JP4555382B2 - Playback apparatus and playback method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a playback apparatus and playback method for playing back multimedia data such as moving pictures and audio, and in particular, a playback apparatus and playback method capable of efficiently searching for multimedia data by visually displaying a played time range. It is about.

  In recent years, it has become easy to handle multimedia data such as moving images on a computer. One of the advantages of handling multimedia on a computer is random access. Conventional general video playback software such as Microsoft Media Player (registered trademark) has a user interface called “slider”, and the playback time can be arbitrarily changed by clicking and dragging on the slider. Random access is possible.

  Such a slider has two functions: a function for displaying the current playback time on the monitor screen, and a function for the user to input the playback time by clicking, dragging, or inputting from the keyboard. It is a software component that is realized simultaneously on the display information. However, with these two functions alone, it is difficult to perform efficient retrieval by finely controlling reproduction with random access.

  For example, when a user who wants to see a specific scene in a video image checks the contents while displaying the time, the currently playing time is displayed, but the time range played so far is unknown. For this reason, there is a waste of re-designating the already played time. In addition, when a certain range is divided into a plurality of pieces and reproduced, the user cannot confirm whether or not the whole range has been reproduced.

  Therefore, a time chart display technique for editing multimedia data has been developed. For example, the occupancy time range for each file is visually displayed, and when the user specifies the playback time range for each sound or image, the corresponding time range is filled on the time chart and displayed, and the image and sound are played back simultaneously. The technology to create easily is published. (See Patent Document 1).

  Alternatively, a technique for efficiently reproducing a large number of automatically recorded television programs has been devised. In this technique, when a reproduced program is reproduced for a predetermined time or more, it is automatically detected that the program has been viewed by setting the program as viewed (see Patent Document 2).

  However, since the technique of Patent Document 1 is a technique for creating multimedia contents, there is a problem in that there is no reproduction range display function for supporting user operations during reproduction.

  In the technique of Patent Document 2, automatic detection is performed in units of programs, and the detection results are only used for subsequent playback schedules, and there is no function for displaying the playback time range in a clear form to the user. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a playback device and a playback method that can efficiently search multimedia data.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a playback apparatus according to the present invention is a playback unit that plays back moving image data, and a playback that is an image showing a time range of the moving image data played back by the playback unit Replay history display means for displaying a history together with a time range; and designation means for designating a replay location of the video data displayed on the replay history display means, wherein the replay history display means includes the replay history display means Are classified into a currently playing area that is an image showing the currently playing time range and a played area that is an image showing the already played time range. In addition to displaying in sequence, each time the designation means designates, the replayed area is reduced and displayed, and the designation means can arbitrarily display from the reproduction history display means. Characterized in that it specifies the frequency.

The reproduction method according to the present invention displays a reproduction step of reproducing moving image data and a reproduction history that is an image showing a time range of the moving image data reproduced by the reproduction step on the display unit together with the time range. A reproduction history display step; and a designation step for accepting designation of a reproduction location of the moving image data displayed on the display means by the reproduction history display step, wherein the reproduction history display step reproduces the reproduction history at present. The area that is being reproduced, which is an image showing the time range being played, and the area that has already been played, which is an image showing the time range that has already been reproduced, are displayed in order of time series of the reproduction history. In both cases, when there is a designation in the designation step, the reproduced area is reduced and displayed each time. Wherein the accepting specification of an arbitrary area from the display by gravel display step.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the data retrieval efficiency.

It is a functional block diagram of the data reproduction apparatus by embodiment. It is a figure explaining the hardware constitutions of the data reproduction apparatus by embodiment. It is a schematic diagram explaining the display screen which the data reproduction software by embodiment displays. It is a schematic diagram explaining the memo data used with a data reproducing device. It is a flowchart explaining the reproduction | regeneration procedure of the data reproduction apparatus by embodiment. It is a figure explaining a history display image. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the chart display part by embodiment. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the chart display part by embodiment. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the chart display part by embodiment. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the chart display part by embodiment. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the chart display part by embodiment. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the chart display part by embodiment. It is a figure explaining the example of a display of the history display field by modification 1. It is a figure explaining the example of a display of the history display field by modification 2. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a memory used in Modification 2. It is a schematic diagram explaining the display screen of the data reproduction apparatus by the modification 4. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of merging playback sections in Modification 4.

  Exemplary embodiments of a data reproducing apparatus, a program for causing a computer to execute the data reproducing method, and a machine-readable recording medium storing the program will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

(Embodiment)
(1.1. Overall configuration)
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a data reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment. The data reproduction device 10 includes a data input unit 31, an audio / video reproduction unit 32, a user operation input unit 33, a reproduction control unit 34, and a chart display unit 35.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the data reproducing device according to the embodiment. The data reproduction apparatus 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a memory 12, a hard disk drive (HDD) 13, a keyboard 14, a mouse 15, a video interface (IF) 16, a display 17, and an audio interface ( IF) 18, a speaker 19, and a bus 20. That is, the data reproducing apparatus 10 is realized by executing software on a general PC.

  Each function of the data reproducing apparatus executes a program recorded on the hard disk drive 13 using the CPU 11 and the memory 12. A keyboard 13 and a mouse 14 are connected to the data reproducing apparatus 10 and accepts an input by a user operation. A CRT display 17 is connected to the data reproducing apparatus 10 via the video interface 13 (circuit). A speaker 19 is connected to the data reproducing apparatus 10 via the audio interface 18 (circuit). The CRT display 17 and the speaker 19 are controlled by a program and output images and sounds, respectively.

  It is assumed that audio video data and memo data recorded in advance using conventional technology are stored in the hard disk drive 13. The MPEG1 PCM audio / audio movie stored here is compressed data in the MPEG1 format.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display screen displayed by the data reproduction software according to the embodiment. The screen is vertically divided into three parts, which are called “video display area 41”, “button display area 42”, and “time chart display area 43” from the top.

  The video display area 41 visually displays moving image data stored in the hard disk drive 13. The button display area 42 displays user operation buttons such as a play button and a stop button that can instruct to play and stop moving images.

  Here, the audio / video playback section 32, the display screen 40, and the video display area 41 constitute the playback means of the present invention. In addition, the audio / video playback unit 32, the display screen 40, and the time chart display area 43 constitute the playback display means of the present invention.

  The time chart display area 43 displays memo data, reproduction history, and the like. In the chart, the vertical direction corresponds to time, and the scale is, for example, 1 pixel / second. Hereinafter, all times are relative times with the start time of the moving image data set to 0.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining memo data used in the data reproducing apparatus. The memo data stored here is text data including a plurality of combinations of time and memo contents.

  Here, the data input unit 31 reads the audio / video data and memo data recorded in the hard disk drive 13.

  The audio / video playback unit 32 inputs compressed audio / video data from the data input unit 31, expands the data, and then plays back as video and audio via a display driver and an audio driver (not shown) of the computer system. To do. On the program display screen, the processing result is displayed in the “video display area” 41 of FIG.

  The audio / video playback unit 32 is controlled by the playback control unit 34. The audio / video playback unit 32 receives input signals for requesting playback start, playback end, pause, and time jump operations as in the case of a normal audio / video playback application.

  The user operation input unit 33 reads a mouse signal input from the mouse 15 via a mouse driver (not shown) of the system and compares it with the screen position of the button operation, thereby obtaining an input signal from the user's mouse operation. Accept. Specifically, when a mouse button is pressed on each of the “play”, “stop”, “pause”, and “return” buttons, a command corresponding to each button is sent to the play control unit 34.

  For example, when a mouse button is pressed on the time chart 43, the corresponding time is calculated from the position, and a playback time jump command is sent to the playback control unit 32 together with the time information. In the present embodiment, since the time scale of the chart is 1 pixel per second, the difference (pixel unit) in the vertical coordinate value from the top of the chart to the mouse cursor position becomes the number of seconds of the movement destination as it is.

  In this way, when the mouse button is pressed at an arbitrary position on the time chart display area 43, the position pressed by the maul button can be set as the destination to be moved by the playback time jump command. By this method, a random access operation can be performed by movement by a jump command.

  Here, the reproduction control unit 34 and the chart display unit 35 constitute a moving means of the present invention.

  The reproduction control unit 34 controls the audio / video reproduction unit 32 and the chart display unit 35 in accordance with a command from the user operation input unit 33. When the “play”, “stop”, and “pause” commands are received, the playback control unit 34 is instructed to perform each operation in the same manner as a normal moving image playback application.

  When the “time jump” command is received, the current display time is acquired from the audio / video playback unit 32 and recorded as the return destination time. Next, a jump command is sent to the audio / video playback unit 32. Further, a time jump display command is sent to the chart display unit 35.

  The chart display unit 35 displays the “time chart display area” on the display screen in the following procedure. Initialization with the chart display unit 35 is performed by inputting the length of audio / video data and memo data from the data recording unit. A chart area having a length corresponding to the length of the audio video data is set. The content (such as “Agenda 1”) is drawn at the corresponding position of each memo data on the chart.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the reproduction procedure of the data reproduction apparatus according to the embodiment. The user operates the user operation input unit 33 and clicks the playback button. The reproduction control unit 34 enters a detection operation for a reproduction command (step S101), and if not detected (No in step S101), continues the detection operation. When the reproduction control unit 34 detects a reproduction command (Yes in step S101), the audio / video reproduction unit 32 starts reproduction of the audio / video (step S102). Simultaneously with the start of the audio video, the chart display unit 35 starts displaying the time chart display area 43 (step S103).

(1.2. Chart display part)
The operation of the chart display unit 35 will be described. The chart display unit 35 periodically inputs the current playback time from the audio / video playback unit 32 at intervals of, for example, 0.5 seconds, and moves the current time display bar 46 to the corresponding position. Further, a gray horizontal line having a history display bar width (10 pixels) is displayed at the same height of the history display section in the rightmost column.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a history display image. The history display image 51 is copied to the right by one column (10 pixels). At this time, the contents of the rightmost 10 pixels are discarded. Further, the leftmost 10 pixels are filled with white and initialized to generate a copy destination 52.

  7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 7-4, 7-5, and 7-6 are diagrams for explaining the operation of the chart display unit according to the embodiment. The data playback device 10 starts playback from the beginning of the moving image data. FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram of a display screen about 30 seconds after the start. At this point, the reproduction history display unit 45 is marked with a mark 48 from 0 to 30 seconds, indicating that this time range has been reproduced. That is, the mark 48 is an already reproduced mark.

  An operation for moving to a predetermined time will be described. When the user finds the memo “Agenda 1” in the memo display area 44 and confirms the contents with a mouse click near 03:00 in the time chart, the reproduction of data from the third minute is started (FIG. 7— 2). At this time, the already reproduced mark of 0-30 seconds moves to the right by one line.

  Here, the audio / video playback unit 32, the display screen 40, and the memo display area 44 constitute a memo display means of the present invention.

  The user determines that the scene he / she wants to see should be in front of the content when the playback is performed until around 3:30. In the leftmost column of the playback history display section, a 3: 00-3: 30 already played bar is displayed as time passes.

  Click the 2:00 position to jump the playback time to 2:00 (FIG. 7-3).

  However, even if the range from 2:00 to 3:00 is reproduced (FIG. 7-4), it is determined that there is no target scene. Here, when the history display is viewed, it can be seen that the reproduction has already been completed after 3:00. If it is recalled that there was no target scene within the range of 3: 00-3: 30 reproduced before that, it can be judged that it is useless even if it is reproduced as it is (FIG. 7-4).

  Therefore, jump to the previous 1:00. In FIG. 7-5, the reproduction from 1:00 to 2:00 is completed. If the target scene is still not found even when it is played up to 2:00, it can be seen from the playback history display section that it has already been played up to 1: 00-3: 30. It should be easy to determine that power should be from 0:30 to 10:00, or after 3:30.

  Alternatively, at the time shown in FIG. 7-2, if the user notices that the target portion is before 3:00 and determines that the interval between the already played 30 seconds and 3:00 is sufficiently short, the user Instead of jumping to 2:00, it is possible to press the “Back” button. In this case, since 0:30 is recorded as the return destination time in the reproduction control unit 34, it is possible to return to the time of 0:30 and reproduce the continuation of the first reproduction section (FIG. 7-6).

  Thus, by displaying the playback history and returning to the pre-jump time, the user can efficiently search without having to repeatedly view the same part many times or skip the target part. be able to.

(1.3. Modification 1)
In the history display example in the data playback apparatus according to the above embodiment, the past playback history gradually moves to the right side. Therefore, in the example shown in FIGS. 7-1 to 7-6, for example, the history display area Only the width of 5 history bars can be taken. Therefore, the reproduction history before the time jump five times before cannot be displayed.

  In order to solve this problem, if the reproduction history display area 45 is widened, a past history that is distant in time can be displayed, but the area for displaying other information is reduced accordingly. For example, in the display example shown in FIG. 3, the memo display area 44 is narrowed. On the other hand, when using the history display as described in the operation example of the embodiment, playback is performed while gradually going back in time, so when using the history display, the immediately preceding playback history is particularly important, and the past The frequency of use is low.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the previous reproduction history is detailed, and the past history is displayed with a long display history in a narrow display area even if the accuracy is slightly reduced. is there.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a history display area according to the first modification. The configuration of the first modification differs in the operation corresponding to the time jump display command of the chart display unit 35.

  When the chart display unit 35 receives the time jump display command from the reproduction control unit 34, the chart display unit 35 copies the image content in the reproduction history display area 45 by reducing it in the horizontal direction. The reduction rate is, for example, (WD) / W, where W is the width of the history display area and D is the width of one history display bar. FIG. 8 shows an example in which W = 50 pixels and D = 10 pixels.

  With such a display method, even if the previous history display remains the same as in the embodiment, a long-term history can be displayed in a display area of the same size. In particular, the past history can be displayed by performing a reduction process such as a logical sum method that does not cause missing lines.

(1.4. Modification 2)
Modification 2 employs another history display method. As described in the description of the first modification, if only the previous few histories can be distinguished, many usage purposes can often be satisfied. In view of this, the second modification is a display method in which only a few previous histories can be distinguished using only a display area that is narrower than that of the first modification.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a history display area according to the second modification. Here, all the past reproduction histories are displayed in a line. However, the current playback section (from the previous jump destination time to the current playback time) is black, the previous playback section is dark gray, the previous section is gray, and the previous playback section is light. Display in gray. The percentages in parentheses in FIG. 9 are lightness percentages. The lower the brightness, the closer it is to the present, and it is more clearly visible.

  The display operation of the chart display unit 35 in Modification 2 is different from that of Modification 1 in the operation corresponding to the time jump display command of the chart display unit 35.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the memory used in the second modification. When the chart display unit 35 receives the time jump display command from the reproduction control unit 34, (1) pushes the current reproduction section 101 (from the previous jump destination time to the current reproduction time) onto the stack 100 on the memory. (2) The playback section recorded fourth from the top of the stack 100 is read, and if it exists, the corresponding range on the history display area is filled with light gray (brightness 75%) (FIG. 9). (3) The playback section recorded third from the top of the stack 100 is read out, and the corresponding range is filled with gray (brightness 50%). (4) The playback section recorded second from the top of the stack 100 is read, and the corresponding range is filled with dark gray (lightness 25%). (5) The playback section recorded at the top of the stack 100 is read, and the corresponding range is filled with black (lightness 0%).

  The area filled with light gray in (2) above is an area that was previously displayed in gray (lightness 50%). In other words, at each time jump, the color is sent one step at a time by this process (the brightness is high, that is, the color becomes light), and the playback section four or more steps before is all painted in light gray. . Since only four stacks 100 are used from the top, the stack 100 can be realized by a ring buffer.

(1.5. Modification 3)
In the history display method according to the modified example 2, the section before four times or more cannot be distinguished, so that after a large number of time jumps, the wide section becomes light gray. Therefore, the third modification has a function of clearing the display of the history display area 45 by the history erasure command and redisplaying from the beginning (white background).

  In addition to the buttons of the embodiment, an “erase” button is provided to accept input of a signal requesting erasure. When the playback control unit 34 detects the pressing of this button, the chart display unit 35 transmits a history deletion command to the playback history display area 45.

  Here, the reproduction control unit 34, the chart display unit 35, and the delete button constitute an erasing unit of the present invention.

(1.6. Modification 4)
Modification 4 is different from Modification 3 in the data reproduction control method. In the third modification, the user monitors the history display, determines whether or not the current reproduction time is in the already reproduced time range, and performs an operation of jumping to another time if necessary. Then, this monitoring work is automatically executed by the chart display unit 35, thereby reducing the operation burden on the user.

  If the display time currently being played is in the already played section that has already been played, there is a possibility that a jump will be instructed, but it is desirable that the user can select where to jump, so pause To notify the user that the user has entered the already-played section, and waits for an instruction. Alternatively, it may be automatically moved to the next unreproduced section in time series.

  In the fourth modification, it is desirable to have a button that allows the user to select and set whether to pause or continue playback.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining a display screen of the data reproducing device according to the fourth modification. In the display screen 40 shown in FIG. 4, a check box for setting an operation when entering the already played section is added to the button display area 1102.

  The display screen 1140 is provided with a check box for operation setting when entering the already-played section (pause 1107 / do not 1108). If a mouse click is detected in the check box, the corresponding setting is displayed in the playback control unit. Tell 34. Here, the mouse is an example of the user operation input unit 33.

If the operation setting information at the time of entering the already-played section is input from the user operation input unit 33, the playback control unit 34 sets a setting value (either “pause” or “do not”) and saves the setting.
Here, the reproduction control unit 34 and the chart display unit 35 constitute a determination unit of the present invention. Further, the reproduction control unit 34, the chart display unit 35, and the pause selection buttons 1107 and 1108 constitute the selection means of the present invention.

  When the time jump command is received from the user operation input unit 33, the preparation for the reproduction check process (described later) is performed as follows before actually changing the reproduction time. First, already played section information is recorded. The already reproduced section information to be recorded is an array of section start and end times. The previous jump time (handled as jumping to 0 seconds when the program is started) and the current jump operation time are taken as the current playback section, and the recorded information is compared, and if necessary, the section information is rewritten. Update. Here, the update is not a simple addition. If the current playback section and the recorded playback section overlap, they are merged and only the time range without overlap is recorded.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of merging playback sections in the fourth modification. In the example shown in FIG. 12, the section (01: 30-07: 0) 1201 reproduced this time is two (01: 00-02: 0) 1202 and (05: 00-06) of the recorded playback sections. : 00) 1203 and overlap. Therefore, the overlapping sections are merged and only one new section (01: 00-07: 0) 1204 is recorded.

  Next, the jump destination time is compared with all recorded playback sections, and the first already played section start time is recorded after the jump destination time. This information is used in the following playback check process. Thereafter, as in the embodiment, the return destination time is recorded, and a jump command is transmitted to the playback unit.

  During playback, the following processing is performed periodically (every 0.5 seconds). The current playback time is acquired and compared with the start time of the next already played section calculated at the previous jump. If the current time exceeds the next start time and “pause” is set as the operation, a pause command is transmitted to the audio / video playback unit 32.

(1.6. Recording medium)
The C language program generation program executed by the C language program generation apparatus according to the present embodiment is a file in an installable format or an executable format, such as a CD-ROM, floppy (R) disk (FD), DVD, or the like. The program is provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  The C language program generation program of the present embodiment may be configured to be provided and distributed by storing it on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloading it via the network.

  The C language program generation program according to the present embodiment is loaded on the main storage device by being read from the storage medium and executed by the C language program generation device, and each unit described in the software configuration is generated on the main storage device. It has come to be.

(1.7. Effect)
When multimedia data such as a moving image is reproduced, a search by random access can be efficiently performed by displaying a time range reproduced in the past.
In addition, it is possible to display a memo to inform the user of related information and to efficiently perform a video search accompanying a time search.

  Further, by displaying the reproduction history separately for each number of reproductions, more information can be given to the user, and the search efficiency can be improved.

  Further, by displaying the reproduction history information in a narrow display area, it is possible to provide a display method that does not hinder other information display.

  In addition, after a large number of random access times and long-term playback, the range of many playback time zones has already been played back, and the past playback history is erased to clearly display the recent playback history. Can do.

  In addition, an instruction that the user is likely to desire to move to the previous reproduction interruption time can be realized by a simple operation rather than selecting a specific time from continuous times.

  In addition, during playback of a moving image or the like, the user wants to observe the content of the moving image. Therefore, by automating the extra work of monitoring the current playback time, the operation burden on the user can be reduced.

  Depending on the user and the usage situation, both cases where the user wants to replay the already played time range can be considered. Therefore, by providing a means for selecting an operation in the already played range, the data reproducing device that more closely follows the user's preference Can be provided.

  As described above, the data reproducing apparatus, the program for causing the computer to execute the data reproducing method, and the machine-readable recording medium storing the program allow the operator to efficiently search for multimedia data. This is useful, and is particularly suitable for an operator to efficiently perform random access and search while discriminating between a reproduced time zone and an unreproduced time zone.

10 Data reproduction device 11 CPU
12 Memory 13 HDD
14 Keyboard 15 Mouse 16 Video IF
17 Display 18 Audio IF
19 Speaker 31 Data Input Unit 32 Audio Video Playback Unit 33 User Operation Input Unit 34 Playback Control Unit 35 Chart Display Unit 40, 1140 Display Screen

Japanese Patent No. 2558746 JP 2001-333358 A

Claims (2)

Playback means for playing back video data;
Reproduction history display means for displaying a reproduction history that is an image showing a time range of the moving image data reproduced by the reproduction means together with the time range;
Designating means for designating the playback location of the video data displayed on the playback history display means,
The playback history display means classifies the playback history into a currently playing area that is an image showing a currently playing time range and a played area that is an image showing an already played time range, and In addition to displaying the played area in chronological order of the playback history, each time the designation means is specified, the played area is reduced and displayed,
The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designation means designates an arbitrary area from the display by the reproduction history display means. A playback step for playing back the video data;
A playback history display step of displaying a playback history, which is an image showing a time range of the moving image data played back by the playback step, on the display means together with the time range;
A designation step for accepting designation of a reproduction location of the moving image data displayed on the display means by the reproduction history display step,
In the reproduction history display step, the reproduction history is classified into an area being reproduced which is an image showing a time range currently being reproduced and an area which has been reproduced being an image showing an already reproduced time range, and In addition to displaying the played areas in chronological order of the playback history, each time the designation step is specified, the played area is reduced and displayed.
The designation method accepts designation of an arbitrary region from the display in the reproduction history display step.

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