JP5133005B2 - Content information providing apparatus, content information providing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a content information providing apparatus, a content information providing method , and a program for displaying content information stored in a plurality of devices connected on a network.

  Conventionally, contents such as TV programs are recorded in a plurality of devices connected on a network, and a lot of contents recorded by a viewer on a plurality of devices using an information processing device such as a personal computer. It has been widely practiced to select and view desired content from the list. At this time, in general, a large amount of content recorded in a plurality of devices is provided to the viewer in the form of a content list, and the viewer selects desired content using an input means such as a keyboard or a mouse. To watch.

Various methods for creating a content list of content used in such a content viewing method and updating the contents of the content list to the latest state are disclosed.
For example, when a viewer activates an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, a method is known in which information on recorded content is collected from a plurality of devices connected on a network to create and provide a content list. ing. At this time, the stored content list (the content list at the time of the previous termination) is once provided when activated, and the content list is updated when the latest content information is collected. Collects information about the content stored from multiple devices at the end of the information processing device or at regular intervals, or sends information when there is a change in the recorded content information The contents of the content list are updated by getting them.

  Further, in Patent Document 1, a content list corresponding to content recorded in a device is acquired from each of a plurality of devices connected on the network at a predetermined cycle, and based on the acquired content list, A content list providing apparatus comprising means for creating an updated content list corresponding to updated content and means for publishing the updated content list on a network is disclosed.

JP 2007-156546 A

  When a viewer activates an information processing device such as a personal computer, the method of collecting content information recorded from a plurality of devices connected on the network and creating a content list creates information on all content. There is a problem that it takes a very long time to collect and provide a content list.

  In addition, even when the content list stored once (content list at the time of the previous termination) is provided at the time of startup and the content list is updated when the latest content information is collected, It takes a very long time to provide the viewer with the latest content list.

  Furthermore, if you try to collect all the content information at the same time, while collecting the content information, the load on the device side will increase and the response will be slow, and the device side will have to process a lot of content information at once. The load increases and the operation becomes heavy.

Therefore, the present invention collects recorded content information from a plurality of devices connected on the network when the viewer starts up an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, and creates the latest content list. Until the content is provided, the viewer updates the content update status based on the stored content list (the content list at the end of the previous session) and provides the predicted result as a predicted content list. An object of the present invention is to provide a content information providing apparatus, a content information providing method, and a program that can reduce the stress felt for the waiting time until the display of the latest state.

In addition, the present invention narrows down information necessary for creating a predicted content list and prioritizes them to interact with the device, thereby distributing the load on the device side and the device side, and It is an object to provide a content information providing method and program .

  The content information providing apparatus according to the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives content information of a content stored in a content storage device via a network, a storage unit that stores the content information, and the content information and scheduled addition information of the content. Based on the above, it is determined whether there is a possibility that content related to the content is added, and when there is a possibility that the content is added, predicted content information including a scheduled addition time is added as the predicted content of the content. Creating a first prediction content list that includes the predicted content information and the content information for which the scheduled addition time has passed the current time by comparing the scheduled addition time and the current time And a display for displaying the first predicted content list on the display means And an information control means.

In the content information providing method of the present invention, the receiving unit receives the content information of the content stored in the content storage device via the network, the storage unit stores the content information, and the content prediction unit includes Based on the content information and content addition schedule information, it is determined whether or not content related to the content is likely to be added. Generating the predicted content information including the scheduled addition time, comparing the scheduled addition time with the current time, and including the predicted content information and the content information in which the scheduled additional time has passed the current time. The step of creating the predicted content list of 1 and the display information control means And a step of displaying the first predicted content list on a display means.

  According to the content information providing apparatus of the present invention, the content prediction results are sequentially displayed as the first predicted content list and the second predicted content list before the latest content list is displayed. It is possible to reduce the stress on the waiting time until the user displays the latest content list.

  In addition, the load for processing the content information can be distributed by preferentially acquiring the predicted content information.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a content information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a content information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a content information providing apparatus 10 and a plurality of servers (server A and server B) for recording content, each of which includes a network 40, For example, they are connected via a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The content information providing apparatus 10 collects recorded content information from the server A20 and the server B30 via the network 40, creates a content list from the collected content information, and provides it to the viewer.

  The server A20 and the server B30 record video content and the like recorded on a television program. When content information collection is instructed from the content information providing apparatus 10, the server A20 and the server B30 collect information on the content recorded by the server A20 and server B30. It transmits to the information providing apparatus 10.

  The content information providing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a reception unit 13, and a transmission unit 14, and is configured by a personal computer or the like.

  The control unit 11 includes an information collection unit 110, a prediction unit 111, and a display information control unit 112. The function and operation of each part of the control means 11 will be described later.

The storage unit 12 stores content information and EPG (Electronic Program Guide: hereinafter referred to as an electronic program guide) received from the server A20 and the server B30 via the network 40, and is configured by a storage medium such as a hard disk or a memory. The
The receiving unit 13 is for receiving content information from the server A20 and the server B30 via the network 40, and the transmitting unit 14 transmits an instruction for collecting content information to the server A20 and the server B30 via the network 40. Is to do.

  With reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, an operation until a predicted content list is created in the content information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an operation until content prediction information is created in the content information providing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a content list in the content information providing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining data included in the electronic program guide in the content information providing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the first predicted content list in the content information providing system according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  First, a flow when the content information providing apparatus 10 collects content information recorded in the server A20 and the server B30 and creates content prediction information will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the transmission unit 14 of the content information providing apparatus 10 transmits a content information request to the server A20 and the server B30 via the network 40 (step S201). When the receiving means 21 and 31 of the server A 20 and the server B 30 receive the content information request from the content information providing apparatus 10 (step S 202), the information collecting means 22 and 32 are the contents recorded in the storage means 23 and 33. Information (title, recording date, channel, series ID, recording folder, etc.) is collected (step S203), and the transmission means 24 and 34 transmit the collected content information to the content information providing apparatus 10 via the network 40. (Step S204).

  When receiving the content information from the server A20 and the server B30 (step S205), the content information providing apparatus 10 creates a content list from the received content information and stores it in the storage unit 12 (step S206). As shown in FIG. 3, the content list includes information such as a title, recording date, channel, series ID, and recording folder.

  Next, the prediction unit 111 of the content information providing apparatus 10 performs content prediction processing from the content list and the electronic program guide acquired in advance, creates content prediction information, and stores it in the storage unit 12 (step S207). ~ S209).

  The content prediction process will be described with reference to FIGS. First, content having a series ID is extracted with reference to the content list. This series ID is a number assigned to content that is scheduled to be broadcast a plurality of times like a continuous drama, and it is predicted that content having a series ID may be added in the future. Based on the extracted series ID, the electronic program guide is searched to acquire the next scheduled broadcast date and time. For example, in the content list shown in FIG. 3, a continuous program recorded on January 4, 2007 is extracted as a content having a series ID, and the next broadcast scheduled date and time of this content is extracted from the electronic program guide shown in FIG. (January 11, 2007) is acquired. At this time, the recording folder information is created by referring to the recording folder of the already recorded content and predicting which server the content predicted to be added next time is recorded. As a result, content prediction information as shown in drawing 5 is created.

  Although the content prediction process using the electronic program guide has been described, the present invention is not limited to the electronic program guide as long as it includes content addition schedule information such as a scheduled time when the content is added. Applicable to.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8, an operation until the predicted content list is created and displayed in the content information providing system according to the first embodiment of this invention will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining operations until a predicted content list is created and displayed in the content information providing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing a first predicted content list in the content information providing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram for describing the second predicted content list in the content information providing system according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  First, the flow when the content information providing apparatus 10 creates and displays the first predicted content list and the second predicted content list will be described with reference to FIG.

  The prediction unit 111 of the content information providing apparatus 10 acquires content prediction information stored in the storage unit 12 (step S601), and performs a first content prediction process based on the acquired content prediction information (step S602). .

  The first content prediction process will be described in detail. First, in the content prediction information, the content including the scheduled addition date is extracted, and the extracted scheduled addition date and time are compared with the current date and time. If the current date and time is past the scheduled addition date and time, the content is predicted to be added, a first predicted content list to which the content is added is created, and the display information control unit 112 determines that the information about the content is predicted information. As can be seen, the first predicted content list is displayed on the display means (not shown) after changing to the first display format.

  On the other hand, if the current date and time does not pass the scheduled addition date and time, it is predicted that the content has not been added, a first predicted content list excluding the content is created, and the display information control unit 112 displays the first predicted content. The list is displayed on display means (not shown).

For example, in FIG. 5, when the continuous drama that is the content including the scheduled addition date is past the current date, the first predicted content list to which the continuous drama is added is displayed ((A) in FIG. 7), If the date has not passed, a first predicted content list without a continuous drama is displayed ((B) in FIG. 7). The portion of the content information added as prediction information is displayed in a first display format different from other content information, for example, when the content color of other content information is black, it is displayed in a different color such as gray. You may make it do.

  Next, in step S602, for the content predicted to have the prediction means 112 added, the prediction content information request is transmitted to the server in which the content is recorded with reference to the content prediction information ( Step S604).

  The server that has received the predicted content information request collects content information such as whether or not the predicted content is recorded, and transmits the collected content information (steps S605 to S607).

  The receiving unit 13 of the content information providing apparatus 10 receives the content information (step S608), and the predicting unit 112 performs a second content prediction process from the received content information (step S609). The second content prediction process will be described in detail. First, it is determined from the received content information whether the content predicted to be added is actually recorded on the server, and if added, the display format of the content information is the same display format as other content information. The second predicted content list changed to is created and displayed on the display means (not shown). On the other hand, if it has not been added, a second predicted content list from which the content information has been deleted is created and displayed on display means (not shown).

  For example, when a continuous drama that is content including the scheduled addition date and time has passed the current date and time, the first predicted content list to which the continuous drama has been added is displayed ((A) in FIG. 7), and the continuous drama is recorded. If the continuous drama is actually recorded on the server A scheduled to be displayed, the display format is changed from the display format indicating that the content information is prediction information to the same display format as other content information ((( A)). If no continuous drama is recorded on the server A, the prediction information of the continuous drama is deleted and displayed ((B) in FIG. 8).

  Next, the transmission unit 14 of the content information providing apparatus 10 transmits a request for content information to the server A20 and the server B30 (step S611). When the receiving means 21 and 31 of the server A20 and the server B30 receive the content information request from the content information providing apparatus 10 (step S612), the information collecting means 22 and 32 are the contents recorded in the storage means 23 and 33. Information (title, recording date, channel, series ID, recording folder, etc.) is collected (step S613), and the transmission means 24 and 34 transmit the collected content information to the content information providing apparatus 10 via the network 40 ( Step S614).

  When receiving the content information from the server A20 and the server B30 (step S615), the content information providing apparatus 10 creates a content list from the received content information (step S616). The display information control means 112 displays the latest content list.

  As described above, according to the content information providing system of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first prediction content list and the second prediction content list are used as the content prediction results until the latest content list is displayed. As a result, the stress on the waiting time required for the viewer to display the latest content list can be reduced.

  Next, a content information providing system according to the second embodiment of this invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the content information providing system according to the second embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining property information in the content information providing system according to the second embodiment of this invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a second predicted content list in the content information providing system according to the second embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, differences from the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  When content prediction information is created in advance (see FIG. 2), when the content information providing apparatus 10 collects content information recorded in the server A20 and the server B30, the content prediction information as shown in FIG. Recording folder property information (such as the number of contents and the total size of recorded content) is collected and stored in the storage means 12.

  First, the flow when the content information providing apparatus 10 creates and displays the second predicted content list will be described with reference to FIG.

  Since the flow until the content information providing apparatus 10 creates and displays the first predicted content list is the same as that in the first embodiment of the present invention, the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, referring to the content prediction information for the content predicted that the prediction means 112 has been added, a property information request for the folder in which the content is recorded is sent to the server in which the content is recorded. Transmit (step S904). The server that has received the property information request collects and transmits the property information of the folder (steps S905 to S907).

  The receiving unit 13 of the content information providing apparatus 10 receives the property information of the folder (step S908), and the predicting unit 112 performs the second content prediction process (step S909). The second content prediction process will be described in detail. First, it is determined whether the content predicted to be added is actually recorded on the server from the number of files in the received property information.

  If the number of files has increased, it is determined that the file has been added, a second predicted content list is created by changing the display format of the content information from the first display format to the second display format, and display means (not shown) To display. On the other hand, if the number of files has not increased, it is determined that the content information has not been added, and a second predicted content list is created by changing the display format of the content information from the first display format to the third display format. (Shown).

  For example, first, when a continuous drama that is a content including the scheduled addition date and time has passed the current date and time, a first predicted content list to which a continuous drama has been added is displayed first ((A) of FIG. 7). Whether or not the continuous drama is actually recorded is determined based on whether or not the number of files of the acquired property information is changed for the folder A2 of the server A where the continuous drama is scheduled to be recorded.

  If the number of files is increased, it is predicted that the possibility that a continuous drama is recorded has increased, and the display format of the content information is changed from the first display format (for example, the character color is gray) to the second display format (for example, gray). The character color is changed to dark gray) and displayed on the display means (not shown) ((A) of FIG. 11). On the other hand, if the number of files does not increase, it is predicted that the possibility of recording a continuous drama is low, and the display format of the content information is changed from one display format (for example, the character color is gray) to the third display format. (For example, the character color is changed to light gray) and displayed on display means (not shown) ((B) of FIG. 11).

  Next, in the same manner as in the first embodiment of the present invention, with respect to the content predicted to have the prediction means 112 added, the predicted content list is referred to the server on which the content is recorded, The prediction content information request is transmitted. The server that has received the predicted content information request collects content information such as whether or not the predicted content is recorded, and transmits the collected content information (steps S911 to S914).

  The receiving unit 13 of the content information providing apparatus 10 receives the content information (step S915), and the predicting unit 112 performs a third content prediction process from the received content information (step S916). The third content prediction process will be described in detail.

  First, it is determined from the received content information whether the content predicted to be added is actually recorded on the server, and if added, the display format of the content information is the same display format as other content information. The third predicted content list changed to is created and displayed on the display means (not shown). On the other hand, if it has not been added, a third predicted content list from which the content information has been deleted is created and displayed on display means (not shown).

  For example, when the continuous drama that is the content including the scheduled addition date and time has passed the current date and time, the first predicted content list to which the continuous drama has been added is displayed first ((A) in FIG. 7), and then the second drama As a result of the predicted content processing, the second predicted content list is displayed ((A) or (B) in FIG. 11). Further, as a result of the third predicted content processing, the server A that is scheduled to record a continuous drama is actually If a continuous drama is recorded, the display format is changed from the display format indicating that the content information is prediction information to the same display format as other content information (FIG. 8A). If no continuous drama is recorded on the server A, the prediction information of the continuous drama is deleted and displayed ((B) in FIG. 8).

Next, the transmission means 14 of the content information providing apparatus 10 transmits a request for content information to the server A20 and the server B30 (step S91 8 ). When the receiving means 21 and 31 of the server A20 and the server B30 receive the content information request from the content information providing apparatus 10 (step S91 9 ), the information collecting means 22 and 32 are recorded in the storage means 23 and 33. Information related to the content (title, recording date, channel, series ID, recording location, etc.) is collected (step S9 20 ), and the transmission means 24 and 34 transmit the collected content information to the content information providing apparatus 10 via the network 40. (Step S9 21 ).

Content information providing device 10 receives the content information from the server A20 and the server B30 (step S9 22), to create a content list from the received content information. The display information control means 112 displays the latest content list (step S923) .

  As described above, according to the content information providing system of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first prediction content list and the second prediction content list are used as the content prediction results until the latest content list is displayed. And since it was made to display sequentially as a 3rd prediction content list, the stress with respect to the waiting time required until a viewer displays the newest content list can be reduced.

It is a block diagram for demonstrating the structure of the content information provision system of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the content information provision system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the content list in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating EPG (electronic program guide) in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the prediction content list | wrist in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the content information provision system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the 1st prediction content list in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the 2nd prediction content list in the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and the 3rd prediction content list in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the content information provision system in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the property information in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the 2nd prediction content list in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Content information provision apparatus 11 Control means 110 Information collection means 111 Prediction means 112 Display information control means 12 Storage means 13 Reception means 14 Transmission means 20, 30 Server 21, 31 Reception means 22, 32 Information collection means 23, 33 Storage means 24 34 Transmission means 40 Network

Claims (9)

Receiving means for receiving content information of content stored in the content storage device via a network;
Storage means for storing the content information;
Based on the content information and content addition schedule information, it is determined whether or not content related to the content is likely to be added. The prediction content information including the scheduled addition time is created, and the scheduled addition time is compared with the current time, and the predicted content information and the content information in which the scheduled addition time exceeds the current time are included. Content prediction means for creating a predicted content list of
A content information providing apparatus comprising: display information control means for displaying the first predicted content list on a display means.   2. The display information control unit, when displaying the first predicted content list, displays the predicted content information in a first display format different from a display format of the content information. Content information providing apparatus.   The content prediction means determines whether or not the predicted content is already stored in the content storage device, and includes the predicted content information and the content information that may be stored in the content storage device. 3. The content information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second predicted content list is generated, and the display control unit displays the second predicted content list on the display unit.   The content prediction means determines whether the predicted content is already stored in the content storage device based on a change in the content number of the content stored in the content storage device, and the number of content increases. 2. It is determined that there is a high possibility that the content is stored in the content storage device, and otherwise, it is determined that there is a low possibility that the content is stored in the content storage device. Or the content information providing apparatus according to 3.   When the display information control means displays the second predicted content list, the predicted content information that is highly likely to be stored in the content storage device is displayed in a second display different from the first display format. The predicted content information that is displayed in a format and is less likely to be stored in the content storage device is displayed in a third display format different from the first display format and the second display format. The content information providing apparatus according to claim 1.   The content prediction means determines whether or not the predicted content is already stored in the content storage device, and includes third predicted content including the predicted content information and the content information stored in the content storage device 6. The content information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a list is created, and the display control means displays the third predicted content list on the display means.   7. The content information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the third predicted content list is displayed, the display information control means displays the predicted content information in the same display format as the content information. . Receiving the content information of the content stored in the content storage device via a network;
Storing means for storing content information;
Based on the content information and content addition schedule information, the content prediction means determines whether or not content related to the content is likely to be added. As the predicted content, the predicted content information including the scheduled addition time is created, and the scheduled addition time and the current time are compared. Creating a first predicted content list comprising:
And a display information control means comprising: displaying the first predicted content list on the display means. A because of a program to execute the content information providing apparatus,
Receiving the content information of the content stored in the content storage device via a network;
Storing means for storing content information;
Based on the content information and content addition schedule information, the content prediction means determines whether or not content related to the content is likely to be added. As the predicted content, the predicted content information including the scheduled addition time is created, and the scheduled addition time and the current time are compared. Creating a first predicted content list comprising:
A program for causing a content information providing apparatus to execute a step in which the display information control means displays the first predicted content list on the display means.

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