JP3488442B2 - Viewing situation management method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a viewing situation management method and apparatus. The present invention particularly relates to a technique for providing viewers with information related to broadcasting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to obtain information on programs broadcast on television, it is common to look at a program section of a newspaper or a magazine. In recent years, by acquiring EPG (Electronic Program Guide) through broadcast waves and the Internet,
The program guide can now be displayed on the screen of a TV screen or a personal computer. This EPG is provided with an index for identifying the program name and program content, so that the viewer can easily search for his or her favorite program using dedicated hardware. In this way, the EPG does not simply digitize the program guide that was previously provided on paper,
Useful information is added to assist the viewer in program selection.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, EPG
Is just information sent from the program provider,
Just by referring to the PG, I do not know if the program is interesting. In today's world where the Internet has become widespread and anyone can send information, viewers are not satisfied with only one-sided information, and viewers rather want live information such as so-called “word-of-mouth”. In particular, the present inventors have come to recognize that there is a potential demand for a technology that supports viewers' program selection, as satellite broadcasting and cable television have become multi-channel.

The present inventor has made the present invention based on the above recognition, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for assisting a viewer of a television broadcast in selecting a program.

[0005]

One aspect of the present invention relates to a viewing situation management method. This method receives channel information indicating a broadcast channel currently being viewed by a viewer from a plurality of viewers via a network, manages the channel information in association with each of the plurality of viewers, and
The channel information of the second viewer designated by the viewer is transmitted to the first viewer in a data format for displaying on the terminal screen used by the first viewer.

Here, "broadcast channel" is mainly assumed to be a channel in television broadcasting such as terrestrial broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, CATV, and Internet broadcasting, and "viewer".
Mainly assumes users who watch those television broadcasts. The "channel information" is issued from the viewer's terminal at a timing such as when the viewer starts displaying a television broadcast or when switching the broadcast channel. By acquiring this channel information, it is possible to manage whether each viewer is watching a television broadcast or which channel is being watched. "Network" may include the Internet.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a viewing situation management apparatus. This device includes a channel acquisition unit that receives channel information indicating a broadcast channel that the viewer is currently viewing from a plurality of viewers, and a channel management unit that manages the channel information in association with each of the plurality of viewers. , A channel providing unit for displaying the channel information of the second viewer designated by the first viewer on the terminal screen used by the first viewer.

This device refers to either a viewing status management server or a viewer terminal installed on a network, and a viewing status management system including a viewing status management server and a viewer terminal connected via a network. Including both of the cases where each of the functional blocks of the channel acquisition unit, the channel management unit, and the channel provision unit is
It may be provided on the viewing status management server side or on the viewer terminal side. It may be provided in both the viewing status management server and the viewer terminal, and the functional blocks in that case may have the same name. Each of these functions may be provided in the form of a program module and executed by either or both of the viewing status management server and the viewer terminal, or may be downloaded from the viewing status management server to the viewer terminal upon execution. Good.

The viewer terminal may be capable of displaying both television broadcast and Internet content on a single screen. The channel information may be displayed on the same screen as the television broadcast or may be independently displayed on the screen.

The channel providing unit may display the channel information of the second viewer on the terminal screen of the first viewer in the form of a channel name associated with the name of the second viewer. The channel information of the second viewer may be displayed on the terminal screen of the first viewer on condition that the second viewer has given permission. The channel management unit may further include a group management unit that registers a plurality of viewers as a group, and the channel providing unit may limit the transmission destination of the channel information to the viewers belonging to the group. It may further include a channel controller for switching the broadcast channel currently being viewed by the viewer to another broadcast channel.
The broadcast channel currently being viewed by the second viewer may be switched based on a request from the viewer.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a computer program. This program includes a process of receiving channel information indicating a broadcast channel that the viewer is currently viewing from a plurality of viewers, a process of managing the channel information in association with each of the plurality of viewers, and a first And causing the computer to execute the process of displaying the channel information of the second viewer designated by the viewer on the terminal screen used by the first viewer.

Any combination of the above components,
It is also effective as an aspect of the present invention that the components and expressions of the present invention are mutually replaced among methods, devices, systems, computer programs, recording media storing computer programs, and the like.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) A viewing situation management system in the present embodiment acquires channel information from a plurality of viewers and manages it. Each viewer can acquire the channel information of other viewers and display it on the screen, so that the viewing status of acquaintances or celebrities can be known. The viewing status of acquaintances has informational characteristics such as “word-of-mouth”, and can be useful information when selecting a program. Celebrity viewing conditions also have an impact on viewer program selection.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a viewing situation management system. The viewing status management system 10 uses the Internet 16
A viewing situation management server 14 and a plurality of viewer terminals 12 connected via Each of the plurality of viewer terminals 12 receives a television broadcast from the broadcast station 18.

The viewing situation management server 14 and the viewer terminal 12 can be realized by hardware such as a CPU of a computer, and in terms of software, by a program having a data transmission / reception function and a channel information management function. Although realized, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 described below depict functional blocks realized by their cooperation. Therefore, these functional blocks can be realized in various ways depending on the combination of hardware and software. The viewing status management server 14 may include a web server, or the viewer terminal 12 may be included.
May include a personal computer and a web browser installed in the personal computer. The viewer terminal 12 may have a configuration including a television display function.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the structure of the viewing situation management server. The viewing status management server 14 includes a communication unit 20, a viewer authentication unit 22, and a channel information acquisition unit 2.
4, a channel management unit 26, a request processing unit 28, a channel providing unit 30, a group management unit 32, and a channel control unit 34. Each unit transmits / receives data to / from the viewer terminal 12 on the Internet 16 via the communication unit 20. The communication unit 20 may have a router function and a server function in addition to the data transmission / reception function.

The viewer authentication section 22 authenticates the viewer based on the viewer ID, password, and the like. The channel information acquisition unit 24 receives, from a plurality of viewers, channel information indicating the broadcast channel that the viewer is currently watching.

The channel management unit 26 manages channel information in association with each of a plurality of viewers. The channel management unit 26 includes a channel information holding unit 44, a viewing status updating unit 45, and a viewer information holding unit 46.
The channel information holding unit 44 holds the viewing status of each viewer. For example, a table recording the correspondence between the viewer ID and its channel information may be held. The viewing status update unit 45 uses the channel information holding unit 4 based on the channel information received from the channel information acquisition unit 24.
The viewing status of each viewer recorded in 4 is updated. The viewer information holding unit 46 holds personal information such as the ID, name, and handle of each viewer.

The group management unit 32 registers a plurality of viewers as a group as desired. Group management department 3
2 includes a group setting holding unit 40 and a registration processing unit 42. The group setting holding unit 40 stores the correspondence between a viewer and a group to which the viewer belongs. Registration processing unit 4
2 handles the registration of groups and the registration of viewers in groups. The viewer may use the group registration as a bookmark, and in that case, the viewer may set the channel information of the members belonging to his group to be displayed on the screen at any time.

The request processing unit 28 processes a request for transmitting and displaying channel information of another viewer to the viewer's terminal. The request processing unit 28 includes a display request receiving unit 36 and a permission confirmation unit 38. The display request receiving unit 36 receives from the viewer a request to transmit and display the channel information. The request may be a batch request for the channel information of all the members belonging to the group, or may be a request to transmit and display from time to time after log-in by viewer authentication until logout. The permission confirmation unit 38 confirms whether or not to permit the viewer who is the target of the channel information display request to transmit the information. In this way, consideration is given to viewers who do not wish to disclose channel information. The permission confirmation unit 38 may confirm permission for channel control described later.

The channel providing unit 30 displays the channel information of the viewer who is the target of the display request on the terminal screen of the viewer who requested the display. Channel provider 30
Includes a format processor 48 and a channel transmitter 50. The format processing unit 48 shapes the channel information into a data format that can be displayed on the terminal screen of the viewer who made the display request. The format processing unit 48 may format the channel information into a data format for displaying on the terminal screen in the form of a channel name associated with the name of the viewer. For example, the channel information of the viewer who has the handle of "tallow" may be displayed on the terminal screen in the form of "tallow channel".

The channel transmitter 50 transmits the channel information to the terminal of the viewer who makes the display request. The channel transmitter 50 may transmit only the channel information for which the permission confirmation has been confirmed by the permission confirmation unit 38. The channel transmission unit 50 may limit the transmission destination of the channel information to the viewers who belong to the group set by the group management unit 32.

The channel control section 34 switches the broadcast channel currently displayed and viewed by the viewer on the terminal screen to another broadcast channel. Channel control unit 3
4 is a control request receiving unit 52 and a control data transmitting unit 54
including. The control request receiving unit 52 receives a request from each viewer to switch channels on a terminal screen of a viewer different from the viewer. Control data transmitter 54
Sends control data for switching channels to the requested terminal screen. The control data transmitting unit 54 may transmit the control data only to the viewer terminal for which the permission confirmation unit 38 has confirmed the permission of switching. The control data transmission unit 54 may limit the transmission destination of the control data to viewers belonging to the group set by the group management unit 32.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the structure of the viewer terminal. The viewer terminal 12 includes a communication unit 60, a viewer authentication unit 62, a channel information transmission unit 64, a channel instruction unit 66, a broadcast processing unit 68, a broadcast reception unit 70, a display request transmission unit 71, a channel provision unit 72, and a channel. The control unit 74 is included. Each unit transmits / receives data to / from the viewing status management server 14 on the Internet 16 via the communication unit 60.

The viewer authentication unit 62 authenticates the viewer with the viewer authentication unit 22 shown in FIG. The broadcast receiving unit 70 receives a television broadcast from the broadcasting station 18. Broadcast processing unit 68
Processes the television broadcast data received by the broadcast receiving unit 70. The broadcast processing unit 68 includes a video acquisition unit 76 and a broadcast display unit 78. The video acquisition unit 76 acquires video and audio of television broadcasting. The broadcast display unit 78 displays the image of the television broadcast at a predetermined position on the screen and outputs the sound. The channel instruction unit 66 instructs the broadcast processing unit 68 which broadcast channel to display, based on the operation of the viewer. The channel information transmitter 64 transmits the channel information specifying the instructed broadcast channel to the viewing status management server 14. When the broadcast channel is switched according to the instruction from the channel designating unit 66, the channel information transmitting unit 64 transmits the channel information indicating the channel after switching to the viewing status management server 14.

The display request transmission unit 71 transmits a request to display channel information of another viewer on the screen to the viewing status management server 14. The request may be a batch request for channel information of all the members belonging to the user's own group, or may be a request to transmit and display from time to time after login by viewer authentication until logout.

The channel providing unit 72 displays the channel information of another viewer on the screen. Channel provider 72
Includes a channel information receiver 80 and a channel information display 82. The channel information receiving unit 80 receives the channel information of another viewer from the viewing status management server 14. The channel information display unit 82 displays the received channel information on the screen. The channel information may be displayed in the form of a channel name associated with the viewer's name.

The channel control unit 74 automatically switches the displayed broadcast channel to another broadcast channel based on the control data received from the viewing situation management server 14. The channel controller 74 includes a control data receiver 84 and a control processor 86. When the control data receiving unit 84 receives the control data for switching the broadcast channel from the viewing status management server 14, the control processing unit 86 sends a channel switching instruction to the channel instructing unit 66.

FIG. 4 shows the structure within the television screen of the viewer terminal. On the TV screen 100, the video display unit 10
2, a channel column 104, and a program name column 106 are displayed. Channel column 104 and program name column 106
Channel information of members belonging to the same group is displayed below. As the channel name 108, the channel information of the member having the handle of "Taro" is displayed as "Tallow ch", and the program name 110 that the member is currently watching is displayed in the vicinity. Further, a switching button 112 is displayed near it. When the viewer clicks the switch button 112, the broadcast channel of the viewer having the handle “Taro” is switched to the broadcast channel displayed on the video display unit 102.

For group members who are not currently watching a television broadcast or logged in to the system, the channel name 114 is hidden and a mark 116 indicating that the channel is offline is displayed instead of the program name. Is displayed in.

The channel name 118 is channel information of another viewer designated by the viewer, and the program name 120 is displayed in the vicinity thereof. Channel information such as a celebrity may be displayed as the channel name 118.

FIG. 5 is a table of information about viewers. The viewer table 150 includes a viewer ID column 152,
Name field 154, handle field 156, and display permission field 1
58, and is recorded in the viewer information holding unit 46. The viewer ID column 152 records the viewer ID. The name and handle corresponding to the ID are recorded in the name column 154 and the handle column 156, respectively. The display permission column 158 records whether or not to permit transmission of channel information to other viewers.

FIG. 6 is a table showing the correspondence between each viewer and its channel information. The channel information table 180 includes a viewer ID column 182 and a channel information column 1
84 and a time column 186, and is recorded in the channel information holding unit 44. In the viewer ID column 182, the viewer I
D is recorded, and channel information for each viewer is recorded in the channel information column 184. The date and time when the channel information is recorded are recorded in the time column 186.

FIG. 7 is a table showing the correspondence between each viewer and the group to which the viewer belongs. The group registration table 190 includes a viewer ID column 192 and a group ID column 194, and is recorded in the group setting holding unit 40. A viewer ID is recorded in the viewer ID column 192, and a corresponding group ID is recorded in the group ID column 194.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the viewing situation management server. First, the viewer is authenticated (S10), and the channel information of the viewer is acquired (S12). The viewing status of the viewer is updated based on the acquired channel information (S14). If there is a display request for any of the channel information to be managed (S16Y), and if the permission for the request is confirmed (S18Y), it is displayed on the terminal screen of the viewer who made the display request (S20). .
If there is a request for channel control (S22
Y), if the permission for the request is confirmed (S2
3Y), the broadcast channel of the viewer who is the target of the request is switched (S24). Until viewing is finished (S2
6), the operation from S12 to S24 is repeated.

(Second Embodiment) This embodiment is intended for Internet broadcasting. The first embodiment is mainly intended for a broadcasting mode in which a broadcasting channel is pre-allocated for each broadcasting station such as terrestrial broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, and CATV. In this case, a broadcast channel that can be viewed in that area is preset in the viewer terminal, and the viewer can view the program simply by selecting the broadcast channel. On the other hand, in the case of a URL-designated broadcasting form such as Internet broadcasting, the viewer must discover the URL by himself. Broadcast dates and times are often irregular, and there are many broadcast stations and programs.

In this embodiment, the URL of the Internet broadcast program is linked to the channel information of another viewer displayed on the viewer terminal. As a result, the viewer can watch the Internet broadcast of the URL by himself by clicking the channel information displayed on the screen. When the channel information is displayed on the screen, it means that at least another viewer is currently watching the Internet broadcast, so that it is possible to easily grasp whether or not the broadcast is being performed.

The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that this embodiment is an exemplification, that various modifications can be made to the combinations of the respective constituent elements and the respective processing processes, and that such modifications are within the scope of the present invention. . Hereinafter, modified examples will be described.

In this embodiment, each viewer can control the channel switching in the terminal of another viewer. In a modification, each viewer may be controlled so that the channel of his / her terminal is automatically switched to the channels of other viewers.

[0040]

According to the present invention, it is possible to assist a viewer of a television broadcast in selecting a program.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a viewing situation management system.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a viewing situation management server.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a viewer terminal.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration in a television screen in a viewer terminal.

FIG. 5 is a table of information about viewers.

FIG. 6 is a table showing a correspondence relationship between each viewer and its channel information.

FIG. 7 is a table showing a correspondence relationship between each viewer and a group to which the viewer belongs.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation in the viewing status management server.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 viewing status management system, 12 viewer terminal,
14 viewing status management server, 24 channel information acquisition unit, 26 channel management unit, 30 channel providing unit, 32 group management unit, 34 channel control unit.

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Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A channel information indicating a broadcast channel currently being viewed by a viewer is received from a plurality of viewers via a network, and the channel information is managed in association with each of the plurality of viewers. Channel information of a second viewer designated by the first viewer is transmitted to the first viewer in a data format for displaying on a terminal screen used by the first viewer. How to manage viewing status. 2. A channel acquisition unit that receives from a plurality of viewers channel information indicating a broadcast channel that the viewer is currently viewing, and a channel management that manages the channel information in association with each of the plurality of viewers. And a channel providing unit for displaying the channel information of the second viewer designated by the first viewer on the terminal screen used by the first viewer. Status management device. 3. The channel providing unit displays the channel information of the second viewer in the form of a channel name associated with the name of the second viewer on the terminal screen of the first viewer. The viewing situation management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein 4. The channel providing unit displays channel information of the second viewer on the terminal screen of the first viewer on condition that the second viewer has given permission. The viewing status management device according to claim 2, wherein 5. A group management unit for registering a plurality of viewers as a group, wherein the channel providing unit limits the transmission destination of the channel information to viewers belonging to the group. The viewing situation management device according to any one of 2 to 4. 6. The viewing situation management apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a channel control unit for switching a broadcast channel currently being viewed by a viewer to another broadcast channel. 7. The channel control unit switches the broadcast channel currently being viewed by the second viewer based on a request from the first viewer. Viewing status management device. 8. A process of receiving channel information indicating a broadcast channel currently being viewed by a viewer from a plurality of viewers, a process of managing the channel information in association with each of the viewers, A computer program for causing a computer to execute a step of displaying channel information of a second viewer designated by one viewer on a terminal screen used by the first viewer.