JP2007295445A - Digital image output device, and network system having digital image output device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital image output device connected to a network, wherein a load of the network can be decreased to display a stable image content. <P>SOLUTION: In the digital image output device connected to the network, each digital image output device has a recording medium 20, to reproduce and hold an image content. As such a structure, a network band having a margin is selected from among ones stored in a plurality of locations upon outputting, for reception, thereby performing a stable display. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital video output device and a network system having the digital video output device, and more particularly to a digital video output device connected to a network in a home or the like and a network system for sharing video content between the digital video output devices.

  There are the following conventional examples of digital video output devices using a home server. According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228561, a technique related to an apparatus that connects to an external network from a home, stores video content, and distributes the stream in the home and its receiver is described. On the other hand, digital broadcasting has become widespread, and the flow of distributing broadcast content via a network has also become visible.

  A conventional example of an apparatus for receiving digital broadcasting will be described with reference to FIG. An MPEG transport stream (hereinafter abbreviated as MPEG-TS) is generally used for digital broadcasting. In digital broadcasting, in order to enable conditional access (limited reception), MPEG-TS is encrypted and a modulated signal is sent.

  On the receiver side, the signal received by the antenna 1 is demodulated by the tuner 4 and a signal of a necessary channel is extracted. The extracted signal is authenticated using a B-CAS card for authentication means for realizing conditional access, for example, digital broadcasting in Japan, and key information for decryption is extracted. Decryption is performed by the descrambler 5 based on this key information, and MPEG-TS is generated.

  In this MPEG-TS, a plurality of program streams are multiplexed. In order to extract a stream required by the user, the TS-DEMUX 11 divides the stream, and only a necessary part is extracted ( Partial TS) is taken out. For display, the partial TS is divided into section information indicating program information and electronic data such as a VIDEO stream, an AUDIO stream, and data broadcasting.

  Thereafter, the VIDEO stream is subjected to video decoding processing by the VIDEO decoder 7 and output to the display device 8 for viewing together with information such as data broadcasting. The AUDIO stream is audio-decoded by the AUDIO decoder 12 and output to the speaker 13.

  For copyright management of digital broadcasting, copy conditions are designated as copy control information (CCI: Copy Control Information) for each content, and one of “copy prohibited”, “copy once”, or “copy allowed” is specified. For example, limiting replication.

  The copy control information of the content that can be recorded on the recording medium is in the state of “Copy once” and “Copy permitted”, and cannot be recorded in the state of “Copy prohibited”. In addition, content that is in the state of “copyable once” becomes “copy prohibited” when it is recorded on the storage medium, and so-called grandchild copy is not possible. Copying can be performed multiple times, as well as those in the “copying enabled” state. Content that has become “copy prohibited” due to recording from a “copy once” status is prohibited from being copied next, but is generally allowed to move to other storage media (hereinafter “move”). ing.

  In recent years, contents of digital broadcasting have become “mainly copyable once” as copy control information (hereinafter referred to as “copy once”), and copy management has become important. The DTCP (Digital Transmission Content Protection) specification has been established from an early stage as a copy protection technique that is required when contents are exchanged using the IEEE 1394 I / F 9 as a connection means between the devices. This DTCP performs authentication between devices, performs encryption by the encryption circuit 10 according to the agreement, and transfers the stream. Also, it discriminates CCI and performs copy management.

When the previous copy-once content is moved via IEEE 1394, the original content is surely erased between the devices according to the DTCP standard, and copy management is guaranteed. Some devices have a function of using LAN I / F 14 as a connection means between devices, receiving video data from a storage device such as a home server, decoding the data, and outputting the decoded data to an output device.
JP 2005-182097 A

  However, in the configuration in which video content is concentrated and stored on one device as in the above-described device, it is difficult to output and display video content in a stable state as the number of terminals increases. ing. This will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Reference numeral 31 in FIG. 6 has a function of receiving digital broadcasts by a home server or the like, receiving a network stream, etc., and storing these contents, and mainly distributing digital video data to terminals connected to the network in the home. Reference numerals 32, 33, 34, and 35 denote output display terminal devices, which are terminals connected to a network to receive, output, and display digital video data distributed. A network router 26 has a main function of performing routing for connecting a network outside the home and a network inside the home. As shown in FIG. 7, the router 26 often serves also as a HUB 28 for connecting a plurality of network devices in the home. Reference numeral 27 denotes a network for connecting home devices. Although the network is shown on one line in FIG. 6, it is actually connected one-to-one like 271 to 275 via the HUB 28 as shown in FIG. .

  The home server 31 distributes the digital video data in response to the distribution request from the output display terminal devices 32, 33, 34, and 35, but these data must always pass 271 and the network traffic increases. At present, an Ethernet 100BASE standard network is used as a mainstream network in the home, but it has a transmission band of 100 Mbps. Since the digital video data reaches about 30 Mbps when the image quality is high, even if it is simply calculated, the band is used up with three digital video data. Actually, 100% performance of the standard does not appear and the transmission band is lower. Further, as the number of output display terminal devices increases, the traffic further increases and stable distribution becomes difficult.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital video output device connected to a network, which can reduce the network load and display stable video content.

  In order to achieve the above object, a digital video output device according to the present invention is connected to a network in a digital video output device connected to a network having means for delivering video content stored in a recording device connected to the network. Means for searching for digital video content stored in the stored storage device, and when the digital video content exists in a plurality of the storage devices from the search results, select a storage device with a sufficient network bandwidth It is characterized by comprising means for outputting video content. In addition, in a digital video output device connected to a network having a built-in or external recording medium, and having means for delivering video content stored in a recording device connected to the network, the recording device connected to the network, and Means for searching for digital video content stored in the internal or external recording medium, and when the digital video content exists in the internal or external storage medium from the search result, from the internal or external storage medium In the present invention, there is provided a means for outputting video content by selecting a recording device having a sufficient network bandwidth when outputting video content and existing in a plurality of storage devices.

  The digital video output apparatus according to the present invention further includes means for transmitting digital video content stored in the internal or external recording medium or information related thereto in accordance with a request from another digital video output apparatus connected to the network. It is characterized by. Further, the output video content is copied and stored in the internal or external recording medium. Furthermore, the digital video content is encrypted and stored in an internal or external recording medium. Further, according to an instruction from a user, digital video content is copied to the internal or external recording medium from a recording device connected to the network in advance by using a network space. Further, at least one of the recording devices connected to the network is another digital video output device having a built-in or external storage medium. Further, the digital video output device is characterized in that the digital video output device is built in a display device for outputting video. Further, means for recognizing and managing the right to play back digital video content, means for referring to the right to play back digital video content over the network and judging that no other digital output device is outputting, It has the means to output after acquiring the right to reproduce. Furthermore, it comprises means for moving the right to play back digital video content via a network, and the transfer of the right to play back digital video content is performed simultaneously with or separately from copying of the digital video content.

  In addition, the network system having the digital video output device according to the present invention manages the number of copies of digital video content in a predetermined network, and when the number exceeds a certain number, the copied video content is deleted according to a certain condition. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, since a storage device having a sufficient network bandwidth is selected and video content is output, it is possible to reduce the load on the network and display stable video content. Furthermore, according to the invention of claim 8 or 9, in combination with the above effect, the right to display the digital content can be managed, and the restriction by the copyright or the like can be dealt with.

  An example of an embodiment of a digital video output apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a configuration of an embodiment of a digital video output apparatus according to the present invention. A LOCAL encryption unit 16 and an HDD I / F unit for recording on a built-in HDD (Hard Disk Drive) compared to the conventional example. 19. Built-in HDD unit 20 determines whether display is possible, displays right management unit 17 that manages ON / OFF of decoding processing and transmission to the network, and content sharing between the built-in HDD and the network, and appropriately loads content It is configured by adding a duplication control unit 18 for duplication.

  In accordance with the duplication conditions, the duplication control unit 18 parallels the buffer control 6 and the TS-DEMUX as a signal path for displaying video content received from another digital video output device for video display. The data is sequentially stored in the built-in HDD 20 via the encryption unit 16 and the HDD I / F unit 19. Also, when there is a transmission request from the outside, it plays a role of bridging the video content data read from the built-in HDD 20 to the network via the LAN I / F 14.

  The display right management unit 17 provides rights information for displaying copy-once video content when copy management of digital video content such as digital broadcasting is necessary, and manages it separately from video content data. The right that can be displayed from the concept of copy-once is considered to have the right to display one for the original video content. In order to manage display rights, it is conceivable to hold display right identification information corresponding to information for identifying content in a memory, HDD, or the like.

  In the present invention, the video content is duplicated, but the copyright is protected by managing the right to display. When one output state occurs for the display right identification information, the display right management unit 17 does not permit the output of the same video content thereafter. Therefore, even if there is video content to be output to the built-in HDD, if the identification information indicating the right to display is being used by another device, the output device cannot output the video content.

  The flow of video content will be described with reference to FIG.

  In STEP 1, the contents 1 to 4 are held in the output display terminal device 21. The output display terminal device 23 holds contents 5 to 7. None of the terminals are displaying. Black circles indicate information for identifying display rights. The output display terminal device includes a digital video output device and a display device that the digital video output device outputs. A digital video output device may be built in the display device.

  In STEP 2, the output display terminal device 22 obtains the right to display the content 1 from the output display terminal device 21 in order to display the content 1, makes a video content request, copies the content, and holds it in the HDD. In order to display the content 2, the output display terminal device 23 acquires the right to display the content 2 from the output display terminal device 21, and requests and displays the video content, copies the content, and holds it in the HDD. In order to display the content 5, the output display terminal device 24 acquires the right to display the content 5 from the output display terminal device 23, makes a video content request, displays the content, and stores the content in the HDD.

  In STEP 3, the output display terminal device 22 displays the content 1, but since the content exists in its own HDD, neither the display right transfer nor the duplication occurs. In order to display the content 4, the output display terminal device 24 acquires the right to display the content 4 from the output display terminal device 21, makes a video content request, copies the content, and stores it in the HDD. In order to display the content 6, the output display terminal device 25 acquires the display right of the content 6 from the output display terminal device 23, makes a video content request, displays the content, copies the content, and holds it in the HDD.

  In STEP 4, the output display terminal device 21 displays the content 2, but since the content exists in its own HDD, no copy occurs but the display right is transferred. The output display terminal device 22 acquires the display right of the content 4 from the output display terminal device 24 in order to display the content 4, and the video content request is available in the network of the output display terminal device 21 and the output display terminal device 24. To do. Further, if the condition is that there are up to two contents, the number of contents 4 is three. For example, the contents 4 are deleted from the output display terminal device 21 with the oldest duplicated date. Other examples of deleting content include deleting the displayed content with priority, deleting the displayed date and time, or deleting content on one device with priority. It is done. Although the output display terminal device 23 wants to display the content 7, the display right cannot be displayed because the display right is first acquired in the output display terminal device 24 even though the content exists in the built-in HDD. In order to display the content 7, the output display terminal device 24 acquires the display right of the content 7 from the output display terminal device 23, makes a video content request, displays the content, and copies and holds the content in the HDD. The output display terminal device 25 acquires the display right of the content 1 from the output display terminal device 22 in order to display the content 1, and the video content request is available in the network of the output display terminal device 21 and the output display terminal device 22. To do. Since there are three contents 1, the old contents 1 are deleted from the output display terminal device 21.

In STEP 5, the output display terminal device 21 acquires the right to display the content 5 from the output display terminal device 24, and copies and copies the content to the HDD while acquiring and outputting the video content from the output display terminal device 23 or the output display terminal device 24. Hold. Since there are three contents 5, they are deleted from the output display terminal device 23.
Although the output display terminal device 22 displays the content 4, since the content exists in its own HDD, neither display right transfer nor copying occurs. In order to display the content 3, the output display terminal device 23 acquires the right to display the content 3 from the output display terminal device 21, makes a video content request, displays the content, copies the content, and holds it in the HDD. The output display terminal device 24 acquires the right to display the content 2 from the output display terminal device 21, acquires and displays the video content from the output display terminal device 21 or the output display terminal device 23, duplicates the content, and holds it in the HDD . Since there are three contents 2, they are deleted from the output display terminal device 23. Although the output display terminal device 25 displays the content 1, since the content exists in its own HDD, neither display right transfer nor duplication occurs.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the storage medium is an HDD built in the digital video output apparatus has been described. However, the storage medium can be a recording medium other than the HDD, and can also be an external recording medium. In addition, it is possible to establish a case where the output device and the storage medium are separately connected to the network. In that case, the output display terminal device described above is assumed not to have a built-in HDD, and the HDD unit is a single recording device. It can be explained.

1 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a digital video output device according to the present invention. It is a block diagram explaining the network connection relation of one embodiment of the digital video output apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a digital video output device according to the present invention. It is a block diagram explaining the flow of the content of one Example of the digital video output device by this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the example of the conventional digital video output device. It is a block diagram explaining the network connection relation of the example of the conventional digital video output device. It is a block diagram explaining the example of the conventional digital video output device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Antenna 2 Control part 3 Memory 4 Tuner 5 Descrambler 6 Buffer control part 7 VIDEO decoder part 8 Display apparatus 9 IEEE1394 I / F part 10 Encryption part (DTCP)
11 TS-DEMUX
12 AUDIO Decoder Unit 13 Speaker 14 LAN I / F Unit 15 Encryption Unit (NET)
16 Cryptographic part (LOCAL)
17 Display Right Management Unit 18 Duplication Control Unit 19 HDD I / F Unit 20 Built-in HDD
21, 22, 23, 24, 25 Output display terminal device 26 Router 27 Network 28 HUB
31 Home server 32, 33, 34, 35 Output display terminal device

Claims (11)

In a digital video output device connected to a network having means for delivering video content stored in a recording device connected to the network,
Means for retrieving digital video content stored in a storage device connected to the network;
A digital device comprising means for selecting a storage device having a sufficient network bandwidth and outputting the video content to a display device when the digital video content exists in a plurality of storage devices from a search result. Video output device. In a digital video output device connected to a network having a built-in or external recording medium, having means for delivering video content stored in a recording device connected to the network,
A recording device connected to a network and means for searching for digital video content stored in the internal or external recording medium;
When the digital video content exists in the internal or external storage medium from the search result, the video content is output from the internal or external storage medium. When the digital video content exists in a plurality of the storage devices, there is a margin in the network bandwidth. A digital video output device comprising means for selecting a recording device and outputting video content to a display device.   3. The digital video output apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for sending digital video content stored in the internal or external recording medium or information related thereto in accordance with a request from another digital video output apparatus connected to a network. A digital video output device characterized by that.   4. The digital video output apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for copying the output video content and storing it in the internal or external recording medium.   5. The digital video output apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for encrypting digital video content and storing it in an internal or external recording medium.   6. The digital video output device according to claim 2, wherein the digital video content is recorded in the built-in or external recording from a recording device connected to the network in advance using a network space according to an instruction from a user. A digital video output device for copying on a medium.   7. The digital video output device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the recording devices connected to the network is another digital video output device having a built-in or external storage medium. A digital video output device.   8. The digital video output device according to claim 1, wherein the digital video output device is built in a display device that outputs video.   9. The digital video output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein means for recognizing and managing a right to display digital video content, and a right to display the digital video content are referred to over the network. A digital video output apparatus comprising: means for determining that the digital video output apparatus is not outputting; and means for performing output after acquiring a right to display digital content.   10. The digital video output apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising means for transferring a right to display digital video content via a network, wherein the transfer of the right to display digital video content is performed simultaneously with or separately from copying of the digital video content. A digital video output device characterized by performing.   The network system having the digital video output device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the number of copies of digital video content in a predetermined network is managed, and is copied when a predetermined number is exceeded A network system characterized in that video content is deleted according to certain conditions.