JP2005277585A - Viewing system, control method thereof, viewing device, control method therefor control program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a viewing system capable of viewing with high image quality, according to the needs of viewers. <P>SOLUTION: Information indicating the operation status of a portable communication terminal 103 capable of reproducing image information is transmitted to a recording/reproducing device 102 capable of recording image information, and the recording operation of the device 102 is controlled on the basis of the transmitted information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a viewing system, a viewing system control method, a viewing apparatus, a viewing apparatus control method, a program, and a storage medium.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a system that performs reservation recording by controlling a video device (recording / reproducing device) at home from a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone via a network is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, a system capable of viewing digital TV broadcasts using a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone has been proposed.
JP 2003-61020 A

  Viewing on a mobile communication terminal is a great attraction to being able to obtain (video / audio) information of a TV program without being restricted by time and place, but using a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone In order to set the recording operation of the stationary recording / playback device in the inside, it is necessary to perform troublesome operations such as scheduled recording setting, and viewing is restricted at the time set here, and from the mobile communication terminal There was a problem that it was not possible to make full use of the appeal of the viewing device.

  In addition, since the area of the display screen in the display means provided in the mobile communication terminal capable of viewing digital TV broadcasts is small and the radio wave band allocated for broadcasting for mobile communication terminals is narrow, the broadcast data Therefore, in addition to a decrease in the number of display / reproduction pixels, moving picture frames are likely to be dropped, and in terms of image quality, the image quality is greatly reduced with respect to the source image. There was a problem.

  In addition, even if high-quality video recording can be performed by using the conventional technology, many of the recent TV program configurations are organized for a long time, and some of them do not need to be viewed at high video quality. However, there is a problem that it takes much time to find a desired portion from information recorded for a long time when re-viewing with high image quality later.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. A viewing system, a viewing system control method, a viewing apparatus, and a viewing apparatus control that enable high-quality viewing according to a viewer's request. It is an object to provide a method, a control program, and a storage medium.

  In order to achieve the above object, a viewing system of the present invention transmits information indicating an operation status of a viewing apparatus capable of reproducing image information to a recording apparatus capable of recording image information, and the transmission means transmits the information. Control means for controlling the recording operation of the recording apparatus based on the information.

  In order to achieve the above object, the viewing system of the present invention provides a viewing device capable of reproducing image information and viewing evaluation result information based on the viewer's own evaluation regarding the viewing content when viewing with the viewing device. Generating means for generating, transmitting means for transmitting the viewing evaluation result information to a recording apparatus capable of recording image information, and an image recorded on the recording apparatus based on the viewer evaluation result information transmitted by the transmitting means And a control means for controlling an information reproducing operation.

  In order to achieve the above object, the viewing device of the present invention performs viewing control of the viewing device based on the reserved viewing information set by the reserved viewing setting function in a viewing device having a reserved viewing setting function for image information. Control means and transmission means for transmitting the reserved viewing information to a recording apparatus for recording the image information prior to execution of control by the control means.

  In order to achieve the above object, a method for controlling a viewing system according to the present invention includes a transmission step of transmitting information indicating an operation status of a viewing apparatus capable of reproducing image information to a recording apparatus capable of recording image information, And a control step of controlling the recording operation of the recording apparatus based on the information transmitted in the transmission step.

  In order to achieve the above object, the viewing system control method of the present invention generates viewing evaluation result information based on the viewer's own evaluation regarding the viewing content when viewing the image information with a viewing device capable of reproducing. A generation step, a transmission step of transmitting the viewing evaluation result information to a recording device capable of recording image information, and an image information recorded in the recording device based on the viewer evaluation result information transmitted in the transmission step. And a control process for controlling the reproduction operation.

  Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, a method for controlling a viewing device according to the present invention includes a control step for performing viewing control of a viewing device having a reserved viewing setting function for image information based on reserved viewing information, and control execution of the control step. And a transmission step of transmitting the reserved viewing information set by the reserved viewing setting function to a recording device that records the image information prior to the recording.

  Hereinafter, an optimum embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  A feature of the present invention is that a transmission unit that transmits information indicating an operation state of a viewing apparatus capable of reproducing image information to a recording apparatus capable of recording image information, and the recording apparatus based on the information transmitted by the transmission unit And a control means for controlling the recording operation.

  In addition, the present invention is characterized in that a viewing apparatus capable of reproducing image information, a recording apparatus capable of recording image information, and a viewing evaluation result based on the viewer's own evaluation regarding the viewing content when viewing with the viewing apparatus. Generation means for generating information, transmission means for transmitting the viewing evaluation result information to the recording apparatus, and reproduction of image information recorded on the recording apparatus based on the viewer evaluation result information transmitted by the transmission means And a control means for controlling the operation.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that in a viewing device having a reserved viewing setting function for image information, a control unit that performs viewing control of the viewing device based on reserved viewing information set by the reserved viewing setting function, and Prior to execution of control, the image processing apparatus includes a transmission unit that transmits the reserved viewing information to a recording apparatus that records the image information.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that a transmission step of transmitting information indicating an operation state of a viewing device capable of reproducing image information to a recording device capable of recording image information, and the recording based on the information transmitted by the transmission step. And a control step for controlling the recording operation of the apparatus.

  In addition, the present invention is characterized in that, when viewing image information with a reproducible viewing device, a generation step of generating viewing evaluation result information based on the viewer's own evaluation regarding the content of viewing, and the viewing evaluation result information A transmission step for transmitting to the recording step, and a control step for controlling the reproduction operation of the image information recorded in the recording apparatus capable of recording the image information based on the viewer evaluation result information transmitted in the transmission step. That is.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized by a control process for performing viewing control of a viewing apparatus having a reservation viewing setting function for image information based on reserved viewing information, and a recording apparatus for recording the image information prior to execution of control in the control process. And a transmission step of transmitting the reserved viewing information set by the reserved viewing setting function.

(First embodiment)
First, a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation at the time of recording (recording) in the viewing system according to the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, terrestrial digital television broadcasting will be described as an example.

  In FIG. 1, 101 is a broadcasting antenna, 102 is a stationary digital (high image quality) recording / reproducing device (hereinafter referred to as a recording / reproducing device), 103 is a portable communication terminal such as a cellular phone (portable viewing) Device), 104 is a memory card (M), 105 is a mobile communication terminal (mobile phone) relay station, 106 is a data server, 107 is a first network terminal, 108 is a second network terminal, 109 is a network line, 110 Is a receiving antenna.

  In FIG. 1, a transmission digital image / sound data stream (code string) generated by a broadcasting station is transmitted via a broadcasting antenna 101. The frequency band for one channel of the broadcast wave is divided into 13 segments (each divided area is referred to as a segment), and 12 of these segments are used for HD-TV (about 60 fields for high-definition television) systems. Using the remaining one segment, simple moving image information corresponding to QVGA (320 × 240 pixels) and a rate of 15 frames per second is transmitted. HD-TV information using 12 segments is transmitted to the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 via the receiving antenna 110 and recorded by the recording / reproducing apparatus 102.

  QVGA information using one segment is received by the mobile communication terminal 103 and restored to a moving image. The restored image information is displayed on the display screen of a display means (display) provided in the mobile communication terminal 103, and the audio information is similarly displayed in a speaker or a headphone jack provided in the mobile communication terminal 103 (both shown in FIG. It is played back by an external headphone (not shown) via the not shown. Image / audio information and the like are recorded in the memory card 104 that can be exchanged as necessary.

  Along with the operation of the mobile communication terminal 103, the communication function using the wireless public line provided in the mobile communication terminal 103 is used, and the viewing status of the mobile communication terminal 103 is changed to the network (the first network terminal 107, the first network terminal 107). 2 to the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 via the network terminal 108 and the network line 109).

  First, the viewing status of the mobile communication terminal 103 is transmitted to the mobile phone relay station 105 using the electronic mail (communication) function of the mobile communication terminal 103. The mobile phone relay station 105 transfers the corresponding data to the data server 106 and temporarily stores it in the data server 106.

  Data is transferred from the data server 106 through the first network terminal 107 to the second network terminal 108 on the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 side via a network line 109 such as the Internet using a general protocol such as TCP / IP. To do. If the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 has a mobile phone wireless communication function, the amount of recording operation delay caused by the communication path can be reduced.

  Here, the resolution of the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 is set higher than the image resolution of the portable communication terminal 103 which is the viewing apparatus. In addition, the time resolution of the recording / reproducing device 102 is set higher than the time resolution of the mobile communication terminal 103 which is the viewing device.

  Information on the viewing status of the mobile communication terminal 103 is transmitted in an e-mail format. The setting of the so-called mail check time interval is associated with the control of the recording (recording) operation on the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 side, and recording by the communication system ( (Recording) Operation delay is avoided.

  Specifically, there are the following two methods in addition to the standby method such as a mobile phone.

  (1) If the interval of the mail check is set to an interval of 10 minutes and the transmitted video data stream has an average of 6 Mbps, if a buffer memory of 6 × 60 × 10 = 3600 Mbit = 450 MB or more is provided, the previous time Even when it is necessary to start recording (recording) immediately after the e-mail check, a delay in recording (recording) timing can be substantially canceled by using the output of the buffer memory as recording information.

  (2) The recording / playback apparatus 102 always performs recording (recording) in the basic standby state, and when it is determined that there is no need to start recording (recording) as a result of the mail check, the latest mail is recorded. Deletes the recorded content before the call origination time. When the mail check interval is set to T, recording (video recording) is continued during the T period until the next check timing comes. If it is necessary to start recording (recording) as a result of the next mail check, the recording (recording) data before the required time is erased and the recording (recording) operation is continued. Or, as a result of the mail check, if there is no need for recording (recording), the recording (recording) contents before the latest e-mail transmission time are erased as before, and the recording (recording) operation is continued, and the next mail Prepare for the check.

  By such an operation sequence, it is possible to avoid the influence of transmission delay due to the communication system.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of operations during editing in the viewing system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the same parts as those in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, 101 is a broadcasting antenna, 103 is a mobile communication terminal, 104 is a memory card, 201 is a display (display means) of the mobile communication terminal 103, 202 is a start (START) button provided on the display 201, 203 is an end (END) button provided on the display 201, 204 is a playlist, 205 and 206 are unnecessary areas, and 207 is a desired area.

  Hereinafter, as described above, the mobile communication terminal 103 receives 1 segment information, and the viewer's viewing evaluation result information on the program content (a typical example is a playlist 204 used as playback control information). An operation example to be created will be described.

  As a result of the viewer evaluating the viewing of the program content, the viewer divides the program into necessary parts and unnecessary parts, records each viewing start time and viewing end time (marking, index “INDEX”), and cuts each part. Define as

  A description describing a set of cuts each defining only necessary parts is a so-called play list 204 in which only those necessary areas (designated areas) are sequentially reproduced.

  2 starts a viewing start point and a viewing end point with reference to an image displayed on the display screen of the display 201 of the mobile communication terminal 103 for the necessary region (viewer desired region) 207. A state in which a viewer designates and creates a play list 204 by operating a (START) button 202 and an end (END) button 203 is shown.

  In FIG. 2, an area 207 displayed as “VIDEO PROGRAM” is a desired area portion, and areas 205 and 206 before and after the area 207 indicate unnecessary area portions.

  On the other hand, a method of defining only the unnecessary area portion is also conceivable.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation at the time of reproduction in the viewing system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, the same parts as those in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, 102 is a recording / reproducing apparatus, 103 is a portable communication terminal, 104 is a memory card, 110 is a receiving antenna, and 301 is an HD-TV monitor.

  The playlist 204 (see FIG. 2) created by the mobile communication terminal 103 is transferred from the mobile communication terminal 103 to the recording / reproducing apparatus 102 using communication means such as infrared communication means. With reference to the transferred playlist 204, only the desired area 207 of the viewer is sequentially displayed on the HD-TV monitor 301 with high image quality.

  Next, a specific configuration of the present embodiment as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the transmission side in the viewing system according to the present embodiment, where 401 is HD-TV program information, 402 is a first encoder (MPEG-2 ENCODE), 403. Is a first modulator (modulation-1), 404 is a transmitter, 405 is a downconverter (DOWN CONVERT), 406 is a second encoder (MPEG-4 ENCODE), and 407 is a second modulator (modulation-2). ), 408 is an antenna.

  The HD-TV program information 401 produced by the broadcasting station is supplied to the first encoder 402 and the down converter 405. The output of the first encoder 402 is converted into a so-called MPEG-2 TS (transport stream), modulated by the first modulator 403 into a signal suitable for radio wave transmission assuming fixed reception, and then transmitted to the transmitter. 404 is supplied.

  On the other hand, the output of the down converter 405 is converted into information equivalent to QVGA. This is reduced to 320 × 240 pixels in the pixel plane space, and thinned out to a simple moving image with frames dropped to 15 fps (frames per second) on the time axis. The simplified image information corresponding to QVGA is converted into an MPEG-4 data stream by the second encoder 406, converted into a signal suitable for radio wave transmission assumed to be received by a mobile or mobile communication terminal, and then transmitted. A TV broadcast wave is transmitted to the transmitter 404 using the transmitter 404 and the transmission antenna 408 while synchronizing with the output signal of the first modulator 403.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration when the mobile communication terminal in the viewing system according to the present embodiment is on the receiving side. In FIG. 5, the same parts as those in FIG.

  In FIG. 5, reference numeral 500a denotes a communication device block having a general cellular phone function such as a call / data communication, 500b denotes a TV (TV) block capable of receiving, viewing and recording digital TV information, and 500c denotes both blocks 500a and 500b. This is a common block for system control and user interface common to all.

  First, the communication device block 500a will be described.

  The communication device block 500a includes an antenna 501, a transmitter / receiver 502, a modulator / demodulator 503, an audio codec (a composite function unit of encoder and decoder: AUDIO CODEC) 504, a microphone (MIC) 505, a microphone amplifier (AMP) 506, A speaker (SP) 507 and a power amplifier (audio signal amplifier: AMP) 508 are included.

  At the time of reception, a reception signal from the antenna 501 for receiving communication radio waves is supplied to the transmitter / receiver 502 and converted into a communication data string by the modulator / demodulator 503. The audio data in the data string is decoded (decoded) by the audio codec 504 and converted into audio data. The data other than the audio data is supplied to the system control means 515 described later in the common block 500c. Examples of data other than voice data include character character data such as e-mail, image data of illustrations and natural images (still images and moving images), status data indicating control status, control data, and the like.

  The audio data decoded (decoded) by the audio codec 504 is in the form of an analog audio signal. The signal is amplified by the power amplifier 508 and converted from an electric signal to an acoustic signal by the speaker 507.

  At the time of transmission, the voice of the speaker is converted from an acoustic signal to an electric signal by the microphone 505, and can be processed by an A / D (analog / digital) converter (not shown) of the input portion of the audio codec 504 by the microphone amplifier 506. The signal is amplified to a signal level, and the audio codec 504 performs an encoding process with digital data compression. The encoded digital data is combined with data other than audio data output from the system control means 515 (to be described later) of the common block 500c, modulated by the modulator / demodulator 503, and the signal generated by the transmitter 502 Is emitted from the antenna 501 as a transmission radio wave.

  Next, the TV block 500b will be described.

  The TV block 500b includes an antenna 509, a television tuner 510, a demodulator 511, a recording unit 512, and an MPEG-4 decoder 513.

  Then, the broadcast wave is received by the antenna 509, the information signal of the desired broadcast channel is selected / extracted by the television tuner 510, and demodulated into the MPEG-4 data stream by the demodulator 511. The data stream is decoded by the MPEG-4 decoder 513 into video information having an image quality with a time resolution of about 15 frames per second at a resolution equivalent to QVGA, and is supplied to a display 516 (to be described later) of the common block 500c. The image is displayed as a moving image by the device 516.

  Further, if necessary, the recording unit 512 generates the instruction data from the system control unit 515 (to be described later) of the common block 500c by operating the operation unit 514 (to be described later) of the common block 500c. The data stream is stored (recorded) in the memory card (M) 104.

  At this time, it is confirmed whether recording is permitted by referring to copy management information described later.

  Here, the resolution of the recording / reproducing apparatus is set higher than the image resolution of the portable communication terminal which is the viewing apparatus. In addition, the time resolution of the recording / reproducing apparatus is set higher than the time resolution of the portable communication terminal that is the viewing apparatus.

  Next, the common block 500c will be described.

  The common block 500c includes an operation unit 514 for a user interface function, a system control unit 515 for controlling the entire system of the communication device block 500a and the TV block 500c, a display unit 516 responsible for various information display functions, and a short-distance data interface function. Infrared communication means 517 provided for realizing the above.

  The operation means 514 is a general operation button for turning on / off the power, realizing the mobile phone function, channel selection necessary for operation of the TV function, and recording (recording) start / stop / fast forward / reverse / temporary. Operation buttons for stopping, etc., operation buttons (START / END) for inputting user evaluation of program contents, INDEX (marker) input buttons for inputting INDEX (markers), various types for realizing editing functions It consists of editing information input buttons and operation buttons.

  As the display means 516, a general liquid crystal display element or a display device such as an organic EL can be used. The data supplied to the display means 516 is based on the telephone number and e-mail information necessary for the mobile phone function composed of the communication device block 500a, and information such as channel selection operation and image information used in the TV block 500b is also selective. (Or in combination).

  The moving image information is supplied from the MPEG-4 decoder 513, and other character data and the like are supplied from the system control means 515 as bitmap data or vector data.

  Those pieces of information are integrated and displayed on the display screen of the display means 516.

  The infrared communication means 517 can also be realized by using a digital interface technology such as IrDA. Further, a wireless tag method other than infrared rays can be used.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a simplified example of the description content of the playlist.

  In the playlist shown in FIG. 6, scenes, which are the smallest unit for managing moving images, are numbered sequentially and called “scene number”. Necessary / unnecessary judgment is made on the original image data, and the scene number and the start point (START) to the end point (END) are defined by time codes and recorded in each necessary desired area. .

  In FIG. 6, a standard of approximately 30 frames per second is described as an example, but adjustment of a portion that deviates from 30 frames may be performed in accordance with the existing standards such as a drop frame.

  The sequence shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 is used for a sequence for interlocking control of a stationary high-quality recording / reproducing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a home terminal) installed at home or the like when watching TV on a mobile communication terminal. And briefly explain.

  The right side of FIG. 7 shows the operation of the mobile communication terminal, and the left side of FIG. 7 shows the operation of the home terminal.

  First, the operation of the mobile communication terminal will be described.

  In FIG. 7, first, in step S700, the mobile communication terminal is turned on (ON). Next, it is determined whether or not the television viewing mode is set in step S701. If the TV viewing mode is set, the process proceeds to step S702, and a recording (recording) standby instruction signal is transmitted to the home terminal. In step S703, it is determined whether viewing of a desired broadcast station has been started. If there is no channel change even after a predetermined time has elapsed, it is determined that viewing of that channel has started, and the process proceeds to step S704, where viewing channel information is transmitted to the home terminal.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S705, and if the channel setting is not changed for a predetermined time, it is determined that the viewing is started. The process proceeds to the next step S706, and information indicating the time when the above-described viewing is started (viewing start time information). ) To your home device. In step S707, it is determined whether the setting condition is changed. If it is determined that the setting condition is to be changed, the process proceeds to step S708.

  In step S708, it is determined whether viewing has ended. If it is determined that the viewing has not ended, the process returns to step S703 to check the presence / absence of the channel change and the start time, and transmit these pieces of information to the home terminal as described above.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S708 that the viewing has ended, the process proceeds to step S709, and information indicating that the viewing has ended is transmitted to the home terminal, and then the process proceeds to step S710, where the power of the TV block 500b is turned on. Turn off to end viewing.

  Next, the operation of the home terminal will be described.

  This sequence starts when the home terminal is set to the mobile link mode.

  First, in step S711, when a standby instruction is received from the mobile communication terminal in the reception standby state, the process proceeds to the next step S712. In step S712, the home terminal is set in a recording (recording) standby state. Next, in step S713, the reception channel information is in a standby state. When channel information is received, the process proceeds to the next step S714. In step S714, channel setting is performed based on the channel information received in step S713. For this channel information, a three-digit channel number consisting of a broadcasting station number (two digits) and an organization channel number (one digit) in the same station, or a service ID (identifier) instead thereof is used. At this time, there may be a difference in broadcasting stations between the viewing area by the mobile communication terminal and the receiving area by the home terminal, but not only the simple station name and frequency but also the affiliated station information and the information about the program contents By sending and referencing, linked recording (linked recording) utilizing simulcast (same content broadcasting) becomes possible. In this state, a temporary recording (temporary recording) operation is started.

  Next, in step S715, the mobile communication terminal is waiting to receive information indicating that viewing has started. When the reception start time information is received, the process proceeds to the next step S716. In step S716, “marking of recording (recording) start time” is performed based on the viewing start time received in step S715. Marking here refers to the data corresponding to the true recording (recording) start time with respect to the already recorded (recording) data for which the temporary recording (temporary recording) operation has been started. Is to record. Another file for management may be generated to manage the association between the recording data and the time information. With such a configuration, even if a transmission delay occurs due to the communication path, the delay can be canceled and linked recording (recording) without delay can be realized. Incidentally, data temporarily recorded (temporary recording) before the true recording (recording) start time may be discarded.

  Next, it progresses to step S717 and it is judged whether the viewing-and-listening end information in a portable communication terminal was received. If it is determined that the viewing end information at the mobile communication terminal has been received, the process proceeds to the next step S718. In step S718, after stopping the recording operation, the present sequence is terminated.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration when the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus for fixed (home) use in the viewing system according to the present embodiment is the receiving side.

  The stationary recording / playback apparatus is compatible with a one-segment block 800a that processes one-segment information that can be viewed while moving a simple moving image on a mobile terminal, and a high-quality broadcast wave A multi-segment processing block 800b and a system control and user interface common to both the blocks 800a and 800b and various communication-related control / communication processing blocks 800c are configured.

  First, the one-segment processing block 800a will be described.

  The one-segment processing block 800a includes an antenna 110a, a tuner 801, a demodulator 802, and a recording unit 803.

  Then, the broadcast wave for one segment is received by the antenna 110a, the program information selected by the tuner 801 is extracted, and the data stream is generated by the demodulator 802. In addition to image / sound information, this data string also includes information related to data broadcasting and information related to system control. According to the contents, the data string is identified using reference information such as a data ID and a flag, If it is image / audio information, it is supplied to the recording means 803, and other information is supplied to the system control means 810 of the control / communication block 800c described later.

  The recording unit 803 uses the memory card slot provided in the main body of the MPEG-4 data stream generated by the demodulator 802 in accordance with an instruction from the system control unit 810 of the control / communication system block 800c described later. Are recorded on the memory card 104 or the like, which is a replaceable semiconductor recording medium attached. As the recording medium, in addition to the semiconductor type recording medium, a disk-shaped recording medium such as an optical disk (DVD ± R or DVD-RAM) can be used.

  Next, the multi-segment processing block 800b will be described.

  The multi-segment processing block 800b includes an antenna 110b, a tuner 804, a demodulator 805, recording / reproducing means 806, and a decoder (MPEG-2 DECODE) 807.

  Then, for example, a 12-segment broadcast wave for HD-TV is received by the antenna 110b, desired tuner program information is extracted by the tuner 804, and a data stream is generated by the demodulator 805. In addition to image / audio information, this data string also includes information related to data broadcasting and system control-related information. Depending on the contents, reference information such as a data ID (identifier) and a flag is used. If it is identified, image / audio information is supplied to the decoder 807, and other information is supplied to the system control means 810 of the control / communication block 800c described later.

  The recording / reproducing means 806 converts the MPEG-2 data stream generated by the demodulator 805 into an HDD (inside the HDD (internal) in accordance with an instruction from the system control means 810 of the control / communication system block 800c described later. Recorded on a recording medium 808 such as a hard disk drive). As the recording medium, an exchangeable recording medium such as an optical disk (DVD ± R or DVD-RAM) can be used in addition to the HDD as the fixed recording medium.

  Next, various control / communication processing blocks 800c will be described.

  The control / communication system processing block 800c includes a network terminal 108 connected to a network line 109 such as the Internet to realize a long-distance data interface function, an operation unit 809 for a user interface function, a system control unit 810, A communication interface 811 that integrates and manages the two interface functions, a multi-processing function (OSD: on-screen display function) of character information to the large display means 301 that performs various information display functions, and a short-range data interface function Infrared communication means 812 and a play list memory 813 are provided for realizing.

  The large display means 301 may be constructed by a system separate from a stationary recording / playback device as a so-called television monitor.

  The operation means 809 is for turning on / off the power necessary for realizing a stationary recording / reproducing device, TV function operation / tuning, recording (recording) start / stop / fast forward / reverse feed / pause / index search It comprises general operation buttons for performing (front / rear) and the like, and operation buttons for realizing the features of the present invention.

  Information such as a channel selection operation used in the control / communication system block 800c and image information can be selectively (or combined) displayed on the display means. The moving image information is supplied from the MPEG2 decoder, and other character data and the like are supplied from the system control means 810 as bitmap data or vector data. The information is integrated and displayed on the display screen of the display means.

  The infrared communication means 812 can also be configured as a device having a general infrared remote control function and a digital interface function such as IrDA.

  Hereinafter, a specific operation during reproduction will be described.

  The moving image reproduction control information (hereinafter referred to as a playlist) created by the portable communication terminal is transmitted using the infrared communication means 517 (see FIG. 5), and the infrared communication means of the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus. Received at 812. This information is processed by the system control means 810 via the communication interface 811 and stored in the playlist memory 813. Next, information described in the playlist stored in the playlist memory 813 is analyzed, and playback instruction commands are sequentially assembled based on the time code or the like for the locations necessary for playback, and playback control information is sent to the recording / playback means 806. Send as.

  In the case of the example shown in FIG. 6, the time code zero to 32 minutes 2 seconds 29 frames of the scene 01 are reproduced, and then the 32 minutes 5 seconds 29 frames to 59 minutes 5 seconds 29 frames of the scene 02 are reproduced. The playback operation is controlled along the playlist in the procedure of 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes 59 seconds 29 frames of scene 03.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In this embodiment, the time axis information of the description content of the playlist is corrected at the time of reproduction.

  The overall system configuration according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 8 described above, and will be described using these figures.

  Here, two types of methods will be described below, focusing on a particularly characteristic time axis information correction method.

(1) Change Point Search Method Here, in the time code of the information stored in the playlist memory 813 in FIG. 8, as shown in FIG. 9, the lower information of the end point of the unnecessary cut is 01:03. Take as an example the case where the sub information of the start point of the desired cut is described as 01:05 (5 frames per second).

  The playlist generated by the portable communication terminal 103 (see FIG. 1) and received by the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 102 is based on one-segment information for mobile broadcasting, so that the frame rate is multi-segment broadcasting. It is lower than that of high-quality broadcasting, and is generally predicted to be about 15 fps for 30 frames per second (hereinafter referred to as fps).

  Accordingly, the playlist created based on the information that has dropped by half is naturally time-resolving capability of 1/2, so that the playlist is first transferred and stored in the playlist memory 813. The time resolution capability is also ½.

  If the playback is performed as it is, an error of +/− 1 frame may occur with respect to the expected frame, and there is a possibility that an uncomfortable feeling may occur in a portion where the screen changes rapidly such as a scene change.

  Therefore, a so-called scene change having a large inter-frame difference such as a scene change is detected and corrected before and after the time code of the received playlist. The scene change detection is to determine that a scene change has occurred in a moving image when the correlation between successive screens falls below a predetermined value, that is, when the scene changes suddenly.

The detection means for detecting this scene change generally has the configuration of the (non-) correlation detection means 1000 shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, the input moving image is passed through the frame delay means 1001 for one screen, and the difference between the output and the undelayed input is calculated by the difference calculation means 1002, and if this calculation result is larger than a predetermined value. Since the correlation has decreased, it can be determined that a scene change has occurred.

  Next, the relationship of time codes near the edit point schematically shown in FIG. 9 will be described.

  As described above, in the time code of the information stored in the playlist memory 813 in FIG. 8, as shown in FIG. 9, the lower information of the end point of the unnecessary cut is 01:03 (3 frames per second). The lower information of the desired cut start point is 01:05 (5 frames per second), but the moving image information of the original frame rate corresponds to 1:05 as it is. , May vary from 1:04 to 1:06. Therefore, the detection result of the (non-) correlation detection unit 1000 is used for one front and back screen to check whether the true change point is shifted back and forth.

  In the case of the present embodiment, since the output of the (non-) correlation detecting means 1000 is increased between the frames of 1:03 and 0:04 and it is detected that a scene change has occurred, the playlist shown in FIG. FIG. 9 shows a state in which the time code indicating the start point of the desired scene in the information stored in the memory 813 is changed from 1:05 to 1:04.

  In this example, the time resolving ability has a double opening, but even if there is a difference more than that, a high rate moving image in the time domain of at least two moving images with a lower rate. Search and check the data to determine the scene change. Even if a difference between screens greater than a predetermined value is not detected, if the screen position of the lowest correlation value within the search range can be detected, substantially the same purpose can be achieved.

(2) I picture reset method The moving picture compression method called MPEG uses roughly three types of compression methods: I picture, B picture, and P picture. Further, the period from the I picture to the previous I picture is a management unit called GOP.

  These mechanisms are also used in MPEG compression used in HDDs, DVDs, etc. Considering the case of re-editing MPEG data once created, the above-mentioned scene change detection is performed when encoding. When a scene change is detected, an I picture with a low compression rate is generated, and it is considered to suppress the occurrence of the encoding prediction error n even with a large screen change.

  In addition, when re-editing, there is a high possibility that division processing is performed at the scene change portion, and such I picture generation seems to be a technique that is widely used as highly convenient processing.

  The specific encoding procedure uses the configuration of the (non-) correlation detection unit 1000 shown in FIG. 10 to determine that a scene change has occurred when the inter-screen correlation has decreased by a predetermined amount or more. A reset signal for forcibly generating an I picture is generated, and the reset signal is supplied to the MPEG encoder 1003. When receiving the reset signal, the MPEG encoder 1003 forcibly generates an I picture and processes it as a new GOP. These states are schematically shown in the lower right of FIG.

  One of the features of the viewing system according to the present invention is that there are cases where the information that is restricted in data replication by the copy management code is also effective.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of copy management information obtained by simplifying the concept called CCI (copy control information).

  In addition to the main image / sound information, additional information such as metadata is often included as additional information, but copy management information may be included in this. The typical classification is broadly divided into “Free”, which is free to copy, “Copy Once”, which can be copied only once, and “Never”, which is never copied. It is said that programs with “CopyOnce” will occupy the majority. In that case, there is a great restriction on a method of using the information once recorded by the stationary high-quality video recording / reproducing apparatus for taking it outdoors and viewing it on the mobile communication terminal. Naturally, it becomes impossible to write a simple image for editing a mobile communication terminal.

  Therefore, the mechanism of the present invention of editing using information of a mobile communication terminal previously recorded in a separate system is utilized, and the playlist information is recorded on a recording medium in which a playlist created by the mobile communication terminal is recorded with high image quality. Can be viewed with high image quality like an edited image.

(Other embodiments)
The above is the description of the embodiments of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the functions shown in the claims or the functions of the embodiments can be achieved. Any configuration is applicable.

  In the above embodiment, terrestrial digital television broadcasting has been described as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied to a satellite broadcasting format. In addition to television (image) information, audio information such as digital radio broadcasting can be used. In addition, the present invention can be similarly applied to the relationship between the high-quality three-segment broadcasting and the portable one-segment broadcasting.

  In addition, a timer setting for reserved viewing that starts viewing at a desired time may be set in the mobile communication terminal. The set information is transferred from the set portable communication terminal to the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus, and the recording operation of the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus is started in synchronization with the start of viewing of the portable communication terminal. You can also.

  Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium and program storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like is used. it can.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) or the like running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. However, it is needless to say that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is a figure which shows the structure at the time of the recording (video recording) in the viewing-and-listening system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure at the time of editing in the viewing-and-listening system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure at the time of reproduction | regeneration in the viewing-and-listening system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the transmission side in the viewing-and-listening system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure by the side of the portable communication terminal in the viewing-and-listening system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the play list in the viewing-and-listening system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement of the viewing-and-listening system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement of the viewing-and-listening system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the change point search method in the viewing-and-listening system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the I picture reset method in the viewing-and-listening system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the copy management code in the viewing-and-listening system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

102 Stationary digital (high image quality) recording / reproducing machine (recording device)
103 Mobile communication terminal (viewing device)
109 Network line

Claims (34)

A viewing device capable of reproducing image information;
A recording device capable of recording image information;
Transmitting means for transmitting information indicating the operation status of the viewing device to the recording device;
A viewing system comprising: control means for controlling a recording operation of the recording apparatus based on information transmitted by the transmitting means.   The viewing system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit is capable of transmitting information indicating the operation status without a time delay. The viewing system according to claim 1, wherein the information indicating the operation status is information indicating viewing start / viewing end time, broadcasting station (name / frequency), and segment number.   It has detection means for detecting a recording start time before the reception time, and when the detection means detects a recording start time before the reception time, it records the contents of the recording buffer memory having a capacity corresponding to the reception confirmation time interval or more. The viewing system according to claim 1, wherein the viewing system is used as information.   The recording operation starts immediately after the reception confirmation operation, and when the recording instruction information is not generated based on the confirmation result of the next reception confirmation operation, the previous recording content is discarded and a new recording operation is started. The viewing system according to claim 1, further comprising second control means for controlling.   The recording operation is started immediately after the reception confirmation operation, and if the recording instruction information is not generated based on the confirmation result of the next reception confirmation operation, the previous recording content is discarded and the recording operation is controlled. The viewing system according to claim 1, further comprising third control means.   A viewing apparatus capable of reproducing image information; a generating means for generating viewing evaluation result information based on a viewer's own evaluation of the viewing content when viewing with the viewing apparatus; and a recording means capable of recording the image information Transmitting means for transmitting the viewing evaluation result information to the recording means; and control means for controlling the reproduction operation of the image information recorded in the recording means based on the viewer evaluation result information transmitted by the transmitting means; A viewing system comprising:   The viewing system according to claim 1, wherein the viewing device is a portable viewing device.   The viewing system according to claim 1, wherein the viewing device is a mobile communication terminal.   The viewing system according to claim 1, wherein the viewing device is a mobile phone.   The viewing system according to claim 1, wherein the image information is moving image information.   The viewing system according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the image information is in a digital format.   The viewing system according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the recording device is capable of recording the image information with high quality.   14. The viewing system according to claim 13, wherein the high quality means that an image resolution of the image information is high.   The viewing system according to claim 13, wherein the high quality is high time resolution of image information.   14. The viewing system according to claim 13, wherein the high quality means that the number of received segments of image information is large.   8. The viewing system according to claim 7, wherein the viewing evaluation result information is information indicating a viewing start time and a viewing end time in a desired period.   8. The viewing system according to claim 7, wherein the viewing evaluation result information is information indicating a viewing start time and a viewing end time in an unnecessary period.   The viewing system according to claim 7, wherein the generation unit generates the viewing evaluation result information in the viewing device.   8. The viewing system according to claim 7, wherein the viewing evaluation result information is once recorded by the viewing device. The viewing system according to claim 7, wherein the transmission unit sequentially transmits the viewing evaluation result information as soon as it is registered as a pair of viewing start and viewing end.   The viewing system according to claim 21, wherein the sequential transmission is performed by radio waves, and the batch transmission after recording is performed by infrared rays.   The viewing system according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the viewing device and the recording device receive information by using separate radio waves of simulcast broadcasting. In a viewing apparatus having a reservation viewing setting function for image information,
Control means for performing viewing control of the viewing device based on the reserved viewing information set by the reserved viewing setting function;
A viewing device, comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the reserved viewing information to a recording device that records the image information prior to execution of control by the control unit.   25. The viewing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the transmission means completes transmission before the viewing start time.   25. The viewing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the reserved viewing information is information indicating viewing start / viewing end time, broadcasting station (name / frequency), and segment number.   25. The viewing device according to claim 24, wherein the viewing device and the recording device receive information by separate radio waves of simulcast broadcasting.   25. The viewing / listening apparatus according to claim 24, wherein a PUSH type is used instead of periodic PULL confirmation. A transmission step of transmitting information indicating an operation state of a viewing apparatus capable of reproducing image information to a recording apparatus capable of recording image information;
And a control step of controlling a recording operation of the recording device based on the information transmitted in the transmission step. A generation step of generating viewing evaluation result information based on the viewer's own evaluation of the viewing content when viewing the image information with a replayable viewing device;
Transmitting the viewing evaluation result information to a recording device capable of recording image information;
And a control step of controlling a reproduction operation of the image information recorded in the recording device based on the viewer evaluation result information transmitted in the transmission step. A control step of performing viewing control of a viewing device having a reservation viewing setting function of image information based on the reservation viewing information;
A method for controlling a viewing device, comprising: a transmission step for transmitting the reserved viewing information set by the reserved viewing setting function to a recording device for recording image information prior to execution of the control step.   A control program comprising computer-readable program code for realizing the viewing system control method according to claim 29 or 30.   32. A control program comprising computer-readable program code for implementing the viewing device control method according to claim 31. A storage medium storing the control program according to claim 32 or 33.

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