JP6425590B2 - Program delivery system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a program distribution system including a portable terminal and a recording and reproducing apparatus for distributing a program such as a digital broadcast program to the portable terminal via an IP network.

  In recent years, with the spread of broadband environment such as optical fiber network for home use, contents such as digital broadcast program recorded in recording / reproducing device in home are distributed to portable terminal etc via Internet and viewed on portable terminal (see below , Remote viewing) is possible. However, since digital broadcast programs have high bit rates of digital signals, they can not be viewed on the portable terminal even if they are delivered to the portable terminal as they are.

  Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which a decoder (decoder) and an encoder (encoder) are mounted on the recording and reproducing apparatus. Specifically, the recording / reproducing apparatus temporarily decodes (decodes) the digital signal that has been encoded (encoded) and broadcasted by the decoder, and then distributes the decoded digital signal to the portable terminal or the like by the encoder Encode into a digital signal of low bit rate, frame rate, coding method, screen size suitable for. According to such a technology, remote viewing on a portable terminal becomes possible. In general, the lower the bit rate, the more suitable for distribution to portable terminals via the Internet.

  For example, in the technology of Patent Document 1, a conversion processing unit is mounted in the recording and reproducing apparatus, and a predetermined operation is performed during program reproduction to convert a part of the program being reproduced into data for transferring to the portable terminal. The data is recorded on a recording medium incorporated in the recording and reproducing apparatus. The portable terminal displays a list including only the converted programs, and when the user selects a desired program from the list, the conversion data is transferred from the recording / reproducing apparatus to the portable terminal via the Internet. According to such a technology, since content such as a digital broadcast program is converted in advance into data to be transferred to the portable terminal and recorded in the recording / reproducing apparatus, remote viewing can be performed as appropriate.

JP, 2009-71745, A

  Here, the user may go home while performing remote viewing, and may try to continue remote viewing thereafter. However, the technology of Patent Document 1 is suitable for remote viewing before returning home, but maintains a communication environment such as the Internet, which has a low bit rate and is difficult to guarantee the communication speed, even after returning home. That is, there is a problem that remote viewing continues in a low quality state with a low bit rate not only before returning home but also after returning home.

  On the other hand, if the user returns home and enters the room where the recording and reproduction device is installed, the user depends on the communication quality of the IP network by causing the recording and reproduction device to reproduce the recorded program without performing remote viewing. High quality recorded programs can be viewed without fail. However, in order to do so, it is necessary to perform an operation to reproduce a recorded program on the recording and reproducing apparatus, which requires time and effort, and the convenience is lost. Therefore, in view of this point, it is useful to continue remote viewing after returning home.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a technology capable of remotely viewing a high-quality recorded program when, for example, the user returns home. I assume.

  A program distribution system according to the present invention stores a portable terminal, and a plurality of recorded programs having different qualities of one program, and any of the plurality of recorded programs via the plurality of IP networks. And a recording and reproducing apparatus for distributing data. Each of the portable terminal and the recording and reproducing apparatus includes a short distance wireless communication unit that communicates using a short distance wireless communication network different from the plurality of IP networks. The portable terminal or the recording and reproducing device may include a distance measuring unit configured to measure a distance between the portable terminal and the recording and reproducing device based on a communication result between the short distance wireless communication units; Of the plurality of IP networks, an IP network to be used for delivery of the recorded program is selected based on the measured distance, and of the plurality of recorded programs, the highest quality that can be delivered by the IP network And a selection unit that selects the recorded program as the recorded program to be delivered.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to remotely view a high-quality recorded program when, for example, the user returns home.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a program distribution system according to a first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of a program distribution system according to Embodiment 1;

Embodiment 1
<Overall configuration>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a program distribution system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The program distribution system according to the first embodiment includes the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300.

  The recording / reproducing apparatus 100 accumulates a plurality of recorded programs of different quality for one program, and distributes one of the plurality of recorded programs to the portable terminal 300 via any of a plurality of IP networks. Here, the plurality of IP networks include a first IP network including the Internet 200 and the home network 201, and a second IP network not including the Internet 200 and including the home network 201. Hereinafter, the configurations of the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300 will be described in detail.

<Configuration of Recording and Reproduction Device>
The components of the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 will be described in detail. The external antenna 101 receives an RF (Radio Frequency) signal including a plurality of digital broadcast channels. The tuner unit 102 performs tuning processing and demodulation processing on an arbitrary broadcast radio frequency on the RF signal received by the external antenna 101. Then, the tuner unit 102 extracts the recording transport stream (hereinafter, recording TS) 103 from the digital data obtained by the processing and outputs the extracted transport stream to the transport stream decoder (hereinafter, TS decoder) 104. Do.

  The TS decoder 104 extracts a recording partial transport stream (hereinafter, recording partial TS) 105 including only information necessary for recording, which will be described later, from the received recording TS 103, and outputs the stream to the stream control unit 106. .

  The stream control unit 106 directly records the recording partial TS 105 received from the TS decoder 104 in the program storage unit 113 (hereinafter, this recording may be referred to as “stream direct recording”). Further, the stream control unit 106 sends the recording partial TS 105 received from the TS decoder 104 at the time of program viewing, and reads the recording partial TS 105 read from the program storage unit 113 at the program reproduction time to the AV decoder 108 as the reproduction partial TS 107. Output.

  The AV decoder 108 decodes the reproduction partial TS 107, and outputs the reproduction video / audio signal 112 obtained thereby to an external video / audio output device (not shown) such as a monitor (display device) or a speaker. Further, the AV decoder 108 can also output the video and audio signal obtained by decoding the received recording partial TS 105 to the AV encoder 110 as the video and audio signal 109 for re-encoding, as necessary.

  The AV encoder 110 encodes the received video / audio signal for re-encoding 109 to reduce the bit rate compared to the recording partial TS 105. A re-encoding recording partial transport stream (hereinafter, re-encoding recording partial TS) 111 Generate The stream control unit 106 records the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 generated by the AV encoder 110 in the program storage unit 113 (hereinafter, this recording may be referred to as “re-encoding recording”). The recording and reproducing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment configured as described above stores a plurality of recording programs (recording partial TS 105 and re-encoding recording partial TS 111) having different qualities for one program.

  The operation instruction receiving unit 131 receives the user's operation instruction transmitted from the operation instruction transmitting unit 130 configured of a remote control, an infrared transmitter, or the like. The operation instruction receiving unit 131 is connected to the microcomputer 120 via the microcomputer bus 123, and outputs the received operation instruction to the microcomputer 120.

  The microcomputer 120 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The microcomputer 120 operates in accordance with a program code stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) unit 121 based on the received operation command, and uses a RAM (Random Access Memory) unit 122 as a work area. The microcomputer 120 includes a tuner unit 102, a TS decoder 104, a stream control unit 106, an AV decoder 108, an AV encoder 110, a network interface unit 140 (hereinafter referred to as network I / F unit 140) described later, and short distance wireless communication described later The unit 141 is configured to be controllable via the microcomputer bus 123.

  The network I / F unit 140 is connected to a home network 201 such as a LAN (Local Area Network), and is connected to the Internet 200, which is a wide area network, via a communication device (not shown) such as a home modem or a router. It can be connected.

  The network I / F unit 140 of the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is any of the first IP network including the Internet 200 and the home network 201 and the second IP network including the home network 201 not including the Internet 200. Can be connected to the mobile terminal 300 via the network. The recording / reproducing apparatus 100 transmits the recording partial TS 105 or the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 recorded in the program storage unit 113 to the portable terminal 300 in response to a request from the portable terminal 300 without decoding. The recording / reproducing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment configured as described above is capable of selecting one of a plurality of recording programs (the recording partial TS 105 or the re-encoding recording partial TS 111) into a plurality of IP networks (first and second). It is delivered to the portable terminal 300 via any of the second IP network).

  The portable terminal 300 decodes the received recorded program (the recording partial TS 105 or the re-encoding recording partial TS 111), that is, the stream by a built-in decoder (not shown). The portable terminal 300 causes the decoded recorded program to be output to a video / audio output device (not shown) connected to or incorporated in the portable terminal 300. The portable terminal 300 will be described later.

  The explanation is returned to the recording and reproducing apparatus 100. The recording and reproducing apparatus 100 includes a short distance wireless communication unit 141. The short distance wireless communication unit 141 can communicate with the portable terminal 300 using a short distance wireless communication network different from the first and second IP networks described above. As the short distance wireless communication network, for example, a network by close proximity wireless communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication) or the like is applied.

<Configuration of mobile terminal>
As shown in FIG. 1, the portable terminal 300 includes a control unit 301, a network interface unit 302 (hereinafter, network I / F unit 302), and a short distance wireless communication unit 303.

  The network I / F unit 302 is configured to be able to communicate with the network I / F unit 140 via one of the first and second IP networks. The short distance wireless communication unit 303 is configured to be able to communicate with the short distance wireless communication unit 141 using a short distance wireless communication network.

  The control unit 301 includes, for example, a CPU (not shown) of the portable terminal 300, and centrally controls each component of the portable terminal 300, such as the network I / F unit 302 and the short distance wireless communication unit 303. The distance measurement unit 301a and the selection unit 301b are realized as functions of the CPU by executing a program stored in a storage device such as a semiconductor memory (not shown), which constitutes, for example, the control unit 301.

  The distance measuring unit 301 a measures the distance between the portable terminal 300 and the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 based on the communication result between the short distance wireless communication unit 141 and the short distance wireless communication unit 303.

  The selection unit 301b selects an IP network (path) to be used for distribution of a recorded program among a plurality of IP networks (first and second IP networks) based on the distance measured by the distance measurement unit 301a. . Further, the selection unit 301 b selects, from among the plurality of recorded programs stored in the program storage unit 113, the recorded program of the highest quality that can be distributed by the selected IP network as the recorded program to be distributed.

  The portable terminal 300 (control unit 301) communicates with the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 via the network I / F unit 302 based on the selection result of the selection unit 301b. As a result, the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 can distribute the recorded program to the portable terminal 300 by the distribution method selected by the selection unit 301 b.

<Operation>
Next, the operation (program viewing, program recording, program playback, remote viewing) of the program distribution system will be described.

<Watching program>
When viewing of a digital broadcast program is started using the recording / reproducing apparatus 100, for example, when the user presses the power key from the operation instruction transmission unit 130, the corresponding key code passes through the operation instruction reception unit 131 to the microcomputer 120. Sent to The microcomputer 120 having received the key code starts viewing operation of the broadcast program, and controls each component in order as follows.

  First, the microcomputer 120 controls the tuner unit 102, and under the control, the tuner unit 102 tunes to an arbitrary (generally, last selected channel when viewed last time) and starts demodulation processing Do. When the demodulation processing is completed and the recording TS 103 is extracted, the microcomputer 120 controls the TS decoder 104, and under the control, the TS decoder 104 selects a program called PSI (Program Specific Information) information from the recording TS 103. Information for identification is extracted and analyzed, and data packets such as a video signal and an audio signal of a broadcast program are filtered to generate a recording partial TS 105. The TS decoder 104 extracts and analyzes program sequence information called SI (Service Information) information storing program attributes such as program titles and program genres, and generates the recording partial TS 105 in consideration of the analysis result. You may

  Next, the microcomputer 120 controls the stream control unit 106. Under the control, the stream control unit 106 transmits the recording partial TS 105 as it is to the AV decoder 108 as the reproduction partial TS 107. Then, the microcomputer 120 controls the AV decoder 108, and under the control of the microcomputer 120, the AV decoder 108 generates the reproduction video audio signal 112 from the reproduction partial TS 107. Here, the video and audio of digital broadcasting such as the partial TS 107 for reproduction is data-compressed using a coding method such as the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) 2 method or the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) method. For this reason, the video and audio of the digital broadcast is decoded into the video and audio signal 112 for reproduction, which is an uncompressed video and audio signal, by the MPEG2 decoder, the AAC decoder and the like incorporated in the AV decoder 108. The decoded video / audio signal for reproduction 112 is output to a video / audio output device (not shown) such as an external monitor or speaker connected to the recording / reproducing device 100, and the video / audio output device Video and audio are output based on the signal 112. This allows the user to view the video and audio of the program currently being broadcast on any channel.

<Program recording>
When the digital broadcast program currently being received is recorded using the recording / reproducing apparatus 100, for example, the user presses the recording key provided in the operation instruction transmission unit 130, and the corresponding key code corresponds to the operation instruction reception unit It is transmitted to the microcomputer 120 via 131. The microcomputer 120 having received the key code starts the recording processing of the broadcast program, and controls each component in order as follows.

  Here, since the recording partial TS 105 has already been input to the stream control unit 106 at the stage of starting the viewing, the microcomputer 120 controls the stream control unit 106, and the stream control unit 106 stores the program by this control. The recording partial TS 105 is recorded in the unit 113. By the above-described operation, the digital broadcast program being received is "stream directly recorded".

  Also, at the stage of starting the viewing, the stream control unit 106 outputs the recording partial TS 105 received from the TS decoder 104 to the AV decoder 108 as the reproduction partial TS 107, and the AV decoder 108 outputs the reproduction partial The TS 107 is decoded to generate a video and audio signal 112 for reproduction. The microcomputer 120 controls the AV decoder 108, and under the control, the AV decoder 108 outputs the generated reproduction video and audio signal 112 to the AV encoder 110 as a re-encoding video and audio signal 109. The microcomputer 120 controls the AV encoder 110, and under the control, the AV encoder 110 encodes the received video / audio signal 109 for re-encoding to generate a partial TS 111 for re-encoding and recording.

  As described above, by performing re-encoding by the AV decoder 108 and the AV encoder 110, the stream specification can be changed. Specifically, by changing the encoding method of the recording partial TS 105 or changing the resolution and the frame rate, the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 whose bit rate is reduced compared to the recording partial TS 105 is obtained. Can be generated.

  Next, the microcomputer 120 controls the stream control unit 106, and under the control, the stream control unit 106 records the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 in the program storage unit 113. By the above operation, the digital broadcast program being received is "re-encoded and recorded". If the recording partial TS 105 is erased from the program storage unit 113 and the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 is recorded in the program storage unit 113, the recording capacity of the program storage unit 113 can be saved.

  When recording a digital broadcast program being received without remote viewing, either “stream direct recording” or “re-encoding recording” is selected by the user. In general, “stream direct recording” is often selected when image quality is important, and “re-encode recording” is often selected when it is desired to reduce the volume of data consumed by the program storage unit 113. In addition, when “stream direct recording” is selected as well as when “re-encode recording” is selected, a bit rate, a frame rate, an encoding method, and a screen on the premise that the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 reproduces Size is selected.

  Heretofore, the case of starting the program recording operation has been described. Next, the case of stopping the program recording operation will be described. When stopping the program recording operation, when the user presses the stop key provided in the operation instruction transmission unit 130, the corresponding key code is transmitted to the microcomputer 120 via the operation instruction reception unit 131. The microcomputer 120 having received the key code starts the process of stopping the program recording operation currently being executed.

  Specifically, the microcomputer 120 controls the stream control unit 106, and the stream control unit 106 stops the recording of the recording partial TS 105 and the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 in the program storage unit 113 under the control.

  The program viewing operation and the program recording operation have been described above. In the above description, as an example of these operations, the user operates the operation instruction transmission unit 130 to start the program viewing operation and the program recording operation. However, the start of these operations is not limited to this, and may start, for example, in response to a reservation. In scheduled recording, the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is automatically activated at the broadcast time of a previously designated program, and the designated program is received and recorded in the program storage unit 113. For example, the user selects "stream direct recording" or "re-encode recording" a digital broadcast program in scheduled recording, for example, at the time of recording reservation setting.

<Play Program>
When reproducing a recorded digital broadcast program using the recording and reproducing apparatus 100, for example, when the user presses the reproduction key provided in the operation instruction transmission unit 130, the corresponding key code corresponds to the operation instruction reception unit 131. Are sent to the microcomputer 120 via The microcomputer 120 having received the key code starts reproduction processing of the broadcast program, and controls each component in order as follows.

  First, the microcomputer 120 controls the stream control unit 106, and the stream control unit 106 reads out the recorded program stream (the recording partial TS 105 or the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 recorded in the program storage unit 113) by the control. It transmits to the AV decoder 108 as the reproduction partial TS 107. The microcomputer 120 controls the AV decoder 108, and under the control, the AV decoder 108 generates a video and audio signal 112 for reproduction from the received partial TS 107 for reproduction. The subsequent operation is the same as the program viewing operation.

  Here, as an example of the program reproduction operation, an example in which the user operates the operation instruction transmission unit 130 to reproduce the recorded program stream has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the portable terminal 300 reproduces a recorded program stream by transmitting a reproduction request to the microcomputer 120 via the network I / F unit 140 or the short distance wireless communication unit 141. It may be configured as follows.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to reproduce the recording partial TS 105 or the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 from the portable terminal 300.

<Operation of Recording and Playback Device for Remote Viewing>
When remote viewing of the digital broadcast program recorded by the recording and reproduction apparatus 100 is performed on the portable terminal 300 side, the recording and reproduction apparatus 100 performs data conversion processing. Hereinafter, the operation of data conversion processing by the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 will be described.

  First, the microcomputer 120 controls the stream control unit 106. Under the control, the stream control unit 106 reads the recording partial TS 105 of a program to be subjected to data conversion processing (remote viewing) from the program storage unit 113, The reproduction partial TS 107 is output to the AV decoder 108 as the partial TS 107 for reproduction. Next, the microcomputer 120 controls the AV decoder 108, and under the control, the AV decoder 108 outputs the video / audio signal obtained by decoding the recording partial TS 105 to the AV encoder 110 as the re-encoding video / audio signal 109. Do. The microcomputer 120 controls the AV encoder 110, and under the control, the AV encoder 110 encodes the received video / audio signal 109 for re-encoding to generate a partial TS 111 for re-encoding and recording.

  By performing re-encoding by the AV decoder 108 and the AV encoder 110, it is possible to change the stream specification into a format suitable for remote viewing on the portable terminal 300 side. Specifically, by changing the encoding method of the recording partial TS 105 or changing the resolution and the frame rate, the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 whose bit rate is reduced compared to the recording partial TS 105 is obtained. Can be generated.

  Next, the microcomputer 120 controls the stream control unit 106, and under the control, the stream control unit 106 records the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 in the program storage unit 113. By the above operation, the recorded digital broadcast program is "data converted" into a program for remote viewing. That is, a plurality of recorded programs having different qualities of one program are accumulated in the program accumulation unit 113.

  As in the re-encoding and recording, as described above, in the data conversion process for remote viewing, the recorded program stream read from the program storage unit 113 is decoded into video and audio. Therefore, when the AV decoder 108 is used for another purpose, for example, in the case of program reproduction, data conversion processing can not be performed. Therefore, the data conversion process is performed, for example, when no other application is performed, such as a power off period after the user powers off the recording and reproducing device 100 to the recording and reproducing device 100.

<Operation of mobile terminal for remote viewing>
When remote viewing of the digital broadcast program recorded by the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is performed on the portable terminal 300 side, the portable terminal 300 performs distribution selection processing. Hereinafter, the operation of the delivery selection process by the portable terminal 300 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the delivery selection process by the portable terminal 300 according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of the delivery selection process by the portable terminal 300 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S1, the control unit 301 controls the short distance wireless communication unit 303, and under the control, the short distance wireless communication unit 303 performs short distance wireless communication with the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 (short distance wireless communication unit 141). Since it is expected that the distance between the recording / reproducing device 100 and the portable terminal 300 (hereinafter, the distance between the device terminals) will change from moment to moment as the user moves, data transmission / reception of near field communication is performed regularly. To be done.

  The selection unit 301 b determines, based on the communication result of the short-distance wireless communication units 141 and 303, whether or not data transmission and reception of the short-distance wireless communication can be performed. If it is determined that the process can be performed, the process proceeds to step S2, and if it is determined that the process can not be performed, the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S2, the distance measuring unit 301a measures the distance between the device terminals based on the result of the regular near-field wireless communication of the near-field wireless communication units 141 and 303. For example, the distance measuring unit 301 a measures the distance between the device terminals from the radio wave intensity of the near field communication from the recording and reproducing device 100 or the like. In this case, the stronger the radio wave intensity, the shorter the distance between the device terminals to be measured.

  In step S3, the selection unit 301b determines whether the inter-device-terminal distance measured by the distance measurement unit 301a is equal to or greater than a threshold. If it is determined that the device-to-device distance is equal to or greater than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S4, and if it is determined that the device-to-device distance is shorter than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S5.

  If the process proceeds to step S4, that is, if the data transmission / reception of the short distance wireless communication can not be performed, or if the distance between the device terminals measured by the distance measuring unit 301a is equal to or more than the threshold, the selecting unit 301b It is determined that the portable terminal 300 and the portable terminal 300 do not exist in one room. Then, in this case, the selection unit 301b selects the first IP network including the Internet 200 and the home network 201. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6.

  If the process proceeds to step S5, that is, if the data transmission / reception of the short distance wireless communication can be performed and the inter-device-terminal distance measured by the distance measurement unit 301a is shorter than a predetermined threshold, the selection unit 301b It is determined that the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300 exist in one room. Then, in this case, the selection unit 301b selects the second IP network including the in-home network 201 without including the Internet 200. In the second IP network not via the Internet 200, since the communication environment is more stable than the first IP network via the Internet 200, the communication environment at step S5 is more stable than the communication environment at step S4. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, after connecting to the recording and reproduction device 100 via the selected IP network (hereinafter, selected IP network), the selection unit 301b causes the recording and reproduction device 100 to record a program to be recorded of a program to be reproduced It requests transmission of the recording partial TS 105 or the re-encoding recording partial TS 111).

  In the first embodiment, the selection unit 301 b makes the transmission request as follows. First, the selection unit 301b first requests the recording partial TS 105, which is a high-quality recorded program, as the recorded program of the program to be reproduced. The recording / reproducing apparatus 100 that has received the request transmits the recording partial TS 105 to the portable terminal 300 via the selected IP network. By decoding the recording partial TS 105, the portable terminal 300 outputs a high-quality recorded program to a video / audio output device (not shown) connected to or incorporated in the portable terminal 300.

  Here, when the selected IP network is the first IP network whose communication state is relatively unstable, it is assumed that transmission and decoding of the recording partial TS 105 can not be appropriately performed. Therefore, in parallel with the above processing, the selection unit 301b selects, from among a plurality of recorded programs (the recording partial TS 105 and the reencoding recording partial TS 111), the recording program of the highest quality that can be distributed by the selected IP network. Select as the recorded program to be delivered.

  Specifically, the selection unit 301 b determines the communication status of the selected IP network based on the buffering status of data received from the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and the like. Then, if underflow does not occur in the buffering, the selection unit 301b continuously requests the recording partial TS 105, which is a high-quality recording program, and returns to step S1. As a result, video and audio output based on the recording partial TS 105 is continued on the portable terminal 300 side.

  On the other hand, in a situation where underflow occurs in buffering, the control unit 301 discards data of a portion of the acquired data that does not satisfy the decodable minimum unit, and the selection unit 301b is not discarded. A request for transmission of the re-encoding recording partial TS 111, which is a low-quality recording program, is requested from the portion that becomes the subsequent reproduction position of the remaining data, and the process returns to step S1. As a result, video and audio output based on the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 is performed on the portable terminal 300 side.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the selection unit 301 b is to record the highest-quality recorded program among the recorded programs that do not cause buffer underflow when delivered using the selected IP network. Select as a program.

<Summary>
According to the program distribution system according to the first embodiment configured as described above, in the distribution of the recorded program from the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 to the portable terminal 300, the appropriate IP network is used, and the distribution is performed by the IP network. Deliver the highest quality recorded program possible. Therefore, for example, when the user returns home, high-quality recorded programs can be remotely viewed. As a result, the effect of improving the convenience of the user can be expected.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, the selecting unit 301b is a recording program to which the recording program having the highest quality is to be distributed among the recording programs in which the buffer underflow does not occur when the selection IP network is used for distribution. Choose as. This allows the user to remotely view and listen to recorded programs of high quality as much as possible.

<Modification 1>
In the first embodiment described above, the selection unit 301b determines whether the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300 exist in one room based on the communication results of the short-distance wireless communication units 141 and 303. It was judged. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the selection unit 301b determines whether the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300 exist in one building indoor based on the communication result of the short distance wireless communication units 141 and 303. You may judge.

  In the first embodiment, the video and audio of the recorded program are output on the side of the portable terminal 300, but the video and audio of the recorded program may be output on the side of the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 as well. For example, a distance L1 in which the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300 are determined to be present in one building and a distance L2 in which it is determined to be present in one room are defined in advance Keep it. Then, when the distance between the device terminals is a distance shorter than the distance L2, the portable terminal 300 performs recording on the portable terminal 300 with respect to the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 by near field communication or communication by IP network. Make a request to play back a recorded program of the same program as the program. In this case, when the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 receives the request, the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 selects the highest-quality recorded program among the recorded programs recorded in two or more different qualities and reproduces the program.

  That is, when it is determined that the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300 exist in one room based on the distance between the device terminals measured by the distance measuring unit 301a, the recorded program distributed to the portable terminal 300 and The recording and reproducing apparatus 100 may be configured to reproduce a recorded program having the same program and a higher quality than that.

  With such a configuration, for example, when the user enters the room where the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 is installed while viewing the remote, the user is viewing remotely without operating the recording and reproducing apparatus 100. A recorded program that is the same as the recorded program and has a higher quality than that can be viewed by an external video and audio output device connected to the recording and reproducing device 100. Therefore, the effect of improving the convenience of the user can be obtained.

  For example, if an output function capable of controlling the video and audio output device is provided in the recording and playback device 100 in addition to the video and audio output, such as HDMI (registered trademark; High-Definition Multimedia Interface), The video and audio output from the audio output device can be reliably performed.

  In addition, distribution history information in which the recording program being distributed from the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 to the portable terminal 300 and the distribution route (route of the selected IP network) are stored in a distribution history information storage unit (not shown) It is also good.

  Then, in the configuration, when the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 determines that the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300 exist in one room based on the distance between the apparatus terminals measured by the distance measuring unit 301a, Based on the distribution history information, the reproduction by the above-described recording and reproduction apparatus may be performed from the reproduction position of the recording program being distributed to the portable terminal 300.

  According to such a configuration, when the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300 exist in one room, reproduction of a high-quality recorded program on the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 side is performed from the It can be performed from the reproduction position (distribution position) of the recorded program distributed to the portable terminal 300 via the IP network of That is, the continuation of the program being remotely viewed can be viewed on the recording and reproducing device 100 side.

<Modification 2>
In the first embodiment, the portable terminal 300 determines the inter-apparatus distance (positional relationship) between the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300 or measures the inter-apparatus distance. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and even if the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 makes a determination regarding the apparatus terminal distance (positional relationship) between the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300 or measures the apparatus terminal distance. Good. Then, the recording / reproducing device 100 transmits the distance between the device terminals to the portable terminal 300 by short distance wireless communication, and the portable terminal 300 selects the selected IP network based on the distance between the device terminals. It is also good.

  In addition, the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 not only measures the distance between the apparatus terminals, but based on the distance between the apparatus terminals, the selected IP network to be used for distribution of the recording program among the first and second IP networks. It may be configured to select. Furthermore, in the configuration, when the recording and reproduction device 100 is configured to be able to receive the buffer underflow situation from the portable terminal 300, the recording and reproduction device 100 distributes the selected IP network among a plurality of recording programs. The highest possible quality recorded program may be configured to be selected as the recorded program to be delivered.

<Other Modifications>
In the first embodiment, the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 and the video and audio output apparatus are separately provided. However, the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 may be incorporated in a video and audio output apparatus such as a television. When built in the video and audio output device, the recording and reproduction device 100 can display program reproduction without controlling other video and audio output devices and the like, and video and audio output can be reliably performed.

  In the first embodiment, the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 provided by the recording and reproducing apparatus 100 is at most one, but a plurality of re-encoding recording partial TSs 111 may be provided. In this case, the portable terminal 300 selects the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 from the multiple-quality re-encoding recording partial TS 111 by requesting the re-encoding recording partial TS 111 in descending order of quality. Can be played back. By configuring in this way, it is possible to provide high quality remote viewing of recorded programs in the communication environment of the selected IP network.

  In the first embodiment, an example is shown in which requests are sequentially made from the recording partial TS 105 of high quality after the IP network is selected, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when switching to a partial TS 111 for re-encoding and recording with low quality first and then the communication status of the IP network is improved, for example, when sufficient buffering is performed, requests are sequentially made from the recording partial TS 105 having high quality You may do it again. By this configuration, even when the selection of the IP network is not switched, it is possible to provide viewing of a program with high quality as much as possible.

  In the present invention, within the scope of the invention, the embodiment can be appropriately modified or omitted.

  100 recording / reproducing apparatus, 141, 303 near field communication unit, 200 Internet, 201 home network, 300 portable terminal, 301a distance measuring unit, 301b selecting unit.

Claims (5)

A mobile terminal,
And a recording / reproducing device for accumulating a plurality of recorded programs of different quality for one program and distributing any of the plurality of recorded programs to the portable terminal via any of a plurality of IP networks.
Each of the portable terminal and the recording and reproducing device is
A short distance wireless communication unit that communicates using a short distance wireless communication network different from the plurality of IP networks;
The portable terminal or the recording and reproducing device
A distance measuring unit that measures a distance between the portable terminal and the recording and reproducing device based on the communication result between the short distance wireless communication units;
Of the plurality of IP networks, an IP network to be used for distribution of the recorded program is selected based on the distance measured by the distance measurement unit, and of the plurality of recorded programs, the IP network can be distributed A program delivery system comprising: a selection unit which selects the recorded program of the highest quality as the recorded program to be delivered. The program delivery system according to claim 1, wherein
The plurality of IP networks are
A first IP network, including the Internet and a home network,
And a second IP network not including the Internet but including the home network;
The selection unit is
The first IP network is selected when the distance measured by the distance measuring unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and the distance measured by the distance measuring unit is shorter than the threshold. A program delivery system that selects a second IP network. The program delivery system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The selection unit is
A program distribution system, wherein the recorded program having the highest quality is selected as the recorded program to be distributed among the recorded programs which do not generate a buffer underflow when delivered using the selected IP network. The program delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
If it is determined that the recording and reproducing apparatus and the portable terminal exist in one room based on the distance measured by the distance measuring unit, the recorded program and the program distributed to the portable terminal are the same. A program distribution system, wherein the recorded program having the quality higher than that of the recorded program is reproduced by the recording and reproducing apparatus. The program distribution system according to claim 4, wherein
When it is determined that the recording and reproducing apparatus and the portable terminal are present in one room based on the distance measured by the distance measuring unit, the recording program distributed to the portable terminal and the selected program A program distribution system, wherein reproduction on the recording and reproduction apparatus is performed from a reproduction position of the recorded program distributed to the portable terminal based on distribution history information associated with a route of an IP network.

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