Content distribution system that distributes line of stream data generated by splicing plurality of pieces of stream data

• US 7,340,527 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2003
• Issued: 03/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sovereign Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tokuda, Hirokazu, Iwata, Yoshiaki, Tsusaka, Yuko
• Primary Examiner(s): NEURAUTER, GEORGE C
• Application Number:
  US10/396,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20030212810A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,805 Days
• Field of Search: 709201-253, 705/10, 705/14, 725 1-153, 707 1- 10, 345629-630, 352/91.R, 382/284, 715/726
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25435 involving characteristics of content or additional data, e.g. video resolution or the amount of advertising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2622 Signal amplitude transition in the zone between image portions, e.g. soft edges

Abstract

A content distribution system according to the present invention accepts content request information from a user terminal, and detects and extracts pieces of stream data of programs and commercial messages based on a keyword contained in the content request information. When splicing an extracted piece of stream data of the program with an extracted piece of stream data of the commercial message, a transition effect is added to a splicing point therebetween. A line of stream data that is generated by splicing the pieces of stream data is distributed to the user terminal.

Claims

1. A content distribution system comprising:

a storing unit operable to store a plurality of pieces of stream data and a plurality of pieces of attribute information respectively corresponding to any one of the pieces of stream data;

an accepting unit operable to accept request information for requesting a content from a terminal;

an extracting unit operable to extract more than two pieces of stream data from said storing unit, according to the accepted request information;

a determining unit operable to determine to add a transition effect to a splicing point of two pieces of the stream data included in the more than two pieces of stream data extracted by said extracting unit when only one of two pieces of attribute information corresponding to the two pieces of stream data of the splicing point has a specific attribute, by referring to the two pieces of attribute information corresponding to the two pieces of stream data of the splicing point;

a splicing unit operable to splice the pieces of the stream data extracted by said extracting unit into a line of stream data, and to add the transition effect to the splicing point when said determining unit determines to add the transition effect to the splicing point; and

a distributing unit operable to distribute the line of the stream data spliced by said splicing unit to the terminal.

2. A content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the specific attribute is a commercial message attribute indicating that a piece of the stream data is a commercial message.

3. A content distribution system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a setting unit operable to set, based on payment information contained in the request information, a number of pieces of stream data with the commercial message to be extracted from said storing unit, wherein;

the payment information indicates an amount of payment that a user pays for a content; and

said extracting unit is operable to extract the number of pieces of the stream data set by setting unit.

4. A content distribution system according to claim 3, wherein:

said storing unit is operable to store identifying information for identifying a type of the transition effect corresponding to each of the pieces of stream data excluding the pieces of stream data with the commercial message attribute; and

said splicing unit is operable to add the transition effect to the splicing point of the two pieces of stream data extracted by said extracting unit based on the type indicated by the identifying information corresponding to another of the two pieces of the extracted stream data, the other of the two pieces of stream data being without the commercial message.

5. A content distribution system according to claim 4, further comprising:

a personal information storing unit operable to store personal information of the user; and

a selecting unit operable to select the type of the transition effect to be added, according to the personal information,

wherein said splicing unit is operable to add the selected transition effect to the splicing point when said determining unit determines to add the transition effect to the splicing point.

6. A content distribution system according to claim 5, further comprising a detecting unit operable to detect a piece of stream data from said storing unit, wherein:

the detected piece of the stream data is a piece of stream data whose corresponding piece of attribute information includes a keyword associated with the keyword information included in the request information which is input by a user; and

said extracting unit is operable to extract the piece of stream data detected by said detecting unit from said storing unit.

7. A content distribution system according to claim 3, further comprising a storing unit operable to store position information indicating a position where insertion of the commercial message is allowed on a reproducing time axis of the piece of stream data without the commercial message,

wherein said splicing unit is operable to insert the piece of stream data with the commercial message into the stream data without the commercial message at the position indicated by the position information in the stream data without the commercial message by priority, and splice the piece of stream data with the commercial message and the piece of stream data without the commercial message.

8. A content distribution system according to claim 3, wherein said splicing unit is operable to automatically add the transition effect to the splicing point when said determining unit determines to add the transition effect to the splicing point.

9. A distribution method that causes a computer to distribute a content, said method comprising:

storing a plurality of pieces of stream data and a plurality of pieces of attribute information respectively corresponding to any one of the pieces of stream data;

accepting request information for requesting a content from a terminal;

extracting more than two pieces of stream data stored in said storing of the plurality of pieces of stream data and the plurality of pieces of attribute information, according to the accepted request information;

determining to add a transition effect to a splicing point of two pieces of the stream data included in the more than two pieces of stream data extracted by said extracting of the more than two pieces of stream data when only one of two pieces of attribute information corresponding to the two pieces of stream data of the splicing point has a specific attribute, by referring to the two pieces of attribute information corresponding to the two pieces of stream data of the splicing point;

splicing the pieces of the extracted stream data into a line of stream data, and adding the transition effect to the splicing point when said determining determines to add the transition effect to the splicing point; and

distributing the line of stream data to the terminal.

10. A distribution method according to claim 9, wherein said splicing comprises automatically adding the transition effect to the splicing point when said determining determines to add the transition effect to the splicing point.

11. A computer program stored on a computer-readable recording medium and having plural instructions to be executed by a computer, said plural instructions causing the computer to perform operations comprising:

storing a plurality of pieces of stream data and a plurality of pieces of attribute information respectively corresponding to any one of the pieces of stream data;

accepting request information for requesting a content from a terminal;

extracting more than two pieces of stream data among the plurality of stored pieces of stream data, according to the accepted request information;

determining to add a transition effect to a splicing point of two pieces of the stream data included in the more than two pieces of stream data extracted by said extracting of the more than two pieces of stream data when only one of two pieces of attribute information corresponding to the two pieces of stream data of the splicing point has a specific attribute by referring to the two pieces of attribute information corresponding to the two pieces of stream data of the splicing point;

splicing the pieces of the extracted stream data into a line of stream data, and, adding the transition effect to the splicing point when said determining determines to add the transition effect to the splicing point; and

distributing the line of stream data to the terminal.

12. A distribution method according to claim 11, wherein said splicing comprises automatically adding the transition effect to the splicing point when said determining determines to add the transition effect to the splicing point.