CN113691824A - Display equipment, server and display and switching control method of virtual channel - Google Patents

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of display equipment, in particular to display equipment, a server and a display and switching control method of a virtual channel, and can solve the problems that the operation steps of switching to the virtual channel through a remote controller are more, and the virtual channel cannot be switched to through a television body key in a scene where the remote controller is lost. The display device includes: the local key receives user operation to generate a first instruction; a display; a first controller configured to: when receiving the first instruction, sending a second instruction for acquiring the first virtual channel to the server, so that the server determines the first virtual channel which can be displayed in parallel with the first physical channel, wherein the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application capable of playing a network channel; and receiving a third instruction which is sent by the server and contains the first virtual channel, and displaying a first menu containing the first virtual channel, wherein the first virtual channel can start a first application to play the network channel.

Description

Display equipment, server and display and switching control method of virtual channel

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of display device technologies, and in particular, to a display device, a server, and a method for controlling display and switching of virtual channels.

Background

The traditional signal source includes physical channels such as DVI, TV, AV, HDMI, VGA, color difference component interface, etc., but with the application of internet and APP in the TV, the network channel also becomes the mainstream signal source in the TV, and the corresponding channel playing the network channel through the video application can also be called as a virtual channel.

In some implementations of displaying and controlling a virtual channel of a television, when the television is switched from a physical channel to the virtual channel, a user first needs to start a video application in a television desktop by using a remote controller, and then selects a live broadcast function in the video application to realize live broadcast of a corresponding network channel through the video application.

However, compared with the operation menu of the general television body key, the operation menu can directly support the switching between different physical channels, and more operation steps are needed for realizing the switching between the physical channel and the virtual channel through the remote controller; in a scene that the remote controller is lost, a user cannot directly switch to the virtual channel through the television body key or cannot indirectly start the desktop video application through the television body key to enter the virtual channel.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problems that the operation steps of switching to the virtual channel through the remote controller are multiple and the virtual channel cannot be switched to through the keys of the television body in a scene that the remote controller is lost, the application provides display equipment, a server and a display and switching control method of the virtual channel.

The embodiment of the application is realized as follows:

a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a display device, including: the local key is arranged on the body of the display equipment and used for receiving user operation to generate a first instruction for starting a first menu; a display for displaying a user interface; a first controller configured to: when a first instruction input by a user is received, sending a second instruction for acquiring a first virtual channel to a server, wherein the second instruction is used for enabling the server to determine the first virtual channel which can be displayed in parallel with a first physical channel in the display equipment according to an equipment identifier contained in the server, and the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application which can play a network channel in the display equipment; and receiving a third instruction which is sent by the server and contains a first virtual channel, and controlling the user interface to display a first menu containing the first virtual channel, wherein the first virtual channel is used for starting a first application to play the network channel after receiving the confirmation operation of the user.

A second aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a server, including: a second controller configured to: receiving a second instruction which is sent by the display equipment and contains an equipment identifier; determining a first virtual channel which can be provided for a display device according to a device identifier contained in the second instruction, wherein the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application which can play a network channel in the display device; and sending a third instruction containing the first virtual channel to the display device.

A third aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a method for controlling display and switching of a virtual channel, where the method includes: when a first instruction which is generated by a user operating a local key and is used for starting a first menu is received, sending a second instruction for acquiring a first virtual channel to a server, wherein the second instruction is used for enabling the server to determine the first virtual channel which can be displayed in parallel with a first physical channel according to a device identifier contained in the server, and the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application capable of playing a network channel; and receiving a third instruction which is sent by the server and contains a first virtual channel, and displaying a first menu containing the first virtual channel, wherein the first virtual channel is used for starting a first application to play the network channel after receiving the confirmation operation of the user.

A fourth aspect of the present embodiment provides a method for controlling display and switching of a virtual channel, where the method includes: receiving a second instruction which is sent by the display equipment and contains an equipment identifier; determining a first virtual channel which can be provided for a display device according to a device identifier contained in the second instruction, wherein the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application which can play a network channel in the display device; and sending a third instruction containing the first virtual channel to the display device.

The beneficial effect of this application: acquiring a corresponding virtual channel for an application supporting network channel live broadcast locally on the smart television by constructing a second instruction; the parallel display of the virtual channel and the physical channel is realized by constructing a first menu containing a first virtual channel; the operation of the local key on the virtual channel is further realized by multiplexing the local key display and controlling the first menu, the operation steps of virtual channel switching can be reduced, the convenience of virtual channel switching is improved, and the virtual channel can be switched and controlled by the local key without a remote controller.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without inventive exercise.

FIG. 1 illustrates a usage scenario of a display device according to some embodiments;

fig. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration block diagram of the control apparatus 100 according to some embodiments;

fig. 3 illustrates a hardware configuration block diagram of the display apparatus 200 according to some embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a software configuration diagram in the display device 200 according to some embodiments;

fig. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a key menu user interface of a smart tv set according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5B is a schematic diagram of a key menu user interface of a smart tv set according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5C is a schematic diagram of a key menu user interface of a smart tv set according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5D is a schematic diagram illustrating a key menu user interface of a smart tv set according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5E is a schematic diagram of a key menu user interface of a smart tv set according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5F is a schematic diagram of a key menu user interface of a smart tv set according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 shows a schematic module interaction diagram of implementation of a local key function of an intelligent television according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a logic diagram illustrating a first menu start of the smart tv according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 shows a logic diagram of switching between a physical channel and a virtual channel of an intelligent television according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

To make the purpose and embodiments of the present application clearer, the following will clearly and completely describe the exemplary embodiments of the present application with reference to the attached drawings in the exemplary embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described exemplary embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments.

It should be noted that the brief descriptions of the terms in the present application are only for the convenience of understanding the embodiments described below, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application. These terms should be understood in their ordinary and customary meaning unless otherwise indicated.

The terms "first," "second," "third," and the like in the description and claims of this application and in the above-described drawings are used for distinguishing between similar or analogous objects or entities and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order, unless otherwise indicated. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances.

The terms "comprises" and "comprising," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a product or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to all elements expressly listed, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such product or apparatus.

The term "module" refers to any known or later developed hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, or combination of hardware and/or software code that is capable of performing the functionality associated with that element.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an operation scenario between a display device and a control apparatus according to an embodiment. As shown in fig. 1, a user may operate the display apparatus 200 through the smart device 300 or the control device 100.

In some embodiments, the control apparatus 100 may be a remote controller, and the communication between the remote controller and the display device includes an infrared protocol communication or a bluetooth protocol communication, and other short-distance communication methods, and controls the display device 200 in a wireless or wired manner. The user may input a user instruction through a key on a remote controller, voice input, control panel input, etc., to control the display apparatus 200.

In some embodiments, the smart device 300 (e.g., mobile terminal, tablet, computer, laptop, etc.) may also be used to control the display device 200. For example, the display device 200 is controlled using an application program running on the smart device.

In some embodiments, the display device 200 may also be controlled in a manner other than the control apparatus 100 and the smart device 300, for example, the voice command control of the user may be directly received by a module configured inside the display device 200 to obtain a voice command, or may be received by a voice control device provided outside the display device 200.

In some embodiments, the display device 200 is also in data communication with a server 400. The display device 200 may be allowed to be communicatively connected through a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and other networks. The server 400 may provide various contents and interactions to the display apparatus 200. The server 400 may be a cluster or a plurality of clusters, and may include one or more types of servers.

Fig. 2 exemplarily shows a block diagram of a configuration of the control apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 2, the control device 100 includes a controller 110, a communication interface 130, a user input/output interface 140, a memory, and a power supply. The control apparatus 100 may receive an input operation instruction from a user and convert the operation instruction into an instruction recognizable and responsive by the display device 200, serving as an interaction intermediary between the user and the display device 200.

Fig. 3 shows a hardware configuration block diagram of the display apparatus 200 according to an exemplary embodiment.

In some embodiments, the display apparatus 200 includes at least one of a tuner demodulator 210, a communicator 220, a detector 230, an external device interface 240, a controller 250, a display 260, an audio output interface 270, a memory, a power supply, a user interface.

In some embodiments the controller comprises a processor, a video processor, an audio processor, a graphics processor, a RAM, a ROM, a first interface to an nth interface for input/output.

In some embodiments, the display 260 includes a display screen component for presenting a picture, and a driving component for driving an image display, a component for receiving an image signal from the controller output, performing display of video content, image content, and a menu manipulation interface, and a user manipulation UI interface.

In some embodiments, the display 260 may be a liquid crystal display, an OLED display, and a projection display, and may also be a projection device and a projection screen.

In some embodiments, communicator 220 is a component for communicating with external devices or servers according to various communication protocol types. For example: the communicator may include at least one of a Wifi module, a bluetooth module, a wired ethernet module, and other network communication protocol chips or near field communication protocol chips, and an infrared receiver. The display apparatus 200 may establish transmission and reception of control signals and data signals with the external control apparatus 100 or the server 400 through the communicator 220.

In some embodiments, the user interface may be configured to receive control signals for controlling the apparatus 100 (e.g., an infrared remote control, etc.).

In some embodiments, the detector 230 is used to collect signals of the external environment or interaction with the outside. For example, detector 230 includes a light receiver, a sensor for collecting ambient light intensity; alternatively, the detector 230 includes an image collector, such as a camera, which may be used to collect external environment scenes, attributes of the user, or user interaction gestures, or the detector 230 includes a sound collector, such as a microphone, which is used to receive external sounds.

In some embodiments, the external device interface 240 may include, but is not limited to, the following: high Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), analog or data high definition component input interface (component), composite video input interface (CVBS), USB input interface (USB), RGB port, and the like. The interface may be a composite input/output interface formed by the plurality of interfaces.

In some embodiments, the tuner demodulator 210 receives broadcast television signals via wired or wireless reception, and demodulates audio/video signals, such as EPG data signals, from a plurality of wireless or wired broadcast television signals.

In some embodiments, the controller 250 and the modem 210 may be located in different separate devices, that is, the modem 210 may also be located in an external device of the main device where the controller 250 is located, such as an external set-top box.

In some embodiments, the controller 250 controls the operation of the display device and responds to user operations through various software control programs stored in memory. The controller 250 controls the overall operation of the display apparatus 200. For example: in response to receiving a user command for selecting a UI object to be displayed on the display 260, the controller 250 may perform an operation related to the object selected by the user command.

In some embodiments, the object may be any one of selectable objects, such as a hyperlink, an icon, or other actionable control. The operations related to the selected object are: displaying an operation connected to a hyperlink page, document, image, or the like, or performing an operation of a program corresponding to the icon.

In some embodiments the controller comprises at least one of a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a video processor, an audio processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a RAM Random Access Memory (RAM), a ROM (Read-Only Memory), a first to nth interface for input/output, a communication Bus (Bus), and the like.

A CPU processor. For executing operating system and application program instructions stored in the memory, and executing various application programs, data and contents according to various interactive instructions receiving external input, so as to finally display and play various audio-video contents. The CPU processor may include a plurality of processors. E.g. comprising a main processor and one or more sub-processors.

In some embodiments, a graphics processor for generating various graphics objects, such as: icons, operation menus, user input instruction display graphics, and the like. The graphic processor comprises an arithmetic unit, which performs operation by receiving various interactive instructions input by a user and displays various objects according to display attributes; the system also comprises a renderer for rendering various objects obtained based on the arithmetic unit, wherein the rendered objects are used for being displayed on a display.

In some embodiments, the video processor is configured to receive an external video signal, and perform video processing such as decompression, decoding, scaling, noise reduction, frame rate conversion, resolution conversion, and image synthesis according to a standard codec protocol of the input signal, so as to obtain a signal that can be displayed or played on the direct display device 200.

In some embodiments, the video processor includes a demultiplexing module, a video decoding module, an image synthesis module, a frame rate conversion module, a display formatting module, and the like. The demultiplexing module is used for demultiplexing the input audio and video data stream. And the video decoding module is used for processing the video signal after demultiplexing, including decoding, scaling and the like. And the image synthesis module is used for carrying out superposition mixing processing on the GUI signal input by the user or generated by the user and the video image after the zooming processing by the graphic generator so as to generate an image signal for display. And the frame rate conversion module is used for converting the frame rate of the input video. And the display formatting module is used for converting the received video output signal after the frame rate conversion, and changing the signal to be in accordance with the signal of the display format, such as an output RGB data signal.

In some embodiments, the audio processor is configured to receive an external audio signal, decompress and decode the received audio signal according to a standard codec protocol of the input signal, and perform noise reduction, digital-to-analog conversion, and amplification processing to obtain an audio signal that can be played in the speaker.

In some embodiments, a user may enter user commands in a Graphical User Interface (GUI) displayed on display 260, which is then used graphically

A user interface (GUI) receives user input commands. Alternatively, the user may input the user command by inputting a specific sound or gesture, and the user input interface receives the user input command by recognizing the sound or gesture through the sensor.

In some embodiments, a "user interface" is a media interface for interaction and information exchange between an application or operating system and a user that enables conversion between an internal form of information and a form that is acceptable to the user. A commonly used presentation form of the User Interface is a Graphical User Interface (GUI), which refers to a User Interface related to computer operations and displayed in a graphical manner. It may be an interface element such as an icon, a window, a control, etc. displayed in the display screen of the electronic device, where the control may include a visual interface element such as an icon, a button, a menu, a tab, a text box, a dialog box, a status bar, a navigation bar, a Widget, etc.

In some embodiments, a system of a display device may include a Kernel (Kernel), a command parser (shell), a file system, and an application program. The kernel, shell, and file system together make up the basic operating system structure that allows users to manage files, run programs, and use the system. After power-on, the kernel is started, kernel space is activated, hardware is abstracted, hardware parameters are initialized, and virtual memory, a scheduler, signals and interprocess communication (IPC) are operated and maintained. And after the kernel is started, loading the Shell and the user application program. The application program is compiled into machine code after being started, and a process is formed.

As shown in fig. 4, the system of the display device is divided into three layers, i.e., an application layer, a middleware layer and a hardware layer from top to bottom.

The Application layer mainly includes common applications on the television and an Application Framework (Application Framework), wherein the common applications are mainly applications developed based on the Browser, such as: HTML5 APPs; and Native APPs (Native APPs);

an Application Framework (Application Framework) is a complete program model, and has all basic functions required by standard Application software, such as: file access, data exchange, and interfaces to use these functions (toolbars, status lists, menus, dialog boxes).

Native APPs (Native APPs) may support online or offline, message push, or local resource access.

The middleware layer comprises various television protocols, multimedia protocols, system components and other middleware. The middleware can use basic service (function) provided by system software to connect each part of an application system or different applications on a network, and can achieve the purposes of resource sharing and function sharing.

The hardware layer mainly comprises an HAL interface, hardware and a driver, wherein the HAL interface is a unified interface for butting all the television chips, and specific logic is realized by each chip. The driving mainly comprises: audio drive, display driver, bluetooth drive, camera drive, WIFI drive, USB drive, HDMI drive, sensor drive (like fingerprint sensor, temperature sensor, pressure sensor etc.) and power drive etc..

The embodiment of the application can be applied to various types of display devices and servers (including but not limited to smart televisions, liquid crystal televisions and other devices). The following explains a display device, a server, and a display and switching control method of a virtual channel, taking a scheme for realizing display and switching control of the virtual channel by a smart television and a user interface as examples.

Fig. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a key menu user interface of a smart tv set according to an embodiment of the present application.

In some embodiments, the display device includes a local key disposed on the body.

For example, a local key is installed at the edge of a machine frame of the smart television, and after a user presses the local key, a controller of the smart television receives a first instruction for starting a first menu and controls a user interface of a display to display the corresponding first menu. The first menu can be used for configuring basic functions of the intelligent television, such as configuring volume, signal source selection and power switch.

In some embodiments, the lower frame of the smart television is provided with 1 local key, and after the user normally presses the local key for the first time, the user interface displays a first menu shown in fig. 5A, that is, a quick menu on the left side in the drawing. The first menu displayable content comprises a plurality of signal sources, such as three physical channels of TV, AV and HDMI; the first menu may also display two buttons for adjusting the volume and a power key for turning on and off the smart tv.

It should be noted that, according to different function configurations, the first menu of the smart television may be configured differently, for example, the first menu may also be configured to display a key for tuning a channel, a key for finding a remote controller, and the like.

In some embodiments, the smart television may further set local keys in various combinations in other positions of the frame or other positions of the body, for example, 5 local keys, 3 local keys, 7 local keys, and the like.

For example, when the smart television is configured with 5 local keys, it usually includes 1 function key, 2 volume keys, and 2 tuning keys, and the number and specific operation functions thereof can be manufactured according to actual requirements.

In some embodiments, for a smart tv configured with only 1 local key, the user may implement the operation of the first menu by multiplexing 1 local key.

For example, the movement of a cursor in a user interface, namely the movement of a focus, is realized by quickly pressing a local key; and then the confirmation operation of the selected option is realized by long pressing the key of the computer or the secondary menu operation is entered.

Fig. 5B shows a schematic diagram of a key menu user interface of a smart tv local set according to another embodiment of the present application.

The local keys configured on the television are used as basic components of the television, and the functions of the local keys are weakened more and more from birth of the remote controller; the local keys are also more simplified, for example, from 7 keys to 5 keys, to the single key which is commonly used at present, and the local keys only bear the original basic functions of the television.

The more and more abundant network contents supported by the smart television are generally controlled by a remote controller. The local key is not applied to the control of network contents as the simplest television control part. With the network application showing the network content to the television in a virtual channel mode, the menu of the local keys of the display equipment provided by the application supports the display of the network virtual channels parallel to the physical channels, and the selection and the play control of the virtual channels are realized by multiplexing the local keys.

In some embodiments, among a plurality of application programs on the smart television desktop, the online video application is used as a common video application, and also supports an online live broadcast function, so that a live broadcast network channel can be realized.

In some embodiments, if a user in a physical channel such as a TV, an AV, an HDMI, or the like watches live broadcast or local video, and needs to use a remote controller to select an online video from a desktop application program when the user needs to watch a network channel of an online video application, then start the online video application, further select a live broadcast function in the online video application, and finally realize live broadcast watching of the network channel.

It can be seen that multiple operation steps are required in the process of implementing live broadcast of network channels, and if a user takes live broadcast of network channels of online video applications as a daily preference, each operation is quite cumbersome.

In some embodiments, the controller controls the first menu to display a virtual channel for entering the network channel live broadcast, the virtual channel is usually displayed in parallel with other physical channels, and a user can directly enter the network channel live broadcast in the application program through simple selection operation.

When a user presses a local key, the controller receives a first instruction which is generated by local key operation and used for displaying a first menu, and sends a second instruction containing the equipment identifier to the cloud server.

For example, when only online video applications of 1 live broadcast network channel exist locally in the smart television, the second instruction may carry an equipment identifier of the smart television, the equipment identifier may reflect information such as account information of the smart television, an authority of the online video application, and the like, and the server may determine whether the online video has the authority of the local live broadcast network channel through the equipment identifier carried by the second instruction.

If the online video application has the local live broadcast network channel authority and capability, the second instruction enables the server to determine a virtual channel which can be displayed in parallel with the physical channel in the smart television, so that the physical channel and the virtual channel can be displayed in the first menu at the same time, and the virtual channel corresponds to the online video application which can play the network channel in the smart television.

In some embodiments, the server provided by the application includes a second controller, and after a user presses a local key of the smart television, the second controller may receive a second instruction sent by the smart television, where the second instruction includes a device identifier of the smart television, and the device identifier may reflect information such as account information of the smart television and an online video application permission.

For example, through the device information included in the second instruction, the second controller of the server determines that the right of the online video application in the smart television allows the television side to live the network channel, and the second controller determines a first virtual channel that can be provided to the smart television, where the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application that is installed in the smart television and can support playing of the network channel, that is, the online video application in fig. 5B.

After the server second controller determines that the online video application can be configured as a virtual channel, a third instruction is issued to the smart television, the third instruction includes the first virtual channel, the third instruction can be used for enabling the smart television to configure the first menu to display the corresponding first virtual channel according to the first virtual channel information included in the smart television, namely, the first virtual channel and the physical channel are configured to be displayed in parallel, and a mapping operation relationship is established between the first virtual channel and the live broadcast of the network channel of the online video application.

In some embodiments, the first controller of the smart television receives a third instruction sent by the server, wherein the third instruction comprises the first virtual channel determined by the second controller of the server.

Based on the first virtual channel information contained in the third instruction, the first controller of the smart television controls the television user interface to display a first menu containing the first virtual channel, namely the first menu can display a display effect comprising a physical channel and a virtual channel after a user presses a key of the smart television.

It should be noted that, after the user selects the first virtual channel and performs the confirmation operation, the first controller starts the corresponding first application, that is, the online video application in fig. 5B, so as to broadcast the corresponding network channel included in the online video application.

The TV can also be displayed in other forms, and the display form of the TV is determined by the server and is sent to the intelligent television through a third instruction to control the first menu of the intelligent television to be displayed.

In some embodiments, the display device provided by the application can quickly display and switch the physical channel and the virtual channel through a local key without a remote controller. In order to achieve the purposes of displaying and operating the virtual channel of the display device provided by the application through the local key, the display device comprises a local key menu module, a virtual channel data management module, an application management module, a physical channel management module, an application program manager and an external support server on a system level.

The local key menu module can display information such as a physical channel, a virtual channel and the like and carry out quick switching control; the virtual channel data management module is responsible for acquiring the current country, the current network or the configurable virtual channel data of the current account from the cloud server and providing the data for a local key menu to display, and when the country, the network or the account changes, the virtual channel data management module acquires the data again; the application management module controls the opening mode of the virtual channel to be the same as that of the application program, communicates with the APM when the virtual channel is switched in the user interface, and realizes the starting of the corresponding application program; the physical channel management module is responsible for providing data of the physical channel for the key menu of the machine and providing an interface for switching the physical channel to communicate with the APM; the server is responsible for configuring the available virtual channel; the APM unifies the application and the physical channel into source switching, records the current channel type, calls a channel management related interface of the TV middleware to process the current channel type, and if the current channel type is a process corresponding to the application, the system architecture is as shown in fig. 6.

For example, when the smart television supports the virtual channel, the first controller configures the first virtual channel and the first physical channel as selectable items of a video source, and displays the selectable items in the first menu in parallel for the user to operate.

When the first virtual channel is started, the first controller controls the corresponding first application to be started on the user interface; and when the first physical channel is started, controlling the display equipment to call the television middleware to switch to the corresponding video source through the bottom layer channel.

In some embodiments, after the smart television is started, a user operates a local key, and the first controller determines whether a displayed menu page exists in the current user interface; if the displayed menu interface exists, the controller cancels the display to exit the current display page; if the displayed menu page does not exist, the first controller starts a creating and displaying process of the first menu;

the method comprises the steps that a first controller obtains a physical channel supported by the smart television from a physical channel management module and pushes the physical channel to a first menu to be displayed; then the first controller continuously judges whether the supportable virtual channel exists in the intelligent television; if the virtual channel exists, pushing the supported virtual channel to a first menu to be displayed; then, other contents to be displayed are also pushed to a first menu to be displayed, for example, the contents can comprise channel addition and subtraction, remote controller finding, power-off key and the like;

the method comprises the steps that a first controller obtains names of currently determined physical channels and virtual channels, namely channel types, from an application program manager according to display items in a first menu to be displayed; the further first controller determines the current signal source channel type of the smart tv to determine its position in the first menu, and controls the signal source channel with the focus located at the current smart tv to perform highlighting display when the first menu is displayed on the user interface, so as to complete the control display of the first menu, where the logic flow is as shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 5C is a schematic diagram illustrating a key menu user interface of a smart tv set according to another embodiment of the present application.

In some embodiments, the smart television has installed a plurality of video applications, and the controller will control the first menu to display a first virtual channel and a second virtual channel, where the first virtual channel and the second virtual channel respectively correspond to the installed applications that can support live webtv.

For example, the smart tv desktop application in fig. 5C includes 3 video applications, which are online video, mini-cluster video, and cow video. The mini-camera video and the online video both support live broadcast network channels, and the cow video does not support the live broadcast network channels.

After the user presses the local key, the first controller receives a third instruction from the server, and controls the first menu to display a virtual channel online video corresponding to the online video, a TV and a virtual channel mini video corresponding to the mini video.

It should be noted that, for a video application that does not support a live network channel locally on the smart television, the first menu will not display its corresponding virtual channel.

In some embodiments, the first menu may also include a second physical channel, and/or a second virtual channel, and/or a volume control, and/or a channel control, and/or a power off control. For example, the first menu physical channel in fig. 5C includes TV, AV, and HDMI, etc., and further includes 2 volume adjustment buttons, and 2 virtual channels, on-line video.

Fig. 5D is a schematic diagram illustrating a key menu user interface of a smart tv set according to another embodiment of the present application.

In some embodiments, the signal source of the smart TV is a physical channel TV, i.e. a normal broadcast TV signal source is used. The user interface at the source of the TV signal when the channel list is configured for default display is shown in FIG. 5D;

after the user presses the local key, the first controller controls the first menu to be displayed in the user interface as shown in the figure, and the focus is located on a TV physical channel option, wherein the channel list includes center 1 to center 6 as shown in the figure, and the following description will be given on the switching between the virtual channel and the physical channel realized by the user operating the local key for multiplexing.

In some embodiments, when the focus of the user operating the native key control user interface switches from a first virtual channel to a first physical channel located adjacent thereto, the first controller will obtain a press time applied to the native key, from which analysis the first controller identifies a different native key press operation as moving the focus, and a confirmation operation.

For example, based on the user interface shown in fig. 5D, the user needs to switch the signal source from the TV physical channel to the online video, the TV virtual channel, the first controller records and obtains the pressing time of the user pressing the local key;

and when the pressing time is less than a first threshold value, controlling the focus to move from the physical channel TV to the first virtual channel online video line by line. For example, setting the first threshold to 3 seconds, when the pressing time of each press of the local key by the user is less than 3 seconds, the first controller will recognize this local key operation as moving the focus, and the focus in the user interface will move from the physical channel TV to the online video line by line based on 3 short press operations of the local key, as shown in fig. 5E.

In some embodiments, when the user interface focus has moved to the virtual channel online video of the first menu, the user may press the local key again, and when the controller detects that the pressing time is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the first controller will control the online video.

For example, when the first threshold is set to 3 seconds, the focus is in the online video, the TV virtual channel, and when the user presses the local key for a long time for more than 3 seconds, the first controller will start the online video application in the user interface to enable the user interface to directly play the network channels included in the user interface, so as to achieve the playing effect of switching from the physical channel to the virtual channel, and control the first menu to cancel the display on the user interface, as shown in fig. 5F.

The intelligent television playing user interface of the TV virtual channel comprises a plurality of network channels and can also comprise advertisement promotion positions of network channel content service providers.

It can be found that, in the above embodiment, the user can display the virtual channel in the first menu of the smart television only through the local key, and can switch the playing operation of the virtual channel through simple multiplexing of the local key.

In some embodiments, when a local key menu, namely a first menu, is in a display state, a first controller of the smart television receives a pressing behavior of a local key, namely, detects and identifies an operation intention of a user on the local key;

after the user presses the local key, the first controller creates a timer in the system, for example, a 3s confirmation timer can be created; after the timer is established, the first controller monitors whether the lifting behavior of the key of the local computer is received;

if the lifting behavior of the key of the local machine is received before the timer is reached, the first controller clears the 3s confirmation timer and controls the focus to move downwards line by line in a first menu of the user interface so as to realize that the user and the area cursor are moved along with the pressing of the key of the local machine;

if the lifting behavior of the local key is not received before the timer is reached, the first controller judges that the operation of the user on the local key is a confirmation operation; the first controller judges the option type of the current focus, if the current focus is in the physical channel, the first controller calls an APM (application manager) switching channel interface, and calls a bottom layer channel switching mode through the APM to enter the corresponding physical channel so as to successfully switch to the physical channel; if the current focus is located in the virtual channel, the first controller enables the application management module to call the APM channel interface by calling the application management module to start the application, the APM starts the application process, and records the type of the current channel in the first menu, the corresponding application starts and then sends the start message to the UI user interface application, and the user interface displays the start message to the corresponding application program to play the corresponding virtual channel, thereby completing the switching process of the virtual channel, as shown in fig. 8.

Based on the above description of the control scheme for implementing display and switching of the virtual channel by the display device and the related drawings, the present application also provides a display and switching control method for the virtual channel applied to the display device, where the method includes: when a first instruction which is generated by a user operating a local key and is used for starting a first menu is received, sending a second instruction for acquiring a first virtual channel to a server, wherein the second instruction is used for enabling the server to determine the first virtual channel which can be displayed in parallel with a first physical channel according to a device identifier contained in the server, and the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application capable of playing a network channel; and receiving a third instruction which is sent by the server and contains a first virtual channel, and displaying a first menu containing the first virtual channel, wherein the first virtual channel is used for starting a first application to play the network channel after receiving the confirmation operation of the user. The specific steps of implementing the display and switching of the virtual channel by the method are described in detail in the above-provided technical solution of the display device, and are not described herein again.

In some embodiments, after displaying the first menu including the first virtual channel, the method further comprises: when a user operates a local key to control a focus to be switched from a first virtual channel to a first physical channel adjacent to the position of the local key, acquiring pressing time applied to the local key; when the pressing time is smaller than a first threshold value, controlling the focus to move to a first virtual channel; otherwise, controlling the first application corresponding to the first virtual channel to start so as to play the network channel contained in the first application. The specific steps of implementing the display and switching of the virtual channel by the method are described in detail in the above-provided technical solution of the display device, and are not described herein again.

In some embodiments, displaying the first menu including the first virtual channel specifically includes: configuring the first virtual channel and the first physical channel as selectable items of a video source; when the first virtual channel is started, controlling the corresponding first application to be started; and when the first physical channel is started, calling the television middleware to switch to the corresponding video source through the bottom layer channel. The specific steps of implementing the display and switching of the virtual channel by the method are described in detail in the above-provided technical solution of the display device, and are not described herein again.

In some embodiments, the first menu may further include: a second physical channel, and/or a second virtual channel, and/or a volume control, and/or a channel control, and/or a power-off control; the specific steps of implementing the display and switching of the virtual channel by the method are described in detail in the above-provided technical solution of the display device, and are not described herein again.

Based on the above description of the control scheme and related drawings for implementing display and switching of the virtual channel of the display device by the server, the present application also provides a display and switching control method applied to the virtual channel of the server, where the method includes: receiving a second instruction which is sent by the display equipment and contains an equipment identifier; determining a first virtual channel which can be provided for a display device according to a device identifier contained in the second instruction, wherein the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application which can play a network channel in the display device; and sending a third instruction containing the first virtual channel to the display device. The specific steps of implementing the display and switching of the virtual channel by the method are described in detail in the above-provided server technical solution, and are not described herein again.

The method and the device have the advantages that the second instruction is constructed, so that the corresponding virtual channel is obtained for the application supporting the live broadcast of the network channel locally on the smart television; the parallel display of the virtual channel and the physical channel is realized by constructing a first menu containing a first virtual channel; the operation of the local key on the virtual channel is further realized by multiplexing the local key display and controlling the first menu, the operation steps of virtual channel switching can be reduced, the convenience of virtual channel switching is improved, and the virtual channel can be switched and controlled by the local key without a remote controller.

Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that aspects of the present application may be illustrated and described in terms of several patentable species or situations, including any new and useful combination of processes, machines, manufacture, or materials, or any new and useful improvement thereon. Accordingly, various aspects of the present application may be embodied entirely in hardware, entirely in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or in a combination of hardware and software. The above hardware or software may be referred to as "data block", "controller", "engine", "unit", "component", or "system". Furthermore, aspects of the present application may be represented as a computer product, including computer readable program code, embodied in one or more computer readable media.

The computer storage medium may comprise a propagated data signal with computer program code embodied therewith, for example, on baseband or as part of a carrier wave. The propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including electromagnetic, optical, etc., or any suitable combination. A computer storage medium may be any computer-readable medium that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code located on a computer storage medium may be propagated over any suitable medium, including radio, cable, fiber optic cable, RF, or the like, or any combination of the preceding.

Computer program code required for the operation of various portions of the present application may be written in any one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C + +, C #, VB.NET, Python, and the like, a conventional programming language such as C, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL 2002, PHP, ABAP, a dynamic programming language such as Python, Ruby, and Groovy, or other programming languages, and the like. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any network format, such as a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet), or in a cloud computing environment, or as a service, such as a software as a service (SaaS).

Additionally, the order in which elements and sequences of the processes described herein are processed, the use of alphanumeric characters, or the use of other designations, is not intended to limit the order of the processes and methods described herein, unless explicitly claimed. While various presently contemplated embodiments of the invention have been discussed in the foregoing disclosure by way of example, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that the appended claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the embodiments herein. For example, although the system components described above may be implemented by hardware devices, they may also be implemented by software-only solutions, such as installing the described system on an existing server or mobile device.

Similarly, it should be noted that in the preceding description of embodiments of the application, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in the understanding of one or more of the embodiments. This method of disclosure, however, is not intended to require more features than are expressly recited in the claims. Indeed, the embodiments may be characterized as having less than all of the features of a single embodiment disclosed above.

The entire contents of each patent, patent application publication, and other material cited in this application, such as articles, books, specifications, publications, documents, and the like, are hereby incorporated by reference into this application. Except where the application is filed in a manner inconsistent or contrary to the present disclosure, and except where the claim is filed in its broadest scope (whether present or later appended to the application) as well. It is noted that the descriptions, definitions and/or use of terms in this application shall control if they are inconsistent or contrary to the statements and/or uses of the present application in the material attached to this application.

Claims (10)

1. A display device, comprising:

the local key is arranged on the body of the display equipment and used for receiving user operation to generate a first instruction for starting a first menu;

a display for displaying a user interface;

a first controller configured to:

when a first instruction input by a user is received, sending a second instruction for acquiring a first virtual channel to a server, wherein the second instruction is used for enabling the server to determine the first virtual channel which can be displayed in parallel with a first physical channel in the display equipment according to an equipment identifier contained in the server, and the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application which can play a network channel in the display equipment;

and receiving a third instruction which is sent by the server and contains a first virtual channel, and controlling the user interface to display a first menu containing the first virtual channel, wherein the first virtual channel is used for starting a first application to play the network channel after receiving the confirmation operation of the user.

2. The display device of claim 1, wherein the first controller, after controlling the user interface to display the first menu comprising the first virtual channel, is further configured to:

when a user operates the focus of the local key control user interface to be switched from a first virtual channel to a first physical channel adjacent to the first virtual channel, acquiring pressing time applied to the local key;

when the pressing time is smaller than a first threshold value, controlling the focus to move to a first virtual channel; otherwise, controlling a first application corresponding to the first virtual channel to start so as to play the network channels contained in the first application on the user interface.

3. The display device of claim 1, wherein the first controller controls the user interface to display a first menu comprising a first virtual channel, in particular comprising the first controller:

configuring the first virtual channel and the first physical channel as selectable items of a video source;

when the first virtual channel is started, controlling a corresponding first application to be started on a user interface;

and when the first physical channel is started, controlling the display equipment to call the television middleware to switch to the corresponding video source through the bottom channel.

4. The display device of claim 1, wherein the first menu further comprises:

a second physical channel, and/or a second virtual channel, and/or a volume control, and/or a channel control, and/or a power off control.

5. A server, comprising:

a second controller configured to:

receiving a second instruction which is sent by the display equipment and contains an equipment identifier;

determining a first virtual channel which can be provided for a display device according to a device identifier contained in the second instruction, wherein the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application which can play a network channel in the display device;

and sending a third instruction containing the first virtual channel to the display device.

6. A display and switching control method of a virtual channel is characterized by comprising the following steps:

when a first instruction which is generated by a user operating a local key and is used for starting a first menu is received, sending a second instruction for acquiring a first virtual channel to a server, wherein the second instruction is used for enabling the server to determine the first virtual channel which can be displayed in parallel with a first physical channel according to a device identifier contained in the server, and the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application capable of playing a network channel;

and receiving a third instruction which is sent by the server and contains a first virtual channel, and displaying a first menu containing the first virtual channel, wherein the first virtual channel is used for starting a first application to play the network channel after receiving the confirmation operation of the user.

7. The method for controlling display and switching of virtual channels according to claim 6, wherein after displaying the first menu comprising the first virtual channel, the method further comprises:

when a user operates a local key to control a focus to be switched from a first virtual channel to a first physical channel adjacent to the position of the local key, acquiring pressing time applied to the local key;

when the pressing time is smaller than a first threshold value, controlling the focus to move to a first virtual channel; otherwise, controlling the first application corresponding to the first virtual channel to start so as to play the network channel contained in the first application.

8. The method for controlling display and switching of virtual channels according to claim 6, wherein displaying a first menu including a first virtual channel comprises:

configuring the first virtual channel and the first physical channel as selectable items of a video source;

when the first virtual channel is started, controlling the corresponding first application to be started;

and when the first physical channel is started, calling the television middleware to switch to the corresponding video source through the bottom layer channel.

9. The method for controlling display and switching of a virtual channel of claim 6, wherein the first menu further comprises:

a second physical channel, and/or a second virtual channel, and/or a volume control, and/or a channel control, and/or a power off control.

10. A display and switching control method of a virtual channel is characterized by comprising the following steps:

receiving a second instruction which is sent by the display equipment and contains an equipment identifier;

determining a first virtual channel which can be provided for a display device according to a device identifier contained in the second instruction, wherein the first virtual channel corresponds to a first application which can play a network channel in the display device;

and sending a third instruction containing the first virtual channel to the display device.

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