JP2024026157A - Comment distribution system, terminal device, comment distribution method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a terminal device and a comment distribution method that allow users to share same video and communicate with each other using comments.SOLUTION: A method executed by a terminal device receives comment information from a comment distribution server, displays video to be reproduced, reads from the comment information a comment with which a comment assignment time corresponding to a video reproduction time of the video to be reproduced is associated of the comment information, and displays the read comment together with the video. The method also reproduces the video from the video reproduction time corresponding to a comment selected from a list of comments, and displays a comment corresponding to the video reproduction time, among comments received and stored during the video reproduction and comments received and stored prior to the comments received and stored during the reproduction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a comment distribution system, a terminal device, a comment distribution method, and a program that allow users to communicate with each other using the content being played while playing video content.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been a system that displays comments made by a user on a moving image such as a broadcasted television program together with the moving image.
For example, on a bulletin board for TV programs that have different broadcast times depending on the region, posts for one scene of the TV program can be stored in correspondence with the net time from the start of the broadcast, even if the bulletin board is viewed at different times. There is a system in which previously written content is displayed in accordance with the scenes of a television program (for example, see Patent Document 1). According to this system, users can enjoy viewing comments while watching a TV program without feeling any time lag in broadcast time.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-290949

However, in the conventional system described above, comments are simply registered in association with the video time (video playback time) and are played back together with the video, so comments can be exchanged between users in real time. I was not able to communicate with others, and I could not say that the communication was interesting enough.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a comment distribution system, a terminal device, and a comment distribution system that allow users to share the same video and communicate using comments. The objective is to provide methods and programs.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a comment distribution system in which a video distribution server that distributes video data, a comment distribution server that distributes comments on videos, and a plurality of terminal devices are connected via a network. In the system, the comment distribution server includes the comment and a comment addition time that is a video playback time that represents the elapsed time of the video with reference to the beginning of the video at the time when the comment was added by the terminal device. a first comment information storage unit that receives and stores comment information each time the comment information is transmitted from any one of the plurality of terminal devices; a comment information distribution unit that reads and distributes the comment information to the terminal device; the terminal device includes a video playback unit that receives and plays video data distributed from the video distribution server; a comment information receiving section that receives comment information input from the comment distribution server; a second comment information storage section that stores the comment information received by the comment information receiving section; a display unit that displays a video that is displayed, reads a comment with a comment adding time corresponding to a video playback time of the video to be played from the second comment information storage unit, and displays the read comment along with the video. It is characterized by

Further, in the comment distribution system described above, the present invention includes a determination unit that determines whether a display position of a comment displayed by the comment display unit overlaps with a display position of another comment; The present invention is characterized by comprising a display position control unit that displays each comment at a position that does not overlap when it is determined that the display positions overlap.

The present invention also provides a terminal device in a comment distribution system in which a video distribution server that distributes video data, a comment distribution server that distributes comments on videos, and a plurality of terminal devices are connected via a network. , a video playback unit that receives and plays video data distributed from the video distribution server; and a video playback time representing the elapsed time of the video from the beginning of the video at the time when the comment is added by the terminal device. Comment information is received from the comment distribution server each time comment information including the comment adding time and the comment is transmitted from any one of the plurality of terminal devices to the comment distribution server. a receiving section, a comment information storage section that stores comment information received by the comment information receiving section, a comment information storage section that displays a video played by the video playback section, and of the comment information stored in the comment storage section; The present invention is characterized by comprising a display section that reads a comment with a comment adding time corresponding to a video playback time of a video to be played from the comment information storage section and displays the read comment together with the video.

The present invention also provides a comment distribution method in a comment distribution system in which a video distribution server that distributes video data, a comment distribution server that distributes comments on videos, and a plurality of terminal devices are connected via a network. Then, the comment distribution server transmits comment information including the comment and the comment addition time, which is a video playback time representing the elapsed time of the video with reference to the beginning of the video, at the time when the comment was added by the terminal device. When the comment information is stored in the first comment information storage unit that receives and stores each time it is transmitted from any one of the plurality of terminal devices, the comment information is read out and The video data is distributed to each of the terminal devices, and the video playback section of the terminal device receives and plays the video data distributed from the video distribution server, and the comment information reception section receives the video data inputted to the video to be played. a second comment information storage unit stores comment information received by the comment information receiving unit during playback of the video, and a display unit receives comment information from the video playback unit. The present invention is characterized in that, while displaying the moving image to be played, a comment having a comment adding time corresponding to the playing time of the moving image to be played is read from the second comment information storage section, and the read comment is displayed together with the moving image.

The present invention also provides a computer for a terminal device in a comment distribution system in which a video distribution server that distributes video data, a comment distribution server that distributes comments on videos, and a plurality of terminal devices are connected via a network. , a video playback means for receiving and playing video data distributed from the video distribution server, a video playback time representing the elapsed time of the video from the beginning of the video at the time when the comment is added by the terminal device; Each time comment information including a certain comment adding time and the comment is transmitted from any one of the plurality of terminal devices to the comment distribution server, the comment information is received from the comment distribution server and stored. A comment information storage means displays the video played by the video playback means, and displays a comment with a comment adding time corresponding to the video playback time of the video to be played, among the comment information stored in the comment storage means. This is a program for reading comments from a comment information storage means and functioning as a display means for displaying the read comments together with a moving image.

According to the present invention, from among the input comment information, a comment whose comment adding time corresponding to the video playback time of the video to be played is associated is read out from the comment information, and the read comment content is displayed together with the video. did. Then, when a comment deletion request indicating comment information that is to be deleted is entered for a video, that comment is not displayed, so the comment is not appropriate for the video. It is possible to display whether a comment exists or not, taking the user's intention into consideration, and it is possible to improve the entertainment value of communication using comments.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a comment distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a comment distribution server 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a comment information storage unit 21. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of a terminal device 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on a display device 34. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on a display device 34. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the comment distribution server 2. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the terminal device 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on a display device 34. FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a case where comments are written between users. FIG. It is a schematic block diagram showing the function of the comment distribution system in a 2nd embodiment. It is a drawing which shows an example of an authority table. 5 is a drawing showing an example of information stored in a display database 234. FIG. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the comment distribution system in the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, a comment distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a comment distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, a video distribution server 1 distributes video data in response to a distribution request from a terminal device 3. This distribution is performed, for example, by streaming distribution. The comment distribution server 2 receives comments on the video distributed by the video distribution server 1 from the terminal devices 3, and distributes them to each terminal device 3 that views the video. The terminal device 3 connects to the video distribution server 1 and the comment distribution server 3 via the network 4, receives and displays videos distributed from the video distribution server 1, and also displays comments distributed from the comment distribution server 3. Receive it and display it on the video.

Next, the comment distribution server 2 and the terminal device 3 in FIG. 1 will be further explained using the drawings. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the comment distribution server 2. As shown in FIG. In this figure, the comment information storage unit 21 associates the comment content with the video playback time, which is based on the video playback start point at the time the comment content is added, as the comment addition time. Stored as comment information.
An example of data stored in this comment information storage section 21 is shown in FIG. The comment information storage unit 21 stores a plurality of pieces of comment information in which comments on videos distributed by the video distribution server 1 are summarized for each thread. Each piece of comment information includes information on a video ID for identifying a video and a thread ID for identifying a thread, so that it is possible to identify which thread corresponds to which video. The comment information includes, in addition to the comment posting time and comment content, the comment information posting actual time (corresponding to the above-mentioned real time information) indicating the actual time when the comment was added (uttered), and a comment. Contains multiple comment data that are associated with a user name, which is information that identifies the user, and a comment display method, which is information that specifies how the comment is displayed on the video, and when playing the video with the video ID. When comment data is received from the terminal device 3 that is viewing the comments of the thread with the thread ID, the received comment data is additionally saved. Here, since thread IDs are stored in association with video IDs, even if a plurality of different threads are provided even if they are the same video, they can be identified. This comment information storage section 21 corresponds to the above-mentioned first comment information storage section.

Next, the comment information distribution unit 22 reads out the comment information stored in the comment information storage unit 21 and distributes it to the terminal device 3. The comment information update management unit 23 adds and stores additional comment information received from the terminal device 3 via the communication unit 24 in the comment information storage unit 21 according to the video ID and thread ID.
The communication unit 24 performs various communications with the terminal device 3, outputs information transmitted from the terminal device 3 to the comment information update management unit 23, and outputs instructions for adding and storing comment information. A comment information distribution instruction is output to the comment information distribution unit 22.

Next, the terminal device 3 will be explained using the drawings. FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the terminal device 3. As shown in FIG.
In this figure, a video playback unit 31 transmits a video distribution request specified by the user of the terminal device 3 to the video distribution server 1, receives and plays the video distributed from the video distribution server 1. The comment information receiving unit 32 receives comment information input for the video to be played from the comment distribution server 2. The comment information storage unit 33 stores the comment information received by the comment information receiving unit 32. This comment information storage section 33 corresponds to the above-mentioned second comment information storage section.

The display device 34 is a liquid crystal display device, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or the like, and displays various information. The first display section 35 displays the video played by the video playback section 31, and also displays the comment adding time corresponding to the video playback time of the video to be played, among the comment information stored in the comment information storage section 33. The associated comment is read from the comment information, and the read comment is displayed on the display device 34 together with the moving image. Furthermore, the first display unit 35 has a function of displaying the comment content as an overlay on the video. The second display unit 36 displays a list of comments as a comment list on the display device 34 based on the comment data stored in the comment information storage unit 33. Here, the information is displayed in the order of the actual time of comment posting included in the comment data.

The information displayed on this display device 34 will be further explained. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display device 34. As shown in FIG. Display field 101 displays the URL (uniform resource locator) used when accessing this comment distribution server. The display field 102 displays the video ID of the video to be played. In the display column 103, the total number of times the currently displayed video has been requested to be viewed is displayed as the number of views. When another user plays the video (requests for viewing), the number of views is increased by the number of users viewing the same video at that time, and the count is updated and displayed. The display field 104 displays a moving image displayed by the first display unit. The display field 105 is an area where comments displayed by the second display section are displayed, and here, the comments are displayed on the video displayed by the display field 104. Also, here, the display field 105 is set to a larger size than the display field 104, and the comments etc. displayed as an overlay are trimmed outside the video screen, so that the comments themselves are not included in the video. It is possible to understand that it is not something that is included in the video, but something that was written by the user in response to the video.

The operation panel 106 displays a play button, a stop button, a rewind button, a fast forward button, a volume adjustment button, a playback status display field that shows which part of the entire video is being played, and the like. By placing the cursor on a button and clicking it, input for the operation corresponding to that button is accepted. The display field 107 displays the playback time length of the entire video and the video playback time of the video currently displayed in the display field 105. In the input field 108, the name of the user who speaks on the video is input via the input unit 37. Here, a checkbox is provided near the input field 108, and depending on whether or not this checkbox is checked, it is selected whether or not to input an e-mail address, and when the checkbox is checked, the input field 108 may be divided into two, and the input of the user's name and the user's e-mail address may be accepted. In the input field 109, information specifying how to display the comment is input. For how to display comments, for example, specify the position, font, font size, start and end position, direction to move, etc. to display overlay on the comment video, etc. It can be set as information to be used. Note that here, it is also possible to decide in advance how to display comments so that the user does not have to input them.

A comment is input into the comment field 110 by the user via the input section 37. When the button 111 is clicked, the comment is sent to the comment field 110, the user's name entered in the input field 108, and information on how to display the comment entered in the input field 109. Send to server 2. The display field 112 is an area where a comment list, which is a list of comments, is displayed. This comment list includes the number assigned to the comment indicating the speaking order (code 112a), the name of the user who entered the comment (code 112b), the comment adding time when the comment was written (code 112c), and the comment made. (112d) are displayed in the order of posted real-time information. This display field 112 is provided with an input field such as a check box for specifying whether or not to display the display field 112 on the screen. It is also possible to hide it. Further, the number of some of the comments to be displayed in this display field 112 may be changed according to the user's instructions. The display field 113 displays details of the comment on which the user has placed the cursor, among the comment list displayed in the display field 112. Details of the comment include the full text of the comment, the name and email address of the user who made the comment, and so on.

By entering a check mark in the check box 114, a comment to be input in the comment field 110 is designated as one line. For example, if you enter a check mark in the check box 114, complete input of a comment, and press the enter key to complete the input, the "Write" button will be clicked when the enter key is pressed. The comment is sent to the comment distribution server 2. This allows comments to be input quickly and easily.

Next, returning to FIG. 4, the input unit 37 is an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard, and receives input of various information from the user. The selection unit 38 receives an input for selecting a comment inputted via the input unit 37 from the list of comments displayed by the second display unit 36 . The playback control unit 39 reads the comment data of the comment selected by the selection unit 38 from the comment information storage unit 33, and displays the video on the first display unit from the video playback time corresponding to the comment adding time of the read comment data. It is reproduced and displayed on the display device 34, and the comment content of the read comment data is displayed on the display device 34 by the first display section 35.

The transmitting unit 40 accepts data input of comment content for the video displayed by the first display unit 35, and transmits the video playback time at the time when the comment content was input as the comment adding time to the comment distribution server together with the comment content. do. Further, the transmitting unit 40 has a function of transmitting various information to the comment distribution server 2 and the video distribution server 1 according to instructions input from the input unit 37.

Next, the operation of the comment distribution system described above will be explained. Here, first, an outline of the operation of the comment distribution system will be explained.
First, the terminal device 3 accesses the comment distribution server 2, receives data of a list of videos whose comment writing times are recent, and displays the data on the display device 34. At this time, for example, the display device 34 displays video names, thread names, etc. as a list of recent videos as shown in FIG. Here, when the user selects a thread that he or she wants to view and clicks the name of the thread with the mouse, the terminal device 3 sends the video ID set to the video corresponding to the clicked thread to the video distribution server 1. At the same time, the thread ID and video ID set in the clicked thread are transmitted to the comment distribution server 2, and a request for comment information transmission is made. In response to this, the video distribution server 1 streams the video specified by the video ID to the terminal device 3 that has made the distribution request. On the other hand, the comment distribution server 2 reads comment information corresponding to the thread ID and video ID from the comment information storage section 21 and distributes it to the terminal device 3 that has made the distribution request.

The terminal device 3 receives the video distributed from the video distribution server 1 and displays it on the display device 34, and also displays the comment content on the video based on the comment information distributed from the comment distribution server 2. Here, in accordance with the video playback time after the start of video playback, comment contents whose comment adding time is set to match the video playback time are sequentially displayed on the video.

Next, the operations of the comment distribution server 2 and the terminal device 3 will be sequentially explained.
First, the operation of the comment distribution server 2 will be explained using the flowchart of FIG. The communication unit 24 of the comment distribution server 2 detects whether a comment information distribution request has been received from the terminal device 3 (step S101). When receiving a comment information distribution request, the communication unit 24 instructs the comment information distribution unit 22 to distribute the comment information. Here, the video ID and thread ID of the comment information included in the distribution request are output to the comment information distribution unit 22. The comment information distribution unit 22 reads comment information corresponding to the video ID and thread ID output from the communication unit 24 from the comment information storage unit 21 (step S102), and transmits the read comment information to the terminal device 3 that has made the distribution request. It is distributed (step S103). Here, each piece of comment information associated with the video ID and thread ID is transmitted at once.

On the other hand, when receiving comment data transmitted from the terminal device 3 instead of a comment information distribution request (step S104), the communication unit 24 outputs the comment data to the comment information update management unit 23. The comment information update management unit 23 refers to the comment information storage unit 21, specifies comment information based on the video ID and thread ID included in the comment data output from the communication unit 24, and updates the specified comment information with respect to the specified comment information. The received comment data is additionally saved (step S105). When the comment information distribution unit 22 is additionally saved, the comment information distribution unit 22 sends the terminal device 3 that is playing the video of the video ID and that is viewing the comment of the thread ID together with the video of the video ID. The additionally saved comment data is distributed to each of the identified terminal devices 3 (step S106). On the other hand, if it is not a comment information distribution request and comment data transmitted from the terminal device 3 has not been received, the process moves to step S101. Here, as a method for identifying the terminal device 3 that is playing the video with the same video ID and viewing the comments of the thread with the thread ID, for example, the terminal device 3 that has accessed the comment distribution server 2 For example, a session may be established with a user, and the terminal device 3 on which this session is valid may be identified as being currently viewing a video.

Next, the operation of the terminal device 3 will be explained using the drawings. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the terminal device 3.
When the input unit 37 of the terminal device 3 receives a video playback instruction from the user (step S201), the input unit 37 transmits the video ID of the instructed video to the video distribution server 1 via the transmission unit 40, and requests the video distribution. At the same time, a comment information distribution request is transmitted to the comment distribution server 2. When the comment information receiving unit 32 receives the comment information distributed from the comment distribution server 2 (step S202), the comment information receiving unit 32 stores the comment information in the comment information storage unit 33.

When the comment information is received and stored in the comment information storage unit 33, the video playback unit 31 receives the video distributed from the video distribution server 1, plays the received video, and displays it on the first display unit 35. It is displayed on the device 34 (step S203). When the playback of the video is started, the first display unit 35 stores comment information to determine whether or not there is comment data with a comment adding time that matches the video playback time, based on the current video playback time. The determination is made with reference to the section 33 (step S204). If there is comment data with a comment addition time set that matches the video playback time (step S205-YES), the first display unit 35 calculates the display position of the comment data (step S206). Then, the display of comments on the video is controlled according to the calculated display position (step S206).
On the other hand, the video playback unit 31 determines whether the playback has ended or not. If the playback has ended, the process ends; if the playback has not ended, the process moves to step S204.

On the other hand, if there is no comment to be displayed in step S205, the distribution unit 40 detects whether a comment has been input from the input unit 37 (step S209). If a comment is entered, the playback time indicated by the player of the software that is playing the video at the time the comment was entered (for example, when the "Write" button (code 111) was clicked) (video playback time), the video playback time is set as the comment adding time, the video ID of the video being played, the thread ID of the comment being viewed, the current real time information (current time information), and the terminal. The user name of the user of the device 3, the input comment content, and the comment display method are associated with each other and added and saved as comment information to the comment list in the comment information storage unit 33 (step S210). Then, the transmitter 40 transmits the additionally saved comment information to the comment distribution server 2 (step S211), and proceeds to step S208.

In step S209, if the input is not a comment, the terminal device 3 uses the comment information receiving unit 32 to detect whether comment data has been received (step S212). When comment data is received, the comment information receiving unit 32 additionally stores the received comment data in the comment information storage unit 33, and proceeds to step S208.

On the other hand, in step S212, if comment data is not received, the selection unit 38 of the terminal device 3 detects whether a comment selection operation has been input from the input unit 37 (step S214). When a comment selection operation is input, the selection unit 38 outputs the comment content of the selected comment data to the reproduction control unit 39. Upon receiving this output, the playback control unit 39 refers to the comment information storage unit 33 and reads out the comment adding time stored in association with the selected comment data, and reads out the video playback time corresponding to the read comment adding time. Accordingly, by rewinding or fast-forwarding the video playback position, playback starts from the video playback time that matches the comment addition time stored in association with the comment data (step S215), and the comment at the comment addition time is The contents are displayed and the process moves to step S208.

Next, the case where comments are displayed on the screen will be explained using drawings. Here, a case will be described in which the thread ``Tell us what you think of the food!'' associated with the video ``Famous Chef's Omelet Rice'' is selected in the ``List of Recent Comments'' in FIG. 5. When this thread is selected, a video of "Famous Chef's Omelet Rice" is played, for example, in the area of the display column 104 in FIG. 5. Then, comments are sequentially displayed on the video according to the video playback time. Figure 5 shows the screen when the video playback time is 9 seconds, and here, the comment "Looks delicious!" from user F, whose comment addition time is 9 seconds, moves from the right side of the screen to the left side. is displayed (numeral 115). Then, as the video continues to play and the video playback time reaches 13 seconds, a screen as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. Here, the comment “Looks delicious!” with a comment addition time of 9 seconds has been moved to the left side of the screen, and is trimmed outside the display field 104 and inside the display field 109. ~!'' is displayed (reference numeral 200). In addition, the comment "Famous chef's work is nice", which is a comment by User Z whose comment duration was 10 seconds, is displayed below User B's comment (code 201), and the comment duration is 10 seconds. User E's comment "What kind of eggs do you use?" for 12 seconds is displayed at the bottom of the screen (reference numeral 202). In this way, comments are displayed one after another.

The above explanation focused on the operation of only one terminal device 3, but in reality, comments can be exchanged between users who are viewing the same video and the same thread as follows. I can do it. Here, explanation will be made using FIG. 10.
For example, when a certain user E plays a video and inputs an additional comment such as "What kind of eggs do you use?" at the video playback time of 12 seconds (symbol a), that additional input is made. Comment information of the posted comments is distributed via the comment distribution server 2 to the terminal devices 3 viewing the same video and the same thread.

After the distribution, when the same video is played back by another user C (symbol b), comment information including the added comment is distributed to the terminal device 3 of user C. Then, when the video playback time is 12 seconds, a comment from user E asking, "What kind of eggs do you use?" is displayed. User C, who viewed this comment, responded by saying, ``It seems like it's from XX prefecture.'' At the point when user C's video playback time is 15 seconds (for example, at 100 seconds in user E's video playback time). ” and sends it to the comment distribution server 2 (symbol c), the sent comment is distributed to the terminal device 3 of the user E. At this time, for example, when the video playback time is 100 seconds, some of the comments of user C are displayed in the list of comments of user E in the order according to real time (symbol d). For example, the latest comment is displayed at the bottom (or top) of the comment list. When user E sees this list of comments and clicks on a part of the comment, the video being played returns to the video playback time of 15 seconds and is played back, and the user E's terminal device 3 A comment "It seems to be produced in ○○ prefecture." is displayed on the screen (code e). This allows user E to enjoy the comment as if there was a reply to his or her comment. By repeating such comment exchanges, even users who view videos at different times can communicate with each other through comments. In this way, comments are managed in the order they were entered in real time and displayed as a list of comments, so even users whose video playback timings do not match can exchange comments in real time. This makes it possible to communicate.

Furthermore, if such comments are repeatedly posted and the video is played from the time the comment is posted, the difference in video playback timing approaches 0 among users, causing users to watch the same video at almost the same timing. You can exchange comments while browsing.

Here, we have explained the case where multiple users are viewing the same video, but if a certain user plays the video while no one is watching it, the memory The comment information that has been posted is distributed from the comment distribution server 2 to the terminal device 3, and is sequentially reproduced in accordance with the timing of video reproduction. As a result, even if no other user is viewing the video, comments made in the past can be viewed in order according to the video playback time of the video. You can also write comments here.

In the embodiment described above, when a comment is added to the comment list and the added comment is clicked by the user, the video is played from the video playback time that matches the comment adding time set for the comment, We explained the case where a comment is displayed, but if the added comment is not clicked, the comment will be displayed on the video when the video playback time reaches the comment adding time set for the added comment. Is displayed.
Also, even if another user writes a comment during the video playback time of the video you are viewing, it will be displayed in the comment list in order of real time, so you can click on the added comment. You can view comments by rewinding or fast forwarding to the point in time when the comment was posted. Also, by rewinding the video playback time, the comments written up to that point, including newly added comments, will be displayed sequentially according to the video playback time according to the comment addition time. be done.

In addition, here, it is also possible to rewind or fast forward the playback time by moving the slide bar in the playback status display field of the operation panel 106. However, by selecting from the comment list, you can view the comment you want to see from the scene you want to see.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the terminal device 3 receives comment data distributed from the comment distribution server 2 and reflects and displays it on the screen. The comments may be displayed on the screen immediately after the comments are input (before being transmitted to the comment distribution server 2 and received by the comment distribution server 2 side). Specifically, when a comment is input in step S209 of FIG. 8, the input comment is displayed on its own terminal device 3, and the process proceeds to step S210, where the input comment is added and saved to the comment list. , and then may be transmitted to the comment distribution server 2.

Next, displaying comments will be explained.
The input comment can be set by inputting in the input field 109 the position to be displayed, such as the top, middle, or bottom of the screen, and the display time for moving and displaying the comment. Further, when setting the display time, for example, the comment can be displayed at the top of the screen for a certain period of time (for example, 4 seconds) and then disappear. It is also possible to adjust the movement speed by specifying the time from when the object appears within the display area of the screen until it moves outside the area and disappears (for example, 4 seconds). In addition, if a large number of comments are input in a concentrated manner during a certain video playback time, and if they overlap in lines of the same height when displayed, display them at different heights on the screen or move them. It is possible to display it. Also, if the display time is set and the moving speed differs depending on the length of the comment string, the next comment may catch up before the comment finishes moving. In this case, the next comment may be displayed on a line at a different height or moved.

Furthermore, in addition to inputting sentences, it is also possible to input comments by arranging characters, symbols, etc., and inputting ASCII art (also referred to as text art) as comments. In this case, by unchecking "1 line" in the check box 114 and writing characters and symbols over several lines, it is also possible to draw landscapes and realistic pictures. Here, the character font may be enlarged or reduced as necessary so that all lines of the ASCII art fit within the screen.

Alternatively, it is possible to determine whether a comment is new or old based on real time, and to display a comment entered at an old time in real time semitransparently after a certain period of time, and then to erase it. Further, the importance level may be set for the comment, and the font size of the comment may be changed depending on the importance level. For example, a comment with a large number of response comments can be determined to have a high degree of importance, and the font size of the root comment can be increased. Further, the display position of the comment in the vertical direction (vertical direction of the screen) may be changed depending on the degree of importance. For example, comments with high importance may be displayed on a line at the top of the screen, and comments with low importance may be displayed on a line at the bottom of the screen.

In addition, in the embodiment described above, the case where the video distribution server 1 and the comment distribution server 2 are separate servers has been described, but the functions of the video distribution server 1 and the comment distribution server 2 can be realized by the same server. You can do it like this.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when viewing comments and videos in this service, the comment distribution server 2 is accessed, data of a list of recent comments is received, and the recent comments displayed on the display device 34 are accessed. Although a case has been described in which a video and a thread are selected from a comment list, it is also possible to designate a thread for this video, create a URL where the comment and video can be viewed, and publish it on the Internet. Specifically, a URL containing a video ID and a thread ID that, when clicked, allows users to play the video and receive comment information for the thread, is posted on a blog or bulletin board on an Internet site, and other The user may be asked to click. Alternatively, such a URL may be set in a thumbnail image or the like and clicked.

In addition, regarding such a list of recent comments, on the screen where videos and comments are viewed (for example, Figure 5), thumbnail images can be displayed on the right side or bottom of the screen, and threads with a large number of accesses can be displayed. Alternatively, the ranking may be displayed, the user may click on the thumbnail image, and the thread set on the clicked thumbnail image may be displayed.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a video ID and thread ID are specified is explained, but if a representative thread ID is registered in advance for the video ID and only the video ID is specified, the representative thread is displayed. You can do it like this. Furthermore, when a comment is simply input to a video without specifying which thread to write in, the comment may be written in a representative thread. Furthermore, when a certain number of comments (for example, 100) are posted in a thread, a new thread may be generated by the comment distribution server 2 or the user.

In addition, regarding the comment list, if a comment has been displayed once on a video, or if the user has clicked to view it from the comment list, it will be possible to identify that it has been viewed in the comment list. It's okay. For example, the font color may be changed or a mark indicating that the page has been viewed may be displayed.

Alternatively, an individual user identifier may be assigned to each user, and, for example, the user identifier may be associated with a comment to form comment data. This makes it possible to identify who made the comment. Furthermore, comments may be displayed in different font colors depending on the user identifier. This makes it possible to identify the user who spoke.
Furthermore, by allocating a user ID to a user who has accessed the system in advance and storing this user ID in the comment data, it may be possible to display a list of comments made by each user, for example, in a pop-up display. . Note that this user ID may be assigned to each user through prior user registration, or may be made to use information that identifies the terminal device. When using the information specifying the terminal device, for example, a hash function may be used to calculate the information specifying the terminal device, and the result of the calculation may be used as the user ID.

Next, a second embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, a case will be explained in which a posted comment is deleted. In order to delete a comment here, for example, in response to a comment deletion instruction inputted via the terminal device 3 from a user with comment deletion authority, the comment to be deleted is prevented from being displayed on the screen. be able to. In addition, even if a user does not have direct authority to delete comments, depending on the number of requests for comment deletion from users who do not have that authority, comments may be made semi-transparent or not displayed. is possible.

The comment distribution system in the second embodiment will be described below.
FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram showing the functions of the comment distribution system in the second embodiment. In this figure, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted. In this embodiment, the description will be made assuming that a comment ID is assigned to each comment in comment information.
In addition to the functions of the communication unit 24 in FIG. 2, the communication unit 241 also receives comment deletion request information transmitted from the terminal device 3. The comment deletion request information here includes the comment ID to be deleted, the thread ID that specifies the thread in which the comment to be deleted is registered, the video ID that specifies the video corresponding to the thread, and the deletion The deletion request user ID for identifying the user who made the request is included.

The comment information update management section 23 includes an authority determination section 231, an erasure request counting section 232, and a display selection section 233.
The authority determination unit 231 receives the comment deletion request information received by the communication unit 242 from the terminal device 3, and deletes the comment based on the video ID, thread ID, and deletion request user ID included in the comment deletion request information. Determine whether you have the authority to do so. The authority determining unit 231 stores an authority table in its internal memory area for determining whether or not the user has this authority, and refers to this table to determine whether or not the user has the authority. An example of this authority table is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the authority table stores video IDs, thread IDs, and deletion authority user IDs for identifying users who have the authority to delete comments registered in the thread ID in association with each other. . Here, only one deletion authority possessing user ID may be stored for one combination of video ID and thread ID, or a plurality of deletion authority possessing user IDs may be stored. The authority determining unit 231 refers to this authority table, determines whether the combination of video ID and comment ID included in the comment deletion request information is in the authority table, and if there is a combination of video ID and comment ID, further , determines whether the user ID with deletion authority associated with the comment ID in the authority table matches the user ID included in the comment deletion request information, and determines whether the user ID with deletion authority and the user ID included in the comment deletion request information match. If the user ID matches the user ID, it is determined that the user has the authority to delete the comment.

The erasure request counting unit 232 counts the number of erasure requests for each comment requested to be erased, based on the comment erasure request information for which the authority determining unit 231 has determined that the comment does not have erasure authority.
The display database 234 stores count numbers and display methods in association with each other. An example of information stored in this display database 234 is shown in FIG. Here, the count number (n) that is the result of counting by the erasure request counting unit 232, information indicating the relationship between the range of the count number, and information specifying the display method are stored in association with each other. This display method is set to "Normal" for displaying comments, "Semi-transparent" for displaying translucent comments superimposed on the video, and "Transparent" for erasing comments.

The display selection unit 233 reads out the display method corresponding to the count result (n) counted by the erasure request counting unit 232 with reference to the display database 234, and adds the read display method to the “comment display method” of the comment information. , is stored in the comment information storage section 21.

Next, the operation of the comment distribution system in the second embodiment described above will be explained.
FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the comment distribution system in the second embodiment.
First, as shown in the first embodiment, the comment distribution server 1 collects comments posted from the terminal devices 3, distributes them as comment information to each terminal device 3, and displays the video and comments on the screen. .
Among the comments displayed on the screen of the terminal device 3, when the user clicks the comment to be deleted with a mouse or the like and clicks the deletion request button displayed on the screen, the terminal device 3 reads the comment ID, video ID, and thread ID of the clicked comment from the comment information storage unit 33, and stores the read comment ID, video ID, and thread ID, and the user who is using his/her own terminal device 3. It is associated with the ID and transmitted to the comment distribution server 1 as a comment deletion request (step S301).

When the comment distribution server 1 receives comment deletion request information from the terminal device 3 (step S401), the comment distribution server 1 determines whether the user ID included in the received comment deletion request information has the authority to delete the comment. The determination unit 231 determines (step S402). As a result of the determination, if the user has deletion authority, the display selection unit 233 is instructed to delete the comment. In response to the instruction from the authority determination unit 231, the display selection unit 233 selects comments stored in the comment information storage unit 21 that match the video ID, thread ID, and comment ID included in the received comment deletion request information. Write information indicating "Do not display" in the "Comment display method" of the information.

Then, when the "comment display method" information of the comment information is updated, the comment information distribution unit 22 transmits the updated comment information to the terminal device 3 (step S404). The terminal device 3 receives the comment information transmitted from the comment distribution server 1, and displays the comment according to the comment display method. Here, the deleted comments are stored as comment data, but are not displayed on the screen, and comments that are not targeted for deletion are displayed on the screen.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S402 that there is no authority, the deletion request counting unit 232 detects the comment deletion request information from a user who does not have the deletion authority. Then, the deletion request counting unit 232 counts up the deletion requests of the video ID and the comment ID of the thread ID included in the comment deletion request information (step S405), temporarily stores it in its own internal counter, and stores the count result. It is output to the display selection section 233. The display selection unit 233 reads the display method corresponding to the count number from the display database 234 based on the count result output from the erasure request counting unit 232 (step S406), and assigns the read display method to the video ID and thread ID. The "comment display method" is written in the comment information storage section 21 according to the comment ID.

When the comment display method is written in the comment information storage section 21, the comment information distribution section 22 transmits the comment information after the comment display method has been written to the terminal device 3 (step S404). Thereby, it is displayed on the terminal device 3 according to the transmitted comment information (step S302).

According to this embodiment, comments are deleted according to the presence or absence of authority. Thereby, it is possible to display a comment that takes into account the intentions of a user with special authority, such as the administrator of the thread, to determine whether the comment is inappropriate for the thread. Additionally, even users who do not have the authority to delete comments by their own will can delete comments or display them differently from other comments, such as making them semi-transparent, depending on the number of users. . As a result, comments can be written and deleted among a plurality of users, and the entertainment value of the thread can be improved.

Note that in the second embodiment described above, a case has been described in which the deletion request counting unit 232 refers to the comment deletion request information that the authority determination unit 231 has determined does not have the deletion authority; Only one of the request counting units 232 may be provided in the comment information update management unit 23. In other words, comments may be deleted by accepting deletion requests only from users who have permission to delete comments, or depending on the number of requests received from users, regardless of whether or not they have permission to delete comments. The comments may be hidden or made semi-transparent.

In addition, in the second embodiment described above, the case where the comment display method is "normal", "semi-transparent", and "transparent" was explained, but the comment to be deleted may be displayed differently from the normal comment. For example, you can change the level of translucency to multiple levels, change the comment color, change the font size, font, color gradation, or make it white. Good too.
Alternatively, an input request for cancellation of comment deletion may be received from a user who has the authority to delete comments, and the deleted comments may be displayed in response to this instruction.

In the embodiment described above, a program for realizing the functions of the comment information distribution unit 22, comment information update management unit 23, and communication unit 24 in FIG. 2, or the video playback unit 31 and comment information in FIG. Receiving unit 32, first display unit 35, second display unit 36, input unit 37, selection unit 38, playback control unit 39, transmission unit 40, authority determination unit 231 in FIG. 11, erasure request count unit 232, display A program for realizing the functions of the selection unit 233 and the communication unit 241 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is loaded into a computer system and executed, thereby distributing comments. Display control of comments may also be performed. Note that the "computer system" herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices.

Furthermore, the term "computer system" includes the homepage providing environment (or display environment) if a WWW system is used. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Furthermore, a "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a storage medium that dynamically stores a program for a short period of time, such as a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. It also includes devices that retain programs for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory inside a computer system that serves as a server or client. Further, the above-mentioned program may be one for realizing a part of the above-mentioned functions, or may be one that can realize the above-mentioned functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and includes designs within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

1 Video distribution server 2 Comment distribution server 3 Terminal device 21 Comment information storage unit 22 Comment information distribution unit 23 Comment information update management unit 24, 241 Communication unit 31 Video playback unit 32 Comment information reception unit 33 Comment information storage unit 34 Display device 35 First display section 36 Second display section 37 Input section 38 Selection section 39 Playback control section 40 Transmission section 231 Authority judgment section 232 Erase request count section 233 Display selection section 234 Display database

Claims (5)

A comment distribution system in which a video distribution server that distributes video data, a comment distribution server that distributes comments on videos, and a plurality of terminal devices are connected via a network,
The comment distribution server is
Any one of the plurality of terminal devices transmits comment information including the comment and the comment adding time, which is a video playback time representing the elapsed time of the video with respect to the beginning of the video, at the time when the comment was added by the terminal device. a first comment information storage unit that receives and stores each message transmitted from the terminal device;
a comment information distribution unit that reads comment information stored in the first comment information storage unit and distributes it to the terminal device,
The terminal device is
a video playback unit that receives and plays video data distributed from the video distribution server;
a comment information receiving unit that receives comment information input for the video to be played from the comment distribution server;
a second comment information storage unit that stores comment information received by the comment information reception unit;
Displaying the video played by the video playback unit, reading a comment with a comment adding time corresponding to the video playback time of the video to be played from the second comment information storage unit, and displaying the read comment along with the video. A display section;
A comment distribution system characterized by having. a determination unit that determines whether the display position of the comment displayed by the comment display unit overlaps with the display position of another comment;
a display position control unit that displays each comment in a position where the comments do not overlap when the determination unit determines that the display positions of the comments overlap;
A comment distribution system characterized by having. A terminal device in a comment distribution system in which a video distribution server that distributes video data, a comment distribution server that distributes comments on videos, and a plurality of terminal devices are connected via a network,
a video playback unit that receives and plays video data distributed from the video distribution server; and a video playback time that represents the elapsed time of the video with respect to the beginning of the video at the time when the comment is added by the terminal device. Comment information reception that receives comment information from the comment distribution server each time comment information including a certain comment adding time and the comment is transmitted from any one of the plurality of terminal devices to the comment distribution server. Department and
a comment information storage section that stores the comment information received by the comment information receiving section; and a comment information storage section that displays a video to be played by the video playback section, and a video to be played from among the comment information stored in the comment storage section. a display unit that reads a comment with a comment adding time corresponding to a video playback time from the comment information storage unit and displays the read comment along with the video;
A terminal device comprising: A comment distribution method in a comment distribution system in which a video distribution server that distributes video data, a comment distribution server that distributes comments on videos, and a plurality of terminal devices are connected via a network,
The comment distribution server is
Any one of the plurality of terminal devices transmits comment information including the comment and the comment adding time, which is a video playback time representing the elapsed time of the video with respect to the beginning of the video, at the time when the comment was added by the terminal device. When the comment information is stored in a first comment information storage unit that receives and stores each time it is transmitted from the terminal device, the comment information is read out and distributed to each of the plurality of terminal devices,
The terminal device is
a video playback unit receives and plays video data distributed from the video distribution server, a comment information reception unit receives comment information input for the video to be played from the comment distribution server,
a second comment information storage unit stores comment information received by the comment information reception unit during playback of the video;
A display unit displays the video played by the video playback unit, reads a comment with a comment adding time corresponding to a video playback time of the video to be played from the second comment information storage unit, and reads the read comment. A comment delivery method characterized by displaying them along with the video. A video distribution server that distributes video data, a comment distribution server that distributes comments on videos, and a plurality of terminal devices are connected to a computer of a terminal device in a comment distribution system via a network,
A video playback means that receives and plays video data distributed from the video distribution server, and a video playback time that represents the elapsed time of the video with respect to the beginning of the video at the time when a comment is added by the terminal device. A comment that receives and stores comment information from the comment distribution server each time comment information including a comment adding time and the comment is transmitted from any one of the plurality of terminal devices to the comment distribution server. information storage means,
The video played by the video playback means is displayed, and among the comment information stored in the comment storage means, a comment with a comment adding time corresponding to the video playback time of the video to be played is stored from the comment information storage means. display means for reading and displaying the read comments along with the video;
A program to function as

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