WO2010147164A1

WO2010147164A1 - Service information delivery server, service information display device, service information delivery system, service information delivery method, service information delivery program, and recording medium

Info

Publication number: WO2010147164A1
Application number: PCT/JP2010/060247
Authority: WO
Inventors: 真恒寺内; 戸田　浩義; 裕介三木; 智之戸谷; 大谷　昌弘; 雅至東本; 益男塩見; 湯浅　夏樹; 新開　誠
Original assignee: シャープ株式会社
Priority date: 2009-06-18
Filing date: 2010-06-16
Publication date: 2010-12-23
Also published as: JP5563380B2; JP2011024194A

Abstract

Provided is a service information delivery server (100) for delivering service information to a service information display device (200). The service information delivery server (100) includes: an information managing means (118) for managing service information by individually linking each piece of service information with usage history information representing the usage history of service content, and by categorizing the service information on the basis of category information; an information selecting means (112) for selecting specific service information or category information from among the category information or service information that were linked with the usage history information; and a transmitting means (117) for sending the service information or category information that were selected and the usage history information to the service information display device (200). As a result of this configuration, information related to services are provided in a manner that is user-friendly.

Description

Service information distribution server, service information display device, service information distribution system, service information distribution method, service information distribution program, and recording medium

The present invention relates to a service information distribution server, a service information display device, a service information distribution system, a service information distribution method, a service information distribution program, and a recording medium for providing a service.

In recent years, with the spread of broadband in communications, services that deliver content such as real-time broadcasts and movies using an IP network, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), have been developed. As one of services using IPTV, there is VoD (Video on Demand) that distributes requested content to the user in accordance with a content distribution request from the user.

In VoD, a system is adopted in which only the content requested for distribution is distributed from the content distribution server to the user. Therefore, even if there is content (hereinafter referred to as “similar content”) belonging to a genre or category similar to the requested content, the user may miss it. And the similar content which can contain the content which is common with the content which the user requested | required has high possibility of being content interested for a user.

Therefore, it is considered that if the user avoids overlooking such similar contents, it will lead to the provision of a high-quality service to the user. Further, by providing a high-quality service that attracts the user's interest or interest, further use of the content distribution server by the user can be promoted. Therefore, it is convenient for the service provider (trader).

Therefore, several techniques for avoiding oversight of similar contents by users have been developed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151561 discloses a technique that presents a user with an unviewed program that is related to a currently viewed program and that is not viewed. In Patent Literature 2, a program having the same program name as the program being reproduced, a program of the same genre, a program of the same series, a program broadcast in the same time zone, or a program in which the same performer appears is selectively extracted. A technique for displaying is displayed. Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for storing whether or not a content has been viewed in a content transmission / reception terminal and displaying a viewing history of the recommended content.

These technologies can also be applied to Internet shopping using a TV or personal computer that can be connected to the Internet. For example, it is conceivable to provide the user with information such as a product that is more convenient for the user by providing the user with information related to a product similar to the product selected by the user.

Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-348153 (published on December 15, 2005)” Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-174367 (published on June 29, 2006)” Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-222239 (published on August 5, 2004)”

However, in the above-described conventional technology, when the user selects content of interest, there is inconvenience due to insufficient information provided. In the technique of Patent Document 1, only the names of unviewed programs among the programs related to the currently viewed program are presented. In the technique of Patent Document 2, a program name similar to the program being reproduced (for example, a program having the same program name) is selected and presented regardless of the viewing history of the user. As in the prior art, the following problems arise when content is presented regardless of only unviewed programs (contents) or viewing (distribution) history.

For example, unviewed content related to the currently viewed content is merely unviewed content when viewing a certain content. Therefore, when only unviewed content is presented, there is a possibility that content that is actually interesting to the user is not included in the presented content. For example, when content similar to the content being reproduced is presented regardless of the viewing history, all of the content similar to the program being reproduced is presented. For this reason, since the user does not know whether the presented content has been viewed or not viewed, the user cannot easily grasp the content of interest. Therefore, in the conventional technology, it is difficult for the user to easily select content that is interesting to the user, and there is a possibility that the content that is still interesting may be missed.

In the technique of Patent Document 3, since the transmission / reception end stores the viewing history of the content, when the content stored on the server side is changed, the viewing history is not the latest content. Can happen.

Also, in the above, the problem has been cited by taking the content distribution service as an example, but the same problem is expected for the above-mentioned service related to Internet shopping.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and its purpose is to provide a service information distribution server that presents information related to service contents (contents or product information) that is of interest to the user in a manner that is easier for the user to use. Is to provide.

In order to solve the above problems, the service information distribution server of the present invention provides:
A service information distribution server that distributes one of a plurality of service information representing service contents to a service information display device,
Each of the plurality of service information individually representing any one of the plurality of service information is individually associated with the use history information representing the use history of the service content represented by the service information, and the plurality of service information Information management means for classifying and managing the information based on the category information representing the category of service content;
Information selecting means for selecting specific service information or category information from among a plurality of service information or category information classified and managed in association with the use history information;
Transmitting means for transmitting the selected service information or category information and the usage history information individually associated with the service information or category information to the service information display device.

According to the above configuration, the service information distribution server adds used / unused information of the service contents to all (related) service information belonging to the same category as the service information related to the service contents selected by the user. Thus, the service information distribution server can further provide the user with the ratio or number of already used service contents among the service contents belonging to the same category. As a result, the service information distribution server has an effect that information related to the service content similar to the service content requested by the user can be presented more easily as a criterion for selecting the service content by the user. This also has the effect that the service information distribution server can present more detailed information regarding the service content similar to the service content requested by the user as a criterion for the user to select the service content.

In order to solve the above problems, the service information display device of the present invention provides:
A service information display device for displaying service contents distributed from a service information distribution server,
Transmitting means for transmitting to the service information distribution server a selection instruction for selecting service information representing the service content or category information representing a category to which the service information belongs;
Receiving means for receiving the service information or category information transmitted from the service information distribution server and the use history information individually associated with the service information or category information;
Display means for displaying the service information or category information and the usage history information individually associated with the service information or category information.

According to the above configuration, the same effect as the service information distribution server according to the present invention can be obtained.

In order to solve the above problems, a service information distribution system of the present invention includes the service information distribution server and the service information display device.

In order to solve the above problems, the service information distribution method of the present invention includes:
A service information distribution method using a service information distribution server for distributing any of a plurality of service contents to a service information display device,
Each of the plurality of service information individually representing any one of the plurality of service contents is individually associated with the use history information representing the use history of the service contents represented by the service information, and the plurality of service information Information management step for classifying and managing the information based on the category information representing the category of service content;
A receiving step of receiving a selection instruction specifying service information or category information transmitted from the service information display device;
An information selection step of selecting service information or category information specified by the transmitted selection instruction from a plurality of service information or category information classified and managed in association with the usage history information;
A transmission step of transmitting the selected service information or category information and the usage history information individually associated with the service information or category information to the service information display device.

The service information distribution server may be realized by a computer. In this case, a service information distribution program for realizing the service information distribution server in the computer by operating the computer as each of the above means, and a computer-readable recording medium recording the service information distribution program are also included in the scope of the present invention. enter.

As described above, the service information distribution server according to the present invention has an effect that it can provide information on service contents that are easy for the user to use.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content distribution system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a connection state between the content receiving device and the network in the content distribution system according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the content distribution system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by the content distribution server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by the content reproduction apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a recording example of content information stored in the content distribution server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of content information in the content playback apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a first display example. 7B is a diagram showing a second display example, and FIG. 7C is a diagram showing a third display example. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a content information classification format stored in the content distribution server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the product information distribution system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the product information distribution system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the product information distribution server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing by the product information display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content distribution system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an application example of processing by the content distribution server according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an application example of processing by the content reproduction apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a recording example of information associated with content information stored in the content distribution server according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display example of content information when a complete progress rate is involved in the content playback apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 17 (a) is a first display example. FIG. 17B is a diagram illustrating a second display example. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an application example of processing by the content distribution server according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an application example of processing by the content reproduction apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing another configuration of the content distribution system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an application example of processing by the content distribution server according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an application example of processing by the content reproduction apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing details of the privilege providing process in FIG. FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing details of the privilege providing process in FIG. FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a recording example of privilege site information associated with the content information stored in the content distribution server according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a display example of content information in the case of accompanied with privilege site information in the content reproduction apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 26 (a) shows a first display example. FIG. 26B is a diagram illustrating a second display example. FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing another application example of processing by the content distribution server according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing another application example of the processing by the content reproduction apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an application example of the content distribution system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing another application example of processing by the content distribution server according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing another application example of processing by the content reproduction apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 32 is a diagram showing another display example of content information in the content reproduction apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing another application example of processing by the content distribution server according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing another application example of the processing by the content reproduction apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 35 is a diagram showing another display example of content information in the content playback apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 36 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a modified example of the content distribution system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 37 is a flowchart showing a modification of the processing by the content reproduction apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 38 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content distribution system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing processing by the content distribution server according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing processing by the content reproduction apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 41 is a diagram showing another display example of content information in the content reproduction apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 42 is a block diagram showing another configuration of the content distribution system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 43 is a flowchart showing an application example of processing by the content distribution server according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing an application example of processing by the content reproduction apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 45 is a flowchart showing details of the privilege providing process in FIG. FIG. 46 is a flowchart showing details of the privilege providing process in FIG. FIG. 47 is a diagram showing a display example of content information in the content reproduction apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 47A is a diagram showing a first display example. 47B is a diagram showing a second display example. FIG. 48 is a diagram showing a display example of content information in the content reproduction apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 49 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content distribution system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 50 is a flowchart showing details of processing of the content distribution server according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 51 is a flowchart showing processing of the content reproduction apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 52 is a diagram showing a display example of category information in the content reproduction apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 53 is a flowchart showing details of a modification of the processing of the content distribution server according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiment 1
A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, an example of a content distribution system adopting a distribution format of VoD (Video on Demand) using IPTV will be described.

(Configuration of content distribution system 1)
The content distribution system according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a content distribution system (service information distribution system) 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the content distribution system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the content distribution system 1 includes a content distribution server (service information distribution server) 100 and N content reproduction devices (service information display devices) 200, 300, and 400 (N is an integer of 2 or more). ... Includes N00. In addition, both are connected to each other via the IP network 10 and exchange data and information by general packet communication. Various contents are stored in the content distribution server 100. Each of the content distribution server 100 and the N

content reproduction devices

200, 300, 400... N00 has a unique IP address. That is, the content distribution system 1 unicasts the requested content only to the content reproduction device that has transmitted the distribution instruction every time there is a content distribution instruction from the content reproduction device that has a content distribution contract. (Video on Demand) system. Further, the content reproduction device 200 is connected to the input device 250.

(Content distribution server 100)
As shown in FIG. 1, the content distribution server 100 includes a content information storage unit 111, an information selection unit (selection means) 112, an input processing unit 113, a distribution history information management unit 114, a content acquisition unit 115, a content database 116, a network. A communication unit 117 (reception unit and transmission unit) and an information management unit (information management unit) 118 are provided.

The content information storage unit 111 and the content database 116 are constituted by a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, or a combination thereof. Note that, in addition to the area used as the content information storage unit 111 in the above-described RAM or the like, various data and control programs for general control of the content distribution server 100 are stored. The content database 116 is configured by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), but is not limited to this as long as it is a device that can store a large amount of data. Details of each member other than these will be described later.

(Content Playback Device 200)
As shown in FIG. 1, a content reproduction apparatus 200 includes a content data storage unit 211, a network communication unit 212 (reception unit and transmission unit on the service information display device side), an input processing unit 213, an image data display unit (display unit). ) 214 and an audio data reproducing unit 215. Details of each member will be described later.

The content playback device 200 is a television set or the like installed indoors as shown in FIG. In this case, the television is connected to the IP network 10 via an STB (Set Top Box) 12 and an HGW (Home Gate Way) 11. By operating the remote controller (input device 250), the user confirms information displayed on the screen (image data display unit 214) and the like, and gives various instructions (content selection instruction or content distribution instruction) to the content reproduction apparatus 200. Etc.). In accordance with the instruction from the user, the television transmits the instruction from the user to the content distribution server 100 via the STB 12, the HGW 11, and the IP network 10. The content distribution server 100 distributes content information or content to the television according to the instruction. The television displays information or content distributed from the content distribution server 100 on a screen, and reproduces audio or various audio of the content from a speaker (audio data reproduction unit 215) (not shown). The user confirms information displayed on the screen and views content.

The image data display unit 214 is configured by, for example, a flat panel display (FPD). The content data storage unit 211 stores various information such as control data, a control program, and content. Examples of the content data storage unit 211 include a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, or a combination thereof.

(Outline of content distribution system 1)
In the content distribution system 1, the content distribution server 100, in response to a content selection instruction (information selection instruction) from the content reproduction device 200, content information (service information) representing the content selected by the content selection instruction, and the content Other content information belonging to the same category as the information and a plurality of distribution histories (usage histories) associated with each of the content information and the other content information are transmitted to the content reproduction device 200. In other words, the content distribution server 100 adds to the content information that belongs to the same category as the content selected by the user (relevant), information that has been distributed or not yet distributed, and provides the content to the user. be able to.

(Details of content information distribution processing)
Content information distribution processing in the content distribution system 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the content distribution server 100 transmits information related to content. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of treatment when the content reproduction device 200 displays information related to the content from the content distribution server 100.

(Details of processing of content distribution server 100)
As shown in FIG. 4, when receiving an instruction from the content reproduction device 200 (YES), the network communication unit 117 outputs the instruction to the input processing unit 113 (S1101). When the instruction from the content reproduction device 200 has not been received (NO), the network communication unit 117 continues in a standby state. When receiving an instruction, the input processing unit 113 identifies the instruction content (S1102). When the instruction is a content selection instruction (YES), the input processing unit 113 outputs the content selection instruction to the information selection unit 112. The processing when the instruction is not a content selection instruction (NO) will be described later.

The information selection unit 112 identifies the content reproduction device 200 that has transmitted the content selection instruction based on the content selection instruction (S1103). Note that the content selection instruction includes information such as an ID for specifying the content reproduction device 200.

Then, the information selection unit 112 acquires a list of content information corresponding to the specified content reproduction device 200 from the content information storage unit 111, and specifies the content information of the selected content (S1104). Here, the content selection instruction includes content information representing content such as a title. The content information storage unit 111 stores a list including titles as content information as shown in FIG. Therefore, the information selection unit 112 specifies the title of the selected content based on the title included in the content selection instruction. Here, a case where “end” (symbol: 1-D or 2-A) in FIG. 6 is selected will be described. Details of the creation of the list as described above will be described later.

The information selection unit 112 includes a plurality of titles (“start”, “progress”, “turn”, and “end”) belonging to the same category as the “end” of the classification symbol 1-D, and a category name that is category information of the category (AA starring movie) and distribution history information associated with the plurality of titles are acquired (S1105). The distribution history information is information indicating whether the content represented by the title has not been distributed or distributed to the content reproduction apparatus 200 so far.

Here, the processing is performed assuming that “end” of classification symbol 1-D is selected. However, as described above, when the title of the selected content belongs to a plurality of categories, the information selection unit 112 determines that the title of the selected content is based on the criteria set in advance by the administrator of the content distribution server 100. Select the category to which it belongs. For example, when the title of the selected content belongs to a plurality of categories, the plurality of categories are selected unconditionally. Also, for example, when there are titles of distributed content in the plurality of categories, the titles belonging to the category including the title with the oldest distribution date are acquired. Further, for example, the category having the highest ratio of the distributed titles is selected.

After S1105, the information selection unit 112 outputs the acquired plurality of titles, category names, and distribution history information to the network communication unit 117. Then, the network communication unit 117 transmits a plurality of titles, category names, and distribution history information to the content reproduction device 200 (S1106). Thereafter, the content distribution server 100 continues in a standby state until a new instruction is received from the content reproduction device 200.

Next, when receiving an instruction from the content reproduction apparatus 200 (YES), the network communication unit 117 outputs the instruction to the input processing unit 113 (S1107). When the instruction from the content reproduction device 200 has not been received (NO), the network communication unit 117 continues in a standby state. When receiving the instruction, the input processing unit 113 identifies the instruction content (S1108). In S1102 described above, even when the instruction is not a content selection instruction (NO), it is determined in S1108 whether or not the instruction is a content distribution instruction.

If the instruction is not a content distribution instruction (NO), the input processing unit 113 instructs the control unit (not shown) to execute another process. After another process is executed by the control unit (S1111), the process ends. On the other hand, when the instruction is a content distribution instruction (YES), the input processing unit 113 outputs the content distribution instruction to the content acquisition unit 115. The content acquisition unit 115 acquires the content requested for distribution from the content database 116 based on the content distribution instruction. The content acquisition unit 115 outputs the acquired content to the network communication unit 117. The network communication unit 117 distributes the content to the content reproduction device 200 that has transmitted the content distribution instruction (S1109).

Further, the network communication unit 117 outputs information on the content reproduction apparatus 200 as a distribution destination, a title of the distributed content, and information indicating that the content has been distributed to the distribution history information management unit 114. The distribution history information management unit 114 acquires a list of content information as shown in FIG. 6 from the content information storage unit 111 based on the information of the content reproduction device 200 that is the distribution destination. The distribution history information management unit 114 changes the distribution history information associated with the input title to “distributed” and adds a distribution date. The distribution history information management unit 114 overwrites the changed list on the list stored in the content information storage unit 111 (S1110).

(Details of processing of content playback apparatus 200)
As shown in FIG. 5, upon receiving a content selection instruction from the remote controller that is the input device 250, the input processing unit 213 outputs a content selection instruction transmission instruction to the network communication unit 212. The network communication unit 212 transmits a content selection instruction for selecting the title “end” of FIG. 6 to the content distribution server 100 (S2101). Thereafter, the standby state is continued until data is transmitted from the content distribution server 100. Note that the titles of all the contents stored in the content distribution server 100 are distributed to the content reproduction apparatus 200 as a list in advance. Therefore, the content selection instruction is input to the input device 250 by the user after confirming this list displayed on the image data display unit 214.

The network communication unit 212 detects whether data is transmitted from the content distribution server 100 (S2102). When a title belonging to the same category as the title of the selected content, category name, and distribution history information are transmitted from the content distribution server 100 (YES), the network communication unit 212 outputs these data to the input processing unit 213. The input processing unit 213 outputs these data display instructions to the image data display unit 214. When data is not transmitted from the content distribution server 100 (NO), the standby state is continued.

The image data display unit 214 associates titles representing a plurality of contents, category names, and distribution history information, and displays them as shown in FIG. 7A (S2103). FIG. 7A shows an example in which the content reproduction device 200 displays the movie title and distribution history information of the same star as the selected content “end”. As described above, since the title “ending” in FIG. 6 also belongs to category 2, when the title belonging to category 2 and its distribution history information are distributed from the content distribution server 100, (b) in FIG. ) And the distribution history information of the same director's movie are displayed. In addition, when titles belonging to

categories

1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 include titles that represent content that has been distributed to content playback device 200. Category 5 does not include a title representing content that has already been distributed to the content reproduction apparatus 200. That is, the content information storage unit 111 stores the titles representing the contents in association with the distribution history information of the contents as a list as shown in FIG. Each information is recorded in the list as follows.

When the content stored in the content database 116 increases, the information management unit 118 acquires the title of the additional content. The information management unit 118 acquires category information included in or associated with the additional content, and classifies the titles into certain categories. At this time, the information management unit 118 may further add a classification symbol to each title. Then, the information management unit 118 adds “undelivered” with respect to the distribution history and adds information regarding the new content to the list. As described above, the information management unit 118 manages each piece of content information in association with distribution history information indicating whether the content individually represented by the plurality of pieces of content information has been delivered or not delivered.

For example, when content represented by “end” in FIG. 6 is added, the content includes or is associated with category information of “AA starring movie” and “DD director work”. “End” is classified into category 1 and category 2. That is, the title “end” is registered in each of the two categories. The information management unit 118 further acquires the reproduction time and remark information of the content from information included in or associated with the content. The information management unit 118 determines the order within the same category based on the acquired information and assigns a classification symbol to each title. Then, the information management unit 118 updates the list in the content information storage unit 111 using information that associates the category name, title, and undistributed distribution history.

When the content is deleted from the content database 116, the information management unit 118 may delete the title corresponding to the content from the list, and add a classification symbol again as necessary.

In FIG. 6, six categories (1: AA starring movie, 2: DD director movie, 3: Life science series, 4: Elementary English series, 5: SS orchestra concert, 6: Rare play collection) are set. ing. Here, all the titles of content stored in the content database 116 belong to any category. When content that cannot belong to these six categories (category information does not match) is added, a new category may be added based on the category information of the content. Therefore, the number of categories is not limited to this example, and varies depending on the category information included in the content stored in the content database 116.

For example, it is assumed that four languages, English, German, French, and Chinese, which are language learning contents, are produced as one series and stored in the content database 116. The category information representing the category of language learning is included in or associated with these contents, whereby the information management unit 118 can classify these contents into one category “language information”. As described above, the administrator of the content distribution server 100 can appropriately change how the content is classified.

(Example of category information)
The category information is information representing categories such as content contents and performers, for example. The category information is included in the content, or is given to the content by the content creator or the administrator of the content distribution server 100. Examples of category information include performers (eg, performers, actors, actors, actresses, lecturers, singers, orchestras), and staff involved in content production (eg, directors, photographers, composers, screenwriters) , Directors, producers, production companies, and sponsors), and series common to the content of the content (for example, thematic science, history and language education series, sports special features, sightseeing spots, etc.) Is mentioned. Another example of the category information includes a time when content is added to the content distribution server 100.

(Example of content selection instruction)
In the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment, the distribution process of content information is started by receiving a content selection instruction. The content selection instruction is any instruction including information indicating the selected content and information indicating the content reproduction apparatus that has transmitted the content selection instruction.

The content selection instruction may be, for example, an instruction simply indicating that the user who has confirmed the list of content titles displayed on the content reproduction device 200 has selected the content title via the input device 250. Further, for example, the content selection instruction may be an instruction that the content reproduction device 200 automatically transmits to the content distribution server 100 when the content reproduction device 200 is activated by the user. In such a case, the content selected by the content reproduction device 200 is newly added to the newest content distributed to the content reproduction device 200, the content most recently reproduced by the content reproduction device 200, or a recent series. Content. Further, for example, the content selection instruction may be a specific content distribution instruction. Further, for example, the content selection instruction may be an instruction for selecting a plurality of contents. Here, the instruction to select a plurality of contents may be an instruction to select a plurality of contents belonging to the same category, or an instruction to select a plurality of contents belonging to different categories. The instruction to select a plurality of contents can be an instruction to select all contents belonging to the one or more categories by selecting one or more categories. In such a case, the content selection instruction transmitted by the content reproduction device 200 is, for example, a category name, an ID representing a category, or a keyword for searching for a category name. Further, for example, the content selection instruction may be an instruction for the content distribution server 100 to select content regardless of the instruction from the content reproduction device 200.

Here, for example, when the content selection instruction is an instruction to select one category, in S1104 of FIG. 4, the information selection unit 112 of the content distribution server 100 specifies the content information corresponding to the identified content reproduction device 200. The list is acquired from the content information storage unit 111, and the name of the selected category and the content information belonging to the category are specified.

Correspondingly, when the content selection instruction is an instruction to select one category, in S2103 of FIG. 5, the image data display unit 214 of the content reproduction apparatus 200 displays the display as shown in (c) of FIG. Do. As shown in FIG. 7C, the image data display unit 214 displays the name of the category, all titles belonging to the category, and distribution history information regarding each of the titles.

(Example of changing the distribution history information expression)
In FIG. 6, the distribution history information is expressed as “distributed” or “undistributed” based on the processing of the content distribution server 100, and is expressed as “viewed” or “unviewed” indicating the viewing status by the user. Not. This is because the content distributed by the content reproduction apparatus 200 may be recorded only without viewing. This is because the content distribution server 100 cannot determine whether the distributed content has been reproduced by the content reproduction device 200 without notification from the content reproduction device 200. However, it is only necessary to indicate whether or not the specific content of the content distribution server 100 has been used by an instruction from the content reproduction device 200. For example, the distribution history information is “viewed” or “unviewed” regardless of the content reproduction. ”,“ Viewing completed ”or“ viewing not completed ”, and“ used ”or“ unused ”.

(Modification of content information management method)
In the present embodiment, the case where the distribution history information is updated based on the transmission to the content reproduction device 200 is described as an example. However, it is possible to receive information specifying content actually viewed from the content reproduction device 200 and manage this information as viewing history information in association with the content information.

Further, the content playback apparatus 200 can further play a video by subscribing to a plurality of IPTV services, receiving broadcast waves, or reading information from a recording medium such as a DVD. In such a case, if the above viewing information history information is managed in association with the content information, all the content viewed by the user using the content reproduction device 200 is stored in the content distribution server 100. Therefore, the content viewed by the user can be stored more accurately, and the criteria for selecting the content to be recommended to the user can be made appropriate.

Further, when the content reproduction apparatus 200 is a mobile phone or a mobile terminal, information regarding the content provided by the 1 (one) segment partial reception service (one-segment) for the mobile phone / mobile terminal is obtained from the content distribution server 100. Can be remembered.

Here, the original information stored as the viewing history information is not necessarily transmitted from the content reproduction device 200 to the content distribution server 100. For example, information specifying the viewed content is electronically transmitted from a stationary content playback device 200 and another content playback device (for example, a playback device not connected to the content distribution server 100) to a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone. Send via e-mail, infrared communication or wireless LAN. And the said information can be transmitted to the content delivery server 100 from the said portable terminal. In this way, the content distribution server 100 can store and manage viewing history information not only for the content reproduction apparatus 200 but also for all the content viewed by the user via other devices. Here, the electronic mail address of the mobile terminal may be stored in the content distribution server 100 in association with the ID of the content playback device 200 or may be registered in advance via the content playback device 200. If infrared communication is used instead of e-mail, information can be transmitted to the portable terminal without inputting an address.

On the other hand, the viewing history information is transmitted from the other content playback devices including the portable terminal to the content playback device 200, and the viewing history information is collectively sent from the content playback device 200 to the content distribution server 100. You may send it.

(Example of product information in this modification)
The merchandise information in the present modification is information that can be used for specifying merchandise by the user, for example. The merchandise information is created or updated by the merchandise information by the producer of the merchandise information, the manager of the merchandise information distribution server 100 ′, or the merchant of the merchandise. Examples of product information include a product name, product image, product serial number, and the number of products in stock or arrival schedule. The product information is stored in the database 116 ′ as a list corresponding to the product information display device 200 ′ in association with category information (details will be described later) and purchase history information. The example of the list stored in the database 116 ′ and the details of the product information management method are appropriately replaced with words such as product information and purchase history information, and the above (details of content information management method) section is described. You can refer to it.

(Example of category information in this modification)
The category information in this modified example is information that can be used for classification of merchandise, for example. The category information is included in the product information, or is added to the product information by the producer of the product information, the administrator of the product information distribution server 100 ′, or the product seller. Examples of category information include product types (for example, daily necessities, food, clothing, home appliances, furniture, stationery, books, ornaments, recording media recording music / video, and data representing music / video, etc.) ), Product price and manufacturer (e.g., brand name, etc.). Other examples of category information include the time when product information is added to the product information distribution server 100 ′, the time when the product is released, the number of purchases by all service users (ie, whether the product is popular), and service usage. The presence or absence of evaluation comments on the product from the person or the number of evaluation comments.

(Example of changing purchase history information)
In this modification, the purchase history information is expressed as “purchased” or “not purchased”. However, since the purchase history information is based on the presence / absence of order processing for the order receiving device 300 by the product information distribution server 100 ′, it is irrelevant to the fact that the user has received and paid for the product. Therefore, for example, an expression indicating that the shopping service provided by the product information distribution server 100 ′ is used, such as “used” or “unused”, may be used as the purchase history information. In addition to these, when receiving information on the completion of the shipment of the product from the order receiving device 300 or information confirming the payment from the user, the purchase history information further includes “shipped” or “unshipped”, or Information such as “paid” or “not paid” may be added.

(Important configuration according to this embodiment)
A service information distribution system (content distribution system or product information distribution system) 1 (′) according to this embodiment includes a service information distribution server (content distribution server or product information distribution server) 100 (′) and service information as described below. The display device (content reproduction device or product information display device) 200 (′) may be provided.

The service information distribution server 100 (′) according to this embodiment
A service information distribution server 100 (′) that distributes any of a plurality of service contents (contents or product purchase guidance) to a service information display device,
Each of a plurality of service information (content information or product information) individually representing any of the plurality of service contents is used as usage history information (distribution history information) representing a usage history of the service contents represented by the service information. Or purchase history information) and information management means 112 (') managed separately in association with each other,
Receiving means 117 for receiving a service information selection instruction (content selection instruction or product information selection instruction) transmitted from the service information display device;
A plurality of service information individually representing any one of a plurality of service contents belonging to the same category as the service contents specified by the transmitted service information selection instruction is selected from the plurality of service information to be managed. Information selection means 112 (');
Transmitting means 117 for transmitting each of the selected plurality of service information and the usage history information individually associated with the service information to the service information display device.

The service information display device 200 (′) according to the present embodiment is
A service information display device 200 (′) that displays service information distributed from the service information distribution server 100 (′),
A transmission means 212 for transmitting a selection instruction for selecting the service content to the service information distribution server 100 (′);
A plurality of service information belonging to the same category transmitted from the service information distribution server 100 (′) and a usage history of the service content represented by any one of the plurality of service information, and the plurality of service information Receiving means 212 for receiving the usage history information individually associated with each other,
Display means 213 for displaying the plurality of service information and the use history information individually associated with the plurality of service information.

[Embodiment 2]
A second embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Configuration of content distribution system 1a)
The configuration of the content distribution system according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the content distribution system 1a according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, the content distribution system 1a according to the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in that it includes a content distribution server 100a. For this reason, the configuration of the content reproduction device 200 is omitted.

(Content distribution server 100a)
As shown in FIG. 13, the content distribution server 100 a further includes a distributed ratio calculation unit (distributed ratio calculation means) 120 in addition to the configuration of the content distribution server 100 described above. Details of the processing in the distribution ratio calculation unit 120 will be described later.

(Details of content information distribution processing)
The content information distribution process in the content distribution system 1a will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the content distribution server 100a transmits information related to content. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of treatment when the content reproduction device 200 displays information related to the content from the content distribution server 100a. Of the processes shown in FIG. 14, S1201 to S1204, S1207 to S1209, and S1211 are the same processes as S1101 to S1104, S1107 to S1109, and S1111 of FIG. Of the processes shown in FIG. 15, S2201 to S2202 and S2204 to S2209 are the same processes as S2101 to S2102 and S2104 to S2109 of FIG. Therefore, only the details of S1205, S1206, S1211, and S2203 will be described here.

(Details of processing of content distribution server 100a)
As shown in FIG. 14, based on the processing of S1201 to S1204, the information selection unit 112 identifies the content reproduction device 200 that is the transmission source from the content selection instruction (S1203). The information selection unit 112 acquires a list of content information as shown in FIG. 16 corresponding to the identified content reproduction device 200 from the content information storage unit 111, and identifies the selected content information (S1204). Here, description will be made assuming that “end” (symbol: 1-D or 2-A) in FIG. 16 is selected.

The information selection unit 112 has a plurality of titles belonging to the same category as the “end” of the classification symbols 1-D and 2-A (“start”, “development”, “turn”, “end”, “end”, “ "World" and "Japan"), the category name (AA starring movie and DD director movie) that is the category information of the category, the distribution history information associated with the plurality of titles, and the distribution ratio of content belonging to the category (complete) (Progress rate) is acquired (S1205). Details of the distribution ratio calculation will be described later.

Thus, in this embodiment, the information selection unit 112 further acquires the distribution ratio. Therefore, when the title representing the selected content belongs to a plurality of categories, the value of the category distribution ratio may be used as a reference for which category the information selection unit 112 acquires.

After S1205, the information selection unit 112 outputs the acquired plurality of titles, category names, distribution history information, and distribution ratio to the network communication unit 117. The network communication unit 117 transmits a plurality of titles, category names, distribution history information, and distribution ratios to the content reproduction device 200 (S1206).

When the processing of S1207 to S1209 is completed, the network communication unit 117 displays information on the content reproduction device 200 as a distribution destination, the title of the distributed content, and information indicating that the content has been distributed, as a distribution history information management unit To 114. The distribution history information management unit 114 acquires a list of content information as shown in FIG. 16 from the content information storage unit 111 based on the information of the content reproduction device 200 that is the distribution destination. The distribution history information management unit 114 changes the distribution history information associated with the input title to “distributed” and adds a distribution date. The distribution history information management unit 114 then outputs the updated list to the distribution ratio calculation unit 120. The distribution ratio calculation unit 120 calculates the ratio of the number of distribution history information indicating distribution to the total number of contents belonging to the category including the updated distribution history information, and updates the distribution ratio. The distribution ratio calculation unit 120 overwrites the list stored in the content information storage unit 111 with the changed list (S1210).

(Details of processing of content playback apparatus 200)
As shown in FIG. 15, based on the processing of S2201 to S2202, the image data display unit 214 displays the titles, category names, distribution history information, and distribution ratios representing a plurality of contents in association with each other (S2203). The image data display unit 214 includes, for example, the display as shown in FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, and FIG. 17A in one screen, or divides it into two or three screens. Do it. Thereafter, the content reproduction device 200 executes the processes of S2204 to S2209.

(Operation and effect of this embodiment)
As described above, in the content distribution system 1a, the content distribution server 100a further transmits the distribution ratio of the category to which the title (content information) of the selected content belongs to the content reproduction apparatus 200. Thereby, the user can easily grasp as numerical values how much of a plurality of contents belonging to the same category has been delivered and not delivered.

For example, as the ratio of delivered content belonging to the same category increases for some users, the ratio should be set to 100% (receive or watch all content belonging to the same category, or complete in other expressions). There is a possibility that feelings may increase. Such a user concentrates in a short period of time to receive content distribution, which contributes to prevention of forgetting to see content belonging to a category of interest.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide more detailed and appropriate information related to the content that matches the user's interest, and to further improve the convenience and frequency of use of the content distribution system 1a. Further, for the administrator of the content distribution server 100a, as the use frequency increases, the profit is further improved.

(Other processing in the content distribution server 100a)
(Details of the distribution ratio calculation method)
As described above, the content information storage unit 111 stores a list as shown in FIG. 16 corresponding to each content reproduction apparatus. As shown in FIG. 16, in the list, a single category indicates how much content individually represented by any of a plurality of titles belonging to the category is distributed with respect to the total number of titles belonging to the category. The distribution ratio that represents is included. This distribution ratio is calculated by the distribution ratio calculation unit 120 according to the following formula: (number of distribution history information indicating distribution) ÷ (number of titles belonging to one category).

This distribution ratio is calculated by the distribution ratio calculation unit 120 after the content distribution server 100a distributes the content to the content reproduction device 200 as described above. Further, when the content is added to the content database 116 and when the content is deleted from the content database 116, the distribution ratio calculation unit 120 calculates the content.

(Modification of content information management method)
The modification similar to the description of the same item of Embodiment 1 is applied to this embodiment. Here, based on the viewing history information stored in the content distribution server 100a, the distribution ratio of each category is calculated, and the distribution ratio of all categories is transmitted to the content reproduction device 200 or other portable terminal. Also good. In this way, the user can easily grasp which category the user himself / herself is watching and often does not watch.

(Application example for calculating the distribution ratio)
The distribution ratio calculation method and calculation timing described above are merely examples of calculating the distribution ratio. As another calculation method, there is a calculation method calculated by the distribution ratio calculation unit 120 according to the following formula: (number of distribution history information indicating distribution + 1) ÷ (number of titles belonging to one category). Can be mentioned. As the calculation timing at this time, there is a period from after receiving the content selection instruction to before transmitting the content information. When the distribution ratio is calculated according to the above equation at the calculation timing, a virtual distribution ratio after the selected content is distributed is generated. Therefore, the content distribution server 100a can transmit the virtual distribution ratio and the current distribution ratio to the content reproduction apparatus 200.

Details of the processing of the content distribution system 1a will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the content distribution server 100a transmits information related to content. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a flow of treatment when the content reproduction device 200 displays information related to the content from the content distribution server 100a. Of the processes shown in FIG. 18, S1301 to S1305 and S1308 to S1312 are the same processes as S1201 to S1205 and S1207 to S1211 of FIG. Of the processes shown in FIG. 19, S2301 to S2302 and S2304 to S2309 are the same processes as S2201 to S2202 and S2204 to S2209 of FIG. Therefore, the details of the processing will be described here only for S1306, S1307, and S2303.

(Details of processing of content distribution server 100a)
As shown in FIG. 18, following the processing of S1301 to S1305, the information selection unit 112 outputs the total number of titles belonging to the selected category and the number of distribution history information indicating the distribution to the distribution ratio calculation unit 120. . The distribution ratio calculation unit 120 calculates a virtual distribution ratio according to the following formula: (number of distribution history information + 1) ÷ (total number of titles) (S1306). Since S1305 is the same process as S1205, the selected categories are “AA starring movie” and “DD director movie” to which “ends” of classification symbols 1-D and 2-A belong. Therefore, the virtual distribution ratio calculated by the distribution ratio calculation unit 120 is 75% of “AA starring movie” and 67% of “DD director movie”.

The delivered ratio calculation unit 120 outputs the virtual delivered ratio to the information selection unit 112. The information selection unit 112 outputs the acquired plurality of titles, category names, distribution history information, the current distribution ratio, and the virtual distribution ratio to the network communication unit 117. The network communication unit 117 transmits a plurality of titles, category names, distribution history information, and distribution ratios to the content reproduction device 200 (S1206). Thereafter, the processes of S1308 to S1312 are executed.

(Details of processing of content playback apparatus 200)
As shown in FIG. 19, based on the processing of S2301 to S2302, the image data display unit 214 distributes titles representing a plurality of contents, category names, distribution history information, actual distribution ratios, and virtual (after distribution). The completed ratios are displayed in association with each other (S2303). The image data display unit 214 includes, for example, the display as shown in FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, and FIG. 17B in one screen, or divides it into two or three screens. Do it. Thereafter, the content reproduction device 200 executes the processes of S2304 to S2309.

(Operation / effect of application example)
As described above, in the content distribution system 1a of this application example, the content distribution server 100a transmits the virtual (after distribution) distribution ratio to the content reproduction apparatus 200 in addition to the current distribution ratio. As a result, the user can select the content by grasping the distribution ratio that varies depending on the content distribution request. For this reason, in addition to the content of interest to the user, it is possible to attract the user's interest to content necessary for completing a certain category.

(Application example of using the distributed ratio)
Providing the distributed ratio further is only an example of using the distributed ratio. For example, when the distributed ratio reaches a prescribed reference value, information related to a privilege according to the reference value may be further provided to the user. The configuration and processing of the content distribution system 1b that realizes such processing will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Content distribution system 1b)
As shown in FIG. 20, the content distribution system 1 b includes a content distribution server 100 b, a content reproduction device 200, and a privilege providing server 101. That is, the content distribution system 1b is different from the content distribution system 1a in that the content distribution server 1b includes the content distribution server 100b and the privilege providing server 101. Therefore, description of the content reproduction device 200 is omitted.

(Content distribution server 100b)
As illustrated in FIG. 20, the content distribution server 100 b further includes a privilege information management unit 121 and a distributed ratio determination unit 122 in addition to the content distribution server 100 a. Details of each member will be described later.

(Details of content information distribution processing)
Content information distribution processing in the content distribution system 1b will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the content distribution server 100b transmits information related to content. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the flow of treatment when the content reproduction device 200 displays information related to the content from the content distribution server 100b. FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing details of the processing in S1408 of FIG. FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing details of the process in S2404 of FIG. Of the processes shown in FIG. 21, S1401 to S1405 and S1408 to S1413 are the same processes as S1201 to S1211 of FIG. Of the processes shown in FIG. 22, S2401 to S2402 and S2405 to S2411 are the same processes as S2201 to S2208 of FIG. Therefore, here, the details of the processing will be described only for S1406, S1407, S2403, and S2404.

(Details of processing of content distribution server 100b)
In this application example, the content information storage unit 111 further stores a list of privilege information corresponding to each content reproduction device shown in FIG. The case where the selected content is “end” belonging to “AA starring movie” will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 21, following S1401 to S1405, the information selection unit 112 outputs the acquired category name and its distribution ratio to the distribution ratio determination unit 122. The distribution completion ratio determination unit 122 determines whether or not the output distribution ratio has reached one of three reference values (100%, 75%, and 50%) (S1406). When the distribution ratio has not reached any reference value (NO), the distribution ratio determination unit 122 instructs the information selection unit 112 to output the acquired information to the network communication unit 117. Thereafter, the processing of S1408 to S1413 is executed.

When the distribution ratio has reached one of the reference values (YES), the distribution ratio determination unit 122 outputs all of the reference values and category names that have reached the distribution ratio to the privilege information management unit 121. And instructing provision of privilege information to the content reproduction apparatus 200. The privilege information management unit 121 executes privilege information provision processing (S1407).

Details of privilege information provision processing in the content distribution server 100b will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing flow of S1407 in FIG. Here, an example will be described in which the AA-starred movie “ending” is selected from the content reproduction device 200 and the distribution ratio of category 1 is 75% (has reached one of the reference values). That is, in S1406 of FIG. 21, the distributed ratio determination unit 122 determines that the distributed ratio of the category to which the selected “end” belongs has reached 75% of the reference value (YES). For this reason, the content distribution server 100b executes privilege information provision processing regarding 75% of the reference value (S1407).

23, the privilege information management unit 121 acquires a list of privilege information illustrated in FIG. 25 from the content information storage unit 111. The privilege information management unit 121 gives a privilege site URL (privilege information) corresponding to the reference value (50%, 75%) of the category AA starring movie to which the selected content belongs to the content reproduction device 200 that has transmitted the content selection instruction. Is not transmitted or transmitted (S1407a). Although the privilege information of the reference value 50% has been transmitted, since the privilege information has not been transmitted for the current reference value 75% (YES), the privilege information management unit 121 corresponds to the reference value 75% from the content information storage unit 111. URL of the privilege site B to be acquired is acquired (1407b). The privilege information management unit 121 outputs the URL of the privilege site B to the network communication unit 117. The network communication unit 117 transmits the URL of the privilege site B to the content reproduction device 200 (S1407c). The privilege information management unit 121 changes the column of the privilege site B of “AA starring movie” corresponding to the content playback device 200 to “Done” in the list of FIG. 25 and overwrites the list of the content information storage unit 111. Then, the transmission history is updated (S1407d). When these processes are completed, the process returns to S1408 in FIG.

Here, the case where the distribution ratio of the AA starring movie has reached 75% has been described, but when the distribution ratio of the AA starring movie is 50% or more and less than 75%, the following processing is performed. Since the distribution ratio determination unit 122 determines that the distribution ratio of the AA starring movie is 50% of the reference value (YES), the content distribution server 100b executes a privilege information provision process (S1407). The privilege information management unit 121 acquires a list of privilege information from the content information storage unit 111, and the privilege site URL corresponding to the reference value (50%) of the category AA starring movie has not been transmitted to the content reproduction device 200 or It is determined whether the transmission has been completed (S1407a). Since the URL of the privilege site A corresponding to the reference value 50% has already been transmitted to the content reproduction device 200 (NO), the content distribution server 100b ends the privilege information provision process and returns to S1408 in FIG.

(Details of processing of content playback apparatus 200)
As shown in FIG. 22, based on the processing of S2401 to S2402, the input processing unit 213 determines whether or not the information received from the content distribution server 100 is a privilege site (S2403). When the information is a title, distribution history information, and distribution history information (NO), the content reproduction device 200 executes the processes of S2405 to S2411.

If the information is privilege information (YES), privilege information provision processing is executed (S2404). Details of provision of privilege information in the content reproduction apparatus 200 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing flow of S2404 in FIG. Here, the case where the content distribution server 100 is instructed to select “end” and the distribution ratio of titles belonging to “AA starring movie” reaches 75% will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 24, the input processing unit 213 outputs the received privilege information to the image data display unit 214. The image data display unit 214 displays the output privilege information as shown in FIG. 26A (S2404a). FIG. 26A shows an example of display on the image data display unit 214. Since the URL of the privilege site B is included in the received privilege information, for example, a link to the privilege site B is pasted at the display location of “75% complete privilege” in FIG. In this state, the content reproduction device 200 enters a standby state.

Upon receiving an instruction from the input device 250, the input processing unit 213 determines whether or not it is an access instruction to the privilege site B (S2404b). When the instruction is an instruction to close the display of the privilege information (NO), the privilege providing process ends. When the instruction is an instruction to access the privilege site B (YES), the input processing unit 213 instructs the network communication unit 212 to acquire information on the privilege site B from the privilege providing server 101. The network communication unit 212 outputs a distribution instruction for information related to the privilege site B to the privilege providing server 101. The privilege providing server 101 distributes information related to the privilege site B to the network communication unit 212 according to the distribution instruction. The network communication unit 212 outputs the received information related to the privilege site B to the input processing unit 213. The input processing unit 213 outputs information related to the privilege site B to the image data display unit 214. The image data display unit 214 displays information related to the privilege site B (S2404d). When these processes are completed, the process returns to S2405 in FIG.

In addition, although the privilege provision server 101 demonstrated the structure which exists in the exterior of the content delivery server 100b here, the member which memorize | stores the information showing a privilege site is further provided in the content delivery server 100b, or content information Information representing a privilege site may be further stored in the storage unit 111.

(Operation / effect of application example)
As described above, in the content distribution system 1b, the content distribution server 100b further transmits privilege information corresponding to the distribution ratio of the category to which the title (content information) of the selected content belongs to the content reproduction device 200. Thereby, the user can receive various privileges according to the usage frequency of the content distribution server 100b.

For example, various privileges include granting of service points or discounts on distribution fees according to the user's content distribution server 100b. In this way, the user is interested in selecting content for obtaining various benefits in addition to the content that is of interest to the user, satisfying a specified value.

Thus, according to this application example, in addition to the user's interest, it is possible to further provide information that gives a privilege to a user with high use frequency and further improves the use frequency. In addition, for the administrator of the content distribution server 100b, as the usage frequency increases, the profit is further improved.

(Example of privilege information)
In the above-described embodiment, details of privilege information are not particularly described. However, the privilege information may include step-by-step privilege information that improves the usage frequency of the content distribution server 100b by the user. For example, the higher the distribution ratio reached, the higher the number of service points given or the discount rate of the distribution fee may be increased. In addition, for example, the type of privilege favored by the user may be set as the reached distribution ratio is higher.

(Application example of using the distributed ratio)
The provision of privilege information as described above is merely an example used by the distribution ratio. For example, the current distribution ratio and the virtual distribution ratio described in (Details of calculation method of distribution ratio) and provision of privilege information may be provided to the user in combination. Processing of the content distribution system 1b that realizes such processing will be described below. Since the configuration of the content distribution system 1b is the same, the description thereof is omitted.

(Details of content information distribution processing)
Content information distribution processing in the content distribution system 1b will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the content distribution server 100b transmits information related to content. FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing a flow of treatment when the content reproduction device 200 displays information related to the content from the content distribution server 100b. Of the processes shown in FIG. 27, S1501 to S1504 and S1508 to S1512 are the same processes as S1301 to S1304 and S1308 to S1312 of FIG. Of the processes shown in FIG. 28, S2501 to S2502 and S2504 to S2509 are the same processes as S2301 to S2302 and S2304 to S2309 in FIG. Therefore, here, the details of the processing will be described only for S1505 to S1507 and S2503.

(Details of processing of content distribution server 100b)
Here, a case where “end” belonging to “AA starring movie” in FIG. 16 is selected will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 27, based on the processing of S1501 to S1504, the information selection unit 112 acquires the same category title, distribution history information, distribution ratio, and privilege information from the content information storage unit 111 (S1505). The information selection unit 112 outputs the distributed ratio and privilege information to the distributed ratio calculation unit 120. The distribution ratio calculation unit 120 subtracts the current distribution ratio from the reference value of unsent privilege information related to “AA starring movie” in the privilege information of FIG. The distribution ratio is calculated (S1506). In this example, the distribution ratio calculation unit 120 calculates the remaining distribution ratio obtained by subtracting the current distribution ratio from the reference value 100% for completing the distribution (or viewing) of the content belonging to the AA starring movie. explain. However, as shown in FIG. 25, when there are a plurality (75%, 100%) of reference values of unsent privilege page information, the remaining distribution ratio is set for both reference values or any one reference value. It may be calculated.

The delivered ratio calculation unit 120 outputs the remaining delivered ratio to the information selection unit 112. The information selection unit 112 outputs the title of the same category, distribution history information, privilege information, the current distribution ratio, and the remaining distribution ratio to the network communication unit 117. The network communication unit 117 transmits the distribution history information, privilege information, the current distribution ratio and the remaining distribution ratio to the content reproduction device 200 (S1507). Thereafter, the content distribution server 100b executes the processes of S1508 to S1512.

(Details of processing of content playback apparatus 200)
As shown in FIG. 28, based on the processing of S2501 to S2502, the image data display unit 214 displays the distribution history information, privilege information, the current distribution ratio, and the remaining distribution ratio (S2503). The display in the image data display unit 214 is, for example, a display when the selected title (with an arrow) in FIG. 7A is “end” and a display in FIG. 26B. Or a display divided into two screens. Thereafter, the content reproduction device 200 executes the processes of S2504 to S2509.

(Operation / effect of application example)
As described above, in the content distribution system 1b, the content distribution server 100b includes the current distribution ratio of the category to which the title (content information) of the selected content belongs and the distribution ratio when the distribution of the content is received, The privilege information corresponding to the two types of distribution ratios is further transmitted to the content reproduction device 200. Thereby, the user can easily grasp how much of the plurality of contents belonging to the same category is received and the privilege can be obtained.

Therefore, in addition to the content that is of interest to the user, it is possible to further provide the user with a choice of content that is effective for acquiring the privilege. That is, in addition to the user's interest, content for obtaining a privilege can be presented to the user. Along with this, the administrator of the content distribution server 100b leads to further improvement of profits as the use frequency increases.

(Other examples of providing content information)
In the above description, an example in which “end” (belonging to the category “AA starring movie”) in FIG. 6 is selected has been described. Here, provision of content information will be described using another example. As shown in FIG. 16, it is assumed that a title belonging to the category 6 rare play collection is selected. From the current situation, if you receive one distribution of undelivered content, it will be 50%, if you receive two distributions of undistributed content, it will be 75%, if you receive three distributions of undistributed content, it will be 100% Therefore, the content distribution server 100b may provide the content reproduction device 200 with information that a privilege is newly obtained in either case or in any case.

(Application example of using the distributed ratio)
Providing the distributed ratio as described above is merely an example of applying the utilization of the distributed ratio. As another example, based on the numerical value of the distribution ratio individually associated with one of the plurality of categories, an order may be associated with the plurality of categories, and the order may be further provided to the user. . The configuration and processing of the content distribution system 1c that realizes such processing will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Content distribution system 1c)
FIG. 29 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the content distribution system 1c. As shown in FIG. 29, the content distribution system 1c includes a content distribution server 100c and a content reproduction device 200. That is, the content distribution system 1c is different from the content distribution system 1b in that it includes a content distribution server 100c. Therefore, description of the content reproduction device 200 is omitted.

(Content distribution server 100c)
As shown in FIG. 29, the content distribution server 100c further includes an arrangement order determination unit 123 in addition to the content distribution server 100a.

(Details of content information distribution processing)
Content information distribution processing in the content distribution system 1c will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the content distribution server 100c transmits information related to content. FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing the flow of treatment when the content reproduction device 200 displays information related to the content from the content distribution server 100c. Of the processes shown in FIG. 30, S1601 to S1604, S1607 to S1610, and S1613 are the same processes as S1201 to S1204 and S1207 to S1211 of FIG. Of the processes shown in FIG. 31, S2601 to S2602 and S2608 to S2613 are the same processes as S2201 to S2202 and S2204 to S2209 of FIG. Therefore, here, the details of the processing will be described only for S1605, S1606, S1611, S1612 and S2603 to S2607.

(Details of processing of content distribution server 100c)
In this application example, the processing of the content distribution server 100c when transmitting the category name, the distributed ratio, and the rank of the distributed ratio in all categories according to the content selection instruction will be described.

As shown in FIG. 30, based on the processing of S1601 to S1604, the information selection unit 112 selects the category name of the category including the identified content from the list as shown in FIG. The distribution ratio and the rank of the distribution ratio in all categories are acquired (S1605). In the list obtained here, category names and information related thereto are arranged in order from the largest distribution ratio. The rearrangement of categories will be described later.

The information selection unit 112 outputs the acquired category name, the distribution ratio, and the rank of the distribution ratio to the network communication unit 117. The network communication unit 117 transmits the category name, the distribution ratio, and the rank of the distribution ratio to the content reproduction device 200 (S1606).

Thereafter, the content distribution server 100c outputs the updated list to the arrangement order determination unit 123 following the processing of S1607 to S1610. The arrangement order determining unit 123 changes the order of the categories by assigning numbers in order from the updated largest distribution ratio (S1611).

Here, if it is determined that the instruction received by the input processing unit 113 in S1608 is not a content distribution instruction (NO), the input processing unit 113 further determines whether or not it is a category selection instruction (S1612). If the input processing unit 113 determines that the instruction is not a category selection instruction (YES), the content distribution server 100c executes another process (S1613) and ends the process. When the input processing unit 113 determines that it is a category selection instruction (NO), the input processing unit 113 transmits a category selection instruction to the information selection unit 112. The processing of S1604 to S1606 is performed again. When a category selection instruction is received, in S1604, the information selection unit 112 specifies a category without specifying content.

For example, a list of categories may be transmitted at the same time as the first transmission of information. Information for selecting a category may be transmitted to the content reproduction apparatus 200 in advance.

(Details of processing of content playback apparatus 200)
As shown in FIG. 31, based on the processing of S2601 to S2602, the image data display unit 214, as shown in FIG. 48, displays the category name to which the selected content belongs, its distributed ratio, and the distributed ratio in all categories. Is displayed (S2603). Subsequently, when receiving an instruction from the input device 250, the input processing unit 213 determines whether or not the content of the instruction is a category selection instruction (S2604). If the input processing unit 213 determines that the content of the instruction is a category selection instruction (YES), the input processing unit 213 instructs the network communication unit 212 to transmit a category selection instruction to the content distribution server 100c. In accordance with this instruction, the network communication unit 212 transmits a category selection instruction to the content distribution server 100c (S2606).

The network communication unit 212 detects whether data is transmitted from the content distribution server 100c (S2102). The input processing unit 213 outputs these data display instructions to the image data display unit 214. When data has not been transmitted from the content distribution server 100c (NO), the standby state is continued. When the selected category name, its distributed ratio, and the rank of the distributed ratio in all categories are transmitted from the content distribution server 100c (YES), the network communication unit 212 sends these data to the input processing unit 213. Output. The input processing unit 213 outputs these data and a display instruction for these data to the image data display unit 214. As shown in FIG. 32, the image data display unit 214 displays the category name and the distributed ratio according to the rank of the distributed ratio (S2608), and ends the process.

Here, in the first display of information, as shown in FIG. 48, information for instructing the content reproduction apparatus 200 to display a display for selecting another category (for example, a list of categories). Are displayed together. For example, the display for selecting another category is stored in advance in the content reproduction device 200 or transmitted from the content distribution server 100c.

(Operation / effect of application example)
As described above, in the content distribution system 1c, the content distribution server 100c transmits to the content reproduction apparatus 200 the category name to which the selected content belongs, the distribution ratio, and the order thereof. Thus, the user can easily grasp whether the category distribution ratio is high or low in all categories. For example, the user attempts to complete content with a high distribution ratio or to view more content belonging to a low category. Therefore, the usage frequency of the content distribution system 1c by the user can be improved.

(Category selection example)
In this application example, the user has selected the upper three category names and the lower three category names for the size of the distribution ratio. However, this is only an example of category name selection. For example, all category names may be displayed on the image data display unit 214 so that the user can select a category that is not related to any number of ranks. Further, for example, the content distribution server 100c may transmit information to the content reproduction apparatus 200 excluding a category name with a distribution ratio of 0% or a category name with a distribution ratio of 100%.

(Application examples for providing content information)
The provision of content information as described above is merely an example of provision of content information. For example, all of the content information may be transmitted to the content reproduction device. Processing of the content distribution system 1a that realizes such processing will be described below. Since the configuration of the content distribution system 1a is the same as that described above, the description thereof is omitted.

(Details of content information distribution processing)
Other content information distribution processing in the content distribution system 1a will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the content distribution server 100a transmits information related to content. FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing the flow of treatment when the content reproduction device 200 displays information related to the content from the content distribution server 100a. 33, S1701 and S1706 to S1710 are the same as S1201 and S1207 to S1207 in FIG. 34, steps S1701 to S1702 and S1704 to S1709 are the same as steps S1201 to S1202 and S1204 to S1209 in FIG. Therefore, only the processing of S1702 to S1705 and S2703 will be described here.

(Details of processing of content distribution server 100a)
In this application example, the processing of the content distribution server 100a when receiving a content information distribution instruction regarding all contents from the content reproduction apparatus 200 regardless of the content selection instruction will be described.

As shown in FIG. 33, following the processing of S1701, the input processing unit 113 determines whether or not it is an instruction to select all contents (S1702). If the instruction is not an instruction to select all contents (NO), the process proceeds to S1708. When the instruction is an instruction to select all contents (YES), the input processing unit 113 outputs an instruction to select all contents to the information selecting unit 112.

The information selection unit 112 identifies the content reproduction device 200 that has transmitted the content selection instruction based on the content selection instruction (S1703). The information selection unit 112 acquires all of the title, the distribution history information, and the distribution ratio from the list as shown in FIG. 6 corresponding to the identified content reproduction device 200 (S1704). The information selection unit 112 outputs all of these titles, distribution history information, and distribution ratios to the network communication unit 117. The network communication unit 117 transmits all of these titles, distribution history information, and distribution ratios to the content reproduction device 200 (S1705). Thereafter, the content distribution server 100a executes the processes of S1706 to S1710.

(Details of processing of content playback apparatus 200)
As shown in FIG. 34, based on the processing of S2701 to S2702, the image data display unit 214 displays all titles, distribution history information, and distribution ratios as shown in FIG. 35 (S2603). Thereafter, the content reproduction device 200 executes the processes of S2604 to S2609.

(Operation / effect of application example)
As described above, in the content distribution system 1a, the content distribution server 100a can provide the content reproduction apparatus 200 with content information regarding all stored content. Therefore, the user can confirm information on all the contents stored in the content distribution server 100a at a time. Therefore, it is possible to confirm not only the content information related to the specific content but also the distribution status of the content by the user.

(Example of display in content reproduction apparatus 200)
FIG. 35 shows an example in which information on all titles is scroll-displayed by dragging a scroll bar. However, this is merely an example of display on the content reproduction apparatus 200. For example, titles belonging to one category may be displayed on one screen and switched for the number of categories.

(Modification of this embodiment)
In the content distribution system 1a of the present embodiment, the distribution ratio calculation unit 120 is provided in the content distribution servers 100a to 100c. However, the distribution ratio can be calculated in the content reproduction device. Such a content distribution system 1a ′ will be described below with reference to FIG. 36 and FIG. FIG. 36 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the content distribution system 1a ′.

(Content distribution system 1a ')
As shown in FIG. 36, the content distribution system 1a ′ includes a content distribution server 100 and a content reproduction device 200a. That is, the content distribution system 1a ′ is different from the content distribution system 1a of the first embodiment in that the content distribution system 1a ′ includes the content reproduction device 200a. Therefore, description of the content distribution server 100 is omitted.

(Content Playback Device 200a)
As shown in FIG. 36, the content playback apparatus 200a further includes a distribution ratio calculation unit 216 in addition to the configuration of the content playback apparatus 200. Details of this configuration will be described later.

(Details of content information distribution processing)
The content information distribution process in the content distribution system 1a ′ will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 37 is a flowchart for explaining details of processing of the content reproduction device 200a. Of the processes shown in FIG. 37, S2201 to S2202 and S2203 to S2209 are the same processes as S2201 to S2209 of FIG. That is, the process S2202.5 is only inserted between S2202 and S2203. Therefore, only step S2202.5 will be described in detail below.

(Details of processing of content reproduction device 200a)
As shown in FIG. 37, when the title name, category name, and distribution history are received from the server, the input processing unit 213 outputs the title name, category name, and distribution history from the server to the distribution ratio calculation unit 216. The distribution ratio calculation unit 216 calculates the distribution ratio of contents belonging to the category based on the distribution history as described above (S2202.5).

The distribution ratio calculation unit 216 outputs the title name, category name, distribution history, and the calculated distribution ratio to the image data display unit 214. Thereafter, the content reproduction device 200a performs S2203 to S2208 and ends the process.

As described above, if the content reproduction apparatus 200a is adopted, it is not necessary to calculate the distribution ratio by the server. The calculated distribution ratio information may be deleted after the display is completed, stored in the content data storage unit 211, or transmitted to the content distribution server 100 and stored.

(Modification of this embodiment)
The distribution ratio information according to the present embodiment can be applied to the product purchase service as well as the product information distribution system 1 ′ of the first embodiment. In this case, for example, not the distribution ratio information but the purchased ratio information may be transmitted to the product information display device 200 ′. As a result, the same effects as in the present embodiment can be obtained. The details, application examples, and modifications of the distributed ratio information described in this embodiment can be applied to the product information distribution system 1 ′ by replacing the distributed ratio information with the purchased ratio information.

[Embodiment 3]
A third embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Configuration of content distribution system 1d)
The content distribution system according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 38 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a content distribution system 1d according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 38, a content distribution system 1d according to the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it includes a content distribution server 100d. For this reason, the configuration of the content reproduction device 200 is omitted.

(Content distribution server 100d)
As illustrated in FIG. 38, the content distribution server 100 d further includes a distributed title number calculation unit 124 in addition to the configuration of the content distribution server 100. Details of the processing in the distributed title number calculation unit 124 will be described later.

(Details of content information distribution processing)
Content information distribution processing in the content distribution system 1d will be described below with reference to FIGS. 39 and 40. FIG. FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the content distribution server 100d transmits information related to content. FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing the flow of treatment when the content reproduction device 200 displays information related to the content from the content distribution server 100d. Among the processes shown in FIG. 39, S1801 to S1804, S1807 to S1809, and S1811 are the same processes as S1101 to S1104, S1107 to S1109, and S1111 of FIG. Of the processes shown in FIG. 40, S2801 to S2802 and S2804 to S2809 are the same processes as S2101 to S2102 and S2104 to S2109 of FIG. Accordingly, only the details of S1805 to S1806, S1810, and S2803 will be described here.

(Details of processing of content distribution server 100d)
As shown in FIG. 39, based on the processing of S1801 to S1804, the information selection unit 112 stores the title of the category to which the selected content belongs, distribution history information, the total number of titles, and the number of distributed titles in the content information storage. (S1805). Note that the content information storage unit 111 of the present embodiment stores a list in which the total number of titles belonging to one category and the number of delivered titles are recorded instead of the delivered ratio in FIG.

The information selection unit 112 outputs the title of the category to which the selected content belongs, the distribution history information, the total number of titles, and the number of distributed titles to the network communication unit 117. The network communication unit 117 transmits the title of the same category, distribution history information, the total number of titles, and the number of distributed titles to the content reproduction device 200 (S1806).

When the processing of S1807 to S1809 is completed, the network communication unit 117 displays information on the content reproduction device 200 as a distribution destination, the title of the distributed content, and information indicating that the content has been distributed, as a distribution history information management unit. To 114. The distribution history information management unit 114 acquires the content information list as described above from the content information storage unit 111 based on the information of the content reproduction device 200 as a distribution destination. The distribution history information management unit 114 changes the distribution history information associated with the input title to “distributed” and adds a distribution date. Then, the distribution history information management unit 114 outputs the updated list to the distributed title number calculation unit 124. The delivered title number calculation unit 124 calculates the number of delivery history information indicating delivery that belongs to the category including the updated delivery history information, and updates the number of delivered titles. The distributed title number calculation unit 124 overwrites the changed list on the list stored in the content information storage unit 111 (S1810).

(Details of processing of content playback apparatus 200)
As shown in FIG. 40, based on the processing of S2801 to S2802, the input processing unit 213 displays the title of the category to which the selected content belongs, the distribution history information, the total number of titles, and the number of distributed titles as image data display. To the unit 214. The image data display unit 214 displays the title of the same category, distribution history information, the total number of titles, and the number of distributed titles (S2803). In such a case, the image data display unit 214 performs a display such as a combination of FIG. 41, FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, or a display divided into a plurality of screens. This is a display when “ending” belonging to both “AA starring movie” and “DD director movie” is selected (for example, see FIG. 16). Thereafter, the content reproduction device 200 executes the processes of S2804 to S2809.

(Operation / effect of application example)
As described above, in the content distribution system 1d, the content distribution server 100d further transmits the number of distributed titles to the total number of titles of the category to which the selected content title belongs to the content reproduction apparatus 200. Thereby, the user can easily grasp as numerical values how much of a plurality of contents belonging to the same category has been delivered and not delivered.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide more detailed and appropriate information related to the content that matches the user's interest, and to further improve the convenience and frequency of use of the content distribution system 1d. Further, for the administrator of the content distribution server 100d, as the use frequency increases, the profit is further improved.

(Application example of using the number of delivered titles)
Providing the number of delivered titles is only an example of using the number of delivered titles. For example, when the number of delivered titles reaches a prescribed reference value, information related to a privilege according to the reference value may be further provided to the user. The configuration and processing of the content distribution system 1e that realizes such processing will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Content distribution system 1e)
As shown in FIG. 42, the content distribution system 1e includes a content distribution server 100e, a content reproduction device 200, and a privilege providing server 101. That is, the content distribution system 1e is different from the content distribution system 1d in that the content distribution system 1e includes a content distribution server 100e and a privilege providing server 101. Therefore, description of the content reproduction device 200 is omitted.

(Content distribution server 100e)
As shown in FIG. 42, the content distribution server 100e further includes a privilege information management unit 121 and a distributed title number determination unit 125 in addition to the content distribution server 100d.

(Details of content information distribution processing)
Content information distribution processing in the content distribution system 1e will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 43 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the content distribution server 100e transmits information related to the content. FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing the flow of treatment when the content reproduction device 200 displays information related to the content from the content distribution server 100e. FIG. 45 is a flowchart showing details of the processing of S1908 in FIG. FIG. 46 is a flowchart showing details of the process of S2904 in FIG. Of the processes shown in FIG. 43, S1901 to S1905 and S1908 to S1913 are the same processes as S1801 to S1811 of FIG. Also, among the processes shown in FIG. 44, S2901 to S2902 and S2906 to S2911 are the same processes as S2801 to S2808 of FIG. Of the processes shown in FIG. 45, S1908c to S1908 are the same processes as S1408c to S1408d in FIG. Of the processes shown in FIG. 46, S2904b to S2904d are the same processes as S1408b to S1408d in FIG. Therefore, only the details of S1906 to S1908, S1908a to S1908b, S2903 to S2905, and S2904a will be described here.

(Details of processing of content distribution server 100e)
In this application example, the content information storage unit 111 further stores a list of privilege information corresponding to each content reproduction device, and privilege information. Here, in the list of privilege information, the three reference values in the list shown in FIG. 25 are not distributed ratios such as 50%, 75%, and 100%, but distributed such as 2, 3, and 4 cases. The number of titles already changed. The case where the selected content is “end” belonging to “AA starring movie” will be described as an example.

43, following S1901 to S1905, the information selection unit 112 outputs the acquired category name and the number of distributed titles to the distributed title number determination unit 125. The delivered title number determination unit 125 determines whether or not the output number of delivered titles has reached one of three reference values (4 cases, 3 cases, and 2 cases) (S1906). When the number of distributed titles has not reached any reference value (NO), the distributed title number determination unit 125 instructs the information selection unit 112 to output the acquired information to the network communication unit 117. Thereafter, the processing of S1908 to S1913 is executed.

When the number of delivered titles has reached one of the three reference values (YES), the delivered title number determination unit 125 assigns all of the reference values and category names for which the number of delivered titles has been reached to the privilege information management unit. 121 to instruct the provision of privilege information to the content reproduction apparatus 200. The privilege information management unit 121 executes privilege information provision processing (S1907).

Details of the privilege information provision processing in the content distribution server 100 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 45 is a flowchart showing details of the processing of S1908 in FIG. Here, an example will be described in which “end” is selected from the content playback apparatus and the number of delivered titles of category 1 is three (has reached one of the reference values). That is, in S1906 of FIG. 43, the delivered title number determination unit 125 determines that the number of delivered titles of the category to which the selected “end” belongs has reached three reference values (YES). For this reason, the content distribution server 100e executes a privilege information provision process regarding three reference values (S1907).

45, the privilege information management unit 121 acquires a list of the privilege information from the content information storage unit 111. The privilege information management unit 121 has not transmitted or transmitted the privilege site URL (privilege information) corresponding to the reference value (two or three) of the category AA starring movie to which the selected content belongs to the content reproduction device 200. It is determined whether it has been completed (S1907a). Although the privilege information of the two reference values has been transmitted, since the privilege information of the current three reference values has not been transmitted (YES), the privilege information management unit 121 obtains the URL of the privilege site B from the content information storage unit 111. Obtain (S1907b). The privilege information management unit 121 outputs the URL of the privilege site B to the network communication unit 117. The network communication unit 117 transmits the URL of the privilege site B to the content reproduction device 200 (S1907c). In the acquired list, the privilege information management unit 121 changes the column of the privilege site B of “AA starring movie” corresponding to the content playback device 200 to “Done” and overwrites the list in the content information storage unit 111. The transmission history is updated (S1907d). When these processes are completed, the process returns to S1908 in FIG.

Here, the case where the reference value is 2 cases and 3 cases has been described, but when the reference value is 2 cases, 4 cases and 6 cases having an interval of 1 case, for example, the following processing is performed. Since the delivered title number determination unit 125 determines that the number of delivered titles of the AA starring movie exceeds three (YES), the content delivery server 100e executes privilege information provision processing (S1907). The privilege information management unit 121 acquires a list of privilege information from the content information storage unit 111, and the privilege site URL corresponding to the reference value (two cases) of the category AA starring movie has not been transmitted to the content reproduction device 200 or It is determined whether the transmission has been completed (S1907a). Since the URL of the privilege site A corresponding to the two reference values has already been transmitted (NO) to the content reproduction device 200, the content distribution server 100e ends the privilege information provision process and returns to S1908 in FIG. Since the

reference values

4 and 6 are not satisfied, the determination by the delivered title number determination unit 125 is naturally “NO”, and the privilege information provision process itself is not performed.

(Details of processing of content playback apparatus 200)
As shown in FIG. 44, based on the processing of S2901 to S2902, the input processing unit 213 determines whether or not the information received from the content distribution server 100 is a privilege site (S2903). When the information is a title, distribution history information, and distribution history information (NO), the content reproduction device 200 executes the processes of S2905 to S2911.

If the information is privilege information (YES), privilege information provision processing is executed (S2904). Details of provision of privilege information in the content reproduction apparatus 200 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 46 is a flowchart showing details of the process of S2904 in FIG. Here, a case will be described as an example where the content distribution server 100 is instructed to select “end” and the number of distributed titles belonging to “AA starring movie” reaches three.

46, the input processing unit 213 outputs the received privilege information to the image data display unit 214. The image data display unit 214 displays the output privilege information as shown in (a) of FIG. 47 (S2904a). FIG. 47A shows an example of display on the image data display unit 214. Since the URL of the privilege site B is included in the received privilege information, for example, a link to the privilege site B is pasted on the display location of “3 achievement bonus” in FIG. In this state, the content reproduction device 200 enters a standby state. Thereafter, the content reproduction device 200 executes the processes of S2904b to S2904d and returns to S2405 of FIG.

(Operation / effect of application example)
As described above, in the content distribution system 1e of this application example, the content distribution server 100e further provides privilege information corresponding to the number of distributed titles of the category to which the title (content information) of the selected content belongs, and the content reproduction device 200. Send to. Thereby, the user can receive various privileges according to the usage frequency of the content distribution server 100e.

For example, various privileges include granting of service points according to the user's content distribution server 100e or discounts on distribution charges. In this way, the user is interested in selecting content for obtaining various benefits in addition to the content that is of interest to the user, satisfying a specified value.

Thus, according to this application example, in addition to the user's interest, it is possible to further provide information that gives a privilege to a user with high use frequency and further improves the use frequency. Further, for the administrator of the content distribution server 100e, as the usage frequency increases, the profit is further improved.

(Application example of using the number of delivered titles)
Provision of privilege information as described above is merely an example of applying the distribution ratio. For example, the current number of delivered titles, the number of virtual delivered titles, and provision of privilege information may be combined and provided to the user. The process in such a case can be realized by partially changing the process described in the section (Application example of utilization of distributed ratio). Specifically, the distribution ratio is changed to the number of distributed titles, the distribution ratio calculation unit 120 is changed to the distribution title calculation unit 124, and the distribution ratio determination unit 122 is changed to the distribution title number determination unit 125. Change it. In this case, the content reproduction apparatus 200 displays a combination of the current number of delivered titles and the virtual number of delivered titles and provision of privilege information as shown in FIG. 47 (b).

(Operation / effect of application example)
As described above, in the content distribution system 1e of this application example, the content distribution server 100e transmits the virtual (after distribution) number of distributed titles to the content reproduction device 200 in addition to the current number of distributed titles. Thereby, the user can grasp the number of delivered titles that fluctuate by requesting delivery of the content and select the content. For this reason, in addition to the content of interest to the user, it is possible to attract the user's interest to content necessary for completing a certain category.

[Embodiment 4]
A fourth embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Configuration of content distribution system 2)
The content distribution system according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 49 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the content distribution system 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 49, the content distribution system 2 according to the present embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that a content distribution server 100f is provided. For this reason, the configuration of the content reproduction device 200 is omitted.

(Content distribution server 100f)
As illustrated in FIG. 49, the content distribution server 100f includes a category information selection unit 126 instead of the information selection unit 112 in the configuration of the content distribution server 100a. Details of processing in the category information selection unit 126 will be described later.

(Details of content information distribution processing)
Content information distribution processing in the content distribution system 2 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 50 and 51. FIG. FIG. 50 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the content distribution server 100f transmits information related to a category. FIG. 51 is a flowchart showing the flow of treatment when the content reproduction device 200 displays information related to the content from the content distribution server 100f. Of the processes shown in FIG. 50, S3101, S3103, and S3107 to S3111 are the same processes as S1201, S1203, and S1107 to S1111 of FIG. 51, S4102, S4104 to S4110 are the same as S2202 and S2204 to S2109 in FIG. Therefore, the details of the processing will be described only for S3102, S3104 to S3106, S4101 and S41003.

(Details of processing of content distribution server 100d)
As shown in FIG. 50, based on the processing of S3101, the input processing unit 113 specifies the content of the instruction when receiving the instruction (S3102). When the instruction is a category selection instruction (YES), the input processing unit 113 outputs the category selection instruction to the category information selection unit 126. For the processing when the instruction is not a category content selection instruction (NO), Embodiment 2 may be referred to.

The category information selection unit 126 identifies the content reproduction device 200 that has transmitted the selection instruction based on an ID that identifies the content reproduction device 200 included in the instruction (S3103). The category information selection unit 126 acquires a list of categories corresponding to the specified content reproduction device 200 from the content information storage unit 111, and specifies category information of the selected category (S3104). Here, the category selection instruction includes information representing a category such as a category name, a category ID, and a keyword for searching for the category name. The content information storage unit 111 stores a list including category names as category information as shown in FIG. Therefore, the category information selection unit 126 specifies the selected category name based on the information included in the category selection instruction. Here, a case where the category “AA starring movie” in FIG. 16 is selected will be described. Note that the first and second embodiments may be referred to for details of creating a list as shown in FIG.

The category information selection unit 126 acquires the category name “AA starring movie” and the distribution ratio of the category (S3105). The category information selection unit 126 outputs the acquired category name and the distribution ratio of the category to the network communication unit 117. The network communication unit 117 transmits the output category name and the distribution ratio of the category to the content reproduction device 200 (S3106). Thereafter, the content distribution server 100f executes the processes of S3107 to S3111.

(Details of processing of content playback device)
As shown in FIG. 51, upon receiving a category selection instruction from the remote controller that is the input device 250, the input processing unit 213 outputs a category selection instruction transmission instruction to the network communication unit 212. The network communication unit 212 transmits a category selection instruction for selecting the category name “AA starring movie” in FIG. 16 to the content distribution server 100f (S4101). The network communication unit 212 detects the presence / absence of data transmission from the content distribution server 100f (S4102). When there is data transmission from the content distribution server 100f (YES), the network communication unit 212 outputs data on the category name and its distribution ratio to the input processing unit 213. If data has not been transmitted from the content distribution server 100f (NO), the content reproduction device 200 continues to stand by. The input processing unit 213 outputs these data to the image data display unit 214. The image data display unit 214 displays the category name and the distribution ratio thereof as shown in FIG. 52 (S4103). Thereafter, the content reproduction apparatus executes the processes of S4104 to S4110.

(Operation and effect of this embodiment)
As described above, in the content distribution system 2, the content distribution server 100f transmits the selected category (category information) and the distribution ratio of the category to the content reproduction device 200. Thereby, the user can easily grasp as numerical values how much of a plurality of contents belonging to the same category has been delivered and not delivered.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide more detailed and appropriate information related to the content that matches the user's interest, and to further improve the convenience and frequency of use of the content distribution system 2. Further, for the administrator of the content distribution server 100f, as the usage frequency increases, the profits are further improved.

(Other processing / configuration in content distribution system)
As described above, the content distribution system 2 is different from the second embodiment in that the content distribution server 100f includes the category information selection unit 126 instead of the content selection information 112 in the configuration of the content distribution server 100a. Yes. Accordingly, the same configuration change can be applied to the content distribution server 100f so that the configuration of the content distribution server 100a can be appropriately changed to the content distribution servers 100b to 100e in the second and third embodiments.

(Category information selection modification 1)
In the present embodiment, it is described that the category information selection instruction is transmitted from the content reproduction apparatus 200 in accordance with the operation of the input device 250 by the user. However, this is merely an example of the category information selection instruction. As already described in (Example of content selection instruction) in the first embodiment, the content reproduction apparatus 200 transmits a content or category selection instruction to the content distribution server 100f even if the user does not select specific content or category. obtain. Here, a case where a category selection instruction is automatically transmitted to the content distribution server 100f when the user activates the content reproduction device 200 will be described. This category selection instruction is an instruction to select information of a category having the highest distribution ratio for the content reproduction device 200.

Note that this modification can be realized by the content distribution system 2. The processing is similar to the details of the processing in FIGS. Specifically, the following (1) and (2) are different similar processes. (1) In S3104 of FIG. 50, category information representing a category having the highest distribution ratio is specified. (2) The category selection instruction in S4101 is an instruction to select the category having the highest distribution ratio, and is automatically transmitted upon activation of the content reproduction apparatus 200. Therefore, detailed description of the processing is omitted.

According to the first modification, the user can receive a category recommendation immediately after the content reproduction apparatus 200 is activated. For example, the first modification is effective when the user does not narrow down the content that the user particularly wants to watch and desires to provide an active service.

In addition, although the case where the category with the highest distribution ratio is automatically selected has been described here, the category selection instruction may be an instruction to select a category according to other criteria. Other criteria that can be used are, for example, the category to which the content with the newest registration date in the content distribution server 100f belongs, the category with the largest number of content belonging, and the like.

Furthermore, such criteria can be used for content selection as well as category selection. Examples of criteria in this case include content with the newest registration date in the content distribution server 100f, content in which the distribution ratio of a certain category is 100% upon receiving distribution, content on which privilege information can be obtained upon receiving distribution, etc. Is mentioned.

In addition, instead of the user selecting a desired content or category from the list of contents and categories as described above, the content reproduction device 200 displays such a criterion, so that the criterion desired by the user can be obtained. It may be selected and a content or category selection instruction may be transmitted to the content distribution server 100f.

(Category information selection modification 2)
In the first modification, a plurality of categories are specified when the numerical values represented by the distributed ratio information are the same. Accordingly, when a plurality of pieces of category information are provided to the user, the number of contents displayed may be too large. If too much content (belonging to multiple categories) is recommended, it will not be useful information for the user. Therefore, it is preferable to provide information to the user in one category. Details of the processing of the content distribution system that provides such preferable information will be described with reference to FIG. Since such a content distribution system can be realized by the same configuration as the content distribution system 2, description thereof will be omitted. Further, the processing of content reproduction device 200 is the same, so the description will not be repeated.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart for explaining details of processing according to the second modification of the content distribution server 100f. As shown in FIG. 53, except that a determination whether or not a plurality of category information is specified (S3206) and a process of narrowing down to one when there is a plurality of category information (S3212) are added, This is the same as the processing of the first modification. Therefore, only the details of S3206 and S3212 will be described.

When the category name and the distribution ratio are acquired in S3205, the category information selection unit 126 determines whether there is one acquired category name (S3206). If “YES”, the category information selection unit 126 outputs the category name and the distribution ratio to the network communication unit 117. The subsequent processing may be referred to FIG. 50 and the description thereof.

If “NO” in S3206, the category information selection unit 126 selects one category information representing a category to which the content information representing the latest content registered in the content distribution server 100f belongs among the plurality of category information ( S3212). The category information selection unit 126 outputs the selected category name and the distribution ratio thereof to the network communication unit 117. The subsequent processing may be referred to FIG. 50 and the description thereof.

According to the second modification, the content distribution system 2 can recommend an appropriate number of contents that allow the user to easily select specific contents. Therefore, information useful for the user can be provided without fail.

Here, the criterion for selecting the category information is that the category information represents the category to which the content information representing the latest content registered in the content distribution server 100f belongs. Another example of this criterion is that the content information represents new content and the number of new content belonging to the category is large. Here, “new work” means that the production date of the content or the registration date of the content in the content distribution server 100f is new. (1) Within one week retroactively from the present time, or when the content reproduction apparatus 200 is activated last time From the time to the present, it has been registered in the content distribution server 100f, or (2) out of all the contents registered in the content distribution server 100f, the registration date is up to a predetermined number (for example, 100) in order from the newest It means that there is. Therefore, the category information selected based on such a criterion is, for example, category information to which many content names indicating contents included up to a predetermined number in order from the newest registration date belong.

(Other examples of category information selection criteria)
Another criterion for narrowing the category information used in the second modification to one is to select category information representing a category with the smallest number of undelivered contents. Still another criterion is to select category information that represents a category with the smallest number of contents. By these criteria, it is possible to provide the user with category information representing a category in which the delivery history reaches 100% at the shortest.

In the second modification, the example in which the category information is narrowed down to one based on one criterion has been described. However, the category information may be narrowed down to one by combining various criteria described in this specification. . In this way, the possibility that a plurality of category information is provided to the user is extremely low, and the content distribution system 2 can more reliably provide information useful to the user.

In the above, a content distribution system that mainly distributes content has been described as an example. However, as described in Embodiment 1 and the like, the system of the present invention can provide a user with information related to a shopping service. Therefore, all the embodiments described so far, their modifications, application examples, and the like can be appropriately combined with the product information providing system 1 ′ that provides the shopping service.

(Important configuration according to this embodiment)
A service information distribution system (content distribution system or product information distribution system) 2 according to the present embodiment includes a service information distribution server (content distribution server or product information distribution server) 100f and a service information display device (content reproduction device) as described below. Alternatively, a service information display device 200 may be provided.

The service information distribution server 100f according to the present embodiment
A service information distribution server 100f that distributes any of a plurality of service contents (content or product purchase guide) to the service information display device 200,
Each of a plurality of service information (content information or product information) individually representing one of the plurality of service contents is individually associated with usage history information representing a usage history of the service contents represented by the service information. And information management means 118 for classifying and managing the plurality of service information based on the category information representing the category of the service content individually represented by any of the plurality of service information;
Receiving means 117 for receiving a category selection instruction transmitted from the service information display device 200;
Category information selection means 126 for selecting the category information specified by the transmitted category selection instruction;
For each category, a used ratio calculation means (distributed ratio calculation means) that generates ratio information representing the ratio by calculating the ratio of the number of used service contents to the total number of service contents belonging to the category. Or purchased ratio calculation means) 120,
Transmitting means for associating the ratio information with category information representing a category specified by the category selection instruction and transmitting the information to the service information display device 200.

The service information display apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment is
A service content display device that displays service content distributed from the service information distribution server 100f,
Transmitting means 212 for transmitting a category selection instruction for selecting a category to which service information representing the service content belongs to the service information distribution server 100f;
Receiving means 212 for receiving category information transmitted from the service information distribution server 100f and ratio information indicating the ratio of the number of used service contents to the total number of service contents belonging to the category;
Display means 213 for displaying the category information and the ratio information of the category is provided.

(Preferred configuration)
The service information distribution server of the present invention is
For each category, further comprising a used ratio calculating means for generating ratio information representing the ratio by calculating a ratio of the number of used service information to the total number of service contents belonging to the category,
It is preferable that the ratio information is associated with category information representing a category specified by the information selection means and transmitted to the service information display device.

The service information distribution server of the present invention is
The transmission means indicates total number information indicating the total number of the service information belonging to the same category as the category specified by the service information selection instruction, and indicates that the service information display device associated with the service information has been distributed. It is preferable to transmit the delivered number information indicating the number of information to the service information display device.

According to the above configuration, the service information distribution server can further provide the user with the ratio or number of already used service contents among the service contents belonging to the same category. As a result, the service information delivery server can present more detailed information regarding the service content similar to the service content requested by the user as a criterion for the user to select the service content.

The service information distribution server of the present invention is
It is preferable that the information selection unit selects category information associated with usage history information representing the highest ratio.

According to the above configuration, there is an effect that the service frequently used by the user can be preferentially provided.

In the service information distribution server of the present invention,
The information management means further classifies and manages the plurality of service information based on category information representing a category of the service content individually represented by any of the plurality of service information;
Preferably, the service information selection unit selects a plurality of service information classified into the same category by the information management unit.

Furthermore, in the service information distribution server of the present invention, the category information is preferably information representing a series of the service content or information representing a production staff or a performer of the service content.

According to the above configuration, the service information distribution server can classify a plurality of service information according to any of the above criteria. Therefore, it is possible to provide the user with information related to the service content that more matches the user's interest.

In the service information distribution server of the present invention,
Number of pieces of information indicating that the transmission means further transmits privilege information corresponding to the reference value to the service information display device when the ratio reaches a prescribed reference value, or the use is completed. It is preferable that privilege information corresponding to the reference value is transmitted to the service information display device when the reference value reaches the specified reference value.

In the service information distribution server of the present invention,
It is preferable that the transmission means transmits privilege information corresponding to the reference value to the service information display device when the number of pieces of information indicating the use has reached a specified reference value.

According to the above configuration, the service information distribution server can provide various benefits to the user according to the usage rate of the server by the user. Thereby, there is an effect that the usage rate by the user of the service information distribution server can be further improved.

The service information distribution server of the present invention is
For each category, a ratio representing the ratio by calculating a ratio of the number of information indicating used by the service information display device associated with the service information to the total number of service information belonging to the category It further comprises a used ratio calculation means for generating information,
It is preferable that the transmission means further transmits the ratio information for each category to the service information display device in association with category information representing the category for a predetermined number of categories.

According to the above configuration, the service information distribution server can provide the user with service content information belonging to a category of interest to the user without being limited to a specific category.

In the service information distribution server of the present invention,
It is preferable that the transmission unit further transmits the ratio information for each category in association with the rank order represented by the ratio information.

According to the above configuration, the service information distribution server can provide the user with detailed information added to the service content information belonging to the category of interest to the user.

(Other configurations)
In addition, this invention is realizable also with the following structures.

(First configuration)
A distribution server for distributing content stored in response to a content distribution request from a content receiving device;
Content classification means for classifying content having common characteristics among stored content as the same category;
Distribution history storage means for storing the classified content separately for each content receiving device, distributed and undistributed;
Distribution history extraction means for extracting information stored in the distribution history storage means,
A content distribution server, wherein information indicating that content of the same category has been distributed or undistributed is extracted from the distribution history storage means and notified to a content receiving device.

(Second configuration)
The content distribution server according to the first configuration, wherein the content classifying unit classifies content forming the same series as common features and content of the same category.

(Third configuration)
The content distribution server according to the first configuration, wherein the content classification means classifies at least a common performer or a common content production staff as a common element as content of the same category.

(Fourth configuration)
The content distribution server further includes a distribution ratio calculation means for calculating a distribution ratio indicating a ratio of distributed contents among contents of the same category for each content receiving device. Content distribution server related to.

(Fifth configuration)
The content distribution server according to a fourth configuration, wherein the content distribution server notifies the content reception device of a distribution ratio of the category including the requested content to the content reception device.

(Sixth configuration)
The content distribution server, when the distribution ratio for the content receiving device of the category including the content requested for distribution reaches a predetermined value, information on websites that can be accessed according to the distribution ratio, A content distribution server according to a fourth configuration, which notifies a content reception device.

(Seventh configuration)
The content distribution server notifies the content reception device of a distribution ratio for each category related to content distributed to the content reception device in response to a distribution ratio notification request from the content reception device. A content distribution server according to a fourth configuration.

(Eighth configuration)
The content distribution server adds a rank of the distribution ratio for each category related to the content distributed to the content receiving apparatus in response to the distribution ratio notification request from the content receiving apparatus, and the category and the distribution ratio And a content distribution server according to a fourth configuration.

(Ninth configuration)
The content distribution server notifies the content receiving device of the number of distributed contents and the total number of contents included in the category for each content receiving device among the content in the same category as the requested content. A content distribution server according to the first configuration, which is characterized.

(Tenth configuration)
The content distribution server, when the distributed content for the content receiving device of the same category as the content requested for distribution reaches a predetermined value, information on the website that can be accessed according to the number of distributed content, A content distribution server according to an eighth configuration, characterized by notifying a content reception device.

(Eleventh configuration)
A content receiving device that requests content distribution to a content distribution server and receives the content, and information indicating undelivered or distributed to the content requested by the content receiving device and the title of the content in the same category as the content A content receiving apparatus characterized by being attached and displayed.

(Twelfth configuration)
At least a content distribution server according to the first configuration and a content reception device according to the first configuration are connected via an IP network.

(13th configuration)
A category information distribution method in a content distribution server that distributes information related to a category of content in a system that distributes content stored in a content distribution server,
Classifying content having common characteristics among the stored contents as the same category, storing the classified content as delivered history and undelivered for each content receiving device, and delivering Extracting requested and undelivered information about the requested content and the content receiving device of the same category as the content from the stored distribution history and notifying the content receiving device that requested the content; A category information distribution method comprising:

(14th configuration)
A category information distribution program for causing a computer to execute the category information distribution method according to the thirteenth configuration.

(15th configuration)
A computer-readable recording medium on which at least one of category information distribution programs according to the fourteenth configuration is recorded.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide more detailed and appropriate information related to content that matches the user's interest, and to further improve the convenience and frequency of use of the content distribution system 1e. Further, for the administrator of the content distribution server 100e, as the usage frequency increases, the profit is further improved.

In addition, this invention is not limited to each embodiment mentioned above. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the present invention within the scope of the claims. That is, a new embodiment can be obtained by combining appropriately changed technical means within the scope of the claims.

(Program and recording medium)
Each block included in the content distribution server (service information distribution server) 100 and the content reproduction device (service information display device) 200 may be configured by hardware logic. Alternatively, it may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as follows.

In other words, the content distribution server (service information distribution server) 100 and the content reproduction device (service information display device) 200 include a CPU that executes instructions of a program that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the program, and the above A RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the program into an executable format, and a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory that stores the program and various data are provided. With this configuration, the object of the present invention can be achieved by a predetermined recording medium.

This recording medium is a program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source) of programs of a content distribution server (service information distribution server) 100 and a content reproduction device (service information display device) 200 that are software that realizes the functions described above. (Program) may be recorded so as to be readable by a computer. This recording medium is supplied to the content distribution server (service information distribution server) 100 and the content reproduction device (service information display device) 200. Thereby, the content distribution server (service information distribution server) 100 and the content reproduction device (service information display device) 200 (or CPU or MPU) as a computer read the program code recorded on the supplied recording medium, Just do it.

The recording medium that supplies the program code to the content distribution server (service information distribution server) 100 and the content reproduction device (service information display device) 200 is not limited to a specific structure or type. That is, the recording medium includes, for example, a tape system such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. System, a card system such as an IC card (including a memory card) / optical card, or a semiconductor memory system such as a mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

Further, even if the content distribution server (service information distribution server) 100 and the content reproduction device (service information display device) 200 are configured to be connectable to a communication network, the object of the present invention can be achieved. In this case, the program code is supplied to the content distribution server (service information distribution server) 100 and the content reproduction device (service information display device) 200 via the communication network. The communication network only needs to be able to supply program codes to the content distribution server (service information distribution server) 100 and the content reproduction device (service information display device) 200, and is not limited to a specific type or form. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication network, etc. may be used.

The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. For example, even wired such as IEEE 1394, USB (Universal Serial Bus), power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, infrared such as IrDA or remote control, Bluetooth (registered trademark), 802.11 It can also be used by radio such as radio, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

The present invention is useful as a service information distribution server that distributes service contents to unspecified users.

1 Content distribution system (service information provision system)
1 'Product information distribution system (service information provision system)
1a Content distribution system (service information provision system)
1a 'Content distribution system (service information provision system)
1b Content distribution system (service information provision system)
1c Content distribution system (service information provision system)
1d Content distribution system (service information provision system)
1e Content distribution system (service information provision system)
2 Content distribution system (service information provision system)
10 Network 11 Home gateway (HGW)
12 Set Top Box (STB)
21 Personal Computer 22 Display 100 Content Distribution Server (Service Information Providing Server)
100 'product information distribution server (service information providing server)
100a Content distribution server (service information providing server)
100b Content distribution server (service information providing server)
100c Content distribution server (service information providing server)
100d Content distribution server (service information providing server)
100e Content distribution server (service information providing server)
100f Content distribution server (service information providing server)
101 privilege providing server 111 content information storage unit 112 information selection unit (selection means)
112 'Product information selection part (selection means)
113 Input processing unit 114 Distribution history information management unit 114 ′ purchase history information management unit 115 content acquisition unit 115 ′ ordering unit 116 content database 116 ′ database 117 network communication unit (transmission unit, reception unit)
118 Information management section (information management means)
118 'Product information management section (information management means)
120 Distribution ratio calculation unit (used ratio calculation means of server)
121 privilege information management unit 122 distributed ratio determination unit 123 arrangement order determination unit 124 distributed title number calculation unit 125 distributed title number determination unit 126 category information selection unit (category information selection unit means)
200, 300, 400, N00 Content receiving device (service information display device)
200 'product information display device (service information display device)
211 content information storage unit 211 ′ storage unit 212 network communication unit (transmission means, reception means)
213 Input processing unit 214 Image data display unit 215 Audio data reproduction unit (audio data reproduction means)
216 Distribution ratio calculation unit (used ratio calculation means of display device)
250 Input device 300 Ordering device

Claims

A service information distribution server that distributes one of a plurality of service information representing service contents to a service information display device,
Each of the plurality of service information individually representing any one of the plurality of service information is individually associated with the use history information representing the use history of the service content represented by the service information, and the plurality of service information Information management means for classifying and managing the information based on the category information representing the category of service content;
Information selecting means for selecting specific service information or category information from among a plurality of service information or category information classified and managed in association with the use history information;
And a transmission unit configured to transmit the selected service information or category information and the usage history information individually associated with the service information or category information to the service information display device. Service information distribution server.
For each category, further comprising a used ratio calculating means for generating ratio information representing the ratio by calculating a ratio of the number of used service information to the total number of service contents belonging to the category,
2. The service information distribution server according to claim 1, wherein the ratio information is associated with category information representing a category specified by the information selection means and transmitted to the service information display device.
3. The service information distribution server according to claim 2, wherein the information selection means selects category information associated with usage history information representing the highest ratio.
The selection instruction is an individual service information selection instruction,
The information selecting means selects a plurality of service information individually representing any of a plurality of service contents belonging to the same category as the service contents specified by the transmitted service information selection instruction,
The transmission means transmits each of the plurality of selected service information and the usage history information individually associated with the service information to the service information display device. The service information distribution server described.
The information management means further classifies and manages the plurality of service information based on category information representing a category of the service content individually represented by any of the plurality of service information;
5. The service information distribution server according to claim 4, wherein the information selection means selects a plurality of service information classified into the same category by the information management means.
For each of the above categories, it further comprises a used ratio calculation means for generating ratio information representing the ratio by calculating a ratio of the number of used service contents to the total number of service contents belonging to the category,
5. The service information distribution server according to claim 4, wherein the transmission unit further transmits the ratio information in association with category information representing a category specified by the selection instruction to the service information display device.
The said transmission means further transmits the privilege information according to the said reference value to the said service information display apparatus, when the said ratio reaches a regulation reference value. Service information distribution server.
When there are a plurality of category information selected by the information selection means and the ratios represented by the used ratios individually associated with the plurality of category information are the same, the transmission means Among the service contents that belong to multiple categories that the information represents individually, the category to which the most recent service content belongs, or the service content to which information indicating that the production date is new belongs The service information distribution server according to claim 2, wherein the category information to be displayed and the used ratio associated with the category information are transmitted to the service information display device.
When there are a plurality of category information selected by the information selection means and the ratios represented by the used ratios individually associated with the plurality of category information are the same, the transmission means Of the service contents belonging to a plurality of categories represented individually by the information, category information representing a category with a small number of service contents belonging to it and the used ratio associated with the category information are further transmitted to the service information display device. The service information distribution server according to claim 2, 3 or 6.
For each category, a ratio representing the ratio by calculating a ratio of the number of information indicating used by the service information display device associated with the service information to the total number of service contents belonging to the category It further comprises a used ratio calculation means for generating information,
The transmission means further transmits the ratio information for each category to the service information display device in association with category information representing the category for a predetermined number of categories. Service information distribution server described in 1.
11. The service information distribution server according to claim 10, wherein the transmission means transmits the ratio information for each category in further association with the rank order represented by the ratio information.
The transmission means is used by the service information display device associated with the service information and the total number information indicating the total number of the service contents belonging to the same category as the category specified by the service information selection instruction. 6. The service information distribution server according to claim 5, wherein used number information representing the number of information to be represented is transmitted to the service information display device.
The said transmission means transmits the privilege information according to the said reference value to the said service information display apparatus, when the number of the information showing that it has already used reaches the regulation reference value. Item 13. The service information distribution server according to Item 12.
6. The service information distribution server according to claim 2, wherein the category information is information indicating that the service content is content and represents a series of the content.
6. The service information distribution server according to claim 2, 3 or 5, wherein the category information is information representing the content of the service and a production staff or a performer of the content.
A service information display device for displaying service contents distributed from a service information distribution server,
Transmitting means for transmitting to the service information distribution server a selection instruction for selecting service information representing the service content or category information representing a category to which the service information belongs;
Receiving means for receiving service information or category information transmitted from the service information distribution server, and usage history information individually associated with the service information or category information;
A service information display device comprising: display means for displaying the service information or category information and the usage history information individually associated with the service information or category information.
Based on the category information and usage history information received by the receiving means, the ratio information indicating the ratio is generated by calculating the ratio of the number of used service information to the total number of service contents belonging to the category. Further comprising a used ratio calculating means for
The service information display device according to claim 16, wherein the display means further displays the ratio information.
A service information distribution system comprising a service information distribution server and a service information display device,
The service information distribution server for distributing any of a plurality of service information representing service contents to a service information display device,
Each of the plurality of service information individually representing any one of the plurality of service information is individually associated with the use history information representing the use history of the service content represented by the service information, and the plurality of service information Information management means for classifying and managing the information based on the category information representing the category of service content;
Information selecting means for selecting specific service information or category information from among a plurality of service information or category information classified and managed in association with the use history information;
Transmission means for transmitting the selected service information or category information and the usage history information individually associated with the service information or category information to the service information display device;
The service information display device that displays the service content distributed from the service information distribution server,
Transmitting means for transmitting to the service information distribution server a selection instruction for selecting service information representing the service content or category information representing a category to which the service information belongs;
Receiving means for receiving service information or category information transmitted from the service information distribution server, and usage history information individually associated with the service information or category information;
A service information distribution system comprising: display means for displaying the service information or category information and the usage history information individually associated with the service information or category information.
A service information distribution method using a service information distribution server for distributing any of a plurality of service information representing service contents to a service information display device,
Each of the plurality of service information individually representing any one of the plurality of service information is individually associated with usage history information representing the usage history of the service content represented by the service information, and the plurality of service information Are classified and managed based on category information representing the category of service content,
An information selection step of selecting specific service information or category information from a plurality of service information or category information classified and managed in association with the usage history information;
Including a transmission step of transmitting the selected service information or category information and the use history information individually associated with the service information or category information to the service information display device. Service information delivery method.
16. A service information distribution program for operating the service information distribution server according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the service information distribution program causes a computer to function as each of the above means.
A computer-readable recording medium in which the service information distribution program according to claim 20 is recorded.