Patent Application
20130071094
This is a continuation application of International Application No. PCT/JP2012/002442, with an international filing date of Apr. 6, 2012, which claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-089866 filed on Apr. 14, 2011, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Technical Field
The technical field relates to a content recording apparatus in a content transmission system including the content recording apparatus and a content playback apparatus which are connected to each other through a wireless transmission path. The content recording apparatus records content including video and/or audio such as a TV program or a movie (hereinafter, referred to as “program content”), and transmits the recorded program content to the content playback apparatus through the wireless transmission path. The present disclosure also relates to a content recording method for such a content recording apparatus, and further relates to a content transmission system including such a content recording apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
As data communication through networks such as the Internet and a LAN (Local Area Network) has been popularized, even at home, a home network capable of connecting home appliances, computers, and other peripheral devices through a network for device-to-device communication has been more commonly used. The home network makes it possible to transmit and receive content between devices connected to each other through a network, and provides convenient and comfortable user experiences. In addition, it is expected that network devices provided with a wireless connection function for connecting the devices to each other will be more popularized in future, due to flexibility in location for installing the device, and due to the advantage of eliminating a wiring between the devices to be connected to each other.
As an example of a home network including a wireless connection, there is a content transmission system in which a content recording apparatus, having content receiving means such as a TV tuner and content storage means such as a hard disk drive (HDD), is connected to a content playback apparatus, having content playback means such as a digital TV or a personal computer (PC), through a wireless transmission path. According to such a content transmission system, the content recording apparatus transmits program content stored on its hard disk drive, to the content playback apparatus through the wireless transmission path, and the content playback apparatus plays back the program content while receiving the program content, thus achieving so-called time-shift playback of the program content.
When the content recording apparatus transmits program content to the content playback apparatus through the wireless transmission path, such a problem arises that a transmission bandwidth becomes insufficient due to wireless nature, in particular, due to a long distance between the apparatuses, or due to an environment of locations at which the apparatuses are installed, resulting in the content playback apparatus being unable to correctly play back the video and/or audio of the program content.
In order to address this problem, for example, Patent Literature 1 proposes a method of providing both a content recording apparatus and a content playback apparatus, with a video recording apparatus, and storing, in advance, video content to be played back, in the video storage apparatus of the content playback apparatus. Patent Literature 1 further proposes a method of calculating a sufficient transmission rate for transmitting video content to be played back, down-converting the video content at the calculated rate, and transmitting the down-converted video content.
In the content recording apparatus 101, a content receiving unit 111 receives program content such as that in a TV broadcast in a format such as MPEG2. Then, a down-converting unit 112 calculates a transmission rate of the wireless transmission path 103 between the content recording apparatus 101 and the content playback apparatus 102, and encodes (down-converts) at the transmission rate the program content received by the content receiving unit 111. The program content encoded by the down-converting unit 112 is stored on an HDD 113, and is transmitted, by a wireless transmitting and receiving unit 114, to the content playback apparatus 102 through the wireless transmission path 103.
In the content playback apparatus 102, a wireless transmitting and receiving unit 121 receives the program content from the content recording apparatus 101 through the wireless transmission path 103. A decoding unit 122 processes the program content received by the wireless transmitting and receiving unit 121 for playback, and plays back the processed program content through a display 123 and a speaker 124.
According to the content transmission system of
PATENT LITERATURE 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-169299
However, the content transmission system of
One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment is to provide a content recording apparatus capable of recording program content, and simultaneously transmitting the recorded program content to a content playback apparatus through a wireless transmission path, so that the content playback apparatus plays back the program content in real time. Another non-limiting and exemplary embodiment is to provide a content recording method for such a content recording apparatus, and a content transmission system including such a content recording apparatus.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a content recording apparatus connected to a content playback apparatus through a wireless transmission path. The content recording apparatus is provided with: an encoding unit for encoding program content at a data rate; a program content storage for storing the encoded program content; a wireless transmitting and receiving unit for transmitting the encoded program content to the content playback apparatus; a data rate memory for storing the data rate at which the program content is encoded; and a data rate setting unit for setting the data rate stored in the data rate memory, on the encoding unit. The wireless transmitting and receiving unit receives result information from the content playback apparatus, the result information indicating whether or not the program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus. The data rate setting unit determines, based on the result information, a data rate at which the program content is encoded, and stores the data rate in the data rate memory.
These general and specific aspects may be implemented using a system, a method, and a computer program, and any combination of systems, methods, and computer programs.
According to the present disclosure, the data rate at which program content is encoded does not exceed the transmission rate of the wireless transmission path, thus preventing the necessity of re-encoding the program content. Therefore, it is possible to record program content, and simultaneously transmit the recorded program content to the content playback apparatus through the wireless transmission path, so that the content playback apparatus plays back the program content in real time.
Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will be apparent from the specification and Figures. The benefits and/or advantages may be individually provided by the various embodiments and features of the specification and drawings disclosure, and need not all be provided in order to obtain one or more of the same.
Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the similar components are denoted by the same reference signs.
The content recording apparatus 1 is provided with a content receiving unit 11, an encoding unit 12, an HDD 13, a wireless transmitting and receiving unit 14, a data rate setting unit 15, and a data rate memory 16. The content recording apparatus 1 is, for example, a hard disk recorder, a BD recorder, or a DVD recorder, having a TV tuner and a hard disk drive, and optionally, further having a drive for removable media such as BDs or DVDs.
The content receiving unit 11 receives program content such as that in a TV broadcast or an IP (Internet Protocol) broadcast. The content receiving unit 11 passes the received program content to the encoding unit 12.
The encoding unit 12 is set with a certain data rate by the data rate setting unit 15. When the content receiving unit 11 inputs the program content to the encoding unit 12, the encoding unit 12 encodes the inputted program content at the set data rate, stores (records) the encoded program content on the HDD 13, and passes the encoded program content to the wireless transmitting and receiving unit 14.
The HDD 13 stores the program content encoded by the encoding unit 12. The HDD 13 may be, for example, any other recording apparatus such as a flash memory.
The wireless transmitting and receiving unit 14 transmits the program content encoded by the encoding unit 12, or the program content encoded by the encoding unit 12 and stored on the HDD 13, to the content playback apparatus 2 through the wireless transmission path 3. The wireless transmitting and receiving unit 14 further receives result information (described later) from the content playback apparatus 2, indicating whether or not the program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus 2 has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus 2. The wireless transmitting and receiving unit 14 is configured as a device based on wireless techniques such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth (registered trademark).
The data rate memory 16 stores therein the data rate at which the program content is encoded. The data rate setting unit 15 determines a data rate at which the program content is encoded, based on the result information received from the content playback apparatus 2, and stores the data rate in the data rate memory 16, and further, sets the data rate stored in the data rate memory 16, on the encoding unit 12.
In the present embodiment, the data rate memory 16 stores an initial data rate in advance. The initial data rate may be the original data rate of the program content received by the content receiving unit 11, or a data rate close to the original data rate (or a maximum data rate available to the encoding unit 12), or a minimum data rate available to the encoding unit 12. Further, the data rate memory 16 may store a plurality of data rates, and the data rate setting unit 15 may select one of the plurality of data rates. Further, the data rate may vary according to the relative position between the content recording apparatus 1 and the content playback apparatus 2. For example, when the content playback apparatus 2 is remote from the content recording apparatus 1, the transmission bandwidth is reduced than when they are close to each other. Thus, when the content playback apparatus 2 is remote from the content recording apparatus 1, a lower data rate is used than when they are close to each other.
In the present embodiment, the data rate memory 16 stores therein one data rate associated with result information indicating that the program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus 2 has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus 2.
The content playback apparatus 2 is provided with a wireless transmitting and receiving unit 21, a decoding unit 22, a received data verifying unit 23, a display 24, and a speaker 25. The content playback apparatus 2 is, for example, a digital TV or a PC. In addition, the content playback apparatus 2 may be provided with a memory or any other storage unit (not shown), for recording therein the program content received from the content recording apparatus 1.
The wireless transmitting and receiving unit 21 receives the program content transmitted from the content recording apparatus 1 through the wireless transmission path 3, and passes the program content to the decoding unit 22. The wireless transmitting and receiving unit 21 is configured as a device based on wireless techniques such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth.
The decoding unit 22 decodes the program content received by the wireless transmitting and receiving unit 21 for playback, outputs the decoded program content (i.e., the video and audio of the program content) to the display 24 and the speaker 25, and passes decoding information to the received data verifying unit 23. The decoding information indicates whether or not the program content has been correctly decoded without interruption.
The received data verifying unit 23 generates, based on the decoding information inputted from the decoding unit 22, result information indicating whether or not the program content received from the content recording apparatus 1 has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus 2, and transmits, by the wireless transmitting and receiving unit 21, the result information to the content recording apparatus 1 through the wireless transmission path 3. As the result information, for example, an ACK (Acknowledgement) message may be used when the program content has been correctly played back, and a NACK (Not Acknowledgement) message may be used when the program content has not been correctly played back. Alternatively, when the program content has been correctly played back, a data rate, at which the played-back program content was encoded, may be used as result information. Although the wireless transmission path 3 is used for notifying the result information from the received data verifying unit 23 to the content recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a different transmission path than the wireless transmission path 3 may be used.
The display 24 and the speaker 25 output the program content played back by the decoding unit 22. Although the display 24 and the speaker 25 of the present embodiment are parts of the content playback apparatus 2, they may be output apparatuses such as an external display and an external speaker connected to the content playback apparatus 2.
Now, with reference to
First, at step S1 of
Then, at step S11 of
The wireless transmitting and receiving unit 14 of the content recording apparatus 1 receives the result information from the content playback apparatus 2 through the wireless transmission path 3, and passes the result information to the data rate setting unit 15. At step S5 of
The processes shown in
When the data rate setting unit 15 sets a new data rate on the encoding unit 12, the encoding unit 12 re-encodes at the new data rate, program content inputted from the content receiving unit 11, stores the re-encoded program content on the HDD 13, and passes the re-encoded program content to the wireless transmitting and receiving unit 14. In this case, program content stored on the HDD 13, which was encoded at a data rate at which the content playback apparatus 2 could not play back, may be deleted from the HDD 13, or may be overwritten with program content to be newly stored.
As described above, according to the content transmission system of the first embodiment, the data rate at which program content is encoded does not exceed the transmission rate of the wireless transmission path, thus preventing the necessity of re-encoding the program content. Therefore, it is possible to record program content, and simultaneously transmit the recorded program content to the content playback apparatus through the wireless transmission path, so that the content playback apparatus plays back the program content in real time.
The first embodiment describes the case in which when program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus 2 has not been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus 2, the data rate at which the program content is encoded is decreased to a data rate at which the program content can be correctly played back. On the other hand, a second embodiment describes the case in which a low data rate is set as an initial data rate, and as long as program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus 2 can be correctly played back on the content playback apparatus 2, the data rate at which the program content is encoded is increased.
A content transmission system of the second embodiment differs from a content transmission system of the first embodiment only in the operation of the content recording apparatus 1, and accordingly, the operation of the content recording apparatus 1 will be mainly described below.
First, at step S21, the content recording apparatus 1 sets, as an initial data rate, a minimum data rate available to an encoding unit 12 (or a relatively low data rate among available data rates) on the encoding unit 12. The process of steps S22 to S24 is the same as that of steps S2 to S4 of
A wireless transmitting and receiving unit 14 of the content recording apparatus 1 receives result information from the content playback apparatus 2 through a wireless transmission path 3, and passes the result information to a data rate setting unit 15. At step S25, if the data rate setting unit 15 receives result information indicating that the program content has been correctly played back, then the process proceeds to step S26, and if the data rate setting unit 15 receives result information indicating that the program content has not been correctly played back, then the process proceeds to step S27. At step S26, the data rate setting unit 15 determines to increase the data rate, and stores the new data rate in a data rate memory 16, and then, the process returns to step S22. At step S26, the data rate setting unit 15 may increase the current data rate by a predetermined amount, or alternatively, if storing a plurality of data rates, may select a higher data rate than the current data rate. The process of steps S22 to S26 is repeated until the content recording apparatus 1 receives result information from the content playback apparatus 2, indicating that the program content has not been correctly played back. On the other hand, at step S27, the data rate setting unit 15 determines to decrease the data rate, and stores the new data rate in the data rate memory 16, and then, the process returns to step S22. Therefore, the process of steps S22 to S26 is repeated until the content recording apparatus 1 receives result information from the content playback apparatus 2, indicating that the program content has not been correctly played back, and when the content recording apparatus 1 receives result information from the content playback apparatus 2, indicating that the program content has not been correctly played back, the data rate is decreased by one level at step S27.
According to the second embodiment, a minimum data rate available to the encoding unit 12 is set as an initial data rate. Alternatively, a maximum data rate available to the encoding unit 12 (e.g., a data rate close to the original data rate of program content received by a content receiving unit 11) may be set as an initial data rate, and the data rate may be decreased until receiving result information indicating that the program content has been correctly played back.
According to the first and second embodiments, the encoding unit 12 stores encoded program content on an HDD 13 at all times. Alternatively, when the data rate setting unit 15 receives result information indicating that program content has been correctly played back (for example, the last one of a plurality of pieces of result information indicating that the program content has been correctly played back), the data rate setting unit 15 may notify the encoding unit 12 of the result information, and the encoding unit 12 may store encoded program content on the HDD 13 after receiving the notification.
As described above, according to the content transmission system of the second embodiment, the content recording apparatus 1 can encode program content at the highest one of the data rates at which the program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus 2 is correctly played back on the content playback apparatus 2. Therefore, it is possible to record program content at a high data rate, and simultaneously transmit the recorded program content to the content playback apparatus through the wireless transmission path, so that the content playback apparatus plays back the program content in real time.
According to the first and second embodiments, the content recording apparatus 1 transmits a piece of program content encoded at one data rate, to the content playback apparatus 2, receives result information from the content playback apparatus, indicating whether or not the program content has been correctly played back, and determines a data rate based on the result information. According to a third embodiment, a content recording apparatus 1 transmits a plurality of pieces of program content encoded at a plurality of data rates, respectively, to a content playback apparatus 2, receives pieces of result information from the content playback apparatus 2, indicating whether or not each of the plurality of pieces of program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus 2 has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus 2, and determines a data rate based on the pieces of result information.
A content transmission system of the third embodiment differs from a content transmission system of the first embodiment only in the operation of the content recording apparatus 1, and accordingly, the operation of the content recording apparatus 1 will be mainly described below.
According to the present embodiment, the data rate memory 16 is storing a data rate table including a plurality of data rates.
In the present embodiment, different steps S33 and S34 are performed according to whether or not there is free space in the data rate table. An available data rate determination process at step S33 is performed to determine the availabilities of all data rates in the data rate table, whose availabilities are not determined. At this time, the content recording apparatus 1 encodes program content at a plurality of data rates, and sequentially transmits the pieces of encoded program content on trial (e.g., one minute of each piece of encoded program content). A program content transmission process at step S34 is performed to transmit program content based on the contents of the data rate table. At this time, the content recording apparatus 1 encodes the program content at the highest one of all available data rates in the data rate table, and transmits the encoded program content to the content playback apparatus 2. Then, when the content recording apparatus 1 receives result information from the content playback apparatus 2, indicating that the program content has not been correctly played back, the content recording apparatus 1 updates the data rate table.
The encoding unit 12 may include a plurality of encoders, and simultaneously encode the program content at a plurality of data rates set by the data rate setting unit 15.
Alternatively, the encoding unit 12 may include only one encoder rather than a plurality of encoders. In this case, at first, the data rate setting unit 15 sets one of the data rates in the data rate table, whose availabilities are not determined, on the encoding unit 12. The encoding unit 12 encodes the program content at the set data rate and records the encoded program content. When the encoding is done, the encoding unit 12 notifies the data rate setting unit 15 that the encoding is done. When the data rate setting unit 15 receives notification from the encoding unit 12, indicating that the recording is done, the data rate setting unit 15 selects one of the other data rates in the data rate table, whose availabilities are not determined, and sets the selected data rate as a new data rate on the encoding unit 12. The data rate setting unit 15 and the encoding unit 12 repeat steps S41 and S42 until encoding is done at all the data rates.
At step S43, the wireless transmitting and receiving unit 14 transmits one of the plurality of pieces of program content encoded by the encoding unit 12 and stored on the HDD 13, to the content playback apparatus 2 through a wireless transmission path 3. The program content transmitted at step S43 may be, for example, only a portion of the encoded program content corresponding to a part of an entire duration of the encoded program content (e.g., one minute). After transmitting the program content at step S43, the content playback apparatus 2 performs the program content reception process of
In
According to the program content transmission process of
When it is determined at step S54 that playback of a piece of program content encoded at any of the data rates has succeeded, those pieces of program content stored on the HDD 13, other than the piece of program content being transmitted to the content playback apparatus 2, may be deleted from the HDD 13, or may be overwritten with program content to be newly stored.
When there is free space in the data rate table of the data rate memory 16, the encoding unit 12 may encode only a portion of program content corresponding to a part of an entire duration of the program content (e.g., one minute) (step S42 of
Further, every time program content is received, the data rate table may be reset to newly determine whether data rates are available or unavailable. Alternatively, after determining whether data rates are available or unavailable, based on firstly received program content, the constant data rate table may be used. Further, the data rate table may be periodically reset to newly determine whether data rates are available or unavailable.
As described above, according to the content transmission system of the third embodiment, the content recording apparatus 1 transmits a plurality of pieces of program content encoded at a plurality of data rates, respectively, to the content playback apparatus 2, receives pieces of result information from the content playback apparatus 2, indicating whether or not each of the plurality of pieces of program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus 2 has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus 2, and determines a data rate based on the pieces of result information. Therefore, without a data rate at which program content is encoded not exceeding the transmission rate of the wireless transmission path, it is possible to record program content at the highest data rate, and simultaneously transmit the recorded program content to the content playback apparatus through the wireless transmission path, so that the content playback apparatus plays back the program content in real time.
Further, when a plurality of data rates are stored in the first and second embodiments, a data rate table as shown in
According to the program content transmission process of
As shown in
The system time unit 17 maintains a date, a day of week, and a time, and passes the date and time information to the data rate setting unit 15A.
The content receiving unit 11A extracts attribute information of program content included in the received program content, and passes the attribute information to the data rate setting unit 15A. The attribute information of the program content includes the program name, broadcast date and time (start time and end time), broadcast day of week, etc., of the program content.
The data rate setting unit 15A determines a data rate at which the program content is encoded, based on result information received from the content playback apparatus 2, stores the data rate in the data rate memory 16A, and sets the data rate stored in the data rate memory 16A, on the encoding unit 12. The data rate setting unit 15A stores in the data rate memory 16A, the attribute information of the program content inputted from the content receiving unit 11A, in association with the data rate.
For each of at least one piece of program content having been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus 2, the data rate memory 16A stores therein a data rate used to encode the program content, and attribute information uniquely identifying the program content.
If the data rate memory 16A is storing substantially the same attribute information as the attribute information of program content that is received by the content receiving unit 11A and is to be newly encoded, the data rate setting unit 15A sets a data rate associated with the attribute information stored in the data rate memory 16A (i.e., a data rate used to encode program content which was correctly played back on the content playback apparatus 2), on the encoding unit 12.
For example, referring to the data rate table of
On the other hand, at step S74, the data rate setting unit 15A sets an initial data rate, rather than using any of the data rates stored in the data rate table. The initial data rate is set, for example, in the same manner as that of the first or second embodiment.
At step S75, the encoding unit 12 encodes the program content received by the content receiving unit 11A, at the data rate set by the data rate setting unit 15A, stores the encoded program content on the HDD 13, and passes the encoded program content to the wireless transmitting and receiving unit 14. At step S76, the wireless transmitting and receiving unit 14 transmits the program content encoded by the encoding unit 12, or the program content encoded by the encoding unit 12 and stored on the HDD 13, to the content playback apparatus 2 through the wireless transmission path 3. After transmitting the program content at step S76, the content playback apparatus 2 performs the program content reception process of
At step S77, it is determined whether or not playback of the program content has succeeded. At step S77, if YES, then the process proceeds to step S78, and if NO, then the process returns to step S71. At step S78, the data rate setting unit 15A updates the data rate table by storing, in the data rate table, the data rate used to encode the program content transmitted at step S63, the program name, recorded date (day of week), start time, and end time, etc. of the program content.
The attribute information of program content is not limited to that shown in
The content transmission system of the present embodiment is suitable for the case where a plurality of content playback apparatuses 2 installed in different locations play back recorded program content, or for the case where a mobile content playback apparatus 2 plays back recorded program content (a mobile apparatus capable of usually playing back in a living room, and plays back in a bedroom at late night, etc.). For example, the content transmission system of the present embodiment is useful for the case where the content transmission system includes one content recording apparatus 1A and a plurality of content playback apparatuses 2, and is shared by a plurality of users at home, and the users record different pieces of program content every week during their respective schedules, and play back the pieces of recorded program content using the different content playback apparatuses 2 (e.g., content payback apparatuses 2 installed in different rooms).
As described above, according to the content transmission system of the fourth embodiment, the content recording apparatus 1A can store, in the data rate table, a data rate at which program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus 2 is correctly played back on the content playback apparatus 2, together with the attribute information such as date and time, and can use the data rate stored in the data rate table when encoding program content. Therefore, it is possible to record program content at a data rate suitable for the attribute information (e.g., a date, a day of week, and a time of day) of the program content, and simultaneously transmit the recorded program content to the content playback apparatus through the wireless transmission path, so that the content playback apparatus plays back the program content in real time.
Further, the content recording apparatus and content playback apparatus of each embodiment can be configured using a program and a computer including means embodying their functions and operations. Further, a part or all the content recording apparatus and content playback apparatus of each embodiment may be configured by hardware.
Each of the embodiments describes the present disclosure not restrictively, but illustratively. Therefore, the present disclosure can be implemented as various other modified embodiments and changed embodiments, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined only by the claims.
According to aspects of the present disclosure, a content recording apparatus, a content recording method, and a content transmission system are provided as follows.
According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a content recording apparatus connected to a content playback apparatus through a wireless transmission path. The content recording apparatus is provided with: an encoding unit for encoding program content at a data rate; a program content storage for storing the encoded program content; a wireless transmitting and receiving unit for transmitting the encoded program content to the content playback apparatus; a data rate memory for storing the data rate at which the program content is encoded; and a data rate setting unit for setting the data rate stored in the data rate memory, on the encoding unit. The wireless transmitting and receiving unit receives result information from the content playback apparatus, the result information indicating whether or not the program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus. The data rate setting unit determines, based on the result information, a data rate at which the program content is encoded, and stores the data rate in the data rate memory.
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, in the first aspect of the present disclosure, when the data rate setting unit receives result information indicating that the program content has not been correctly played back, the data rate setting unit determines to decrease the data rate, and stores the decreased data rate in the data rate memory.
According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, in the first or second aspect of the present disclosure, when the data rate setting unit receives result information indicating that the program content has been correctly played back, the data rate setting unit determines to increase the data rate, and stores the increased data rate in the data rate memory.
According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, in the first aspect of the present disclosure, the data rate memory stores a plurality of data rates. The encoding unit encodes the program content at each of the plurality of data rates. The wireless transmitting and receiving unit transmits the plurality of pieces of program content encoded at the plurality of data rates, respectively, to the content playback apparatus, and receives pieces of result information from the content playback apparatus, each of the pieces of result information indicating whether or not each of the plurality of pieces of program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus. The data rate setting unit stores the pieces of result information in the data rate memory, in association with the plurality of data rates, respectively.
According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, in the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the encoding unit encodes the program content at all those of the plurality of data rates that are associated with pieces of result information indicating that the program content has been correctly played back.
According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, in the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the encoding unit encodes the program content at the highest one of the plurality of data rates that is associated with a piece of result information indicating that the program content has been correctly played back.
According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, in one of the fourth to sixth aspects of the present disclosure, when result information associated with any of the plurality of data rates is not stored in the data rate memory, the encoding unit encodes only a portion of the program content corresponding to a part of an entire duration of the program content.
According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, in one of the first to seventh aspects of the present disclosure, For each of at least one piece of program content having been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus, the data rate memory stores therein a data rate used to encode the program content, and attribute information uniquely identifying the program content. When the data rate memory stores therein substantially same attribute information as attribute information of program content to be encoded, the data rate setting unit sets a data rate associated with the attribute information stored in the data rate memory, on the encoding unit.
According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, in the eighth aspect of the present disclosure, the attribute information includes at least one of a name of the program content, and broadcast date and time of the program content.
According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a content recording method for a content recording apparatus connected to a content playback apparatus through a wireless transmission path, the content recording apparatus provided with an encoding unit, a program content storage, and a data rate memory. The content recording method includes: setting a data rate stored in the data rate memory, on the encoding unit; encoding, by the encoding unit, program content at the set data rate; storing the encoded program content in the program content storage; wirelessly transmitting the encoded program content to the content playback apparatus; wirelessly receiving result information from the content playback apparatus, the result information indicating whether or not the program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus; and determining, based on the result information, a data rate at which the program content is encoded, and storing the data rate in the data rate memory.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, in the tenth aspect of the present disclosure, the storing includes determining to decrease the data rate, and storing the decreased data rate in the data rate memory, when receiving result information indicating that the program content has not been correctly played back.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, in the tenth or eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, the storing includes determining to increase the data rate, and storing the increased data rate in the data rate memory, when receiving result information indicating that the program content has been correctly played back.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, in the tenth aspect of the present disclosure, the data rate memory stores therein a plurality of data rates. The content recording method includes: encoding, by the encoding unit, the program content at each of the plurality of data rates; wirelessly transmitting the plurality of pieces of program content encoded at the plurality of data rates, respectively, to the content playback apparatus; wirelessly receiving pieces of result information from the content playback apparatus, each of the pieces of result information indicating whether or not each of the plurality of pieces of program content transmitted to the content playback apparatus has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus; and storing the pieces of result information in the data rate memory, in association with the plurality of data rates, respectively.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, in the thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, the content recording method includes encoding, by the encoding unit, the program content at all those of the plurality of data rates that are associated with pieces of result information indicating that the program content has been correctly played back.
According to a fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure, in the thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, the content recording method includes encoding, by the encoding unit, the program content at the highest one of the plurality of data rates that is associated with a piece of result information indicating that the program content has been correctly played back.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the present disclosure, in one of the thirteenth to fifteenth aspects of the present disclosure, the encoding includes encoding, by the encoding unit, only a portion of the program content corresponding to a part of an entire duration of the program content, when result information associated with any of the plurality of data rates is not stored in the data rate memory.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the present disclosure, in one of the tenth to sixteenth aspects of the present disclosure, for each of at least one piece of program content having been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus, the data rate memory stores therein a data rate used to encode the program content, and attribute information uniquely identifying the program content. The content recording method includes, when the data rate memory stores therein substantially same attribute information as attribute information of program content to be encoded, setting a data rate associated with the attribute information stored in the data rate memory, on the encoding unit.
According to an eighteenth aspect of the present disclosure, in the seventeenth aspect of the present disclosure, the attribute information includes at least one of a name the program content, and broadcast date and time of the program content.
According to a nineteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a content transmission system provided with: a content recording apparatus according to one of the first to the ninth aspect of the present disclosure, and a content playback apparatus, the content recording apparatus and the content playback apparatus being connected to each other through a wireless transmission path. The content playback apparatus is provided with: a wireless transmitting and receiving unit for receiving encoded program content from the content recording apparatus; a decoding unit for decoding the encoded program content for playback; and a verifying unit for generating result information indicating whether or not the program content received from the content recording apparatus has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus. The wireless transmitting and receiving unit of the content playback apparatus transmits the result information to the content recording apparatus.
A content transmission system according to the present disclosure can encode new program content at an optimal data rate, based on result information indicating that program content transmitted previously to a content playback apparatus has been correctly played back on the content playback apparatus.
According to the content transmission system according to the present disclosure, the data rate at which program content is encoded does not exceed the transmission rate of a wireless transmission path, thus preventing the necessity of re-encoding the program content. Therefore, it is possible to record program content, and simultaneously transmit the recorded program content to the content playback apparatus through the wireless transmission path, so that the content playback apparatus plays back the program content in real time.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-089866 | Apr 2011 | JP | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2012/002442 | Apr 2012 | US |
| Child | 13677689 | US |
