Content playing method and apparatus

Abstract

A method and apparatus for realistically playing content stimulating sight and hearing senses of a user corresponding to a location of the user, by determining a first location of a user, mapping a content space displayed on a display unit corresponding with an actual space in which the user is positioned based on the first determined location, determining a virtual viewpoint in the content space corresponding to a second location of the user, and playing content corresponding to the determined virtual viewpoint.

1 . A content playing method, the method comprising:
 determining a first location of a user;   mapping a content space displayed on a display unit to correspond with an actual space in which the user is positioned based on the first determined location;   determining a virtual viewpoint in the content space corresponding to a second location of the user; and   playing content corresponding to the determined virtual viewpoint.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein playing content comprises displaying an image based on the determined virtual viewpoint. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein displaying an image comprises controlling at least one of brightness, stereoscopic sensation, and depth of the image to display the controlled image. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein playing content comprises outputting a sound based on the determined virtual viewpoint. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein outputting a sound comprises controlling at least one of a direction sense and a distance sense to output the controlled sound. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the played content includes an image and a sound for stimulating at least a sight sense and a hearing sense of the user. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining a virtual viewpoint comprises:
 computing an amount of location variation of the user; and   determining the virtual viewpoint corresponding to a changed location of the user when the computed location variation amount is greater than a preset Minimum Transition Threshold (MTT).   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein mapping a content space comprises computing a coordinate transformation value between a coordinate system of the actual space and a coordinate system of the content space. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein determining a virtual viewpoint comprises determining the virtual viewpoint corresponding to the second location of the user using the coordinate transformation value. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein mapping a content space comprises:
 setting the coordinate system of the actual space using a horizontal length Display Screen Width (DSW) of a screen of the display unit, a vertical length Display Screen Height (DSH) of the screen, and a straight distance Watching Distance (WD) between the screen and the user;   setting the coordinate system of the content space using a horizontal length Focal Width (FW) of a focus surface and a vertical length Focal Height (FH) of the focus surface, and a straight distance Focal Length (FL) between the focus surface and the virtual viewpoint; and   computing the coordinate transformation value using the first location when the first location is determined.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein setting the coordinate system of the actual space comprises mapping the actual space reduced or enlarged to the virtual space by adding or subtracting an adjustment for at least one of the horizontal length, the vertical length, and the straight distance. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 computing an amount of location variation of the user based on the first location of the user;   applying the computed location variation amount to a trigonometric function to compute an angle variation amount;   rotating a direction of the virtual viewpoint by the computed angle variation amount; and   playing content corresponding to the virtual viewpoint the direction of which is rotated.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining a virtual viewpoint comprises:
 tracking a location of the user; and   determining a fixed location of the user as a first location of the mapping when the location of the user is fixed within a preset error for a preset time as the tracked result.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining a virtual viewpoint comprises determining the tracked location as the first location of the mapping when a start event for realistic type playback is sensed while tracking a location of the user. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining a virtual viewpoint comprises determining the tracked location as the first location of the mapping when a predetermined gesture of the user is sensed while tracking a location of the user. 
     
     
         16 . A content playing apparatus, comprising:
 a content collecting unit for collecting content stimulating senses of a user;   a content processor for performing a processing operation such that content input from the content collecting unit are played;   a content playing unit for playing content input from the content collecting unit;   a sensor for collecting information associated with a location of the user such that the content is played corresponding to the location of the user; and   a controller for determining a virtual viewpoint in a virtual content space corresponding to the location of the user based on received information from the sensor and controlling such that content corresponding to the determined virtual viewpoint are played.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the controller comprises:
 an initiator for determining a first location of a user based on the received information from the sensor;   a space mapper for mapping a content space displayed on a display unit to an actual space in which the user is positioned based on the first determined location;   a virtual viewpoint determinator for determining a virtual viewpoint in the content space corresponding to a second location of the user; and   a content processing controller for controlling the content processor to play content corresponding to the determined virtual viewpoint.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the content playing unit comprises an image display unit for displaying an image based on the determined virtual point. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the image display unit displays an image controlling at least one of brightness, stereoscopic sensation, and depth of the image to display the controlled image. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the content playing unit outputs a sound based on the determined virtual viewpoint. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the sound output unit controls at least one of a direction sense and a distance sense to output the controlled sound. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the content playing unit plays an image and a sound for stimulating at least a sight sense and a hearing sense of the user. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the virtual viewpoint determinator computes a location variation amount of the user based on the first location, applies the computed location variation amount to a trigonometric function to compute an angle variation amount, rotates a direction of the virtual viewpoint by the computed angle variation amount, and controlling such that content corresponding to a virtual viewpoint the direction of which is rotated are played. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the controller further comprises a tracker for tracking the location of the user using the received information from the sensor, and the initiator determines a fixed location of the user as a first location of the mapping when the location of the user is fixed within a preset error for a preset time during location tracking of the user. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the controller further comprises a tracker for tracking the location of the user using the received information from the sensor, and the initiator determines the tracked location of the user as a first location of the mapping when a start event for realistic playback is sensed during location tracking of the user. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the controller further comprises a tracker for tracking the location of the user using the received information from the sensor, and the initiator determines the tracked location of the user as a first location of the mapping when a preset gesture of the user is sensed during location tracking of the user. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising an interface unit connecting with a peripheral device having a content playing function,
 wherein the content processing controller controls the peripheral device through the interface unit to play content corresponding to the virtual viewpoint.