JP2003101983A - Information distribution device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simultaneously watch a plurality of programs by a simple opera tion. SOLUTION: An information distribution device is provided with an information storage part for storing a plurality of pieces of information data different from each other, an organizing means for selecting the information data to be distributed on the basis of attribute data indicating attributes of a plurality of pieces of the information data stored in the storage part and for deciding a display form of the selected information data, a multiplex part for reading a plurality of pieces of the selected information data from the storage part, for generating a multiplexed information string indicating one program by multiplexing a plurality of pieces of the information data and for generating a distribution data string by multiplexing display information relating to the display form decided by the organizing means and the multiplexed information string, and a distribution means for distributing the distribution data string obtained by the multiplex part to a receiver.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information distribution device, and more particularly to a device for distributing a plurality of information data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, information has been distributed to various households from various media.

[0003] For example, TV, radio, and data broadcasting are supplied through terrestrial waves, satellites, CATV (cable TV) broadcast waves, and the Internet through communication lines.
Images such as electronic mail, voice, information services, etc. are provided.

Particularly in the broadcasting system, the shift to digital broadcasting systems is progressing, and in these systems, by adopting digital compression encoding and multiplexing methods, more TV sets are available than ever before in the same bandwidth. / It is possible to distribute radio (music) programs. further,
In addition to video and audio, it is also possible to add various information and data as related information for distribution.

In a digital broadcasting system, information about a program (SI: Service Information) is recorded as video or audio data so that the user can select a program or information from these many programs or information. With the electronic program guide (E
A system for displaying as a PG (Electronic Program Guide) is in operation. The user can view the program relatively easily by selecting the program of interest from the EPG screen.

[0006] Further, depending on the receiver, by utilizing the attribute information of the programs such as the categories and subcategories provided by the broadcasting station, the function of retrieving the programs and information desired by the user from the EPG programs, etc. Is also installed.

As a function of the receiver, recently, a so-called multi-window function has been realized in which a plurality of windows are simultaneously opened on a large display and an independent input source is assigned to each of them.

In digital broadcasting, a service called "multi-view TV" has been proposed as a new form of broadcasting service. This is a maximum of 3 S
It is a service that broadcasts related contents in one service at the same time by DTV (standard definition TV) channel. At present, specifications are set so that even receivers without the multi-window function can operate without failure. Therefore, the specification is such that the default screen is sequentially switched to the sub-screen according to the user's instruction.

[0009]

In an environment where many programs and information from various media flow into the home, which will be further advanced in the future, the interest of the user (viewer) from among various programs and information will be increased. There is a need for a system that selects certain programs and information, distributes them efficiently, and presents them.

As one of the solutions, distribution of a multi-view program utilizing the multi-window function on the receiver side,
The presentation is given. This is because the user can enjoy new viewing and browsing modes such as simultaneously enjoying a plurality of related programs and checking related information at once.

However, in the conventional multi-window control system, it is necessary for the user to set the layout of the screen and the selection of the input source each time, so that the user can reach the selection of the content of interest and the viewing mode. , It took a lot of time and effort.

For example, in the case of two-screen display on a TV receiver, the user first selects the two-screen display mode, switches to the two-screen display, and then selects the desired input source to be displayed on each screen. , Needed an operation to set.

Regarding the above-mentioned "multi-view TV" service, a standard is currently defined so that the receiver does not have a multi-window function, and a user's instruction is given from a default screen as a standard. With this, the display screen is switched to the sub screen in sequence. For this reason, a broadcasting service that makes use of the multi-window function on the receiver side is not actually provided.

Further, from the viewpoint of the program supplier side, there is a problem of program provision and advertisement (CM) distribution corresponding to "increase in the number of programs" and "improvement in image quality" accompanying digitalization.

With the increase in the number of programs due to digitalization, if the total advertisement fee is kept as it is, the advertisement fee per program will be reduced as a result. Therefore, the production cost per program must be reduced, and it becomes difficult to produce attractive contents.

Further, with the improvement in image quality due to digitalization,
HD (high-definition) program CM is basically HD quality C
There is a demand to broadcast M, and the conventional SD level CM is converted to HDTV, or a new HDTV C
I have to make M. As a result, a large amount of cost is required for commercial production.

Further, in the conventional broadcasting system based on the single screen, the CM occupies the entire screen, so that only the advertisement distribution can be performed on an hourly basis. Further, only one preset advertisement group can be distributed for one program.

In such an environment, as a program supplier who distributes programs and information, it becomes necessary to collect viewer information in more detail and carry out targeted and efficient distribution of programs and advertisements. .

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to solve various problems as described above.

Another object of the present invention is to free the user from operations such as selection of various contents and designation of screen layout, and to easily display a plurality of related information and programs across broadcasters (media). It is to provide an information distribution device and method that can be enjoyed at the same time (as a multi-view program).

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an information distribution apparatus and method capable of providing information of high interest to users and multi-view programs of program organization.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information distribution apparatus and method that enable distribution of advertisements of high interest to users.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information distribution apparatus and method capable of providing a multi-view program according to the receiver performance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information distribution apparatus and method capable of linking to detailed information related to contents constituting a multi-view program and a service site.

[0025]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, an information storage unit for storing a plurality of different information data and attributes of the plurality of information data stored in the storage unit. Compiling means for selecting information data to be distributed from the plurality of information data on the basis of the attribute data indicating, and a plurality of information data selected by the compiling means. Is read from the storage unit, the read information data is multiplexed to generate a multiplexed information sequence indicating one program, and the display information related to the display form determined by the organizing unit and the multiplexed information are generated. A configuration that includes a multiplexing unit that multiplexes a distribution information sequence to generate a distribution data sequence, and a distribution unit that distributes the distribution data sequence obtained by the multiplexing unit to a receiving device. It was.

[0026]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing main blocks of an information distribution apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The information distribution apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 inputs and stores information on a broadcasting station or the Internet as an information source, combines these information according to a predetermined condition to generate a multi-view program, and presents it at a receiver. It is multiplexed with information and transmitted.

The information distribution apparatus 100 in FIG. 1 includes a content storage unit 101, a content attribute extraction unit 102, a content attribute storage unit 103, a composition unit 104, and an extraction unit 10.
5, a presentation information storage unit 106, an associating unit 107, a multiplexing unit 108, a sending unit 109, and a user interface (here, keyboard) 110.

The content storage unit 101, the content attribute storage unit 103, and the presentation information storage unit 106 are logically divided and may be physically configured by one storage means such as a hard disk or an optical disk. . The functions of the knitting unit 104, the extracting unit 105, and the associating unit 107 can also be realized by software processing using a microprocessor.

The content storage unit 101 stores various digital information handled by the information distribution apparatus 100.
The main body of the information is programs and information provided by broadcasting stations and various Internet sites, as well as independent content providers. The video / audio data handled here is digital data compressed and encoded by MPEG-2 or the like, and in the case of analog information, it is converted into digital data in advance and stored. These pieces of information are sequentially updated and input to the content storage unit 101 via a communication line with each content supplier.

The content attribute extraction unit 102 extracts the attribute information attached in advance as metadata of the content (attribute information about the content: category, subcategory, broadcast date, day of the week, distribution network name such as broadcast channel, etc.) and views it. It is stored in the content attribute storage unit 103 as browsable content list information.

Here, the content list information is generated in advance based on the attribute information attached to the content, but the content of each content is analyzed by analysis processing such as moving image analysis, voice analysis, and text analysis. Then, the characteristic element may be extracted from the content body and added as attribute information.

The organization unit 104 is a block that determines the content structure and presentation form of the multi-view program, refers to the data in the content attribute storage unit 103 according to the conditions input from the user interface 110, and stores it in the content storage unit 101. The contents to be combined as a multi-view program are selected and stored from the stored contents, and the presentation form on the receiver side is also determined.

The extraction unit 105 extracts the content selected to compose the multi-view program from the content storage unit 101 according to the instruction from the organization unit 104. Further, the presentation information determined by the organization unit 104 is extracted from the presentation information storage unit 106.

The associating unit 107 associates the relation between each content forming the multi-view program extracted by the extracting unit 105 and the presentation form of these contents.

The multiplexing unit 106 multiplexes the extracted contents to generate one MPEG2 stream (an elementary stream defined by MPEG2). Then, a PSI (Program Spec) including various tables and descriptors defined by MPEG-2 which are indispensable for decoding, and presentation information of the multi-view program from the associating unit 107.
ific Information) / SI information and each content stream are multiplexed to generate MPEG2-TS.

The sending unit 109 carries out the modulation and compression of the MPEG2-TS generated by the multiplexing unit 108 according to the standard according to a transmission line such as digital broadcasting or the Internet, and then sends it.

The feature here is that each of the various contents selected by the compiling unit 104 is converted into an MPEG2 elementary stream and then multiplexed, and then one MPEG is created.
It is configured to be transmitted as 2-TS. In addition, in the present embodiment, the generated multi-view program is a BS digital broadcast 1
Delivered as one channel.

Next, the operation of generating a multi-view program by the information distribution apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The content from each broadcasting station or content supplier is basically updated to the latest content storage unit 101 via a network environment such as a leased line (step S701). Of course, there are cases in which the data is input at any time depending on the tape media, disk media, or the like.

Each time the content is updated, the attribute information of the content is extracted, and the content attribute information storage unit 1
The data in 03 is updated (step S702). Basically, the content body which is the source (material) of the multi-view program and its attribute information are repeatedly updated until the program organization work is started.

Next, when the instruction to start the composition of the multi-view program is received (step S703), first, the composition condition of the program is input from the user interface 110 or the like (step S704). This organization condition is usually a search keyword or the like for combining highly relevant contents in the same target time zone.

For example, during the period of the Olympics, there may be cases where different broadcasts are being broadcast at each broadcasting station. Of these, the most popular competitions are combined to form one multi-view program. It is possible. In such a case, “Olympic” or a keyword related to the Olympics is input from the user interface 110.

In the case of broadcasting contents, the category, sub-category, etc. are assigned to each content as content attribute information.
If the content is provided with metadata conforming to such standards, it is possible to specify the content in more detail across media.

When the organization condition is input, whether or not there is content that meets the condition, the content attribute storage unit 103
The data is referred to and searched (step S705). If there is content necessary for configuring the target multi-view program (step S706), conditions for determining and extracting the target content are sent to the extraction unit 105 (step S707). On the other hand, if the desired content does not exist in the storage unit 101, the user is requested to input the search condition again (step S713), and the step S is performed.
Return to 704.

Next, the organization unit 104 determines in what presentation form the content forming the multi-view program is displayed on the receiver (step S708). The pattern data of this presentation form is stored in advance in the presentation information storage unit 106 of the present information distribution apparatus by preparing a plurality of templates such as multi-screen display templates such as the number of contents to be simultaneously displayed and the difference in display design. Keep it.

Contents constituting a multi-view program,
When the presentation form is determined, the content and the presentation information are extracted from the respective storage units (step S709). After that, the contents are associated with each other to determine the size and size of the display window to be displayed, and the information is generated as association information (step S710). As for the association information, a descriptor is added to the PSI / SI information, the descriptor is described in the descriptor, and the association information is transmitted as extended information of the PSI / SI information.

After that, the stream generated by multiplexing a plurality of contents, the association information of the main body and the presentation are multiplexed (step S711), and then modulation and transmission according to the distribution means such as BS, CS, and terrestrial waves are performed. Yes (step S7
12). Although not described in detail here, multiplexing of a plurality of contents and PSI / SI information is a method based on the MPEG-2 system operated in a normal digital broadcasting system.

In the case of distribution on the Internet or the like, there are several transmission formats, and there are various combinations depending on the relationship between the transmission rate and the image quality. These are unique to the service provider from the viewpoint of QoS. You can choose to.

Next, a receiver for receiving the information thus distributed will be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing main blocks of the receiver 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The receiver 200 shown in FIG. 5 is a digital broadcast receiving terminal that performs processing for broadcast media as an information source, receives a broadcast wave from an antenna (not shown), and is controlled by the remote controller 211 so that the user can The video and information of the selected program are output to the display unit 208.

The receiver 200 shown in FIG.
01, information separation unit 202, presentation information storage unit 203, channel information storage unit 204, guide screen generation unit 205, decoding unit 206, display synthesis unit 207, display unit 208, viewing history storage unit 209, control unit 210, remote controller 211. ,
User profile generation unit 212, calendar clock 21
3, a user profile storage unit 214, a receiver profile 215, and a communication line 216.

The tuner 201 selectively receives a radio wave having a frequency according to a designated channel from digital broadcast waves transmitted via an antenna or a cable (not shown), and then performs demodulation, A / D conversion, Error correction and, if necessary, processing such as descrambling for conditional access are performed to generate a data string called an MPEG2-transport stream (TS).

The information separating unit 202 converts the MPEG2-TS input from the information receiving unit 201 into video information, audio information,
The data broadcast information and related information associated with these information are separated, and the decoder 206 and the channel information storage unit 20 are separated.
4, sent to the presentation information storage unit 203, respectively.

As described above, related information associated with video, audio and data is basically described in a table or descriptor in PSI / SI and sent. Information such as the title, broadcast date, and time of the broadcast program of each channel is stored in the channel information storage unit 204, and the presentation information of the multi-view program is stored in the presentation information storage unit 203.

On the other hand, the decoding unit 206 includes the information separating unit 20.
After the video signal, the audio signal, and the data broadcast signal from 2 are decoded, the video signal and the data broadcast signal are sent to the display synthesis unit 207. The decoding unit 206
It has a function of simultaneously decoding up to four elementary streams (ES) included in one MPEG2-TS. In the multi-view program of this embodiment, one content is transmitted as one elementary stream, and therefore the receiver of FIG. 5 can simultaneously decode four contents. Further, the audio signal is output to a speaker (not shown), and the audio of the selected program is output.

The guide screen generation unit 205 generates an EPG screen for program selection based on the information stored in the channel information storage unit 204. The generated EPG screen is sent to the display composition unit 207.

The display synthesizing unit 207 synthesizes the display data such as the video signal and the data broadcast signal from the decoding unit 206 and the EPG data from the guide screen generating unit 205 to generate the display screen data. Further, the display composition unit 207
When the user selects the above-mentioned multi-view program, data of the multi-view screen according to the presentation information stored in the presentation information storage unit 203 is generated and sent to the display unit 208.

The remote controller 211 is one of the main components of the user interface for viewing a program or information provided by television broadcasting, and is based on the guide screen displayed on the display unit 208. Directly operate to select the desired program or information.

The control section 210 has a command receiving section for receiving an operation command from the remote controller 211.
Command contents from 11 and channel information storage unit 2
Based on the channel information stored in 04, the tuner 201 and the information separating unit 202 are controlled to select the program of the channel designated by the user and display it on the display unit 208. Further, the control unit 210 determines, based on a command from the remote controller 211, which program the user is currently viewing and migrating to, and sends it to the viewing history storage unit 209.

The calendar clock 213 cooperates with the control unit 210 to provide the viewing history storage unit 209 with the date, the day of the week, and the time at which the user switched and watched the channel, and the history was recorded only when the user watched for a certain time or longer. The viewing history storage unit 209 is controlled to record as.

The viewing history storage unit 209 is a data table that stores a history of which program and information the user was viewing on which channel. The parameters to be stored include basic information such as program channel, broadcast date, day of the week, time, category, subcategory, title, etc., as well as more detailed information uniquely provided by the broadcasting station, for example, creator name, production date, Information such as performer name and player name may be included, and the type of parameter to be handled changes depending on the processing algorithm of the user profile generation unit.

The user profile generation unit 212 performs a calculation process by a predetermined algorithm based on the data input from the viewing history storage unit 209, and creates a user profile which is pattern data related to user program viewing and information viewing, It is stored in the user profile storage unit 214.

It should be noted that the user profile relating to this information viewing is the personal profile body of each user who uses this receiver, and when the television receiver is used in a normal home, each family member, for example,
Accumulate and manage each father, mother and child independently. However, in some cases, the profile information of family members may be collectively stored as one family profile instead of being stored for each individual.

The receiver profile storage unit 215 stores profiles of the receiver 200 mainly relating to reception and display performance. Specifically, tuner reception frequency range and number, display screen resolution, multi-screen performance, for example,
Information such as number, size, display position restriction, and graphics performance.

The communication line connection unit 216 is a telephone line or CAT.
A connection unit to a V network or the like, for sending user profile information and receiver profile to the information distribution apparatus via the Internet as described later.

First, in such a receiver 200,
A normal receiving operation will be described.

When there is a channel setting instruction from the remote controller 211, the control unit 210 causes the channel information storage unit 204 to
The tuner 201 is controlled so as to receive the carrier wave of the channel designated based on the channel information stored in. The tuner 201 is an MPEG of the designated channel.
2-TS is detected and output to the information separation unit 202. According to the instruction from the control unit 210, the information separation unit 202 receives the image of the designated channel from one MPEG2-TS.
The audio data and the data broadcast data related thereto are detected and output to the decoding unit 206.

The decoding unit 206 decodes the image data output from the information separating unit 202, and the display synthesizing unit 207.
It is displayed on the display unit 208 via.

Next, the receiving operation of the multi-view program will be described.

In this embodiment, a case will be described where an EPG is used to search for and receive a multi-view program. Remote control 2
When there is an EPG display instruction from 11, the control unit 210 controls the display composition unit 207 to display the EPG screen generated by the guide screen generation unit 205 on the display unit 208. Then, the user checks the displayed EPG to search for a multi-view program, and instructs the remote controller 211 to switch channels.

When there is an instruction to switch the channel of the multi-view program, the control unit 210 controls the tuner 201 and outputs the MPEG2-TS of the channel broadcasting the multi-view program to the information separation unit 202 as described above. To do.

According to the instruction from the control unit 210, the information separation unit 202 separates the image, audio and data broadcast data of the multi-view program from the MPEG2-TS from the tuner 201 and outputs the data to the decoding unit 206, and at the same time, this multi-view is displayed. The presentation information is detected from the PSI / SI information multiplexed and distributed in the MPEG2-TS of the program, and stored in the presentation information storage unit 203.

The decoding unit 206 decodes the image data and data broadcasting data of the multi-view program output from the information separating unit 202, and outputs the decoded data to the display synthesizing unit 207. At this time, as described above, the multi-view program MPEG2 is used.
-Since ES indicating a plurality of contents is multiplexed in TS, the decoding unit 206 independently decodes the data of the plurality of contents and outputs the data to the display combining unit 207.

The display synthesizing unit 207 reads the presentation information from the low information storage unit 203 in order to display the multi-view program according to the instruction from the control unit 210. Then, the images of the plurality of contents decoded according to the display layout instructed by the presentation information are combined on one screen and output to the display unit 208.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a multi-view program according to this embodiment. In FIG. 13, a morning information program provided by different broadcasting stations or content providers, headline news centered on text information, weather forecast and three programs are combined to form one multi-view program. It is a thing.

Here, in the morning hours, the organization is such that news, weather forecasts, traffic information, and other contents that are generally considered to have high needs are combined. At this time, the positional relationship between the content and the presentation,
The layout and the like are transmitted together as the presentation information, and in the receiver of the present embodiment, the user can select one channel without bothering himself or herself.
At the same time, this amount of information can be obtained. Note that FIG.
3 uses the function of the timer clock of the receiver 200,
The presentation information that displays the clock in the upper right of the screen is also sent.

As described above, in the information distribution apparatus according to the present embodiment, the receiver having the multi-window function is combined into one multi-channel by combining related programs and information across broadcasting stations and various content providers. By organizing it as a view program and distributing it together with the information presented by the receiver, the user can be freed from operations such as channel selection and screen layout specification, and easily enjoy multiple related information and programs simultaneously across media. Is possible.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure showing a main block of an information distribution device concerning an embodiment of. The information distribution device shown in FIG. 2 is different from the information distribution device of FIG. 1 in a commercial message (hereinafter, CM).
A storage unit 111 and a CM information storage unit 112 are added. Note that the functional blocks in FIG. 2 having the same names as those in FIG. 1 are common to those in FIG. 1, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 2, the CM storage unit 111 is usually
Multiple Cs provided with the program or independently
Stores the body of M information. At the same time, the CM storage unit 11
The attribute information relating to the CM data stored in No. 1 is stored in the CM attribute storage unit 112. In the present embodiment, attribute data representing the contents of CM is provided in advance, and the attribute is not detected in the information distribution device 200 using CM data.

The organization section 104 in FIG. 2 organizes a multi-view program including not only content data but also CM data. For example, the operation of inserting a CM that is closely related to the content to be displayed is performed.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 8 shows a basic operation flow relating to multiview program organization and transmission according to this embodiment. The basic operation is the same as that of the first embodiment, and CM information is added to the handled information.

The CM information has the same contents as the ordinary contents.
CM storage unit 1 from each broadcasting station or advertising agency by a dedicated line or a storage medium such as tape or disk
11 is input and accumulated. At the same time, the CM attributes are also appropriately updated and stored in the CM attribute storage unit 112 as a database.

Similar to the first embodiment, until the program organization work is started, the content data which is the material of the multi-view program, its attribute information, CM data and its attribute information are repeatedly updated (steps). S80
1, S802, S803, S804).

The operation after the work of organizing the multi-view program basically complies with the first embodiment, but a point of determining a CM closely related to the program when the program is organized is added.

That is, when the content attribute is searched according to the program organization condition and the content is determined, the CM attribute stored in the CM attribute storage unit 112 is searched based on the determined content (steps S805, S806, S).
807, S808, S809, S810). Program and CM
Regarding the relevance to, if there is a designation from the program provider side, and the organization service operator of this multi-view program,
In some cases, it may be organized independently based on the content of the program.

These knitting conditions are input from the keyboard or the like as in the first embodiment. As an example, when a multi-view program is organized in a sports program, it is combined with a CM such as soft drink, sports equipment, and sports club.

As a result of searching the CM attribute, CM data to be inserted in this way is determined (step S811). Then, the display form including the CM data is determined (step S812), and the organization content, the CM data, and the presentation form information are extracted from the content storage unit 101, the CM storage unit 111, and the presentation information storage unit 106, respectively. Data associated with the content is generated, multiplexed, and transmitted (steps S813, S814, S815, S81).
6).

The multi-view program including the CM data thus transmitted can be received and viewed by the receiver shown in FIG. 5 or 6. In the multi-view program of this embodiment, since the CM data is also multiplexed as one content, the display synthesis unit 207 calculates the CM based on the presentation information.
Generate and display a multi-view screen containing data.

As described above, in the information distribution apparatus according to this embodiment, one multi-view program is combined with a related CM, and is organized, and distributed together with the presentation information in the receiver.

As a result, the user can easily enjoy the multi-view broadcasting, and also for the business operator side, not only the conventional time-based advertisement distribution assuming a single screen, It is possible to provide an advertisement in which a part of the screen is spatially used in TV broadcasting.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the main blocks of an information distribution apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The information distribution apparatus shown in FIG. 3 has a user profile storage section 113 and a receiver profile storage section 114 added to the information distribution apparatus of FIG.

In FIG. 3, the same functional blocks as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals. The user profile storage unit 113 stores the profile information of the user received by the receiving unit (not shown) via the Internet or the like. In the present embodiment, the transmission medium of the user profile may be, for example, a package medium such as a memory card or a paper by questionnaire. In this case, the input work is separately performed by the user interface 110 provided side by side.

As the user profile information, in addition to the user profile information sent from the receiver shown in FIG. 5, programs and information that the user likes or is interested in and is created by taking a questionnaire beforehand. It is also possible to register as the profile of the user together with the above.

Similarly to the user profile, the receiver profile storage unit 114 stores the performance information about the receiver at the delivery destination, which is input via the Internet or the like.

Here, the organization unit 104 in FIG. 3 has the user profile storage unit 113 and the receiver profile storage unit 11 in addition to the functions of the distribution apparatus in FIGS. 1 and 2.
4 has a function of determining the organization condition of the multi-view program based on the information stored in 4. Specifically, the content that the user likes is selected, combined and organized as one multi-view program, or the CM of a product that the user is interested in is incorporated into a part of the multi-view program.

At this time, the multi-view program is organized according to the performance of the receiver at the delivery destination, particularly the number of multi-screens that can be displayed simultaneously.

FIG. 9 shows a basic operation flow relating to multiview program organization and transmission according to this embodiment. The basic operation is the same as in the first and second embodiments described above, but in the present embodiment, the profile information of the user who uses the receiver and the receiver profile information are reflected in the organization condition of the multi-view program. Is characterized by.

In FIG. 9, the content data, the content attribute, and the CM data and the CM attribute are repeatedly updated until the program organization process is started (steps S901, S902, S903, S904). Then, when there is an instruction to start composition, composition processing of the multi-view program is started (step S905).

At this time, in determining the knitting condition, in the first and second embodiments, the knitting operator sets a keyword or the like which is a condition for inputting the knitting condition with the keyboard, but in the present embodiment, The user's profile information and receiver profile information stored in the user profile storage unit 113 and the receiver profile storage unit 114 are referenced to determine the organization condition.

As for the CM to be inserted, in the second embodiment, the CM which emphasizes the relation with the contents of the organized program is inserted, but in the present embodiment, the CM is particularly inserted with the contents of the organized program. Inserts a CM that is considered to be of high interest to the user according to the user's profile even if it is not directly related.

That is, steps S906 to S90 in FIG.
8, the content structure of the multi-view program is determined. At this time, the user profile storage unit 11 of FIG.
3, the search conditions for programs and information are determined based on the user profile obtained from the viewing history information of the user stored in 3. Therefore, in the multi-view program according to this embodiment, the organization that reflects the past viewing history of the user is possible.

Regarding CM, the search condition is determined not only based on the user profile generated from the history of program viewing, but also based on the events of high interest to the user, which are collected in advance by a questionnaire or the like.

Further, in this embodiment, the performance information of the receiver stored in the receiver profile storage section 114 is referred to. This is information about the presentation (multi-window) function of the receiver owned by the user, and includes the number of multi-screens that can be displayed simultaneously, the screen size, the resolution, and the like. In the present embodiment, a multi-view program having an optimal content structure is organized for each user based on these pieces of information.

When the search conditions for the constituent contents and CM candidates are determined, the content attribute storage unit 103 and CM are searched.
The attribute storage unit 112 is searched for the desired content and CM. If the desired content and CM exist and can be organized (step S909), the combination of the constituent content and CM is determined (step S91).
0). On the other hand, if the content or CM to be configured does not exist in the database content storage unit 101 or the CM storage unit 111 and all of them are not available, review the content candidates,
Search again. At this time, the search is usually performed in a form that relaxes conditions such as the degree of interest from the user profile.

Finally, when the organization condition of the multi-view program is satisfied, thereafter, the presentation form is determined, the content is extracted, the data is multiplexed, and the transmission is performed (steps S910, S911, S912, S913) as in the above-described embodiment. , S914,
S915).

In the present embodiment, the composition condition is determined by using both the user profile and the receiver profile, but it is of course possible to use only one of them.

The multi-view program including the CM data thus transmitted can be received and viewed by the receiver shown in FIG. 5 or 6. In the multi-view program of this embodiment, since the CM data is also multiplexed as one content, the display synthesis unit 207 calculates the CM based on the presentation information.
Generate and display a multi-view screen containing data.

FIG. 14 shows an example in which a CM is incorporated in the multi-view program according to this embodiment. in this case,
As a profile of this user, note P that reflects the high interest in PC (personal computer)
CM of C is selected and inserted.

FIG. 12 shows an example of presentation to a receiver having relatively high presentation performance. In the normal multi-window display, each window is often arranged in a tile shape as shown in FIG. 11, and its size is fixed, but FIG.
In the display of, there is a high degree of freedom in size and arrangement, and it is assumed that high-performance graphic expression is possible. When the distribution target is a receiver having such a function, it is possible to organize a multi-view program by utilizing the function of each receiver by knowing its capability in advance on the information distribution device side,
Particularly in the case of high functionality, it becomes possible to organize and deliver richer multi-view programs.

As described above, in the information distribution apparatus according to the present embodiment, the profile information of the user is reflected in the organization condition of the multi-view program so that the multi-view program organized from programs and information of high interest to the user. It becomes possible to provide a program. At the same time, it becomes possible to deliver advertisements of high interest to users. Furthermore, it becomes possible to provide a multi-view program according to the receiver profile of the user.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 4 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure showing a main block of an information distribution device concerning an embodiment of. The information distribution apparatus shown in FIG. 4 has a link information storage unit 115 added to the information distribution apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the same functional blocks as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals.

The link information storage unit 115 stores the address (URL) information of the website in which more detailed information about the content and CM is stored. In this embodiment, the link information is obtained by receiving the link information in advance from a content supplier such as a broadcasting station. However, the multi-view program organization operator who operates the information distribution apparatus of the present embodiment has its own related site. May be searched and made into a database.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing main blocks of a receiver according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The receiver shown in FIG. 6 has a link information storage unit 217 added to the receiver of FIG. Further, in FIG. 6, the same functional blocks as those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. The link information storage unit 217 stores the link information sent from the information distribution device shown in FIG. 4 as the additional information of the multi-view program after separating it by the information separating unit 202.

The display synthesizing unit 207 shown in FIG. 6 includes contents and C constituting the displayed multi-view program.
When the link information exists in M, a processing function such as generating and displaying a button such as "details" by using the OSD function or the like, or providing the entire window frame with the link function is added.

When the user selects a button such as "Details" displayed in the window of the program or CM for which link information exists, the control unit 210 of FIG. 6 uses the communication line connection unit 216 to access the Internet. Access the website that contains the above detailed information or the information server of the manufacturer and download the information. Although the flow of detailed information after downloading is not shown in FIG. 6,
It is stored in the buffer memory and is displayed according to the user's operation via the display combining unit 207. If the site requires user input, the information input from the remote controller 211 is appropriately sent to the site via the communication line connection unit 216.

The detailed information corresponding to the contents includes
Sites that show car commercials and their catalogs, contact information and maps of the nearest dealers, shopping programs and shopping sites operated by the program providers, travel programs and sites of inns and hotels introduced in the programs , Bank CM
There are various types of online banking sites, such as online banking sites. Broadcasting that takes advantage of multi-destination is used as a portal, and the part that responds to individual small needs uses communication such as the Internet, which can support hybrid services.

Further, in the present embodiment, the detailed information and the location of the related service are based on the general sites scattered on the Internet, but a business operator who performs a service using the information distribution device collectively The detailed information server may be managed as a result.

In that case, it can be realized by collecting detailed information from each information supplier and managing and operating it on a server in the same manner as storing and organizing broadcast contents which have been mainly described so far. is there. Especially, the metadata, which is attribute information about future contents, is MPEG-7,
If the specifications are such that all media contents can be used in common so that they can be used in common, the basic parts constituting the above-mentioned content attribute extraction unit, organization unit, extraction unit, etc. can be commonly used.

FIG. 10 shows a basic operation flow relating to multiview program organization and transmission according to this embodiment. The point that the profile information of the user who uses the receiver and the receiver profile are reflected in the organization condition of the multi-view program is the same as in the third embodiment, but in the present embodiment, the details about the constituent contents and CM are further described. When there is link destination address information that holds information, it is characterized in that the information is also multiplexed and transmitted.

In FIG. 10, the link information of the processing from the step S1001 to S1006 until the program organization is started is the same as the processing of steps S901 to S905 of FIG. 9 except for the update processing of the link information of S1005. is there. As described above, the link information is the address information of the website that has more detailed information related to the content and CM that make up the multi-view program. In this embodiment, the content data and CM data are updated in step S1005. Similar to the process, it is updated from the external medium at any time and stored in the link information storage unit 115.

After that, the processing up to step S1014 is the same as the processing up to step S912 in FIG.

[0126] In step S1014, it is determined whether there is link information regarding the selected content or CM. If not, the same processing as in the third embodiment is performed as it is. If the link information exists, the link information is extracted from the link information storage unit 115 (step S101).
5) After associating with the content (step S
1016), the associated information is included in a part of the descriptor of the PSI / SI information, and multiplexed and transmitted with the content body (steps S1017, S1018).

The receiver of FIG. 6 can thus receive and view the multi-view program including the link information.

That is, when the control unit 210 receives a reception instruction of the multi-view program in which the link information is multiplexed by the remote controller 211, it controls the tuner 201 and the information separation unit 202 to detect the stream of the multi-view program. The information separating unit 202 outputs content data such as an image signal from the stream of the multi-view program to the decoding unit 206, and outputs the presentation information to the presentation information storage unit 203. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the link information is multiplexed in the stream of the multi-view program, the information separation unit 202 detects this link information and outputs it to the link information storage unit 217.

When the link information is stored in the link information storage unit 217, the control unit 210 controls the display synthesizing unit 207 to generate a button such as “details” using the OSD function or the like and synthesize it on the display screen. Alternatively, the entire window frame is provided with a link function or the like.

FIG. 15 shows an example of a display screen (OSD display) of a multi-view program when link information exists.

When the user selects a button such as "details" displayed on a program or CM having link information by operating the remote controller 211, the control section 210
The communication line connection unit 216 is controlled based on the link information stored in the link information storage unit 217 to access a website or detailed information server on the Internet where the detailed information is stored, and receive the detailed information. It is displayed by the display combining unit 207.

As described above, in the information distribution apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the detailed information about the constituent contents of the multi-view program, the CM, and the link destination address information having the related services exist, the information is also multiplexed. It is possible to link the multi-view program to more related sites and services by converting and transmitting.

As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, a receiver having a multi-window function is combined with related programs and CMs across broadcast stations and various content providers. By organizing as one multi-view program and distributing it together with the presentation information on the receiver, the user can be freed from operations such as channel selection and screen layout specification, and easily enjoy multiple related programs and information at the same time. It will be possible.

Further, by utilizing the viewing profile of the user, it becomes possible to organize the program and distribute the advertisement more suited to the user's needs.

Further, by using the receiver profile, it is possible to more effectively organize the program and distribute the advertisement in accordance with the performance of the receiver owned by the user. In addition, when there is link information regarding each content that constitutes the multi-view program, by distributing the link information together, it is possible to link from TV viewing to more detailed information and related services depending on the user's selection. It becomes possible.

[0136]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Freeing you from the trouble of finding a program that suits your purpose from many programs, and freeing you from the operation of selecting channels and screen layouts for multiple screens, you can make advanced functions easier for TV receivers with multi-screen functions. It becomes possible to use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information distribution device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information distribution device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information distribution device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information distribution device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a television receiver to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a television receiver to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the information distribution device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the information distribution device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the information distribution device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the information distribution device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state of a display screen of the television receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state of a display screen of the television receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state of a display screen of the television receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a state of a display screen of the television receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a state of a display screen of the television receiver according to the present invention.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Teruki Yoshikawa             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor Shuntaro Araya             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation F-term (reference) 5C063 AA20 AB03 AB05 AB10 AC01                       AC05 AC10 BA20                 5C064 BA07 BB07 BC06 BC18 BC23                       BC25 BD02 BD03 BD08 BD09

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An information storage section for storing a plurality of different information data, and information data to be distributed from the plurality of information data based on attribute data indicating attributes of the plurality of information data stored in the storage section. And selecting a display mode of the selected information data, a plurality of information data selected by the organization means is read from the storage unit, and the plurality of read information data are multiplexed. And a multiplexing unit that generates a multiplexed information sequence indicating one program and that multiplexes the display information related to the display form determined by the organizing unit and the multiplexed information sequence to generate a distribution data sequence. An information distribution apparatus, comprising: a distribution unit that distributes the distribution data string obtained by the multiplexing unit to a reception apparatus. 2. The information distribution device according to claim 1, wherein the organization unit further selects information data according to the entered organization condition. 3. The information distribution apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising input means for inputting any of the composition conditions. 4. The information distribution apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the organization unit determines the organization condition based on the input user profile. 5. The information distribution device according to claim 4, further comprising a user profile storage unit for inputting and storing the user profile from the receiving device. 6. The information distribution apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the organization unit determines the composition condition based on a receiver profile relating to the performance of the reception apparatus. 7. The information distribution apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a receiver profile storage unit for inputting and storing the receiver profile from the receiver. 8. The information data includes video data of a television broadcast program and CM data, and the organizing unit generates a multiplexed information sequence including the video data and the CM data. The information distribution device according to item 1. 9. The information distribution apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the organization unit selects the video data and the CM data that are related to each other. 10. The information distribution apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an attribute data storage unit that stores the attribute data. 11. A link information storage unit for storing link information relating to said information data, wherein said multiplexing means further multiplexes link information relating to said selected information data within said distribution data sequence. The information distribution device according to claim 1. 12. The information distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the multiplexing means multiplexes association information for associating the multiplex information string and the display information in the distribution data string. 13. The information distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of pieces of information data include video data and audio data constituting a television broadcast program generated by a plurality of different broadcasting stations. 14. A multiplexed information sequence in which a plurality of information data constituting one program are multiplexed, display information indicating a display form of the plurality of information data, and the multiplexed information sequence and the display information. Receiving means for receiving a distribution data string in which associated information to be associated is multiplexed, and detecting means for detecting the multiplexed information string and the display information based on association information in the received distribution data string, Based on the display information detected by the detection means, the display position of the video relating to the plurality of information data multiplexed in the multiplexed information sequence is determined, and the display position relating to the plurality of information data is determined according to the determined display position. A receiving device including a combining processing unit that combines images and outputs the images to a display unit. 15. The information data to be distributed is selected from the plurality of information data based on the attribute data indicating the attributes of the plurality of information data stored in the storage unit, and the display form of the selected information data is displayed. A knitting step for determining, and reading the selected plurality of information data from the storage unit and multiplexing the read plurality of information data
A multiplexing step of generating a multiplexed information sequence indicating one program, and multiplexing the display information relating to the determined display form and the multiplexed information sequence to generate a distribution data sequence; A distribution step of distributing the obtained distribution data string to a receiving device.