Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

• US 20090074204A1
• Filed: 09/16/2008
• Published: 03/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Abe, Mototsugu, Nakamura, Osamu
• Granted Patent: US 8,457,322 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/98
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/04 Time compression or expansion

Abstract

According to the present invention, a parameter adjustment section setting, in accordance with a first parameter indicating a variant factor for playback speed that is input, a second parameter and a third parameter, and a signal processing section adjusting at least one of playback speed and pitch of a sound of an audio signal based on the second parameter and the third parameter are provided, wherein the signal processing section adjusts the playback speed of the audio signal when the variant factor for playback speed that is input is less than a predetermined threshold and adjusts the playback speed and the pitch of a sound of the audio signal when the variant factor for playback speed that is input is above the predetermined threshold.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a parameter adjustment section setting, in accordance with a first parameter indicating a variant factor for a playback speed that is input, a second parameter and a third parameter; and

a signal processing section adjusting at least one of the playback speed and a pitch of a sound of an audio signal based on the second parameter and the third parameter, wherein

the signal processing section adjusts the playback speed of the audio signal when the variant factor for the playback speed that is input is less than a predetermined threshold and adjusts the playback speed and the pitch of the sound of the audio signal when the variant factor for playback speed that is input is above the predetermined threshold.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the signal processing section includes:

a playback speed conversion section converting the playback speed of the audio signal; and

a pitch adjustment section adjusting the pitch of the sound of the audio signal, wherein

the playback speed conversion section converts the playback speed of the audio signal based on the second parameter; and

the pitch adjustment section adjusts the pitch of the sound of the audio signal based on the third parameter.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first parameter is approximately equal to a product of the second parameter and the third parameter.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing section further includes:

an audio signal output control section controlling output of the audio signal to be output from the signal processing section on which a predetermined signal processing has been performed, wherein

the audio signal output control section lowers audio volume of an audio signal both of whose playback speed and pitch of a sound are adjusted, when the audio signal both of whose playback speed and pitch of a sound are adjusted is output from the signal processing section.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the signal processing section further includes:

an onomatopoeic sound switching judgment section judging whether, in accordance with the first parameter, to adjust at least one of the playback speed and the pitch of the sound of the audio signal or to switch the audio signal to a predetermined onomatopoeic sound indicating that high speed playback is being performed, wherein

the onomatopoeic sound switching judgment section judges to switch the audio signal to the predetermined onomatopoeic sound when the first parameter is above the predetermined threshold; and

the audio signal output control section outputs the audio signal after switching the audio signal to the predetermined onomatopoeic sound when the onomatopoeic sound switching judgment section judges to switch the audio signal to the predetermined onomatopoeic sound.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a content management section managing content including the audio signal, wherein

the parameter adjustment section determines a fourth parameter adjusting data amount of the audio signal to be output from the content management section to the signal processing section in accordance with the first parameter that is input.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the parameter adjustment section reduces the fourth parameter to reduce data amount of the content to be output from the content management section to the signal processing section when the first parameter is above a predetermined threshold.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

a product of the first parameter and the fourth parameter is approximately equal to a product of the second parameter and the third parameter.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a content management section managing content including the audio signal, wherein

the parameter adjustment section determines the second parameter and the third parameter based on a fourth parameter adjusting data amount of the audio data to be output from the content management section to the signal processing section and the first parameter to be input.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

the content management section reduces the fourth parameter to reduce data amount of the content to be output from the content management section to the signal processing section when the first parameter is above the predetermined threshold.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

a product of the first parameter and the fourth parameter is approximately equal to a product of the second parameter and the third parameter.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage section storing a database where the first parameter to be input is mutually correlated with the second parameter and the third parameter, wherein

the parameter adjustment section determines the second parameter and the third parameter by referring to the database stored in the storage section.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

the parameter adjustment section increases the second parameter in accordance with a difference between the first parameter and a predetermined threshold when the first parameter is above the predetermined threshold.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

the database is stored as a curved line indicating variations of the second parameter and the third parameter in accordance with the first parameter, and

the curved line indicating the variation of the third parameter has a smooth shape before and after the predetermined threshold.

15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a storage section storing a database where the first parameter to be input is mutually correlated with the second parameter, the third parameter and the fourth parameter, wherein

the parameter adjustment section determines the second parameter, the third parameter and the fourth parameter by referring to the database stored in the storage section.

16. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the parameter adjustment section increases the second parameter in accordance with difference between the first parameter and the predetermined threshold when the first parameter is above the predetermined threshold.

17. An information processing method comprising:

a parameter adjustment step of setting, in accordance with a first parameter indicating a variant factor for a playback speed that is input, a second parameter and a third parameter; and

a signal processing step of adjusting at least one of the playback speed and a pitch of a sound of an audio signal based on the second parameter and the third parameter, wherein

the signal processing step adjusts the playback speed of the audio signal based on the second parameter when the variant factor for the playback speed that is input is less than a predetermined threshold and adjusts the playback speed and the pitch of the sound of the audio signal based on the second parameter and the third parameter when the variant factor for playback speed that is input is above the predetermined threshold.

18. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein

in the parameter adjustment step, the second parameter and the third parameter are determined so that the first parameter may be made approximately equal to a product of the second parameter and the third parameter.

19. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein

in the signal processing step, an amplitude of a signal waveform of the audio signal is controlled so that an audio volume of the audio signal may be made small when both of the playback speed and the pitch of the sound of the audio signal are adjusted.

20. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein in the signal processing step, the audio signal is switched to a predetermined onomatopoeic sound indicating that high speed playback is being performed when the first parameter is above the predetermined threshold.

21. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein

in the parameter adjustment step, a fourth parameter adjusting data amount of the audio signal to be processed in the signal processing step in accordance with the first parameter is further determined.

22. The information processing method according to claim 21, wherein

in the parameter adjustment step, the second parameter, the third parameter and the fourth parameter are determined so that a product of the first parameter and the fourth parameter may be made approximately equal to a product of the second parameter and the third parameter.

23. The information processing method according to claim 21, wherein

in the parameter adjustment step, the fourth parameter is reduced to reduce data amount of the audio signal when the first parameter is above the predetermined threshold.

24. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein

in the parameter adjustment step, the second parameter and the third parameter are determined in accordance with a fourth parameter adjusting data amount of the audio signal to be processed in the signal processing step and the first parameter.

25. The information processing method according to claim 24, wherein

in the parameter adjustment step, the second parameter and the third parameter are determined so that a product of the first parameter and the fourth parameter may be made approximately equal to a product of the second parameter and the third parameter.

26. A program realized in a computer:

a parameter adjustment function setting, in accordance with a first parameter indicating a variant factor for a playback speed that is input, a second parameter and a third parameter; and

a signal processing function adjusting at least one of the playback speed and a pitch of a sound of an audio signal based on the second parameter and the third parameter.