JP3795802B2 - Television receiving system that recommends viewing of broadcast, server device, broadcast viewing recommendation processing method, program thereof, and recording medium of program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention classifies viewer preferences into television tuners capable of receiving a plurality of broadcast channels, or television receivers and video recording devices (collectively referred to as broadcast receivers) incorporating such television tuners. The present invention relates to a television reception system, a server device, a broadcast viewing recommendation processing method, a program thereof, and a recording medium for the program that recommend viewing based on the results.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, television broadcasting has become diversified and it has become possible to receive broadcasts from various channels such as terrestrial, broadcasting satellite waves (BS), communication satellite waves (CS), cable television (CATV), and broadband communication networks (BB). From these broadcasts, it is now possible to select and view programs that span hundreds of channels. In such a diversified broadcasting environment, viewers can use an electronic program guide (EPG) that can grasp current and future broadcast contents on a television screen and instantly specify a program or channel to be viewed. The viewer can check the program he / she wants to watch the most from among a number of broadcast channels in the EPG text and the list of performers, and can immediately watch the channel together.
[0003]
In addition, EPG not only informs viewers what is currently being broadcast, but can also notify future broadcast plans in advance, so it can also be used for future TV viewing reservations and video recording reservations. Even without relying on EPG, viewers can use TV programs in various forms, such as using a method called zapping, which allows users to switch between several channels in a short time until they reach the broadcast channel they prefer. Can be watched.
[0004]
By the way, the channel selection method by zapping is an effective method for creating a new “meeting” between the program and the viewer. However, it is probabilistic whether the viewer meets the program that the viewer wants to see at the moment of zapping. Yes, it is not always the best viewing method. That is, there is a possibility that the viewer may miss a program or channel that the viewer originally wants to watch because the viewer did not encounter the channel during the zapping process. Or, even if there is a famous popular program in a group of viewers with a specific preference, the degree of popularity cannot be grasped subjectively and objectively by only one glance zapping. There are still issues that will leave you out of fashion and sharing topics.
[0005]
In consideration of such issues, in the multi-channel era, a method of recommending or controlling the viewer's channel selection from the broadcasting side can be one of the broadcasting businesses.
[0006]
The reasons are as follows: (1) To shorten the zapping time of viewers whose viewing purpose is fluid, and to quickly guide to the target program and channel, (2) To provide the topic sharing of a group of viewers with similar preferences (3) As a result of these, the majority of viewers stay in a certain channel for a long time, and commercials aimed at such viewers This is because an increase in advertising revenue due to airing or an increase in receiving fees can be obtained for paid viewing programs. Such an effect can be used as one of business utilizing the interactive relationship between a broadcasting station called “broadcast portal service” and a viewer.
[0007]
The problem to be solved in order to establish the business as described above is whether or not the channel to be shown from the broadcasting station side is content that meets the viewer's preference. Viewers have a wide variety of tastes, and even if the broadcaster forcibly controls the channel or makes recommendations through program advertisements, the broadcast content is consistent with the viewer's previous viewing situation. The content or content that is in line with the viewing situation of the majority of viewers who have the same taste as the viewer is more acceptable to viewers than the presentation of recommended channels without evidence. There is also a situation where viewers can easily tune channels in consideration of topic sharing.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
It is desirable that viewers who enjoy the effects of the present invention know their preferences empirically in advance. That is, not only the superficial classification such as age and gender that can be determined from the purchaser information of the television receiver, but also, for example, what time period you are watching TV, what genre you like, which If the viewing tendency, such as whether or not a channel's news program is favored, can be determined in advance, it is possible to empirically narrow down which program should be recommended to the viewer from a wide variety of broadcasts. The preference tendency can be estimated from the viewing history of the viewer so far.
[0009]
Also, from the viewpoint of topic sharing, when deciding which programs to recommend according to the viewing content of other viewers, first classify which viewers the viewers are based on viewing history. In the above, it is conceivable to estimate which program is viewed by other viewers in the same category at present or in the future by a method based on majority logic and recommend the program. There are several methods for the viewer group method, but if the viewer's preference status can be regarded as vector data according to a normal distribution, a classification method based on vector quantization can be applied.
[0010]
According to the present invention, in a television tuner capable of receiving a plurality of television broadcast programs, or in a television receiver and a video recording apparatus incorporating such a television tuner, the viewer's preference to be used and the same preference as that viewer are obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a system that recommends or controls the selection of a specific channel or program to the viewer based on the viewing tendency of the majority of viewers.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention classifies the preferences of television viewers in detail, grasps which program a viewer group with a specific preference is watching, and allows another viewer with the same preference to view the same program quickly. Control TV channels.
[0012]
Therefore, the television receiver sends the viewer's past viewing history and current or future viewing status to the server. The server classifies the viewers into groups based on a large number of viewing histories, determines which program a particular viewer group will mainly view at present or in the future by majority voting, returns it to the television receiver, and selects the viewing channel. Control.
[0013]
Specifically, in the present invention, for example, a television receiver and a server that supplies an electronic program guide and channel control information to the television receiver are connected via a communication network. It is structured as follows.
[0014]
The television receiver includes a circuit for sending a unique ID number for each individual, a timer for measuring the current time, a memory unit for storing an electronic program guide, a switch for selecting a reception channel by human operation, an external server A circuit that controls the reception channel by receiving an instruction from the receiver, a TV broadcast tuner that can change the reception channel based on the control, a communication circuit that sends the currently received channel information to an external server, and a past channel selection history A memory for storing, a communication circuit for sending the history to an external server, a switch for requesting ranking information to the external server by a viewer operation, a memory for receiving and storing the ranking information by communication with the external server, and a ranking Information display circuit, TV tuner, and ranking information output are displayed to the viewer Composed of a radical 113 and the audio output circuit.
[0015]
In addition, the server classifies viewers based on a communication unit capable of communicating with a television set installed in each viewing household, a memory for storing each viewer's viewing history, and viewing history and discriminant. A calculation unit, a memory for classifying and storing each viewer as a group based on the classification criteria, a memory for collecting information on which channel is currently selected by each viewer's television receiver, and each viewer group In addition, a calculation unit for counting the current viewing channels in a majority format, a calculation unit for generating higher rankings of broadcast channels based on the counting results, and a circuit for sending the ranking results to the television receivers of each viewer It consists of.
[0016]
  Especially in the present invention,The TV receiver is a TV broadcast tuner receiving channel control system that accepts human operation or instructions from an external server to reserve a channel that is scheduled to be viewed in the future, as well as channel information currently being received as well as future viewing. It is configured by adding a communication circuit that sends scheduled channel information to an external server. The server collects information not only about which channel is currently selected by each viewer's television receiver, but also about channels that are scheduled to be viewed in the future. For each viewer group, and a calculation unit that aggregates current viewing channels and future viewing scheduled channels in a majority format, and a calculation unit that generates higher rankings based on the aggregation results .
[0017]
Furthermore, if the information of the electronic program guide can be used together, the ranking result presented to the viewer can present the information of the program itself, not the channel.
[0018]
In addition, a vector quantization algorithm is applied to the method of classifying the viewer group by utilizing the fact that the viewing history is vector data.
[0019]
The operation of the present invention is as follows. In a television receiver to which the present invention is applied, when a viewer uses it for a certain period of time, the television receiver accumulates a viewing history including information such as viewing time, channel, program genre, etc., and sends it to a server. Based on the transmitted viewing history, the server classifies these viewers into a plurality of groups using a statistical method. For each specific audience group, the server again obtains from the television receiver what programs viewers belonging to that audience group will view at present or in the future, and tabulates them in the majority format. As for the ranking of popular channels obtained as a result, the server sends information to each television receiver, and recommends the viewer to select a channel or controls to match the channel. Furthermore, similar recommendations and channel control are possible for programs to be viewed in the future.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a television receiving system including a television receiver and a server that implements the present invention.
[0021]
First, the outline will be described. The television receiver 1 of each viewer sends, for example, the viewing history of the past week to the server 2. The server 2 classifies viewers from many received viewing histories. This classification is performed as follows. If what the viewer is watching is captured by vector data called program viewing history, a normal distribution set is drawn. When the viewer is further subdivided (vector quantization) using a function for discriminating the normal distribution, a viewer layer that draws a uniform normal distribution in the cluster is formed. Each of these clusters is classified as a group. Based on this viewer classification, the server 2 counts the majority ranking of what the viewer group sees now or in the future. The ranking result is notified to the television receiver 1. In the television receiver 1, for example, the ranking result is displayed to a viewer who is zapping. In some cases, the channel is forcibly changed. As a result, it is possible to recommend viewing a program that matches the viewer's preference.
[0022]
Each part of FIG. 1 will be described in detail. The television receiver 1 obtains electronic program guide information from an external server 2 and can obtain information such as the channel, time zone, and genre of the program that the viewer is watching or wants to watch. In response to the instruction, the program information is displayed on the screen as recommended information from the server 2, and the apparatus can be controlled to adjust the channel to the program or to reserve viewing of the program.
[0023]
The tuner unit 11 is a reception circuit that demodulates or decodes a television broadcast channel based on a channel change instruction from an external circuit to obtain a television image signal and an audio signal.
[0024]
The image display unit 12 is a circuit that displays the output of the tuner unit 11 and the output of the ranking information display unit 26 to the viewer, and is configured by, for example, a cathode ray tube or a color liquid crystal panel. The audio output unit 13 is a circuit that amplifies the audio output from the tuner unit 11 and reproduces it toward the viewer. The audio output unit 13 includes, for example, an audio amplifier and a speaker.
[0025]
The communication unit 14 is a circuit that connects an internal circuit and the external server 2 via a communication network, and the communication method is ISDN or Ethernet. The unique ID issuing unit 15 is a memory for storing and sending individual unique IDs of the television receiver 1. The timer 16 is a system timer of the television receiver 1 that measures the current time of the television receiver 1.
[0026]
The electronic program guide storage unit 17 is a memory that temporarily stores electronic program guide information sent from the server 2. The channel selection unit 18 is a switch that changes the reception channel of the tuner unit 11 based on an operation of a viewer who uses the television receiver 1.
[0027]
The channel reservation unit 19 is an electronic circuit that changes the reception channel of the tuner unit 11 when the timer 16 reaches a predetermined time based on information from the channel selection unit 18 or the ranking information reception unit 25. The channel control unit 20 is an electronic circuit that changes the reception channel of the tuner unit 11 based on the information of the ranking information reception unit 25.
[0028]
The current viewing channel transmission unit 21 is a circuit that transmits the channel information designated by the channel selection unit 18 or the future viewing reservation information currently stored in the channel reservation unit 19 based on a request from the server 2.
[0029]
The viewing history accumulating unit 22 is a memory that accumulates three pieces of information from the unique ID issuing unit 15, the timer 16, and the channel selecting unit 18 for a certain period. The history information transmission unit 23 is a communication circuit that transmits the viewing history accumulated in the viewing history accumulation unit 22 to the server 2. The ranking information request switch 24 is a switch that requests ranking information from the server 2 by a viewer's operation. The ranking information receiving unit 25 is a memory that receives ranking information through communication with the server 2. The ranking information display unit 26 is a circuit that displays received ranking information.
[0030]
The server 2 is a server device for electronic program guide information connected to the television receiver 1 of each viewer via a communication network. The communication unit 31 is a circuit for connecting the internal configuration of the server 2 and the external television receiver 1 by communication, and the communication method is ISDN or Ethernet.
[0031]
The viewing history accumulating unit 32 is a means for accumulating each viewer's viewing history transmitted from the history information transmitting unit 23 of each television receiver 1. The viewer discrimination calculation unit 33 is a calculation unit that finely discriminates the status of all viewers based on the viewing history. The viewer classification unit 34 is a means for classifying and storing each viewer stored in the viewing history storage unit 32 based on the criteria classified by the viewer discrimination calculation unit 33.
[0032]
The current viewing information requesting unit 35 is means for collecting information on which channel is currently selected or viewing reservation in the television receiver 1 of each viewer and storing it for each viewer. The viewing channel voting unit 36 is a calculation unit that counts, for each viewer group, the current viewing channel information of each viewer accumulated in the current viewing information request unit 35 or future viewing reservation information in a majority format.
[0033]
The ranking tabulation unit 37 is a calculation unit that generates a higher ranking for each viewer group based on the tabulation result of the viewing channel voting unit 36. The ranking result sending unit 38 is a communication circuit that sends the counting results of the ranking counting unit 37 toward the television receiver 1 of each viewer. The electronic program guide sending unit 39 is a circuit that stores a file obtained by digitizing a program guide obtained from the broadcasting station group 3 and sends it to the television receiver 1 in response to a request.
[0034]
The broadcast station group 3 is a large number of broadcast stations that provide electronic program guide information, and broadcast forms thereof include, for example, terrestrial waves, broadcast satellite waves (BS), communication satellite waves (CS), cable television (CATV), and broadband. It is a communication network (BB), and its broadcast contents are sent to the television receiver 1 via radio waves or optical cables. The broadcast station group 3 provides electronic program guide information to the server 2 via a communication network.
[0035]
The operation of the first embodiment will be described below. When the viewer operates the channel selection unit 18 of the television receiver 1 to receive a radio wave of terrestrial, BS, CS, CATV, or BB, the electronic program guide sending unit 39 of the server 2 performs the electronic operation of the television receiver 1. The guide information of the currently viewed program is sent to the program guide storage unit 17. This may be sent in advance instead of every time of viewing. At this time, the channel selection status of the viewer is stored in the viewing history storage unit 22 in chronological order at regular time intervals.
[0036]
For example, if the timer 16 measures the time every 5 minutes and records the most watched channel with a threshold of 5 minutes or more, for example, 3 minutes or more, 60 minutes ÷ 5 minutes in one week * 24 hours * 7 days = 2016 channel selection statuses may be stored. The contents to be recorded at this time are, for example, the channel number and the genre of the program being watched at that time, since the date / time information is uniquely included in the time series order and is necessarily included. The program genre information can be quoted from the electronic program guide accumulating unit 17 and may be roughly classified into genres such as drama, news, sports, culture, and education.
[0037]
There may be time periods when the television receiver 1 is not used, but at this time, the channel selection content is recorded as not applicable. Also, there may be a zapping state in which a plurality of channels are switched within a short time, but in this case as well, it is recorded as not applicable.
[0038]
As a more specific example, the relationship between the channel that was actually viewed and the channel number that should be recorded by the viewing history storage unit 22 is illustrated in FIG. In FIG. 2, from 10 o'clock to 5 minutes, since the channel A is viewed for 3 minutes or more, the viewing history storage unit 22 stores 1. From 10: 5 to 15 minutes, channel D is viewed the longest in 3 minutes or more, but since it is viewed over two time intervals, the channel to be recorded from 10: 5 to 10 minutes On the other hand, for 10 to 15 minutes, the longest channel B in this time is recorded. Hereinafter, for 10 minutes 15 minutes to 20 minutes and 20 minutes to 25 minutes, channel C is the recording target.
[0039]
In this way, the viewing history storage unit 22 stores channels sampled at regular time intervals. The history information sending unit 23 sends the information accumulated in the viewing history accumulation unit 22 at regular intervals, for example, on a weekly basis, to the server 2. The viewing history storage unit 32 of the server 2 first converts the channel selection status for one week into the histogram format for the received data. For example, if the horizontal axis classification is a combination of broadcast station name and genre, and the vertical axis is the amount of viewing time, a viewer can watch how many hours of channel A news programs and how much of channel B drama programs per week. It is possible to characterize how many hours of time and how many hours of watching a variety program on channel C.
[0040]
This histogram data can be regarded as a feature vector having the number of dimensions of the number of channels and the number of combinations of genres. That is, for example, if the number of channels to be counted is 12 and the genre division is 8, the number of vector dimensions reaches 96. At this time, if 10,000 viewing histories are obtained from a television receiver that can be connected to the server 2, the server 2 stores vector data of 10,000 samples.
[0041]
Next, the server 2 classifies these viewers. As the classification method, a vector quantization (VQ) method that is well-known as a vector data classification method can be applied. An example of the VQ method known as “LBG algorithm” will be described below. Here, a feature vector that characterizes the viewer is y.
[0042]
(1) For the set {y} of feature vectors of 10,000 samples stored in the server 2, the average value y_meanAsk for. At this time, a representative vector characterizing the set of feature vectors {y} is y_meanTherefore, M is defined as M = 1.
[0043]
(2) Next, y_meanTwo vectors y close to_mean+ Ε, y_mean-Ε is generated. Here, ε is a vector having a small value for division.
[0044]
(3) Next, y 10,000 feature vectors of the original_mean+ Ε, y_meanIt is determined by calculation whether the vector is closer to −ε, and the feature vector set {y} is divided into 2M sets. The discrimination method is, for example, the square distance d for each feature vector y._p, D_m,
d_p= | Y- (y_mean+ Ε) |²
d_m= | Y- (y_mean−ε) |²
Respectively, and d_pAnd d_mDepends on a set of vectors with small distance values depending on which distance is smaller. As a result, the set of feature vectors {y} is y_meanSet near + ε {y_p} And y_meanSet near -ε {y_m}.
[0045]
(4) Average value in each set {y_{p mean}}, {Y_{m mean}}, The number of representative vectors that characterize the set of feature vectors {y} is increased to two, and the value of M is M = 2M.
[0046]
{Y_{p mean}}, {Y_{m mean}}, The processes of (2), (3), and (4) are repeated until the number of M matches the number N for which the viewer group is desired to be classified, and the final N feature vectors {y_mean} Is obtained. {Y_mean} Is vector data of 10,000 samples, that is, a vector characterizing the viewer.
[0047]
This {y_mean} For which 10,000 sample viewers_mean} Is calculated and classified by the discriminant of (3) above. Since the unique ID of each television receiver 1 assigned by the unique ID generation unit 15 is embedded in the 10,000 sample viewer data, the value of the classified viewer group and the unique ID, that is, the viewer Can be uniquely associated. When the classification of the viewer group is completed, the server 2 starts actual operation for controlling the channels of the respective television receivers 1.
[0048]
The current viewing information requesting unit 35 of the server 2 sends the current viewing channel number and the television receiver 1 to each television receiver 1 classified into a specific viewer group at a fixed interval, for example, every 5 minutes. Requests transmission of the stored future viewing reservation channel number. The current viewing channel transmission unit 21 of the television receiver 1 receives the request from the server 2 and transmits the requested channel information.
[0049]
In the received server 2, the viewing channel voting unit 36 totals the channels currently being viewed using a majority voting method. The majority format may be, for example, one vote for each television receiver, or a representative vector {y_mean} May be multiplied by the weighting more important. From this voting result, the channel number is extracted in the ranking totaling unit 37, for example, the channels of the top 10 rankings. This result is accumulated in the ranking result sending unit 38.
[0050]
When a viewer of the television receiver 1 operates the ranking information request switch 24 to request information from the server 2, the result is sent from the ranking result sending unit 38 to the ranking information receiving unit 25. The ranking information receiving unit 25 enables the following processing based on the reception result.
[0051]
(A) Recommendations for viewing or booking specific channels
When the information is transferred from the ranking information receiving unit 25 to the ranking information display unit 26, the ranking information display unit 26 combines the auxiliary information related to the viewing channel information from the electronic program guide storage unit 17 and the image display unit 12 and Information is transmitted to the audio output unit 13 and the viewer is encouraged to change the channel currently being viewed or for future viewing reservations to the viewer through visual or acoustic display. At this time, the number of recommended channels is not limited to one, and may be, for example, the top 10 rankings. Based on these recommendations, the viewer can directly change the channel selection unit 18 to change the channel or make a future reservation.
[0052]
(B) Direct operation or reservation of viewing channel
The channel control unit 20 is directly operated from the ranking information receiving unit 25 to forcibly change the currently viewed channel, or the reservation data is directly input to the channel reservation unit 19. At this time, there is a method of not displaying one program to be notified to the viewer, and displaying each program in the zapping format at a predetermined time, for example, every 20 seconds, in the top 10 rankings.
[0053]
In addition to this, the server 2 can grasp as a ranking total result which program the viewer group having a particular preference is viewing or is planning to view. This information is extracted from the server 2 and can be used in various ways, for example, for popularity ratings of channels and programs, or for use in program advertisements.
[0054]
The effects described above are not particularly limited to television receivers and television tuners, but can be used for devices such as video cassette recorders and personal video recorders that have television recording functions, radios, and the like. In the above description, the “viewer” has been described. However, it is substantially the same when replaced with a “viewing household” made up of a plurality of family members as well as one individual. Includes viewing households as the meaning of words.
[0055]
Furthermore, if the data to be aggregated as viewing history is not the channel number but the name of the broadcasting station that produced the program, a more detailed viewing history can be constructed on a nationwide scale. That is, in BS and CS satellite broadcasting and Internet broadcasting, the same program can be viewed on the same channel on a nationwide scale, but in terrestrial and CATV, the same program is viewed on a different channel number for each region. If you try to perform statistical audience classification on the nationwide scale, the accuracy of the data will be lost.
[0056]
Therefore, the server 2 may consider a method of correcting the channel number of the viewing history channel number obtained from each television receiver 1 based on the electronic program guide obtained from the broadcasting station group 3. For example, suppose there is a history that a local viewer has watched a program produced by a broadcast station A in Japan (channel A) in a certain time zone on channel B at the same time or at another time. If the information that the producer of the program in that time period is A can be extracted from the data of the electronic program guide, data conversion from the channel number to the broadcast station name is executed so that this program is a program of the A broadcast station. To do. If this conversion is possible, it will be possible to analyze a large amount of audience group data on a nationwide scale. Similarly, for programs that are recommended to viewers using the electronic program guide, broadcast channels and broadcast dates Regardless of whether or not the viewer can be notified.
[0057]
FIG. 3 is a process flowchart of the server 2 in the present embodiment. As described above, the processing of the server 2 is roughly divided into a process for classifying viewers according to the characteristics of the viewer's preference, and a process for recommending program viewing using the classification of viewers.
[0058]
FIG. 3A shows the viewer classification process. First, the server 2 receives viewing history information from each television receiver 1 and accumulates it (step S10). Next, based on the accumulated viewing history information, the viewers are grouped and classified according to the preference characteristics for the viewing program (step S11). The above processing is repeated at an appropriate cycle.
[0059]
FIG. 3B shows a program recommendation process. First, the server 2 requests a channel number currently being viewed (or a channel number scheduled to be viewed in the future, etc.) from the television receiver 1 of each viewer classified into a specific viewer group (step S20). The response from each television receiver 1 is received, and the channel information currently being viewed on each television receiver 1 is collected (step S21). Next, the rankings are counted in the order of the number of viewers of the currently viewed channels (or channels scheduled to be viewed in the future, etc.) (step S22). When there is a request for sending ranking information from the television receiver 1, the ranking result is transmitted to the requesting television receiver 1 (steps S23 and S24). The above processing is repeated for the next specific audience group as a processing target (step S25).
[0060]
The above processing can be realized by a computer and a software program, and the program can be stored in an appropriate recording medium such as a portable medium memory, a semiconductor memory, or a hard disk readable by the computer.
[0061]
The features of the embodiment of the present invention described above are as follows.
[0062]
(1) In a television receiver and a television receiver system configured with the external server, the channel to be viewed can be changed according to an instruction from an external server connected via a communication network. The television receiver is provided for each television receiver. A circuit for sending a unique ID number, a timer for measuring the current time, a memory unit for storing an electronic program guide, a switch for selecting a receiving channel by human operation, and receiving an instruction from an external server A circuit for controlling the channel, a TV broadcast tuner capable of changing the reception channel based on the control, a communication circuit for sending the currently received channel information to the external server, a memory for storing past channel selection history, and its history Communication circuit that sends messages to external servers, and ranking information to external servers by viewer operations A switch for obtaining, a memory for receiving and storing ranking information through communication with an external server, a circuit for displaying the ranking information, a display unit for displaying the TV tuner and the output of the ranking information to the viewer, and an audio output circuit The external server consists of a communication unit that can communicate with a television set installed in each viewing household, a memory that stores each viewer's viewing history, and viewing based on the viewing history and discriminant. A computer for classifying viewers, a memory for classifying and storing each viewer as a group based on the classification criteria, a memory for collecting information on which channel is currently selected by each viewer's television receiver, and each viewing For each user group, a calculation unit that aggregates the current viewing channels in a majority format, and the top rankings of broadcast channels based on the aggregation results A calculation unit for forming, is composed of a circuit for sending towards the ranking result to the television receiver of each viewer, the external server classifies viewer's preference to encourage viewing of the broadcast to the viewer.
[0063]
(2) Further, in the television receiving system comprising the television receiver and the server, the channel to be viewed can be changed or the channel to be viewed in the future can be reserved in accordance with an instruction from an external server connected via a communication network. In contrast to the configuration of the television receiving system, the television receiver is configured to control a receiving channel of a television broadcast tuner, and accepts a human operation or an instruction from an external server to reserve a channel scheduled for future viewing and a current receiving channel. A communication circuit for sending not only channel information but also channel information scheduled to be viewed in the future to an external server is added, and the server simply selects which channel is currently selected by each viewer's television receiver. Memory that collects information about channels scheduled to be viewed in the future and each viewing For each group, and to add a calculation unit to aggregate the current viewing channel and future scheduled viewing channel by majority form, a calculation unit for generating a higher ranking based on the counting result.
[0064]
(3) The audience group classification method in (1) or (2) above is characterized by using a vector quantization algorithm.
[0065]
(4) Further, in the above (1) or (2), the ranking result presented to the viewer is presented as program information using the information of the channel and the electronic program guide together.
[0066]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the viewer's preference is grasped from the viewing history of the viewer of the television receiver and classified into a viewer group having the same preference. By counting the current or future programs in the majority format, and presenting the total ranking results to the television receiver, (1) the purpose of reducing the zapping time of viewers whose viewing purpose is fluid and close to taste Promptly navigate to programs and channels, (2) Promptly navigate to programs and channels viewed by a large number of viewers in order to share topics with similar audience groups, (3) These results Ranking data such as what channels or programs a particular audience group is watching or willing to watch. Possible, has the effect that.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a television receiving system including a television receiver and a server that implements the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating channel numbers to be recorded in a viewing history storage unit.
FIG. 3 is a process flowchart of a server in the present embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 TV receiver
2 servers
3 Broadcasting stations
11 Tuner unit
12 Image display section
13 Audio output section
14 Communication Department
15 Unique ID issuing department
16 timer
17 Electronic program guide storage
18 Channel selector
19 Channel Reservation Department
20 Channel controller
21 Current viewing channel sending part
22 Viewing history storage
23 History information sending part
24 Ranking information request switch
25 Ranking information receiver
26 Ranking information display
31 Communication Department
32 Viewing history storage
33 Viewer discrimination calculator
34 Viewer classification
35 Current viewing information request section
36 Viewing Channel Voting Club
37 Ranking Total Department
38 Ranking result sending part
39 Electronic program guide sending part

Claims (7)

A television receiving system comprising a plurality of broadcast receiving devices and a server device that encourages those broadcast receiving devices to view a broadcast program via a communication network,
Each of the broadcast receiving devices
Means for transmitting viewing history information including information that can identify a program viewed by a viewer to the server device;
Means for transmitting to the server device information on which channel or program is currently being viewed;
Means to reserve channels or programs for future viewing;
Means for transmitting a channel or program to be viewed in the future to the server device;
Means for requesting ranking information from the server device by a viewer operation;
Means for receiving program ranking information from the server device;
Means for outputting received ranking information or selecting a channel or program for viewing based on the received ranking information;
The server device
Means for receiving and accumulating viewing history information from each broadcast receiving device;
Means for classifying viewers into groups based on the accumulated viewing history information;
Means for collecting information on which channel or program is currently being viewed by each viewer's broadcast receiver and information on channels or programs scheduled to be viewed in the future;
Means for calculating a ranking by totaling current viewing channels or programs and future scheduled channels or programs for each classified audience group;
A television receiving system for recommending viewing of a broadcast, comprising: means for sending a ranking result to a viewer's broadcast receiving device. A server device that encourages a plurality of broadcast receiving devices to view a broadcast program via a communication network,
Means for receiving and storing viewing history information including information that can identify a program viewed by a viewer from each broadcast receiving device;
Means for classifying viewers into groups based on the accumulated viewing history information;
Means for collecting information on which channel or program is currently being viewed by each viewer's broadcast receiver and information on channels or programs scheduled to be viewed in the future;
Means for calculating a ranking by totaling current viewing channels or programs and future scheduled channels or programs for each classified audience group;
A server device recommending viewing of a broadcast, comprising: means for transmitting a ranking result to a viewer's broadcast receiving device. In the server device recommending viewing of the broadcast according to claim 2 ,
The means for classifying the viewers into groups is recommended to view broadcasts characterized by classifying viewers by expressing the features of the programs viewed by the viewers as vectors and using vector quantization algorithms. Server device. A method for encouraging viewing of a broadcast program by a server device connected to a plurality of broadcast receiving devices via a communication network,
Receiving and accumulating viewing history information including information that can identify the program viewed by the viewer from each broadcast receiving device;
The process of classifying viewers into groups based on the accumulated viewing history information,
Collecting information on which channel or program is currently being viewed by each viewer's broadcast receiver and information on channels or programs scheduled to be viewed in the future;
For each of the classified audience groups, a process of totaling current viewing channels or programs and future viewing scheduled channels or programs to obtain a ranking;
A broadcast viewing recommendation processing method comprising: sending a ranking result to a viewer's broadcast receiving device. In the broadcast viewing recommendation processing method according to claim 4 ,
In the process of classifying the viewers into groups, the broadcast viewing recommendation processing method characterized in that the viewers are classified by expressing features related to the programs viewed by the viewers as vectors and using a vector quantization algorithm. . A program for encouraging viewing of a broadcast program by a computer of a server device connected to a plurality of broadcast receiving devices via a communication network,
Processing for receiving and accumulating viewing history information including information that can identify the program viewed by the viewer from each broadcast receiving device;
A process of classifying viewers into groups based on the accumulated viewing history information;
A process of collecting information on which channel or program is currently being viewed by each viewer's broadcast receiver and information on a channel or program that is scheduled to be viewed in the future;
For each of the classified audience groups, a process for totaling current viewing channels or programs and future scheduled viewing channels or programs to obtain a ranking;
Sending the ranking results to the viewer's broadcast receiver,
Broadcast viewing recommendation processing program to be executed by a computer. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for encouraging viewing of a broadcast program by a computer of a server device connected to a plurality of broadcast receiving devices via a communication network,
Processing for receiving and accumulating viewing history information from each broadcast receiving device;
A process of classifying viewers into groups based on the accumulated viewing history information;
A process of collecting information on which channel or program is currently being viewed by each viewer's broadcast receiver and information on a channel or program that is scheduled to be viewed in the future;
For each of the classified audience groups, a process for totaling current viewing channels or programs and future scheduled viewing channels or programs to obtain a ranking;
Sending the ranking results to the viewer's broadcast receiver,
A broadcast viewing recommendation processing program recording medium characterized by recording a program to be executed by a computer.

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