Sony Corporation

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Shunichi Soma

Osamu Nakamura

Takashi Kohashi

Hiroshi Kuno

Yuuki Matsumura

Shigeru Enomoto

Toru Yamamoto

Munetake Ebihara

Takamichi Hayashi

Tamotsu Ishii

Yoichi Nishino

Michihiro Okada

Daisuke Kurata

A communication management apparatus is provided which includes: a start request acceptance unit configured to accept a request to start a program from a terminal; a query unit configured to query the program whether communication with the terminal is available upon acceptance of the start request; and a response transmission unit configured to transmit to the terminal, in response to the start request therefrom, a message indicating whether communication is available between the program and the terminal as a result of the query about the availability of communication therebetween.

Communication management apparatus, terminal, communication management system, communication management method, program, and information storage medium

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon a program for implementing functions of managing a recording medium in an electronic device, includes a recording medium management module that includes: an acquisition module configured to acquire an upper limit to the number of recording media registered in the electronic device; and a registering module configured to register the recording medium in which the program is installed in the electronic device such that the acquired upper limit is not exceeded. The recording medium management module may link date and time information to a recording medium identifier identifying the recording medium in which the program is installed, and register the information and the identifier as linked in a management database used to manage the recording medium.

Electronic device, recording medium management method and program

The present invention provides a time setting system and method thereof that are capable of correctly setting time if a delay occurs in the transmission of time information. In the system for setting a master time outputted from a master apparatus to a slave time of a slave apparatus that counts time independently of the master apparatus, the slave apparatus has transmission section for transmitting master time request information to the master apparatus via a network and the master apparatus has an allowable range information acquisition section for acquiring allowable range information indicative of an allowable time in which the master time may be set to the slave time of the slave apparatus and transmission section for transmitting the master time and allowable range information to the slave apparatus. The slave apparatus obtains a time difference between a first slave time to be obtained before or after the transmission of master time request information and a second slave time to be obtained at reception of the master time and the allowable range information. If the allowable time is greater than the obtained time difference, the master time is set.

Time setting system and time setting method

The present invention provides a content distribution server that allows the terminals owned by a same user to purchase content without repeating purchase processing once it has been executed only on one of these terminals. The content distribution server is made up of a content database storing the content identified by content ID in a plurality of files having different attributes and a user database storing the content IDs of the content purchased by the user identified by user ID. At the time of content purchase processing by a first terminal, this content distribution server registers the user ID of the first terminal in the user database. Subsequently, when a request for distribution comes from a second terminal, the content distribution server searches the user database of the second terminal for the content having an attribute available to the second terminal on the basis of the user ID of the second terminal without executing the purchase processing and distributes the retrieved content to the second terminal.

Content distribution server, content distribution method, and program

A digital watermark embedding device and method uses block correlation to perform motion detection on temporally sequential digital video signals after performing preprocessing such as division into blocks. The device and method evaluate a plurality of motion information which are calculated for blocks by using a technique such as determination by majority or weighting. Based on the detected motion information, by moving a digital watermark pattern to follow a picture, the digital watermark information can be superimposed on an input digital video signal so as to match human visual characteristics by using a technique such as emphasizing a portion on which the human eye is easily turned.

Digital watermark embedding device and digital watermark embedding method

A digital watermark embedding processor and digital watermark embedding-processing method set the lowest-common-multiple picture size of the sizes of an unconverted picture and a converted picture when embedding digital watermarks on certain data having a possibility of format conversion and set, for the lowest-common-multiple picture size, the values of the digital watermarks in the converted picture. Based on the set values, digital watermarks for the unconverted picture are set and are embedded in the picture. In this construction, even when a watermark-embedded picture is processed for conversion, it is ensured that accurate detection from the converted picture of watermarks can be performed.

Digital watermark embedding processor, digital watermark detecting processor, digital watermark embedding-processing method, digital watermark detecting-processing method, and program storage medium and program used therewith

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Chiba, Japan

Shunichi Soma