JP4577628B2 - Terminal device, playback device, server device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a server device, a terminal device, a playback device, a playlist structure data transmission method, a content playback method, and a computer program.

  In recent years, digital contents such as images, music, and videos have been widely stored and used in a mass storage device such as a hard disk drive. Along with this, there is an increasing demand for a search technique for extracting desired contents from a large number of contents and a technique for automatically classifying and organizing contents, and techniques in such fields have been developed.

  In the music field, an apparatus that generates a playlist that collects music pieces that match a user's desired image is disclosed. For example, in the prior arts of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a distribution system is described in which a playlist is generated not only by a terminal device but also generated by a server device and transmitted to the terminal device for use. Yes. This makes it possible to listen to music that matches the user's desired image for a large-scale music database in the server device.

At that time, in these conventional technologies, a playlist is generated using a coordinate system that represents a subjective impression of the music (audio information) such as “bright”, “dark”, “violent”, “gentle” It is possible to generate a playlist according to the user's image without requiring prior knowledge about the music. In addition, since a plurality of music pieces having a plurality of impressions can be combined into one playlist, it is also possible to generate a playlist that is rich in change.
JP 2003-15666 A JP 2004-117632 A

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, it has not been sufficiently considered that the user plays music while switching music according to the mood of the moment. In other words, in the above prior art, the transition of the impression of the music is determined in advance when creating the playlist, so if you want to listen to a mix of music with various impressions, the transition is different from the transition of the impression determined when creating the playlist. It was difficult to play with.

  In fact, when listening to music with a specific impression, there is a case where it is desired to suddenly listen to music with a different impression. Since it is impossible to predict such a change in feeling when a playlist is generated, the conventional technology cannot sufficiently meet such needs.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a server device, a terminal device, a playback device, a playlist structure data transmission method, and a content playback method that can intuitively and easily switch between various playlists according to the mood of the user's viewing. An object is to provide a computer program.

In order to solve the above-described problems of the conventional technology, the present invention reduces the numerical difference value between playlists having a strong relationship, and increases the numerical value difference between playlists having a weak relationship, respectively. A playlist structure data storage unit for storing playlist structure data composed of a plurality of represented playlists and transition command data composed of a plurality of transition commands indicating numerical values for changing the playlist, and content according to the playlist When receiving an input for specifying one transition command among the plurality of transition commands, the playback unit receives the input. The transition frame specified by the input is added to the numerical value indicated by the playlist structure data corresponding to the playlist being used. The playlist indicated by the numerical value closest to or equal to the numerical value obtained as a result of the addition or subtraction is added or subtracted, and the playback performed by the playback unit is selected. When switching to reproduction according to a playlist and an operation input specifying one playlist structure data among a plurality of playlist structure data stored in the server device is input from the user, the one play is performed. A message requesting list structure data is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit to the server device, and as a result of the transmission of the message, the one playlist structure data sent from the server device is stored in the playlist structure data storage unit. There is provided a terminal device comprising a control unit to be stored.
In addition, in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, the present invention has a playlist structure composed of a plurality of playlists each represented by a numerical value such that the numerical value between playlists having a strong relationship is closer to a predetermined numerical value. A playlist structure data storage unit that stores data and transition command data including a plurality of transition commands indicating numerical values for changing the playlist, a playback unit that plays back content according to the playlist, and an external server device When receiving an input specifying one transition command among the plurality of transition commands and the transmission / reception unit that performs communication, the relationship between the playlist used by the playback unit when the input is received, A playlist indicated by a numerical value closest to or coincident with the numerical value indicated by the transition command specified by the input is selected. An operation input for switching playback performed by the playback unit to playback according to the selected playlist and specifying one playlist structure data among the plurality of playlist structure data stored in the server device is provided. When input from a user, the message requesting the one playlist structure data is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit to the server device, and the one playlist sent from the server device as a result of the transmission of the message And a control unit that stores structure data in the playlist structure data storage unit.
In addition, in order to solve the above-described problems of the related art, the present invention is a playback device that can be connected to a terminal device connected to a server device via a network via an interface, and has a highly related playlist. In order to change the playlist structure data consisting of a plurality of playlists each represented by a numerical value such that the numerical value difference value between the playlists is small and the numerical value difference value between the playlists that are weakly related is large. A playlist structure data storage unit that stores transition command data composed of a plurality of transition commands indicating a numerical value of the above, a playback unit that plays back content according to the playlist, an interface control unit that communicates with the terminal device, and the terminal Of the plurality of playlist structure data stored in the server device acquired by the device When one playlist structure data is received via the interface control unit, the playlist structure data is stored in the playlist structure data storage unit, and one transition command among the plurality of transition commands is stored. Upon receiving the input to be specified, the numerical value indicated by the transition command specified by the input is added to the numerical value indicated by the playlist structure data corresponding to the playlist used by the playback unit when the input is received. Alternatively, a playlist indicated by a numerical value that is the closest or coincident with the numerical value obtained as a result of the subtraction and addition or subtraction is selected, and the playback performed by the playback unit is played according to the selected playlist. And a control unit for switching to the playback device.
In addition, in order to solve the above-described problems of the conventional technology, the present invention is a playback device that can be connected to a terminal device connected to a server device via a network via an interface, and has a highly related playlist. Playlist structure data composed of a plurality of playlists each represented by a numerical value such that the numerical value between them is closer to a predetermined numerical value, and transition command data composed of a plurality of transition commands indicating numerical values for changing the playlist, A playlist structure data storage unit for storing content, a playback unit for playing back content according to the playlist, an interface control unit for communicating with the terminal device, and a plurality of data stored in the server device acquired by the terminal device One playlist structure data among the playlist structure data of The playlist structure data is stored in the playlist structure data storage unit, and when the input specifying one transition command among the plurality of transition commands is received, the input is When the playlist is received, a playlist whose relationship with the playlist used by the playback unit is indicated by a numeric value closest to or coincident with the numeric value indicated by the transition command specified by the input is selected and played. And a control unit that switches the playback performed by the unit to playback according to the selected playlist.
Further, in order to solve the above-described problems of the conventional technique, the present invention relates a playlist storage unit that stores a plurality of playlists for causing a terminal device to stream content and a relationship between each of the plurality of playlists. Indicates the playlist structure data expressed by numerical values that are smaller as the numerical value difference value between strong playlists becomes smaller and larger as the numerical value difference value between playlists with weaker relationships, and the numerical value for changing the playlist. A playlist structure storage unit that stores transition command data including a plurality of transition commands, and an input that specifies one transition command among the plurality of transition commands is received from the terminal device; Indicates the playlist structure data corresponding to the playlist used for stream playback of the terminal device. Add or subtract the numerical value indicated by the transition command specified by the input to the value, and select a playlist indicated by a numerical value closest to or coincident with a numerical value obtained as a result of the addition or subtraction, and the terminal There is provided a server device comprising: a control unit that switches stream playback performed by the device to stream playback according to the selected playlist.
Further, in order to solve the above-described problems of the conventional technique, the present invention relates a playlist storage unit that stores a plurality of playlists for causing a terminal device to stream content and a relationship between each of the plurality of playlists. Play that stores playlist structure data represented by numerical values such that the numerical value between playlists with strongest values is closer to a predetermined numerical value, and transition command data composed of a plurality of transition commands indicating numerical values for changing the playlist A list structure storage unit, and a playlist used for stream playback of the terminal device when the input is received from the terminal device when one of the plurality of transition commands is specified from the terminal device; Is a value that is closest to or matches the value indicated by the transition command specified by the input. Is the elected playlists, to provide a server apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a said terminal device a stream reproduction performed by the switch to the stream reproduction according to the selected playlist controller.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reproduce content that suits the mood of the user with a simple operation. The user can intuitively operate the content by switching to another playlist and reproducing the content by a method of specifying a relative change with the playlist being played back as a reference.
In addition, since the content can be reproduced while switching various playlists by an intuitive operation, it is also suitable for a purpose of listening to a large amount of content provided by the server device before purchasing the content.
Furthermore, since the user can select and use a favorite one from a plurality of playlist structure data, it is possible to set how the playlist is changed according to his / her preference. By changing the playlist structure data, the content of the content already used by the user becomes a new way of changing the playlist, so it is difficult for the user to get bored and the user is interested in the content and distribution service. And maintain interest.

Example 1.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the entire system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, in the present system, a server device 1 that distributes content and a terminal device 2 that receives and reproduces the content are connected via a network 3. One or a plurality of terminal devices 2 may be provided. In the present embodiment, the case where the content is music will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other contents such as video (moving image) data such as movies and TV programs, still image data such as photographs, It may be a kind of data.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the server device 1 according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1.

  In FIG. 2, the server device 1 includes a playlist storage unit 10, a playlist structure data storage unit 11, a transmission / reception unit 12, and a control unit 13. The server device 1 is connected with an input device 20 such as a keyboard and a mouse for operation by an administrator of the server device 1 and a display device 21 such as a display. The server device 1 is realized by software processing in which a CPU executes a computer program stored in a ROM, a hard disk drive, or the like, using a general computer including a CPU, RAM, ROM, hard disk drive, or the like. Is also possible. The same applies to server devices of other embodiments described later. Further, in the present embodiment, the playlist storage unit 10 and the playlist structure data storage unit 11 are arranged in the same server device 1, but they can also be arranged in different server devices. .

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the playlist storage unit 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the playlist storage unit 10 stores a plurality of (P, P ≧ 2) playlists. Each playlist is data in which a playlist ID, content playback order, content title, producer (artist), and content acquisition information are associated with each other. Each playlist is associated with one or more contents. The playlist ID is a numerical value or text data that can uniquely identify the playlist. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the content acquisition information is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) indicating the location of the content (distributed file). In the first to fourth embodiments of the present invention, when the device that stores the content and the device that uses (acquires) the content are the same device, it is not always necessary to use a URL or the like, and the content must be unique. An identifier (content ID) to be identified, a path name of a file including the content, and the like can be used as content acquisition information. For example, as will be described later, when the server device 1 stores content, and when the content is acquired and distributed, as the acquisition information described in the playlist, the path name of the file storing the content, You may use content ID etc. in the database which stores a content.

  The content may be stored in content storage means (not shown in FIG. 2) of the server device 1, or may be stored in a device different from the server device 1 accessible from the terminal device 2. In addition, information such as production year, genre, and situation / location suitable for reproduction may be included in the playlist. Further, the content title and the information of the creator may be omitted.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the playlist is created by the server operator or administrator, but the user who uses the terminal device 2 creates the playlist, or the user makes one of the contents of the playlist. The part may be changed. In this embodiment, the playlist is created using information such as the genre of the content, the production age, the atmosphere of the content, and the situation / location suitable for reproducing the content.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the playlist structure data storage unit 11.

  That is, the playlist structure data storage unit 11 has a format as shown in FIG. 4, a playlist structure data ID, playlist structure data indicating the relationship between a plurality of playlists, transition command data, and explanation data. Are stored in association with each other, and the highest priority structure data ID is stored. The playlist structure data ID is an ID for uniquely identifying a plurality of playlist structure data. The highest priority structure data ID is a playlist structure data ID used with the highest priority. In the example of FIG. 4, M pieces of data are stored (M ≧ 1). Only one playlist structure data may be stored instead of a plurality of types. When only one is stored, the playlist structure data ID and the highest priority structure data ID can be omitted. As will be described later, the transition command data and the explanation data can be omitted. Each playlist structure data is associated with a part or all of the playlists stored in the playlist storage unit 10 using a common playlist ID. The number of playlists related to one playlist structure data may be different for each playlist structure data. Each playlist structure data stores data in the format described below.

  In this embodiment, the following three formats shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 are used as the basic format of the playlist structure data. Regardless of the format, the playlist structure data is composed of numerical values indicating relationships between a plurality of playlists (playlist IDs).

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the first format of the playlist structure data.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the first format includes playlist IDs of a plurality of (N, N ≧ 2) playlists and ranks 1 to N when ranking them according to a predetermined standard. It is a thing made to correspond.

  FIG. 5B shows an example of a first format of playlist structure data when a playlist is created for each music genre. In FIG. 5B, five playlists corresponding to each genre are created using five genres of “Classic”, “Easy Listening”, “Folk”, “Rock”, and “Heavy Metal”. ing. The ranking in this example is determined based on the sound pressure strength and beat strength of a typical song of the genre, or the degree of subjective “strength”, with “1” being the weakest, “5” represents the strongest.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the second format of the playlist structure data.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the second format associates playlist IDs of a plurality of (N, N ≧ 2) playlists with coordinate values when they are arranged in a predetermined coordinate system. It is a thing. The number of coordinate dimensions is L (L ≧ 1).

  FIG. 6B shows an example of a second format of playlist structure data when a playlist is created for each music genre, as in FIG. 5B. In this example, the coordinate dimension number is 1, and the coordinate value is a numerical value indicating the strength of sound pressure or beat strength of a typical musical piece of the genre, or the degree of subjective “strength”. It is used as a coordinate value.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the third format of the playlist structure data.

  In the third format, as shown in FIG. 7A, the similarity between any two playlists out of N (N ≧ 2) playlists is expressed in a matrix format. Rows and columns are composed of playlist IDs. The elements of the matrix represent the similarity between two playlists. For example, “similarity 13” in FIG. 7A represents the similarity between “playlist 1” and “playlist 3”. ing.

  FIG. 7B shows an example of the third format of the playlist structure data when a playlist is created for each music genre, as in FIGS. 5B and 6B. In this example, the elements of the matrix are numerical values from “0.0” to “1.0”, where “1.0” is the highest similarity and “0.0” is the lowest similarity. Show. Since the diagonal elements of the matrix are similarities between the same playlists, they are all “1.0”. In the case of a symmetric matrix as in this example, symmetrical elements having the same value may be omitted.

  The above is the description of the basic format of the playlist structure data. However, the playlist can be divided into a plurality of hierarchies.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of playlist structure data in which a playlist has a plurality of hierarchies.

  In FIG. 8, a playlist is created by combining music genres and production ages, and has a two-layer structure in which layer 1 (upper playlist) corresponds to the genre and layer 2 (lower playlist) corresponds to the age. Yes. The upper playlist corresponds to one or more lower playlists, and the lower playlist corresponds to one upper playlist. Each upper playlist and each lower playlist are associated with the ranks as described above. For example, in FIG. 8, a playlist whose level 2 is “baroque” is a playlist that collects contents whose genre is “Classic” and whose age is “baroque”. It is also possible to use three or more hierarchical structures. In the example shown in FIG. 4, M playlist structure data are stored in any of the formats described above. The M playlist structure data may all be in the same format, or may be in a format different for each playlist structure data.

  Next, transition command data (see FIG. 4) stored in the playlist structure data storage unit 11 will be described.

  The transition command data is data used when changing the playlist in the terminal device 2 as will be described later.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of transition command data.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, K transition commands are stored, and each transition command is data in which a transition command ID, a direction, a change amount, and a display message are associated with each other. The transition command ID is a numerical value or text data for uniquely identifying the transition command.

  In the first embodiment, the direction and change amount of the transition command data are information used when the terminal device 2 changes, that is, switches the playlist used for content reproduction. These usages will be described in detail when the playback process of the terminal device 2 is described.

  The direction is one of three types, “0”, “+”, and “−”. “0” represents no directionality, “+” represents a change in the direction in which the numerical values of the rank and coordinate values are increased, and “−” represents a change in a direction in which the numerical values of the rank and coordinate values are decreased. It represents.

  The amount of change is stored in a format corresponding to the storage format (first format to third format) of the playlist structure data. The example of FIG. 9A is a case where the rank described as the first format of the playlist structure data is used, where “3” indicates that the playlist is changed to a playlist having three different ranks, and “1” is It shows that the playlist is changed to one with a different rank. The example of FIG. 9B is a case where the coordinate values of the second format shown in FIG. 6 are used as the playlist structure data. This change amount item has a format in which change amounts are arranged and stored by the number of dimensions (L) of the coordinate system. These numerical values are numerical values for adding or subtracting to the coordinate values of each dimension. When the number of dimensions is 1, there is one change amount item. Further, the example of FIG. 9C is a case where the similarity in the third format shown in FIG. 7 is used as the playlist structure data. The numerical value of the change amount indicates that the playlist is changed to a playlist having a similarity similar to the value, and is a single numerical value such as “0.1”. When the similarity is used alone, only a command having a direction of “0” can be stored. However, as shown in FIG. 10, similarity and ranking are stored together as playlist structure data, the ranking is used for determining the direction in the terminal device 2, and the similarity is used as the amount of change, thereby obtaining the similarity. It is also possible to use commands that are used and have directionality. Alternatively, the similarity and the coordinate value may be stored together, the coordinate value may be used for the direction determination in the terminal device 2, and the similarity may be used as the amount of change. In the first embodiment, as described above, the direction and change amount of the transition command data are handled separately, but the direction can be omitted by adding a sign to the change amount.

  The transition command data display message is text data that the terminal device 2 displays on the output device 41. The display message may be created on the terminal device 2 side based on the direction and change amount of the transition command data. In this case, storage of the display message can be omitted.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of transition command data when the playlist structure data has a plurality of hierarchies.

  In FIG. 11, “hierarchy” is added to the transition command data of FIG. 9. This is information indicating the number of hierarchies counted from the highest hierarchy among a plurality of hierarchies of the playlist. Others are the same as the transition command data shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the explanation data stored in the playlist structure data storage unit 11 is for transmitting the characteristics of each playlist structure data to the user who uses the terminal device 2, and the user has a plurality of playlist structures. This data is used when selecting one of the data.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the terminal device 2 illustrated in FIG. 1.

  In FIG. 12, the terminal device 2 includes a playlist storage unit 30, a playlist structure data storage unit 31, a content acquisition unit 32, a playback unit 33, a transmission / reception unit 34, a control unit 35, and a state storage unit 36. The input device 40, the display device 41, and the audio output device 42 are connected.

  The input device 40 is a device such as a keyboard, a mouse, a remote controller, and a touch panel for receiving an operation instruction from a user. The display device 41 is a device such as a display for reproducing content and displaying information. The audio output device 42 is a device such as a speaker or headphones necessary for content reproduction. The terminal device 2 can also be realized as a software process by executing a content reproduction program using a general computer including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk drive, and the like. The same applies to terminal devices and playback devices of other embodiments described later.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of a menu screen displayed on the display device 41 by the control unit 35 of the terminal device 2 immediately after the power is turned on.

  In FIG. 13, the menu screen 131 displays two types of selection menus of “download control data” and “playback of content”. The arrow on the left represents the position of the cursor 132. When the user moves the cursor to a desired menu item using the input device 40 and presses the enter button 133, processing corresponding to each menu item is started.

  Next, operations of the terminal device 2 and the server device 1 when two types of selection menus are selected from the menu screen 131 will be described with reference to flowcharts.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing control data download processing in the terminal device 2 and the server device 1 when the user selects the “download control data” menu item.

  First, when the user selects the menu item “Download Control Data” from the menu screen 131 shown in FIG. 13 on the terminal device 2 side, the control unit 35 of the terminal device 2 transmits the server device via the transmission / reception unit 34. A message requesting control data is sent to 1 (S100).

  Then, in the server device 1, the control unit 13 receives a control data request message via the transmission / reception unit 12 (S 110), refers to the highest priority structure data ID in the playlist structure data storage unit 11, The playlist structure data having the corresponding playlist structure data ID and the transition command data are read out as control data (S120). If only one type of data is stored in the playlist structure data storage unit 11, it is read out. In the present embodiment, the transition command data is transmitted from the server device 1 to the terminal device 2, but the playlist structure data of the server device 1 is stored by the terminal device 2 storing the transition command data in advance. It is also possible to omit storing the transition command data in 11, and to read out only the playlist structure data as control data in S120.

  Next, the control unit 13 of the server device 1 acquires the playlist ID included in the playlist structure data read out in S120, and refers to all the playlist IDs acquired while referring to the playlist storage unit 10. The playlist is read (S130).

  Then, the control unit 13 of the server device 1 transmits the control data read in S120 and the playlist read in S130 to the terminal device 2 via the transmission / reception unit 12 (S140).

  When the control unit 35 of the terminal device 2 receives the playlist structure data and transition command data, which are control data, and the playlist from the server device 1 via the transmission / reception unit 34, the control unit 35 stores the control data in the playlist structure data storage unit. On the other hand, the playlist is stored in the playlist storage unit 30 (S150).

  The control data download process described above is suitable when it is desired to simplify the operation of the terminal device 3 because the user does not need to perform an operation such as selecting a condition. Note that by storing a playlist corresponding to the playlist structure data in advance in the playlist storage unit 30 of the terminal device 2, it is possible to omit transmission of the playlist in S130 and S140.

  Next, another example of the control data download process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In this process, the explanation data needs to be stored in the playlist structure data storage unit 11 of the server device 1. If this process is not performed, the explanation data can be omitted.

  In this case, first, the control unit 35 of the terminal device 2 transmits a message requesting a playlist structure data list, which is a list of playlist structure data, to the server device 1 via the transmission / reception unit 34 (S200).

  Then, on the server device 1 side, the control unit 13 receives a playlist structure data list request message via the transmission / reception unit 12 (S210), reads data from the playlist structure data storage unit 11, and plays the playlist structure data list. Is created (S220). Specifically, all the playlist structure data IDs stored in the playlist structure data storage unit 11 and the explanation data are read in association with each other, and these are used as the playlist structure data list.

  Next, the control unit 13 transmits the created playlist structure data list to the terminal device 2 via the transmission / reception unit 12 (S230).

  In the terminal device 2, the control unit 35 receives the playlist structure data list from the server device 1 via the transmission / reception unit 34, and displays the playlist structure data list on the display device 41 (S240).

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a playlist structure data list displayed on the display device 41.

  In the playlist structure data list 161 shown in FIG. 16, the playlist structure data ID and the explanation data are displayed in association with each other, but only the explanation data may be displayed. The arrow on the left represents the position of the cursor 162. After the user determines the desired playlist structure data by reading the explanation data, the user moves the cursor to the desired menu item using the input device 40 and presses the enter button 163 to select the playlist structure data. The

  Returning to FIG. 15, when the user selects playlist structure data in the playlist structure data list 161 displayed on the display device 41, the control unit 35 receives an instruction from the user via the input device 40, The playlist structure data ID corresponding to the instruction is transmitted to the server device 1 via the transmission / reception unit 34 (S250).

  In the server device 1, the control unit 13 receives the playlist structure data ID from the terminal device 2 via the transmission / reception unit 12 (S260), and the playlist structure data, transition command data corresponding to the received playlist structure data ID, Is read from the playlist structure data storage unit 11 as control data (S270).

  Next, the control unit 13 acquires a playlist ID included in the playlist structure data read in S270, and refers to the playlist storage unit 10 to read all playlists corresponding to the acquired playlist ID ( (S280), the control data read in S270 and the playlist read in S280 are transmitted to the terminal device 2 via the transmission / reception unit 12 (S290).

  In the terminal device 2, the control unit 35 receives control data and a playlist from the server device 1 via the transmission / reception unit 34, stores the control data in the playlist structure data storage unit 31, and plays the playlist. The data is stored in the list storage unit 30 (S300).

  According to the control data download process described above, the user can select a favorite one from a plurality of types of playlist structure data, so that the satisfaction of the user can be further increased.

  In the first embodiment, either the control data download process of FIG. 14 or FIG. 15 may be used. In the above description, the case where the process is started by the user's menu selection has been described. In addition, a request message for control data is transmitted from the terminal device 2 to the server device 1 every predetermined time. You may do it. Also, when a “content playback” instruction is received from the user, the presence of a playlist and control data is confirmed. If there is no such content, the process of downloading them is automatically performed prior to content playback. May be. Also, playlist information is transmitted from the server device 1 to the terminal device 2 and displayed on the display device 41. The user selects a playlist to be downloaded, and is necessary for the selected playlist and its reproduction. Various control data may be downloaded from the server device 1 to the terminal device 2. Furthermore, a playlist and control data may be stored in the terminal device 2 in advance.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing content reproduction processing when the menu item “content reproduction” is selected from the menu screen 131.

  First, the control unit 35 of the terminal device 2 refers to the playlist structure data storage unit 31 and uses a playlist for reproduction from among a plurality of playlist IDs described in the playlist structure data stored therein. Is selected as an initial value and stored in the state storage unit 36 (S600). When the playlist structure data is composed of a plurality of hierarchies, for example, the playlist ID of the lowest hierarchy playlist is selected. The following three methods can be used as the playlist ID selection method.

  The first method is a method of randomly selecting a playlist ID. It may be selected by using a random number.

  The second method is a method of selecting the playlist ID used last time. If the state storage unit 36 is composed of a non-volatile memory and the previously used playlist ID is stored, it may be used.

  The third method is a method for causing the user to select a playlist ID of a desired playlist. In this case, the control unit 35 reads the playlist from the playlist storage unit 30, creates a list of playlists, and displays the playlist on the display device 41. The user uses the input device 40 to select one playlist from the playlist list displayed on the display device 41, and stores the playlist ID in the state storage unit 36. As a third method, in addition to the above, the control unit 35 reads out the playlist ID from the playlist structure data storage unit 31, creates a list of playlist IDs, displays the list on the display device 41, and allows the user to play A list ID may be selected.

  Then, the content acquisition unit 32 reads the playlist ID stored in the state storage unit 36, and sequentially acquires the content according to the corresponding playlist (S610). Specifically, a playlist corresponding to the playlist ID stored in the state storage unit 36 is read out from the playlist storage unit 30, content acquisition information is read out according to the playback order described in the playlist, and transmitted / received A distribution file as content is acquired via the means 34 and is temporarily stored in the content acquisition unit 32. In the first embodiment, the content is described as being distributed as a distribution file in the server device 1 or another device accessible from the terminal device 2, but the content storage unit is provided in the terminal device 2, It may be stored in advance there.

  Next, the reproduction unit 33 reads out the content stored in the content acquisition unit 32, performs necessary processing such as decoding, and outputs the content to the display device 41 and the audio output device 42, thereby reproducing the content ( S620).

  Next, the control unit 35 displays a transition command for changing information on the content being reproduced and a playlist used for content reproduction on the display device 41 (S630). That is, the control unit 35 reads the transition command data display message (see FIG. 9, FIG. 11, etc.) from the playlist structure data storage unit 31 or creates a display message based on the direction and the change amount. Information such as the title and creator of the content being reproduced is read from the playlist storage unit 30 and displayed on the display device 41.

  FIG. 18 shows an example of a display screen displayed on the display device 41 in S630.

  In this example, a content title 211 and a producer 212 are displayed at the top of the screen, and a transition command display message 213 is displayed at the bottom of the screen. The left arrow 214 represents the cursor position. When the user uses the input device 40 to move the cursor 214 to the display message 213 of the desired transition command and press the enter button 215, the playlist used for content reproduction can be changed. Here, a process may be performed in which the display message 213 of the transition command that is currently in an unusable state is not displayed. For example, if playlist structure data with a rank of “1” to “5” is used and a playlist with a rank of “5” is currently selected, the rank value can be increased further. Therefore, the display message 213 for the transition command that increases the numerical value of the order may not be displayed.

  Also, there is a playback stop button 216, and when the user presses this button 216, the control unit 35 detects it as a playback stop command. The transition command and the playback stop command are collectively referred to as a command below. In addition, although there is a content playback area 217 in the center of the screen, it may be omitted depending on the type of content. In addition, information such as the title 211, the creator 212, and the transition command may be displayed overlapping the content reproduction area 217.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 17, the control unit 35 determines whether or not the reproduction of the content is finished (S640). When the reproduction is finished (S640 “YES”), the control unit 35 returns to S610 and sends the current content to the content acquisition unit 32. The content in the next playback order is acquired in the playlist being used.

  On the other hand, when the reproduction of the content has not ended (S640 “NO”), the control unit 35 determines whether there is a command input by the user (S650), and when there is no command input (S650 “ NO "), return to S640 and repeat the process.

  On the other hand, when there is a command input (S650 “YES”), the control unit 35 determines whether or not the input command is a reproduction stop command (S660), and when it is a reproduction stop command (S660 “YES”). ), And ends the content reproduction process.

  On the other hand, when it is not the reproduction end command (S660 “NO”), the control unit 35 changes one playlist used for content reproduction based on the playlist structure data and the input transition command, and creates a new playlist. ID is memorize | stored in the state memory | storage part 36 (S670), it returns to the process of S610, and the process of the process after S610 is repeated.

  In addition, the information of the content reproduced for each playlist is stored in the playlist storage unit 30 or the state storage unit 36, and in step S610, the previous playlist does not start from the top content of the corresponding playlist. You may make it acquire from the content with the reproduction | regeneration order next to the reproduced content. By performing such processing, it is possible to prevent the same content from being frequently played when the playlist is switched, and an effect that the user is less likely to get bored can be obtained. Further, it is not always necessary to reproduce the content in the reproduction order described in the play list, and the reproduction order may be determined at random or may be reproduced by changing the reproduction order.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing in detail the playlist change process in S670 of FIG.

  In the playlist change process in S670 of FIG. 17, first, the control unit 35 reads out the “direction” and “change amount” of the transition command data corresponding to the input transition command from the playlist structure data storage unit 31 (S800). ). At this time, if the playlist is composed of a plurality of hierarchies and the transition command data includes “hierarchy” as shown in FIG. 11, the “hierarchy” is also read out. The following processing is performed on the “hierarchy” read here.

  Next, the control unit 35 selects a numerical value corresponding to the playlist ID of the playlist in use stored in the state storage unit 36 from the playlist structure data stored in the playlist structure data storage unit 31. And the playlist ID of a new playlist is selected using the numerical value and the direction and change amount read in S800 (S810), and stored in the state storage unit 36 (S820). Details of the processing in S810 vary depending on the storage format of the playlist structure data.

  Next, details of the processing of S810 in FIG. 19 will be described for each format of playlist structure data.

  First, the case where the playlist structure data is in the first format using “rank” shown in FIG. 5 or the second format using “coordinate values” shown in FIG. 6 will be described. In this case, the rank or coordinate value corresponding to the playlist ID of the playlist in use stored in the state storage unit 36 is read from the playlist structure data, and the numeric value and the value read in S800. A numerical operation such as addition or subtraction is performed using the direction and the amount of change, and a playlist ID of a new playlist is selected based on the result of the numerical operation.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the detailed processing of S810 when the playlist structure data is in the first format using “rank” shown in FIG. 5 or in the second format using “coordinate values” shown in FIG. It is.

  First, the control unit 35 determines whether the “direction” read in S800 is “0”, “+”, or “−” (S900). If it is “0”, the process proceeds to S910. On the other hand, if “+”, the process proceeds to S930, and if “−”, the process proceeds to S940.

  In S910, the control unit 35 randomly determines the direction of “+” or “−” using a random number, and in subsequent S920, determines whether the direction determined in S910 is “+”. ”, The process proceeds to S930. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S940.

  Next, in S930, the control unit 35 sets the “rank” or “coordinate value” of the playlist corresponding to the playlist ID being stored in the state storage unit 36, ie, the playlist structure data storage unit. A value obtained by adding the “change amount” read in S800 to this value is calculated. In the case of coordinate values having a plurality of dimensions, addition is performed for each dimension. Then, the process proceeds to S950.

  On the other hand, in S940, the control unit 35 reads the “rank” or “coordinate value” of the playlist in use from the playlist structure data storage unit 31, and subtracts the “change amount” read in S800 from this value. And proceeds to S950.

  In S950, the control unit 35 refers to the playlist structure data storage unit 31 and selects the playlist having the “rank” or “coordinate value” that is closest to the value calculated in S930 or S940, that is, has a small difference. Select a playlist ID. At this time, the playlist corresponding to the playlist ID stored in the state storage unit 36 which is the currently used playlist is excluded and selected, and the playlist is always changed.

  The above is the details of the processing of S810 when “rank” or “coordinate value” is used in the playlist structure data. In the above-described processing, the direction and change amount of the transition command data are the numerical values in the playlist structure data of the playlist being used as the playlist before change and the new playlist being the playlist after change. It can be said that it is a target value regarding a difference, that is, a difference in rank or coordinate value. Although the playlist is not always changed so as to completely match the direction and change amount of the transition command data, a playlist having a condition close to that is newly selected.

  Here, a specific numerical example in an example using the “order” shown in FIG. 5B and FIG. 9A is shown. The playlist ID stored in the state storage unit 36 is “Classic” (rank “1”), and “command 3” (direction “+”, change amount “1”) in FIG. 9A is selected. In this case, the calculation “1 + 1 = 2” is performed in S930, and “Easy Listening” which is the playlist ID corresponding to the rank “2” (closest) is selected in S950.

  Next, specific numerical examples in an example using the “coordinate values” shown in FIGS. 6B and 9B will be described. However, the number of dimensions in the coordinate system is 1, and only the numerical value corresponding to dimension 1 in FIG. 9B is stored. The playlist ID stored in the state storage unit 36 is “Easy Listening” (coordinate value “0.6”), “Command 3” (direction “+”, change amount “0. When “2” is selected, an operation of “0.6 + 0.2 = 0.8” is performed in S930, and in S950, the playlist ID corresponding to (closest) the coordinate value “0.8” is “ “Folk” (coordinate value “0.8”) is selected.In this example, the target coordinate value obtained as a result of the calculation and the coordinate value of the playlist in the playlist structure data completely match. Of course, it may not match.

  Next, the process of S810 when the playlist structure data is in a format using the “similarity” shown in FIG. 7 will be described. In this case, all the numerical values (similarities) related to the playlist being used as the playlist ID stored in the state storage unit 36 are read out from the playlist structure data, and these numerical values and the values in S800 are read out. A comparison operation with the read change amount is performed, and a playlist ID of a new playlist is selected based on the result of the comparison operation. Details of this processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit 35 reads out a column corresponding to the playlist ID stored in the state storage unit 36 from matrix data of similarity, which is playlist structure data (S1500).

  Next, the control unit 35 selects an element having the smallest difference from the “change amount” read in S800 from the data in this column (S1510). If there are a plurality of elements having the same difference from the “change amount”, one of them may be appropriately selected using a random number or the like.

  Then, the control unit 35 selects a playlist ID of the playlist corresponding to the element selected in S1510 (S1520), and ends S810.

  Here, a specific numerical example in an example using the “similarity” shown in FIG. 7B and FIG. 9C will be shown. When the playlist ID stored in the state storage unit 36 is “Easy Listening” and “Command 2” (change amount “0.4”) in FIG. 9C is selected, in S1500, FIG. The “Easy Listening” columns (“0.8”, “1.0”, “0.7”, “0.3”, “0.1”) are read out from the matrix data of (B). In S1510, an element “0.3” having a value closest to the variation “0.4” is selected from these numerical values. In step S1520, “Rock”, which is a playlist ID corresponding to the playlist ID, is selected.

  Similarly, in the case of playlist structure data using similarity, the change amount of the transition command data is the difference between the playlist being used as the playlist before the change and the new playlist being the playlist after the change. It can be said that this is a target value related to the degree of similarity. Since “similarity” and “degree of difference” are concepts that make a pair, it can be said that the change amount of the transition command data is a target value for the degree of difference between the playlist before the change and the playlist after the change. .

  The above is the description of the content reproduction process. By the content reproduction process described above, a more intuitive operation can be performed as compared with the method of displaying the name of the playlist on the display device 41 and allowing the user to select it.

  In the present embodiment, in S600 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 17, the initial setting of the playlist used for reproduction is performed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and this step is changed to another method. Is also possible. For example, at the beginning of the content reproduction process, the user may select desired content, and a playlist including the content may be used as the initial value of the playlist.

  In the method described above, the user may select a transition command in consideration of a relative change based on the content currently being reproduced. In general, it is easy to predict a relative change based on the content currently being played back. On the other hand, in the method of displaying the name of the playlist on the display device and allowing the user to select it, the user can predict the contents of each playlist by relying only on the character information, regardless of the content being played back. It is necessary and intuitive operation is difficult. For example, if there are playlists with names such as “very strong stimulus”, “slightly strong”, “slightly weak”, “very weak”, etc., just look at those names It is quite difficult to predict the absolute degree of stimulation of each playlist and to predict the corresponding content in advance (before playback). On the other hand, selecting an option that shows a relative change, such as “a little stronger stimulus” or “a little stimulus weaker” based on the currently playing content, is a specific criterion for judging the content being played. Since it can be determined using not only text information but also clues such as auditory information / visual information related to contents, it is intuitive for the user and relatively easy.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, the server device 1 transmits playlist structure data representing the relationship between a plurality of playlists as numerical values to the terminal device 2 via the network 3. When the playlist structure data is received and the content is played back, the content playlist is changed based on the playlist structure data and the changed playlist content is played back. Therefore, it is possible to play back the content that matches the user's mood at that time with a simple operation.

  In this embodiment, a transition command indicating the direction and amount of change between a plurality of corresponding playlists and a display message corresponding to the amount of change of the transition command are added to each playlist structure data. Therefore, the terminal device 2 displays the display message and allows the user to select a different playlist by specifying a relative change with respect to the playback content based on the playlist. The content can be played back by switching to.

  Therefore, it is not necessary to create a playlist in which a plurality of impression transitions are specified in advance, and contents can be reproduced while switching various playlists by an intuitive operation. As a result, it is also suitable for a purpose of listening to a large amount of content provided by the server device 1 before purchasing the content.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the user of the terminal device 2 can request the server device 1 to send a desired one of the plurality of playlist structure data to be used. You can set how to change to your liking. Therefore, by changing the playlist structure data according to the user's preference, since the playlist change method will be new also for the content already used by the user, the user is less tired, It is easy to maintain the user's interest in content and distribution services. In addition, even when the familiar content that the user already knows is reproduced, the content is reproduced while changing the playlist of the reproduced content based on the playlist structure data. The chances of discovering the content will increase, and you can enjoy the content in many ways.

Example 2
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The overall system configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of FIG. 1, but a server device 1 a is connected to the terminal device 2 via the network 3 instead of the server device 1. Since the configuration and processing operation of the terminal device 2 in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, only the server device 1a will be described.

  FIG. 22 illustrates a configuration example of the server apparatus 1a according to the second embodiment.

  In the server device 1a according to the second embodiment, compared to the configuration of the server device 1 according to the first embodiment, an acoustic analysis unit 14, a content storage unit 15, and a playlist creation unit 16 are added, and a control unit 13a. Is slightly different. Other components are the same as those in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the content storage unit 15 is provided in the server device 1a. However, the content may be stored in a device different from the server device 1a and the content acquisition unit may be provided in the server device 1a. .

  In the present embodiment, audio data that is content, or audio data that accompanies or is included in the content is analyzed by the acoustic analysis unit 14 to automatically determine and use the music genre of the content and the atmosphere of the content. . The contents in the present embodiment are, for example, music audio data, video data with audio such as music video, slide show data combining still images and music audio data, and the like.

  The content storage unit 15 stores a distribution file including the content described in the playlist stored in the playlist storage unit 10.

  FIG. 23 shows an example of the storage format of the distribution file stored in the content storage unit 15 in this embodiment. Each distribution file is composed of a header 61 and a content body 62 as shown in FIG. The header 61 includes content attribute information such as a content title, a producer (artist), a genre, and a production age, an acoustic analysis flag, and a classification category.

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an acoustic analysis process performed by the acoustic analysis unit 14 according to the second embodiment.

  This acoustic analysis process is started when the control unit 13a detects that a new distribution file has been added to the content storage unit 15 and gives an instruction to the acoustic processing unit 14. Further, the administrator of the server device 1a may instruct the server device 1a to start the acoustic analysis process via the input device 20.

  That is, the acoustic analysis unit 14 searches the content storage unit 15 for unprocessed content that has not yet been subjected to acoustic analysis processing (S1000). As will be described later, a flag indicating that acoustic analysis has been completed is recorded in the header 61 of the distribution file that has been subjected to the acoustic analysis processing. By checking this, it is possible to confirm the presence or absence of the acoustic analysis processing. it can.

  Next, the acoustic analysis unit 14 determines whether there is a distribution file that has not been subjected to acoustic analysis processing (S1010). If there is no distribution file that has not been processed (S1010 “NO”), the processing ends. On the other hand, if there is an unprocessed distribution file (S1010 “YES”), the audio data included in the content body 62 of the distribution file is read, and the acoustic feature amount is extracted (S1020).

  As a method for extracting the acoustic feature amount, for example, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-322598 can be used. In addition to this, the intensity, frequency distribution, tempo, beat intensity, and the like of the audio signal may be detected as the acoustic feature amount. Furthermore, after analyzing the audio data and identifying a section in the audio data where it can be estimated that music is recorded, the acoustic feature quantity may be extracted for that section.

  Next, the acoustic analysis unit 14 associates content with a predetermined classification category using the acoustic feature amount (S1030). The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-322598 can also be used as a method for making the acoustic feature amount correspond to the classification category. As the classification category, music genres such as “classic”, “rock”, and “jazz” can be used. In addition, the atmosphere of content such as “quiet”, “powerful”, and “good” can be classified.

  Next, the acoustic analysis unit 14 records the classification category obtained as a result of the process of S1030 in the distribution file, stores it in the content storage unit 15 (S1040), and returns to the process of S1000.

  At the stage where the content is created, the acoustic analysis flag is set to “0”. In S1040, the classification category is recorded, and at the same time, the acoustic analysis flag is changed to “1”. The above is the description of the acoustic analysis process. In S1030, one content may correspond to a plurality of classification categories, and in S1040, a plurality of classification categories may be recorded in one content distribution file.

  The playlist structure data storage unit 11 is the same as that in the first embodiment, but records corresponding to the above-described classification categories are recorded as playlist IDs.

  Next, playlist creation processing in the playlist creation unit 16 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the playlist creation unit 16 sequentially reads distribution files from the content storage unit 15 and creates a content set for each category (S1500).

  Next, the playlist creation unit 16 determines the content playback order for each content set created in S1500 (S1510). The playback order can be determined using the header information of the distribution file. For example, the order may be determined based on the chronological order of production, or by the title or the notation of the creator. Note that it is not necessary to put all the contents included in one content set into the playlist, and the number of contents to be put into one playlist may be limited. Also, the playback order of the content included in the content set may be determined by the operator of the server device 1 or the user of the terminal device 2.

  Next, the playlist creation unit 16 creates a playlist for each content set by associating the reproduction order with the content acquisition information, and stores the playlist in the playlist storage unit 10 (S1520). The playlist ID in the playlist storage unit 10 is the same as the playlist ID in the playlist structure data storage unit 11 and corresponds to the classification category used in the acoustic analysis unit 14. The above is the playlist creation process.

  Therefore, in the server device 1 of the first embodiment, the content creator or the operator or administrator of the server device 1 needs to create a playlist. However, according to the server device 1a of the second embodiment, the acoustic analysis unit 14, the playlist creation unit 16 and the like can automatically create a playlist without any manual intervention.

  Thus, according to the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the man-hours and costs related to content distribution can be greatly reduced. In addition, by combining Example 1 and Example 2, it is also possible to use a playlist created manually and a playlist automatically created by acoustic analysis in combination with a more diverse and multifaceted play. It becomes possible to provide a list.

Example 3 FIG.
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the entire system according to the third embodiment.

  As the server device according to the present embodiment, either the server device 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 or the server device 1a according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 22 can be used. The server device 1 is described. Further, since the operation of the server device is the same as that of the first embodiment or the second embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  In this embodiment, a playback device 4 is connected via an interface 5 to a terminal device 2 a connected to the server device 1 via a network 3. The connection between the terminal device 2a and the playback device 4 can be disconnected at any time. As the interface 5, various interfaces such as a wired / wireless LAN, USB, and IEEE1394 can be used. Alternatively, the interface device 5 may be used by exchanging data between the terminal device 2a and the playback device 4 using a memory card or the like.

  FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the terminal device 2a.

  27, the terminal device 2a includes a playlist storage unit 30, a playlist structure data storage unit 31, a content acquisition unit 32a, a transmission / reception unit 34, a control unit 35a, an interface control unit 38, and a content storage unit. 50, and the input device 40 and the display device 41 are connected.

  FIG. 28 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the playback device 4.

  28, the playback device 4 includes a playlist storage unit 30b, a playlist structure data storage unit 31b, a content acquisition unit 32b, a playback unit 33b, a control unit 35b, a state storage unit 36b, and an interface control unit. 38b and a content storage unit 50b, and an input device 40b, a display device 41b, and an audio output device 42b are connected. Note that the playback device 4, the input device 40b, the display device 41b, and the audio output device 42b may be configured as one device to be a portable playback device.

  FIG. 29 shows an example of a menu screen 291 displayed on the display device 41 by the control unit 35a of the terminal device 2a immediately after the power is turned on.

  In the menu screen 291 shown in FIG. 29, three types of menus “control data download”, “content download”, and “transfer to playback device” are displayed. The left arrow 292 represents the position of the cursor. When the user moves the cursor to a desired menu item using the input device 40 and presses the enter button 293, processing corresponding to each menu item is started.

  Here, the operations of the terminal device 2a and the server device 1 when the user selects the “download control data” menu item are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing content download processing in the terminal device 2 and the server device 1 when the user selects the “download content” menu item from the menu screen 131.

  First, the control unit 35a of the terminal device 2a reads the playlist storage unit 30 and determines whether there is an unprocessed playlist that has not been subjected to content download processing (S1600). In the playlist storage unit 30, a flag indicating whether or not a download process has been performed for each playlist is recorded.

  Next, the control unit 35a of the terminal device 2a selects one unprocessed playlist (S1610).

  Then, the content acquisition unit 32a of the terminal device 2a sequentially acquires content according to the playlist selected in S1610 and stores it in the content storage unit 50 (S1620). Specifically, referring to the playlist storage unit 30, the content acquisition information is read out according to the reproduction order described in the corresponding playlist, the content is acquired via the transmission / reception means 34, and the content storage unit 50. To remember. The content distribution file is arranged in the server device 1 or another device accessible from the terminal device 2.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the content acquisition unit 32a of the terminal device 2a has acquired all the contents described in the playlist selected in S1610 (S1630). If all have been acquired, the process proceeds to S1640; otherwise, the process returns to S1620 to acquire the next content.

  In S1640, the control unit 35a of the terminal device 2a sets a flag indicating that download processing has been recorded in the playlist storage unit 30. Then, the process returns to S1600 and the process is repeated. The above is the content download processing. If the content is stored in advance in the content storage unit 50 of the terminal device 2, the content download process may be omitted.

  FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing the operations of the terminal device 2a and the playback device 4 when the user selects the “transfer to playback device” menu item.

  First, the interface control unit 38 of the terminal device 2a checks whether it is connected to the playback device 4 via the interface 5 and can receive data (S1100). If the data cannot be received (S1100 “YES”), a warning message or the like is displayed on the display device 41 (S1110), and the subsequent processing is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the data can be received (S1100 “YES”), the interface control unit 38 reads the playlist structure data from the playlist structure data storage unit 31 and also reads the playlist from the playlist storage unit 30, and the interface 5 is transmitted to the playback device 4 via S5 (S1120).

  Then, in the playback device 4, the interface control unit 38b receives the playlist structure data from the terminal device 2a and stores it in the playlist structure data storage unit 31b, while receiving the playlist and stores it in the playlist storage unit 30b. Store (S1130). At this time, if necessary, the interface control unit 38b or the control unit 35b sets the content acquisition information so that the content stored in the content storage unit 50b can be referred to by the content acquisition information described in the playlist. change. In the case shown in FIG. 28, the acquisition information is information for the content acquisition unit 32b of the playback device 4 to read out the content from the content storage unit 50b of the same device, and therefore it is not always necessary to use a URL or the like. A content ID that can uniquely identify the content, a file path name, or the like may be used.

  Next, the interface control unit 38 of the terminal device 2a transmits the content stored in the content storage unit 50 to the playback device 4 via the interface 5 (S1140).

  Then, in the playback device 4, the interface control unit 38b receives the data, stores it in the content storage unit 50b of the playback device 4 (S1150), and then transmits a transfer completion message to the terminal device 2 (S1160).

  When the terminal device 2a receives the transfer completion message from the playback device 4 (S1170), the process ends.

  The transfer processing from the terminal device 2a to the playback device 4 has been described above. When the transfer process is completed, the user can appropriately disconnect the playback device 4 from the interface 5 and start the playback operation.

  The playback operation of the playback device 4 is the same as the playback operation of the terminal device 2 in the first embodiment shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, the playlist storage unit 30b of the playback device 4 and the playlist storage unit 30 of the terminal device 2, the playlist structure data storage unit 31b of the playback device 4, the playlist structure data storage unit 31 of the terminal device 2, and the playback device 4 Content acquisition unit 32b, content acquisition unit 32 of terminal device 2, playback unit 33b of playback device 4, playback unit 33 of terminal device 2, control unit 35b of playback device 4, control unit 35 of terminal device 2, and playback device 4 The state storage unit 36b and the state storage unit 36 of the terminal device 2 each perform the same operation. However, the operation of the content acquisition unit 32b of the playback device 4 is different from the operation of the content acquisition unit 32 of the terminal device 2, and the content used during playback is already stored in the content storage unit 50b. What is necessary is just to acquire content. There is no need to acquire content from the server device 1 or other devices on the network 3.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, even in the playback device 4 that cannot be directly connected to the server device 1 via the network 3, it is connected to the server device 1 via the terminal device 2a having a communication function, and the playlist. By downloading structural data, playlists, contents, etc., the contents can be reproduced while easily switching between a plurality of playlists, so that the contents suitable for the user's mood can be reproduced.

Example 4
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 32 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the server apparatus 1c according to the fourth embodiment.

  The server device 1c according to the fourth embodiment includes a playlist storage unit 10, a playlist structure data storage unit 11, a transmission / reception unit 12, a control unit 13c, a content acquisition unit 32c, and a state storage unit 36c. The input device 20 and the display device 21 are connected. Here, the playlist storage unit 10, the playlist structure data storage unit 11, and the transmission / reception unit 12 have the same operations as those in the first embodiment. Further, the content acquisition unit 32c and the state storage unit 36c perform the same operations as the content acquisition unit 32 and the state storage unit 36 of the terminal device 2 in the first embodiment, respectively. Although omitted in the fourth embodiment, the server apparatus 1c may include the acoustic analysis unit 14 and the playlist creation unit 16 as in the second embodiment. Similarly to the second embodiment, the server device 1c may include content storage means for storing content.

  FIG. 33 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the terminal device 2c according to the fourth embodiment.

  The terminal device 2c according to the fourth embodiment includes a reproduction unit 33, a transmission / reception unit 34, a control unit 35c, and a transition command data storage unit 39, and includes an input device 40, a display device 41, and an audio output device. 42 is connected. In the fourth embodiment, the terminal device 2c may not store the playlist and playlist structure data.

  The transition command data storage unit 39 stores transition command data as shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. The transition command data storage unit 39 stores a playlist structure data ID corresponding to the transition command data. These data may be transmitted from the server device 1c to the terminal device 2c by a predetermined menu selection, similar to the playlist download processing of the first embodiment, or these data may be transmitted to the server device prior to the reproduction processing. You may make it transmit from 1c. However, unlike the first embodiment, it is not necessary to transmit the playlist and the playlist structure data, and the transition command data and the playlist structure data ID may be transmitted from the server apparatus 1c to the terminal apparatus 2c as control data. Further, the transition command data and the playlist structure data ID may be stored in advance in the terminal device 2c. Furthermore, when only one type of playlist structure data is stored in the playlist structure data storage unit 11 of the server apparatus 1c, the playlist command data ID is stored in the transition command data storage unit 39, and will be described later. The transmission of the playlist structure data ID in S1200 may be omitted.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  FIG. 34 is a flowchart illustrating content reproduction processing in the server device 1c and the terminal device 2c according to the fourth embodiment.

  The reproduction process is started when the user gives a predetermined instruction to the terminal device 2 c via the input device 40.

  First, the control unit 35c of the terminal device 2c reads the playlist structure data ID from the transition command data storage unit 39, includes this in the playback start message, and transmits it to the server device 1c via the transmission / reception unit 34 (S1200). .

  Then, in the server device 1c, the control unit 13c receives the reproduction start message via the transmission / reception unit 12 (step S1210), and stores the playlist structure data ID included in the reproduction start message in the state storage unit 36c.

  Next, the control unit 13c reads the playlist structure data corresponding to the playlist structure data ID stored in the state storage unit 36c from the playlist structure data storage unit 11, and includes the playlist structure data included in the playlist structure data. One playlist ID used for reproduction is selected as an initial value from the list IDs, and is stored in the state storage unit 36c (S1220). When the playlist structure data is composed of a plurality of layers, for example, the playlist ID of the lowest layer is selected.

  Next, the content acquisition unit 32c acquires content according to the playlist with the playlist ID stored in the state storage unit 36c (S1230). Specifically, referring to the playlist storage unit 10, the content acquisition information is read out according to the playback order described in the corresponding playlist, the content (distributed file) is acquired via the transmission / reception unit 12, Temporarily memorize | store in the content acquisition part 32c. The content (distributed file) is arranged in a content storage unit (not shown in FIG. 32) of the server device 1c or another device accessible from the server device 1. When the server device 1c has content storage means, this acquisition information does not necessarily need to be a URL or the like, and a content ID or file path name that can uniquely identify the content within the content storage means is acquired information. It may be used as

  Next, the control unit 13c reads the content (distribution file) stored in the content acquisition unit 32c, and performs streaming transmission to the terminal device 2c via the transmission / reception unit 12 (S1240). The content (distributed file) includes a header 61 describing content information and a content body 62.

  Then, in the terminal device 2c, the control unit 35c receives the content via the transmission / reception unit 34, and after the reproduction unit 33 performs necessary processing such as decoding, the content is output to the display device 41 and the audio output device 42. Is reproduced (S1250). Since the server device 1c performs streaming transmission, the terminal device 2c can start reproducing the content without receiving the entire distribution file.

  Next, the control unit 35c displays the content information included in the received content header 61 on the display device 41, and reads the transition command data storage unit 39 to display a transition command for changing the playlist. The information is displayed on the device 41 (S1260). Since the transition command data is stored in the transition command data storage unit 39 in the format shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 11, display messages corresponding to the commands 1 to K are read and displayed. The display screen is the same as that in FIG. 18 described above, and the user operation using this display screen is the same as in FIG.

  Next, the control unit 35c determines whether or not a state change has occurred (S1270). A state change is either the end of playback of one content, whether a transition command is input, or a playback stop command is input.

  Only when there is a state change (S1270 “YES”), the control unit 35c transmits / receives a state change message corresponding to the type of state change, that is, a reproduction end message, a reproduction stop message, or a transition message. It transmits to the server apparatus 1c via 34 (S1280). In the case of a transition message, information on the hierarchy, direction, and amount of change corresponding to the input transition command is also transmitted.

  Then, in the server device 1c, the control unit 13c receives the state change message via the transmission / reception unit 12 (S1290), and determines whether or not the received state change message is a reproduction end message (S1300). In the case of a reproduction end message (S1300 “YES”), the process returns to S1230 to cause the content acquisition unit 32c to acquire the next content.

  On the other hand, if it is not a playback end message (S1300 “NO”), the control unit 13c determines whether it is a playback stop message (S1310), and if it is a playback stop message (S1310 “YES”), the content The playback process ends.

  On the other hand, when the message is not a reproduction stop message (S1310 “NO”), it is a case of a transition message, so the control unit 13c includes information on “hierarchy”, “direction”, and “change amount” included in the transition message. The playlist is changed based on the playlist structure data corresponding to the playlist structure data ID stored in the state storage unit 36c of the server apparatus 1c in S1210 (S1320), and the playlist ID of the new playlist is stored in the state. The data is stored in the unit 36c, and the process returns to S1230 to repeat the above processing. When transmitting a transition message in S1280, a transition command ID (any one of command 1 to command K) is transmitted instead of transmitting information on the hierarchy, direction, and amount of change. In S1320, the server device 1c is played. The playlist may be changed after collating the transition command data stored in the list structure data storage unit 11 with the transmitted transition command ID and specifying information on the hierarchy, direction, and amount of change.

  Here, the playlist structure data corresponding to the playlist structure data ID stored in the state storage unit 36c of the server apparatus 1c in S1210 is the format using the “rank” shown in FIG. 5 or “ In the case of the format using the “coordinate value”, the playlist changing process in response to the transition message in S1320 is almost the same as the process of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 20, and the processes of S900 to S950 shown in FIG. 20 are performed. After that, the playlist ID of the selected playlist is stored in the state storage unit 36c. However, unlike the first embodiment, processing is performed not by the terminal device 2 (2c) but by each unit of the server device 1c.

  The details of S1320 in the case where the playlist structure data is in a format using the “similarity” shown in FIG. 7 are substantially the same as the processing of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 21, and the processes of S1500 to S1520 shown in FIG. After performing the processing, the playlist ID of the selected playlist is stored in the state storage unit 36c. Also in this case, unlike the first embodiment, processing is performed not by the terminal device 2 (2c) but by each unit of the server device 1c.

  Other processing is the same as in the first to third embodiments.

  As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, when the server device 1c distributes content in a stream, the terminal device 2c does not need to store the playlist and the playlist structure data or acquire the content according to the playlist. Therefore, the terminal device 2c can be realized at a low cost. Further, since content stored in the server device 1c or other devices on the network 3 can be played back while switching various playlists with an intuitive operation, the server device or the network 3 can be played before content purchase. It is also suitable for the purpose of listening to a large amount of content provided by other devices above.

  In the fourth embodiment, the playlist structure data storage unit 31 is not provided in the terminal device 2c, and the playlist structure data is not transmitted from the server device 1c to the terminal device 2c. However, the present invention is limited to this. It is not a thing. For example, as in the first embodiment, a playlist structure data storage unit 31 is provided in the terminal device 2c instead of the history command data storage unit 39, and playlist structure data and transition command data are transmitted from the server device 1c to the terminal device 2c. Then, similarly to the first embodiment, the processing corresponding to S1220 and S1320 may be performed by the terminal device 2c, and the content selection processing of S1230 may be performed by the server device 1c. That is, in the terminal device 2c, the playlist ID selected based on the playlist structure data stored in the playlist structure data storage unit 31 is transmitted from the terminal device 2c to the server device 1c, and in the server device 1c, the playlist is selected. The content may be acquired according to the playlist corresponding to the received playlist ID while referring to the storage unit 10, and may be transmitted to the terminal device 2c.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the server device 1 or another device on the network 3 has been described so that the content is also distributed as a distribution file. However, in the present invention, the content is not limited to this, and the content is a CD or DVD. Of course, it may be provided to the terminal device by media such as an optical disk such as BD, or may be provided by broadcasting by a broadcasting device.

  The present invention provides a server device that provides a distribution service for content such as music and moving images, a terminal device having a communication function such as a personal computer or a mobile phone that receives and plays back such content, and can be connected to such a terminal device. It can be applied to portable content playback players.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the whole system in Example 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the server apparatus in Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the storage format of the playlist in a playlist storage part. It is a figure which shows the storage format of the whole playlist structure data storage part. It is a figure which shows an example of the play list structure data using a ranking. It is a figure which shows an example of the play list structure data using a coordinate value. It is a figure which shows an example of the play list structure data using a similarity. It is a figure which shows an example of the play list structure data with a several hierarchy. It is a figure which shows an example of transition command data. It is a figure which shows an example of the play list structure data using a similarity and a rank. It is a figure which shows an example of the transition command data which has a several hierarchy. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device in Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the menu screen of the terminal device in Example 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the download process of the data for control. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of the download process of the data for control. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen display of a playlist structure data list. It is a flowchart which shows the reproduction | regeneration processing of a content. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen during content reproduction. It is a flowchart which shows a play list change process. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of a playlist selection process. It is a flowchart which shows the other detailed process of a playlist selection process. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the server apparatus in Example 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows the format of the delivery file in Example 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an acoustic analysis process in the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating play list creation processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the entire system in a third embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device in Example 3. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a playback device according to a third embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the menu screen of the terminal device in Example 3. 14 is a flowchart illustrating content download processing according to the third embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a transfer process to a playback device according to a third embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the server apparatus in Example 4. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device in Example 4. 14 is a flowchart illustrating content reproduction processing according to the fourth embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1a, 1c Server device 2, 2a, 2c Terminal device 3 Network 4 Playback device 5 Interface 10 Playlist storage unit 11 Playlist structure data storage unit 12 Transmission / reception unit 13, 13a, 13c Control unit 14 Acoustic analysis unit 15 Content storage Unit 16 playlist creation unit 30, 30b playlist storage unit 31, 31b playlist structure data storage unit 32, 32b, 32c content acquisition unit 33, 33b playback unit 34 transmission / reception unit 35, 35a, 35b, 35c control unit 36, 36b 36c State storage unit 38, 38b Interface control unit 39 Transition command data storage unit 50, 50b Content storage unit

Claims (9)

Playlist structure data consisting of a plurality of playlists each represented by a numerical value that is smaller as a numerical difference value between playlists having a stronger relationship, and larger as a numerical difference value between playlists having a weaker relationship, and A playlist structure data storage unit for storing transition command data including a plurality of transition commands indicating numerical values for changing the playlist;
  A playback unit for playing back content according to a playlist;
  A transmission / reception unit that communicates with an external server device;
  When an input specifying one transition command among the plurality of transition commands is received, the numerical value indicated by the playlist structure data corresponding to the playlist used by the playback unit when the input is received, A numerical value indicated by the transition command specified by the input is added or subtracted, and a playlist indicated by a numerical value closest to or coincident with a numerical value obtained as a result of the addition or subtraction is selected, and the playback unit performs The user inputs an operation input for specifying one playlist structure data among a plurality of playlist structure data stored in the server device. Then, a message requesting the one playlist structure data is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit to the server device, and the message Results of di-transmission, and a control unit for storing the one of the playlist configuration data transmitted from the server apparatus to the playlist configuration data memory unit
A terminal device comprising:   The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit randomly determines whether to add or subtract a numerical value indicated by the transition command specified by the input to a numerical value indicated by the playlist structure data. apparatus.   Playlist structure data consisting of a plurality of playlists each represented by a numerical value such that the numerical value between playlists having a strong relationship is closer to a predetermined numerical value, and a plurality of transition commands indicating numerical values for changing the playlist A playlist structure data storage unit for storing transition command data comprising:
  A playback unit for playing back content according to a playlist;
  A transmission / reception unit that communicates with an external server device;
  When an input specifying one transition command among the plurality of transition commands is received, the relationship with the playlist used by the playback unit when the input is received is the transition specified by the input. A playlist indicated by a numerical value closest to or coincident with the numerical value indicated by the command is selected, and the playback performed by the playback unit is switched to playback according to the selected playlist, and stored in the server device. When an operation input specifying one playlist structure data is input from the user among the plurality of playlist structure data, a message requesting the one playlist structure data is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit to the server device As a result of the transmission of the message, the one playlist structure data sent from the server device is converted into the playlist structure. A control unit to be stored in the data storage unit
A terminal device comprising:   A playback device connectable to a terminal device connected to a server device via a network via an interface,
  Playlist structure data consisting of a plurality of playlists each represented by a numerical value that is smaller as a numerical difference value between playlists having a stronger relationship, and larger as a numerical difference value between playlists having a weaker relationship, and A playlist structure data storage unit for storing transition command data including a plurality of transition commands indicating numerical values for changing the playlist;
  A playback unit for playing back content according to a playlist;
  An interface control unit for communicating with the terminal device;
  When one playlist structure data among a plurality of playlist structure data stored in the server device acquired by the terminal device is received via the interface control unit, the playlist structure data is received as the playlist structure data. Stores in the playlist structure data storage unit, and receives an input specifying one transition command among the plurality of transition commands, corresponds to the playlist used by the playback unit when the input is received The numerical value indicated by the playlist structure data is added to or subtracted from the numerical value indicated by the transition command specified by the input, and the numerical value closest to or coincident with the numerical value obtained as a result of the addition or subtraction. Select a playlist, and playback performed by the playback unit to playback according to the selected playlist A control unit for switching
A playback apparatus comprising:   5. The reproduction according to claim 4, wherein the control unit randomly determines whether to add or subtract a numerical value indicated by the transition command specified by the input to a numerical value indicated by the playlist structure data. apparatus. A playback device connectable to a terminal device connected to a server device via a network via an interface,
  Playlist structure data consisting of a plurality of playlists each represented by a numerical value such that the numerical value between playlists having a strong relationship is closer to a predetermined numerical value, and a plurality of transition commands indicating numerical values for changing the playlist A playlist structure data storage unit for storing transition command data comprising:
  A playback unit for playing back content according to a playlist;
  An interface control unit for communicating with the terminal device;
  When one playlist structure data among a plurality of playlist structure data stored in the server device acquired by the terminal device is received via the interface control unit, the playlist structure data is received as the playlist structure data. When the playlist structure data storage unit stores an input specifying one transition command among the plurality of transition commands, the reproduction unit uses the playlist when the input is received. A playlist whose relationship is indicated by a numeric value closest to or coincident with the numeric value indicated by the transition command specified by the input is selected, and the reproduction performed by the reproduction unit is reproduced according to the selected playlist. Control unit to switch to
  A playback apparatus comprising:   A playlist storage unit for storing a plurality of playlists for causing the terminal device to stream the content;
  Playlist structure data represented by numerical values such that each of the plurality of playlists is smaller as a numerical difference value between playlists having a strong relationship and larger as a numerical difference value between playlists having a weak relationship, and A playlist structure storage unit for storing transition command data including a plurality of transition commands indicating numerical values for changing the playlist;
  The playlist structure corresponding to a playlist used for stream playback of the terminal device when receiving an input specifying the one transition command from the terminal device among the plurality of transition commands Adds or subtracts the numerical value indicated by the transition command specified by the input to the numerical value indicated by the data, and selects the playlist indicated by the numerical value closest to or coincident with the numerical value obtained as a result of the addition or subtraction. A control unit that switches the stream playback performed by the terminal device to stream playback according to the selected playlist;
  A server device comprising:   8. The server according to claim 7, wherein the control unit randomly determines whether to add or subtract a numerical value indicated by the transition command specified by the input to a numerical value indicated by the playlist structure data. apparatus.   A playlist storage unit for storing a plurality of playlists for causing the terminal device to stream the content;
  Playlist structure data representing each of the plurality of playlists by numerical values such that the numerical value between playlists having a strong relationship is closer to a predetermined numerical value, and a plurality of transition commands indicating numerical values for changing the playlist A playlist structure storage unit for storing transition command data comprising:
  When an input specifying one transition command among the plurality of transition commands is received from the terminal device, the relationship with the playlist used for stream playback of the terminal device when the input is received is A control unit that selects a playlist indicated by a numerical value closest to or coincident with the numerical value indicated by the transition command specified by input, and switches the stream reproduction performed by the terminal device to the stream reproduction according to the selected playlist. When
  A server device comprising:

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