Reception device

• US 20070113257A1
• Filed: 12/22/2004
• Published: 05/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Takemoto, Takahiro
• Application Number:
  US10/581,057
• Publication Number:
  US 20070113257A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/131
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4143 embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4784 receiving rewards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

To provide a reception device for receiving a broadcast wave, selecting any of a commercial stream and a program stream that are modulated in the broadcast wave, and outputting the selected stream. The reception device includes an acceptance unit which accepts a channel operation by a user, and a switch unit which, when the acceptance unit accepts the channel operation, selects the commercial stream before the program stream, as the stream to be output.

Claims

1. A reception device for receiving a broadcast wave, selecting any of a commercial stream and a program stream that are modulated in the broadcast wave, and outputting the selected stream, comprising:

an acceptance unit operable to accept a channel operation by a user; and

a switch unit operable to, when the acceptance unit accepts the channel operation, select the commercial stream before the program stream, as the stream to be output.

2. The reception device of claim 1, further comprising

a first judgment unit operable to judge whether an end time of one of a plurality of commercials which are included in the commercial stream has come, the commercial stream also including time information showing an end time of each of the plurality of commercials,

wherein the switch unit switches from the commercial stream to the program stream when the first judgment unit judges that the end time of the commercial has come.

3. The reception device of claim 2, further comprising

a second judgment unit operable to judge whether an end time of one of a plurality of program segments which are included in the program stream has come, the program stream also including time information showing an end time of each of the plurality of program segments,

wherein the switch unit switches from the program stream back to the commercial stream when the second judgment unit judges that the end time of the program segment has come.

4. The reception device of claim 3,

wherein the switch unit repeatedly switches from the commercial stream to the program stream and back to the commercial stream, so long as a predetermined condition is met.

5. The reception device of claim 4, further comprising

a measurement unit operable to measure a total time during which the commercial stream is selected,

wherein the predetermined condition is that the total time is below a required commercial viewing time.

6. The reception device of claim 3, further comprising

a third judgment unit operable to judge whether the acceptance unit accepts a commercial viewing operation by the user before the end time of the program segment,

wherein when the third judgment unit judges that the acceptance unit accepts the commercial viewing operation before the end time of the program segment, the switch unit switches from the program stream back to the commercial stream without waiting for the end time of the program segment.

7. The reception device of claim 6, further comprising

a display unit operable to display a character string indicating one of the plurality of commercials that corresponds to a current time,

wherein the acceptance unit accepts the commercial viewing operation of requesting to view the commercial indicated by the displayed character string.

8. The reception device of claim 1,

wherein a synopsis stream is modulated in the broadcast wave together with the commercial stream and the program stream, and

the switch unit selects the synopsis stream after the commercial stream and before the program stream, for a predetermined time period.

9. The reception device of claim 8,

wherein the synopsis stream includes a plurality of synopses, and

the switch unit selects the synopsis stream to output one of the plurality of synopses that corresponds to a current time.

10. The reception device of claim 7, further comprising

a composite unit operable to, when the switch unit switches from the program stream back to the commercial stream, display a composite image in which an image of the commercial indicated by the displayed character string is scaled down and superimposed on an image of the program segment.

11. The reception device of claim 1,

wherein each of the program stream and the commercial stream includes a bonus image at an end portion, and any of the program stream and the commercial stream includes information showing a selection criterion for each bonus image,

the reception device further comprises:

a measurement unit operable to measure a total time during which one of the program stream and the commercial stream is selected; and

an output unit operable to, when a current time reaches the end portion of the program stream, output a bonus image corresponding to a selection criterion that is satisfied by the total time measured by the measurement unit.

12. A computer-readable program used in a computer for receiving a broadcast wave, selecting any of a commercial stream and a program stream that are modulated in the broadcast wave, and outputting the selected stream, comprising:

program code operable to cause the computer to accept a channel operation by a user; and

program code operable to cause the computer to, when the channel operation is accepted, select the commercial stream before the program stream, as the stream to be output.

13. A reception method for receiving a broadcast wave, selecting any of a commercial stream and a program stream that are modulated in the broadcast wave, and outputting the selected stream, comprising steps of:

accepting a channel operation by a user; and

selecting, when the channel operation is accepted, the commercial stream before the program stream, as the stream to be output.

14. A system integrated circuit for use in a reception device for receiving a broadcast wave, selecting any of a commercial stream and a program stream that are modulated in the broadcast wave, and outputting the selected stream, comprising:

an acceptance unit operable to accept a channel operation by a user; and

a switch unit operable to, when the acceptance unit accepts the channel operation, select the commercial stream before the program stream, as the stream to be output.