Contents providing system and method, providing apparatus and method, reproduction apparatus and method, and program

• US 7,627,880 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2004
• Issued: 12/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Itakura, Eisaburo
• Primary Examiner(s): Koenig; Andrew Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mendoza; Junior O
• Application Number:
  US10/929,575
• Publication Number:
  US 20050120372A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,918 Days
• Field of Search: 725/32, 725/34, 725/35, 725/46, 725/45, 725 10- 12, 348/1, 348/7, 348/10, 348/12, 348/13, 715/745, 715/747
• US Class Current: 725/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234327 by decomposing into layers, e.g. base layer and one or more enhancement layers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• 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 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4621 Controlling the complexity of the content stream or additional data, e.g. lowering the resolution or bit-rate of the video stream for a mobile client with a small screen arrangements for using the results of monitoring on user's side in broadcast systems H04H60/65; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• 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 21/4756 for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An apparatus and method is disclosed by which contents can be provided in accordance with the preference of a user. A selection control section of a contents providing apparatus selects sub contents conforming to a preference of a user from within a contents server based on static preference information of the user stored in a preference information storage section. A QoS controller adjusts the sub contents based on meta information included in the sub contents and transmits the adjusted sub contents to a user terminal apparatus through a sender section. The user terminal apparatus reproduces the sub contents and extracts and transmits dynamic preference information of the user for the reproduced sub contents to the contents providing apparatus. The QoS controller adjusts next sub contents based on the dynamic preference information and meta information included in the next sub contents. The invention can be applied to a system which provides contents.

Claims

1. A contents providing system, which includes a providing apparatus and a reproduction apparatus, for providing layered encoding contents from the providing apparatus to the reproduction apparatus over a network, comprising:

storage means for storing first preference information representative of a preference of a user, the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of apparatus of the user, and indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of apparatus listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

selection means for selecting contents based on the first preference information stored in said storage means, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents;

reproduction means for reproducing the contents selected by said selection means by reproducing respective ones of the plurality of sub-contents;

detection means for detecting second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents reproduced by said reproduction means, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents; and

adjustment means for adjusting the contents during the reproducing of the contents by the reproduction means, by adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the one of the plurality of sub-contents for the user based on the first preference information and adjusting the level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information detected for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.

2. A contents providing method implemented on a contents providing system, which includes a providing apparatus and a reproduction apparatus, for providing layered encoding contents from the providing apparatus to the reproduction apparatus over a network, comprising:

selecting, at the content providing apparatus, contents based on first preference information stored in advance and representative of a preference of a user, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents, the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of apparatus of the user, and indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of apparatus listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

reproducing, at the reproduction apparatus, the contents selected by reproducing respective ones of the plurality of sub-contents;

detecting, at the reproduction apparatus, second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents reproduced, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents; and

adjusting, at the content providing apparatus, the contents during the reproducing of the contents, by adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the one of the plurality of sub-contents for the user based on the first preference information and adjusting the level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information detected for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.

3. A providing apparatus for providing layered encoding contents to a reproduction apparatus over a network, comprising:

first preference information acquisition means for acquiring first preference information stored in advance and representative of a preference of a user, the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of apparatus of the user, and indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of apparatus listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

selection means for selecting contents based on the first preference information acquired by said first preference information acquisition means, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents;

adjustment means for adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the contents selected by said selection means based on the first preference information;

reproduction means for reproducing the contents adjusted by said adjustment means by reproducing respective ones of the plurality of sub-contents; and

second preference information acquisition means for acquiring second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents adjusted by said adjustment means, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents;

wherein said adjustment means further adjusts the contents during the reproducing of the contents by the reproduction means, by adjusting the level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information acquired for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.

4. The providing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

meta information acquisition means for acquiring meta information from within the contents selected by said selection means, said adjustment means adjusting the contents based on the first preference information and the meta information.

5. A providing method implemented on a providing apparatus for providing layered encoding contents to a user terminal over a network, comprising:

acquiring, at the providing apparatus, first preference information stored in advance and representative of a preference of a user, the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of apparatus of the user, and indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of apparatus listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

selecting, at the providing apparatus, contents based on the first preference information acquired, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents;

adjusting, at the providing apparatus, a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the contents selected based on the first preference information;

reproducing, at the providing apparatus, the contents by reproducing respective ones of the plurality of sub-contents;

acquiring, at the providing apparatus, second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents adjusted, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents; and

adjusting, at the providing apparatus, the contents during the reproducing of the contents, by adjusting the level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information acquired for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.

6. A computer readable storage medium encoded with computer executable instructions for providing layered encoding contents to a reproduction apparatus over a network, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a method comprising:

acquiring first preference information stored in advance and representative of a preference of a user, the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of apparatus of the user, and indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of apparatus listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

selecting contents based on the first preference information acquired, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents;

adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the contents selected based on the first preference information;

reproducing the contents by reproducing respective ones of the plurality of sub-contents;

acquiring second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents adjusted, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents; and

adjusting the contents during the reproducing of the contents, by adjusting the level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information acquired for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.

7. A reproduction apparatus for reproducing layered encoding contents received from a providing apparatus over a network, comprising:

preference information acquisition means for acquiring first preference information stored in advance and representative of a preference of a user, the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of apparatus of the user, and indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of apparatus listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

contents acquisition means for acquiring contents to be reproduced, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents;

adjustment means for adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the contents acquired by said contents acquisition means based on the first preference information;

reproduction means for reproducing the contents adjusted by said adjustment means by reproducing respective ones of the plurality of sub-contents; and

detection means for detecting second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents reproduced by said reproduction means, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents;

wherein the adjustment means further adjusts the contents during the reproducing of the contents by the reproduction means, by adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information detected for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.

8. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said contents acquisition means includes contents selection means for selecting contents based on the first preference information.

9. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

meta information acquisition means for acquiring meta information from within the contents acquired by said contents acquisition means, said adjustment means adjusting the contents based on the first preference information and the meta information.

10. A reproduction method implemented on a reproduction apparatus for reproducing layered encoding contents received from a providing apparatus over a network, comprising:

acquiring, at the reproduction apparatus, first preference information stored in advance and representative of a preference of a user, the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of apparatus of the user, and indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of apparatus listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

acquiring, at the reproduction apparatus, contents to be reproduced, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents;

adjusting, at the reproduction apparatus, a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the contents acquired based on the first preference information;

reproducing, at the reproduction apparatus, the contents adjusted, by reproducing respective ones of the plurality of sub-contents;

acquiring, at the reproduction apparatus, second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents adjusted, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents; and

adjusting, at the reproduction apparatus, the contents during the reproducing of the contents, by adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information acquired for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.

11. A computer readable storage medium encoded with computer executable instructions for reproducing layered encoding contents received from a content providing apparatus over a network, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a method comprising:

acquiring first preference information stored in advance and representative of a preference of a user, the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of terminal of the user, said first preference information indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of terminal listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

acquiring contents to be reproduced, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents;

adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the contents acquired based on the first preference information;

reproducing the contents adjusted, by reproducing respective ones of the plurality of sub-contents;

acquiring second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents adjusted, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents; and

adjusting the contents during the reproducing of the contents, by adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information acquired for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.

12. A reproduction apparatus for reproducing layered encoding contents received from a providing apparatus over a network, comprising:

contents acquisition means for acquiring contents to be reproduced, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents;

reproduction means for reproducing the contents acquired by said contents acquisition means, by reproducing respective ones of the plurality of sub-contents;

detection means for detecting first preference information representative of a preference of the user for the contents reproduced by said reproduction means the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of apparatus of the user, and indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of apparatus listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

adjustment means for adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the contents based on the first preference information detected by said detection means; and

second detection means for detecting second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents reproduced by said reproduction means, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents,

wherein the adjustment means further adjusts the contents during the reproducing of the contents by the reproduction means, by adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information detected for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.

13. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

meta information acquisition means for acquiring meta information from within the contents acquired by said contents acquisition means, said adjustment means adjusting the contents based on the first preference information and the meta information.

14. A reproduction method implemented on a reproduction apparatus for reproducing layered encoding contents received from a providing apparatus over a network, comprising:

acquiring, at the reproduction apparatus, contents to be reproduced, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents;

reproducing, at the reproduction apparatus, the contents acquired by reproducing respective ones of said plurality of sub-contents;

detecting, at the reproduction apparatus, first preference information representative of a preference of the user for the contents reproduced, the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of apparatus of the user, and indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of apparatus listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

adjusting, at the reproduction apparatus, a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the contents based on the first preference information detected; and

detecting, at the reproduction apparatus, second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents reproduced, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents; and

adjusting, at the reproduction apparatus, the contents during the reproducing of the contents, by adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information acquired for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.

15. A computer readable storage medium encoded with computer executable instructions for reproducing layered encoding contents received from a providing apparatus over a network, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a method comprising:

acquiring contents to be reproduced, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents;

reproducing the contents acquired, by reproducing respective ones of said plurality of sub-contents;

detecting first preference information representative of a preference of the user for the contents reproduced, the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of apparatus of the user, and indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of apparatus listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the contents based on the first preference information detected; and

detecting second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents reproduced, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents; and

adjusting the contents during the reproducing of the contents, by adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information acquired for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.

16. A contents providing system which includes a providing apparatus and a reproduction apparatus, for providing layered encoding contents from the providing apparatus to the reproduction apparatus over a network, comprising:

a storage unit configured to store first preference information representative of a preference of a user, the first preference information indicating a reproduction quality for at least one genre of the contents and at least one type of apparatus of the user, and indicating a separate cost associated with each genre and each type of apparatus listed in the first preference information for controlling a network band of the network, wherein the first preference information includes information of a picture quality, image process, sound quality and CPU processing capacity associated with each of the genres and the types of apparatuses listed in the first preference information;

a selection unit configured to select contents based on the first preference information stored in said storage unit, said contents including a plurality of sub-contents;

a reproduction unit configured to reproduce the contents selected by said selection unit by reproducing respective ones of the plurality of sub-contents;

a detection unit configured to detect second preference information representative of a preference of the user for one of the plurality of sub-contents reproduced by said reproduction unit, said second preference information being based on a reaction of the user which is detected during reproduction of the one of the plurality of sub-contents; and

an adjustment unit configured to adjust the contents during the reproducing of the contents by the reproduction means, by adjusting a level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing the one of the plurality of sub-contents for the user based on the first preference information and adjusting the level of reproduction quality to be used when reproducing another one of the plurality of sub-contents based on the second preference information detected for the one of the plurality of sub-contents.