Broadcasting receiver with functions of recommending broadcasting program and reservation-recording recommended program on network, and method for performing the functions

• US 20060143653A1
• Filed: 11/04/2005
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Suh, Jong Yeul
• Application Number:
  US11/267,531
• Publication Number:
  US 20060143653A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/80 characterised by transmission among terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0887 for the transmission of programme or channel identifying signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A broadcasting receiver with functions of recommending a broadcasting program and reservation-recording a recommended broadcasting program over a network, and method for performing the functions is provided in order to give and receive a recommendation for a genre of program that users favor between broadcasting receivers, and also reservation-record the recommended program. According to the invention, the broadcasting receivers on the network share identification information of each user, information on user-favored program genres, and IP address of each broadcasting receiver and have been registered as friends so that those receivers can recommend a favored genre of program that the users mutually favor, receive a recommendation for their favored genre of program, and perform the reservation-recording in accordance with selection of the user. As a result, the broadcasting receivers connected to the network can more easily reservation-record by receiving the recommendation for the genre of program that users mutually favor.

Claims

1. A broadcasting receiver with functions of recommending a broadcasting program and reservation-recording a recommended program over a network, the broadcasting receiver comprising:

a demultiplexer for demultiplexing a broadcasting signal received through a tuner to separate an image/voice stream and an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) from the broadcasting signal;

an identifier generator for generating program identifier information for each program name within the EPG information separated from the demultiplexer and storing the EPG information and the program identifier information in a memory;

a data interface unit for interfacing identifier information of a program to be recommended by each broadcasting receiver and a plurality of other broadcasting receivers registered as friends over a network;

a controller for recommending a favored genre of program that the broadcasting receiver and the plurality of other broadcasting receivers registered as said friends favor, based on a communication of the program identifier information via the data interface unit, and reservation-recording a program recommended by the plurality of other receivers registered as said friends in response to selection of a user;

a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) for storing an image/voice stream of the program to be reservation-recorded by the controller; and

an image/voice processor for outputting the image/voice stream stored in the PVR in an image/voice signal.

2. The broadcasting receiver as recited in claim 1, wherein the controller comprises:

a recommendation program detector for detecting information on the program from the memory, based on the program identifier information of the program transferred via the data interface unit;

a reservation-recording processor for reservation-recording the program that the user wants to reservation-record in the PVR;

a friend information storage unit for storing information on network addresses of the plurality of other broadcasting receivers registered as said friends, identification information of each receiver user, and information on favored program genres;

a recommendee searcher for searching identification information of friends favoring the same genre as that of the program that the user wishes to recommend, using the information stored in the friend information storage unit; and

a recommendation information transmitter for transmitting the program identifier information of the program to other broadcasting receivers that correspond to identification information of friends selected by the user, among the identification information of said friends searched in the recommendee searcher.

3. The broadcasting receiver as recited in claim 2, wherein the controller further comprises a user information transmitter for transferring the user identification information, information on user-favored program genre, and network address of the user own broadcasting receiver to the plurality of other broadcasting receivers registered as said friends.

4. The broadcasting receiver as recited in claim 2, wherein the controller further comprises a notice unit for notifying the user of information indicating a presence of the recommendation of the program, if the program identifier information of the program recommended from the other broadcasting receivers is received through the data interface unit.

5. The broadcasting receiver as recited in claim 1, wherein the data interface unit is connected to the network and configured to provide and receive information to and from the plurality of other broadcasting receivers registered as said friends via a guidance server for guiding the transfer of the data.

6. A program recommendation method for a broadcasting receiver, the method comprising the steps of:

demultiplexing a broadcasting signal received through a tuner to separate an image/voice stream and EPG from the broadcasting signal, generating program identifier information for each program name within the EPG information separated from the demultiplexer, and storing the EPG information and the program identifier information in a memory;

searching identification information of friends favoring the same genre as that of the selected program from friends identification information and information on the friends-favored program genres stored in advance, and displaying the searched information on a screen, if a program is selected through the EPG information and an instruction for recommendee search with respect to the program is inputted by a user; and

transmitting the program identifier information of the program to other broadcasting receivers corresponding to identification information of friends selected by the user among the displayed friends identification information, to thereby recommend the program.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the program identifier information is created by combining a broadcasting channel, a broadcasting time and a program genre for each program provided in the EPG information.

8. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the number of the other broadcasting receivers for receiving the program identifier information of the program recommended by the selection of the user is limited to below a predefined number.

9. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein identification information and information on favored program genre of each friend, and broadcasting receivers network addresses of the friends are transmitted and stored from a plurality of other broadcasting receivers registered as friends, prior to performing the program recommendation.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the transmission of the identification information and the information on favored program genre for each friend, and broadcasting receivers network addresses of said friends from the plurality of other broadcasting receivers registered as said friends is made through a guidance server connected to the network to guide the transmission of data.

11. A program reservation-recording method for a broadcasting receiver, the method comprising the steps of:

demultiplexing a broadcasting signal received through a tuner to separate an image/voice stream and EPG from the broadcasting signal, generating program identifier information for each program name in the EPG information separated from the demultiplexer, and storing the EPG information and the program identifier information in a memory;

detecting program information corresponding to the received program identifier information from the EPG information stored in the memory and displaying the detected information on a screen, if program identifier information of a program is received by a program recommendation from other broadcasting receivers that have been registered as friends; and

setting a reservation-recording of the recommended program responsive to a selection of a user and reservation-recording the program in a PVR.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising the step of notifying the user that the program has been recommended when the program identifier information of the program is received by the program recommendation of the other broadcasting receivers registered as said friends.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the notifying step notifies the recommendation of the program by displaying a predetermined symbol on the screen.

14. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the notifying step is a step of notifying the program recommendation by displaying a message window, including the user identification information of the broadcasting receiver which has recommended the program and the recommended program name.

15. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the other broadcasting receivers registered as said friends receive and store user identification information, information on user-favored program genre, and network address of the user own broadcasting receiver in advance, from the broadcasting receiver.

16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the user identification information, the information on user-favored program genre, and the network address of the broadcasting receiver are transmitted to the other broadcasting receivers registered as said friends via a guidance server connected to the network to guide the transmission of data.

17. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the program identifier information is created by combining a broadcasting channel, a broadcasting time and a program genre for each program provided by the EPG information.

18. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein if the received program identifier information of the program designates a program in which the reservation-recording has already been set, no further reservation-recording for the related program is to be made.