JP2015154105A - information processing apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily associate a tag with a content.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus 1: stores incidental information of a content associated with the broadcast time in a storage section; accepts the designation of the incidental information of the content; reads the broadcast time associated with the incidental information of the content thus accepted from the storage section, and selects the broadcast time when starting distribution of the content from the broadcast time thus read; acquires the length of the broadcast time of the content distributed on the basis of the broadcast time of the content thus selected; and determines whether or not the incidental information of the content and the broadcast time of the content distributed are associated on the basis of the length of the broadcast time thus acquired.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a program.

  Conventionally, when viewing a broadcast program or content of a television broadcast, there has been a demand for viewing a specific scene in the broadcast program and content, not the entire program. In response to this demand, there are functions such as time shift zapping and tag zapping (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1).

  Time shift zapping is a function of moving the playback start position of the currently played content in the past or future direction for a predetermined time. Tag zapping is a function for moving the content reproduction start position based on incidental information (tag) associated with all or part of the content. For example, when a tag indicates performer information and a performer is designated by tag zapping, another scene associated with a tag indicating the designated performer information is reproduced.

JP 2013-55374 A

Masaya Kato, Masahiro Ozawa, Yuki Kaneko, “Highlight Scene Playback and Tag List Service for Enjoying Recorded Viewing”, Toshiba Review, Vol. 68 no. 5, pp. 14-17, 2013

  However, in the conventional technology, there is a problem that it is not easy to associate tags with content. Conventionally, associating a tag with a content has been mainly performed manually, so that work sometimes takes time. For the same reason, there is a case where the tag and the content are not correctly associated with each other. Therefore, in tag zapping, there are cases where a viewer's desired scene cannot be reproduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an information processing apparatus and program that can easily associate a tag with a content.

[1] According to one aspect of the present invention, the storage unit that stores the incidental information of the content and the broadcast time in association with each other, the incidental information reception unit that receives designation of the incidental information of the content, and the incidental information reception unit A broadcast time associated with the supplementary information of the content read from the storage unit, a selection unit for selecting a broadcast time for starting distribution of the content from the read broadcast time, and a content of the content selected by the selection unit Based on the broadcast time, a time information acquisition unit that acquires the length of the broadcast time of the distributed content, and the supplementary information of the content and the distribution based on the length of the broadcast time acquired by the time information acquisition unit A determination unit that determines whether or not the broadcast time of the content is related to the information processing apparatus.

[2] One aspect of the present invention is the information processing apparatus described above, wherein the information processing apparatus further includes a time reception unit that receives designation of a broadcast time of the content, and the selection unit receives the time reception The broadcast time received by the section is selected as the broadcast time at which the reproduction of the content is started.

[3] One aspect of the present invention is the above-described information processing device, wherein the selection unit reads out the broadcast time associated with the supplementary information of the content received by the supplementary information reception unit from the storage unit. The random time of the read broadcast time is selected as the broadcast time at which the distribution of the content is started.

[4] One aspect of the present invention is the information processing apparatus described above, wherein the determination unit is based on whether or not the length of the broadcast time acquired by the time information acquisition unit exceeds a predetermined threshold. It is determined whether the incidental information of the content is related to the broadcast time indicated by the broadcast time information of the content.

[5] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage unit that stores the incidental information of the content in association with the broadcast time, an incidental information reception unit that receives designation of the incidental information of the content, and the incidental information reception unit. A broadcast time associated with the incidental information of the received content is read from the storage unit, a selection unit that selects a broadcast time at which the distribution of the content starts from the read broadcast time, the content of the content selected by the selection unit Based on the broadcast time, a time information acquisition unit that acquires the length of the broadcast time of the distributed content, and based on the length of the broadcast time acquired by the time information acquisition unit, the supplementary information of the content and the content It is a program for functioning as a determination unit that determines whether or not the broadcast time indicated by the broadcast time information is related.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily associate a tag with a content.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of schematic function structure of the information processing apparatus and broadcast program viewing-and-listening apparatus which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a timing chart which shows an example of the relationship between the content and tag which concern on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the display mode of the tag by the broadcast program viewing-and-listening apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a front view which shows an example of the external appearance of the input device with which the broadcast program viewing-and-listening apparatus which concerns on this embodiment is provided. It is a figure which shows an example of the change of the display mode according to operation of the broadcast program viewing-and-listening apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the function which the tag database which concerns on this embodiment accepts. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement by the information processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the viewing-and-listening information registration process by the information processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a timing chart for demonstrating the transition of the delivery start position of the content according to operation of the broadcast program viewing-and-listening apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a timing chart for demonstrating the process of the information processing apparatus according to operation of the broadcast program viewing-and-listening apparatus which concerns on this embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 1 and the broadcast program viewing apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment.
The information processing device 1 is a server device that distributes content in response to a request transmitted from the broadcast program viewing device 2, and manages content tags stored in the device itself.

  The broadcast program viewing device 2 is a device that reproduces content. The broadcast program viewing device 2 is, for example, a television, a personal computer, a mobile phone, a tablet, a smartphone, or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).

  The information processing device 1 and the broadcast program viewing device 2 communicate via a network. The network includes, for example, a cellular phone network, a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) network, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) network, a dedicated communication network, a WAN (Wide Area Network Network), and a LAN (Local Area Network Network, P). (Telephone Network; public switched telephone network), etc., or a combination thereof.

  The broadcast program viewing device 2 receives an operation for reproducing content from a viewer, and transmits information corresponding to the content of the operation to the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 identifies content to be distributed based on information received from the broadcast program viewing device 2. The information processing device 1 transmits content data indicating the specified content to the broadcast program viewing device 2. The broadcast program viewing device 2 reflects the operation received from the viewer on the reproduction of the content by reproducing the content transmitted from the information processing device 1.

  In the present embodiment, content refers to video data, audio data, and the like. The video data is visual data such as a television broadcast program or a movie, and the audio data is auditory data such as music or a radio broadcast program. In the following description, it is assumed that the content is a broadcast program that has been broadcast on the TV in the past, but the same processing can be applied to radio programs and TV program audio. Further, each frame of content stored in the information processing apparatus 1 is associated with a broadcast time in the format of “YYYY MM month DD day HH hour MM minute SS second nnn frame”. Here, the broadcast time is the time when the content was broadcast. The video and audio constituting the content are stored in a format that can be read out in time series based on the broadcast time. Thereby, the content stored in the information processing apparatus 1 is uniquely specified based on the broadcast time. Note that the content data is appropriately encoded and compressed and stored. In addition, a tag is associated with the content managed by the broadcast program viewing device 2, and tag zapping for operating the reproduction of the content using the tag is possible.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing an example of the relationship between content and tags.
FIG. 2 shows broadcast times of four contents of broadcast programs A, B, C, and D whose broadcast date is “March 20, 2013”. In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis indicates the broadcast time t. The broadcast time of broadcast program A is from “9:00:00” to “9:20:00”. The broadcast time of the broadcast program B is from “9:20:00” to “9:30:30”. The broadcast time of broadcast program C is from “9:30:00” to “9:45:00”. The broadcast time of the broadcast program D is from “9:45:00” to “10:00:00”. As described above, the broadcast time is a time when a certain broadcast program is broadcast, and refers to a time determined by two broadcast times of a start time and an end time.

  In the lower part of FIG. 2, an example of correspondence between content broadcast times and tags is shown. Tag 1 is associated with the entire broadcast time of broadcast program A and the entire broadcast time of broadcast program C. Tag 2 is associated with the entire broadcast time of broadcast program B, the entire broadcast time of broadcast program C, and the entire broadcast time of broadcast program D. The tag 3 is associated with the entire broadcast time of the broadcast program B and the entire broadcast time of the broadcast program C. In this way, the tag is associated with the broadcast time of the content, and a plurality of tags may be associated with the same broadcast time. Further, for example, the tag may be associated with a part of the broadcast program or may be associated across a plurality of broadcast programs.

Returning to FIG. 1, the configuration of the broadcast program viewing apparatus 2 will be described.
The broadcast program viewing device 2 includes a storage unit 21, a presentation unit 22, an operation input unit 23, a communication unit 24, an operation information transmission control unit 251, and a reception control unit 252. The broadcast program viewing apparatus 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) in its own apparatus.

  The storage unit 21 includes, for example, an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), a flash memory, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), or a RAM (Random Access Memory, etc.). The various programs to be executed by the CPU provided in the broadcast program viewing device 2 and the results of the processing executed by the CPU are stored. The operation information transmission control unit 251 and the reception control unit 252 function, for example, when the CPU included in the broadcast program viewing device 2 executes a program stored in the storage unit 21.

  The storage unit 21 also includes a viewer identification information storage unit 211 that stores viewer identification information. The viewer identification information is information for identifying the viewer of the broadcast program viewing device 2. The viewer identification information is, for example, a MAC address (Media Access Control address), an IP (Internet Protocol) address, or a user ID (IDentifier) given by a contract related to content distribution with the administrator of the information processing apparatus 1. is there. The viewer identification information is used for the information processing apparatus 1 to identify the broadcast program viewing apparatus 2 to be communicated.

The presentation unit 22 reproduces the content data and presents the tag. The presentation unit 22 includes, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display for reproducing video and an acoustic device such as a speaker for reproducing sound.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tag display mode by the broadcast program viewing device 2.
As shown in FIG. 3, content is displayed on the entire display area G <b> 1 of the presentation unit 22. In the right region G11 of the display region G1, tags associated with the content being displayed are arranged so as to be selectable in the vertical direction and displayed as a list. Moreover, the information enclosed by the cursor which the frame G111 shows among the tags has shown the information currently selected. In the example of FIG. 3, the right region G11 may be displayed only when, for example, the viewer requests display of the tag. The display of the tag list may be turned off when no operation is input to the operation input unit 23 for a predetermined time or longer.

  The operation input unit 23 receives an operation input for content reproduction from the viewer. The operation input unit 23 includes input devices such as a television remote controller, a mouse, a keyboard, and a touch panel. The content of the operation received by the operation input unit 23 is displayed on a display device provided in the presentation unit 22 by using a GUI (Graphical User Interface), for example. The operation input unit 23 has a function of accepting time shift zapping and tag zapping operations.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of the appearance of the input device 3 included in the broadcast program viewing device 2.
The input device 3 is a remote controller, and includes a wheel switch 32 attached to the casing 31, an infrared communication unit 33, a time shift zapping operation button group 34, a tag display button 35, and a tag zapping operation button group 36. . In addition, the input device 3 may include, for example, operation buttons provided in a remote controller such as a known television or recording device.

The wheel switch 32 rotates to accept an instruction to move the cursor with respect to the tag displayed on the presentation unit 22 of the broadcast program viewing device 2. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, when the wheel switch 32 is rotated, the frame G111 moves upward or downward, and a different tag is selected.
The infrared communication unit 33 transmits the operation information to the broadcast program viewing device 2 by emitting an infrared signal corresponding to the operation received by the input device 3.

  The time shift zapping operation button group 34 includes a “30 seconds before” button 341 and a “30 seconds after” button 342. The “30 seconds ago” button 341 accepts an operation of moving the playback position of the content being played back by the broadcast program viewing device 2 in the past direction for 30 seconds from the current broadcast time. The “after 30 seconds” button 342 accepts an operation of moving the playback position of the content being played back by the broadcast program viewing device 2 in the future direction for 30 seconds from the current broadcast time. As described above, the time shift zapping operation button group 34 receives the time shift zapping operation. In addition, the amount of movement of time is not limited to what was illustrated.

The tag display button 35 receives an operation for causing the broadcast program viewing device 2 to display a tag associated with the broadcast time of the content being reproduced.
The tag zapping operation button group 36 includes a “past” button 361 and a “future” button 362. The “past” button 361 is a tag having the same supplementary information as the currently selected tag, and the broadcast time of the content associated with the latest tag associated with the past broadcast time, An operation for moving the playback position of the content is accepted. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2, when the tag 2 is selected when the broadcast program D is being played and the “past” button 361 is operated, the latest “tag 2” is associated. The content playback position moves during the broadcast time of the broadcast program C.

  The “future” button 362 is a tag having the same incidental information as the currently selected tag, and the broadcast time of the content associated with the latest tag associated with the future broadcast time is An operation for moving the playback position of the content is accepted. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2, when “tag 1” is selected and the “future” button 362 is operated while the broadcast program viewing device 2 is reproducing the broadcast program A, the latest “tag 1” is selected. The playback position of the content moves during the broadcast time of the broadcast program C associated with “”.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a change in the display mode of the broadcast program viewing device 2 associated with the tag zapping operation.
The upper part of FIG. 5 shows an example of a display mode at a past broadcast time. Further, the middle part of FIG. 5 shows an example of a display mode at the broadcast time of the currently reproduced content. In the lower part of FIG. 5, an example of a display mode at a future broadcast time is shown. In addition, the same tag “Mr. C” is associated with the content being played back in the three examples shown in the upper, middle, and lower stages of FIG. 5, and there is a difference between the upper and middle examples. Also, it is assumed that there is no broadcast time in which the tag “Mr. C” is associated with the time between the middle example and the lower example.

  In the example shown in the upper part of FIG. 5, the broadcast time of the content is “October 8, 2012 (Monday) 18:36:00”, and the entire broadcast area G2 of the presentation unit 22 includes the broadcast time. The content at the time is displayed. Further, a list of tags associated with the broadcast time is displayed in a list in the right area G21 of the display area G2, and three tags “Monday Variety”, “Mr. C”, and “Mr. K” are displayed. Is displayed. Of these tags, “Mr. C” is surrounded by a frame G211 and selected.

  In the example shown in the middle part of FIG. 5, the broadcast time of the currently reproduced content is “Tuesday, October 9, 2012, 20:12:10”, and the entire display area G3 of the presentation unit 22 The content at the broadcast time is displayed. In addition, a list of tags associated with the broadcast time is displayed in a list in the right area G31 of the display area G3, and “kayo show”, “Mr. A”, “Mr. B”, and “Mr. C” are displayed. , “Let's Dream”, “Taro Utamaro”, and “Hanako Aozora” are displayed. Of these tags, “Mr. C” is surrounded by a frame G311 and selected.

  In the example shown in the lower part of FIG. 5, the broadcast time of the content is “October 12, 2012 (Friday) 22:03:30”, and the entire broadcast area G4 of the presentation unit 22 includes the broadcast time. The content at the time is displayed. In addition, a list of tags associated with the broadcast time is displayed in a list on the right side area G41 of the display area G4. “Friday drama”, “Iwate prefecture”, “Mr. C”, “Yukemuri incident” , And five tags of “Jiro Jiri” are displayed. Of these tags, “Mr. C” is surrounded by a frame G411 and selected.

  In the state of the example shown in the middle part of FIG. 5, when the “past” button 361 of the input device 3 described above is pressed, the display mode of the broadcast program viewing apparatus 2 transitions to the example shown in the upper part of FIG. . Then, the content of “October 8, 2012 (Monday) 18:36:00” which is the broadcast time of the latest past broadcast times associated with the tag “Mr. C” is reproduced. In the state of the example shown in the middle part of FIG. 5, when the “future” button 362 of the input device 3 described above is pressed, the display mode of the broadcast program viewing apparatus 2 is the example shown in the lower part of FIG. 5. Transition. Then, the broadcast program viewing device 2 receives the broadcast time of the most recent future broadcast time associated with the tag “Mr. C”, “Friday, October 12, 2012 22:03:30” ”And update the tag list. As described above, the information processing apparatus 1 and the broadcast program viewing apparatus 2 can perform zapping in the time direction by selecting an arbitrary tag from the list of tags associated with the broadcast time of the content being reproduced. Is possible.

Returning to FIG. 1, the description of the configuration of the broadcast program viewing device 2 will be continued.
The communication unit 24 includes a communication interface and communicates with the information processing apparatus 1.
The operation information transmission control unit 251 receives the operation information corresponding to the operation received by the operation input unit 23 and the viewer identification information stored in the viewer identification information storage unit 211 via the communication unit 24. 1 to send.

  When the operation received by the operation input unit 23 is a time shift zapping operation, the operation information transmission control unit 251 includes a time shift zapping including information on a movement time specified by the operation and a past or future movement direction. Send the request as operation information. When the operation received by the operation input unit 23 is a tag display request, the operation information transmission control unit 251 transmits a tag acquisition request including the broadcast time of the currently reproduced content as operation information.

When the operation received by the operation input unit 23 is a tag zapping operation, the operation information transmission control unit 251 determines the selected tag, the broadcast time of the currently reproduced content, and the past or future moving direction. A tag zapping request including information indicating the operation information is transmitted as operation information. In addition, the operation information transmission control unit 251 may transmit operation information corresponding to operation buttons such as reproduction start and stop of content provided in a known television or recording device received by the operation input unit 23 to the information processing device 1. .
The reception control unit 252 causes the presentation unit 22 to present the content data received from the information processing device 1 and the tag transmitted from the information processing device 1 in response to the tag acquisition request via the communication unit 24.

Next, the configuration of the information processing apparatus 1 will be described.
The information processing apparatus 1 includes a storage unit 11, a communication unit 12, a tag input unit 13, a tag registration unit 14, an operation information reception control unit 15, a transmission control unit 17, a selection unit 161, and time information acquisition. Unit 162 and determination unit 163. In addition, the information processing apparatus 1 includes a CPU in its own apparatus.

  The storage unit 11 includes, for example, an HDD, a flash memory, an EEPROM, a ROM, or a RAM, and various programs to be executed by the CPU included in the information processing apparatus 1 such as firmware and application programs, and results of processes executed by the CPU. Memorize etc. For example, the tag registration unit 14, the operation information reception control unit 15, the transmission control unit 17, the selection unit 161, the time information acquisition unit 162, and the determination unit 163 are stored in the storage unit 11 with the CPU included in the information processing apparatus 1. It works by running the program.

The storage unit 11 includes a threshold data storage unit 111, a viewing information database storage unit 112, a broadcast time storage unit 113, a selection tag information storage unit 114, a content storage unit 115, a tag database storage unit 116, Is provided.
The threshold data storage unit 111 stores threshold value data used in determination processing by the determination unit 163 described later.

  The viewing information database storage unit 112 stores a viewing information database for managing viewing information. The viewing information database has functions such as registration, deletion, correction, and extraction of viewing information. The viewing information is intermediate data for calculating the degree of association between the broadcast time and the tag, and is information in which the broadcast time of the content, the tag, the tag determination value, and the number of times of viewing are associated with each other. The tag determination value is a numerical value indicating the degree of association between the tag and the broadcast time. The number of viewing times indicates the number of times that the tag is referred to by tag zapping and the content at the broadcast time is distributed. The tag determination value and the number of viewing times are data stored in association with each frame of video data and audio data. Each record in the viewing information database can be referred to using the broadcast time and tag as the main key.

The broadcast time storage unit 113 stores information on a distribution start time that is a broadcast time at which content distribution is started.
The selected tag information storage unit 114 stores a specified tag in the tag zapping operation.
The content storage unit 115 stores content data indicating content. As described above, the content can be uniquely specified by the broadcast time.

  The tag database storage unit 116 stores a tag data database in which tags and content broadcast times are associated with each other. Hereinafter, the tag data database is referred to as a tag database. Further, the tag database has functions such as tag registration, deletion, correction, and extraction. The tag associated with the broadcast time by the tag data is, for example, a phrase related to the content such as the performer of the content, the name of the content, the genre of the content, and the content is not limited. Each record in the tag database can be referred to using a tag or broadcast time as a primary key.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of a function accepted by the tag database.
The tag database accepts two functions, a get_taglist (time) function and a get_tagtime (time, tag) function. FIG. 6A shows an execution example of the get_taglist (time) function and an example of the output result. FIG. 6B shows an execution example of the get_tagtime (time, tag) function and an example of the output result.

  The get_taglist function is an interface that takes a broadcast time (time) as an argument and acquires a list of tags for a specified broadcast time. For example, when “get_taglist (“ 2013/03/20 09:33:00 ”)” is executed when the tag is managed as in the example shown in FIG. 2, it is shown in FIG. As described above, the tag database outputs information of “tag 1”, “tag 2”, and “tag 3”.

  The get_tagtime function uses a broadcast time (time) and a tag (tag) as arguments, and for tag data uniquely specified from the designated broadcast time and tag, the broadcast time associated with the tag, This is an interface for acquiring a list of broadcast times associated with the latest tags in the past and future directions of the tags. For example, when “get_tagtime (“ 2013/03/20 09:33:00 ”,“ tag 2 ”)” is executed when tags are managed as in the example shown in FIG. As shown in (b), the tag database includes a broadcast time “2013/03 / of broadcast program C associated with“ tag 2 ”including“ 03/20/09 09:33:00 ”. 20, 09:30:30, 09:45:00 "are output. Further, the tag database relates to the “tag 2” associated with the broadcast program C, the broadcast time “2013/03/20” of the broadcast program B associated with the latest “tag 2” in the past and future directions. , 09:20:00, 09:30, and broadcast time of broadcast program D “2013/03/20, 09:45:00, 10:00:00”.

The communication unit 12 includes a communication interface and communicates with the broadcast program viewing device 2.
The tag input unit 13 receives input of tag data. The tag input unit 13 includes input devices such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a touch panel, for example. The tag input unit 13 may include a communication interface, and may receive tag data input information transmitted from an external device via a network. The tag input unit 13 outputs the received tag input information to the tag registration unit 14.

The tag registration unit 14 registers the input information of the tag data received by the tag input unit 13 in the tag database.
The operation information reception control unit 15 performs processing according to operation information received from the broadcast program viewing device 2 via the communication unit 12. The operation information reception control unit 15 includes a time reception unit 151, an incidental information reception unit 152, and a tag acquisition request reception unit 153.

The time reception unit 151 receives designation of the broadcast time of content. The time reception unit 151 acquires a time shift zapping request including the broadcast time of the content from the broadcast program viewing device 2 and outputs the acquired time shift zapping request to the selection unit 161.
The incidental information reception unit 152 receives designation of incidental information of content. The incidental information reception unit 152 acquires a tag zapping request including a tag from the broadcast program viewing device 2, and outputs the acquired tag zapping request to the selection unit 161.

The tag acquisition request receiving unit 153 receives a tag acquisition request. The tag acquisition request receiving unit 153 acquires a tag acquisition request from the broadcast program viewing device 2 and outputs the acquired tag acquisition request to the transmission control unit 17.
The selection unit 161 starts broadcasting the content at the time when the broadcasting time of the currently distributed content is moved according to the moving time and the moving direction included in the time shift request acquired from the time receiving unit 151. And the information of the selected broadcast time is output to the transmission control unit 17 and the time information acquisition unit 162.

  The selection unit 161 reads the broadcast time associated with the tag included in the tag zapping request acquired from the incidental information reception unit 152 from the tag database, and selects the broadcast time at which content distribution starts from the read broadcast time. Specifically, when the selection unit 161 acquires a tag zapping request from the incidental information reception unit 152, the selection unit 161 accesses the tag database using the get_tagtime function with the tag included in the tag zapping request and the broadcast time as arguments, and is specified from the argument. Get the latest tag data broadcast time in the past and future direction of the tag data. The selection unit 161 selects one of the acquired broadcast times of the latest tag data in the past or future direction based on the moving direction included in the tag zapping request. The selection unit 161 selects a random time among the acquired broadcast times as a broadcast time at which content distribution is started, and outputs the selected broadcast time to the transmission control unit 17. Further, the selection unit 161 outputs the information on the selected broadcast time and the tag included in the tag zapping request to the time information acquisition unit 162.

  The time information acquisition unit 162 acquires the broadcast time length of the distributed content based on the broadcast time of the content selected by the selection unit 161. When the broadcast time information is acquired from the selection unit 161, the time information acquisition unit 162 reads the distribution start time from the broadcast time storage unit 113. In addition, the time information acquisition unit 162 sets the broadcast time of the currently distributed content as the distribution end time that is the broadcast time at which the content distribution has ended, and the distribution time information including the distribution start time and the distribution end time. get. Here, the distribution time may be read as the broadcast time (reproduction time) of the reproduced content or the broadcast time (viewing time) of the viewed content.

  The time information acquisition unit 162 reads the tag from the selected tag information storage unit 114 and outputs the tag and the acquired distribution time information to the determination unit 163. Then, the time indicated by the broadcast time information acquired from the selection unit 161 is stored in the broadcast time storage unit 113.

  When the broadcast time information and the tag are acquired from the selection unit 161, the time information acquisition unit 162 reads the distribution start time from the broadcast time storage unit 113. In addition, the time information acquisition unit 162 acquires the distribution time information using the broadcast time of the currently distributed content as the distribution end time. The time information acquisition unit 162 reads the tag from the selected tag information storage unit 114 and outputs the tag and the acquired distribution time information to the determination unit 163. Then, the time indicated by the broadcast time information acquired from the selection unit 161 is stored in the broadcast time storage unit 113. Further, the tag acquired from the selection unit 161 is stored in the selection tag information storage unit 114. When no tag is stored in the selected tag information storage unit 114, the time information acquisition unit 162 does not have to perform the above-described processing.

  The determination unit 163 determines whether the supplementary information of the content and the broadcast time of the distributed content are related based on the length of the distribution time acquired by the time information acquisition unit 162. Specifically, the determination unit 163 reads threshold data from the threshold data storage unit 111. The determination unit 163 calculates the length of the distribution time based on the distribution end time and the distribution start time acquired from the time information acquisition unit 162. The determination unit 163 determines that the tag acquired from the time information acquisition unit 162 is related to the distribution time when the calculated distribution time length is longer than the predetermined threshold indicated by the threshold data. The determination unit 163 obtains, from the viewing information database, viewing information records including all the broadcast times included in the distribution time including the tag. For example, the determination unit 163 adds 1 to the tag determination values of all acquired viewing information.

  The determination unit 163 determines that the tag acquired from the time information acquisition unit 162 is not related to the distribution time when the calculated distribution time length is not longer than the predetermined threshold indicated by the threshold data. The determination unit 163 obtains, from the viewing information database, viewing information records including all the broadcast times included in the distribution time including the tag. The determination unit 163 subtracts 1 from the tag determination values of all acquired viewing information. Similarly, the determination unit 163 adds 1 to the number of viewing times of all acquired viewing information.

  When the calculated distribution time is longer than a predetermined threshold indicated by the threshold data and the tag acquired from the selection unit 161 is the same as the tag stored in the selection tag information storage unit 114, the determination unit In step 163, the tag stored in the selected tag information storage unit 114 is deleted and initialized.

The transmission control unit 17 transmits information to the broadcast program viewing device 2 via the communication unit 12. The transmission control unit 17 includes a content distribution unit 171 and a tag information transmission control unit 172.
The content distribution unit 171 controls distribution of content to the broadcast program viewing device 2. When the broadcast time information is acquired from the selection unit 161, the content distribution unit 171 reads the content data from the content storage unit 115 based on the acquired broadcast time information. Then, the content distribution unit 171 distributes the content by transmitting the read content data to the broadcast program viewing device 2. The content distribution unit 171 distributes content data in time series while advancing the broadcast time frame by frame.

  The tag information transmission control unit 172 controls tag transmission. When the tag information transmission control unit 172 acquires the tag information acquisition request from the tag acquisition request reception unit 153, the tag information transmission control unit 172 accesses the tag database using the tag_list function with the broadcast time included in the tag acquisition request as an argument, and is specified from the argument. Get a list of tags. The tag information transmission control unit 172 transmits the acquired list of tags to the broadcast program viewing device 2.

  The tag position processing unit 18 evaluates the degree of association between the tag and the broadcast time based on the viewing information registered in the viewing information database. For example, the tag position processing unit 18 extracts the viewing information of the tag for evaluating the degree of association and the broadcast time from the viewing information database. The tag position processing unit 18 calculates a degree of association D / N that is a value obtained by dividing the tag determination value D of the extracted viewing information by the number of viewing times N. For example, when the degree of association D / N is a positive value, it is estimated that the tag and the broadcast time are related. For example, when the relevance D / N is negative, it is estimated that the tag and the broadcast time are not related. The absolute value of the degree of association D / N indicates the reliability of the estimation. The larger the value, the higher the possibility that the estimation that the tag and the broadcast time are related or not related is correct.

  The tag position processing unit 18 reselects the broadcast time to associate the tag with based on the calculated degree of association. For example, the tag position processing unit 18 selects a broadcast time in which the calculated degree of association exceeds a predetermined threshold. At this time, for example, when the corresponding broadcast time is intermittent, they may be continued. The tag position processing unit 18 changes the association between the tag data tag registered in the tag database and the broadcast time, and associates it with the newly selected broadcast time. Thereby, for example, a tag roughly associated with a wide range of broadcast programs can be associated with a detailed position in a broadcast program to which the tag relates.

Next, the operation of the information processing apparatus 1 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation performed by the information processing apparatus 1.
First, the information processing apparatus 1 acquires a broadcast time at which content reproduction starts from the broadcast program viewing apparatus 2 (step S101). When a new viewer starts watching, it is necessary to set a certain broadcast time in advance as the distribution start time, but here, distribution starts from the continuation of the viewer's previous viewing. It is assumed that the broadcast time of the content when the viewer last viewed is set as the initial value of the distribution start time.

  Next, the information processing apparatus 1 determines whether a tag is stored in the selected tag information storage unit 114 (step S102). When the tag is not stored in the selected tag information storage unit 114 (step S102; NO), the information processing apparatus 1 advances the process to step S107. When a tag is stored in the selected tag information storage unit 114 (step S102; YES), the information processing apparatus 1 determines whether the operation received by the broadcast program viewing apparatus 2 is time shift zapping. (Step S103). When the operation received by the broadcast program viewing device 2 is not time shift zapping (step S103; NO), the information processing device 1 advances the processing to step S107. When the operation received by the broadcast program viewing device 2 is time shift zapping (step S103; YES), the information processing device 1 acquires the movement time T and the movement direction included in the time shift zapping request (step S104). ).

  Next, the information processing apparatus 1 performs viewing information registration processing (step S105). Next, the information processing apparatus 1 sets the distribution start time to the time when the content has moved from the current broadcast time to the past or the future, based on the travel time T and the travel direction acquired in step S104. Distribution is started (step S106). For example, in the example of the remote controller shown in FIG. 4, the movement time T is 30 seconds. Then, the information processing apparatus 1 advances the processing to step S107.

  Next, the information processing apparatus 1 determines whether the operation received by the broadcast program viewing apparatus 2 is tag zapping (step S107). When the operation received by the broadcast program viewing device 2 is not tag zapping (step S107: NO), the process returns to step S102. When the operation received by the broadcast program viewing device 2 is tag zapping (step S107: YES), the information processing device 1 executes the get_tagtime function based on the tag zapping request and acquires the tag (step S108). ). Next, the information processing apparatus 1 performs viewing information registration processing (step S109). Next, the information processing device 1 selects a tag based on the moving direction included in the tag zapping request acquired from the broadcast program viewing device 2, and distributes a random time among the broadcast times associated with the tag. Content distribution is started using the start time (step S110). Next, the information processing apparatus 1 stores the tag included in the tag zapping request in the selected tag information storage unit 114 (step S111), and returns the process to step S102.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of viewing information registration processing by the information processing apparatus 1.
First, the information processing apparatus 1 sets the broadcast time of the currently distributed content as the distribution end time (step S201). Next, the information processing apparatus 1 reads the distribution start time from the broadcast time storage unit 113, and calculates the length of the distribution time from the difference between the distribution start time and the distribution end time (step S202). Next, the information processing apparatus 1 determines whether the length of the delivery time is longer than a predetermined threshold Th (Step S203). When the length of the distribution time is longer than the predetermined threshold Th (step S203; YES), tag determination values of all viewing information relating to the tag stored in the selected tag information storage unit 114 and the distributed broadcast time 1 is added to (step S204). Next, the information processing apparatus 1 initializes the selection tag (step S205) and ends the process. If the length of the distribution time is not longer than the predetermined threshold Th (step S203; NO), all the viewing information related to the tag stored in the selected tag information storage unit 114 and the distributed broadcast time is stored. 1 is subtracted from the tag determination value (step S206), and the process ends. The predetermined threshold Th is, for example, 10 seconds, and may be set so that the optimum determination can be made empirically.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart for explaining the transition of the content distribution start position according to the operation of the broadcast program viewing device 2.
FIGS. 9A to 9C show examples of operations given to the broadcast program viewing device 2. The horizontal axis in the upper part of FIGS. 9A to 9C indicates the broadcast time t. Moreover, the upper bar of FIGS. 9A to 9C shows a broadcast program corresponding to the broadcast time. The horizontal axis and bar in the upper part of FIGS. 9A to 9C are common to the operation examples shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C.

In the operation example 1 shown in FIG. 9A, first, distribution of the broadcast program B is started by the tag zapping operation Op1 in the past direction. Then, after the time V1 has elapsed, the zapping operation Op2 in the past direction is performed again, and the distribution start position has moved to another broadcast program.
In the operation example 2 shown in FIG. 9B, first, distribution of the broadcast program B is started by the tag zapping operation Op3 in the past direction. Next, after the time V2, the future time shift operation Op4 is executed, and the distribution of the broadcast program B is started again from the position where the broadcast time has advanced. Then, after the time V3 has elapsed, a tag zapping operation Op5 in the past direction is executed, and the distribution start position has moved to another program.
In the operation example 3 shown in FIG. 9C, as in the operation example 2, the tag zapping operation Op6 in the past direction, the passage of the time V4, and the time shift operation in the future direction are executed. Then, after the time V5 has elapsed, a time shift operation in the future direction is executed, and distribution of the broadcast program B is started again from the position where the broadcast time has advanced. Then, after the time V6 has elapsed, a tag zapping operation Op5 in the past direction is executed, and the playback position has moved to another program.

  In this way, the viewer selects a tag of interest, moves the playback position of the content by tag zapping, and then searches for the desired scene in order to find the desired scene. May be moved. The present invention determines the relation between the broadcast time and the tag by observing the delivery time such as the times V1 to V6 in the zapping operation as shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a timing chart for explaining the determination process of the information processing apparatus 1 according to the operation of the broadcast program viewing apparatus 2.
FIGS. 10A and 10B show examples of operations given to the broadcast program viewing device 2. The horizontal axis at the top of FIGS. 10A and 10B indicates the broadcast time t. Also, the upper bars in FIGS. 10A and 10B indicate broadcast programs according to the broadcast time. The horizontal axis and bar in the upper part of FIGS. 10A and 10B are common to the operation examples shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B. In addition, tags are associated with the broadcast times of broadcast programs A, B, and C as in the example shown in FIG.

  Operation example 4 shown in FIG. 10A is the same as operation example 1 shown in FIG. Here, “tag 2” is selected in the tag zapping operation Op1. In the tag zapping operation Op2, “tag 1” is selected. The viewer moves the distribution position of the content in anticipation of a scene related to “tag 2”. Therefore, when the distributed location and “tag 2” are not related, the distribution time V1 is shortened. On the other hand, when the delivered location and “Tag 2” are related, the delivery time V1 becomes longer. Therefore, by observing the length of the distribution time V1, it is possible to determine whether or not the distributed location is related to the “tag 2”.

  Specifically, for example, when the distribution time V1 is longer than a predetermined threshold Th, the information processing apparatus 1 determines that “tag 1” is related to the portion distributed during the distribution time V1. For example, if “tag 1” is information indicating a performer, the information processing apparatus 1 determines that the performer indicated by “tag 1” is appearing at the location. On the other hand, when the distribution time V1 is not longer than the predetermined threshold Th, the information processing apparatus 1 determines that “tag 1” is not related to the portion distributed during the distribution time V1. For example, if “tag 1” is information indicating a performer, the information processing apparatus 1 determines that the performer indicated by “tag 1” does not appear in the location.

  Operation example 5 shown in FIG. 10B is the same as operation example 2 shown in FIG. Here, “tag 2” is selected in the tag zapping operation Op3. In the time shift zapping Op4, “30 seconds” is selected. In the tag zapping operation Op5, “Tag 1” is selected. As in the case of FIG. 10A, the information processing apparatus 1 determines whether or not “tag 2” is associated with each distribution location based on the lengths of the distribution time V2 and the distribution time V3. Specifically, if the distribution time V2 is longer than the threshold Th, the information processing apparatus 1 associates “tag 2” with the portion distributed during the distribution time V2, and the distribution time V2 is greater than the threshold Th. If it is not long, it is determined that “tag 2” is not related to the portion distributed during the distribution time V2. When the distribution time V2 is not longer than the threshold value Th and the distribution time V3 is longer than the threshold value Th, it is determined that the “tag 2” is related to the portion distributed during the distribution time V3.

  As described above, the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment receives the storage unit 11 that stores the incidental information of the content and the broadcast time in association with each other as a tag, and receives a tag zapping request that specifies the incidental information of the content. The supplementary information receiving unit 152 and the broadcast time associated with the supplementary information of the content received by the supplementary information receiving unit 152 are read from the storage unit 11 and the broadcast time at which content distribution is started is selected from the read broadcast time. The selection unit 161, the time information acquisition unit 162 that acquires the broadcast time length of the distributed content based on the broadcast time of the content selected by the selection unit 161, and the broadcast time length acquired by the time information acquisition unit 162 And a determination unit that determines whether or not the incidental information of the content and the broadcast time of the distributed content are related It includes a 63, a.

  Accordingly, the information processing apparatus 1 should associate the tag with the content in order to determine whether the tag and the broadcast time of the content are related based on the length of the broadcast time of the distributed content. It can be determined whether or not. Therefore, the information processing apparatus 1 can easily associate the tag with the content.

The information processing apparatus 1 further includes a time reception unit 151 that receives a time shift request that specifies a broadcast time of content, and the selection unit 161 starts reproduction of the content at the broadcast time received by the time reception unit 151. Select as broadcast time.
Thereby, the information processing apparatus 1 determines whether the tag and the broadcast time of the content are related even when the position of the content distributed after tag zapping is not related to the tag and time shift zapping is continuously performed. Determine whether. Therefore, the information processing apparatus 1 can associate the tag and the content more accurately.

In addition, the selection unit 161 reads the broadcast time associated with the supplementary information of the content received by the supplementary information reception unit 152 from the storage unit 11, and starts distributing the content at a random time among the read broadcast times. Select as broadcast time.
Thus, when the information processing apparatus 1 performs tag zapping, the playback position of the content related to the tag is set to a random position, so that various scenes can be displayed for the same tag associated with the same broadcast time. Deliver and determine if each scene is associated with a tag. Therefore, the information processing apparatus 1 can associate the tag and the content more accurately.

  Further, the determination unit 163 determines whether the content supplementary information and the broadcast time indicated by the content broadcast time information are based on whether the length of the broadcast time acquired by the time information acquisition unit 162 exceeds a predetermined threshold. It is determined whether or not these are related. As a result, the information processing apparatus 1 can determine whether or not the tag and the content are related with less processing.

  The tag re-registration process by the tag position processing unit 18 is not limited to the above-described one. For example, if the broadcast time indicating the degree of relevance D / N exceeding a predetermined threshold exists intermittently and the time interval is large, the tag position processing unit 18 uses the same incidental tag registered in the tag database. It may be re-registered as a plurality of tags that have information and are associated with different broadcast times. Further, the tag position processing unit 18 may calculate a statistical value such as a variance or a median value based on the distribution of the relevance level with respect to the broadcast time, and may select a broadcast time to associate the tag with. The tag re-registration process by the tag position processing unit 18 may be performed on a tag that is manually instructed, or may be performed periodically by batch processing or the like.

  Further, the information processing apparatus 1 may perform a determination process as to whether or not the tag and the broadcast time are related based on an operation such as channel switching or content reproduction stop. For example, the information processing apparatus 1 may calculate the length of the distribution time by setting the broadcast time of the content distributed when the channel switching operation or the content reproduction stop operation is received as the distribution end time.

Further, the information processing apparatus 1 may be connected to a plurality of broadcast program viewing apparatuses 2. In this case, viewing information may be collected from the plurality of broadcast program viewing devices 2 and the degree of association between the tag and the broadcast time of the content may be calculated. Specifically, for example, the information processing apparatus 1 stores tags used for determination by the determination unit 163 and distribution time information for content distributed to each of the plurality of broadcast program viewing apparatuses 2. As described above, the information processing apparatus 1 determines whether or not the accumulated tag and the distribution time are related based on the length of the distribution time. Based on the determination result, the information processing apparatus 1 increases or decreases the tag determination value of all viewing information related to the accumulated tag and the distribution time. In this way, the information processing apparatus 1 aggregates viewing information obtained from the distribution status of content distributed to each of the plurality of broadcast program viewing apparatuses 2. Based on the collected viewing information, the information processing apparatus 1 evaluates the degree of association between the tag and the broadcast time, and reselects the broadcast time associated with the tag. Thereby, since the degree of association between the tag and the broadcast time can be evaluated based on the viewing situation of the content of more viewers, the tag and the broadcast time can be associated with higher accuracy.
The content may have a plurality of channels. In this case, the content may be uniquely specified based on the channel information and the broadcast time. The content may be a recorded broadcast program.

In the time shift zapping, the broadcast time at which content distribution is started may be directly specified.
Further, the information processing device 1 and the broadcast program viewing device 2 may be an integrated device. Each function provided in the information processing apparatus 1 may be distributed and provided in a plurality of apparatuses. For example, the function related to content distribution of the information processing apparatus 1 and the function of managing tags may be provided in different apparatuses.

  The information processing apparatus 1 described above has a computer system inside. The operation process of the information processing apparatus 1 is stored in a computer-readable recording medium in the form of a program, and the above-described processing is performed by the computer system reading and executing this program. The computer system here includes a CPU, various memories, an OS, and hardware such as peripheral devices.

  The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor disk (SSD), a semiconductor memory, and the like. Alternatively, the computer program may be distributed to the computer by broadcasting or a communication line, and the computer that has received the distribution may execute the program. Further, the program may be for realizing a part of the above processing, and may be capable of realizing the above-described processing in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

  Moreover, you may implement | achieve part or all of the information processing apparatus 1 in embodiment mentioned above as integrated circuits, such as LSI (Large Scale Integration). Each functional unit of the information processing apparatus 1 may be individually made into a processor, or a part or all of them may be integrated into a processor. Further, the method of circuit integration is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. In addition, when an integrated circuit technology that replaces LSI appears due to the advancement of semiconductor technology, an integrated circuit based on the technology may be used.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing apparatus, 11 ... Storage part, 111 ... Threshold data storage part, 112 ... Viewing information database storage part, 113 ... Broadcast time storage part, 114 ... Selection tag information storage part, 115 ... Content storage part, 116 ... Tag Database storage unit, 12 ... communication unit, 13 ... tag input unit, 14 ... tag registration unit, 15 ... operation information reception control unit, 151 ... time reception unit, 152 ... accompanying information reception unit, 153 ... tag acquisition request reception unit, 161: Selection unit, 162 ... Time information acquisition unit, 163 ... Determination unit, 17 ... Transmission control unit, 171 ... Content distribution unit, 172 ... Tag information transmission control unit, 18 ... Tag position processing unit, 2 ... Broadcast program viewing device , 21 ... storage section, 211 ... viewer identification information storage section, 22 ... presentation section, 23 ... operation input section, 24 ... communication section, 251 ... operation information transmission control section, 252 ... reception control section, 3 ... Power unit, 31 ... housing, 32 ... wheel switch, 33 ... infrared communication unit, 34 ... time shift zapping operation button group 35 ... tag display button 36 ... Tags zapping operation button group

Claims (5)

A storage unit for storing incidental information of content and broadcast time in association with each other;
An incidental information receiving unit that receives designation of incidental information of the content;
A selection unit that reads a broadcast time associated with the supplementary information of the content received by the supplementary information reception unit from the storage unit, and selects a broadcast time at which the distribution of the content starts from the read broadcast time;
Based on the broadcast time of the content selected by the selection unit, a time information acquisition unit that acquires the length of the broadcast time of the distributed content;
A determination unit that determines whether the incidental information of the content and the broadcast time of the distributed content are related based on a length of the broadcast time acquired by the time information acquisition unit;
An information processing apparatus comprising: The information processing apparatus includes:
A time reception unit that receives designation of the broadcast time of the content;
Further comprising
The selection unit selects a broadcast time received by the time reception unit as a broadcast time at which reproduction of the content is started.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The selection unit reads a broadcast time associated with the supplementary information of the content received by the supplementary information reception unit from the storage unit, and starts distributing the content at a random time among the read broadcast times Select the broadcast time to
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. The determination unit determines whether the incidental information of the content and the broadcast time indicated by the broadcast time information of the content are based on whether the length of the broadcast time acquired by the time information acquisition unit exceeds a predetermined threshold. Determine whether it is relevant,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. Computer
A storage unit for storing incidental information of content and broadcast time in association with each other;
An incidental information reception unit for receiving designation of incidental information of the content;
A selection unit that reads a broadcast time associated with the supplementary information of the content received by the supplementary information reception unit from the storage unit, and selects a broadcast time at which the distribution of the content starts from the read broadcast time;
A time information acquisition unit that acquires the broadcast time length of the distributed content based on the broadcast time of the content selected by the selection unit;
A determination unit that determines whether or not the incidental information of the content and the broadcast time indicated by the broadcast time information of the content are related based on the length of the broadcast time acquired by the time information acquisition unit;
Program to function as.

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