Sony Corporation

Shinsuke Yamashita

Jun Moriya

Yasuhiro Murase

Hiroyuki Kikkoji

Nozomu Okuzawa

Takeshi Iwatsu

Noriyuki Sakoh

Susumu Yamahara

Yoshiyuki Takaku

Junichi Nakamura

Satoshi Araki

Naoki Yuasa

Toshikazu Minoshima

Natsumi Saito

A content receiving apparatus including a receiver receiving first contents from a broadcasting station, a temporary memory unit temporarily storing first contents-related information related to the first contents, a memory storing the first contents and storing, based on an input recording request, the first contents-related information; and the memory storing a plurality of second contents and a plurality of second contents-related information received from a server, the second contents-related information being related to the first contents, and displayable.

Recording device, recording method, and program

A user sets an apparatus name easily identified by the user to a terminal, transmits the apparatus name together with user identification information to a terminal management server for managing a terminal, and the terminal management server registers the apparatus name as associated with the user identification information, thereby allowing the terminal management server to uniquely identify each terminal based on the apparatus name associated with the user identification information. Furthermore, a user can easily identify an apparatus name, thereby realizing a service utilizing system capable of reducing the laborious procedure of operating the terminal management server, and easily identifying each terminal.

Service use method and management method

A data-processing method of receiving broadcast contents and content-related information related to the broadcast contents. The method includes setting a frequency for receiving the broadcast contents from the broadcast station, and recording frequency information corresponding to the set frequency. The method also includes transmitting request information including broadcast station ID identifying the broadcast station corresponding to the frequency information to a server.

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

Request informationis transmitted from a transmission meansof a communication deviceto a server. Then, related informationcorresponding to the request informationand an identification codeare obtained and transmitted to the communication deviceby a transmission means. The related informationand identification codeare stored in a storage meansof the communication device. Thereafter, purchase request informationis transmitted to the serverby the transmission means. This purchase request informationis added with an identification codeand user identification information. Then, content datacorresponding to the purchase request informationand additional datacorresponding to the identification codeare transmitted to the communication deviceby the transmission meansof the server

Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

Set information including information identifying one or more areas of operation of a broadcast terminal apparatus and a user ID, and broadcast-station information including a name and an identification data item of a broadcast station are stored. The broadcast-station information is stored in association with an area in which a broadcast signal output by the broadcast station can be received. An information-processing apparatus includes a detecting unit that retrieves the name or the identification data item of the broadcast station upon a reception of information identifying one of the one or more areas of operation and the user ID. The information-processing apparatus also includes a transmitting/receiving unit that receives the reception, transmits a transmission of the name or the identification data item of the broadcast station upon the reception, and receives an indicator of the broadcast station and an indicator of the user ID in response to the transmission.

A processing unit detects whether externally input user personal information has been stored in a storage medium. A network interface transmits a transmission of available/unavailable request information identifying a broadcast station that broadcast received broadcast information, if the externally input user personal information has not been stored in the storage medium. The network interface receives available/unavailable information in a reply to the transmission. The available/unavailable information shows whether an external device offers a service providing related information about contents included in the received broadcast information. The network interface transmits the externally input user personal information to the external device to request a user registration in accordance with the available/unavailable information, if the processing unit detects that the externally input user personal information is not stored in the storage medium. The network interface transmits request information that requests the related information about the contents.

Communication device, communicate method for communication device, and communication program for communication device

The present invention provides a display device for retrieving and displaying the list information regarding the broadcast contents in which the list information corresponding to the program broadcast before or after can be displayed without making the complicate key operations. An information servertransmits a list of musical compositions broadcast in a designated time zone to a terminal unit, based on a retrieval key such as date and time zone from the terminal unit. The terminal unitdisplays the received list of musical compositions on a display part. At this time, the directive items for displaying the list of musical compositions broadcast before and after are displayed, together with the received list of musical compositions. The user is allowed to display the list of musical compositions broadcast in a preceding or succeeding time zone only by selecting a directive item by performing an operation in series with a selection operation for a musical composition within the list of musical compositions, without returning to other screen, or re-specifying the retrieval conditions.

Display device, display method, and display control program

A client terminal CT transmits an acquisition request for musical composition information. An associated information provision server KS continuously receives the acquisition request at a given time interval. The associated information provision server KS transmits timing specification information along with the musical composition information corresponding to the acquisition request to the client terminal CT. The timing specification information specifies timing for the client terminal CT to transmit the acquisition request next. The associated information provision server KS controls a polling interval for acquisition requests. In this manner, acquisition requests can be distributed to those transmitted at a given time interval and those received in accordance with the timing specification information. A simple method can be used to prevent acquisition requests from being concentrated on the associated information provision server KS.

Communication method

To further correctly obtain related information about contents being received from a server. A communication apparatussuccessively transmits request information that requests related information about contents being received via a network, at specified intervals (S), receives related information corresponding to that request information (S), temporarily stores (S), displays it (S), and performs contents updating processing. Here, if a direction to store the related information about the contents is entered, the communication apparatusrequests again request information for related information about contents, separately from the contents updating processing (S). Then, the communication apparatusreceives related information corresponding to that request information (S), and stores it (S). This enables the latest related information to be further correctly obtained out of related information concerning contents, and obtaining related information before updating is reduced.

Communication method, communication device, and program

According to the present invention, the step of requesting of an associated information provision server KS for associated information about contents broadcast in a broadcast program being received is provided. The step of acquiring the associated information corresponding to the request from the associated information provision server KS and storing this is provided. And the retrieval step of transmitting a part of the associated information as a retrieval key to retrieve contents to a CD seller server, and obtaining retrieval results from the CD seller serveris provided. Thereby, the associated information about the contents broadcast in the broadcast program being received is obtained. The retrieval results are obtained from a contents retrieval server by using the part of the associated information as retrieval keys. Therefore, retrieval results having variety that are not limited to results conceived by the user in a certain degree can be obtained.

A method includes receiving, from a broadcast receiver, identification information for identifying a currently received broadcast station. The method also includes receiving, from an external server, state information which indicates a state of a service for providing information concerning the currently received broadcast station corresponding to the identification information. In addition, the method includes providing information, from a server, depending on whether a URL is included in the state information. The method further includes transmitting, to the broadcast receiver, the state information and an address corresponding to the service, after receiving the identification information from the broadcast receiver and the state information from the external server.

System and associated method of service provision based upon broadcast state information

Information items related to a plurality of musical pieces designated can be stored at a time. A storage meanscan hold the information items related to contents. A receiving meansreceives information items related to a plurality of contents broadcast. A temporary storage meansstores the information itemsrelated to the contents, for some time. An instructing meansinstructs that the related information items stored in the temporary storage meansbe recorded in the storage means. When instructed by the instructing means, the recording meansrecords the related information itemsstored in the temporary storage means, as one set, in the storage means. At the same time, the recording meansrecords in the storage meansthe name of this set, in association with the set. The related information items can therefore be recorded in accordance with a single instruction.

Information recording device, information recording method, and information recording program

A data-processing apparatusthat can provide information related to broadcast contents, whether it is receiving broadcast signals or not. In the data-processing apparatus, the setting meanssets the frequencies of broadcast signals the apparatuscan receive in the area where it is used, and allocates the receiving channels to the frequencies set. The information representing the relation between the frequencies and the receiving channels is recorded, as preset information, in the preset-information storing device. On the basis of the preset information, the broadcast-signal receiving meansreceives a broadcast signal of a specific frequency that the user has selected. The broadcast-signal reproducing meansreproduces the broadcast signal the meanshas received. The control meanscauses the display meansto display a list of the broadcast stations that corresponds to the frequencies set in the preset information. When the user selects any one of the broadcast stations, the communications control meansacquires the information related to the broadcast contents that the broadcast station selected discloses on a network. The control meansmakes the display meansdisplay the information related to the broadcast contents.

An information provision apparatus previously stores associated information concerning an on-air program. The apparatus accepts a request for associated information from a client terminal CT which receives a program's broadcast signal. In synchronization with timing of accepting the request, the apparatus reads the associated information and transmits it to the client terminal CT. When the on-air program changes to a next program in such situation, the apparatus updates the associated information which should be read and transmitted. The apparatus can update the associated information to be transmitted in synchronization with program changeover. It is possible to provide the program in synchronization with the associated information without a time difference between both.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Shinsuke Yamashita