JPH0426899A - karaoke equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a user to easily select a program by storing performance information and text information on software and information on the release date of source music in one storage device, and listing up only recent hit pieces of music and showing them to the user. CONSTITUTION:The storage means 12 is stored with the information on the release date of the source music of orchestral accompaniment software in addition to the performance information and text information. Then when the user inputs period information determining a period from an input means 14, a control means 10 selects orchestral accompaniment software corresponding to source music which is released in the period from the storage means 12. A display means 13 displays the orchestral accompaniment software selected by the control means 10. Consequently, only recent hit pieces of music are listed up and the user can easily make a selection.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a karaoke device, and more particularly to a karaoke device that can display the latest hit songs that can be played to the user.

[Conventional technology] Traditionally, karaoke software used in karaoke machines is
New songs released daily on LD (laser disc),
Media such as CDs (compact discs) and music tapes were used to supply stores equipped with karaoke machines in the form of 10 to 30 songs per media.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, since karaoke software is supplied to stores equipped with karaoke machines in the form of bundles of about 10 to 30 songs, the software supplied to the stores is In order to search for the latest hit songs, the user has no choice but to search through a list of singer names, song titles, etc., which is troublesome.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a karaoke device that can restore only the latest hit songs and allow the user to easily select songs. .

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the karaoke device of the present invention has the following features:
It stores karaoke software consisting of performance information and lyrics information, and also plays back the performance information and lyrics information of the karaoke software desired by the user, and stores information on the release date of the original song of the karaoke software. a storage means, an input means for inputting period information defining a period, and an original song released during the period according to the period information based on the period information and the release date information input from the input means; The apparatus includes a control means for selecting corresponding karaoke software, and a display means for displaying the karaoke software selected by the control means.

[Operation] According to the present invention having the above configuration, the storage means stores information on the release date of the original song of the karaoke software. next,
When the user inputs period information defining a period from the input means, the control means selects karaoke software corresponding to the original song released during the period from the storage means based on the input period information. The display means displays the karaoke software selected by the control means to facilitate the user's selection of the desired song.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of the karaoke apparatus of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the karaoke machines 3 in each karaoke establishment nationwide are connected to the host computer 1 via the communication line 2, so the host computer 1 can
New karaoke software (hereinafter referred to as software) can be supplied to the karaoke device 3 via the communication line 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the karaoke device 3 has a C
It has a central control unit 10 composed of a PU (central processing unit) and the like. The central control unit 10 includes a communication unit 11 connected to the host computer 1 via the communication line 2, and new software performance information received by the communication unit 11 from the host computer 1 via the communication line 2. A storage unit 12 is a storage unit that stores lyrics information as well as information on the release date of the original song, that is, information on the date when the singer released the song as a record, and the title of each software and the name of the singer. , a display section 13 which is a display means for displaying the registration number of the song, etc., as well as displaying the operation procedure of the karaoke apparatus, etc., and a display section 13 for the user to select software and input information indicating whether or not he or she wishes to play the song. A keyboard 14, a video playback unit that is equipped with video media such as a laser disc and reads out video information from it, a video circuit 16 that mixes and outputs lyrics information and video information, and displays the output from the video circuit 16. A monitor 17 is connected. Furthermore, an amplification section 19 that amplifies the user's voice signal and performance information inputted from the microphone 18 and a speaker 11 that outputs the user's voice signal and performance information amplified by the amplification section 19 are also connected. There is.

Although a magneto-optical disk is most suitable for the storage unit 12,
There is no particular problem with other large-capacity, writable or rewritable devices that can be randomly accessed, such as hard disks or optical disks. No matter which one is selected, the total capacity is generally on the order of several hundred Mbytes. Does this storage unit 12 store performance information in addition to software lyrics information and release date information?The data format is as follows:
The sound itself is not converted into PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) like on compact discs, but can be played automatically by controlling a so-called synthesizer that supports MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). Store the data in such a format. With this data format, if the quality of music is suitable for use in karaoke, the amount of data required for each song is approximately 100 to 200 kilobytes. Therefore, it is possible to store data for up to several thousand pieces of music on one magneto-optical disk, and it can be fully used as the storage section 12 of the karaoke apparatus 3.

The central control unit 10 sequentially reads the performance information of the song from the storage unit 12 and converts it into a MIDI ID message, and sends the message to the serial interface unit (MIDI ID).
compliant with the musical tone synthesis section (MI
By transmitting the signal to the DI compatible synthesizer), the musical tone control section is made to perform karaoke. Although the serial interface section, musical tone synthesis section, and musical tone control section all exist within the central control section 10, they are not shown.

Next, the operation of the karaoke apparatus 3 of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

First, the user selects and inputs the registration number of the desired song from a list that includes the title, singer name, starting part of the lyrics, and registration number of the song that can be played by the karaoke device 3. Enter whether or not to do so from the keyboard 14.

When you input from the keyboard 14 that you do not want to select from the list (steps NO1 and below are referred to as S1: No. The same applies to other steps), the display section 13 asks whether you want to set a period or display the latest hit song. When the user inputs from the keyboard 14 that he wishes to display the latest hit songs (S2: Yes), the central control unit 10 displays information on the release date of the original song of the software stored in the storage unit 12. is searched, and software corresponding to the original song released within the last two months, for example, is selected and displayed (S3). If the selected software does not fit on the display section 13 (S4:N
o) The presence of the next candidate is displayed on the display unit 13, but if the user manually indicates from the keyboard 14 that he/she wishes to refer to the next candidate (S5: Yes), the process returns to S4. When the user inputs from the keyboard 14 that he or she does not wish to refer to the next candidate (S5: No), the process advances to S6. Even when all the selected software fits on the display section 13 (S4: Yes
), proceed to S6. If the song desired by the user exists (S6: Yes), the user manually enters the registration number of the desired song displayed on the display unit 13 from the keyboard 14 (S6).
7).

Based on the registration number input from the keyboard 14, the central control section 10 searches the storage section 12, reads out performance information and lyrics information of the corresponding software, and reproduces the information. The lyrics information is mixed with the video information reproduced by the video reproduction section 15 in the video circuit 16 and displayed on the monitor 17. The reproduced performance information is amplified together with the user's audio signal input from the microphone 18 by the amplifying section 19 and output from the speaker 20. At this time, the performance and lyrics are synchronized. When the performance is finished, the process returns to Sl.

In addition, in Sl, if the user inputs a message from the keyboard 14 to select and input the registration number of the song from the user list (Sl: Yes), when the user inputs the registration number from the keyboard 14 (S8), S10 The next step is to proceed to

Further, in S2, if the user inputs from the keyboard 14 that he does not wish to display the latest hit songs (S22 No.
), the display section 13 displays a message asking you to set a period. Then, when the user sets and inputs a period from the keyboard 14 (S9), the process advances to S3. In this case, since the display unit 13 searches the central control unit 10 or the storage unit 12 for software corresponding to the original song released during the input period, the display unit 13 displays songs that were popular at that time. You can also do it. This allows the user to select a nostalgic song.

If the song desired by the user is not found in S6 (S6: No), the process returns to Sl.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in detail above, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

For example, in this embodiment, the performance information and lyrics information of the software and the information on the release date of the original song are stored in one storage unit 12, or they may be stored separately.

In addition, the latest hit songs may be displayed only in two months after the original song was released, or may be determined as appropriate, such as once or three months after the release of the original song.

Further, the display section 13 may also serve as the monitor 17.

It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a karaoke machine with a reservation function.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to karaoke machines that are not connected to a host computer.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the detailed description above, according to the present invention, only the latest hit songs can be restored and presented to the user, making it easier for the user to select songs. This has an industrially significant effect of being able to provide karaoke equipment.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 show an embodiment embodying the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the overall configuration of the karaoke system, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the karaoke device, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the entire karaoke system configuration. It is a flowchart showing the operation of the karaoke device. In the figure, 1 is a host computer, 2 is a communication line, 3 is a karaoke device, 10 is a central control unit, 11 is a communication unit, 12 is a storage unit, 13 is a display unit, 14 is a keyboard, 15 is a video playback unit, 16 1 is a video circuit, 17 is a monitor, 18 is a microphone, 19 is an amplifier, and 20 is a speaker.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A karaoke device that stores karaoke software consisting of performance information and lyrics information and plays back the performance information and lyrics information of the karaoke software desired by a user, comprising: a storage means for storing information on the release date of a song; an input means for inputting period information defining a period; A karaoke device comprising: a control means for selecting karaoke software corresponding to an original song released during a period; and a display means for displaying the karaoke software selected by the control means.