JP3766280B2 - Content mediation apparatus and content mediation processing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention adds content information such as a title to a part of video or music content selected by the broadcast content received from the received broadcast content so that the content can be transferred to a content playback device or content recording medium. The present invention relates to an apparatus and a processing method thereof.
[0002]
In particular, the present invention handles a relatively light-weight portion of a broadcast content that is broadcast continuously, such as camera switching or music break, such as cutting a scene change, by a client device such as a personal computer (PC). On the other hand, a high-value-added service function that requires processing time to extract additional information from a scene is performed by a device on the network, and information is extracted and added to the broadcast data extracted by the client device via the network. The present invention relates to a technique for adding and storing information to broadcast contents for transferring data to a content reproduction apparatus.
[0003]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a method for enabling a viewer to obtain information related to broadcast content broadcast unilaterally from a broadcasting station, the broadcast content is digitized and so-called video data and accompanying data are transmitted together. There is a method of providing information to viewers by using a characteristic of digital broadcasting, embedding a link to the Internet such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) in accompanying data, and setting a link with video content.
[0004]
Further, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-177532 “Method and apparatus for automatically displaying an Internet homepage on a television screen in cooperation with a television program”, an Internet program related to each television program is disclosed. There is a method of displaying an Internet homepage on a television screen in cooperation with a television program by capturing television program guide data incorporating URL information from the outside into a terminal.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional method of sending related information or a link to related information together with video content in digital broadcasting, it is necessary to add related information or a link to the video content in advance on the broadcasting station side. For content that does not have accompanying data, the viewer could not obtain the relevant information.
[0006]
The method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-177532 is a method for adding value to digital broadcast content, and does not add information to analog broadcast content, for example.
[0007]
Even if the meta information is incorporated in the content itself, if the viewer terminal does not have a mechanism for extracting the meta information from the content, related information about the meta information cannot be obtained. The meta information is, for example, telop information (lyrics, news) of a video content, a music title searched from extracted music data, a location of a scene with a drama, and the like.
[0008]
In addition, it is possible to play back after viewing a part of the client terminal that can only play or handle a part of the complex information (video, audio, BGM, etc.) contained in the broadcast content unilaterally flowing down. Even if it was attempted to view information that was not present or related information on another terminal having a composite information reproduction function, it was difficult to do so with the prior art.
[0009]
As a device capable of storing analog broadcast content, there is a video tape recorder (VTR) device, but the VTR device simply stores the broadcast content.
[0010]
The present invention solves the above problems, and in the case of analog broadcasting, or in the case of broadcasting to which related data for accessing related information is not added even if it is digital broadcasting, additional data is added and broadcasted. Even if it is a digital broadcast, even if the information is missing due to restrictions on the performance and functions of the receiving device, the related information or missing from the server device that can process the composite information placed on the network The object is to take out and manage additional information, and to read and reproduce it when necessary.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention divides broadcast content into broadcast data pieces by the content extraction means, and is extracted using any one of a plurality of types of identification information generation methods. The main feature is that additional information is extracted from the related content extraction device operating on the network by the related content collection means based on the identification information , combined with the divided content, and stored and managed. . Further, for each type indicating the type of identification information generation method, with reference to the correspondence information between the type and information for specifying a search destination of additional information related to the broadcast data fragment, based on the identification information, Identifying a search destination corresponding to the type indicating the type of the identification information generation method used to extract the identification information, and collecting additional information related to the broadcast data fragment from the search destination via the network. Features.
[0012]
According to the present invention, additional information detected on the network side is stored on the client side together with the broadcast data segment extracted and decomposed on the client side device, and the content to be viewed is selected and transferred to the playback device. can do.
[0013]
It can also be played back later when it is received by a client terminal that can only play a part of the unilaterally supplied composite content (eg video and audio) such as a broadcast program (eg playback only audio). Missing information and related information can be reproduced on other terminals.
[0014]
The difference between the present invention and the prior art is, for example, as follows. In the prior art, a device having a secondary storage medium such as a personal computer (PC) and placed in an environment in which broadcast content can be easily acquired, and the received broadcast content is a single drama video scene or music. When a program is divided into units such as a song, information on the content may be lost due to restrictions on the performance of the device or functions it has. It is possible to search for media-converted information on a server on the network, and to supplement and accumulate missing additional information. Accordingly, it is possible to display a list of accumulated contents as needed, and download to a portable playback device or transfer to a secondary medium such as a DVD as much as necessary.
[0015]
In addition, since a VTR device that can store analog broadcast content can only divide the broadcast content according to time, additional information is acquired from the network for each divided scene, and the scene of interest It was not something that could be managed together. However, according to the present invention, even analog broadcast content can be managed together by adding related information acquired via a network to a broadcast data segment divided for each scene.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a system using a content mediating apparatus according to the present invention. The content mediating apparatus 1 includes a broadcast content receiving unit 10, a content extracting unit 11, a related content collecting unit 12, a content storage unit 13, and a content list display / transfer unit 14. Many of these are realized by a computer and a software program executed by the computer. The content mediating apparatus 1 may be a user's personal computer (PC), a television receiver with a built-in computer, or a kiosk terminal. The related content providing device 2 is connected to the related content collection unit 12 via a network 3 such as the Internet. The arrows in the figure represent the data flow.
[0017]
FIG. 2 shows a flow of the system shown in FIG. Broadcast content broadcast via wireless, wired or the like is received by the broadcast content receiver 10 and sent to the content extractor 11 (S1).
[0018]
The content extraction unit 11 recognizes the transition of scenes in the video and the transition of audio such as music and announcements, and divides the unbroken broadcast content into fine video (hereinafter referred to as broadcast data segments) (S2). . The content extraction unit 11 generates an ID for extracting related content from the further divided broadcast data pieces (S3). The ID may be, for example, a channel and date and time, or may be a code (content ID) that identifies the content embedded in the content in the broadcast data fragment. Using the generated ID as a key, the related content collection unit 12 is requested to search for content to be added (hereinafter referred to as related content).
[0019]
The related content collection unit 12 determines the URL of the related content providing apparatus 2 to be requested for search based on the ID type as a key (S4). An ID is sent as a key to the related content providing device 2 of the determined URL, and the related content providing device 2 searches for the related content based on the ID (S5). The related content collection unit 12 acquires the related content from the related content providing device 2 and returns it to the content extraction unit 11. The content extraction unit 11 sets the broadcast data segment (divided content), the collected related content, and the ID as a set and stores them in the content storage unit 13 (S6).
[0020]
The content list display / transfer unit 14 displays a list of stored broadcast data pieces (contents) based on specified conditions such as date and time, channel, or attributes associated with the content, according to user requests. Then, the user selects the content designated for viewing and transfers the selected content to the content reproduction device 4 to allow the user to view (S8).
[0021]
FIG. 3 shows the flow of processing in the content extraction unit 11. In the data extracting unit 111, the content extracting unit 11 divides the broadcast content transferred from the broadcast content receiving unit 10 into a meaningful unit of broadcast data pieces. The broadcast may be an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast. In the case of an analog broadcast, the data is converted into digital data and then processed by the data decomposing unit 111.
[0022]
The method of dividing into broadcast data pieces may be switching of camera images such as scene changes of commercials and dramas, or by dividing voices or music, such as explanations of songs, BGM, announcers, etc. I do not care. Specifically, for example, in the case of video content of a music program, the scene that is cut out is a scene where a certain singer is singing, and as the cut-out method, it is detected from when the music flows to the end. Then, the data is converted into data of a moving image encoding format such as MPEG to form a broadcast data fragment. Since a specific method such as video cut point extraction is a well-known technique, further detailed explanation is omitted here.
[0023]
The cut-out broadcast data segment is temporarily stored in the data queue 112 in order to perform subsequent processing smoothly. For the broadcast data segment taken out from the data queue 112, the ID detection unit 113 generates an ID for acquiring related content. The ID only needs to relate the broadcast data fragment and related broadcast content. For example, the ID may be a broadcast channel and a broadcast time, or may be a program recording reservation code (G code) obtained by referring to an electronic program guide and a relative time from the start of the program. . Further, the ID may be an ID (content ID) for identifying content embedded in the broadcast content itself by digital watermark technology or the like. Further, a plurality of such IDs may be assigned to one piece of broadcast data. In any case, it is assumed that an apparatus for providing related content is prepared in accordance with an ID generation method and its ID system (ID type).
[0024]
The following shows an example of generation for each ID type.
(1) When an ID is generated from a broadcast channel and a broadcast time, “channel, broadcast date and time (start date / month / hour / minute / second−end date / month / hour / minute / second)” is used.
(Example: CH8,2001 / 01/01 10: 30: 40-2001 / 01/01 10:40:20)
(2) When an ID is generated using a G code, “G code, relative time (start relative minute / second—end relative minute / second)”.
(Example: 12345, 20: 30-40: 20)
(3) When using the content ID, an ID (content ID) uniquely assigned to the content embedded in the broadcast content is read out and used as the ID.
[0025]
For which type of ID among the above (1) to (3) is to be generated, for example, priorities are assigned, and it is first determined whether or not there is a content ID for the broadcast data fragment, and the content ID If there is, the content ID is extracted and used as the ID. If there is no content ID, it is determined whether or not the G code for the broadcast content can be determined from the electronic program guide, and if it can be determined, the ID is generated using the G code. However, if it cannot be determined, IDs may be generated in the order in which broadcast channels and broadcast times are used.
[0026]
As described above, the information search request unit 114 requests the related content collection unit 12 to search for related content using the ID generated by the ID detection unit 113 as a key. The related content returned as a result, the ID, and the broadcast data fragment are stored in the content storage unit 13 in the data / ID association setting unit 115.
[0027]
After the series of processing is completed, the next broadcast data segment is taken out of the data queue 112 again, and the same procedure is repeated. When there is no broadcast data fragment in the data queue 112, it waits until it is added.
[0028]
FIG. 4 shows a processing flow in the related content collection unit 12. In the related content collection unit 12, the ID passed as a key from the content extraction unit 11 is identified in the search target determination unit 121, and the related content is provided by referring to the ID / search destination correspondence table 122. Determine the device to be used. In the ID / search destination correspondence table 122 of FIG. 4, the address of the related content providing apparatus 2 is represented as a URL for each ID type, but it is sufficient that the access destination can be uniquely identified, and it may be a telephone number or an IP address.
[0029]
The search request / result reception unit 123 requests a search process for the URL determined by the search target determination unit 121 and passes an ID as an argument thereof. As a result, the related content obtained from the related content providing devices 2A, 2B, etc. is returned to the content extraction unit 11.
[0030]
5 and 6 are diagrams for explaining the related content providing apparatus 2. FIG. 5 shows a related content providing device 2A of a type (referred to as type A) in which the device itself has a function of extracting additional information from broadcast content. In the related content providing apparatus 2A of type A, the information extracting unit 21 performs processing of cutting out broadcast data segments similar to those of the content extracting unit 11 from analog (or digital) broadcast content, and each broadcast data unit is divided into pieces. On the other hand, the character information is cut out. Character information includes teletext data that is being broadcast at the same time, and telops in the video. Since telops are not broadcast as data, processing such as extracting character strings in video using character recognition technology is performed. In addition, a well-known technique can be used as the telop extraction and the character recognition technique here.
[0031]
Next, with respect to the extracted character information, the indexing creation unit 22 performs structuring of data such as a genre and a title so as to respond to a search request from the related content collection unit 12, and searches the ID. The key is stored in the related content storage unit 23 as a key. The data to be stored is structured by describing the genre, title, and other attributes using a structured description language such as XML (Extensible Markup Language). As is well known, an XML description is composed of a part that defines the structure of data and data that is described according to the definition. The attribute to which the data belongs is delimited by <> and </> tags, and these can be nested, so the structure can be defined.
[0032]
FIG. 6 shows the related content providing apparatus 2B using the content ID. This related content providing apparatus 2B is of a type (referred to as type B) that uses a content ID to relay a search request from the related content collection unit 12 to the content ID center 5 that actually has the related content. It is. The content ID center 5 has a content ID database 51 in which content information is stored in advance for each content ID.
[0033]
The related content providing unit 2B uses the content ID that uniquely identifies the embedded content with respect to elemental content such as video, audio, music, and the like constituting the broadcast content. When the search request is made, the related content providing apparatus 2B performs the following processing.
[0034]
The search unit 25 identifies the content ID center 5 to be searched based on the passed ID, and acquires content information associated with the ID. Since a plurality of content IDs may be designated for one piece of broadcast data, the content information acquisition process is repeated as many times as the number of IDs delivered. The content information obtained as a result is edited as related content by the editing unit 26 and returned to the related content collection unit 12. Here, as for the editing method, a management method using a structured description language such as the XML is used.
[0035]
FIG. 7 shows the functions of the content storage unit 13. The accumulation unit 131 accumulates an ID serving as a search key, a broadcast data fragment as data, and related content in the database 133. The extraction unit 132 has a search function (search A) for specifying an ID as a key and a search function (search B) for specifying a condition in related content.
[0036]
In search A, when an ID is designated as a key, the corresponding broadcast data fragment and related content are retrieved from the database 133 and returned. In the search B, when a condition is specified as a key, the title and the outline data extracted from the related content in the database 133 are returned as return data.
[0037]
For the above search A, the ID part is completely matched. The search B depends on what attributes are included in the related content. For example, when the title and lyrics are included as attributes, the specified condition is that the title is “red sweet pea”. "Or" sweet pea "is included in the lyrics.
[0038]
FIG. 8 shows a processing flow in the content list display / transfer unit 14. According to the conditions such as date, channel, and genre specified by the user for the content list display / transfer unit 14, the list creation unit 141 searches the content storage unit 13 by specifying the search B condition. The broadcast data fragment list is displayed using a user interface 6 such as a display. When displaying a list, in addition to titles extracted from related content, video snapshot images and the like are also displayed. The user designates one or a plurality of contents and requests transfer to the content reproduction apparatus 4. In response to the instruction, the transfer unit 142 searches the content storage unit 13 using the ID of search A, and transfers data such as a broadcast data fragment and related content to the content reproduction device 4.
[0039]
The content playback device 4 may be any device that can play back content such as a display, speakers, headphones, etc., and may be a mobile phone, for example. Instead of transferring to the content reproduction apparatus 4, it can be written to a portable external storage medium such as a rewritable magnetic disk, optical disk or magneto-optical disk.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the client-side device automatically collects additional information related to the broadcast data fragment extracted / decomposed from the received broadcast via the network, and collects them. It can be stored in association. As a result, the user can select the content he / she wishes to view at any time, transfer it to the playback device, and view it.
[0041]
In particular, it is also possible to collect and store related information for analog broadcast content, and to reproduce it on a necessary playback device when necessary. Even if the additional information is not included in the broadcast data even in the case of digital broadcasting, or if the client terminal is not equipped with a function that can extract the additional information, the related information is also obtained for the broadcast data fragment. Can be added and stored.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a system using the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of the system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of processing in a content rendering unit.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow in a related content collection unit.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a related content providing apparatus (type A).
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a related content providing apparatus (type B).
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating functions of a content storage unit.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow in a content list display / transfer unit.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content mediation apparatus 2 Related content provision apparatus 3 Network 4 Content reproduction apparatus 10 Broadcast content receiving part 11 Content extraction part 12 Related content collection part 13 Content storage part 14 Content list display / transfer part

Claims (4)

A content mediating device that adds information to received broadcast content, stores it, and forwards the requested content.
Broadcast data segments are created by dividing broadcast content that flows continuously into meaningful units, and multiple types of identification information are generated to identify broadcast data segments from the broadcast data segments. Content extraction means for detecting or generating by at least one type of method ;
For each type indicating the type of the identification information generation method, there is correspondence information between the type and information for specifying a search destination of additional information related to the broadcast data fragment, and the identification information is based on the identification information. Related information collection for identifying a search destination corresponding to the type indicating the type of the identification information generation method used for detecting or generating the broadcast, and collecting additional information related to the broadcast data fragment from the search destination via the network Means,
Content storage means for storing and managing the broadcast data segment together with the collected additional information and the identification information;
A content mediating apparatus comprising: a content list display / transfer unit capable of displaying a list of contents stored by the content storage unit and taking out designated content together with the additional information. The content mediation apparatus according to claim 1,
The type indicating the type of the identification information generation method includes a type for generating identification information using a broadcast channel and a broadcast time, a type for generating identification information using a program recording reservation code and a relative time, or a broadcast content. Includes at least one of the types whose identifier is the identifier of the embedded content,
The content mediation apparatus , wherein the content extraction means detects or generates the identification information in accordance with a predetermined type of priority . A content mediation processing method by a content mediation device for adding information to a received broadcast content, storing it, and transferring the requested content,
The content mediating device is
The process of creating broadcast data fragments by dividing continuous broadcast content into meaningful units ,
A process of detecting or generating identification information for identifying a broadcast data segment from the broadcast data segment by at least one of a plurality of types of identification information generation methods ;
For each type indicating the type of the identification information generation method, reference is made to correspondence information between the type and information for specifying a search destination of additional information related to the broadcast data fragment, and the identification is performed based on the identification information Identifying a search destination corresponding to a type indicating the type of the identification information generation method used for detecting or generating information, and collecting additional information related to the broadcast data fragment from the search destination via the network ; ,
Storing and managing the broadcast data segment together with the collected additional information and the identification information in content storage means ;
A content mediation processing method comprising: displaying a list of contents stored in the content storage means, and transferring the designated content together with the additional information for reproduction or recording. The content mediation processing method according to claim 3,
As a type indicating the type of the identification information generation method, a type in which identification information is generated using a broadcast channel and a broadcast time, a type in which identification information is generated using a program recording reservation code and a relative time, or embedded in broadcast content Including at least one of the types that use the identifier of the content being identified as identification information,
In the process of detecting or generating the identification information, the identification information is detected or generated according to a predetermined type of priority.
A content mediation processing method characterized by the above.

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