Patent ID: 8458594

Claim:
A control device comprising: a communication unit configured to communicate, via a network, with a content supply device supplying content and a plurality of reproduction devices reproducing the content transmitted from the content supply device; an operation unit; a display unit; and a control unit configured to be supplied with a signal from the operation unit and control the communication unit and the display unit, wherein the control unit has a content list display state in which a content list received from the content supply device is displayed on a screen of the display unit, a device list display state in which respective thumbnail images of the plurality of reproduction devices are displayed on the screen in accordance with device information received from the plurality of reproduction devices, and an operation panel display state in which an operation panel is displayed to enable a desired operation function from among a number of operation functions including a reproduction function to be performed on a selected content item of the content list by one of the plurality of reproduction devices set as a control target in the device list display state, wherein each of the screen for the content list display state, the screen for the device list display state, and the screen for the operation panel display state are separate from each other such that only one of the screen for the content list display state, the screen for the device list display state, and the screen for the operation panel display state is displayable at a time on the display unit, wherein in the operation panel display state the screen displayed on the display unit includes (i) a picture pertaining to the selected content item, (ii) the thumbnail image of the set reproduction device, and (iii) a content list button which when activated causes the screen to be directly changed so as to cause the content list of the content list display state to be displayed, wherein when in the content list display state the screen displayed on the display unit includes (i) the content list, (ii) the thumbnail image of the set reproduction device, (iii) an operation panel button which when activated causes the screen to be changed so as to cause the operation panel to be displayed, and (iv) a device list button which when activated causes the screen to be changed so as to cause the respective thumbnail images of the plurality of reproduction devices of the device list display state to be displayed, and wherein in the device list display state the screen displayed on the display unit includes an indication of the set reproduction device such that in each separate screen for the content list display state, the device list display state, and the operation panel display state the set reproduction device is identified.