JPH0983891A - Program content display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate operation for program selection key and to reduce the selection time by using a learning function utilizing past view information so as to display the program content. SOLUTION: View information is stored in a nonvolatile memory 9 and used for execution of the learning function. For example, view number of times, period and time information is used and the information is stored in the memory 9 for each channel. The learning function decides priority of a channel based on view information. That is, the priority of each channel is converted into a numeral through function processing using view information as an input parameter and the priority is decided by the numeral. Then an on-screen guide generating circuit 4 generates a program content display menu in the order of higher priority and displayed on a CRT 8 as initial menu or user's request. Thus, channels preferred by the user are arranged in order on the screen and then the number of times of cursor moving is reduced for program selection and the time required for the selection is decreased.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program content display device for displaying on a screen information necessary for a user to select a desired program from a plurality of channels in television broadcasting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-196823 proposes a technique for improving the operability of program reservation by displaying a television broadcast program guide on a television screen. This is intended to improve the operability of the user regarding program reservation by receiving data regarding a program guide of a broadcast program from a telephone line or the like and displaying the data.

[0003]

By the way, in this method, no consideration is given to the display of the program table. Therefore, it can be considered that there is no problem when the number of channels is small, that is, at most about 20 channels, but when the number of channels is large, an extremely large number of operations, for example, cursor movement, is required to select a desired program. Must be performed, and it takes time to complete the selection. For example, in the DSS (Digital Satellite Broadcasting System) service that started in the United States last year, 175 channels can be selected, and in the future planned CATV digital broadcasting, up to 500 channels can be selected. The rapid selection of desired channels has become a real requirement.

[0004]

Therefore, the present invention has means for accumulating information about programs that the user has watched in the past, and based on this viewing information, the learning function allows the channel priority order according to the user's preference. Is set, and the channel display order is rearranged in order of higher priority, or a shape that is easy for the user to understand, such as color, size, and priority number, is attached.

Further, according to another feature of the present invention, a plurality of priorities can be set by performing the learning function for each user or each time period. Therefore, in the present invention, the channel display is automatically adjusted and performed based on the user's past viewing, and the number of key inputs for selecting a desired program and the time required for selection can be reduced.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention applied to DSS will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, DSS, which is digital broadcasting using satellites, will be briefly described. DSS uses a digital compression algorithm based on the MPEG method to store multiple programs, data, etc.
It is transmitted by time division multiplexing in one bit stream. M
PEG is a digital compression method standardized by ISO / IEC, and currently two types of standardization have been completed (MPE
G1 and MPEG2). For details of the compression algorithms of MPEG1 and 2, see ISO / IEC 1
1172 and 13818.

Further, in the case of DSS, a channel means transmission of one program, and does not mean one transponder of a satellite, that is, one frequency. That is, in DSS broadcasting, a plurality of channels are transmitted by one transponder, and each channel has a channel number. Therefore, if it is a satellite, 1
One frequency will have multiple channel numbers.

Therefore, in order to select a program, first, a frequency on which the program is multiplexed is selected, and then a desired program is selected from the obtained bit stream.

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of a television receiver having a built-in program content display function. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a reception signal input terminal to which a signal transmitted by a medium such as a satellite or a cable is input. Reference numeral 2 is a tuner for demodulating a signal modulated by a modulation method suitable for the transmission medium to generate a baseband signal, and 3 is an image for converting an output of the tuner 2 as an input into a signal according to a display format. It is a processing circuit.

Reference numeral 4 is an on-screen guide generation circuit for generating a program content display screen for on-screen display of program content, and reference numeral 5 is a user information input terminal for inputting program selection information and the like through a user interface such as key input of a remote controller. , 6 are CPUs for controlling the program content display screen based on the user information from the user information input terminal 5 and for controlling the tuner 2 to select a program desired by the user, and 7 is the video processing A multiplexer 8 for controlling the output signal from the circuit 3 and the output signal of the on-screen guide generation circuit 4 to selectively output either one by a control signal from the CPU 6 is a CRT display.

The on-screen guide generation circuit 4
Creates the on-screen guide information according to the program information sent from the satellite.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the program content display screen. In the figure, the horizontal direction of the screen represents a time axis and the vertical direction represents a channel, and program contents such as titles of programs are arranged in a matrix. In the figure, "A" to "P" represent program titles. On the screen, for example, the color or shade is changed so that the program to be selected can be distinguished from other programs (here, for convenience, the portion where the color or shade of the program to be selected is changed is referred to as a cursor. Of course, it is also possible to actually display a marker of a predetermined shape separately on the screen).

In FIG. 4, the program "D" is currently selected. To select a program, the user moves the cursor to the position of the desired program by using cursor moving means such as arrow keys (for example, to move up, down, left, and right), and a key for determining program selection (here, select The program is selected by pressing the key).
For example, if the desired program is "I", press the down arrow key once and the right arrow key once to move the cursor to "D".
To "I" (see the arrow in FIG. 4) and press the select key to select the program "I".

Since the number of channels that can be displayed on one screen is limited, for channels that cannot be displayed, the other channel is displayed by pressing the cursor down or up arrow key from the bottommost or topmost channel. . As for time, the time zone displayed on one screen is limited, so use the left arrow key to display the time zone before the displayed time zone, and right button to display the time zone after the displayed time zone. By holding down the arrow keys, programs in other time zones are displayed. However, here, it is assumed that the time axis is displayed from left to right on the screen. Besides, a joystick, a trackball, or the like can be used as the cursor moving means.

A program content display screen as shown in FIG. 4 is generated by the on-screen guide generation circuit 4 and is displayed on the CRT screen as an initial screen or based on a request from the user. That is, when the normal program is displayed on the CRT 8 by the multiplexer 7, the output of the video processing circuit 3 input to the a side is selected, and when the program content display screen is displayed, the b side is selected. It is switched by the control signal from. Further, the CPU 6 controls the tuner 2 to output the channel of the program selected by the input of the select key from the user.
Therefore, as a key input means from the user, a cursor moving means, a select key, and a program content display screen display request are required.

Next, category selection will be described. A hierarchical program selection method is conceivable in which each program is grouped into categories such as sports and dramas, and when a user selects a program, first a category is selected and then a program belonging to the category is selected. 5 and 6 show examples of screen display for category selection.

FIG. 5 is a category selection screen, and FIG. 6 is a program selection screen displayed after selecting a specific category on the category selection screen. On the program selection screen, channel numbers, start times, end times, program titles, etc. of programs belonging to the selected category are displayed. In both screens, the user selects a program by moving the cursor with cursor moving means such as arrow keys and pressing the select key. Further, each category can be further classified into a plurality of subcategories. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, after selecting a sports category, subcategories such as baseball and golf are displayed.

Next, referring back to FIG. 1, description will be made regarding the learning function. The memory 9 of FIG. 1 is a storage means for accumulating information of channels that the user has viewed in the past, and is a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM. The viewing information stored in the memory 9 is necessary for executing the learning function, and includes, for example, the number of viewing times N (the number of times viewed within a predetermined period), the viewing time T (how many days ago the information was viewed). ), The viewing time L (viewing time within a predetermined period) is used. Then, these pieces of information are recorded in the memory 9 for each channel.

Next, the learning function will be described in more detail. The learning function for displaying the program is a function of determining the priority of the channel according to the user's preference based on the viewing information. For example, the priority of each channel is converted into a numerical value by a functional process using the viewing information as an input parameter, and the priority order is determined based on the numerical value. That is, the function processing for obtaining the priority is expressed as follows.

[0020]

[Equation 1]

Where Y is a numerical value indicating the priority,
n is the number of viewings, wk (k = 1, 2, ... N) is the viewing time of the kth viewing, and tk (k = 1, 2, ... n) is the viewing time of the kth viewing. . Although various functions can be considered as the function f, specific examples are shown below.

[0022]

[Equation 2]

Here, fw and ft are the viewing time T, respectively.
And a function for weighting the viewing time L. Equation 2 is to calculate the product of weighted viewing time T and viewing time L in each viewing and then perform addition calculation for all viewing.

The following may be considered as specific examples of fw and ft. fw is a weighting function of the viewing time T, and the weighting is increased as the viewing time T is closer to the present. It should be noted here that the higher the numerical value of the priority Y, the higher the priority of the channel.
An example of fw is shown below.

[0025]

(Equation 3)

Here, wk indicates how many days ago the viewing date of the channel is from the present time. For example, if two days ago, wk is "2". Although it is represented by a linear function here, any function may be used as long as it is a function that decreases monotonically. Further, in the function of Expression 3, since the maximum value is set to 10, it is not possible to make a difference in weighting for programs viewed 9 days before, but it is possible to make a difference by increasing the maximum value. Next, a specific example of ft will be shown.

[0027]

[Equation 4]

That is, the viewing time is used as it is. For example, if converted into an integer value in units of time, it will be "2" if viewed for 2 hours and "0.5" if viewed for 30 minutes. In order to improve the efficiency of calculation, it is necessary to consider that the one with an extremely short viewing time is ignored. The ft is not limited to the linear function and may be a function that monotonically increases.

By using the above function, the viewing time T
Is closer to the present, and the longer the viewing time L is, the higher the priority is. The function shown here is merely an example, and the degree of weighting of the viewing time T and the viewing time L should be selected so as to reflect the user's preference. For example, if the weighting of the viewing time T is increased, ft is changed as follows.

[0030]

(Equation 5)

Further, each of the viewing information can be used alone or partially combined. For example, the number of views N
It is also possible to use only, or to combine the number of viewing times N and the viewing time L.

When the priority order of the channels is determined in this manner, the channels are displayed in descending order of priority (for example, in the screen of FIG. 4, the programs of higher priority order are displayed from the top of the screen), which the user likes. The channels are arranged in order from the screen, and the number of key inputs for moving the cursor can be reduced, so that the time required for selection can be shortened.

Next, a more specific method for realizing the learning function will be described according to an example. FIG. 7 shows the data structure in this example. The display channel table shows the receivable channel numbers (channel number).
Is a table in which the memory 9 is arranged in descending order of priority.
Composed within. Then, the display as shown in FIG. 3 is performed by referring to the display channel table, and the display is performed from the top in the order of priority.

The individual viewing data is data that is temporarily stored for collecting viewing information, and includes channel No.
The viewing start time and end time of the channel are saved. Individual viewing data is also configured in the memory 9.

The viewing information data is provided corresponding to each channel, and has channel NO, daily viewing information 1 to 5, and priority evaluation value. The daily viewing information is
The date and the total viewing time for that channel on that day is stored. Therefore, the viewing data for 5 days (not for 5 consecutive days) is stored for each channel. The priority evaluation value is numerical data calculated by the evaluation function as described above. For example, it is a numerical value calculated based on the viewing date and viewing time data stored in the five daily viewing information, and the larger the numerical value is, the higher the priority is determined to be. Viewing information data is also formed in the memory 9.

Since the individual viewing data is stored in the volatile memory, the storage is lost when the power is turned off. The display channel data and the viewing information data corresponding to each channel number are stored in the non-volatile memory, and the storage is not lost even when the power is turned off.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the learning function processing. The processing shown in the figure is executed when the power is turned on, when the power is turned off, and when the channel is switched. First, it is confirmed whether the power is off or the channel is being switched (step 1). If the power is off or the channel is being switched, go to step 2. If not, go to step 3.

In step 2, the current time is set as the end time in the individual viewing data. Therefore, the viewing time of the channel (channel NO of the individual viewing data) can be calculated from the start time (the viewing start time of the channel is set in advance) and the end time of the individual viewing data. In step 4, this viewing time is calculated and it is checked whether the value is longer than a predetermined reference time (for example, 10 minutes). If it is smaller, it is not used as the data for the learning process and is ignored, and the process proceeds to step 8.

If it is longer than the reference time, the viewing information data is set in step 5. As described above, the viewing information data includes five daily viewing information. The daily viewing information is sorted from 1 to 5 in ascending order of date. Therefore, the daily viewing information 5 becomes the latest data.
In step 5, the viewing information data of the same channel NO as the channel NO of the individual viewing data is accessed, and the date of the daily viewing information 5 is compared with the current date. If the dates are the same, the value of the viewing time of the daily viewing information 5 is increased by the viewing time calculated based on the individual viewing data and stored. That is, the viewing information of the channel that the user has been watching until now is updated, and the process proceeds to the next step 6.

If the dates are different, the daily viewing information 2 to 5
, One by one (the daily viewing information 2 becomes 1,
The daily viewing information 5 becomes 4, and a new viewing time is set in the daily viewing information 5 and the viewing time calculated based on the information of the individual viewing data is set. Then, the process proceeds to Step 6. That is, by the processing in step 5, the viewing information data is updated to include the latest 5 days (not necessarily continuous) viewing information.

In step 6, the evaluation value of the priority order is calculated based on the updated data, and the new evaluation value is set in the viewing information data. And in the next step 7,
The display channel table is rewritten according to the updated priority order. This is a process of rearranging the channel numbers in descending order of the evaluation value, and after this process, the channel numbers are arranged in descending order of priority in the display channel table based on the latest situation.

After changing the display channel, in step 8, in the channel switching operation, a new channel number is set in the individual viewing data and a current time is set to the start time. However, this process is not performed when the power is off.

Since the channel display table is updated by the above processing, the channels are displayed in the updated order from the next display.

When the power is turned on, the channel number and start time selected at that time are set in the individual viewing data in step 3, and the processing of FIG. 8 ends. Then, as explained above, this data is used for processing at the next switching.

Next, an example of setting priorities for each user or each time zone will be described. This is necessary when it is expected that the tendency of the program to be watched will change depending on the user and the time of day (morning, day, night).
Optimal priorities can be set for each user and each time zone. FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the embodiment. The same functional blocks as those in FIG.

In the figure, 9a, 9b, ... 9x are non-volatile memories such as EEPROM for storing viewing information of different users or different time zones, and need not be a plurality of memories and share one memory. You can also Here, x corresponds to the number of users or the number of time zones. Prioritization by the learning function is independently set for each memory information. As for the learning function, the above function can be used as it is. However, when setting for each user, it is necessary for the user to input information for identifying the user before selecting a program.

Further, in the case of the time zone, the CPU 6 needs to perform a process of allocating the viewing information to the memory for the time zone including the time when the user watches the program. In addition, in order to simply display to the user that there is a program with a high priority, it is possible to give priority numbers, colors, and display sizes to the displayed programs by using the result (priority order) of the learning function described above. it can.

In the above digital broadcasting service,
Provided are a free program and a so-called pay-per-view program in which a program can be viewed at any time if a reception fee is paid for a certain period such as monthly payment, and a specific program can be viewed by subscribing to each program and paying a predetermined fee. It is considered that the viewer's preference will be conspicuous when receiving pay programs, especially pay-per-view programs, so if the pay-per-view program selection results are weighted several times more than usual, the It is possible to realize the priority display that reflects the preference of.

Although the above embodiment is intended for the television receiver having the program display function, the on-screen guide generation circuit 4, the user information input terminal 5, the CPU 6, the memory 9 and the on-screen guide signal are received. By connecting the circuit for switching to the video signal or the multiplexer 7 to the side of the digital broadcasting receiving terminal called IRD or the CATV receiving terminal, it can be connected to a television receiver or a monitor receiver without an on-screen guide display function. Can be made available.

[0050]

According to the present invention, like the DSS (Digital Satellite System) and CATV terminals in the United States, 150-50.
Not only can the user be informed of the existence of his / her favorite program at the same time on a device having a large number of channels and categories, such as a receiving terminal of a service extending to 0 channels, but also key operation and selection required for program selection. The time can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a program content display screen.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a category display screen.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a program guide for each category.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a sub category display screen.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a data structure related to a learning function.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing related to a learning function.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 tuner 3 video processing circuit 4 on-screen guide generation circuit 6 CPU 7 multiplexer 8 CRT 9 memory

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A program content display device for displaying a channel number and program content to a user for selecting a program of a television broadcast or an audio broadcast, a learning means for utilizing past viewing information of the user. A program content display device, which utilizes the result to display the program content reflecting the user's preference. 2. The program content display device according to claim 1, wherein the program content display according to the user's preference is to prioritize the display order of channels. 3. A function of having a storage device for accumulating channel information such as the number of times of viewing, the time of viewing, and the time of viewing that the user has viewed in the past, and using the number of times of viewing, the time of viewing, the time of viewing, etc. for determining the priority. The program content display device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: 4. The program content display device according to claim 3, wherein the channel number and the program content are displayed on the screen of the television receiver. 5. In order to provide a priority to the display order of the category in the hierarchical display of the program content such that the program content is grouped by category and the program belonging to the category is selected after selecting the category when selecting the program. 4. The program content display device according to claim 3, wherein the learning function is used for. 6. The television broadcast is a digital broadcast in which a program compressed by using a digital compression algorithm such as MPEG is transmitted using a transmission medium such as satellite, cable or terrestrial wave, and the broadcast is received. 6. The program content display device according to claim 4, wherein the program content display device is built in a receiver for the program. 7. The program content display device according to claim 6, further comprising a function of displaying different program content to a plurality of users, and performing the learning function for each user. 8. The program viewing time is divided into a plurality of time zones, a function of displaying different program contents for each time zone is provided, and the learning function is performed for each time zone. Item 6. A program content display device according to item 6.