WO2009057946A1

WO2009057946A1 - Set-top box and method for advertisement using the set-top box

Info

Publication number: WO2009057946A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/006380
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jung Yi Choi
Original assignee: Beyondwiz Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2007-10-31
Filing date: 2008-10-29
Publication date: 2009-05-07

Abstract

A settop box (STB) and an advertising method using the STB are provided. In the advertising method, the STB receives a requested information requesting signal from a user. Then, in response to the requested information requesting signal, while the interface area is being activated, advertisement/image information is displayed so that an area where requested information is displayed and an area where the at least one piece of advertisement information is displayed overlap with each other on the interface area.

Description

SET-TOP BOX AND METHOD FOR ADVERTISEMENT USING

THE SET-TOP BOX

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a digital broadcasting system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus of efficiently performing advertisement by using a settop box (STB) for digital broadcasting programs. Background Art

[2] Digital broadcasting (DB) is a system in which a broadcasting station compresses a broadcasting signal, for example, images and audio information, into a digital signal and transmits the digital signal.

[3] In existing analog broadcasting, a single image is carried on a single electric wave and transmitted in the form of an analog signal. Since a transmitter (for example, a broadcasting station) and a receptor are far away from each other or the analog signal is sensitive to external noises, the intensity of the analog signal gradually decreases. Thus, in existing analog broadcasting, information loss is great. However, in DB, a plurality of images or audio and broadcasting information are compressed and carried on an electric wave and transmitted in the form of a digital signal. Thus, information loss is rare in such DB. Therefore, in the DB, the recoverability of the broadcasting signal is high, and many pieces of information may be transmitted at once, whereby high-quality, multi-channel, and various additional data services are provided.

[4] A digital broadcasting system receives a broadcasting signal by using a digital broadcasting receiver (for example, a settop box (STB)), recovers the broadcasting signal into an image signal and an audio signal, and reproduces an image signal and an audio signal on a display device.

[5] The STB is a control device that can perform broadcasting reception and various other additional functions, and is used in next- generation bidirectional multimedia communications. A conventional STB has a main function of receiving a broadcasting signal transmitted by a specific broadcasting provider. However, with a recent trend toward digitalization of broadcasting, a conventional STB further includes various other functions such as bidirectional data communication and a personal video recorder (PVR) function.

[6] Since a STB is capable of being connected to a predetermined network, necessary information may be provided to users in real time through the Internet or the like. In addition, contents providers or providers of various products feel the necessity of performing an effective advertisement to a plurality of users by using an STB having such various functions.

[7] FIG. 1 illustrates an advertising method using a conventional STB. Referring to FIG.

1, the conventional STB provides a predetermined interface (hereinafter, referred to as an interface area) which can provide information about an image (for example, a broadcasting program or a recorded image) currently displayed on a display device or predetermined information other than an image screen, such as an electronic program guide (EPG), to users.

[8] For example, the predetermined interface may be an EPG interface 10 that provides an EPG screen illustrated in FIG. 1. In the conventional art, an advertisement is performed using a method of dividing the EPG interface 10 into an EPG information area 11 for displaying EPG information and an advertisement area 12 for displaying advertisement information, and displaying predetermined advertisement information on the advertisement area 12 of the EPG interface 10.

[9] However, in such a conventional advertising method, a portion of the interface area

10 for displaying information (for example, EPG information) requested by a user is divided to display advertisement information. However, if a percentage of the entire interface area 10 occupied by the advertisement area 12 increases, it is inconvenient for users to check actually -requested information. If the percentage of the advertisement area 12 decreases, it ma be difficult or impossible for users to see advertisement information exposed on the advertisement area 12. In this case, an advertisement effect may be degraded.

[10] In particular, if many channels exist as in a digital broadcasting system and an STB capable of bidirectional communications is used, users activate the interface area 10 in many cases in order to obtain information about various broadcasting programs and information about various services which are provided through the STB, or to use the various services. Therefore, a method or apparatus for increasing an advertisement effect of the conventional advertising method using the interface area 10 is demanded. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[11] The present invention provides a method and apparatus for increasing an advertisement effect in a digital broadcasting system using a settop box (STB).

Advantageous Effects

[12] In an advertising method according to the present invention, a portion of an interface area may be separated to be used as an advertisement area, or the entire interface area may be used as the advertisement area, whereby an advertisement is easily exposed to users. Moreover, when advertisement information is used as a background image, or when requested information is non- visualized and then the advertisement information is visualized, users may easily recognize the advertisement information. Brief Description of Drawings

[13] FIG. 1 illustrates an advertising method using a conventional settop box (STB);

[14] FIG. 2 is a schematic functional block diagram of an STB according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[15] FIG. 3 illustrates an advertising method using an STB, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[16] FIG. 4 illustrates an advertising method using an STB, according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

[17] FIG. 5 illustrates an advertising method using an STB, according to another embodiment of the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

[18] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a settop box (STB) including a processor, an advertisement storage unit which stores at least one piece of advertisement information, and an On Screen Display (OSD) generation unit which generates information which is to be displayed on an interface area. In response to a requested information requesting signal from a user input device, the OSD generation unit generates advertisement/image information under the control of the processor so that an area where requested information is displayed and an area where the at least one piece of advertisement information is displayed overlap with each other on the interface area, while the interface area is being activated.

[19] The advertisement/image information may be displayed so that at least one of the requested information and the advertisement information is gradually visualized on the interface area. The advertisement/image information may be displayed so that at least one of the requested information and the advertisement information is gradually non- visualized on the interface area. At least one of a degree of definition, a transparency, and a size of the at least one of the requested information and the advertisement information may be changed so that the advertisement/image information is displayed to be gradually visualized.

[20] The advertisement/image information may be displayed so that the requested information is displayed and at the same time the at least one piece of advertisement information is displayed as a background image. While the interface area is being activated, the STB may further display additional information about the advertisement information in response to an advertisement information requesting signal received from the user input device, wherein the additional information corresponds to the advertisement information requesting signal.

[21] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an advertising method using an STB, including the operation of the STB receiving a requested information requesting signal from a user input device, and the operation of, in response to the requested information requesting signal, displaying advertisement/image information so that an area where requested information is displayed and an area where the at least one piece of advertisement information is displayed overlap with each other on the interface area, while the interface area is being activated.

[22] The operation of displaying the advertisement/image information may include displaying the advertisement/image information so that at least one of the requested information and the advertisement information is gradually visualized on the interface area.

[23] The operation of displaying the advertisement/image information may include displaying the advertisement/image information so that at least one of the requested information and the advertisement information is gradually non-visualized on the interface area.

[24] The operation of displaying the advertisement/image information may include displaying the advertisement/image information so that the requested information is displayed and at the same time the at least one piece of advertisement information is displayed as a background image. The advertising method may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium. Mode for the Invention

[25] The attached drawings for illustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention are referred to in order to gain a sufficient understanding of the present invention, the merits thereof, and the objectives accomplished by the implementation of the present invention. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by explaining preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.

[26] FIG. 2 is a schematic functional block diagram of a settop box (STB) 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the STB 100 includes a processor 110, an On Screen Display (OSD) generation unit 120, and an advertisement storage unit 130. The processor 110 may control a general operation (for example, reception and output of a broadcasting program) of the STB 100 and control the other components of the STB 100 (for example, the OSD generation unit 120 or the advertisement storage unit 130)

[27] The OSD generation unit 120 may generate several pieces of information or interfaces which are to be displayed on a display device. For example, the OSD generation unit 120 may generate an EPG screen (for example, a screen such as the EPG information area 11 illustrated in FIG. 1) on the basis of EPG information received from a broadcasting station. The OSD generation unit 120 may also generate a predetermined interface (for example, an interface such as an information plate 300 of FIG. 4) for providing channel-related information. For convenience of explanation, the predetermined interface for providing channel-related information is referred to as an information plate. In other words, the OSD generation unit 120 may generate, store, and change all interfaces that provide information to users or receive information from users, like the EPG screen or the information plate. An area where all of the interfaces generated by the OSD generation unit 120 are displayed may be referred to as an interface area. The OSD generation unit 120 may receive advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit 130, and generate new advertisement/image information on the basis of the received advertisement information. The advertisement/ image information may be generated by the OSD generation unit 120 and used as a meaning including all pieces of interface information including the advertisement information.

[28] The advertisement storage unit 130 may store at least one piece of advertisement information. The advertisement storage unit 130 may store not only advertisement information pre-stored in the STB 100 but also store new advertisement information according to a firmware upgrade or the like. Moreover, since the STB 100 is capable of being connected to a wired/wireless network (for example, the Internet or the like), the at least one piece of advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit 130 may be received by the STB 100 via the wired/wireless network.

[29] The advertisement information may be represented in various forms, such as a text, an image, a moving picture, and the like, and may be used as a meaning including all pieces of information that include information desired by an advertiser to be advertised, regardless of the forms. The STB 100 may further include other general components (for example, a video-related module, an audio-related module, etc.), however, only components required to explain the technical spirit of the present invention will now be described in the specification.

[30] The STB 100 may receive a requested information requesting signal from a user input device (for example, a remote controller or a computer). The requested information requesting signal may be a signal that a user transmits to the STB 100 in order to check predetermined information (for example, EPG information, channel information, or the like) from the STB 100. Alternatively, the requested information requesting signal may be a signal that calls a predetermined interface in order to input predetermined information to the STB 100. For example, a user may transmit an EPG information request signal to the STB 100 via an input device (for example, a remote controller) in order to check EPG information. Alternatively, a user may transmit a reserved-recording interface requesting signal to the STB 100 in order to input in- formation used for reserved recording. In other words, the requested information requesting signal may be any signal which is input to the STB 100 so that an interface provided by the STB 100 is called out, like the EPG information request signal or the reserved-recording interface requesting signal which requests the STB 100 for predetermined information or inputs the predetermined information to the STB 100. In other words, if predetermined information is input to the STB 100, an interface provided by the STB 100 so that the predetermined information is input may be requested information.

[31] Then, the OSD generation unit 120 may generate requested information having a predetermined format and output the requested information to the display device, under the control of the processor 110. At this time, the OSD generation unit 120 may generate the at least one piece of advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit 130, and advertisement/image information including the requested information.

[32] However, in contrast with a conventional advertising method, the OSD generation unit 120 may generate an OSD so that an area where the requested information is displayed is overlapped with an area where the advertisement information is displayed. For example, in an advertising method according to an embodiment of the present invention, instead that the advertisement area 12 of FIG. 1 separately exists to display EPG information thereon as illustrated in FIG. 1, the area where the requested information is displayed is overlapped with the area where the advertisement information is displayed, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus, by not dividing an interface of a predetermined size in order to separately display requested information and advertisement information, users may easily view both the requested information and advertisement information.

[33] The overlapping of the area where the requested information is displayed with the area where the advertisement information is displayed does not necessarily denote simultaneous display of the requested information and advertisement information. In other words, after the requested information is displayed and then disappear, the advertisement information may be displayed on the same area from which the requested information has disappeared.

[34] In other words, the OSD generation unit 120 may generate the advertisement/image information so that at least a portion where the area where the requested information is displayed overlaps with the area where the advertisement information is displayed from among the entire the interface area exists while the interface rare is being activated.

[35] The period during which the interface area is being activated may denote a period from a point in time when an interface including the advertisement/image information is displayed to a point in time when the interface disappears. For example, if a user presses a predetermined button on a remote controller in order to check channel information, the information plate 300 illustrated in FIG. 4 is displayed, and after a predetermined period of time, the information plate 300 disappears. Thus, the period during which the interface area is being activated may denote a period of time while the information plate 300 is being displayed. Alternatively, if an EPG screen is being displayed at the request of a user as illustrated in FIG. 3 and the user exits out of the EPG screen in order to view another screen (for example, a broadcasting image), a period during which the EPG screen is being displayed may be considered as the period during which the interface area is being activated.

[36] In the advertising method according to an embodiment of the present inventioN, advertisement information is used as a background image. This advertising method is illustrated in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, requested information (for example, EPG information) and advertisement information (for example, a logo of a specific product) are simultaneously displayed on an interface area 30, and an area where the requested information and the advertisement information overlap with each other exists.

[37] In this case, by increasing the transparency of the advertisement information, that is, by making the advertisement information transparent by a predetermined degree so as to serve as a background image, users are able to see the requested information and the advertisement information at the same time. In this case, compared with a conventional advertising method as illustrated in FIG. 1, advertisement information may be highly recognized.

[38] FIG. 4 illustrates an advertising method using an STB, according to another embodiment of the present invention. The advertising method of FIG. 4 may be applied to an EPG screen as illustrated in FIG. 3 and also to other interfaces. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, users may transmit a channel information requesting signal in order to check channel information about a TV channel which is being watched, while watching a specific broadcasting program being broadcasted via the TV channel.

[39] Then, the OSD generation unit 120 may generate advertisement/image information including both the channel information and advertisement information and output the advertisement/image information to a display device 200. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the advertisement/image information may be displayed on the information plate 300. In other words, the advertising method of present invention may be applied to all interfaces which are displayed on the display device 200. Since the information plate 300 having a smaller size than that of the display device 200 is also not divided and does not spare an advertisement area as illustrated in FIG. 4, the advertising method of present invention may be used. [40] In the advertising method of FIG. 4, an advertisement area and a requested information area may be overlapped with each other, and the form of the requested information or the advertisement information may still be changed. For example, at least one of the requested information and the advertisement information may be displayed to be gradually visualized.

[41] The gradual visualization may denote a case where the form (for example, a color, a size, a transparency, or the like) of specific information is changed so that the specific information is easily recognized by the eyes of users. For example, a case where the color of advertisement information changes from a light color to a dark color may be considered as the gradual visualization. A case where the size of the advertisement information increases may also be considered as the gradual visualization. A case where the transparency of advertisement information gradually decreases, that is, a case where transparent information becomes opaque, may also be considered as the gradual visualization. A case where non-displayed advertisement information appears may also be considered as the gradual visualization. Non-visualization may denote the opposite to the visualization.

[42] Thus, in the advertising method of FIG. 4, while an area where advertisement information and requested information overlap with each other exists, at least one of the advertisement information and the requested information may be visualized or non- visualized. As described above, the existence of the overlapping area does not denote simultaneous display of the advertisement information and the requested information.

[43] For example, while the interface area is being activated, the requested information may be displayed and then disappear, and the advertisement information may be displayed since a predetermined time after the disappearance of the requested information. Alternatively, the requested information may be gradually non- visualized, and the advertisement information may be visualized. The latter method is illustrated in FIG. 5.

[44] FIG. 5 illustrates an advertising method using an STB, according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, an information plate 310 may be displayed at the request of a user for information. At first, the information requested by the user may be displayed. However, the requested information may be gradually non-visualized (for example, becomes gradually transparent), and adve rtisement information may be gradually visualized (for example, becomes gradually opaque). In other words, the information plate 310 may turn into an information plate 320.

[45] Thereafter, the requested information may completely disappear, and only the advertisement information may be displayed. In other words, the information plate 320 may turn into an information plate 330. Although a case where visualization or non- visualization is performed by a change of the transparency of the requested information is illustrated in FIG. 5, visualization or non-visualization of predetermined information may be performed by a change of the size, definition, or color of the predetermined information. Of course, the point in time at which and the degree to which visualization or non-visualization is performed may vary according to embodiments of the present invention.

[46] Consequently, while an interface area is being displayed, users are able to see highly- recognizable advertisement information, that is, prominent advertisement information. In the advertising method of FIG. 5, as described above, if an interface area efficiently provides requested information and advertisement information to users and at the same time the users need additional information associated with the advertisement information, various additional information associated with the advertisement information may be further provided.

[47] In other words, while the interface area is being activated, the STB 100 receives an advertisement information requesting signal from a user input device. The advertisement information requesting signal may be a predetermined button included in the user input device (for example, a remote controller). A method of inputting the advertisement information requesting signal may vary according to embodiments of the present invention.

[48] Then, the processor 110 of the STB 100 may control a component, such as the OSD generation unit 120, so that the additional information related with the advertisement information included in the advertisement/image information generated by the OSD generation unit 120 is displayed. The advertisement information included in the advertisement/image information may have already been displayed when the advertisement information requesting signal is received, or as illustrated in FIG. 5, may be displayed a predetermined period of time after the advertisement information requesting signal is received. For example, in FIG. 5, if the advertisement information requesting signal is received while the information plate 310 is being displayed, actual advertisement information is not displayed. However, since the OSD generation unit 120 is able to know advertisement information which should be displayed a predetermined period of time after the reception of the advertisement information requesting signal on an advertisement area, , the OSD generation unit 120 may display additional information corresponding to the advertisement information to be displayed. Examples of the additional information may be various, such as, promotion information related with the advertisement information, information about products related with the advertisement information, event information, information about an advertiser, and the like. If the additional information is pre-stored in association with the advertisement information in the advertisement storage unit 130 or the STB 100 is able to be connected with a wired/wireless network (for example, the Internet), the additional information may be accessed and provided in real time via the wired/ wireless network.

[49] The invention can also be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data which can be thereafter read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable recording medium include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and carrier waves (such as data transmission through the Internet). The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. Also, functional programs, codes, and code segments for accomplishing the present invention can be easily construed by programmers of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains.

[50] While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. Industrial Applicability

[51] The present invention is applicable to broadcasting settop boxes (STBs) and advertisements performed using the STBs.

Claims

[1] A settop box (STB) comprising: a processor; an advertisement storage unit storing at least one piece of advertisement information; and an On Screen Display (OSD) generation unit generating information which is to be displayed on an interface area, wherein in response to a requested information requesting signal from a user input device, the OSD generation unit generates advertisement/image information under the control of the processor so that an area where requested information is displayed and an area where the at least one piece of advertisement information is displayed overlap with each other on the interface area, while the interface area is being activated.

[2] The STB of claim 1, wherein the advertisement/image information is displayed so that at least one of the requested information and the advertisement information is gradually visualized on the interface area.

[3] The STB of claim 1, wherein the advertisement/image information is displayed so that at least one of the requested information and the advertisement information is gradually non-visualized on the interface area.

[4] The STB of claim 2, wherein at least one of a degree of definition, a transparency, and a size of the at least one of the requested information and the advertisement information is changed so that the advertisement/image information is displayed to be gradually visualized.

[5] The STB of claim 1, wherein the advertisement/image information is displayed so that the requested information is displayed and at the same time the at least one piece of advertisement information is displayed as a background image.

[6] The STB of claim 1, wherein while the interface area is being activated, the STB further displays additional information about the advertisement information in response to an advertisement information requesting signal received from the user input device, wherein the additional information corresponds to the advertisement information requesting signal.

[7] An advertising method using an STB, comprising:

The STB receiving a requested information requesting signal from a user input device,; and in response to the requested information requesting signal, displaying advertisement/image information so that an area where requested information is displayed and an area where the at least one piece of advertisement information is displayed overlap with each other on the interface area, while the interface area is being activated.

[8] The advertising method of claim 7, wherein the displaying of the advertisement/ image information comprises displaying the advertisement/image information so that at least one of the requested information and the advertisement information is gradually visualized on the interface area.

[9] The advertising method of claim 7, wherein the displaying of the advertisement/ image information comprises displaying the advertisement/image information so that at least one of the requested information and the advertisement information is gradually non- visualized on the interface area.

[10] The advertising method of claim 7, wherein the displaying of the advertisement/ image information comprises displaying the advertisement/image information so that the requested information is displayed and at the same time the at least one piece of advertisement information is displayed as a background image.

[11] The advertising method of claim 7, further comprising: receiving an advertisement information requesting signal from a user input device while the interface area is being activated; and displaying additional information about the advertisement information in response to the received advertisement information requesting signal, wherein the additional information corresponds to the advertisement information requesting signal.

[12] A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of any of claims 7 through 11.