JP2008219691A - Video distribution service system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user who is not at home to play back and view video recording contents of a broadcast video recording device at home through a video distribution service system. <P>SOLUTION: The video distribution service system includes the broadcast video recording device 1 at home which has a function of recording a television broadcast, and playing back and transmitting it, a subscriber authentication server 5 which registers subscriber information on the owner of the broadcast video recording device 1 and performs authentication processing at an authentication request, an EPG distributing server 4 which distributes an electronic program guide, and a display terminal device 2 connected to the Internet 3 connecting the broadcast video recording device 1, subscriber authentication server 5, and EPG distributing server 4. The display terminal device 2 sends an authentication request to the subscriber authentication server 5 and transfers the subscriber information to the EPG distributing server 4 when authentication is successful, and the EPG distributing server 4 has a function of instructing the broadcast video recording device 1 to play back the video recording contents and transmit them to the display terminal device 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a video distribution service system that records television broadcast contents, reproduces desired recording contents, and enables playback and viewing via a network at home or on the go.

  Various means have been proposed and put into practical use for recording TV broadcast contents and reproducing and displaying them as needed. Also, the capacity of recording apparatuses has been increased by using various recording media. In addition, a service system has been proposed in which broadcast program related information is distributed via the Internet in means for recording the contents of a television broadcast at a preset time (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, a system has been proposed in which a voice recognition unit is provided to contact a home from a place other than the home and the recording reservation setting of the recording apparatus is performed by voice (for example, see Patent Document 2). There has also been proposed a system for making a recording reservation for a recording apparatus at home by e-mail (see, for example, Patent Document 3). There is also a service that allows users to access the metadata distribution server that edits broadcast contents and generates and holds corresponding metadata via the Internet and reproduces only the necessary recorded contents based on the received metadata. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 4).

If the video distribution service is temporarily interrupted due to an incoming call or the like while accessing the video distribution server from a terminal such as a mobile phone and receiving the video distribution service, the video distribution server determines the service and interrupts the service. In the meantime, a video distribution service that switches to a storage mode and stores a video is also known (for example, see Patent Document 5). There is also known a service system that provides, for example, a stored video distribution service from a video distribution server to a service subscriber via the Internet or the like (see, for example, Patent Document 6).
JP-A-10-155131 JP 2002-118666 A JP 2002-118805 A JP 2003-18518 A JP 2005-348073 A JP 2007-006425 A

  There are a wide variety of TV broadcast contents, and recording apparatuses with a recording capacity that can sufficiently record the broadcast contents of a plurality of broadcast stations for about one week are commercially available. Therefore, when selecting and reproducing the recorded contents, it is the actual situation that even if only the past broadcast program guide is referred to, it is not possible to determine whether or not the desired contents are obtained unless the reproduced contents are viewed. For this purpose, for example, it is conceivable to use metadata indicating the main points of the broadcast contents as shown in the above-mentioned Patent Document 4. Conventionally, the recording reservation setting of the recording device at home is performed not only at home but also from a business trip destination, for example, as described in the above-mentioned Patent Documents 2 and 3, but the recording contents are In addition to playing back and displaying at home, the content recorded on the recording device from a place other than home such as a business trip destination is played back and viewed via the network. Also, a conventional service for providing a video distribution service via the Internet is, for example, distributed from a video distribution server as shown in Patent Document 6 described above, and plays back the content recorded at home. Not delivered.

  The present invention not only displays and reproduces the content recorded on the recording device at home, but also selects and reproduces a desired recording range from a place other than home such as a business trip destination, via a network. The purpose is to enable distribution to places other than home.

  The video distribution service system according to the present invention includes a broadcast recording apparatus having a function of recording a television broadcast and reproducing and transmitting the recorded contents, and information on the subscriber with the owner of the broadcast recording apparatus as a service subscriber. A subscriber authentication server that performs authentication processing based on subscriber information registered at the time of authentication request, an EPG distribution server that distributes an electronic program guide to a service subscriber, a broadcast recording device, a subscriber authentication server, and an EPG A display terminal device connected to the Internet for connecting to the distribution server, making an authentication request from the display terminal device to the subscriber authentication server, and when the authentication is obtained, the subscriber information is sent to the EPG distribution server. The EPG distribution server distributes the electronic program guide to the display terminal device from the EPG distribution server, and the EPG distribution server broadcasts the video according to the viewing range request information from the display terminal device. And playback the recorded contents has a function to perform a transmission instruction to the display terminal device with respect to location.

  The EPG distribution server can be configured to distribute the electronic program guide and metadata to the display terminal device that has been authenticated by the subscriber authentication server.

  On the go, refer to the electronic program guide and metadata distributed from the EPG distribution server for the contents recorded on the home broadcast recording device by the display terminal device such as a personal computer or mobile phone connected to the Internet, A desired viewing range is designated, and the recorded content reproduced can be viewed at a place other than home via the Internet.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the video distribution service system of the present invention refers to a home broadcast recording apparatus 1 including a function of recording a television broadcast and reproducing and transmitting the recorded contents, and an owner of the broadcast recording apparatus 1. A subscriber authentication server 5 for registering subscriber information as a service subscriber and performing an authentication process based on the subscriber information registered at the time of authentication request; an EPG distribution server 4 for distributing an electronic program guide to the service subscriber; A display terminal device 2 connected to the Internet 3 connecting the broadcast recording device 1, the subscriber authentication server 5 and the EPG distribution server 4 is connected to the subscriber authentication server 5 from the display terminal device 2. When the authentication is obtained, the subscriber information is transferred to the EPG distribution server 4, and the electronic program guide is distributed from the EPG distribution server 4 to the display terminal device 2 on the go. EPG delivery server 4 in accordance with the viewing range requests information from the device 2 has a function of transmitting an instruction to reproduce the recorded content to home broadcast recorder 1 to the display terminal device 2.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a broadcast recording device installed at home, 2 is a display terminal device such as a personal computer, a mobile phone, and a mobile terminal having an image display function, 3 is the Internet, 4 is an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) distribution server, 5 is a subscriber authentication server, and 6 is a billing server. The broadcast recording apparatus 1 can be applied to various known recording media such as a hard disk device and has a configuration including means for connecting to the Internet 3. In addition, the display terminal device 2 can be connected to the home broadcast recording device 1 via the Internet 3 when away from home, and the content recorded by the broadcast recording device 1 can be displayed according to an instruction from the EPG distribution server 4. It is configured to reproduce and receive and display via the Internet 3.

  The EPG distribution server 4 has a function of distributing the electronic program guide of each broadcasting station to a service subscriber via the Internet 3 and a function of generating and distributing metadata. The subscriber authentication server 5 registers subscriber information at the time of service subscription, performs subscriber authentication processing when a video distribution service is requested from the display terminal device 2, and when authentication is obtained, the subscriber authentication server 5 sends to the EPG distribution server 4. Access is allowed. The billing server 6 performs billing processing for the video distribution service subscriber.

  When the broadcast recording apparatus 1 at home subscribes to the video distribution service and includes a connection means to the Internet 3 and subscribes to the video distribution service using the broadcast recording apparatus 1, the broadcast recording apparatus 1 from the display terminal apparatus 2 on the go (1) to (7) show the general procedure for viewing the recorded content of the broadcast recording device 1 at home upon request. First, the subscriber authentication is performed from the display terminal device 2 on the go through the Internet 3. The server 5 is accessed and an authentication request is made (1). The subscriber authentication server 5 registers subscriber information including, for example, the address of the broadcast recording apparatus 1 at the home of the video distribution service subscriber, the identification number, and the personal identification number. When the authentication process is executed based on the information and the authentication is obtained, the subscriber authentication server 5 notifies the EPG distribution server 4 of the subscriber information (2). In this case, the subscriber information can include the address of the display terminal device 2 on the go. Thereby, the EPG distribution server 4 distributes the electronic program guide to the display terminal device 2 on the go (3). In this case, metadata can be included. Also, the EPG distribution server 4 specifies the home broadcast recording device 1 based on the subscriber information (4).

  The outside display terminal device 2 displays the electronic program guide and metadata distributed from the EPG distribution server 4, selects a desired program, a viewing request range, and the like based on the display contents, and selects the EPG distribution server 4 (5). The EPG distribution server 4 notifies the broadcast recording device 1 of the viewing start time and end time for the recorded content including the time information, and the address of the display terminal device 2 for the playback viewing request (6). Thereby, the requested recording contents are reproduced and distributed to the display terminal device 2 via the Internet 3 (7). In this case, when the display unit of the display terminal device 2 is smaller than the display unit of the television receiver, for example, QVGA (Quarter Video Graphics Array; 320 × 240 pixels), it can be displayed together with the playback request of the recorded content. It is also possible to notify information such as the number of pixels, and perform a known pixel conversion process in accordance with the notification and distribute the information. The billing server 6 can apply various billing methods such as billing when subscribing to the video distribution service, or billing when an authentication request is made to the subscriber authentication server 5 from an outside location or the like.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the broadcast recording apparatus, which shows an overview of the home broadcast recording apparatus 1 in FIG. 1, wherein 11 is a TV receiving unit, 12 is a video storage unit, 13 is a display unit, and 14 is an EPG storage. 15, an operation input unit, 16 a control unit, 17 a recording / playback unit, 18 a video encoder, 19 a video decoder, 20 a transmission / reception unit, 21 a clock unit, and 22 a power supply unit. The TV receiving unit 11 includes a broadcast channel selection receiving function or a simultaneous all-broadcast channel receiving function, and the received video signal is displayed on the display unit 13 or video is stored in the video storage unit 12 including a hard disk device or a DVD device. The encoder 19 allows MPEG2 and H.264. 246 or the like is applied to perform compression encoding and recording. At that time, time information is also recorded.

  The EPG storage unit 14 stores an electronic program guide distributed daily or for a plurality of days from the EPG distribution server 4 (see FIG. 1) to the video distribution service subscriber. By requesting the distribution, it is possible to store the distribution contents of the metadata indicating the broadcast time and the summary of the broadcast contents. The control unit 16 has a function of controlling each unit based on the operation input content by the operation input unit 15 and the reception control information by the transmission / reception unit 20. The recording / playback unit 17 has a function of controlling playback of the video recorded in the video storage unit 12. When the video encoder 18 compresses and records the content recorded in the video storage unit 12, the video decoder Decoded by 19 and displayed on the display unit 13. The transmission / reception unit 20 has a function of performing transmission / reception processing by connecting to the Internet 2 (see FIG. 1). When the recorded contents of the video storage unit 12 are reproduced, the display terminal device 2 (see FIG. 1)). Further, the clock unit 21 outputs time information, for example, records time information when the received video is recorded in the video recording unit 12, and provides time information when the control unit 16 controls and monitors each unit. It is possible. The power supply unit 22 distributes and supplies the operating power of each unit.

  FIG. 3 shows a sequence chart according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing the display terminal device 2, the subscriber authentication server 5, the EPG distribution server 4, and the broadcast recording device 1 at home in FIG. The broadcast recording apparatus 1 receives time confirmation from the EPG distribution server 4 and a response to the confirmation, and synchronizes the time between the broadcast recording apparatus 1 and the EPG distribution server 4. In addition, an authentication request is made to the subscriber authentication server 5 at a place where the user is away. As described above, the subscriber authentication server 5 is registered together with the subscriber identification information and the personal identification number including the subscriber address. From the display terminal device 2 on the go, the subscriber identification information and personal identification number are registered. And the current address of the display terminal device 2 are entered. The subscriber authentication server 5 collates the subscriber identification information and the password entered from the display terminal device 2 with the already registered subscriber identification information and the password, and when the identity confirmation is obtained by the collation match, The subscriber authentication server 5 notifies the EPG distribution server 4 of the address of the display terminal device 2 and also the address specifying the broadcast recording device 2 at the home of the video distribution service subscriber.

  As shown as EPG data, the EPG distribution server 4 notifies the display terminal device 2 of the stored electronic program guide for the past week, for example. In this case, it can also be distributed including metadata. It is also possible to specify a range of past dates and times from the display terminal device 2, and the EPG distribution server 4 transmits an electronic program guide according to the request. Also, the EPG distribution server 4 identifies the broadcast recording device 1, confirms whether or not the recording can be reproduced, and notifies the display terminal device 2. The display terminal device 2 refers to the electronic program guide and metadata distributed from the EPG distribution server 4 and notifies the EPG distribution server 4 of the viewing selection information for selecting the highlighted part or the entire program. The EPG distribution server 4 transmits viewing selection information including the address of the display terminal device 2 to the broadcast recording device 1. The broadcast recording apparatus 1 starts reproduction based on the viewing selection information and distributes the reproduction content to the display terminal apparatus 2 at the notified address. Further, the EPG distribution server 4 can take statistics based on viewing information and rank broadcast contents selected by the video distribution service subscriber. This statistical result can also be provided to a video distribution service subscriber.

  4A and 4B are explanatory views of EPG metadata. FIG. 4A shows a case where an electronic program guide corresponding to a television broadcast station and metadata indicating highlight contents are included, and FIG. 4B shows an audience rating. The ranking information shown in (B) can be distributed from the EPG distribution server 4 together with the electronic program guide including metadata as shown in (A). Various means have already been proposed for creating metadata. Ranking information is already known as various Internet services.

It is explanatory drawing of Example 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram of a broadcast recording device. It is a sequence chart of Example 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of EPG metadata.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Broadcast recording device 2 Display terminal device 3 Internet 4 EPG delivery server 5 Subscriber authentication server 6 Billing server 11 TV receiving unit 12 Video storage unit 13 Display unit 14 EPG storage unit 15 Operation input unit 16 Control unit 17 Recording / playback unit 18 Video Encoder 19 Video decoder 20 Transmission / reception unit 21 Clock unit 22 Power supply unit

Claims (2)

A broadcast recording device including a function of recording a television broadcast and reproducing and transmitting the recorded content;
A subscriber authentication server for registering the subscriber information with the owner of the broadcast recording apparatus as a service subscriber, and performing an authentication process based on the subscriber information registered at the time of the authentication request;
An EPG distribution server for distributing electronic program guides to service subscribers;
A display terminal device connected to the Internet for connecting the broadcast recording device, the subscriber authentication server, and the EPG distribution server;
An authentication request is made from the display terminal device to the subscriber authentication server, and when authentication is obtained, subscriber information is transferred to the EPG distribution server, and an electronic program guide is transmitted from the EPG distribution server to the display terminal device. A video distribution service characterized in that, in accordance with viewing range request information from the display terminal device, the EPG distribution server has a function of instructing the display terminal device to reproduce and transmit the recording contents of the broadcast recording device. system.   2. The video distribution according to claim 1, wherein the EPG distribution server is configured to distribute an electronic program guide and metadata to a display terminal device authenticated by the subscriber authentication server. Service system.

Images