Patent ID: 8762402

Claim:
An in-vehicle media playback system comprising: a processor-based searching unit for searching for data information satisfying a request from a first storage unit for storing data information specifying media data; and a first playback device and a second playback device each having: a playback unit for reading media data from a second storage unit for storing said media data according to said data information, and playing back said media data, a presenting unit for presenting data information about said media data, and a control unit for making a request of said processor-based searching unit for data information about media data which is a playback object, wherein the control unit of the first playback device is connected to the second playback device, wherein the second playback device includes a vehicle-mounted network which has a lower data transfer rate than a data transfer rate between the control unit and the presenting unit of the first playback system, wherein the processor-based searching unit, the first playback device, and the second playback device are installed in the same vehicle, wherein the control unit of the first playback device includes: a receiving unit for receiving a request for data information from the second playback device; a determining unit for discriminating between a request for data information from the first playback device, and the request for data information from the second playback device received by said receiving unit; a data holding unit for holding data information acquired by said processor-based searching unit in response to the request from the second playback device; and a transmitting unit for data-transferring the data information satisfying the request from the second playback device which is read from said data holding unit to the second playback device according to the data transfer rate of the second playback device, and the control unit of the second playback device makes a request of said processor-based searching unit for data information via the control unit of the first playback device, and acquires data information satisfying the request via the control unit of the first playback device.