JP4483368B2 - Group program processing method, group program processing apparatus, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a group program processing method, a group program processing apparatus, and a computer program for processing a group program guide from grouped programs.

  Nowadays, it has become possible to store a huge number of programs, digital photo images, music and other content by improving communication infrastructure such as high-capacity broadband communication and increasing the capacity of recording media such as hard disks. .

  Broadcast formats are also diversifying. Programs of various genres are broadcast every day in various broadcasting formats including terrestrial broadcasting and satellite broadcasting, such as terrestrial analog broadcasting, terrestrial digital broadcasting, or BS digital broadcasting.

  Therefore, it was necessary to manage the programs in order to view many programs efficiently. For example, in order to prevent a program recorded on a recording medium from being deleted without giving an opportunity to view a recorded program, the viewing status of the program is held as status information, so that the program can be displayed on a program-by-program basis. There is a system to manage (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-44584 A

  However, since status information is created for each program, if the number of programs increases, the number of programs to be managed increases accordingly, and the search process for searching for the corresponding program from the status information is not efficient, and the result In particular, it is difficult for the user to efficiently grasp the status of the target program.

  In addition, when a single story is completed by broadcasting multiple times such as the first part and the second part, multiple programs are integrated into one group, and the status from grouping to broadcasting is integrated. There was a demand for management.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is new and improved, which is capable of managing, for example, grouped one or more programs in groups. A group program processing method, a group program processing apparatus, and a computer program are provided.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, at least one or more programs are grouped as a group program for each program attribute, and a group program including program information relating to each of the grouped programs An acquisition process for acquiring information, a generation process for generating status information of a group program showing at least the processing status of the entire program belonging to the group program based on each program information included in the group program information, and the group program And a display control process for displaying a group program table, which is a list of the group programs, on a screen based on the information and the status information of the group program.

  According to the present invention, in the group program processing method, one or two or more programs are grouped with a certain attribute, and a group program obtained by abstracting the grouped one or more programs is a representative of the program. The group program information related to the group program includes status information indicating the processing status of all the programs belonging to the group. According to such a configuration, even if the processing status of each program is not displayed on the screen, the processing status of each program can be easily displayed by displaying the processing status of the entire group to which the program belongs, for example, the progress of broadcasting. In addition, since it is not necessary to perform processing for displaying the status of all individual programs on the screen, it is possible to improve processing efficiency such as display processing.

  The acquisition process may be configured to acquire group program information via a network or a broadcast wave. With this configuration, when group program information is acquired, information can be acquired for general purposes regardless of the network or broadcast wave and communication medium. In addition, it is not limited to a network or a broadcast wave, For example, the case of wireless etc. may be sufficient.

  The group program information may be configured to include program identification information for identifying program information related to each program configured in the group program. With this configuration, the data capacity of the group program information can be reduced as compared with the case where the program information is included in the group program information, and the data communication efficiency when transmitting / receiving the group program information can be improved. Further, the program information can be specified from the program identification information included in the group program information. The group program title may be included in the group program information.

  The group program status information may include at least one status indicating the broadcast progress, re-broadcast progress, viewing status, recording status, or recording reservation status of the group program. With this configuration, the status of all the programs belonging to the group of the group program can be displayed on the screen, and the user can grasp the status of the entire program and manage the entire program belonging to the group program. It is possible to predict the status of most programs.

  In the group program processing method, when an instruction to reserve recording of a group program is received from a viewer, the recording of the program recording reservation is made for all the programs whose program progress status is awaiting to start broadcasting. A reservation process may be further included. With such a configuration, it is possible to make a recording reservation for programs belonging to a group program at once without making a recording reservation for each program, so that the efficiency of the recording reservation process can be improved.

  When the rebroadcast progress status is a rebroadcast determination status indicating a rebroadcast determination of the program, it may be configured to further include a recording reservation process for automatically recording recording for all the programs belonging to the group program. Good. With this configuration, it is possible to make a recording reservation for rebroadcast programs belonging to a group program at once without making a recording reservation for each rebroadcast program, so that the recording reservation process can be made more efficient.

  The group program information may include a group program title and group program identification information for identifying the group program information. With this configuration, when program information related to each program is designated, group program information belonging to the designated program information can be specified.

  The group program guide may be configured to be a list composed of group programs preferred by the viewer that has been processed by receiving instructions from the viewer. With this configuration, it is possible to improve the processing efficiency of at least recording reservation by each viewer.

  You may comprise the attribute of a program so that it may be a genre. With this configuration, one or more programs can be grouped for each genre. In addition, it is not restricted to a genre, A title, a channel, etc. may be sufficient.

  The group program table is configured to be a list of group programs in which titles, recording reservations, broadcast dates and times, and viewing status are at least item names on the same axis, and information corresponding to the items is displayed for each item. May be. With this configuration, the user can confirm a group program from the group program guide in the same manner as confirming a program from the program guide.

  The generation process for generating the status information of the group program is configured to set at least the ratio of the already broadcasted program among the entire programs configured in the group program when generating the status information of the group program. Also good. With this configuration, the user can easily grasp the degree of progress of all the programs belonging to the group program.

  The program information may be configured to be program identification information for identifying the program information. With this configuration, the data capacity of group program information can be reduced.

  In order to solve the above problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a group program processing device groups one or more programs as group programs at least for each program attribute, An acquisition unit for acquiring group program information including program information relating to each program, and group program status information indicating at least the processing status of the entire program belonging to the group program based on each program information included in the group program information And a display control unit for displaying a group program table, which is a list of group programs, on the screen based on the group program information and the group program status information.

  According to the present invention, the group program processing apparatus groups one or more programs with a certain attribute, and uses the group program obtained by abstracting the grouped one or more programs as a representative of the program. The group program information related to the group program includes status information indicating the processing status of all the programs belonging to the group. According to such a configuration, even if the processing status of each program is not displayed on the screen, the processing status of each program can be easily displayed by displaying the processing status of the entire group to which the program belongs, for example, the progress of broadcasting. In addition, since it is unnecessary to perform processing for displaying the status of all individual programs on the screen, it is possible to improve the processing efficiency of the display processing of the group program processing device.

  The acquisition unit may be configured to acquire group program information via a network or a broadcast wave. With such a configuration, when the group program processing apparatus acquires group program information, target information can be acquired universally regardless of the network or broadcast wave and communication medium.

  The group program information may be configured to include a title of the group program and program identification information for identifying program information related to each program included in the group program. , The group program may be configured to include at least one status indicating the broadcast progress, re-broadcast progress, viewing status, recording status, or recording reservation status.

  When the group program processing apparatus receives an instruction to reserve recording of the group program from the viewer, the group program processing apparatus issues an instruction to reserve recording of the program for all the programs whose broadcast progress statuses of the group program are waiting to start broadcasting. It may be configured to further include a recording reservation unit.

  When the re-broadcast progress status is a re-broadcast determination status indicating the re-broadcast determination of the program, it is further configured to further include a recording reservation instructing unit for automatically instructing a recording reservation for all programs belonging to the group program May be.

  The group program information may include a group program title and group program identification information for identifying the group program information. The group program table includes the viewer's instructions processed by receiving instructions from the viewer. You may comprise so that it may be the list comprised from the favorite group program.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, at least one or more programs are grouped as a group program at least for each program attribute, and program information relating to each of the grouped programs An acquisition process for acquiring group program information including: a generation process for generating status information of a group program indicating at least the processing status of the entire program belonging to the group program based on each program information included in the group program information; , Based on group program information and group program status information, causing a computer to execute a group program processing method including a display control process for displaying a group program list as a list of group programs on a screen. .

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to manage programs in units of groups by grouping one or more programs with appropriate attributes. In addition, by generating group information that supervises program information related to programs in the group, it is possible to easily display or provide statuses such as the broadcast status of the entire program and the recording reservation status.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description and the accompanying drawings, components having substantially the same functions and configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(Group program guide system)
First, a group program guide providing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a group program guide providing system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the group program guide providing system 100 according to the present embodiment is mainly divided into a user side that uses a service and a provider side that provides the service. The user side includes at least a user terminal 101, a recording terminal 117, and a control terminal 118. The user terminal 101, the recording terminal 117, and the control terminal 118 will be described by way of example. However, the user terminal 101, the recording terminal 117, and the control terminal 118 are not limited to this example, and a plurality of terminals may be used.

  The user terminal 101 has a function of receiving EPG information or program meta information, which is a part of program information, via a broadcast wave or the network 103, or receiving a video or the like, and displaying it on a screen. When program identification information for identifying program information is received via a broadcast wave, program information corresponding to the program identification information is received via the network 103. Program information is a general term for information related to programs such as EPG information and program meta information, which will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the network 103 includes at least a network 103a and a network 103b. For example, the network 103a distributes a program for CATV (cable television) to the user side, connects the user terminal 101 and the mail server 125, and transmits and receives data bidirectionally. The network 103b connects, for example, the user terminal 101 and the transaction server 127, and transmits and receives data bidirectionally.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the user terminal 101 can be exemplified by a TV (television), an STB (set top box), a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a PC (Personal Computer). However, it is not limited to such an example.

The recording terminal 117 has a function of recording a program based on the recording reservation request information from the user terminal 101. The recording terminal 117 is a PVR (Personal
An example is a VTR (Video Tape Recorder) that records on a tape using a method such as Video Recorder or VHS, but is not limited to such an example. The recording reservation request information is generated based on group information (group program information), program information, and status (processing status) information thereof, which will be described later.

  The control terminal 118 that instructs the user terminal 101 or the like to perform processing or operation can be exemplified by the mobile phone 118a, but is not limited to such an example. For example, the control terminal 118 instructs the user terminal 110 by infrared rays or the like. This can be implemented even in the case of a possible remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller).

  Next, the providing side includes a broadcasting station 102 (102a, 102b,..., 102n), a consigned broadcaster 119 (119a, 119b,..., 119n), and a consigned broadcaster (121a, 121b,..., 121n). ), An ECG service company 105, and a content provider 104 (content provider). The user terminal 101 or the broadcast station 102 corresponds to a group program processing apparatus that processes group information and creates a group program guide.

  The broadcasting station 102 can be broadly divided into a broadcasting system, a CATV system, and a communication system. The broadcasting system includes terrestrial analog broadcasting, terrestrial digital broadcasting, BS analog, BS digital, 124 degrees and 128 degrees CS. Broadcasting, 110 degree CS broadcasting, etc. can be illustrated. For example, the broadcasting station 102a can illustrate 124 degree / 128 degree CS (Communication Satellite) broadcasting, CS digital broadcasting, and the like.

  The CATV system can be exemplified by CATV digital broadcasting, CATV analog broadcasting, etc., and the communication system includes broadband broadcasting (BB broadcasting) using optical fiber, ADSL, telephone modem or mobile phone video service, etc. Etc. can be illustrated. Note that the mobile phone video service is a service that delivers contents such as moving images, still images, and music by packet communication, for example.

  The broadcast station 102 transmits a program to a user by uplinking or downlinking radio waves such as broadcast waves. It also collects fees for viewing programs transmitted from users.

  The broadcast station 102 broadcasts various broadcast programs to the user terminal 101, and manages or sends out group information, EPG information, program meta information, and the like as data broadcasts. For example, the user terminal 101 can display a group program guide in an EPG ((Electric Program Guide) format by receiving the group information and the EPG information.

  The group information is management information for managing a group program obtained by grouping one or more programs. The group program is a virtual program that supervises the programs included in the group and represents the group. The group information will be described in detail later, but the group information includes information such as program identification information for identifying EPG information and the title of the group program.

  The group program guide according to the present embodiment will be described by taking as an example the case of broadcasting by the broadcast station 102 or the consigned broadcaster 121, but is not limited to such an example. For example, it may be a group program table such as a radio program. The group program guide will be described in detail later.

  The consignment broadcaster 121 broadcasts a program in the same manner as the broadcasting station 102, manages group information, program information including the contents of the broadcasted program, etc., and content information such as books related to the program. Provided service, EPG service, and ECG (Electric Content Guide) service. The group information, EPG and ECG will be described later. Program information is a general term for information relating to programs such as EPG information and program meta information, which will be described later.

  The content providing company 104 (content holder) is a company that produces, manages, and provides various content entities. The content holder similarly creates content meta information related to the content. The produced content meta information is provided to the ECG service company 105.

  The consigned broadcaster 119 is a company that provides channels, and also produces programs and organizes / sends programs. For example, the consigned broadcaster can exemplify, for example, a program supply company (number).

  The ECG service company 105 provides the program meta information from the broadcast station 102 or the consigned broadcaster 121 and the content provider 104 in response to a request from the broadcast station 102 or the consigned broadcaster 121 for using the ECG service. Link with content meta information. Also, the group information is associated with the content meta information.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the broadcasting station 102 is provided with a broadcasting equipment device 126 for organizing programs, producing programs, generating EPG information, sending programs, and the like. As described above, the broadcast facility device 126 creates and organizes group information and program information, manages group information, program information, and content information, and provides a group information providing service.

  The consigned broadcaster 119 includes a production / organization apparatus 131. The EPG production / organization apparatus 131 creates and organizes group information or program information, and periodically organizes the program information and the like. Send to. Note that the production / organization apparatus 131 may produce / organize content information.

  The consigned broadcaster 121 includes a sending device 133. The sending device 133 manages and sends at least one of group information, program information, and content information transmitted from the consigned broadcaster 119. An EPG service or an ECG service capable of displaying an EPG group program guide or the like is performed. Further, content meta information may be generated based on the content information.

  The transmission device 133 is used for broadcast wave distribution and for network distribution for transmission via the network 103 when at least one of group information, program information, and content information is transmitted to the grouping device 122. The apparatus may be configured separately for each of the above types so that two types of information can be transmitted.

  In addition, the sending device 133 acquires organization information from each broadcasting station 102, and generates group information (group program information) or program information in an electronic program guide (EPG) format. Note that program information generated outside may be acquired. The organization information is information for broadcasting a program as scheduled and progressing the program.

  Group information or program information is distributed from the grouping device 122 or the like to the user terminal 101 via broadcast waves, but other additional ECGs such as content meta information corresponding to the detailed information of the content. (Electronic Contents Guide) information can be independently managed in the broadcasting station 102 or the like on the service providing side.

  The grouping device 122 is not limited to the case where group information or EPG information is transmitted via a broadcast wave. The client / server system responds to a request from the user terminal 101 via the network 103a, for example. It may be provided. Also, in the case of the broadcast facility apparatus 126, EPG information or the like may be provided by having a server function.

  The content providing company 104 includes a production device 135, and the production device 135 produces meta information such as content meta information associated with program information, for example. The produced content meta information and the like are provided to the ECG service company 105.

  The ECG service company 105 includes an organization / transmission device 137, and the organization / transmission device 137 associates program information such as program meta information with content meta information. Also, the program information and group information are linked. The associated program information and content meta information, and the associated program information and group information are provided to the user side via the broadcast wave or the network 103.

  Therefore, for example, if program meta information is designated, the user can acquire content meta information associated with the program meta information, and can purchase content information such as books. For example, if EPG information is specified, group information to which the program belongs can be acquired, and other program information belonging to the group can be accessed. Furthermore, program information can be accessed from program identification information (such as an EPG information ID) included in the group information.

  For example, when a plurality of broadcasting stations 102 constitute a group station, the grouping device 122 has a function of grouping program information and the like transmitted from each broadcasting station 102 into one. Therefore, a plurality of pieces of program information of each broadcasting station 102 are grouped to form one data. Even when the grouping is not performed, it may be managed by the grouping device 122 once.

  If the grouping device 122 is set in advance to be grouped in the instruction information managed by the broadcasting equipment device 126 of the broadcasting station 102, the grouping device 122 belongs to the group of the designated broadcasting station 102. Information, program information, etc. are collected into a broadcasting station consisting of one group.

  In addition, the grouping device 122 includes almost the same device as the device provided in the broadcasting equipment device 126, stores and manages group information and program information transmitted from the broadcasting station 102 or a consigned broadcaster, etc. Program information or the like is appropriately transmitted from the antenna 123 via a broadcast wave or transmitted via the network 103.

  The organization / transmission device 137 of the ECG service company 105 according to the present embodiment may be provided in each of the broadcasting stations 102 (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d,..., 102n). 102b, 102c, 102d,..., 102n) may share one knitting / sending device 137.

  The grouping process of the grouping device 122 according to the present embodiment has been described by taking a group including a plurality of broadcasting stations 102 as an example. However, the grouping process is not limited to this example. For example, one or more broadcasting stations 102 are included. It can also be implemented when one or two or more consigned broadcasters 121 are configured as a group station.

  The group program guide providing system 100 further includes a mail server 125 that transmits / receives e-mails via the network 103 and a transaction server 127 that generates information for reserving recording of a program in response to an instruction from the control terminal 118.

  The network 103 (103a, 103b) is a two-way communication between the grouping device 122, the mail server 125 that transmits and receives electronic mail, the transaction server 127, and the user terminals 101 (101a, 101b,..., 101n). Typically, it is a public line network such as the Internet connected by a similar method such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) or FTTH (Fiber To The Home), but WAN, LAN, IP- Also includes closed line networks such as VPN. The connection medium may be a fiber optic cable using FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface), a coaxial cable using Ethernet (registered trademark) or a twisted pair cable, or wireless using a wired communication such as IEEE802.11b, a satellite communication network, etc. Including.

  The antenna 123 (123a, 123b) is a device for sending or receiving broadcast waves, and the video signal of the program sent from the grouping device 122, the program information, etc. are sent via the antenna 123a. , Received by the antenna 123b. The received video signal, program information, etc. are displayed on the screen of the user terminal 101.

  The transaction server 127 appropriately transmits various kinds of information from the user side to the transmission destination apparatus in order to perform a bidirectional service between the user terminal 101 belonging to the user side and the broadcasting station 102 belonging to the providing side. For example, when recording reservation information of a program is transmitted from the user terminal 101, it is transmitted to the mail server 125. In addition to the mail server 125, the recording reservation information may be transmitted from the broadcasting station 102 or the like to the user terminal 101 to execute the recording reservation processing.

  In addition to the program recording reservation process, the transaction server 127 receives information for requesting rebroadcasting of the program from the user terminal 101 and transmits it to the broadcasting equipment device 126 provided in the broadcasting station 102.

  Here, the electronic mail transmitted from the user terminal 101 of the transmission source is transmitted once to the mail server 125 and managed and held. The user terminal 101 transmits the e-mail to a mail server according to SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), but is not limited to this example.

  For example, the mail server 125 stores the transmitted e-mail in a mailbox assigned for each destination (mail address) of the destination included in the e-mail. If there is no mailbox corresponding to the mail address, the mail server 125 may transfer the electronic mail to another mail server according to a protocol such as SMTP.

  The mail server 125 is requested by the user terminal 101 to send an e-mail stored in a mailbox corresponding to its own mail address according to a protocol such as POP3 (Post Office Protocol Version 3) at predetermined time intervals.

  The mail server 125 needs to hold an e-mail for notifying the recording reservation until a predetermined time before the broadcast time of the program reserved for recording, for example. Until then, even if requested by the user terminal 101, transmission is refused, or the e-mail stored in the mailbox is temporarily deleted or saved in another storage area, and the e-mail for notifying the recording reservation again a predetermined time ago. Perform processing such as generating mail.

  When the user terminal 101 receives an e-mail for notifying the recording reservation, the user can use the input unit 237 or the like to make a recording recording of the program to the recording terminal 117 using the e-mail as a trigger. Good.

  Next, the group program guide providing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. In the group program guide providing system 100, the broadcasting equipment device 126, the sending device 133, etc. are connected to the user terminal 101, for example, an EPG (electronic program guide). Provide group program guides such as formats. Note that the present invention is not limited to this example, and it is possible to provide, for example, an EPG format program guide, an ECG format program guide, and the like.

  Further, in the ECG service, the organizing / sending device 137 provided in the ECG service company 105 functions not only as a program table but also as a function of the ECG service to the user via the program table, as well as detailed information related to the program. , Provide content such as e-books or movies.

  The broadcast facility apparatus 126, the transmission apparatus 133, or the organization / transmission apparatus 137 according to the present embodiment has been described by taking as an example the case of providing program information included in the program guide, but is limited to such an example. For example, instead of the program guide, the present invention can be implemented even in the case of a book list, a radio program guide, or the like. However, what is displayed on the user terminal 101 below is a group program guide in the EPG format or the like. Taking a case as an example, the group program guide providing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  The user terminal 101 receives EPG information, group information, etc. for each broadcasting station 102 or group station, and displays a group program guide based on the information. In the case of the ECG service, when an appropriate program is selected from the program table displayed based on the program meta information, the content related to the program can be searched and the content such as the detailed information of the program can be acquired. .

  A program such as a group program guide includes one or more contents. Here, in the program guide, the contents correspond to “programs” including program information and the like, and the program guide is configured by collecting a plurality of the programs.

  The group program guide providing system 100 according to the present embodiment may further include an account aggregation server (not shown). The account aggregation server is an authentication performed when a viewer (user) uses the group program guide providing system 100, or is charged / settled when a user who uses the group program guide providing system 100 purchases content or the like. Is provided in a centralized manner without depending on the broadcasting station 102, the consigned broadcaster, or the program.

  In other words, by providing the account aggregation server, it is possible to unify user authentication information and perform integrated authentication (single sign-on), and similarly, it is possible to unify billing / settlement information for each user. The unification is performed based on an integrated user ID obtained by integrating a plurality of user IDs.

  All services such as billing / settlement are grouped together, and based on one integrated user ID, it has a function of performing authentication for accessing all services. For example, it is realized by a dedicated server.

  Note that access is a general term for information processing that processes information via a network, such as system use, connection to a server, file reference, file storage, file deletion, or file change.

  In addition, when it is necessary to disclose customer information for marketing activities of a content holder who is a copyright holder of copyrighted works such as video, music, and game software, the user information can be used effectively. In the above case, in order to authenticate the user terminal 101, the account aggregation server is notified in a format in which the user name, the user ID, and the like are included in the electronic certificate, for example.

  The content meta information is stored / held by the composition / transmission device 137. Further, the content meta information is created by the production device 135 provided in the content providing company 104 such as a content holder or an advertising agency.

  The organization / transmission device 137 transmits BML (Broadcast Markup Language), HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), or C-HTML (Contact-TexText) when transmitting content meta information, program meta information, or the like via the network 103. Markup Language) or the like may be transmitted.

(About distribution of group information)
Next, an outline of the group information distribution processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of distributing group information according to the present embodiment via the network 103.

  As shown in FIG. 2, program information and group information generated by organizing a program on the service providing side are stored and managed in the grouping device 122 and the like. For the created program information and group information, the user terminal 101 further creates status information (program status information and group status information) related to the program information and group information for each user who can use the service, and sends the information to each user. The status information is stored in the allocated storage area. Environment setting information is also registered in advance for each user. Although the status (processing status) information will be described later, it is information used mainly for managing the status of the recording of the program and the progress of the broadcast. Further, as described later, the environment setting information may be stored on the user terminal 101 side.

  The group information is meta information created when one or more pieces of program information are grouped. If no program information exists, no group information is created. For example, if a broadcast program has a series of drama programs of 1 to 11 times, program information (1 to 11 times) of each time is created and further grouped by the 11 times of drama programs 1 One group information is created. In addition, although the number of group information shown in FIG. 2 is one, the present invention is not limited to such an example, and the present invention can be implemented in a plurality of cases, and the plurality of group information may have a hierarchical structure.

  The group status information and the program status information according to the present embodiment will be described by taking as an example a case where the group status information and the program status information are generated separately from the group information and the program information. However, the present invention is not limited to such an example. Alternatively, they may be generated integrally so as to be included in the program information.

  Next, the grouping device 122 or the broadcasting equipment device 126 generates screen data to be displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 101 used by each user based on the environment setting information registered in advance.

  For example, when the group program table is set to be displayed in the environment setting information, the grouping device 122 or the like converts the screen data of the group program table into group information, group status information, program information, program status information, or the like. Create based on.

  When the user terminal 101 requests the group program table or the like from the grouping device 122 via the network 103, the grouping device 122 packetizes the group program table by a protocol such as HTTP, for example. Send through.

  In addition to the group program guide, screen data such as an EPG program guide and an ECG program guide are also created for each user based on the setting contents of the environment setting information.

  When the user terminal 101 receives the screen data via the network 103, the user terminal 101 starts an application such as browsing software (for example, a Web browser) stored in the storage unit 236 of the user terminal 101 by installation, Displayed on the screen. Note that the Web browser according to the present embodiment is not limited to being installed, and may be a screen display process or the like that is not stored in the hard disk, such as an applet, by appropriately downloading an application.

  Further, an outline of the group information distribution process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of distributing group information and the like according to the present embodiment via broadcast waves.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when a program is organized on the service providing side, program information and group information are created and stored and managed in the broadcasting equipment device 126 or the grouping device 122 or the like. The grouping device 122 and the like distribute group information, program information, and the like to the user terminal 102 via broadcast waves at predetermined time intervals.

  Here, when the group information or the like is distributed via the broadcast wave from the broadcasting equipment device 126 or the like according to the present embodiment, the group information is also transmitted at predetermined intervals together with the SI information and the PSI information.

  For example, a table such as BIT (Broadcaster Information Table) and SDT (Service Description Table) as SI information is transmitted via a broadcast wave, and group information such as GIT (Group Information Table) is newly added. The GIT may be transmitted via a broadcast wave.

  Next, when the user terminal 101 receives the group information and program information, it generates status information for the group information and program information. When the program status information and group status information are generated, they are stored in the storage unit 236 of the user terminal 101.

  When the user terminal 101 receives an instruction to display a program guide such as a group program guide from the user, the user terminal 101 refers to the registered environment setting information and determines whether or not the program guide can be displayed. After confirmation, a group program table is created from the received program information, group information, or status information, and displayed on the screen. The processing such as the screen display is executed in cooperation with software such as a Web browser and hardware resources such as the control unit 240 and the storage unit 236 of the user terminal 101.

(Description of broadcasting equipment 126)
Next, the broadcasting equipment device 126 and the user terminal 101 provided in the broadcasting station 102 constituting the group program guide providing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the broadcast station 102 and the user terminal 101 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the broadcasting station 102 according to the present embodiment is provided with the broadcasting equipment device 126 as described above. The broadcasting equipment device 126 further includes a video stream generation / transmission device 201, data. A broadcast generation / transmission device 202, a group information generation / transmission device 203, a program information generation / transmission device 204, a group management device 205, a broadcast / communication transmission device 206, and a reception device 207 are provided. Note that the broadcast facility device 126 may further include a user management device (not shown) that manages profile information and the like of users who use the service.

  The video stream generation / transmission device 201 includes at least a central processing unit (CPU or the like), an input unit, a display unit, and the like. The video stream generation / transmission device 201 generates a video stream for broadcasting a program and broadcasts it. / Send to the communication sending device 206. Note that the video stream is composed of moving images and audio data.

  The data broadcast generation / transmission device 202 includes at least a central processing unit, an input unit, a display unit, and the like. The data broadcast generation / transmission device 202 generates additional data for data broadcasting, and broadcast / communication. The data is sent to the sending device 206.

  The additional data is data broadcasting data for broadcasting news, weather forecasts, traffic information, sports results, and the like. The additional data is configured in, for example, the BML format. By being sent to the user terminal 101 together with the video stream, it is possible to check the weather forecast of each place while viewing the program.

  The group information generation / transmission device 203 is a computer device or the like that includes at least a central processing unit, an input unit, a display unit, and the like. The group information generation / transmission device 203 is general information for controlling the programs by grouping one or more programs. The group information may be created based on instruction information from a production terminal (not shown) connected to the group information generating / sending device 203. When the production terminal receives an instruction by operating the input unit by the producer, the production terminal generates instruction information.

  When the group information generating / sending device 203 generates the group information, it transmits it to the broadcast / communication sending device 206. Even when the group information is transmitted via the network 103, when the user terminal 103 accesses the broadcasting equipment device 126 and transmits group information request information including identification information such as a user ID, the receiving device 207 Is transmitted to the broadcast / communication transmission device 206.

  The broadcast / communication transmission device 206 can transmit group information corresponding to the user ID of the group information request source to the user terminal 101. The user terminal 101 receives the group information and creates a group program guide.

  The broadcast / communication transmission device 206 is used for broadcast wave distribution via a broadcast wave and network distribution transmitted via the network 103 when group information, program information, or content information is transmitted to the grouping device 122. The apparatus may be configured separately for each of the above types so that two types of information can be generated and transmitted.

  The program information generation / transmission device 204 is a computer device that includes at least a central processing unit, an input unit, a display unit, and the like. The program information generation / transmission device 204 generates one or more EPG information.

  Note that the program information generation / transmission device 204 may include an EPG information database (EPG information DB) that stores a plurality of EPG information and the like. The EPG information stored in the EPG information DB can be called and transmitted by an instruction from a scheduling terminal (not shown) provided in the broadcasting station 102.

  The EPG information includes various information such as a program title, organization, and sponsor. The EPG information is created, for example, at the stage of program organization processing. Note that the program meta information and the like are information based on the EPG information.

  The EPG information or the program meta information is generated by an instruction from a program information production terminal (not shown) connected to the program information generating / sending device 204. The program information production terminal may be provided in the broadcast station 102 or may be provided in the consigned broadcaster 119 or the like.

  The group management device 205 is a computer device including at least a central processing unit, an input unit, a display unit, and the like, and the group management device 205 is a history (viewer) that a viewer (user) who operates the user terminal 101 has watched. (Viewing history) information or viewer preference information is managed, and group information of programs viewed or recorded is managed for each user. In addition, when there is a purchase request for content from the user terminal 101, a payment request or the like is made to an account aggregation server (not shown).

  The broadcast / communication transmission device 206 transmits data such as group information, EPG information, a video stream of a program, additional data for data broadcasting, EPG information, etc. via the network 103 or via the antenna 123a. When sending the additional data or EPG information, it may be sent after being converted into BML, HTML, or C-HTML. In the case of transmission, for example, the video stream, additional data, and EPG information may be encoded and transmitted in a TS (Transport Stream) format or the like.

(Description of components of the user terminal 101)
Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the components of the user terminal 101 according to the present embodiment will be described. The user terminal 101 includes a broadcast / communication reception unit (acquisition unit) 230, a reproduction block 232, data The processing block 234, the display unit 235, the storage unit 236, the input unit 237, the transmission unit 238, and the control unit 240 are included.

  An input unit (not shown) such as an input button provided in the input unit 237 or the control terminal 118 according to the present embodiment is, for example, a designation receiving unit that accepts designation of a desired date or the like of the group program guide. Applicable.

  The playback block 232 receives a video stream sent from the broadcast station 102 from the broadcast / communication receiving unit 230 and plays back the video stream playback unit 241 that receives and plays back additional data and the like. 243. The control unit 240 according to the present embodiment corresponds to, for example, a display control unit that controls display of the group program guide on the screen.

  The data processing block 234 includes an EPG browsing / operation unit 248 that processes program information such as EPG information into an appropriate program guide and displays, for example, a program guide in the EPG format, and group information and EPG information. Group browsing / operation unit 250 (generation unit) for creating a program guide, user profile / operation history editing unit 254 for managing user profile information, operation history, etc., preference analysis engine 256, peripheral device control (recording) Reservation instruction unit) 258. Note that the EPG browsing / operation unit 248 and the group browsing / operation unit 250 according to the present embodiment will be described by way of examples of hardware. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the storage unit The software may be composed of a plurality of modules installed in H.236.

  The display unit 235 performs processing so that the video stream reproduction unit 241, the data broadcast reproduction unit 243, or the program information reproduction unit 246 can display according to an instruction from the control unit 240, and displays data to be reproduced on the display screen. The display unit 235 is, for example, a TV device or a liquid crystal display device, and can output a sound or a moving image in addition to a still image.

  The storage unit 236 can store and manage various information such as a database related to EPG information (EPG data DB), a database related to group information (group data DB), user profile information, and a user operation history file. Note that storage management is a general term for information management as a whole, such as calling and retrieving desired information, storing new information at an appropriate location, and deleting unnecessary information.

  The input unit 237 includes a pointing device such as a mouse, a trackball, a trackpad, a stylus pen, or a joystick that can receive an operation instruction from a user, or a keyboard, but is not limited to such an example. Although the control terminal 118 is not connected to the user terminal 101 and is not included in the input unit 237, it is functionally similar to the input unit 237.

  The transmission unit 238 transmits the designated data to the broadcast station 102 via the network 103b.

  When there is an instruction from the control terminal 118 such as the remote control device 118a or the mobile phone 118b or an instruction from the input unit 237, the peripheral device control unit 258 provided in the user terminal 101, for example, instructs the VTR 117a to make a recording reservation. To do. When the predetermined time comes, the VTR 117a records the target program. The user terminal 101 is previously provided with a control terminal receiving unit (not shown) that receives instructions from the control terminal 118 by radio or infrared rays.

(Group program guide)
This is a screen for listing the group information that is not available in the conventional EPG. The group information distributed from the service provider is displayed at the top. The group information defined by the user is displayed at the bottom.

  A button for changing from the group information provided by the service provider to the genre / title / status (e.g. storage progress / recording status) item / detail information screen is displayed. The contents displayed in the status can be customized by setting the display mode.

  In the genre, movies, documentaries, news, variety, and the like are displayed as genres of groups representing a plurality of programs. Depending on the group, a plurality of genres may be set.

  In the title, the broadcast station name, title, broadcast day of the week (every Wednesday, etc.) and airing time are displayed as the group title.

  In the status, settings such as the progress of saving programs in the group and whether or not a recording reservation is made are displayed as the group status in accordance with the display mode set in the environment setting information or the like.

  For example, by assigning each episode of a 30-drama complete drama to a group program, the broadcast status of the entire program (for example, up to 10 episodes have been broadcast) and the recording status (for example, there are unrecorded programs) Can be displayed. With this display, the user can grasp the status of the entire program and can also predict the status of each program.

(Group program guide by EPG service)
Here, the group program guide by the EPG service displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 101 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an outline of the group program guide displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 101 according to the present embodiment.

  First, as shown in FIG. 5, “genre” and “title” are displayed in the group program table as the headings of the group program composed of one or more programs. Examples of the genre include movies, dramas, and sports. Note that a group program is not a program that is actually broadcast, but is a virtual program in which individual broadcast programs are grouped together.

  The plurality of group programs are displayed as a list on the screen of the display unit 235 provided in the user terminal 101 as shown in FIG. In addition to the genre and title, status items such as “Broadcast Progress”, “Recording Schedule”, and “Details” are displayed.

  The items such as “broadcast progress”, “recording reservation”, and “detail” are obtained from information acquired from the group status information related to the group program. The “broadcasting progress” indicates a status such as the total number of actually broadcasted programs among all of one or more programs included in the group program.

  Note that the “broadcast progress” of a group program whose title is a movie and whose title is hard for a woman is displayed by an indicator. Here, in the indicator, a white area indicates a broadcasted (broadcast completed) part, and a gray shaded area indicates an unbroadcasted part. When the gray shaded area is full up to the right end, it indicates that the broadcast has been completed. Among the indicators, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the indicator whose title is “Woman is hard” is a gray shaded area at the left end and is not broadcasted. This is because, for example, a program that has already been broadcast is determined to be a rebroadcast program at a later date, and the broadcast progress status is updated.

  “Recording reservation” refers to the total number of programs that are actually scheduled to be recorded by the user or automatically recorded by the user terminal among one or more of the entire programs included in the group program. Indicates the status.

  The “detail” is a status item indicating whether or not detailed information regarding the group program can be displayed on the display screen. The detailed information related to the group program means program information related to one or more programs included in the group program.

  In general, programs broadcast on each broadcasting station can be confirmed with a program guide in the EPG format, etc., but the confirmation target is each program unit, and a plurality of programs grouped by genre or specified time unit can be selected. Could not display at once.

  Therefore, by generating group information and having group status information related to the group information, total information of a plurality of programs that are not managed by individual program information can be easily presented.

  Group programs are created based on group information. Therefore, when distributing the group information to the user terminal 101, the program information is grouped and the group information is generated, thereby managing one or more programs and managing the program information of the entire group. Can do. Since the user has already created the group information, the user can grasp and manage the program information of the entire group from the group program table even if the group information is not created again.

(My group program guide)
Next, the my group program guide according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the my group program guide according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the my group program guide is a personal group program guide that each user customizes and uses the group program guide. Therefore, what is displayed on the screen is that on which the group program has been acquired as a result of receiving an instruction via the input unit 237 by each user.

  By displaying a list of group programs selected by the user on the screen, the user can easily grasp the progress of the recording of the target group program, progress of broadcasting, etc. The possibility of avoiding loss of recording opportunities, loss of viewing opportunities for rebroadcast programs, and the like is higher than that of a normal group program guide. Note that the My Group program guide according to the present embodiment can be grouped by newly selecting program information and the like on the user side in addition to registering a group program distributed on the providing side in advance in the My Group program guide. It is also possible to set a group program. Multiple programs can be managed by groups set by individual users.

  The “Registered List” and “New Group List” are displayed in the My Group Program Table shown in FIG. 6. The “Registered List” is a list of group programs registered in advance from the group programs distributed on the providing side. A list is shown. The “new group list” indicates a list of group programs generated by creating group information on the user side.

  The items such as “Genre”, “Title”, “Broadcast Progress”, “Recording Reservation”, or “Details” displayed in the My Group Program Guide have almost the same configuration as described in the Group Program Guide. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

(Detailed display of group programs)
Next, the detailed display of the group program according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of detailed display of the group program according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the detailed display of the group program is a screen on which detailed information of the group program for the item “details” displayed in the group program guide described above is displayed. In the detailed display, the status status of each program belonging to the group of the group program selected by the user is displayed.

  Specifically, when the user terminal 101 accepts that the “detail display” button of the “detail” item displayed in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 is selected by the operation of the input unit 237 from the user, Details on the selected group program are displayed on the screen on the display unit 235.

  The detailed display displayed on the above screen includes “Broadcasting station” in which the station name is displayed, “Title” which is the title of the group program, “Group” in which the individual programs included in the group are displayed in a list, “ “Recording status”, “Viewing status” indicating the viewing status such as whether or not the broadcast program is viewed, “Rebroadcast” indicating whether or not the broadcast program is rebroadcast, and indicating whether or not the recording is reserved when rebroadcast, Further, status items such as “package” indicating the presence / absence of contents such as books and DVDs related to the program are displayed. Note that the status item of each program is acquired based on program status information and the like related to each program information.

  In the “rebroadcast”, in addition to the presence / absence of rebroadcast indicating whether or not the broadcast program is rebroadcast, the status of whether or not the rebroadcast program is reserved for recording is also indicated. Further, the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, as the status of “rebroadcasting”, a display indicating the possibility of rebroadcasting such as “high possibility” may be displayed. The possibility of such rebroadcasting is displayed according to the total number of transmissions of request information for requesting rebroadcasting of programs transmitted from the user terminal 101 to the broadcasting station 102 via the network 103.

  In the “package”, an icon or the like indicating a content related to each program belonging to the group is displayed. As shown in FIG. 7, for example, in the case of a program “Group” “Episode 1 10/1 20: 00-22: 00”, “DVD 2980 yen” and an icon or button are displayed in “Package”. ing.

  By selecting (clicking etc.) the above button, a detailed information screen and a purchase screen relating to “DVD 2980 yen” are displayed, and a DVD or the like as a content entity can be purchased directly via the network 103. Note that the detailed information on the content or the purchase screen is displayed on the screen by accessing the content meta information associated with the program information, and the content meta information is provided by the ECG service. .

  Further, the broadcast date and time is displayed in the “title” of each program included in the group. Even when the broadcast date and time is suddenly changed by, for example, extension of a live broadcast program, the broadcast date and time can be automatically updated in synchronization with the change by extension or the like on the providing side or the user side.

  By displaying the detailed display of the group program on the screen, it is possible to easily grasp a series of broadcast schedules of the programs included in the group. Programs in such a group are strongly related to each other, and it is highly probable that a user will continuously watch or record a program. Therefore, by displaying the broadcast schedule of a series of programs to be broadcast in the future, the program search processing or program recording reservation by the user terminal 101 can be executed quickly, accurately, and more efficiently.

  As shown in the detailed display of the group program in FIG. 7, for example, after the broadcast of “Third episode ...” as the “Title”, this group information is selected in the broadcast of “Fourth episode…”, etc. It can be seen that the programs "Episode 4 ...", "Episode 5 ...", "Episode 6 ...", and "Episode 7 ..." are recorded.

  As for the above “4th episode ...” and “5th episode ...”, status items such as “recording status” and “viewing status” indicate that the recording of the program and the viewing of the program have been completed. Recording of the programs of "Episode 6 ..." and "Episode 7 ..." has been completed, but it has not been viewed.

  In addition, since the program after “Episode 8 ...” has not been broadcast yet, it has not been recorded, and the rebroadcast schedule remains “undecided”.

  “No. 1” and “Episode 2” are “Reserved” indicating a status in which re-broadcasting is confirmed by the broadcast station 102 or the like by program organization and recording reservation of a program to be re-broadcasted at a later date is completed. Displayed on the screen. In “Episode 3…”, “Waiting for reservation” is displayed on the screen indicating a status that the re-broadcast schedule has not been finalized by the broadcasting station 102 or the like.

(Environment setting information)
Next, the environment setting information according to the present embodiment will be described. The environment setting information is instructed by the user in advance, and the user terminal 101 that has received the instruction generates the environment setting information.

  The generated environment setting information is stored in the storage unit 236b of the user terminal 101 or the broadcast station 102 side. The environment setting information is setting information for displaying appropriate information mainly on the screen of the user terminal 101.

  The Web browser on the user terminal 101 side displays and processes the group program guide and the like according to the environment setting information. As the setting information, for example, whether or not to execute a rebroadcast request process for requesting a rebroadcast of the program can be set in the environment setting information (rebroadcast request is / is not required).

  In addition, for each program status item, it can be set whether or not to be displayed on the screen in the environment setting information. For example, the above items can exemplify “broadcast progress”, “rebroadcast progress”, “recording status”, “viewing progress”, and the like. In the initial setting, all the settings are displayed.

  Similarly to the program status items, group status items can also be set in the environment setting information. For example, the above items can exemplify “broadcast progress”, “rebroadcast progress”, “recording status”, “viewing progress”, etc. of the entire program included in the group. In the initial setting, all the settings are displayed.

  By displaying the status items of the group, the user can easily grasp the status of the entire group without checking individual programs, and as a result, for the quick program recording reservation process of the user terminal 101, etc. To contribute.

  Further, the status of the group status information displayed in the status item according to the environment setting information, for example, when the status item is “broadcasting”, displays the breakdown of the broadcasted programs among all the programs belonging to the group. Therefore, there are several levels such as “achieving 10% of the whole” and “achieving 80% of the whole”. In addition, according to the threshold value obtained from the number of programs in the group, for example, “about half broadcast completion” or “almost broadcast completion” may be classified into several levels.

  As with the status of the group status information, for example, in the case of the status item “recording reservation”, the program status information is divided into three stages of status “waiting for recording”, “recording reserved”, and “recording reserved”. It has been. Further, for example, in the case of the status item “rebroadcast”, the status item is divided into three stages of statuses such as “waiting for rebroadcast”, “during rebroadcast”, and “rebroadcast end”. Further, for example, when the status item is “viewing status”, the status is divided into three stages, “waiting for viewing”, “viewing”, and “viewed”. The status is not limited to such an example.

(Management screen on the provider side)
Next, the management screen on the service providing side according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a management screen on the service providing side according to the present embodiment.

  The management screen on the service providing side is displayed on the screen of a display unit such as a production terminal used for organizing a program provided in the broadcasting station 101, for example. As shown in FIG. 8, in the management screen, a “title” in which the title of the group information is displayed, a “group” in which the list of programs included in the group is displayed, and a program rebroadcast request are made. “Rebroadcast request”, “Rebroadcast date and time”, and “Package” are displayed.

  Through the management screen, the producer can grasp the situation such as how much rebroadcast is requested for the program by the user who is a viewer. Note that the present invention is not limited to grasping the situation of the producer. For example, when the number of rebroadcast requests exceeds a predetermined number, the program information transmission device 204 and the like automatically search for a free broadcast date and time and replay required for program organization. It can be executed even when information such as broadcast date and time is determined and re-broadcast program organization processing is performed automatically. Further, after the organization is completed, the information such as the rebroadcast date and time is updated in the program information. Note that a program for which rebroadcast has been determined may be transmitted as rebroadcast information to the user terminal 101 that has requested rebroadcast or to each user terminal 101. The user terminal 101 updates the program information based on the rebroadcast information.

  Next, a modification of the group program guide according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a modification of the group program guide shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, as a modification of the group program guide, a group program may be displayed on the screen as a list for each broadcasting station. As shown in FIG. 9, predetermined information such as a title of the group program is displayed in a cell having a predetermined size.

  In FIG. 9, the cells displayed on the screen are not changed even when the genres of the group programs are different. However, the cells are not limited to this example. For example, when the genre of the group program is drama, the group program of the drama May be displayed in red or the like, and a cell that is a group program of a movie may be displayed in a case where information such as a displayed title flashes.

  Furthermore, when the broadcast date and time of one or more programs belonging to the group program are common, for example, the position corresponding to the broadcast station and broadcast date and time of the group program table where the horizontal axis is the broadcast station and the vertical axis is the time zone Even if the above-mentioned cell of the group program is displayed on the screen, the present invention can be implemented.

(About program information)
Next, program information according to the present embodiment will be described. The program information can exemplify program meta information or EPG information. The program meta information is information that conforms to EPG information.

  In an EPG service that distributes a program in the EPG format, the EPG information is used as program information. In the ECG service, program meta information is used as program information, and content meta information, program meta information, content meta information, By linking, “link meta information” for associating the program with the content is used. In the group program guide providing system 100 according to the present embodiment, the above EPG service is employed, but the present invention can be implemented even when the ECG service is employed.

  If there is no particular description, the link meta information according to the present embodiment is ECG information. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the ECG information includes program meta information, content meta information, and link meta information. Information etc. may be included.

  The EPG information is electronic program guide data for searching for TV programs. When distributing EPG information to each user terminal 101, SI (System Information) in the current broadcast wave, an EPG service server that distributes EPG information on the Internet, and the like (contents are partially different for each EPG service). be delivered.

  By using the ECG service, which is an extension of the EPG service, the search target is not limited to the TV program, and various contents that can be acquired via the network 103 can be searched, and various searched contents are obtained. can do.

  Program meta information is meta information related to a program among meta information provided as an ECG service. The program meta information can exemplify, for example, a program name, a genre, or a performer related to the program.

  As described above, the program meta information is information that conforms to the EPG information, and in order to be distributed, the SI in the current broadcast wave or the EPG service server 108 on the Internet (contents differ for each EPG service). ) Is similar to the information to be distributed. Although the program meta information is different from the data structure of EPG information, the content is substantially the same even if the program meta information is expressed as EPG information.

  The content meta information is meta information included in the ECG service. The content meta information is linked to the program meta information by the link meta information, and the necessary content meta information can be acquired as appropriate by accessing the program meta information. Further access based on the content meta information makes it possible to purchase or access content entities such as books and CDs related to the program.

  The content meta information includes, for example, the location information (location information) of the content entity, which is a URI (Universal Resource Identifier), the name, category, the name of the author, the author name of the content entity, and the service validity that provides the content entity A time limit can be exemplified. The URL is included in the URI system.

  The EPG information includes, for example, information such as a program title name, a program genre, and performers. The genre of the program indicates the genre of the program to be broadcast, and for example, drama, music, variety, etc. can be exemplified. For example, the performer indicates the stage name or abbreviation of the performer, but is not limited to such an example.

  The program meta information has almost the same configuration as the above EPG information, but is not limited to this example. For example, the attributes of the performers (“actor”, “singer”, “sports player”, “comedian”) , Or “painter” etc.).

  For example, in the case of content related to music, the content meta information includes information related to music such as “music name”, “artist name”, “record company name”, or “music purchase site URL”.

  Furthermore, content meta information related to stores such as “store name” or “location” selling content, content meta information related to products such as “product name” or “product purchase site URL”, and “access from users” Content meta information related to solicitation such as “URL of a site that wants to promote” can be exemplified.

  The content meta information according to the present embodiment has been described by taking the case of meta information corresponding to music, a store, a prize, or solicitation as an example. , It is not limited to such an example.

  The content meta information according to the present embodiment describes information related to music, information about shops, information about solicitation, etc. as described above. For example, if the content meta information is information related to a DVD of a movie, the content meta information describes the name of the store selling the DVD, the location of the store, the name of the DVD, the URL of the access site of the store, etc. .

(EPG information)
Here, the data structure of the EPG information according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a data structure of EPG information according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the data structure of EPG information is, for example, in XML format. The EPG information includes an EPG information ID for identifying the EPG information, a title, a genre, a performer, a broadcast time, a segment indicating the number of broadcasts such as the first part and the second part of the program, and an element or attribute indicating a group link ID. Consists of tags.

  Among the elements or attributes, tags including attributes such as a title and a genre related to a program are tags 800 (tag 800-1 and tag 800-2) shown in FIG.

  In the tag 800-1, “id =“ P12345678 ”” indicates an EPG information ID, and is an identifier of a program or EPG information that is uniquely assigned at the time of program organization or the like. “Name =“ DDDD ”” indicates that the title of the program is “DDDD”.

  In addition, “genre =“ news ”” in the tag 800-1 indicates that the genre of the program is “news (news)”, and “keywords =“ JJ KKK LLL ””. “SponsorInformation =“ Zony ”” indicates the sponsor of the program.

  The “keywords” is set for each EPG information, and the corresponding program can be searched by searching the genre and the attribute value of the “keywords (keyword)”. For example, when a word that symbolizes the feature of a program is set as a keyword, other programs that are similar to the feature of the program can be efficiently searched. In the above description, “keywords =“ JJJ KKK LLL ”” includes three keywords, “JJJ”, “KKK”, and “LLL”. Multiple keywords can be set by separating them with spaces when setting keywords.

  Next, an element 802 is set with a broadcast date and time that is registered when the program is organized. For example, “start_date =“ 2004/10/1 ”” described in the tag of <oa start_date = “2004/10/1” to> that is the element 802-1 indicates the broadcast date of the program, and “start_time = “20:00: 00” indicates the broadcast time of the program, and “duration =“ 01:00:00 ”” indicates the broadcast time of the program.

  Next, in element 801, information related to performers appearing in the program is set. For example, among <Person id = “1_1” name = “abc” Birthplace = “Japan” />, the “name” attribute (abc) indicates the name of the performer, and the “Birthplace” attribute (Japan) Shows where the performer was born. Note that the attribute of the element 801 is not limited to this example, and can be implemented even when an attribute indicating the category of the performer such as an actor or a comedian is included.

  The tag 804 includes a group linking ID for linking the EPG information and the group information as an attribute. The group link ID (relation group_id_list) is “G12345” as indicated by the tag 804. The group linking ID is set in both the bi-EPG information and the group information so that the linking can be performed.

  The data structure of the program meta information according to the present embodiment has been described by taking the case of the XML format as an example. However, the data structure of the program meta information is not limited to such an example. For example, the data structure of the program meta information is HTML (Hyper Text). Even in the case of the Markup Language) format or the like, implementation is possible.

  Further, the attribute name and the like described in the tag of the EPG information according to the present embodiment can be implemented regardless of the name given by defining the attribute.

  Next, the data structure of the content meta information according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a data structure of content meta information according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the data structure of the content meta information is in the XML format. The content meta information includes a tag 900 including an element or attribute indicating a content meta information ID, a product name, a genre, a keyword, a manufacturer, a price, detailed content information, and the like.

  In the tag 900, “id =“ C12345 ”” is a content meta information ID including “C12345”, and is an identifier of content or content meta information uniquely assigned at the time of content creation or the like. “Name =“ product 1 ”” indicates that the product name of the content is “product 1”.

  In addition, “genre =“ publishing ”” in the tag 900 indicates that the genre of the content is “publishing”, and “keywords =“ XXX YYY ZZZ ””. Note that the “keywords” is set for each content meta information as described above, and the corresponding content can be searched by searching the genre and the attribute value of the keyword.

  “Maker =“ zony ”” indicates that the manufacturer of the content entity is “zony”.

  “Price =“ 100 yen ”” indicates that the price of the content that is the product is “100 yen”, and “content_info” indicates the detailed information of the content, for example, ““ http: // www. zony. co. URI such as URL information is set as in “jp ″”.

  The attribute of the content meta information according to the present embodiment does not include an attribute indicating the link destination (existing location) based on the URL information of the thumbnail image of the content, but indicates the link destination of the thumbnail image. Even if the attribute is included in the tag 900, it can be implemented.

  The data structure of the content meta information according to the present embodiment has been described by taking the case of the XML format as an example. However, the data structure of the content meta information is not limited to such an example. For example, the data structure of the content meta information is HTML (Hyper Text). Even in the case of the Markup Language) format or the like, implementation is possible.

  Further, the attribute name and the like described in the tag of the content meta information according to the present embodiment can be implemented regardless of the name given by defining the attribute.

  Next, the data structure of the group information according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the data structure of the group information according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the group information includes identification information for identifying group information such as a group information ID, a title, and a genre as described above. Furthermore, program identification information for linking to program information of one or more programs belonging to the group is included.

  12, the identification information for identifying group information is included in “<program_group id =“ G12345 ”˜>” described in the top row, for example, as shown in FIG. (Program_group id) is “G12345”, the title (title) of the group program is “Woman is hard” and the genre is “movie”.

  The program identification information includes at least EPG information ID (program_id) ID (P12345678 and the like) and reference information to the title (name of the first episode) of the program title (name). When displaying the group program, when the user terminal 101 accesses the group information, the user terminal 101 acquires predetermined information such as a title and a genre included in the group information and EPG information of the program identification information included in the group information. The ID and title are acquired, and the acquired information is displayed on the screen.

  Next, the data structure of the link meta information according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the data structure of the link meta information according to the present embodiment. The link meta information is meta information including identification information for linking program meta information and content meta information used in the ECG service.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the data structure of the link meta information is in the XML format. The link meta information includes a tag 901 and a tag group 902 including elements or attributes indicating a link meta information reference ID, a link meta information name, a link expiration date, or an associated program or content genre. The

  As shown in FIG. 10, among the tags 901, “id =“ L12345 ”” is a link meta information reference ID having an identification number “L12345”, and is unique at the time of generation of the link meta information, for example. Assigned to “Name =“ HHH ”” indicates that the stringing meta information name is “HHH”.

In the tag 901, “start_time =“ 2003/10/3: 00: 00 ”end_time =“ 2003/12/25: 00: 00 ”indicates the expiration date of the link meta information. Yes.

  Among the expiration dates of the above-mentioned stringing meta information, “start_time =“ 2004/10/3: 00: 00 ”is“ 2004/10/3: 00: 00 (October 3, 2004 00 “End_time =“ 2004/12/25: 00: 00 ”is an example of“ 2004/12/25: 00: 00 ”, etc. As shown, the end date and time are shown.

  By setting the expiration date of the link meta information, the user terminal device 101 refers to the link meta information and controls access to the related program meta information or content meta information set in the link meta information. be able to. In addition, when accessing the associated meta information by referring to the link meta information whose expiration date has passed, means such as charging the user terminal device 101 again or concluding a contract for use again Can be illustrated.

Further, the tag group 902 includes a plurality of tags, and each tag indicates linked program meta information or content meta information. As shown in FIG. 10, “link_program”
“id” is an identifier that is uniquely assigned to each program meta information or content meta information in the link meta information.

  As described above, “program_id” is a program meta information ID for identifying program meta information. Further, “content_id” indicates the content meta information ID as described above.

  Therefore, by referring to the program meta information ID or content meta information ID in the link meta information, it is possible to acquire (or acquire, access) the linked program meta information or content meta information.

  Furthermore, the “genre” attribute indicates the genre of the program or content. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, genres such as “shopping”, “sports”, “DVD”, and “publishing” can be exemplified.

  The data structure of the link meta information according to the present embodiment has been described by taking the XML format as an example, but is not limited to such an example. For example, the data structure of the link meta information is HTML ( (Hyper Text Markup Language) format or the like.

  In addition, the attribute name and the like described in the tag of the linked meta information according to the present embodiment can be implemented regardless of the name given by defining the attribute.

  Here, “selection” according to the present embodiment refers to, for example, a state in which a program content element is specified by clicking a mouse as an input unit or pressing a button, a mouse cursor or the like displaying program meta information and the like. For example, a state in which a frame (cursor) for selection by remote control operation or the like is displayed on a display area for the program meta information or the like.

(Group information processing)
Next, the group information processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a process for processing group information according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 14, when the user terminal 101 receives an instruction to display a group program guide from the user, the user terminal 101 accesses the grouping device 122 or the broadcasting equipment device 126 via the network 103 to obtain group information and EPG. Get information. The group information and EPG information to be acquired can be exemplified by, for example, only the latest information created on the day or only the corresponding information instructed by the user.

  When the user terminal 101 receives the group information and the EPG information via the broadcast / communication receiving unit 230, the Web browser or the group browsing / operation unit 250 acquires necessary information included in the group information and the EPG information, and browses the group. The operation unit 250 displays the group program guide on the display unit 235 (S1401).

  In the display of the group program guide (S1401), all group information to be received or stored is first acquired, and the group status information is accessed based on the group information ID included in each group information.

  When the group status information is acquired, the group status information is displayed on the screen for each group program together with attributes such as the title and genre of the group program included in the group information. The group program guide is displayed by the above processing (S1401).

  Note that the user can set in advance a program guide to be displayed on the screen when the user terminal 101 is powered on. For example, by setting a group program guide as an initial screen when power is turned on, the group program guide is displayed every time the initial screen is displayed.

  Next, it is confirmed whether or not group information exists in the displayed group program table (S1403). When the group information is present and the user accepts selection of the group program via the input unit 237, (S1405), the user terminal 101 displays details of the group program (S1407).

  The detailed display of the group program (S1407) refers to the EPG information ID of one or more programs included in the selected group information, and accesses the program status information corresponding to the EPG information ID.

  When the program status information of each program is acquired, each status set in the program status information is displayed on the status item on the screen according to the environment setting information, and attributes such as the title of each program are displayed on the screen. With the above processing, the group program detail display processing is completed (S1407).

  Next, when the user terminal 101 accepts the use of the my group program guide from the user (S1409), the group browsing / operation unit 250 and the like provided in the user terminal 101 displays the program instructed by the user in the my group program guide. The EPG information ID and the like are added to the my group program guide, and the program is registered in the my group program guide (S1411).

  If the use of the my group program guide is not accepted from the user, the user terminal 101 executes viewing reservation or recording reservation processing for the program that has received an instruction for viewing or recording reservation from the user (S1413).

  The viewing reservation process is a process in which an e-mail containing a message indicating that a viewing reservation has been made a predetermined time before the broadcast date and time of the program that received the instruction is transmitted to the pre-registered user's e-mail address.

  Furthermore, when the viewing reservation process is executed, the status of “viewing status” of the program status information of the program is updated from, for example, a null value to viewing reservation, and the “viewing status” of the group status information is newly updated from all programs, for example. It is updated after counting programs that have a status of viewing reservation or higher.

  In the recording reservation process, a recording reservation is instructed to the PVR 117b or the like via the peripheral device control unit 258, and a message indicating that a recording reservation is made a predetermined time before the broadcast date and time of the program that received the recording reservation instruction is described. Is a process to be transmitted to the mail address of the user registered in advance.

  Further, when the recording reservation process is executed, the status of “recording reservation” in the program status information of the program is updated from, for example, a null value to the recording reservation, and “recording reservation” of the group status information is newly updated from all programs, for example, It is updated after counting programs that have a status higher than the recording reservation.

  If the user terminal 101 misses a program despite the reservation for viewing or recording, the user terminal 101 automatically re-broadcasts the program or a package such as a DVD on which the program is recorded in accordance with an instruction from the user. Information is requested via the network 103 (S1415).

  The history (log) of the user terminal 101 such as the re-broadcast request and the package information request is transmitted from the user terminal 101 to the group management device 205 provided in the broadcast facility device 126 via the network 103 at predetermined time intervals. (S1417).

  From the above, the group program table displayed by the user terminal 101 receiving the group information and processing the status information included in the group information is very useful when the user views and records the grouped program. It is possible to facilitate the execution of the reservation process and the like efficiently.

  Next, management of the group program according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a flowchart schematically showing a group program management process according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 15, first, a production terminal (not shown) connected to the grouping device 122 or the like starts a predetermined application in accordance with an instruction from a producer or the like on the service providing side (S1501). ). The application is not limited to the type of software as long as it has a function capable of displaying or editing the management screen of FIG. 8 described above, and any software can be implemented.

  Next, when an instruction to select an appropriate group program is received by the user (S1503), it is confirmed whether or not the group information of the group program selected by the user exists. If the group information exists (S1505). First, the group status information is accessed from the group information ID.

  When the control terminal acquires the group status information, the status of “viewing status” included therein is displayed on the screen (S1507). By confirming the status item, the producer or the like can grasp the user's viewing situation from the whole program included in the group.

  If necessary, the status of one or more programs included in the group program can be displayed on the screen (S1509). Therefore, the status of each program can be confirmed at the same time.

  Furthermore, the user terminal 101 refers to the EPG information ID included in the group information, and displays status items such as “rebroadcast” and “package” and their status on the screen of the display unit 235 for each EPG information. (S1511).

  As described above, the producer can re-broadcast from the user terminal 101 sent to the broadcasting station 102 from the status displayed in the status item such as “re-broadcast” or “package” displayed on the management screen. It is possible to confirm the absolute number of request information for requesting package information and the like.

  In consideration of the number of requests for rebroadcast displayed on the display screen, the producer can adjust the rebroadcast of the program while adjusting it with the programs included in other group programs at a regular program organization meeting. A plan is formulated (S1513).

  Similarly, the producer considers the number of requests for package information displayed on the display screen, and decides whether to adapt the program content to secondary works such as books, DVDs, movies, etc. Determine (S1515).

  Next, a group information production process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a schematic configuration of the group information production process according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 16, first, a production terminal (not shown) connected to the grouping device 122 or the like starts a predetermined application in accordance with an instruction from a producer or the like on the service providing side (S1601). ). The application is not limited to the type of software as long as it has a function capable of creating or editing group information, and can be implemented by any software.

  Next, when the application is started, a group information creation / editing screen is displayed on the screen. When the producer creates or edits group information (S1603), a “new” button, an “edit” button, or the like is displayed. Select with the mouse.

  When creating new group information (S1603), the production terminal issues an ID (group information ID) for newly identifying group information (S1607). In the editing process, the group information ID is not issued.

  When the group information ID is issued, input items necessary for the group information are displayed on the screen together with the group information ID. The producer, for example, operates the mouse, keyboard, etc. for necessary input items such as the title of the group program, and instructs the production terminal to set the item.

  When the production terminal receives an instruction to set the input item from the producer, the production terminal sets the input item corresponding to the group information based on the setting content (S1609). In the case of editing processing, the previously set group information is changed or deleted according to an instruction from the producer and reset.

  When information such as a title is set in the group information (S1609), the production terminal then receives an instruction from the producer for a program belonging to the group, and an EPG information ID included in the EPG information corresponding to the program is received. Obtain (S1611).

  When the EPG information is acquired, the production terminal adds all the EPG information IDs included in the selected EPG information to the group information. Note that the addition to the group information is not limited to EPG information, and is not limited to this example as long as it is program information.

  When the EPG information ID is added to the group information (S1611), the production terminal then registers the group information ID included in the group information in the addition source EPG information (S1615).

  Next, the production terminal counts up the number of EPG information for the added amount, updates the total number of group status information, and further, “recording reservation”, “viewing status”, or “broadcast” status items. The status such as “elapsed” is updated (S1617). For example, for the status of “Broadcast Progress”, the status of the entire broadcast progress is quantified by dividing the actual number of broadcasted programs by the total number of programs obtained again, and the status is updated.

  As described above, group information can be created by grouping one or more programs, and by using group information, one or more program information can be managed in a genre-specific manner. Can do.

(Group information reception processing)
Next, a reception process for receiving group information according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an outline of the group information receiving process according to the present embodiment.

  First, when the user terminal 101 is powered on, a login screen requesting reception of the user ID, password, etc. of the user is displayed on the display unit 235. Next, when authentication information such as a user ID and a password is received from the user via the input unit 237, the transmission unit 238 encrypts the information as necessary and transmits the authentication information via the network 103.

  When authentication is performed by the group management device 205 or the like in the broadcast facility device 126, the user terminal 101 waits for group information distributed from the broadcast station 102 or the grouping device 122 as shown in FIG. It becomes a state. The group information reception process shown in FIG. 17 will be described by taking an example of a loop process until group information is received. However, the group information reception process is not limited to this example, and the loop is performed until the user terminal 101 is turned off. It may be processed.

  When the user terminal 101 receives group information, the user terminal 101 executes group information reception processing (S1701). Hereinafter, the group information reception process which is a subroutine will be described with reference to FIG.

  Next, the group information reception process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an outline of the group information reception process according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 18, first, when one group information is received, it is checked whether or not an EPG information ID is present in the group information (S1801). If an EPG information ID is present, the EPG information ID is changed. Obtain (S1803).

  Next, based on the acquired EPG information ID, the corresponding EPG information is acquired from the EPG information received together with the group information, and both the EPG information and the group information are stored in the EPG data DB or the group data DB of the storage unit 236a. Store (S1805). At the time of storage, the user terminal 101 also stores both status information (program status information and group status information) in the storage unit 236.

  The user terminal 101 loops the series of processes from the confirmation process (S1801) to the storage process (S1805) until the received group information is lost. Thus, the group information receiving process (S1701) according to the present embodiment is completed.

(Group program guide display processing)
Next, a group program guide display process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an outline of the group program guide display process according to the present embodiment.

  When the user terminal 101 receives various types of information such as group information and EPG information from the broadcasting station 102 and the like and stores them in the storage unit 236, the group program table can be displayed on the screen.

  As shown in FIG. 19, for example, when the control unit 240 of the user terminal 101 receives a display instruction of the group program guide from the user in a state where the menu screen is displayed (S1901), the group browsing / operation unit 250 receives the instruction. On the other hand, it instructs the display of the group program guide.

  The group browsing / operation unit 250 acquires group information stored in the storage unit 236a one by one (S1903). If there is no one, after executing the error process, the control unit 240 of the user terminal 101 displays an error on the screen of the display unit 235.

  When the group information is acquired (S1903), the group browsing / operation unit 250 extracts the group program title information included in the group information, and displays the group program title in a predetermined position on the screen. Process the display screen data.

  When the display screen data of the group program guide is processed, the extracted group program title is displayed at a predetermined position on the screen (S1905).

  Next, the group browsing / operation unit 250 reads the environment setting information stored in the storage unit 236b of the user terminal 101, and determines the target for displaying the status item in the group program guide (S1907).

  When the display item is determined (S1907), the user terminal 101 displays the status of each status item set in the group status information on the screen according to the environment setting information (S1909).

  When the status is displayed, one group information stored in the storage unit 236b is read next, and as described above, it is stored in the group data DB from title display (S1905) to group information acquisition (S1911). Loop processing is executed until all group information is read.

  As described above, when the series of processes shown in FIG. 19 is completed, the group program guide described in FIG. 5 is displayed on the screen of the display unit 235 of the user terminal 101.

  Next, display processing of group status information according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an outline of the group status information display processing according to this embodiment.

  In the status item status display (S1909) shown in FIG. 19, as shown in FIG. 20, first, the number of EPG information IDs included in the group information is counted to determine the total number of programs in the group (S2001).

  Next, when the EPG information ID included in the group information is acquired on a case-by-case basis (S2003), the corresponding program status information stored in the EPG data DB of the storage unit 236a is acquired based on the EPG information ID ( S2005).

  When the program status information is acquired (S2005), the status relating to each status item is read, one is added to the corresponding status number, and the numerical value of the addition result is cached in the work area (S2009). For example, the status item “Broadcast progress” is read, and when the status is “Broadcast end”, one is added to the number of statuses corresponding to “Broadcast end” cached in the work area.

  Next, one is added to the total number of programs indicating the total number of programs included in the group, and the numerical value of the addition result is cached in the work area (S2009). After the cache, the EPG information ID included in the group information is acquired (S2013).

  Until the total number of programs temporarily held in the work area exceeds the number of programs already obtained (S2001), the processing from the program state information acquisition process (S2005) to the EPG information ID acquisition process (S2013) Looped.

  When the loop processing is completed, the group browsing / operation unit 250 obtains a status relating to the group information based on the number of statuses cached in the work area, the total number of programs, and the like.

  For example, if the total number of programs in the group is 6, the status item “Broadcast Progress” has a status of “Before Broadcast” is 1, “Broadcast” is 1, and “Broadcast End” is 4 The proportion of programs that have been broadcast is divided by 4 by 6, and 67% are broadcast. Based on the calculation result, for example, the status of the broadcast progress of all programs related to the group information is determined as “almost broadcast end” or “66% broadcast end”. The determined status is registered in the corresponding status item of the group status information. If it is not registered, it is newly stored, and if it is already registered, it is updated.

  When the status is determined for each status item, the group browsing / operation unit 250 processes the display screen data of the group program guide so that the status of the group program is displayed at a predetermined position on the screen.

  When the display screen data of the group program table is processed, the status of each item of the group program is displayed at a predetermined position on the screen (S2015). Thus, the status screen display processing related to the series of group information ends (S1909). When the status is displayed on the screen, as shown in FIG. 5, the user can accurately grasp the status of the entire program.

  Next, the detailed display processing of group information according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an outline of detailed display of group information according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 19, for example, when the group program guide is displayed on the screen and the control unit 240 or the like of the user terminal 101 receives an instruction for detailed display of the group program guide from the user (S2101), group browsing / listening is performed. The operation unit 250 is instructed to display details of the group program guide. The detailed display instruction from the user is specifically when the “detail” button shown in FIG.

  The group browsing / operation unit 250 acquires group information stored in the storage unit 236a one by one, and acquires one piece of program identification information such as an EPG information ID included in the group information (S2103). If there is no one, after executing the error process, the control unit 240 of the user terminal 101 displays an error on the screen of the display unit 235. Note that, as described above, the program identification information is, for example, program identification information including an EPG information ID, a program title, and the like.

  When the program identification information is acquired (S2103), the group browsing / operation unit 250 extracts the title information of the program included in the program identification information and displays the title of the program at a predetermined position on the screen. Process the display screen data.

  When the display screen data of the group program guide is processed, the program title extracted from the program identification information is displayed at a predetermined position on the screen (S2105).

  Next, the user terminal 101 accesses the corresponding program status information based on the acquired EPG information ID (S2107). The program status information is stored together with the EPG information in, for example, the storage unit 236a in which the EPG information is stored.

  When the program status information is acquired (S2107), the status for the status item included in the program status information is acquired (S2109). The status according to this embodiment is acquired for each status item, and a case where environment setting information is referenced will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and all items are acquired collectively. After that, the environment setting information may be referred to.

  Next, the user terminal 101 determines whether or not the acquired status can be displayed on the screen in accordance with the environment setting information (S2111). If the acquired status can be displayed, the acquired status is displayed as a work area. The data area is temporarily reserved (S2113). Note that the conditions for determining whether status display is permitted / not permitted are registered in advance in the environment setting information.

  When all the statuses included in the acquired program status information are read and secured in the display data area, the status secured in the display data area is displayed at a predetermined position on the detailed screen of the group program guide. 250 processes the display screen data for the detailed screen, and displays the program status on the screen (S2115).

  The above processing (S2105 to S2115) is looped until all the EPG information IDs in the group are referred to. When the program status information related to all the EPG information is accessed and the status is displayed on the detailed screen of the group program guide, the group information detail display processing according to the present embodiment is completed.

(Rebroadcast request processing)
Next, rebroadcast request processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an outline of the rebroadcast request process according to this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 22, first, the user terminal 101 accesses the environment setting information and confirms whether or not the setting for permitting the rebroadcast request processing has been made in advance (S2201). If it is not permitted, it is forcibly terminated after error processing.

  Next, the group information stored in the group data DB of the storage unit 236a is acquired (S2203). Further, the group status information related to the group information is accessed, and the status such as “viewing status” or “recording status” of the group status information is confirmed (S2205). The status items to be confirmed are not limited to “viewing status” or “recording status”.

  As a result of the status check, if there is at least one program having a status of “unviewed” or “unrecorded” (S2207), the EPG information ID included in the group information is referred to, one program status information at a time. Access is made (S2209).

  When the program status information is acquired (S2209), the user terminal 101 confirms the status such as “viewing status” or “recording status” of the program status information, and the status is “unviewed” or “not recorded”. In the case (S2211), the EPG information corresponding to the EPG information ID is accessed, and the EPG information is secured in the work area in order to request rebroadcasting (S2213).

  When the confirmation of each status included in the program status information is completed (S2209 to S2213), rebroadcast request information for requesting rebroadcast of a program that has not been viewed or recorded among all the programs included in the group information is processed. It generates based on the EPG information secured in the area (S2215).

  The rebroadcast request information includes an EPG information ID, a title, a broadcast date and time, and further includes a user ID of a transmission source and a comment on the rebroadcast as necessary. Note that the rebroadcast request information according to the present embodiment is transmitted to the transaction server 127, converted into an e-mail in MIME format, and transferred to the mail server 125. However, the rebroadcast request information is not limited to this example. For example, the rebroadcast request information may be converted into the MIME format and transmitted to the mail server. Also, at the time of recording reservation, recording reservation request information having almost the same format as the rebroadcast request information is transmitted to the transaction server 127.

  Next, since the status is displayed at a predetermined position on the detailed screen of the group program guide, and displayed on the detailed screen of the group program guide, the group browsing / operation unit 250 processes the display screen data for the detailed screen.

  When confirmation of all program status information is completed based on the EPG information ID included in the group program (S2209 to S2213), a series of operations of the rebroadcast request process according to the present embodiment is completed.

(Rebroadcast decision processing)
Next, the program rebroadcast determination process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an outline of rebroadcast determination processing according to the present embodiment.

  After the rebroadcast request processing, when rebroadcast of the program is decided by the broadcast station 102 or the like on the service providing side, EPG information of the rebroadcast program is created, and further, the EPG information ID of the rebroadcast program is registered in the group information. The

  As shown in FIG. 23, the user terminal 101 accesses the grouping device 122 or the broadcasting equipment device 126 according to a predetermined interval or an instruction from the user, requests various information such as group information and EPG information, and the broadcasting station 102. From the side, group information, EPG information, etc. are received (S2301).

  Next, the EPG information ID whose rebroadcast flag is ON included in the received group information is extracted, and further, the EPG information ID of the program that is the source of the rebroadcast is extracted (S2303). Note that the rebroadcast flag or the original EPG information ID of the rebroadcast may be set in the program status information.

  Next, the EPG information ID whose rebroadcast flag is ON and the EPG information of the original program that has been rebroadcasted are matched, and if they match (S2305), the recording reservation of the rebroadcast program is executed (S2307). ).

  After the recording reservation is completed, the status of “rebroadcast” in the program status information is updated to “reserved”, and the status of “rebroadcast” in the group status information is updated (S2309).

  For example, when the group information ID is “100” and the EPG information ID is “100-3”, the group information ID of the group information including the program determined to be rebroadcast is “5”, and the EPG of the original program to be rebroadcast When the information ID is “5-3”, the group information with the group information ID “100” and the EPG information ID “100-3” are received (S2301).

  Next, the EPG information ID “5-3” whose group information ID whose rebroadcast flag is ON is “5” is extracted, and it is confirmed whether the group information ID and the EPG information ID match (S2305).

  If they match, the program recording reservation processing is executed for the EPG information ID “100-3” of the group information ID “100” (S2307). The recording reservation process is request information including an EPG information ID, a title, a recording broadcast date and time, and the like. When the request information is transmitted to the transaction server 127, the request information is generated on the transaction server 127 side, and transmitted to the user terminal 101 for recording on various recording devices connected to the terminals.

  When the recording reservation process ends, the status of “rebroadcast” in the program status information with the group information ID “5” and the EPG information ID “5-3” is updated to “reserved” (S2309). Thus, a series of operations of the rebroadcast determination process according to the present embodiment is completed.

  As described above, it is possible to manage programs in units of groups by grouping one or more programs with appropriate attributes. In addition, by generating group information that supervises program information related to programs in the group, it is possible to easily display or provide the status of the entire program, such as the broadcast status and recording reservation status, so that the user can easily The status can be grasped, and future viewing schedules and recording reservation schedules can be planned quickly and efficiently.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, this invention is not limited to this example. It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be envisaged within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood that it belongs.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the group information is received and the group program guide in the EPG format is displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 101 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. , When receiving program meta information and content meta information, and displaying a group program table or the like in the ECG format on the display screen of the user terminal 101.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the user terminal 101 accesses the broadcasting station 102 via the network 103 and receives group information has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and group information Can be implemented when the user terminal 101 receives a broadcast wave from the broadcasting station 102 by a carousel method or the like.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where each unit included in the user terminal 101 is made of hardware has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, at least one of the video stream playback unit 241, the data broadcast playback unit 243, the program information playback unit 246, the EPG browsing / operation unit 248, the group browsing / operation unit 250, or the peripheral device control unit 258, It may be a program composed of one or more modules or components.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the Web browser that displays the group program table or the like on the screen is software configured by one or more modules has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such an example. Even if it is configured by hardware, it can be implemented. For example, the Web browser may correspond to the EPG browsing / operation unit 248, the group browsing / operation unit 250, or the like.

  The present invention is applicable to a group program processing method, a group program guide display device, and a computer program that can display a group program guide.

It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the group program guide provision system concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline which distributes the group information concerning this Embodiment via a network. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline which distributes the group information etc. concerning this Embodiment via a broadcast wave. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the broadcasting station and user terminal concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the outline of the group program schedule displayed on the display screen of the user terminal concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the my group program guide concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the detailed display of the group program concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the management screen by the side of the service provision concerning this Embodiment. It is a modification of the group program guide shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of the EPG information concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of the content meta information concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the data structure of the group information concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of the link | attachment meta information concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the process of processing the group information concerning this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows schematically the process of the management of the group program concerning this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows schematic structure of the production process of the group information concerning this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the group information reception process concerning this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the group information reception process concerning this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the group program schedule display process concerning this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the display process of the group status information concerning this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the detailed display of the group information concerning this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the rebroadcast request | requirement process concerning this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the rebroadcast determination process concerning this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Group program schedule provision system 101 User terminal 102 Broadcast station 103 Network 118 Control terminal 235 Display part 237 Input part 238 Transmission part 240 Control part 248 EPG browsing / operation part 250 Group browsing / operation part

Claims (18)

An acquisition process in which one or more programs are grouped as a group program at least for each program attribute, and group program information including program information relating to each of the grouped programs is acquired;
Generation processing for generating status information of the group program indicating at least the processing status of the entire program belonging to the group program based on each program information included in the group program information;
Display control processing for displaying on the screen a group program table which is a list of the group programs based on the group program information and the status information of the group program;
Only including,
The generation process for generating the status information of the group program sets at least a ratio of the already broadcasted program among the programs included in the group program when generating the status information of the group program. Processing method.   The group program processing method according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition process acquires the group program information via a network or a broadcast wave.   2. The group program processing method according to claim 1, wherein the group program information includes program identification information for identifying program information relating to each program belonging to the group program.   The status information of the group program includes at least one status indicating a broadcast progress, a re-broadcast progress, a viewing status, a recording status, or a recording reservation status of the group program. Group program processing method.   When the group program processing method receives an instruction to reserve recording of a group program from a viewer, the program recording reservation instruction for all programs whose broadcast progress statuses of the program configured in the group program are waiting to start broadcasting are received. 5. The group program processing method according to claim 4, further comprising: a recording reservation instruction process for performing   When the re-broadcast progress status is a re-broadcast decision status indicating a re-broadcast decision of the program, it further includes a recording reservation instruction process for automatically instructing a recording reservation for all programs belonging to the group program. The group program processing method according to claim 4, wherein:   The group program processing method according to claim 1, wherein the group program information includes group program title and group program identification information for identifying group program information.   2. The group program processing method according to claim 1, wherein the group program table is a list composed of group programs preferred by a viewer that has been processed by receiving an instruction from the viewer.   The group program processing method according to claim 1, wherein the attribute of the program is a genre. An acquisition unit that groups one or more programs at least for each program attribute as a group program and acquires group program information including program information related to each of the grouped programs;
A generating unit that generates status information of the group program indicating at least a processing status of the entire program belonging to the group program based on each program information included in the group program information;
A display control unit for displaying a group program table which is a list of the group programs on a screen based on the group program information and the status information of the group program;
Equipped with a,
The generation unit is a group program processing apparatus that sets at least the ratio of a program that has already been broadcast out of all the programs included in the group program when generating the status information of the group program. The group program processing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the acquisition unit acquires the group program information via a network or a broadcast wave. The group according to claim 10 , wherein the group program information includes a title of the group program and program identification information for identifying program information related to each program included in the group program. Program processing device. The status information of the group program is broadcast course of the group program, re-broadcasting elapsed viewing situation, status indicating recording status or recording reservation status, is characterized in that included at least one, according to claim 10 Group program processing device. When the group program processing method receives an instruction to reserve recording of a group program from a viewer, the program recording reservation instruction is issued for all programs whose status of broadcast progress of the program configured in the group program is waiting to start broadcasting. 14. The group program processing apparatus according to claim 13 , further comprising a recording reservation instruction unit for When the re-broadcast progress status is a re-broadcast decision status indicating a re-broadcast decision of the program, the program further includes a recording reservation instructing unit for automatically instructing a recording reservation for all the programs belonging to the group program. 14. The group program processing device according to claim 13 , characterized in that it is characterized in that 11. The group program processing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the group program information includes group program title and group program identification information for identifying group program information. 11. The group program processing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the group program table is a list composed of group programs preferred by a viewer that has been processed by receiving instructions from the viewer. An acquisition process in which one or more programs are grouped as a group program at least for each program attribute, and group program information including program information relating to each of the grouped programs is acquired;
Generation processing for generating status information of the group program indicating at least the processing status of the entire program belonging to the group program based on each program information included in the group program information;
Display control processing for displaying on the screen a group program table which is a list of the group programs based on the group program information and the status information of the group program;
But only it contains,
The generation process for generating the status information of the group program sets at least the ratio of the already broadcasted program among the entire programs included in the group program when generating the status information of the group program. for executing a processing method in a computer, the computer program.

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