Abstract: Provided is a technology for recording the information of contents recorded in a recording medium, when the reproduction of the contents is instructed by a user, thereby to extract a favorite program of the user on the basis of that information. For the technology, the contents stored in the recording medium in accordance with the operation of the user are reproduced. In case the contents are reproduced, the information indicating the reproduced contents is read out and recorded as reproduction history information. A list of programs to be broadcast is received, and the program according to the reproduction history information is extracted as the favorite program of the user from that list.

Abstract: To aim at outputting video signals causing a viewer to feel none of a sense of discomfort even if a partial or entire lack of the picture occurs in a device that decodes a datastream of a compressed moving picture of one-segment broadcasting etc and outputs the video signals. A moving picture data decoding device includes a buffer unit 26 buffered with a predetermined quantity of already-decoded pictures decoded by a decoding process, and a picture generation unit 23 configured to generate pictures and, if there is a missing picture used for interframe prediction (S202), performing the picture generation (S205) in a way that acquires a substitute reference picture with which to substitute the missing picture from the already-decoded pictures buffered in the buffer unit 26 (S203).

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a detection section for detecting that the information processing apparatus is started for the first time, a selection section for selecting at least one kind of the setting information from among a plurality of kinds of the setting information where it is detected by the detection section that the information processing apparatus is started for the first time, and a processing section for performing an initial setting process for the information processing apparatus using the setting information selected by the selection section. Consequently, the necessity for a user to perform inputting of the setting information is eliminated thereby to enhance the convenience, and also the fabrication source can reduce the management cost for the setting information.

Abstract: According to the present invention, is allowed to store, in a hard disk drive, only a driver and an application which are necessary for a peripheral device connected a personal computer, the area in use of the hard disk drive is reduced.

Abstract: A system is provided with which a user of an information processing apparatus is requested to pay only the license charges of the necessary functions of the pre-installed software and an information processing apparatus vendor or the like is also not requested to pay unwanted license fees to the licensors. An information processing apparatus, which has pre-installed at least one software providing a plurality of functions to which each license fee is charged respectively and enables selection of use or no use of the relevant functions, comprises a software storage unit for storing the pre-installed software, a function selection processing unit for executing only the function selected from the stored software, and a network communication unit for transmitting, via the network, the selected function information including the information indicating correspondence between the software name and selected function.