JP2006086830A - Reproducing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reproducing apparatus with which target contents are retrieved from among a plurality of continuous moving image contents. <P>SOLUTION: The reproducing apparatus has: a signal transmitting part 13 which transmits a request signal for requesting transmission of content data by specifying time to a storage device 2; a content data receiving part 14 which receives the content data transmitted corresponding to the request signal from the storage device 2; a decoding part 15 which decodes image data included in the content data when the content data is received by the content data receiving part 14; a control part 17 which performs control so that the image data for one frame of the time specified by the request signal is decoded by the decoding part 15, performs control so that the image data for one frame decoded by the decoding part 15 is outputted and performs control so that a similar processing from transmission of the request signal to control of output of the image data for one frame is repeated whenever fixed time elapses. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a playback apparatus that controls playback of moving images.

  In recent years, a server device that provides various contents via a network, such as a home server, has been used. Such server devices are equipped with a large-capacity storage medium and have a function of automatically recording according to the user's preference, and some server devices accumulate more content than the user intends. Many of the contents stored in these large-capacity storage media are moving picture contents having both video information and audio information.

  As described above, there are many server devices having a search function in order for a user to find a target content from a large amount of content stored in a storage medium. However, it is very difficult to accurately search content having a huge amount of information such as moving image content as intended by the user. As a result, the user is forced to actually reproduce the content in order to find the target content.

In order to solve such a problem, there exists a search method in which a thumbnail image is created from moving image content and a search is performed using the created thumbnail image. However, in many cases, only the top image of the moving image content is displayed. Therefore, in such a search method using thumbnail images, it cannot be said that an image serving as a clue to the image content desired by the user is displayed from moving image content having a plurality of continuous image information. On the other hand, the technology in which the server transmits still image content synchronized with the moving image content and the client slides and reproduces the still image content (for example, Patent Document 1) is the time when the user views the target content and the content in the content. Useful for finding easily.
JP 2002-7478 A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above needs to create moving image content and a plurality of still image contents synchronized with the moving image content in advance, and store the still image content in a storage medium. Therefore, a capacity larger than the moving image content stored in the conventional storage medium is required. In addition, in order to smoothly resume the reproduction of the moving image content from the point of time synchronized with the still image content being played back, two systems of a communication function and a reproduction function for moving image content and a communication function and a reproduction function for still image content are provided. We needed communication and playback functions.

  The present invention does not require a plurality of still image contents synchronized with moving image content to be created in advance and stored in a storage medium, and allows the reproducing device to perform slide reproduction of the moving image content. The object is to perform slide playback using the original video content playback function.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a playback apparatus according to the present invention of claim 1 is a playback apparatus that receives and plays back content data from a storage device that stores content data in which at least image data is associated with time information. A signal transmission unit that transmits a request signal for requesting transmission of content data at a specified time to the device, a content data reception unit that receives content data transmitted in response to the request signal from the storage device, When the content data receiving unit receives the content data, the decoding unit that decodes the image data included in the content data and the decoding unit controls to decode the image data for one frame of the time specified by the request signal. Control to output one frame of image data decoded by the It is characterized by a control unit which controls to the same processing from the transmission of the request signal to the control of the output of the image data of one frame is repeated every time a constant time elapses.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a playback apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the control unit is configured to perform the next to the frame of the image data decoded by the decoding unit when the normal playback mode is set. The content data is continuously decoded by the decoding unit and controlled to be output.

  According to the present invention described above, slide playback of moving image content can be performed by a playback device using a conventional storage device.

  Provided is an image reproduction device capable of searching for a target content from a plurality of continuous moving image contents.

  The best mode of a playback apparatus according to the best mode of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment]
<Reproducing device>
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a playback device 1 and a storage device 2 connected to the playback device 1 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the playback apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an operation instruction input unit 11, a communication interface 12, a signal transmission unit 13, a content data reception unit 14, a decoding unit 15, a content data output unit 16, and A control unit 17 is included.

  The operation instruction input unit 11 receives an operation instruction from a user. For example, the operation instruction input unit 11 may be a slide playback button, a playback button, or the like that is provided in the playback device 1 and inputs a slide playback operation instruction or a normal playback operation instruction. Further, the operation instruction input unit 11 includes various operation buttons that are conventionally provided in a playback apparatus, such as a stop button, a rewind button, or a fast forward button for inputting a stop, rewind, or fast forward instruction. Also good. Furthermore, the operation instruction input unit 11 may be a receiving unit that receives an operation instruction signal transmitted from an external remote controller. Further, the operation instruction input unit 11 can assume that a slide reproduction instruction is input when an operation instruction from the user is not input at a predetermined timing, or that a reproduction instruction is input through some operation. .

  The communication interface 12 transmits a request signal input from the signal transmission unit 13 to the storage device 2 and outputs the content data received from the storage device 2 to the content data reception unit 14. The communication interface 12 is connected to an external network regardless of wired or wireless, transmission distance, and communication protocol type. The communication method and control commands for transmission / reception by the communication interface 12 are not particularly limited. For example, by using a standard such as UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), cooperative operation with various network devices can be performed. It becomes possible.

  The signal transmission unit 13 transmits a request signal for requesting transmission of content data to a storage device 2 in which content data having image data and audio data associated with time information is stored.

  The content data receiving unit 14 receives content data transmitted from the storage device 2 in response to the transmitted request signal.

  When the content data receiving unit 14 receives content data, the decoding unit 15 decodes image data and audio data included in the content data. Further, the decoding unit 15 decodes content data of various formats into data that can be appropriately reproduced regardless of the still image or the moving image received from the storage device 2 based on an instruction from the control unit 17.

  The content data output unit 16 outputs the image data and audio data decoded by the decoding unit 15. The content data output unit 16 outputs data to an output device such as a display or a speaker provided inside or outside the playback device 1.

  The control unit 17 causes the decoding unit 15 to decode the image data for one frame specified by the request signal. In addition, the control unit 17 controls the content data output unit 16 to output one frame of image data decoded by the decoding unit 15. Further, the control unit 17 repeats the same processing from the request for content data to the display control of the image every time a certain period of time elapses after one frame of image data is displayed on the output device by the content data output unit 16. To be controlled. In addition, the control unit 17 controls the communication interface 12, the signal transmission unit 13, the content data reception unit 14, the decoding unit 15, and the content data output unit 16 based on the operation instruction input from the operation instruction input unit 11.

<Storage device>
The storage device 2 connected to the playback device 1 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention has a communication interface 21 and a storage medium 22.

  The communication interface 21 is connected to an external network regardless of the type of cable or wireless, transmission distance, and communication protocol, receives a request from the playback device 1, and transmits content data corresponding to the received request. Although there are no particular restrictions on communication methods and control commands for transmission / reception by the communication interface 21, as with the communication interface 12, cooperation with various network devices is possible by using a standard such as UPnP. Become. In order to enable slide playback of image data without preparing or creating still image content in the storage device 2, the communication interface 21 performs streaming transmission from an arbitrary point in the content in response to a request from the playback device 1. It is possible to start.

  The storage medium 22 accumulates and stores various control programs and contents in various formats regardless of the types such as still images, moving images, and sounds. These content data are configured such that content data from an arbitrary time can be taken out. The storage medium 22 is a storage medium such as a disk, silicon medium, or hard disk.

<Reproduction processing>
FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the playback process of the playback apparatus 1 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining data transmission processing of the storage device 2. Further, FIG. 4 shows an example of a display image for explaining the reproduction process.

  The operation instruction input unit 11 waits for an operation instruction from the user (S001). When a slide reproduction operation instruction is input from the user to the operation instruction input unit 11, the control unit 17 controls the signal transmission unit 13 and transmits a content request signal to the storage device 2 (S002). This content request signal is a slide playback instruction including time t for starting slide playback as time information. Specifically, it is a signal for requesting streaming transmission of content data whose reproduction starts from time t, and is transmitted via the communication interface 12.

  When the communication interface 12 transmits a content request signal, the content data receiving unit 14 of the playback device 1 waits for content data transmitted from the storage device 2 (S003).

  When the content data receiving unit 14 receives content data from the storage device 2 via the communication interface 12, the decoding unit 15 decodes image data for the first frame of the received content data (S004). Since the received content data is content data whose reproduction starts at time t specified by the content request signal, the decoded image data is image data displayed at time t.

  The content data output unit 16 outputs the image data decoded by the decoding unit 15 to an output device such as a display (S005). As described above, the output device from which image data is output may be incorporated in the playback device 1 or connected to the outside of the playback device 1.

  The signal transmission unit 13 transmits a stop request signal for requesting stop of streaming transmission of the currently received moving image content to the storage device 2 via the communication interface 12 (S006).

  If the end of content playback is operated, the control unit 17 ends, but if the end of content playback is not instructed (S007), the control unit 17 causes the playback device 1 to further increase the playback start time from time t to time s. (S008), the process returns to step S002, and the same processing from the transmission of the content request signal in step S002 to the transmission of the stop request signal in step S006 is repeated.

  Thus, when slide reproduction is repeated, images at intervals of time s are repeated in order. For example, FIG. 4A is displayed at the first time t, then FIG. 4B is displayed at the time (t + s), and then FIG. 4C is displayed at the time (t + 2s).

  Note that if the storage device 2 can only transmit streaming data of one image content to the playback device 1 and is set to always deliver the streaming of the requested image content at all times, the stop signal is transmitted in steps S006 to S008. Processing and repetitive processing are not necessarily required.

  As described above, the playback apparatus 1 can display the image content as if it were being played back by sliding, by repeating the processes in steps S002 to S008. Further, by changing the value of the time s for increasing / decreasing the reproduction start time, the user can freely adjust the slide reproduction display interval.

  Further, the processing of the storage device 2 when the playback device 1 performs the processing shown in FIG. 2 is performed as shown in FIG. First, when the communication interface 21 receives a content request signal from the playback device 1 (S101), the content data starting from the time t specified by the content request signal is read from the storage medium 22 and transmitted to the playback device 1. (S102).

  When receiving the content data streaming transmission stop request signal (S103), the communication interface 21 of the storage device 2 stops the content data streaming transmission (S104). When streaming transmission of content data is stopped, the process returns to step S101 to respond to the next request, and again enters a standby state.

<Normal playback processing>
With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, an example in which a normal playback operation instruction is input in the playback device 1 will be described. The flowchart shown in FIG. 5 differs from the playback process shown in FIG. 2 in that the processes of steps S201 to S205, which are normal playback processes, are added. The processing similar to that in FIG. 2 described above will be omitted and described below.

  The decoding unit 15 outputs to the output device when a normal reproduction operation instruction is input from the operation instruction input unit 11 (S201) while outputting arbitrary image data to an output device such as a display (S005). The image content continuous to the image for an arbitrary one frame is decoded and output to the content data output unit 16 (S202). That is, all the streaming data of continuous moving image content received after the specified time t received by the content data receiving unit 14 is decoded and output to the content data output unit 16. The content data output unit 16 outputs the input continuous image data (S203).

  At this time, for example, when slide playback is performed as shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that FIG. 4A is displayed at time t and FIG. 4B is displayed at time (t + s). When an image for the time (t + s) shown in FIG. 4B is displayed and a normal playback instruction request is input (S005), all frames are decoded for image content after this time (t + s). Then, following the image of FIG. 4B, the images shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C are continuously displayed.

  The control unit 17 repeats the reproduction processing of the same steps S202 and S203 until transmission of the streaming data of the moving image content ends (S204). For example, when the end is requested, or when the content data that has been played back is played back to the end, it can be determined that the streaming playback is finished.

  As described above, by switching the control of the control unit 17, the playback device 1 can perform normal movie playback immediately from the point of time desired by the user without re-requesting the storage device 2 for streaming transmission of movie content. And

[Modification 1]
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a playback device 1a and a storage device 2a connected to the playback device 1a according to the first modification of the present invention. The playback device 1a shown in FIG. 7 enables slide playback of moving image content from a storage medium that cannot be randomly accessed, such as a tape medium.

  The playback device 1a according to the first modification includes a content data input unit 18 instead of the decoding unit 15 as compared with the playback device 1 shown in FIG.

  The content data input unit 18 inputs content data from the storage device 2a.

  Further, the storage device 2a connected to the reproduction device 1a according to the modification has a content data output unit 23 as compared with the storage device 2 described in the embodiment. Further, a storage medium 22 a is provided instead of the storage medium 22.

  Unlike the above-described embodiment, the storage medium 22a is a storage medium that cannot be randomly accessed, such as a tape. Although the form is not particularly limited, it is a storage medium capable of outputting content from an arbitrary time.

  The content data output unit 23 outputs the content data stored in the storage medium 22 to the playback device 1.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining processing in the reproducing apparatus 1a shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining processing in the storage device 2a shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the operation instruction input unit 11 of the playback device 1a waits for an operation instruction input from the user (S301). When a slide reproduction request is input to the operation instruction input unit 11, the signal transmission unit 13 transmits a content request signal to the storage device 2a (S302).

  Next, the content data input unit 18 waits for reception of content data in response to a content request signal (S303). When the content data input unit 18 receives the content data, the content data output unit 16 outputs the received image content to an output device such as a display (S304). Also in this case, the output device may be provided in the playback device 1a, or may be configured outside the playback device 1a and connected to the playback device 1a. Until the process is terminated (S305), the processes of steps S303 and S304 are repeated.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, the communication interface 21 of the storage device 2a waits for a content request signal input from the playback device 1 (S401). When the content data output unit 23 receives the content request signal through the communication interface 21, the content data output unit 23 returns and calls the image data of the time specified by the content request signal (S402). For example, an image at a specified time can be recalled by rewinding or fast-forwarding the tape that is the storage medium 22.

  When the image at the designated time is called, the content data output unit 23 reads image data for one frame at the designated time (S403). Further, the content data output unit 23 transmits the output image data for one frame to the playback device 1a (S404). Subsequently, if there is an end instruction (S405), the process is ended (S405). If not, the time s is advanced and the processes of steps S402 to S404 are repeated (S406).

  In this way, the same slide reproduction can be performed by sequentially displaying the images at the designated times.

[Modification 2]
FIG. 10 shows a reproduction storage device 3 that has the functions of the reproduction device and the storage device of Modification 1 described above. The reproduction storage device 3 includes an operation instruction input unit 31, a storage medium 32, a content data output unit 33, and a control unit 34.

  The operation instruction input unit 31 has the same function as the operation instruction input unit 11 described above, and receives an operation instruction from the user.

  The storage medium 32 is a storage device that has the same function as the storage medium 22a according to Modification 1 described above and cannot be accessed randomly.

  The content data output unit 33 has the same function as the content data output unit 16 described above, and outputs the content data read from the storage medium 32.

  The control unit 34 controls the storage medium 32 and the content data output unit 33 based on the operation instruction input from the operation instruction input unit 31.

  In the processing of the reproduction storage device 3, when a slide reproduction request is input from the operation instruction input unit 31, the control unit 34 reads an image for one frame of a specified time by rewinding or fast-forwarding the storage medium 32. The read image is displayed. By performing this reading at regular intervals, slide playback is possible.

  In this way, a similar slide playback is possible even in a playback storage device having the functions of the playback device and the storage device alone.

  It goes without saying that the present invention includes various embodiments not described herein. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the invention specifying matters according to the scope of claims reasonable from the above description.

It is a block diagram explaining the reproducing | regenerating apparatus based on the best form of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process of the slide reproduction | regeneration in the reproducing | regenerating apparatus which concerns on the best form of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process in the memory | storage device connected with the reproducing | regenerating apparatus which concerns on the best form of this invention. It is an example of the image output when the reproducing | regenerating apparatus which concerns on the best form of this invention is a slide reproduction | regeneration. It is a flowchart explaining the process of normal reproduction | regeneration in the reproducing | regenerating apparatus which concerns on the best form of this invention. It is an example of the image output when the reproducing | regenerating apparatus which concerns on the best form of this invention is normal reproduction | regeneration. It is a block diagram explaining the reproducing | regenerating apparatus which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process in the reproducing | regenerating apparatus which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process in the memory | storage device connected with the reproducing | regenerating apparatus which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the reproduction | regeneration storage device concerning the other modification of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a ... Playback apparatus 2, 2a ... Memory | storage device 3 ... Playback / storage apparatus 11 ... Operation instruction input part 12 ... Communication interface 13 ... Signal transmission part 14 ... Content data receiving part 15 ... Decoding part 16 ... Content data output part 17 ... Control unit 18 ... Content data input unit 21 ... Communication interface 22, 22a ... Storage medium 23 ... Content data output unit 31 ... Operation instruction input unit 32 ... Storage medium 33 ... Content data output unit 34 ... Control unit

Claims (2)

In a playback device that receives and plays back the content data from a storage device that stores content data in which at least image data is associated with time information,
A signal transmission unit for transmitting a request signal for requesting transmission of the content data by designating time to the storage device;
A content data receiving unit that receives content data transmitted in response to the request signal from the storage device;
When the content data is received by the content data receiving unit, a decoding unit that decodes image data included in the content data;
Control is performed so that image data for one frame of the time specified by the request signal is decoded by the decoding unit, and control is performed so that one frame of image data decoded by the decoding unit is output. A control unit that controls to repeat the same process from the transmission of the request signal to the control of the output of the image data for one frame each time;
A playback apparatus comprising: The playback device according to claim 1,
The control unit performs control so that when the normal playback mode is set, the decoding unit continuously decodes and outputs the content data next to the frame of the image data decoded by the decoding unit. A playback device.

Images