Information processing device, contents processing method and program

• US 8,522,160 B2
• Filed: 02/18/2010
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Imanishi, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): LONG, ANDREA NATAE
• Application Number:
  US12/707,978
• Publication Number:
  US 20100251173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: 715/781, 463/35
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21805 enabling multiple viewpoints, e.g. using a plurality of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/233 Processing of audio elementary streams monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

There is provided an information processing device including, a screen control unit that causes a user terminal to display a position selection screen displaying a plurality of user positions where a user can be located in a virtual space and allowing a user to select one user position from the plurality of user positions, a data storage unit that stores a user list listing users having selected each user position with respect to each user position selected by using the position selection screen; and a contents processing unit that processes contents to be delivered to the user terminal according to a positional relationship between users represented by the user list stored in the data storage unit.

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising:

a screen control unit that causes a user terminal to display a position selection screen including a plurality of user positions where a user can be located in a virtual space and that allows a user to select one user position from the plurality of user positions;

a data storage unit that stores a user list of users that have selected user positions with respect to the plurality of user positions selected by the users using the position selection screen; and

a contents processing unit that processes contents to be delivered to the user terminal according to a positional relationship between users represented by the user list stored in the data storage unit, the contents including a main video corresponding to the selected user position and a user video provided by another user terminal, wherein

the contents processing unit synthesizes the main video and the user video, the size of the user video being changed based on the positional relationship between the user of the user terminal and the user of the other user terminal.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein

the contents processing unit processes the contents to be delivered to the user terminal according to a predetermined distance in a virtual space with regard to the positional relationship between users.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein

the positional relationship between users includes a positional relationship between different user positions and a positional relationship between users in one user position in the user list.

4. The information processing device according to claim 3, wherein

the contents processing unit superimposes contents supplied from a user terminal of another user on contents to be delivered to a user terminal of one user by using a weight determined according to the distance in the virtual space.

5. The information processing device according to claim 4, wherein

a value of the weight increases as the distance in the virtual space decreases.

6. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a contents delivery unit that delivers first contents commonly delivered to a plurality of user terminals and second contents supplied from a user terminal of a second user located in the same user position as a first user to a user terminal of the first user.

7. The information processing device according to claim 6, wherein

the second user is a user adjacent to the first user in the user list.

8. The information processing device according to claim 6, wherein

the contents processing unit superimposes third contents supplied from a user terminal of a third user located in a different user position from the user position of the first user on the first contents.

9. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein

the position selection screen is a screen that further displays a list of users located in each user position and allows a user to select one user position from the plurality of user positions by selecting any one of the displayed users.

10. The information processing device according to claim 9, wherein

the data storage unit arranges a user selected on the position selection screen and a user who has selected the user adjacent to each other in the user list.

11. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein

the contents processing unit superimposes contents supplied from a user terminal of a friend user associated in advance with one user on contents to be delivered to a user terminal of the user.

12. A contents processing method, using an information processing device that stores a user list of users that have selected user positions with respect to a plurality of user positions where a user can be located in a virtual space in a recording medium, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a position selection screen allowing a user to select one user position from the plurality of user positions on a user terminal;

updating the user list according to a selection result of a user position acquired through the position selection screen; and

processing contents to be delivered to the user terminal according to a positional relationship between users represented by the user list, the contents including a main video corresponding to the selected user position and a user video provided by another user terminal, wherein

the step of processing includes synthesizing the main video and the user video, the size of the user video being changed based on the positional relationship between the user of the user terminal and the user of the other user terminal.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a computer controlling an information processing device that stores a user list of users that have selected user positions with respect to a plurality of user positions where a user can be located in a virtual space in a recording medium to implement a method, the method comprising:

displaying a position selection screen allowing a user to select one user position from the plurality of user positions on a user terminal;

updating the user list according to a selection result of a user position acquired through the position selection screen;

processing contents to be delivered to the user terminal according to a positional relationship between users represented by the user list, the contents including a main video corresponding to the selected user position and a user video provided by another user terminal, wherein

the step of processing includes synthesizing the main video and the user video, the size of the user video being changed based on the positional relationship between the user of the user terminal and the user of the other user terminal.