JP2004304428A - Broadcast receiving apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the convenience of transmitting the information abut the program to be broadcasted between users. <P>SOLUTION: A broadcast receiving apparatus 100 reproduces the program broadcasted by using an antenna 102 for receiving a broadcast wave, a tuner 104 for tuning, a separation part 106 for separating the components, an audio decoder 130 for decoding the sound component, a speaker 150 for outputting the sound, a video decoder 132 for decoding the video component, a graphic LSI 140 for performing display processing, and a display part 160 for outputting the video image. When a generation request of electronic mail is received from a user while the program is reproduced, a mail transmission unit 202 generates and transmits electronic mail containing the information on the program under reproducing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a broadcast receiving apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for transmitting information about a broadcasted program between users.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digital broadcasting has been started in some broadcasting using satellites, and digitalization of terrestrial broadcasting is imminent. In digital broadcasting, a service corresponding to a channel in a conventional analog broadcast is called a "service", and a service corresponding to a program broadcast in a predetermined time zone is called an "event". In digital broadcasting, "Program Information (Service Information: SI)" including additional information on services and events is broadcast in parallel with the main broadcast for broadcasting events composed of video and audio. The program arrangement information is defined by “ARIB STD-B10”. For example, “service name” expressing a service as a character string, “service identification (service_id)” which is an identifier of a service, and an event are expressed as a character string. The “event name”, the event identifier “event identification (event_id)”, the “start time” and the “duration” of the event, a “program description” that describes the content of the event, and the like are included.
[0003]
On the other hand, a general digital broadcast receiver has a function of presenting an “Electronic Program Guide (EPG)” on the screen of the receiver based on broadcast program arrangement information. In the electronic program guide, information such as “service name”, “service identification”, and “event name” is displayed, and information of “event identification” is not generally displayed to the user.
[0004]
[Non-patent document 1]
Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (Association of Radio Industries and Businesses: ARIB), "Program Arrangement Information Standards Used for Digital Broadcasting" (ARIB STD-B10), 3.6 edition, Japan Radio Industries Association, February 2003 May 6 [0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In view of the current widespread use of e-mail transmission / reception services using personal computers and mobile terminals, the present inventor has developed a technique for improving the convenience of exchanging program information between users using e-mail. It came to come to mind.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving convenience in transmitting information about a broadcasted program between users.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
One embodiment of the present invention relates to a broadcast receiving device. The broadcast receiving apparatus includes a receiving unit that receives a broadcast, a reproducing unit that reproduces a received program, and an e-mail including information about a program that is being reproduced by the reproducing unit when a request for generating an e-mail is received from a user. And a transmission unit that transmits the e-mail generated by the generation unit. The generation unit automatically acquires information about the program being reproduced and adds the information to the e-mail, thereby relieving the user from having to check and input information about the program.
[0008]
Another embodiment of the present invention also relates to a broadcast receiving device. The broadcast receiving apparatus includes a receiving unit that receives a broadcast, a reproducing unit that reproduces a received program, a program information presenting unit that presents information of a program that is currently being broadcast or a program that is scheduled to be broadcast in the future, and program information. It is characterized by including a generation unit that generates an e-mail including information on a program selected by the user from the program information presented by the presentation unit, and a transmission unit that transmits the e-mail generated by the generation unit. The generation unit automatically obtains information on the program selected by the user from the program information and adds the information to the e-mail, thereby relieving the user of the trouble of checking and inputting information on the program.
[0009]
Still another embodiment of the present invention also relates to a broadcast receiving device. The broadcast receiving apparatus includes a receiving unit that receives a broadcast, a reproducing unit that reproduces a received program, a mail receiving unit that receives an e-mail, and a mail receiving unit that receives an e-mail including information about a program. A presentation unit for presenting the information to the user, and a processing unit for receiving a program selection instruction from the user and performing channel selection, viewing reservation, or recording reservation of the program. The user can select the program information added to the received e-mail, and perform channel selection, viewing reservation, recording reservation, etc. of the program, thereby realizing a highly convenient user interface. it can.
[0010]
The processing unit may acquire information on the program selected by the user from the program arrangement information included in the broadcast received by the receiving unit and present the information to the user. The processing unit switches the program to be reproduced by the reproduction unit to the program that is currently being broadcast if the program selected by the user is a currently broadcasted program, and to the program that is selected by the user to be broadcasted in the future, A viewing reservation or a recording reservation for the program may be made. The processing unit switches the program to be reproduced by the reproduction unit to the program that is currently being broadcast if the program selected by the user is a currently broadcasted program, and to the program that is selected by the user to be broadcasted in the future, Information on the program selected by the user from the program arrangement information may be acquired and presented to the user.
[0011]
The information related to the program includes identification information that can uniquely identify the program, the name of the program, identification information that can uniquely identify the service that sends out the program, the name of the service, the start time of the program, the duration of the program, and the end of the program. Any of time and text information describing a program may be included. The e-mail only needs to include information necessary for identifying a program (event) or a channel (service), and other information may be added to the e-mail or the e-mail receiving side. May be obtained from the program arrangement information or the like.
[0012]
It is to be noted that any combination of the above-described components and any conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, and the like are also effective as embodiments of the present invention.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a broadcasting system 10 according to the embodiment. The broadcast system 10 includes a broadcast transmitting device 20 that transmits digital broadcasts, and broadcast receiving devices 100a and 100b that receive digital broadcasts. The broadcast receiving apparatuses 100a and 100b are configured to be connectable to the Internet 30 as an example of a network, and exchange electronic mail with each other via the Internet 30. The broadcast receiving apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is a mobile phone, and connects to the Internet 30 via a mobile phone network (not shown). In the present embodiment, when a user of a certain broadcast receiving apparatus 100a transmits information about a recommended program to another user by e-mail, the user who has received the e-mail views the program in a simple manner. We propose a technology that makes it possible to make reservations for viewing and recording.
[0014]
FIG. 2 shows an internal configuration of the broadcast receiving device 100. The broadcast receiving apparatus 100 includes a digital broadcast receiving antenna 102, a tuner 104, a separating unit 106, a mobile phone antenna 110, a communication control unit 112, an audio decoder 130, a video decoder 132, a CPU 120, a graphic as an example of a receiving unit. It includes an LSI 140, a speaker 150, a display unit 160, and an instruction unit 170.
[0015]
The broadcast wave received by the antenna 102 is tuned by the tuner 104, and separated by the separation unit 106 into audio, video, and data components. The audio component data is decoded by the audio decoder 130 and output to the speaker 150. The video component data is decoded by the video decoder 132, subjected to various processes for display by the graphic LSI 140, and output to the display unit 160. The data of the data component is processed by the CPU 120, superimposed on the video by the graphic LSI 140 as necessary, and displayed on the display unit 160. For example, the program information presentation unit 206 of the main control unit 200 realized by the CPU 120 obtains the program arrangement information from the broadcast wave when the user issues a display request of the electronic program guide via the instruction unit 170 or the like, and outputs the EPG. It is generated and displayed on the display unit 160. Here, the configuration includes a tuner 104, a separating unit 106, an audio decoder 130, a video decoder 132, a graphic LSI 140, and a CPU 120 that controls them collectively, for selecting a program and outputting it to the display unit 160 and the speaker 150. , The function of the playback unit.
[0016]
The main control section 200 controls each component of the broadcast receiving apparatus 100 in a centralized manner. Further, the main control unit 200 controls the e-mail transmission / reception function of the present embodiment. The mail transmission unit 202 receives an instruction from the user via the instruction unit 170, generates and transmits an electronic mail including information on the program. The mail receiving unit 204 receives an electronic mail including information on a program, and performs control such as channel selection, viewing reservation, and recording reservation of the program. The communication control unit 112 controls transmission and reception of e-mail, call voice, and the like via the mobile phone network. Packets and call voice data including e-mail data and the like are transmitted and received via an antenna 110 for a mobile phone.
[0017]
FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the mail transmission unit 202. This configuration can be realized in terms of hardware by the CPU, memory, or other LSI of any computer, and can be realized in terms of software by a program or the like loaded in the memory. The functional blocks are drawn. Therefore, it is understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof. The mail transmitting unit 202 includes a transmission request receiving unit 210 that receives an electronic mail transmission request from a user, a mail generation unit 212 that receives the transmission request and generates an electronic mail including information on a program, and a mail that transmits the generated electronic mail. And a transmission unit 214.
[0018]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mail transmission unit 202 when the user makes a transmission request for an e-mail while viewing a program. While the user is watching the program, the transmission request receiving unit 210 waits until the user requests the transmission of the e-mail by the instruction unit 170 (N in S100). When the user makes a transmission request (Y in S100), it is determined whether the information to be pasted into the e-mail is information about a service or information about an event (S102). The type of information to be pasted may be specified by the instruction unit 170 when the user makes an e-mail transmission request, or the user may be inquired when the transmission request reception unit 210 receives the transmission request. However, the transmission request receiving unit 210 may automatically make the determination.
[0019]
If the paste target is information on a service, the mail generation unit 212 acquires program information of the service that the user is viewing from the program arrangement information (S104). If the paste target is information on an event, the mail generation unit 212 acquires program information of the event being viewed by the user from the program arrangement information (S106). Subsequently, the mail generation unit 212 newly creates an e-mail including the acquired program information (S108) and presents it to the user on the display unit 160. The mail generation unit 212 edits the electronic mail in response to an operation from the user via the instruction unit 170 (S110), and sets the destination information specified by the user (S112). The mail transmission unit 214 transmits the electronic mail generated by the mail generation unit 212 via the communication control unit 112 (S114).
[0020]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mail transmitting unit 202 when the user makes a request for transmitting an e-mail while displaying the EPG. While the user is displaying the EPG, the transmission request receiving unit 210 waits until the user makes an electronic mail transmission request via the instruction unit 170 (N in S120). When the user makes a transmission request (Y in S120), it is determined whether the information to be pasted into the e-mail is information about a service or information about an event (S122). The type of information to be pasted may be specified by the instruction unit 170 when the user makes an e-mail transmission request, or the user may be inquired when the transmission request reception unit 210 receives the transmission request. However, the transmission request receiving unit 210 may automatically make the determination.
[0021]
If the paste target is information about a service, the mail generation unit 212 acquires program information of the service selected by the user in the EPG from the program arrangement information (S124). If the paste target is information on an event, the mail generation unit 212 acquires program information of the event selected by the user on the EPG from the program arrangement information (S126). Subsequently, the mail generation unit 212 newly creates an e-mail including the acquired program information (S128), and presents it to the user on the display unit 160. Further, the mail generation unit 212 edits the electronic mail in response to the operation of the user via the instruction unit 170 (S130), and sets the destination information designated by the user (S132). The mail transmitting unit 214 transmits the electronic mail generated by the mail generating unit 212 via the communication control unit 112 (S134).
[0022]
According to the above method, the user does not need to input program information by himself / herself, and only instructs mail transmission while viewing the program or displaying the EPG, and the program information is automatically transmitted to the e-mail. Pasted in. Thereby, the convenience for the user can be improved.
[0023]
FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a text-format electronic mail generated by the mail generating unit 212. The program information 302 selected by the user during viewing or in the EPG is pasted on the electronic mail 300. In the example of FIG. 6, the service identification is “780CH”, the service name is “xx broadcast”, the event name is “music hour”, the event URL is “arib: //01AF.1E5B.030C.2D46”, and the broadcast date and time is “Dec. From 19:00 to 20:00 on Wednesday, March 25 "as program information.
[0024]
FIG. 7 shows an example of an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) email generated by the mail generator 212. In the electronic mail 310, program information 312 that the user is viewing or selected by the EPG is pasted. The event name “music hour” has a link to the URL of the event by an HTML anchor tag. As described later, when the broadcast receiving apparatus 100 receives the e-mail, when the user clicks the link set in the event name, the broadcast receiving apparatus 100 selects an event identified by the URL described in the anchor tag, selects the event, or reserves the event. Make a recording reservation.
[0025]
FIG. 8 shows the internal configuration of the mail receiving unit 204. These functional blocks can also be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof. The mail receiving unit 204 includes a mail receiving unit 220 that receives an e-mail, a presentation unit 222 that presents the received e-mail on the display unit 160, and a selection reception that receives a request from a user to select program information pasted on the e-mail. And a processing unit 226 that performs processing for presenting the selected program, making a reservation for viewing or recording, and the like. When presenting the received e-mail, the presentation unit 222 selectively presents the program information pasted on the e-mail. When a plurality of pieces of program information are pasted, the user can select a desired program by using the direction keys of the instruction unit 170 or the like. At this time, the program information may be presented in a color different from other texts, or may be underlined to indicate to the user that the program information can be selected. Alternatively, the user may be informed that the program information being selected is being selected by, for example, highlighting the currently selected program information. The selection accepting unit 224 accepts an instruction to confirm the selection from the user by using the enter key of the instruction unit 170 or the like.
[0026]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the mail receiving unit 204 when the user receives an e-mail including information about an event. When e-mail receiving section 220 receives the e-mail, presentation section 222 presents the e-mail on display section 160. During the display of the e-mail, the selection receiving unit 224 waits until the user selects information on the event via the instruction unit 170 (N in S140). When the user selects an event with the direction key or the like of the instruction unit 170 and determines the selection with the determination key or the like (Y in S140), the processing unit 226 acquires program arrangement information including the selected event from the broadcast (S140). S142). If the program arrangement information cannot be obtained (N in S144), an error message indicating that the link cannot be made is displayed (S146), and the process ends.
[0027]
When the program arrangement information is acquired (Y in S144), the processing unit 226 determines whether the corresponding event is a program currently being broadcast or a program scheduled to be broadcast in the future (S148). If the event is currently being broadcast (“current” in S148), the processing unit 226 controls the tuner 104 to select the event and reproduces the selected program (S152). If the event is scheduled to be broadcasted in the future (“future” in S148), the processing unit 226 displays an EPG including information on the event on the display unit 160 (S150). Here, when the user requests the viewing reservation of the program by the instruction unit 170 (Y in S154), the processing unit 226 executes the viewing reservation (S156). When the start time of the program comes, the main control unit 200 controls the other components so that the service of the event is automatically selected and presented to the user. When the user requests recording reservation of the program, the processing unit 226 executes recording reservation, and the main control unit 200 automatically selects a service of the event when the start time of the program comes. Other components may be controlled to record a program on a recording medium (not shown). When the user confirms the selection of the event, a menu screen for allowing the user to select whether to select the event, make a viewing reservation, or make a recording reservation may be presented, and an instruction may be received from the user. Even when the event selected by the user is a program currently being broadcast, an EPG may be first presented to the user, and when the user instructs to select a channel, the service of the event may be selected.
[0028]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mail receiving unit 204 when the user receives an e-mail including information on a service. When e-mail receiving section 220 receives the e-mail, presentation section 222 presents the e-mail on display section 160. During the display of the e-mail, the selection receiving unit 224 waits until the user selects information on the service via the instruction unit 170 (N in S160). When the user selects the service information using the direction key or the like of the instruction unit 170 and determines the selection using the determination key or the like (Y in S160), the processing unit 226 acquires the program arrangement information including the selected service from the broadcast. (S162). If the program arrangement information cannot be obtained (N in S164), an error message indicating that linking is not possible is performed (S166), and the process is terminated. When the program arrangement information is acquired (Y in S164), the processing unit 226 controls the tuner 104 to select the service, and presents the program of the selected service (S168). The processing unit 226 may simply select the selected service without acquiring the program arrangement information. The processing unit 226 may present the acquired program arrangement information to the user, and select the service when the user requests tuning.
[0029]
As the program arrangement information, there are a case where only information on a program of a currently selected service is broadcast and a case where information on a program of all services is broadcast. In the former case, when the event or service attached to the e-mail is different from the service currently selected by the user, it is necessary to select the corresponding service first when acquiring the program arrangement information. In this case, after the user makes a viewing reservation or a recording reservation, the original service that the user was viewing may be selected. Prior to the presentation unit 222 presenting the e-mail, the service of the program information attached to the e-mail may be selected to acquire and hold the program arrangement information. Also in this case, after the acquisition of the program arrangement information, the original service that the user was viewing may be selected.
[0030]
FIG. 11 shows an example of a display screen 320 of the e-mail presented to the display unit 160 by the presentation unit 222 of the broadcast receiving apparatus 100 that has received the text e-mail 300 shown in FIG. The content of the e-mail 300 is presented on the display screen 320, and the URL 322 of the event in the program information 302 is underlined. The user can select the URL 322 via the instruction unit 170. When the user confirms the selection with the instruction unit 170 in a state where the URL 322 is selected, the processing unit 226 causes the program information of the event identified by the URL to be determined. Processing such as presentation, channel selection, viewing reservation, and recording reservation is performed.
[0031]
FIG. 12 shows an example of a display screen 330 of the e-mail presented on the display unit 160 by the presentation unit 222 of the broadcast receiving device 100 that has received the HTML e-mail 310 shown in FIG. On the display screen 330, the contents of the electronic mail 310 are presented. In the program information, a link to the URL of the event is set in the event name 332 by an anchor tag. When the user clicks on the event name 332 via the instruction unit 170, the processing unit 226 performs processing such as presentation of program information of the event identified by the URL of the link destination, channel selection, viewing reservation, and recording reservation.
[0032]
The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it is understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing process, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. is there.
[0033]
In the embodiment, an example of a mobile phone has been described, but the present invention is applicable to any device having a broadcast receiving function and an electronic mail transmitting / receiving function.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which improves the convenience at the time of transmitting the information regarding the program broadcasted between users can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a broadcasting system according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a broadcast receiving device according to an embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a mail transmission unit according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the e-mail transmission unit when a user makes an e-mail transmission request while viewing a program.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the electronic mail transmitting unit when a user makes an electronic mail transmission request during EPG display.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic mail in a text format generated by a mail generating unit.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an HTML-format electronic mail generated by a mail generating unit.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a mail receiving unit according to the embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a mail receiving unit when a user receives an electronic mail including information on an event.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a mail receiving unit when a user receives an electronic mail including information on a service.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen on which a text-format electronic mail illustrated in FIG. 6 is presented on a display unit.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen presented on the HTML-format e-mail display unit shown in FIG. 7;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Broadcast system, 100 ... Broadcast receiving apparatus, 160 ... Display part, 170 ... Instruction part, 200 ... Main control part, 202 ... Mail transmission unit, 204 ... Mail Receiving unit, 206: program information presentation unit, 210: transmission request receiving unit, 212: mail generation unit, 214: mail transmission unit, 220: mail reception unit, 222: presentation Section, 224 ... selection receiving section, 226 ... processing section.

Claims (7)

A receiving unit for receiving the broadcast,
A playback unit for playing the received program;
A generation unit configured to generate an electronic mail including information on a program being reproduced by the reproduction unit when receiving a generation request of an electronic mail from a user;
A transmitting unit that transmits the e-mail generated by the generating unit,
A broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: A receiving unit for receiving the broadcast,
A playback unit for playing the received program;
A program information presenting unit that presents information of a program currently being broadcast or scheduled to be broadcast in the future to a user,
Among the program information presented by the program information presentation unit, a generation unit that generates an email including information on a program selected by a user,
A transmitting unit that transmits the e-mail generated by the generating unit,
A broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: A receiving unit for receiving the broadcast,
A playback unit for playing the received program;
A mail receiving unit for receiving an e-mail,
When the mail receiving unit receives an e-mail including information about a program, a presentation unit that presents the information to a user,
A processing unit that receives an instruction to select the program from a user and performs channel selection, viewing reservation, or recording reservation of the program;
A broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: 4. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processing unit acquires information on a program selected by the user from program arrangement information included in the broadcast received by the receiving unit and presents the information to the user. 5. apparatus. The processing unit switches the program to be played back by the playback unit to the program when the program selected by the user is the program currently being broadcasted, and the program selected by the user to be broadcasted in the future. 5. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the program makes a viewing reservation or a recording reservation of the program. The processing unit switches the program to be played back by the playback unit to the program when the program selected by the user is the program currently being broadcasted, and the program selected by the user to be broadcasted in the future. 5. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the program acquires information on a program selected by the user from the program arrangement information and presents the information to the user. 6. The information on the program includes identification information for uniquely identifying the program, a name of the program, identification information for uniquely identifying a service for transmitting the program, a name of the service, a start time of the program, and a start time of the program. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the broadcast receiving apparatus includes any one of a duration of the program, an end time of the program, and text information describing the program.

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