WO2006079977A2 - Selection de programme de radioffusion - Google Patents

Selection de programme de radioffusion Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2006079977A2
WO2006079977A2 PCT/IB2006/050266 IB2006050266W WO2006079977A2 WO 2006079977 A2 WO2006079977 A2 WO 2006079977A2 IB 2006050266 W IB2006050266 W IB 2006050266W WO 2006079977 A2 WO2006079977 A2 WO 2006079977A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
broadcast
program
programs
user
popularity
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2006/050266
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2006079977A3 (fr
Inventor
Mauro Barbieri
Original Assignee
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. filed Critical Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Publication of WO2006079977A2 publication Critical patent/WO2006079977A2/fr
Publication of WO2006079977A3 publication Critical patent/WO2006079977A3/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
    • H04N21/4508—Management of client data or end-user data
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/25—Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies
    • H04N21/251—Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies
    • H04N21/252—Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/482—End-user interface for program selection
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
    • H04N7/173—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
    • H04N7/17309—Transmission or handling of upstream communications
    • H04N7/17318—Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a system for enabling a user to select a program from a plurality of programs being broadcast.
  • the invention further relates to a server, broadcast receiving device, storage device and remote control, respectively, for use in the system.
  • the invention further relates to a method of providing an EPG (Electronic Program Guide).
  • EPG Electronic Program Guide
  • the EPG will present only information related to programs, which are broadcast on the channels in the favorite channel list. It is also known to limit information presented by an EPG to programs of a specific category. Information about a program's category may be supplied by the content provider, e.g. included in a dedicated teletext page or as part of the service information (SI) of a digital broadcast stream.
  • SI service information
  • US 6,493,688 also describes a more accurate way of filtering received programs in accordance with user-supplied preferences.
  • the user profile comprises a rating for a value combination of at least a value of the first attribute and a value of the second attribute.
  • the rating determines whether a program classified by the value combination is a member of a subset of programs that are selectable by the user. Rating individual value combinations, e.g. by means of like/dislike markers, enables dependencies between attributes to be taken into account.
  • the user profile may contain a positive rating for news reports on particular channels, e.g. CNN and BBC, and a negative rating for news reports on all other channels.
  • other program categories e.g. movies, another set of preferred channels may be specified.
  • the user profile may determine which programs are included in a zap-circle. For example, when the user operates the channel-up or channel-down keys, only programs having a value combination with a positive rating will be selected. Other programs will be skipped automatically.
  • the user profile may also determine which programs are presented in an electronic program guide (EPG). For example, when the user requests an overview of the programs to be broadcast in the next few hours, only programs having a value combination with a positive rating are presented, or alternatively, made more prominent in comparison with other programs.
  • EPG electronic program guide
  • the broadcast receiving device may be incorporated in a rendering device, e.g. forming a television. It is also known to combine the broadcast receiving device with a storage device. Recently, high capacity digital storage devices have come onto the market, for example using a hard disk or DVD-based storage medium. A recorded program can then be provided to a rendering device for 'time-shifted' rendering.
  • the broadcasting device may also be a unit, such as a set top box, separate from the rendering or storage device.
  • the invention provides a system for selecting a program from a plurality of broadcast programs.
  • the system includes a broadcasting system for broadcasting programs, at least one broadcast receiving device for receiving broadcast programs; at least one rendering device for rendering a received broadcast program to a user; means for obtaining for each of the broadcast programs a corresponding measure of a popularity of the program and for providing the popularity measures to the broadcast receiving device; and selecting means for selecting at least one of the received broadcast programs for rendering to the user by the rendering device, the selection being in dependence on the corresponding popularity measures.
  • the inventor has realized that the current ways of selecting and filtering of programs are not optimal if the number of available programs is very high.
  • the only way open for a user to quickly select a program is to apply stricter filtering/selection criteria.
  • the currently known criteria almost inevitably have the side effect that the user may miss an interesting program. For example, on a Saturday night, the broadcasting system may concurrently broadcast in the order of a hundred movies.
  • the user may have provided profile data, such as the user is only interested in action movies, science- fiction movies, etc.
  • the profile may be used to reduce the list to a number of, for example, ten to twenty movies.
  • this may result in the user not being aware that an extremely popular movie that the user did want to watch is not on the list, simply because it did not meet the profile.
  • this is solved by using the popularity of a program to rank the programs and to select a program in dependence on the popularity.
  • the popularity may, for example, be determined depending on the number of people that viewed the movie in the cinema.
  • the selection may be done for real-time rendering by a user, but may equally well be the selection for program to be stored in a storage device for subsequent 'time-shifted' rendering.
  • the system ranks the programs and enables the user to select at least a most popular program.
  • the ranking may be done on programs being broadcast simultaneously. The user can then quickly select the program he wants to hear/view in real-time. As an alternative or additionally, the user can also quickly select a program to be recorded for subsequent rendering.
  • the system automatically records the most popular program(s). In this way, even if the user is not able to view a program during a life broadcast, the user can still watch the most popular program(s) at a later moment.
  • a program may be a 'full title', e.g. entire football game including opening and closing commentary.
  • the same principle also can be used for parts of a full title, e.g. only the football game itself.
  • the system can thus also be used for filtering most popular parts of broadcasts. As such, a program can also be a part of a broadcast title.
  • the storage device stores received programs and the corresponding popularity measures.
  • the stored programs are ranked on popularity, enabling the user to quickly select a popular program for play-back.
  • the user is enabled to select this program by providing a key on the user interface (e.g. on a remote control) that triggers the selection.
  • a key may be a physical button (either with a fixed function, selectable function or programmable function) or a soft key (e.g. key presented on a touch-screen such as the Philips Pronto remote control).
  • the popularity is determined by measuring the actual popularity during the broadcast as expressed by the audience share.
  • an audience share is usually already measured, for example to determine an advertisement rate for advertisements broadcast via the same channel before, after or during the broadcast of the program.
  • TV audience shares are usually measured by national broadcasters associations or other organizations using a number of sample households. Increasingly, the shares are measured in real-time (e.g. every minute) and available 'instantly' at the measuring organization.
  • a measuring organization is, for example, the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB) in the UK.
  • the audience share measures are received through a communication system (e.g. the Internet) from a measuring system that measures for each program broadcast through a broadcasting system a corresponding audience share.
  • a communication system e.g. the Internet
  • the measured share can quickly be used to influence the selection of the programs in the network.
  • the selection can 'instantly' be adjusted to an unexpected situation. For example, if an important news event has occurred the news broadcast will most likely be highly popular for selection.
  • the popularity is used for sorting the list of selectable program. In principle, any sorting order may be used, but most users will prefer a sorting in decreasing popularity.
  • the user interface includes a key that enables a user to zap through the sorted list. For example, one key may be used to zap through the list, starting with a most popular program and each time the user presses the key again, the next most popular program is selected.
  • a dedicated key may be used to go down the list in decreasing popularity (a 'down' key). If so desired, also a key may be provided for the reverse operation (an 'up' key).
  • the 'down' key may be combined with the 'most popular' key: each time the user presses this key again, the next most popular program is selected, but if the user does not activate the key for a certain period (e.g. a few seconds), the next time the user activates the key the most popular program is selected.
  • profile information is used to focus the popular programs to the particular interests of a user.
  • a server collects the popularity measures and makes these available to the broadcast receivers.
  • the information is preferably provided through the same broadcasting system as used for broadcasting the programs.
  • the server keeps the information in the receiving devices up-to-date, for example, by collecting and distributing audience share measures every 5 to 15 minutes. In this way, the popularity of a newly started program is quickly available in the devices. Also, special events during a program that result in an increase of the popularity during the broadcast of the program will result in more users being informed of such an increase.
  • the popularity measures are embedded in the EPG. This is an effective way of automatically distributing the data without requiring major design changes in existing systems.
  • the broadcast receiving device takes the initiative to retrieve the popularity data from the server when the data is required. It may do so through a back-communication path of the broadcasting system, but it may also use other communication paths, e.g. through the Internet.
  • a broadcast receiving device includes: a broadcast receiver for receiving a user selectable program from a plurality of programs being broadcast simultaneously; means for receiving for programs being broadcast a respective measure of a popularity of the program; and selecting means for selecting at least one of the received broadcast programs for rendering to the user by the rendering device, the selection being in dependence on the corresponding popularity measures.
  • a storage device includes: a storage for storing broadcast programs received by a broadcast reception device and for storing for each of the stored programs a received respective corresponding popularity measure; ranking means for determining at least a most popular one of the stored broadcast programs in dependence on the corresponding popularity measures; and a user interface operative to enable the user to select the most popular program from the stored programs for rendering by a rendering device.
  • a remote control for enabling a user to control the broadcast receiving device and/or to control the storage device includes a key for enabling the user to select at least a most popular program for rendering.
  • a method of providing EPG data to a broadcast receiving device includes: means for obtaining for broadcast programs a respective measure of a popularity of the program; incorporating the popularity measure in an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) as an attribute of the respective program; and providing the EPG to the broadcast receiving device through a communication system.
  • EPG Electronic Program Guide
  • Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the system according to the invention.
  • Fig. 2 shows two embodiments of remote controls for use with the system
  • FIG. 3 shows a preferred way of measuring the popularity of broadcast programs
  • Fig. 4 shows and exemplary digital broadcasting system in which the invention can be employed
  • Fig. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary broadcast receiving device for use with the system.
  • Fig. 6 is a block diagram of an embodiment including a storage device.
  • popularity of broadcast program is used for selecting programs rendered to a user.
  • the selection can take place at various places and moments.
  • the selection may be used to choose between a plurality of program being broadcast simultaneously, where the selected program is being viewed by a user.
  • the selection will typically at least partly be controlled by a user based on a ranking performed by the system.
  • the selected program or even several selected programs may also be recorded for subsequent rendering.
  • the selection may be fully automatic, but alternatively the user may also control the selection aided by the system.
  • the popularity of recorded programs is also stored. This enables the user to better select from the stored programs aided by the system.
  • Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the system 100 according to the invention.
  • a plurality of programs is broadcast simultaneously by a broadcasting system 110.
  • the system includes a plurality of broadcast receiving devices, shown are devices 120, 130 and 140.
  • the programs may be broadcast in any suitable form, where increasingly digital delivery is used.
  • a program includes audio and/or video, but in principle it may contain any multimedia content.
  • the broadcasting system 110 may broadcast via any suitable broadcasting medium 115, such as the conventional terrestrial, satellite, or cable broadcast, or using new forms like broadcasting through the Internet (webcasting).
  • a program may be broadcast 'live', i.e.
  • Fig. 1 shows some details of one of the receiving devices, being device 130.
  • the device 130 includes a broadcast receiver 132 for receiving a user selectable program from the programs that are transmitted simultaneously.
  • An example of such a broadcast receiver is a tuner in a television.
  • the device 130 also includes a controller 134 for enabling a user to select at least one of the programs being broadcast.
  • the selected program may be output through an output 136, for example, for rendering or recording by the device 130 itself or by a separate storage device (not shown).
  • the controller 134 may be controlled by the user through a user interface 138, such as a remote control system.
  • the system includes means 150 for obtaining for each of the programs a measure of a popularity of the program.
  • the means 150 may, for example, be implemented on a computer system.
  • the popularity measure may be obtained in any suitable way. For example, if a movie has already been shown in the cinema, the visiting numbers may be used as a measure of the popularity.
  • the popularity may also be based on other historical information, like average popularity of a TV show.
  • the means 150 are connected to the broadcasting system 110 to provide the popularity measure to the broadcasting system 110 (e.g. via a direct communication link, or Internet).
  • the broadcasting system 110 can then provide the information to the broadcast receiving devices 120, 130, 140.
  • the information may be provided from the means 150 to the broadcast receiving devices 120, 130, 140 without going through the broadcasting system 110, for example it may be provided directly through the Internet (not shown in Fig. 1).
  • the system includes selecting means for selecting at least one of the received broadcast programs for rendering to the user by a rendering device (not shown).
  • the selection depends on the corresponding popularity measures.
  • the selection may be fully automatic or partly controlled by a user.
  • the main task for the selection lies in the broadcast receiving device 120, 130, 140.
  • the controller 134 of the broadcast receiving device 120, 130, 140 may cause a list of programs to be presented to the user, e.g., each with a program number, name and popularity.
  • the user selects one program, e.g., by pressing the number on the remote control.
  • the dialogue with the user may be performed via a user interface 138 that may be conventional.
  • the controller 134 may arrange the user selectable programs into a list that is sorted in dependence on the corresponding popularity measures, e.g., starting with the most popular program.
  • an intelligent user interface such as a Philips pronto remote control system
  • such tasks may also be delegated to such a controlling device.
  • the list of programs available for selection e.g., each with a program number, name and popularity, may be downloaded to the controlling device.
  • the user can then select one of the programs on the remote control and an identifier (e.g., number) of the selected program is sent back to the broadcast receiving device for selection.
  • an intelligent controlling device simplifies control of device with a less advanced user interface of their own (e.g., with no or limited display).
  • a central system like the broadcasting system 110, may play a role in the assisting the user to select in dependence on the popularity, e.g., by compiling lists of popular programs.
  • the system determines at least a most popular one of the programs being broadcast and the user can select that most popular program through a user interface.
  • the most popular program may be determined at any suitable place in the system 100, for example by a central system, like the broadcasting system 110, by the controller 132 in the broadcast receiving device 130, or by a controller (not shown) in an intelligent remote control.
  • the user interface includes a key for enabling the user to select the most popular program.
  • a key may be located on the broadcast receiving device 120, 130, 140.
  • it is located on a remote control for use with such a broadcast receiver 130.
  • the key may be a physical button or a soft key (e.g., a key displayed on a touch screen).
  • the key may be dedicated solely to selecting the most popular program. It may also have other functions.
  • the user interface 138 preferably includes a key for enabling the user to select a sequentially next program on the sorted list.
  • Figs. 2A and 2B show two alternative ways of doing so on a remote control 200.
  • a single key 210 is used. Activating this key 210 for the first time will result in the most popular program to be selected. Activating this same key again within a predetermined time interval (of, e.g., a few seconds) will result in the second most popular program being selected.
  • a predetermined time interval of, e.g., a few seconds
  • the zapping may continue with the most popular one (forming a zap circle). If the user does not activate the key within the time interval, the next activation preferably results in selecting the most popular program (a 'reset'). In Fig. 2B, activating key 230 will result in selecting the program that is one lower in popularity than the currently selected program. This can be repeated until the end of the list is reached. Activating key 220 will result in selecting the program that is one higher in popularity than the currently selected program. This can be repeated until the end of the list is reached. For both keys 220 and 230 it may hold that if the respective end of the list is reached, further activation has no effect.
  • the controller may be programmed to continue with the respective other end of the list (closing the list to a circle). If no program on the most popular list is currently selected, the first activation of key 220 or 230 may result in selecting the most popular one on the list.
  • the selection of the programs may also be fully automatic.
  • the controller 134 fully automatically selects the most popular program and controls that this program is received by the receiver 132 and output via the output 136.
  • Fully automatic operation is particularly relevant if the selected program is automatically recorded for subsequent rendering to the user and the user need not be present at the moment of the real-time broadcast to select the program (or program the recording in advance of the broadcast).
  • the measure of a popularity of a program depends on an current audience share of the program measured at least once during the broadcast of the program.
  • Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of a preferred embodiment, wherein the audience share is obtained from a share measuring system 350. Same numbers used in Figs. 1 and 3 refer to the same element.
  • a measuring system 350 in itself is already known for measuring TV audience shares. These shares are usually measured by national broadcasters associations or other organizations using a number of sample households that have received the broadcast.
  • a program is broadcast by the broadcasting system 110 to a plurality of broadcast receivers 120, 130, and 140.
  • the measuring system 350 measures which program being broadcast has been selected and/or is being rendered by the receivers 120, 130, 140.
  • the measuring system 350 determines the audience share. Such a calculation is well known and will not be described in detail here. Usually, the share is only measured for a subset of the total numbers of receivers 120, 130, 140.
  • the broadcast receivers 120, 130, 140 may provide the required information to the measuring system 350 in any suitable way. Traditionally, telephone links have been used for this. More recently, systems use fully automatic, regular updating of the information to the measuring system 350 via a wide area network 360, in particular through the Internet. From the data supplied by the receivers 120, 130, 140, the measuring system 350 compiles the shares of the programs being broadcasts. In the preferred embodiment of Fig.
  • the measuring system 350 communicates the share to the broadcasting system 110 via a communication system (e.g., Internet or a direct connection).
  • the measuring system 350 may provide the popularity ratings directly to the receivers 120, 130, 140.
  • the receivers can also collect the viewing data directly from the other receivers in the system, but this will normally cause excessive load on the system.
  • the audience share data may provide only the relative popularity of the programs (e.g. a percentage of the potential number of viewers that watched the program).
  • the audience share data also includes the absolute number of viewers of each broadcast program. Both types of information can in principle be used as input for the system according to the invention, where the absolute number of viewers provides most information.
  • more than one measuring system 350 may be used, e.g. one for each country or one for each broadcast provider (e.g. BBC, Sky, etc.). If multiple measuring systems are used, preferably, the audience share represents the absolute number of viewers of a program in order to be able to compare data of the different measuring systems.
  • Figs. 4 and 5 provide more details of a digital broadcasting system in which the invention can be used.
  • A/V audio/video
  • the system includes an MPEG-2 compressor 410, usually located in a broadcast center.
  • the compressor receives a digital signal stream (typically a stream of digitized analog or digital video signals).
  • the original signals may be supplied via a link 405 by a service provider or from a studio performing live recordings.
  • the program is loaded from a storage medium 495, such as a hard disk, CD-ROM, DVD, or solid-state memory, which stores AV data.
  • the program is received in a compressed form, for example using MPEG-2 coding.
  • the program may be changed, for example some parts may be removed to reduce the length, and some other parts, like commercials, may be added. Consequently, the program will usually be re-coded by the compressor/coder 410.
  • the compressor 410 is connected to a multiplexer 420, with an optional scrambling function.
  • the scrambler scrambles the digital signals of a data stream by encrypting them under control of a content key.
  • the multiplexer 420 may receive in addition to one or more scrambled or non-scrambled data stream also further digital signals.
  • the multiplexer 420 assembles all the signal and streams into a transport stream and supplies the compressed and multiplexed signals to a transmitter 430 of the broadcast center.
  • the scrambling and multiplexing functions may be performed in separate units, and if desired at different locations.
  • the multiplexed transport stream may be supplied from the scrambler/multiplexer 420 to the transmitter 430 using any suitable form of linkage, including telecommunication links.
  • the transmitter 430 transmits electromagnetic signals via an uplink towards a satellite transponder 440, where they are electronically processed and broadcast via a downlink to an earth-based satellite receiver 450, conventionally in the form of a dish of the end user.
  • the satellite receiver 450 is connected to an integrated receiving system 460.
  • the receiving system 460 selects the desired signal and presents it in a suitable form to a rendering device, such as a television 470.
  • the signal may also be recorded using a tape, optical disc or hard disk recorder or other suitable recorder.
  • the signal may be supplied to the rendering/recording device in an analog or digital form using well-known distribution systems such as CATV cable, or IEEE 1394.
  • CATV cable or IEEE 1394.
  • the physical medium by which one or more multiplexes are transmitted may be used, such as terrestrial broadcast, cable transmission, combined satellite/cable, mobile telecommunication based broadcasting, or web-casting.
  • the party that distributes the program via the delivery system is sometimes referred as the network provider.
  • the receiver/decoder 460 may be integrated into the rendering or recording device.
  • the functions 410, 420, 430 and 440 may together form the broadcasting system 110 of Figs. 1 and 3.
  • the receiver 460 corresponds to the receiving device 120, 130, 140 of Figs. 1 and 3.
  • a typical system operates as a multi-channel system, implying that the multiplexer 420 can handle A/V information received from a number of (parallel) sources and interacts with the transmitter 430 to broadcast the information along a corresponding number of channels or multiplexed into separate transport streams.
  • messages or applications or any other sort of digital data may be introduced in some or all of these services/channels interlaced with the transmitted digital audio and video information.
  • a transport stream includes one or more services, each with one or more service components.
  • a service component is a mono-media element. Examples of service components are a video elementary stream, an audio elementary stream, a Java application (Xlet), or other data type.
  • a transport stream is formed by time-multiplexing one or more elementary streams and/or data.
  • the broadcasting system also supports bi-directional communication, for example to facilitate interactive applications, such as interactive video, e- commerce and so on, and to enable the receiver 460 to obtain additional information/functionality from a server 490.
  • a wide area network 480 preferably the open Internet, where the added functionality and interactivity is provided by a web site on a web server 490.
  • this server 490 may provide the popularity measures to the receiver 460 as a service.
  • the server 490 may charge for providing the service. The charging may be based on subscription, or actual usage.
  • the communication iunctionality of Internet or similar communication system may be provided in any suitable form.
  • the receiver 460 may communicate via a cable network or satellite connection, directly using Internet protocols.
  • the receiver 460 may have a telephone-based dial- in connection to an access provider that provides access to the Internet.
  • the receiver 460 may, but need not use Internet protocols. If the server 490 does use Internet protocols, protocol conversion may take place, for example using a gateway.
  • Fig. 4 Although the system of Fig. 4 is described for a digital broadcast system, in principle the invention can also be applied for non-broadcast transmissions.
  • the same concepts can be applied easily where a program is supplied to individual receivers, for instance on a pay-per-view basis.
  • the transmission may then take place via a typical broadcast system (but directly addressed) or via other suitable systems, such as a high- bandwidth Internet connection.
  • a good example of such a use is where a user was too late for a live news broadcast and now watches the news broadcast by streaming the stored broadcast from a server through the Internet, possibly with only a minor time delay compared to the live broadcast.
  • popularity measures are a very suitable input for selection mechanisms.
  • the server (acting as a storage device) may be designed to store only the most popular broadcast program (e.g. a predetermined number or percentage of the most popular broadcast programs).
  • the server not only stores the one popularity measure of a program but stores separate measures for predetermined sequential time intervals of the program, e.g. per 5 or 10 minutes. This does not only enable a user to quickly select a popular program but also a popular part of a popular program, e.g. the part in which the goal is scored that is discussed by many people next day. Based on such measures, the server may present most popular highlight of programs.
  • Fig. 5 shows more details of a typical broadcast receiver 500 (that may correspond to the receiver 120, 130, 140 of Figs. 1 and 3 and receiver 460 of Fig. 4).
  • the broadcast receiver 500 preferably, complies with a defined platform like the European MHP (Multi-media Home Platform) or the US DASE platform.
  • the broadcast receiver 500 includes a tuner 510.
  • the tuner 510 extracts a separate tunable Radio Frequency (RF) band usually resulting in an MPEG2 transport stream.
  • RF Radio Frequency
  • Various data signals are separated from the constant carrier signal by the de-multiplexer 520 (De-MUX).
  • the results often are streams of audio, video and data outputs.
  • the streams may be fed through a Conditional Access subsystem 530, which determines access grants and may decrypt the data.
  • a decoder 540 converts the streams into signals appropriate for the video and audio rendering or storage devices. This may involve full or partial MPEG2 decoding.
  • Fig. 5 also shows that the receiver 500 may include a communication interlace 580 for bi-directional communication to the server 490. Any suitable communications hardware/software may be used for this, including conventional modems for standard telecommunication lines (e.g. POTS or ISDN) or broadband modems (e.g. ADSL).
  • the bi-directional communication channel facilitates downloading of popularity measures from the server 490 of Fig. 4.
  • Internet protocols are used for the bi-directional communication, for example those defined in the MHP "Internet Access Profile".
  • Output of the decoder 540 can be supplied to a rendering device or storage device for subsequent rendering.
  • the output is first stored in a buffer, such as a video frame buffer 570 for subsequent supply to the rendering/storage device.
  • the receiver 500 may provide partially encoded output streams, bypassing the decoder 540.
  • the rendering device may then include the decoder function or the encoded stream may at a later stage be re-supplied to the receiver for further decoding.
  • the encoded data stream may also be recorded in a storage system for rendering at a later moment.
  • a user interface 595 of the receiver enables the receiver to interact with the user.
  • the user interface 595 may include any suitable user input means, such as an Infrared receiver for receiving signals from an IR remote control, a keyboard, or a microphone for voice control.
  • any suitable form may be used, such as using a small LCD display or using the display of a television, or even audible feedback.
  • the various functions may be performed using dedicated hardware. Some functions or part of the functions may also be performed by a programmable processing function, for instance using a digital signal processor (DSP) loaded with a suitable program, or media-processors (e.g. TriMedia) or programmable logic (e.g. FPGAs).
  • DSP digital signal processor
  • media-processors e.g. TriMedia
  • FPGA programmable logic
  • the program is loaded from a non- volatile solid state memory (not shown), such as ROM or flash.
  • the program includes instructions for the various functions performed by the controller 550. These program instructions comprise parts of software modules including, inter alia, a zap-control module 552, an EPG module 554 and a profile module 556. Data processed by the software modules, e.g. popularity measures, EPG data and user profile information, may be stored in a non-volatile memory (not shown).
  • the user interface unit 595 receives user commands, e.g. through a remote control (not shown), and transmits them to the controller 550 to be processed. For example, when the user enters a channel number, the controller 550 controls the tuner 510 to select the corresponding channel.
  • the zap-control module 552 invokes control of the tuner 510 to select a channel which according to the popularity zap list or zap circle is selected by the user.
  • the broadcasting system like system 110 of Fig. 1, also broadcasts EPG data, which provides an overview of programs scheduled for the near future.
  • the EPG data may comprise attributes such as a title, the start time and duration, the channel number, and category information.
  • the EPG data includes also the actual popularity for each program as an attribute.
  • this attribute may be used for providing an estimated popularity, where during the broadcast preferably the actual popularity is given based on the current audience shares.
  • the EPG module 554 invokes presentation of a program schedule on a display (not shown), for example by overlaying or replacing data in the frame buffer 570.
  • the controller 550 includes a profile module 556 that enables one or more user profiles to be defined and stored in a memory (not shown).
  • a user profile comprises a plurality of settings/ratings.
  • a rating gives a measure of the expected appreciation of a program having a channel number and a program category in accordance with the corresponding combination. In the simplest case, the ratings are binary: positive or negative.
  • the selected user profile may influence the behavior of the zap control module 552 and the EPG module 554.
  • the zap control module 552 defines a zap-circle of channels, which normally contains all receivable channels ordered in accordance with their popularity. If a user-profile is selected, the zap-circle is limited to those channels broadcasting a program with a positive rating for the items in the profile. Cycling through the adapted zap-circle is accomplished by means of the zap keys, preferably in the form of up/down keys on the remote control as shown in Fig. 2B.
  • the ratings in the profile may be like/dislike markers, but also non- Boolean ratings may be applied, e.g. numerical ratings between 0 and 9. In that case, the channels could also be sorted in accordance with these ratings, thus grouping programs having a similar rating. Programs having a rating below a threshold are excluded from the zap-circle (and possibly also form the EPG). Whenever a program change occurs, the zap- circle and the EPG are sorted again to reflect the new situation. For example, when the news program of WDR3 has ended and is succeeded by a show, WDR3 is removed from the zap- circle and the EPG. When the sports program of BBCl is succeeded by a movie, BBCl is included in the zap-circle and the EPG.
  • Fig. 6 shows a further block diagram of an embodiment of the system according to the invention.
  • the system includes a storage device 600 for storing broadcast programs received by the broadcast reception device 130 in a storage medium 620.
  • the storage medium may be of any suitable type, such as optical storage (e.g. recordable CD, DVD, blu-ray disc), magnetic storage (e.g. hard disk or tape) or solid state, such as flash or MRAM.
  • the storage 620 is also used for storing for each of the stored programs the respective corresponding popularity measure.
  • the storage device 600 further includes ranking means for determining at least a most popular one of the stored broadcast programs in dependence on the corresponding popularity measures. In the example of Fig. 6, the ranking means is provided by a controller 640 operated under a suitable software program.
  • a user interface 650 of the storage device enables the user to select the most popular program from the stored programs for rendering by the rendering device.
  • the selected program(s) may be output via a suitable interface 630 to a rendering device (not shown).
  • the ranking and user interface may be similar as described with reference to Fig. 1.
  • the storage 620 also stores the popularity measure per predetermined time interval to enable a user to quickly retrieve the most important part of a popular program.
  • the user interface e.g. remote control
  • the storage device does not select entire broadcast titles, but the most popular parts (highlights) of a stored program.
  • the storage device automatically creates a "summary/highlights" of a stored program based on the popularity measure that is assumed to indicate the most interesting parts.
  • the user can set the duration of the summary and the system fills the summary with the most popular parts.
  • the device may produce such a summary and immediately cause it to be rendered to a user.
  • a summary is created at the moment when the user wants to view it, based on the then stored program parts and corresponding popularities.
  • the device may also prepare it in advance. For example, at the end of a day the system prepares a summary/highlights of recorded programs or program parts.
  • the user can select a time periods covered by the summary, e.g. the last day.
  • Such an automatic summary may also be prepared using a sliding time window. For example, the system prepares a summary every hour (step of the window), covering the last 24 hours (window size).
  • the summary may represent full broadcast titles (e.g. as defined by an EPG) and/or most popular parts (i.e. independent of actual boundaries between broadcast titles).
  • the popularity measure is used to free space in the storage device. If space needs to be made (e.g. for new recordings), the system may fully automatically delete entire programs that are least popular. The same principle can be applied to program parts, e.g. the most important parts are kept, but the least important parts are deleted. Thus, when the storage device is full, programs can be reduced in size by removing first the parts that are less popular. Instead of using fully automatic deletion, the device may also present the list of program/program parts to a user via a user interlace. Such list is then preferably sorted in reverse order of popularity (i.e. least popular one first). The user can then quickly determine which entire programs or program parts should be deleted (or moved to background storage).
  • the broadcast reception device 130 may be internal to the storage device 600 in which case no special input interface 610 is required. In the example of Fig. 6, the broadcast reception device 130 is external and similar to as described for Fig. 1.
  • the reception device 130 and the storage device 620 may be connected via any suitable interfacing system for transfer of programs. Preferably, the transfer is in digital form, for example using IEEE 1394, USB 2.0, or WiFi.
  • a suitable output 136 and corresponding input 610 used for such a transfer are well-known and will not be described any further here.
  • the invention is particularly suitable for digital TV-sets, set-top boxes and video recorders, since digital techniques allow simultaneous reception of a large number of channels.
  • DVD Digital Video Broadcasting
  • EPG and popularity information may be provided as part of the related service information (DVB-SI), which is also included in the DVB stream.
  • DVD-SI related service information
  • the invention also extends to computer programs, particularly computer programs on or in a carrier, adapted for putting the invention into practice.
  • the program may be in the form of source code, object code, a code intermediate source and object code such as partially compiled form, or in any other form suitable for use in the implementation of the method according to the invention.
  • the carrier be any entity or device capable of carrying the program.
  • the carrier may include a storage medium, such as a ROM, for example a CD ROM or a semiconductor ROM, or a magnetic recording medium, for example a floppy disc or hard disk.
  • a storage medium such as a ROM, for example a CD ROM or a semiconductor ROM, or a magnetic recording medium, for example a floppy disc or hard disk.
  • the carrier may be a transmissible carrier such as an electrical or optical signal which may be conveyed via electrical or optical cable or by radio or other means.
  • the carrier may be constituted by such cable or other device or means.
  • the carrier may be an integrated circuit in which the program is embedded, the integrated circuit being adapted for performing, or for use in the performance of, the relevant method.

Abstract

L'invention concerne un système (100) permettant à un utilisateur de sélectionner un programme parmi plusieurs programmes en cours de diffusion. Ce système comprend un moyen (150) permettant d'obtenir pour chaque programme une mesure de la popularité du programme, et des moyens de sélection (134, 138) permettant de sélectionner au moins un des programmes en fonction des mesures de popularité correspondantes. Le programme sélectionné est restitué à un utilisateur.
PCT/IB2006/050266 2005-01-31 2006-01-25 Selection de programme de radioffusion WO2006079977A2 (fr)

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EP3203387A1 (fr) * 2007-03-09 2017-08-09 ROVI Technologies Corporation Classement de résultats de recherche de contenu multimédia selon leur popularité
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EP2071844A3 (fr) * 2007-12-13 2010-09-08 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Appareil de traitement vidéo et procédés de contrôle
US8320746B2 (en) 2007-12-14 2012-11-27 Microsoft Corporation Recorded programs ranked based on social networks
US9166714B2 (en) 2009-09-11 2015-10-20 Veveo, Inc. Method of and system for presenting enriched video viewing analytics
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US10425618B2 (en) 2009-10-30 2019-09-24 Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. Information processing apparatus, tuner, and information processing method
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US20120272271A1 (en) * 2009-10-30 2012-10-25 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Information Processing Apparatus, Tuner, And Information Processing Method
US9736524B2 (en) 2011-01-06 2017-08-15 Veveo, Inc. Methods of and systems for content search based on environment sampling

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