JP3072240B2 - Moving image data providing system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a moving picture data providing system for transferring a moving picture to be reproduced to a moving picture reproducing apparatus for reproducing a moving picture corresponding to moving picture data using a computer. The present invention relates to a moving image data providing system that repeatedly transfers a large amount of moving image data via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When transferring moving image data to a moving image reproducing apparatus via a computer network, the amount of data is enormous, so that data traffic flowing through a network line is increased and other communication is hindered. There is a problem. For this reason, it is common practice to compress moving image data to reduce the amount of data flowing through a network line. However, although compression reduces the total amount of information in image data, depending on the compression method, there is a possibility that even information required by the user may be damaged.

[0003] For this reason, a compression method that suppresses a loss rate of information required by a user is required. As such a compression method, the following method has conventionally been used.

(1) A method in which a necessary portion is specified in advance, and data in other portions is mainly subjected to compression.

(2) A method of compressing the amount of data by reducing the number of frames per unit time when the amount of data change between frames in a continuous frame group is small.

In the former method, for example, a person image is specified as a necessary part, and data other than the person image is mainly subjected to compression, thereby suppressing a loss rate of information required by the user. .

In the latter method, a continuous frame group in which the amount of data change between adjacent frames is equal to or smaller than a threshold value is regarded as a still image, and a plurality of frames are regarded as one.
In this method, the number of frames per unit time is reduced by representing one frame, and the total amount of moving image data is compressed. In this method, the information loss rate of the information required by the user is suppressed by using the fact that the information included in the representative frame and the information included in the reduced frame are almost the same. .

[0008]

However, when a moving image is compressed, (1) the validity of a criterion for specifying a necessary portion;
(2) It is necessary to consider how to deal with individual users.

That is, when specifying a necessary portion, a criterion that is not directly related to the semantic content of moving image data, such as the presence or absence of a predetermined image object and the amount of change between adjacent frames, is used. Information required by the user may not be specified correctly.

[0010] Further, what part of the moving image data is required may differ depending on the purpose of use of each user. Even though the necessary parts are the same, the possible range of the compression ratio of the moving image data to be provided depends on the machine environment of each user and the preferences of each user.

However, in the above conventional compression method,
In any case, since the same moving image data is provided to all users, there is a problem that it is not possible to cope with such a difference in demands between the individual users.

An object of the present invention is to minimize the loss rate of information required by individual users within a range that can be satisfied by each user, and to minimize the total amount of moving image data.
An object of the present invention is to provide a moving image data providing system capable of providing moving image data to a user by compressing the moving image data.

[0013]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, basically, a category attribute of moving image data, user's reference status data, and user setting data are used individually or in combination. , The compression ratio of moving image data,
By variably determining in frame units, continuous frame group units or category units, the loss rate of information required by the user is minimized within a range that can be satisfied by the user, and the total amount of moving image data is minimized. Thus, the moving image data amount is optimized.

That is, reference status recording means for monitoring the reference status of moving image data and recording the reference status as frame-by-frame reference status data in frame units or continuous frame group units, and according to the frame-by-frame reference status data. Compression ratio determining means for determining a compression ratio of the moving image data in units of each frame or a continuous frame group; data compression for compressing moving image data according to the determined compression ratio and transferring the compressed data to the moving image reproducing apparatus Means.

An attribute setting means for setting a category of the moving image data as an attribute in a frame unit or a continuous frame group unit, monitoring a reference state of the moving image data, and referencing the reference state by category in the category unit. Reference status recording means for recording as; compression rate determining means for determining a compression rate of the moving image data according to the category-based reference status data; and compressing the moving image data according to the determined compression rate. It is characterized by comprising a data compression means for transferring the data to the moving picture reproducing apparatus.

[0016] The compression ratio determining means includes, in addition to the frame-by-frame reference situation data or category-by-category reference situation data, a compression rate in units of frames or continuous frames input from the moving picture reproducing apparatus, and a compression rate in units of category attributes. The compression ratio of moving image data is determined by a combination of the upper limit of the compression ratio and the lower limit of the compression ratio.

[0017]

According to the above means, the reference status of the moving image data is recorded in frame units, continuous frame group units, or category units.
The compression ratio is determined according to the reference state of the moving image data for which the reference request is made, and the moving image data is compressed according to the compression ratio and transferred to the moving image reproducing device.

Therefore, for example, in the case where the past reference situation is mainly fast forward reproduction, it can be assumed that the image is of little interest to the user himself, so that the compression rate is increased and the data amount is reduced. To provide. Conversely, if the past reference frequency is high and the reference situation frequently uses slow playback, it can be regarded as an image that is extremely interesting to the user himself, so that the compression rate can be minimized and detailed reference can be made To

This makes it possible to minimize the loss rate of information required by each user within a range that can be satisfied by each user, and to optimize the amount of moving image data so as to minimize the amount of moving image data. Become.

Further, by providing the category attribute of the moving image data, the above-mentioned operation can be realized for the moving image data to be referred for the first time by using the category attribute.

Further, in determining the compression ratio, various parameters such as the upper limit of the compression ratio set by the user are used, so that the information portion required by each user can be more accurately specified and used. It is possible to provide a moving image with a compression ratio according to the request of the user.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a moving image data providing system according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a network 11
1, a moving image data delivery server that transmits moving image data via the network 111 and receives operation data performed by each user, and 102 stores data and compression ratios transmitted and received by the moving image data delivery server 101. This is an auxiliary storage device for storing various data used for the determination process and information related to the data.

Reference numeral 103 denotes a category attribute data creating unit for adding category attribute data in frame units or continuous frame group units when moving image data is stored in the auxiliary storage device 102.

Reference numeral 104 denotes a compressed moving image data creating unit having an arithmetic function for creating compressed moving image data according to a user's request.

Reference numerals 105 to 110 denote a function of receiving moving image data from the moving image data distribution server 101, a function of reproducing and outputting the received moving image data to a display device or the like, a function of receiving an operation performed by a user as data,
The input operation data is transferred to the moving image data delivery server 101.
A user terminal device having a function of transmitting to a user terminal.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a frame identifier table 200 showing the correspondence between frames or continuous frames of moving image data and frame identifiers. The data stored in the frame identifier table 200 is the moving image data. , A moving image data identification unit 201, a frame identification unit 202, frame position data 203, and frame number data 204 created for each frame group.

The frame position data 203 is data indicating where the frame specified by the frame identification unit 202 or the first frame of the continuous frame group is located in the moving image data specified by the moving image data identification unit 201. , For example, by the number of frames from the beginning of the moving image data.

The frame number data 204 is data representing the number of frames included in the continuous frame group specified by the frame identification unit 202.

The moving image data identification section 201 is composed of a moving image data identifier 205 for identifying moving image data and moving image description data 206, and explains the moving image data specified by the moving image data identifier 205. The data is recorded in a format that can be understood by humans. For example, the name, creator, object, production time, total time, outline, genre, and the like of a moving image are recorded in a format that can be understood by humans.

The frame identification section 202 has a frame identifier 207 for specifying a frame or a continuous frame.
And frame description data 208, and the description data of the frame or the continuous frame group specified by the frame identifier 207 is recorded in a format that can be understood by humans. For example, an outline, an object, a category, and the like are recorded in a format that can be understood by a human.

The frame identifier table 200 is prepared for each moving image data, for each frame or for each continuous frame group.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a category attribute data table 300 created for each moving image data. The data stored in the category attribute data table 300 includes a moving image data identifier 205 and a frame identifier of the frame identifier table 200. Moving image data identifier 301 and frame identifier 30 respectively corresponding to 202
2 and a category attribute identifier group 303 of the frame or the continuous frame group specified by the frame identifier 302
The category attribute identifier group 303 stores one or more category attribute identifiers.

With such a structure, one or more category attributes can be expressed in one frame or one frame group.

This category attribute data table 300
Is a frame identifier 302 and a category attribute identifier group 3
03 appears repeatedly.

FIG. 4 shows a user identifier list table 40.
0, the identifiers 401 to 404,
Are stored at any time.
Is used to access the moving image distribution server 101 using the user terminal devices 103 to 110, and to identify all users who refer to moving image data stored in the auxiliary storage device 102.

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of the reference situation data table 500. Data stored in this table 500 is composed of a user identifier 501, a category-based reference situation data section 502, and a frame-based reference situation data section 503. It is configured.

Among these, the category-based reference situation data section 502 stores reference situation data for each category of the user specified by the user identifier 501.

This category-based reference status data section 502
Is a category attribute identifier 504 corresponding to the category attribute identifier group 303 and the category attribute identifier 50
4 has a structure in which the category-specific reference status data 505 of each user of the category attribute specified by No. 4 repeatedly appears. Then, reference status data 5 by category
Reference numeral 05 includes reference frequency data 510 for each category attribute specified by the category attribute identifier 504 and operation content data 511 of each user.

The frame-by-frame reference status data section 503
Stores reference status data of the user specified by the user identifier 501 in frame units or continuous frame group units.

On the other hand, the frame-by-frame reference status data section 503
Has a structure in which a moving image data identifier 506 corresponding to the moving image data identifier 205 and a frame identifying unit 507 repeatedly appear. The frame identifying unit 507 includes a frame identifier 508 corresponding to the frame identifier 207 and an individual identifier 508. The frame-by-frame reference status data 509 of each user in the specified frame unit or continuous frame group unit appears repeatedly.

Then, frame-by-frame reference status data 509
Has reference frequency data 512 in units of frames or continuous frame groups specified by the frame identifier 508 and operation content data 513 of each user.

FIG. 6 shows a reference status data section 5 for each category.
FIG. 12 is a data structure diagram of operation content data 511 and 513 in the reference status data unit 503 and the frame-specific reference status data unit 503;
The operation content identifier 601 and the operation date / time data 602 repeatedly appear. The operation content identifier 601 includes various reproduction operation modes such as reproduction, fast forward, rewind, slow reproduction, frame advance, and still image reproduction. All operation modes performed by the user are specified, and the operation date and time data 6
In 02, the date and time at which the user performed the operation is specified. From the operation date and time data 602, the past reference frequency and reference interval can be known.

FIG. 7 shows a user setting data table 700.
The user setting data 700 stores parameters that can be set by individual users among the parameters for determining the compression ratio of moving image data.

That is, the data stored in the user setting data table 700 includes user identifiers 701 corresponding to the user identifiers 401, 402,... Of the user identifier list table 400, and the user set by each user. The configuration data section 702 includes a setting data section 702 and a temporary change data section 703. The user setting data section 702 includes a category-based data section 704, a frame-based data section 705, a compression ratio upper limit data 706, and a compression ratio lower limit data. 707, a compression execution flag 708, an application ratio data section 709, and an expiration date data section 710.

The temporary change data section 703 includes a category-specific data section 711, a frame-specific data section 712, a compression ratio upper limit data 713, a compression ratio lower limit data 714,
It comprises a compression execution flag 715 and an application ratio data section 716.

Of these, the application ratio data sections 709 and 71
6 stores the application ratio of each compression ratio data stored in the compression ratio list data (see FIG. 8).

The expiration date data section 710 stores the expiration date of each upper limit setting item.

The category-specific data section 704 has a structure in which a category attribute identifier 717 corresponding to the category attribute identifier group 303 and category-specific compression ratio data 718 repeatedly appear.

The frame-by-frame data section 712 has a structure in which the frame identifier 720 corresponding to the moving image data identifiers 719 and 207 corresponding to the moving image data identifier 205 and the compression ratio data 721 by frame appear repeatedly.

Each data 711 of the temporary change data section 703
If .about.716 is not set by the user, a flag indicating that the data is not set is stored.

When set by the user, each data in the temporary change data section 703 has priority over each data in the user setting data section 702.

FIG. 8 shows a compression rate list data table 80.
FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of the compression rate data 801 by user setting category calculated by using the category data section 704 (see FIG. 7) of the user setting data, and the frame-by-frame data section 705 of the user setting data. 7) is stored. Furthermore, the category-based reference situation compression rate data 803 calculated using the category-based reference situation data section 502 (see FIG. 5) of the reference situation data, and the frame-based reference situation data section 503 (see FIG. 5) of the reference situation data. The frame-by-frame reference situation compression ratio data 804 calculated using the above is stored.

The compression ratio actually applied to the moving image data is determined by weighting the application ratio 709 or 716 based on the compression ratio data 801 to 804 (see FIG. 14).

The compression rate data 801 to 804 include
When the value of the compression ratio is not set, a flag indicating that the value is not set is stored, and is not involved in the determination of the compression ratio.

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram of the compression ratio control data table 900 for each operation content. The operation content identifier 901 corresponding to the operation content identifier 601 and the compression ratio correction data 902 are shown.
And appear repeatedly.

The compression ratio correction data 902 stores data on how to correct the compression ratio by performing the operation specified by the operation content identifier 901.

FIG. 10 shows the user terminal devices 105 to 110
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a moving image reproduction display unit 10.
01, reproduction operation unit 1002, reproduction start position determination operation unit 1
003 is displayed.

Of these, the reproduction start position determination operation unit 1003
Include a moving image data menu 1004, a moving image data explanation button 1005, a frame menu 1006, a frame explanation button 1007, a reproduction start position determination button 100
8 is displayed, and the moving image data menu 1004 displays a list of moving image data provided by the moving image data distribution server 101. Then, when an operation of selecting the moving image data explanation button 1005 is performed, a description of the moving image data selected in the moving image data menu 1004 is displayed.

The frame menu 1006 displays a menu 1006 for a frame or a frame group of the moving image data selected by the moving image data explanation button 1005. When an operation of selecting the frame data description button 1007 is performed, a description of the frame data selected in the frame menu 1006 is displayed.

When the operation of selecting the reproduction start position determination button 1008 is performed, the moving image data menu 1004 is selected.
And the frame of the moving image data selected in the frame menu 1006 is determined as the reproduction start position.

Reference numeral 1009 denotes a user setting data change button. By operating the change button 1009, the screen is switched to a user setting data change screen. 1010
Is an end button. By operating the end button 1010, the connection state with the moving image data delivery server 101 is released.

Each of the user terminal devices 105 to 110 converts a content operated by the user into a corresponding operation content identifier, and transmits the operation content identifier to the moving image data delivery server 101. The user terminal device 105 transmits the user setting data set by the user. Means for transmitting to the moving image data delivery server 101;
Means for converting the moving image data transmitted from 1 to a corresponding moving image, and reproducing and displaying the moving image on the moving image reproduction display unit 1001;
Means for displaying the moving image data description data 206 and the frame description data 207 transmitted from the moving image data distribution server 101 on the moving image data menu 1004 and the frame menu 1006, and allowing the user to select a reproduction start position; Means for transmitting the moving image data identifier 205 and the frame identifier 207 of the moving image data desired to be referred to the moving image data distribution server.

FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of a user setting data change screen, in which a user setting data item 1101 and a temporary change button 1102 are displayed.
By operating the button 102, the setting data is changed in the temporary change data section 703. If no operation has been performed, the operation is performed on the user setting data section 702. Further, the set value changing unit 1103, the set value display unit 1
104, a setting execution button 1105, a setting cancel button 1106, a user setting data change end button 1107
Is displayed.

FIGS. 12 to 15 are flowcharts showing the flow of the processing of this embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart.

According to the present system, the user terminal device 105
The moving image data to be delivered is stored in the auxiliary storage device 10.
2 and is identified by the moving image data identifier 205.

At the time of storage, the category attribute data creating section 103 creates a frame identifier table (see FIG. 2) and category attribute data (see FIG. 3), and stores them in the auxiliary storage device 102 together with the moving image data.

First, a series of processes in which the moving image data delivery server 101 provides moving image data to each of the user terminal devices 105 to 110 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the moving image data distribution server 101 receives a connection request from, for example, the user terminal device 105 (step 1201), the moving image data distribution server 101 stores the user identifier (for example, 401) of the user who issued the connection request in the user identifier list table. 400 (see FIG. 4) (step 120).
2).

User identifier 4 of the user who issued the connection request
If 01 exists in the user identifier list table 400, the user identifier 401 is used as a search key,
The reference situation data (see FIG. 5) and the user setting data (see FIG. 7) corresponding to the user are read from the auxiliary storage device 102 (step 1203).

However, if the user identifier 401 of the user who has issued the connection request does not exist in the user identifier list table 400, the user identifier 401 is newly added to the user identifier list table 400, and further, The user is requested to set user setting data, and user setting data is created for the user using the data transmitted from the user (step 1204).

The moving image data delivery server 101 transmits a list of the moving image data identification unit 201 and the frame identification unit 202 for the moving image data stored in the auxiliary storage device 102 to the user terminal device 105 (step 120).
5).

In response to this, the user performs a moving image selection operation and a frame selection operation, and the moving image data identifier 205 and the frame identifier 207 are transmitted from the user terminal device 105.
Is received (step 1206), the moving image data delivery server 101 checks whether operation data is transmitted from the user terminal device 105 (step 120).
7) If so, update the operation content identifier 601 to the transmitted value (step 1208); otherwise, skip step 1208.

Thereafter, the operation content identifier 601 is checked (step 1209). If the operation content identifier 601 relates to “reproduction operation”, the process proceeds to step 1210. If the operation content identifier 601 is “change user setting data”, the process proceeds to step 1214. Is skipped to step 1215 (step 1209).

In the case of “reproduction operation”, the operation content data 511 of the category-based reference status data 505 and the operation content data 513 of the frame-based reference status data 509
(See FIG. 5) is updated (step 121).
0).

Next, compressed moving image data is created in the compressed moving image data creating unit 104 (step 121).
1).

The moving image data delivery server 101 transmits the compressed moving image data created in step 1211 to the user terminal device 105 at a cycle according to the reproduction method designated by the operation content identifier 601 (step 1212). For example, in the case of fast-forward playback, one frame of compressed moving image data is transmitted at a cycle earlier than in the case of normal playback.

Next, the frame identifier is updated according to the number of transmitted frames (step 1213), and the process returns to step 1207.

If the operation content identifier 601 is related to "user setting data change", the user terminal device 105 is inquired about whether or not the change is temporary, and if it is a temporary change, the temporary change data portion 703 of the user setting data is changed. If not, the user setting data section 702 is changed (step 121).
4) Return to step 1207.

If the operation content identifier 601 corresponds to "end", the connection state with the user terminal device 105 is released (step 1215), and the updated data is stored in the auxiliary storage device 102 (step 1216). . However, the user setting data temporary change unit 703 is not stored.

Next, the processing performed by the compressed moving image data creating unit 104 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, it is checked whether or not each data item of the temporary change data section 703 of the user setting data is set, and for the set item, the temporary change data section 703 is set to be used as the user setting data. The expiration date is determined by the expiration date data unit 710, and initialization processing for deleting the expired setting content is performed (step 1301).

Next, the compression execution flag 708 of the user setting data section 702 or the compression execution flag 715 of the temporarily changed data section is judged (step 1302). If “false”, steps 1303 to 1313 are skipped.

If true, the frame identifier 302 specified by the user from the category attribute data table 300
The category attribute identifier 303 of the frame (or frame group) corresponding to is obtained (step 1303).

Next, the category-specific data section 704 of the user setting data section 702 or the temporary data conversion section 703
It is determined whether or not the compression ratio data 718 of the category attribute identifier obtained in step 1303 is set in the category-specific data section 711 (step 1304).
If set, the set value is stored as user-set category-specific compression ratio data 801. If not set, step 1305 is skipped.

Next, the moving image data identifier 719 is stored in the frame-by-frame data section 705 of the user setting data section 702 or the frame-by-frame data section 712 of the temporary data changing section 703.
Then, it is determined whether or not the compression ratio data 721 of the frame or frame group specified by the frame identifier 720 has been set (step 1306), and if so, the set value is used for each user-set frame. The data is stored as the compression ratio data 802, and if not set, the step 1307 is skipped.

Next, it is determined whether or not the reference frequency data 510 and the operation content data 511 of the category attribute identifier 504 obtained in step 1303 are recorded in the category-based reference situation data section 502 of the reference situation data (step S3). 1308), if recorded, step 13
The compression rate is determined using the reference frequency data 510 and the operation content data 511 obtained in step 08 (described later with reference to FIG. 14), and stored as the category-based reference situation compression rate data 803 (step 1309). However, the reference frequency data 510
If the operation content data 511 is not recorded, the step 1309 is skipped.

Next, the reference frequency data 512 and the operation content data 5 of the frame or frame group specified by the moving image data identifier 719 and the frame identifier 720 are stored in the frame-by-frame reference status data section 503 of the reference status data.
13 is recorded (step 131).
0), if recorded, the compression rate is determined using the reference frequency data 512 and the operation content data 513 obtained in step 1310 (described later in FIG. 14), and stored as the frame-by-frame reference situation compressed data 804 ( Step 131
1). However, if not recorded, step 131
Skip 1

Next, the application ratio stored in the application ratio data section 709 or 716 of the user setting data is applied as a weighting factor to the compression ratio data 801 to 804 to determine the compression ratio (step 1312).

Next, the compression ratio determined in step 1312 is the compression ratio upper limit data 706 or 713 and the compression ratio lower limit data 707 or 714 of the user setting data.
If it is out of the range set in step (1), the compression ratio is corrected so as to fall within the range (step 1313).

Finally, the determined compression ratio is applied to create compressed moving image data (step 1314).

Next, the processing performed in steps 1309 and 1311 will be described with reference to FIG.

The purpose of the processing performed in this part is to determine the compression ratio in units of frames, in units of continuous frames, or in units of category attributes according to the user's reference situation.

That is, for example, when fast-forward playback is frequently repeated in the past, a higher compression ratio is used. On the contrary, when slow playback, frame-forward playback, still picture playback, etc. are frequently used, The point is that the compression ratio is set to a lower value (see FIG. 15).

First, the data (see FIG. 9) of the compression ratio control data table 900 for each operation content is read (step 1).
401).

Next, reference frequency data 510 or 512
, The reference compression ratio is determined using the reference compression ratio function. As a candidate for the reference compression ratio function, for example, a monotonically increasing function that converges to a certain constant value is used (step 1402).

Next, the operation content data 511 or 513
The operation frequency is calculated for each operation content identifier 601 using the operation date and time data 602 of FIG. For the calculation of the operation frequency, for example, an algorithm that gives priority to the most recently performed operation is used (step 1403).

Next, the compression ratio correction data 902 (see FIG. 9) for each operation content identifier 601 is weighted by the operation frequency obtained in step 1403 and added to determine a compression ratio correction value (step). 1404).

Next, the reference compression ratio determined in step 1402 is corrected by the correction value determined in step 1404, and the compression ratio is determined (step 1405).

By the processing described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, the final compression ratio of one frame (group) having a certain category is as shown in the following formula.

[0102]

(Equation 1)

However, if R calculated by this formula is within the following range, the following correction is made: R <m R = m .R> M R = M If the compression execution flag is “false”, no compression is performed.

R = final compression ratio a _i = application ratio data portion 709 (7 when set)
16) = (a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ , a ₄ ) r ₁ = compression rate data by user setting category 801 = compression rate data by category 718 r ₂ = compression rate data by user setting frame 802 = frame by frame Compression rate data 721 r ₃ = Reference situation compression rate data by category 803 r ₄ = Reference situation compression rate data by frame 804 ε ₁ = Compression rate data storage flag by user set category (1 when stored 0 if none) ε ₂ = compression rate data storage flag for each user-set frame (1 if stored, 0 if not) ε ₃ = category reference situation compression rate data storage flag (stored 1, 0 when one, not when the 0) epsilon ₄ = is a frame-specific reference situation compressibility data storage flag (storage when not in) f _i = frequency of reference data when they are i = For 3 cases 510, i = 4 512) B = basic compression rate function o _j = operation content identifier 601 operation frequency l _j = operation content identifier 601 of the operation content is j is the operation content is j Operation date / time data 602 δ _j = compression ratio correction data 902 of the operation content whose operation content identifier is j F = operation frequency determination function M = compression ratio upper limit data 706 (7 when set)
13) m = compression rate lower limit data 707 (7 when set)
14).

FIG. 16 shows the user terminal devices 105 to 110.
5 is a flowchart showing a series of processes performed in step S1.

The user connects the user terminal device 105 and the moving image data delivery server 101 via the network 111 by, for example, a connection operation on the user terminal device 105 (step 1601).

Next, the user enters his / her own user identifier 401.
Is transmitted (step 1602).

The user operates the reproduction start position determination operation unit 100
3 is used to determine the reproduction start position, and the moving image data and the frame group to start reproduction are selected.

With this operation, the moving image data identifier 205 and the frame identifier 207 are transmitted from the user terminal device 105 to the moving image data distribution server 101 (step 1603).

Next, the content of the operation desired by the user is determined (step 1604). If "reproduction operation" is desired, the process proceeds to step 1605. If "user setting data change" is desired, If "end" is desired in step 1606, the process skips to step 1613 (step 1604).

The operation content desired by the user is “playback operation”.
In the case of (1), the user selects his / her desired reproduction method using the reproduction operation unit 1002 (step 1605). The selected reproduction method is converted into a corresponding operation content identifier 601 by the user terminal device 105 and transmitted to the moving image data distribution server 101.

When the operation content desired by the user is “change user setting data”, the user operates the change user setting data button 1009 to display the “change user setting data screen” in FIG. (Step 1606).

Next, using the temporary change button 1102 corresponding to the user setting data item 1101 desired to be changed, a selection is made as to whether the change is temporary or not (step 160).
7).

Next, the set value changing unit 1103 changes the set data. The set value being changed is displayed in the set value display section 11.
03 is displayed as shown in FIG. 11 (step 160
8).

To cancel the setting change, a setting cancel button 1106 is selected and operated (step 16).
09, 1611). In this case, the user setting data is not changed.

If the user does not cancel the operation, the user operates the setting execution button 1105 (step 1610).

As a result, the changed data is transferred to the moving image data transfer server 101.

Finally, the user setting data change end button 1107 is operated to end a series of processing (step 1).
612).

When the operation content desired by the user is "end", the end button 1010 is operated to release the connection with the moving image data delivery server 101 (step 1613).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the compression ratio of the moving image data is set in units of frames or by using the category attribute of the moving image data, the user's reference status data, and the user setting data individually or in combination. Since it is determined variably for each continuous frame group or for each category, the loss rate of information required by the user is minimized within a range that can be satisfied by the user, and the total amount of moving image data is minimized. In this way, the data can be optimized and provided to the user of the user terminal device.

In the above embodiment, the final compression ratio is determined by a combination of the category attribute of the moving image data, the user's reference status data, and the user setting data. Only, or may be determined only by the user's reference situation data.

Furthermore, the determination may be made based on a combination of the category attribute of the moving image data and the user setting data, or a combination of the user's reference status data and the user setting data.

[0123]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the reference status of moving image data is recorded in frame units, continuous frame group units, or category units. The compression ratio is determined according to the reference state of the moving image data for which the reference request has been made, and the moving image data is compressed according to the compression ratio and transferred to the moving image reproducing apparatus. It is possible to optimize the amount of moving image data so that the required information loss rate is minimized within a range that can be satisfied by each user and the amount of moving image data is minimized.

When the category attribute of the moving image data is provided, the moving image data to be referred for the first time also
The above operation can be realized by using the category attribute.

Further, in determining the compression ratio, various parameters such as the upper limit value of the compression ratio set by the user are used, so that the information portion required by each user can be more accurately specified and used. It is possible to provide a moving image with a compression ratio according to the request of the user.

Further, it is possible to reduce the total amount of data on the computer network and the data capacity occupied by the main storage device or the auxiliary storage device, thereby saving computer resources.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a frame identifier table.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a category attribute data table.

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of a user identifier list table.

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of a reference situation data table.

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of operation content data.

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of a user setting data table.

FIG. 8 is a structural diagram of a compression ratio list data table.

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram of a compression ratio control data table for each operation content.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of the user terminal device.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a user setting data change screen.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a process of transferring moving image data.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a compressed moving image data creation unit.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining a compression ratio according to a reference frequency and a playback operation mode.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a compression ratio according to a reference situation.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing processing in the user terminal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

101: moving image data delivery server, 102: external storage device, 103: category attribute data creating unit, 104: compressed moving image data creating unit, 105 to 110: user terminal device, 111: network, 200: frame identifier table, 300: Category attribute data table, 40
0: User identifier list table, 500: Reference status data table, 510, 512: Reference frequency data, 51
1,513: operation content data, 700: user setting data table, 800: compression ratio list data table, 9
00: Compression ratio control data table for each operation content.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-18882 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 7/10 H04N 7/14-7/173 H04N 7 / 20-7/22

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. A moving image data providing system for providing moving image data to a moving image reproducing device that reproduces a moving image corresponding to moving image data, wherein a reference state of the moving image data from the moving image reproducing device is determined. A reference status recording unit that monitors and records the reference status as frame-by-frame reference status data in frame units or continuous frame group units; and a compression ratio of the moving image data in each frame or in accordance with the frame-by-frame reference status data. A moving image characterized by comprising: a compression ratio determining unit for determining a continuous frame group unit; and a data compressing unit for compressing moving image data according to the determined compression ratio and transferring the compressed data to the moving image reproducing apparatus. Data delivery system. 2. The moving image data providing system according to claim 1, wherein the frame-based reference situation data is data including at least one of a reference frequency, a reference interval, and a reproduction operation mode at the time of reference. . 3. The frame-based reference situation data is data including at least one of a reference situation for each user, a reference situation of all users, or a reference situation obtained by performing a set operation on both of them. 2. The moving image data providing system according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The compression ratio determining means includes a compression ratio, an upper limit value of the compression ratio, a lower limit value of the compression ratio, and the reference status data for each frame, which are input from the moving image reproducing apparatus in frame units or continuous frame group units. 4. The compression ratio of moving image data is determined by a combination of
The moving image data providing system according to any of the above. 5. A moving image data providing system for providing moving image data to a moving image reproducing apparatus that reproduces a moving image corresponding to moving image data, wherein the category of the moving image data is set in a frame unit or a continuous frame group unit. Attribute setting means for setting the attribute as an attribute, reference status recording means for monitoring the reference status of moving image data, and recording the reference status as category-based reference status data in category units, and according to the category-based reference status data. A compression ratio determining unit that determines a compression ratio of the moving image data; and a data compression unit that compresses moving image data according to the determined compression ratio and transfers the compressed data to the moving image reproducing device. Moving image data providing system. 6. The category-based reference situation data is data including at least one of a reference frequency, a reference interval, and a reproduction operation state at the time of reference.
The moving image data providing system described in the above. 7. The category-based reference situation data includes a reference situation for each user or a reference situation for all users,
6. The moving image data providing system according to claim 5, wherein the data includes at least one of reference situations obtained by performing a set operation on both of them. 8. The moving image reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the compression ratio determining unit is configured to determine a moving image based on a combination of a compression ratio, an upper limit value of the compression ratio, a lower limit value of the compression ratio, and the category-based reference status data input by the moving image reproducing apparatus. 8. The moving image data providing system according to claim 5, wherein a compression ratio of the image data is determined. 9. A moving image data providing system for providing moving image data to a moving image reproducing apparatus that reproduces a moving image corresponding to moving image data, wherein the category of the moving image data is set in a frame unit or a continuous frame group unit. Attribute setting means for setting the reference status as an attribute, and a reference status for monitoring the reference status of the moving image data from the video reproducing apparatus and recording the reference status as reference status data in a category unit, a frame unit, or a continuous frame group unit Recording means; compression rate determining means for determining a compression rate of the moving image data in units of each category, frame, and continuous frame in accordance with the reference situation data; and moving image data in accordance with the determined compression rate. A data compression means for compressing and transferring the compressed data to the moving image reproducing apparatus. M