Abstract:
An image supply apparatus that transmits data to an image display apparatus includes: a control section; and a storage section that stores video files, wherein the control section includes the functions of receiving specification information indicating video reproduction performance of the image display apparatus, accepting selection of a video file to be transmitted to the image display apparatus from the storage section, acquiring attribute information indicating an environment necessary for reproducing a video from the selected video file, comparing the specification information and the attribute information to determine whether or not the image display apparatus can reproduce the video file, outputting a warning when it is determined that the image display apparatus cannot reproduce the video file, transmitting data of the video file to the image display apparatus when it is determined that the image display apparatus can reproduce the video file.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE 
       [0001]    The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-075521 filed on Mar. 26, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    In recent years, the use of contents has been increasing in which contents such as videos or music are downloaded from a server computer and reproduced by a portable terminal or a reproduction terminal such as a computer. In this case, when the reproduction terminal does not support the file format or bit rate of the contents, the contents cannot be reproduced. 
         [0003]    Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-52026 discloses a technique that when a reproduction terminal transmits to a computer the file format and bit rate of contents with which the reproduction terminal itself can reproduce, and the computer determines that contents to be transferred to the reproduction terminal cannot be reproduced with the transmitted file format and bit rate, the computer converts the file format and bit rate of the contents into those suitable for the reproduction terminal and transmits the contents to the reproduction terminal. 
         [0004]    On the other hand, along with the widespread of projectors, not only the business use of them in companies or the like but also the private use at home or the like have been increasing. One usage form is that a computer or the like that supplies data (video, still image, or audio) and a projector are connected, the computer transmits data that the computer itself stores and can reproduce to the projector, and the projector reproduces the transmitted data. 
         [0005]    However, in the case where the projector reproduces the data transmitted from the computer, when the specification of the projector is not adapted to the data, there arises a problem that the data cannot be displayed by the projector. Even in this case, the computer continues to transmit data to the projector because the computer itself can reproduce the data without problem. Accordingly, it is hard for a user to determine whether the cause that the data cannot be reproduced by the projector is the occurrence of trouble in the projector itself or a data format mismatch, which is problematic. 
         [0006]    As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-52026 in this case, the computer can convert the data format into one with which the projector can reproduce the data and transmit the same. However, when a video file is large, there arise problems that processing load on the computer side that converts the data format becomes large, and that a time for the processing is prolonged. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    Various embodiments may provide an image supply apparatus, an image supply system, an image supply method, and a computer program product, which are capable of determining whether or not the cause that a projector cannot reproduce lies on the side of a file to be used. 
         [0008]    According to at least one embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided an image supply apparatus that transmits data to an image display apparatus, including: a control section; a storage section that stores video files; and an output section, wherein the control section includes a specification information receiving unit that receives specification information indicating video reproduction performance of the image display apparatus, a video file-selection accepting unit that accepts selection of a video file to be transmitted to the image display apparatus from the storage section, an attribute information acquiring unit that acquires attribute information indicating an environment necessary for reproducing a video from the selected video file, a determination unit that compares the specification information and the attribute information to determine whether or not the image display apparatus can reproduce the video file, a warning output unit that outputs a warning to the output device when the determination unit determines that the image display apparatus cannot reproduce the video file, and a transmission unit that transmits data of the video file to the image display apparatus when the determination unit determines that the image display apparatus can reproduce the video file. 
         [0009]    It is preferable that the specification information include information relating to a codec, a resolution, and a bit rate of the image display apparatus, that the attribute information of the video file include information relating to a codec, a resolution, and a bit rate necessary for reproducing the video file, and that the determination unit determine that the video file can be reproduced by the image display apparatus when the codec of the attribute information matches the codec of the specification information, the resolution of the attribute information falls within a range of the resolution of the specification information, and the bit rate of the attribute information falls within a range of the bit rate of the specification information. 
         [0010]    According to at least one embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided an image supply system including: an image display apparatus; and an image supply apparatus that is connected to the image display apparatus so that data can be transmitted and received therebetween, wherein the image display apparatus includes an image display control section, and a storage section that stores specification information indicating video reproduction performance of itself, the image display control section includes a unit that transmits the specification information to the image supply apparatus, and a unit that reproduces a video based on data transmitted from the image supply apparatus, the image supply apparatus includes an image supply control section, a storage section that stores video files, and an output section, and the image supply control section includes a specification information receiving unit that receives the specification information, a video file-selection accepting unit that accepts selection of a video file to be transmitted to the image display apparatus from the storage section, an attribute information acquiring unit that acquires attribute information indicating an environment necessary for reproducing a video from the selected video file, a determination unit that compares the specification information and the attribute information to determine whether or not the image display apparatus can reproduce the video file, a warning output unit that outputs a warning to the output device when the determination unit determines that the image display apparatus cannot reproduce the video file, and a transmission unit that transmits data of the video file to the image display apparatus when the determination unit determines that the image display apparatus can reproduce the video file. 
         [0011]    According to at least one embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided an image supply method that transmits data to an image display apparatus, including: receiving specification information indicating video reproduction performance; accepting selection of a video file to be transmitted to the image display apparatus from video files stored by itself; acquiring attribute information indicating an environment necessary for reproducing a video from the selected video file; comparing the specification information and the attribute information to determine whether or not the image display apparatus can reproduce the video file; outputting a warning when it is determined that the image display apparatus cannot reproduce the video file; transmitting data of the video file to the image display apparatus when it is determined that the image display apparatus can reproduce the video file. 
         [0012]    According to at least one embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a program for causing a computer connected to an image display apparatus so that data can be transmitted and received therebetween to execute: receiving specification information indicating video reproduction performance of the image display apparatus; accepting selection of a video file to be transmitted to the image display apparatus from video files stored by itself; acquiring attribute information indicating an environment necessary for reproducing a video from the selected video file; comparing the specification information and the attribute information to determine whether or not the image display apparatus can reproduce the video file; outputting a warning when it is determined that the image display apparatus cannot reproduce the video file; and transmitting data of the video file to the image display apparatus when it is determined that the image display apparatus can reproduce the video file. 
         [0013]    According to the embodiments, the image display apparatus can reliably supply reproducible data, and the image supply apparatus outputs a warning when the image display apparatus cannot reproduce video data. Therefore, a user can easily know the cause. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numbers reference like elements. 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  is a hardware block diagram of an image supply system according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram of an image supply apparatus according to the embodiment. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing of the image supply system according to the embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0018]    Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of an image supply system  1 . The image supply system  1  includes a computer  3  as an image supply apparatus and a projector  5  as an image display apparatus. The computer  3  and the projector  5  are connected to each other through a network cable  6  so that data can be transmitted and received therebetween. The network cable  6  may be a local area network (LAN) cable or a universal serial bus (USB) cable. 
         [0020]    The computer  3  has a control section  31 , a storage section  32 , an input section  34 , an output section  35 , and a network communication section  36 . The control section  31  is a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, controls each of the sections of the computer  3 , and performs processing described later. The storage section  32  is a storage device such as, for example, a nonvolatile memory, a volatile memory, or a hard disk and stores a video file  41  and programs executing processing described later. 
         [0021]    The video file  41  includes header information and video data. The header information includes information (attribute information) relating to a video reproduction environment necessary for reproducing the video data, such as the codec, resolution, or bit rate of the video data. 
         [0022]    Video data is compressed in most cases. A codec is compression and decompression software necessary for decompressing compressed video data (video data or audio data). There are various codecs, such as MPEG-4v3 or DivX (registered trademark), corresponding to respective compression standards such as MPEG-2 or MPEG-4. 
         [0023]    Resolution is a value representing the number of pixels of the data, which is indicated by the number of dots, and is information such as 800×600 dots, for example, in this case. 
         [0024]    Bit rate is a value representing how much amount of information of compressed video data is transmitted or received per second and is information such as 8 Mbps, for example. 
         [0025]    The input section  34  is an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse and accepts input of instruction data for selecting a video file to be transmitted to the projector  5  from video files. The output section  35  is an output device such as a display device or a speaker. The network communication section  36  transmits and receives data with the projector  5  through the network cable  6 . 
         [0026]    The projector  5  has a control section  51 , a storage section  52 , an input section  54 , an output section  55 , and a network communication section  56 . The control section  51  is a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, controls each of the other sections, and performs processing described later. 
         [0027]    The storage section  52  is a storage device such as, for example, a nonvolatile memory, a volatile memory, or a hard disk, and stores specification information  61 . 
         [0028]    The specification information  61  is information including a codec of the projector  5 , a resolution representing a display ability of the projector, and a bit rate representing the data amount that the projector  5  can reproduce per unit time, which relates to video reproduction performance (video reproduction specification) of the projector  5 . For example, examples of the specification information  61  of the projector  5  include “MPEG-2 codec; a resolution of 720×576 dots; and a bit rate of 8 Mbps” and “HD codec; a resolution of 1440×1024 dots; and a bit rate of 20 Mbps”. 
         [0029]    The input section  54  is an input device such as an operation button for operating the projector  5 . The output section  55  is an output device such as a projection device or a speaker. The network communication section  56  is a device that transmits and receives data with the computer  3  through the network cable  6 . 
         [0030]      FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram of the control section  31  of the computer  3 . 
         [0031]    The control section  31  has an interface  100 , a specification information receiving unit  101 , a reproducibility determination unit  102 , a warning output unit  103 , and a data transmission unit  104 . 
         [0032]    The storage section  32 , the input section  34 , the output section  35 , and the network communication section  36  of the computer  3  are connected to the specification information receiving unit  101 , the reproducibility determination unit  102 , the warning output unit  103 , and the data transmission unit  104  as respective processing functional units through the interface  100  and perform processing. 
         [0033]    The specification information receiving unit  101  receives the specification information  61  transmitted from the projector  5  through the network communication section  36 . The reproducibility determination unit  102  compares attribute information of the video file  41  requested to be reproduced by a user and the specification information  61  to determine whether or not the video file  41  can be reproduced in the projector  5 . When the reproducibility determination unit  102  determines that the video file  41  cannot be reproduced in the projector  5 , the warning output unit  103  outputs a warning that notifies a user of that effect from the output section  35 . When the reproducibility determination unit  102  determines that the video file  41  can be reproduced in the projector  5 , the data transmission unit  104  transmits data of the video file  41  to the projector  5 . 
         [0034]    Next, the operation of the image supply system  1  will be described. 
         [0035]    In this case, an example is described in which a user connects the computer  3  with the projector  5  through the network cable  6  and requests to reproduce the video file  41  stored in the computer  3  by the projector  5 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 3  is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing of the image supply system  1 . 
         [0037]    When the connection between the computer  3  and the projector  5  is confirmed, the control section  51  of the projector  5  reads the specification information  61  from the storage section  52  and transmits the same from the network communication section  56  to the computer  3  (Step S 201 ). 
         [0038]    The specification information receiving unit  101  of the control section  31  of the computer  3  receives the specification information  61  through the network communication section  36  (Step S 202 ). The computer  3  accepts input of selecting the video file  41  by a user from the input section  34  (Step S 203 ). In this case, the control section  31  displays a list screen of video files stored in the storage section  32  on a display. A user selects a video file desired to be reproduced by the projector  5  with a mouse or the like. 
         [0039]    The reproducibility determination unit  102  of the control section  31  reads the selected video file  41  (Step S 204 ) and acquires attribute information from the header information of the video file  41  (Step  205 ). The reproducibility determination unit  102  compares the acquired attribute information of the video file  41  and the specification information  61  of the projector  5  to determine whether or not the video file  41  can be reproduced by the projector  5  (Step S 206 ). 
         [0040]    As described above, the specification information  61  is the information relating to the video reproduction performance of the projector  5 , such as a codec, a resolution, and a bit rate of the projector  5 , while the attribute information of the video file  41  is the information relating to a codec, a resolution, and a bit rate necessary for reproducing the video file  41 . 
         [0041]    In Step S 206 , when the codec of the attribute information of the video file  41  matches the codec of the specification information  61 , the resolution of the attribute information of the video file  41  falls within a range of the resolution of the specification information  61 , and the bit rate of the attribute information of the video file  41  falls within a range of the bit rate of the specification information  61 , the reproducibility determination unit  102  determines that the video file  41  can be reproduced by the projector  5 . In other cases, the reproducibility determination unit  102  determines that the video file  41  cannot be reproduced. 
         [0042]    When the reproducibility determination unit  102  determines that the video file  41  can be reproduced by the projector  5  (“Yes” in Step S 206 ), the data transmission unit  104  transmits the data of the video file  41  from the network communication section  36  (Step S 207 ). The projector  5  receives the transmitted data with the network communication section  56 . The control section  51  stores the data in the storage section  52  such as a data buffer, reads the data by using the codec of itself, and outputs the data to the output section  55  to reproduce a video (Step S 208 ). The processing in Steps S 207  and S 208  is repeatedly performed until all the data of the video file  41  are transmitted and reproduced. 
         [0043]    When the reproducibility determination unit  102  determines that the video file  41  cannot be reproduced by the projector  5  (“No” in Step S 206 ), the warning output unit  103  outputs a warning to the output section  35  (Step S 209 ). When it is determined that the video file  41  cannot be reproduced by the projector  5 , the warning output unit  103  displays, for example, on the display of the computer  3  a warning that says, “This video file is not adapted to the projector”, or “A codec necessary for reproducing this video file does not exist in the projector”. Moreover, a warning beep may be output from a speaker or the like. 
         [0044]    According to the embodiment as described above, since the computer  3  reliably transmits the data of the video file  41  conforming to the specification information  61  of the projector  5 , the video file can be reliably reproduced in the projector  5 . When the video file  41  does not conform to the specification information  61  of the projector  5 , that is, when the projector  5  cannot reproduce the video file  41 , the computer  3  outputs a warning. Therefore, a user can easily know the cause that the projector  5  does not reproduce a video. 
         [0045]    In the embodiment, data of a video file has been described as an example. However, the embodiment is applicable even when data transmitted from the computer  3  to the projector  5  is image data or audio data. 
         [0046]    It is also possible to realize an image supply apparatus by preparing a program realizing the processing in each of the specification information receiving unit  101 , the reproducibility determination unit  102 , the warning output unit  103 , and the data transmission unit  104  described above and reading the program by a general-purpose computer. The program may be recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM to be distributed or may be distributed through a network.