JPH11261638A - Communication system and reply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To build up a system where a communication network will not brought into a system-down state, even when many replies are returned at once from viewers when broadcasting a viewer participation program. SOLUTION: The large scale data collection/analysis/reply system is provided with a collection/analysis server 3, that issues a control command corresponding to key operation of a moderator, a satellite communication server 8 and a satellite communication antenna 13 that send the control command issued from the collection/analysis server 3 to a reply device 20 by the use of the satellite communication, and a communication management server 4 that builds up a path to acquire the reply from the reply device 20 by the use of a plurality of communication networks. The collection/analysis server 3 acquires a reply from the reply device 20 through a communication path built up by the communication management server 4, executes an analysis, illustrates the result of analysis as a graph and serves the result to a viewer as a video image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication system for providing a program in which viewers participate in a program in real time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a known technique of this type of apparatus, there is a television program of a viewer participation type using a channel of a television program broadcast for public or home use.

[0003] In this case, a questionnaire or a question or the like is broadcast by radio from a program provider, that is, a television station. A viewer answers with an existing push-button telephone, etc., and returns the answer information to a TV station using a single communication network to which the push-button telephone is connected, for example, a public line. The computer processes the tone signal returned from the computer and generates a total result. By the way, in this kind of viewer-participation type television program, the following problems occur because mainly existing equipment is used as hardware and information is obtained from an unspecified number of viewers.

[0004] Since an unspecified number of answer information has been unilaterally sent to a broadcasting station through a single communication network, the communication network may go down if the answer information is sent almost simultaneously. When the communication network goes down, the entire system becomes unavailable and the continuation of the program becomes impossible. Therefore, in order to increase the amount of data that can be transmitted, the number of lines is increased in the communication network. However, in this case, the communication network is still a single communication network. Continuation becomes impossible.

[0005] Further, in order to ask a question from a broadcast station to a television viewer and obtain an answer, a moderator or the like issues a request such as a timing at which an answer is returned in a word. Was sometimes overlooked. In this case, there is also a disadvantage that a hearing impaired person cannot participate in the program.

[0006] Further, it has been practiced to install a dedicated device to collect the audience rating data in order to know the audience rating of the program on the broadcasting station side. In this case, however, the audience rating data is transmitted to the viewer side. It is obtained from the installed equipment via the public network, and data may be altered.

[0007]

As described above, in the conventional system, congestion occurs on the line because a large number of answers are returned almost simultaneously from the viewer at one time, so that communication and the continuation of the program can be continued. There was a problem that it would not be possible.

[0008] Further, since a request for an answer to the viewer is made only by words, the viewer cannot hear the word or cannot give an answer to a person with hearing impairment. was there.

Further, since data (such as a tone signal and audience rating data) from a viewer is transmitted via a public network, the data may be falsified.

[0010] The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to construct a mechanism that does not cause a system down in response to a response from a viewer. Another object is to ensure fairness for viewers who want to answer. Another object is to obtain correct data from the viewer.

[0011]

To achieve the above object, a communication system according to the first aspect of the present invention receives information from a device installed at a remote place via a communication network, and receives the information from the device. A response device for transmitting a response via the communication network, a plurality of response collection servers for collecting response information transmitted from the response device to the device via the communication network for each communication network, and the response collection servers And a communication management unit for controlling the amount of response information collected by the command by a command for the response device.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of response collection servers collect response information sent from a response device to a remotely located device through a communication network for each communication network. Since the amount of data in the collection server is monitored and a command is issued to the responding device to control the amount of response information returned from the responding device so that the data is not collected excessively, a mechanism for preventing the system from shutting down the response from the viewer is constructed. be able to.

A communication system according to a second aspect of the present invention is the communication system according to the first aspect, wherein the device transmits the information and the control command using a broadcast network, and the response device is Receiving means for receiving information and control commands from the broadcast network; analyzing means for analyzing the control commands received from the broadcast network by the receiving means; and the broadcast means by the receiving means. A display unit for displaying information received from the network and response request information obtained by analyzing the control command by the analysis unit.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the display means for displaying the response request information in addition to the information received from the broadcast network is provided, so that the response request by characters can be provided to the viewer. Information guidance can be displayed, and even if the viewer misses the response instruction using the broadcasting means, or even a hearing impaired person can see the response request and participate in the program by looking at the display means it can. As a result, fairness can be ensured for a viewer who desires a response.

A communication system according to a third aspect of the present invention is the communication system according to the first aspect, wherein the device transmits the information and the control command using a broadcast network, and the response device is Receiving means for receiving information and control commands from the broadcast network; analyzing means for analyzing the control commands received from the broadcast network by the receiving means; and command analysis by the analyzing means. Determining means for determining whether the received control command is addressed to itself, based on the response device type information received, and a result determined by the determining means, if the control command is addressed to itself, Permission means for permitting a response input.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a command received from the broadcast network is provided with "information for designating a response device to be controlled", for example, a data area (area) such as a type of response device to be controlled. Thus, it is possible to perform control such that a large number of response devices are selected from the broadcast station, thereby controlling the timing at which response information is returned, and preventing a large amount of response information from being returned at once. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a response device for receiving, from a broadcast network, information transmitted from a device installed in a remote place and a command including response time information corresponding to the information, Control means for controlling timing of responding to the information based on response time information included in the command received by the receiving means,
Display means for displaying information requesting a response to a viewer at a timing controlled by the control means; response input means capable of inputting a response at a timing controlled by the control means; and response input means And a reply means for returning the information of the response input by the device to the device using a terrestrial communication network.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by providing an area for "time information" in a command received from the broadcast network, the timing at which a viewer who has viewed the program makes a response using the response input means is controlled. Thus, the timing at which the response information is returned can be controlled, and a large amount of response information can be prevented from being returned at once.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the response device according to the fourth aspect, the time information is information indicating a valid period of the command.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the command received from the broadcast network is provided with information indicating the validity period of the command, that is, by providing a data area (area) of the "command validity period". When the response request information cannot be received, runaway of the response device can be prevented.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a response apparatus which broadcasts program information provided from a program provider to a viewer and commands for allowing the viewer to view and respond to the program information.
Receiving means for receiving from the broadcast network; broadcasting means for broadcasting program information received from the broadcast network by the receiving means; and analysis of commands received from the broadcast network by the receiving means. Analysis means for performing, a display means for displaying response request information obtained by command analysis by the analysis means, a response input means for a user to input a response to the response request information displayed by the display means, And a reply means for returning the information of the response input by the user from the response input means to the program provider using a terrestrial communication network.

In the invention according to claim 6, when the program information received from the broadcast network by the receiving means is broadcast by the broadcasting means, the analyzing means analyzes the command received from the broadcast network. The display means displays the response request information obtained as a result. When a response to the response request information displayed by the display unit is input by the user from the response input unit, the response unit returns the response information to the program provider using the ground communication network.

That is, in this responding apparatus, the program information received from the broadcast network is broadcasted by the broadcasting means, and the response request information is displayed on a display means different from the broadcasting means, so that the viewer can receive the information. Even if you miss the response instruction or the hearing impaired by the broadcast means, you can check the contents of the response request and participate in the program by looking at the display means, and improve fairness to the viewer who wants the response. Can be secured.
Also, since the reception of the program and the transmission of the response are performed on separate communication paths, the communication load can be reduced as compared with the case where only a single communication network is used, and the system does not go down for the response from the viewer. You can build a mechanism.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a responding apparatus for transmitting, from a broadcast network, program information to be provided from a program provider to a viewer and commands for displaying the program information and allowing the viewer to view and respond to the program information. Receiving means for receiving, analyzing means for analyzing a command received from the broadcast network by the receiving means, response input means for inputting a response to a program watched by a viewer by a user, And replying means for returning the program type information obtained by the command analysis by the analyzing means to the program providing source using a terrestrial communication network together with the response information input from the response inputting means. I have.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a command area received from the broadcast network is provided with a data area (area) of "program identification", and the responding device having received the program identification information returns the response information. When the program identification information is returned, the audience rating can be checked at any time by a command from the broadcast station.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a large-scale data collection / analysis / response system as one embodiment of a communication system according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a broadcasting station. The broadcasting station 1 includes a studio device 2 for providing a program of viewer participation type, a tallying / analysis server 3, a communication management server 4, an ISDN communication server 5, a public line communication server 6, and an ATM communication server. A communication server 7, a communication server 8 for satellite communication, and the like are installed, and each is connected by a LAN 9 or the like. These various communication servers have a large number of answers, and if the number of responses exceeds the performance of the communication network (or the performance of the server), the number is further increased. Aggregation / Analysis Server 3
Issues a control command corresponding to the key operation of the moderator (announcer, director, etc.). Further, the tallying / analyzing server 3 analyzes the answer returned from the viewer, immediately graphs the analysis result, and provides the result to the viewer as a video. The communication management server 4 is a server for controlling all the various communication servers, and has a function of editing original data collected through a communication network into a format that can be analyzed by the tallying / analyzing server 3. This communication management server 4 has the same function as the aggregation / analysis server 3,
In the event that the aggregation / analysis server 3 goes down, the server function is substituted. Further, the communication management server 4 also has a function of judging which communication network to use for the command transmitted from the tallying / analysis server 3 to the answering device 20 and allocating the command. The ISDN communication server 5 is an ISDN network 10
It is connected to the. The public line communication server 6 is connected to a public line network 11. ATM communication server 7 is AT
It is connected to the M network 12. These ISDN networks 1
0, the public line network 11, the ATM line network 12, etc. are terrestrial communication networks and can be interconnected. These terrestrial communication networks are mainly used for collecting data from the answering device 20. The communication server for satellite communication 8 is used for command transmission to the answering device 20. When satellite communication is not used, a terrestrial broadcast communication server is used instead of the satellite communication communication server 8. The communication server 8 for satellite communication, the server for terrestrial broadcast communication, and the like are referred to as a broadcast communication network. The satellite communication server 8 and the studio device 2 are connected to a satellite communication antenna 13. These various communication networks are installed independently according to the types.

On the other hand, an answering device 20 is arranged in each home. This answering device 20 is a satellite communication antenna 2
1, a connection device 22, 23, an answer control device 24, a monitor (hereinafter referred to as TV) 25, an operation unit 26, and the like. The connection device 22 is connected to any one of the above-mentioned terrestrial communication networks. The connection device 22 is an integrated receiver / decoder (hereinafter, referred to as IRD) connected to the communication antenna 21. IRD is a digital broadcast receiver using a satellite as a transmission medium. The connection device 23 is a device (I) that connects the answer controller 24, the TV 25, and the like via a communication network on the ground, for example, a communication network such as the ISDN network 10.
In the case of the SDN network, it is TA or the like, and in the case of the public line network 11, it is DSU + modem. The answer controller 24 is a control means of each section of the apparatus, and the answering machines 22, 23,
A CPU for controlling the TV 25, the operation unit 26, etc., a ROM for storing a database and an operation program including a device number of the answering device 20, a RAM for expanding data received by the connection device 23, and the like are mounted. The answer controller 24 receives the satellite broadcast control command received by the connection device 22 and the video signal from the broadcast station 1 and displays the received signal on a TV 25 or the like.
0 is connected to the communication server 5 for ISDN, the communication server 6 for the public line, the communication server 7 for ATM and the like via the connecting device 23, and the answer is mainly transmitted from the answering device 20 to the broadcasting station 1. The operation unit 26 includes a display as a display unit and numeric buttons as an answer input unit. Various kinds of guidance are displayed on the display in response to control commands from the broadcast station 1 for the convenience of the viewer.
The number buttons output a signal corresponding to the pressed button to the answer controller 24.

For example, the answer control unit 24 receives a control command from the broadcast station 1 via the connection unit 23, analyzes the command, controls power OFF / ON of the TV 25, controls a reception channel, and displays characters on the TV 25. Control. The answer controller 24 displays guidance characters on the display of the operation unit 26, and furthermore, the answer controller 24 controls invalid / effective of the answer button of the operation unit 26.

In this system, the data transmission of the operation unit 26 is controlled by transmitting a control command from the broadcast station 1 in order to limit (control) the data flow rate of the communication network. Figure 2 shows the control commands used in this system.
Shown in

As shown in FIG. 2, the control command includes various data such as a server type for totaling / analysis, a communication management server type, a communication server type, a control command type, a control target answering device type, a command valid time, and additional data. It consists of areas (areas). The control target, for example, the operation unit 26 or T
V25 or the like is specified, and the content is recorded in the data area (area) of the additional data for control.

For example, as commands to the operation unit 26, commands such as "response transmission possible", "response transmission stop", "guidance display", "operation unit reset", and "operation unit state" are set.

As control commands for the TV 25, commands such as "power ON", "power OFF (time setting is possible)", "channel change", "character data display", and "monitor-TV state" are set. In addition, there is a command such as "program identification" as a command not related to control. This program identification command is set in the additional information area on the response message to the control command from the broadcasting station 1 by the answering device 20 and returned to the broadcasting station 1. Thereby, the audience rating can be totaled.

Among these commands, "power ON",
Commands such as “power OFF (time setting is possible)” and “channel change” are for performing power / channel control of an arbitrary (or all) TV 25 from the broadcast station 1 side. Further, the character data display command can display an arbitrary character on a predetermined or all TVs 25. There is a "program identification" command as a command which is not involved in the control. This command is transmitted from the broadcast network to the answering apparatus 20 at any time interval during the program depending on the program.

Further, since the control command is transmitted using a broadcast network, there is a possibility that the control command cannot be normally received depending on the state of the network. Therefore, a valid time is provided for the control command.

When the reply device 20 receives the reply transmission enable command from the broadcast station 1, the reply device 20 can return a command indicating a pressed state of a button of an arbitrary operation unit 26. This return time becomes impossible when the valid time of the command expires or when a response transmission stop command is received. The guidance display command displays arbitrary characters on the display of the operation unit 26 for the convenience of the viewer.

As shown in FIG. 3, the response message to the control command from the broadcasting station 1 includes a totaling / analyzing server type, a communication management server type, a communication server type, a control command type, and a control target answering device. Each data area (area) includes a type, an answering device number, and additional information.

In this reply message, when a program identification command is received from the broadcast station 1, the program identification information is set together with the response information in the data area of the additional information and returned to the broadcast station 1 to collect the audience rating. Can be used for

The answer from the answering device 20 to the broadcast station 1 is transmitted via a terrestrial communication network. The operation unit 26 is connected to various line networks via the connection device 23. Broadcasting station 1
On the side, dedicated communication servers are installed according to each network. For example, in the case of the ISDN communication network 5, the resources of the line are previously secured by performing a PVC connection. Also, the data format to be transmitted is reduced to several bytes, thereby minimizing the load on the line.

Hereinafter, the operation of the large-scale data collection / analysis / response system will be described.

In the case of this large-scale data collection / analysis / response system, the program provider creates an interactive program that requests an answer from each viewer.
This program is distributed from the studio equipment 2 to the answering device 20 of each home (user) using video distribution means such as a satellite communication network.

Then, while the moderator of the studio proceeds with the program, the moderator asks a question to the viewer for an answer.

At this time, the studio equipment 2 is instructed by the moderator.
Sends a reply transmission enable command to the satellite communication server 8 via the communication management server 4. When the satellite communication server 8 receives the reply transmission enable command, the server 8 broadcasts this command to all users simultaneously using the satellite, so that all the reply devices 20 receive the same command.

In general, the method of simultaneous broadcasting has a main purpose of causing all of the answering devices 20 to perform the same operation, so that the ordinary communication method is sufficient. However, a certain arbitrary answering device 20 is controlled. Taking this into consideration, this system uses the format (data structure) of the control command shown in FIG.

In the answering device 20, the satellite communication antenna 2
When the connection device 22 receives the satellite broadcast through 1, the answer control device 24 operates as follows based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the response controller 24 receives data from the data input waiting state from the connection device 22 (S101), it extracts a command and outputs control command type information included therein. The command type is checked to determine the command type (S102), and the information of the control target answering device type data area (area) is checked to determine whether the command is for itself (S103 to S105). These processes are called filtering processes.

Here, for example, if the received command is a control command indicating that a response can be transmitted (Y in S102) and the control target answering device type is not ALL (N in S103), the command is stored in the ROM database of the answering device 20. The own device number is read (S104), and if the own device number in the database matches the control target answering device type information included in the control command (Y in S105), the answer controller 24 receives the received control command. Execute the process according to the type (S10
6).

In this case, since the control command is a command capable of transmitting a response, the response controller 24 transits to a type data transmittable state, and the operation unit 26 is operated by the user.
The value at the time when the button is pressed is passed to the connection device 23 and transmitted at any time.

While confirming the data collected by the tallying / dividing server 3, the moderator sends a response transmission stop command to all users (answering device 20) when it determines that the response has been sufficiently returned. To instruct.

When the answering device 20 receives the answering transmission stop command, the answering device 20 shifts to the data sending disabled state and the value cannot be sent even if the button of the operation unit 26 is pressed.

By operating as described above, the transmission timing of the answer from the operation unit 26 and the overall flow rate are controlled. The data sent from the operation unit 26 is collected in the communication management server 4 via the communication server corresponding to the line connecting the answering device 20 and each communication server.
In this case, since the answering device 20 is connected to the ISDN network 10, the answer data from the answering device 20 is received by the ISDN communication server 5 through the ISDN network 10,
It is sent from the ISDN communication server 5 to the communication management server 4.

The data collected in the communication management server 4 is:
It is passed to the tallying / analyzing server 3 for tallying.
The tallying / analyzing server 3 processes and edits a large amount of the passed data so that the moderator can easily see it, and after tallying, displays the data on a display screen such as a monitor.

If data transfer is carried out using a single communication network as in the prior art, a communication server and data aggregation /
Although data processing could be performed by directly connecting to the analysis server, when using a plurality of communication networks in this way, it is necessary to determine which communication network the data totaling / analysis server 3 uses.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the data aggregation /
Communication management server 4 between analysis server 3 and each communication server
Is installed. As a result, the data can be provided to the data totaling / analyzing server 3 in a form independent of the network.
In addition to reducing the load on the aggregation / analysis server 3, the aggregation / analysis
The analysis server 3 can perform an efficient analysis.

Thus, this large-scale data collection / analysis /
According to the response system, by using a plurality of communication networks and installing a dedicated communication server for each communication network, the amount of communication data can be dispersed and efficient data transmission can be achieved. In addition, even if one kind of communication network goes down, another communication network can be used, so that the program can be continuously operated.

Further, in this large-scale data collection / analysis / response system, the provision of the communication management server 4 allows the command transmission from the data totalization / analysis server to the reply device 20 to be performed by a server corresponding to each communication network. Instead, the communication management server 4 can distribute the command and transmit the command simply by sending the command to the communication management server 4.
Furthermore, in this system, since all commands to the answering device 20 are the same, control commands are transmitted to a large number of answering devices 20 on the viewer side by broadcast (wireless broadcasting) using satellite communication. The transmission and reception networks were separated. Thus, the load on the terrestrial communication network can be reduced. Even if the command is broadcast using satellite communication, the commands received by the answering device 20 are all the same, so that it was impossible to control the answering device 20 in a specific home. However, in this embodiment, Since the data area (area) of the control target answering device type is provided in the command for controlling the broadcast, any answering device 20 can be controlled even if the same command is transmitted to all the answering devices 20.

In the case of broadcasting, there is a possibility that the answering device 20 may run away because a command cannot be received. In the present embodiment, however, a valid time is provided for the control command to be broadcast, so that the communication network is not used. If the answering device 20 cannot receive the command due to instability, the function of the command whose validity period has passed is invalidated, and the answering device 2 is disabled.
Data can be prevented from flowing from 0 to the network, and the load on the line can be reduced.

Further, the ISND network 10, the ATM network 1
2 and the like, and by reducing the amount of data flowing through these networks to a few bytes, the load on the line can be reduced. In this embodiment, since the transmission from the answering device 20 is controlled by the command from the broadcasting station 1, the data flow rate on the line can be controlled, and the data is unilaterally transmitted from the answering device 20 to the server of the broadcasting station 1. Can be avoided.

Further, in the present embodiment, the guidance display command and the character data display command from the broadcasting station 1 display desired characters on the display of the operation unit or on the monitor TV, so that the viewer can determine the answer time. This makes it possible to judge by seeing, and it is possible to prevent the hearing of the verbal instruction from being overlooked, and also to allow a person with hearing impairment to participate in the program, thereby improving the convenience of the viewer.

Further, in the case of the present embodiment, a procedure is provided in which the program identification command irrelevant to the control from the broadcast station 1 is broadcast-transmitted, and the answering device 20 returns the received program identification command to the broadcast station 1. You can collect audience ratings. Also, by dynamically changing the program identification command under the control of the broadcast station 1, it becomes almost difficult to falsify the audience rating data, and correct data can be obtained from the viewer. Further, by transmitting a control command to the answering device using a broadcast network, the load on a terrestrial communication network can be reduced.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention, a response device is set on the viewer side, and the response device is controlled from a remote device side, so that the data flow rate flowing through the communication network can be reduced. The system can be controlled and a system that does not cause a system down in response to a viewer can be constructed.

Also, by providing display means for displaying information provided to the viewer in real time and response request information from a remote device, a response instruction in the provided program can be viewed. If the user misses the provided information or the hearing impaired person can confirm the response request information, the response can be made, and the fairness to the viewer who wants the response can be ensured.

Further, a command including the program identification information is transmitted from the remote device to the response device, and the response device also returns the program identification information when returning the response information. The audience rating can be investigated, and correct data from the audience can be obtained without altering the audience rating data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 illustrates large-scale data collection / configuration of one embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure showing composition of an analysis / response system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data structure of a control command in the large-scale data collection / analysis / response system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure of a reply message in the large-scale data collection / analysis / response system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation of the answering device in the large-scale data collection / analysis / response system.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Broadcasting station, 2 ... Studio equipment, 3 ... Totaling / analysis server, 4 ... Communication management server, 5 ... ISDN communication server, 6 ... Public line communication server, 7 ... ATM communication server, 8 ... Satellite Communication server for communication, 9 ... LAN, 10 ... I
SDN network, 11: Public line network, 12: ATM line network, 1
3, 21 ... satellite communication antenna, 20 ... answering device, 2
2, 23: connection machine, 24: answer controller, 25: monitor (TV), 26: operation unit.

Claims (7)

[Claims] A response device that receives information from a device installed at a remote place via a communication network, and transmits a response to the information via the communication network; and the device from the response device via the communication network. A plurality of response collection servers for collecting response information transmitted to each communication network for each communication network; and communication management means for controlling the amount of response information collected by each of the response collection servers by a command for the response device. A communication system, comprising: 2. The apparatus transmits the information and the control command by using a broadcast network; the response apparatus receives information and a control command from the broadcast network; Analysis means for analyzing the control command received from the broadcast network by the receiving means; information received from the broadcast network by the receiving means; and control command analysis by the analysis means. The communication system according to claim 1, further comprising: display means for displaying response request information. 3. The apparatus transmits the information and the control command using a broadcast network, the responding apparatus receives information and a control command from the broadcast network, Analyzing means for analyzing the control command received from the broadcast network by the receiving means; and the control command received based on the response device type information obtained by the command analysis by the analyzing means. A determination unit for determining whether or not the control command is received, and a permission unit for permitting a response input to the information if the control command is addressed to itself as a result of the determination by the determination unit. A communication system according to claim 1. 4. A receiving means for receiving, from a broadcast network, information transmitted from a device installed in a remote place and a command including response time information for the information, and a command received by the receiving means. Control means for controlling the timing of responding to the information based on the included response time information; display means for displaying information requesting a response to the viewer at the timing controlled by the control means; Response input means capable of inputting a response at a timing controlled by the means; and reply means for returning the information of the response input by the response input means to the device using a terrestrial communication network. A response device characterized by the above-mentioned. 5. The response device according to claim 4, wherein the response time information is information indicating a validity period of the command. 6. A receiving means for receiving, from a broadcast network, program information provided from a program provider to a viewer and a command for allowing the viewer to view and respond to the program information, and Broadcasting means for broadcasting program information received from the broadcast network; analyzing means for analyzing commands received from the broadcast network by the receiving means; and command analysis by the analyzing means. Display means for displaying response request information; response input means for a user to input a response to the response request information displayed by the display means; and A response device, comprising: a reply unit that replies to a program provider using a communication network. 7. A receiving means for receiving, from a broadcast network, program information provided from a program provider to a viewer and a command for displaying the program information and allowing the viewer to view and respond to the program information, and the receiving means. Analyzing means for analyzing a command received from the broadcast network by the user, response input means for inputting a response to a program viewed by a viewer by a user, and response input from the response input means by the user. A response device comprising: a reply unit that returns, together with the information, the program type information obtained by the command analysis by the analysis unit to a program provider using a terrestrial communication network.