JP2000354210A - Program information output device and program information output method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program information display excellent in displaying information of a broadcast program for a same time zone of a different date of a specific channel. SOLUTION: The program information output method has a 1st step (ST1) that receives program information including channel identification information denoting a channel number, program identification information denoting a program title, program broadcast date information and program broadcast start time information and a 3rd step (ST3a) where either a longitudinal axis or a lateral axis of an image plane is used for a date parameter, the other axis is used for a time parameter and program tiles of the channel number are displayed as a list on the basis of the program information received in the 1st step.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a CS (communic
The present invention relates to a program information output device and a program information output method for displaying and outputting program information superimposed on a broadcast program transmitted by digital broadcasting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In CS digital broadcasting, program information is superimposed on program broadcasting. The program broadcast includes at least one of a video signal and an audio signal. The program information includes program channel identification information (channel number),
It includes program identification information (program title), broadcast date information, broadcast start time information, program length information, program category information, detailed program description, and the like. The program information indicates information of a program currently being broadcast and a program scheduled to be broadcast in the future. In CS digital broadcasting, program information for about one week is transmitted.

[0003] This CS digital broadcast is operated on multiple channels, and various channel selection methods based on program information have been proposed in order to realize easy channel selection. As a typical example, EPG (elec
tronic program guide) is known. The function of this EPG is installed in the CS digital broadcast receiver,
This is realized in a digital broadcast receiver. EP displayed by EPG function in CS digital broadcast receiver
One example of the G screen is shown in FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a matrix EPG screen in which channel numbers are set on the vertical axis of the screen and times are set on the horizontal axis of the screen. The EPG screen shown in FIG. 1 is displayed so as to allow the user to visually comprehend the program composition based on the time transition while placing emphasis on the channel listing. In the EPG screen shown in FIG. 1, a program is selected by a selection cursor moving on a matrix of the EPG screen. The selection cursor can be moved on the matrix of the EPG screen by up, down, left and right cursor keys provided on a remote controller for controlling the CS digital broadcast receiver. Further, in order to change the time zone currently displayed on the EPG screen shown in FIG. 1 and display a future or past program, the screen is scrolled left and right by right and left cursor keys. Also,
In order to change the channel number currently displayed on the EPG screen shown in FIG. 1 and display a program of another channel number (a channel number following the currently displayed channel number), use the up and down cursor keys to change the screen. Scroll up and down.

FIG. 2 shows an example of an EPG screen displaying a list of programs in a selected one channel in order of start time. The EPG screen shown in FIG. 2 places importance on the listing of programs on a specific one channel so that more programs can be displayed. A specific one channel is selected by a selection cursor moving on a channel list displayed at a previous stage of the EPG screen shown in FIG. This selection cursor can be moved on the channel list screen by up, down, left and right cursor keys provided on the remote controller. In order to change the time zone currently displayed on the EPG screen shown in FIG. 2 and display a future or past program, the screen is scrolled up and down using the up and down cursor keys.

[0006]

In the current CS digital broadcasting, many channels are pay broadcasts which require a contract for each channel, and there are many specialized channels. Is limited.

[0007] However, on the EPG screen shown in FIG. 1, program information of non-contracted channels (channels that the user does not view) may be displayed, and the program information of these non-contracted channels is unnecessary. On the EPG screen shown in FIG. 1, in order to display a program one week ahead from a state in which a program at the current time of the day is displayed, it is necessary to scroll the screen one week ahead, which is very inconvenient in operation. Met.

On the EPG screen shown in FIG. 2, the display of the program information of the uncontracted channel can be avoided. However, it is also necessary to display the program one week ahead from the state in which the program at the current time of the day is displayed. The operation was very inconvenient because of the upset. Also, since the list is displayed in order of start time,
There was also a drawback that the programming was hard to grasp visually.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a program information display which is excellent in displaying program information of a program which is broadcast on the same channel on different dates on a specific channel. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a program information display method.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, a program information output apparatus and a program information output method according to the present invention are configured as follows.

[0011] A program information output apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a receiving means for receiving program information including channel identification information, program identification information, program broadcast date information, and program broadcast start time information; Display means for displaying a list of the program identification information of the same channel indicated by the channel identification information based on the program information received by the reception means.

A program information output method according to the present invention includes a first step of receiving program information including channel identification information, program identification information, program broadcast date information, and program broadcast start time information, and using the date and time as parameters. And a second step of displaying a list of the program identification information of the same channel indicated by the channel identification information based on the program information received in the first step.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a television broadcast receiving system (CS digital broadcast receiver) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The television broadcast receiving system includes an antenna 1
1, a set-top box 12, an analog television receiver 13, and a video recording / recording device 14. The antenna 11 receives a digital television signal transmitted from a broadcasting satellite. The digital television signal includes a video signal and an audio signal as a program broadcast, and program information is superimposed on the video signal and the audio signal. The program information is information related to program broadcasting, and includes channel identification information indicating the channel number and channel name of the program broadcast, program identification information indicating the program title, program broadcast date information indicating the date of the program broadcast, and program broadcast start. The information includes program broadcast start time information indicating time, length information indicating the length of broadcast time of program broadcast, and the like. Then, an electronic program guide described later is created (displayed) based on the program information. Set top box 12
Is a set-top box for reproducing digital television signals. The analog television receiver 13 reproduces and displays the television signal reproduced by the set-top box 12 and converted into an analog signal. Video recorder 14
Record and record the television signal reproduced by the set-top box 12 and converted into an analog signal.

The set-top box 12 includes a tuner 21 connected to the antenna 11 and a tuner 2.
1, a QPSK demodulator 22, an error corrector 23 connected to the QPSK demodulator 22, a descrambler 24 connected to the error corrector 23, and a packet separator 25 connected to the descrambler 24. The packet separation memory 26 connected to the packet separator 25 and M
A PEG decoder 27, an MPEG memory 28 connected to the MPEG decoder 27, a video signal digital / analog converter (hereinafter referred to as video D / A) 29, and an audio signal digital / analog converter (hereinafter referred to as audio D / A). 30) and the MPEG decoder 2
7 and a display controller 3 connected between the video D / A 29
1, a bus line 32 connected to the tuner 21, the QPSK demodulator 22, the error corrector 23, the descrambler 24, the packet separator 25, the MPEG decoder 27, and the display controller 31;
A CPU 33 connected to the bus line 32, a program memory 34, a work memory 35, a data memory 36, a kanji ROM 37, an input / output control 38, an IC card control 39, and a modem 40; The control microcomputer includes a display panel (hereinafter, referred to as a remote control / display panel) 41 and a telephone line 42 connected to the modem 40.

The various devices constituting the television broadcast receiving system shown in FIG. 3 perform well-known functions and operations, and detailed description thereof will be omitted, but the outline is as follows. The digital television signal received by the antenna 11 and converted to an intermediate frequency is supplied to the tuner 21, where a channel desired by the viewer is selected and converted to a baseband signal. The baseband signal is demodulated by the QPSK demodulator 22 into digital data,
Supplied to The error corrector 23 performs error detection and error correction on the digital data, and also divides the demodulated digital data into packets to form a descrambler 24 as transport stream data.
To supply. When the transmitted signal is encrypted, the descrambler 24 decrypts the transmitted signal, restores the original signal, and supplies the original signal to the packet separator 25. According to the packet separation procedure stored in the packet separation memory 26, the packet separator 25 converts the video data and audio data of the program transmitted from the transport stream data and various information data accompanying the program into packets. Separate each time. Each packet data separated by the packet separator 25 is supplied to an MPEG decoder 27. This MPEG decoder 27
According to the procedure stored in the MPEG memory 28,
Decrypt packet data. MPEG decoder 27
Is converted from a digital signal to an analog signal by a video D / A 29, and similarly, an audio signal decoded by the MPEG decoder 27 is converted to an audio D / A3.
At 0, it is converted from a digital signal to an analog signal and output to an analog television receiver 13 and an analog video recording / recording device 14. The video signal decoded by the MPEG decoder 27 is controlled by a display controller 31 to display the video D / D in accordance with a display format requested by a viewer.
Output to A29.

The control microcomputer part processes the digital signal reproducing part efficiently through the bus line 32 in accordance with the real-time OS mounted on the CPU 33 and the processing procedure stored in the program memory 34, and
An electronic program guide or a video image of a program requested by a viewer is displayed. The work memory 35 of the control microcomputer portion stores a procedure for generating a display format for each display mode of a video displayed on the screen of the analog television receiver 13. The data memory 36 is the work memory 35
The kanji ROM 37 stores character data for generating character and numbers to be displayed on a television screen from program information included in the digital television signal. The input / output control 38 captures an infrared signal input via an infrared signal receiving unit 41 a provided on a remote control / display panel 41 into the microcomputer control unit, or controls the set-top box 12
Has a function of controlling the operation display panel provided in the control panel. The infrared signal described above is output from a remote controller (hereinafter, referred to as a remote controller) 50 shown in FIG. The infrared signal output from the remote controller 50 is generated as the user operates the remote controller 50. Further, when a program received by the antenna 11 and selected by the tuner 12 is transmitted after being encrypted,
The IC card controller 39 reads a viewer number, a decryption key, and the like stored in the IC card 39a, checks against a decryption permission condition in a transmission signal, and supplies a decryption key to the descrambler 24. I do. The modem 40 transmits billing information to a broadcast program provider by using a telephone line 42 when receiving a pay broadcast.

Here, the schematic configuration of the remote controller 50 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the remote controller 50 includes an infrared signal output unit 50a, a program guide key 50b, a cursor key 50c, an enter key 50d, a channel up / down key 50e, and the like.

Next, a brief description will be given of a process up to creation of an electronic program guide from program information in the set-top box 12 having the above-described configuration and operation. Remote control 5
In response to the operation 0, an infrared signal of an electronic program guide display command is output from the remote controller 50, and when this infrared signal is received by the infrared signal receiving unit 41a, the program table creation procedure information is taken into the work memory 35, and The program information superimposed on the broadcast channel is taken in.
Here, based on the program table creation procedure information and program information loaded into the work memory 35 and the character data stored in the kanji ROM 37, the MPEG decoder 27
The electronic program guide is displayed on the analog television receiver 13 via the display control 31. FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 are diagrams illustrating an example of an electronic program guide screen displayed on the analog television receiver 13.

Here, the procedure for displaying the electronic program guide screen on the analog television receiver 13 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, a digital television signal containing program information is received by the antenna 11 (ST1). Assuming that the digital television signal is received, the program guide key 50b of the remote controller 50 is pressed (ST
2) When the infrared signal output from the infrared signal output section 50a is received by the infrared signal receiving section 41a in response to the depression of the program guide key 50b, the analog signal is controlled by the control microcomputer based on the instruction of the infrared signal. An electronic program guide as shown in FIG. 5 for the currently receiving channel is displayed on the television receiver 13 (ST3a).

Here, an example is shown in which the electronic program guide of the currently receiving channel is displayed when the program guide key 50b is pressed, but a channel selection screen to be displayed before displaying the electronic program guide is displayed. It may be displayed. FIG. 9 shows a flowchart in that case. FIG.
ST3b to ST3d are different from those described above. For example, the channel selection screen displays a list of channel names together with channel numbers. A cursor is lit on only one channel number column, and this cursor is the cursor key 50c of the remote controller 50.
Is pressed, the channel number column is moved (ST3b). The user makes full use of the cursor 50c to move the cursor to the desired channel number field and presses the enter key 50d (ST3c). Thereby, the electronic program guide in which the desired channel number is selected is displayed (ST3d).

For example, if the channel number 122 (sports channel) is selected, an electronic program guide screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed (ST3d). That is, an electronic program guide screen corresponding to the selected channel number is displayed. At the upper end of the screen of the electronic program guide screen shown in FIG. And the display time zone (PM 7: 00-
PM7: 30) is displayed. The most characteristic feature of this electronic program guide screen is that the vertical axis is a parameter for one week's date and day, and the horizontal axis is a time parameter. Thereby, a predetermined channel number (FIG. 5 shows the case of the channel number 112) for one week (FIG.
Then, the case of 3/15 (Mon)-3/21 (Sun) is shown)
The program titles of the predetermined time zone (in FIG. 5, the time zone of PM 6:00 to PM 7:00 are shown) can be displayed in a list in a matrix.

In FIG. 5, in the matrix in which the program titles are displayed in a list, "Golf Lesson Beginner (3/1
9, PM 6:00 to PM 7:00) ". The cursor can be moved up, down, left, and right on the matrix in response to pressing of the cursor key 50c of the remote controller 50. Further, the screen is scrolled up, down, left, and right as the cursor moves up, down, left, and right, and the date and time zone are changed as the screen is scrolled, up, down, left, and right.

Here, the date in the vertical direction can be scrolled to the end of the transmitted date, and scrolling beyond the end of the transmitted date is not performed. In the example of FIG. 5, the program information for about one week is transmitted, and scrolling is not performed because the vertical axis can be displayed for one week. When the program information of one week or more is transmitted, the cursor is moved from the state where the cursor is at the bottom end of the program selection box of the electronic program guide to the date following the bottom end date when the cursor key 50c is further pressed. An operation is performed. In the time zone on the horizontal axis, the scroll operation in the left-right direction for 24 hours can always be performed by the cursor key 50c.

At the lower end of the electronic program guide screen shown in FIG. 5, a channel number change item (channel change) for accepting a change in channel number is displayed. The cursor is moved to the bottom column of the program title matrix by pressing the cursor key 50c, and then to the channel number change item.
When the cursor key 50c is pressed left or right while the cursor is positioned on the channel number change item, the channel number is changed in accordance with the pressing of the cursor key 50c (ST4). For example, in the program information screen corresponding to the channel number 112 as shown in FIG. 6, when the cursor is positioned on the channel number change item and the channel up is instructed by the cursor key 50c, the channel numbers become 113, 114, 115,. It is changed as follows. Conversely, when channel down is instructed by the cursor key 50c, the channel numbers are 111, 110, 1
09 ... etc.

When the channel number is changed by pressing the cursor key 50c while the cursor is positioned in the channel change item column, a program information screen corresponding to the changed channel number is displayed (ST5). . That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a program information screen is displayed in which the vertical axis represents the date parameter for one week and the horizontal axis represents the time parameter.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, a channel change column is provided on the screen so that the channel change operation can be easily understood intuitively just by looking at the screen. However, in the remote controller shown in FIG. It is also possible to change the channel by using 50e, or to change the channel by directly inputting a desired channel number using the numeric keypad 50f.

When the cursor is moved to the matrix of the target program title by pressing the cursor key 50c and then the enter key 50d is pressed, detailed information of the target program is displayed or the target program is being broadcast. In this case, the broadcast of the target program is displayed, and if the target program is scheduled to be broadcasted in the future, the target program is reserved (ST6).

By providing the program information screens as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, it is possible to easily search a program for one week, for example, by operating the minimum number of cursor keys in a program of one channel number. . Also, the program information screens as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 have an advantage that the program organization is easily grasped visually. In the program information screen as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, programs in the same time zone on different dates (day of the week) can be listed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, series programs frequently broadcast in the same time zone on different dates (the first personal computer course, the second personal computer course, the third personal computer course shown in FIG. 7). , And rebroadcast programs (documentary earth voice, documentary earth voice (re)), etc., can be easily confirmed. Further, the display of the day of the week on the vertical axis may be fixed from Monday to Sunday in order from the top of the screen, or the day of the week (date) of the current day may be always positioned at the top of the screen. By placing today's day of the week (date) at the top of the screen, it is easier to get a sense of the date. Also,
Also in the time zone on the horizontal axis, a specific time zone may be always displayed, or the current time zone may be always displayed on the right end of the screen. By arranging today's day of the week at the top of the screen and arranging the current time zone at the right end of the screen, the program information of the current time of the day can be known directly (without operating the cursor keys). Furthermore, even when searching for a program in the previous time zone, it is only necessary to scroll up to 24 hours.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, a program information screen in which the vertical axis represents one week date parameters and the horizontal axis represents time parameters, and the vertical axis shown in FIG. 2 and a program information screen in which the horizontal axis represents time as a parameter, and a program information screen in which program information of specific channel numbers as shown in FIG. You may do so.

[0033]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a program information display apparatus and a program information display method which are excellent in displaying program information of a program broadcasted on a specific channel on different dates and in the same time zone.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic program guide screen with a vertical axis representing a channel number parameter and a horizontal axis representing a time parameter.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic program guide screen in which program information of a specific channel number is listed in order of time zone from the top of the screen.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a television broadcast receiving system (CS digital broadcast receiver) according to the embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a remote controller that controls the television broadcast receiving system shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an electronic program guide screen according to the present invention,
It is a figure which shows an example of the electronic program guide screen which made the parameter of the date for one week into a vertical axis | shaft, and the parameter of time into a horizontal axis.

FIG. 6 is an electronic program guide screen according to the present invention,
It is a figure which shows an example of the electronic program guide screen which made the parameter of the date for one week into a vertical axis | shaft, and the parameter of time into a horizontal axis.

FIG. 7 is an electronic program guide screen according to the present invention,
It is a figure which shows an example of the electronic program guide screen which made the parameter of the date for one week into a vertical axis | shaft, and the parameter of time into a horizontal axis.

8 is a flowchart showing a procedure for displaying an electronic program guide screen (a case where a channel selection screen is not displayed) with the vertical axis shown in FIGS. It is.

9 is a flowchart showing a display procedure (a case where a channel selection screen is displayed) of an electronic program guide screen in which the vertical axis and the horizontal axis shown in FIGS. It is.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Antenna 12 ... Set-top box 13 ... Analog television receiver 14 ... Video recording recorder 21 ... Tuner 22 ... QPSK demodulator 23 ... Error corrector 24 ... Descrambler 25 ... Packet separator 26 ... Packet separation memory 27 ... MPEG Decoder 28 ... MPEG memory 29 ... Video signal digital / analog converter 30 ... Audio signal digital / analog converter 31 ... Display controller 32 ... Bus line 33 ... CPU 34 ... Program memory 35 ... Work memory 36 ... Data memory 37 ... Kanji ROM 38 ... I / O control 39 ... IC card control 40 ... Modem 41 ... Remote control / display panel 42 ... Phone line 50 ... Remote controller 50a ... Infrared signal output unit 50b ... Program guide key 50c ... Cursor key 50 ... determine key 50e ... channel up down key 50f ... numeric keypad

Claims (9)

[Claims] A first step of receiving program information including channel identification information, program identification information, program broadcast date information, and program broadcast start time information; and the first step using the date and time as parameters. A second step of displaying a list of the program identification information of the same channel indicated by the channel identification information on the basis of the received program information, and a second step of displaying the list. 2. A first step of receiving program information including channel identification information indicating a channel number, program identification information indicating a program title, program broadcast date information, and program broadcast start time information; The first axis is defined by using one of the horizontal axes as a date parameter and the other axis as a time parameter.
A second step of displaying a list of program titles of the channel number based on the program information received in the step (a). A first step of receiving program information including channel identification information indicating a channel number, program identification information indicating a program title, program broadcast date information, and program broadcast start time information; Using either the horizontal axis as the date parameter and the other axis as the time parameter, scrolling of the date along the axis of the date parameter and scrolling of the time along the axial direction of the time parameter are possible. And a second step of displaying a list of program titles of the channel number based on the program information received in the first step. 4. A first step of receiving program information including channel identification information indicating a channel number, program identification information indicating a program title, program broadcast date information, and program broadcast start time information; Using one of the horizontal axes as a date parameter for one week and the other axis as a time parameter, scrolling the date along the axial direction of the date parameter, and the time along the axial direction of the time parameter A list of program titles of the channel number based on the program information received in the first step so that scrolling is possible, and a channel number change item for accepting a change of the channel number. And a channel number via the channel number change item displayed by the second step. A third step of receiving a change input; and setting one of the vertical axis and the horizontal axis of the screen as a date parameter for one week and the other axis as a time parameter along the axis direction of the date parameter. Based on the program information received in the first step, the channel number received in the third step is changed so that the date can be scrolled and the time can be scrolled along the axial direction of the time parameter. A fourth step of displaying a list of program titles; and a program information output method. 5. A first step of receiving program information including channel identification information indicating a channel number, program identification information indicating a program title, program broadcast date information, and program broadcast start time information, and specifying and inputting a channel number. A second step of receiving one of the vertical and horizontal axes of the screen as a date parameter and the other axis as a time parameter.
A third step of displaying a list of program titles of the channel numbers accepted in the second step based on the program information received in the second step. 6. A first step of receiving program information including channel identification information indicating a channel number, program identification information indicating a program title, program broadcast date information, and program broadcast start time information, and specifying and inputting a channel number. A second step of accepting a date, using one of the vertical axis and the horizontal axis of the screen as a date parameter and the other axis as a time parameter, and scrolling the date along the axis direction of the date parameter; Based on the program information received in the first step, a list of the program titles of the channel numbers received in the second step is displayed based on the program information received in the first step so that the time can be scrolled along the axis direction of the parameter. Third
A program information output method, comprising the steps of: 7. A first step of receiving program information including channel identification information indicating a channel number, program identification information indicating a program title, program broadcast date information, and program broadcast start time information, and specifying and inputting a channel number. A second step of receiving a date along the axis direction of the date parameter, using one of the vertical axis and the horizontal axis of the screen as a date parameter for one week and the other axis as a time parameter. The program title of the channel number received in the second step based on the program information received in the first step so that scrolling and scrolling of time along the axial direction of the time parameter are possible. Step of displaying channel number change items for receiving channel number change and displaying channel numbers in a list A fourth step of receiving a change input of a channel number via the channel number change item displayed in the third step; and setting one of the vertical axis and the horizontal axis of the screen for one week. The first step is performed so that the date can be scrolled along the axis of the date parameter and the time can be scrolled along the axis of the time parameter, using the other axis as the time parameter as the date parameter. A fifth step of displaying a list of the program titles of the channel numbers accepted in the fourth step based on the program information received in the fifth step, and a fifth step. 8. Receiving means for receiving program information including channel identification information, program identification information, program broadcast date information, and program broadcast start time information, and receiving said program information received by said receiving means using date and time as parameters. A display unit for displaying a list of the program identification information of the same channel indicated by the channel identification information based on the program information. 9. Receiving means for receiving program information including channel identification information indicating a channel number, program identification information indicating a program title, program broadcast date information, and program broadcast start time information, and a vertical axis and a horizontal axis of a screen. Using either one of the axes as a date parameter and the other axis as a time parameter, it is possible to scroll the date along the axis of the date parameter and scroll the time along the axis of the time parameter. Display means for displaying a list of program titles of the channel number based on the program information received by the receiving means.