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| United States Patent | 7165265 |
| Mori , ; et al. | January 16, 2007 |
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Broadcast reception apparatus for obtaining and storing high-use-possibility reproduction programs beforehand
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| Abstract | |
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| The program-for-cache determining unit 107 counts the number of contents (a corresponding contents number) that are to use reproduction programs, for each reproduction program transmitted over each channel during the current service period and onward up to the last service period shown in the broadcast information, and determines a reproduction program that has the highest corresponding contents number, as the one to be cached. The program-for-cache determining unit 107 also determines the service period and channel during and over which the determined reproduction program is to be cached. The cache unit 108 instructs the demultiplexing/decoding unit 104 to demultiplex and decode the reproduction program corresponding to the determined channel and store it in the reproduction program storage unit 109. |
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| Inventors: | Mori; Toshiya (Settsu, JP), Tanaka; Akihiro (Moriguchi, JP) |
| Assignee: | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Osaka, JP) |
| Appl. No.: | 09/797,235 |
| Filed: | March 1, 2001 |
| PCT Pub Date: | January 23, 2007 |
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| Foreign Application Priority Data | |
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| Mar 01, 2000 [JP] 2000-056410 | | |
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| Current U.S. Class: | | | 725/89 725/131 725/139 725/39 725/46 |
| Current International Class: | | | H04N 7/173 (20060101) |
| Field of Search: | | | 725/46,131,132,139,140,151,152,39,89 |
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| [References Cited] - [Referenced By] | |
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| 5991306 | November 1999 | Burns et al. | |
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| 6298482 | October 2001 | Seidman et al. | |
| 6337715 | January 2002 | Inagaki et al. | |
| 6357043 | March 2002 | Ellis et al. | |
| 6442755 | August 2002 | Lemmons et al. | |
| 6445306 | September 2002 | Trovato et al. | |
| 6470497 | October 2002 | Ellis et al. | |
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| 7032236 | April 2006 | Ozkan et al. | |
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| Foreign Patent Documents | |
| 9-214445 | Aug., 1997 | JP | |
| WO 99/43158 | Aug., 1999 | WO | |
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| Primary Examiner: | Kelley; Chris
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| Assistant Examiner: | Huynh; Son P.
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| Claims | |
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What is claimed is:
1. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a first set of a first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the broadcast information further shows correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, and also shows genres to which the contents belong, the reproduction program determining unit includes: a storage unit for storing history information that shows history of genres to which contents having been viewed belong; a contents identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the history information, genres that correspond to contents that have been viewed a predetermined number of times or more, and identify, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that belong to the identified genres, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying unit for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining unit for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs, wherein the contents identifying unit identifies, as viewing candidate contents, contents that are transmitted during a predetermined time period after the current time, among the viewing candidate contents identified by the contents identifying unit by referring to the broadcast information, and the determining unit, when there are a plurality of candidate reproduction programs, determines preferentially a reproduction program having the longest activation duration as the reproduction program to be cached.
2. The broadcast apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second service period is before the first service period.
3. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing to reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a first set or a first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the broadcast information further shows correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, and also shows genres to which the contents belong, the reproduction program determining unit includes: a storage unit for storing history information that shows history of genres to which contents having been viewed belong; a contents identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the history information, genres that correspond to contents that have been viewed a predetermined number of times or more, and identity, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that belong to the identified genres, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying unit for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining unit for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs, wherein the contents identifying unit identifies, as viewing candidate contents, contents that are transmitted during a predetermined time period after the current time, among the viewing candidate contents identified by the contents identifying unit by referring to the broadcast information, the determining unit when there are a plurality of candidate reproduction programs, determines preferentially a candidate reproduction program that corresponds to the highest number of viewing candidate contents, as the reproduction program to be cached, the reproduction program storage unit includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory, the caching unit caches the reproduction program to either to volatile memory or the nonvolatile memory, and the caching unit detects activation duration for each received reproduction program, and stores preferentially a reproduction program having the longest activation duration into the volatile memory.
4. The broadcast apparatus of claim 3, wherein to second service period is before the first service period.
5. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing to reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a fist set of first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unity and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the broadcast information further shows correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, and also shows genres to which the contents belong, the reproduction program determining unit includes: a storage unit for storing history information that shows history of genres to which contents having been viewed belong; a contents identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the history information, genres that correspond to contents that have been viewed a predetermined number of times or more, and identity, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that belong to the identified genres, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying unit for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining unit for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs, wherein the contents identifying unit identifies, as viewing candidate contents, contents that are transmitted during a predetermined time period after the current time, among the viewing candidate contents identified by the contents identifying unit by referring to the broadcast information, the determining unit, when there are a plurality of candidate reproduction programs, determines preferentially a candidate reproduction program that corresponds to the highest number of viewing candidate contents, as the reproduction program to be cached, the reproduction program storage unit includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory, the caching unit caches the reproduction program to either the volatile memory or the nonvolatile memory, and the caching unit detects activation duration for each received reproduction program, and stores preferentially into the nonvolatile memory a reproduction program having the longest activation duration.
6. The broadcast reception method of claim 5, wherein the second service period is before the first service period.
7. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a first set of a first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the broadcast information further shows correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, the reproduction program determining unit includes: a contents identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that are to be transmitted over a channel which is currently used for transmitting a content, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying unit for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining unit for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs.
8. The broadcasting method of claim 7, wherein the second service period is before the first service period.
9. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a first set of a first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction, program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the broadcast information further shows correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, the reproduction program determining unit includes: a contents identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the history information, contents that are to be transmitted over a channel to which a viewer subscribes, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying unit for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining unit for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs.
10. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving broadcast, information which shows for each content a first set of a first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the broadcast information further shows correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, the reproduction program determining unit includes: a contents identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that are to be transmitted over one or more channels adjacent to a channel that is currently used, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying unit for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining unit for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among to candidate reproduction programs.
11. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a first set of a first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached, an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction program, in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the broadcast information further shows correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, and also shows genres to which the contents belong, the reproduction program determining unit includes: a contents identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that belong to a genre to which a content currently viewed belongs, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying unit for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining unit for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs.
12. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a first set of a first service period end a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the broadcast information further shows correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, the reproduction program determining unit includes: a contents identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, contents to which a viewer subscribes, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying unit for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining unit for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among to candidate reproduction programs.
13. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows far each content a first set of a first service period and a first channel during and ova which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing to receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the broadcast information further shows correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, the reproduction program determining unit includes: an input unit for receiving from a viewer a preselection of contents to be recorded; a contents identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, the contents preselected by the viewer, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying unit for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining unit for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs.
14. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a first set of a first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the reproduction program storage unit includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory, the caching unit caches received reproduction programs to the nonvolatile memory, the broadcast reception apparatus further comprising a memory control unit for storing predetermined reproduction programs stored in to nonvolatile memory into the volatile memory, and the memory control unit identifies a reproduction program that has the longest activation duration among reproduction programs stored in the nonvolatile memory, and stores the identified reproduction program preferentially into to volatile memory.
15. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising; a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a first set of a first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the reproduction program storage unit includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory, and the caching unit caches received reproduction programs in the volatile memory, the broadcast reception apparatus further comprising a copying unit for copying predetermined reproduction programs from the volatile memory to the nonvolatile memory, and the copying unit obtains activation duration for each reproduction program stored in the reproduction program storage unit, and copies preferentially a reproduction program having the longest activation duration.
16. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a first set of a first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second sets of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the reproduction program storage unit includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory, the caching unit caches received reproduction programs in the volatile memory, the broadcast reception apparatus further comprising a copying unit for copying predetermined reproduction programs from the volatile memory to the nonvolatile memory, and the shut-down unit identifies a reproduction program that has the longest activation duration among reproduction programs stored in the reproduction program storage unit, and stores the identified reproduction program preferentially into the nonvolatile memory.
17. The broadcast reception apparatus of claim 16, wherein the reproduction program storage unit includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory, and the caching unit stores received reproduction programs into the nonvolatile memory, the broadcast reception apparatus further comprising a copying unit for identifying a reproduction program that has been stored the highest number of times by referring to the history information, and preferentially copy the identified reproduction program to the volatile memory.
18. A broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction, programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising; a receiving unit for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a first set of a first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining unit for determining a reproduction program to be cached, an identifying unit for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching unit for allowing the receiving unit to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying unit, and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the reproduction program determining unit includes: a storage unit for storing history information that shows for each reproduction program a number of times the reproduction program was stored in the reproduction program storage unit by the caching unit; a reproduction program identifying unit for identifying reproduction programs that have been stored a predetermined number of times or more by referring to the history information, and identify as candidate reproduction programs reproduction programs, among the reproduction programs that have been stored the predetermined number of times or more, that are shows in the broadcast information; and a determining unit for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs.
19. The broadcast reception apparatus of claim 18, wherein the reproduction program storage unit includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory, and the caching unit stores received reproduction programs into the nonvolatile memory, the broadcast reception apparatus further comprising a copying unit for identifying a reproduction program that has been stored the highest number of times by referring to the history information, and preferentially copy the identified reproduction program to the volatile memory.
20. The broadcast reception apparatus of claim 18, wherein the reproduction program identifies as candidate reproduction programs, reproduction programs that have been stored the predetermined number of times or more; that are to be transmitted during a predetermined time period after the current time.
21. The broadcast reception apparatus of claim 20, wherein the determining unit, when there are a plurality of candidate reproduction programs, refers to the hit rate information and determines preferentially a reproduction program that has been stored the highest number of times, as the reproduction program to be cached.
22. The broadcast reception apparatus of claim 21, wherein the reproduction program storage unit includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory, and the caching unit refers to the history information and stores preferentially a reproduction program that has been stored the highest number of times, into the volatile memory.
23. The broadcast reception apparatus of claim 21, wherein the reproduction program storage unit includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory, and the caching unit refers to the history information and stores preferentially a reproduction program that has been stored the highest number of times, into the nonvolatile memory.
24. The broadcast reception apparatus of claim 20, wherein the reproduction program storage unit includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory, and the caching unit stores received reproduction programs into the nonvolatile memory, the broadcast reception apparatus further comprising a shut-down unit operable to, when receiving an instruction to shut down the broadcast reception apparatus, check whether a reproduction program having the highest hit rate among reproduction programs stored in the reproduction program storage unit is stored in the nonvolatile memory, and when the reproduction program having the highest hit rate is not stored, shin down the broadcast reception apparatus after storing the reproduction program having the highest hit rate in the nonvolatile memory.
25. A broadcast reception method for a broadcast reception apparatus which receives contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of to contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception method comprising the steps of: receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a first set of a first service period and a first channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a second set of a second service period and a second channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; determining a reproduction program to be cached; identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and allowing the receiving step to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying step, and store the received, predicted reproduction program in a reproduction program storage unit, wherein each reproduction program is a software program, wherein the broadcast information further shows correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, and also shows genres to which the contents belong the step of determining the reproduction program includes: storing history information that shows history of genres to which contents having bean viewed belong; identifying, by referring to the history information, genres that correspond to contents that have been viewed a predetermined number of tunes or more, and identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that belong to the identified genres, as viewing candidate contents; identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs, wherein the contents identifying step identifies, as viewing candidate contents, contents that are transmitted during a predetermined time period after the current time, among the viewing candidate contents identified by the contents identifying step by referring to the broadcast information, and the determining step, when there are a plurality of candidate reproduction programs, determines preferentially a reproduction program having the longest activation duration as the reproduction program to be cached.
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| Description | |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a broadcast reception apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a broadcast reception apparatus which obtains and stores high-use-possibility reproduction programs, in advance.
(2) Description of Related Art
In digital broadcasting, to provide appropriate representation of broadcast programs, it is desirable that broadcast stations generate various formats of data (hereinafter called contents) for the broadcast programs. It is desirable, for example, that the contents are generated using any formats out of HTML, XML, DVX, and JAVA according to the story or scenario of the broadcast programs, and similarly, that the contents are compressed using any of a plurality of compression methods according to the story or scenario of the broadcast programs.
When the contents are generated as described above, broadcast reception apparatuses that receive and reproduce the contents require reproduction programs for all types of contents. This would be possible, but is not realistic since the broadcast reception apparatuses would need a large capacity of storage.
One solution to the above problem is that broadcasting apparatuses in the broadcast stations transmit the contents together with the reproduction programs used for reproducing the contents, by a time-division multiplexing method. FIG. 1 shows time-division-multiplexed data transmitted by a broadcasting apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, a reproduction program is repeatedly transmitted between pieces of contents-part data. The reproduction program is transmitted at every period T so that the broadcast reception apparatus can start reproducing from some midpoint in the contents as it starts receiving.
Broadcast reception apparatuses receive the contents together with reproduction programs, while reproducing the received contents using the received reproduction programs.
This enables the broadcast reception apparatuses to reproduce the contents that are generated with a variety of types of formats and transmitted by broadcasting apparatuses, without storing the reproduction programs in advance.
There is a problem, however, in the above-described transmission method. That is to say, if contents-part data is received first, viewers must wait some time before viewing the contents until a reproduction program for the contents-part data is received.
Suppose that the channel is selected, for example, at time t1 as shown in FIG. 1, then it takes time period .DELTA.t before the reproduction program is completely received. Furthermore, it takes time period .alpha. before the reproduction program is activated. As a result, the contents of the program provided over the selected channel is not reproduced for a time period, .DELTA.t+.alpha.. This might cause the viewer to become suspicious or worry about the viewing. Even though it is possible to reduce the waiting time by reducing the period T and the period .DELTA.t, it also decreases the transmission rate of the contents data. Accordingly, this is not an appropriate method.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a broadcasting apparatus, a broadcast reception apparatus, a broadcasting method, and a broadcast reception method that can reduce a delay before a received content, which is reproduced by executing a corresponding reproduction program, is reproduced.
The above object is fulfilled by a broadcast reception apparatus for receiving contents and reproduction programs that correspond to types of the contents, and reproducing the contents by executing the reproduction programs, the broadcast reception apparatus comprising: a receiving means for receiving broadcast information which shows for each content a set of a service period and a channel during and over which the content is transmitted, and also shows for each reproduction program a set of a service period and a channel during and over which the reproduction program is transmitted; a reproduction program determining means for determining a reproduction program to be cached; an identifying means for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, one or more sets of a service period and a channel during and over which the predicted reproduction program is to be transmitted after a current time; and a caching means for allowing the receiving means to receive the predicted reproduction program during and over the service periods and channels identified by the identifying means, and storing the received reproduction program in a reproduction program storage means.
With the above construction, the broadcast reception apparatus obtains a reproduction program with a high possibility of being used in future. Accordingly, when a content selected by the viewer is actually reproduced with the obtained reproduction program in future (i.e., the prediction proves to be right), a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time required for obtaining the corresponding reproduction program, compared to a method in which a reproduction program is obtained together with the corresponding content.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the broadcast information further may show correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, and also shows genres to which the contents belong, the reproduction program determining means includes: a storage means for storing history information that shows history of genres to which contents having been viewed belong; a contents identifying means for identifying, by referring to the history information, genres that correspond to contents that have been viewed a predetermined number of times or more, and identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that belong to the identified genres, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying means for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining means for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs.
With the above construction, the broadcast reception apparatus obtains a reproduction program prior to the broadcast of the corresponding content which is to be broadcast and belongs to a genre that has been viewed a high number of times. Accordingly, since the genre that has been viewed a high number of times has a high possibility of being viewed, it is possible to predict effectively the reproduction program having a high possibility of being used. When the prediction proves to be right, a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time required for obtaining the corresponding reproduction program, compared to a method in which a reproduction program is obtained together with the corresponding content.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the contents identifying means may identify, as viewing candidate contents, contents that are transmitted during a predetermined time period after the current time, among the viewing candidate contents having been identified.
With the above construction, the broadcast reception apparatus obtains a reproduction program prior to the broadcast of the corresponding content which is to be broadcast after the current time.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the determining means, when there are a plurality of candidate reproduction programs, may determine preferentially a candidate reproduction program that corresponds to the highest number of viewing candidate contents, as the reproduction program to be cached.
With the above construction, when there are a plurality of candidate reproduction programs and the candidate reproduction programs correspond to a plurality of contents, a reproduction program having the highest corresponding contents number is preferentially selected. Here, when each viewing candidate content has the same probability of being viewed, the higher the corresponding contents number is, the higher possibility of being used the corresponding reproduction program has. It is therefore possible to predict a reproduction program having a high possibility of being used. When the prediction proves to be right, a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time required for obtaining the corresponding reproduction program, compared to a method in which a reproduction program is obtained together with the corresponding content.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the broadcast information may further show correspondence between types of the reproduction programs and the contents, and the caching means refers to the broadcast information and counts, for each corresponding type of reproduction program having been received, the number of contents that are to be transmitted after the current time, and stores preferentially into the volatile memory a type of reproduction program having the highest number of corresponding contents.
With the above construction, when a reproduction program is cached, it is possible to predict that the higher the corresponding contents number is, the higher possibility of being used the reproduction program has. It is therefore possible to predict a reproduction program having a high possibility of being used and store the reproduction program in the volatile memory. When the prediction proves to be right, the reproduction program is accessed faster than it is stored in the nonvolatile memory. Accordingly, a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time difference between the access times for the volatile and nonvolatile memories.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the caching means may detect activation duration for each received reproduction program, and stores preferentially a reproduction program having the longest activation duration into the volatile memory.
With the above construction, a reproduction program having the longest activation duration is stored in the volatile memory that can be accessed fast. If the reproduction program was stored in the nonvolatile memory, the delay in reproduction would be extended by the time difference between the access times for the volatile and nonvolatile memories. Accordingly, the present invention prevents the delay from being extended.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the broadcast information may further show correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, and the caching means refers to the broadcast information and counts, for each corresponding reproduction program having been received, the number of contents that are to be transmitted during the current service period and onward, and stores preferentially into the volatile memory a type of reproduction program having the highest number of corresponding contents.
With the above construction, the reproduction program having the highest corresponding contents number (i.e., having a high possibility of being used) is stored (cached) in the nonvolatile memory that retain data therein even when the apparatus is powered off by, for example, a sudden power failure. When the prediction proves to be right, the reproduction program need not be obtained. Accordingly, when a content is actually reproduced with the obtained reproduction program in future (i.e., the prediction proves to be right), a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time required for obtaining the corresponding reproduction program, compared to a case where the reproduction program is deleted due to a sudden power failure.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the caching means may detect activation duration for each received reproduction program, and stores preferentially into the nonvolatile memory a reproduction program having the longest activation duration.
With the above construction, the reproduction program having the longest activation duration is stored (cached) in the nonvolatile memory that retain data therein even when the apparatus is powered off by, for example, a sudden power failure. Accordingly, when a content is actually reproduced with the obtained reproduction program in future (i.e., the prediction proves to be right), a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time required for obtaining the corresponding reproduction program, compared to a case where the reproduction program is deleted due to a sudden power failure.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the determining means, when there are a plurality of candidate reproduction programs, may determine preferentially a reproduction program having the longest activation duration as the reproduction program to be cached.
With the above construction, when there are a plurality of candidate reproduction programs, a reproduction program having the longest activation duration is selected. This enables a reproduction program that has a high possibility of being used and the longest activation duration to be obtained in advance. Accordingly, when the prediction proves to be right, a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time required for obtaining the corresponding reproduction program (though the activation duration is longer), compared to a method in which a reproduction program is obtained together with the corresponding content.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the reproduction program determining means may include: an input means for receiving from a viewer a selection of reproduction programs to be cached; and a determining means for determining some of the reproduction programs selected by the viewer as reproduction programs to be cached when the some of the reproduction programs are to be transmitted during a predetermined time period after the current time.
With the above construction, the broadcast reception apparatus obtains, in advance, a reproduction program with a high possibility of being used by the viewer in future. Accordingly, when the viewer actually views a content that is reproduced with the obtained reproduction program (i.e., the prediction proves to be right), a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time required for obtaining the corresponding reproduction program, compared to a method in which a reproduction program is obtained together with the corresponding content.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the broadcast information may further show correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, the reproduction program determining means includes: a contents identifying means for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that are to be transmitted during a predetermined time period after the current time, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying means for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining means for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs.
With the above construction, the broadcast reception apparatus obtains a reproduction program corresponding to a content of a broadcast program to be broadcast, prior to the broadcast. Accordingly, by setting the predetermined time period to the one during which the viewer tends to view broadcast programs, it is possible to effectively predict a reproduction program with a high possibility of being used in future. Accordingly, when the prediction proves to be right, a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time required for obtaining the corresponding reproduction program, compared to a method in which a reproduction program is obtained together with the corresponding content.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the broadcast information may further show correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, the reproduction program determining means includes: a contents identifying means for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that are to be transmitted over a channel which is currently used for transmitting a content, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying means for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining means for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs.
With the above construction, the broadcast reception apparatus obtains a reproduction program corresponding to a content of a broadcast program to be broadcast using the currently used channel, prior to the broadcast. It is highly possible that the currently used channel is kept to be used for the viewer. It is therefore possible to effectively predict a reproduction program with a high possibility of being used in future. Accordingly, when the prediction proves to be right, a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time required for obtaining the corresponding reproduction program, compared to a method in which a reproduction program is obtained together with the corresponding content.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the broadcast information may further show correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, the reproduction program determining means includes: a contents identifying means for identifying, by referring to the history information, contents that are to be transmitted over a channel to which a viewer subscribes, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying means for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining means for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs.
With the above construction, the broadcast reception apparatus obtains a reproduction program corresponding to a content of a broadcast program to be broadcast using a channel to which the viewer subscribes, prior to the broadcast. The viewer views only broadcast programs provided through the subscribed channel. It is therefore possible to effectively predict a reproduction program with a high possibility of being used in future. Accordingly, when the prediction proves to be right, a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time required for obtaining the corresponding reproduction program, compared to a method in which a reproduction program is obtained together with the corresponding content.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the broadcast information may further show correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, the reproduction program determining means includes: a contents identifying means for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that are to be transmitted over one or more channels adjacent to a channel that is currently used, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying means for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining means for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs.
With the above construction, the broadcast reception apparatus obtains a reproduction program corresponding to a content of a broadcast program to be broadcast using a channel adjacent to a currently used channel, prior to the broadcast. It is highly possible that the viewer selects the adjacent channel using an input means such as a remote control. It is therefore possible to effectively predict a reproduction program with a high possibility of being used in future. Accordingly, when the prediction proves to be right, a delay in reproducing the content is reduced by a time required for obtaining the corresponding reproduction program, compared to a method in which a reproduction program is obtained together with the corresponding content.
In the above broadcast reception apparatus, the broadcast information may further show correspondence between the reproduction programs and the contents, the reproduction program determining means includes: an input means for receiving a selection of channels from a viewer; a contents identifying means for identifying, by referring to the broadcast information, contents that are to be transmitted over the channels specified by the viewer, as viewing candidate contents; a reproduction program identifying means for identifying reproduction programs that correspond to the viewing candidate contents as candidate reproduction programs, by referring to the broadcast information; and a determining means for determining the reproduction program to be cached, among the candidate reproduction programs.
With the above construction, the broadcast reception apparatus obtains a reproduction program corresponding to a content of a broadcast program to be broadcast using a channel specified by the viewer, prio | | |