INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD AS WELL AS BROADCASTING SYSTEM AND BROADCASTING METHOD

• US 20020056099A1
• Filed: 11/24/1998
• Published: 05/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/1997
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: TAKAHASHI, YASUSHI, FUJIWARA, YOSHIHITO
• Application Number:
  US09/198,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20020056099A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/39
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43632 involving a wired protocol, e.g. IEEE 1394 high-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus H04L12/40052
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8352 involving content or source identification data, e.g. Unique Material Identifier [UMID]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8549 Creating video summaries, e.g. movie trailer retrieval in video databases by using presentations in form of a video summary G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

There is provided an information processing apparatus and an information processing method which allow viewers to readily comprehend the contents of a program. Promotion program information correlating information on a promotion program and information on ordinary programs to be promoted by the promotion program is generated in a transmitter and is transmitted together with the ordinary programs, the promotion program and program guide information (EPG). Based on the promotion program information, a receiver correlates and stores the promotion program and the promotion program information about the same ordinary program and provides promotion program-annexed program guide information, i.e., motion image-annexed EPG, in which the program guide information about the ordinary program and the promotion program correlated with the program guide information are composited when the program guide information about the ordinary program is requested.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for processing a promotion program for promoting ordinary programs, comprising generating means for generating promotion program information correlating information on said promotion program and information on said ordinary programs to be promoted by said promotion program.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information on said promotion program contains at least information on a channel broadcasting said promotion program and on time or hour and the information on said ordinary program contains at least information for specifying said ordinary program.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting means for transmitting said promotion program and said promotion program information together with program guide information for giving a guide on said ordinary programs.

4. An information processing method for processing a promotion program for promoting ordinary programs, comprising a step of generating promotion program information correlating information on said promotion program and information on said ordinary programs to be promoted by said promotion program.

5. An information processing apparatus for processing transmission data, comprising, when said transmission data contains at least a promotion program for promoting ordinary programs, program guide information for giving a guide on said ordinary programs and promotion program information correlating information on said promotion program and information on said ordinary programs to be promoted by said promotion program:

separating means for separating said promotion program, said program guide information and said promotion program information from said transmission data; and

storage means for correlating and storing the promotion program and the program guide information of the same ordinary program based on said promotion program information;

promotion program-annexed program guide information in which said program guide information about the ordinary program and said promotion program correlated with the program guide information are composited being provided when said program guide information about said ordinary program is requested.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the information on said promotion program contains at least information on a channel broadcasting said promotion program and on time or hour and the information on said ordinary program contains at least information for specifying that ordinary program.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the processor further comprises specifying means for specifying said ordinary program and said storage means correlates and stores said promotion program and said promotion program information about said ordinary program specified by said specifying means.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said storage means stores a still image which is one scene within motion images composing said promotion program.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the information on said promotion program contains time information on the time when the scene as said still image is to be broadcasted and said storage means stores the still image which is one scene within motion images composing said promotion program based on said time information.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein still image-annexed program guide information in which said program guide information about the ordinary program and said still image about said promotion program correlated with the program guide information are composited is provided when said program guide information about said ordinary program is requested.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising generating means for generating a still image arrayed screen in which still images about a plurality of said promotion programs stored in said storage means are arrayed.

12. An information processing method for processing transmitted data, comprising steps of, when said transmitted data contains at least a promotion program for promoting ordinary programs, program guide information for giving a guide on said ordinary programs and promotion program information correlating information on said promotion program and information on said ordinary programs to be promoted by said promotion program:

separating said promotion program, said program guide information and said promotion program information from said transmission data; and

correlating and storing said promotion program and said program guide information of the same ordinary program based on said promotion program information;

promotion program-annexed program guide information in which said program guide information about the ordinary program and said promotion program correlated with the program guide information are composited being provided when said program guide information about said ordinary program is requested.

13. A broadcasting system comprising a transmitter for transmitting transmission data and a receiver for receiving the transmission data from said transmitter, wherein said transmitter comprises:

generating means for generating promotion program information correlating information on a promotion program and information on ordinary programs to be promoted by said promotion program; and

transmitting means for transmitting said promotion program and said promotion program information together with program guide information for giving a guide on said ordinary programs as said transmission data; and

said receiver comprises;

separating means for separating said promotion program, said program guide information and said promotion program information from said transmission data; and

storage means for correlating and storing said promotion program and said program guide information of the same ordinary program based on said promotion program information;

promotion program-annexed program guide information in which said program guide information about the ordinary program and said promotion program correlated with the program guide information are composited being provided when said program guide information about said ordinary program is requested.

14. A broadcasting method of a broadcasting system comprising a transmitter for transmitting transmission data and a receiver for receiving the transmission data from said transmitter, comprising steps of:

generating promotion program information correlating information on a promotion program and information on ordinary programs to be promoted by said promotion program; and

transmitting said promotion program and said promotion program information together with program guide information for giving a guide on said ordinary programs as said transmission data in said transmitter; and

separating said promotion program, said program guide information and said promotion program information from said transmission data; and

correlating and storing said promotion program and said program guide information of the same ordinary program based on said promotion program information in said receiver;

promotion program-annexed program guide information in which said program guide information about the ordinary program and said promotion program correlated with said program guide information are composited being provided when said program guide information about said ordinary program is requested.