CM data identification device, system, method, and program

Abstract

To provide a CM data identification device, a system, a method, and a program that identify CM data included in program data without human intervention.SOLUTION: A method includes acquisition means that acquires a first silent section generated in program data when the program data is reproduced, silence section determination means that determines whether a second silence section occurs at a time of a multiple of 15 seconds from the first silence section acquired by the acquisition means, calculation means that calculates the image feature amount before and after the occurrence of the first or second silence section when the silence section determination means determines that the second silence section is generated, and feature amount difference determination means that determines whether the image feature amount difference calculated by the calculation means is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a CM data identification device, system, method, and program, and more particularly to a CM data identification device, system, method, and program for identifying CM data included in program data. [Background technology]

[0002] The following technology has been disclosed as a means for recording and viewing television programs such as terrestrial and satellite broadcasts (Patent Document 1). The technology described in Patent Document 1 proposes a technology for recording all television broadcasts for one day. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-234007 DISCLOSURE OF THEINVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not effectively use commercial data (hereinafter referred to as "CM data" and commercials as "CM") included in the program data that has been recorded. Specifically, when playing back program data, the program data is only played back as is, and although various processes can be performed on the program data if all the program data for one day is recorded, this possibility is not explored, and the effect of recording all the program data for one day is limited to the fact that there is a lot of program data that can be played back.

[0005] On the other hand, even if one wishes to make effective use of CM data, it is necessary to identify the CM data because the program data broadcast by television signal broadcasting stations includes program corner data and CM data, which are formed by dividing the program data.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to specify CM data included in program data without manual intervention. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the CM data identification device of the present invention comprises: an acquisition means for acquiring a first silent section occurring in the program data when the program data is reproduced; a silent section determination means for determining whether a second silent section occurs when a multiple of 15 seconds has elapsed since the first silent section acquired by the acquisition means; a calculation means for calculating a video feature amount before and after the occurrence of the first or second silent section when the silent section determination means determines that a second silent section will occur; a feature amount difference determination means for determining whether or not the video feature amount difference calculated by the calculation means is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; Equipped with.

[0008] Furthermore, the video signal processing device may further include a flag control means for setting a CM data flag for data between the first silent period and the second silent period when the video signal processing device determines that the video signal difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

[0009] Furthermore, the data processing device may further comprise a flag determination means for determining whether or not a flag has been set by the flag control means for data immediately before or after the data for which a flag has been set by the flag control means.

[0010] Furthermore, the video signal processing device may further comprise a subtitle information determining means for determining whether or not the data flagged by the flag control means contains subtitle information.

[0011] In addition, the CM data identification system of the present invention is A recording medium on which program data is recorded; an acquisition means for acquiring a first silent section occurring in the program data recorded on the recording medium when the program data is reproduced; a silent section determination means for determining whether a second silent section occurs when a multiple of 15 seconds has elapsed since the first silent section acquired by the acquisition means; a calculation means for calculating a video feature amount before and after the occurrence of the first or second silent section when the silent section determination means determines that a second silent section will occur; a feature amount difference determination means for determining whether or not the video feature amount difference calculated by the calculation means is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; Equipped with.

[0012] In addition, the television commercial identification method of the present invention includes: Recording program data, Obtaining a first silent section occurring in the recorded program data when the program data is played back; It is determined whether or not a second silent section occurs when a multiple of 15 seconds has elapsed from the first silent section obtained; calculating video feature amounts before and after the occurrence of the first or second silent section when it is determined that the second silent section will occur; determining whether the calculated video feature difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; Includes.

[0013] Furthermore, the present invention provides a program for causing an information processing device to execute the above method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, a CM data identification system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, although the present specification mainly describes the case of so-called digital broadcasting, it should be noted that the present invention can also be applied to the case of so-called analog broadcasting.

[0015] (Summary) The CM data identification system of this embodiment typically identifies CM data contained in program data broadcast by a television signal broadcasting station. Once the CM data can be identified, it becomes easy to analyze the client, the product / service information about the CM, the broadcast time, etc.

[0016] Furthermore, this type of analysis can be beneficial for, for example, the advertising manager of the client of the advertising data to measure the effectiveness of the advertising. It can also be beneficial for the advertising manager of a competitor of the client of the advertising data to use the relationship between the sales performance of other companies and the broadcasting of the advertising data to improve their own advertising strategies in the future.

[0017] Such an effect will be specifically explained by taking as an example a case where the client of the CM data is an automobile manufacturer A (hereinafter referred to as "Company A"). For example, suppose that the sales performance of automobile A sold by Company A in the Kanto region was good at one time.

[0018] In this case, if the person in charge of advertising at Company A could grasp the broadcast status of the television commercial for Car A that was aired in the Kanto region prior to the period of good sales performance, he or she would be able to know when and on which broadcasting station the television commercial should be aired in order to improve sales performance.

[0019] On the other hand, if the advertising manager of Company B, a competitor of Company A, could obtain information showing that Car A had good sales performance in the Kanto region, and when and on which broadcasting station the television commercial for Car A that preceded it was aired, he or she would be able to develop an effective television advertising strategy, such as, "In order to compete with Company A, we will air more of our own commercials during the same time slot as the television commercial for Car A."

[0020] In this embodiment, it is determined whether the data is a commercial data or not in a multi-stage manner based on the characteristics of the commercial data itself, the characteristics of the commercial data in the program data, etc., to perform an accurate determination. A specific determination method will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0021] Since the CM data identification system of this embodiment typically identifies CM data from within program data transmitted from multiple television signal transmitting stations, we will next chronologically explain the technical details of recording and playing back CM data using a digital recording and playback device.

[0022] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a CM data identification system according to the present embodiment, Fig. 2 is a time chart showing the operation of the CM data identification system shown in Fig. 1.

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a digital recording and playback device 10 on which program data etc. transmitted from a television signal transmitting station are recorded, a time index server 50 on which time indexes used when playing back program data etc. recorded in the digital recording and playback device 10 are recorded, a network such as the Internet connecting these devices, a database (hereinafter referred to as "DB") server associated with the time index server 50, and a commercial data identification device (information processing device) 100, which will be described separately below.

[0024] Although FIG. 1 illustrates one digital recording / playback device 10, it should be understood that in reality, at least one digital recording / playback device 10 is installed in each prefecture, making it possible to record commercial data broadcast by broadcasting stations throughout the country.

[0025] Also, in FIG. 1, the digital recording / playback device 10 and the CM data identifying device 100 are shown as separate hardware components, but the CM data identifying device 100 can also be built into the digital recording / playback device 10, for example.

[0026] The outline of "program data" has already been described, but in more detail, it includes program corner data and commercial data that are formed by dividing up program data, and includes video data and audio data, and is data that can be obtained via broadcast waves consisting of digital or analog signals, or a network such as the Internet.

[0027] The digital recording and reproducing device 10 is provided with a recording medium such as a hard disk on which program data, etc. are recorded, and as an example, the digital recording and reproducing device 10 constantly records program data, etc. The digital recording and reproducing device 10 also has a plurality of tuners, and an A / D converter so that it can process analog broadcast program data.

[0028] In the drawing, for convenience of notation, it is indicated as "constant recording process starts", but in reality, as long as the power of the digital recording and playback device 10 is on, as an example, program data is recorded endlessly (step S1).

[0029] The recording targets of the digital recording / playback device 10 include program data, and therefore, in addition to program corner data, also include commercial data. In addition to program data, the digital recording / playback device 10 can also record metadata associated with the commercial data, and video, still images, audio, or text information imported from outside the recording / playback device itself. In addition, when recording program data, "time data" for every second, for example, including the "recording start time" when recording the program data, and "location data" indicating the physical or logical recording destination of the program data, are recorded on the recording medium together with the program data.

[0030] On the other hand, typically, the administrator of the time index server 50 creates title data and a time index as follows (step S2).

[0031] The title data indicates the titles assigned to the program data, the program corner data, and the CM data, respectively. The time index is an index for specifying the broadcast start time and the broadcast end time of the program corner data, etc.

[0032] As examples of program corner data, for program data of a baseball broadcast, program corner data corresponding to the top of the first inning, the bottom of the first inning, the top of the second inning, the bottom of the second inning, etc. would be program corner data, and for program data of a news program, program corner data such as top news, today's special feature, weather forecast, today's horoscope, and economic news would be program corner data.

[0033] The manager of the time index server 50, while watching already broadcasted television programs, classifies the program data, and specifies the time and minute from which each program corner data and each CM data was broadcast, thereby creating a time index and the like, and records it in a DB attached to the time index server 50.

[0034] The time index and the like created by the administrator of the time index server 50 are recorded in the time index server 50 periodically or irregularly (step S3).

[0035] The digital recording and reproducing device 10 actively or passively receives the title data and the time index recorded in the time index server 50 (step S4).

[0036] This allows the digital recording and reproducing device 10 to link title data and the like received with already recorded program data. This linking may be performed, for example, immediately after execution of step S4, or during execution of step S7 described later.

[0037] In this state, when the user of the digital recording / reproducing device 10 attempts to reproduce the program data, the user first issues a display command for the title data to the digital recording / reproducing device 10 by operating a remote controller or the like. Specifically, as an example, when the user designates specific program data through the remote controller and then presses the play button on the remote controller, a signal indicating the display command is transmitted to the digital recording / reproducing device 10 (step S5).

[0038] In reality, as is well known, the digital recording and playback device 10 is provided with a table memory or the like in which identifiers corresponding to each button on the remote controller and the command contents corresponding to the identifiers are recorded in pairs, and when the digital recording and playback device 10 receives a signal transmitted from the remote controller, it identifies the corresponding command by referring to this table memory or the like.

[0039] Then, in accordance with the command, the digital recording and reproducing device 10 outputs a list of the received title data and the like to a television (hereinafter referred to as "television") (step S6).

[0040] As a result, the user can select the title data of the program data to be played back while viewing the TV display. After that, when the user has finished selecting the program data to be played back, the user can transmit the result to the digital recording and playback device 10 by operating a remote controller or the like (step S7).

[0041] When the digital recording and reproducing device 10 receives the result of the user's selection transmitted from the remote controller, it refers to the "time index" of the program corner data, etc., corresponding to the "title data," and identifies the "broadcast start time" of the program corner data, etc. Next, the digital recording and reproducing device 10 refers to the recording medium based on the identified broadcast start time, and searches for the "position data" corresponding to the broadcast start time (step S8).

[0042] Then, the digital recording and reproducing device 10 reproduces the program corner data and the like according to the searched "position data" (step S7).

[0043] The above is an outline of the recording and reproducing of program data that is carried out prior to CM analysis in the CM data identification system of this embodiment. Next, the configuration of the digital recording and reproducing device 10 will be described in detail.

[0044] (Digital recording and playback device) Next, the digital recording and reproducing device 10 of this embodiment will be described. In the digital recording and reproducing device 10, digital television signals received by each tuner are expanded and recompressed as necessary by a converter, and converted into digital signals. The program data of the converted digital signals is compressed and recorded on a hard disk drive. The compressed program data is expanded based on the reception of an input signal related to the reproduction, and reproduced by an output device. The "output device" refers to, for example, a television to which the digital recording and reproducing device of this embodiment is electrically connected.

[0045] As an example, the digital recording and reproducing device 10 records TV programs from a broadcasting station 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in accordance with the tuning contents of the tuner 12. However, it is not intended to record TV programs during late-night hours when TV programs are not being broadcast, or to record TV programs that the user has set as prohibited from being recorded.

[0046] This "continuous recording" refers to a function that allows the digital recording / playback device 10 to record television programs even if the user does not set the recording operation. The functions of each part of the digital recording / playback device 10 will be described in detail below.

[0047] Fig. 3 is a schematic hardware configuration diagram of the digital recording and reproducing device 10 shown in Fig. 1. The digital recording and reproducing device 10 includes an antenna distributor 11 that distributes the radio waves of a received television signal to each tuner 12, a plurality of tuners 12 that select the radio waves received by the antenna 11 as radio waves of a channel designated by a user and demodulate them into digital television signals, a converter (recompressor / converter) 14 that converts, for example, an MPEG stream output by the plurality of tuners 12 into an appropriate bit rate, resolution, and compression method, a plurality of hard disk drives (hereinafter referred to as HDD) 17 (17a, 17b) that record program data and are randomly accessible, and an HDD control unit 18 that writes and reads data to and controls the HDD 17.

[0048] The tuner 12 is tunable so that it can receive a plurality of broadcast waves. A plurality of tuners may be physically provided, or one tuner 12 may be capable of tuning to a plurality of broadcast waves. The tuner 12 is, for example, composed of eight tuners, and is capable of viewing and recording eight channels of television. For this reason, for example, in addition to seven terrestrial channels in the Kanto region, one channel of a satellite broadcast station such as BS or CS can be received. However, the digital recording and reproducing device 10 of this embodiment can view television not only in the Kanto region of Japan, but also in the Kansai region, Kyushu region, and other regions. Furthermore, not only in Japan, but also overseas television viewing can be performed by adjusting the tuner 12. In this embodiment, the tuner 12 is configured as an example of a configuration including one tuner board with eight tuners and two encoder boards equipped with an encoder capable of simultaneously processing four video signals. It is not essential to use an encoder, a multiplexer, or the like, and program data received through the tuner 12 may be recorded without encoding or separating it.

[0049] Also, the configuration may be one tuner board with eight tuners and four encoder boards that process two video signals simultaneously, two tuner boards with four tuners and four encoder boards that process two video signals simultaneously, or two tuner boards with four tuners and two encoder boards that process four video signals simultaneously. Note that, although eight tuners 12 are mounted in this embodiment, this is not particularly limited and the number can be increased or decreased as necessary.

[0050] The converter 14 is an A / D converter that converts an analog signal into a digital signal and / or a D / A converter that converts a digital signal into an analog signal. The converter 14 is a converter that includes a translation means that converts the bit rate and resolution of the MPEG stream of the digital broadcast, and a transcoding means that converts the compression method.

[0051] In this embodiment, the translation means adopts a method for converting an MPEG2 stream, but is not limited thereto, and may be, for example, MPEG4, AVI, DivX, XVD, H.264, or XVid. The transcoding means converts to a method such as H.264 that has higher compression efficiency than MPEG2, but conversion is not always necessary. The translation means and transcoding means internally decode the MPEG stream once and then re-encode it. It is preferable to have a transcoder means, since this increases the variety of compression methods.

[0052] The digital recording and reproducing device 10 may also be configured as follows, but is not limited thereto. That is, when the program data is received by the tuner, the demodulator performs A / D conversion and demodulation to convert the analog signal into a digital signal. In the case of so-called digital broadcasting, the data is converted into an MPEG stream by processing by the modulator. The tuner and the modulator may be configured as separate hardware, or may be configured as a single hardware capable of performing these operations. Next, the program data is re-encoded as a digital signal by the transcoder. As an example, in the case of digital broadcasting, the transcoder decodes the program data in the MPEG / MPEG-2 format, which is compressed by the MPEG decoder, by using a decoder, since the program data is encrypted to prevent unauthorized viewing, and decodes and expands the compressed program data, and recompresses the program data into the MPEG / H.264 format, which has a higher compression ratio, by using an MPEG encoder, and re-encrypts the MPEG stream as necessary by using an encryptor, and selectively multiplexes the program data into MPEG streams of multiple channels by using a multiplexer. Note that if the program data is not decrypted, encryption and decryption processes are not necessary, and multiplexing process is not essential. It is also possible to combine all of these functions into one board and provide it for each channel.

[0053] The digital recording and playback device 10 also includes a demultiplexer 19 that separates the MPEG stream read from the HDD 17 into a video signal stream and an audio signal stream, an MPEG decoder 20 that receives the video signal stream, an audio decoder 21 that receives the audio signal stream, a second converter 22a that receives the video signal stream decoded by the MPEG decoder 20, converts the received video signal into a digital signal or an analog signal and outputs it to a television, and a third converter 22b that receives the audio signal stream decoded by the audio decoder 21, converts the received audio signal into a digital signal or an analog signal and outputs it to a speaker or the like.

[0054] The second converter 22a and the third converter 22b perform conversion processing in accordance with the input format of the television and the speakers. That is, when the television can only input analog signals, the second converter 22a and the third converter 22b perform digital-to-analog conversion processing.

[0055] Furthermore, the digital recording and playback device 10 includes a CPU 23 which controls the entire digital recording and playback device 10, a memory 24 which is used as a working area for the CPU 23 and for temporarily recording the system stream and for recording it on the HDD 17, a signal receiving unit 25 which receives various input signals from a remote controller or an input unit 28 of the digital recording and playback device main body and transmits them to the CPU 23, and a network controller 26 which is connected to a LAN or WAN and is capable of Internet communication.

[0056] 2, in accordance with the programs stored in the memory 24. In other words, the memory 24 is provided with programs necessary for the CPU 23 to execute these commands.

[0057] The digital recording and reproducing device 10 also includes a real-time clock 26b that indicates time data, an image processing unit 27 that performs various image processing in addition to an OSD (On Screen Display) function that displays menus and program information, etc., overlaid on the image during program data reproduction, and a DVD drive 29 for recording the recorded program data on an optical disc (recording means) such as a DVD. Note that the optical disc may be not only a DVD disc, but also a Blu-ray disc, in which case a Blu-ray drive may be used instead of the DVD drive 29. The digital recording and reproducing device 10 may also be configured without the DVD drive 29.

[0058] The main functions of the network controller 26 include accessing a server in accordance with NTP (Network Time Protocol), inquiring about the current time, adjusting the real-time clock 26b, receiving EPG data, receiving program corner data and time indexes (described below), and transmitting viewing data related to users.

[0059] The HDD 17 includes a continuous recording HDD 17a provided for continuous recording, and a storage HDD (storage-only recording means) 17b for storing (transferring) a portion of the recorded program data. The continuous recording HDD 17a is capable of recording for, for example, eight days. In general, data that has been subjected to data compression processing is recorded in the HDD 17, and this data is expanded (restored to its original state) during playback.

[0060] The storage HDD 17b stores program data that the user wants to save, avoiding overwriting due to continuous recording. The user selects the program data he or she wants to save, and selects the bit rate of the video data and audio data of the program data, the resolution (size) of the video data, the compression format (for example, convert MPEG2 to MPEG4 and save), and so on, before saving the data.

[0061] Since the continuous recording HDD 17a is connected to a DVD drive 29, a DVD (not shown) can also be used as the storage destination for program data via the DVD drive 29 instead of the storage HDD 17b.

[0062] Furthermore, the recording medium is not limited to an HDD, but may be a randomly accessible hard disk drive, a DVD, a flash memory, or other data recording medium.

[0063] Furthermore, although the HDD 17 of the present embodiment is physically equipped with two HDDs, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a single HDD may be partitioned (separate areas). Also, the HDD 17 can be expanded as necessary. For example, the expanded HDD may be used as a storage HDD, an editing HDD for program data, and a working HDD when recording on an optical disk such as a DVD.

[0064] (Time Index) The "time index" refers to an index including broadcast start times and broadcast end times of program data, program corner data, and CM data. The time index for each program data unit may be created by a server administrator or the like based on a TV program guide (including newspapers and magazines) created by each TV station, or the TV program guide transmitted by airwaves may be used as is. The time index for each corner unit of program corner data or for each CM unit may be created by an administrator of the time index server 50 or the like based on the contents of the program data after broadcast. Each time index is recorded in the time index server 50. Note that the entity that creates the time index is not limited to the server administrator. For example, the user of the digital recording and reproducing device 10 may be the entity that creates the time index, and the created time index may be invited to be transmitted via the Internet or the like, and the time index may be recorded in the server.

[0065] (Figs. 4 and 5) The relationship between program data, program corner data, and CM data and their title data and time indexes will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of program data for a cooking show. Assume that this program data is made up of program corner data for three corners, "A to C," and CM data, "CM1 to CM3," located between each corner. In this example, the cooking show corresponds to the program data, and corners A to C correspond to the program corner data.

[0066] In the example shown in FIG. 4, "A Corner" was broadcast from 11:00 to 11:15, "CM1" was broadcast for 2 minutes from 11:15, and "B Corner" was broadcast from 11:17 to 11:32. Then, "CM2" was broadcast for 2 minutes from 11:32, "C Corner" was broadcast from 11:34 to 11:54, and "CM3" was broadcast for 6 minutes from 11:54. Furthermore, it is stated that French recipes were published in "A Corner", Chinese recipes were published in "B Corner", and Indian recipes were published in "C Corner". Also, food-related sponsored commercials were broadcast in "CM1" and "CM2", and magazine-related sponsored commercials were broadcast in "CM3".

[0067] The server administrator etc. views this cooking program and identifies that the cooking program is composed of segments "A-C" and "CM1-CM3". The server administrator etc. then creates time indexes etc. for each of these. The title data allows the program title and segment titles to be seen at a glance. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5(a), the title data for "A segment" is [Cooking program-French recipes], and the title data for "B segment" is [Cooking program-Chinese recipes]. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the titles are [XX confectionery-XX chocolate], [XX shop-XX rice crackers], etc. However, the division into the formats shown in FIG. 4(a) and FIG. 4(b) is merely an example, and for example, in the case of CM data, a CM name may be assigned to each title. In the example shown in Figure 4(b), for example, the commercial data "XX confectionery -- XX chocolate" would be assigned the commercial name CM1, and the commercial data "XX shop -- XX rice crackers" would be assigned the commercial name CM2.

[0068] 2, a time index etc. created by a server administrator etc. is uploaded to a time index server 50 on the Internet. Meanwhile, the digital recording and reproducing device 10 accesses the time index server 50 via the network controller 26, for example, periodically, and determines whether the time index etc. uploaded to the time index server 50 has been changed since the previous access.

[0069] If the result of the determination is that the time index etc. has been changed, the time index receiving means downloads the time index etc., and the time index recording means stores the time index etc. in the HDD 17 .

[0070] Although the above description takes as an example a case in which the digital recording / playback device obtains time indexes, etc., using a so-called pull-type method, it is also possible to adopt a push-type method in which the time index server 50 actively and periodically distributes time indexes, etc.

[0071] In this state, when the user of the digital recording / reproducing device 10 attempts to reproduce the program data, the user operates a remote controller (not shown) or the like to transmit a display command for the title data to the digital recording / reproducing device 10. The subsequent operations are as described with reference to FIG.

[0072] In this manner, the CM data identification system of this embodiment not only allows for the program data itself to be played back from the beginning, but also allows for the program corner data and CM data to be played back from the beginning.

[0073] (server) The server according to this embodiment has at least the following functions.

[0074] The digital recording / playback device 10 includes a time alignment means for periodically transmitting time data to synchronize the time of the clock associated with the digital recording / playback device 10, a time index transmission means for transmitting a time index to the digital recording / playback device 10, a program data transmission means for transmitting to the digital recording / playback device 10 program identifying data for identifying program data and corner identifying data for identifying program corner data, a user information receiving means for receiving from the digital recording / playback device 10 a time index and viewing information created by a user, a processing information generation means for processing the received time index and viewing information to generate processing information, and a time index distribution means for distributing the generated processing information and the time index before processing to the digital recording / playback device 10.

[0075] Viewing information refers to information recorded in seconds, such as the playback channel, playback date and time, playback status (normal playback, fast playback, fast forward, rewind, etc.), playback user identifier, terminal identifier, program status (whether it is My Menu, whether it has been saved, whether it has been specified in the time index, etc.), program evaluation data (yes / no), and program data that the user wants to introduce.

[0076] The program specific data is, for example, data for specifying program data in broadcast waves consisting of digital signals, and includes video data and audio data, etc. In addition, the program specific data is, for example, data relating to the broadcast channel and broadcast start time of the program, or the broadcast start time of the program on the broadcast channel.

[0077] The corner specification data is data for specifying data for each corner and each commercial in the program data, as well as data for specifying a specific corner in a program, such as the broadcast channel and broadcast start time of the program as well as the time until the corner starts, or data related to the broadcast channel and broadcast start time of the program.

[0078] Processed information refers to the topicality index, evaluation data, viewing quality, viewing ratings, and number of viewers of programs and performers that are generated by applying statistical processing to viewing information, time indexes, and data from internet blogs and bulletin boards.

[0079] (CM data identification function) Fig. 6 is a flow chart showing the operation of CM data identifying device 100 shown in Fig. 1. Note that the order of execution of some of the processes shown in Fig. 6 may be interchanged, for example, step S12 and step S14 may be interchanged.

[0080] Furthermore, not all of the processes described below must be executed by CM data identifying device 100, but each process may be executed by the entire CM data identifying system shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, for example, part of the process shown in Fig. 6 can also be executed by digital recording and playback device 10.

[0081] For ease of understanding, the operation of the CM data identifying device 100 will be described in FIG. 6 by taking as an example a case in which the CM data identifying device 100 is built into the digital recording and reproducing device 10.

[0082] (First stage judgment) First, the CM data identification device 100 monitors the presence or absence of silent intervals by tracking the audio data of the program data that is constantly being recorded in the digital recording and playback device 10. In this case, it is not essential to actually play back the recorded program data, but it is sufficient to sample the audio data every 200 milliseconds, which is a typical CM switching time, and make a judgment based on the volume.

[0083] Here, CM data is produced for a fixed period of time, such as 15 seconds or 30 seconds, and is called a 15-second CM, a 30-second CM, etc. As described above, program data includes program corner data and CM data, but when these data change, an unavoidable momentary interruption of about 200 milliseconds occurs in the audio data, that is, a silent section occurs.

[0084] In the first stage of judgment, when the first silent interval that occurs within the program data when the program data is played back is obtained, it is judged whether the silent interval is a multiple of 15 seconds, that is, whether a second silent interval occurs at a time that is a multiple of 15 seconds after the first silent interval (step S11).

[0085] If it is determined in step S11 that the silent interval is not a multiple of 15 seconds, the portion of the program data being determined is not CM data and is therefore determined to be program corner data (step S16).

[0086] (Second stage judgment) On the other hand, even if the result of the judgment in step S11 is that the silent interval is a multiple of 15 seconds, it cannot be denied that this is an accidental occurrence, and there is a non-zero possibility that the data from the first silent interval to the second silent interval is program corner data.

[0087] When the program data is switched from program corner data to commercial data, the video data often changes significantly. For example, when the program corner data of a drama or movie, which is shot in a dark place because of a serious scene, is switched to commercial data, which is shot in a bright place because of a healthy product image, the feature amount of the video data changes significantly.

[0088] Therefore, in the second stage of judgment, this fact is utilized to calculate each video feature of video data for, for example, 0.5 seconds before and after the occurrence of the first silent section, and judge whether the difference between them is within a predetermined threshold value (step S12).

[0089] Since feature engineering itself is well known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0090] If the result of the judgment in step S12 is that, for example, the difference between each video feature of the video data before and after the occurrence of the first silent section is within a predetermined threshold, the program data is deemed to remain program corner data, and the portion being judged is recognized as program corner data (step S16).

[0091] (Third stage judgment) On the other hand, even if the result of the judgment in step S12 is that, for example, the difference between each video feature of the video data before and after the occurrence of the first silent interval is not within a predetermined threshold, the first silent interval occurs because it is between program corner data, and the possibility that the interval from the first silent interval to the second silent interval is program corner data is not zero.

[0092] As explained with reference to Figure 4, for example, the playback time of "CM1" is two minutes, from 11:15 to 11:17, so if all the CM data are 15-second CMs, a total of eight CMs will be broadcast during the "CM1" section. In this case, the data immediately before or after each CM data will be CM data.

[0093] Therefore, in the third stage judgment, this fact is utilized to judge whether or not there are flags in the data immediately before, such as one second before, and the data immediately after, such as one second after, the data in which the first silent interval occurred (step S13).

[0094] The flag referred to here is one that is set when executing the process of step S15, which will be described later. This flag is set by CM data identifying device 100 for data that is determined to be CM data.

[0095] If the result of the judgment in step S13 is that there is no flag in both the data immediately preceding, for example, one second before the data in which the first silent interval occurs, and the data immediately following, for example, one second after the second silent interval, the portion of the program data being judged is determined to be program corner data (step S16).

[0096] (Fourth stage judgment) On the other hand, even if the judgment result in step S13 shows that there is a flag in the data immediately before, for example, one second before the first silent interval or in the data immediately after, for example, one second after the second silent interval, there is a possibility that the interval from the first silent interval to the second silent interval is program corner data.

[0097] In recent years, the amount of program segment data that has subtitle information superimposed for closed-caption broadcasting has been increasing to accommodate the hearing impaired. However, most commercial data still does not have subtitle information superimposed.

[0098] Therefore, in the fourth stage of judgment, this fact is utilized to judge whether or not subtitle information is superimposed on the judgment target portion of the program data (step S14).

[0099] If it is determined in step S14 that subtitle information is superimposed on the portion of the program data to be determined, the portion of the program data to be determined is recognized as program corner data (step S16).

[0100] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S13 that no subtitle information is superimposed on the portion of the program data to be determined, a flag is set to indicate that the data in that portion has been determined to be CM data, so that it can be effectively used in the subsequent processing in step S13 (step S15).

[0101] As described above, according to the commercial data identification system of this embodiment, if digital recording and playback devices 10 are installed throughout the country, it is possible to obtain detailed specific information regarding in which region (television station) and when commercial data was broadcast, whether the commercial data was broadcast nationwide or locally.

[0102] Therefore, advertising personnel at each company will be able to easily grasp the correlation between sales of their own and other companies' products and the broadcast of advertising data, enabling them to conduct useful analysis of television commercials. [Industrial Applicability]

[0103] The present invention can be used in the advertising industry, for example, in television commercials. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0104] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a CM data identification system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a time chart showing the operation of the CM data identification system shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic hardware configuration diagram of the digital recording and reproducing device 10 shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the relationship between program data, program corner data, and CM data, and their title data and time indexes. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the relationship between program data, program corner data, and CM data, and their title data and time indexes. [Figure 6] 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of CM data identifying device 100 shown in FIG. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 10 Digital recording and playback equipment 11 Antenna 12 Tuner 14 Converter 17 HDD (Hard Disk) 17a Continuous recording HDD 17b HDD for storage 18 Hard disk control unit (HDD control unit) 19 Demultiplexer 20 MPEG Decoder 21 Audio Decoder 22a second converter 22b Third Converter 23 CPU 24 Memory 25 Signal receiving section 26 Network Controller 26b Real-time clock 27 Image Processing Section 28 Input section 29 DVD drive 50 Time Index Servers

Claims

1. an acquisition means for acquiring a first silent section occurring in the program data when the program data is reproduced; a silent section determination means for determining whether a second silent section occurs when a multiple of 15 seconds has elapsed since the first silent section acquired by the acquisition means; a calculation means for calculating video feature amounts before and after the occurrence of the first or second silent section when the silent section determination means determines that a second silent section will occur; a feature amount difference determination means for determining whether or not the video feature amount difference calculated by the calculation means is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; a flag control means for setting a CM data flag which is set when the video feature difference is determined to be equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold by the feature difference determination means and subtitle information is not superimposed on the determination target portion of the program data in the data between the first silent period and the second silent period; a flag determination means for determining whether a flag has been set by the flag control means for data immediately before or after the data for which a flag has been set by the flag control means; A CM data identification device comprising:

2. A recording medium on which program data is recorded; an acquisition means for acquiring a first silent section occurring in the program data recorded on the recording medium when the program data is reproduced; a silent section determination means for determining whether a second silent section occurs when a multiple of 15 seconds has elapsed since the first silent section acquired by the acquisition means; a calculation means for calculating video feature amounts before and after the occurrence of the first or second silent section when the silent section determination means determines that a second silent section will occur; a feature amount difference determination means for determining whether or not the video feature amount difference calculated by the calculation means is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; a flag control means for setting a CM data flag which is set when the video feature difference is determined to be equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold by the feature difference determination means and subtitle information is not superimposed on the determination target portion of the program data in the data between the first silent period and the second silent period; a flag determination means for determining whether a flag has been set by the flag control means for data immediately before or after the data for which a flag has been set by the flag control means; A television commercial analysis system comprising:

3. Recording program data, obtaining a first silent section occurring in the recorded program data when the program data is reproduced; determining whether or not a second silent section occurs when a multiple of 15 seconds has elapsed since the acquired first silent section; calculating video feature amounts before and after the occurrence of the first or second silent section when it is determined that the second silent section will occur; determining whether the calculated video feature difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; when the determined video feature difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a CM data flag is set in the data between the first silent section and the second silent section, the CM data flag being set when subtitle information is not superimposed on the determined portion of the program data; determining whether the data immediately before or after the flagged data is also flagged; How to analyze television commercials.

4. A program for causing an information processing device to execute the method according to claim 3.

Images