JP2012119878A - Content reproduction device and content reproduction method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content reproduction device which reproduces a content across a content period without giving discomfort to a user.SOLUTION: A content acquisition part 12 acquires a content, and a reproduction processing part 13 reproduces the acquired content. A reverse reproduction possibility determination part 16 determines whether the content can be reproduced reversely, on the basis of reverse reproduction possibility information added to the content. When it is determined that the content can be reproduced reversely, a reproduction direction switch part 17 instructs the reproduction processing part 13 to switch the reproduction direction of the content.

Description

  The present invention relates to a content reproduction apparatus and a content reproduction method.

  There have been proposed display devices and image pickup devices with higher resolution. The content played back by the content playback device including these display devices and imaging devices has high definition and high image quality, and gives the user a more realistic feeling than ever before. Note that Patent Document 1 discloses a data reproducing apparatus that reduces moving image interruption by previously decoding and accumulating moving image data at a jump destination when changing the reproduction position.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-086447

  There are cases where a user appreciates content related to artworks and content related to world famous scenes through a display device included in the content reproduction device. The main purpose of content related to artworks and content related to world famous scenes is to appreciate scenery rather than enjoy the story. Here, a content whose purpose is to appreciate a landscape or the like is defined as an ornamental moving image. With respect to an ornamental moving image, it is conceivable that a display device is arranged on a wall like a window, and the content reproduction device reproduces the landscape as a part of the space for a long time.

  In order to play back content for a long time beyond a finite content time, the content playback device, for example, plays back a playlist that plays back multiple contents sequentially, loop playback that performs repeated playback, or repeats only an arbitrary range. Repeat playback is performed. However, when the content playback apparatus performs playlist playback, loop playback, or repeat playback, there is a problem that content playback is interrupted while returning from the end point of the content to be played back to the start point of the next content to be played back.

  According to the conventionally proposed loop playback, even if the video of the content to be displayed is not interrupted, if the video at the end of the content and the video at the start of the next content are not related, The video changes greatly when played back. Therefore, there is a problem that the user can see the content break. In particular, when viewing an ornamental moving image, if a break in content is seen, the user will feel a great sense of discomfort.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a content playback apparatus that plays back content beyond the content time without causing a user to feel uncomfortable.

  A content reproduction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus that reproduces content beyond a content time, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires content, a reproduction unit that reproduces the acquired content, and information about the content Based on the above, when it is determined that the content can be reversely played, and when it is determined that the content can be reversely played, the playback means is instructed to set the playback direction of the content. Switching means for switching.

  According to the content reproduction apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to automatically determine the timing for switching the content reproduction direction based on the acquired information about the content, and to switch the content reproduction direction based on the determination result. Therefore, the content can be reproduced over the content time without showing the content interruption to the user. As a result, the user can view the content for a long time without discomfort.

It is the example of a structure of a content reproduction apparatus, and the example of reverse reproduction | regeneration availability information. It is an example of the flowchart explaining the switching process of the reproduction | regeneration direction of a content. It is an example of a functional block diagram of a reverse reproduction availability determination unit. It is an example of the content applied to a content reproduction apparatus. It is a figure explaining the specific example of a switching schedule.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a content reproduction apparatus according to the present embodiment and an example of reverse reproduction availability information added to content. FIG. 1A shows a configuration example of a content reproduction apparatus. The content playback apparatus 1 includes an external interface 11, a content acquisition unit 12, a playback processing unit 13, a display unit 14, a speaker 15, a reverse playback availability determination unit 16, and a playback direction switching unit 17. The content reproduction method of the present embodiment can be realized by the function of each processing unit provided in the content reproduction apparatus 1.

  The external interface 11 mediates communication between the content reproduction device 1 and an external device (not shown). The external interface 11 may be an interface that receives content from a transmission path. The external interface 11 is, for example, a digital broadcast receiving antenna or an Internet connection router.

  The content acquisition unit 12 functions as an acquisition unit that acquires content. For example, the content acquisition unit 12 acquires content from an external device via the external interface 11. The content acquisition unit 12 may read and acquire content from a predetermined recording medium. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the data format of the content is MPEG-2TS (Moving Picture Experts Group 2-Transport Stream). The MPEG2-TS format defines a video and audio multiplexing scheme. The content acquisition unit 12 separates the reverse playability information, which is setting information added to the acquired content, from the content, and passes the reverse playability information to the reverse playability determination unit 16. The reverse playability information includes information indicating whether the content can be reversely played. Further, the content acquisition unit 12 decodes the video / audio signal of the content, that is, the video data and the audio data, and outputs them to the reproduction processing unit 13.

  The reproduction processing unit 13 functions as a reproduction unit that reproduces the content acquired by the content acquisition unit 12. Specifically, the reproduction processing unit 13 reproduces the video / audio signal output from the content acquisition unit 12, outputs the video signal to the display unit 14, and outputs the audio signal to the speaker 15. Further, the playback processing unit 13 switches the content playback direction in accordance with an instruction from the playback direction switching unit 17. The display unit 14 outputs the video signal input from the reproduction processing unit 13. The speaker 15 outputs the audio signal input from the reproduction processing unit 13.

  The reverse reproduction possibility determination unit 16 functions as reverse reproduction determination means for determining whether the content can be reversely reproduced based on information on the content. For example, the reverse playability determination unit 16 determines whether the content can be reversely played based on the reverse playability information added to the content.

  The reproduction direction switching unit 17 functions as a switching unit that instructs the reproduction processing unit 13 to switch the reproduction direction of the content when the reverse reproduction possibility determination unit 16 determines that the content can be reproduced in reverse.

  FIG. 1B shows an example of the reverse reproduction availability information. The reverse playability information includes information indicating whether or not the content can be played back in reverse, content time, information on a section where the content can be played back in reverse, and information on a section where the content cannot be played back in reverse. The content time is an original total reproduction time when the contents are sequentially reproduced. The section is a predetermined time zone included in the content time.

  Enable is information indicating whether or not reverse playback is possible. Enable whose value is set to “1” indicates that the content can be reproduced in reverse. Enable whose value is set to “0” indicates that the content cannot be reproduced in reverse. PlayTime indicates the content time. Part of possible indicates a section in which the content can be played back in reverse, that is, a section in which the user does not feel uncomfortable even if the content is played back in reverse. “Part of impossible” indicates a section in which the content is not reversely playable, that is, a section in which the user feels uncomfortable when the content is reversely played back. In the present embodiment, when the content is an ornamental moving image whose content is to be viewed, “1” is set in advance as the value of Enable.

  When “1” is set as the value of Enable and no information is set in Part of Possible and Part of impossible, it means that the content can be reversely played back in all sections. Further, when “0” is set as the value of Enable and no information is set in Part of Possible and Part of impossible, it means that the content cannot be reversely played back in all sections.

  FIG. 2 is an example of a flowchart for explaining the content playback direction switching processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The content reproduction apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment has the configuration shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a value is set for Enable included in the reverse playback enable / disable information, but no information is set for Part of Possible and Part of impossible. That is, when the value of Enable is 1, reverse playback is possible in all sections, and when the value of Enable is 0, reverse playback is not possible in all sections.

  First, the playback direction switching unit 17 issues a content playback remaining time acquisition request to the playback processing unit 13 (step S1). The content playback remaining time acquisition request is a request for calculating and transmitting content playback remaining time. The remaining playback time of content is the playback time remaining without being played out of the content time. Receiving the reproduction remaining time acquisition request, the reproduction processing unit 13 calculates the remaining reproduction time of the content based on the content time, the reproduction position of the content, and the reproduction direction of the content, and passes it to the reproduction direction switching unit 17.

  Subsequently, the playback direction switching unit 17 determines whether or not the remaining playback time of the content delivered from the playback processing unit 13 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (step S2). If the playback direction switching unit 17 determines that the remaining playback time of the content is not less than the threshold, the process returns to step S1. If the playback direction switching unit 17 determines that the remaining playback time of the content is equal to or less than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S3.

  Next, the reverse reproduction possibility determination unit 16 determines whether the content can be reversely reproduced (step S3). In the first embodiment, the reverse playability determination unit 16 determines whether the content can be reversely played based on the information indicating whether the content can be reversely played, that is, the value of Enable included in the reverse playability information. to decide.

  When the value of Enable is “1”, the reverse playback possibility determination unit 16 determines that the content can be reverse played. When the value of Enable is “0”, the reverse playback possibility determination unit 16 determines that the content cannot be reverse played. When the reverse playback possibility determination unit 16 determines that the content cannot be reverse played, the playback direction switching unit 17 instructs the playback processing unit 13 to perform cue playback. In accordance with the instruction from the reproduction direction switching unit 17, the reproduction processing unit 13 requests the content acquisition unit 12 to control the content reading position, thereby performing cueing reproduction of the content (step S5) and returns to step S1.

  When the reverse playback possibility determination unit 16 determines that the content can be played back, the playback direction switching unit 17 instructs the playback processing unit 13 to switch the current playback direction of the content (step S4). ), The process returns to step S1. In step S4, the reproduction processing unit 13 switches the content reproduction direction by instructing the content acquisition unit 12 about the content reading position and the reading method. Assuming that the current playback direction is the forward direction, the playback direction after switching is reversed by switching the playback direction. When the current playback direction is the reverse direction, the playback direction after switching is the forward direction.

  The reproduction processing unit 13 reproduces, for example, audio in the forward direction when reproducing the content video in the reverse direction. Therefore, the reproduction processing unit 13 requests the content acquisition unit 12 to acquire audio data when reproducing in the forward direction. When the content playback direction is the reverse direction, the content playback apparatus 1 of the present embodiment plays back the audio in the forward direction, but the audio playback method is not limited to, for example, playback of audio, and so on. Not what you want.

The reverse reproduction of the content compressed in the MPEG format at 1 × speed can be realized by using the technique disclosed in Reference Document 1 below.
Reference 1: JP 2000-175151 A

  The technique disclosed in the above-mentioned reference 1 identifies the picture type of an MPEG bit stream, and determines the decoding order of the bit stream based on the held picture type information during reverse playback. Then, the bit stream is sequentially decoded by the MPEG decoding means. As a result, the content compressed in the MPEG format can be reversely reproduced at a single speed.

  According to the content playback apparatus of the first embodiment, it is possible to perform playback for a long time exceeding the content time without showing the user a break in the content.

  In the second embodiment, whether or not the content can be reproduced in reverse is not determined based on the value of Enable included in the information on whether or not reverse reproduction is possible, but includes the recognition result of the object included in the content and the amount of motion. This is based on information calculation results or voice data analysis results. FIG. 3A is a functional block diagram of a reverse playback availability determination unit provided in the content playback device 21 of the second embodiment. The content playback device 21 includes a reverse playback availability determination unit 16A shown in FIG. 3A in place of the reverse playback availability determination unit 16 included in the content playback device 1 shown in FIG. In addition, the content playback device 21 includes processing units similar to the processing units other than the reverse playback permission determination unit 16 among the processing units included in the content playback processing unit 1. Hereinafter, among the processing units included in the content reproduction device 21, the same processing units as those included in the content reproduction device 1 will be described using the reference numerals of the processing units illustrated in FIG.

  In the second embodiment, the content acquisition unit 12 included in the content playback device 21 outputs the video data and audio data of the decrypted content to the reverse playback permission determination unit 16A in addition to the reverse playback permission information added to the content. The reverse playback possibility determination unit 16A recognizes an object included in the video based on the video data of the content input from the content acquisition unit 12. Then, the reverse playback possibility determination unit 16A determines whether the content can be reverse played based on the comparison result between the recognized object and a predetermined object.

  The reverse playability determination unit 16A analyzes the motion amount between frames included in the video based on the video data of the content, and the content can be reverse played based on the analysis result of the motion amount between the frames. You may make it judge. Further, the reverse playability determination unit 16A may analyze the audio data of the content and determine whether the content can be reversely played based on the analysis result of the audio data.

  The reverse playability determination unit 16A includes an object recognition unit 161, a motion amount calculation unit 162, an audio signal analysis unit 163, and an overall determination unit 164. The object recognizing unit 161 recognizes an object included in the video, and outputs information (object information) of an object appearing in the video to the comprehensive determining unit 164. The motion amount calculation unit 162 calculates information including the amount of motion between frames, and outputs the calculation result to the comprehensive determination unit 164. Specifically, the motion amount calculation unit 162 calculates the magnitude of the motion amount and the magnitude of the motion vector in a predetermined direction. The audio signal analysis unit 163 analyzes the audio data of the content and outputs the analysis result to the comprehensive determination unit 164.

  The overall determination unit 164 determines whether the content can be reversely played based on the information input from the object recognition unit 161, the motion amount calculation unit 162, or the audio signal analysis unit 163 (reverse playability determination). The overall determination unit 164 outputs the result of the reverse playback permission determination to the playback direction switching unit 17. The overall determination unit 164 may determine whether the content can be reversely played back based on any one or any combination of the input information. The overall determination unit 164 may determine whether or not reverse playback is possible while the first forward playback of the content is performed, or may determine whether or not reverse playback is possible before the content is played back.

Hereinafter, a specific example of whether or not reverse reproduction is possible will be described.
<Decision 1: Judgment based on object information>
Based on the object information, the overall determination unit 164 determines whether an object registered in advance in the reverse reproduction disabled object list appears in the video. The reverse play disabled object list is a list of reverse play disabled objects. The reverse playback disabled object is an object indicating that the content in which the object appears cannot be played back in reverse. Accordingly, the overall determination unit 164 determines that the content cannot be reversely played when an object registered in the reversely playable object list appears in the video.

  In addition, the overall determination unit 164 determines that the content can be reversely played when an object registered in the reversely playable object list does not appear in the video. For example, in the case of content in which humans (living organisms) or vehicles appear, there is a high possibility that the content will appear unnatural when reverse playback is performed. Therefore, for example, the general determination unit 164 registers a person (living organism) or a vehicle in advance as an object that cannot be reversely reproduced, and determines that the content in which the object that cannot be reversely played appears cannot be reversely reproduced.

<Judgment 2: Judgment based on calculation result of information including movement amount>
The overall determination unit 164 may determine whether the content can be reversely played based on the amount of motion or the magnitude of a motion vector in a predetermined direction. For example, in the case of content that moves rapidly, there is a high possibility that it will appear unnatural when reverse playback is performed. Accordingly, the overall determination unit 164 determines that the content cannot be reversely played back, for example, when the amount of motion is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

  Also, content with a large motion vector in a certain direction, such as content corresponding to a waterfall scene or a river flowing scene, is likely to look unnatural when played backwards. Therefore, for example, when the motion vector in a certain direction is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the overall determination unit 164 determines that the content cannot be reversely reproduced. For example, when the amount of motion is not equal to or greater than the threshold and the motion vector in a certain direction is not equal to or greater than the threshold, the overall determination unit 164 determines that the content can be reversely reproduced.

<Judgment 3: Judgment based on analysis result of voice data>
Based on the analysis result of the audio data, the overall determination unit 164 determines whether the change amount of the volume / sound quality is greater than or equal to the threshold value. When the change amount of the volume / sound quality is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the overall determination unit 164 determines that the content cannot be reversely reproduced. If the change amount of the volume / sound quality is not equal to or greater than the threshold value, the overall determination unit 164 determines that the content can be reproduced in reverse. Note that if the volume / sound quality change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the overall determination unit 164 may determine that reverse playback without sound is possible.

  When the overall determination unit 164 determines that the content can be reversely played back in all of the above determinations 1 to 3, the overall determination unit 164 determines that the content can be reversely played back, and outputs the determination result to the playback direction switching unit 17. You may make it do. The general judgment unit 164 executes any one of the above determinations 1 to 3 when the reverse playability information is not added to the content, and when the reverse playability information is added to the content, the reverse playability information Based on the above, it may be determined whether the content can be reversely reproduced. A method for determining whether or not the content can be reversely played based on the reverse playability information is the same method as in the first embodiment. Further, the comprehensive determination unit 164 may determine whether reverse playback is possible for each section of content.

  According to the content reproduction apparatus of the second embodiment, it is determined whether the content can be reversely reproduced based on the recognition result of the object included in the content, the calculation result of the information including the motion amount, or the audio data analysis result. Can do. Therefore, even if the content producer does not add the reverse playback permission information to the content, it can be determined whether the content can be reverse played.

  Example 3 is an example in the case where content includes a section that can be reversely played and a section that is not reversely playable. FIG. 3B illustrates an example of a functional block diagram of a playback direction switching unit provided in the content playback device 31 of the third embodiment. The content playback device 31 includes a playback direction switching unit 17A shown in FIG. 3B instead of the playback direction switching unit 17 included in the content playback device 1 shown in FIG. In addition, the content reproduction device 31 includes a processing unit similar to the processing unit other than the reproduction direction switching unit 17 among the processing units included in the content reproduction processing unit 1. In the following, among the processing units included in the content reproduction device 31, the same processing units as the processing unit included in the content reproduction device 1 will be described using the reference numerals of the processing units shown in FIG. Note that the content reproduction device 31 includes a reverse reproduction availability determination unit 16A shown in FIG. 3A instead of the reverse reproduction availability determination unit 16, and analyzes the content as described in the second embodiment. Thus, it may be determined whether or not the content can be reversely reproduced.

  For example, the content acquisition unit 12 passes the reverse playback availability information as illustrated in FIG. 1B to the reverse playback availability determination unit 16. As described above, the reverse playability information includes Part of Possible indicating a section where the content can be reversely played and Part of impossible indicating a section where the content is not reversely playable. In the third embodiment, the reproduction processing unit 13 passes the reproduction information described above to the reproduction direction switching unit 17A.

  The reverse playability determination unit 16 determines whether the content can be reversely played based on the information indicating the reverse playable information included in the reverse playability information and the information indicating the non-reverse playable information. Judge every time. The reproduction direction switching unit 17A is based on the determination result for each section as to whether the content can be reversely reproduced by the reverse reproduction possibility determination unit 16 and the reproduction time of the content stored in the reproduction time storage unit 173. Determine the schedule for switching the content playback direction.

  Hereinafter, a schedule relating to switching of the reproduction direction of content is described as a switching schedule. The playback direction switching unit 17A monitors the playback position of the content included in the playback information received from the playback processing unit 13, and instructs the playback processing unit 13 to switch the playback direction of the content according to the switching schedule.

  The playback direction switching unit 17 includes a playback scheduling unit 171, a playback direction switching control unit 172, and a playback time storage unit 173. The reproduction scheduling unit 171 acquires information indicating whether reverse reproduction is possible for each section from the reproduction availability determination unit 16. The reproduction scheduling unit 171 may acquire information indicating whether reverse reproduction is possible for each section from the reproduction availability determination unit 16. Also, the playback scheduling unit 171 acquires the playback time of content from the playback time storage unit 173. The content playback time is set in advance according to the user's operation input. The playback time storage unit 173 may calculate and set the playback time of the content based on the time until the power is turned off, such as a sleep timer set by the user.

  The reproduction scheduling unit 171 determines a switching schedule based on information indicating whether reverse reproduction is possible for each section and the content reproduction time, and outputs the determined switching schedule to the reproduction direction switching control unit 172. The playback direction switching control unit 172 determines the timing for instructing the playback processing unit 13 to switch the playback direction based on the playback position of the content included in the playback information and the switching schedule, and plays back at the determined timing. Instruct to switch direction.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of content applied to the content reproduction apparatus of the present embodiment. FIG. 4A shows an example of content in which the reverse playback is possible for a sufficiently long section. FIG. 4B shows an example of content with a short last section that can be played back in reverse. FIG. 4C shows an example of content with a short section that can be played back in reverse. 4A to 4C, the time from time t0 to time t3 is the content time. A hatched section indicates a section where reverse playback is not possible. That is, section 2 is a section where reverse playback is not possible, and sections 1 and 3 are sections where reverse playback is possible.

  The determination of the switching schedule when the content to be reproduced is the content shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C will be described below.

(1) Determination of switching schedule when the content to be played back is the content shown in FIG. 4A. When the content playback time has not been determined, that is, the playback time storage unit 173 stores the playback time of the content. If not, the playback scheduling unit 171 determines the following switching schedule. In this switching schedule, for example, section 1 is played back in the forward direction, followed by playback in sections 2 and 3 in the forward direction, and after the playback in section 3 in the forward direction is finished, the playback direction of the video in section 3 is switched. Reproduce.

  When the playback time of the content is determined, that is, when the playback time storage unit 173 stores the playback time of the content, the playback scheduling unit 171 switches the following based on the playback time of the content Determine the schedule. This switching schedule is such that the reproduction times of sections 1 and 3 that can be reversely reproduced are equal. For example, if each of section 1, section 2, and section 3 is 10 minutes and the content playback time is 50 minutes, the playback scheduling unit 171 subtracts 10 minutes of the playback period of section 2 that cannot be reversely played back from 50 minutes. Forty minutes obtained in this way are allocated to playback of section 1 and section 3.

  A description will be given of a switching schedule in which the playback times of the sections 1 and 3 are each 20 minutes. In this switching schedule, section 1 is played back in the forward direction for 10 minutes, the playback direction is switched, section 1 is played back in reverse for 5 minutes, and the playback direction is switched after reverse playback. That is, in this switching schedule, the playback direction is switched to the forward direction at a position 5 minutes after the start position of the section 1, the remaining 5 minutes of the section 1 are played back in the forward direction, and then the section 2 is played back in the forward direction. Subsequently, the section 3 is played back in the forward direction, and the playback direction is switched and played back in the backward direction for 10 minutes. The above switching schedule is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. The switching schedule determined by the playback scheduling unit 171 may be, for example, a switching schedule that prevents the difference between the playback times of the sections 1 and 3 from exceeding a predetermined threshold.

(2) Determination of switching schedule when content to be played back is the content shown in FIG. 4B A switching schedule when content playback time is not determined will be described. As shown in FIG. 4B, the section 3 has a section length (for example, 10 sec) that is not suitable for round-trip playback by switching the playback direction. Therefore, the playback scheduling unit 171 determines a switching schedule for switching the playback direction within the section 1. A switching schedule when the content reproduction time is determined will be described. The playback scheduling unit 171 determines a switching schedule in which the content is reciprocated by switching the playback direction in the section 1 and the remaining playback time ends in the sections 2 and 3.

(3) Determination of switching schedule when the content to be reproduced is the content shown in FIG. 4C The content shown in FIG. 4C can be reversely reproduced over the entire content and has a sufficient section length. Has no section. Therefore, the playback scheduling unit 171 determines that reverse playback is not possible, and instructs the playback direction switching control unit 172 to perform long playback by loop playback.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the switching schedule. In this example, the playback scheduling unit 171 selects whether to prioritize playback of the content in the forward direction or reduce the number of switching of the playback direction, for example, according to a user operation input, and determines a switching schedule according to the selection result. To do. It is assumed that the playback time of the content stored in the playback time storage unit 173 is 90 minutes.

  When the priority is given to the reproduction of the content in the forward direction, the reproduction scheduling unit 171 determines, for example, a switching schedule in which the reproduction time in the forward direction is longer than other switching schedules. When selection is made to reduce the number of times of switching in the playback direction, the playback scheduling unit 171 determines, for example, a switching schedule in which the number of times of switching in the playback direction is less than other switching schedules. Note that the playback scheduling unit 171 may determine the switching schedule in consideration of the playback time in the forward direction of the content and the number of times of switching in the playback direction.

  FIG. 5A shows an example of content to be played back. In the content shown in FIG. 5A, the section 1 which is a reverse playable section is 10 minutes, and the section 3 is 20 minutes. Further, section 2 which is a section where reverse playback is not possible is 20 minutes. When the content to be reproduced is the content shown in FIG. 5A, the reproduction scheduling unit 171 determines a switching schedule described below.

  When the playback scheduling unit 171 selects to prioritize playback of content in the forward direction, the playback scheduling unit 171 determines, for example, a switching schedule shown in FIG. In this switching schedule, section 1 is played back in the forward direction for 10 minutes, section 1 is played back in the backward direction for 10 minutes, and then sections 1 and 2 are played back in the forward direction for 30 minutes. In this switching schedule, section 3 is played back in the forward direction for 20 minutes, section 3 is played back in the reverse direction for 10 minutes, and section 3 is played back in the forward direction for 10 minutes.

  When the playback scheduling unit 171 selects to reduce the number of times of switching the playback direction of the content, the playback scheduling unit 171 determines, for example, the switching schedule shown in FIG. In this switching schedule, sections 1 and 2 are played back for 30 minutes in the forward direction, section 3 is played back for 20 minutes in the forward direction, section 3 is played back for 20 minutes in the reverse direction, and section 3 is played back for 20 minutes in the forward direction. To do.

  FIG. 5D shows an example of a switching schedule determined by the playback scheduling unit 171 in consideration of both the forward playback time of content and the number of playback direction switching. In this switching schedule, section 1 is played back in the forward direction for 10 minutes, section 1 is played back in the backward direction for 10 minutes, and then sections 1 and 2 are played back in the forward direction for 30 minutes. In this switching schedule, section 3 is played back in the forward direction for 20 minutes, and section 3 is played back in the reverse direction for 20 minutes.

  According to the content playback apparatus of the third embodiment, a playback schedule suitable for long-time playback can be determined based on whether or not reverse playback is possible for each section of content. Therefore, even if reverse playback is possible only in some of the content sections, it is possible to perform long-time playback with an appropriate schedule without showing the user a break in the content.

(Other examples)
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed. In this case, the program and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content playback apparatus 11 External interface 12 Content acquisition part 13 Playback processing part 14 Display part 15 Speaker 16 Reverse playback possibility judgment part 17 Playback direction switching part

Claims (8)

Acquisition means for acquiring content;
Playback means for playing back the acquired content;
Reverse playback determination means for determining whether the content can be reversely played based on information on the content;
A content playback apparatus comprising: switching means for instructing the playback means to switch the playback direction of the content when it is determined that the content can be reversely played back. Setting information including information indicating whether or not the content can be reversely reproduced is added to the content,
The reverse playback determination means determines whether the content can be reverse played based on information included in the setting information indicating whether the content can be reverse played. Item 2. A content playback apparatus according to Item 1. The reverse playback determination means recognizes an object included in the content and determines whether the content can be reverse played based on a comparison result between the recognized object and a predetermined object. The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1. The reverse playback determination means analyzes the amount of motion between frames included in the content, and determines whether the content can be reverse played based on the analysis result of the amount of motion between the frames. The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1. 2. The content according to claim 1, wherein the reverse playback determination unit analyzes audio included in the content and determines whether the content can be reverse played based on an analysis result of the audio. Playback device. Setting information including information on a section in which the content can be reversely played back and information on a section in which the content is not backplayable is added to the content,
The reverse playback determination means determines whether the content can be reverse played based on information on a section in which the content included in the setting information is reverse playable and information on a section in which the content is not reverse playable. For each section,
The switching unit relates to switching of the playback direction of the content based on a determination result for each section as to whether the content can be reverse played by the reverse playback determination unit and a preset playback time of the content. The content playback apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a schedule is determined, and the playback unit is instructed to switch the playback direction of the content according to the determined schedule. The reproduction means calculates a remaining reproduction time of the content;
The switching unit determines whether the calculated remaining reproduction time of the content is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold;
The reverse playback determination means determines whether the content can be reversely played when the switching means determines that the remaining playback time of the content is equal to or less than the threshold value. The content reproduction device described. An acquisition process for acquiring content;
A reproduction step of reproducing the acquired content;
A reverse playback determination step of determining whether the content can be reversely played based on information on the content;
A content reproduction method comprising: a switching step of switching a reproduction direction of the content by the reproduction step when it is determined that the content can be reversely reproduced.

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