JP2008054121A - Content viewing reservation device and content viewing reservation method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly reproduce selected contents after coming home by selecting the contents that a user wants to view after coming home from the outside of a house, the contents being stored in a content storage device in the house. <P>SOLUTION: A content information receiving means 15 receives a content list and sends the content list to a browser format creating part 2 and a reproduction information creating part 4. The browser format creating part 2 converts the received content to create browser format content information. The content designation information receiving part 15 receives content designation information sent from a reservation terminal 21 and sends the content designation information to a reservation information creating part 16. The reservation information creating part 16 creates viewing reservation information from content reproduction information of content shown by a content ID included in the received content designation information and the content designation information. A reservation information transmitting means 6 transmits the viewing reservation information stored in a reservation information storing part 17 to a reproducing device 24 in response to a request from the reproducing device 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content viewing reservation apparatus and a content viewing reservation method.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a home LAN (Local Area Network) that enables a plurality of devices in a home to be connected to each other via a network and used has become widespread. With this home LAN, electronic data (contents) stored in a certain device can be viewed by other devices connected to the home LAN and installed at various locations in the home. .

  When the devices connected to the home LAN are classified by function, the devices store content and supply the content to a device that views the content (content storage device), and the content storage device provides the content. And a device (content playback device) for acquiring and presenting to the user. Examples of the content storage device include an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) recorder capable of recording a TV program, and a PC (Personal Computer) operated by an application that supplies the content. Examples of the latter include a television receiver, An audio component device etc. are mentioned.

  A problem in using these devices is that the amount of content stored in the content storage device is large, and it takes time to search for such a large amount of content from the interface side of the playback device. In particular, when there are a plurality of content storage devices, many playback devices take a procedure of “selecting a content storage device and confirming a list of contents included in the content storage device”. It will take a lot of time to get to.

  In the case of a content distribution service that needs to be selected from a large number of contents in the same manner as the time required for searching for such content increases, a content distribution instruction is sent from the mobile phone to the content distribution server in advance. A mechanism has been devised for viewing on a stationary terminal after returning home (see Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an information distribution system described in Patent Document 1. When the user operates the mobile phone 91 to access the server 92, a menu screen that allows the server 92 to select content from the server 92 is transmitted. When content is selected from the menu screen on the mobile phone 91, content information and a screen asking whether to purchase the content are sent from the server 92 to the mobile phone 91. By selecting to purchase the content on the mobile phone 91 and selecting the stationary terminal 93 as the delivery destination, the content is downloaded to the stationary terminal 93 and the content selected on the stationary terminal 93 immediately after returning home Can be viewed.

JP 2002-268968 A (published September 20, 2002)

  However, when the information distribution system of Patent Document 1 is applied to reservation of content in the home, a function of providing content information in a form that can be interpreted by a mobile phone to a content storage device in the home In addition, a function for receiving designation of content from a mobile phone and providing it to a playback device is required.

  For this reason, it is not possible to select viewing of content in a content storage device that already exists in the home and does not have the above functions and view it after returning home.

  In addition, even if the content storage device has the function of providing the content information and the function of receiving the content designation, if the content storage device is connected to the home network, the content playback device In order to view the content, it is necessary to access each content storage device separately. Therefore, it is necessary to search for the content to be viewed from each content storage device.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to select content to be viewed after returning home from outside the home, and quickly play back the selected content after returning home, for content stored in a content storage device at home.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the purpose of the present invention is to select content to be viewed after returning from outside the home, and select after returning from the content stored in the content storage device at home. An object of the present invention is to provide a viewing reservation apparatus and a viewing reservation method that can quickly reproduce content.

  The content viewing reservation technology according to the present invention is configured so that each content storage device can check a list of all reserved content by accessing one device in the home instead of showing its own content list. Has been.

  A content viewing reservation apparatus according to the present invention includes content information receiving means for acquiring content information from a content storage device in a network, and browser format creation for converting the content information into browser format content information for reservation at a reservation terminal Means, content information transmitting means for converting the content information into content playback information for playback on a playback device, content list transmitting means for transmitting the browser-format content information to the reservation terminal, and the content designation information; Reservation information creating means for generating viewing reservation information from the content reproduction information, and reservation information transmitting means for transmitting the viewing reservation information to a content reproduction apparatus, are provided.

  The content viewing reservation apparatus acquires information related to stored content from a content storage device connected via a network. The information related to the content includes at least an address for accessing the content, and other information may include information such as the content title, the content reproduction time, the content genre, and the content image quality.

  In the content viewing reservation apparatus of the present invention, the browser format creation means converts the information related to the acquired content into a form that can be interpreted by the reservation terminal. Examples of the reservation terminal include a mobile phone and a PC. These devices generally have a browser capable of interpreting HTML. The browser format creation means converts the content information into browser format content information described in HTML.

  In addition, the reproduction information creation means converts the acquired information about the content into a form for reproduction on the reproduction apparatus. In order to perform playback on the playback device, it is necessary to include at least an address indicating the location of the content. Therefore, the playback information creating means converts the content information into content playback information including this address.

  When the viewing reservation start access is performed from the reservation terminal, the content information transmitting means transmits the browser-format content information to the reservation terminal. The reservation terminal selects a desired content from the contents included in the browser format content information, and returns information specifying the content to the content viewing reservation apparatus. The reservation information creating means in the content viewing reservation apparatus acquires information related to the content designated by the content designation information from the content reproduction information stored in the reproduction information creating means, and constructs viewing reservation information. This viewing reservation information includes the address of the content stored in the content storage device. By transmitting the viewing reservation information to the playback device, the playback device can acquire the content from the content storage device, so that the content can be played back.

  The content viewing reservation apparatus of the present invention can also include a description for designating the content viewing start position in the browser-type content information transmitted to the reservation terminal. When the reservation terminal interprets this description and transmits the content designation information including the viewing start position to the viewing reservation apparatus, the viewing start position is also stored in the viewing reservation information. When the playback device receives the viewing reservation information including the viewing start position, the playback device reserves viewing from the specified position by acquiring the viewing start position and the subsequent portions when acquiring the content in the content storage device. be able to.

  In addition, the content viewing reservation device of the present invention can include viewing information receiving means for receiving information related to viewing interruption or viewing completion from the playback device. When the playback device is interrupted while the content is being played back, the playback device notifies the viewing reservation device of the suspension of viewing. The information included in this notification includes the position where viewing was interrupted. When receiving the interruption information, the viewing reservation apparatus generates viewing reservation information for reproduction from the interruption position, and handles it in the same manner as the viewing reservation from the reservation terminal. When the playback device has played the content to the end, the playback device notifies the viewing reservation device of the completion of viewing. Upon receiving this notification, the viewing reservation apparatus deletes the viewing reservation information related to the content being played back. By doing in this way, the viewing reservation apparatus can be provided with a function for performing reproduction from the interruption position when content reproduction is once interrupted.

  According to the content viewing reservation apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reserve viewing in advance for content in a general content storage device, and it is possible to promptly execute content reproduction later. . Therefore, there is an advantage that convenience when viewing content can be improved.

  In this specification, content is a broad concept including broadcast programs, music content, video content, and the like.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[Outline of device configuration in network]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a device configuration example in a network to which a viewing reservation apparatus is connected, which is a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the viewing reservation apparatus 20 has an interface connectable to the Internet 31 and the home network 32. In addition to the viewing reservation device 20, the Internet 31 has a function of acquiring content information in the content storage devices 22 and 23 from the viewing reservation device 20, selecting content based on the content information, and making a viewing reservation. A terminal (viewing reservation terminal) 21 is connected. The reservation terminal 21 is a device having an interface connectable to the Internet, such as a mobile terminal, a mobile phone, and a mobile PC, and has a browser that interprets HTML.

  In addition to the viewing reservation device 20, the home network 32 stores content such as video and content storage devices 22 and 23 having a function of providing content to devices connected to the same network; Reproduction devices 24 and 25 having a function of acquiring content from a content storage device connected to the same network and reproducing the acquired content are connected. The viewing reservation device 20 and the playback devices 24 and 25 are equipped with a device search function based on UPnP (Universal Plug and Play). In addition, the viewing reservation device 20 and the content storage devices 22 and 23 have a function of responding to a device search message based on UPnP. Thereby, the viewing reservation device 20 and the playback devices 24 and 25 can detect (discover) other devices.

  In the present embodiment, the number of content storage devices 22 and 23 and playback devices 24 and 25 connected to the home network 32 is two, and each content storage device 22 and 23 has one or more Assume that video content is stored. However, even if the number of these devices is different, the configuration including the viewing reservation apparatus 20 may be the same, and the present invention can be applied in the same manner.

[Configuration of content storage device and playback device]
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of the content storage device 22 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the content storage device 22 manages communication means 71 for performing communication with devices connected to the same network and providing its own information, storage of video content, and management of the stored content. The content management means 72 is provided.

  When the content storage device 22 is connected to the home network 32, the communication means 71 of the content storage device 22 notifies its own information to each device connected to the home network 32. In addition, when a request for information is made from any of the devices connected to the home network 32, the device notifies the requested device of its own information. The own information here is an IP address or a MAC address, which is a network address indicating the location of the apparatus, a name of a device, and the like, and is information for identifying itself.

  The content storage device 22 notifies a list of content in the content management means 72 when a request for a list of stored content is made from a device connected to the home network 32. Further, when a request is made to transmit the content itself, the corresponding content is transmitted.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of the playback device 24 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the playback device 24 has a communication unit 81 for communicating with devices connected to the same network, an output unit 82 for outputting content received from the network, and the playback device 24. Operating means 83 for performing operations such as selecting content and stopping playback.

  When the playback device 24 is connected to the home network 32, the communication means 81 requests device information from each device in the home network 32. When a response is made in response to a request for device information, for example, the content is stored in the communication unit 81, and when the content storage device is selected by the operation unit 83, the device information is output from the output unit 82. Is displayed. Further, when the content in the content storage device 22 is selected by the operation unit 83, the content is acquired through the communication unit 81 and the content is output from the output unit 82.

[Configuration of viewing reservation device]
Next, the viewing reservation apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Note that the reservation terminal 21, the content storage device 22, the playback device 24, the Internet 31, and the home network 32 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of the viewing reservation apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the viewing reservation apparatus 20 includes a content information receiving means 1, a browser format creating means 2, a content information transmitting means 3, a reproduction information creating means 4, a reservation information creating means 5, a reservation information transmitting means 6, a viewing information. An information receiving means 7 is provided.

The content information receiving means 1 is connected to a device connected to the home network 32.
Sending a message for discovering a device, sending a request for obtaining device information, sending a request for obtaining information about content in the content storage device 22, etc., and a response message from these devices Receive.

  The browser format creation means 2 includes a browser format creation unit 11 and a browser format storage unit 12. The browser format creation unit 11 converts the information related to the content received by the content information receiving unit 1 into the browser format content information transmitted to the reservation terminal 21 by the content information transmitting unit 3. The browser format storage unit 12 stores the browser format content information created by the browser format creation unit 11 and provides it to the content information transmission means 3.

  When the viewing reservation device 20 receives a request for starting viewing reservation from the reservation terminal 21, the content information transmission unit 3 acquires the content information in the browser format from the browser format storage unit 12 and sends it to the reservation terminal 21. Send.

  The reproduction information creation unit 4 includes a reproduction information creation unit 13 and a reproduction information storage unit 14. In the reproduction information creation unit 13, information related to the content received by the content information receiving unit 1 is converted into content reproduction information having information necessary for creation as viewing reservation information by the reservation information creation unit 16. At this time, the browser format creation unit 2 and the reproduction information creation unit 4 obtain the ID assigned to the browser format content information from the browser format creation unit 11 in order to give the same ID to the same content. . The reproduction information storage unit 14 stores the content reproduction information converted by the reproduction information creation unit 13 and provides it to the reservation information creation unit 16.

  The reservation information creating means 5 includes a content designation information receiving unit 15, a reservation information creating unit 16, and a reservation information storage unit 17. The content designation information receiving unit 15 receives content designation information transmitted from the reservation terminal 21. The reservation information creation unit 16 acquires information about the designated content from the reproduction information storage unit 14 when information for designating the content is input from the content designation information receiving unit 15 or the viewing information receiving unit 7, Create information. The reservation information storage unit 17 stores the reservation information created by the reservation information creation unit 16 and provides the reservation information to the reservation information transmission unit 6.

  The reservation information transmission means 6 acquires reservation information from the reservation information storage unit 17 when receiving a request for reservation information from the playback device 24 connected to the home network 32, and transmits the reservation information to the playback device 24. Do.

  The viewing information receiving means 7 receives a reservation for interrupting content viewing from the playback device 24 connected to the home network 32, and makes a reservation for playback after the interrupted position to the reservation information creating unit 16. Request creation of information. Further, when the notification of content viewing completion is received, the reservation information creation unit 16 is requested to delete the reservation information related to the corresponding content.

[Process flow]
Next, when the viewing reservation apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 1 is operated, each of the data and processing flow of content information acquisition from the content storage apparatus, viewing reservation by the reservation terminal, and playback by the playback apparatus will be described. It demonstrates based on a flowchart. The description will be made with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing flow when the viewing reservation apparatus 20 finds the content storage device 22 on the home network 32 and acquires content information from the content storage device 22.

  When the viewing reservation device 20 is activated (started), the content information receiving means 1 of the viewing reservation device 20 transmits a device search message using the UPnP protocol to all devices in the home network 32 (S101). ). Thereafter, the viewing reservation apparatus 20 enters a state of waiting for a notification from a device on the home network 32 (S102).

  If the content storage device 22 on the home network 32 can respond to the device search message sent from the viewing reservation device 20 (Y in S103), the communication means 71 in the content storage device 22 starts from the viewing reservation device 20. When the device search message is received, the information is notified to the viewing reservation apparatus 20 according to the UPnP protocol (S104).

  When the content information receiving unit 1 of the viewing reservation device 20 receives the notification from the content storage device 22, the content information receiving unit 1 lists the content stored in the content storage device 22 with respect to the content storage device 22. Is made (S105). When the communication means 71 in the content storage device 22 receives this request, it acquires a content list from the content management means 72 and transmits it to the viewing reservation device 20 (S106).

  When the content information receiving unit 1 of the viewing reservation apparatus 20 receives the content list, the content list is sent to the browser format creation unit 11 and the reproduction information creation unit 13. The browser format creation unit 11 converts the received content list, and creates browser format content information to be used in the reservation terminal (S107). At this time, an ID is given to each content included in the content list by the browser format creation unit 11, and the browser format content information includes this ID. The created browser format content information is stored in the browser format storage unit 12.

  After creating the browser-format content information, the reproduction information creation unit 13 converts the received content list and creates content reproduction information to be used by the reservation information creation unit 16 (S108). At this time, an ID generated by the browser format creation unit 11 is assigned to each content included in the content list, and the content reproduction information includes the ID. The created content reproduction information is stored in the reproduction information storage unit 14. After saving, the viewing reservation apparatus 20 returns to a state of waiting for a notification from a device on the home network 32 (S102).

FIG. 6 shows communication contents performed between the viewing reservation device 20 and the content storage device 22 in S101 to S106. In S101, the viewing reservation apparatus 20 transmits a device search message including its own IP address. In S104, the content storage device 22 responds to the device search message. Information notified from the content storage device 22 to the viewing reservation device 20 at this time includes its own IP address, its own device type being a content server, its own name, and the like.
Thereafter, in S105, the viewing reservation apparatus 20 requests the content storage apparatus 22 for a content list. In S <b> 106, the content storage device 22 transmits a content list to the viewing reservation device 20. A specific example of this content list is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, in the content list, for each content, the title of the content, the URI accessed when the content is acquired, the time when the content was recorded, the length of the content itself (time conversion), etc. include.

  An example of browser format content information created by the browser format creation unit 11 is shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the browser format content information is converted to HTML format after deleting the URI included in the content list shown in FIG. 7, and a “reserve” button and time for making a viewing reservation are designated. Then, an input area for making a viewing reservation and a “reserving halfway” button are added. When the browser format content information is displayed on the reservation terminal 21, the form shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, a button for making a viewing reservation for each content, an input area regarding a time for making a viewing reservation from the middle, and a button for making a halfway reservation are set. By using this GUI, the description in HTML is made so that the content ID that is information for specifying the content and the position where viewing of the content is started are transmitted to the viewing reservation apparatus.

  A specific example of the content reproduction information created by the reproduction information creation unit 13 is shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 10, the content ID, the title, and the URI included in the browser format content information are stored for each content. Note that the content reproduction information is information for creating reservation information by being combined with content selection information from the reservation terminal 21, and thus information on recording time and length in the content list is deleted.

  FIG. 11 shows a flow of processing when the viewing reservation apparatus 20 receives access from the reservation terminal 21, transmits browser-format content information to the reservation terminal 21, and accepts a viewing reservation from the reservation terminal 21. It is a flowchart.

  When the reservation terminal 21 accesses the viewing reservation device 20 and requests the start of viewing reservation (S201), the content information transmission means 3 of the viewing reservation device 20 acquires browser format content information from the browser format storage unit 13. To do. The browser format content information is described in the HTML format as shown in FIG. The content information transmission means 3 transmits this browser format content information to the reservation terminal 21 (S202).

  The reservation terminal 21 displays the received browser-type content information and allows the user to select one of the contents in the content list information. When content is selected on the reservation terminal 21, the reservation terminal 21 transmits content designation information indicating the selected content to the viewing reservation device 20 (S203). The content designation information can include a position where content viewing is started in addition to content ID information indicating which content is selected.

  The content designation information receiving unit 15 of the viewing reservation apparatus 20 receives the content designation information sent from the reservation terminal 21 and sends the content designation information to the reservation information creating unit 16. The reservation information creation unit 16 uses the content ID included in the content designation information received by the content designation information reception unit 15 and acquires the content reproduction information of the content indicated by the content ID from the reproduction information storage unit 14 and obtains it. Viewing reservation information is created from the content reproduction information and the content designation information (S204). Thereafter, the reservation information creation unit 16 stores the created viewing reservation information in the reservation information storage unit 17 (S205).

  FIG. 12 shows communication contents performed between the viewing reservation apparatus 20 and the reservation terminal 21 in S201 to S203. In S201, the reservation terminal 21 requests the viewing reservation device 20 to acquire a viewing reservation Web page in the viewing reservation device 20 as a request to start viewing reservation. In S <b> 202, the viewing reservation apparatus 20 transmits browser-format content information created in advance to the reservation terminal 21. The reservation terminal 21 interprets the browser-type content information and displays it as in the example of FIG. When the user selects a content viewing reservation, the reservation terminal 21 transmits content designation information to the viewing reservation device 20 in accordance with the description in the content information in the browser format.

  A specific example of the viewing reservation information creation process performed by the reservation information creation unit 16 in S204 is shown in FIG. When the reservation information creation unit 16 receives the content designation information sent from the content designation information reception unit 15, the reservation information creation unit 16 acquires the content reproduction information related to the designated content from the reproduction information storage unit 14. In the example of FIG. 13, since the viewing reservation from the start position 0:30 of the content whose content ID is v1 has been received, the content ID of the content playback information stored in the playback information storage unit 14 is used as a key. The content reproduction information of the content whose ID is v1 is acquired. Next, viewing reservation information is created from the content reproduction information and the content designation information. In the example of FIG. 13, the viewing reservation information includes a content title, a URI for acquiring the content (obtained from the content reproduction information), and a position at which viewing of the content is started (obtained from the content designation information). The viewing reservation information created in this way is stored in the reservation information storage unit 17.

  In FIG. 14, the viewing reservation apparatus 20 is accessed from the reproduction apparatus 24, transmits viewing reservation information to the reproduction apparatus 24, and the reproduction apparatus 24 reproduces content from the content storage apparatus 22 based on the viewing reservation information. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process at the time.

  When the playback device 24 is activated (started), the communication means 81 in the playback device 24 issues a device search message using the UPnP protocol to devices on the home network 32 (S301). The reservation information transmitting means 6 in the viewing reservation device 20 responds to the playback device 24 with a message indicating that it is a content storage device in response to the device search message (S302).

  A list of content storage devices discovered in the home network 32 is displayed on the output means 82 of the playback device 24. Since the viewing reservation device 20 responds to the playback device 24 as a content storage device, the viewing reservation device 20 is included in this list.

  When the viewing reservation device 20 is selected from the content storage device list by the operation unit 83 of the playback device 24, the communication unit 81 of the playback device 24 stores the viewing reservation device 20 in the viewing reservation device 20. A list of the content that is being requested is requested (S303). In response to this request, the reservation information transmitting means 6 of the viewing reservation device 20 transmits the viewing reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 17 to the playback device 24 (S304).

  As a result, a list of viewing reservation information is displayed on the output means 82 of the playback device 24. When one piece of content is selected from the viewing reservation information by the operation unit 83, the communication unit 81 requests content acquisition from the address of the content included in the viewing reservation information (S305). Since the address of the content included in the viewing reservation information indicates the content in the content storage device 22, this request is made to the content storage device 22. Upon receiving this request, the communication unit 71 of the content storage device 22 transmits the corresponding content in the content management unit 72 to the playback device 24 (S306). The playback device 24 outputs this content to the output means 82 (S307).

  FIG. 15 shows communication contents performed between the viewing reservation device 20, the playback device 24, and the content storage device 22 in S301 to S306. In S <b> 301, the playback device 24 transmits a UPnP device search message to all devices in the home network 32. In S302, the content storage device 22 and the viewing reservation device 20 respond to the device search message that their own IP address, their name, and their device type are content servers. As a result, the playback device 24 recognizes that there are two content storage devices on the home network 32.

  In S303, when the viewing reservation device 20 is selected by the playback device 24, the playback device 24 requests the viewing reservation device 20 for a list of contents. In S304, the viewing reservation apparatus 20 transmits viewing reservation information to the playback apparatus 24 in response to this request. This viewing reservation information includes the title of the content, the URI that is accessed when the content is acquired, the position where the viewing of the content is started, and the like. As the URI included in this, since the URI previously acquired from the content storage device 22 by the viewing reservation device 20 is used, the URI of the content in the content storage device 22, not the viewing reservation device 20, is given to the playback device 24. Sent.

  In S305, the playback device 24 makes a content acquisition request to the URI of this content. Therefore, this content acquisition request is made to the content storage device 22, and the content is transmitted from the content storage device 22 in S306. At this time, since the position at which reproduction is started is also transmitted to the content storage device 22, the content storage device transmits the content after the designated position.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when viewing of content is interrupted and when viewing of content is completed in the playback device 24 performing playback using the means shown in FIG.

  When the playback of the content is finished in the playback device 24 (S401), it is determined whether the content playback is finished when there is a remaining content (interruption) or when the content is played back to the end (completion). In the case of interruption of content reproduction (YES in S402), the communication means 81 of the reproduction device 24 provides the viewing reservation device 24 with information indicating interruption of content reproduction, information specifying the interrupted content, and interruption. The position information is notified (S403). Upon receiving this notification, the viewing information receiving means 7 of the viewing reservation apparatus 20 notifies the reservation information creating unit 16 of information specifying the content and the interrupted position. The reservation information creation unit 16 acquires the viewing reservation information of the designated content from the reservation information storage unit 17, and replaces the position where the viewing starts in the interrupted position (S404).

  On the other hand, when the reproduction of the content is completed (NO in S402), the communication unit 81 of the reproduction device 24 informs the viewing reservation device 24 that the reproduction of the content has been completed, and information that specifies the content that has been reproduced. Are notified (S405).

  Upon receiving this notification, the viewing information receiving means 7 of the viewing reservation apparatus 20 notifies the reservation information creating unit 16 of information specifying the content and the completion of the reproduction. The reservation information creation unit 16 deletes the viewing reservation information of the designated content from the reservation information storage unit 17 (S406).

  As described above, according to the content viewing reservation apparatus according to the present embodiment, the reserved content is reserved in advance, so that the reserved content is quickly reproduced later. be able to. Therefore, there is an advantage that convenience regarding content viewing can be improved.

  The present invention can be used as a content viewing reservation apparatus.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of a principal part structure of the viewing-and-listening reservation apparatus by one embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an outline | summary of the apparatus structure of the whole network to which the viewing-and-listening reservation apparatus by this Embodiment was connected. It is a block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the content storage apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a playback device illustrated in FIG. 2. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process when the viewing-and-listening reservation apparatus by this Embodiment acquires and converts content information from the content storage apparatus on a network. It is a figure which shows the flow of data when the viewing-and-listening reservation apparatus by this Embodiment acquires content information from the content storage apparatus on a network. It is an example of the content information which the viewing-and-listening reservation apparatus by this Embodiment receives from the content storage apparatus on a network. This is an example of browser format content information generated by converting the content information by the viewing reservation apparatus according to the present embodiment. It is an example of a screen structure at the time of displaying the browser format content information shown by FIG. 8 with a reservation terminal. It is an example of the content reproduction information generated by converting the content information by the viewing reservation apparatus according to the present embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process when a reservation terminal performs viewing reservation with respect to the viewing reservation apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flow of data when a reservation terminal performs viewing reservation with respect to the viewing reservation apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flow of the data at the time of the viewing reservation apparatus by this Embodiment producing viewing reservation information from content designation | designated information and content reproduction information. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process at the time of reproducing | regenerating the content with which the reproducing | regenerating apparatus reserved with respect to the viewing-and-listening reservation apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data flow at the time of reproducing | regenerating the content with which the reproducing | regenerating apparatus reserved with respect to the viewing-and-listening reservation apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process when the reproducing | regenerating apparatus which interrupted or completed viewing of the content notified with respect to the viewing reservation apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the outline | summary of the information delivery system described in patent document 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content information receiving means 2 Browser format creation means 3 Content information transmission means 4 Reproduction information creation means 5 Reservation information creation means 6 Reservation information transmission means 7 Viewing information reception means 11 Browser format creation part 12 Browser format storage part 13 Playback information creation part 14 Reproduction information storage unit 15 Content designation information reception unit 16 Reservation information creation unit 17 Reservation information storage unit 20 Viewing reservation device 21 Reservation terminal 22, 23 Content storage device 24, 25 Playback device 71 Communication unit 72 of content storage device 72 Content management unit 81 Communication means 82 of playback apparatus Output means 83 Operation means 91 Mobile phone 92 Server 93 Stationary terminal

Claims (15)

Content information receiving means for receiving content information including an address specifying a location where the content is stored;
Browser format creating means for converting the received content information into a browser format in which information for selecting content to be viewed is added;
A content viewing reservation apparatus comprising: content information transmitting means for transmitting content information converted into the browser format. Reproduction information creating means for converting the received content information into content reproduction information;
Reservation information creating means for receiving content designation information from a reservation terminal and creating viewing reservation information for playing the designated content from the received content designation information and the content reproduction information;
The content viewing reservation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising reservation information transmitting means for transmitting the viewing reservation information to a content reproduction apparatus. The browser format creation means generates a content designation identifier for each content for the received content information, adds the content designation identifier to the content information converted into the browser format,
3. The content viewing reservation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the reproduction information creating means adds a content designation identifier generated for each content to the received content information. The browser format creation means adds a description for designating a content viewing start position to the content information converted into the browser format,
4. The content viewing reservation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the reservation information creating unit adds a content viewing start position included in the content designation information to the viewing reservation information.   The content viewing reservation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising viewing information receiving means for receiving information indicating suspension of viewing or completion of viewing.   6. The reservation information creating means creates viewing reservation information for performing halfway playback from a viewing interruption position when the viewing information receiving means receives information indicating suspension of viewing. The content viewing reservation apparatus according to 1.   7. The reservation information creating unit, when the viewing information receiving unit receives information indicating completion of viewing, deletes the viewing reservation information of the content that has been viewed. Content viewing reservation device. Content information converted into the browser format is acquired from the viewing reservation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
Generate content specification information from the content information converted into the browser format,
A reservation terminal, wherein the content designation information is transmitted to the viewing reservation device. The viewing reservation information is acquired from the viewing reservation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A content playback apparatus, wherein content is acquired from an address of content included in the viewing reservation information and played back.   A content viewing reservation system comprising the content viewing reservation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the reservation terminal according to claim 8, and the content reproduction device and content storage device according to claim 9. . A content information receiving step of receiving content information including an address specifying a location where the content is stored;
A browser format creation step for converting the received content information into a browser format to which information for selecting content to be viewed is added;
A viewing information reservation method comprising: a content information transmission step of transmitting content information converted into the browser format.   The program for making a computer perform the step of Claim 11. A content storage device having a function of providing content, a playback device having a function of acquiring content from the content storage device and reproducing the acquired content, and an interface connectable to a connected internal network Content information receiving means for receiving content information including an address specifying a location where the content is stored;
Browser format creating means for converting the received content information into a browser format in which information for selecting content to be viewed is added;
A content viewing reservation apparatus comprising: content information transmitting means for transmitting content information converted into the browser format.   Furthermore, a reservation terminal having a function of acquiring content information in the content storage device from the viewing reservation device, selecting a content based on the content information, and making a viewing reservation, and having a browser that interprets HTML The content viewing reservation apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the content viewing reservation apparatus is connected via an external network. A content storage device having a function of providing content, a playback device having a function of acquiring content from the content storage device and reproducing the acquired content, and an interface connectable to a connected internal network Content information receiving means for receiving content information including an address for specifying a location where the content is stored, and a browser format in which information for selecting content to be viewed is added to the received content information A content viewing reservation device comprising: browser format creation means for conversion; and content information transmission means for transmitting content information converted into the browser format;
A reservation terminal having a function of acquiring content information in the content storage device from the viewing reservation device, selecting content based on the content information, and making a viewing reservation, and having a browser that interprets HTML A content device system comprising a reservation terminal connected via an external network.

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