JP4835844B2 - Content recording apparatus and program thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content recording apparatus that records broadcast data, and more particularly to a content recording apparatus that compresses a plurality of files at a desired bit rate for each content.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, content recording apparatuses that record radio broadcasts such as TV broadcasts, FM, and AM on HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) and select and reproduce desired programs later have been used. For example, when reserving recording of a program desired by the user, the recording mode (XP (high bit rate), SP (standard bit rate), LP (low bit rate)) is considered in consideration of the program content and the remaining capacity of the HDD. Etc.) can be selected. However, although the recording mode can be selected for each program to be recorded, the recording mode cannot be automatically changed each time according to the broadcast content in one program. For example, a music program cannot be recorded at a high bit rate when an artist the user is interested in is broadcast, and cannot be recorded at a low bit rate when an artist the user is not interested in is broadcast. Furthermore, since it is impossible to accurately grasp when the artist that the user is interested in is broadcast, it is very troublesome for the user to change the recording mode while viewing the broadcast.

  The following system is described in Patent Document 1 below. It has a rate converter that changes the bit rate for each channel, records the history of the program viewed by the user as the viewing history, extracts the user's viewing tendency from the viewing history by the agent, and is selected for each channel It is determined whether or not the program matches the user's viewing tendency, and if it matches, the program is recorded on the recording medium at a bit rate that can maintain a high-definition video. And recorded on a recording medium. However, according to Patent Document 1, since the bit rate is varied based on the viewing history, the user is interested, but the artist broadcast for the first time cannot be recorded at a high bit rate.

JP 2004-186845 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a content recording apparatus capable of automatically changing a bit rate to be recorded according to broadcast contents.

  A content recording apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives broadcast data including a plurality of contents, a content storage unit that records the plurality of contents received by the receiving unit, and the receiving unit. First recording means for temporarily recording received broadcast data at a predetermined bit rate in the content storage unit; bit rate storage means for storing content information and bit rate in association with each other; Dividing means for dividing the broadcast data recorded by the recording means into a plurality of contents, and content information of the contents divided by the dividing means stored in the bit rate storage means for the contents divided by the dividing means Compression means for compressing at a bit rate corresponding to the The content recorded in the content storage unit, the content before compression and a second recording means for deleting from the content storage unit.

  In the bit rate storage means, the content information and the bit rate are registered in association with each other by the user. After broadcast data including a plurality of contents is recorded in the content storage unit at a predetermined bit rate, the broadcast data is divided into a plurality of contents by an arbitrary method. The content information of the divided content and the bit rate storage means are referred to, and the content is recompressed at the bit rate corresponding to the content information. The content before compression is deleted. As a result, for example, when the content information is an artist name, a high bit rate is registered for the artist that the user likes in the bit rate storage means, and a low bit rate is registered for the artist that the user does not like, It is possible to record content of an artist preferred by the user at a high bit rate and record content of an artist not preferred by the user at a low bit rate. Therefore, the desired broadcast content can be recorded at a high bit rate, and the recorded capacity of the entire content storage unit can be reduced.

  In a preferred embodiment, the bit rate storage means can store information indicating that no content is recorded in association with the content information. When it is stored in the bit rate storage means that content is not recorded in association with the content information of the content divided by the dividing means, the compression means deletes the content from the content storage unit.

  The bit rate storage means can register that content is not recorded in association with content information. In this case, when it is registered in the bit rate storage unit that recording is not performed in association with the content information of the divided content, the content is immediately deleted from the content storage unit without being recompressed. Accordingly, it is possible to automatically delete the contents of artists that the user does not want to record, and to reduce the recorded capacity of the entire content storage unit.

  When the content information of the content divided by the dividing unit is not stored in the bit rate storage unit, the compression unit compresses the content at a predetermined bit rate.

  In this case, when the content information of the divided content is not stored in the bit rate storage means, the content is compressed at a predetermined bit rate. The predetermined bit rate is set to the lowest bit rate, for example. Since an artist who is not registered in the bit rate storage means is considered not to be the user's preference, the content of the artist name can be compressed at a predetermined (lowest) bit rate. Therefore, since the user does not need to register all artist names in the bit rate storage means, the user's registration operation is not complicated.

  The content recording apparatus is connected to a content information server having a database for storing content information of the content in association with waveform data of the content, and received by the receiving unit and recorded in the content storage unit It further comprises acquisition means for transmitting waveform data of broadcast data to the content information server and acquiring content information of the content from the content information server. The dividing unit divides the broadcast data into a plurality of contents at a place where the content information acquired by the acquiring unit is changed, and the compression unit uses a bit rate corresponding to the content information acquired by the acquiring unit. Compress the content.

  The waveform data of the received broadcast data is transmitted to the content information server, the content information is acquired from the content information server, and the broadcast data is divided into a plurality of contents at locations where the content information is changed (for example, location information such as addresses). Therefore, the broadcast data can be divided into a plurality of contents very accurately. For example, when a cue sheet provided by a broadcasting station is used to divide into multiple contents, if the cue sheet is incorrect, the broadcast data is divided at the wrong location. Does not occur. Further, when content information is multiplexed with music data by FM character multiplex broadcasting and divided into a plurality of contents based on the content information, it can be used only for FM character multiplex broadcasting, but in this example, it can be used for arbitrary broadcasting. Can be adopted.

  In another aspect of the present invention, an operation program for a content recording apparatus that causes a computer to execute each of the above-described means can be provided.

  Desired broadcast content can be recorded at a high bit rate, and the recorded capacity of the entire content storage unit can be reduced.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content recording / playback system 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The content recording / playback system 100 includes a content recording / playback apparatus 1 and a content information server 2.

  The content recording / playback apparatus 1 receives broadcast data from a radio or a TV and records it in the HDD. The content recording / reproducing apparatus 1 transmits waveform data of broadcast data recorded on the HDD to the content information server 2. The content information database 2 includes waveform data and content information (called metadata) for a large number of contents, and typically includes a content name (song name), an artist name, a genre name, a reproduction time, and the like. ) Is recorded in association with the database 2A. The content information server 2 extracts content information corresponding to the waveform data received from the content recording / playback apparatus 1 from the database 2 </ b> A and transmits it to the content recording / playback apparatus 1.

  The content recording / playback apparatus 1 divides the broadcast data recorded on the HDD into a plurality of content files at a location (address) where the received content information is changed. Further, the content recording / playback apparatus 1 recompresses the divided content file according to the content information (for example, artist name). Hereinafter, the content recording / playback apparatus 1 will be described in detail.

[Configuration of Content Recording / Playback Device 1]
The content recording / playback apparatus 1 includes a reception unit 11, a content storage unit 12, a bit rate table 13, a control unit 14, a communication unit 15, and a playback unit 16.

  The receiving unit 11 receives broadcast data including a plurality of contents broadcast from a broadcast station (not shown). Content is a general term for data such as music (music), video, and / or still images, and in this example is music data. The broadcast is a TV broadcast or a radio broadcast, and any broadcast such as a digital broadcast, an analog broadcast, a satellite broadcast, or an Internet broadcast can be adopted. In this example, an FM broadcast including a plurality of song data will be described as an example.

  The content storage unit 12 records broadcast data received by the receiving unit 11, and typically, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like may be employed. When the broadcast data received by the receiving unit 11 is in an analog format, the broadcast data is converted from analog to digital and recorded in the content storage unit 12. The broadcast data is encoded in a predetermined format (for example, MP3) at a predetermined bit rate and recorded in the content storage unit 12.

  The content storage unit 12 includes a first storage unit 12A and a second storage unit 12B. The first storage unit 12A is an area where broadcast data received by the receiving unit 11 is temporarily recorded at a predetermined bit rate. This bit rate is set to the highest bit rate (for example, 192 Kbps) so that it can be compressed at an arbitrary bit rate after content division. That is, the broadcast data received by the receiving unit 11 is first recorded in the first storage unit 12A. The second storage unit 12B is an area in which broadcast data recorded in the first storage unit 12A is divided into a plurality of files in units of content and a file recompressed based on the content information is recorded. In this example, the first storage unit 12A and the second storage unit 12B are provided as separate areas, but it is not necessary to distinguish these areas.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the bit rate table 13 is a table for determining a bit rate when recompressing a plurality of divided content files. The bit rate is typically set by the user. The bit rate table 13 includes keywords and bit rates associated with the keywords. Content information (in this example, artist name) is registered in the keyword. In this case, the bit rate is determined based on the artist name given to the content file. Further, the keyword may be a genre or the like, or a combination of a plurality of pieces of content information. The keyword is input or selected by the user via an input unit (not shown) (such as a remote controller or operation keys), and the bit rate is selected from a plurality of bit rates by the user.

  In the example of FIG. 2, a file whose artist name is AAA or BBB is compressed at 192 Kbps, a file whose artist name is CCC is compressed at 160 Kbps, and the artist name corresponding to the keyword item is not registered (for example, Files whose artist name is GGG and files other than song data (news, CM, etc. audio data files) are compressed at 48 Kbps, and the bit rate table 13 stores files in the second storage unit 12B. When recompressing, a keyword for deleting a content file can be registered, for example, a file whose artist name is FFF is immediately deleted without being compressed.

  The control unit 14 controls the entire content recording / playback apparatus 1 and includes a recording unit 14A, an acquisition unit 14B, a division unit 14C, and a compression unit 14D. The recording unit 14A records the broadcast data received by the receiving unit 11 in the first storage unit 12A at a predetermined bit rate. The acquisition unit 14B transmits the waveform data of the broadcast data recorded in the first storage unit 12A to the content information server 2, and acquires content information from the content information server 2. The dividing unit 14C divides the broadcast data into a plurality of files based on the acquired content information. The compression unit 14D recompresses the divided file based on the bit rate table and the acquired content information. The recording unit 14A records the file compressed by the compression unit 14D in the second storage unit 12B.

  The communication unit 15 is connected to the content information server 2 via an electric communication line such as the Internet, and transmits and receives waveform data, content information, commands, and the like. The reproduction unit 16 reads and reproduces the file from the second storage unit 12B in accordance with the selection instruction and the reproduction instruction from the user (outputs sound through an amplifier device and a speaker connected to or incorporated outside).

The operation of the content recording / playback apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
[Content information acquisition process, change point determination process]
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the acquisition unit 14B acquires content information from the content information server 2 for broadcast data recorded at a predetermined bit rate in the first storage unit 12A. First, after determining that the content information has not been acquired (searched) until the end of the broadcast data (S11: NO), the acquisition unit 14B has a part of the waveform data of the broadcast data recorded in the first storage unit 12A. Is transmitted to the content information server 2 and content information (song name, artist name, genre name, etc.) corresponding to the waveform data is requested (S12).

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the recorded content of broadcast data and the content information transmitted from the content information server 2 in time series. 3A shows the recorded contents of broadcast data, t1 to t2 are news, t2 to t5 are CM1, t5 to t6 are DJ sounds, t6 to t7 are songs aaa, t7 to t8 are songs bbb, t8 to At t9, CM2 is recorded. Since a part of the music ppp is used in CM1, music data ppp is recorded from t3 to t4 in CM1. FIG. 3B shows the timing of transmitting waveform data to the content information server 2 and whether or not the content information can be acquired. The thick line portion indicates that content information can be acquired because it corresponds to music data, and the thin line portion indicates that content information cannot be acquired because it corresponds to audio data other than music data. For example, content information can be acquired from t3 to t4, t6 to t7, and t7 to t8, respectively, and content information cannot be acquired from t1 to t3, t4 to t6, and t8 to t9.

  The acquisition unit 14B extracts the waveform of the broadcast data at intervals of 1 second, converts the extracted waveform into a digital value, collects the waveform data of the digital value for 5 seconds (that is, 5 waveform data), and the content information server 2 to send. The content information server 2 collates the waveform data transmitted from the content recording / playback apparatus 1 with the waveform data recorded in the database 2A, and transmits the content information corresponding to the waveform data to the content recording apparatus 1. If the transmitted waveform data is audio data other than song data and there is no corresponding content information, the content information server 2 does not transmit anything. When acquiring the content information, the acquiring unit 14B stores the address of the waveform data (for example, the first start address of the waveform for 5 seconds) and the acquired content information in a memory (not shown) in association with each other. When the waveform data is other than music data and content information cannot be acquired from the content information server 2, the fact that there is no content information (ie, blank) is stored in association with the waveform data address.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the acquisition unit 14B determines whether or not the acquired content information is different from the content information acquired immediately before (that is, corresponding to the previous waveform data) (S13). That is, it is determined whether or not the song has been started, changed or ended. Referring to FIG. 3, since the music starts at t3 and t6, the music ends at t4 and t8, and the music is changed at t7, it is determined that the content information has been changed at this timing (S13: YES). ). For other waveform data, it is determined that the music has not been started, changed, or ended, and the content information has not been changed (S13: NO).

  When it is determined that the content information has not been changed (S13: NO), the process returns to S11, and the processes of S11 to S13 are repeated until the content information is changed.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the content information has been changed (S13: YES), the acquisition unit 14B changes the address (for example, the first start address of the waveform data for 5 seconds) that has been changed (described later). As a division point candidate to be determined). Then, the acquisition unit 14B describes the section specified by the change point of the content information and the content information acquired in each section (in this example, only the artist name is described for the sake of simplicity) in the content information table shown in FIG. Is registered (S14). The content information table is stored in a memory (not shown), and the stored information is deleted when division processing and recompression processing described later are completed.

  Specifically, since it is determined that the content information has been changed at t3, t3 is specified as a change point, and since the content information could not be acquired at t1 to t3, the content information is not registered. Since it is determined that the content information has been changed at t4, t4 is specified as a change point, and the content information (artist name PPP) acquired in association with t3 to t4 is registered. Since it is determined that the content information has been changed at t6, t6 is identified as the change point, and the content information cannot be acquired from t4 to t6, so the content information is not registered. Since it is determined that the content information has been changed at t7, t7 is specified as a change point, and the content information (artist name AAA) acquired in association with t6 to t7 is registered. Since it is determined that the content information has been changed at t8, t8 is specified as a change point, and the content information (artist name BBB) acquired in association with t7 to t8 is registered. Since it is determined that the content information has been changed at t9, t9 is identified as the change point, and since the content information could not be acquired from t8 to t9, the content information is not registered.

  If the above processing is repeated for every 5 seconds of waveform data, it is determined that the content information has been requested and acquired until the end of the broadcast data (the address of the waveform data has been completed to the end) (S11: YES). The content information acquisition process and change point determination process are terminated.

[Division processing]
As shown in FIG. 5, the dividing unit 14C determines a dividing point based on the changed point determined in FIG. 4, and divides the broadcast data into a plurality of files at the determined dividing point. First, the dividing unit 14C sets the index i indicating the section number of the content information table of FIG. 8 to 1 (S21). Subsequently, the dividing unit 14C determines whether i is larger than the total number of sections (S22). If i is not large (S22: NO), it has not yet determined whether all sections are division points. The process proceeds to S23.

  The dividing unit 14C determines whether or not the content information is acquired in the section specified by i with reference to the content information table (S23). That is, it is determined whether or not the section specified by i is music data. If there is no content information in the section specified by i (S23: NO), the section is not music data, so there is no need to use it as a dividing point (extract as music data), and i is incremented (S26). , Return to S22. For example, since there is no content information in the section from t1 to t3, the determination process proceeds to the next section t3 to t4 without specifying t3 as a division point.

  On the other hand, if content information exists in the section specified by i (for example, t3 to t4, t6 to t7, etc.) (S23: YES), the dividing unit 14C causes the recording time of the section specified by i to be a predetermined time. Whether or not (for example, 1 minute) or more is determined by calculating from an address for specifying a section. If the recording time is less than the predetermined time (S24: NO), it is determined that the song data is too short and only a part of the song data, so there is no need to use division points (extract as song data). , I is incremented (S26), and the process returns to S22.

  For example, although the artist name PPP is stored in the section t3 to t4 of the content information table, the recording time of the section is less than a predetermined time (for example, 15 seconds), so the determination process is performed in the next section t4 to t4. Proceed to t6. For example, the section from t3 to t4 is a section in which only a part (15 seconds) of the song ppp included in the CM is recorded, but t3 and t4 are not used as the dividing points, so a part of this song data Can be prevented from being divided into files. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a file unnecessary for the user from being created.

  If the recording time of the section specified by i is equal to or longer than the predetermined time (S24: YES), it is determined that the section is music data. Therefore, the change point specifying the section is determined as a division point, and the memory The division points are stored in (S25). For example, when the recording time from t6 to t7 is a predetermined time or longer (for example, 5 minutes), t6 and t7 are determined as division points, and when the recording time from t7 to t8 is a predetermined time or longer (for example, 6 minutes) t7 and t8 are determined as dividing points. Thereafter, i is incremented (S26), and the process proceeds to the next section. Therefore, in this example, t6, t7, and t8 are determined as division points, and as a result, the files are divided into four files indicated by periods T1 to T4 in FIG.

  When it is determined in S22 that i is larger than the number of sections (S22: YES), the dividing unit 14C divides the broadcast data into a plurality of files at the division points determined in S25. In this example, since t6, t7, and t8 are set as the dividing points, the dividing unit 14C has a file of t1 to t6 (a file other than song data), a file of t6 to t7 (a file of song data aaa), and , T7 to t8 (music data bbb file) and t8 to t9 files (files other than music data).

  Finally, the dividing unit 14C adds the content information registered in the content information table to the divided file (S27). The added content information is used in a file recompression process described later. As addition of the content information, the content information may be registered in the tag information of the file, or a content information list may be created and the content information may be managed in the list.

[File recompression processing]
As shown in FIG. 6, the compression unit 14D recompresses the file divided by the division unit 14C at a bit rate set for each keyword (for example, artist). First, the compression unit 14D sets the index j indicating the file number to 1 (S31). Subsequently, the dividing unit 14D determines whether or not the artist name of the file specified by j exists in the bit rate table 13 shown in FIG. 2 (S32).

  If the artist name exists in the bit rate table (S32: YES), it is determined whether or not “not record” is registered in the bit rate item corresponding to the artist name (S33). When the bit rate is registered in the item of bit rate (S33: NO), the compression unit 33 confirms the bit rate corresponding to the artist name, and recompresses the file at the bit rate (S34). The recompressed file is recorded in the second storage unit 12B, and the pre-recompressed file recorded in the first storage unit 12A is deleted. For example, if the artist name of the file is CCC, the file is recompressed at a bit rate of 160 Kbps. Therefore, by registering the bit rate desired by the user for each artist in the bit rate table, the file can be automatically recompressed at the desired bit rate for each artist name.

  On the other hand, when “not record” is registered in the item of the bit rate corresponding to the artist name (for example, FFF) (S33: YES), the compression unit 14D immediately deletes the file without recompressing it (S33: YES). S35). Therefore, an artist's file that the user does not want can be automatically deleted after division.

  In S32, when the artist name does not exist in the bit rate table or the artist name is not given to the file (S32: NO), the compression unit 14D sets the file as an item without the artist name in the bit rate table 13. Recompression is performed at a corresponding bit rate (for example, 48 Kbps) (S38). The files with artist names that are not registered in the bit rate table are not considered to be important files for the user, so by setting the bit rate for items without artist names to a low value, the capacity of these files can be greatly reduced. Can be small. If no artist name is given to the file, it is not song data and may be deleted.

  Subsequently, in S36, it is determined whether or not j is equal to or larger than the number of files (S36). If j is less than the number of files (S36: NO), since all the files have not been recompressed yet, j is incremented. (S37), the process returns to S32. On the other hand, if j is equal to or greater than the number of files (S36: YES), it is determined that compression processing or file deletion has been executed for all files, and the processing ends.

[Folder storage processing]
As shown in FIG. 7, the files divided and recompressed for each song are stored in a folder for each keyword. The keyword is, for example, predetermined content information. In this example, a folder whose folder name is an artist name is created, and a file is automatically stored in a folder whose artist name matches the folder name. First, the control unit 14 sets an index k indicating a file number to 1 (S41). Subsequently, the control unit 14 determines whether or not there is a folder that matches the artist name of the file identified by the folder name k (S42). Is stored (S43), and if it does not exist (S42: NO), a folder whose folder name is the artist name is created, and the file is stored in the created folder (S44). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not k is equal to or greater than the number of files. If k is less than the number of files (S45: NO), k is incremented (S46), and the process returns to S42. On the other hand, if k is equal to or greater than the number of files (S45: YES), the process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the recorded broadcast data can be automatically divided into a plurality of music data files. Furthermore, the music data can be recompressed at the bit rate for each keyword set by the user. Furthermore, files corresponding to keywords that the user does not want can be automatically deleted.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment. As a method of dividing broadcast data into a plurality of contents, a cue sheet (program progress table) acquired from a broadcasting station via the Internet may be used, or even content information multiplexed and transmitted in FM character multiplex broadcasting may be used. Good. You may provide with the form of the recording medium which recorded the computer program for operating said content information recording apparatus, or its computer program.

  The present invention can be suitably applied to a content recording system that records radio broadcasts, television broadcasts, and the like.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the content recording / reproducing system 100 by preferable embodiment of this invention. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a bit rate table 13. FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between broadcast data and the content information acquired. It is a flowchart which shows the process which determines the change point of the content information of broadcast data. It is a flowchart which shows the process which divides | segments broadcast data into a some content file. It is a flowchart which shows the process which compresses the divided content file. It is a flowchart which stores the divided content file in a folder for every artist name. It is a figure which shows a content information table.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content recording / reproducing apparatus 2 Content information server 11 Receiving part 12 Content storage part 13 Bit rate table 14 Control part 14A Recording part (1st recording means, 2nd recording means)
14B Acquisition unit 14C Division unit 14D Compression unit 15 Communication unit (connection means)
16 Playback unit

Claims (4)

A content storage unit for recording broadcast data including a plurality of music data ;
First recording means for recording the broadcast data in the content storage unit with a predetermined content quality;
Content quality storage means for storing metadata related to music data and content quality in association with each other;
Connection means for connecting to a content information server having a database for storing metadata relating to the music data in association with the waveform data of the music data;
Acquisition means for transmitting waveform data of broadcast data recorded in the content storage unit to the content information server and acquiring metadata relating to the music data from the content information server;
Dividing means for dividing only the part of the broadcast data from which the metadata relating to the music data can be acquired by the acquisition means from the broadcast data among the broadcast data recorded by the first recording means;
Conversion means for converting the content divided by the dividing means into content quality corresponding to the metadata of the content divided by the dividing means stored in the content quality storage means;
A content recording apparatus comprising: a second recording unit that records the content converted by the conversion unit in the content storage unit. When the dividing means is able to acquire the metadata related to the music data, when the recording time of the portion of the broadcast data is a predetermined time or longer, the broadcast data portion can be divided as the content and the metadata related to the music data can be acquired The content recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the recording time of the broadcast data portion is less than a predetermined time, the broadcast data portion is not divided as content. The acquisition means sequentially requests the content information for the transmitted waveform data by sequentially transmitting to the content information server waveform data every predetermined time for the entire broadcast data recorded in the content storage unit, The content information for the request is sequentially acquired from the content information server,
The dividing unit determines whether the metadata acquired by the acquiring unit is changed with respect to the metadata acquired in response to the previous request, and stores the changed part as a change point. In addition, if the metadata can be obtained by the obtaining means, the obtained metadata is stored, and is a part of broadcast data specified by two adjacent changes, and the metadata is obtained by the obtaining means. The content recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein only the part of the broadcast data that has been generated is divided from the broadcast data as content. An operation program for a content recording apparatus, which causes a computer to execute each unit of the content recording apparatus according to claim 1.

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