JP2001268493A - Video playback device, video playback method, and information recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] C with small memory capacity or slow processing speed
Provided is a video playback device, a video playback method, and an information recording medium that can be reproduced without interruption and can shorten the time until playback even if only a PU is mounted. Kind Code: A1 A video playback method that enables streaming playback in which object data including at least video is obtained from a server while playing the content data, wherein a content information analysis step of analyzing content information describing characteristics of the object data ( Step S207) and a priority determination step of determining the acquisition priority of the object data included in the content information (Step S2)
16), an object obtaining step of previously obtaining specific object data based on the determination result of the obtaining priority (step S217), and object data for reproducing the obtained specific object data under time management A video reproducing method including a reproducing step (step S226) is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video reproducing apparatus and a video reproducing apparatus capable of performing streaming reproduction for reproducing data including video while acquiring the data, and particularly, capable of starting reproduction when necessary data elements are prepared. The present invention relates to a method and an information recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Synchronized Multimedia In
A language called integration language (hereinafter abbreviated as “SMIL”) is known. SMIL is a structured language for integrating various types of object data, such as audio, video, text, animation, etc., and reproducing them under time management, and is an extension of eXtensible Markup Language (XML). . A conventional video playback device that handles multimedia such as SMIL, acquires data including video from a server, and plays back the content after storing all of the content in its own memory or a non-volatile storage device. Acquisition and reproduction of download type data to be performed. Therefore, the conventional video reproducing apparatus acquires the next content from the server after the reproduction of one content ends.

This will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. First, the video reproduction device reads the content information (Step S301). Next, the video playback device analyzes the acquired content information (step S3).
02). Next, the video playback device downloads the object data (Step S303). Then, the video reproduction device reproduces the obtained object data (Step S304). Next, the video reproduction device determines whether or not to end the reproduction (step S305), and if not, returns to step S301. On the other hand, if it is determined that the processing is to be ended, the processing is ended.

[0004]

However, today, the capacity of each object data constituting the multimedia has been gradually increased. For this reason, the amount of data acquired from the server tends to increase. In addition, network congestion also helps, and users often wait a long time during playback.

In such a case, the capacity of a nonvolatile storage device typified by a memory or a hard disk is increased,
If the data processing speed is increased, the possibility of waiting for a long time is reduced. However, in the case of a low-cost video reproducing apparatus having a limited memory capacity or only a processing speed of the CPU, there is a risk that the reproduction may be delayed for a long time or the reproduction may be interrupted.

As a technique for preventing such a long waiting time, a technique disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-287095 is known. In this technique, even if there is no acquisition request from a user, frequently-acquired data from a server is stored in a database in advance, and when a request is received from a user's data terminal, the data is stored in the database. This is the technology of receiving data. by this,
Reduces the time required to transfer data over the network,
It is possible to reduce the time that the user waits for reproduction.

However, according to the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-287095, only the prior acquisition is performed in accordance with the frequency of data acquisition. Can not be reproduced without.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a video reproducing apparatus and a video reproducing apparatus which do not interrupt reproduction and can reduce the time until reproduction even if only a small memory capacity or a CPU having a low processing speed is mounted. It is an object to provide a reproducing method and an information recording medium.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a video reproducing apparatus capable of performing streaming reproduction by reproducing at least object data including a video from a server. Content information analysis means for analyzing content information describing characteristics of data; priority determination means for determining the acquisition priority of object data included in the content information; and a specific object based on the determination result of the acquisition priority. The video reproducing apparatus is provided with an object acquiring means for pre-acquiring data and an object data reproducing means for reproducing the acquired specific object data under time management. Thus, even if the memory capacity is small, the processing speed of the CPU is slow, or the network is congested, the start of the reproduction is fast and there is no danger of the reproduction being interrupted.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video reproducing apparatus capable of generating an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, wherein the object acquiring means outputs the object data which can be reproduced by the occurrence of the event. Is also a video reproduction device that can be obtained in advance. In this way, when the user clicks an object on the display with a mouse or the like,
Even if another object is reproduced, there is no need to wait for reproduction.

In another aspect of the invention, the content analysis information describes information that can not be acquired when object data cannot be acquired. A video reproducing apparatus further includes a non-acquisition-time response unit that responds based on the non-time-time response information. As a result, even when the object data requested to be acquired cannot be acquired due to network congestion, it is possible to supplement the data with minimum reproducible data without stopping the reproduction.

In another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a snapshot creating means for creating a snapshot composed of object data to be reproduced at a certain time from a plurality of object data to be reproduced at a predetermined time, The means is a video reproducing apparatus that pre-acquires the object data constituting the snapshot. As a result, even in an environment where all object data cannot be acquired, it is possible to continuously reproduce the snapshots in which the objects are thinned out, and to reproduce the original scenario.

[0013] In another aspect of the invention, the object obtaining means is a video reproducing apparatus which preliminarily obtains only object data constituting a specific snapshot based on the determination result of the obtaining priority. As a result, even in an environment where it is more difficult to obtain object data, it is possible to reproduce only object data having a high priority.

In another aspect of the present invention, the snapshot creating means analyzes the content information at regular time intervals, when reading the content information, when an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection occurs, or when analyzing the content information. The video reproducing apparatus updates and creates a snapshot at least at any one of the optimally scheduled update times. As a result, it is possible to cope with long-time reproduction, and by increasing the number of times of updating the snapshot, it is possible to make the reproduction as close to the original reproduction as possible.

[0015] In another aspect of the invention, the object obtaining means is a video reproducing apparatus capable of pre-acquiring object data in units of a scenario which is a story formed by reproducing the object data.
As a result, even when a plurality of scenarios are included, object data in the preceding scenario can be obtained. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly shift to the next scenario.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video reproducing apparatus capable of generating an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, wherein the object obtaining means constitutes a scenario in which a transition is made when an event occurs. The video reproducing apparatus can also obtain object data in advance. As a result, even if a transition is made to another scenario due to the occurrence of an event, there is no interruption in reproduction or a long wait for reproduction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video reproducing method capable of performing streaming reproduction in which at least object data including a video is reproduced from a server while reproducing the object data, wherein content information describing characteristics of the object data is analyzed. A content information analyzing step, a priority determining step of determining an obtaining priority of object data included in the content information, and an object obtaining step of previously obtaining specific object data based on a result of determining the obtaining priority, An image data reproducing method including an object data reproducing step of reproducing the acquired specific object data under time management. Thus, even if the memory capacity is small, the processing speed of the CPU is slow, or the network is congested, the start of the reproduction is fast and there is no danger of the reproduction being interrupted.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video reproducing method capable of generating an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection. Is a video reproduction method that can be obtained in advance. Thus, even when another object is reproduced by the user clicking the object on the display with a mouse or the like, the reproduction is not waited for.

In another aspect of the invention, the content analysis information describes information that can not be obtained when object data cannot be obtained. An image reproduction method further includes a corresponding acquisition unavailable time corresponding step based on the unavailable time correspondence information. As a result, even when the object data requested to be acquired cannot be acquired due to network congestion, it is possible to supplement the data with minimum reproducible data without stopping the reproduction.

Further, another invention further includes a snapshot creation step of creating a snapshot composed of object data to be played back at a certain time from a plurality of object data to be played back at a predetermined time, In the step, a video reproducing method for obtaining object data constituting a snapshot in advance is performed. As a result, even in an environment where all object data cannot be acquired, snapshots with thinned objects are continuously played back,
Reproduction close to the original scenario becomes possible.

In another aspect of the invention, the object obtaining step is a video reproducing method in which only the object data constituting a specific snapshot is obtained in advance based on the determination result of the obtaining priority. As a result, even in an environment where it is more difficult to obtain object data, it is possible to reproduce only object data having a high priority.

In another aspect of the invention, the snapshot creation step is performed at regular time intervals, at the time of reading content information, at the time of occurrence of an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, or by analyzing the content information. The video playback method is such that the snapshot is updated and created at least at any one of the optimally scheduled update times. This allows for long playback times,
By increasing the number of snapshot updates,
The reproduction can be made as close to the original reproduction as possible.

In another aspect of the present invention, the object obtaining step is a video reproducing method in which object data can be obtained in advance in units of a scenario which is a story formed by reproducing the object data. As a result, even when a plurality of scenarios are included, object data in the preceding scenario can be obtained. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly shift to the next scenario.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video reproducing method capable of generating an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, wherein the object obtaining step constitutes a scenario in which a transition is made when the event occurs. The video reproduction method is such that object data can also be obtained in advance. As a result, even if a transition is made to another scenario due to the occurrence of an event, there is no interruption in reproduction or a long wait for reproduction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording medium storing a program for enabling streaming reproduction for reproducing at least object data including video from a server, wherein characteristics of the object data are described. A content information analysis step of analyzing the content information, a priority determination step of determining the acquisition priority of the object data included in the content information, and an object for pre-acquiring specific object data based on the determination result of the acquisition priority An information recording medium storing a program including an acquisition step and an object data reproduction step of reproducing the obtained specific object data under time management. For this reason, by executing the program stored in the information recording medium, there is a danger that the start of reproduction is fast and the reproduction is interrupted even if the memory capacity is small, the processing speed of the CPU is slow, or the network is congested. There is no.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording medium for storing a program capable of generating an event for reproducing another object data by a user's selection,
In the object acquisition step, object data that can be reproduced by the occurrence of an event is also used as an information recording medium that can be acquired in advance. For this reason, by executing the program stored in the information recording medium, even if another object is reproduced by the user clicking the object on the display with a mouse or the like, the reproduction is waited for. Nothing.

[0027] In another invention, the content analysis information describes information that can not be obtained when object data cannot be obtained. An information recording medium storing a program further including an acquisition unavailable time corresponding step based on the unavailable time information. For this reason, by executing the program stored in the information recording medium, even when the object data requested to be obtained cannot be obtained due to network congestion, it is possible to supplement the data with the minimum playable data without stopping the playback. .

Further, another invention further comprises a snapshot creating step of creating a snapshot composed of object data to be reproduced at a certain time from a plurality of object data to be reproduced at a predetermined time, In the step, the object data constituting the snapshot is used as an information recording medium to be obtained in advance. Therefore, even in an environment where all the object data cannot be obtained by executing the program stored in the information recording medium,
By continuously playing back the snapshots in which the objects have been thinned out, it becomes possible to play back the original scenario.

According to another aspect of the invention, the object acquisition step is to use only the object data constituting a specific snapshot as an information recording medium for preceding acquisition based on the determination result of the acquisition priority. Therefore, by executing the program stored in the information recording medium, even in an environment where it is more difficult to obtain the object data, it is possible to reproduce only the object data having the higher priority.

[0030] In another aspect of the invention, the snapshot creation step is performed at regular time intervals, at the time of reading content information, at the time of occurrence of an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, or by analyzing the content information. The information recording medium is created by updating the snapshot at least at any one of the optimally scheduled update times. For this reason, by executing the program stored in the information recording medium, it is possible to cope with long-term reproduction, and by increasing the number of times of updating the snapshot, it is possible to make the reproduction as close to the original reproduction as possible.

In another aspect of the invention, the object acquisition step is an information recording medium in which object data can be acquired in advance in units of a scenario, which is a story formed by reproducing object data. For this reason, by executing the program stored in the information recording medium, it is possible to acquire the object data in the preceding scenario even when the scenario is composed of a plurality of scenarios. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly shift to the next scenario.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording medium storing a program capable of generating an event for reproducing another object data by a user's selection,
In the object acquisition step, object data constituting a scenario to be shifted by the occurrence of an event is used as an information recording medium that can be acquired in advance. Therefore, by executing the program stored in the information recording medium, even if the event shifts to another scenario due to the occurrence of an event, there is no interruption of the reproduction or a long wait for the reproduction.

[0033]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a video reproducing apparatus, a video reproducing method and an information recording medium according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration including an embodiment of a video reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. Object data including video data, audio data, and character data (also referred to as text data) comprehensively meaning still image data and moving image data are stored in the object data storage unit 1. The data distribution device (hereinafter, referred to as “server”) 2 is a device that acquires object data from the object data storage unit 1 and distributes the acquired object data to the video reproduction device 4 via the network 3. The network 3 refers to a communication network including the Internet, a local area network (LAN), and the like.

The video reproducing device 4 requests the server 2 for object data and reproduces the object data obtained as a result. The video playback device 4 is a playback device that performs so-called stream playback in which object data is acquired in advance from the server 2 and, at the same time, the acquired object data is played. here,
The data requested to the server 2 includes not only object data but also scenario data that is a scenario for reproducing various objects. The video reproduction device 4 recognizes the time-series reproduction order of various object data, the priority of various objects, and the like from the scenario data. Details of the scenario data will be described later. Note that the scenario data may exist at the stage when it is stored in the object data storage unit 1, or may be created by the server 2.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a hardware configuration of the video reproducing apparatus 4. As shown in FIG.
Is a network controller 41, a memory 42,
Non-volatile storage device (hereinafter referred to as "hard disk")
43, an image processing large-scale integrated circuit (hereinafter, referred to as a "graphics controller") 44 serving as object data reproducing means, a video memory 45 serving as object data reproducing means, content information analyzing means, priority determining means, and object obtaining means A central processing unit (hereinafter, referred to as “CPU”) 46 also serving as an acquisition impossible correspondence information reading unit, an acquisition impossible correspondence unit, and a snapshot creation unit, a sound controller 47 serving as object data reproducing unit, and a display unit ( Hereinafter, referred to as a “display”) 48, a speaker 49, and a bus communication circuit 5
It is mainly configured from 0.

The network controller 41 has a function of acquiring object data and scenario data (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “object data”) transmitted from the server 2 via the network 3. The acquisition of object data and the like is not unilaterally delivered from the server 2 to the video playback device 4, but can be obtained only when the video playback device 4 requests data from the server 2. Therefore, the network controller 41 has a function of making a data request to the server 2 under the control of the CPU 46.

The memory 42 is a part that stores a control program for the CPU 46. The CPU 46 performs various processing operations according to a control program stored in the memory 42. The hard disk 43 is a part for storing object data and the like from the server 2.
Further, the hard disk 43 is also a part for temporarily storing not only the object data imported from the server 2 but also each data subjected to decoding processing or arithmetic processing inside the video reproducing apparatus 4.

The graphic controller 44 is a part for performing various processes such as rotation and deformation on the object data, drawing a frame in the video memory 45, and displaying the drawn frame.
Further, the graphic controller 44 also has a function of decoding the compressed data. Therefore, when the graphic controller 44 takes in the compressed object data from the server 2, it can decode it.

The video memory 45 stores frames to be drawn based on commands from the graphic controller 44. The video memory 45 is composed of a plurality of banks, and is configured to be able to switch between drawing and display. When a frame drawn in one bank is displayed, the frame is drawn in the other bank, and then the drawing bank is switched to display for display. As described above, by switching between drawing and display, it is possible to reproduce object data without interruption.

The CPU 46 is a part that controls the overall control of the video reproducing device 4. That is, a command is sent from the server 2 to the network controller 41 so as to request object data or the like.
3 and sends a command to draw and reproduce the object data to the graphic controller 44 based on the scenario. Also,
The CPU 46 is provided with a CPU clock 46a. The CPU clock 46a ticks the time in the order of msec, and becomes a timer unit 152 described later. When the timer unit 152 is part of a software module configuration, the CPU clock 46a transmits time according to an instruction from the timer unit 152.

The sound controller 47 is a part that converts digital audio data (hereinafter referred to as “audio data”) into an analog signal and outputs it to the speaker 49 while synchronizing with the video data. The display 48 is a liquid crystal display (LCD) that displays frames in a display bank of the video memory 45. However, the display 48 is not limited to an LCD, and may be a cathode ray tube or a plasma display.

The speaker 49 is a part for outputting audio data in analog form. Further, the bus communication circuit 50 includes a CPU
46, a graphic controller 44, a memory 42, a video memory 45, a network controller 41, a hard disk 43, and a communication circuit for connecting a sound controller 47. Signals can be exchanged between the components via the bus communication circuit 50. The characteristic processing operation of the present invention performed by the above hardware configuration will be described later.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an area of an object displayed on the display 48. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is similar to FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing, in chronological order, reproduction of video data, text data, and audio data output from a speaker 49, which are displayed on a display 48 shown in FIG. Area 61
Then, the video data 61a is reproduced in synchronization with the audio data 61b. In the area 62, the text data 62a is reproduced in synchronization with the video data 61a. In the area 63, the video data 63a is reproduced slightly behind the video data 61a.

In the area 64, the animation data 64a is reproduced in synchronization with the video data 63a. On the other hand, in the area 61, after the reproduction of the object data of the video data 61a, the audio data 61b, the text data 62a, the video data 63a, and the animation data 64a is completed, the video data 61c
And the audio data 61d are reproduced in synchronization.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a scenario for reproducing each of the above-mentioned object data under time management, and contents data of each object data. FIG.
As shown in the figure, video data 61a, audio data 61b, text data 62a, and video data 6a
3a and the animation data 64a are sandwiched between <par> and </ par>. This means that these data 61a, 61b, 62a, 63a, 64a are objects (referred to as an object group A) to be reproduced in parallel.

The video data 61c and the audio data 61d correspond to <par> and <// par> in the next stage.
It is sandwiched between. This indicates that the video data 61c and the audio data 61d are an object group (referred to as an object group B) to be reproduced in parallel. Then, object group A and object group B
Is sandwiched between <seq> and </ seq>. This indicates that the object group A and the object group B are temporally serially reproduced.

Further, in FIG. 5, information such as a reproduction time, a response when acquisition is impossible, an acquisition priority, and a reproduction location are written in the content information described in each object data 61a and the like. The reproduction time is a reproduction start time of each object data. The unavailable response is information describing what to do when the object data cannot be acquired from the server 2. For example, the following correspondence can be written in the information corresponding to the inability to acquire the content information. "Display frame only", "Display shape only", "Play first object data to the end", "Play only first and last object data", "Add first and last object data" , "Complement with object data in between", "reproduce only character information", "do not reproduce anything", and the like.

Here, "displaying only a frame" means that a display is performed to indicate that video data is originally displayed without displaying actual video data. “Displaying only the shape” means displaying only data that can be described by a script, such as the outline of video data. Therefore, when "display only a shape" is described, a fine pattern or the like inside the outline is not displayed.

The acquisition priority is information indicating the priority acquired from the server 2. In this information, the following priorities can be written. For example, essential information, conditional essential information, possible information, omissible information, information not to be acquired, and the like. The video playback device 4 analyzes this acquisition priority and acquires an object with a higher priority. Therefore, even if the capacity of the memory 42 is small and the processing capacity of the CPU 46 is low, or even if the network 3 is congested, only the essential information and the written object data are always obtained, and the minimum reproduction is possible. I am trying to do it.

Conversely, if there is room in the capacity of the memory 42, the processing capacity of the CPU 46, and the like, lower-priority object data such as conditional essential information and possible information is also acquired, and the original data is reproduced as much as possible. Object data to be reproduced.

Next, the prior acquisition of object data by snapshot will be described.

FIG. 6 is an object tree showing a reproduction scenario of each object data of animation data, text data and video data. here,
The object tree is a kind of tree diagram showing the time relationship of each object data such as animation data, text data, and video data.

According to FIG. 6, the animation data 72
, The text data 75, the video data 76, and the video data 80 are reproduced on the display 48 in parallel. Also, animation data 7
Numeral 2 is composed of two pieces of animation data 73 and 74 that are reproduced in parallel in time. Further, the animation data 73 is composed of image data 73a, shape data 73b, and sound data 73c. Similarly, the animation data 74 is composed of image data 74a, shape data 74b, and sound data 74c.

In the text data 75, the text data 75a, the text data 75b, and the text data 75c are reproduced in time series, and these three types of text data 75a, 75
Steps b and 75c are repeated. The video data 76 includes three types of video data 77, 78, and 79.
Are reproduced in time series. Each of the video data 77, 78, 79 is composed of text data 77b, 78.
b, 79b.

As a result, the video data 77a and the text data 77b are reproduced in parallel, and then the video data 78a and the text data 78b are reproduced in parallel. Then, the video data 79a and the text data 7
9b are reproduced in parallel. The video data 80
Is a still image in a certain scenario, so it is one type of video data 80.

A scenario for forming such an object tree is reproduced in, for example, 2 seconds. Originally, the processing capacity and memory capacity of the CPU are both large enough,
If the bandwidth of the network is sufficiently large, all the object data constituting the object tree of FIG. 6 can be obtained and reproduced. However, limited CP
If the processing capacity and memory capacity of U are not enough and the bandwidth of the network is not sufficient, priority is given to reproducing these object data without interruption, and only the object data which must be acquired at a minimum is stored. It is necessary to get ahead.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a snapshot made up of only the object data having a high priority among the objects shown in FIG. Animation data 7
Reference numeral 2 denotes moving image data that is continuously reproduced for 2 seconds, which is the duration of this scenario. Therefore, it is not possible to extract only a part and acquire it. Therefore, all the object data constituting the animation data 72 are acquired as object data having a high priority. However, if the animation data 72 itself is low-priority object data, all the object data constituting the animation data 72 may not be acquired.

As for the text data 75, only the text data 75b is obtained. Originally, in a two-second scenario, three types of text data 75a, 75b, and 75c are routinely reproduced. However, only the text data 75b having the highest priority is obtained, and is reproduced for two seconds.
Similarly, for the video data 76, the video data 7
Only 8 is obtained, and is reproduced for 2 seconds. The video data 80 is not acquired because the priority is low, and nothing is displayed in the area to be displayed.

It should be noted that the snapshot shown in FIG. 7 is only one example of a snapshot composed of object data having a high priority, and various snapshots can be composed. For example, it is possible not to acquire the text data 75 at all. Alternatively, only the video data 77 of the video data 76 and the video data 79 may be acquired and reproduced every second. Further, only the text data 77b, 78b, 79b included in the video data 77, 78, 79 may be reproduced, and the video data 77a, 78a, 79a may not be obtained. From such multiple types of snapshots, taking into account the priority, it is possible to select a snapshot that does not interrupt reproduction and enables high-quality reproduction as much as possible.

The snapshot shown in FIG. 7 can be updated by the following method. The first method is to update to a new snapshot every fixed time, for example, every 0.5 seconds. This would result in four updates in a two second scenario. The second is
This is a method to set the update time when reading the scenario.
This makes it possible to set the update time to 1 second, 5 seconds, or the update time according to the characteristics of the scenario for each scenario.

A third method is to update a snapshot when an event occurs. Here, the event means that the user performs an operation such as clicking an object with a mouse. When an event occurs, a snapshot is formed from each object after the object to be reproduced, and the snapshot is acquired in advance. Fourth, the scenario information is analyzed after reading the scenario, and the update time is optimally scheduled. For example, if it is found by analyzing a scenario that video switching in a scenario is performed at 1.0 seconds, 2.5 seconds, and 9.2 seconds in a certain scenario, a snapshot can be taken in accordance with the video switching timing. Can be updated.

As described above, when an event occurs, the object data to be acquired forms a complicated tree diagram. Therefore, when object data is pre-acquired, it is necessary to pre-acquire many objects that can be reproduced in consideration of the occurrence of an event. If the occurrence of an event is not taken into account, a waiting time for data acquisition occurs for an arbitrary instruction of the user. Note that, in the case of a scenario in which an event cannot occur, it is not necessary to take advance acquisition in consideration of the event occurrence.

The preceding acquisition of the object data is as follows.
It is also possible to perform the processing in units of scenarios instead of units of some object data in the scenarios. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state in which data is acquired in units of a scenario. In FIG. 8, after the scenario 90, another scenario 100 is to be reproduced. Also, when playing the scenario 90,
When an event occurs, the process shifts to another scenario 110 without shifting to the scenario 100.

The object tree of the scenario 90 is a snapshot composed of animation data 92 and video data 93 based on the priority, and is not composed of all object data. That is, animation other than the animation 92 and video data other than the video data 93 are not acquired. The same applies to the scenarios 100 and 110.

As described above, each of the scenarios 90, 100, and 110 is constituted by an object tree obtained by thinning out object data having a low priority. When the scenario 100 and the scenario 110 change from the scenario immediately before the scenario 90 to the scenario 90, they are acquired in advance. This makes it possible to smoothly shift to the scenario 100 after the reproduction of the scenario 90, or to smoothly shift to the scenario 110 when an event occurs.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a table describing the elements of the object tree. This table shows how long a scenario exists.
"Object tree update schedule list" indicating the update time of the object tree, "Number of objects" indicating the number of object data in the scenario, and "Object data name" indicating where the object data exists on the server. , "Object lifetime" indicating how long the object data is reproduced, "object load attribute" indicating the priority of the object data, and "object operation attribute" indicating the correspondence when the object data could not be obtained. "When,
It is composed of “average data transfer rate” and “data transfer amount”.

As will be described later, the video reproducing apparatus 4 analyzes the table having the above-mentioned structure in consideration of the performance of the video reproducing apparatus 4 and the network conditions, and creates a snapshot object tree which does not interrupt the reproduction. . Then, the video reproduction device 4 acquires object data based on the created object tree of the snapshot and reproduces the object data.

Next, a description will be given of each processing from when the video reproducing apparatus 4 acquires object data to when it reproduces the object data.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a module configuration of software for executing data acquisition and reproduction of the video reproducing apparatus 4. As shown in FIG. This module includes an external event unit 151
, A timer control unit 152, a media control unit 153, a data acquisition unit 157, a data transfer unit 158, a content analysis unit 159, and a reproduction unit 160.

The media control unit 153 includes an object acquisition control unit 154, a synchronization control unit 155, and an object tree control unit 156. The playback unit 160 includes a layout control unit 161, an audio playback unit 162, a video playback unit 163, an animation playback unit 164, a graphic display unit 165, and a text display unit 166.

The external event section 151 is a section for receiving an event such as a data reproduction request from a user or an instruction to reproduce another data during reproduction. Timer part 1
Reference numeral 52 denotes a portion for sending time information to the synchronization control unit 155 and the object tree control unit 156, and reads the time ticked by the CPU clock 46a. Object acquisition control unit 1
Reference numeral 54 denotes a part for requesting acquisition of object data via the network 3. However, the object acquisition control unit 154 issues a scenario data acquisition request prior to the object data itself.

The synchronization control section 155 is a section for managing the time of each object data based on the time information from the timer section 152. Specifically, the synchronization control unit 155
Receives information on acquired object data sent from the object acquisition control unit 154. Then, the synchronization control unit 155 instructs the reproduction unit 160 which object data is to be reproduced and when.

The object tree control section 156 is a section that creates the table shown in FIG. 9 and creates a snapshot based on the object tree created by the content analysis section 159. The object tree control unit 156 requests specific object data from the object acquisition control unit 154 based on the created snapshot.

The data acquisition section 157 is a section for acquiring object data from the location of the object data described by the URL in the language of the hyper text transfer protocol (hereinafter referred to as "HTTP"). The protocol is not limited to HTTP, and may be a real-time transfer protocol (RTP). The data transfer unit 158
Is a lower protocol of the data acquisition unit 157,
For example, it communicates with the network 3 based on TCP / IP to acquire object data.

The content analysis section 159 is a section for acquiring scenario data via the data transfer section 158 and the data acquisition section 157. Content analysis unit 159
Reads the script data in the scenario and creates an object tree. The object tree referred to here is according to the scenario, and does not thin out data based on the priority. A snapshot of the object data finally preliminarily obtained is created by the object tree control unit 156. Then, the priority information is transmitted from the content analysis unit 159 to the object acquisition control unit 154.

The reproduction section 160 receives media control information indicating the reproduction time and the like sent from the synchronization control section 155, and converts each object data such as animation data, video data, text data and audio data into media control information. At the timing based on. At this time, the layout control unit 161 assigns a reproduction location of each object data. The object data itself is stored in the data acquisition unit 1
Sent from 57.

Next, an operation procedure of each of the above-mentioned module components will be described.

First, the user makes a request to reproduce object data via the external event unit 151. Then, the object acquisition control unit 154
5, the command of the reproduction request is received (step S201). Next, the object acquisition control unit 154 requests the data acquisition unit 157 to acquire scenario data (Step S202).

Then, the data acquisition unit 157 sends a request to the data transfer unit 158, which is a lower-order protocol, to the server 2
A command is sent to acquire scenario data from (step S203). Next, the data transfer unit 158
It requests scenario data from the network 3 and acquires it (step S204). Next, the data acquisition unit 157
Receives the scenario data (step S205).
Next, the content analysis unit 159 includes a data acquisition unit 157.
Is received from the server (step S20).
6).

The content analysis unit 159 analyzes the content information in the scenario data (step S20).
7), create an object tree based on it.
Further, the content analysis unit 159 outputs the priority information,
Send to the object acquisition control unit 154 (Step S20)
8). Further, the content analysis unit 159 sends URL information indicating the location of the object data to the object acquisition control unit 154 (step S209). Further, the content analysis unit 159 sends information on the created object tree to the object tree control unit 156 (step S210).

The object tree control unit 156 analyzes the script information. Then, the object tree control unit 156 creates a table as shown in FIG. 9, and extracts a part from the object tree created by the content analysis unit 159 to create a snapshot (step S211). At this time, the snapshot is updated at fixed time intervals, the snapshot is updated when an event occurs, the snapshot is read at the time of reading the scenario, or the snapshot is updated at the optimally scheduled update time by analyzing the content information. It can be updated (step S212). For this reason, the object tree control unit 156 obtains time information from the timer unit 152 and obtains event occurrence information from the external event unit 151 (step S213). Then, the object tree control unit 156 requests specific object data from the object acquisition control unit 154 (Step S214).

The object acquisition control unit 154 receives the priority information from the content analysis unit 159, the information indicating the location of the object data, and the command for the object data acquisition request from the object tree control unit 156 (step S215). . The object acquisition control unit 154 determines the priority (step S21).
6) Request the data acquisition unit 157 to acquire specific object data (Step S21)
7). At this time, the object acquisition control unit 154
Obtains player information such as the capacity of the memory 42 of the video playback device 4 and the processing capability of the CPU 46 from the playback unit 160 via the synchronization control unit 155 (step S21).
8).

Therefore, the object tree control unit 15
6 and the object data requested by the object acquisition control unit 154 are:
They may not match. The data acquisition unit 157 requests the data transfer unit 158 to acquire specific object data (Step S219). Thus, the data transfer unit 158 acquires specific object data via the network 3 (Step S220).

The data acquisition section 157
8 receives specific object data (step S221). The object data requested by the object acquisition control unit 154 and the data acquisition unit 157
May not match the object data actually acquired. This is because there may be object data that could not be obtained due to the congestion of the network 3. In such a case, as described above, a countermeasure for when acquisition is impossible is performed. This will be described below.

The data acquiring section 157 transfers the specific object data actually acquired to the reproducing section 160 (step S222). At the same time, the data acquisition unit 1
57 sends acquisition information indicating which object data has been acquired to the object acquisition control unit 154 (step S223). Next, the object acquisition control unit 15
4 sends the above-mentioned acquired information and the reproduction time information indicating when each object data is reproduced to the synchronization control unit 155 (step S224).

The synchronization control unit 155 sends control information, such as reproduction or stop of reproduction of each object data, to the reproduction unit 160 based on the information of the actually obtained object data and the reproduction time information of these object data. Is sent (step S225). Reproduction unit 160
Is based on the object data sent from the data acquisition unit 157 and the control information from the synchronization control unit 155, for each type of object data,
162, 163, 164, 165, 166 are controlled to reproduce each object data (step S22).
6).

Further, the specific object data requested to be obtained in step S 217 may not coincide with the specific object data actually obtained in step S 223 notified in step S 223. In such cases,
The object data is reproduced based on the information indicating that the content cannot be acquired described in the content information shown in FIG. More specifically, the object acquisition control unit 154 sends a command to the synchronization control unit 155 such that only the frame or only the shape is reproduced based on the script data sent from the content analysis unit 159. (Step S227). The synchronization control unit 155 instructs the reproduction unit 160 to reproduce only the frame based on the command (step S228).

As described above, the processing operation of the software has been described. However, each hardware component of the video reproducing apparatus 4 shown in FIG. 2 may execute the function of each module component in FIG. . In such a case, a mouse or keyboard (not shown) corresponds to the external event unit 151. Also, the CPU clock 46 a
Is equivalent to The CPU 46 also controls the media control unit 15
3, the content analysis unit 159, and the object tree control unit 156. Further, the network controller 41 includes a data acquisition unit 157 and a data transfer unit 158.
Is equivalent to The graphic controller 44, the sound controller 47, and the video memory 45
Equivalent to 60.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, without providing a function of reproducing another object when an event occurs, object data may be acquired without considering the event occurrence. There is also a method in which no action is taken as a response when object data cannot be obtained. However, when the object data cannot be obtained due to the congestion of the network 3, it is preferable to perform the reproduction without a feeling of strangeness to some extent.

Further, it is not always necessary to create a snapshot. Furthermore, the snapshot may be updated only after a certain period of time, when reading a scenario, or when an event occurs, or at any two of these times. Furthermore, priorities may be considered when creating a snapshot. It is not essential to acquire object data for each scenario. Therefore, it is only necessary to preliminarily obtain the object data at the beginning within the range of one scenario.

[0093]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a video reproducing apparatus, a video reproducing method, and an information recording medium which can be reproduced without interruption of reproduction and can shorten the time until reproduction even with a small memory capacity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration including an embodiment of a video playback device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an embodiment of a video playback device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an area of each object displayed on a display of the video reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing, in chronological order, reproduction of video data, text data, and audio data output from a speaker, which are displayed on the display shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing scenario information for reproducing the object data shown in FIG. 4 under time management and content information of each object in the scenario information.

FIG. 6 is an object tree showing a scenario of each object data including animation data, text data, and video data reproduced in the video reproduction device shown in FIG. 2;

7 is a diagram showing an example of a snapshot composed of only high-priority object data among the object data shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which object data is pre-acquired for each scenario in the video reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table created by an object tree control unit of the video reproduction device illustrated in FIG. 2;

10 is a diagram showing a module configuration of software for executing data acquisition and reproduction of the video reproduction device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a video reproducing apparatus that acquires and reproduces data according to a conventional download method.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 Video Playback Device 44 Graphic Controller (Object Data Playback Means) 45 Video Memory (Object Data Playback Means) 46 CPU (Content Information Analysis Means, Priority Determination Means, Object Acquisition Means, Acquisition Unavailable Corresponding Information Reading Means, Acquisition Unavailable 47 Sound controller (object data reproducing unit) 154 Object acquisition control unit (also serves as object acquisition unit, acquisition unavailable correspondence information reading unit, acquisition unavailable correspondence unit, priority determination unit) 156 Object tree control unit (snapshot creation unit) 159 Content analysis unit (content information analysis unit) 160 Playback unit (object data playback unit)

Claims (24)

[Claims] 1. A video reproducing apparatus capable of performing streaming reproduction while reproducing object data including at least a video from a server, wherein the content information analyzing unit analyzes content information describing characteristics of the object data. Means, priority determining means for determining the priority of obtaining the object data included in the content information, object obtaining means for previously obtaining specific object data based on the determination result of the obtaining priority, And an object data reproducing means for reproducing the specific object data under time management. 2. An image reproducing apparatus which is capable of generating an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, wherein said object acquiring means also acquires object data which can be reproduced by the occurrence of said event in advance. The video playback device according to claim 1, wherein the video playback device is capable. 3. The non-acquisition correspondence information reading means for reading the non-acquisition correspondence information when the object data cannot be acquired, the content analysis information, 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an unacquirable-time response unit that responds based on the time response information.
Alternatively, the video playback device according to claim 2. 4. A system further comprising: snapshot creation means for creating a snapshot made up of object data to be played back at a certain time from a plurality of object data to be played back at a predetermined time; 4. The video reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein object data constituting a snapshot is acquired in advance. 5. The video reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said object obtaining means obtains only the object data constituting the specific snapshot in advance based on the determination result of the obtaining priority. . 6. The snapshot creation means may be arranged to execute the schedule at regular intervals, at the time of reading the content information, at the time of an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, or by analyzing the content information. 6. The video reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the snapshot is updated and created at least at any one of the updated update times. 7. The object acquisition device according to claim 1, wherein said object acquisition means is capable of preliminarily acquiring said object data in units of a scenario which is a story formed by reproducing said object data. 2. The video reproducing apparatus according to claim 1. 8. A video reproducing apparatus which is capable of generating an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, wherein said object acquiring means comprises: 8. The video reproducing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image reproducing apparatus can also acquire the image in advance. 9. A video reproduction method which enables streaming reproduction in which object data including at least video data is reproduced from a server while reproducing the content data, wherein a content information analysis method analyzes content information describing characteristics of the object data. A step of determining an acquisition priority of the object data included in the content information; an object obtaining step of previously obtaining specific object data based on the determination result of the obtainment priority; An object data reproducing step of reproducing the specific object data under time management. 10. A video reproducing method capable of generating an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, wherein said object obtaining step also obtains object data which can be reproduced by the occurrence of said event in advance. 10. The video reproducing method according to claim 9, wherein the method is capable of being performed. 11. The non-acquisition-response information reading step for reading the non-acquisition-response information when the object analysis data cannot be acquired, wherein the contents analysis information includes: 11. The video reproducing method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of responding to an unavailable time corresponding to the time correspondence information. 12. A snapshot creating step of creating a snapshot made up of object data to be played back at a certain time from a plurality of object data to be played back at a predetermined time, wherein said object obtaining step comprises: 12. The video reproduction method according to claim 9, wherein object data constituting a snapshot is acquired in advance. 13. The video reproducing method according to claim 12, wherein in the object acquiring step, only the object data constituting the specific snapshot is acquired in advance based on the determination result of the acquisition priority. . 14. The snapshot creating step according to claim 14,
At least one of every fixed time, at the time of reading the content information, at the time of an event that reproduces another object data according to the user's selection, or at every update time optimally scheduled by analyzing the content information. 14. The video playback method according to claim 12, wherein the snapshot is updated and created at one time. 15. The object acquiring step according to claim 9, wherein said object acquiring step is capable of preliminarily acquiring said object data in a unit of a scenario which is a story formed by reproducing said object data. The video reproduction method according to claim 1. 16. A video reproducing method capable of generating an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, wherein said object acquiring step comprises: 16. The video reproducing method according to claim 15, wherein the image reproducing method can also obtain the image in advance. 17. An information recording medium storing a program for enabling streaming reproduction for performing reproduction while acquiring object data including at least a video from a server, and analyzing content information describing characteristics of the object data. A content information analyzing step, a priority determining step of determining an obtaining priority of the object data included in the content information, and an object obtaining step of obtaining specific object data in advance based on the determination result of the obtaining priority An information recording medium storing a program comprising: a step; and an object data reproducing step of reproducing the obtained specific object data under time management. 18. An information recording medium for storing a program enabling generation of an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, wherein the object obtaining step comprises the steps of: 18. The information recording medium according to claim 17, wherein the information recording medium can also be obtained in advance. 19. The non-acquisition-response information reading step for reading the unacquisition-response information when the object data cannot be acquired, the contents analysis information includes: 19. The information recording medium according to claim 17, further comprising: a program further comprising: an acquisition impossible corresponding step based on the time correspondence information. 20. A method for creating a snapshot comprising object data to be reproduced at a certain time from a plurality of object data to be reproduced at a predetermined time, the object obtaining step comprising: The information recording medium according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein object data constituting a snapshot is acquired in advance. 21. The information recording medium according to claim 20, wherein in the object acquiring step, only the object data constituting the specific snapshot is acquired in advance based on the determination result of the acquisition priority. . 22. The snapshot creation step,
At least one of every fixed time, at the time of reading the content information, at the time of an event that reproduces another object data according to the user's selection, or at every update time optimally scheduled by analyzing the content information. 22. The information recording medium according to claim 20, wherein the snapshot is updated and created at one time. 23. The object acquiring step according to claim 17, wherein said object data can be acquired in advance in units of a scenario which is a story formed by reproducing said object data.
The information recording medium according to any one of the above items. 24. An information recording medium storing a program enabling generation of an event for reproducing another object data according to a user's selection, wherein said object obtaining step includes executing said scenario which is shifted by occurrence of said event. 24. The information recording medium according to claim 23, wherein the constituent data can also be obtained in advance.