Patent ID: 7669217

Claim:
An AV stream reproducing apparatus in which images reproduced from a plurality of AV streams are displayed on a screen at a same time, comprising: an AV stream acquisition portion configured to acquire a plurality of AV streams; a plurality of decoders configured to decode the plurality of AV streams acquired by said AV stream acquisition portion, said plurality of decoders including two or more decoders having different performance characteristics; a decoder performance management portion configured to manage image quality and electric power consumption for decoding the plurality of AV streams, which is acquired by said plurality of decoders, as information relating to performance characteristics of said plurality of decoders; a mode setting portion configured to set, based on a screen display state that is a Z-axis position of the image display frame, a user's watching/listening form for identifying and AV stream which attracts the user's attention; a decoder management portion configured to identify, in accordance with the user's watching/listing form instructed or operated by the user, an AV stream which is displayed on the uppermost side, and to determine, from among said plurality of decoders allocatable to the identified AV stream, a decoder capable of high-image quality decoding to be preferentially allocated to the identified AV stream, and, from among the other decoders allocatable to another AV stream, a decoder capable of lower-power consumption decoding to be allocated to the other AV stream, based on setting of said mode setting portion and information from said decoder performance management portion; a decoder switching portion configured to switch, according to determination of said decoder management portion, between decoders used for decoding the AV streams; and an output portion configured to allow a plurality of images decoded by said plurality of decoders to be displayed on a screen at a same time using individual image display frames.