JPH1188869A - Video communication system and information display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to easily grasp the state of utilizing equipment on the side of video transmission by displaying images on a monitor while synthesizing information concerning an information display device under communication connection near these images. SOLUTION: When the communication with an object video transmitter 20 is started, the video reception software of a monitoring device 60 issues a video transmission request command to the video transmission software of the video transmitter 20. Corresponding to this request command, image data transmitted by the video transmission software of the video transmitter 20 are received. When the image data are received, the frame of an image is reconstructed from a packet and displayed in a video display area by a video reception software. Next, in a mode for displaying the state of the video transmitter 20 under connection at present, the list of another monitoring device 60 displaying the image of the video transmitter 20 (video camera 10) is extracted from the header of received image data and the extracted information is synthesized and displayed with the image under display.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video communication system and an information display device for receiving and displaying image data and the like from a remote communication device connected via a communication network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a building, a plurality of video cameras and computers are arranged, connected to each other via a communication line to form a network, and video transmission, video and audio transmission between desired plural points. There has been proposed a video transmission system for realizing a dialogue with a user.

In such an image transmission system, a user of a computer at a certain point can remotely control a video camera at a desired point and display an image captured by the camera on a screen of his / her computer. it can.

In a video transmission system that enables remote operation of a camera, in particular, as the number of video cameras to be operated increases, the user can easily know where each video camera is installed. is necessary. In view of the above, a technique of superimposing and displaying camera symbols indicating the installation locations of the respective video cameras on an image displaying a map, and displaying the directions of the camera symbols, thereby realizing the actual camera orientation. There is also proposed a technique for expressing the expression.

[0005] In such a system, there is a possibility that a plurality of users can display the image of the same video camera on their computers at approximately the same time, or operate the same video camera from their computers at approximately the same time. There is. In this case, you can operate one video camera instantly,
Only one computer can watch the video. Therefore, it is necessary to perform exclusive control of the right to operate the target camera by some method, or to perform video transmission processing in a time-division manner so that the video can be seen as an apparently continuous moving image.

[0006]

In the above-mentioned system, the number of computers capable of displaying images from the same video camera substantially simultaneously can be increased to some extent. However, since there is an upper limit on the data transfer capability of a device (communication device) that sends out the video from the video camera, if the number of computers currently displaying the video from the video camera becomes larger than a certain level, the display of each computer will increase. There is a problem that the frame rate of the image on the screen is significantly reduced.

Further, the decrease in the frame rate of the display screen is caused not only by the above-described problem on the video transmission side, but also by the other general-purpose network using the same general-purpose network used by the video transmission system. In some cases, this is due to device communication. However, the cause of the decrease in the frame rate cannot be determined by the user interface in the conventional system as described above.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a video communication system and an information display device that enable a user to easily grasp the use state of a device on the video transmission side.

[0009]

To achieve the above object, a video communication system according to the present invention has the following configuration.

That is, a video communication system in which a plurality of information transmission devices for transmitting video information and a plurality of information display devices for displaying video information received from the information transmission device are connected via communication means. The information transmitting apparatus, when transmitting the video information, includes information adding means for adding information on the information display apparatus currently connected to the information transmitting apparatus to the video information, and the information display apparatus during the communication connection is ,
Display combining means for combining information on the information display device being connected to the communication and displaying it on a monitor in the vicinity of the image when displaying the image based on the image information and the information on the information display device being connected with the communication; It is characterized by having.

Further, for example, the information display device further comprises:
A database in which specific information of the users of the plurality of information display devices is registered, wherein the display synthesizing unit searches for the specific information of the user of the information display device from the database according to the information on the information display device being connected for communication. ,
The searched specific information may be combined with the vicinity of the video and displayed on the monitor.

Also, for example, when the information transmitting device is connected to an image capturing device, the information display device includes the display combining device, wherein the display combining device includes an image capturing device connected to each of the plurality of information transmitting devices. Is synthesized together with the video imaged by the imaging means and displayed on the monitor.

Alternatively, in order to achieve the above object, the information display device of the present invention has the following configuration.

That is, an information display device for displaying video information received from an external device via a communication means, wherein the external device includes the video information and information on another information display device which is communicatively connected to the external device. When transmitting a video based on the video information and information on another information display device that is connected to the external device through communication, when transmitting the other information during the communication connection in the vicinity of the video It is characterized by comprising a display combining means for combining and displaying information on the display device.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a video communication system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall outline of a communication system including a video communication system as one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a video camera as a device for generating a video signal based on a captured image. 2
0 indicates an image signal from the video camera 10
And a control signal (W) that receives a control signal for controlling the video camera 10 from the monitoring device 60.
S) or a video transmission device such as a personal computer. Reference numeral 60 denotes a monitoring device such as a workstation (WS) or a personal computer that receives an image signal from the video transmission device 20 and transmits a control signal for controlling the video camera 10 to the video transmission device 20.

A plurality of video transmitting devices 20 and monitoring devices 60
Can communicate with each other via a network 100. Preferably, the video transmitting device 20
The image signal from 0 is subjected to analog / digital (A / D) conversion, and the obtained digital image data is compressed and transmitted to the monitoring device 60 via the network 100.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a camera control circuit for controlling operations of the video camera 10 such as pan, tilt, zoom, focus adjustment, and aperture in accordance with a control signal (control code) from the video transmission device 20. This control signal is transmitted from the input / output interface 32 of the video
Input to the camera control circuit 12 based on a standard such as -232C.

When the video camera 10 does not perform operations such as panning and tilting, the camera control circuit 12 is not always necessary. However, it is preferable that the power of the video camera 10 be controlled to be turned on and off. .

<Video Transmitting Apparatus 20> Next, the configuration of the video transmitting apparatus 20 will be described. 24 is the main memory, 26
Is a storage device such as a hard disk. Reference numeral 28 denotes a mouse as a pointing device, but is not limited to a mouse, and may be another device such as a touch panel on the display 35. Reference numeral 30 denotes a keyboard as input means. 25 is a floppy disk, CD-
This is an external storage device from which a storage medium such as a ROM can be removed. Reference numeral 32 denotes an input / output (I / O) interface for connecting the camera control circuit 12 and transmitting and receiving control signals for the video camera 10. Reference numeral 34 denotes a video capture board that captures a video output signal VD of the video camera 10. The video output signal may be an analog signal such as general NTSC or a digital signal. In the case of an analog signal, the video output signal needs to have a function of performing A / D conversion. Reference numeral 36 denotes a video board that acquires the video captured by the capture board 36 via the bus 39 and displays the video at an arbitrary position on the bitmap display 35. A network interface 38 communicates with the monitoring device 60 via the network 100. These devices are interconnected by a system bus 39, and the CPU 22 controls the entire video transmission device 20 according to software stored in a storage medium or storage device 26 or software obtained via the network 100. And the display of the bitmap display 35 is controlled.

If the video capture board 34 does not have a data compression function, software for realizing the function may be prepared and the CPU 22 may perform data compression processing.

The image data captured by the video camera 10 is transmitted to the remote monitoring device 60 via the network 100 by the video transmitting device 20 having the above configuration. Further, the video camera 10 is controlled according to a control code received from the monitoring device 60.

<Monitoring Device 60> Next, the device configuration of the monitoring device 60 will be described. The description of the same device as the video transmission device 20 in the configuration of the monitoring device 60 is omitted, but the network interface 138 receives the compressed image data from the video transmission device 20. Then, the CPU 122 demodulates the received data (encoded data) by the video compression decoder 33,
A video board 13 based on the demodulated image data
6 controls the bitmap display 1
An image captured by the video camera 10 and a state of the video camera 10 are displayed on 35. In addition, the CPU 122 allows the user of the monitoring device 60 to operate the keyboard 130 or the mouse 128.
And transmits a control code for controlling the video camera 10 to the video transmission device 20 in accordance with the input data.

Next, the video transmitting apparatus 2 in the present embodiment
0 and the software of the monitoring device 60 will be described.
It goes without saying that the software described below is executed by the hardware of the video transmission device 20 or the monitoring device 60 described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the main software configuration of the video transmitting device 20 and the monitoring device 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the software executed by the monitoring device 60 will be described. 411 is the video transmission device 20
Is camera control client software for remotely controlling the video camera 10 connected to the camera. Reference numeral 412 denotes video reception software for demodulating and displaying the compressed image data transmitted from the video transmission device 20 in the form of a packet.
The video receiving software 412 is connected to the network 10
0 is software that manages image data received from all the video transmission devices 20 (video cameras 10) connected to the camera 0, the camera ID of each camera, and the host ID of the video transmission device 20 to which the camera is connected. , Pan / tilt, zoom, etc., camera operation status, information on whether the camera is controllable, etc., and current camera information, such as which camera is currently being controlled and which camera image is being displayed. It has a function of storing information indicating a state in the monitoring device 60. Note that the camera control client software 411 and the map management software 413 also share such information, and are used for changing the display of the camera symbol and the like. A GUI 413 graphically displays the position of the video camera 10, pan and zoom, and controls the operation of the video camera 10 using a map, camera symbols, and a scope display shown in FIG.
(Graphical user interface) This is map management software having a function. The monitoring device 60 has these software installed in the storage device 26 in advance.

Next, the software executed by the video transmission device 20 will be described. 421 controls the operation state of the video camera 10 connected to the video transmission device 20, such as pan / tilt, zoom, and white balance 422, and transmits image data output from the video camera to the video transmission device 20. Camera control server software for importing to the camera. Reference numeral 422 denotes video transmission software that operates in conjunction with the camera control server software and transmits video to the monitoring device 60 that is currently controlling the video camera 10. In the video transmission device 20, these softwares are installed in the storage device 126 in advance.

In addition to the above-mentioned software, two-way communication via the network 100 and the storage devices 26, 1
Needless to say, it has software for controlling the external storage devices 26 and the external storage devices 25 and 125.

<User Interface> Next, a user interface according to the present embodiment, that is, a screen displayed on the bitmap display 135 will be described. First, a description will be given on the assumption that the number of monitoring devices 60 connected to the video transmission device 20 via the network is one.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are views showing examples of display of the monitoring device as one embodiment of the present invention, and are examples of screens displayed on the bitmap display 135 of the monitoring device 60. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 500 denotes a map window on which a map is displayed. In the present embodiment, a plurality of maps 52 showing layouts of offices, stores, and warehouses are displayed.
., 540,... Are performed. A tag is attached to each map, and when the tag is clicked with the mouse 128, the map with the tag is displayed in the front row (map display area 502). At this time, a camera symbol is also displayed on the map.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which a map 520 of the maps 510 to 540 is displayed in the map display area 502, and camera symbols 521, 522, and 523 as icons arranged on the map 520. ... is displayed. At this time, if a tag on the map 530 is clicked, FIG. 4 is displayed.

As shown in FIG. 4, a map 530 is displayed in the map display area 502, and camera symbols 531 and 532 are displayed on the map 530.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a window for displaying an image from a video camera as one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, in a window 600 for displaying an image of the video camera 10, images captured by the video cameras 10 are displayed in a plurality of video display areas 610 to 620, respectively. Reference numeral 632 denotes a trash can icon for deleting a displayed image from the video display area. Reference numeral 640 denotes a video camera control panel, which includes various camera control buttons of the video camera 10 and can control pan / tilt and zoom of the selected camera.

In this embodiment, six regions are shown as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. Also,
It may be displayed on the same screen as the window shown in FIG. 3 or FIG.

Next, a graphical user interface GUI according to the video communication system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, the camera icons on the maps 520, 530,... Are dragged to any video display area in the video display window.
By performing an & drop operation (hereinafter referred to as D & D), a moving image from the video camera corresponding to the drag & drop icon is displayed in the dropped video display area.

FIG. 6 shows a D & D according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure showing a situation when performing display by D operation,
This is a state when the video camera 523 is D & D to the video display area 614. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a mouse cursor of a video camera during a D & D operation according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 shows D as an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure showing a situation when a display area is changed by & D operation. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a camera icon indicating that a captured image is being displayed according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state of an operation for stopping display by a D & D operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, during the D & D operation, the shape of the mouse cursor changes to the shape of the camera shown in FIG.
The user can confirm that the drag and drop operation is being performed. At this time, the map management software 413 searches the ID information of the dragged camera from the position information of the dragged camera, notifies the video receiving software 412 of the ID of the D & D camera, and the video receiving software uses the ID from the ID. The pan / tilt of the camera, the name of the camera, and the host name to which the camera is connected are searched, and the information is retrieved from the camera control client software 41.
1. Notify the map management software 413.

Camera control client software 41
1 is the video camera 10 according to the notified information.
A connection is established by communication with the camera control server software 421 of the video transmission device 20 connected to the video transmission device 20 via the network 100. Thereafter, the operation control of the video camera 10 connected to the video transmission device 20 is performed between the camera control client software 411 of the monitoring device 60 and the camera control server software 421 of the video transmission device 20. Information such as pan / tilt is notified from the camera control client software 411 to the video receiving software 412 at predetermined time intervals.

The map management software 413 updates the map stored in the video board 136 to change the direction of the camera icon so as to correspond to the actual direction of the video camera 10 or to update the map shown in FIG. Draws the scope 910 indicating that the image captured by the video camera 10 is being displayed as shown in FIG.
In 0, a control pointer 920 for controlling the pan / tilt and zoom of the camera is drawn.

The map management software 413 is
Information such as pan / tilt of the camera is notified from the video receiving software 413 at predetermined time intervals. When the state of the camera such as pan / tilt and zoom is changed by the camera control panel 640, the change is performed by the camera icon. 521,5
., 532, 533,...

Transmission of the actual image data from the video transmitting device 20 is performed by the video receiving software 412 of the monitoring device 60.
Done by request from Video receiving software 4
12 is connected to the video transmission software 422 of the video transmission device 20 to which the camera 10 is connected.
A command for requesting transmission of data for one frame is transmitted via the “0”. Video transmission software 422
Receives the request command, divides the latest captured frame data into packets, and transmits the packets to the video reception software 412. Video receiving software 412
Reconstructs an image frame from the packet, displays the frame in the video display area, and transmits a video transmission request command again. By performing this repetition at a high speed, a remote image is transmitted and displayed via the network 100. As a result, an image captured by the video camera 10 installed at a remote location is displayed on the bitmap display 135 of the monitoring device 60.

When displaying the imaged screens of the plurality of video cameras 10, a video transmission request command is issued to the video transmission software of the video transmission device 20 to which each video camera is connected, and the captured video is displayed. Compression, packet division, network transmission, packet reception,
This is realized by repeating the processes of frame reconstruction, compression / decompression, and display in order.

The movement of the display position of the video camera image can be realized by performing a D & D operation on the image display area to be moved, as shown in FIG. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the image of the video camera 523 displayed in the image display area 614 has been moved to 612. At this time, the video receiving software 412 clears the video display area and changes the internal parameters as a D & D operation destination as an area for displaying the video of the video camera 10. Thereafter, the video of the video camera 10 is displayed on the D & D operation destination. This operation does not disconnect the logical network connection. That is, the communication network once connected, as described below, the video display area where the image is displayed,
It is not disconnected until a D & D operation is performed on the trash icon 632.

When the display of the video camera image is to be stopped, as shown in FIG.
By performing a D & D operation on the image display area in which the image 0 is displayed on the trash can icon 632 in the image display window, the display of the image can be stopped.
FIG. 10 shows a state after the display of the video of the video camera 523 displayed in the video display area 614 is stopped. At this time, the video reception software 412 clears the video display area and stops issuing the video transmission request command to the video transmission software 412 of the video transmission device 20 that has been connected so far. Further, the video receiving software 412 notifies the camera control client software 411 and the map management software 413 that the display has been stopped.

The camera control client 411 receives the notification of the display suspension, disconnects the network connection with the video transmitting apparatus 20, and clears the video display area.
The map management software 413 removes the scope display from the camera icon 523 of the camera and updates the map. The case where the number of monitoring devices 60 connected to the video transmission device 20 via the network is one has been described.

Next, at the same time, the same video transmitting device 20
A case where a plurality of monitoring devices 60 are connected will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the present system, the video display software operating on the monitoring device 60 issues a video transmission request command to the video transmitting device 20 so that the video transmitting device 20 It is a method of transmitting video data for a frame. When a plurality of monitoring devices 60 simultaneously issue video transmission request commands to the video transmission device 20, the commands are processed in the order of arrival of the request commands.

When transmitting the video data of one frame, the video transmitting apparatus 20 actually transmits not only the video data but also a header having information such as a compression method. The header includes a list of the monitoring device 60 connected to the video transmitting device 20 via the network and a user who has logged in to the terminal.

FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are views showing display examples when information of a user of another monitoring apparatus is displayed on one monitoring apparatus as one embodiment of the present invention.

In this system, for example, FIGS.
2, a video display area 610 in the map window 600,
612,. . . As shown in the video display area 620 in the figure, when the video of a certain video camera 10 is displayed on the monitoring device 60, the list of the other monitoring devices 60 displaying the video of the camera and the logged-in user are displayed. s name,
It is possible to display a face photograph.

When the arriving image data is synthesized and displayed, the monitoring device 60 displays the header data in the vicinity of the video.

The display of the face photograph can be realized by storing the face photograph of the user of each monitoring device 60 together with the ID of the monitoring device 60 in the storage device 126 in advance as a database. That is, from the user information obtained from the header, the data of the corresponding face photograph is searched from the database, and the data is displayed near the display video. Of course, if the data amount of the face photograph is small, it may be included in the header. Even if each monitoring device 60 does not have a database, D
As in the case of the NS service, a database server may be prepared on the same network, and the database server may be accessed in cooperation with the database server.

FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 are flow charts showing a process of displaying information of a user of another monitoring device in one monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The process described below is started when the user performs a D & D operation on a camera icon of a desired video camera, and a connection is established by communication with the video transmitting device 20 via the network 100 by the above-described process.

In FIG. 13, when communication with the target video transmission device 20 is started (step S11), the video reception software 412 of the monitoring device 60 transmits the video reception software 412 to the video transmission software 412 of the video transmission device 20. A video transmission request command is issued (step S12). And
Upon receiving the image data transmitted by the video transmission software 422 of the video transmission device 20 in response to the request command, the video reception software 412 reconstructs an image frame from the packet and displays it in the video display area (step S14). Next, it is determined whether or not the mode is a mode for displaying the state of the currently connected video transmission device 20 (step S15). If YES, the video transmission device 20 ( Another monitoring device 6 which is currently displaying the video of the video camera 10)
The list of 0 is extracted, and the extracted information is combined with the video being displayed and displayed (step S16). On the other hand, if NO in step S15, the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, it is determined whether or not the user wants to stop displaying the video, and in the case of YES, the display process is stopped. On the other hand, if NO in step S17, the process returns to step S12, issues a video transmission request command, and continues the above-described processing.

In the case of FIG. 14 as well, the processing is basically the same as that of FIG.
In step S16, the database is searched in step 16B.
A photograph of the user's face corresponding to the item in the list extracted in step S16A in the process of FIG. 14 is combined with the video being displayed and displayed.

According to the above-described system, the user can use the usage status of the video transmission device 20 for transmitting the displayed camera video as a face photograph of another user who is currently accessing the device. By displaying the information on the monitoring device 60, it is possible to easily confirm the usage state of the video transmission device 20.

[0058]

[Other Embodiments] The present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), and can be applied to a single device (for example, a copying machine). Machine, facsimile machine, etc.).

Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to provide a computer (or CPU) of the system or apparatus.
And MPU) read and execute the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) And the like perform part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that a CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0064]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a video communication system and an information display device that enable a user to easily grasp the use state of a video transmission side device.

[0065]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall outline of a communication system including a video communication system as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a video transmitting apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of main software of a monitoring device 60.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of a monitoring device as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a monitoring device as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a window for displaying an image from a video camera as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state when a display is performed by a D & D operation as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a mouse cursor of a video camera during a D & D operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state when a display area is changed by a D & D operation as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a camera icon indicating that a captured image is being displayed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state of an operation for stopping display by a D & D operation as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example when information of a user of another monitoring device is displayed on one monitoring device as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example when information of a user of another monitoring device is displayed on one monitoring device as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a process of displaying information of a user of another monitoring device in one monitoring device as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process of displaying information of a user of another monitoring device in one monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 video camera 12 camera control device 20 video transmission device 22, 122 CPU 24, 124 main memory 25, 125 external storage device 26, 126 storage device 28, 128 mouse 30, 130 keyboard 32 input / output interface 33 video compression decoder 34 capture board 35, 135 Bitmap display 36 Video board 38 Network interface 60 Monitoring device 100 Network 411 Camera control client software 412 Video reception software 413 Map management software 421 Camera control server software 422 Video transmission software 500 Map display window 510, 520, 530, 540 Map 511, 521, etc. Camera icon 600 Video display window 610, 612 , 614, etc. Image display area 632 Recycle bin icon 640 Camera control panel 650 Grouping button 651 Delete group button 910 Scope showing image being displayed 920 Control pointer for camera control

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G09G 5/00 555 G09G 5/00 555D

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A video communication system in which a plurality of information transmission devices for transmitting video information and a plurality of information display devices for displaying video information received from the information transmission device are connected via communication means. The information transmitting apparatus, when transmitting the video information, includes information adding means for adding information about the information display apparatus currently connected to the information transmitting apparatus to the video information; When displaying an image based on the image information and the information related to the information display device connected to the communication, a display combination that combines information related to the information display device connected to the communication near the image and displays the information on a monitor A video communication system comprising means. 2. The information display device further comprises a database in which user specific information of the plurality of information display devices is registered, and wherein the display synthesizing unit is configured to store the database in accordance with information on the information display device being connected for communication. 2. The video communication system according to claim 1, further comprising: searching for specific information of the user of the information display device from the information display device; synthesizing the searched specific information in the vicinity of the video; 3. The video communication system according to claim 2, wherein each of said information transmitting devices is connected to an image pickup means. 4. The information display device, wherein the display synthesizing unit synthesizes a symbol representing an imaging unit connected to each of the plurality of information transmitting devices together with an image captured by the imaging unit, and displays the symbol on the monitor. The video communication system according to claim 3, wherein the video communication is displayed. 5. The video communication system according to claim 4, wherein said information display device further comprises control means for remotely controlling the operation of an image pickup means connected to said information display device connected to said communication. system. 6. An information display device, comprising: an instruction unit for inputting an instruction of a user; and an interface unit for connecting and disconnecting communication with the information transmitting device in accordance with an operation on the monitor using the symbol. The video communication system according to claim 4, comprising: 7. The video communication system according to claim 6, wherein said instruction means can perform a drag and drop operation. 8. The video communication system according to claim 6, wherein the video is displayed at a position on the monitor designated by the designation means. 9. An information display device for displaying video information received from an external device via a communication means, wherein the external device includes the video information and information on another information display device which is communicatively connected to the external device. When transmitting a video based on the video information and information on another information display device that is communicatively connected to the external device, when the video is displayed, the other information that is communicatively connected is displayed near the video. An information display device, comprising: a display synthesizing unit that synthesizes and displays information about a display device. 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a database in which user identification information of a plurality of information display devices capable of communication connection with said external device is registered, wherein said display synthesizing unit is configured to output information according to the information relating to the information display device being connected for communication. 10. The information display device according to claim 9, wherein the information specific to the user of the information display device is searched from the database, and the searched specific information is combined and displayed near the video. 11. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for displaying video information received from an external device via communication means, wherein the external device is connected to the video information and the external device by communication. In transmitting information about another information display device, the storage medium displays an image on the computer based on the video information and information about another information display device that is communicatively connected to the external device. A storage unit that operates as display combining means for combining and displaying information related to the other information display device connected to the communication, in the vicinity of the video.