JP2009278481A - Video content reception device, video content distribution apparatus and video content distribution method - Google Patents

Abstract

Video content distribution apparatus capable of creating summary with higher accuracy, and streaming only the summary video and confirming the content before downloading the video content, thereby accurately selecting the video content to be viewed Provided is a video content receiving apparatus capable of performing the above.
In a video content receiving apparatus, a streaming receiving unit 3021, a streaming playback unit 3024, a content receiving unit 3022, a content management unit 3023, a video playback unit 3025, and a user interface for displaying a video content selection screen are displayed. 3026, and when the video content is played back by the operation input information from the operator for the screen displayed by the user interface 3026, the streaming video of the video content summary is first received and played, and then the video content is received. And play it.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a video content receiving device, a video content distribution device, and a video content distribution method, and in particular, video such as video mail by a video content viewing terminal that displays video content such as a broadcast program such as a television receiver. The present invention relates to a technology for confirming contents by viewing only a summary before downloading the contents.

  Conventionally, as a technique for creating a summary of video content, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-184781 (Patent Document) discloses a technique for creating a summary video that enables an overview of a large amount of video to be grasped while avoiding a decrease in interest in the video. There was a technique described in Reference 1).

This is a scene that is considered to be required for each video by using the user's viewing history information and recording method information in a summary video creation device that creates summary video from recorded video or stored video, etc. Selection, segment extraction, and configuration that plays back video that is adaptive to user preferences that do not converge to a fixed video playback configuration, and finally creates a summary video that matches the user's viewing style Is possible.
JP 2007-184781 A

  The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses viewing history information and recording method information of a user when creating a summary video, and viewing history information and recording method information are obtained for video content that is not of interest. It may not be possible. Nevertheless, forcibly summarizing video content that is not of interest with the apparatus and method disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that reliability as a summary video is lowered.

  In addition, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to perform video summarization on the portal server, the portal server needs to collect viewing history information and recording method information. That is, there is a problem that the portal server needs to manage the viewing history and recording method of all subscribers, and the server system becomes complicated.

  In addition, when the user refuses to disclose such information as privacy information, there is a problem that the reliability of the summary video is further lowered.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a video content distribution apparatus capable of creating a summary with higher accuracy, and by streaming and viewing only the summary video and confirming the content before downloading the video content. It is an object of the present invention to provide a video content receiving apparatus that can be appropriately selected.

  The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

  Of the inventions disclosed in the present application, the outline of typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

  That is, an outline of a typical one is that a video content receiving apparatus first receives a streaming video of a summary of video content when reproducing video content based on operation input information from an operator for a screen displayed by a user interface. Video content is received and played back.

  In the video content distribution apparatus, when transmitting the video content, the content management unit first transmits the summary video of the video content by streaming.

  Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, effects obtained by typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

  In other words, the effect obtained by the representative one is that the user of the video content receiving device can know the content by streaming before downloading the video content from the video content distribution device. Since representative scenes corresponding to human sensitivity are extracted and connected, the quality of the generated summary is improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that components having the same function are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings for describing the embodiment, and the repetitive description thereof will be omitted.

<Hardware configuration>
With reference to FIG. 1, hardware of a video content receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing hardware of a video content receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a video content receiving device is a device including (incorporating) a display unit capable of displaying a moving image, and various information display devices such as a television receiver. However, the display unit may be a separate body (external).

  The video content receiving apparatus includes a central control unit (CPU) 1001 that controls the operation of the apparatus, a ROM 1002, a RAM 1003, a network interface 1004, a user interface controller 1005, an operation unit 1006, a light receiving unit 1007, a display unit 1008, a graphic controller 1009, and a VRAM 1010. It is composed of

  A ROM 1002 and a RAM 1003 are connected to the CPU 1001 via an internal bus line, and a network interface 1004 for connecting to an external network is further connected.

  The CPU 1001 functions as a control unit that executes metadata operation and a video navigation function, which will be described later, and the connected ROM 1002 and RAM 1003 also function as a metadata storage unit.

  Further, a program for executing the metadata operation and the video navigation function is installed in the ROM 1002 or the RAM 1003, and the CPU 1001 executes the metadata operation and the video navigation function based on the program. The storage unit such as the RAM 1003 may be a storage unit such as a hard disk in addition to the semiconductor memory, or may be a detachable storage unit such as a memory card. When a large-capacity storage unit (recording unit) such as a hard disk is provided, for example, in the case of a television receiver, a recording function for accumulating broadcast programs may be provided.

  Examples of the network interface 1004 include an analog modem for an analog telephone line, a modem for an ISDN line, a router or modem for an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), an adapter for a LAN (Local Area Network). An adapter for wireless telephone, an adapter for wireless communication such as Bluetooth (trademark), and the like are applicable. The network interface 1004 having these configurations can be connected to the Internet.

  In addition, a graphic controller 1009 for performing display control of various information and moving images is provided. A VRAM 1010 that holds video data is connected to the graphic controller 1009, and a video drawn under the control of the graphic controller 1009 is displayed on the display unit 1008.

  As the display unit 1008, a display unit such as a liquid crystal display panel is used. Note that the display unit 1008 can display a video (image) based on a video signal received by a tuner (not shown) or a video signal input from the outside (for example, a video signal reproduced from a video playback device).

  The video based on these video signals and the video based on the Internet web page, which will be described later, can be simultaneously displayed on one screen under the control of the graphic controller 1009, and character information such as keywords described later can be displayed. It is also possible to display the images in a superimposed manner.

  In addition, an operation unit 1006 configured by various operation keys, operation buttons, and the like, and a user interface controller 1005 that receives operations of the operation unit 1006 are provided, and operation data received by the user interface controller 1005 is supplied to the CPU 1001. In addition, the infrared signal received (received) by the light receiving unit 1007 is determined by the user interface controller 1005, and remote control from a remote control device or the like is also possible.

  In the description of FIG. 1 and the following description, in order to explain mainly the portion where video content is distributed, for example, an AV content in MPEG format such as a tuner that receives a broadcast signal, a demultiplexer (demultiplexer), a decoder, or the like. Details of the basic configuration for receiving and playing back are omitted, but are implemented.

  The video content management device and the video content distribution device have the same configuration for information processing by the CPU 1001, the ROM 1002, the RAM 1003, and the like.

<Software configuration of video content management device, video content distribution device, and video content reception device>
Next, the software configuration of the video content management apparatus, the video content distribution apparatus, and the video content reception apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a software configuration of the video content management apparatus, the video content distribution apparatus, and the video content reception apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 2, as an overall configuration, a video content management device 2001 that gives metadata to video content shot by a camcorder or the like, a video content distribution device 2010 that manages video content and metadata, and a playback control method specified by the metadata The video content receiver 3020 reproduces video content.

  Assume that the video content management apparatus 2001 is built in a personal computer, a video content editing device, or a video content receiving apparatus 3020.

  The video content management device 2001 includes a content management unit 2004 that manages video content and metadata, a storage device 2006 that stores video content and metadata, a metadata generation unit 2003 that generates metadata, and a user in an interactive operation environment. A user interface 2002 that supports metadata generation work and content management work, and a content transmission unit 2005 that transmits video content and metadata to the video content distribution apparatus 2010 are configured.

  The video content distribution device 2010 includes a content reception unit 2011 that receives data transmitted from the content transmission unit 2005 of the video content management device 2001, a content management unit 2013 that manages the received data, and a storage device 2016 that stores the received data. A summary generation unit 2012 for generating a summary of video content, a streaming transmission unit 2014 for streaming transmission of summary video in response to a streaming request, and a content for transmitting video content and metadata in response to a download request from the video content receiving device 3020 The transmission unit 2015 is configured.

  The video content receiving device 3020 includes a streaming receiving unit 3021 that receives the summary video stream-transmitted from the video content distributing device 2010, a streaming playback unit 3024 that performs only playback display without accumulating the received video content, and the video content distribution device 2010. A content receiver 3022 that receives the transmitted video content and metadata, a content management unit 3023 that manages the received video content and metadata, a storage device 3027 that stores the video content and metadata, and a storage device 3027 that stores the video content and metadata. A video playback unit 3025 that plays back video content by a playback control method specified by metadata, and a user interface 302 that provides an operation screen display and an interactive operation environment using the operation screen It is constructed from.

<Description of screen>
Next, the configuration and operation method of the display screen of the user interface of the video content receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 are diagrams showing the configuration of the display screen of the user interface of the video content receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and this example is an example assuming video mail.

  FIG. 3A is an initial screen. This screen 4001 includes a title column 4002 of video content attached to the video mail, an attribute information column 4003 that displays attribute information of the title, a sender column 4004 that displays the sender of the video mail, and a subject column that displays the subject of the video mail. 4005, a reception date and time column 4006 for displaying the reception date and time of video mail, and a scroll bar 4007 for scrolling and displaying information that cannot be displayed on the screen.

  Title A 4008, title B 4009, title C 4010, and title D 4011 are displayed as thumbnails in the title column 4002 as title candidates that can be downloaded from the video content distribution apparatus 2010.

  In the attribute information column 4003, as a title attribute information, a moving image mark 4012 representing a moving image and a music mark 4013 representing music are displayed together with the reproduction time 4014.

  A sender name 4005 is displayed in the sender field 4004. A subject 4016 is displayed in the subject column 4005. In the reception date / time column 4006, a reception date / time 4017 is displayed.

  Assume that the line including the title A 4008 on the screen 4001 in FIG. 3A is highlighted. When the “OK” button on the remote control is pressed in this state, the screen transitions to the screen of FIG. In this screen, a command display area 4019 is newly displayed, and a “summary viewing” button 4020 and a “return” button 4021 for transitioning to the screen of FIG.

  When the “summary viewing” button 4020 is selected in this state, the summary video of the highlighted title is reproduced by transitioning to the summary video reproduction screen 5001 shown in FIG. A summary video 5002 is displayed on this screen. A summary video playback control button group 5003 is displayed at the lower left of the screen. In this button group, a “pause” button, a “stop” button, and a “play” button are displayed in order from the left. A “download” button 5004 and a “delete” button 5005 are displayed at the bottom center of the screen.

  The “download” button 5004 and the “delete” button 5005 can be pressed at any time during playback of the summary video and after the playback of the summary video. The functions of the “download” button 5004 and the “delete” button 5005 are the same as those of the “download” button 5007 and the “delete” button 5008 described with reference to FIG.

  When all the summary videos have been reproduced or the “Stop” button is pressed, the screen transitions to the screen of FIG. A command display area 5006 is newly displayed on this screen, and a “download” button 5007 and a “delete” button 5008 are displayed therein. When a “download” button 5007 is pressed, the video content of the title A 4008 is downloaded.

  When a “delete” button 5008 is pressed, one line including the title A 4008 is deleted. When the download of the video content of the title A 4008 is completed, the display transitions to the video content display screen 6001 shown in FIG. 5 and the display of the video content is started.

  For example, it is assumed that the title 4009 in FIG. But if you don't want to see it, you can't tell by just looking at the title. When the “summary viewing” button 4020 is pressed at this time, it can be seen that the video content is not desired because the summary video can be viewed on the screen of FIG.

  The video content that the user does not want to view can be deleted by pressing the “stop” button of the playback control button group 5003 to change to the screen of FIG. 4B and then pressing the “delete” button 5006.

  The video content display screen 6001 displays a message display area 6010 on the right side of the video 6002. The message display area 6010 has an upper and lower two-tier structure, and a message 6011 is displayed in the upper part, and a keyword list 6012 corresponding to a specific scene of the video content is displayed in the lower part. The message 6011 displays “I spent this holiday with my family in Hawaii”. The keyword list 6012 displays “walking with son”, “at hotel”, and “at airport”.

  Also, a playback control button group 6003 and a video track bar 6004 are displayed at the bottom of the screen. The playback control button group 6003 includes a “pause” button, a “stop” button, a “return jump” button, a “play” button, and a “feed jump” button. In the track bar 6004, a chapter 6006, a chapter 6007, a chapter 6008, and a chapter 6009 are displayed. A current playback position 6005 is displayed.

  Chapter 6007 is associated with “walking with son”. Chapter 6008 is associated with “At Hotel”. Chapter 6009 is associated with “At the Airport”.

  FIG. 5 shows an example in which “walk with son” is selected from the keyword list 6012. When “walk with son” is selected, playback starts from chapter 6007 corresponding to “walk with son”. The message 6011 displays the message “I spent this consecutive holiday with my family in Hawaii” given to the chapter 6007. Video 6002 is a scene of taking a walk with my son on the Hawaiian coast.

<Processing Flow of Video Content Receiving Device 3020>
Next, a processing flow of the video content receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a processing flow of the video content receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 6 shows a processing flow until the video content of the video mail is downloaded to the video content receiver 3020 shown in FIG.

  First, in step 7001, video mail is activated. A screen 4001 shown in FIG. 3A is displayed on the video content receiving apparatus.

  In step 7002, a video mail is selected by looking at the title 4002 of the received mail list, its attribute information 4003, the sender 4004, the subject 4005, and the received date and time 4006.

  In step 7003, one of the “summary viewing” button 4020 and the “return” button 4021 displayed in the command display area 4019 shown in FIG. If the “Return” button 4021 is selected, the process returns to Step 7002. If the “summary viewing” button 4020 is selected, the process proceeds to step 7004.

  In step 7004, the video content distribution apparatus 2010 is requested to perform streaming distribution of the summary video.

  In step 7005, the summary video playback screen 5001 shown in FIG. However, the summary video is not downloaded.

  In step 7006, the process waits until the streaming reproduction ends or the “stop” button is pressed.

  If either of these happens, go to Step 7007.

  In step 7007, the screen is changed to the screen of FIG. 4B and either a “download” button 5007 or a “delete” button 5008 is selected. If the “Download” button 5007 is selected, the process proceeds to Step 7008. In step 7008, the video content distribution apparatus 2010 is requested to distribute video content. If the “Delete” button 5008 is selected, the process proceeds to Step 7009.

  In step 7008, the video content and metadata of the video mail are downloaded from the video content distribution apparatus 2010. In step 7009, a video content deletion request is issued to the video content distribution apparatus 2010.

  In step 7006, if the “download” button 5004 or the “delete” button 5005 shown in FIG. 4A is pressed, it is not shown in the flowchart of FIG. Jump to Step 7008 and Step 7009.

<Processing Flow of Video Content Distribution Device 2010>
Next, a processing flow of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a processing flow of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, in step 8001, a video mail is received from the video content management apparatus 2001.

  In step 8002, the video mail video content and metadata are stored in the storage device 2016. In step 8003, a summary video is generated.

  In step 8004, if the video mail service subscriber requests streaming distribution of the summary video, the flow advances to step 8005 to stream the summary video to the subscriber's video content receiving apparatus. Here, the device ID and the like of the video content receiving device are not particularly described, but are assumed to be managed by the video content distribution device 2010.

  In step 8006, if a video mail service subscriber requests distribution of video content, the flow advances to step 8007 to check the device ID of the video content receiving apparatus and distribute the video content and metadata.

  In step 8008, if a video mail service subscriber requests deletion of video content, the flow advances to step 8009 to delete the target video content and metadata.

<Processing Flow of Video Content Management Device 2001>
Next, a processing flow of the video content management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a processing flow of the video content management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention and represents a video mail transmission process.

  First, the video content shot in step 9001 is stored in the storage device 2006.

  In step 9002, metadata of the captured video content is generated and stored in the storage device 2006. The metadata generated here corresponds to the message 6011 and the keyword list 6012 shown in FIG.

  In step 9003, metadata describing the destination of the video mail (device ID), the title of the video content, the playback time and type, and the subject of the video mail is stored in the storage device 2006. The metadata generated here is assumed to be added to the metadata generated in step 9002 and entered.

  When the information described in the metadata is distributed together with the video content from the video content distribution apparatus 2010 to the video content reception apparatus 3020, the information is displayed on the screen 4001 of the video content reception apparatus 3020 shown in FIG. Corresponding title 4002, attribute information 4003, sender 4004, and subject 4005.

  In step 9004, metadata corresponding to the video content is selected from the storage device 2006 and transmitted to the video content distribution device 2010.

<Software Configuration of Summary Generation Unit 2012>
Next, a detailed software configuration of the summary generation unit of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a detailed software configuration of the summary generation unit of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 9, the summary generation unit 2012 includes an acoustic feature amount extraction unit 10001 that extracts an acoustic feature amount from video content delivered from the content management unit 2013, a video feature amount extraction unit 10002 that extracts a video feature amount, and a distribution of feature amounts. A distribution change detection unit 10003 for detecting a change and a metadata generation unit 10004 for generating metadata of the summary video using the detected distribution change. The summary video metadata generated by the metadata generation unit 10004 is delivered to the content management unit 2013.

<Processing Flow of Summary Generation Unit 2012>
Next, a processing flow of the summary generation unit of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a processing flow of the summary generation unit of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, in step 11001, the summary generation unit 2012 receives video mail video content from the content management unit 2013.

  In step 11002, the acoustic feature amount extraction unit 10001 extracts an acoustic feature amount from the video content.

  In step 11003, the video feature quantity extraction unit 10002 extracts video feature quantities from the video content.

  In step 11004, the distribution change detection unit 10003 detects a distribution change of the feature amount.

  In step 11005, the distribution change detection unit 10003 calculates a change point of the feature amount distribution.

  In step 11006, the metadata generation unit 10004 describes the position of the change point and the importance of the change point in the metadata.

  In step 11007, the metadata is delivered to the content management unit 2013.

<Specific example of summary generation>
Next, a specific example of summary generation by the summary generation unit of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a specific example of summary generation by the summary generation unit of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Note that although FIG. 11 shows a recorded program (drama) as an example, the summary generation method described here does not use the acoustic features and video features unique to the broadcast video content. Therefore, it can also be applied to video content taken by individuals. Also, a feature amount extraction method will be described later.

  In FIG. 11, the video content 12001 received by the summary generation unit 2012 from the content management unit 2013 is composed of a CM (commercial), a theme song, and a main part. In the example of FIG. 11, the video content 12001 includes CM12007, CM12008, and CM12009. FIG. 11 shows an example in which one CM section is formed by connecting three CMs.

  The video content 12001 includes a theme song 12005 and a theme song 12006. The remaining part obtained by subtracting the CM and the theme song from the video content 12001 is the main part.

  Therefore, a video content 12010 is obtained by classifying the video content 12001 into a commercial, a theme song, and a main part, and displaying other than the main part in black.

  Next, paying attention to the frequency characteristics of the audio signal of the video content 12010, the sound and music are identified. If the video content 12010 is hatched and displayed in black from a portion where either or both of audio and music are superimposed, the video content 12020 is obtained. Hereinafter, a portion in which both or one of the voice and the music are superimposed is referred to as “voice / music section”.

  Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 11, there may be a CM that does not include any music or a theme song that does not include any sound.

  In the video content 12020, “audio / music section” included in the CM is expressed as C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, and C9. “Speech / music section” included in the main part is expressed as P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P9, P10, P11, P12, and P13.

  “Speech / music section” included in the theme song is denoted as M1 and M2. The amplitude of the waveform in which audio and music are superimposed on the video content 12020 is overwritten in white.

  Extracting a part of the main part where the amplitude of the sound or music is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value results in video content 12030. In the video content 12030, the extracted portion is indicated by hatching in black. When the extracted parts are combined into one, a summary video 12031 is obtained.

  This example uses the hypothesis that if the audio and music components are extracted from the audio signal of the video content using a frequency filter, then the amplitude of the important scene will increase if the waveforms of both components are superimposed and exceed the predetermined threshold. It is an example. An example of the frequency feature amount of the acoustic signal will be described below.

<Method for extracting acoustic features>
Next, with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13, a method for extracting an acoustic feature amount in the summary generation unit of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. 12 and 13 are explanatory diagrams for explaining a method of extracting an acoustic feature amount in the summary generation unit of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and a method of extracting sound from an acoustic signal. Is shown.

  FIG. 12A shows an example of a frequency spectrum in which sound is superimposed on an acoustic signal. FIG. 12B shows an example of a frequency spectrum in which sound is not superimposed on the acoustic signal. The observation range of the frequency spectrum is 25 kHz (audible frequency range).

  12 (a) and 12 (b) both have six dominant frequency components (f1, f2, f3, f4, f5, f6 in order from the left). Among these, let f1 and f2 be the dominant components observed from the voice band.

  Then, the center frequency (f1, f2) of the dominant frequency component is included in the predetermined band (band 13011, band 13012), and the response magnification (Q value) of (f1, f2) is within the predetermined range. Is the frequency characteristic of the audio signal.

  The frequency feature quantity of the audio signal in FIG. 12A is expressed as a vector quantity (A1, A2) having frequency spectrum power as an element.

  For example, FIG. 12B is an example in which the Q value of F1 is too low to be regarded as an audio signal.

  FIG. 13 shows the definition of the Q value. The Q value is a known quantity and represents the sharpness of the envelope of the frequency spectrum at the resonance frequency.

  Voice is generated by vibration of the vocal cords. Since the vocal cord is composed of human tissue, it has a tissue-specific attenuation coefficient. Since this attenuation coefficient has a certain influence on the Q value, the value that the Q value can take is a value specific to the ecosystem. The feature amount of music can be extracted in the same way.

  In this way, the feature amount is expressed as a vector amount and corresponds to one point in the multidimensional space. In this example, only the audio feature amount is taken up and defined as (A1, A2). If the number of dimensions in the space is expanded, video features can be added in the same way. As the video feature amount, a mother wavelet corresponding to a spatial frequency can be used.

<Method of giving meaning to acoustic features>
Next, a method for giving meaning to the acoustic feature amount will be described.

  In order to observe the vibration of the vocal cords that generate the audible sound signal, the 25 kHz range is required. On the other hand, the period in which a person emits various phonemes can be observed in about 0.1 seconds (10 Hz).

  Therefore, the observation period of the acoustic signal is set to 0.1 second, and the frequency range at the time of observation is set to the 25 kHz range. Here, it is assumed that the time resolution with which a person listens to sound, including not only voice but also music, is 10 Hz.

  When the acoustic signal is observed at a period of 0.1 second, the frequency feature amount of the voice signal can be collected every 0.1 second. The frequency feature amount T of the collected audio signal is expressed by the following equation 1 using the element of the vector amount as a function of time.

T (t) = (A1 (t), A2 (t)) (Equation 1)
The elements of the vector quantity are further subdivided and defined as human voice (A1), classical sound (A2), jazz sound (A3), pop song (A4) and the like. In the case of a human voice feature quantity, the above feature quantity can be expressed by the following equation (2).

T (t) = (A11 (t), A12 (t)) (Expression 2)
Further, when human voice and classical sound are present at the same time, the list is expanded and expressed as the following equation (3).

T (t) = ((A11 (t), A12 (t)),
(A21 (t), A22 (t), A23 (t))) (Equation 3)
For example, when this feature amount is applied to video content (acoustic data thereof) for one hour, a new feature amount can be collected every period of 0.1 seconds, so that 36,000 feature amounts can be collected.

  The frequency of appearance of individual feature quantities with respect to the 36,000 feature quantities is calculated.

  A feature quantity having a high appearance frequency and a feature quantity having a low appearance frequency are extracted from the calculation result. The extracted results are given meaning as shown in (1) and (2) below. There is no strictness or certainty in this sense, but there is a certain degree of reliability that is likely to happen.

  (1) A feature quantity having a high appearance frequency in one video content is defined as “a frequently appearing feature quantity”. This feature amount is denoted as T1.

  (2) A feature quantity having a low appearance frequency in one video content is defined as an “impressive feature quantity”. This feature amount is denoted as T2.

  Next, a plurality of video contents are classified into genres such as travel, social gatherings, and music parties.

  One genre is determined, and the appearance frequency of one feature amount with respect to the feature amount extracted therefrom is calculated.

  For example, it is assumed that there are 30 video contents of a music meeting. Assuming that the reproduction time per one is 1 hour, the total time is 30 hours. When the above-described feature amount is applied to this video content, 1080,000 feature amounts can be collected.

  The frequency of appearance of individual feature amounts with respect to the 1080,000 feature amounts is calculated.

  A feature quantity having a high appearance frequency and a feature quantity having a low appearance frequency are extracted from the calculation result.

  Here, for example, the following (3) and (4) are given meanings to the extracted results.

  (3) A feature quantity that appears frequently in video content of the same genre is defined as a “familiar feature quantity”. This feature amount is denoted as T3.

  (4) A feature quantity with a low frequency of appearance in video content of the same genre, meaning “unusual feature quantity”. This feature amount is denoted as T4.

    In this way, the feature quantities of (1) (T1), (2) (T2), (3) (T3), and (4) (T4) are given meaning.

<Method to extract and rank scenes>
Next, a method for extracting and ranking scenes will be described.

  The scene S including the feature quantities (1) (T1), (2) (T2), (3) (T3), and (4) (T4) is extracted by the following procedure, and the rank R is assigned.

  First, scene S is defined as “(1) (T1), (2) (T2), (3) (T3), (4) (T4). Defined as a section included.

  The number of feature quantities (1) (T1), (2) (T2), (3) (T3), (4) (T4) included in one scene S is NT1, NT2, NT3, NT4. Is written.

  The feature quantity that maximizes the number of feature quantities included in one scene is set as the representative feature quantity of this scene.

  For example, it is assumed that the feature quantity T1 is extracted most from the Kth scene SK. When NT1 feature values T1 are continuously extracted from the Kth scene SK, T1 is set as the representative feature value of the scene SK. The rank RK of the scene SK is assumed to be NT1.

<Method for extracting video feature and summarizing video>
Next, with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, a method of extracting video feature amounts and summarizing video in the summary generation unit of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. 14 and 15 are explanatory diagrams for explaining a method of extracting video feature amounts and summarizing videos in the summary generation unit of the video content distribution apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As an example of the video feature amount, for example, there is a spatial frequency of an image included in the video. This spatial frequency is associated with an image area having a meaning such as a face, a person, an animal, a car, a road, a building, a tree, a mountain, and the sky. Similarly, it can be associated with characters such as telop.

  For example, a human face is composed of elements such as eyes, nose, and mouth, and each element has a dominant frequency component. For example, the eyes are composed of pupils, white eyes, and eyelids. The eyelid has an arc shape and has a structure in which the eyeball is sandwiched from above and below.

  Furthermore, the eyelid has features such as a single eyelid and a double eyelid. Accordingly, when the image is considered as a two-dimensional waveform, the eyeball has a structure in which a concentric local waveform centered on the pupil and an arc-shaped local waveform corresponding to the upper and lower eyelids are combined.

  These localized waveforms can be expanded into a series of linear sums of waveform elements orthogonal to each other. An example of this orthogonal waveform element is shown in FIG. A waveform element has a spatial frequency defined by a frequency f and a direction θ.

  Here, one waveform element is associated with one spatial frequency. At this time, the spatial frequency corresponding to the term in which the coefficient of the term constituting the series is dominant is called the dominant frequency. In this way, for example, even if the eye is taken as an example, a plurality of dominant frequencies can be found.

  FIG. 15 shows an example in which three dominant frequencies 16002, 16003, and 16004 are found from the vicinity of the pupil 16001.

  Accordingly, the spatial frequency feature quantity having n elements is defined as a vector quantity (A1, A2,..., An) having the spatial frequency spectrum power as an element, as in the above-described <Method for extracting acoustic feature quantity>. can do. By applying the same definition to the acoustic feature quantity and the video feature quantity in this way, the subsequent <method for assigning meaning to feature quantity> and <method for extracting and ranking scenes> are applied in the same manner. Can do.

  As mentioned above, the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  The present invention relates to a video content receiving device, a video content distribution device, and a video content distribution method, and relates to video content such as video mail by a video content viewing terminal that displays video content such as a broadcast program like a television receiver. It can be widely applied to devices that view only the summary before downloading and confirm the contents.

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware of the video content receiver which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the software structure of the video content management apparatus, video content delivery apparatus, and video content receiving apparatus which concern on one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the display screen of the user interface of the video content receiver which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the display screen of the user interface of the video content receiver which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the display screen of the user interface of the video content receiver which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a processing flow of the video content receiver which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a processing flow of the video content distribution apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a processing flow of the video content management apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention, and represents the transmission process of a video mail. It is a figure which shows the detailed software structure of the summary production | generation part of the video content delivery apparatus concerning one embodiment of this invention. It is a processing flow of the summary production | generation part of the video content delivery apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the specific example of the summary production | generation by the summary production | generation part of the video content delivery apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the method to extract the acoustic feature-value in the summary production | generation part of the video content delivery apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the method to extract the acoustic feature-value in the summary production | generation part of the video content delivery apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the method to extract the video feature-value in the summary production | generation part of the video content delivery apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the method to extract the video feature-value in the summary production | generation part of the video content delivery apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1001 ... Central control unit (CPU), 1002 ... ROM, 1003 ... RAM, 1004 ... Network interface, 1005 ... User interface controller, 1006 ... Operation part, 1007 ... Light receiving part, 1008 ... Display part, 1009 ... Graphic controller, 1010 ... VRAM, 2001 ... Video content management device, 2002 ... User interface, 2003 ... Metadata generation unit, 2004 ... Content management unit, 2005 ... Content transmission unit, 2006 ... Storage device, 2010 ... Video content distribution device, 2011 ... Content reception unit , 2012 ... summary generation unit, 2013 ... content management unit, 2014 ... streaming transmission unit, 2015 ... content transmission unit, 2016 ... storage device, 3020 ... video content Tsu receiving apparatus, 3021 ... streaming receiver, 3022 ... content receiving unit, 3023 ... content management unit, 3024 ... streaming playback unit, 3025 ... video reproducing section, 3026 ... user interface, 3027 ... storage device.

Claims (15)

A streaming receiver for receiving a streaming video of the video content summary;
A streaming playback unit for playing the received streaming video;
A content receiver for receiving the video content and metadata related to the video content;
A content management unit for managing the video content and the metadata;
A video playback unit for playing back the video content based on the metadata;
A user interface for displaying a selection screen of the video content,
When playing back the video content based on operation input information from the operator on the screen displayed by the user interface, the video content summary is first received and played, and then the video content is received. A video content receiving apparatus for reproducing. The video content receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
In the metadata, playback positions of a plurality of representative scenes included in the video content are recorded,
The video content receiving apparatus, wherein the video playback unit continuously plays back the representative scene based on the metadata. The video content receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The user interface displays a list display of the video content, and for the video content selected based on the operation input information from the operator for the list display, A video content receiving apparatus that displays a summary viewing operation screen. The video content receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
The user interface displays the summary viewing operation screen of the video content, and after the reproduction of the streaming video of the video content summary by the operation input information on the summary viewing operation screen from the operator is finished, An image content receiving apparatus that displays an operation screen for selecting whether to download and reproduce or delete a video content. The video content receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The video content receiving apparatus, wherein the video playback unit displays a playback time of the video content and text information corresponding to the playback time based on the metadata on a screen for playing back the video content. A content receiver that receives video content and metadata related to the video content;
A content management unit for managing the video content and the metadata;
A storage device for storing the video content and the metadata;
Selecting a portion to be a summary of the video content, describing its playback position in the metadata, and generating a summary video of the video content;
A streaming transmitter for streaming transmission of the summary video;
A content transmission unit that transmits the video content and the metadata;
When transmitting the video content, the content management unit first transmits the summary video of the video content in a streaming manner. The video content distribution apparatus according to claim 6.
The summary generation unit includes an acoustic feature amount extraction unit that extracts an acoustic feature amount of the video content,
The video content distribution apparatus, wherein the summary generation unit selects a portion to be a summary of the video content based on the acoustic feature amount extracted by the acoustic feature amount extraction unit. The video content distribution apparatus according to claim 7, wherein
The acoustic feature amount extraction unit, when the center frequency of the dominant frequency component observed from the voice band is included in the predetermined band and the response magnification at the center frequency is in the predetermined range, this frequency A video content distribution apparatus that extracts an acoustic feature amount using information as a frequency feature of an audio signal. The video content distribution apparatus according to claim 8, wherein
The acoustic feature amount extraction unit divides the acoustic feature amount into a plurality of meaningful feature amounts based on information on the appearance frequency of the acoustic feature amount,
The video content distribution apparatus, wherein the summary generation unit selects a part to be a summary of the video content based on the meaningful feature amount. The video content distribution apparatus according to claim 7, wherein
The summary generation unit ranks the scene based on the acoustic feature amount included in each scene in the video content, and summarizes the video content based on the ranked scene information. A video content distribution apparatus characterized by selecting a portion to be selected. The video content distribution apparatus according to claim 6.
The summary generation unit includes a video feature amount extraction unit that extracts a video feature amount of the video content,
The video content distribution apparatus, wherein the summary generation unit selects a portion to be a summary of the video content based on the video feature value extracted by the video feature value extraction unit. The video content distribution apparatus according to claim 6 or 11,
It has a distribution change detector that detects the distribution change of the feature quantity
The video content distribution apparatus, wherein the summary generation unit selects a portion to be a summary of the video content based on information on a distribution change detected by the distribution change detection unit. A video content distribution method for distributing video content from a video content distribution device to a video content reception device,
In response to a request for distribution of the video content from the video content receiving apparatus, first, a summary video of the video content is transmitted by streaming. The video content distribution method according to claim 13.
The video content distribution method, wherein the summary video is generated by selecting a portion to be a summary of the video content based on an acoustic feature amount of the video content. The video content distribution method according to claim 13.
The video content distribution method, wherein the summary video is generated by selecting a portion to be a summary of the video content based on a video feature amount of the video content.