JP5674410B2 - Content playback apparatus and playback method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content playback apparatus and a playback method capable of receiving a digital broadcast and playing back various contents such as music and video.

  In recent years, content playback apparatuses are equipped with a large-capacity HDD (Hard Disk Drive) for storing content data, or can be connected to an external player to play back content in the external player, or SD (Secure Digital There are some which can insert a recording medium such as a card and reproduce the content in the recording medium. Some CDs can be played back by a built-in player in the apparatus.

  For this reason, in a content reproducing apparatus in recent years, there may be a large amount of reproducible content, and the user may be wondering what to listen to. As a function often used in such a case, there is a random reproduction function.

  As such random playback methods, there are known a random playback method using a random coefficient, and a method in which a user sets a favorite artist name and randomly plays back the music of the artist.

  In addition, there are dedicated buttons such as the same album playback button, the same artist playback button, and the same genre playback button, and when the dedicated button is pressed, only songs that meet the conditions assigned to the button are played back (see FIG. For example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-202431 A

However, the conventional reproduction method described above has the following problems.
First, in the case of a random playback method using a random coefficient, since it is not known which music is played, there is a possibility that an old song or a tired song may be played among many reproducible contents.

  In addition, when the user sets an artist name and performs random reproduction, it is troublesome for the user to manually set the artist name. Also, in order to prioritize and play recent high-buzz songs, the user needs to know the names of high-buzz artists.

  Further, in the above-described Patent Document 1, the apparatus automatically selects only songs that satisfy a preset condition as a dedicated button, and the latest highly topical songs are preferentially reproduced. It was not considered until.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and a content reproducing apparatus capable of easily reproducing recent highly topical contents from reproducible contents only by automatic selection by the apparatus, and An object is to provide a reproduction method.

In order to achieve such an object, a content reproduction apparatus according to the present invention includes a content extraction unit that extracts reproducible content, a broadcast reception unit that receives a digital broadcast, and a plurality of pieces of predetermined information in the received digital broadcast. A feature extraction unit that extracts a predetermined feature element having the feature item, counts the number of appearances of each feature item in the extracted feature element, a storage unit that stores the number of reproductions for each content, and the feature extraction Based on the number of appearances of each feature item in the feature element extracted by the means and the number of times of reproduction for each content stored in the storage means, the content is extracted for each feature item in the content extracted by the content extraction means. Select the n-th content (n is an integer greater than or equal to 1) in order from the feature item with the most appearances. , The reproduction count in all characteristic item that said feature extracting means has extracted many content n th is selected, then the content reproduction count is often the n + 1 th for each feature item, often the appearance count feature And selecting means for selecting items in order .

The content playback method according to the present invention includes a content extraction step for extracting reproducible content, a broadcast reception step for receiving a digital broadcast, and a predetermined item having a plurality of feature items from predetermined information in the received digital broadcast. A feature extraction step of extracting the feature elements of the extracted feature elements, counting the number of appearances of each feature item in the extracted feature elements, a storage step of storing the number of reproductions of each content in a storage means, and extraction by the feature extraction step Based on the number of appearances of each feature item in the feature element and the number of reproductions for each content stored in the storage unit, the number of reproductions for each feature item is n in the content extracted by the content extraction step. (N is an integer greater than or equal to 1) The content with the largest number of contents is selected in order from the feature item with the highest appearance count, When Views in all feature item extraction process is extracted is often content n th selected, then the content reproduction count is often the n + 1 th for each feature item, in order from the characteristic item the appearance count is often And a selection step of selecting .

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily reproduce recent highly topical content frequently appearing in digital broadcasting from reproducible content only by automatic selection by the apparatus.

It is a figure explaining the outline of the embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the content reproduction apparatus as this embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of an artist name extraction unit 43. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of content playback order determination operation by the content selection unit 45; It is a figure which shows the example of a display screen of the broadcast content information at the time of content reproduction.

Next, an embodiment to which a content reproduction apparatus and a reproduction method according to the present invention are applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In the embodiment described below, an example in which an artist name is used as a characteristic element for selecting content will be described.

First, an outline of the present embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, first, a list of contents that can be reproduced by the content reproduction apparatus is listed. Examples of the reproducible content include content reproducible by a built-in player, content stored in a connected external player, content stored in a recording medium such as an inserted SD card, and the like.

  Then, artist name information is extracted from the received digital broadcast electronic program guide data (hereinafter referred to as EPG) and broadcast content attached data such as programs and CMs (commercial messages), and the extracted artist name information is extracted from the extracted artist name information. The number of appearances is totaled for each artist, and the list is listed in descending order of appearance.

  The reproducible content list created in this way is compared with the artist name list with the highest number of appearances, and the content of the artist with the highest number of appearances is reproduced in order.

  The artists who often appear in EPG and the data attached to the broadcast content are also recent high-profile artists. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily reproduce recent highly topical artist content only by automatic selection in a reproduction mode (hereinafter referred to as “automatic reproduction”) in which the apparatus automatically selects the reproduction content. .

  Next, the configuration of the content reproduction apparatus of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the content reproduction apparatus of this embodiment includes a tuner (broadcast receiving means) 1 that can receive digital broadcasts, an operation input unit 2 that receives user operations, and an external input that receives input of content data and the like. The unit 3 includes a control unit 4 that controls the entire apparatus, a decoder 5, an output unit 6 such as a speaker and a display screen, and a built-in player 7.

Each part shown in FIG. 2 is demonstrated below.
The tuner 1 has a function of receiving a predetermined digital broadcast such as a terrestrial digital broadcast and receiving an EPG and data attached to the broadcast content.

  The operation input unit 2 includes various buttons (not shown) and receives operation inputs such as mode selection by the user. For example, a touch panel display may be provided.

  The external input unit 3 is an interface for connecting an external player such as a mobile digital player or a mobile phone, or various recording media such as an SD card. This interface may be a wired connection connector or a wireless connection interface such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  The control unit 4 is realized by a CPU and various memories, and controls the operation of the entire content reproduction apparatus. The various memories here may be configured by a volatile storage unit such as a RAM, or may further include a nonvolatile storage unit such as an HDD or various memory cards.

The content extraction unit 41 extracts content that can be played back by the content playback device of the present embodiment, and stores it in the playback content list 42 as a list that is listed for each content storage location. Contents stored in the storage unit of the player 7, contents of various discs such as a CD inserted in the internal player 7, contents stored in a connected external player, contents stored in a recording medium such as an inserted SD card Etc.

  The extraction operation by the content extraction unit 41 is a reproducible content such as when an external player or storage medium is connected to the external input unit 3 or when a disc is inserted into the built-in player 7 in addition to when the content playback apparatus is powered on. This may be done when there is a possibility of fluctuation.

  The reproduction content list 42 stores content identification information extracted by the content extraction unit 41 and information such as artist name and song name. The content specifying information may be, for example, the storage location of the content and the order in the storage location.

  The artist name extraction unit (feature extraction means) 43 extracts the artist name information from the EPG received by the tuner 1 and the attached data of the broadcast contents, and appears for each artist from the extracted artist name information. The number of times is counted and listed, and stored in the artist name list 44.

  The extraction / counting operation by the artist name extraction unit 43 may be performed every time the tuner 1 receives an EPG or ancillary data of the broadcast content, and stores the received EPG and the ancillary data of the broadcast content. Thus, the configuration may be performed every preset time.

  The operation in the case of performing the extraction and counting operation for each reception will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the tuner 1 receives the EPG by the digital broadcast and the broadcast content attached data (step S1), the artist name extraction unit 43 obtains the artist name information from the received EPG and the broadcast content attached data. The number of appearances is counted for each artist from the extracted artist name information (step S2). For each artist name, the extracted artist name information is listed in descending order of appearance frequency and stored in the artist name list 44 (step S3).

Even in the case where the extraction and counting operations are performed every preset time, the operations of steps S2 and S3 are performed every predetermined time.
Thus, the artist name list 44 is updated each time the artist name extraction unit 43 performs the extraction and counting operation.

  The content selection unit (selection means) 45 selects content from the reproduction content list 42 in order from the content by the upper artist name in the artist name list 44 and causes the content reproduction unit 46 to reproduce it.

  In this way, the method of sequentially reproducing the content of the artist name having the highest appearance frequency in the EPG and the broadcast data attached data may be various methods according to the mode switching or the custom setting by the user. An example of the content reproduction order determination method will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the “automatic playback” operation is input from the operation input unit 2 by the user, the content selection unit 45 collates the playback content list 42 and the artist name list 44 (step S11).

  When “artist priority” is set as the mode setting, the content selection unit 45 searches the reproduction content list 42 and targets all contents with the artist name with the first appearance count as the target according to the user setting. Content selection is performed as normal random reproduction or sequential reproduction with a large number of reproductions (step S12).

  When the reproduction of all the contents with the artist name with the first appearance number is completed (step S13; Yes), the entire content with the artist name with the second appearance number is set as a target according to the user setting. The contents are selected as random reproduction or sequential reproduction with a large number of reproductions (step S14). When the reproduction of all the contents with the artist name with the second appearance number is completed in this manner, the contents with the artist name with the third appearance number and after are reproduced in the same manner.

When “random priority” is set as the mode setting, the content selection unit 45 searches the playback content list 42 and selects the content with the highest number of playback times from the content of the artist name with the highest number of appearances. (Step S15). When the reproduction of the selected content is completed (step S16; Yes), the content with the first reproduction count is selected from the content with the artist name with the second appearance count (step S17).
When the reproduction of the selected content is completed, the content of the artist name whose appearance count is the third or higher is reproduced in the same manner.

When the operations similar to the operations in steps S15 to S17 described above are performed for the content of the artist name for each appearance count, and the reproduction of the selected content is completed for all the artist names extracted by the artist name extraction unit 43, the content The selection unit 45 sequentially selects the content having the second highest number of reproductions in the content of the artist name in order from the artist name having the highest appearance frequency.
When the reproduction of the content whose number of reproductions is second is completed, the content whose number of reproductions is third or later is selected in the same manner.

Next, the feature data storage unit 47 and the display data generation unit 48 will be described.
The artist name extraction unit 43 extracts broadcast content information such as the name of a program or CM whose artist name has been confirmed, the name of an appearing artist, and the name of an appearing song when extracting the artist name from the attached data of the EPG and broadcast content. Store in the storage unit 47. The number of broadcast contents information to be stored may be a preset number for each artist name.

  The broadcast content information to be stored in the feature data storage unit 47 is limited to the upper predetermined number in sorting by a predetermined condition. The sort conditions may be various types set in advance, for example, from the present time to the upper predetermined number in the order of the scheduled broadcast time.

As shown in FIG. 5, the display data generation unit 48 displays the content information such as the artist name, the song title, and the content storage location of the content being reproduced, as shown in FIG. Display screen data including one piece of broadcast content information stored in the feature data storage unit 47 for the artist name is generated and output from the output unit 6.
In the example of FIG. 5, as the broadcast content information, the TV program name, the name of the performing artist, and the name of the song appearing in the program are displayed in the “Information” column.

  The broadcast content information to be displayed is the highest order in the sort based on the predetermined condition. Alternatively, the screen may be generated at a predetermined time by sequentially switching from the highest order in the sorting under the predetermined condition.

  Further, when image data such as a jacket photo is included in the content storage location as the content information of the content being played back, the display data generation unit 48 includes a display screen including the image data in the content information of the content being played back. The structure to produce | generate may be sufficient.

As described above, according to the embodiment described above, by using digital broadcast EPG and broadcast content attached data, it often appears in EPG and broadcast content attached data from among many reproducible contents. You can select and play artist content.
For this reason, it is possible to reproduce the contents of recent highly topical artists often appearing in TV programs and commercials in a simple operation with only automatic reproduction to the device.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to perform pseudo-random reproduction in which content selection is performed with a focus on recent high-profile artists only by automatic playback to the apparatus.

Further, at the time of content reproduction, in addition to content information such as the artist name of the content being reproduced, broadcast content information about the artist name can be displayed on the display screen.
For this reason, only by performing automatic playback to the device, the user can know on the screen display the broadcast content information such as the artist who has the latest topicality and the name of the program to appear.

  Each of the above-described embodiments is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

  For example, for information included in data attached to EPG and broadcast content, if only the song name exists and the artist name is unknown, the artist name information is obtained from another device connected to the Internet. There may be. In this case, a configuration for connecting to the Internet is further provided.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the EPG and the operation mode of artist priority or random priority shown in FIG. 4 will be described as a method in the case of reproducing in order from the content of the artist name having the highest number of appearances in the attached data of the broadcast content. However, the present invention is not limited to these, and various playback methods may be used according to mode switching or user custom settings. As another example of the operation mode, priority may be given to a theme song or an artist's appearance program.

In addition, when the TV program in which the artist appears is being broadcast as the output operation of the content with the artist name having the highest number of appearances, the TV program is output from the output unit 6 when it is being output. There may be.
In this case, the content extraction unit 41 includes the TV program information currently being broadcast by EPG in the reproduction content list 42 together with the name of the performing artist, so that the content selection unit 45 similarly selects the TV program and reproduces the content. The signal is output from the output unit 6 via the decoder 5 by the unit 46.

  In the above-described embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 5, it has been described that the display data generation unit 48 generates a screen including one piece of broadcast content information regarding the artist name of the content being played back. However, the number is not limited to this number, and two or more may be included depending on the size, layout, etc. of the screen.

  Further, when the EPG includes image data indicating a program or CM as the broadcast content information, the display data generation unit 48 may generate a screen further including the image data. In this case, the artist name extraction unit 43 stores the feature data storage unit 47 including EPG image data.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration example in the case where the artist name is used as the feature element for selecting content has been described. However, the feature element is not limited to the artist name, and may be another name such as a program name or a work name. Feature elements may be used, and some of those feature elements may be extracted simultaneously. When a plurality of feature elements are used at the same time, a configuration may be used in which content is selected by performing predetermined weighting between the feature elements. Various known methods may be used for the object extraction by weighting between the elements.

The apparatus in this specification is a logical collection of a plurality of functional modules, and there is no particular question as to whether each functional module is in a single housing.
For example, the present invention can be similarly realized even when the output unit 6 and the built-in player 7 are provided as separate housings. Further, even if the reproduction content list 42 and the artist name list 44 are generated on an external storage medium, the present invention can be similarly realized.

1 Tuner (an example of broadcast receiving means)
2 Operation input unit 3 External input unit 4 Control unit 41 Content extraction unit 42 Playback content list 43 Artist name extraction unit (an example of feature extraction means)
44 Artist name list 45 Content selection section (example of selection means)
46 Content Playback Unit 47 Feature Data Storage Unit 48 Display Data Generation Unit 5 Decoder 6 Output Unit 7 Built-in Player

Claims (8)

Content extraction means for extracting reproducible content;
Broadcast receiving means for receiving digital broadcasts;
Feature extraction means for extracting predetermined feature elements having a plurality of feature items from the predetermined information in the received digital broadcast, and counting the number of appearances of each feature item in the extracted feature elements;
Storage means for storing the number of reproductions for each content;
Based on the number of appearances of each feature item in the feature element extracted by the feature extraction unit and the number of times of reproduction for each content stored in the storage unit, the feature item in the content extracted by the content extraction unit The content with the nth largest number of reproductions (n is an integer equal to or greater than 1) is selected in order from the feature item with the largest number of appearances, and the number of reproductions for all feature items extracted by the feature extraction means is the nth. When a large amount of content is selected, next, a selection unit that sequentially selects the n + 1th most frequently played content for each feature item, starting from the feature item with the largest number of appearances ,
A content playback apparatus comprising: The feature extraction means extracts information classified into the artist name that is the feature element from the electronic program guide data that is the predetermined information in the digital broadcast and the attached data of the broadcast content, and for the extracted information Count the number of appearances in each artist name that is the feature item,
The selection means is based on the number of appearances for each artist name extracted by the feature extraction means and the number of times of reproduction for each content stored in the storage means, among the contents extracted by the content extraction means, The content with the nth largest number of reproductions for each artist name (where n is an integer equal to or greater than 1) is selected in order from the artist name with the largest number of appearances, and the number of reproductions for all artist names extracted by the feature extraction means is When the n-th most content is selected, next, the content having the (n + 1) -th most number of reproductions for each artist name is selected in order from the artist name with the most appearances.
The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1. Feature data storage means for storing broadcast content information of the appearance location of each feature item to be extracted up to a predetermined number for each feature item according to a predetermined sort condition when extracted by the feature extraction means;
Display data generation means for generating a display screen including a predetermined number of broadcast content information of the appearance locations stored in the feature data storage means;
The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: The display data generation means generates a display screen including a predetermined number of broadcast content information of the appearance locations in addition to the content information being reproduced at the time of reproduction of the content selected by the selection means. Display on the display means,
The content reproduction apparatus according to claim 3. A content extraction process for extracting reproducible content;
A broadcast receiving process for receiving digital broadcasts;
A feature extraction step of extracting predetermined feature elements having a plurality of feature items from the predetermined information in the received digital broadcast, and counting the number of appearances of each feature item in the extracted feature elements;
A storage step of storing the number of reproductions for each content in a storage means;
Based on the number of appearances of each feature item in the feature element extracted by the feature extraction step and the number of times of reproduction for each content stored in the storage unit, the feature item in the content extracted by the content extraction step The content with the nth largest number of times of reproduction (n is an integer equal to or greater than 1) is selected in order from the feature item with the highest number of appearances, and the number of times of reproduction in all feature items extracted by the feature extraction step is the nth. When a large amount of content is selected, a selection step of sequentially selecting the content item with the (n + 1) th largest number of playbacks for each feature item in order from the feature item with the largest number of appearances ;
A content playback method comprising: In the feature extraction step, information classified into the artist name that is the feature element is extracted from electronic program guide data that is predetermined information in the digital broadcast and data attached to the broadcast content, and the extracted information is Count the number of appearances in each artist name that is the feature item,
In the selection step, based on the number of appearances for each artist name extracted in the feature extraction step and the number of reproductions for each content stored in the storage unit, among the content extracted in the content extraction step, The contents having the nth largest number of reproductions (n is an integer of 1 or more) for each artist name are selected in order from the artist name with the largest number of appearances, and the number of reproductions for all artist names extracted by the feature extraction step is selected. When the n-th most content is selected, next, the content having the (n + 1) -th most number of reproductions for each artist name is selected in order from the artist name with the most appearances.
The content reproduction method according to claim 5, wherein: A feature data storing step of storing broadcast content information of the appearance location of each feature item to be extracted up to a predetermined number according to a predetermined sort condition for each feature item, in the extraction by the feature extraction step;
A display data generation step of generating a display screen including a predetermined number of broadcast content information of the appearance locations stored by the feature data storage step;
The content reproduction method according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising: The display data generation step generates a display screen including a predetermined number of broadcast content information of the appearance locations in addition to the content information being reproduced at the time of reproduction of the content selected in the selection step. Display on the display means,
8. The content reproduction method according to claim 7, wherein:

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