JPH06214580A - Karaoke device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need for video editing operation for a background image by letting musical data, text data, and background image control data for selecting background images be independent digital data. CONSTITUTION:This device consists of a musical performance control part 1, a musical performance processing execution part 2, a customer remote control transmitter 3, a speaker 4, a microphone 5, and a CRT display 6 such as a television receiver. The musical data on music, the text data on the music, and the background image control data for selecting the backgrounds of the music are stored as the mutually independent digital data and background images specified with the background image control data are connected, so background images of music with any length can easily be generated in the KARAOKE device. Therefore, the need for the video editing operation for background images of each piece of music is eliminated. Further, the musical performance data are all digital data, so history control over played music can easily be performed by using a computer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0000]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a karaoke apparatus for displaying lyrics and a background image on a display screen of a television receiver or the like in accordance with the performance of a song.

[0001]

2. Description of the Related Art A commercial karaoke apparatus currently used in a karaoke box or karaoke bar is one in which lyrics and a background image are displayed on a display screen of a television receiver or the like in accordance with the performance of a song. Is the mainstream. An example of such a karaoke device is that of Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-49884. This karaoke device stores lyrics video data and a background image separately, and displays them on a screen of a television receiver or the like by synthesizing these reproduced videos during performance.

[0002]

However, in the case of the above-mentioned conventional karaoke apparatus, it is necessary to edit the background image in advance in the video editing studio, which requires a troublesome video editing work. In addition, it is necessary to change or update the background image for each song.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to eliminate the need for the video editing work of the background image, which is indispensable in the conventional karaoke apparatus, and to perform it via the communication line. It is an object of the present invention to provide a karaoke device excellent in operability, which can easily update and change data, and can easily manage the history of played music.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the karaoke apparatus of the present invention has a background image control data for selecting music data of a plurality of songs, lyrics data of each song, and a background image of each song. And performance data storage medium storing independent digital data, a background image storage medium storing a plurality of background image data, and music data of a designated song are read from the performance data storage medium,
Music reproducing means for reproducing and playing a music signal based on the read music data, and lyrics data of a designated song is read from the performance data storage medium, and a lyrics image is generated based on the read lyrics data. Lyrics image generating means, background image reading means for reading the background image control data of the designated song from the performance data storage medium, and reading the background image designated by the read background image control data from the background image storage medium. An image synthesizing unit for synthesizing the background image output from the background image reading unit and the lyrics image generated by the lyrics image generating unit; and an image display unit displaying the combined image output from the image synthesizing unit. It is configured by including.

Further, in the karaoke apparatus of the present invention, the background image stored in the background image storage medium is subdivided into block images of arbitrary time length and stored.

Further, the karaoke apparatus of the present invention stores a plurality of lyrics data in different languages as the lyrics data of each song stored in the performance data storage medium, and reads the lyrics data in the designated language. did.

In the karaoke apparatus of the present invention, the performance data storage medium additionally stores accessory device control data for controlling the accessory device for environmental performance.

Further, the karaoke apparatus of the present invention is connected to a host computer via a communication line.

In the karaoke apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of karaoke apparatuses are connected to a server computer for centralized management.

Further, in the karaoke apparatus of the present invention, the server computer is connected to the host computer via the communication line.

[0011]

When the music piece to be played is designated, the music reproducing means reads out the music data of the designated music piece from the performance data storage medium, and reproduces the music signal based on the read music data to play. On the other hand, the lyrics image generation means reads the lyrics data of the designated song from the performance data storage medium and generates the lyrics image from the read lyrics data. Also,
The background image reading means reads the background image control data of the specified song from the performance data storage medium, reads the background image specified by the read background image control data from the background image storage medium, and connects the background images. , Generate a background image along with the progression of the song. And
The image synthesizing unit synthesizes the background image output from the background image reading unit and the lyrics image generated by the lyrics image generating unit, and displays the image on the image display unit.

As described above, in the case of the karaoke apparatus of the present invention, the music data of the song, the lyrics data of the song, and the background image control data for selecting the background image of the song are each independently digitalized. Since it is stored as data and the background image designated by the background image control data is read from a separately provided background image storage medium and is connected, even if the background image of a song of any length, It can be easily created on a karaoke machine.
Therefore, it is not necessary to perform the video editing work for each song, which has been done in the conventional editing studio.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a karaoke device according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the karaoke apparatus of the first embodiment comprises a performance management section 1, a performance processing execution section 2, a customer remote control transmitter, a speaker 4, a microphone 5, and a CRT display 6 such as a television receiver. ing.

The performance management unit 1 performs reservation management of performance songs, management of performance data, history management of performance songs, and the like. The performance processing execution unit 2 plays the music based on the performance data sent from the performance management unit 1, and superimposes the lyrics of the music being played on a specified background image and displays it on the screen. In addition, various environmental effects such as light control and smoke will be performed.

The performance management unit 1 includes a hard disk 101 ₁
˜101 _n , remote controller receiver 103 for customer, buffer RAM 105 for reservation, terminal computer 107, communication modem 109, self-propelled timer 111.

The hard disk 101 ₁ to 101 _n is a magnetic or magneto-optical recording medium for storing the performance data of a song, for example, and is capable of storing the performance data of a large amount of songs about 5,000 to 15,000 songs . The performance data D for one tune includes music data d1, lyrics data d2, background image control data d3, and accessory device control data d4.

The music data d1 is, for example, a MIDI (Musical Insutrument Digital Interface) MIDI score of a performance song.
It is digital data encoded according to the standard.
The lyrics data d2 is digital data including a character code and a control code for creating / displaying. The background image control data d3 is digital data for selecting a background image as the performance progresses. The accessory control data d4 is digital data for controlling the accessory for various environmental effects such as dimming and smoke control.

The customer remote control receiver 103 receives various command signals, such as music reservation, music order change, and cancellation, which are transmitted from the customer remote control transmitter 3 on infrared rays. The reservation buffer RAM 105 stores the reservation music data received by the customer remote control receiver 103 for a plurality of music pieces (for example, 9 pieces).
It is a memory that can store songs. Customer remote control receiver 1
The reserved music piece data such as the music piece number received in 03 is stored in the reservation buffer RAM 105 at any time and sent to the terminal computer 107 in the order of reservation.

The terminal computer 107 sequentially reads the performance data D of the reserved music from the hard disks 101 _{1 to} 101 _n based on the reserved music data stored in the reservation buffer RAM 105, transfers the performance data D to the performance processing execution unit 2, and transfers the music. It performs various controls such as starting and stopping the performance of. In addition, necessary performance information such as the number of times each music is played and the performance date and time is stored in the internal RAM, and history management is performed.

The communication modem 109 is a modulator / demodulator for communicating the performance management unit 1 with a host computer or the like via a communication line 8 such as a telephone line. For example, the example, when requested song is not stored in the hard disk 101 ₁ to 101 _n, to access the host computer through the communication line 8, reads the performance data of the request song from being played database of the host computer In addition, the performance data of a new song is periodically transferred from the host computer to update the song, or the history information of the played song is transferred to the host computer or the like.

The self-propelled timer 111 is, for example, 1/120.
It is a self-running clock with sec as the minimum unit, and performance control is executed by using this timer output as a reference time axis signal.

The performance processing execution unit 2 has a RAM 20 for one song.
1, hard disk 203, music player controller 20
5, music player 207, video playback device 209 _1-20
9 _n , video editor 211, character string generator / synthesizer 213,
The recording VTR 215, the recorder 217, the dimmer 219, the special effect device 221, the CPU 223, the background image control data RAM 225, the lyrics data RAM 227, the accessory device control data RAM 229, and the like. The CPU 223 and the RAMs 225, 227, 229
Configures a system interface 231 bridging the deferral management unit 1 and the performance processing execution unit 2.

The one-song RAM 201 is a memory for storing the music data d1 in the performance data D of the current performance music transferred from the terminal computer 107 of the music management unit 1 before the start of reproduction. Hard disk 203 is primarily intended responsible for reproduction, such as the chorus part of musical piece, sampling the real voice of the chorus part of the music stored on the hard disk 101 ₁ to 101 _n, and stored as digital data.

The music player control unit 205 stores the music data d1 in the performance data D sent from the terminal computer 107 for one music piece in the RAM 201 and the hard disk 203.
After being stored in the magnetic or magneto-optical recording medium, the sound producing operation of the music player 207 is controlled in synchronization with the time axis signal of the self-propelled timer 111 which starts self-propelled by a performance start command.

Although not shown, the music player 207 includes therein a synthesizer section for generating musical instrument sounds and the like, a D / A converter for reproducing real voice sounds such as chorus parts stored in the hard disk 203, and the like. It is equipped with a mixing amplifier.

The synthesizer section (not shown) is provided with a sound source of, for example, 48 simultaneous sounds, and under the control of the music player controller 205, based on the music data d1 stored in the RAM 201 for one song. Then, a predetermined musical sound is generated and pronounced.

A D / A converter (not shown) reads the sampling data of the specified chorus part from the hard disk 203 based on the music data d1 under the control of the music player controller 205, and outputs the analog signal. Converted to and output. A sound signal from the microphone 5 is mixed and amplified by the mixing amplifier unit (not shown) with the generated musical sound and real voice sound, and the sound signal is emitted from the speaker 4.

The image reproducing devices 209 _{1 to} 209 _n are random access type video reproducing devices such as a laser disk player capable of calling the image data of a desired address position in an extremely short time, and a CPU 223.
Under the control of, the background image at the address position designated by the background image control data d3 stored in the RAM 225 is sequentially selected and output.

Under the control of the CPU 223, the video editor 211 connects the background images output from the video reproducers 209 _{1 to} 209 _n as one background image according to the background image control data d3 stored in the RAM 225. It goes. Further, it also performs processing such as synthesizing an image captured by the video camera 7 as a picture-in-picture screen at an appropriate position on the screen.

The character string generator / synthesizer 213 has a CPU 22.
Under the control of No. 3, a background image in which a lyrics character string is created from the lyrics data d2 stored in the RAM 227, and the lyrics image is edited by the video editing machine 14 while changing the character color according to the progression of the song. On the CRT display 6 such as a television receiver.

The video recording VTR 215 records under the control of the CPU 223 in accordance with the video recording reservation from the customer remote control transmitter 3. The recorder 219 is, for example, a cassette tape recorder or a DAT (digital audio tape recorder), and records under the control of the CPU 223 like the recording VTR 215. If you want to record or record, set the tape before the performance starts.

Under the control of the CPU 223, the dimmer 219 controls the accessory device control data d4 stored in the RAM 229.
In accordance therewith, for example, control is performed such as at what timing and with what brightness an illuminating device such as a mirror ball or a spotlight is illuminated. The control output is, for example, 0 to 10
Five DC signals are prepared.

The special effect device 221 is, for example, a smoke generator of dry ice, and under the control of the CPU 223, the accessory device control data d stored in the RAM 229.
According to 4, smoke is generated at a predetermined timing.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a performance preparation process in the karaoke apparatus of the first embodiment. First, the performance preparation processing operation will be described with reference to this flowchart.

The terminal computer 107 monitors whether or not the reservation data is contained in the first position of the reservation area of the reservation buffer RAM 105 (step S1). A desired message such as "please reserve the next song" is displayed on the display (step S2) to prompt a song reservation operation.

When the reservation data for the first performance song is transmitted from the customer remote control transmitter 3, and the customer remote control receiver 103 receives the reservation data, the reservation data is stored in the first reservation area of the reservation buffer RAM 105. After storing in the position (step S3), the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S4, after confirming that the self-propelled timer 111 is stopped, that is, other playing music is not currently being played, the hard disks 101 _{1 to} 101 _n are checked.
The performance data D of the first reserved song is read out from the inside (step S5). As for the music data d1 in the performance data D, one music piece R of the music player controller 205 is used.
It is transferred and stored in the AM 201 and the hard disk 203 (step S6).

Further, the lyrics data d2 is transferred to the RAM 227 in the system interface 231, the background image control data d3 is transferred to the RAM 225, and the accessory device control data d4 is transferred to the RAM 229 for storage (step S7).

When the writing of the data d1 to d4 for the performance data D of the first reserved music is completed (step S
8), the CPU 22 in the system interface 231
3 is the background image control data d stored in the RAM 225
3 is analyzed and the background image data used first among the video reproducers 209 _{1 to} 209 _n , for example, video number 00
1 to access the background image data (steps S9, S1
0), the video player in which the background image data is stored is made to stand by at the position of the background image data until the performance starts (step S11).

Such background image data access processing is repeated, for example, by the number of video reproducers 209 _{1 to} 209 _n , and each of the video reproducers 209 _{1 to} 209 _{n is made} to stand by at the accessed background image data position ( Step S1
2, S13, S13).

On the other hand, the CPU 223 retrieves title data such as a song title, a poet's name, and a composer's name in the lyrics data d2 stored in the RAM 227 at the same time when the background image data is accessed. After sending the data to the character string generator / synthesizer 213 to create a character image for a title (step S15), the tempo and key of the music are reset to standard (step S16), and a series of performance preparation processing ends.

After the preparation process is completed as described above,
If the customer remote control transmitter 3 does not cancel the performance or send the change command, the karaoke performance is started.

That is, when the self-propelled timer 111 starts self-propelled by a performance start command, the music player controller 205 synchronizes with the time axis signal output from the self-propelled timer 111, and the RAM 201 for one song and the hard disk. 203
Music data d1 is sequentially read from the music player 207
Send to.

The music player 207 controls the sounding operation of the sound source section in accordance with the music data d1 sent from the music player controller 205, thereby generating a tone signal given by the music data d1 and playing it from the speaker. .

On the other hand, the CPU 223 sequentially reads the background image data from the video reproducers 209 _{1 to} 209 _n waiting in the access state, edits them with the video editor 211, and then causes the character string generator / synthesizer 213 to read them. send. Character string occurrence /
The synthesizer 213 superimposes on the background image sent from the video reproducer the title character string of the musical piece created in advance and displays it on the screen of the CRT display 6.

Then, the character string generator / synthesizer 213 converts the lyrics data d2 stored in the RAM 227 into lyrics images one after another according to the progress of the musical composition, and superimposes it on the screen of the CRT display 6. When the singer sings into the microphone 5 while watching the lyrics, the voice is sent to the voice reproducer 207 and mixed with the music.
Sounded from the speaker 5. The color of the lyrics after singing changes one after another.

As the music performance progresses, the background image control data d3
When the predetermined timing position given by
223 reads the background image data of the next designated video number position from the video reproducers 209 _{1 to} 209 _n , and switches the background image displayed on the CRT display 6 to this new background image while fading in / fadeing out, for example. To go.

Further, when the predetermined timing position is reached, the CPU 223 controls the dimmer 212 according to the accessory control data d4 stored in the RAM 229,
Controls the lighting of spotlights and mirror balls. Also, the special effect device 221 is controlled to burn the smoke of dry ice at a predetermined timing position.

Further, by issuing a command from the customer remote control transmitter 3, the image taken by the video camera 7 is displayed on the CRT.
By combining a picture-in-picture screen on the screen of the display 6 or recording reservation or recording reservation in advance, the recording VTR 215 and the recorder 21
Record or record at 7.

In the request operation of the performance music, if the requested music is not stored in any of the hard disks 101 _{1 to} 101 _n in the performance management unit 1, the communication modem 109, the communication line access to the host computer via the 8 reads the performance data of the request song from being played database of the host computer is stored in the hard disk 101 ₁ to 101 _n. Also, performance data of new songs can be delivered from the host computer periodically through the communication line 8.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a time chart of the processing operation of the karaoke apparatus of the first embodiment described above. As is clear from FIG. 3, in the case of the karaoke device of the present invention,
By sequentially selecting and connecting the background images stored in the video reproducers 209 _{1 to} 209 _n , it becomes possible to freely create a background image according to the musical piece being played. Therefore, it is not necessary to previously edit the background image for one song as in the conventional karaoke apparatus, and the video editing work of the background image for each song is unnecessary. In addition,
At this time, if the background image is subdivided and stored as a block image, a wider variety of background image combinations can be realized.

Further, if the background image is arbitrarily selected from the background image group suitable for the musical composition of the musical piece to be played by using a random number or the like, the same background image is reproduced even when the same musical piece is continuously played. It will not be done.

Further, the hard disks 101 _{1 to} 101 _n
As the lyrics data d1 in the performance data D stored in
If you store multiple lyrics data in different languages such as Japanese lyrics data, English lyrics data, French lyrics data, German lyrics data, etc., you can specify by specifying from the customer remote control transmitter 3. The lyrics data in the selected language can be displayed on the screen of the CRT display 6.

Further, since the performance data D is composed entirely of digital data, it can be directly processed by the computer, and the history management of the performance music can be performed extremely accurately and easily.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the karaoke apparatus according to the present invention. In this second embodiment,
Connect multiple karaoke machines to the server computer,
The karaoke device is centrally managed by a server computer.

In FIG. 4, 9 _{1 to} 9 _n are karaoke boxes in which karaoke devices are installed, 10 is a server computer, 11 is a high-speed communication line such as Ethernet connecting each karaoke device and the server computer 11, and 12 ₁
To 12 _n are large-capacity hard disk for storing performance data, 13 a communication modem, 14 is a telephone line connecting between the host computer.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the performance preparation process in the karaoke apparatus of the second embodiment. The basic processing flow is the same as that of the first embodiment (FIG. 2) described above, but since each karaoke device is centrally managed by the server computer 10, step S2 of FIG.
4, the process of S25, that is, the server computer 10
The performance data of the required song is read from the hard disks 12 _{1 to} 12 _n on the side and the hard disk 1 of each karaoke device is read.
This is different from that of the first embodiment in that there is a process of writing to 01. The other processing operations are the same as those in FIG. 2, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the case of the karaoke apparatus of the second embodiment, the karaoke apparatuses installed in the karaoke boxes 9 _{1 to} 9 _n are centrally managed by the server computer 10. It is economical as long as at least one hard disk 101 with a small capacity of about 80 MB is provided.

If there is no performance data of the requested song on the hard disk 101 of the karaoke machine, the server computer 10 is accessed through the high speed line 11 and the corresponding performance data is transferred from the hard disks 12 _{1 to} 12 _n. do it. Further, the communication modem 13 for connecting to the host computer only needs to be provided on the server computer side, and it is not necessary to provide it on each karaoke apparatus, which is economical.

Further, updating of new songs and the like need only be performed on the hard disks 12 _{1 to} 12 _n on the server computer 10 side, and when necessary, the server computer 1
Transfer from 0 to the hard disk 101 of each karaoke device is sufficient. Furthermore, since the history management of the performance songs in each karaoke device is centralized by the server computer 10, it is possible to construct an efficient karaoke system.

[0061]

[Effect] As is clear from the above description, when the karaoke apparatus of the present invention is used,
The lyrics data of the song and the background image control data for selecting the background image of the song are stored as independent digital data, and the background image specified by the background image control data is connected. Even with a background image of a song having such a length, the background image can be easily created in the karaoke device. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the need for the video editing work of the background image for each music, which has been conventionally performed in the editing studio. Further, since the performance data are all digital data, it is possible to easily manage the history of the performance music using a computer.

Further, since the background image stored in the background image storage medium is subdivided into block images having an arbitrary time length and stored, the combination of background images can be freely and infinitely expanded.

Since a plurality of lyrics data in different languages are stored as the lyrics data of each song stored in the performance data storage medium and the lyrics data in the designated language is read out, Japanese and English You can display the lyrics in the desired language, such as French, German, or Chinese.

Further, since the accessory data for controlling the accessory for environmental performance is additionally stored in the performance data storage medium, special effects such as lighting and smoke are automatically produced by this control data. It is possible to further enhance the atmosphere of the venue.

Further, since the karaoke apparatus is connected to the host computer via the communication line, it can be transferred from the host computer when the performance data of the requested song does not exist, and any requested song can be transferred. You can deal flexibly.

Further, since a plurality of karaoke devices are centrally managed by the server computer, the capacity of the performance data storage means on the side of each karaoke device can be reduced, and the karaoke device can be made smaller. Becomes Further, since the server computer performs centralized management, it is possible to more efficiently manage the history of performance songs.

Further, since the server computer is connected to the host computer through the communication line, it is possible to improve the service through the communication line such as speedy provision of new songs.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a karaoke apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a performance preparation process of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a time chart of an example of a performance operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the karaoke apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a performance preparation process of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Performance Management Section 2 Performance Processing Execution Section 3 Customer Remote Control Transmitter 4 Speaker 5 Microphone 6 CRT Display 8 Communication Line 9 Karaoke Box 10 Server Computer 11 High Speed Line 12 Hard Disk 13 Communication Modem 14 Telephone Line 101 Hard Disk 103 Customer Remote Control Reception Machine 107 Terminal computer 109 Communication modem 201 One song RAM 203 Hard disk 205 Music player control device 207 Music player 209 Video player 211 Video editor 213 Character string generator / synthesizer 219 Dimmer 221 Special effect device 223 CPU 225 video control RAM 227 lyrics RAM 229 accessory device control RAM 231 system interface D performance data d1 music data d2 lyrics data d3 background image control data d4 Genus device control data

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A performance data storage medium in which music data of a plurality of songs, lyrics data of each song, and background image control data for selecting a background image of each song are stored as independent digital data, respectively. A background image storage medium in which background image data is stored, a music reproducing means for reading out music data of a designated music piece from the performance data storage medium, and reproducing a music signal based on the read out music data to perform. The lyrics data of the specified song is read from the performance data storage medium, and the lyrics image generating means for generating the lyrics image based on the read lyrics data; and the background image control data of the specified song from the performance data storage medium. Background image reading means for reading and reading a background image designated by the read background image control data from the background image storage medium; An image synthesizing unit for synthesizing the background image output from the background image reading unit and the lyrics image generated by the lyrics image generating unit, and an image display unit displaying the combined image output from the image synthesizing unit. A karaoke device characterized by being provided. 2. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the background image stored in the background image storage medium is subdivided into block images having an arbitrary time length and stored. 3. A plurality of lyrics data in different languages are stored as the lyrics data of each song stored in the performance data storage medium, and the lyrics data in a designated language is read out. Item 1. A karaoke device according to item 1. 4. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 1, wherein accessory data for controlling an accessory for environmental performance is additionally stored in a performance data storage medium. 5. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the karaoke apparatus is connected to a host computer via a communication line. 6. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of karaoke apparatuses are connected to a server computer for centralized management. 7. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the server computer is connected to the host computer via a communication line.