1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information distributing system and an information distributing method for distributing various information via the Internet. In addition, the present invention includes a technology relating to a system for realizing a printing service by causing a printing apparatus connected to a set top box (STB) of each home to print print information utilizing a two-way broad band communication network such as a cable television system.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, as a personal computer has become inexpensive and personal computers have been introduced into many homes, a personal computer is widely used for enjoying the Internet at home by connecting the personal computer to telephone lines. However, for those who have not operated personal computers yet, operation of a personal computer is complicated and may not be accepted easily. It has been proposed that such people who do not have personal computers connect to the Internet using televisions for home use because operation of such televisions is easy. A representative example is the WebTV provided by Microsoft Corporation. The WebTV can be operated by a user as if the user operated a television using a remote controller. In addition, the WebTV has a configuration with which a user can connect to the Internet via telephone lines using the Windows CE and a browser installed in a set-top box (STB) of the WebTV.
In addition, in recent years, cable televisions are in wide use in Japan, and an increasing number of cable television companies offer Internet services using cable television lines that are two-way broad band communication networks. In a cable broadcasting system, a lot of television or radio programs, or contents such as those of shopping are sent as images, voices and character data and are received by each digital broadcast receiving apparatus through many channels. Character data is received together with a program itself (images and voices), which are included in a transmission signal. In addition, a line usage fee of an ordinary cable television is paid when a user makes connection to the Internet using this cable line. Thus, there is an advantage in that the user can connect to the Internet without paying a calling fee, and can access information of all over the world via the Internet using a television for home use free of charge or by only paying a charge as low as a general provider charge. In addition, since a broad band communication network is used, data transmission of a large capacity can be performed in a short time. Thus, Internet services using cable television lines are in wide use not only in Japan but also in other regions of the world.
In addition, a mechanism has been devised in which a printer is connected to an STB of a conventional WebTV and printing is performed by the printer in order to obtain print output of a screen displayed on the WebTV. In this case, a printer driver of a simple configuration is provided in an NVRAM of the STB to output data to an ink-jet printer as bitmap data of low resolution that is close to display resolution. Thus, even if the printer responds to high resolution, a result of printing is low in quality when an output of a bitmap image is performed.
That is, the conventional WebTV accesses the Internet, displays information desired by a user on the WebTV, generates a raster image of low resolution from the information using the printer driver in the STB to output the raster image to a low function printer. Thus, there is a problem in that a resulting print image has low resolution of the same level as display resolution of a TV display, and contents such as a photograph cannot be obtained in a form that satisfies the user.
In addition, a user accesses the Internet from a WebTV to display desired information, and then causes a printer to print the information by a printing instruction using a remote controller or the like. Therefore, the user needs to always retrieve required information by accessing the Internet, which is a significant burden for the user. Moreover, since a lot of users are likely to make an access during a period of time when a general user makes an access, there is a problem in that it takes long to retrieve or download information due to increased loads to a provider or a communication network. In addition, since a large load is applied to the printer driver in the STB during print processing, there is a problem in that a television screen freezes and the user cannot perform other operations.
In addition, since information that a user desires on the Internet is often included in a plurality of different home pages, the user needs to obtain necessary information by tracing each home page and print the information every time the user finds it. Thus, there is a problem in that the user has to bear significant burdens and it takes long time to obtain the information. Moreover, since the user prints necessary information every time the information is found even if little information is required, there also is a problem in that the number of printed sheets increases and costs of expendable supplies amount to a large sum.
In addition, an advertisement company that wishes to advertise something to many users cannot do anything but wait for users to access his home page or other home pages on which a banner advertisement is inserted. Thus, the advertisement company has to insert a banner advertisement linked to its own home page in many home pages to increase the number of users who access the home page on which the advertisement is inserted. Therefore, there is a problem in that the advertisement company cannot easily place an advertisement to users targeted for promotion. In addition, since the advertisement company only shows an advertisement to a user who visits the home page and cannot specify an age of a user or a region where the user lives to place an advertisement, efficiency is low. In addition, in order to realize a user-specified advertisement, the advertisement company can only advertise by direct mails conventionally. Thus, there is a problem in that costs such as costs of paper for direct mails, personell expenses, postage increase, or the like.
In addition, a provider of information such as a home page on the Internet can receive an advertisement fee from an advertisement company in return for insertion of a banner advertisement, and also can receive an contents fee in return for provision of contents (information). However, there is a problem in that, for an information provider whose home page users do not frequently visit, this does not pay as a business.