Data processing apparatus, data processing method and program, and data processing system

• US 7,962,935 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2003
• Issued: 06/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kurosaki, Daisuke, Nomura, Yasuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh; Son P
• Application Number:
  US10/527,822
• Publication Number:
  US 20060010470A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,814 Days
• Field of Search: 725 9- 25, 725/39, 725/46
• US Class Current: 725/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/76 Wired systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/82 the transmission system being the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time

Abstract

The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus, a data processing method and a program, and a data processing system which are configured to provide an EPG as a user interface that further facilitates decision on whether to view or record a program. By aggregating information uploaded from a user side, statistical data, such as the number of persons who viewed a program during its broadcast time, an audience rating of a program during its broadcast time, or a good impression level representing how the user feels about a program, are calculated, whereby an EPG page is automatically generated in which the statistical data and program guide data that gives guidance on programs are superimposed. The present invention is applicable to, e.g., a broadcasting system that broadcast television broadcasting programs.

Claims

1. A data processing apparatus that performs data processing to generate an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) to be displayed on a display, comprising:

means for acquiring program guide data that gives guidance on programs;

means for acquiring statistical data including data indicating scheduling of recordings of a plurality of programs and data indicating viewing of the recordings of the programs, the data indicating scheduling of recordings including data indicating a number of scheduled recordings of each of the programs for each of a plurality of broadcast time zones of the program;

means for averaging, for each of the programs, the data indicating scheduling of recordings based upon a sum of the number of scheduled recordings of the program divided by a number of broadcast time zones of the program, to obtain an average scheduling count of the program;

means for generating an EPG including a statistical data layer superimposed upon a program guide data layer as a two-dimensional grid guide format, the statistical data layer including, respective to a programming box for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones of each of the programs, simultaneous display of an indicator of the average scheduling count of the program and an indicator of the data indicating viewing of the recordings of the program; and

means for displaying, on the display, the EPG including the statistical data layer superimposed upon the program guide data layer as a two-dimensional grid guide format.

2. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the statistical data is obtained on the basis of information transmitted from user terminals, and

said means for generating an EPG includes means for determining an audience rating of the programs based on a number of said user terminals which transmitted the information a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined period, as a population parameter.

3. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for transmitting the EPG generated by said means for generating an EPG to a user of a user terminal.

4. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for acquiring history data for individual users, the history data including a history of actions related to program viewing taken by each of the individual users, wherein

said means for generating an EPG includes means for generating an EPG in which the program guide data, the statistical data, and the history data are superimposed.

5. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for acquiring operation data indicating when a user terminal of a user is caused to perform a predetermined process, wherein

said means for generating an EPG includes means for generating an EPG in which the program guide data, the statistical data, and the operation data are superimposed.

6. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said means for generating an EPG includes means for generating an EPG in which the program guide data is displayed in a different manner for each different broadcast status of a program.

7. The data processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

said means for generating an EPG includes means for generating an EPG in which the program guide data is displayed in different manners for a program which ended, a program which is being broadcast, and a program which will be broadcast.

8. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the EPG generated by said means for generating an EPG is generated to be interpreted by a web browser.

9. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the EPG generated by said means for generating an EPG is generated to be interpreted by a dedicated browser.

10. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for aggregating information transmitted from user terminals and obtaining said statistical data, wherein

said means for acquiring statistical data includes means for acquiring the statistical data obtained by said means for aggregating information.

11. The data processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the information transmitted from said user terminals is first information indicating that a program is being viewed during a broadcast time thereof, second information indicating that a program recorded during a broadcast time thereof is being viewed by playback, or third information indicating that a program is being scheduled for recording or that a scheduled recording of the program is being cancelled.

12. The data processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

the first information includes information which specifies the program as being viewed by a user at a viewing date/time of the program,

the second information includes information which specifies a recorded program as being viewed by the user and a viewing date/time, using a broadcast date/time of the recorded program viewed by the user as a reference, and

the third information includes information which specifies that the program is being scheduled for recording and a recording schedule of the program or that the scheduled recording of the program is being cancelled and a cancellation schedule.

13. The data processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein further comprising:

means for generating a good impression level of a program based on the first and second information.

14. The data processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

the second information further includes an actual viewing date/time at which the user viewed the recorded program.

15. The data processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the information transmitted from said user terminal includes date/time information about broadcast dates/times of the programs, and

said means for aggregating includes means for aggregating the information transmitted from said user terminals for predetermined time intervals on the basis of the date/time information.

16. The data processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

said means for aggregating includes means for sorting and storing the information transmitted from said user terminals.

17. The data processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

said means for aggregating includes means for determining whether or not the information transmitted from said user terminals is valid, and accepts only valid information for aggregation.

18. The data processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

said means for aggregating includes means for attributing the information transmitted from said user terminals to individual users, for each of a plurality of users.

19. The data processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the information transmitted from said user terminals includes a good impression level representing how users feel about the programs, and

said means for aggregating further includes a means for aggregating the good impression level for the programs.

20. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein

the EPG displays program guide data for one day on one page.

21. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the statistical data further includes data indicating live viewing of the programs, the data indicating live viewing including, for each of the programs, a number of persons who viewed the program for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones of the program.

22. The data processing apparatus according to claim 21 further comprising:

means for averaging, for each of the programs, the data indicating live viewing of the programs based upon a sum of the number of persons who viewed the program divided by the number of broadcast time zones of the program, to obtain an average live viewing count for the program, wherein

said means for generating an EPG includes means for generating an EPG in which the statistical data layer includes, respective to the programming box for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones of each of the programs, an indicator of the live viewing count of the program.

23. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the data indicating viewing of recordings of the programs includes, for each of the programs recorded, a number of persons who viewed the recording of the program for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones the program was recorded.

24. The data processing apparatus according to claim 23, further comprising:

means for averaging, for each of the programs recorded, the data indicating viewing of recordings of the programs based upon a sum of the number of persons who viewed the recording of the program divided by the number of broadcast time zones the program was recorded, to obtain an average playback count for the program, wherein

said means for generating an EPG includes means for generating an EPG in which the statistical data layer includes, respective to the programming box for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones of each of the programs, an indicator of the average playback count of the program.

25. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the statistical data further includes data indicating live viewing of the programs, the data indicating live viewing including, for each of the programs, a number of persons who viewed the program for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones of the program, and

the data indicating viewing of recordings of the programs includes, for each of the programs recorded, a number of persons who viewed the recording of the program for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones the program recorded.

26. The data processing apparatus according to claim 25, further comprising:

means for averaging, for each of the programs, the data indicating live viewing of the programs based upon a sum of the number of persons who viewed the program divided by the number of broadcast time zones of the program, to obtain an average live viewing count of the program; and

means for averaging, for each of the programs recorded, the data indicating viewing of recordings of the programs based upon a sum of the number of persons who viewed the recording of the program divided by the number of broadcast time zones the program recorded, to obtain an average playback count for the program, wherein

said means for generating an EPG includes means for generating an EPG in which the statistical data layer further includes, respective to the programming box for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones of each of the programs, an indicator of the average live viewing count of the program and an indicator of the average playback count of the program.

27. A data processing method of performing data processing to generate an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) to be displayed on a display, comprising:

acquiring program guide data that gives guidance on programs;

acquiring, by an information processing unit of a data processing apparatus, statistical data including data indicating scheduling of recordings of a plurality of programs and data indicating viewing of the recordings of the programs, the data indicating scheduling of recordings including data indicating a number of scheduled recordings of each of the programs for each of a plurality of broadcast time zones of the program;

averaging, for each of the programs, the data indicating scheduling of recordings based upon a sum of the number of scheduled recordings of the program divided by a number of broadcast time zones of the program, to obtain an average scheduling count of the program;

generating an EPG including a statistical data layer superimposed upon a program guide data layer as a two-dimensional grid guide format, the statistical data layer including, respective to a programming box for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones of each of the programs, simultaneous display of an indicator of the average scheduling count of the program and an indicator of the data indicating viewing of the recordings of the program; and

displaying, on the display, the EPG including the statistical data layer superimposed upon the program guide data layer as a two-dimensional grid guide format.

28. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with computer program instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computer, cause the computer to perform data processing to generate an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) that is displayed on display means displaying information, comprising:

acquiring program guide data that gives guidance on programs;

acquiring statistical data including data indicating scheduling of recordings of a plurality of programs and data indicating viewing of the recordings of the programs, the data indicating scheduling of recordings including data indicating a number of scheduled recordings of each of the programs for each of a plurality of broadcast time zones of the program;

averaging, for each of the programs, the data indicating scheduling of recordings based upon a sum of the number of scheduled recordings of the program divided by a number of broadcast time zones of the program, to obtain an average scheduling count of the program;

generating an EPG including a statistical data layer superimposed upon a program guide data layer as a two-dimensional grid guide format, the statistical data layer including, respective to a programming box for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones of each of the programs, simultaneous display of an indicator of the average scheduling count of the program and an indicator of the data indicating viewing of the recordings of the program; and

displaying, on the display, the EPG including the statistical data layer superimposed upon the program guide data layer as a two-dimensional grid guide format.

29. A data processing system including:

a server for transmitting information; and

a user terminal for receiving information from said server, wherein

either said server or said user terminal includes

means for acquiring program guide data that gives guidance on programs;

means for acquiring statistical data including data indicating scheduling of recordings of a plurality of programs and data indicating viewing of the recordings of the programs, the data indicating scheduling of recordings including data indicating a number of scheduled recordings of each of the programs for each of a plurality of broadcast time zones of the program;

means for averaging, for each of the programs, the data indicating scheduling of recordings based upon a sum of the number of scheduled recordings of the program divided by a number of broadcast time zones of the program, to obtain an average scheduling count of the program;

means for generating an EPG including a statistical data layer superimposed upon a program guide data layer as a two-dimensional grid guide format, the statistical data layer including, respective to a programming box for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones of each of the programs, simultaneous display of an indicator of the average scheduling count of the program and an indicator of the data indicating viewing of the recordings of the program; and

means for displaying, on the display, the EPG including the statistical data layer superimposed upon the program guide data layer as a two-dimensional grid guide format.

30. A data processing apparatus that performs data processing to generate an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) to be displayed on a display, comprising:

an information aggregation unit that aggregates program guide data that gives guidance on programs, and acquires statistical data including data indicating scheduling of recordings of a plurality of programs and data indicating viewing of the recordings of the programs, the data indicating scheduling of recordings including data indicating a number of scheduled recordings of each of the programs for each of a plurality of broadcast time zones of the program;

a guide page creation unit that averages, for each of the programs, the data indicating scheduling of recordings based upon a sum of the number of scheduled recordings of the program divided by a number of broadcast time zones of the program, to obtain an average scheduling count of the program, and generates an EPG including a statistical data layer superimposed upon a program guide data layer as a two-dimensional grid guide format, the statistical data layer including, respective to a programming box for each of the plurality of broadcast time zones of each of the programs, simultaneous display of an indicator of the average scheduling count of the program and an indicator of the data indicating viewing of the recordings of the program; and

a display unit that displays, on the display, the EPG including the statistical data layer superimposed upon the program guide data layer as a two-dimensional grid guide format.