JP2005184473A - Program selection support transmitting apparatus, receiving apparatus, and system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program selection support system with which a viewer can efficiently grasp contents of a program. <P>SOLUTION: The system comprises: a digest information transmission section for transmitting digest information for program contents; a program content transmission section for transmitting the program contents; a digest information reception section for receiving the digest information for the program contents; a digest information storage section for storing the digest information; a program content reception section for receiving the program contents; and a presentation switching section for switching presentations of the digest information and the program contents. When selecting a channel, the digest information is presented in place of the program contents so that the viewer can easily grasp contents of a broadcast program, thereby improving viewing, video recording and purchasing rates of a program. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a television broadcast such as a terrestrial broadcast and a satellite broadcast, and a television broadcast system, and more particularly to a program selection support system for supporting selection by a viewer of a broadcast program.

  Conventionally, in television broadcasting such as terrestrial broadcasting and satellite broadcasting, a program provided from a plurality of broadcasting stations can be viewed by switching the channel of the receiver. In the current state of digitization of broadcasting, there are hundreds of channels that can be selected, so it is very difficult to grasp the contents of the program being broadcast in order to find the program desired by the viewer. Requires a lot of effort.

  As means for supporting the above, program information already used in digital broadcasting or the like is known. A typical example is EPG (Electric Program Guide), which transmits information representing the contents of a broadcast program superimposed on a broadcast wave, which is received, interpreted, and presented to the viewer on the receiver side. For example, information corresponding to a television column of a newspaper and more detailed information (such as a performer and an outline of program contents) for each program are presented according to the remote control operation of the viewer. However, since the program information is provided in text, there is a limit in both the amount of information that can be provided and the efficiency with which the viewer can grasp the contents.

As a conventional program selection support system to compensate for this, instead of broadcasting the main program and the digest video of the main program and displaying the main program when a channel is selected on the receiver side, Alternatively, there is one that makes it easy to grasp the contents of the program by displaying the digest video simultaneously with the display of the main program (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-290855 A

  However, in the conventional technique, during the main program broadcast, it is necessary to repeatedly transmit the digest video with the same content at all times. Therefore, effective use of the broadcast band cannot be achieved, and at the timing when the channel is selected. Since it is not always possible to view from the beginning of the digest video, there is a problem that the viewer is inefficient in grasping the contents of the program.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a program selection support system capable of efficiently presenting detailed information of a program being broadcast to a viewer when a channel is selected.

  In order to solve the conventional problem, the program selection support system of the present invention includes a digest information transmission unit that transmits digest information corresponding to a main program, a digest information reception unit that receives the digest information, and the received It has a digest information storage unit that stores digest information, and presents digest information instead of the main program.

  With this configuration, it is possible to present the digest video to the viewer from the beginning without wasting the broadcast band and at the time of channel selection, so that the contents of the program can be grasped efficiently.

  The present invention is a program selection support transmitting apparatus for supporting selection by a viewer of a broadcast program, comprising: a digest information transmitting unit for transmitting digest information for a main program; and a main program transmitting unit for transmitting a main program. Provided is a program selection support transmission apparatus.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the digest information transmitting unit includes a storage auxiliary information generating unit that generates auxiliary information necessary for storing digest information in the receiver, and a receiver from the auxiliary information and the digest information. A storage data generation unit that generates storage data to be transmitted to the receiver, a storage data transmission unit that transmits the storage data to a receiver, and a schedule management unit that manages a transmission schedule of the storage data.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the program main part transmission unit reproduces the program main part together with the auxiliary auxiliary information generation unit that generates auxiliary information necessary for accumulating digest information in the receiver, and the auxiliary information. A program information generation unit that generates program information from necessary information, a program transmission unit that transmits the program information and the main program to a receiver, and a schedule management unit that manages a transmission schedule of the program.

  The present invention is also a program selection support receiving apparatus for supporting selection of a broadcast program by a viewer, a digest information receiving unit for receiving digest information for the main program, and a digest information storage unit for storing the digest information. And a program main part receiving unit that receives the main part of the program, and a presentation switching support receiving device that switches the presentation information and the presentation switching part that switches the presentation of the main part of the program.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, the digest information receiving unit receives the stored data, a stored data receiving unit that analyzes the received stored data, and extracts the stored auxiliary information, and receives the stored auxiliary information. A digest information extracting unit that analyzes the accumulated data and extracts digest information;

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the program main part receiving unit includes a program receiving unit that receives the program information and the main program part, a program information extracting unit that extracts information necessary for program main part reproduction from the program information, A program auxiliary information extracting unit for extracting program auxiliary information necessary for reading out relevant digest information from the program information, and the presentation switching unit is a digest information reading unit for reading out digest information based on the program auxiliary information And a program switching unit that switches between presenting the digest information and the main program.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, in the program selection support receiving apparatus, a switching condition setting unit for setting a switching condition between the digest information and the program main part in the program switching unit is added.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the program switching unit is configured to start presenting digest information after the end of CM broadcast, when the program is being broadcast.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the program switching unit stores CMs scheduled to be broadcast in the main program in advance in the receiver in the same manner as the digest information, and after the digest information presentation is completed, the program switching unit stores the stored CMs. After presenting the CM, the program is switched to the main program.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, in the program selection support receiving apparatus, a digest information automatic deletion unit is automatically added that automatically deletes digest information stored in the receiver from the receiver after the main program broadcast date and time ends.

  The present invention also includes a program selection support system including the above-described program selection support transmission device and / or program selection support reception device.

  The present invention also includes a method related to these, a program for realizing the method, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

  According to the program selection support system of the present invention, when a channel is selected, the viewer can easily understand the contents of the broadcast program, so that the viewing, recording, and purchase rate of the program can be improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an outline of a program selection support system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the broadcast station side displays digest information 101 (for example, a short video of several tens of seconds to several minutes in a program preview CM, a summary of the previous story, etc.) Before the main program broadcast date and time, the digest information transmission unit 102 broadcasts via a predetermined broadcast channel.

  On the receiver side, the digest information receiving unit 103 receives the broadcast digest information, and the digest information storage unit 104 receives the obtained digest information, and the mass storage device (such as a hard disk drive mounted on the receiver) ( (Hereinafter referred to as HDD). The accumulated digest information 105 is stored in the receiver until the main program is broadcast.

  Subsequently, when the broadcast date of the program main part comes, the broadcast station side sets the program main part 106, and the program main part transmission unit 107 assigns a predetermined broadcast channel (which may be the same channel as the channel on which the digest information is broadcast or a different channel). Broadcast through.

  On the receiver side, when the viewer selects a channel on which the main program is broadcast, the main program receiving unit 108 receives the main program. The presentation switching unit 109 reads the received digest information 105 corresponding to the main program from the HDD and presents it to the viewer via a TV monitor or the like instead of the main program. When the reproduction of the digest information is completed, the content presented to the viewer is switched to the main program being received.

  According to such a configuration, the contents of the main part of the program can be obtained by presenting the digest information broadcasted before the broadcast date and time of the main part of the program to the viewer before the main part of the program is presented when the main part of the program is broadcast. Since it can be easily grasped, it is possible to improve the viewing and recording of programs and the purchase rate. In addition, digest information can be broadcast using the broadcast suspension period before the main program broadcast date and time, or the surplus bandwidth at the time of another program broadcast, and stored in the receiver. It can be repeated during the main program broadcast time. Since it is not necessary to broadcast, the broadcast band can be used effectively.

  The schematic configuration of FIG. 1 will be described in more detail below.

  First, a description will be given of an operation in which digest information that summarizes the highlights of a program main part in a short time is transmitted to a receiver in advance and stored before the broadcast start date of the main part of the program.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digest information accumulation part (a part surrounded by a broken line shown in FIG. 1A) in the program selection support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the same components as those in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the digest information is standardized by the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) “encoding, transmission and storage control system standard specification for server type broadcasting ARIB STD-B38 1.0 version” ( (Issued in February 2003, hereinafter referred to as ARIB STD-B38), and will not be described for parts not directly related to the present invention. It should be noted that the present invention has the same effect even when storing in the receiver by a method other than the ARIB STD-B38.

  More specifically, the digest information transmission unit 102 in FIG. 1 includes a storage auxiliary information generation unit 201, a storage data generation unit 202, a storage data transmission unit 203, and a schedule management unit 204 in FIG.

  More specifically, the digest information receiving unit 103 in FIG. 1 includes the accumulated data receiving unit 205, the accumulation auxiliary information extracting unit 206, and the digest information extracting unit 207 in FIG.

  On the broadcasting station side, the storage auxiliary information generation unit 201 generates auxiliary information necessary for storing the digest information 101 in the receiver. The auxiliary information is a storage location in the receiver (which file name is stored in which directory of the HDD installed in the receiver), and is used when accessing the digest information on the receiver side. The In the present embodiment, the storage location is assumed to be “/digest/20030930/1900/c01.ts”. In ARIB STD-B38, the storage location is specified by a StoreRoot descriptor, a SubDirectory descriptor, a Name descriptor, and a resource header in the module, but the details are omitted.

  In addition to the storage location, the auxiliary information may include a date / time when the digest information can be deleted, a keyword related to a genre to which the main program belongs, and the like.

  The accumulated data generation unit 202 generates accumulated data to be transmitted to the receiver from the auxiliary information and the digest information 101.

  The stored data transmission unit 203 transmits the stored data to the receiver in accordance with the designation of the schedule management unit 204.

  On the receiver side, the accumulated data receiving unit 205 receives the accumulated data.

  The storage auxiliary information reading unit 206 analyzes the received storage data and extracts the storage auxiliary information. In the present embodiment, the storage location “/digest/20030930/1900/c01.ts” is retrieved.

  The digest information extraction unit 207 analyzes the received accumulated data and extracts the digest information.

  The digest information storage unit 104 writes the digest information in a location specified by the storage location. The written digest information is indicated by 105.

  As described above, the digest information is stored in the HDD of the receiver.

  Next, an operation when the broadcast date and time of the main program corresponding to the digest information arrives will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a program main part broadcast part (a part surrounded by a broken line shown in FIG. 1B) in the program selection support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 3, the same components as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the main program is encoded and transmitted in accordance with the MPEG (Moving Picture Coding Experts Group) 2 standard, and the description of the parts not directly related to the present invention is omitted. It is obvious that the present invention has the same effect even when broadcasting by a system other than the MPEG2 standard.

  More specifically, the program main part transmission unit 107 in FIG. 1 includes a storage group auxiliary information generation unit 201, a schedule management unit 204, a program information generation unit 301, and a program transmission unit 302 in FIG.

  More specifically, the main program reception unit 108 in FIG. 1 includes the program reception unit 302, the program information extraction unit 304, and the program auxiliary information extraction unit 305 in FIG.

  More specifically, the presentation switching unit 109 in FIG. 1 includes the digest information reading unit 306 and the program switching unit 307 in FIG.

  On the broadcast station side, the storage auxiliary information generation unit 201 generates auxiliary information given to the digest information corresponding to the main program. In the present embodiment, the storage location “/digest/20030930/1900/c01.ts” assigned when digest information is transmitted is generated.

  The program information generation unit 301 generates program information from information necessary for reproducing the main program together with the auxiliary information. In the MPEG2 standard, Program Specific Information (PSI) is defined as program information, and PMT (Program Map Table) is specified as PSI for specifying video, audio, and the like constituting the program. A PMT generated in the present embodiment is shown in FIG. Note that PSI information other than the PMT and PMT components that are not directly related to the description of the present embodiment are omitted.

  In FIG. 4, in addition to PID (Packet Identifier), which is information for specifying the main program video and main program audio defined in the MPEG2 standard, a PMT added with a storage location for digest information corresponding to the main program Is generated.

  The program transmission unit 302 transmits the program information and the main program 106 to the receiver when the broadcast start date of the main program comes according to the instruction of the schedule management unit 204.

  On the receiver side, the program receiving unit 303 receives the program information and the main program.

  The subsequent operation on the receiver side will be described with reference to FIG.

  The program information extracting unit 304 extracts information necessary for reproducing the main program from the program information received by the program receiving unit 303.

  In this embodiment, the PID of the main program video included in the PMT is acquired (S501). Subsequently, the PID of the audio of the main program is acquired (S502). By extracting the data having the acquired PID, it is possible to reproduce the main program.

  The program auxiliary information extraction unit 305 extracts program auxiliary information necessary for reading out related digest information from the program information received by the program reception unit 303.

  In this embodiment, it is confirmed whether or not the PMT includes a digest information storage location (S503). If it is included, the storage location is acquired (S505). The digest information reading unit 306 accesses the storage location “/digest/2030930/1900/c01.ts” of the HDD installed in the receiver, and reads the digest information 105 (S505). The extracted digest information is output to the program switching unit 307 (S506).

  When the storage location is not included in the PMT, the video data of the main program is acquired by the PID acquired in S501 as in the conventional case (S507). Subsequently, the audio data of the main program is acquired with the PID acquired in S502 (S508). The acquired video data and audio data of the main program are output to the program switching unit 307 (S509).

  The program switching unit 307 outputs the read digest information to a monitor or the like instead of the main program, and switches to the main program when the digest information is reproduced.

  In this embodiment, when the reproduction of the digest information is completed, the program is automatically switched to the main program. However, a switching condition setting unit for setting a switching condition between the digest information and the main program is provided to set the switching condition. It is good also as a structure which switches according to designation | designated of a part.

  In the present embodiment, presentation of digest information is unconditionally started immediately after channel selection. However, in the case of a CM broadcast, the presentation of digest information may be started after the end of the CM broadcast. . Alternatively, the CM scheduled to be broadcast in the main program may be stored in advance in the receiver in the same manner as the digest information, and after the digest information has been presented, the stored CM is then presented and then switched to the main program. good.

  The digest information stored in the receiver may be automatically deleted from the receiver after the main program broadcast date and time ends. In this case, it is necessary to store the date and time of deletion together with the storage location in the program auxiliary information transmitted when digest information is stored.

  In this embodiment, the storage location is added to the PMT. However, by adding the storage location to the SI (Service Information) defined by ARIB, digest information at a timing other than the time of channel selection is used. Can be recycled and utilized. For example, when an EPG is presented on the screen by adding it to the EIT (Event Information Table), in addition to the text-based program details information, the program introduction with video and audio can be played back. The viewer can grasp the contents of the program in more detail at the time of selection or recording reservation.

  A program selection support system according to the present invention includes a digest information transmission unit that transmits digest information corresponding to a main program, a digest information reception unit that receives the digest information, and a digest information storage unit that stores the received digest information. It is useful as a program selection function of a television broadcast receiver. It can also be applied to uses such as a program selection function of a broadband content receiver.

Schematic configuration diagram of a program selection support system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention The block diagram which shows the structure of the digest information storage part of the program selection assistance system in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the program main part broadcast part in the program selection assistance system of Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the main structures of PMT in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process by the side of the program selection support system in Embodiment 1 of this invention in the main program broadcast date and time

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Digest information 102 Digest information transmission part 103 Digest information reception part 104 Digest information storage part 105 Digest information 106 Program main part 107 Program main part transmission part 108 Program main part reception part 109 Presentation switching part 201 Storage auxiliary information generation part 202 Accumulated data generation part 203 Storage data transmission unit 204 Schedule management unit 205 Storage data reception unit 206 Storage auxiliary information extraction unit 207 Digest information extraction unit 301 Program information generation unit 302 Program transmission unit 303 Program reception unit 304 Program information extraction unit 305 Program auxiliary information extraction unit 306 Digest Information reading unit 307 Program switching unit

Claims (10)

A program selection support transmitting apparatus for supporting selection by a viewer of a broadcast program,
A digest information transmission unit for transmitting digest information for the main part of the program;
A program selection support transmission apparatus comprising: a program main part transmission unit for transmitting a program main part. The digest information transmission unit
An auxiliary storage information generator for generating auxiliary information necessary for storing digest information in the receiver;
From the auxiliary information and digest information, a stored data generation unit that generates stored data for transmission to the receiver,
An accumulated data transmitting unit for transmitting the accumulated data to a receiver;
The program selection support transmission apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a schedule management unit that manages a transmission schedule of accumulated data. The program main part transmission unit
An auxiliary storage information generator for generating auxiliary information necessary for storing digest information in the receiver;
Along with the auxiliary information, a program information generation unit that generates program information from information necessary for reproduction of the main program,
A program transmission unit for transmitting the program information and the main program to a receiver;
The program selection support transmission apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a schedule management unit that manages a program transmission schedule. A program selection support receiving device for supporting selection by a viewer of a broadcast program,
A digest information receiving unit for receiving digest information for the main part of the program;
A digest information storage unit for storing the digest information;
A program main part receiving unit for receiving the main part of the program;
A program selection support receiving apparatus comprising: the digest information and a presentation switching unit that switches presentation of the main program. The digest information receiving unit
An accumulated data receiver for receiving accumulated data;
A storage auxiliary information extraction unit that analyzes the received storage data and extracts the storage auxiliary information;
The program selection support receiving apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a digest information extracting unit that analyzes the received accumulated data and extracts digest information. The program main part receiving unit
A program receiving unit for receiving the program information and the main part of the program;
A program information extracting unit for extracting information necessary for reproducing the main program from the program information;
A program auxiliary information extraction unit for extracting program auxiliary information necessary for reading out the relevant digest information from the program information,
The presentation switching unit
A digest information reading unit for reading digest information based on the program auxiliary information;
The program selection support receiving apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a program switching unit that switches between the digest information and the presentation of the main program. The program selection support receiving apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a switching condition setting unit that sets a switching condition between digest information and a program main part in the program switching unit. The program selection support receiving apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the program switching unit is configured to start presenting digest information after waiting for the end of CM broadcast. The program switching unit stores CMs scheduled to be broadcast in the main program in advance in the receiver in the same manner as the digest information. After the digest information presentation is completed, the stored CM is presented, and then the program main part is displayed. The program selection support receiving apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the program selection support receiving apparatus is configured to be switched. 7. The program selection support receiving apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a digest information automatic deletion unit that automatically deletes digest information stored in the receiver from the receiver after the main program broadcast date and time ends.

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