JP4302402B2 - Information processing system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information processing system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses are connected via a network, and the information processing apparatuses mutually use information.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, various information including image information and audio information has been digitized. Compared with information recorded on paper, the digitized information has greatly improved searchability. In order to obtain this searchability, attribute information that can be used as a keyword at the time of search, that is, metadata, is added to the digital information. This metadata generally includes multiple items such as titles and authors.
[0003]
As metadata, even if the contents of the items are the same, different item names may be given depending on the digital information supply source. On the other hand, when many people share digital information on a network, it is desirable to share different item names.
[0004]
An apparatus and method for converting metadata having such different item names into metadata of a common format is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-253367.
[0005]
The conventional information processing apparatus will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 13 shows a block diagram thereof. In the conventional example, broadcast program arrangement information is converted into common format metadata as follows.
[0006]
First, EPG data that is program arrangement information included in the broadcast is received by the EPG receiver 51. The correspondence between the EPG data and the common format metadata is stored in the correspondence table storage unit 52.
[0007]
As the common format, Dublin Core (hereinafter simply referred to as DC) is generally used. In addition, XML (Extensible Markup Language) is generally used for the description. XML is a language for defining a data format, and a format described using this is characterized by high extensibility.
[0008]
The data conversion unit 53 converts EPG data into a common format based on information from the EPG reception unit 51 and the correspondence table storage unit 52. The information converted into the common format is stored in the metadata storage unit 54.
[0009]
Next, information stored in the correspondence table storage unit 52 will be described.
FIG. 14 shows a part of the correspondence table stored in the correspondence table storage unit 52. FIG. 14 shows that the DC data items Title, Source, and Language, which are common formats, correspond to the EPG data data items Short Event, Network Name, and Country Available, respectively. Therefore, among the received EPG data, data given as a Short Event is stored in the metadata storage unit 29 as Title, and data given as a Network Name is stored in the metadata storage unit 29 as Source.
[0010]
As described above, the program arrangement information received as EPG data is converted into a common format DC and stored.
[0011]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-253367 A (publication date September 14, 2000)
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the method of converting metadata of different formats into a common format as in the conventional example, it is assumed that a common format exists. This is effective when the metadata format is fixed, such as in a broadcast or public database.
[0013]
However, for example, in a storage device or the like in a home network, it is possible to expand the items for each device manufacturer by utilizing the expandability of XML used for describing the metadata, or even the same manufacturer. New items may be added as new functions are added. In this way, it is very difficult to create a common format that covers all items that have been independently expanded by many manufacturers and items that will be added as technology advances. The method to do is not realizable.
[0014]
Therefore, according to the present invention, even in the case where, for example, metadata added uniquely to the device is stored in the information processing device in the network, the metadata is mutually used in a plurality of devices in the network. The purpose is to provide an information processing system that can
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the information processing system of the present invention is configured such that a plurality of information processing apparatuses having storage means for storing main information, for example, a moving image information file and attribute information of the main information, are connected to each other via a network In the information processing system in which the main information can be used among a plurality of information processing devices, the attribute information of the first format stored in the first information processing device among the plurality of information processing devices, for example, The second information processing apparatus includes conversion processing means for converting attribute information uniquely expanded in the first information processing apparatus into attribute information of a second format usable by the second information processing apparatus. It is characterized by.
[0016]
According to the above configuration, the attribute information in the first format stored in the first information processing apparatus is converted into the attribute information in the second format that can be used by the second information processing apparatus. The main information stored in any one of the information processing apparatuses, for example, a moving image information file, can be easily referred to by other information processing apparatuses referring to the attribute information of the main information between the information processing apparatuses connected to each other Can be used.
[0017]
In this case, since the converting means for converting the attribute information is provided in the second information processing apparatus that uses the main information held by the first information processing apparatus, the attribute information suitable for the second information processing apparatus is provided. The main information held in another information processing apparatus can be used more easily.
[0018]
The information processing system includes conversion information storage means for storing conversion information used by the conversion processing means for the conversion processing, for example, a rule for converting attribute information, and the conversion processing means stores the conversion information storage. The conversion process may be performed based on the conversion information stored in the means.
[0019]
According to the above configuration, since the conversion processing unit performs the attribute information conversion processing based on the conversion information stored in the conversion information storage unit, the conversion processing is facilitated.
[0020]
The information processing system includes a communication unit that communicates with the conversion information supply unit that supplies the conversion information and receives the conversion information, and the conversion information storage unit stores the conversion information based on the conversion information received by the communication unit. It is good also as a structure provided with the conversion information update means to update the conversion information which has been.
[0021]
According to the above configuration, for example, the conversion information stored in the conversion information storage unit can be updated based on the conversion information supplied from the conversion information supply unit that supplies conversion information for each information processing device. For example, even when attribute information in a new format is set for each information processing device, the attribute information can be converted correspondingly, and main information is used appropriately between information processing devices. be able to.
[0022]
In the information processing system of the present invention, a plurality of information processing apparatuses having storage means for storing main information and attribute information of the main information are connected to each other via a network, and the main information is mutually connected between the plurality of information processing apparatuses. In a usable information processing system, conversion information storage means for storing conversion information used for conversion processing, and attribute information of the first format stored in the first information processing device among the plurality of information processing devices For example, attribute information uniquely extended in the first information processing apparatus is converted into attribute information in a second format that can be used by the second information processing apparatus, based on the conversion information stored in the conversion information storage means. Based on the conversion information received by the communication means, the communication processing means for communicating with the conversion information supplying means for supplying the conversion information and receiving the conversion information, Serial conversion information storage means is characterized by comprising a conversion information updating means for updating the conversion information stored.
[0023]
According to the above configuration, the attribute information in the first format stored in the first information processing apparatus is converted into the attribute information in the second format that can be used by the second information processing apparatus. The main information stored in any one of the information processing apparatuses, for example, a moving image information file, can be easily referred to by other information processing apparatuses referring to the attribute information of the main information between the information processing apparatuses connected to each other Can be used.
[0024]
Further, for example, the conversion information stored in the conversion information storage unit can be updated based on the conversion information supplied from the conversion information supply unit that supplies the conversion information for each information processing device. For example, even when attribute information of a new format is set, attribute information can be converted correspondingly and main information can be used appropriately between information processing apparatuses.
[0025]
In the information processing system, the conversion information update unit may update the conversion information via the communication unit when a shortage of the conversion information is detected.
[0026]
According to the above configuration, since the conversion information is updated at a necessary timing, the number of updates can be reduced.
[0027]
In the information processing system, the conversion information update unit may periodically perform an update operation of the conversion information via the communication unit.
[0028]
According to the above configuration, since the conversion information update operation is performed periodically, for example, at midnight when the information processing apparatus is used at low probability, the situation in which the update operation is performed during the operation of the information processing apparatus is suppressed. As a result, it is difficult for the update operation to cause a problem in other operations of the information processing apparatus.
[0029]
In the information processing system, the conversion information storage unit may be provided in each information processing apparatus that can use the main information held by another information processing apparatus.
[0030]
The information processing system may have a configuration in which the conversion information storage unit is provided only in a specific information processing apparatus.
[0031]
According to said structure, since conversion information can be memorize | stored intensively in a specific information processing apparatus, the memory capacity spent for storage of conversion information as the whole system can be reduced.
[0032]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing system according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the information processing system, a bus (network) 4 includes a plurality of devices such as a display 1, a personal computer (hereinafter simply referred to as a personal computer) 2, a home server 3, a video recorder 5, and display means. A television set (hereinafter simply referred to as a television) 6 is connected.
[0033]
The bus 4 includes a wired system such as Ethernet (registered trademark) and a wireless system such as IEEE802.11b. The method to be used may be appropriately selected in consideration of conditions such as the transfer bit rate and the installation location of each device. Also, a wired system and a wireless system can be combined.
[0034]
Next, functions of each of the above devices will be described.
The video recorder 5 is a device that compresses moving image information such as a television broadcast and stores the moving image information in a built-in hard disk device or the like. The block diagram is shown in FIG.
[0035]
As shown in the figure, in the video recorder 5, an ENC / DEC (encoder / decoder) 13, a hard disk device (storage means) 14, a LAN interface 15, a metadata processing unit (conversion processing means) 16, Each block of the video interface 17 and the user interface 18 is connected. A tuner 12 is connected to the ENC / DEC 13.
[0036]
The tuner 12 is for receiving a television broadcast. The ENC / DEC 13 compresses or expands moving picture information using a predetermined compression method. In ENC / DEC 13, not only moving picture information but also still picture information may be compressed and expanded.
[0037]
The hard disk device 14 is for storing and storing various information. Although the case where the hard disk device 14 is used as a storage device is shown here, other storage devices such as an optical disk device can also be used.
[0038]
The LAN interface 15 is for connecting to the bus 4 and converts a signal into a signal and protocol suitable for the bus 4. The metadata processing unit 16 is implemented as software in the controller 20 that collects and controls information from each block.
[0039]
The video interface 17 converts an input signal into a signal format suitable for the television 6. The user interface 18 is used to transmit user operations such as a remote controller (hereinafter simply referred to as a remote controller) and operation buttons to the controller 20 or to display information from the controller 20.
[0040]
In the video recorder 5 configured as described above, during recording, an input signal to the ENC / DEC 13 is given as an analog or digital signal from the tuner 12 or an external input terminal (not shown). Data compressed by the ENC / DEC 13 is transferred to the hard disk device 14 and stored as a file.
[0041]
At the time of reproduction, a compressed data file (for example, moving image information) is read from the hard disk device 14, transferred to the ENC / DEC 13, and decompressed. The expanded moving image information is sent to the video interface 13 and converted into a signal format suitable for the connected television 6.
[0042]
The home server 3 shown in FIG. 1 is a device for storing moving image information created by the video recorder 5 and various information created by the personal computer 2 as files. The block diagram is shown in FIG.
[0043]
As shown in the figure, in the home server 3, blocks of a hard disk device (storage unit) 22, a LAN interface 23, a metadata processing unit (conversion processing unit) 24, and a user interface 25 are connected to the internal bus 21. Yes.
[0044]
The hard disk device 22 is for storing and storing various information. Although the case where the hard disk device 22 is used as a storage device is shown here, other storage devices such as an optical disk device can also be used.
[0045]
The LAN interface 23 is for connecting to the bus 4 and converts a signal into a signal and protocol suitable for the bus 4.
[0046]
The metadata processing unit 24 is implemented as software in a controller 26 that collects and controls information from each block.
[0047]
The user interface 25 is for transmitting user operations such as a remote controller and operation buttons to the controller 26 or displaying information from the controller 26. As for the user interface 25, various operations for the home server 3 can be performed via a network. In this case, hardware for the operation can be omitted.
[0048]
The personal computer 2 shown in FIG. 1 is a device that can perform various types of information processing according to software to be executed. Typical processing contents include homepage browsing, e-mail, document creation, printing, spreadsheet, image processing, moving image reproduction, and audio reproduction. In addition, functions can be added or changed with an expansion board. For example, by adding a tuner / video capture board, it is possible to watch TV broadcasts and compress video information. In this case, substantially the same function as the video recorder 5 can be realized.
[0049]
The personal computer 2 has a built-in or externally connected storage device such as a hard disk device or an optical disk device.
[0050]
The display 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a device that displays moving image information and the like. The block diagram is shown in FIG.
[0051]
As shown in the figure, in the display 1, blocks of a decoder 32, a LAN interface 34, a metadata processing unit (conversion processing means) 35, and a user interface 36 are connected to an internal bus 31. A display unit 33 is connected to the decoder 32.
[0052]
The decoder 32 decompresses a compressed data file (for example, moving image information). The decoder 32 can be realized not only by hardware but also by software.
[0053]
The display unit 33 displays the moving image information expanded by the decoder 32.
[0054]
The LAN interface 34 is used to connect the display 1 to the bus 4 and converts a signal into a signal and protocol suitable for the bus 4.
[0055]
The metadata processing unit 35 is implemented as software in a controller 37 that collects and controls information from each block.
[0056]
The user interface 36 is for transmitting user operations such as a remote controller and operation buttons to the controller 37 or displaying information from the controller 37.
[0057]
In the display 1 configured as described above, at the time of reproduction, a compressed data file (for example, image information) is read through the bus 4, transferred to the decoder 32, and decompressed. The expanded moving image information is displayed on the display unit 33. The target for reading the compressed data file may be any device provided with a storage device, and can be read from any of the personal computer 2, the video recorder 5, and the home server 3. The display 1 can display not only moving image information but also a still image and a homepage browsing. These display processes are realized by software by the controller 37.
[0058]
As shown in FIG. 1, in an information processing system in which a plurality of devices including a storage device such as a hard disk device are connected in a network, the storage device can be shared. In this case, NFS (Network File System) or the like can be used as a file system for file sharing.
[0059]
Next, metadata in the case of sharing a storage device in the network will be described.
[0060]
FIG. 5 shows metadata (attribute information) of information (file: main information) stored in the video recorder 5, for example. In FIG. 5 and the following description, the numbers in parentheses indicate the description parts with the numbers in FIG. 5 for convenience.
[0061]
This metadata is stored in a hard disk device 14 as a storage device in the video recorder 5. The metadata shown in the figure is described in XML, for example. XML is a language (meta language) for describing a language defined in “Japanese Industrial Standards JIS X 4159: 2002 Extensible Marking Language” and has a feature of high extensibility.
[0062]
In Figure 5, used in metadata <title> or Tags such as <folder> are defined in the namespace HYPERLINK "http: // AV_device" http: // AV_device (3) and HYPERLINK "http: // vender1" http: // vender1 (4). Namespaces are used to distinguish tags with the same name that have different meanings. Here, HYPERLINK "http: // AV_device" http: // AV_device (3) refers to a set of tags that are commonly used in network-connected devices (video information devices), and HYPERLINK "http: // “vender1” http: // vender1 (4) indicates a tag set uniquely expanded by the manufacturer that manufactured the video recorder 5.
[0063]
Next, tags used in the metadata will be described.
<folder> is an element for expressing data hierarchies. <folder> or <item> can be included. <title> is <folder> or An element indicating the title of an element such as <item>. <item> is an element corresponding to the data file stored in the storage device. <source> is each in the hard disk device 14 This element indicates the location (directory) information of <item>. <subtitle> is This is an element indicating the subtitle of <item>, and is an element uniquely expanded by the manufacturer of the video recorder 5.
[0064]
The metadata in FIG. 5 relates to video information. Title of Video (6) for storing <item> MyVideos1 (8) that stores personal information under <folder> (5) <folder> (7), which has the title Music Video_1 (10) <item> (9) and Movie_A (15) <item> (14) is included.
[0065]
Next, a data processing procedure for displaying file information related to, for example, personal video information recorded on the hard disk device 14 of the video recorder 5 on the television 6 based on the metadata shown in FIG. 5 will be described. This processing procedure is shown in the flowchart of FIG. A series of processing of these metadata is performed in the metadata processing unit 16.
[0066]
First, an index i of an array variable for storing file information is initialized to 0 (S1).
[0067]
Next, store personal video information Search for MyVideo1 which is <folder> (7) (S2). If MyVideo1 is found, it is stored under it <item> The information of (9) is stored in the array variable. A title is stored in title (i), and a subtitle is stored in subtitle (i) (S3, S4).
[0068]
In this process, Although <subtitle> is an element that is independently expanded by the manufacturer of the video recorder 5, the metadata processing unit 16 that is processing the metadata is the metadata processing unit 16 built in the video recorder 5. , In the array variable subtitle (i) that stores the subtitle We recognize that we can substitute the element indicated by the tag <subtitle>.
[0069]
One <Item> When the information of (9) is stored, the index i is incremented by 1 (S5), and the processes of S3 to S5 are repeated. next If there is no <item>, the process ends (S6).
[0070]
FIG. 7 shows an example in which the array variables title (i) and subtitle (i) thus obtained are displayed on the television 6 in a table format. In the figure <folder> (7) included in the two <item> (9) and (14) are displayed.
[0071]
Next, a case where file information stored in the hard disk device 22 of the home server 3 is displayed on the television 6 will be described. Metadata stored in the hard disk device 22 is shown in FIG. The tags used in FIG. 8 are almost the same as the tags used in the metadata of the video recorder 5 shown in FIG. However, since the tag indicating the subtitle is not defined in common, the manufacturer of the home server 3 has independently expanded it. The tag <title2> (11) is used. Also, The namespace of <title2> is ttp: // vender2 (4).
[0072]
For example, when the metadata of the home server 3 is displayed on the television 6 by the video recorder 5, since the tag corresponding to the element uniquely expanded by the home server 3 is not included in the metadata of the video recorder 5, the video recorder 5 cannot be displayed. However, even if different tags are attached, if there are elements having the same contents, they can be displayed by converting them.
[0073]
First, of the metadata to be displayed, it is checked whether or not an element having the same content as an element uniquely expanded by the apparatus for displaying metadata (video recorder 5) is used in another apparatus (home server 3). In this embodiment, since the metadata is converted into the format of the video recorder 5 using the conversion table, the presence / absence of data in the conversion table may be checked.
[0074]
FIG. 9 shows a part of the conversion table. The conversion table shown in the figure includes http: // vender1 which is the name space of the video recorder 5, http: // vender2 which is the name space of the home server 3, and HYPERLINK “http” which is the name space of another device. "Shows the correspondence with http: // vender3""Shows the correspondence with http: // vender3.
[0075]
In the above conversion table, a tag uniquely extended by the video recorder 5 is shown in the column of http: // vender1, and a tag of the home server 3 corresponding to the tag is shown in the column of http: // vender2. ing. Further, in the column of http: // vender3, corresponding tags in other apparatuses are shown.
[0076]
The above conversion table may be prepared only for devices that mutually use data among devices connected to the network. For example, in the information processing system of FIG. 1, when data is exchanged between the video recorder 5, the home server 3, and the personal computer 2, the conversion table of three columns shown in FIG.
[0077]
The conversion table is preferably stored in a device that performs the conversion process, that is, in this case, the video recorder 5 (for example, the hard disk device 14). However, if there is a device that is always operating and can operate as a server, for example, the personal computer 2 or the home server 3, it may be stored in that device (for example, a hard disk device of the device). If the conversion table can be stored in the server, the required storage capacity can be reduced as compared with the case where it is stored in each device.
[0078]
Here, by referring to the conversion table of FIG. The tag <subtitle> You can see that the tag is <title2>. Therefore, the metadata processing unit 16 of the video recorder 5 can perform tag conversion using the conversion table. As a result, the process for displaying the metadata of the file stored in the home server 3 on the television 6 in the video recorder 5 is as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
[0079]
The difference between the process of FIG. 10 and the process of FIG. 6 is that in FIG. 6, the array variable subtitle (i) for storing the subtitle is set. The element indicated by <subtitle> was stored (S4), but in FIG. The element indicated by <title2> is stored (S14).
[0080]
As described above, in this information processing system, by converting a tag using a conversion table, a device connected via a network can display metadata of another device.
[0081]
Next, a process for moving a data file will be described.
When moving a data file, it is necessary to change metadata about the data file to be moved simultaneously with the movement of the data file. Here, the title of Music Video_2 of home server 3 It is assumed that <item> is moved to the video recorder 5.
[0082]
In this case, the tag uniquely expanded by the home server 3 is converted into the tag uniquely expanded by the video recorder 5 as in the case of the metadata display described above. That is, the metadata tag of the home server 3 In the video recorder 5, the element indicated by <title2> It can be converted as an element indicated by <subtitle>.
[0083]
The metadata of the video recorder 5 after moving the file is shown in FIG. In this metadata, the title is Music Video_2 (20) <item> (19) is added. In the metadata of the home server 3 in FIG. As a result of conversion, the subtitle subtitle_2 shown in <title2> (11) is a tag in the metadata of the video recorder 5 in FIG. It is indicated by <subtitle> (21).
[0084]
In the above example, the case where the tag corresponding to the conversion table exists is shown, but there may be a case where the tag does not exist. Next, the processing procedure in this case will be described with reference to FIG.
[0085]
Here, it is assumed that the device manufacturers of various devices connected to the network perform a service for supplying the conversion table data, and the data delivery is performed by a data supply server (conversion information supply means) 7 installed by the device manufacturer. Shall be done through.
[0086]
For example, when the data supply server 7 is connected to the bus 4, the communication between the video recorder 5 and the data supply server 7 is performed between the controller 20 of the video recorder 5 and the data supply server 7. This is done via the bus 4. When the data supply server 7 is connected to another network such as the Internet, the video recorder 5 supplies the data via the controller 20 or via another device such as the personal computer 2 or the home server 3. It communicates with the server 7 for use.
[0087]
First, the video recorder 5 transmits the model information of the video recorder 5 and the home server 3 to the data supply server 7 (F11). In this case, it is assumed that the video recorder 5 has acquired the model information of the home server 3 in advance.
[0088]
The model information to be transmitted here is for specifying the conversion data, and may be any device-specific number that can specify the device such as a format number, serial number, and ID number assigned by the manufacturer. In addition, when a name space is defined for each category such as a video device and an audio device instead of each device, information that can identify the category may be transmitted.
[0089]
Next, the data supply server 7 notifies the video recorder 5 of data (update status data) indicating the update status of the conversion data based on the model information received from the video recorder 5 (F12). As this update status data, a version number, an update date, etc. are used.
[0090]
Next, when the video recorder 5 checks the update status data sent from the data supply server 7 and confirms that the data conversion table has been updated, the video recorder 5 sends a conversion data transmission request to the data supply server 7. (F13).
[0091]
At this time, only conversion data for a necessary tag is requested. In this way, the amount of transfer data can be reduced, so that the processing time can be shortened. In addition, since it is not necessary to receive conversion data that is not used for the conversion process, the storage capacity of the conversion table does not increase more than necessary.
[0092]
Next, the data supply server 7 transmits the conversion data requested to be transmitted to the video recorder 5 (F14). In the video recorder 5, when the conversion data is received, for example, the controller (conversion information update means) 20 updates the conversion table using the data.
[0093]
The conversion table update process is performed when a tag corresponding to the conversion table does not exist as described above. In this case, if the conversion table update process is performed during the conversion process using the conversion table, an extra update process time is required in addition to the conversion process time, which may hinder the use of the information processing system by the user. is there.
[0094]
Therefore, the conversion table update processing may be executed periodically at times when the user is not using the information processing system. For example, if the update process is performed once a week at midnight, the latest conversion table can always be used without hindering the use of the user.
[0095]
In the above example, the operation between the data supply server 7 and the video recorder 5 has been described, but the same operation is performed between the data supply server 7 and other devices. Further, as described above, when the conversion table is stored only in a device operating as a server, communication is performed between the device and the data supply server 7.
[0096]
As described above, in this information processing system, only the expanded element for each apparatus in the information processing system is converted between related apparatuses, so that metadata can be used mutually for the expanded element. .
[0097]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the information processing system of the present invention is unique in the first type of attribute information stored in the first information processing apparatus among the plurality of information processing apparatuses, for example, in the first information processing apparatus. The second information processing apparatus includes a conversion processing unit that converts the extended attribute information into attribute information of a second format that can be used by the second information processing apparatus.
[0098]
According to the above configuration, the attribute information in the first format stored in the first information processing apparatus is converted into the attribute information in the second format that can be used by the second information processing apparatus. The main information stored in any one of the information processing apparatuses, for example, a moving image information file, can be easily referred to by other information processing apparatuses referring to the attribute information of the main information between the information processing apparatuses connected to each other Can be used.
[0099]
In this case, since the converting means for converting the attribute information is provided in the second information processing apparatus that uses the main information held by the first information processing apparatus, the attribute information suitable for the second information processing apparatus is provided. The main information held in another information processing apparatus can be used more easily.
[0100]
The information processing system includes conversion information storage means for storing conversion information used by the conversion processing means for the conversion processing, for example, a rule for converting attribute information, and the conversion processing means stores the conversion information storage. The conversion process may be performed based on the conversion information stored in the means.
[0101]
According to the above configuration, since the conversion processing unit performs the attribute information conversion processing based on the conversion information stored in the conversion information storage unit, the conversion processing is facilitated.
[0102]
The information processing system includes a communication unit that communicates with the conversion information supply unit that supplies the conversion information and receives the conversion information, and the conversion information storage unit stores the conversion information based on the conversion information received by the communication unit. It is good also as a structure provided with the conversion information update means to update the conversion information which has been.
[0103]
According to the above configuration, for example, the conversion information stored in the conversion information storage unit can be updated based on the conversion information supplied from the conversion information supply unit that supplies conversion information for each information processing device. For example, even when attribute information in a new format is set for each information processing device, the attribute information can be converted correspondingly, and main information is used appropriately between information processing devices. be able to.
[0104]
An information processing system according to the present invention includes conversion information storage means for storing conversion information used for conversion processing, and attribute information of a first format stored in a first information processing apparatus among the plurality of information processing apparatuses. For example, attribute information uniquely extended in the first information processing apparatus is converted into attribute information in a second format that can be used by the second information processing apparatus, based on the conversion information stored in the conversion information storage means. Conversion processing means for converting the data, communication means for communicating with the conversion information supply means for supplying the conversion information and receiving the conversion information, and the conversion information storage means storing the conversion information received by the communication means. Conversion information updating means for updating the conversion information being processed.
[0105]
According to the above configuration, the attribute information in the first format stored in the first information processing apparatus is converted into the attribute information in the second format that can be used by the second information processing apparatus. The main information stored in any one of the information processing apparatuses, for example, a moving image information file, can be easily referred to by other information processing apparatuses referring to the attribute information of the main information between the information processing apparatuses connected to each other Can be used.
[0106]
Further, for example, the conversion information stored in the conversion information storage unit can be updated based on the conversion information supplied from the conversion information supply unit that supplies the conversion information for each information processing device. For example, even when attribute information of a new format is set, attribute information can be converted correspondingly and main information can be used appropriately between information processing apparatuses.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the video recorder shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of a home server shown in FIG. 1;
4 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the display shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
5 is an explanatory diagram showing file metadata stored in the video recorder shown in FIG. 1; FIG.
6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for displaying information about a file stored in the video recorder based on the metadata shown in FIG.
7 is an explanatory diagram showing a metadata processing result obtained by the processing in FIG. 6; FIG.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing metadata of a file stored in the home server shown in FIG. 1;
9 is an explanatory diagram showing a conversion table stored in, for example, a video recorder shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when the metadata shown in FIG. 8 is converted by the conversion table shown in FIG. 9 and displayed.
11 is an explanatory diagram showing metadata of information (file) stored in the video recorder after moving the information (file) stored in the home server shown in FIG. 1 to the video recorder. FIG.
12 is an explanatory diagram showing update processing of the conversion table shown in FIG. 9;
FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional information processing apparatus.
14 is an explanatory diagram showing a correspondence table of data items between EPG data and Dublin Core data stored in the correspondence table storage unit shown in FIG. 13;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Display (Information processing device)
2 Personal computer (information processing equipment, communication means)
3 Home server (information processing equipment, communication means)
4 buses (network)
5 Video recorder (information processing equipment)
6 Television set (information processing equipment)
7 Data supply server (conversion information supply means)
14 Hard disk device (storage means, conversion information storage means)
16 Metadata processing unit (conversion processing means)
20 Controller (Conversion information update means)
22 Hard disk device (storage means, conversion information storage means)
24 Metadata processing unit (conversion processing means)
26 Controller (Conversion information update means)
35 Metadata processing unit (conversion processing means)
37 Controller (Conversion information update means)

Claims (5)

In an information processing system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses having storage means for storing main information and attribute information of the main information are connected to each other via a network, and the main information can be used among a plurality of information processing apparatuses,
Of the elements included in the attribute information of the first format stored in the first information processing apparatus among the plurality of information processing apparatuses, the element is an element uniquely expanded in the first information processing apparatus . A first element and a second element that is an element uniquely expanded in the second information processing apparatus among elements included in the attribute information of the second format that can be used by the second information processing apparatus; A conversion information supply device for supplying conversion information indicating the correspondence relationship between
The second information processing apparatus includes a conversion information storage means for storing the conversion information,
Conversion processing means for converting the attribute information of the first format into the attribute information of the second format based on the conversion information stored in the conversion information storage means;
The conversion information stored in the conversion information storage means is updated, and in the update process, the second element that does not have the corresponding first element among the second elements included in the conversion information. for elements only, a corresponding said first element requests before Symbol conversion information supply apparatus via a network, receiving the first element to be transmitted from the conversion information supply device in response to the request An information processing system comprising conversion information updating means for updating conversion information according to the received first element . The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion information update unit periodically performs an update process of the conversion information via a network.   The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion information storage unit is provided in each information processing apparatus capable of using the main information held by another information processing apparatus.   The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion information storage unit is provided only in a specific information processing apparatus. It is possible to move the main information and attribute information of the main information between the storage means provided in a plurality of information processing devices,
The conversion processing unit is configured to move main information stored in the storage unit included in the first information processing apparatus and attribute information of the main information to the storage unit included in the second information processing apparatus. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information of the moved main information is converted.

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