to the command analyzing means 3; a media storing means 12 which multiplexes the image and voice data from the encoding means 9 and 10 by a media multiplexing means 11 and stores them; and a media separating means 13 which separates the image and voice data output by the media storing means 12 and outputs them to the decoding means 6 and 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a videophone (hereinafter referred to as TV phone) apparatus, and more particularly to a data editing and transmission / reception technique in a TV phone.

  ISDN (Integrated services Digital Network) system subscriber line (or fixed) telephone and W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) system mobile phone service, etc. In other words, a TV phone terminal that can transmit and receive both video (or image) information is realized. That is, a subject video such as a person or a landscape is photographed by a camera built in these telephones, and transmitted / received together with voice information to / from the other party's telephone.

The prior art in such a technical field is disclosed in various documents. For example, a communication device, a communication information recording method, a response information reproduction / communication information recording method, and a recording medium that use a recording device such as a VTR (Video Tape Recorder) to record a video signal such as a TV phone are disclosed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). There is disclosed a TV phone apparatus that can start storing at an arbitrary timing from a transmitting side and store audio and video signals in a small-capacity storage circuit when an incoming call response is made in the receiving side TV telephone apparatus. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2). In addition, receiving means for receiving a mixed signal of a video signal and an audio signal transmitted via a line, a separating means for separating the video signal and the audio signal, and a memory for recording the separated video and audio signals in respective predetermined locations A storage and exchange system for video and audio signals using a TV phone including means is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 3).
JP 2000-92086 A (page 5, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-62399 (page 2-3, FIG. 1) JP-A-8-23529 (page 2-3, FIG. 1)

  However, since the penetration rate of TV phone terminals is low at the present time, the number of parties with whom a call is made is limited, and the cases of using TV phone terminals are limited. Also, in normal calling applications, it is necessary to use a headset / earphone microphone etc. for exchanging audio while watching the video, or to increase the volume of the audio so that you can hear the audio even if you are far away from your ear. There is. However, especially in the case of a mobile phone terminal, when it is used outdoors, there are limited cases where it can be actually used due to ambient noise or the like. On the other hand, there are mobile terminals with a video recording function such as camera-equipped mobile phone terminals. However, when recording video with such a camera-equipped mobile phone terminal, the amount of data required for recording is large, and the memory capacity that can be installed in a compact camera-equipped mobile phone terminal is limited. There is a problem that image recording for a long time cannot be performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems and disadvantages of the prior art, and provides a TV phone device capable of easily and quickly transmitting and receiving appropriate video data according to a connected video phone. For the purpose.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the videophone apparatus according to the present invention employs the following characteristic configuration.

(1) Public communication network connection means for processing incoming videophone calls from the public communication network, videophone protocol processing means for processing the videophone communication protocol, and commands for controlling operation by analyzing commands from the destination videophone In a videophone device including analysis means,
Voice decoding means for decoding voice data from the videophone protocol processing means; DTMF sound detection means for detecting DTMF sound from the voice decoding means and outputting the detected DTMF sound to the command analysis means; and the command analysis A video phone comprising: command screen generating means for generating a command screen under the control of the means; and video encoding means for encoding video data from the command screen generating means for communication and outputting the same to the video phone protocol processing means. apparatus.

  (2) The videophone device according to (1), wherein the command screen generation unit synthesizes a menu screen, a video data list, and the like as a still image.

  (3) The videophone apparatus according to (1) or (2), further comprising: subscriber information storage means for storing a user's user number and telephone number as a database, and for exchanging data with the command analysis means.

  (4) Video decoding means provided between the videophone protocol processing means and the video encoding means, audio encoding means for encoding audio data from the audio decoding means for communication, the video and audio The television set forth in (1), (2) or (3), comprising media multiplexing means for multiplexing the output data of the encoding means and media storage means for storing the data multiplexed by the media multiplexing means Telephone device.

  (5) The videophone apparatus according to (4), further comprising media separating means for separating video and audio data from data read from the media storage means and outputting the separated data to the video and audio decoding means.

  (6) Controlling the start and end timing of the encoding of the video and audio encoding means and the multiplexing of the media multiplexing means to cut out and edit only the necessary part from the video stored in the media storage means 5. The videophone device according to 5).

  (7) The videophone apparatus according to any one of (1) to (6), further including an HTTP protocol processing unit that processes video or audio data stored in the media storage unit in response to a request from the Internet.

  (8) The videophone apparatus according to any one of (1) to (7), further including mail transmission means for attaching the moving image data stored in the media storage means to an electronic mail and transmitting it to the Internet.

  The videophone device of the present invention has the following practical effects. In other words, when receiving a command from a TV phone terminal using DTMF sound, an explanation image of the command is transmitted using the video portion of the TV phone, so that the user is more efficient than an automatic response based on voice-only guidance. Can be operated well. Also, by recording video / audio received from the TV phone terminal as a file, the TV phone terminal can be used as a video camera. In particular, long-time and large-capacity video recording that cannot be recorded in the terminal is possible. Furthermore, video / audio recorded as a file can be provided as a Web content to a terminal connected to the Internet, and can be transmitted as an e-mail to a registered e-mail address. In addition, it is possible to cut out and save an arbitrary playback section from video / audio recorded as a file, so that only a necessary part of video can be provided to a terminal capable of receiving video from the Internet. In particular, the recorded video can be provided even when the recording capacity of the memory of the partner terminal is limited.

  Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of a preferred embodiment of the TV telephone apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the main configuration of a preferred embodiment of a TV telephone apparatus according to the present invention. This TV telephone apparatus includes a public communication network connection means 1, a TV telephone protocol processing means 2, a command analysis means 3, a subscriber information storage means 4, a DTMF (Dial Tone Multi Frequency) sound detection means 5, a video decoding means 6, Audio decoding means 7, 8, video encoding means 9, audio encoding means 10, media multiplexing means 11, media storage means 12, media separating means 13, command screen generating means 14, HTTP protocol processing means 15, mail transmission The means 16 and the Internet connection means 17 are comprised.

  Here, the public communication network connection means 1 makes it possible to process an incoming videophone call from a public communication network that can service a videophone communication such as ISDN. The TV phone protocol processing means 2 processes a TV phone communication protocol. Command analysis means 3 controls the operation of the apparatus by analyzing commands from the videophone of the communication destination. The subscriber information storage means 4 stores the user number, telephone number and e-mail address of the user as a database. The DTMF sound detection means 5 detects a DTMF signal (push tone) from the audio data. The video decoding means 6 decodes the video data encoded for communication. The audio decoding means 7 and 8 decode the audio data encoded for communication. The video encoding means 9 encodes video data for communication. The voice encoding unit 10 encodes voice data for communication.

  The media multiplexing means 11 multiplexes the encoded video and audio data into a single data stream. The media storage unit 12 permanently stores the multiplexed video and audio data as files. The media separation means 13 separates the multiplexed data into video and audio. The command screen generation unit 14 combines the menu screen and the video data list as a still image. The HTTP protocol processing means 15 processes the HTTP protocol requested from the Internet. The mail transmission means 16 transmits the moving image data attached to the e-mail. Internet connection means 17 connects to the Internet.

  Next, a broken line connecting each means constituting the TV telephone apparatus of FIG. 1 indicates a control signal. On the other hand, a solid line indicates a data signal. Hereinafter, the connection relation of each means 1 to 17 constituting the TV phone loading will be described.

  When receiving a call from the public communication network, a control signal for notifying the telephone number of the connection destination (or the other party) is connected from the public communication network connection means 1 to the command analysis means 3. On the other hand, a control signal instructing disconnection of communication is connected from the command analysis means 3 to the public communication network connection means 1. The public communication network connection means 1 and the TV telephone protocol processing means 2 are connected by an upstream / downstream communication data signal with the public communication network. A control signal for searching the user database by telephone number is connected from the command analysis means 3 to the subscriber information storage means 4. A data signal for passing a search result is connected from the subscriber information storage means 4 to the command analysis means 3.

  From the command analysis unit 3 to the video encoding unit 9, the audio encoding unit 10, the media multiplexing unit 11, the media storage unit 12, the command screen generation unit 14, and the mail transmission unit 16, a control signal for instructing an operation is connected. The Downstream video data and audio data signals received by the TV phone from the TV phone protocol processing means 2 are output. The video data is connected to the video decoding means 6 and the media multiplexing means 11. The audio data is connected to the audio decoding unit 7 and the media multiplexing unit 11. The video data input to the video decoding means 6 is decoded and connected to the video encoding means 9 for encoding. The encoded video data is connected to the media multiplexing means 11. On the other hand, the audio data input to the audio decoding means 7 is decoded and connected to the audio decoding means 10 for encoding. The encoded audio data is connected to the media multiplexing means 11. The audio data decoded by the audio decoding means 7 is also connected to the DTMF sound detection means 5. The media multiplexing means 11 multiplexes the video / audio data for file storage. The multiplexed data is connected to the media storage means 12.

  The media multiplexing means 11 is connected to the command screen generating means 14 using the stored file information as a data signal. A data signal for outputting video / audio data stored in the media storage unit 12 is connected to the media separation unit 13, the HTTP protocol processing unit 15, and the mail transmission unit 16. The media separation unit 13 separates the video / audio data output from the media storage unit 12 into video data and audio data. The video data is connected to the TV phone protocol processing means 2 and the video decoding means 6. The audio data and video data are connected to the TV phone protocol processing means 2 and the audio decoding means 8. The HTTP protocol processing unit 15 is connected to the Internet connection unit 17, receives a data acquisition request based on the HTTP protocol requested from the Internet, and outputs corresponding video / audio data to the Internet connection unit 17. The mail transmission means 16 is connected to the Internet connection means 17 and transmits mail to a designated destination.

Next, the operation of the videophone apparatus according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is performed for each of user identification and command processing, received data recording processing, video list display processing, cut-out editing processing, Web publication processing, and mail transmission processing. Each process will be described with reference to FIGS.

[User identification and command processing]
FIG. 4 shows transition of the TV phone screen transmitted from the TV phone device of the present invention to the TV phone terminal connected to the TV phone device of the present invention. The user of the TV phone terminal performs various operations by operating the dial key of the TV phone terminal while watching this screen and transmitting the DTMF sound (push tone) to the TV phone device of the present invention. . The overall operation of the videophone apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows, in bold lines, basic signals related to the above-described screen transition control when a TV phone terminal is connected from the public communication network. When an incoming call is received from the TV telephone terminal to the TV telephone apparatus of the present invention via the public communication network, the incoming call notification 5-1 is notified from the public communication network connection means 1 to the command analysis means 3. The incoming call notification 5-1 includes the telephone number information of the originating TV phone terminal. The command analysis unit 3 transmits a subscription search request 5-2 to the subscriber information storage unit 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the subscriber information storage means 4 stores subscriber information composed of a user number 21, a telephone number 22, and a mail address 23 for each user. If there is information corresponding to the caller telephone number, it is transmitted to the command analysis means 3 as a search result 5-3. If the subscriber information is not found, a message “no subscriber information” is transmitted as the search result 5-3.

  When the subscriber information is found, the command analysis means 3 transmits the menu screen 4-3 as a TV phone image. When the subscriber information is not found, the screen 4-2 is transmitted as a TV phone image. If the TV telephone communication is not disconnected even after a predetermined time has elapsed on the screen 4-2, the command analysis means 3 sends a disconnect request 5-4. Therefore, the TV phone protocol processing means 2 performs a call disconnection process and returns to the connection waiting state 4-1.

  The screen transmission is executed according to the following procedure. The command analysis unit 3 transmits a screen generation request 5-10 to the command screen generation unit 14 and notifies the TV phone terminal of the type of screen to be transmitted. The screen generation request 5-10 generates the requested screen as a still image and transmits it to the video encoding means 9 as screen data 5-11. The video encoding means 9 generates encoded video data for videophone transmission from a still image and transmits it to the videophone protocol processing means 2 as encoded video data 5-12. The encoded video data is data subjected to compression for data capacity suitable for communication and encoding for error correction, and uses a standard such as MPEG4. The TV phone protocol processing means 2 transmits this as communication data 5-5 to the TV phone terminal via the public communication network connection means 1.

  Command reception by the DTMF sound from the TV phone terminal is executed in the following procedure. When push tone data from the TV phone terminal is transmitted as a control command on the TV phone protocol, it is transmitted from the TV phone protocol processing means 2 to the command analysis means 3 as a control command 5-6. When push tone data from a TV phone terminal is transmitted as audio, the received data is separated into video data and audio data by the TV phone protocol processing means 2, and then decoded as encoded audio data 5-7. Is transmitted to the converting means 7, decoded by the sound decoding means 7, and transmitted to the DTMF sound detecting means 5 as sound data 5-8. When the DTMF sound detection means 5 detects the signal of the frequency of the push tone from the voice data, it transmits it to the command analysis means 3 as a control command 5-9. Encoded audio data is data subjected to compression for data capacity suitable for communication and encoding for error correction, and uses standards such as ADPCM and 3G AMR.

[Received data recording]
When 1 is input by push tone from the TV phone terminal in the service menu display 4-3 in FIG. 4, the command analysis means 3 shifts the screen to the recording menu 4-4 and further inputs “1”. The video / audio transmitted from the TV phone terminal is recorded in a file on the media storage unit 12. Video / audio recording is realized by processing data along a path indicated by a thick line in FIG. When the start of recording is instructed by the push tone, the command analysis means 3 sends the recording start requests 6-1, 6- 6 to the video encoding means 9, the audio encoding means 10, the media multiplexing means 11, and the media storage means 12, respectively. 2, 6-3 and 6-4 are transmitted.

Data transmitted from the TV phone terminal is sent by the TV phone protocol processing means 2 to the video decoding means 6 and the audio decoding means 7 as encoded video data 6-5 and encoded audio data 6-8, respectively. The video data 6-6 and the audio data 6-9 are decoded. The video encoding unit 9 and the audio encoding unit 10 re-encode the video data 6-6 and the audio data 6-9 when instructed by the command analysis unit 3, and the encoded video data 6-7 and the encoding are performed. Output as audio data 6-10. Then, it is multiplexed into one continuous data stream by the media multiplexing means 11 (multiplexed video / audio data 6-11) and recorded in the media storage means 12.

  Next, FIG. 3 shows an example of the hierarchical structure of the data storage area in the media recording means 12. In the embodiment of the TV telephone apparatus according to the present invention, a first hierarchy is created for each of user numbers 0, 1, 2,..., N stored in the subscriber information storage means 4. As the second hierarchy, two areas for storing recording data and for Web publication are prepared. The multiplexed video / audio data is stored in a recording area corresponding to the user number retrieved from the telephone number of the connected TV telephone terminal. As the recording data storage area of the media storage means 12, a hard disk drive (HDD) or an electronic disk device is used.

  When a recording stop is instructed from the videophone terminal, the end of the recording process is instructed to the video encoding means 9, the audio encoding means 10, the media multiplexing means 11 and the media storage means 12 in the same manner as at the start. The command analysis means 3 displays the recording end screen 4-6 for a certain time (for example, 5 seconds), and then transitions to the service menu screen 4-3.

[Video list display]
When “2” is input by push tone from the TV phone terminal while the service menu 4-3 in FIG. 4 is being displayed, the command analysis means 3 makes a transition to the video list screen 4-4 and causes the media storage means 12 to Displays a list of stored video data. When the video list does not fit on one screen, the screen is shifted to the next screen / previous screen by push tones 8 and 9 and displayed using a plurality of screens. The display of the video list is realized by processing data along a route indicated by a thick line in FIG.

  The command analysis unit 3 requests the media storage unit 12 for a list of recorded data of user numbers corresponding to the connected TV telephone terminals. (Recording data list request 7-1) The media storage means 12 sends a command analysis means to the file name and recording time list 7-2 of the file existing in the designated "" user number "-for recording" storage area. 3 to send. The command analysis unit 3 transmits a recording time list 7-3 from the received list to the command screen generation unit 14. Then, the command screen generation means 14 creates a video list screen based on this list. When any of the recorded videos is selected by push tone while the video list screen 4-7 is displayed, the command analysis unit 3 transmits a video data operation screen creation request to the command screen generation unit 14. And the command screen production | generation means 14 produces the video data operation screen 4-8 of FIG.

[Cut and edit]
When “1” is input with a push tone from the TV phone terminal while the video data operation screen 4-8 in FIG. 4 is being displayed, the command analysis means 3 changes the screen to the video cutout start screen 4-9, Playback of the file selected in the video list 4-7 is started (cutout start waiting screen 4-10). When “1” is input with a push tone from the TV phone terminal, the video / audio reproduced at that time is encoded again and starts to be stored in the media storage means 12 (video clipping screen 4-11). When “1” is input again with a push tone from the TV telephone terminal, the video / audio re-encoding and storage in the media storage unit 12 are terminated at that time, and after the cut-out completion notification screen 4-12, The screen returns to the video data operation screen 4-8. With this operation, an arbitrary part is cut out from the selected moving image file to generate a new moving image file. The cut-out of the moving image file is realized by processing data along a route indicated by a thick line in FIG.

  The command analysis unit 3 transmits an output start instruction 8-1 to the media separation unit 13 of the designated moving image file to the media storage unit 12. The media storage unit 12 outputs video data 8-2. The media separation means 13 separates the data into video data 8-3 and audio data 8-4, and outputs the data to the TV phone protocol processing means 2, the video decoding means 6 and the audio decoding means 8. The data output to the TV phone protocol processing means 2 is transmitted as TV phone data to the connected TV phone terminal, and video / audio is reproduced on the TV phone terminal. The video decoding means 6 performs a decoding process on the input video data, and outputs it to the video encoding means 9 as video data 8-5. Then, the voice decoding unit 8 performs a decoding process on the input voice data, and outputs it to the voice encoding unit 10 as the voice data 8-6.

  When the video analysis terminal is instructed to start cutout, the command analysis means 3 sends a recording start request 8-7, 8 to the video encoding means 9, audio encoding means 10, media multiplexing means 11, and media storage means 12, respectively. -8, 8-9 and 8-10 are transmitted. Thereafter, the encoded video data 8-11 and the encoded audio data 8-12 are multiplexed for recording by the media multiplexing means 11 (multiplexed video / audio data 8) in the same manner as the received data recording from the TV phone terminal. -13), stored as a file in the media storage means 12;

  The command analysis means 3 sends a recording stop request to the video encoding means 9, the audio encoding means 10, the media multiplexing means 11 and the media storage means 12, respectively, when the end of the cut-out is instructed from the videophone terminal. The process ends. In the cut-out process, the audio data is decoded using the audio decoding unit 8 without using the audio decoding unit 7. When the voice data received from the TV telephone terminal includes a push tone signal, the voice decoding means 7 transmits the push tone signal to the DMTF sound detection means 5 and is used for accepting an operation from the TV telephone terminal. . That is, two voice decoding means 7 and 8 are provided as an example in order to clearly indicate that two voice data decoding processes are required at the same time for one connection of the other party's videophone terminal.

[Web publication]
When “2” is input by push tone from the TV phone terminal while the video data operation screen 4-8 in FIG. 4 is being displayed, the command analysis means 3 transitions to the Web publishing processing completion screen 4-13, and the constant After a time (for example, 5 seconds), the screen returns to the video data operation screen 4-8. By this operation, the designated moving image file can be acquired via the HTTP protocol via the Internet. This processing is realized by processing data along the route indicated by the thick line in FIG.

  The command analysis unit 3 transmits a Web publication request 9-1 to the media storage unit 12. The media storage unit 12 copies the designated moving image file from the designated user recording area to the Web publishing area. The media storage unit 12 is connected to the HTTP protocol processing unit 15, and the HTTP protocol processing unit 15 sends a file acquisition request 9-2 to the media storage unit 12 for a file requested to be acquired by the HTTP protocol via the Internet. Send. The media storage unit 12 transmits the file data 9-3 to the HTTP protocol processing unit 15 when the requested file exists in the Web publishing area.

[send e-mail]
When “3” is input by push tone from the TV phone terminal while the video data operation screen 4-8 in FIG. 4 is being displayed, the command analysis means 3 transitions to the mail transmission processing completion screen 4-14, and is constant. After a time, the screen returns to the video data operation screen 4-8. By this operation, the designated moving image file is transmitted as an e-mail to the e-mail address stored in the subscriber information storage unit 4. This processing is realized by processing data along the route indicated by the thick line in FIG.

  The command analysis unit 3 transmits a mail transmission request 10-1 including a file name to be transmitted and a transmission destination address to the mail transmission unit 16. The mail transmission unit 16 transmits a file read request 10-2 to the media storage unit 12 for the file having the designated file name. Then, the media storage unit 12 transmits the contents of the designated file to the mail transmission unit 16 as file data 10-3. The mail transmission means 16 formats the received data as an e-mail attachment file, and sends it to the designated transmission destination address via the Internet connection means 17 (mail data 10-4).

  The configuration and operation of the preferred embodiment of the TV telephone device according to the present invention have been described in detail above. However, it should be noted that such examples are merely illustrative of the invention and do not limit the invention in any way. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that various modifications and changes can be made according to a specific application without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the main structures of the suitable Example of the video telephone apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of subscriber information. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the hierarchical structure of the data storage area in the media storage means in FIG. FIG. 2 is a state transition diagram of a TV phone screen transmitted from the TV phone device of FIG. 1 to a connected TV phone terminal. It is a figure which shows the flow of a control signal and data when a TV telephone terminal is connected from a public communication network. It is a figure which shows the flow of the control signal at the time of a video and audio | voice recording process, and data. It is a figure which shows the flow of the control signal at the time of an image | video list display process, and data. It is a figure which shows the control signal at the time of the cut-out process of a moving image file, and the flow of data. It is a figure which shows the flow of the control signal and data at the time of Web publication processing. It is a figure which shows the flow of the control signal at the time of mail transmission, and data.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Public communication network connection means 2 TV telephone protocol processing means 3 Command analysis means 4 Subscriber information storage means 5 DTMF sound detection means 6 Video decoding means 7, 8 Audio decoding means 9 Video encoding means 10 Audio encoding means 11 Media multiplexing means 12 Media storage means 13 Media separation means 14 Command screen generation means 15 HTTP protocol processing means 16 Mail transmission means 17 Internet connection means

Claims (8)

Public communication network connection means for processing incoming videophone calls from the public communication network, videophone protocol processing means for processing the videophone communication protocol, and command analysis means for analyzing and controlling operations from the communication destination videophone Including videophone devices,
Voice decoding means for decoding voice data from the videophone protocol processing means; DTMF sound detection means for detecting DTMF sound from the voice decoding means and outputting the detected DTMF sound to the command analysis means; and the command analysis Command screen generating means for generating a command screen under the control of the means, and video encoding means for encoding video data from the command screen generating means for communication and outputting to the videophone protocol processing means. A featured videophone device.   2. The videophone apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the command screen generating unit synthesizes a menu screen, a video data list, and the like as a still image.   3. The videophone apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising subscriber information storage means for storing a user number and a telephone number of a user as a database, and for exchanging data with the command analysis means.   Video decoding means provided between the videophone protocol processing means and the video encoding means, audio encoding means for encoding audio data from the audio decoding means for communication, the video and audio encoding means 4. The videophone apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising: media multiplexing means for multiplexing the output data of said medium; and media storage means for storing data multiplexed by said media multiplexing means.   5. The videophone apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising media separation means for separating video and audio data from data read from the media storage means and outputting the separated video and audio data to the video and audio decoding means.   6. The video image and audio encoding means and the multiplexing start and end timings of the media multiplexing means are controlled to cut out and edit only necessary portions from the video stored in the media storage means. Video phone equipment.   7. The videophone apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising HTTP protocol processing means for processing video or audio data stored in the media storage means in response to a request from the Internet.   8. The videophone apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a mail transmission unit that attaches the moving image data stored in the media storage unit to an e-mail and transmits the e-mail to the Internet.

Images