JP2005151445A - Contents reproducing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To raise convenience by recording a plurality of kinds of resume information in response to contents. <P>SOLUTION: A control means 102 acquires time information at the point of time when content reproduction is interrupted from a timer means 104 and allows the information to be included in resume information indicating the reproduction start position of the contents. The resume information is recorded in a recording medium in one-to-one correspondence to the contents by controlling a recording/reading means 101. When the contents are reproduced, the control means 102 reads the resume information from the recording medium via the recording/reading means 101 and determines a contents reproduction position, based on the time information included in the resume information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a content playback apparatus, a content playback method, and a content management method that read and play back content recorded on a recording medium.

  In recent years, recording media such as rewritable magneto-optical disks and memory cards have become widespread as recording media for recording contents such as moving images and audio (audio). When reproducing the content recorded on such a recording medium, it is possible to write the address or the like of the location where the reproduction is interrupted on the recording medium. Therefore, even when the recording medium is once taken out, when the content recorded on the recording medium is reproduced again, it is possible to perform so-called resume reproduction in which the reproduction is resumed from the point where the previous reproduction was interrupted.

  A data management structure in such a recording medium is described in Patent Document 1. FIG. 18 is a directory structure diagram of content and management information files in the prior art. The configuration includes one management directory MGR_INFO and a plurality of content directories PRGxxx (x is a hexadecimal number). The management directory MGR_INFO includes a file such as a management data file MGR_DATA for recording management information of the entire program in the file, and the management data file MGR_DATA includes position information (resume information) when reproduction is interrupted. Is configured to record.

In the program directory PRGxxx, the content is MOVnnn. It is recorded as MOD (n is a hexadecimal number). Further, information such as entry points regarding each content is stored in the media object information file MOVnnn. Recorded as MOI. Here, the entry point is information for searching for data at a specific time when the content is randomly accessed. With the configuration as described above, it is possible to perform reproduction from the interruption position by searching the interruption position indicated by the resume information from the content and reading it from the recording medium.
However, the management structure of Patent Document 1 requires a management file update process every time one content file is added, which tends to increase the amount of processing for managing the content, such as a PDA or a mobile phone. This is a problem in mounting on a portable terminal.
A data management structure for solving this problem has been proposed. The configuration is shown in FIG. In FIG. 19, content MOLnnnn of ASF (Advanced System Format) format is included in the content directory PRLxxx (x is a hexadecimal number). The ASF is included.
JP 2002-10215 A

  In the prior art, since it was not common to record a long-time content due to the limitation of the recording capacity of the recording medium, the resume information indicating the position information when the reproduction of the content is interrupted is stored for each content. It was not performed to record and use one-to-one correspondence.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve user convenience by recording a plurality of resume information corresponding to contents. The object is to provide a content reproduction apparatus, a content reproduction method, and a content management method.

  A content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention is a content reproduction apparatus that reproduces content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format, and timer means for counting time information at regular intervals; Resume information management means for managing resume information indicating the playback start position of the content, and the resume information management means obtains time information at the time when the playback of the content is interrupted from the timer means to obtain the resume information. And the resume information is recorded on the recording medium in one-to-one correspondence with the content.

  A content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention is a content reproduction apparatus that reproduces content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format, and format interpretation means for interpreting the format of the content; Resume information interpretation means for reading and interpreting resume information associated with the content on a one-to-one basis from the recording medium, and the resume information interpretation means is a time indicating a reproduction start time of the content from the resume information The information is acquired, and the format interpreter determines a playback start position of the content based on the time information.

  A content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention is a content reproduction apparatus that reproduces content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format, and has a one-to-one correspondence with the content. Resume information interpreting means for reading and interpreting information from the recording medium, the resume information interpreting means acquires time information indicating an update date and time of the resume information, and obtains heading information of the content based on the time information The display is arranged in a predetermined order.

  A content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention is a content reproduction apparatus that reproduces content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format, and format interpretation means for interpreting the format of the content; Resume information interpreting means for reading and interpreting resume information associated with the content one-to-one from the recording medium, and the resume information interpreting means sets a playback time to start playback of the content from the resume information. And the format interpreter determines a first reproduction start position and a second reproduction start position of the content based on the time information, and the second reproduction start position and the first reproduction start position are determined. The outline of the content between the playback start position and the playback start position is played back.

  A content playback apparatus according to the present invention is a content playback apparatus that plays back content recorded on a recording medium with moving image data and / or audio data in a predetermined format, for managing the content recorded on the recording medium. The content management means is characterized in that when the content is copied, moved or deleted, the resume information associated with the content in a one-to-one relationship is copied, moved or deleted.

  The content playback method according to the present invention is a content playback method for playing back content recorded on a recording medium with moving image data and / or audio data in a predetermined format, wherein time information at the time when playback of the content is interrupted is obtained. And obtaining resume information indicating the playback start position of the content, and recording the resume information in a one-to-one correspondence with the content on the recording medium.

  A content reproduction method according to the present invention is a content reproduction method for reproducing content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format, wherein the resume is associated with the content one-to-one. Reading information from the recording medium, interpreting the information, obtaining time information indicating the reproduction start time of the content, and determining a reproduction start position of the content from the content based on the time information. It is characterized by.

  A content reproduction method according to the present invention is a content reproduction method for reproducing content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format, wherein the resume is associated with the content one-to-one. Reading information from the recording medium, interpreting the information, obtaining time information indicating the update date and time of the resume information, and displaying the content header information in a predetermined order based on the time information. It is characterized by providing.

  A content reproduction method according to the present invention is a content reproduction method for reproducing content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format, wherein the resume is associated with the content one-to-one. Resume information interpretation step of reading information from the recording medium and interpreting it to obtain time information indicating a playback time to start playback of the content; interpreting the format of the content; and the content based on the time information A format interpretation step for determining a first reproduction start position and a second reproduction start position, and reproducing an outline of the content between the second reproduction start position and the first reproduction start position. It is characterized by.

  The content management method according to the present invention is a content management method for managing content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format, and when the content is copied, moved or deleted, The resume information associated with the content one-to-one is copied, moved, or deleted.

  According to the present invention constituted by each technical means as described above, resume information indicating a location where the reproduction of the content is interrupted is recorded on a recording medium in a one-to-one correspondence with the content, and the resume information is recorded in the resume information. Therefore, when the same content is reproduced next time, the reproduction can be resumed from the point where the reproduction is interrupted. As a result, the user does not have to repeatedly view the portion once viewed, and the convenience of the user can be improved.

  Also, according to the present invention, since the content header information is displayed in a predetermined order based on the time information indicating the update date and time of the resume information, the content can be displayed as a list and the content whose reproduction has been interrupted can be selected quickly. .

  Further, according to the present invention, since the outline of the content between the second reproduction start position and the first reproduction start position is reproduced based on the time information of the resume information, from the point where the reproduction of the content is interrupted, When the reproduction is resumed, the data reproduced before the reproduction start time is reproduced so that the outline can be grasped, so that the contents reproduced last time can be easily looked back.

Further, according to the present invention, the content management means duplicates, moves, or deletes the resume information associated with the content in a one-to-one relationship when the content is copied, moved, or deleted. Since the user himself / herself does not need to manage resume information, the convenience of the user can be improved.
In addition, since the amount of processing required for content management can be reduced, it can be implemented on terminals with low processing capabilities such as mobile terminals. After viewing the content recorded on a stationary terminal halfway, Resume information can be used in cooperation between devices, as seen on the terminal, and user convenience can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a directory structure based on a data management structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is used when recording content on a recording medium. Compared to FIG. 19, the content directory PRLxxx (x is a hexadecimal number) contains the content MOLnnnn. In addition to ASF, MOLnnnn., Which is a file for recording resume information of the content. SMI is included. In FIG. 1, ASF is taken as an example of the content format, but other formats such as MP4 may be used. The content directory may include still images and text other than those shown in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the ASF. The ASF includes a header part 10, a data part 11, and an index part 12. Information related to the content such as the playback time of the content, information related to moving image data and audio data stored in the data portion 11, and the like are recorded in the header portion 10. The data unit 11 is composed of data units called packets having a predetermined data size. Moving image data, audio data, and the like are divided into these packets and recorded. The data size of the packet and the total number of packets included in the data part 11 are also recorded in the header part 10. A packet number starting from 0 is assigned to each packet. In the index part 12, entry point information in which the reproduction time is associated with the packet number is recorded in order to indicate which packet contains data of a specific reproduction time for random access.

Next, a content reproduction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the content reproduction apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 3, the content reproduction apparatus 100 includes a recording / reading unit 101, a control unit 102, a format interpretation unit 103, a timer unit 104, an audio decoding unit 105, and a moving image decoding unit 106.

  Although not shown in FIG. 3, a recording medium is connected to the recording / reading unit 101, an audio output unit such as a speaker is provided at the end of the audio decoding unit 105, and a display such as a display is provided at the end of the moving image decoding unit 106. Means are connected. Note that the recording medium may be of a type that is detachably connected to the content reproduction apparatus 100, a type that is fixedly connected, or a plurality of both types of recording media may be connected.

The recording / reading means 101 is means for accessing a recording medium and reading / writing a file.
The control means 102 is means for controlling each means in accordance with an input command. FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of the control means 102. The control unit 102 includes a command processing unit 201, a resume information management unit 202 that creates and deletes resume information, a resume information interpretation unit 203 that interprets resume information, and management information for storing management information described later. The storage unit 204 includes a setting storage unit 205 that stores a setting value of an internal flag referred to during the process of reproducing the content. Here, the resume information management unit 202 records and deletes the resume information on the recording medium via the recording / reading unit 101. The resume information interpretation unit 203 also reads the resume information from the recording medium via the recording / reading unit 101 and performs processing.

  The format interpretation unit 103 is a unit that interprets the content format and extracts moving image data, audio data, and the like constituting the content. As the content format, ASF, MP4, MPEG-2 system standard, or the like can be used. The format interpreter 103 controls the audio decoder 105 and the moving picture decoder 106.

  The timer means 104 is means for holding time information and counting up the time information at regular intervals in synchronization with a clock input by a clock generator (not shown). It is assumed that the time information has a time resolution of at least millisecond accuracy.

  The voice decoding means 105 is means for decoding voice encoded data that has been encoded by a predetermined method. In general, when audio data is transmitted or recorded, encoding is performed to compress the data amount. The encoding methods include MP3 (MPEG1 Audio Layer-3), AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), AC3 (Audio Code number 3), G. A method such as 726 can be used.

  The moving image decoding unit 106 is a unit that decodes moving image data encoded by a predetermined method. In general, when moving image data is transmitted or recorded, encoding is performed to compress the data amount. The encoding methods include MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, and so on. H.264, DV compression, Motion-JPEG, and the like can be used.

  The operation of the content reproduction apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, the content reproduction apparatus 100 has a moving image mode for reproducing moving image content, an audio mode for reproducing audio content, and a still image mode for reproducing still image content. .

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow of processing in the moving image mode in the content reproduction apparatus 100.
First, in step ST100, the moving image contents recorded on the recording medium are displayed on the display screen so as to be listed (hereinafter referred to as list display). As a list display method, representative images representing the contents of moving image content may be displayed, or title information and file names may be displayed.

  After displaying the list, the control means 102 waits until a command is input. Here, when any command is input to the command processing unit 201 by a user operation or the like, the process proceeds to step ST101.

  In step ST101, it is determined whether a start command is received. If a start command is received, the process proceeds to step ST103 in order to perform a content reproduction process. In the case of other commands, the process proceeds to step ST102 in order to process other commands.

  In step ST102, it is determined whether a setting command has been received. If a setting command is received, the process proceeds to ST105 in order to set an internal flag. In other cases, the process proceeds to ST104 in order to process another command.

  In step ST104, it is determined whether a mode command has been received. When the mode command is received, the operation mode is changed to the operation mode specified by the mode command, and the moving image mode is terminated. In other cases, the process returns to step ST101 and again enters a command input waiting state.

  In step ST105, a resume execution flag which is an internal flag indicating whether or not to perform resume reproduction is set by a setting command. The command processing unit 201 receives the set value of the resume execution flag and stores it in the setting storage unit 205.

Next, the content reproduction process shown in step ST103 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the control means 102 determines whether or not there is resume information corresponding to the moving image content designated by the start command (step ST200). If it is determined that there is resume information, the process proceeds to step ST201. Since normal playback is executed when there is no resume information, the process proceeds to step ST203. If resume playback is not executed even if resume information exists, the process proceeds to step ST203 via step ST201. Here, the operation in the case of performing normal reproduction on the assumption that there is no resume information corresponding to moving image content will be described.

  In normal playback, the control unit 102 instructs the format interpretation unit 103 to start playback of moving image content with a playback start time of 0 seconds. The flow of normal playback processing is shown in FIG. The format interpreter 103 reads the header part 10 of the moving image content and analyzes the header information (step ST300). As a result of the analysis, control information is obtained from the header information. Based on this control information, parameters are set for the audio decoding means 105 and the moving picture decoding means 106 (step ST301). Here, the parameters include information such as a moving picture coding scheme and resolution, a voice coding scheme, a bit rate, and a sampling period. When the parameter setting is completed, the format interpretation unit 103 initializes the timer unit 104 and further starts the timer unit 104 (step ST302). The timer means 104 counts time information at regular intervals.

  Next, the format interpreter 103 sequentially reads out the moving image content from the recording medium, separates the multiplexed moving image encoded data and the audio encoded data, and sends them to the moving image decoder 106 and the audio decoder 105, respectively. Input (step ST303). Here, reproduction time information is attached to each of the moving image encoded data and the audio encoded data.

  In step ST304, the moving picture decoding means 106 decodes the moving picture encoded data and refers to the time information counted by the timer means 104, and the moving picture after decoding at the reproduction time attached to the moving picture encoded data. The image data is output so as to be displayed on the display screen. Similarly, the speech decoding means 105 decodes the speech encoded data, refers to the time information counted by the timer means 104, and the decoded speech data is reproduced at the reproduction time attached to the speech encoded data. Output as follows.

  The data separation process in step ST303 is continued until a stop command is received by the command processing means 201 of the control means 102, or until playback of the moving image content is completed. In step ST305, it is determined whether or not to end the normal reproduction process. When ending the normal reproduction process, the format interpreting unit 103 stops the audio decoding unit 105, the moving image decoding unit 106, and the timer unit 104, and notifies the control unit 102 of the end.

  Returning to FIG. 6, in step ST <b> 204, the cause of the end of playback of the moving image content is determined. When the process is terminated by receiving the stop command, resume information is created, and the process proceeds to step ST205. In other cases, the process proceeds to step ST206. In step ST206, if the resume information does not exist, nothing is performed, and if the resume information exists, the resume information management means 202 deletes the resume information and returns to the list display.

Next, the resume information creation process in step ST205 will be described with reference to FIG.
The resume information management unit 202 determines a file name of a file in which resume information is recorded. The file name of the reproduced moving image content is acquired, and the file extension is replaced (step ST400).

  Next, the resume information management unit 202 acquires the time when the reproduction of the moving image content is stopped from the timer unit 104 of FIG. 3 (step ST401). Thereafter, resume information is created in a predetermined format and recorded on a recording medium (step ST402).

  FIG. 10 shows an example of resume information. In this example, the following elements are described using SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language) as a description language. The resume information 30 includes a meta element 31 and a video element 32. The meta element 31 describes information indicating the creator and SMIL module version. In the video element 32, the file name of the moving image content to be reproduced is described in the src value, and the time information (the time acquired from the timer means 104) indicating the reproduction start time is described in the begin value.

  For example, if “SMI” is used as the file extension of the resume information, if the file name of the moving image content is “MOL001.ASF”, the file name of the resume information is changed from “ASF” to “SMI”. Is replaced with “MOL001.SMI”. The format of the resume information is not limited to the above, and any format may be used as long as the information specifying the moving image content and the information indicating the playback start location are included. As described above, resume information corresponding to the moving image content one-to-one is created. When the same moving image content is reproduced next time, since the resume information exists, the reproduction can be continued from the point where the previous reproduction was interrupted.

  In step ST206 in FIG. 6, the resume information is deleted when the resume information exists. Instead, the playback start time recorded in the resume information is changed to a specific value such as 0. May be. If there is no resume information, no processing is performed, but instead, resume information with a playback start time of 0 may be created.

Next, the resume reproduction process when it is determined that the resume information exists by the determination in step ST200 of FIG. 6 will be described.
First, in step ST201, the control means 102 refers to the resume execution flag and determines whether or not to resume playback. If the resume execution flag is “0”, normal playback is performed, and the process proceeds to step ST203. If the resume execution flag is “1”, resume reproduction is performed, and the process proceeds to step ST202. The set value of the resume execution flag is set in the setting storage unit 205 by a setting command.

  In the resume reproduction, the resume information interpretation unit 203 of the control unit 102 reads the resume information from the recording medium, and obtains the reproduction start time Tr of the moving image content. The control unit 102 instructs the format interpretation unit 103 to start playback of moving image data by specifying the playback start time Tr.

FIG. 9 shows the flow of resume playback processing.
The format interpreter 103 first reads the header portion 10 of the moving image content and analyzes the header information (step ST500), as in normal playback. Next, the index unit 12 is read from the moving image content to obtain entry point information (step ST501). An entry point existing in a predetermined range before and after the reproduction start time Tr is selected and set as an actual start time Ts. Alternatively, when there is no entry point within a predetermined range before and after, the entry point closest to the reproduction start time Tr may be selected. The data reading start position is determined by multiplying the packet number corresponding to the entry point by the number of bytes per packet obtained by the analysis of the header section 10 (step ST502).

  Since the processing after step ST503 is the same as that in the normal reproduction described above, the description thereof is omitted here. The decoding process starts from the actual start time Ts, but the output from the audio decoding unit 105 and the moving image decoding unit 106 starts from the reproduction start time Tr of the resume information, and the reproduction start time starts from the actual start time Ts. You may not make it reproduce | regenerate until Tr.

  If there is no entry point, the format interpreter 103 may determine the packet number corresponding to the playback start time by calculation, or may not perform resume playback. When determining by calculation, for example, the ratio of the playback time of the moving image content (described in the header portion 10) and the playback start time is set so that the ratio of the total number of packets (described in the header portion 10) and the packet number is substantially equal. The packet number corresponding to the reproduction start time can be determined by determining the packet number and searching for the vicinity of the packet number. When a frame corresponding to the reproduction start time is predictively encoded by an encoding method using predictive encoding such as MPEG-2 or MPEG-4, a packet of a frame that is encoded immediately before the frame is selected. You may do it.

  As described above, the time information at the time when the reproduction of the content is interrupted is recorded as the resume information as the reproduction start time in the next reproduction, so that the reproduction is interrupted when the same content is reproduced next time. Playback can be resumed from where it was. Therefore, it is not necessary to repeat the portion once viewed, and the convenience for the user can be improved.

  The moving image mode for reproducing moving image content has been described so far, but the same applies to the audio mode for reproducing audio content.

  As described above, the resumable portion of reproduction is from the entry point recorded in the index portion 12. Therefore, the reproduction start time recorded in the resume information may be described by a value with the entry point interval as a unit. For example, if the interval between entry points is 1 second, the playback start time is recorded in units of 1 second.

  In addition, when speech encoded data is decoded halfway, noise may be mixed at the start of reproduction. For example, when the predictive encoding method by ADPCM is used, the reference data immediately before the prediction difference data at the start of reproduction is not decoded, so that normal data cannot be reproduced for a certain period immediately after reproduction. After a certain period of time has passed, normal speech is played back by the refresh function provided by the speech coding method. The refresh function includes, for example, a method of recovering from a data error by encoding the audio data itself instead of the prediction difference data at regular intervals, and a data error propagation by setting the prediction coefficient to a coefficient smaller than 1. Possible ways to prevent it.

  In the present embodiment, the speech decoding means 105 outputs the output level of the decoded speech data below a predetermined value for a predetermined period immediately after the reproduction start time so as not to output the noise as described above. (For example, the lowest level). That is, the audio decoding unit 105 receives an instruction to start reproduction from the format interpretation unit 103, and sets the output level to a predetermined value or less regardless of the value of the decoded audio data. After the predetermined period has elapsed from the instruction to start reproduction, the output level is returned to the original level and normal audio output is performed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that there are a plurality of contents under the contents directory and these are contents that are related to each other. For example, this is a case where one story is divided in time and becomes a plurality of contents from the first episode to the tenth episode (MOL001.ASF corresponds to the first episode, and MOL00A.ASF is in turn Equivalent to Episode 10.) At this time, if the user is watching halfway through the first episode, MOL001. SMI exists. When trying to reproduce the second episode, MOL001. If SMI exists, the user may be warned that there is content being viewed.

  Furthermore, resume information may be recorded in the content itself. In this case, for example, it may be stored in a user area provided in the header section 11, or may be stored after the header section 11, the data section 12, and the index section 12 as independent components. By doing so, it is not necessary to handle the resume information as a file different from the content, and management at the time of moving or deleting the file can be further facilitated.

  Further, instead of the reproduction start time, the packet number corresponding to the reproduction start time or the number of bytes from the beginning of the content may be recorded as the resume information. If there is no packet at the reproduction start time, a packet in the vicinity thereof may be selected and the packet number may be recorded.

Next, the list display process will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the list display process, management information relating to the contents of the recording medium is used. FIG. 11 shows an example of the format of management information. Here, the management information 40 is composed of a plurality of elements, and one element includes an ID field 41, a file name field 42, a reproduction availability field 43, a resume availability field 44, and a link to the next element. Field 45. In FIG. 11, “-” is a symbol indicating that nothing is recorded in the element, and indicates an initial state of the table or a state in which the content is deleted.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the flow of the list display process.
In the list display process, the control unit 102 acquires a list of moving image contents recorded on the recording medium via the recording / reading unit 101 and records it in the file name field 42 (step ST600). Next, in step ST601, the control means 102 determines the file name of the resume information from the file name of the moving image content, and searches the recording medium for the file with that file name. When the resume information file exists on the recording medium, “1” is recorded in the resume availability field 44, and “0” is recorded otherwise. The search for resume information is performed for all moving image contents. The resume availability field 44 is used for the determination process in step ST200.

  Next, the control means 102 selects contents in order from the top of the list, and instructs the format interpretation means 103 to start playback of only one moving image frame (step ST602). The format interpreter 103 reads the header portion 10 of the moving image content from the recording medium and analyzes the header information (step ST603). Based on the result of the analysis, it is determined whether or not the selected moving image content can be reproduced in the content reproduction apparatus (step ST604). If it is a reproducible moving image content, the process proceeds to step ST605; otherwise, the process proceeds to step ST610.

  In step ST605, the format interpretation unit 103 sets parameters for the moving image decoding unit 106. Thereafter, data for one frame of the moving image is read from the data portion 11 of the moving image content, and the moving image encoded data is separated and output to the moving image decoding means 106 (step ST606). The moving picture decoding means 106 decodes the inputted moving picture encoded data for one frame and outputs it to the display means (step ST607). The control means 102 records “1” in the reproduction availability field 43 of the management information 40 (step ST608). When title information of moving image content is used for list display, the decoding process of steps ST605 to ST607 is not performed and the title information obtained from the header information is displayed.

In step ST609, it is determined whether the processes from step ST605 to ST608 have been executed N times (where N is a natural number). If the number of executions is less than N, the process proceeds to step ST602. If the number of executions is N, the process ends. However, if the number of moving image contents recorded on the recording medium is less than N, the processing ends with respect to the last moving image content. Here, N is the number that can be displayed on one screen when displaying the heading information of the moving image content on the display screen.
In step ST610, since the selected moving image content cannot be reproduced by the content reproduction apparatus, “0” is recorded in the reproduction availability field 43 of the management information 40.

  When selecting one of the list of moving image contents and playing it back to the original list display, or when switching between list display screens when the list display spans multiple screens, The list display process may be performed again. The reproducibility field 43 is used so that it is not necessary to select a moving image content that has been determined to be unreproducible once.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of a list display. FIG. 13A shows an example of a list display using representative images. FIG. 13B shows an example of a list display using title information. In this case, the date and time when the content was recorded and the channel information are recorded as title information. In the figure, the dotted line represents the currently selected content. The mark ● indicates that the resume information exists, and is displayed when the above-described resume availability field 44 is “1”. “Non-reproducible” is a display indicating that the content reproducing apparatus cannot reproduce the content, and is displayed when the above-described reproducibility field 43 is “0”.

  When a representative image representing the content of moving image content is used for list display, the first frame of the moving image content is generally displayed. However, even if the frame indicated by the playback start time of the resume information is displayed as a representative image. Good. If the frame is inter-frame predictive encoded and cannot be decoded alone, a frame that is near the playback start time and can be decoded independently may be displayed as a representative image.

  Further, when it is determined that the moving image content cannot be reproduced, the element may be deleted from the management information 40. The arrangement order in the management information 40 may be a file name order of moving image contents (alphabet order, alphabetical order, etc.), creation date order, or size order. Alternatively, the resume information may be arranged in order of creation date and time. In this case, the content that has been reproduced in the past in the past and whose reproduction has been interrupted becomes the top of the list display, so that there is an advantage that the content whose reproduction has been interrupted can be selected quickly.

  Further, the arrangement order in the management information 40 and the arrangement order of the contents in the list display may not necessarily match. The user may specify a method for determining the arrangement order. For example, if the remote controller button is pressed, the list display method can be switched, so that the user can easily change the list display to the desired order.

  Further, as described above, when the content having the corresponding resume information is resumed, when the content is completely played back, a predetermined value is recorded in the resume information. Content for which there is no corresponding resume information, that is, content for which the resume availability field 44 is “0” is unviewed content. Therefore, by displaying the list so that the content whose resume availability field 44 is “0” comes first in the arrangement order, the unviewed content can be quickly selected. Also, unviewed (no resume information), viewing (resume information exists, playback start time indicates the playback time of content), viewed (resume information exists, playback start time indicates a predetermined value) You may make it display the information which shows the state of this with a list display.

Next, another example of the content reproduction process shown in step ST103 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG.
This is the addition of a so-called digest playback that is played back at a time shorter than the actual playback time so that the outline of the contents can be understood from a time that is a predetermined time before the playback start time recorded in the resume information. is there. Steps ST700, ST701, and ST705 of FIG. 14 are the same as steps ST200, ST2001, and ST202 shown in FIG. 5, respectively, and steps ST706 to ST710 are the same as steps 203 to ST206. Omitted.

  In step ST703, the control means 102 refers to the digest execution flag and determines whether or not to perform digest reproduction. If the digest execution flag is “0”, the digest reproduction is not performed, so the process proceeds to step ST705, and the resume reproduction is performed. If the digest execution flag is “1”, digest reproduction is performed, and the process proceeds to step ST704. The setting value of the digest execution flag is set in the setting storage unit 205 by the setting command in the same manner as the resume execution flag described above.

  In digest playback, the playback time of an entry point existing in a predetermined range before and after the playback start time Tr obtained from the resume information is set as the actual start time Ts, and the time before a predetermined time from Ts is set as the digest start time Td. . If there is no entry point in a predetermined range before and after the reproduction start time Tr, the entry point closest to the reproduction start time Tr may be selected. The content from time Td to Ts is reproduced with the time shortened in a state where the outline is known.

  Here, a digest reproduction method will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 shows a state in which moving image frames of moving image contents are arranged along the time axis. The shaded portion is a frame encoded by intraframe coding, and the other portion is a frame. A frame encoded by inter prediction encoding is shown. Here, it is assumed that the intra-coded frame is an entry point called a key frame.

  FIG. 15A shows an example of the relationship between the reproduction start time Tr obtained from the resume information, the actual reproduction start time Ts, and the digest reproduction start time Td. In the figure, the reproduction time of the nearest entry point before the reproduction start time Tr is the actual start time Ts. In addition, a time before a predetermined time from Ts is set as a digest start time Td. However, the positional relationship between the times Tr, Ts, and Td is not limited to this, and the times Ts and Td may be after the time Tr.

  FIG. 15B is a diagram showing an example of digest reproduction, in which the content can be grasped by fast-forwarding from Td to Ts. In this case, the format interpreting unit 103 controls the progress of the timer unit 104 so as to proceed at a predetermined magnification (for example, double speed). Next, the packet number including the moving image data at the digest start time Td is obtained from the entry point information, the data reading position is determined, the subsequent data is read from the recording medium, and the moving image encoded data and the audio encoded data are read out. And to separate. Between time Td and time Ts, the moving image encoded data is input to the moving image decoding means 106, but the audio encoded data is discarded. When the data at time Ts is separated, input of speech encoded data to speech decoding means 105 is started. The format interpreter 103 controls the progress so as to reach a normal speed when the timer 104 reaches the time Ts.

  FIG. 15C is a diagram showing an example of digest playback. By playing back every other unit with a key frame between Td and Ts and the following frame as a unit, the contents can be grasped. This is an example. In this case, after reading the data of the part to be reproduced, the next reading start position is searched by the entry point information. Otherwise, the same operation as the normal speed reproduction process is performed.

  Which of the above-described methods is used for digest reproduction may be determined in advance by the content reproduction apparatus, or may be selected by the user. Further, the selection may be made adaptively according to the interval between the key frames.

Further, the interval ΔT from the time Ts to the time Td is adaptively determined according to the size of the interval between the date / time when the previous reproduction was interrupted (interruption date / time) and the date / time when reproduction is to be performed (reproduction date / time). May be. For example, if the interval between the interruption date and time and the reproduction date is within one week, ΔT = 5 seconds, and if the interval is longer than one week, ΔT = 10 seconds. The interruption date and time can be obtained from the update date and time (file time stamp) of the resume information, but the update date and time may be recorded in the resume information.

  As described above, when resuming playback from the point where content playback was interrupted, the data before the playback start time is played back so that the outline can be grasped. It becomes possible to look back on.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a home server in which the content reproduction apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is incorporated.
As shown in FIG. 16, the home server 300 includes an HDD 301, a switch 302, a control unit 303, a content reproduction unit 304, a content recording unit 305, and a tuner 306 as recording media.

  The home server 300 can access a removable memory card 310 via a card slot (not shown) in addition to the built-in HDD 301. The content reproduction unit 304 and the content recording unit 305 can access the HDD 301 and the memory card 310 independently via the switch 302.

  The control unit 303 functions as a content management unit that manages the content recorded in the HDD 301 and the memory 310 in addition to inputting and controlling commands to the content reproduction unit 304 and the content recording unit 305.

  The content playback unit 304 has the same configuration as the content playback apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3, plays back the content recorded on the HDD 301 and the memory card 310, and outputs it to the TV 320.

  Further, the content recording unit 305 encodes the moving image and the sound input from the tuner using a predetermined encoding method, and further multiplexes them using a predetermined multiplexing method. Examples of the moving image encoding method include MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, and H.264. Various encoding schemes such as H.264, DV compression, and Motion-JPEG can be used. As a speech encoding method, various encoding methods such as MP3, AAC, and AC3 can be used. As a multiplexing method, multiplexing can be performed according to various formats such as MPEG-1 system, MPEG-2 system, MPEG-4 system, QuickTime, ASF.

  With the configuration as described above, the home server 300 can reproduce the content recorded on the recording medium by the content recording unit 305 by the content reproduction unit 304. When the reproduction is interrupted, the home server 300 has a one-to-one correspondence with the content. By recording the corresponding resume information on the recording medium, it is possible to resume the content.

Next, the content management operation of the control unit 303 will be described. Here, an operation when the content recorded in the HDD 301 is copied to the memory card 310 will be described.
First, the control unit 303 sets the mode of the content playback unit 304 by a mode command, and sets a mode in which predetermined content can be played back. For example, when the moving image mode is set, a list display as shown in FIG. 13 is performed. When the user selects a desired content, the control unit 303 transfers data from the HDD 301 to the memory card 310. At this time, if the resume information associated with the content selected by the user exists in the HDD 301, the resume information is also duplicated and the resume information having the same content is created in the memory card 310. Similarly, when the content recorded on the HDD 301 is moved to the memory card 310, the corresponding resume information is also moved. When the content is deleted from the HDD 301 or the memory card 310, the corresponding resume information is also deleted.

  Furthermore, by using the content reproducing unit 304 and the content recording unit 305 at the same time, the content once recorded on the recording medium can be re-encoded according to different encoding conditions and different encoding methods. Here, the re-encoding process will be described by taking as an example a case where the content recorded in the HDD 301 is re-encoded and recorded in the memory card 310.

  First, when the content to be re-encoded is selected, the control unit 303 outputs a start command to the content reproduction unit 304. The content reproduction unit 304 executes the content reproduction process described above. That is, when the resume information corresponding to the content recorded in the HDD 301 exists in the HDD 301 and the resume execution flag is “1”, the data of the playback start time is searched from the content, and separation is started therefrom. To do. In other cases, the search for the start position is not performed, so that separation is started from the beginning of the content. The content reproducing means 304 decodes the separated moving image encoded data and audio encoded data, and outputs moving image data and audio data.

  The content recording unit 305 encodes the moving image data and audio data decoded by the content reproduction unit 304 by a predetermined encoding method, further multiplexes the predetermined data by a predetermined multiplexing method, and records them on the memory card 310.

  As described above, for example, when the content of the home server 300 is viewed on a portable terminal with low processing capability, the content is re-encoded from a large-capacity recording medium to a recording medium with a relatively small capacity such as a memory card and recorded. When this is done, it is not necessary to record the portion that has been reproduced and viewed on the memory card. Therefore, the next time the content is played back, it is possible to improve the convenience of the user by restarting the playback from the point where the playback was interrupted so that the part once watched is not repeatedly viewed. It becomes. Further, the recording capacity for recording content can be reduced, and more content can be recorded on the recording medium and enjoyed.

  When the resume information exists in the HDD 301 and the resume execution flag is “0”, the content re-encoded from the beginning is recorded in the memory card 310, but at this time, the same as the resume information recorded in the HDD 301 Resume information of contents may be created in the memory card 310.

  As described above, when the contents of the HDD 301 are recorded on the memory card 310 by duplication or re-encoding, the contents of the HDD 301 are associated with the contents of the memory card 310, and the resume information of the HDD 301 and the memory card 310 is mutually used. You may make it do.

For example, correspondence information including the file name of the content in the HDD 301, the file name of the content HDD 301 in the memory card 310, the file size, the creation date and time, and the update date and time of the resume information is recorded in the HDD 301.
At this time, the content recorded on the memory card 310 by re-encoding the content 1 recorded on the HDD 301 is MOL002. Assume that it is ASF. If resume information A of content 1 exists in HDD 301, resume information MOL002. It is recorded on the memory card 310 as SMI. Next, the memory card 310 is removed from the home server 300, and MOL002. Play the ASF. When the reproduction is interrupted, the resume information MOL002. An SMI is created. Alternatively, the resume information MOL002. If the SMI exists, its contents are updated.

  Here, when the memory card 310 is attached to the home server 300 again, the control unit 303 refers to the correspondence information recorded in the HDD 301 and stores the newly created resume information or the updated resume information in the memory card 310. Search from. Here, the resume information MOL002. The contents of the SMI are read and the resume information A is updated. When the user reproduces the content 1 of the HDD 310, the previous MOL001. The reproduction can be resumed from the point where the ASF reproduction is interrupted.

  Further, in such a case, an ID number may be assigned to each so that a plurality of reproduction start times can be managed. The user can play back the content from the desired playback start time by specifying the ID number during playback.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mobile phone.
As shown in FIG. 17, a mobile phone 400 includes a microphone 401 that inputs voice, a speaker 402 that is voice output means, an LCD 403 that is display means, an antenna 404 that transmits and receives radio waves, and calls and data communications. The communication unit 405 is configured to include a content reproduction unit 406, an operation unit 407 provided with a plurality of operation buttons, and a control unit 408. The content reproduction means 406 has the same configuration as the content reproduction apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3, reads out the content from the memory card 410 and reproduces it, and outputs a moving image to the LCD 403 and audio to the speaker 402.

  When the user selects content reproduction, an operation signal is output from the operation unit 407 to the control unit 408. The control means 408 outputs a mode command to the content reproduction means 406. The content reproduction means 406 executes list display processing as described above. As shown in FIG. 13, a list of contents recorded on the memory card 410 is displayed on the LCD 403.

  Next, when the user selects content desired to be reproduced, the control means 407 outputs a start command to the content reproduction means 406. The content reproduction means 406 executes content reproduction processing as described above.

  Here, the method of reproduction may be selected by associating the method of operation with the method of reproduction. For example, with content selected with the direction buttons, normal playback always starts when the execute button is pressed, resume playback starts when the operation button 1 is pressed, and digest playback starts when the button 2 is pressed. Normal playback, resume playback, and digest playback may be selected according to the length of time while one execution button is pressed.

  When the communication unit 405 receives an incoming call during content reproduction, the communication unit 405 notifies the control unit 408 of the incoming call. The control unit 408 outputs a stop command to the content reproduction unit 406. The content playback means 406 creates resume information corresponding to the content being played back one-on-one and records it in the memory card 410. The mobile phone 400 is ready for a call.

  As described above, even if there is an unexpected incoming call during content playback and the content playback is interrupted, the resume information of the content can be recorded on the memory card, so the next time the same content is played back By restarting playback from the point where playback was interrupted, it is not necessary to repeatedly view the portion that was once viewed, and the convenience of the user can be improved.

  In addition, since the directory configuration is simplified, the amount of processing required for content management can be reduced, so that it can be implemented in a portable terminal. Therefore, it is possible to view the content recorded on the home server halfway and then continue to view the content on the mobile phone, thereby improving user convenience.

  The timing for creating or updating the resume information may be at regular intervals other than when the control unit 408 outputs a stop command. In this case, regardless of whether or not the control means 408 has output a stop command, the content reproduction means 406 creates or updates resume information at regular intervals. In this way, even when the content playback operation is stopped due to a battery exhaustion or failure in a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, since the time immediately before is recorded as resume information, The playback time can be shortened.

  Further, when the creation / change of the resume information becomes a load on the mobile terminal at regular intervals as described above, the control means 408 outputs a stop command when the remaining battery level becomes a predetermined threshold value or less, and resume is performed. Information may be created or updated. According to this method, resume information can be created or updated when the remaining battery level falls below a predetermined threshold, and even when the content playback operation is stopped due to running out of battery, the portion once viewed by the user is repeated. The convenience of the user can be improved.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, the three-dimensional content reproduction apparatus of this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A various change can be added in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. Of course.

It is a figure which shows the directory structure concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an ASF format. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the content reproduction apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the control means of the content reproduction apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of a process in moving image reproduction mode. It is a figure which shows the flow of a content reproduction process. It is a figure which shows the flow of the normal reproduction | regeneration processing of a content. It is a figure which shows the flow of a resume information creation process. It is a figure which shows the flow of the resume reproduction | regeneration processing of a content. It is a figure which shows the example of resume information. It is a figure which shows the example of management information. It is a figure which shows the flow of a list display process. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a list display. It is a figure which shows the flow of a content reproduction process. It is explanatory drawing of digest reproduction | regeneration processing. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the home server which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the mobile telephone which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the directory structure of a prior art. It is a figure which shows the other directory structure of a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Content reproduction apparatus 101 Recording / reading means 102 Control means 103 Format interpretation means 104 Timer means 105 Voice decoding means 106 Moving picture decoding means 201 Command processing means 202 Resume information management means 203 Resume information interpretation means 204 Management information storage means 205 Setting saving means

Claims (10)

A content playback apparatus for playing back content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format,
Resume information management means for managing resume information indicating the playback start position of the content,
The resume information management means includes time information at the time when reproduction of the content is interrupted in the resume information, and records the resume information in a one-to-one correspondence with the content on the recording medium. Content playback device. A content playback apparatus for playing back content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format,
Format interpretation means for interpreting the format of the content;
Resume information interpretation means for reading and interpreting the resume information associated with the content one-to-one from the recording medium;
The resume information interpreter obtains time information indicating a playback start time of the content from the resume information,
The content reproduction apparatus, wherein the format interpretation means determines a reproduction start position of the content based on the time information. A content playback apparatus for playing back content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format,
Resume information interpretation means for reading and interpreting resume information associated with the content one-to-one from the recording medium,
The resume information interpretation means acquires time information indicating an update date and time of the resume information,
A content reproduction apparatus, wherein the content header information is displayed in a predetermined order based on the time information. A content playback apparatus for playing back content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format,
Format interpretation means for interpreting the format of the content;
Resume information interpretation means for reading and interpreting the resume information associated with the content one-to-one from the recording medium;
The resume information interpreting means obtains time information indicating a playback time at which playback of the content starts from the resume information,
The format interpreter determines a first reproduction start position and a second reproduction start position of the content based on the time information;
A content reproduction apparatus for reproducing an outline of content between the second reproduction start position and the first reproduction start position. A content playback apparatus for playing back content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format,
A content management means for managing the content recorded on the recording medium;
The content reproduction apparatus, wherein the content management means duplicates, moves, or deletes resume information associated with the content one-to-one when the content is copied, moved, or deleted. A content reproduction method for reproducing content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format,
Obtaining time information at the time when playback of the content is interrupted and creating resume information indicating a playback start position of the content;
And recording the resume information on the recording medium in one-to-one correspondence with the content. A content reproduction method for reproducing content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format,
Reading resume information associated with the content on a one-to-one basis from the recording medium, interpreting the information, and obtaining time information indicating a reproduction start time of the content;
Determining a reproduction start position of the content based on the time information from the content. A content reproduction method for reproducing content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format,
Reading resume information associated with the content on a one-to-one basis from the recording medium, interpreting it, and obtaining time information indicating an update date and time of the resume information;
And displaying the content header information in a predetermined order based on the time information. A content reproduction method for reproducing content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format,
Resume information interpretation step of reading resume information associated with the content on a one-to-one basis from the recording medium and interpreting the content information to obtain time information indicating a reproduction time at which the reproduction of the content is started;
A format interpretation step of interpreting the format of the content and determining a first playback start position and a second playback start position of the content based on the time information;
A content reproduction method of reproducing an outline of content between the second reproduction start position and the first reproduction start position. A content management method for managing content in which moving image data and / or audio data is recorded on a recording medium in a predetermined format,
A content management method comprising: duplicating, moving, or deleting resume information that is associated with the content on a one-to-one basis when the content is copied, moved, or deleted.

Images