JP2000115098A - Program selection assisting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it easy to select a desired channel by automatically retrieving and displaying a broadcast program matching user's taste without any troublesome operation. SOLUTION: A program-by-user information storage part 4 stores the past channel selection state of a user analyzed by a program information analysis part 3. A program extraction part 5 extracts program information corresponding to the past channel selection state of the user stored in the storage part 4 from EPG information gathered by a program information collecting part 6. Then a recommended program provision part 7 displays the extracted program information on a television receiver 8. Consequently, a broadcast program matching user's taste can be retrieved from program information and displayed to assist a choice of a desired channel by the user without requiring any troublesome operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program selection assisting device suitable for a receiving terminal device for receiving and viewing a broadcast program such as a satellite broadcast system and a cable television system (CATV system). For example, from EPG information (Electronic Program Guide) or program information provided from the outside such as a program information service via the Internet, a program of a user's preference (a program that the user may desire) may be selected. ), Automatic selection based on the user's past channel selection status, and display of the selection in a recommended manner so as to assist in selecting a desired broadcast program from a large number of broadcast programs. The present invention relates to a program selection assisting device which has been described.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, satellite broadcasting systems and cable television systems (CATV systems) having as many as 100 channels are known. Such a system can be used by a user signing a viewing contract with the broadcasting station.

[0003] Specifically, as shown in FIG.
On the 0 side, when a viewing contract is made with the user, user registration is performed for the user 101, and a corresponding receiving terminal device 102 is lent to the user 101. When the user operates the receiving terminal device 102 to input a user identification number (user ID) or the like at the time of viewing a program, the broadcast station 100 authenticates the user and transmits program information and the like. I do. From the broadcast station 100 side, in addition to the video information and audio information of the broadcast program, viewing control information (CA information) enabling only the subscriber to view, and an EPG for assisting program selection.
Information (ElectronicProgram Guide: program information) is transmitted via the transport 103. This information is
It is received by the receiving terminal device 102 lent to the user 101 and displayed on the television receiver 104 of the user 101.

[0004] Here, such a system has a large number of channels such as 100 channels as described above, and its broadcasting program (program guide) also extends over one week. For this reason, the EPG information is used to assist in channel selection, introduce a broadcast program, and the like.

[0005] This EPG information is formed of recommended program information indicating a program recommended by a broadcaster, program list information indicating detailed information of a broadcast program of all channels at least four hours from the present, and the like. The broadcasting station divides a "table" formed for each type of information such as channel selection information, channel information, and program information into "sub-tables" formed by a group of programs constituting each channel. The sub-table is divided into "sections" such as the name and start time of one program, and a plurality of sections are sequentially allocated to, for example, 188-byte fixed-length transport stream packets (TS packets) and transmitted to the user side. (High-efficiency transmission method (multi-section transmission method)).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of searching for a desired program using EPG information in the system. When a user searches for a desired program using EPG information, first, in step S1, the user goes to step S1. Then, the user operates the receiving terminal device 102 to input search conditions corresponding to a desired broadcast program, such as a broadcast time zone, a genre, and a leading actor. When the search conditions are input, the system proceeds to step S2, where the broadcast station 100 searches for a broadcast program based on the EPG information from the search conditions input by the user 101, and in step S3, The search result is displayed on the television receiver 104 of the user 101. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, the movie title, the broadcast channel, the broadcast time zone, the leading actor, the drama title, the broadcast channel, the broadcast time zone, the leading actor and the like that match the search result are displayed on the television receiver 104. Will be displayed.

The user operates the receiving terminal device 102 to select a desired broadcast program from the displayed search results. As a result, the video information and audio information of the broadcast program selected by the user are transmitted from the broadcast station 100 to the user 101. As described above, by using the EPG information, a desired broadcast program can be easily searched (selected) from a large number of channels, and the selected broadcast program can be viewed.

[0008] Such a program information providing service is also provided on the Internet, and when a user accesses a predetermined site via the Internet,
Program information such as “TV program table”, “program table by genre”, “custom program table”, and “detailed program information” can be obtained. Specifically, in the “TV program table”, for example, a broadcast program (VHF / UHF / BS) for two hours being broadcast at the access date and time, a broadcast program for each region, another time zone, and one week ahead Are displayed, and in the “genre-based program table”, broadcast programs for each genre such as sports, movies, dramas, and animations are displayed. In the “custom program table”, broadcast programs of the genre and time zone selected by the user are displayed, and in the “detailed program information”, the broadcast station of the broadcast program selected by the user, Talent information such as a profile and a performance program is displayed.

The user operates the receiving terminal device 102 based on the program information obtained on the Internet to easily search (select) a desired broadcast program from a large number of channels as described above. ) To view a broadcast program.

[0010]

However, in the conventional system, it is necessary for a user to input data for searching for a desired broadcast program one by one, and the input operation becomes very troublesome. was there. In addition, when the power of the receiving terminal device 102 is turned off, the data input in the past is lost, and when the power of the receiving terminal device 102 is turned on, there is a problem that the data must be input again. .

[0011] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and does not require inputting data for searching for a broadcast program every time the receiving terminal device is turned on.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a program selection assisting device capable of automatically searching for and displaying a broadcast program desired by a user.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program selection assisting apparatus for identifying a user, comprising:
Program information collecting means for collecting information about a program from an external information source; program information analyzing means for analyzing information about a program selected by a user from information about the programs collected by the program information collecting means; Analysis information storage means for storing analysis information indicating an analysis result by the program information analysis means for each user based on an identification output from the user identification means. Further, together with each of these units, the past analysis information stored in the analysis information storage unit is compared with the information on the current program collected by the program information collection unit, and a predetermined value is determined for the past analysis information. And a program providing means for providing the user with information related to the program extracted by the program extracting means.

In such a program selection assisting device, the program extracting means extracts information on a program corresponding to the past selection status of the user, and the program providing means provides the information to the user. This makes it possible to provide information on a program corresponding to the user's preference.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a program selection assisting apparatus according to the present invention is based on the program selecting assisting apparatus of the first aspect. And updating means for updating information on the program stored in the analysis information storage means, based on information on the program selected by the user from the information on the provided programs.

In such a program selection assisting device, the updating means updates the information on the program stored in the analysis information storing means. This makes it possible to provide information on the program that follows a change in user preference.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a program selection assisting apparatus according to the present invention is based on the program selecting assisting apparatus according to the first or second aspect. Means for inputting user identification information assigned to each user, identification information storage means for storing user identification information assigned to each user, and input by the input means Only when the user identification information that matches the identified user identification information is stored in the identification information storage unit, at least the analysis is performed so that the information processing of the user corresponding to the matching user identification information is performed. Information storage means, program extraction means,
It comprises a program providing means and a control means for controlling the updating means.

In such a program selection assisting device, the control means enables the operation (operation) of the device only when the user identification information input by the input means is confirmed. Thus, the confidentiality of each user can be maintained.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program selection assisting apparatus according to the first, second, or third aspect of the present invention. The analysis information storage unit and / or the identification information storage unit are formed by an external storage unit that is a storage unit detachable from the apparatus.

In such a program selection assisting apparatus, the analysis information storage means and / or the identification information storage means are external storage means which are removable storage means from the apparatus, so that each user's unique Information can be carried by each user. The information unique to each user can be referred to by each user at a desired place.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a program selection assisting apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

The program selection assisting apparatus according to the present invention is, for example, a satellite broadcasting system, a cable television system (C
The present invention can be applied to a receiving terminal device such as an ATV system shown in FIG. The receiving terminal device includes an operation unit 1, a user identification unit 2, a program information analysis unit 3, a user program information storage unit 4, a program extraction unit 5, a program information collection unit 6, a recommended program providing unit 7, a television reception unit. Machine 8.

The operation unit 1 is provided for assisting program selection and inputting user information (for example, the above-mentioned user ID).
It is composed of a keyboard and the like.

The user identification unit 2 identifies a user from the user information input via the operation unit 1 and executes selection assistance of a program corresponding to the user's preference. Further, the user ID is transmitted to the broadcasting station via the receiving terminal device, so that the specific broadcast program can be viewed (restriction released).

The program information analysis unit 3 analyzes information on a program selected and viewed by a user based on an operation of the operation unit 1. The channel selected by the user with the operation unit 1 (the switch or the remote controller: remote controller or the like) is recorded, and a case where the same channel is continuously selected for a predetermined time (for example, 15 minutes or more) is defined as a “selected channel”. For example, each information (analysis information) such as a user, a time zone, and a channel number at that time is obtained. As a result, it is possible to prevent inconvenience in which a channel that has been meaninglessly selected for a short time, such as when scanning a channel or watching a channel, is recorded as a “selected channel”. Only information about the selected program can be obtained.

The user-specific program information storage unit 4 accumulates and stores, for each user, analysis information such as a time zone, a channel number, and a program content regarding the viewed program analyzed by the program information analysis unit 3. The user-specific program information storage unit 4 is configured to retain the stored contents even when the power of the program selection auxiliary device is turned off, and uses a nonvolatile storage element, various disk devices, and the like.

The program information collecting section 6 collects information on a program from an external information source. In this embodiment, the EPG information transmitted from the broadcasting station is taken in and used.
By using this EPG information, it is possible to obtain channel selection information (tuning information), channel information, program information, and the like regarding a program. The EPG information is embedded in a digital signal for broadcasting a program, as described above.
It can be easily taken out. Then, the program information collecting unit 6 stores the EPG information in an internal storage unit for a certain period of time without directly relating to turning on / off of the power supply of the main unit (receiving terminal device). Output. The EPG information can be automatically taken in at predetermined intervals.

The program extracting section 5 compares the past analysis information accumulated and stored in the user-specific program information storage section 4 with the current EPG information collected by the program information collecting section 6 and performs the past analysis. Another program information indicating a match of the information within a predetermined range with respect to the information is obtained. As the other program information that the program extracting unit 5 obtains, for example, 1) the time period of the program selected by the user, indicated by the analysis information, is tallyed, and the time period that the user can view is extracted. 2) The genre of this program is acquired from the EPG information based on the program content selected by the user indicated by the analysis information and extracted as the genre that the user likes. 3) Information on the performer relating to the program indicated by the analysis information is obtained from the EPG information and extracted as the user's favorite performer. The leading performer may be extracted. 4) Information on the co-star related to the program indicated by the analysis information is obtained from the EPG information, and another program information on which the co-star appears is extracted. It should be noted that when the number of registered contents of the user analysis information stored and stored in the user program information storage unit 4 becomes more than a certain level,
The extraction accuracy can be improved, and can be closer to the user's preference.

When the user uses this program selection assisting device (receiving terminal device), the recommended program providing unit 7 uses the information on the program extracted by the program extracting unit 5 via the television receiver 8. To provide.

Next, the operation of the receiving terminal apparatus having the above-described configuration according to the embodiment will be described. For example, suppose that a certain program is broadcast at the same time every week. When the user selects this program and views it for a certain period of time or more, the program information analysis unit 2 determines that the user has viewed this program, and stores information on the selected program as analysis information and stores program information for each user. Stored in the unit 4. The program extracting unit 5 determines that the selected program is a serial drama based on the time zone related to the program collected by the program information collecting unit 6 based on the EPG information and the detailed program information.

Then, the recommended program providing unit 7 informs the user via the television receiver 8 that the program is broadcast on the next broadcast date or the day before the broadcast date. For example, when the user activates the receiving terminal device, program information such as the next broadcast date, broadcast time, channel number, performer, etc. of this program is displayed on the television receiver 8 in characters or the like. Further, the program extracting unit 5 can also extract a performer common to a plurality of programs selected as the analysis information of the user, and guide the program information on other programs in which the same performer is found. Can also.

If the program extraction by the program extraction unit 5 is simply extracted over a wide range, an enormous amount of guidance is created, which is impractical. Therefore, the following restrictions may be imposed.

(1) Limit the number of items to be extracted (only 10 items are found from found items).

(2) Extract only from the user's use time zone.

(3) Program information relating to a program recently selected by the user is preferentially extracted.

As described above, this receiving terminal device can estimate a user's preference by merely watching a favorite program without explicitly designating a search condition, and can obtain a new program. Can be recommended. Of course, the program selection assisting device not only extracts from the selection results of programs that the user has watched unilaterally, but also allows the user to operate the operation unit 1.
May be operated so that the search can be performed independently. For example, a conventional method of specifying a time zone, a channel, a genre, a performer, and the like as search conditions and obtaining a search result from EPG information may be used together. Conversely, means for registering information that is not desired to be selected may be provided. For example, if there is an input of information that the user does not want to select, such as a time zone, a channel, a genre, a performer, and the like, after performing the above-described extraction processing, the user selects from the found programs and shakes with the information that he does not want to select. What is necessary is just to perform the process of dropping. If such information can be selected within the range of information that can be obtained by EPG information, processing for extracting a program can be easily performed.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The receiving terminal device of the second embodiment has a configuration shown in FIG. 2, and when the recommended program providing unit 7 recommends a new program to the user, the user selects the recommended program. When the user views the program, an update process for storing the new program in the analysis information storage unit 4 is performed. It should be noted that the second embodiment and the above-described first embodiment differ only in this point, and hence only the difference will be described below, and redundant description will be omitted.

That is, in the receiving terminal device of the second embodiment, it is assumed that the user has preferentially selected and watched a drama in which “actor A” appears in the past, for example. The program extracting unit 5 extracts information on the program based on the EPG information as described above.
For example, if data indicating that actress B appeared in the co-star of the drama is extracted, recommended program providing unit 7 recommends the program in which actress B appears to the user.

If the user selects a program in which the recommended actress B appears, the program information analysis unit 3 detects the genre of the program based on the data extracted by the program extraction unit 5. If the genre of the program in which this actress B is performing is, for example, “variety program”, the user knows that he / she also likes “variety program”. When the “variety program” in which “actor A” appears is extracted, the “variety program” in which “actor A” appears is registered as a recommended program in the analysis information storage unit 4.

By repeating such an operation, the program extracting unit 5 can extract new EPG information and update the analysis information stored and stored in the analysis information storage unit 4, and the user can Even if you do not specify it directly,
A suitable program can be recommended by estimating the taste from the user's past viewing state. In addition, it is possible to recommend a program corresponding to the current preference in response to a change in the preference of the program to be previewed by the user.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The receiving terminal device of the third embodiment is such that the device can be used only by a specific user. The third embodiment differs from the above-described first embodiment only in this point. Therefore, only the difference will be described below, and redundant description will be omitted.

That is, in the receiving terminal device of the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a password and a user ID are entered for each user input by operating the operation unit 1.
The password information storage unit 15 stores user identification information unique to each user, such as the user identification information. When the user inputs the user identification information, the password information storage unit 15 stores the information in advance. I do.

Next, when the receiving terminal device is activated, the device displays a message such as "Please enter user identification information" on the television receiver 8, for example. Prompt for user identification information. When the user identification information is input, the user identification unit 2 compares the input user identification information with each user identification information stored in the password information storage unit 15,
It is determined whether or not the same user identification information as the input user identification information is stored in the password information storage unit 15. Only when the same user identification information as the input user identification information is stored, the use of the receiving terminal device is permitted as in the above-described embodiments.
As a result, only a person who can truly use the receiving terminal device can use the receiving terminal device.
It is possible to prevent inconvenience that the analysis information of each user is used or peeped by the user.

As the operation unit 1 in the description of the third embodiment, a switch for inputting user identification information may be provided in the operation unit 1 as means for inputting user identification information.
Use a barcode reader that can input the user ID or the like with a barcode, or use a TV camera that captures the face of the user and output the image, a fingerprint reader, or a microphone for voice input. A configuration for inputting a fingerprint or voiceprint may be adopted.

The analysis information of each user stored in the user-specific program information storage unit 4 is encrypted by a specific encryption method, and decryption processing is performed only when the user identification information matches. It may be configured. In this case, it is possible to prevent the analysis information from being read even when the program auxiliary device is stolen.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The receiving terminal device according to the fourth embodiment has a configuration shown in FIG. 4, and the user-specific program information storage unit 4 and the password information storage unit 15 are portable as an external storage device 20 detachable from the device body. It was made possible. The fourth embodiment differs from the above-described first to third embodiments only in this point. Therefore, only the difference will be described below, and redundant description will be omitted.

That is, in the receiving terminal device according to the fourth embodiment, the external storage device 20 is a readable / writable storage medium such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, and includes therein a user. It has a storage area for storing different program information (user-specific program information storage unit 4) and a storage area for storing user identification information (password information storage unit 15). Also, this external storage device 2
Numeral 0 is detachable from the apparatus main body and can be easily carried. The program information analysis unit 3 and the user identification unit 2 control writing and reading of analysis information and user identification information for each user in the external storage device 20.

As a result, the user can remove the external storage device 20 from the device main body and attach it to another receiving terminal device installed in another place. Can receive. Also,
Since the user identification information is also stored together with the analysis information for each user, only the true user who brought the external storage device 20 can receive the program selection assistance service, Even if the external storage device 20 is stolen, the stored analysis information for each user is not misused.

Although the external storage device 20 stores both the analysis information and the user identification information for each user, either one of them may be stored.

Finally, in the description of each of the above embodiments, the program information collecting section 6 collects EPG information as an external information source. May be collected.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments described as examples, and various changes may be made according to the design and the like within a range not departing from the technical idea of the present invention. Of course, it is possible.

[0051]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program selection assisting apparatus for automatically searching a broadcast program that a user may desire from program information based on a past channel selection situation of the user. (Broadcast programs that match the user's preferences can be retrieved from the program information and displayed). Therefore, every time the power of the receiving terminal device is turned on, the troublesome work of inputting data for searching for a broadcast program can be saved. Therefore, it is possible to more easily select a broadcast program desired by the user from a large number of channels, and it is possible to promote efficient use of a television system that will have more and more channels in the future. it can.

The program selection assisting device according to the second aspect of the present invention can provide information on the program that follows a change in user preference.

The program selection assisting apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention can maintain the confidentiality of each user.

In the program selection assisting device according to the present invention, information unique to each user can be carried by each user. Therefore, each user can refer to information unique to each user at a desired place.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a first diagram to which a program selection assisting device according to the present invention is applied.
It is a block diagram of the principal part of the receiving terminal device of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a second example to which the program selection assisting device according to the present invention is applied.
It is a block diagram of the principal part of the receiving terminal device of an embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a third example to which the program selection assisting device according to the present invention is applied.
It is a block diagram of the principal part of the receiving terminal device of an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a fourth diagram to which the program selection assisting device according to the present invention is applied;
It is a block diagram of the principal part of the receiving terminal device of an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an EPG system.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of selecting a desired broadcast program in a conventional receiving terminal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... operation part, 2 ... user identification part, 3 ... program information analysis part,
4 Program information storage unit for each user 5 Program extraction unit 6 Program information collection unit 7 Recommended program providing unit 8 Television receiver 15 Password information storage unit 20 External storage device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04J 3/00 H04J 3/00 H04N 7/025 H04N 7/08 A 7/03 H04Q 7/02 B 7 / 035 H04Q 7/10 7/20

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A user identification unit for identifying a user; a program information collection unit for collecting information on a program from an external information source; and a program information collection unit for using the program information from the information collected by the program information collection unit. Program information analysis means for analyzing information on a program selected by a user; and analysis information indicating an analysis result by the program information analysis means for each user based on identification output from the user identification means. Analysis information storage means, past analysis information stored in the analysis information storage means,
A program extracting unit that compares information on the current program collected by the program information collecting unit and extracts information on the program indicating information matching within a predetermined range with respect to the past analysis information; A program providing means for providing a user with information on a program extracted by the extracting means. 2. The program selection assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the analysis information storage means stores information on a program selected by a user from information on programs provided by the program providing means. A program selection assisting device, comprising: updating means for updating stored information on a program. 3. The user selecting means in the program selection assisting device according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: input means for inputting user identification information assigned to each user; Identification information storage means for respectively storing user identification information assigned to a user, and only when user identification information matching the user identification information input by the input means is stored in the identification information storage means And control means for controlling at least the analysis information storage means, the program extraction means, the program provision means, and the update means so as to perform information processing of a user corresponding to the matching user identification information. Program selection assisting device. 4. The program selection assisting device according to claim 1, wherein said analysis information storage means and / or identification information storage means are storage means detachable from said apparatus. A program selection assisting device formed of a certain external storage means.