CONTENT PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20130011120A1
• Filed: 03/30/2011
• Published: 01/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Kazumasa, Tanaka, Kenji, Takahashi, Yoshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 9,325,946 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/241
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5838 using colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/738 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/785 using colour or luminescence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23418 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

The present invention relates to a content processing apparatus and method, and a program capable of more easily grasping details of content of a moving image.

A metadata extracting unit 22 extracts metadata such as information of a representative image from content Supplied from a content input unit 21 and accumulates the metadata in a metadata database 24. An image feature quantity extracting unit 23 extracts an image feature quantity from the content and accumulates the image feature quantity in an image feature quantity database 25 and also extracts an image feature quantity from a retrieval image. A retrieving unit 27 compares the image feature quantity of the image feature quantity database 25 with the image feature quantity of the retrieval image and specifies a still image similar to the retrieval image. An output unit 28 reads the metadata of content and generates display data for displaying in timeline.

Claims

1. A content processing apparatus comprising:

metadata extracting means that extracts a representative image which is a still image and metadata including information for specifying a frame corresponding to the representative image from input content of a moving image; and

timeline display means that generates display data for displaying the content in the timeline based on the metadata,

wherein the timeline display means displays a thumbnail of the representative image in association with a time position of a frame of the representative image among the content along with the content displayed in the timeline, when the displaying of the thumbnail of the representative image is instructed.

2. The content processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the metadata includes information of a scene change point of the content, and

based on the metadata, the timeline display means specifies scenes constituting the content, displays the content in the timeline by displaying a figure which indicates each of the scenes corresponding to a time length of the scene, using a horizontal or vertical direction of a screen as a time axis, and displays the thumbnail of the representative image in connection to a part of the figure.

3. The content processing apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the timeline display means displays the figure that indicates a figure in a color of representing the scene specified by a predetermined method to display the content in the timeline.

4. The content processing apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the timeline display means replays the content and displays a moving image at a predetermined position of the screen, and displays a slider for specifying a position of a replayed frame in the content on a time axis, in a case where the replay of the content displayed in the timeline is instructed.

5. The content processing apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the timeline display means changes an aspect of displaying the thumbnail corresponding to the representative image in a case where the position on the time axis specified by the slider becomes the position of the frame of the representative image.

6. The content processing apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the timeline display means generates display data for displaying a screen having a representative image display region for displaying a list of the representative images, a moving image display region for displaying the moving image of the replayed content, and a timeline display region for displaying the content in the timeline along with the thumbnail.

7. A content processing method comprising:

extracting a representative image which is a still image and metadata including information for specifying a frame corresponding to the representative image from input content of a moving image by metadata extracting means; and

generating display data for displaying the content in timeline based on the metadata by timeline display means,

wherein a thumbnail of the representative image corresponding to a time position of a frame of the representative image among the content is displayed along with the content displayed in the timeline, in a case where displaying of the thumbnail of the representative image is instructed.

8. A program for causing a computer to function as a content processing apparatus, the content processing apparatus comprising:

metadata extracting means that extracts metadata which includes a representative image which is a still image and information of specifying a frame corresponding to the representative image from input content of a moving image; and

timeline display means that generates display data for displaying the content in timeline based on the metadata,

wherein the timeline display means displays a thumbnail of the representative image in association with a time position of a frame of the representative image among the content along with the content displayed in the timeline, when the displaying of the thumbnail of the representative image is instructed.