JP2006186709A - Program extracting device and method, and display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a program extracting device capable of securely extracting even a program lower in broadcasting frequency than a program broadcast every day or every week according to user's preference. <P>SOLUTION: Pieces of program information including a designated item among pieces of program information extracted from an input signal, are counted to calculate a 1st count result. Further, pieces of program information including the designated item among pieces of programs information on programs that a user viewed, are counted to calculate a 2nd count result. Furthermore, user's preference is analyzed on the basis of the 1st count result and 2nd count result. Then program information corresponding to the result of analysis of the user's preference is extracted from the pieces of program information extracted from the input signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a program extraction apparatus, and more particularly to a program extraction apparatus that extracts a program according to a user's preference.

  A conventional program extraction device analyzes a user's viewing history based on program information corresponding to a program that the user has viewed in the past, and grasps the user's preference. Then, the program that matches the user's preference is searched from the program information included in the received signal and provided to the user (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-197392 A

  In the program extraction device described in Patent Document 1, user preference is analyzed using only the user viewing history. Therefore, more program information of programs that the user is watching relatively frequently is accumulated. Therefore, a program that the user views relatively frequently can be extracted from the received signal relatively easily.

  However, in the above-described conventional program extraction device, program information of programs (for example, sumo, special programs, etc., hereinafter also referred to as seasonal programs) broadcast every certain period or every certain season is difficult to accumulate. This is because the seasonal program is less frequently viewed by the user than a program broadcast every day or every week. In other words, in the conventional program extraction device, for example, even if a program likes a seasonal program and is viewed without fail in every period or every season, the viewing frequency of the seasonal program is treated as low. It will be broken. Therefore, in the conventional program extracting device, it is difficult to extract the seasonal program as described above from the received signal and provide it to the user.

  Therefore, the present invention solves the above-described problems. Even a program with a lower broadcast frequency than a program broadcast daily or weekly, such as a seasonal program, is adapted to the user's preference. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a program extracting apparatus that can extract data reliably.

  The program extracting apparatus according to the present invention includes a first counting unit that counts program information including a predetermined item among program information extracted from an input signal, and the predetermined information among program information of a program viewed by a user. Analyzing the user's preference based on a second counting means for counting programs including items, a first counting result in the first counting means, and a second counting result in the second counting means Preference analysis means, and program information extraction means for extracting program information corresponding to the result of analysis in the preference analysis means from the program information extracted from the input signal.

  According to the program extracting apparatus of the present invention, even a program with a lower broadcast frequency compared to a program broadcast daily or weekly, such as a seasonal program, can be reliably extracted according to the user's preference. it can.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display apparatus 1000 to which the program extraction apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment is applied. In FIG. 1, a receiving means 1 receives an input signal input from the outside of the display device 1000 via a broadcasting station or the Internet line. Then, in response to a channel selection signal (described later) input from the control means 5, a signal corresponding to the channel selection signal (hereinafter also referred to as a channel selection program) from the input signal (hereinafter also referred to as a channel selection program signal). ). Further, the demodulated signal obtained by demodulating the extracted channel selection program signal is converted into a video signal corresponding to video, an audio signal corresponding to audio, and program information corresponding to program information of the channel selection program. The signal is separated and output to the program information acquisition means 2.

  The receiving means 1 includes a tuning circuit, a demodulating circuit, or a demultiplexer. Demodulation of the channel selection signal is performed in the demodulating circuit, and separation of the demodulated signal into a video signal or the like is performed in the demultiplexer. . In addition, the receiving means 1 may be configured to receive any one signal among a signal transmitted from a broadcasting station or a signal input via an Internet line or the like, or a plurality of signals May be received.

  Further, the channel selection signal output from the control means 5 corresponds to the signal input from the operation means to the control means 5 when the user selects a desired program by the operation means (not shown). It is generated in the control means 5. The operation means is, for example, an operation unit such as a remote controller or a button provided in the display device 1000. Further, a device that is not an accessory of the display device 1000, such as a mobile phone, but can give an instruction to the display device 1000 may be used as the operation means.

  The program information is information related to a program including a program name, a broadcast channel, and the like of the program. For example, in EPG (Electronic Program Guide), a program name, a broadcast channel, a genre, a broadcast date, a broadcast start time, Program information such as broadcast time or program content is included. In the following description, the program name, broadcast channel, etc. in the program information are also called types. Information that further subdivides the type is referred to as an item.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram schematically showing program information included in the EPG. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 2, the EPG includes “Song Boasting Competition” as the program name, “JBK” as the broadcast channel, “Music” as the genre, and “2004/10/30 (Sat)” as the broadcast date. “10:00 p.m.” is set as the broadcast start time, “60 minutes” is set as the broadcast time, and “Singing the famous song to be left for the next generation!” Is set as the program content. That is, in the EPG of FIG. 2, the program name, broadcast channel, genre, broadcast date, broadcast start time, broadcast time, and program content are set as types. In addition, various items include “Song Boasting Competition”, “JBK”, “Music”, “2004/10/30 (Sat)”, “1:00 pm”, “60 minutes”, “Next” "The popular song to be left in the generation!" Is set.

  In the following description, a case where data corresponding to EPG (hereinafter also referred to as EPG data) is superimposed as program information included in the received signal will be described. Therefore, the demultiplexer separates a signal corresponding to the EPG data from the demodulated signal as the program information signal.

  The program information acquisition means 2 extracts a program information signal from the output of the receiving means 1 and outputs it to the control means 5. Further, the program information acquisition unit 2 outputs a video signal and an audio signal among the outputs of the receiving unit 1 to the video / audio reproduction unit 3. Then, the control unit 5 causes the storage unit 6 to store EPG data corresponding to the input program information signal. Also, the video / audio reproduction means 3 decodes the video signal or audio signal output from the program information acquisition means 2 and outputs it to the synthesis means 4. The storage means 6 can be constituted by a recording device such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk or an optical disk, for example.

  The program extraction device 100 extracts EPG data of a program according to the user's preference from the EPG data stored in the storage unit 6 based on the user's viewing history, and outputs it to the display control unit 7. The viewing history is recorded in the storage unit 6. Specifically, in the display device 1000, every time a user selects a channel, EPG data of the selected program is stored in the storage unit 6. That is, the stored EPG data is stored in the display device 1000 as a viewing history.

  The display control means 7 generates a user interface (User Interface, hereinafter also referred to as UI) for displaying the program information extracted by the program extraction device 100, and a signal corresponding to the UI (in accordance with the control of the control means 5). (Hereinafter also referred to as UI signal) is output to the synthesizing means 4.

  Specifically, in the display device 1000, the user can select to display or hide the UI by operating the operation unit. That is, the control means 5 outputs the UI signal from the display control means 7 when a signal for displaying the UI (hereinafter also referred to as UI display signal) is inputted from the operation means. Control is performed as follows.

  The synthesizing unit 4 outputs the video signal and the audio signal output from the video / audio reproduction unit 3 to the display unit 8 when the UI signal is not input from the display control unit 7. On the other hand, when the UI signal is input, the synthesized signal obtained by synthesizing the video signal and the UI signal and the audio signal are output to the display unit 8.

  When the video signal and the audio signal are input from the synthesizing unit 4, the display unit 8 displays the video of the video signal and outputs the audio corresponding to the video based on the audio signal. On the other hand, when the synthesized signal and the audio signal are input from the synthesizing unit 4, the video of the synthesized signal (that is, the video of the video signal and the video on which the UI is displayed, hereinafter also referred to as synthesized video) is displayed. The audio corresponding to the video is output based on the audio signal.

  In addition, when the user selects a program displayed on the UI by using the operation unit while the synthesized video is displayed on the display unit 8, the control unit is based on the signal output from the operation unit. 5, a channel selection signal is generated, and a program corresponding to the channel selection signal is displayed on the display means 8.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the program extraction device 100 according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, the first counting unit 101 acquires EPG data from the storage unit 6. Next, a type table (described later) created based on the EPG data acquired from the storage unit 6 is compared with items in the EPG data acquired from the storage unit 6, and EPG data including items in the type table Count the number of Then, a signal corresponding to the count result (hereinafter also referred to as a first count signal) is output to the preference analysis unit 103.

  On the other hand, the second counting means 102 reads the EPG data of the viewing history stored in the storage means 6. Next, the type table and the items in the EPG data of the viewing history acquired from the storage means 6 are compared, and the number of EPG data including the items in the type table is counted. Then, a signal corresponding to the count result (hereinafter also referred to as a second count signal) is output to the preference analysis unit 103.

  The preference analysis unit 103 analyzes the user's preference based on the first count signal and the second count signal, and outputs a signal corresponding to the analysis result to the program information extraction unit 104. The program information extraction unit 104 extracts EPG data corresponding to the analysis result in the preference analysis unit 103 from the EPG data stored in the storage unit 6 and outputs the EPG data to the display control unit 7. Then, the table control means 7 generates the UI based on the input EPG data.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the program extracting apparatus 100 described above. The first counting means 101 in the program extracting apparatus 100 acquires EPG data from the storage means 6 (S100). On the other hand, the second counting means 102 reads EPG data of viewing history from the storage means 6 (S100).

  Next, the first counting unit 101 analyzes the EPG data read from the storage unit 6 and counts the number of EPG data including items in the type table. (S101). On the other hand, the second counting unit 102 analyzes the viewing history EPG data read from the storage unit 6 and counts the number of viewing history EPG data including items in the type table. (S102).

  The preference analysis unit 103 analyzes the user's preference based on the analysis results in S101 and S102 (S103). Then, the program information extraction unit 104 extracts the EPG data from the storage unit 6 according to the analysis result in S103 and outputs it to the display control unit 7 (S104).

  Hereinafter, the operation of each component in the program extracting device 100 will be specifically described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first counting means 101. In the following description, the case where the type table set in the program extracting apparatus 100 is the type table shown in FIG. 6 will be described. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, a genre is set as the type, and items included in the genre are “news”, “drama”, “movie”, “sports”, “hobby / entertainment”, “variety”, and An example of the type table when “music” is set will be described.

  As described above, the type table is created based on the EPG data stored in the storage unit 6. More specifically, tables corresponding to various types are set in advance in the program extracting apparatus 100. Therefore, for example, a table corresponding to the genre, a table corresponding to the broadcasting station, and the like are set. Then, the program extracting apparatus 100 extracts items included in the EPG data stored in the storage unit 6 and stores them in the table, thereby creating a type table. Therefore, for example, when creating a genre type table as shown in FIG. 6, items (music, sports, etc.) included in the genre are extracted from the EPG data stored in the storage means 6 and stored in the table. By storing, a category table of the genre is created.

  The first counting unit 101 acquires EPG data from the storage unit 6 and detects an item of a genre in the EPG (S201). Next, the item of the detected genre (hereinafter also referred to as a detection item) is compared with the item in the type table. Then, in the items of the type table, the count of items that match the detected items is incremented by one (S202).

  Next, in addition to the EPG data that has been compared with the type table, it is determined whether EPG data that has not been compared with the type table is stored in the storage means 6. That is, it is determined whether or not the EPG data compared with the type table is the last EPG data among the EPG data stored in the storage unit 6 (S203). If the EPG data is the last EPG data (S203: YES), the analysis (counting) is terminated. On the other hand, when the said EPG data is not the last EPG data (S203: NO), it returns to S201, acquires other EPG data from the memory | storage means 6, and repeats the process from S201 to S203.

  Here, the EPG data corresponding to each program as shown in FIG. 7 is extracted from the received signal in the program information acquisition unit 2 and stored in the storage unit 6 as an example. The operation of the means 101 will be specifically described. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram schematically showing an example of EPG data stored in the storage unit 6.

  First, the first counting means 101 acquires EPG data corresponding to the program 01 from the storage means 6 and detects an item (drama) of the genre of the EPG data (S201). Next, “drama”, which is the item of the genre of the program 01, is compared with the item in the type table. Then, as shown in FIG. 8A, the first counting unit 101 increments the count of the item “drama” in the type table by one (S202). FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the counting in the first counting means 101.

  Next, the first counting unit 101 determines whether or not the EPG data of the program 01 is the last EPG data in the storage unit 6. Then, since the storage unit 6 stores EPG data of the program 02 and EPG data of the program 03 in addition to the program 01, the first counting unit 101 selects NO in S203.

  If NO is selected in S203, the first counting unit 101 next acquires EPG data of the program 02 from the storage unit 6 and detects an item (movie) of the genre of the EPG data (S201). Then, as described above, the process in S202 is performed. As a result, in the type table, the count of “movie” is incremented by 1 as shown in FIG. 8B (S202).

  Further, the first counting unit 101 performs the process of S202 on the EPG data of the program 02, then selects NO in S203, and acquires the EPG data of the program 03 from the storage unit 6 (S201). Then, by the processing in S202, the count for “drama” is incremented by 1 as shown in FIG. 8C (S202).

  When the first counting unit 101 finishes the process of S202 for the EPG data of the program 03, the first counting unit 101 determines that the EPG data stored in the storage unit 6 in S203 is the last EPG data (S203: YES) and ends the process. (END).

  When the first counting unit 101 completes the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 for all the EPG data stored in the storage unit 6, the first counting unit 101 (hereinafter referred to as the first type table) includes the counted values. Is output to the preference analysis means 103. Therefore, for example, in the example of FIG. 7 described above, the type table shown in FIG. 8C is output to the preference analysis unit 103.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the second counting means 102. When the user starts watching the program on the display device 1000 (S300), the second counting means 102 waits for the next operation by the user (S301). Next, when an operation is performed by the user, it is determined whether the operation is an operation of turning off the power or switching the channel (S302).

  When the operation by the user is neither power OFF nor channel switching (S302: NO), the second counting unit 102 waits for the user operation again. The case where the operation by the user is neither the power OFF nor the channel switching is, for example, volume adjustment.

  On the other hand, when the operation by the user is either power-off (OFF) or channel switching (S302: YES), the EPG data of the program that the user was viewing is acquired from the storage means 6. Then, the genre item of the EPG data is detected (S303). Further, the detection item is compared with the type table, and the count of the same item as the detection item in the type table is increased by one (S304).

  After increasing the count in S304, the second counting means 102 determines whether or not the user operation in S302 is a power shutdown (OFF) (S305). If the operation in S302 is a power shutdown (S305: YES), the process is terminated (END). If the power is not shut off (S305: NO), the user waits for an operation again (S305: NO). S301).

  Here, generation of a viewing history when a user views each program as shown in FIG. 10 will be described. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram schematically showing an example of a program that the user has viewed in the past on the display device 1000. In the following description, it is assumed that the user views each program shown in FIG. 10 from the start of broadcast to the end of broadcast on the display device 1000.

  First, in the display device 1000, when the user starts viewing the program 11 (S300), the second counting means 102 waits for the next operation by the user (S301). Here, the broadcast start time of the program 11 is 3:00 p. m. Since the broadcast time is 60 minutes, the program 11 is scheduled for 2004/9/25 (Sat) 4:00 p. m. To finish. On the other hand, the broadcast start time of the program 12 is 2004/9/25 (Sat) 8:00 p. m. It is. Then, the user becomes 4:00 p. m. ~ 8: 00 p. m. Do not watch programs during Therefore, the user can set the broadcast end time 4:00 p. m. Then, the display device 1000 is powered off. Accordingly, the second counting unit 102 selects YES in the determination of S302.

  If YES is selected in S302, the second counting unit 102 acquires the EPG data of the program 11 from the storage unit 6 and detects the genre item of the EPG data (S303). Next, each item of the type table is compared with the item of the detected genre. Then, since the item of the genre of the program 11 is “sports”, the count of sports in the type table is increased by one (S304). Then, since the operation in S302 is turning off the power, the second counting unit 102 selects YES in S305 and ends the processing (END).

  Next, the broadcast start time of the program 12 2004/9/25 (Sat) 8:00 p. m. Then, since the broadcast of the program 12 is started, the user turns on the display device 1000 and starts watching the program 12 (S300). Then, the second counting unit 102 waits for a user operation (S301).

  Here, the broadcast start time of the program 12 is 8:00 p. m. Since the broadcast time is 60 minutes, the program 12 is scheduled for 2004/9/25 (Sat) 9:00 p. m. To finish. On the other hand, the broadcast start time of the program 13 is 2004/9/25 (Sat) 9:00 p. m. It is. The user then broadcasts the program 12 at 9:00 p.m. m. Then, the operation means is operated to switch the channel. Accordingly, the second counting unit 102 selects YES in the determination of S302.

  If YES is selected in S302, the second counting unit 102 acquires the EPG data of the program 12 from the storage unit 6 and detects the genre item of the EPG data (S303). Next, each item of the type table is compared with the item of the detected genre. Then, since the item of the genre of the program 12 is “drama”, the count of dramas in the type table is incremented by one (S304). Then, since the user operation in S302 is not the power OFF, the second counting means 102 selects NO in S305 and waits for the user operation again (S301).

  By repeating the above operation, the second counting means 102 creates a type table (hereinafter also referred to as a second type table) indicating the history of the program viewed by the user. Therefore, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 10, the type table as shown in FIG. 11 is created by the second counting means 102 when viewing up to the program 15 is finished. Then, the second counting unit 102 outputs the second type table to the preference analysis unit 103. The second type table created by the second counting unit 102 is stored in the storage unit 6.

  As described above, when the first type table is generated by the first counting unit 101 and the second type table is generated by the second counting unit 102, the preference analysis unit 103 sets the first type table. Based on the table and the second type table, the user's preference is analyzed. More specifically, the preference analysis unit 103 includes the count value of one item in the first type table (hereinafter also referred to as the first count value), and the first item in the second type table. The user's preference is analyzed by calculating the ratio with the count value of the same item (hereinafter also referred to as the second count value). More specific description will be given below.

  FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the calculation in the preference analysis unit 103. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the first count value and the second count value are obtained, the preference analysis means sets the second count value to the first count as shown in the column “Analysis”. Divide by value. Then, a value (point in FIG. 12) obtained as a result of the division is set as a point for each item of the genre. That is, the preference analysis unit 103 grasps the user's preference tendency (hereinafter also referred to as preference) for each item of the genre based on the points. The points are stored in the storage unit 6 in association with each item. For example, the item name of each item and the points of each item are tabulated, and the table (hereinafter also referred to as a point table) is stored in the storage unit 6.

  More specifically, in FIG. 12, when focusing on “news” and “movie”, the second count value corresponding to the user's viewing history is “20” for “news”. “Movie” is “5”. Then, when only focusing on the second count value, the user seems to prefer “news” over “movie”.

  On the other hand, the first count value indicating the distribution of genre items in the entire broadcasted program is “100” for “news” and “10” for “movie”. That is, news is broadcasted more frequently than movies.

  Next, focusing on the ratio between the second count value and the first count value (that is, the column “Analysis” in FIG. 12), the second count value and the first count value for “news” Is “20/100”, whereas the ratio of the second count value to the first count value for “movie” is “5/10”. That is, by calculating the ratio, it can be seen that the user views the “movie” having a smaller number of broadcasts than the “news” broadcast with a high probability. Therefore, it can be seen that the user tends to prefer “movie” over “news”. That is, by calculating the points as described above, it is possible to accurately grasp the user's preference without being affected by the distribution (trend) of genre items in the entire broadcast program.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the program information extraction means 104. As described above, the program information extraction unit 104 extracts EPG data corresponding to the analysis result in the preference analysis unit 103 from the EPG data stored in the storage unit 6.

  First, the program information extraction unit 104 acquires EPG data of a program to be broadcast in the future (hereinafter also referred to as a broadcast-scheduled program) from the storage unit 6 among the EPG data stored in the storage unit 6 (S400). In the program information extracting unit 104, the current time is acquired by a time measuring unit (not shown), and the program scheduled to be broadcasted is compared by comparing the current time with the program start time included in the EPG data. To detect. That is, a program of EPG data having a program start time later than the current time is detected as a broadcast scheduled program.

  Next, the point table stored in the storage unit 6 is compared with the item of the genre in the acquired EPG data. Then, the points given to each item in the point table are added to the acquired EPG data (S401). Therefore, for example, when the item of the genre in the EPG data of the broadcast-scheduled program acquired from the storage unit 6 is “news”, 0.2 point is assigned to the EPG.

  The program information extraction unit 104 determines whether EPG data of another broadcast-scheduled program is stored in the storage unit 6 every time pointing to one EPG data is completed. That is, it is determined whether or not the pointed EPG data is the last EPG data stored in the storage unit 6 (S402). If the EPG data is not the last EPG data (S402: NO), new EPG data is obtained from the storage means 6 (S400) and pointed (S401). On the other hand, if the EPG data is the last EPG data (S402: YES), the EPG data is acquired from the storage unit 6 in the descending order of the points (S404) and output to the display control unit 7. Then, the display control unit 7 generates a UI for displaying a program corresponding to the EPG data output from the program information extraction unit 104.

  As described above, according to the program extracting apparatus 100 in the first embodiment, even a program with a low broadcast frequency can be reliably extracted in accordance with the user's preference.

  Also, by considering not only the user's viewing history but also the tendency of genre items in the entire broadcast program, the user's preference is analyzed accurately without being affected by the broadcast frequency of the program of each item Can do.

  The display of the UI program generated by the display control means 7 may be such that all broadcast-scheduled programs are displayed in descending order, or the number of programs to be displayed is set in advance, and the number of programs is less than the number of programs. The program may be displayed. Therefore, for example, when the number of programs is three, three programs are displayed on the UI in descending order of points. Further, a threshold value for points may be set in advance, and all programs corresponding to EPG data of points larger than the threshold value may be displayed.

  In the above description, the case where the viewing history is analyzed based on the EPG data of the program viewed by the user has been described. However, when the user records the program, the EPG of the program that has performed the recording is recorded. The viewing history may be analyzed based on the data. For example, when only EPG data of a recorded program is used, the program extraction device 100 can analyze the preference of the program recorded by the user. Further, if both the EPG data of the viewed program and the EPG data of the recorded program are used, the preference analysis can be performed in more detail.

  In the above description, the case where the program information is acquired from the received signal has been described. However, for example, the program information is acquired from a recording medium that is sold with a magazine or the like and recorded in advance. You may do it.

  In the first embodiment, the case of using a genre among a plurality of types such as a program name and a broadcast station name when calculating points has been described. However, other types may be used. Further, the points may be calculated by combining a plurality of types.

  FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a case where a broadcast station name and a genre are combined as an example of a case where types are combined. When a broadcast station name type table as shown in FIG. 14 (a) is created based on the EPG data stored in the storage means 6, a point table (hereinafter referred to as the broadcast station name type table). Assume that the first point table is a table as shown in FIG. Further, it is assumed that a point table (hereinafter also referred to as a second point table) corresponding to the genre type table is a table as shown in FIG.

  Then, as described above, when two point tables are obtained, the program information extracting unit 104 sets the first point when adding points to the EPG data of each broadcast-scheduled program stored in the storage unit 6. Points obtained by adding the points obtained in the table (hereinafter referred to as the first point) and the points obtained in the second point table (hereinafter referred to as the second point) (the total points of the program in FIG. 14C). Attached to EPG data.

  Therefore, for example, in the case of the program 21 shown in FIG. 14C, the first point is “0.1” and the second point is “0.2”. The final EPG data is given a “0.3” point. In the case of the program 22, since the first point is “0.2” and the second point is “0.2”, the EPG data of the program 22 is finally “0”. .4 ”points.

  Then, when searching for a program according to the user's preference only by the second point, the program 21 and the program 22 have the same result in the user's preference, but the user's preference is determined by the first point and the second point. When searching for a program according to the preference, it is determined that the program 22 is a program adapted to the user's preference rather than the program 21. That is, by combining a plurality of types and calculating points, a program that matches the user's preference can be extracted more accurately.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
The program extracting apparatus according to the second embodiment is configured to create a second type table including a program when the user views the program beyond a predetermined time. In other words, the second counting means creates the second type table without considering a program that the user does not view beyond a predetermined time.

  For example, when a user selects a program to be viewed, there are cases where a plurality of programs are viewed in a short time (hereinafter also referred to as zapping) by switching channels. While the zapping is being performed, it cannot be said that the user is viewing the program. If the program selected during the zapping is left in the viewing history, the user's preference is accurately analyzed. I can't.

  Further, for example, a certain program (hereinafter also referred to as a first program) is broadcast from 19:00 to 21:00 on a certain broadcasting station, and another program (hereinafter also referred to as a second program) In the case where the broadcast station broadcasts from 20:00 to 21:00, the user views the first program from 19:00 to 20:00, and the second program from 20:00 to 21:00 When viewing, even if the user has not watched the first program to the end, analyzing the user's preference in consideration of the first program can analyze the user's preference more accurately May be possible.

  Therefore, in the program extracting apparatus in the second embodiment, the second type table is created according to the user's program viewing time. Specifically, the second counting means 102 in the program extracting apparatus creates a viewing history according to the user's program viewing time. Note that the configurations of the program extraction device and the display device in the second embodiment are the same as those of the program extraction device 100 and the display device 1000 described in the first embodiment, and thus the description of each configuration is omitted.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the second counting means 102 in the second embodiment. In FIG. 15, the same operations as the operations (steps) described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  When the user starts watching the program (S300), the second counting unit 102 resets a timer (not shown) and starts measuring time. Then, after waiting for the user's operation (S301), if YES is selected in S302, it is determined whether or not the viewing time of the program by the user has exceeded a predetermined time (S501).

  Specifically, the second counting means detects the “broadcast time” included in the EPG data of the program that the user is viewing, and multiplies the “broadcast time” by a predetermined coefficient. Calculate the threshold. Then, the threshold value is compared with the viewing time measured by the timer (S501). Therefore, for example, when the predetermined coefficient is 1/4 and the broadcast time is 60 minutes, the threshold value is 15 (minutes). The predetermined coefficient is arbitrarily set according to the specification of the program extracting device.

  If the result of determination in S501 is that the program viewing time by the user is equal to or shorter than the predetermined time (S501: NO), the second counting means 102 determines whether or not the user's operation in S302 is a power OFF. (S305). On the other hand, when the viewing time of the program by the user exceeds the predetermined time (S501: YES), the EPG data of the program that the user was viewing is acquired from the storage means 6, and the genre of the EPG data is determined. An item is detected (S303). Further, the detection item is compared with the type table, and the count of the same item as the detection item in the type table is increased by one (S304).

  Then, in S305, the second counting unit 102 determines whether or not the user operation in S302 is a power-off. If the user operation is a power-off (S302: YES), a timer is used. To end the processing (END). The second counting unit 102 creates the second type table indicating the user's viewing history by repeating the operation of FIG. 15 described above.

  As described above, according to the program extracting apparatus in the second embodiment, it is possible to analyze the user's preference more accurately in consideration of the viewing time of the user.

  In the above description, the case where the coefficient used for calculation of the threshold is ¼ has been described. However, as described above, the coefficient can be arbitrarily set. Therefore, for example, it may be ½ or may be other values. The threshold value may be a fixed value (for example, 30 (minutes)). However, since the broadcast time varies depending on the program, when the threshold is calculated by multiplying the broadcast time by the coefficient as described above, the viewing history can be created more reflecting the user's preference.

  For example, when the threshold value is set to 15 (minutes) and a fixed value is set, and the broadcast time of a program viewed by the user is 30 minutes, the user views half of the broadcast time. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the program matches the user's preference. However, when the threshold value is set to 15 (minutes) and the fixed value is set, and the broadcast time of the program viewed by the user is 120 minutes, even if the user views the program for 15 minutes, The viewing time of the user is 1/8 of the total broadcast time, and it cannot be said that there is a high possibility that the program matches the user's preference. Therefore, it is preferable to calculate the threshold based on the broadcast time of the program and a predetermined coefficient.

  In the above description, the case where the threshold value calculated based on the broadcast time of the program is used in S501 has been described. However, in addition to the threshold value, another threshold value is set. It may be. For example, when a program with a short broadcast time is not left in the viewing history, a threshold value corresponding to the minimum viewing time may be provided.

  For example, when the broadcast time of a program is 5 minutes, 1/4 time of the broadcast time is 1 minute 15 seconds. In such a case, even if the user continues to watch the program for more than 1 minute 15 seconds, it is difficult to determine whether the program meets the user's preference. When such a program with a short broadcast time is included in the viewing history, the user's preference may not be accurately analyzed.

  However, as described above, if a threshold value corresponding to the minimum viewing time is provided, a viewing history can be created without including a program with a short broadcast time, and the user's preference is more accurately set. Can be analyzed.

  In the above description, the case where the program extracting device is applied to a display device has been described. However, when the program extracting device is applied to a device that does not have a display device (for example, a recording device), the display device is excluded. Thus, the device may be configured. That is, the receiving means 1, the program information acquiring means 2, the video / audio reproducing means 3, the synthesizing means 4, the control means 5, the storage means 6, the display control means 7, and the program extracting device 100 in FIG. What is necessary is just to comprise the apparatus which does not.

  The present invention can be applied to a television receiver that receives a digital broadcast or a recording device such as a hard disk recorder.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display apparatus to which the program extraction apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention is applied. It is the schematic diagram which showed typically the program information contained in EPG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the program extraction apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of a program extraction apparatus. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first counting means 101. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating an example of a classification table. It is the schematic diagram which showed typically an example of the EPG data memorize | stored in the memory | storage means. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the count in a 1st counting means. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of a 2nd counting means. It is the schematic diagram which showed typically an example of the program which the user watched in the past in a display apparatus. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating an example of the 2nd classification table produced by the 2nd counting means. It is a flowchart for demonstrating point addition. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of a program information extraction means. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the case where a broadcast station name and a genre are combined as an example in the case of combining a classification. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the 2nd counting means in Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Receiving means, 2 Program information acquisition means, 3 Video | voice audio | voice reproduction | regeneration means, 4 Synthesis | combination means, 5 Control means, 6 Storage means, 7 Display control means, 8 Display means, 100 Program extraction apparatus.

Claims (8)

First counting means for counting program information including a predetermined item among program information extracted from an input signal;
Second counting means for counting program information including the predetermined item among program information of programs viewed by the user;
A preference analysis means for analyzing the user's preference based on a first count result in the first count means and a second count result in the second count means;
A program extraction apparatus comprising: program information extraction means for extracting program information corresponding to a result of analysis by the preference analysis means from program information extracted from the input signal. The said preference analysis means is comprised so that the ratio of the value of the said 1st count result and the value of the said 2nd count result may be calculated, and the said user's preference may be analyzed. Program extraction device. A plurality of the predetermined items are set,
The first counting means and the second counting means perform the counting for each item,
The preference analysis means calculates a ratio between a value obtained by adding all the values of the first count results calculated for each item and a value obtained by adding all the values of the second count results calculated for each item. The program extracting device according to claim 2, wherein the program extracting device is configured to calculate. The program information extracting means ranks program information extracted from the input signal based on the ratio calculated by the preference analysis means, and extracts program information based on the ranking result. The program extracting device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein The second counting means is configured such that when the time when the user views the program is larger than a predetermined threshold, the program information of the program is used as the program information of the program viewed by the user. The program extracting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The program extracting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second counting means is configured to use a value obtained by multiplying a broadcast time of the program by a predetermined coefficient as the threshold value. The program extracting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A display device comprising: display means for displaying a program corresponding to the program information extracted by the program extraction device. Of the program information extracted from the input signal, the program information including a predetermined item is counted to calculate a first counting result,
Of the program information of the program viewed by the user, the program information including the predetermined item is counted to calculate a second count result,
Analyzing the user's preferences based on the first count result and the second count result;
A program extraction method including extracting program information corresponding to a result of analyzing the user's preference from program information extracted from the input signal.

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