JP2006203618A - Program searching apparatus and program searching method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program searching apparatus for extracting a program matching the taste of a viewer with high accuracy by applying preference ranking to programs without using viewing frequencies from the view history of the broadcast programs. <P>SOLUTION: The program searching apparatus for classifying the broadcast programs and searching the program matching the taste of the viewer according to a program classification preference ranking table of the viewer includes: a program information extract section 13 for extracting program information of viewing programs at each time and program information of a plurality of programs broadcast by other stations at the same time as that of the viewing program; a program classification section 14 for classifying the respective programs on the basis of the program information; a program classification preference degree providing section 15 placing the program classification of the viewing program at each time to a higher preference ranking than the program classification of the programs of the other stations at the same time and storing the result as preference ranking history information 16; and a program classification preference ranking integration section 17 for determining the program classification preference ranking on the basis of the history information 16 at each time so as to create the program classification preference ranking table 19. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a program search apparatus and a program search method for automatically extracting a viewer's favorite program from a viewing history during viewing or recording of a program on a television broadcast, and more particularly to a program search method according to a viewer's preference level. It relates to ranking technology.

  In digital broadcasting, a program table including program information such as a genre, a title, and an explanatory article is sent together with a broadcast program by EPG (Electronic Program Guide). Using the program information, the program search device ranks and stores the program categories from the viewer's viewing history according to the viewer's preference order based on some program category. When there is a request from the viewer, broadcast programs at a target time are listed and classified from the program table at the time of broadcasting, and a favorite program is selected from the listed programs based on the rank of the program classification. The program is searched, and the searched program is recommended and displayed as a viewing / recording candidate or automatically recorded.

As a conventional program search device, automatic recording that preferentially extracts and records programs with a high frequency of channel selection by viewers, using weekly program organization as a program classification of “day of week, time zone, channel” An apparatus is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
As another conventional example, a program having a high frequency of appearance of keywords appearing in program information text is preferentially extracted based on keywords in text included in EPG program information, with “programs including keywords” being classified into programs. A method of recording or tuning is known (for example, see Patent Document 2).

In these program search devices, all of the program ranking methods for automatically extracting a favorite program from a viewer's viewing history extract programs with high viewing frequency preferentially.
JP 2002-199293 A (page 3-5, FIG. 3) JP 7-135621 A (page 2-3, FIG. 1)

  However, a general television program is viewed with a lot of people and casually watching the same program, and there are surprisingly few programs that are consciously watched to watch the program. In the conventional method, since such a program is frequently viewed, the degree of preference of the program classification having a high broadcast frequency is increased. That is, the determination based on the frequency has a problem that the preference degree of the viewer cannot be accurately determined.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and a program search apparatus and program search capable of extracting a viewer's favorite program classification from a program that is really interesting only occasionally. It aims to provide a method.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of broadcast programs to be transmitted are classified into predetermined categories based on program information, and a viewer's program classification preference ranking table (programs) stored in the storage unit in advance. In a program search device for searching for the viewer's favorite program from among the broadcast programs according to the classification preference order table 19), program information of a program viewed by a predetermined station that the viewer is watching at each time, A program information extracting unit (program information extracting unit 13) for extracting program information of a plurality of programs broadcast by other stations other than the predetermined station at the same time as the viewing program, and the viewing program and the plurality of programs A program classifying unit (program classifying unit 14) for classifying the viewing program and the plurality of programs based on the program information, and the viewer viewing the program at each time The program classification of the viewing program of the fixed station is positioned at a higher preference ranking than the program classification of the program broadcast by another station at the same time, and history information of the preference ranking at each time (program classification ranking history table 16) The program classification preference ranking is determined based on the history information of the preference ranking at each time, and the program classification preference ranking table is created. And a program category preference ranking integration unit (program category ranking integration unit 17).
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of broadcast programs to be transmitted are classified according to a predetermined category based on program information, and a viewer's program category preference order table (program category preference ranking) stored in the storage unit in advance. In the program search method for searching for the viewer's favorite program from among the broadcast programs according to the ranking table 19), program information of a program viewed by a predetermined station that the viewer is watching at each time, and Program information of a plurality of programs broadcast by other stations other than the predetermined station at the same time as the viewing program is extracted (steps S1 and S2), and based on the viewing program and the program information of the plurality of programs, The viewing program and the plurality of programs are classified into programs (steps S3 and S4), and the program classification of the viewing program of the predetermined station that the viewer is viewing at each time is the same time. Is ranked in a higher preference ranking than the program classification of programs broadcast by other stations, stored as history information of preference ranking at each time (step S6), and based on history information of the preference ranking at each time Then, the program classification preference ranking is determined (steps S11 to S15), and the program classification preference ranking table is created.

  According to the present invention, program information of a viewing program of a predetermined station viewed by the viewer at each time, and a plurality of programs broadcast by other stations other than the predetermined station at the same time as the viewing program. A program information extraction unit for extracting program information, a program classification unit for classifying the viewing program and the plurality of programs based on program information of the viewing program and the plurality of programs, and the viewing at each time The program classification of the program viewed by the predetermined station being viewed by the user is positioned in a higher preference ranking than the program classification of the program broadcast by another station at the same time, and history information of preference ranking at each time The program classification preference ranking is determined and the program classification preference ranking table is determined based on the history information of the preference ranking at each time and creating the program classification preference ranking table. Since it is equipped with a ranking integration unit, the ranking of programs that are rarely seen is not lowered, and it is not affected by the broadcast frequency, and the preference ranking is highly accurate to the viewer's preference. Can be attached.

Hereinafter, a program search device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a digital broadcast receiving system having a program search device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the program search device of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows an example of the organization of a weekly broadcast program, where (A) is a regular program guide and (B) is a special program guide for that day only. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of program classification used in the program search device of the present invention. FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams of the program classification ranking assignment process at the time of viewing. FIG. 5A shows a program table at the time of viewing, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the program category ranking integration process, in which (A) shows the accumulated program category ranking history data, and (B) shows an example of ranking integration. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the program search apparatus according to the present invention. (A) is a program category ranking at the time of viewing, (B) is a program category ranking integration, and (C) is a program search presentation. The operation of the hour is shown.

The present invention relates to a ranking technique for a program search device that automatically extracts a viewer's favorite program from a viewing history. First, the concept of the preferred program ranking method of the present invention will be described.
In general, when watching a television broadcast, an arbitrary program is not always viewed at an arbitrary time, but the program to be viewed is determined by selecting the program that the user wants to watch the most from among the programs being broadcast at a certain time. ing. For example, when a program as shown in FIG. 3A is broadcast at a certain time, only one of the three types of programs can be seen. In addition, the selection method is often performed by relative comparison. Even if the variety shown in FIG. 3A is seen, a program as shown in FIG. 3B is broadcast at another time. In many cases, it is common to watch baseball without seeing the variety you have always watched.
The present invention determines the preference of the viewer on the assumption that the degree of preference is higher than the program that has not been seen among the programs that are broadcast in the same time zone, and depends on the frequency of viewing generally performed. Unlike the extraction of the preference level, a program that suits the viewer's preference is extracted by using the unique characteristic when viewing the broadcast. Hereinafter, an embodiment of a digital broadcast receiving system using a program search apparatus according to the ranking technique of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, a digital broadcast receiving system having a program search device according to the present invention receives a digital broadcast by a digital broadcast receiver 8, displays and views a program on a monitor 9, and the program search device Thus, the viewer's favorite program is extracted from the viewing history, and the program that matches the viewer's preference is recommended and displayed according to the viewer's request.
The digital broadcast receiver includes a tuner 2, a TS decoder 3, an AV decoder 4, a program search unit 5, a display control unit 6, and a system control unit 7.
The tuner 2 demodulates the radio wave of the channel designated by the viewer and outputs it as transport stream (TS) data. The TS decoder 3 decodes the input TS data and outputs necessary data to the AV decoder 4 and the program search unit 5. The AV decoder 4 decodes the input MPEG AV data into an audio signal and a video signal, and outputs and displays them on the monitor 8 via the display control unit 6. The program search unit 5 extracts a favorite program from the viewing history of the viewer and displays the recommended viewing program on the monitor 8 via the display control unit 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the program search device according to the present invention includes an operation input unit 11, an input selection unit 12, a program information extraction unit 13, a program classification unit 14, a program classification ranking unit 18, a program classification preference ranking table 19, It comprises a favorite program search unit 20 and a system control unit 21 that controls the entire system. Hereinafter, the program search device will be described.

The operation input unit 11 represents a viewer operation unit such as a remote controller. When the history collection mode is set and the viewer views the program for a certain time or more, the program classification order assigning operation is started and the viewing history is collected. When the viewer requests to search for a favorite program, a program search / presentation operation is started, and the favorite program is searched from the broadcast program and displayed.

At the time of viewing history collection, the input selection unit 12 inputs the viewing program and the program table of all the programs of other stations broadcast in the same time zone as the viewing program, and outputs them to the program information extraction unit 13. However, the same time zone includes any part that overlaps at least part of the period from the start of viewing of the viewing program to the end of viewing. When searching for a program, the program table of all programs in the target time zone is input, listed and stored.

At the time of viewing history collection, the program information extraction unit 13 extracts the program information of the viewing program and the program information of all the programs of other stations broadcast in the same time zone as the viewing program. At the time of program search, program information of all the listed programs is extracted and stored.
In this embodiment, the program information indicates genre and sub-genre information as will be described later as information for specifying a program such as date, channel, time zone, and information for classifying the program.

The program classification unit 14 classifies programs based on the program information.
In this embodiment, each program is classified as a sub-genre (program category) that is a small category belonging to a certain genre (major category). FIG. 4 shows an example of program classification.

Next, a program classification ranking method that is a feature of the present invention will be described. The program classification ranking unit 18 ranks the sub-genre for each genre according to the preference of the viewer. As shown by the broken line in FIG. 1, the program classification ranking history table 16, the program classification ranking giving unit 15, the program It is composed of a classification ranking integration unit 17 and assigns a viewer's preference ranking from the viewing history, and creates a program classification preference ranking table 19 in which subgenres are arranged according to preference ranking for each genre.

In the program classification order assigning unit 15, the viewing program has a higher preference than the programs of other stations broadcast in the same time zone, and the classification to which the viewing program belongs is broadcast in the same time zone. The preference ranking between the two programs having a higher preference ranking than the program classification of the other station is given and stored in the program classification ranking history table 16. However, the ranking of program classification is performed only for sub-genres of the same genre. As a result, similar programs of the same genre are ranked, the reliability of the data is increased, and the sub-genre in the same genre is performed, so that the order integration operation described later can be simplified.

The program classification ranking integration unit 17 inputs a program classification ranking history table between a plurality of two programs obtained in different time zones, integrates the magnitude relationship of the degree of preference between programs between two programs, and sets all programs Ordering is performed according to the degree of preference of one series with respect to the classification, and the program classification preference ranking table 19 is output. A method for integrating the program classification preference degree table will be described later.

The preference program search unit 20 matches the program category ranking of the program category preference ranking table 19 obtained by the program category ranking unit 18 at the time of program search, and lists the broadcast programs listed in the target time zone. Are rearranged and presented as a favorite program from the upper program.
Next, the operation of the program search apparatus described above will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, program classification order assignment and history collection operations during viewing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
When the viewer views a program for a predetermined time or longer, the program enters a program classification order assigning routine, and inputs and stores the program list of the viewed program and all broadcast programs in the same time zone as the viewed program (step S1). For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, if programs 1 to 6 are broadcast and the viewer is watching the football of program 1, it is broadcast in the same time zone as program 1 and the program. As a program, the program table of program 2, program 3, program 4, program 5, and program 6 is input and stored.
Then, all program information is extracted from these program guides and temporarily stored (step S2).
The program information of the viewing program is input, and the viewing program is classified (step S3). The program 1 which is a viewing program is classified as a genre of sports and a sub-genre of soccer.
Further, the stored non-viewing programs in the same time zone are sequentially classified (step S4). For example, the program 2 has a genre of sports, the sub-genre is baseball, and the program 4 has a genre of movies and a sub-genre of Western movies.
Next, it is checked whether or not the genre of the non-viewing program is the same as the genre of the viewing program (step S5), and if different, the process proceeds to step S7. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5B, program 4, program 5, and program 6 are movies, varieties, and dramas, respectively, and are different from the sport of program 1, so they are not included in the ranking. The
If the genres are the same, the program classification order “viewed program> non-viewed program” is assigned and temporarily stored (step S6), and the process proceeds to step S7. For example, when watching the football of the program 1, since it does not watch the baseball of the program 2, it can be said that “I like soccer more than baseball”. Therefore, the program is replaced with the program classification, and “soccer> baseball” is set as the program classification.
Then, by repeating the above operation for all the non-viewing programs (step S7), history data indicating the preference order between the two programs of the viewing program and the non-viewing program is obtained.
As described above, as shown in FIG. 5 (B), the ranking between categories within the same genre is obtained from the degree of preference between programs, and the history 1 shown in FIG. 6 is obtained. Further, by repeating this operation even when viewing in different time zones, a plurality of program classification ranking history data is collected as shown in FIG.

Next, based on a plurality of program category ranking history data (program category ranking history table 16) as shown in FIG. 6, the program category ranking integration operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7B.
When there is a request for program category ranking integration, the program category ranking integration routine shown in FIG. 7B is entered, and the program category ranking history table 16 is sequentially input by genre (step S11). For example, the program classification ranking history data shown in FIG. 6A for the genre of sports is input, and if there is overlapping data as in the classification 3 of the history 2, only one is deleted and left. If there is any meaningless data as shown in category 3 of the history 5, it is deleted.
Next, a program classification order list including all combinations of sub-genres existing in the program classification order history table 16 is created (step S12). For example, if the target sub-genre is classification 1 (soccer), classification 2 (baseball), and classification 3 (golf), the number of combinations is six as shown in FIG. Become.
According to the history data of the program category ranking history table 16, the number of two inter-class data that matches the created program category ranking is counted and stored (step S13). For example, for the program classification order “category 1> class 2> class 3”, the history 1 data classification 1> class 2 and classification 1> class 3 are all program classification orders “category 1> class 2> category. Since “3” is satisfied, each score is +1. This procedure is repeated for all the histories, and the total score for the program classification ranking “Category 1> Category 2> Category 3” is calculated.
When the counting of all program classification ranks is completed (step S14), the program classification rank with the largest number of matches is adopted as the program classification rank for the genre (step S15). In the present embodiment, since the number of matching conditions is the highest at 8 when the program classification order is “Category 1> Category 2> Category 3”, the program classification order of the preference degree calculated from the history in the genre of sports is “Soccer”. 1>baseball> golf ”.
As described above, the preference ranking of the program category of the specified genre is updated. By performing the above procedure for all genres (step S16), the sub-genre program classification preference ranking table 19 is created for all genres.
The program classification order integration operation may be performed before the power is actually turned off after the power-off instruction is given by the remote controller, for example.

Next, a preferred program search / presentation operation example will be described with reference to a flowchart.
When there is a request from the viewer to search for and present a favorite program, the program search / presentation routine shown in FIG. 7C is entered. First, the input selection unit 12 displays the entire program table in the target time zone. Is entered and stored, and the target program is listed (step S21). The program information extraction unit 13 extracts the program information of the listed programs in order (step S22). The program classification unit 14 classifies and stores the program in the same manner as the program classification step S3 at the time of history collection (step S23).
When the classification of all target programs is completed (step S24), the preference program search unit 20 sets the program list according to the ranking of the program classification (sub-genre) in the program classification preference ranking table 19 for each large classification (genre). Are rearranged (step S25) and presented as a favorite program from the higher programs of each genre (step S26).

As described above, according to the present invention, since there is the above-described configuration, the program being viewed is simultaneously used for the viewing frequency by utilizing the characteristic peculiar to broadcasting that the degree of preference is higher than other programs being broadcast. The program classification can be ranked without depending on it. For this reason, it is possible to determine the preference of the viewer more accurately without increasing the preference level of the program classification that is frequently viewed and frequently broadcast.

In this embodiment, the viewer's favorite program searched by the program search device or the program search method according to the present invention is recommended and presented as a viewing program, but recommended presentation as a recording reservation and always viewer's preference. It can also be applied to an automatic recording device such as a hard disk that records the programs.
Moreover, if there is a means for obtaining a program guide having program information such as data broadcasting, the Internet, and offline data, it can be applied to other than digital broadcasting.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the digital broadcast receiving system which has the program search apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the program search apparatus in embodiment of this invention. An example of weekly organization of a broadcast program related to the program search device of the present invention is shown, in which (A) is a regular program table and (B) is a special program table for that day only. It is a figure which shows the example of a program classification used with the program search apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the program classification order | rank assignment | providing process at the time of viewing in the program search apparatus of this invention, (A) shows the program table at the time of viewing, (B) shows the example of order provision. It is explanatory drawing of the order integration process of the program classification in the program search apparatus of this invention, (A) is the accumulated program classification order history data, (B) shows an example of order integration. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the program search device of the present invention, in which (A) is a program classification ranking assignment during viewing, (B) is a program classification ranking integration, and (C) is a program search presentation operation. Show.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Operation input part, 12 Input selection part, 13 Program information extraction part, 14 Program classification part, 15 Program classification rank provision part, 16 Program classification rank history table, 17 Program classification rank integration part, 18 Program classification rank provision part, 19 Program classification preference table, 20 preference program search unit, 21 system control unit

Claims (2)

A plurality of broadcast programs to be transmitted are classified into predetermined categories based on program information, and the viewing is performed from among the broadcast programs according to a viewer's program classification preference order table stored in advance in the storage unit. In a program search device for searching for a favorite program of a user,
A program for extracting program information of a viewing program of a predetermined station viewed by the viewer at each time, and program information of a plurality of programs broadcast by other stations other than the predetermined station at the same time as the viewing program An information extractor;
A program classification unit for classifying the viewing program and the plurality of programs based on program information of the viewing program and the plurality of programs,
The program classification of the program viewed by the predetermined station that the viewer is viewing at each time is positioned in a higher preference order than the program classification of the program broadcast by another station at the same time, and each time A program classification preference level accumulating unit that accumulates as history information of preference rankings in
A program classification preference ranking integration unit that determines a program classification preference ranking based on history information of the preference ranking at each time, and creates the program classification preference ranking table;
A program search device comprising: A plurality of broadcast programs to be transmitted are classified into predetermined categories based on program information, and the viewing is performed from among the broadcast programs according to a viewer's program classification preference order table stored in advance in the storage unit. In a program search method for searching for a user's favorite program,
Extracting program information of a viewing program of a predetermined station viewed by the viewer at each time, and program information of a plurality of programs broadcast by other stations other than the predetermined station at the same time as the viewing program;
Based on the program information of the viewing program and the plurality of programs, the viewing program and the plurality of programs are classified into programs, respectively.
The program classification of the program viewed by the predetermined station that the viewer is viewing at each time is positioned in a higher preference order than the program classification of the program broadcast by another station at the same time, and each time As historical information of preference rankings in
A program search method comprising: determining a program classification preference rank based on history information of the preference rank at each time, and creating the program classification preference rank table.

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