JP2003199011A - Recording control device of a plurality of recorders, recording control method, recording apparatus and television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable unified management of reserved recording information of a plurality of recorders. <P>SOLUTION: A first and a second recorders 30, 50 are connected with a television receiver 10 by using a transmission channel capable of control signal transmission, and reserved information of the recorders 30, 50 is transmitted to a television receiver 10 via the transmission channel. The information is stored in a storage device 23 of the receiver, thereby enabling the unified management of reserved recording information of the respective recorders 30, 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording control device, a recording control method, a recording device and a television receiver in a system including a plurality of recording devices capable of reserved recording such as a VTR (video tape recorder).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to perform reserved recording on a plurality of recording devices that can be reserved for recording, for example, a television receiver is commonly used and reservation information is individually displayed on each screen. It is common to make reservations by setting.

Therefore, in order to confirm the reservation information of a device other than the device which makes the recording reservation, each device is started up,
It is necessary to read and display the reservation information stored in it, which makes the confirmation work extremely complicated, and in some cases, recording the same program on other devices is often reserved. It can happen.

As a proposal for solving this problem, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-177919.

In the technique described in this document, when a plurality of devices are connected by a communication means such as an IEEE 1394 serial bus and a reservation for recording is made, another device is inquired about the reservation information and returned. The reservation is executed after the suitability of the reservation recording is judged based on the returned reply information.

[0006] In the recording reservation method of this document, the procedure is complicated and time-consuming because an inquiry is made to another device each time and then the device itself is reserved, and an inquiry cannot be made unless the other device is operating. , It inherits the problem of the conventional system that there is a possibility to reserve the recording of the same program.

As described above, when a broadcast program is recorded by a plurality of recording devices capable of reservation recording, reservation information is controlled by associating reservation information of other devices with reservation information to be recorded. Although it is necessary, it is difficult for the conventional device to set the reservation in consideration of the reservation information of other devices.

[0008]

When recording a broadcast program using a plurality of recording devices capable of reservation recording, the reservation status of other devices can be surely and easily confirmed and the reservation of the own device can be appropriately performed. It is desired to realize a device that executes the above.

According to the present invention, a video display device and a plurality of recording devices are connected by a transmission path through which a control signal including a control command and an information signal are transmitted, and reservation information of each device is transferred to the video display device through the transmission path. By transmitting and storing this, and reading and displaying it, the reservation status of other devices can be easily and surely confirmed.

[0010]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording control apparatus for a plurality of recording devices, comprising at least one video display device having an information storage means and a video display means, and a reservation recording setting capable of recording a broadcast program by reservation. A plurality of recording devices having means,
Connection means for connecting the video display device and the plurality of recording devices by a transmission path through which a control signal including a control command and an information signal are transmitted, and becomes a target when reservation recording setting of the recording device is performed. Transmission control means for generating information specifying a program and transmitting the information to the video display device via the transmission path, storage control means for storing the transmitted program information in the information storage means, and the program information Display control means for reading out from the storage means and displaying by the video display means; reservation setting control means for controlling reservation recording settings of the plurality of recording devices based on program information stored in the information storage means; Is provided.

According to the present invention, the program information reserved for each recording device is transmitted through the transmission path and is stored and displayed, so that the reservation status of other devices can be surely confirmed. Is something that can be done.

Further, the recording control method for a plurality of recording devices according to the present invention includes at least one video display device having an information storage means and a video display means, and a plurality of reservation recording setting means capable of recording reserved broadcast programs. Connecting the recording device by a transmission path through which a control signal including a control command and an information signal are transmitted, and generating program information for specifying a program to be reserved for recording at the time of recording reservation of the recording device, Transmitting the generated program information to the video display device through the transmission path, storing the transmitted program information in the information storage means, and making a new recording reservation for the recording device. Controlling the recording reservation based on the transmitted program information and the program information stored in the information storage means. It is characterized in.

Also in the present invention, the program information reserved for each recording device is transmitted through the transmission path and is stored and displayed, so that the reservation status of other devices can be surely confirmed. Is something that can be done.

The recording device of the present invention comprises a recording medium,
Receiving means for receiving a broadcast program signal; recording reservation means for making a reservation so that the broadcast signal of the broadcast program is recorded in the recording medium when the broadcast program is broadcast before the broadcast of the broadcast program is started; When a reservation is made by the reservation means,
Program information generating means for generating program information including a broadcast channel and broadcasting time, and a program for outputting the program information generated by the program information generating means by a transmitting means for transmitting a control signal including a control command and an information signal. And an information output means.

According to the present invention, since the reserved program information can be transmitted through the transmission path, it is possible to manage the reservation situation.

Further, the television receiver of the present invention is a program information transmitted by a display means for displaying a television video signal, a storage means, and a transmission path through which a control signal including a control command and an information signal are transmitted. Program information receiving means for receiving the received program information, storage control means for storing the received program information in the storage means, and display control means for reading the stored program information and displaying it on the display means. It is characterized by

According to the present invention, the reserved program information of each recording device sent via the transmission path can be stored and displayed collectively, so that the reservation setting can be surely executed. It is a thing.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a recording control apparatus for a plurality of recording devices according to the present invention.

A television receiver 10 is equipped with a recording medium 11 composed of, for example, an HDD (hard disk drive) and also functions as a recording device.

Reference numeral 12 is an antenna, which is an RF (Radio Frequency)
quency) input terminal 13 to the tuner / demodulation unit 14. The tuner / demodulation unit 14 selects a desired broadcast channel, further demodulates the selected broadcast signal, and outputs the demodulated broadcast signal to the video signal and audio signal processing unit 15.

In the case of a digital television signal, the output of the tuner / demodulation unit 14 is supplied to the video signal and audio signal processing unit 15 in the form of TS (transport stream), where the MPEG (Moving Picture Expert) is used.
Group) is decoded and converted to analog signals,
The video signal is supplied to the superimposing unit 16. The video signal is superimposed on the OSD signal from the OSD (on-screen display) signal generation unit 17 in the superimposition unit 16 and the video display unit 1
It is displayed at 8.

Further, the analog audio signal from the video signal and audio signal processing section 15 is output from an audio output section 19 composed of a speaker or the like.

The TS signal supplied to the video signal and audio signal processing unit 15 is supplied to the recording medium 11 and the control unit 20.
It is recorded on the recording medium under the control of. Further, the TS signal is directly supplied to the control unit 20, where additional information such as a program title included in the TS signal is extracted, and the control unit 2
Under the control of 0, the OSD signal generation unit 17 converts the character information including the character information, supplies the character information to the superimposing unit 16, and superimposes it on the video signal.

The user operates the operation input unit 21 to supply control information to the control unit to execute an operation such as recording on the recording medium or reproduction from the recording medium. Also,
The user operation input unit 21 inputs a recording reservation and stores the reservation information in the memory 23. Operation input unit 21
May be configured to receive a remote control signal from a remote controller (not shown), decode the control signal to obtain a control signal, and supply the control signal to the control unit 20. Alternatively, the control signal may be provided on the front panel of the receiver 10. It may be configured by a group of operation switches.

The television receiver 10 further includes the most characteristic 1394 interface section 22 of the present invention. 1394 is the Institute of Electrica (IEEE)
l and Electronics Engineers) standardized digital interface such as AV (Audio Visual)
This is an interface that allows devices to be connected to each other for high-speed transmission of video signals and audio signals, as well as transmission of control signals for controlling the operation of the devices. The IEEE 1394 is configured as a so-called serial bus, and the 1394 interface section 22 of the television receiver 10 is connected to terminals 22a and 22b configured as cable connection plugs.

The first recorder 30 is connected to the television receiver 10 configured as described above through the terminal 22a of the 1394 interface section 22.

The first recording device 30 has a receiver 32 for receiving and demodulating the broadcast signal supplied to the input terminal 31. The television signal demodulated by the receiving unit 32 is supplied to and processed by a video signal / audio signal processing unit 33 which performs the processing, the video signal is output from the terminal 34, and the audio signal is output from the terminal 35. The TS signal obtained by demodulation by the receiving unit 33 is controlled by the recording unit 37 under the control of the control unit 36.
Recorded in.

The first recording device 30 further has an operation input unit 38 for the user to execute various operations including recording and reproduction, or to perform various settings, and a memory 39 as information storage means. , 1394 interface unit 40.

The 1394 interface unit 40 is the 1394 interface unit 22 of the television receiver 10.
It has almost the same configuration as that of the terminal 4 as a connection plug.
0a and a terminal 40b, and the terminal 40a is connected to the terminal 22a of the television receiver 10 by a cable 41.

The operation input section 38 may be a remote controller or a group of keys arranged on the front panel of the device, and the recording reservation can be set by operating the operation input section 38. Yes, the set reservation recording information is stored in the memory 39.

The second recording device 50 is the first recording device 3
The configuration is substantially the same as that of 0, and has a receiving unit 52 that receives and demodulates the broadcast signal supplied to the input end 51. The television signal demodulated by the receiving unit 52 is supplied to and processed by a video signal / audio signal processing unit 53 that performs the processing, the video signal is output from the terminal 54, and the audio signal is output from the terminal 55. The TS signal demodulated by the receiver 52 is recorded on the recording medium 57 under the control of the controller 56.

The second recording device 50 further has an operation input section 58 for the user to execute various operations including recording and reproduction, or to perform various settings, and a memory 59 as information storage means. , 1394 interface unit 60.

The 1394 interface unit 60 has a first
The recording device 30 has a configuration substantially the same as that of the 1394 interface unit 40, and the terminal 60a as a connection plug.
And a terminal 60b, and the terminal 60a is connected to the terminal 40b of the second recording device 30 by the cable 61.

The operation input section 58 may be a remote controller or a group of keys arranged on the front panel of the device, and the recording reservation can be set by operating the operation input section 58. Yes, the set reservation recording information is stored in the memory 59.

First recording device 30 and second recording device 5
0 is, for example, a digital VTR (video tape recorder) or a DVD (digital video decoder), or one of them is a digital VTR.
The other may be a DVD.

Next, IEEE 1394 (hereinafter simply referred to as 139
4) will be described. 1394 is specified so that synchronous (Isochronous) transfer used for transmitting a digital video signal or digital audio signal and asynchronous (Asynchronous) transfer used for transmitting a control signal such as a control command can be performed. Has been done. The synchronous transfer and the asynchronous transfer are transferred in a mixed form as shown in FIG. After the cycle start packet 1 (CS1), for example, channel 1 is used in synchronous communication.
(CH1) digital video signal and channel 3 (CH
3) digital video signal is placed, then asynchronous (asyn
c) A control signal such as a command to be transferred is arranged, and the cycle (Cycle 1) ends. In the next cycle 2,
Channel 1 (CH1) is continuously transferred, and the asynchronous transfer portion is arranged. In cycle 3, channels 1 and 3 are transferred and there is no asynchronous transfer part.

In 1394, AV / is used as a control command.
C (A.V.C.) is prepared, and it is possible to transfer a control signal for controlling the operation by targeting a specific device among a plurality of connected devices. For example, from a digital broadcasting tuner to a digital VTR
On the other hand, the power is turned on at a predetermined time on a predetermined day, a predetermined broadcast channel is received, the received program is recorded, and when the predetermined time is reached, the recording is stopped and the power is turned off. It is possible to send a signal that controls a series of operations.

Therefore, it is possible to transfer, as a control signal, the information for specifying the program necessary for realizing the present invention. That is, the broadcast channel, the program broadcast date,
It is possible to send the broadcast start time and the end time, or the broadcast start time and the time from the start to the end by targeting a specific device.

The operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be described.

Now, the recording medium 3 of the first recording device 30 is used.
When making a new reservation for recording in 7, the user operates the operation input unit 38 to input the recording date, the recording start time and the end time, and the broadcast channel.

Information for these reservations is stored in the control unit 36.
Is supplied to the 1394 interface unit 40 via
The television receiver 10 is converted into an asynchronous control signal.
Is output as a target.

In the television receiver 10, the 1394 interface unit 22 uses the 1394 interface of the first recording device 30.
The control signal output from the interface unit 40 is received and supplied to the control unit 20. The control unit 20 operates to change the control signal into a signal that can be converted into an OSD signal and store it in the memory 23 as reserved record information. At this time, the control unit 20 stores the reserved record information to be stored. And the reservation record information already stored in the memory 23 are compared with each other. If the same reservation record information is stored, predetermined data is supplied to the OSD signal generator 17 to notify the user of the same, and the display message character signal is sent. It is generated and output to the superimposing unit 16. The superimposing unit 16 superimposes the message character signal on the video signal and displays it on the video display unit 18.
This allows the user to recognize that he is trying to make a duplicate reservation.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the warning message displayed on the video display section 18. As described above, it is possible to configure the user to select that the program information is already reserved and how to handle the program information to be reserved for recording. It is also possible to set the storage in the memory 23 to be unconditionally prohibited.

Further, if the reserved program can be confirmed before the recording reservation is set, the user can save the input work. For example, the user operates the operation input unit 38 to operate the 1394 interface unit 40. Alternatively, a control signal may be supplied to the television receiver 10 to read the stored content of the memory 23 and display the image on the video display unit 18. Such a configuration
This is possible by setting the memory 23 to be treated as one recording device using the recording medium.

FIG. 4 shows a list of program information relating to reserved recording stored in the memory 23 of the television receiver 10 in response to a request from the first recording device or the second recording device.

The current time is displayed at the lower right of the title, and a list of programs is displayed in the center. Each program is shown by channel and broadcast date and time, and which recording device recorded the program or recorded. What you are trying to do is displayed.

From this list, the user can confirm at a glance whether or not the program he / she is going to reserve has already been reserved.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the situation of home AV equipment connected by a 1394 interface. In this way, a television receiver or video display equipment (monitor) and recording equipment are provided in each of the rooms A to D. The present invention can be practiced even in the case where they are arranged.

In this case, one of the television receivers is specified as a master, and the recording reservation information of each device is commonly stored in its memory.

For example, the television receiver 71 in the lower left room A in the figure can be specified as a master device to have the same configuration as the television receiver 10 shown in FIG.
A television receiver 71 and two recording devices 72 and 73 are installed in the room A, a television receiver 74 with a built-in VTR is disposed in the room B, and two recording devices 75 and 75 are installed in the room C. 76 and an image display device 77 are installed, a television receiver 78 and one recording device 79 are installed in the room D, and the devices 71 to 79 are connected by a cable via a 1394 interface.

In the case of such a configuration, when the recording reservation of each recording device is made, the program information stored in the memory of the television receiver 71 and the new reservation are newly made as described in the embodiment of FIG. By comparing the program information to be attempted, it is possible to confirm whether or not the reservation is a duplicate reservation. Further, by reading the content of the memory of the television receiver 71 and displaying it on the television receiver or the video display device in the room. The reserved program information can be confirmed.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the operation of the present invention described above.

It is started in step 6a, the control signal is accepted in step 6b, and in step 6c, the program information included in the accepted control signal is compared with the already reserved program information stored in the memory to compare the same program. It is determined whether there is any.

If the same program has not been reserved, the program information received in step 6b is stored and added as reserved program information in step 6d, and the process ends in step 6e.

When it is determined in step 6c that the same program has been reserved, a warning message is displayed in step 6f, and the process ends without storing the information of the program. Alternatively, the process ends without issuing any message and without storing the information of the program.

According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, when the recording reservation is made for each recording device by using the 1394 interface, the information for specifying the program is transmitted to the television receiver. Although the configuration is such that the duplicate reservation is confirmed, it is also possible to apply, for example, Bluetooth which connects each device through a wireless transmission path.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to centrally manage the reservation information by transmitting the recording reservation information of the recording device to the master device through the transmission path. It is possible to easily and surely prevent this.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the recording reservation information of a plurality of recording devices is configured to be transmitted to the master device via the transmission path and stored in the memory, the reservation information can be centrally managed, and the reservation setting can be performed efficiently. Is something that can be done.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a recording control device for a plurality of recording devices according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining another operation of the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining another operation of the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing another form of a recording control device for a plurality of recording devices according to the present invention.

6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Television receiver 11, 37, 57 ... Recording medium 14 ... Tuner / demodulator 15, 33, 53 ... Video signal and audio signal processing unit 20, 36, 56 ... Control unit 21, 38, 58 ... Operation input section 22, 40, 60 ... 1394 interface section 23, 39, 59 ... Memory 30 ... First recording device 50 ... Second recording device

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/91 H04N 5/782 ZF term (reference) 5C018 HA10 5C025 AA25 AA30 BA25 BA28 BA30 CA02 CB03 CB08 DA10 5C052 AB04 DD10 EE02 EE03 5C053 FA20 FA22 FA23 FA24 FA30 GB11 GB37 JA01 LA07 LA15 5C056 AA07 BA08 BA10 CA06 CA08 CA11 CA15 CA19 DA06 DA08

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. At least one video display device including an information storage unit and a video display unit, a plurality of recording devices including a reservation record setting unit capable of recording a broadcast program in a reserved manner, the video display device and the plurality of video recording devices. Connecting means for connecting the recording device of FIG. 3 through a transmission path for transmitting a control signal including a control command and an information signal, and generating information for specifying a target program when the reserved recording setting of the recording device is performed. Transmission control means for transmitting the transmitted program information to the video display device via the transmission path, storage control means for storing the transmitted program information in the information storage means, and reading the program information from the storage means Display control means for displaying by the video display means, and a reservation setting for controlling reservation recording settings of the plurality of recording devices based on the program information stored in the information storage means. A recording control device for a plurality of recording devices, comprising: a constant control means. 2. The reservation setting control means compares the program information stored in the information storage means with the program information transmitted via the transmission path, and the information of the same program is already recorded. The recording control device for a plurality of recording devices according to claim 1, wherein the recording control device is configured to prevent the transmitted program information from being stored in the information storage means when the recording information is present. 3. The reservation setting control means compares the program information stored in the information storage means with the program information transmitted via the transmission path, and information of the same program is already stored. In this case, the recording control device for a plurality of recording devices according to claim 1, wherein the display control means is driven to display that the same program reservation recording has already been set. 4. A control signal and an information signal including a control command for at least one video display device having an information storage means and a video display means, and a plurality of recording equipment having a reserved recording setting means capable of recording reserved broadcast programs. Through a transmission path through which the program is transmitted, a step of generating program information that specifies a program to be a recording reservation target at the time of recording reservation of the recording device, the generated program information is displayed on the video display through the transmission path. Transmitting to the device, storing the transmitted program information in the information storage means, and storing the transmitted program information in the information storage means when newly making a recording reservation for the recording device. Controlling the recording reservation based on the program information stored therein, Law. 5. The reservation control step compares the program information stored in the information storage means with the program information transmitted via the transmission path, and information of the same program is already stored. In this case, the recording control method for a plurality of recording devices according to claim 4, wherein processing is performed so as to prevent storage of the transmitted program information in the information storage means. 6. The reservation control step compares the program information stored in the information storage means with the program information transmitted via the transmission path, and information of the same program is already stored. In this case, the recording control method for a plurality of recording devices according to claim 4, wherein the display means performs processing so as to display that the same program reservation recording has already been set. 7. A recording medium, means for receiving a broadcast program signal, and reservation for recording the broadcast signal of the broadcast program in the recording medium when the broadcast program is broadcast before the broadcast program starts to be broadcast. Recording reservation means for performing, program information generating means for generating program information including a broadcast channel and a broadcast time when the recording reservation means makes a reservation, and program information generated by the program information generating means, A recording apparatus comprising: a control signal including a control command; and a program information output unit that outputs the information signal by a transmission unit. 8. Display means for displaying a television video signal, storage means, and program information receiving means for receiving program information transmitted by a transmission path through which control signals including control commands and information signals are transmitted, A television receiver comprising: a storage control unit that stores the received program information in the storage unit; and a display control unit that reads out the stored program information and displays it on the display unit. . 9. A recording medium, means for receiving a broadcast program signal, and recording of the broadcast signal of the broadcast program in the recording medium when the broadcast program is broadcast before the start of the broadcast of the broadcast program. The program generated by the program information generating means includes a recording reservation means for making a reservation and a program information generating means for generating program information including a broadcast channel and a broadcast time when the recording and recording reservation means makes a reservation. 9. The television receiver according to claim 8, wherein information is configured to be stored in the storage means by the storage control means. 10. The program information stored in the information storage means is compared with the newly generated program information, and when the information of the same program is already stored, the program information is newly generated. 10. The television receiver according to claim 9, further comprising recording reservation control means for preventing storage of program information in the information storage means. 11. The program information stored in the information storage means is compared with the newly generated program information, and when the information of the same program is already stored, the same program reservation recording is performed. 10. The television receiver according to claim 9, further comprising recording reservation control means for displaying on the display means that the setting has already been made.