JP2002271711A - Digital broadcasting receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem of a conventional digital broadcasting receiver that has had difficulty in retrieving a program for a desired age range especially when parental setting is made because many channels are broadcast in digital broadcasting. SOLUTION: A retrieval condition setting section 28 reads parental lock data entered by a user to provide a reception age restriction to the receiver in advance from an age restriction memory 27 and retrieves programs within a range of the age restriction from data of an electronic program guide data storage section 28 in order to retrieve data of an electronic program guide(EPG) to generate a program chart. A program chart generating section 31 generates a prescribed program chart based on the result of the retrieval and displays an image and displays the image. In addition, when the electronic program guide has data of a view standard age as ages suitable to view each program in the electronic program guide, data of the age restriction or data in an electronic program guide data storage section 28 are retrieved and the generating section 31 generates the program chart.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiver capable of selecting and receiving various programs broadcast in digital broadcasting. The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiver capable of creating a program guide using data on a viewing age included in an electronic program guide.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digital broadcasting has various features such as simultaneous transmission of a plurality of broadcasts on one channel, good image quality, and little disturbing of images on a transmission path. 2. Description of the Related Art Digital broadcasting has become widespread, and programs with more than 200 channels are broadcast day and night. In addition, BS digital broadcasting has become a main broadcasting, and is going to spread rapidly along with the high image quality of digital high definition television.

[0003] Further, terrestrial digital broadcasting has been broadcast in the United States for some time, and in Japan, the start time of the main broadcasting has been determined. In particular, digital terrestrial broadcasting is suitable for mobile reception, so it is expected that on-board receivers will receive high-quality, multi-channel audio broadcasts. It may be an important function and is attracting attention. As described above, it is expected that most of the broadcasts will be digitized in the future, and it is expected that an extremely large number of broadcasts will be receivable since digital broadcasts are being multi-channeled.

[0004] In addition, with the increase in the number of recipients and the competition among the companies, various programs and various services according to the tastes and preferences of the users are increasing, and for example, movies, sports, music, news, dramas, variety, and the like. A large number of genres, such as music, education, theater broadcasting, hobbies, and animation, are broadcast on many channels. Also, in digital broadcasting, there are many channels for infants and children, and there are channels specializing in animation, etc., and many programs that are interesting for children and young people including infants are also broadcasted, and there are many educational programs. Parents often subscribe to these channels, especially to show such programs to children.

[0005] A user who receives such a digital broadcast must select his / her favorite channel from the extremely large number of channels as described above, switches many channels, or displays a program table. There is a problem that requires much trouble such as searching for a desired program from the inside.

Therefore, an electronic program guide (EPG: Electronic Progr.
amming Guide) is broadcasted, and various programs can be searched by searching this data. In addition, program guides for terrestrial / satellite broadcasting are already provided by the EPG service that converts digital data mainly in the Kanto region into digital data and transmits the multiplexed radio waves. The EPG service has been provided in many broadcasts. I have. Therefore, most of recent digital broadcast receivers have an EPG receiving function, and receivers of various companies arrange EPG program data in various ways to form original usage guides, thereby enabling digital broadcasts. The user operates the remote control key or the like to display the program guide, receives a desired program, and sets recording as needed.

[0007] Such an electronic program guide (EPG) is a type of data broadcasting, and the content of each EPG has some differences. However, most of them are based on the broadcast date, day of the week, The start / end time, station ID, program title, subtitle, program content, cast, genre information of the program, etc., including a still image in part, are repeatedly transmitted several times a second. In addition, the contents included in the EPG are scheduled to be added as appropriate in the future, so that various types of information can be used, and the effective use of the EPG is considered as a function of the digital broadcast receiver. It is an extremely large factor that appeals to

On the other hand, as described above, in digital broadcasting, various programs are broadcast in many genres. Among them, programs including violent scenes and scenes with severe sexual description are included. For example, there are various contents such as programs that are not preferable for children under the age of 18, or at least not preferable for children under a predetermined age. Therefore, the program to be broadcast is broadcast in advance including parental information as viewing age restriction information. For example, in BS digital broadcasting, for example, 20 to 19 years old, 18 years old,
This data is transmitted with various program data by setting finely for each age.

On the other hand, the receiver is provided with a parental lock function as a viewing age restriction function capable of setting parental restrictions in accordance with the parental level. For example, the maximum age is 20 years old and the minimum age is 4 years. When the parental lock on the receiver side is set to 20 years old, all broadcasts can be received as unlimited, and the parental lock is set to, for example, 17 years old. If it is set, the program for which the parental setting of the broadcast program is for a person aged 18 or older cannot be received, and only the program for a child aged 17 or younger can be received. Similarly, set the parental lock on the receiver to 4
When the age is set, a program for which the parental setting of a broadcasted program is intended for children aged 5 and over cannot be received. If parental settings are made on the receiver and the age is restricted, especially when a restricted program is to be received, the parental settings can be completely changed by entering a password registered in the receiver in advance. It is necessary to cancel or enter the password and reset the limit again.

[0010]

As described above, in a receiver in which a parental lock is performed at a predetermined age, as the set age becomes lower, the number of programs that can be received must be reduced. Therefore, for example, when the lowest age is set to four, the number of programs that can be actually received is greatly reduced. When such a setting is made, for example, when the parent of the infant operates the channel selection key to search for an appropriate program for his / her child, the selected channel If the parental restrictions set by the user are displayed on the screen, a message such as "Not available due to age restriction" will be displayed and the parental setting restrictions will be displayed. This is the first time that you are aware of the restrictions. Then, when the next channel is selected, the same display is performed again. This operation is repeated, and it is difficult to search for a selectable channel.

As described above, when searching for a channel that can be received by one's own receiver and looking at a program table, a channel that specializes in broadcasting for adults is clearly specified, but a detailed channel is specified. Parental information is not displayed. Similarly, the electronic program guide (EP)
In G), even if the program is for adults, it is usually displayed, but does not usually show information such as a program for children under 4 years old. Also,
Although there are many channels for children, as described above, there is no channel for a specific age, such as 4 years or younger, and a wide range of children is also targeted.

As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to display parental information indicating a detailed age on a program table or an electronic program guide. For example, a program in which parental settings are made for children under 4 years old is made based on such information. Searching from an extremely large number of channels is time-consuming and cumbersome. In particular, because the child has entered elementary school, the restrictions are relaxed by the age of about 7 years, and on the contrary, it is not preferable to show too childish things, so that the program for children under 5 years old is not selected. Sometimes, even if detailed parental information is displayed even in a program guide or an electronic program guide, it is difficult work.

For example, in a household where a child is already independent and has only two couples, it is troublesome to select a program for the elderly from a large number of programs for children when selecting a channel. In some cases, such as when using a digital TV receiver installed in a private room of an adult, you may want to select your desired program from the program table excluding programs for children. is there. Even in such a case, it is difficult even if detailed parental information is displayed even in a program guide or an electronic program guide.

[0014] As described above, in digital broadcasting, a large number of channels are broadcast, and CS broadcasting, BS digital, and terrestrial digital are gradually increased, and many programs that meet one's hobby are broadcast. Since there are too many channels and the number of programs is large, it is extremely difficult to select a desired program. As a countermeasure, an electronic program guide is used, but simply searching using the current information of the electronic program guide, for example, by specifying a genre or the like, cannot perform a search or program extraction based on parental information in particular. In particular, it is inconvenient to search only programs for children of a specific age, or to extract programs within a specific age range or programs of a specific age or more.

Therefore, the present invention forms a receivable program table in accordance with a desired age range of a receiver by using information on viewing age included in data of an electronic program guide, and obtains an easy-to-use digital broadcast receiver. It is the main purpose.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, a digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention searches received electronic program guide data based on predetermined search conditions to obtain a program suitable for the search conditions. An electronic program guide search unit; and a program table forming unit that forms a program guide based on the program obtained by the electronic program guide search unit. The electronic program guide search unit includes search conditions included in the received electronic program guide as search conditions. In this case, conditions corresponding to the viewing age data are set.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the data relating to the viewing age included in the electronic program guide is data relating to the restriction on the viewing age of the receiver.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the electronic program guide search unit includes a viewer included in the electronic program guide based on viewing age restriction data set in the receiver. This is a search for data related to age restrictions.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the electronic program guide search unit searches the electronic program guide based on data regarding viewing age restriction separately input by a user for creating a program guide. This is a search for data on the included viewing age restriction.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the data on the viewing age included in the electronic program guide is data on the standard viewing age of the program.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the electronic program guide search unit may be configured to output the electronic program guide to the electronic program guide based on data regarding viewing age restriction that is separately input by a user for creating a program table. This is a search of the included data on the standard viewing age.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the electronic program guide search unit includes a viewer included in the electronic program guide based on viewing age restriction data set in the receiver. This is a search of data related to standard age.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the functional blocks of a digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention and their interrelationships. In this figure, as in the prior art, in the digital broadcast receiving unit 10, the radio waves of the digital broadcast received by the antenna 11 are processed by the RF signal demodulation unit 12 and the baseband signal demodulation unit 13 controlled by the system control unit 20, respectively. Then, the data separating section 14 separates the audio data 15 and the video data 16 included in the signal and the information channel data 17 including various information such as management information of these data.

The separated audio data 15 is output from a speaker 22 via an audio signal decoding unit 18 and an amplifier 21, and the video data 16 is output to a video signal decoding unit 23. An appropriate image or the like from the front screen output unit 32 is synthesized and a video is displayed on the image display unit 25. The information channel data 17 is input to the system control unit 20, and when there is data or the like in which parental information is set, the data is taken in, and the electronic program guide (EPG) can be taken in. I can do it.

An operation signal input unit 26 is further connected to the system control unit 20. From the operation signal input unit 26, a parental age limit, a password, The user inputs a program guide display request and, if necessary, additional age restrictions for creating a program guide. The parental age limit or the additional age limit is stored in the age limit memory 27. In particular, the parental age limit is written and changed by inputting a password. An electronic program guide data storage unit 28 for storing the electronic program guide separated by the information channel data 17 is connected to the system control unit 20. The electronic program guide is automatically updated at any time from the start of operation of the receiver. Guide data is stored.

An electronic program guide search unit 30 is connected to the system control unit 20 so that the user can input the operation signal input unit 2
A predetermined electronic program is searched from the electronic program guide data storage unit 28 according to the setting condition of the search condition setting unit 28 to which the signal relating to the search condition is input among the various operation signals input from the electronic control unit 6. The data of the electronic program guide searched in this way is arranged in a predetermined program table format in a program table forming unit 31, output from the program table screen output unit 32 to the image synthesizing unit 24, and combined with a video signal as appropriate. Is displayed on the image display unit 25.

In the digital broadcast receiver having the above-described configuration, the most basic operation for producing the age-limited program guide according to the present invention can be performed, for example, according to the operation flow shown in FIG. Hereinafter, this operation flow will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and other drawings. In the process of creating an age-restricted program table, an electronic program guide is first received (step S1). This electronic program guide (EP
G) is a specific channel in CS broadcasting and BS
In digital broadcasting, the data is multiplexed with video and audio data and broadcasted, and can be obtained by receiving this and separating it by the information channel data 17 in FIG. Next, the electronic program guide is stored (step S2).
This is performed by storing the data in the electronic program guide data storage unit 28.

Next, it is determined whether or not there is a display request for the program guide (step S3). This is determined by whether or not the user has made a display request for the program guide from the operation signal input unit 26 in FIG. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that there is no request for displaying the program guide, the process returns to step S1, and
Data collection of a new electronic program guide and update of data in the data storage unit are performed as needed.

If it is determined in step S3 that a program table display request has been made, it is determined whether the program table display request is a display request for an age-restricted program table (step S4). This age-restricted program guide is requested by the user operating a remote controller or the like of the receiver and pressing a "program guide" key to display a genre-based program guide as shown in FIG. In this case, the user can select "age range". Figure 1 shows the data of the genre-based program guide.
Is input to the search condition setting unit 29. In addition, about the age restriction range input type search screen shown in FIG.
Another embodiment will be described later in detail.

In the "program guide by genre" shown in FIG. 3 (a), as in the case where an item other than the above "age range" is selected, the display request of the age-limited program table is requested in the step S4. If it is determined that it is not the case, the process proceeds to step S8, and a regular program display consisting of a matrix of time and channels conventionally performed is performed. Also, the selection of "age range"
When it is determined in step S4 that the request for the program table with age restriction has been made, the stored electronic program data is searched within the range of the age restriction. This search is performed by the electronic program guide search unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 according to the conditions set by the search condition setting unit 29 when there is a program table creation request from the user.

When the "age range" is selected as described above, the data stored in the electronic program guide data storage is searched (step S5). At the time of this search, the search condition setting unit 29 of FIG. 1 fetches the data of the age limit from the age limit memory 27 storing the parental age limit, and sets this as the age range at the time of the search. Therefore, when the data of "4 years old" is recorded in the age restriction memory 27, the electronic program guide search unit 30 selects a 4-year-old child from a large number of programs stored in the electronic program guide data storage unit. Only programs that can be watched are extracted.

The relationship between the program in which the parental age limit is set as described above and the parental setting in the receiver, and the range that can be received by this receiver, that is, the electronic program guide search unit 30 FIG. 4A shows a range in which data in the electronic program guide storage unit 28 is searched and desired data is extracted, for example. An example of a program on which a parental is set in a broadcast program is shown on the left side of the figure. Program A is intended for people aged 20 or older, similarly, program B is 18 years or older, and program C is 10 years old. that's all,
The program D is intended for children aged 5 and over, and the program E is a program in which parental settings are not made and can be viewed by anyone.

The parental setting on the receiver side is shown on the right side of FIG. 4 (a). When the receiver setting is P, the parental setting age is set to 4 years.
Can be watched from the age of 5 or older, so that it cannot be viewed with this receiver setting, and only unrestricted programs such as program E can be viewed. Thereby, step S5 of FIG.
In the program to be searched, only programs that can be viewed by anyone, such as program E, can be extracted. Similarly, since the receiver setting Q is set to 9 years old, the program C cannot be viewed, and therefore, for example, the range of the program D or the program E is searched and extracted. When the age is set to 20 as in the receiver setting T, all programs can be viewed, and therefore, a program table is created from the entire programs assuming that parental age restrictions are not imposed. It will be.

In step S5 in FIG. 2, a search is performed within the range in which the program is received in relation to the age setting of the parental lock of the receiver and the parental setting of the program to be transmitted. . Next, a program guide is created based on the data thus searched (step S6). As a result, for example, even when all programs are displayed as shown in FIG.
When the age is set, an easy-to-understand program table as shown in FIG. 6B is created, and the program table can be displayed and output (step S7).

That is, FIG. 5 (a) shows 127 channels of a movie and 130 channels of an animation as special channels that specially broadcast a specific genre among many channels.
Channels and 131 channels that specialize in broadcasting about cats are illustrated. Of these channels, channel 127 of the movie broadcasts the movie "Devil's Revenge" until 11 o'clock, and this movie contains considerable violent scenes, so parental settings were made for those over 16 years old And it is not appropriate for children under 16 to see it. This data is included in the data of the electronic program guide, and in the drawing, 16 numbers are displayed in the program table using this data.

[0036] On the 127th channel of the movie, a movie of "Children's Story" is broadcast from 11 o'clock, but this movie is originally a movie for children, and there are almost no cruel scenes, so parental restrictions have been imposed. It is a program that anyone can watch. "Exorcist" broadcast from 11:30 is a cruel movie, so it is feared that it will affect young people, so it is targeted at people over 18 years old, that is, it is not preferable for people under 18 years old to watch It is a program.

In the 130 channel of the animation, “Robot Robo-chan” and “Osha no Misha” are not set as parentals as programs that can be viewed by anyone. On the other hand, "Ken Ten Shoden" is a program that is intended for people aged 12 and over because cruel scenes frequently appear, and is not desirable for those under the age of 12. Also, "Spaceship Viking" is regarded as a program that is not desirable for children under 10 years old to watch for the same reason.

On channel 131, which specializes in cat programs, the "Carnivorous Ecology" program often emphasizes the violence of cats against small animals and often eats internal organs. Parental settings have been made at the age of 4 as unfavorable for infants. Similarly, the "Cat Tumor and Surgery" program broadcasts the condition of the tumor in the cat's organs and how it is being operated on, so parental settings have been made at the age of 10 because they are not appropriate for infants and children. I have.
In addition, parental settings are not made for other programs,
It is a program that anyone can watch.

With respect to such various programs, a mother of a family having a child of about 3 years old tries to find a program that can be watched together with the child, and displays a message “age” on a search screen as shown in FIG. When "Range" is selected, a program table as shown in FIG. 5B is automatically created from the above-mentioned program by the age restriction of "4 years old" preset in the receiver. In this program table, for example, "Revenge of the devil" and "Exorcist" on the 127 channel of the movie are not displayed, "Defeat Ten Shoden" and "Spaceship Viking" are not displayed on the 130 channel of the animation, and the 131st channel of the cat is not displayed on the 130 channel of the animation. "Carnivorous ecology" and "Cat tumors and surgery" are not displayed. Therefore, the selection range of the program becomes clear, and the user can easily search for the desired program. In the example shown in the figure, he ate lunch with watching "Nyanyan and Let's Play" on channel 131, followed by "Children's Story". Later `` Koguruma Misha ''
It is easy to make a plan such as watching

In the above example, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 4 (a), for example, the age limit data of the parental lock of the receiver is taken in, so that the program targeting the parental setting or more is removed. An example of creating an easy-to-use program table has been described. For example, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to set a lower limit using parental information, extract only programs within that range, and create a program guide. As a result, a program corresponding to the age can be extracted except for a program that restricts reception for ages below the age set as the lower limit.

That is, in the example shown in FIG. 4B, when programs A to E similar to those shown in FIG. 4A are being broadcast, for example, in the receiver setting Q, the parental lock is set in the same manner as described above. The age limit is set to 9 years old. Separately, 4 years old, which is the minimum search age as the program table creation additional age, is input from the operation signal input unit 26 in FIG. An example is shown in which only programs within the range of 4 to 9 years are extracted.

The creation of the program table as described above can be sequentially processed, for example, according to the flow shown in FIG. That is, in the process of creating the age-limited program guide, first, similarly to the operation flow shown in FIG. 2, reception of the electronic program guide (step S11) and accumulation of the electronic program guide (step S1)
2), determination of presence / absence of a program guide display request (step S1)
3) The determination of the presence or absence of the display request of the program table with the age restriction (step S14) is sequentially performed. This flow is the same as that in FIG. 2 and the description is omitted.

Next, it is determined whether or not additional age restriction is to be performed (step S15). That is, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the set age of the parental lock is set as the upper limit, and the lower limit is not particularly set.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, an additional age restriction as a lower age restriction is possible. Here, when it is desired to create a program guide with an additional age restriction as the lower limit of age, a setting to that effect is made, and an additional age restriction associated with the setting is input (step S16).

The setting of whether or not to create a program table with such additional age restriction and the input of the additional age restriction can be performed by, for example, an age restriction range input type search screen as shown in FIG. The setting can be made according to the screen display as shown in the example. In this figure, a general genre-based program guide selection instruction section is displayed, and below it, an "age range" selection instruction section for setting an age range and displaying a program table is provided. An example of inputting the lower limit and the upper limit of is shown.

In the example shown, the lower limit of the age is 6
An example is shown in which the age is set to 9 and the upper limit is set to 9 years old. However, when the age limit of the parental lock in this receiver is set to 9 years old, this age is displayed in advance. You may do it. If the age is not displayed and an age greater than the age is entered, a message indicating that the age is not appropriate is displayed, and if necessary, the parameter set on this receiver at that time is displayed. You can also display the age limit for rental locks.

On the other hand, in FIG.
Since the parental setting is 4 years old, there is no need to input the lower limit because there is no data in the EPG. In the receiver setting R, the lower limit age limit is input as 12 years old, and the upper limit is set to 17 years old as in FIG. 4 (a). In the receiver setting S, the lower limit age limit is set. An example is shown in which the limit is entered as 14 years old and the upper limit is set to 19 years old, which is the setting of parental lock. Further, in the receiver setting T, the age of the parental lock is set to 20 as in the case of FIG. An example is shown in which the user inputs that the user is not required to watch programs whose age is restricted because they are mostly for children, and that only the programs whose age is 20 years or older are restricted. In this embodiment, such a usage is also possible.

In FIG. 6, when an additional age is input as in the screen example of FIG. 3B, in step S17, the stored electronic program guide data is searched within this age limit. Thereafter, a program guide is created from the retrieved data in the same manner as the operation float shown in FIG. 2 (step S1).
8) The display of the age-limited program guide is output (step S19). If it is determined in step S14 that there is no request to display the age-limited program guide, a steady program guide is output in step S20.

In the above example, an example in which an age-restricted program table is created using parental information already included as data in the electronic program guide has been described. It is considered that information of an age suitable for viewing is added to each program, mainly for programs intended for. In other words, there are many channels for children, and there is a tendency to increase with the spread of digital broadcasting in the future, but children are more likely to be divided into programs suitable for viewing by small age groups, unlike adults, for example, before entering kindergarten. , Kindergarten children,
Suitable programs for elementary school lower grades, higher grades, junior high school students, etc. differ greatly. As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to divide the channel for each age group and broadcast it, but it is too fine to do so. Therefore, as is already done in some programs, it is conceivable that information of an age suitable for viewing is added to each program itself and broadcasted, and the receiver side selects it with reference to this. .

When such a broadcast becomes widespread, the same system as that of the above-described embodiment of the present invention can be used to easily cope with this and create an appropriate program guide. . That is, the operation is performed in the same manner as the operation float shown in FIG. 6, and the input of the age restriction range can be performed according to the screen of FIG. Thus, for example, when all the program information based on the electronic program guide data including the viewing standard age information as shown in FIG. 7A is present, and when the age limit of the viewing target is input from 2 to 4 years old, FIG. 7B shows an example of a program table created, and FIG. 7C shows an example of a program table created when the user is 6 to 8 years old.

As is apparent from these program guides, various children's programs are broadcast on 147 channels dedicated to books on children's channels, 150 channels dedicated to children's movies, and 151 channels dedicated to animation. When broadcasting, a program table as shown in FIG. 6B is created in a program table in the range of 2 to 4 years old. As a result, it can be seen that from 10:00, there is a 147-channel "Hondeyobo" on channel 147, and from 11:30, a "kitten tale" on channel 150, followed by an animation on channel 151, "Robo-chan". In the case of a program table in the range of 6 to 8 years old, a program table as shown in FIG. 6C is created. As a result, from 10 o'clock on channel 150, the movie “The Forest Is Alive” on channel 150, followed by the channel “Kittenmonogatari”, the animation of “Aim for Ace” on channel 151, and the aforementioned “Kittenmonogatari” It is possible to immediately know that each program of "Kanji no Talk" is broadcast on channel 147 so as to overlap with "."

In the above embodiment, when searching for data relating to the standard viewing age of each program included in the information of the electronic program guide, the search is performed based on the age range that the user desires to view separately. I showed an example that I did,
The age limit data of the parental lock set in the receiver is read, and the age condition desired by the user of the receiver is estimated from the data, and “until the age” in FIG.
Automatically enter this number in the part and wait for the user's check.
It is also possible to set so that a program including the automatically input age is searched for and a program table is produced without inputting the above data.

The standard viewing age of each broadcasted program indicates, for example, a standard viewing age of “4 years old” in addition to the transmission of data indicating an age range such as “3 to 5 years old”. By arbitrarily setting the front and rear ranges on the receiver side, it is also possible to search for programs in a desired age range.
In addition, the present invention can be implemented in various aspects.

[0053]

The present invention is configured as described above.
Using data on viewing age such as viewing age restriction and viewing standard age included in the received electronic program guide data,
By setting conditions for searching this data and performing a program search, it is possible to form a program table that can be received according to the desired age range of the receiver, and to provide an easy-to-use digital broadcast receiver. Can be.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the data related to the viewing age included in the electronic program guide is used as the data related to the viewing age restriction of the receiver. By using the data regarding the viewing age restriction transmitted for use in the restriction, it is possible to easily create a program table adapted to the desired reception age of the receiver.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the electronic program guide search unit includes a viewer included in the electronic program guide based on viewing age restriction data set in the receiver. Since we searched for data related to age restrictions, we used data related to viewing age restrictions that have been set to restrict program reception for conventional receivers, and used data related to viewing age restrictions that have been sent to use for program reception restrictions for receivers. By retrieving the data, it is possible to easily create a program guide tailored to the age at which the recipient wants to receive without special input.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the electronic program guide search unit searches the electronic program guide on the basis of the viewing age restriction data separately input by the user for creating a program table. Since the data related to the viewing age restriction included is searched, the data related to the viewing age included in the electronic program guide can be searched, and the program guide in a range desired by the user can be reliably created. Also, at that time, if the data is used together with the data on the parental control set for the receiver,
For example, data relating to the viewing age limit set in the receiver can be used as the upper limit data of the age, and data relating to the viewing age limit which is separately input can be searched as the lower limit data of the age. Can be created reliably.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the data on the viewing age included in the electronic program guide is set as the data on the standard viewing age of the program. If the data is transmitted including age data, a program guide in a range desired by the user can be reliably created using this data.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the electronic program guide search unit may be configured to provide the electronic program guide to the electronic program guide based on data regarding the viewing age restriction separately input by the user for creating a program table. Since the data relating to the included viewing standard age has been searched, it is possible to reliably create a program table in a range desired by the user.

In another digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention, the electronic program guide search unit includes a viewer included in the electronic program guide based on viewing age restriction data set in the receiver. Since the data on the standard age was searched, by using the data on the viewing age restriction that has been transmitted for use in the conventional program to restrict the program reception of the receiver, the receiver's desired reception age can be easily set without any special input. A combined program guide can be created. In addition, when using data related to viewing age restrictions that the user has separately entered to create a program table,
A program guide in a range desired by the user can be easily and reliably created.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing functional blocks of a digital broadcast receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention and their interrelationships.

FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart of the embodiment.

3A and 3B are examples of a search screen when a search is performed within an age setting range in the present invention, wherein FIG. 3A is an example of a search screen within a parental age setting range, and FIG. It is an example of a search screen of an input formula.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a parental setting of a program broadcast in the present invention and a parental setting of a receiver, and a reception range. FIG. 4A shows a parental setting program and a parental setting of a receiver. An example of the setting is shown, and (b) shows an example of setting the parental setting and the receiving age restriction range of the receiver.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a program table in which a program table is created based on parental settings of a receiver in the present invention, where (a) is an example of a program when all programs are displayed, and (b) is an example. It is a figure which shows the example of the program guide created when the parental setting of a receiver is 4 years old.

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a program table when a program table is created using electronic data when standard viewing age data is included in the electronic program data according to the present invention. It is an example of a program when displayed, (b) shows an example of a program table created when the age limit is set to 2-4 years old, and (c) shows an age limit of 6-8 years old. Here is an example of a program table created by.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Digital broadcast receiving part 12 RF signal demodulation part 13 Baseband signal demodulation part 14 Data separation part 17 Information channel data part 18 Audio signal decoding part 20 System control part 22 Speaker 23 Video signal decoding part 24 Image synthesis part 25 Image display part 26 Operation signal input unit 27 Age restriction memory 28 Electronic program guide data storage unit 29 Search condition setting unit 30 Electronic program guide search unit 31 Program table forming unit 32 Program table screen input unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 7/035

Claims (7)

[Claims] An electronic program guide search unit for searching data of an electronic program guide received based on a predetermined search condition to obtain a program suitable for the search condition, a program table based on the program obtained by the electronic program guide search unit A program table forming unit for forming a broadcast reception, wherein a condition corresponding to data relating to the viewing age included in the received electronic program guide is set as a search condition of the electronic program guide search unit. Machine. 2. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein the data regarding the viewing age included in the electronic program guide is data regarding a viewing age restriction of a receiver. 3. The electronic program guide search unit searches data related to the viewing age restriction included in the electronic program guide based on the viewing age restriction data set in the receiver. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 2. 4. The electronic program guide search unit searches for data relating to the viewing age restriction contained in the electronic program guide based on data relating to the viewing age restriction separately input by the user for creating a program guide. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: 5. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein the data relating to the viewing age included in the electronic program guide is data relating to a standard viewing age of the program. 6. The electronic program guide search unit searches for data relating to the standard viewing age included in the electronic program guide based on data relating to the viewing age restriction separately input by the user for creating a program guide. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 5, wherein: 7. The electronic program guide search unit searches data relating to the standard viewing age included in the electronic program guide based on the data of the viewing age restriction set in the receiver. Claim 5 or Claim 6
Digital broadcast receiver as described.