METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR ADVISING ABOUT RECEIVABLE PROGRAMS

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of and apparatus for advising a user about receivable programs. Programs are rated in accordance with a user profile and information about program categories. An agent presents opinions and advises about the receivable programs based on these ratings. The agent is capable of expressing human-like emotions. These emotions are based on the program ratings on the one hand, and information about subject items of the programs on the other hand.

Description: Method of and apparatus for advising about receivable programs. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a apparatus for receiving a plurality of programs, comprising: decoding means for receiving and decoding attribute values relating to attributes of said programs, including program title and program category, user profile means for storing user preferences with respect to said program title and/or said program category, and producing ratings for said programs in accordance with said user preferences, presentation means for presenting said ratings to the user. The invention further relates to a method of advising a user about receivable programs, comprising the steps of: receiving and decoding attribute values relating to attributes of said programs, including program title and program category, storing user preferences with respect to said program title and/or said program category, and producing ratings for said programs in accordance with said user preferences, presenting said ratings to the user, BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Such a method and apparatus are well known. For example, known television receivers and set-top boxes comprise an electronic program guide (EPG) which are capable of receiving and decoding program data, such as program title and program category, related to programs which will be transmitted in the near future. Generally, such an EPG shows a list of program titles and the clock-times, indicating at which time and by which channel the programs will be transmitted. To provide a better service and user interface to the user, the known method and apparatus have the feature of keeping record of the users preferences and interests. This kind of information can be stored in a so called user profile. A possible way to visualize such a profile is the use of a visual agent. For example if a large amount of content or information is available to the user, such an agent can give advice, suggest or help in another way to find the information of interest. OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide an improved method and apparatus of the type defined in the opening paragraph. To that end, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the user profile means are adapted to relate said ratings to human emotions, e.g. enthusiasm or apathy, the presentation means being adapted to present an agent capable of expressing said emotions. An agent can express its advice or opinion in many ways, but most of the time it will have some sort of metaphor with human behavior and expression: so called anthropomorphic characteristics. A very important anthropomorphic characteristic is the expression of emotions. Emotions are easily perceived and understood by most users, and therefore enhance the information communication (here the opinion or advice of the agent). If the advice or opinion, and thus the emotional state, of an agent is only based on the user profile sec, this advice or opinion and corresponding emotional behavior can be a mismatch with the actual content it is referring to. For example if one regularly watches the news, the agent will be enthusiastic about news content, but if a particular news item contains shocking news (e.g. a tornado with many casualties) it is out of place to be very enthusiastic. An embodiment of the method and apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the advice or opinion, and thus the emotional state, of an agent is not only based on the user profile, but also on information available on the content, the agent is referring to. This additional content information can either be found on the internet, via some sort of service subscription or via metadata which is sent along with the content itself. For example this metadata for television programs is the so called Digital Video Broadcast - Service Information, DVB-SI. To make sensible use of this content data, intelligence must be integrated in the system beforehand. This intelligence can be implemented in the form of for example if-then rules, or a look-up table. For the example of the news this means that if one regularly watches the news, the agent will be in favor about news content, but not in an enthusiastic manner; more in a serious and interested manner. This principle does not necessarily need to apply to emotional states, but in fact to any sort of state that needs to comply with the actual content it is referring to. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from and will be elucidated, by way of a non-limitative example, with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter. In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a diagram of a television receiver as an embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, Figure 2 shows a flowchart of generating a presentation of an agent in accordance with an embodiment of the method according to the invention. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a digital television receiver as an embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention. Digital broadcast streams, modulated upon radio frequency (RF) signals, are received from the ether by an antenna 1 or, alternatively, from a cable network. The broadcast streams may be formatted, for example, in accordance with the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard. A tuner 2 comprises a standard analog RF receiving device which is capable of receiving said RF signals and selecting one of them to be output to a demodulator 3. Which signal tuner 2 selects is dependent upon control data received from a central processing unit (CPU) 5. A demodulator 3 converts the analog signal into a digital packet stream, based on control signals received from the CPU 5. This packet stream is then output to a demultiplexer 4, which selects packets belonging to a particular program in accordance with control data received from the CPU 5, and decomposes the packet stream into elementary video, audio or data streams. In addition to broadcast signals, the television receiver may be adapted to receive signals from other sources too, for example, from a (digital) video recorder or DVD, from Internet, or from a digital subscriber line. Programs and program attributes need not be obtained from the same source. For example, attributes and attribute values relating to broadcast programs may be obtained from an internet site. A video processor 8 decodes the video stream received from the demultiplexer 4 or from the CPU 5. Decoded video data is then transmitted to a display screen 9. An audio processor 6 decodes the audio stream received from the demultiplexer 4. Decoded audio data is then transmitted to a speaker system 7. The demultiplexer 4 outputs the elementary data stream to the CPU 5. The elementary data stream has two types of data: control data and content data. Content refers to, for example, interactive programs; control refers to tables in the multiplex which specify matters like the structure of the multiplex, the (RF) frequencies at which the channels are modulated, and the addresses at which the various content components and the (other) tables in the multiplex can be found. The CPU 5 comprises one or more microprocessors capable of executing program instructions stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 12. These program instructions comprise parts of software modules including, inter alia, a command module 13, and a user profile module 14. Data processed by said software modules, e.g. DVB-SI data and user profile information, may be stored in a non- volatile memory 11. The command module 13 is capable of controlling functions of the TV-set, like tuning and demultiplexing selection, and transmitting data to the video processor 8 to be presented on the screen 9. A user command unit 10 receives user commands, e.g. through a remote control (not shown), and transmits them to the command module 13 to be processed. For example, when the user enters a channel number, the command module 13 controls the tuner 2 and the demultiplexer 4 to select the corresponding broadcast stream and data packets therein, and sends graphical data to the video processor 8 to present feedback on the screen 9, e.g. the preset number, the channel name being displayed for a few seconds. The user profile module 14 interprets the DVB-SI data received from the demultiplexer 4 to collect information about the channels ('services' in DVB terminology) available in the received broadcast streams and about the programs ('events' in DVB terminology) scheduled for those channels. Subsequently, the user profile module 14 produces ratings in a way as described below. Figure 2 shows a flowchart of generating a presentation of an agent in accordance with an embodiment of the method according to the invention. Program ratings are produced in accordance with a user profile 22, based on user preferences and program titles and categories. A rule base (or look-up table) 23 relates said program ratings to content information 21 which includes the actual subject items of the programs. The rule base determines which kind of emotion is most suitable to convey an opinion about the program to the user. Then, a presentation 24 of an agent is composed and presented to the user in an audible or visual way. For example, if a program's subject is a natural disaster, such as a tornado, with many casualties, and the program category is 'news', the agent will be in favor of the program if the user regularly watches the news, but not in an enthusiastic manner; more in a serious and interested manner. On the other hand, if the program category is 'movie' and if this category is one of the user's preferred categories, the agent will react in an enthusiastic manner. In summary, the invention relates to a method of and apparatus for advising a user about receivable programs. Programs are rated in accordance with a user profile and information about program categories. An agent presents opinions and advises about the receivable programs based on these ratings. The agent is capable of expressing human-like emotions. These emotions are based on the program ratings on the one hand, and information about subject items of the programs on the other hand. Although the invention has been described with reference to particular illustrative embodiments, variants and modifications are possible within the scope of the inventive concept. Thus, for example^ the information about subject items may be encoded and decoded in a predetermined format, or may be extracted in an informal way, e.g. by means of keyword matching. The rule-base determining the suitable emotions of the agent may be user supplied or provided by the manufacturer of the TV or by a service provider via a network or data carrier. The word 'comprising' does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed in a claim. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The invention can be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the device claim enumerating several means, several of these means can be embodied by one and the same item of hardware.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. An apparatus for receiving a plurality of programs, comprising: decoding means for receiving and decoding attribute values relating to attributes of said programs, including program title and program category, user profile means for storing user preferences with respect to said program title and/or said program category, and producing ratings for said programs in accordance with said user preferences, presentation means for presenting said ratings to the user, characterized in that the user profile means are adapted to relate said ratings to human emotions, e.g. enthusiasm or apathy, the presentation means being adapted to present an agent capable of expressing said emotions. 2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the presentation means are adapted to present said agent as a visual anthropomorphic agent. 3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the decoding means are adapted to receive and decode attribute values relating to a program subject of said programs, the user profile means being adapted to determine said emotions based on said user preferences and said program subjects. 4. A method of advising a user about receivable programs, comprising the steps of: receiving and decoding attribute values relating to attributes of said programs, including program title and program category, storing user preferences with respect to said program title and/or said program category, and producing ratings for said programs in accordance with said user preferences, presenting said ratings to the user, characterized in that the method further comprises a step of relating said ratings to human emotions, e.g. enthusiasm or apathy, presenting an agent capable of expressing said emotions.

Inventors: DIEDERIKS ELMO M A, DIEDERIKS, ELMO, M., A.
Applicants: KONINKL PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NV, KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: H04N5
IPC codes: H04H60, H04N5, H04N7, H04N17