Contents linkage information delivery system

• US 20050262217A1
• Filed: 04/04/2003
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sovereign Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nonaka, Masao, Saso, Atsushi, Yamamoto, Masaya, Ohmori, Motoji, Ikeda, Wataru, Minami, Masataka, Yamamichi, Masato, Watanabe, Kazuhisa
• Granted Patent: US 7,519,685 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42646 for reading from or writing on a non-volatile solid state storage medium, e.g. DVD, CD-ROM
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43622 Interfacing an external recording device
• 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 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

To provide a contents linkage information delivery system for use by a content provider to deliver contents in a manner that a user is allowed to acquire, according to a user request, a content that relates to another content. The present invention is directed to a contents linkage information delivery system for delivering a related content that is associated with another content. The contents linkage information delivery system is composed of a first playback apparatus for playing back the other content, a server for transmitting the related content, and a second playback apparatus for playing back the related content. The first playback apparatus, the server, and the second playback apparatus mutually communicate via a communications channel. The first playback apparatus includes a playback position information acquisition unit for acquiring time-base playback position information of the other content, a request input unit for receiving a user request, and a first transmission unit for transmitting the time-base playback position information. The server includes a first reception unit for receiving the time-base playback position information transmitted from the first playback apparatus, a related content acquisition unit for acquiring the related content based on the time-base playback position information, and a second transmission unit for transmitting the related content. The second playback apparatus includes a second reception unit for receiving the related content transmitted from the server, and a first output unit for outputting the related content.

Claims

1. A contents linkage information delivery system for delivering a related content that is associated with another content, comprising:

a first playback apparatus for playing back said another content;

a server for transmitting the related content; and

a second playback apparatus for playing back the related content, wherein

the first playback apparatus, the server, and the second playback apparatus mutually communicate via a communications channel,

the first playback apparatus includes

a playback position information acquisition unit operable to acquire time-base playback position information of said another content,

a request input unit operable to receive a request from a user, and

a first transmission unit operable to transmit, based on the request, the acquired time-base playback position information,

the sever includes

a first reception unit operable to receive the time-base playback position information transmitted from the first playback apparatus,

a related content acquisition unit operable to acquire the related content based on the time-base playback position information, and

a second transmission unit operable to transmit the acquired related content, and

the second playback apparatus includes

a second reception unit operable to receive the related content transmitted from the server, and

a first output unit operable to output the received related content.

2. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 1, wherein

the first playback apparatus further includes an elapsed-time measurement unit operable to measure an elapsed time between a start of playback of said another content and a reception of the request, and

the time-base playback position information is derived based on the elapsed time.

3. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 2, wherein

the elapsed-time measurement unit measures the elapsed time based on a time of day at which the playback of said another content is started and a time of day at which the request is received.

4. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 2, wherein

said another content includes time information showing an elapsed time since the start of the playback, and

the elapsed-time information measurement unit measures the elapsed time based on the time information.

5. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 1, wherein

the time-base playback position information further includes a content identifier identifying a content, and

the related content acquisition unit acquires the related content based on the time-base playback position information and the content identifier.

6. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 1, wherein

the first playback apparatus further includes a second output unit operable to output said another content on a display screen,

the request further includes display-position specifying information that specifies a section of said another content on the display screen, and

the time-base playback position information further includes the display-position specifying information.

7. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the related content is the specified section of said another content.

8. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the related content is information providing additional explanation of said another content.

9. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 1, wherein

the time-base playback position information further includes a user identifier identifying a user, and

the server performs billing so that the user identified by the user identifier is charged for the related content in accordance with usage of the related content.

10. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 1, wherein

the server stores therein a related content group composed of the related content as well as a plurality other related contents, each related content being stored along with a corresponding piece of time-base playback position information, and

the related content acquisition unit acquires the related content from the related content group.

11. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the related content acquisition unit acquires the related content from an external source via the communications channel.

12. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the first playback apparatus and the second playback apparatus is one and the same apparatus.

13. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 1, wherein said another content is distributed in form of a recording medium.

14. The contents linkage information delivery system according to any of claim 1, wherein said another content is distributed via the communications channel.

15. The contents linkage information delivery system for delivering a related content that is associated with another content, comprising:

a playback apparatus for playing back said another content based on time-base playback position information; and

a server for transmitting the time-base playback position information, wherein

the playback apparatus and the server mutually communicate via a communications channel,

the playback apparatus includes

a first reception unit operable to acquire the related content from the server,

a request input unit operable to receive a request from a user, and

a playback position determination unit operable to determine, based on the request and the related content, a starting position of the playback of said another content,

the server includes a first transmission unit operable to transmit the related content.

16. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 15, wherein the related content includes time-base playback position information used for determining, in terms of a playback time, the playback starting position of the playback of said another content.

17. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 15, wherein

said another content is recorded on a recording medium, and

the related content includes time-base playback position information used for determining the playback starting position of said another content recorded on the recording medium.

18. The content contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 15, wherein

the playback apparatus further includes

a related content request input unit operable to receive, from the user, a related-content request requesting the related content, and

a second transmission unit operable to transmit the related-content request to the server, and

the server includes

a second reception unit operable to receive the user-inputted related-content request, and

a determination unit operable to determine whether to transmit the related content based on the related-content request.

19. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 15, wherein

the playback apparatus includes

a linkage unit operable to output a linkage content, the linkage content being associatively composed of the related content and said another content, and

an output unit operable to output the linkage content.

20. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 19, wherein the linkage unit outputs the linkage content by associatively playing back said another content on a part of a display screen and the related content on another part of the display screen.

21. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 18, wherein

the related-content request includes a content identifier identifying said another content, and

the determination unit transmits the related content based on the content identifier and the related-content request.

22. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 15, wherein

the output unit plays back said another content on a display screen, and

the related content further includes display-position specifying information that specifies a section of said another content on the display screen, and

the linkage unit outputs the related content associatively with the display-position specifying information.

23. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 15, wherein the related content further includes information providing additional explanation of said another content.

24. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 15, wherein

the related-content request further includes a user identifier identifying a user, and

the server performs billing so that the user identified by the user identifier is charged for the related content in accordance with usage of the related content.

25. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 15, wherein

the server further

stores therein a related content group composed of the related content as well as a plurality of other related contents, and

includes a related content acquisition unit operable to acquire the related content from the related content group.

26. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 15, wherein the server further includes a related content acquisition unit operable to acquire the related content from an external source via the communications channel.

27. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 15, wherein said another content is distributed in form of a recording medium.

28. The contents linkage information delivery system according to claim 15, wherein said another content is distributed via the communications channel.