Patent ID: 8572670

Claim:
A distribution device which distributes a video content including a basic signal and a extended signal that are hierarchically composed comprising: content read-out means for reading out the basic signal and the extended signal in the video content at mutually independent bit rates; and reproduction speed change means for changing a reproduction speed of the content by specifying a read-out bit rate for each signal to said content read-out means, wherein said reproduction speed change means: (I) acquires the bit rates of all layers composed the video content, (II) determines a usable bandwidth of a network, (III) stops, in a process in which the read-out bit rate of each signal is changed in order from the basic signal to the extended signal, the change in the read-out bit rate of each signal so that a sum of the read-out bit rates of each changed signal does not exceed the network usable bandwidth, and (IV) issues an instruction to stop the reading out of the extended signal in a hierarchical layer to which the change has not been performed and a hierarchical layer higher than the hierarchical layer, and the distribution device further comprising time information setting means for adding time information to the video content read out by said content read-out means, wherein said reproduction speed change means instructs said time information setting means to change the clock rate of the time information to a value obtained by dividing the clock rate of the time information by the multiplication ratio for the reproduction speed change when the reproduction speed change is determined.