JP4733715B2 - Content playback apparatus and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content playback apparatus and program, and more particularly to a user interface of the content playback apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a graphical user interface (GUI) has been adopted as an operation unit for familiar electronic devices such as a computer, a mobile phone, a TV, and a video camera. The GUI is a user interface that provides information to the user through a display screen that uses a lot of graphics, and can perform most operations directly with a pointing device such as a mouse.
In recent years, there is a demand for a GUI that is excellent not only in design but also in operability that can cope with higher functionality of electronic devices.

For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique related to a user interface that can improve user convenience in a content reproduction apparatus capable of reproducing music content, video content, and the like.
Japanese Patent No. 3897774

By the way, in a recent content reproduction apparatus (for example, a media player or a portable audio player executed on a computer), when reproducing a plurality of contents (for example, MP3 format music contents), the reproduction order can be freely set. It has a playlist function that can be determined. When a playlist is used, a series of contents are continuously played according to the order registered in the playlist.
In a conventional content reproduction apparatus, when content is reproduced according to a playlist, it is common to display a list of content names (for example, titles) registered in the playlist, whereby the contents constituting the playlist are displayed. It is made to recognize. In the playlist display, information such as a reproduction time, an artist name, and a genre is also displayed corresponding to the content name.

  However, since the conventional playlist display is based on text information, it is difficult for the user to visually recognize the configuration of the playlist. For example, even if the playback time is displayed for each content registered in the playlist, it is possible to grasp the ratio of individual content to the entire playlist, the relative playback time between the content, etc. It was difficult.

  The present invention provides a content playback apparatus and program capable of improving convenience by presenting a configuration of a playlist in a manner in which the configuration of the playlist can be visually grasped when a series of content is continuously played according to the playlist. With the goal.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1
A content playback apparatus capable of continuously playing a series of contents in the order registered in a playlist,
The playlist and content can be shared by a plurality of users on the network,
Each of the multiple contents registered in the playlist is a component,
According to the ratio of the playback time of each content with respect to the playback time of all content registered in the playlist, the ratio of the constituent elements is determined.
Display control means for displaying on the screen a band graph in which the constituent elements are arranged in a size reflecting the ratio of the constituent elements according to the playback order of the content in the playlist ;
In the band graph, the display control means displays the component corresponding to the content currently being played by the user in the first mode, while displaying the other area in the second mode different from the first mode. When the content registered in the currently used playlist is played by another user, the component corresponding to the content currently played by the other user is different from the second mode. The display is performed in three modes .

According to a second aspect of the invention, the content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1,
The display control means displays information indicating a user who is reproducing the content in or near a component corresponding to the content currently reproduced by the user and the other user. .

The invention according to claim 3
A program for displaying a user interface of a content playback apparatus capable of continuously playing back a series of contents according to a play list indicating a playback order on a computer screen,
In the computer,
A plurality of contents registered in a playlist that can be shared by a plurality of users on the network, and each of the contents that can be shared by a plurality of users on the network is a component,
According to the ratio of the playback time of each content with respect to the playback time of all content registered in the playlist, the ratio of the constituent elements is determined.
When displaying on the screen a band graph in which the components are arranged in a size that reflects the ratio of the components in accordance with the playback order of the content in the playlist, the content currently being played back by the user in the band graph is displayed. While the corresponding component is displayed in the first mode, other areas are displayed in a second mode different from the first mode, and the content registered in the currently used playlist is played by other users. If it is, it is a program for realizing a function of displaying a component corresponding to the content currently being played by the other user in a third mode different from the second mode .

  According to the present invention, by displaying the configuration of the playlist using the band graph, the user can easily visually recognize the configuration of the playlist, so the convenience is greatly improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a network configuration according to the present embodiment.
In the present embodiment, a case where content (for example, a web page) is provided from the server 1 to the client 2 via the network N and the content is used in the client 2 is shown.

As shown in FIG. 1, a client 2 (for example, a personal computer 2a, a mobile phone 2b, etc.) is connected to the server 1 via a communication network N.
The communication network N is a telephone network such as the Internet or a telecommunications carrier, a cellular phone communication network, and the like, and connects the server 1 and the client 2 connected to the communication network N so that data communication is possible.

In such a network system, for example, when a user activates a web browser on the client 2 and designates a URL, the client 2 sets the server 1 holding the corresponding content (for example, an HTML file) on the Internet. Search above and request content data.
On the other hand, the server 1 that holds the requested content transmits the requested content to the client 2. Then, the client 2 analyzes the content of the received content and displays a web page or the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of the hardware configuration of the server 1. The server 1 in this embodiment is, for example, a web server that provides a music content distribution service.
As shown in FIG. 2, the server 1 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, a database 13, and the like, and each unit is electrically connected by a bus line 15.

The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 112, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 113.
The CPU 111 performs various arithmetic processes and performs centralized control of each unit. The RAM 112 has a work area for temporarily storing data when the CPU 111 performs arithmetic processing. The ROM 113 stores programs such as an operating system (OS) executed by the CPU 111, server software, and web applications.
The communication unit 12 performs processing according to a communication protocol such as TCP / IP, and transmits / receives data to / from the client 2 via the network N.
The database 13 stores, for example, web page data, music content, a playlist of music content, and the like. The playlist is a list for continuously playing a series of music contents, and usually the music contents are played in the order registered in the playlist.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a music table stored in the database 13. This music table is used for managing the music content stored in the database 13.
As shown in FIG. 4, a unique music ID is assigned to each music content in the music table. Corresponding to this, for example, the file name, title name (music name), playback time, artist name of music data In addition, data such as album name, genre, and currently used user is stored.
In FIG. 4, for example, the music content specified by the music ID “M001” is the music of the title “AAA”, the playback time “4:00”, and the genre “J-POP” performed (sung) by the artist “aaa”. This indicates that the music is recorded in the album “XYZ”. In addition, the file name of the music content is “AAA.wma”.
Further, it is indicated that the music content specified by the music ID “M003” is currently being reproduced by the user D. That is, while the music content is transmitted from the server 1 to the client 2, information (for example, user name) indicating the user of the client 2 is registered in the music table.
The actual music content data (for example, data of the file name “AAA.wma”) may be stored in the same database 13 or may be stored in another database.

  Here, as a method for reproducing the music content distributed from the server 1 by the client 2, generally, the music content held by the server 1 is stored in the hard disk (a storage unit 22 described later) of the client 2 and downloaded for reproduction. There are playback and streaming playback that starts playback when a part of the music content distributed from the server 1 is received. In the present embodiment, as an example, a case where streaming reproduction is performed in the client 2 will be described. In this case, the music content that is registered in the music table and can be distributed is in a file format that supports streaming.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the playlist table stored in the database 13.
As shown in FIG. 5, a unique playlist ID is assigned to each playlist in the playlist table. Correspondingly, for example, the title name of the playlist and the ID of the music content constituting the playlist are given. (For example, music ID of FIG. 4), artist name, album name, genre, and other data are stored.
In FIG. 5, for example, the playlist identified by the playlist ID “P001” has the title “pList1” and is composed of the music content with the music ID “M001, M002, M003,. Yes. The playlist “pList1” is composed of music contents recorded on the album “XYZ” performed (sung) by the artist “aaa”, and indicates that the genre is “J-POP”. Yes.

  The playlist is created by the server 1 by extracting a plurality of music contents from the music table according to predetermined conditions such as albums or artists. Further, for example, a user may create a playlist in which favorite music contents are collected from the music table and register the playlist in the database 13. In this case, information regarding the user who created the playlist (for example, user ID) and information indicating the characteristics of the playlist may be registered.

  Information stored as a title, artist, album, and genre in the music table or playlist table described above is used when music content or a playlist that matches the search keyword transmitted from the client 2 is extracted.

In FIG. 2, the CPU 111 of the server 1 executes predetermined software (such as a web page stored in the database 13) in response to a request from the client 2 by executing server software stored in the ROM 113. ).
In addition, by executing a web application program stored in the ROM 113, processing based on data transmitted from the client 2 is performed.

For example, when a keyword (search keyword) for searching for a desired music content or playlist is input and transmitted in the web browser of the client 2, a suitable music content or playlist is extracted based on the search keyword. The extraction result (for example, individual music content or playlist) is transmitted to the client 2.
Then, when a transmission request for music content is made from the client 2, the corresponding music content is transmitted to the client 2. When a playlist is selected in the client 2, a plurality of music contents constituting the playlist are sequentially transmitted in the registered order. The transmitted plurality of music contents are continuously streamed and reproduced in the client 2.

In the present embodiment, when the playlist presented as matching with the search keyword by the server 1 is selected by the client 2, the server 1 transmits information regarding the selected playlist. In addition to information on the playlist (playlist ID, title, constituent song ID, artist, album, genre) stored in the playlist table shown in FIG. It includes time, usage status of content by the user, and the like. The playback time of the music content and the usage status of the content by the user are stored in the music table shown in FIG.
Then, in the client 2, display control in the GUI of the content reproduction software is performed based on the information regarding the playlist.
Note that information on the playlist is transmitted from the server 1 to the client 2 at predetermined time intervals or when the information is updated, for example.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an outline of the hardware configuration of the client 2.
As shown in FIG. 3, the client 2 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a communication unit 23, an operation unit 24, a display unit 25, and the like, and each unit is electrically connected by a bus line 26. .

The configuration of the control unit 21 is the same as the configuration of the control unit 11 of the server 1. The ROM 213 stores programs such as an OS, a web browser, and content reproduction software.
This content playback software is, for example, software (so-called multimedia player) capable of streaming playback of music content distributed from the server 1 and functioning as a plug-in on a web browser. In addition, it has a playlist function for continuously reproducing a series of contents according to the playlist.

  In addition to the main music content playback function, the content playback software may include the following functions. In other words, the content playback software allows a user who receives a music distribution service from the server 1 (for example, a user who is logged in to a website provided by the server 1, hereinafter referred to as a login user) to a music content. It is also possible to provide a function (hereinafter referred to as a comment function) that allows the user to input a comment such as an impression or to refer to the comment by the login user. Further, a login user who uses the same playlist may be provided with a function (so-called chat function) that allows a text-based conversation in real time through a network.

The storage unit 22 is composed of, for example, a hard disk, and can store data of content (for example, music content) downloaded from the server 1.
The communication unit 23 performs processing according to a communication protocol such as TCP / IP and transmits / receives data to / from the server 1 via the network N.
The operation unit 24 includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and is used when a user inputs information. For example, when requesting distribution of a desired music content to the server 1 that provides a music content distribution service, the user searches the keyword input field on the web page using the operation unit 24 to search keywords (for example, artist name, music name, album). Name). Further, in the GUI of the content reproduction software, the operation unit 24 performs operations for reproducing desired music content and adjusting the volume.
The display unit 25 is configured by a display device such as a liquid crystal display, for example, and displays a predetermined screen based on a display control command from the control unit 21. On the display unit 25, for example, GUIs of various applications (for example, a web browser and content reproduction software) are displayed.

For example, the CPU 211 of the client 2 executes a web browser stored in the ROM 213, and requests the server 1 for a web page specified by the URL when the user inputs the URL through the operation unit 24. Then, the web page data transmitted from the server 1 is analyzed and displayed on the web browser window.
Further, in the web page that distributes the music content, the CPU 211 activates the content reproduction software and causes it to function as a plug-in on the web browser. At this time, the GUI of the content reproduction software is displayed in the web browser window. In addition, in the web browser window, in addition to the GUI of the content playback software, information related to the web page, for example, various information related to music, is displayed, and the user can search for desired music content and playlists. A keyword entry field is provided.

As described above, when the server 1 provides the music content distribution service (web site) to the client 2, the GUI of the content reproduction software is displayed in the window of the web browser of the client 2. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied when displaying the GUI of the content reproduction software.
That is, in the content reproduction software, when a series of content is continuously reproduced according to the playlist, the configuration of the playlist is presented in a manner that can be visually grasped.

  In the following description, it is assumed that the content reproduction software reproduces music content according to a playlist. For example, when a playlist that matches the search keyword is presented from the server 1, if a playlist selection operation is performed by the client 2, the music content according to the playlist is played back by the content playback software.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a GUI of content reproduction software. This GUI is displayed, for example, when content playback software is activated in the client 2 and music content according to the playlist is played back.
As shown in FIG. 6, the GUI of the content playback software includes, for example, information related to the music content to be played back (for example, the title name of the playlist (if registered in the playlist), artist name, album name) I1, An image related to the music content to be played (such as a jacket image of the album) I2, information indicating the progress of the music content and the title of the music content being played (playback bar) I3, a play showing the structure of the currently used playlist, etc. List information I4, etc. is displayed. In addition, operation buttons B (play / stop button B1, fast reverse button B2, fast forward button B3, volume button B4) for performing music content playback processing are arranged.

In FIG. 6, the music content of the title “CCC” registered third (see FIGS. 4 and 5) among the music content registered in the playlist “pList1” is reproduced in the content reproduction software. Shows the case.
Note that the user of the client 2 is the user D, and the users A to C are users who play the music content registered in the playlist “pList1” via the network. The users A to C are not always using the playlist “pList1”.

In the present embodiment, as the playlist information I4, a playlist bar PB showing the configuration of the playlist in a band graph is displayed. The playlist bar PB is composed of a plurality of elements corresponding to the total number of music contents registered in the playlist “pList1”. That is, each section when the playlist bar PB is divided into a predetermined number (here, the number of songs registered in the playlist) is a component C (C1, C2, C3,...).
In FIG. 6, the playlist bar PB is divided into 24 components C, so that 24 music contents are registered in the playlist “pList1”. Further, the length of each component C relatively indicates the reproduction time of the music content.

In the playlist bar PB, the display mode of the component C corresponding to the music content currently played back by the client 2 is different from the display mode of the component C corresponding to the music content not played back. .
In FIG. 6, the user D of the client 2 is the third music content registered in the playlist “pList1”, the user A of the other client 2 is the 12th music content, and the user B is the 18th music content. The case where the user C is playing the 19th music content is shown.

In FIG. 6, the component C3 corresponding to the third music content being reproduced by the user D of the client 2 is displayed in the first mode (black in FIG. 6). The component C12 corresponding to the twelfth music content being reproduced by the user A is displayed in the third mode (gray in FIG. 6). Similarly, the component C18 corresponding to the 18th music content being reproduced by the user B and the component C19 corresponding to the 19th music content being reproduced by the user C are also displayed in the third mode.
On the other hand, the component corresponding to the music content which is not reproduced by any user is displayed in the second mode (white in FIG. 6).

  Further, in FIG. 6, icons Ua to Ud indicating the users A to D are displayed under the playlist bar PB, and the user who is currently reproducing the music content registered in the playlist can be visually recognized. Like that.

With the playlist bar PB described above, the user can easily recognize the configuration of the playlist that is currently used and the music content that is currently being played, so that the music content can be played back efficiently with reference to this. Can do. That is, the convenience of the content reproduction software GUI is improved.
Furthermore, since the music content being played back by other users can be recognized, the same music content can be played back by a plurality of users. As a result, it is possible to create a situation in which a live space is shared while staying at a remote place, and for example, it is possible to share the impression of music content. In a chat room, it is also possible to talk about music contents being played together by a plurality of users.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of display control processing for displaying the playlist information I4 in the GUI of the content reproduction software. This display control process is executed, for example, when the CPU 211 of the client 2 activates the content reproduction software stored in the ROM 213 and the music content according to the playlist is reproduced. Note that the entire GUI of the content reproduction software is displayed by another display control process.

In FIG. 7, in step S101, information on the playlist transmitted from the server 1 is analyzed. In addition to the information on the playlist stored in the playlist table shown in FIG. 5, the information on the playlist includes the playback time of each piece of music content, the usage status of the content by the user, and the like. Based on the analysis result, data of the playlist bar PB shown in FIG. 6 is generated.
In step S102, each piece of music content is associated with a component. That is, the first music content registered in the playlist is associated with the first component C1 from the left of the playlist bar PB, the second music content is the second component C2 from the left, and so on. .
In step S103, the component ratio is determined. Specifically, the ratio of the constituent elements is determined in accordance with the ratio of the playback time of individual music content to the playback time of all music content registered in the playlist. If the total playback time of the playlist is 1 hour and the playback time of one music content is 6 minutes, the ratio of the components corresponding to this music content is 10%.

In step S104, the display mode of each component is determined. This process is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG.
That is, in FIG. 8, in step S <b> 201, it is determined whether there is a music content currently being played by the user D of the client 2. If it is determined that there is music content being played back, the process proceeds to step S202. If it is determined that there is no music content being played back, the process proceeds to step S203.
For example, when the playback of music content is started by selecting a playlist, the first music content registered in the playlist becomes the playback content. Further, for example, when the user operates the operation unit 24 to instruct fast forward / reverse of the music content, the playback content is transitioned.
In step S202, the display mode of the component corresponding to the music content being played back is the first mode. In FIG. 6, since the 3rd music content is reproduction | regeneration content, the component C3 corresponding to this is made into the 1st aspect (black).

In step S203, it is determined whether there is any music content being played by another user. This determination process is performed based on information transmitted from the server 1 and indicating the usage status of the content by the user. When it is determined that there is music content being played by another user, the process proceeds to step S204, and when it is determined that there is no music content being played, the process proceeds to step S205.
In step S204, the display mode of the component corresponding to the music content reproduced by another user is set as the third mode. In FIG. 6, since the 12th, 18th, and 19th music contents are reproduced by another user, the corresponding components C12, C18, and C19 are in the third mode (gray).

In step S205, the display mode of the component corresponding to the other content is set as the second mode. In FIG. 6, the components other than the components C3, C12, C18, and C19 are in the second mode (white).
It should be noted that the third mode set for the component in step S204 only needs to be able to recognize that the music content is being played by any user, and therefore may be a mode different from the second mode. In this embodiment, since the user who is reproducing the music content can be recognized by the icons Ua to Ud indicating the user, there is no problem even if the third mode is the same as the first mode.
As described above, the display mode of each component constituting the playlist bar PB is determined.

Returning to FIG. 7, in step S <b> 105, the data of the playlist bar PB in the form of a band graph is generated based on the determined ratio and display mode of each component, and this is displayed on the GUI of the content reproduction software. At this time, information capable of recognizing the user being reproduced (for example, text indicating an icon or a user name) is displayed in the vicinity of the component corresponding to the music content being reproduced by the user or another user. The
In FIG. 6, an icon corresponding to each user is displayed near the lower side of the music content being reproduced. In addition, you may make it display the text and icon which show a user in the component of playlist bar PB.

In step S106, it is determined whether or not the playback content has transitioned. For example, when the user operates the operation unit 24 to instruct fast-forward / fast-rewind of music contents (click operation of the fast-forward button B3 / fast-rewind button B2), or when the reproduction of the music content being played is finished, The playback content is transitioned to the next music content. Also, the playback content transitions when the user operates the operation unit 24 to give an instruction to start / stop playback of the music content (click operation of the playback / stop button B1).
If it is determined that the playback content has transitioned, the process proceeds to step S104. If it is determined that the playback content has not transitioned, the process proceeds to step S107. That is, when the playback content transitions, the component displayed in the first mode changes. For example, in the state shown in FIG. 6, when the reproduction of the third music content is completed, the component corresponding to the third music content is set to the second mode, and the component C4 corresponding to the fourth music content is the first. One embodiment is used.

In step S107, it is determined whether or not the playback status of another user has changed. For example, when playback of music content that has been played back by another user is finished, an operation to stop playback is performed, or music content that is registered in a playlist is newly played back by another user When this is done, the information indicating the usage status of the content by other users is updated (transmitted from the server 1), and the determination process is performed based on this information.
If it is determined that the playback status of another user has changed, the process proceeds to step S104. If it is determined that the playback status has not changed, the process proceeds to step S108. For example, in the state shown in FIG. 6, when the reproduction of the twelfth music content being reproduced by the user A is completed, the component C12 corresponding to the twelfth music content is set to the second mode. If the user A uses the playlist “pList1”, the thirteenth music content will be reproduced next, and the corresponding component C13 is the third mode.

In step S108, it is determined whether or not an operation for ending the content reproduction software has been performed. This termination operation includes, for example, a transition operation to another web page in the web browser and an operation to terminate the content reproduction software or the web browser.
If it is determined that the end operation has been performed, the display control process is terminated, and if it is determined that the end operation has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S106.
As described above, display control of the playlist bar PB is performed in the GUI of the content reproduction software.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the client 2 becomes a content reproduction apparatus capable of continuously reproducing a series of contents in the order registered in the playlist by starting the content reproduction software.
Then, in the client 2, each of the plurality of music contents registered in the playlist is a constituent element, and according to the ratio of the playback time of each music content to the playback time of all the music contents registered in the playlist. Then, the ratio of the constituent elements is determined, and control is performed to display a playlist bar (band graph) PB in which the constituent elements are arranged in accordance with the reproduction order of the music content in the playlist.

  As a result, the user can visually recognize the configuration of the playlist that is currently being used (for example, the length of the playback time of each music content), so that the music content can be played back efficiently with reference to this. And the convenience is greatly improved. For example, it is possible to reproduce the music content according to the configuration of the playlist, such as fast-forwarding the music content whose reproduction time is too long compared to the others.

In addition, in the client 2, on the playlist bar PB, the component corresponding to the currently played music content is displayed in the first mode, while the other area is displayed in the second mode different from the first mode. Control is performed.
As a result, the user can recognize the music content currently being played back, so that the user can easily grasp the playback time of the music content currently being played, the playback time of the music content that has not been played (remaining playback time), and the like. be able to.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the server 1 on the network holds playlist and music content data and distributes it to the client 2. That is, the playlist and the music content can be shared by a plurality of users on the network.
In the client 2, when the music content registered in the currently used playlist is played by another user, the component corresponding to the music content currently played by the other user Display control for display in a third mode (which may be the same as the first mode) different from the second mode is performed.
Further, in the client 2, information (for example, a user name, an icon) indicating the user who is playing the music content in or near the component corresponding to the music content currently played by the user and other users. ) Is displayed.
Thereby, since the music content which the other user is reproducing | regenerating can be recognized, it becomes possible to be made to reproduce | regenerate consciously the same music content by several users.

  As mentioned above, although the invention made by this inventor was concretely demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

  For example, in the above embodiment, data for displaying the playlist bar PB on the client 2 is generated on the basis of the information on the playlist transmitted from the server 1. Data may be generated and transmitted to the client 2, and the display based on this data may be reflected on the content reproduction software of the client 2.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the display of the GUI of content reproduction software that functions as a plug-in of a web browser has been described. For example, content that is activated independently of a web browser and can be connected to a network Playback software (so-called network media player) may also be used.
In the content playback software, when playing back music content stored in a hard disk or semiconductor memory, a function using a network cannot be realized, but the display of the playlist bar PB, that is, the configuration of the playlist is a band graph. Can be displayed, and the music content currently being played can be displayed in the first mode.

Each component of the playlist bar PB may function as a playback button for playing back music content. That is, when the user performs a component selection operation (click operation), the music content corresponding to the selected component is played. Even when a large number of music contents are registered in the playlist, the desired music contents can be easily reproduced, so that convenience is improved.
In the GUI of the content reproduction software, only a part of the playlist bar PB may be displayed, and a display form in which the entire playlist bar PB can be recognized by scrolling may be adopted. When a large number of music contents are registered in the playlist, the component corresponding to each music content may be too small and difficult to view. In such a case, the playlist bar PB is scrolled. It is desirable to do.
Furthermore, the present invention can be naturally applied not only to the music content but also to reproducing the video content according to the playlist.

Note that the content reproduction software GUI as described above can be created using a development tool (for example, Flex2 manufactured by Adobe).
In addition, when the present invention is applied, it can be easily conceived that the configuration of the playlist is presented so as to be visible in the form of a pie chart or a time line divided by a scale line.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is the schematic shown about the network structure which concerns on this embodiment. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of a hardware configuration of a server 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a hardware configuration of a client 2. FIG. It is explanatory drawing shown about one structural example of the music table stored in the database. It is explanatory drawing shown about the structural example of the playlist table stored in the database. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of GUI of content reproduction software. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the display control process for displaying play list information I4 in GUI of content reproduction software. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which determines the display mode of each component of playlist bar PB.

Explanation of symbols

I1 Information relating to music content to be reproduced I2 Image relating to music content to be reproduced I3 Information indicating the progress of the music content and the title of the music content being reproduced I4 Playlist information indicating the configuration of the currently used playlist PB Playlist Bar (band graph)
C Components Ua to Ud Icons indicating users

Claims (3)

A content playback apparatus capable of continuously playing a series of contents in the order registered in a playlist,
The playlist and content can be shared by a plurality of users on the network,
Each of the multiple contents registered in the playlist is a component,
According to the ratio of the playback time of each content with respect to the playback time of all content registered in the playlist, the ratio of the constituent elements is determined.
Display control means for displaying on the screen a band graph in which the constituent elements are arranged in a size reflecting the ratio of the constituent elements according to the playback order of the content in the playlist ;
In the band graph, the display control means displays the component corresponding to the content currently being played by the user in the first mode, while displaying the other area in the second mode different from the first mode. When the content registered in the currently used playlist is played by another user, the component corresponding to the content currently played by the other user is different from the second mode. A content reproduction apparatus characterized by displaying in three modes . The display control means displays information indicating a user who is reproducing the content in or near a component corresponding to the content currently reproduced by the user and the other user. The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1 . A program for displaying a user interface of a content playback apparatus capable of continuously playing back a series of contents according to a play list indicating a playback order on a computer screen,
In the computer,
A plurality of contents registered in a playlist that can be shared by a plurality of users on the network, and each of the contents that can be shared by a plurality of users on the network is a component,
According to the ratio of the playback time of each content with respect to the playback time of all content registered in the playlist, the ratio of the constituent elements is determined.
When displaying on the screen a band graph in which the components are arranged in a size that reflects the ratio of the components in accordance with the playback order of the content in the playlist, the content currently being played back by the user in the band graph is displayed. While the corresponding component is displayed in the first mode, other areas are displayed in a second mode different from the first mode, and the content registered in the currently used playlist is played by other users. If so, a program for realizing a function of displaying a component corresponding to the content currently being played by the other user in a third mode different from the second mode .

Images