JP2010212953A - Program selection system, management server, and program selection method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program selection system, etc., for urging a viewer to select a program on the basis of information that fluctuates in real time. <P>SOLUTION: In the program selection system in which a plurality of television reception terminals are connected to a management server through a network, the television reception terminals perform program selection on the basis of data which is transmitted from the management server and fluctuates in real time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for providing a recommended program to a viewer based on information that varies in real time.

  As a technology to provide recommended programs to viewers, the function to present recommended programs based on recording reservations and viewing trends of recorded programs is provided as a service by collecting and analyzing history information from each recording terminal on the management server There was a form to do.

  For example, a management server is installed, and recording history information from each recording terminal is collected periodically via the Internet to analyze recommended genres and programs, and that information is recorded as a reference for future program selection. It was provided to the terminal by a display method and access method similar to the program guide.

  A related technology is a device that refers to the program viewing history and displays multiple channels in the order of channels with the highest number of channel selections, and proposes a technology that does not consider viewers to select channels that are sequentially switched by zapping. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-237789 A

  However, the related technology described above allows you to watch the program currently being broadcast in real time when you want to see how much attention is being given to the program being broadcast, or when you want to watch a program that many people are watching. By providing a rate and performing channel zapping in the order of popular programs based on this, or by displaying programs side by side in the rating ranking in the back program list based on the audience information, There is a problem that it is difficult to provide assistance to avoid missing programs.

  In addition, so far, the audience rating can only be overlooked because it is only possible to refer to the result of the survey conducted by the research company after viewing, and it is not known how many people are viewing during the broadcast.

  Furthermore, it has been difficult to provide recommended programs to viewers based on other information that changes in real time, or to give viewers an opportunity to change programs.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a program selection system, a program selection device, a program selection method, and a program that prompt a viewer to select a program based on information that varies in real time.

The program selection system of the present invention is a program selection system in which a plurality of television receiving terminals and a management server are connected via a network.
The television receiving terminal performs program selection based on real-time fluctuating data transmitted from the management server.

  In addition, the management server of the present invention is characterized by transmitting real-time fluctuating data for selecting a program to a plurality of television receiving terminals connected via a network.

The program selection method of the present invention is a program selection method using a plurality of television receiving terminals and a management server connected via a network.
The television receiving terminal receiving real-time fluctuating data from the management server;
And a step of selecting a program based on the data that changes in real time.

  The program of the present invention is characterized by causing a computer to execute processing for transmitting real-time fluctuating data for selecting a program to a plurality of television receiving terminals connected via a network.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prompt the viewer to select a program based on information that changes in real time.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the television receiving terminal and management server which concern on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure which concerns on 5th embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The program selection system in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is used for television receiving terminals 10-1, 10-2,..., 10-n (n is an integer) such as a television or a recorder, and the television receiving terminal 10. The high-function terminal 20 and the management server 30 are configured. The television receiving terminals 10-1, 10-2,..., 10-n (n is an integer) and the management server 30 are connected by the Internet 100 or the like. The type of network is not limited.

The television receiving terminal 10-n receives a television program (including television CM) distributed from a broadcasting station, generally displays a screen on a display unit, and outputs sound from an output unit. It may be a known television receiver terminal or recording terminal, and widely includes a PC with a television function, a tuner box, and the like. Channel information of a program being viewed or recorded by the user is periodically notified to the management server 30 via the Internet 100. Increasing the number of compatible terminals increases the reliability of information, and real-time performance can be realized by reducing the regular information update interval as much as possible.
Note that this embodiment does not identify an individual, but is a simple tabulated value, so there is less concern about leakage of personal information. The information is not a by-name but is transmitted to each television receiving terminal 10-n to the last, and information that can also identify those devices may not be transmitted.

  The high function terminal 20 is a so-called remote control, has a function of switching channels of programs displayed on the television receiving terminal 10-n, and may have a display screen. An operation may be accepted.

The management server 30 is an information processing device such as a workstation. Receives and aggregates channel information of programs being watched or recorded by the user from the television receiving terminal 10-n, aggregates the program viewing rate of each station currently broadcasting in real time as the aggregated information to the television receiving terminal 10-n, etc. Information to end users in real time.
In addition, since broadcast programs vary depending on the region, the management server 30 can be tabulated for each broadcast region, and can be tabulated for each broadcast program and can acquire only the audience rating of the program corresponding to the channel in its own region. May be.

  By providing information to the end users in real time about the program audience rating of each station currently broadcasting, when channel zapping is performed when the program you want to watch has not been decided, zapping is performed in order from the program that is often viewed now Etc. can be provided.

  Display the audience rating ranking of the currently broadcast program from the back program guide, select the program based on that information, and display the channel with the highest audience rating when the TV receiver is turned on first It is possible to set as follows. The information provided from the management server 30 may be displayed on the display unit of the television receiving terminal 10-n, the display unit of the high function terminal 20, or both. That is, the audience rating information provided from the management server 30 displayed on the display unit of the television receiver terminal 10-n can be combined and displayed on the television receiver terminal such as a list of audience ratings of the back program currently being viewed. Also good.

  As a further tabulation function of the management server 30, tabulation can be divided by region. Therefore, even in the same program, a tendency such as a distribution of audience rating according to the region may be determined and the information may be disclosed. Matching of broadcast time, genre information, program title information, etc. may be performed in order to discriminate programs that are considered the same at different broadcast stations.

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the television receiving terminal 10-n and the management server 30.
The television receiving terminal 10-n includes a television function control unit 11, a display unit 12, a user operation reception unit 13, a channel switching identification unit 14, and an information transmission / reception unit 15.
The TV function control unit 11 has a function for controlling general TV functions.
The display unit 12 has a function of displaying a television program and various information.
The user operation accepting unit 13 has a function of accepting an operation from the user via the high function terminal 20 or directly.
The channel switching identification unit 14 has a function of recognizing that the channel of the television program has been switched.
The information transmission / reception unit 15 has a function of exchanging information with the management server 30 and the like.

The management server 30 includes an information transmission / reception unit 31, a totaling unit 32, a timer unit 33, and a storage unit 34.
The information transmitting / receiving unit 31 has a function of exchanging information with the television receiving terminal 10-n and the like.
The counting unit 32 has a function of counting the real-time audience rating and the like based on the information received from the television receiving terminal 10-n.
The timer unit 33 has a function of holding time information.
The storage unit 34 has a table for storing various data (for example, program guide, terminal list).

Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 3, first, when the user performs channel switching of a program displayed on the television receiving terminal 10-n by the high function terminal 20 by the user (S301), the user receiving operation is accepted. The channel switching operation is accepted by the unit 13, the channel switching identifying unit 14 recognizes that the channel of the television program has been switched, and the information transmitting / receiving unit 15 transmits the switched new channel information to the management server 30 (S302). ). It is assumed that transmission is performed at each timing when the channel is switched. The transmission information may include a channel number, a region, a broadcast station code, reservation information, and the like.

  Next, the management server 30 uses the timer unit 33 by the totaling unit 32 to total the audience rating at each time point by region, genre, program, etc. with reference to various data in the storage unit 34 ( S303).

  The management server 30 uses the information transmission / reception unit 31 to transmit audience rating information or the like as information that varies in real time at the present time, such as region, genre, or program, to the television receiver terminal 10-n or the high function terminal 20 (S304). ).

  The receiving terminal 10-n and the high function terminal 20 display the received audience rating information and the like on the display unit such as the display unit 12 (S305), allow the user to determine a program to be viewed based on this information, and the channel by zapping Make changes, etc. The channels may be displayed in the order based on the audience rating information. Note that the display of audience rating information and the like is not necessarily required, and it may be the channel operation that goes to the top if it is upward and goes to the program with the lowest rating if it is downward.

  Thus, a channel selection method can be provided to the user of the television receiving terminal 10-n. That is, since the audience rating of a program that has been known only after the broadcast is known during the broadcast, it is possible not to miss a popular program. Based on this information, the user can determine a program to view, and the possibility that the user can participate in TV topics in the group at a later date is increased. This is not a program selection with a clear intention, but a solution to a program selection method of “what is an interesting program?”

Here, in S304 described above, as a modified example in which the management server 30 transmits information that changes in real time to the television receiving terminal 10-n or the high function terminal 20, the progress information from the start time of the program may be transmitted. . This is because it is considered that there is a user demand for a program that is about to end or a program that has just started, rather than a program that has been halfway through.
Moreover, you may send an emergency bulletin. This is because there is a user who selects a channel broadcasting special news.
Furthermore, you may transmit the extension information of a sports program. This is because there are scheduled users until 9 o'clock, but there are users who can watch the game after 9 o'clock, and there are users who are interested in the scene that has been extended.
Note that it may be possible to collect face screens of favorite entertainers or the like by face recognition technology, specify a person by a finger touch operation on the high function terminal 20, and recommend a recommended program from the information. Similarly, by specifying keywords and genres, it may be possible to totalize topics and trends, and recommend recommended programs from the information.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the system configuration of the first embodiment described above, real-time viewing information can be aggregated by the management server 30. Therefore, by providing this information not only to the television receiving terminal 10-n but also to a predetermined device at the broadcasting station, The program organization may be changed, and information on audience rating may be provided in units of CM. Since the audience rating that has been provided only in the program unit can be output even in the CM unit, the advertisement effect can be measured by the audience rate aggregation in the CM unit.

Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described from the viewpoint of reproducing a recorded one.
In the system configuration of the first embodiment described above, when program recording is performed at the television receiving terminal 10-n, the audience rating by time zone at the time of program broadcast provided from the management server 30 as meta information after recording is completed. By recording on the timeline or by recording the average audience rating, when watching the recorded program at a later date on the television receiving terminal 10-n, it is played back in order of the program of interest, or the part with the highest audience rating is picked up and digest played back .

Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described from the viewpoint of future scheduled recording.
In the system configuration of the first embodiment described above, a popular program based on audience rating information is automatically recorded for the next broadcast on the television receiving terminal 10-n, and the popular program is automatically and automatically activated. Add the function to record.

  It may be possible to divide the audience rating for each genre (movie, drama, etc.) and perform automatic rating recording of popular programs according to audience rating in the genre designated by the user.

  In addition, it is possible to acquire a reserved recording rate, and information on programs that have been reserved for recording that can be recorded by the television receiving terminal 10-n is transmitted to the management server 30, and the information is aggregated and immediately before broadcasting. When there is a certain reservation (attention level), automatic recording may be performed by the television receiving terminal 10-n.

  In addition, the management server 30 creates audience rating rankings for each performer from audience rating information and program information (the name of the performer is added), and a program for which a performer who appears to be popular is scheduled to appear Automatic recording may be preferentially performed by the television receiving terminal 10-n.

  Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The program selection system in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is the same as the system configuration of the first embodiment described above, and further, the community server 40 is connected to the television receiving terminals 10-1, 10-2,. -It is different in that it is connected to 10-n (n is an integer) and the management server 30.

When a community site for each program is installed in the community server 40 and each viewer's viewing information of the television receiving terminal 10-n is transmitted to the community server 40, the channel's community site is connected to the television receiving terminal 10-n and to it. Displayed on a control device (which may be the high function terminal 20), and a comment on the program may be written.
These comments are managed on a time axis, and even if the same program is viewed later after recording, only the comments at the time of the scene being viewed are displayed, and the previous comment is directly connected to the exposure of the story, so playback The time table being monitored may be monitored, and a comment may not be displayed for an unviewed part.

Each of the above-described embodiments is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the processing for realizing the functions of each device may be performed by causing each device to read and execute a program for realizing the functions of the television receiving terminal 10-n, the management server 30, and the community server 40. Further, the program is transmitted to another computer system by a transmission wave through a CD-ROM or a magneto-optical disk as a computer-readable recording medium, or through the Internet or a telephone line as a transmission medium. Also good. In addition, it is also within the scope of the present invention that the functions of each device are realized by other devices collectively or the functions are distributed by additional devices.
In order to perform channel zapping of popular programs in real time, communication may be performed between terminals without using a management server.

10-n Television receiving terminal 20 High-function terminal 30 Management server 40 Community server 100 Internet

Claims (18)

In a program selection system in which a plurality of television receiving terminals and a management server are connected via a network,
The television receiving terminal performs program selection based on real-time fluctuating data transmitted from the management server.   2. The program selection system according to claim 1, wherein the fluctuating data is any one of viewing information, progress information from a program start time, emergency bulletin, and program extension information.   3. The television receiving terminal transmits new switched channel information to the management server when a channel of a television program is switched when the fluctuating data is viewing information. Program selection system.   4. The program selection system according to claim 1, wherein the television receiving terminal performs program selection of a recorded program to be reproduced based on data that varies in real time.   5. The program selection system according to claim 1, wherein the television receiving terminal selects a program for reserved recording based on data that varies in real time.   A community server connected via a network; a community site for each program is installed in the community server; and when the viewing information of the television receiving terminal is transmitted to the community server, the community site for the program is determined in advance The program selection system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the program selection system is displayed on the terminal.   A management server for transmitting real-time fluctuating data for selecting a program to a plurality of television receiving terminals connected via a network.   8. The management server according to claim 7, wherein the fluctuating data is any one of viewing information, progress information from a program start time, emergency bulletin, and program extension information.   9. The management server according to claim 8, wherein when the fluctuating data is viewing information, the new channel information that has been switched is received when the channel of the television program is switched from the television receiving terminal. In a program selection method using a plurality of television receiving terminals and a management server connected via a network,
The television receiving terminal receiving real-time fluctuating data from the management server;
And a step of selecting a program based on the data that varies in real time.   11. The program selection method according to claim 10, wherein the fluctuating data is any one of viewing information, progress information from the start time of the program, emergency bulletin, and program extension information.   When the fluctuating data is viewing information, the television receiving terminal has a step of transmitting the switched new channel information to the management server when the channel of the television program is switched. Item 12. The program selection method according to Item 11.   The program selection method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, further comprising a step of the program selection of a recorded program to be reproduced based on data that fluctuates in real time by the television receiving terminal.   The program selection method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the television receiving terminal includes a step of selecting a program for reserved recording based on data that varies in real time.   A community server connected via a network; a community site for each program is installed in the community server; and when the viewing information of the television receiving terminal is transmitted to the community server, the community site for the program is determined in advance The program selection method according to claim 10, further comprising: a step of displaying on the terminal.   A program that causes a computer to execute a process of transmitting data that fluctuates in real time for selecting a program to a plurality of television receiving terminals connected via a network.   The program according to claim 16, wherein the fluctuating data is any one of viewing information, progress information from a program start time, emergency bulletin, and program extension information.   18. The process according to claim 17, wherein when the fluctuating data is viewing information, a process of receiving new switched channel information is performed when a channel of a television program is switched from the television receiving terminal. program.

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