WO2003032430A1

WO2003032430A1 - Broadcast reception recording apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2003032430A1
Application number: PCT/JP2002/010313
Authority: WO
Inventors: Toshio Nomura; Maki Takahashi
Original assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
Priority date: 2001-10-05
Filing date: 2002-10-02
Publication date: 2003-04-17
Also published as: JPWO2003032430A1

Abstract

In a so-called time-shift viewing for viewing a broadcast program recorded, CM is often skipped by fast feed and a sponsor cannot get the advertisement effect for the advertisement fee. Moreover, it is possible to solve the problem that a program is interrupted by CM even if the program requires a real time and prompt feature. A broadcast reception recording apparatus includes a multiplex/demultiplex unit (2) for receiving a broadcast program signal in which a plurality of objects are multiplexed and demultiplexing them into coded data of a plurality of objects, a decoding unit (3) for decoding the coded data of the objects into an image, an image synthesis unit (4) for combining the decoded objects into a single image for output, a recording/reproducing unit (7) for recording/reproducing the coded data of the demultiplexed objects, and a display count controller (5) for controlling the display count according to the display count control information accompanying the object. For the object having the display count control information, the image is forcibly output until displayed by a predetermined number of times.

Description

Description Broadcast receiving and recording device Technical field

The present invention relates to a broadcast receiving and recording apparatus configured by a plurality of objects and receiving and recording a broadcast program signal including a CM. Background art

For existing broadcast programs, advertisements (CM) of sponsoring companies are inserted into the programs, and advertising fees are collected from sponsors to cover program production. In this case, sponsors naturally pay advertising costs in anticipation of the advertising effect of CM.

—On the other hand, with the introduction of multi-channel digital broadcasting and the emergence of a long-time recording device using a large-capacity hard disk, time-shift viewing, in which recording is performed once and then viewed at an arbitrary time, is increasing. However, in time-shifted viewing, CMs are often not watched because playback of the stored digital files is easy and special playback such as fast-forwarding and skipping can be easily performed.

In order to deal with this problem, Patent Document 1 discloses that the CM data received as a data broadcast is stored in the receiver, and the CM viewing time in a normal broadcast is measured, and the CM viewing is insufficient. In the case of, a broadcasting system for forcibly displaying CM data is disclosed.

Patent Literature 2 discloses a TV signal recording / reproducing apparatus that counts the number of appearances of the same CM and prevents a viewer from seeing the same CM many times. Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a CM data reproducing apparatus that inserts CM data recorded separately from program data into a predetermined location when reproducing a program, and a viewer selects a CM input form. It also mentions the function to do.

However, in the broadcasting system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, CM data must be created and transmitted separately from CM video in a normal broadcast. It is necessary to accumulate all CM data even though it is not known whether or not the CM data will be used.

Also, since the amount of information on the CM data displayed when the viewing of the CM is insufficient is small, it cannot be denied that the advertising effect is inferior to that of the CM of the normal broadcast. In addition, the complexity of measuring the CM viewing time for each CM and recording the accumulated time occurs.

Furthermore, it is not desirable for commercials to be interrupted by commercials for programs that require real-time / immediateness, such as sports broadcasting, but existing broadcasting systems have not been able to address this problem.

Also, when the same CM is broadcasted multiple times, the sponsor pays for the advertisement just enough, and expects the viewer to watch the CM many times. Such a TV signal recording / reproducing device does not consider such a position of the sponsor. .

In addition, the CM data playback device disclosed in Patent Document 3 is based on the premise that CMs are always recorded once, so even when recording while displaying on the screen, the CM data is recorded. Would. In addition, since the viewer is given the option to insert the CM, there is a problem in that the CM is played back against the expectations of the sponsor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a broadcast receiving and recording apparatus capable of obtaining an effective CM advertisement effect by providing display frequency control information for each object. Things.

(Patent Document 1)

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-01-1 3647 1

(Patent Document 2)

JP-A-10-224724

(Patent Document 3)

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-2016 Disclosure of the invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a demultiplexing unit that receives a broadcast program signal in which a plurality of objects are multiplexed and separates the broadcast program signal into encoded data of a plurality of objects, and encodes the encoded data of each object. Decoding means for decoding into an image, screen synthesizing means for synthesizing the decoded object on one screen, and outputting; recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing the encoded data of the separated object; and accompanying the object Display number control means for controlling the number of display times based on the display number control information to be displayed, and for an object accompanied by the display number control information, the screen output is forcibly output until a predetermined number of times is displayed. It is characterized by doing.

A second invention of the present application is characterized in that the display count control information is information indicating a required display count, and the required display count is updated each time an object is output on a screen.

The third invention of the present application is characterized in that the display count control information is information indicating a required display count and a displayed count, and the displayed count is updated every time an object is output on a screen.

In the fourth invention of the present application, the display count control information is a mandatory display flag, and a state meaning forced display is set as an initial value, and changes to a state meaning arbitrary display once the object is output to the screen. It is characterized by the following.

The fifth invention of the present application further includes a display Z non-display setting unit that selects display Z non-display for an object to which the display number control information is not attached or an object that has already been displayed for the required number of display times. It is characterized by having.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the case where recording is performed while displaying a screen, the recording / reproducing means does not record an object accompanied by display number control information indicating that the required display number is one. It is characterized by.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the display number control means is provided, wherein the object with the display number control information once recorded is reproduced, and when the display number of the object reaches a predetermined required display number, the display number control means Erases the object from the recording medium. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a broadcast receiving and recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. '

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen configuration using a plurality of objects according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a correspondence state between each object and display number control information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C, and FIG. 4D are explanatory diagrams each showing a specific example of the display count control information according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a data flow at the time of reproduction of the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing display count control based on display count control information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are diagrams showing temporal changes in the screen occupation status of the CM, respectively. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a broadcast receiving and recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 1, the broadcast program is assumed to be composed of three objects. The multiplexing unit 20 belongs to the transmitting side and is not included in the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of the present invention, but the encoded data of three objects (Obj1, 0bj2, Obj3) Is multiplexed and transmitted as a broadcast program.

Here, an object refers to a component image having a rectangular shape or an arbitrary shape, and for example, MPEG-4 can be used as a method for separately encoding the object. MPEG-4 has a function to encode objects, which are components of an image, using different methods instead of using one encoding method. Each object is a natural image captured by a video camera or an artificially created image such as CG. Also, for natural images, moving people, It has a function to separately encode image components such as stationary objects and backgrounds.

For example, it is possible to extract and encode only a person from an image taken with a video camera and combine it with an encoded background taken with another camera to obtain encoded data representing a new image. . Of course, as in the past, the entire screen input from the video camera can be encoded as one object.

For the sake of simplicity, we do not consider voice here

(Or you may think that one object is composed of image and sound). Although not shown in Fig. 1, when encoding a screen composed of multiple objects, not only the pit stream where multiple objects are multiplexed but also the arrangement of objects and the time relationship are described. Information (scene description information) must also be transmitted. Conversely, the objects received and decoded do not behave completely independently, but are linked to each other by scene description information, and compose a screen as intended by the sender.

The broadcast receiving and recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a demultiplexing unit 2, a decoding unit 3, a screen synthesizing unit 4, a display number control unit 5, a display / non-display setting unit 6, and a recording / reproducing unit 7. I have. The received broadcast program signal is demultiplexed by the demultiplexing unit 2 and restored to a component image by the decoding unit 3.

Here, as shown in Fig. 2, Obj1 is a rectangular object (the size of the entire screen) representing the background, Obj2 is an arbitrarily-shaped object representing the foreground, and Obj3 is a CM object. It is assumed that the object is an arbitrary shape object. Since O b j 3 is for CM, it is desirable that O b j 3 is arranged at a position where it does not interfere with other objects.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the display number control information is added to the object for CM O bj 3, and the display number control information is not added to O bj 1 and O bj 2. .

Note that, here, O bj 2 and 〇 bj 3 are arbitrarily-shaped objects, but either one or both may be rectangular objects.O bj 2 and 0 bj 3 are both rectangular objects. In case, configure the screen including Obj 1 All objects will be rectangular objects, but this is not a problem. By making all objects rectangular objects, there is an advantage that a method that handles only rectangular images, such as the MPEG-4 simple profile, can be used. The objects to which the display count control information is added are not limited to commercials, but may be news, preview content for a limited number of times or a limited time period, or information that is updated as needed (for example, concert information or job information). It may be. For Obj1 and Obj2 without the display count control information, the display Z non-display setting unit 6 allows the user to arbitrarily select whether or not to display each object. The default may be displayed. The display Z non-display of the object with the display count control information will be described later.

The screen synthesizing unit 4 generates a synthesized screen only for the display set for each decrypted object, and outputs the synthesized screen to a display (not shown). Next, the display count control information will be described in detail. As an example of display control using display number control information, there is a method of recording the required number of display times as shown in Fig. 4A and reducing this value by one each time it is displayed. The required number of display times means the minimum number of times that the object must be displayed on the screen regardless of the user's intention. According to the current method of creating broadcast programs, the required number of display times is usually one, but not necessarily one.

In addition, the number of times of display here may be once when the object has been reproduced to the end, or may be once when the object is reproduced a little.

Also, the number of times of display may be calculated by a real number instead of an integer. For example, if the object has been played back to the end by slow playback or the like, the display will be 0.5 times. Alternatively, even when only a part of the object is played, if the main part of the object (for example, the message part of the CM or the summary of the news) is played, the number of times is set to 0.8. A method such as twice may be used.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4B, the number of required display times and the number of already displayed times are provided as display number control information, and the value of the number of already displayed times is incremented by one for each display without updating the required number of display times. There are ways to go. If the required display count is 1, a mandatory display flag is provided as display count control information as shown in Fig. 4C, and this flag is compulsory during broadcasting. There is a method in which it is set to ON, which means display, and once displayed, it is rewritten to 0FF, which means arbitrary display.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4D, there is a method of having a mandatory display time limit as display number control information, and displaying the content as many times as it is reproduced within this time limit. In this case, there is no limit on the number of displays. If the first playback is performed after the mandatory display period has passed, this object may not be displayed at all, but for example, it may be a commercial sale, a breaking news, etc. It is reasonable to do this for information that will lose value over time.

Note that display expiration information may be provided separately from the display count restriction information, in which case the restriction is imposed by the one who satisfies the condition first.

By the way, in the description of the present embodiment, when the word "display" is used, the image is not displayed because the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus is not connected to the display or the display is not turned on. However, it is determined that the image is displayed based on the output from the screen composition unit 4.

Now, in the present embodiment, the received broadcast program signal can be recorded by the recording / reproducing unit 7. Here, all received objects are recorded. At this time, for an object with display number control information, the information is also recorded at the same time. However, when the display is performed simultaneously with the display on the screen, the display number control unit 5 The updated display number control information is recorded. When a recorded program is played back, the form shown in Fig. 5 is used, which is basically the same as displaying a received broadcast program. That is, in the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of FIG. 1, the data after demultiplexing is recorded in the recording / reproducing unit 7, so that the reproduced data shown in FIG. The rest is the same. Even when the recorded program is played back, the display count control unit 5 updates the display count control information by displaying the screen, and then records the information again.

The flow of processing using the display count control information will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. First, it is determined in step S1 whether or not the decrypted object has display number control information. If the display number control information is included, it is further determined whether or not the required display number has already been displayed in step S2 ₍ In the case of No, the display number control information is updated in step S3, the object is set to be forcibly displayed (step S4), and the screen is synthesized (step S5). And output (step S6). That is, the user cannot select whether to display / hide the object unless the predetermined number of required display times is displayed, and the object is forcibly displayed.

On the other hand, if the determination is No in step S1 and the determination is Yes in step S2, the user can select whether to display or hide the object. In step S7, display / non-display is set. In other words, for objects with display count control information displayed for the required display count, the user can select display Z non-display as with other objects (the default may be set to non-display). .

By doing so, in the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of the present embodiment, the CM object is displayed by the predetermined required number of display times, so that the advertising effect expected by the sponsor can be exhibited. In addition, after the required number of display times has been displayed, the object can be hidden by the user's setting, so that the user can enjoy the program purely.

In the above description, the CM object displayed only for the required number of display times can be hidden, but may be displayed in a reduced size instead of being hidden. Alternatively, the object may be displayed at its original size when first displayed, and thereafter, the size of the object may be reduced each time it is displayed.

By the way, in the above explanation, all the received objects were recorded, but the CM object (O bj 3) with the display number control information is required to be displayed only once, and at the same time as the display. When recording, the CM object may not be recorded.

In addition, when the accumulated number of display times obtained by playing back the CM object once recorded reaches the required number of display times, the display number control unit 5 may delete the CM object from the recording medium. . By doing so, data that does not need to be recorded is not recorded, and the data amount can be reduced.

By using the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of the present embodiment, the present broadcast can be realized. It will be possible to present a variety of commercials, but this will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7C.

7A to 7C, the horizontal axis schematically shows the flow of time, and the vertical axis schematically shows the screen occupation state. CM presentation in conventional broadcasting is as shown in FIG. 7A. That is, after the regular program lasts for a certain period of time, CM using the entire screen flows, and the regular program repeats for a certain period of time. As a result, an undesired situation occurs in which the program is interrupted, especially in a program that requires real-time and immediateness.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the CM presentation as shown in FIG. 7B is possible (if necessary, the CM presentation as shown in FIG. 7A is also possible). In other words, the CM can be presented for a longer time than the conventional case of Fig. 7A, instead of using only a part of the screen.

As described above with reference to Fig. 2, the CM object is placed in a position where it does not interfere with other (constituting normal programs) objects. If there is no such position, the CM object is transmitted. Do not show. In the CM presentation as shown in Fig. 7B, the area of the screen on which the CM is displayed is smaller than in the case of Fig. 7A, but it can be presented for a longer time.

Here, assuming that object area X presentation time = advertising effect, there is no significant difference between Fig. 7A and Fig. 7B in terms of advertising effect, and Fig. 7B has the advantage that there is no program interruption. have.

Furthermore, when a normal program is produced on the assumption that a CM object is displayed on a part of the screen from the beginning, it is possible to always show CM as shown in Fig. 7C. In this case, since the presentation time of the CM can be lengthened, there is a possibility that a new expression form of the CM that could not be realized with the current CM is born.

In the case of Fig. 7A, since the time of the normal program and the time of the CM are separated, it is possible to skip only the CM part by fast-forwarding etc. when playing back the recorded program. In the case of FIG. 7B or FIG. 7C, since the normal program and the CM are not temporally separated, it is impossible to skip only the CM, and the viewer can surely see the CM.

It is assumed that each CM is a separate object, and each CM The object has display count control information. Therefore, if the same CM is broadcasted more than once, they are treated as separate objects, and the viewers always make the same number of broadcasts by the function of display frequency control described above. You will see the same CM.

As is apparent from the above description, when the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of the present embodiment is used, the CM can be displayed on the screen as intended by the sponsor, and the advertisement effect can be obtained efficiently. .

As described above, according to the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of the present invention, for an object with display number control information, the screen is forcibly output until the object is displayed a predetermined number of times. Advertising effect can be obtained. At the same time, there is no need to interrupt the program by CM, so it does not hinder programs that require real-time performance.

In addition, it not only manages extremely simple additional information called display count control information, but also eliminates the hassle of measuring and recording CM viewing time. There is no need to separately create CM data for data broadcasting. Furthermore, since the presentation time of the CM can be lengthened, it is possible to create a new expression form of the CM that cannot be realized with the current CM.

In addition, by providing display number control information for each object, if the same CM is broadcast more than once, it is assured that the viewer sees the CM as many times as it has been broadcast, and fine-grained control is provided. Becomes possible.

Further, according to the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of the present invention, the minimum number of display times can be set to an arbitrary number by using the essential number of display times as the display number control information.

Further, according to the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of the present invention, the essential display count is used as the display count control information, and the mandatory display count is not updated, so that the mandatory display count can be known later. it can.

Further, according to the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of the present invention, the display count can be controlled with less additional information by using the required display flag as the display count control information. Furthermore, according to the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to select whether to display or not display an object to which no display number control information is attached, so that the configuration of the display screen is changed according to the user's preference. It is possible.

Further, according to the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of the present invention, when performing recording while displaying a screen, unnecessary objects are not recorded, so that the amount of recorded data can be reduced.

Further, according to the broadcast receiving and recording apparatus of the present invention, by erasing from the recording medium the object that has reached the required number of display times by reproducing, even when the object is recorded on Ultimately, the amount of recorded data can be reduced.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. Demultiplexing means for receiving a broadcast program signal in which a plurality of objects are multiplexed and separating them into coded data of a plurality of objects, and decoding the encoded data of each object into an image Decoding means, a screen synthesizing means for synthesizing the decoded object into one screen and outputting the same, a recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing the coded data of the separated object, and a display count associated with the object. Display number control means for controlling the number of display based on the control number report, and for an object accompanied by the number of display control information, forcibly output the screen until a predetermined number of times is displayed. A broadcast receiving and recording apparatus characterized in that:

2. The broadcast reception according to claim 1, wherein the display count control information is information indicating a required display count, and updates the required display count every time an object is output on a screen. Recording device.

3. The display count control information is information indicating a required display count and an already displayed count, and the displayed count is updated each time an object is output on a screen. The broadcast receiving and recording apparatus according to the paragraph.

4. The display count control information is a mandatory display flag, and has a state meaning forced display as an initial value, and changes to a state meaning arbitrary display once an object is output to the screen. The broadcast receiving and recording apparatus according to claim 1.

5. A display Z non-display setting means for selecting display / non-display for an object to which the display number control information is not attached or an object already displayed for the required number of display times is further provided. The broadcast receiving and recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

6. In the case where recording is performed while displaying a screen, the recording / reproducing means does not record an object accompanied by display number control information indicating that the required display number is one. 2. The broadcast receiving and recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

7. By playing back the recorded object with the display count control information, if the display count of the object reaches a predetermined required display count, the display count control means stores the information on the recording medium. Before deleting the object from The broadcast receiving and recording apparatus according to claim 1,