JP2001008121A - Receiver, program information display method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user to easily select a desired broadcast program by generating an icon in advance on the basis of a video image of the broadcast program and displaying the icon that is in cross-reference with a name of the program. SOLUTION: A video selection section 8 extracts video data of a program channel set by a user via an operation input section 4 from broadcast data. An icon synthesis section 11 generates icon data from the received video data. That is, after the user sets the desired program channel via the operation input section 4, the user gives an icon generating instruction, the section 11 applies reduction processing to the image data that are extracted by a video selection section 8 in the timing of the instruction and generates the icon data. An icon storage section 12 stores the icon data generated by the icon synthesis section 11 with its file name. An icon management section 13 stores information linking the icon data stored in the icon storage section 12 and a broadcast program whose icon is generated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus, a program information display method, and a recording medium for executing a process according to the program information display method, which can create a program table based on the program information and provide the program guide to a user. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In digital broadcasting that has already been proposed, sub-information (program information) for displaying the contents of a program and the like is transmitted simultaneously with program broadcast data. This program information is displayed on a monitor in response to a command from the user, and is used by the user when selecting a program.

[0003] In the display of such program information, the program name is generally displayed as characters for each channel or broadcast time zone, similarly to a program table published in a newspaper. In addition, the program name may be displayed for each genre such as sports and drama. In this case as well, the program name is displayed in characters as described above. The genre selection is
A plurality of icons are set for each genre, and the operation is performed by the user selecting a desired icon.

[0004]

However, in the above-described method of displaying a program name by characters, for example,
In the case where characters cannot be sufficiently recognized due to weak visual acuity, or in the case where kanji cannot be read like an infant, there arises a problem that a desired program cannot be selected smoothly. This is a problem that similarly occurs when an icon indicating a genre of a program is prepared and the program name is finally displayed as characters.

[0005]

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention creates an icon in advance based on the video of a broadcasted program and displays the icon in association with the program name. Thus, the user can easily select a desired broadcast program.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving means for receiving broadcast data and program information, an icon synthesizing means for processing video data of a program received by the receiving means to generate icon data, and an icon synthesizing means. Receiving means for storing icon data generated by the means, and icon management means for storing link information for linking the icon data generated by the icon synthesizing means with the program. It is.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, further comprising operation input means, the video data processed by the icon synthesizing means is reproduced when an icon creation instruction is input by the operation input means. It is characterized by being video data to be processed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the video data processed by the icon combining means is:
It is video data that is reproduced at a predetermined timing during the broadcast period of the program.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the third aspect, a recording means is further provided, wherein the video data processed by the icon synthesizing means is transmitted to the recording means over a predetermined period during the broadcast period of the program. It is characterized by being extracted from recorded video data.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the processing by the icon synthesizing means is performed by reducing the video data.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the processing by the icon synthesizing means is to synthesize character data indicating a program name of the program with the icon data. Features.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the apparatus further comprises a monitor for displaying video data, and video display means for supplying a video signal to the monitor. Is a video of a display content in which an icon is added to a program table based on the program information received by the receiving unit, the icon data stored in the icon storage unit, and the link information stored in the icon management unit. It is characterized by generating a signal.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh aspect, the link information stored in the icon management means includes information indicating when the icon is displayed or generated, and is added to the program table. The icon is characterized in that the time when the icon is displayed or generated is based on the latest icon data.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the seventh or eighth aspect, there is provided a program selecting means for selecting a desired program from a program table displayed on a monitor and enabling the program to be reproduced. And

[0015] In a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect,
It is determined whether or not the program selected by the selection means is being broadcast at the time of selection.If the program is being broadcast, the program is reproduced, and if not, the reservation setting of the program is performed. Features.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention provides an icon synthesizing step of receiving broadcast data and program information and processing video data of the received program to generate icon data, and an icon storing the generated icon data. A storing step; a link information storing step of storing link information for linking the generated icon data with the program; and a program table based on the received program information and the stored icon data and link information. A program information display, comprising: a program table generating step of generating a video signal having a display content to which an icon is added; and a display step of displaying an image corresponding to the video signal generated by the program table generating step. Is the way.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh aspect, the video data processed in the icon synthesizing step is video data to be reproduced when an icon creation instruction is input by a user. I do.

According to a thirteenth aspect, in the eleventh aspect, the video data processed in the icon synthesizing step is video data reproduced and processed at a predetermined timing during a broadcast period of the program. .

According to a fourteenth aspect, in the thirteenth aspect, there is further provided a video data recording step of recording video data over a predetermined period during a broadcast period of the program,
The video data processed in the icon synthesizing step is extracted from the recorded video data.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the eleventh to fourteenth aspects, the icon data generated in the icon synthesizing step is executed by reducing the video data.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the method of any one of the eleventh to fifteenth aspects, the processing in the icon synthesizing step includes, in the program information, character data for displaying a program name of the program in the icon data. It is characterized by being synthesized.

According to a seventeenth aspect, in any one of the eleventh to sixteenth aspects, the link information includes information indicating a time when the icon is displayed or generated, and the icon added on the program table is , Characterized in that the time of display or generation is based on the latest icon data.

The invention according to claim 18 is the program according to any one of claims 11 to 17, further comprising a program selection step of selecting a desired program from the program table displayed in the display step and enabling reproduction of the program. It is characterized by having.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the eighteenth aspect, it is determined whether or not the program selected in the program selecting step is being broadcast at the time of selection, and if the program is being broadcast, the program is reproduced. If it is not in the middle, the reservation setting of the broadcast of the program is executed.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium storing a control program for executing the program information display method according to any one of the eleventh to nineteenth aspects.

[0026]

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

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a television broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a receiving unit which receives broadcast data and program information to be distributed, selects broadcast data corresponding to a program channel set by a user, and sequentially sends the selected broadcast data to a subsequent reproducing unit. Here, the broadcast data and the program information are digital data, which are stored in packets in a predetermined arrangement order and are sequentially distributed.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a monitor, which displays an image of a program channel set by the user and program information of the time zone.
Reference numeral 3 denotes a speaker which outputs audio of a program channel set by the user. An operation input unit 4 includes a remote controller, a touch panel, buttons, and the like. Reference numeral 5 denotes a control unit.
Each part in the receiving device 100 is controlled in response to an operation command from.

Reference numeral 6 denotes an audio selection unit for extracting audio data of a program channel set by a user via the operation input unit 4 from broadcast data. Reference numeral 7 denotes an audio reproducing unit which reproduces the audio data extracted by the audio selecting unit 6 into an audio signal. The reproduced audio signal is output from the speaker 3.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a video selection unit which extracts video data of a program channel set by a user via the operation input unit 4 from broadcast data. Reference numeral 9 denotes a video display unit which decodes and reproduces the video data extracted by the video selection unit 8 and outputs a video signal. When displaying program information, a video signal for a program display screen is generated from received program information (data) and icon data described later. These video signals are displayed on the monitor 2.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a program information management unit, which is a RAM (Random
An access memory is provided, and the program information (data) received by the receiving unit 1 is analyzed, and predetermined data such as a program name, program contents, broadcast date and time are stored in the RAM. here,
The program information is distributed not only for the program on that day and at that time, but also for a certain period (for example, several weeks) before and after that one time. The program information management unit 10 newly updates the program information other than the program information already stored in the RAM and the program information already stored in the RAM but whose contents have been updated. Or update and memorize. Also, of the stored program information, those whose broadcasting has ended are sequentially deleted from the RAM. Note that RA
The file configuration of the data stored in M will be described later.

An icon synthesizing unit 11 creates icon data from the received video data. That is, when the user sets a desired program channel via the operation input unit 4 and issues an icon creation instruction, the image data extracted by the video selection unit 8 is reduced at that timing to create icon data. .

Reference numeral 12 denotes an icon storage unit having a RAM,
The icon data generated by the icon synthesizing unit 11 is stored together with the file name. An icon management unit 13 includes a RAM and stores link information for linking the icon data stored in the icon storage unit 12 with the program in which the icon is created. The file structure of the link information will be described later.

Next, the file structure of the program information (data) stored in the program information management section 10 will be described. FIG. 2 shows the file (program information management file 20).
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of FIG.

As described above, the program information management file 200 is managed so that it is added or updated when the program information is received, and deleted when the broadcast of the program ends. Each program information management data is stored in the order of the broadcast date and time. One piece of program information management data includes a broadcast CH 201 indicating a broadcast channel of a program, a broadcast date 202, a broadcast start time 203,
Duration 204 from broadcast start to end, program name 20
5. Program contents 206 such as program type (genre), cast, commentary, etc., program ID 207 when the program is broadcast as a series (for example, the same day and time zone every week), and the number of icons when the icon of the program is created 208, display area information 209 for displaying program information on the monitor 2, and a program viewing / recording reservation flag 210.

Of these, broadcast channel 201, start time 20
3, duration 204, program name 205, program content 206
Is obtained by analyzing the received program information. The program ID 207 is set by the program information management unit 10 for each program name. The number of icons 208, the display area information 209, and the viewing / recording reservation flag 210 are appropriately set in accordance with an operation command from the user.

Next, the file structure of the link information stored in the icon management unit 13 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the file (icon management file 300).

The icon management file 300 is managed so as to be sequentially updated and stored according to the icon creation processing, and to be deleted according to the icon deletion processing. The icon management data includes a program ID 301 for associating with the program information management data, a file name 302 of the icon data corresponding to the icon of the program among the icon data stored in the icon storage unit 12, and An icon creation date (or last use date when the icon is displayed on the monitor 2 together with the program information) 303 is provided.

In the television receiver 100 having the above-described configuration, an operation for creating, displaying, changing, and deleting a program icon and an operation for selecting and reproducing a program will be described below.

(1) Creation of Icon Creation of a program icon is executed in response to a user input of an icon creation command during reproduction of a predetermined program. That is, the video data at the timing when the icon creation command is input is reduced by the icon synthesizing unit 11, and this is stored in the icon storage unit 12 as icon data together with its file name. At the same time, the program ID of the program for which the icon was created
And the file name of the icon and the creation date of the icon are stored in the icon management unit 1 as icon management data.
3 is stored.

Further, after the program icons are registered in this manner, when the program information of the program (FIG. 2) is updated, the number of icons 208 in the program information management data having the program ID of the program is changed. , Is increased by 1 as compared to before the registration of the program icon. Here, the number of icons 208
Is set by counting the number of program IDs 301 of the program in the icon management data stored in the icon management unit 13. Therefore, even if a new program icon is registered as described above, if the existing icon is deleted at the same time, the number of program IDs 301 stored as the icon management data does not change. The contents of Expression 208 are the same.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a specific process for creating a program icon.

First, in step S 503, the display image at the time of the operation of the icon creation instruction is extracted by the video selection unit 8, and the icon composition unit 11 reduces the image data to create an icon. At this time, the program name read as the program information may be combined on the icon.

Next, in step S 504, the created icon is stored in the icon storage unit 12 as icon data. In step S505, the icon file name stored in the icon storage unit 12, the icon creation date,
And program ID for associating icons with program information
The icon management data is created from, and additionally recorded in the icon management file 300 of the icon management unit 13.

Thereafter, in step S506, the program information management file 20 managed by the program information
0 is added to the icon number 208 of the corresponding program information. When displaying the program selection screen, the presence or absence of an icon is determined by referring to the number of icons.

In step S507, the created icon is transferred to the video display unit 9 and displayed on the monitor 2 for a predetermined time together with the program video. This allows the user to confirm whether the intended icon has been created. If the icon intended by the user has not been created, an icon creation instruction may be given again by the operation input unit 4 during the reproduction of the program.

According to the above processing, a plurality of icons may be set for one program.
It seems that only one icon needs to be set for one program. In such a case, when a new icon is created, the existing icon may be deleted. FIG. 6 shows a flowchart for realizing such processing. According to this flowchart, step S50
In step 1, it is determined whether or not the icon of the program being reproduced has been registered. If the number of icons is one or more, the process proceeds to step S502, and all existing icons are deleted. Here, whether or not the number of icons is one or more is determined by reading the corresponding program management information data from the program information management file 200 and determining whether the number of icons 208 is zero.

(2) Icon Display The display of the program icon is executed when the user inputs a program information display command. For example, when a user inputs a command for displaying a program guide (time-series program guide) of programs broadcasted after the current time, the program information of the program to be displayed is read from the program information management unit 10. . At the same time, based on the program ID 207 (FIG. 2) of the program to be displayed, the icon file name 302 (FIG. 3) corresponding to the corresponding program ID is read from the icon management unit 13, and further, the icon file name The icon data corresponding to 302 is stored in the icon storage unit 12.
Is read out. Here, when a plurality of icon file names exist for the same program ID in the icon management unit 13, the icon file name of the newest one on the last use date 303 is selected.

When the program information and the icon data are read out in this way, the video display section 9 generates a video signal in which a program table corresponding to the program information and an icon corresponding to the icon data are superimposed. Here, the position where the icon is superimposed is determined based on the display area information 209 (FIG. 2) in the program information management data. Thus, the program guide on which the icons are superimposed is displayed on the monitor 2.

FIG. 8 shows a display example of the program table. Here, a time-series program table of programs broadcast for three hours after 18:00 is displayed together with icons. The icons attached to "Monster Q" and "Brothers"
A scene preferred by the user is captured as an icon from the video broadcast before the broadcast (for example, the previous week).

When a plurality of icons are registered for the same program, the most recently used icon is displayed as described above, but the user may replace the displayed icon with another icon. Can also be selected. For example, in the state of FIG. 8, when the user selects a predetermined icon and inputs an icon change command, among the icons registered for the program, the next highest-ranked icon is the last icon in the icon management data. The search is performed based on the use date 303 (FIG. 3), and an icon corresponding to the search is displayed. When the display icon is changed in this way, the content of the last use date 303 (FIG. 3) in the icon management data is changed accordingly.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a specific process for displaying a program icon. Note that this flowchart shows a process when a time-series program table is selected as a displayed program table.

First, in step S601, the program information management file 200 stored in the program information
Thus, for a predetermined time including the program being broadcast (in FIG. 8, 18:
(3 hours from 00 to 19:00), the corresponding program information management data is stored on broadcast day 20.
2. Search and read out according to the start time 203.

Next, in step S602, the display area of the icon on the monitor 2 is calculated based on the number of broadcast channels (5 channels in FIG. 8) and the display time, and the position data relating to the display area is displayed in the display area information 2
09 is recorded in the program information management file 200.

In step S603, character information such as a display area frame of a program guide and a program name is synthesized on the video display unit 9.

Next, in step S604, the number of icons of the corresponding program is determined based on the number of icons 208 (FIG. 2) of the program information management file, and the number of icons is 0.
In step S6, since no icon has been created,
The process proceeds to 07. On the other hand, if the number of icons is one or more, in step 605, the icon management data having the same program ID is read from the icon management file 300 managed by the icon management unit 13, and the corresponding icon data is read from the icon storage unit 12. read out.

Thereafter, in step S606, the icon data read out in step 605 is combined with the program display area frame generated by the video display unit 9.

The above steps S605 and S6
In the process 06, the icon combining process for one program ends. In step S607, it is determined whether there is an icon to be displayed next, and the above processing is repeated until the combining processing of all the icons is completed. Then, when the synthesizing process of all the icons is completed, the process proceeds to step S608, and the generated program selection screen is displayed on the monitor 2.

FIG. 8 shows a display screen of the time-series program guide displayed as described above. The three-hour program guide including the program being broadcast is indicated by character information and icons.

On this program selection screen, a program can be selected by using the program area frame as a cursor and moving it with the channel buttons or up / down buttons on the remote control. At this time, if a program that is not a broadcast program is selected, it is regarded that a viewing reservation has been set, and the setting is made to automatically play back when the start time of the reserved program comes.

(3) Deletion of Icon The deletion of the program icon is performed when the user inputs a deletion command because the icon displayed on the monitor is not the intended one, or when the broadcast of the series program ends and the icon is not required. Is executed, for example, when an instruction to delete an icon is issued from the control unit 5 in response to the determination that the icon has been deleted.

In the former case, the process is executed by designating the icon to be deleted and then inputting a delete command by the user. For example, in the state of FIG. 8, if you want to delete the “Brothers” icon, after specifying the icon,
Enter a delete command. In response to the deletion instruction, the corresponding icon data is deleted from the icon storage unit 12. At the same time, of the icon management data in the icon management unit 13, the icon management data of the corresponding icon file name is deleted.

In the latter case, the end of the broadcast of the series program is determined when the program information, for example, information indicating the “final time” is obtained in the program contents, or for a predetermined period (for example, the icon unused period). (One month or more), the control unit 5 issues a command to delete the icon. .

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a specific process for deleting a program icon.

First, in step S 901, the icon data of the icon to be deleted is deleted from the icon storage unit 12. Next, in step S902, the corresponding icon management information data is deleted from the icon management file 300 managed by the icon management unit 13. In step S903, the program I of the corresponding icon is read from the program information management file 200 managed by the program information management unit 10.
The program information management data matching D is searched, and the number of icons 208 is reduced by one. Then, in step S904, the icon combining process area is not displayed, and the deleting process is completed.

(4) Program Selection and Playback Processing Next, the operation of the program selection and playback processing in the television broadcast receiving apparatus 100 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process for performing a program selection and reproduction process.

First, a program selection screen is displayed in step S401. The program selection screen displayed here is, for example, a screen that displays only programs being broadcast (list of currently broadcast programs), a program table of programs broadcast after the current time (time-series program table), sports and dramas, and the like. The user designates a desired program table through the operation input unit 4 from among these, for example, a program table in which programs are classified by genre (program table by genre).

Next, in step S402, it is determined whether or not an interrupt has been input. Here, the interrupt input indicates a "display screen switching instruction" for instructing switching of a program table, a "program selection instruction" for instructing reproduction of a desired program, and an instruction that the reproduction start time of the program reserved for viewing has been reached. “Viewing timer timer interrupt” is set. Among them, the “display screen switching instruction” and the “program selection instruction” are set by an operation input by the user. The “viewing timer interrupt” is issued from the control unit 5 at the timing when the timer set at the time of the viewing reservation measures the start time of the program.

If a "display screen switching instruction" is received in step S403, the process returns to step S401.
The program selection screen designated by the operation input unit 4 is displayed.

If a "program selection instruction" is received in step S403, the flow advances to step S404 to determine whether or not the program whose selection has been instructed is currently being broadcast. This determination is made by referring to the program information stored in the program information management unit 10. Here, if the selected program is a program currently being broadcast, step S4
In step 06, the receiving channel of the receiving unit 1 is set to the channel of the program. The program selection is performed in step 4
The user designates a desired program on the screen out of the program guide displayed by 01.

When the receiving channel is set in this way, in step S407, the video and audio data of the service set in the viewing channel are extracted from the broadcast data received by the receiving unit 1, and the video selecting unit 8. Control the video display unit 9 to display the video on the monitor 2. At the same time, it controls the audio selector 6 and the audio reproducer 7 to output the audio of the program to the speaker 3.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S404 that the selected program is an unbroadcasted program, a viewing reservation of the program is set in step S405. The reservation setting process refers to the start time of the corresponding program in the program information management data (FIG. 2) in the program information management unit 10 to determine whether or not the program is unbroadcast. In this case, the process is completed by setting the flag of the viewing / recording reservation flag 210 in the program information management data of the program to ON. Thereafter, the control unit 5 sets the viewing reservation flag to ON.
It monitors the broadcast start time of the program indicated by. Then, when the current time reaches the broadcast start time of the program, the above-mentioned “viewing reservation time timer interrupt” is issued.

In step S403, when it is detected that the "reserved viewing time timer interrupt" has been issued, the process proceeds to step S406, where the viewing channel of the receiving unit 1 is set to the channel of the reserved program.
The program proceeds to 407, where a program reproduction process is performed.

During the program reproduction processing in step S407,
As shown in step S408, reproduction is performed while waiting for an interrupt from the operation input unit 4 and a program reproduction end interrupt.

In step S 409, if an interrupt of “display screen switching instruction” is received, the process proceeds to step S 409.
Returning to step 401, the same processing as described above is executed. When the reproduction of the program is completed, the broadcast of the program following the ended program is executed without changing the setting of the viewing channel.

If an interruption to create or delete an icon is received in step S409, the icon processing shown in step S410 is executed and step S407 is executed.
The program reproduction processing of is continued.

According to the above-described embodiment, a program icon can be automatically created by a very simple operation such as a user inputting an icon creation instruction when viewing a program. In addition, since the program scene that the user likes can be set as an icon, the identification of the program can be improved, and the preference of the program information display screen can be improved. According to the present embodiment, a desired program can be quickly and smoothly selected even for an infant whose character information cannot be read. In addition, this icon can be changed as many times as you like while watching the program, and you can create your favorite icon,
Furthermore, since the program is automatically deleted when the broadcast of the program ends, there is no need for the viewer to perform icon management.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 10 shows the configuration of a television broadcast recording / reproducing apparatus 1000 according to the second embodiment. The recording / reproducing apparatus 1000 includes a recording unit 14 that accumulates broadcast data in a storage medium such as a hard disk or a disk-type recording medium, and when an icon is not registered in the program information managed by the program information management unit 10. In this case, an icon is created by automatically recording a scene in a broadcast program, and the created icon is used for a program selection screen. The configuration other than the recording unit 14 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a process for automatically creating an icon.

First, in step S1001, program information management data being broadcast is searched for and read from the program information management file managed by the program information management unit 10. next,
In step S1002, it is determined based on the number of icons 208 whether an icon has already been registered for the program.

Here, if the icon has not been registered,
In step S1003, the channel of the input unit 1 is set to the broadcast CH 201 in the program information management data read out in step S1001, and the recording unit 14 records the program video being broadcast for a predetermined time (for example, three minutes). In step S1004, image data is extracted at predetermined intervals (for example, at intervals of 30 seconds) from the leading picture of the recorded video, and is sequentially transferred to the icon combining unit 11.

Thereafter, in step S1005,
The transferred image data is sequentially reduced to create an icon. In step S1006, the created icons are sequentially stored as icon data in the icon storage unit 12. In step S1007, icon management information composed of the icon file name stored in the icon storage unit 12, the icon creation date, and the program ID for associating the icon with the program information is created.
Are sequentially recorded in the icon management file 300 managed by the user. In step S1008, the program information management unit 10
The number of icons created for the program is counted up by sequentially incrementing the icon number 208 of the corresponding program information in the program information management file 200 managed by (1). When displaying the program selection screen, the icons are combined with the program selection screen by referring to the number of icons.

In step S1009, it is determined whether or not icons have been created for all the images extracted from the recorded video. If all the icons have not been created, control is returned to the icon combining process in step S1005.

When the process of creating all icons is completed in this way, in step S1010, the video data recorded in the recording unit 14 for the program is deleted.

In step S1011, it is determined whether the reading of the program information performed in step S1001 has been completed for the broadcasting programs of all the channels, and if there is an unprocessed channel, the broadcasting program information of the unprocessed channel is read. Control is returned to step S1001.

According to the above control, when no icon is registered for the program being broadcast, the recording / reproducing apparatus 1000 automatically records the program video and automatically generates a plurality of icons from the recorded video. . Therefore, when a plurality of icons are present on the program selection screen of the recording / reproducing apparatus 1000, it is also possible to select and display the automatically created icons sequentially in a frame-by-frame manner in the program display area frame. Once an icon is selected, the selected icon can be used as the icon of the program. Note that the program IDs 207 and 301 used by the program information management unit 10 and the icon management unit 13 are identification IDs of series programs.
Since the icon based on the video at the time of the previous broadcast has been created, it is not necessary to create the icon for each broadcast program.

Since the recording / reproducing apparatus 1000 of the present embodiment includes the recording section 14, it is possible to make a reservation recording in addition to a viewing reservation. In order to increase the compatibility between the video and the icon of the recorded program, the icon can be created at the time of recording the program, and can be replaced with the previously created icon and used for the subsequent management. Also, when the user intentionally gives an instruction to create an icon when playing the recorded program, the icon at the time of the instruction is replaced with the icon of the recorded program being played. Thus, for a recorded program, an image intended by the user can be used as an icon even for a series program.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and it goes without saying that various other modifications are possible. For example, the above two embodiments may be implemented not only separately and independently but also simultaneously.

A CD-ROM storing a control program for executing the processing steps described in the above embodiment.
By setting (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), the control program may be installed in the television device, and thereby the same function as described above may be realized.

[0093]

According to the present invention, a program icon can be created by an extremely simple operation. In addition, since the program scene that the user likes can be set as an icon, the identification of the program can be improved, and the preference of the program information display screen can be improved. Therefore, a desired program can be quickly and smoothly selected even for an infant who cannot read characters.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a receiving apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a format of a program information management file.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a format of an icon management file.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of displaying and reproducing a program selection screen.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of icon creation.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of icon creation.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation when displaying a video of a program guide;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a program selection screen based on a time-series program table.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of deleting an icon.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a recording / reproduction device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of an automatic icon creation process;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Receiving means 2 ... Monitor 3 ... Speaker 4 ... Operation input means 5 ... Control means 6 ... Audio selection means 7 ... Audio reproduction means 8 ... Video selection means 9 ... Video display means 10 ... Program information management means 11 ... Icon synthesis means 12 icon storage means 13 icon management means 14 recording means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5C025 BA27 BA28 CA09 CB08 CB09 DA01 DA05 5E501 AB06 AC33 BA03 BA05 BA11 CA02 CB03 CB05 CC02 DA14 EB05 EB17 FA04 FB04 FB34

Claims (20)

[Claims] A receiving means for receiving broadcast data and program information; an icon synthesizing means for processing video data of a program received by the receiving means to generate icon data; and an icon synthesizing means for generating icon data. A receiving apparatus comprising: an icon storage unit that stores icon data; and an icon management unit that stores link information for linking the icon data generated by the icon synthesizing unit with the program. 2. The video data according to claim 1, further comprising an operation input means, wherein the video data processed by the icon synthesizing means is video data reproduced when an icon creation instruction is input by the operation input means. A receiving device, comprising: 3. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the video data processed by the icon synthesizing means is video data reproduced and processed at a predetermined timing during a broadcast period of the program. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a recording unit, wherein the video data processed by the icon synthesizing unit is obtained from video data recorded on the recording unit over a predetermined period during a broadcast period of the program. A receiver characterized by being extracted. 5. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said icon synthesizing unit generates icon data by reducing the video data. 6. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the icon combining unit combines character data indicating a program name of the program with the icon data. 7. The monitor according to claim 1, further comprising: a monitor for displaying video data; and a video display unit for supplying a video signal to the monitor. Generating a video signal of a display content with an icon added to a program guide, based on the program information received by the program, the icon data stored in the icon storage means, and the link information stored in the icon management means. A receiving device characterized by the above-mentioned. 8. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 7, wherein the link information stored in the icon management unit includes information indicating a time when the icon is displayed or generated, and the icon attached on the program table includes the display information. Alternatively, the receiving device is based on the latest icon data when it is generated. 9. The receiving apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising program selection means for selecting a desired program from a program table displayed on a monitor and enabling the program to be reproduced. 10. A program according to claim 9, wherein it is determined whether or not the program selected by said selecting means is being broadcast at the time of selection.
A receiving apparatus for executing reproduction of the program if the program is being broadcast, and executing reservation setting for the program if the program is not being broadcast. 11. An icon synthesizing step of receiving broadcast data and program information and processing video data of the received program to generate icon data; an icon storing step of storing the generated icon data; A link information storing step of storing link information for linking the received icon data and the program, and displaying an icon on a program table based on the received program information and the stored icon data and link information A program information display method, comprising: a program table generating step of generating a video signal having contents; and a display step of displaying a video corresponding to the video signal generated by the program table generating step. 12. The program information display method according to claim 11, wherein the video data processed in the icon synthesizing step is video data that is played back when an icon creation instruction is input by a user. . 13. The program information display method according to claim 11, wherein the video data processed in the icon synthesizing step is video data reproduced and processed at a predetermined timing during a broadcast period of the program. 14. The video data recording method according to claim 13, further comprising a video data recording step of recording video data over a predetermined period during a broadcast period of the program, wherein the video data processed by the icon synthesizing step is the video data recording step. A program information display method characterized in that the program information is extracted from extracted video data. 15. The method according to claim 11, wherein
The program information display method, wherein the icon combining step generates icon data by reducing the video data. 16. In any one of claims 11 to 15,
The program information display method, wherein the icon combining step combines character data for displaying a program name of the program with the icon data. 17. The method according to claim 11, wherein
The link information includes information indicating the time when the icon is displayed or generated, and the icon added on the program guide indicates that the time when the display or the time is generated is based on the latest icon data. Characteristic program information display method. 18. The method according to claim 11, wherein
A program information display method, comprising: a program selection step of selecting a desired program from the program table displayed in the display step and enabling reproduction of the program. 19. The program according to claim 18, wherein it is determined whether or not the program selected in the program selecting step is being broadcast at the time of selection. A program information display method characterized by executing reservation setting for broadcast of a program. 20. A recording medium storing a control program for executing the program information display method according to claim 11. Description: