CONTENT STORAGE CONTROL APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR

• US 20080098444A1
• Filed: 10/15/2007
• Published: 04/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Urabe, Hirofumi, Shibamiya, Yoshikazu, Matsubayashi, Kazuhiro, Maruyama, Kazuna, Shikata, Yasushi, Mito, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 8,074,249 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/110
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

If there are program-related associated Web pages, a TV receiver 1000 acquires the content information of the associated Web pages from a Web server 2000 and stores it in a Web page storage unit 1006. The correspondence between the stored content information and recorded program is stored in a correspondence information holding unit 1005. The data of the program is outputted to a TV program recorder 3000, where it is recorded. The user can configure the timing, at which the storage of the associated Web pages is carried out.

Claims

1. A content storage control apparatus comprising:

a content acquiring unit configured to be capable of accessing a designated Web page and acquiring the content information of the Web page;

a confirmation unit configured to check for the presence of an associated Web page associated with a broadcast program;

an output unit configured to output the data of the broadcast program to a recording apparatus during the broadcast program is being broadcast; and

a control unit configured to use, in case the associated Web page is present, the content acquiring unit to acquire the content information of the associated Web page and store the acquired content information in a storage unit in association with the broadcast program,

wherein the control unit, during the output of the data of the broadcast program to the recording apparatus, determines whether the associated Web page has been updated and, upon determination that the Web page has been updated, stores the content information of the updated Web page in the storage unit in association with the broadcast program.

2. The content storage control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit presents a selection screen that allows a user to choose whether to store the content information of an updated Web page in the storage unit in association with the broadcast program when it is determined that a Web page has been updated or to store the content information of a Web page in the storage unit in association with the broadcast program at predetermined timing.

3. The content storage control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording apparatus also serves as the storage unit and wherein the control unit controls the output unit to multiplex the content information of the associated Web page with the data of the broadcast program and output them to the recording apparatus.

4. The content storage control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a recorded program data acquiring unit configured to acquire the data of a recorded broadcast program from the recording apparatus;

a playback unit configured to use the acquired data to play back the broadcast program and output it to a display; and

a Web page output unit configured to read the content information of the associated Web page that is associated with the broadcast program from the storage unit and output the associated Web page to the display.

5. The content storage control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit allows to a user to choose whether to output an associated Web page stored in the storage unit when the content information of the associated Web page associated with the broadcast program is present, or to acquire the content information of the associated Web page by the content acquiring unit using the address information of the associated Web page and output the acquired associated Web page.

6. The content storage control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, in case there is a plurality of content information of the associated Web page associated with the broadcast program, the control unit, based on an elapsed time of the broadcast program played back by the playback unit and a timing point at which the plurality of content information is stored, selects one of the plurality of content information and directs the Web page output unit to output the selected content information.

7. The content storage control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control unit selects content information stored at a timing point corresponding to a time closest to the elapsed time and earlier than the elapsed time.

8. The content storage control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, as the elapsed time progresses, the control unit successively and automatically switches the content to be output by the Web page output unit.

9. A method for controlling a content storage control apparatus comprising:

a content acquisition step of accessing designated Web page to permit acquisition of the content information of the Web page;

a confirmation step of checking for the presence of an associated Web page associated with a broadcast program;

an output step of outputting the data of the broadcast program to a recording apparatus during the broadcast program is being broadcast; and

a control step of acquiring, in case the associated Web page is present, the content information of the associated Web page in the content acquisition step and storing the acquired content information in a storage unit in association with the broadcast program,

wherein in the control step, during the output of the data of the broadcast program to the recording apparatus, it is determined whether the associated Web page has been updated and, upon determination that the Web page has been updated, the content information of the updated Web page is stored in the storage unit in association with the broadcast program.

10. The method for controlling a content storage control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, in the control step, a selection screen is presented that allows a user to choose whether to store the content information of an updated Web page in the storage unit in association with the broadcast program when it is determined that a Web page has been updated or to store the content information of a Web page in the storage unit in association with the broadcast program at predetermined timing.

11. The method for controlling a content storage control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the recording apparatus also serves as the storage unit and wherein the control step controls the output step in such a manner that the content information of the associated Web page is multiplexed with the data of the broadcast program and output to the recording apparatus.

12. The method for controlling a content storage control apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

a recorded program data acquisition step of acquiring the data of a recorded broadcast program from the recording apparatus;

a playback step of using the acquired data to play back the broadcast program and output it to a display; and

a Web page output step of reading the content information of the associated Web pages that is associated with the broadcast program from the storage unit and outputting the associated Web page to the display.

13. The method for controlling a content storage control apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, in the control step, a user can choose whether to output an associated Web page stored in the storage unit when the content information of the associated Web page associated with the broadcast program is present, or to acquire the content information of the associated Web page in the content acquisition step using the address information of the associated Web page and output the acquired associated Web page.

14. The method for controlling a content storage control apparatus according to claim 12, wherein in the control step, in case there is a plurality of content information of the associated Web page associated with the broadcast program, an elapsed time of the broadcast program played back in the playback step and a timing point at which the plurality of content information is stored, are used to select one of the plurality of content information and output the selected content information in the Web page output step.

15. The method for controlling a content storage control apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, in the control step, content information is selected that is stored at a timing point corresponding to a time closest to the elapsed time and earlier than the elapsed time.

16. The method for controlling a content storage control apparatus according to claim 15, wherein in the control step, the content that is outputted in the Web page output step is successively and automatically switched as the elapsed time progresses.