APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING VIDEO AUDIO SETTING INFORMATION AND PROGRAM

• US 20090213273A1
• Filed: 10/09/2008
• Published: 08/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: MICHEL, Xavier, Ueda, Kazuhiko, Aoyama, Koji, Kurokawa, Masuyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,209,716 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/714
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26606 for generating or managing entitlement messages, e.g. Entitlement Control Message [ECM] or Entitlement Management Message [EMM] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• 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 21/4623 Processing of entitlement messages, e.g. ECM [Entitlement Control Message] or EMM [Entitlement Management Message] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A setting information database associates setting information used to output a video signal or an audio signal with a corresponding viewing condition. A setting information registration unit registers setting information and a corresponding viewing condition which have been received by a setting information reception unit so as to store them in the setting information database. An adequacy determination unit determines the adequacy of recommended setting information to be stored in the setting information database. A condition extraction unit extracts pieces of setting information stored in the setting information database on the basis of a viewing condition supplied from an extraction condition reception unit. A recommendable setting derivation unit derives recommendable setting information from the extracted pieces of setting information.

Claims

1. A video audio setting information management apparatus comprising:

setting information storing means for associating each of a plurality of pieces of recommended setting information used to output a video signal or an audio signal with a corresponding viewing condition and storing them;

setting information receiving means for receiving via a network each of the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information and the corresponding viewing condition;

setting information registering means for registering each of the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information and the corresponding viewing condition so as to store them in the setting information storing means;

recommendable setting information request receiving means for receiving a request for recommendable setting information and a corresponding viewing condition;

condition extracting means for extracting a plurality of pieces of recommended setting information from the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information stored in the setting information storing means on the basis of the corresponding viewing condition that has been received along with the request;

recommendable setting information deriving means for deriving recommendable setting information from the extracted plurality of pieces of recommended setting information; and

recommendable setting information providing means for providing the derived recommendable setting information via the network.

2. The video audio setting information management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising adequacy determining means for determining the adequacy of each of the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information, and

wherein, when the adequacy determining means determines that each of the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information is adequate, the setting information registering means registers each of the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information and the corresponding viewing condition so as to store them in the setting information storing means.

3. The video audio setting information management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the adequacy determining means determines that each of the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information is adequate when the recommended setting information falls within a predetermined range in a distribution of the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information stored in the setting information storing means.

4. The video audio setting information management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recommendable setting information deriving means derives the recommendable setting information from the extracted plurality of pieces of recommended setting information using a statistical method.

5. The video audio setting information management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recommendable setting information deriving means derives an average value of values of the extracted plurality of pieces of recommended setting information as the recommendable setting information.

6. The video audio setting information management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recommendable setting information deriving means derives at least one of the extracted plurality of pieces of recommended setting information which falls within a range of standard deviation as the recommendable setting information.

7. A video audio setting information management method of a video audio setting information management apparatus including setting information storing means for associating each of a plurality of pieces of recommended setting information used to output a video signal or an audio signal with a corresponding viewing condition and storing them, the video audio setting information management method comprising the steps of:

receiving via a network each of the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information and the corresponding viewing condition;

registering each of the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information and the corresponding viewing condition so as to store them in the setting information storing means;

receiving a request for recommendable setting information and a corresponding viewing condition;

extracting a plurality of pieces of recommended setting information from the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information stored in the setting information storing means on the basis of the corresponding viewing condition that has been received along with the request;

deriving recommendable setting information from the extracted plurality of pieces of recommended setting information; and

providing the derived recommendable setting information via the network.

8. A program causing a computer to execute the video audio setting information management method according to claim 7.

9. A video audio setting information management apparatus comprising:

a setting information storage unit configured to associate each of a plurality of pieces of recommended setting information used to output a video signal or an audio signal with a corresponding viewing condition and store them;

a setting information reception unit configured to receive via a network each of the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information and the corresponding viewing condition;

a setting information registration unit configured to register each of the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information and the corresponding viewing condition so as to store them in the setting information storage unit;

a recommendable setting information request reception unit configured to receive a request for recommendable setting information and a corresponding viewing condition;

a condition extraction unit configured to extract a plurality of pieces of recommended setting information from the plurality of pieces of recommended setting information stored in the setting information storage unit on the basis of the corresponding viewing condition that has been received along with the request;

a recommendable setting information derivation unit configured to derive recommendable setting information from the extracted plurality of pieces of recommended setting information; and

a recommendable setting information providing unit configured to provide the derived recommendable setting information via the network.