JP2009165059A - Method, device and system for viewing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To select a program to be viewed by a user, and to easily select channels for broadcasting stations broadcasting at every broadcasting hour by using an electronic program table because the broadcasting hours of taste programs and the channel selections of the broadcasting stations are difficult by an increase in broadcasting sources such as the broadcasting stations and the diversification of the broadcast television programs. <P>SOLUTION: The programs predicting viewing on the basis of viewing prediction information based on the viewing trend of past broadcasting hours are extracted from the electronic program table. A viewing prediction program schedule 305 associated with the channel-select informations of the broadcasting stations broadcasting the programs at every broadcasting hours of the programs is created. The program table using the broadcasting stations selected by the broadcasting hours and the schedule as axes is created from the viewing prediction program schedule 305 and the informations of the electronic program table. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for viewing a desired program using program information acquired from the outside, and more particularly to a viewing method, a program viewing apparatus, and a program viewing system that facilitate viewing based on a viewing tendency of a user.

  TV viewing methods are changing, such as the digitization of TV broadcasting. Broadcast program information (program guide) can also be automatically acquired via broadcast waves or the Internet.

  However, these program guides are based on the conventional program list, and the program that the user wants to watch except for the program reservation of the series is not preferentially viewed.

There has been proposed a method of performing automatic channel selection by keyword search such as a genre code using the computerized program guide (see Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-274298 A

  Due to the increase in broadcasting sources such as broadcasting stations and the diversification of broadcast TV programs, it is difficult to select the broadcasting time and broadcasting station of a favorite program.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. A program that a user wants to view is selected using an electronic program guide, and a broadcast station to be broadcast at each broadcast time is selected. Provided are a program viewing method and a program viewing viewing system that can be facilitated.

The program viewing method according to the present invention includes:
A program viewing method for a program viewing device for viewing a broadcast program based on an electronic program guide, wherein the electronic program guide is acquired and based on viewing prediction information based on a viewing tendency of the broadcast program in the program viewing device. A program applicable to the predicted viewing information is extracted from the electronic program guide, and a predicted viewing program schedule is created in association with channel selection information of a broadcasting station that broadcasts the program for each broadcast time of the program. From the schedule and the electronic program guide, a program guide centered on the broadcast time and the broadcasting station selected by the schedule is created, and when there is an instruction to display the program guide, the program guide is displayed. Features.

Moreover, if it is the program viewing-and-listening apparatus concerning this invention,
In a program viewing device for viewing a broadcast program based on an electronic program guide, an acquisition means for acquiring an electronic program guide, a program information database for storing the acquired electronic program guide, and viewing of the broadcast program in the program viewing device A prediction information database that stores viewing prediction information based on a trend, and a program that matches the viewing prediction information stored in the prediction information database are extracted from the electronic program guide stored in the program information database, and the program broadcasts A predicted viewing program creating means for creating a predicted viewing program schedule that associates channel selection information of a broadcasting station that broadcasts the program at each time, and from the predicted viewing program schedule and the electronic program guide, based on the broadcast time and the schedule. A program guide creating means for creating a program guide centered on the selected broadcasting station, and displaying the program guide If there is an instruction, the program viewing apparatus is provided which is characterized by comprising a display means for displaying the program table.

Moreover, if it is the program viewing system concerning this invention,
A program viewing system for viewing a broadcast program based on an electronic program guide, a server that provides the electronic program guide, an acquisition unit that acquires the electronic program guide, a program information database that stores the acquired electronic program guide, A prediction information database storing viewing prediction information based on the viewing tendency of the broadcast program in the program viewing apparatus, and a program applicable to the viewing prediction information stored in the prediction information database, an electronic program guide stored in the program information database From the predicted viewing program schedule, the predicted viewing program schedule, and the electronic program guide, which creates a predicted viewing program schedule that is associated with channel selection information of a broadcasting station that broadcasts the program at each broadcast time of the program. A program guide creator that creates a program guide centered on the broadcasting station selected by the broadcast time and the schedule , If there is an instruction for displaying the program table, program viewing system characterized in that anda program viewing device having a display means for displaying the program table is provided.

  There is provided a program viewing method and a program viewing / viewing system capable of easily selecting a broadcast station to be broadcast every broadcast time by selecting a program that the user wants to view using an electronic program guide. Provided.

(This embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a program viewing system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, a program viewing apparatus 100, an electronic program guide server 101, and a network 102 are shown.

  The program viewing apparatus 100 has a function of receiving a broadcast program for each broadcast station, such as a television or a video deck. In the present embodiment, a television apparatus capable of acquiring an electronic program guide provided from the outside and receiving broadcast programs from a plurality of broadcast stations based on the program guide information is shown.

  The electronic program guide server 101 has a function of providing electronic program guide information to the program viewing device 100. The electronic program guide information provided by the electronic program guide server 101 includes the program name, the identification of the broadcasting station that broadcasts the program name, and the broadcasting time, and various information related to the program is also added. Various related information here may include the genre of the program (report, variety, movie, drama, anime, e.t.c.), performer name, story introduction, and the like. The electronic program guide information provided by the electronic program guide server 101 is appropriately updated for an unspecified number of users by a third party such as a business operator who provides information.

  The network 102 is, for example, the Internet, or the broadcast wave itself corresponds to the case where the above-mentioned electronic program guide information is transmitted by being superimposed on the broadcast wave. The communication medium that can be used for the network 102 may be any communication medium as long as the program guide information is delivered from the electronic program guide server 101 to the information viewing apparatus 100 at an appropriate timing.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a block configuration diagram of the program viewing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a tuner unit 200, a demodulation unit 201, a DEMUX 202, a decoder unit 203, a video processing unit 204, a display unit 205, a control unit 206, and a memory 207.

  The tuner unit 200 has a function of extracting (tuning) radio waves of a target broadcast station from received broadcast waves.

  The demodulator 201 has a function of converting the radio signal of the broadcasting station extracted by the tuner unit 200 into a digital signal. In the case of a program distributed by digital broadcasting, conversion from a radio signal (analog information) to an encoded signal (digital information) is necessary.

  The DEMUX 202 has a function of separating video data and audio data included in digitized program information. Normally, video data, audio data, and additional data are transmitted together in the broadcast wave, so the DEMUX 202 separates these data as necessary and passes them to the subsequent processing units.

  The decoder unit 203 has a function of converting the video data separated by the DEMUX 202 into a video image. Video transmitted by broadcast waves is standardized so as to be compressed and encoded in order to reduce the transmission amount. This is expanded into a video image that can be actually viewed and converted into moving image information.

  The video processing unit 204 has a function of processing the video signal converted into a video image by the decoder unit 203 so that the video signal is displayed on the screen when viewed by the program viewing device 100. For example, various processing of the video data is performed such as displaying the channel being watched and the program name, displaying the volume level, and displaying the acquired electronic program guide overlapping the video image.

  The display unit 205 indicates, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) provided in the program viewing apparatus 100. A function of displaying the video image processed by the video processing unit 204 so as to be visible to the user is provided.

  The control unit 206 has a function of controlling the entire program viewing apparatus 100. In particular, the tuner unit 200 is instructed which broadcast station to select and extract, and an image to be displayed in a superimposed manner on a screen such as a program guide, a channel, and a time is created. The created image is superimposed on the video processing unit 204 and displayed on the display unit 205.

  The memory 207 is mainly composed of a semiconductor storage element, and is used by the control unit 206 for temporary storage of data. Electronic program guide information is also stored here.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block diagram of the program viewing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a program startup unit 300, a program information update unit 301, a program information database 302, a prediction information database 303, a predicted viewing search engine unit 304, a predicted viewing program schedule 305, and a quick program table drawing engine unit 306. Yes.

  The program activation unit 300 has a function of activating a predetermined program as necessary. For example, each program can be executed at a desired timing by activating programs constituting the program information update unit 301 and the predictive viewing search engine unit 304 by the program activation unit 300.

  The program information update unit 301 has a function of acquiring an electronic program guide from the external electronic program guide server 101 and updating the program guide information stored in the memory 207. The program guide information may be acquired from the electronic program guide server 101 via the Internet, or information received by a broadcasting station superimposed on broadcast waves may be received and acquired as a program guide.

  The program information database 302 is a database in which an electronic program guide is stored. In this embodiment, it is configured on the memory 207. The electronic program guide in the program information database 302 stores program guides for all distributed programs.

  The prediction information database 303 is a database in which information for predicting what kind of program a certain user views is stored. The information for prediction may be, for example, the viewing time zone of the user, the viewing frequency of a certain program, the viewing tendency for each genre, or a keyword selected in advance. Series programs with high viewing frequency and genres with a high viewing tendency (for example, sports broadcasts) are considered to be highly likely to be programs to be viewed. In addition, if a word or the like that the user likes to watch is selected as a keyword, it can be used for prediction of viewing by seeing whether or not the keyword is included in the description of the program content of the electronic program guide. The prediction information database 303 is configured on the memory 207.

  The predictive viewing search engine unit 304 has a function of outputting channel selection information of a broadcasting station for a period when a day of the week or a time zone is input. The output of the channel selection information refers to the contents of the electronic program guide information stored in the program information database 302 and the prediction information database 303. At this time, for a plurality of programs broadcasted by the broadcasting station during the specified period of the day of the week, a program is selected according to the information stored in the prediction information database 303 for each time, and the broadcasting station that broadcasts the program is selected for that time zone As a viewing candidate.

The predicted viewing program schedule 305 stores the output of the predicted viewing search engine unit 304 divided into time zones.

  The quick program guide drawing engine 306 creates a screen to be displayed on the display unit 205 when a quick program guide display instruction is given. At this time, program information broadcasted by a broadcasting station selected as a viewing candidate for a certain time zone of the predicted viewing program schedule 305 is acquired from the program information database 302, and a program table with program names by time zone in a predetermined period is created.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the predicted viewing program schedule 305 according to the present embodiment. The predicted viewing program schedule 305 stores channel selection information of channels assigned to broadcasting stations for each time slot. In this embodiment, an example in which the prediction viewing search engine unit 304 stores prediction data up to the fourth prediction based on the prediction information database 303 is shown. It is determined that the program broadcast by the broadcast station for each time period listed in the first prediction is more consistent with the viewing tendency of the user. By presenting a plurality of predictions as in the fourth prediction, a plurality of items closer to the user's preference can be held.

  Here, the predetermined period (Tsch) is 1 day (24 hours) and the time zone is 10 minutes, but it is preferable that an appropriate range can be set according to the preference of the user and the broadcast form of the program.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the quick program guide 400 according to the present embodiment. Unlike the predicted viewing program schedule 305, the quick program guide 400 is a program guide in which broadcasting stations are arranged on the horizontal axis. For this reason, when creating a quick program guide for a predetermined period (Tepg), there is a high possibility that the channel selection information predicted for each time zone will change, and it cannot be created simply by incorporating it into the program guide in order from the first predicted broadcasting station. .

  For example, a method may be considered in which the channel selection information selected in the first prediction is weighted in order so that the channel selection information is prioritized, and the channel selection information is aggregated over the entire Tepg period. If the quick program guide 400 is created so as to include broadcasting stations located at the top as a result of the aggregation, the program expected to be viewed can be reflected in the quick program guide 400 as much as possible.

Usually, Tepg takes a shorter time than Tsch. Here, an example is shown in which the predetermined period (Tsch) of the predicted viewing program schedule 305 is 24 hours while it is 6 hours.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation flow when the program viewing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is powered off.

  When the user gives an instruction to turn off the power while watching the program, it is determined whether or not the predicted viewing program schedule 305 has been created (step S01). If a schedule for a predetermined period has already been created (Yes), the process proceeds to step S04.

  If it has not been created (No), the program guide information in the program information database 302 is updated (step S02). In updating, the program starting unit 300 is processed by starting a program constituting the program information updating unit 301.

  Next, a predicted viewing program schedule 305 is created in response to the latest update of the program information database 302 (step S03). Also in this case, the processing is started when the program activation unit 300 activates a program constituting the predictive viewing search engine unit 304.

  Next, the quick program guide drawing engine unit 306 creates a display image of the quick program guide 400 based on the program information database 302 and the predicted viewing program schedule 305 (step S04).

  Next, the time at which the program viewing apparatus 100 is restarted (resume) is calculated, and the program is set to restart at that time (step S05). The suspend / resume method can be configured using a general method. The restart time may be arbitrarily set, but preferably the quick program guide 400 can be appropriately updated as long as the time before the creation period of the quick program guide 400 elapses. .

  When the setting of the resume time is completed in step S05, the program viewing device 100 shifts to the suspended state (step S06).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation flow when the program viewing device 100 according to the present embodiment is turned on.

  When the user gives an instruction to turn on the program viewing device 100, a processing program such as a boot loader is started (step S11).

  At this time, it is determined whether the instruction to turn on the power is instructed by the user operating the remote controller or the like, or by the resume set when the power is turned off (step S12). If it is not an instruction by the user (No), the process starts from step S01 in order to update the predicted viewing program schedule 305.

  If it is an instruction by the user (Yes), then the current time is acquired (step S13), and the channel selection information at the predicted time of the predicted viewing program schedule 305 is acquired (step S14). Regarding the acquisition of the current time, a method in which a clock function is built in the program viewing apparatus 100 and can be appropriately read from the control unit 206 is conceivable.

  Next, based on the channel selection information acquired in step S14, the control unit 206 instructs the tuner unit 200 to select a channel, and controls so that video can be output to each subsequent component (step S15).

  Next, activation of all components corresponding to the main body of the program viewing apparatus 100 is started (step S16). Usually, it takes a certain amount of time for an OS or an external device operating inside to be usable. For this reason, after instructing activation, a predetermined waiting time is provided (step S17).

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the activation of the main body has been completed (step S18). If it has been completed at this time (Yes), the processing flow is terminated because the normal viewing state has been reached.

  If the activation has not been completed (No), it is determined whether or not there is an instruction to display the quick program guide 400 from the user (step S19). If there is no display instruction, the system waits for completion of activation (step S17).

  When there is an instruction to display the quick program guide 400 (Yes), the display image created by the quick program guide drawing engine unit 306 is displayed on the display unit 205 (step S20). After that, it waits until the activation of the main body is completed, and the series of flow is finished.

  If comprised in this way, the program which a user wants to watch is selected using the digitized program schedule, and the selection of the broadcasting station which broadcasts for every the broadcast time becomes easy.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

It is a figure which shows an example of the program viewing-and-listening system concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the block block diagram of the program viewing-and-listening apparatus concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional block diagram of the program viewing-and-listening apparatus concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the prediction viewing-and-listening program schedule content concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the quick program guide concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement flow at the time of power-off of the program viewing-and-listening apparatus concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement flow at the time of power-on of the program viewing-and-listening apparatus concerning this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Program viewing apparatus, 101 ... Electronic program guide server, 102 ... Network, 200 ... Tuner part, 201 ... Demodulation part, 202 ... DEMUX part, 203 ... Decoder part 204 ... Video processing unit, 205 ... Display unit, 206 ... Control unit, 207 ... Memory, 300 ... Program activation unit, 301 ... Program information update unit, 302 ... Program information database 303 ... Prediction information database 304 ... Predictive viewing search engine unit 305 ... Predictive viewing program schedule 306 ... Quick program table drawing engine unit

Claims (11)

A program viewing method of a program viewing device for viewing a broadcast program based on an electronic program guide,
Get the electronic program guide,
Based on the viewing prediction information based on the viewing tendency of the broadcast program in the program viewing device, a program that matches the viewing prediction information is extracted from the electronic program guide,
Create a predicted viewing program schedule that correlates the channel selection information of the broadcasting station that broadcasts the program for each broadcast time of the program,
From this predicted viewing program schedule and the electronic program guide, create a program guide centered on the broadcast time and the broadcasting station selected by the schedule,
A program viewing method characterized by displaying the program guide when there is an instruction to display the program guide. The program viewing method according to claim 1, wherein the period included in the program guide is created for a period shorter than a period included in the predicted viewing program schedule. (Created when the program is turned off)
2. The program viewing method according to claim 1, wherein the predicted viewing program schedule and the program guide are created when the use of the program viewing apparatus is terminated. When the use of the program viewing device starts,
The program viewing method according to claim 1, wherein a broadcast station identified by channel selection information associated with a current time of the predicted viewing program schedule displays a program being broadcast. When extracting a program from the electronic program guide, a plurality of candidates are extracted according to the degree of fit to the viewing prediction information,
The priority according to the degree of the plurality of candidates is totaled over the period included in the program guide for each channel selection information, and the program guide for channel selection information with high priority is created. The program viewing method according to claim 1. In a program viewing device for viewing a broadcast program based on an electronic program guide,
An acquisition means for acquiring an electronic program guide;
A program information database for storing the acquired electronic program guide;
A prediction information database storing prediction prediction information based on the viewing tendency of the broadcast program in the program viewing device;
A program applicable to the viewing prediction information stored in the prediction information database is extracted from the electronic program guide stored in the program information database, and channel selection information of a broadcasting station that broadcasts the program at each broadcast time of the program is obtained. A predicted viewing program creating means for creating a predicted viewing program schedule associated therewith,
A program guide creating means for creating a program guide centered on a broadcasting station selected by the broadcast time and the schedule from the predicted viewing program schedule and the electronic program guide;
A program viewing apparatus comprising: display means for displaying the program guide when an instruction to display the program guide is received. 7. The program viewing according to claim 6, wherein a period included in the program guide created by the program guide creating unit is shorter than a period included in the predicted viewing program schedule created by the predicted viewing program creating unit. apparatus. The predicted viewing program schedule by the predicted viewing program creation means and the program guide by the program guide creation means are:
The program viewing device according to claim 6, which is created when the use of the program viewing device is terminated. When the use of the program viewing device starts,
The program viewing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display means displays a program being broadcast by a broadcasting station identified by channel selection information associated with a current time of the predicted viewing program schedule. . The predictive viewing program creating means, when extracting a program from the electronic program guide, extracts a plurality of candidates according to the degree of fit to the viewing prediction information,
The program guide creation means totalizes priorities according to the degrees of the plurality of candidates for each channel selection information over a period included in the program guide, and the program for channel selection information with high priority. The program viewing device according to claim 6, wherein a table is created. A program viewing system for viewing a broadcast program based on an electronic program guide,
A server that provides an electronic program guide;
An acquisition means for acquiring an electronic program guide;
A program information database for storing the acquired electronic program guide,
A prediction information database storing prediction prediction information based on the viewing tendency of the broadcast program in the program viewing device;
A program applicable to the viewing prediction information stored in the prediction information database is extracted from the electronic program guide stored in the program information database, and channel selection information of a broadcasting station that broadcasts the program at each broadcast time of the program is obtained. Predictive viewing program creation means for creating an associated predictive viewing program schedule,
A program guide creation means for creating a program guide centered on a broadcasting station selected by the broadcast time and the schedule from the predicted viewing program schedule and the electronic program guide;
When there is an instruction to display the program guide, a program viewing device having display means for displaying the program guide;
A program viewing system comprising:

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