JP2006115052A - Content retrieval device and its input device, content retrieval system, content retrieval method, program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To search a recorded content easily and efficiently. <P>SOLUTION: The content retrieval device stores a content decoded through a tuner section 6 in a content storage section 5. The stored content and title information incident to that content are analyzed at a title analyzing section 8, and the content is divided into predetermined units and imparted with a retrieval index using title information. When a retrieval key consisting of a word transmitted from the input unit is received at the receiving section 1 of the content retrieval device, a retrieval section 2 retrieves the content stored in the content storage section 5 using the received word as a retrieval query. Retrieval results are transferred from a transmitting section 3 to a display 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a content search device and its input device, a content search system, a content search method, a program, and a recording medium, and more specifically, a content search that can search and present content such as stored broadcast programs. The present invention relates to a content search technology using an apparatus and an input device capable of inputting search information to the content search apparatus.

  A form in which content such as a broadcast program is recorded on a VTR or the like is widely used. In order for a user to view such recorded content, each user selects the content with a VTR or the like, and if necessary, selects a scene included in the content by using a VTR head search function or a fast-forward function. I was watching in the form.

  In recent years, recording devices such as hard disk recorders (HDD recorders) and DVD recorders are becoming popular as devices for recording and using such contents. Also, HDD recorders equipped with a plurality of tuners and capable of simultaneously recording contents such as a plurality of programs have appeared.

  In such a recording apparatus, when a user searches for desired content and views it, the search system of the recording apparatus is used and a search query (keyword) is input using an input means such as a GUI. It is common to do.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a content search apparatus that performs keyword search on a set of contents and outputs the resulting contents in an order suitable for the keyword.
JP 2004-234175 A

  However, in a recording / reproducing apparatus equipped with a plurality of tuners and capable of viewing a plurality of programs at the same time, what kind of program (content) is recorded on the recording apparatus and what topic has been discussed by the user? It becomes impossible to grasp. Thus, it is conceivable to search for content using some kind of search engine, but there arises a problem that the user does not know what keyword to input. In addition, in order to be able to input search keywords, it is necessary to prepare a software keyboard or other input device.

  Similarly, in the content search device of Patent Document 1 described above, a technique is disclosed that improves the operability related to keyword selection and enables efficient content search when a user sets a keyword. Not.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a content search device, an input device, and a content that can easily and efficiently execute a search for recorded content by automatically generating a search keyword. An object of the present invention is to provide a search system, a content search method, a program, and a recording medium.

  In order to solve the above problem, the first technical means is included in the content from the content storage unit that stores the recorded content and the content stored in the content storage unit based on the instruction input by the user. A content search apparatus including a search unit for searching for a predetermined scene, wherein the search unit searches for a scene based on subtitle information attached to content stored in the content storage unit. It is a thing.

  According to a second technical means, in the first technical means, the content search device includes a recording control unit that controls accumulation of the recorded content in the content accumulation unit, a caption analysis unit that analyzes caption information given to the content, The subtitle analysis unit creates a search index using one or more of the display color, display timing, display time, and vocabulary included in the subtitle information, and the search unit uses the search index to create content. It is characterized by performing a search.

  According to a third technical means, in the second technical means, the recording control unit divides the content stored in the content storage unit into one or more scenes, and the subtitle analysis unit uses a search index for each divided scene. The recording control unit stores the search index generated by the caption analysis unit together with the content in the content storage unit.

  A fourth technical means is a content search input device for inputting a search condition to any one of the first to third technical means, the content search input device comprising: an imaging unit that captures an image; A search information extraction unit that extracts information used for content search from an image captured by an imaging unit, and a transmission unit that transmits information extracted by the search information extraction unit to a content search device Is.

  According to a fifth technical means, in the fourth technical means, the search information extracting unit comprises a character recognition unit that recognizes character information included in the captured image and extracts the recognized character information as search information. It is characterized by.

  According to a sixth technical means, in the fourth technical means, the search information extracting unit further analyzes the character recognition unit recognizing the character information included in the captured image, and the character information recognized by the character recognition unit. And a language analysis unit reconstructed as search information.

  The seventh technical means is characterized in that, in the fourth technical means, the search information extracting unit extracts the search information by analyzing a barcode included in the captured image.

  The eighth technical means comprises any one of the first to third content search devices and any one of the fourth to seventh content search input devices.

  The ninth technical means includes a content storage step for storing one or more contents, a search step for searching for the content stored in the content storage step or a part thereof, and the content searched for in the search step or a part thereof. A content search method for searching for content based on a user instruction, wherein the search step is searched based on subtitle information included in the content stored in the content storage step It is characterized by performing.

  The tenth technical means analyzes the subtitle information previously given to the content in the ninth technical means, and at least of display color information, display timing information, display time information, and text information included in the subtitle information It has a subtitle information analysis step for creating a search index using one or more, and the search step is characterized by performing a search using the search index created in the subtitle information analysis step.

  The eleventh technical means is characterized in that, in the tenth technical means, the subtitle information analysis step divides the accumulated content into one or more scenes and generates a search index for each of the divided scenes. Is.

  According to a twelfth technical means, in the tenth technical means or the eleventh technical means, an image capturing step for capturing an image by an input device for inputting search information to a device for storing content, and a content search from the image captured in the image capturing step The search information extracting step for extracting the information used for the search and the transmitting step for transmitting the information extracted in the search information extracting step to the device for storing the contents are characterized by the following.

  A thirteenth technical means is characterized in that, in the twelfth technical means, the search information extracting step recognizes character information included in the image captured in the imaging step and extracts the recognized character information as search information. It is what.

  A fourteenth technical means is the twelfth technical means, wherein the search information extracting step recognizes character information included in the image captured in the imaging step, further linguistically analyzes the recognized character information, It is characterized by reconfiguring as follows.

  The fifteenth technical means is characterized in that, in the twelfth technical means, the search information extracting step analyzes the bar code extracted from the image captured in the imaging step and extracts search information.

  The sixteenth technical means is a program for realizing the function of the content search device of the first or second technical means.

  The seventeenth technical means is a program for realizing the function of the content search input device of any one of the fourth to seventh technical means.

  The eighteenth technical means is a program for realizing the function of the content search system of the eighth technical means.

  A nineteenth technical means is a computer-readable recording medium recording the program according to any one of the sixteenth to eighteenth technical means.

  According to the present invention, by automatically generating a search keyword, it is possible to easily and efficiently search for recorded content. For example, articles and advertisements that users are interested in in newspapers and magazines are photographed with a remote controller with a camera that is an embodiment of the input device, and keywords included in the photographed images are extracted and recorded on an HDD recorder or the like. The content related to the keyword or a part of the content can be searched from the stored content, and the content can be searched efficiently.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, a content search device searches a content in response to a search request from a content search input device from a receiving unit that receives a signal from the content search input device and the content stored in advance. A search unit and a transmission unit that transmits the searched content or a part thereof to the display device are provided. The content search apparatus includes a tuner that receives and decodes a broadcast, a control unit that records the content decoded by the tuner, and a caption that analyzes a caption multiplexed broadcast information included in the content and assigns a keyword to each predetermined unit. And an analysis unit.

In the caption analysis unit, search keywords are assigned to the content or topics that are a part of the content by using caption information for a plurality of recorded contents.
The similarity between the keyword received from the remote control device and the keyword assigned to the recorded content is calculated, and the content with the highest similarity is selected. The selected content is transmitted to the display device and can be viewed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that in all the drawings for explaining the embodiments, portions having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof is omitted.

  The content search device of the present invention can be implemented as a recording search / playback device capable of recording and storing content such as broadcast programs, and the content search input device of the present invention includes the recording search / playback described above. It can be implemented as a remote control device with a camera that can input information to the device. In the following, an embodiment of a recording search / playback apparatus and a remote controller with camera will be described as an example.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment of a recording search / playback apparatus for realizing a content search apparatus of the present invention. This recording retrieval / playback apparatus is configured to be able to receive broadcast programs, record the received broadcast programs, store them as contents, and play back the stored contents as necessary.

  In FIG. 1, the recording search / playback apparatus includes a tuner unit 6 that receives broadcasts, a content storage unit 5 that stores programs (contents), and a recording control that stores broadcast programs received by the tuner unit 6 in the content storage unit 5. Unit 7, subtitle analysis unit 8 for analyzing subtitle information attached to content, receiving unit 1 for receiving a signal from the above-described remote controller with camera, and content storage unit 5 based on the signal received by receiving unit 1 A search unit 2 that extracts content or a part thereof from the transmission unit 3, a transmission unit 3 that transmits the extracted content or a part thereof to the display device 4, and a display device 4 that displays the searched content and various information. ing.

  By 2007, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is obligated to give as many captions as possible to programs that can be captioned. Even now, some dramas are given subtitle information as closed captions. There is also a movement to add subtitles in live broadcast programs such as news and sports broadcasts. In the present embodiment, content to which such subtitle information is added is accumulated, and the content can be searched using the subtitle information of the content.

  In the recording search / playback apparatus, the content decoded through the tuner unit 6 is stored in the content storage unit 5 in advance based on a command from the recording control unit 7. Then, the stored content and subtitle information accompanying the content are analyzed by the subtitle analysis unit 8 and the content is divided into predetermined units. The unit to be divided is, for example, a topic (topic) unit, and video / audio and subtitle information correspond to each other.

  As described above, when the receiving unit 1 of the recording search / playback apparatus receives one or more words transmitted from the camera-equipped remote control device, the searching unit 2 stores the received words in the content storage unit 5 as a search query. Search for content that has been added. The search result is transferred from the transmission unit 3 to the display device 4 having a display function. The display device 4 may be a part of the recording search / playback device, or may be another device.

  Hereinafter, a processing example when recording content in the recording search / playback apparatus will be described in detail. Here, an example will be described in which a television library being broadcast such as news, dramas, sports, music, etc. is recorded and divided into shots to create a personal library with a search index.

(Recording content)
The content of the broadcast program is recorded according to the user's selection and stored in the content storage unit 5 of the recording search / playback device.
When recording a program, for example, the program guide is displayed on the display device 4 of the recording search / playback device so that the user can select the program. Here, for example, an EPG (Electro Program Guide) display button is provided on the remote controller with camera or the recording search / playback device, and the EPG is displayed on the display device 4 of the recording search / playback device by the user pressing the EPG display button. To be displayed.

  The user refers to the EPG displayed on the display device 4, designates a desired program using an operation device such as a cursor key or a joystick provided in a remote control device with a camera or a recording search / playback device, and executes a recording reservation. . At this time, information necessary for recording, for example, information such as the start time, end time, and channel of the program is extracted from the EPG of the program selected by the user.

The recording search / playback apparatus starts / ends recording when a predetermined recording condition is satisfied. Here, the predetermined recording condition is, for example, when the current time coincides with the start time or end time of the program to be recorded, and when the reserved program is in a receivable state.
Here, the method of recording a program by selecting a program has been described here, but it is also possible to record a program related to the keyword by having the user input a keyword that interests the user in advance.

  If the recording search / playback apparatus is designed to have tuners for receivable channels, for example, it is possible to record all programs on the channel designated by the user.

(Index file creation process)
In the recorded program content, a search index is created and recorded so that program search can be executed at high speed. This search index may be created simultaneously with the recording of the program, or may be created after the recording of the program.
The search index needs to include at least program information obtained from the EPG and information on the beginning and end of the scene by dividing the recorded program into one or more scenes. The program information obtained from the EPG includes at least one of information provided by the EPG, such as a program name, a subtitle, a broadcasting station, a broadcasting date, a performer, and a genre.

  When a program is recorded in the recording search / playback apparatus, the recording search / playback apparatus creates the search index for each recorded program and additionally records it in the index file. This index file is formed by integrating indexes of all recorded programs.

  Further, as described above, when the recording search / playback apparatus is designed to have tuners for a plurality of channels, for example, it is also possible to record all programs on channels designated by the user. At this time, by creating a search index for all the recorded programs, the search index of each program can be used for the search processing, as in the case where the user selects and records the program. it can.

(Division into shots)
Recorded program content is divided into shots and stored. A shot is a group of frames that are continuous in terms of image, and may include camera work such as pan / tilt inside. When the program content is recorded, the recording control unit 7 of the recording search / playback apparatus analyzes the video of the recorded content and divides it into shots. Here, for example, in the program content, a difference between frames may be taken, and a portion with a large difference may be determined as a shot break. Since various methods are known for dividing into other shots, shot division can be performed by appropriately applying these known techniques.

(Scene generation)
Although the above shots may be used as search target scenes and a search index may be assigned to each shot, there is a possibility that the shots are too short. Therefore, a plurality of shots that are related and continuous in time are handled as a scene. In order to generate a scene, the recording control unit 7 calculates the degree of association between adjacent shots and determines whether these shots are associated with each other.

  The degree of association between shots is determined, for example, by calculating the degree of similarity of image features between a specific frame of a certain shot (for example, a frame representing a shot) and a specific frame of successive shots. For example, it is possible to obtain the degree of association between shots by determining whether or not they are similar using the average color, representative color, and image size (bust shot, long shot, etc.) of each frame image.

Also, in determining the degree of association between shots, the continuity of sound between shots may be used. That is, when the sound is continuous at the break between two consecutive shots, it can be determined that these shots are related. In a program with subtitles added, the degree of relevance may be determined based on whether subtitle display is continuous between two shots.
Although the method for determining the degree of association has been described individually, it goes without saying that the degree of association may be determined by a combination thereof.
Through the processing as described above, the degree of association between shots is determined, and a portion with a low degree of association is used as a scene break.

(Determination of search keywords)
The recording control unit 7 of the recording search / playback apparatus assigns a search keyword to the generated scene.
When the user searches for a specific scene, the user enters a search key in text. Even when the search key is input by voice, the voice is actually recognized by the recording search / playback device and converted into text for use. When searching for program content composed of video and audio with a text search key, it is very inefficient to perform search processing between different media such as video and audio and text. Therefore, in this embodiment, a search keyword by text is assigned to a scene composed of video and audio so that the search keyword by text can be searched by a search key by text. The search keyword is recorded in the search index for each scene.

Subtitle information is used as a search keyword assigned to the above scene. Subtitle information is assigned to many of the current digital broadcasts, and the subtitle information is transmitted separately from video and the like, and these are synthesized by a receiver. Therefore, the caption analysis unit 8 extracts text (hereinafter referred to as caption text) from the caption information added to the video, and extracts the extracted caption text or a part thereof as a search keyword. The caption analysis unit 8 can extract a search keyword using one or more of the display color, display timing, display time, and vocabulary included in the caption information added to the video.
In the case of a program to which no caption text is attached, means such as voice recognition is required. However, as described above, after 2007, it is obliged to assign caption information to an assignable program. Here, it is assumed that caption information is given to the program.

When a search keyword is added to a scene, if subtitle text is added to a scene as it is, since unnecessary words are included in the subtitle information, it is considered that unnecessary words become noise during the search. Therefore, in this embodiment, the caption analysis unit 8 performs a morphological analysis of the scene, divides the extracted caption text into parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and further corrects them to a standard form to prevent notation fluctuation. Here, the keyword determination may be performed using a method such as TF / IDF.
As described above, the search keyword to be assigned to each scene is determined, and the determined search keyword is included in the search index for each scene and recorded. This makes it possible to search for a scene using the search keyword.

  Next, the configuration of the camera-equipped remote control device used for searching the content stored in the recording search / playback device will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of a remote control device with a camera that realizes the content search input device of the present invention. The remote controller with camera is configured to be able to transmit data such as keyword information for performing a content search to the recording search / playback apparatus shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, the remote control device with a camera includes an input unit 11 that allows a user to input information, a control unit 12 that controls each element of the device, an imaging unit 13 that can capture a subject using a camera function, A display unit 14 that displays image information captured by the imaging unit 13 and other information, a character recognition unit 15 that recognizes character information included in the image information captured by the imaging unit, and character information that is recognized by the character recognition unit 15 As a search key.

  An operation example of the camera-equipped remote control device will be described. In the remote control device with a camera, a shooting command is sent from the control unit 12 to the imaging unit 13 based on an input instruction from the input unit 11. For example, when there is an article of interest such as an article or advertisement that the user is interested in in a newspaper or magazine, the user presses a shutter (image capture button) prepared in the input unit 11 of the camera-equipped remote control device. Imaging can be performed. At this time, when the control unit 12 that has received an input instruction from the input unit 11 sends a shooting command to the imaging unit 13, the imaging unit 13 operates and the image of the article of interest can be captured according to the user's framing . Then, the image of the article of interest captured by the imaging unit 13 is recorded on a memory (not shown) of the remote controller with camera. At this time, the image of the article of interest recorded in the memory may be displayed on the display unit 14.

  The character recognition unit 15 performs character recognition of character information included in the image based on the image of the article of interest recorded in the memory. Here, for example, the structure (layout) of the image is analyzed, and character size information, vertical / horizontal writing distinction information (text direction information), and the like are obtained. Then, the character recognition unit 15 extracts characters from the image of the article of interest using the obtained character size information, and uses the extracted characters, their positions, and text direction information to convert the extracted characters into text (Sentence). At this time, the character recognition result may be corrected using the image layout information.

  In this way, the user's attention article is input as an image, and the result converted into text is transmitted as a search key to the recording search / playback apparatus via the transmission unit 17. Further, the text recognized by the character recognition unit 15 at this time may be presented on the display unit 14 of the remote controller with camera so that the user can correct the erroneously recognized part.

  Alternatively, an image including a barcode may be taken as an article of interest, and a character string serving as a search key may be generated from the barcode. In this case, the character recognizing unit 15 analyzes a barcode included in the image data photographed by the imaging unit 13, generates character string information from the barcode, and uses it as a search key. In the barcode, character string information serving as a search key is encoded in advance.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining another embodiment of the remote controller with camera for realizing the content search input device of the present invention. The configuration of FIG. 3 includes a language analysis unit 16 that performs language analysis on the result recognized by the character recognition unit 15 in addition to the configuration of FIG. In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the character recognition unit 15 recognizes individual characters, and these alone do not make sense. Therefore, in this embodiment, the recognition result of the character recognition unit 15 is used as the language analysis unit. 16, one or more words or a part or all of sentences are converted into keywords by the language analysis unit 16 and reconfigured into meaningful units as words, and sent to the control unit 12. The control unit 12 transmits the keyword reconstructed by the language analysis unit 16 to the recording search / playback device as a search key.
Note that the search information extraction unit of the present invention that extracts information (search key) used for content search from the image captured by the imaging unit 13 corresponds to the character recognition unit 15 in the example of FIG. 2, and the example of FIG. Then, the character recognition part 15 and the language analysis part 16 correspond.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining another embodiment of the recording search / playback apparatus for realizing the content search apparatus of the present invention. In each example described above, the search key for searching the content stored in the recording search / playback device is the text recognized by the character recognition unit 15 of the remote controller with camera or the morphological analysis by the language analysis unit 16. The generated keyword.
In these examples, the search key is generated by performing processing such as image processing and text conversion in the remote control device with a camera that is an input device. However, as another configuration example, the image itself captured by the imaging unit 13 is generated. It may be transmitted to the recording search / playback device, and text may be extracted from the image in the recording search / playback device and used as a search key.

  In the recording search / playback apparatus shown in FIG. 4, the reception unit 1 receives image data captured by the imaging unit of the remote controller with camera. The received image data is character-recognized by the character recognition unit 15 and text is extracted from the image data. The extracted text is further analyzed by the language analysis unit 16 to generate a keyword and send it to the search unit 2. At this time, the recording search / playback device may display the recognition result on the display device 4 of the recording search / playback device in order to confirm the result of character recognition and to correct the erroneously recognized portion. The functions of the character recognition unit 15 and the language analysis unit 16 are the same as those of the character recognition unit 15 and the language analysis unit 16 of the remote controller with camera described with reference to FIG.

The search unit 2 searches the content stored in the content storage unit 5 using the keyword obtained by the language analysis unit 16.
Here, the language analysis unit 16 may not be provided, and the text extracted by the character recognition unit 15 may be input to the search unit 2 as a search key. Further, it may be configured to transmit (reply) a text as a recognition result or a keyword of a language analysis word to the remote controller with camera.
The other configurations in FIG. 4 are the same as those in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining still another embodiment of the remote controller with camera for realizing the content search input device of the present invention, for transmitting a search key to the recording search / playback device of FIG. A configuration example is shown. As described above, since the image processing of the photographed image and the search key extraction processing are executed on the recording / reproducing search device side, the remote controller with camera is configured to transmit image data.
That is, the remote control device with a camera according to the present embodiment includes an input unit 11 that allows a user to input information, a control unit 12 that controls each element of the device, and an imaging unit 13 that can capture an image of a subject using a camera function. And a transmission unit 17 that transmits image information captured by the imaging unit 13 and other information.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram for explaining still another embodiment of the recording search / playback apparatus for realizing the content search apparatus of the present invention. The recording search / playback apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an encoding unit 9 that encodes and transmits the content stored in the content storage unit 5 using a method such as MPEG-4. In the transmission destination apparatus, the received content can be decoded by the MPEG-4 system to perform video output / audio output.
Further, the search list information obtained as a result of the search by the search unit 2 can be encoded by the encoding unit 9 and transmitted to the remote controller with camera.
The other elements in FIG. 6 have the same functions as those of the above-described embodiments, and thus repeated description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining still another embodiment of the camera-equipped remote control device that realizes the content search input device of the present invention, for transmitting a search key to the recording search / playback device of FIG. A configuration example is shown.
The remote control device with a camera includes a receiving unit 18 and a decoding unit 19. The receiving unit 18 receives the search list information transmitted from the recording search / playback device and transfers it to the control unit 12. The control unit 12 sends the search list information to the decoding unit 19 to be decoded and displayed on the display unit 14. Further, information specifying a specific content is received from the input unit 11 from the search list displayed on the display unit 14, and the specified information is transmitted from the transmission unit 17, whereby the specified content is displayed on the recording / playback apparatus side. It can be displayed on the device 4.

  Next, an example of processing when searching for and viewing a program recorded in the recording search / playback apparatus using the video recording search / playback apparatus and the remote controller with camera as described in each of the above embodiments will be described.

  When searching for a program stored in the recording search / playback device, as described above, a search key composed of text or keywords extracted using the image captured by the image pickup unit of the camera-equipped remote control device and the recording search / playback device A search is performed by comparing the keywords included in the index file of the program being viewed. Here, for example, the search key extracted from the captured image is compared with the keyword included in the index file, the similarity is calculated, and a scene having a similarity higher than a predetermined threshold is set as a search result candidate. To do.

  When there are a large number of scenes as search result candidates, the video recording search / playback apparatus may rearrange the search result candidates in descending order of similarity, present the higher ones, or arrange them in the newest data order. For example, in the case of an information program such as news, the newness of information (newness of information) may be valuable, so new data may be more important.

Further, the search result candidate may be further searched according to the user's preference. Here, a keyword or the like that the user is interested in is input in advance, and further refinement is performed using the keyword among the searched search result candidates.
As described above, the video recording search / playback apparatus can extract search result candidates to be presented using the search key transmitted from the remote controller with camera or the search key extracted from the image.

In the above search processing, when there are a large number of search result candidates, it is necessary to narrow down to a displayable number. Information such as the newness of the program content and the length of the scene may be used as a reference in that case, and the content of extremely high similarity is the same in consideration of the similarity of keywords assigned to the scene As such, only one may be displayed.
The search result thus obtained is displayed on the display device 4 of the recording search / playback device (or the display device 4 connected to the recording / playback device). The display device 4 may display a representative image of the scene, or only the image may be reproduced simultaneously. In addition, the program information (title, broadcast date, performer, etc.) of the program including the searched scene may be displayed.

Then, the user can select a scene to view from the displayed search candidates. The recording search / playback device extracts information such as a file name to be played back, a playback start point / end point, etc., from the index file for the scene selected by the user, and plays back the corresponding portion of the file.
After viewing by the user is completed, if the user returns to the screen displaying the search result again, the user can continue to view another scene searched by the user.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a processing flow when a search key is generated and transmitted to the recording search / playback device in the remote controller with camera.
First, an input for instructing photographing is waited (step S1), and when there is an input, an object such as a target image is photographed using the camera function (imaging unit 13) of the camera-equipped remote control device (step S2).

  Then, image analysis is performed on the captured image to extract characters (step S3), and the extracted characters, their positions, and text orientation information are used to convert the extracted characters into text (sentences) and character strings. Is generated (step S4). Then, a word is cut out from the generated character string (step S5) and deleted from the character string (step S6). As a result, it is determined whether or not the character string is empty (step S7). If the character string is not empty, the word is extracted again (step S5). If it is empty, the extracted word is transmitted to the recording search / playback apparatus ( Step S8).

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an example of search key generation / transmission processing when a barcode is photographed as an image of interest in the remote controller with camera. First, an input for instructing shooting is waited (step S11), and when there is an input, a target such as an image of interest is shot using the camera function (imaging unit 13) of the camera-equipped remote control device (step S12). The attention image at this time includes a barcode image in which the search key information is encoded as a barcode.

  Then, the photographed image is analyzed to extract a barcode (step S13), and the barcode is further analyzed to generate character string information encoded in the barcode (step S14). Then, the generated character string is transmitted as a keyword (search key) to the recording search / playback apparatus (step S15).

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining an example of processing from when a search process is performed in the recording search / playback apparatus until a search result is presented. First, it waits for an input for instructing to search the stored content (step S21), and when there is an input, searches the index file for the stored content using the search key extracted from the photographed image (step S22). ). If there is no hit search result, the process ends (step S23). If there is a search result, the order of presentation is calculated (step S24), and the search result is presented on a display device or the like according to the calculation result (step S25). .

  A program according to the present invention is a program (a program for causing a computer to function) that controls a CPU of a computer as each means (or a part of each means) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments. Information handled by the content search device and the content search input device is temporarily stored in a RAM or the like at the time of the processing, and then stored in various ROMs or hard disks. Writing is performed.

  A program that realizes these functions is stored in advance in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, and the recording medium is mounted on a medium driving device such as a CD-ROM drive mounted on a computer or the like. The functions of the present invention can be realized by storing these programs in a memory or a recording device of a computer and executing them. In this case, the program itself read from the recording medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program and the recording medium recording the program also constitute the present invention.

  As a recording medium for storing the program, a semiconductor medium (for example, ROM, nonvolatile memory card, etc.), an optical recording medium (for example, DVD, MO, MD, CD, etc.), a magnetic recording medium (for example, magnetic tape, Any of a flexible disk etc. may be sufficient.

  Further, by executing the loaded program, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the above-described processing is performed jointly with the operating system or other application programs based on the instructions of the program. In some cases, the functions of the embodiments described above are realized.

When distributed in the market, the program can be stored and distributed in a portable recording medium, or transferred to a server computer connected via a network such as the Internet. In this case, the storage device of the server computer is also included in the recording medium of the present invention.
In the computer, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by installing a program on a portable recording medium or a transferred program on a recording medium connected to the computer and executing the installed program. Is done.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram for demonstrating one Embodiment of the video recording search reproduction | regeneration apparatus which implement | achieves the content search apparatus of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating one Embodiment of the remote control device with a camera which implement | achieves the content search input device of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating other embodiment of the remote controller with a camera which implement | achieves the input device for content search of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating other embodiment of the video recording search reproduction | regeneration apparatus which implement | achieves the content search apparatus of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating other embodiment of the remote controller with a camera which implement | achieves the input device for content searches of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating other embodiment of the video recording search reproduction | regeneration apparatus which implement | achieves the content search apparatus of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating other embodiment of the remote controller with a camera which implement | achieves the input device for content searches of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the flow of a process when a search key is produced | generated and transmitted to a video recording search reproduction | regeneration apparatus in a remote control device with a camera. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of search key generation / transmission processing when a barcode is photographed as an image of interest in a remote controller with camera. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of a process after performing a search process in a video recording search reproduction | regeneration apparatus, and showing a search result.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Reception part, 2 ... Search part, 3 ... Transmission part, 4 ... Display apparatus, 5 ... Content storage part, 6 ... Tuner part, 7 ... Recording control part, 8 ... Subtitle analysis part, 9 ... Encoding part, 11 ... Input unit, 12 ... control unit, 13 ... imaging unit, 14 ... display unit, 15 ... character recognition unit, 16 ... language analysis unit, 17 ... transmission unit, 18 ... reception unit, 19 ... decoding unit.

Claims (19)

  Content search comprising: a content storage unit for storing recorded content; and a search unit for searching for a predetermined scene included in the content from the content stored in the content storage unit based on an instruction input by a user An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the search unit searches for the scene based on subtitle information attached to the content stored in the content storage unit.   The content search device according to claim 1, wherein the content search device includes: a recording control unit that controls storage of recorded content in the content storage unit; and a caption analysis unit that analyzes caption information attached to the content. The caption analysis unit creates a search index using one or more of display color, display timing, display time, and vocabulary included in the caption information, and the search unit stores the search index. A content search apparatus, wherein content search is performed.   3. The content search device according to claim 2, wherein the recording control unit divides content stored in the content storage unit into one or more scenes, and the subtitle analysis unit performs the search for each divided scene. An index is generated, and the recording control unit stores the search index generated by the caption analysis unit together with the content in the content storage unit.   A content search input device for inputting a search condition to the content search device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the content search input device includes an imaging unit that captures an image, and the imaging unit. A search information extraction unit for extracting information used for content search from the image captured in step (b), and a transmission unit for transmitting the information extracted by the search information extraction unit to the content search device. Content search input device.   5. The content search input device according to claim 4, wherein the search information extraction unit includes a character recognition unit that recognizes character information included in the captured image and extracts the recognized character information as the search information. A content search input device characterized by the above.   5. The content search input device according to claim 4, wherein the search information extraction unit further analyzes a character recognition unit that recognizes character information included in the captured image, and character information recognized by the character recognition unit. And a language analysis unit reconstructed as the search information.   5. The content search input device according to claim 4, wherein the search information extraction unit extracts the search information by analyzing a barcode included in the captured image. Input device.   A content search system comprising the content search device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and the content search input device according to any one of claims 4 to 7.   A content storage step for storing one or more contents, a search step for searching for the content stored in the content storage step or a part thereof, and the content searched for in the search step or a part thereof are displayed on a display device A content search method for searching for content based on a user instruction, wherein the search step performs a search based on subtitle information included in the content stored in the content storage step Content search method characterized by the above.   10. The content search method according to claim 9, wherein subtitle information previously given to the content is analyzed, and at least one of display color information, display timing information, display time information, and text information included in the subtitle information. A content search method comprising: a subtitle information analysis step for creating a search index using the above, wherein the search step performs a search using the search index created in the subtitle information analysis step.   11. The content search method according to claim 10, wherein the subtitle information analyzing step divides the accumulated content into one or more scenes, and generates the search index for each of the divided scenes. Content search method.   12. The content search method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein an image capturing step for capturing an image by an input device that inputs search information to a device for storing content, and information used for content search from the image captured in the image capturing step. A content search method comprising: a search information extraction step for extracting the content information; and a transmission step for transmitting the information extracted in the search information extraction step to the content storage device.   13. The content search method according to claim 12, wherein the search information extraction step recognizes character information included in the image captured in the imaging step and extracts the recognized character information as the search information. Content search method.   13. The content search method according to claim 12, wherein the search information extraction step recognizes character information included in the image captured in the imaging step, further linguistically analyzes the recognized character information. A content search method characterized by being reconstructed as information.   13. The content search method according to claim 12, wherein the search information extraction step analyzes the barcode extracted from the image captured in the imaging step and extracts the search information. Method.   The program for implement | achieving the function of the content search device of Claim 1 or 2.   The program which implement | achieves the function of the input device for content search of any one of Claim 4 thru | or 7.   The program which implement | achieves the function of the content search system of Claim 8.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to any one of claims 16 to 18 is recorded.

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