JP2008146790A - Content information acquisition device, content playback device, and content playback system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce costs of a system for reproducing contents, capable of obtaining and displaying content information from an external server, and to improve convenience in an environment that it can not be connected to the server. <P>SOLUTION: In a content information acquisition card 120 detachably connected to a host device 110 for reproducing contents, and to a CDDB server 300 via Internet 200, a content information control circuit 123 receives content identification information from the host device 110, transmits the received content identification information to the CDDB server 300, receives content information corresponding to the transmitted content identification information from the CDDB server 300, and stores the combination of the content identification information received from the host device 110 and the corresponding content information received from the CDDB server 300 in a content information memory 125. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content reproduction device that reproduces content such as music, video, and moving images, a content information acquisition device that obtains content information from a server on a network that stores the content information, and provides the content information to the content reproduction device, and a content The present invention relates to a playback apparatus and a content playback system including a content information acquisition apparatus.

  In recent years, when a music CD is played by a playback device such as a personal computer having a CD drive, content information such as the title and song title of the CD to be played back is downloaded from a database such as a CDDB (registered trademark) server on the Internet. A content information (for example, CDDB information) acquisition function that can be displayed on a playback apparatus is used.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an audio playback apparatus that can obtain and display a title of a recording medium to be played back by communicating with a remote database and store the title in a memory.

JP 2000-215653 A.

  However, the conventional audio playback device having the content information acquisition function requires a communication device for connecting to a communication network, a memory for storing title data, and the like, which increases the cost. It was. Also, in an environment where a plurality of audio playback devices are used, when information such as the title and song title of a CD is downloaded while a single audio playback device is playing a CD, the information downloaded from the CDDB server is another audio playback. Since it is not reflected in the memory of the apparatus, it is necessary to download information from the CDDB server again when reproducing the same CD by another audio reproducing apparatus. Furthermore, the conventional audio playback apparatus is not convenient in an environment where it cannot be connected to the CDDB server.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and reduce the cost of the content reproduction device capable of acquiring content information from an external server, and improve the convenience in an environment where connection to the server is not possible. An object of the present invention is to provide a content information acquisition device, a content reproduction device, and a content reproduction system that can be improved.

In order to solve the above problems, the content information acquisition device according to the first aspect of the present invention is detachably connected to the content reproduction device and connected to the content information server via a communication network,
The content reproduction apparatus includes content reading means for reading the content and the content identification information from a recording medium in which the content and content identification information for identifying the content are recorded.
The content information server stores, for a plurality of recording media, a set of content identification information for identifying the content recorded on the recording medium and content information including information associated with the recorded content. ,
The content information acquisition device
A content information memory for storing a set of content identification information for identifying content recorded on at least one recording medium and content information including information associated with the content;
The content identification information read by the content reading unit of the content reproduction device is received from the content reproduction device, the received content identification information is transmitted to the content information server, and the content identification information corresponds to the transmitted content identification information. The content information is received from the content information server, the received corresponding content information is transmitted to the content reproduction device, and the content identification information received from the content reproduction device and the content information server are received. Content information control means for storing a set of corresponding content information in the content information memory is provided.

In the content information acquisition apparatus, the content information control means includes:
Search the content information memory based on the content identification information received from the content playback device,
When content information corresponding to the received content identification information is stored in the content information memory, the content information on the content information memory is transmitted to the content reproduction device,
If the content information corresponding to the received content identification information is not stored in the content information memory, the received content identification information is transmitted to the content information server and corresponds to the transmitted content identification information. Content information to be received from the content information server, the received corresponding content information is transmitted to the content reproduction device, and content identification information received from the content reproduction device and received from the content information server. A set of the corresponding content information is stored in the content information memory.

In the content information acquisition apparatus,
At least a part of the communication network is a wireless communication network,
The content information control means transmits the content identification information received from the content reproduction device to the content information server via the wireless communication network, and transmits the content information corresponding to the transmitted content identification information to the content It receives from an information server, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  Further, in the content information acquisition apparatus, the content information control means transmits the content identification information to the content information server when content identification information having no corresponding content information is stored in the content information memory. The content information corresponding to the transmitted content identification information is received from the content information server, and the received content information is stored in the content information memory so as to correspond to the content identification information having no corresponding content information. It is memorized.

Moreover, the content reproduction apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is detachably connected to the content information acquisition apparatus,
Content reading means for reading out the content and the content identification information from a recording medium in which the content and content identification information for identifying the content are recorded;
Content reproducing means for reproducing the content read from the content reading means;
The content identification information read by the content reading means is transmitted to the content information acquisition device, and content information including information associated with the content identified by the transmitted content identification information is received from the content information acquisition device. Content information acquisition means for
And display means for displaying the content information acquired by the content information acquisition means.

  Furthermore, the content reproduction system according to the third aspect of the present invention includes the content information acquisition device according to the first aspect of the present invention and the content reproduction device according to the second aspect of the present invention. And

  According to the content reproduction system of the present invention, the cost of a content reproduction system having a content information acquisition function can be minimized by combining the content reproduction device and a content information acquisition device having a content information acquisition function. In addition, a content information acquisition function can be added to a plurality of content reproduction apparatuses. Further, according to the present invention, the acquired content information can be stored in the content information memory. Therefore, the more the access to the content information server such as the CDDB server is repeated (for example, the more the number is used, the more the number is used). The more content information is used, the more content information is accumulated, and the convenience in an environment where it is not possible to connect to the CDDB server is improved.

  According to the content information acquisition device of the present invention, a function for acquiring and displaying content information on an external server can be added to a content playback device with a simple configuration, and the content information acquisition device of the present invention. Can be shared by a plurality of similar content reproduction apparatuses, so that an excellent effect of being cost-effective can be realized. In addition, since the content information acquisition device has a function of storing content information once acquired, the stored content information can be shared by a plurality of content reproduction devices, and the environment cannot be connected to the content information server. Even in such an environment, the content information stored in the content information acquisition device during the previous use with another content playback device can be shared with the content playback device currently in use, and therefore cannot be connected to the content information server. It exhibits an excellent effect of improving the usability of.

  Furthermore, the content information acquisition apparatus of the present invention has its content identification in an environment where connection to the content information server is impossible when content information corresponding to the content identification information received from the content reproduction apparatus does not exist in the content information acquisition apparatus. The information is stored in the content information memory, and when the connection with the CDDB server becomes possible, the content information corresponding to the content identification information is acquired from the content information server, and then the content information acquisition device is mounted. When a content having the content identification information is played back by the content playback device, the content information can be provided to the content playback device without being connected to the content information server. As a result, even if the content information acquisition apparatus cannot connect to the content information server and the content information of a certain recording medium cannot be displayed, the content information is acquired when it can be connected to the content information server at a later time. In addition, when the same recording medium is reproduced next by the content reproduction apparatus, it is possible to realize an excellent effect that the content information can be displayed without requiring connection to the content information server.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments specifically showing the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content reproduction system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This content playback system hosts a host device 110 as a content playback device that plays back a content such as a music CD, and content information such as a title and a song title of a music CD that is attached to the host device 110 and played back by the host device 110. A content information acquisition card 120 as a content information control device provided to the device 110 is provided. The content information acquisition card 120 accesses the wireless access point device 130 connected to the Internet 200 via a wireless medium, and further accesses the CDDB server 300 on the Internet 200 from the wireless access point device 130 to The content information stored in can be acquired.

  The configuration of the host device 110 will be described in detail. The host device 110 reads content such as music data from a music CD and also reads a CD drive 111 that reads content identification information of the content, an audio reproduction circuit 112 that reproduces music data read from the CD drive, and a speaker 113. A card interface (IF) circuit 114 for transmitting / receiving data to / from the content information acquisition card 120 connected to the content information acquisition card 120, and the card interface circuit 114 that receives the content identification information read from the CD drive. The content information acquisition circuit 115 transmits the content information corresponding to the content identification information from the content information acquisition card 120 via the card interface circuit 114. , And a display device 116 for displaying the content information acquired from the content information acquisition card 120 by the content information acquisition circuit 115.

  The configuration of the content information acquisition card 120 will be described in detail. The content information acquisition card 120 includes a wireless modulation / demodulation circuit 122 and an antenna 121 for connecting to the wireless access point device 130 via a wireless medium. The wireless access point device 130 is also provided with a corresponding antenna 131. The content information acquisition card 120 is further connected to the host device 110 and connected to a host interface (IF) circuit 124 for transmitting and receiving data to and from the host device 110, a wireless modulation / demodulation circuit 122, and a host interface circuit 124. When the content identification information is received from the host device 110 via the host interface circuit 124, the content information corresponding to the received content identification information is converted into a host interface (IF) circuit by executing a content information control process described later. The content information control circuit 123 provided to the host device 110 via the content information control circuit 123 and the content information memory 125 that stores content information to be provided to the content information control circuit 123 in association with the content identification information. Constructed.

  For the card interface circuit 114 and the host interface circuit 124, it is desirable to apply a standardized interface specification such as PCMCIA, SDIO, or USB. By doing so, one card can be used in various host devices. The content information acquisition card 120 may further include other functions such as an FM tuner.

  The CDDB server 300 is a content information server (database) in which a set of content identification information for identifying a CD and content information such as a CD title and a song title is stored. These information can be used via the Internet 200. It is.

  The host device 110, the content information acquisition card 120, and the wireless access point device 130 constitute a user home communication network 100.

  Next, the recording format of the content information memory 125 will be described. FIG. 2 is a table showing an example of a content information table stored in the content information memory 125 of FIG. In FIG. 2, addresses A0 to A1023 each indicate an area for storing a set of content identification information and content information. The content identification information is an area for storing content identification information recorded on a CD or the like. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, 1024 pieces of information can be stored at the maximum. The content information is an area for storing information related to the title of the content recorded on the CD or the like and the stored song name. One title, one or a plurality of song name information, and one piece of content identification information A set of can be stored. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, 768 sets of content identification information and content information are stored in the areas of addresses A0 to A767, and the areas of addresses A768 to A1023 are still blank. If the content information corresponding to the content identification information is unknown, “0” is stored in the title portion. Therefore, it can be seen that the content information for the content identification information whose title is “0” has not been acquired.

  Next, the operation of the content reproduction system configured as described above will be described in detail. In brief, in the content reproduction system, when the content information control circuit 123 receives content identification information from the host device 110 via the host interface circuit 124, the content information corresponding to the received content identification information is the content. It is determined whether or not the information is stored in the information memory 125. If the information is stored, the content information is read and provided to the host device 110. Otherwise, the wireless modem circuit 122, the wireless access point device 130, and the Internet 200 are used. The CDDB server 300 is accessed, content information corresponding to the content identification information stored on the CDDB server 300 is acquired, and the acquired content information is provided to the host device 110.

  First, when a music CD is inserted into the CD drive 111 of the host device 110, the CD drive 111 reads the content identification information of the music CD, and the content information acquisition circuit 115 reads the read content identification information into the card interface circuit. It transmits to the content information acquisition card 120 via 114. On the other hand, the content information control circuit 123 of the content information acquisition card 120 executes content information control processing.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing content information control processing executed by the content information control circuit 123. In step S1 of FIG. 3, the content information control circuit 123 determines whether or not content identification information has been received from the host device 110 via the host interface circuit 124. If YES, the process proceeds to step S2. If NO, Repeats step S1 and waits for reception of the content identification information. In step S2, the content information memory 125 is searched to determine whether or not content information corresponding to the content identification information received from the host device 110 is stored in the content information memory 125. If YES, the process proceeds to step S3. If NO, the process proceeds to step S4. In step S3, the stored content information is transmitted to the host device 110 via the host interface circuit 124, and the process returns to step S1 to wait for reception of another content identification information. In step S4, it is determined whether or not it is possible to connect to the CDDB server 300 via the wireless medium and the Internet 200. If YES, the process proceeds to step S5. If NO, the process proceeds to step S7. In step S5, the content information control circuit 123 transmits the content identification information received from the host device 110 to the CDDB server 300 via the wireless modulation / demodulation circuit 122, the wireless access point device 130, and the Internet 200. The CDDB server 300 If content information corresponding to the content identification information received from the content information acquisition card 120 is held, the content information is returned to the content information acquisition card 120. If such content information is not held, a reply is sent. Not performed. In step S5, the content information control circuit 123 finally stores whether the content information corresponding to the content identification information received from the host device 110 is stored in the CDDB server 300, and the content information is returned from the CDDB server 300. If YES, the process proceeds to step S6. If NO, the process proceeds to step S7. In step S6, the content information returned from the CDDB server 300 is transmitted to the host device 110, the set of the content identification information and the content information is stored in the content information memory 125, and the process returns to step S1. Wait for reception. In step S7, the content identification information received from the host device 110 is only stored in the content information memory, and the return of the content information to the host device 110 is not executed. Then, the process returns to step S1, and another content identification is performed. Wait for information to be received.

  On the other hand, when the content information acquisition circuit 115 in the host device 110 returns content information from the content information acquisition card 120, the content information acquisition circuit 115 transfers the content information to the display device 116. The display device 116 displays the CD title, song title list, and the like. Display the content information. On the other hand, when the content information is not returned, the content information acquisition circuit 115 does not transfer the content information to the display device 116.

  Since the content reproduction system of the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, the content information acquisition card 120 is attached to the host device 110 having a simple content reproduction function, and the external CDDB server 300 The function of acquiring and displaying content information can be added to the host device 110, and the content information acquisition card 120 can be shared by a plurality of similar host devices, thus realizing an excellent effect of being cost-effective. can do.

  If a standardized interface specification such as PCMCIA, SDIO, or USB is applied to the card interface circuit 114 and the host interface circuit 124, a single card can be used in various host devices. Can be exhibited better.

  Furthermore, since the content information acquisition card 120 of this embodiment has a function of storing content information acquired once in the content information memory 125, the stored content information can be shared by a plurality of host devices 110. In addition, even in an environment where it is not possible to connect to the CDDB server 300, the content information stored in the content information memory 125 while being used by another host device 110 can be shared by the host device 110 currently being used. Accordingly, in an environment where more content information is accumulated and cannot be connected to the CDDB server 300 as the access to the CDDB server 300 is repeated (for example, the more it is used, or the more the host device 110 is used). It exhibits an excellent effect of improving the usability of.

Second embodiment.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  In the first embodiment of the present invention, when content information corresponding to predetermined content identification information does not exist in the content information memory 125 and the CDDB server 300 cannot be accessed, the content information acquisition card 120 The content information could not be returned to the host device 110. On the other hand, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the content information acquisition card 120 cannot connect to the CDDB server 300 when the content identification information received from the host device 110 does not exist in the content information memory 125. Under the environment, the content identification information is stored in the content information memory 125, and when the connection with the CDDB server 300 becomes possible, the content information corresponding to the content identification information is acquired from the CDDB server 300 to obtain the content. When content having the content identification information is played back on the host device 110 to which the content information acquisition card 120 is mounted after being stored in the information memory 125, the content information is transmitted to the host device 110 without being connected to the CDDB server 300. Be able to provide In the is.

  The configuration of the content reproduction system is the same as that of the first embodiment, and only the function of the content information control circuit 123 of the content information acquisition card 120 is different. Therefore, the content information control circuit 123 is not present in the first embodiment. The functions added to are described below.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing content information acquisition processing executed by the content information control circuit 123 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In step S11 of FIG. 4, when the content information acquisition card 120 is attached to the host device 110, the content information control circuit 123 searches for a set of content identification information and content information in the content information memory 125, and corresponding content information. It is determined whether or not content identification information that does not have (that is, content identification information in which the title portion of the corresponding content information is “0” as described above) is stored in the content information memory 125. If YES, go to Step S12. If NO, return to Step S11 and wait. In step S12, it is determined whether or not it is possible to connect to the CDDB server 300 via the wireless medium and the Internet 200. If YES, the process proceeds to step S13. If NO, the process returns to step S11. In step S13, the content information corresponding to the content identification information found in step S11 is transmitted to the CDDB server 300 via the wireless modulation / demodulation circuit 122, the wireless access point device 130, and the Internet 200, and the CDDB server 300 acquires the content information. If the content information corresponding to the content identification information received from the card 120 is held, the content information is returned to the content information acquisition card 120. If such content information is not held, no reply is made. Finally, in step S13, the content information control circuit 123 stores whether the content information corresponding to the content identification information found in step S11 is stored in the CDDB server 300, and whether or not the content information is returned from the CDDB server 300. If YES, the process proceeds to step S14. If NO, the process returns to step S11. In step S14, the content information returned from the CDDB server 300 is stored in the content information memory 125, and the process returns to step S11.

  The timing for executing the content information acquisition process may be set not to be performed when the content information acquisition card 120 is attached to the host device 110 but to be executed at predetermined time intervals. Also, steps S11 and S12 of FIG. 4 may be performed in the reverse order to that described. Furthermore, through the first and second embodiments, the content information acquisition card 120 may receive power from the host device 110 and thus be operable only when it is attached to the host device 110. Another power source other than the device 110 may be provided. In the second embodiment, when the content information acquisition card 120 is provided with a power source different from that of the host device 110, the content information control device 123 is independent of the content information shown in FIG. An acquisition process can be executed.

  The content playback system according to the present embodiment is configured as described above, so that content information of a CD is displayed on the display device 116 of the host device 110 in an environment where the content information acquisition card 120 cannot be connected to the CDDB server 300. Even if it is not possible, the content information is acquired and stored in the content information memory 125 when it can be connected to the CDDB server 300 at a later time. The remarkable effect that content information can be displayed without requiring connection can be realized.

Modified example.
As a content information server on the Internet, a content information server conforming to the International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) or any other content information server can be used instead of the CDDB server 300, and a plurality of content information servers A combination of these may also be used.

  The content information table of the content information memory 125 may be all blank in the initial state, and instead, a set of content identification information and content information of a popular CD is stored in advance, or a predetermined genre is stored. A set of content identification information and content information of the CD may be stored in advance. Further, the content information memory 125 is provided so as to be detachable from the content information acquisition card 120, so that a plurality of content information acquisition cards 120 storing sets of different content identification information and content information can be replaced as desired. You may comprise.

  In addition, the content information may include not only the title and song title of the CD but also any other information.

  In the embodiment described above, the host device 110 is configured as a music CD playback device including the CD drive 111. However, in general, the host device 110 may include an arbitrary content read drive instead of the CD drive 111. Good. For example, the host device 110 may include a DVD drive, and the content reproduction system may be configured to download additional data and update data related to DVD content information from a server on the Internet.

  In the embodiment described above, the content information acquisition card 120 is connected to the Internet 200 via a wireless medium, but may be connected to the Internet 200 via a wired line.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the content reproduction system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a table | surface which shows an example of the content information table stored in the content information memory 125 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the content information control process performed by the content information control circuit 123 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the content information acquisition process based on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention performed by the content information control circuit 123 of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

100: In-home communication network,
110: Host device,
111 ... CD drive,
112. Audio reproduction circuit,
113 ... Speaker,
114: Card interface circuit,
115 ... Content information acquisition circuit,
116 ... display device,
120 ... Content information acquisition card,
121, 131 ... antenna,
122 .. Wireless modulation / demodulation circuit,
123. Content information control circuit,
124: Host interface circuit,
125 ... content information memory,
130: Wireless access point device,
200 ... Internet,
300: CDDB server.

Claims (6)

A content information acquisition device that is detachably connected to a content reproduction device and connected to a content information server via a communication network,
The content reproduction apparatus includes content reading means for reading the content and the content identification information from a recording medium in which the content and content identification information for identifying the content are recorded.
The content information server stores, for a plurality of recording media, a set of content identification information for identifying the content recorded on the recording medium and content information including information associated with the recorded content. ,
The content information acquisition device
A content information memory for storing a set of content identification information for identifying content recorded on at least one recording medium and content information including information associated with the content;
The content identification information read by the content reading unit of the content reproduction device is received from the content reproduction device, the received content identification information is transmitted to the content information server, and the content identification information corresponds to the transmitted content identification information. The content information is received from the content information server, the received corresponding content information is transmitted to the content reproduction device, and the content identification information received from the content reproduction device and the content information server are received. A content information acquisition apparatus comprising: content information control means for storing a set of corresponding content information in the content information memory. The content information control means is
Search the content information memory based on the content identification information received from the content playback device,
When content information corresponding to the received content identification information is stored in the content information memory, the content information on the content information memory is transmitted to the content reproduction device,
If the content information corresponding to the received content identification information is not stored in the content information memory, the received content identification information is transmitted to the content information server and corresponds to the transmitted content identification information. Content information to be received from the content information server, the received corresponding content information is transmitted to the content reproduction device, and content identification information received from the content reproduction device and received from the content information server. 2. The content information acquisition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a set with the corresponding content information is stored in the content information memory. At least a part of the communication network is a wireless communication network,
The content information control means transmits the content identification information received from the content reproduction device to the content information server via the wireless communication network, and transmits the content information corresponding to the transmitted content identification information to the content The content information acquisition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content information acquisition apparatus is received from an information server.   The content information control means transmits content identification information to the content information server when content identification information having no corresponding content information is stored in the content information memory, and corresponds to the transmitted content identification information. The content information to be received is received from the content information server, and the received content information is stored in the content information memory so as to correspond to the content identification information having no corresponding content information. The content information acquisition apparatus according to any one of 1 to 3. A content playback device detachably connected to a content information acquisition device,
Content reading means for reading out the content and the content identification information from a recording medium in which the content and content identification information for identifying the content are recorded;
Content reproducing means for reproducing the content read from the content reading means;
The content identification information read by the content reading means is transmitted to the content information acquisition device, and content information including information associated with the content identified by the transmitted content identification information is received from the content information acquisition device. Content information acquisition means for
A content reproduction apparatus comprising: display means for displaying content information acquired by the content information acquisition means.   A content reproduction system comprising: the content information acquisition device according to any one of claims 1 to 4; and the content reproduction device according to claim 5.

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