JP2010062963A - Television receiver, and processing method in television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To exchange information by chat while listening and viewing the same recorded program in a system for carrying out the chat while viewing the television broadcast. <P>SOLUTION: The chat is achieved by: allowing recorded information to be shared among chat participants; carrying out the same recording between homes distant from each other; carrying out synchronous reproduction of the recorded program when starting the chat; and carrying out the chat while simultaneously listening and viewing the same program between homes distant from each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a linkage between a television broadcast receiving system and a network chat system using an Internet protocol (IP).

In the Internet world, there is a system called chat. Chat is spelled as “
“Chat”, which means “chat using the network”, is a system for exchanging opinions by exchanging short text information. It is also under consideration to conduct this chat while watching TV broadcasting. For example, the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 and 3 also explain how to realize such a chat. .

  In addition, a reservation recording function using an electronic program guide (EPG: Electric Program Guide) is convenient in an apparatus having a TV program recording function. It is conceivable to save the recording area by not recording the same program for reservation. As such a technique, Patent Documents 4 and 5 share reserved recording information. In particular, Patent Document 4 uses another device to display a back program (a program of a currently viewed broadcast station as a front program). The program is broadcast on a broadcast station different from the table program). In the case of this patent document 4, the recorded front program and the back program are reproduced simultaneously, and it has succeeded in realizing that the recording date and time are already in the past. . Examples of Patent Documents 6 and 7 are given from the viewpoint of reproduction synchronization.

JP 2003-345729 A JP 2007-214861 A JP 2006-129196 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-244577 JP 2004-364186 A JP 2006-339819 A JP 2006-041885 A

  With the technology described in the above-mentioned patent document, it is difficult to simultaneously perform real-time chatting while simultaneously playing and viewing the same program among a plurality of television receivers having a recording function at a remote place.

  The present invention relates to a television receiver having a recording reservation and playback function, and a reservation information sharing unit, a reservation information transmitting unit, a reservation information receiving unit, and a reservation list so as to realize a function among a plurality of television receivers. It is characterized by comprising an adding unit, a part for searching for reservation information from the EPG and reserving the same program, a simultaneous reproduction start part and a synchronization processing part.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a real-time chat while simultaneously reproducing and viewing a program that has already been recorded, not a live broadcast, between remote homes.

  A recording device, a television receiver, a mobile phone with a TV function, a personal computer with a TV function, and the like having a function of recording and playing back a TV broadcast are assumed, but the invention is not particularly limited thereto.

The first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a television broadcast / chat link system. 1 is a broadcast server, 2 is a chat server, 3 and 4 are television receivers, 5 is a network, 6 is a control unit, 7 is a distribution unit, 8 is a storage unit, 9 is a control unit, 10 is a storage unit, and 11 is a reception unit , 12 is a distribution unit, 13 is a reception unit, 14 is a transmission unit, 15 is a moving image renderer, 16 is a display unit, 17 is an HTML renderer, 18 is a control unit, 19 is an input unit, and 20 is a storage unit.

  Here, the broadcast server 1 and the chat server 2 are connected to the network 5, and the television receivers 3 and 4 are also connected to the network 5 in the same manner. In this embodiment, there are only two television receivers, but it is assumed that there are actually a plurality of television receivers. Here, the broadcast server 1 performs television broadcasting to the television receiver 3 or 4 via the network 5, and the chat server 2 provides a chat function to the television receiver 3 or 4. Has been implemented.

  The broadcast server 1 includes a control unit 6, an accumulation unit 8, and a distribution unit 7, and the control unit 6 transmits an EPG that is a television program or an electronic program guide stored in the accumulation unit 8 through the distribution unit 7. A television program is broadcasted to the television receiver 3 or 4 via the network 5.

  The chat server 2 includes a control unit 9, a storage unit 10, a reception unit 11, and a distribution unit 12, and the control unit 9 stores the chat information transmitted through the reception unit 11 in the storage unit 10. In addition, a function of distributing chat information stored in the storage unit 10 to the network 5 through the distribution unit 12 is provided.

  The television receiver 3 includes a reception unit 13, a transmission unit 14, a moving image renderer 15, a display unit 16, an HTML renderer 17, a control unit 18, an input unit 19, and a storage unit 20, and the control unit 18 passes through the reception unit 13. The television broadcast received from the broadcast server 1 via the network 5 is received, the video information is decoded by the video renderer 15, and displayed as a TV program by the display unit 16.

  The control unit 18 has a function of displaying the EPG sent simultaneously on the display unit 16, a function of storing and recording a television program in the storage unit 20, and a function of executing reserved recording using the EPG. Prepare. In addition, the control unit 18 has a function of playing back a television program stored in the storage unit 20, performing decoding by the moving image renderer 15, and displaying it on the display unit 16.

  The control unit 18 also has a function of generating an address to be connected to the chat server and a function of connecting to the chat server designated by the generated address address.

  The control unit 18 has a function of receiving the chat information transmitted from the chat server 2 through the reception unit 13 and displaying the chat information on the display unit 16 as character display information through the HTML renderer 17. In addition, the control unit 18 interprets user operation contents through the input unit 19 and processes various user operations such as TV broadcast channel selection, video recording, video recording reservation, playback of recorded video, and input of chat information. It has a function, a function for transmitting a command according to a user operation, and a command reception unit for receiving and processing a command from another television receiver.

  The above-mentioned various functions of the control unit 18 may be executed by the control unit 18, but hardware (EPG display unit, program storage unit, reserved recording unit, playback unit, address generation unit, server connection for performing each function) Unit, chat information receiving unit, user operation receiving unit, command transmitting unit, command receiving unit) may be realized by an integrated circuit.

  The television receiver 4 has the same function as the television receiver 3. As a result of the above operation, a user who is watching a television program using the television receiver 3 and a user who is watching a television program using the television receiver 4 can watch the television program while watching the television program. Can be connected at the same time.

  Here, although it is chat (chat), the user of the television receiver 3 only views and does not input chat information, but the user of the television receiver 4 inputs chat information unilaterally, A service business form is also conceivable, such as realizing direction chat. This is, for example, a form that provides a special caption service for people who are deaf.

  FIG. 2 is an external view of a television receiver, a remote controller, and a keyboard. In FIG. 2A, 21 is a television receiver, 22 is a television screen, 23 is a chat screen, 24 is a remote control, 25 is a keyboard, and 26 is a chat activation button. Here, the television receiver 21 in FIG. 2A is an external view of the television receiver 3 or 4 described in FIG. The television receiver 21 includes a television screen 22 on which a live broadcast television program currently being broadcast or a recorded television program can be displayed.

  The chat screen 23 is a chat screen that is displayed when the chat function described with reference to FIG. 1 operates. Here, the exchange of short text information between users is displayed, and it is possible to enjoy chatting. FIG. 2B is an external view of the remote controller, and FIG. 2C is an external view of the keyboard, which is connected to the input unit 19 in the television receivers 3 and 4 of the embodiment described with reference to FIG. Is. Here, for convenience, the remote controller 24 and the keyboard 25 are each provided with a chat activation button 26 for instructing the start and end of chat function operation by the user, and the activation and termination of chat can be executed.

  Here, in FIG. 2, examples of the remote controller and the keyboard are given as the input unit, but other input units may be used.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) extraction method of the chat server, and this function is executed by the control unit 18 (address generation unit) of the television receiver 3 or 4.

  The following information is extracted from the television broadcast information broadcast from the broadcast server 1 of FIG. 1 (step 31). It is three pieces of information: SDT: Service Description Table, EIT: Event Information Table, LIT: Local Event Information Table. Each of these is a time information group indicating a channel name, a program name, and a scene (scene) in the program in digital broadcasting, and can specify a program.

  The current time and the LIT time information group are compared to generate LIT ', which is the number of the currently aired scene (step 32). The top domain name embedded in the device at the time of product shipment of the television receiver 3 or 4 is acquired (step 33), and the URL of the chat server to be accessed is generated from the top domain name and SDT, EIT, LIT ′ ( Step 34).

  As a result of the above operation, any desired broadcast server 1 can handle the commercial inserted into the program for each broadcast station being broadcast, for each program name, for each scene in the program, or for switching scenes. It is possible to be guided to a desired chat server at the time.

  Here, in step 33, the top domain name is fixed, but in practice it can be changed to an arbitrary one. In addition, since SDT is the name of a channel, that is, the name of a broadcasting station, since it is a unique name even in a local station, an arbitrary chat server can be operated.

  In this embodiment, a different URL is generated for each broadcast station, program, scene within a program, and commercial inserted for scene switching. Therefore, separate chat server URLs exist. In order to reduce, it is possible to perform a redirect process on the server side so as to indicate a specific one for each URL. Here, information having abbreviations SDT, EIT, and LIT is used, but any data string having similar information may be used.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart when the chat activation button described with reference to FIG. 2B or 2C is pressed, and this function is performed by the control unit 18 (connection) of the television receiver 3 or 4 of FIG. Part).

  When the chat activation button 26 in FIG. 2 (b) or FIG. 2 (c) is pressed, it is confirmed whether the chat screen (23 in FIG. 2 (a)) is already open (step 41), and seems to be already open. If so, the chat screen is closed (step 42). If not, the chat screen is opened (step 43). Thereafter, the URL of the chat server is extracted at 30 in FIG. 3, and then the corresponding URL is accessed in the browser (the HTML renderer 17 in FIG. 1), and the chat screen obtained by the HTTP response is received from the chat server. Then, the display of the chat screen is updated (step 47).

  When a different broadcast channel is selected by the channel selection operation by the user (step 44), or when the next program starts and the program is switched (step 45), or when the next scene starts (step 46). Then, the URL of the chat server is extracted (step 30), and the display of the chat screen is updated in the browser (step 47).

  As a result of the above operation, the chat can be started and ended by pressing the chat start button, and different URLs can be connected by selecting a channel, ending or starting a program, or changing a scene in a program.

  FIG. 5 shows the exchange of commands and data between the control unit 9 of the chat server 2 and the browser which is the HTML renderer 17 of the television receivers 3 and 4. Here, the exchange of information between the control unit 9 of the chat server 2 and each browser assumes the exchange of commands and data by HTML.

  The browser of the television receiver 4 starts updating the chat screen (step 501). Update start is an event that occurs for a browser when a URL of a designated chat server is accessed. First, a chat data request is made to the chat server 2. In response to the request, the chat server 2 prepares the chat data (step 511) and sends the chat data (step 512). As a result, the display of the chat screen is updated using the received chat data (step 502).

  Next, when there is an input by the user in the television receiver 4, it is sent from the television receiver 4 to the chat server 2 as chat data transmission (step 503). The chat server 2 that has received the chat data updates the chat data (step 513) and sends the chat data (step 514).

  The television receiver 4 that has received the chat data to which the information input by the user is added updates the display of the chat screen (step 504). At this time, update is started from the television receiver 3 (step 521), and a chat data request is sent. The chat server 2 prepares the chat data at 515 (step 515), and executes chat data transmission (step 516).

  As a result, the chat data is sent to the television receiver 3 and the chat screen display is updated (step 522). Thereafter, when there is an input by the user of the television receiver 3, the user input is received (step 523) and sent to the chat server 2 as chat data transmission. The chat server 2 that has received the data updates the chat data (step 517), and sends the chat data (step 518). Receiving the updated chat data, the television receiver 3 updates the chat screen display (step 524).

  When the update of the chat screen is started in the television receiver 4 (step 505) (this update is due to user operation, timer activation, automatic update by a browser, etc.), a chat data request is implemented. The chat server 2 that has received it prepares the chat data (step 519). Next, the chat data is transmitted (step 520), and the television receiver 4 that has received the chat data updates the display of the chat screen (step 506).

  As described above, chat information based on user input is exchanged via a chat server. How the actual chat screen is updated will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the update status of the chat screens of the television receivers 3 and 4. On the television receiver 4, nothing is displayed at the time of 502 in FIG. However, at the time of the 504, it is displayed input by the user of the television receiver 4, "Hello.". Here, for convenience, the user name of the television receiver 4 is assumed to be “A”. Then, the chat screen of the television receiver 3, for the first time at the time of the 522, "A> Hello." Is displayed. Here, the user of the television receiver 3 viewed this because it returns "Hello.", The television receiver 4 side at the time of 506, also in the TV receiver 3 side, at the time of 524, TV by the user of the receiver 3 "B> Hello." is displayed. As a result, the users of the television receivers 3 and 4 performed greetings.

The second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a group management type television broadcast / chat link system.
70 is a group management server, 71 and 72 are television receivers, and 73 and 74 are control units, and the parts not described are the same as in the embodiment of FIG.

  In this embodiment, a group management server 70 exists instead of the chat server 2 in FIG. 1, and a control unit 74 exists therein. In addition, a control unit 73 exists in the television receiver 71 or 72. The television receiver is the same as 3 and 4 in FIG. 1, but since the functions to be implemented are different, a different control unit is used. In FIG. 7, chat information is exchanged between the television receivers 71 and 72, and the control unit 74 of the group management server 70 manages a unit called a group in which users who simultaneously execute chat participate. It is carried out.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of ID registration, group creation, and login screen. In FIG. 8A, 80 is an ID registration screen, 81 is an ID, 82 is a password, 83 is a password (for confirmation), 84 is a registration button, and 85 is a cancel button. In FIG. 8B, 86 is a group creation screen, 87 is a group name, 88 is a registration button, and 89 is a cancel button. In FIG. 8C, 50 is a login screen, 51 is global, 52 is local group A, 53 is local group B, 54 is ID, 55 is a password, 56 is an OK button, and 57 is a cancel button.

  The ID registration screen 80 in FIG. 8A, the group creation screen 86 in FIG. 8B, and the login screen 50 in FIG. 8C are all control units built in the television receiver 71 or 72 in FIG. 73 is executed and displayed. The ID registration screen 80 in FIG. 8A is used for ID registration to identify individual users input by the user. An arbitrary ID is input in 81 and arbitrary passwords are input in 82 and 83. Then, when the registration button 84 is pressed, the information is registered in the group management server 70 of FIG.

  In the group creation screen 86 of FIG. 8B, the user inputs an arbitrary group name to 87 and presses the registration button 88, whereby the group name is registered in the group management server 70 of FIG. . In the login screen 50 of FIG. 8C, one of global, local group A, and local group B can be selected by 51, 52, and 53, respectively. Although it is an arbitrary group name input on the group creation screen 86 in FIG. 8B, it is referred to as local groups A and B for convenience of explanation.

  When the user selects a global or local group A or B that is not a specific group, inputs the user's own ID into 54 and the password into 55, and presses the OK button 76, the user logs in to the chat function ( Connect) and chat operation can be started.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a group editing / automatic login setting screen. In FIG. 9A, 90 is a group editing screen, 91 is a group name, 92 is a registered ID list, 93 is a delete button, 94 Is an ID to be added, 95 is a registration button, and 96 is an end button. In FIG. 9B, 97 is an automatic login setting screen, 98 is global, 99 is local group A, 60 is local group B, 61 is not automatically logged in, 62 is an ID, 63 is a password, and 64 is a setting button. , 65 are cancel buttons.

  In the group editing screen 90 of FIG. 9A, the group creation screen 86 of FIG. 8B is used to select users who can join the group by the user who created the group. It becomes possible to edit. 91 shows the name of the group currently being edited, and 92 shows the ID currently registered. Here, when some of the IDs displayed in 92 are selected and the delete button 93 is pressed, the selected user can be deleted from the group and cannot be joined to the group.

  Further, by entering an ID to be newly added in 94 and pressing the registration button 95, it becomes possible to add a user to the group currently being edited. In the automatic login setting screen 97 in FIG. 9B, when the chat activation button 26 in FIG. 2B or 2C is pressed, a group is selected as in the login screen 50 in FIG. 8C. Since it is troublesome to enter the ID and password, a group for automatically logging in is set without displaying the login screen 50. The user automatically logs in by selecting any of 98, 99, and 60 on the automatic login setting screen 97 of FIG. 9B, entering the ID in 62 and the password in 63, and pressing the setting button 64. Setting is possible.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an ID management table and a group management table. These ID management table and group management table are stored in the storage unit 10 of the group management server 70 of FIG. In FIG. 10A, 101 is an ID number, 102 is an ID, and 103 is a password.

  In the ID management table in FIG. 10A, ID 102 and password 103 are input in pairs for each ID number 101 at the left end. For example, a user who has entered an arbitrary name ID_A is called password_A. This indicates that an arbitrary password has been entered, and the ID number is “1”. This ID management table is a table in which the ID and password entered by the user on the ID registration screen 80 in FIG. 8A are stored, and the ID 81, password 82, and password (for confirmation) in FIG. 8A. ) 83 is input by the user and the registration button 84 is pressed, the data is stored in the storage unit 10 by the control unit 74 of the group management server 70 of FIG.

  In FIG. 10B, 104 is the group name, 105 is the ID of the owner who created the group, and 106 is the ID of the member belonging to the group. In the group management table, for each group ID number at the left end, a group name 104, an ID 105 of the owner who created the group, and an ID 106 of members belonging to the group are included.

  In the group management table, when the user inputs the group name 87 and presses the registration button 88 on the group creation screen 86 in FIG. 8B, the input group name is the group name 104 of the group management table. The ID of the user who has been inserted and created is registered in the section of owner ID 105.

  The group management table 90 described with reference to FIG. 9A can be used to edit the group management table. The user can edit the group he / she has created, that is, the owner ID 105 and the user in operation. When the group IDs match, when this group edit screen 90 is displayed, the group name 104 on the group management table is displayed as the group name 91 and the member ID 106 is displayed as the currently registered ID 92. 93 and the registration button 95 can be used to perform editing processing and update the group management table.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart when the chat activation button is pressed. When the chat activation button is pressed, the control unit 74 of the television receivers 71 and 72 described with reference to FIG. 7 inquires of the group management server 70 whether the ID has been registered and determines (step 112). If not registered yet, the ID registration screen 80 shown in FIG. 8A is displayed for the ID registration process (step 113).

  If the ID has been registered, go to 116. If the automatic login setting has been set to automatically log in using the automatic login setting screen 97 of FIG. 9B, the chat screen is opened (step 117). If it is set not to log in automatically, the login screen 50 shown in FIG. 8C is opened (step 114).

  As a result, if the ID and password are correct by the processing of the login screen 50, the login is successful (step 115) and the chat screen is opened (step 117). As a result of the above, also in this embodiment, by pressing the chat button, it is possible to participate in the chat in units of groups managed by the group management server and exchange information between users of the television receiver.

The third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a reservation information sharing method and an explanatory diagram of a reservation list screen. In FIG. 12B, 124 is a reservation list screen, 125 is a reservation list, 126 is a reservation sharing button, and 127 is a check. In FIG. 12B, a reservation list 125 is displayed on the reservation list screen 124. The reservation list is a list of programs that the user wants to record using the EPG and the reservation execution instructions. Here, a check 127 is designated for “drama AA” which is a reservation on the lower side. Here, when the reservation sharing button 126 is pressed, it means that “drama AA” wants to share in the same chat group.

  This will be described with reference to the flow of FIG. This process is executed by the control unit 18 (reservation information transmission unit). When the reservation information is shared, when the reservation sharing button 126 in FIG. 12B is pressed, from the reservation to which the check 127 of the reservation list 125 is given, the date, start time, end time, channel number are set as reservation information. The program name is extracted and used as the reservation shared information (step 121). The group management server 70 shown in FIG. 7 is requested to obtain the group management table shown in FIG. 10B (step 122). Referring to the acquired group management table, a participant ID other than his / her own ID was extracted from the member ID 106 of the participating group, and the participant ID was extracted at 121 The reservation sharing information is transmitted (step 123).

  Here, in 123, the group management table to be acquired is the group for which automatic login is set in FIG. 9B. If the automatic login setting is not set, the group cannot be specified, so the reservation information cannot be shared.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of receiving reservation sharing information executed by the control unit 73. This process is executed by the control unit 18 (reservation information receiving unit). In FIG. 13A, when reservation sharing information is received (step 131), a date, start time, end time, channel number, and program name are extracted from the received reservation sharing information, and a reservation list is obtained as one reservation information. Is added (step 132). Here, the received reservation sharing information is added to the reservation list 125 described with reference to FIG. Since all television receivers have the same function, they can exchange reservation sharing information with each other.

  In FIG. 13B, unlike FIG. 13A, the exchange of reservation shared information between different regions is described. This process is executed by the control unit 18 (reservation information receiving unit). When the reservation sharing information is received (step 134), it is confirmed whether the program in the reservation sharing information exists on the EPG (step 135). Subsequently, if the program name does not match on the EPG even if the channel number, date, start time, and end time extracted from the reservation shared information do not match, the program information is received from the EPG and added to the reservation list. Perform (step 136).

  As a result of the above operation, when the reservation shared information is exchanged between television receivers placed in different regions, the contents of the EPG do not match because the broadcasting stations are different, and as a result, the reservation shared information May not match. However, if the program names match, there is a high possibility that they are the same program. Therefore, for example, the same drama can be reserved and recorded even if the day of the week to be broadcast is different. As a result, the reservation information can be shared and the same program can be recorded on each television receiver within the same group.

The fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an operation at the start of chatting during playback of a recorded program or playback of a recorded program during chatting in the control unit 73 of the television receiver 71 or 72. In FIG. 14A, when the chat activation button is pressed (step 140), it is confirmed whether the recorded program is being reproduced (step 141). Next, if not being played back, a chat operation is started (step 143). If playback is in progress, playback synchronization processing is started (step 142), and then a chat operation is started (step 143).

  Here, since the television receiver that has started chatting becomes the host, processing is performed in the host mode. As a result, when the chat operation is started during the reproduction of the recorded program, the television receiver that has started the chat operation becomes the host and the reproduction synchronization process is started.

  FIG. 14B is a flowchart when the playback operation is started during the chat. When playback of the recorded program is started (step 144), it is confirmed whether the chat is in progress (step 145). Next, if the chat is in progress, the reproduction synchronization processing is started in the host mode (step 147). If the chat is not in progress, the recorded program is played back (step 146). As described above, even when the reproduction operation is started during the chat, the reproduction synchronization process starts and the reproduction operation is synchronized.

A specific operation of the reproduction synchronization processing will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 15 shows an AV media server and a media client (having a control point that receives control from the user and a media renderer function that reproduces a moving image) defined by a standard called UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) AV. A television receiver is described separately.

  In FIG. 15, 151 is an AV media server A, 153 is an AV media server B, 152 is a media client A, 154 is a media client B, and 155 is a chat server. 148, 156, and 157 are commands, and 149, 158, and 159 are data. AV media server A151, AV media server B153, media client A152, and AV media client B154 are each a television receiver, but may be a server that distributes a program.

  The media client A 152 sends a user operation as a command 148 to the AV media server A 151, receives the result as data 149, and displays it on the media client A 152. The types of commands 148 include user operations such as playback, pause, jump, and stop, such as Play, Pause, Seek, and Stop, and the playback position of a recorded program that is currently being played as GetPositionInfo. There is something that gets information.

  As the data 149, in addition to the reproduction position information, information of the recorded program itself such as video and audio is received. The command 157 and data 158 between the media client B 154 and the AV media server B 153 are the same as the command 148 and data 149 between the media client A 152 and the AV media server A 151 described above.

  The media client A 152 and the media client B 154 exchange commands and data with the chat server 155 to exchange information by user chat. In addition, the media client A 152 and the media client B 154 are controlled by the command 156 and the data 159 to realize the reproduction synchronization processing that has come out first. The commands 156 and data 159 that are actually exchanged will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining that a media client C is added and reproduction synchronization processing can be performed among three media clients. Reference numeral 160 denotes a media client C. The media client A 152, media client B 154, and media client C 160 exchange commands and data using the media client A 152 as a host.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 17, it is assumed that the Play command is sent from the media client A to the media clients B and C, and the playback of the same recorded program is instructed to start playback as playback synchronization processing. In FIG. 17, the actual reproduction operation in each of the devices A, B, and C is 50 ms from A to B as indicated by 171 and 172 in FIG. A to C indicate that 150 ms later.

  This schematically shows the relationship between the media clients A, B, and C in FIG. 16, but indicates that 150 ms of the command arrival time is required between the media client A 152 and the media client C 160. ing. Thus, it can be seen that there is a difference in the time until the command arrives between the host machine (A) and the guest machine (B, C). In such a case, even if the playback is synchronized, since the playback start does not match, it is not possible to provide a service for chatting while watching the same scene at the same time.

Therefore, in FIG. 18, a method for measuring the command transmission timing and realizing the synchronized reproduction will be described.
FIG. 18A is an explanatory diagram relating to the measurement of response time, and will be described using numbers starting from 180. FIG. Although abbreviated as A, B, and C, they refer to media clients A, B, and C, respectively. In order to measure the response time from A to B, or from A to C, IP packet 180 is sent from A, reaches B, and a response is returned to A as IP packet 181.

  Here, the required time to reach the IP packet 180 and the IP packet 181 is 50 ms, and it takes 100 ms until a response is returned to A. The IP packet 182 and the IP packet 183 are IP packets sent from A to C and received the results. Each of them requires 150 ms, and the response time requires 300 ms. In this way, it is possible to measure the response time by sending an IP packet and receiving a response.

  FIG. 18B is an explanatory diagram regarding a method for calculating command transmission timing. The response time measurement method has been described with reference to FIG. 18A, but the measured values of the response time from A to B and from A to C were 100 ms and 300 ms, respectively. In the command transmission timing calculation table, the response time column is second from the left end. Here, in order to calculate the estimated arrival time, a half value of the response time was obtained, and values of 50 ms and 150 ms were calculated in the estimated arrival time column.

  Next, the maximum value of the estimated arrival times is found. Here, since the maximum value is 150 ms from A to C, a check point is described at the row of A to C in the MAX column. The transmission timing is 100 ms and 0 ms, respectively, by subtracting the estimated arrival time from the maximum arrival time using the value of 150 ms that is the obtained maximum arrival time 184.

  FIG. 18C is an explanatory diagram showing that the Play command is transmitted by adjusting the actual command transmission timing using the command transmission timing value calculated in FIG. 18B. . The IP packets 185 and 186 are Play commands for A to B and A to C, respectively. For A to C, the IP packet 185 is first transmitted using the calculated transmission timing 0 ms.

  Next, an IP packet 186 from A to B is sent 100 ms later using the value of 100 ms from A to B. As a result, the time when the Play command reaches the guests B and C is the same. Further, the media client A waits for 150 ms which is the maximum arrival time 184 and starts the reproduction operation on the host side. As a result, the reproduction operation of the recorded program is simultaneously performed in any of A, B and C. There is an effect of starting.

  In FIG. 19, an operation flow at the time of reproduction synchronization processing on the host side and reproduction synchronization processing on the guest side will be described. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 16 to 18, the host side is the media client A and the guest side is the media clients B and C. Here, for the sake of brevity, the description will be made with respect to a pair of hosts and guests. Do.

  In the first place, as described with reference to FIG. 14, the playback synchronization processing starts chatting during playback of a recorded program, or starts playback of a recorded program during chat execution, and displays the same scene of the same program. This is a chance to chat while watching.

  In FIG. 14, when the playback synchronization processing (host mode) is started, in FIG. 19, (a) host side (host mode) playback synchronization processing starts (step 1901). The host-side media client acquires a group management table from the group management server (step 1902). 15 is an embodiment in which the chat server 155 in FIG. 15 has the same function as the group management server 70 in FIG.

  Next, response time measurement, maximum arrival time detection, and command transmission timing calculation are performed (step 1903). The measurement method and the calculation method are the methods described in FIG. It is necessary to measure the response time and calculate the command transmission timing for all guest devices in the group described in the group management table. The response time is measured by the control unit 18 (response time measurement unit). The command is sent by the control unit 18 (command transmission unit) via the transmission unit 14.

  Next, the program name of the recorded program to be synchronized is acquired (step 1904). Next, it is confirmed whether or not the recorded program is being reproduced (step 1905). If it is being reproduced, the process proceeds to 1906, and if the reproduction has not been started, the process proceeds to 1910. In 1906, time waiting is performed in accordance with the command transmission timing calculated in 1903 (step 1906), and a Play command is transmitted to each guest device (step 1907). In addition, after waiting for the maximum arrival time calculated in 1903 from the time at which the conditional branching in 1905 branches (step 1908), the Play command is executed on the host (step 1909).

  Of the Play commands executed in 1907 and 1909, 1907 is a Play command for guest control from the media client A152 to the media client B154 in FIG. 15, and the Play command of 1909 is the media client A152. Is a Play command to the AV media server A151.

  The media client B 154 transmits the Play command sent from A as a command 157 to the AV media server B, and realizes control of the AV media server B 153 by an operation from the media client A.

  Returning to FIG. 19, if the recorded program is being played back at 1905, the GetPositionInfo command is executed (step 1910), and the current playback position is acquired (step 1911). In FIG. 15, a command 148 is issued from the media client A 152 to the AV media server A 151 to acquire the current playback position as data 149.

  Next, the seek value is corrected (step 1912). This is to specify the reproduction position at the arrival time by adding the estimated arrival time (calculated in FIG. 18B) to the guest to be controlled to the current reproduction position. Subsequently, the Play command is sent with the program name acquired in 1904 as an argument (step 1913), and then the Seek command is sent (step 1914).

  The guest device that has received the Play command and the Seek command performs a reproduction synchronization processing operation in the guest mode described with reference to the flow of FIG. When the Play command is received (Step 1916), the Play command is executed (Step 1917). In FIG. 15, the media client B 154 receives the Play command as the command 156 and sends the Play command to the AV media server B 153 as the command 157.

  Returning to FIG. 19, the synchronization timer is started (step 1918). This is a timer for performing processing for acquisition of current position and synchronization during reproduction, and will be described with reference to FIG. As a result, the recorded program starts to be reproduced on the guest device side. When the seek command is received (step 1919), the seek command is executed (step 1920).

  Also in FIG. 15, the media client B 154 receives the Seek command as the command 156, sends the Seek command to the AV media server B 153 as the command 157, and executes the Seek operation of the recorded program being played back. Become.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining the reproduction synchronization processing when the user instructs the seek and pause processing from the host device side.
When there is a Seek or Pause instruction from the user (step 2001), a time is waited (step 2002). The waiting time is the command transmission timing calculated in 1903 of FIG. 19 or FIG. 18B.

  Subsequently, a Seek or Pause command is transmitted in accordance with a user instruction (step 2003), and then a time is waited (step 2004). The waiting time here is the maximum arrival time 184 calculated in 1903 of FIG. 19 or FIG. 18B. Subsequently, a Seek or Pause command is executed (step 2005). In FIG. 15, the media client A 152 sends a Seek or Pause command to the AV media server A 151 as a command 148 to execute the Seek operation or Pause operation of the recorded program being reproduced.

  When the guest side receives the Seek or Pause command (Step 2007), the guest performs the Seek or Pause operation (Step 2008). In FIG. 15, the Seek or Pause command is sent from the media client A 152 to the media client B 154 as the command 156, and the Seek or Pause command is sent to the AV media server B 153 as the command 157 as it is. Execute the Seek or Pause operation of the recorded program.

  Here, using FIG. 19, it has been described that the command transmission timing time is waited at the start of reproduction and the reproduction synchronization processing is performed. In FIG. 20, seek (changing the reproduction position) and pause ( In the operation of pausing reproduction), reproduction synchronization processing can be executed.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining the reproduction synchronization processing when the stop processing is instructed by the user from the host device side.
When there is a stop instruction from the user (step 2101), a stop command is transmitted (step 2102). Next, the Stop command is executed (step 2103), and the reproduction synchronization process is terminated (step 2104).

  Here, unlike the Seek and Pause processes in FIG. 20, no time wait is performed. This is because there is no necessity to wait for the termination process. In FIG. 15, the stop process in 2103 notifies the AV media server A 151 of a stop as a command 148 from the media client A 152.

  The right side of FIG. 21 is a stop process on the guest device side. The Stop command is received (Step 2106), and the Stop command is executed (Step 2107). In the Stop command processing in 2107, the Stop command is sent as the command 156 from the media client A 152 to the media client B 154 in FIG. 15, and as a result, the Stop command is sent as the command 157 to the AV media server B 153 to be stopped.

  When the processing of 2107 in FIG. 21 is completed, the synchronization timer is stopped (step 2108), and the reproduction synchronization processing is ended (step 2109). The synchronization timer is a synchronization timer started in 1918 when the reproduction synchronization process is started in FIG. In order to end the reproduction synchronization process, the synchronization timer is stopped as part of the process.

  FIG. 22 relates to the processing of the synchronization timer. In 1918 of FIG. 19B, when the process is called every unit time by the activated synchronization timer (step 2201), the GetPositionInfo command is executed (step 2202). This command is sent from the media client B 154 to the AV media server B 153 as a command 157 in FIG. 15, and the result is received as data 158.

  As a result, the reproduction position on the guest device side is acquired (step 2203). Next, a GetPositionInfo command is transmitted (step 2204), and the host device receives the GetPositionInfo command (step 2206). In FIG. 15, this is sent from the media client B 154 to the media client A 152 as a command 156. Subsequently, the GetPositionInfo command is executed (step 2207), and the playback position on the host device side is acquired (step 2208).

  In FIG. 15, a GetPositionInfo command is sent from the media client A 152 as a command 148 to the AV media server A 151, and the current playback position is acquired as data 149. Subsequently, the estimated arrival time (calculated in FIG. 18B) for the guest device that has sent the GetPositionInfo command received in 2206 is added to the obtained current playback position (step 2209), The corrected host device reproduction position is transmitted to the corresponding guest device (step 2210).

  Subsequently, on the guest device side in FIG. 22, the reproduction position on the host side is acquired (step 2211). This is sent from the host device side in 2210 as the corrected host device side playback position first, and is compared with the playback position on the guest side acquired in 2203 (step 2212). If the device side is delayed, the playback speed is increased (step 2213). Alternatively, if the guest side is advanced, the playback speed is decreased (step 2214). Note that changing the playback speed of the recorded program changes the synchronization clock of the media renderer, which is a moving image playback mechanism provided on the media client side in UPnP.

  As a result of the above operation, the same recorded program starts playing from the TV receiver that started chatting, and the TV receiver that started chatting also performs trick play operations such as synchronization of playback position and seek and pause. Will be operated.

  In the embodiment described above, the recorded program is played back and the chat is executed simultaneously. However, the recorded program is not a video program such as a DVD or a VOD (Video On Demand) via a network. It may be a program or a program sold and purchased by downloading, and in that case, it can be operated not by a recorder but also by a dedicated STB (Set Top Box).

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize a real-time chat while simultaneously reproducing and viewing a program that has already been recorded, not a live broadcast, between remote homes.
In addition, it is possible to share reservation recording information and execute reservation so that the same program is recorded between remote homes.
Further, even if the same program is broadcasted at different dates and times at different broadcasting stations between remote homes, the program can be searched for on the EPG and processed as a recording reservation.
In addition, since the playback of the recorded program and the chat are synchronized, the chat can be performed while the same program is played back and viewed, regardless of which playback or chat is started first.
It is also possible to send the current playback position to the other and synchronize so that playback is synchronized.

It is an example of explanatory drawing which shows a television broadcast and chat interlocking system. It is an example of the external view of a television receiver, a remote control, and a keyboard. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the URL extraction method of a chat server. It is an example of the flowchart figure at the time of chat starting button press. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the update method of the chat data by television receivers. It is an example of explanatory drawing which shows the update condition of the chat screen of a television receiver. It is an example of explanatory drawing which shows a television broadcast and chat interlocking system of a group management system. It is an example of explanatory drawing of ID registration, group creation, and a login screen. It is an example of an explanatory diagram of a group editing and automatic login setting screen. It is an example of an explanatory diagram of an ID management table and a group management table. It is an example of the flowchart figure at the time of chat starting button press. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the sharing method of reservation information, and explanatory drawing of a reservation list screen. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement at the time of reception of reservation information. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement at the time of the chat start in reproduction | regeneration, and the reproduction | regeneration start in chat. It is an example of an explanatory diagram showing a TV broadcast / chat link system using an AV media server defined by UPnP AV and a television receiver divided into functions as a media client. It is an example of explanatory drawing which shows that the media clients A, B, and C exist. FIG. 10 is an example of an explanatory diagram showing that actual playback start is delayed when a Play command is sent. It is an example of an explanatory diagram showing that the measurement of the response time, the estimated arrival time, the command transmission timing calculation method, and the reproduction start when the command transmission timing is adjusted match. FIG. 10 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a reproduction synchronization processing method on the host device side and the guest device side. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows Seek and Pause command processing between a host apparatus and a guest apparatus. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the Stop command process between a host apparatus and a guest apparatus. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the reproduction | regeneration position matching method between the host apparatus and guest apparatus by a synchronous timer.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Broadcast server 2 Chat server 3 Television receiver 4 Television receiver 5 Network 6 Control part 7 Distribution part 8 Accumulation part 9 Control part 10 Accumulation part 11 Receiving part 12 Distribution part 13 Receiving part 14 Transmitting part 15 Movie renderer 16 Display part 17 HTML renderer 18 Control unit 19 Input unit 20 Storage unit 21 Television receiver 22 TV screen 23 Chat screen 24 Remote control 25 Keyboard 26 Chat start button 50 Login screen 51 Global 52 Local group A
53 Local Group B
54 ID
55 Password 56 OK button 57 Cancel button 60 Local group B
61 Automatic login 62 ID
63 Password 64 Setting button 65 Cancel button 70 Group management server 71 Television receiver 72 Television receiver 73 Control unit 74 Control unit 80 ID registration screen 81 ID
82 Password 83 Password (for confirmation)
84 Registration button 85 Cancel button 86 Group creation screen 87 Group name 88 Registration button 89 Cancel button 90 Group edit screen 91 Group name 92 List of registered IDs 93 Delete button 94 ID to add
95 Registration button 96 End button 97 Automatic login setting screen 98 Global 99 Local group A
101 ID number 102 ID
103 Password 104 Group name 105 ID of the owner who created the group
106 ID of members belonging to the group
124 Reservation List Screen 125 Reservation List 126 Reservation Sharing Button 127 Check 148 Command 149 Data 151 AV Media Server A
152 Media Client A
153 AV Media Server B
154 Media Client B
155 Chat server 156 Command 157 Command 158 Data 159 Data 160 Media client C
171 50ms
172 150ms
180,181,182,183 IP packet 184 Maximum arrival time 185,186 IP packet

Claims (14)

A television receiver,
A receiver for receiving program-related information related to the program transmitted from the broadcast server;
An address generator for generating address information based on the program-related information;
A connection unit for connecting to the chat server designated by the generated address;
An HTML renderer unit that performs chat with one or more other television receivers via the chat server;
A television receiver comprising: The television receiver according to claim 1,
The television receiver, wherein the program related information includes at least one of a channel name, a program name, and time information for each scene. The television receiver according to claim 1,
A storage unit that stores recording reservation information including at least one of a date, a start time, a channel number, and a program name;
Reservation information transmission unit for transmitting the recording reservation information acquired from the storage unit to the other television receiver;
A television receiver comprising: The television receiver according to claim 3,
A reservation information receiving unit for receiving recording reservation information;
When the electronic program information (EPG) received from the broadcast server does not include a program including all the elements included in the received reservation information, the electronic program information (EPG) is included in the reservation information. When a program name exists, reservation information for reserving a program corresponding to the program name is stored in the storage unit. The television receiver according to claim 1,
A video renderer unit for playing back the same recorded program with the other television receiver;
The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the first HTML renderer executes the chat simultaneously with the reproduction of the recorded program. The television receiver according to claim 5,
A response time measuring unit for measuring a response time with the other television receiver;
A command transmission unit that changes transmission timing of a reproduction command to be transmitted to the other television receiver according to the measured response time;
A television receiver comprising: A television receiver according to claim 6,
When the command transmission unit accepts execution of a seek operation or a pause operation, the command transmission unit transmits the recorded program to the other television receiver that is performing the chat simultaneously with the measured response time. In response, the television receiver transmits a command corresponding to the operation. A method of processing a television receiver,
Receive program related information about programs sent from the broadcast server,
Generating address information based on the program related information;
Connect to the chat server specified by the generated address,
Performing chat with one or more other television receivers via the chat server;
And a processing method for a television receiver. A processing method for a television receiver according to claim 8,
The processing method of a television receiver, wherein the program related information includes at least one of a channel name, a program name, and time information for each scene. A processing method for a television receiver according to claim 8,
The television receiver has a storage unit that stores recording reservation information including at least one element of date, start time, channel number, and program name,
A method of processing a television receiver, wherein the recording reservation information acquired from the storage unit is transmitted to the other television receiver. It is a processing method of the television receiver of Claim 10, Comprising:
When the electronic program information (EPG) received from the broadcast server does not include a program including all the elements included in the received reservation information, the electronic program information (EPG) is included in the reservation information. When a program name exists, reservation information for reserving a program corresponding to the program name is stored in the storage unit. A processing method for a television receiver according to claim 8,
A processing method of a television receiver, wherein the chat is executed simultaneously with the reproduction of the recorded program. A processing method for a television receiver according to claim 12,
Measuring the response time with the other television receiver,
A processing method of a television receiver, characterized in that the transmission timing of a reproduction command to be transmitted to the other television receiver is changed according to the measured response time. A processing method for a television receiver according to claim 13,
When the execution of a seek operation or a pause operation is accepted, the operation is performed according to the measured response time to the other television receiver that is performing the chat simultaneously with the reproduction of the recorded program. A processing method for a television receiver, characterized by transmitting a corresponding command.

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