Video content transmission device and method, video content storage device, video content reproduction device and method, meta data generation device, and video content management method

• US 20040246376A1
• Filed: 04/28/2004
• Published: 12/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Yoshihisa, Nishikawa, Hirofumi, Asai, Kohtaro, Otoi, Kenji, Sekiguchi, Shunichi, Kuroda, Shinichi, Moriya, Yoshimi, Ogawa, Fuminobu
• Application Number:
  US10/493,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20040246376A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23109 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. EPG data repository details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2353 specifically adapted to content descriptors, e.g. coding, compressing or processing of metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25833 involving client hardware characteristics, e.g. manufacturer, processing or storage capabilities allocation of resources considering hardware capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5044; allocation of resources considering software capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5055
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/854 Content authoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 : Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

Video contents are presented in the forms requested by viewers in a quick and accurate manner based on a request condition at a video viewing side. In a content delivery server 5, a content extraction part 5A inquires the presence or absence of video contents, which belong to a requested classification, to a content database 4 based on a content classification request 1E-1 in query information 1E, converts the video contents into the form of a content URI list 5C, and sends them to a content processing part 5D along with a content view form request 1E-2. The content processing part 5D requests, based on the content view form request 1E-2, the whole or parts of video contents needed to be presented according to the requested view form among the video contents of view candidates designated by the URI list 5C to the content database 4, grabs and processes video contents comprising video data 3A and metadata 3B, so that a content delivery part 5F delivers the video contents thus processed to a user terminal 1.

Claims

1. A video content sending device adapted to send video contents comprising video data and metadata related to said video data, said device characterized by:

a content extraction part that extracts, based on a request condition concerning the presentation forms of said video contents, one or more video contents for presentation candidates; and

a content processing part that processes said extracted video contents into video contents in the forms to be presented, based on said request condition concerning the presentation forms of said video contents and metadata of said extracted video contents;

wherein said processed video contents are sent according to a prescribed protocol.

2. The video content sending device as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said request condition concerning the presentation forms of said video contents includes, at least,:

a request condition concerning a classification of video contents that a viewer wants to view;

a request condition concerning tastes for forms of video contents; and

a request condition concerning data formats of video contents.

3. The video content sending device as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that said metadata is metadata that includes, at least, a description of outlines of the entire contents of corresponding video data, and a description of scene structures thereof;

said content extraction part extracts one or more video contents for presentation candidates by matching between the request condition concerning a classification of video contents in the request condition concerning the presentation forms of said video contents and the metadata describing the outlines of said entire contents; and

said content processing part specifies portions of said video contents to be presented by matching between said request condition concerning tastes for forms of video contents in said request condition concerning the presentation forms of said video contents and metadata describing said scene structures, and processes the thus specified portions of said video contents into video contents in the forms to be presented.

4. The video content sending device as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that said metadata is metadata that includes, at least, a description of outlines of the entire contents of corresponding video data, a description of scene structures thereof, and a description of media attributes thereof;

said content extraction part extracts one or more video contents for presentation candidates by matching between the request condition concerning a classification of video contents in the request condition concerning the presentation forms of said video contents and the metadata describing the outlines of said entire contents; and

said content processing part specifies portions of said video contents to be presented by matching between said request condition concerning tastes for forms of video contents in said request condition concerning the presentation forms of said video contents and metadata describing said scene structures, processes the thus specified portions of said video contents into video contents in the forms to be presented, and converts the formats of the thus processed video contents into reproduction media formats designated by said request condition concerning data formats of video contents in said request condition concerning the presentation forms of said video contents, by referring to the media formats of said video contents based on the metadata describing said media attributes.

5. The video content sending device as set forth in any of claims 1 through 4, further characterized by:

a metadata creation part that performs analysis processing of video data to create metadata related to said video data; and

a video content storage part that stores video contents comprising said video data and the thus created metadata related to said video data.

7. A video content storage device characterized in that said video content storage device stores said video contents extracted by said content extraction part of said video content sending device as set forth in any of claims 1 through 4.

6. A video content sending method adapted to send video contents comprising video data and metadata related to said video data, said method characterized by:

extracting, based on a request condition concerning the presentation forms of said video contents, one or more video contents for presentation candidates; and

processing said extracted video contents into video contents in the forms to be presented, based on said request condition concerning the presentation forms of said video contents and metadata of said extracted video contents, and sending said processed video contents according to a prescribed protocol.

8. A video content reproduction device adapted to request, receive and reproduce video contents comprising video data and metadata related to said video data, said device characterized by:

a video content request part that creates a request condition concerning the presentation forms of video contents, and requests video contents; and

a video decoding and reproducing part that receives video contents which are processed into presentation forms according to said request condition, decoding and reproduces video data of said video contents.

9. The video content reproduction device as set forth in claim 8, characterized in that said request condition concerning the presentation forms of video contents includes, at least,:

a request condition concerning a classification of video contents that a viewer wants to view;

a request condition concerning tastes for forms of video contents; and

a request condition concerning data formats of video contents.

10. The video content reproduction device as set forth in claim 8 or 9, characterized in that said video content request part re-creates a video content request condition based on metadata of said received video contents, and makes a request based thereon.

11. The video content reproduction device as set forth in any of claims 8 through 10, characterized in that the metadata of said received video contents includes, at least, metadata that describes scene structures of said video contents and a feature quantity concerning a video signal of each individual scene;

and

said video content request part re-creates a video content request condition based on metadata that describes a feature quantity concerning a video signal of each individual scene, and makes a request based thereon.

12. The video content reproduction device as set forth in any of claims 8 through 11, further characterized by a video sending part that sends video data constituting component elements of video contents.

13. A video content reproduction method adapted to request, receive and reproduce video contents comprising video data and metadata related to said video data, said method characterized by:

creating a request condition concerning the presentation forms of video contents, and requesting video contents; and

receiving video contents which are processed into presentation forms according to said request condition, decoding and reproducing video data of said video contents.

14. A metadata creation device characterized in that when video data constituting video contents is received, said device applies signal processing to said received video contents, creates metadata that describes scene structures of said video contents and a feature quantity concerning a video signal of each individual scene, and registers said video data, which has been subjected to said signal processing, and said created metadata in pairs in a video content storage device.

15. A video content management and operation method adapted to send video contents comprising video data and metadata related to said video data, said method characterized by:

creating a request condition concerning the presentation forms of video contents;

extracting, upon a request for video contents, one or more video contents for presentation candidates based on said request condition concerning the presentation forms of video contents;

processing said extracted video contents into video contents in the forms to be presented, based on said request condition concerning the presentation forms of video contents and metadata of said extracted video contents;

sending said processed video contents to a video content reproduction device according to a prescribed protocol; and

decoding and reproducing video data of said video contents which are delivered to and received by said video content reproduction device.