JP7717583B2 - Broadcast commercial material bank system and its control method - Google Patents

Description

This embodiment of the present invention relates to a broadcast commercial (commercial message) material bank system and its control method.

Commercial television broadcasting stations use a commercial material bank system in their broadcasting systems to manage commercial material for broadcast. In this commercial material bank system, commercial material files are managed separately from program material files.

At this time, filing instruction data regarding the commercial material distributed from a higher-level system such as a commercial broadcasting system is stored in a filing instruction database, and the commercial material delivered by the advertising agency is stored in the video server. The filing instruction data includes a commercial material code that identifies the commercial material, and a commercial confirmation code known as a 10-digit commercial code that combines a four-digit advertising business code issued by the common code management center and a six-digit material code issued independently by the advertising business.

When commercial material is transmitted, commercial broadcasting stations verify that it was transmitted correctly from the television station at the transmission time of the commercial slot purchased by the sponsor of that commercial material, and certify this to the sponsor. To achieve this, when the specified commercial material is played back and output on the video server, a commercial confirmation code pre-assigned to that commercial material is superimposed on the ancillary (ANC) area of the commercial material's video signal. Then, dedicated equipment after the master switcher in the master facility extracts the commercial confirmation code from the commercial material's video signal and compares it with the commercial confirmation code assigned to each commercial material. A transmission monitor at the master facility also visually confirms that the commercial material for the number of seconds of the commercial slot purchased by the sponsor has been transmitted from the television station.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-14829

As described above, in conventional broadcast commercial material bank systems, filing commercial materials requires complex verification work, such as using dedicated equipment to superimpose a commercial confirmation code in a designated area of the video signal, extracting the commercial confirmation code from the video signal using dedicated equipment, and verifying the code, as well as visually checking the commercial slot transmission times.

The objective of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a broadcast commercial material bank system and control method that allows for easy verification of commercial confirmation codes when filing commercial materials and enables automatic verification of commercial materials using application software.

The broadcast commercial material bank system according to the embodiment is installed in a broadcast station, files incoming commercial materials in response to filing instructions from a host system, and transmits the materials while verifying each commercial material. It includes a database, a control unit, a memory unit, a video server, and a bank terminal. The database stores filing instruction data for commercial materials, including a commercial confirmation code assigned to each commercial material, distributed from the host system. The control unit controls the filing and verification processes for the commercial materials based on the commercial material filing instruction data stored in the database. The memory unit stores an MXF file for the commercial material in response to instructions from the control unit. The video server, in response to instructions from the control unit, retrieves the MXF file stored in the memory unit, inputs the commercial confirmation code indicated in the filing instruction data, and returns the MXF file to the memory unit after superimposing the commercial confirmation code on it. Here, the memory unit creates and saves a low-resolution file from the MXF file. The bank terminal also extracts the commercial confirmation code superimposed on the ANC area of the MXF file and saves it as a separate file. The bank terminal reads the MXF file or low-resolution file of the commercial material stored in the storage unit and performs a software preview using application software. In response to instructions from the control unit, the bank terminal compares the commercial confirmation code stored as a separate file in the storage unit with the commercial confirmation code included in the corresponding commercial material filing instruction data in the database, and displays the comparison result of whether they match or do not match.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a broadcast commercial material bank system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure for filing commercial material in the system shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure for processing the collating of commercial material in the system shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows a screen displaying the results of the verification process of the CM confirmation code in the CM material shown in FIG. 3, the image of the CM material, and a preview in a time bar format, etc.

The following describes the embodiments with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a broadcast commercial material bank system (hereinafter referred to as the bank system) according to an embodiment.

The bank system 11 shown in Figure 1 is installed in a broadcasting station and stores (files) commercial materials delivered from advertising agencies and the like, and transmits them while checking each commercial material. Specifically, when commercial materials are received, commercial material filing instruction data distributed from a higher-level system 12 such as a commercial broadcasting system is stored in a database 112 within the bank control unit 111. The commercial material filing instruction data includes a commercial material code and a commercial confirmation code (the so-called 10-digit commercial code).

The bank control unit 111 controls the NAS (Network Attached Storage) 113, video server 114, and bank terminal 115.

In response to instructions from the bank control unit 111, the NAS 113 stores MXF (Material eXchange Format) files of commercial materials delivered from advertising agencies, etc., and sends the stored MXF files to the video server 114.

In response to instructions from the bank control unit 111, the video server 114 imports the MXF file sent from the NAS 113, inputs the commercial confirmation code indicated in the filing instruction data, superimposes the commercial confirmation code on the MXF file, and sends it to the NAS 113.

NAS 113 inputs the MXF file with the commercial confirmation code superimposed from the video server 114 to create a low-resolution file, and also extracts the commercial confirmation code superimposed on the MXF file.

The bank terminal 115 has a software preview display function using application software, and imports the MXF file or low-resolution file of the commercial material and the commercial confirmation code from the NAS 113. It reads the commercial confirmation code from the filing instruction database 112, compares it with the commercial confirmation code from the NAS 113, and displays a commercial material preview or an error message depending on whether they match or do not match.

In the above configuration, the commercial material filing processing method and consistency check method will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the commercial material filing processing procedure in the bank control unit 111 of the bank system 11 shown in Figure 1.

First, the bank control unit 111 receives an MXF file of commercial material from an advertising agency or the like, and upon receiving commercial material filing instruction data including a commercial material code and a commercial confirmation code from the upper system 12 (step S11), stores the commercial material filing instruction data in the database 112 (step S12). The storage status of this instruction data can be displayed on a monitor. At this point, it determines whether an MXF file of the commercial material for which the commercial material filing instruction data was received has been input (step S13), and if so, temporarily saves the MXF file of the commercial material in the NAS 113 (step S14).

Then, the MXF file of the commercial material stored on NAS 113 is transferred to video server 114 (step S15), and video server 114 superimposes a commercial confirmation code in the ANC area of the MXF file of the commercial material, which is then transferred to and saved on NAS 113 (step S16). Furthermore, NAS 113 creates a low-resolution file for monitoring from the MXF file (step S17), extracts the commercial confirmation code from the ANC area of the MXF file, and creates and saves a separate file for monitoring (step S18), completing the filing process.

Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the matching process steps when sending commercial material in the bank control unit 111 of the system shown in Figure 1.

First, when the bank control unit 111 receives an instruction to execute a commercial material preview (step S21), it reads the commercial confirmation code of the specified commercial material from the database 112 (step S22). Meanwhile, it reads the commercial confirmation code stored as a separate file from the MXF file (or low-resolution file) of the specified commercial material from the NAS 113 (step S23), and executes a preview display of the specified commercial material MXF file (or low-resolution file) (step S24). The commercial confirmation code read from the NAS 113 is then compared with the commercial confirmation code read from the database 112 (step S25).

If the two codes match, the monitor screen will display a message indicating that the commercial confirmation codes match, and a preview of the corresponding commercial material will be displayed (step S27). If they do not match, the monitor screen will display a message indicating that the commercial confirmation codes do not match, and a preview error will be displayed (step S28).

Figure 4 shows a screen that displays the results of the comparison process of the commercial verification code for the commercial material shown in Figure 3, the video of the commercial material, and a preview in time bar format, etc., where (a) is the display screen during the comparison operation of the commercial material, and (b) and (c) show examples of the display when the comparison matches and does not match, respectively, displayed in the commercial material confirmation display area of the display screen shown in (a).

First, as shown in Figure 4(a), the display screen during the commercial material matching process has a commercial material confirmation display area A1 and a preview display area A2. The commercial material confirmation display area A1 displays a comparison between the commercial confirmation code in the filing instruction data and the commercial confirmation code extracted from the MXF file.

If the two match, "Match" is displayed as shown in Figure 4(b). This allows the monitor to display that the commercial verification code has been correctly filed (superimposed) in the MXF file of the commercial material to be sent. At this time, the MXF file or a low-resolution version thereof can be played back and displayed in the preview display area A2, allowing the contents to be visually confirmed.

On the other hand, if the two do not match, "Mismatch" is displayed, as shown in Figure 4(c). This allows the monitor to display that the commercial confirmation code in the MXF file of the commercial material to be sent is different from or not superimposed on the commercial confirmation code of the commercial material specified in the filing instruction data. In this case, the MXF file or its low-resolution file is not played, and a preview error is displayed in the preview display area A2, making it possible to visually confirm the error status due to the mismatch.

As described above, the bank system according to this embodiment makes it easy to verify commercial confirmation codes when filing commercial materials, and commercial material verification can be automatically checked using application software, reducing the operator's burden with tedious verification work.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be embodied by modifying the components within the scope of the spirit of the invention when implemented. Furthermore, various inventions can be created by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be omitted from all of the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

11...Bank system, 111...Bank control unit, 112...Filing instruction database, 113...NAS, 114...Video server, 115...Bank terminal, 12...Host system (commercial broadcasting system).

Claims (4)

A broadcasting CM material bank system that is installed in a broadcasting station, files CM (Commercial Message) materials delivered in response to filing instructions from a host system, and transmits each CM material while checking it,
a database for storing filing instruction data for CM materials, including a CM confirmation code distributed from the host system and assigned to each CM material;
a control unit that controls a filing process and a collation process of the CM material based on the filing instruction data of the CM material stored in the database;
a storage unit that stores an MXF (Material eXchange Format) file of the CM material in response to an instruction from the control unit;
a video server that, in response to an instruction from the control unit, retrieves the MXF file stored in the storage unit, inputs a CM confirmation code indicated in the filing instruction data of the CM material, superimposes the CM confirmation code on the MXF file, and returns the MXF file to the storage unit;
a bank terminal that reads out the MXF file of the CM material stored in the storage unit and performs software preview using application software;
The storage unit extracts the CM confirmation code superimposed on the MXF file returned from the video server and stores the CM confirmation code as a separate file,
In response to instructions from the control unit, the bank terminal compares the commercial confirmation code stored as a separate file in the memory unit with the commercial confirmation code contained in the filing instruction data for the corresponding commercial material in the database, and presents the comparison results of whether they match or do not match. the storage unit creates a low-resolution file from the MXF file of the stored commercial material in response to an instruction from the control unit,
2. A broadcast commercial material bank system according to claim 1, wherein said bank terminal reads out a low-resolution file of a designated commercial material and displays a preview thereof. The broadcast commercial material bank system of claim 1, wherein the bank terminal displays a preview of the MXF file of the commercial material when the commercial confirmation code matches, and displays an error message instead of the preview when the commercial confirmation code does not match. This system is installed in a broadcasting station, and is used to file commercial (Commercial Message) materials brought in according to filing instructions from a higher-level system, and to check and transmit each commercial material.
A control method for controlling a filing process and a collation process of the CM material based on the filing instruction data of the CM material stored in the database, the filing instruction data being distributed from the host system and including a CM confirmation code assigned to each CM material, the method comprising:
storing an MXF (Material eXchange Format) file of the commercial material in a storage unit;
fetching the MXF file stored in the storage unit, superimposing a CM confirmation code indicated in the filing instruction data of the CM material, and storing the MXF file in the storage unit;
A control method for a commercial material bank system, in which, when previewing an MXF file of commercial material stored in the memory unit in response to an instruction to perform a software preview using application software, the commercial confirmation code superimposed on the MXF file is read out as a separate file, and compared with the commercial confirmation code included in the corresponding commercial material filing instruction data in the database, and a comparison result of whether it matches or does not match is presented.