JP2002259381A - System and device for distributing contents - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to easily acquire a desired piece of music or video at comparatively low cost without trouble in editing. SOLUTION: A distribution mediating server 3 receives the provision of contents from each of a plural of contents providing servers 2 and stores these contents in a distributing server. A user terminal 4 accesses a home page operated by the distribution mediating server 3, acquires the list of presentable contents and requests desired contents out of that list. The distribution mediating server 3 acquires the contents requested from the user terminal 4 from the distributing server and when there are a plural of contents, they are edited, collected into one piece of data and transmitted to the user terminal 4. The user terminal 4 stores the received contents in a storage device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a content distribution system and apparatus for acquiring desired music, video, incoming melody, karaoke, games, and other entertainment contents from a network using a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, a music distribution business of downloading desired music to a user's computer from a network using a computer has been realized. 2. Description of the Related Art Music distributors that provide music have a large number of music data composed of digital audio data, for example, compressed and encoded by a predetermined method and stored in a music distribution server. The user uses his / her personal computer to access the music distribution server via, for example, the Internet, and requests downloading of a desired music piece from a large number of music pieces stored in the music distribution server. The music distribution server searches for the requested music from the music data, and transfers the music data to the user on the condition of charging from the user. The user saves the transferred music data on a hard disk or a memory card of his / her own computer, and plays and enjoys the music data as necessary.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional music distribution service, since the music distribution company is affiliated with a major record company, the user is required to make an alliance with the music distribution server of the music distribution company. If you can only get the songs of the artist belonging to the record company that you are doing and want the songs of the artist belonging to another record company, you must download the song from another music distributor, Not only was the cost increased, but there was the annoying problem that they had to be edited. In addition, even if you want to edit multiple videos, such as live videos, and multiple videos, such as video clips broadcasted on multiple television broadcasts, into one, you must now purchase or record each one. There was a problem that it could not be done easily.

[0004] The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is a content distribution system in which a user can easily obtain desired music, video, and the like at a relatively low cost, without the hassle of editing, and so on. And an apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, in a content distribution system according to the present invention, a distribution intermediary acquires contents from a plurality of content providers holding music, video and entertainment contents and stores the acquired contents in a distribution server. It is characterized in that the distribution intermediary selects the content desired by the user and provides it to the user. Even if the content desired by the user belongs to a plurality of content providers (software production companies), Since these are collected by the distribution intermediary and stored in the distribution server, the user does not need to access the respective content providers, and at a relatively low cost, does not have to perform editing, and can easily request the contents. Music and videos can be acquired.

Further, the content distribution system of the present invention is characterized in that the distribution intermediary edits and provides a plurality of contents according to the user's request. Since the user can select only the desired song from the songs up to the present, edit the song into one album, and provide the album to the user, the user can easily edit the song at a relatively low cost without the hassle of editing. It is possible to acquire a desired music or video.

[0007] Further, the content distribution system of the present invention is characterized in that the distribution intermediary obtains and provides the content not owned by the content provider or generally not circulated according to a user's request. The feature is that the content provider can provide the user with an unedited or uncorrected video before the content provider cuts it due to time or the like.

[0008] Further, the content distribution system of the present invention is characterized in that the distribution intermediary transmits the content desired by the user to the user's computer via a network. It can be stored on a hard disk or a memory card of its own computer on condition that payment of the charge is made.

Further, in the content distribution system according to the present invention, the distribution intermediary stores the content desired by the user on a recording medium and distributes the content to a location desired by the user. If the user wishes, the contents can be stored on cassette tape, MD, C
By recording and delivering the data on a recording medium such as D or DVD, the user can immediately play and enjoy the content.

[0010] In addition, the content distribution apparatus of the present invention includes means for receiving content from a plurality of content providers holding music / video / entertainment content and storing the content in a distribution server; And means for searching for the content desired by the user and transmitting the content to the user. By providing this content distribution device, the desired person can operate a distribution brokerage business.

[0011] The content distribution apparatus of the present invention comprises means for transmitting a list of contents that can be obtained to the user, and means for receiving a desired list for acquisition from the user. Can be easily ordered, and the content distribution intermediary can easily know the user's request.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the concept of a content distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
A plurality of content providing servers 2, a distribution mediation server 3, and a plurality of user terminals 4 are connected to the Internet 1, and the distribution mediation server 3 receives the content from the plurality of content providing servers 2, respectively. Is stored in the distribution server. The user terminal 4 accesses a homepage operated by the distribution mediation server 3,
Obtain a list of contents that can be provided, and request the desired contents from the list. The distribution mediation server 3 searches the distribution server for the content requested by the user terminal 4, and edits the content if there is a plurality of pieces of data, and transmits the data to the user terminal 4 as one piece of data. The user terminal 4 stores the received content in the storage device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the flow of contents in more detail. A content delivery device 11 of a content delivery intermediary is connected to the content providing device 10 managed by the content provider via the Internet, and a user terminal 21 is connected to the Internet. The content distribution device 11 is controlled by a control unit 12 including a CPU,
Request transmitting unit 1 for requesting content to
3, a content receiving unit 14 for receiving content from the content providing apparatus 10, a content distribution server 15 for storing the received content, and a content request receiving unit 16 for receiving a content request from the user terminal 21.
And a content transmission unit 17 for transmitting the requested content to the user terminal 21. On the other hand, the user terminal 21 is controlled by a control unit 22 including a CPU, and transmits a content request to the content distribution device 11 by a content request transmission unit 23 and a content reception unit 24 that receives content from the content distribution device 11.
And a storage unit 25 such as a hard disk or a memory card for storing the received content, a keyboard or mouse or the like for the user to request the content or give an instruction for the playback, and play back the content instructed to be played back. Content playback unit 2 such as audio devices and video devices
7 is provided.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Although omitted in the present embodiment, it is assumed that an existing technology is used for a fee collection system for charging and an illicit copy protection system for copyright protection. In FIG.
The content distribution device (11) transmits a content transmission request to the content providing device (10) (S1). Upon receiving the request (S11), the content providing device requests the content distribution device for authentication (S12). Then, the content distribution device receives the request (S2). The content distribution device transmits its own ID in response to the request (S3), and the content providing device receives the ID and confirms that it is a valid content distribution device (S3).
13) The requested content is transmitted (S14),
The content distribution device receives the content (S
4) After being classified according to the classification code (S5), it is stored in the distribution server (S6).

FIG. 5 shows an example of a classification code when the content distribution device stores the content in the distribution server. The content received from the content providing device can be broadly classified into music, a movie or a video, and a combination of a music and a video.
Classified as "C". The music content "A" is further classified into classical music "1", western music "2", Japanese music "3", Japanese music "4", ringtone melody "5", sound effect "6", and the like. , Major "1", indie (including self-produced and minor labels) "2", broadcasting companies such as TV, radio, and cable "3", etc., and below that, easy listening "1", World music “2”, club music “3”, R & B “4”, vocal music “5”, instrumental music “6”, etc. It is classified as such. Therefore, if the code number is “A3241,” the music content is a new song of indie Japanese music. Similarly, movie / video content and music + video content are properly classified.

[0016] The content distribution intermediary operates by itself such that the desired music can be cheaply selected and a plurality of music can be selected from different albums. In that case, the music can be edited and provided collectively. It is introduced on the homepage. Therefore, the user who has viewed this home page indicates the field of the desired song and requests the content distribution device from the user terminal for a list of available songs in the field as shown in FIG. 4 (S21). ). Upon receiving the request (S31), the content distribution device transmits a content list to the user terminal (S32), and the user terminal receives the content list (S22) and checks a desired song from the content list. Then, a content list is transmitted, and a content transmission request is made (S23). When the content distribution device receives the request (S33),
The user terminal requests authentication (S34), and the user terminal receives the request (S24). The user terminal transmits its own ID in response to the request (S25), and the content distribution device receives the ID and confirms that the user terminal is a legitimate user terminal (S35). Is searched from the distribution server (S36). If there are a plurality of search results (S37), the order of the songs is changed to the order desired by the user, the volume level is unified, After editing such as optimizing the time and compiling it into one data (S38), it is transmitted to the user terminal (S39). The user terminal receives the content (S26) and stores the content in the storage unit (S2).
7).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a list of contents desired by a user is transmitted from a home page operated by a contents distribution broker, and the contents distribution broker edits the contents desired by the user accordingly. And send it to the user, so if there is more than one desired content, the content can be obtained relatively inexpensively, and even if the content extends to multiple content providers, the user can access the individual content providers It is not necessary to do so, and the desired content can be easily obtained.

In the above embodiment, the content distribution intermediary may obtain the content independently from another route instead of obtaining all the content from the content provider. The analog record may be digitized and stored in the distribution server. Further, analog data brought in from the user may be digitized and provided to the user for a fee. In addition, the content distribution broker obtains unedited or unedited content before cutting due to recording time, etc., or obtains undisclosed video such as detailed video that could not be incorporated into live video and distributes it can do. In addition, the user can specify only the desired angle in the live video shot by a plurality of cameras to the content distribution intermediary, and requests the content not included in the transmitted content list. be able to. Upon receiving this request, the content distribution intermediary confirms with the content provider whether the content can be distributed, and notifies the user of the confirmation result. In addition, the content distribution intermediary may provide a viewing service for unreleased content or the latest song before release, and accept a reservation for the medium. If the user desires, the content to be transmitted is recorded on a cassette tape,
If the content is recorded on a recording medium such as D, CD, or DVD and delivered to the user's home, the user can immediately play and enjoy the content. In the above description, only the music content has been described. However, movies and video contents, music and video contents, and entertainment contents such as ringtones, karaoke, and games are also edited in the same manner, and also edited with contents in other fields. Then, it can be distributed to the user.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, music and
A distribution intermediary acquires content from a plurality of content providers holding video / entertainment contents and stores the acquired content in a distribution server, and the distribution intermediary selects a content desired by the user and provides the content to the user. So
Even if the content desired by the user is from a plurality of content providers, the distribution intermediary collects them and stores them in the distribution server, so that the user does not need to access each content provider. This has the effect that the desired music, video, and the like can be easily acquired at a relatively low cost and without the hassle of editing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the concept of a content distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content distribution system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing content distribution processing between the content distribution device and the content providing device in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing content distribution processing between the content distribution device and the user terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a list showing an example of a content classification code in the content distribution server according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Internet 2 Content provision server 3 Distribution mediation server 4 User terminal 10 Content provision device 11 Content distribution device 12 Control part 13 Content request transmission part 14 Content reception part 15 Content distribution server 16 Content request reception part 17 Content transmission part 21 User terminal 22 Control unit 23 Content request transmission unit 24 Content reception unit 25 Storage unit 26 Operation input unit 27 Content reproduction unit

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) H04N 7/173 610 H04N 7/173 610A

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A distribution intermediary acquires contents from a plurality of content providers having music / video / entertainment contents and accumulates the contents in a distribution server, and the distribution intermediary searches for contents desired by a user. Content distribution system characterized by providing the content to the user. 2. The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the distribution mediation agent edits and provides a plurality of contents according to a user's request. 3. The distribution agent according to claim 1, wherein the distribution agent obtains and provides the content not owned by the content provider or not generally available, according to a user's request. Content distribution system as described. 4. The distribution broker according to claim 1, wherein the distribution agent transmits the content desired by the user to the user's computer via a network.
Content distribution system according to any one of the above. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the distribution intermediary records the content desired by the user on a recording medium and distributes the content to a place desired by the user. Content distribution system. 6. A means for receiving contents from a plurality of content providers having music / video / entertainment contents and storing the contents in a distribution server, and searching for contents desired by a user from the contents stored in the distribution server. And a means for transmitting to the user. 7. The content distribution apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: means for transmitting a list of obtainable contents to a user; and means for receiving a list of desired acquisitions from the user.