JP2019068251A - Information processing apparatus, control method thereof, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To solve a problem in which it is complicated to perform setting while a content to be multi-displayed on a plurality of display devices when a user sets a display device and a content to be displayed on the display device.SOLUTION: An item indicating each content is used to display a setting screen for setting a content to be reproduced for each reproduction device, and it is determined whether contents that can be set by using the setting screen are multi-use contents to be reproduced in parallel on at least two reproduction devices, and an item indicating a content determined to be a multi-use content and an item indicating a content determined not to be a multi-use content are identifiably displayed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to technology for managing display of content using a plurality of display devices.

  In recent years, digital signage systems using display devices have attracted attention. When digital signage is implemented, a system is constructed by a display device such as a projector or a display, and a reproduction device that reproduces video and image content stored in advance in a storage according to a schedule set by the user. . A PC, a set top box (STB), or the like is used as the playback device, and the playback device is connected to the display device by a video cable such as an HDMI (registered trademark) cable. Furthermore, in recent years, display devices equipped with the functions of the playback device have attracted attention for the purpose of downsizing the system.

  In addition to single display in which content is displayed on one display device, as a display form of the digital signage system, content displayed by a plurality of display devices (hereinafter referred to as partial content) is superimposed on one another. There are multiple displays that display content. By performing multi-display, high resolution, large screen, and high brightness can be realized. The partial content is generated by dividing one content.

  As a method of managing a plurality of content having one meaning as described above, there is a method of displaying the grouped content groups with association.

JP 2008-152584 A

  In the case of multi-display, it is necessary to display a plurality of sets of content in parallel on a plurality of display devices as shown in FIG. Therefore, for example, when setting a display schedule, the user individually sets which content is to be displayed on which display device, but in consideration of which content set is to be multi-displayed at that time. It had to be set while it was complicated.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus that manages reproduction of a plurality of contents in a plurality of reproduction apparatuses, and uses an item indicating each content to set the contents to be reproduced for each reproduction apparatus. Display control means for controlling to display the setting screen of the image, and whether the content which can be set using the setting screen is a multi-use content to be reproduced in parallel by at least two reproduction devices An item indicating a content determined to be the multi-use content by the determination means; an item indicating a content determined to be not the multi-use content by the determination means; Are controlled to be displayed in a discriminable manner.

  According to the present invention, the user can easily perform display setting of a plurality of contents.

Conceptual diagram of content reproduction system Hardware configuration of projector and PC Flowchart representing projector grouping process Grouping setting screen Flowchart representing playlist creation Playlist creation screen Content information that each projector has Flowchart showing content list display Playlist creation screen Playlist creation screen Example of playback of multi-use content

  Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention show preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

First Embodiment
<System configuration>
The configuration of the content reproduction system of the present embodiment will be described below using FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a content reproduction system. The content in the present embodiment is data such as an image or a moving image. In the following description, the case of using moving image data as content will be described.

  In the present embodiment, a system including a projector and a PC will be described as an example. The projector 100 a and the projector 100 b each project one image on the screen 300 by displaying a part of the image. By doing this, it is possible to project an image in a size that can not be projected by a single projector. Hereinafter, this projection method is called multi-projection. In multi-projection, an overlap area is provided in a part of an image, and the area is superimposed and displayed, so that joints of the image can be projected inconspicuously.

  The projector 100a, the projector 100b, and the PC 200 which is a video source are connected in a mutually communicable state by the LAN. In addition, connection types may be wired or wireless as long as they can communicate with each other. In the present embodiment, in order to simplify the description, the case of projecting multi-use content using two projectors as shown in FIG. 1 will be described, but the number and arrangement are not limited to this.

<Hardware configuration>
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the main configuration of the projector 100 and the PC 200 that constitute the content reproduction system. The configurations of the projector 100 and the PC 200 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, a projector 100 which is an example of a display device will be described.

  The projector 100 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU 101, a RAM 102, a ROM 103, a projection unit 104, a projection control unit 105, a VRAM 106, an operation unit 107, a network IF 108, and a content holding unit 109. Reference numeral 110 denotes an internal bus which connects the above blocks.

  The CPU 101 controls each operation block of the projector 100.

  The RAM 102 temporarily stores control programs and data as a work memory.

  The ROM 103 is for storing a control program in which the processing procedure of the CPU 101 is described.

  The projection unit 104 is for projecting an image instructed by the projection control unit 105 described later, and includes a liquid crystal panel (not shown), a lens, and a light source.

  The projection control unit 105 is for reading out the image data stored in the VRAM 106 and issuing a projection instruction to the projection unit 104.

  The VRAM 106 is an area for storing an image projected by the projection unit 104.

  The operation unit 107 receives an instruction from the user and transmits an instruction signal to the CPU 101. For example, it consists of a switch and a dial. The operation unit 107 may also receive a signal from a remote controller (not shown) and send an instruction signal corresponding to the received signal to the CPU 101.

  A network IF 108 is for performing network communication with an external device. In the present embodiment, communication is performed between the other projector 100 and the PC 200.

  The content holding unit 109 is a storage for holding content. It consists of flash memory such as USB memory and memory card. If content data can be erased and written freely, an internal device or another external device may be used.

  Next, the PC 200, which is an example of the information processing apparatus, will be described.

  The PC 200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, an operation unit 204, a display unit 205, and a network IF 206. Reference numeral 207 denotes an internal bus that connects the blocks described above.

  The CPU 201 controls each operation block of the PC 200.

  The RAM 202 temporarily stores control programs and data as a work memory.

  The ROM 203 is for storing a control program in which the processing procedure of the CPU 201 is described.

  The operation unit 204 receives an instruction from the user, and transmits an instruction signal to the CPU 201. For example, it comprises a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, and the like.

  The display unit 205 displays image data. The display unit 205 is, for example, a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL panel.

  A network IF 206 is for performing network communication with an external device. In the present embodiment, communication is performed with the projector 100 connected to the LAN.

  The hardware configuration of the projector 100 and the PC 200 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. For example, hardware such as one processor may function as a plurality of means for performing display control, storage control, communication control, etc. in accordance with an input signal or program, or a plurality of hardware cooperates 1 It may function as one means.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the PC 200 is a Web client, and the projector 100 is a Web server, and the projector 100 is controlled on the Web browser of the PC 200. In the following description, this Web browser screen is called a Web UI.

  In order to display the Web UI on the display unit 205 of the PC 200, the CPU 201 of the PC 200 sends an HTTP request to the projector 100 via the network IF 206. The CPU 101 of the projector 100 interprets the HTTP request received by the network IF 108, transmits an HTTP response to the PC 200 after performing the corresponding processing. The user controls the projector 100 by operating the Web UI using the operation unit 205 of the PC 200.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the projector 100 is controlled by the Web UI, but the projector 200 may be configured only without using the PC 200. Specifically, the CPU 101 of the projector 100 may project a menu screen on the screen via the projection unit 104, and the user may control the projector 100 by the operation unit 107 while viewing the menu screen. Also, the Web UI does not necessarily have to be used, and application software acquired and installed from a recording medium or the Internet may be used. For convenience of explanation, in the following description, a projector that provides a Web UI to the user will be referred to as a master projector, and other projectors that can communicate with the master projector will be referred to as slave projectors.

<Grouping process>
Next, grouping processing of the projector 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The grouping process is performed when the user accesses a predetermined web page of the web UI provided by the master projector.

  In S301a, the master projector performs a search process of the IP address of the slave projector. Specifically, the master projector transmits a predetermined multicast packet representing an IP address request via the network IF 108.

  In S301b, when receiving the multicast packet via the network IF 108, the slave projector returns a packet including its own IP address to the master projector via the network IF 108.

  In step S302a, the master projector displays, on the Web UI, a screen for receiving input of group information from the user. FIG. 4A shows an example of the grouping setting screen. Reference numeral 401 in FIG. 4 represents information of itself (master projector). Reference numerals 402, 403, 404, and 405 in FIG. 4 denote check boxes for causing the user to select a projector to be grouped based on the IP addresses of the slave projectors acquired in S301a. For example, when the projector 100a (192.168.254.1) and the projector 100b (192.168.254.2) are to be in the same group, the user selects the check box 402 using the operation unit 204 of the PC, and then the determination is made. It suffices to press the button. Here, the numbers in parentheses above represent IP addresses. Alternatively, the grouping setting screen shown in FIG. 4B may be displayed to allow the user to directly input the IP address of the grouping target projector. Reference numerals 411, 412 and 413 in FIG. 4 denote text boxes for causing the user to input an IP address. When the grouping setting screen 410 is used, there is no need to display the IP address on the screen, so the process of S301a in FIG. 3 may not be performed.

  Referring back to FIG. In S303a, the CPU 101 of the master projector stores the grouping information determined in S302a in its own RAM 102 or ROM 103.

  By the above processing, grouping of projectors constituting the content reproduction system can be performed.

  Next, playlist creation will be described using FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. The playlist creation process is executed when the user accesses a predetermined web page of the web UI provided by the master projector. It is assumed that grouping of projectors has already been completed.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of playlist creation.

  FIG. 6 shows a playlist creation screen. The CPU 101 of the master projector displays this playlist creation screen as a Web UI. Reference numeral 601 in FIG. 6 denotes a text box for causing the user to input a playlist name. An area 602 displays a list of files set in the playlist. Reference numeral 603 denotes an area for displaying a content list existing on the content holding unit 109 of the projector in the group. 604, 605, 606, and 607 are icons which are items representing content data. The user moves the icon to a desired area by performing a predetermined operation such as click or drag and drop on the icon via the operation unit 204 of the PC, and adds / deletes the content to the playlist. It can play, stop, etc.

  FIG. 7 shows contents existing on the content holding unit 109 of the projector 100 a and the projector 100 b. The projector 100 a holds “Dog — 01 — 2.avi”, “Bird — 01 — 2.avi”, and “Fish. Avi”. The projector 100 b holds “Dog — 02 — 2.avi”, “Bird — 02 — 2.avi”, and “Girl. Avi”. Also, “Dog — 01 — 2.avi” and “Dog — 02 — 2.avi”, “Bird — 01 — 2.avi” and “Bird — 02 — 2.avi” are multi-use contents, respectively. The multi-use content is content in which one content is displayed only after being displayed (multi-display) in parallel by a plurality of projectors, and normally, one content is created by being divided by a predetermined area. In the present embodiment, the multi-use content is assigned a file name that can be identified as multi-use content. This point will be described later.

  "Fish. Avi" and "Girl. Avi" are single contents for projection with one projector.

  Referring back to FIG. 5, the play list creation will be described. In step S501a, the CPU 101 of the master projector displays a list of contents present on the content holding unit 109 of the projector belonging to the group on the Web UI.

  Details of the process of S501a will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the CPU 101 of the master projector stores the content information present in the content holding unit 109 of its own in its own RAM 102. The content information in the present embodiment is a file name (S801a).

  Next, the CPU 101 of the master projector transmits a content information request message to the slave projectors belonging to the same group via the network IF 108 (S802a). Upon receiving the content information request message from the master projector, the CPU 101 of the slave projector transmits the content information present in the content holding unit 109 to the master projector via the network IF 108 (S802b). When receiving the content information from the slave projectors belonging to the group, the CPU 101 of the master projector stores the received content information in its own RAM 102.

  Next, in S803a, it is determined whether the content is a multi-use content or a single-use content. Content information (file name) may be used for this determination. Specifically, a file naming rule is defined at the time of content generation, and the CPU 101 of the master projector determines the content by analyzing the file name. For example, in the case of the multi-use content in the present embodiment, the file name is given according to the rule “(pre-division file name) _ (serial number) _ (division number)”. Of course, other than the file name, other information that can be identified as multi-use content may be added to the content and used for determination. “Dog — 01 — 2.avi” represents the first content of the file name “Dog.avi” before division and the number of divisions being two. If it is determined in S803a that the content is for multi-use, the process proceeds to S804a. In this embodiment, the file name is used to determine whether the content is single or multi-use, but the definition file indicating whether the content is single or multi-use for all content names is stored in advance in the ROM 103 of the master projector or the like. It may be stored in the content holding unit 109. The CPU 101 of the master projector refers to this definition file to determine whether the content is for single use or multiple use.

  In S804a, the CPU 101 of the master projector determines whether all partial content for projecting multi-use content exists. A file name may be used for this determination. The determination of whether or not there is a partial content corresponding to “Dog — 01 — 2.avi” will be described as an example. The CPU 101 of the master projector scans the content information stored in the RAM 102, and counts files whose pre-division file name matches "Dog". Next, the CPU 101 of the master projector determines whether the count number matches the division number. If the count number is less than the division number, it is determined that there is a lack of partial content for projecting multi-use content.

  If it is determined that all the partial content for projecting the multi-use content is present, the CPU 101 of the master projector proceeds to S 805 a and displays the first icon on the Web UI. This first icon corresponds to 603 and 604 in FIG. At this time, the icon names may be “Dog. Avi” and “Bird. Avi” which are file names before division.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S804a that the partial content for projecting the multi-use content is missing, the user is notified. Specifically, the CPU 101 of the master projector displays a warning message on the Web UI as shown at 600 in FIG. 9 (S806a). A missing file name or a target projector name may be added as the content of the warning message.

  After displaying the warning message, the CPU 101 of the master projector proceeds to S 805 a and displays the first icon on the Web UI. At this time, in order to inform the user which multi-use content can not be projected, the color or the shape of the corresponding first icon may be changed to the other first icons, as indicated by 601 in FIG. good.

  If it is determined in S803a that the content is for single use, the CPU 101 of the master projector proceeds to S807a, and displays a second icon on the Web UI. The second icon corresponds to 606 and 607 in FIG. Here, the shapes and colors of the first icon and the second icon may be changed so that the single-use content and the multi-use content can be easily distinguished on the Web UI. In FIG. 6, the CPU 101 of the master projector arranges the first icon so as to straddle one row of projectors and two rows of projectors on the area 603, thereby representing that the multi-projected content is projected by two projectors. There is. On the other hand, the single-use content icons 606 and 607 are arranged in one row of projectors and two rows of projectors, respectively, to indicate that they are single-use content to be projected by one device, and which projector holds the content Visually distinguishable.

  The CPU 101 of the master projector performs the above processing on all the content information in the RAM 102 (S808a).

  Referring back to FIG. 5, the play list creation will be described.

  After the process of S501a is completed, the CPU 101 of the master projector receives the process of the user on the Web UI. The user operates the Web UI using the operation unit 204 of the PC to create a playlist. The playlist creation process (S502a) will be described with reference to FIG.

  The addition to the playlist is performed by the user dragging and dropping an icon from the area 1005 to the area 1004 using the operation unit 204 of the PC (1001). In FIG. 10A, the multi-use content "Dog. Avi" is added to the playlist.

  Deletion from the playlist is performed by the user dragging and dropping an icon from the area 1004 to the area 1005 using the operation unit 204 of the PC (1002). In FIG. 10, the multi-use content "Bird. Avi" is deleted from the playlist.

  The playback order change of the playlist is performed by the user dragging and dropping an icon from the area 1004 to the area 1004 using the operation unit 204 of the PC (1003). In FIG. 10A, the reproduction order of the multi-use content "Dog.avi" and "Bird.avi" is switched.

  Note that as another embodiment, “Dog — 01 — 2.avi” and “Dog — 02 — 2.avi” are two first icons shown in FIG. looks like. In such a case, when the user performs a drag and drop operation on the first icon, the CPU 101 of the master projector may perform the same process on the corresponding first icon. That is, in FIG. 10B, when adding the content “Dog — 02 — 2.avi” to the playlist, the user may drag and drop the icon of the content from the area 1103 to the area 1102 (1101). At this time, the corresponding content “Dog — 01 — 2.avi” is also moved in conjunction with it, and is similarly added to the playlist (1101 ′). The deletion from the playlist and the change of the reproduction order are also performed by the same operation.

  According to the above procedure, a playlist including multi-use content can be created. The created playlist is stored on the RAM 102 by the CPU 101 of the master projector.

  When the CPU 101 of the master projector sends a reproduction command of a predetermined content to the slave projector via the network IF 108 based on the playlist stored in the RAM 102, signage including multi-use content can be realized.

  As described above, the usability in playlist creation including multi-use content can be improved.

Other Embodiments
The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to execute.

  Also, although multi-projection using a plurality of projectors has been described in the embodiment, the application example is not limited to this. For example, the present invention is also applicable to stack projection in which the luminance is improved by completely overlapping projection planes of a plurality of projectors, and 3D projection. Further, the present invention is also applicable to tiled display in which a plurality of displays are arranged in a tile shape to perform large screen display.

  Further, the application example of the present invention is not limited to the projector. For example, as long as it is an apparatus that simultaneously reproduces divided content such as a large display, it is applicable to various apparatuses.

  Further, the application example of the present invention is not limited to the projector. A mobile phone including a so-called smart phone, a tablet device, a console terminal, or the like can be used as long as the playback of the content can be controlled.

  Moreover, although the image was mentioned as an example of content in 1st Embodiment, it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the present invention is also applicable when setting an execution schedule of a program for operating an industrial device. For example, when the device A and the device B need to simultaneously execute the program A and the program B at the factory, the programs A and B may be associated in advance and scheduling may be performed on the Web UI screen as shown in FIG. Good.

  Thus, the embodiment can be implemented in other various forms, and omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (11)

An information processing apparatus that manages reproduction of a plurality of contents in a plurality of reproduction apparatuses, the information processing apparatus comprising:
A display control unit configured to control to display a setting screen for setting the content to be reproduced for each of the reproduction devices using an item indicating each content;
It has determination means for determining whether the content that can be set using the setting screen is multi-use content to be reproduced in parallel by at least two reproduction devices,
The display control means identifiably displays an item indicating the content determined to be the multi-use content by the determination means and an item indicating the content determined to not be the multi-use content by the determination means. Information processing apparatus characterized by controlling. The setting screen further includes operation means for receiving an operation on an item indicating the content,
The setting screen includes a plurality of areas for each of the playback devices.
The content to be reproduced is set for each of the reproduction devices by accepting an operation in which an item indicating the content is arranged in any of the plurality of areas by the operation means. Information processor as described.   3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display control means controls to display an item indicating the first multi-use content and the second multi-use content to be reproduced in parallel as one item.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the item displayed as the one item is arranged across the plurality of areas.   3. The information processing according to claim 2, wherein the display control means displays an item indicating the first multi-use content and the second multi-use content to be reproduced in parallel as another item. apparatus.   When an operation for moving an item indicating either the first multi-use content or the second multi-use content is received by the operation means, the display control means also interlocks the items for which the movement operation has not been received The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the information processing apparatus is controlled to be moved.   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the setting screen is a screen for setting a reproduction order of the content.   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the multi-use content is content obtained by dividing one content.   9. The information processing according to claim 8, wherein when the content that can be set using the setting screen does not include all of the divided content, the display control means notifies that. apparatus. A control method of an information processing apparatus which manages reproduction of a plurality of contents in a plurality of reproduction apparatuses,
Displaying a setting screen for setting the content to be reproduced for each of the reproduction devices using an item indicating each content;
Determining whether the content that can be set using the setting screen is a multi-use content to be reproduced in parallel by at least two reproduction devices;
A control method of an information processing apparatus, comprising the step of identifiably displaying an item indicating content determined to be the multi-use content and an item indicating content determined to be not the multi-use content.   A computer-executable program that causes a computer to function as each unit of the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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