JP2000197032A - Information system using digital broadcasting and information transmitting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid problems in communication capacity and flow delay concerning an electronic mail by providing a viewer participation type program. SOLUTION: A broadcasting station 12 broadcasts contents obtained by multiplexing a program, an index which includes a scene 1d specifying the scene in the program and a destination address, and then additional information with the electronic mail received from a viewer as the contents. A terminal 15 transmits opinions and impression with respect to specified scene in the program to the broadcasting station 12 by the form of the electronic mail via the Internet 16. In this case, information of the index is fetched to the header or the title of the electronic mail. For example, Id is used for specifying the scene corresponding to the opinion and the impressions. The station 12 multiplexes the received E-mail with respect to the program as additional information and distributes it to the unspecified or specified viewers through a digital broadcasting.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information system using digital broadcasting and an information transmission method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art CS (Communicaton Satellite), BS (B
Digital broadcasting such as satellite digital broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting using a roadcasting satellite) is rapidly developing on a worldwide scale. In addition, the next generation of integrated digital broadcasting ISDB (Integrated Services Digital Broa
dcasting) has also been studied. Digital broadcasting is a communication medium that can transmit a large amount of digital data in a short time, but is a one-way transmission from a broadcasting station to each viewer. Usually, a digital broadcast receiver has a built-in telephone modem, so that a viewer can access a broadcasting station by using the function of the telephone modem.

[0003] There are cases where a viewer wants to give an opinion on a program he has watched. Also, this opinion is not broadcast,
You may want to tell other unspecified or specific audiences. Conventionally, it is possible to send an opinion to a broadcasting station by telephone or facsimile and have the broadcasting station take up the opinion. However, such a method has a problem that the intention of the broadcasting station influences and it is not possible to convey its own opinion to others as it is. At present, alternative voting by telegong or the like is performed. In telegong, voting is possible, but it is impossible to do more than send the solution assumed by the broadcast producer.

As a method of transmitting opinions to others without going through digital broadcasting or a broadcasting station, there is e-mail. In particular,
Recently, Internet mail has been widely used. Mailing lists are a well-established technique for communicating your opinion to many people in Internet mail. That is, the mailing list
This is a method in which one mail address is registered for all members of a specific groove, and mail sent to that address is broadcast to all members. In this Internet mail, the distribution amount can be statistically processed.

[0005]

However, as the number of members of the mailing list increases, the total communication volume increases linearly, and a delay in information distribution becomes a problem. Further, if an image itself of a scene is used to specify a scene in a program, the communication capacity of the image is large, which is a major cause of distribution delay.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an information system and an information transmission method using a digital broadcast capable of transmitting an opinion on a digital broadcast program to an unspecified or specific person without delay.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 multiplexes an index for identifying a distribution object in a distribution object distributed by digital broadcasting, and allows a viewer to index the distribution object. Is transmitted in a title or a header portion, and a broadcast station distributes data in which a program, an index, and a received message are multiplexed to a viewer through digital broadcasting.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving means for receiving a digital broadcast in which an index for identifying a distribution object is multiplexed, a reproduction means for reproducing at least a video of the distribution object, and an electronic message transmission means. A terminal device for transmitting a message for a distribution object and an index related to the message to a broadcasting station by an electronic message transmitting unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transmitting means for transmitting a digital broadcast in which an index for identifying a distribution object is multiplexed, and a receiving means for receiving a message in which an index transmitted by a viewer is incorporated in a title or a header portion. And a means for multiplexing a message into a digital broadcast.

[0010] According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, an index for identifying a distribution object is multiplexed in a distribution object distributed by digital broadcasting, and a viewer transmits a message in which the index is incorporated in a title or a header portion. Is an information transmission method characterized by distributing data multiplexed with a program, an index and a received message to a viewer through digital broadcasting.

[0011] According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, a digital broadcast in which an index for identifying a distribution object is multiplexed is received, and reproduction for reproducing at least a video of the distribution object is performed. An information transmission method characterized by transmitting to a broadcasting station.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, a digital broadcast in which an index for identifying a distribution object is multiplexed is transmitted, a message in which an index transmitted by a viewer is incorporated in a title or a header portion is received, and the message is digitally broadcast. This is an information transmission method characterized by multiplexing the information.

According to the present invention, the broadcast distributed by the broadcast station is:
Includes an index that identifies a delivery object in addition to the video of the program. A viewer who has watched the program transmits opinions and impressions on the segmented video such as a specific scene to the broadcast station using a message transmission means such as an electronic mail. During the broadcast, the address of the destination is included. The broadcaster broadcasts the received message as a part of the content, and a specific or unspecified audience can read the message. In addition, opinions on the messages that have been read can be transmitted as well.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a transmission / reception system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a program providing system for producing contents and programs. Reference numeral 12 denotes a broadcasting station that broadcasts contents created by the program providing system 11. This broadcasting station 12
The details of the function will be described later. Reference numeral 13 denotes an antenna for digital terrestrial broadcasting, and reference numeral 14 denotes a satellite (CS or BS) for digital satellite broadcasting. Reference numeral 15 denotes a terminal provided in a general home. The details of the terminal 15 will be described later. Reference numeral 16 denotes a wired communication system provided between the broadcasting station 12 and the terminal 15, for example, the Internet including a telephone line.

The arrows in FIG. 1 indicate the flow of the content. The communication channels for terrestrial digital broadcasting and satellite digital broadcasting are one-way communication channels from the broadcasting station 12 to the terminal 15. The communication path between the broadcasting station 12 and the terminal 15 via the Internet 16 is a two-way communication path. The viewer sends to the broadcasting station 12 an opinion or impression regarding the program currently being watched or the program that has already been watched by electronic mail from the terminal 15 of each home via the Internet 16. In this case, information for specifying the target scene is also added to the mail.

The broadcast station 12 that has received the e-mail
Multiplexes information (referred to as an image) of a program (referred to as an image) with a content (referred to as additional information) mainly composed of e-mail and an index including information for specifying a scene (referred to as a scene Id), and distributes the digital broadcast. I do. The terminal 15 that has received the broadcast can know the opinions and impressions of the program issued by another person without delay from the additional information multiplexed in the broadcast,
The scene can be identified from Id, and the destination of the e-mail can be determined from the address in the index.

Each component of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. First, the function of the broadcasting station 12 will be described with reference to FIG. Broadcasting station 12 has four main parts from its function, namely, content synthesizing / multiplexing system 121, information processing system 122,
It can be divided into a transmission conversion unit 123 and a storage unit 124. The storage unit 124 has a much larger capacity than the storage unit provided in the terminal 15, and stores all information broadcast by the broadcasting station 12, that is, the video, index, and additional information of the program. I have. Of course, as hardware for storage, a combination of various media such as a hard disk, an optical disk, and a magnetic tape can be used.

The content synthesizing and multiplexing system 121 includes:
The information from the information processing system 122 or the storage unit 124 is combined or multiplexed with the video stream received from the program providing system 11 and sent to the transmission conversion unit 123. The transmission conversion unit 123 converts the data received from the content synthesizing and multiplexing system 121 into a transmission format and sends it to the antenna 13. At present, MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts
Group Phase 2) transport streams can be used, and in the future encoding to various other formats will be available.

The information processing system 122 processes the electronic mail received from the Internet 16 according to a processing procedure described later, and sends the result to the content synthesizing / multiplexing system 121 or the storage unit 124. The information processing system 122 transmits information extracted from the content synthesis / multiplexing system 121 or the storage unit 124 to the Internet 1
It is also possible to send back to 6.

FIG. 3 shows the function of the terminal 15 in more detail. The receiving unit denoted by 151 is a unit that receives a transmission object transmitted via digital satellite broadcasting such as BS or CS, or terrestrial digital broadcasting. Specifically, the receiving unit 151 includes a receiving antenna, a high-frequency circuit, a demodulation circuit, an error correction circuit, a descrambler, and the like.
The output of the receiving unit 151 is the received data of the service selected by the user of the terminal 15. The contents of the transmission object do not depend on distribution means such as digital satellite broadcasts such as BS and CS, digital terrestrial broadcasts and the like, and media. Details of the transmission object will be described later.

The transmitting object is passed from the receiving unit 151 to the data separating unit 152. The contents of the transmission object are roughly classified into three types: video, index, and additional information. Each separated content is sent to the data processing unit 1
The content is supplied to the content 53, and a process corresponding to each content is performed. For example, the data processing unit 153 includes a video decoder, an audio decoder, and the like. Each content from the data processing unit 153 is transmitted to a PC (Personal Comp
uter) Equivalent part 154, storage part 155, display part 1
56 to one or more.

The PC equivalent section 154 is a section having a function equivalent to that of the PC.
The entire operation of the terminal 15 is controlled. PC equivalent part 1
Reference numeral 54 also serves as an interface with the Internet 16, and an e-mail can be transmitted by a mailer (e-mail software) installed in the PC equivalent unit 154. The receiving unit 151 described above,
The data separation unit 152, the data processing unit 153, and the display unit 156 have a configuration corresponding to the current digital satellite broadcast set-top box. That is, the terminal 15 has a set-top box function, a PC function, and a storage function.

FIG. 4 shows the concept of a transmission object when additional information is not combined or multiplexed. As described above, no combining or multiplexing is performed by the broadcast station 12.
Means that information from the information processing system 123 is not synthesized or multiplexed, and it is assumed that a video stream or the like from the program providing system 11 is transmitted to the transmission conversion unit 13. FIG. 4 shows an image of the broadcast direction (bit rate) on the horizontal axis in the time direction and on the vertical axis. A band of about several Mbps is assumed. Video stream 21
Is segmented with an appropriate length, such as scene units, millisecond units, etc., with an index 2 for each segment.
2 is attached.

FIG. 5 shows an image of a transmission object when the additional information 23 is multiplexed. As the additional information 23, information that does not have a strong relationship with the video stream is sent. Here, it is mainly assumed that the information of the e-mail sent from the viewer is the additional information 23. By distributing e-mail using digital satellite broadcasting and digital terrestrial broadcasting, e-mail can be sent to a large number of viewers in a short time.

Although the bandwidth of the video stream 21 is shown as being constant in FIGS. 4 and 5, the type of program (sports program, weather forecast, etc.) or the characteristics of the image itself (fineness of the picture, Depending on the amount of movement)
The data bandwidth fluctuates in the time direction. Therefore, it is possible to multiplex the additional information 23 with the video stream 21 by using the time when the data amount of the video stream 21 is small. The index 22
Can be similarly multiplexed. Furthermore, a dedicated band may be allocated to the index 22 and the additional information 23.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the transmitted video stream 21 and the index. Usually, the video stream is
It consists of several parts (called scenes and cuts). Conversely, an aggregate of scenes and cuts becomes a video stream. The scenes and cuts (Fig. 6
(This is an example of a representative scene in a plurality of cuts.) An index is added as tag information for specifying the scene. The attributes of the index in this embodiment are shown below.

[Title]: Name of video stream [Scene Id]: Id for specifying a scene.

[Time]: Has substantially the same meaning as [Scene Id], and is the absolute value time of the broadcast. [Keyword]: Substitute for the title assigned to the scene. [Rating]: The recommendation degree of the program or the pair. A column where a rental lock (viewable age information) can be entered [Program URL or Address]: Destination (URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or address) to which general viewers send opinions [CA information]: Reception restriction information The above-mentioned index Is an example, and it is not necessary to have all of them. In order to realize the present invention, information ([scene Id],
[Time], [keyword]) and [Program URL or Ad
dress] is important.

In the case of digital satellite broadcasting, video / audio / data packets for a plurality of channels are multiplexed into one transport stream, and other data are multiplexed. For example, SI (Service Inf
EIT (Event Information Table) in which the program name, program start time, synopsis, and genre number are described as one of the section format tables called
There is. A scene Id can be described in an area of the EIT that can be defined by a provider. An area for specifying the program other than the scene Id and describing the destination to which the mail is sent back is not secured. As one method, a method of putting such information in a program sequence specified in digital broadcasting is conceivable. "Program arrangement information used for digital broadcasting" ARIB (Association of Radio Indust
ries and Businesses, Telecommunications Industry Association) `` Extended Event Descriptor '' in the descriptor specified by STD-B10
Therefore, there is a method in which the program described above is specified and the destination to which the mail is sent back is described.

Terminal 1 controlled by PC equivalent unit 154
5 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S1 in FIG. 7, the receiving unit 151 receives a transmission object through digital satellite broadcasting or digital terrestrial broadcasting. In step S2, the data separation unit 152 separates the video, the index, and the additional information. The additional information in one embodiment mainly refers to an e-mail from a user.

The video (program) and index from the data separation section 152 are processed in step S3 and subsequent steps. Also,
The video, index, and additional information from the data separation unit 152 are stored in the storage unit 155. The video accumulates one corresponding to the scene Id in the index, that is, one or several frames of the representative image (thumbnail may be used) as described above. In the case of a thumbnail, the capacity of the storage unit 155 can be saved. The storage unit 155 stores a representative image or a thumbnail and an index of the program actually listened to by the user.

Further, the storage unit 155 may store information on programs other than the actually listened program according to the capacity. For example, the index and the representative image of a preset program, a program of a specific genre (drama, news, etc.) and an index may be accumulated without actually listening. The index and additional information (e-mail) from the data separation unit 152 are stored in step S6.
It is processed later.

In step S3, the display unit 156 determines the separated video (program) and index.
To perform normal reproduction. For example, all or part of the index information is displayed as a bar at the top or bottom of the playback video screen. At the same time, an icon for starting up the mailer installed in the PC equivalent unit 154 is displayed on the screen.

Then, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the user of the terminal gives a comment (an opinion, an impression, etc. on the video being viewed) to the video while viewing the received video. If you do not give an opinion or impression,
Returning to step S1, the state of watching the video via steps S2 and S3 continues. If the user wants to give an opinion or impression in step S4, the mailer is started by an operation such as clicking an icon (step S5), his / her own comment is created, and the comment is made via the Internet 16. Transmit to the broadcasting station 12. The opinions and impressions relate to, for example, the video currently being viewed, and are transmitted together with the opinions and impressions at which the scene Id corresponding to the scene when the mailer was started is transmitted. Such mailer movement will be described later.

The process of activating the mailer and sending the e-mail is not limited to during the reproduction of the program, but may be performed after the reproduction of the program. In this case, the index of the scene of the reproduced program and the scene (a representative image or thumbnail of one frame) corresponding to the index are surely stored in the storage unit 155 of the terminal 15.
Must be stored in

There are two ways to reproduce the additional information. One of the methods is a method in which the program is accumulated in the accumulation unit 155 and reproduced at a time later, and the other method is a real-time reproduction method while watching a program. Further, additional information, that is, individual opinions and impressions (e-mails) on the program are distributed to all viewers or specific members through digital broadcasting.

The opinions and impressions distributed to all the viewers can be read by anyone. Also, for a specific member, only members registered in advance on the mailing list can read. Since digital broadcasting is used as a medium, there is an advantage that distribution delay hardly occurs even if the number of registered members is much larger than that of the current Internet mail. Specifically, in the case of distributing to a specific member, it is necessary to add reception restriction information to the additional information, and after the separation of the additional information, add a process according to the reception restriction information. For example, give an encryption key only to members over the Internet 16 or the like,
The member can receive and reproduce the additional information by using the encryption key.

Step S6 in FIG. 7 is required in the case of a system for distributing opinions and impressions to specific members. In step S6, it is determined whether the terminal user is a member registered in the mailing list. It is determined based on the address and the like. If it is determined in step S6 that the member is not a member, the additional information is discarded, and the process returns to step S1. If it is determined that the member is a member, in step S7, the additional information is reproduced using the encryption key distributed in advance. In this way, the mechanism that allows only members to reproduce additional information is based on the mailing list and conditional access CA (C
onditional Access).

An opinion or impression on a program is usually described in relation to a specific scene in the program. For example, an opinion or impression that the user was impressed by seeing a specific scene is described. However, the additional information transmitted from the terminal 15 to the broadcasting station 12 via the Internet 16 and the additional information distributed through digital broadcasting do not send the video of the referenced scene itself, but express opinions and impressions. And [Scene Id]. This is to reduce the amount of distribution information of the additional information. Therefore, only the impressions and opinions are reproduced in step S7, and the image which is the target is not reproduced.

In the next step S8, it is determined whether or not the user wants to refer to a video in which he or she has expressed an opinion or impression. When the user operates a specific key or icon, an instruction to refer to the video is issued. The subject (video) expressing their opinions and impressions in response to the instruction
Is provided to the storage unit 155, a video corresponding to the scene Id is read from the storage unit 155, and the video is reproduced (step S9).

As described above, when referring to an image, it is assumed that the scene Id to be referred to and the scene are stored in the storage unit 155. Although omitted in the flowchart of FIG. 7, if the scene Id to be referred to and the scene are not stored in the storage unit 155 of the terminal 15, the storage unit 12 of the broadcast station 12 via the Internet 16
4 to request distribution of an image corresponding to a specific scene Id. This request is described in the mail header. Further, when there is an impression or opinion on the reproduced additional information of another person, the mailer is started in the same manner as described above.

The flowchart of FIG.
The basic operation of the mailer installed in the corresponding unit 154 will be described. When activated at step S5 in FIG. 7, the mailer needs to write necessary conditions in the mail header. That is, when it is desired to make an opinion or impression on a certain scene of the program being watched, the index information of the program being previewed, which is attached to the video stream, is written in the mail header (step S11). Also,
For the received additional information, the header information is read as a necessary condition (step S12).

Optionally, step S1
As shown in Fig. 3, personal information,
Personal attributes such as preference information are added. Personal attributes describe the characteristics of the person who sends opinions and impressions.
It mainly indicates gender, age, whereabouts, hobbies, and the like.
From the viewpoint of privacy protection, the addition of a personal attribute is optional. In general, the terminal 15 stores the contract contents for each individual in an IC card in an encrypted form for conditional access to digital broadcasting. Therefore, the personal attribute can be obtained by the PC equivalent unit 154 extracting information from the IC card. Then, a text for the program being viewed or the opinion and impression of another person is entered (step S14).

Further, as described above, when the video to be referenced is not stored in its own storage unit 155, it is determined in step S15 whether or not the broadcast station 12 wants to distribute the video. You. If it is desired to distribute the video, the request is added to the mail header (step S16). In the request, it is necessary to fill in the scene Id.

As a specific method, a method of describing the scene Id at the subject: of the Internet mail can be adopted. Alternatively, it is possible to create an Attribute Field called X-Scene-Id. Furthermore, the return address is always required, and it must be described in To: Field. The mailer has a function of selecting the information described in, for example, the Extended Event Descriptor and writing the information in the header of the mail.

FIG. 9 shows the information processing system 1 of the broadcasting station 12 for the information collected via the Internet 16.
22 shows the flow of the process of No. 22. E-mails of opinions and impressions on programs issued by individuals enter the broadcasting station 12 via the Internet 16. At this time, in the case of opinions from registered members, reception is restricted from the sender's address or the like so that only registered members can receive. The broadcast station 12 first separates the mail header from the body (step S21).

In step S22, the information of the separated mail header is processed. As described above, the mail header includes an index associated with a program and a scene for which an opinion or impression is to be made. In some cases, a request for distribution of a specific scene is included. Also, as an option, the personal attribute of the sender of the mail is included.

If the personal attribute in the mail header is step S
At 22, statistical processing is performed using the statistical processing header set. More specifically, it is possible to conduct a detailed audience rating survey in units of programs and scenes. The obtained statistical data is stored in the storage unit 155. However, great care must be taken not to violate privacy. Therefore, only necessary personal attributes are separated and the processing routine (step S22) is entered.

In step S23, it is determined whether or not a request for distribution of a scene video is included in the mail header in the mail. Step S2
3, when it is determined that there is a request,
The requested scene is extracted from 55 and the extracted scene is transmitted via the Internet 16.

As described above, the statistical processing (step S2)
Based on the data obtained in 2), step S2
At 4, a highlight scene is extracted from a video broadcast once or a plurality of times of a specific program, and a digest is created. Step S
At 26, it is multiplexed with the program and distributed.

Further, the body of the mail separated in step S21 is processed in step S25. In step S25, additional information content to be broadcast is created using the additional information creation header set. The email may be read by an unspecified number of people, or may be read by a specific registered member. When distributing mail only to a specific member, as described above, the encryption key is given to the member in advance, and a mechanism similar to conditional access is used. When the number of specific members is small, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 9, it may be possible to transmit an e-mail along the same route as conventional Internet mail.

The additional information content is multiplexed with the broadcast program in step S26. For example, in step S25, in the case of a registered e-mail, the opinion of the individual is multiplexed and transmitted to the object sent at that time while keeping the name. In the case of an anonymous mail, the sender information is deleted and then created as additional information content.

The present invention can be applied to a case where electronic mail other than Internet mail is used. In addition, data obtained by voice recognition and data obtained by character recognition other than e-mail may be transmitted and distributed.

[0054]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a general user with a new program with viewer participation. Further, since the e-mail is distributed through digital broadcasting, the problems of communication capacity restrictions and distribution delays can be solved. Further, the broadcasting station can statistically handle user preference information and detailed audience rating surveys with a simple system based on personal attributes in the mail. New content services can be provided according to the obtained statistical results.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an entire system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating functions of a broadcasting station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating functions of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of a transmission object broadcast in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of a transmission object broadcast in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram used for describing an index according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating functions of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a function of a mailer provided in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating functions of a broadcasting station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

12 ... Broadcasting station, 15 ... Terminal, 16 ... Internet, 121 ... Content synthesis multiplexing system, 122 ... Information processing system, 151 ... Receiving unit, 154 ... PC equivalent Unit, 155 ... Display

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Ikuhiko Nishio 6-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Takabayashi 6-35, Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Yasuaki Yamagishi 6-7-35 Kita Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Isao Kawashima 6-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Incorporated (72) Inventor Kazunori Omura 6-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation F-term (reference) 5C064 BA01 BA07 BB05 BB10 BC10 BC16 BC18 BC20 BC23 BD01 BD03 BD07 BD08 BD09 BD13 BD16 5K030 GA15 HA06 HC01 HD09 JL02 JT04 JT10 KA07 LD07 LD09 LD20 LE12 MC07

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. An index for identifying a distribution object is multiplexed in a distribution object distributed by digital broadcasting. A viewer transmits a message in which the index is incorporated in a title or a header portion. An information system for delivering data multiplexed with an index and the received message to a viewer through digital broadcasting. 2. The distribution object, comprising: receiving means for receiving a digital broadcast in which an index for identifying a distribution object is multiplexed; reproducing means for reproducing at least a video of the distribution object; and electronic message transmitting means. And transmitting an index associated with the message to a broadcasting station by the electronic message transmitting means. 3. A transmitting means for transmitting a digital broadcast in which an index for identifying a distribution object is multiplexed, a receiving means for receiving a message in which the index transmitted by a viewer is incorporated in a title or a header portion, and the message And a means for multiplexing the data with the digital broadcast. 4. The system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the index includes a video of the program, identification information for a segmented video in the video, and a destination address. 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic message transmitting means transmits the message via a wired transmission path different from a digital broadcast. 6. The electronic message according to claim 1, wherein the index for identifying the distribution object includes identification information for a segmented video in the video of the program, and a destination address of the message. A transmitting means for transmitting, to the destination address, identification information and a text of a video corresponding to the identification information. 7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the identification information for the segmented video in the viewed program and the text for the video corresponding to the identification information are distributed through digital broadcasting, and the identification information and the text are received. A system for occasionally reproducing a video corresponding to the identification information. 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic message transmitting means transmits a message to a previously registered viewer. 9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic message transmitting means transmits a message to an unspecified number of viewers. 10. The system according to claim 1, wherein when a video corresponding to the identification information in the message received via the digital broadcast is not stored, the broadcast station can be requested to distribute the video. A system characterized in that: 11. The system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic message transmitting means is an electronic mail. 12. The system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein personal information of a caller is further added to the message transmitted by the electronic message. 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the electronic message including the personal information is statistically processed, and the electronic message is identified by the object identified by the index.
A system for collecting statistics on the amount of messages posted. 14. A multiplexed index for identifying a distribution object in a distribution object distributed by digital broadcasting, a viewer transmits a message in which the index is incorporated in a title or a header portion, and a broadcasting station transmits the program and the An information transmission method characterized by distributing data in which an index and the received message are multiplexed to a viewer through digital broadcasting. 15. A broadcasting station for receiving a digital broadcast in which an index for identifying a distribution object is multiplexed, reproducing at least a video of the distribution object, and retrieving a message for the distribution object and an index associated with the message. An information transmission method characterized by transmitting information to an information transmission device. 16. A digital broadcast in which an index for identifying a distribution object is multiplexed, a message in which the index transmitted by a viewer is incorporated in a title or a header portion is received, and the message is multiplexed in the digital broadcast. An information transmission method characterized by: