JP3941616B2 - Distribution method of online karaoke system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication karaoke system distribution method for distributing music data from a host computer of a center station to a plurality of karaoke terminals.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As is well known, a communication karaoke system is known in which music data is supplied from a host computer of a center station having a music data database to a karaoke terminal installed in each store such as a karaoke snack via a public line. In general, in this type of system, not only the performance of karaoke but also the background image that matches the image of the song is displayed on the display for the purpose of making the user entertain from the viewpoint of vision.
[0003]
The video data that is the basis of such a background video has a large amount of data compared to the music data, and particularly in the case of a moving image, it is a huge amount. Therefore, the video data is separately stored in advance in a storage medium such as an LD (laser disk) or a CD-ROM because the transmission capacity of the currently used communication line is a heavy burden for distributing the video data. Generally, this is distributed and supplied to each store. In addition, since there is a limit to the capacity of such a storage medium and it is not efficient to prepare video data as many as the number of music data, in general, one video data is shared for a plurality of music with a common genre. Taking the way. That is, information indicating the genre of the song is included in the header portion of the song data distributed from the host computer, video data corresponding to the genre is read from a CD-ROM or the like, and the background video is displayed together with the performance of the karaoke. It is like that.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in recent years, there is a great expectation for visual effects in karaoke performance, and there is an increasing demand among users to enjoy a background image unique to each song as well as a moving image. This requirement is particularly great for music that occupies an important position such as the theme song of anime. On the other hand, with the recent improvement in storage density of CD-ROMs and the like, and the advancement of image compression technology, video data unique to each song can be stored in a CD-ROM or the like.
[0005]
Under these circumstances, many karaoke stores will continue to use music data that has already been distributed, and in the future, the system will be expanded to provide background images unique to each song, I have come to want to meet the demand. However, as described above, for the existing music data, the background video is designated by the genre described in the header, and the system as described above can be expanded while continuing to use such existing music data. It is not easy to plan for reasons such as a change in data format or program, and therefore it has not been possible to meet customer requirements.
[0006]
The present invention has been made under such a background, and for each piece of music to which a unique background video has been newly added while continuing to use existing music data for which a unique background video has not been prepared, An object of the present invention is to provide a karaoke apparatus for a communication karaoke system that can display a background image unique to the device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a unique background image for more music pieces by efficiently using the storage area of the image storage medium.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a distribution method for a communication karaoke system according to claim 1 is a distribution method for a communication karaoke system in which a host computer and a karaoke terminal are connected via a communication line, and The genre information corresponding to the data and the music data is stored in the storage means in advance, and when the performance of the karaoke music is instructed, the index information for designating the background video corresponding to the karaoke music is stored in the storage means. determine dolphin whether, when the index information is not stored, the while playing karaoke music based on the music data corresponding to the karaoke song, a video data corresponding to the genre information of the music data display background image by reproducing video data stored in different storage media from the storage means, the When the index information is stored, along with playing karaoke music based on the music data corresponding to the karaoke song, stored in different storage media from said storage means an image data in accordance with the index information The host computer distributes the index information corresponding to the music data alone or together with the music data, and the karaoke terminal displays the distributed music data and the index information. The information is stored in the storage means .
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0011]
A: Configuration of Embodiment (1) Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a host computer installed in a center station, which has a database DB storing karaoke music data and a BGV index file (described later). A plurality of karaoke terminals 2, 2,... Installed in each karaoke store are connected to the host computer 1 through a communication line (public telephone line or ISDN) N, and music data and the like are periodically transmitted. It is distributed to each karaoke terminal.
[0012]
(2) Configuration of Karaoke Terminal 2 Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the karaoke terminal 2. In the figure, 21 is a CPU, which controls each part of the terminal connected via a bus BUS. Reference numeral 22 denotes a ROM which stores font data corresponding to the lyrics program included in the control program executed by the CPU 21 and the music data. Reference numeral 23 denotes a RAM which is used as a work area for the CPU 21.
[0013]
Reference numeral 24 denotes a hard disk that stores music data and BGV index files distributed from the host computer 1. That is, in each karaoke terminal, music data supplied from the host computer 1 is temporarily stored in the hard disk 24, and this is read out and used.
[0014]
Reference numeral 25 denotes a communication I / F (interface) which receives music data and a BGV index file transmitted from the host computer 1 and transfers them to the hard disk 24 by DMA (direct memory access).
[0015]
Further, reference numeral 26 denotes a panel I / F, which is a key input operation (for example, input of a song number, instruction to start or stop performance, setting of volume, tempo, etc.) on an operation panel of a karaoke apparatus body or a remote control terminal (not shown). And the detection result is supplied to the CPU 21 as input data.
[0016]
Next, reference numeral 27 denotes a sound source, which synthesizes a tone signal corresponding to the tone control data (included in the music data) supplied by the CPU 21 and outputs the synthesized tone signal to the mixer 28. An audio decoder 29 generates an audio signal corresponding to ADPCM data (audio data such as a back chorus included in the music data) supplied from the CPU 21 and outputs the audio signal to the mixer 28. The mixer 28 mixes and outputs the musical sound signal supplied from the sound source 27, the audio signal such as the back chorus supplied from the audio decoder 29, and the voice signal of the singer input from the microphone M.
[0017]
Reference numeral 30 denotes an effector, which applies various effects such as echo and reverb to the output of the mixer 28 based on the effect control data supplied by the CPU 21 (included in the music data). Further, 31 is a sound system, which removes noise components from the output of the effector 31 and then emits sound from a speaker (not shown).
[0018]
Next, reference numeral 32 denotes a background video playback device, which plays back video data for displaying a karaoke background video stored in a video storage medium such as a moving image CD. Here, in the video data, a background video corresponding to the genre of the music and a background video unique to each music are mixed, and the former is a large number of music with a common genre (not about 2 or 3 songs). One video is shared for the number of songs (such as 10 songs or several tens of songs), and in the latter, one video is prepared for one song in principle. The former video data is existing video data provided since the introduction of the system, and the latter video data is video data added corresponding to music data distributed as a new song after the introduction of the system. .
[0019]
That is, in this system, when distributing music data of a new song, a BGV index file of each song is also delivered along with it, and the video data unique to the new song referenced by this BGV index file is Is added to the karaoke terminal 2 such as a moving image CD storing the above. On the other hand, existing music data existing from the beginning of the system does not have a background video unique to the song, but only a background video corresponding to the genre. When the genre of the music is designated, the background video reproduction device 32 searches the video data corresponding to the genre from, for example, the disk 1 and when the address corresponding to the music number of the music is designated, the background video reproduction device 32 corresponds to the music. The video data is searched from the disks 2 to 10, for example.
[0020]
Now, 33 shown in FIG. 2 is a video mixer, which superimposes the font data of the lyrics read from the ROM 22 on the background video and outputs this composite image. Reference numeral 34 denotes a display which displays a composite image of background and lyrics corresponding to the output of the video mixer 33.
[0021]
(3) Content of Music Data Next, the content of music data will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the music data for one music consists of a header, a musical sound track, a display track, an audio track, an effect control track, and an audio data area. The header is a portion in which various data relating to the song is written, and describes data such as a song number, a song name, a genre, and a performance time of the song.
[0022]
The musical tone track describes sequence data for controlling musical tone synthesis by the sound source 27, and is composed of event data for controlling sound generation, muting, etc., and duration data for controlling timing. In the display track, code information corresponding to the lyrics of karaoke to be displayed on the display 34 in synchronization with the progress of the song is described. In the audio track, address information and the like for reading out ADPCM data from the audio data area in synchronization with the progress of the music are described. Further, the effect control track describes control data for controlling the effect to be given to the musical sound such as echo and reverb.
[0023]
(4) Contents of BGV Index File Next, the contents of the BGV index file will be described. In the BGV index file, data for specifying a storage position of video data for displaying a background video unique to the music data and controlling reproduction thereof is described. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, there is a BGV index file corresponding to each song, and each file has a song number of the corresponding song data, a disc number storing video data to be reproduced, The start part start position A, repeat part start position B, repeat part end position C, ending part start position D, ending part end position E, and music data ending part start position D ′ are described.
[0024]
Here, the start part start position A is the start address of the video data on the disc, the repeat part start position B and the repeat part end position C are the start and end points when the video data is repeatedly reproduced, and the ending part The start position D is the reproduction start point of the video data when entering the ending of the song, and the ending part start position D ′ is the position on the song data corresponding to the start point of the song ending (for example, how small the song is Specify information indicating whether or not a milestone. Note that video data reproduction control based on the BGV index file will be described later.
[0025]
B: Operation of Embodiment Next, the operation of the embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0026]
First, when the user inputs a karaoke song number from the remote control terminal, the song number is taken into the CPU 21 via the panel I / F 26 (step S1). Thus, the CPU 21 searches the hard disk 24 for music data and a BGV index file corresponding to the music number (step S2).
[0027]
Then, the presence / absence of a BGV index file corresponding to the music number is determined (step S3). Here, for example, when the music with the specified song number is an old song that has existed since the introduction of the system, if the corresponding BGV index file does not exist, or even if it is a new song, the corresponding BGV index file does not exist. When not distributed, the header of the music data corresponding to the music number is referred to. Then, the genre described in the header is designated to the background video reproduction device 32 (step S4). As a result, the video data corresponding to the designated genre is searched from the disc 1, and thereafter the karaoke performance is performed based on the music data, and the background video corresponding to the genre of the music is displayed in parallel with this performance. 34.
[0028]
On the other hand, in the above step S3, since the music with the specified song number is a new song distributed after the introduction of the system, if the corresponding BGV index file exists, or even an old song has a BGV index file, If it is distributed, the contents of this file are referred to, and thereafter video reproduction is controlled based on the description information of the file (steps S5 to S11).
[0029]
First, karaoke performance is started based on the music data, while the disc number and start portion start position A described in the BGV index file are designated to the background video reproduction device 32 (step S5). As a result, the background video reproduction device 32 starts reproduction of the video data from the start portion start position A of the designated disc. As a result, a background video unique to the song is reproduced in parallel with the performance of karaoke.
[0030]
During the performance, the CPU 21 monitors the playback position of the music data and the video data at any time. Whether the playback position of the music data has reached the ending portion start position D ′ of the music (step S6), playback of the video data. It is repeatedly determined whether or not the position has reached the repeat section end position C (step S7).
[0031]
When the playback position of the video data reaches the repeat section end position C before reaching the ending of the song, the read head of the background video playback apparatus 32 is returned to the repeat section start position B (step S8). Thus, the video data between B and C is repeatedly reproduced until the ending of the song. The reason why such repetitive reproduction is performed is that the amount of data of video data is larger than that of music data, so that the amount of data is reduced by configuring the video data to be shorter than the length of one song. .
[0032]
Thus, while the video is repeated, the performance of the music advances, and when the reproduction position of the music data reaches the ending portion start position D ′ of the tune (step S6), the reading head of the background video reproduction device 32 is moved to the ending portion start position D. Jump (step S9). As a result, the video is repetitively reproduced and the reproduction is performed from the start position D of the video data corresponding to the ending of the music.
[0033]
Thus, karaoke performance and video playback corresponding to the ending of the song are performed, and when the playback position of the video data reaches the ending portion end position E (step S10), the video playback is ended (step S11). On the other hand, the performance of karaoke ends at the same timing as the video because the data is configured in advance so that the ending portion of the music data and the ending portion of the video data have the same time.
[0034]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, a disk storing video data unique to a new song is added to the karaoke terminal 2, while a BGV index file for specifying the storage location of the video data is added to the host computer along with the song data of the new song. By distributing from 1, the existing music data for which a unique background video is not prepared can be continuously used as before, and the addition of a new song with a unique background video can be supported.
[0035]
In addition, even when video data unique to existing music data is newly prepared, by adding a BGV index file, unique video data can be added in the same way as new music without changing the existing music data. It can correspond to.
[0036]
Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, since a part of the video data is repeatedly reproduced, it is possible to display the background video for one song with the video data corresponding to a shorter time than the performance time of the song. Further, since the music ending portion (or intro portion) performs video reproduction synchronized with the music data, it is possible to provide the user with a characteristic background video that matches the image of the music ending portion (or intro portion).
[0037]
C: Modification Note that the video data unique to the music does not necessarily have to be one-to-one with the music data as in the above-described embodiment. It may be a video. In other words, “unique” in the present invention means to the extent of “characteristic to music”, and not unique. In addition, when sharing video for multiple songs, it is possible to search the same video data from multiple song numbers if the song numbers of all corresponding songs are stored in the BGV index file. become.
[0038]
As described above, according to the present invention, for a song in which a unique background video is newly added while continuing to use existing music data for which a unique background video is not prepared, a unique background for each song is provided. It is possible to display video and flexibly cope with system expansion .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a karaoke terminal in the same embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a format diagram for explaining the contents of music data in the embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a format diagram for explaining the contents of a BGV index file in the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Host computer, 2 ... Karaoke terminal, 21 ... CPU, 22 ... ROM, 23 ... RAM, 24 ... Hard disk, 25 ... Communication I / F, 26 ... Panel I / F, 27 ... Sound source, 28 ... Mixer, 29 ... Audio decoder, 30 ... effector, 31 ... sound system, 32 ... background video playback device, 33 ... video mixer, 34 ... display, M ... microphone.

Claims (1)

A communication karaoke system distribution method in which a host computer and a karaoke terminal are connected via a communication line,
The karaoke terminal is
Music data, genre information corresponding to the music data is stored in the storage means in advance,
When you are instructed to play karaoke music,
Determining whether or not index information for designating a background video corresponding to the karaoke song is stored in the storage means;
When the index information is not stored, the karaoke music is played based on the music data corresponding to the karaoke music, and the video data corresponds to the genre information of the music data and is different from the storage means. Play back the video data stored in to display the background video ,
When the index information is stored, the karaoke music is played based on the music data corresponding to the karaoke music, and the video data according to the index information is stored in a storage medium different from the storage means. Play back the video data to display the background video,
The host computer alone index information corresponding to the music data, or distributes together with the music data, the karaoke terminal is characterized by storing distributed song data, the index information in the storage means communication Distribution method of karaoke system.

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