JP5583747B2 - Receiving apparatus and information processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a broadcast method and a broadcast receiver for providing content such as video through a broadcast network. In particular, the present invention relates to a technology that enables viewing in association with auxiliary information provided through another medium (for example, package media) and broadcast information provided through a broadcast network.

  In the conventional broadcasting system, video / audio information edited in accordance with a broadcasting time determined as a program is broadcast. For this reason, the viewer can view only a part of the information that can actually be provided by the broadcasting station. For example, in a news program, only a part of the recorded video can be viewed, and in a movie program, only a program edited for a program frame shorter than the time required for screening in a movie theater can be viewed.

  On the other hand, in recent years, a data broadcasting system has been put into practical use in which related text information is added to a video blank signal in addition to video / audio information. For example, methods called IT-vision and Intel-Intercast are well known. In these data broadcasting systems, text information is described in a predetermined language such as HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) in a signal area (for example, VBI (Vertical Blanking Interval)) that is not used for video transmission in a video signal. Broadcast simultaneously with the video. On the receiver side, the received signal is separated into video / audio information and text information, and the video / audio is reproduced as it is, and text information related to the video, still images, graphics, etc. are displayed based on the separated text information. Display on the computer screen.

  However, in the data broadcasting system that broadcasts auxiliary information using VBI with low information transmission capability, there is a limit to the capacity that can be sent as auxiliary information at a time, and large-capacity information such as video information cannot be sent as auxiliary information. Can not. Also, video and related information are independent information even if broadcasting is simultaneous, such as retrieving the original information from the related information, or connecting the video of the cut part of the movie with the original video, etc. It was difficult to use it for composition of video information. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide means for effectively presenting the viewer with the auxiliary information and broadcast information.

  In order to solve the above problem, for example, if broadcast information that is broadcast in a predetermined program time zone and is received by the broadcast receiving device and auxiliary information that is held in advance in the broadcast receiving device are reproduced in conjunction with each other, Good.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a receiving apparatus and a receiving method that can be effectively displayed to a viewer using broadcasted information or the like.

It is a conceptual diagram of a package-linked broadcasting (viewing) system. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a broadcast receiving apparatus (first embodiment). FIG. It is a data format of the broadcast information of a 1st Example. It is a data format of the auxiliary information of the first embodiment. It is an example of an auxiliary information management table. It is an example of a video recording management table. It is a figure which shows the flow of user operation. It is an algorithm of two aspects which synthesize | combines broadcast information and auxiliary information in a video synthetic | combination part. It is a system configuration | structure figure (2nd Example) of a broadcast receiver. It is a data format of the broadcast information and auxiliary information of the second embodiment. It is a data format of the auxiliary information of a 3rd Example.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, the concept of the package content linked broadcasting system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this method, content (contents) of a broadcast program is created by the content provider 900, and a part of the content is passed to the broadcast station 901 as broadcast information 201. The broadcast station 901 distributes the broadcast information 201 through an infrastructure such as satellite / terrestrial wave or CATV. On the other hand, the content provider distributes other information related to the broadcast information 201 as auxiliary information 301 using the Internet or package media. The viewer (home 902) receives the broadcast information 201 and the auxiliary information 301 by the broadcast receiving apparatus 100 of the present invention, and displays them on the monitor. In this broadcasting system, auxiliary information complements broadcast information. Indexes 203 and 305 are added to both the broadcast information and the auxiliary information, respectively, and this index specifies which auxiliary information is to be complemented for which broadcast information at what timing. A specific example in which such a package content linked broadcasting system is applied will be described.

  In the case of distributing theater movie content, a theater movie that is long in time is cut according to the broadcast time frame. In this method, the content provider provides the partially cut content as broadcast information to the broadcasting station and distributes it to each home, while the cut portion is a means such as the Internet, package media, or data broadcasting. To be distributed separately to the home. Each home broadcast receiving apparatus receives the broadcast information and the auxiliary information, and displays them on the TV monitor in conjunction with each other based on the index added to each. This allows the viewer to view complete movie content. Further, in the case of a news program, it is possible to provide the user with the contents of the coverage that was not broadcast as auxiliary information. In this way, a new information distribution business is born in which more detailed topics that were not broadcast as news programs are distributed and distributed as auxiliary information.

  This method can also be applied to parental control. The parental control function is a function that prevents the content from being displayed if the content includes depictions or expressions that are not suitable for viewing by young children. For example, by distributing contents for general public as broadcast information, separately distributing partial scenes for adults as supplementary information in another medium such as a package, and switching and displaying the scene appropriately according to the viewer's selection when viewing the broadcast The parental control function can be realized, so that an inappropriate scene is not inadvertently viewed by a child.

  This method can also be applied to broadcast advertisements (CM). By distributing CMs such as product advertisements as auxiliary information and playing them in synchronization with the program as appropriate, it is possible to increase the chances of presenting the CMs to viewers separately from the CMs included in the broadcast information. It becomes. The broadcasting station can increase the advertising revenue by setting a CM frame different from the conventional CM frame. Also, the CM provider can give a related advertisement to a program of a broadcasting station that does not broadcast the CM. For example, an advertisement of a product such as a car appearing in the program is reproduced from the CD-ROM at a timing designated by the index by an index of “program name” included in the broadcast information.

  In this way, even if the broadcast station side does not broadcast the CM, the CM provider can allow the viewer to view the CM.

  Next, an example in which computer graphics is used for the package content linked broadcasting system will be described. If the playback device has a processor that can execute the program, the auxiliary information to be played back in conjunction with the display of the broadcast information is not limited to the video / audio data as described above, and for example, displays computer graphics (CG). It may be a program to do. The CG program is distributed as auxiliary information through package media. CG that operates in synchronization with the broadcast on the display screen of the broadcast information by starting this CG program or giving parameters necessary for this CG program from the broadcast information by using the index information in the broadcast information. Make a character appear. Such an application is particularly effective for animation programs. It is possible to perform operations such as replacing a part of characters appearing in an anime program with a CG character selected by a viewer from package media.

  If the viewer can create a CG character by himself using a personal computer or the like, a conventional TV where the CG character created by the user appears in a broadcast program and enjoys watching it play an active role. The way of enjoying that was impossible with broadcasting becomes possible.

  On the other hand, a technique called “content-based coding” has been realized in the field of video / audio coding, which has recently been standardized, such as MPEG4. This is a technique in which video materials (objects) included in a video are independently encoded and transmitted, each object is decoded on the receiving side, and finally combined and displayed. According to this, it is possible not only to greatly reduce the amount of transmission information required by transferring only the information of the object that has changed in the video, but also to combine the video of the objects shot individually There is also an advantage on the production side, such as making it possible to create completely new images.

  When this “content-based encoding” is used for transmission of broadcast information, the video of some objects included in the broadcast signal can be obtained by using the package media linked viewing system using the broadcast receiver of the present invention. Can be replaced with the video of another object recorded on the package medium. For example, the video of the person 1 appearing in the program and the video of another person 2 moving in exactly the same way are each content-based encoded, and the video of the person 1 is distributed as part of the broadcast information. Video is recorded and distributed on package media. When only broadcast signals are received / played, person 1 appears in the program as it is along with other objects such as the background, but when watching the package media in conjunction with the person, person 1 will be used instead of person 1 It is possible to view a video in which 2 appears.

  Hereinafter, a broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention that enables packaged media-linked viewing as described above will be described.

  FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention. Broadcast receiving means 101 for receiving broadcast information 201, storage means 106 for temporarily storing broadcast information, for example, a hard disk drive or the like, removable media drive 104 for inputting auxiliary information, input means for instructing the user's intention 107, a processor 102 that performs a process of converting the broadcast information 201 or the auxiliary information 301 into a video signal, a display unit 103 that converts the video generated by the processor 102 into a signal for display on a display device 108 such as a color monitor, The memory 105 is used for storing a program executed by the processor 102 and temporarily storing information in the course of signal processing. Here, the removable media drive 104 is preferably a randomly accessible removable medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD, or MO. Sequential media such as tape may be used.

  Broadcast information 201 is temporarily stored in the storage means 106 in units of programs. When viewing a program, the broadcast information 201 recorded in the storage means 106 is sent to the processor 106, and the processor 102 performs processing such as decoding using the memory 105 and passes it to the display means 103. When an index is detected during the processing, auxiliary information 301 is extracted from the media loaded in the drive 104 based on the detection result, processed, and passed to the display means 103.

  The means for receiving auxiliary information is not limited to a medium such as a CD-ROM. Auxiliary information can be received via a network such as the Internet, or via satellite broadcasting or terrestrial broadcasting data broadcasting. In this case, auxiliary information is transferred and stored in the storage means 106 or the memory 105 in FIG. In this case, auxiliary information stored in the recording means 106 (memory 105) is reproduced in conjunction with broadcast information.

  The data format of the broadcast information 201 is shown in FIG. A plurality of program indexes 203 are inserted between video / audio data of each program. The information included in the program index 203 specifies a program ID 204 that uniquely indicates a broadcast program, a program name 205 of the program, a program start time 206 and an end time 207, and auxiliary information to be linked in the program. One or more auxiliary information IDs 208 are included. In the case of an analog broadcast signal, the program index 203 is embedded in the VBI area of the video signal using a normal NTSC video signal. In the case of a digital broadcast signal, it is broadcast as a control packet different from the video signal.

  It is desirable that such a program index includes the program index 203 a plurality of times in one program. If program index information is inserted only at the beginning of each program, when the program is recorded from the middle and played back, the program index cannot be acquired, so supplementary information can be played back and supplemented. It becomes impossible. By inserting it multiple times, such a problem is eliminated. Each program index to be inserted may specify all the auxiliary information IDs of auxiliary information linked to the program, or only the auxiliary information ID linked after the time of insertion.

  The data format of the auxiliary information 301 is shown in FIG. The auxiliary information 301 includes a plurality of individual auxiliary information 304 and an auxiliary information management table 303 that collectively manages them. Each of the individual auxiliary information 304 includes an auxiliary information index 305 including information for specifying a program of the other party to be complemented, and video / audio data 306 used for complementation. Each auxiliary information index 305 includes an auxiliary information ID 307 for distinguishing each individual auxiliary information, a title 308 for the individual auxiliary information, a partner program ID 309 for specifying a partner program to be complemented, and a complement start time based on the beginning of the complemented program. 310, a supplement end time 311, and time length information 312 of the individual auxiliary information 304.

  FIG. 5 shows the data format of the auxiliary information management table 303. The management table 303 is a table in which auxiliary indexes and storage locations of all the individual auxiliary information 304 recorded on the package medium (or transferred over a network or the like) are collected in one table. The storage location 401 is expressed by an address on the medium or the storage device in which the individual auxiliary information is recorded, and is sorted by the partner program ID 309. The management table 303 is desirably automatically copied to the storage means 106 when a medium is loaded in the drive 104. Thereby, the search using the management table 303 can be performed at high speed.

  Next, the package media linked viewing method will be described. This viewing method includes a recording operation for recording the broadcast information 201 in the storage means 106 and a composite reproduction operation for reproducing the program while complementing the individual auxiliary information 304 and the broadcast information 201. First, the recording operation will be described with reference to FIGS. The viewer records the broadcast information 201 in the storage unit 106 in the same manner as when recording a TV program on a VTR (video tape recorder). When the storage means 106 is a digital information recording means such as a hard disk, the analog broadcast signal is converted by the broadcast receiving means 101 into a digital signal (such as an MPEG stream) by video capture and recorded in the storage means 106. If the broadcast is a digital broadcast signal, the digital signal obtained from the digital signal stream is recorded in the storage means 106 as it is. The viewer designates the start / end of recording by specifying the time (answering recording) or by manual operation. The processor 102 receives and records broadcast information 201 broadcast in response to an instruction from a timer (not shown) or a user instruction. At this time, the broadcast receiving apparatus creates a video recording management table 501 which is a list of programs to be recorded as shown in FIG. The video recording management table 501 includes a recording location (address) 506 in the recording means 106 that starts recording, a program ID 204 and a program name 205 extracted from the program index 203 of the broadcast information 201, a recording start time 504, and a recording end time 505. Including. Note that the recording start (end) time shown in FIG. 6 is given based on the program start time 206. That is, the recording start (end) time 504 is a time obtained by subtracting the program start time 206 from the actual recording start time.

  Next, an example of the composite reproduction operation will be described with reference to FIGS. In order to acquire the individual auxiliary information 304 used for complementing the program, a medium storing auxiliary information is loaded into the drive 104. When the above-described recording operation is not performed, the broadcast receiving apparatus 100 processes the received broadcast information 201 by the processor 102 and displays it via the display unit 103 in the same manner as a normal television broadcast reception operation. A through operation of displaying on the device 108 is performed. The processor 102 displays a playback button 602 on the screen of the display device for control (FIG. 7A). When the user selects the playback button 602 with the cursor 601 or presses the playback request button prepared in the input means 107 such as a remote controller, the broadcast receiving apparatus 100 plays back the program recorded in the storage means 106. Therefore, the recorded program list menu 603 recorded at that time is displayed on the display device 108 from the video recording management table 501. The user designates a program to be reproduced from the recorded program list menu 603 (FIG. 7B). When a program is designated, the video recording management table 501 is searched to acquire the program ID of the program.

  Next, the processor 102 checks whether or not auxiliary information can be acquired from the media loaded in the drive 104. This confirmation can be determined based on whether or not the selected program ID exists in the management table 303 copied when the medium is loaded in the drive 104. If the auxiliary information cannot be acquired, the supplementation by the auxiliary information is ignored, and the processor 102 obtains the video storage location 506 from the video recording management table 501 using the program ID as a key, extracts the designated program information from the video recording management table 501, and plays it back To do. On the other hand, when the auxiliary information can be acquired, the program ID is referred to from the management table 303 to extract all the individual auxiliary information related to the program to be reproduced, and all the individual auxiliary information related to the program is extracted. A list of titles is displayed (FIG. 7C). At this time, together with the list of individual auxiliary information, a “select all” button for selecting all the auxiliary information in the list at once, “auxiliary information reproduction” for reproducing only the auxiliary information selected in the list A button 605, a “program playback” button 606 that reproduces only broadcast information while ignoring auxiliary information, and a “composite playback” button 607 that reproduces while complementing the selected individual auxiliary information and broadcast information are also displayed (seventh). (C).

  It is assumed that the user selects “auxiliary information 1” which is one of the individual auxiliary information from the auxiliary information list menu 604 and selects the composite reproduction button 607. The processor 102 acquires the recording location of the broadcast information to be reproduced, the recording start time 504, and the recording end time 505 from the video recording management table 501 using the program ID as a key. Next, the recording location of the individual auxiliary information to be synthesized and reproduced selected from the menu 604 and the synthesis reproduction start time 310 and end time 311 are extracted.

  By comparing the recording start time 504 of the broadcast information to be reproduced with the start time 310 of the auxiliary information to be synthesized, the previous video / sound is reproduced. Since both times are given on the basis of the program start time, the playback with the smaller time is started (FIG. 7D). The processor 102 always compares the start time of the individual auxiliary information with the timer value based on the program start time. When the auxiliary information start time is reached, the reproduction of the broadcast information is temporarily suspended and the reproduction of the individual auxiliary information is performed. Start. When the reproduction of the individual auxiliary information ends, the timer is reset at the start time 310 in the individual auxiliary information or at the end time 311, the timer is started, and the reproduction of the broadcast information 202 is started again. The former is an “insertion type synthesis method” in which auxiliary information is inserted in places of broadcast information, and the latter is a “substitution type synthesis method” in which a part of broadcast information is replaced with auxiliary information, which will be described later.

  When the user selects the auxiliary information reproduction button 605 in FIG. 7C, only the individual auxiliary information selected by the user is reproduced in order from the earliest start time of the management table 303. If the user selects the program playback button 606 in FIG. 7C, only the broadcast information selected in FIG. 7B is played back.

  Furthermore, during playback, an interface button 608 similar to a button on a remote control used for general VTR control appears on the screen (FIG. 7D), and the user starts, stops, and pauses playback of the video. Stop, fast forward, and fast reverse operations can be specified. When the user presses the stop button 608, the broadcast receiving apparatus 100 ends the video reproduction and resets the timer.

In the above description, it is assumed that the broadcast information is once recorded in the storage means 106 (FIG. 2) for each program, and the broadcast information and the auxiliary information are combined and reproduced when the broadcast information is reproduced. However, if the storage means is a storage medium having a sufficiently fast read / write speed, such as a hard disk drive, a part of the memory 105 is used as a buffer, and recording to the storage means 106 and reproduction from the storage means 106 are apparently performed. It is possible to do it at the same time. Therefore, it becomes possible to perform package media linked viewing for a currently broadcast program.
The broadcast information received by the broadcast receiving means 101 is written to the first buffer area on the memory 105, and when the predetermined amount is written, the information in the first buffer area is transferred to the storage means 106 at a time. Even during the transfer, the output from the broadcast receiving means 101 is continuously written on the memory. On the other hand, the broadcast information transferred and recorded in the storage means 106 is transferred to the second buffer area of the memory 105 in an appropriate unit, and the broadcast information in the second buffer area is sequentially processed by the processor 102, and the display means. 103.

  In this way, it is possible to continue the reproduction with a slight delay while recording the broadcast information currently being broadcast in the storage means 106. While performing such simultaneous recording / reproducing operation, supplementation of auxiliary information is executed according to the program index included in the broadcast information to be reproduced. Although a time lag occurs due to complementation by auxiliary information, the time lag can be absorbed by the above-described simultaneous recording / reproducing operation. When the interpolation method is the above-described insertion type composition, the time lag between the recorded broadcast information and the reproduced broadcast information increases, but the capacity of the storage unit 106 is larger than this difference. If it is sufficiently large, no information is lost.

  FIG. 8 shows the two synthesis methods described above, FIG. 8A shows “insertion type synthesis”, and FIG. 8B shows “substitution type synthesis”. In the case of the insertion type composition, the broadcast receiving apparatus 100 reproduces the broadcast information 202 until time T1, and then reproduces the auxiliary information 1 (306). When the reproduction of the auxiliary information 1 ends, the broadcast information 202 starts to be reproduced again from time T1. In this way, the auxiliary information 1 is reproduced in the original (broadcast information) video / audio data 202 inserted for the time of the auxiliary information 1 from T1. In the case of the replacement type synthesis, when the reproduction of the auxiliary information 1 is completed, the broadcast information 202 is started to be reproduced again from the time T2, which is the end time of the auxiliary information 1. In this way, the portion of the original video / audio data 202 (broadcast information) at times T1 to T2 is reproduced in a form in which the auxiliary information 1 is replaced.

  In addition, as an ingenuity in implementation for reproducing at the same timing, auxiliary information is pre-read before an accurate reproduction time and stored in a cache memory.

  As a result, the auxiliary information is reproduced with good timing, and the viewer does not feel uncomfortable. When encoding using inter-frame prediction is performed as in an MPEG stream, the frame corresponding to the encoding break (I frame in the case of MPEG) and the broadcast information / auxiliary information break Make sure they match.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be shown. In this embodiment, auxiliary information itself is also transmitted by broadcasting. FIG. 9 is a system configuration diagram of the second embodiment. Since the auxiliary information 301 is broadcast in the same manner as the broadcast information 201, the drive 104 is unnecessary from the system configuration in FIG. 2, while the information for separating the broadcast information 201 and the auxiliary information 301 obtained from the broadcast receiving unit 101 is used. A separation program 801 is held on the memory 105. The method for acquiring the auxiliary information 301 (operation during video recording) is different from that of the first embodiment (broadcast receiving apparatus shown in FIG. 1).

  The operation during video recording in the second embodiment will be described. The broadcast receiving apparatus 100 receives broadcast information 301 transmitted from a broadcast station and auxiliary information 301 related thereto. The data format of the information transmitted at this time is shown in FIG. The auxiliary information 301 is embedded in the program index 203 and transmitted. The processor 102 extracts the auxiliary information 301 from the information received by the broadcast receiving unit 101 using the program 801 and stores it in the storage unit 106.

  Note that there are cases where a large amount of auxiliary information 301 cannot be sent together within the program index of the broadcast information 201 as shown in FIG. In such a case, the auxiliary information 301 is divided into a plurality of packets and transmitted. For example, only the auxiliary information is broadcast independently before the program time zone. The broadcast receiving apparatus 10 stores the auxiliary information 301 included in each packet by the processor 102 and, when the final packet is obtained, sorts the auxiliary information from the received packet group in the order of the numbers stored in the packet. The entire 301 is reconfigured. By using the present embodiment, the user does not need to acquire auxiliary information using another means, and can automatically acquire auxiliary information simply by receiving a broadcast.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the content described in the auxiliary information 301 is an operation described by a CG program, an HTML document, or a script. As a specific example, a program for generating and displaying CG (Computer Graphics) that takes link information described in HTML language as auxiliary information and displays a video on the Internet through a browser program by following this link. There is a mode in which a CG image is displayed by fetching it as auxiliary information and executing this program directly. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 11, the program / script 1001 which is the contents of the individual auxiliary information 304 has a data type 1002 in the auxiliary information index indicating what kind of data it is. When executing the program script 1001, the processor 102 refers to the data type 1002 and executes the program script 1001 accordingly.

  Unlike video / audio playback, the execution time of a program or script is difficult to predict because it depends on the performance of the processor 102 that performs processing, the degree of network congestion when acquiring information by following links, and the like. For this reason, the processing time 1003 is described in the auxiliary information index. When this value is a positive value, it means an effective time when the execution result of the program script 1001 is displayed (when this time is exceeded, the program information 202 is automatically switched to reproduction). Means that the execution of the program / script is continued until a termination instruction is input by a user input. As described above, the processor 102 always monitors the execution time during the execution of the program or script as auxiliary information. According to the third embodiment, not only video but also auxiliary information using various media such as CG, numerical values, text, and graphics can be provided to the user.

  According to the present invention, package-linked viewing that presents auxiliary information so as to complement broadcast information by distributing auxiliary information related to broadcast information, for example, by package media, and reproducing and displaying them in synchronization. Is possible.

100: Broadcast receiving device,
101 ... Broadcast receiving means 102 ... Processor 103 ... Display means 104 ... Removal media drive 105 ... Memory 106 ... Storage means 107 ... Input interface 108 ... Display device 201- ..Broadcast information 203, 305 ... Index 301 ... Auxiliary information 900 ... Content provider 901 ... Broadcast station 902 ... Home

Claims (2)

  A receiving device capable of receiving video data of a broadcast program,
  A receiver for receiving video data of a broadcast program;
  A program that is executed in conjunction with a broadcast program received by the receiving unit and that obtains graphics information, numerical values, text, or graphics from a link destination on the Internet and displays the program on a browser via a network. Input unit that can be acquired
  A processing unit capable of executing the program;
  A display signal generating unit capable of generating a display signal based on graphics information, numerical values, text or graphics acquired from a link destination on the Internet by the video data received by the receiving unit or the program acquired by the input unit;
With
  The receiving unit receives start instruction information for execution in conjunction with video data of a broadcast program received by the receiving unit with respect to the program acquired by the input unit;
  The processing unit starts execution of the program acquired by the input unit based on the start instruction information received by the receiving unit, and receives graphics information, numerical values, text, or graphics from a link destination on the Internet. When acquisition is attempted and a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of execution of the program, execution of the program is stopped and browser display is ended.
  A receiving apparatus.   An information processing method in a receiving apparatus capable of receiving and playing back video data of a broadcast program and further executing a program linked with the broadcast program,
  A program that is executed in conjunction with a broadcast program, obtains graphics information, numerical values, text, or graphics from a link destination on the Internet and displays them on a browser via a network,
  Receiving video data of a broadcast program, receiving start instruction information for executing the program in conjunction with the video data of the broadcast program;
  Based on the received start instruction information, the execution of the acquired program is started, and attempts are made to acquire graphics information, numerical values, text, or graphics from a link destination on the Internet, and a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of execution of the program. If this happens, stop executing the program and end the browser display.
  An information processing method characterized by the above.

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