JP2008118197A - Video recording system capable of recording program on different channels automatically - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video recording system that records only a program on a different channel, while a user is outputting a program for viewing and prevents the user from missing an opportunity for recording a program suitable for user's taste, even if the objects to be recorded are limited. <P>SOLUTION: The video recording system has an output section for outputting a broadcasting program for viewing; a determination section for determining whether a program on a different channel of the broadcasting program being outputted from the output section is recorded automatically; and a section for recording the program on the different channel of a program being viewed, when it is determined that the program on the different channel is to be recorded. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording system capable of automatically recording a back program of a broadcast program.

In recent years, the number of programs that can be received via broadcast waves and the Internet has increased and the contents have been diversified, so that many programs that meet user preferences have been broadcast. Also, the more programs you want to watch, the more difficult it is to view all the programs in real time, and the more opportunities you can record and watch later.
In this case, what is important is to surely record a program without overlooking a program that suits one's preference among many programs. In order to meet such needs, it is generally performed that a user selects a program that suits the user's preference in advance from the program title and makes a recording reservation by acquiring an electronic program guide (EPG, Electronic Broadcast Guide) from a broadcast wave or the like. In addition, a technique for automatically recording a program that matches a user's preference by searching for keywords and genres included in the EPG is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Furthermore, a technique for automatically recording a program including a keyword or ID common to a program recorded in the past is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2005-312024 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-180058

However, in the case of a method of automatically recording a program suitable for the user's preference by searching for a keyword or genre included in the EPG information, the keyword needs to be specified in advance by the user, and the keyword setting method is appropriate. If it is not, or the keyword included in the EPG information is not appropriate, there is a possibility that the recording opportunity of the program that suits the taste is missed.
In addition, in the case of a method of automatically recording a program including a keyword that is common to a program recorded in the past, a new genre that has not been recorded in the past will not increase unless the user performs a recording operation. There is a risk that the recording opportunity will be missed if the preference spreads to the camera.

Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is that, even if the user does not set a keyword each time or a program including the keyword has not been recorded in the past, the user's usual TV viewing history can be used. It is intended to prevent a user from losing the opportunity to record a program that the user wants to watch by automatically recording a program that matches the user's preference.
At that time, a user with a long day watching TV can afford to watch many recorded programs, while a user with a short day watching time records many programs. It is considered difficult to see all of them. For this reason, it is also a problem to be solved by the present invention to record only a realistic amount of programs in consideration of the user's viewing convenience. A specific problem is that when a user outputs a program for viewing, only the back program is recorded, and even if the recording target is limited in this way, the opportunity to record a program that meets the user's preference is lost. It is to provide a recording system that does not need to be performed.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a system for appropriately determining a program to be recorded regardless of whether or not a keyword is set for a program that has been output such as broadcast. In this case, for the convenience of viewing by the user, a system is provided for recording the back program when the user is watching TV or the like, that is, when the program is actually output.

  That is, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention includes an output unit that outputs a broadcast program for viewing, and a determination unit that determines whether to automatically record a back program of the broadcast program output from the output unit, When the determination result is a determination result that recording is performed, a recording system including a back program recording unit that records the back program of the program being viewed is provided. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the determination unit includes viewing program attribute information acquisition means for acquiring attribute information of the broadcast program output from the output unit, and back program attribute information for acquiring the attribute information of the back program. Comparison between the acquisition means, the first comparison means for comparing whether the acquired viewing program attribute information and the acquired back program attribute information have a predetermined relationship, and the comparison result of the first comparison means being in a predetermined relationship The recording system according to claim 1, further comprising attribute system judging means for judging that the back program is recorded when it is a result. Further, the invention according to claim 3 is such that the determination unit acquires past viewing program attribute information acquisition means for acquiring attribute information of the broadcast program output from the output unit in the past, and the reverse program acquires the attribute information of the back program. The attribute information acquisition means, the second comparison means for comparing whether the acquired past viewing program attribute information and the acquired back program attribute information are in a predetermined relationship, and the comparison result in the second comparison means are in a predetermined relationship The recording system according to claim 1, further comprising past attribute system determination means for determining that the back program is to be recorded when the result is a comparison result with. In the invention according to claim 4, the determination unit compares the acquired program broadcast time with the program broadcast time information acquisition unit that acquires the program broadcast time of the reverse program, and the reverse program with the longest program broadcast time. 2. The recording system according to claim 1, further comprising: a longest broadcast time back program specifying unit for specifying an image, and a longest broadcast time system determination unit that determines to record the back program specified by the longest broadcast time back program specifying unit. I will provide a. In the invention according to claim 5, the determination unit includes viewing program attribute information acquisition means for acquiring attribute information of the broadcast program output from the output unit, and back program attribute information for acquiring the attribute information of the back program If there are a plurality of broadcast programs having acquisition means, a program broadcast time information acquisition unit for acquiring the program broadcast time of the back program, and back program attribute information having a predetermined relationship with the acquired viewing program attribute information, The recording system according to claim 1, further comprising attribute time system determination means for determining that the back program having the longest program broadcast time acquired in step 1 is recorded. In the invention according to claim 6, the determination unit includes an in-execution determination unit that determines whether automatic recording of the back program is being executed, and the determination result of the in-execution determination unit is executing the automatic recording. The video recording system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the video recording system is not judged to record a broadcast program other than the program that is being automatically recorded. According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an output step for outputting a broadcast program for viewing, a determination step for determining whether to automatically record a back program of the broadcast program output in the output step, and a determination step If the determination result at is a determination result that recording is performed, a recording method including a back program recording step of recording the back program of the program being viewed is provided.

  According to the present invention, even if a user does not set a keyword each time or a program containing the keyword has not been recorded in the past, the user's preference is determined from the user's usual TV viewing history, etc. It is possible to provide a recording system that can prevent a user from missing a recording opportunity of a program that the user wants to watch by automatically recording a program that suits the user's preference. At that time, it is also possible to provide a recording system capable of recording only a realistic amount of programs in consideration of the user's viewing convenience. Specifically, while the user is outputting a program for viewing, recording is performed only for the back program, and even if the recording target is limited in this way, the recording opportunity of the program that matches the user's preference is missed. It is possible to provide a recording system that never happens.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below. The relationship between the embodiments and the claims is as follows. Example 1 mainly relates to claims 1, 2, 7, etc., Example 2 mainly relates to claim 3, Example 3 mainly relates to claim 4, etc. Example 4 mainly The fifth embodiment mainly relates to claim 6 and the like. In addition, this invention is not limited to these Examples at all, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof.

<Overview>
The recording system of the present embodiment is a recording system characterized in that it is determined whether to automatically record the back program of the broadcast program being output, and has means for recording this back program when it is determined to record. .
Further, in the recording system as described above, whether to record is compared whether the output program and the back program have a predetermined relationship, and if the comparison result has a predetermined relationship, recording is performed. This is a recording system configured as described above.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for illustrating the basic concept of the present invention. This example is an example configured to record the back program when it is determined that the output program and the back program have a predetermined relationship, and the predetermined relationship is that the genre of the program is the same This is the case. In this figure, a sports program (baseball broadcast program) 0102 being broadcast on the first channel is output from the television device 0101 constituting the recording system 0100. In this case, the recording system is the genre of this program “ All back programs of the same genre as “Sports” are automatically recorded (in this example, it is assumed that there are nine channels from the second to the tenth on which the back program is being broadcast). For this reason, the recording system compares the genres of the program being output and the back program, as shown in 0103, and the second and second programs that are broadcasting the same “sports” genre as the program being output are compared. It is determined that the back programs of the third, fifth, sixth, ninth and tenth channels are recorded, and these programs are recorded.

<Configuration>
(Configuration overview)
FIG. 2 shows an example of functional blocks of the recording system of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the “recording system” 0200 includes an “output unit” 0210, a “determination unit” 0220, and a “back program recording unit” 0230.

(Output part)
The “output unit” is configured to output a broadcast program for viewing.
The “broadcast program” may be a program transmitted by a broadcast wave or a program transmitted via the Internet or the like. The broadcast may be terrestrial or satellite broadcast, and may be analog broadcast or digital broadcast. In addition, a program including video and audio is typical, but a program including only video may be used. Furthermore, the video may be either a moving image or a still image.

(Judgment part)
The “determination unit” is configured to determine whether to automatically record a back program of a broadcast program (hereinafter also referred to as “viewing program”) output from the output unit.
The “back program” is a program that is being broadcast at another station at the same time as the program that is currently being output. Therefore, if the program being output and the broadcast time zone overlap even partly, it can be a back program. For example, when the broadcast time zone of program A that is currently output is from 19:00 to 20:00 on the last day of the program, program B being broadcast from 19:00 to 20:00 on the same day at another station Is always a reverse program, but program C, which is broadcast from 19:00 to 19:30, and program D, which is broadcast from 18:30 to 19:30, are also available for program A from 19:00 to 19 It is a back program while it is output until 30 minutes. Also, the program E broadcast from 18:30 to 20:30 is still being broadcast while the program A is being output.
In the present invention, if the program A and the broadcast time zone overlap even partly, it can be recorded as a back program before and after the output of the program A. This is an expansion interpretation of the range within a range that does not violate the definition of the above-mentioned back program. This point will be described later.

(One embodiment of how to determine by the determination unit)
Several embodiments can be considered as to how to determine whether to automatically record a back program.
In one embodiment, it is determined that all back programs are recorded. This is based on the premise that programs of the same genre are often broadcast in similar time zones. For example, each station often broadcasts a wide show between 8 am and 10 am, broadcasts news from 18:00 to 19:00, and variety programs from 19:00 to 21:00 Often to do. Also, dramas are often broadcast from 21:00 to 22:00, and news programs such as news, sports news, and weather forecasts are often broadcast from 23:00 to 24:00. In this way, the fact that a plurality of programs of the same genre are often broadcast in the same time zone means that, from the viewpoint of the user, programs that suit the taste are often broadcast over the same time zone. Become. That is, when a certain program is output for viewing by the user, it can be said that there is a high probability that all other back programs are programs that suit the user's preference. Therefore, by recording all the back programs, it is possible to minimize the risk of missing the opportunity to record programs that suit your taste.

On the other hand, this method does not record all the broadcast programs, but only records the program being output when there is a program being output. In other words, the recording target is limited to the program during the time zone when the user is watching TV. For this reason, in the case of a user whose TV viewing time is long, that is, a user who can sufficiently secure viewing time, a large amount of programs are recorded, whereas a user whose viewing time is short, that is, viewing time is reduced. In the case of a user who cannot secure enough or a user who does not like long-time viewing, only a small amount of programs are recorded. In this way, by setting the recording amount within a range that can be actually reproduced and viewed according to the viewing tendency of the user, it is possible to perform realistic recording considering the convenience of viewing of the user.
Another embodiment will be described after the configuration of the back program recording unit is described below.

(Back program recording part)
The “back program recording unit” is configured to record the back program of the program being viewed when the determination result by the determination unit is a determination result that the recording is performed.
In this case, the back program recording unit is configured to display, for example, a text message on the screen when the back program recording starts and / or when the back program recording ends. Also good. This is intended to notify the user that there is a back program that is being recorded or has been recorded, and can be a trigger for channel switching for the user's viewing. The same applies to other embodiments.
Even if a certain program is output from the start of the program, there may be a program that has already started broadcasting at that time. For example, when the program A is output at 19:00 in order to view the program A in the above example, the programs D and E that have started broadcasting from 18:30 among the back programs have already started. That is why. In this case, as one recording pattern, it can be considered that the recording of programs D and E starts at 19:00 in the middle of the program. This can be said to be a configuration in which priority is given to the recording time not to be too long in consideration of the viewing time zone of the viewer. Alternatively, in addition to further thorough this purpose, if it is considered that there is not much meaning even if it is recorded in the middle of the program, the program that has already started broadcasting may be removed from the recording target. On the other hand, priority may be given to recording as many programs as possible according to the viewer's preference, and the back program already started when the program is output may be recorded from the beginning of the program. Similarly, when the output of a program is stopped, even if it is a back program that is being broadcast, recording may be stopped at that time, or recording may be continued until the end of the back program broadcast. You may comprise as follows.

Therefore, the next program is to record the back program already started when such a program is output from the beginning of the program, or to continue the recording of the back program being broadcast until the end of the broadcast when the output of the program is stopped The configuration will be described.
First, in order to record a back program that has already started when the program is output from the beginning of the program, for example, the recording system includes a buffer memory, and all the programs are temporarily recorded in the buffer memory. Can be considered. For example, in the above program configuration example, when output of program A is started at 19:00, program D (broadcast time zone 18:30 to 19:30) and program E (broadcast time zone 18:30) (Min ~ 20: 30) has already started broadcasting, but since the recording has been started in advance by such a configuration, it can be reproduced and viewed from the beginning of the program later. Further, in order not to waste the capacity of the buffer memory, the recording of the program may be discarded when the possibility of becoming a back program disappears. The point at which the possibility of becoming a back program disappears is the point at which the broadcast of all the programs that were being broadcast at the end of the broadcast of the program has ended.
However, even if the recording of the program is discarded when the possibility of becoming a back program disappears, for example, the broadcast time zone of the a program that is the next program of the A program is from 20:00 to 22:00 In the case of program E (broadcast time zone 18:30 to 20:30) at least until 22:00 (if there is another program that is being broadcast at 20:30 and has a later broadcast end time) Up to that time) When there is a large time difference between the switching of programs between stations, such as when it is necessary to leave a recording, programs that are extremely long (for example, 12 hours of drama or special programs of 24 hours or more) If there is, there is a possibility that the consumption of the buffer memory is considerably increased.
Therefore, limit the recording time to a certain short time, such as recording all the programs for the last 5 minutes (after the amount of recording reaches 5 minutes, the old data is discarded and recorded. May be continued). Even in such a configuration, it is possible to expect a sufficient effect because the user can watch and record the program from the next time by knowing that the program suits his / her preference by viewing a part of the program. .
Further, if the user's viewing time zone is patterned and can be predicted in advance, only the program that can be the back program of the program broadcast in that time zone may be recorded. For example, if the viewing time zone of the user is determined from 19:00 to 20:00 every day, it is sufficient to record only the program broadcast at the time of 19:00 from the beginning of the program in advance. Become. In this case, the information related to the user viewing time zone pattern can be acquired by, for example, accumulating viewing history.
Next, when there is a back program that is in the middle of broadcasting when the output of the program is stopped, it is configured to stop recording the back program at that time, or to continue recording until the end of the broadcast. This can be realized by writing the instruction of the judgment program in that way.

By the way, since the “back program” in the present invention is a concept indicating a program other than the broadcast program output from the output unit, the back program is also switched when the user switches the channel during viewing. For example, if there are five channels from the first channel (1CH) to the fifth channel (5CH), while the user is watching 1CH, the program being broadcast on 2-5CH is the back program, but the user is changing the channel to 2CH At the moment of switching to 2CH, 2CH is no longer a back program but a viewing program. In exchange for this, the 1CH program becomes the reverse program, and as a result, the 1CH and 3-5CH programs become the reverse program. Therefore, as long as the back program is targeted for recording, the recording target is switched to the new back program 1CH from the moment when the channel is switched (3 to 5 CH are still subject to recording). Recording of the 2CH program that was in the middle will be stopped at that moment. Even with such a configuration, since the 2CH program is being watched live from that moment on, the entire program can be viewed by viewing the scenes recorded so far, and there is no problem.
However, in view of the fact that users often switch channels one after another (so-called zapping) in order to check the contents of broadcast programs from other stations and prevent commercials from being viewed, In addition to the configuration, a program once started to be recorded (in this example, a 2CH program) may be configured to continue recording until the end of the program even if the program is output halfway. This can be realized by configuring the program once recognized as a back program to be a back program even if it is viewed halfway, in other words, whether it is a back program is determined at the time of the first output. It is. A specific configuration in this case will be described in another embodiment.

  By the way, as described above, the problem to be solved by the present invention is that the user records only the back program while the program is output for viewing, and the user is limited even if the recording target is limited. The purpose is to provide a recording system that will not miss the opportunity to record programs that suit the user's preferences. However, in actual recording systems and recording devices, not only the back programs but also programs that suit the user's preferences are automatically and widely used. It is also possible to think about what to record. Such a system or the like will naturally use the present invention even if it includes other configurations and methods as long as the configuration and method disclosed in the present invention are used as a configuration for automatically recording the back program. Of these, it should be noted that the part related to the configuration and method for recording the back program is naturally within the technical scope of the present invention.

(Another embodiment of how the judgment unit judges)
Therefore, returning to the description of the determination method of the determination unit, an embodiment different from the one described above will be described. In this embodiment, only the programs having a predetermined relationship with the program being output are recorded among the back programs.
FIG. 3 shows an example of functional blocks of the recording system of this embodiment. The recording system of this example is basically the same as the recording system described with reference to FIG. However, as shown in the figure, the “determination unit” 0320 of the “recording system” 0300 in this example includes “viewing program attribute information acquisition unit” 0321, “back program attribute information acquisition unit” 0322, and “first program attribute information acquisition unit”. Comparing means ”0323 and“ attribute system judging means ”0324 are included.

(Viewing program attribute information acquisition means)
The “viewing program attribute information acquisition means” is configured to acquire the attribute information of the broadcast program output from the “output unit” 0310.
“Attribute information” refers to information related to program attributes. The “program attribute” refers to a genre (for example, sports, drama, news report, etc.) to which the program belongs, a program title, a broadcast channel, a broadcast date, a performer name, and the like. The attribute information related to the video of the program includes color / monochrome, video / still image, 3D video / 2D video, etc., and the audio attribute information includes stereo / monaural, sub-audio. There is presence or absence. Further, the attribute information includes commercial target products and appearance scenes of specific performers.

  For example, such attribute information may be obtained as it is from broadcast data such as EPG information transmitted from a broadcasting station. For example, the genre of the program, the title of the program, the broadcast channel, the broadcast date and time, the name of the performer, and the like may correspond to this. However, for example, when the genre is not included in the EPG information, the keyword included in the program title may be analyzed to determine and acquire the genre. In addition, it is conceivable that commercial target products, appearance scenes of specific performers, and the like are obtained by analyzing broadcast data using voice recognition technology or image recognition technology.

  In this way, there can be various types of attribute information, so the viewing program attribute information acquisition means may acquire all attribute information for a certain program or only specific attribute information. Good (however, it is essential to acquire information on the broadcast channel in order to determine that the program is a back program). A list of attribute information to be acquired (acquisition target attribute information list) is stored in the storage device in advance. FIG. 1 shows a simple configuration in which only the program genre is acquired and compared as attribute information other than the broadcast channel.

(Back program attribute information acquisition means)
“Back program attribute information acquisition means” is configured to acquire attribute information of the back program. The “attribute information” here has the same meaning as the “attribute information” of the broadcast program being output described above. The specific example corresponding to this and the acquisition method thereof are also the same.

(First comparison means)
The “first comparing means” is configured to compare whether the acquired viewing program attribute information and the acquired back program attribute information have a predetermined relationship.
The “predetermined relationship” means that the viewing program attribute information and the back program attribute information are in a predetermined relationship, and specifically, at least a part of the attribute information of both is the same. That means. As an example in which part of the attribute information matches, both attribute information includes information indicating that the genre of the program is “sports”, or both attribute information includes information including the keyword “drama” in the program title. The case where it contains is mentioned. In addition, it may correspond to the broadcast date and time of the program indicated by the attribute information being completely the same.
Since this comparison is naturally performed on the acquired attribute information, when only one attribute information (genre) is acquired as in the example of FIG. 1, the one attribute information is compared, and the comparison results match. On the other hand, when a plurality of attribute information is acquired, it may be determined that a predetermined relationship exists only when all of the attribute information matches, or a certain number or more (for example, If there is a match, it may be determined that there is a predetermined relationship. In the latter case, weighting may be performed so that specific attribute information is emphasized (for example, when genres match, calculation is performed assuming that there are three matches). For this reason, it is desirable that the first comparison means holds a table or the like with such a comparison rule in advance, and performs comparison according to the rule.

(Attribute system judgment means)
The “attribute system determination unit” is configured to determine that the back program is to be recorded when the comparison result of the first comparison unit is a comparison result that is in a predetermined relationship. For example, when the predetermined relationship is that the attribute information of both programs includes information indicating that the genre is “sports”, only the back program including this information is recorded, and the back program not including this information is recorded. Is not recorded. To put it simply, while watching a sports program, only the sports program of the back program is recorded, and dramas and news programs of other genres are not recorded.

(Explanation of functional blocks based on specific examples)
Here, an example of a functional block corresponding to a specific example in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of such functional blocks.
In the example of this figure, it is assumed that the output unit 1910 outputs a variety program (program F) broadcast from 19:00 to 21:00 on a certain day. In this case, the viewing program attribute information acquisition unit 1921 of the determination unit 1920 includes the broadcast channel “1CH”, the genre “variety”, and the broadcast time zone “19:00 to 21 as attribute information of the viewing program as shown in FIG. The information “hour 00 minutes” is acquired. Further, the back program attribute information acquisition means 1922 recognizes the back program with the above-described configuration, and uses the broadcast channel as back program attribute information of the four back programs (program G, program H, program I, program J). The information of the contents shown in FIG. 20 is also acquired for the genre and the broadcast time zone. Next, the first comparing means 1923 follows the comparison rule (in this example, the genres according to the predetermined classification match) defining a predetermined relationship as shown in FIG. And compare. As a result, the back program attribute information of the program G and the program H matches the viewing program attribute information of the program F and the genre (variety), so that it is determined that there is a predetermined relationship. As a result, the attribute system determination means determines that the program G and the program H are recorded, and the back program recording unit 1930 records the program G and the program H.

(Purpose of configuration)
Thus, it is configured to determine that the back program is recorded only when the viewing program attribute information and the back program attribute information have a predetermined relationship, compared to the case of recording all the back programs, It is an object of the present invention to reduce the amount of programs to be recorded and to avoid inferiority in the point of not losing the opportunity to record programs that meet user preferences. That is, the back program may include programs other than the user's preference, so when recording all the back programs, there is a risk of missing the opportunity to record the program that matches the user's preference. On the other hand, there is a possibility that even a back program that does not meet the user's preference may be recorded. Therefore, by recording the back program only when the viewing program attribute information and the back program attribute information have a predetermined relationship, there is a possibility that the recording opportunity of the program that suits the taste may be missed, but it does not match the user's preference. The possibility of recording back programs can be eliminated. Moreover, since the program that matches the user's preference has a very high probability that the program being output matches the keyword included in the genre or program title, by recording all the programs having such a predetermined relationship, There is almost no risk of missing the opportunity to record a program that suits your preferences.

(Hardware configuration)
Next, the hardware configuration of the recording system of the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the recording system of the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the output unit of the recording system of the present embodiment includes “storage device (recording medium)” 0401, “main memory” 0402, “CPU” 0403, “I / O” 0404, “ “Display” 0405, “Speaker” 0406, and the like. The determination unit and the back program recording unit are composed of “storage device (recording medium)”, “CPU”, “main memory”, “I / O”, and the like. These are connected to each other by a data communication path such as “system bus” 0407, and perform transmission / reception and processing of information. The storage device stores various programs executed by the CPU. The main memory provides a work area which is a work area when the program is executed by the CPU. A plurality of memory addresses are assigned to the main memory and the storage device, respectively, and a program executed by the CPU performs processing by exchanging data with each other by specifying and accessing the memory address. It is possible. In this example, an output program, a determination program, and a recording program are stored in the storage device, and these programs are automatically read from the storage device when the power is turned on, for example, and reside in the main memory.
Of these, the hardware configuration related to the output of the viewing program is the same as that of the publicly known technology, and thus the description thereof will be omitted. Here, the hardware configuration related to the determination of whether or not to record the back program will be described first.

(Hardware configuration for determining whether to record back programs (1) When recording all back programs)
The CPU executes an instruction to record all the back programs of the judgment program. In this case, first, the CPU acquires broadcast channel information as attribute information of the program being output and temporarily stores it in the main memory. . This acquisition is performed, for example, by extracting from EPG information included in a broadcast signal received in advance via I / O by a tuner (not shown). Further, the CPU also acquires all channel information that is currently broadcasting the program from the EPG information or the like and temporarily stores it in the main memory. This is to avoid the waste of recording a channel that is currently suspended.
Then, the CPU compares these channel information to determine that all programs currently being broadcast are excluded from the program being output, and the determination result is that all these back programs are recorded. obtain. This determination result is temporarily stored in the main memory by the CPU.

(Hardware configuration relating to determination of whether to record back program (2) When recording back program when attribute information of program being output and back program attribute information have a predetermined relationship)
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the recording system in such a case.
The configuration of this figure is basically the same as the configuration shown in FIG. However, in this example, the acquisition target attribute information list is stored in advance in the storage device 0501. Therefore, the CPU 0503 first reads this list into the main memory 0502. Then, the CPU acquires the attribute information of the program being output in accordance with the instruction of the determination program defined to acquire the attribute information in the list. This acquisition is, for example, extracted from EPG information included in a broadcast signal received in advance, as well as received audio data, audio data that holds video data in advance, video data (for example, audio data related to a product name or the shape of an actor to perform The video data is extracted by collating with the video data. The acquired attribute information of the program being output is temporarily stored in the main memory. Also, the attribute information of the back program is acquired by the CPU in the same manner as the attribute information of the viewing program above and stored in the main memory. At this time, the determination that the back program exists is made by acquiring, for example, all the channel information that is currently broadcasting the program from the EPG information and the like, as in the above example.
On the other hand, it is desirable for the storage device to store, for example, a table defining comparison rules in advance. In such a case, the CPU reads the table into the main memory. Then, by comparing the attribute information of the viewing program and the attribute information of the back program stored in the main memory by the above processing with this table, it is compared whether or not there is a predetermined relationship. The determination result that the back program is recorded is stored in the main memory.

(Hardware configuration for recording back program)
When the determination result that the back program is recorded is stored in the main memory according to the above determination, the CPU constituting the back program recording unit reads the determination result, executes the recording program, and records the back program. Specifically, in order to record a plurality of back programs, a broadcast data is received through tuners (not shown) prepared for the number of back programs, and the program data included in the signals is received. Record.
Since the present invention records the back program while outputting the program, the recording system needs to include at least two tuners (not shown) for receiving the broadcast. Any number may be used. In that case, in addition to a configuration in which at least one output device, such as a television, constituting the recording system and one recording device are provided, the output device can be exchanged by means capable of exchanging recordable video information such as i-link (registered trademark) By connecting the recording apparatuses to each other, only one apparatus may be provided with a tuner. The same applies to other embodiments.
Although not shown in the figure, when a program that can be a back program in this case is recorded before the program is output, the recorded data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory area, and a certain program has been output, so When it becomes a program, it is read from the buffer memory area and stored in the memory. When the recording capacity of the buffer memory reaches a predetermined amount, such as when the capacity of the buffer memory is full, new data is overwritten with old data.

<Process flow>
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow in the recording system of the present embodiment.
As shown in the figure, first, in an output step S0601, the recording system outputs a broadcast program for viewing.
Next, when it is determined in step S0602 whether or not to automatically record the back program of the broadcast program output in step S0601, if the recording system determines to record, in the back program recording step S0603, the recording system Record the program behind the current program.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the processing flow in the recording system of this example, and shows an example of the processing flow when recording only the back program having a predetermined relationship with the program being output.
In this case, as shown in the figure, the recording system first outputs a broadcast program for viewing in output step S0701.
Next, in viewing program attribute information acquisition step S0702, the recording system acquires attribute information of the broadcast program output in step S0701.
Next, in the back program attribute information acquisition step S0703, the recording system acquires back program attribute information.
Next, in a comparison step S0704 to determine whether the attribute information has a predetermined relationship, the recording system determines that the viewing program attribute information acquired in step S0702 and the back program attribute information acquired in step S0703 are predetermined. Compare whether there is a relationship.
Next, in step S0705 for determining whether the comparison result in step S0704 is a comparison result indicating a predetermined relationship, in the determination step S0706 for recording a back program if the determination result indicates that the comparison result is a predetermined relationship. The recording system determines to record the back program.
Next, in the back program recording step S0707, the recording system records the back program of the program being viewed.

<Effect>
Even if the user does not set a keyword or records a program containing the keyword in the past, the user's preference can be determined from the user's usual TV viewing history, etc. In addition, it is possible to provide a recording system that can prevent a user from losing the opportunity to record a program that the user wants to watch by automatically recording a program that meets such preferences. In this case, it is possible to provide a recording system capable of recording only a realistic amount of programs in consideration of the convenience of viewing by the user.

<Overview>
The recording system of this embodiment is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. However, the determination unit of the recording system of the present embodiment includes means for acquiring broadcast program attribute information (past viewing program attribute information) output in the past from the output unit, means for acquiring back program attribute information, and acquisition. If the comparison result indicates that the past viewing program attribute information and the acquired back program attribute information have a predetermined relationship and the comparison result is a predetermined relationship, it is determined that the back program is recorded. It has the feature in having a means to do. That is, it differs from the first embodiment in that it determines whether to record the back program by comparing the attribute information of the program output in the past with the attribute information of the back program attribute instead of the attribute information of the program currently being output.

<Configuration>
(Configuration overview)
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the recording system of the present embodiment. The recording system of this embodiment is basically the same as the recording system described in Embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. However, the “determination unit” 0820 of the “recording system” 0800 of this embodiment includes “past viewing program attribute information acquisition unit” 0825, “back program attribute information acquisition unit” 0822, and “second comparison unit” 0826. , “Past attribute system determination means” 0827.

(Past viewing program attribute information acquisition means)
"Past viewing program attribute information acquisition means" is configured to acquire attribute information of broadcast programs output in the past from the output unit.
The "output in the past" time can be any time. That is, it may be immediately before, several days, several months, or several years ago. Also, there may be a time when the program is not output between the current output and the time when the program is continuously output and the program is not output between the current output. Good. In the latter case, when the output of the program being output ends and the output of the next program starts, or when the output is switched to another program in the middle of the program (however, the configuration may not be regarded as switching in the case of zapping) The point is the same as in the first embodiment), and the program that has been output until then becomes the “broadcast program output in the past”.
The “attribute information” in this embodiment has the same meaning as the attribute information in the first embodiment, and the specific example corresponding to this also has the same meaning. Moreover, as the acquisition method, for example, by acquiring in advance from broadcast data such as EPG information transmitted from a broadcasting station, or by analyzing the broadcast data using voice recognition technology or image recognition technology. The same is true for a method of obtaining this. Further, all the attribute information may be acquired for a certain program, or only specific attribute information may be acquired, and the acquisition target attribute information list is stored in the storage device in advance.
The following cases can be considered as timing for acquiring the attribute information.
First, it is conceivable to acquire attribute information of a program being output during program output. The procedure for acquiring the attribute information of the program being output is the same as the procedure for acquiring the attribute information of the program being output by the viewing program attribute information acquisition means in the first embodiment. The acquired attribute information is stored in the storage device, and later acquired as attribute information of the broadcast program output in the past by the past viewing program attribute information acquisition means.
Second, the output program may be recorded, and the past viewing program attribute information acquisition unit may analyze the program and acquire the attribute information later. Alternatively, information necessary for acquiring attribute information of the program such as data relating to the program in the EPG information may be recorded together, and attribute information may be acquired later based on this information. Note that the recording of the program in this case includes the case of temporarily recording in the buffer memory.

(Back program attribute information acquisition means)
“Back program attribute information acquisition means” is the same as that described in the first embodiment.
As used in the first embodiment, the “back program” here means “a program that is being broadcast on another station at the same time as the program currently being output”. Therefore, the back program attribute information is acquired and described below. In order for comparison and judgment to be performed, it is a natural premise that there is a program that is currently being output. This is in consideration of the convenience of viewing by the user, and is consistent with the object of the present invention of recording the back program when the user is watching the TV or the like, that is, when the program is actually output. It is.

(Second comparison means)
The “second comparing means” is configured to compare whether the acquired past viewing program attribute information and the acquired back program attribute information have a predetermined relationship. The “predetermined relationship” here has the same meaning as the predetermined relationship in the first embodiment. The same is true for the specific points of comparison.
(Past attribute system judgment means)
The “past attribute system determination unit” is configured to determine that the back program is recorded when the comparison result of the second comparison unit is a comparison result indicating that the comparison result is in a predetermined relationship. The specific procedure for determination is the same as that described for the attribute system determination means in the first embodiment.

(Explanation of functional blocks based on specific examples)
Here, an example of a functional block corresponding to a specific example in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of such functional blocks.
In the example of this figure, the output unit 2210 outputs a variety program (program F) broadcast from 19:00 to 21:00 on a certain day. In order to view the news program (program M) from 0:30 to 1:00 midnight, the output unit is outputting the program M again. In this case, as shown in FIG. 23, the past viewing program attribute information acquisition unit 2225 of the determination unit 2220 uses, as the past viewing program attribute information, information stored during the output of the program F, for example. The broadcast channel “1CH”, genre “variety”, and broadcast time zone “19: 00-21: 00” are acquired. Also, the back program attribute information acquisition means 2222 recognizes the back program with the above-described configuration, and uses the back channel attribute information of the four back programs (program K, program L, program N, program O) as a broadcast channel. The information of the contents shown in FIG. 23 is also acquired for the genre and the broadcast time zone. Next, the second comparing means 2226 follows the comparison rules (in this example, the genres according to the predetermined classification match) that define the predetermined relationship shown in FIG. Compare As a result, since the back program attribute information of the program L matches the genre (variety) with the past viewing program attribute information of the program F, it is determined that there is a predetermined relationship. As a result, the past attribute system determination unit 2227 determines that the program L is to be recorded, and the back program recording unit 2230 records the program L.

(Purpose of configuration)
The purpose of the configuration of the present embodiment is to more appropriately secure a recording opportunity of a program that suits the user's preference. That is, according to the configuration of the first embodiment, when all the back programs are recorded, it is exceptional, and when only the program having a predetermined relationship with the program being output is recorded, A back program that is not in a predetermined relationship with the program viewed in the past may be broadcast. For example, it is assumed that the user's preference for a program is a sports program and a variety program, and a program of these genres has been viewed in the past, but a sports program is output and viewed in a certain time zone. In this case, if the genre of the program is included as the attribute information, this is acquired as an acquisition target and compared and determined. Therefore, if the back program is a sports program, it is determined that the program is recorded. However, when a variety program is broadcast as a reverse program, there is a case where it is determined that the program is not recorded because there is no predetermined relationship even if the genre of the program is compared as attribute information. However, as a user, if it is known that a variety program is being broadcast during that time, it may be possible to record it. Therefore, by acquiring the attribute information of the program viewed in the past and comparing it with the attribute information of the back program, it is possible to determine that the back program having a predetermined relationship with this is recorded, such a user However, it is possible to reliably record a program belonging to a preference different from the program being output.

(Hardware configuration)
Next, the hardware configuration of the recording system of the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the recording system according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the output part of the recording system of this embodiment of the recording system of this embodiment includes “storage device (recording medium)” 0901, “main memory” 0902, “CPU” 0903, and “I / O ”0904,“ Display ”0905,“ Speaker ”0906, and the like. The determination unit and the back program recording unit are composed of “storage device (recording medium)”, “CPU”, “main memory”, “I / O”, and the like. These are connected to each other by a data communication path such as “system bus” 0907.

Here, the description will focus on a hardware configuration for acquiring attribute information of programs that have been viewed in the past. The configuration for acquiring the back program attribute information and determining whether to record the back program in comparison with the attribute information of the program viewed in the past acquired by the above processing is shown in FIG. This is the same as described above.
The CPU, for example, reads out the attribute information of the program being output according to the instruction of the determination program to acquire the attribute information in the acquisition target attribute information list, which is a list of attribute information to be acquired, read from the storage device to the main memory To get. The specific procedure for this acquisition is the same as in the first embodiment.
The acquired attribute information is once stored in the main memory and then, in principle, stored in the storage device.
Next, when a program is output after the above-described program output, that is, when the recording system receives a broadcast signal of a new program via the I / O, the CPU performs broadcast channel information included in the broadcast signal. In addition, all channel information during the program broadcast is also acquired based on the EPG information and the like, and the channel information of the back program is acquired by collating these channel information.
Next, the CPU reads into the main memory the attribute information of the program being output that has been stored in the storage device or the like by the above-described processing and is now the attribute information of the program viewed in the past. Also, attribute information is acquired for the back program. The specific procedure for acquiring the back program attribute information is the same as that in the first embodiment. Then, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the attribute information of both is compared to determine whether to record the back program, and the determination result is stored in the main memory.

The above is the case of acquiring and storing attribute information of a program being output during program output, and acquiring this as attribute information of a broadcast program output in the past when there is a new program output later On the other hand, the configuration in which the output program is recorded and the attribute information is acquired later by analyzing the program is as follows. The CPU first determines the recording program. According to the procedure, the program data of the output program is stored in the main memory to record the program. This data may be further stored in a storage device. At that time, data in EPG information necessary for acquiring attribute information at a later time is recorded in association with the program.
Next, when there is a new program output, the CPU reads the above-described program data and acquires attribute information. The acquisition procedure is the same as that for acquiring the attribute information of the program being output in the first embodiment. For the back program, attribute information is acquired in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Then, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the attribute information of both is compared to determine whether to record the back program, and the determination result is stored in the main memory.

<Process flow>
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow in the recording system of the present embodiment.
First, in output step S1001, the recording system outputs a broadcast program for viewing.
Next, in viewing program attribute information acquisition step S1002, the recording system acquires attribute information of the broadcast program output in step S1001. The acquired viewing program attribute information is stored in the storage device.
Next, in the second output step S1003, the recording system outputs a broadcast program different from the one output in step S1001.
Next, in the back program attribute information acquisition step S1004, the recording system acquires the back program attribute information of the program output in the step S1003.
The remaining flow is the same as the processing flow described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating another example of the processing flow in the recording system of the present embodiment.
First, in output step S1101, the recording system outputs a broadcast program for viewing.
Next, in step S1102 for recording a viewing program, the recording system records the program output in step S1101. At that time, information necessary for acquiring attribute information of the program will be recorded later.
Next, in the second output step S1103, the recording system outputs a broadcast program different from the one output in step S1101.
Next, in the past viewing program attribute information acquisition step S1104, the recording system acquires the attribute information of the program (past viewing program) recorded in the step S1102.
Next, in the back program attribute information acquisition step S1105, the recording system acquires the back program attribute information of the program output in step S1103.
The remaining flow is the same as the processing flow described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG.

<Effect>
According to the invention of this embodiment, a program that matches the same preference as a program that has been viewed in the past can be reliably recorded even if it belongs to a different preference from the program being output. It is possible to more appropriately secure recording opportunities for programs that suit the taste.

<Overview>
The recording system according to the present embodiment is basically the same as the recording system according to the first embodiment. However, the determination unit compares the acquired program broadcast time with the means for acquiring the program broadcast time of the back program, and the program broadcast most The present invention is characterized in that it has means for specifying a back program having a long time and means for determining to record the back program specified thereby.

<Configuration>
(Configuration overview)
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the recording system of the present embodiment. The recording system of this example is basically in common with the apparatus of the first embodiment. However, as shown in the figure, the “determination unit” 1220 of the “recording system” 1200 of this example includes a “program broadcast time information acquisition unit” 1228, a “longest broadcast time back program identification unit” 1229, and a “longest broadcast”. Time system determination means ”1241.

(Program broadcast time information acquisition means)
The “program broadcast time information acquisition means” is configured to acquire the program broadcast time of the back program. Normally, there are a plurality of back programs, but it is desirable that the means obtains the program broadcast times of all of the plurality of back programs.
As a specific configuration for acquiring the program broadcast time, for example, the broadcast time is acquired as it is from the EPG information included in the broadcast signal, or the broadcast start time and the broadcast end time are acquired and calculated. It is possible to do.

(Longest airtime program identification method)
The “longest broadcast time back program specifying means” is for comparing the acquired program broadcast times with each other and specifying the back program with the longest program broadcast time.
If there are a plurality of back programs with the longest broadcast time, all the corresponding programs may be specified. For example, the viewing program and back program attribute information is acquired, and the acquired viewing program attribute information and a predetermined program are acquired. Only one or a plurality of programs narrowed down by a predetermined rule may be specified, such as recording only the back programs having the related back program attribute information.

(Longest broadcast time system judgment means)
The “longest broadcast time system determining means” is configured to determine that the back program specified by the longest broadcast time back program specifying means is recorded.
FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a result of determination by the recording system of the present embodiment with the above configuration. In the example of this figure, when there are four back programs (program B, program C, program D, program E), the broadcast start time and broadcast end time are obtained and calculated for all these back programs. It is shown that the program E, which is the back program of the longest program broadcast time (2 hours), is compared by comparing the acquired program broadcast times, and a determination result that this is recorded is obtained.
In this embodiment as well, in principle, since recording is started after output, the back program that has started broadcasting before the output program is recorded in the middle of the program, or has already been recorded. Programs that have started broadcasting are removed from the recording target. As a result, even if the back program specified as having the longest program broadcast time is recorded, the recording time may not be the longest. In order to avoid this, a back program having the longest program broadcast time may be recorded prior to the output of the viewing program. An example of a specific configuration for this purpose is the same as that already described in the first embodiment.

(Explanation of functional blocks based on specific examples)
Here, an example of a functional block corresponding to a specific example in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of such functional blocks.
In the example of this figure, it is assumed that the output unit 2410 outputs a variety program (program F) broadcast from 19:00 to 21:00 on a certain day. In this case, the program broadcast time information acquisition unit 2428 of the determination unit 2420 recognizes the back program with the above-described configuration and then broadcasts the back program of the four back programs (program G, program H, program I, and program J). Information of contents shown in FIG. 25 is acquired as time information. Further, the longest broadcast time back program specifying unit 2429 compares the back program broadcast times of these back programs and specifies that the programs H and J are back programs having the longest broadcast time (2 hours). As a result, the longest broadcast time system determination unit 2441 determines to record the specified program H and program J, and the back program recording unit 2430 records the program H and program J.

(Purpose of configuration)
The purpose of the configuration of this embodiment is to narrow down the recording target so that the recording amount of the back program does not increase too much. In this case, the longest program broadcasting time is specified because the program is most likely to satisfy the user's preference.
Although different from the present embodiment, the program that is considered to have the highest degree of satisfaction with the user's preference has the highest degree of overlap between the output program and the broadcast time (the largest one is the one with the same program broadcast time) In other words, as a result of comparing the broadcast times with the same configuration as in the present embodiment, the back program having the largest degree of overlap of the broadcast times may be specified as the recording target.

(Hardware configuration)
Next, the hardware configuration of the recording system of the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the recording system according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the output unit of the recording system of this embodiment includes “storage device (recording medium)” 1401, “main memory” 1402, “CPU” 1403, “I / O” 1404, “ A “display” 1405, a “speaker” 1406, and the like. The determination unit and the back program recording unit are composed of “storage device (recording medium)”, “CPU”, “main memory”, “I / O”, and the like. These are connected to each other by a data communication path such as a “system bus” 1407.

Here, a description will be given focusing on the hardware configuration for comparing the back program broadcasts to identify the back program with the longest program broadcast time and recording the specified back program. The remaining configuration is the same as that described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG.
When the CPU recognizes which is the back program according to the configuration described in the first embodiment, the CPU acquires the program broadcast time of the back program. For this acquisition, for example, if the EPG information included in the broadcast signal includes program broadcast time information, it is acquired as it is and stored in the main memory. On the other hand, when the program broadcast time information itself cannot be acquired from the outside, for example, the broadcast start time and broadcast end time data included in the EPG information is acquired and the program broadcast time is obtained by calculation. The program broadcast time information acquired by these methods is stored in the main memory by the CPU in association with the program identification information. Where there are usually a plurality of back programs, the CPU sequentially performs the same processing for all these back programs and stores them in the main memory.
Next, the CPU reads out the program broadcast time information, compares them, selects the longest broadcast time among them, and uses the identification information associated therewith to identify the back of the longest program broadcast time. The program is specified and the identification information is stored in the main memory.
Next, the CPU determines to record the specified back program according to the instruction of the determination program for recording the specified back program.

<Process flow>
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow in the recording system of the present embodiment. The processing flow of this embodiment is basically the same as the processing flow described in FIG. However, in this embodiment, the determination step S0602 shown in FIG. 6 includes the following sub-steps.
First, in the program broadcast time information acquisition step S1502, the recording system acquires the program broadcast time of the back program.
Next, in the longest broadcast time back program specifying step S1503, the recording system compares the program broadcast times acquired in step S1502 and specifies the back program having the longest program broadcast time.
Next, in step S1504 for determining whether or not the longest broadcast time back program is to be recorded, the recording system determines whether or not to record the back program specified in step S1503. In the case of the determination result that recording is to be performed, the recording system records the back program in the back program recording step S1505.

<Effect>
According to the embodiment of the present invention, by specifying a program that is most likely to satisfy the user's preference as a recording target, the recording target is not excessively increased while satisfying the user's preference. Can be narrowed down.

<Overview>
The recording system of the present embodiment is basically the same as the recording system of the first embodiment, but the determination unit acquires attribute information of the broadcast program output from the output unit, and acquires attribute information of the back program Means for acquiring the program broadcast time of the back program, and when there are a plurality of broadcast programs having the back program attribute information having a predetermined relationship with the acquired viewing program attribute information, the program broadcast acquired therein And a means for determining that the back program with the longest time is recorded.

<Configuration>
(Configuration overview)
FIG. 16 shows an example of functional blocks of the recording system of the present embodiment. The recording system of this example is basically the same as the recording system of the first embodiment. However, as shown in the figure, the “determination unit” 1620 of the “recording system” 1600 in this example includes a “viewing program attribute information acquisition unit” 1621, a “back program attribute information acquisition unit” 1622, and a “program broadcast time”. Information acquisition means ”1628 and“ attribute time system determination means ”1642 are included.

(Viewing program attribute information acquisition means, back program attribute information acquisition means, program broadcast time information acquisition means)
The “viewing program attribute information acquisition means” is configured to acquire the attribute information of the broadcast program output from the output unit.
“Back program attribute information acquisition means” is configured to acquire attribute information of the back program.
The “program broadcast time information acquisition means” is configured to acquire the program broadcast time of the back program.
The above configuration is common to the configuration of the means described in the first embodiment or the third embodiment.

(Attribute time system judgment means)
When there are a plurality of broadcast programs having the back program attribute information having a predetermined relationship with the acquired viewing program attribute information, the “attribute time system determination means” selects the back program having the longest program broadcast time. It is configured to determine that recording is to be performed.
In this configuration, in addition to the configuration for comparing whether the viewing program attribute information and the back program attribute information have a predetermined relationship with the same configuration as described in the first embodiment, the viewing program attribute information as a result of the comparison When there are a plurality of back programs having back program attribute information having a predetermined relationship, the configuration for specifying the back program having the longest program broadcast time described in the third embodiment is added. Since this is the same as the configuration described in each embodiment, description thereof is omitted. The hardware configuration is also the combination described in the first and third embodiments with reference to FIGS. 5 and 14, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

(Explanation of functional blocks based on specific examples)
Here, an example of a functional block corresponding to a specific example in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of such functional blocks.
In the example of this figure, the output unit 2610 outputs a variety program (program F) broadcast from 19:00 to 21:00 on a certain day. In this case, as shown in FIG. 20, the viewing program attribute information acquisition unit 2621 of the determination unit 2620 has a broadcast channel “1CH”, a genre “variety”, and a broadcast time zone “19:00 to 21 as attribute information of the viewing program. The information “hour 00 minutes” is acquired. Further, the back program attribute information acquisition means 2622 recognizes the back program with the above-described configuration, and uses the back channel attribute information of the four back programs (program G, program H, program I, program J) as a broadcast channel. The information of the contents shown in FIG. 20 is also acquired for the genre and the broadcast time zone. Next, the program broadcast time information acquisition unit 2628 acquires information of the contents shown in FIG. 25 as the back program broadcast time information of the four back programs (program G, program H, program I, program J). In this case, by comparing in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the back programs having the back program attribute information having a predetermined relationship with the viewing program attribute information of the program F are the program G and the program H, and the viewing program attribute information This corresponds to a case where there are a plurality of broadcast programs having back program attribute information having a predetermined relationship with the broadcast program. Therefore, the attribute time system determination unit 2643 determines to record the program H, which is the back program with the longest program broadcast time, and the back program recording unit 2630 records the program H.

(Purpose of configuration)
The purpose of the present embodiment is to further limit the amount of recording by combining the methods for narrowing down the recording targets described in the first and third embodiments.

<Process flow>
FIG. 17 shows an example of the flow of processing in the recording system of the present embodiment.
First, in output step S1701, the recording system outputs a broadcast program for viewing.
Next, in viewing program attribute information acquisition step S1702, the recording system acquires attribute information of the broadcast program output in step S1701.
Next, in the back program attribute information acquisition step S1703, the recording system acquires back program attribute information.
Next, in the program broadcast time information acquisition step S1704, the recording system acquires the program broadcast time of the back program.
Next, in a comparison step S1705 to determine whether the attribute information has a predetermined relationship, the recording system determines that the attribute information of the viewing program acquired in step S1702 and the back program attribute information acquired in step S1703 are predetermined. Compare whether there is a relationship.
Next, in step S1706, if the comparison result in step S1705 is a comparison result indicating that the comparison result is a predetermined relationship, if the determination result indicates that the comparison result is a predetermined relationship, the recording system then determines the determination result. It is determined whether there are a plurality of back programs corresponding to (step S1707). If it is determined that there are a plurality of programs, then in the longest broadcast time back program identification step S1708, the recording system compares the program broadcast times acquired as a plurality of programs in the step S1707, and the most program broadcast is performed. Identify back programs that take a long time.
Next, in the longest broadcast time system determination step S1709, the recording system determines whether to record the back program specified in step S1708.
Next, in the back program recording step S1710, the recording system records the back program determined to be recorded in step S1709.

<Effect>
According to the invention of the present embodiment, the amount of recording can be further limited by combining attribute information and program time information as a method for narrowing down the recording target.

<Overview>
The recording system of the present embodiment is basically the same as the recording system of any one of the first to third embodiments, but the determination unit determines whether automatic recording of the back program is being executed, and the determination result. Is a result of the determination that automatic recording is being executed, it is characterized in that it is not determined to record a broadcast program other than the program for which automatic recording is being executed.

<Configuration>
(Configuration overview)
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the recording system according to the present embodiment. The apparatus of this example is basically the same as the recording system of any one of the first to third embodiments. However, as shown in this figure, the “determination unit” 1820 of the “recording system” 1800 of this example is “During execution determination means” 1843 is further provided.

(During execution determination means)
“During execution determination means” is configured to determine whether automatic recording of the back program is being executed. “The automatic recording of the back program is being executed” means that, according to the configuration described in the first embodiment, at least one back program has a predetermined relationship between the broadcast program output from the output unit and the program attribute information, for example. Since it is determined that there is, it is determined that automatic recording is performed, and indicates that recording is currently being performed. Accordingly, the case where the automatic recording of the back program is not being executed corresponds to the case where there is no back program that is determined to have a predetermined relationship between the program being output and the program attribute information. In the case of the embodiment in which all the back programs are recorded, automatic recording of the back program is not being executed except in an exceptional case where all the broadcast stations other than the broadcasting station related to the program being output are suspended. There will be no.
Further, as is clear from the above example, the main scene in which the in-execution determination unit makes a determination is when a program has already been output and when the program being output has been switched. In short, the channel is switched during viewing.
Therefore, the “back program” that is the target for determining whether or not automatic recording is being executed by the in-execution determining means is the back program before the channel is switched (that is, it is meaningful to determine whether or not automatic recording is being executed). is there. It is not the back program after the channel is switched (this includes the program that was being output until then).
The “determination unit” is configured not to determine that a broadcast program other than the program being automatically recorded is recorded when the determination result of the executing determination unit is a determination result that the automatic recording is being performed. Has been.

  Next, the above configuration will be described based on a specific example. For example, assume that the user is outputting 1CH and viewing the program, and the 2-5CH program, which is the back program, is being recorded as an automatic recording target, but the user switches the channel to 2CH during the program. In this case, according to the principle configuration described in the first embodiment, since the back program is switched to the 1CH program, the recording target is also switched from the 2CH program to the 1CH program (programs of CH3 to 5). Will continue to be recorded). On the other hand, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, when the process for determining whether or not to record the back program described in the first embodiment is triggered by the fact that the program being output is switched, it is being executed. Since the determination means determines that automatic recording of the back program (2-5CH program) is being executed, the determination unit determines to record a broadcast program (1CH program) other than the program being automatically recorded. Therefore, the switching of the recording target as described above does not occur. That is, even if the viewing program is switched, the program that has been recorded until then, including 2CH, continues to be recorded as it is.

<Purpose of configuration>
The purpose of this embodiment is, as described above, when a program is switched during viewing, since the back program is originally replaced, the recording target is also changed, but zapping is often performed. Therefore, in such a case, switching the recording target one by one is cumbersome and may be contrary to the convenience of the user, so if there is a back program that is already being recorded, the recorded program will be recorded even if the viewing program is switched halfway. The object is not to change.

<Hardware configuration>
Next, the hardware configuration of the recording system of this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the recording system according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the output part of the recording system of this embodiment of the recording system of this example is “storage device (recording medium)” 2701, “main memory” 2702, “CPU” 2703, “I / O ”2704,“ Display ”2705,“ Speaker ”2706, and the like. The determination unit and the back program recording unit are composed of “storage device (recording medium)”, “CPU”, “main memory”, “I / O”, and the like. These are connected to each other by a data communication path such as a “system bus” 2707.

Here, it is determined whether automatic recording of the back program is being executed, and if the determination result is that the automatic recording is being executed, a broadcast program other than the program being automatically recorded is recorded. The hardware configuration for avoiding this determination will be mainly described. The remaining configuration is the same as that described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG.
When the viewing program is switched during program output, the CPU first determines whether to automatically record the back program (pointing to the back program after switching) according to the configuration described in the first embodiment. It is determined whether the recording of the program (pointing to the back program before switching) is being executed. The determination as to whether or not this recording is being performed is performed, for example, in the following manner. The recording program is programmed so that a program ID for identifying a program being recorded is stored in the main memory only while the recording is being executed, and the determination program determines whether or not the program ID is stored in the main memory. Is programmed to monitor. Therefore, the CPU checks whether the program ID of the program being recorded is stored in the main memory in accordance with the instruction of the determination program. If the program ID is stored, the CPU determines that the program ID is stored. Obtain it and store it in main memory. Then, when the CPU reads the determination result when executing the recording program, the recording program is programmed not to perform the process of automatically recording the back program in the case of the determination result. The automatic recording of the back program is not performed, and the process ends. As a result, since no new recording process is performed, the previous recording is continued.
Next, in the case of the determination result that the program ID is not stored in the main memory, the CPU stores the determination result that the program ID is not stored in the main memory. Therefore, in this case, when the CPU reads the determination result when executing the recording program, the recording program is programmed not to determine that the automatic recording of the back program is not performed in the case of the determination result. Returning to the principle described in the first embodiment, according to the configuration described in the first embodiment, it is determined that the back program is to be recorded, and the back program (pointing to the back program after switching) is recorded. become.

<Process flow>
FIG. 28 shows the flow of processing related to determining whether automatic recording is being executed and whether to record a broadcast program other than the program being automatically recorded, among the processing flows in the recording system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example. The rest of the flow is the same as in the first embodiment.
First, if it is determined in step S2801 whether automatic recording is being executed, the recording system does not determine that a broadcast program other than the program being automatically recorded is recorded. As a result, the process ends without performing any new recording process, and only the automatic recording being executed is continuously performed.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2801 that the program is not being executed, the recording system records the back program in the back program recording step S2802. This is a process according to the principle described in the first embodiment.

<Effect>
According to the invention of this embodiment, even when a program is switched during viewing, if there is a back program that is already recorded, the recording target is not changed even if the viewing program is switched halfway. Is possible.

The figure for demonstrating the basic concept of this invention FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the recording system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the recording system according to the first embodiment. Schematic which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the video recording system of Example 1. FIG. Schematic which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the video recording system of Example 1. FIG. The figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in the video recording system of Example 1. The figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in the video recording system of Example 1. The figure which shows an example of the functional block of the video recording system of Example 2. Schematic which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the video recording system of Example 2. FIG. The figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in the video recording system of Example 2. The figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in the video recording system of Example 2. The figure which shows an example of the functional block of the video recording system of Example 3. Schematic diagram showing an example of a result of determination performed by the recording system of Example 3 Schematic which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the video recording system of Example 3. FIG. The figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in the video recording system of Example 3. The figure which shows an example of the functional block of the video recording system of Example 4. The figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in the video recording system of Example 4. The figure which shows an example of the functional block of the video recording system of Example 5. The figure which shows an example of the functional block based on the specific example of the video recording system of Example 1. FIG. The figure which shows an example of the viewing-and-listening program attribute information and back program attribute information in the recording system of Example 1. The figure which shows an example of the comparison rule which defined the predetermined relationship in the video recording system of Example 1. The figure which shows an example of the functional block according to the specific example of the video recording system of Example 2. The figure which shows an example of the viewing program attribute information and back program attribute information in the recording system of Example 2. The figure which shows an example of the functional block based on the specific example of the video recording system of Example 3. The figure which shows an example of back program broadcast time information in the recording system of Example 3. The figure which shows an example of the functional block according to the specific example of the video recording system of Example 4. FIG. Schematic which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the video recording system of Example 5. FIG. The figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in the video recording system of Example 5.

Explanation of symbols

0100 Recording system 0110 Output unit 0120 Judgment unit 0130 Back program recording unit

Claims (7)

An output unit for outputting a broadcast program for viewing;
A determination unit for determining whether to automatically record the back program of the broadcast program output from the output unit;
If the determination result is a determination result that the program is recorded, a back program recording unit that records the back program of the program being viewed;
A recording system. The decision part
Viewing program attribute information acquisition means for acquiring attribute information of the broadcast program output from the output unit;
Back program attribute information acquisition means for acquiring back program attribute information;
First comparison means for comparing whether the acquired viewing program attribute information and the acquired back program attribute information have a predetermined relationship;
Attribute system judging means for judging that the back program is recorded when the comparison result in the first comparing means is a comparison result that has a predetermined relationship;
The recording system according to claim 1. The decision part
Past viewing program attribute information acquisition means for acquiring attribute information of broadcast programs output in the past from the output unit;
Back program attribute information acquisition means for acquiring back program attribute information;
A second comparison means for comparing whether the acquired past viewing program attribute information and the acquired back program attribute information have a predetermined relationship;
Past attribute system judging means for judging that the back program is recorded when the comparison result in the second comparing means is a comparison result that is in a predetermined relationship;
The recording system according to claim 1. The decision part
Program broadcast time information acquisition means for acquiring the program broadcast time of the back program;
Longest broadcast backside program identification means for comparing the acquired program broadcast times to identify the back program with the longest program broadcast time;
A longest broadcast time system determining means for determining to record the back program specified by the longest broadcast time back program specifying means;
The recording system according to claim 1. The decision part
Viewing program attribute information acquisition means for acquiring attribute information of the broadcast program output from the output unit;
Back program attribute information acquisition means for acquiring back program attribute information;
Program broadcast time information acquisition means for acquiring the program broadcast time of the back program;
Attribute time system determination means for determining that the back program having the longest program broadcast time is recorded when there are a plurality of broadcast programs having the back program attribute information having a predetermined relationship with the acquired viewing program attribute information When,
The recording system according to claim 1. The decision part
An in-execution judging means for judging whether automatic recording of the back program is being executed;
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein if the determination result of the executing determination means is a determination result indicating that automatic recording is being executed, it is not determined to record a broadcast program other than the program being automatically recorded. Recording system as described in. An output step for outputting a broadcast program for viewing;
A determination step of determining whether to automatically record the back program of the broadcast program output in the output step;
If the determination result in the determination step is a determination result that the program is recorded, a back program recording step for recording the back program of the program being viewed;
A recording method.

Images