Information processing device, communication system, content playback program, and content playback method

Abstract

An information processing device capable of appropriately restricting playback is provided. [Solution] A communication system 1 that provides a content distribution service, wherein the server 10 comprises a memory unit that stores user identification information, membership type information associated with the user identification information, and usage history associated with the user identification information, a receiving unit that receives user identification information, content request information including content identification information, and content playback mode designation information, a judgment unit that judges whether or not content can be played based on the membership type information and usage history of the user identification information corresponding to the content request information, a playback control unit that, based on the judgment, plays the content related to the content identification information included in the content request information on a terminal in a first mode or a second mode in which some elements are removed from the first mode, and a history update unit that updates the usage history based on the fact that the playback control unit has played the content in the first mode or the second mode.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, a communication system, a content playback program, and a content playback method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are distribution services that distribute content to user terminals. Patent Document 1 discloses a system that specifies a type of content and distributes the specified type of content. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5857405 Summary of the Invention

[0004] A first aspect of the present invention is an information processing device that provides a service of transmitting content to a terminal, the information processing device including a storage unit that stores user identification information, membership type information associated with the user identification information, and a usage history associated with the user identification information, and a content request information including the user identification information and the content identification information. News the content request information based on the membership type information of the user identification information corresponding to the content request information and the usage history; a playback control unit that causes the terminal to play back the content related to the content identification information included in the content request information in a first mode or a second mode in which some elements are removed from the first mode based on the determination by the determination unit; and a history update unit that updates the usage history based on the fact that the playback control unit has played back the content in the first mode or the second mode. The membership types indicated by the membership type information include a first type membership and a second type membership in which the services available to a first type membership are more limited than those available to a first type membership, and the playback control unit can cause the second type membership to play the content in the first manner when the determination unit determines that the content can be played back. A second aspect of the present invention is a communication system including a terminal and an information processing device that provides a service of transmitting content to the terminal, the information processing device including a storage unit that stores user identification information, membership type information associated with the user identification information, and a usage history associated with the user identification information, and a content request information including the user identification information and content identification information. News a determination unit that determines whether or not content can be played back based on the membership type information of the user identification information corresponding to the content request information and the usage history; a playback control unit that causes the terminal to play back the content related to the content identification information included in the content request information in a first mode or a second mode in which some elements are removed from the first mode based on the determination by the determination unit; and a history update unit that updates the usage history based on the playback control unit having played back the content in the first mode or the second mode, Is, a transmitting unit that transmits content request information and user identification information to the information processing device, a second receiving unit that receives content based on the content request information from the information processing device, and an output unit that outputs the content received by the second receiving unit. The membership types indicated by the membership type information include a first-class member and a second-class member who can receive more limited services than the first-class member, and the playback control unit allows the second-class member to play the content in the first mode when the determination unit determines that the content can be played back. . A third aspect of the present invention is a computer of an information processing device that provides a service of transmitting content to a terminal, the computer having access to a storage unit that stores user identification information, membership type information associated with the user identification information, and a usage history associated with the user identification information, the computer storing content request information including the user identification information and content identification information. News a reception function for receiving the content request information, a determination function for determining whether or not content can be played back based on the membership type information of the user identification information corresponding to the content request information and the usage history, a playback control function for playing back the content related to the content identification information included in the content request information on the terminal in a first mode or a second mode in which some elements are removed from the first mode based on the determination by the determination function, and a history update function for updating the usage history based on the fact that the playback control function has played back the content in the first mode or the second mode. The membership types indicated by the membership type information include a first-class member and a second-class member who can receive more limited services than the first-class member. When the determination function determines that the content can be played back, the playback control function allows the second-class member to play back the content in the first mode. . A fourth aspect of the present invention is an information processing device that provides a service of transmitting content to a terminal, the information processing device being capable of accessing a storage unit that stores user identification information, membership type information associated with the user identification information, and a usage history associated with the user identification information, the information processing device transmitting content request information including the user identification information and content identification information. News a receiving step of receiving the content request information; a judging step of judging whether or not the content can be played back based on the membership type information of the user identification information corresponding to the content request information and the usage history; a playback control step of playing back the content related to the content identification information included in the content request information in a first mode or a second mode in which some elements are removed from the first mode, based on the judgment in the judging step; and a history updating step of updating the usage history based on the fact that the content has been played back in the first mode or the second mode in the playback control step. The membership types indicated by the membership type information include a first type member and a second type member who can receive more limited services than the first type member, and the playback control step allows the second type member to play back the content in the first mode when the determination step determines that the content can be played back. . [Brief description of the drawings]

[0005] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system, and is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal and a server. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a conceptual data diagram showing an example of a data structure of user information. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an exchange between devices in a communication system. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the terminal related to FIG. 3; [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of a server related to FIG. 3; [Figure 6] 13(a) to 13(d) are diagrams showing example screens displayed on a terminal. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the terminal. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0006] <Compliance with legal matters> It should be noted that the disclosures described herein are subject to compliance with the laws of the country of implementation, such as communications secrecy, as necessary for the implementation of the disclosure.

[0007] An embodiment for implementing a display method etc. that allows confirmation of the status of transmission or reception by a terminal according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0008] <System configuration>

[0009] Fig. 1 shows a configuration of a communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As disclosed in Fig. 1, in the communication system 1, a server 10 and terminals 20 (terminals 20A, 20B, and 20C) are connected via a network 30. The server 10 provides a service that enables transmission and reception of messages between the terminals 20 to the terminals 20 owned by users via the network 30. The number of terminals 20 connected to the network 30 is not limited.

[0010] The network 30 plays a role of connecting one or more terminals 20 and one or more servers 10. In other words, the network 30 refers to a communication network that provides a connection path so that the terminals 20 can connect to the server 10 and then transmit and receive data.

[0011] One or more portions of network 30 may or may not be a wired or wireless network. Network 30 may include, by way of example and without limitation, an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular network, integrated service digital networks (ISDN), wireless LAN, long term evolution (LTE), code division multiple access (CDMA), Bluetooth, satellite communications, or the like, or a combination of two or more thereof. Network 30 may include one or more networks 30.

[0012] The terminal 20 (terminal 20A, terminal 20B, terminal 20C) may be any information processing terminal capable of implementing the functions described in each embodiment. The terminal 20 includes, but is not limited to, a smartphone, a mobile phone (feature phone), a computer (such as, but not limited to, a desktop, laptop, tablet, etc.), a media computer platform (such as, but not limited to, a cable or satellite set-top box, digital video recorder, etc.), a handheld computer device (such as, but not limited to, a PDA (personal digital assistant), an email client, etc.), a wearable device (such as, but not limited to, a glasses-type device, a watch-type device, etc.), or other types of computers or communication platforms. The terminal 20 may also be expressed as an information processing terminal.

[0013] Since the configurations of the terminals 20A, 20B, and 20C are basically the same, the terminal 20 will be described below. In addition, as necessary, the terminal used by the user X will be expressed as the terminal 20X, and the user information in a predetermined service associated with the user X or the terminal 20X will be expressed as the user information X. Note that the user information is information of a user associated with an account used by the user in a predetermined service. The user information includes, by way of example and without limitation, information associated with a user, such as the user's name, the user's icon image, the user's age, the user's sex, the user's address, the user's hobbies and interests, and the user's identifier, which is input by the user or given by the predetermined service, and may be any one of these, or a combination thereof, or may not be the same.

[0014] The server 10 has a function of providing a predetermined service to the terminal 20. The server 10 may be any device as long as it is an information processing device capable of realizing the functions described in each embodiment. The server 10 includes, but is not limited to, a server device, a computer (for example, but not limited to, a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, etc.), a media computer platform (for example, but not limited to, a cable or satellite set-top box, a digital video recorder), a handheld computer device (for example, but not limited to, a PDA, an email client, etc.), or other types of computers or communication platforms. The server 10 may also be expressed as an information processing device. When it is not necessary to distinguish between the server 10 and the terminal 20, the server 10 and the terminal 20 may or may not be expressed as information processing devices.

[0015] <Hardware (HW) configuration>

[0016] The HW configuration of each device included in the communication system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0017] (1) Terminal hardware configuration

[0018] The terminal 20 includes a control unit 21 (CPU: central processing unit), a storage unit 28, a communication I / F 22 (interface), an input / output unit 23, a display unit 24, and a location information acquisition unit 25. The HW components of the terminal 20 are connected to each other via a bus B, for example and not for limitation. It is not essential that the HW configuration of the terminal 20 includes all of the components. For example and not for limitation, the terminal 20 may or may not be configured such that individual components or multiple components such as the microphone 232, the camera 234, the location information acquisition unit 25, etc. are removable.

[0019] The communication I / F 22 transmits and receives various data via the network 30. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as the communication between the two is possible. The communication I / F 22 has a function of communicating with the server 10 via the network 30. The communication I / F 22 transmits various data to the server 10 according to instructions from the control unit 21. The communication I / F 22 also receives various data transmitted from the server 10 and transmits it to the control unit 21. The communication I / F 22 may also be simply referred to as a communication unit. When the communication I / F 22 is configured from a physically structured circuit, it may also be referred to as a communication circuit.

[0020] The input / output unit 23 includes a device for inputting various operations to the terminal 20, and a device for outputting the results of processing performed by the terminal 20. The input / output unit 23 may be an integrated input unit and an output unit, or may be separate from the input unit and the output unit, or may not be.

[0021] The input unit is realized by any one or a combination of all kinds of devices that can receive input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 21. Examples of the input unit include, but are not limited to, a touch panel 231, a touch display, hardware keys such as a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a camera 234 (operation input via moving images), and a microphone 232 (operation input by voice).

[0022] The output unit is realized by any one or a combination of all kinds of devices capable of outputting the processing results processed by the control unit 21. Examples of the output unit include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, a speaker 233 (audio output), a lens (for example, but not limited to, 3D (three dimensions) output and hologram output), a printer, etc.

[0023] The display unit 24 is realized by any one of all kinds of devices capable of displaying according to the display data written in the frame buffer, or a combination thereof. The display unit 24 includes, but is not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, a monitor (for example, but not limited to, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display (OLED)), a head mounted display (HDM), a projection mapping, a hologram, a device capable of displaying images, text information, and the like in air (which may or may not be a vacuum). Note that these display units 24 may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D.

[0024] When the input / output unit 23 is a touch panel, the input / output unit 23 and the display unit 24 may be disposed facing each other and have approximately the same size and shape.

[0025] The control unit 21 has a circuit physically structured to execute the functions realized by the code or instructions contained in the program, and is realized by a data processing device built into hardware, for example and without limitation. Therefore, the control unit 21 may or may not be expressed as a control circuit.

[0026] The control unit 21 includes, by way of example and not limitation, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0027] The storage unit 28 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the terminal 20. The storage unit 28 includes, by way of example and not limitation, various storage media such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), and a read only memory (ROM). In addition, the storage unit 28 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

[0028] Terminal 20 stores program P in storage unit 28, and executes this program P, causing control unit 21 to execute processing as each unit included in control unit 21. In other words, program P stored in storage unit 28 causes terminal 20 to realize each function executed by control unit 21. Also, this program P may or may not be expressed as a program module.

[0029] The microphone 232 is used to input voice data, the speaker 233 is used to output voice data, and the camera 234 is used to obtain video data.

[0030] (2) Server hardware configuration

[0031] The server 10 includes a control unit 11 (CPU), a storage unit 15, a communication I / F 14 (interface), an input / output unit 12, and a display unit 13. The components of the HW of the server 10 are connected to each other via a bus B, for example and not for limitation. It is not essential that the HW of the server 10 includes all the components as the configuration of the HW of the server 10. For example and not for limitation, the HW of the server 10 may or may not be configured such that the display unit 13 is detachable.

[0032] The control unit 11 has circuits physically structured to execute functions realized by codes or instructions contained in a program, and is realized, for example and not by way of limitation, by a data processing device embedded in hardware.

[0033] The control unit 11 is typically a central processing unit (CPU), but may also be a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an ASIC, or an FPGA, but is not limited to these in the present disclosure.

[0034] The storage unit 15 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the server 10. The storage unit 15 is realized by various storage media such as an HDD, an SSD, and a flash memory. However, in the present disclosure, the storage unit 15 is not limited to these. Furthermore, the storage unit 15 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

[0035] The communication I / F 14 transmits and receives various data via the network 30. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as the communication between the two is possible. The communication I / F 14 has a function of communicating with the terminal 20 via the network 30. The communication I / F 14 transmits various data to the terminal 20 according to instructions from the control unit 11. The communication I / F 14 also receives various data transmitted from the terminal 20 and transmits it to the control unit 11. The communication I / F 14 may also be simply referred to as a communication unit. When the communication I / F 14 is configured from a physically structured circuit, it may also be referred to as a communication circuit.

[0036] The input / output unit 12 is realized by a device that inputs various operations to the server 10. The input / output unit 12 is realized by any of all types of devices that can receive input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 11, or a combination thereof. The input / output unit 12 is typically realized by hardware keys such as a keyboard, or a pointing device such as a mouse. Note that the input / output unit 12 may or may not include, as non-limiting examples, a touch panel, a camera (operation input via moving images), or a microphone (operation input by voice). However, in the present disclosure, the input / output unit 12 is not limited to these.

[0037] The display unit 13 is typically realized by a monitor (for example, but not limited to, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display (OLED)). The display unit 13 may or may not be a head mounted display (HDM) or the like. These display units 13 may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D. However, in the present disclosure, the display unit 13 is not limited to these.

[0038] The server 10 stores a program P in the storage unit 15, and by executing this program P, the control unit 11 executes the processes of each unit included in the control unit 11. In other words, the program P stored in the storage unit 15 causes the server 10 to realize each function executed by the control unit 11. This program P may or may not be expressed as a program module.

[0039] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, the description will be given assuming that the CPU of the terminal 20 and / or the server 10 executes the program P to realize the present invention.

[0040] The control unit 21 of the terminal 20 and / or the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not realize each process by a CPU having a control circuit, but may also realize each process by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)) or a dedicated circuit. These circuits may or may not be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and the multiple processes shown in each embodiment may or may not be realized by one integrated circuit. Furthermore, an LSI may be called a VLSI, a super LSI, an ultra LSI, or the like, depending on the degree of integration. Therefore, the control unit 21 may or may not be expressed as a control circuit.

[0041] In addition, the program P (for example, but not limited to, a software program, a computer program, or a program module) of each embodiment of the present disclosure may or may not be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can store the program P in a "non-transitory tangible medium." In addition, the program P may or may not be for realizing part of the functions of each embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the program P may or may not be a so-called difference file (difference program) that can realize the functions of each embodiment of the present disclosure in combination with a program P already recorded in a storage medium.

[0042] The storage medium may include one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) (such as, by way of example and not limitation, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific IC (ASIC)), a hard disk drive (HDD), a hybrid hard drive (HHD), an optical disk, an optical disk drive (ODD), a magneto-optical disk, a magneto-optical drive, a floppy diskette, a floppy disk drive (FDD), a magnetic tape, a solid state drive (SSD), a RAM drive, a secure digital card, or a drive, any other suitable storage medium, or a suitable combination of two or more of these. The storage medium may be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile, where appropriate. It should be noted that the storage medium is not limited to these examples and may be any device or medium capable of storing the program P. In addition, the storage medium may or may not be referred to as a memory.

[0043] The server 10 and / or the terminal 20 can realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment by reading out the program P stored in a storage medium and executing the read out program P.

[0044] Furthermore, the program PDD of the present disclosure may or may not be provided to the server 10 and / or the terminal 20 via any transmission medium capable of transmitting the program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). The server 10 and / or the terminal 20 executes the program P downloaded via the Internet or the like, for example and not for limitation, to realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment.

[0045] Furthermore, each embodiment of the present disclosure may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program P is embodied by electronic transmission.

[0046] At least a part of the processing in the server 10 and / or the terminal 20 may or may not be realized by cloud computing configured with one or more computers.

[0047] At least a part of the processing in the terminal 20 may or may not be configured to be performed by the server 10. In this case, at least a part of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may or may not be configured to be performed by the server 10.

[0048] At least a part of the processing in the server 10 may or may not be configured to be performed by the terminal 20. In this case, at least a part of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not be configured to be performed by the terminal 20.

[0049] Unless explicitly stated, the judgment configuration in the embodiments of the present disclosure is not essential, and a specified process may or may not be executed when the judgment condition is satisfied, or a specified process may or may not be executed when the judgment condition is not satisfied.

[0050] Note that the programs of the present disclosure are implemented using, by way of example and not limitation, scripting languages ​​such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Objective-C and Java (registered trademark), and markup languages ​​such as HTML5.

[0051] <Embodiment Mode> The server 10 according to this embodiment provides a service of transmitting content to the terminal 20 .

[0052] Here, the content refers to music, videos, etc., and may also be novels, manga, etc. In this embodiment, the content will basically be described as music.

[0053] In addition, users who receive services from the server 10 include paid members who can use the services provided by the server 10 by paying a fee (mainly money) to receive the service, and free members who do not pay a fee but can receive more limited services than paid members. In addition, paid members may include those who can receive different quality of services depending on the amount of the fee paid (for example, the face value of the money paid, but not limited to this).

[0054] As a non-limiting example, if the content is music, paid members will not be restricted from viewing, whereas free members will only be able to view the first 30 seconds, or the number of times the content can be played within a unit period (one month, for example, not a limitation) will be limited. This playback restriction may be based on the number of times each song can be played, the total number of times the content can be played within a unit period, or the total playback time within a unit period.

[0055] Meanwhile, the server 10 can provide each content with some elements removed. Specifically, if the content is music, the server 10 can provide it with vocal elements and without vocal elements. Alternatively, if the content is a moving image (e.g., a movie), the server 10 can provide it as a normal movie and a silent movie.

[0056] At this time, when the content is provided to a member to whom the provision of content is restricted, the server 10 counts the content as having been provided, whether the provided content includes all elements or content with some elements removed, as a basis for restricting the provision of content from the next time onward, and executes management of the provision of content to each user. This will be described in detail below.

[0057] (1) Functional configuration of terminal 20 As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 includes a content request unit 211, a playback unit 212, and a display processing unit 213.

[0058] The content request unit 211 receives a content specification from the user via the input / output unit 23 and a specification of a mode in which the content is to be reproduced, and transmits content request information requesting the specified content to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22. At this time, the content request unit 211 may transmit user identification information (also called a user ID) for identifying the user of the terminal 20 in association with the content request information. If the service provided by the server 10 is a service provided in a state in which the user is logged in to a service site provided by the server 10, the user ID can be specified by the server 10, and therefore the user identification information does not need to be transmitted. The content request unit 211 may also transmit mode specification information for specifying a mode in which the specified content is to be reproduced in association with the content request information.

[0059] Here, the content playback mode may specify either a first mode in which the content is transmitted as is, i.e., no processing is performed to remove some elements from the content, or a second mode in which some elements are removed from the content. Here, the some elements may be human voice. In other words, when the content is music, the information may specify so-called on-vocal or off-vocal.

[0060] Furthermore, when an input specifying the quality of the content is received from the user to the input / output unit 23, the content request unit 211 may transmit quality information specifying the quality of the content in association with the content request information. The quality of the content here may mean sound quality (such as, but not limited to, frequency characteristics, distortion rate, S / N ratio, and dynamic range) if the content includes audio, or may mean image quality (such as, but not limited to, resolution and frame rate) if the content includes images.

[0061] The playback unit 212 receives content transmitted from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 and plays the received content. That is, if the content is music, it outputs sound from the speaker of the input / output unit 23. The playback unit 212 also accepts input from the user to the input / output unit 23 and executes functions that a typical music player can implement, such as fast-forwarding the content or playing from a specified playback position. The playback unit 212 can play content in any format, such as streaming.

[0062] The display processing unit 213 instructs the display unit 24 to display information related to the content provided by the server 10 in the display area of ​​the display unit 24. The display processing unit 213 displays, for example, a list of contents, a menu for receiving input of the type and quality of the content when requesting the content, and the like. The functional configuration of the terminal 20 has been described above.

[0063] (2) Functional configuration of server 10 As shown in FIG. 2, the server 10 includes a determination unit 111, a playback control unit 112, and a history update unit 113.

[0064] The determination unit 111 identifies whether the membership type associated with the user identification information of the user corresponding to the content request information received via the communication I / F 14 is a paid membership or a free membership. The control unit 11 stores the information received via the communication I / F 14 (content request information, mode designation information, quality information) in the storage unit 15. When the membership type associated with the user identification information is a free membership, the determination unit 111 determines whether or not the content can be played based on the associated usage history.

[0065] When the membership type of the user identification information corresponding to the content request information is a paid membership, the determination unit 111 determines that the content can be played back.

[0066] On the other hand, when the membership type of the user identification information corresponding to the content request information is a free membership, the determination unit 111 refers to the usage history corresponding to the user identification information to identify the number of times the content indicated by the content identification information has been played. Then, it determines whether the identified number of times is less than a predetermined threshold (as an example, and not limited to, once). When the identified number of times is less than the predetermined threshold, the determination unit 111 determines that the content can be played. When the identified number of times is not less than the predetermined threshold (is equal to or greater than the threshold), the determination unit 111 determines that the content cannot be played.

[0067] The playback control unit 112 transmits the content to the terminal 20 in accordance with the determination by the determination unit 111 .

[0068] When the determination unit 111 determines that the content can be reproduced, the reproduction control unit 112 transmits the content indicated by the content identification information to the terminal 20 of the user indicated by the user identification information included in the corresponding content request information via the communication I / F 14. At this time, in the case where the reproduction control unit 112 has received mode designation information together with the content request information, and the mode designation information designates the second mode, i.e., off-vocal, the reproduction control unit 112 transmits the content (content of the second mode) in which the vocal sound wavelength is erased and the content is made off-vocal. In addition, when the reproduction control unit 112 has received quality information, the reproduction control unit 112 processes the content so that the quality is designated by the quality information, and transmits the processed content. Note that, in the case where there is no mode designation information, the content may be transmitted in the first mode. In addition, in the case where there is no quality information, the content of standard quality may be transmitted, but this is not limited thereto, and in the case where there is no quality information, the content of high quality may be transmitted as a default.

[0069] In this embodiment, the playback control unit 112 processes the content to transmit the content in the specified manner and quality. However, it is also possible to store content in various manners and qualities in advance in the storage unit 15, and the playback control unit 112 reads out and transmits the content in the specified manner and quality.

[0070] On the other hand, when the determination unit 111 determines that the content cannot be played back, the playback control unit 112 transmits restriction information to the terminal 20 of the user identified by the user identification information included in the corresponding content request information via the communication I / F 14. The restriction information is information indicating that the content cannot be played back.

[0071] When the playback control unit 112 transmits content to the terminal 20, the history update unit 113 updates the history information corresponding to the user identification information of the user corresponding to the destination terminal 20. That is, when the content identification information of the transmitted content is not associated with the user identification information, the history update unit 113 updates the history information by associating the content identification information with the number of times of playback. When the content identification information of the transmitted content is associated with the user identification information, the history update unit 113 updates the number of times of playback by incrementing it by 1.

[0072] The above is the functional configuration of the server 10. The server 10 may be realized by one server device or by multiple server devices. When realized by multiple server devices, each server device may hold all the functions of the server 10, or may hold only a portion of the functions of the server 10 in a distributed manner and cooperate to realize the functions of the server 10.

[0073] <Data> 2 is a conceptual data diagram showing an example of the configuration of user management information 200, which is information stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 and relates to each user to whom the server 10 provides services. The server 10 uses the user management information 200 to determine whether a user requesting content is a restricted free member or a paid member, and to determine whether or not content may be transmitted.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 2, user management information 200 is information in which a user ID 201, a user name 202, a membership type 203, and a usage history 204 are associated with each other.

[0075] The user ID 201 is user identification information for identifying a user who receives a service provided by the server 10.

[0076] The user name 202 is the name of the user who has the user ID indicated by the corresponding user ID 201. The user name 202 may be a real name or a handle name.

[0077] Membership type 203 is information indicating the type of membership of the user having the user ID indicated by the corresponding user ID 201. Here, there are two types of membership: paid membership and free membership, but there may be other types, and there may be multiple types of paid membership.

[0078] The usage history 204 is information indicating the content viewed by the user identified by the corresponding user ID 201 and the number of times the content was viewed. Although not shown in FIG. 2, information on the date and time when each content was viewed may also be stored. In this embodiment, the usage history 204 is reset at a predetermined timing (as an example, not limited to, when the end of the month switches to the beginning of the month). This makes it easy to count the number of times each content is played by a user who is a free member. Note that the reset does not have to be performed uniformly, and may be reset for each user identification information based on the date on which the user information was registered. In addition, if the reset is not performed, the playback date and time of the content may be stored as history information to identify the number of times the content was played within a predetermined period.

[0079] It should be noted that the user name 202 is not essential information in the user management information 200. Furthermore, the user management information 200 may also include information related to the user other than the information shown in FIG.

[0080] <Operation> FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an exchange between the terminal 20 and the server 10 in the communication system 1. As shown in FIG.

[0081] 3, the terminal 20 accepts the specification of content and the specification of the mode in which the content is to be played back (step S301). The terminal 20 transmits to the server 10 the user ID, content request information including the content ID of the specified content, and mode specification information indicating the specified mode of playback (step S302).

[0082] When the server 10 receives the user ID, the content request information, and the mode designation information, it identifies the membership type associated with the received user ID (step S303). If the membership type is a free membership, the server 10 determines whether the content can be played (step S304). If the server 10 determines that the content can be played, it transmits the content in the mode designated by the mode designation information (step S305).

[0083] The terminal 20 reproduces the content received from the server 10 (step S306).

[0084] Furthermore, after transmitting the content, the server 10 updates the usage history of the user who owns the destination terminal 20, regardless of whether the transmitted content is in the first form or the second form (step S307).

[0085] Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of terminal 20 for realizing the exchange shown in Fig. 3. The process shown in Fig. 4 shows the process from the point where the user selects the desired content.

[0086] 4, the input / output unit 23 of the terminal 20 receives an input from the user specifying the content desired by the user (step S401). The input / output unit 23 transmits the received input content to the control unit 21.

[0087] Next, the input / output unit 23 receives a specification of a mode of content reproduction from the user (step S402). The input / output unit 23 transmits the received input content to the control unit 21.

[0088] The content request unit 211 of the control unit 21 transmits content request information including identification information of the specified content and mode designation information designating the mode of playback of the content to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22. At this time, the content request unit 211 may also transmit a user ID that identifies the user of the terminal 20 (step S403).

[0089] The control unit 21 determines whether the requested content has been received via the communication I / F 22 (step S404). If the content has been received (YES in step S404), the playback unit 212 of the control unit 21 executes playback of the content (step S405). If the content has not been received (NO in step S404), the control unit 21 determines whether the restriction information has been received via the communication I / F 22 (step S406). If the restriction information has not been received (NO in step S406), the process returns to step S404.

[0090] If the restriction information has been received (YES in step S406), the display processing unit 213 displays the received restriction information in the display area of ​​the display unit 24 (step S407).

[0091] The control unit 21 determines whether or not there is an end input from the user (step S408). The end input here may be an end input for an application for playing back content, or an input for turning off the terminal or putting it into sleep mode. If there is no end input (NO in step S408), the process returns to step S401, and if there is an end input (YES in step S408), the process ends.

[0092] 4, the process of step S402 may be omitted. Also, in step S402, designation of quality information that designates the quality of the content may be accepted, and in that case, in step S403, the content request unit 211 may also transmit the quality information.

[0093] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the server 10 for realizing the exchange shown in Fig. 3. The process shown in Fig. 5 shows the process executed by the server 10 when one piece of content request information is received.

[0094] The communication I / F 14 of the server 10 receives the user ID, the content request information, and the mode designation information from the terminal 20 (step S501). The communication I / F 14 transmits each piece of received information to the control unit 11. The control unit 11 stores the received information in the storage unit 15.

[0095] The determination unit 111 of the control unit 11 refers to the received user ID and the user management information 200 stored in the storage unit 15, and determines whether the membership type 203 associated with the user ID is a free membership or not (step S502). If the user is not a free member, that is, if the user is a paid member (NO in step S502), the process proceeds to step S504.

[0096] When the received user ID is associated with information indicating a free membership as a membership type (YES in step S502), the judgment unit 111 refers to the usage history 204 in the user management information 200 and checks whether the usage history 204 associated with the received user ID contains the content identification information contained in the received content request information. When the usage history 204 contains the content identification information contained in the received content request information, the judgment unit 111 identifies the number of times the content has been played. When the usage history 204 does not contain the content identification information contained in the received content request information, the judgment unit 111 identifies the number of times the content has been played as 0. Then, the judgment unit 111 judges whether the identified number of times the content has been played is less than a predetermined threshold (step S503). When the number of times the content has been played is less than the predetermined threshold (YES in step S503), the judgment unit 111 judges that the content can be played.

[0097] When the determination unit 111 determines that the content can be played back, the playback control unit 112 determines whether the designation of the mode designation information corresponding to the content request information is the first mode or the second mode, i.e., whether on-vocal or off-vocal. When the designation of the mode designation information designates off-vocal (YES in step S504), the playback control unit 112 performs a process to remove vocal wavelengths (specific frequencies) from the content indicated by the content identification information in the content request information, to generate off-vocal (second mode) content (step S505). Existing technology can be used for this process.

[0098] The playback control unit 112 transmits the content converted into the specified format, that is, music without vocals, to the terminal 20 of the user indicated by the receiving user ID via the communication I / F 14 (step S506).

[0099] If the mode designation information specifies on-vocal (first mode) or there is no mode designation information (NO in step S504), the playback control unit 112 transmits the content indicated by the content identification information in the content request information as is to the terminal 20 of the user indicated by the received user ID via the communication I / F 14 (step S509).

[0100] After transmitting the content, the playback control unit 112 transmits to the history update unit 113 the user ID of the user to whom the content was transmitted and the identification information of the content.

[0101] If the received content identification information is registered in usage history 204 corresponding to the received user ID in user management information 200, history update unit 113 adds 1 to the number of times the content has been played and updates user management information 200; if the received content identification information is registered, history update unit 113 additionally registers information that associates the number of times the content has been played with 1, updates user management information 200, and terminates the process.

[0102] On the other hand, in step S503, if the number of times the content has been played is not less than the predetermined threshold, that is, if the number of times the content has been played is equal to or greater than the threshold (NO in step S503), the determination unit 111 determines that the content cannot be played.

[0103] Then, the playback control unit 112 transmits restriction information indicating that the content cannot be played back to the terminal 20 of the user indicated by the user ID via the communication I / F 14 (step S508), and ends the process.

[0104] Although not shown in FIG. 5, if designation information designating the quality of content playback is received in step S501, processing for converting the content to have the designated quality is performed in step S505.

[0105] Furthermore, the pieces of information received in step S501 may be received individually as long as the server 10 can determine that the pieces of information are associated with each other.

[0106] <Display example> FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on the terminal 20. As shown in FIG.

[0107] 6(a) is an example of a content list displayed in the display area of ​​the display unit 24 of the terminal 20. The user selects (tap) a desired content from the displayed content list. Here, for example, it is assumed that "0007 DDDD" is selected.

[0108] Then, the terminal 20 displays a menu requesting permission to execute download of the selected content, as shown in Fig. 6(b). This menu may also display buttons for selecting "on vocal" or "off vocal" as information for specifying the mode of content playback.

[0109] If the user is a paid member or a free member and the number of times the user has viewed the selected content has not reached the threshold, the content selected by the user is transmitted from the server 10. Then, when the specified content is transmitted from the server 10, the terminal 20 plays back the content, as shown in FIG. 6(c).

[0110] On the other hand, when restriction information is received from the server 10 instead of content, the terminal 20 displays the restriction information as shown in Fig. 6(d). Here, the restriction information is information indicating that the content specified by the user cannot be downloaded. At this time, as shown in Fig. 6(d), information recommending upgrading to a paid membership with no content playback restrictions may or may not be displayed.

[0111] <Modification> The aspects of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiment. Various modifications will be described below.

[0112] (1) In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the playback restriction of the content is based on the number of times each piece of content is played, but as mentioned above, the method of restriction is not limited to this. Other examples are specifically described below.

[0113] In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which playback is restricted when the number of times each piece of content is played exceeds a predetermined threshold, but the playback control unit 112 may restrict playback when the total number of times the content is played in a predetermined period of time exceeds a predetermined threshold, instead of restricting playback for each piece of content. That is, any content (the same content may be requested repeatedly) may be counted as one playback, and playback may be restricted depending on whether the total number of times exceeds a predetermined threshold. In this case, the usage history 204 may store only the number of times, without storing content identification information.

[0114] Furthermore, the restriction of playback may be performed based on the total playback time. That is, in the case of a free member, the total playback time per unit period (for example, 5 hours per month, but not limited thereto) is set. When content request information is received from the terminal 20 and the content indicated by the content request information is played back on the terminal 20, the terminal 20 transmits the playback time to the server 10. The server 10 successively adds up the received playback time and stores it as the usage history 204 of the user management information 200. When content request information is received from the terminal 20 of the user, if the total playback time stored in the usage history 204 corresponding to the user ID exceeds a predetermined threshold, the playback control unit 112 does not transmit the content to the terminal 20. In this way, the configuration may be such that the restriction is performed based on the total playback time on the terminal 20.

[0115] (2) In the above embodiment, music is used as an example of the content, but as mentioned above, the content may be a video, some text data, an image, or the like. When the content is a video, the second type of content may be a silent video with the conversation sounds of people in the video removed as a partial element. When the content is a novel or the like, the second type of content may be data obtained by deleting some chapters of the novel as a partial element. When the content is a manga or the like, the second type of content may be content obtained by removing some lines of characters as a partial element.

[0116] (3) In the above embodiment, the playback control unit 112 transmits the restriction information to the terminal 20 (step S508) when the number of times the content is played reaches the threshold value (NO in step S503), but this is not limited to this. Instead of the restriction information, the playback control unit 112 may transmit a part of the content (for example, the first 30 seconds, but not limited thereto), so-called sample data, to the terminal 20.

[0117] (4) In the above embodiment, the terminal 20 may have a so-called karaoke function. That is, when the terminal 20 requests the server 10 for content in the second mode (off vocal) as mode designation information and receives off vocal content (or the content in the first mode (on vocal)), the user's singing voice may be collected via the microphone 232 of the input / output unit 23 and output from the speaker 233 together with the received content. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the terminal 20 when playing back content.

[0118] 7, the communication I / F 22 of the terminal 20 receives the content from the server 10 (step S701). The communication I / F 22 transmits the received content to the control unit 21.

[0119] At this time, the reproducing unit 212 judges whether or not the user has input a setting for the karaoke mode via the input / output unit 23 (step S702).

[0120] If the karaoke mode is not set (NO in step S703), the received content is output as is (step S706), and the process proceeds to step S707.

[0121] If the karaoke mode is set (YES in step S703), the reproducing unit 212 further judges whether an effect is set (step S703). Here, the effect means performing some editing on the voice, and may include, as a non-limiting example, an echo effect, a voice change effect (changing a male voice to a female voice, or a female voice to a male voice, or an animal-like voice), and the like.

[0122] If an effect has been set (YES in step S703), the playback unit 212 processes the user's voice collected from the microphone 232 with the specified effect and outputs it from the speaker 233 together with the sound of the content (step S704).

[0123] If no effect has been set (NO in step S703), the playback unit 212 outputs the sound of the content together with the user's voice collected by the microphone 232 (step S705).

[0124] The control unit 21 determines whether or not there is an end input from the user (step S707). The end input here may be an end input for an application for reproducing content, or an input for turning off the terminal or putting it into sleep mode. If there is no end input (NO in step S707), the process returns to step S401, and if there is an end input (YES in step S707), the process ends.

[0125] In this way, the terminal 20 may output the user's voice together with the content when it is reproduced, and may realize a so-called karaoke function.

[0126] (5) In the above embodiment, it has been described that the content mode and quality can be specified, but these specifications may be able to be switched during the use of the content. As a non-limiting example, when the user inputs a specification for playing back the content in the second mode while the content in the first mode is being played back on the terminal 20, the content may be changed to be played back in the second mode. This switching may be realized by switching the mode of the content to be transmitted from the server 10 and transmitting it to the terminal 20, or by the server 10 transmitting content that can originally be played back in either the first mode or the second mode to the terminal 20 and switching the mode of playback at the terminal 20. This also applies to switching the quality of the content.

[0127] (6) In the above supplementary note (3), it is explained that sample playback is possible when the number of playbacks reaches a threshold value. However, even if the number of playbacks does not reach the threshold value, the user may be able to specify sample playback via the terminal 20. Sample playback is a playback method that allows only a part of the content to be played in the time axis direction of the content. In the case of music, it may be playback of only a predetermined time (30 seconds as an example, not limited to) at the beginning, or playback of only the chorus. When a request for sample playback is received, the server 10 transmits sample content to the terminal 20. The sample content may be stored in the storage unit 15 in advance, or may be a part of normal content cut out in the time axis direction. In the case of sample playback, the server 10 does not update the usage history 204. Note that the first or second aspect of the content is a content that can be fully played in the time axis direction.

[0128] Also, when sample playback is specified at first, playback may be switched to playback in the first mode or playback in the second mode midway. When switching from sample playback to playback in the first mode or the second mode midway, the server 10 updates the usage history 204.

[0129] (7) In the above embodiment, the server 10 receives quality information related to the playback of content, but the information related to the playback of content that can be received (also called setting information) is not limited to the information shown in the above embodiment. As an example, the setting information is not limited to the brightness of the playback if the content includes images such as a video, or may be a color tone specification. The setting information may also be a specification of whether or not to display subtitles for a video. If the content is music, the setting information may be a specification of emphasis on deep bass, a specification of cutting a specific range of sounds, or a specification of the playback speed.

[0130] <Effects of the embodiment> When the server 10 according to the above embodiment transmits content in response to content request information requesting content from the terminal 20, the server 10 counts the content as viewed in the usage history regardless of whether the content is in the first or second form. Then, the server 10 can determine whether or not to distribute the content based on the usage history, and restrict the use of the content. This allows the server 10 to receive a designation of the content distribution mode and distribute the content in the received mode, and also allows restrictions to be imposed on the reproduction of the content by recording the content distribution mode as a usage history, regardless of whether the content distribution mode is the first mode or the second mode. This allows the user to be encouraged to register as a paid member, by way of example and not by way of limitation, in order to remove restrictions on the use of the content.

[0131] The server 10 may also determine that the user is not allowed to use the content when the number of times the content is used per unit period exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Alternatively, the server 10 may determine that the user is not allowed to use the content when the total usage time of the content per unit period exceeds a predetermined threshold value. This enables the server 10 to quantitatively determine whether or not content may be provided to a user.

[0132] Furthermore, the server 10 may receive designation regarding the quality of the content in addition to the mode designation information as the mode of the content, and transmit the content of the designated quality to the terminal 20. This allows the server 10 to receive input specifying the quality as well as the mode of content playback, and provide content of the specified quality, thereby enabling the server 10 to provide users with higher quality services.

[0133] Furthermore, when the server 10 receives a designation of the second aspect as the aspect of the content, the server 10 may perform a process of removing some elements from the originally stored content and transmit the processed content to the terminal 20. When the content is music, the server 10 may remove a specific sound, for example, a frequency corresponding to vocals, to generate a voice without vocals. This eliminates the need for the server 10 to prepare content for each mode, thereby realizing a reduction in storage capacity.

[0134] Furthermore, the content provided by the server 10 may be music or video, in which case the part of the element to be removed may be human voice. In this way, the server 10 can provide off-vocal music in the case of music, and silent videos in the case of videos, and thus the server 10 can provide a wide variety of content.

[0135] In addition, the types of membership of users who enjoy the services provided by the server 10 may include paid members who pay a fee to receive the services and free members who do not pay a fee. In addition, the provision of content may be restricted for free members. This makes it possible to distinguish between paid and free members and to motivate free members to become paid members. [Explanation of symbols]

[0136] 1. Communication Systems 10 Server 11 Control section 111 Judgment section 112 Playback control section 113 History Update Section 12 Input / output section 13 Display section 14 Communication I / F (communication section) 15 Storage section 20 Terminals 21 Control section 211 Content Request Section 212 Playback Department 213 Display processing unit 22 Communication I / F 23 Input / output section 231 Touch Panel 232 Mike 233 Speaker 234 Camera 24 Display unit (display) 25 Location information acquisition section 28 Memory section 30 Network

Claims

1. An information processing device that provides a service of transmitting content to a terminal, A storage unit that stores user identification information, membership type information associated with the user identification information, and a usage history associated with the user identification information; a receiving unit for receiving the user identification information and content request information including content identification information; a determination unit that determines whether or not content can be reproduced based on membership type information and a usage history of user identification information corresponding to the content request information; a playback control unit that plays back the content related to the content identification information included in the content request information in a first mode or in a second mode in which some elements are removed from the first mode based on the determination by the determination unit, at the terminal; a history update unit that updates the usage history based on the playback control unit having played back the content in the first mode or the second mode; Equipped with The membership types indicated by the membership type information include a first type membership and a second type membership in which the services that can be received are more limited than those of the first type membership, The playback control unit In a first terminal of the first type member, content can be reproduced in the first manner based on an input from the first type member, and content can be reproduced in the second manner based on an input from the first type member, In a second terminal of the second type member, content can be reproduced in the first manner based on an input from the second type member, and content can be reproduced in the second manner based on an input from the second type member, An information processing device that restricts playback of content in the first manner and playback of content in the second manner on the second terminal based on the judgment by the judgment unit, and displays information on the second terminal indicating that playback of content is restricted.

2. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, The determination unit determines that the content cannot be reproduced when the number of times the content is used per unit time period exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

3. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, The determination unit determines that the content cannot be played back when a total usage time of the content per unit period exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

4. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The content is music or video, The receiving unit is The first terminal is capable of receiving quality information that specifies at least one of sound quality and image quality based on an input of the first type member at the first terminal, The quality information is receivable from the second terminal based on an input of the second type member at the second terminal; The playback control unit Reproducing content at the first terminal based on the quality information received from the first terminal; The content is reproduced in the second terminal based on the quality information received from the second terminal.

5. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The first type of member is a paid member who pays a fee for the service, The second type of member is a free member who does not pay for the service.

6. An information processing device that provides a service of transmitting content to a terminal, the information processing device being capable of accessing a storage unit that stores user identification information, membership type information associated with the user identification information, and a usage history associated with the user identification information, a receiving step of receiving content request information including the user identification information and content identification information; a determination step of determining whether or not content can be reproduced based on membership type information and a usage history of user identification information corresponding to the content request information; a playback control step of playing back the content related to the content identification information included in the content request information in a first mode or a second mode obtained by removing some elements from the first mode, on the terminal based on the determination in the determination step; a history updating step of updating the usage history based on the fact that the playback control step has played back the content in the first mode or the second mode; Run The membership types indicated by the membership type information include a first type membership and a second type membership in which the services that can be received are more limited than those of the first type membership, In the regeneration control step, In a first terminal of the first type member, content can be reproduced in the first manner based on an input from the first type member, and content can be reproduced in the second manner based on an input from the first type member, In a second terminal of the second type member, content can be reproduced in the first manner based on an input from the second type member, and content can be reproduced in the second manner based on an input from the second type member, A content playback method that restricts playback of content in the first manner and playback of content in the second manner on the second terminal based on the judgment made in the judgment step, and displays information on the second terminal indicating that playback of content is restricted.

Images