JP2006042265A - Multimedia distribution system, its distribution server, and communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multimedia distribution system by which multimedia can be reproduced on the basis of the intention of a producer of the multimedia while suppressing a data distribution amount, its distribution server, and a communication terminal. <P>SOLUTION: While executing the streaming distribution of voice medium contents designated as a reference medium, the distribution server 10 distributes other static media prior to reproduction timing in a reproduction process of the reference medium. On the other hand, while executing the streaming reproduction of the received reference medium, a portable telephone 20 side reproduces a static medium corresponding to a data block ID when detecting each data block ID described in the stream data string. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a multimedia distribution system, its distribution server, and a communication terminal.

In a conventional multimedia distribution system, for example, a moving image file and an audio file are distributed while being synchronized as stream data (so-called streaming distribution). In this stream data, the data block of the video stream and the data block of the audio stream are alternately distributed in units of predetermined data amount, and are reproduced while synchronizing both in the communication terminal that receives them. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1 below).
Special Table 2002-523156

  However, in the conventional multimedia distribution system, static media such as text and still images that are played back for a predetermined time with the same contents in the playback process of the dynamic media such as moving image media and audio media are handled as dynamic media. There was a need. That is, for example, in the case of a still image, still image data having the same contents must be distributed as continuous stream data, so that there is a possibility that it will not be reproduced as intended by the multimedia producer. In addition, there is a problem that the data distribution amount increases.

  The present invention has been completed based on the circumstances as described above, and provides a multimedia distribution system capable of reproducing based on the intention of the multimedia producer while suppressing the amount of data distribution, and its distribution server and communication terminal. The purpose is to do.

As means for achieving the above object, a multimedia distribution system according to the invention of claim 1 includes a communication terminal and a distribution server that are communicably connected to each other, and the content of reproduction changes as time passes. Multimedia content including secondary media content and secondary media content played at a predetermined timing in the playback process of the primary media content is distributed from the distribution server and received by the communication terminal In the multimedia distribution system that plays back by the playback means provided in the terminal, among the multimedia contents distributed by the distribution server, the block identification information is given to the data blocks that constitute the secondary media content. And the primary media controller designated as the reference media. In the reproduction process, block identification information given to the data block is described at a data position corresponding to the reproduction timing of the secondary media content in the reproduction process. The detection means for detecting the block identification information during the reproduction of the reference media, and the data block of the secondary media content corresponding to the block identification information detected by the detection means at the timing synchronized with the detection timing. And reproduction control means for reproducing by the reproduction means.
<Glossary>
The “primary media content” referred to in the present invention refers to dynamic media (for example, voice (particularly music), text, video, etc.) that includes temporal elements and whose playback content changes with the passage of time.
“Secondary media content” refers to static media (still image, sound, etc.) whose playback content does not change with time, but is not limited to this, and is played back in the playback process of primary media content. Any of the above dynamic media may be used.
Furthermore, the communication between the communication terminal and the distribution server may be wired distribution or wireless distribution.
The “communication terminal” may be a stationary personal computer. For example, a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone or a portable personal information device (PDA) may be used.
The “reproducing means” includes display means such as LRT and sounding means such as a speaker.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the multimedia distribution system according to the first aspect, the secondary media content includes command information for causing a function of the communication terminal to be executed. .
<Glossary>
The “command information” includes, for example, activation of a sound generation means and a light emission means, activation of a vibrator function of a mobile phone, reception of an email, display, and a display pattern of a display means (display screen). A control command for executing a function of controlling a display pattern, a light emission pattern of a light-emitting lamp, and the like.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a distribution server comprising: a primary media content that is continuously played along a time flow; and a secondary media content that is played back at a predetermined timing in the playback process of the primary media content. Is distributed to a communication terminal that is communicably connected, and among the multimedia contents, the block identification information is assigned to the data block that constitutes the secondary media content. On the other hand, in the primary media content designated as the reference media, block identification information given to the data block is described at a data position corresponding to the playback timing of the secondary media content in the playback process. Stream the primary media content While signal, the second media content, characterized in that it delivered ahead of reproduction timing in the communication terminal.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the distribution server according to the third aspect, the secondary media content includes command information for causing a function of the communication terminal to be executed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication terminal comprising: a primary media content that is continuously played along a time flow; and a secondary media content that is played at a predetermined timing in the playback process of the primary media content. Including a multimedia content including a communication terminal that is played back by a playback unit while receiving from a communicably connected distribution server, and among the multimedia content, a data block constituting the secondary media content includes: While the block identification information is given, the primary media content designated as the reference media is given to the data block at the data position corresponding to the playback timing of the secondary media content in the playback process. Block identification information is described, and the previous reproduction means The detection means for detecting the block identification information during the reproduction of the reference media, and the data block of the secondary media content corresponding to the block identification information detected by the detection means at the timing synchronized with the detection timing. And reproduction control means for reproducing by the reproduction means.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the communication terminal according to the fifth aspect, the secondary media content includes command information for causing a function of the communication terminal to be executed.

<Invention of claims 1, 3 and 5>
According to this configuration, the distribution server performs streaming distribution of the primary media content (dynamic media) designated as the reference media, and other media content (such as static media or a plurality of primary media content, for example). Is distributed prior to the reproduction timing in the reproduction process of the reference medium. On the other hand, on the communication terminal side, when the block identification information described in the stream data is detected while streaming the received reference media, other media contents corresponding to the block identification information are reproduced.
With such a configuration, for example, it is not necessary to distribute static media content data as stream data, and accurate reproduction based on the intention of the multimedia producer can be performed in the communication terminal.

<Invention of Claims 2, 4 and 6>
According to this configuration, the command information for executing the function of the communication terminal is also distributed from the distribution server, and the function can be executed at a predetermined reproduction timing in the reproduction process of the reference media.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The multimedia distribution system 1 according to the present embodiment distributes multimedia contents including static media and dynamic media from the distribution server 10 and performs streaming using the dynamic media as a reference medium in the communication terminal 20 that receives the multimedia contents. This is for reproducing the static media at a predetermined timing in the reproduction process while reproducing. In this embodiment, the multimedia content includes audio media as dynamic media (primary media content), still image media, text media, and control commands as static media (secondary media content). Explain that it is. In the present embodiment, the audio media is music media, but is not limited thereto, and may be, for example, the voice of a person who reads a novel or the like.

1. Overall Configuration of Content Distribution System As shown in FIG. 1, the content distribution system 1 includes a distribution server 10 and a mobile terminal 20, and is configured to be connected to each other via a mobile communication network 30 so that data communication is possible. .

(1) Distribution Server Among these, the distribution server 10 is a server computer that includes a communication unit 11, a CPU 12, a ROM 13, and a memory 14 (for example, a RAM or a hard disk). The memory 14 has a program storage area 15 in which programs capable of executing various applications such as a media distribution manager are stored. Further, the memory 14 has a content storage area 16 for storing various multimedia content data. In this memory, dynamic media and static media constituting each multimedia content are respectively filed and the above-mentioned multi-media contents are stored. It is stored in association with each media content. In this embodiment, an audio media storage area 16a, a still image media storage area 16b, a text media area 16c, and a control command area 16d are secured.

  Also, in the content storage area 16, each multimedia content name and the type of media designated in advance as its reference media (here, the type of audio media, still image media, text media, or control command) Is stored. Therefore, as will be described later, when receiving a distribution request signal from the communication terminal 20, the CPU 12 reads the media distribution manager. Then, the reference media of the multimedia content name corresponding to the distribution request signal is read from the content storage area 16 and streaming distribution is executed.

(2) Mobile Terminal The mobile terminal 20 of the present embodiment is, for example, a mobile communication device (hereinafter, “mobile phone 20”), and is connected to the communication server 10 via the Internet 40 so that data communication is possible. Wireless communication unit 21, CPU 22, buffer memory 23, memory 24, input unit 25, display 26 (corresponding to “reproducing means” of the present invention), and audio amplifier unit 27 (corresponding to “reproducing means” of the present invention). )have.

  Among these, the buffer memory 23 is for temporarily storing multimedia content data. In the memory 24, the static media data is distributed and stored in advance before its own playback timing in the streaming playback process of the reference media. The input unit 25 is an input operation (for example, an operation key, a console, a touch panel, or the like) for executing various functions of the mobile phone 20. For example, a specific content distribution request to the distribution server 10 is also input to the input unit 25. This is executed by the input operation at 26. On the display 26, the distributed still image media and text media, a menu list screen described later, and the like are displayed on the screen. Also, the audio amplifier unit 27 amplifies the streaming reproduced audio media while performing D / A conversion, and outputs an audio signal to an output terminal to which the headphones 28 are connected, for example. In addition, voice can be output from the built-in speaker 29.

  The memory 24 stores media player software capable of reproducing each medium. The media player software includes a media playback manager that controls the playback timing of each media, and playback software for each media. For example, JPEG player is used as still image compatible playback software, MP3 player is used as audio compatible playback software, and typographer is used as text compatible playback software. The control command compatible software includes display control software and vibrator control software.

(3) Data structure of each medium FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing reception and playback timing of each medium in the mobile phone 20.
(A) Audio media data As shown in the figure, audio media data is distributed from the distribution server 10 as stream data. This stream data string includes other still image media, text media, and control. Each data block ID (corresponding to “block identification information” of the present invention) is described at a data position corresponding to each reproduction timing of the command. More specifically, the data block ID “P-1” of the still image 1 is described at the head of the stream data stream of the audio media, and the data block ID “C-1” of the control command 1 is written at the subsequent data position. Is described. Further, the data block ID “T-1” of the text 1 is described at the subsequent data position, and the data block ID “P-2” of the still image 2 is described at the subsequent data position.

(B) Static Media Data On the other hand, the data block ID “P-1” is given to the head of the still image 1 data block, and the data block ID “C-1” is given to the head of the control command 1 data block. Has been granted. Further, the data block ID “T-1” is assigned to the head of the text 1 data block, and the data block ID “P-2” is assigned to the head of the still image 2 data block.
Note that the playback timing of the static media can be set according to the intention of the multimedia content producer by, for example, changing the description position of each data block ID in the audio media data sequence as the reference media in advance on the distribution server 10 side. Flexible playback is possible.

2. Operation of this embodiment First, the user performs an access operation to the distribution server 10 at the input unit 25 of the mobile phone 20 owned by the user. Then, the CPU 22 of the mobile phone 20 accesses the distribution server 10 via the wireless communication unit 21. Thereby, the menu list data is distributed from the distribution server 10 to the mobile phone 20, and the CPU 22 of the mobile phone 20 acquires the menu list data received by the wireless communication unit 21 and displays the menu list screen (not shown), for example. It is displayed on the display 26 by browser software or the like.

  In this menu list screen, for example, a plurality of multimedia content names that can be provided by the distribution server 10 are listed, and the user can enter a desired multimedia content name by performing an input operation on the input unit 25 of the mobile phone 20. Click to select. Then, the CPU 22 transmits a download request signal including the selected multimedia content ID to the distribution server 10.

  Thereby, the CPU 12 of the distribution server 10 extracts the multimedia content name corresponding to the received multimedia content ID and the type of the reference medium from the content storage area 16. Then, the audio media data designated as the reference medium is read from the audio media storage area 16a. Next, the audio media data is distributed as stream data to the mobile phone 20 via the mobile communication network 30. At this time, in the process of reading the audio media data, the CPU 12 detects in advance the data block ID of each static media described in the audio media data sequence, and the corresponding data block of the media is stored in the content storage area. 16 is read out. Then, as will be described later, the CPU 12 plans so that the mobile phone 20 receives the static media data block at least before the playback timing of the static media in the audio media playback process on the mobile phone 20. (See the lower diagram in FIG. 2). The distribution method may be either a multicast method or a unicast method.

  On the other hand, on the mobile phone 20 side, as described below, the CPU 22 functions as the “detection means” and “reproduction control means” of the present invention. That is, the CPU 22 performs streaming playback while temporarily storing the received audio media data in the buffer memory 23, while storing the data block of each static media that is distributed as needed in the memory 24. When streaming playback of audio media is executed, as shown in FIG. 2, first, audio starts to flow from the built-in speaker 29 of the mobile phone 20 ((a) in FIG. 2). When the streaming reproduction proceeds to some extent and the CPU 22 detects the description of the data block ID “P-1” of the still image 1 in the audio media data string, the still image 1 is read from the memory 24 at a timing synchronized with the detection timing. The data block is read and the still image 1 is displayed on the display 26 ((b) in the figure).

  The still screen 1 may be temporarily displayed on the screen, but is continuously displayed until the playback timing of other static media (for example, the next still image 2) to be played back thereafter. There may be. In addition, playback time information is given to the still image 1 data block in advance, and the mobile phone 20 plays back the still image 1 for a predetermined time according to the playback time information from the playback timing. Also good. Each of the above-described configurations can be similarly applied to other static media (control command 1, text 1 and still image 2) described below.

  When the audio media streaming playback further proceeds and the CPU 22 detects the description of the data block ID “C-1” of the control command 1 in the audio media data string, the control is performed from the memory 24 at a timing synchronized with the detection timing. The command 1 data is read and the control contents are executed. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2C, the CPU 22 executes a vibrator function.

  Thereafter, when the CPU 22 detects the description of the data block ID “T-1” of the text 1 in the audio media data string, the text 1 data is read from the memory 24 at a timing synchronized with the detection timing, and the text content is read. The screen is displayed on the display 26 ((d) in the figure). At this time, it is a matter of course that the text content may be displayed on the screen while the still image 1 is displayed.

  After that, when the CPU 22 detects the description of the data block ID “P-2” of the still image 2 in the audio media data string, the data block of the still image 2 is read from the memory 24 at a timing synchronized with the detection timing. The still image 2 is displayed on the display 26 ((e) in the figure).

3. Advantages of the present embodiment (1) According to the present embodiment, the distribution server 10 distributes the audio media content (dynamic media) designated as the reference medium while streaming other static media of the reference medium. Deliver before the playback timing in the playback process. On the other hand, on the mobile phone 20 side, when each data block ID described in the stream data string is detected while streaming the received reference medium, the static medium corresponding to the data block ID is reproduced. .
With such a configuration, for example, it is not necessary to distribute static media data as stream data, and accurate reproduction based on the intention of the multimedia producer can be performed on the mobile phone 20.

  (2) In addition, a control command for executing the function of the mobile phone 20 is also distributed from the distribution server 10, and the function can be executed at a predetermined reproduction timing in the reproduction process of the reference medium.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) In the above embodiment, the audio medium is specified as the reference medium. In addition, even if it is a text medium, it can be designated as a reference medium as long as it is a dynamic medium as long as the playback content changes sequentially with the passage of time. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which text media as dynamic media (or audio media of a person who reads the text content) is used as a reference media, and still image media and the like are played back as needed in the streaming playback process of the reference media. . As a result, for example, a picture-story play is possible, such as switching the background of the display screen at a predetermined timing while sequentially streaming and replaying characters and readings of a story.
The multimedia content may be played in accordance with a user's predetermined operation in the game software as long as the content includes dynamic media that can be streamed.

  (2) The mobile phone 20 may be configured to play the same static media a plurality of times at different playback timings.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the data communication between the distribution server 10 and the mobile phone 20 is performed via the mobile communication network 30. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and data communication is performed via the Internet or an in-house intranet. The structure which performs this may be sufficient. Further, either wired or wireless may be used.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a multimedia distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory diagram schematically showing reception and playback timing of each medium in a mobile phone

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Content distribution system 10 ... Distribution server 11 ... Communication part 12 ... CPU
20 ... Mobile phone (communication terminal)
26. Display (reproduction means)
27. Audio amplifier section (reproduction means)
30 ... Mobile communication network (communication line)

Claims (6)

A communication terminal and a distribution server connected to be communicable with each other;
Multimedia content including primary media content whose playback content changes with time and secondary media content played at a predetermined timing in the playback process of the primary media content is distributed from the distribution server. In the multimedia distribution system that is played back by the playback means provided in the communication terminal while being received by the communication terminal,
Among the multimedia contents distributed by the distribution server, the block identification information is given to the data block constituting the secondary media content, while the primary media content designated as the reference medium is In the playback process, block identification information given to the data block is described at a data position corresponding to the playback timing of the secondary media content,
The communication terminal is configured to detect the block identification information during the reproduction of the reference medium by the reproduction unit;
Playback control means for playing back the data block of the secondary media content corresponding to the block identification information detected by the detection means by the playback means at a timing synchronized with the detection timing. A multimedia distribution system characterized by this. The multimedia distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the secondary media content includes command information for causing a function of the communication terminal to be executed. Multimedia content including primary media content that is continuously played in accordance with the flow of time and secondary media content that is played at a predetermined timing in the playback process of the primary media content is connected to be communicable. A delivery server for delivering to a communication terminal,
Among the multimedia contents, the block identification information is given to the data blocks constituting the secondary media contents, while the primary media contents designated as the reference media are in the playback process. Block identification information given to the data block is described at a data position corresponding to the playback timing of the secondary media content,
A distribution server characterized in that the secondary media content is distributed prior to playback timing at the communication terminal while the primary media content is stream-distributed. The distribution server according to claim 3, wherein the secondary media content includes command information for causing a function of the communication terminal to be executed. Multimedia content including primary media content that is continuously played in accordance with the flow of time and secondary media content that is played at a predetermined timing in the playback process of the primary media content is connected to be communicable. A communication terminal that reproduces with a reproducing means while receiving from a distribution server,
Among the multimedia contents, the block identification information is given to the data blocks constituting the secondary media contents, while the primary media contents designated as the reference media are in the playback process. Block identification information given to the data block is described at a data position corresponding to the playback timing of the secondary media content,
Detecting means for detecting the block identification information during reproduction of the reference medium by the reproducing means;
Playback control means for playing back the data block of the secondary media content corresponding to the block identification information detected by the detection means by the playback means at a timing synchronized with the detection timing. A communication terminal characterized by that. The communication terminal according to claim 5, wherein the secondary media content includes command information for executing a function of the communication terminal.

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