JP5638590B2 - Content output apparatus, content output method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a content output apparatus , a content output method, and a program for displaying information on a plurality of contents of providers.

  In recent years, the number of contents that can be accessed by users has increased rapidly due to the expansion of the content storage capability of AV devices and the expansion of seamlessness between devices that do not stay within devices or on networks. A receiving apparatus for selectively viewing such content is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In the receiving apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1, when content desired by the user is displayed, the user selects a content from the content list display. If the selected content is stored in the device, the content is read out and displayed on the data display unit. On the other hand, if the selected content exists outside the device, the content is received. Displayed on the data display section.

JP 2001-292383 A

  However, in an AV device or the like, since the capacity of a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) has been increased, many processes must be performed when searching for content desired to be viewed. Furthermore, if video / audio data (contents) on the network is also included in the display target, the number of contents that can be referred to becomes enormous. Therefore, when all of the information on the contents with different provision destinations is displayed as a list to the user, it is difficult to specify the information on the contents desired by the user.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a content output device , a content output method, and a program that can easily specify a content desired by a user from an enormous amount of content.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a content output method according to the present invention is a content output method executed by a content output device, and includes a storage step, an operation reception step, an acquisition step, An output step. The storage step associates the provider of the key content, which is the content serving as a search key, with the provider of the content to be searched among a plurality of providers capable of providing the content to the own device in the storage unit. Remember. In the operation reception step, the operation reception unit receives a key content selection operation. In the obtaining step, the obtaining unit obtains information on the content provided by the content providing source to be searched that is associated with the selected key content providing source and the storage unit. In the output step, the output unit outputs list information in which information on the content provided by the provider of the content to be searched is acquired, which is acquired in the acquisition step. The storing step associates the first provider and the second provider with the first provider of the first key content, and the first provider with respect to the second provider of the second key content. The second provider is associated with each other and stored in the storage unit.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the display processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of metadata when a TV program is used as content. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of display information representing the content. FIG. 3-2 is a diagram illustrating an example of display information representing the content. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the table structure of the state transition table. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the table structure of the status register. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the table structure of the information source correspondence table. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the table structure of the metadata acquisition table. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the table structure of the information source type display color correspondence table. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a screen of content list information to be displayed by the display control unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram regarding the details of the display operation of the display information. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram regarding details of the display operation of the display information. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of list information in which display information C1 of key content and display information C11 to other content are arranged. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of display information display processing by the display processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of display information display processing by the display processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a table structure of a search information source management table according to the third embodiment. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of display information display processing by the display processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display processing apparatus according to a modification. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a flow of display information display processing by the display processing apparatus according to the modification. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the display processing device.

  Exemplary embodiments of a content display device and a content display method according to the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, an example in which the content display device according to the present invention is applied to a television (TV) is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and content such as video is displayed on the display device. The present invention can be applied as long as it can be displayed.

  Next, the functional configuration of the display processing apparatus 100 will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the display processing apparatus 100 includes an electronic program guide storage unit 150, a metadata acquisition table 151, an information source correspondence table 152, a state transition table 153, and an information source type display color correspondence table 154. , A recorded program storage unit 160, a display unit 170, a broadcast receiving unit 108, a video reproduction unit 107, and an IPTV (Internet Protocol TeleVision) connection unit 180, which are connected to the IPTV server 200 via a network. Has been.

  In addition, the display processing device 100 includes a processing device such as an ASIC or a CPU, a ROM that stores a predetermined program for controlling the operation of the display processing device 100, and a storage device such as a RAM that is a work area of the processing device. A remote control operation receiving unit 101, a metadata search unit 102, a metadata acquisition unit 103, a relevance calculation unit 104, a display information generation unit 105, and a display control unit 106 And a function unit including an information source selection unit 109, a search key designation unit 110, a status register 111, and a status instruction unit 112.

  The IPTV server 200 is a server that provides a service for distributing video such as a TV program or a movie using IP, and distributes content such as the video and metadata of the content in response to a request from the display processing device 100. To do.

  The IPTV connection unit 180 is an interface that connects the display processing apparatus 100 and the IPTV server 200.

  The electronic program guide storage unit 150 is a storage medium such as an HDD or a memory that stores an electronic program guide acquired from an external server that manages and distributes an electronic program guide (EPG). Specifically, an electronic program guide such as TV, CATV, CS broadcast, BS broadcast, etc. is acquired from a server device of a service provider connected to a network such as the Internet via a communication unit (not shown). A stored electronic program guide is stored. Here, it is assumed that the electronic program guide includes information on programs broadcast from the present to a certain time in the future (for example, one week later).

  The recorded program storage unit 160 is a storage medium such as an HDD or a memory that stores content such as video. For example, when the display processing apparatus 100 is a TV equipped with an HDD, the recorded program storage unit 160 stores video content in which a TV program or the like is recorded. Further, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) video, a video captured by a video camera, or the like may be used as the content.

  In addition, the recorded program storage unit 160 stores metadata related to the content in association with each content. Here, the “metadata” is a group of information indicating characteristics unique to each content, and includes the title of each content, the broadcast date and time, and the like. For example, when the content is a TV program, information (program information) such as a TV program title, channel, broadcast date and time, performers, program contents, and genre becomes metadata, and this metadata is provided together with the content. It is stored in the recorded program storage unit 160.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of metadata when a TV program is used as content. The metadata shown in FIG. 2 is information related to the content recorded on the TV program. The title of the TV program is “Lunch Comedy Show”, the channel “○ × Broadcast”, and the broadcast date and time “August 1, 2008 12:00:00”. 12:40 ”, performers“ XX, □ xx ”, program content“ this season to the world ”, and genre“ comed ”are stored.

  In the above description, the aspect in which the metadata is provided in a preset state has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and information input from the user via the input device 90 such as a remote controller is not limited to this. As an example, the recorded program storage unit 160 may store the content in association with the content.

  The display unit 170 is a liquid crystal screen (LCD) or the like that displays characters and images, and displays content such as received TV programs, stored content, an electronic program guide, a search screen, a search result screen, and the like. It is.

  In addition, the display unit 170 displays display information representing the contents of the content generated by the display information generation unit 105 described later (see FIGS. 3A and 3B) so that the user can search for the content.

  The broadcast receiving unit 108 receives video content (TV program) broadcast by TV broadcasting via an antenna or a cable (not shown).

  The video reproduction unit 107 is a video content that the user desires to reproduce, that is, a content such as a TV program received by the broadcast reception unit 108, a video content acquired from the IPTV server 200 via the IPTV connection unit 180, or a recorded program The video content stored in the storage unit 160 is acquired, and the acquired content is decoded (reproduced) and transmitted to the display control unit 106.

  The remote control operation accepting unit 101 recognizes that the operation button provided on the remote control 90 has been pressed by the user and accepts the operation. For example, when a user searches for a desired content from a plurality of contents and further searches for a content related to the content, the search center (key) is selected from the plurality of contents displayed on the electronic program guide displayed on the display unit 170. When the user selects the content (key content) to be operated by the operation button provided on the remote controller 90, the remote control operation accepting unit 101 accepts this key content selection operation, that is, an operation for searching for the content.

  The content being played back may be the key content. In this case, when the user presses the operation button provided on the remote controller 90 during the content playback, the remote control operation reception unit 101 displays the content being played back. A selection operation using the key content, that is, an operation for searching for content is accepted.

  Although details will be described later, the remote control operation accepting unit 101 performs an instruction operation on the display information of the content of interest (target content) from the list information on which the display information of the plurality of contents displayed on the display unit 170 is displayed. Accept.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the state transition table 153 holds “input”, “processing”, and “movement destination” indicated by the state number in association with each “state number”. . “Input” indicates an input operation performed in the remote control operation reception unit 101. “Processing” indicates processing executed by the display processing device 100 when an input operation set to “input” is performed. “Move destination” indicates a state number that is set when an input operation set to “input” is performed. The state number is a number assigned to each screen displayed by the display control unit 115.

  For example, when the “program guide button” is pressed on the screen of the state number “0”, the display control unit 115 performs the process “display program guide” associated with the “program guide button” and “ A state number “1” indicating “destination” associated with the “program guide button” is set in a “current state number” of the state register 111 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the state register 111 stores the previous state number and the current state number in association with each other. The “previous state number” is a state number indicating the screen displayed immediately before the current screen. “Current state number” is a state number indicating the current screen.

  Based on the input operation received by the remote control operation reception unit 101, the state instruction unit 112 sets the “movement destination” state number specified by the state transition table 153 as the “current state number” of the state register 111. At the same time, the state number previously set in the “current state number” is set as the “previous state number”. Further, the state instructing unit 112 outputs to the display control unit 115 “processing” for displaying a screen specified from the state transition table 153 based on the input operation received by the remote control operation receiving unit 101. .

  For example, when the “program guide button” is pressed while the screen with the state number “0” is displayed, the state instruction unit 112 sets the “state number” to “0” with respect to the state transition table 153. ", Search the record whose" input "is" program guide button ", and instruct the display control unit 106 to execute the content" program guide display "in the" processing "field of the record. Then, the state number “1” described in “movement destination” is set as the current state. Then, the state instruction unit 112 sets the previous state number “0” and the current state number “1” in the state register 111.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the information source correspondence table 152 stores an information source from which the metadata acquisition unit 103 acquires metadata in association with a state number. That is, the information source correspondence table 152 stores information sources to be searched for each displayed screen (state number).

  The information source selection unit 109 refers to the information source correspondence table 152 and selects an information source from which metadata is to be acquired. In the present embodiment, the information source selection unit 109 refers to the status register 111, and the status number set in the “previous status number” is set as the status number in the information source correspondence table 152. The information source associated with the state number is selected as a metadata acquisition target. Note that when the state number set in the “previous state number” is not held in the information source correspondence table 152, all information sources are the acquisition targets of the metadata. In the present embodiment, a case where all information sources are metadata acquisition targets will be described. In the second embodiment, the information source corresponding to the metadata acquisition target in the information source correspondence table 152 is An example of narrowing down will be described.

  The metadata acquisition table 151 holds information necessary for the metadata acquisition unit 103 described later to acquire metadata. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the metadata acquisition table 151 stores an information source ID, an acquisition module, an option, and an information source type in association with each other. The information source ID is an ID for identifying an information source as a content providing source. The acquisition module is a module used for acquiring content. Options are the settings required when acquiring content with the acquisition module. The information source type is a category grouped with the information source.

  By the way, there are various forms of video services provided on the Internet. There are multiple video services (information sources) provided by content companies, and there are also video services (information sources) that users can refer to by uploading videos created by themselves. There are several. When all of the contents of such a plurality of video services (information sources) are to be provided to the user all at once, there are many cases where the display modes are different when displayed with different display modes for each information source. It is too difficult for the user to recognize the content.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the moving image service provided via the Internet is grouped with the information source type “IPTV”. In this way, each information source is grouped, the information source types are grouped into three types, EPG, FILE, and IPTV, and the display mode is different for each information source type, so that the user can easily recognize the content.

  When the remote control operation accepting unit 101 accepts a search operation using a search key or a key content selection operation, the metadata obtaining unit 103 uses a method for obtaining metadata held in the metadata obtaining table 151. Based on the information, content metadata is acquired for each information source (content provider). The information source from which the metadata is acquired is the information source selected by the information source selection unit 109.

  For example, when acquiring the contents of the terrestrial digital EPG, the metadata acquisition unit 103 calls an electronic program guide module (not shown) registered in the metadata acquisition table 151 and requests metadata of the contents. Then, the electronic program guide module acquires metadata of each content from the recorded program storage unit 160 and transmits it to the metadata acquisition unit 103. Thereby, the metadata acquisition unit 103 can acquire the metadata of the content registered in the EPG.

  Further, when it is desired to acquire the content of the IPTV_A service, the metadata acquisition unit 103 calls an IPTV connection module (not shown) registered in the metadata acquisition table 151 to request content metadata. Then, the IPTV connection module requests content metadata from the IPTV 200 server, acquires the metadata, and transmits it to the metadata acquisition unit 103. Thereby, the metadata acquisition unit 103 can acquire the metadata of the content registered in the IPTV_A service. Metadata provided by other providers can also be obtained in the same manner.

  By the way, in the content search according to the present embodiment, a keyword search for searching for content based on a keyword input by the user, and a relevance level in which content related to key content is arranged based on the relevance level. Two types of search methods are possible: search. First, a configuration necessary for keyword search will be described.

  When the remote control operation accepting unit 101 accepts an input operation of a character string (keyword) that serves as a search condition, the search key designating unit 110 designates the character string as a keyword to the metadata search unit 102 described later. . It is input by remote control operation accepting unit 101. Note that a software keyboard or the like is conceivable as a method for inputting a keyword in the remote control operation receiving unit 101.

  The metadata search unit 102 detects metadata including the keyword specified by the search key specifying unit 110 (satisfying the search condition) from the metadata acquired by the metadata acquisition unit 103. Then, the metadata search unit 102 outputs the detected metadata to the display control unit 106. As a result, the display control unit 115 can display a list of content information that matches the search condition based on the keyword.

  Next to the keyword search, the relevance search will be described. When the remote control operation accepting unit 101 accepts a key content selection operation, the metadata search unit 102 retrieves the key content metadata from the content metadata obtained by the metadata obtaining unit 103, and retrieves the searched key. The content metadata is sent to the relevance calculation unit 104. Further, the metadata search unit 102 searches the metadata of the content for which the relevance calculation unit 104 calculates the relevance with the metadata from the content metadata acquired by the metadata acquisition unit 103. The metadata of the other searched content is sent to the relevance calculation unit 104.

  Further, when the remote control operation accepting unit 101 accepts a key content selection operation, the metadata search unit 102 sends all the content metadata acquired by the metadata acquiring unit 103 to the display information generating unit 105.

  Based on the selected key content metadata and other content metadata sent from the metadata search unit 102, the relevance calculation unit 104 determines the relevance of each of the other contents to the key content as metadata. Are calculated for each item, for example, title and channel. Specifically, the relevance RM is calculated using the following formula (1).

In the above formula (1), N means the total number of metadata that can be acquired by the metadata acquisition unit 103. Further, the metadata M11 (n) corresponding to the key content and “(n)” of the metadata M21 (n) corresponding to any other content are the n-th metadata acquired by the metadata acquisition unit 103. Means data. Further, fa _n (M11 (n), M21 (n)) is a function that returns the relation between metadata M11 (n) M21 (n) and the RM _n, Wa _n denotes a weighting value (n = 1,..., N).

  The information acquired as metadata here is diverse as described above, but in order to simplify the description, the metadata is set of five sets of {recording date and time, content title, channel, genre, performer list}. (N = 5), and these five metadata are assumed to be n = 1, 2,...

Then, the relevance level RM of the other content with respect to the key content can be represented by a weighted linear sum of the following relevance levels RM _{1 to} RM ₅ .
RM ₁ = fa ₁ (recording date and time of metadata M11, recording date and time of metadata M21)
RM ₂ = fa ₂ (title of metadata M11, title of metadata M21)
RM ₃ = fa ₃ (channel of metadata M11, channel of metadata M21)
RM ₄ = fa ₄ (genre of metadata M11, genre of metadata M21)
RM ₅ = fa ₅ (performer list of metadata M11, performer list of metadata M21)

For example, fa ₁ is a function that takes a larger value as the recording date is closer and takes a smaller value as it is farther away. Specifically, for example, a relational expression such as MO1 / | rec_data (M11) −rec_data (M21) | can be used. Here, rec_data (x) is a function for converting the recording date and time of x into a unique integer, and is a function for converting a certain reference date and time to 0 and converting it to an integer such as the number of elapsed seconds. MO1 is an arbitrary constant, and | X | is a function indicating the magnitude of X, typically an absolute value.

Here, an example using g, which is a function of g (x) = MO1 / | X |, when fa ₁ (M11, M21) = g (rec_data (M11) −rec_data (M21)) is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, g using the L2 norm, such as g (x) = MO1 / || x || may be used. In this case, || x || is obtained by taking the square root of the sum of squares of the differences between the elements constituting x.

  For g (x), a sigmoid function or the like may be used, or a gamma function or the like may be used. In addition, although the example which takes a big value when the metadata M11 and M21 were near was shown above, it is not limited to this. Conversely, it may be configured to take a small value. It is also possible to use a function g that takes a large value under specific conditions.

For example, fa ₂ is realized by a function that takes a larger value as the same number of character strings are included in the title character strings of the metadata M11 and M21. For example, if the title of M11 is “Aiueo” and the title of M21 is “Kakiueko”, the two characters “Ue” in between are included in both. On the other hand, in the case of “Aiueo” and “Kakikukeo”, the value of fa ₂ is larger in the former because one character is included in both. Note that, when the degree of relevance is determined based on a keyword included in the program content, it can be calculated in the same manner as the title.

  In the above, an example is shown in which the number of characters included in both is simply compared, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the condition that the larger number of common characters from the beginning is taken to be a larger value, or even if there is no common character, if it contains the same concept, it is considered common Further, it may be added. As an example of the latter, for example, “baseball” and “baseball” are considered to be similar, and if they are included in each, it is considered that a common character string is included.

If the main character string is the same and the sub character strings are different, these are often the contents of a common series. In such a case, the value of fa ₂ is increased. There is also a possibility. For example, “Aiueo # 2” and “Aiueo # 3” can be regarded as different times of the same drama content. In such a case, the value of fa ₂ is doubled. . Note that the above description is merely an example, and by using a well-known technique such as fuzzy search or a well-known technique such as search by regular expression, a higher-level comparison than described above is performed. It becomes possible.

For example, fa ₃ is a function that takes a large value when the channels of the metadata M11 and M21 are the same. Simply, it can be realized as a function that takes the value MO2 if the channels are the same, and takes the value 0 otherwise. Here, MO2 is an arbitrary constant. Further, in the case of channels of the same series, another value may be taken. For example, in the case of the same affiliated station, a function that returns the value MO2 / 2 may be used. In the case of the same series but different broadcasting media, a function that returns MO2 / 4 may be used. In addition, the aspect demonstrated above is an example to the last, and it is possible to use arbitrary functions.

For example, fa ₄ is a function that takes a large value when the genres of the metadata M11 and M21 are the same. For example, when both M11 and M21 are genres of “sports”, the value MO3 is taken, otherwise the value 0 is taken. When the genre of “sports” and M21 is “baseball”, the function may be MO3 / 2. In addition, even if the genre of M11 and the genre of M21 are not directly the same, the genre that is the parent of both is the same. For example, when the genre of M11 is “baseball” and the genre of M21 is “soccer”, both Since the parent genre of “Sports” is the same, it may be a function of taking MO3 / 4. In addition, the aspect demonstrated above is an example to the last, and it is possible to use arbitrary functions.

fa ₅ is the same as fa ₄ . For example, if the list of characters in the metadata M11 and M21 is “WW, XX, YY”, “XX, YY, ZZ”, respectively, there are two common characters, so 2 × MO4 is taken. (Here, MO4 is an arbitrary constant value). If there is no common character, a function that takes 0 can be used. Further, since the characters include groups, if a certain character KK is a member of the group XX, metadata M11 and M21 such as “VV, WW, XX”, “KK, YY, ZZ” are stored. In this case, group XX appeared in M11, that is, this member KK also appeared, and group XX did not appear in M21, but member KK appeared. May return MO4 / 2.

  Similarly, when the relationship between the appearance group and the character is defined, for example, when the group XX and the group YY are the same affiliation office, it is extended to return MO4 / 4. It is good. In this case, the relationship between the person and the group or the relationship between the offices to which each person and group belong may be defined in the metadata, or may be acquired from an external server (information site). It is good.

  In addition, although the example which does not distinguish the relevance degree with respect to the person who appears in a character list was shown above, it is not limited to this. It is good also as an aspect weighted further by the order which appears in a character list. For example, in the case of comparison with the first person appearing in the metadata M11, the calculated relevance is left as it is, and the relevance is 1/2 for the second, and 1/3 for the third. It is good also as changing weighting according to the order to do. Moreover, it is good also as an aspect which considers both the order in metadata M11, and the order in M21. For example, when comparing the second person of the metadata M11 with the third person of the metadata M21, the second person of the metadata M11 is 1/2, and the third person of the metadata M21 is 1/3. Therefore, the total relevance may be set to 1/2 × 1/3 = 1/6. Moreover, you may make it change the weighting of the relevance degree with respect to a leading character using information, such as a leading character, as metadata. For example, in the case of a leading role, the weight can be changed so that the calculated degree of relevance is doubled.

  The display information generation unit 105 generates display information representing the contents of the key content and other content from the metadata of the key content and the metadata of other content transmitted from the metadata search unit 102. Specifically, for example, the display information generation unit 105 displays the content by attaching a title or the like to the representative image of the video data based on the metadata of the video data stored in the recorded program storage unit 160. Display information that can be displayed on the unit 170 is generated. Further, for example, the display information generation unit 105 can display the content on the display unit 170 by attaching a title or the like to the representative image of the video data based on the metadata of the video data acquired from the IPTV server 200. Generated display information. Further, for example, the display information generation unit 105 can display the TV program title, broadcast date and time, channel, program content, and the like on the display unit 170 based on the electronic program guide stored in the electronic program guide storage unit 150. Generated display information.

  Here, details of the display information will be described. FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating examples of display information representing the contents. In FIG. 3A, for example, the key content display information C <b> 1 is generated based on the metadata of the video data stored in the recorded program storage unit 160. As shown in the figure, in the key content display information C1, the representative image of the content is displayed in C1-1, and the title “L358Δ * 6” of the content (video) is displayed in C1-2. . Also, in FIG. 3B, for example, the key content display information C1 is generated based on the electronic program guide. As shown in the figure, the display information C1 of the key content is that the channel is displayed in C1-3, the title “Lunch Comedy Show” of the content (video), and the program content “This season to the world” "Nizainau" is displayed, and the broadcast date and time is displayed in C1-5.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the information source type display color correspondence table 154 holds “colors” to be displayed for each “information source type” in which information sources are grouped. In the present embodiment, the color to be displayed is changed, but display other than color may be changed for each information source type as a display mode.

  The display control unit 106 reproduces and displays the content sent from the video reproduction unit 107 on the display unit 170.

  Further, the display control unit 106 displays a list of content information and the like on the display unit 170 as a search result screen using the search key. As shown in FIG. 9, when displaying a list of contents, the information source that is a content providing source is displayed in a different color for each type of information source grouped. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the content information frame acquired from the EPG is white in color, and the content information frame provided from a network (IPTV) such as IPTV or the Internet is blue (in FIG. 3, a light network). The frame of the content information recorded (FILE) is displayed in yellow (dark shading in FIG. 3).

  In addition, as described above, the display control unit 106, when the remote control operation receiving unit 101 receives an operation from the user to search for content related to an arbitrary content, the key content for the user to search The list information displaying the display information and the display information of other contents related to the key contents is displayed.

  The list information (similar content list) is arranged on a plurality of polygons concentrically formed with the display information of the key content arranged at a desired position and centering on the position of the display information of the key content. The operation buttons provided in the operation button 90, for example, a shape along the operation direction of the operation button of the cross key, and in a predetermined area sorted for each item from the center to the radial direction, List information in which content display information is arranged is generated, and the generated list information is displayed on the display unit 170. In addition, display information of other contents is arranged in a predetermined area classified for each item from the center in the radial direction in descending order of relevance from the vicinity of the center. The list information is displayed with the display size of the display information of the key content being maximized and the display size of the display information of the other content being reduced as the distance from the vicinity of the center is increased.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the display control unit 106 is on a plurality of octagons F1, F2,... Formed concentrically around the position of the display information C1 of the key content. Display information of other contents is arranged in a shape along the up / down / left / right operation directions by the operation buttons provided in 90. That is, the display control unit 106 arranges eight pieces of display information from other pieces of display information C11 to C18 at the apex of the octagon F1. In addition, the display control unit 106 arranges eight pieces of display information C21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, and 35 of other content at the apex of the octagon F2, and displays each piece of display information. 8, display information C22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 of other contents are arranged along the operation direction. Similarly, eight pieces of display information of other contents are arranged at the vertices of an octagon, and display information of other contents is arranged between the pieces of display information. When display information of other contents is arranged in this way, display information other than the display information is arranged along the operation direction regardless of which display information is operated up, down, left, and right.

  When the display control unit 106 displays the display information, the color of the outer frame of the display information is changed and displayed for each information source type. The color of the outer frame of the display information is made different for each information source type as in FIG. For example, C36 which is EPG information is displayed in white, C34 which is IPTV content is displayed in blue (light shading in FIG. 3), and C17 which is recorded (FILE) content is yellow. (In FIG. 3, dark shading) is displayed.

  In addition, the display control unit 106 divides the display area for each predetermined size, and displays display information for each related genre for each divided display area. In the present embodiment, as in the list information shown in FIG. 9, each display area is divided into four parts, top, bottom, left and right, “title” on the top, “person” on the right, “keyword” on the bottom, and “keyword” on the left. The item “genre” is displayed, and the display information C1 of the key content is set as the central position, and the display information of the other content is arranged and displayed outward from the vicinity of the center.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the display information of other contents is arranged in a shape along the up, down, left, and right operation directions. For example, when the content of interest during the search is the display information C30, the operation buttons are When the operation is accepted, the attention content changes as indicated by an arrow A. Further, when the content of interest during the search is the display information C30, the content of interest changes as indicated by an arrow B when an up / down instruction operation is accepted by the operation button. Further, for example, when the attention content is the display information C11, if the instruction operation is received and the cursor is moved to the right by one cursor, the attention content is changed to the display information C36. Similarly, the content of interest changes to display information C22 when the cursor is moved up, display information C12 when the cursor is moved left, and display information C18 when the cursor is moved down. This makes it easy to perform an instruction operation from an operation button such as a cross key on the remote controller 90.

  Next, display information display processing by the display processing apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of display information display processing by the display processing apparatus 100.

  First, the remote control operation reception unit 101 stands by until a search operation using a search key is received from an operation button of the remote control 90 (step S1301). When the selection operation is received (step S1301: Yes), the search key specifying unit 110 specifies the keyword input by the user as the search keyword (step S1302). Specifically, the search key specifying unit 110 acquires a keyword input by the user and substitutes it for the variable keyword.

  Next, the information source selection unit 109 acquires a state number indicating the screen immediately before the search screen from the state register 111 (step S1303). It is assumed that the state number acquired in this processing procedure is not included in FIG.

  In this case, the information source selection unit 109 sets all the information source information in the variable List that stores the acquisition destination of the metadata (step S1304). As a result, all the information source information is selected as the metadata acquisition destination. In the present embodiment, {List Terrestrial EPG, IPTV A Service, IPTV B Service, Recorded File} is stored in the variable List. In the present embodiment, a character string is used for the stored information source ID, but a number for identifying the information source may be stored.

  Next, the metadata acquisition unit 103 determines whether or not the variable List is empty (step S1305). If the metadata acquisition unit 103 determines that the information is not empty (step S1305: No), the metadata acquisition unit 103 extracts one piece of information source information set in the variable List and substitutes it for information source information i that is a metadata acquisition destination ( Step S1306). At this time, the extracted information source information is removed from the variable List. For example, if the content of the variable List is {terrestrial digital EPG, IPTV A service, IPTV B service, recording file}, the terrestrial digital EPG is substituted for the information source information i, and the content of the list is {IPTV A service, IPTV B service, recording file}. If the content of the variable List is {recording file}, the information source information i is a recording file, and the content of the variable List is empty.

  Thereafter, the metadata acquisition unit 103 acquires the metadata acquisition method and information source type information corresponding to the information source information i from the metadata acquisition table, and the metadata acquisition method uses the metadata acquisition method to list the metadata of the content of the information source Is acquired (step S1307).

  The metadata acquisition method refers to the metadata acquisition table as described above, searches for a record having an “information source ID” that matches the information source information i, and indicates the field “module” of the record. Start the module with the options indicated in the field “Options”. The module obtains metadata based on the setting specified by the option. As an example of the format of the obtained metadata, as in the format shown in FIG. 2, five fields of “title”, “channel”, “broadcast date / time”, “performer”, and “program content” are assigned to one program. And so on.

  Note that, in the present embodiment, the metadata acquisition unit 103 acquires all the metadata related to the content that can be acquired, but may acquire the metadata in a limited number. In addition, although it is assumed that the metadata format is different for each information source, in this embodiment, the metadata acquisition unit 103 arranges the metadata different for each information source in the same format.

  Then, the metadata search unit 102 searches the metadata list of the content of the acquired information source information i with the keyword recorded in the variable keyword (step S1308). Thereby, only the metadata of the content that matches the search condition by the search key is extracted. The metadata search unit 102 may search the entire metadata, or may search only a specific field (for example, “performer”) of the metadata. As a result of the search, metadata of the corresponding program is obtained.

  Next, the metadata search unit 102 associates the metadata that matches the search condition with the information source type, and outputs them to the display control unit 106 (step S1309). The display control unit 115 sequentially stores the input data until the process of step S1310 is executed. For example, fields of “information source type” and “information source ID” are added to the metadata format shown in FIG. 2 and stored for each metadata.

  On the other hand, in step S1305, if the metadata acquisition unit 103 determines that the List is empty (step S1305: Yes), the display control unit 115 is associated with the input information source type together with the input metadata. The color is acquired from the information source type display color correspondence table 154 (step S1310).

  Then, the display control unit 115 displays the list information based on the content metadata in a different color for each information source type (step S1311). Accordingly, when displaying the search result, the list information shown in FIG. 9 in which the color is changed for each information source type can be displayed. When displaying the search result, the display form is changed for each information source type. For example, in the example of FIG. 9, the information source type is expressed in color, but it can also be expressed in icons or characters.

  The display control unit 115 may change the content displayed for each information source type. Furthermore, when displaying the list information of metadata, the display control unit 115 may sort and display the list information according to specific conditions (for example, sort according to user's preference).

  In the processing procedure described above, the case of keyword search has been described, but other search methods may be used. In this case, in step S1308, a search based on another search method is performed instead of a search using a keyword. For example, in the case of relevance search, the relevance (distance) with key content may be calculated for each content. In this case, the display control unit 115 displays a search result screen in which display information indicating each content is arranged based on the calculated relevance (distance). For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a display method is conceivable in which display information of a key content is displayed at the center, and the display information is arranged in the order of the content having the highest relevance.

  In this case as well, the display is changed according to the information source type, similar to the display of the list information. In this embodiment, the color is expressed as shown in FIG. 10, but the type may be expressed by the shape of the frame, or the type may be expressed by character information.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the display control unit 106 further includes a scroll unit 121, and further includes the following functions. When the remote controller operation accepting unit 101 presses the operation button of the remote control 90 and receives an instruction operation for instructing display information of the content of interest (target content), the scroll unit 121 displays the list information in the operation direction. Scrolling is performed by moving within a predetermined display range. At this time, the display control unit 106 maintains the display of the key content display information within the display range regardless of the amount of movement of the list information by scrolling the scroll unit 121. Further, the display control unit 106 increases the display size of the display information of the other content that has been instructed by the operation from the operation button and has become the attention content, larger than the display size of the display information of the other content that has not been instructed. indicate.

  According to the display processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, there are many information sources that provide content by changing the color of the content information for each type of information source that groups content providers (information sources). In any case, since the content can be recognized for each appropriate group, the user can easily specify the desired content. As a result, the user can easily select and browse the desired content.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, a case has been described in which the information source selection unit 109 selects all information source information as search targets. In the second embodiment, a case will be described in which the information source selection unit 109 narrows down information source information to be searched according to state information. Note that the display processing apparatus of the second embodiment has the same configuration as the display processing apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the information source to be searched is narrowed down, for example, when the search screen is displayed after the user refers to the content list screen of the predetermined information source, the displayed content Is determined to be a search request for a predetermined information source. For example, when a search screen is called from an electronic program guide, it is considered better to display a search result for content displayed in the electronic program guide.

  For this reason, in the display processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the information source to be searched is specified based on the state number indicating the screen immediately before the search screen.

  Next, display information display processing by the display processing apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a flow of display information display processing by the display processing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment.

  First, similarly to FIG. 13 of the first embodiment, the processing from step S1301 to 1303 is performed and the process until the acquisition of the state number is performed (steps S1401 to S1403). If the status number indicating the screen immediately before the search screen cannot be acquired, the current status number may be used.

  Thereafter, the information source selection unit 109 sets the information source ID associated with the state number and the information source correspondence table 152 for the List that stores the acquisition destination of the metadata (step S1404). As a result, an information source that provides content related to the screen immediately before the search screen is selected as a metadata acquisition destination. In the present embodiment, for example, when the state number indicating the screen immediately before the search screen is the state number “1” indicating the program guide, {terrestrial digital EPG} is stored in the variable List.

  Subsequent processing is the same as that in steps S1305 to 1311 in FIG. 13 of the first embodiment, and description thereof is omitted (steps S1405 to S1411).

  In the display processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, it is possible to reduce the display of unnecessary content by appropriately limiting the information sources to be searched for content. Thus, the desired content can be easily specified. Thus, since the number of contents to be displayed is appropriately suppressed, the time required to reach the necessary contents such as scrolling can be shortened.

(Third embodiment)
When the user is displaying information about a specific content, it is only necessary to display the content of the information source related to the content, or other information due to restrictions such as the contract with the provider indicated by the information source In some cases, collective display with the source is not permitted. For example, in the case of the relevance search shown in the first embodiment, it is performed after setting the key content as a search condition. When such a search is performed, if all the contents provided by other information sources are displayed, the number of contents that match the search condition increases, but it may be disadvantageous for the user. For example, when there is an information source that the user has already paid for and contracted, when searching for content related to the content provided by the information source, the content provided by other information sources for a fee Even if it is detected, the user needs to pay again to view the content, which may be disadvantageous. Further, even in the information source provided by the key content, the user may go to another information source providing the same content, and there is a possibility that a disadvantage may occur.

  As described above, there are cases where it is necessary to limit the information sources to be searched according to the key content that is the search condition. Thus, in the display control apparatus according to the present embodiment, an example will be described in which information sources to be searched are limited according to the information source of the key content.

  The display processing device 1500 shown in FIG. 15 is different from the display processing device 100 according to the first and second embodiments described above in that the information source correspondence table 152 is deleted and the search information source management table 1702 is added. The only difference is that an information source selection unit 1701 that is different in processing from the selection unit 109 is provided. Note that the description of the configuration of the display processing apparatus 1500 according to the present embodiment that is common to the display processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be omitted.

  In the relevance search shown in the first embodiment, the already displayed content itself is searched as a search key. For this reason, the metadata search unit 102 stores the information source ID used in the search as one field of metadata. Thereby, the information source selection unit 1701 can easily obtain information on the information source to which the search key belongs.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the search information source management table 1702 includes a “search key” (information source providing key content to be searched) and an information source ID indicating “search target information source”. It is stored in association. Thereby, the information source ID of the information source to be searched can be specified from the key content. In this embodiment, the search information source management table 1702 is set with the information source ID of the information source to be searched. However, even if the information source ID of the information source not to be searched is set. good. In this case, the information source selection unit 1701 sets a search target that is obtained by deleting the information source ID set in the “information source ID” field from the information source IDs of all the predetermined information sources. Information source IDs that are not subject to search are stored in this way when the restriction such as prohibition of simultaneous display is expressed for a predetermined information source, and the amount of description in “information source IDs” that are not subject to search is reduced. This makes it easy to maintain and manage the table.

  The information source selection unit 1701 acquires the information source ID indicating the key content selected by the remote control operation receiving unit 101 from the metadata search unit 102, and the information source ID associated with the information source ID indicating the search key Is acquired from the search information source management table 1702. Then, the information source selection unit 1701 selects the acquired information source ID as an information source to be searched.

  When searching on the search screen using the content selected on the other screen as a search key, refer to the information source correspondence table 152 provided in advance as in the first and second embodiments, The information source may be specified from the state number. Alternatively, in the case of transition from a screen other than search, the search processing shown in the first and second embodiments is performed, and the search processing of this embodiment is performed when key content is selected in the search screen. It is also possible.

  Next, display information display processing by the display processing apparatus 1700 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of display information display processing by the display processing device 1700 according to the third embodiment.

  First, the remote control operation reception unit 101 stands by until a search operation using key content is received from the operation button of the remote control 90 (step S1901). When the selection operation is accepted (step S1901: Yes), the metadata search unit 102 specifies the information source ID of the key content based on the information for identifying the key content input from the search key specifying unit 110, and the information It outputs to the source selection part 1701 (step S1902).

  After that, the information source selection unit 109 selects the information source ID to be searched that is associated with the information source ID of the input key content and the information source correspondence table 152 with respect to the List that stores the acquisition destination of the metadata. Setting is performed (step S1904). As a result, the information source to be searched is selected as the metadata acquisition source based on the key content. If the key content information source ID is not set, all the predetermined information sources are set in the variable List.

  Subsequent processing is omitted because it is substantially the same as the processing in steps S1305 to 1311 in FIG. 13 of the first embodiment (steps S1905 to S1911). However, the relevance search in step S1908 is different from the keyword search in step S1308, and the relevance (distance) with the key content is calculated for each content. In step S1911, the display control unit 115 displays display information indicating each content on a search result screen arranged based on the calculated relevance (distance).

  In the display processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, it is possible to reduce the display of unnecessary content by appropriately limiting the information sources to be searched for content. Thus, the desired content can be easily specified. As described above, since the content to be displayed is reduced, the time required to reach the necessary content such as scrolling can be shortened. Furthermore, convenience is improved by making it possible to perform an appropriate search for the provider and the user for each information source providing the content.

(Modification)
Moreover, it is not limited to each embodiment mentioned above, The various deformation | transformation which is illustrated below is possible.

  In the display processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment described above, the metadata acquisition unit 103 acquires metadata for each information source. However, the metadata acquired from the information source may be stored in advance, and the stored metadata may be searched. Therefore, an example in which metadata is stored in advance in the display processing device 1500 according to the present modification will be described.

  FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a display processing device 1500 according to this modification. The display processing device 1500 differs from the display processing device 100 according to the first embodiment described above in that the metadata acquisition table 151 and the metadata acquisition unit 103 are deleted, and the metadata update unit 1501 and the metadata storage unit 1511. Are different only in that a metadata search unit 1503 having a process different from that of the metadata search unit 102 is provided. Note that the description of the configuration of the display processing apparatus 1500 according to the present embodiment that is common to the display processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be omitted.

  The metadata storage unit 1511 stores the metadata acquired from each information source in association with the information source ID and the information source type.

  The metadata update unit 1501 stores the metadata acquired from the IPTV connection unit 180, the electronic program guide storage unit 150, and the recorded program storage unit 160 in the metadata storage unit 1511.

  The metadata search unit 1503 detects metadata including the keyword specified by the search key specifying unit 110 (satisfying the search condition) from the metadata stored in the metadata storage unit 1511. Then, the metadata search unit 102 outputs the detected metadata to the display control unit 106. The information source to be searched is the information source selected by the information source selection unit 109. As a result, the display control unit 115 can display a list of content information that matches the search condition based on the keyword.

  Next, display information display processing performed by the display processing device 1500 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a flow of display information display processing by the display processing device 1500.

  First, the remote control operation reception unit 101 stands by until a search operation using a search key is received from an operation button of the remote control 90 (step S1601). When the selection operation is accepted (step S1601: Yes), the search key specifying unit 110 specifies the keyword input by the user as the search keyword (step S1602). Specifically, the search key specifying unit 110 acquires a keyword input by the user and substitutes it for the variable keyword.

  Then, the information source selection unit 109 acquires a state number indicating the screen immediately before the search screen from the state register 111 (step S1603).

  Thereafter, the information source selection unit 109 sets an information source ID indicating an information source to be searched for metadata in the variable List (step S1604). The information source ID is set based on the information source correspondence table 152 as in the second embodiment. The variable List is output to the metadata search unit 1503.

  Then, the metadata search unit 102 sets the information source ID set by the input variable List as a search condition, and searches the metadata storage unit 1511 with the keyword recorded in the variable keyword ( Step S1605). As a result, only the metadata of the content that matches the search condition by the selected information source and search key is extracted.

  Next, the metadata search unit 1503 outputs metadata that matches the search condition (including information source types and information source IDs already associated) to the display control unit 106 (step S1606).

  Thereafter, the display control unit 115 acquires a color associated with the input information source type together with the input metadata from the information source type display color correspondence table 154 (step S1607).

  Then, the display control unit 115 displays the list information based on the content metadata in a different color for each information source type (step S1608). Accordingly, when displaying the search result, the list information shown in FIG. 9 in which the color is changed for each information source type can be displayed.

  The same configuration as that of this modification can also be applied to the second and third embodiments.

  In this modification, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the search speed can be improved by storing the metadata in advance.

  The display processing apparatus according to the above-described embodiment includes a CPU 2001, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 2002, a RAM 2003, a communication I / F 2004, a display I / F 2005 connected to the display unit 170, and a bus 2006 connecting them. And has a hardware configuration using a normal computer.

  The display processing program executed by the display processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is an installable or executable file and can be read by a computer such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a DVD. Recorded on a simple recording medium.

  Further, the display processing program executed by the display processing apparatus of the present embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. Further, the display processing program executed by the display processing apparatus of the present embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  Further, the display processing program of the present embodiment may be configured to be provided by being incorporated in the ROM 2002 or the like in advance. The display processing program executed by the display processing apparatus of the present embodiment includes the above-described units (remote control operation receiving unit, metadata search unit, metadata acquisition unit, relevance calculation unit, display information generation unit, display control unit, Module configuration including an information source selection unit, a search key designation unit, a state instruction unit, etc.) As actual hardware, the CPU 2001 reads out and executes a display processing program from the storage medium, and the respective units are mainly used. Loaded on the storage device, remote control operation reception unit, metadata search unit, metadata acquisition unit, relevance calculation unit, display information generation unit, display control unit, information source selection unit, search key designation unit, state instruction unit, etc. Are generated on a RAM (main storage device) 2003.

90 Remote controller 100, 1500, 1700 Display processing device 101 Remote control operation receiving unit 102, 1503 Metadata search unit 103 Metadata acquisition unit 104 Relevance calculation unit 105 Display information generation unit 106 Display control unit 107 Video reproduction unit 108 Broadcast reception unit 109 , 1701 Information source selection unit 110 Search key designation unit 111 Status register 112 Status instruction unit 115 Display control unit 121 Scroll unit 150 Electronic program guide storage unit 151 Metadata acquisition table 152 Information source correspondence table 153 State transition table 154 Information source type display Color correspondence table 160 Recorded program storage unit 170 Display unit 180 Connection unit 200 IPTV server 1501 Metadata update unit 1511 Metadata storage unit 1702 Search information source management table

Claims (10)

A content output method executed by a content output device,
A storage step of associating a storage unit with a key content providing source that is a search key content and a content providing source to be searched among a plurality of providing sources capable of providing the content to the own device When,
An operation receiving step in which an operation receiving unit receives a key content selection operation;
An acquisition step in which the acquisition unit acquires information on the content provided by the provider of the content to be searched that is associated with the provider of the selected key content in the storage unit;
An output step of outputting unit has been acquired by the acquisition step, and outputs the list information in which are arranged the information of the content being provided by the provider of the content to be the search target,
Including
The storing step associates the first provider and the second provider with the first provider of the first key content, and the second provider of the second key content. A content output method in which the second provider is associated with the first provider and stored in the storage unit without associating the first provider. A content output method executed by a content output device,
Operation receiving unit, and the operation accepting step of accepting a selection operation of the key content,
When the output unit receives the selection operation of the first key content in the operation step when outputting the list information in which the information of the plurality of contents related to the key content is arranged, the output of the first key content List information of contents provided from one provider and a second provider different from the first provider, and a second key content selection operation is performed in the operation step. If accepted, an output step of outputting the list information of the content information provided by the second provider of the second key content and not outputting the information of the content provided by the first provider When,
Content output method. A content output method executed by a content output device,
Operation receiving unit, and the operation accepting step of accepting a selection operation of the key content,
When the search unit searches for information on a plurality of contents related to the key content, if a selection operation of the first key content is accepted in the operation step, the first provider of the first key content When a content is retrieved from content information provided by a second provider different from the first provider, and a second key content selection operation is received in the operation step, the second provider A search step of searching for content from information of content provided by a second provider of key content of 2, and not searching for content from information of content provided by the first provider;
An output step of outputting unit outputs the list information in which are arranged the information of a plurality of contents obtained by the searching step,
A content output method comprising: The output step outputs the list information in which information on a plurality of contents to be output is arranged based on the degree of association with the key content.
The content output method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The output step outputs the list information in which information of the content in which a display form is changed for each provider is arranged.
The content output method according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The output step further outputs the list information including the key content.
The content output method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The output step outputs the list information in which key content is arranged in a size larger than the information of other content.
The content output method according to claim 6. The content provided by the first provider includes content provided by IP broadcasting, and the content provided by the second provider includes content provided by terrestrial broadcasting.
The content output method according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A content output apparatus for executing the content output method according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
And before Kimisao operation receiving unit,
And before Kide force means,
A content output device comprising:   A program for causing a computer to execute the content output method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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