Content reproduction system, content providing method, content reproduction apparatus, content providing apparatus, content reproduction program and content providing program

• US 8,275,777 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Issued: 09/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ijichi, Susumu
• Primary Examiner(s): Mofiz, Apu
• Assistant Examiner(s): BIBBEE, JARED M
• Application Number:
  US11/477,434
• Publication Number:
  US 20070011229A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,279 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/101, 707/102, 707/748, 707/916
• US Class Current: 707/748
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/131 Library retrieval, i.e. searching a database or selecting a specific musical piece, segment, pattern, rule or parameter set
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/171 Transmission of musical instrument data, control or status information; Transmission, remote access or control of music data for electrophonic musical instruments details about the transmitted data contents G10H2240/011
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355

Abstract

In order to reproduce contents with a substantially high degree of efficiency, the present invention provides a content reproduction system in which, typically, a music providing server holds a reproduction list showing a music reproduction order in which pieces of streaming musical data are to be reproduced sequentially and sequentially provides the pieces of streaming musical data to a music reproduction terminal in accordance with the music reproduction order shown in the reproduction list held therein, whereas the music reproduction terminal sequentially reproduces the pieces of streaming musical data provided by the music providing server sequentially.

Claims

1. A content reproduction system, comprising:

a content-providing apparatus; and

a content reproduction apparatus, wherein

said content reproduction apparatus includes

a first communication unit configured to transmit a request to said content-providing apparatus, said request including an apparatus identifier that identifies said content reproduction apparatus, said request also including an artist name, and

a reproducing unit configured to reproduce a plurality of content data, and

said content-providing apparatus includes

a second communication unit configured to receive said request including said apparatus identifier and said artist name from said content reproduction apparatus,

a memory configured to store the plurality of content data, and

a controller configured to select the plurality of content data from said memory based on the apparatus identifier and said artist name included in said request to create a reproduction list defining an order of the plurality of content data,

the second communication unit further configured to transmit a first one of the order of the plurality of content data to the content reproduction apparatus,

the controller further configured to produce a result of a determination whether a second one of the order of the plurality of content data exists, after a process to provide the first one of the order of the plurality of content data has been started in response to said request,

the second communication unit further configured to transmit, upon the determination determining that the second one of the order of the plurality of content data exists, an attribute of the second one of the order of the content data to the content reproduction apparatus, the attribute including an artist name of the second one of the order of the plurality of content data, the artist name of the second one of the order of the plurality of content data being different from the artist name included in said request.

2. The content reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein said content-providing apparatus further includes a converter configured to convert, based on said apparatus identifier, a format of one of the plurality of content data that is not reproducible by said content reproduction apparatus into a format that is compatible with said content reproduction apparatus.

3. The content reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus identifier indicates a format of the plurality of content data.

8. The content reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein said content reproduction apparatus further includes a display configured to display said artist name of the second one of the order of the plurality of content data before reproducing the second one of the order of the plurality of content data.

9. The content reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein said content-providing apparatus is configured to read out a file stored in said content reproduction apparatus to receive the apparatus identifier, which indicates a format of the content data that is compatible with said content reproduction apparatus.

4. A content reproduction method adopted by a content reproduction system including a content-providing apparatus configured to provide a plurality of content data stored in a memory and a content reproduction apparatus configured to receive said plurality of content data provided by said content-providing apparatus, the content reproduction method comprising:

transmitting a request to said content-providing apparatus, said request including an apparatus identifier that identifies said content reproduction apparatus, said request also including an artist name;

receiving said request including said apparatus identifier and said artist name from said content reproduction apparatus;

selecting, at the content-providing apparatus, the plurality of content data from said memory based on the apparatus identifier and said artist name included in said request to create a reproduction list defining an order of the plurality of content data;

transmitting a first one of the order of the plurality of content data to the content reproduction apparatus;

determining that a second one of the order of the plurality of content data exists, after a process to provide the first one of the order of the plurality of content data has been started in response to the receiving; and

transmitting, upon the determining, an attribute of the second one to the content reproduction apparatus, the attribute including an artist name of the second one, the artist name of the second one being different from the artist name included in the request.

10. The content reproduction method according to claim 4, wherein the apparatus identifier is an indication of a format of one of the plurality of content data that is compatible with said content reproduction apparatus.

5. A content-providing apparatus configured to provide a plurality of content data to a content reproduction apparatus, comprising:

a communication unit configured to receive a request from said content reproduction apparatus, said request including an apparatus identifier that identities said content reproduction apparatus, said request also including an artist name;

a memory configured to store the plurality of content data; and

a controller configured to select the plurality of content data from said memory based on the apparatus identifier and said artist name included in the request to create a reproduction list defining an order of the plurality of content data,

the communication unit further configured to transmit a first content data of the order of the plurality of content data to said content reproduction apparatus,

the controller further configured to produce a result of a determination whether a second content data of the order of the plurality of content data exists, after a process to provide the first content data has been started in response to the request,

the communication unit further configured to transmit, upon the determination determining that the second content data of the order of the plurality of content data exists, an attribute of the second content data to the content reproduction apparatus, the attribute including an artist name of the second content data, the artist name of the second content data being different from the artist name included in the request.

6. The content-providing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said controller is further configured to control a converter to convert a format of one of the plurality of content data that is determined by said controller to be a format that cannot be reproduced by said content reproduction apparatus into a format that is compatible with said content reproduction apparatus.

11. The content-providing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the apparatus identifier indicates a format of one of the plurality of content data that is compatible with said content reproduction apparatus.

7. A computer readable storage medium encoded with a computer readable program configured to cause an information processing apparatus to execute a method comprising:

receiving a request from a content reproduction apparatus, said request including an apparatus identifier that identifies said content reproduction apparatus, said request also including an artist name;

selecting a plurality of content data from a memory based on the apparatus identifier and said artist name included in the request to create a reproduction list defining an order of the plurality of content data;

transmitting a first one of the order of the plurality of content data to the content reproduction apparatus;

determining that a second one of the order of the plurality of content data exists, after a process to provide the first one of the order of the plurality of content data has been started in response to the receiving; and

transmitting, upon the determining, an attribute of the second one to the content reproduction apparatus, the attribute including an artist name of the second one, the artist name of the second one being different from the artist name included in the request.

12. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 7, wherein the apparatus identifier indicates a format of one of the plurality of content data that is compatible with said content reproduction apparatus.

13. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting the second one of the order of the plurality of content data after the transmitting the attribute of the second one of the order of the plurality of content data.

14. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting an identification of the first one of the order of the plurality of content data before the transmitting the first one of the order of the plurality of content data; and

receiving the identification of the first one of the order of the plurality of content data, between the transmitting the identification and the transmitting the first one of the order of the plurality of content data.