JP2009164969A - Unit, method and program for reproducing content, and recording medium recording the program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content reproducing unit for setting reproduction speed of moving-image content according to the amount of additional information. <P>SOLUTION: The content reproducing unit 1 has a reproduction speed control section 10 for enabling a user to set the ratio of the reproduction time of additional information to time required for viewing the additional information as the reproduction speed of the additional information and an image relating to the additional information, when reproducing the moving-image content in a structure, where, for example the additional information, such as subtitles, and the image are mutually related via reproduction time. A display control section 6 displays the additional information and the image relating to the additional information at the set reproduction speed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In the present invention, for example, when reproducing content in which additional information such as subtitles and video are associated with each other via the reproduction time, the playback speed of the content is set according to the time required for the user to grasp the additional information. The present invention relates to a content playback apparatus, a content playback method, a program, and a recording medium to be changed.

  In recent years, various digital broadcast receivers have been commercialized with the start of digital broadcast services. In digital broadcasting, for example, a data broadcasting service that displays subtitles together with images is possible. As a result, the user who views the content can grasp the content of the content not only by viewing the video but also by reading the subtitles.

  When viewing content with subtitle data in which the video display timing and subtitle display timing are related to each other via the playback time in a data broadcasting service, the next subtitle display is performed after the subtitle is confirmed. It is also possible to skip the video until the timing. By realizing the content that can be viewed in this way, the user can grasp the content of the content that is being viewed in a short time at a pace corresponding to the user. As an apparatus that realizes such viewing, for example, a playback apparatus that can perform a skip operation on a moving image content having caption data for each frame, with the display timing of the caption data as a break between frames, and the like can be cited.

In addition, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that sequentially receives transmission frames constituting broadcast data and changes the playback speed according to the content contents by referring to the configuration information in the transmission frames. Is disclosed. Specifically, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus described in Patent Document 1 uses an identifier for identifying a music part and a talk part in the middle of a music program, so that the music part is standard reproduction and the talk part is high-speed reproduction. To play.
JP 2002-84241 A (published on March 22, 2002)

  However, a playback device that can perform a skip operation with the subtitle data display timing as a frame break requires frequent skip operations, which necessitates complicated operations for viewing the content, and makes it difficult to view the content. The fear is very high. Moreover, since attention is paid to the skip operation, there is a problem that it is not possible to concentrate on the content to be viewed. Furthermore, such a playback device cannot view a skipped video.

  In the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the playback speed is controlled according to the value of the identifier representing the content content in the frame, the frame playback speed is usually constant. Therefore, even if the content is the same type of frame, there is a possibility that the content cannot be grasped in a frame with a large amount of captions. Conversely, in a frame with a small amount of subtitles, the playback speed may be felt slow, and the time for waiting for the next subtitle display may be annoying.

  Although it is possible to change the playback speed for each frame, in that case, there is a problem that the data size of the identifier becomes large and the load on the apparatus becomes large when the identifier is processed. Even if the amount of subtitles is the same, the time required for viewing subtitles varies depending on the age, such as young people and elderly people (that is, the time required to understand the subtitle contents). It is very difficult to set the playback speed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its main purpose is, for example, when reproducing moving image content in which additional information such as subtitles and video are associated with each other via a reproduction time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a content playback apparatus that sets the playback speed of moving image content for each scene in which additional information is displayed based on the information amount of the additional information.

In order to solve the above problems, the content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention provides:
A content playback device that displays both the additional information and the video on a display device by playing back the moving image content having a structure in which the additional information and the video are associated with each other via the playback time.
Reproduction time calculation means for calculating at least a part of the time from the reproduction time of certain additional information in the video content to the reproduction time of the next additional information as the reproduction time of the certain additional information;
The ratio of the reproduction time to the required viewing time required for the viewer to view the additional information is set as the reproduction speed when displaying the additional information and the video associated with the additional information. Playback speed control means;
And display control means for displaying the additional information and a video associated with the additional information on the display device at the reproduction speed.

  According to the above configuration, the playback speed when playing back certain additional information and a video associated with the additional information is the viewing requirement required for the viewer who views the moving image content to understand the content of the additional information. It is calculated from the ratio between the time and the reproduction time of certain additional information.

  As a result, when reproducing moving image content in which the additional information and the video are associated with each other via the reproduction time, the reproduction speed of the moving image content is suitable for the viewer for each scene where the additional information is displayed. There is an effect that can be automatically set to be the playback speed.

  Further, since it is not necessary to perform the skip operation every time the additional information is viewed, a complicated operation when viewing the moving image content is unnecessary, and the effect of being able to concentrate on viewing the moving image content is also achieved.

  The content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention further acquires the number of characters in the additional information that the viewer can view per unit time as the additional information understanding level, and acquires the number of characters in the certain additional information of the moving image content. In addition, it is preferable to further include required viewing time calculation means for calculating a ratio of the number of characters of the certain text data to the additional information understanding level as the required viewing time.

  According to the above configuration, the time required for the viewer to view the additional information is calculated from the ratio between the number of characters in the additional information that can be viewed per unit time and the number of characters in the additional information with the moving image content. can do.

  Accordingly, there is an effect that the required viewing time can be set as a more accurate value than the viewer himself / herself sets. In addition, the required viewing time is automatically set, that is, it is not necessary for the viewer himself to manually set the required viewing time, so that the complicated work of setting the required viewing time can be eliminated. Play.

  The content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention further calculates a ratio of the number of characters in the viewed additional information that has been viewed by the viewer to the total viewing time of viewing the moving image content as the additional information understanding level. It is preferable that an understanding level calculating unit is further provided.

  According to the above configuration, the number of characters in the additional information that the viewer can view per unit time can be calculated from the ratio of the number of characters in the viewed additional information with respect to the total viewing time of the content. That is, the viewer himself / herself does not have to know the number of characters in the additional information that the viewer can view per unit time. The number of characters in the additional information that the viewer can view per unit time is automatically calculated by an operation such as a skip operation.

  As a result, there is an effect that it is possible to eliminate the troublesome work of setting the number of characters in the additional information that the viewer himself can view per unit time. In addition, the viewer can also enjoy the content without considering the number of characters in the additional information that can be viewed per unit time each time the content is viewed.

  In the content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the additional information is image data having subtitles or text data.

In order to solve the above problems, the content reproduction method according to the present invention provides:
A content reproduction method for displaying both the additional information and the video on a display device by reproducing moving image content having a structure in which the additional information and the video are associated with each other via a reproduction time,
A reproduction time calculating step for calculating a time from a reproduction time of certain additional information in the video content to a reproduction time of the next additional information as a reproduction time of the certain additional information;
The ratio of the reproduction time to the required viewing time required for the viewer to view the additional information is set as the reproduction speed when displaying the additional information and the video associated with the additional information. A playback speed control step;
A display control step of causing the display device to display the certain additional information and a video associated with the certain additional information at the reproduction speed.

  According to said structure, there exists an effect similar to the content reproduction apparatus based on this invention.

  The content playback apparatus according to the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, a content reproduction program for realizing the content reproduction apparatus in the computer by operating the computer as each of the above means and a computer-readable recording medium on which the content reproduction program is recorded are also included in the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the content playback apparatus according to the present invention requires the playback speed when playing a video associated with certain additional information in order for the viewer who views the video content to understand the content of the additional information. It is calculated from the ratio between the required viewing time and the reproduction time of certain additional information.

  As a result, when reproducing moving image content in which the additional information and the video are associated with each other via the reproduction time, the reproduction speed of the moving image content is suitable for the viewer for each scene where the additional information is displayed. There is an effect that can be automatically set to be the playback speed.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to perform the skip operation every time the additional information is viewed, a complicated operation when viewing the moving image content is unnecessary, and the effect of being able to concentrate on viewing the moving image content is also achieved.

(Configuration of content playback apparatus 1)
A content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a content reproduction apparatus 1 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the content reproduction apparatus 1 includes a control unit 2, an operation input unit 3, a content storage unit 4, a content acquisition unit 5, and a display control unit 6. The display device 20 is not a member constituting the content reproduction device 1, but is shown in FIG. 1 for convenience. In the present embodiment, the case where the additional information is subtitles (text data) will be described as an example.

(Video playback by the content playback device 1)
An outline of moving image reproduction by the content reproduction apparatus 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the caption data 30 associated with the reproduction time and the caption. The caption data 30 shown in FIG. 2 is data constituting moving image content. That is, a corresponding video is associated with each playback time included in the caption data 30.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a display example of subtitles in moving image content. As shown in FIG. 3, the reproduction time is 0 seconds in the caption data 30 subtitle of "Hello" is, for 3 seconds until the subtitle of playback time is 3 seconds, "How are you?" Is displayed, Displayed with the image. In other words, three frames of the image of the image 40, 41 and 42 to 3 seconds subtitle "Hello" are displayed is displayed.

  Here, in this embodiment, a subtitle and a video associated with a subtitle are collectively referred to as a “scene”. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the image 40, 41 and 42 associated with the subtitle of "Hello" caption and the "Hello" is a scene 50. Then, the subtitle “How are you?” And the image 43 associated with the subtitle “How are you?” Become the scene 51.

  Details of each member shown in FIG. 1 will be described below.

(Operation input unit 3)
The operation input unit 3 receives an operation input from a user (viewer) for selecting moving image content to be reproduced and for the moving image content being reproduced. The operation input unit 3 includes an input interface such as key input. For example, the input interface provided in the operation input unit 3 includes, for example, a playback key for instructing playback of video content, a skip key for fast-forwarding (skipping) the video content being played back, There are conventionally known input interfaces such as a back step key for rewinding (back skip) and a stop key for stopping reproduction of the moving image content being reproduced.

(Content accumulation unit 4, content acquisition unit 5)
The content accumulation unit 4 is a recording medium that records (records and stores) the content acquired by the content acquisition unit 5. The content acquisition unit 5 is for acquiring moving image content. Examples of the content acquisition unit 5 include an antenna for receiving a digital broadcast, or a reading unit that acquires moving image content from a recording medium such as an SD card and an optical disk.

(Display control unit 6)
The display control unit 6 is for controlling the display of moving image content on the display device 20. Specifically, the scene associated with a given subtitle is displayed on the display device 20 at the playback speed set in the control unit 2.

(Control unit 2)
The control unit 2 is for controlling the reproduction of the moving image content such as the reproduction speed when reproducing the moving image content. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 2 includes a playback speed control unit 10, a playback time calculation unit 11, a required viewing time calculation unit 12, a caption understanding level calculation unit (additional information understanding level calculation unit) 13, and a storage unit 14. It has. These members will be described below.

(Reproduction speed control unit 10)
The playback speed control unit 10 is for calculating the playback speed of each scene in the moving image content. Specifically, with reference to FIG. 4, the ratio of the reproduction time of subtitle i to the required viewing time Rit required for the user to view subtitle i displayed in scene i is calculated as reproduction speed Pi.

(Reproduction time calculation unit 11)
The reproduction time calculation unit 11 is for calculating the reproduction time of a certain subtitle. Specifically, with reference to FIG. 4, the playback time of subtitle i is calculated by subtracting the playback time Cit of subtitle i from the playback time C (i + 1) t of subtitle i + 1 next to subtitle i. More specifically, the playback time of "Hello" in the scene 50 shown in FIG. 3, and 3 seconds obtained by subtracting the playback time 0 seconds of the subtitle of "Hello" from the playing point-in-time 3 seconds of "How are you?" Become.

(Viewing time calculation unit 12)
The required viewing time calculation unit 12 is for calculating the required viewing time required for the user to view a certain subtitle. Specifically, referring to FIG. 4, the number of characters of subtitle i that the user can view per unit time (hereinafter, the number of characters of a subtitle that the user can view per unit time is referred to as subtitle understanding level). The ratio of the number of characters of the subtitle i to Nci is calculated as the required viewing time Rit. Therefore, the required viewing time calculation unit 12 includes a caption understanding level acquisition unit (not shown) that acquires the caption understanding level Nc, and a character number acquisition unit (not shown) that acquires the number of characters of the caption i from the caption data 30. Yes.

  Here, the “unit time” is a unit time in the same unit as the reproduction time of the caption. That is, if the reproduction time defined in the caption data is “seconds”, the unit time in the caption understanding level is “per second”.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing parameters for setting the playback speed Pi of the scene i.

(Subtitle comprehension calculator 13)
The caption understanding level calculation unit 13 is for calculating the caption understanding level. Specifically, the ratio of the number of viewed subtitle characters Sc that the user has finished viewing to the total viewing time Tw of viewing the moving image content is calculated as the subtitle understanding level Nc. That is, the caption understanding level calculation unit 13 includes a timer (not shown) that counts the total viewing time Tw of the moving image content and a counter (not shown) that counts the number of viewed caption characters Sc.

  It should be noted that the total viewing time for viewing the moving image content is preferably the same unit as the caption playback time, similar to the caption understanding level. That is, if the playback time defined in the caption data is “seconds”, the total viewing time for viewing the moving image content is recorded in “seconds”.

(Storage unit 14)
The storage unit 14 records the playback speed calculated by the playback speed control unit 10 and the subtitle comprehension degree calculated by the subtitle comprehension degree calculation unit 13, and temporarily records the parameters acquired or calculated by each member. To do.

(Display device 20)
When reproducing the moving image content, the display device 20 displays each scene of the moving image content at the reproduction speed set in the reproduction speed control unit 10. The display device is not particularly limited as long as it can simultaneously display video and subtitles, and a conventionally known moving image content display device can be used.

(Outline of video content playback)
Next, an outline of a reproduction method when reproducing moving image content will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of a reproduction method for reproducing moving image content.

  First, the content acquisition unit 5 acquires moving image content from a recording medium such as an SD card or an optical disk, and stores it in the content storage unit 4 (step S1). Subsequently, the operation input unit 3 sends a reproduction instruction for moving image content to the control unit 2 (step S2). At this time, the operation input unit 3 is stored in the content storage unit 4 together with the reproduction instruction for moving image content. An instruction from the user as to which video content is to be reproduced among the video content is also sent.

  Receiving the reproduction instruction from the operation input unit 3, the control unit 2 reads out the reproduction target moving image content from the content storage unit 4 (step S3). Then, the reproduction of the read moving image content to be reproduced is started (step S4).

  When the reproduction of the moving image content is started, the reproduction speed control unit 10 calculates and sets the reproduction speed of each scene of the moving image content (step S5). At this time, the initial value of the reproduction speed is preferably set to the same speed (1 time speed). However, when the subtitle comprehension level is already specified, the playback speed may be calculated and set based on the specified subtitle comprehension level. If the previously calculated playback speed is recorded in the storage unit 14, the value may be set as the playback speed.

  And the display control part 6 displays a moving image content on the display apparatus 20 with the set reproduction speed (step S6).

  In the present embodiment, the case where the moving image content stored in the content storage unit 4 is reproduced has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the content acquisition unit 5 acquires moving image content from a recording medium such as an SD card or an optical disc, the acquired moving image content may be reproduced as it is without being stored in the content storage unit 4. In this case, a recording medium on which moving image content is recorded serves as the content storage unit 4.

(Details of playback speed calculation method)
A method for calculating the reproduction speed will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method for calculating the playback speed in each scene. In the present embodiment, a case where the reproduction speed Pi in the scene i shown in FIG. 4 is calculated will be described as an example.

First, the required viewing time calculation unit 12 acquires the subtitle understanding level Nc stored in the storage unit 14 (step S10). The caption understanding level Nc may be an arbitrary value input by the user, or may be calculated by the caption understanding level calculation unit 13. Details of the method for calculating the subtitle comprehension level Nc will be described below. Subsequently, the required viewing time calculation unit 12 acquires the number of characters Nci of the subtitle i from the subtitle data 30 of the moving image content stored in the content storage unit 4 (step S11). Then, the required viewing time calculation unit 12 calculates the required viewing time Rit from the acquired caption understanding level Nc and the number of characters Nci of the caption i using the equation (1) (step S12).
Nci / Nc = Rit (1)
The required viewing time calculation unit 12 stores the calculated required viewing time Rit in the storage unit 14 and sends it to the playback speed control unit 10.

  Next, the playback time calculation unit 11 calculates the playback time Cit of the caption i and the playback time C (i + 1) t of the next caption i + 1 after the caption i from the caption data 30 of the moving image content stored in the content storage unit 4. get. Then, the playback time calculation unit 11 calculates the difference value between the playback time C (i + 1) t and the playback time Cit as the playback time of the caption i (step S13) and sends it to the playback speed control unit 10. The reproduction time of the caption i is preferably an absolute value of a difference value between the reproduction time C (i + 1) t and the reproduction time Cit.

The playback speed control unit 10 calculates the playback speed Pi of the subtitle i according to the equation (2) from the playback time of the subtitle i and the required viewing time Rit sent from the required viewing time calculation unit 12 (step S13).
(C (i + 1) t-Cit) / Rit = Pi (2)
The playback speed control unit 10 stores the calculated playback speed Pi in the storage unit 14 and sets the playback speed Pi for the subtitle i.

  The display control unit 6 causes the display device 20 to display the scene i at the set reproduction speed Pi. That is, the display device 20 displays the subtitle i and the video associated with the subtitle i only for the time obtained by multiplying the playback time of the subtitle i by the playback speed Pi.

  In the above description, only the playback speed Pi is stored in the storage unit 14, but the present invention is not limited to this. All parameters acquired and calculated in each member used for calculating the reproduction speed may be temporarily stored in the storage unit 14.

  The calculation of the reproduction speed Pi will be described using specific numerical values. For example, the subtitle understanding level Nc is 10 characters per second, the number of characters in subtitle i is 20 characters, and the playback time of subtitle i is 4 seconds. When the playback speed Pi is calculated from the above parameters, the playback speed Pi is 4 / (20/10) = 2 (times). That is, in the case of the above parameters, the scene i is displayed at twice the normal speed.

  Here, in the content reproduction apparatus 1 according to the present invention, a conventionally known method can be used as a method for increasing (or decreasing) the reproduction speed. Examples of a method for increasing the reproduction speed include a method of increasing the number of frames to be displayed per unit time (generally referred to as a frame rate) or thinning out the frames to be displayed. Further, an increase in frame rate and frame decimation may be combined. As for a method for reducing the reproduction speed, for example, the frame rate may be decreased in contrast to increasing the reproduction speed. For audio, it is preferable to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in the same way as with images.

In addition, when the subtitle understanding level Nc is set to the maximum value of the user's ability, for example, in a state where the user is tired, it is expected that the subtitle content cannot be grasped with the set subtitle understanding level Nc. As shown in (3), the playback speed Pi may be calculated so that there is a little margin in the value of the playback speed Pi.
(C (i + 1) t−Cit + α) / Rit = Pi (3)
Here, α is an arbitrary value.

  In the present embodiment, the method for calculating the playback speed Pi in the content playback apparatus 1 has been described in the order of steps S10 to S13. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be changed within a range in which the present invention can be implemented. For example, each member may acquire the number of characters Nci of the caption i, the playback time Cit, and the playback time C (i + 1) t from the caption data 30 at the same time.

  In the present embodiment, the playback speed control unit 10 calculates the playback speed for each subtitle display, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, for moving image content in which the subtitle display amount is almost constant, the playback speed may not be calculated for each scene, but the value calculated first may be continuously used. Thereby, the processing load required for calculating the reproduction speed can be reduced.

(Details of subtitle comprehension level Nc calculation method)
Next, details of a method for calculating the caption understanding level Nc will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method of calculating the caption understanding level Nc. In the present embodiment, the case where the scene i shown in FIG. 4 is reproduced will be described as an example, as in the case where the method for calculating the reproduction speed Pi is described.

  First, a timer (not shown) provided in the caption understanding level calculation unit 13 initializes the viewing time t of the scene i (step S20). That is, the viewing time of the user in scene i is set to “0 seconds”. Subsequently, the playback speed control unit 10 sets the playback speed Pi (step S21). At this time, the playback speed Pi may be set to the same speed as described above, or the playback speed stored in the storage unit 14 may be set.

  Next, while the display device 20 is reproducing the scene i at the reproduction speed Pi, that is, while the subtitle i is being displayed, the timer is periodically input (for example, every 1 ms, every 10 ms, etc.). It is checked whether or not there is a skip instruction from (step S22). If there is a skip operation instruction from the operation input unit 3 while the scene i is being reproduced (Yes in step S22), the timer stops the viewing time t at the time when the skip operation is performed, and the time at this time Is set as the viewing time t (step S23). If there is no instruction for skip operation from the operation input unit 3 while the scene i is being played back (No in step S22), the timer sets the time when the playback of the scene i is finished, that is, the playback time of the subtitle i as the viewing time t. (Step S24). Subsequently, the timer adds the set viewing time t to the total viewing time Tw of the moving image content (step S25).

  Next, a counter (not shown) provided in the caption understanding level calculation unit 13 acquires the number of characters Nci of the caption i from the caption data 30 stored in the content storage unit 4 and adds it to the number of viewed caption characters Sc. (Step S26). If the storage unit 14 stores the number of characters Nci, the number of characters Nci may be acquired from the storage unit 14.

Finally, the caption understanding level calculation unit 13 calculates the caption understanding level Nc according to the equation (4) from the calculated total viewing time Tw and the number of viewed caption characters Sc (step S27).
Sc / Tw = Nc (4)
The caption understanding level calculation unit 13 stores the calculated caption understanding level Nc in the storage unit 14.

  In the present embodiment, the subtitle comprehension level Nc calculation method in the content playback apparatus 1 has been described in the order of steps S20 to S27. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be changed within a range in which the present invention can be implemented. .

(Details of subtitle comprehension setting considering the possibility of slow playback)
The calculation method of the above-mentioned caption understanding level Nc has been described only for the case where the reproduction speed is increased. However, for example, elderly people or children who have low ability to understand subtitles, if you play video content at a high speed, you may miss the subtitles, May be displayed.

  In such a case, it is necessary to make the playback speed of the moving image content slower than the normal speed. Here, the calculation of the subtitle comprehension degree in consideration of the possibility that the reproduction speed is slower than the normal speed will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the setting of the subtitle understanding level when the possibility that the reproduction speed is slower than the normal speed is also taken into consideration. In the present embodiment, similarly to the above, the case where the scene i shown in FIG. 4 is reproduced will be described as an example.

  First, the timer provided in the caption understanding level calculation unit 13 initializes the viewing time t1 of the scene i (step S30). Subsequently, the playback speed control unit 10 sets the playback speed Pi (step S31). The method for setting the playback speed Pi at this time is as described above.

  Next, the timer checks whether or not there is a back skip instruction from the operation input unit 3 until a predetermined time elapses after the scene i is reproduced (step S32), and the back skip operation is performed from the operation input unit 3. This instruction is generated when the user cannot grasp the contents of the subtitle i and wants to display the subtitle i again. That is, the instruction of the back skip operation is generated when the subtitle i + 1 that is the subtitle next to the subtitle i is displayed. Therefore, the predetermined time is preferably a time obtained by adding an arbitrary value to the reproduction time of the caption i.

  When the back input operation is instructed from the operation input unit 3 while the scene i is being reproduced (Yes in step S32), the timer sets “1” to the back skip flag bflag indicating that the back skip operation has been performed. Add (step S33). Then, the viewing time t1 is initialized (step S34), and the scene i is reproduced again. If there is no back skip operation instruction from the operation input unit 3 while the scene i is being played back (No in step S32), the timer determines whether or not there was a skip operation while the scene i is being played back. (Step S35).

  When the skip operation is performed while the scene i is being reproduced (Yes in step S35), the timer sets the time when the skip operation is performed as the viewing time t1. Then, the timer calculates the total viewing time during which the scene i has been reproduced. That is, the timer sets (bflag value × subtitle i playback time + viewing time t1) as the viewing time t2 of scene i (step S36).

  If there is no skip operation while playing scene i (Yes in step S35), the timer sets the playback time of subtitle i as viewing time t1. Then, the timer calculates the total viewing time during which the scene i has been reproduced. That is, the timer sets {(bflag value + 1) × subtitle i playback time} as the viewing time t2 of the scene i (step S37).

  Subsequently, the timer adds the set viewing time t2 of the scene i to the total viewing time Tw of the moving image content (step S38).

  Next, a counter (not shown) provided in the caption understanding level calculation unit 13 acquires the number of characters Nci of the caption i from the caption data 30 stored in the content storage unit 4 and adds it to the number of viewed caption characters Sc. (Step S39). Note that when the storage unit 14 stores the number of characters Nci, the number of characters Nci may be acquired from the storage unit 14.

Finally, the caption understanding level calculation unit 13 calculates the caption understanding level Nc from the calculated total viewing time Tw and the number of viewed caption characters Sc according to the equation (4) (step S40).
Sc / Tw = Nc (4)
The caption understanding level calculation unit 13 stores the calculated caption understanding level Nc in the storage unit 14. Finally, the timer initializes the value of the back skip flag bflag (step S41).

  In the present embodiment, the subtitle comprehension degree Nc calculation method in the content reproduction apparatus 1 has been described in the order of steps S30 to S41. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be changed within a range in which the present invention can be implemented. .

  The subtitle understanding level Nc may continue to use a value calculated once, but a new subtitle understanding level Nc may be calculated each time a skip operation is performed. In this case, for example, a difference in subtitle understanding level Nc for each family member when using one content playback apparatus 1 in a family can be taken into consideration. Of course, the subtitle comprehension level Nc for each member of the family may be stored so that it can be set which subtitle comprehension level Nc is used when reproducing the moving image content.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the method for calculating the subtitle understanding level Nc from the moving image content to be viewed has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be acquired from another application. For example, when the content playback apparatus 1 includes a text viewer or an electronic book reader, N is the number of characters in a character string displayed on one screen and t is the time during which the character string is displayed. The degree Nc may be calculated from N / t. The time t during which the character string is displayed may be calculated as the time from when the character string is displayed on one screen until the page turning or scrolling operation is performed on these applications.

(Back skip operation)
The operation input unit of a general content playback apparatus moves the playback position of the moving image content to the display start position of the currently displayed subtitle by one back skip operation. Therefore, in order to display the previous subtitle, it is necessary to perform the back skip operation twice, which is very troublesome. In the content reproduction apparatus 1 according to the present invention, when the back skip operation is performed within a certain time (for example, within one second) after the display of a certain subtitle is started in order to reduce the troublesomeness in the back skip operation. It is preferable to move the playback position of the moving image content to the display start position of the previous subtitle.

  This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 9, it is assumed that the currently displayed subtitle is the subtitle i associated with the scene i. Therefore, upon receiving a skip operation instruction from the operation input unit 3, the control unit 2 moves the playback position of the moving image content to the playback time C (i + 1) t of the caption i + 1 that is the next caption of the caption i. In addition, when receiving an instruction for a back skip operation from the operation input unit 3, the control unit 2 moves the playback position of the moving image content to the playback time Cit of the caption i. However, when the control unit 2 receives a back skip operation instruction from the start of playback of the subtitle i to the playback time Cit + Δt within a predetermined time, the control unit 2 sets the playback position of the video content to the subtitle i that is the subtitle immediately before the subtitle i. -1 playback time C (i-1) t.

(Specify playback speed from video content creator)
As described above, the content reproduction apparatus 1 according to the present invention can set the reproduction speed of the moving image content according to the number of subtitle characters in the displayed scene. However, there is a case where there is a scene where subtitles are desired to be reproduced at the same speed as the intention of the producer (or sender) of the moving image content. In that case, it is preferable to include a character string indicating that the reproduction at the same speed is promoted in the caption data in advance.

  However, when viewing moving image content on a general content playback device, it is not possible to recognize that the character string indicating that the reproduction at the same speed is prompting the reproduction at the same speed, and there is a meaningless character string. There is a risk of being displayed as subtitles. For this reason, it is preferable to include an empty character such as a space as a character string indicating prompting reproduction at the same speed. For example, if there are three consecutive spaces, it may be recognized that a subtitle scene including the character string is reproduced at the same speed.

(Modification 1 of subtitle data 30)
Further, the caption data that can be suitably used in the content reproduction apparatus 1 according to the present invention is not limited to the caption data 30 having the caption as text data, and any other data can be used as long as the number of characters of the caption can be recognized. Form may be sufficient. As caption data other than the caption data 30, for example, caption data 30b having caption data (text data) as image data as shown in FIG. 10 can be cited. The caption data 30b shown in FIG. 10 is caption data in which the reproduction time, image data to be displayed (caption), and the number of caption characters in the image data are associated with each other. Similar to the caption data 30, the caption data 30b is also associated with a corresponding video at each playback time.

  That is, the caption data 30b displays 5-character image data (caption) represented by “caption1” for 3 seconds from the start of reproduction of the moving image content. Then, 7-character image data (caption) represented by “caption2” is displayed. In FIG. 9, “caption1” and “caption2” mean the names of image files.

(Modification 2 of subtitle data 30)
The caption data 30 may be caption data 30c as shown in FIG. In the caption data 30c, the caption reproduction times are t1 and t2, respectively (where t1 <5). In this case, after the subtitle reproduction is disclosed, the subtitle “during this time” is displayed from 0 to t1 seconds, and the subtitle is not displayed from t1 to 5 seconds.

  When subtitle data such as the subtitle data 30c is included, the playback speed may be controlled for 0 to 5 seconds, or only while the subtitle is being played (that is, for 0 to t1 seconds). ) You may control. When the playback speed is controlled only while the subtitle is being played back, it may be skipped during t1 to 5 seconds or may be played back at the same speed.

(Function and effect)
As described above, the content playback apparatus 1 according to the present invention has a playback speed when a certain scene is played back, and a viewing time required for the user to understand the contents of a certain subtitle displayed in the certain scene, It is calculated from the ratio with the playback time of a certain subtitle.

  Thus, when playing back video content, the playback speed of the video content can be automatically set so as to be a playback speed suitable for the viewer for each scene where the caption is displayed. In addition, since it is not necessary to perform a skip operation every time a subtitle is viewed, a complicated operation when viewing the video content is unnecessary, and the user can concentrate on viewing the video content.

  In addition, the content playback apparatus 1 according to the present invention calculates the required viewing time required for the viewer to view the caption from the ratio between the number of subtitle characters that can be viewed per unit time and the number of subtitle characters in a certain subtitle. . This makes it possible to set the required viewing time as a more accurate value than that set by the viewer. Furthermore, the complicated work of setting the required viewing time can be eliminated.

  Further, the content reproduction apparatus 1 according to the present invention calculates the number of subtitle characters that the viewer can view per unit time from the ratio of the number of subtitle characters already viewed to the total viewing time of the moving image content. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the troublesome work of setting the number of subtitle characters that the viewer himself can view per unit time. Furthermore, the viewer can enjoy the moving image content without considering the number of subtitle characters that can be viewed per unit time each time the moving image content is viewed.

(Program and recording medium)
Finally, each block included in the content reproduction apparatus 1 may be configured by hardware logic. Alternatively, it may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as follows.

  That is, the content playback apparatus 1 includes a CPU that executes instructions of programs that realize each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the programs, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the programs into an executable format, and And a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the program and various data. With this configuration, the object of the present invention can be achieved by a predetermined recording medium.

  This recording medium only needs to record the program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of the program of the content reproduction apparatus 1 which is software for realizing the above-described functions so as to be readable by a computer. This recording medium is supplied to the content reproduction apparatus 1. Thereby, the content reproduction apparatus 1 (or CPU or MPU) as a computer may read and execute the program code recorded on the supplied recording medium.

  The recording medium that supplies the program code to the content reproduction apparatus 1 is not limited to a specific structure or type. That is, the recording medium includes, for example, a tape system such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. System, a card system such as an IC card (including a memory card) / optical card, or a semiconductor memory system such as a mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

  Moreover, even if the content reproduction apparatus 1 is configured to be connectable to a communication network, the object of the present invention can be achieved. In this case, the program code is supplied to the content reproduction apparatus 1 via the communication network. The communication network is not limited to a specific type or form as long as it can supply program codes to the content reproduction apparatus 1. For example, it may be the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication network, and the like.

  The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. For example, wired communication such as IEEE 1394, USB (Universal Serial Bus), power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth (registered trademark), 802.11 It can also be used by radio such as radio, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The present invention can be suitably used as a content playback apparatus that plays back content having a structure in which subtitles and moving images are associated with each other at each playback time, for example, a digital broadcast program such as terrestrial digital broadcast.

It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the content reproduction apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the subtitle data which linked | related reproduction time and the subtitle. It is a figure which shows the example of a subtitles display in a moving image content. It is a figure which shows each parameter which sets the reproduction speed in a certain scene. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the reproduction | regeneration method which reproduces | regenerates moving image content. It is a flowchart which shows the calculation method of the reproduction speed in a certain scene. It is a flowchart which shows the calculation method of a subtitle understanding degree. It is a flowchart which shows the setting of the subtitle comprehension degree when the possibility that the reproduction speed is slower than the normal speed is considered. It is a figure which shows the subtitle reproduction time when back skip operation is performed in a certain scene. It is a figure which shows the other example of the caption data which linked | related reproduction time and the caption. It is a figure which shows the further another example of the caption data which linked | related reproduction time and the caption.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content playback apparatus 2 Control part 3 Operation input part 4 Content storage part 5 Content acquisition part 6 Display control part 10 Playback speed control part 11 Playback time calculation part 12 Required viewing time calculation part 13 Subtitle understanding degree calculation part (additional information understanding degree) Calculation means)
14 storage unit 20 display device 30, 30b, 30c subtitle data (additional information)
40, 41, 42, 43 images 50, 51 scenes

Claims (8)

A content playback device that displays both the additional information and the video on a display device by playing back the moving image content having a structure in which the additional information and the video are associated with each other via the playback time.
Reproduction time calculation means for calculating at least a part of the time from the reproduction time of certain additional information in the video content to the reproduction time of the next additional information as the reproduction time of the certain additional information;
The ratio of the reproduction time to the required viewing time required for the viewer to view the additional information is set as the reproduction speed when displaying the additional information and the video associated with the additional information. Playback speed control means;
A content reproduction apparatus comprising: display control means for causing the display apparatus to display the certain additional information and a video associated with the certain additional information at the reproduction speed.   The number of characters in the additional information that can be viewed by the viewer per unit time is acquired as the additional information understanding level, and the number of characters in the additional information of the moving image content is acquired, and the certain information for the additional information understanding level is acquired. The content playback apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a required viewing time calculation unit that calculates a ratio of the number of characters of text data as the required viewing time.   It further comprises an additional information comprehension calculating means for calculating, as the additional information comprehension level, a ratio of the number of characters in the viewed additional information that has been viewed by the viewer to the total viewing time of viewing the video content. The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein   The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional information is a caption.   4. The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional information is image data having text data. A content reproduction method for displaying both the additional information and the video on a display device by reproducing moving image content having a structure in which the additional information and the video are associated with each other via a reproduction time,
A reproduction time calculating step for calculating a time from a reproduction time of certain additional information in the video content to a reproduction time of the next additional information as a reproduction time of the certain additional information;
The ratio of the reproduction time to the required viewing time required for the viewer to view the additional information is set as the reproduction speed when displaying the additional information and the video associated with the additional information. A playback speed control step;
And a display control step of causing the display device to display the certain additional information and a video associated with the certain additional information at the reproduction speed.   A program for operating the content reproduction apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the program causes a computer to function as each of the above means.   A computer-readable recording medium in which the program according to claim 7 is recorded.

Images