JP2011151605A - Image creation device, image creation method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To identify the contents of distributed programs based on reproduced images by selecting and reproducing moving picture parts different from each other even if a plurality of pieces of moving picture content include the common moving picture. <P>SOLUTION: A cellular phone terminal configured as a moving picture reproducing device has a common part search section 37 which searches the common part for the plurality of pieces of moving picture content, a representative image selecting section 38 which selects a representative image of each moving picture content from parts other than the searched common part, and a thumbnail reproduction processor 34 which displays the representative image as a thumbnail image when displaying the representative image on a display device 12. Thumbnail images not included in the common part of moving picture content are displayed, so that the same thumbnail image is not displayed for different pieces of moving picture content and the contents of distributed programs can be identified based on reproduced thumbnail images. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image creation device, an image creation method, and a program. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image creation device, an image creation method, and an image creation method capable of acquiring moving image content and creating and displaying a representative image of the moving image content And the program.

  There is a moving image reproducing apparatus having a function of reproducing and outputting a moving image content acquired from a recording medium such as a received broadcast program or BD (blu-ray Disc (registered trademark)) or a network such as the Internet. In such a moving image playback device, for example, an image included in the acquired moving image content is output as a still image thumbnail, or a processing for generating and outputting a moving image thumbnail (a thumbnail that is displayed as a moving image) is performed. There is.

Conventionally, when displaying still images or videos of video content as thumbnail images,
In many cases, a still image near the top of the moving image content or a part of the moving image is used. However, simply extracting the vicinity of the beginning of the moving image content and generating a thumbnail does not always reflect the characteristics of the moving image content appropriately. As countermeasures against such problems, several techniques for generating thumbnail images that appropriately represent the characteristics of the moving image content have been proposed.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, when recording and reproducing moving image data in which a video signal and an audio signal are multiplexed, an unnecessary scene is specified from the physical change amount of both the video signal and the audio signal, and the specified unnecessary scene is specified. A technique for creating thumbnails from scenes other than the above is disclosed.

JP 2009-124298 A

  For example, consider a case where a program such as a so-called continuation in which the same opening is broadcast every time is recorded for a plurality of broadcast times. In this case, if a thumbnail is created near the beginning of the recorded program, a similar thumbnail image is obtained for any of the programs recorded for a plurality of times. At this time, even if a moving image thumbnail is created, it is difficult for the user to understand what the content is unless it is played back for a while. In such broadcast programs, even if the broadcast times are different, the characters are the same or the situation of the image is similar. There is a demand for the thumbnail image to be understood by the point.

  In order to meet such a demand, for example, it is conceivable to select an image other than the vicinity of the top of the moving image. However, in the method of specifying an unnecessary scene and creating a thumbnail from other than the unnecessary scene as in Patent Document 1, for example, it is necessary to calculate and compare the physical change amounts of the video signal and the audio signal, and the processing load is large. . In addition, the part of CM included in the video and the part with little change can be omitted to some extent by the amount of physical change, but the opening video etc. where the contents of the program are expressed deeply vary from program to program, and the physical change Depending on the amount, such an opening video may not be deleted. For example, in a program that is broadcast continuously, a common opening portion is often broadcast each time, and even in a program of different broadcast times, the thumbnail is common, and the user can distinguish the program. The problem of disappearing arises.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and even if the moving image content includes a common moving image even though the moving image content is different, a portion of the moving image that is different from each other is extracted and the representative image is extracted. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image creating apparatus, an image creating method, and a program that can distinguish the contents of a program from the representative image.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a first technical means of the present invention is an image creation device that acquires moving image content and creates a representative image of the moving image content, and searches for a common portion between the plurality of moving image contents And an image creation unit that creates a representative image of each moving image content from a part other than the common part searched by the common part search unit.

According to a second technical means, in the first technical means, the image creation unit can select image data to be the representative image from the image data of the moving image content, or can acquire the representative image from the moving image content A representative image selection unit for selecting video playback information;
The representative image that can be displayed on a predetermined display means by acquiring a representative image from the moving content based on the image data selected by the representative image selection unit or the moving image reproduction information selected by the representative image selection unit And a display image processing unit for generating the image data.

  According to a third technical means, in the first or second technical means, the image creation unit creates an image immediately after the end of the common part as the representative image.

  According to a fourth technical means, in the first or second technical means, the image creating unit creates an image immediately before the start of the common part as the representative image.

  According to a fifth technical means, in any one of the first to fourth technical means, the image creation unit creates an image of a specific period including at least a part of the common part as the representative image. It is what.

  A sixth technical means is the technical means according to any one of the first to fifth technical means, wherein the image creating unit is an image after a predetermined period from the end of the common part or a predetermined period from the start of the common part. A previous image is created as the representative image.

  A seventh technical means is any one of the first to sixth technical means, comprising a display device for displaying the representative image created by the image creating unit.

  According to an eighth technical means, in any one of the first to seventh technical means, a recording device for recording the representative image created by the image creating unit is provided.

  A ninth technical means is an image creation method for acquiring moving image content and generating a representative image of the moving image content, a common portion search step for searching for a common portion between a plurality of moving image contents, and the common portion A representative image creating step of creating a representative image of each moving image content from a portion other than the common portion searched by the searching step.

  The tenth technical means is a program for causing a computer to realize the function of the image creating apparatus of any one of the first to eighth technical means.

  According to the present invention, even for moving image content that includes a common moving image even though it is different moving image content, by extracting a portion of moving images that are different from each other and creating an overview image, It is possible to provide an image creation apparatus, an image creation method, and a program that can distinguish the contents of a program.

It is a figure explaining the external appearance structural example of embodiment of the image production apparatus by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a display of the content image and content information in the mobile telephone terminal of FIG. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the function in one Embodiment of the image production apparatus by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the flow of the main processes of the mobile telephone terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart for explaining in more detail a process for specifying a common part of video A in FIG. 4 to a process for extracting feature data (steps S1 and S2). 5 is a flowchart for explaining in further detail another example of the common part identification process to the feature data extraction process (steps S1 and S2) of the moving image A in FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining in further detail another example of the common part identification process to the feature data extraction process (steps S1 and S2) of the moving image A in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for further explaining a search process (step S3) for a common part of moving image B in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a search process of a representative image. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the function in other embodiment of the image production apparatus by this invention.

  In the embodiment of the image creating apparatus according to the present invention, when a plurality of moving images having a common part each time such as opening are held in the moving image reproducing apparatus, the common part is specified from one moving picture data, and the common part Extract feature data. Then, the common part of other moving images is searched using the extracted feature data. A representative image is selected from a portion other than the common portion. The selected representative image can be used for thumbnail display.

  For example, when there is a moving image A and a moving image B, feature data of the common part is extracted from the movie A, a thumbnail A is created from a part other than the common part, and the extracted feature data is temporarily stored. For video B, a portion of B having the same characteristics as the portion excluded from video A is searched from the saved feature data (feature data excluded from video A), and the result is common to video B as a result. A thumbnail B is created from a portion other than the portion. In this way, in the moving image A and the moving image B, it is possible to select a representative image that can be displayed as a thumbnail from a portion other than the common portion.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an image creating apparatus according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiment, an example in which a mobile phone terminal is applied as an image creating apparatus according to the present invention will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone terminal, but is stored in a recording medium, or the Internet or on The present invention can be applied to various video playback devices having a function of playing back and outputting video content acquired by streaming using demand. Alternatively, the present invention can be applied to various image processing apparatuses for using the acquired moving image content representative screen for a moving image list or for displaying the contents of a moving image folder.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an external configuration example of an embodiment of an image creating apparatus according to the present invention, and shows an example of an image creating apparatus configured as a mobile phone terminal. The mobile phone terminal 1 includes a speaker 11, a display device 12, a touch panel 13, a storage device 14, a key input device 15, a microphone 16, a broadcast receiving antenna 17, and the like.

  The display device 12 is a display device configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display panel (LCD). The display device 12 may be attached to the mobile phone terminal 1, but may be a device (liquid crystal monitor, TV screen, etc.) that displays an image output through the output terminal. The storage device 14 is a storage device built in the main body of the mobile phone terminal 1, and a built-in flash memory, a removable SD card, or the like can be applied as a storage medium. A plurality of moving image content files can be stored in the storage medium of the storage device 14.

  The key input device 15 and the touch panel 13 are input devices for performing an operation input by a user. For example, the user can perform an operation for displaying a list of information on a plurality of moving image contents stored in the storage device 14.

  In addition, the mobile phone terminal 1 has a function of receiving a broadcast wave by the broadcast receiving antenna 17, performing channel selection / demodulation, and outputting it from the display device 12 and the speaker 11. The mobile phone terminal 1 does not necessarily have a function of receiving and outputting broadcast waves. In this case, a recording device such as a BD recorder is used instead of the broadcast wave reception function or in addition to the broadcast wave reception function. It may be provided with a function of inputting and outputting recorded moving image content, a function of outputting moving image content downloaded through the Internet, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a display example of content images and content information on the mobile phone terminal of FIG. The display device 12 of the mobile phone terminal 1 can display a list of contents that can be output (display / audio output) by the mobile phone terminal 1. In this example, the moving image content list display screen 21 can be displayed on the display device 12 in accordance with a predetermined user operation.

A plurality (four in this example) of content image display units 22 to 25 and content information display units 26 to 29 corresponding to the content image display units 22 to 25 are set on the moving image content list display screen 21. In the content image display units 22 to 25, thumbnail images of the moving image contents (video1 to video4) stored in the storage medium of the storage device 14 are displayed. The thumbnail images displayed on the content image display units 22 to 25 may be still images included in each moving image content or may be thumbnails of moving images. In this case, different thumbnail images are displayed on the content image display units 22 to 25 even if they are the same broadcast program broadcast as a so-called continuation, if they are different broadcast times.
The moving image content list display screen 21 displays the title of the moving image content, the date such as the recording date and the broadcast date, and the moving image content corresponding to the content image display units 22 to 25. Information such as the attached comment is displayed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining functions in an embodiment of the image creating apparatus according to the present invention, and shows a configuration example of the mobile phone terminal shown in FIG.
The mobile phone terminal 1 includes a display device 12, a touch panel 13, a storage device 14, and a key input device 15, and further includes a control unit 30 that controls each unit of the mobile phone terminal 1. The function of the control unit 30 is realized by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit).
The storage device 14 includes a storage medium for storing moving image content, and a flash memory, an SD card, or the like can be applied as the storage medium as described above.

The input device interface 31 of the control unit 30 constitutes an interface with the key input device 15 and the touch panel 13. The processing supervision unit 32 supervises a series of processes when performing normal reproduction and thumbnail reproduction of moving image content.
The storage device I / O interface 39 is an interface that manages reading and writing of data to and from the storage device 14. The moving image playback processing unit 33, the thumbnail playback processing unit 34, the feature data extraction unit 35, the common part specifying unit 36, In response to a data read request from the common part search unit 37 and the representative image selection unit 38, the request data is read from the storage device 14 and returned.
The memory 43 is a storage unit that stores various data and programs. For example, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) that is generally widely used can be used.

The moving image reproduction processing unit 33 performs control to read the moving image content recorded in the storage device 14 to the decoding processing unit 40, sequentially decode moving image data from the read moving image content, and send it to the display image processing unit 44.
The thumbnail reproduction processing unit 34 reads out and decodes the moving image content recorded in the storage device 14 by the decoding processing unit 40, and displays the still image or moving image data at the location specified by the representative image selection unit 38 in the display image processing unit 44. Control to send.

The common part specifying unit 36 determines the start time and end time of the common part from one of the plurality of moving image contents when a plurality of moving image contents of a program broadcast continuously for a plurality of times are recorded. Identify.
The feature data extraction unit 35 extracts feature data from the moving image data of the common part specified by the common part specification unit 36 and temporarily stores it in the memory 43 or stores it in the storage device 14.

The common part search unit 37 uses the data that is the feature acquired by the feature data extraction unit 35 to search for a common part with other moving image content. For example, a common part of programs having different broadcast times in the same program broadcast continuously is searched.
The representative image selection unit 38 uses the start time and end time of the common part specified by the common part specification unit 36 and the start time and end time of the common part searched by the common part search unit 37 to share the video content. A representative image that can be displayed as a thumbnail image (still image or moving image) from a portion other than the portion or moving image reproduction information for acquiring the representative image is selected. The moving image reproduction information is information capable of acquiring representative image data from moving image content. For example, the frame number of image data and time information can be used.

The decoding processing unit 40 is a commonly used moving image data and audio data decoding processing unit, an audio processing unit 41 that performs decoding processing of audio data, and a moving image decoding processing unit 42 that performs decoding processing of moving image data. And have.
The display image processing unit 44 creates a representative image from the image data received from the moving image reproduction processing unit 33 based on the image data selected by the representative image selection unit 38 or the moving image reproduction information selected by the representative image selection unit 38. Update the display screen. The representative image selection unit 38 and the display image processing unit 38 are blocks corresponding to the image creation unit of the present invention.

  Next, an example of thumbnail image generation processing by the mobile phone terminal 1 having the above-described configuration will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the main processing flow of the mobile phone terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention. Here, it is assumed that the mobile phone terminal 1 holds two moving image contents (moving image A and moving image B) broadcast on the same program at different broadcast times in the storage device 14. The same applies to all processing examples described below.

4, first, the common part specifying unit 36 of the mobile phone terminal 1 specifies a common part in the moving image A (step S1), and the feature data extracting unit 35 extracts feature data from the specified common part (step S1). S2). The extracted feature data is temporarily stored in the memory 43 or stored in the storage device 14.
The common part here refers to a common part with other video content (for example, video B), and by searching the video B for the same video data as the common part first specified for the video A, The common part between the moving image A and the moving image B is searched.

As a method (step S1) for specifying the common part in the video A,
a) Method of allowing the user to specify the beginning and end of the common part while playing back video A. b) When the user fast-forwards the common part during playback of video A, the common part is identified from the playback time of the fast-forwarded part. Method c) A method of comparing two moving images A and B from a plurality of moving images and specifying a portion having a high matching rate as a common portion can be appropriately used.
When specifying a common part by comparing moving images, it is possible to store comparison data of a part with a high matching rate as feature data as it is.

In the feature data extraction process (step S2), the feature data is extracted from the common part of the moving image A specified in step S1.
The feature data may be data that can generally perform image comparison. For example,
a) Image data itself at the start and end points of the common part b) Luminance and color difference data of the image data c) In the case of a moving picture compressed with H264, key frames (I picture) before and after the start and end points of the common part , IDR picture, etc.) All or part of data (for example, one slice in the center of the screen) d) If the playback time of the common part is always the same, either the start point or the end point Only feature data e) Voice data etc. can be used.

  Next, the common part search unit 37 searches for the common part of the moving picture B using the feature data of the common part of the moving picture A extracted in step S2 (step S3). Here, the feature data of the moving image A extracted in step S2 is compared with the moving image B, and the common part of the moving image B is searched. Since this operation starts from a state in which a plurality of moving image contents of the same program are held, for example, a process of automatically starting the operation when the second and subsequent recordings of the same program are completed can be considered.

Next, the representative image selection unit 38 selects a representative image as a thumbnail image of the moving image A to be displayed on the moving image content list display screen 21 (see FIG. 2) (step S4).
Here, using the time data of the common part of the moving picture A and the moving picture B recorded in step S1 and step S3, the image data of the part other than the common part is basically selected. in this case,
a) Selecting a representative image from an image of a frame immediately after the end of the common part b) Selecting a representative image from an image of a frame before the start of the common part is fundamental.
The selection of the representative image is a process for selecting a representative image that can be displayed as a thumbnail image (still image or moving image) from a portion other than the common portion of the moving image content as described above, or for acquiring a representative image. Includes processing for selecting video playback information.

In addition, for example, when a title for each broadcast time is added at the beginning or end of the common part, it is better for the user to include the contents of the moving image by including the image of the added frame in the representative image. It may be easier to grasp. In that case,
c) The representative image can be created by including a part of the common part.
Further, in the case of a broadcast program, a CM may be broadcast before and after the common part. In such a case, do not select CM as a representative image.
d) It is conceivable to select a representative image from an image of a frame after a certain amount of time has elapsed from the end of the common part. Alternatively, the representative image may be selected from an image of a frame of a certain time before the common part.

  When the representative image selection unit 38 selects a representative image, the image of the selected frame is stored as a thumbnail image in the memory 43, and processing such as thumbnail reproduction is performed (step S5). Here, the thumbnail image stored in the memory 43 can be called when the thumbnail display is performed on the moving image content list display screen 21. In addition, the frame number (number of frames) of the image selected as the representative image or the playback time of the frame is stored in the moving image metadata, and processing such as decoding is performed at the time of thumbnail playback. Also good.

Next, each example of processing in the flow of FIG. 1 will be described more specifically.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining in more detail the common part identification process to the feature data extraction process (steps S1 and S2) of the moving image A in FIG. 4, and a process example for identifying the common part from the reproduction time designated by the user. It is shown. Here, first, it is assumed that the user tries to view one of the same programs that are held or scheduled to be held (referred to as moving image A) (step S11).

The control unit 30 of the mobile phone terminal 1 determines whether or not the common part is specified for the moving image A (step S12). Here, a display for selecting whether or not to perform the common part specifying process is performed. For example, a message “Do you want to specify the common part?” Is displayed and the user is allowed to select.
If the common part is not specified, the process ends. When specifying the common part, the user is further requested to specify the start time and end time of the common part (step S13). Here, for example, “Please press the button when the common part starts and ends” is displayed.

Then, in the mobile phone terminal 1, the moving image reproduction processing unit 33 starts reproduction of the moving image A (step S14). And a user performs predetermined input operation with respect to input devices, such as the touch panel 13, respectively at the time of the start of the moving image of a common part, and completion | finish (step S15).
The feature data extraction unit 35 identifies the common part based on the reproduction time at the start and end when the input operation is performed (step S16). Then, the reproduction time data of the common part of the moving picture A is recorded in the metadata of the moving picture A (step S17), and the characteristic data of the specified common part is recorded in the memory 43 (step S18).

  In the above example, steps S11 to S17 correspond to the common part identification process (step S1) of the moving picture A, and step S18 corresponds to the feature data extraction process (step S2).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining in further detail another example of the common part identification process to the feature data extraction process (steps S1 and S2) of the moving image A in FIG. 4, in which the user identifies the common part from the viewing operation. An example is given. Here, first, it is assumed that the user views one of the same program contents that are held or are scheduled to be held (referred to as moving image A) (step S21).

The control unit 30 of the mobile phone terminal 1 determines whether or not the common part is specified for the moving image A (step S22). Here, a display for selecting whether or not to perform the common part specifying process is performed. For example, a message “Do you want to specify the common part?” Is displayed and the user is allowed to select.
If the common part is not specified, the process ends. When specifying the common part, the user is further requested to fast-forward the common part. For example, the message “Please fast forward common parts” is displayed.

Then, in the mobile phone terminal 1, the moving image reproduction processing unit 33 starts reproduction of the moving image A (step S24). Then, the user starts fast-forwarding at the reproduction portion of the common part, and performs an operation of stopping fast-forwarding when the common part ends (step S25).
The feature data extraction unit 35 specifies the common part based on the reproduction time when the fast forward is started and the reproduction time when the fast forward is finished (step S26). Then, the reproduction time data corresponding to the moving image A is recorded in the metadata of the moving image A (step S27), and the characteristic data of the specified common part is recorded in the memory 43 (step S28).

  In the above example, steps S21 to S27 correspond to the common part identification process (step S1) of the moving image A, and step S28 corresponds to the feature data extraction process (step S2).

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining in more detail another example of the common part identification process to feature data extraction process (steps S1 and S2) of the moving picture A in FIG. 4, in which two or more moving picture data of the same program are accumulated. Shows an example of a process for automatically specifying a common part. Here, it is assumed that two or more moving image data of the same program (moving image A and moving image B in this example) are stored in the mobile phone terminal 1 (step S31).

The common part specifying unit 36 of the mobile phone terminal 1 decodes key frame data among the moving image data of the moving image A and the moving image B (step S32). The data referred to here is data that can be subjected to image comparison similar to the definition of feature data extracted by the feature data extraction unit 35 described above. The decoded data is compared to search for a frame with a high match rate (step S33). The coincidence rate here is a value indicating whether or not they are determined to be the same by image comparison. The higher the coincidence rate, the higher the possibility that the compared images are the same scene. Then, a period in which a frame with a high coincidence rate continues is specified as a common part, and the time data is stored in the metadata of the moving image A and the moving image B (step S34). A comparison condition as to whether or not the coincidence rate is high can be determined as appropriate. For example, let us consider a case where image comparison data is performed using pixel data itself. First, the corresponding pixel values between key frames are compared with each other to determine whether or not they match using a predetermined threshold, and when the matching rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the matching rate is high, That is, it is possible to perform processing such as determining that the scenes are the same. Here, the matching rate search processing refers to image comparison executed using data similar to the definition of feature data extracted by the feature data extraction unit 35 described above, for example.
Finally, the data of the first and last frames of the key frame as the common part are recorded as feature data in the memory 43 (step S35).

In the above example, steps S31 to S34 correspond to the common part identification process (step S1) of the moving image A, and step S35 corresponds to the feature data extraction process (step S2).
Note that when the common part of only the moving images A and B is specified by the process of this example, the search process of step S3 in FIG. 4 is not necessary. That is, in the process of determining the match rate, the common part of the moving picture A is specified and the common part of the moving picture B is searched simultaneously. When the common part of the moving image A is specified from the moving image A and the moving image B and the moving image data other than the moving image B is searched using the feature data, the process of step S3 is necessary.

Next, the search process for the common part of the moving image B in step S3 in FIG. 4 will be further described.
In the common part search process, the common part of the moving picture B is specified from the feature data of the common part of the moving picture A. Here, the feature data acquired in step S2 and the moving image data of moving image B are compared, and the common part of moving image B is specified. Since the start timing of this operation starts from a state where a plurality of the same programs are accumulated, for example, a process such as automatic operation when the second and subsequent recordings of the same program are completed can be applied.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for further explaining the search process (step S3) for the common part of the moving image B in FIG. First, the common part search unit 37 of the mobile phone terminal 1 reads the feature data extracted from the moving image A from the memory 43 (step S41). Then, the common part search unit 37 compares the feature data read from the memory 43 with the data of the moving image B, and specifies a portion with a high matching rate as a common part of the moving image B (step S42). The data of the moving image B to be compared with the feature data is data having the same form as the feature data. For example, if the feature data is image data of an IDR picture, the IDR picture data of the moving image B is decoded and sequentially compared. The condition as to whether the coincidence rate is high can be determined as appropriate. For example, it can be determined that the comparison results are obtained when the comparison result between the feature data is within a predetermined threshold. Then, the reproduction time data at the start and end of the common part of the specified moving image B is recorded in the metadata of the moving image B (step S43).

  Next, the representative image search process in step S4 of FIG. 4 will be further described. Here, using the time data of the common part of the moving picture A identified in step S1 in FIG. 4 and the common part of the moving picture B searched in step S3, a part other than the common part is selected, and the representative image And For example, the representative image is displayed on the content image display units 22 to 25 on the moving image content list display screen of FIG. 2. For example, the same representative image is selected in the case of the same program and different broadcast times. And the program cannot be distinguished. For this reason, the representative image can be selected from other than the common part so that the contents can be grasped for each program.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of a representative image search process.
In the example of FIG. 9A, when the start image of the common part of the moving images A and B is S and the end image is E, the image immediately after the end of the common parts S to E is selected as the representative image R. When still image thumbnails are used in the content image display sections 22 to 25 of the moving image content list display screen 21, the representative image R is displayed. However, when the moving image thumbnail is used, the representative image R is displayed at the start position of the moving image thumbnail. And

  In the example of FIG. 9B, the image before the start of the common portions S to E of the moving image A and the moving image B is selected as the representative image R. When the thumbnail of the still image is used in the content image display unit, the representative image R is displayed. However, when the moving image thumbnail is used, the representative image R is the end position of the moving image thumbnail. For example, when the contents of the current broadcast are partly broadcast before the opening of the broadcast program as the common part, the image immediately before the start of the common part (in this case, the opening) should be the representative image R. Good.

In the example of FIG. 9C, when the representative image is displayed as a moving image thumbnail, at least a part of the images of the common portions S to E of the moving image A and the moving image B is included in the representative image. In this example, the start image S of the common part is made to coincide with the end image Re of the moving image thumbnail as the representative image. That is, the common part start image S is included in the moving image thumbnail.
For example, when moving picture A and moving picture B are broadcast programs, if a title for each broadcast time is added at the beginning or end of the common part, the image with the title added is included as a representative image. It can be considered that the user can easily understand the contents of the moving image. In such a case, the representative image displayed as the moving image thumbnail may be created by including at least a part of the common part.

In the example of FIG. 9D, after the end of the common portions S to E of the moving image A and the moving image B, an image that has passed for a predetermined time is selected as the representative image R. For example, a CM may be broadcast on an image immediately before and after the common part if it is a broadcast program. In that case, an image that has passed for a fixed time from the end of the common portion may be selected as the representative image R. In this case, the representative image R is displayed when the thumbnail of the still image is used, but the representative image R is set as the start position of the moving image thumbnail when the moving image thumbnail is used.
In consideration of a case where a CM is broadcast before the common part, an image a predetermined time before the start of the common part may be selected as the representative image. In this case, when a moving image thumbnail is used, the representative image is set as the end position of the moving image thumbnail.

  The cellular phone terminal 1 uses one of the representative image selection processes shown in FIGS. 9A to 9D. Which selection process to use at this time may be determined by the user, or may be automatically determined by providing a CM automatic detection function for detecting CM from moving image data. . As a function of detecting the CM, for example, when the main part is a monaural or bilingual broadcast, a method of detecting as a CM by switching the sound to a stereo broadcast, or a CM depending on a change in the screen and a change in the audio level. A conventionally known technique such as a technique for detecting the image can be applied.

  The selected representative image is stored in the recording device 14 as a thumbnail image, and can be called when thumbnail display is performed on the moving image content list display screen 21 or the like. It is also possible to save the frame number (number of frames) of the selected representative image or the playback time of the frame in the metadata of the moving image, and decode it during thumbnail playback.

In addition, the common portion and representative image data obtained by the above processing can be used in a form other than thumbnail reproduction. For example, using the reproduction time data of the specified common part, the common part can be skipped during the normal reproduction of the moving image.
In addition to using the selected representative image for thumbnail playback, the selected representative image is copied to another medium for the purpose of, for example, being used for a movie list held by the user, or a folder for displaying the contents of the folder in which the movie is stored. It can be used as a representative image. Alternatively, it may be combined with a moving picture application held by the mobile phone terminal so that the representative screen is randomly reproduced on the standby screen of the mobile phone terminal. Further, it may be combined with an application that can understand the recording contents at the time of recording end guidance, and the representative screen may be reproduced at the time of recording end guidance.

  It is also possible to store the characteristic data specifying the common part obtained during the above processing in the recording device 14. This eliminates the need to extract feature data the next time the same program is recorded, and it is possible to select a representative image from a portion other than the common portion even if the video data has been erased once. .

  In the above embodiment, only the image data extracted by the image comparison is used as the feature data. However, the start and end time data of the common part of the moving image A is added to the feature data, and the common part search after the moving image B is performed. When performing the comparison, it is possible to improve the speed of the common part search by comparing the images from a location close to the time data.

  In the above embodiment, the image data of the moving image content to be displayed as thumbnails is the moving image data stored in the recording device 14, but is the moving image content distributed by streaming using the Internet or on-demand broadcasting. However, it can be implemented. FIG. 10 shows a configuration diagram in that case.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram for explaining functions in another embodiment of the image creating apparatus according to the present invention, and shows another configuration example of the mobile phone terminal. 10, parts having functions similar to those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG.
The second display image processing unit 45 has the same function as the display image processing unit 44, and based on the image data selected by the representative image data selection unit 38 or the moving image reproduction information selected by the representative image selection unit 38. The image data received from the moving image reproduction processing unit 33 is selected and output to the storage device I / O interface 16. The storage device I / O interface 16 constitutes an interface with an external storage device, and manages reading and writing of data to and from the external device. Here, the storage device I / O interface 16 reads data from the external storage device or writes data to the external storage device in response to a data read / write request from the display image processing unit 44.

  The communication device 46 is a device that enables streaming reception of moving image content through a communication network such as the Internet or a mobile phone. The moving image content is, for example, stored in the streaming server 17 on the Internet. The extracted feature data, time data (start time and end time) for specifying the searched common part, image data of the representative image and time data Is temporarily stored in the memory 43. Further, in order to quickly display thumbnails for the second and subsequent video contents once displayed as thumbnails, it is necessary to store the above data in an external storage device.

  The program that operates in the image creating apparatus of the present invention is a program (a program that causes a computer to function) that controls a CPU or the like so as to realize the function of each unit (or part of each unit) according to the present invention. This program may be provided with a graphical user interface (GUI) for a display device so that the device can be easily used by a user. Information handled by these devices is temporarily stored in the RAM at the time of processing, then stored in various ROMs and HDDs, read out by the CPU as necessary, and corrected and written.

  In addition, by executing the read program, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also based on the instructions of the program, the program is processed in cooperation with the operating system or other application programs. The functions of the invention may be realized.

  As a recording medium for storing the program, a semiconductor medium (for example, ROM, nonvolatile memory card, etc.), an optical recording medium (for example, BD (blu-ray disc), DVD, MO, MD, CD, etc.), a magnetic recording medium (For example, magnetic tape, flexible disk, etc.) may be used. When distributing a program to the market, store the program in a portable recording medium as described above for distribution, or transfer it from a server computer connected via a network such as the Internet to an information processing device such as a PC. You can make it.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cell-phone terminal, 11 ... Speaker, 12 ... Display apparatus, 13 ... Touch panel, 14 ... Memory | storage device, 15 ... Key input device, 16 ... Microphone, 17 ... Broadcast receiving antenna, 21 ... Moving image content list display screen, 22 -25 ... content image display unit, 26 ... content information display unit, 30 ... control unit, 31 ... input device interface, 32 ... processing control unit, 33 ... moving image playback processing unit, 34 ... thumbnail playback processing unit, 35 ... Feature data extraction unit 36... Common part specifying unit 37 37 Common part search unit 38 38 Representative image selection unit 39 39 Recording device I / O interface 40 Decoding processing unit 41 Audio processing unit 42 Moving picture decoding processing unit, 43... Memory, 44.

Claims (10)

An image creation device that acquires video content and creates a representative image of the video content,
A common part search unit that searches for a common part between a plurality of video contents, and an image creation unit that creates a representative image of each video content from a part other than the common part searched by the common part search unit. A featured image creation device. The image creating apparatus according to claim 1,
The image creating unit selects image data to be the representative image from image data of the moving image content, or a representative image selecting unit that selects moving image reproduction information from which the representative image can be acquired from the moving image content;
The representative image that can be displayed on a predetermined display unit by acquiring a representative image from the moving image content based on the image data selected by the representative image selecting unit or the moving image reproduction information selected by the representative image selecting unit. A display image processing unit for generating the image. The image creating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The image creation unit creates the image immediately after the end of the common part as the representative image. The image creating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The image creation unit creates the image immediately before the start of the common part as the representative image. In the image creation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The image creation unit creates an image of a specific period including at least a part of the common part as the representative image. In the image creation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The image creating device creates an image after a predetermined period from the end of the common part or an image before a predetermined period from the start of the common part as the representative image. In the image creation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An image creating apparatus comprising: a display device that displays the representative image created by the image creating unit. In the image creation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
An image creating apparatus comprising: a recording device that records a representative image created by the image creating unit. An image creation method for obtaining video content and creating a representative image of the video content,
A common part search step for searching for a common part between a plurality of video contents;
A representative image creating step of creating a representative image of each moving image content from a portion other than the common portion searched by the common portion searching step.   A program for causing a computer to realize the function of the image creating apparatus according to claim 1.

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