JP4944124B2 - Content reproduction system and content reproduction method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for playing back content recorded on a recording / playback device in a home or the like using a dedicated portable playback device.

  Conventionally, the following private content playback systems have been provided. In this private playback system, a program received by a HDD recorder at home, a recorded program, or content data such as music, text, or web page acquired and recorded by another recording / playback apparatus via a network is transmitted to a mobile phone. It can be transmitted to a portable playback device such as In such a content private playback system, various interfaces for selecting and requesting playback content on a mobile playback device such as a mobile phone are provided.

For example, in Patent Document 1, in the content private playback system, a portable playback device having a configuration in which a content viewing history in a portable playback device such as a mobile phone is stored and the stored viewing history is transmitted to the recording / playback device. A technique related to (portable information terminal device) is disclosed. Then, using such a viewing history, for example, a request screen (interface screen for content playback request) such as displaying content that is being viewed at the top or only content being viewed is displayed on the portable playback device or It can be displayed on a recording / reproducing apparatus.
JP 2005-286855 A

  However, the above technique has the following problems. That is, it is a problem that only the viewing history of individual users in the private playback system is reflected in the request screen corresponding to the viewing history. In other words, the viewing of other people such as what the general public (others outside their own private playback system) have about the content recorded on the recording / playback device in the “closed” private playback system The history is not reflected.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a content playback system that can use a request screen reflecting the viewing history of other users even in a private playback system that is “closed” for each user. I will provide a.

  Specifically, a content playback system including a plurality of private playback systems each including a recording / playback device and a portable playback device having a request function dedicated to content recorded in the recording / playback device, and including a management server for managing the request The management server includes a totaling unit that aggregates requests for the same content across the private playback system, and an interface screen for requesting the portable playback device based on the totaling result in the totaling unit. A content playback system including a request screen transmission unit that transmits a request screen.

  According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, even in the “closed” private playback system, it is possible to use a request screen in which the number of views (request count) of other people than the private user is reflected “open”. It becomes like this.

  In general, users' interest in content, especially entertainment content such as broadcast programs and music, is expressed by the number of views, etc., from the psychological tendency of seeking the correctness of the selection to match events. Easily influenced by others' evaluation. Therefore, by presenting the request screen that reflects the number of times other people (other than the private user) have viewed to the user of the private playback system, the user wants to view the content displayed on the request screen more than before. The appeal effect can also be expected.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In the first embodiment, claims 1, 2, 6, and 7 will be mainly described. In the second embodiment, claims 3 and 8 will be mainly described. In the third embodiment, claims 4 and 9 will be mainly described. In the fourth embodiment, claims 5 and 10 will be mainly described.

Example 1
<Overview>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a request screen displayed on a mobile phone which is an example of a mobile playback device in the content playback system of the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, a request screen for transmitting a playback request to the recording / playback apparatus α constituting the private playback system α is displayed on the display of the mobile phone α belonging to the private playback system α. The request screen includes “1. Monday drama: 10352 people”, “2. News 10: 8998 people”, “3. Quiz 3 choices: 2494 people”, and other private playback systems β and γ. ,... Are displayed in order of the number of viewers (number of requests) related to the content that has been tabulated.

  As described above, in the content reproduction system according to the present embodiment, the number of viewers (number of requests) of the content is “opened” across the private reproduction system. The request screen reflecting the counting result can be used in the “closed” private playback system. As a result, the user can know the interest level of others related to the content, and can execute a playback request for the content that he / she wants to see in his / her private playback system, for example, referring to the public interest level of the public. .

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the content reproduction system of the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the content reproduction system of this embodiment includes a plurality of “private reproduction systems” (0210α, 0210β, 0210γ), and a “management server” (0200) that manages requests in these private reproduction systems. It is a system including

  It should be noted that the functional blocks of the devices and servers that constitute the system described below can be realized as hardware, software, or both hardware and software. Specifically, if a computer is used, a CPU, a main memory, a bus, or a secondary storage device (a storage medium such as a hard disk, a nonvolatile memory, a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM, and a reading drive for these media) Etc.), hardware components such as printing devices, display devices, other external peripheral devices, I / O ports for the external peripheral devices, driver programs for controlling the hardware, other application programs, and information input Examples include user interfaces that are used.

  In addition, these hardware and software process the program developed on the main memory with the CPU, and process, store, and output data stored on the memory and hard disk, and data input via the interface. It is used for processing or controlling each hardware component. The present invention can be realized not only as an apparatus but also as a method. A part of the invention can be configured as software. Furthermore, a software product used for causing a computer to execute such software and a recording medium in which the product is fixed to a recording medium are naturally included in the technical scope of the present invention (the same applies throughout the present specification). Is).

  First, the “private playback system α” (0210α) will be described. Although not shown in the figure, the private playback systems β and γ have the same configuration as α described below.

  The “private playback system α” (0210α) includes a “recording / playback device” (0211α) and a “portable playback device” (0212α) having a function for requesting content recorded in the recording / playback device.

  The “recording / reproducing apparatus” (0211α) is a terminal apparatus having a function for recording and reproducing content data, and includes, for example, various recorders such as HDD / DVD that receive and record broadcast program contents. . As an example of the content data, the following description will be given by taking the moving image data of a broadcast program recorded on a recording medium or the moving image data of a broadcast program being received by a tuner as an example. Of course, the content data is limited to that. Alternatively, other moving image data, music data, text data such as books, Web page data, and the like may be used.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the recording / reproducing apparatus. As shown in this figure, the “recording / reproducing apparatus” (0311) includes a “content holding unit” (0311A), a “content list transmitting unit” (0311B), a “request receiving unit” (0311C), "Transmitter" (0311D).

  The “content holding unit” (0311A) has a function of holding content such as broadcast program data, other moving image data, music data, text data, and Web page data, for example, recording such as HDD, DVD, and nonvolatile memory. It can be realized by a medium. In the private playback system, the content held in the content holding unit is transmitted to the mobile phone or the like in response to a request from a mobile phone or the like that is a mobile playback device.

  The “content list transmission unit” (0311B) has a function of transmitting a content list to a management server (0300) described later. The “content list” is data in which the title name and identification information of the content held in the content holding unit is listed, and the management server refers to this content list for each private playback system. Can generate a request screen suitable for. The details of the request screen using this content list will be described in the section “Request Screen Transmitter” which is a configuration requirement of the management server.

  The “request receiving unit” (0311C) has a function of receiving a content playback request transmitted from a mobile playback device such as a mobile phone. The request received here includes information for identifying the portable playback device such as a telephone number if the portable playback device is a mobile phone, for example. Content will be transmitted. The request receiver may receive a request output from a mobile phone or the like as shown in the figure via a management server, or may be transmitted from a mobile phone or the like without going through the management server as will be described later. It may be configured to receive a request.

  The “content transmission unit” (0311D) has a function of transmitting content to a portable playback device dedicated to itself in response to reception of the request. Note that the determination as to whether the portable playback device is dedicated to itself may be performed, for example, by a matching process between a telephone number included in the received request and a telephone number acquired by a registration process as described below. . Further, regarding the content transmission executed by the content transmission unit, for example, the management server may be configured to manage the content transmitted and received by transmitting the content via the management server. Of course, content transmission may be executed without going through the management server because of traffic or the like.

  Then, the next “portable playback device” (0312, FIG. 2) transmits a request for playback of the content held in the content holding unit of the recording / playback device, and acquires the content transmitted from the content transmission unit. Among them, 0212α).

  As described above, the “portable playback device” (0212α) is a terminal device having a function dedicated to content recorded in the recording / playback device. In the present specification, the portable playback device will be described mainly using a mobile phone as an example. Of course, the portable playback device may be a PDA, a smartphone, a notebook computer, a network-compatible portable video player, or a unique portable information terminal designed exclusively for a recording / playback device.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the portable playback device. As shown in this figure, the “portable playback device” (0412) includes a “request screen reception unit” (0412A), a “request transmission unit” (0412B), a “content reception unit” (0412C), Playback display section "(0412D).

  The “request screen receiving unit” (0412A) has a function of receiving a request screen transmitted from the management server. The request screen will be described later in the section “Request Screen Sending Unit”, which is a configuration requirement of the management server. The feature is that the total number of requests in other private playback systems is tabulated. This is a reflected point. Then, the received request screen is displayed on a display or the like, and a content playback request is received by a mobile playback device such as a mobile phone by selecting a content name or the like on the request screen.

  The “request transmission unit” (0412B) has a function of transmitting a content reproduction request according to the selection on the request screen received by the request screen reception unit. The request transmission from the request transmission unit may be configured to be transmitted to the recording / reproducing apparatus via the management server as described later, or may be configured to be transmitted without going through the management server.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a request transmitted from the request transmission unit of the portable playback device to the recording / playback device. As shown in this figure, the request generated by selecting the program name on the above request screen includes “Title (program name)”, “Channel (broadcast channel)”, “Time (broadcast time)”, “Region ( (Broadcast area) "and the like are described for identifying the content that requires playback. In the private playback system, content identified by referring to such a request is transmitted to a mobile phone that is a dedicated mobile playback device, so that the mobile phone of the content recorded in the recording / playback device Playing on is being performed.

  Further, the content identification information such as “program name” included in the request may be ID information such as “A1234” separately attached to the content by the recording / playback apparatus for content management. The ID information may be attached by diverting ID information attached to the program in the electronic program guide, for example. In such a case, the same content is attached with the same ID information by using the same electronic program guide in all private playback systems belonging to the content playback system. Also good. By doing so, identification of the identity of the content described later can be executed by a simpler process.

  This request also describes “Tel No. (telephone number)” uniquely assigned to the portable playback device, or a MAC address and a manufacturing number. The recording / reproducing apparatus that receives the request can use this “Tel No.” or the like to identify the transmission destination of the content and transmit the content. Also, as described later, by using this “Tel No.” or the like, it is possible to ensure the privateness of the private playback system by determining whether the portable playback device is dedicated to itself.

  The “content receiving unit” (0412C) has a function of receiving the content transmitted from the recording / reproducing apparatus in response to the request. The “content reproduction display unit” (0412D) has a function of reproducing and displaying the content received by the content reception unit on, for example, a display. In this way, in this private playback system, the content of the recording / playback device can be played back and displayed on a mobile phone or the like in response to a request from a mobile phone or the like as a mobile playback device.

  Note that “dedicated” indicating the relationship between a recording / playback device and a portable playback device in a private playback system means that the recording / playback device is configured to accept only a content playback request from an authorized portable playback device. . As a method for dedicating a portable playback device to a dedicated recording / playback device, for example, there is a method of using a dedicated terminal set and prepared in advance according to the recording / playback device as the portable playback device. Or, a method of using a portable information terminal such as a general cellular phone, PDA, notebook computer, or network-compatible portable video player as a dedicated portable playback device by registering various identification information in the recording / playback device. It is done.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of information registration for dedicating a general portable information terminal to a recording / reproducing apparatus. If the portable playback device is a mobile phone as shown in this figure, the telephone number “080-1111-xxx” is registered in the communication unit of the recording / playback device by setting registration processing. Then, it is determined whether or not the telephone number included in the request matches the registered telephone number “080-1111-xxx” in the logical operation processing of the CPU. If they match, the recording / playback apparatus performs processing according to the request. If they do not match, the recording / playback apparatus does not support, so that a general mobile phone terminal can be dedicated to the recording / playback apparatus. , And so on. In addition to the mobile phone number, for example, identification information of a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card set for each device, an e-mail address, or the like may be used. Alternatively, if the portable playback device is other than a mobile phone terminal, a MAC address or a device-specific manufacturing number may be used. Although not shown, the MAC address “00-02-C8-5E-xxx-xxx” of the communication unit of the recording / reproducing apparatus may be registered in the mobile phone terminal.

  In this way, the private playback system α performs processing so as not to respond to a playback request from a mobile playback device such as a mobile phone of another private playback system β or γ by referring to a registered telephone number, for example. "Closed" private playback system.

  However, in the content reproduction system of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, when a request is transmitted from a portable reproduction device such as a mobile phone in the private reproduction system, the request is simultaneously sent to the management server having the following configuration. (A) or via a management server (b). As a result, even in such a “closed” private playback system, by using the management server, other private playback systems can also use the request screen reflecting the total number of views “opened”. It is characterized by being able to.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the “management server” included in the content reproduction system will be described next. The “management server” (0200) includes a “totaling unit” (0201) and a “request screen transmission unit” (0202). This management server has a function of managing requests in the private playback system. This “request management” is a cross-tabulation of requests in the “aggregation unit” described below and a “request screen transmission unit”. This refers to processing such as request acquisition, retention, and identification determination that is executed in connection with the transmission of the request screen.

  The “aggregation unit” (0201) has a function of aggregating requests for the same content across the private reproduction system. In addition, “cross-counting of requests” in this counting unit is executed by, for example, transmitting a request in the private playback system to the management server as described above or by transmitting the request via the management server. Can do.

  FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the total number of requests across a plurality of private playback systems in this totaling unit. As shown in this figure, “request: Monday drama” output from a mobile phone or the like in the private playback system β is transmitted to the recording / playback apparatus belonging to the same private playback system β via the management server. In addition, “Request: Monday Drama” and “Request: Month 8“ Birds and Caricatures ”” sent to the recording / playback device from a mobile phone or the like by the private playback system γ or the private playback system α are stored in the private playback system. The request is sent to the management server along with the request.

  In the management server, the identity of the content is identified from the titles such as “Monday Drama” and “Month 8“ Birds and Caricatures ””, and the number of requests is counted for each identical content. It is a state of doing.

  Note that the plurality of private playback systems included in the content playback system of the present embodiment can be independent systems in which content identification information and the like are not compatible unless the same electronic program guide is used, for example. High nature. That is, for example, there may be a case where the content title included in the request is different even if the content is the same due to a change in the data name. Therefore, with regard to “identification of content”, which is necessary for cross-tabulation of requests on the management server, for broadcast programs, such as “broadcast channel”, “broadcast time”, “broadcast region”, etc. included in the request Using the information, the identity of “Monday Drama” and “Month 8“ Birds and Caricatures ”” in FIG. In the broadcast program, even if the content is the same, the channel information and the broadcast time information may be different for each broadcast area. Therefore, it may be configured such that electronic program guide information is used to retrieve and acquire program information using “regional information” as a key, and identity is identified using the program information.

  In addition, when the content identification information included in the acquired request is an identification ID attached to the content for management by the recording / reproducing apparatus such as “A1234” as described above, the identification ID and By acquiring a content list in which content titles are associated with each other, it is preferable to perform the content identity identification process.

  In addition, by configuring the management server to acquire all or part of the requested content itself, the identity of the content is matched by matching processing of the content content itself, for example, audio frequency, frame data, text text, etc. You may comprise so that it may identify.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of identity identification by such content data matching processing. As shown in this figure, for example, in the case of audio frequency matching processing, it is determined by matching processing whether an audio frequency waveform within a predetermined range in FIG. When the matching rate is equal to or higher than the threshold, it is determined that the contents are the same. In the case of the frame matching process, it is determined by the matching process whether the frame image included in the content (a) in the figure is included in the content (b) in the figure. When the matching rate is equal to or higher than the threshold, it is determined that the contents are the same.

  In this way, in this embodiment, a request transmitted from the portable playback device such as a mobile phone to the recording / playback device in the “closed” private playback system is acquired by the management server. The same content can be identified using content identification information included in the request, other identification information, matching processing, and the like, and requests from a plurality of private playback systems can be tabulated across content. Then, from the number of requests counted “opened” in this way, a request screen reflecting the number of views counted by the next “request screen transmission unit” is transmitted to the “closed” private playback system. Can do.

  It should be noted that the requests aggregated here may include requests for the recording / playback apparatus itself to perform playback in addition to requests from the mobile phone or the like to the recording / playback apparatus. In addition to counting requests at the time when a request is made as described above, by counting at the time of obtaining information indicating whether or not content reproduction on a mobile phone or the like was actually executed by the request, You may comprise so that the actual content reproduction | regeneration number according to a request may be totaled.

  Further, the totaling process in this totaling unit may be a totaling result only within a predetermined period, or may be a cumulative total number up to the present. Moreover, if it is contents, such as a continuous drama, the total for every story may be sufficient and the total for a series accumulation may be sufficient. Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which information indicating the end of playback is acquired so that the requests to be counted are only requests for content that is currently not played back and that is currently being played back.

  Further, by registering user information such as gender, age, and residence in the management server and including the user ID in the request, the number of requests such as gender and age may be totaled. . In addition, it is also possible to obtain a content list for each private playback system in advance, and group the private playback systems of similar content lists so that only requests in private playback systems belonging to the same group are aggregated. good. As a result, it is possible to provide the user with a request screen that is tabulated mainly on the number of user requests that are likely to have similar interest in the content.

  The “request screen transmission unit” (0202) has a function of transmitting a request screen, which is an interface screen for a request, to a portable playback device such as a mobile phone based on the aggregation result in the aggregation unit (0201). The “request screen based on the total result” includes, for example, a request screen that displays content names, thumbnail images, and the like side by side in descending order of the number of request totals for each content. Alternatively, for users who are interested in content that is not generally known to the public, a request screen may be transmitted that is displayed side by side in ascending order of the total number of requests. In addition, a request screen that displays only contents whose total number is greater than or less than a threshold value may be used.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a request screen transmitted from the request screen transmission unit. As shown in the figure, this request screen is a request screen based on the retained content list of the recording / playback device α that is the request transmission destination of the mobile phone α that is the mobile playback device.

  That is, this is a request screen generated by the management server separately acquiring the content list held by the recording / playback apparatus α by using the identification ID of the mobile phone α and reflecting the result of counting by the counting unit. As described above, only the content that is stored in the recording / reproducing apparatus α and can be requested and reproduced immediately may be displayed on the request screen for the mobile phone α dedicated to the recording / reproducing apparatus α.

  Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 11, a request screen may be used in which content names are arranged in order of, for example, the total number of requests managed by the management server.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating another example of the request screen transmitted from the request screen transmission unit. As shown in this figure, this request screen is a request in which content names are arranged in order of the total number of requests of all or part of the contents managed by the management server, regardless of the contents held by the recording / reproducing apparatus α. It is a screen. In this way, the user can know the public interest level, such as the number of requests, for the content that is not recorded and cannot be played back by his / her private playback system.

  As shown in FIG. 11, in this request screen, contents that are not held by the recording / playback apparatus α are different from normal ones such as white characters and icon attachments by using the held content list of the recording / playback apparatus α. You may comprise so that it can display and can notify that it cannot reproduce immediately.

  For content that is not held by the recording / reproducing apparatus α, a “Get” button for transmitting a recording request for newly recording the recording / reproducing apparatus may be displayed. For example, when this button is clicked on the request screen, the electronic program guide or the like is referenced to search for the rebroadcast of the same content, and if so, a reserved recording command (recording request) is generated and transmitted to the recording / playback device. That's it. Or, if it is music content, use a link to a music data sales site on the network and guide the user to that site by pressing a button, or automatically make a purchase request for the music content on that site, etc. Condition.

  Further, it is preferable that the content request selected using this request screen is also transmitted to the management server and used for the totaling process in the totaling unit.

  As described above, according to the content reproduction system of this embodiment, in the private reproduction system “closed” for each user, it is possible to use a request screen reflecting the number of requests by content other than the private user.

  Note that the request screen generation / acquisition processing using the content list held by the recording / playback apparatus as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is preferably executed as follows, for example. First, whether or not content identification information such as a content title included in the retained content list acquired from the recording / playback device is included in the content identification information of the count list held by the management server itself is determined by a logical operation process of the CPU. , Those with matching identification information are extracted. In the generation and acquisition of the request screen in FIG. 10, only the content corresponding to the extracted content identification information is listed. On the other hand, in the generation and acquisition of the request screen of FIG. 11, only the extracted content can be requested from the content identification information of the count list held by the management server itself, and an icon that cannot be requested for other content is displayed. Attaching or inserting a link to a site where the content can be obtained.

  By the way, in order to perform cross-tabulation processing of requests and transmission processing of request screens according to the above-described configuration requirements, naturally, configuration requirements for acquiring requests from mobile phones that are portable playback devices and content lists are acquired. The configuration requirements for this are also necessary. In the following, constituent requirements that are secondary to the processing of the above-described “aggregation unit” and “request screen transmission unit” will be briefly described.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a more detailed functional block in the management server. As shown in this figure, the “management server” (1200) includes a “totaling unit” (1201) and a “request screen transmission unit” (1202). Since these “aggregation unit” and “request screen transmission unit” have already been described, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The management server further includes a “request acquisition unit” (1203), a “content list acquisition unit” (1204), and a “same content identification unit” (1205). A transfer unit "(1206) may be included.

  The “request acquisition unit” (1203) has a function of acquiring a request output from a portable playback device such as a mobile phone across the private playback system as described above. The requests acquired here are classified for each identical content by the next identical content identification unit, and are aggregated across the same content by the “aggregation unit”. In some cases, the acquired request may be transferred to the recording / reproducing apparatus.

  The “content list acquisition unit” has a function of acquiring a content list from the recording / playback apparatus. Then, by using the content list acquired here, the request screen as described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 can be generated and acquired.

  The “same content identification unit” (1205) has a function of identifying the requested content regarding the acquired request. As the content identification method in the same content identification unit, specifically, as described above, a method of identifying the content to be requested from the “content title” included in the request can be mentioned. Alternatively, a method of identifying a content by acquiring a part of the content by a content acquisition unit (not shown) and executing the above-described matching process by a logical operation process of the CPU may be used. Then, by identifying the content here, the totaling unit can classify the content for each same content, and the number of requests can be totaled across the private reproduction system.

  When the request acquired by the request acquisition unit is configured to be transmitted to the recording / playback apparatus via the management server, the request acquired by the “request transfer unit” (1206) may be transferred.

<Hardware configuration>
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the management server of the content reproduction system when the above functional components are realized as hardware. The operation of each hardware component in the request aggregation and request screen transmission processing in the management server will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in this figure, the management server included in the content reproduction system of this embodiment includes a “CPU (central processing unit)” (1301) for performing various arithmetic processes and a “main memory” (1302). ing. In addition, an “HDD” (1303) for holding the counting results and an “I / O (input / output)” (1304) for exchanging information with the private playback system are also provided. They are connected to each other via a data communication path such as a “system bus” to transmit / receive information and process information.

  Similarly, the portable playback device α such as a mobile phone included in the content playback system of the present embodiment also includes a “CPU” (1311) for performing various arithmetic processes and a “main memory” (1312). . Also, an “I / O” (1313) for transmitting / receiving information to / from the management server and the recording / playback device, a “frame memory” (1314) for expanding content for display, and a “display” (1315) for playing back and displaying content I have. They are connected to each other via a data communication path such as a “system bus” to transmit / receive information and process information.

  In addition, the “main memory” provides a work area that is also a work area of the program at the same time as reading a program for performing various processes for the CPU to execute. In addition, a plurality of addresses are allocated to each of the “main memory”, “HDD”, and “flash memory”, and programs executed by the “CPU” specify the addresses and access each other to access data. It is possible to perform processing.

  Here, a content reproduction request operation is executed by a “UI (user interface)” (not shown) in a portable reproduction apparatus such as a portable reproduction system α, β, or γ mobile phone. Then, in response to the operation, a request including content identification information, its own telephone number, and the like is stored in the “main memory”, and is output from “I / O” for transmission to the recording / playback apparatus via the management server. Alternatively, requests are separately transmitted to the recording / reproducing apparatus and the management server.

  Then, the management server receives the request at “I / O” and stores it at address 1 of “main memory”. Then, using the content identification information such as “title” included in the various requests acquired in this way, the content identification processing is executed by the logical operation processing of “CPU”. Then, for each identified content, the request count addition and tabulation processing are executed by the CPU count processing. The count result is stored as a count list at address 1 of “HDD”.

  On the other hand, when the “UI” of a portable playback device such as a mobile phone is operated and a request screen is transmitted from “I / O”, the management server uses the “count list” to “ Request screen "is generated and sent. First, using the identification information of the portable playback device α included in the transmission request on the request screen, the MAC address of the recording / playback device that is the request transmission destination is acquired. Then, an acquisition request for the content list held by the recording / reproducing apparatus is transmitted to the recording / reproducing apparatus. In response to the request, the stored content list acquired from the recording / reproducing apparatus by “I / O” is stored at address 2 of “main memory”.

  Then, information for the request screen as shown in FIG. 10 or FIG. 11 is generated from the count list that is the total result of the number of requests stored in “HDD” and the retained content list of the recording / reproducing apparatus, and the “main memory” Is stored at address 3 of FIG. Then, the information for the request screen is transmitted from “I / O” to “portable playback device α”.

  In addition, a request output from the portable playback device α such as a mobile phone is acquired by “I / O” using the request screen. Then, the request count addition and totalization processing of the content indicated by the request are executed by the calculation processing of “CPU”, and the count list is updated. When the request is configured to be transmitted to the recording / reproducing apparatus via the management server, the request is transmitted from “I / O” to the recording / reproducing apparatus of the transmission destination included in the request. .

  Then, in the recording / reproducing apparatus that has received the request, for example, whether or not the telephone number included in the request matches the telephone number indicating the registered device registered in itself as described above is “CPU”. This is determined by the logical operation process. If the result is a match, the content is transmitted to a portable playback device such as a mobile phone, assuming that the request is from a dedicated mobile playback device.

  In a portable playback device such as a mobile phone, the content is received by “I / O” and the received data is expanded in a “frame memory”. The expanded content data is displayed on the “display”.

<Process flow>
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow in the management server included in the content reproduction system of the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. As shown in this figure, first, a plurality of private playback systems including a recording / playback device and a mobile playback device such as a mobile phone having a request function dedicated to content recorded in the recording / playback device are provided, and the request is managed. In the content reproduction system including the management server, the management server aggregates requests for the same content across the private reproduction system (step S1401).

  Then, a request screen is acquired based on the counting result (step S1402), and the acquired request screen is transmitted to a portable playback device such as a mobile phone (step S1403).

  FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow until requests are aggregated across the content reproduction system according to the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. As shown in this figure, first, in the recording / playback apparatus, a dedicated portable playback apparatus registration process or the like is executed, for example, by acquiring or registering a telephone number (step S1501).

  After that, a content request selection operation using, for example, a request screen transmitted from the management server is executed in a mobile playback device such as a mobile phone, and a request including identification information of the selected content, the phone number of the mobile playback device itself, etc. Are transmitted to the recording / reproducing apparatus and the management server, respectively (step S1502).

  Then, in order to determine whether or not the recording / playback device is a request from a dedicated portable playback device, for example, whether the telephone number included in the received request matches the telephone number acquired and registered in step S1501. It is determined whether or not (step S1503). Here, if they match, the recording / reproducing apparatus transmits the content corresponding to the request to the portable reproducing apparatus such as a mobile phone (step S1504).

  Then, the portable playback device such as a mobile phone receives the content transmitted from the recording / playback device, and plays back and displays the content on a display, for example (step S1505).

  On the other hand, the management server executes the following processing in order to count the number of requests. First, when a request from a portable playback device such as a mobile phone is received, the identity of the content is identified by a determination process using the content identification information included in the request or a matching process of the content itself acquired separately. (Step S1506). Then, the number of requests is totaled for each identified identical content (step S1507), and the totaled result is updated and accumulated in a storage medium as a count list or the like (step S1508).

  Then, by executing such processing across a plurality of private playback systems, the content playback system of this embodiment aggregates requests from mobile playback devices such as mobile phones across the same content, That's it. Next, an example of request screen generation and acquisition processing based on the total number of requests as described above and request processing using the request screen will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a flow of request processing using a request screen in the content reproduction system of the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. Here, each process as described with reference to FIG. 15 is executed. As shown in this figure, first, the management server updates and accumulates the number of requests aggregated for the same content as a count list in a storage medium. (Step S1601).

  Thereafter, when a request for transmitting a request screen is performed using a UI or the like on a portable playback device such as a mobile phone, a request for transmitting a request screen is output from the portable playback device to the management server (step S1602).

  Upon receiving this request screen transmission request, the management server performs the following processing in order to identify the recording / playback device of the private playback system to which the portable playback device that has transmitted the transmission request belongs. For example, the telephone number or device ID of a portable playback device such as a mobile phone included in the transmission request is referred to, and the recording / playback device is specified from the “portable playback device-recording / playback device table” held by itself. Alternatively, if the transmission request itself includes the IP address of the recording / reproducing apparatus, it can be used. Then, a transmission request for the retained content list is output to the recording / reproducing apparatus thus identified (step S1603). Then, the recording / playback apparatus that has received the transmission request transmits its own content list to the management server (step S1604).

  The management server acquires the content list, and generates and acquires the request screen as shown in FIG. 10 or FIG. 11 as described above from the acquired content list and the accumulated result for the same content that has been updated and accumulated. (Step S1605). Then, the request screen is transmitted to a portable playback device such as a mobile phone that has output the transmission request (step S1606).

  Then, in a portable playback device such as a mobile phone, the received request screen is displayed on a display or the like, and the selection of the request content is accepted (step S1607). When the user selects any content name or the like on the request screen on the UI, the request for the selected content is transmitted to the recording / playback apparatus and the management server (step S1608).

  Thereafter, as described with reference to FIG. 15, content transmission / reproduction processing according to the request, request count aggregation for the same content, and the like are executed. In the above processing example, an example in which a request from a portable playback device such as a mobile phone is separately transmitted to the management server and the recording / playback device has been described. Of course, a request from the portable playback device is transmitted only to the management server. It may be configured to be transmitted to the recording / reproducing apparatus via the management server.

<Other functional configuration>
Further, the content reproduction system of the present embodiment may have the following configuration. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating another example of functional blocks in the content reproduction system of the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the content playback system includes a “private playback system” (1710) including a “recording playback device” (1711) and a “portable playback device” (1712), and a “management server” (1700). It is made up of. Then, the management server includes “communication means” (1700a), “content ID acquisition means” (1700b), “aggregation means” (1700c), “control means” (1700d), and “user management means” ( 1700e).

  Further, the recording / reproducing apparatus includes “communication means” (1711a), “storage means” (1711b), and “content extraction means” (1711c). Further, the portable playback device has “communication means” (1712a) and “display means” (1712b).

  Here, when a request is transmitted from the “communication means” of the portable playback device such as a mobile phone to the recording / playback device, the management server also acquires the request by its own “communication means”. Then, “content ID acquisition means” acquires a content ID such as “title” included in the request. Then, using the content ID, the “counting means” counts the number of requests for each content. For example, the total number of requests for each content is stored in a “storage unit” of the management server (not shown).

  Then, the user operates a portable playback device such as a mobile phone and connects to the management server from the “communication means”. The management server refers to the “portable playback device ID-recording / playback device MAC address table” stored in the “user management means” and connects the portable playback device and the recording / playback device of the same private playback system.

  Subsequently, the recording / reproducing apparatus outputs the content list stored in the “storage unit” from the “communication unit” to the management server. Then, in the management server, the acquired content list is rearranged in order of the number of accumulated requests stored in the “storage unit” (not shown), and a request screen as shown in FIG. 10 is generated by the process of the “control unit”. get. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 11, among all or a part of the contents for which the total number of requests is stored in the “storage means”, the contents in the contents list can be reproduced by referring to the acquired contents list, and the contents that do not exist A request screen to be displayed in a non-reproducible state is generated and acquired by the process of “control means”.

  The generated and acquired request screen is transmitted from the “communication means” of the management server to a portable playback device such as a mobile phone. Then, the request screen is displayed on the “display unit” of the portable playback device such as a mobile phone, and the user selects a desired content from the contents arranged in the order of requests.

  Then, the request is transmitted from the “communication means” of the portable playback device such as a mobile phone to the recording / playback device via the management server. In the recording / reproducing apparatus, the “content extraction unit” extracts the data of the content corresponding to the request and outputs it from the “communication unit”. Then, the content data is distributed to “communication means” of a portable reproduction device such as a mobile phone that has transmitted the request via the management server, for example, and the content is reproduced and displayed on the “display means”.

  At the same time, the “aggregation unit” of the management server counts up the number of requests for the content in response to the request, and updates the cumulative request number of the content stored in the “storage unit” (not shown). Condition.

<Brief description of effect>
As described above, according to the content playback system of the present embodiment, the number of viewers (number of requests) of content is counted “opened” across the private playback system, and the request screen reflecting the count result is “closed”. It can be used in a private playback system. As a result, the user can know the degree of interest of others related to the content. For example, referring to the level of interest in the general public, the user can execute a playback request for the content he / she wants to see in his / her private playback system. it can.

<< Example 2 >>
<Overview>
The present embodiment is a content reproduction system based on the first embodiment, wherein the recording / reproducing apparatus has an automatic content acquisition function such as automatic recording using a keyword or the like. When the recording / reproducing apparatus has a function such as automatic recording as described above, the following situation is expected to occur frequently. That is, unless the conditions such as keywords are narrowed down, a large amount of content not intended by the user is automatically recorded on the recording / playback apparatus. Then, the user has many programs that are automatically recorded on the recording / reproducing apparatus but do not have time to view. The program that cannot be viewed is sequentially erased from the recording medium.

  The present invention can be an effective means for selecting the content to be viewed by the user from the enormous number of contents automatically recorded as described above. This is because, as described above, in the present invention, a user can select a content with reference to another user's opinion (request count) and execute a reproduction request.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the recording / playback apparatus of the content playback system according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the content reproduction system includes a “management server” (1800) and a “private reproduction system” (1810). The private playback system includes a “recording / playback apparatus” (1811) and a “portable playback apparatus” (1812). The “management server” and “portable playback device” are the same as those already described in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  The characteristic point of this embodiment is that the recording / reproducing apparatus has a “reception unit” (1811A) and a “specific recording unit” (1811B).

  The “accepting unit” (1811A) has a function of accepting a search condition including a content attribute from a user. The “content attribute” refers to information indicating a content attribute, and includes, for example, a content name, other keywords, content content, content source address, or content data format. Also, if the content is a broadcast program, information such as the genre of the program such as sports, dramas, movies, staff names such as performers / directors / producers, production / broadcaster names, broadcast time zones, and the like can be given. In addition, in the case of other contents, for example, information such as a content creator is included.

  The “accepting unit” accepts these content attributes input by operating a GUI (graphical user interface) or an input device. And the recording / reproducing apparatus of a present Example can search an applicable program using an electronic program guide etc. for those content attributes as a keyword similarly to the conventional automatic video recording apparatus, for example.

  The “specific recording unit” (1811B) has a function of specifying and recording content that matches the received search condition from a content table such as an electronic program guide. The “content table” refers to a table in which a plurality of contents can be searched, and examples thereof include an electronic program guide, a music list on a music sales site, an RSS table list, and the like.

  Then, by searching the content table using the content attribute received by the reception unit as a search key, the content desired by the user can be specified and automatic recording can be executed.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of content recorded by the process of the specific recording unit. As shown in this figure, for example, the reception unit accepts search conditions (keywords) such as “movie” and “baseball” as content attributes, and the specific recording unit specifies a program including the keyword by searching the electronic program guide. Is done. Then, by the automatic recording process based on the specific result, the recording medium in the recording / reproducing apparatus may include, for example, the movie “Spyman”, “Sinking”, “The Boxing 4” and the baseball broadcast “September 7 Q vs. K “September 8 K vs. Y”, “September 8 P vs. Q”, etc. are recorded and accumulated.

  When automatic recording is performed according to the content attributes received in this way, the total number of recorded contents becomes enormous. Therefore, in the content playback system of the present embodiment, in order to select the request target from such a large number of contents, a request screen that allows other users' opinions to be referred to is displayed as described in the above embodiment. Is to do.

  In addition, as a configuration for executing the specific recording in the recording / reproducing apparatus, it is preferable to have a configuration as shown in FIG. 20 in more detail.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of further detailed functional blocks in the recording / playback apparatus of the content playback system according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the “recording / reproducing apparatus” (2011) of this embodiment includes a “reception unit” (2011A), a “specific recording unit” (2011B), and an “electronic program guide acquisition unit” (2011C). And “specific part” (2011D). The “accepting part” and the “specific recording part” have already been described above, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  The “electronic program guide acquisition unit” (2011C) has a function of acquiring an electronic program guide. For example, the electronic program guide acquisition unit is configured to acquire an electronic program guide from a Web server on the Internet via a network, or configured to acquire an electronic program guide included in a digital broadcast wave from a tuner. This can be achieved. Then, using the electronic program guide acquired in this way, a search process using, for example, a keyword indicating the content attribute received by the receiving unit as a search key is executed.

  The “specifying unit” (2011D) has a function of specifying content that matches the received search condition from a content table such as an electronic program guide. In the data of the electronic program guide, information such as program titles, performers, genres, contents (summary), etc. are described in addition to program broadcast time zones and broadcast channel information. Therefore, for example, a search condition such as “movie” can be used as a keyword to search the electronic program guide by a logical operation process of “CPU”, and a program that matches the search condition can be specified. The specifying unit may have a learning type search specifying function, for example. According to this learning function, for example, a program in which “movie” is included in the program title is not specified as a search result, but only a program in the genre “movie” is specified in accordance with the user's unviewing erasure operation. You may comprise so that it may perform.

  Then, the reserved recording process is executed using the broadcast time zone and the broadcast channel information of the program specified in this way, and the specific program is automatically recorded by the specific recording unit.

<Hardware configuration>
FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the recording / playback apparatus of the content playback system when the above functional components are realized as hardware. The description of the configuration of the management server and the portable playback device has been described in the above embodiment, and will not be repeated. The operation of each hardware component in the automatic recording process of a specific program in the recording / reproducing apparatus will be described using this figure.

  As shown in this figure, the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment includes a “CPU” (2101) for performing various arithmetic processes and a “main memory” (2102). Search conditions such as “HDD” (2103) for recording and holding contents, “I / O” (2104) for transmitting / receiving information to / from portable playback devices such as mobile phones and management servers, keywords, etc. A “UI (user interface)” (2105) that accepts input, a broadcast program that is an example of content, and a “tuner” (2106) that receives an electronic program guide are also provided. They are connected to each other via a data communication path such as a “system bus” to transmit / receive information and process information.

  In addition, the “main memory” provides a work area that is also a work area of the program at the same time as reading a program for performing various processes for the CPU to execute. In addition, a plurality of addresses are assigned to each of the “main memory” and “HDD”, and programs executed by the “CPU” exchange data with each other by specifying and accessing the addresses. Processing can be performed.

  Here, the user inputs a search condition such as “movie” indicating the content attribute by using an input device such as a remote controller. Then, the input search condition is accepted by “UI”, and is stored in address 1 of “main memory” as a search keyword. Also, the electronic program guide data received at the “tuner” and recorded and held at address 1 of “HDD” is read and stored at address 2 of “main memory”.

  Then, a program including a phrase that matches the keyword is specified from program data included in the electronic program guide by a logical operation process of “CPU”. Then, using the broadcast time zone and broadcast channel information included in the specified program data, a reserved recording command for the program is generated and stored in address 3 of the “main memory”. After that, it is determined by the built-in clock that the time indicated by the reservation recording command has come, and the process of matching the tuner with the reception of the broadcast channel indicated by the reservation recording command, and the “HDD” of the broadcast program received thereby The recording process is executed.

  With the hardware configuration described above, it is possible to automatically record a specific program that matches the search condition accepted by the “UI”.

<Process flow>
FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing in the recording / playback apparatus of the content playback system of the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. As shown in this figure, first, a plurality of private playback systems including a recording / playback device and a mobile playback device such as a mobile phone having a request function dedicated to content recorded in the recording / playback device are provided, and the request is managed. In the content reproduction system including the management server, the recording / reproduction apparatus receives an input of the search condition including the content attribute from the user (step S2201). Also, a content table such as an electronic program guide is acquired (step S2202). Then, the content that matches the accepted search condition is specified from a content table such as an electronic program guide (step S2203), and the specified content is recorded on a recording medium such as an HDD (step S2204).

  Further, regarding the recording / reproducing apparatus for automatically recording the content that matches the search condition as described above, a request screen for selecting the content automatically recorded by the processing flow as described with reference to FIGS. It is presented on a portable playback device such as a telephone.

<Brief description of effect>
As described above, in the private reproduction system including the recording / reproducing apparatus that holds an enormous number of contents by automatic recording by the content reproducing system of the present embodiment, a request that can refer to opinions (number of requests) of other users. A screen can be provided.

Example 3
<Overview>
The present embodiment is a content reproduction system having the following characteristics in transmission of request screen data from a management server to a portable reproduction device such as a mobile phone based on the first and second embodiments. In other words, if the request screen does not fit on a display such as a mobile phone due to the large number of contents to be selected, the request screen data is divided into a size that fits into one screen of the display display, and the divided request screens are sent sequentially. The content playback system is configured to do this.

  In this way, in a private playback system with many portable playback devices with a small display size such as a mobile phone, communication traffic can be distributed according to the display screen size, and efficient data transmission and reception can be performed. become able to.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the management server of the content reproduction system according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the content reproduction system includes a “management server” (2300) and a plurality of “private reproduction systems” α, β, γ. The “management server” (2300) has, based on the first embodiment, a “counting unit” (2301) and a “request screen transmission unit” (2302). The details of the “aggregation unit” and “request screen transmission unit” of the management server and the private playback system have already been described in the above-described embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  The characteristic point of this embodiment is that the management server further includes a “request screen generation unit” (2303) and a “request screen transmission control unit” (2304).

  The “request screen generation unit” (2303) has a function of counting the number of requests for the same content and generating a request screen in which the contents can be selected in descending order based on the counting result. Note that the request screen generation processing has been described in the above-described embodiment using, for example, FIG. 10 and FIG.

  In this embodiment, the following processing is performed on the request screen generated by the request screen generation unit according to the display size of the portable playback device of the transmission destination at the next request screen transmission control unit. It is characterized by.

  The “request screen transmission control unit” (2304) requests the request screen from the portable playback device when the request screen that has generated a range that can be displayed in one screen is exceeded in the portable playback device that is the transmission destination of the request screen. Each request screen has a function of dividing the request screen by one screen in order from the largest number of requests and transmitting the request screen to the request screen transmission unit.

  FIG. 24 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a control process for dividing a request screen in the request screen transmission control unit. As shown in this figure, first, a request screen is generated by a request screen generation unit. Subsequently, for example, information such as “320 pixels × 240 pixels” is acquired from the portable playback device such as the display screen size and the displayable size of the display. And the process which divides | segments the request screen produced | generated according to the size information into 3 screens, for example is performed. In addition, when the screen data is divided, a next screen transmission request button is displayed so that the next request screen is transmitted in response to the pressing operation of the button in the portable playback device. You may do it.

  The request screen divided in this way is transmitted from the “request screen transmission unit” (2302) one screen at a time in the order of the number of requests in response to the request screen request from the portable playback device. It is.

  Note that the request screen dividing process in the request screen transmission control unit may not be divided in the order of the number of requests. As described above, for example, the request screens that are arranged and divided in the order according to the rule specified by the user, such as the order in which the number of requests is small, may be transmitted.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of further detailed functional blocks in the management server of the content reproduction system of the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the “management server” (2500) of the present embodiment includes the “totaling unit” (2501), the “request screen transmission unit” (2502), and the “request screen generation unit” (2503). In addition to “request screen transmission control unit” (2504), “screen size information acquisition unit” (2505), “screen division unit” (2506), and “request screen request acquisition unit” (2507) And may have. Since the “aggregation unit”, “request screen transmission unit”, “request screen generation unit”, and “request screen transmission control unit” have already been described above, description thereof will be omitted.

  The “screen size information acquisition unit” (2505) has a function of acquiring screen size information of a portable playback device such as a mobile phone. “Screen size information” refers to information representing the screen size such as the resolution of the display screen and the number of inches.

  The acquisition of the screen size information may be included in a request for transmitting a request screen that is initially transmitted from the portable playback device to the management server, and acquired every time there is a request for transmitting the request screen. Alternatively, the screen size information associated with the identification information of the portable playback device is registered in advance in the management server, so that the screen size information is acquired from the registration information based on the identification information included in the request screen transmission request. You may comprise as follows.

  The “screen dividing unit” (2506) has a function of dividing the request screen generated by the request screen generation unit (2503). As a request screen splitting method by the screen splitting means, for example, the following processing methods can be cited. For example, a request screen having a screen configuration in which contents as shown in FIG. 24 are arranged vertically from the top to the bottom is generated by the processing of the request screen generation unit. The display size of the request screen before resizing is vertically long and “horizontal 640 × vertical 1400”.

  Here, as a result of the comparison processing by the logical operation of the CPU, the request screen of “640 × 1400” is resized on the display of resolution “horizontal 320 × vertical 240” indicated by the screen size information of the portable playback device. It is determined that the image cannot be displayed on one screen. Therefore, the screen dividing means performs resizing processing so that the horizontal size becomes “320 pixels” while maintaining the aspect ratio of the request screen. Then, the resized request screen is divided by a vertical size indicated by the screen size information, for example, “240 pixels”, and the request screen is divided into three so as to fit on one screen of a “320 × 240” portable playback device. That's it.

  The “request screen request acquisition unit” (2507) has a function of acquiring a request for transmitting a request screen from the portable playback device. The request screen transmission request acquired here is a request screen transmission request transmitted by operating the “UI” of a portable playback device such as a mobile phone as described above. Further, the screen transmission request operation on the portable playback device may be realized by providing a next page transmission request button on the divided request screen, for example.

  Each time the request screen request acquisition unit acquires a request for transmitting a request screen from the portable playback device, the divided request screens are sequentially transmitted to the portable playback device. Further, when content request processing using the division request screen is executed in the portable playback device, information to that effect may be acquired. As a result, transmission of the subsequent division request screen can be stopped.

<Hardware configuration>
FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration in the management server of the content reproduction system when the above functional components are realized as hardware. The operation of each hardware component in the request screen split transmission process in the management server will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in this figure, the management server included in the content reproduction system of the present embodiment is similar to the first embodiment in that “CPU” (2601), “main memory” (2602), and “HDD” (2603). And “I / O” (2604). Then, the processing described in the first embodiment is executed, and the record holding and updating processing of the count list in “HDD” is executed.

  When the “UI” of a portable playback device such as a mobile phone is operated and a request for transmission of a request screen is transmitted from “I / O” to the management server, as described in the first embodiment, the management server also Generation and transmission processing of “request screen” using “count list” is performed. At this time, the present embodiment is characterized in that the request screen is divided as follows.

  First, for example, a request screen generated through the processing described in the first embodiment is stored at address 1 of “main memory”. Further, the screen size information “320 × 240” of the display of the portable playback device included in the screen transmission request from the portable playback device is stored at address 2 of “main memory”. Then, it is determined whether or not the request screen can be resized to fit on the display 1 screen of the portable playback device by the logical operation processing of “CPU”. As a result of the determination, if the field determination result is output from the “CPU” if it does not fit on one screen, the determination of the division size of the request screen and the division processing are also executed by the four arithmetic operation processing of the “CPU”. . The divided request screens A, B, and C are stored at addresses 3, 4, and 5 of the “main memory”, respectively. Then, the management server first transmits the division request screen A to the portable playback device that has transmitted the screen transmission request.

  When the portable playback device receives this division request screen A, it displays the division request screen A on the display. In response to a content selection operation displayed on the division request screen A, a content playback request is transmitted to the recording / playback device, and content playback is performed on a mobile playback device such as a mobile phone. In addition, the management server acquires information indicating that the content reproduction request is transmitted and the content reproduction is performed on the portable reproduction device. Then, the management server stops the transmission of the split request screen from the next page.

  When there is no content that the user desires to reproduce on the division request screen A, the user presses a “next page transmission button” provided on the division request screen A, for example. Then, a transmission request for the next screen is transmitted to the management server and acquired by “I / O”. And then. Then, the transmission request is stored at the address 6 of the “main memory”, and the division request screen B as the next page is returned from the “I / O” to the portable playback device accordingly. In this way, the divided request screens are sequentially transmitted to a portable playback device such as a mobile phone one screen at a time.

<Process flow>
FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow in the management server included in the content reproduction system of the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. As shown in this figure, first, a plurality of private playback systems including a recording / playback device and a mobile playback device such as a mobile phone having a request function dedicated to content recorded in the recording / playback device are provided, and the request is managed. In the content reproduction system including the management server, the management server aggregates requests for the same content across the private reproduction system (step S2701).

  Then, a request screen is generated and acquired based on the counting result (step S2702), and it is determined whether the request screen exceeds the range that can be displayed on one screen in the portable playback device that is the transmission destination (step S2703). If a determination result indicating that the request is exceeded is output, the request screen is divided and transmitted by one screen in descending order of the number of requests for each request screen request from the portable playback device (step S2704).

  FIG. 28 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a flow of processing for dividing and transmitting a request screen in the content reproduction system of the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. In this figure, only the steps in the management server and portable playback device related to the split processing of the request screen are described, and the steps related to the above-described crossing request counting processing and the recording / playback device related to the generation of the request screen before splitting The description of processing and the like is omitted.

  As shown in this figure, first, the management server updates and accumulates the number of requests aggregated for the same content as a count list in a storage medium (step S2801).

  Thereafter, when a request for transmitting a request screen is performed using a UI or the like on a portable playback device such as a mobile phone, a request for transmitting a request screen is output from the portable playback device to the management server (step S2802). Further, the present embodiment is characterized in that the transmission request includes screen size information of the display of the portable playback device itself.

  In the management server, upon receiving a transmission request for the request screen including this screen size information, the recording / playback device is identified by the processing described in the first embodiment, and a request screen corresponding to the content list of the recording / playback device is displayed. Generated and acquired based on the total result (step S2803).

  Then, a process for determining whether or not the generated request screen fits on one screen of the portable playback device indicated by the screen size information is executed (step S2804). When a determination result indicating that the request screen does not fit on one screen of the portable playback device is output, the split processing is performed so that the generated and acquired request screen fits on one screen of the portable playback device based on the screen size information. Is executed (step S2805). Then, the first page of the divided request screen is transmitted to a portable playback device such as a cellular phone that has output the transmission request (step S2806).

  Then, in a portable playback device such as a mobile phone, the received division request screen is displayed on a display or the like, and the request content selection is accepted (step S2807). When the user selects any content name or the like on the division request screen on the UI, a request for the selected content is transmitted to the recording / playback device and the management server, respectively. Playback is executed.

  When a button operation or the like for a next page transmission request is accepted by the portable playback device (step S2808), the management server receives the next page transmission request (step S2809) and displays a split request screen for the portable playback device. Next page transmission processing is executed (step S2810).

<Brief description of effect>
As described above, the content playback system according to the present embodiment can distribute communication traffic according to the display screen size in a private playback system in which there are many portable playback devices having a small display size of a display such as a mobile phone. Data can be transmitted and received.

Example 4
<Overview>
The present embodiment is a content reproduction system having the following characteristics with respect to a request screen transmitted from a management server to a portable reproduction device such as a mobile phone, based on any one of the first to third embodiments. That is, the request screen to be transmitted is, for example, “request screen reflecting the number of requests in other private playback systems at prime time (19:00 to 23:00)”, “same request screen from September 10 to 17” In other words, it is a request screen that reflects the result of counting for each predetermined time zone.

  In this way, the user can know, for example, content that is frequently requested in a predetermined time zone.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the management server and the portable playback device of the content playback system according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the content reproduction system is based on the first embodiment, and includes a “management server” (2900) and a “private reproduction system α” (2910). The private playback system has a “recording / playback apparatus” (2911) and a “portable playback apparatus” (2912). The management server has a “totaling unit” (2901) and a “request screen transmission unit” (2902). Since these “management server” and its constituent elements “aggregation unit”, “request screen transmission unit”, “recording / reproducing apparatus”, and “portable reproducing apparatus” have already been described in the above embodiment, their description Is omitted. Of course, on the basis of the second and third embodiments, other constituent elements described above may be included.

  The characteristic point of this embodiment is that the management server further has a “time zone control unit” (2903). The second feature point is that the portable playback device has a “time zone request screen request unit” (2912A).

  First, it demonstrates from the feature point of a management server. The “time zone control unit” (2903) transmits a request screen for each request time zone in response to a request for the time zone request screen from the portable playback device, and a function for counting the number of requests for the same content for each request time zone. And a function of controlling the request screen transmission unit. Specifically, the time zone control unit preferably includes, for example, a “time zone request screen request acquisition unit”, a “time zone tabulation control unit”, and a “time zone request screen transmission control unit”.

  The “time zone request screen request acquisition means” has a function of acquiring a time zone request screen request from a portable playback device to be described later. “Time zone request screen request” means, for example, “request screen in which the number of requests during the prime time is aggregated”, “same request screen in September 10 to 17”, and the number of requests for the content. A request screen transmission request made by specifying a band.

  The “time zone tabulation control means” controls the tabulation unit so that only requests in the time zone indicated by the time zone request screen request are tabulated in the cross-sectional request tabulation of a plurality of private reproduction systems in the tabulation unit (2901). It has the function to do. Specifically, the number of requests for each request time zone is aggregated using request transmission time information included in the request.

  The “time zone request screen transmission control means” generates and acquires a time zone request screen based on the number of requests aggregated by the control of the time zone aggregation control means, and requests the time zone request from the request screen transmission unit (2902). It has a function to control to transmit the screen.

  Next, feature points of the portable playback device will be described. The “time zone request screen request unit” (2912A) is configured to transmit a request screen request based on the total result for each time zone. Specifically, using a user interface or the like, for example, information indicating a time zone such as “prime time (19:00 to 23:00)” or “September 10 to September 17” is input to the user. Then, a request screen request including the input information as a specified time zone is generated and transmitted to the management server and the recording / reproducing apparatus.

  FIG. 30 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of this time zone request screen transmission process. As shown in this figure, first, in the request for totalization from the private playback system, the transmission time of the request is set to “October 12 20:31” or “October 15 22:01”. Configure to include.

  When the management server receives a time zone request screen request such as “prime time request screen” from the portable playback device, it corresponds to the designated time zone “19:00 to 23:00” using the transmission time included in the request. The content is extracted by the arithmetic processing of the CPU, and the number of requests is totaled. Then, a request screen reflecting the number of requests in the time zone specified by the time zone request screen request is transmitted to the portable playback device.

<Hardware configuration>
FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the management server of the content reproduction system when the above functional components are realized as hardware. The operation of each hardware component in the time zone request screen generation process in the management server will be described using this figure.

  As shown in this figure, the management server included in the content reproduction system of the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, is “CPU” (3101), “main memory” (3102), and “HDD” (3103). And “I / O” (3104). Then, through the processing described in the first embodiment, a request across the private reproduction system is acquired, and recorded and held at addresses 1, 2,... Of “HDD”. The request acquired at this time includes the transmission time information of the request.

  Thereafter, in response to a user operation, a time zone request screen request specifying a time zone, such as “a request screen in which the number of requests from 19:00 to 23:00 is tabulated”, is transmitted from the portable playback device.

  The time zone request screen request is received by “I / O” of the management server and stored in address 1 of “main memory”. Then, the “specified time zone” included in the request is compared with the “request transmission time” included in the request stored in the “HDD” by the logical operation processing of the “CPU”, and is included in the specified time zone. Only requests sent in time are extracted. The total number of requests for each content based on the extraction result is executed by the process described in the first embodiment, and the total result is stored at address 2 of “main memory”. And the time slot | zone request screen is produced | generated using the total result, and it is transmitted with respect to a portable reproduction apparatus from "I / O".

<Process flow>
FIG. 32 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow in the management server included in the content reproduction system of the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. As shown in this figure, first, a plurality of private playback systems including a recording / playback device and a mobile playback device such as a mobile phone having a request function dedicated to content recorded in the recording / playback device are provided, and the request is managed. In the content reproduction system including the management server, the management server acquires a request including the transmission time information across the private reproduction system (step S3201).

  Thereafter, when the time zone request screen request transmitted from the portable playback device is acquired (step S3202), the same content for each time zone indicated by the time zone request screen request based on the transmission time information included in the acquired request The number of requests for is totaled (step S3203). Then, a time zone request screen is generated and acquired based on the counting result (step S3204), and the time zone request screen is transmitted to the portable playback device (step S3205).

  FIG. 33 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a flow of processing for transmitting a time zone request screen in the content reproduction system of the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. In this figure, only the steps in the management server and portable playback device related to the transmission processing of the time zone request screen are described, and the description of the above-mentioned cross-sectional request counting processing and recording / playback device processing is omitted. ing.

  As shown in this figure, the management server first traverses the private playback system, acquires a request including its own transmission time information, and records it for storage in a recording medium (step S3301).

  Thereafter, when a request for transmitting a request screen specifying a time zone using a UI or the like is performed on a portable playback device such as a mobile phone, a time zone request screen request is output from the portable playback device to the management server. (Step S3302). Upon receiving this time zone request screen request, the management server counts the number of requests for the same content for each time zone indicated by the time zone request screen request based on the transmission time information included in the acquired request (step S3303). ). Although not shown, a content list of the recording / reproducing apparatus is acquired by the process described in the first embodiment. Then, a time zone request screen is generated and acquired based on the counting result and the content list (step S3304). Then, the generated time zone request screen is transmitted to a portable playback device such as a mobile phone that has output the transmission request (step S3305).

  Then, the portable playback device such as a mobile phone displays the received time zone request screen on a display or the like, and accepts selection of the requested content (step S3306). When the user selects one of the content names on the request screen on the UI, the request for the selected content is transmitted to the recording / playback device and the management server, respectively, and the content is played back on the portable playback device. Is executed.

<Brief description of effect>
As described above, the content reproduction system according to the present embodiment allows the user to know content that is requested frequently in a predetermined time zone.

The figure showing an example of the request screen of the portable reproducing | regenerating apparatus in the content reproduction | regeneration system of Example 1. FIG. The figure showing an example of the functional block in the content reproduction system of Example 1. The figure showing an example of the functional block in the recording / reproducing apparatus of the content reproduction system of Example 1 The figure showing an example of the functional block in the portable reproducing | regenerating apparatus of the content reproduction | regeneration system of Example 1. FIG. Schematic showing an example of a request transmitted from a portable playback device to a recording / playback device in the private playback system of the content playback system of Embodiment 1 FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of a private reproduction system included in the content reproduction system according to the first embodiment. The conceptual diagram for demonstrating the example of a request transmission to the management server in the content reproduction system of a present Example. Conceptual diagram illustrating an example of cross-sectional request aggregation in a plurality of private reproduction systems in the aggregation unit of the management server included in the content reproduction system of the first embodiment FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of content identity identification by content data matching processing in a totaling unit of a management server included in the content reproduction system according to the first embodiment. The figure showing an example of the request screen transmitted from the request screen transmission part of the management server contained in the content reproduction system of Example 1 The figure showing another example of the request screen transmitted from the request screen transmission part of the management server contained in the content reproduction system of Example 1. The figure showing an example of the further detailed functional block in the management server of the content reproduction system of Example 1. FIG. Schematic showing an example of the hardware constitutions in the management server contained in the content reproduction system of Example 1 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow in a management server included in the content reproduction system according to the first embodiment. In the content reproduction system of Example 1, the sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a process until a request is totaled across FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a flow of request processing using a request screen in the content reproduction system according to the first embodiment. The figure showing another example of the functional block in the content reproduction system of Example 1 The figure showing an example of the functional block in the content reproduction system of Example 2. The figure showing an example of the content recorded by the process in the specific recording part of the recording / reproducing apparatus of Example 2 The figure showing an example of a further detailed functional block in the recording / reproducing apparatus of the content reproduction system of Example 2. Schematic showing an example of the hardware constitutions in the recording / reproducing apparatus of the content reproduction system of Example 2. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow in a recording / playback apparatus of the content playback system according to the second embodiment. The figure showing an example of the functional block in the management server of the content reproduction system of Example 3. The conceptual diagram showing an example of the control processing which divides | segments the request screen in the request screen transmission control part of the management server of Example 2. The figure showing an example of the further detailed functional block in the management server of the content reproduction system of Example 3. Schematic showing an example of the hardware constitutions in the management server of the content reproduction system of Example 3. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow in the management server of the content reproduction system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a flow of processing for dividing and transmitting a request screen in the content reproduction system according to the third embodiment. The figure showing an example of the functional block in the content reproduction system of Example 4 The conceptual diagram showing an example of the time zone request screen transmission process in the management server of Example 4 Schematic showing an example of the hardware constitutions in the management server of the content reproduction system of Example 4. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow in the management server of the content reproduction system according to the fourth embodiment. In the content reproduction system of Example 4, the sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a process which transmits a time slot | zone request screen

Explanation of symbols

0200 Management server 0201 Totaling unit 0202 Request screen sending unit 0210α Private playback system α
0211α Recording / playback device 0212α Portable playback device 0210β Private playback system β
0210γ Private playback system γ

Claims (10)

A content playback system including a plurality of private playback systems including a recording / playback device and a portable playback device having a playback request function dedicated to content recorded in the recording / playback device, and including a management server for managing the playback request. ,
The management server
A totaling unit that aggregates playback requests for the same content across private playback systems;
An interface screen for based rather playback request to the aggregation result of the counting unit, generates a request screen including a content name of the content represented by the aggregated reproduced request, transmitted to the portable playback device A request screen transmitter to
And it has a,
If it is determined that the content corresponding to the content name included in the request screen does not exist in the private playback system that is the transmission destination of the request screen, a link to a site where the content corresponding to the content name can be obtained is displayed on the request screen A content reproduction system , wherein the content reproduction system is inserted into the content reproduction system. The content playback system according to claim 1, wherein the portable playback device is a mobile phone terminal device. The recording / reproducing apparatus comprises:
A reception unit for receiving a search condition including a content attribute from a user;
A specific recording unit that identifies and records content that matches the received search condition from a content table such as an electronic program guide;
The content reproduction system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: The management server
A request screen generating unit for generating a request screen arranged to be selectable content sequentially reproducing number of requests is often based on the reproduction number of requests were aggregated total result for the same content,
Request screen destination at which the portable reproduction apparatus 1 screen in the order number playback request every request screen request from the portable reproduction apparatus is large when the request screen generated a range that can exceed displayed on one screen at the A request screen transmission control unit that divides the request screen by minutes and sends it to the request screen transmission unit,
The content reproduction system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: The management server
The number of regeneration requests for the same content to aggregate for each request time zone, the portable playback device time zone control for controlling the request screen transmission unit to transmit a request screen for each request time zone according to the time zone request screen request from Part
The portable playback device includes:
The content reproduction system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a time zone request screen request unit for transmitting a request screen request based on a total result for each time zone. In a content playback system including a plurality of private playback systems including a recording / playback device and a portable playback device having a playback request function dedicated to the content recorded in the recording / playback device, and including a management server for managing the playback request,
In the management server,
Aggregation step that aggregates playback requests for the same content across private playback systems,
An interface screen for based rather playback request to the aggregation results in aggregation step, generates a request screen including a content name of the content represented by the aggregated reproduced request, transmitted to the portable playback device A request screen sending step,
Causes execute a computer,
If it is determined that the content corresponding to the content name included in the request screen does not exist in the private playback system that is the transmission destination of the request screen, a link to a site where the content corresponding to the content name can be obtained is displayed on the request screen The content reproduction method characterized by inserting in . The content playback method according to claim 6, wherein the portable playback device is a mobile phone terminal device. In the recording / reproducing apparatus,
A reception step for receiving a search condition including a content attribute from a user;
A specific recording step of identifying and recording content that matches the accepted search condition from a content table such as an electronic program guide;
The content reproduction method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the computer is executed. In the management server,
A request screen generating step of generating a request screen arranged to be selectable content sequentially reproducing number of requests is often based on the aggregated total result number playback request for the same content,
Request screen destination at which the portable reproduction apparatus 1 screen in the order number playback request every request screen request from the portable reproduction apparatus is large when the request screen generated a range that can exceed displayed on one screen at the Request screen transmission control step for dividing the request screen by minutes and sending it at the request screen transmission step,
The content reproduction method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, which causes a computer to execute. In the management server,
The number of regeneration requests for the same content to aggregate for each request time zone, the portable playback device time zone control for controlling the request screen transmission step to transmit the request screen for each request time zone according to the time zone request screen request from Let the calculator execute the steps,
In the portable playback device,
The content reproduction method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, which causes a computer to execute a time zone request screen request step for transmitting a request screen request based on a total result for each time zone.

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