Content providing apparatus, content providing method, stream content reproduction program, and recording medium containing the stream content reproduction program

• US 20040049554A1
• Filed: 09/29/2003
• Published: 03/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Koichiro
• Application Number:
  US10/398,579
• Publication Number:
  US 20040049554A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/442 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. detecting the failure of a recording device, monitoring the downstream bandwidth, the number of times a movie has been viewed, the storage space available from the internal hard disk arrangements for monitoring broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/29; arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information H04H60/35; monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; monitoring in wireless networks H04W24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6332 directed to client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6334 for authorisation, e.g. by transmitting a key wireless communications network key management H04W12/04; wireless communications network access security H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/654 Transmission by server directed to the client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The present invention is adopted to the case where music and movie are distributed through the internet, informs time information (15) to a transmission target 12 of stream contents, watches a playback condition of a part specified by at least this time information (15), and makes it possible to carry out a playback of the following stream contents.

Claims

2-1. The contents providing apparatus as cited in claim 4, characterized wherein

the playback of said following stream contents is stopped by stopping acquisition of said following stream contents based on the playback condition.

4. (Amended) In a contents providing apparatus for receiving stream contents transmitted from a predetermined server and proving to a user by carring out playback of the stream contents, said contents providing apparatus is characterized in which

said streams contents are formed by dividing one content with a time sequence;

and

said contents providing apparatus watches a playback condition at a predetermined part specified at least by URL and time information notified from said server; and

stops the playback of following stream contents based on the playback condition.

1. (Amended) In a contents providing apparatus that is made available for providing stream contents to a client terminal by a request from the client terminal, said contents distrbution apparatus is characterized in which

said streams contents are formed by dividing one content with a time sequence;

and

said contents providing apparatus notifies URL and time information of a part to which important information is assigned in said stream contents to the client terminal.

2. The contents providing apparatus as cited in claim 1, characterized wherein

a notification of a playback condition for one of said stream contents is accepted;

and

in response to said notification of the playback condition, following stream contents are set to be available for playback.

3. The contents providing apparatus as cited in claim 1, characterized wherein

said time information is set by a time code of the stream contents as a reference.

6. The contents providing apparatus as cited in claim 4, characterized wherein

said playback condition is notified to said server;

and

the playback of said following stream contents is stopped by an instruction from said server.

7. The contents providing apparatus as cited in claim 4, characterized wherein

said time information is set by a time code of the stream contents as a reference.

8. (Amended) In a contents providing method that is made available for providing stream contents to a client terminal by a request from the client terminal said contents distribution method is characterized in which

said streams contents are formed by dividing one content with a time sequence;

and

said contents providing method notifies URL and time information of a part in which important information is assigned in said stream contents to the client terminal.

9. (Amended) In a contents providing method for receiving stream contents transmitted from a predetermined server and proving to a user by carrying out playback of the stream contents are formed by dividing one content with a time sequence;

and

said contents providing method watches the playback condition at a predetermined part specified at least by URL and time information notified from said server, and stops the playback of following stream contents based on the playback condition.

10. (Amended) In a playback program for carrying out playback of stream contents received from a predetermined server and providing to a user, said playback program for stream contents is characterized in which;

said streams contents are formed by dividing one content with a time sequence; and

said playback program for stream contents watches the playback condition at a predetermined part specified at least by URL and time information notified from said server, and sets to make difficult the playback of following stream contents based on the playback condition.

11. (Amended) In a recording medium on which a playback program for carrying out playback stream contents received from a predetermined server and proving to a user is recorded, said recording medium on which the playback program for the stream contents is recorded is characterized in which

said streams contents are formed by dividing one content with a time sequence;

and

said playback program for the stream contents watches the playback condition at a predetermined part specified at least by URL and time information notified from said server, and makes difficult the playback of following stream contents based on the playback condition.