JP2012142644A - Content providing device and content providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content providing device that restricts special reproduction in a special reproduction inhibition section in reproduction of video contents.SOLUTION: A content providing device comprises: a communication interface unit 201 for receiving a stream data acquisition request from a reproduction control device and for outputting stream data; a transmission state monitoring unit 209 for monitoring a communication state of the stream data to the reproduction control device; a reproduction state determination unit 207 for determining a reproduction state of the reproduction control device based on the communication state monitored by the transmission state monitoring unit 209; and a read-out section determination unit 205 for setting a transmission position of stream data to be output based on the determined reproduction state of the reproduction control device; thereby controlling special reproduction of a special reproduction inhibition section.

Description

  The present invention relates to a content providing apparatus that controls playback of recorded and stored video streams, and more particularly to special playback prohibition control such as skipping and fast-forwarding.

  As a conventional content providing service, television broadcasting using terrestrial waves, satellite broadcasting or the like has been performed. In recent years, various services such as content distribution using the Internet have been performed. These TV broadcasts and content distributions include commercial messages from sponsors, and broadcasters and distribution companies offer content for free or at low prices in the hope that users will watch these commercials. . In addition to the CM, a message related to content viewing and use may be inserted.

  In recent years, a consumer video recording / playback apparatus called PVR (Personal Video Recorder) has appeared. As a result, it is possible to record a plurality of contents on a randomly accessible storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a BD (Blu-ray Disc), etc., and view them at a time that can be viewed by the user. . Furthermore, a mechanism for sharing video content between devices connected to a home network, such as DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), has been introduced. As a result, not only a single PVR but also a video content recorded and stored by a plurality of devices is being shared and viewed.

  While providing an environment where general viewers can view video content anytime, anywhere, on the other hand, in addition to viewing video in normal playback, using special playback that has come to watch video in special playback, CM Only the main video can be viewed, such as skip playback of only the portion and fast-forward playback of only the CM portion. When such a viewing style is generalized, CMs inserted in the program and messages related to content usage are not viewed as intended by the content provider, which reduces the advertising effectiveness and prevents proper use of the content. Become.

  As a method for solving such a problem, a technique is disclosed in which information indicating a special reproduction prohibited section is distributed together with a video stream, and the reproduction control device controls special reproduction inhibition of the video stream (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ). The conventional playback control device described in Patent Document 1 receives a video stream in which a signal indicating a special playback prohibited section is superimposed on a CM section video, detects the superimposed signal, Special reproduction was prohibited.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-290878

  However, in the conventional configuration, the content reproduction apparatus needs to perform control based on special reproduction prohibited section information such as CM. In other words, the content provider side has left the control of the special playback prohibition section set by the content playback device to the content playback device, and has a problem that the content provider side cannot control.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and provides a content providing apparatus that enables playback control of a special playback prohibited section in the content playback apparatus without performing control of the special playback prohibited section in the content playback apparatus. For the purpose.

  In order to solve the conventional problem, the content providing apparatus of the present invention is a content providing apparatus that holds video content and transmits stream data of the video content, and a stream that holds the stream data of the video content Data storage means, additional information storage means for holding special playback prohibited section information for the video content, stream data held in the stream data storage means, and additional information held in the additional information storage means Based on the communication status monitored by the transmission status monitoring means, the transmission status monitoring means for monitoring the communication status of the stream data being transmitted, and the transmission status monitoring means at the transmission destination Playback status judgment that determines the playback status consisting of the playback position and playback mode. And a read section determining means for determining a transmission position of the next stream data to be transmitted based on the playback position and playback state at the transmission destination determined by the playback state determining means, and the read section determining means A reproduction state determined by the reproduction state determination unit includes a content reading unit that reads stream data at a transmission position from the stream data storage unit, and a communication I / F unit that transmits the stream data read by the content reading unit. Is determined to determine whether the special reproduction prohibited section is a target for special reproduction, using the special reproduction prohibited section information held in the additional information storage means. If the result is a special playback target, the sending position of the next stream data to be sent is set to the special playback prohibition. And determining the starting position of the section.

  With this configuration, the content providing apparatus can monitor the content read state in the reproduction control apparatus and can control the special reproduction in the specific reproduction prohibited section in the reproduction control apparatus.

  According to the content providing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to monitor the content read state from the reproduction control apparatus and to limit special reproduction in the special reproduction prohibited section in the reproduction control apparatus.

The figure which shows an example of the structure of the system in embodiment of this invention The block diagram which shows the structure of the content provision apparatus in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the stream which the content provision apparatus in embodiment of this invention transmits. The figure which shows an example of the additional information of the content in embodiment of this invention The figure which shows the content transmission control flow of the content provision apparatus in embodiment of this invention. Communication sequence diagram between content providing apparatus and reproduction control apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows an example of the content reproduction bit rate transmitted from the content provision apparatus in embodiment of this invention, and a transmission bit rate The figure which shows an example of the information regarding the transmission condition which the transmission condition monitoring part of the content provision apparatus in embodiment of this invention monitors. The figure which showed an example of the formula which the transmission condition monitoring part of the content provision apparatus in embodiment of this invention calculates a transmission effective bit rate The figure which showed an example of the formula which the reproduction | regeneration state determination part of the content provision apparatus in embodiment of this invention specifies a reproduction | regeneration position The figure which shows an example of the stream which the content provision apparatus in embodiment of this invention transmits. The block diagram which shows the structure of the content provision apparatus in embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an overview diagram showing an example of a system including a content providing apparatus according to the present invention. This is a system in which the playback control device 102 plays back content distributed from the distribution server 104 via the content providing device 101, and the user views the content distributed using the playback control device 102. The content providing apparatus 101 dynamically determines a content transmission target according to the reproduction state of the reproduction control apparatus 102 and transmits the content to the reproduction control apparatus 102.

  In FIG. 1, the distribution server 104 and the content providing apparatus 101 are connected via a public network 105. In addition, the content providing apparatus 101 and the playback control apparatus 102 are connected via a local network 103. Here, it is assumed that the playback control apparatus 102 supports the DLNA standard and uses the DLNA standard for connection with the content providing apparatus 101.

  The content is first stored in the distribution server 104, and the content providing apparatus 101 acquires it from the distribution server 104 via the public network 105 and stores it in the own apparatus. The content here includes stream data such as moving images and music and additional information.

  In addition to the main video, the stream data includes commercials that are sponsored advertisements, notification videos from program producers, and service management companies. The additional information includes information indicating whether or not skip or variable speed playback can be performed by performing special playback for each video section of the content.

  Next, an outline of processing for viewing the content stored in the content providing apparatus 101 by the user will be described with reference to FIG. The user operates the playback control apparatus 102 to view content.

  At the time of viewing the content, the playback control apparatus 102 transmits a stream data acquisition request for the content to be played back to the content providing apparatus 101. In response to the received stream data acquisition request, the content providing apparatus 101 reads target stream data from the recording medium of the content providing apparatus 101 and transmits it to the reproduction control apparatus 102. The playback control apparatus 102 decodes the received stream data and presents it to the user as video and audio.

  Here, the stream data acquisition request uses HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol). The stream data acquisition request may specify the entire stream or specify a part of the stream (specify the acquisition range using time information or byte position information from the beginning of the content as range information).

  When the playback control apparatus 102 normally plays back the entire stream from the beginning, the playback control apparatus 102 transmits a stream data acquisition request having no range information to the content providing apparatus 101. Also, the reproduction control apparatus 102 transmits a stream data acquisition request with range information added thereto to the content providing apparatus 101 when performing special reproduction such as skip or fast forward.

  The content providing apparatus 101 estimates the playback state (playback position and playback mode) of the playback control apparatus 102 from the stream data acquisition request received from the playback control apparatus 102 and the stream data transmitted to the playback control apparatus 102. The content providing apparatus 101 refers to the additional information of the corresponding content, and determines whether the section for which special playback is prohibited is played back by a method other than normal playback based on the estimated playback state and playback position. . When the content providing apparatus 101 determines that the special playback prohibited section has been specially played by the playback control apparatus 102, the stream data corresponding to the special playback prohibited section until the playback control apparatus 102 normally plays back the section. Is sent repeatedly.

  Specific examples of the content providing apparatus 101 include an HDD recorder (hard disk recorder), a PC (personal computer), and the like.

  Specific examples of the playback control apparatus 102 include a DTV (digital television), a BD player (Blu-ray Disc player), and a PC (personal computer). Furthermore, the playback control apparatus 102 is an existing device that satisfies the DLNA standard.

  Hereinafter, content providing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described.

<Configuration>
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the content providing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The content providing apparatus 101 includes a CPU, a network communication apparatus, a memory, a hard disk, and the like in hardware. Functionally, the communication I / F unit 201, the content management unit 203, the read section determination unit 205, the playback state determination unit 207, the transmission state monitoring unit 209, the content read unit 211, the stream data storage unit 213, and the additional information storage unit 215. Each functional operation of the content providing apparatus 101 is realized by the CPU executing a control program stored in the memory. It should be noted that functions that are not particularly important in describing the present embodiment are omitted.

  The communication I / F unit 201 has a bidirectional communication function with a plurality of devices via the IP network. The communication I / F unit 201 receives the stream data acquisition request transmitted from the reproduction control apparatus 102 and transmits corresponding stream data to the reproduction control apparatus 102 as a response to the received stream data acquisition request. Further, the communication I / F unit 201 can transmit a content acquisition request to the distribution server 104 and receive the corresponding content as a response. The public network 105 is the Internet.

  The additional information storage unit 215 is a storage medium such as a hard disk, and stores additional information included in content acquired from the distribution server 104 via the public network 105.

  The stream data storage unit 213 is a storage medium such as a hard disk, and stores stream data included in content acquired from the distribution server 104 via the public network 105. The stream data according to the present embodiment is a video stream, for example, data in MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts Group) -TS (Transport Stream) format. The MPEG2 format data is a stream format in which video data and audio data are time-division multiplexed, and can be randomly accessed at regular intervals, for example, every 0.5 seconds.

  The content management unit 203 manages the combination of additional information and stream data for all the content received from the distribution server 104, and selects an appropriate content in response to the stream data acquisition request received from the playback control apparatus 102. Further, the content management unit 203 manages content section information necessary for determining the range of stream data to be transmitted to the playback control apparatus 102.

  The transmission state monitoring unit 209 monitors the transmission state of stream data that the communication I / F unit 201 transmits to the reproduction control apparatus 102. The transmission state monitoring unit 209 acquires the communication speed of the stream data transmitted to the local network 103 and the position information of the transmitted stream data from the communication I / F unit 201 as the transmission state. Further, the transmission state monitoring unit 209 associates the time when the transmission state is acquired with the transmission state and manages it as a transmission history.

  The playback state determination unit 207 acquires the transmission state from the transmission state monitoring unit 209, acquires additional information about the content from the content management unit 209, and determines the playback state. Based on this determination, the playback state determination unit 207 specifies the playback position and playback mode of the content in the playback control apparatus 102 that is the transmission destination of the stream data. The reproduction modes include a normal reproduction mode and a special reproduction mode, and the special reproduction mode includes “fast forward”, “skip”, and the like.

  The read section determination unit 205 receives the range information specified by the stream data acquisition request received by the communication I / F unit 201, specifies the range of stream data to be transmitted, and responds to the communication I / F unit 201. Specifically, the read section determination unit 205 acquires a playback state from the playback state determination unit 207, acquires special playback permission information included in the additional information from the content management unit 203, and sets an appropriate stream data transmission range. decide. For example, when the playback mode is “skip” in the “special playback mode” and the special playback prohibited section is excluded from transmission due to this skip operation, the stream data corresponding to the special playback prohibited section is determined as the transmission target. . That is, the read section determination unit 205 sets the next transmission start position at the head of the special reproduction prohibition section and notifies the communication I / F unit 201 of it.

  The content reading unit 211 receives a read request from the communication I / F unit 201, reads target stream data from the stream data storage unit 213, and outputs the target stream data to the communication I / F unit 201. Note that the read request from the communication I / F unit 201 includes information for designating target stream data based on the transmission range of the stream data determined by the read section determination unit 205. The content reading unit 211 encrypts the read stream data as necessary. In addition, the content reading unit 211 shapes the read stream data into a communication message defined by DLNA as necessary.

  As described above, the content providing apparatus in the present embodiment specifies the playback state in the playback control apparatus, and prohibits specific playback in the playback control apparatus based on the playback state and the acquisition range requested from the playback control apparatus. Special playback of the section can be controlled.

<Data>
Next, content and additional information in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a relationship between content including CM and stream data transmitted from the content providing apparatus 101 to the reproduction control apparatus 102 when the reproduction control apparatus 102 skips CM1.

  A content 301 indicates a state held in the content providing apparatus 101. The content 301 is a video content, and includes three video main parts (main part 1, main part 2, main part 3) and two CMs (CM1, CM2).

  A reproduction operation 302 represents a reproduction operation performed on the reproduction control apparatus 102 by the viewing user when the reproduction control apparatus 102 is reproducing the content 301. Here, the user performs normal playback and viewing of the main part 1, skips CM1 at the start timing of CM1, and performs normal playback and viewing from the beginning of the main part 2. In response to this operation, the playback control apparatus 102 first transmits a stream data acquisition request from the head of the main part 1 to the content providing apparatus 101. Next, at the start timing of CM1, the playback control apparatus 102 transmits a stream data acquisition request from the head of the main part 2 to the content providing apparatus 101.

  A transmission stream (a) 303 indicates stream data transmitted from the content providing apparatus 101 to the reproduction control apparatus 102 when the reproduction operation 302 is performed during the reproduction of the content 301 in which the CM 1 is not the special reproduction prohibited section.

  The content providing apparatus 101 first receives a stream data acquisition request from the beginning of the main part 1 from the reproduction control apparatus 102 and transmits the corresponding stream data from the beginning of the main part 1. Next, at the start timing of CM1, the content providing apparatus 101 receives a stream data acquisition request from the beginning of the main part 2 from the reproduction control apparatus 102, and transmits corresponding stream data from the beginning of the main part 2. That is, the content providing apparatus 101 transmits the stream data in the order of the main part 1 and the main part 2 without transmitting the stream data corresponding to the CM 1 in accordance with the designation of the reproduction control apparatus 102.

  A transmission stream (b) 305 indicates stream data transmitted from the content providing apparatus 101 to the reproduction control apparatus 102 when the CM 1 performs the reproduction operation 302 when reproducing the content 301 in the special reproduction prohibited section.

  The content providing apparatus 101 first receives a stream data acquisition request from the beginning of the main part 1 from the reproduction control apparatus 102 and transmits the corresponding stream data from the beginning of the main part 1. Next, at the start timing of CM1, the content providing apparatus 101 receives a stream data acquisition request from the beginning of the main part 2 from the reproduction control apparatus 102, and transmits corresponding stream data from the beginning of CM1. After transmitting to the end of CM1, the content providing apparatus 101 transmits corresponding stream data from the head of the main part 2. That is, the content providing apparatus 101 does not follow the CM skip designation from the playback control apparatus 102, transmits stream data to the end of the main part 1, and then skips CM1 and skips the main part 1, CM1, and main part 2. Send stream data to.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing additional information of the content 301 shown in FIG.

  The additional information 401 manages information used for reproduction for each video section of the content. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the additional information 401 manages information corresponding to five video sections, which are arranged in the playback time order from the top.

  The additional information 401 includes start position information, end position information, special permission information, and bit rate information of the corresponding video section. The start position information indicates the start time of the corresponding video section and the position information from the beginning of the video stream file corresponding to the start time. The end position information indicates the end time of the corresponding video section and the position information from the beginning of the video stream file corresponding to the end time.

  The start position information includes a PTS (Presentation Time Stamp) and position information. Similarly, the end position information includes PTS and position information. PTS represents the elapsed time from the beginning of the content of the video section, and the position information represents the byte position from the beginning of the video stream file corresponding to the video section.

  The special re-permission information is information indicating whether or not special reproduction is permitted in each video section.

  The bit rate information indicates the average bit rate of the video stream in each video section.

  Next, a transmission history managed by the transmission state monitoring unit 209 in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a transmission history managed by the transmission state monitoring unit 209.

  A transmission history 801 is a transmission history of content data transmitted from the communication I / F unit 201 to the reproduction control apparatus 102. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the transmission history 801 manages information corresponding to five times, which are arranged in the order in which the transmission states are acquired from above. The transmission history 801 is generated by one line every time the transmission state monitoring unit 209 acquires the transmission state once.

  The information to be recorded is a transmission state corresponding to each time, and includes time information, a transmission completion position, a transmission data size, and an execution bit rate.

  The sent position includes a PTS and a data offset.

  The time information indicates a relative time from when stream data is first transmitted after receiving a stream acquisition request from the playback control apparatus 102.

  The PTS indicates the position of the content that can be transmitted to the playback control apparatus 102 at the time of acquiring the target transmission state in units of time.

  The data offset indicates the position of the content that can be transmitted to the playback control apparatus 102 when the target transmission state is acquired, and the data length from the top of the content.

  The transmission data size indicates the transmission data size that can be transmitted to the playback control apparatus 102 when the target transmission state is acquired. This transmission data size is the difference transmitted between the previous acquisition time and the current acquisition time.

  The effective bit rate indicates an effective transmission bit rate in transmission to the playback control apparatus 102 when the target transmission state is acquired. This effective bit rate is a transmission rate from the previous acquisition time point to the current acquisition time point, and is calculated using the equation 901 in FIG. The effective bit rate is a value obtained by dividing the value obtained by subtracting the data position at the current acquisition time from the data position at the previous acquisition time by the elapsed time from the time at the previous acquisition time.

<Communication sequence>
Next, a communication sequence between content providing apparatus 101 and reproduction control apparatus 102 in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a communication sequence between the content providing apparatus 101 and the playback control apparatus 102 when the playback control apparatus 102 plays back the content held by the content providing apparatus 101.

  First, the playback control apparatus 102 establishes a TCP session with the content providing apparatus 101 (601).

  The playback control apparatus 102 transmits a stream data acquisition request 602.

  Since the received stream data acquisition request 602 does not include range information, the content providing apparatus 101 determines to transmit from the beginning of the content as a transmission target (603).

  The content providing apparatus 101 reads the determined transmission target from the stream data storage unit 213 and transmits it to the reproduction control apparatus 102 as stream data 604. The stream data 604 is a video stream, and normally cannot be transmitted with a single TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) packet. Therefore, in FIG. 6, the content providing apparatus 101 transmits the stream data 604 by dividing it into a plurality of packets.

  The playback control apparatus 102 receives the stream data 604 transmitted from the content providing apparatus 101 and performs playback (605). Since the playback control apparatus 102 sequentially receives the stream data 604 divided into a plurality of packets, the playback control apparatus 102 repeats the operation of receiving subsequent stream data while decoding and playing back the received stream data. That is, the playback control apparatus 102 is in a state of performing normal playback from the beginning of the target content.

  Next, the playback control apparatus 102 performs processing for the skip operation (606). For example, it is executed when the user requests a skip to the reproduction control apparatus 102 by operating a remote controller or the like. The next playback start position is designated by the skip operation.

  The playback control apparatus 102 disconnects the TCP session once (607), then establishes the TCP session again (608), and includes a stream data acquisition request 609 including range information indicating the next playback start position specified by the skip operation. Send.

  The content providing apparatus 101 determines the next transmission target based on the range information included in the received stream data acquisition request 609 (610). For example, when the content providing apparatus 101 determines that the special reproduction prohibited section is skipped, the content providing apparatus 101 determines to transmit from the head of the special reproduction prohibited section. If the content providing apparatus 101 determines that the skip is to a position not related to the special reproduction prohibited section, the content providing apparatus 101 determines to transmit from the position specified by the received range information.

  The content providing apparatus 101 reads the determined transmission target from the stream data storage unit 213 and transmits it to the reproduction control apparatus 102 as stream data 611.

  The reproduction control apparatus 102 receives the stream data 611 transmitted from the content providing apparatus 101 and performs reproduction (612). When the skip operation (606) in the playback control apparatus 102 requests skipping of the special playback prohibited section, stream data different from that requested by the stream data acquisition request 609 is received.

  FIG. 7 is a graph in which the transmission bit rate of data transmitted from the content providing apparatus 101 to the local network 103 is compared with the bit rate of the content 301 on the same time axis.

  The playback control apparatus 102 receives stream data divided into a plurality of packets from the content providing apparatus 101. The playback control apparatus 102 repeats the operation of receiving subsequent stream data while decoding and playing back the received stream data. For this reason, while the playback control apparatus 102 plays back the content in the requested range, data equivalent to the bit rate of the content always flows on the network.

  FIG. 7 shows the amount of stream data flowing in the local network 103 in this communication operation on the time axis. t0 indicates the content reproduction start time, and the horizontal axis indicates the passage of time. The vertical axis represents the bit rate. In this figure, there is a large difference between the transmission bit rate 703 indicating the amount of data flowing on the network and the content bit rate 705 of the content 301 in the interval from t0 to tn. This is because the playback control device 102 absorbs fluctuations in the transmission speed of the network and performs stable video playback, so that data is acquired as long as the network bandwidth permits while the data is stored in the buffer in the playback control device 102. It is to do. When the initial buffering period Tinit 707 ends, the reproduction control apparatus 102 starts decoding and reproduction image display. With these operations, after tn, the data consumed by the decoding and reproduction operations of the reproduction control apparatus 102 is read from the network. With TCP / IP, flow control works, and the transmission bit rate 703 flowing on the network is equal to the content bit rate 705.

<Operation>
Next, the operation of content providing apparatus 101 in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a stream transmission control flow of the content providing apparatus 101 in the present embodiment.

  First, the communication I / F unit 201 activates the network interface so as to receive a stream data acquisition request from the reproduction control apparatus 102, and waits for a stream data acquisition request (step S501).

  When the user performs a playback operation of content stored in the content providing apparatus 101 with respect to the playback control apparatus 102, the playback control apparatus 102 transmits a stream data acquisition request to the content providing apparatus 101.

  When receiving the stream data acquisition request, the communication I / F unit 201 checks a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) indicating the content specified in the stream data acquisition request, and determines whether there is a content change. The determination of the presence / absence of content change is to determine whether or not the content specified in the newly received stream data acquisition request is the same as the content that was previously the transmission target (step S502).

  If it is determined that there is a content change (Yes in step S502), the process proceeds to step S503. For example, immediately after the content providing apparatus 101 is activated, since the previous content transmission is not performed, it is determined that the content has changed. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no content change (No in step S502), the process proceeds to step S505.

  The communication I / F unit 201 notifies the transmission state monitoring unit 209 of the start, and the transmission state monitoring unit 209 instructs the reproduction state determination unit 207 to perform initialization. The reproduction state determination unit 207 initializes various values related to the reproduction state of the reproduction control device (step S503). By initialization, the transmitted content position is set to the content head, the playback mode is set to normal playback, and the initial buffer amount is set to 0.

  The communication I / F unit 201 requests the content management unit 203 to acquire content additional information. The content management unit 203 acquires the additional information of the content to be transmitted from the additional information storage unit 215 and notifies the communication I / F unit 201 (step S504).

  The communication I / F unit 201 notifies the content read unit 211 of a read request. The content reading unit 211 reads out the stream data specified by the read request from the stream data storage unit 213, shapes the data into a format defined by the DLNA standard, and then outputs the data to the communication I / F unit 201. The communication I / F unit 201 divides and transmits the stream data received from the content reading unit 211 to the reproduction control apparatus 102 in units of TCP / IP packets (step S505). Note that the read request includes transmission start position information.

  The transmission state monitoring unit 209 monitors the transmission state of the stream data sent from the communication I / F unit 201 to the local network 103, and updates the transmission history based on the acquired transmission state (step S506). The transmission state monitoring unit 209 operates at a predetermined time interval, for example, at an interval of 500 msec in the case of FIG.

  The communication I / F unit 201 confirms whether or not transmission of all target content data has been completed, or whether or not the TCP session has been disconnected (step S507). When the playback control apparatus 102 transmits the next stream data acquisition request, the TCP session is temporarily disconnected and the TCP session is established again before transmitting the next stream data acquisition request.

  If any of the conditions is satisfied as a result of the confirmation (Yes in step S507), the communication I / F unit 201 ends the transmission operation, transitions to step S501, and waits for reception of the stream data acquisition request again (step S501). S501). When the playback control apparatus 102 transmits the next stream data acquisition request, the TCP session is temporarily disconnected. Therefore, the content providing apparatus 101 transitions to step S501 and waits for reception of the next stream data acquisition request. It will be.

  If none of the conditions is satisfied as a result of the confirmation (No in step S507), the communication I / F unit 201 inquires of the read section determination unit 205 about the transmission start position to be transmitted next. The read section determination unit 205 requests the playback state determination unit 207 to determine the playback state. The playback state determination unit 207 determines whether or not the initial buffer is being measured (step S508). The reproduction state determination unit 207 acquires the transmission history managed by the transmission state monitoring unit 209, and compares the effective bit rate of the transmission history recorded in step S506 with the content bit rate. When the two bit rates are equal, the playback state determination unit 207 determines that the initial buffer size measurement has been completed. In FIG. 7, the initial buffer size measurement is continued for a predetermined period (Tinit 707) after starting transmission of stream data after receiving the stream datum acquisition request. In FIG. 8, the initial buffer measurement state is terminated when 2.5 seconds have elapsed from the start of transmission.

  If it is during the initial buffer size measurement period (Yes in step S508), the playback state determination unit 207 adds the transmission data size of the transmission history recorded in step S506 as the initial buffer size. The playback state determination unit 207 notifies the reading section determination unit 205 that the initial buffer is being measured (step S509). The read section determination unit 205 sets the continuation of the transmitted position as the next content transmission start position, and notifies the communication I / F unit 201 (step S510). The communication I / F unit 201 transitions to step S505 to continue transmission of stream data (step S505).

  When the initial buffer size is not being measured (No in step S508), the playback state determination unit 207 determines the playback mode (S511). Specifically, the playback state determination unit 207 determines the three playback modes: fast-forward, skip, and others. Note that special playback is a case where the playback mode is fast forward or skip, and normal playback is a case where the playback mode is other.

  The playback state determination unit 207 determines that the playback mode is fast-forward when the effective bit rate measured in step S506 exceeds the content bit rate.

  The playback state determination unit 207 calculates the content position (playback position) being played back by the playback control apparatus 102 using the initial buffer size added in step S509. This reproduction position is calculated using the equation 1001 in FIG. Specifically, the playback position is obtained by obtaining an initial buffer playback time obtained by dividing the initial buffer size by the content bit rate, and subtracting the initial buffer playback time from the transmitted position of the transmission history stored in step S506. . The reproduction state determination unit 207 skips the reproduction mode when stream data exists between the calculated reproduction position of the reproduction control apparatus 102 and the start position specified by the range information included in the latest stream data acquisition request. Is determined.

  The read section determination unit 205 receives the determination result from the reproduction state determination unit 207, and determines whether or not the reproduction mode is special reproduction (fast forward, skip) (step S512).

  When it is not special reproduction (No in step S512), the process proceeds to step S510, and the reading section determination unit 205 sets the continuation of the transmitted position as the next content transmission start position and notifies the communication I / F unit 201 ( Step S510). The communication I / F unit 201 transitions to step S505 to continue transmission of stream data (step S505).

  When it is special reproduction (step S512 is Yes), the read section determination unit 205 determines whether or not special reproduction is prohibited (step S513). Specifically, does the read section determination unit 205 include a special playback prohibition section between the playback position calculated in step S510 and the start position specified by the range information included in the latest stream data acquisition request? Determine whether or not. In this determination, it is determined that the special reproduction prohibition section is included when all or part of the sections does not overlap. The read section determination unit 205 acquires the additional information of the target content from the content management unit 203, determines using the special re-permission information included in the additional information, and determines that special reproduction is prohibited when they overlap. To do.

  When it is determined that special playback is prohibited (step S513: Yes), the read section determination unit 205 sets the content transmission start position to be transmitted next to the head of the special playback prohibition section, and the communication I / F unit 201. (Step S514). The communication I / F unit 201 transitions to step S505 to continue transmission of stream data (step S505).

  When it is determined that the zone is not the special reproduction prohibition section (No in step S513), the process proceeds to step S510. The read section determination unit 205 sets the continuation of the transmitted position as the next content transmission start position, and notifies the communication I / F unit 201 (step S510). The communication I / F unit 201 transitions to step S505 to continue transmission of stream data (step S505).

  As described above, the content providing apparatus 101 can monitor the reproduction state in the reproduction control apparatus 102 and can control the special reproduction in the specific reproduction prohibited section. In particular, when the content providing apparatus 101 determines that the special reproduction prohibited section is skipped or fast forwarded, the content providing apparatus 101 transmits stream data to the reproduction control apparatus 102 from the head of the special reproduction prohibited section. When the reproduction control apparatus 102 requests skipping of the special reproduction prohibited section, the reproduction control apparatus 102 receives stream data from a position different from the requested position.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a user performs a special playback operation such as skip or fast forward in the playback control device 102 in a special playback prohibited section such as a CM of each content, from the head of the special playback prohibited section. Send data. As a result, in the playback control apparatus 102, the video in the special playback prohibited section is played back despite the skip operation. In addition, when the normal playback is performed in the special playback prohibited section, the playback control apparatus 102 can view the content after the special playback prohibited section.

  In the present embodiment, a content distribution system in which content is distributed from a distribution server via a public network has been described as an example. However, the content providing apparatus 101 may record the digital broadcast, generate additional information by identifying the CM section, and store the additional information together with the video stream.

  Further, the operation of transmitting the video stream in the special reproduction prohibited section in response to the operation in the special reproduction prohibited section is an unexpected behavior for the user, and it is difficult to understand that the special reproduction is prohibited. By inserting a telop video that prompts the user to watch a commercial for a special playback operation in the special playback prohibited section, the intention of the content provider can be communicated to the user. Specifically, the content providing apparatus 101 prepares a notice telop video in advance. Immediately before sending the head of the special playback prohibited section video (CM1), the content reading unit 211 of the content providing apparatus 101 first reads the notice telop instead of CM1 and transmits it to the playback control apparatus 102. As a result, the content providing apparatus 101 inserts a telop immediately before CM1 as in the transmission stream (c) 1101 in FIG. 11 and transmits stream data in the order of main volume 1, telop, and CM1. When the playback control device 102 plays back the notification telop, it is possible to notify the user who is viewing the playback control device 102 that special playback is prohibited.

(Embodiment 2)
The first embodiment has described the system in which the content providing apparatus 101 and the playback control apparatus 102 are mounted as different devices and transmit / receive stream data via a network. In the second embodiment, a content storage / playback apparatus as a single device will be described.

  Note that the content and additional information used in the description of the present embodiment are the same as those described in the first embodiment. The operation for distributing content from the distribution server 104 via the public line 105 is also the same as in the first embodiment.

  In the content storage / playback apparatus of the present embodiment, content can be acquired and played back from a distribution server by a single device. In addition, the content storage / playback apparatus provides normal playback and special playback as functions related to playback of content, as with the playback control apparatus 102.

<Configuration>
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the content storage / playback apparatus 1200.

  In FIG. 12, the content storage / playback apparatus 1200 and the distribution server 1260 are connected via a public network 1240. The content storage / playback device 1200 receives the content distributed from the distribution server 1260, reproduces the distributed content, and outputs and displays it on the display device 1250. The public network 1240 is the Internet.

  The content storage / playback device 1200 is configured by a CPU, a network communication device, a memory, a hard disk, and the like in hardware. Each component constituting the content storage / playback apparatus 1200 is connected by a memory bus, a control bus, and the like inside the apparatus. Functionally, it includes a content providing unit 1220, a user I / F unit 1221, a playback control unit 1222, a stream decoding unit 1223, an AV output unit 1224, and a network I / F unit 1225.

  Similar to the content providing apparatus 101 illustrated in FIG. 2, the content providing unit 1220 includes a communication I / F unit 1201, a content management unit 1203, a read section determination unit 1205, a reproduction state determination unit 1207, a transmission state monitoring unit 1209, a content A reading unit 1211, a stream data storage unit 1213, and an additional information storage unit 1215 are included. Each functional operation of the content storage / reproduction device 1201 is realized by the CPU executing a control program stored in the memory. It should be noted that functions that are not particularly important in describing the present embodiment are omitted.

  The network I / F unit 1225 is connected to the public network 1240, transmits a content acquisition request to the distribution server 1260, and receives corresponding content data as a response. Further, the network I / F unit 1225 outputs the content data received from the distribution server 1260 to the content management unit 1203.

  The user I / F unit 1221 has a function of receiving an instruction related to content reproduction such as content reproduction, reproduction stop, skip, and fast-forward from the user. Specifically, the user I / F unit 1221 receives a corresponding instruction as an electric signal when the user operates an input unit such as a key or button provided in the content storage / playback device 1200. The user I / F unit 1221 notifies the reproduction control unit 1222 of the received instruction. Note that the user may input the instruction by operating a dedicated button indicating each instruction provided in a remote controller for operating the content storage / playback apparatus 1200.

  The playback control unit 1222 has a function of performing various controls related to content playback. Upon receiving various instructions related to content playback from the user I / F unit 1221, the playback control unit 1222 transmits a decode control command to the stream decoding unit 1223 according to the current playback state. The decode control command includes a start instruction, a stop instruction, a reproduction mode change instruction, and the like.

  The stream decoding unit 1223 includes a video and audio decoder that decodes a video stream encoded in the MPEG2-TS format, and a decoding buffer memory that temporarily stores encoded data before decoding. The stream decoding unit 1223 receives a decoding start instruction from the reproduction control unit 1222 and transmits a stream data acquisition request for requesting encoded data to the communication I / F unit 1201. The stream decoding unit 1223 receives the stream data corresponding to the stream data acquisition request from the communication I / F unit 1201 and accumulates the received stream data in the decoding buffer. Note that this stream data is encoded data and needs to be decoded. After the decoding buffer reaches a prescribed size, the stream data decoding unit 1223 starts decoding the video stream using a video decoder and an audio decoder. Through this decoding process, the encoded data is decoded into uncompressed digital data such as RGB and PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) by the decoder, and is output to the AV output unit 1224.

  The AV output unit 1224 receives the uncompressed digital data from the stream decoding unit 1223, performs conversion processing according to the input format of the connected display device 1250, and then outputs the uncompressed digital data to the display device 1250 as an electrical signal. This conversion process is, for example, D / A (Digital to Analog) conversion.

  The communication I / F unit 1201 receives the stream data acquisition request transmitted from the stream decoding unit 1223, and transmits corresponding stream data to the stream decoding unit 1223 as a response to the received stream data acquisition request. The communication I / F unit 1201 is connected to the stream decoding unit 1223 via a device internal bus such as a memory bus, and the content stream data is transmitted by the DMA (Direct Memory Access) method. The communication I / F unit 1201 controls the start and stop of DMA transmission according to the availability of the memory area of the stream decoding unit 1223 that is the transmission destination. At the same time, the transmission speed of the stream data flowing on the memory bus is also managed, and in response to an inquiry from the transmission state monitoring unit 1209, the transmission bit rate on the memory bus is returned.

  The content management unit 1203 manages the combination of additional information and stream data for content received from the distribution server 1260 via the network I / F unit 1225. Further, the content management unit 1203 selects an appropriate content in response to the stream data acquisition request received from the stream decoding unit 1223. Furthermore, the content management unit 203 manages content section information necessary for determining the range of stream data to be transmitted to the stream decoding unit 1223.

  Components other than the above have functions equivalent to the components described with reference to FIG. Specifically, the read section determination unit 1205 corresponds to the read section determination unit 205. The playback state determination unit 1207 corresponds to the playback state determination unit 207. The transmission state monitoring unit 1209 corresponds to the transmission state monitoring unit 209. The content reading unit 1211 corresponds to the content reading unit 211. The stream data storage unit 1213 corresponds to the stream data storage unit 213. The additional information storage unit 1215 corresponds to the additional information storage unit 215.

  As described above, the content storage / playback apparatus according to the present embodiment identifies the playback state of the device itself, and controls special playback in the specific playback prohibited section based on the playback state and the playback operation instructed by the user. be able to.

<Operation>
Next, the operation of content storage / playback apparatus 1200 in the present embodiment will be described in accordance with specific user operations.

  After starting up the content storage / playback apparatus 1200, the user selects a content to be played back and performs a playback operation. It is assumed that content storage / playback apparatus 1200 is immediately after startup and does not play back content.

  The user I / F unit 1221 accepts a reproduction instruction corresponding to the user's reproduction operation, and transmits the accepted reproduction instruction to the reproduction control unit 1222.

  The playback control unit 1222 is immediately after startup, and the playback state is stopped. The reproduction control unit 1222 receives a reproduction instruction from the user I / F unit 1221 and transmits a reproduction start instruction in the normal reproduction mode to the stream decoding unit 1223. This start instruction is a decode control command, and includes a content identifier and a playback mode (normal playback) as additional information.

  When the stream decoding unit 1223 receives a start instruction from the playback control unit 1222, the stream decoding unit 1223 initializes the video and audio decoders and waits for a stream input. Next, the stream decoding unit 1223 transmits a stream data acquisition request for the content to be played back to the communication I / F unit 1201.

  The communication I / F unit 1201 confirms the identifier indicating the content specified in the stream data acquisition request, and determines whether there is a content change. The determination of the presence / absence of content change is to determine whether the content specified in the newly received stream data acquisition request is the same as the previously targeted content. Here, since it is immediately after activation and the previous content reproduction is not performed, it is determined that there is a content change.

  The communication I / F unit 1201 notifies the transmission state monitoring unit 1209 of the start, and the transmission state monitoring unit 1209 instructs the reproduction state determination unit 1209 to perform initialization. The playback state determination unit 1207 initializes various values related to the playback state. By initialization, the transmitted content position is set to the content head, the playback mode is set to normal playback, and the initial buffer amount is set to 0.

  The communication I / F unit 1201 requests the content management unit 1203 to acquire content additional information. The content management unit 1203 acquires the additional information of the content to be transmitted from the additional information storage unit 1215 and notifies the communication I / F unit 1201.

  The communication I / F unit 1201 notifies the content read unit 1211 of a read request. The content reading unit 1211 reads the stream data specified by the read request from the stream data storage unit 1213 and transmits the stream data to the communication I / F unit 1201. The communication I / F unit 1201 transmits the received stream data to the stream decoding unit 1223.

  When the stream decoding unit 1223 receives stream data from the communication I / F unit 1201, the stream decoding unit 1223 accumulates the stream data in the decoding buffer. Since the stream data is encoded data, the decoding operation by the decoder is started after the decoding buffer is filled with a prescribed data amount. The decoder sequentially outputs the decoded uncompressed digital data to the AV output unit 1224 based on the PTS given to the video stream at regular intervals.

  The AV output unit 1224 outputs the input uncompressed digital data to the display device 1250.

  The stream decoding unit 1223 deletes the data from the decoding buffer when the encoded data is used by the decoder and becomes unnecessary. As a result, an empty area is created in the decode buffer.

  The communication I / F unit 1201 always monitors an empty area of the decode buffer in a state where a stream data acquisition request is received from the stream decoding unit 1223, that is, in the data transmission mode. Through this monitoring, the communication I / F unit 1201 detects the occurrence of an empty area, transmits the stream data to the stream decoding unit 1223, and performs normal playback of the content.

  As a result of the operation described above, in the content storage / playback apparatus 1200, when the transmission bit rate of the data transmitted on the memory bus and the bit rate of the content are compared on the same time axis, the same graph as FIG. It becomes.

  Next, the operation of the content storage / playback apparatus 1200 during the skip operation will be described.

  The user performs a skip operation. It is assumed that content storage / playback apparatus 1200 is normally playing back content.

  The user I / F unit 1221 receives a skip instruction corresponding to the user's skip operation, and transmits the received skip instruction to the reproduction control unit 1222.

  The playback control unit 1222 is currently performing normal playback. The playback control unit 1222 receives a skip instruction from the user I / F unit 1221 and transmits a playback stop instruction to the stream decoding unit 1223. This reproduction stop instruction is a decode control command.

  When receiving the reproduction stop instruction from the reproduction control unit 1222, the code unit 1223 in the stream transmits a request to stop transmission of encoded data to the communication I / F unit 1201 after interrupting the decoding process. The communication I / F unit 1201 stops transmission to the stream decoding unit 1223 and waits for the next stream acquisition request. The stream decoding unit 1223 discards all the encoded streams stored in the decoding buffer after confirming that the transmission is stopped.

  Next, the playback control unit 1222 transmits a playback start instruction in the normal playback mode to the stream decoding unit 1223. This start instruction is a decode control command, and includes, as additional information, a content identifier, playback start position information specifying a skip destination, and a playback mode (normal playback).

  When receiving the start instruction from the reproduction control unit 1222, the stream decoding unit 1223 transmits a stream data acquisition request to the communication I / F unit 1201 based on the reproduction start position information included in the start instruction. This stream acquisition request includes range information.

  The communication I / F unit 1201 receives the stream data acquisition request, and inquires the read section determination unit 1205 about the transmission start position to be transmitted next. The read section determination unit 1205 requests the playback state determination unit 1207 to determine the playback state. The playback state determination unit 1207 determines that the playback mode is skip.

  The read section determination unit 1205 receives the determination result from the reproduction state determination unit 1207, and determines whether or not special reproduction is prohibited because the reproduction mode is special reproduction (skip). Specifically, the read section determination unit 1205 determines whether or not a special playback prohibition section is included between the playback position when playback is stopped and the start position specified by the range information included in the latest stream data acquisition request. Determine whether. In this determination, it is determined that the special reproduction prohibition section is included when all or part of the sections does not overlap. The read section determination unit 1205 acquires the additional information of the target content from the content management unit 1203, determines using the special re-permission information included in the additional information, and determines that special reproduction is prohibited when they overlap. To do.

  When it is determined that special playback is prohibited, the read section determination unit 1205 sets the content transmission start position to be transmitted next at the head of the special playback prohibition section, and notifies the communication I / F unit 1201. On the other hand, when it is determined that it is not the special playback prohibited section, the read section determination unit 1205 sets the start position specified by the range information included in the stream data acquisition request as the next content transmission start position, and the communication I / F. Section 1201.

  The communication I / F unit 1201 notifies the content read unit 1211 of a read request based on the notified content transmission start position. The content reading unit 1211 reads the stream data specified by the read request from the stream data storage unit 1213 and transmits the stream data to the communication I / F unit 1201. The communication I / F unit 1201 transmits the received stream data to the stream decoding unit 1223.

  When the stream decoding unit 1223 receives stream data from the communication I / F unit 1201, the stream decoding unit 1223 accumulates the stream data in the decoding buffer. Since the stream data is encoded data, the decoding operation by the decoder is started after the decoding buffer is filled with a prescribed data amount. After decoding, the same operation as the above-described normal reproduction is performed to reproduce the content.

  Next, the operation of the content storage / playback apparatus 1200 during a fast-forward operation will be described.

  The user performs a fast-forward operation. It is assumed that content storage / playback apparatus 1200 is normally playing back content.

  The user I / F unit 1221 accepts a fast-forward instruction corresponding to the user's fast-forward operation, and transmits the accepted fast-forward instruction to the reproduction control unit 1222.

  The playback control unit 1222 is currently performing normal playback. The playback control unit 1222 receives the fast-forward instruction from the user I / F unit 1221 and transmits a playback mode change instruction to the stream decoding unit 1223. This playback mode change instruction is a decode control command, and includes, for example, a playback speed for instructing playback at 200% as additional information in the case of double speed.

  When the stream decoding unit 1223 receives the playback mode change instruction from the playback control unit 1222, the stream decoding unit 1223 instructs the video decoder to transition to the intermittent playback mode in which only the I picture of the MPEG video stream is decoded, and also to the audio decoder. Gives a stop instruction. The video decoder operating in the intermittent playback mode decodes only the I picture and reads the encoded data at a speed twice that of normal playback. As a result, the decode buffer is also consumed at twice the speed. As a result, the amount of data transmitted from the communication I / F unit 1201 onto the memory bus is also doubled.

  The transmission state monitoring unit 1209 monitors the transmission bit rate on the memory bus and records the transmission history, and the reproduction state determination unit 1207 uses this transmission history, and the reproduction state determination unit 1207 uses the reproduction mode. Can be determined as fast-forwarding.

  The communication I / F unit 1201 inquires of the read section determination unit 1205 about the transmission start position to be transmitted next. The read section determination unit 1205 requests the playback state determination unit 1207 to determine the playback state. The playback state determination unit 1207 determines that the playback mode is fast forward.

  The read section determination unit 1205 receives the determination result from the reproduction state determination unit 1207, and determines whether or not special reproduction is prohibited because the reproduction mode is special reproduction (fast forward). Specifically, the read section determination unit 1205 determines whether or not a special playback prohibition section is included between the playback position when playback is stopped and the start position specified by the range information included in the latest stream data acquisition request. Determine whether. In this determination, it is determined that the special reproduction prohibition section is included when all or part of the sections does not overlap. The read section determination unit 1205 acquires the additional information of the target content from the content management unit 1203, determines using the special re-permission information included in the additional information, and determines that special reproduction is prohibited when they overlap. To do.

  When it is determined that special playback is prohibited, the read section determination unit 1205 sets the content transmission start position to be transmitted next at the head of the special playback prohibition section, and notifies the communication I / F unit 1201. On the other hand, when it is determined that it is not the special playback prohibited section, the read section determination unit 1205 sets the start position specified by the range information included in the stream data acquisition request as the next content transmission start position, and the communication I / F. Section 1201.

  The communication I / F unit 1201 notifies the content read unit 1211 of a read request based on the notified content transmission start position. The content reading unit 1211 reads the stream data specified by the read request from the stream data storage unit 1213 and transmits the stream data to the communication I / F unit 1201. The communication I / F unit 1201 transmits the received stream data to the stream decoding unit 1223.

  When the stream decoding unit 1223 receives stream data from the communication I / F unit 1201, the stream decoding unit 1223 accumulates the stream data in the decoding buffer. Since the stream data is encoded data, the decoding operation by the decoder is started after the decoding buffer is filled with a prescribed data amount. After decoding, the same operation as the above-described normal reproduction is performed to reproduce the content.

  As described above, the content storage / playback apparatus according to the present embodiment identifies the playback state of the device itself, and controls special playback in the specific playback prohibited section based on the playback state and the playback operation instructed by the user. be able to. In particular, the user I / F unit 1221, the playback control unit 1222, the stream decoding unit 1223, and the AV output unit 1224 do not need to perform control related to the special playback prohibited section.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiment, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  (1) Each of the above devices is specifically a computer system including a microprocessor, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk unit, a display unit, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like. A computer program is stored in the RAM or hard disk unit. Each device achieves its functions by the microprocessor operating according to the computer program. Here, the computer program is configured by combining a plurality of instruction codes indicating instructions for the computer in order to achieve a predetermined function.

  (2) A part or all of the constituent elements constituting each of the above-described devices may be configured by one system LSI (Large Scale Integration). The system LSI is an ultra-multifunctional LSI manufactured by integrating a plurality of components on a single chip, and specifically, a computer system including a microprocessor, ROM, RAM, and the like. . A computer program is stored in the RAM. The system LSI achieves its functions by the microprocessor operating according to the computer program.

  (3) Part or all of the constituent elements constituting each of the above devices may be configured from an IC card that can be attached to and detached from each device or a single module. The IC card or the module is a computer system including a microprocessor, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The IC card or the module may include the super multifunctional LSI described above. The IC card or the module achieves its function by the microprocessor operating according to the computer program. This IC card or this module may have tamper resistance.

  (4) The present invention may be the method described above. Further, the present invention may be a computer program that realizes these methods by a computer, or may be a digital signal composed of the computer program.

  The present invention may be the computer program or the digital signal recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, or the digital signal recorded on a recording medium. Examples of the recording medium include a flexible disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, a DVD, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, a BD (Blu-ray Disc), and a semiconductor memory.

  In the present invention, the computer program or the digital signal may be transmitted via an electric communication line, a wireless or wired communication line, a network represented by the Internet, a data broadcast, or the like.

  The present invention may be a computer system including a microprocessor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the microprocessor operates according to the computer program.

  The present invention may be implemented by another independent computer system by recording and transferring the program or the digital signal on the recording medium. In addition, the present invention may be implemented by another independent computer system by transferring the program or the digital signal via the network or the like.

  (5) The present invention may be combined with the above-described embodiment and the above-described modifications.

  A content providing apparatus according to the present invention has a function of monitoring a content read state in a playback control apparatus and controlling special playback in a specific playback prohibited section, and is provided with video data recording, storage, and playback functions Useful for. Further, the present invention can be applied to applications such as personal computers having a function of providing video data to other devices, devices that can be connected to a network such as mobile phones.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Content provision apparatus 102 Playback control apparatus 103 Local network 104,1260 Distribution server 105,1240 Public network 201,1201 Communication I / F part 203,1203 Content management part 205,1205 Reading section determination part 207,1207 Playback state determination part 209 , 1209 Transmission state monitoring unit 211, 1211 Content reading unit 213, 1213 Stream data storage unit 215, 1215 Additional information storage unit 1200 Content storage / reproduction device 1220 Content provision unit 1221 User I / F unit 1222 Playback control unit 1223 Stream decoding unit 1224 AV output unit 1225 Network I / F unit 1250 Display device

Claims (7)

A content providing apparatus that holds video content and transmits stream data of the video content,
Stream data storage means for holding stream data of the video content;
Additional information storage means for holding special reproduction prohibited section information for the video content;
Stream data held in the stream data storage means, content management means for managing additional information held in the additional information storage means,
Transmission state monitoring means for monitoring the communication state of the stream data being transmitted;
Based on the communication state monitored by the transmission state monitoring unit, a reproduction state determination unit that determines a reproduction state including a reproduction position and a reproduction mode at the transmission destination for the stream data being transmitted;
Based on the reproduction position and reproduction state at the transmission destination determined by the reproduction state determination unit, a read section determination unit that determines a transmission position of stream data to be transmitted next;
Content reading means for reading out the stream data at the sending position determined by the reading section determining means from the stream data storage means;
A communication I / F unit for transmitting the stream data read by the content reading unit;
When the playback state determined by the playback state determination means is special playback, the read section determination means uses the special playback prohibition section information held in the additional information storage means to make the special playback prohibition section special. It is determined whether or not to be a reproduction target, and when the determination result is a special reproduction target, the transmission position of the next stream data to be transmitted is determined as the head position of the special reproduction prohibited section. . The transmission state monitoring means monitors the transmission speed of the stream data being transmitted and the transmitted position information,
The content providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the playback state determination unit determines the playback position and playback mode at the transmission destination by comparing the transmission speed with the playback speed of the video content. The reproduction state determination means compares the transmission speed with the reproduction speed of the video content, and when the transmission speed exceeds the reproduction speed of the video content, data is being stored in a reproduction buffer of a transmission destination. When it is determined that the transmission speed is equal to the playback speed of the video content, it is determined that the normal playback state has been entered, and the amount of stream data transmitted during data storage to the playback buffer is determined as the playback buffer. The content providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the content providing apparatus is specified as a size. The reproduction state determining unit determines a position obtained by subtracting the specified reproduction buffer size from the transmitted position information monitored by the transmission state monitoring unit as a reproduction position at a transmission destination. 4. The content providing apparatus according to 3. When the read section determination unit determines that the special playback prohibited section is a target for special playback, the content read unit reads the notification video stream data including a message indicating that the special playback operation is prohibited. 2. The content providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication I / F means reads the stream data from the stream data storage means and transmits the notification video stream data. A content providing method for transmitting stream data of video content in an apparatus comprising: a stream data storage unit that holds stream data of video content; and an additional information storage unit that holds special reproduction prohibited section information for the video content. There,
A stream management step for managing the stream data held in the stream data storage unit and the additional information held in the additional information storage unit;
A transmission state monitoring step for monitoring the communication state of the stream data being transmitted;
Based on the communication state monitored in the transmission state monitoring step, a reproduction state determination step for determining a reproduction state consisting of a reproduction position and a reproduction mode at the transmission destination for the stream data being transmitted;
Based on the reproduction position and reproduction state at the transmission destination determined in the reproduction state determination step, a read section determination step for determining a transmission position of stream data to be transmitted next;
A content reading step of reading out the stream data at the transmission position determined in the reading section determination step from the stream data storage unit;
A communication step of transmitting the stream data read in the content reading step;
When the playback state determined in the playback state determination step is special playback, the read section determination step uses the special playback prohibition section information held in the additional information storage unit to make the special playback prohibition section special. It is determined whether or not to be a reproduction target, and when the determination result is a special reproduction target, the transmission position of the next stream data to be transmitted is determined as the head position of the special reproduction prohibited section. . A content providing program for transmitting stream data of video content in an apparatus including a stream data storage unit that holds stream data of video content and an additional information storage unit that holds special reproduction prohibition section information for the video content. There,
A stream management step for managing the stream data held in the stream data storage unit and the additional information held in the additional information storage unit;
A transmission state monitoring step for monitoring the communication state of the stream data being transmitted;
Based on the communication state monitored in the transmission state monitoring step, a reproduction state determination step for determining a reproduction state consisting of a reproduction position and a reproduction mode at the transmission destination for the stream data being transmitted;
Based on the reproduction position and reproduction state at the transmission destination determined in the reproduction state determination step, a read section determination step for determining a transmission position of stream data to be transmitted next;
A content reading step of reading out the stream data at the transmission position determined in the reading section determination step from the stream data storage unit;
A communication step of transmitting the stream data read in the content reading step;
When the playback state determined in the playback state determination step is special playback, the read section determination step uses the special playback prohibition section information held in the additional information storage unit to make the special playback prohibition section special. A computer program for determining whether or not to be a reproduction target and, when the determination result is a special reproduction target, determining a transmission position of stream data to be transmitted next as a head position of the special reproduction prohibited section.

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