JP2008289194A - Video playback apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video playback apparatus capable of automatically temporarily stopping playback and resuming playback at a good place to leave off, while preventing a user from missing the timing. <P>SOLUTION: A point of scene change is detected for contents and information about the point of scene change is used to determine places to temporarily stop and resume playback. When detecting the point of scene change, a plurality of thresholds are provided to set a change point level to the point of scene change. When the user presses a temporary stop function button during content playback, the scene change point level is utilized to display the place to temporarily stop playback for the user. Thus, the user is enabled to determine the place of temporary stop at a desired level. Furthermore, when the user presses a playback resume function button during temporary stop of contents, the scene change point level is similarly utilized to display the place to resume playback for the user. Thus, the user is enabled to determine the place to resume playback at a desired level. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a video processing technology capable of reproducing and stopping a moving image, and more particularly to a video recording / reproducing technology for performing stop and reproduction using scene change points of a moving image.

  When a user sits down for a while while viewing video content such as a television program, the user pauses playback at a timing determined by the user. Then, when resuming the reproduction, the reproduction is resumed from the paused position. At this time, if a character pauses in the middle of a dialogue in a movie or drama content, the user manually returns to the previous scene and plays it back to understand the content of the dialogue. It was necessary to fix and operation was troublesome.

In response to this problem, Patent Document 1 uses the captions of dialogue to return to the beginning of the scene and resume playback.
In the example of Patent Document 1, when a user instructs pause, playback is paused. When playback is resumed, playback restart position determination means includes subtitles and the like when the user instructs playback. The restart position is determined according to the presence / absence of the sub-video signal. The reproduction resumption position determining means determines the reproduction resumption position at the head position of the scene with the subtitle because the character is speaking when the subtitle is included during the pause. On the other hand, when there is no caption at the time of pause, the playback resume position determining means determines the playback resume position at the paused position. Alternatively, the timer counts the time during the pause, and when the first predetermined time has elapsed, the reproduction restart position is determined at the position returned by the second predetermined time. This makes it possible to resume playback from the beginning of the dialogue when it is paused in a scene with subtitle dialogue, and to understand the contents even when there is no subtitle and the subject sits for a relatively long time. It becomes easy.

Also, Patent Document 2 discloses a method for detecting a change point of a moving image. Here, for example, when the user presses the stop button during playback of a moving image, it is determined that the user has specified a frame, and a moving transition (change point) of the moving image in the vicinity thereof is detected. A technique for stopping reproduction at the change point is disclosed.
JP 2001-309294 A JP-A-9-107517

  In the case of a non-emergency center such as a break, the user wants to pause at a point that is as good as possible. However, when the user pauses at the timing determined by the user as in the past, the user does not know the point where the scene changes, such as the scene change point, so he misses the timing or does not know how long to wait There are challenges.

  On the other hand, in the example proposed in Patent Document 1, when there is no caption in the content, the reproduction is resumed from the place where the content is paused or the time which is traced back for a certain period of time. It's hard to say that you can understand. Therefore, it was not enough about these usability.

  On the other hand, in the example proposed in Patent Document 2, the moving image is stopped at the scene change point. However, since the purpose is to edit the moving image, the currently viewed content is paused and playback is resumed. It is hard to say that it is easy to use.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve the usability of stop and playback.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a video playback device that plays back video content is provided with a scene change point determination unit that determines a scene change point of the content and a playback control unit that controls playback and pause. Then, using the information regarding the scene change point determined by the scene change point determination means, pause or resumption of reproduction is performed.

  Further, a change point level setting means for setting the level of the scene change point of the content is provided, information on the change point level set by the change point level setting means is added to the scene change point information, and the change point level is set according to the change point level. Change where to pause or resume playback.

  In the present invention, usability of stopping and playback can be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

This embodiment is an embodiment of the video reproduction apparatus of the present invention. This embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.
In this embodiment, pause and playback are resumed at the scene change point of the content. The scene change point is a transition between each scene and the content of the scene. For example, in the case of a drama program, the scene changes, or the speaker changes. If it is a music program, it may be a turning point between playing music and not. For the detection of this scene change point, a feature amount such as an image or sound is calculated for each input frame, and a correlation coefficient of the feature amount between frames is calculated. A method of detecting a change point exceeding a predetermined level can be used. For detection of scene change points, the difference between frames before and after a moving image (luminance, color histogram, etc.), various feature amounts (moving vector amount (motion compensation), etc.) calculated when encoding / decoding a moving image ), Audio change (switching between monaural and stereo, volume change, silence detection, etc.) can be used. For example, when the difference between frames before and after a moving image is used to detect a scene changing point, it is possible to detect a scene changing point for an analog moving image or an uncompressed moving image. In addition, if various feature quantities calculated at the time of encoding / decoding a moving image are used for scene change point detection, the feature quantities used for scene change point detection are already calculated before scene change point detection. The load when detecting a change point is lightened. Furthermore, when audio changes are used for scene change point detection, there is an advantage that the accuracy of scene change point detection increases depending on the content such as a music program.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a function of pause (hereinafter referred to as “pause after playback”) using scene change points of content in the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a video playback apparatus in the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the video playback apparatus when paused after playback during content playback. Further, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of a function of resuming playback using scene change points of content in the present invention, and FIG. 5 shows a processing procedure in the video playback device when playback is resumed when content is paused. FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a pause function after reproduction according to the present invention, in which time is displayed on the horizontal axis and the detected value of the scene change point is displayed on the vertical axis. In the content, a scene change point is automatically detected by a scene change point detection unit that determines a scene change point. At that time, by setting a plurality of threshold values, a level can be given to the scene change point. That is, when the detected value of the scene change point exceeds the threshold value 0 of level 0, the scene change point is set to level 0, and when the detected value exceeds the threshold value 1 of level 1 and does not exceed the threshold value 0 of level 0 The scene change point is set to level 1, and when the detected value exceeds the threshold value 2 of level 2 and does not exceed the threshold value 1 of level 1, the scene change point is set to level 2. Alternatively, the scene change point and its level are attached to the content as additional information such as metadata. In FIG. 1, since the detected values of the scene change points 101 and 102 exceed the threshold value 0, they become level 0 scene change points, and the detected value of the 111 scene change point exceeds the threshold value 1 and exceeds the threshold value 0. Therefore, it becomes a scene change point of level 1, and furthermore, since the detected value of the scene change point of 121, 122, 123 and 124 exceeds threshold 2 and does not exceed threshold 1, it becomes a scene change point of level 2. . When the user presses a pause button after playback provided on an input device such as an operation panel of the apparatus main body or a remote control between the scene change point 121 of level 2 and the scene change point 122 of level 2 during content playback, The video playback apparatus according to the present invention is set to pause at the closest level 0 scene change point 102 on the right side of the time axis, and the video display screen displays up to a pause point such as “○ second until pause”. Display time. If the user cannot wait until the scene change point 102, the video playback device in the present invention is set to pause at the scene change point 111 of the nearest level 1 or less by pressing the pause button after playback again. The time until the pause point is displayed again on the video display screen, such as “△ seconds until pause”. Further, when the user cannot wait until the scene change point 111, the video playback apparatus in the present invention pauses at the scene change point 122 of the closest level 2 or less by pressing the pause button after playback again. Set to, and display the time until the pause point again on the video display screen. Thus, the user can change the pause position by repeatedly pressing the pause button after reproduction. As in the present embodiment, a stepped level is assigned to the scene change point, and the user selects this, whereby the pause position can be determined according to the user's circumstances. In this embodiment, the pause point is changed by repeatedly pressing the pause button after playback provided on the input device such as the operation panel of the device main body or the remote control. However, the operation panel of the device main body or the remote control is changed. A scene change point level switching button for switching the scene change point level may be provided in the input device in addition to the pause button after reproduction. In this case, the user can switch the position to pause by pressing the scene change point level switching button after pressing the pause button after reproduction. Moreover, you may use the strip | belt-shaped meter showing time to represent the time until temporary stop. This makes it possible to visually capture the time until the pause. In the present embodiment, an example is given in which the threshold value decreases as the level of the scene change point increases. However, the threshold value may be decreased as the level decreases.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a video playback apparatus according to the present embodiment, 200 is a video playback apparatus, 210 is a content provider that is an external medium such as broadcast, the Internet, or DVD package media, and 220 is paused after playback. A remote controller provided with a button 230 is a display screen for displaying video and the like. The video playback apparatus 200 includes a content acquisition unit 201 that acquires content from the content provider 210, a content storage unit 202 that stores the acquired content, and a change point level setting unit 203 that sets the level of a scene change point. A scene change point detection unit 204 for detecting a scene change point according to the change point level setting unit 203 for the content stored by the content storage unit 202 and acquiring information on the scene change point; and the scene change point detection A scene change point information storage unit 205 that stores the scene change point information acquired by the unit 204, a playback unit 206 that plays back the content stored in the content storage unit 202, an operation panel of the apparatus main body, the remote controller 220, etc. Playback stop signal for acquiring signals such as pause and playback restart from the input device An acquisition stop 207 and a playback stop location designation unit 208 that designates a playback stop location from the scene change point information stored in the scene change point information storage unit 205 when the playback stop signal is acquired by the playback stop signal acquisition unit 207. Is equipped.
The scene change point information acquired by the scene change point detection information acquisition unit 205 includes the scene change point level set by the change point level setting unit 203 in addition to the position information such as the time of the scene change point. included.
Next, details of the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 shows a processing procedure of pause after reproduction in the video reproduction device 200 when the user presses the pause button after reproduction during content reproduction. The scene change point information is detected in advance by the scene change point detection unit 204 by detecting the scene change point of the content stored in the content storage unit 202 and stored in the scene change point information storage unit 205. When the user wants to sit down during content playback, he presses a pause button after playback provided on an operation panel of the video playback device 200 or an input device such as the remote controller 220. In response to this, the process shown in FIG. 3 is executed. When the stop signal acquisition unit 206 acquires a stop signal such as a pause from the operation panel of the video playback device 200 or the input device such as the remote controller 220, the stop location specifying unit 208 stores the scene change point information storage unit 205. Stored scene change point information is acquired (step S301). In the scene change point information acquired in step S301, the level L of the scene change point is set to 0 (step S302), and the time to the closest scene change point below the level L is displayed on the display screen 230 (step S303). . If the user is not satisfied with the displayed remaining time, the user presses the pause button after reproduction again, but determines whether the button is pressed (step S304). If the button is pressed in step S304, that is, if the user is not satisfied with the remaining time displayed, the scene change point level L exceeds the maximum level MAX set in the change point level setting unit. After determining whether or not there is (step S305), only when the maximum level MAX is not exceeded, the level L of the scene change point is increased by 1 (step S306). Thereafter, the process returns to step S303, and the time until the closest scene change point for the new level L or lower is displayed on the display screen 230, and the process is repeated. If the level L of the scene change point exceeds the maximum level MAX in step S305, the process returns to step S302 to return the level L to 0 and repeat the processing. If the button has not been pressed in step S304, it is determined whether or not the scene change point below the level L displayed in step S303 has been reproduced (step S307). If the scene change point has not been reproduced yet, the process proceeds to step S303. Return and repeat the process. If it is determined in step S307 that the scene change point has been reproduced, the process is paused at the scene change point (step S308) and the process is terminated.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of the reproduction restart function using the scene change point of the content according to the present invention, in which time is displayed on the horizontal axis and the detected value of the scene change point is displayed on the vertical axis. In the content, a scene change point is automatically detected by a scene change point detection unit that determines a scene change point. At that time, by setting a plurality of threshold values, a level can be given to the scene change point. That is, when the detected value of the scene change point exceeds the threshold value 0 of level 0, the scene change point is set to level 0, and when the detected value exceeds the threshold value 1 of level 1, the scene change point is set to level 1. When the detected value exceeds the threshold 2 of level 2, the scene change point is set to level 2. Alternatively, the scene change point and its level are attached to the content as additional information such as metadata. In FIG. 9, since the detected values of the scene change points 901 and 902 exceed the threshold 0, the scene change point is level 0, and since the detected value of the scene change point 911 exceeds the threshold 1, the level 1 Furthermore, since the detected values of the scene change points 921, 922, 923, and 924 exceed the threshold value 2, they become level 2 scene change points. When the user pauses between the level 2 scene change point 923 and the level 2 scene change point 924, the user presses the playback resume point search button provided on the operation panel of the apparatus main body or an input device such as a remote control. The video playback apparatus according to the present invention sets a playback restart point at a scene change point 923 closest to level 2 or lower on the left side of the time axis, and displays the time until the playback restart point or a thumbnail image of the scene on the video display screen. indicate. When the user wants to go back before the scene change point 923, the video playback apparatus in the present invention sets the playback restart point at the closest scene change point 911 of level 1 or lower by pressing the playback restart point search button again. The time until the resumption of playback or the thumbnail image of the scene is displayed again on the video display screen. If the user wants to go further, the video playback device in the present invention sets the playback restart point at the closest level 0 scene change point 901 by pressing the playback restart point search button again, and the time until the playback restart point is reached. Alternatively, the thumbnail image of the scene is displayed again on the video display screen. If a favorite playback restart location is found, playback can be restarted from the playback restart location set by pressing a playback restart button provided on an input device such as an operation panel of the apparatus main body or a remote control. In this way, the user can change the playback restart point by repeatedly pressing the playback restart button. As in the present embodiment, a stepped level is assigned to the scene change point, and the user selects this to determine the playback restart position according to the user's circumstances. Further, a band-shaped meter that represents time may be used to represent the time until the reproduction restart point. This makes it possible to visually capture the time until resumption of playback. In the present embodiment, an example is given in which the threshold value decreases as the level of the scene change point increases. However, the threshold value may be decreased as the level decreases.

Next, the details of the resuming operation will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 shows a processing procedure for restarting playback in the video playback device 200 when the user presses the playback restart location search button when the content is paused. The scene change point information is detected in advance by the scene change point detection unit 204 by detecting the scene change point of the content stored in the content storage unit 202 and stored in the scene change point information storage unit 205. When the user wants to resume the reproduction from the paused state, the user presses a reproduction resume point search button provided on the operation panel of the video reproduction device 200 or the input device such as the remote controller 220. In response to this, the process shown in FIG. 5 is executed. When the playback stop signal acquisition unit 207 acquires the playback restart point search signal from the operation panel of the video playback device 200 or the input device such as the remote controller 220, the playback restart point specifying unit 208 stores the scene change point information storage unit 205. The scene change point information stored in is acquired (step S1101). In the scene change point information acquired in step S1101, the level L of the scene change point is set to the maximum level MAX set by the change point level setting unit 203 (step S1102). The thumbnail image of the time or the scene is displayed on the display screen 230 (step S1103). If the user is not satisfied with the displayed time or the thumbnail image, the user presses the playback restart point search button (button A) again, but determines whether or not the button A is pressed (step S1104). If button A is pressed in step S1104, that is, if the user is not satisfied with the displayed time or thumbnail image, it is determined whether the level L of the scene change point is greater than 0 (step S1105). Only when greater than 0, the scene change point level L is decreased by 1 (step S1106). Thereafter, the process returns to step S1103, and the time to the nearest scene change point or a thumbnail image of the scene is displayed on the display screen 230 for the level below the new level L, and the process is repeated. If the scene change point level L becomes 0 or less in step S1105, the process returns to step S1102, the level L is returned to the maximum level MAX, and the process is repeated. If button A is not pressed in step S1104, it is determined whether a playback restart button (button B) provided on the operation panel of the video playback device 200 or the input device such as the remote controller 220 is pressed (step S1107). ). If button B has not been pressed, the process returns to step S1103 and the process is repeated. If button B is pressed in step S1107, playback is resumed retroactively to the scene change point (step S1108), and the process ends.

As described above, in this embodiment, the scene is paused at a scene change point after the point when the pause button is pressed, and is reproduced from the scene change point before the point when the playback resume button is pressed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the same scene is watched repeatedly, and the user can easily understand the contents even if the user sits for a relatively long time.
Alternatively, the scene may be paused at a scene change point after the point when the pause button is pressed, and playback may be started from the point when the playback resume button is pressed. In this way, viewing is performed up to a good break and playback is resumed from that point, so the same scene is not duplicated and the user can easily understand the contents.
Furthermore, the playback may be paused when the pause button is pressed, and playback is started from the scene change point before the playback restart button is pressed. In this way, it can be paused immediately, but playback is resumed from the previous scene change point, so that the contents can be recalled and the user can easily understand the contents.

Further, in this embodiment, the level of the standard for determining the scene change point (for example, the difference in brightness of the frames before and after the moving image) is set in three stages, and the user selects this with the remote control. The user may select this reference with a remote controller or the like. For example, the difference in luminance between frames before and after the moving image is changed to a difference in color histogram between frames before and after the moving image. By doing so, it is possible to select an appropriate criterion according to the content. Of course, an appropriate standard may be set automatically.
In this embodiment, pause and playback are assumed to be resumed, but the present invention can also be applied to normal stop and playback.

  Note that the content storage unit 202 in the present embodiment is built in the video playback device 200, but an external storage device such as a rewritable DVD medium, media card, or USB memory may be used. Accordingly, various types of recording apparatuses can be replaced according to the user's preference. Furthermore, maintenance, inspection, etc. of the recording device are easily performed. In addition, when playing back content stored in the content storage unit 202 that has not yet been subjected to scene change point detection, scene change point detection is sequentially performed on content data ahead for a predetermined time during playback. This example can be implemented. For example, it may be possible to detect the scene change point by reading the content quickly by installing a multiple speed decoder, or to detect the scene change point for the content data developed on the memory and play it back. Also good. In this case, the scene change point information acquired by the scene change point detection unit 204 may be directly passed to the stop location specifying unit 208. By these operations, the scene change point can be quickly detected.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to automatically pause and resume the reproduction of the content recorded in the recording device such as the HDD recorder or the DVD recorder at a place where the user can cut without losing the timing. In addition, by notifying the user of the time until the point at which playback is paused and resumed, the user can know how long to wait, and if the displayed time is not satisfactory, the user's operation This further shortens or lengthens the paused position, improving user convenience.

In this embodiment, the scene change point detection process of content is performed at the time of content acquisition in the video reproduction apparatus of the first embodiment. It should be noted that the outline of the pause and playback restart function by detecting the scene change point of the content in the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
Each component shown in FIG. 6 is given the same reference numeral as that shown in FIG. In the first embodiment, scene change point detection is performed on content data once stored, but in this embodiment, scene change point detection is performed at the time of content acquisition and then stored. That is, when content is acquired by the content acquisition unit 201, the scene change point detection unit 204 detects a scene change point based on the change point level set by the change point level setting unit 203, and performs scene change point detection. The scene change point information is stored in the scene change point information storage unit 205.

  According to the present embodiment, scene change point detection is performed at the time of content acquisition. Therefore, there is always scene change point information at the time of reproduction, and the load can be reduced compared to acquiring the scene change point at the time of reproduction.

In this embodiment, content scene change point information is acquired from the outside of the video playback apparatus, for example, a broadcasting station or the Internet in the video playback apparatus of the first embodiment. It should be noted that the outline of the pause and playback restart function by detecting the scene change point of the content in the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the video reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and the components shown in FIG. 7 are assigned the same reference numerals as those in FIG. A scene change point information acquisition unit 213 that acquires scene change point information from the content providing side 210 is newly provided.

  In the first embodiment, scene change point detection is performed on content data once accumulated, but in this embodiment, scene change point information of the corresponding content is acquired from the content providing side 210. That is, at the same time that the content acquisition unit 201 acquires content, the scene change point information acquisition unit 213 acquires scene change point information for the content.

  In this embodiment, the scene change point information is acquired at the same time as the content acquisition, but may not be the same. For example, the scene change point information may be acquired by the scene change point information acquisition unit 213 when the playback stop signal acquisition unit 207 acquires the playback stop signal. In this case, the acquired scene change point information does not need to be stored in the scene change point information storage unit 205, and may be directly passed to the stop point specifying unit 208. As a result, the scene change point can be used for reproduction and stop immediately.

  In addition, the content provider can embed scene change point information as metadata at the time of content distribution in advance. There is also a method of storing metadata on a server so that it can be referenced when necessary. As a result, the scene change point can be delivered to a person who needs the scene change point, and there is an advantage that the efficiency of data transmission is improved.

  According to the present embodiment, since the scene change point information is acquired from the outside, it is not necessary to detect the scene change point inside the apparatus, and the load on the apparatus can be reduced.

The present embodiment is an example in which the post-reproduction pause and reproduction resume functions of the present invention are implemented when only reproduction is performed without accumulating content data, that is, when recording is performed only by viewing the content. It should be noted that the outline of the pause and playback restart function by detecting the scene change point of the content in the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram when the post-reproduction pause function of the video reproduction apparatus of the present embodiment is used, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when the post-reproduction pause is performed during content reproduction in the present embodiment. It is. FIG. 10 is a block diagram when the playback restart function of the video playback apparatus of this embodiment is used, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when playback restart is performed when content is paused in this embodiment. is there.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram when the pause function of the video reproduction apparatus of the present embodiment is used. In the configuration shown in FIG. 8, the same components as those in FIG. In the present embodiment, the switching unit 211 that passes the content data acquired by the content acquisition unit 201 to the scene change point detection unit 204 when the stop signal is acquired by the reproduction stop signal acquisition unit 207, and the content data after the stop point are temporarily stored. A temporary content storage unit 212 is newly installed.

Next, details of the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 9 shows a processing procedure for pause after playback in the video playback device 200 when the user presses the pause button after playback during content playback. When the user wants to sit down while viewing the content, he presses a pause button after reproduction provided on an operation panel of the video reproduction device 200 or an input device such as the remote controller 220. In response to this, the process shown in FIG. 7 is executed. When the playback stop signal acquisition unit 207 acquires a stop signal such as a pause from the operation panel of the video playback device 200 or the input device such as the remote controller 220, the switching unit 211 acquires the content data acquired by the content acquisition unit 201. Is transferred to the scene change point detection unit 204. The scene change point detection unit 204 detects a scene change point according to the change point level setting unit 203 in the content data passed from the switching unit 211, and passes the scene change point information to the stop point designating unit 203 (step S701). ). The content data detected by the scene change point detection unit 204 is transferred to the reproduction unit 206 and the reproduction is continued. In addition, when detecting a scene change point, the present embodiment can be implemented by sequentially performing scene change point detection for content data ahead for a predetermined time. For example, content data of a certain time ahead may be acquired from the content acquisition unit 201 first, and a scene change point may be detected by reading the content quickly by installing a multiple speed decoder, or developed on a memory. The content data may be reproduced after the scene change point is detected. The stop location designation unit 208 sets the level L of the scene change point to 0 in the scene change point information (step S702), and displays the time to the nearest scene change point below the level L on the display screen (step S702). S703). If the user is not satisfied with the displayed remaining time, the user presses the pause button after reproduction again, but determines whether the button is pressed (step S704). If the button is pressed in step S704, that is, if the user is not satisfied with the remaining time displayed, the level L of the scene change point exceeds the maximum level MAX set by the change point level setting unit. After determining whether or not there is (step S705), only when the maximum level MAX is not exceeded, the level L of the scene change point is increased by 1 (step S706). Thereafter, the process returns to step S703, and the time to the nearest scene change point for the new level L or lower is displayed on the display screen and the process is repeated. If the scene change point level L exceeds the maximum level MAX in step S705, the process returns to step S702, the level L is returned to 0, and the process is repeated. If the button is not pressed in step S704, it is determined whether or not the scene change point of level L displayed in step S703 has been reproduced (step S707). If the scene change point has not been reproduced yet, the process returns to step S703. Repeat the process. If the scene change point has been reproduced in step S707, content data from the scene change point is temporarily stored in the content temporary storage unit 212 (step S708), and then paused at the scene change point. (Step S709), and the process is terminated. When resuming the reproduction, the content temporarily stored in the content temporary storage unit 212 is reproduced.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram when the playback restart function of the video playback apparatus of the present embodiment is used. The components shown in FIG. 10 are the same as those shown in FIGS. Details of the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 shows a processing procedure for resuming playback in the video playback device 200 when the user presses the search button for restarting playback when content is paused. When the user wants to resume the reproduction from the paused state, the user presses a reproduction resume point search button provided on the operation panel of the video reproduction device 200 or the input device such as the remote controller 220. In response to this, the process shown in FIG. 11 is executed. When the playback stop signal acquisition unit 207 acquires the playback resume point search signal from the operation panel of the video playback device 200 or the input device such as the remote controller 220, the scene change point detection unit 204 starts playback to the data storage unit 212. The scene change point is detected in accordance with the change point level setting unit 203 for the content data temporarily stored from the time, and the scene change point information is passed to the reproduction stop point designating unit 208 (step S1501). In the scene change point information acquired in step S1501, the level L of the scene change point is set to the maximum level MAX set by the change point level setting unit 203 (step S1502). The thumbnail image of the time or the scene is displayed on the display screen (step S1503). If the user is not satisfied with the displayed time or the thumbnail image, the user presses the reproduction resume point search button (button A) again, but determines whether or not the button A is pressed (step S1504). If button A is pressed in step S1504, that is, if the user is not satisfied with the displayed time or thumbnail image, it is determined whether the level L of the scene change point is greater than 0 (step S1505). Only when greater than 0, the scene change point level L is decreased by 1 (step S1506). Thereafter, the process returns to step S1503, and the time to the nearest scene change point or a thumbnail image of the scene is displayed on the display screen for the new level L or lower, and the process is repeated. If the level L at the scene change point becomes 0 or less in step S1505, the process returns to step S1502, the level L is returned to the maximum level MAX, and the process is repeated. If button A is not pressed in step S1504, it is determined whether a playback restart button (button B) provided on the operation panel of the video playback device 200 or the input device such as the remote controller 220 is pressed (step S1507). ). If button B has not been pressed, the process returns to step S1503 and is repeated. If button B is pressed in step S1507, playback is resumed retroactively to the scene change point (step S1508), and the process ends.
According to the present embodiment, the present invention can be implemented even when only reproduction is performed without accumulating content data, that is, only when content is viewed and not recorded.

In this embodiment, scene change point information of content is acquired from the outside in the video reproduction apparatus of the fourth embodiment. The outline of the temporary stop function based on the scene change point detection of the content in this embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment.
A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram when the pause function of the video playback apparatus of the present embodiment is used, and FIG. 13 is a block diagram when the playback restart function of the video playback apparatus of the present embodiment is used.
In FIG. 12, the same components as those in FIGS. 2, 7, and 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
In this embodiment, the scene change point information of the corresponding content is acquired from the content providing side 210. That is, when the playback stop signal acquisition unit 207 acquires a stop signal, the scene change point information acquisition unit 213 acquires scene change point information for the content being played back, and the scene change point information is stored in the stop location designation unit. To 208.

Note that scene change point information may be acquired simultaneously with content acquisition. In this case, the acquired scene change point information needs to be stored in a temporary storage device such as a memory.
In FIG. 13, the same components as those in FIGS. 2, 7, and 8 are given the same reference numerals.
In FIG. 13, scene change point information of the corresponding content is acquired from the outside such as the content providing side 210. That is, when the playback stop signal acquisition unit 207 acquires the playback restart point search signal, the scene change point information acquisition unit 213 acquires scene change point information for the content being played back, and the scene change point information is reproduced as the playback point. It is passed to the restart point designation unit 208.

Note that scene change point information may be acquired simultaneously with content acquisition. In this case, the acquired scene change point information needs to be stored in a temporary storage device such as a memory.
According to the present embodiment, since the scene change point information is acquired from the outside, it is not necessary to detect the scene change point inside the apparatus, and the load on the apparatus can be reduced.

The figure which shows the outline of the temporary stop function in this invention. 1 is a block diagram of a video reproduction device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the temporary stop function in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the outline of the reproduction | regeneration resume function in this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the reproduction | regeneration restart function in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the video reproduction apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the video reproduction apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the video reproduction apparatus at the time of use of the pause function in the 4th Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the temporary stop function in the 4th Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the video reproduction apparatus at the time of use of the reproduction | regeneration resume function in the 4th Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the reproduction | regeneration restart function in the 4th Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the video reproduction apparatus at the time of use of the pause function in the 5th Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the video reproduction apparatus at the time of the reproduction | regeneration resume function specification in the 5th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

200 ... Video reproduction apparatus 201 ... Content acquisition unit 202 ... Content accumulation unit 203 ... Change point level setting unit 204 ... Scene change point detection unit 205 ... Scene change point information storage unit 206 ... Reproduction unit 207 ... Reproduction stop signal acquisition unit 208 ... Playback stop point designation unit 210 ... content providing side 220 ... remote control 230 ... display screen

Claims (22)

A video playback device for playing back video,
A scene change point discriminating unit for discriminating a scene change point; and a playback control unit for controlling playback and stop of playback;
The scene change point discriminating means has two or more discrimination levels for discriminating scene change points, and the reproduction control means stops and reproduces the video when reaching the scene change point of the discrimination level designated by the user. A video playback device characterized by controlling. The video playback apparatus according to claim 1,
The scene change point discriminating means calculates a feature amount in a signal of each frame of the moving image being reproduced, and discriminates a scene change point based on a comparison of the feature amount of each frame. apparatus. The video playback device according to claim 2,
The video reproduction apparatus characterized in that the feature amount of the frame includes a color histogram of the image signal. The video playback device according to claim 2,
The video reproduction apparatus characterized in that the feature amount of the frame includes audio information read from the moving image. The video playback device according to claim 2,
The video reproducing apparatus, wherein the feature amount of the frame includes motion compensation information of the moving image signal. The video playback apparatus according to claim 1,
A change point level setting means for setting the discrimination level;
The video playback apparatus characterized in that the scene change point determination means determines a scene change point based on the determination level set by the previous change point level setting means. The video playback apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scene change point determination means has two or more types of determination criteria for determining a scene change point,
The video playback apparatus, wherein the playback control means controls to stop and play the video at a scene change point based on a discrimination criterion selected by a user. The video playback apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scene change point determination unit determines a scene change point based on additional information accompanying the video. The video playback device according to claim 1,
Comprising scene change point recording means for recording information relating to scene change points determined by the scene change point determination means;
The video playback apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scene change point determination unit determines a scene change point of the video in advance before playing the video, and records the scene change point in the scene change point recording unit. A video playback device for playing back video,
A scene change point discriminating unit for discriminating a scene change point; and a display unit for displaying an image.
The video playback apparatus, wherein when the user requests to pause the video being played back, the display means displays information on the time until the scene change point determined by the scene change point determination means is reached. A video playback device for playing back video,
Comprising playback control means for controlling playback stop and playback,
When the user performs an operation for stopping the video being played, the video being played is stopped at a time different from the time when the user operated, and when the user performs a playback operation, the video is played from the stopped time. A video playback apparatus controlled by playback control means. A video playback device for playing back video,
Comprising playback control means for controlling playback stop and playback,
When the user performs an operation to stop the video being played, the video is stopped when the user operates, and when the user requests playback, the playback is started from a time different from the time when the user operated. A video playback apparatus controlled by playback control means. A video playback device for playing back video,
Comprising playback control means for controlling playback stop and playback,
When the user performs an operation for stopping the video being played, the video is stopped at a time different from the time when the user operated, and when the user performs a playback operation, the video is played from a time different from the time when the user operated. A video playback apparatus controlled by playback control means. A video playback device for playing back video,
Comprising playback control means for controlling playback stop and playback,
The video playback apparatus, wherein when the user performs a playback operation, the playback control means controls the playback to start from a time different from the time when the user operated. A video playback device for playing back video,
Comprising playback control means for controlling playback stop and playback,
When the user performs an operation to stop the video being played, the video being played is stopped in a scene different from the scene operated by the user, and when the user performs a playback operation, the video is played from the stopped scene. A video playback apparatus controlled by playback control means. A video playback device for playing back video,
Comprising playback control means for controlling playback stop and playback,
When the user performs an operation to stop the video being played, the playback of the video is stopped at the scene operated by the user, and when the user requests playback, the playback is started from a scene different from the scene operated by the user. A video playback apparatus controlled by playback control means. A video playback device for playing back video,
Comprising playback control means for controlling playback stop and playback,
When the user performs an operation for stopping the video being played, the video is stopped at a scene different from the scene operated by the user, and when the user performs a playback operation, the video is played from a scene different from the scene operated by the user. A video playback apparatus controlled by playback control means. A video playback device for playing back video,
Comprising playback control means for controlling playback stop and playback,
A video playback apparatus, wherein when the user performs a playback operation, the playback control means controls the playback to start from a scene different from the scene operated by the user. The video reproduction device according to any one of claims 10 to 17,
A scene change point discriminating means for discriminating a scene change point is provided.
The video playback apparatus characterized in that the time point different from the time point when the user operates is a scene change point determined by the scene change point determination means. A transmission device for transmitting a program and a signal of information related to the program,
The transmission apparatus transmits information related to a scene change point at which a scene of the program changes. A transmission method for transmitting a program and a signal of information related to the program,
The transmission method includes a step of transmitting information regarding a scene change point at which a scene of the program changes. A transmission device that transmits information about a program and a scene change point that is a transition of the scene of the program;
A transmission / reception system having a reception device for receiving information on the program and the scene change point,
The receiving device stores storage unit information related to the program and scene change point transmitted by the transmission device, reproduction control unit that controls reproduction and stop of reproduction of the program stored in the storage unit, and the storage A scene change point detecting means for detecting a scene change point from information on the scene change point stored in the means;
When the user performs an operation to stop the video being played, the video being played is stopped at the scene change point acquired by the scene change point acquisition means, and when the user performs a playback operation, the video is played from the stop point. As described above, a transmission / reception system controlled by the reproduction control means.

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