JP2000020535A - Multi-media information reproducing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system provided with a function not only to indicating the existence of relative information related to a Web page but also enabling a user to effectively utilize the relative information in the case of realizing a function capable of not only reproducing a normal title but also accessing relative information related to a prescribed screen information. SOLUTION: In the case of accessing relative information related to a prescribed scene included in AV information being reproduced in a reproducing system for displaying multi-media information recorded in a DVD 40 on the screen of a display device 10, the outline information of the relative information is displayed on the screen before accessing it. A user can judge the contents of the relative information based on the outline information, and when plural resources exist, select a required information resource.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reproducing system having a function of reproducing multimedia information recorded on a recording medium and displaying related information related to screen information at the time of the reproduction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of large-capacity DVDs (digital video discs), multimedia information (moving images composed of stream data), still images, audio information, etc. Various types of playback systems have been proposed for utilizing such information.

[0003] A playback system specifically has a DVD drive, performs playback processing of AV information recorded (recorded) on a DVD set in the DVD drive, and displays, for example, a display of a television receiver or a personal computer. This is a device corresponding to a video player or a video deck having a function of displaying on a screen.

[0004] DVDs usually have the MPEG (movi
ng picture coding experts
AV information encoded according to the moving image encoding method of the (group) standard is multiplexed with audio information and recorded. The reproduction system reproduces AV information continuously on a screen by reproducing stream data in units of a predetermined coded stream (continuous bit data string) corresponding to a specified title (for example, a movie) from a DVD.

By the way, the above-mentioned reproduction system is a DVD.
It has a communication function for connecting not only to the drive but also to a computer network such as the Internet, and various kinds of information called desired Web pages (home pages) can be accessed from a Web server which is an information resource on the network. It has been proposed as an integrated system.

[0006]

As a reproduction system as described above, for example, a proposal as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-328596 has been proposed. With such an integrated system, not only the playback processing of a title recorded on a DVD, but also related information related to screen information during playback of stream data (arbitrarily set information; (Which does not mean only important information) from an information resource on the network and display it on a display screen.

However, by simply displaying the Web button, the user can simply confirm that the relevant information exists, and the content of the relevant information can be determined by the actual access destination. You cannot get information without access. Specifically, for example, when the related information relates to a plurality of Web pages, the user cannot arbitrarily select and access the Web page. Further, even if there is an information resource of related information (for example, a local resource existing on the DVD) other than the Web page, the method of displaying the Web button cannot cope with the problem.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to realize a function of not only reproducing a normal title but also accessing related information relating to predetermined screen information in a system for reproducing AV information from a storage medium such as a DVD. In this case, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system having a function not only instructing existence of related information related to a Web page but also enabling a user to effectively use related information.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a DVD, for example.
In a reproduction system having a function of displaying and outputting multimedia information recorded on a storage medium such as a digital camera on a screen of a display device, related information relating to predetermined screen information (scene) included in AV information being reproduced is displayed. In response to an input instruction operation on the screen (for example, clicking with a mouse),
The present invention relates to a system having a function accessible from an information resource such as a server or a local resource on a storage medium.

Specifically, the system includes a first information table for specifying screen information based on time information and screen position information at the time of reproducing multimedia information, and a related information table associated with the screen information. A second information table is used that includes access information for accessing information resources having information describing the content of the information and the related information. As a result, during the reproduction of the multimedia information, an outline of the related information and access information of the information resource (URL of the Web page) are displayed on the screen as information indicating the presence of the related information corresponding to the predetermined screen information. .

As a specific example, for example, when a scene of eating at a restaurant is displayed on the display screen,
The user can confirm the existence of the related information of the scene by displaying a Web mark on the screen, and can confirm the outline of the related information and whether or not a plurality of Web pages are related. Accordingly, the user can view the scene of the restaurant reproduced on the screen and also view the related information such as the location of the restaurant and the menu on the screen. In this case, when the related information is related to a plurality of Web pages, desired related information can be accessed by accessing each URL. Further, since the outline of the related information is displayed, the user can judge the content of the related information to some extent before accessing.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a reproduction system according to the embodiment. (System Configuration) The playback system of the present embodiment uses a DVD
Personal computer or TV with built-in drive
Set-top box with receiver
Op box), or a system such as a multimedia terminal device that integrates them. In addition, the set top box is IRD (integr
Also referred to as "attached receiver decoder".

The hardware configuration of the reproduction system is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 1, a microprocessor (CPU) 1 constituting a main control device, a RAM 2 functioning as a work memory (main memory) of the CPU 1, and a CPU 1
And a DVD drive 4 that stores the programs and the like. The DVD drive 4 is a storage medium related to the present embodiment, and is a drive for driving a DVD 40 storing AV information and an information table described later (see FIG. 2).

Further, the present system comprises a network connection device having a communication control unit 5 and a modem 6 for exchanging information by connecting to a Web server which is a resource on the Internet, an input control unit 7 and an input unit 8 And a display device including the display control unit 9 and the display unit 10. The input unit 8 has a mouse and a keyboard. The display unit 10 is, for example, a display screen of a CRT display or a liquid crystal display, or a display of a TV receiver. (Structure of Information Table)
1st information table (Title1-1) shown in (A)
And a second information table (Title) shown in FIG.
2-1) is stored in a predetermined storage area of the DVD 40 in advance. Each information table is means for realizing the function of the present embodiment in which related information related to screen information (scene) during reproduction of AV information can be accessed on a reproduction screen. The first information table shown in FIG. 3A includes time information for specifying each piece of screen information (scene) and screen position information (coordinate information). On the other hand, the second information table shown in FIG. 3B includes an explanation resource (summary information) set for each predetermined screen information (scene) and an information resource having the related information (a Web server on the Internet is assumed). ) Is made up of access information (link information URL) for accessing the file. How to use each information table will be described below together with the operation of the present embodiment. (Reproduction Operation of the Present Embodiment) In addition to FIG. 1 and FIG.
The playback operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 and conceptual diagrams of display screen relations from FIG. 4 and FIGS.

First, when the DVD 40 is set in the DVD drive 4 and the user operates the input unit 8 to input an instruction to reproduce the title information, the CPU 1
A reproduction process for reading the title information from 0 and displaying the title information on the screen of the display unit 10 is started (starting of a reproduction program).

At the start of the reproduction, the CPU 1
From 0, the first and second information tables shown in FIG. 2 are read and loaded into the main memory (RAM) 2. This allows
The CPU 1 can determine whether or not the related information (Web page) exists for each scene (screen information) included in the title information to be reproduced (step S1).

Here, it is assumed that related information exists in a scene (moving image) 41 reproduced on the screen (YES in step S1). In this case, as shown in FIG. 4A, a Web button (specific mark) 40 is displayed on the screen to indicate to the user that there is related information of the scene being viewed (step S1). S2). When the user operates the mouse and clicks the Web button 40, C
PU1 shifts to processing of related information (Y in step S3).
ES).

That is, the CPU 1 operates in the first mode shown in FIG.
, A scene (for example, scene 1) corresponding to the clicked screen is specified, and a scene (scene 1) specified with reference to the second information table shown in FIG. Is displayed (step S7). Here, the “simple explanation” of the summary information is an explanation about the specific scene 1 (for example, such as suggesting the content of the related information). “URL” is link information (access information) for linking to an information resource (a server or the like) of a Web page on the Internet.

By the way, in the specified scene 1,
As shown in FIG. 4B, when a Web page exists as related information for each of a plurality of screen regions, region information (frame data) indicating that the related information exists for each region.
42 and 43 are displayed (steps S4 and S5). When the user operates the mouse and clicks on the desired area information (for example, 42), the above-described summary information corresponding to the screen area is displayed (YES in step S6, S7). Here, when a plurality of Web pages exist in the same screen area, each summary information is displayed.

Then, the user clicks the outline display (frame data) or selects the area information (frame data) and
When the button 40 is clicked, the CPU 1 executes the “UR
L "to link to an information resource on the Internet and access predetermined related information (YES in step S8). Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, the related information (Web page) 44 accessed on the same screen is displayed (step S9). Thereafter, the process returns to the normal title reproducing operation (step S10).

With the above-described reproduction processing, the user
When a scene (screen information) for which related information is set in advance is reproduced during the reproduction of the title of the V information, the Web button 40 and the area information (frame data) 42, 4
By simply clicking 3, the related information related to the scene can be accessed from a predetermined information resource. At this time, not only the related information is simply displayed, but also information that should be called as summary information of the related information at first.
This allows the user to check a brief description of the specific scene before accessing the related information. Therefore, according to this simple description, for example, when it is determined that there is no need to access the related information, it is possible to stop the access and return to the normal title playback processing. Further, when a plurality of Web pages are related as related information, a “URL” for accessing each of them is displayed as summary information, so that the user can confirm that fact.

FIGS. 7 to 10 are views showing a case where the embodiment is applied to a specific example. That is, when a scene as shown in FIG. 7 (an arrow means a mouse pointer) is displayed on the screen, when the mouse pointer is moved, the related information is displayed based on the time and the screen position. May be displayed in a pull-down menu format, for example. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the mouse pointer is moved to the area of "bird", the corresponding summary information is displayed in a pull-down menu format.
Similarly, as shown in FIG.
, The corresponding summary information is displayed in a pull-down menu format. FIG. 8 shows a case where related information exists in each screen area (bird and car) of the scene.
This is a specific example of displaying a Web button on the screen. In this specific example, as described above, when the Web button is clicked, summary information (description and URL) for each screen area is displayed. (Modification of this Embodiment) FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams related to a modification of this embodiment.

In the present modification, not only the Web page from the information resource on the Internet but also information (herein referred to as local data) previously stored in a predetermined storage area of the DVD 40 is provided to the user as related information. It is a method to do.

First, as in the present embodiment, it is assumed that, as shown in FIG. 6A, a scene (moving image) 60 reproduced on the screen has related information. At this time, in the method of the present modification, as shown in FIG. 7B, the information area screen 61 (step S2) is located in an area different from the scene screen.
0, S21). The information area screen 61 displays a list of information including related information other than the Web page, as shown in FIG. The related information other than the Web page is, as described above, local data previously stored in a predetermined storage area of the DVD 40, for example.

When the user selects local data from the information area screen 61, the CPU 1 does not link to information resources on the Internet as in the present embodiment, but the CPU 1
Then, the local data 40 is accessed to call the requested local data (here, ++++) (NO in step S23).
Then, as shown in FIG. 3D, the accessed local data is displayed on the screen (step S25). Thereafter, the process returns to the normal title reproducing operation (step S2).
6). Further, similarly to the present embodiment, if a Web page is selected, the Web page is accessed and displayed by linking to an information resource on the Internet (step S).
23 (YES, S24).

In this modification, the information list display corresponds to the summary information display of the present embodiment, but the display contents of the information list may be dynamically changed and rubbed in accordance with a user's instruction ( Steps S28 and S29). Specifically, the information area screen 61 is displayed based on the reproduction time information and the screen area information (corresponding to the area information 42 and 43) selected by the user.
Will be changed.

[0027]

According to the present invention as described in detail above, according to the present invention, as described in detail above, in a system for reproducing AV information from a storage medium such as a DVD, only a normal title can be reproduced. In addition, related information related to predetermined screen information (scene) can be accessed and displayed from a predetermined information resource by a simple operation of a user. In this case, you do n’t just see relevant information,
First, information that should be called summary information of related information is displayed. This allows the user to check a brief description of the specific scene before accessing the related information. Therefore, according to this simple description, for example, when it is determined that there is no need to access the related information, it is possible to stop the access and return to the normal title playback processing. Also, in the case where a plurality of Web pages are related as related information, or even in the case of local data stored in a storage area on a recording medium, the user confirms that fact and obtains a desired information resource. Can be selected. Therefore, as a result, a function can be provided in which the user can effectively use the related information related to the multimedia information being reproduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a playback system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary conceptual view showing the configuration of an information table in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining the reproduction operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary conceptual view showing a display screen related to a reproduction operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining a reproducing operation of a modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary conceptual view showing a display screen related to a reproducing operation according to a modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary conceptual view showing a display screen example for describing a specific example of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary conceptual view showing a display screen example for explaining a specific example of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary conceptual view showing a display screen example for explaining a specific example of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary conceptual view showing a display screen example for explaining a specific example of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... 1 ... Microprocessor (CPU) 2 ... Main memory (RAM) 3 ... ROM 4 ... DVD drive 40 ... DVD 5 ... Communication control part 6 ... Modem 7 ... Input control part 8 ... Input part (mouse) 9 ... Display control Unit 10: Display unit 10a: Display screen

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A reproduction system for reproducing and outputting said multimedia information on a display device, wherein said information is associated with screen information specified by time information and screen position information when said multimedia information is reproduced. And a control means for displaying corresponding information from the storage means on the screen of the display device when the screen information is specified. 2. A reproduction system for reproducing and outputting said multimedia information to a display device, comprising: an information table for specifying screen information based on time information and screen position information when reproducing said multimedia information; Storage means for storing related information associated with screen information, and when reproducing the multimedia information on a screen of the display device, specific data indicating the presence of the related information on the screen. Means for displaying, and means for specifying screen information by referring to the information table in response to an instruction related to the specific data, and displaying related information corresponding to the screen information on a screen of the display device. A playback system characterized by: 3. A reproduction system for reproducing and outputting the multimedia information on a display device, wherein first information for specifying screen information based on time information and screen position information when the multimedia information is reproduced. Storage means for storing a table and a second information table including content description information of related information associated with the screen information and access information for accessing an information resource having the related information; and the display device. Means for displaying the content description information and the access information as information indicating the presence of the related information on the screen when the multimedia information is being reproduced on the screen, The related information corresponding to the screen information specified by referring to the first information table is referred to by referring to the second information table. Means for accessing from a specified information resource and displaying it on the screen of the display device. 4. The second information table includes, as related information, access information for accessing an information resource existing on a computer network, and summary information for explaining an overview of information obtained by accessing the information resource. The playback system according to claim 3, further comprising: 5. An information resource existing on a computer network is accessed based on the access information included in the related information displayed on the display screen, and information obtained from the information resource is used as the related information. 4. The reproducing system according to claim 3, further comprising means for displaying on a screen of a display device. 6. A reproduction system for reproducing and outputting the multimedia information on a display device, wherein the screen information is specified by time information and screen position information when the multimedia information is reproduced, and is associated with the screen information. Storage means for storing an information table for accessing the related information, and screen information is specified by referring to the information table when the multimedia information is being reproduced on the screen of the display device. Means for displaying a list of related information corresponding to the screen information on a screen different from the screen of the screen information; and accessing related information selected from the related information list screen based on the information table. Means for displaying the screen information on the screen.