According to the present invention, a plurality of apparatuses can be synchronously controlled by a simpler operation. A synchronous control information management unit 87 stores synchronous control information including synchronous operation patterns and synchronous control conditions. In each of the synchronous operation patterns, a procedure for sequentially transmitting control commands to a plurality of apparatuses is defined using a single pattern name. In each of the synchronous control conditions, a condition for selecting one of the synchronous operation patterns is described. A control pattern analysis unit 89 analyzes a synchronous control pattern, sequentially generates control commands used to control apparatuses on the basis of the analysis result, and supplies the generated control commands to a network interface 81 or an infrared communication control unit 90. The present invention can be applied to a reproduction system for reproducing content.