JP3309313B2 - Program dynamic composition distribution system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dynamic program distribution system for adapting a program according to the content of a material and the characteristics of a receiver when a multimedia information program is simultaneously transmitted through a communication network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional multimedia information program simultaneous transmission system using a communication network, all broadcast programs, such as a cable television (CATV) service, are configured in advance. , For each channel. Then, the receiver selects and views a channel including a desired material (movie, news, CM, etc.) from among the determined program channels. Regarding this, for example, the special issue of the October 12, 1992 issue of Nikkei Electronics, "Stepping into the Next-Generation Network in Homes," (Nikkei BP,
101-120) can be referred to.

[0003]

According to the above-mentioned prior art, although channels of various contents can be provided, the same program configuration must be used for each channel for any receiver. In other words, a variety of multimedia information,
Since it cannot adapt to various receiver characteristics such as various expression methods, regional characteristics, preferences, age groups, etc., efficient and effective distribution cannot be performed. The content and quality of the greatest common denominator for it had to be. Also, when the source of the material is a commercial (commercial) from a company, etc., the content is determined regardless of the target demographic of the product target, and at most, The only effective investment in advertising was to consider the time of day. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems in the conventional technology, and to make a program program fixed in time rather than fixed for each channel. It is an object of the present invention to provide a program dynamic configuration distribution method that allows a program configuration content to be easily changed according to conditions, program material conditions, information expression conditions, and the like.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above objects of the present invention are as follows.
A program center connected to the communication network for performing the main management of program transmission, a material source connected to the communication network for providing program materials, and connected to the communication network for simultaneous transmission of multimedia information programs via the communication network. A program dynamic configuration distribution system having a sub-center for managing distribution to recipients,
The program center configures a program configuration framework in which a program of a program is described in advance by a time configuration condition, a program material condition, and an information expression condition, and the communication network is configured in advance or in real time according to the condition of the program configuration framework. Means for accessing multimedia information with respect to the material source, incorporating the multimedia information into a program, and transmitting the multimedia information to the sub-center together with information indicating the program configuration framework and the range of recipients to be provided with the program. Changes the program configuration contents and the information expression method based on the program configuration framework and the information indicating the program provision target receiver range without changing the time frame of the program configuration, and transmits it to the intended recipient. This is achieved by a program dynamic composition distribution system characterized in that the program dynamic composition distribution system has means.

[0005]

In the dynamic program distribution system according to the present invention, by adopting the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to simultaneously transmit multimedia information via a communication network without losing the uniformity of the transmission, thereby achieving various multimedia transmissions. It is possible to provide media information, various expression methods thereof, and the like in a form adapted to various receiver characteristics.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows components of a system for providing a program using a communication network and a flow of information according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a communication network, 2
Is a program center for configuring a program, and 3 is a program center for materials.
And a material source to be provided to a sub-center 4 described below,
4 is a sub-center for processing programs from the program center 2;
Denotes a distribution node, 8 denotes a receiver terminal, and 9 denotes a charging center that handles charging as a program providing service. In FIG.
FIG. 2 shows a configuration diagram of the program center 2 and the sub-center 4 described above. In the figure, A is a transmission / reception unit for transmitting and receiving program frame information, materials, etc., B is a data switch unit for exchanging material data in units of time slots, C is a material storage unit, D is control of processing of the entire center, E denotes a processing control unit for determining the change of the program structure framework, and E denotes a control memory.

[0007] In the program center 2, the program configuration framework 30
The program is constructed by collecting program materials from the material source 3 or the like or establishing a path for real-time data transfer based on the program description indicating the above conditions. The program materials include those distributed via the communication network 1 and the program center 2
, Which are further divided into those that stream in real time and those that are retrieved from the database.
FIG. 3 shows an example in which a program description indicating the conditions of the above-mentioned program configuration framework 30 is represented in a diagram. In the program description example shown here, the program material condition 32 relating to the material, the information expression condition 33 relating to the expression of the material, and the source priority 3 indicating the priority condition of the program exchange in the sub-center 4
4, a condition such as a charging standard 42 indicating a basic charging standard is described. The above-mentioned program material condition 32 includes access information 35 of the material source 3 in the communication network 1 that provides the material, a material identifier 36 for specifying the material, a material type 37 indicating the category of the material, a viewer of the material. A material property 38 indicating a target layer, a degree of stimulation, and other properties, a live attribute 39 indicating a database or a live (relay) or the like, and other conditions closely related to characteristics of a receiver are described.

The above-mentioned information expression conditions 33 include a media expression condition 40 indicating a condition necessary for media expression, an alternative expression condition 41 listing alternative expressions applicable to each medium, and the like. As the media expression condition 40, for example, for media such as video / language / audio, if the video is a video, the quality is grade B using a cinema scope.
The basic conditions necessary for expression, such as English as the original language and surround as the voice, are indicated. Also, the alternative expression condition 41
Indicates a possible alternative expression for each medium, for example, a condition that the language is Japanese. The source priority 34 describes a condition as to whether or not the replacement of the program in the subcenter 4 is permitted or not. Here, "0" does not permit replacement, "1"
Is a conditional replacement permission, and “2” is an unconditional permission. In the case of a condition, the condition is further described.
In the sub-center 4, in the case of the above-mentioned conditional replacement permission, the material to be replaced must satisfy the condition. The program center 2 includes, in addition to the program configuration framework 30 described above,
The service range condition indicating the range of the target receiver providing the program is transmitted to the sub-center 4.

In the program description as a program configuration frame in the program center 2 shown in FIG. 3, a time frame for each material is determined as an initial value according to a planned material configuration. This is called a "time slot" 31. Since the replacement of the materials performed in the sub-center 4 is performed in units of the time slots, the time frame of each material does not change. In the main program description of the program structure framework 30 shown in FIG. 3, the contents described for each time slot will be described. In the access information 35 of the material source,
The identification information of the material source 3 is described (here, for the sake of simplicity, it is represented as A, B, C, etc.).
The material identifier 36 describes a specific line in the material source 3, database specific information, and the like. Material type 37
There are various categories, for example, information, entertainment, know-how, variety, commercial, and the like. Further, if it is information, it is further classified into sports, music, news, traffic, and travel. Specifically, for example, as the travel information, the material source of the live attribute includes a broadcast of scenery from various places.

The live attribute (39) described above indicates that the material is sent by relay in the case of L (live) as shown in FIG. 3 and in the case of D (database) in the case of D (database). ,
Indicates that the material is to be reproduced from the database. Hereinafter, a specific operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described based on the processing flow shown in FIGS. The program center 2 actually constructs and transmits a program according to the program description as the program composition framework 30 as described above. When the scheduled time of the program approaches, the program center 2 checks the program description,
Communicate with material source 3 for each time slot (arrow 10
), And the material source prepares for material provision. The program center 2 also communicates with the sub-center 4 to transmit the program configuration framework and service range conditions.
(Indicated by arrow 12). Each sub-center 4 lists receiver information managed by each sub-center 4 or receiver information managed by another receiver center 6 from the service range condition (indicated by an arrow 16).

Further, each subcenter 4 examines the program description, compares the program description with the service conditions in each subcenter 4, and changes the material of which time slot for which receiver condition and what expression is to be performed. Is determined for each material in the program. For example, regarding the replacement of the material, for the commercial time slot, replacement with a content close to the region or replacement according to the age and gender of the receiver is determined for each receiver region.
As for the expression, for example, when the number of language channels is limited, it is determined to reconfigure the program configuration frame adapted to the receiver, such as to set the language of the sub-audio according to the language used by the receiver. When the program start time comes, the program center 2
Receives a material from the material source 3 according to the program composition framework (indicated by an arrow 11), and changes the material according to a predetermined content while changing the material according to predetermined contents while actually configuring the program. The content is exchanged (block 21) or the expression is changed by receiving (shown by an arrow 15) the material from the material source 3 that provides the content. FIG. 3 shows an example in which another material (only a part is shown due to space) indicated by the symbol 43 is replaced.

In this manner, the sub-center 4 transmits the program to the receiver using the distribution node in the communication network or directly to the receiver while reconfiguring the program (indicated by an arrow 19). At this time, regarding the billing, the sub-center 4 records which material has been transmitted for each receiver for each program, and transmits it to the billing center 9 together with a billing standard 42 for billing each material. In the charging center 9, a fee is exchanged from an institution that provides the material to the material source according to the contents of the contract and the performance of the material transmission. In the case of a commercial, the payment is made from the material provider, and in the case of the material provider of the program content itself, the payment is made. This is shown in FIG.
Corresponds to a material in which a negative number is written. For the receiver, a charging standard for each transmission is totaled for each certain period, and a fee is collected based on a contract with the receiver.

[0013] According to the above-described embodiment, upon simultaneous transmission of multimedia information via the communication network, the program center does not fix the program program, but sets the time condition, the program material condition, and the information expression condition. Creates a program framework described in the same way as above, and allows the sub-center to change the material information and material expression that are adapted to the characteristics of the receiver. The various expression methods can be distributed according to various receiver characteristics. In addition, a service with high investment efficiency is realized for the material provider and the sponsor, and the cost for reception is also reduced for the viewer. It should be noted that the above embodiment is an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this.

[0014]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the program program is not fixed for each channel, but is set according to time conditions, program material conditions, information expression conditions, and the like. The configuration can be changed easily.
This has a remarkable effect that the program dynamic configuration distribution method can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing components of a system for providing a program using a communication network and a flow of information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration diagram of a program center 2 and a sub-center 4 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a program description indicating a condition of a program configuration framework 30 according to the embodiment is schematized.

FIG. 4 is a part of a process flowchart illustrating a specific operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is another part of the processing flowchart showing the specific operation of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: communication network, 2: program center, 3: material source, 4:
Subcenter, 7: distribution node, 8: receiver terminal, 9: charging center, 30: program structure framework, 31: time slot, 32: program material condition, 33: information expression condition, 34:
Source priority, 42: charging standard.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A program center connected to a communication network for performing a main management of program transmission and a material source connected to the communication network for providing program materials for simultaneously transmitting multimedia information programs via the communication network. , A program dynamic configuration distribution system having a sub-center connected to a communication network and managing distribution to recipients, wherein the program center preliminarily stores a program of a program in a temporal configuration condition, a program material condition, an information expression condition. Configure the program composition framework described by, according to the conditions of the program composition framework, through the communication network in advance or in real time, access the multimedia information to the material source, incorporated into the program, The sub-center has means for transmitting to the sub-center together with information indicating the program configuration framework and a program providing target recipient range,
A means for changing the program configuration content and the information expression method based on the program configuration frame and the information indicating the range of recipients for which the program is provided without changing the time frame of the program configuration, and transmitting the information to the intended recipient. A program dynamic configuration distribution system characterized by having a configuration as described above. 2. The program dynamic configuration distribution system according to claim 1,
In Temu, in addition to the respective constituent elements, provided with a charging criteria for accounting for each material for each program material content to the program structure in the framework, each recipient and material providers record corresponding to the material sent to the Department
A dynamic program distribution system comprising a charging center for managing gold standards .