JP2013214340A - Information processor, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To ensure that desired content can be viewed.
A preference information acquisition unit acquires preference information indicating a user's preference, and a content recommendation unit recommends content that matches preference information from content that can be recommended to the user, and a DB The control unit controls the amount of information of the recommended content according to the degree of matching. In addition, when the user evaluates the content, the preference information acquisition unit acquires preference information that reflects the evaluation of the content, and the content recommendation unit matches the preference information that reflects the evaluation of the content Recommend content. The present technology can be applied to portable electronic devices such as mobile phones and smartphones.
[Selection] Figure 7

Description

  The present technology relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program, and more particularly, to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that allow a desired content to be reliably viewed.

  With the development of information communication technology in recent years, a form in which contents such as music and moving images are managed by a server and downloaded and viewed via a network using a portable terminal device has become widespread. In addition, it is possible to provide a large number of contents by managing the contents on the server, but not all of the contents are the desired contents. Various techniques for providing have been proposed.

  The present applicant has previously proposed a technique for recommending content that suits the user's preference from among a large number of content (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 proposes a technique that uses a playlist that is published on a network when recommending music content.

JP 2006-268957 A

  By the way, in an environment where the connection to the network is restricted, in order for the user to view the content, it is necessary to download and store the content data in the terminal device in advance (hereinafter also referred to as a cache).

  However, in a situation where a large number of contents are provided via a network, the amount of information that can be cached in the terminal device is limited, and it is not realistic to cache the data of all contents. Further, since the cached content is not necessarily the content desired by the user, it is required to cache the content suitable for the user's preference in the terminal device and take it out.

  The present technology has been made in view of such a situation, so that content suitable for the user's preference can be cached and taken out in the terminal device so that the desired content can be reliably viewed. To do.

  An information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present technology is configured based on preference information indicating a user's preference, an acquisition unit that acquires matching information indicating a degree of content that matches the user's preference, and according to the matching information A control unit that controls the amount of information of the content and stores the content in a storage unit.

  The update part which updates the said preference information based on the evaluation with respect to the said content by the said user is provided.

  A display control unit is further provided for causing the display unit to display a display representing the content stored in the storage unit in a different display form for each predetermined set classified according to the information amount of the content.

  The display control unit displays a display list representing the content stored in the storage unit in a different display form for each of the predetermined sets.

  The display control unit displays an operation screen for the content stored in the storage unit in a different display form for each of the predetermined sets.

  The operation screen is provided with an evaluation input display for performing an evaluation on the content stored in the storage unit, and the update unit performs an evaluation according to a content of an operation on the evaluation input display by the user. The preference information is updated based on the above.

  The predetermined set is provided only by the first set in which all of the content metadata and substance data stored in the storage unit are provided, and the content metadata stored in the storage unit. A second set is included.

  The predetermined set further includes a third set in which a part of the metadata and the substance data of the content stored in the storage unit is provided.

  The evaluation for the content classified into the third set is continuous for the content stored in the storage unit in the first mode in which the evaluation is performed independently for each content stored in the storage unit. The evaluation is performed in any one of the second modes in which the evaluation is performed.

  A playback unit that plays back the content stored in the storage unit, and the playback unit is configured to perform continuous playback of the content when the content classified into the first set is played back continuously. In the meantime, a part of the content classified into the third set is played back, and the update unit updates the preference information based on the evaluation of the content classified into the third set.

  The reproduction unit continuously reproduces a part of the content classified into the third set near the start or end time of the continuous reproduction of the content classified into the first set.

  The update unit updates the preference information according to an operation history for the content.

  The control unit has an amount of information of content estimated to be unknown to the user among the content stored in the storage unit, which is larger than an information amount of content estimated to be known by the user. To control.

  The control unit performs control so that the information amount of the new content in time is larger than the information amount of the old content in the content stored in the storage unit.

  The control unit controls the information amount of the content according to the fact that the information processing apparatus can be connected to the network, and stores the information amount in the storage unit.

  The control unit performs control by adjusting a data amount of the content and an information amount of information related to the content according to the matching information.

  The information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present technology may be an independent apparatus or may be an internal block constituting one apparatus.

  An information processing method or program according to one aspect of the present technology is an information processing method or program corresponding to the information processing apparatus of the present technology described above.

  In the information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the program according to one aspect of the present technology, the conformity information that is determined based on the preference information indicating the user's preference, and that indicates the degree that the content matches the user's preference, is acquired, The amount of content information is controlled and stored in the storage unit according to the matching information.

  According to one aspect of the present technology, it is possible to reliably view desired content.

It is a figure showing an outline of this art. It is a figure which shows the principle of this technique. It is a figure which shows the principle of this technique. It is a figure which shows the principle of this technique. It is a figure which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the content recommendation system to which this technique is applied. It is a figure which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the terminal device and server which applied this technique. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the control part of a terminal device. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the control part of a server. It is a flowchart which shows a recommendation list data provision process. It is a flowchart which shows a recommendation list production | generation process. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the production | generation of a recommendation list | wrist. It is a flowchart which shows a recommendation list data acquisition process. It is a flowchart which shows a content evaluation process. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a recommendation list. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a meta database. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the screen for cash | cache. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the screen for uncached. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a preference database. It is a figure which shows the example of the classification method of a content. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the classification method of a content. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the timing of content evaluation. It is a figure which shows the transition of the screen for two steps recommendation by this technique. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a computer.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present technology will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiments of the present technology>
[Outline of this technology]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of the present technology.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in a mode in which content such as music and video is managed by a server and downloaded and viewed via a network using a portable terminal device, the content can be viewed if the environment is always connected to the network. By accessing the server at the viewing timing, the desired content can be viewed. In addition, the terminal device may be used in an environment where network connection is restricted. In this case, if the server cannot be accessed, the user cannot view the content.

  For this reason, when a terminal device is used in an environment where network connection is restricted, it is necessary to download content that the user is likely to view in advance into the terminal device and cache it. Thereby, even if the terminal device is not connected to the network, the user can view the content cached in the terminal device. In the present technology, when a content is cached in a terminal device, the content suitable for the user's preference can be taken out and the desired content can be surely viewed.

[Principle of this technology]
Next, the principle of the present technology will be described with reference to FIGS. In the description of FIGS. 2 to 4, music content will be described as an example.

  FIG. 2 shows an “ideal state” when a set of all contents is set A, a set of songs that the user wants to listen to is set B, and a set of songs cached in the terminal device is set as set C. The “real state” is illustrated. In the “ideal state”, the set B is included in the set C, and all the songs that the user wants to listen to are cached in the terminal device and all are taken out. However, in reality, it is difficult to accurately bring out all the songs that the user wants to listen to, such as "ideal state", and the user does not want to listen to some of the brought-out songs as in "real state" It is likely that the song is included. Also, if all songs are downloaded from the server and cached and taken out in the terminal device, an “ideal state” can be created, but all of a large number of contents such as millions of songs are cached. This is not realistic, and in most cases the amount of information that can be taken out is limited.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in order to approach the “ideal state”, it is necessary to minimize the region X of the song that the user wanted to listen to but could not take out. Further, the area Y of the music that is taken out but is not desired to be listened to does not necessarily have to be minimized. However, if there is a restriction on the capacity of the terminal device, the area Y needs to be minimized as much as possible.

  In order to accurately recommend a song that a user wants to bring out, feedback of evaluation on the user's content is essential in order to accurately grasp the user's preference. Here, evaluation of songs belonging to the area Y in FIG. 3 can be performed relatively easily because content entity data (hereinafter referred to as content data) exists in the terminal device. On the other hand, since the evaluation of the music belonging to the area X in FIG. 3 is a music that the user wanted to listen to but could not take out, the content data is more important than the evaluation of the music belonging to the area Y. Since it does not exist in the terminal device, it cannot be evaluated at the destination.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, in the present technology, a set of songs that are cached and taken out by the terminal device is classified into two stages, a set C and a set C ′. For songs belonging to the set C, for example, content data and accompanying metadata are cached. For songs belonging to the set C ′, data smaller in size than content data such as metadata is cached. That is, only a limited number of songs belonging to the set C can be cached because the data size is large. However, songs belonging to the set C ′ can be cached in large quantities because the data size is small.

  For the songs belonging to the set C ′, for example, only the metadata is cached, so that the songs cannot be viewed, but the contents of the metadata are displayed to evaluate the song to the user. Can be made. That is, since the user can evaluate the music belonging to the area Z in FIG. 4 by checking the content of the metadata, the evaluation of the music is fed back and reflected, so that the areas of the set C and the set B The area X (FIG. 3) to which the music that the user wanted to hear but could not take out can be minimized.

  As described above, the present technology minimizes the area X of the music that the user wants to listen to but cannot take out, and approaches the “ideal state” so that the music that the user wants to listen is cached in the terminal device as much as possible. , So that it can be taken out.

  The principle of the present technology has been described above. Hereinafter, a specific configuration for realizing the principle will be described.

[Content recommendation system configuration]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of a content recommendation system to which the present technology is applied.

  The content recommendation system 1 recommends content that matches the user's preference, and allows the terminal device 10 to cache the content and take it out. As shown in FIG. 5, the content recommendation system 1 includes terminal devices 10-1 to 10 -N (N = 1, 2,..., N: n is the number of terminal devices) and a server 20. The terminal devices 10-1 to 10-N and the server 20 are connected to each other via a network 30 such as the Internet.

  The terminal device 10-1 is a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet PC, or a notebook personal computer. When the terminal device 10-1 is connected to the network 30, the content provided from the server 20 is downloaded and cached. Thereby, the user can take out the contents cached in the terminal device 10-1.

  In addition, the terminal device 10-1 accumulates and manages user preference information to be used. Here, the preference information is information indicating the user's preference for the content.

  The server 20 is a dedicated server that accumulates and manages a large number of contents. In addition, the server 20 manages content feature amounts indicating feature amounts such as preference information of users who use the terminal devices 10-1 to 10-N and content metadata. Note that the preference information managed by the server 20 is synchronized with the preference information managed by the terminal device 10-1 at a predetermined timing.

  For example, when the terminal device 10-1 is connected to the network 30, the server 20 determines content recommended to the terminal device 10-1 from the accumulated content based on the content feature amount and the preference information. A recommendation list for recommending the content is generated. In the recommendation list, for example, content that provides all of metadata and content data, content that provides only metadata, and the like are classified into a predetermined set for each information amount.

  The server 20 provides the generated recommendation list to the terminal device 10-1 via the network 30. Further, the server 20 provides the content metadata and content data classified for each information amount to the terminal device 10-1 via the network 30.

  When connected to the network 30, the terminal device 10-1 acquires a recommendation list provided from the server 20 via the network 30. Also, the terminal device 10-1 acquires and accumulates (caches) metadata and content data provided from the server 20 via the network 30.

  Further, when the terminal device 10-1 is not connected to the network 30, the terminal device 10-1 displays a recommendation list from the server 20, and accepts a user's evaluation for the content displayed as the recommendation list. And the terminal device 10-1 accumulate | stores the evaluation of the said content as preference information. Thereby, in the server 20, when the terminal device 10-1 is connected to the network 30, it synchronizes with the preference information to which the user evaluation is fed back in the terminal device 10-1, and thereafter, the user's evaluation is performed. A recommendation list reflecting the evaluation is generated.

  The terminal devices 10-2 to 10-N are configured similarly to the terminal device 10-1 described above. The server 20 also provides a recommendation list and the like to the terminal devices 10-2 to 10-N as in the case of the terminal device 10-1. Therefore, the description thereof is omitted.

  Hereinafter, the terminal devices 10-1 to 10-N will be simply referred to as the terminal device 10 when there is no need to distinguish them.

  The content recommendation system 1 is configured as described above.

[Detailed configuration of each device]
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of a terminal device and a server to which the present technology is applied.

(Detailed configuration of terminal device)
As shown in FIG. 6, the terminal device 10 includes a control unit 101, a storage unit 102, an operation unit 103, a playback unit 104, a display unit 105, a speaker 106, and a communication unit 107.

  The control unit 101 controls the operation of each unit of the terminal device 10.

  The storage unit 102 stores various data. The storage unit 102 includes a preference database 102-1, a meta database 102-2, and a content database 102-3. The preference database 102-1 stores preference information. The meta database 102-2 stores metadata. The content database 102-3 stores (caches) content data.

  The operation unit 103 is configured as a touch panel superimposed on the screen of the display unit 105, receives user instructions for various GUI (Graphical User Interface) images, and supplies operation signals corresponding to the instructions to the control unit 101. . The operation unit 103 may be configured as a button having a mechanically operating mechanism.

  The playback unit 104 reads and plays back the content data cached in the content database 102-3. The playback unit 104 supplies the video signal of the played content to the display unit 105. In addition, the playback unit 104 supplies an audio signal of the played content to the speaker 106.

  The display unit 105 outputs a video corresponding to the video signal supplied from the playback unit 104. The display unit 105 displays various screens according to control from the control unit 101. The speaker 106 outputs sound corresponding to the sound signal supplied from the reproduction unit 104.

  The communication unit 107 is connected to the server 20 via the network 30 according to control from the control unit 101, and transmits and receives various data. The communication unit 107 transmits the preference information stored in the preference database 102-1 to the server 20 via the network 30 according to the control from the control unit 101. In addition, the communication unit 107 receives a recommendation list, metadata, content data, and the like transmitted from the server 20 in accordance with control from the control unit 101, and supplies them to the control unit 101.

  The control unit 101 stores the recommendation list supplied from the communication unit 107 in the storage unit 102. Further, the control unit 101 accumulates metadata in the metadata database 102-2 and accumulates (caches) the content data in the content database 102-3 among the metadata and the content data supplied from the communication unit 107.

  The terminal device 10 is configured as described above.

(Detailed server configuration)
As shown in FIG. 6, the server 20 includes a control unit 201, a storage unit 202, and a communication unit 203.

  The control unit 201 controls the operation of each unit of the server 12.

  The storage unit 202 stores various data. The storage unit 202 includes a preference database 202-1, a meta database 202-2, and a content database 202-3.

  The communication unit 203 is connected to the terminal device 10 via the network 30 according to control from the control unit 201, and transmits and receives various data. The communication unit 203 receives preference information transmitted from the terminal device 10 according to the control from the control unit 201 and supplies the preference information to the control unit 201. The control unit 201 accumulates the preference information supplied from the communication unit 203 in the preference database 202-1.

  The control unit 201 reads preference information from the preference database 202-1 and metadata from the meta database 202-2. The control unit 201 generates a recommendation list based on the read preference information and metadata and supplies the recommendation list to the communication unit 203. Further, the control unit 201 reads out metadata and content data corresponding to the recommendation list from the meta database 202-2 and the content database 202-3, and supplies them to the communication unit 203.

  The communication unit 203 transmits a recommendation list, metadata, and content data to the terminal device 10 via the network 30 in accordance with control from the control unit 201.

  The server 20 is configured as described above.

[Detailed configuration of control unit]
(Control unit of terminal device)
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the control unit 101 of the terminal device 10.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 101 includes a preference information acquisition unit 151, a DB control unit 152, a content recommendation unit 153, a data acquisition unit 154, and a display control unit 155.

  The preference information acquisition unit 151 acquires the preference information of the user who uses the terminal device 10 and supplies it to the DB control unit 152.

  The DB control unit 152 manages the preference database 102-1, the meta database 102-2, and the content database 102-3. The DB control unit 152 stores the preference information supplied from the preference information acquisition unit 151 in the preference database 102-1.

  The content recommendation unit 153 controls the communication unit 107 to acquire a recommendation list provided from the server 20 and store it in the storage unit 102.

  The data acquisition unit 154 controls the communication unit 107 to acquire content metadata and content data provided from the server 20, and supplies the content metadata and content data to the DB control unit 152.

  The DB control unit 152 accumulates the metadata supplied from the data acquisition unit 154 in the meta database 102-2. In addition, the DB control unit 152 caches the content data supplied from the data acquisition unit 154 in the content database 102-3.

  The display control unit 155 reads the recommendation list stored in the storage unit 102 according to the control from the content recommendation unit 153 and causes the display unit 105 to display the recommendation list. In addition, the display control unit 155 causes the display unit 105 to display various screens such as an operation screen for the recommended content in accordance with control from the content recommendation unit 153.

  The control unit 101 is configured as described above.

(Server control part)
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the control unit 201 of the server 20.

  As illustrated in FIG. 8, the control unit 201 includes a preference information acquisition unit 251, a DB control unit 252, a recommendation list generation unit 253, a content recommendation unit 254, and a data provision unit 255.

  The preference information acquisition unit 251 controls the communication unit 203 to access the terminal device 10 and acquires the preference information accumulated in the preference database 102-1 of the terminal device 10. The preference information acquisition unit 251 supplies the acquired preference information to the DB control unit 252.

  The DB control unit 252 manages the preference database 202-1, the meta database 202-2, and the content database 202-3. The DB control unit 252 accumulates the preference information supplied from the preference information acquisition unit 251 in the preference database 202-1. Also, the DB control unit 252 sends the preference information stored in the preference database 202-1 and the metadata stored in the meta database 202-2 to the recommendation list generation unit 253 in accordance with the control from the recommendation list generation unit 253. Supply.

  The recommendation list generation unit 253 generates a recommendation list based on the preference information and metadata supplied from the DB control unit 252 and supplies the recommendation list to the content recommendation unit 254.

  The content recommendation unit 254 controls the communication unit 203 to provide the terminal device 10 with the recommendation list supplied from the recommendation list generation unit 253 via the network 30.

  The DB control unit 252 supplies the metadata stored in the meta database 202-2 and the content data stored in the content database 202-3 to the data providing unit 255 in accordance with control from the content recommendation unit 254.

  The data providing unit 255 controls the communication unit 203 to provide the terminal device 10 with the metadata and content data supplied from the DB control unit 252 via the network 30.

  The control unit 201 is configured as described above.

[Content recommendation processing]
Next, content recommendation processing executed by each device constituting the content recommendation system 1 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Recommendation list data provision processing)
First, the recommendation list data provision process executed by the server 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S <b> 11, the control unit 201 controls the communication unit 203 to determine whether or not the terminal device 10 is connected to the network 30. In step S11, after waiting for the terminal device 10 to be connected to the network 30, the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S <b> 12, the control unit 201 controls the communication unit 203 to access the terminal device 10, and determines whether or not the recommendation list held in the terminal device 10 has been updated. If it is determined in step S12 that the recommendation list has not yet been updated, the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, the preference information acquisition unit 251 and the DB control unit 252 synchronize the preference database 202-1 of the server 20 and the preference database 102-1 of the terminal device 10. That is, the preference information acquisition unit 251 controls the communication unit 203 to access the terminal device 10 and acquires the preference information stored in the preference database 102-1 of the terminal device 10. Further, the DB control unit 252 accumulates the preference information acquired by the preference information acquisition unit 251 in the preference database 202-1. Thereby, both preference databases are synchronized and the preference information stored in the preference database 202-1 is the latest.

  In step S14, the recommendation list generation unit 253 performs a recommendation list generation process. In the recommendation list generation process, the content that can be recommended to the user is, for example, a predetermined set according to the amount of information, such as content that provides all of the metadata and content data, or content that provides only metadata. are categorized. Then, a recommendation list for recommending contents classified for each predetermined set is generated.

  In the initial state where the preference information is not accumulated in the preference database 102-1 of the terminal device 10, the recommendation list generation unit 253 displays, for example, average preference information for every user cluster such as all users or sex and age. By requesting, a recommendation list can be generated using the preference information. Details of the recommendation list generation process will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the recommendation list is generated by the recommendation list generation process, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the content recommendation unit 254 controls the communication unit 203 to access the terminal device 10 and provides the generated recommendation list.

  In step S <b> 16, the data providing unit 255 controls the communication unit 203 to access the terminal device 10 and provides content metadata and content data. However, the metadata and content data of the content correspond to the classification result in the recommendation list.

  Then, in steps S15 and S16, when the recommendation list and the metadata and content data of the content corresponding to the classification result of the recommendation list are provided to the terminal device 10, the recommendation list data provision processing is ended. If it is determined in step S12 that the recommendation list has already been updated, it is not necessary to newly generate a recommendation list, so steps S13 to S16 are skipped, and the process ends.

  The recommendation list / data provision processing has been described above. In the recommendation list / data provision processing, recommended content is classified according to the amount of information according to the preference information of the user who uses the terminal device 10, and a recommendation list is generated. Then, the generated recommendation list, content metadata and content data corresponding to the classification result of the recommendation list are provided to the terminal device 10.

(Recommendation list generation processing)
Next, the recommendation list generation process corresponding to step S14 of FIG. 9 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S61, the recommendation list generation unit 253 generates a preference base ranking based on the preference information accumulated in the preference database 202-1 and the metadata accumulated in the meta database 202-2.

  Here, the preference base ranking is a ranking of contents that can be recommended to a user who uses the terminal device 10 using the preference information of the user. Specifically, for example, when a score is given to metadata added to each content in the synchronized preference database 202-1, the recommendation list generation unit 253 sets the score for each content. By adding, it is possible to generate a score ranking for each content.

  In step S62, the recommendation list generating unit 253 sequentially sets the rankings i of the contents ranked in the preference base ranking (i = 1, 2,..., M: m is the number of recommendable contents) sequentially. It is compared with a threshold value to determine whether or not the ranking i is equal to or lower than the first threshold value.

  If it is determined in step S62 that the order i is equal to or lower than the first threshold, the process proceeds to step S63. In step S63, the recommendation list generation unit 253 classifies the content ranked in the ranking i into a content list. Here, the content list is a set to which content to which all of metadata and content data are provided belongs among recommended content.

  When step S63 ends, the process proceeds to step S66.

  If it is determined in step S62 that the order i exceeds the first threshold, the process proceeds to step S64. In step S64, the recommendation list generation unit 253 sequentially compares the ranking i of the content ranked in the preference base ranking with the second threshold, and determines whether the ranking i is equal to or lower than the second threshold. judge.

  If it is determined in step S64 that the order i is equal to or lower than the second threshold, the process proceeds to step S65. In step S65, the recommendation list generation unit 253 classifies the content ranked in the ranking i into a metadata list. Here, the metadata list is a set to which contents among the recommended contents to which only the metadata list is provided belong.

  When step S65 ends, the process proceeds to step S66.

  If it is determined in step S64 that the order i exceeds the second threshold value, steps S63 and S65 are skipped, and the process proceeds to step S66. That is, in this case, the content ranked in the ranking is not classified into the content list or the metadata list.

  Then, in step S66, the recommendation list generation unit 253 increments i, and in step S67, determines whether or not all the contents ranked in the preference base ranking have been checked. If it is determined in step S67 that the check has not ended, the process returns to step S62, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

  That is, when the loop process is repeated, for example, when the first threshold value is set to 100 and the second threshold value is set to 10000, the top-ranking contents with rankings 1 to 100 are classified into the content list. Then, the 101st to 10000th ranking contents are classified into the metadata list. In addition, lower-order contents with a ranking of 10001 and after are not classified into any list.

  If it is determined in step S67 that the check has been completed, the process proceeds to step S68. In step S68, the recommendation list generation unit 253 generates a recommendation list based on the classification result.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of generation of a recommendation list.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of generating a recommendation list of music content. As shown in FIG. 11, the preference database 202-1 stores the type, ID, score, update date, and the like. That is, the preference information is expressed by, for example, a score representing each user's preference for information specified by the type and ID. The greater the score value, the greater the user's interest in the information. Further, the meta database 202-2 stores metadata such as ID, title name, album name, genre, artist, etc. for each content.

  The recommendation list generation unit 253 refers to the meta database 202-2, and adds a score of the album when a score is given to the metadata of each album in the preference database 202-1. A preference base ranking, which is a ranking of album-based scores, is generated. All the albums stored in the content database 202-3 are ranked by the preference base ranking.

  For example, when the first threshold value is set to 100 and the second threshold value is set to 10000, the recommendation list generation unit 253 selects the top 100 albums ranked in the preference base ranking. Are classified into the content list, and the 101st to 10000th albums are classified into the metadata list. However, albums with ranks of 10001 and after are not classified in any list.

  The recommendation list generator 253 generates a recommendation list including a content list including albums ranked 1 to 100 and a metadata list including albums ranked 101 to 10000. As a result, in addition to the recommendation list, the terminal device 10 includes the metadata and content data of the 1st to 100th ranks classified in the content list, and the 101th to 10000th ranks classified in the metadata list. The album metadata will be provided.

  Note that the recommendation list generation method described with reference to FIG. 11 is an example, and other methods may be employed.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 10, when the recommendation list is generated in step S68, the process returns to step S14 of FIG. 9, and the subsequent processing is executed.

  The recommendation list generation process has been described above. In the recommendation list generation process, content that can be recommended to a user is classified into a content list or a metadata list according to the user's preference information, and a recommendation list including these lists is generated. That is, when content that matches the user's preference information is recommended from among the content that can be recommended to the user, the information amount of the recommended content is controlled according to the degree of matching. Become.

(Recommendation list / data acquisition process)
Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 12, the recommendation list / data acquisition process executed by the terminal device 10 will be described.

  In step S <b> 111, the control unit 101 controls the communication unit 107 to determine whether or not the terminal device 10 is connected to the network 30. In step S111, waiting for the terminal device 10 to connect to the network 30, the process proceeds to step S112.

  In step S112, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the recommendation list stored in the storage unit 102 has been updated. If it is determined in step S112 that the recommendation list has not yet been updated, the process proceeds to step S113.

  In step S113, the DB control unit 152 synchronizes the preference database 102-1 of the terminal device 10 and the preference database 202-1 of the server 20. That is, the DB control unit 152 reads the preference information stored in the preference database 102-1 in response to a request from the server 20. The DB control unit 152 controls the communication unit 107 to notify the server 20 of the read preference information. Thereby, both preference databases are synchronized and the preference information held in the server 20 is the latest.

  The preference database 102-1 sequentially stores user preference information by executing content evaluation processing (FIG. 13) and the like described later.

  Thereafter, if the recommendation list has not been updated, the recommendation list is provided from the server 20 (corresponding to S15 in FIG. 9). In step S114, the content recommendation unit 153 controls the communication unit 107 to control the recommendation list. To get. The recommendation list is held in the storage unit 102.

  If the recommendation list has not been updated, metadata and content data are provided from the server 20 (corresponding to S16 in FIG. 9). In step S115, the data acquisition unit 154 controls the communication unit 107. , Acquire metadata and content data.

  In step S116, the DB control unit 152 accumulates the acquired metadata in the meta database 102-2, and accumulates (caches) the acquired content data in the content database 102-3.

  The recommendation list / data acquisition process has been described above. In the recommendation list / data acquisition process, the recommendation list corresponding to the preference information of the user who uses the terminal device 10, and the metadata and content data of the content corresponding to the classification result of the recommendation list are acquired.

(Content evaluation process)
Next, content evaluation processing executed by the terminal device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The process of the flowchart of FIG. 13 is executed after the recommendation list, metadata, and content data are acquired by the terminal device 10, for example, when the user instructs the display of the recommendation list.

  In step S <b> 161, the display control unit 155 displays the recommendation list provided from the server 20 on the display unit 105.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a recommendation list.

  In the recommendation list, the contents A1 and A2 are contents classified into the contents list. The contents B1 and B2 are contents classified in the metadata list. In the recommendation list, not only the contents A1 and A2 from which the content data is acquired but also the contents B1 and B2 from which only the metadata is acquired are displayed.

  That is, information corresponding to metadata such as the title and description of the content is also displayed for the contents B1 and B2 for which no content data is taken out in the terminal device 10. At this time, the display of the contents B1 and B2 is displayed, for example, in gray out or superimposed with a predetermined icon in order to be distinguished from the display of the contents A1 and A2 from which the content data has been acquired. That is, in the recommendation list, the display forms of the content belonging to the content list and the content belonging to the metadata list are different. Therefore, the user can instantly recognize the difference between these contents.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 13, in step S <b> 162, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the content of the recommendation list has been selected based on the operation signal from the operation unit 103. In step S162, waiting for the user to select content, the process proceeds to step S163.

  In step S163, the DB control unit 152 refers to the meta database 102-2 and determines whether or not the cache flag corresponding to the ID of the selected content is “True”.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the meta database 102-2.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the meta database 102-2 stores a cache flag, a title, an album, a genre, a path, a download flag, and the like for each content ID.

  The cache flag is a flag indicating whether the content data of the content is cached. When the cache flag is “True”, the content data is cached. When the cache flag is “False”, the content data is not cached. In other words, the content classified into the content list has the cache flag “True”, and the content classified into the metadata list has the cache flag “False”.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 15, the content with content ID = 1 to 3 is content classified in the content list, and content data is cached. On the other hand, the contents of content ID = 10 and 11 are contents classified in the metadata list, and the content data is not cached.

  The title, album, and genre store the title name, album name, and music genre of the content. In the path, the storage destination path of the content is stored.

  The download flag is a flag indicating whether or not to download the content data of the content when the terminal device 10 is connected to the network 30 next time. When the download flag is “True”, the content data of the content is downloaded. For example, in the example of FIG. 15, the content with content ID = 10 is downloaded at the next network connection.

  The download flag is set, for example, by operating a permission button 322 on the uncached screen shown in FIG.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 13, if it is determined in step S163 that the cache flag is “True”, the process proceeds to step S164. In step S164, the display control unit 155 displays the cache screen on the display unit 105.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the cache screen.

  For example, when the user taps the content A1 displayed in the recommendation list in FIG. 14 on the touch panel, the cache screen in FIG. 16 is displayed. The “tap operation” refers to an operation of tapping a desired area on the touch panel with a finger or the like.

  On the cache screen, for example, an evaluation button 311, a playback button 312, and a seek bar 313 are displayed in addition to the album name and description of the content A 1. Information such as the album name and description is displayed based on the metadata.

  The evaluation button 311 is a button operated when evaluating the content A1. In the case of the example of FIG. 16, the evaluation is made in five stages by five stars. That is, among the five stars, the highest rating is given when the rightmost star is tapped, and the lowest rating is given when the leftmost star is tapped.

  The playback button 312 is a button for instructing playback of the content A1. That is, since the content A1 is content classified into the content list, the cached content data can be reproduced immediately, and the reproduction button 312 is displayed. The seek bar 313 indicates the progress of the content A1 being reproduced by the position of the slider. Further, by moving the slider by tapping or dragging, it is possible to reproduce the portion corresponding to the position of the slider.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 13, when it is determined in step S163 that the cache flag is “False”, the process proceeds to step S165. In step S165, the display control unit 155 displays the uncached screen on the display unit 105.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an uncached screen.

  For example, when the content B1 displayed in the recommendation list in FIG. 14 is tapped on the touch panel by the user, the uncached screen in FIG. 17 is displayed.

  On the uncached screen, for example, an evaluation button 321 and a permission button 322 are displayed in addition to the album name and description of the content B1. Information such as the album name and description is displayed based on the metadata.

  The evaluation button 321 is a button operated when evaluating the content B1 in the same manner as the evaluation button 311 in FIG. The user can evaluate the content B1 not taken out in five stages by tapping the evaluation button 321.

  The permission button 322 is a button that is operated when allowing the download of the content. That is, since the content B1 is content classified in the metadata list, the content data is not cached and cannot be immediately reproduced. However, it may be assumed that the user wants to reproduce and view the content B1 by checking the content B1 on the recommendation list or the uncached screen. In that case, when the user taps the permission button 322, the terminal device 10 obtains the content data by requesting the content data of the content B1 when connected to the network 30. Can do. Thereby, the terminal device 10 can reproduce the content B1.

  When the permission button 322 is operated, the DB control unit 152 changes the download flag of the meta database 102-2 (FIG. 15) to “True”.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 13, when the screen is displayed on the display unit 105 in step S164 or S165, the process proceeds to step S166. In step S <b> 166, the control unit 101 determines whether an operation on the screen displayed on the display unit 105 has been performed based on an operation signal from the operation unit 103.

  In step S166, the process waits for the screen operation to be performed, and the process proceeds to step S167. In step S167, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the content has been evaluated by the user based on the operation signal from the operation unit 103. Here, it is determined whether or not the evaluation of the contents has been performed by tapping the evaluation button 311 on the cache screen in FIG. 16 or the evaluation button 321 on the uncached screen in FIG.

  If it is determined in step S167 that the content has been evaluated, the process proceeds to step S168. In step S168, the preference information acquisition unit 151 acquires content evaluation performed on the content by the user as preference information, and supplies the preference information to the DB control unit 152. The DB control unit 152 reflects the preference information acquired by the preference information acquisition unit 151 in the preference database 102-1.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the preference database 102-1. As shown in FIG. 18, the preference database 102-1 stores the type, ID, score, update date, and the like. That is, the preference information is expressed by, for example, a score representing the user's preference for information specified by the type and ID. For example, the DB control unit 152 increases the score stored in the preference database 102-1 in accordance with the content evaluation by the user.

  Thereby, in the server 20, when the terminal device 10 connects to the network 30, the preference database 102-1 and the preference database 202-1 are synchronized, and the preference information to which the user evaluation is fed back is acquired. Thereafter, a recommendation list reflecting the user's evaluation at that time is generated.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 13, when step S168 ends, the process proceeds to step S169. If it is determined in step S167 that an operation other than content evaluation has been performed, step S168 is skipped, and the process proceeds to step S169.

  In step S169, the control unit 101 determines based on the operation signal from the operation unit 103 whether or not the end of the cache screen or the non-cache screen is instructed.

  If it is determined in step S169 that the end of the screen is not instructed, the process returns to step S166, and the subsequent processes are repeated. If it is determined in step S169 that the end of the screen has been instructed, the content evaluation process ends.

  The content evaluation process has been described above. In the content evaluation process, not only the content belonging to the content list but also the content belonging to the metadata list can be evaluated, and when the content is evaluated, it is reflected in the preference information. Become.

<Modification>
Next, a modified example will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Other examples of content classification methods)
In the above description, an example in which recommendable content is classified by a two-stage set of a content list and a metadata list has been described. However, it is also possible to classify content that can be recommended. FIG. 19 shows an example in which the content belonging to the metadata list is further classified into a plurality of sets as another example of the content classification method.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the contents belonging to the metadata list may be further classified into a first metadata list to which contents that the user knows belong and a second metadata list to which contents that the user does not know belong. it can. For example, content that has already been viewed or evaluated by the user is likely to be content that the user knows, and therefore it is highly possible that the content can be identified without providing much information. On the other hand, since there is a high possibility that the user does not know, for example, content without viewing history or evaluation history, it is highly possible that the content cannot be specified unless more information is provided.

  Therefore, when generating the recommendation list, the recommendation list generation unit 253 acquires operation history information such as viewing history and evaluation history as preference information, and is classified into a metadata list according to the operation history information. The contents are further classified into a first metadata list and a second metadata list. As shown in FIG. 19, for example, in the case of music content, simple metadata such as title, genre, artist, etc. is provided for the content classified in the first metadata list. On the other hand, content classified in the second metadata list includes, for example, data such as artist biography and part of content data such as song intro and chorus parts in addition to simple metadata such as titles. To be provided. As part of the content data, for example, in the case of television program content, a digest version of the television program may be provided.

  As a result, for content that the user does not know, more information can be provided to increase the criteria for determining the content so that the user can easily evaluate the content.

  The operation history information is acquired as preference information by the preference information acquisition unit 151 in the terminal device 10 and provided to the server 20, for example.

  In addition, the recommendation list generation unit 253 sets the third threshold value between the first threshold value and the second threshold value in the above-described list generation process (FIG. 10), so that the content is changed to the content item. You may make it classify | categorize in either a list | wrist, a 1st metadata list, or a 2nd metadata list. Specifically, in the above example, when 1000 is set as the third threshold, for example, the first to 100th highest content is the content list, and the 101st to 1000th middle content is the first content. The 1st metadata list and the 1001th to 10000th intermediate contents are classified into the second metadata list. In addition, lower-order contents with a ranking of 10001 and after are not classified into any list.

  Then, the content recommendation unit 254 provides the recommendation list generated by the recommendation list generation unit 253 to the terminal device 10 via the network 30. Further, the data providing unit 255, for example, belongs to all of the content metadata and content data belonging to the content list, part of the content metadata and content data belonging to the first metadata list, and belongs to the second metadata list. Content metadata is provided to the terminal device 10 via the network 30.

  In this way, by increasing the number of sets for classifying content, it is possible to classify recommended content into more sets according to the amount of information.

  Also, the recommendation list generation unit 253 classifies the new content into a set that increases the amount of information according to the release date of the content and the like, and sets the old content as a set that decreases the amount of information. It can also be classified. The content release date can be acquired from date information included in the metadata, for example. Thereby, the user can easily evaluate new contents.

  Furthermore, the recommendation list generation unit 253 classifies the high priority content into a set with a large amount of information according to the priority set by the provider providing the content, and the low priority content It is also possible to classify into a set that reduces the amount of information. Thereby, the server 20 can increase the information content of the content for promotion, for example, and can provide it to the terminal device 10. Further, as the metadata and content data of the content, for example, advertisement data is provided.

  As described above, the recommendation list generation unit 253 can classify content that can be recommended to the user into two or more sets according to the amount of content information. That is, as shown in FIG. 20, for example, recommendable content is classified into, for example, a set of content lists or first to fourth metadata lists according to the amount of information.

  When the terminal device 10 acquires the recommended list of content classified in this way, the terminal device 10 displays the recommended list in a different display form for each predetermined set corresponding to the content information amount. In the example of FIG. 20, the contents belonging to each of the content list, the first metadata list, the second metadata list, the third metadata list, and the fourth metadata list are displayed in different display forms for each set. Will be.

(Timing of content evaluation)
In the above description, it has been described that the content evaluation is executed when the display of the recommendation list is instructed by the user. However, the evaluation may be executed at another timing. That is, as the timing of content evaluation, in addition to the above-described active evaluation, an uncached screen (FIG. 17) is displayed from the recommendation list in accordance with a user operation, and content not taken out is evaluated. In addition, passive evaluation without user operation may be performed.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of passively evaluating music content. In the example of FIG. 21, albums A and C are contents classified in the content list, and metadata and content data are cached in the terminal device 10. The albums B and D are contents classified into the second metadata list, for example, and the terminal device 10 caches a part of the content data in addition to the metadata. In this state, as shown in FIG. 21, the digest of album B (for example, the intro or rust portion of the song) is played between the playback of album A and album C, and the uncached screen is displayed. The album B can be evaluated by (FIG. 17) or the like. Then, when the album B is evaluated, the evaluation is reflected in the preference information.

  In this way, since the digests of albums B and C are automatically played back as if they were CMs, between the playback of the albums A and C taken out, the user reliably evaluates the albums that have not been taken out. be able to.

  Depending on the user, digest playback of albums B and C may be bothersome. For example, when controlling so that digest playback is not continued or when continuously playing albums A and C in a playlist, Digest playback can be performed collectively in the vicinity of the beginning or end of continuous playback. At that time, when the terminal device 10 becomes connectable to the network 30, the content data of the albums B and C may be acquired from the server 20 and played back in the full version.

  In addition, the above-described active evaluation is performed in one of a normal mode in which evaluation is performed for each recommended content and an evaluation mode in which evaluation is performed continuously for the recommended content. Can do. In the normal mode, for example, an uncached screen (FIG. 17) is displayed from the recommendation list in accordance with a user operation, and content that has not been taken out is evaluated.

  On the other hand, in the evaluation mode, for example, an uncached screen (FIG. 17) for content for which content data is not cached is continuously displayed for each content, and content that has not been continuously taken out is evaluated. . Further, for example, in the example of FIG. 21, digest reproduction of contents classified in the second metadata list such as albums B and D is continuously performed, and evaluation of albums not taken out is performed collectively.

  Content evaluation is performed as described above.

[Specific operation example]
In the above explanation, the explanation was focused on music content as an example of content. However, in addition to music, this technology can also be applied to, for example, video, e-books, and information distributed via RSS (RDF Site Summary) Can do. Therefore, a specific operation example of each content other than music will be described below.

(1. TV program)
When the content data of a TV program recorded by a home recorder is cached and taken out to the terminal device 10, the recorder has the function as the server 20 described above and operates.

  The recorder acquires and accumulates information such as recorded television programs and their metadata. The recorder provides the terminal device 10 with program information data such as a list of television programs that have not been taken out. Thereby, since the list of television programs that were not taken out by the terminal device 10 is also displayed as a recommendation list, the user can check and evaluate the contents of the programs. At that time, in the recommendation list, the display of the program that has not been taken out is displayed in a display form different from the program that has been taken out, such as gray out.

  Further, when the program not taken out by the user is evaluated, the recorder reflects the evaluation of the program in the preference information and changes the content of the recommendation list to be provided to the terminal device 10 next.

  Note that the recorder may provide the terminal device 10 with, for example, a digest of the program or content data for several minutes as part of the content data. Thereby, the user can check the digest of the program and the content for several minutes at the desired timing, and can evaluate the television program that has not been taken out.

  In the above description, the recorder has been described as having the function of the server 20, but the recorder and the server 20 may be configured separately. In this case, the server 20 appropriately acquires content data and metadata of the television program recorded by the recorder. The recorder may record the television program based on the preference information reflecting the user's evaluation.

(2. Electronic book)
The server 20 stores information such as content data and metadata of electronic books. When the terminal device 10 is connected to the network 30, the server 20 generates a recommendation list based on the preference information and metadata, and provides the recommendation list to the terminal device 10.

  Further, the server 20 provides the terminal device 10 with the metadata or content data of the electronic book according to the classified electronic book. Thereby, since the list of electronic books that were not taken out by the terminal device 10 is also displayed as a recommendation list, the user can check and evaluate the contents of the electronic books. At that time, in the recommendation list, the display of the electronic book that was not taken out is displayed in a display form different from that of the taken out electronic book such as gray out.

  In addition, when an electronic book that has not been taken out by the user is evaluated, the server 20 reflects the evaluation of the electronic book in the preference information, and then changes the content of the recommendation list to be provided to the terminal device 10. .

  Note that the server 20 provides the terminal device 10 with content data of a table of contents or an opening portion of the electronic book as a part of the content data, for example. Thus, the user can check the contents of the table of contents and the beginning of the electronic book at a desired timing and evaluate the electronic book that has not been taken out.

(3. Video content)
The server 20 acquires and accumulates information such as video content recorded by a recorder and its metadata. When the terminal device 10 is connected to the network 30, the server 20 generates a recommendation list based on the preference information and metadata, and provides the recommendation list to the terminal device 10.

  Further, the server 20 provides the terminal device 10 with metadata or content data of the video content according to the classified video content. As a result, since the list of video contents not taken out by the terminal device 10 is also displayed as a recommendation list, the user can check and evaluate the details of the video contents. At that time, in the recommendation list, the display of the video content not taken out is displayed in a display form different from the taken out video content such as gray out.

  Further, when the video content not taken out by the user is evaluated, the server 20 reflects the evaluation of the video content in the preference information and changes the content of the recommendation list to be provided to the terminal device 10 next time. .

(4. RSS distribution)
When connected to the network 30, the terminal device 10 automatically downloads the link destination of the RSS feed based on the preference information. Also, the terminal device 10 downloads an RSS feed that has a high degree of matching with preference information, even for RSS feeds for which the link destination has not been downloaded.

  When the terminal device 10 is not connected to the network 30 and displays a list of RSS feeds, the entity data is cached, such as graying out the display for those that are not cached. Display in a different display form. As a result, the user can check and evaluate the content of the RSS feed in which the actual data is not cached in the terminal device 10. When the terminal device 10 is connected to the network 30 again, the terminal device 10 changes the link destination of the RSS feed to be downloaded based on the preference information in which the content of the evaluation is reflected.

  The operation example has been described above.

  As described above, according to the present technology, content that matches the user's preference can be cached and taken out in the terminal device 10, so that the user can surely view desired content.

  Also, for example, as shown in FIG. 22, the contents A1 to A4 in which the content data is taken out in the terminal device 10 and the contents B1 and B2 in which the content data is not taken out have different display forms. The user can display the uncached screen by tapping the recommendation list content B1 on the touch panel. Then, the user can evaluate the content B1 in which only metadata is downloaded by operating the uncached screen. In addition, since the evaluation is reflected in the preference information, the next time when the recommendation list is generated, the one reflecting the evaluation result of the content that has not been taken out is generated.

  In the above description, the recommendation list has been described as being generated by the server 20, but the terminal device 10 may acquire and generate information for generating the recommendation list.

[Description of computer to which this technology is applied]
The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or software. When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed in the computer. Here, the computer includes, for example, a general-purpose personal computer capable of executing various functions by installing a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware and various programs.

  FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of hardware of a computer that executes the above-described series of processing by a program.

  In the computer 400, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 401, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 402, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 403 are connected to each other by a bus 404.

  An input / output interface 405 is further connected to the bus 404. An input unit 406, an output unit 407, a recording unit 408, a communication unit 409, and a drive 410 are connected to the input / output interface 405.

  The input unit 406 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and the like. The output unit 407 includes a display, a speaker, and the like. The recording unit 408 includes a hard disk, a nonvolatile memory, and the like. The communication unit 409 includes a network interface. The drive 410 drives a removable medium 411 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory.

  In the computer 400 configured as described above, for example, the CPU 401 loads the program stored in the recording unit 408 to the RAM 403 via the input / output interface 405 and the bus 404 and executes the program, as described above. A series of processing is performed.

  The program executed by the computer 400 (CPU 401) can be provided by being recorded on a removable medium 411 as a package medium, for example. The program can be provided via a wired or wireless transmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital satellite broadcasting.

  In the computer 400, the program can be installed in the recording unit 408 via the input / output interface 405 by attaching the removable medium 411 to the drive 410. Further, the program can be received by the communication unit 409 via a wired or wireless transmission medium and installed in the recording unit 408. In addition, the program can be installed in the ROM 402 or the recording unit 408 in advance.

  Note that the program executed by the computer 400 may be a program that is processed in time series in the order described in this specification, or a necessary timing such as in parallel or when a call is made. It may be a program in which processing is performed.

  Here, in this specification, the processing steps for describing a program for causing the computer 400 to perform various types of processing do not necessarily have to be processed in time series in the order described in the flowchart, and may be performed in parallel or individually. (For example, parallel processing or object processing).

  Further, the program may be processed by one computer, or may be distributedly processed by a plurality of computers. Furthermore, the program may be transferred to a remote computer and executed.

  Furthermore, in this specification, the system means a set of a plurality of components (devices, modules (parts), etc.), and it does not matter whether all the components are in the same housing. Accordingly, a plurality of devices housed in separate housings and connected via a network and a single device housing a plurality of modules in one housing are all systems. .

  The embodiments of the present technology are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present technology.

  For example, the present technology can take a configuration of cloud computing in which one function is shared by a plurality of devices via a network and jointly processed.

  In addition, each step described in the above-described flowchart can be executed by being shared by a plurality of apparatuses in addition to being executed by one apparatus.

  Further, when a plurality of processes are included in one step, the plurality of processes included in the one step can be executed by being shared by a plurality of apparatuses in addition to being executed by one apparatus.

  In addition, this technique can take the following structures.

(1)
An acquisition unit that is determined based on preference information indicating a user's preference, and that acquires matching information indicating a degree of content matching the user's preference;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls an information amount of the content according to the conforming information and stores the content in a storage unit.
(2)
The information processing apparatus according to (1), further comprising: an update unit that updates the preference information based on an evaluation of the content by the user.
(3)
(1) or (1) further comprising: a display control unit that causes the display unit to display a display representing the content stored in the storage unit in a different display form for each predetermined set classified according to the information amount of the content. The information processing apparatus according to 2).
(4)
The information processing apparatus according to (3), wherein the display control unit displays a display list representing the content stored in the storage unit in a different display form for each of the predetermined sets.
(5)
The information processing apparatus according to (3) or (4), wherein the display control unit displays an operation screen for the content stored in the storage unit in a different display form for each of the predetermined sets.
(6)
The operation screen is provided with an evaluation input display for evaluating the content stored in the storage unit,
The information processing apparatus according to (5), wherein the update unit updates the preference information based on an evaluation according to a content of an operation on the evaluation input display by the user.
(7)
The predetermined set is provided only by the first set in which all of the content metadata and substance data stored in the storage unit are provided, and the content metadata stored in the storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to any one of (3) to (6).
(8)
The predetermined set further includes a third set provided with a part of the metadata and content data of the content stored in the storage unit. (3) to (7) Information processing device.
(9)
The evaluation for the content classified into the third set is continuous for the content stored in the storage unit in the first mode in which the evaluation is performed independently for each content stored in the storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to (8), wherein the information processing apparatus is performed in any one of the second modes in which the evaluation is performed.
(10)
A playback unit that plays back the content stored in the storage unit;
When the content classified into the first set is continuously played, the playback unit receives a part of the content classified into the third set between successive playbacks of the content. Play and
The information processing apparatus according to (9), wherein the update unit updates the preference information based on an evaluation on the content classified into the third set.
(11)
The reproduction unit continuously reproduces a part of the content classified into the third set near the start or end time of the continuous reproduction of the content classified into the first set. ).
(12)
The information processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the update unit updates the preference information according to an operation history for the content.
(13)
The control unit has an amount of information of content estimated to be unknown to the user among the content stored in the storage unit, which is larger than an information amount of content estimated to be known by the user. The information processing apparatus according to (12).
(14)
The control unit controls the information stored in the storage unit such that the information amount of the new content in time is larger than the information amount of the old content in time. Processing equipment.
(15)
The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (14), wherein the control unit controls the information amount of the content according to the fact that the information processing apparatus can be connected to a network and stores the information amount in the storage unit. apparatus.
(16)
The information processing unit according to any one of (1) to (15), wherein the control unit performs control by adjusting a data amount of the content and an information amount of information related to the content according to the matching information. apparatus.
(17)
In the information processing method of the information processing apparatus,
The information processing apparatus is
It is determined based on the preference information indicating the user's preference, and obtains the matching information indicating the degree to which the content matches the user's preference,
An information processing method including a step of controlling an information amount of the content and storing the information in a storage unit in accordance with the matching information.
(18)
Computer
An acquisition unit that is determined based on preference information indicating a user's preference, and that acquires matching information indicating a degree of content matching the user's preference;
The program for functioning as a control part which controls the information content of the said content according to the said conformity information, and memorize | stores it in a memory | storage part.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content recommendation system 10, 10-1 thru | or 10-N terminal device, 20 server, 30 network, 101 control part, 102 memory | storage part, 102-1 preference database, 102-2 meta database, 102-3 content database, 103 Operation unit, 104 playback unit, 105 display unit, 106 speaker, 107 communication unit, 151 preference information acquisition unit, 152 DB control unit, 153 content recommendation unit, 154 data acquisition unit, 155 display control unit, 201 control unit, 202 storage , 202-1 preference database, 202-2 meta database, 202-3 content database, 203 communication unit, 251 preference information acquisition unit, 252 DB control unit, 253 recommendation list generation unit, 254 Ntsu recommendation unit, 255 data providing unit, 400 computer, 401 CPU

Claims (18)

An acquisition unit that is determined based on preference information indicating a user's preference, and that acquires matching information indicating a degree of content matching the user's preference;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls an information amount of the content according to the conforming information and stores the content in a storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an update unit that updates the preference information based on an evaluation of the content by the user. The display control part which displays the display showing the said content memorize | stored in the said memory | storage part on a display part with a different display form for every predetermined group classified according to the information content of the said content is provided. Information processing device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display control unit displays a display list representing the content stored in the storage unit in a different display form for each of the predetermined sets. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the display control unit displays an operation screen for the content stored in the storage unit in a different display form for each of the predetermined sets. The operation screen is provided with an evaluation input display for evaluating the content stored in the storage unit,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the update unit updates the preference information based on an evaluation according to a content of an operation performed on the evaluation input display by the user. The predetermined set is provided only by the first set in which all of the content metadata and substance data stored in the storage unit are provided, and the content metadata stored in the storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second set is included. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined set further includes a third set in which a part of the metadata and the substance data of the content stored in the storage unit is provided. The evaluation for the content classified into the third set is continuous for the content stored in the storage unit in the first mode in which the evaluation is performed independently for each content stored in the storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the information processing apparatus is performed in any one of the second modes in which evaluation is performed. A playback unit that plays back the content stored in the storage unit;
When the content classified into the first set is continuously played, the playback unit receives a part of the content classified into the third set between successive playbacks of the content. Play and
The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the update unit updates the preference information based on an evaluation on the content classified into the third set. The reproduction unit continuously reproduces a part of the content classified into the third set in the vicinity of a start or end time of continuous reproduction of the content classified into the first set. The information processing apparatus according to 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the update unit updates the preference information according to an operation history for the content. The control unit has an amount of information of content estimated to be unknown to the user among the content stored in the storage unit, which is larger than an information amount of content estimated to be known by the user. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12. The information according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the information amount of the new content in time to be larger than the information amount of the old content in the content stored in the storage unit. Processing equipment. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the information amount of the content according to the fact that the information processing apparatus can be connected to a network and stores the information in the storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control by adjusting a data amount of the content and an information amount of information related to the content according to the matching information. In the information processing method of the information processing apparatus,
The information processing apparatus is
It is determined based on the preference information indicating the user's preference, and obtains the matching information indicating the degree to which the content matches the user's preference,
An information processing method including a step of controlling an information amount of the content and storing the information in a storage unit in accordance with the matching information. Computer
An acquisition unit that is determined based on preference information indicating a user's preference, and that acquires matching information indicating a degree of content matching the user's preference;
The program for functioning as a control part which controls the information content of the said content according to the said conformity information, and memorize | stores it in a memory | storage part.

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