JP2013114732A - Recorder and recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recorder and recording method that allows a user to, for example, in the case that the user leaves during viewing content that is currently recorded in a recording medium, to thereafter reproduce the content at a position at which the user leaves and stops viewing.SOLUTION: According to an embodiment, the recorder including acquisition means, recording means, recognition means, discrimination means and control means. The acquisition means acquires content, the recording means records the content acquired by the acquisition means. The recognition means recognizes a person who has registered with the recorder in advance while the recording means records the content. The discrimination means discriminates a person who becomes unrecognizable halfway among the persons recognized by the recognition means. The control means changes viewing history information on the person discriminated by the discrimination means on the basis of information showing a point of time when it is discriminated that the person becomes unrecognizable.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a recording apparatus and a recording method for recording acquired content and the like, for example.

  As is well known, in recent years, for example, it has a reception function for digital television broadcasts and a communication function for network lines such as the Internet, and contents acquired using these functions are recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or an optical disk. On the other hand, video recording / playback apparatuses that enable recording / playback have spread in the market.

  In this type of video recording / playback apparatus, when playback stop is requested in the playback state of content recorded on a recording medium, information indicating the playback stop position is automatically recorded, and playback can be resumed. When requested, a so-called resume reproduction function is provided so that reproduction can be started from the reproduction stop position.

  With this resume playback function, even when the user is in the middle of playing back and viewing the content recorded on the recording medium, the content can be later viewed by performing an operation to request the stop of playback. When viewing is resumed, viewing from the centered position can be performed.

  By the way, a video recording / reproducing apparatus equipped with such a resume reproducing function is still in the development stage, and there is still a lot of room for improvement in details. For example, it is an important issue to consider so that the user can effectively cope with the situation when the user is in the middle of viewing the content being recorded on the recording medium.

Japanese Patent No. 4114676

  Provided are a recording apparatus and a recording method in consideration of being able to play back from a position where the user is sitting later, for example, when the user is sitting in the middle while viewing the content being recorded on the recording medium. For the purpose.

  According to the embodiment, the recording apparatus includes an acquisition unit, a recording unit, a recognition unit, a determination unit, and a control unit. The acquisition unit acquires content. The recording unit records the content acquired by the acquiring unit. The recognizing means recognizes a person registered in advance during the recording of the content by the recording means. The discriminating unit discriminates a person who becomes unrecognizable on the way from the persons recognized by the recognizing unit. The control means changes the viewing history information for the person determined by the determination means based on information indicating a point in time when it is determined that recognition is disabled.

FIG. 2 is an external view illustrating an example of a digital television broadcast receiving device in an embodiment. The block block diagram shown in order to demonstrate roughly an example of the signal processing system of the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment. FIG. 3 is an external view illustrating an example of a remote controller that operates the digital television broadcast receiver according to the embodiment. The figure shown in order to demonstrate an example of the face registration screen and personal ID setting screen which are displayed with the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment. The figure shown in order to demonstrate an example of the registration table used with the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment. The flowchart shown in order to demonstrate an example of the processing operation at the time of logging in to the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment. The figure shown in order to demonstrate an example of the login user selection screen displayed with the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment. The flowchart shown in order to demonstrate an example of main processing operations which the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment performs. The figure shown in order to demonstrate an example of the viewer list | wrist used with the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment. The figure shown in order to demonstrate an example of the resume point table used with the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment. The flowchart shown in order to demonstrate an example of the viewer list creation process operation which the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment performs. The flowchart shown in order to demonstrate an example of the processing operation which places the user in the viewer list which the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment performs. The flowchart shown in order to demonstrate an example of the middle clerk list creation processing operation which the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment performs. The figure shown in order to demonstrate an example of the processing operation which detects the middle seat person which the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment performs. The flowchart shown in order to demonstrate the modification of main processing operation which the digital television broadcast receiver in the embodiment performs.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of the appearance of a digital television broadcast receiver 11 described in this embodiment. The digital television broadcast receiver 11 includes a thin cabinet 12 and a support base 13 that supports the cabinet 12 upright.

  The cabinet 12 is provided with a video display panel 14 serving as a video display unit at the front center. The cabinet 12 is provided with a camera module 15 in the center of the upper surface thereof, so that a subject existing on the front side of the video display panel 14 and the periphery thereof can be photographed.

  Further, the cabinet 12 is provided with speakers 16 and 16 at both ends at the front lower side. Further, the cabinet 12 is provided with an operation unit 17 including a main power switch 17a and a light receiving unit 19 for receiving operation information transmitted from the remote controller 18 at the lower front portion thereof.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows an example of a signal processing system of the digital television broadcast receiver 11. That is, the digital television broadcast signal received by the antenna 20 is supplied to the tuner unit 22 via the input terminal 21, so that a broadcast signal of a desired channel is selected.

  The broadcast signal selected by the tuner unit 22 is supplied to the demodulation / decoding unit 23, restored to a digital video signal, audio signal, and the like, and then output to the signal processing unit 24. The signal processing unit 24 performs predetermined digital signal processing on the digital video signal and audio signal supplied from the demodulation / decoding unit 23.

  The signal processing unit 24 outputs a digital video signal to the synthesis processing unit 25 and outputs a digital audio signal to the audio processing unit 26. Among these, the composition processing unit 25 superimposes and outputs an OSD (on screen display) signal on the digital video signal supplied from the signal processing unit 24.

  The digital video signal output from the synthesis processing unit 25 is supplied to the video processing unit 27. The video processing unit 27 converts the input digital video signal into an analog video signal in a format that can be displayed on the video display panel 14 in the subsequent stage. The analog video signal output from the video processing unit 27 is supplied to the video display panel 14 for video display.

  The audio processing unit 26 converts the input digital audio signal into an analog audio signal in a format that can be reproduced by the speakers 16 and 16. The analog audio signal output from the audio processing unit 26 is supplied to the speakers 16 and 16 for audio reproduction.

  Here, in the digital television broadcast receiving apparatus 11, various operations including the above-described various receiving operations are comprehensively controlled by the control unit 28. The control unit 28 incorporates a CPU (central processing unit) 28 a and receives operation information from the operation unit 17 or operation information transmitted from the remote controller 18 and received by the light receiving unit 19. Each unit is controlled so that the operation content is reflected.

  In this case, the control unit 28 uses the memory unit 28b. The memory unit 28b mainly includes a ROM (read only memory) storing a control program executed by the CPU 28a, a RAM (random access memory) for providing a work area to the CPU 28a, and various setting information and control information. And so on.

  Further, an HDD (hard disk drive) 29 is connected to the control unit 28. The control unit 28 encrypts the digital video signal and audio signal obtained from the demodulation / decoding unit 23 by the recording / playback processing unit 30 based on the operation of the operation unit 17 or the remote controller 18 by the user, and a predetermined recording format. After being converted to, it can be controlled to be supplied to the HDD 29 and recorded on the hard disk 29a.

  Further, the control unit 28 causes the HDD 29 to read out digital video signals and audio signals from the hard disk 29 a based on the operation of the operation unit 17 and the remote controller 18 by the user, and decodes them by the recording / playback processing unit 30. Thereafter, by supplying the signal to the signal processing unit 24, it can be controlled to be used for the video display and the audio reproduction described above.

  The digital television broadcast receiver 11 is provided with an input terminal 31 for directly inputting digital video signals and audio signals from the outside. The digital video signal and audio signal input through the input terminal 31 are supplied to the signal processing unit 24 through the recording / playback processing unit 30 based on the control of the control unit 28, and thereafter. It is used for the video display and audio reproduction described above.

  Further, the digital video signal and audio signal input via the input terminal 31 are recorded and reproduced on the hard disk 29 a by the HDD 29 after passing through the recording and reproduction processing unit 30 under the control of the control unit 28. To be served.

  A network interface 32 is connected to the control unit 28. The network interface 32 is connected to an external network line 33. The network line 33 is connected to a network server 34 that can provide various contents.

  For this reason, the control unit 28 accesses the network server 34 via the network interface 32 and the Internet network 33 based on the operation of the operation unit 17 and the remote controller 18 by the user, and selects various contents provided there. Can be obtained.

  Also in this case, the content acquired from the network server 34 is supplied to the signal processing unit 24 based on the control of the control unit 28 and thereafter used for the above-described video display and audio reproduction. Further, the content acquired from the network server 34 is supplied to the recording / playback processing unit 30 based on the control of the control unit 28, and thereafter used for recording / playback to the hard disk 29a by the HDD 29.

  Further, the camera module 15 is connected to the control unit 28. A digital video signal obtained by photographing with the camera module 15 is supplied to the signal processing unit 24 based on the control of the control unit 28, and thereafter used for the video display described above.

  FIG. 3 shows the external appearance of the remote controller 18. The remote controller 18 mainly includes a power key 18a, a numeric key 18b, a channel up / down key 18c, a volume adjustment key 18d, a cursor up key 18e, a cursor down key 18f, a cursor left key 18g, and a cursor right key. 18h, a determination key 18i, a menu key 18j, a return key 18k, an end key 18l, four color (blue, red, green, yellow) color keys 18m, and the like.

  Further, the remote controller 18 is provided with a reproduction stop key 18n, a reproduction / pause key 18o, a reverse skip key 18p, a forward skip key 18q, a fast reverse key 18r, a fast forward key 18s, and the like.

  That is, the HDD 29 can be played, stopped, or paused by operating the playback stop key 18n or the playback / pause key 18o of the remote controller 18.

  Further, by operating the reverse skip key 18p or the forward skip key 18q of the remote controller 18, the data such as video and audio read from the hard disk 29a by the HDD 29 can be reversed or forward with respect to the reproduction direction. Thus, it is possible to perform a so-called reverse skip or forward skip, which causes a predetermined amount to be skipped.

  Further, by operating the fast reverse key 18r, the fast forward key 18s, etc. of the remote controller 18, the data such as video and audio read from the hard disk 29a by the HDD 29 is continuously reversed or forward with respect to the reproduction direction. Thus, so-called fast reverse playback and fast forward playback can be performed.

  Here, the digital television broadcast receiver 11 can register the user's face in advance based on the control of the control unit 28. This face registration is performed by photographing the face of the user to be registered by the camera module 15 and using the feature amount extraction method used in the face recognition technique from the photographed face image. To extract. Then, the face registration is completed by storing the extracted feature quantity and the personal ID (identification) uniquely set by the user in association with each other.

  As a method for extracting facial feature values, a method using an eigenface [M. Turk and A. Pentland: “Eigenfaces for Recognition”, J. of cognitive Neuroscience, 3, 1, pp. 71-86 (1991 )] And the method using the positional relationship between feature points on the facial organ [J.Steffens, E.Elagin and H.Neven: “PersonSpotter-Fast and Robust System for Human detection, Tracking and Recognition”, Proceedings of the International Conference on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition '98 (1998)] can be employed.

  As an example of a specific operation for this face registration, first, the user operates the menu key 18j of the remote controller 18 to divide into a plurality of menu screens having a hierarchical structure. A face registration screen 35 as shown in Fig. 1 is displayed on the video display panel 14.

  On the face registration screen 35, a question sentence 35a to the user "Do you want to register the face being photographed?" And an image 35b of the face photographed by the camera module 15 are displayed. And an item 35d “not registered” are displayed as options. Then, the user operates the cursor left or right movement keys 18g and 18h of the remote controller 18 to select the item 35c, and operates the enter key 18i.

  Then, the control unit 28 performs a process of extracting a feature amount from the photographed face, and causes the video display panel 14 to display a personal ID setting screen 36 as shown in FIG. 4B. On the personal ID setting screen 36, a guidance sentence 36a for the user "Please set a personal ID.", A photographed face image 36b, and a personal ID input area 36c are displayed.

  Then, the user operates the remote controller 18 to input a personal ID consisting of a character / symbol string using alphanumeric characters, hiragana, katakana, kanji, and other characters and symbols into the input area 36c, and press the enter key 18j. By performing the operation, a registration table in which the personal ID and the feature amount of the face are associated is created, and the face is registered here. The created registration table is recorded in the HDD 29 or the like, for example.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the registration table. This registration table has a registration number No. The personal ID and the facial feature amount are stored in association with each other, and a plurality of persons can be registered. Each personal ID can be associated with various setting information in addition to the facial feature amount.

  The setting information includes design setting information such as wallpaper, icons, and menus to be displayed on the video display panel 14, viewing environment setting information such as the brightness, color, and volume of the backlight panel that illuminates the video display panel 14. It includes content playback start position, favorite site in browser function, viewing history setting information such as personal reserved recording list.

  FIG. 6 shows a flowchart summarizing the processing operation when logging in to the digital television broadcast receiving apparatus 11 in order to use various setting information set for each personal ID on the registration table. . That is, when the process is started (step S6a) and the main power supply of the digital television broadcast receiving apparatus 11 is turned on in step S6b, the control unit 28 captures the video image captured by the camera module 15 in step S6c ( The video signal output from the camera module 15 is acquired.

  In step S6d, the control unit 28 performs person analysis from the acquired video. In step S6e, the control unit 28 determines whether there is only one user who has been recognized as a face registered among the persons in the video. Determine. In this case, the control unit 28 recognizes the face area of the person from the video imaged by the camera module 15 and compares the feature quantity of the face extracted from the recognized face area with the feature quantity on the registration table. When the degree of coincidence between both feature quantities exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the person in the face area is a user who has registered the face.

If it is determined that there is only one face registered user in the video (YES),
In step S6f, the control unit 28 is automatically set to the mode in which the user has logged in with the personal ID of one user whose face has been registered, and ends the process (step S61). As a result, the digital television broadcast receiving apparatus 11 is changed to a state based on the setting information of one user whose face has been registered.

  If it is determined in step S6e that there are a plurality of users whose faces have been registered in the video imaged by the camera module 15 (NO), the control unit 28 determines that there are a plurality of faces that have been registered in step S6g. In order to select a user who logs in from among the users, a login user selection screen 37 as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the video display panel 14.

  On this login user selection screen 37, a guidance sentence 37a for the user "Please select a user to log in." And a plurality of faces (in the figure) that are determined to have been registered in the image captured by the camera module 15. In this case, a face image 37b of three users) and an item 37c "default" are displayed.

  Thereafter, in step S6h, when the user operates the cursor left or right movement keys 18g and 18h of the remote controller 18 to select one of the three face images 37b and the item 37c and operates the enter key 18i, the control is performed. The unit 28 determines whether or not the “default” item 37c is selected in step S6i.

  If it is determined that the “default” item 37c has been selected (YES), the control unit 28 is automatically set to a preset default user mode in step S6j, and the process ends (step S6j). S6l). Thereby, the digital television broadcast receiver 11 is changed to a state based on the default setting information.

  This default user mode is not fundamentally different from the mode logged in with the personal ID, and the viewing environment information set by the user operation during the default user mode is the same as when logging in with the personal ID. It is saved as setting information of the default user, and is automatically reflected as the setting when logging in in the default mode next time. Since there is this default user mode, it is possible to log in as a default user even if no personal ID has been registered yet.

  If it is determined in step S6i that one of the three face images 37b has been selected (NO), the control unit 28, in step S6k, selects the individual of the selected face registered user. The mode in which the user has logged in with the ID is automatically set, and the process ends (step S61). As a result, the digital television broadcast receiver 11 is changed to a state based on the setting information of the selected face-registered one user.

  Next, FIG. 8 shows that the content acquired from the digital television broadcast by the digital television broadcast receiving apparatus 11 or the content acquired from the network server 34 is recorded on the hard disk 29a by the HDD 29 and the content is viewed. The flowchart which put together the processing operation when a user sits down in the state which is standing is shown.

  However, viewing the content in this case does not mean so-called chasing playback where the acquired content is recorded while being recorded on the hard disk 29a, but during recording, that is, the acquired content is recorded. At the same time, it means to watch in real time.

  That is, the process is started (step S8a), and when an operation for requesting recording of content is performed by the user in step S8b, the control unit 28 determines in step S8c whether or not the recording is based on a reservation. If it is determined that the recording is based on the reservation (YES), in step S8d, the process waits until the reserved recording start time.

  After step S8d, or when it is determined in step S8c that the recording is not a reservation (NO), the control unit 28 starts recording the designated content on the hard disk 29a by the HDD 29 in step S8e.

  In such a recording state, in step S8f, the control unit 28 determines whether or not the recorded content is displayed on the video display panel 14 in real time. If it is determined that the recorded content is not displayed (NO) ), And the process ends (step S8m).

  If it is determined in step S8f that the content being recorded is being displayed on the video display panel 14 in real time (YES), the control unit 28 captures the video imaged by the camera module 15 (step S8g). In step S8h, the viewer list is created and updated by acquiring and analyzing the video signal output from the camera module 15.

  Here, the viewer list refers to videos displayed on the video display panel 14 among the face-registered users existing in the video shot by the camera module 15, that is, users who have been registered in advance. As shown in an example of FIG. Are associated with personal IDs. Note that the processing for discriminating (recognizing) a user whose face has been registered from the video imaged by the camera module 15 is as described above.

  Thereafter, in step S8i, the control unit 28 compares the latest viewer list with the viewer list created before that, so that it is listed in the previous viewer list and posted in the latest viewer list. It is determined whether or not there is a user who has not been recognized, that is, a user who has moved out of the shooting range of the camera module 15 (in the middle) and has become unrecognizable.

  If it is determined that there is a user who is out of the latest viewer list (YES), the control unit 28 determines in step S8j that the user is out of the latest viewer list, that is, the user who is in the middle. The point in time when it is determined that the content is not in the viewer list is set as the playback start position (resume point) for the currently viewed content.

  In this case, the control unit 28 creates a resume point table as shown in FIG. 10, for example, in order to set resume points for all face-registered users. This resume point table has a table number No. And a personal ID of the user, a content ID for specifying the content, and information indicating a reproduction start position for the content are associated with each other. As information indicating the reproduction start position, for example, a PTS (presentation time stamp) is used.

  As a result, the control unit 28 writes the personal ID of the user, the content ID of the content being viewed, and information indicating the playback start position in the resume point table at the time when the intervening user is determined. Here, the point in time when the user is in the middle of viewing the content is set as the reproduction start position of the content for the user.

  Then, after this step S8j, or when it is determined in step S8i that there is no user who has been removed from the latest viewer list (NO), the control unit 28 has completed the recording of the content in step S8k. If it is determined that the process has not been completed (NO), the process returns to step S8g.

  As a result, the viewer list is updated to the latest state, and by comparing with the viewer list updated before that, it is possible to determine the user who is in the middle. The viewer list update interval should be as short as possible, but may be set to several seconds in order to reduce the processing load on the control unit 28.

  If it is determined in step S8k that the content recording has been completed (YES), the control unit 28 determines whether the content listed in the current viewer list has been viewed by the user in step S81. A reproduction start position is set, and the process ends (step S8m). In this case, the playback start position to be set is the top position of the content.

  It should be noted that in step S8k, whether or not an operation for requesting the recording stop of the content is performed by the user, or an operation for requesting the display stop of the content being recorded on the video display panel 14 is performed. If the operation is not performed (NO), the process returns to step S8g, and if the operation is performed (YES), the process may be shifted to step S81. .

  According to the above-described embodiment, it is automatically detected that the user is sitting while viewing the content being recorded in real time, and playback of the content starts when the user sits on that user. The position is set. That is, the playback start position is set even for content that has been recorded but has not yet been read from the recording medium (hard disk 29a).

  For this reason, the user who is in the middle can read the content from the recording medium after recording and view the content from the set reproduction start position, which is very convenient for the user. In particular, even when one or several people are in the middle of viewing with a plurality of users, it is not necessary to stop viewing the content, so that it is suitable for practical use.

  FIG. 11 shows a flowchart summarizing an example of processing operations for creating and updating the viewer list in step S8h. That is, when the process is started (S11a), the control unit 28 saves the current viewer list in the hard disk 29a or the like in step S11b, and the initialized viewer list in the hard disk 29a in step S11c. prepare.

  Next, in step S11d, the control unit 28 acquires the video imaged by the camera module 15 (video signal output from the camera module 15). In step S11e, the control unit 28 performs person analysis from the acquired video image. Extract regions. Thereafter, the control unit 28 extracts one face area from the extracted face areas in step S11f, and calculates the facial feature amount of the extracted face area in step S11g.

  Then, in step S11h, the control unit 28 compares the calculated facial feature quantity with the facial feature quantity on the registration table, and if the degree of coincidence of both feature quantities exceeds a predetermined threshold, It is determined that the person in the face area is a registered user, and the personal ID of the user is registered in the initialized viewer list prepared in advance.

  In step S11h, a face whose matching degree when compared with the feature amount on the registration table does not exceed a predetermined threshold is determined not to be a face registered user and is not included in the viewer list. The

  Thereafter, in step S11i, the control unit 28 determines whether or not the determination as to whether or not the faces in all the face areas extracted from the video captured by the camera module 15 are to be listed in the viewer list has been completed. If it is determined that the process is completed (YES), the process ends (step S11j). If it is determined that the process has not been completed in step S11i (NO), the control unit 28 returns to the process of step S11f to extract another face area of the other person from the extracted face area. .

  In FIG. 12, in step S11h, it is determined whether or not the face in the image captured by the camera module 15 is a face registered user. If the face is registered, the viewer list is displayed. The flowchart which put together an example of the processing operation to mount is shown. That is, when the process is started (step S12a), the control unit 28 compares the calculated facial feature quantity with the facial feature quantity of one person registered in the registration table in step S12b. The degree of coincidence between both feature quantities is calculated.

  Thereafter, in step S12c, the control unit 28 determines whether or not the degree of coincidence of the calculated face feature amounts with all the face feature amounts registered in the registration table has been calculated. If it is determined that the degree of coincidence with the registered feature amounts of all the faces has not been calculated (NO), the process returns to step S12b, and the feature of the other person's face registered in the registration table is returned. A comparison with the quantity is made.

  In addition, when it is determined that the degree of coincidence with the feature amounts of all the faces registered in the registration table in step S12c has been calculated (YES), the control unit 28 includes the degree of coincidence calculated in step S12d. In step S12e, it is determined whether or not the selected degree of coincidence exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

  This threshold value is set in advance as a value by which it can be determined that the calculated feature value of the face matches the feature value of any of the faces listed in the registration table. When it is determined that the degree of coincidence is less than or equal to this threshold value (NO), the control unit 28 ends the process (step S12h).

  If it is determined that the degree of coincidence selected in step S12e exceeds the threshold (YES), the control unit 28 determines that the person is a face registered user, and in step S12f. When it is determined that the personal ID corresponding to the feature amount having the degree of coincidence exceeding the threshold is already on the viewer list and is installed (YES), The process ends (step S12h).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S12f that the personal ID corresponding to the feature amount having the degree of coincidence exceeding the threshold is not listed in the viewer list (NO), the control unit 28 determines in step S12g. Then, the user's personal ID is listed in the viewer list, and the process ends (step S12h).

  FIG. 13 shows a flowchart summarizing an example of the processing operation for discriminating a user who is out of the latest viewer list in step S8i, that is, the processing operation for detecting and specifying the middle-aged person. In this processing operation, the detected and identified middle occupant is listed in the middle occupant list.

  That is, when the process is started (step S13a), the control unit 28 prepares an initialized middle-person list on the hard disk 29a in step S13b. Thereafter, in step S13c, the control unit 28 reads out the viewer list created before the latest viewer list from the hard disk 29a, and in step S13d, whether or not the previously created viewer list is empty. Is determined to be empty (YES), the process is terminated (step S13i).

  If it is determined in step S13d that the previously created viewer list is not empty (NO), the control unit 28 reads the latest viewer list from the hard disk 29a in step S13e.

  Then, in step S13f, the control unit 28 determines whether or not one person listed in the previous viewer list is also installed in the latest viewer list, and is listed in the latest viewer list. If it is determined that it is not (NO), in step S13g, the person's personal ID is listed in the middleman list.

  After this step S13g or when it is determined that one person listed in the previous viewer list in step S13f is also installed in the latest viewer list (YES), the control unit 28 In step S13h, it is determined whether or not the determination as to whether or not all the people listed in the previous viewer list are also installed in the latest viewer list is completed.

  If it is determined that the process has been completed (YES), the control unit 28 ends the process (step S13i). If it is determined that the process has not been completed (NO), the control unit 28 returns to the process of step S13f. It is determined whether or not the other person on the viewer list is also included in the latest viewer list.

  More specifically, for example, the processing of steps S13f to S13h described above is described in the previous viewer list with the personal IDs “A”, “B”, “C” of four users as shown in FIG. ”And“ D ”are installed, and the personal IDs“ B ”and“ C ”of the two users are installed in the latest viewer list as shown in FIG.

  Then, first, it is determined whether or not the personal ID “A” of the previous viewer list exists in the latest viewer list. In this case, since it does not exist, as shown in FIG. 14C, the personal ID “A” is listed in the middleman list.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the personal ID “B” in the previous viewer list exists in the latest viewer list. In this case, since it exists, the personal ID “B” is not listed in the middleman list.

  Thereafter, in the same manner, it is determined whether or not all the personal IDs listed in the previous viewer list exist in the latest viewer list, and the non-existing personal IDs are listed in the intermediate list. By doing so, it is possible to identify a person who is present while viewing the content.

  FIG. 15 shows a modification of the above-described embodiment. That is, in the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 8, the processing operation when the user is sitting while viewing the content being recorded has been described, but in FIG. 15, the recorded content is read from the recording medium. The processing operation when the user sits in the state of reading and viewing is described.

  That is, the process is started (step S15a), and in step S15b, the user who logs in is determined as described above with reference to FIG. 6. In step S15c, an operation for requesting reproduction of the content recorded on the hard disk 29a is performed. When it is performed, the control unit 28 refers to the resume point table in step S15d to acquire information indicating the playback start position for the content to be played back in response to the logged-in user, and in step S15e, the playback section Start playing the content from the start position.

  Next, in step S15f, the control unit 28 acquires and analyzes the video (video signal output from the camera module 15) captured by the camera module 15 in step S15f. Perform the update.

  After that, in step S15h, the control unit 28 compares the latest viewer list with the viewer list created before that, so that it is listed in the previous viewer list and posted in the latest viewer list. It is determined whether or not there is a user who has not been moved, that is, a user who has moved (centered) outside the shooting range of the camera module 15.

  If it is determined that there is a user who is out of the latest viewer list (YES), the control unit 28 determines in step S15i that the user is out of the latest viewer list, that is, the user who is in the middle. The point in time when it is determined that the content is not in the viewer list is set as the playback start position (resume point) for the currently viewed content.

  As a result, the control unit 28 writes the personal ID of the user, the content ID of the content being viewed, and information indicating the playback start position in the resume point table at the time when the intervening user is determined. Here, the point in time when the user is in the middle of viewing the content is set as the reproduction start position of the content for the user.

  Then, after this step S15i, or when it is determined in step S15h that there is no user who has been removed from the latest viewer list (NO), the control unit 28 determines whether the reproduction of the content has been completed in step S15j. If it is determined that the process has not been completed (NO), the process returns to step S15f.

  If it is determined in step S15j that the reproduction of the content has been completed (YES), the control unit 28 determines whether or not the content on the current viewer list has been viewed by the user in step S15k. A reproduction start position is set, and the process ends (step S151). In this case, the playback start position to be set is the top position of the content.

  In step S15j, it is determined whether or not the user has performed an operation requesting to stop the reproduction of the content. If no operation has been performed (NO), the process returns to step S15f and the operation is performed. If yes (YES), the process may proceed to step S15k.

  In the above-described embodiment, the content acquired from the digital television broadcast or the network server 34 has been described as the content for setting the playback start position. However, the content is not limited to this, and is externally attached to the digital television broadcast receiver 11. The present invention can also be applied to contents stored in an optical disk recording / playback apparatus, an external storage device connected by a USB (universal serial bus) cable or an HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) cable, and the like.

  In addition, a default mode is provided when logging in to the digital television broadcast receiver 11, but when the main power is turned on for the first time after purchase in the digital television broadcast receiver 11, one or more persons are forcibly forced. If the user is allowed to register a personal ID, it is not always necessary to provide a default mode.

  Furthermore, not only the camera module 15 but also a sensor that can sense movement with low power consumption, such as an infrared sensor, is provided outside the digital television broadcast receiver 11 and is detected by the sensor. By using the information on the movement of the person and the information on the feature amount of the person's face by the camera module 15 together, it is possible to detect that the user is sitting more accurately.

  In addition, the number of camera modules 15 is not limited to one, and a plurality of camera modules 15 are used, and by using images obtained by photographing the user's face from an angle other than the front, it is possible to improve the accuracy in identifying an individual. Become.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by variously modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements according to different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Digital television broadcast receiver, 12 ... Cabinet, 13 ... Support stand, 14 ... Video display panel, 15 ... Camera module, 16 ... Speaker, 17 ... Operation part, 17a ... Main power switch, 18 ... Remote controller, 19 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Light-receiving part, 20 ... Antenna, 21 ... Input terminal, 22 ... Tuner part, 23 ... Demodulation decoding part, 24 ... Signal processing part, 25 ... Synthesis processing part, 26 ... Audio processing part, 27 ... Video processing part, 28 ... Control unit, 28a ... CPU, 28b ... memory unit, 29 ... HDD, 29a ... hard disk, 30 ... recording / reproduction processing unit, 31 ... input terminal, 32 ... network interface, 33 ... network line network, 34 ... network server, 35 ... Face registration screen, 36 ... personal ID setting screen, 37 ... login user selection screen.

Claims (9)

Acquisition means for acquiring content;
Recording means for recording the content acquired by the acquisition means;
Recognizing means for recognizing a pre-registered person during recording of the content by the recording means;
A discriminating means for discriminating a person who has become unrecognizable on the way from among those recognized by the recognizing means;
A recording apparatus comprising: control means for setting viewing history information for the person determined by the determination means based on information indicating a point in time when it is determined that recognition has become impossible.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets information indicating a time when recognition by the determination unit becomes impossible as information indicating a start position when the content recorded by the recording unit is reproduced.   3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a reproducing unit that starts reproduction of the content from a position indicated by the information set by the control unit when reproduction of the content recorded by the recording unit is requested.   When there are a plurality of persons determined to be unrecognizable by the determining means, the control means corresponds to each of the determined persons, and indicates information indicating when the recognition is disabled by the recording means. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording apparatus is set as information indicating a start position when the recorded content is reproduced.   The recognizing means pre-registers among the persons viewing the content video based on the facial feature amount of the person viewing the content video and the pre-registered human face feature amount. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording apparatus recognizes a person who has performed.   The recognizing unit includes a camera module that captures a person who is viewing the video of the content, and compares a facial feature amount of a person photographed by the camera module with a pre-registered facial feature amount of a person, The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the degree of coincidence between both feature quantities exceeds a predetermined threshold value set in advance, the person photographed by the camera module is recognized as a person registered in advance.   The discriminating means includes a first list indicating pre-registered persons existing in an image photographed by the camera module at a first time, and the camera module at a second time after the first time. A person who compares the second list indicating the pre-registered person existing in the video shot in step 1 and has become unable to recognize a person who is present in the first list and not present in the second list. The recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein Reading means for reading content from a recording medium;
Recognizing means for recognizing a pre-registered person during reading of content by the reading means;
A discriminating means for discriminating a person who has become unrecognizable on the way from among those recognized by the recognizing means;
A playback apparatus comprising: control means for changing the viewing history information for the person determined by the determination means based on information indicating a point in time when it is determined that recognition is disabled. The content is acquired by the acquisition means,
Recording the content acquired by the acquisition unit by the recording unit,
The recognizing means recognizes a person registered in advance during the recording of the content in the recording means,
By the discriminating means, discriminating a person who becomes unrecognizable on the way from among the people recognized by the recognizing means,
A recording method for changing based on information indicating a point in time when it is determined by the control means that the viewing history information for the person determined by the determination means has become unrecognizable.

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