Sony Corporation

Tomoyuki Hanai

Yasutomo Nishina

Tomoko Terakado

Tatsushi Nashida

Masahiko Sato

Yukio Furudate

Motoki Kato

Kenji Hamamoto

Kae Nagano

Noboru Motoyoshi

Toshiya Kaihoko

Mitsuru Nagasaka

Tomoko Oyabu

Aki Koyabu

Makoto Korehisa

Yasuhisa Nakajima

Takashi Tsurumoto

Takeo Morinaga

Yoko Komori

Nanami Miki

Seiya Hamabe

Yukiko Okura

Kazuhiro Nagura

Takamichi Yoshida

Hiroko Hirosawa

Kimio Kakurai

Disclosed herein is an information processing apparatus including: transmission data acquisition section configured to acquire transmission data including program data and EPG data including program information for a predetermined period of time; EPG extraction section configured to extract the EPG data from the transmission data; program selection section configured to select a given program as a selected program; search word extraction section configured to extract a search word from the program information of the selected program; search word transmission section configured to transmit the search word to a program server; program information reception section configured to receive, from the program server, the program information including a program identification ID configured to identify a related program related to the selected program; program information storage section configured to store the program information; and processing section configured to identify the program by using the program identification ID, and perform a process targeted at the identified program.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, program, and information processing system

An information providing apparatus, in which program guide information is provided as first information which designates predetermined information and second information to be referred to by the first information. Layout information is provided from within the electronic program guide information, relating to the layout when the electronic program guide information is displayed on a screen.

Information providing apparatus and method, display controlling apparatus and method, information providing system, as well as transmission medium

A content storage apparatus may include a receiving unit adapted to receive a content and service information associated with the content, a storage unit including at least a first storage area and a second storage area, adapted to store the content received by the receiving unit, and a controller adapted to determine one of the storage areas as a storage area for storing the content, in accordance with at least the service information received by the receiving unit.

Content storage apparatus, content storage method, storage medium, and program

An EPG retrieval system includes a data server, a client, and a dictionary database. The data server stores program information of an EPG. The client includes an access unit for accessing the data server, and an input unit for inputting a retrieval keyword for performing retrieval on the program information. The dictionary database stores retrieval keywords and keywords relevant to the retrieval keywords. The client inputs an arbitrary keyword, and extracts keywords relevant to the input keyword. The extracted keywords and the input keyword are used to perform retrieval on the program information.

Electronic-program-guide retrieval method and electronic-program-guide retrieval system

MPEG video encoders and MPEG audio encoders encode video signals and audio signals, respectively. An SI/EPG data generator generates program information. A transport stream multiplexer multiplexes the program information with video data and audio data. A system controller controls the data output rates of the encoding operations and the multiplexing ratio.

Information transmitting apparatus and method, information receiving apparatus and method, provider, and broadcasting system

The invention provides an information providing apparatus and method by which the amount of data to be transmitted when data of a program table composed of characters and images or the like are to be transmitted is reduced and it is made possible to cope with a change in contents of data rapidly. Data of an electronic program guide to be provided is hierarchized into data (Adata) which may possibly be changed such as the broadcasting date, the start time and the end time, data (Adata) which are not changed at all such as a program name, and data (Adata) composed of still pictures, moving pictures, voice and so forth which have comparatively large data amounts, and for each medium, data of a hierarchy suitable for the medium is provided. Each Adata is referred to by one or a plurality of Adata, and each Adata is referred to by one or a plurality of Adata.

When a viewer (listener) wants to search a particular broadcast programs on a receiver, a keyword search processing is executed to an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) data. In this case, a search key for the keyword search processing is able to be registered by selecting a user preference keyword among EPG data displayed on a monitor screen of the receiver. Upon selecting user preference keywords, the viewer (listener) controls a cursor by a remote commander, and thus selected user preference keywords can be stored in a memory of the receiver. These user preference keywords in the memory are used as search key for searching favorite programs among daily updated EPG data.

Information processing apparatus for searching broadcast program and method therefore

An information processing device comprises a device controller which controls a plurality of visual-audio reproducing units from the server via the device communication interfaces; content information unification recording section which controls content information corresponding to the contents of the contents storage from the server; and the GUI by which any content information from the server is selected and desired contents are reproduced without recognizing the unit.

Information processor and information processing system

An information receiving apparatus for receiving the EPG data related to broadcast program has a memory in which user preference information is stored in advance. The EPG data is regularly transmitted from predetermined broadcast station to update the EPG data stored in the information receiving apparatus. When the information receiving apparatus detects the reception of updated EPG data, the information receiving apparatus starts to search the updated EPG data in order to find out the EPG data coincided with the user preference information among updated EPG data. Thereby an user is able to know favorite broadcast programs with out re-entering user preference information when the EPG data is updated. If necessary, thus searched favorite broadcast program is recorded on a recording medium by automatically setting a recording timer of the information receiving apparatus.

Information receiving apparatus and method for receiving headline information

An improved apparatus is provided to attain enhanced convenience in controlling display of an electrical program guide with a smaller number of manipulating keys. An EPN mode for displaying the electrical program guide includes a main mode to display program information in a main window, a command mode to display EPN command icons in a command window, and an input mode to display an input window for entry manipulation corresponding to a specific command item. And the operation is shiftable to any of such modes selected by manipulation of a command key or an EXE key. In the main mode, there is set either a mode to display broadcast program information or a mode to display recorded program information on the basis of tape library data.

Apparatus and method for controlling display of electrical program guide

An information processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit operable to acquire first information to be played back, and second information relating to a breakpoint candidate of the first information; a display control unit operable to control the playback of the first information; and a display speed control unit operable to control a playback speed of the first information based on the second information. The display speed control unit controls the playback speed of the first information based on the second information so that the first information is played back at a relatively low speed within a predetermined period of the first information in the vicinity of the breakpoint candidate and is played back at a relatively high speed within a remaining period of the first information.

Apparatus, method, and computer program for processing information

There is provided a system which allows information related to a broadcasting program to be processed efficiently. The program related information related to the certain program created on the transmitter side is composed of Event Data, Channel Data, Character Data, CM data and the like and is converted into EPG_contents_data. Further, display related information concerning on a layout and the like in displaying the program related information created on the transmitter side on a screen is composed of Layout Data, Color Data, Font Data and Operation Data and is converted into EPG_control_data. The receiver side generates EPG_management_data as necessary from the EPG_contents_data and the EPG_control_data transmitted from the transmitter side and generates EPG_display_data which is display information from the EPG_contents_data and the EPG_control_data.

Transmitter system and transmitting method, receiver system and receiving method and transmission media

A program guide information providing device is arranged so that reference information corresponding to identification information transmitted from a communication terminal device is read from preference information storage, programs matching the preferences of the user are searched from the program guide information based on the read preference information, searched program guide information is generated from the searched programs, and the searched program guide information is transmitted to the communication terminal device, thereby allowing the user to be provided with program guide information matching the preferences of the user, regardless of the location of the user using the communication terminal device.

Program guide information providing device, program device information providing system, information receiving device, remote operating system, and method thereof

A receiving apparatus receives an image signal transmitted from a transmitting end. In the receiving apparatus, the received image signal is output to a display. Electronic program guide information (EPG) added to the received image signal is extracted. The display format of the EPG is altered in accordance with predetermined information. And, the altered EPG is output to the display. A transmitting apparatus transmits an image signal to a receiving end. In the transmitting apparatus, the image signal, EPG, information representing a broadcasting station providing the EPG are generated. The EPG and the information representing the broadcasting station are added to the image signal. And, a signal formed by adding the EPG and the information representing the broadcasting station to the image signal is transmitted to the receiving end.

Receiving apparatus and method, transmitting apparatus and method, and transmission medium

A broadcast program information processing apparatus is provided which is capable of smoothly downloading broadcast program information to a plurality of broadcast program information receiving apparatuses from a data server in which the broadcast program information is stored. The broadcast program information receiving apparatus having a device for accessing a data server having a database in which the broadcast program information is stored and for downloading the broadcast program information downloads the broadcast program information at one of a random timing, a preset time, a random timing generated based on a preset time, a time set by a management server which manages the data server, a time set by a table in which access times to the data server are set for each region, a time set for each service provider which can be connected to the data server, and an access time to a data server, which is determined in accordance with a load distribution state of the data server.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Tomoyuki Hanai