JP2009212860A - Content reproducing unit, content reproducing method, content reproducing system, and content reproducing program and recording medium recording the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content reproducing unit for identifying the content of both two different moving image contents simultaneously reproduced. <P>SOLUTION: The content reproducing unit 1 reproduces mainstream content and subordinate content different from each other. The content reproducing unit 1 has: a mainstream content reproduction control section 7 for reproducing the mainstream content while at least an image is displayed on a display 11 with voice output; and a subordinate content reproduction control section 8 for reproducing the subordinate content while an image is displayed on the display 11 in synchronization with displaying subtitles without voice output. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content playback apparatus, a content playback method, a content playback system, a content playback program, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

  In recent years, televisions having a function of simultaneously playing two programs on one screen have been developed. Such a function is used, for example, to confirm a program (back program) broadcast at the same time as the program currently being viewed. Specifically, when there is a sports broadcast as the back program of the program that is currently viewed, there is a usage method such as checking a game result of the sports relay that is the back program while viewing other programs. In addition to this, there is an advantage that when a program desired to be viewed by a family is different, the program desired to be viewed can be viewed on one television.

  Further, if the television has a PinP (picture-in-picture) function, it is possible to adopt a display method that matches the user's viewing, such as displaying a program to be viewed larger and displaying a back program smaller.

  However, when two programs are reproduced simultaneously on one screen, there is a problem that it is difficult to understand the contents of the program being reproduced if the audio of both of the programs being reproduced is output simultaneously from a speaker. Therefore, when two programs are reproduced simultaneously on one screen, it is necessary to set one of the sounds output from the speakers. In this case, the content of the program in which the sound is output from the speaker can be fully understood from the video and the sound, but in the program in which the sound is not output, only the video is displayed on the screen. Therefore, there is a limit to understanding the contents of the program.

  In addition, there is a method of outputting the sound of one program from a speaker and outputting the sound of the other program from headphones, or a method of outputting the sound of each program from left and right speakers. However, in any method, it is still necessary to listen to the audio of both programs and understand the contents, and thus the above-mentioned problem cannot be fundamentally solved.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its main purpose is to reproduce all moving images being played back by the user (viewer) even when two different moving image contents are reproduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a content reproduction apparatus, a content reproduction method, a content reproduction system, a content reproduction program, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded, which can understand the contents of the content.

(Content playback device)
In order to solve the above problems, the content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention provides:
A content playback apparatus that plays back first and second contents different from each other, each having a structure in which video and additional information are associated with each other via a playback time,
First content reproduction control means for reproducing the first content with audio output and displaying at least the video on a display device;
Second content reproduction control means for reproducing the second content without displaying audio and in synchronism with the display timing of the additional information in such a manner that the video is displayed on the display device. It is characterized by.

  In the content playback apparatus according to the present invention, the first content playback control means is accompanied by audio output and displays at least the video on the display device, and the second content playback control means is not accompanied by audio output. Both the additional information and the video are displayed on the display device.

  Thereby, the user can understand the content of the first content from the video and the sound, and can understand the content of the second content from the video and the additional information. That is, even when the content reproduction apparatus reproduces two different moving image contents, the user can understand the contents of all the reproduced moving image contents.

(Content playback method)
In order to solve the above problems, the content reproduction method according to the present invention provides:
A content reproduction method for reproducing first and second contents different from each other, each having a structure in which video and additional information are associated with each other via a reproduction time,
A first content reproduction control step of reproducing the first content with audio output and at least displaying the video on a display device;
And a second content reproduction control step of reproducing the second content in a form in which the video is displayed on the display device in synchronization with the display timing of the additional information without accompanying audio output. It is a feature.

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

(Retrieving related content)
The content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention preferably further comprises related content acquisition means for acquiring the second content related to the first content.

  According to the above configuration, the second content can be simultaneously reproduced as related content having relevance to the first content, and the user can understand the contents of any moving image content. As a result, there is an effect that the user can learn more about the contents of the first content.

(How to get related content)
In the content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention, the first content and the second content are further divided into a plurality of topics determined based on a keyword included in the additional information, and the content acquisition unit Preferably, the content related to each of the topics included in the first content is acquired as the second content.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to view related content (second content) in units of topics by appropriately extracting a plurality of different topics included in the related content.

  As a result, the user can effectively understand only the portion of the second content that is highly relevant to the first content in a short time.

(Select related content)
In the content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the content acquisition unit selects, as the second content, a topic having a correlation degree equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold.

  According to said structure, there exists an effect which can acquire automatically the content which has a certain amount of relationship with respect to 1st content as 2nd content.

(Select related content)
In the content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the content acquisition unit selects a predetermined number of topics as the second content in descending order of correlation.

  According to said structure, there exists an effect which a user can identify easily a content with high relevance with respect to 1st content.

(Select related content)
In the content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the content acquisition unit further selects a topic having the highest degree of correlation as the second content.

  According to the above configuration, the second content is the moving image content most relevant to the first content. Therefore, there is an effect that the user can find out the details of the first content even further.

(Switch video content)
The content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention preferably further comprises content switching means for exchanging the first content and the second content based on an instruction from a user.

  According to the above configuration, when the content of the second content is more interesting to the user than the content of the first content, the user is most interested in switching between the second content and the first content. There is an effect that you can enjoy moving video content from video and audio.

(Display area for each video content)
In the content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the area of the first content to be reproduced is larger than the area of the second content to be reproduced in the display device.

  When the user views mainly the first content, the moving image content that the user wants to understand most can be displayed in the largest size. As a result, the moving image content that the user wants to understand most can be viewed in an environment in which it is most easily concentrated.

(Content playback system)
In order to solve the above problems, the content reproduction system according to the present invention provides:
Both of these are content reproduction provided with a first content reproduction device and a second content reproduction device having a function of reproducing content with additional information having a structure in which video and additional information are associated with each other via a reproduction time. A system,
The first content reproduction apparatus includes:
First content reproduction control means for reproducing the content with additional information as first content accompanied by audio output and at least displaying the video on a display device;
Additional information extraction means for extracting additional information of the first content;
Transmission means for transmitting the extracted additional information to the second content reproduction device,
The second content reproduction apparatus includes:
Receiving means for receiving the additional information from the first content reproduction device;
Related content acquisition means for acquiring second content related to the first content based on the additional information;
Second content reproduction control means for reproducing the second content in a form in which the video is displayed on the display device in synchronization with the display timing of the additional information without accompanying audio output. It is characterized by that.

(Content playback system)
In order to solve the above problems, the content reproduction system according to the present invention provides:
Both of these are content reproduction provided with a first content reproduction device and a second content reproduction device having a function of reproducing content with additional information having a structure in which video and additional information are associated with each other via a reproduction time. A system,
The first content reproduction apparatus includes:
First content reproduction control means for reproducing the content with additional information as first content accompanied by audio output and at least displaying the video on a display device;
Transmission means for transmitting the first content to the second content reproduction device,
The second content reproduction apparatus includes:
Receiving means for receiving the first content from the first content reproduction device;
The first content reproduction control means for reproducing the first content;
Related content acquisition means for acquiring second content related to the audio output content based on the additional information of the first content;
Second content reproduction control means for reproducing the second content in a form in which the video is displayed on the display device in synchronization with the display timing of the additional information without accompanying audio output. It is characterized by that.

  According to said structure, there exists an effect which a user can understand both the content of 1st content and 2nd content. In addition, there is also an effect that the details of the first content can be found further by knowing the details of the second content.

  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, in the content reproduction device according to the present invention, the first content reproduction control means is accompanied by audio output and displays at least the video on the display device, and the second content reproduction control means is audio output. The additional information and the video are both displayed on the display device without accompanying.

  As a result, even when the content reproduction apparatus reproduces two different moving image contents, the user can understand the contents of all the reproduced moving image contents.

Embodiment 1
(Content with subtitles)
Prior to describing this embodiment, first, details of content with captions (content with additional information) will be described below. The content with subtitles has a structure in which subtitles and video are associated with each other via a reproduction time. That is, it includes a plurality of subtitles and a plurality of videos constituting a moving image. A subtitle is associated with at least a part of each video through the reproduction time. In other words, subtitles do not have to be associated with all videos, and videos without subtitles may exist in the video content.

  Further, in the content with subtitles, subtitles are not necessarily associated with all videos. Normally, subtitles are only associated with a specific video, and there are many places where subtitles are not associated at all in content with subtitles for a certain period of time. For this reason, when the subtitles in the content with subtitles are continuously reproduced, the video without the subtitles is not displayed. Thus, the viewing user can read the continuously displayed subtitles to grasp the details of the content with subtitles, and does not have to view the video without the subtitles. That is, the user can grasp the details of the content with subtitles by only viewing a part of the video of the content with subtitles.

(Content playback device)
The content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention is a content reproduction apparatus that reproduces two different contents, and reproduction control means for reproducing one content with audio output and at least displaying video on a display device. And a playback control means for playing back other content in a form in which the video is displayed on the display device in synchronization with the display timing of the additional information without accompanying audio output. Details of such a content reproduction apparatus will be described below.

(Configuration of content playback apparatus 1)
An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 1 shows a main configuration of a content reproduction apparatus according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the content reproduction apparatus 1 includes a reproduction control unit 2, a content switching unit 3, an operation input unit 4, a content acquisition unit 5, a content database 6, a display device 11, and an audio output device 12. The function of each member will be described in detail below. In the present embodiment, the case where the additional information is a caption will be described as an example.

(Reproduction control unit 2)
The playback control unit 2 controls overall playback of video content in the content playback device 1 such as selection of video content to be played back and display method of the video content being played back. As shown in FIG. 1, the reproduction control unit 2 includes a main content reproduction control unit (first content reproduction control unit) 7 and a subordinate content reproduction control unit (second content reproduction control unit) 8. Each function is described below.

  Note that in this specification and the like, moving image content (first content) that is reproduced with audio output is referred to as “main line content”, and moving image content (second content) that is reproduced without audio output. Is referred to as “dependent content”. These names are for convenience to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and which is actually viewed as main content and which is viewed as subordinate content is determined by the user using the content playback apparatus 1. Is done.

(Main Line Content Playback Control Unit 7)
The main line content reproduction control unit 7 reproduces one of the moving image content acquired by the content acquisition unit 5 or the moving image content stored (recorded or recorded) in the content database 6 as the main line content. The operation of the main line content reproduction control unit 7 will be described below.

(Subordinate content playback control unit 8)
The dependent content reproduction control unit 8 reproduces the subtitled content as the dependent content. As shown in FIG. 1, the subordinate content playback control unit 8 includes a subtitle display unit 9 and a video display unit 10. In the subordinate content reproduction control unit 8, the subtitle display unit 9 displays the subtitle on the display device 11, and the video display unit 10 displays the video together with the subtitle on the display device 11.

  Although FIG. 1 illustrates a case where one caption display unit 9 and one video display unit 10 are provided, the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, when a plurality of dependent contents are reproduced, the size of the display area of each dependent content must be relatively small. Therefore, when a plurality of dependent contents are reproduced, the dependent content reproduction control unit 8 determines the number of contents to be reproduced and the size of the area for displaying the dependent contents so that the user can easily view the dependent contents. Accordingly, the font size of subtitle characters to be displayed is reduced, or the number of subtitles to be displayed at a time is reduced.

(Content switching unit 3)
Based on the instruction from the operation input unit 4, the content switching unit 3 switches the main line content and the subordinate content. Details of the content switching method will be described in detail below.

(Operation input unit 4)
The operation input unit 4 receives operation inputs such as selection of moving image content to be reproduced and instructions for the moving image content being reproduced from the user. The operation input unit 4 includes an input interface such as key input. Note that, in the present embodiment, the case where the operation display unit 4 is provided in the content reproduction device 1 is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, from the content reproduction device 1 like a remote controller. It may be separated.

(Content acquisition unit 5, content database 6)
The content database 6 is a recording medium that records (records and stores) the moving image content acquired by the content acquisition unit 5. The content acquisition unit 5 is means for acquiring moving image content. Examples of the content acquisition unit 5 include an antenna for receiving a digital broadcast, a network communication unit, a reading unit that acquires moving image content from a recording medium such as an SD card and an optical disc.

  The moving image content acquired by the content acquisition unit 5 may be played back by streaming, or may be played back after being downloaded. When the moving image content acquired by the content acquisition unit 5 is downloaded and then played back, the downloaded moving image content may be stored in the content database 6 or a recording medium such as the content database 6 May be temporarily stored and deleted after the reproduction is finished.

(Display device 11 and audio output device 12)
The display device 11 displays an image such as a video, and is a monitor such as a television. The audio output device 12 outputs audio information and is, for example, a speaker.

(Operation of Content Playback Device 1)
An example of the operation of the content reproduction apparatus 1 will be described below.

  When the user inputs an instruction to reproduce two moving image contents to the operation input unit 4, the operation input unit 4 sends an instruction to the content reproduction control unit 2 to reproduce the moving image content selected by the user. The content reproduction control unit 2 instructs the main line content reproduction control unit 7 and the subordinate content reproduction control unit 8 to reproduce the selected moving image content.

  In response to the instruction from the content reproduction control unit 2, the main line content reproduction control unit 7 starts reproduction of the moving image content instructed to reproduce as the main line content. The video content to be reproduced may be acquired from the content acquisition unit 5 or may be stored in the content database 6.

  The main line content reproduction control unit 7 displays audio on the display device 11 and outputs audio from the audio output device 12 in synchronization with the video. That is, the main line content reproduction control unit 7 reproduces the main line content by a normal reproduction method. As a result, the user can understand the content of the main line content from the video and audio as in the conventional case.

  On the other hand, the dependent content reproduction control unit 8 receives the instruction from the content reproduction control unit 2 and starts reproducing the content with subtitles instructed to reproduce as the dependent content. The content with subtitles to be reproduced may be acquired from the content acquisition unit 5 as well as the main line content, or may be stored in the content database 6.

  The reproduction of content with subtitles by the dependent content reproduction control unit 8 will be specifically described. The subtitle display unit 9 scrolls and displays a plurality of subtitles sequentially on the screen from the beginning (reproduction start time) in the moving image content. On the other hand, the video display unit 10 displays the video associated with the display target subtitle on the display device 11 in synchronization with the subtitle display timing of the subtitle display unit 9. That is, the display device 11 displays both subtitles and video. At this time, the dependent content is reproduced without outputting the sound from the sound output device 12. As a result, the user views the subordinate content on a subtitle basis. Therefore, the user can understand the content of the dependent content from the video and subtitles displayed on the display device 11.

  Therefore, the user can understand both the main content and the dependent content that are reproduced on the display device 11.

(Display of a plurality of moving image contents on the display device 11)
The display of two moving image contents on the display device 11 of the content reproduction apparatus 1 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the display of moving image content on the display device 11 in the content reproduction device 1 according to the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the main line content is reproduced in the display area 20 which is one of the areas obtained by virtually dividing the display device 11, and the subordinate content is reproduced in the other display area 21. Will be described. Of course, the display described here is merely an example, and there may be two or more display areas for reproducing dependent content.

  Further, FIG. 2 shows a case where the moving image content display screen of the display device 11 is divided into two, but when the content reproduction device 1 has a PinP function, it is displayed in the display area 20. The area 21 may be displayed so as to be overlapped. Of course, the reverse is also true.

  The display areas 20 and 21 are provided for convenience in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and the display device 11 is not actually divided. The boundary line of each area is the boundary between the video displayed as the main line content and the video displayed as the dependent content.

  The size of each display area, that is, the size of the video displayed as the main line content and the size of the video displayed as the subordinate content may be arbitrary. However, since it is considered that there are many users who mainly view main content that understands the content from video and audio as in the conventional case, it is preferable to maximize the display area for reproducing the main content. As a result, the user can view the video content that the user wants to understand most in an environment where it is easy to concentrate.

  In the display area 20, a video 30 that is a video of the main content reproduced by the main content reproduction control unit 7 is displayed, and an audio 31 that is output in synchronization with the video 30 is output from the audio output device 12. . That is, since the user can hear the audio 31 while visually capturing the video 30, the user understands that the content of the main line content currently reproduced in the display area 20 is related to “bioethanol”. be able to.

  On the other hand, in the display area 21, the subtitle 34 in the subordinate content reproduced by the subordinate content reproduction control unit 8 and the video 33 displayed in synchronization with the subtitle 34 are displayed. At this time, the audio of the dependent content is not output from the audio output device 12. However, since the user can visually grasp both the video 33 and the subtitle 34, the user can understand the contents. Thus, while understanding that the content of the main line content is related to “bioethanol”, it is understood that the content of the subordinate content reproduced in the display area 21 is related to “announcement of a vehicle using bioethanol fuel as fuel”. be able to.

  The display areas 20 and 21 may indicate not only the videos 30 and 33 and the subtitles 32 and 34 but also the content of the output audio. For example, an icon 36 indicating that audio is output is displayed in the display area 20, and an icon 37 indicating that audio is not output is displayed in the display area 21. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the icon 36 may be displayed, or the icon 37 may be displayed. When a plurality of dependent contents are displayed, it is preferable that a plurality of icons 37 are also displayed.

  The subtitle 34 is preferably scroll-displayed at a preset speed. In the dependent content, the video 33 is displayed so as to be synchronized with the display of the subtitle 34. Therefore, if the display speed of the subtitle 34 increases, the display speed of the video also increases accordingly. Therefore, the reproduction of the dependent content itself can be accelerated by increasing the display speed of the subtitles. Therefore, the user can understand the content of the moving image content to be played back as the dependent content in a shorter time than actually viewing.

  The main content reproduction control unit 7 includes a subtitle display unit 9 and a video display unit 10 in the same manner as the subordinate content reproduction control unit 8, and the video content reproduced by the main content reproduction control unit 7 has subtitles. In the case of content, as shown in FIG. 2, subtitles 32 can be displayed even in mainline content. Thus, since the main content can be understood from the subtitles in addition to the video and audio, the user can understand the main content more easily.

(Details of switching method to switch main line content to subordinate content)
Next, details of a switching method for switching the moving image content reproduced as the main line content to the moving image content reproduced as the dependent content will be described below. Note that “switch main content to subordinate content” in this specification and the like means that video content that has been reproduced as main content is reproduced as subordinate content, and video content that has been reproduced as subordinate content is reproduced as main content. Thus, it means that each moving picture content is replaced.

  When the user inputs an operation for switching the main line content to the subordinate content to the operation input unit 4, the operation input unit 4 sends an instruction to the content switching unit 3 to switch the main line content to the subordinate content for display. When the content switching unit 3 receives an instruction from the operation input unit 4, the content switching control unit 2 displays the moving image content that has been controlled by the main content playback control unit 7 so far for the content playback control unit 2. In addition, the main content reproduction control unit 7 is instructed to control the moving image content that has been controlled by the subordinate content reproduction control unit 8 until now. Thereby, the main line content can be switched to the dependent content. That is, the moving image content reproduced as main content is reproduced as subordinate content, and the moving image content reproduced as subordinate content is reproduced as main content.

  The display when each moving image content is switched will be described below with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the video 33 is displayed on the display area 20, and the audio 35 output in synchronization with the video 33 is output from the audio output device 12. In the display area 21, the video 30 and the subtitle 32 associated with each other through the reproduction time are displayed. When the main line content reproduction control unit 7 includes the subtitle display unit 9 and the video display unit 10, the subtitle 34 may be displayed as shown in FIG.

  As a result, when the content of the dependent content is more interesting to the user than the content of the main line content, the video content that is more interesting can be viewed mainly by switching between the subordinate content and the main line content.

  In FIG. 3, when the main line content is switched to the subordinate content, the area in which each content is displayed is also replaced. Further, the position where each content is reproduced (in FIGS. 2 and 3, the main line content is on the left and the subordinate content is on the right) is left as it is, and only the size of each display area is changed. May or may not be. The same applies to the case where one display area is overlapped with the other display area using the PinP function.

  Examples of the input from the operation input unit 4 include an input by a content switching button. When there are two or more video contents being reproduced as subordinate contents, it is necessary to select which video contents are to be switched to main line contents, so that subordinate contents to be switched can be selected by a pointer or the like. It is preferable to do. Further, when the display device 11 has a touch panel function, the user may select dependent content to be switched using a touch pen or the like.

  In addition, when the main line content is recorded moving image content, the moving image content reproduced as the main line content may be temporarily stopped when the main line content is switched to the subordinate content. In other words, the video content that was played back as main content is paused at the time of switching to subordinate content, and after the viewing of the video content that was played back as subordinate content as main content ends, it is paused from the time of switching. The moving image content that has been performed may be reproduced again as the main line content.

  In addition, when the moving image content reproduced by the main line content reproduction control unit 7 before switching is not content with subtitles, only video is displayed after switching, and the contents can be understood. There is a risk of disappearing. For this reason, it is preferable to provide a means for discriminating whether or not the moving image content reproduced by the main line content reproduction unit 7 is content with captions, and when the content is not content with captions, means for stopping the switching operation.

(Additional notes)
In the present embodiment, the content playback device 1 includes the display device 11 and the audio output device 12, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the display device 11 and the audio output device 12 are separate from the content playback device 1. It may be configured as follows. Further, the content reproduction device 1 may be configured to include only one of the display device 11 and the audio output device 12.

[Embodiment 2]
(Configuration of content playback apparatus 1b)
An embodiment of a content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the dependent content is related content (second content) related to the moving image content being played back as the main line content. In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the case where the additional information is a caption will be described as an example.

  Here, the moving image content in the present embodiment is divided into one or more topics having at least one type of predetermined keyword. The “topic” in this specification and the like refers to a playback time when the number of overlaps for the same keyword included in subtitles (caption data) in subtitled content falls below a predetermined reference number (for example, one). Refers to the sandwiched part.

  FIG. 4 shows the main configuration of the content reproduction apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the content reproduction apparatus 1b. In addition, about the member similar to Embodiment 1, the same referential mark is attached | subjected and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. Therefore, in the present embodiment, only the related content acquisition unit 50 will be described below. The same terms as those in Embodiment 1 are used in the same meaning.

(Related content acquisition unit 50)
The related content acquisition unit 50 is related to the video content that is acquired by the content acquisition unit 5 and recorded (recorded or saved) in the content database 6 as the main content by the main content playback control unit 7. Get video content with In other words, the moving image content determined to be related to the main line content by the related content acquisition unit 50 is reproduced as subordinate content (second content), but is determined not to be related. The moving image content is not reproduced as subordinate content (second content).

  The configuration of the related content acquisition unit 50 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the related content acquisition unit 50. As shown in FIG. 5, the related content acquisition unit 50 includes a topic correlation database creation unit 51, a topic correlation database 52, a related content selection unit 53, and a user database 54. The function of each member will be described below.

(Topic correlation database creation unit 51)
The topic correlation database creating unit 51 creates the topic correlation database 51 by associating the topic with other content based on the evaluation value of the keyword included in the topic. The evaluation value is a predetermined value in the topic of a keyword included in the topic for each topic extracted from the moving image content.

  Details of the topic correlation database creation method in the topic correlation database creation unit 51 will be described in detail below.

(Topic correlation database 52)
The topic correlation database 52 records a topic correlation table for managing the degree of correlation between topics. The topic correlation table is a table that manages the degree of correlation between topics.

(Related content selection unit 53)
The related content selection unit 53 selects related content to be reproduced as subordinate content based on the topic correlation database 52.

(User database 54)
The user database 54 stores user information having a structure in which user keywords related to users and evaluation values are associated with each other.

(Operation of Content Playback Device 1b)
An example of the operation of the content reproduction device 1b will be described below.

  When the user inputs a main content playback instruction to the operation input unit 4, the operation input unit 4 plays back the video content selected by the user as the main content in the main content playback control unit 7 to the content playback control unit 2. Send instructions to do.

  In response to the instruction from the content reproduction control unit 2, the main line content reproduction control unit 7 starts reproduction of the moving image content instructed to be reproduced as main content from the content acquisition unit 5 or the content database 6. At this time, the main line content reproduction control unit 7 displays the video on the display device 11 and outputs the audio from the audio output device 12 in synchronization with the video. That is, the main line content reproduction control unit 7 reproduces the main line content by a normal reproduction method. As a result, the user can understand the content of the main line content from the video and audio as in the conventional case.

  Simultaneously with the reproduction of the main line content, the related content acquisition unit 50 starts acquiring related content to be reproduced as subordinate content. The related content acquisition unit 50 acquires the moving image content having relevance with the moving image content reproduced as the main line content from the content database 6. A detailed method for acquiring related content will be described in detail below.

  The dependent content reproduction control unit 8 starts reproduction of the related content acquired by the related content acquisition unit 50. At this time, the related content is reproduced without outputting audio from the audio output device 12. Thereby, the user can understand the contents of the related content from the video and the subtitles displayed on the display device 11. Since other specific reproduction methods are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here.

  As described above, the content reproduction apparatus 1b can simultaneously reproduce the main content and the related content highly related to the main content, and the user can understand the contents of any content. That is, the user can understand not only the content of the main line content but also the content of the related content at the same time, so that the user can learn more about the content of the main line content.

  In the above-described operation of the content reproduction apparatus 1b, the case where related content is acquired from the content database 6 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a database (recording medium) in which content with captions is recorded may be provided outside the content reproduction apparatus 1b. That is, the related content may be acquired from a database provided outside the content reproduction apparatus 1b by using wired communication, wireless communication, network communication, or the like.

  The type of related content is not particularly limited as long as it is content with captions. For example, it may be broadcast content or content stored on a web server. That is, media content different from the main content can be acquired as related content, for example, the main content is broadcast content and the subordinate content is content on a web server.

(Display of main line content and related content on display device 11)
The display of main line content and related content by the content reproduction apparatus 1b will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the display of moving image content on the display device 11 in the content reproduction device 1b according to the second embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a case will be described in which main content is reproduced in a display area 20 that is one of the areas obtained by virtually dividing the display device 11, and related content is reproduced in the display area 21. . Of course, as in the first embodiment, there may be two or more display areas for playing back related content. When the content playback apparatus 1b has the PinP function, the display area 21 may be displayed so as to overlap the display area 20 as in the first embodiment. 21 may be displayed so as to overlap the display area 20.

  In the display area 20, a video 30 that is a video of the main content reproduced by the main content reproduction control unit 7 is displayed, and an audio 31 that is output in synchronization with the video 30 is output from the audio output device 12. That is, since the user can hear the audio 31 while visually capturing the video 30, the user understands that the content of the main line content currently reproduced in the display area 20 is related to “bioethanol”. be able to.

  On the other hand, in the display area 21, related content acquired by the related content acquisition unit 50 and related to the main line content is reproduced by the dependent content reproduction control unit 8. In the related content, the subtitle 34 and the video 3 displayed in synchronization with the subtitle 34 are displayed in the display area 21 as in the first embodiment, and no audio is output from the audio output device 12. That is, the user can understand the contents of the related content by visually capturing both the video 33 and the caption 34. That is, the user can understand that the content of the related content is related to “announcement of a car related to bioethanol fuel”. That is, the user can understand that “bioethanol”, which is the content of the main line content, can also be used as a fuel for the car by viewing the related content.

  The display area 21 is preferably displayed so that it can be easily understood that the content being reproduced is related to the content being reproduced in the display area 20. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, “related content” is displayed in the display area 21. Of course, conversely, the display area 20 may display “main line content”.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the display areas 20 and 21 may indicate not only the videos 30 and 33 and the subtitles 32 and 34 but also the content of the output audio. . For example, an icon 36 indicating that audio is output is displayed in the display area 20, and an icon 37 indicating that audio is not output is displayed in the display area 21. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the icon 36 may be displayed, or the icon 37 may be displayed. When a plurality of dependent contents are displayed, it is preferable that a plurality of icons 37 are also displayed.

  The content playback apparatus 1b can not only play back related content on a subtitle basis but also view related content on a topic basis by appropriately extracting a plurality of different topics (topics) included in the video content. To. Thereby, the user can understand only a part with high relevance to main line content among related content in a short time.

(Select related content)
The related content selection unit 53 selects content to be reproduced as related content based on the topic correlation database 52. The method for selecting related content is not particularly limited. For example, all the topics having a degree of correlation with the topic being played back as the main line content may be selected as the related content, or a topic having a correlation degree equal to or higher than a preset threshold is selected as the related content. It may be. In addition, when the number of moving image contents to be played back as related content is determined in advance, a predetermined number of topics may be selected as related content in descending order of the degree of correlation. The topic having the highest degree of correlation may be selected as related content.

  Note that the threshold and the number to be selected as related content may be arbitrarily set by the user, or may be determined in advance in the content reproduction apparatus 1b.

(Details of operation of topic correlation database creation unit 51)
A detailed method of creating the topic correlation database 52 in the present embodiment will be described below. Here, the creation of a topic correlation database between topics α, β, and γ will be described as an example.

  First, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates the degree of correlation between the topic α and the topic β. The topic α includes, for example, “bioethanol”, “gasoline”, and “high rise” as keywords. On the other hand, the topic β includes, for example, “pension problem” and “social insurance agency” as keywords. There is no keyword common to both. Therefore, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates “0” as the degree of correlation between the topic α and the topic β. Since this value does not exceed the standard, the topic α and the topic β are not associated with each other.

  Next, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates the degree of correlation between the topic α and the topic γ. The topic γ includes, for example, “high rise”, “gasoline”, and “crude oil price” as keywords. In the topic α and the topic γ, two keywords, that is, “high rise” and “gasoline” are common. Therefore, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates the degree of correlation between the topic α and the topic γ by performing a weighting operation on the evaluation value of “high rise” and the evaluation value of “gasoline”, respectively.

  Specifically, it is as follows. The topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates a product of evaluation values for each common keyword. First, a value obtained by multiplying the evaluation value (for example, 0.72) of “gasoline” in the topic α by the evaluation value (for example, 0.73) of “gasoline” in the topic γ is obtained. Its value is 0.5256. Next, a value obtained by multiplying the evaluation value (for example, 0.34) of “high rise” in the topic α by the evaluation value (for example, 0.92) of “high rise” in the topic γ is obtained. Its value is 0.3128. The topic correlation database creation unit 51 adds the products calculated for each keyword to obtain a predetermined degree of correlation. Its value is 0.5256 + 0.3128 = 0.8384. That is, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates “0.8384” as the degree of correlation between the topic α and the topic γ. Since this value exceeds the reference value, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 associates the topic α with the topic γ.

  Finally, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates the degree of correlation between the topic β and the topic γ. Since there is no keyword common to both, “0” is calculated as the degree of correlation. Since this value does not exceed the reference value, the topic β and the topic γ are not associated with each other. As described above, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates the degree of correlation between the topic α, the topic β, and the topic γ. Then, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 creates a topic correlation table for managing the calculated degree of correlation, and registers the created topic correlation table in the topic correlation database.

(When using user database 54)
A detailed method of creating the topic correlation database 52 using the user database 54 will be described below.

  The topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates the degree of correlation between the topic α and the user information. The topic α includes, for example, “bioethanol”, “gasoline”, and “high rise” as keywords. On the other hand, the user information includes, for example, “pension” and “insurance”, “postal service”, and “privatization” as keywords. There is no keyword common to both. Therefore, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates “0” as the degree of correlation between the topic α and the user information. Since this value does not exceed the reference value, the topic α is not associated with the user information.

  Next, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates the degree of correlation between the topic β and the user information. The topic β includes, for example, “pension issues” and “Social Insurance Agency” as keywords. Although partial, the topic β and the user information share “pension” and “insurance”. Therefore, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates the degree of correlation between the topic β and the user information by weighting the evaluation values of “pension” and “insurance”, respectively.

  Specifically, it is as follows. First, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates a product of evaluation values for each partially common keyword. The topic correlation database creation unit 51 multiplies the evaluation value (for example, 0.85) of the “pension problem” in the topic β and the evaluation value (for example, 0.88) of the “pension” in the user information. obtain. Its value is 0.748. Further, a value obtained by multiplying the evaluation value (for example, 0.48) of “Social Insurance Agency” in the topic β and the evaluation value (for example, 0.77) of “insurance” in the topic γ is obtained. Its value is 0.3696. The topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates a predetermined degree of correlation by adding the products calculated for each keyword. Its value is 0.748 + 0.3696 = 1.1176. That is, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates “1.1176” as the degree of correlation between the topic α and the user information.

  Finally, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 calculates the degree of correlation between the topic γ and user information. Since there is no keyword common to both, “0” is calculated as the degree of correlation. Since this value does not exceed the reference value, the topic α and the user information 120 are not associated with each other. As described above, the topic correlation database creation unit 51 creates a topic correlation table for managing the calculated degree of correlation, and registers the created topic correlation table in the topic correlation database.

(Display of keywords included in the topic)
As shown in FIG. 6, the keyword 35 included in the topic used when determining the related content may be displayed in the display area 22. As a result, the user can easily know the keyword used to guide the related content.

  The keyword 35 is preferably displayed in a format that can be selected by the user. As a result, the keyword can be used as a search keyword for searching the web or the like. That is, when there is a keyword that the user is interested in in the keyword 35, the selected keyword is given to the search engine by selecting the keyword. The web page (which may be one or more) searched and extracted by the search engine is displayed on the display device 11. Thereby, web information related to the selected keyword can be acquired. In this case, the related web information is simultaneously displayed on the display device 11 in addition to the related content. The method for selecting the keyword 35 is not particularly limited.

(Switching method to switch main line content to subordinate content)
Similar to the content reproduction device 1 described in the first embodiment, it is preferable that the main content can be switched to the dependent content also in the content reproduction device 1b. Since the details of the method of switching the main line content to the dependent content have been described in detail in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here.

[Embodiment 3]
(Configuration of content reproduction system 100)
A content reproduction system according to the present invention will be described below as Embodiment 3 with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which one content playback device constituting the content playback system is a portable information terminal (for example, a mobile phone, a PDA, etc.). Further, in the present embodiment, as in the first and second embodiments, the case where the additional information is a caption will be described as an example.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the content reproduction system 100. The content reproduction system 100 includes a content reproduction device (first content reproduction device) 1c and a portable information terminal (second content reproduction device) 60.

(Configuration of content playback apparatus 1c)
As shown in FIG. 7, the content reproduction device 1c includes a content acquisition unit 5, a main content reproduction control unit 7, a display device 11b, an audio output device 12, a caption data extraction unit (additional information extraction means) 103, and a communication unit ( Transmission means) 104. The content playback device 1c plays back content with subtitles in a form accompanied by audio output and displaying at least video on the display device 11b.

(Configuration of portable information terminal 60)
As shown in FIG. 7, the portable information terminal 60 includes a content acquisition unit 5, a content database 6b, a dependent content reproduction control unit 8, a display device 11c, a related content acquisition unit 50, and a communication unit (reception unit) 105. ing. The portable information terminal 60 displays the video on the display device 11c in synchronism with the display timing of the subtitles without accompanying audio output of the related content related to the content with subtitles reproduced in the content reproduction device 1c. Reproduce.

  The function of each member of the content reproduction device 1c and the portable information terminal 60 will be described below. In addition, about the member similar to Embodiment 1 and 2, the same referential mark is attached | subjected and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

(Display devices 11b and 11c)
The display device 11b displays the moving image content reproduced by the main line content reproduction control unit 7 in the content reproduction device 1c, and the display device 11c displays the moving image content reproduced by the subordinate content reproduction control unit 8 in the portable information terminal 60. indicate.

(Subtitle data extraction unit 103)
The subtitle data extraction unit 103 extracts the subtitle data of the main content to be reproduced and reproduced by the main content reproduction control unit 7. Extraction of caption data from the captioned content is performed using a conventionally known method.

  When reproducing the moving image content to be reproduced as the main line content from the content acquisition unit 5, the subtitle data extraction unit 103 extracts the subtitle data from the acquired moving image content. The extracted subtitle data is preferably stored in association with video data in a recording medium (not shown) such as a hard disk drive provided in the content reproduction apparatus 1c. Thereby, when reproducing the moving image content stored in the recording medium as the main line content, the caption data recorded in the recording medium can be used.

(Communication unit 104, 105)
The communication unit 104 is a communication unit provided in the content reproduction apparatus 1c, and transmits caption data of moving image content to be reproduced as main line content to the portable information terminal 60. The communication unit 105 is a communication unit provided in the portable information terminal 60 and receives subtitle data transmitted from the communication unit 104.

  As long as the communication units 104 and 105 can communicate with each other, the specific means is not limited. For example, wireless communication such as IrDA and Bluetooth (registered trademark) or wired communication may be used. Further, network communication may be used.

(Operation of Content Playback System 100)
An example of the operation of the content reproduction system 100 will be described below.

  Upon receiving an instruction to reproduce the acquired content with captions as main content, the content acquisition unit 5 sends the content with subtitles to the main content reproduction control unit 7 and the subtitle data extraction unit 103.

  As with the first and second embodiments, the main content reproduction control unit 7 displays the video on the display device 11 and outputs the audio from the audio output device 12 in synchronization with the video. . That is, the main line content reproduction control unit 7 reproduces the main line content by a normal reproduction method. As a result, the user can understand the content of the main line content from the video and audio as in the conventional case.

  The caption data extraction unit 103 extracts caption data from captioned content to be reproduced as main line content. The extracted caption data is sent from the communication unit 104 to the communication unit 105 of the portable information terminal 60. The communication unit 105 that has received the caption data from the communication unit 104 sends the caption data to the related content acquisition unit 50.

  The related content acquisition unit 50 acquires, from the content database 6, the content with subtitles that is related to the main line content as the related content based on the subtitle data. The acquisition of the related content in the related content acquisition unit 50 has been described in detail in the second embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted here. Further, the related content may be acquired via a content acquisition unit 5 from a database provided outside the portable information terminal 60.

  Next, the dependent content reproduction control unit 8 starts reproduction of the related content acquired by the related content acquisition unit 50. That is, as described in the first and second embodiments, in synchronization with the display timing of the caption by the caption display unit 9, the video associated with the caption to be displayed is displayed together with the caption by the video display unit 10 on the display device 11c. To display. At this time, the related content is reproduced without outputting sound. Thereby, the user can understand the contents of the related content from the video and the subtitles displayed on the display device 11c.

  Therefore, the user can understand both the main line content and the contents of the subordinate content.

(Display of moving image content by the content reproduction system 100)
The display of each moving image content on the display devices 11b and 11c of the content reproduction system 100 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing display of each moving image content in the content reproduction system 100.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a case will be described in which main line content is reproduced on the display device 11b and related content (subordinate content) is reproduced on the display area 21 of the other display device 11c. Of course, as in the first and second embodiments, there may be two or more display areas for reproducing dependent content.

  In the display device 11 b, the video 30 that is the video of the main content reproduced by the main content reproduction control unit 7 is displayed, and the audio 31 that is output in synchronization with the video 30 is output from the audio output device 12. That is, since the user can hear the sound 31 while visually capturing the video 30, the user can understand that the content of the main line content currently reproduced on the display device 11 b is content related to bioethanol. it can.

  On the other hand, in the display area 21 of the display device 11c, the subtitle 34 in the subordinate content reproduced by the subordinate content reproduction control unit 8 and the video 3 displayed in synchronization with the subtitle 34 are displayed. At this time, the audio of the dependent content is not output. However, the user can understand the contents by visually capturing both the video 33 and the caption 34.

  Accordingly, it is understood that the content of the main line content is content related to bioethanol, and the content of the subordinate content reproduced in the display area 21 is content related to the announcement of the vehicle using bioethanol fuel as fuel. I can understand. That is, even when a plurality of moving image contents are played back simultaneously, the user can understand both the contents of the main line contents and the contents of the subordinate contents. The user can also dig deeper into the contents of the main line content.

  The main content reproduction control unit 7 includes a subtitle display unit 9 and a video display unit 10 in the same manner as the subordinate content reproduction control unit 8, and the video content reproduced by the main content reproduction control unit 7 has subtitles. In the case of content, subtitles 32 can be displayed also in main line content. Thus, since the main content can be understood from the subtitles in addition to the video and audio, the user can understand the main content more easily.

(Display of keywords included in the topic)
In the portable information terminal 60, as in the second embodiment, the keyword 35 included in the topic used when acquiring the related content may be displayed in the display area 22.

(Modification of Content Playback System 100)
In the content reproduction system 100, the case where only the related content is reproduced on the portable information terminal 60 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the portable information terminal may be able to reproduce not only related content but also main content. Even in such a case, the same operation and effect as the content reproduction system 100 can be obtained.

(Configuration of content reproduction system 100b)
A configuration of a content reproduction system 100b, which is a modification of the content reproduction system 100, will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the content reproduction system 100b.

  The content 100b includes a content reproduction device 1d and a portable information terminal 60b. The content reproduction apparatus 1d includes a content acquisition unit 5, a main line content reproduction control unit 7, a display device 11b, an audio output device 12b, and a communication unit 104. The portable information terminal 60b includes a content reproduction control unit 2, a content acquisition unit 5, a content database 6b, a main line content reproduction control unit 7, a subordinate content reproduction control unit 8, a subtitle display unit 9, a video display unit 10, a display device 11c, An audio output device 12c and a communication unit 105 are provided.

(Operation of Content Playback System 100b)
Since the operation of the content reproduction system 100b is almost the same as that of the content reproduction system 100, only differences from the content reproduction system 100 will be described, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The content reproduction system 100b also reproduces the main line content reproduced in the content reproduction device 1d also in the portable information terminal 60b. For this reason, the communication unit 104 transmits all the content data of the main line content reproduced in the content reproduction device 1d to the portable information terminal 60b. The portable information terminal 60b receives the content data of the main line content that is reproduced by the content reproduction device 1d in the communication unit 105, and reproduces it by the main content reproduction control unit 7 provided in the portable information terminal 60b.

  The outline of the display on the display device 11b in the content reproduction system 100b is not different from the display on a conventionally known content reproduction device such as a television, and therefore the detailed description thereof is omitted here. Further, the outline of the display on the display device 11c is the same as that shown in FIG. 6, and therefore detailed description thereof is omitted here.

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

  In other words, the content playback devices 1 and 1b include a CPU that executes instructions of a program that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the program, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the program into an executable format. 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 device 1 or 1b, which is software that realizes the above-described functions, in a computer-readable manner. 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 for supplying the program code to the content reproduction apparatuses 1 and 1b 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.

  Further, the object of the present invention can be achieved even if the content reproduction apparatuses 1 and 1b are configured to be connectable to a communication network. In this case, the program code is supplied to the content reproduction apparatuses 1 and 1b 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 has been specifically described above based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims and are different. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The content playback apparatus according to the present invention is widely used for a TV (television receiver) capable of simultaneously playing a plurality of moving image contents, as well as a mobile phone having a function of playing a plurality of moving image contents, or a PDA. can do.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of the content reproduction device according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows roughly the display of the moving image content on the display apparatus of the content reproduction apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows roughly the display of each moving image content at the time of switching main line content and subordinate content. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the content reproduction apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the related content acquisition part which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows roughly the display of the moving image content on the display apparatus of the content reproduction apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the content reproduction system which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows roughly the display of each moving image content in the content reproduction system which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the modification of the content reproduction system which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1b, 1c, 1d Content playback device 2 Content playback control unit 3 Content switching unit 4 Operation input unit 5 Content acquisition unit 6 Content database 7 Main content playback control unit (first content playback control means)
8 Dependent content playback control unit (second content playback control means)
9 Subtitle Display Unit 10 Video Display Unit 11, 11b, 11c Display Device 12, 12b, 12c Audio Output Device 50 Related Content Acquisition Unit 51 Topic Correlation Database Creation Unit 52 Topic Correlation Database 53 Related Content Selection Unit 54 User Database 60, 60b Mobile Type information terminal (second content reproduction device)
100, 100b Content playback system 103 Subtitle information extraction unit (additional information extraction means)
104 Communication unit (transmission means)
105 Communication unit (reception means)

Claims (13)

A content playback apparatus that plays back first and second contents different from each other, each having a structure in which video and additional information are associated with each other via a playback time,
First content reproduction control means for reproducing the first content with audio output and displaying at least the video on a display device;
Second content reproduction control means for reproducing the second content without displaying audio and in synchronism with the display timing of the additional information in such a manner that the video is displayed on the display device. A content reproduction apparatus characterized by the above.   2. The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising related content acquisition means for acquiring the second content as content related to the first content. The first content and the second content are divided into a plurality of topics determined based on a keyword included in the additional information,
The content playback apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the content acquisition unit acquires content related to each topic included in the first content as the second content.   4. The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the related content selection unit selects a topic having a degree of correlation equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold as the second content.   The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the related content selection unit selects a predetermined number of topics as the second content in descending order of correlation.   5. The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the related content selection unit selects a topic having the highest degree of correlation as the second content.   The content reproduction according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising content switching means for switching the first content and the second content based on an instruction from a user. apparatus.   8. The display device according to claim 1, wherein a size of an area for reproducing the first content is larger than an area for reproducing the second content. 9. Content playback device. A content reproduction method for reproducing first and second contents different from each other, each having a structure in which video and additional information are associated with each other via a reproduction time,
A first content reproduction control step of reproducing the first content with audio output and at least displaying the video on a display device;
And a second content reproduction control step of reproducing the second content in a form in which the video is displayed on the display device in synchronization with the display timing of the additional information without accompanying audio output. A characteristic content reproduction method. Both of these are content reproduction provided with a first content reproduction device and a second content reproduction device having a function of reproducing content with additional information having a structure in which video and additional information are associated with each other via a reproduction time. A system,
The first content reproduction apparatus includes:
First content reproduction control means for reproducing the content with additional information as first content accompanied by audio output and at least displaying the video on a display device;
Additional information extraction means for extracting additional information of the first content;
Transmission means for transmitting the extracted additional information to the second content reproduction device,
The second content reproduction apparatus includes:
Receiving means for receiving the additional information from the first content reproduction device;
Related content acquisition means for acquiring second content related to the first content based on the additional information;
Second content reproduction control means for reproducing the second content in a form in which the video is displayed on the display device in synchronization with the display timing of the additional information without accompanying audio output. A content reproduction system characterized by the above. Both of these are content reproduction provided with a first content reproduction device and a second content reproduction device having a function of reproducing content with additional information having a structure in which video and additional information are associated with each other via a reproduction time. A system,
The first content reproduction apparatus includes:
First content reproduction control means for reproducing the content with additional information as first content accompanied by audio output and at least displaying the video on a display device;
Transmission means for transmitting the first content to the second content reproduction device,
The second content reproduction apparatus includes:
Receiving means for receiving the first content from the first content reproduction device;
The first content reproduction control means for reproducing the first content;
Related content acquisition means for acquiring second content related to the audio output content based on the additional information of the first content;
Second content reproduction control means for reproducing the second content in a form in which the video is displayed on the display device in synchronization with the display timing of the additional information without accompanying audio output. A content reproduction system characterized by the above.   A program for operating the content reproduction apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the program causes a computer to function as each of the means.   A computer-readable recording medium in which the program according to claim 12 is recorded.

Images