JP2010010908A - Management server, and video content processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for simply generating one video content obtained by collecting only scenes desired by a user from a plurality of video contents. <P>SOLUTION: The management server for managing the video contents stored in a distribution server includes: a meta information collection processing means for collecting the meta information of the video contents stored in the distribution server; a meta information storage part for storing the collected meta information; a retrieval processing means for retrieving the meta information stored in the meta information storage part, so as to specify the video contents which is matched with a condition designated by the user; an moving image coupling processing means for acquiring the specified video contents and coupling the acquired video contents by using an effect corresponding to a prescribed condition; a coupling moving image storage part for storing the coupled video contents; and a coupling moving image distributing means for transmitting the coupled video content. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a moving image content distribution system, and more particularly to a technique for searching for and combining video content requested by a user and providing the combined video content.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for quickly searching for a video similar to a specified condition from a plurality of video contents is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, a continuous playback system is known in which effect processing is inserted into a plurality of video contents at a joint between moving images, and an unnaturalness of the joint between the plurality of video contents is eliminated (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2007-20195 A JP 2006-121267 A

  The conventional technology for searching for similar videos at a high speed described above is a technology for searching for a scene in the video content desired by the user at a high speed based on the characteristics of each frame extracted from the video content. However, the purpose is to use video contents individually, and even when a plurality of video contents are output as a search result, it is considered that a plurality of searched contents are combined and used as one content. Absent.

  Further, in the conventional continuous reproduction system, a plurality of video contents can be connected and used as a natural moving image file. However, this system handles a single unit of video content, and does not extract and combine specific scenes from the video content.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a system for generating video content in which scenes desired by a user are collected, and for other users to replay unnecessary video data that does not match the purpose of the generated video content. It is to provide a system that can be used.

  A typical example of the present invention is as follows. That is, a management server for managing video content stored in the distribution server provided in a video content distribution system including a distribution server for distributing stored video content, and information necessary for connecting to the distribution server A distribution server information storage unit for storing video information, meta information collection processing means for collecting meta information of video content stored in the distribution server, a meta information storage unit for storing the collected meta information, and the meta information By searching the meta information stored in the storage unit, the search processing means for specifying the video content that matches the condition specified by the user, the specified video content is acquired, and the predetermined condition is followed Video combining processing means for combining the acquired video content using an effect; Comprising a combined moving storage unit for storing the combined video content, and coupled moving image distribution means for transmitting the combined video content and.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, video content stored in the video sharing system but rarely viewed or video shot by the video content creator but not used as unnecessary is displayed by other system users. It becomes possible to provide an opportunity to use it for new video contents as useful materials. In addition, it is possible to reuse video content.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image processing system according to the present embodiment includes a distribution server 110 that holds video content 200 and a management server 100 that manages the video content 200 held in the distribution server 110. The management server 100 and the distribution server 110 are connected by a network 140. Further, the user terminal 120 that requests distribution of the video content 200 is connected to the network 140.

  The management server 100 manages the video content 200 and their meta information held in the distribution server 110, searches for the video content 200 using the meta information, combines the video content 200, and combines the combined video content 200. To deliver. The management server 100 includes a distribution server list 102, a meta information storage unit 103, a combined moving image storage unit 104, a meta information collection processing unit 105, a combined moving image distribution unit 106, a search processing unit 107, and a moving image combination processing unit 108.

  The distribution server list 102 stores information such as the IP address of the distribution server 110 connected to the management server 100. The meta information storage unit 103 stores meta information collected from the distribution server 110. The combined moving image storage unit 104 stores the video content 200 created by the moving image combination processing unit 108.

  The meta information collection processing unit 105 collects meta information from the meta information unit 202 (see FIG. 3) of the video content 200 held in the distribution server 110, and stores the collected meta information in the meta information storage unit 103. The combined moving image distribution unit 106 distributes the video content 200 held in the combined moving image storage unit 104 to the user terminal 120. The search processing unit 107 uses the meta information stored in the meta information storage unit 103 to search for a scene that matches the condition specified by the user terminal 120. The moving image combining processing unit 108 combines the video content 200 in accordance with an instruction from the user terminal 120 to create a new video content 200.

  The distribution server 110 stores the video content 200, analyzes the characteristics of the stored video content 200, and distributes the stored video content 200. The distribution server 110 includes a video content transmission unit 112, an analysis processing unit 113, and a storage unit 114.

  The video content transmission unit 112 distributes the video content 200 stored in the storage unit 114 to the user terminal 120. The analysis processing unit 113 analyzes the characteristics of the video content 200. The storage unit 114 stores the video content 200.

  Although one distribution server 110 is illustrated, a plurality of distribution servers 110 may be provided.

  The network 140 may be configured by any of the Internet, LAN, or WAN.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the management server 100 according to the embodiment of this invention.

  The management server 100 includes a processor (CPU) 1001, a memory 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, an input device 1004, an output device 1005, and a network interface 1006.

  A processor 1001 executes a program stored in the memory 1002 and controls the entire hardware.

  The memory 1002 stores a program executed by the processor 1001. The memory 1002 can be configured by a semiconductor memory such as a random access memory (RAM), for example. In addition, the program and data stored in the auxiliary storage device 1003 are read as necessary, and the read data is stored in the memory 1002.

  The auxiliary storage device 1003 is a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive, and stores programs for realizing the meta information collection processing unit 105, the combined moving image distribution unit 106, the search processing unit 107, and the moving image combination processing unit 108. Yes.

  The input device 1004 receives input of information by the user. The input device 1004 includes, for example, a keyboard and / or a mouse.

  The output device 1005 displays information to the user. The output device 1005 includes, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or a printer.

  The network interface 1006 is an interface for connecting to the network 140.

  The hardware configuration of the management server 100 has been described so far, but the distribution server 110 includes the same hardware. Note that the video content transmission unit 112 and the analysis processing unit 113 are realized by the processor 1001 executing a program stored in the memory 1002.

  Next, the operation of the distribution server 110 according to the embodiment of this invention will be described.

  The distribution server 110 stores the video content 200 created by the user terminal 120 and uploaded for publishing in the storage unit 114. The video content transmission unit 112 transmits the video content 200 stored in the storage unit 114. As a result, the distribution server 110 provides a moving image distribution service.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the distribution server 110 periodically analyzes the characteristics of the video content 200 stored in the storage unit 114 by the analysis processing unit 113, and analyzes the meta information unit 202 of the video content 200. To record. At this time, it is not necessary to newly analyze the characteristics of the video content 200 whose characteristics have already been analyzed.

  Next, the operation of the management server 100 will be described.

  The management server 100 stores information necessary for accessing the distribution server 110 such as the IP address of the distribution server 110 participating in the video content distribution system in the distribution server list 102. The meta information collection processing unit 105 collects meta information of the video content 200 held by the distribution server 110 from the distribution server 110 whose information is stored in the distribution server list 102, and stores the collected meta information as meta information. Store in the unit 103.

  The search processing unit 107 searches the meta information stored in the meta information unit 103 for a scene that matches the condition specified by the user terminal 120, and which video content is stored in which distribution server 110 that matches the condition. The number of minutes and seconds from 200 to minutes and seconds is output as a search result.

  The moving image combination processing unit 108 receives the search result output by the search processing unit 107 and collects scenes that match the designation by the user terminal 120 from the distribution server 110. Then, the collected scenes are combined to create a new video content 200, and the generated video content 200 is stored in the combined moving image storage unit 104.

  The combined moving image distribution unit 106 distributes the new video content 200 created by the moving image combination processing unit 108 and stored in the combined moving image storage unit 104 to the user terminal 120.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the video content 200 according to the embodiment of this invention.

  The video content 200 includes a moving image part 201 and a meta information part 202.

  The moving image part 201 is a video main body. The meta information unit 202 holds information such as shooting date / time, shooting location, shooting content, and comments recorded by the user at the time of video shooting or content creation as meta information.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart of processing for analyzing characteristics of the video content 200 according to the embodiment of this invention. The feature analysis process of the video content 200 is executed by the analysis processing unit 113 of the distribution server 110.

  First, the analysis processing unit 113 obtains a list of stored video content 200 from the storage unit 114 (step 300). Next, the video content 200 is selected in order from the top of the obtained list (step 301), and it is determined whether or not the analyzed flag of the video content 200 selected in step 301 is “ON” (step 301). 302).

  As a result of the determination in step 302, if it is determined that the analyzed flag is “ON”, the process proceeds to step 306 without analyzing the characteristics of the video content 200. On the other hand, if it is determined that the analyzed flag is not “ON”, the process proceeds to step 303 to analyze the characteristics of the video content 200.

  In step 303, the characteristics of the video content 200 are analyzed, and the analysis result is output. In this feature analysis, the feature amount of the image included in each frame of the video content 200 is extracted, and it is determined whether or not it matches the feature amount of the image recorded in advance. Then, the text corresponding to the feature amount determined to match can be used as the analysis result. Thereafter, the analysis result is added to the meta information part 202 of the analyzed video content 200 (step 304), and the analyzed flag of the analyzed video content 200 is set to “ON” (step 305).

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the analyzed flag of all the video contents 200 whose list has been acquired in step 300 is set to “ON” (step 306). As a result, when all the video contents 200 have not been analyzed, the process returns to step 301 and the unanalyzed video contents 200 are analyzed. On the other hand, if all the video contents 200 have been analyzed, the feature analysis process for the video contents 200 is terminated.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing for collecting meta information of the video content 200 from the distribution server 110 according to the embodiment of this invention. This meta information collection processing is executed by the meta information collection processing means 105 of the management server 100.

  First, the meta information collection processing unit 105 refers to the distribution server list 102 and acquires a list of distribution servers 110 managed by the management server 100 (step 400). Then, the information of the distribution server 110 is read from the acquired list in order from the top, and the distribution server 110 is selected (step 401).

  Next, the selected distribution server 110 is requested to transmit the meta information, and the meta information is received from the meta information part 202 of all the video contents 200 held by the distribution server 110 (step 402), and received from the distribution server 110. The meta information is stored in the meta information storage unit 103 (step 403).

  Finally, it is determined whether meta information has been collected from all the distribution servers 110 included in the distribution server list 102 (step 404). If there is a distribution server 110 that has not yet collected meta information, the process returns to the distribution server selection step 401 to collect meta information from the next distribution server 110. On the other hand, when meta information is collected from all the distribution servers 110, this meta information collection process is terminated.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing for combining moving images according to the embodiment of this invention. This moving image combination process is executed by the moving image combination processing means 108 of the management server 100.

  First, the moving image combination processing unit 108 receives the search result output by the search processing unit 107 (step 500). Next, the search results are arranged according to the user designation by the user terminal 120 (step 501). Here, the user can specify conditions such as the order of scene length and time series.

  Subsequently, designation of whether or not to limit the length of one scene is received from the user terminal 120 (step 502). If the scene length is to be limited, the process proceeds to step 503. On the other hand, if the scene length is not limited, the process proceeds to step 504.

  In step 503, the length of the scene to be restricted is specified, and the scene to be restricted is excluded from the search result. For example, if one scene is too short, the value as a video is low, so it may be excluded from moving images to be combined. If one scene is too long, the combined movie playback time becomes long as a whole, so it is preferable to exclude a long scene from the movie to be combined. Further, by excluding a long scene, it is possible to prevent a situation where the viewer gets bored with one long scene.

  Next, in step 504, the user terminal 120 receives designation as to whether or not to add a screen effect in order to make the joint between the moving images appear naturally. If a screen effect is to be inserted between the moving images, the process proceeds to step 505. On the other hand, when the screen effect is not inserted between the moving images, the process proceeds to step 506.

  In step 505, the screen effect inserted between the moving images is selected, and the selected screen effect is inserted between the moving images.

  In step 506, the video contents 200 are combined in the order arranged in step 501, and a screen effect is inserted between the video contents 200 to create a new video content 200.

  Finally, in step 507, the new video content 200 created in step 506 is stored in the combined moving image storage unit 104, and the moving image combination processing means 108 is terminated.

  An application example of the present invention is shown below.

  You can see the parents taking pictures of children at events such as school sports day. In this way, when the guardian photographs his / her child, a child other than the guardian's child who is the subject of photographing may be shown. For parents who have taken this video content, a scene in which a child different from their own child is shown is unnecessary. However, a scene in which a different child is photographed may be a useful scene for a guardian of another child who was photographed by chance.

  In this way, when shooting events etc. with multiple video cameras, not only the video shot by the photographer himself, but also the scenes shot by other photographers showing the target object are collected and collected. By combining the scenes, it is possible to easily create video content obtained by photographing the same scene from a plurality of angles.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the management server of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the video content of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the process which analyzes the characteristic of the video content of embodiment of this invention. It is a process flowchart which collects the meta information of the video content of embodiment of this invention from a delivery server. It is a flowchart of the process which combines the moving image of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100 Management server 1001 CPU
1002 Memory 1003 Auxiliary storage device 1004 Input device 1005 Output device 1006 Network interface 102 Distribution server list 103 Meta information storage unit 104 Combined moving image storage unit 105 Meta information collection processing unit 106 Combined moving image distribution unit 107 Search processing unit 108 Moving image combination processing unit 110 Distribution server 112 Video content transmission unit 113 Analysis processing unit 114 Storage unit 140 Network 120 User 200 Video content 201 Movie unit 202 Meta information unit

Claims (3)

A management server in a video content distribution system comprising: a distribution server that distributes stored video content; and a management server that manages video content stored in the distribution server,
A distribution server information storage unit for storing information necessary for connecting to the distribution server;
Meta information collection processing means for collecting meta information of video content stored in the distribution server;
A meta information storage unit for storing the collected meta information;
Search processing means for specifying video content that matches a condition specified by the user by searching the meta information stored in the meta information storage unit;
Movie combining processing means for acquiring the specified video content and combining the acquired video content using an effect according to a predetermined condition;
A combined video storage unit for storing the combined video content;
And a combined moving image distribution means for transmitting the combined video content. The moving image combining processing means
Arranging the search results of the video content according to a predetermined condition;
Extract video content that matches the length limit of each scene to be combined, according to predetermined conditions,
Obtaining the extracted video content;
The management server according to claim 1, wherein the acquired video content is combined using an effect according to the predetermined condition. A video content processing method in a video content distribution system comprising: a distribution server that distributes stored video content; and a management server that manages the video content stored in the distribution server,
Collecting meta information of video content stored in the distribution server;
By searching the meta information stored in the meta information storage unit, the video content that matches the conditions specified by the user is identified,
Obtaining the identified video content from the distribution server;
A video content processing method comprising combining the acquired video content using an effect according to a condition specified by a user.

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