CN112204954A - Electronic device and program recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides electronic equipment and a program recording method, which can prevent programs of recording start time and/or recording end time recorded in broadcast spanning time periods from being pinched off. The electronic device includes a first recording reservation information storage unit, a second recording reservation information storage unit, a reservation control unit, and a recording unit. The first recording reservation information storage part stores first recording reservation information. The second recording reservation information storage part stores second recording reservation information. The reservation control unit extracts broadcast information of a program from previously acquired program information of scheduled broadcasts, generates second recording reservation information that corrects a scheduled recording start time and/or end time of the program spanned by a broadcast at a recording start time and/or end time of a time slot to the broadcast time of the program, and stores the second recording reservation information in a second recording information reservation storage unit. The recording unit records a program based on the first and second recording schedule information.

Description

Electronic device and program recording method

The present application claims priority from japanese patent application No. 2018-218580, filed on 21/11/2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to an electronic device and a program recording method.

Background

In recent years, a recorder (hereinafter, simply referred to as "full-automatic recorder") having a so-called full-automatic recording function (also referred to as a loop recording function or a time-shift-machine recording function) has become widespread, which automatically records a program by designating one or more channels and a recording time period in advance.

Because the full-automatic recorder records the whole program in the channel and time slot appointed by the user, the user does not need to select and reserve the program from the program list one by one, and in addition, the user can trace back to select and watch the program from the historical program list, and the full-automatic recorder is a user-friendly function.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2008-2458324

Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2009-16959

Disclosure of Invention

However, since the existing full-automatic recorder starts and ends recording of each channel simultaneously according to a time period (start time, end time) set by a user, a program broadcasted across the time period (recording start time or recording end time) is recorded with a missing title or trailer, and when the user later watches the program, there is a case where a part of the program is not seen.

For example, if the recording start time reservation is set to 21 in the recording setting of the time slot of the time-shift function, the beginning of the program starting from 20:50 is cut off, and if the program is a program such as a tv series which has a break-in structure, the "start" portion cannot be seen, the background of the tv series cannot be known, and the result is unsatisfactory. In addition, when the user sets the recording end time to 22 at the time of setting the time zone for recording, the end of the program ending at 22:10 is cut off, and similarly, the "end" portion cannot be seen, and the very important end is not known, which may result in dissatisfaction.

The invention aims to provide electronic equipment and a program recording method, which can prevent programs with overlapped recording start time and/or recording end time of broadcast in a time slot from being pinched off.

An electronic device according to an embodiment includes a first recording schedule information storage unit, a second recording schedule information storage unit, a schedule control unit, and a recording unit. The first recording reservation information storage section stores first recording reservation information for designating a time slot to collectively reserve recording of programs broadcast on a plurality of channels. The second recording reservation information storage part stores second recording reservation information for assisting the start/end of the reserved recording of the first recording reservation information. The reservation control part extracts the broadcast information of the program from the acquired program information of the scheduled broadcast, generates second recording reservation information and stores the second recording reservation information in a second recording reservation information storage part, wherein the second recording reservation information corrects the reserved recording starting time and/or the ending time of the program of which the broadcast spans the recording starting time and/or the recording ending time of the time slot into the broadcast time of the program; that is, the second recording reservation information is used to correct the reserved recording start time and/or end time to the broadcast start time and/or broadcast end time of the program when the reserved recording start time and/or end time spans the program broadcast time period or when the broadcast start time and/or broadcast end time spans the program reserved recording time period; that is, the second recording scheduling information is used to correct the recording start time and/or the recording end time of the program to the broadcast time of the program when the broadcast time of the program crosses the scheduled time period. Wherein, the reserved recording starting time and/or ending time spans the program broadcasting time slot, which means that the reserved recording starting time and/or ending time is in the program broadcasting time slot; the broadcast start time and/or the broadcast end time span the program recording time period, which means that the broadcast start time and/or the broadcast end time are within the reserved recording time period. The recording section is capable of recording programs broadcast on a plurality of channels and recording the programs based on the first and second recording schedule information.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a configuration of a recording/playing apparatus according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a fully automatic recording schedule.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an EPG.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an auxiliary subscription table.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a recording information table.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a recording setting screen of the time shifter.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a threshold setting screen.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the recording/reproducing apparatus.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a time shifter historical program table.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of generating and displaying a time shifter history program table.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a program column of a failed program in the time shifter history program table.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing another display example of the program bar.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation in a case where any one of "1, before and after each 10 minutes (fixed)", "2, before and after each 30 minutes (fixed)", and "3, before and after each 60 minutes (fixed)" is set on the threshold value setting screen in fig. 7.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing an operation in a case where "4, 20 minutes or less in total before and after", "5, 30 minutes or less in total before and after", and "6, 60 minutes or less in total before and after" are set in the threshold setting screen of fig. 7.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing an operation in a case where "7, setting for each program time length" is set in the threshold setting screen of fig. 7.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing an operation in the case where "8, set for recording time zone length" is set on the threshold setting screen in fig. 7.

Detailed Description

The embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device of an embodiment.

The electronic device of the embodiment is a recording/playing device 1 (see fig. 1) connected to the storage device 67, the display 26, and the speaker 36, and capable of recording (recording) and playing back an arbitrary number of programs broadcast by a broadcast carrier, for example, in an arbitrary time slot. The recording/playing apparatus 1 may be a recorder (referred to as a "BD recorder") equipped with a drive device for recording/playing a recording medium (such as a blu-ray disc) or a television apparatus having a built-in recorder function. In addition, the television device may be a Personal Computer (PC) capable of receiving programs or a portable terminal device having a display section.

Further, the program may be content distributed by a distribution operator through a network or the like. In addition, the program may also be content prepared by an information providing source so as to be able to be acquired based on a predetermined condition when accessed by a user. Further, programs are sometimes also referred to as streams or information. In addition, the program is composed of an image and sound or music attached to the image. The video includes at least one of a moving image and a still image or text (text represented by an encoded character string or information represented by a symbol or the like).

As shown in fig. 1, the recording/playing device 1 includes an input unit (tuner unit) 11, a signal processing unit (TS separation unit) 12, an image processing module 21, an audio processing module 31, a main control module 51, and the like.

The main control block 51 includes a CPU (main processing circuit) 52, a ROM (read only memory) 53, a RAM (random access memory (work memory)) 54, an NVM (nonvolatile (rewritable) memory) 55, a recording/playing processing section 56 as a recording section, a program information acquiring section 57, a program table generating section 58, a reservation control section 59, a program determining section 60, and the like. The main control block 51 is connected to an operation unit 61, a reception unit 62, a communication interface 63, a network control unit 64, USB interfaces 65 and 66, an HDMI interface 68, a storage device 67, and the like, which will be described later, and controls their respective operations. Further, the interface is abbreviated as "I/F" in FIG. 1. HDMI is a registered trademark.

The input unit 11 is connected to an antenna ANT and receives a program, which is a broadcast signal, which may be any one of a spatial wave, for example, a terrestrial wave from a transmission station, or a satellite wave relayed by a broadcast satellite (bs) or a communication satellite cs (communication satellite), that is, any one of a spatial wave, a terrestrial wave, and a satellite wave. The input unit 11 also receives external input content (program) via, for example, an STB (Set Top Box). The input unit 11 can also acquire images provided by a camera, for example.

The input unit 11 has seven tuners capable of selecting programs of seven channels, for example. Each tuner includes a three-wave tuner capable of selecting any one of terrestrial/BS/CS digital broadcast programs, and can be assigned to automatic scheduled recording (loop recording) based on a time-shift function, individual scheduled recording (normal recording) based on a desired program, or the like by performing assignment setting. That is, at least one triple-wave tuner may be included in the tuners, and different tuners may be allocated for loop recording or allocated for normal recording according to settings.

In this example, a description is given of a setting example in which six of seven channels are assigned to loop recording and the remaining one channel is assigned to normal recording. In other words, in a setting in which the input unit 11 has seven tuners capable of selecting programs of seven channels, six of the seven channels may be assigned to the loop recording, and the remaining one may be assigned to the normal recording. Further, the input unit 11 can receive (select) programs beyond the existing channel by adding a tuner.

The signal processing unit (TS separation unit) 12 separates a program, which is broadcast of an arbitrary channel received and selected by the input unit 11, into a TS (Transport Stream), which is a Video signal (Video), an Audio signal (Audio), and control information. Further, the control information includes: for example, the allocation rule of the TS (stream), the content of the TS (Program description), Program arrangement Information, which is PSI (Program Specific Information) or SI (Service Information) describing Information such as a broadcast schedule or a rebroadcast Program, and the like.

The Video signal (Video) is decoded by the Video decoder 22 of the Video processing block 21 and output as a digital Video signal (Video output). Further, a display unit (monitor) 26 is connected to the video processing block 21. In addition, the display 26 may be provided separately from the recording and playing apparatus 1.

The Video processing module 21 includes a Video (Video) decoder 22, a Video (Video) processing unit 23, an OSD (On Screen Display) processing unit 24, a Display control unit 25, and the like.

The Video processing unit 23 converts the digital Video signal (Video) decoded by the Video decoder 22 into a predetermined resolution and output mode that can be displayed (played) by the display 26.

The OSD processing unit 24 outputs a program guide display signal based on the program guide data generated by the program guide generation unit 58, which will be described later, to the display control unit 25 so that the display control unit 25 can superimpose and display the program guide display signal and the Video signal (Video) output to the display 26.

The video signal superimposed on the program-list display signal may be a black-screen display signal used for GUI (Graphical User Interface) display, for example. The program table display signal may be generated as part of a screen display that can be displayed on the display 26 based on a Video signal (Video).

The display control unit 25 converts the video signal converted by the video processing unit 23 into a display drive signal that can be appropriately displayed (played back) on the display 26. The Display control unit 25 also superimposes an OSD (On Screen Display) signal from the OSD processing unit 24 On the Display drive signal from the video processing unit 23. Further, the output of the display control section 25 may be output to, for example, an output terminal 27, and an external monitor device or a projection device (projector device) connected to the outside may be connected to the output terminal 27.

The Audio processing module 31 includes an Audio (Audio) decoder 32, an Audio (Audio) processing unit 33, a delay unit 34, a D-a (digital to analog) converter 35, and the like. In addition, a speaker 36 is connected to the sound processing module 31. In addition, the speaker 36 may be integrated with or separated from the recording and playing device 1.

The Audio processing unit 33 converts the Audio signal (Audio) decoded by the Audio decoder 32 into a predetermined format that can be appropriately played by the speaker 36. The sound signal is further converted into an analog sound output signal by a D-a converter 35. Thus, when the speaker 36 is connected to the D-a converter 35, the speaker 36 outputs audible sound (analog sound (Audio) output).

Further, the output of the D-a converter 35 may be branched to an output terminal 37 to which, for example, an AV (Audio Visual) amplifier or the like can be connected. In addition, the delay section 34 corresponding to the content type gives a predetermined delay (time) to the sound signal input to the D-a converter 35. For example, when the content is a game, the size (length) of the delay (time) specified by the delay unit 34 is smaller (shorter) than the size (length) of the delay (time) applied when the program is played.

The operation section 61 is a direct operation by the user (the operation section 61 receives the direct operation by the user), and inputs a control command to the main control block 51, the control command corresponding to, for example, an EPG (electronic program guide) display for viewing and recording a scheduled program, a television broadcast (program) channel (broadcasting station) selected from the EPG (electronic program guide), a recording start (REC) of a program, a program list display (history program table) for playing a program which has been recorded, a selection (direction indication of up, down, left, and right) or a PLAY start (PLAY) for playing a recorded program from the history program table, and the like.

The receiving section 62 inputs a command into the main control module 51, the command corresponding to: an instruction (operation input) from the remote controller 71 (hereinafter referred to as "remote controller 71"), such as selection (channel selection) of a channel (broadcast station), recording start (REC), PLAY (PLAY) of a recorded program, PAUSE (PAUSE), trick PLAY, menu display, or the like.

Further, the remote controller 71 includes corresponding "blue" key 71B, "red" key 71R, "green" key 71G, and "yellow" key 71Y for inputting a control instruction corresponding to a color button display described later.

The communication interface 63 enables Wireless communication with a short-range Wireless communication apparatus compliant with, for example, a WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) standard or the like. As the Near Field Communication standard, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard, NFC (Near Field Communication), or the like can be used.

The communication interface 63 may be any one of a wired and wireless communication system, for example, a communication unit (reader/writer) 81 capable of performing non-contact communication with a card medium of a wireless communication system is connected to the communication interface 63, and the communication unit 81 may be a separate interface capable of performing wireless and wired signal transmission and reception with a wireless keyboard, a mouse, and the like, that is, the communication unit 81 may be another interface capable of performing wireless and wired signal transmission and reception with a wireless keyboard, a mouse, and the like, for example.

The Network control unit 64 controls access to the external Network NTW, transmission of input information for acquiring information from various servers such as a TimeOn server and an SNS (Social Network Service) server on the external Network NTW, acquisition (reception) of information, and the like. The network control unit 64 controls access to the external network NTW, and also controls transmission and acquisition (reception) of input information for acquiring information from various servers on the external network NTW.

The USB interfaces 65 and 66 can use the storage devices 6 and 7(USB connection type hard disk drives: USB HDDs) corresponding to the USB standard or external devices such as a keyboard. These storage devices 6 and 7 can use the storage area in various ways according to the setting.

For example, in the storage device 6 connected to the USB interface 65, a time shift function (entire program recording function: also referred to as "full-automatic recording function" or "loop recording function") for recording all programs of a specific channel (broadcast carrier or distribution carrier) and a predetermined time zone designated by the user may be performed for a certain period of time.

In addition, the storage device 7 connected to the USB interface 66 can perform scheduled recording or manual recording of programs individually specified by the user from an Electronic Program Guide (EPG). In this example, an example in which two external storage devices are connected has been described, but a combination of an internal storage device and an external storage device may be used, and three or more external storage devices may be connected. That is, in the above example, the storage device 7 is described only by taking the example of connecting two external storage devices, but in other realizable forms, the storage device 7 may be a combination of an internal storage device and an external storage device, or may also be three or more external storage devices, and will not be described in detail here.

The HDMI Interface 68 allows wired communication between devices using the HDMI (High-definition Digital Media Interface) standard or the MHL (Mobile High-definition Link) standard.

A recorder that records a program independently of the recording/playing device 1, or another recorder or television device connected to a home server in a home network using the home server is connected to the HDMI interface 68.

Thus, the programs (video data including audio) received by the recording/reproducing apparatus 1 and recorded in the storage devices 6 and 7 can be viewed by another television apparatus connected to the home server. In addition, the recording and playing apparatus 1 can play a program recorded by a recorder or another recorder connected to the home server.

The storage device 67 stores a full-automatic recording schedule table 67a (see fig. 2) for performing scheduled recording by the full-automatic recording function, an auxiliary recording schedule table 67b (see fig. 4), and a recording information table 67c (see fig. 5) as attribute information of a recorded program.

The full-automatic recording schedule table 67a functions as a first recording schedule information storage unit in which recording schedule information (first recording schedule information) for designating a time slot to collectively schedule recording of programs broadcast on a plurality of channels is stored. The auxiliary recording schedule table 67b functions as a second recording schedule information storage section that stores auxiliary recording schedule information for assisting the start/end of scheduled recording of the recording schedule information of the full-automatic recording schedule table 67 a.

The information of these tables is set based on the broadcast information of the program extracted from the EPG data acquired by the program information acquisition section 57, that is, the information in these tables is each set based on the broadcast information of the program extracted from the EPG data acquired by the program information acquisition section 57. Note that the registration/deletion of the recording reservation information and the like are handled by a reservation control unit 59 described later (the reservation control unit 59 registers/deletes the recording reservation information and the like).

As shown in fig. 2, in the automatic recording schedule table 67a, a time zone designated by the timer-recorder recording setting screen 90 of fig. 6 is set. That is, the time zone determined on the timer recording setting screen 90 shown in fig. 6 is set in the automatic recording reservation table 67 a. In this example, the recording start time is set to 19:00 and the recording end time is set to 22:00, and in the EGP201 of fig. 3, the time zone of the full-automatic recording target is 7 PM (the start of the time zone of "PM 7" of fig. 6) to 10 PM (the end of the time zone of "PM 9" of fig. 6).

As shown in fig. 4, recording schedule information of a program whose broadcast time spans the time period specified by the fully-automatic recording schedule table 67a is stored in the auxiliary schedule table 67 b. That is, the recording schedule information of the program whose broadcast time spans the schedule time period specified by the full-automatic recording schedule table 67a is stored in the auxiliary schedule table 67 b. The broadcast time of the program spanning the reserved time period specified by the full-automatic recording reservation table 67a may mean that the broadcast start time and/or the broadcast end time of the program are not within the reserved time period specified by the full-automatic recording reservation table 67 a. In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the broadcast (broadcast time) spans a time period (reserved time period), and each of the broadcast (broadcast time) and the broadcast end time is not within the time period (reserved time period).

In this example, the broadcast of the program "variety a" of the program ID "30022" spans the recording start time "19: 00" in the full-automatic recording time period of the recording reservation on the recording day "2018/9/4", and therefore the reserve to trace back the recording is set to advance the recording start time of the channel to the broadcast start time "18: 50" of the program "variety a" to start the recording. In the auxiliary schedule table 67b, the broadcast end time of the program "variety a" does not cross the recording end time of the full-automatic recording time zone, and is thus written as no setting "-". In the case where "-" is not set, since recording is prioritized over the time period of the full-automatic recording schedule table 67a, the recording time of the channel becomes from the broadcast start time "18: 50" to the recording end time "22: 00".

In addition, the broadcast of the program "movie B" of the program ID "30043" ends in the recording end time "22: 00" in the full-automatic recording time period of the recording reservation on the recording day "2018/9/4" and in the broadcast end time "22: 30", so the reservation for extended recording is set to delay the recording end time of the channel to "22: 30" to end the recording. In the sub-schedule table 67B, the broadcast start time of the program "movie B" does not cross the recording start time of the full-automatic recording period, and is therefore written as no setting "-". In the case where "-" is not set, since recording is prioritized over the time period of the full-automatic recording schedule table 67a, the recording time of the channel becomes from the broadcast start time "19: 00" to the recording end time "22: 30".

Further, since the broadcast of the program "special program C" of the program ID "30062" crosses the recording start time "19: 00" and the recording end time "22: 00" in the full-automatic recording time zone of the recording reservation on the recording day "2018/9/4", respectively, the reservation for retroactive recording is set to advance the recording start time of the channel to the broadcast start time "18: 30" of the program "special program C", and the reservation for extended recording is set to delay the recording end time to the broadcast end time "23: 00" of the program "special program C".

In addition, the storage device 67 stores (stores) a recording schedule table (not shown) for scheduled recording of an individual program, which is a recording of a channel (or a program name) specified by the user at a date and time and is recorded in units of programs, in other words, a recording schedule table (not shown) for scheduled recording of an individual program, which is a recording of a channel (or a program name) specified by the user at a date and time specified by the user in units of programs. The recording schedule information includes a program ID, a title, a channel, a recording format, a recording time zone (recording start time, recording end time), and the like.

As shown in fig. 5, the recording information table 67c stores attribute information related to the recording contents of programs actually recorded in the storage devices 6 and 7.

In this example, the title of the program, the recording date, the broadcast time (broadcast start time, broadcast end time) of the program on the EPG, the recording time (recording start time, recording end time) of the fully automatically recorded program, the establishment flag, and the like are stored in association with the program ID. In addition, the recording information table 67c stores channels, recording formats, text data of program fields, and the like.

In addition, the storage device 67 stores in advance a condition that the program is not established (incomplete) as content. For convenience of description, the "condition that a program is not satisfied (incomplete) as a content" may be simply referred to as "condition" below, where the program is not satisfied as a content and may mean that the content of the program is incomplete. As an example of the condition, for example, a case where an actual time zone (recording start time, recording end time) in which a program is actually recorded does not coincide with a broadcast time zone (broadcast start time, broadcast end time) of a program on an electronic program table in which a program is scheduled to be recorded, or a case where a time difference of the inconsistency is equal to or greater than an allowable value when the allowable value is set (a case where a time difference of equal to or greater than a certain time is generated at the recording start time or the recording end time) may be mentioned.

In addition, as the conditions, for example, a case where a part of the program includes an unrecorded part due to a radio wave failure or the like during broadcasting of the program (a part of the program cannot be recorded due to a signal failure or the like), a case where a user operation that affects recording occurs during recording of the program, or the like is included. The user operation affecting the recording is, for example, a case where the setting recorded by the time shifter is switched from "use" to "non-use" in the middle of the program, a case where the setting is reversed, or a case where the recording mode is changed during the recording, or the like.

In addition, there is also a hardware disadvantage. That is, the aforementioned conditions include, for example, any of a case where the B-CAS card is not inserted, a case where the antenna is not connected, a case where reception is poor, a case where a program is prohibited from being recorded, and a case where a part of an unconsigned program of the pay broadcast is recorded in a playable state.

The storage device 67 stores externally rewritable information such as contract information on the pay channel, update information referred to by the CPU52 (main control block 51), and an update program or copy control information corresponding to the update information. That is, the storage device 67 is also used to store externally rewritable information including contract information of the pay channel, update information referred to by the CPU52 (main control block 51), and update programs or copy control information corresponding to the update information. The storage device 67 is, for example, in the form of a card or any other portable shape, and can be attached to and detached from a card slot provided in the recording/playing device 1.

Specifically, the apparatus is provided with a card slot for receiving a recording medium for viewing terrestrial digital broadcasting such as a B-CAS card or pay broadcasting, and the recording medium is received in the card slot so as to be viewable. The loading and unloading of the storage medium is detected by the main control block 51.

The main control block 51 executes processing corresponding to an input signal or a control signal in a work area provided by the RAM54, under the control of the CPU52, based on a control program stored in the ROM 53.

The CPU52 (main control block 51) controls the recording/playback processing section 56, the program information acquisition section 57, the program table generation section 58, and the reservation control section 59 based on the operation information (control input) from the operation section 61 or the operation information (control input) from the remote controller 71 received by the reception section 62. The CPU52 also writes various setting information and management information and the like relating to other recorders or television apparatuses connected to the home server in the home network into the NVM 55.

The CPU52 controls the recording/playback processing unit 56 based on, for example, an operation instruction (control input) from the user or recording reservation information for reserving recording, and records (records) the video signal and the audio signal output from the video decoder 22 and the audio decoder 32 in the storage devices 6 and 7 on the previously designated side.

The CPU52 controls the program information acquisition section 57 in accordance with a program or application stored in the NVM55 or the ROM53 or firmware of the CPU52 to acquire various information (attribute information) related to a program.

The Program Information acquiring unit 57 acquires Program attribute Information such as viewing restriction age Information, EPG (electronic Program guide) Information, or a rebroadcast Program from, for example, PSI (Program Specific Information) or SI (Service Information) among the control Information pertaining to the TS separated by the signal processing unit (TS separating unit) 12. EPG (electronic program guide) information includes the broadcast start time, broadcast end time, title of a program, content of the program, name of a performer, and the like of the program.

In addition, the program information acquisition section 57 acquires program information (broadcast schedule) for, for example, eight days for programs of all channels (broadcast stations) receivable by the input section 11, and stores the program information in, for example, the RAM54, the NVM55, or the storage device 67.

When recording the video signal, the audio signal, and the like in the storage devices 6 and 7, the recording/playback processing unit 56 performs encryption processing on the video signal, the audio signal, and the like, and then converts the signals into a predetermined recording format. In response to an instruction input from the remote controller 71 or the like based on a user operation, the recording/playback processing unit 56 reads out a desired video signal, a desired audio signal, and the like from the storage devices 6 and 7, decodes the signals, and outputs the decoded signals to the video decoder 22 and the audio decoder 32.

The recording/playback processing unit 56 is capable of recording programs broadcast on a plurality of channels, and recording the programs based on recording schedule information such as the full-automatic recording schedule table 67a and the sub-schedule table 67b (hereinafter referred to as "full-automatic recording" or "time-shift-machine recording").

More specifically, the recording/playback processing unit 56 refers to the recording schedule information, starts recording in any of the preset storage devices 6 and 7 at the recording start time, and ends recording at the end time. The record/playback processing unit 56 stores attribute information (recording information of a recorded program) about a target program in the recording information table 67c of the storage device 67 at the time of recording (recording).

That is, the recording/playback processing unit 56 functions as a recording unit that records programs scheduled to be recorded in a time slot and/or programs for which recording times are specified in the auxiliary schedule table 67b into the storage devices 6 and 7, and stores attribute information of each recorded (recorded) program into the storage device 67. The storage device 67 functions as a program information storage unit that stores program information, which is attribute information of each program recorded (recorded).

The attribute information is substantially the same as recording schedule information such as a program ID, a title, a channel, a recording format, and a time zone (start time, end time), that is, the attribute information is similar to the recording schedule information, and the broadcast start time and the broadcast end time of EPG (electronic program guide) information acquired by the program information acquiring unit 57, and the actual recording start time and the actual recording end time of a part of the attribute information are recorded in the recording information table 67c (see fig. 5) for each program ID. Further, the contents on the recording information table 67c will be explained later (in subsequent embodiments) with reference to fig. 5.

The program table generating section 58 generates program table data (EPG data) for program table display displayed on the display 26 via the OSD processing section 24 based on EPG (electronic program table) information acquired by the program information acquiring section 57 under the control of the CPU52 by a user performing an EPG (electronic program table) display operation at the time of program viewing or recording reservation. The generated program table data (EPG data) is converted into a program table display signal by the OSD processing section 24 and output by the display control section 25.

The program table generating unit 58 generates program table data (time shift history program table data) for displaying the recorded program table displayed on the display 26 via the OSD processing unit 24 based on the attribute information of the recorded program acquired by the program information acquiring unit 57 and the recording information of the recording information table 67c (see fig. 5) by the user performing a time shift history program table display operation at the time of playing the program or the like. That is, if the user performs the time shifter history program table display operation at the time of playing the program or the like, the program table generating section 58 generates the program table data for display by the display 26 via the OSD processing section 24 based on the attribute information and the recording information.

When generating the program table data, the program table generating unit 58 adds a mark (for example, a symbol such as a triangular mark or an extension mark, or a character) indicating that the content of the program is not established (incomplete) to the program column of the program having the establishment flag "1" in the recording information table 67c, which satisfies the condition, among the program columns included in the data, and displays the mark. That is, a mark indicating that the program is not established (incomplete) as content is added to and displayed in the program field that meets the condition.

The OSD processing unit 24 converts the time shifter history program table data into a program table display signal, outputs the program table display signal to the display 26 via the display control unit 25, and displays the program table as a time shifter history program table 301 (see fig. 9) on the screen of the display 26. That is, the program table display signal is displayed on the screen of the display 26 as the time shifter history program table 301.

The time shifter history program table data is a list for playing back recorded programs, which has one or more program fields 221, 222, 223 … (see fig. 9) for displaying program information (contents of programs, and partial information of EPG (electronic program guide) information such as a performer) including titles (program names) of playable recorded programs based on the recording information of the recording information table 67c in which attribute information (program information at the time of recording programs) of recorded programs is stored. The time shifter history program table 301 shown in fig. 9 is an example of a display mode in which the list is displayed in a tabular form in vertical and horizontal program columns. In the time shifter history program table 301, even programs exceeding the range of the time period recorded in the full automatic recording mode are normally recorded as indicated by a block line 310.

On the other hand, in the recording/playing device 1, although some programs can be saved by tracing back and extending the recording time, there are cases where a program satisfying a condition that the program is not established is recorded as a program whose content is not established. In this case, as shown in fig. 11, a mark 303 indicating that the program is not established as the content is added to the program column 302 of the program satisfying the condition among the plurality of program columns. That is, in the plurality of program fields shown in fig. 11, a mark 303 indicating that the program is not established as the content is added to the program field 302 corresponding to the program satisfying the condition.

The program determining unit 60 reads out the condition that the program stored in the storage unit 67 is not established, determines whether or not the recorded program satisfies the read-out condition, and records a flag indicating the determination result in the recording information table 67c in a column of the establishment flag of the program ID. The flag is "1" when the condition that the program is not satisfied is satisfied, and is "0" when the condition is not satisfied. The conditions may be set in advance in the program determination unit 60 without being stored in the storage device 67. In this case, the program determination unit 60 determines whether or not the content of the program is not established (incomplete) by determining whether or not the recording information of the recorded program satisfies a predetermined condition.

Under the control of the CPU52, the reservation control section 59 accepts a recording reservation for reserving recording of an individual program in an EPG (program table) output to the display 26 via the OSD processing section 24 based on EPG data generated by the program table generating section 58, and then generates recording reservation information and stores the recording reservation information in the storage device 67. That is, the reservation control section 59 may generate and store recording reservation information in the storage device 67 after a user instruction (operation input) for an individual program in an EPG (program guide) is made as a recording reservation operation for reserving recording of the program.

Specifically, the reservation control section 59 sets the time zone of the operation input in the full-automatic recording reservation table 67a (see fig. 2). In addition to this, the recording schedule information may be stored in the RAM54 or the NVM 55.

The recording schedule information in the full-automatic recording schedule table 67a is used for recording a time zone (recording start time and recording end time) in which the broadcast processing unit 56 records programs of all channels at once. As an option, it is also possible to choose not to record a part of the channels. In addition, although an example is shown in which a pair of time periods of the start time and the end time is used for the recording schedule information of the full-automatic recording schedule table 67a, a plurality of tables may be prepared and a plurality of time periods may be set. That is, although only one full-automatic recording schedule table is shown above, a plurality of full-automatic recording schedule tables may be provided and different time periods may be set in actual use.

In addition, the reservation control section 59 sets recording reservation information of a program that needs to be corrected in a time zone of the full-automatic recording reservation (first recording reservation information) in the auxiliary reservation table 67 b. Auxiliary recording reservation information (second recording reservation information) for correcting (assisting) the start/end of the scheduled recording for each channel (each program) for the full-automatic recording reservation (first recording reservation information) is stored in the auxiliary reservation table 67 b.

Specifically, the reservation control section 59 extracts the broadcast information (the broadcast start time and the broadcast end time of the program) of the program from the program data (EPG information) of the scheduled broadcast acquired by the program information acquisition section 57 at the time of startup or at a predetermined time interval, compares the broadcast information with the recording start time and/or the recording end time of the time slot of the full-automatic recording reservation, generates the auxiliary recording reservation information (the second recording reservation information) for correcting the recording start time and/or the recording end time of the scheduled recording of the program broadcast over the time slot of the full-automatic recording reservation to the broadcast time of the program, and stores the auxiliary recording reservation information in the auxiliary reservation table 67 b. That is, the reservation control section 59 generates the auxiliary recording reservation information for correcting the recording start time and/or the recording end time of the reserved recording to the broadcast start time and/or the broadcast end time of the program and then storing the same in the auxiliary reservation table 67b when the recording start time and/or the recording end time of the reserved recording is not within the time period from the broadcast start time to the broadcast end time.

The reservation control section 59 generates the auxiliary recording reservation information in which the broadcast start time of the program that starts before the recording start time in the time slot set in the all-automatic recording reservation table 67a is set as the recording start time, and sets the auxiliary recording reservation information in the auxiliary reservation table 67 b.

The reservation control unit 59 generates the sub-recording reservation information in which the broadcast end time of the program that ends after the recording end time in the time slot set in the full-automatic recording reservation table 67a is set as the recording end time, and sets the sub-recording reservation information in the sub-reservation table 67 b.

When the interval time length between the recording time of the time slot of the full-automatic recording schedule table 67a and the broadcast time of the program is within the preset allowable time length (threshold time M), the schedule control section 59 generates the auxiliary recording schedule information for correcting the scheduled recording information (recording start time, recording end time) of the full-automatic recording schedule table 67a, and does not generate the auxiliary recording schedule information, that is, does not generate the second recording schedule information, when the allowable time length is exceeded.

Each, at least one, or any number of the recording/reproducing processing unit 56, the program information acquiring unit 57, the program table generating unit 58, the reservation controlling unit 59, and the program determining unit 60 may be firmware of the CPU 52.

The CPU52 accepts operation inputs from the remote controller 71 on the screen displayed on the display 26, the operation inputs of the remote controller 71 corresponding to color button displays ("blue" button display, "red" button display, "green" button display, and "yellow" button display: not shown) that accept operation inputs for specific functions, respectively. That is, the CPU52 determines that an operation of any one of the "blue" key 71B, the "red" key 71R, the "green" key 71G, and the "yellow" key 71Y of the remote controller 71 is an instruction corresponding to a button of a specific color displayed on the screen, and receives an instruction corresponding to an operation input of the key.

Here, two program tables (a program table for broadcast viewing and recording reservation and a program table for viewing of recorded programs) generated by the program table generating unit 58 will be described. Fig. 3 shows a display example of an EPG (program table of programs broadcast now and in the future: future program table) corresponding to the program table data (EPG information) generated by the program table generating section 58.

As shown in fig. 3, a channel display field 201 and 206 (channel axis), a time period display field 210 (time axis), and the like that display programs broadcast by a predetermined number of channels (broadcast stations) are provided in the EPG 200. In addition, although not shown, the EPG201 is provided with a date switching label, page switching buttons for each color (a "blue" button, a "red" button, a "green" button, a "yellow" button), a current date and time display field, and the like. The display fields specified by the channel and time period are program fields, also called program units.

In this example, since the time slot set in the full-automatic recording schedule table 67a is 19:00 to 22:00, the range of the frame line 220 of the EPG200 becomes a full-automatic recording target, and the programs of the time slot are all recorded.

However, in the present embodiment, the reservation control section 59 automatically sets the auxiliary reservation table 67b so as to prevent the beginning and/or end of the program from being pinched during the original full-automatic recording, since the broadcast time of the program in the program fields 221 to 223 spans the time period and the beginning and/or end of the program will not be recorded.

In addition, since the EPG200 displays the next menu by selecting and operating a desired program field among the program fields by the remote controller 71, the program can be viewed or recorded by making a reservation (individual recording reservation) by performing an operation to view or record the program from the menu.

Here, the setting of the full-automatic recording will be described with reference to fig. 6 and 7. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of the recorder recording setting screen 90. Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a threshold setting menu screen linked to the time shifter recording setting screen 90. As shown in fig. 6, the time shift recording setting screen 90 is provided with a series of weeks ranging from sunday to saturday in the horizontal direction and time rows ranging from 0 hour to 23 hours in the vertical direction. When the user selects the table in which these week columns and time rows intersect with each other with the remote controller 71, the time period for the full-automatic recording can be designated for a specific day of each week (for example, monday of each week), or the time period for the full-automatic recording can be designated or not designated for different days of the week, which is the reserved time period.

A setting button 93 and a setting end button 94 for recording threshold values are provided on the lower part of the screen. The recording threshold setting button 93 is a button for setting the time (threshold time: M) of the threshold for which the user permits recording, and the threshold setting menu screen 96 of fig. 7 is displayed by selecting and operating this button 93.

The setting end button 94 is a button for saving the current setting and ending the setting screen. A slide bar 95 is provided at the right end of the screen. By sliding the slide bar 95, a part of the screen beyond the time line can be displayed.

In this example, the user sets 19:00 from sunday to saturday as the recording start time and 22:00 as the recording end time using the remote controller 71. Here, the same time is set for all the days of the week, but the recording start time and the recording end time may be set for a specific day of the week.

Additionally, a time period 92 (frame of the grid) of one hour from 1:00 is the system maintenance time. This is a time for performing maintenance of sorting recorded programs or automatically deleted programs and then reconstructing them so as to be able to be distributed or the like. The system maintenance time can be changed from the other menu screen by the user.

Fig. 7 shows a threshold setting menu screen 96 linked to a recording threshold setting button 93. When a setting button 93 for recording threshold is pressed on the time shift recording setting screen 90, a threshold setting menu screen 96 is displayed. The threshold setting menu screen 96 is displayed by the reservation control section 59. The threshold setting menu screen 96 is a screen for the user to select and set a desired "threshold time".

On the threshold setting menu screen 96, several setting items for the user to select and specify the threshold time, which is the allowable value of the recording time, a radio button 97 for specifying a desired setting item from among the setting items, and a setting end button 98 provided at the lowermost layer are displayed.

The user-specified radio button 97 may specify a desired "threshold time" and specify a color-changing radio button 97. In this example, "within 30 minutes (fixed)" before and after 2 is set. The set value of the threshold time is stored in the storage device 67. The set value of the threshold time is a condition for reading out and generating the auxiliary recording reservation information by the reservation control section 59.

The setting items "1" to "3" can set a threshold value within M minutes (fixed) before and after the setting. The item "1." is set to M minutes within 10 minutes before and after designation, the item "2." is set to M minutes within 30 minutes before and after designation, and the item "3." is set to M minutes within 60 minutes before and after designation. By designating any one of these setting items, the recording of the channel (program) is executed by tracing back to within M minutes from the recording start time when the full-automatic recording is scheduled. In addition, the recording of the channel (program) is performed after the recording end time is extended to within M minutes. That is, by designating any one of these setting items, it is possible to execute recording of the channel (program) from within M minutes before the scheduled recording start time to within M minutes after the scheduled recording end time.

A threshold value of "4" to "6" of the items is set so that "within M minutes in total before and after" can be set, and recording is performed as long as the sum of the time during which recording can be traced back from the recording start time and the time during which recording can be extended from the recording end time is within M minutes. The setting item "7" can set a threshold "set for each program time length", and determines a time for tracing back the recording (for example, a time of half the program time length) based on the time length of the program crossing the recording start time. Similarly, the extended recording time is determined based on the duration of the program that spans the end of the recording.

The setting item "8" can set a threshold "set by recording period length". (e.g., 30 minutes if a 3 hour period, or 50 minutes if a 5 hour period).

The "user-settable threshold" is set as the item "9", and the user can set the threshold time freely.

The item "10" is set without setting the threshold time as the allowable time period, i.e., "no threshold value" is specified. The initial value in the case where the user does not specify the allowable time period is set to "no threshold" of the setting item "10".

The setting end button 98 is a button for saving the current setting, ending the setting screen, and returning to the previous screen.

In this example, the selection is performed by the radio button 97, but other selection methods such as a pull-down menu format and others may be used.

The recording operation of the recording/reproducing apparatus 1 will be described below with reference to a flowchart of fig. 8. In the recording and playing device 1, the recording and playing processing unit 56 reads the recording schedule information of the full-automatic recording schedule table 67a and the sub-schedule table 67b of the storage device 67 at the time of startup or at predetermined time intervals (for example, 10 minute intervals) (step S101 in fig. 8).

In addition, the program information acquisition section 57 acquires EPG information (step S102).

The reservation control unit 59 extracts the broadcast information (the start time and the end time of the program) of the program from the acquired EPG information, and checks whether or not there is a program at the recording start time and/or the recording end time of the broadcast time slot that spans the read full-automatic recording reservation information (step S103).

As a result of this confirmation, in the case where there is a program that broadcasts a recording start time and/or a recording end time that spans a time period, auxiliary recording reservation information that corrects the start time and/or the end time of the reserved recording to the broadcast start time and/or the end time of the program is generated (step S104) and stored in the auxiliary reservation table 67 b.

When the recording start time of the recording schedule information such as the full-automatic recording schedule table 67a and the sub-schedule table 67b is reached, the recording/playback processing unit 56 records the program of the channel. That is, the recording/playback processing unit 56 records based on the recording schedule information (step S105). At this time, the programs scheduled for pre-recording are recorded in the storage devices 6 and 7, and the attribute information of each program is stored in the recording information table 67c of the storage device 67.

When the recording is completed, the program determination unit 60 reads out the attribute information of the program stored in the storage unit 67 and the condition that the program is not established from the storage unit 67, compares the attribute information with the attribute information of the recorded program, and determines whether or not the recorded program satisfies the condition that the program is not established (step S106). In addition, the determination may be performed all the time during the recording.

As a result of the determination, when the condition that the program is not satisfied (no in step S106), the program determination unit 60 records the establishment flag of the program ID of the program in the recording information table 67c as "0" (step S107).

As a result of the determination, when the condition that the program is not satisfied is satisfied (yes in step S106), the program determination unit 60 records the establishment flag of the program ID of the program in the recording information table 67c as "1" (step S108).

Next, an operation performed when the user views a content (recorded program) recorded by the recording and playing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to fig. 9 and 10. Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of display of a time shifter history program table (program table of recorded programs: time shifter history program table) corresponding to the program table data (time shifter history program table data) generated by the program table generating unit 58, and fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of generating and displaying the time shifter history program table.

When the user views the recorded program, the user operates the remote controller 71 to instruct the time shifter history program table 301 (see fig. 9) to be displayed (step S110 in fig. 10).

In the recording/playing apparatus 1, when receiving the instruction from the remote controller 71 (yes in step S111), the program table generating section 58 refers to the recording information table 67c, generates the selection screen of the full-automatic recorded program, i.e., the data of the shift history program table (step S112), and outputs the data to the display 26 through the OSD processing section 24 and the display control section 25 (step S113).

Thereby, the time shifter history program table 301 (see fig. 9) is displayed on the display 26.

As shown in fig. 9, the time shifter history program table 301 is a table showing recorded programs in a cell format on the vertical axis (channel) and the horizontal axis (time), and has one or more program columns. The time shifter history program table 301 displays program columns of past recorded programs in substantially the same manner as the EPG200 shown in fig. 3.

In the time shifter history program table 301, a desired program field can be selected from a plurality of program fields by the remote controller 71, and then a recorded program can be played and viewed.

Here, a description will be given of a display method in a case where a program whose content is not established exists among recorded programs, with reference to fig. 11 and 12. In the recording/reproducing apparatus 1, when generating a program field of a recorded program that can be reproduced, the program table generating unit 58 refers to the recording information table 67c, and generates time-shift-machine history program table data to which a flag 303 (see fig. 11) indicating that the program is not satisfied as a content is added to a program field 302 of a program whose satisfaction flag is "1" in which a condition that does not satisfy the condition is satisfied in the program field. That is, when generating a program field of a playable recorded program, the program table generating unit 58 adds a mark 303 (see fig. 11) indicating that the content of the program is not satisfied to the program field 302 of the program satisfying the condition.

In the time shifter history program table displayed on the screen of the display 26, as shown in fig. 11, a mark 303 is displayed in a program column 302 of a program satisfying an unsatisfied condition, and when the user sees the mark 303, the program can be determined at a glance as a program whose content is not satisfied.

In this example, when a part of a program cannot be recorded, a triangular mark 303 is displayed in the program column 302, but in addition to this, for example, when an arbitrary 1 program is interrupted entirely for external reasons, as shown in fig. 12, "< (|) that the time shift recorder recording cannot be performed may be added to the program column 304 and displayed. > "etc. text message 305. Thus, in the time shifter history program table 301, the program column corresponding to the program that cannot be recorded at all is not blank (missing), and the program that cannot be recorded at all can be identified as another unrealistic program, so that the user can know that recording is not performed in the recording time slot specified by the user.

In the above-described embodiment, the operation in the case where "10. no threshold setting" is set in the threshold setting menu screen 96 shown in fig. 7 has been described, and the operation in the case where the setting is performed for each setting item in the threshold setting menu screen 96 shown in fig. 7 will be described below with reference to fig. 13 to 16.

First, with reference to the flowchart of fig. 13, the operation in the case where the radio button 97 is set to the setting item "2" of "●" on the threshold setting menu screen 96 of fig. 7, and before and after each 30 minutes or less (fixed) "will be described. In the operation in the case of setting the items "1.", "3." the threshold time M is different between 10 minutes and 60 minutes, and therefore, the threshold time M may be read again from the description of the setting item "2.", and the description of the setting items "1.", "3." is omitted.

In the recording/playing apparatus 1, when the threshold (permission condition) of the setting item "2" is set, the reservation control unit 59 determines whether or not there is a program broadcasted beyond the full-automatic recording time from the full-automatic recording time (recording start time, recording end time) set in the full-automatic recording reservation table 67a of fig. 2 and the broadcast information of the program extracted from the EPG information (step S211 of fig. 13). The program broadcasted over the full-automatic recording time may mean that the broadcast start time and/or the broadcast end time are not between the reserved automatic recording start time and the reserved automatic recording end time.

As a result of this determination, if there is a program broadcast over the full-automatic recording time, the reservation control section 59 reads out the preset threshold time M from the storage device 67 (step S212).

Next, the reservation control unit 59 determines whether or not the time of the program broadcast is before the recording start time (step S213).

If the time of the program broadcast is before the recording start time (yes in step S213), the reservation control section 59 determines whether or not the time interval between the time of the program broadcast and the recording start time is within the threshold time M (step S214).

As a result of the determination, when the time interval between the broadcast time of the program and the recording start time is within the threshold time M (yes in step S214), the reservation control section 59 generates the auxiliary recording reservation information so that the recording start time of the program is the broadcast start time of the program, and registers the auxiliary recording reservation information in the auxiliary reservation table 67b (step S215).

As a result of the determination, when the time interval between the broadcast time of the program and the recording start time exceeds the threshold time M (no in step S214), the reservation control unit 59 records the recording information of the program in the recording information table 67c while keeping the reserved recording information unchanged, and sets a flag "1" indicating that the program is not established in the field of the established flag (step S216).

On the other hand, as a result of the determination at step S213, when the time at which the program broadcast ends is after the recording end time (no at step S213, yes at step S217), the reservation control section 59 determines whether or not the interval duration between the time at which the program broadcast ends and the recording end time is within the threshold time M (step S218).

As a result of this determination, when the time interval between the broadcast end time of the program and the recording end time is within the threshold time M (yes in step S218), the reservation control section 59 generates the auxiliary recording reservation information so that the recording end time of the program is the broadcast end time of the program, and registers the auxiliary recording reservation information in the auxiliary reservation table 67b (step S219).

The above process is performed for the programs of all channels, and when all channels are checked (yes at step S220), the processing ends.

Next, with reference to the flowchart of fig. 14, the operation in the case where the setting item "4, 20 minutes or less in total before and after" is selected on the threshold setting menu screen 96 of fig. 7 will be described. In the operation in the case of the setting item "5." "6." the threshold time M is different between 30 minutes and 60 minutes, and therefore, the threshold time M may be read again from the description of the setting item "4.", and the description of the setting item "5.", and "6.", is omitted.

In the recording/playing apparatus 1, when the threshold (permission condition) of the setting item "4" is set, the reservation control unit 59 determines whether or not there is a program broadcasted beyond the full-automatic recording time from the full-automatic recording time (recording start time, recording end time) set in the full-automatic recording reservation table 67a of fig. 2 and the broadcast information of the program extracted from the EPG information (step S230).

As a result of this determination, if there is a program broadcast over the full-automatic recording time, the reservation control unit 59 reads out the preset threshold time M from the storage device 67, and at the same time resets the remaining time R of the counter set in the memory such as the RAM54, that is, sets it to "0" (step S231).

Next, the reservation control unit 59 determines whether or not the program starts broadcasting before the recording start time (step S232).

As a result of this determination, if the time at which the broadcast of the program is started is not before the recording start time, or if the program has not yet been started before the recording start time ("no" in step S232), the reservation control unit 59 sets the threshold time M to the remaining time R, that is, the reservation control unit 59 sets the remaining time R to the threshold time M, where R is equal to M (step S233).

If the program starts before the recording start time as a result of the determination at step S232 (yes at step S232), the reservation control unit 59 then determines whether or not the time interval between the broadcast start time and the recording start time of the program is within the threshold time M. That is, it is determined whether or not the program starts within M minutes before the recording start time (step S234).

As a result of this determination, if the time interval between the time when the broadcast of the program is started and the recording start time is not within the threshold time M, that is, if the program is not started within M minutes (no in step S234), the reservation control section 59 creates a new record of the program ID in the recording information table 67c of the program, and sets a flag "1" indicating that the program is not established therein (step S235).

In addition, as a result of the determination at step S234, if the time interval between the time at which the broadcast of the program is started and the recording start time is within the threshold time M, that is, if the program is started within M minutes (yes at step S234), the reservation control section 59 generates the auxiliary recording reservation information such that the recording start time of the program is the broadcast start time of the program, and registers the auxiliary recording reservation information in the auxiliary reservation table 67 b. Further, the remaining time R of the threshold time M- (recording start time-broadcast start time of the program) is added (set) to the counter (step S236). That is, a counter is set as a remaining time R, where the remaining time R is a threshold time M- (recording start time-broadcast start time of a program).

Then, the reservation control unit 59 confirms the remaining time R set in the counter (step S237). By this confirmation, if the remaining time R is not "0" (no in step S237), that is, if the remaining time R is surplus, then the reservation control unit 59 determines whether or not the broadcast of the program is ended after the recording end time (step S238).

As a result of this determination, when the broadcast of the program ends after the recording end time (yes in step S238), the reservation control section 59 determines whether or not the interval time length between the time at which the broadcast of the program ends and the recording end time is within the remaining time R minutes. That is, it is determined whether or not the program is ended within the remaining time R minutes later than the recording end time (step S239).

As a result of this determination, if the time interval between the broadcast end time and the recording end time of the program is within the remaining time R minutes, that is, if the program ends within the remaining time R minutes (yes at step S239), the reservation control section 59 generates the auxiliary recording reservation information so that the recording end time of the program is the broadcast end time of the program, and registers the auxiliary recording reservation information in the auxiliary reservation table 67b (step S240).

As a result of the determination at step S239, if the time interval between the broadcast end time and the recording end time of the program is not within the remaining time R minutes, that is, if the program is not ended within the remaining time R minutes (no at step S239), the reservation control section 59 creates a new record of the program ID in the recording information table 67c of the program and sets a flag "1" indicating that the program is not established therein (step S241).

The above process is performed for the programs of all channels, and when all channels are checked (yes in step S242), the processing ends.

With reference to the flowchart of fig. 15, the operation in the case where the item "7" is set for each program time length "is set in the threshold setting menu screen 96 of fig. 7 will be described.

In the recording/playing apparatus 1, when the setting item "7" is set, the reservation control unit 59 determines whether or not there is a program broadcasted over the full-automatic recording time from the full-automatic recording time (recording start time, recording end time) set in the full-automatic recording reservation table 67a of fig. 2 and the broadcast information of the program extracted from the EPG information (step S250).

As a result of this determination, if there is a program broadcast across the full-automatic recording time ("yes" in step S250), the reservation control section 59 calculates a time length L (broadcast time in units of hours or minutes) of the program by subtracting the broadcast start time from the broadcast end time of the program included in the broadcast information of the program, and sets a time (L/2) of half the calculated time length L of the program as a threshold time M traced back to the program broadcast start time from the recording start time onward to an allowable time length at which recording can be started, that is, traced back to the program broadcast start time (step S251). Next, the reservation control unit 59 determines whether or not the program broadcasted beyond the recording start time starts broadcasting before the recording start time, based on the full-automatic recording time (recording start time, recording end time) and the broadcast information of the program extracted from the EPG information (step S252).

As a result of this determination, when the broadcast of the program starts before the recording start time (yes in step S252), the reservation control section 59 determines whether or not the interval time length between the time at which the broadcast of the program starts and the recording start time is within the threshold time M. That is, whether or not the program starts within the threshold time M of 1/2 of the time length L of the program is determined, tracing back from the recording start time (step S253).

As a result of the determination, if the time interval between the broadcast start time and the recording start time of the program exceeds the threshold time M, that is, if the program has not started within the threshold time M minutes (no in step S253), the reservation control section 59 records the reserved recording information as it is (without generating the auxiliary recording reservation information) in the recording information table 67c, and sets a flag "1" indicating that the program is not established in the field of the established flag (step S254). Recording the recording information of the program means that a new record of the program ID is created in the recording information table 67c of the program, and a flag "1" indicating that the program is not established is set therein.

As a result of the determination at step S253, if the time interval between the broadcast start time and the recording start time of the program is within the threshold time M, that is, if the program starts within the threshold time M minutes (yes at step S253), the reservation control unit 59 generates the auxiliary recording reservation information so that the recording start time of the program is the broadcast start time of the program, and registers the auxiliary recording reservation information in the auxiliary reservation table 67b (step S255).

On the other hand, if the broadcast of the program crossing the recording time does not start before the recording start time as a result of the determination in the determination step S252 (no in step S252), the reservation control unit 59 confirms whether or not the program crossing the recording time ends after the recording end time (step S256).

As a result of this confirmation, when the broadcast of the program ends after the recording end time (yes in step S256), the reservation control unit 59 determines whether or not the interval time between the broadcast end time and the recording end time of the program is within the threshold time M minutes of L/2 (step S257).

As a result of this determination, when the time interval between the broadcast end time and the recording end time of the program is within the threshold time M (yes at step S257), the reservation control section 59 generates the auxiliary recording reservation information so that the recording end time of the program is the broadcast end time of the program, and registers the auxiliary recording reservation information in the auxiliary reservation table 67b (step S258).

Further, as a result of the determination at step S257, if the time interval between the broadcast end time and the recording end time of the program exceeds the threshold time M minutes, that is, if the program broadcast does not end within the threshold time M (no at step S257), the reservation control portion 59 sets a flag at the above-described step S254 without generating the auxiliary recording reservation information.

Then, when the programs crossing the recording time are checked for the programs of all channels (yes in step S259), the processing ends.

Here, a specific example of retrospective recording or extended recording is explained. For example, if the program is a 2-hour program (L120 minutes), the retrospective recording or extended recording is performed until the threshold time M is 120(L) x (1/2) is 60 minutes. When the threshold time M is exceeded, recording is performed as in the conventional art, and the recording time is not tracked.

In this case, in the EPG200 of fig. 3, the start time of the program 221 of "synthesis a" is PM6:50, the time length L of the program is 70 minutes, and M is 70 × (1/2) ═ 35 minutes, which is within the range of the "threshold value", so that the recording and playing device 1 of the present embodiment can be prevented from being cut off.

In the EPG200 of fig. 3, the ending time of the program 222 of "movie B" is PM10:30, the time length L of the program is 150 minutes, and M is 150 × (1/2) is 75 minutes, which are within the range of the "threshold", so that the ending can be prevented from being cut off in the recording and playing device 1 of the present embodiment.

Similarly, in the EPG200 of fig. 3, since the broadcast start time of the program 223 of the "special program C" is PM6:30, the broadcast end time is PM11:00, the time length L of the program is 270 minutes, and M is 270 × (1/2) is 135 minutes, which are within the range of the "threshold value", the recording and playing device 1 of the present embodiment can be prevented from pinching off the head and the tail.

Next, with reference to the flowchart of fig. 16, the operation in the case where the setting item "8, set for recording time zone length" is selected on the threshold setting menu screen 96 of fig. 7 will be described.

In the recording/playing apparatus 1, when the setting item "8" is set, the reservation control unit 59 determines whether or not there is a program broadcasted over the full-automatic recording time from the full-automatic recording time (recording start time, recording end time) set in the full-automatic recording reservation table 67a of fig. 2 and the broadcast information of the program extracted from the EPG information (step S260).

As a result of this determination, if there is a program broadcast over the full-automatic recording time, the reservation control section 59 subtracts the recording start time from the recording end time to set it for each recording time period, and multiplies 1/6 by this value to calculate the threshold time M. At the same time, the remaining time R of the counter set in the memory is reset, i.e., set to "0" (step S261).

For example, when the recording start time is 19:00 and the recording end time is 10:00, the value obtained by subtracting the recording start time from the recording end time is 3 hours, and when the result is multiplied by 1/6, the value is 1/2 hours, that is, 30 minutes, and the value is set as the threshold time M, that is, the threshold time M is 30 minutes.

Next, the reservation control unit 59 determines whether or not the program starts broadcasting before the recording start time (step S262).

As a result of this determination, if the program does not start broadcasting before the recording start time (no in step S262), the reservation control section 59 sets the remaining time R to the threshold time M, that is, R — M (step S263).

As a result of the determination at step S262, if the program starts broadcasting before the recording start time (yes at step S262), then the reservation control portion 59 determines whether or not the interval period between the time at which the broadcasting of the program starts and the recording start time is within the threshold time M minutes. That is, it is determined whether or not the program starts within M minutes before the recording start time (step S264), or whether or not the program starts within M minutes before the recording start time (step S264).

As a result of this determination, if the time interval between the broadcast start time and the recording start time of the program is not within the threshold time M, that is, if the program has not started within M minutes before the recording start time, or if the program has not started within M minutes before the recording start time (no in step S264), the reservation control section 59 creates a new record of the program ID in the recording information table 67c of the program, and sets a flag "1" indicating that the program is not established therein (step S265).

As a result of the determination at step S264, if the time interval between the broadcast start time and the recording start time of the program is within the threshold time M, that is, if the program starts within M minutes before the recording start time, or if the program starts within M minutes before the recording start time (yes at step S264), the reservation control section 59 generates the auxiliary recording reservation information so that the recording start time of the program is the broadcast start time of the program, and registers the auxiliary recording reservation information in the auxiliary reservation table 67 b. Further, the remaining time R of the threshold time M- (recording start time-broadcast start time of the program) is added (set) to the counter (step S266).

Then, the reservation control unit 59 confirms the remaining time R set in the counter (step S267). By this confirmation, if the remaining time R is not "0" (no in step S267), that is, if the remaining time R is surplus, the reservation control unit 59 next determines whether or not the broadcast of the program is ended after the recording end time. That is, it is determined whether or not the program is ended after the recording end time (step S268).

As a result of this determination, if the broadcast of the program after the recording end time ends (yes at step S268), that is, if the broadcast of the program ends after the recording end time, the reservation control section 59 determines whether the interval duration of the broadcast end time and the recording end time of the program is within the remaining time R. That is, it is determined whether or not the program is ended within the remaining time R minutes later than the recording end time (step S269).

As a result of the determination, if the time interval between the broadcast end time and the recording end time of the program is within the remaining time R minutes, that is, if the program ends within the remaining time R ("yes" at step S269), the reservation control section 59 generates the auxiliary recording reservation information so that the recording end time of the program is the broadcast end time of the program, and registers the auxiliary recording reservation information in the auxiliary reservation table 67b (step S270).

As a result of the determination at step S269, if the time interval between the broadcast end time and the recording end time of the program is not within the remaining time R minutes and the time from the recording end time to the broadcast end time of the program exceeds the remaining time R (no at step S269), the reservation control unit 59 does not generate the auxiliary recording reservation information, generates a new record of the program ID in the recording information table 67c of the program, and sets a flag "1" indicating that the program is not established therein (step S271).

The above process is performed for the programs of all channels, and when all channels are checked (yes in step S272), the processing ends.

As described above, according to the recording and playing apparatus 1, the recording is started based on the recording start time previously designated in the full-automatic recording.

Further, according to the present embodiment, since it is determined whether or not the recording can be performed at the recording start time set in advance of the target program or whether or not the recording can be performed at the recording end time set in advance by extending the predetermined time using the predetermined trace back time and/or the extension time as the "threshold time M", the recording can be performed at a time greatly deviated from the time zone in which the user sets the full-automatic recording, and further, the inconvenience such as pressing the capacity of the recording medium such as the HDD is not caused.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the threshold time M is obtained using the program time length L, the recording time zone time length, and the like of the target program as the calculation reference values, and the programs that have converged within M minutes are tracked and recorded. Therefore, by setting the allowable time length (threshold time M), retrospective recording or extended recording is performed on the program crossing the recording start time and the recording end time set by the user in the full-automatic recording function, the program which is significantly deviated from the recording start time and the recording end time set by the user can be excluded, and the slightly pinched end and end programs can be remedied.

Further, by setting the threshold time M in advance, in the case where a program exceeding the threshold time M is recorded as a program whose content is not established because the backtracking recording or the extended recording is not performed, and a program which is not established as a content is recorded together with a program which is partly unrecorded due to the influence of a radio wave failure, a program which is not operated carelessly during the recording, or the like, when there is an instruction operation to play a recorded program, the program table generating section 58 generates and displays the time shift history program table 301 to which the mark 303 indicating that a program is not established is added in the program column 302 of a program satisfying the condition (a program whose content is not established) in the program column of the recorded program based on the attribute information of the program and the establishment flag of the recording information table 67c, so that the user only views the program column 302 of the time shift history program table 301, even if a program is not viewed, it is possible to grasp a program (a program whose content is not established) in which the head and the tail of the program are missing, a program is missing due to a signal failure in the program, and a part or all of the program cannot be recorded.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the triangular mark 303 is added to the lower right corner of the program column 302 is shown, and in addition, for example, the display form of the mark 303 may be changed (the position of the mark 303 may be changed, characters such as a program name and program information may be grayed, or the color of the mark 303 may be changed) depending on the reason (user operation or recording setting) that the content of the program is not established.

For example, when the time set for recording is not coincident due to a failure in the program, the mark 303 may be added to the right corner of the program field 302 when the end of the title is lost due to non-coincidence of the recording end time, and the mark 303 may be added to the left corner of the program field 302 when the end of the title is lost due to non-coincidence of the recording start time. Note that the marks 303 may be added to the left and right corners of the program column 302 of the program determined to be not a right program due to the loss of either the head or the end of the title.

While embodiments of the present invention have been described, the embodiments are given by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in other various forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The above-described embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

The components of the recording and reproducing apparatus 1 shown in the above embodiment may be realized by programs installed in a memory such as a hard disk device of a computer, or the programs may be stored in a computer-readable electronic medium: in electronic media, a computer reads a program from an electronic medium, and the computer executes the functions of the present invention.

Examples of electronic media include recording media such as CD-ROM, or flash memory, removable media: removable media, and the like. Further, the communication may be realized by storing the components in separate computers connected via a network and performing communication between the computers that function the components.

Description of reference numerals:

1 … recording and playing device, 6, 7 … storage device, 11 … input unit, 21 … image processing module, 22 … image decoder, 23 … image processing unit, 24 … OSD processing unit, 25 … display control unit, 26 … display, 27 … output terminal, 31 … sound processing module, 32 … sound decoder, 33 … sound processing unit, 34 … delay unit, 35 … D-a converter, 36 … speaker, 37 … output terminal, 51 … main control module, 56 … recording and playing processing unit, 57 … program information acquisition unit, 58 … program table generation unit, 59 … reservation control unit, 60 … program determination unit, 61 … operation unit, 62 … receiving unit, 63 … communication interface, 64 … network control unit, 65, 66 … USB interface, … storage device, 67a … full-automatic recording reservation table, 67b … recording auxiliary information table, 67c … recording reservation table, … interface table, 71 … remote control (remote control), 81 … communication unit, 200 … EPG, 301 … time shift history program list, 302 … program bar, 303 … mark, 304 … program bar, 305 … text message.

Claims (5)

1. An electronic device is provided with:

   a first recording reservation information storage section configured to store first recording reservation information for designating a reservation time period for collectively reserving recording of programs broadcast on a plurality of channels;

   a second recording reservation information storage part configured to store second recording reservation information for assisting the first recording reservation information in determining a start time/end time of a reserved recording;

   a reservation control section configured to extract a broadcast time of a program from program information of a scheduled broadcast acquired in advance, generate second recording reservation information for correcting a recording start time and/or a recording end time of the program to the broadcast time of the program in a case where the broadcast time of the program spans the reservation time period, and store the second recording reservation information in the second recording reservation information storage section; and

   a recording section configured to be able to record a program broadcasted on a plurality of channels and record the program based on the first recording schedule information and the second recording schedule information.
2. The electronic device of claim 1,

   the reservation control section is further configured to generate second recording reservation information in which a broadcast start time of a program that starts broadcasting before a start time of the reserved time period is set as a recording start time of the program.
3. The electronic device of any of claims 1 or 2,

   the reservation control section is further configured to generate second recording reservation information in which a broadcast end time of a program that ends broadcasting after an end time of the reserved time period is set as a recording end time of the program.
4. The electronic device of claim 1,

   the reservation control part is also configured to generate second recording reservation information for correcting the reserved recording information under the condition that the interval duration between the reserved recording time corresponding to the time slot and the broadcasting time of the program is within a preset allowable duration; and when the allowable time length is exceeded, the second recording schedule information is not generated.
5. A program recording method of an electronic device,

   storing first recording reservation information for designating a time period for collectively reserving recording of programs broadcast on a plurality of channels;

   extracting the broadcast time of a program from pre-acquired program information of scheduled broadcast, and generating second recording reservation information, wherein the second recording reservation information is used for correcting the recording start time and/or the recording end time of the program to the broadcast time of the program under the condition that the broadcast time of the program spans the reservation time slot;

   and recording a program based on the first recording schedule information and the second recording schedule information.

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