JP2009151481A - Content duplicating device and content duplicating method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content duplicating device capable of duplicating contents while preventing surplus content duplication. <P>SOLUTION: In duplicating contents, a metafile generating section 103 of an HDD recorder 11a which is a duplication source apparatus generates a metafile indicating forced viewing-listening contents forcibly reproduced during reproduction of duplicated contents, and a control section 101 adds the metafile to the contents to be duplicated to prepare duplication of contents. When the HDD recorder 11b which is the duplication source apparatus, reproduces the duplicated contents, the contents cannot be reproduced unless reproducing the forced viewing-listening contents during reproduction of contents according to the metafile. Contents can thereby be duplicated while suppressing the illegal surplus number of copies. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content duplicating apparatus and a content duplicating method, and more particularly to a content duplicating apparatus and a content duplicating method that duplicate contents while preventing excessive content duplication.

  In order to copy high-quality moving images such as terrestrial digital broadcasting and recorded content from one device to another, it is necessary to perform based on the copy guard function due to copyright protection restrictions. . Currently, proposals such as copy-once and dubbing 10 are listed.

  Copy-once means recording data including a copy control signal on an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) recorder or DVD (Digital Video Disc) recorder, for example, so that the data duplication by unlimited copying does not overflow. Is impossible. In this case, since it is determined that the content is copied for the first time at the time of recording on the recorder, when the content is moved from the device A having the digital content to the device B, the exchange of data between the devices is not a copy but a move. If it is in the form of moving content by a function called, it is permitted. Since the content held in the device A is erased or cannot be accessed when transferred, the original content data is always present only in one place. Further, even in the dubbing 10 that is being considered as a copy-once deregulation proposal, the number of copies allowed to be created and the number of generations are limited (specifically, 9 pieces of content data created by receiving broadcasts are generated per generation). Can be duplicated).

Further, in Patent Document 1, in the distribution of content using the Internet, a distribution method in which copying of the content is impossible or controlled is used, the management function of the distribution control medium is strengthened, and the distributed content is further improved. There is disclosed a service system for reducing the purchase price of a medium for distribution control or making it free of charge on condition that a sponsor advertisement is added.
JP 2005-286703 A

  However, with the above technology, the user is still limited in the number of times of copying. On the other hand, if the copy of the content is unlimited, the copyright on the side providing the content cannot be sufficiently protected.

  Therefore, the conventional method does not sufficiently satisfy the merits of both the content providing side and the content providing side. Further, since the grandchild data cannot be copied with the conventional copy-once technique, for example, if the HDD recorder storing the original data is damaged, it will be invalidated even if there is a remaining copyable number. . Of course, from the point of view of COG (Copy One Generation) that allows only one generation to be copied, even if data is copied to a DVD or mobile device as a child copy, what is recorded from the broadcast to the recorder is the first generation. Since it is counted, it is impossible to create a copy based on these child copies.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a content duplication apparatus and a content duplication method capable of duplicating content while preventing excessive content duplication. .

  The present invention relates to content duplicating means for duplicating content, and metafile generating means for creating a metafile including information related to compulsory viewing content that is forcibly reproduced when the content duplicated by the content duplicating means is reproduced. And a meta file adding unit that adds the meta file generated by the meta file generating unit to the content copied by the content copying unit.

  Further, according to the present invention, the metafile generation unit generates a metafile including information related to compulsory viewing content that is forcibly reproduced when the copied content is reproduced, and the content duplication unit reproduces the content. The meta file adding means adds the meta file generated by the meta file generating means to the content copied by the content copying means.

  According to the content duplication device and the content duplication method of the present invention, it is possible to duplicate content while preventing excessive content duplication.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a content copying apparatus and a content copying method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  In the following description, the content copying apparatus according to the present invention is configured as an HDD recorder, the HDD recorder that is the manufacturer device copies the content, and after the HDD recorder that is the copy destination device receives the copied content, An example of reproducing the copied content will be described.

  In the present embodiment, when copying content, a compulsory viewing content such as a promotion or advertisement information that is played back or in the middle of the copied content, and a metafile indicating the playback order of the content and forced viewing content are generated.

  When a copy destination device of one copy generation or later reproduces the content, the content reproduction is not started unless the compulsory viewing content is reproduced at the beginning or in the middle of the content according to the generated metafile. Although it is possible to copy in a copy destination device after one copy generation, the number of times of content replication in one copy generation is limited, and the number of times of compulsory viewing content or compulsory viewing that is played back together with the content every time the copy generation is duplicated by duplication Since the content reproduction time increases, the number of illegal excessive copies can be suppressed.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an HDD recorder 11a according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a broadcast wave signal received by an antenna (not shown) is input to the TV tuner 21 through an antenna line 21a. The TV tuner 21 demodulates the input signal and outputs an analog video signal. The analog video signal is quantized by an ADC (Analog To Digital Converter) 22 with a sampling frequency of 13.5 MHz and a quantization bit number of 8 bits, for example. Similarly, the analog audio signal is also quantized by the ADC 22 with, for example, a sampling frequency of 48 kHz and a quantization bit number of 16 bits.

  The digital video signal and digital audio signal output from the ADC 22 are input to the encoder 23. The encoder 23 compresses the input digital video signal based on the MPEG2-standard, converts it into a compressed digital video signal, and outputs it. The digital audio signal is also compressed based on, for example, the AC (Audio Compression) -3 standard, converted into a compressed digital audio signal, and output.

  The encoder 23 performs signal processing so that the compressed digital video signal and digital audio signal have a format suitable for recording and outputs the signal to the data processor 24. The information encoded by the encoder 23 and the management information created by the controller 32 are recorded on the optical disk D such as a DVD-RAM inserted in the HDD 25 or the DVD drive 26 via the data processor 24 (at this time). The HDD 25 and the optical disc D are recorded with recording data for reproducing video).

  A signal recorded on the optical disk D inserted in the HDD 25 or the DVD drive 26 is output to the decoder 27 via the data processor 24. The decoder 27 has a function of separating a video signal and an audio signal from an input signal and decoding them. The video signal output from the decoder 27 is input to the video mixer 28. The video mixer 28 combines the input video signal with text data and image data while using the frame memory 29 as a buffer. The output of the video mixer 28 is converted to an analog signal by a DAC 30 (Digital To Analog Converter) and then output to the outside. Similarly, the audio signal output from the decoder 27 is converted to an analog signal by the DAC 31 and then output to the outside.

  The controller 32 includes an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a ROM, and a RAM. In the ROM, a control program and a program executed by the MPU are written. The RAM can provide a work area necessary for executing the program by the MPU. The controller 32 controls the above-described modules in accordance with a control program stored in the ROM, and controls setting operations such as recording and playback. The controller 32 receives operation information of a remote controller (not shown) operated by the user via an infrared light receiving unit (not shown), and controls the operation according to the received information. Further, the controller 32 controls the operation of a network interface (network I / F) 33 that performs communication with other devices connected to the network 3. Furthermore, the controller 32 provides a library management function.

  The controller 32 is used for recording by the HDD 25 or the DVD drive 26, and controls the execution of recording reserved for recording based on information set in advance prior to the recording. The controller 32 stores information set in advance in the ROM or RAM (or HDD) prior to recording.

  The controller 32 monitors the current time, and executes the recording operation when the recording start time is reached. Then, when the recording start time comes, the controller 32 selects a channel designated by the channel number of the information and controls the encoder 23 according to the recording mode to execute recording. Further, the controller 32 monitors the current time during execution of recording, stops the recording operation when the recording end time is reached, and stores the signals (video signal and audio signal) recorded by the recording operation.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a software configuration of the HDD recorder 11a that is the duplication source device and the HDD recorder 11b that is the duplication destination device according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the HDD recorder 11a, which is a copy source device, includes a control unit (content copy unit, metafile addition unit) 101, a content storage unit 102, a metafile generation unit (metafile generation unit) 103, The copy number counting unit (duplication number counting means) 104 and the transmission unit 105 are provided.

  The control unit 101 is for controlling a series of operations necessary for delivering content to the HDD recorder 11b which is a copy destination device. The content storage unit 102 stores content to be transferred to the HDD recorder 11b, which is a copy destination device. The metafile generation unit 103 generates a metafile that describes in which order compulsory viewing content and content are played in the HDD recorder 11b, which is a copy destination device, and which compulsory viewing content is to be played. It is. The number-of-replications counting unit 104 is for counting how many times the content held in its own device has been duplicated and managing the number of times of duplication. When the compulsory viewing content is stored in the content, metafile, and HDD recorder 11a that is the duplication source device, the transmission unit 105 transfers the compulsory viewing content to the HDD recorder 11b that is the duplication destination device. Is.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the HDD recorder 11b, which is a copy destination device, includes a control unit (content reproduction unit) 111, a content storage unit 112, a metafile storage unit 113, and a metafile analysis unit (metafile analysis). Means) 114 and a receiving unit 115.

  The control unit 111 is for controlling a series of operations necessary for receiving content from the HDD recorder 11a which is a copy source device. The content storage unit 112 is for storing content received from the HDD recorder 11a, which is a copy source device. The metafile storage unit 113 is for storing the metafile sent together with the content. The metafile analysis unit 114 is for analyzing in which order the compulsory viewing content and the content are reproduced from the metafile received from the HDD recorder 11a, which is the copy source device, and which compulsory viewing content is played. It is. When the forced viewing content is stored in the content, metafile, and HDD recorder 11a that is the copy source device, the receiving unit 115 receives the forced viewing content from the HDD recorder 11a that is the copy source device. is there.

  The HDD recorders 11a and 11b have a function of only the copy source device depending on the device, a function of only the copy destination device, and a function of both the copy source device and the copy destination device. It can be. A device having the functions of both the copy source device and the copy destination device is assumed to have all the blocks shown in FIG. Further, the HDD recorders 11a and 11b can acquire compulsory viewing content via the Internet via the network I / F 33 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a metafile format. As shown in FIG. 3, the metafile includes forced viewing content link 201, forced viewing content time (or forced viewing content count) 202, and content link 203. In the compulsory viewing content link 201, information related to compulsory viewing content downloaded via the Internet is specified, and the HDD recorder 11b, which is a copy destination device, acquires the compulsory viewing content using the information of the compulsory viewing content link 201.

  For example, the HDD recorder 11b as a copy destination device records content holder advertisements, sponsor company advertisements, and recordings in which the user frequently accesses the website in the genre of forced viewing content in the HDD recorder 11b as a playback device. If there is a record (for example, when there is a record accessing a website of a genre such as a movie or sports), the compulsory viewing content related to the genre is downloaded using the information of the compulsory viewing content link 201.

  When the compulsory viewing content entity is sent together from the HDD recorder 11a that is the duplication source device, the address of the compulsory viewing content that is written to the compulsory viewing content link 201 is held in the HDD recorder 11b that is the duplication destination device. It may be specified as the address of the HDD 25 in the HDD recorder 11b which is the address of the forced viewing content.

  If the content of compulsory viewing content is not delivered from the HDD recorder 11a that is the copy source device, the entire data amount delivered by the duplication work can be reduced, but the HDD recorder 11b that is the copy destination device goes to the Internet at the time of content playback. Depending on conditions such as the case where the forced viewing content cannot be acquired by connection and the forced viewing content in the own device cannot be used, the content may not be played back on the copy destination device.

  The compulsory viewing content time (or compulsory viewing content count) 202 specifies the amount of compulsory viewing content to be reproduced. In the present embodiment, there are two types of methods for specifying the amount of compulsory viewing content to be reproduced. The method of specifying the amount of compulsory viewing content to be reproduced is (1) when the reproduction time of compulsory viewing content is instructed, and (2) when the number of compulsory viewing content reproduction is instructed. The amount of compulsory viewing content acquired via the Internet is determined by these instructions.

  The content link 203 describes information about which content is copied. Note that the content link 203 also includes a control statement that restricts fast-forwarding, skipping, and the like of forced viewing content so that the forced viewing content cannot be fast-forwarded or skipped by a user instruction.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a metafile of each replication generation accompanying replication. As shown in FIG. 4, at first, the content of the copy generation 0 (Generation 0) is stored in the HDD recorder 11a which is the copy source device. In this case, the meta file is not added to the content (meta file 0).

  Next, when copying the content in order to back up the content in the HDD recorder 11a as the copy source device or to view the content on the HDD recorder 11b as another copy destination device ( Replication generation 1: Generation 1), the playback order of content and forced viewing content is determined so that the forced viewing content (CM1) is forcibly played at the beginning or middle of the content when the copied content is played. A metafile to be created is created together with a copy of the content and added to the copied content (metafile 1).

  Even in the case of duplicating the next copy generation 2 (Generation 2), the reproduction order of the content and the forced viewing content is such that the forced viewing content (CM2) is forcibly reproduced when the copied content is reproduced in the same manner. A metafile for determining the content is created together with a copy of the content and added to the copied content (metafile 2). Thereafter, the limit copy generation number that can be copied is N times (Generation N), and the number of times of forced viewing content (CMN) that is forcibly played or the playback time of forced viewing content increases as replication is repeated. (Metafile N).

  When the limit copy generation number N that can be copied is infinite, there is no limitation on the number of copy generations of content, but on the other hand, the number of playback times or playback time of the forced viewing content to be played back is also increased accordingly. The limit value of the number of copy generations is determined by a trade-off relationship with the number of reproductions or reproduction time of compulsory viewing content that the user can accept.

  The metafile of FIG. 4 specifies the playback order so that compulsory viewing content is played in order from the beginning of the copied content, but the content is divided into two or more and the copied content is played back. A metafile that specifies a playback order for forcibly playing the compulsory viewing content may be created. As a result, it is possible to set a distributed playback arrangement so that the user cannot intentionally delete the forced viewing content intentionally, or to encrypt the metafile itself so that the contents cannot be easily edited. The copied content is, for example, encrypted and has a structure that cannot be directly accessed, and has a structure that can only be played back via a metafile.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the playback position of forced viewing content specified in the metafile. In the example of FIG. 4, an example is shown in which all compulsory viewing content is reproduced first before content reproduction. However, in the example of the replication generation N (Generation N) metafile shown in FIG. The content is divided into two or more parts (content 1 to content M-1, content M) without being reproduced first, and compulsory viewing content (CM1 to CM2, CMN) is reproduced at a plurality of locations during the reproduction.

  Hereinafter, a procedure of content replication work from the HDD recorder 11a that is a replication source device to the HDD recorder 11b that is a replication destination device will be described. In the present embodiment, the copied copy content is copied when the HDD recorder 11a that is the copy source device that holds the content is copied to the HDD recorder 11b that is another copy destination device, or when the HDD recorder 11a is copied to the own device. A compulsory viewing content that is compulsorily reproduced to reproduce the content and a metafile indicating which compulsory viewing content and content should be reproduced in which order are created and sent together with the content.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a content copying procedure from the copy source device to the copy destination device according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 101 of the HDD recorder 11a, which is the copy source device, firstly copies whether the content to be copied does not exceed the permitted number of copies, or is counted by the copy number counting unit 104. The number of times is checked (S101). If the number of duplications exceeds the permitted number of duplications, duplication cannot be performed, and the control unit 101 ends duplication work (S102).

  Next, the HDD recorder 11a, which is the copy source device, prepares forced viewing content. The control unit 101 selects whether or not to pass the content of compulsory viewing content to the HDD recorder 11b which is a copy destination device (S103). If the content of compulsory viewing content is not delivered to the HDD recorder 11b that is the duplication destination device, the control unit 101 compulsory viewing that is necessary for acquiring the compulsory viewing content in the HDD recorder 11b that is the duplication destination device. The reproduction time or the number of reproductions of the content is confirmed, and preparation for creating a metafile is performed (S104). On the other hand, when transferring the content of compulsory viewing content to the HDD recorder 11b, which is the duplication destination device, the control unit 101 delivers compulsory viewing content held by the HDD recorder 11a, which is the duplication source device, or is downloaded via the Internet. It is selected whether to deliver the forced compulsory viewing content (S105).

  If compulsory viewing content downloaded via the Internet is to be delivered (S105), and the HDD recorder 11a, which is a copy source device, is connected to the Internet (S106), the control unit 101 transmits the compulsory viewing content via the Internet. To prepare for addition to the content to be copied (S107). As the compulsory viewing content information acquired via the Internet, the latest compulsory viewing content or compulsory viewing content corresponding to the copied content is selected.

  On the other hand, when the forced viewing content held by the HDD recorder 11a that is the copy source device is delivered (S105), or when the HDD recorder 11a that is the copy source device cannot use the Internet (S106), the control is performed. The unit 101 prepares to add compulsory viewing content held in the HDD recorder 11a, which is a duplication source device, to the content to be duplicated (S108).

  After the preparation of compulsory viewing content in each case is completed, the metafile generation unit 103 of the HDD recorder 11a, which is the copy source device, creates a metafile indicating the playback order of the content and compulsory viewing content (S109). The unit 101 adds the metafile to the copy of the content, and the transmission unit 105 transfers the metafile, the content, and the content of the forced viewing content, if any, to the HDD recorder 11b that is the copy destination device (S110). In this case, the copy count counter 104 records the copy count per copy generation of the content (S110). In S101 to S110, there may be a phase in which the amount of compulsory viewing content generated when creating a copy is presented to the user in advance before the work, and the user selects whether to continue the duplication work.

  Hereinafter, a procedure for reproducing the copied content by the HDD recorder 11b as the copy destination device will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure for reproducing the copied content by the copy destination device. As shown in FIG. 7, the metafile analysis unit 114 confirms the metafile received by the receiving unit 115 of the HDD recorder 11b that is the duplication destination device from the HDD recorder 11a that is the duplication source device, and is included in the metafile. The playback order and forced viewing content status are confirmed (S201).

  If the content of compulsory viewing content is added together with the content, preparation of compulsory viewing content is completed (S202). On the other hand, if there is no forced viewing content entity (S202), the forced viewing content entity must be prepared. Therefore, the control unit 111 of the HDD recorder 11b, which is the copy destination device, connects the HDD recorder 11b to the Internet. If the HDD recorder 11b is connected to the Internet, the control unit 111 determines whether the forced viewing content playback time or the number of forced viewing content playback times set in the metafile is set. The compulsory viewing content is downloaded according to the information, and preparations for reproducing the content are made (S204).

  If there is no forced viewing content attached to the content (S202) and the HDD recorder 11b as the copy destination device is not connected to the Internet (S203), the HDD recorder 11b as the copy destination device is compatible. If compulsory viewing content that can be stored is stored (S205), the control unit 111 prepares compulsory viewing content stored in the HDD recorder 11b, which is a copy destination device, according to the metafile.

  When the preparation of compulsory viewing content is completed, the control unit 111 reproduces the content and compulsory viewing content according to the metafile (S206). On the other hand, when the compulsory viewing content cannot be prepared, the content cannot be played back on the HDD recorder 11b as the copy destination device (S207).

  In the case of downloading compulsory viewing content from the Internet, in S201 to S207, the compulsory viewing content to be reproduced in advance is downloaded and stored in the HDD recorder 11b as its own device, and then the content is reproduced. However, the HDD recorder 11b may access the portal site and perform streaming playback at a timing at which forced viewing content should be played during reproduction of the copied content.

  FIG. 8 shows a flowchart regarding selection between the conventional method and the method of this embodiment. Here, dubbing 10 is taken as an example of the conventional method. The control unit 101 and the copy count unit 104 of the HDD recorder 11a, which is the copy destination device, confirm whether or not the content to be copied is the 0th generation content that has not been copied (S301). When the content to be copied is the 0th generation content, the copy number counting unit 104 counts the number of copies for each copy, and if the copy is permitted within the one copy generation permitted by the dubbing 10, the copy is performed within 9 times. If so, the conventional replication procedure is followed (S302).

  On the other hand, if the content to be copied is not the 0th generation content (S301), or if the 9th generation content has already been copied 9 times, the control unit 101 determines in S101 described with reference to FIG. Duplication is performed by the method of S110. After determining the duplication method, the control unit 101 duplicates the content (S304). Although the dubbing 10 has been described as a conventional method, the duplication method of the present embodiment can be applied to another duplication method, and is not limited to this.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of a content duplication process. In FIG. 9, “Data” indicates content data, and “CM” indicates compulsory viewing content. When copying the content held in the HDD recorder 11a, which is the copy destination device, to another device, as described above, a metafile containing the information related to the playback order and compulsory viewing content is created. Deliver to equipment. As for compulsory viewing content, appropriate compulsory viewing content is acquired on the copy destination device via the Internet 4, compulsory viewing content stored in the HDD recorder 11b as the copy destination device is used, or on the copy source device. A certain HDD recorder 11a may deliver the content of compulsory viewing content to the HDD recorder 11b which is a copy destination device.

  The appropriate compulsory viewing content acquired via the Internet is, for example, if the content to be copied is a movie distributed by Company A, the latest movie trailer related to Company A, information on cell DVDs to be released, etc. This is an advertisement of a sponsor company. The HDD recorder 11a can transmit a copy (child copy) of the first generation content to the mobile device 50a, the DVD medium 60a, or the HDD recorder 11b together with the metafile and compulsory viewing content. In addition, when the duplicated content is reproduced by the mobile device 50a, the DVD medium 60a, and the HDD recorder 11b that have received the child copy, the compulsory viewing content and the content are reproduced according to the reproduction order instructed in the metafile. . In addition, when these child devices further create a copy (grandchild copy) of the second generation content, a metafile is created in the same procedure as before, and the content of the previous compulsory viewing content is increased. Is made and transmitted to the mobile device 50b or the DVD medium 60b.

  FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the number of replications and the number of replications. As in the above example, instead of permitting content copying, compulsory playback of compulsory viewing content is performed in accordance with reproduction of the copied content. If the content duplication method according to this embodiment is applied, the duplication work can be performed regardless of the number of generations. However, for example, when the user duplicates a large amount of content in the duplication generation 1, the most compulsory viewing content is added. Due to the small amount, it is difficult to suppress a large amount of unauthorized copying. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 10, if the number of copy generations of content is small, this is solved by limiting the maximum number of copies that can be copied in the one copy generation to a small number.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, in the case of the copy generation 1, the number of compulsory viewing contents is 1 and the MAX copy number is 3. In the case of copy generation 2, the number of compulsory viewing contents is 2 and the MAX copy count is 4. In the case of the copy generation 3, the number of compulsory viewing contents is 3, and the MAX copy number is 5. In the case of the copy generation N, the forced viewing content number is N and the MAX copy number is M. As the number of compulsory viewing contents increases or decreases, the number of MAX copies also increases or decreases. If the forced viewing content number N is infinite, the MAX duplication number M is also infinite. The above example is an example, and the number of forced viewing content increases / decreases and the number of MAX replication increases / decreases are not limited to those shown in this example using optimum numerical values.

  FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 show examples of business models when the content duplication method of this embodiment is implemented. As shown in FIG. 11, in the case between the user 71 and the content holder 72, the content holder 72 provides the user 71 with the content, and gives the user the right to copy the content under the condition that compulsory viewing content is added. Is a possibility of purchasing a product or service provided from the content holder 72 due to the effect of viewing the compulsory viewing content (CM viewing etc) with respect to the content holder 72, and the compulsory viewing content is transferred to another device by duplicating the content. There is a possibility that another user will see, and it is highly expected that new customers will be acquired.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 12 and as shown in the business model 2, in the case between the user 71, the content holder 72, and the sponsor 73, as in the example of FIG. Providing commercials for services creates significant business opportunities. The content holder 72 collects the CM posting fee from the sponsor 73, and realizes that all three parties obtain great merits. The above example is only an example, and the model is not limited to this example as long as the present embodiment is applicable to the model.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when copying content, forced viewing content such as promotion and advertisement information that is played back or in the middle of the copied content, and the playback order of the content and forced viewing content are shown. Generate a metafile and add it to the content to be duplicated. When a device of the copy generation 1 (child copy) or later reproduces the content, the content reproduction is not started unless the compulsory viewing content is reproduced in the first or middle of the content according to the generated metafile. Although replication is possible even with copy generations of devices of copy generation 1 and later, the number of times of content replication in one copy generation is limited, and the number of forced viewing content playbacks or compulsory content that is played back with each copy generation is duplicated or forced. Since the playback time of the viewing content increases, the content can be duplicated while suppressing the number of illegal excessive copies.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the hardware of the HDD recorder which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the software of the HDD recorder which is a duplication origin apparatus and HDD recorder which is a duplication destination apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a format of a metafile. It is a figure which shows an example of the metafile of each generation accompanying replication. It is a figure which shows an example regarding the reproduction | regeneration position of the compulsory viewing content designated by the metafile. It is a flowchart which shows the replication procedure of the content from the replication origin apparatus which concerns on this embodiment to a replication destination apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure in which the copy destination apparatus reproduces the copied content. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which selects the conventional replication system and the replication system of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the replication process of the content which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the restriction | limiting of the frequency | count of replication, and the number of generations. It is a figure which shows the example of the business model using this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the business model using this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Network, 4 ... Internet, 11a, 11b ... HDD recorder, 21 ... Tuner, 21a ... Antenna wire, 23 ... Encoder, 24 ... Data processor, 25 ... HDD, 26 ... Disk drive, 27 ... Decoder, 28 ... Video mixer 29 ... Frame memory, 30, 31 ... DAC, 32 ... Controller, 33 ... Network I / F, 50a, 50b ... Mobile device, 60a, 60b ... DVD media, 71 ... User, 72 ... Content holder, 73 ... Sponsor, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Control part, 102 ... Content storage part, 103 ... Metafile production | generation part, 104 ... Duplication count counting part, 105 ... Transmission part, 111 ... Control part, 112 ... Content storage part, 113 ... Metafile storage part, 114 ... Metafile analysis unit, 115... Reception unit.

Claims (11)

Content duplication means for duplicating content;
Metafile generating means for generating a metafile including information related to compulsory viewing content that is forcibly played when the content copied by the content copying means is played;
A metafile adding means for adding the metafile generated by the metafile generating means to the content copied by the content copying means;
A content duplication device comprising:   The content copying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the metafile generating unit generates the metafile including information related to the compulsory viewing content that has a longer reproduction time as the number of copy generations of the content increases.   The content copying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the metafile generation unit generates the metafile including information related to the compulsory viewing content that has a greater number of reproductions as the number of generations of the content is increased.   The metafile generation unit generates the metafile including information related to a reproduction position of the compulsory viewing content when the content copied by the content copying unit is played back. The content duplicating device according to item. A copy number counting means for counting the number of copies of the content in one copy generation;
5. The content duplication unit according to claim 1, wherein the content duplication unit prohibits duplication of the content when the duplication number of the content counted by the duplication number counting unit reaches a limit value. 6. Content replication device. A copy number counting means for counting the number of copies of the content in one copy generation;
The content that the content duplicating unit duplicates the metafile generated by the metafile generating unit after the number of times of copying the content counted by the duplication number counting unit reaches a limit value. The content duplication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is added to the content. Metafile analyzing means for analyzing information contained in the metafile of the content copied by the content copying means;
Content reproducing means for reproducing the content duplicated by the content duplicating means and the compulsory viewing content according to information included in the metafile analyzed by the metafile analyzing means;
The content copying apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: The metafile generating means generates the metafile including information for receiving the compulsory viewing content from a network;
The metafile analyzing means analyzes information for receiving the compulsory viewing content included in the metafile from a network,
The content playback means receives the forced viewing content from the network according to information for receiving the forced viewing content analyzed by the metafile analysis means from the network, and plays the received forced viewing content. Item 8. The content copying device according to Item 7. The metafile generation means generates a metafile that includes information about forced viewing content that is forcibly played when the copied content is played,
The content duplicating means duplicates the content,
A content duplicating method, wherein a metafile adding unit adds the metafile generated by the metafile generating unit to the content copied by the content copying unit.   The content duplication method according to claim 9, wherein the metafile generation unit generates the metafile including information related to the compulsory viewing content that has a longer reproduction time as the number of copy generations of the content increases.   The content copying method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the metafile generating unit generates the metafile including information related to the compulsory viewing content in which the number of times of reproduction increases as the copy generation number of the content increases.

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