JP2003046921A - Program reservation-recording method and apparatus thereof, and program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve the configuration of a program reservation/recording apparatus that has a recording reservation function for automatically following the change in a broadcasting time band based on an electronic program table and a program broadcasting start/end time information supplied from an electronic program table supplier and a broadcaster. SOLUTION: A first program title name is specified by a specification means 19 according to electronic program information regarding a program title name and broadcasting time. A second program title name that has the same character string as the program title name partially and is broadcasted next is detected by a detection means 76. At the same time, the broadcasting time information is acquired by an information acquisition means 76. The second title program is recorded on a hard disk 63 by reservation using the reservation recording means 76, thus achieving a program reservation recording apparatus 40 for recording while automatically following the change in a broadcasting time band.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program reservation recording method for reserving and recording a program to be broadcast, a program reservation recording device such as a hard disk recorder equipped with the method, and a program reservation recording method. The present invention relates to a program reservation recording program to be executed by using.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, VTRs, hard disk recorders, etc. have been equipped with a program reservation recording function for recording so-called continuous programs that are broadcast with a set recording time. Alternatively, a function of recording a program that is broadcast a plurality of times with one operation, such as a reservation from Monday to Friday, is also used as a general reservation recording function. It is a convenient function that allows you to make a reservation recording and continuously watch a program recorded continuously for one week on weekends.

When a program is collectively recorded by a hard disk recorder, the program is a plurality of types of programs, and even if a plurality of types of programs are recorded in sequence, random accessibility is provided. A good hard disk recorder can continuously play back one type of program while accessing it. Therefore, unlike playback by video tape, only one type of program can be continuously watched. It is possible to preferably reproduce a program broadcast over a number of times.

However, the continuous program may be broadcast with the broadcast time changed due to the circumstances of other programs. If the broadcast time is changed, the reservation content is manually corrected for each change. There is a need.

Therefore, regarding the automatic correction of the program reservation contents, the program to be recorded is managed by the program ID in "Recording reservation recording device and recording reservation system using the same" of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-86377. A method is disclosed in which program broadcast time change information related to an ID is obtained from a program data management center, and the program reservation recording time is changed based on the obtained change information.

[0006] In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-341156, "Broadcast Receiver", a program reservation time zone is set before the reference program information arrives, and the reservation set when the program information arrives. A configuration of a broadcast receiving apparatus that identifies a program in a time zone and executes reservation recording of the program is disclosed.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-86377, the recording time is automatically adjusted in accordance with the change of the broadcast time of the program to be reserved and recorded based on the obtained electronic program guide information. However, in order to automatically change the program reservation recording time, the program ID unique to each program broadcast by the broadcaster who intends to change the broadcast time is required. In addition to this, it is necessary to realize a program information supply system in which the electronic program guide providing company provides the change information of the broadcast time related to the program with the program ID. Has not arrived.

Further, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-341156.
In Japanese Patent Publication, a program to be broadcast in a preset time zone is reserved and recorded based on the supplied electronic program guide information, and the recording time is automatically changed according to the change in the broadcast time of the set program. However, in order to automatically change the program reservation recording time, it is necessary to change the electronic program guide for each program broadcast by the broadcaster who is trying to change the broadcast time. It is necessary to realize a program information supply system that provides the broadcast receiver with the same program ID as that supplied by the supplier, and judge the program information supplied from different operators as the same information. It was difficult to change the reservation time in response to the change in the broadcast time that was changed immediately before the broadcast.

Therefore, according to the present invention, by selecting a program name on the electronic program guide at the time of recording reservation, the broadcast date of the program can be
When the broadcast channel, start time, end time, and program title name are acquired and the recording reservation is executed with the target day changed on the day after the next day, within a predetermined range centered on the start time. In this time zone, the program to be recorded which is broadcast on that day is detected based on the program title, and the recording reservation is executed by obtaining the start time and end time information of the detected program.

Further, in the case where a program selected for recording reservation in the electronic program guide is repeatedly executed for a specific week such as every week, every day, from Monday to Friday and for a single day or a plurality of days of the week. , On the day when a recording reservation is executed using the electronic program guide, the operating time is automatically changed even if the start time or end time of the program is changed from that of the first reserved program. It has the function of recording the target program without excess or deficiency in time, and if the relevant program is not detected, it is judged that the relevant program will not be broadcast on that day and do not record on that day. I also made it possible.

Furthermore, by using the genre information of the program obtained from the electronic program guide instead of the program title name as the information for identifying the program to be recorded on the electronic program guide, the programs related to the same genre information are used. In the case where there are programs that are broadcast in almost the same time zone, it is intended to provide a function capable of recording a program of the same genre every time regardless of the program title.

[0012]

The present invention comprises the following means 1) to 10) in order to solve the above problems. That is,

1) Based on the electronic program information including the title name of the broadcast program and the broadcast start / end time information, the so-called continuous program or series program that is continuously broadcast from almost the same time on different days of the week or after the next time Is a program reservation recording method for automatically performing reservation recording setting, and information on a broadcast program for which automatic reservation recording setting is performed is read from the electronic program information, and a program title name is acquired from the read information. First step to do (76, 79)
And at least a part of the character strings constituting the program title name are the same, and the next program title name relating to the program broadcast continuously or in series is the electronic program information or updated. A second step (56, 76) of acquiring from the updated electronic program information transmitted including start / end time information, and recording of the program based on the broadcast start / end time information acquired in the second step. A program reservation recording method comprising at least a third step (76, 65) of making a reservation.

2) The time interval of the programs to be continuously or serially broadcast in the second step is the same day of a different week, a specific day of the week such as different Monday to Friday, or a selected target day such as a different day. The reserved recording method of a program according to the item 1), characterized in that the time intervals are concerned.

3) The time interval of the program to be continuously or serially broadcast in the second step is a time interval within a predetermined time range, and when the next program title name is not acquired in that time interval, The program reservation recording method according to item 1), wherein the program reservation recording operation for at least the day when the program is not acquired is stopped.

4) The program title name is based on the received channel information and the broadcast start / end time information input by an operation other than directly selecting the title name of the program included in the electronic program information. The program reservation recording method according to item 1), wherein the program information to be reserved for recording is acquired from the program information, and the title name of the program related to the acquired program information is used as the program title name.

5) When the program title name is acquired from the electronic program information based on the broadcast start / end time information including the broadcast date input by operation, the program title to be reserved for recording is added to the electronic program information. When the program information relating to the broadcast date is not described, the title name of the program acquired from the updated electronic program information describing the program information distributed thereafter is used as the program title name. The program recording method described in 1) above.

6) Regarding a plurality of broadcast programs to be broadcast,
Each program title name, information indicating the program genre,
And a program reservation recording method for automatically reserving a broadcast program selected by an operation based on the obtained electronic program information, the electronic program information including broadcast start / end time information. The first step (76, 79) of reading the information on the selected broadcast program and acquiring the information indicating the program genre from the read information, and the information obtained in the first step. And has information indicating the same program genre as the program genre, and is broadcast on the same day of the week different from the selected program, a specific day of the week such as different Monday to Friday, or a different selected day of the week such as every day. Further, the broadcast time zone is a program that is broadcast earlier or later within a predetermined time range than the broadcast time zone of the selected broadcast program, and information related to the program. A second step (56, 76) obtained from the updated electronic program information transmitted including the electronic program information or the updated time information, and the broadcast start / end time information obtained in the second step. The third step (7) of reserving recording of programs of the program genre based on
6, 65), and a reservation recording method for a program.

7) Based on the electronic program information including the title name of the broadcast program and the broadcast start / end time information, the next and subsequent so-called continuous programs or series programs that are continuously broadcast from almost the same time on different days of the week or weeks The program reservation recording device for automatically performing the reservation recording setting of the above, wherein the information related to the broadcast program for which the automatic reservation recording setting is performed is read from the electronic program information, and the program title name is acquired from the read information. Program title name acquisition means (76, 7
9) and a character string constituting the program title name, at least a part of the character strings being the same, and the next program title name relating to the program broadcast continuously or in series, the electronic program information or update. Time information acquisition means (56, 76) for acquiring from the updated electronic program information transmitted including the generated start / end time information, and the broadcast start / end time information of the program based on the broadcast start / end time information acquired by the time information acquisition means. A program reservation recording apparatus comprising at least a reservation recording unit (76, 65) for reserving recording.

8) Regarding a plurality of broadcast programs to be broadcast,
Each program title name, information indicating the program genre,
And a program reservation recording device for automatically reserving and recording a broadcast program selected by an operation based on the obtained electronic program information, the electronic program information including the broadcast start and end time information. , The program genre acquisition means (76, 79) for reading the information on the selected broadcast program and acquiring the information indicating the program genre from the read information, and the program genre acquisition means It has information indicating the same program genre as the program genre, and is broadcast on the same day of the week different from the selected program, on a specific day of the week such as different Monday to Friday, or on a different selected day of the week such as every day. Furthermore, the broadcast time zone is a program that is broadcast earlier or later within a predetermined time range than the broadcast time zone of the selected broadcast program, The information related to the set, the electronic program information or the time information obtaining means for obtaining from the updated electronic program information transmitted contains the updated time information (56,7
6) and reservation recording means (76, 65) for reserving recording of a program having information indicating the program genre based on the broadcast start / end time information obtained by the time information acquisition means.
And a program reservation recording device comprising:

9) The program reservation recording apparatus according to item 7) or 8), wherein the broadcast program whose recording is reserved by the reservation recording means is a broadcast program supplied from an external input terminal provided.

10) A program reservation recording program, characterized in that a computer executes the first to third steps described in any one of 1) or 6).

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a program reservation recording method, a program reservation recording device, and a program reservation recording program according to the present invention will be described below with reference to preferred embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a program reservation recording apparatus equipped with a program reservation recording method according to the embodiment, and the configuration and operation will be described.

In the figure, this program reservation recording device 40
Is a recording unit 50 for recording a reserved program, a medium unit 60 for performing random access recording and reproduction, and a reproducing unit 70 for reproducing the recorded program. A monitor TV 90 is connected to the reproducing unit 70, and a remote controller. 95 is connected by infrared rays. The recording unit 50 includes a TV tuner 51, an A / D converter 52, and an MPEG-2 encoder 5.
3, stream analyzer 54, REC-FIFO5
5 and an EPG decoder 56, and a medium section 6
0 is a hard disk recording / reproducing device 61, a hard disk 6
3 and a write / read controller 65, and the reproducing unit 70 includes a buffer memory 71, an MPEG-2 decoder 72, an OSD (On Screen Display) 73, and a D / D unit.
It is composed of an A converter 74, a microcomputer 76, a temporary storage memory 78, and a remote control interface 79.

Next, the operation of the program reservation recording device 40 thus constructed will be outlined. First, an electronic program guide is obtained from a program information center connected to a network, or a program information signal is obtained from an auxiliary signal multiplexed with a broadcast signal, and the obtained program information signals are generated as display signals by the OSD 73. A program to be reserved for recording is set by operating the remote controller 95 or the like based on the displayed program information.

The setting information of the program reservation recording thus set is stored in the temporary storage memory 7 connected to the microcomputer 76.
8 and when the time to start recording the program is approached,
The channel information to be received from the microcomputer 76 is supplied to the TV tuner 51, and the TV tuner 51 selects and receives the signal of the reception channel based on the supplied reception channel information from the broadcast radio waves coming from the antenna. The received and obtained video signal is supplied to the A / D converter 52, converted into a digital signal, and MPEG-
2 is supplied to the encoder 53.

In the MPEG-2 encoder 53, the supplied signal is an ISO / IEC (International Organi)
zation for Standardization / International Electro
MPEG-2 (mo
ving picture experts group-2) Compressed and coded according to the standard, and the compressed and coded signal is supplied to the stream analyzer 54, where the format of the compressed and coded signal is analyzed and obtained. The encoded information signal and the supplied compressed encoded signal are REC-FIF.
It is supplied to O55.

The REC-FIFO 55 records (reco
FIFO (first in first out) operation of a signal for rding), that is, a circuit for temporarily storing the supplied signal and outputting the signal in the order of input, and the signal supplied from the circuit is the hard disk recording / reproducing device 61. In the hard disk recording / reproducing device 61, the supplied signal is divided as a signal to be recorded in the hard disk 63 for each sector size, and the divided signal is subjected to operation control by the write / read controller 65. And is recorded on a disc-shaped recording medium (not shown).

In this way, the video signal received with channel selection and the accompanying audio signal (not shown) are compressed and coded video signal and audio signal, and these video signal and audio signal are Since the data is divided into sector sizes and recorded on the hard disk 63, even if a plurality of types of programs are reserved and recorded, the recorded programs can be reproduced by one desired type. It is possible to play back continuously while accessing only the programs. Next, the reproduction of the signal thus recorded on the hard disk 63 of the recording unit 60 will be described.

First, when the viewer operates the play button of the remote controller 95, the content of the operation is transmitted to the remote controller interface 79 as a modulated infrared ray,
The signal related to the operation content transmitted to the remote control interface 79 is supplied to the microcomputer 76, and the control signal generated according to the operation content is supplied from the microcomputer 76 to the write / read controller 65, and the write / read controller. The reproduction point of the hard disk 63 is controlled based on the control signal supplied to the hard disk 65,
The signal of the recording portion relating to the designated one type of program is read out from 3, and the read out signal is supplied to the hard disk recording / reproducing device 61.

In the hard disk recording / reproducing device 61,
Amplification of the signal read from the hard disk 63 and correction of the frequency response characteristic and the like are performed, and the signal with the corrected characteristic and the like is supplied to the buffer memory 71, and in the buffer memory 71, the supplied compression encoding is performed. The stored video signal is temporarily stored, and the temporarily stored signal is MPEG.
Is read out in response to a request from the -2 decoder 72 and supplied to the MPEG-2 decoder 72.

In the MPEG-2 decoder 72, the supplied compression-encoded video signal is decoded by the encoder 53 based on the MPEG-2 standard, and the digital video signal obtained by the decoding is OSD. (On Scree
n Display) 73 to the D / A converter 74, where the digital video signal is converted into an analog video signal and supplied to the monitor TV 90 for display.

In the OSD 73, a display signal to be displayed by being multiplexed with a video signal displayed on the monitor TV 90 is generated as needed, and the generated display signal is directly displayed on the monitor TV 90 or is decoded. An analog signal supplied to the D / A converter 74 and supplied to the monitor TV 90 is generated as a digital video signal to be displayed as a composite signal multiplexed with the generated video signal. A video signal is obtained.

As described above, in the program reservation recording apparatus which is divided into sector sizes and can be recorded and reproduced on the hard disk at a high speed, the programs recorded at distant positions on the hard disk are also continuous. Since it can be played back as a regular program, a series of programs that are broadcast at a fixed time from Monday to Friday, and a plurality of types of programs that you want, such as a program that is broadcast only on a predetermined day of the week, are reserved and recorded consecutively. However, the program can be reproduced by continuously reproducing only one desired program of a plurality of programs.

Further, even when the broadcast time of the scheduled program is changed due to the convenience of the broadcaster, the program reservation recording apparatus described in this embodiment attaches the change information of the broadcast time to the broadcast signal. Since the recording start time or the recording end time is automatically updated based on the signal transmitted by the user, the programs reserved and recorded before and after the recording start time are reproduced as continuous programs.

Next, a program reservation method having such a recording time automatic updating function and its operation will be described. FIG. 2 illustrates an input screen displayed on the monitor TV 90 when a signal is supplied from the program reservation device having the automatic update function.

In the input screen shown in the same figure, the received wave 101 shown at the top shows electronic program information to be multiplexed with the broadcast wave being received, and the G code 102 shows the input by the G code.
The G103 is an EPG provider who provides an EPG (Electronic Program Guide), and the service provider 104
Then, it is a display screen for selecting a service provider that provides an information providing service and obtaining electronic program information.

To select the electronic program information acquisition route on these display screens, the arrow indicated by the triangle on the EPG provider selection screen 121 or the arrow key provided on the remote controller 95 is operated to select and set the EPG information provision route. To be done.

In this way, the EPG information providing route is selected, and the program information obtained from that route is the program guide 11
By displaying the displayed program guide in the area 1 and scrolling up, down, left, and right with the arrow keys, a program of a predetermined broadcast channel and broadcast date and time can be designated and selected.

Then, it is possible to obtain information indicating the broadcast channel, broadcast date, broadcast start and end times, title name, and program title from the selected program, and the program title name among those obtained information is Program title area 1
In 13, the Jean information of the program is displayed in the genre area 114, and the displayed character string is edited as necessary, such as deleting unnecessary subtitles.

At that time, if the program preview data related to the program is provided by an EPG provider or the like, the preview operation area 124 can be operated to display the transmitted preview video in the program preview area 116. it can.

According to the program preview, when the program to be set for recording is regarded as the program preferred by the operator, the day of the week on which recording is desired and the continuous program are performed based on the broadcast start / end time information displayed in the broadcast time area. In the case of recording, the number of broadcasts to be recorded is set so as to record a continuous program or a series program that is broadcast a plurality of times by operating a necessary part of the operation setting area 123 with a remote controller or the like.

The recording of the program to be broadcast a plurality of times on the hard disk 63 is carried out by recording every broadcast or
Alternatively, a recording method for overwriting the recording area recorded in the previous week is specified by inverting the display color of the recording method area screen 115 while operating the operation setting area 123, and these operations are performed. When the automatic reservation area 105 is operated with the setting completed, program reservation recording is automatically performed thereafter.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a method of program operation reservation. In the figure, when the recording time is set in S11, the EPG information acquired and displayed in S15 is confirmed, the title name of the program is selected by selecting in S16, and the title names of a plurality of series are designated. Displays a list of those title names in S18, specifies a recording method such as weekly recording or continuous recording in S19, and if it is acceptable, sets automatic reservation recording in S21.

The reservation recording setting operation thus performed will be further described. The simplest program reservation method is to display an electronic program guide on the monitor TV 90, scroll the screen by operating the arrow keys provided on the remote controller, locate the desired program, select the program, and so on. The target program is designated by operating (pressing) the OK (OK) button on the remote controller while the remote control is on.

In this way, the program can be specified by operating the monitor TV screen and the remote control key, but there is also a method of specifying the program using the G code. The program designation using the G code is used, for example, when reserving a program to be broadcast after several days or more, which is not listed in the electronic program guide in which the information of the program to be designated is multiplexed in the broadcast wave.

For example, when a weekly reservation is made for a new drama that does not yet appear in the currently acquired electronic program guide and starts 5 days later, the G code relating to the drama is assigned to a weekly magazine such as a weekly TV guide. , Or directly by entering the broadcast date, start time, etc.

When the program to be recorded is designated by the G code input or the method of inputting the broadcast date, the start / end time, etc., when the G code is input, the information such as the broadcast date, channel, start / end time, etc. To the electronic program guide of the corresponding day based on the converted information or the information such as the input start / end time, and the corresponding program on the obtained electronic program guide is operated by the operator. After the program title is confirmed as the “confirmed” program, the broadcast date, broadcast channel, start time, end time, and program title information are acquired again from the electronic program guide.

Re-acquisition of such program broadcast information includes acquiring the latest program broadcast information at that time,
This is for automatically performing update processing in response to changes in broadcasting time and the like that occur thereafter. And the conventional VTR
In the recording reservation in the above, the recording reservation could be executed if at least the broadcast date, the broadcast channel, the start time, and the end time were set, but the program reservation recording device described here specifies the program to be recorded, and Since the title of a program is used to automatically update the recording time, it is necessary to specify the program on the electronic program guide and fix the program title at the time of recording reservation.

When determining the title of the program, if the broadcast date of the program to be confirmed is several days or more later, and the program guide of the day is not available, the program title will be applied at a later date. After the time when the electronic program guide of the day can be obtained, the program name is confirmed.

The operation for confirming the program name has been described above. When the confirming operation is performed by the program information obtained by using the G code, the start time or the end time is completely the same as that of the program on the electronic program guide. For example, there is a case in which there is an error of several minutes, and in the electronic program guide, a plurality of programs, particularly late-night broadcasts, may be combined and displayed as one program. Also, the program information that is judged to be the closest is selected and classified by highlighting or the like, and the operator can confirm the program title name based on the classified program information.

Next, the operation of confirming the program name will be further described. FIG. 4 shows a display example of EPG information. The display example of the electronic program guide in the figure is a broadcast program of the 8th, 10th, and 12th channels from 20:00 on July 4th, and among those programs, fighting started from 21:00 on the 8th channel. Although the girl is selected, the program is selected on the electronic program guide 111.

The (S) in front of the program title whose program title is "Fighting Girl" indicates stereo broadcasting, and the (new) icon indicates that it is a new program. That program is broadcast 12 times in total. Of the programs, this broadcast is shown to be the first broadcast program, and although not shown, the genre of this program is identified by the display color to be a drama. The information indicating this genre is provided as additional information of the electronic program guide.

In the case of a drama broadcast in this way,
The end time of the first broadcast is 22:09 when the next program starts.
However, the second and subsequent broadcasts often end around 21:54, and in the final broadcast, the broadcast time is usually set to be long.

As described above, in the case where a program for which the program ending time is set differently is reserved for recording every week, it is necessary to have at least predetermined information as recording reservation information. FIG. 5 shows an example of the items and recording reservation information by a table.

The recording reservation information shown in the table is essential information relating to the recording reservation of a program that is regularly performed. Actually, in addition to these items, the recording speed (or the recording indicating the bit rate or the image quality is recorded). Mode) and CM (commercial
message) The presence or absence of a cut is used as a selection item.

Recording reservations are made based on these recording reservation information, but if the electronic program guide is updated after the reservation is completed and the broadcast time zone of this program on July 4 is changed, it is automatically Update the recording reservation information. Furthermore, since weekly recording is specified, when the recording reservation is executed on July 11th, one week later, if the latest electronic program guide is used and the broadcast time is changed as described above, , The program broadcast on channel 8 is automatically recorded based on the changed and updated broadcast time.

As described above, while the broadcast program information is obtained from the electronic program guide, the program to be broadcast and reserved on the same channel every week is automatically reserved and recorded. Next, the same program is reserved and recorded every week. A method of specifying a program for playing is described.

Generally, in program identification, a program ID peculiar to a program is defined for each program, and the program identification is performed based on the program ID. In the program identification in this example, the title name of the program is used without using the program ID. To use. This is because it is not realistic to expect an ID unique to a program from an electronic program guide that is actually available, and it lacks versatility.

That is, the program title name is a character string, and even if the providers of the electronic program guide are different, there is a high possibility that it will always be available, and since it is a character string, a search means such as fuzzy search is used. , Even if the title name obtained from the electronic program guide at the time of recording reservation is slightly different from the title name of the program after the next week, the character string of the title name may partially include the common character string. In this case, it is possible to judge the identity of the program relatively easily.

Regarding the acquisition route and the acquisition means of the electronic program guide to be acquired, for example, G guide (G is an acronym for Gemster) or ADAMS (tv-Asahi Data An)
d Multimedia service) and other terrestrial broadcasts that are distributed, satellites such as CS (Communication Satellite) digital broadcasts and BS (broadcasting satellite) digital broadcasts, digital started in 2003 Due to incidental information of terrestrial broadcasting,
Or downloaded from a service provider via the Internet or the like, and does not depend on the data format of the electronic program guide transmitted.

In this way, the program title name is treated as a character string, and the electronic program guide data transmitted including the character string is electronic program guide data in a different format even if the EPG provider is different. Even in the case, the domestic JIS or the international ISO
/ IEC (International Organization for Standardi
zation / International Electrotechnical Commissio
In the case of electronic program guide data that is transmitted by using standard character data such as Unicode defined in n), it is possible to determine, and if the program-specific ID is included in the transmission, Even with an electronic program guide, a program can be identified without using it.

Next, a method for updating the program reservation recording time by obtaining the broadcast start / end time information transmitted together with the program information thus specified will be described. The program information is the reservation of the program broadcast for the second time of the program recorded for the first time on July 4, that is, the time from 21:00 to 22:09 on the 8th channel on July 11th. This is to obtain by searching the electronic program guide for a program in the band with the program title "Fighting Girl".

The timing for retrieving the program may be a time when the electronic program guide is updated and supplied, or a time sufficiently before the same broadcasting time zone on July 11 which is the current day. However, if it is too shortly before (for example, several minutes), it is not possible to cope with the start of the broadcast earlier than that, so the broadcast is performed a predetermined time before the time when the previous broadcast was started.

Therefore, the time zone for searching for a program is before (past) and after (future) based on the start time of the reservation information.
The range of time to search for the program is set in the direction, for example, the time range is set to a time range of about 2 hours before and 3 hours after, which is a change range of the broadcast time zone of a commonly used program. When a program corresponding to the specified range is not detected, it is determined that the program is not broadcast on that day.

Although the setting of the time range is a design matter,
In order to find the program name of the same title in such a time range, first search for the one in the reserved time zone,
If there is no applicable program, searching for the program before and after it while expanding the search range centering on the original start time may result in erroneous determination that a different program is the program. It can be reduced, which is preferable.

Within such a time range, a program having a matching program title name is searched for from the electronic program guide and transmitted with the program title name, and information on the start time and end time of the specified program is obtained. If so, the reserved recording setting is updated based on the time information.

Here, an example will be described in which the program reservation information thus updated is a program broadcast in the late-night time zone. For example, in the case where the program broadcast at midnight is a weekly reservation of a program broadcast from 23:50 to 0:20 on Wednesday, the broadcast time zone of the program is temporarily changed to 0:15 to 0: In the case of being broadcast on 45, the day of the week when the broadcast starts in a strict sense is Thursday, which is different, but since it is within a predetermined time range for searching for a program, it is recognized as a program for recording reservation purpose. Make a recording reservation.

In the opposite case, when the program starting from 0:30 is broadcast from 23:30 on the previous day, the day of the week will be broadcast one day earlier. In order to make a recording reservation corresponding to the case, the expression of the current day is treated as if the day of the week is not changed even if it crosses 0:00.

Further, the reservation information is updated so that the program of the day can be recorded.
When the broadcast time of the program broadcasted from 3:50 to 0:20 is changed and broadcasted from 0:15 to 0:45, not only the start time and end time but also the broadcast date is changed. Like this.

However, next time (or next week if weekly reservation is made)
There is an idea that the start time and end time of the program search criteria are not the ones after this change, and it is preferable to use the data directly operated and reserved by the user first. In such a case, first Data of the broadcast date, start time, and end time of the reserved program that has been operated and stored is saved, and the target program to be broadcast after the third week is stored in the same time zone based on the saved data. You should try to find out from.

In this way, by searching for a target program and making a weekly recording reservation, programs of the same series can be viewed continuously, or the same series can be selected from a plurality of types of programs recorded on the hard disk. The application such as recording only on the video tape while reproducing the program is possible.

Next, the matching of program title names for searching for programs of the same series will be further described. That is, when searching for a program name having a matching program title from the electronic program guide within the time period, if only the completely matching program is the target program by a simple character string comparison, there is a program to be originally found. It may be judged not to do so.

It is, for example, "mobilized! Miniscapolis"
Program name is "Miniska Police" or "Miniska"
This is because the title name omitted as is sometimes described in the electronic program guide, and such omission of the title name is often performed especially in the program guide in late-night broadcasting.

In this way, even if the program name is omitted and described, it is judged that the program is a target program to be reserved and recorded, so that the matching of the program title names uses a fuzzy search method. It is used and used, for example, when the title names have a certain degree of similarity, such as when common characters are present, they are recognized as program names of the same series.

The recognition that such program names are in the same series is based on the fact that the change range of the broadcast time zone of the actual program is not so large, and the program title name is simply ambiguously searched within a predetermined time range. Since most target programs can be searched out by using, there is no practical problem even if it is judged that there is no broadcast of the day when the target program is not detected in the time range. There will be no.

Depending on the electronic program guide, the number of broadcasts may be included in the title of the program. In such a case, it is recognized that the programs are in the same series based on the number of the broadcasts. A program that cannot be recognized by the fuzzy search method can be detected as a corresponding program.

In this way, although automatic reservation recording can be performed by automatically searching for programs of the same series using the program title name, such electronic program guide data is obtained and the broadcast time zone is changed. The function of automatically recording a reserved recording in a new recording area every time is to stop the operation when, for example, the recording area of the hard disk is insufficient, or when the operator turns off the recording area. You may

As described above, the program title name is designated by the operation, the broadcast start and end time information is obtained from the electronic program guide obtained based on the designated title name, and the obtained time information is obtained. Based on the above, a method has been described in which, for example, automatic reservation recording is performed every week, and even when there are a plurality of types of recorded program titles, only the program titles having a predetermined program title are randomly accessed and reproduced.

Then, the method of performing the automatic program reservation recording by designating the program title name can be applied as a method of automatically recording the programs of the same genre. A method of automatically recording a program of the same genre is, for example, 8 on Monday.
21:00 on the channel is a standard time zone during which the drama is broadcast, which is commonly called "Gekku". Usually, before and after that time, programs other than drama are broadcast, so some broadcasting is performed. Even if the time zone changes, the target drama can be recorded using the genre information.

The titles of the dramas that are broadcast weekly in "Month 9" are different, but even if the program of a certain drama that has been broadcast ends and a new drama starts next week, Avoid forgetting to record the drama. In some cases, special programs such as varieties may be broadcast at the time of program reorganization, but since they are programs of different genres, they will not be recorded.

In the case of the method of performing the reservation recording using the genre information, for example, in the case of the method of performing the weekly reservation recording by designating only the time, the special program is recorded, but the genre information is referred to. In the case where the automatic recording reservation is set by the program, programs of different genres are not recorded, and the recording area of the hard disk can be effectively secured.

Next, an example of the genre code used for the recording reservation will be described. FIG. 6 shows an example of genre codes,
The contents of the program defined by the code are shown. In the figure, a genre code 1 for roughly classifying programs,
Program content corresponding to the code (also called content)
Exemplifies the relationship of

The genre code 1 is "0" in hexadecimal system.
"F" is defined, "0" is undefined content, "1" is a movie or drama, "2" is news, etc., "3" is show-related, ..., "B" is Special contents, "C" to "E" are reserved for the future, and "F" is contents individually defined by the user.

The contents largely classified by such a genre code 1 are middle-classified therein, and the genre code 2 does this. FIG. 7 shows an example of the genre code 2 for middle-classifying the content.

In the figure, "1" of genre code 1
The contents are shown as "0" to "F" in hexadecimal notation with the genre code 2 for middle classifying the contents of movies and dramas classified as.

That is, "0" is a general movie, drama,
"1" is detective, thriller, "2" is adventure, western,
War stuff ... "8" is an adult movie, drama,
“9” to “E” are reservations for the future, and “F” is contents individually defined by the user. FIG. 8 shows an example of contents according to the genre code 2 of the art and educational contents whose genre code 1 is “7”.

In this way, each of the contents which are largely classified as "0" to "F" in the genre code 1 is middlely classified as "0" to "F" by the genre code 2. And further subdivision, and further subdivision, if necessary, genre code 3,
It can be performed by providing a genre code 4.

The classification of such contents is standardized among EPG providers or broadcasters, and when the same one is used, such genre codes provided with the programs from those program information providers. By using, the program reservation recording in which the above-mentioned genre is designated by the genre code 1 or both of the genre codes 1 and 2 can be performed.

As described above, the method of recording the reservation of the program by using the program title name and the genre code has been described focusing on the weekly recording, but the weekly reservation is the daily reservation and the weekday reservation from Monday to Friday. Alternatively, it can be applied to the operation of repeatedly recording on the same target day of the week such as Saturday and Sunday only reservation.

The reservation recording may be performed by recording the recording destination area in a new area every time in a hard disk recorder or the like, or by overwriting recording with a new program. Further, in the case of a weekday reservation from Monday to Friday, respectively. It may be possible to overwrite the area of the same day for each day of the week, and whether it can be set by operation or whether it is automatically set while detecting the free area of the recording area is recorded. It is also a design item of the device.

Further, when a recording reservation such as weekly recording is made and it is recognized that there is no broadcast of the program this week, the recording is not performed, but the program cannot be obtained by searching. However, the program for that time period may be recorded for the time being. If the reserved recording of the program is not performed, it is better if the viewer who does not know it does not record the reserved recording because the OSD function notifies the viewer that "the program could not be recorded because the program was not found". When an attempt is made to view a given program, it is better to present the information in the recording area in which the program is not updated first, without giving unnecessary worry about the malfunction of the automatic reservation recording.

As described in detail above, according to the program reservation recording apparatus shown in this embodiment, it is possible to provide a recording reservation function that automatically follows changes in the broadcast time zone by using the electronic program guide, and at the same time, provide the electronic program recording function. It is possible to perform automatic program reservation recording using any of the currently available electronic program guides without using the program ID unique to the program in the program guide. Even if the broadcast time changes due to insertion, etc., automatic reservation update recording of the target program can be performed by obtaining the latest electronic program information transmitted from the broadcaster etc. is there.

The updating of such automatic recording is controlled by the TV tuner 51, the EPG decoder 56, the OSD 73, the remote controller interface 79, the writing / reading controller 65, etc. connected to the microcomputer 76 shown in FIG. Program software for performing such recording and reproduction control is installed in the microcomputer 76, and the above-described operation is executed by the program software.

The configuration of the program reservation recording device using a recording medium capable of random access recording has been described above.
The program reservation recording device 40 is a method of configuring the program reservation recording device including the recording unit 50 and the medium unit 60, and configuring the reproducing unit 70 as a video signal reproducing device.

The program reservation recording device and the video signal reproducing device are installed in different places, and the devices installed in those remote places can be connected and operated by a home network or the like.

The program reservation recording device at that time is installed in the home as a home server, the video signal reproducing device is connected to the home server by the home network, and the video signal reproducing device is installed in the monitor TV room. Each set is installed as multiple set-top boxes.

In this case, the home server is configured as a bitstream transmitting device, and the set top box is configured as a bitstream receiving terminal. Both are connected by a high-speed wireless LAN, a home LAN, etc. The control signal related to the reserved recording is transmitted, or the video signal information of the reserved recording is generated as a target bit stream by an operation command from each room and is viewed and listened via the set top box operated by the user. The video signal is supplied to the monitor TV which is used to display the decoded video signal.

As described above, when the recording device and the reproducing unit as the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal are installed at the distant places and are operated by being connected by the communication means, the plural transmitting terminals and the plural receiving terminals are connected to the network. A network-type video system that operates by being connected via the network will be configured.

Further, the recording medium used in the medium section has been described focusing on the hard disk, but the recording medium is a medium that can be accessed at high speed, such as a magneto-optical disk or a RAM.
It is also applicable to an apparatus using another recording medium such as a DVD type or RW type, and a semiconductor memory type recording medium, and a conventional VTR.

The video signal encoding method is MPEG-
Although the two systems have been described as an example, the compression encoding method is not limited to this, and a method by intraframe encoding commonly called motion JPEG, MPEG-4 system, or MPE is used.
G-7 system, MPEG-2 standardization of which is about to begin
One method or other method using a fractal compression method may be used.

[0102]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the information relating to the broadcast program set from the electronic program information is read out, the program title name is designated, and at least the character string constituting the program title name, and at least A broadcast program having the same character string and a predetermined time interval but different days of the week or different weeks from which the program title name relating to a continuously broadcast broadcast program is detected is detected from the electronic program information. Since the program is reserved and recorded, it is possible to make a recording reservation that automatically follows the change of the broadcast time zone without using the program ID unique to the program in the electronic program guide. Even if the broadcast time is changed when the time is approaching, a program that allows automatic reservation update recording of the target program by obtaining the latest electronic program information transmitted from the broadcaster etc. There is an effect that can provide about recording method.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the programs to be continuously or serially broadcasted are, in particular, the same day of different weeks, different days of a specific day such as Monday to Friday, or every day. Since the reservation recording of the continuous program broadcast on the selected different target days of the week is made,
In addition to the effect of claim 1, the use efficiency of the recording medium is improved,
In addition, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a program reservation recording method capable of obtaining the latest electronic program information transmitted from a broadcaster or the like and performing automatic reservation update recording of a target continuous program.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, particularly, when a desired program title name or a program title name with a desired genre name is not detected at a time interval within a predetermined time range, the program is In addition to the effect of claim 1, since the reserved recording operation is stopped, the target program is obtained by obtaining the latest electronic program information transmitted from a broadcaster or the like with improved efficiency of use of the recording medium. There is an effect that it is possible to provide a program reservation recording method capable of automatic reservation update recording.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, the program title name of the read electronic program information is selected by the operation based on the broadcast start / end time information input by the operation. In addition to the effect of claim 1, it is possible to provide a program reservation recording method that is easy to operate and that can obtain the latest electronic program information transmitted from a broadcaster or the like and perform automatic reservation update recording of a target program. There is.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, particularly when the program information to be reserved for recording is acquired from the electronic program information, if the program information of the desired broadcast date is not described in the electronic program information. , When the updated electronic program information in which the program information is described is distributed on the subsequent days, the title name of the program related to the described program is acquired and the recording reservation is made. In addition to the effect of item 1, there is provided a program reservation recording method which improves the utilization efficiency of a recording medium and can automatically record and update a target program by obtaining the latest electronic program information transmitted from a broadcaster or the like. There is an effect that can be done.

According to the invention of claim 6, the program genre information relating to the broadcast program set from the electronic program information is read, the program title name relating to the program genre is designated, and the program title name is designated. A character string constituting the character string and at least a part of the character string are the same, and the day of the week or the week having a predetermined time interval is different, and the program title name relating to the broadcast program continuously broadcasted is detected from the electronic program information. Since the broadcast program having the program title name is reserved and recorded, the program I peculiar to the program is included in the electronic program guide.
It is possible to make a recording reservation that automatically follows the change of the broadcast time zone without using D. Especially, even when the broadcast time is changed due to the insertion of an emergency program, the broadcast There is an effect that it is possible to provide a program reservation recording method that can obtain the latest electronic program information transmitted from, for example, and perform automatic reservation update recording of a program of a desired genre.

According to the invention of claim 7, the information related to the broadcast program set from the electronic program information is read out, the program title name is designated, and at least a character string constituting the program title name, and at least A broadcast program having the same character string and a predetermined time interval but different days of the week or different weeks from which the program title name relating to a continuously broadcast broadcast program is detected is detected from the electronic program information. Since the program is reserved and recorded, it is possible to make a recording reservation that automatically follows the change of the broadcast time zone without using the program ID unique to the program in the electronic program guide. Even if the broadcast time is changed when the time is approaching, it is possible to obtain the latest electronic program information transmitted from the broadcaster and perform automatic reservation update recording of the target program. There is an effect capable of providing a structure of a reservation recording apparatus.

According to the invention described in claim 8, the program genre information relating to the broadcast program set from the electronic program information is read out, the program title name relating to the program genre is designated, and the program title name is designated. A character string constituting the character string and at least a part of the character string are the same, and the day of the week or the week having a predetermined time interval is different, and the program title name relating to the broadcast program continuously broadcasted is detected from the electronic program information. Since the broadcast program having the program title name is reserved and recorded, the program I peculiar to the program is included in the electronic program guide.
It is possible to make a recording reservation that automatically follows the change of the broadcast time zone without using D. Especially, even when the broadcast time is changed due to the insertion of an emergency program, the broadcast There is an effect that it is possible to provide a configuration of a program reservation recording apparatus that can obtain the latest electronic program information transmitted from the above and perform automatic reservation update recording of a program of a desired and desired genre.

Further, according to the invention of claim 9, a program capable of automatic reservation update recording of a program to be a program receiving purpose such that a broadcast program to be supplied is received and supplied by another tuner unit or the like. Since the reservation recording device can be configured, in addition to the effect of claim 7 or 8, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a configuration of the program reservation recording device capable of performing automatic reservation update recording of a program for reception of a multi-channel program.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, when the computer is mounted and the video signal is recorded,
In the operation according to claim 1 or 6, while reading the information related to the broadcast program set from the electronic program information, a predetermined program title name or a program title name belonging to a predetermined program genre is designated, and the program title name is set. A character string constituting the character string and at least a part of the character string are the same, and the day of the week or the week having a predetermined time interval is different, and the program title name relating to the broadcast program continuously broadcasted is detected from the electronic program information. The broadcast program with the program title name is reserved and recorded, and the program ID unique to the program is not used in the electronic program guide, and the recording reservation can be made automatically following the change of the broadcast time zone. Even if the broadcast time is changed due to insertion, etc., the latest electronic program information transmitted from the broadcaster etc. will be obtained and the target program The program reservation recording operation can dynamic reservation update record, there is an effect that can be provided as a software program for performing run by a computer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a program reservation recording device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an input screen supplied and displayed by the program reservation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a program operation reservation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing program contents of an electronic program guide according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing program reservation items and recording reservation information therefor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a program genre code according to an embodiment of the present invention,
It is an example of the contents of the program defined by the code.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating middle classification codes and their contents related to movies and dramas according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplifying middle classification codes and their contents for arts and education according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

40 Program reservation recording / playback device 50 Encoder part 51 TV tuner 52 A / D converter 53 MPEG-2 encoder 54 Stream Analyzer 55 REC-FIFO 56 EPG Decoder 60 Recording / playback unit 61 Hard disk recording / reproducing device 63 hard disk 65 write / read controller 70 Decoder part 71 buffer memory 72 MPEG-2 decoder 73 OSD 74 D / A converter 76 Microcomputer 78 Temporary storage memory 79 Remote control interface 90 monitor TV 95 remote control

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/781 H04N 5/781 510C 7/025 7/03 7/035

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A so-called continuous program or a series of programs which are continuously broadcast from substantially the same time on different days of the week or on the basis of electronic program information including title names of broadcast programs and broadcast start / end time information, and subsequent times. The method for automatically recording and recording a reservation recording of a program, wherein information on a broadcast program for which automatic reservation recording is to be set is read from the electronic program information, and a program title name is obtained from the read information. The first step of performing the program title name, the character string constituting the program title name, at least a part of the character string is the same, and the next program title name related to the program to be broadcast continuously or in series, the electronic program information , Or the second step of acquiring from the updated electronic program information transmitted including the updated start and end time information, and acquired in the second step. Book recording method of a program, characterized in that it comprises a third step of reserving recording of feed start and end time information of the program based, at least. 2. The time intervals of programs to be continuously or serially broadcast in the second step are the same day of a different week, a specific day of the week such as different Monday to Friday, or a selected target day such as a different day. The reservation recording method for a program according to claim 1, wherein the time intervals are such. 3. The time interval of the program broadcast continuously or in series in the second step is a time interval within a predetermined time range, and when the next program title name is not acquired in the time interval, The program reservation recording method according to claim 1, wherein the program reservation recording operation for at least the day when the program is not acquired is stopped. 4. The program title name is based on the reception channel information and the broadcast start / end time information input by an operation other than directly selecting the title name of the program included in the electronic program information. 2. The program reservation recording method according to claim 1, wherein the program information to be reserved for recording is acquired from the program information, and the title name of the program related to the acquired program information is used as the program title name. 5. The program title name, when acquiring program information to be reserved for recording from the electronic program information based on the broadcast start / end time information including the broadcast date input by operation, in the electronic program information, When the program information relating to the broadcast date is not described, the title name of the program acquired from the updated electronic program information describing the program information distributed thereafter is used as the program title name. The program reservation recording method according to claim 1. 6. A plurality of broadcast programs to be broadcast, electronic program information including program title name, program genre information, and broadcast start / end time information is obtained, and the obtained electronic program information is used as a basis. In the method of program reservation recording for automatically reservation recording a broadcast program selected by an operation, the information related to the selected broadcast program is read from the electronic program information, and the information is read from the read information. A first step of acquiring information indicating a program genre, and information indicating the same program genre as the program genre acquired in the first step, and the same day of the week different from the selected program , A specific day of the week such as a different Monday to Friday, or a different selected day of the week such as every day, and the broadcast time zone is the broadcast time zone of the selected broadcast program. In comparison, the program is broadcast earlier or later within a predetermined time range, and information related to the program is acquired from the electronic program information or updated electronic program information transmitted including the updated time information. A program reservation characterized by at least including a second step and a third step of reserving recording of a program of the program genre based on the broadcast start / end time information acquired in the second step. Recording method. 7. A so-called continuous program or a series program which is continuously broadcast from substantially the same time on different days of the week or on the basis of electronic program information including title names of broadcast programs and broadcast start / end time information, and subsequent times. Is a program reservation recording device for automatically performing reservation recording setting, and information on a broadcast program for which automatic reservation recording setting is performed is read from the electronic program information, and a program title name is acquired from the read information. Program title name acquisition means, a character string constituting the program title name, at least part of the character string is the same, and the next program title name related to the program to be broadcast continuously or in series, the electronic program information , Or the time information acquisition means for acquiring from the updated electronic program information transmitted including the updated start / end time information, and the time information acquisition means. Ri and reservation recording means for reserving the recording of the program based on the broadcast start and end time information obtained is constituted by at least provided that the program reservation recording apparatus characterized. 8. An electronic program information including a program title name, information indicating a program genre, and broadcast start / end time information regarding a plurality of broadcast programs to be broadcast, and based on the obtained electronic program information. A program reservation recording device for automatically reservation-recording a broadcast program selected by an operation, wherein information relating to the selected broadcast program is read from the electronic program information, and the program is read from the read information. A program genre acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a genre, and information that indicates the same program genre as the program genre acquired by the program genre acquisition unit, and the same day of the week different from the selected program, It will be broadcast on a specific day of the week such as different Monday to Friday, or on a different selected day of the week such as every day. Update electronic that is a program that is broadcast early or late within a predetermined time range as compared with the broadcast time zone, and information related to the program is transmitted including the electronic program information or updated time information. At least a time information acquisition unit that acquires the program information, and a reservation recording unit that reserves recording of a program having information indicating the program genre based on the broadcast start / end time information obtained by the time information acquisition unit. A program reservation recording device having the above-mentioned configuration. 9. A program reservation recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the broadcast program whose recording is reserved by said reservation recording means is a broadcast program supplied from an external input terminal provided. 10. A program reservation recording program for causing a computer to execute the first to third steps according to claim 1 or 6.