JP2006093799A - Set top box - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a set top box with a recording reservation function of television broadcast program in which recording reservation registration of a program suiting user's taste is carried out while confirming with the user by e-mail, and unnecessary program recording is eliminated by confining the number of recording reservations within a predetermined number. <P>SOLUTION: A mail address for notification is set (S1), the keyword of a desired program to be recorded is registered (S2), and reservation of a program searched from EPG information by the keyword is registered (S3). If programs matching the keyword exist (YES at S5) and the number of programs is less than five (NO at S6) when the EPG is updated (YES at S4), recording confirmation mail is transmitted (S10) and recording reservation is registered (S12) after a reply mail is confirmed (YES at S11). If the number of selected programs exceeds five (YES at S6), a keyword alteration confirmation mail is transmitted (S7) and the registered keyword is altered (S9) after a reply mail is confirmed (YES at S8) thus confining the number of recording reservations within a predetermined number. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a set-top box (hereinafter abbreviated as STB) having a function of receiving a television broadcast signal and making a recording reservation for a user's favorite program.

  Conventionally, when a user watches or records a desired program, the user selects a target program based on a printed matter such as a newspaper or a magazine in advance, and the program is based on broadcast start time information for the selected program. Viewing or recording is performed, and the viewing of the program or input to the recording apparatus is performed after the user himself / herself checks the TV program list, and in the case of program reservation, the method of performing G code input is mainly used. is there.

  On the other hand, in recent years, with the new entry of satellite broadcasting and digital broadcasting, multi-channel and multi-content has progressed, and the range of user program selection has greatly expanded. In order to facilitate the selection of programs for these multi-channels, a program schedule is transmitted as an electronic program guide by a service provider, via a network, or using an auxiliary channel for program broadcasting. It has come to be. By using this electronic program guide, it is becoming practical that the program viewing apparatus directly receives the program selected at the broadcast start time, or the program recording apparatus starts recording the target program signal. is there.

  However, it is necessary to visually select the program desired by the viewer from all the programs described in the program guide, whether by printed matter or electronic program guide. Takes a lot of time. Therefore, there is a demand for a method in which a desired program can be easily selected and recording can be easily reserved.

Recently, with the spread of the Internet, a service using e-mail has been started, and a keyword for searching for a program desired by a user is registered in advance, and information related to a broadcast program searched by the keyword is notified to the program. There is also a service to send it as an email. Conventionally, as a method of performing reserved program viewing and reservation recording of a TV program, keyword information related to a user's favorite program is transmitted to a program information provider, and an information service related to the favorite program is obtained by e-mail. Based on a program providing system (see Patent Document 1) for performing program viewing and recording reservation, and a data acquisition request from a digital TV broadcast receiver, a digital TV broadcast receiver identification number and request data are transmitted from the broadcast station to the transstream data. Broadcast information control system (see Patent Document 2) for operating a digital TV broadcast receiver from a remote location such as a place where the user is out, and program information from a keyword registered in a service server by a mobile phone Is extracted, the advertisement content is attached, and a program information mail is sent to the user. Program data distribution system (see Patent Document 3) for transmitting recording reservation information to the R device and making a program recording reservation (see Patent Document 3), accessing the EPG server with a mobile phone, downloading EPG information, and making a recording reservation in the STB (see Patent Document 4) ) Etc. are known.
JP 2003-87777 A JP 2002-199301 A JP 2003-179907 A JP 2002-290597 A

  As described above, in TV broadcast program selection and recording reservation in multi-channel broadcast reception, a service provider provides program information of interest to the user by using a user-preferred keyword from among a large number of program options. Although there are services, there is a problem that the system is complicated and expensive. In addition, in order to decide whether or not to record the program information that has been sent by the user, the user has to open the EPG on the viewing screen of the user and re-select and examine it. In particular, when the electronic program guide (EPG) is updated, there is a problem that the information after the program update is not known unless the user looks at the EPG screen. Therefore, in particular, in the program recording reservation, the user is automatically notified of the selection status of the favorite program even if he / she does not go to the EPG screen, and can be surely reserved for recording based on the user's confirmation. Considering capacity restrictions, select only programs that are as close to the user's preference as possible from among the programs that the user is interested in, eliminate unnecessary program recording, and avoid using the recordable area of the recording device wastefully. Realization of a set-top box that can be reserved for program recording has been desired.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. A keyword of a program suitable for the preference is registered in the own device, a program is searched from the EPG information using the keyword, and the selected program is recorded. By registering reservations and searching for a program every time EPG information is updated, the update result is notified to the user by e-mail so that it can be confirmed, so that the user can always meet the user's preference without displaying the EPG screen. Another object of the present invention is to provide a set-top box having a program recording reservation function that can select and record the latest program and at the same time eliminate the recording of unnecessary programs.

  To achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a tuner means for selecting a television broadcast program desired by the user (hereinafter abbreviated as a program) from the received television broadcast signal and demodulating the television signal. Recording means for recording the demodulated television signal program, EPG decoding means for decoding electronic program guide (EPG) information sent from a broadcasting station, and reservation of the program In a set-top box equipped with a scheduled recording registration control means for controlling recording registration processing, a keyword for extracting a program to be scheduled recording and an e-mail address of a terminal such as a mobile phone possessed by the user are input. And an input number that matches the keyword entered by the user through the input means. E-mail transmission / reception for transmitting / receiving e-mail between the terminal, a program search means for searching for a group title from the EPG information, a storage means for storing a keyword and an e-mail address inputted by the user through the input means And e-mail confirmation means for confirming to which e-mail the e-mail received by the e-mail transmission / reception means is a reply to the e-mail transmitted by the e-mail transmission / reception means. When the EPG information used for the search by the program search means is updated, the reserved recording registration control means again selects a program title that matches the keyword by the program search means based on the updated EPG information. If the number of program titles that match the keyword is less than 5, search for each of these program titles. Including an e-mail for confirming reservation recording for each program by the e-mail transmitting / receiving means to the e-mail address stored in the storage means, and an e-mail replying to the e-mail for confirming reservation recording When received by the e-mail transmission / reception means, a reservation recording registration process is performed for the program with the program title included in the reservation recording confirmation mail corresponding to the returned e-mail. If an e-mail replying to the confirmation e-mail is not received by the e-mail transmission / reception means, the program title program included in the reservation recording confirmation e-mail corresponding to the e-mail not returned If the number of program titles that match the keyword is 5 or more When an e-mail that prompts keyword change is transmitted to the e-mail address stored in the storage unit by the e-mail transmission / reception unit, and a reply e-mail including a new keyword is received by the e-mail transmission / reception unit The new keyword is stored in the storage means, and the program title matching the new keyword is searched again by the program search means, and the e-mail confirmation means is configured to receive the reply e-mail received by the e-mail transmission / reception means. By comparing the message identification signal (Message-ID) of the original e-mail included in the header and the message identification signal (Message-ID) of the e-mail of the transmission source, the reply e-mail is converted into the e-mail. Which of the emails sent by the sending / receiving means This is to check whether it is a reply to

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, tuner means for selecting a television broadcast program desired by the user (hereinafter abbreviated as a program) from the received television broadcast signal and demodulating the television signal, and an electronic signal transmitted from the broadcast station are provided. Reservation recording in a set top box comprising EPG decoding means for decoding program guide (Electronic Program Guide (hereinafter abbreviated as EPG)) information and reservation recording registration control means for controlling registration processing of reservation recording of the program Input means for inputting a keyword for extracting a target program, a mail address of a terminal such as a mobile phone possessed by the user, and a program title that matches the keyword input by the user by the input means Program search means for searching from the EPG information, and the user enters by the input means. Storage means for storing the entered keyword and mail address, electronic mail transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving electronic mail to / from the terminal, and electronic mail received by the electronic mail transmitting / receiving means are the electronic mail transmitting / receiving means And e-mail confirmation means for confirming which e-mail to which the e-mail is sent is transmitted, and the reserved recording registration control means is an EPG used for search by the program search means When the information is updated, based on the updated EPG information, the program search means searches again for the program title that matches the keyword, and the number of program titles that match the keyword is less than the predetermined number In addition, an e-mail for confirming reservation recording for each program including each program title is stored in the storage means. If the e-mail is sent to the e-mail address by the e-mail transmission / reception means and a reply e-mail to the reservation recording confirmation e-mail is not received by the e-mail transmission / reception means, The reservation recording registration process for the program with the program title included in the corresponding reservation recording confirmation mail is not performed.

  A third aspect of the invention corresponds to the second aspect of the invention according to the second aspect of the invention, when a reply e-mail to the reservation recording confirmation e-mail is received by the e-mail transmission / reception means. The reserved recording registration process is performed for the program with the program title included in the reservation recording confirmation e-mail.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the e-mail confirmation unit includes a message identification signal (Message) of the original e-mail included in the header of the reply e-mail received by the e-mail transmission / reception unit -ID) is compared with the message identification signal (Message-ID) of the source e-mail, so that the e-mail of the reply is the e-mail of the e-mails transmitted by the e-mail transmission / reception means. It is to confirm whether it is a reply to.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the user's favorite program can be easily selected by the keyword that matches the user's preference, and the reserved recording can be performed, and there are many programs to be selected. In this case, it is possible to narrow down the selection of recorded programs even when the user does not operate by looking at the EPG screen of his / her own device. If the EPG has been updated and the number of selected program titles has increased to 5 or more, it is possible to immediately notify the keyword change by e-mail and limit or modify the number of recorded program reservations. Even if the number of program titles that match the keyword later is less than five, if the user does not reply to the reservation recording confirmation mail for these program titles, the reserved recording is not registered. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the recording of unwanted programs that are not desired, and to prevent the use of the recordable area of the recording apparatus.

  Further, since the recording reservation decision and the keyword change are all performed by e-mail with the user, there is almost no restriction on time and place, and convenience is improved. Furthermore, in the transmission / reception of the e-mail, the message identification signal (Message-ID) of the original e-mail included in the e-mail to which the confirmation of the e-mail is returned and the message identification signal (Message-ID) of the e-mail of the transmission source ) Is surely confirmed for each case of the reply e-mail and the sent e-mail, so that scheduled recording, keyword change, etc. can be performed correctly.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the user's favorite program can be easily selected and recorded by a keyword that matches the user's preference, and can be recorded in a bidirectional manner by using an e-mail between the main body and the user. Since notification can be made regardless of time and place, user-preferred program selection and recording reservation that can reflect the user's intention can be performed. In addition, when the EPG information is updated and the number of program titles matching the keyword is less than the predetermined number, when a reply e-mail to the reservation recording confirmation mail is not received, Since the reservation recording registration process for the program with the program title included in the reservation recording confirmation email is not performed, the recording of the useless program that the user does not want can be omitted, and the recording area of the recording apparatus Can be used unnecessarily.

  According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 2, when the EPG information is updated, the number of program titles matching the keyword does not reach the predetermined number, and the reservation recording confirmation When receiving an e-mail for replying to an e-mail, the reservation recording registration process for the program with the program title included in the e-mail for confirming the reserved recording corresponding to the returned e-mail was performed. The program desired by the user can be reliably recorded within a predetermined number range.

  According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 2, it is ensured by e-mail confirmation operation to which e-mail of the sent e-mails the reply e-mail is a reply. By being able to confirm, scheduled recording can be performed reliably.

  Hereinafter, a tuner built-in DVD recording apparatus 1 incorporating the function of the present invention as a set-top box having a program recording reservation function according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a tuner built-in DVD recording apparatus 1 (hereinafter abbreviated as a DVD recording apparatus) according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, a DVD recording apparatus 1 is connected to an antenna 2 and receives a tuner 11 for receiving a television broadcast signal, a video decoder 12 for decoding a video signal included in a TV broadcast signal received and demodulated by the tuner 11, a television broadcast. An audio decoder 13 that decodes an audio signal included in the signal, an on-screen display unit (OSD) 14 that superimposes a predetermined display image on the decoded TV broadcast signal, and an electronic program guide (hereinafter referred to as an electronic program guide) sent from a broadcasting station EPG decoder 15 (EPG decoding means) for decoding information, and a control unit 16 (program search means, reserved recording registration control means for searching program titles from EPG information and controlling reservation recording registration processing) ), The program extraction key entered by the user A memory 17 for storing a mail address of a mobile phone 5 (terminal) owned by a user or a user, an input device 6 including a main body button or a remote controller for inputting the keyword or mail address, a video signal of a selected TV program, an audio signal Are recorded on a DVD, and a network card (electronic mail transmission / reception means) 19 that transmits / receives electronic mail between the apparatus 1 and a mobile phone 5 (terminal) owned by the user. In this configuration, the control unit 16 further includes a message identification signal (Message-ID) of the original email included in the header of the reply email received by the network card 19 and a message identification signal of the sender email. By comparing (Message-ID), it has a function of confirming to which e-mail the reply e-mail is sent from the network card 19 (e-mail confirmation means). Check emails. The video signal decoded by the video decoder 12 is displayed on the display device 3 via the on-screen display unit (OSD) 14, and the audio signal decoded by the audio decoder 13 is displayed via the audio output unit 20. Is output.

    Next, a process for confirming reservation recording registration between the DVD recording apparatus 1 and the mobile phone 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when the user inputs the e-mail address of the mobile phone 5 of the user who performs notification from the input device 6, the control unit 16 stores and sets this e-mail address in the memory 17 (S1). Next, when the user inputs a keyword of a program to be recorded from the input device 6, the control unit 16 stores and registers this keyword in the memory 17 (S 2). Search for matching programs and register reserved recording for the matched programs (S3). When the EPG is updated (YES in S4), if there is a program that matches the keyword (YES in S5), and if there are less than 5 programs that match the keyword (NO in S6), control is performed. The unit 16 transmits a recording confirmation mail to the user (S10), receives a reply e-mail from the mobile phone 5, and confirms that the received e-mail is a reply of the transmitted e-mail (YES in S11). The reserved recording is registered for the program of the corresponding program title (S12), and when the reply e-mail is not received (NO in S11), the recording is not performed. On the other hand, if there are five or more programs matching the keyword in step S6 (YES in S6), a keyword change confirmation email is sent to the user to reduce the number of programs (S7), and a reply email is received. When it is confirmed that the received mail is a reply to the transmitted e-mail (YES in S8), the keyword included in this reply mail is stored in the memory 17 and the registered keyword is changed (S9). Returning to step S5, keyword search processing is executed. On the other hand, if the reply e-mail is not received (NO in S8), no recording is performed. Then, by changing the keyword, the steps from S6 to S9 are repeated until the number of keywords becomes less than five, and finally the reserved recording is registered. By these steps, the user-preferred program can be reserved for recording the latest number of programs less than five, and unnecessary programs can be prevented from being recorded.

  As described above in the tuner built-in DVD recording apparatus, according to the set-top box equipped with the recording apparatus according to the present invention, a user-preferred program is easily selected with a keyword that matches the user's preference, and reserved recording is performed. Therefore, it is possible to make a recording reservation without looking at the EPG screen of the own device and operating it, and the program desired by the user is selected from all the programs listed in the program guide of the printed matter and the electronic program guide. The troublesomeness to select visually can be eliminated.

  Further, even if the EPG is updated and the number of selected programs increases, it is possible to notify the keyword change by e-mail and immediately respond to the limitation and correction of the number of recorded program reservations. Can be prevented from being wasted.

  Further, by comparing the message identification signal (Message-ID) of the received reply e-mail with the message identification signal (Message-ID) of the sender e-mail, the reply e-mail and the transmitted e-mail are compared. By checking the mail corresponding to the mail one by one, the program desired by the user can be surely reserved-recorded and the keyword changed correctly.

  In addition, this invention is not restricted to the said embodiment, Various deformation | transformation are possible. In the above, the user's e-mail was notified to the user by dividing the number of programs matching the keyword into less than 5 and more than 5 programs, but these were divided by the predetermined total recording time of the program. By making an e-mail notification of recording registration confirmation or keyword change confirmation, it is possible to make a recording reservation in consideration of the recording time, and to make a reservation that matches the recording capacity of the recording device of the set top box. Thereby, a user's convenience can be improved.

  In the above description, the tuner built-in DVD recording apparatus has been described as a set-top box having a recording apparatus. However, the present invention receives a television broadcast such as a VTR recording apparatus or a hard disk recorder recording apparatus with a built-in television tuner. Any AV device having a tuner device capable of recording a television signal can be applied. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the one in which the recording device is built in the set top box body, and an external external recording device can be connected to a set top box having no recording device.

1 is an electrical block diagram showing a configuration of a tuner built-in DVD recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. The flowchart which shows the step of the reservation program recording by the said DVD recording device with a built-in tuner.

Explanation of symbols

1 DVD recorder with built-in tuner (set top box)
5 Mobile phones (terminals)
6 Input device (input means)
11 Tuner (tuner means)
12 Video decoder 13 Audio decoder 15 EPG decoder (EPG decoding means)
16 Control unit (reserved recording registration control means, program search means, e-mail confirmation means)
17 Memory (memory means)
18 Recording unit (recording means)
19 Network card (e-mail transmission / reception means)

Claims (4)

Tuner means for selecting a television broadcast program desired by the user (hereinafter abbreviated as a program) from the received television broadcast signal and demodulating the television signal, and recording for recording the demodulated television signal program Means, EPG decoding means for decoding electronic program guide (EPG) information sent from a broadcasting station, and reservation recording registration control means for controlling registration processing of reserved recording of the program In the set-top box provided,
An input means for inputting a keyword for extracting a program to be reserved for recording and a mail address of a terminal such as a mobile phone possessed by the user;
Program search means for searching for a program title that matches a keyword input by the user through the input means from the EPG information;
Storage means for storing a keyword or email address input by the user through the input means;
E-mail transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving e-mail to / from the terminal;
E-mail confirmation means for confirming to which e-mail the e-mail received by the e-mail transmission / reception means is a reply from among e-mails transmitted by the e-mail transmission / reception means;
The reserved recording registration control means includes:
When the EPG information used for the search by the program search means is updated, the program search means searches again for the program title that matches the keyword based on the updated EPG information,
When the number of program titles matching the keyword is less than 5, the reservation recording confirmation mail for each program including these program titles is sent to the mail address stored in the storage means. When the e-mail transmission / reception means sends a reply e-mail to the reservation recording confirmation e-mail by the e-mail transmission / reception means, the reservation recording confirmation e-mail corresponding to the returned e-mail is sent. If the e-mail for replying to the e-mail for confirming the reserved recording is not received by the e-mail transmission / reception means, the process is registered. Scheduled recording of a program with the program title included in the scheduled recording confirmation email corresponding to the email that did not exist So as not to perform the recording process,
If the number of program titles matching the keyword is 5 or more, an e-mail prompting the keyword change is transmitted to the e-mail address stored in the storage means by the e-mail transmission / reception means to include a new keyword When a reply e-mail is received by the e-mail transmission / reception means, a new keyword is stored in the storage means, and a program title matching the new keyword is searched again by the program search means,
The e-mail confirmation means includes a message identification signal (Message-ID) of the original e-mail included in the header of the return e-mail received by the e-mail transmission / reception means, and a message identification signal (Message) of the e-mail of the transmission source -ID) to check which e-mail of the e-mails sent by the e-mail transmission / reception means is a reply to Set top box. A tuner means for selecting a television broadcast program (hereinafter abbreviated as a program) desired by the user from the received television broadcast signal and demodulating the television signal, and an electronic program guide (Electronic Program Guide) sent from the broadcast station (Hereinafter abbreviated as EPG)) In a set top box comprising an EPG decoding means for decoding information and a reserved recording registration control means for controlling a reserved recording registration process for the program,
An input means for inputting a keyword for extracting a program to be reserved for recording and a mail address of a terminal such as a mobile phone possessed by the user;
Program search means for searching for a program title that matches a keyword input by the user through the input means from the EPG information;
Storage means for storing a keyword or email address input by the user through the input means;
E-mail transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving e-mail to / from the terminal;
E-mail confirmation means for confirming to which e-mail the e-mail received by the e-mail transmission / reception means is a reply from among e-mails transmitted by the e-mail transmission / reception means;
The reserved recording registration control means includes:
When the EPG information used for the search by the program search means is updated, the program search means searches again for the program title that matches the keyword based on the updated EPG information,
When the number of program titles matching the keyword is less than the predetermined number, a reservation recording confirmation email for each program including each program title is sent to the email address stored in the storage means If the e-mail transmission / reception means does not receive a reply e-mail to the reservation recording confirmation e-mail, the reservation recording corresponding to the e-mail that has not been replied to. A set-top box characterized in that the registration process of the reserved recording for the program with the program title included in the confirmation e-mail is not performed.   When an e-mail replying to the reservation recording confirmation e-mail is received by the e-mail transmission / reception means, the program of the program title included in the reservation recording confirmation e-mail corresponding to the returned e-mail The set-top box according to claim 2, wherein registration processing of reserved recording is performed for the.   The e-mail confirmation means includes a message identification signal (Message-ID) of the original e-mail included in the header of the return e-mail received by the e-mail transmission / reception means, and a message identification signal (Message) of the e-mail of the transmission source -ID) to check which e-mail of the e-mails sent by the e-mail transmission / reception means is a reply to The set top box according to claim 2.

Images