JP2007026329A - Content transmitting and receiving system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content transmitting and receiving system capable of easily transmitting contents stored in a server to a terminal. <P>SOLUTION: The terminal 50 selects the contents to be requested to a server 10 among content information of the contents which are stored in the server 10 and are not stored in the terminal 50. Specifically, the terminal 50 transmits a local list which includes the content information of the contents stored in the terminal 50, to the server 10. The server 10 generates a non-acquisition list including the content information of the contents which are not stored in the terminal 50 (S403) and transmits it to the terminal 50 (S404). The terminal 50 selects the contents to be acquired from the non-acquisition list (S454). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content transmission / reception system for transmitting a plurality of contents stored in a server to a terminal device.

  In recent years, a system in which a plurality of contents (a general term for data such as video, music, and still images) is stored in a server installed in a home and video, music, still images, etc. are reproduced based on these contents has become widespread. I am doing. In order to reproduce these contents outdoors, the server transmits the contents to the terminal device (portable player or the like), the terminal device accumulates the contents transmitted from the server, and reproduces the contents on the terminal device side. Has been done. Here, the operation of selecting the content to be transmitted to the terminal device from the content stored in the server is a very complicated operation for the user. This is because the storage capacity of the server is very large and a huge amount of content can be stored in the server, so that it is difficult to select desired content from a huge amount of content. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the content already accumulated in the terminal device is selected as the content to be acquired from the server, and the already accumulated content is overwritten or the same content is accumulated redundantly. . That is, unnecessary transmission processing from the server to the terminal device may be performed.

  The following Patent Document 1 describes a recording system that can more easily transmit content such as TV signals stored in a hard disk by scheduled recording to a removable disk. This system attaches a removable disk to a portable player, acquires program guide data from a broadcast station or a program guide server, generates agent data based on the program guide data, and records it on a removable disk. When the removable disk is mounted on the home server, the agent data is copied to the hard disk of the home server. The home server receives content (TV signal) from the broadcast station based on the agent data and automatically records it on the hard disk. Then, when the removable disk is mounted on the home server again, the reserved recording TV signal is automatically transmitted from the hard disk to the removable disk based on the agent data recorded on the removable disk.

  However, Patent Document 1 only describes that the content acquired by the home server based on the program guide acquired by the portable player from the broadcast station is automatically transmitted to the removable disk, and is stored in the home server. There is no description on how to easily transmit other content that has been recorded to a removable disk.

JP 2003-348508 A

  The objective of this invention is providing the content transmission / reception system which can transmit the content accumulate | stored in the server easily to a terminal device.

  A content transmission / reception system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a server and a terminal device connectable to the server. The server includes a first content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents, a first content information storage unit capable of storing content information relating to the content stored in the first content storage unit, and the server Content information transmission means for transmitting at least part of the content information of the content stored in the terminal device to the terminal device, and content transmission means for transmitting content to the terminal device. The terminal device includes: a second content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents; a second content information storage unit capable of storing content information related to the content stored in the second content storage unit; Content information receiving means for receiving at least part of the content information of the content stored in the server, and a plurality of content information including the content information of the content stored in the server and excluding the content information of the content stored in the terminal device Content selection means for selecting the content requested from the server, and content acquisition means for requesting and obtaining the content selected by the content selection means from the server.

  The terminal device receives at least a part of the content information of the content stored in the server, and selects the content to be acquired from only the content stored in the server and not stored in the terminal device. Therefore, when the user selects content, it is not necessary to determine whether or not the content has already been acquired, and the user's content selection operation becomes extremely easy. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent content that has already been acquired by the terminal device from being erroneously transmitted from the server to the terminal device. As a specific method for the terminal device to determine only the content stored in the server and not stored in the terminal device, (1) content information of the content stored in the terminal device is transmitted from the terminal device to the server. The server creates an unacquired list and transmits it to the terminal device. (2) All content information of the content stored in the server is transmitted from the server to the terminal device, and the terminal device creates the unacquired list. (3 ) When the terminal device receives all the content information of the content accumulated by the server from the server and displays it on the display device, the content already accumulated by the terminal device is not displayed (or displayed in a different manner). Etc. may be provided.

  Preferably, when the terminal device is connected to the server, the content acquisition unit acquires the content selected in advance by the content selection unit from the server.

  The terminal device can select the content acquired from the server in a state where it is not connected to the server. The terminal device can automatically request and acquire the preselected content when connecting to the server by selecting the content to be acquired when connecting to the server in advance. it can.

  Preferably, the content selection means further selects content to be deleted from the content stored in the second content storage unit. The terminal device has a content deletion unit that deletes the content selected by the content selection unit from the second content storage unit, and a capacity that increases when the content selected by the content selection unit is acquired from the server. And capacity determining means for determining whether or not the free capacity of the second content storage unit is exceeded. When the capacity determining unit determines that the free capacity of the second content storage unit is exceeded, the content selecting unit deletes the deletion unit from the second content storage unit based on a predetermined condition. Select content.

  As a result of selecting the content to be acquired based on a user instruction, if the capacity that increases after content acquisition exceeds the free capacity of the second content storage unit, a part of the selected content cannot be acquired. Therefore, all the selected content can be acquired by automatically deleting the content stored in the second content storage unit based on a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition is, for example, a priority order such as a protection level by title, a protection level by artist, a protection level by album, a protection level by genre, etc., the number of playbacks, the latest playback date and time, or a combination thereof.

  Preferably, the content selection unit selects content to be acquired from the server and content to be deleted from the second content storage unit based on an instruction from the user. The capacity determination unit is configured to acquire the selected content from the server after the content deletion unit deletes the content selected based on a user instruction by the content selection unit from the second content storage unit. It is determined whether or not the capacity to be increased exceeds the free capacity of the second content storage unit.

  When the content to be acquired and the content to be deleted are selected based on an instruction from the user, the capacity that is increased when the content is acquired after the content is deleted is compared with the free capacity of the second content storage unit To do. In other words, if the size obtained by subtracting the total size of the content to be deleted from the total size of the content to be acquired exceeds the free capacity of the second content storage unit, the content to be deleted is automatically selected from the second content storage unit. .

  Preferably, the terminal device further includes an unacquired list storage unit that can store an unacquired list that includes content information of content stored in the server and that excludes content information of content stored in the terminal device. Have. The content selection means selects content to be acquired from the server from content information included in the unacquired list.

  Since the terminal device can select the content to be acquired from the unacquired list to be stored, it is very easy to display the content stored in the server and not stored in the terminal device on the display device. Content to be acquired from can be selected.

  Preferably, the terminal device further includes second content information transmission means for transmitting content information of content stored in the terminal device. The server is based on second content information receiving means for receiving content information of content stored in the terminal device, content information of content stored in the terminal device, and content information of content stored in the server. And an unacquired list creating means for creating the unacquired list. The content information transmitting unit transmits the unacquired list to the terminal device, and the content information receiving unit receives the unacquired list and stores it in the unacquired list storage unit.

  When the terminal device creates an unacquired list, the server needs to transmit all of the content information of the content stored by the server to the terminal device, which makes transmission processing very complicated. In this example, the server creates an unacquired list. Therefore, since an unacquired list that does not include content information of content stored in the terminal device is transmitted from the server to the terminal device, transmission processing from the server to the terminal device can be greatly simplified. In addition, it is necessary to transmit the content information of the content stored in the terminal device from the terminal device to the server, but the information may be only identification information (for example, a hash key or a title ID) for comparing the content. Since there is no need to transmit the content information, the transmission process does not become complicated.

  Preferably, the terminal device further includes means for transmitting a filter that is a limiting condition when the unacquired list is created. The unacquired list creation unit creates an unacquired list including only content information of content that matches the filter.

  By limiting the content information included in the unacquired list to only the content desired by the user by the filter, the user's content selection work is further facilitated, and the unacquired list transmission process is further simplified.

  Preferably, the terminal device includes content information of content stored in the server, and receives from the server an unacquired list from which content information of content stored in the terminal device is excluded, and the content And means for canceling selection of contents not included in the unacquired list from contents previously selected by the selecting means.

If the content information of the content selected to be acquired by the user's instruction does not exist in the unacquired list received from the server at the time of content acquisition, the content acquired from the server is selected after the content to be acquired by the user's instruction is selected. Has been deleted. Therefore, by canceling the selection of the content from the content to be acquired, it is possible to prevent a content request error.

An operation program for a terminal device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is provided in a server including a first content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents and a first content information storage unit capable of storing content information related to the contents. A connection step of connecting, a step of storing a plurality of contents in the second content storage unit, and a content information relating to the content stored in the second content storage unit in the second content information storage unit And steps to
A content information receiving step for receiving at least part of the content information of the content stored in the server; and content information of the content stored in the first content storage unit, and stored in the second content storage unit A content selection step for selecting the content requested from the server based on a plurality of pieces of content information excluding the content information of the selected content, and the content obtained by requesting the server for the content selected in the content selection step Causing the computer to execute an acquisition step.

  A server operation program according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a first content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents; and a first content information storage unit capable of storing content content information related to the first content. A connection step for connecting to a terminal device including a second content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents, and content information of the content stored in the second content storage unit Content information receiving step, content information of the content stored in the first content storage unit, and content information of the content stored in the second content storage unit is excluded An unacquired list creation step of creating a list, and the unacquired list as the terminal device And not acquired list transmitting step of transmitting, to execute a content transmission step of transmitting the content to the terminal device to the computer.

  In the content transmission / reception system of the present invention, since the terminal device selects the content acquired from the server from the content stored in the server and not stored in the terminal device, the selection of the content becomes very easy. In addition, it is possible to prevent the already accumulated content from being transmitted from the server.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a content transmission / reception system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The terminal device 50 is connected to the server 10 via a network such as a LAN, for example. The terminal device 50 selects content to be acquired from the server 10 in consideration of a predetermined condition to be described later from only content information of content stored in the server 10 and not stored in the terminal device 50. The selected content is acquired from the server 10. Further, the terminal device 50 can delete the content stored by the terminal device 50 based on a user instruction or a free space of the HDD. In this example, first, the terminal device 50 transmits a local list (or a part thereof) including content information of content stored in the terminal device 50 to the server 10 (1). The server 10 creates an unacquired list including the content information of the content stored in the server 10 and excluding the content information of the content stored in the terminal device 50, and transmits it to the terminal device 50 (2). The terminal device 50 selects the content to be acquired based on the unacquired list, and requests the selected content from the server 10 (3). In response to the request from the terminal device 50, the server 10 transmits the content to the terminal device 50 (4). Details will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the server 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The server 10 includes a storage device such as an HDD (hard disk drive) 11, a control unit such as a CPU processing unit 12, and a communication unit such as a LAN controller 13. The HDD 11 includes a content storage unit 14 that stores a plurality of contents (content is a general term for data such as music, video, and / or still images), and a content list storage unit (database) 15 that stores a content list. including. The content list is a list including content information of content stored in the content storage unit 14. An example of content information included in the content list is shown in Table 1. In the content list, the content information shown in Table 1 is present in the number corresponding to the number of contents stored in the content storage unit 14.

  For example, in the case of music content, the content information includes title (song name), artist name, album name, genre name, reproduction time, content size, content identification information such as a hash key, etc. (may be a title ID). Recording date / time, registration date / time, and file format (MP3, WMA, etc.). The hash key is a key that is uniquely calculated by a hash function, and is used for content comparison between the terminal device 50 and the server 10. The recording date and time is the date and time when the content is recorded (recorded) on the HDD 11, and the registration date and time is the date and time registered in the playback application so that the server 10 can play back the content.

  The CPU processing unit 12 controls the operation of the entire server 10, and includes a database management unit 16, a network protocol processing unit 17, and a system operation unit 18. The database management unit 16 manages the HDD 11. Specifically, the database management unit 16 selects desired content in the content storage unit 14 in response to a request from the terminal device 50 or an instruction from the user. The network protocol processing unit 17 performs protocol processing on input / output data. The system operation unit 18 reads the server program stored in the HDD 11 and executes various processes of the server 10 described later. For example, a local list is received from the terminal device 50, an unacquired list is created based on the content list and the local list, and is transmitted to the terminal device 50. The LAN controller 13 transmits and receives signals (content data, commands, etc.) between the server 10 and the LAN 70.

  The server 10 includes an input device 19 that receives instructions from a user such as operation buttons, a keyboard, and a remote control receiver, a display device 20 that displays content information included in the content list, and content stored in the content storage unit 14. It further includes an audio processing unit 21 for decoding, a DAC (digital / analog converter) 22 for converting data from the audio processing unit 21 into an analog signal, and a memory 23 such as a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, and a FIFO memory. A signal output from the DAC 22 is supplied to an amplifier device, a speaker, or the like connected to the outside and reproduced as sound.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a terminal device 50 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The terminal device 50 includes a storage device such as an HDD (hard disk drive) 51, a control unit such as a CPU processing unit 52, and a communication unit such as a LAN controller 53. The HDD 51 includes a content storage unit 54 that stores a plurality of contents, a local list storage unit (database) 55 that stores a local list, and an unacquired list storage unit (database) 56 that stores an unacquired list. The local list is a list including content information of content stored in the content storage unit 54. The unacquired list is a list that includes content information of content that is stored in the server 10 and not stored in the terminal device 50. In other words, the unacquired list is a list that includes content information of content stored in the server 10 and that excludes content information of content stored in the terminal device 50 from the content information. An example of content information included in the local list and the unacquired list is shown in Table 2. In the local list, there are as many pieces of content information as shown in Table 2 as the number of contents stored in the content storage unit 54.

  The content information in Table 2 includes a title (song name), an artist ID, an album ID, a genre ID, a reproduction time, a content size, a hash key, and incidental information. The incidental information is content information managed only by the terminal device 50, and includes, for example, an acquisition date / time, the latest reproduction date / time, the number of times of reproduction, a title-specific protection level, and a title-specific acquisition / deletion request. The protection level by title is a priority order for selecting contents to be automatically deleted when the capacity that increases when the user-selected content is acquired from the server 10 is equal to or larger than the free capacity of the content storage unit 54. Is the value. That is, content with a low protection level is preferentially deleted, and content with a protection level of 9 (maximum) is never deleted. The title-specific acquisition / deletion request is information indicating whether the content is acquired from the server or whether the content is deleted from the content storage unit 54. When this value is “1”, the content is acquired, when the value is “−1”, the content is deleted, and when the value is “0”, neither acquisition nor deletion is performed. To express. Therefore, this value is set to “0” or “1” for the content information included in the unacquired list, and this value is set to “0” or “−1” for the content information included in the local list. Is done.

Since the artist, the album, and the genre are highly likely to be duplicated depending on the content, the terminal device 50 manages them using an ID (identifier). Table 3 shows an artist information table for managing artist IDs, and Table 4 shows an album information table for managing album IDs.

  The artist information table includes an artist name, an artist protection level, and an artist acquisition / deletion request corresponding to the artist ID. The artist-specific protection level is the same as the title-specific protection level. The content to be automatically deleted when the content increased when the user-selected content is acquired from the server is more than the free capacity of the content storage unit 54. It is a value that is a priority when selecting. Although not particularly limited, in this example, a title protection level, an artist protection level, an album protection level (described later), and a genre protection level (not shown) exist for one content. The content to be deleted is selected with the protection level having the largest value as the representative protection level representing the content.

  The artist acquisition / deletion request is to acquire all content having the artist name from the server (value: “1”) or delete all the content from the content storage unit 54 (value: “−1”). ). When the artist acquisition / deletion request is “1”, the content information of the content having the artist name is set to “1” for the title acquisition / deletion request in Table 2, and the artist acquisition / deletion request is received. In the case of “−1”, the content information of the content having the artist name is set to “−1” for the acquisition / deletion request for each title in Table 2. Similarly, the album information table includes an album name, an artist ID, an album protection level, and an album acquisition / deletion request corresponding to the album ID.

  The CPU processing unit 52 controls the overall operation of the terminal device 50 and includes a database management unit 57, a network protocol processing unit 58, and a system operation unit 59. The database management unit 57 manages the HDD 51. Specifically, the database management unit 57 selects desired content in the HDD 51 in accordance with an instruction from the user. The network protocol processing unit 58 performs protocol processing on input / output data. The system operation unit 59 reads the terminal device program stored in the HDD 51 and executes various processes of the terminal device 50 described later. For example, the system operation unit 59 creates an acquisition request list and a deletion request list, the details of which will be described later, requests the server 10 for the content included in the acquisition request list, and transmits the content included in the deletion request list to the content storage unit. Delete from 54. The LAN controller 53 transmits and receives signals (content data or commands) between the terminal device 50 and the LAN 70.

  The terminal device 50 includes an input device 60 that receives instructions from a user such as operation buttons, a keyboard, and a remote control receiver, a display device 61 that displays content information included in the local list and the unacquired list, and a content storage unit 54. An audio processing unit 62 that decodes the stored content, a DAC (digital / analog converter) 63 that converts data from the audio processing unit 62 into an analog signal, and a memory 64 such as a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, and a FIFO memory And further comprising. The signal output from the DAC 63 is reproduced as sound through an amplifier device, a headphone circuit, and headphones (not shown).

  The operation of the content transmission / reception system having the above configuration will be described. First, with reference to FIG. 4, an operation in which the terminal device 50 selects content to be acquired based on a user instruction by receiving an unacquired list from the server 10 will be described. When the terminal device 50 is connected to the server 10 (S401, S451), the terminal device 50 transmits a local list to the server 10 (S452). The server 10 receives the local list from the terminal device 50 (S402).

  Details of S452 are shown in FIG. First, if the filter selected by the user is stored in the HDD 51, the terminal device 50 reads the filter from the HDD 51 and stores it in the memory 64 (S501). The filter is a keyword for narrowing down the unacquired list created by the server 10 under a predetermined condition. That is, when the server 10 creates an unacquired list and transmits it to the terminal device 50, if the entire unacquired list is transmitted, the load on transmission and reception is very large, and the content selection work by the user becomes complicated. Therefore, when the user designates a filter, an unacquired list including only content information of content desired by the user can be received from the server.

  Next, the terminal device 50 extracts only the hash key from the local list and creates a simple local list (S502). The simple local list is a list including only a hash key that is information necessary for creating an unacquired list. The terminal device 50 transmits the created simple local list and filter to the server 10 (S503). The terminal device 50 may transmit the entire local list to the server 10 instead of the simple local list. However, since the local list transmitted to the server 10 is used to create an unacquired list, it is sufficient to transmit a simple local list including only the hash key. By transmitting the simple local list, the list transmission process can be simplified.

  Upon receiving the simple local list from the terminal device 50 (S402), the server 10 creates an unacquired list based on the content list and the simple local list (S403). Details of S403 are shown in FIG. First, the server 10 extracts only content information that matches the received filter from the content list (S601). For example, if the filters are artist = AAAA, OR, album = bbb, only the content information of the content whose artist name is AAAA or album name is bbb is extracted from the content list. Next, the title name, artist name, album name, genre name, playback time, content size, and hash key are extracted from the content information extracted in S601 (S602). Since other content information is not managed by the terminal device 50, it is not necessary to extract it. Next, the artist name, album name, and genre name are replaced with corresponding IDs. Subsequently, an unacquired list is created by deleting the content information of the content including the same hash key as the hash key included in the simple local list from the content information extracted in S602 (S603). Specifically, it is determined whether the content information extracted in step S602 matches the hash key included in the simplified local list one by one in order, and if they match, the content information of the content having the hash key is deleted.

  Subsequently, the server 10 transmits the unacquired list created to the terminal device 50 (S404), and the terminal device 50 receives the unacquired list transmitted from the server 10 and accumulates it in the unacquired list storage unit 56 ( S453). By displaying the received unacquired list on the display device 61, the terminal device 50 can cause the user to select content to be acquired from the server 10 when connected to the server 10 next time (S454).

  When the user selects content to be acquired, the content information included in the unacquired list is displayed on the display device 61 as shown in FIG. 7A, and the content to be acquired is selected from this. Since the content to be acquired is selected from the unacquired list, it is possible to prevent the content already stored in the terminal device 50 from being erroneously transmitted from the server 10 again. Furthermore, the user can easily select content. When the content to be acquired is selected by the user, the system operation unit 59 accepts an instruction from the user and sets the acquisition / deletion request by title in Table 2 to “1”. On the other hand, when the user selects the content to be deleted, the content information included in the local list is displayed on the display device 61 as shown in FIG. 7B, and the content to be deleted is selected from this. When the user selects content to be deleted, the system operation unit 59 accepts an instruction from the user and sets the acquisition / deletion request by title in Table 2 to “−1”.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 8, the operation in which the terminal device 50 acquires content from the server 10 will be described. When the terminal device 50 connects to the server 10 (S801, S851), the terminal device 50 transmits a simple local list (or local list) to the server 10 (S852). The server 10 receives the simple local list from the terminal device 50 (S802).

  Details of S852 are shown in FIG. 9, but the description of the same processing as S452 of FIG. 5 will be simplified. The terminal device 50 reads the filter from the HDD 51 and stores it in the memory 64 (S901). Further, an acquisition request list and a deletion request list are created in the memory 64 based on the acquisition / deletion request by title shown in Table 2. That is, the acquisition request list includes a hash key of content acquired from the server 10 (the acquisition / deletion request for each title is set to “1”), and the deletion request list is deleted from the content storage unit 54 (by title). Including a hash key of the content (acquisition / deletion request set to “−1”). Subsequently, it is checked whether there is any contradiction between the acquisition request list and the filter, and if there is a contradiction, the filter is changed (S902). In other words, if the content included in the acquisition request list is not included in the unacquired list narrowed down by the filter, the filter is changed so that the content included in the acquisition request list is included in the unacquired list. For example, a hash key of content information not included in the unacquired list narrowed down by the filter is added to the filter. Or, if the filter is artist = AAA, OR, album = bbb, and the content of artist = BBBB, album = ccc is included in the acquisition request list, artist = BBBB (or album = ccc) is included in the filter. Add with OR. Note that the filter is changed in the memory 64, and the original filter stored in the HDD 51 is not changed.

  Next, the terminal device 50 extracts only the hash key from the local list and creates a simple local list (S903). Then, the terminal device 50 transmits the created simple local list and filter to the server 10 (S904). Note that the terminal device 50 may transmit the entire local list to the server 10 instead of the simple local list.

  When the server 10 receives the simple local list from the terminal device 50 (S802), the server 10 creates an unacquired list based on the content list and the simple local list (S803). The details of S803 are the same as the processing in FIG. However, in S602, when creating the unacquired list, only the hash key may be extracted from the original content list. Since the unacquired list created at this point is used only to determine whether the content included in the acquisition request list is actually stored in the server 10, it is sufficient to have only a hash key for comparison. It is.

  Subsequently, the server 10 transmits the created unacquired list to the terminal device 50 (S804). The terminal device 50 receives the unacquired list transmitted from the server 10 and replaces it with the unacquired list stored in the unacquired list storage unit 56 (S853). Next, the terminal device 50 adjusts the acquisition request list and the deletion request list based on the unacquired list and the free capacity of the content storage unit 54 (S854).

  Details of S854 are shown in FIG. First, the terminal device 50 deletes those not included in the unacquired list from the hash keys included in the acquisition request list (S1001). Specifically, the hash keys in the acquisition request list are sequentially determined one by one to determine whether there is a match in the non-acquisition list. If there is no match, the hash key is deleted from the acquisition request list. Content whose hash key is included in the acquisition request list and not included in the unacquired list is content that has been deleted from the server 50 after the terminal device 50 received the previous unacquired list from the server 10.

  Subsequently, based on the acquisition request list and the deletion request list, the terminal device 50 determines whether or not the capacity that increases when the content is acquired and deleted exceeds the free capacity of the content storage unit 54 (S1002, S1003). Specifically, a is the total size of the content corresponding to the hash key included in the acquisition request list, b is the total size of the content corresponding to the hash key included in the deletion request list, and the free capacity of the content storage unit 54 Is c, it is determined whether ab> c. If the free space of the content storage unit 54 is exceeded (S1003: YES), the hash key of the content whose hash key is not included in the deletion request list among the content stored in the content storage unit 54 in accordance with a predetermined condition Is added to the deletion request list (S1004). In other words, when the capacity that increases after content acquisition exceeds the free capacity, the content that has already been stored is deleted and the content is acquired after increasing the free capacity.

  Here, the predetermined condition is, for example, each of the above protection levels. In this example, among the protection level by title, the protection level by artist, the protection level by album, and the protection level by genre, the highest protection value is set as the representative protection level of the content. The content to be added to the deletion request list is selected from the content information included in the local list in the order from the lowest representative protection level, except for the content whose hash key is included in the deletion request list. When there are a plurality of contents having the same representative protection level, the content is not particularly limited. For example, the contents with the smallest number of reproductions or the contents with the oldest reproduction date and time may be selected.

  When the hash key of the content to be deleted is added to the deletion request list (S1004), it is determined NO in S1005, and whether or not the capacity that is increased when content is acquired and deleted again exceeds the free capacity of the content storage unit 54. (S1002, S1003), until the free capacity becomes larger, the content to be deleted is selected and added to the deletion request list. When there is no content to be added to the deletion request list (S1005: YES), for example, when all the content protection levels are 9 (protection level 9 indicates that the content is never deleted), the content included in the acquisition request list In accordance with a predetermined condition, one content to be acquired is deleted (that is, one selection of the content to be acquired is canceled) (S1006), and then compared again with the free capacity of the content storage unit 54 (S1002, S1003). The predetermined condition here is, for example, a priority order determined when the user selects content to be acquired.

  Returning to FIG. 8, the terminal device 50 deletes all contents whose hash key is included in the deletion request list from the content storage unit 54 (S855). Further, the terminal device 50 deletes all the content information regarding the deleted content from the local list, and deletes the deletion request list from the memory 64.

  Subsequently, the terminal device 50 requests the server 10 for content whose hash key is included in the acquisition request list and acquires the content (S856, S805). Details of S856 and S805 are shown in FIG. The terminal device 50 extracts one hash key from the acquisition request list, and transmits a content request command including the hash key to the server 10 (S1151). The server 10 receives the content request command transmitted from the terminal device 50 (S1101), reads the requested content and the content information of the content from the content storage unit 14 and the content list, and transmits them to the terminal device 50. (S1102). The terminal device 50 receives content and content information from the server 10, stores the content in the content storage unit 54, and registers the content information in the local list (S1152). Subsequently, the terminal device 50 deletes the hash key of the received content from the acquisition request list (S1153), and when the hash key is still included in the acquisition request list (S1154: NO), reads the next hash key. The content request command is transmitted to the server 10 again. The terminal device 50 repeatedly requests and acquires content from the server until all hash keys in the acquisition request list are deleted (S1151 to S1154). When all the contents in the acquisition request list are acquired and the acquisition request list becomes empty (S1154: YES), content acquisition ends.

  Returning to FIG. 8, the terminal device 50 transmits the simple local list (or local list) to the server 10 again (S852), and the server 10 receives the simple local list (S802). The server 10 creates an unacquired list based on the content list and the simple local list (S803), and transmits it to the terminal device 50 (S804). The terminal device 50 receives the unacquired list from the server 10 and replaces it with the unacquired list stored in the unacquired list storage unit 56 (S853). Therefore, after the content is acquired from the server, the terminal device 50 can accumulate the latest unacquired list. Thereafter, the terminal device 50 disconnects from the server 10 (S857, S806).

  As described above, the terminal device 50 can automatically acquire and delete content based on the acquisition request list and the deletion request list by connecting to the server 10.

  Next, another embodiment for displaying content information on the display device 61 will be described with reference to FIG. The display content of FIG. 12 is a list of album names, and is created by merging an unacquired list and a local list. The album name in bold is an album in which the terminal device 50 stores all the content stored in the server 10. That is, the content information of the content having this album name is not included in the unacquired list but is included in the local list. The italicized album is an album in which the terminal device 50 stores part of the content stored in the server 10. That is, the case where the content information of the content having this album name is included in both the unacquired list and the local list is shown. An album that is neither bold nor italic indicates that the terminal device 50 has not acquired all of the content stored in the server. That is, the content information of the content having this album name is not included in the local list but is included in the unacquired list. An album with an X in the check box on the left side of the album name indicates that the acquisition / deletion request for each album is set to “−1”, and the content having the album name is deleted when connected to the server. On the other hand, for albums whose check boxes are black, the album acquisition / deletion request is set to “1”, indicating that content having the album name is acquired from the server 10 when connected to the server 10. The number written on the right side of the album name indicates the protection level for each album and can be set by the user.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment. For example, the server 10 may transmit the entire content list to the terminal device 50, and the terminal device 50 may determine the content that the server 10 stores and the terminal device 50 does not store based on the content list. In that case, the terminal device 50 may create an unacquired list. Furthermore, with regard to the protection level, first, the contents to be included in the deletion request list are selected in order from the lowest protection level by title, and when the protection level by title is the same, other contents with lower protection levels are preferentially selected. It may be. Alternatively, an average value of all protection levels may be used as the representative protection level. Furthermore, the server 10 is not limited to a server disposed in a home connected via a LAN, and may be an external server connected via the Internet. Further, when the terminal device 50 is connected to a home server, the terminal device 50 receives an unacquired list including content stored in the home server and content stored in an external server connected via the Internet. Content may be acquired by connecting to the server and an external server. Further, the connection between the server 10 and the terminal device 50 is not limited to the LAN, and may be USB, IEEE 1394, BlueTooth, or the like. The content information included in the acquisition request list is not limited to the hash key, and may be content information (title ID or the like) that can be specified by the server 10. Similarly, the content information included in the deletion request list is not limited to the hash key, and may be content information that can be specified by the terminal device 50 itself. When the protection level by album for the artist name is set to “−1” after the protection level by artist is set to “1”, only the content having the album name among the content having the artist name is displayed. The other content is deleted and acquired from the server 10. Further, the present invention may be provided in the form of a computer program for operating the server and the terminal device or a recording medium including the computer program.

  The present invention can be suitably applied to a system that transmits content from a server having a hard disk to a portable player having a hard disk.

It is a block diagram which shows the outline | summary of the content transmission / reception system by preferable embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of a server. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of a terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which a terminal device acquires an unacquired list | wrist from a server. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of a local list transmission process (S452). It is a flowchart which shows an unacquired list creation process (S403). It is the schematic which shows the selection screen of the content to acquire / delete. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which a terminal device acquires content from a server. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of a local list transmission process (S852). It is a flowchart which shows the detail of an acquisition request list / deletion request list adjustment process (S854). It is a flowchart explaining the detail of a content acquisition process (S856, S805). It is the schematic which shows the selection screen of the content to acquire / delete.

Explanation of symbols

10 server 14 (first) content storage unit 15 content list (first content information) storage unit 50 terminal device 54 (second) content storage unit 55 local list (second content information) storage unit

Claims (16)

A server and a terminal device connectable to the server,
A first content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents;
A first content information storage unit capable of storing content information related to the content stored in the first content storage unit;
Content information transmitting means for transmitting at least part of the content information of the content stored in the server to the terminal device;
Content transmitting means for transmitting content to the terminal device;
A second content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents;
A second content information storage unit capable of storing content information related to the content stored in the second content storage unit;
Content information receiving means for receiving at least part of the content information of the content stored in the server;
Content selection means for selecting content requested from the server based on a plurality of pieces of content information including content information of content stored in the server and excluding content information of content stored in the terminal device;
A content transmission / reception system comprising: content acquisition means for requesting and acquiring the content selected by the content selection means from the server.   The content transmission / reception system according to claim 1, wherein when the terminal device is connected to the server, the content acquisition unit acquires the content preselected by the content selection unit from the server. The content selection means further selects content to be deleted from the content stored in the second content storage unit,
A content deletion unit that deletes the content selected by the content selection unit from the second content storage unit;
Capacity determination means for determining whether or not a capacity that increases when the content selected by the content selection means is acquired from the server exceeds a free capacity of the second content storage unit;
When the capacity determining unit determines that the free capacity of the second content storage unit is exceeded, the content selection unit deletes the content deletion unit from the second content storage unit based on a predetermined condition. The content transmission / reception system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein content to be selected is selected. The content selection unit selects content to be acquired from the server and content to be deleted from the second content storage unit based on an instruction from a user,
When the content determination unit acquires the selected content from the server after the content deletion unit deletes the content selected by the content selection unit based on a user instruction from the second content storage unit. The content transmission / reception system according to claim 3, wherein it is determined whether or not the capacity to be increased exceeds a free capacity of the second content storage unit. The terminal device further includes an unacquired list storage unit capable of storing an unacquired list including content information of content stored in the server and excluding content information of content stored in the terminal device;
The content transmission / reception system according to claim 1, wherein the content selection unit selects content acquired from the server from content information included in the unacquired list. The terminal device further includes second content information transmission means for transmitting content information of content stored in the terminal device;
A second content information receiving means for receiving content information of content stored in the terminal device;
Further comprising unacquired list creation means for creating the unacquired list based on content information of content accumulated by the terminal device and content information of content accumulated by the server;
The content information transmitting means transmits the unacquired list to the terminal device;
The content transmission / reception system according to claim 5, wherein the content information receiving unit receives the unacquired list and accumulates the unacquired list in the unacquired list storage unit. The terminal device further includes means for transmitting a filter that is a limiting condition when creating the unacquired list,
The content transmission / reception system according to claim 6, wherein the unacquired list creation unit creates an unacquired list including only content information of content that matches the filter. Means for receiving, from the server, an unacquired list in which the terminal device includes content information of content stored in the server and from which content information of content stored in the terminal device is excluded;
The content transmitting / receiving system according to claim 2, further comprising means for canceling selection of contents not included in the unacquired list from contents preselected by the content selecting means. A connection means for connecting to a server comprising a first content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents and a first content information storage unit capable of storing content information relating to the contents;
A second content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents;
A second content information storage unit capable of storing content information related to the content stored in the second content storage unit;
Content information receiving means for receiving at least part of the content information of the content stored in the first content storage unit; and content information of the content stored in the first content storage unit, the second content Content selection means for selecting the content requested from the server based on a plurality of pieces of content information excluding the content information of the content stored in the storage unit;
A terminal device comprising: content acquisition means for requesting and acquiring the content selected by the content selection means from the server.   The terminal device according to claim 9, wherein when the connection unit connects to the server, the content acquisition unit acquires the content preselected by the content selection unit from the server. The content selection means further selects content to be deleted from the content stored in the second content storage unit,
Content deletion means for deleting the content selected by the content selection means from the second content storage unit;
Capacity determination means for determining whether or not the capacity that increases when the content selected by the content selection means is acquired from the server exceeds the free capacity of the second content storage section;
When the capacity determining unit determines that the free capacity of the second content storage unit is exceeded, the content selection unit deletes the content deletion unit from the second content storage unit based on a predetermined condition. The terminal device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein content to be selected is selected. The content selection unit selects content to be acquired from the server and content to be deleted from the second content storage unit based on an instruction from a user,
When the content determination unit acquires the selected content from the server after the content deletion unit deletes the content selected by the content selection unit based on a user instruction from the second content storage unit. The terminal device according to claim 11, wherein it is determined whether or not a capacity that increases to a greater value than a free capacity of the second content storage unit. Unacquired list storage that can store an unacquired list that includes content information of content stored in the first content storage unit and that excludes content information of content stored in the second content storage unit Further comprising
The terminal device according to claim 9, wherein the content selection unit selects content acquired from the server from content information included in the unacquired list. Connection means for connecting to a terminal device comprising a second content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents;
A first content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents;
A first content information storage unit capable of storing content information related to the content stored in the first content storage unit;
Content information receiving means for receiving content information of the content stored in the second content storage unit;
Unacquired list creation means for creating an unacquired list that includes content information of content stored in the first content storage unit and from which content information of content stored in the second content storage unit is excluded When,
Unacquired list transmission means for transmitting the unacquired list to the terminal device;
A server comprising content transmitting means for transmitting content to the terminal device. A connection step of connecting to a server comprising a first content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents and a first content information storage unit capable of storing content information related to the contents;
Storing a plurality of contents in the second content storage unit;
Storing content information relating to content stored in the second content storage unit in a second content information storage unit;
A content information receiving step for receiving at least part of the content information of the content stored in the server; and content information of the content stored in the first content storage unit, and stored in the second content storage unit A content selection step of selecting content requested from the server based on a plurality of content information excluding the content information of the content;
An operation program for a terminal device, which requests the content selected in the content selection step to the server and causes the computer to execute the content acquisition step to be acquired. A program for operating a server including a first content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents and a first content information storage unit capable of storing content content information related to the first content,
A connection step of connecting to a terminal device including a second content storage unit capable of storing a plurality of contents;
A content information receiving step of receiving content information of the content stored in the second content storage unit;
An unacquired list creation step of creating an unacquired list that includes content information of content stored in the first content storage unit and from which content information of content stored in the second content storage unit is excluded When,
An unacquired list transmission step of transmitting the unacquired list to the terminal device;
A server operation program for causing a computer to execute a content transmission step of transmitting content to the terminal device.

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