JP2016099502A - Content reproduction system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly connect reproduction sounds of content when switching between reproduction devices.SOLUTION: When a radio communication terminal 10 accepts the selection of a content reproduction device 20B during content reproduction by a content reproduction device 20A (S20), the radio communication terminal obtains a reproduction lapse time from the content reproduction device 20A (S20, S21), and obtains a delay time from the content reproduction device 20B (S23-S27). The radio communication terminal 10 calculates a reproduction start time from the reproduction lapse time and the delay time (S28), and instructs the content reproduction device 20B to start reproducing content starting at the reproduction start time (S29). The content reproduction device 20B obtains the content starting at the reproduction start time from a content server (S30, S31), and reproduces the obtained content (S32).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for playing back content using a plurality of playback devices, and more particularly to a technology for ensuring a connection of playback sounds when switching playback devices.

  2. Description of the Related Art A content reproduction system including a reproduction device that reproduces content acquired from a content server and a control device (controller) that controls the operation of the reproduction device is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preventing content from being interrupted when the playback of the content is shifted in the second playback device during playback of the content on the first playback device. Yes.

JP, 2014-131113, A

  However, since the method of Patent Document 1 does not consider the delay time that occurs between the acquisition and playback of the content in the second playback device, the playback sound of the content played back on the first playback device, In the second playback device, the temporal continuity with the playback sound of the content to be played back is lost, and there is a sense of discomfort in hearing.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of smoothly connecting the playback sound of the content when the playback device is switched.

  In order to solve the above problems, a content playback system of the present invention controls a storage device that stores a plurality of contents, a plurality of playback devices that acquire and play back content from the storage devices, and the playback device by communication. A content reproduction system comprising a control device, wherein the control device is a device selection accepting unit that accepts selection of one playback device among the plurality of playback devices, and content that accepts selection of one content among the plurality of content A selection receiving unit; a playback start instructing unit for instructing a playback device related to the selection received by the device selection receiving unit to start playback of the one content; and the device selection receiving during playback of the one content. When the selection of another playback device is received by the unit, the playback device that is playing back the one content Based on a playback elapsed time acquisition unit that acquires the playback elapsed time of one content, the acquired playback elapsed time, and a delay time from the acquisition of the one content from the storage device until it can be played back, A playback start time calculating unit that calculates a playback start time, and the playback start instruction unit receives a selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit during playback of the one content. The other playback device is instructed to start playback of the one content from the playback start time, and each of the plurality of playback devices receives the one content when receiving the playback start instruction. A content acquisition unit that acquires the content from the storage device, and a playback unit that plays back the acquired content. The content acquisition unit receives an instruction to start playback from the playback start time. When the to acquire the one content from the playback start time, and wherein the.

  According to the content playback system of the present invention, when a selection of another playback device is received by the device selection receiving unit during playback of one content on one playback device, the playback elapsed time acquisition unit The elapsed playback time of one content in the playback device is acquired. The playback start time calculation unit calculates the playback start time based on the acquired elapsed playback time and the delay time until another playback device acquires the same content from the storage device and becomes playable. The playback start instructing unit instructs other playback devices to start playback from the playback start time of one content. The other playback device acquires the one content from the playback start time from the storage device and plays it according to the playback start instruction. As a result, the timing at which another playback device starts playback is based on the elapsed playback time and delay time of one content on one playback device, and the content at which another playback device starts playback is Since the content starts from the playback start time, the playback start time and the playback position of the content are made to coincide with each other, and the playback of the content that is smoothly connected in time is performed.

  In order to solve the above problems, a content playback system of the present invention controls a storage device that stores a plurality of contents, a plurality of playback devices that acquire and play back content from the storage devices, and the playback device by communication. A content reproduction system comprising a control device, wherein the control device is a device selection accepting unit that accepts selection of one playback device among the plurality of playback devices, and content that accepts selection of one content among the plurality of content A selection receiving unit; a playback start instructing unit for instructing a playback device related to the selection received by the device selection receiving unit to start playback of the one content; and the device selection receiving during playback of the one content. When the selection of another playback device is received by the unit, the playback device that is playing back the one content Based on a playback elapsed time acquisition unit that acquires the playback elapsed time of one content, the acquired playback elapsed time, and a delay time from the acquisition of the one content from the storage device until it can be played back, A playback start time calculating unit that calculates a playback start time, and the playback start instruction unit receives a selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit during playback of the one content. The position of the reproduction start time is set as the transmission start position of the one content for the storage device, and each of the plurality of reproduction devices receives the instruction to start the reproduction when receiving the reproduction start instruction. A content acquisition unit that acquires the content from the storage device, and a playback unit that plays back the acquired content. The acquired one content from the reproduction unit reproduces the content of the one from the playback start time, and wherein the.

  According to the content playback system of the present invention, when the control device receives a selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit during playback of one content on one playback device, the playback elapsed time acquisition unit Thus, the elapsed playback time of one content in one playback device is acquired. The playback start time calculation unit of the control device calculates the playback start time based on the acquired elapsed playback time and the delay time until another playback device acquires the one content from the storage device and becomes playable. To do. The reproduction start instruction unit sets a position from the reproduction start time as a transmission start position of one content to another reproduction apparatus with respect to the storage device. Therefore, when the storage device receives a transmission request for data of one content from another playback device, the storage device transmits the data of one content to the other playback device using the playback start time as a transmission start position. When the content acquisition unit of another playback device acquires one content from the playback start time, the playback unit plays back the one content from the playback start time. As a result, the timing at which another playback device starts playback is based on the elapsed playback time and delay time of one content on one playback device, and the content at which another playback device starts playback is Since the content starts from the playback start time, the playback start time and the playback position of the content are made to coincide with each other, and the playback of the content that is smoothly connected in time is performed.

  In order to solve the above problems, a content playback system according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of contents and controls the playback device by communication, and acquires and plays back the content from the storage unit of the control device. A plurality of playback devices, wherein the control device receives a selection of one playback device in the plurality of playback devices, and selects one content in the plurality of content A content selection accepting unit that accepts, a playback start instructing unit that instructs the playback device related to the selection accepted by the device selection accepting unit to start playing the one content, and during the playback of the one content, When the selection of another playback device is received by the device selection receiving unit, the elapsed playback time of the one content is calculated. A playback start time for calculating a playback start time based on the obtained playback elapsed time acquisition unit, the acquired playback elapsed time, and a delay time from when the one content is acquired from the storage unit until playback is possible A calculation unit, and when the reproduction selection instruction unit receives a selection of another reproduction device by the device selection reception unit during reproduction of the one content, the reproduction start instruction unit Transmitting the one content from the reproduction start time and instructing the reproduction start of the one content from the reproduction start time, and each of the plurality of reproduction devices is transmitted from the control device A content acquisition unit that acquires one content and a playback unit that plays back the received content, and the playback unit receives a playback start instruction from the playback start time Reproduces the content of the one from the playback start time, and wherein the.

  According to the content playback system of the present invention, when the control device receives a selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit during playback of one content on one playback device, the playback elapsed time acquisition unit Thus, the elapsed playback time of one content in one playback device is acquired. The playback start time calculation unit calculates the playback start time based on the acquired playback elapsed time and the delay time until another playback device acquires the one content from the storage device and becomes playable. The playback start instructing unit instructs other playback devices to start playback of one content from the playback start time. The other playback device receives and plays back one content from the playback start time transmitted from the storage unit in accordance with the playback start instruction. As a result, the timing at which the other playback device starts playback is based on the elapsed playback time and delay time of one content on one playback device, and the content at which the other playback device starts playback is Since the content is from the playback start time, the playback start time and the playback position of the content in the other playback devices are matched with each other so that the content that is smoothly connected in time is played back.

  In the above-described content reproduction system, as a preferable aspect, when the reproduction start instruction unit of the control device receives selection of another reproduction device by the device selection reception unit during reproduction of the one content, The other playback device is instructed to start playback of the one content from the playback start time, and the transmission request of the one content from the playback start time is received from the other playback device. The one content is transmitted to the other playback device, and when the playback unit of the playback device receives an instruction to start playback from the playback start time, the one content from the playback start time is transmitted. The content transmission request is transmitted to the control device including the storage unit, and the one content is reproduced after receiving the one content from the control device. It may be. In this case, when the playback start instructing unit of the control device instructs the other playback device to start playback of the one content from the playback start time, the playback unit of the other playback device starts from the playback start time. A transmission request for one content is transmitted to the control device. Upon receiving the transmission request, the control device reads one content from the reproduction start time from the storage unit and transmits it to the other reproduction device. Other playback devices receive and play back one piece of content from the playback start time. Even in this case, the playback start timing and the playback position of the content are matched with the playback position of the other playback device, and the playback of the content connected smoothly in time is performed.

  In order to solve the above problems, a content playback system of the present invention controls a storage device that stores a plurality of contents, a plurality of playback devices that acquire and play back content from the storage devices, and the playback device by communication. A content reproduction system comprising a control device, wherein the control device is a device selection accepting unit that accepts selection of one playback device among the plurality of playback devices, and content that accepts selection of one content among the plurality of content A selection receiving unit; a playback start instructing unit for instructing a playback device related to the selection received by the device selection receiving unit to start playback of the one content; and the device selection receiving during playback of the one content. When the selection of another playback device is received by the unit, the playback device that is playing back the one content A playback elapsed time acquisition unit that acquires a playback elapsed time of one content, and the playback start instruction unit receives a selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit during playback of the one content In response, the other playback device is instructed to start playback of the one content from the acquired elapsed playback time, and each of the plurality of playback devices is instructed by the control device to perform the playback. Based on the elapsed time and the delay time from the acquisition of the one content from the storage device until it can be played back, a playback start time calculation unit that calculates the playback start time, and the playback start instruction received A content acquisition unit that acquires the one content from the calculated playback start time from the storage device, and a playback unit that plays back the acquired content. And features.

  According to the content playback system of the present invention, when the control device receives a selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit during playback of one content on one playback device, the playback elapsed time acquisition unit Thus, the elapsed playback time of the one content is acquired from the playback device that is playing back the one content. The playback start instructing unit instructs other playback devices to start playback of one content from the acquired elapsed playback time. Other playback apparatuses that have received the playback start instruction calculate the playback start time based on the playback elapsed time and the delay time by the playback start time calculation unit. Further, the content acquisition unit acquires one content from the calculated playback start time from the storage device, and the playback unit plays back the acquired content. As a result, the timing at which the other playback device starts playback is a timing that takes into account the delay time with respect to the elapsed playback time of one content at one playback device, and the content at which the other playback device starts playback is Since the content starts from the playback start time, the playback start time and the playback position of the content are made to coincide with each other, and the playback of the content that is smoothly connected in time is performed.

  In the above-described content reproduction system, as a preferable aspect, each of the plurality of reproduction devices includes a delay time measurement unit, and the delay time measurement unit starts the reception of the one content from the timing of the one content. You may make it measure the time to the completion | finish timing of the process until it can acquire and reproduce | regenerate content as delay time. In this case, the delay time measurement unit measures the time from the start of reception of one content to the end timing of processing until the one content is acquired and can be played back. Accordingly, different delay times are accurately measured depending on the communication environment between the device that transmits the content and the content playback device, the content format, etc., and the playback start timing and content playback on the other playback devices Improve the accuracy of matching with the position. Note that the delay time may be measured every time a reproduction start instruction is given, or may be measured once and then stored. The delay time may be measured when a playback device is detected when the system is constructed.

  In the content reproduction system described above, as a more preferable aspect, the content reproduction system can reproduce from a delay time accumulation device that accumulates a predetermined delay time, and acquisition of the one content from the accumulation device. A delay time acquisition unit that acquires the delay time until the delay time storage unit from the delay time storage device, wherein the playback start time calculation unit is based on the delay time acquired by the delay time acquisition unit and the playback elapsed time Thus, the playback start time may be calculated. In this case, the delay time from the acquisition of one content from the storage device until it can be played is stored in advance in the delay time storage device, and the delay time acquisition unit receives a predetermined delay from the delay time storage device. The time is acquired, and the playback start time calculation unit calculates the playback start time based on the acquired delay time and the elapsed playback time. Therefore, with a simple configuration, a delay time that differs depending on the communication environment between the content transmission apparatus and the content reproduction apparatus, the content format, and the like is accurately measured, and the timing at which reproduction is started in another reproduction apparatus And the accuracy of matching the content playback position. Note that the delay time storage device may be provided in the control device or in the playback device. Note that the delay time may be acquired every time a reproduction start instruction is given, or may be acquired only once and then stored. The delay time may be acquired when a playback device is detected when the system is constructed.

  In the above-described content reproduction system, as a more preferable aspect, the control device is configured such that when the reproduction start instruction unit instructs the other reproduction device to start reproduction of the one content from the reproduction start time. In addition, a playback stop instructing unit that instructs the one playback device to stop playback of the one content at a timing based on the playback start time may be provided. In this case, when the reproduction start instruction unit instructs other reproduction devices to start reproduction, the reproduction stop instruction unit transmits the content at the reproduction start time to one reproduction device that is currently reproducing the content. Instruct to stop playback. Therefore, it is possible to reproduce content that is smoothly connected in time while eliminating overlap between reproduction by one reproduction device and reproduction by another reproduction device.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the content reproduction system of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a radio | wireless communication terminal. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a content reproduction apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a content server. It is a figure explaining the management structure of the content in a content server. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of a 1st reproduction list. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of a 2nd reproduction list. It is a functional block diagram which shows the functional structure which the control part of a radio | wireless communication terminal implement | achieves. It is a functional block diagram which shows the functional structure which the control part of a content reproduction apparatus implement | achieves. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process in a content reproduction system. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process in a content reproduction system. It is a figure which shows the example of a display in a radio | wireless communication terminal. It is a figure which shows the example of a display in a radio | wireless communication terminal. It is a figure which shows the example of a display in a radio | wireless communication terminal. It is a figure for demonstrating the connection of the sound at the time of switching a content reproduction apparatus. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the temporal connection of the sound at the time of switching a content reproduction apparatus. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the temporal connection of the sound at the time of switching a content reproduction apparatus. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the temporal connection of the sound at the time of switching a content reproduction apparatus. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 3rd Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 3rd Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 3rd Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 3rd Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 3rd Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 3rd Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 4th Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 4th Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 5th Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of elapsed time. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 5th Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 6th Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 6th Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 7th Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 7th Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 8th Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 8th Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the flow of a process of the content reproduction system in 8th Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the interruption of the sound at the time of the content reproduction apparatus switch in a comparative example.

<A: First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a content reproduction system 1. The content playback system 1 is a network AV system based on UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), which is a protocol for connecting personal computers and AV (Audio Visual) devices in a home to each other. The content reproduction system 1 includes a wireless communication terminal 10 and content reproduction devices 20A and 20B. The wireless communication terminal 10 is a control device also called a control point, and here is a smartphone. The content playback devices 20A and 20B are playback devices also called media renderers, and here are audio players.

  The content server 30 is also called a media server and functions as a storage device that stores content, and transmits content in response to a request from the content playback devices 20A and 20B in a streaming format. Here, the content stored in the content server 30 relates to music. The content reproduction devices 20A and 20B communicate with the wireless communication terminal 10 while connecting to the communication network 90 and communicating with the content server 30. The content playback devices 20A and 20B acquire and play back content from the content server 30 through communication with the content server 30 under the control of the wireless communication terminal 10 using wireless communication. The wireless communication terminal 10 is also configured to be able to wirelessly communicate with the content server 30. In this embodiment, one wireless communication terminal 10 and one content server 30 are provided, but a plurality of terminals may exist.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the wireless communication terminal 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication terminal 10 includes a control unit 11, a UI (User Interface) unit 12, a wireless communication unit 13, a voice input / output unit 14, and a storage unit 15.
The control unit 11 includes an arithmetic device including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory. The arithmetic device controls the operation of the wireless communication terminal 10 by executing a program stored in the memory or the storage unit 15. The UI unit 12 includes a touch panel and has a function as an operation unit that receives an operation from a user and a display unit that notifies information by an image. The wireless communication unit 13 includes a wireless communication circuit and an antenna, and is an interface for connecting to the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B. The voice input / output unit 14 includes a microphone that collects received voice and the like and a speaker that emits transmitted voice and the like, and realizes functions related to voice input / output in the wireless communication terminal 10.

  The storage unit 15 includes, for example, an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable ROM), and stores various programs used by the control unit 11. The storage unit 15 further stores a first reproduction list 151. The first reproduction list 151 is a list of a plurality of contents to be reproduced by the content reproduction apparatuses 20A and 20B. The first playlist 151 has a data structure shown in FIG. 6, for example. In FIG. 6, the numbers at the beginning of each line such as “1” and “2” indicate the playback order, and “A1” and “A2” subsequent thereto are content identifiers for identifying the content to be played back.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the content playback devices 20A and 20B. As shown in FIG. 3, the content playback devices 20A and 20B include a control unit 21, a wireless communication unit 22, a network communication unit 23, a speaker 24, a storage unit 25, and a display unit 26.
The control unit 21 includes an arithmetic device including a CPU and a memory. The arithmetic device controls the operations of the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B by executing a program stored in the memory. The wireless communication unit 22 includes a wireless communication circuit and an antenna, and is an interface for connecting to the wireless communication terminal 10. The network communication unit 23 is an interface for connecting to the communication network 90. The speaker 24 is a sound emitting unit that emits sound according to a musical sound signal supplied from the control unit 21. The display unit 26 is, for example, an FL (Fluorescent Lamp) display, and displays information related to the content being played back.

  The storage unit 25 includes, for example, a hard disk device, and stores a program for operating the control unit 21 and a second reproduction list 251. The second reproduction list 251 is a list in which contents reproduced by the content reproduction apparatuses 20A and 20B are listed in the reproduction order. The second reproduction list 251 has a data structure shown in FIG. 7, for example. The data structure of the second playlist 251 is basically the same as that of the first playlist.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the content server 30. As shown in FIG. 4, the content server 30 includes a control unit 31, a network communication unit 32, a storage unit 33, and a wireless communication unit 34. The control unit 31 includes an arithmetic device including a CPU and a memory. The arithmetic device controls the operation of the content server 30 by executing a program stored in the memory. The network communication unit 32 is an interface for connecting to the communication network 90. The wireless communication unit 34 includes a wireless communication circuit and an antenna, and is an interface for connecting to the wireless communication terminal 10. The storage unit 33 includes, for example, a hard disk device, stores a program for operating the control unit 31, and has a content DB (Data Base) 331 and an attribute information DB 332. The content DB 331 is a database that stores content provided by the content server 30. The attribute information DB 332 is a database that accumulates attribute information indicating attributes of each content accumulated in the content DB 331. The attribute information includes, for example, an artist identifier that identifies each artist including the name of the artist, an album identifier that identifies each album including the name of the album, etc., and a content that identifies each content including the name of the content An identifier, a default playback order in an album, etc. (for example, a track number in a music album), a total number of contents constituting the album, copyright protection information, and address information indicating the location of each content in the contents DB 331 (for example, URI (Uniform Resource Identifier).

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a content management structure in the content server 30. In the content server 30, each content is managed according to the hierarchical structure shown in FIG. 5 based on the attribute indicated by the attribute information. In FIG. 5, alphabets shown in each block, or a combination of alphabets and numerical values, are an artist identifier (a hierarchy indicated as “artist”), an album identifier (a hierarchy indicated as “album etc.”), and a content identifier (“content”). Hierarchy).
As shown in FIG. 5, the contents stored in the content server 30 are grouped in units of artists, and further subdivided and grouped in units of albums and the like related to each artist. Such grouping can be specified from the identifiers of artists and albums described in the attribute information. As for the identifier of an album or the like, the phrase “abm” written in parentheses means that it corresponds to a music album, and the phrase “ply” written in parentheses means that it corresponds to a playlist. In the content identifier, the numerical value at the end of the code represents the default playback order in an album or the like, and in particular, the music album corresponds to the track number.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration realized by the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10. By executing the program, the control unit 11 performs a device selection reception unit 111, a content selection reception unit 112, a reproduction start instruction unit 113, a reproduction elapsed time acquisition unit 114, a delay time acquisition unit 115, a reproduction start time calculation unit 116, In addition, a function corresponding to the reproduction stop instruction unit 117 is realized.
The device selection receiving unit 111 receives selection of one playback device among a plurality of playback devices. In the present embodiment, the content playback system 1 includes two content playback devices, a content playback device 20A and a content playback device 20B, and the user selects a content playback device that plays back content from these content playback devices. be able to. The device selection accepting unit 111 accepts selection of a playback device of the content playback device 20A and the content playback device 20B when the user operates the UI unit 12.

The content selection receiving unit 112 receives selection of one content among a plurality of contents. In the present embodiment, the content selection receiving unit 112 displays an artist, an album, or the like on the UI unit 12 when the selection of a playback device is received by the device selection receiving unit 111. When an artist, an album, or the like is selected by operating the UI unit 12 by the user, the content server 30 is accessed to acquire attribute information representing the content attribute. For example, when a range of content to be played is specified, such as specifying an artist related to the content to be played back or specifying an album or the like, the attributes of those content are indicated. Get attribute information.
Upon acquiring the attribute information, the content selection receiving unit 112 generates a content list, displays the content list on the UI unit 12, and the user operates the UI unit 12 to select one content from a plurality of contents. Accept.

The reproduction start instruction unit 113 supplies the wireless communication unit 13 with a reproduction start instruction for one content related to the selection received by the content selection reception unit 112 to the content reproduction device related to the selection received by the device selection reception unit 111. To do. In the present embodiment, the reproduction start instruction unit 113 supplies a content identifier related to the selected content to the wireless communication unit 13 together with an instruction to start reproduction.
Further, in the present embodiment, when the playback selection instruction unit 113 receives the selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit 111 during playback of the content, the playback start instruction unit 113 The content is instructed to start playback from the playback start time calculated by the playback start time calculation unit 116. That is, the playback start instruction unit 113 supplies the wireless communication unit 13 with an instruction to start playback of the content from the playback start time to the other playback device.

The playback elapsed time acquisition unit 114 receives the playback elapsed time of the content being played back from the playback device that is playing back the content when the device selection receiving unit 111 receives a selection of another playback device during playback of the content. To get.
When the device selection receiving unit 111 receives a selection of another playback device during playback of content, the delay time acquisition unit 115 acquires the content from the content server 30 and prepares for playback. The delay time until the reproduction is possible is obtained from the other reproduction apparatus.

The playback start time calculation unit 116 calculates the playback start time based on the playback elapsed time acquired by the playback elapsed time acquisition unit 114 and the delay time acquired by the delay time acquisition unit 115.
When the playback start instruction unit 116 instructs the other playback device to start playback of the content from the playback start time, the playback stop instruction unit 117 plays back the content that has been played back. And instructing to stop the reproduction of the content. In the present embodiment, an example in which the reproduction stop process is not executed will be described, and thus the control unit 11 does not function as the reproduction stop instruction unit 117. The reproduction stop process will be described in a second embodiment described later.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration realized by the control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatuses 20A and 20B. The control unit 21 realizes functions corresponding to the content acquisition unit 212, the reproduction unit 214, and the delay time reading unit 215 by executing the program.
When receiving a reproduction start instruction from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22, the content acquisition unit 212 acquires content to be reproduced from the content server 30 via the network communication unit 23. In the present embodiment, the content acquisition unit 212 acquires the content from the playback start time when receiving an instruction to start playback from the playback start time.

The playback unit 214 plays back the content acquired by the content acquisition unit 212. The reproduction unit 214 generates a musical sound signal corresponding to the acquired content, outputs it to the speaker 24, and causes the speaker 24 to emit sound according to the musical sound signal.
When the delay time reading unit 215 receives a delay time request from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22, the delay time reading unit 215 reads a predetermined delay time stored in advance in the storage unit 25. A predetermined delay time is output to the wireless communication terminal 10 via

  10 and 11 are sequence charts showing the flow of processing in the content reproduction system 1. A user of the wireless communication terminal 10 operates the UI unit 12 to instruct activation of an application program for reproducing content. In response to this instruction, the control unit 11 reads and executes the application program. First, the wireless communication unit 13 searches for the content reproduction device 20A and the content reproduction device 20B that can wirelessly communicate with its own terminal, and the UI unit 12 transmits the content reproduction device 20A. Display a list. FIG. 12 shows a display example of the list. In FIG. 12, the content reproduction apparatus 20A is displayed as DMR1, and the content reproduction apparatus 20B is displayed as DMR2.

  When the UI unit 12 is operated by the user and the content reproduction device 20A or the content reproduction device 20B is selected, the control unit 11 functioning as the device selection reception unit 111 receives this selection (S1). In the present embodiment, as an example, it is assumed that the content reproduction apparatus 20A is selected. In FIG. 12, the color of the button indicating DMR1 has changed to the selected color, indicating that the content playback device 20A has been selected.

  The control unit 11 functioning as the content selection receiving unit 112 receives an operation for selecting content to be reproduced (S2). The control unit 11 accepts an operation for selecting content to be reproduced by the UI unit 12 in units of artists or albums, for example. Here, it is assumed that the control unit 11 receives selection of content related to the album “ABC” of the artist with the artist identifier “PQR” shown in FIG.

  Subsequently, the control unit 11 requests the content server 30 to transmit the attribute information of the content to be reproduced via the wireless communication unit 13 (S3). When receiving the attribute information transmission request from the wireless communication terminal 10, the control unit 31 of the content server 30 reads the corresponding one from the attribute information DB 332 and transmits it to the wireless communication terminal 10 (S4).

  Next, the control part 11 produces | generates a content list based on the received attribute information (S5). The content of the generated content list is displayed by the UI unit 12 and can be selected by the user. FIG. 13 shows a display example of the content list. As shown in FIG. 13, “DMR1” indicating the selected content reproduction apparatus 20A is displayed at the top of the UI unit 12, and the names of the individual songs included in the content list are displayed below that. Is displayed.

  When the UI unit 12 is operated by the user and any piece of music is selected as the content to be played, the control unit 11 receives an operation for selecting the content to be played (S6). The control unit 11 functioning as the content selection receiving unit 112 writes the content identifier of the selected content in the first reproduction list 151 stored in the storage unit 15. Then, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 transmits an instruction to start reproduction together with the content identifier of the selected content to the content reproduction apparatus 20A via the wireless communication unit 13 (S7).

  The control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20A receives the content identifier and the reproduction instruction transmitted from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22, and acquires them. The control unit 21 writes the content identifier in the second reproduction list 251 stored in the storage unit 25. And the control part 21 transmits the transmission request | requirement of the content for reproduction | regeneration to the content server 30 via the network communication part 23 (S8). When receiving the content transmission request via the network communication unit 32, the control unit 31 of the content server 30 reads the corresponding content data from the attribute information DB 332 and transmits it to the content reproduction device 20A (S9).

  Next, the control unit 21 stores the content data transmitted from the content server 30 in the storage unit 25 while receiving the data. Then, the control unit 21 performs processing according to the content data format and prepares for reproduction. For example, decompression processing is performed on data that has been compressed and encoded. When the preparation for reproduction is completed, the control unit 21 starts reproduction of the selected content (S10). Note that the control unit 21 stores the elapsed time from the start of reproduction in the storage unit 25 when the reproduction of the content is started.

  The control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 causes the UI unit 12 to display an artist name, an album name, a song name, and the like based on content attribute information during content playback. The content attribute information may be acquired from the playback device. Further, when the user operates the UI unit 12 to select a mode for displaying a list of content playback devices capable of wireless communication with the terminal, the content playback device list is displayed in the UI unit 12 as shown in FIG. Display.

  Then, when the UI unit 12 is operated by the user and a content reproduction device that is another content reproduction device is selected as a content reproduction device that reproduces content, instead of the content reproduction device that is currently performing reproduction, the device The control unit 11 functioning as the selection receiving unit 111 receives this selection (S20). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the content reproduction device 20B is selected as another content reproduction device. In FIG. 14, the color of the button indicating DMR2 has changed to the selected color, indicating that the content playback device 20B has been selected.

When another content playback device is selected as a content playback device that plays back content during playback of content, the control unit 11 performs playback on the content playback device 20A that is currently playing back content. Request for transmission of elapsed playback time since the start (S21).
The control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20A that has received the transmission elapsed time transmission request from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 reads the elapsed reproduction time from the reproduction start from the storage unit 25. Then, the control unit 21 transmits the read reproduction elapsed time to the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 (S22). As an example, assume that the elapsed playback time T1 from the start of playback is 0:05 (5 seconds).

When receiving the playback elapsed time from the content playback device 20A via the wireless communication unit 13, the control unit 11 functioning as the playback elapsed time acquisition unit 114 of the wireless communication terminal 10 causes the storage unit 15 to store the received playback elapsed time. . In this way, the control unit 11 acquires the elapsed playback time. Next, the control unit 11 functioning as the delay time acquisition unit 115 transmits a transmission request for the delay time together with the content identifier of the content being reproduced to the content reproduction device 20B newly selected during the reproduction of the content. (S23).
The control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20B that has received the content identifier of the content being reproduced from the wireless communication terminal 10 and the transmission request for the delay time via the wireless communication unit 22 functions as the delay time reading unit 215, and The predetermined delay time stored in the storage unit 25 is read (S26). The delay time is a period from when the amount of data required for starting playback is received from the content server 30 to buffering the storage unit 25 and performing processing such as decompression according to the data format until playback is possible. Say time. In the present embodiment, the delay time is measured in advance at the time of manufacture or the like and is stored in the storage unit 25 as a default value. As an example, it is assumed that the read delay time D2 is 0:01 (1 second). When reading of the delay time is completed, the control unit 21 transmits the delay time to the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 (S27).

  When receiving the delay time from the content reproduction apparatus 20B via the wireless communication unit 13, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start time calculation unit 116 of the wireless communication terminal 10 calculates the reproduction start time (S28). The reproduction start time is calculated by adding the reproduction elapsed time T1 and the delay time D2. When switching from the content playback device 20A to the content playback device 20B is selected during content playback, the content playback device 20B is instructed to start playback from the timing after the elapsed playback time T1 in the content playback device 20A. As content, it will be connected in time. That is, the content playback device 20A plays back content from the start of playback until the playback elapsed time T1, and the content playback device 20B plays back content from the playback elapsed time T1 onward, so that the content is played back without interruption. Will be. However, as described above, the content playback apparatus 20B cannot start playback immediately after the playback start instruction, and the delay time D2 described above is required until playback starts. Therefore, the control unit 11 adds the predetermined delay time D2 to the playback elapsed time T1, and calculates the playback start time ST1 instructed to the content playback device 20B.

(Equation 1)
Playback start time ST1 = playback elapsed time T1 + predetermined delay time D2
In this example, if the playback elapsed time T1 is 0:05 and the delay time D2 is 0:01, the playback start time ST1 is 0:06 (6 seconds).
When the calculation of the reproduction start time ST1 is completed, the control unit 11 transmits a reproduction start instruction together with the content identifier corresponding to the content and the reproduction start time ST1 to the content reproduction apparatus 20B via the wireless communication unit 13. (S29).
The control unit 21 that functions as the content acquisition unit 212 of the content reproduction device 20B that has received the content identifier corresponding to the content, the reproduction start time ST1, and the reproduction start instruction from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22. Transmits to the content server 30 via the wireless communication unit 22 a request to transmit content data corresponding to the content identifier and starting from the reproduction start time ST1 (S30).
In this example, the time required to acquire the delay time from the playback device is zero. In order to calculate the playback start time more accurately, the time required to acquire the delay time from the playback device may be added to the playback start time.

  When the control unit 31 of the content server 30 receives the content data transmission request starting from the reproduction start time ST1 via the network communication unit 32, the control unit 31 reads the corresponding content data from the attribute information DB 332 and reproduces the content. The data is transmitted to the device 20B (S31). When receiving the content data from the reproduction start time ST1 via the wireless communication unit 22, the control unit 21 functioning as the content acquisition unit 212 buffers the storage unit 25, and if necessary, performs decompression or the like. Processing is performed until processing is possible. The content playback device 20B cannot perform playback during the delay time D2 from the start of reception until the completion of the process. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, data that has already taken into account the delay time D2 is not used. Receiving. Accordingly, when the reproduction is started after the processing until the control unit 21 of the content reproduction device 20B functioning as the reproduction unit 214 becomes reproducible (S32), the content is transmitted to the content reproduction device 20B at 0:06 (6 seconds). Will be played from. That is, the content from 0:06 is played back after 0:06 has elapsed from the start of playback in the content playback device 20A. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15, the content is played back smoothly in time, and playback without any sense of incongruity on hearing is performed.

FIG. 40 shows a comparative example. In FIG. 40, the waveform of the content during continuous playback of the content is shown in the upper row, and the waveform of the content when the playback device is switched is shown in the lower row. As shown in FIG. 40, it is assumed that reproduction is started at 0 seconds and switching to another reproduction apparatus is selected at 1 second. In this comparative example, when playback is started with another selected playback device, content from 1 second, which is the point in time when the selection is made, is played back. Therefore, assuming that the delay time until playback on another selected playback device becomes possible is 1 second, the time is selected when 2 seconds have elapsed from 0 seconds when playback started on the first playback device. Playback on another playback device is started. However, the content that is played back at this time is the content from the playback position of 1 second, and the content is not connected smoothly in time, and the playback is audible.
However, according to the present embodiment, when 2 seconds have elapsed from the start of playback, the content from the playback position of 2 seconds is played back, the content is smoothly connected in time, and playback without a sense of incongruity in hearing is possible. Done.

  In the content reproduction system 1 of the embodiment described above, when another second content reproduction device is selected as the reproduction device during reproduction of the content in the first content reproduction device, the process up to that point is performed. A playback start time is calculated based on the elapsed playback time in the first content playback device and the delay time until playback is possible in the second content playback device, and is calculated for the second content playback device. Instructed to start playback of content from the playback start time. Therefore, the elapsed time from the playback start time in the first content playback device that starts the playback of the content first, and the playback start timing of the content that is started to be played back in the second content playback device that starts the playback of the content next Will be reproduced without any sense of incongruity in the sense of hearing that is connected smoothly in time. In particular, in the present embodiment, the content playback device 20B is instructed to start playback of content during playback of content by the content playback device 20A, but playback of content by the content playback device 20A is continued. Therefore, there is no break in the sound, and a smooth connection in time can be realized.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which two content playback apparatuses are connected in advance to a network has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a case where a content reproduction device 20B that has not been connected to the network at the time of content reproduction by the content reproduction device 20A is newly joined to the network. In this case, the processing time required for joining the network may be included in the delay time, measured in advance, and stored in the storage unit 25. Alternatively, the startup time from power OFF to ON may be measured in advance, and the measured time may be included in the delay time and stored in the storage unit 25.

<B: Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, when a playback start instruction is given to the content playback device 20B, playback in the content playback device 20A that has been playing back content until then is stopped. FIG. 16 is a sequence chart corresponding to FIG. 11 in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 and the reproduction stop instruction unit 117 of the wireless communication terminal 10 in the present embodiment calculates the reproduction start time (S28) and then sends it to the content reproduction apparatus 20A. On the other hand, a reproduction stop instruction is issued via the wireless communication unit 13 (S40), and a reproduction start instruction is transmitted to the content reproduction apparatus 20B (S29). The control unit 21 of the content playback apparatus 20A that has received the playback stop instruction via the wireless communication unit 22 stops the playback of the content (S41). As a result, as shown in FIG. 17, there is a silent state from when playback is stopped at the content playback device 20A until playback is started at the content playback device 20B. However, as in the first embodiment, the content playback start position in the content playback device 20B coincides with the elapsed time from the playback start in the content playback device 20A to the playback start in the content playback device 20B. Connection is maintained, and for example, a sense of incongruity such as a rhythm disturbance is not generated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 18, the content playback apparatus 20A may be instructed to stop playback during the playback stop time. FIG. 18 is a sequence chart corresponding to FIG. 11 in the first embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 18, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 and the reproduction stop instruction unit 117 sets the reproduction stop time in the content reproduction apparatus 20A after calculating the reproduction start time (S28) (S50). ). Specifically, the reproduction start time ST1 described in the first embodiment is set as the reproduction stop time ST2. When the setting of the reproduction stop time ST2 is completed (S50), the control unit 11 transmits a reproduction start instruction to the content reproduction apparatus 20B (S29). Then, the control unit 11 transmits a reproduction stop instruction to the content reproduction apparatus 20A via the wireless communication unit 13 after the set reproduction stop time ST2 (S51). Note that the timing of the reproduction stop instruction may coincide with the reproduction stop time ST2, or may be a little later than the reproduction stop time ST2.
The control unit 21 of the content playback apparatus 20A that has received the playback stop instruction via the wireless communication unit 22 stops the playback of the content (S52). As described above, since the reproduction stop time ST2 is the same as the reproduction start time ST1, as shown in FIG. 19, the timing at which reproduction is stopped at the content reproduction apparatus 20A and the timing at which reproduction is started at the content reproduction apparatus 20B. Are equal and silence is eliminated. In addition, as in the first embodiment, the content playback start position in the content playback device 20B matches the elapsed time from the playback start in the content playback device 20A to the playback start in the content playback device 20B. Connection is maintained, and for example, a sense of incongruity such as a rhythm disturbance is not generated.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 20, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 designates the reproduction stop time for the content reproduction device 20A, and the reproduction is performed at the designated reproduction stop time by the control unit 21 of the content reproduction device 20A. You may make it stop. FIG. 20 is a sequence chart corresponding to FIG. 11 in the first embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 20, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 and the reproduction stop instruction unit 117 sets the reproduction stop time in the content reproduction apparatus 20A after calculating the reproduction start time (S28) (S50). ). Specifically, the reproduction start time ST1 described in the first embodiment is set as the reproduction stop time ST2. When the setting of the playback stop time ST2 is completed (S50), the control unit 11 transmits a playback stop instruction including the playback stop time ST2 to the content playback device 20A via the wireless communication unit 13 (S51). Further, the control unit 11 transmits a reproduction start instruction to the content reproduction apparatus 20B (S29). The control unit 21 of the content playback apparatus 20A that has received the playback stop instruction via the wireless communication unit 22 does not stop playback immediately, but stops playback of the content when the playback stop time ST2 is reached (S52). As described above, since the reproduction stop time ST2 is the same as the reproduction start time ST1, as shown in FIG. 21, the timing at which reproduction is stopped at the content reproduction apparatus 20A and the timing at which reproduction is started at the content reproduction apparatus 20B. Are equal and silence is eliminated. In addition, as in the first embodiment, the content playback start position in the content playback device 20B matches the elapsed time from the playback start in the content playback device 20A to the playback start in the content playback device 20B. Connection is maintained, and for example, a sense of incongruity such as a rhythm disturbance is not generated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the playback in the content playback device 20A that started playback first is stopped, the temporal connection in the content is maintained and, for example, the rhythm is disturbed. Playback without a sense of incongruity can be performed.

<C: Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is an example in which the wireless communication terminal 10 also serves as the content server 30. 22 and 23 are sequence charts showing the flow of processing in the content reproduction system 1 of the present embodiment, and correspond to the sequence charts of FIGS. 10 and 11 in the first embodiment, respectively. FIG. 24 is also a sequence chart showing the flow of processing in the content reproduction system 1 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 22 and FIG. 23, the same step numbers are assigned to the processes common to the processes shown in FIG. 10 and FIG.

  As in the first embodiment, when the UI unit 12 is operated by the user and the content playback device 20A or the content playback device 20B is selected, the control unit 11 functioning as the device selection receiving unit 111 receives this selection ( FIG. 22: S1). Also in the present embodiment, as an example, it is assumed that the content reproduction apparatus 20A is selected. The control unit 11 functioning as the content selection receiving unit 112 receives an operation of selecting content to be played back (S2). The control unit 11 accepts an operation for selecting content to be reproduced by the UI unit 12 in units of artists or albums, for example.

  Next, the control unit 11 acquires the attribute information of the selected content. In the present embodiment, the wireless communication terminal 10 also serves as the content server 30. In the first embodiment, the storage unit of the content server 30 is used. The content DB and attribute information DB corresponding to the content DB 331 and attribute information DB 332 stored in 33 are stored in the storage unit 15 as the storage unit of the wireless communication terminal 10. Therefore, the control part 11 reads the thing corresponding to the selected content from attribute information DB memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 15 (S60).

Next, the control unit 11 generates a content list based on the read attribute information (S5). The content of the generated content list is displayed by the UI unit 12 and can be selected by the user. When the UI unit 12 is operated by the user and any piece of music is selected as the content to be played back, the control unit 11 functioning as the content selection receiving unit 112 selects the content to be played back. Is accepted (S6). The control unit 11 functioning as the content selection receiving unit 112 writes the content identifier of the selected content in the first reproduction list 151 stored in the storage unit 15. Then, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 transmits a reproduction start instruction together with the content identifier of the selected content to the content reproduction apparatus 20A by the wireless communication unit 13 (S7). As an example, it is assumed that the time when the instruction to start reproduction is transmitted is 0:00.
The control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20A receives the content identifier and the reproduction instruction transmitted from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22, and acquires them. The control unit 21 writes the received content identifier in the second reproduction list 251 stored in the storage unit 25. The control unit 21 transmits a transmission request for content data corresponding to the received content identifier to the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 (S61). The control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 reads the corresponding content data from the storage unit 15 (S62), and transmits the read content data to the content reproduction apparatus 20A via the wireless communication unit 13 (S63). In the present embodiment, the content DB corresponding to the content DB 331 is stored in the storage unit 15 in this way. That is, in the present embodiment, the storage unit 15 functions as a storage unit that stores a plurality of contents.

The control unit 21 that functions as the content acquisition unit 212 of the content reproduction device 20A receives and acquires content data transmitted from the wireless communication terminal 10 by the wireless communication unit 22. Then, the control unit 21 performs buffering of the received content, performs processing according to the format of the received content data, and prepares for playback. For example, decompression processing is performed on data that has been compressed and encoded. When the preparation for playback is completed, the control unit 21 that functions as the playback unit 214 starts playback of the selected content (S10). At this time, the control unit 21 transmits a content reproduction start report to the wireless communication terminal 10 by the wireless communication unit 22 (S64). It takes a predetermined time from the start of reception of the content data by the control unit 21 until the preparation for reproduction including content buffering and processing according to the data format is completed. Therefore, there is a delay time from when the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 transmits a playback start instruction until playback is actually started in the content playback device 20A. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a content reproduction start report is transmitted from the control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20A to the wireless communication terminal 10. When the wireless communication unit 13 receives the playback start report from the content playback device 20A, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 stores the received time in the storage unit 15 as the content playback start time ST0 in the content playback device 20A. (S65). Note that the control unit 11 treats the reproduction start time ST0 as a reference time in subsequent processing. As an example, it is assumed that the time when a report of the start of playback is received from the content playback device 20A is 0:01. That is, the actual reproduction is started one second after the reproduction start instruction is transmitted to the content reproduction apparatus 20A. In this case, the control unit 11 causes the storage unit 15 to store 0:01 as the reproduction start time ST0.
Note that the content reproduction start report from the control unit 21 to the wireless communication terminal 10 is not necessarily performed, and the wireless communication terminal 10 may periodically acquire the reproduction elapsed time from the control unit 21. For example, if the wireless communication terminal 10 acquires the playback elapsed time from the control unit 21 after 0:03 seconds after the playback start instruction and the playback elapsed time is 0:02 seconds, 0: 03-0: 02 = 0: 01, and the same result that the reproduction start time ST0 = 0: 01 is obtained.

  The control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 causes the UI unit 12 to display an artist name, an album name, a song name, and the like based on content attribute information during content playback. When the user operates the UI unit 12 to select a mode for displaying a list of content reproduction devices that can wirelessly communicate with the user terminal, the UI unit 12 displays a list of content reproduction devices. Then, when the UI unit 12 is operated by the user and a content reproduction device that is another content reproduction device is selected as a content reproduction device that reproduces content, instead of the content reproduction device that is currently performing reproduction, the device The control unit 11 functioning as the selection receiving unit 111 receives this selection (FIG. 23: S20). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the content reproduction device 20B is selected as another content reproduction device.

  When another content playback device is selected as a content playback device for playing back content during playback, the control unit 11 functioning as the playback elapsed time acquisition unit 114 calculates the playback elapsed time (S66). ). The elapsed playback time may be acquired from the content playback apparatus 20A. As described above, the control unit 11 stores the content reproduction start time ST0 in the content reproduction device 20A in the storage unit 15, and therefore, by calculating the difference in time when another content reproduction device is selected, The elapsed playback time can be calculated. As an example, it is assumed that the time when the content reproduction device 20B is selected as another content reproduction device is 0:06. In this case, since the reproduction start time ST0 in the content reproduction apparatus 20A is 0:01, the reproduction elapsed time T1 from the reproduction start at the time when the content reproduction apparatus 20B is selected is 0:05 (5 seconds). The control unit 11 stores the calculated reproduction elapsed time in the storage unit 15. Next, similarly to the first embodiment, the control unit 11 functioning as the delay time acquisition unit 115 gives the content playback device 20B newly selected during content playback together with the content identifier of the content being played back. Then, a transmission request for delay time is transmitted (S23).

  The control unit 21 that functions as a delay time reading unit of the content reproduction device 20B that has received the content identifier of the content being reproduced from the wireless communication terminal 10 and the transmission request for the delay time via the wireless communication unit 22 is stored in advance. The predetermined delay time stored in the unit 25 is read (S26). As an example, it is assumed that the read delay time D2 is 0:01 (1 second). When the predetermined delay time has been read, the control unit 21 transmits the delay time to the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 (S27).

  When the control unit 11 that functions as the reproduction start time calculation unit 116 of the wireless communication terminal 10 receives the delay time from the content reproduction device 20B via the wireless communication unit 13, the control unit 11 performs the same in the content reproduction device 20B as in the first embodiment. The reproduction start time is calculated (S28). In this example, if the playback elapsed time T1 is 0:05 and the delay time D2 is 0:01, the playback start time ST1 is 0:06 (6 seconds). When the calculation of the reproduction start time ST1 is completed, the control unit 11 transmits a reproduction start instruction together with the content identifier corresponding to the content and the reproduction start time ST1 to the content reproduction apparatus 20B via the wireless communication unit 13. (S29). In addition, the control part 11 shall memorize | store the reproduction | regeneration start time ST1 in the content reproduction apparatus 20B in the memory | storage part 15. FIG.

  The control unit 21 that functions as the content acquisition unit 212 of the content reproduction device 20B that has received the content identifier corresponding to the content, the reproduction start time ST1, and the reproduction start instruction from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22. Transmits a content transmission request including the content identifier and the reproduction start time ST1 to the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 (S67). The control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 that also functions as a content server receives content data corresponding to the content identifier from the storage unit 15 that functions as a storage unit. The data is read and transmitted to the content reproduction apparatus 20B via the wireless communication unit 13 (S68). When the content data is received from the wireless communication terminal 10, the control unit 21 buffers the content data in the storage unit 25. If necessary, the control unit 21 performs processing such as decompression until the data can be reproduced. Process. The content playback device 20B cannot perform playback during the delay time D2 from the start of reception until the completion of the process. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, data that has already taken into account the delay time D2 is not used. Receiving. Therefore, when the reproduction is started after the processing until the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction unit 214 of the content reproduction apparatus 20B becomes reproducible (S32), the content is transmitted to the content reproduction apparatus 20B at 0:06 (7 seconds). ) Will be played. That is, the content from 0:06 is played back after 0: 067 has elapsed since the start of playback in the content playback device 20A. As a result, as in the first embodiment, the content is played back smoothly in time, and playback without any sense of incongruity on hearing is performed.

  In the present embodiment, it is further assumed that the content playback device 20A is selected again as a device for playing back content after 10 seconds from the start of the first playback in the content playback device 20B. Note that the content playback device 20A is assumed to have stopped playback in some way when the first playback starts in the content playback device 20B. Also in this case, the content reproduction device which is another content reproduction device is selected as the content reproduction device which reproduces the content by operating the UI unit 12 by the user, instead of the content reproduction device which is currently performing reproduction. And the control part 11 which functions as the apparatus selection reception part 111 receives this selection (FIG. 24: S70). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the content reproduction device 20A is selected again as another content reproduction device.

  When another content playback device is selected as a content playback device for playing back content during playback, the control unit 11 functioning as the playback elapsed time acquisition unit 114 calculates the playback elapsed time ( S71). As described above, the control unit 11 stores the content reproduction start time ST0 in the content reproduction device 20A in the storage unit 15, and therefore, by calculating the difference in time when another content reproduction device is selected, The elapsed playback time can be calculated. Note that the elapsed playback time may be acquired from the content playback apparatus 20A. In this example, it is assumed that the reproduction start time ST0 in the content reproduction device 20A is 0:01, and the time when the content reproduction device 20A is selected again is 0:11. Therefore, the elapsed playback time T1 from when playback is first started by the content playback apparatus 20A is 0:10. The control unit 11 stores the calculated reproduction elapsed time T1 in the storage unit 15. Next, the control unit 11 functioning as the delay time acquisition unit 115 transmits a transmission request for the delay time together with the content identifier of the content being reproduced to the content reproduction device 20A newly selected during the reproduction of the content. (S72).

The control unit 21 that functions as a delay time reading unit of the content playback device 20A that has received the content identifier of the content being played back and the transmission request for the delay time from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 is stored in advance in the storage unit The predetermined delay time stored in 25 is read (S75). As an example, it is assumed that the delay time D2 is 0:01 (1 second). When the reading of the delay time is completed, the control unit 21 functioning as the delay time reading unit transmits the delay time to the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 (S76).
When receiving the delay time from the content reproduction device 20A via the wireless communication unit 13, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start time calculation unit 116 of the wireless communication terminal 10 calculates the reproduction start time in the content reproduction device 20A ( S77). In this example, if the playback elapsed time T1 is 0:10 and the delay time D2 is 0:01, the playback start time ST1 is 0:11 (11 seconds). When the calculation of the reproduction start time ST1 is completed, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 instructs the content reproduction apparatus 20A to start reproduction together with the content identifier corresponding to the content and the reproduction start time ST1. It transmits via the wireless communication part 13 (S78).

  The control unit 21 that functions as the content acquisition unit 212 of the content reproduction device 20A that has received the content identifier corresponding to the content, the reproduction start time ST1, and the reproduction start instruction from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22. Transmits a content transmission request to the wireless communication terminal 10 (S79). When the content data is received from the wireless communication terminal 10 (S68), the control unit 21 buffers the content data in the storage unit 25. If necessary, the control unit 21 performs processing such as decompression to enable reproduction. Perform the process up to The content playback apparatus 20A cannot perform playback during the delay time D2 from the start of reception until the completion of the process. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, data that has already taken into account the delay time D2 is not used. Receiving. Therefore, when playback is started after the processing until the control unit 21 that functions as the playback unit 214 of the content playback device 20A can play back (S81), the content is 0:11 (11 seconds) in the content playback device 20A. Will be played from. That is, the content from 0:11 is played back after 0:11 has elapsed since the start of playback in the content playback device 20A. As a result, the content is played back smoothly in time, and playback without any sense of incongruity on hearing is performed.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 25 to FIG. 27, a mode of transmitting a reproduction stop instruction to the content reproduction apparatus will be described. 25 to 27 are sequence charts including a playback stop instruction in the present embodiment, and the playback stop instruction and the playback stop processing correspond to the sequence charts of FIGS. 16, 18 and 20 in the second embodiment, respectively. doing. The reproduction process corresponds to FIG. 23 of the present embodiment described above. Also in the present embodiment, when a playback start instruction is sent to a content playback apparatus selected during content playback, a playback stop instruction is sent to the content playback apparatus that has been playing the content up to that point. be able to.

  As shown in FIG. 25, after calculating the reproduction start time (S28), the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 according to the present embodiment transmits a reproduction start instruction to the content reproduction apparatus 20B (S29) and the content. An instruction to stop playback is given to the playback device 20A via the wireless communication unit 13 (S40). The control unit 21 of the content playback apparatus 20A that has received the playback stop instruction via the wireless communication unit 22 immediately stops the playback of the content (S41). As a result, as shown in FIG. 17, there is a silent state from when playback is stopped at the content playback device 20A until playback is started at the content playback device 20B. However, since the content playback start position in the content playback device 20B matches the elapsed time from the playback start in the content playback device 20A to the playback start in the content playback device 20B, the temporal connection in the content is maintained. For example, a sense of incongruity such as rhythm disturbance is not generated.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 26, a playback stop time in the content playback device 20A may be set, and the content playback device 20A may be instructed to stop playback. In the example shown in FIG. 26, the playback start instructing unit 113 and the control unit 11 functioning as a playback stop instructing unit set the playback stop time in the content playback device 20A after calculating the playback start time (S28) (S50). . Specifically, the reproduction start time ST1 is set as the reproduction stop time ST2. When the setting of the reproduction stop time ST2 is completed (S50), the control unit 11 transmits a reproduction start instruction to the content reproduction apparatus 20B (S29). Then, the control unit 11 transmits a reproduction stop instruction to the content reproduction device 20A after the reproduction stop time ST2 via the wireless communication unit 13 (S51). The control unit 21 of the content playback apparatus 20A that has received the playback stop instruction via the wireless communication unit 22 stops the playback of the content (S52). As described above, since the reproduction stop time ST2 is the same as the reproduction start time ST1, as shown in FIG. 19, the timing at which reproduction is stopped at the content reproduction apparatus 20A and the timing at which reproduction is started at the content reproduction apparatus 20B. Are equal and silence is eliminated. In addition, since the content playback start position in the content playback device 20B matches the elapsed time from the playback start in the content playback device 20A to the playback start in the content playback device 20B, the temporal connection in the content is maintained. For example, a sense of incongruity such as rhythm disturbance is not generated.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 27, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 designates the reproduction stop time for the content reproduction apparatus 20A, and the control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20A performs reproduction at the designated reproduction stop time. You may make it stop. FIG. 27 is a sequence chart corresponding to FIG. 20 in the first embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 27, the reproduction start instruction unit 113 and the control unit 11 functioning as a reproduction stop instruction unit set the reproduction stop time in the content reproduction apparatus 20A (S50) after calculating the reproduction start time (S28). . Specifically, the reproduction start time ST1 described in the first embodiment is set as the reproduction stop time ST2. When the setting of the reproduction stop time ST2 is completed (S50), the control unit 11 transmits a reproduction start instruction to the content reproduction apparatus 20B (S29). Further, the control unit 11 transmits a playback stop instruction including the playback stop time ST2 to the content playback device 20A via the wireless communication unit 13 (S51). The control unit 21 of the content playback apparatus 20A that has received the playback stop instruction via the wireless communication unit 22 does not stop playback immediately, but stops playback of the content when the playback stop time ST2 is reached (S52). As described above, since the reproduction stop time ST2 is the same as the reproduction start time ST1, as shown in FIG. 21, the timing at which reproduction is stopped at the content reproduction apparatus 20A and the timing at which reproduction is started at the content reproduction apparatus 20B. Are equal and silence is eliminated. In addition, as in the first embodiment, the content playback start position in the content playback device 20B matches the elapsed time from the playback start in the content playback device 20A to the playback start in the content playback device 20B. Connection is maintained, and for example, a sense of incongruity such as a rhythm disturbance is not generated.

  In the content reproduction system 1 according to the embodiment described above, even when the wireless communication terminal 10 also serves as a content server, the elapsed time from the reproduction start time in the first content reproduction apparatus that starts the reproduction of the content first, and the next Since it is possible to match the playback start timing of the content that is started to be played back by the second content playback device that starts the playback of the content, it is possible to perform playback without a sense of incongruity that is smoothly connected in time. Become.

<D: Fourth Embodiment>
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In each of the above-described embodiments, the default delay time stored in advance in the storage unit 25 functioning as a delay time storage device in the content playback devices 20A and 20B is read out by the control unit 21 of the content playback devices 20A and 20B. The configuration for calculating the reproduction start time based on the predetermined delay time transmitted and received by the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and a predetermined delay time is stored in advance in the storage unit 15 functioning as a delay time storage device in the wireless communication terminal 10, and the control unit 11 reads from the storage unit 15. A predetermined delay time may be read out. 28 and 29 show sequence charts of the processing of this embodiment. FIG. 28 corresponds to the sequence chart of FIG. 11 in the first embodiment, and FIG. 29 corresponds to the sequence chart of FIG. 23 in the third embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 28, when the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 accepts selection of the content playback device 20B during playback of content by the content playback device 20A (S20), the elapsed playback time T1 is received from the content playback device 20A. Obtain (S21, S22). Next, the control unit 11 reads a predetermined delay time D2 stored in the storage unit 15 functioning as a delay time accumulating device (S200). Then, the control unit 11 calculates a reproduction start time ST1 from the read default delay time D2 and reproduction elapsed time T1 (S28). The subsequent processing is the same as in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 15 stores both the delay time D2 for the content playback device 20B and the delay time D2 for the content playback device 20B. Even when the selection of the content reproduction apparatus 20A is accepted during reproduction, the delay time D2 can be read out as in FIG.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 29, the present embodiment can also be applied to a third embodiment in which a wireless communication terminal and a content server are integrated. When the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 accepts the selection of the content reproduction device 20B during reproduction of the content by the content reproduction device 20A (S20), the control unit 11 calculates the elapsed reproduction time (S66). In this example, as in the third embodiment, the control unit 11 stores the content reproduction start time ST0 in the content reproduction device 20A in the storage unit 15, and thus the content reproduction device 20B, which is another content reproduction device. By calculating the difference between the time when is selected and the playback start time ST0, the playback elapsed time T1 can be calculated. Next, the control unit 11 reads a predetermined delay time D2 stored in the storage unit 15 functioning as a delay time storage device (S201). Then, the control unit 11 calculates a reproduction start time ST1 from the read delay time D2 and reproduction elapsed time T1 (S28). The subsequent processing is the same as in the third embodiment. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 15 stores both the delay time D2 for the content playback device 20B and the delay time D2 for the content playback device 20B. Even when the selection of the content playback apparatus 20A is received during playback, the delay time D2 can be read out as in FIG.

  Although illustration is omitted, as in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 16, 18, and 20, the reproduction of the content reproduction devices 20 </ b> A and 20 </ b> B is performed in response to a reproduction stop instruction from the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10. Also in the mode of stopping, the configuration in which the predetermined delay time is read from the storage unit 15 of the wireless communication terminal 10 as shown in FIG. 28 instead of reading the predetermined delay time from the storage unit 25 of the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B. Is possible. Similarly, although not shown in the drawings, as in the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 25 to 27, the playback of the content playback devices 20A and 20B is stopped by a playback stop instruction from the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10. However, instead of reading the predetermined delay time from the storage unit 25 of the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B, a configuration in which the predetermined delay time is read from the storage unit 15 of the wireless communication terminal 10 as shown in FIG. 29 may be applied. Is possible.

  As described above, when the predetermined delay time is stored in advance in the storage unit functioning as the delay time storage device, in addition to the configuration of storing in the storage unit 25 of the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B, the wireless communication terminal 10 The structure memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 15 is also employable.

<E: Fifth Embodiment>
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 30 to 32. In each of the above-described embodiments, the configuration in which the predetermined delay time is stored in the storage unit in advance and the predetermined delay time is read at a necessary timing has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and can be configured to measure the delay time. 30 to 32 show sequence charts of the processing of this embodiment. FIG. 30 corresponds to the sequence chart of FIG. 11 in the first embodiment, and FIG. 32 corresponds to the sequence chart of FIG. 23 in the third embodiment. FIG. 31 is a diagram for explaining an example of elapsed time and the like.

  As illustrated in FIG. 30, when the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 accepts selection of the content reproduction device 20B during reproduction of content by the content reproduction device 20A (S20), the control unit 11 functions as the reproduction elapsed time acquisition unit 114, The playback elapsed time T1 is acquired from the content playback device 20A (S21, S22), and the acquired playback elapsed time T1 is stored in the storage unit 15. Next, the control unit 11 functioning as the delay time acquisition unit 115 transmits a transmission request for the delay time together with the content identifier of the content being reproduced to the content reproduction device 20B newly selected during the reproduction of the content. (S23). Since the control unit 11 transmits the transmission request for the delay time immediately after obtaining the reproduction elapsed time T1, the time when the transmission request for the delay time is transmitted is substantially equal to the reproduction elapsed time T1. In this example, it is assumed that the time when the transmission elapsed time T1 and the transmission request for the delay time are transmitted is 0:05.

  The control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20B that has received the content identifier of the content being reproduced and the transmission request for the delay time from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 functions as a delay time measurement unit, and the content identifier The content corresponding to is actually acquired from the content server 30 and the processing until the content becomes reproducible is performed to measure the delay time. Specifically, the control unit 21 transmits a content transmission request corresponding to the content identifier to the content server 30 via the network communication unit 23 (S24). When receiving the content transmission request via the network communication unit 32, the control unit 31 of the content server 30 reads the corresponding content data from the attribute information DB 332 and sends it to the content reproduction device 20B via the network communication unit 32. Transmit (S25). When the control unit 21 receives content data via the network communication unit 23, the control unit 21 buffers the storage unit 25 and, if necessary, performs processing such as decompression and processing until it can be played back. Do. The control unit 21 measures the time from the start of content reception until the completion of the processing until it can be played back, and sets the measured time as the delay time D2 (S85). As an example, it is assumed that the delay time D2 is 0:01 (1 second). When the measurement of the delay time is completed, the control unit 21 transmits the delay time to the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 (S27).

  When the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 functioning as the reproduction start time calculation unit 116 receives the delay time D2 from the content reproduction device 20B via the wireless communication unit 13, the control unit 11 stores the time T2 when the delay time is received in the storage unit 15. Remember. In the present embodiment, as an example, it is assumed that the time T2 at which the delay time is received is 0: 06.5 (representation of 6.5 seconds, and so on). Then, the control unit 11 calculates the reproduction start time (S28). The reproduction start time is calculated by adding the reproduction elapsed time T1, the delay time D2, and the delay time acquisition time D3. The delay time acquisition time D3 is a time obtained by subtracting the time when the transmission request for the delay time is transmitted, that is, the reproduction elapsed time T1 from the time T2 when the delay time is received as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as an example, the time T2 at which the delay time is received is 0: 06.5 and the playback elapsed time T1 is 0:05, so the delay time acquisition time D3 is 0: 01.5.

(Equation 2)
Playback start time ST1 = playback elapsed time T1 + delay time D2 + delay information acquisition time D3
In this example, if the playback elapsed time T1 is 0:05, the delay time D2 is 0:01, and D3 is 0: 015, the playback start time ST1 is 0: 07.5 (7.5 seconds). FIG. 31 shows the relationship between these times.

  When the calculation of the reproduction start time ST1 is completed, the control unit 11 transmits a reproduction start instruction together with the content identifier corresponding to the content and the reproduction start time ST1 to the content reproduction apparatus 20B via the wireless communication unit 13. (S29). The subsequent processing is the same as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 11, and the content playback apparatus 20B plays back content from the playback start time ST1 of 0: 07.5 (7.5 seconds). It will be performed (S32). That is, the content from 0: 07.5 is played back after 0: 07.5 has elapsed from the start of playback in the content playback device 20A. As a result, as shown in FIG. 31, the content is played back smoothly in time, and playback without any sense of incongruity on hearing is performed. When switching to the content playback device 20A is selected during playback of the content playback device 20B, the same processing as described above is performed, and the control unit 21 functioning as a delay time measurement unit in the content playback device 20A delays. Measure time.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 32, the present embodiment can also be applied to a third embodiment in which a wireless communication terminal and a content server are integrated. As shown in FIG. 32, when the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 accepts selection of the content playback device 20B during playback of content by the content playback device 20A (S20), it calculates an elapsed playback time T1 (S66). The calculated reproduction elapsed time T1 is stored in the storage unit 15. Next, the control unit 11 functioning as the delay time acquisition unit 115 transmits a transmission request for the delay time together with the content identifier of the content being reproduced to the content reproduction device 20B newly selected during the reproduction of the content. (S23). Since the control unit 11 transmits the transmission request for the delay time immediately after obtaining the reproduction elapsed time T1, the time when the transmission request for the delay time is transmitted is substantially equal to the reproduction elapsed time T1.

  The control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20B that has received the content identifier of the content being reproduced and the transmission request for the delay time from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 functions as a delay time measurement unit, and the content identifier The content corresponding to is acquired from the wireless communication terminal 10 that actually also functions as a content server, and processing until the content becomes reproducible is performed to measure the delay time. Specifically, the control unit 21 transmits a content transmission request corresponding to the content identifier to the wireless communication terminal 10 functioning as a content server (S86). The control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 that has received the content transmission request via the wireless communication unit 13 reads the corresponding content data corresponding to the content identifier from the storage unit 15 as the storage unit, and the content reproduction device 20B. It transmits to address (S87). When receiving the content data via the wireless communication unit 22, the control unit 21 that functions as a playback time calculation unit buffers the storage unit 25 and, if necessary, performs processing such as decompression and playback. Process until it becomes possible. The control unit 21 measures the time from the start of content reception until the completion of the processing until it can be played back, and sets the measured time as the delay time D2 (S88). When the measurement of the delay time is completed, the control unit 21 transmits the delay time to the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 (S27).

  When receiving the delay time D2 from the content reproduction device 20B via the wireless communication unit 13, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 causes the storage unit 15 to store the time T2 when the delay time D2 is received. Then, the control unit 11 calculates the reproduction start time ST1 (S28). The reproduction start time ST1 is calculated by adding the reproduction elapsed time T1, the delay time D2, and the delay time acquisition time D3 as in the case of FIG. The delay time acquisition time D3 is a time obtained by subtracting the reproduction elapsed time T1, which is the time when the delay time transmission request is transmitted, from the time T2 when the delay time is received.

  When the calculation of the reproduction start time ST1 is completed, the control unit 11 transmits a reproduction start instruction together with the content identifier corresponding to the content and the reproduction start time ST1 to the content reproduction apparatus 20B via the wireless communication unit 13. (S29). The subsequent processing is the same as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 23, and the content playback device 20B plays back the content from the playback start time ST1 (S32). As a result, as in the case of FIG. 30, the content is played back smoothly in time, and playback without any sense of incongruity in hearing is performed. When switching to the content playback device 20A is selected during playback of the content playback device 20B, the same processing as described above is performed, and the control unit 21 functioning as a delay time measurement unit in the content playback device 20A delays. Measure time.

  Although illustration is omitted, as in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 16, 18, and 20, the reproduction of the content reproduction devices 20 </ b> A and 20 </ b> B is performed in response to a reproduction stop instruction from the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10. Also in the mode of stopping, it is possible to apply a configuration in which the control unit 21 of the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B measures the delay time as shown in FIG. Similarly, although not shown in the drawings, as in the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 25 to 27, the playback of the content playback devices 20A and 20B is stopped by a playback stop instruction from the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10. However, the configuration in which the control unit 21 of the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B measures the delay time as shown in FIG. 32 can be applied.

  As described above, a configuration in which the delay time is measured by the control unit 21 of the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B functioning as the delay time measurement unit can also be employed.

<F: Sixth Embodiment>
Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 33 and 34. FIG. In the above-described embodiment, the time position at which transmission of content data is started from the content server 30 or the wireless communication terminal 10 configured integrally with the content server to the content playback devices 20A and 20B is the content playback. The devices 20A and 20B are configured to be set for the wireless communication terminal 10 configured integrally with the content server 30 or the content server. However, in the present embodiment, the time position at which transmission of content data starts from the content server 30 or the wireless communication terminal 10 configured integrally with the content server to the content playback devices 20A and 20B is determined by wireless communication. The terminal 10 is set for the content server 30. 33 and FIG. 34 are sequence charts of the processing of the present embodiment, FIG. 33 corresponds to the sequence chart of FIG. 11 in the first embodiment, and FIG. 34 corresponds to the sequence chart of FIG. 23 in the third embodiment. ing.

As shown in FIG. 33, when the calculation of the reproduction start time ST1 is completed (S28), the control unit 11 that functions as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 completes the calculation of the content reproduction device 20B with respect to the content reproduction device 20B. A reproduction start instruction is transmitted through the wireless communication unit 13 together with the content identifier corresponding to the reproduction start time ST1 (S29). In addition, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 transmits a content identifier corresponding to the content to the content server 30, and also transmits content data to be transmitted from the content server 30 to the content reproduction device 20B. The transmission start position is set to be the reproduction start time ST1 (S90). In this example, the control unit 11 sets 0:06 as the transmission start position of the content data.
The control unit 21 in the content reproduction device 20B that has received the content identifier corresponding to the content and the reproduction start instruction from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 functions as the content acquisition unit 212 and the content server 30. In response to this, a transmission request for content data corresponding to the content identifier is transmitted via the network communication unit 23 (S91).

  When receiving the content data transmission request via the network communication unit 32, the control unit 31 of the content server 30 transmits the content data corresponding to the reproduction from the reproduction start time ST set in step S90 from the attribute information DB 332. The data is read and transmitted to the content reproduction apparatus 20B (S92). When receiving the content data from the reproduction start time ST1 via the network communication unit 23, the control unit 21 that functions as the content acquisition unit 212 buffers the storage unit 25, and if necessary, performs decompression or the like. Processing is performed until processing is possible. The content playback device 20B cannot perform playback during the delay time D2 from the start of reception until the completion of the process. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, data that has already taken into account the delay time D2 is not used. Receiving. Therefore, when the control unit 21 functioning as the playback unit 214 of the content playback device 20B starts playback after the completion of the process until playback is possible (S32), the content is stored in the content playback device 20B at 0:06 (6 seconds). ) Will be played. That is, the content from 0:06 is played back after 0:06 has elapsed from the start of playback in the content playback device 20A. As a result, the content is played back smoothly in time, and playback without any sense of incongruity on hearing is performed.

As shown in FIG. 34, in the configuration in which the wireless communication terminal 10 and the content server are integrated, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 has the reproduction start time ST1 as in the third embodiment. When the calculation is completed (S28), the control unit 11 sets the transmission start position of content data to be transmitted from the wireless communication terminal 10 that also functions as a content server to the content reproduction device 20B (S93). Specifically, the control unit 11 sets the transmission start position of the content data to the reproduction start time ST1. In the present embodiment, as an example, the transmission start position is set to 0:06. When the setting for the transmission start position of the content data is completed, the control unit 11 transmits a content identifier corresponding to the content and a reproduction start instruction to the content reproduction device 20B via the wireless communication unit 13 ( S29).
The control unit 21 of the content reproduction device 20B that has received the content identifier corresponding to the content and the reproduction start instruction from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 functions as the content acquisition unit 212 and serves as a content server. A request to transmit content data corresponding to the content identifier is transmitted to the wireless communication terminal 10 that also functions via the wireless communication unit 22 (S67).

  When receiving the content data transmission request via the wireless communication unit 13, the control unit 31 of the wireless communication terminal 10 receives the transmission start position set in step S93, that is, the content corresponding to the reproduction from the reproduction start time ST. Data is read from the storage unit 15 and transmitted to the content reproduction apparatus 20B (S68). When receiving the content data from the reproduction start time ST1 via the wireless communication unit 22, the control unit 21 functioning as the content acquisition unit 212 buffers the storage unit 25, and if necessary, performs decompression or the like. Processing is performed until processing is possible. The content playback device 20B cannot perform playback during the delay time D2 from the start of reception until the completion of the process. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, data that has already taken into account the delay time D2 is not used. Receiving. Accordingly, when playback is started after the processing until the control unit 21 that functions as the playback unit 214 of the content playback device 20B becomes ready for playback (S32), the content is stored in the content playback device 20B at 0:06 (6 seconds). Will be played from. That is, the content from 0:06 is played back after 0:06 has elapsed from the start of playback in the content playback device 20A. As a result, the content is played back smoothly in time, and playback without any sense of incongruity on hearing is performed.

  Although illustration is omitted, as in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 16, 18, and 20, the reproduction of the content reproduction devices 20 </ b> A and 20 </ b> B is performed in response to a reproduction stop instruction from the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10. Also in the mode of stopping, it is possible to apply a configuration in which the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 sets the transmission start position of content data to the content server 30 as shown in FIG. Similarly, although not shown in the drawings, as in the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 25 to 27, the playback of the content playback devices 20A and 20B is stopped by a playback stop instruction from the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10. However, in the wireless communication terminal 10 that also functions as a content server as shown in FIG. 34, it is possible to apply a configuration in which the transmission start position of content data is set.

  Although not shown, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 also reads the predetermined delay time as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. It is possible to apply a configuration in which the transmission start position of content data is set to the content server 30 as in FIG. Similarly, although not shown, as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 29, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 that also functions as a content server reads out a predetermined delay time as shown in FIG. In addition, in the wireless communication terminal 10 that also functions as a content server, it is possible to apply a configuration that sets the transmission start position of content data.

  Furthermore, although illustration is omitted, as in the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 30, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 also has a mode in which the control unit 21 of the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B measures the delay time. It is possible to apply a configuration in which the content data transmission start position is set to the content server 30 as shown in FIG. Similarly, although not shown, as in the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 32, the content server and the wireless communication terminal 10 are integrated, and the control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatuses 20A and 20B measures the delay time. Also in the aspect, it is possible to apply a configuration in which the transmission start position of content data is set in the wireless communication terminal 10 that also functions as a content server as shown in FIG.

  In the content reproduction system 1 of the embodiment described above, when the wireless communication terminal 10 sets the transmission start position of content data with respect to the content server 30, or the content is stored in the wireless communication terminal 10 that also functions as a content server. Even when the data transmission start position is set, the elapsed time from the playback start time in the first content playback apparatus that starts the playback of the content first, and the second content playback that starts the playback of the content next Since the playback start timing of the content that is started to be played back by the apparatus can be matched, playback without any sense of incongruity in the sense of hearing connected smoothly in time is performed.

<G: Seventh Embodiment>
Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 35 and 36. In the present embodiment, a mode in which the content reproduction apparatus calculates the reproduction start time based on the delay time will be described. 35 and FIG. 36 are sequence charts of processing of the present embodiment, FIG. 35 corresponds to the sequence chart of FIG. 11 in the first embodiment, and FIG. 36 corresponds to the sequence chart of FIG. 23 in the third embodiment. .

Also in the present embodiment, a content playback device that is operated by the user of the UI unit 12 of the wireless communication terminal 10 and plays back content is not a content playback device that is currently playing back, but is a content playback device that is different from the content playback device. When the playback device is selected, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 functioning as the device selection receiving unit 111 receives this selection (S20). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the content playback device 20B is selected as another content playback device during playback of the content of the content playback device 20A.
When another content playback device is selected during the playback of the content, the control unit 11 functioning as the playback start instruction unit 113 issues a playback start instruction to the other content playback device. (S100). In this example, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 112 transmits a reproduction start instruction together with the content identifier to the content reproduction apparatus 20B.

The control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20B that has received the content identifier and the reproduction start instruction from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 stores the received time in the storage unit 25 as the reproduction elapsed time T1 (S101). ). As an example, it is assumed that content reproduction is first started in the content reproduction device 20A at 0:00 and the content reproduction device 20B is selected at 0:10. In this case, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 transmits a reproduction start instruction to the content reproduction device 20B at 0:10, so the control unit 21 of the content reproduction device 20B reproduces 0:10. Store as time T1.
The control unit 21 that functions as a delay time acquisition unit of the content reproduction device 20B that has received the content identifier and the reproduction start instruction from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 is a default stored in the storage unit 25 in advance. Is read out (S26). As an example, it is assumed that the delay time D2 is 0:02 (2 seconds).

  When the acquisition of the delay time is completed, the control unit 21 functioning as a reproduction start time calculation unit calculates the reproduction start time (S105). In the present embodiment, the playback start instruction for the content playback device 20B has already been transmitted, and the content playback device 20B needs to acquire content from the content server 30 in order to start playback. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the reproduction start time ST1 is calculated as follows.

(Equation 3)
Reproduction start time ST1 = reproduction elapsed time T1 + delay time D2
In this example, if the playback elapsed time T1 is 0:10 and the delay time D2 is 0:02, the playback start time ST1 is 0:12 (12 seconds). When the calculation of the reproduction start time ST1 is completed, the control unit 11 functioning as the content acquisition unit 212 sends a content identifier corresponding to the content and a transmission request for content data from the reproduction start time ST1 to the content server 30. It transmits via the network communication part 23 (S30).

  When the control unit 31 of the content server 30 receives a content data transmission request starting from the reproduction start time ST via the network communication unit 32, the control unit 31 reads the corresponding content data from the attribute information DB 332 and reproduces the content. The data is transmitted to the device 20B (S31). When the control unit 21 receives content data from the reproduction start time ST1 via the network communication unit 23, the control unit 21 buffers the storage unit 25 and, if necessary, performs processing such as decompression and reproduction. Process until it becomes. In the present embodiment, the content playback apparatus 20B cannot perform playback during the delay time D2 from the request for transmission of content data to the completion of the playback start preparation process. In the present embodiment, As described above, data in consideration of the delay time D2 is received. Therefore, when the control unit 21 functioning as the playback unit 214 of the content playback device 20B starts playback after the playback preparation process is completed (S32), the content is played back from 0:12 in the content playback device 20B. That is, after 0:10 has elapsed from the start of playback in the content playback apparatus 20A, the content playback apparatus 20B is selected, and the time for completing the playback preparation process in the content playback apparatus 20B, that is, 0: 0 from the start of playback in the content playback apparatus 20A. After 12 passes, the content starting from 0:12 is played back. As a result, it is possible to match the elapsed time from the start of playback in the content playback device 20A with the playback position of the content, and the content is played back smoothly in time, resulting in an uncomfortable feeling of hearing. There will be no playback.

As shown in FIG. 36, in the configuration in which the content server and the wireless communication terminal 10 are integrated, as in the third embodiment, the UI unit 12 of the wireless communication terminal 10 is operated by the user, and the content is displayed. When a content playback device that is a content playback device different from the content playback device that is currently playing is selected as the content playback device to be played back, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 that functions as the device selection receiving unit 111. Accepts this selection (S20). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the content playback device 20B is selected as another content playback device during playback of the content of the content playback device 20A.
When another content playback device is selected during the playback of the content, the control unit 11 functioning as the playback start instruction unit 113 issues a playback start instruction to the other content playback device. (S110). In this example, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 112 transmits a reproduction start instruction together with the content identifier to the content reproduction apparatus 20B.

The control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20B that has received the content identifier and the reproduction start instruction from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 stores the received time in the storage unit 25 as the reproduction elapsed time T1 (S111). ). As an example, it is assumed that content reproduction is first started in the content reproduction device 20A at 0:00 and the content reproduction device 20B is selected at 0:10. In this case, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 transmits a reproduction start instruction to the content reproduction device 20B at 0:10, so the control unit 21 of the content reproduction device 20B reproduces 0:10. Store as time T1.
The control unit 21 of the content reproduction device 20B that has received the content identifier and the reproduction start instruction from the wireless communication terminal 10 via the wireless communication unit 22 functions as a delay time acquisition unit and is stored in the storage unit 25 in advance. A predetermined delay time is read (S26). As an example, it is assumed that the delay time D2 is 0:02 (2 seconds).

When the acquisition of the delay time is completed, the control unit 21 that functions as the reproduction start time calculation unit calculates the reproduction start time (S112). In the present embodiment, the playback start instruction for the content playback device 20B has already been transmitted, and the content playback device 20B needs to acquire content from the content server 30 in order to start playback. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the reproduction start time ST1 is calculated by adding the reproduction elapsed time T1 and the delay time D2 as in the case of FIG.
In this example, if the playback elapsed time T1 is 0:10 and the delay time D2 is 0:02, the playback start time ST1 is 0:12 (12 seconds). When the calculation of the reproduction start time ST1 is completed, the control unit 11 functioning as the content acquisition unit 212 sends the content identifier corresponding to the content and the reproduction start time ST1 from the wireless terminal device 10 that also functions as the content server. A content data transmission request is transmitted via the wireless communication unit 22 (S67).

  When the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 receives the content data transmission request starting from the reproduction start time ST via the wireless communication unit 13, the control unit 11 reads the corresponding content data from the storage unit 15 and reads the content data. The data is transmitted to the playback device 20B (S68). When the control unit 21 receives content data from the reproduction start time ST1 via the wireless communication unit 22, the control unit 21 buffers the storage unit 25 and, if necessary, performs processing such as decompression and reproduction. Process until it becomes. In the present embodiment, the content playback apparatus 20B cannot perform playback during the delay time D2 from the request for transmission of content data to the completion of the playback start preparation process. In the present embodiment, As described above, data in consideration of the delay time D2 is received. Therefore, when the control unit 21 functioning as the playback unit 214 of the content playback device 20B starts playback after the playback preparation process is completed (S32), the content is played back from 0:12 in the content playback device 20B. That is, after 0:10 has elapsed from the start of playback in the content playback apparatus 20A, the content playback apparatus 20B is selected, and the time for completing the playback preparation process in the content playback apparatus 20B, that is, 0: 0 from the start of playback in the content playback apparatus 20A. After 12 passes, the content starting from 0:12 is played back. As a result, it is possible to match the elapsed time from the start of playback in the content playback device 20A with the playback position of the content, and the content is played back smoothly in time, resulting in an uncomfortable feeling of hearing. There will be no playback.

  Although illustration is omitted, as in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 16, 18, and 20, the reproduction of the content reproduction devices 20 </ b> A and 20 </ b> B is performed in response to a reproduction stop instruction from the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10. Also in the mode of stopping, it is possible to apply a configuration in which the control unit 21 of the content playback devices 20A and 20B calculates the playback start time based on the delay time as shown in FIG. Similarly, although not shown in the drawings, as in the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 25 to 27, the playback of the content playback devices 20A and 20B is stopped by a playback stop instruction from the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10. However, as shown in FIG. 36, it is possible to apply a configuration in which the control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatuses 20A and 20B calculates the reproduction start time based on the delay time.

  Although not shown, the content playback devices 20A and 20B as shown in FIG. 35 are also used in the mode in which the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 reads the predetermined delay time as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. It is possible to apply a configuration in which the control unit 21 calculates the reproduction start time based on the delay time. In this case, after receiving the selection of the content reproduction device 20B (FIG. 35: S20), the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 stores in advance in the storage unit 15 as in step S200 of FIG. Read the default delay time. And the control part 11 should just transmit the read default delay time, when transmitting a reproduction | regeneration start instruction | indication to the content reproduction apparatus 20B in step S100 shown in FIG. In this case, step S26 shown in FIG. 35 can be omitted.

  Similarly, although not shown, as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 29, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 that also functions as a content server reads out a predetermined delay time as shown in FIG. In addition, it is possible to apply a configuration in which the control unit 21 of the content playback devices 20A and 20B calculates the playback start time based on the delay time. In this case, after receiving the selection of the content reproduction device 20B (FIG. 36: S20), the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 stores in advance in the storage unit 15 as in step S201 of FIG. Read the default delay time. And the control part 11 should just transmit the read default delay time, when transmitting a reproduction | regeneration start instruction | indication to the content reproduction apparatus 20B in step S110 shown in FIG. In this case, step S26 shown in FIG. 36 can be omitted.

  Furthermore, although illustration is omitted, in the aspect in which the control unit 21 of the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B measures the delay time as in the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 30, the content reproduction devices 20A and 20A, as shown in FIG. It is possible to apply a configuration in which the control unit 21 of 20B calculates the reproduction start time based on the delay time. In this case, the control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20B stores the time when the reproduction start instruction is received in the storage unit 25 (FIG. 35: S101), and then selects the target from the content server 30 as shown in FIG. Is acquired (FIG. 30: S24, S25), and the delay time is measured (FIG. 30: S85). Therefore, the process of step S26 shown in FIG. 35 is omitted.

  Similarly, although not shown, as in the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 32, the content server and the wireless communication terminal 10 are integrated, and the control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatuses 20A and 20B measures the delay time. Also in the aspect, it is possible to apply a configuration in which the control unit 21 of the content playback devices 20A and 20B calculates the playback start time based on the delay time as shown in FIG. In this case, the control unit 21 of the content reproduction device 20B stores the time when the reproduction start instruction is received in the storage unit 25 (FIG. 36: S111), and also functions as a content server as shown in FIG. Data of the target content is acquired from the wireless communication terminal 10 (FIG. 32: S86, S87), and the delay time is measured (FIG. 32: S88). Therefore, the process of step S26 shown in FIG. 36 is omitted.

  In the content reproduction system 1 according to the embodiment described above, even when the content reproduction apparatus calculates the reproduction start time based on the delay time, the first content reproduction apparatus that starts reproduction of the content first starts from the reproduction start time. Since the elapsed time can be matched with the playback start timing of the content that is started to be played back by the second content playback device that starts playback of the content next time, there is no sense of incongruity that is connected smoothly in time. Playback will be performed.

<H: Eighth Embodiment>
Next, an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the embodiment in which the content server and the wireless communication terminal 10 are integrally configured, the present embodiment is configured such that when a playback content is received, or when a selection of another content playback device is received during playback of the content, This is an example in which the wireless communication terminal 10 voluntarily transmits content data together with a reproduction start instruction to the content reproduction device, instead of transmitting a content data transmission request from the reproduction device to the wireless communication terminal 10. 37 to 39 are sequence charts showing the flow of processing in the content reproduction system 1, and correspond to the sequence charts of FIGS. 22 to 24 in the third embodiment. 37 to 39, the same steps as those shown in FIGS. 22 to 24 are denoted by the same step numbers.

  As shown in FIG. 37, the control unit 11 performs the process of accepting selection of a content reproduction device as a device selection accepting unit, as in the third embodiment, and then reads out the content to be reproduced as a content reading unit. Upon completion (S1 to S61), the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 sends not only the content identifier and the reproduction start instruction but also the read content data to the content reproduction apparatus 20A by the wireless communication unit 13. (S300).

  The control unit 21 functioning as the content acquisition unit 212 of the content reproduction device 20A acquires the content data, the identifier, and the reproduction instruction received via the wireless communication unit 22. The control unit 21 writes the received content identifier in the second reproduction list 251 stored in the storage unit 25. Then, the control unit 21 performs buffering of the acquired content, performs processing according to the format of the acquired content data, and prepares for reproduction. For example, decompression processing is performed on data that has been compressed and encoded. When the preparation for reproduction is completed, the control unit 21 that functions as the reproduction unit 214 starts reproduction of the content (S10). The subsequent processing is the same as in the third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 38, when the control unit 11 accepts switching to the content reproduction device 20B during reproduction on the content reproduction device 20A as the device selection acceptance unit 111 as in the third embodiment (S20), From the process of calculating the elapsed playback time to the process of calculating the playback start time as the playback start time calculating unit 116 are executed (S66 to S28). Further, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 transmits not only the content identifier and the reproduction start instruction but also the content data from the reproduction start time ST1 to the content reproduction apparatus 20B by the wireless communication unit 13. (S301).
The control unit 21 of the content playback device 20B functioning as the content acquisition unit 212 receives the playback start instruction received via the wireless communication unit 22, the content identifier corresponding to the content, and the content data from the playback start time ST1. To get. Then, the control unit 21 functioning as the playback unit 214 performs buffering of content data in the storage unit 25, and if necessary, performs processing such as decompression and starts playback of the content (S32). The subsequent processing is the same as in the third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 39, when the control unit 11 accepts switching to the content reproduction device 20A during reproduction on the content reproduction device 20B as the device selection accepting unit 111 as in the third embodiment (S70), From the process of calculating the elapsed playback time to the process of calculating the playback start time as the playback start time calculating unit 116 are executed (S70 to S77). Further, the control unit 11 functioning as the reproduction start instruction unit 113 transmits not only the content identifier and the reproduction start instruction but also the content data from the reproduction start time ST1 to the content reproduction apparatus 20A by the wireless communication unit 13. (S302).
The control unit 21 of the content playback device 20A functioning as the content acquisition unit 212 receives a playback start instruction received via the wireless communication unit 22, a content identifier corresponding to the content, and content data from the playback start time ST1. To get. The control unit 21 functioning as the reproduction unit 214 performs buffering of content data in the storage unit 25, and if necessary, performs processing such as decompression and starts reproduction of the content (S81). The subsequent processing is the same as in the third embodiment.

Although illustration is omitted, as in the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 25 to 27, in the aspect of stopping the reproduction of the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B by the reproduction stop instruction from the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10, Rather than transmitting the content data after receiving the content data transmission request from the content playback devices 20A and 20B, the content data is voluntarily transmitted from the wireless communication terminal 10 as shown in FIGS. It is possible to apply a configuration to
Although not shown, the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B can also read the delay time stored in the storage unit 15 by the wireless communication terminal 10 as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. It is possible to apply a configuration in which content data is transmitted spontaneously from the wireless communication terminal 10 as shown in FIGS. 38 and 39, instead of transmitting content data after receiving a content data transmission request. It is.

  Further, although illustration is omitted, in the aspect in which the delay time is measured in the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B as in the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 32, the content data transmission request from the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B It is possible to apply a configuration in which content data is transmitted spontaneously from the wireless communication terminal 10 as shown in FIG. 38 and FIG. In this case, the time from when the reception of the content data is started until it can be reproduced is measured as the delay time.

  As described above, in the aspect in which the content server and the wireless communication terminal are integrally configured, the wireless communication terminal does not transmit the content data after receiving the content data transmission request from the content reproduction device. It is also possible to configure to transmit content data spontaneously.

<I: Modification>
Although each embodiment of the present invention has been described above, it goes without saying that the following modifications may be added to these embodiments.
(1) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the playback elapsed time is confirmed or calculated when the second content playback device is selected during the playback of content by the first content playback device. explained. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and communication may be performed at predetermined intervals between the content reproduction apparatus and the wireless communication terminal to check the elapsed reproduction time.

(2) In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which a delay time is read or a delay time is measured every time a second content playback device is selected during content playback by the first content playback device. Although described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when a network is established in the system and a content playback device connected to the network is detected, the delay time is read from the storage unit of the content playback device, and the read delay time is stored in the storage unit of the wireless communication terminal. Thereafter, the reproduction start time may be calculated in the wireless communication terminal using the delay time stored in the storage unit of the wireless communication terminal. Further, when a content playback device connected to the network is detected, the delay time stored in the storage unit of the wireless communication terminal is transmitted to the content playback device, and the delay time is transmitted to the storage unit of the content playback device. The reproduction start time may be calculated in the content reproduction apparatus using the delay time stored and then stored in the storage unit of the content reproduction apparatus. Further, when a content playback device connected to the network is detected, the delay time is measured in the content playback device, and the measured delay time is stored in the storage unit of the wireless communication terminal, and thereafter the storage unit of the wireless communication terminal The reproduction start time may be calculated in the wireless communication terminal using the delay time stored in the. Further, when a content playback device connected to the network is detected, the delay time is measured in the content playback device, and the measured delay time is stored in the storage unit of the content playback device, and thereafter the storage unit of the content playback device The content playback apparatus may calculate the playback start time using the delay time stored in the above.

  Further, when a predetermined delay time is inquired from the wireless communication terminal to the content reproduction apparatus, or when a predetermined delay time is inquired from the content reproduction apparatus to the wireless communication terminal, the inquiry is made every time as in the above-described embodiment. Rather than storing the delay time obtained by inquiring once in the storage unit of the wireless communication terminal or content playback device, the stored delay time can be stored without inquiring the content playback device or wireless communication terminal thereafter. It may be used to calculate the reproduction start time. Further, when measuring the delay time in the content reproduction apparatus, the delay time is not measured every time as in the above-described embodiment, but the measured delay time is stored in the storage unit, and thereafter Alternatively, the reproduction start time may be calculated using the stored delay time.

  Further, when a predetermined delay time is set for each content playback device, for example, when a delay time is set at the time of factory shipment or the like, a fixed value is used in the calculation process of the playback start time. You may make it use the value of the delay time. Further, the wireless communication terminal instructs each content reproduction device to measure the delay time in advance for all formats, and the measurement result is stored in the storage unit of each content reproduction device. May be. In this case, a delay time may be acquired from each content reproduction device when necessary. When measuring the delay time in advance, or when measuring the delay time immediately before the playback start instruction, data of all formats may be measured at once, or a format for transmitting a playback start instruction from now on You may make it measure only about this data. Further, when measuring the delay time, the delay time based on the network environment stored in the storage unit of any device, the delay time based on the processing speed of each server, or the like may be referred to. Note that the delay time may be measured once and then the measurement result may be used continuously, or the user may set it individually without performing the measurement.

(3) The delay time stored in the storage unit in advance may be stored in a different delay time depending on the format. For example, the delay time for WAV format data and the delay time for MP3 format data may be stored in the storage unit. Even if the WAV format data has a large data size and requires a delay time of 0:03, the MP3 format data of the same content may have a small size, so that a delay time of 0:01 may be sufficient.

  In addition, since the delay time varies depending on the processing speed of the content server, when a plurality of content servers are provided, delay information for each server may be stored in the storage unit. For example, when the content server 30A and the content server 30B are provided, the delay time of WAV format data is 0:03 and the delay time of MP3 format data is 0:01 in the content server 30A. May be stored in the storage unit such that the delay time of the WAV format data is 0:04 and the delay time of the MP3 format data is 0:02.

  Furthermore, since the speed varies depending on the network connection environment, for example, the delay time is 0:00 for the wired LAN, the delay time is 0:02 for the wireless LAN 1, and the delay time is 0 for the wireless LAN 2. It may be stored as 0:03, added to the delay time depending on the server or format, and stored in the storage unit. In the above example, when the content server 30A and the content server 30B are used, if the network connection is the wireless LAN 1, 0:02 may be added to each delay time. Therefore, in the content server 30A in the environment of the wireless LAN 1, the delay time of the WAV format data is 0:05 (0: 03 + 0: 02), and the delay time of the MP3 format data is 0:03 (0: 01 + 0: 02). In the content server 30B, the delay time of the WAV format data is 0:06 (0: 04 + 0: 02), and the delay time of the MP3 format data is 0:04 (0: 02 + 0: 02). You may memorize in a storage part.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the content server 30 has both the content DB 331 and the attribute information DB 332. However, the content server 30 may have only the content DB 331, and other devices may have the attribute information DB 332. . Even with this configuration, if both the wireless communication terminal 10 and the content reproduction apparatus 20 access the attribute information DB and acquire the attribute information, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

(5) Although the content of the above-described embodiment relates to music, the content of the content of the present invention is not limited to a specific one. For example, the content of the present invention may represent video such as a moving image or a still image, or may represent both music and video. In this case, the content reproduction apparatuses 20A and 20B include a process of reproducing the content by generating a video signal from the content acquired from the content server 30 and outputting the video signal to an external monitor. In addition, the content server 30 is not limited to the configuration in which the content is transmitted in the streaming format, but may be a format in which the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B reproduce the data while downloading it, such as progressive download. In short, any configuration may be used as long as the content reproduction devices 20A and 20B acquire the content and reproduce the already acquired content.

(6) The control device of the present invention may be a terminal other than a smartphone, and may be various devices capable of communication such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile computer, and a remote controller. be able to. The playback apparatus of the present invention may be other than an audio player, and may be any playback apparatus that can play distributed content, such as a personal computer, a speaker, a stereo, and a television. The content playback system of the present invention may not correspond to a so-called network AV system, and includes a playback device that plays back content acquired from a storage device, and a control device that controls the playback device through communication. Any system can be used. Moreover, what corresponds to the storage device of the present invention is not limited to that corresponding to the external device as viewed from the playback device of the present invention, and may be equivalent to the internal device as viewed from the playback device, for example.

(7) Programs executed by the control unit 11 of the wireless communication terminal 10 and the control unit 21 of the content reproduction apparatus 20 in the above-described embodiment are magnetic recording media (magnetic tape, magnetic disk (HDD, FD), etc.), It can be provided in a state where it is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as an optical recording medium (such as an optical disk (CD, DVD)), a magneto-optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory. It is also possible to download via a network such as the Internet. Moreover, the function implement | achieved by the control part 11 or the control part 21 may be implement | achieved by 1 or several software, and may be implement | achieved by 1 or several hardware.
(8) In the above-described embodiment, the playback time and delay time in units of seconds have been described as examples. However, the playback time and delay time are not limited to units of seconds, but in units of ms (milliseconds), or μs ( (Microsecond) unit may be used, and further, it may be acquired by a minimum unit frame.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Audio signal processing system, 10 ... Terminal device, 11 ... Control apparatus, 12 ... UI part, 13 ... Wireless communication part, 15 ... Memory | storage part, 20A, 20B ... Audio signal processing apparatus, 21 ... Control part, 22 ... Wireless Communication unit, 23 ... Network communication unit, 25 ... Network communication unit, 30 ... Content server, 31 ... Control unit, 32 ... Network communication unit, 33 ... Storage unit, 90 ... Communication network, 111 ... Device selection receiving unit, 112 ... Content selection accepting unit, 113... Playback start instructing unit, 114... Playback elapsed time acquisition unit, 115... Delay time acquisition unit, 116 ... playback start time calculation unit, D2.

Claims (8)

A content playback system comprising: a storage device that stores a plurality of contents; a plurality of playback devices that acquire and play back content from the storage device; and a control device that controls the playback device by communication,
The controller is
A device selection receiving unit for receiving selection of one playback device among the plurality of playback devices;
A content selection receiving unit that receives selection of one content among the plurality of contents;
A playback start instructing unit that instructs the playback device related to the selection received by the device selection receiving unit to start playback of the one content;
When the selection of another playback device is received by the device selection receiving unit during playback of the one content, the elapsed playback time of the one content is acquired from the playback device that is playing back the one content. A playback elapsed time acquisition unit to perform,
A playback start time calculating unit that calculates a playback start time based on the acquired elapsed playback time and a delay time from the acquisition of the one content from the storage device until the content can be played back,
When the playback selection instruction unit receives a selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit during playback of the one content, the playback of the one content is performed on the other playback device. Instruct to start playback from the start time,
Each of the plurality of playback devices is
A content acquisition unit that acquires the one content from the storage device when receiving an instruction to start playback;
A playback unit for playing back the acquired content,
The content acquisition unit acquires the one content from the playback start time when receiving an instruction to start playback from the playback start time;
A content reproduction system characterized by the above. A content playback system comprising: a storage device that stores a plurality of contents; a plurality of playback devices that acquire and play back content from the storage device; and a control device that controls the playback device by communication,
The controller is
A device selection receiving unit for receiving selection of one playback device among the plurality of playback devices;
A content selection receiving unit that receives selection of one content among the plurality of contents;
A playback start instructing unit that instructs the playback device related to the selection received by the device selection receiving unit to start playback of the one content;
When the selection of another playback device is received by the device selection receiving unit during playback of the one content, the elapsed playback time of the one content is acquired from the playback device that is playing back the one content. A playback elapsed time acquisition unit to perform,
A playback start time calculating unit that calculates a playback start time based on the acquired elapsed playback time and a delay time from the acquisition of the one content from the storage device until the content can be played back,
When the playback selection instruction unit receives the selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit during playback of the one content, the transmission start position of the one content is sent to the storage device. Set the position of the playback start time as
Each of the plurality of playback devices is
A content acquisition unit that acquires the one content from the storage device when receiving an instruction to start playback;
A playback unit for playing back the acquired content,
The content acquisition unit acquires the one content from the position of the set reproduction start time, and the reproduction unit reproduces the one content from the reproduction start time;
A content reproduction system characterized by the above. A content playback system including a control device that includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of contents and controls a playback device by communication, and a plurality of playback devices that acquire and play back content from the storage unit of the control device,
The controller is
A device selection receiving unit for receiving selection of one playback device among the plurality of playback devices;
A content selection receiving unit that receives selection of one content among the plurality of contents;
A playback start instructing unit that instructs the playback device related to the selection received by the device selection receiving unit to start playback of the one content;
A reproduction elapsed time acquisition unit that acquires a reproduction elapsed time of the one content when a selection of another reproduction device is received by the device selection reception unit during the reproduction of the one content;
A playback start time calculation unit that calculates a playback start time based on the acquired elapsed playback time and a delay time from the acquisition of the one content from the storage unit until it can be played back,
When the playback selection instruction unit receives a selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit during playback of the one content, the playback start instruction unit sends the playback start time to the other playback device from the playback start time. Send the one content,
Each of the plurality of playback devices is
A content acquisition unit for acquiring the one content transmitted from the control device;
A playback unit for playing back the received content,
When the reproduction unit receives an instruction to start reproduction from the reproduction start time, the reproduction unit reproduces the one content from the reproduction start time.
A content reproduction system characterized by the above. When the playback selection instruction unit of the control device receives a selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit during playback of the one content, the playback start instruction unit Instructing the start of playback of the content from the playback start time and receiving the one content transmission request from the playback start time from the other playback device, the one content is transferred to the other playback device. To
The playback device of the playback device, when receiving a playback start instruction from the playback start time, sends the content transmission request from the playback start time to the control device including the storage unit. And playing the one content after receiving the one content from the control device,
The content reproduction system according to claim 3. A content playback system comprising: a storage device that stores a plurality of contents; a plurality of playback devices that acquire and play back content from the storage device; and a control device that controls the playback device by communication,
The controller is
A device selection receiving unit for receiving selection of one playback device among the plurality of playback devices;
A content selection receiving unit that receives selection of one content among the plurality of contents;
A playback start instructing unit that instructs the playback device related to the selection received by the device selection receiving unit to start playback of the one content;
When the selection of another playback device is received by the device selection receiving unit during playback of the one content, the elapsed playback time of the one content is acquired from the playback device that is playing back the one content. A playback elapsed time acquisition unit
When the playback selection instruction unit receives a selection of another playback device by the device selection receiving unit during playback of the one content, the playback elapsed time acquired to the other playback device Instructing the start of playback of the one content from
Each of the plurality of playback devices is
A playback start time calculating unit that calculates a playback start time based on the elapsed playback time instructed from the control device and a delay time from the acquisition of the one content from the storage device until the content can be played back; ,
A content acquisition unit for acquiring the one content from the calculated playback start time from the storage device when receiving the playback start instruction;
A playback unit for playing back the acquired content;
Comprising
Content reproduction system Each of the plurality of playback devices includes a delay time measurement unit,
The delay time measurement unit measures the time from the timing of starting reception of the one content to the end timing of processing until the one content is acquired and can be played back as a delay time;
The content reproduction system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The content playback system acquires a delay time storage device that stores a predetermined delay time and a delay time from the acquisition of the one content from the storage device until the content can be played back from the delay time storage device. A delay time acquisition unit,
The reproduction start time calculation unit calculates a reproduction start time based on the delay time acquired by the delay time acquisition unit and the reproduction elapsed time.
The content reproduction system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein When the playback start instruction unit instructs the other playback device to start playback of the one content from the playback start time, the control device sends the playback to the one playback device. A playback stop instruction unit for instructing to stop playback of the one content at a timing based on a start time;
The content reproduction system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein

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