U.S. patent application number 15/296373 was filed with the patent office on 2017-02-02 for content list display method, content list display apparatus, content selecting and processing method, and content selecting and processing apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to Sony Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is Sony Corporation. Invention is credited to Yuichi Abe, Takatoshi Nakamura, Yoichiro Sako, Toru Sasaki, Mitsuru Takehara, Toshiro Terauchi.
Application Number | 20170031549 15/296373 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38116025 |
Filed Date | 2017-02-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170031549 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sasaki; Toru ; et
al. |
February 2, 2017 |
CONTENT LIST DISPLAY METHOD, CONTENT LIST DISPLAY APPARATUS,
CONTENT SELECTING AND PROCESSING METHOD, AND CONTENT SELECTING AND
PROCESSING APPARATUS
Abstract
A content list display method includes the step of displaying a
list of private content owned by a user and public content not
owned by the user on a screen by using a predetermined common
attribute as a search key attribute for search and display such
that a difference between the private content and the public
content can be visually recognized.
Inventors: |
Sasaki; Toru; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Sako; Yoichiro; (Tokyo, JP) ; Terauchi;
Toshiro; (Tokyo, JP) ; Nakamura; Takatoshi;
(Kanagawa, JP) ; Abe; Yuichi; (Tokyo, JP) ;
Takehara; Mitsuru; (Tokyo, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Sony Corporation |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
Sony Corporation
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
38116025 |
Appl. No.: |
15/296373 |
Filed: |
October 18, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14104949 |
Dec 12, 2013 |
9507863 |
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15296373 |
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11728548 |
Mar 26, 2007 |
8631023 |
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14104949 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/447 20190101;
G06F 16/951 20190101; G06F 16/438 20190101; G06F 3/0482
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/0482 20060101
G06F003/0482; G06F 17/30 20060101 G06F017/30 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 27, 2006 |
JP |
2006-085281 |
Claims
1. Apparatus, comprising: at least one processor configured to:
receive a selection of a first display mode or a second display
mode; and in response to receiving a selection of the first display
mode: (i) obtain data associated with one or more pieces of private
content owned by a user and data associated with one or more pieces
of public content not owned by the user; and (ii) cause the
obtained data associated with the one or more pieces of private
content and with the one or more pieces of public content to be
displayed in an order defined based at least in part on a time
attribute associated with each piece of private content and each
piece of public content; and in response to receiving a selection
of the second display mode: (i) obtain data associated with one or
more pieces of private content owned by the user, and not data
associated with any pieces of public content not owned by the user;
and (ii) cause the obtained data associated with the one or more
pieces of private content to be displayed in an order defined based
at least in part on a time attribute associated with each piece of
private content.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is
configured to: in response to receiving a selection of the first
display mode, cause the obtained data in a display range to be
initially displayed, the display range being determined based upon
the time attribute associated with each piece of private content
and each piece of public content; and in response to receiving a
change to the display range, obtain data associated with one or
more other pieces of public content.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is
configured to, in response to receiving a selection of the first
display mode, cause obtained data comprising time information and
text information associated with each piece of private content and
each piece of public content to be displayed.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is
configured to, in response to receiving a selection of the first
display mode, cause the obtained data associated with the one or
more pieces of private content and with the one or more pieces of
public content to be displayed so that the obtained data associated
with the one or more pieces of private content is visually
distinguishable from the obtained data associated with the one or
more pieces of public content.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein each piece of private content
and each piece of public content has an associated read/write
attribute, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to
employ the associated read/write attribute in causing the obtained
data associated with the one or more pieces of private content to
be visually distinguishable from the obtained data associated with
the one or more pieces of public content.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is
configured to, subsequent to receiving a selection of the first
display mode and causing the obtained data to be displayed, receive
input selecting an item of displayed data associated with a first
piece of public content, and to retrieve the first piece of public
content from storage in response to receiving the input.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is
configured to, subsequent to receiving a selection of the first
display mode and causing a first item of obtained data to be
displayed in a first manner, receive input selecting the first item
of obtained data, and cause the first item of obtained data to be
displayed in a second manner that is different than the first
manner in response to receiving the input.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is
configured to: in response to receiving a selection of the first
display mode, cause obtained data associated with a first item of
public content to be displayed; in response to receiving user input
in relation to the obtained data associated with the first item of
public content, convert the first item of public content to a first
item of private content; and in response to later receiving a
selection of the second display mode, cause obtained data
associated with the first item of private content to be
displayed.
9. A method, comprising acts of: (A) receiving a selection of a
first display mode or of a second display mode; (B) in response to
receiving a selection of the first display mode: (i) obtaining data
associated with one or more pieces of private content owned by a
user and data associated with one or more pieces of public content
not owned by the user; and (ii) causing the obtained data
associated with the one or more pieces of private content and with
the one or more pieces of public content to be displayed in an
order defined based at least in part on a time attribute associated
with each piece of private content and each piece of public
content; and (C) in response to receiving a selection of the second
display mode: (i) obtaining data associated with one or more pieces
of private content owned by the user, and not data associated with
any pieces of public content not owned by the user; and (ii)
causing the obtained data associated with the one or more pieces of
private content to be displayed in an order defined based at least
in part on a time attribute associated with each piece of private
content.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the act (B) comprises causing
the obtained data in a display range to be initially displayed, the
display range being determined based upon the time attribute
associated with each piece of private content and each piece of
public content, and in response to receiving a change to the
display range, obtaining data associated with one or more other
pieces of public content.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the act (B) comprises causing
obtained data comprising time information and text information
associated with each piece of private content and each piece of
public content to be displayed.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the act (B) comprises causing
the obtained data associated with the one or more pieces of private
content and with the one or more pieces of public content to be
displayed so that the obtained data associated with the one or more
pieces of private content is visually distinguishable from the
obtained data associated with the one or more pieces of public
content.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein each piece of private content
and each piece of public content has an associated read/write
attribute, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to
employ the associated read/write attribute in causing the obtained
data associated with the one or more pieces of private content to
be visually distinguishable from the obtained data associated with
the one or more pieces of public content.
14. The method of claim 9, wherein the act (B) comprises,
subsequent to causing the obtained data to be displayed, receiving
input selecting an item of displayed data associated with a first
piece of public content, and retrieving the first piece of public
content from storage in response to receiving the input.
15. The method of claim 9, wherein the act (B) comprises causing a
first item of the obtained data to be displayed in a first manner,
receiving input selecting the first item of obtained data, and
causing the first item of obtained data to be displayed in a second
manner that is different than the first manner in response to
receiving the input.
16. The method of claim 9, wherein the act (B) comprises causing
obtained data associated with a first item of public content to be
displayed, and in response to receiving user input in relation to
the obtained data associated with the first item of public content,
converting the first item of public content to a first item of
private content, and wherein the method further comprises, in
response to later receiving a selection of the second display mode,
causing obtained data associated with the first item of private
content to be displayed.
17. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage device
having instructions encoded thereon which, when executed by a
computing system, cause the computing system to perform a method
comprising acts of: (A) receiving a selection of a first display
mode or of a second display mode; (B) in response to receiving a
selection of the first display mode: (i) obtaining data associated
with one or more pieces of private content owned by a user and data
associated with one or more pieces of public content not owned by
the user; and (ii) causing the obtained data associated with the
one or more pieces of private content and with the one or more
pieces of public content to be displayed in an order defined based
at least in part on a time attribute associated with each piece of
private content and each piece of public content; and (C) in
response to receiving a selection of the second display mode: (i)
obtaining data associated with one or more pieces of private
content owned by the user, and not data associated with any pieces
of public content not owned by the user; and (ii) causing the
obtained data associated with the one or more pieces of private
content to be displayed in an order defined based at least in part
on a time attribute associated with each piece of private content.
Description
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/104,949, titled "CONTENT LIST DISPLAY
METHOD, CONTENT LIST DISPLAY APPARATUS, CONTENT SELECTING AND
PROCESSING METHOD, AND CONTENT SELECTING AND PROCESSING APPARATUS"
filed Dec. 12, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/728,548, titled "CONTENT LIST DISPLAY
METHOD, CONTENT LIST DISPLAY APPARATUS, CONTENT SELECTING AND
PROCESSING METHOD, AND CONTENT SELECTING AND PROCESSING APPARATUS,"
filed Mar. 26, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,631,023, which claims
priority to Japanese Patent Application No. JP2006-085281, filed
Mar. 27, 2006. Each of the documents listed above is incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a content list display
method and a content list display apparatus for displaying a list
of content, such as music, movies, and electronic books, on a
display screen. Also, the present invention relates to a content
selecting and processing method and a content selecting and
processing apparatus for selecting a specific piece of content from
the content list displayed by the content list display method and
processing the selected piece of content.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] In this specification, "content" means content information
of music, video (movies, television broadcasted programs, captured
images, and so on), electronic books (text information and still
image information of papers, novels, and magazines), guide
information, web pages, and programs (including a game program),
expressed by signals.
[0006] There has been provided a content storing and playing back
apparatus capable of storing a large amount of content in a
built-in content storing unit, such as a mass storage hard disk or
a semiconductor memory, and playing back a piece of content
selected by a user.
[0007] In such a content storing and playing back apparatus, a list
of content stored in the content storing unit is displayed so that
a user can select a piece of content from the list. Accordingly,
the user can quickly find a desired piece of content from a large
amount of content stored in the content storing unit (for example,
see Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application
Publication No. 2001-110171).
[0008] In the content storing and playing back apparatus, a new
piece of content can be captured into the content storing unit via
a network, such as the Internet (for example, see Patent Document
2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
2005-122075).
[0009] Typically, in this case, information about a list of
distributable content is transmitted from a content distributing
server. Thus, a user selects a desired piece of content from the
list and requests distribution of the selected piece of
content.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Herein, the content stored in the content storing unit is
owned by the user and can be called private content. On the other
hand, the content that exists in the distributing server and is not
yet owned by any user can be called public content.
[0011] Each of the lists described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is
displayed on a display screen of the content storing and playing
back apparatus. However, the lists are not displayed on the same
display screen at the same time, and an apparatus for displaying
the both lists on the same screen has not been provided.
[0012] This is inconvenient because it may be impossible to search
for private content and public content on the same display screen
at the same time.
[0013] The present invention is directed to providing a method and
an apparatus for solving this problem.
[0014] In order to solve the above-described problem, according to
an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a content
list display method including the step of displaying a list of
private content owned by a user and public content not owned by the
user on a screen by using a predetermined common attribute as a
search key attribute for search and display such that a difference
between the private content and the public content can be visually
recognized.
[0015] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the
private content and the public content associated with a
predetermined search key attribute are displayed on a screen such
that a difference between the both types of content can be visually
recognized. Thus, a user can select a piece of content while being
aware of the difference.
[0016] In the content list display method, data of the private
content and the public content includes main data and associated
data contributing to display of the list, the main data and the
associated data of the private content are stored in a content
storing unit of a terminal owned by the user, the main data of the
public content is not stored in the content storing unit, and the
list is displayed by using the associated data of the private
content and the public content.
[0017] Herein, content is determined to be the public content or
the private content on the basis of whether main data of the
content is stored in the content storing unit. The list is
displayed by using the associated data.
[0018] In the content list display method, data of the private
content and the public content includes main data and associated
data contributing to display of the list, and the associated data
includes distinguishing information to distinguish the private
content from the public content, the distinguishing information
being used to perform display such that a difference between the
private content and the public content can be visually
recognized.
[0019] According to the embodiment of the present invention, a list
of private content and public content is displayed on a screen by
using a predetermined attribute as a search key attribute such that
the both types of content can be distinguished from each other.
Thus, the user can easily select a piece of public content as well
as private content owned by him/her.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of a system configuration
including an audio apparatus to which a content list display
apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is
applied;
[0021] FIG. 2 shows an example of appearance of the audio apparatus
according to the embodiment;
[0022] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a
configuration of the audio apparatus according to the
embodiment;
[0023] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of associated data according
to the embodiment;
[0024] FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a main part of
the audio apparatus according to the embodiment;
[0025] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of display on a front panel of
the audio apparatus according to the embodiment;
[0026] FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate an example of display of a
content list according to the embodiment of the present
invention;
[0027] FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate an example of display of a
content list according to the embodiment of the present
invention;
[0028] FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an example of display of a
content list according to the embodiment of the present
invention;
[0029] FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C illustrate an example of display of
a content list according to the embodiment of the present
invention;
[0030] FIG. 11 shows part of a flowchart illustrating an example of
a content list display process according to the embodiment of the
present invention;
[0031] FIG. 12 shows part of the flowchart illustrating the example
of the content list display process according to the embodiment of
the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 13 shows part of the flowchart illustrating the example
of the content list display process according to the embodiment of
the present invention; and
[0033] FIG. 14 illustrates another example of the associated data
according to the embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0034] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention is
described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, song
content is used as an example of content and an audio apparatus is
used as an example of a content list display apparatus or a content
selecting and processing apparatus.
[0035] The audio apparatus according to the embodiment described
below displays a content list listing pieces of song content in the
order of date and time of release so that a user can search for a
piece of song content by using a time attribute, such as a date of
release of the song content (e.g., date of sale or date of
announcement), as a search attribute key.
[0036] FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of a system configuration
including the audio apparatus according to the embodiment.
[0037] When a user wants to obtain public content that is not owned
by him/her, the user can obtain it via a so-called package medium,
such as a disc medium including a CD (compact disc) and a DVD
(digital versatile disc) or a memory medium including a memory
card, or via a network, such as the Internet, from a content
distributing server.
[0038] The audio apparatus 1 according to this embodiment has a
function of accessing a content distributing server 2 via a network
3 and a function of reading/writing data from/on an optical disc 4
or a card memory 5, under consideration of the above-described
methods for obtaining public content.
[0039] In this embodiment, content data of song content includes
song data serving as main data and associated data, which is
described below. The audio apparatus 1 and the content distributing
server 2 include content storing units 1A and 2A, respectively, for
storing content data of the song content.
[0040] In this embodiment, after a user has obtained (purchased or
been assigned with) the public content in any method and has stored
main data (song data) of the public content as his/her possession
in the content storing unit 1A of the audio apparatus 1 of the
user, the obtained public content is managed as private content in
the audio apparatus 1 thereafter.
[0041] Note that, in the audio apparatus 1, the user can obtain
only associated data of public content without obtaining song data
as main data in this embodiment. In this state, however, the main
data is not owned by the user, and thus the public content is
managed as public content.
[0042] FIG. 2 shows an example of appearance of the audio apparatus
1 according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing
an example of a configuration of the audio apparatus 1 according to
this embodiment.
[0043] As shown in FIG. 2, the audio apparatus 1 according to this
embodiment includes a slot 7 for a disc 4, such as a CD or a DVD,
and a slot 8 for a memory card 5. The slots 7 and 8 are provided on
a side surface 6A of a cabinet 6.
[0044] An operation button group 9 including operation buttons 9A
to 9L is provided at a predetermined position of a front panel 10,
which is provided on a front surface of the cabinet 6 of the audio
apparatus 1. The operation buttons constituting the operation
button group 9 include a playback button 9A, a skip button 9B, a
volume adjusting button 9C, and a menu button 9G. The skip button
9B and the volume adjusting button 9C are so-called seesaw buttons.
The skip button 9B can indicate a skip direction, which is
described below. The volume adjusting button 9C can provide
instructions to turn up/down volume.
[0045] The front panel 10 is also provided with a content display
unit 11 including an LCD (liquid crystal display) and time axis
bars TB1 and TB2 also including an LCD. A display device in the
content display unit 11 has a relatively large screen, as shown in
FIG. 2. Each of the time axis bars TB1 and TB2 has a long and thin
screen.
[0046] As described below, images corresponding to pieces of song
content to be selected or played back (e.g., thumbnails of jacket
photos of CDs or DVDs) are displayed in the time axis bars TB1 and
TB2 and the content display unit 11. In this example, as described
below, images corresponding to a plurality of pieces of song
content near a piece selected in the time axis bar TB1 or TB2 are
displayed in the content display unit 11 in an enlarged size.
[0047] Also, the front panel 10 is provided with turning knobs,
such as a selection dial 12 and a zoom dial 13, which can be turned
by a user. The selection dial 12 is a turning knob used to change a
time-axis position in the time axis bars TB1 and TB2. The zoom dial
13 is a turning knob used to change and set a range of time axis
(maximum value of a range of display dates) to be displayed in the
time axis bars TB1 and TB2.
[0048] An example of an internal circuit configuration of the audio
apparatus 1 is shown in FIG. 3. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the
audio apparatus 1 includes a control unit 20, a hard disk device
(HDD) 22, a CD/DVD drive 23, a memory card drive 24, a network
interface 25, a display unit 26, an operation input unit 27, and an
audio controller 28, which connect to a system bus 21.
[0049] The control unit 20 controls operations of the entire audio
apparatus 1 and includes a CPU (central processing unit) 20A, a ROM
(read only memory) 20B, and a RAM (random access memory) 20C. The
CPU 20A, the ROM 20B, and the RAM 20C connect to each other via the
system bus 21 and transmit/receive data and control signals via the
system bus 21. Accordingly, the CPU 20A executes a control process
described below.
[0050] The ROM 20B stores various programs executed by the CPU 20A
(a display process, a song data decoding process, a user interface
process, a data reading/writing process, and so on), an apparatus
ID, character data, and so on. The RAM 20C is used as a work area
for executing the above-described various programs or a work area
for decoding or decompressing compressed song data. Also, the RAM
20C is used for temporarily storing data.
[0051] The HDD 22 serves as the content storing unit 1A in this
example. The content storing unit 1A of the HDD 22 includes an area
for recording main data (song data) and associated data of private
content and an area for recording associated data of public
content. As described below, public content becomes private content
after the main data (song data) thereof has been obtained and
stored in the content storing unit 1A. Thus, an area for storing
main data of public content does not exist in the content storing
unit 1A.
[0052] The CD/DVD drive 23 reads song data as main data and
associated data of song content recorded on a CD or DVD loaded
through the slot 7. The memory card drive 24 reads song data as
main data and associated data of song content recorded on the
memory card 5 loaded through the slot 8.
[0053] The read song data and associated data of the song content
are stored in the content storing unit 1A of the HDD 22 under
control by the control unit 20. Alternatively, the read song data
of the song content is transferred to the audio controller 28, is
supplied to a speaker 30 via an audio amplifier 29, and sound is
reproduced through the speaker 30 under control by the control unit
20.
[0054] During storage of song content in the content storing unit
1A, the song data is compressed to data of an ATRAC3plus (adaptive
transform acoustic coding 3 plus) format or an MP3 (MPEG audio
layer III) format, and is then recorded while being associated with
associated data. For example, identification information of the
song content (a song content ID) is used for association. The data
of the song content may be encoded at the same time.
[0055] Associated data of each piece of song content stored in the
content storing unit 1A of the HDD 22 includes not only data stored
in the CD, DVD, or memory card, but also data added in the audio
apparatus 1 and data added by the user. Part of the associated data
can be modified or changed by the user.
[0056] During playback of the song content stored in the content
storing unit 1A of the HDD 22, song data of a piece of song content
selected by the user from the stored song content is read, the read
song data is decompressed in accordance with a compression format,
and the decompressed song data is transmitted to the audio
controller 28. The audio controller 28 transmits the song data to
the amplifier 29, which converts the song data to an analog audio
signal, and the analog audio signal is supplied to the speaker 30.
Accordingly, the selected piece of song content to be played back
is output from the speaker 30, so that a listener can listen to a
desired song.
[0057] The network interface 25 connects to the content
distributing server 2 via the network 3, and obtains associated
data and song data as main data of song content from the content
distributing server 2 via the network 3.
[0058] In this embodiment, during generation of a content list,
which is used by a user to select and specify a piece of content,
the audio apparatus 1 transmits a request to the content
distributing server 2, obtains associated data about song content
in a time range to be displayed on the list (range of dates of
release), and stores the associated data in the content storing
unit 1A. Accordingly, the list is displayed.
[0059] In the audio apparatus 1, after a piece of song content
corresponding to the associated data obtained from the content
distributing server 2 has been selected from the content list and
instructions to purchase the piece of song content have been
provided, song data as main data of the selected piece of song
content is obtained from the distributing server 2, and the song
data is stored in the content storing unit 1A while being
associated with the associated data that has been obtained in
advance. At this time, information for distinguishing public
content from private content in the associated data is rewritten,
so that the piece of public content obtained from the distributing
server 2 is managed as private content.
[0060] In many cases, song data of distributed song content is
compressed. Thus, the song data is decompressed in the
above-described manner during playback and sound is output from the
speaker 30 via the audio controller 28 and the amplifier 29.
[0061] The display unit 26 displays various data on the basis of
control by the control unit 20. This is described in detail below.
In the display unit 26, data to be displayed supplied to the
display unit 26 via the system bus 21 is converted to a signal
adaptable to a display device connected to a video controller 261
and is output under control by the video controller 261.
[0062] A content display unit 262 (the content display unit 11
shown in FIG. 2) displays thumbnails of pieces of content and
associated data on a screen of the display device so that the user
can easily search for and select a song.
[0063] A time axis bar display unit 263 includes the time axis bars
TB1 and TB2 shown in FIG. 2 as display devices. The time axis bar
display unit 263 receives data to be displayed from the video
controller 261 and displays small thumbnails of many pieces of
content in the time axis bars TB1 and TB2 in a time axis order, as
described below.
[0064] In this embodiment, the time axis bar display unit 263
displays a list of all pieces of song content stored in the content
storing unit 1A or many pieces of song content selected from the
song content stored in the content storing unit 1A in the time axis
bars TB1 and TB2 in the order of date of release. With this
arrangement, the position of each piece of song content is clearly
visible, so that a song can be easily searched for and
selected.
[0065] The operation input unit 27 includes the operation button
group 9 to accept an operation by the user, the selection dial 12,
and the zoom dial 13. As described above, the operation button
group 9 includes the playback/pause button 9A, the skip button 9B,
the volume adjusting button 9C, the menu button 9G, and other
various mode selecting buttons.
[0066] The selection dial 12 and the zoom dial 13 obtain an
operation output according to a rotation angle or rotation number
made by a dial operation (rotating operation) by the user from a
rotary encoder and input the operation output to the CPU 20A via an
input interface 271.
[0067] A dial operation performed on the selection dial 12 is an
operation of changing a position on the time axis in the time axis
bars TB1 and TB2 (or changing a selected piece of content). A dial
operation performed on the zoom dial 13 is an operation of
extending/narrowing the range of display dates in the time axis
bars TB1 and TB2.
[0068] If the zoom dial 13 is turned in a direction to extend the
range of display dates, the size of thumbnails of song content
displayed in the time axis bars TB1 and TB2 in the time axis
direction reduces, and a maximum number of thumbnails of song
content displayed in the time axis bars TB1 and TB2 increases. On
the other hand, if the zoom dial 13 is turned in a direction to
narrow the range of display dates, the size of thumbnails of song
content displayed in the time axis bars TB1 and TB2 in the time
axis direction increases, and the maximum number of thumbnails of
song content displayed in the time axis bars TB1 and TB2
decreases.
[0069] <Associated Data of Song Content>
[0070] Associated data of song content is data related to each
piece of song content, such as a title and an artist name of the
song content. As described above, the associated data is stored in
the content storing unit 1A of the HDD 22 while being associated
with a song content ID (identification data) of a corresponding
piece of song content. In private content, song data as main data
of the song content is stored while being applied with a song
content ID. Thus, associated data of respective pieces of song
content are associated with song data by song content IDs that are
applied in common.
[0071] As described above, the associated data can be automatically
obtained when content data of song content is read from a package
medium. Alternatively, only the associated data can be obtained
from the content distributing server. Also, associated data that is
transmitted together with song data can be obtained at download of
content data of song content. Furthermore, the user can
additionally input associated data or edit obtained associated data
by changing it.
[0072] In this embodiment, the associated data includes the items
shown in FIG. 4.
[0073] (1) Song content ID: A code that can be uniquely identified
in at least the audio apparatus 1.
[0074] (2) Access path: It indicates a source of song content. For
example, an identification code such as ISRC (international
standard recording code) may be used if the source is a medium such
as a CD or DVD, whereas a URL (uniform resource locator) may be
used if the song content is obtained via a network. This item is
optional.
[0075] (3) Content file path: An access path of song data (main
data) of the song content stored in the HDD 22.
[0076] (4) File name: The file name of the song content. It may be
included in the content file path.
[0077] (5) Song title: The title or song name of the song
content.
[0078] (6) Album name: The name of an album including the song
content. Nothing is described if the song content is single.
[0079] (7) Artist name: The name of a singer, a player, a
conductor, a songwriter, a composer, or an arranger.
[0080] (8) Duration of play
[0081] (9) Jacket image data path: Access path to an image of a
jacket photo or a file of a thumbnail thereof.
[0082] (10) Date of release: Date of announcement or sale of the
song. It may be a date of purchase.
[0083] (11) Read/write attribute: The details are described
below.
[0084] (12) Access permission information: It is optional. The
details are described below.
[0085] (13) Test-listen data file path: It is optional. Access path
to test-listen data of song content obtained from the content
distributing server 2.
[0086] Among the above-described items of associated data, "song
title", "album name", and "artist name" can be obtained from a CDDB
(compact disc database) server via a network. In the "date of
release", "year of issue" or "year of sale" can be obtained from
the CDDB. However, when month and date are to be also recorded as
the associated data, the year, month, and date of release printed
on a package are input by the user through the operation button
group 9 or manually input from a personal computer via the network
interface 25.
[0087] "Duration of play" can be obtained from TOC (table of
content) information in a package medium or the like. "Song content
ID", "access path", "content file path", "file name", and "jacket
image data path" are automatically or semi-automatically (partly
through a manual operation) determined when content data of the
song content is stored in the HDD 22.
[0088] <Read/Write Attribute>
[0089] In FIG. 4, as shown on the right side of the list of items
of associated data, a "read/write attribute" is a read/write
permission attribute to main data (song data) of song content.
[0090] The read/write attribute also has an attribute of "owner",
"group", and "others", as shown in the figure.
[0091] "Owner" represents an owner of the audio apparatus 1 or the
distributing server. In some cases, "owner" represents the audio
apparatus 1 or the distributing server itself.
[0092] "Group" represents a plurality of owners (e.g., a family) of
the audio apparatus 1 or a group of apparatuses assigned with the
apparatus ID of the audio apparatus 1.
[0093] "Others" represents a person or apparatus other than the
"owner" and "group".
[0094] In the read/write attribute, a read permission attribute
(represented by "r" in FIG. 4) and a write permission attribute
(represented by "w" in FIG. 4) can be set to the attribute of each
of "owner", "group", and "others". Therefore, the read/write
attribute includes six attributes.
[0095] Herein, "read" of the read permission attribute literally
means read from a recording medium (the content storing unit 1A of
the HDD 22 or the content storing unit 2A of the content
distributing server 2). "Write" of the write permission attribute
means move or deletion of content data of the song content.
[0096] Herein, the meaning of the attribute of "owner", "group",
and "others" of the read/write attribute is for the owner of the
song data and associated data of the song content. Note that the
meaning is different for the owner or user of the audio apparatus
1, the owner of the content distributing server 2, and the owner of
copyright of song data.
[0097] In this embodiment, each of the read permission attribute
"r" and the write permission attribute "w" is data of 1 bit. "r=1"
means that read is permitted, "r=0" means that read is not
permitted, "w=1" means that write is permitted, and "w=0" means
that write is not permitted.
[0098] Therefore, a value of the read/write attribute is
represented by data of 6 bits. For example, as shown in the center
of the right side in FIG. 4, if the value of the read/write
attribute is "110000", the owner is permitted to read and write
content data of the song content attached with this read/write
attribute, but the group and others are not permitted. If the value
of the read/write attribute is "111010", everyone is permitted to
read, and only the owner is permitted to perform move and
deletion.
[0099] That is, if both the read permission attribute "r" and the
write permission attribute "w" are "1" in the owner attribute, the
corresponding piece of song content is owned by the owner as
private content.
[0100] On the other hand, in the read permission attribute and the
write permission attribute "w" of the owner attribute, if "r=0 and
w=0" or if "r=1 and w=0", the corresponding piece of song content
is public content.
[0101] Accordingly, the read/write attribute can be used as
distinguishing information for distinguishing private content from
public content.
[0102] When associated data is stored in the content storing unit
1A, information indicating whether main data is stored in the
content storing unit 1A can be used as distinguishing information
for distinguishing private content from public content.
Alternatively, the read/write attribute together with information
indicating whether main data is stored in the content storing unit
1A in a case where associated data is stored in the content storing
unit 1A may be used as the distinguishing information.
[0103] The definition of "group" can be stored in part of the HDD
22 in the audio apparatus 1 on the user side and can be performed
on entire song content stored in the audio apparatus 1.
Alternatively, the definition of "group" can be provided in another
field of the associated data and can be performed on respective
pieces of the song content. The definition of "group" is the same
in the distributing server, but is made by information indicating a
set of group members.
[0104] The definition of "others" need not be specially recorded.
"Others" is interpreted as people other than "owner" and "group",
that is, "NOT owner" or "NOT group".
[0105] <Access Permission Information>
[0106] When the audio apparatus 1 is used by a plurality of users
(e.g., members of a family), a user ID of a user who is permitted
to access song content and a user ID of a user who is not permitted
to access the song content are set as access permission
information. For example, if there is a piece of song content which
one can access and which should not be accessed by the other users,
his/her user ID is set to a permitted user ID as access permission
information of the piece of song content, and user IDs of the other
members of family are set to a non-permitted user ID. Of course,
access can be limited by using the group attribute of the
above-described read/write attribute without using the access
permission information.
[0107] By setting limits so that a user can search for a piece of
song content in a distributing site but cannot transmit a request
to purchase the piece of song content, it can be prevented that a
user's child purchases song content without discretion.
[0108] The access permission information can be set for the entire
content data of the song content stored in the apparatus, as the
above-described group attribute. Alternatively, the access
permission information can be set for each piece of song content by
providing the information for each piece of associated data, as
shown in FIG. 4.
[0109] <Example of Display of Content List>
[0110] FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram mainly showing function
processing units of the control unit 20 to display a content list.
As described above, in this example, a list is displayed by
arranging thumbnails of pieces of song content in the order of date
of release within a specified range of period, the date of release
of each piece of song content being used as a search key
attribute.
[0111] In this embodiment, the content storing unit 1A of the HDD
22 includes a main data (song data) accumulating unit 1Aa and an
associated data accumulating unit 1Ab. The control unit 20
includes, as the function processing units for displaying a content
list, a content associated data managing unit 201, a content main
data managing unit 202, a display condition setting unit 203, a
display arranging unit 204, and a public content data obtaining
unit 205.
[0112] The content associated data managing unit 201 manages
associated data accumulated in the associated data accumulating
unit 1Ab of the content storing unit 1A and has a function of
reading and writing the associated data.
[0113] The content main data managing unit 202 manages song data as
main data of song content accumulated in the main data accumulating
unit 1Aa of the content storing unit 1A and has a function of
reading and writing the song data.
[0114] The display condition setting unit 203 sets a display
condition of a content list in accordance with an operation input
by a user through the operation button group 9, the selection dial
12, or the zoom dial 13 in the operation input unit 27, and
supplies the set condition to the display arranging unit 204.
[0115] The display condition set here includes, as described below,
a range of period (a range of dates) within which pieces of content
are listed in the order of date of release as a search key
attribute, information about a position of a focus cursor, and a
mode condition including a mode of displaying a content list of
only private content (hereinafter referred to as a private mode)
and a mode of displaying a content list of private content and
public content (hereinafter referred to as a mixed mode).
[0116] The display arranging unit 204 supplies information about a
range of display period to the content associated data managing
unit 201 on the basis of the display condition received from the
display condition setting unit 203, and requests associated data
necessary for displaying a content list.
[0117] The content associated data managing unit 201 receives the
information about the display condition (information about the
range of display period) from the display arranging unit 204, reads
associated data necessary for displaying the content list, such as
data of thumbnails of song content released in the range of the
display period, and supplies the read data to the display arranging
unit 204.
[0118] In this embodiment, the associated data accumulating unit
1Ab stores information about thumbnails created by using image
information, such as jacket photos of private content and public
content, in the form of a thumbnail file.
[0119] The content associated data managing unit 201 reads and
obtains thumbnails of respective pieces of music content required
for displaying a content list from the thumbnail file stored in the
associated data accumulating unit 1Ab by referring to the
above-described jacket image data path in the associated data, and
supplies the obtained thumbnails to the display arranging unit
204.
[0120] The content associated data managing unit 201 also reads
other associated data than the thumbnails, such as titles and dates
of release to be displayed on the content list, from the associated
data accumulating unit 1Ab and supplies the read data to the
display arranging unit 204.
[0121] The thumbnails of respective pieces of song content are
created at the time of obtaining associated data of the song
content through the CD/DVD drive 23, the memory card drive 24, or
the network interface 25 and storing the associated data in the
associated data accumulating unit 1Ab, and the created thumbnails
are stored in the associated data accumulating unit 1Ab.
[0122] Of course, the thumbnails may be created by accessing the
jacket image file of the song content stored in the associated data
accumulating unit 1Ab at a process of displaying the content list.
If data of the thumbnails is included in the associated data, the
data of the thumbnails is used.
[0123] When the display mode of the content list is set to the
mixed mode, the display arranging unit 204 instructs the public
content data obtaining unit 205 to obtain associated data of public
content at an appropriate timing, e.g., at initial display of the
content list or at change of the range of display period.
[0124] In response to the instructions from the display arranging
unit 204, the public content data obtaining unit 205 accesses the
content distributing server 2 via the network interface 25 in order
to obtain the associated data of the public content, and then
supplies the obtained associated data to the content associated
data managing unit 201.
[0125] The content associated data managing unit 201 receives the
associated data from the public content associated data obtaining
unit 205 and stores the associated data in the associated data
accumulating unit 1Ab.
[0126] Although not shown in FIG. 5, when the content associated
data managing unit 201 obtains associated data together with main
data from the CD/DVD drive 23 or the memory card drive 24, the
content associated data managing unit 201 stores the obtained
associated data in the associated data accumulating unit 1Ab.
[0127] When storing the associated data, the content associated
data managing unit 201 performs control so that the same associated
data of music content as the associated data of music content
(public content and private content) that has already been
accumulated in the associated data accumulating unit 1Ab is not
redundantly accumulated.
[0128] In order to avoid overlaps of associated data in the
associated data accumulating unit 1Ab, a method of abandoning new
associated data is preferably used, because part of the accumulated
associated data can be added or modified by a user, and the
addition and modification should be maintained. However, when main
data is newly stored as private content, for example, the
associated data stored in the associated data accumulating unit 1Ab
may be updated with newly obtained associated data.
[0129] When associated data of private content is obtained,
determination of overlap of associated data may be made only on the
associated data of private content. When associated data of public
content is obtained, determination of overlap of associated data
may be made only on the associated data of public content.
[0130] The display arranging unit 204 includes a content display
unit arranging unit 2041 and a time axis bar arranging unit 2042,
generates display information of a content list according to
information of a display condition supplied from the display
condition setting unit 203 by using the associated data obtained
from the content associated data managing unit 201, and supplies
the generated display information to the display unit 26.
[0131] The time axis bar arranging unit 2042 generates image
information of the content list to be displayed on the content
display unit 11 by using the display condition supplied from the
display condition setting unit 203, the thumbnail data supplied
from the content associated data managing unit 201, and other data,
and supplies the generated image information to the display unit
26, so that the image information is displayed in the time axis
bars TB1 and TB2.
[0132] In this example, the time axis bar arranging unit 2042
generates information to be displayed in the time axis bars TB1 and
TB2, that is, image information of the content list listing small
thumbnails of music content arranged in the time order of the date
of release within the set range of period, by using the date of
release of the music content as a search key attribute.
[0133] Furthermore, in this example, the time axis bar arranging
unit 2042 refers to the above-described read/write attribute in the
associated data in order to determine whether each piece of song
content is public content or private content, and displays
thumbnails of private content in color and thumbnails of public
content in monochrome so that the user can visually distinguish the
both types of content from each other.
[0134] The method for enabling the user to visually distinguish
public content from private content is not limited to the method of
displaying the thumbnails in color and monochrome. For example,
thumbnails of different sizes or shapes may be used. Specifically,
the thumbnails of private content may be larger than those of
public content. Alternatively, the shape of the thumbnails of
public content may be square, whereas the shape of the thumbnails
of private content may be hexagon. Also, modifications applied to
the thumbnails may be changed.
[0135] Alternatively, grayscale display or grayout display may be
adopted. Alternatively, the thumbnails of private content may be
surrounded by a bold frame, and those of public content may be
surrounded by nothing. In this way, various modifications can be
adopted.
[0136] Likewise, the content display unit arranging unit 2041
generates image information of the content list to be displayed in
the content display unit 11 by using the display condition supplied
from the display condition setting unit 203, the thumbnail data
supplied from the content associated data managing unit 201, and
other data, and supplies the generated image information to the
display unit 26. In this embodiment, the content list displayed in
the content display unit 11 is a list of thumbnails of pieces of
content near a focus cursor in the time axis bars TB1 and TB2.
[0137] That is, the content display unit arranging unit 2041
displays enlarged thumbnails of part of content near the focus
cursor among the small thumbnails in the content list displayed in
the time axis bars TB1 and TB2, and also displays details of
associated information, such as titles of content.
[0138] As described above, the time axis bar arranging unit 2042
displays smaller thumbnails than those displayed in the content
display unit 11 in the time axis bars TB1 and TB2. For this
purpose, in this embodiment, the smaller thumbnails are also
generated and are stored in the thumbnail file in the associated
data accumulating unit 1Ab. The time axis bar arranging unit 2042
performs display in the time axis bars TB1 and TB2 by using the
smaller thumbnails supplied from the associated data accumulating
unit 1Ab.
[0139] The smaller thumbnails may not be included in the thumbnail
file in the associated data accumulating unit 1Ab. In that case,
the smaller thumbnails may be generated in the time axis bar
arranging unit 2042 on the basis of the obtained thumbnails for the
content display unit 11.
[0140] In this embodiment, if a specific piece of song content is
focused on in the content display unit 11, a predetermined part of
the song data of the piece, such as a head or climax, is played
back, which helps the user to determine which song is currently
selected.
[0141] Accordingly, in this embodiment, the display arranging unit
204 supplies information of a song content ID of the piece of song
content selected by a focus cursor and information of a content
file path or information of test-listen data file path to the
content main data managing unit 202.
[0142] If the piece of song content identified by the song content
ID received from the display arranging unit 204 is private content,
the content main data managing unit 202 reads the predetermined
part of the main data (song data) indicated by the content file
path from the main data accumulating unit 1Aa and transmits the
part to the audio controller 28 so that the predetermined part is
played back.
[0143] In this embodiment, if test-listen data exists in the public
content obtained from the content distributing server 2, the public
content data obtaining unit 205 obtains the test-listen data at the
same time of obtaining the associated data thereof and supplies the
test-listen data to the content main data managing unit 202. The
content main data managing unit 202 stores the received test-listen
data in a test-listen data storing area of the main data
accumulating unit 1Aa while associating it with a song content
ID.
[0144] If the piece of song content identified by the song content
ID received from the display arranging unit 204 is public content,
the content main data managing unit 202 reads test-listen data of
the piece of song content from the test-listen data storing area
indicated by the test-listen data file path in the test-listen data
storing area in the main data accumulating unit 1Aa and supplies
the test-listen data to the audio controller 28. Accordingly, the
test-listen data is played back through the speaker 30.
[0145] If a purchase request is input by the user through the
operation input unit 27 during playback of the test-listen data,
the purchase request is transmitted to the content main data
managing unit 202 via the display condition setting unit 203 and
the display arranging unit 204.
[0146] Upon receiving the purchase request, the content main data
managing unit 202 transmits a request for obtaining main data of
the currently listened public content to the public content data
obtaining unit 205. Accordingly, the public content data obtaining
unit 205 transmits a request for obtaining main data of the song
content to the content distributing server 2 via the network
interface 25 in order to obtain the main data, and transmits the
main data to the content main data managing unit 202.
[0147] After receiving the main data of the public content, the
content main data managing unit 202 stores the main data in the
main data accumulating unit 1Aa while associating the main data
with the song content ID, and notifies the content associated data
managing unit 201 of the storage.
[0148] The content associated data managing unit 201 receives the
notification and rewrites the read/write attribute in the
associated data of the song content from public content to private
content. That is, the owner attribute of the read/write attribute
is rewritten from "10" to "11".
[0149] Accordingly the song content that was public content is
managed as private content in the audio apparatus 1.
[0150] If the selected piece of public content does not have
test-listen data, the presence/absence of the test-listen data
being determined on the basis of the presence/absence of the
test-listen data file path in the associated data, the display
arranging unit 204 does not transmit the corresponding song content
ID to the content main data managing unit 202, but allows the
content display unit 11 to display a mark, characters, or icon
representing no test-listen data, so as to notify the user of
it.
[0151] <Example of Display of Content List>
[0152] FIG. 6 shows an example of display of a content list. The
example shown in FIG. 6 shows the private mode. As described above,
the front panel 10 of the audio apparatus 1 according to this
embodiment is provided with the content display unit 11 and the
time axis bars TB1 and TB2.
[0153] In the associated data accumulating unit 1Ab of the content
storing unit 1A of the HDD 22, information about a date of sale of
each piece of song content is recoded in a "date of release" field
of associated data of the piece of song content.
[0154] In the example shown in FIG. 6, the private mode is set by
the user, and thus the control unit 20 reads the associated data of
only private content from the associated data accumulating unit 1Ab
of the HDD 22. Whether the associated data belongs to private
content can be determined by referring to the read/write attribute
of the associated data. Alternatively, a determination of whether
content is private content can be made by determining whether the
main data having the same song content ID as that of the associated
data exists in the content storing unit 1A.
[0155] The control unit 20 obtains thumbnails of pieces of the
private content on the basis of the associated data of the private
content read from the associated data accumulating unit 1Ab of the
content storing unit 1A, and arranges (sorts) small thumbnails of
the thumbnails in the time axis bar TB1 in the order of the date of
release, that is, in the order of the date of sale in this example.
In this embodiment, thumbnails of the private content are displayed
in color.
[0156] In this embodiment, the time axis bar TB2 is not used in the
private mode. If there are pieces of content having the same date
of release, those pieces of content are further sorted on the basis
of another attribute, such as a title.
[0157] Accordingly, small thumbnails of the pieces of private
content owned by the user are arranged in the time axis bar TB1 in
the order of date of sale.
[0158] Only "the year of release" may be recorded in the "date of
release" field of the associated data. In that case, the thumbnails
may be sorted by applying the first day (January 1) or the last day
(December 31) of the year or a random date (this is not recorded in
the associated data).
[0159] The number of displayable thumbnails is determined depending
on the display ability (resolution) of the time axis bar TB1. If
the display ability is poor, rectangles or line segments drawn with
colors of high distribution among dot colors constituting the
thumbnails may be displayed instead of the thumbnails.
[0160] If many of the pieces of song content stored in the content
storing unit 1A are to be displayed, only the pieces of song
content that can be displayed on the time axis bar TB1 may be
displayed in the list. Alternatively, the pieces of song content to
be displayed may be reduced by increasing the search key attribute
for displaying the list, for example, by adding a genre to the time
attribute of date of release as the search key attribute.
[0161] In the time axis bar TB1 shown in FIG. 6, thumbnails of n
pieces of song content: song content pieces CA1 to CAn, are
displayed in a specified range of display dates.
[0162] A triangle mark TX1, indicating a start point of the range
of display dates corresponding to the time axis bar TB1 at a lower
part of the content display unit 11, indicates that the year of
release of the song content piece CA1 at the start point of the
specified range of display dates is 1968. Also, a triangle mark
TX3, indicating an end point of the range of display dates
corresponding to the time axis bar TB1 at the lower part of the
content display unit 11, indicates that the year of release of the
song content piece CAn at the end point of the specified range of
display dates is 1990.
[0163] A triangle mark TX2 indicates a position of a date of
release of a song content piece that is currently focused on in the
time axis bar TB1, and moves in accordance with the movement of a
focus cursor frame FC2 (described below) on the time axis bar TB1.
The date of release of the song content piece that is currently
focused on is displayed on the right side of the triangle mark
TX2.
[0164] In FIG. 6, thumbnails are displayed in the time axis bar TB1
without gaps therebetween, which implies that the time axis between
the triangle marks TX1 and TX3 is not linearly positioned. Of
course, the time axis may be linearly positioned, that is, a width
corresponding to one year may be uniformly displayed, and the
display positions of the thumbnails on the time axis bar TB1 may be
determined by associating them to the time axis.
[0165] Several thumbnails are displayed in the content display unit
11 with a size, resolution, and color of higher visibility than
that in the time axis bar TB1. In FIG. 6, five thumbnails are
displayed. The five thumbnails in the content display unit 11 are
displayed in conjunction with the thumbnails of pieces of song
content specified by the cursor frame FC2, which indicates a
focused position on the time axis bar TB1.
[0166] The cursor frame FC2 focuses a width corresponding to five
thumbnails, and also focuses the center thumbnail in the five
thumbnails as a currently-selected piece of song content. The five
thumbnails focused by the cursor frame FC2 are displayed in the
content display unit 11 with a size, resolution, and color of
higher visibility than that in the time axis bar TB1.
[0167] This cursor frame FC2 can be horizontally moved by turning
the selection dial 12 clockwise or counterclockwise. In accordance
with a turn of the selection dial 12, the five thumbnails displayed
in the content display unit 11 are horizontally scrolled. In other
words, the inside of the cursor frame FC2 is a miniature of the
content display unit 11.
[0168] In the content display unit 11, a cursor frame FC1 is
further displayed for the center thumbnail among the five
thumbnails displayed in the content display unit 11. The cursor
frame FC1 indicates a currently focused piece of song content.
[0169] In the content display unit 11, the year of release and the
title of the focused piece of song content are displayed in a
display space UL1 and the artist name thereof is displayed in a
display space UL2. Of course, if the year, month, and date of
release are recorded in the "date of release" field of the
associated data, the year, month, and date of release may be
displayed in the display space UL1. Then, part of song data of the
focused piece of song content is played back, so that the user can
recognize the focused piece of song content.
[0170] If a predetermined user operation is performed, more
specifically, if the selection dial 12 is pressed to the front
panel 10 or the operation button 9A is pressed under a state where
the specific piece of song content is specified by the cursor frame
FC1, the operation causes instructions to play back the piece of
song content focused by the focus frame FC1. Accordingly, the
control unit 20 sequentially reads the song data as main data of
the piece of song content from the content storing unit 1A from the
top, and plays back the piece of song content.
[0171] In the content display unit 11, the position of the cursor
frame FC1 is fixed at the center. If the selection dial 12 is
turned and the position of the cursor frame FC2 changes in the time
axis bar TB1, the thumbnails of five pieces of song content
displayed in the content display unit 11 are scrolled in the
direction opposite to the movement direction of the cursor frame
FC2, so that the thumbnail focused by the focus frame FC1
changes.
[0172] As described above, FIG. 6 shows display of content in the
private mode, which is a mode of displaying a list of pieces of
song content whose main data and associated data are stored in the
content storing unit 1A. In this embodiment, pieces of song content
stored in a CD or DVD loaded in the CD/DVD drive 23 of the audio
apparatus 1 or pieces of song content stored in a memory card
loaded in the memory card drive at the time are also targets to be
displayed in the list.
[0173] Also, the private mode is a mode enabling a user (owner of
the content) to display a list of songs filtered on the basis of a
genre or the like.
[0174] In the private mode, all pieces of song content displayed in
the content display unit 11 and the time axis bar TB1 are private
content, and the thumbnails thereof are displayed in color. In the
figures, colors are not actually shown, but color display is
expressed by a shaded double frame around each thumbnail.
[0175] FIGS. 7A and 7B expressly show the color display. FIG. 7A
shows a list of thumbnails of pieces of song content displayed in
the content display unit 11 shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7B shows a list
of thumbnails in the time axis bar TB1 shown in FIG. 6.
[0176] As shown in FIG. 7A, a plurality of (five) thumbnails having
a favorable visibility are displayed in color in the content
display unit 11. Also, as shown in FIG. 7B, the five thumbnails and
other thumbnails of pieces of song content arranged in the order of
date of release are displayed in color in a smaller size in the
time axis bar TB1.
[0177] Hereinafter, display of a content list in the mixed mode is
described. The mixed mode is a mode of displaying a list of both
private content and public content.
[0178] As described above, the private content is content stored in
the content storing unit 1A of the audio apparatus 1 or song
content stored in a medium loaded into the CD/DVD drive 23 or the
memory card drive 24. In other words, the private content is
content owned by a user.
[0179] The public content is content stored in the content storing
unit 2A of the content distributing server 2. The user can access
the associated data of the public content.
[0180] In this embodiment, in order to display a list in the mixed
mode, associated data of public content is stored in the content
storing unit 1A and then thumbnails of pieces of the public content
are displayed. Instead of storing the associated data in the
content storing unit 1A, the associated data obtained from the
distributing server may be stored in the work area RAM 20C so as to
be used for displaying a list. Therefore, storage of associated
data of public content in the content storing unit 1A of the audio
apparatus 1 is not a requirement of public content.
[0181] FIGS. 8A and 8B show an example of a content list displayed
in the mixed mode. FIG. 8A shows an example in the content display
unit 11, and FIG. 8B shows an example in the time axis bar TB1.
[0182] In the mixed mode, a form of displaying thumbnails of
private content is different from that of public content so that
private content can be easily distinguished from public content, as
described above. In this embodiment, thumbnails of private content
are displayed in color, whereas thumbnails of public content are
displayed in monochrome. In FIGS. 8A and 8B, color thumbnails are
shown with a shaded double frame as in FIGS. 7A and 7B, whereas
monochrome thumbnails are shown with a singe frame.
[0183] As described above, if the cursor frame FC2 on the time axis
bar TB1 is moved to the left in the state shown in FIG. 8B, the
thumbnails are scrolled to the right, with the focus cursor frame
FC1 in the content display unit 11 being kept at the center, as
shown in FIG. 9A. The scrolling causes a change of the thumbnail of
a focused piece of song content. Accordingly, the associated data
displayed in the display spaces UL1 and UL2 also changes at the
same time.
[0184] In the example shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the thumbnail of
the newly focused piece of song content is displayed in monochrome,
and thus the user can recognize that the piece of song content is
public content. At this time, only the associated data has been
obtained about the public content, and thus the title and artist
name thereof can be displayed as shown in FIG. 9A.
[0185] When the focused piece of song content is public content, a
request for performing test-listen and then purchasing it may be
typically generated. In this embodiment, if the focused piece of
song content is public content and if the focused piece has
test-listen data, the test-listen data is read from a data file in
the main data accumulating unit 1Aa and is output from the speaker
30, so as to be provided to the user.
[0186] If test-listen data exists when associated data of public
content is obtained, the test-listen data may not be obtained at
the time and stored in the test-listen data storing area of the
main data accumulating unit 1Aa. In that case, when a piece of
public content is focused by the focus cursor frame FC1 in the
content display unit 11, a request command of requesting
distribution of test-listen data of the focused piece of public
content may be transmitted to the content distributing server 2, so
that the content distributing server 2 may receive the request
command and transmit the test-listen data to the audio apparatus
1.
[0187] In a case where a "test-listen data" field indicating
presence/absence of test-listen data is provided in the associated
data of obtained public content, if it can be determined that the
"test-listen data" is prepared in the distributing server at the
time when the associated data is obtained, a "test-listen" icon
indicating existence of the test-listen data may be displayed at a
part of the content display unit 11, e.g., near the display space
UL1, at the same time when the piece of public content is focused
on in the content display unit 11. Then, a request command of
requesting the test-listen data may be transmitted upon press on
the operation button 9H by the user.
[0188] Furthermore, even when the "test-listen data" field is not
provided in the associated data of the public content, a query
command of querying whether the test-listen data is prepared may be
transmitted to the content distributing server 2 via the network
interface 25 at the timing when a piece of public content is
focused, and the "test-listen" icon may be displayed at a
predetermined position of the content display unit 11 upon
reception of a response saying that the test-listen data can be
transmitted from the content distributing server 2.
[0189] As described above, the received test-listen data is stored
in the content storing unit 1A of the HDD 22, and the access path
thereof is recorded in the "test-listen data" field of the
associated data. Accordingly, the test-listen data can be quickly
played back if the corresponding piece of public content is focused
on next time.
[0190] After the test-listen, the user presses the operation button
9I if the user wants to purchase the song. Accordingly, a purchase
command is transmitted to the distributing server from the audio
apparatus 1 together with a user ID (user identifier) or an
apparatus ID (apparatus identifier). Upon completion of user
authentication, normal song data and associated data of the piece
of song content are distributed.
[0191] The audio apparatus 1 receives the distributed data, stores
the song data in the main data accumulating unit 1Aa of the content
storing unit 1A of the HDD 22, generates the associated data as
shown in FIG. 4, stores the associated data in the associated data
accumulating unit 1Ab of the content storing unit 1A, and deletes
the test-listen data and the associated data that have been stored
therein.
[0192] Also, the monochrome thumbnail displayed in the content
display unit 11 and the time axis bar TB1 is replaced by a color
thumbnail. That is, the purchased song data is dealt with as
private content thereafter.
[0193] FIGS. 10A to 10C show another example of display of content
in the mixed mode. In the example shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C, a list
of private content and a list of public content are individually
displayed in the two time axis bars TB1 and TB2.
[0194] FIG. 10A shows an example of display in the content display
unit 11. This is totally the same as in the case where content is
displayed in the mixed mode by using only the time axis bar TB1, as
described above with reference to FIGS. 8A to 9B.
[0195] However, in this example of display of content in the mixed
mode, thumbnails of only private content are displayed in the time
axis bar TB1 as shown in FIG. 10B, and thumbnails of only public
content are displayed in the time axis bar TB2, as shown in FIG.
10C.
[0196] As in the above-described example, thumbnails of private
content in the time axis bar TB1 are displayed in color, whereas
thumbnails of public content in the time axis bar TB2 are displayed
in monochrome.
[0197] In this example, as shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C, thumbnails
are displayed in one of the time axis bars TB1 and TB2 at the same
time axis positions, so that the respective time axis positions are
clear between private content and public content. In FIGS. 10B and
10C, a space where no picture is displayed in the time axis bars
TB1 and TB2 indicates that no content exists.
[0198] In this case, the cursor frame FC2 that is additionally
displayed on the time axis bar TB1 and a cursor frame FC3 that is
additionally displayed on the time axis bar TB2 are horizontally
moved in perfect synchronization with each other in accordance with
a turn of the selection dial 12.
[0199] According to the example shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C, private
content and public content are displayed in different time axis
bars in the mixed mode, and thus the both types of content can be
distinguished from each other more clearly.
[0200] In the example shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C, private content is
displayed in the time axis bar TB1 and public content is displayed
in the time axis bar TB2.
[0201] Alternatively, public content may be displayed in the time
axis bar TB1 and private content may be displayed in the time axis
bar TB2.
[0202] In the example shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C, too, private
content is displayed in color and public content is displayed in
monochrome. However, both private content and public content may be
displayed in color or monochrome.
[0203] <Operation Flow of Mixed Mode>
[0204] Hereinafter, an operation of the control unit 20 of the
audio apparatus 1 in the above-described mixed mode is described
with reference to the flowchart shown in FIGS. 11 to 13.
[0205] First, the control unit 20 reads a preset initial value,
that is, a range of display dates or a range of display dates at
the end of a previous display of a content list, from the HDD 22
(step S101).
[0206] Herein, at purchase of the audio apparatus 1, no content
data of song content is stored in the content storing unit 1A of
the HDD 22, and thus the initial value is arbitrarily set, for
example, "from Jan. 1, 1950 to Dec. 31, 2010".
[0207] After purchase of the audio apparatus 1, content data of
song content is stored as private content in the content storing
unit 1A of the HDD 22. Until the total of the number of pieces of
associated data of the private content and the number of pieces of
associated data of public content obtained from the content
distributing server 2 exceeds a maximum number of songs that can be
displayed in the time axis bar TB1, for example, 40, the range of
display dates may be updated in accordance with the oldest and
newest dates of release of the song content. In accordance with the
update of the range, the start point TX1 and the end point TX3 of
the range of display dates on the time axis bars TB1 and TB2 are
updated.
[0208] If the total number exceeds the maximum number of pieces of
content that can be displayed in the time axis bars TB1 and TB2,
songs in an arbitrary range in the range of display dates are
selected and displayed. Furthermore, if the maximum number of
pieces of content that can be displayed in the list in the time
axis bars TB1 and TB2 is to be increased or decreased, the range of
dates can be changed by operating the zoom dial 13, as described
above. Of course, it becomes difficult to display thumbnails if the
maximum number is increased. In that case, pieces of song content
are displayed in the time axis bars TB1 and TB2 in a simplified
form, such as rectangles or line segments, instead of
thumbnails.
[0209] After step S101, the control unit 20 asks the content
distributing server 2 to transmit associated data in the specified
range of display dates, associates the received associated data of
respective pieces of song content with respective song content IDs,
and stores the associated data in the associated data accumulating
unit 1Ab of the content storing unit LA of the HDD 22 (step
S102).
[0210] At this time, the fields of "content file path" and "file
name" of associated data of public content whose main data has not
yet been stored are blank. The blank fields indirectly indicate
that the song content is public content.
[0211] Then, the control unit 20 checks whether the associated data
that matches the received associated data in "song title", "album
name", "artist name", "date of release", and so on has already been
stored. If such associated data has already been stored, the
above-described deleting process is performed on the received
associated data of song content (step S103).
[0212] Then, the control unit 20 reads all "date of release" fields
of the associated data of the public content and private content
stored in the associated data accumulating unit 1Ab of the content
storing unit 1A of the HDD 22, and sorts the read data in the order
of date (step S104).
[0213] Herein, it is inefficient to perform the sorting process
every time on all of the associated data stored in the associated
data accumulating unit 1Ab. Thus, it is desirable to perform
sorting in the order of date every time song data and associated
data of song content are stored and updated, update a sort list as
a result of the sorting, and store the list in the HDD 22.
[0214] The sorting process may be performed on only the associated
data of the song content in a specified range of display dates.
However, if the selection dial 12 and the zoom dial 13 are
frequently used, the sorting process is performed every time the
range is changed. Thus, whether the sorting is to be performed on
associated data of all pieces of song content or only a specified
range of song content may be determined in accordance with the
ability of resources, such as the CPU 20A of the control unit 20,
the HDD 22, or a response speed of a network or the content
distributing server 2.
[0215] Then, the control unit 20 reads image data in accordance
with the content in the "jacket image data path" field of the
associated data in the range of display dates among the associated
data of the sorted song content, generates small thumbnails, and
displays the thumbnails in the time axis bar TB1. At this time, the
small thumbnails of public song content are displayed in monochrome
and the small thumbnails of private song content are displayed in
color (step S105).
[0216] As described above, the small thumbnails may be generated
and stored in the HDD 22 in advance. In that case, the access path
thereof is recorded in the associated data so that the
corresponding small thumbnails can be read.
[0217] Then, the control unit 20 reads a current position and width
(range of dates) of the cursor frame FC2 on the time axis bar TB1,
reads associated data corresponding to the pieces of song content
indicated by the cursor frame FC2, and displays thumbnails of the
pieces in the content display unit 11 in an enlarged size. In the
content display unit 11, too, thumbnails of public song content are
displayed in monochrome, whereas thumbnails of private song content
are displayed in color (step S106).
[0218] Then, the control unit 20 additionally displays the focus
cursor frame FC1 on the thumbnail of the piece of song content
displayed in the center of the content display unit 11, as shown in
FIG. 8A. Then, the control unit 20 reads the associated data of the
focused piece of song content, and displays "year of release" and
"title" in the display space UL1 and "artist name" in the display
space UL2 (step S107).
[0219] Then, the control unit 20 determines whether the focused
piece of song content is public content (step S111 in FIG. 12). If
determining that the focused piece is public content, the control
unit 20 determines whether test-listen data exists (step S112).
[0220] If determining that test-listen data exists, the control
unit 20 determines whether the test-listen data has been obtained
(step S113). If the test-listen data has not been obtained, the
control unit 20 requests the test-listen data of the piece of song
content to the content distributing server 2 in order to obtain the
test-listen data, stores the obtained test-listen data in the
test-listen data storing unit of the content storing unit 1A, and
plays back the test-listen data, which is output from the speaker
30 (step S114).
[0221] If determining in step S113 that the test-listen data has
been obtained, the control unit 20 reads the test-listen data that
is stored in the test-listen data storing unit of the content
storing unit 1A and plays back the test-listen data, which is
output from the speaker 30 (step S115).
[0222] If determining in step S112 that the focused piece of public
content does not have test-listen data, the control unit 20
displays a notification for the user that there is no test-listen
data in the content display unit 11, although not shown (step
S118). At this time, a voice message "There is no test-listen data"
may be output from the speaker 30.
[0223] After step S114, S115, or S118, the control unit 20
determines whether the user has provided instructions to purchase
the piece of public content (step S116). If the instructions to
purchase the piece of public content have been provided, the
control unit 20 executes a purchase routine of the piece of public
content to the content distributing server 2 (step S117).
[0224] In this purchase routine, the control unit 20 checks the
associated data of the piece of song content to be purchased, and
transmits a command to request purchase of the content data of the
piece of song content to the content distributing server 2 on the
basis of the "access path". After receiving the content data, the
control unit 20 stores the content data in the content storing unit
1A of the HDD 22, generates associated data of this piece of song
content as private content, and deletes the associated data of this
piece of song content as public content. Also, the control unit 20
may provide instructions to play back the received song data to the
audio controller 28.
[0225] If determining in step S111 that the focused piece of song
content is not public content but private content, the control unit
20 reads part of the song data of the focused piece of song content
stored in the main data accumulating unit 1Aa of the content
storing unit 1A and plays back the part of song data, which is
output from the speaker 30 (step S121 in FIG. 13).
[0226] Then, the control unit 20 determines whether the user has
performed a playback operation (step S122). If determining that the
playback operation has been performed, the control unit 20 reads
the song data of the focused piece of song content from the main
data accumulating unit 1Aa and moves to a playback routine to play
back the song data (step S123).
[0227] If determining in step S122 that the playback operation has
not been performed or if determining in step S116 that a purchase
operation has not been performed, the control unit 20 determines
whether an operation of changing the position of the focus cursor
frame FC2 has been performed by determining whether the selection
dial 12 has been turned or whether the skip button 9B has been
pressed (step S124).
[0228] If determining in step S124 that an operation of changing
the position of the focus cursor frame FC2 has been performed, the
control unit 20 pauses playback. Then, the process returns to step
S106 in FIG. 11, where the control unit 20 detects a current
position of the moved focus cursor frame FC2 and changes display in
the content display unit 11. Then, the subsequent steps are
repeated.
[0229] If determining in step S124 that the selection dial 12 has
not been turned, the control unit 20 checks whether the range of
display dates has been changed by turn of the zoom dial 13 (step
S125). If the range has been changed, the process returns to step
S101 in FIG. 11, and step S101 and the subsequent steps are
performed in the above-described manner.
[0230] If determining in step S125 that the range of display dates
has not been changed, the control unit 20 determines whether
another operation has been performed by the user (step S126). If
determining that another operation has been performed, the control
unit 20 executes a process routine of the specified process (step
S127).
[0231] If determining in step S126 that any operation has not been
performed, the control unit 20 determines whether instructions to
end display of content have been provided (step S128). If the
instructions have not been provided, the process returns to step
S124 and the subsequent steps are repeated. If determining in step
S128 that the instructions have been provided, the control unit 20
ends the routine of displaying content.
[0232] Other than the above-described process flow of displaying
content, the following process may be performed as events related
to a display process.
[0233] (1) If a deleting operation is performed on a focused piece
of song content, the control unit 20 deletes song data and
associated data of the piece of song content, changes the range of
display dates, and executes a display routine from step S101 in
FIG. 11. As a result, the thumbnail of the piece of song content is
deleted from the time axis bar TB1 and the content display unit
11.
[0234] (2) If a medium is loaded into the CD/DVD drive 23 or the
memory card drive 24, the control unit 20 refers to associated data
corresponding to the song content recorded on the medium to the
inside of the medium or the distributing server, and generates
temporary associated data. If instructions to capture content data
of the song content from the medium to the audio apparatus 1
(ripping instruction) have been provided from the user, song data
of the song content is stored in the HDD 22 and associated data
thereof is generated. In any case, the content is displayed as
private content. If a deleting instruction is provided when no
ripping instruction is provided, the deleting instruction is
ignored.
[0235] (3) If a medium is ejected from the CD/DVD drive 23 or the
memory card drive 24 and if ripping has not been performed, the
control unit 20 deletes generated temporary associated data and
executes a re-display routine. If the content data of the song
content has been stored in the HDD 22, nothing affects display.
[0236] (4) If additional information or updated information about
public content is transmitted from the content distributing server
2, the control unit 20 executes a re-display routine including
sorting of associated data.
Modification 1
[0237] In the above-described operation flow of displaying a
content list, the content distributing server 2 is referred to for
public content as necessary when the content list is to be
re-displayed. However, if it takes much time in communication with
the content distributing server 2, the responsiveness degrades and
the user has stress. In order to overcome this problem, associated
data is obtained from the content distributing server 2 in a
background process even when the main power of the audio apparatus
1 is turned OFF so that the associated data stored in the
associated data accumulating unit 1Ab is updated.
[0238] In this case, if a new song is released, the content
distributing server 2 generates the associated data thereof and
transmits the generated data to the audio apparatus 1. The audio
apparatus 1 receives the associated data, stores the received data
in the HDD 22, performs sorting on the basis of the date of release
in the associated data, and stores a sort list in the HDD 22.
[0239] Accordingly, it becomes unnecessary to transmit a query
command from the audio apparatus 1 to the content distributing
server 2 every time a parameter for display (e.g., the start point
and/or end point of the range of display dates) is updated.
[0240] Of course, an update button for associated data may be
provided as necessary and a query command may be transmitted to the
content distributing server 2 in accordance with a user operation
of the update button if the user wants to.
Modification 2
[0241] As described above, distinction between private content and
public content is not limited to distinction between "privately
owned data and data before purchase or assignment".
[0242] For example, in a home, "content that can be
watched/listened to by only oneself" can be distinguished from
"content that can be watched/listened to by all family members".
Also, "content that can be freely watched/listened to by a normal
member of an association" can be distinguished from "content that
can be watched/listened to by a supporting member".
[0243] It is clear that the above-described distinction can be
realized by definition of owner/group/others described above in the
section of "read/write attribute".
Modification 3
[0244] In the above-described embodiment, when a medium, that is, a
disc or a memory card, is loaded into the CD/DVD drive 23 or the
memory card drive 24, song content stored in the loaded medium is
dealt with as private content. In other words, song content stored
in a medium that is not loaded into the CD/DVD drive 23 or the
memory card drive 24 but that is owned by a user is managed as
public content.
[0245] However, that state is unfit for an actual condition in view
of management by the user. By considering this, as shown in the
bottom section in FIG. 14, one bit of an ownership attribute is
provided as an attribute item of the associated data. In a medium
owned by the user, such as a CD, DVD, or memory card, the ownership
attribute is set to indicating "owned by user". The owner attribute
of the read/write attribute is set to "10" or "00" when no medium
is loaded into the CD/DVD drive 23 or the memory card drive 24, and
is set to "11" when a medium is loaded.
[0246] Accordingly, the medium can be managed in accordance with
the actual condition of the ownership of the user. In this case,
when the ownership attribute is "1" and when the owner attribute of
the read/write attribute is "10" or the medium is outside the
content storing unit 1A. This state may be notified to the user by
using an icon or another symbol or a voice message.
Other Embodiments and Modifications
[0247] In the above-described embodiment, associated data of public
content is reliably accumulated in the associated data accumulating
unit so as to be used for displaying a content list. However, the
configuration may be designed so that the content list can be
displayed without using the associated data accumulating unit.
[0248] In the above-described embodiment, private content is
distinguished from public content on the basis of the read/write
attribute. However, the discrimination may be performed on the
basis of whether main data of the content is stored in the content
storing unit 1A.
[0249] If the ownership attribute exists in the associated data, as
in the example shown in FIG. 14, public content may be
distinguished from private content on the basis of the ownership
attribute. Alternatively, public content may be distinguished from
private content by using the ownership attribute and the read/write
attribute.
[0250] In the above-described embodiment, the audio apparatus 1
includes the content storing unit and the unit for playing back
content data. However, the audio apparatus 1, if it functions as a
content list display apparatus, does not need to include the unit
for playing back content. For example, a personal computer that
does not have a music player function can be used as the content
list display apparatus.
[0251] In the above-described embodiment, a process of selecting an
audio song is described. Thus, the date of announcement or sale of
a song is used as the date of release determining a time attribute
as a search key. If the content is a movie, the date of release of
a movie or the date of sale of a DVD is used as the date of
release. The date of release includes the date of release on the
Internet.
[0252] The search key attribute is not limited to a time attribute,
such as the above-described date of release. A content list may be
displayed on the basis of another associated data or attribute
data.
[0253] An attribute in the associated data that enables easy search
and selection from among many pieces of song content can be
selected as a key attribute. For example, the pieces of content can
be sorted on the basis of artist names or in the order of duration
of play.
[0254] In the above-described embodiment, music content is used as
content, and thus the audio apparatus is used as the content list
display apparatus and the content selecting and processing
apparatus. However, as described above, the content displayed on a
list is not limited to music content, but movie content, electronic
book content, and other content may be applied. Thus, the apparatus
is not limited to the audio apparatus.
[0255] For example, still image data, such as electronic photos,
can be applied. In this case, when image data in a digital camera
owned by someone and image data released on a website are to be
displayed together, a content list and thumbnails can be displayed
in the same manner by using the date of shooting or comment as a
key.
[0256] In the above-described embodiment, the content distributing
server connects to a wide area network, such as the Internet.
Alternatively, the content distributing server may connect to an
in-home LAN, an intra-company LAN, or a LAN within a specific
group.
[0257] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that
various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and
alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other
factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims
or the equivalents thereof.
* * * * *