JPH08275139A - Dynamic image data provider system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To minimize a moving image data amount by providing a reference state recording means, a compression rate decision means, and a data compression means compressing dynamic image data in response to the decided compression rate and transferring the compressed data to a dynamic image reproduction device in the system. CONSTITUTION: Dynamic image data delivered to user terminal equipments 105-110 are stored in an auxiliary storage device 102. Furthermore, the device 102 stores various data and information relating to them used for processing to allow a dynamic image data delivery server 101 to decide the compression rate. In the case of the storage, a category attribute data generating section 103 generates a frame identifier table and category attribute data and stores them to the device 102. Then a compression dynamic image data generating section 104 generates compression dynamic image data. The server 101 sends the generated compression data for a period according to the reproduction method designated by an operation content identifier to the terminal equipment 105. For example, in the case of fast forward reproduction, the compression dynamic image data by one frame are sent with a shorter period than that of the usual reproduction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a moving picture data providing system for transferring a moving picture to be reproduced to a moving picture reproducing apparatus for reproducing a moving picture corresponding to moving picture data using a computer, and more particularly to a moving picture data providing system. The present invention relates to a moving image data providing system that repeatedly transfers a large amount of moving image data via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When moving image data is transferred to a moving image reproducing apparatus via a computer network, since the amount of data is huge, the traffic of data flowing through a network line is increased and other communication is hindered. There is a problem. Therefore, generally, moving image data is compressed to reduce the amount of data flowing through a network line. However, although the total amount of information included in the image data is reduced by the compression, even the information required by the user may be lost depending on the compression method.

Therefore, there is a need for a compression method that suppresses the loss rate of information required by the user, and the following method has been conventionally used as such a compression method.

(1) A method in which a necessary part is specified in advance and the data of the other part is mainly compressed.

(2) A method of compressing the amount of data by reducing the number of frames per unit time when the amount of change in data between each frame is small in a continuous frame group.

The former method is a method of suppressing a loss rate of information required by a user by, for example, identifying a person image as a necessary portion and mainly subjecting data other than the person image to compression. .

In the latter method, a continuous frame group in which the amount of data change between adjacent frames is less than or equal to a threshold value is regarded as a still image, and a plurality of frames are regarded as 1 frame.
This is a method in which the number of frames per unit time is reduced by representing one frame, and the total amount of moving image data is compressed. This method uses the fact that the information contained in the representative frame and the information contained in the reduced frame are almost the same, thereby suppressing the loss rate of information required by the user. .

[0008]

By the way, in the case of compressing a moving image, (1) validity of a specific standard of a necessary part,
(2) It is necessary to consider the point of dealing with individual users.

That is, when the necessary portion is specified, since a standard that is not directly related to the semantic content of the moving image data, such as the presence or absence of a predetermined image object and the amount of change between adjacent frames, is used, Information required by the user may not be correctly specified.

Further, it can be considered that which part of the moving image data is necessary may differ depending on the purpose of use of each user. Further, even if the necessary parts are the same, the range of the compression rate of the moving image data to be provided depends on the machine environment of each user and the taste of each user.

However, in the above conventional compression method,
In both cases, since the same moving image data is provided to all users, there is a problem that it is not possible to cope with such a difference in the demands of individual users.

An object of the present invention is to minimize the loss rate of information required by individual users within a range in which each user can be satisfied, and to minimize the total amount of moving image data.
An object of the present invention is to provide a moving image data providing system capable of compressing moving image data and providing it to a user.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention basically uses category attributes of moving image data, user reference situation data, and user setting data individually or in combination. , The compression ratio of moving image data,
By variably deciding on a frame-by-frame basis, on a continuous frame group basis or on a category basis, the loss rate of information required by the user can be minimized within the range that the user can satisfy, and the total amount of moving image data can be minimized. Therefore, the amount of moving image data is optimized.

That is, reference status recording means for monitoring the reference status of the moving image data and recording the reference status as frame-by-frame reference status data in frame units or continuous frame groups, and in accordance with the frame-by-frame reference status data A compression rate determining means for determining the compression rate of the moving image data in units of each frame or in the unit of a continuous frame group, and data compression for compressing the moving image data according to the determined compression rate and transferring it to the moving image reproducing apparatus. And means.

Attribute setting means for setting the category of the moving image data as an attribute in units of frames or groups of consecutive frames, and the reference situation of the moving image data is monitored, and the reference situation is classified by category in the reference situation data. And a compression rate determining means for determining a compression rate of the moving image data according to the category-based reference situation data, and a compression rate for compressing the moving image data according to the determined compression rate. It is characterized in that it is provided with a data compression means for transferring to a moving image reproducing apparatus.

Further, the compression rate determining means, in addition to the frame-by-frame reference situation data or the category-by-category reference situation data, the frame-by-frame or continuous frame group-by-frame compression rate and the category-attribute-by-category compression rate input from the moving image reproducing apparatus. The compression rate of the moving image data is determined by a combination of the compression rate upper limit value and the compression rate lower limit value.

[0017]

According to the above means, the reference situation of the moving image data is recorded in frame units, continuous frame group units, or category units, and if a reference request is made,
The compression ratio is determined according to the reference situation of the moving image data for which the reference request is made, and the moving image data is compressed according to the compression ratio and transferred to the moving image reproducing apparatus.

Therefore, for example, when the past reference situation is mainly fast-forward reproduction, it can be considered that the image is of little interest to the user, so the compression rate is increased and the data amount is reduced. To provide. On the other hand, when the reference frequency is high in the past and the slow playback is frequently used in the reference situation, the image can be regarded as an image that is extremely interesting to the user himself, so that the compression rate can be minimized for detailed reference. To

This makes it possible to optimize the amount of moving image data so that the loss rate of information required by each user is minimized within the range where each user is satisfied, and the amount of moving image data is minimized. Become.

Further, by providing the category attribute of the moving image data, the action can be realized by using the category attribute even for the moving image data which is referred to for the first time.

Further, in determining the compression rate, various parameters such as the upper limit value of the compression rate set by the user are used to more accurately identify the information part required by each user and use it. It is possible to provide a moving image with a compression rate that meets the requirements of the user.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an overall block diagram showing an embodiment of a moving image data providing system of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 101 is a network 11.
1, a moving image data delivery server that transmits moving image data via the network 111 and receives operation data performed by each user. Reference numeral 102 denotes data and compression rates transmitted and received by the moving image data delivery server 101. It is an auxiliary storage device for storing various kinds of data used in the determining process and information related thereto.

Reference numeral 103 denotes a category attribute data creation unit which adds category attribute data in frame units or continuous frame group units when moving image data is stored in the auxiliary storage device 102.

Reference numeral 104 denotes a compressed moving image data creating section having a calculation function for creating compressed moving image data in response to a user's request.

Reference numerals 105 to 110 denote a function of receiving moving image data from the moving image data delivery server 101, a function of reproducing and outputting the received moving image data to a display device, and a function of accepting an operation performed by a user as data.
The input operation data is transferred to the moving image data delivery server 101.
It is a user terminal device having a function of transmitting to.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a frame identifier table 200 showing the correspondence between a frame or continuous frame group of moving image data and a frame identifier. The data stored in this frame identifier table 200 is moving image data. It comprises a moving image data identification unit 201, a frame identification unit 202, frame position data 203, and frame number data 204 created for each frame group.

The frame position data 203 is data indicating where in the moving image data specified by the moving image data identifying unit 201 the frame specified by the frame identifying unit 202 or the first frame of the continuous frame group is located. , For example, by the number of frames from the beginning of the moving image data.

The frame number data 204 is data representing the number of frames included in the continuous frame group specified by the frame identification section 202.

The moving image data identification section 201 is composed of a moving image data identifier 205 for identifying moving image data and moving image explanation data 206, and an explanation of the moving image data specified by the moving image data identifier 205. The data is recorded in a human-readable format. For example, the name, creator, target, production time, total time, outline, genre, etc. of the moving image are recorded in a human-readable format.

Further, the frame identification section 202 has a frame identifier 207 for identifying a frame or a continuous frame.
And frame explanation data 208, the explanation data about the frame or continuous frame group specified by the frame identifier 207 is recorded in a human-readable format. For example, an outline, an object, a category, etc. are recorded in a human-readable format.

The frame identifier table 200 is prepared for each moving image data in frame unit or continuous frame group unit.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of the category attribute data table 300 created for each moving image data. The data stored in this category attribute data table 300 is the moving image data identifier 205 and the frame identifier of the frame identifier table 200. A moving image data identifier 301 and a frame identifier 30 respectively corresponding to 202
2 and the category attribute identifier group 303 of the frame or continuous frame group specified by the frame identifier 302
And one or more category attribute identifiers are stored in this category attribute identifier group 303.

With such a structure, one or more category attributes can be expressed in one frame or one frame group.

This category attribute data table 300
Is a frame identifier 302 and a category attribute identifier group 3
It has a structure in which 03 and 03 appear repeatedly.

FIG. 4 shows a user identifier list table 40.
It is a block diagram of 0, identifiers 401-404 for each user,
This table 400 is configured to store ...
Is used to access the moving image delivery server 101 using the user terminal devices 103 to 110 and identify all users who refer to the moving image data stored in the auxiliary storage device 102.

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of the reference situation data table 500. The data stored in this table 500 includes a user identifier 501, a category-specific reference situation data section 502, and a frame-specific reference situation data section 503. It is configured.

Of these, the category-based reference situation data section 502 stores the reference situation data of each category of the user identified by the user identifier 501.

This category-by-category reference status data section 502
Is a category attribute identifier 504 corresponding to the category attribute identifier group 303 and this category attribute identifier 50
The category-based reference situation data 505 of each user having the category attribute specified by 4 repeatedly appears. And the reference situation data by category 5
Reference numeral 05 includes reference frequency data 510 for each category attribute specified by the category attribute identifier 504 and operation content data 511 for each user.

Further, the frame-by-frame reference status data section 503
The reference status data of the user specified by the user identifier 501 is stored in frame units or continuous frame groups.

On the other hand, the frame-by-frame reference status data section 503
Has a structure in which the moving image data identifier 506 corresponding to the moving image data identifier 205 and the frame identification unit 507 appear repeatedly, and the frame identification unit 507 uses the frame identifier 508 corresponding to the frame identifier 207 and the individual identifiers 508. The structure is such that the frame-by-frame reference situation data 509 of each user in the specified frame unit or continuous frame group unit repeatedly appears.

Then, the reference situation data 509 for each frame
Includes reference frequency data 512 in frame units or continuous frame group units specified by the frame identifier 508 and operation content data 513 of each user.

FIG. 6 shows the reference situation data section 5 for each category.
02 and the operation content data 511, 513 in the frame-by-frame reference situation data portion 503,
The operation content identifier 601 and the operation date / time data 602 appear repeatedly, and the operation content identifier 601 includes various reproduction operation modes such as reproduction, fast forward, rewind, slow reproduction, frame advance, and still image reproduction. The operation date / time data 6 is specified by specifying all operation modes performed by the user.
In 02, the date and time when the user has performed the operation is specified. This operation date / time data 602 allows the past reference frequency and reference interval to be known.

FIG. 7 shows a user setting data table 700.
In the user setting data 700, among the parameters for determining the compression ratio of the moving image data, parameters that can be set by individual users are stored.

That is, the data stored in the user setting data table 700 includes the user identifiers 701 corresponding to the user identifiers 401, 402, ... Of the user identifier list table 400, and the users set by each user. The setting data section 702 and the temporary change data section 703 include a user setting data section 702. The user setting data section 702 includes a category-specific data section 704, a frame-specific data section 705, a compression rate upper limit value data 706, and a compression rate lower limit value data. 707, a compression execution flag 708, an application ratio data section 709, and an expiration date data section 710.

The temporary change data section 703 includes a category-specific data section 711, a frame-specific data section 712, a compression rate upper limit value data 713, a compression rate lower limit value data 714,
It includes a compression execution flag 715 and an application ratio data section 716.

Of these, the application ratio data parts 709, 71
6, the application ratio of each compression ratio data stored in the compression ratio list data (see FIG. 8) is stored.

Further, the expiration date data section 710 stores the expiration date of each upper limit setting item.

The category data section 704 has a structure in which the category attribute identifier 717 corresponding to the category attribute identifier group 303 and the category compression rate data 718 appear repeatedly.

The frame-specific data section 712 has a structure in which moving image data identifiers 719 and 207 corresponding to the moving image data identifier 205 and the corresponding frame identifier 720 and the frame-by-frame compression rate data 721 appear repeatedly.

Each data 711 of the temporary change data section 703
If ˜716 is not set by the user, flags indicating that the data is not set are stored.

When set by the user, each data in the temporary change data section 703 has priority over each data in the user setting data section 702.

FIG. 8 shows a compression rate list data table 80.
FIG. 10 is a structural diagram of No. 0, the compression rate data 801 by user setting category calculated by using the category-specific data portion 704 (see FIG. 7) of the user setting data, and the frame-specific data portion 705 of the user setting data (FIG. The compression rate data 802 for each user setting frame calculated by using the above (see 7) is stored. Further, the category-specific reference situation compression rate data 803 calculated using the category-specific reference situation data section 502 (see FIG. 5) and the frame-specific reference situation data section 503 (see FIG. 5) of the reference situation data The frame-by-frame reference situation compression rate data 804 calculated using this is stored.

The compression ratio actually applied to the moving image data is determined by weighting the application ratio 709 or 716 based on the compression ratio data 801 to 804 (see FIG. 14).

The compression rate data 801 to 804 include
When the value of the compression rate is not set, a flag indicating that the compression rate is not set is stored so that it does not participate in the determination of the compression rate.

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram of the compression ratio control data table 900 for each operation content. The operation content identifier 901 corresponding to the operation content identifier 601 and the compression ratio correction data 902.
It has a structure in which and repeatedly appear.

The compression rate correction data 902 stores data on how the compression rate is corrected by the operation specified by the operation content identifier 901.

FIG. 10 shows user terminal devices 105-110.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of the moving image reproduction display unit 10.
01, reproduction operation unit 1002, reproduction start position determination operation unit 1
003 is displayed.

Of these, the reproduction start position determination operation section 1003
Includes a moving image data menu 1004, a moving image data explanation button 1005, a frame menu 1006, a frame explanation button 1007, and a reproduction start position determination button 100.
8 is displayed, and the moving image data menu 1004 displays a list of moving image data provided by the moving image data delivery server 101. Then, when the operation of selecting the moving image data explanation button 1005 is performed, an explanation of the moving image data selected in the moving image data menu 1004 is displayed.

Further, in the frame menu 1006, a menu 1006 of frames or frame groups of moving image data selected by the moving image data explanation button 1005 is displayed. When an operation of selecting the frame data explanation button 1007 is performed, an explanation of the frame data selected in the frame menu 1006 is displayed.

When the operation for selecting the reproduction start position determination button 1008 is performed, the moving image data menu 1004 is displayed.
And the frame of the moving image data selected in the frame menu 1006 is determined as the reproduction start position.

Reference numeral 1009 denotes a user setting data change button. By operating this change button 1009, the screen is switched to the user setting data change screen. 1010
Is an end button, and by operating the end button 1010, the connection state with the moving image data delivery server 101 is released.

The user terminal devices 105 to 110 convert the content operated by the user into a corresponding operation content identifier and send it to the moving image data delivery server 101, and the user setting data set by the user. A means for transmitting to the moving image data delivery server 101, and a moving image data delivery server 10
A unit for converting moving image data transmitted from No. 1 into a corresponding moving image and reproducing and displaying the moving image on the moving image reproducing and displaying unit 1001;
The moving image data explanation data 206 and the frame explanation data 207 transmitted from the moving image data delivery server 101 are displayed on the moving image data menu 1004 and the frame menu 1006 so that the user can select the reproduction start position. And a means for transmitting the moving image data identifier 205 and the frame identifier 207 of the moving image data desired to be referred to the moving image data delivery server.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the user setting data change screen, in which the user setting data item 1101 and the temporary change button 1102 are displayed.
By operating 102, the setting data can be changed in the temporary change data section 703. If it has not been operated, the operation is performed on the user setting data section 702. Further, the set value changing unit 1103 and the set value display unit 1
104, setting execution button 1105, setting cancel button 1106, user setting data change end button 1107
Is displayed.

12 to 15 are flow charts showing the flow of processing of this embodiment. The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to this flow chart.

By this system, the user terminal device 105
~ 110 The moving image data is delivered to the auxiliary storage device 10
2 and is identified by the moving image data identifier 205.

At the time of storage, the category attribute data creating unit 103 creates a frame identifier table (see FIG. 2) and category attribute data (see FIG. 3) and stores the frame identifier table and the moving image data in the auxiliary storage device 102.

First, a series of processes in which the moving image data delivery server 101 provides moving image data to the user terminal devices 105 to 110 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

For example, when the moving image data delivery server 101 receives a connection request from the user terminal device 105 (step 1201), the user identifier (eg 401) of the user who has issued the connection request is sent to the user identifier list table. Search from 400 (see FIG. 4) (step 120)
2).

User identifier 4 of the user who issued the connection request
If 01 exists in the user identifier list table 400, the user identifier 401 is used as a search key,
The reference situation data (see FIG. 5) and the user setting data (see FIG. 7) corresponding to the user are read from the auxiliary storage device 102 (step 1203).

However, if the user identifier 401 of the user who issued the connection request does not exist in the user identifier list table 400, the user identifier 401 is newly added to the user identifier list table 400, and The user is requested to set the user setting data, and the user setting data is created for the user using the data transmitted from the user (step 1204).

The moving image data delivery server 101 transmits a list of the moving image data identifying section 201 and the frame identifying section 202 for the moving image data stored in the auxiliary storage device 102 to the user terminal device 105 (step 120).
5).

On the other hand, the user performs a moving image selecting operation and a frame selecting operation, and the user terminal device 105 moves the moving image data identifier 205 and the frame identifier 207.
Upon receiving (step 1206), the moving image data delivery server 101 checks whether the operation data is transmitted from the user terminal device 105 (step 120).
7) If yes, the operation content identifier 601 is updated to the transmitted value (step 1208), and if not, step 1208 is skipped.

After that, the operation content identifier 601 is checked (step 1209). If the operation content identifier 601 relates to "reproduction operation", the process proceeds to step 1210. If it is "user setting data change", the process proceeds to step 1214, and "end". If so, the process skips to step 1215 (step 1209).

In the case of “playback operation”, the operation content data 511 of the category-specific reference status data 505 and the operation content data 513 of the frame-specific reference status data 509.
(See FIG. 5) respectively (step 121)
0).

Next, the compressed moving image data creating section 104 creates compressed moving image data (step 121).
1).

The moving image data delivery server 101 transmits the compressed moving image data created in step 1211 to the user terminal device 105 in a cycle according to the reproduction method designated by the operation content identifier 601 (step 1212). For example, in the case of fast-forward reproduction, one frame of compressed moving image data is transmitted at a faster cycle than in the case of normal reproduction.

Next, the frame identifier is updated according to the number of transmitted frames (step 1213) and the process returns to step 1207.

When the operation content identifier 601 is “change user setting data”, the user terminal device 105 is inquired about whether it is a temporary change, and if it is a temporary change, the temporary change data section 703 of the user setting data is set as follows. If not, the user setting data section 702 is changed (step 121
4) and returns to step 1207.

When the operation content identifier 601 corresponds to "end", the connection state with the user terminal device 105 is released (step 1215), and the updated data is stored in the auxiliary storage device 102 (step 1216). . However, the user setting data temporary change unit 703 is not saved.

Next, the processing performed by the compressed moving image data creating section 104 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, it is checked whether or not each data item of the temporary change data section 703 of the user setting data is set, and for the set item, the temporary change data section 703 is set to be used as user setting data. The expiration date is determined by the expiration date data unit 710, and initialization processing is performed to delete the setting contents whose expiration date has expired (step 1301).

Next, the compression execution flag 708 of the user setting data section 702 or the compression execution flag 715 of the temporary change data section is judged (step 1302). If "false", steps 1303 to 1313 are skipped.

If true, from the category attribute data table 300, the frame identifier 302 specified by the user
The category attribute identifier 303 of the frame (or frame group) corresponding to is acquired (step 1303).

Next, the category-specific data portion 704 or the temporary data conversion portion 703 of the user setting data portion 702.
It is determined whether or not the compression rate data 718 of the category attribute identifier obtained in step 1303 is set in the category-specific data part 711 of (step 1304),
If it is set, the set value is stored as the compression rate data 801 for each user setting category, and if it is not set, step 1305 is skipped.

Next, the moving image data identifier 719 is stored in the frame-specific data section 705 of the user setting data section 702 or the frame-specific data section 712 of the temporary data changing section 703.
Then, it is judged whether or not the compression rate data 721 of the frame or frame group specified by the frame identifier 720 is set (step 1306), and if set, the set value is set for each user setting frame. It is stored as the compression rate data 802, and if not set, step 1307 is skipped.

Next, it is judged whether or not the reference frequency data 510 and the operation content data 511 of the category attribute identifier 504 obtained in step 1303 are recorded in the category-based reference status data portion 502 of the reference status data (step 1308), step 13 if recorded
The compression rate is determined using the reference frequency data 510 and the operation content data 511 obtained in 08 (described later in FIG. 14) and stored as category-based reference situation compression rate data 803 (step 1309). However, the reference frequency data 510
If the operation content data 511 is not recorded, step 1309 is skipped.

Next, the reference frequency data 512 and the operation content data 5 of the frame or frame group specified by the moving image data identifier 719 and the frame identifier 720 in the frame-by-frame reference situation data portion 503 of the reference situation data.
13 is recorded (step 131).
0) If it is recorded, the compression rate is determined using the reference frequency data 512 and the operation content data 513 obtained in step 1310 (described later in FIG. 14) and stored as the frame-by-frame reference situation compressed data 804 ( Step 131
1). However, if not recorded, step 131
Skip 1

Next, the application ratio stored in the application ratio data part 709 or 716 of the user setting data is applied to the compression ratio data 801 to 804 as a weighting coefficient to determine the compression ratio (step 1312).

Next, the compression rate determined in step 1312 is the compression rate upper limit value data 706 or 713 and the compression rate lower limit value data 707 or 714 of the user setting data.
If it is outside the range set in step 3, the compression rate is corrected so that the range is set (step 1313).

Finally, the determined compression rate is applied to create compressed moving image data (step 1314).

Next, the processing performed in steps 1309 and 1311 will be described with reference to FIG.

The purpose of the processing performed in this part is to determine the compression rate in frame units, continuous frame group units, or category attribute units according to the user's reference situation.

That is, for example, when fast-forward reproduction is frequently repeated in the past, the compression rate is set to a high level, or conversely, when slow-motion reproduction, frame advance, still image reproduction, etc. are frequently used. The point is that the process of setting the compression rate to a low value is performed (see FIG. 15).

First, the data (see FIG. 9) of the compression ratio control data table 900 for each operation content is read (step 1).
401).

Next, the reference frequency data 510 or 512
Then, the standard compression rate is determined using the standard compression rate function. As a candidate for the standard compression rate function, for example, a monotonically increasing function that converges to a certain constant value is used (step 1402).

Next, the operation content data 511 or 513
The operation frequency is calculated for each operation content identifier 601 using the operation date / time data 602. The operation frequency is calculated using, for example, an algorithm that gives priority to the most recently performed operation (step 1403).

Next, the compression rate correction data 902 (see FIG. 9) for each operation content identifier 601 is weighted by the operation frequency obtained in step 1403 and added to determine the compression rate correction value (step). 1404).

Next, the reference compression rate obtained in step 1402 is corrected by the correction value obtained in step 1404 to determine the compression rate (step 1405).

By the processing described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, the final compression rate of one frame (group) having a certain category is as shown in the following calculation formula.

[0102]

[Equation 1]

However, when R calculated by this calculation formula is in the following range, correction is further made as follows: R <m R = m R> M R = M If the compression execution flag is "false", no compression is performed.

R = final compression rate a _i = application ratio data section 709 (7 when set)
16) = (a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ , a ₄ ) r ₁ = compression rate data 801 by user set category = compression rate data 718 r ₂ by category user set compression rate data 802 = frame set Compression rate data 721 r ₃ = Category reference situation compression rate data 803 r ₄ = Frame reference situation compression rate data 804 ε ₁ = User-set category compression rate data storage flag (1 when stored 0 if not present ε ₂ = User-set compression rate data storage flag for each frame (1 if stored, 0 otherwise) ε ₃ = Reference status compression rate data storage flag for category (stored) 1, 0 when one, not when the 0) epsilon ₄ = is a frame-specific reference situation compressibility data storage flag (storage when not in) f _i = frequency of reference data when they are i = For 3 cases 510, i = 4 512) B = basic compression rate function o _j = operation content identifier 601 operation frequency l _j = operation content identifier 601 of the operation content is j is the operation content is j Operation date / time data 602 δ _j = compression rate correction data 902 F of operation content whose operation content identifier is j F = operation frequency determination function M = compression rate upper limit data 706 (7 when set)
13) m = compression ratio lower limit value data 707 (7 when set)
14).

FIG. 16 shows user terminal devices 105-110.
6 is a flowchart showing a series of processes performed in step S4.

The user connects the user terminal device 105 and the moving image data delivery server 101 via the network 111, for example, by a connection operation on the user terminal device 105 (step 1601).

Next, the user uses his / her own user identifier 401.
Is transmitted (step 1602).

The user operates the reproduction start position determination operation section 100.
3 is used to determine the reproduction start position, and the moving image data and frame group to start reproduction are selected.

By this operation, the moving image data identifier 205 and the frame identifier 207 are transmitted from the user terminal device 105 to the moving image data delivery server 101 (step 1603).

Next, the operation content desired by the user is judged (step 1604), and if "reproduction operation" is desired, step 1605 is selected. If "user setting data change" is desired, If "end" is desired in step 1606, the process skips to step 1613 (step 1604).

The operation content desired by the user is "reproduction operation".
In the case of, the user selects the desired reproduction method using the reproduction operation unit 1002 (step 1605). The selected reproduction method is converted into the corresponding operation content identifier 601 by the user terminal device 105 and transmitted to the moving image data delivery server 101.

When the operation content desired by the user is "change user setting data", the user operates the change button 1009 of the user setting data to display the "user setting data change screen" of FIG. (Step 1606).

Next, the temporary change button 1102 corresponding to the user setting data item 1101 desired to be changed is used to select whether the change is temporary or not (step 160).
7).

Next, the setting value changing unit 1103 changes the setting data. The set value being changed is displayed in the set value display section 11
03 is displayed as shown in FIG. 11 (step 160).
8).

To cancel the setting change, the setting cancel button 1106 is selected (step 16).
09, 1611). In this case, the user setting data is not changed.

If the user does not cancel, the setting execution button 1105 is operated (step 1610).

As a result, the changed data is transferred to the moving image data transfer server 101.

Finally, the user setting data change end button 1107 is operated to end the series of processing (step 1).
612).

When the operation content desired by the user is "end", the end button 1010 is operated to release the connection with the moving image data delivery server 101 (step 1613).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the category attribute of the moving image data, the reference situation data of the user, and the user setting data are used individually or in combination, and the compression ratio of the moving image data is set in units of frame or Since it is variably determined for each continuous frame group or category, the loss rate of information required by the user is minimized within the range that the user can satisfy, and the total amount of moving image data is also minimized. Thus, it can be optimized and provided to the user of the user terminal device.

In the above embodiment, the final compression rate is determined by the combination of the category attribute of the moving image data, the reference situation data of the user, and the user setting data. Alternatively, it may be determined based on only the reference situation data of the user.

Further, it may be determined by a combination of category attributes of moving image data and user setting data, or a combination of user reference situation data and user setting data.

[0123]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the reference situation of moving image data is recorded in frame units, continuous frame group units, or category units, and if there is a reference request. , The compression ratio is determined according to the reference situation of the moving image data for which the reference request is made, and the moving image data is compressed according to the compression ratio and transferred to the moving image reproducing apparatus. The moving image data amount can be optimized so that the required information loss rate is minimized within a range where each user can be satisfied, and the moving image data amount is minimized.

When the moving image data has a category attribute, the moving image data to be referred to for the first time
The above action can be realized by using the category attribute.

Further, in determining the compression rate, various parameters such as the upper limit value of the compression rate set by the user are used to more accurately identify the information part required by each user and use it. It is possible to provide a moving image with a compression rate that meets the requirements of the user.

Further, it is possible to suppress the total amount of data on the computer network and the data capacity occupied in the main storage device or the auxiliary storage device, and it is possible to save computer resources.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a frame identifier table.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a category attribute data table.

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of a user identifier list table.

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of a reference status data table.

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of operation content data.

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of a user setting data table.

FIG. 8 is a structural diagram of a compression rate list data table.

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram of a compression ratio control data table for each operation content.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen of a user terminal device.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a user setting data change screen.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an outline of a process of transferring moving image data.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process of a compressed moving image data creation unit.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a compression rate determination process according to a reference frequency and a reproduction operation mode.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a compression rate according to a reference situation.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing processing in a user terminal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 ... Moving image data delivery server, 102 ... External storage device, 103 ... Category attribute data creating unit, 104 ... Compressed moving image data creating unit, 105-110 ... User terminal device, 111 ... Network, 200 ... Frame identifier table, 300 ... Category attribute data table, 40
0 ... User identifier list table, 500 ... Reference status data table 510, 512 ... Reference frequency data, 51
1, 513 ... Operation content data, 700 ... User setting data table, 800 ... Compression rate list data table, 9
00 ... Compression ratio control data table for each operation content.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A moving image data providing system for providing moving image data to a moving image reproducing device for reproducing a moving image corresponding to moving image data, comprising: Reference status recording means for monitoring and recording the reference status as frame-by-frame reference status data in frame units or continuous frame groups, and a compression rate of the moving image data in each frame unit or in accordance with the frame-by-frame reference status data. A moving image, comprising: a compression rate determining means for determining the continuous frame group unit; and a data compression means for compressing the moving image data according to the determined compression rate and transferring it to the moving image reproducing apparatus. Data provision system. 2. The moving image data providing system according to claim 1, wherein the reference situation data for each frame is data including at least one of a reference frequency, a reference interval, and a reproduction operation mode at the time of reference. . 3. The reference situation data for each frame is data including at least one of a reference situation for each individual user, a reference situation for all users, or a reference situation obtained by performing a set operation of both of them. The moving image data providing system according to claim 1, wherein the moving image data providing system is provided. 4. The compression rate determining means is a compression rate for each frame or continuous frame group input from the moving image reproducing apparatus, an upper limit value of the compression rate, a lower limit value of the compression rate and the reference situation data for each frame. 4. The compression ratio of the moving image data is determined by a combination with.
Any one of the moving image data providing system described. 5. A moving image data providing system for providing moving image data to a moving image reproducing apparatus for reproducing a moving image corresponding to moving image data, wherein the category of the moving image data is a frame unit or a continuous frame group unit. Attribute setting means for setting as an attribute, a reference situation recording means for monitoring the reference situation of the moving image data, and recording the reference situation as category-by-category reference situation data, and according to the category-by-category reference situation data Compression rate determining means for determining a compression rate of the moving image data, and data compression means for compressing the moving image data according to the determined compression rate and transferring it to the moving image reproducing apparatus. A moving image data providing system. 6. The category-based reference situation data is data including at least one of a reference frequency, a reference interval, and a reproduction operation state at the time of reference.
The described moving image data providing system. 7. The category-based reference situation data includes a reference situation for each user or a reference situation for all users,
Alternatively, the moving image data providing system according to claim 5, wherein the data is data including at least one of reference situations obtained by performing a set operation on both of them. 8. The compression rate determination means combines a category-based compression rate, a compression rate upper limit value, a compression rate lower limit value, and the category-based reference situation data, which are input from the moving image playback apparatus, with a moving image. The moving image data providing system according to claim 5, wherein a compression rate of the image data is determined. 9. A moving image data providing system for providing moving image data to a moving image reproducing apparatus for reproducing a moving image corresponding to moving image data, wherein the category of the moving image data is a frame unit or a continuous frame group unit. And a reference situation for monitoring the reference situation of the moving picture data from the moving picture reproducing apparatus, and recording the reference situation as the reference situation data in units of category, frame or continuous frame group. Recording means, compression rate determining means for determining the compression rate of the moving image data in units of categories, frames, or continuous frames in accordance with the reference situation data; and moving image data in accordance with the determined compression rate. And a data compression unit that compresses and transfers the data to the moving image reproducing apparatus. M