PROGRAM INFORMATION RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, BROADCAST RECEIVING APPARATUS, PROGRAM INFORMATION RETRIEVAL APPARATUS, PROGRAM INFORMATION RETRIEVAL METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM

• US 20080250455A1
• Filed: 10/01/2007
• Published: 10/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yamagishi, Yasuaki, Maruyama, Tetsuo, FUKUDA, Kazuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,882,526 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/232 Content retrieval operation locally within server, e.g. reading video streams from disk arrays storage management G06F3/0604; details of querying and searching of video data from a database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/432 Content retrieval operation from a local storage medium, e.g. hard-disk details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• 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 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• 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 21/4586 Content update operation triggered locally, e.g. by comparing the version of software modules in a DVB carousel to the version stored locally deployment, distribution, installation, update of software G06F8/65; error detection or correction of the data by redundancy during software upgrading G06F11/1433; arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/25
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence

Abstract

A program information retrieval system in which a broadcast receiving terminal and a resolver server are connected through a communication network includes a local storing unit that stores a program information, a taste-information acquiring unit that acquires taste information of a user, a program-information requesting unit that requests the resolver server to provide program information, and a program-information receiving unit that receives the program information transmitted from the resolver server. The resolver server includes a master storing unit that stores the program information, a program-information-request receiving unit that receives a request for program information based on the taste information from the broadcast receiving terminal, a program-information extracting unit that extracts program information matching the taste information from the master storing unit using the identifier, and a transmitting unit that transmits the program information extracted from the master storing unit to the broadcast receiving terminal.

Claims

1. A program information retrieval system in which a broadcast receiving terminal that receives a broadcast program and a resolver server that provides program information attached with an identifier peculiar to each broadcast program are connected through a communication network, the broadcast receiving terminal comprising:

a local storing unit that stores the program information;

a taste-information acquiring unit that acquires taste information of a user;

a program-information requesting unit that requests, on the basis of the taste information, the resolver server to provide program information; and

a program-information receiving unit that receives the program information transmitted from the resolver server, wherein

the resolver server includes

a master storing unit that stores the program information,

a program-information-request receiving unit that receives a request for program information based on the taste information from the broadcast receiving terminal,

a program-information extracting unit that extracts program information matching the taste information from the master storing unit using the identifier, and

a transmitting unit that transmits the program information extracted from the master storing unit to the broadcast receiving terminal.

2. A program information retrieval system according to claim 1, further comprising a program-information creating apparatus that gives the identifier by associating metadata and location information of the broadcast program with the identifier and creates the program information, wherein

the resolver server receives the program information from the program-information creating apparatus.

3. A broadcast receiving terminal connected to a resolver server that provides program information attached with an identifier peculiar to each broadcast program, the broadcast receiving terminal comprising:

a storing unit that stores the program information transmitted from the resolver server;

a taste-information acquiring unit that acquires taste information of a user;

a program-information-extraction requesting unit that requests, on the basis of the taste information, the resolver server to extract program information; and

a program-information receiving unit that receives the program information transmitted from the resolver server.

4. A broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the taste-information acquiring unit acquires the taste information on the basis of a history of use of the program information.

5. A broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a program-information erasing unit that erases program information stored in the storing unit according to a state of access to the program information.

6. A broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an environment-condition setting unit that sets, in a period until a program is broadcasted, predetermined environment conditions including an object medium, keywords of the program, a genre of the program, a cast of the program, and priority orders in the case of extraction, wherein

the program-information-extraction requesting unit requests, on the basis of the environment information, the resolver server to extract program information.

7. A broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a program-information updating unit that updates, when specific program information held by the resolver server is updated, program information stored in the storing unit corresponding to the specific program information.

8. A broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a display unit that displays the program information, wherein

the display unit displays program information of plural broadcasting stations classified on the basis of the identifier on one screen.

9. A broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, when the program information held by the resolver server is updated, a display state of an item related to the update among the program information displayed on the display unit is changed.

10. A broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a selecting unit that is capable of selecting plural items related to the program information displayed on the display unit, wherein

the taste-information acquiring unit acquires taste information of the user on the basis of the selected items.

11. A broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the program-information-extraction requesting unit requests, when program information requested by the user is not present in the storing unit, the resolver server to extract the program information.

12. A program information retrieval apparatus comprising:

a storing unit that stores program information attached with an identifier peculiar to each broadcast program;

a program-information-request receiving unit that receives a request for program information based on taste information of a user from a broadcast receiving terminal;

a program-information extracting unit that extracts program information matching the taste information from the storing unit using the identifier; and

a transmitting unit that transmits the program information extracted from the storing unit to the broadcast receiving terminal.

13. A program information retrieval apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the program-information extracting unit extracts, in a period until a program transmitted from the broadcast receiving terminal is broadcasted, program information matching the taste information on the basis of predetermined environment conditions including an object medium, keywords of the program, a genre of the program, a cast of the program, and priority orders in the case of extraction.

14. A program information retrieval apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the program information retrieval apparatus gives the identifier by associating metadata and location information of the broadcast program and is connected to a program information creating apparatus that creates the program information to receive the program information from the program information creating apparatus.

15. A program information retrieval apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, when the program information held by the storing unit is updated, the transmitting unit transmits information related to the update to the broadcast receiving terminal.

16. A program information retrieval method used in a program information retrieval system in which a broadcast receiving terminal that receives a broadcast program and a resolver server that provides program information attached with an identifier peculiar to each broadcast program are connected through a communication network, the program information retrieval method comprising the steps of:

acquiring taste information of a user;

requesting, on the basis of the taste information, from the broadcast receiving terminal, the resolver server to provide program information;

extracting program information matching the taste information from a master storing unit included in the resolver server using the identifier; and

transmitting the extracted program information from the resolver server to the broadcast receiving terminal and storing the program information in a local storing unit of the broadcast receiving terminal.

17. A computer program for causing a computer to function as:

means for receiving program information attached with an identifier peculiar to each broadcast program from a resolver server that provides program information;

means for storing the program information;

means for acquiring taste information of a user; and

means for requesting, on the basis of the taste information, the resolver server to extract the program information.

18. A computer program for causing a computer to function as:

means for storing program information attached with an identifier peculiar to each broadcast program;

means for receiving a request for program information based on taste information of a user from a broadcast receiving terminal;

means for extracting program information matching the taste information from the storing unit using the identifier; and

means for transmitting the program information extracted from the storing unit to the broadcast receiving terminal.

19. A broadcast receiving terminal connected to a resolver server that provides program information attached with an identifier peculiar to each broadcast program, the broadcast receiving terminal comprising:

a storing means for storing the program information transmitted from the resolver server;

a taste-information acquiring means for acquiring taste information of a user;

a program-information-extraction requesting means for requesting, on the basis of the taste information, the resolver server to extract program information; and

a program-information receiving means for receiving the program information transmitted from the resolver server.

20. A program information retrieval apparatus comprising:

a storing means for storing program information attached with an identifier peculiar to each broadcast program;

a program-information-request receiving means for receiving a request for program information based on taste information of a user from a broadcast receiving terminal;

a program-information extracting means for extracting program information matching the taste information from the storing unit using the identifier; and

a transmitting means for transmitting the program information extracted from the storing unit to the broadcast receiving terminal.