Digital cinema management device and digital cinema management method

• US 8,472,790 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2010
• Issued: 06/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ogura, Misato, Ogawa, Katsumi
• Primary Examiner(s): DANG, HUNG Q
• Application Number:
  US12/661,292
• Publication Number:
  US 20100247069A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,198 Days
• Field of Search: 386200-234, 386291-299, 725 86-104, 725/145, 725/115
• US Class Current: 386/295
• CPC Class Codes: A63J 25/00 Equipment specially adapted for cinemas cinematographic projection means G03B
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/04 Picture "juke-boxes"
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/40 Combinations of multiple record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/415 Redundant array of inexpensive disks [RAID] systems
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• 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 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/85406 involving a specific file format, e.g. MP4 format
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A digital cinema management device includes a control unit that supplies data of contents stored in a storage device to a playback device, in which the control unit refers to the contents stored in the storage device, contents stored in a content storage unit of the playback device, and an exhibition schedule, selects contents which are scheduled to be exhibited by the playback device, and which are not stored in the content storage unit, from the storage device, and supplies data of the selected contents to the playback device.

Claims

1. A digital cinema management device comprising:

a control unit that supplies data of contents stored in a storage device to a playback device, wherein;

the control unit refers to the contents stored in the storage device, contents stored in a content storage unit of the playback device, and an exhibition schedule, selects contents which are scheduled to be exhibited by the playback device, and which are not stored in the content storage unit, from the storage device, and supplies data of the selected contents to the playback device,

the control unit selects the contents in the order of the exhibition schedule so as not to exceed a rewritable data capacity of the content storage unit and deletes (i) data of contents that are not included in the selected contents from the content storage unit and (ii) data of contents included in the selected contents which are currently still selected and which have associated therewith an amount of time from a current time until a time for exhibition, which is obtained from the exhibition schedule, which exceeds a predetermined amount of time.

2. The digital cinema management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets contents in the order of the exhibition schedule so as not to exceed the rewritable data capacity of the content storage unit as transfer target contents and supplies data of the transfer target contents to the playback device.

3. The digital cinema management device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit sets contents obtained by excluding contents which are not stored in the storage device from the contents selected in the order of the exhibition schedule so as not to exceed the rewritable data capacity of the content storage unit as the transfer target contents and supplies data of the transfer target contents to the playback device.

4. The digital cinema management device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit creates transfer tasks for supplying data of contents to the playback device to supply the data based on the transfer tasks and registers the transfer target contents on the transfer tasks while excluding contents which have already been registered.

5. The digital cinema management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit selects data of the contents and supplies the data to the playback device when the exhibition schedule is changed.

6. The digital cinema management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit selects data of the contents and supplies the data to the playback device when addition or alteration of content data occurs in the storage device.

7. The digital cinema management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit selects data of the contents and supplies the data to the playback device when addition, alteration, or deletion occurs in the content data in the content storage unit of the playback device.

8. The digital cinema management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit selects data of the contents and supplies the data to the playback device when communication between the control unit and the playback device is recovered.

9. A digital cinema management method comprising the steps of:

causing a control unit that supplies data of contents stored in a storage device to a playback device to refer to the contents stored in the storage device, contents stored in a content storage unit of the playback device, and an exhibition schedule, thereby selecting contents which are scheduled to be exhibited by the playback device, and which are not stored in the content storage unit, from the storage device, and

causing the control unit to supply data of the selected contents to the playback device,

in which the control unit selects the contents in the order of the exhibition schedule so as not to exceed a rewritable data capacity of the content storage unit and deletes (i) data of contents that are not included in the selected contents from the content storage unit and (ii) data of contents included in the selected contents which are currently still selected and which have associated therewith an amount of time from a current time until a time for exhibition, which is obtained from the exhibition schedule, which exceeds a predetermined amount of time.