JP2003304483A - Television set with memory function - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a television set with a memory function which allows an audience to designate a desired category or channel among a huge number of broadcast programs to obtain the latest information, without troublesome operations. <P>SOLUTION: The television set 1 with a memory function comprises a remote controller 2, a display 3 for displaying images and information, and a user- exchangeable disc 4. Broadcast signals received through a receiving antenna 5, a CATV receiver 6 and a tuner 7 are encoded by an encoder 9, classified for every receiving channel or every category and recorded in a large-capacity memory 11. They are displayed on the display 3 through a decoder 14 and a switch/IO 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a television set with a memory function for compressing and recording / reproducing broadcast contents, and more particularly, a television set with a memory function which allows a viewer to freely set a playback time for playback. It is about.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the remarkable development of telecommunications technology, wireless and wired multimedia have been introduced one after another. High-definition high-definition (HDTV), clear-vision (EDTV), still image broadcasting, text broadcasting, data broadcasting, 24-hour satellite broadcasting (BS / CS), and cable television (CATV) in the two-way service era have become popular. As expected, so-called broadcasting multimedia is progressing.

Also, there are various kinds of broadcasting programs broadcasted by these multimedia, and in addition to the conventional broadcasting programs centered on entertainment viewing such as movies, sports, news, cooking, and music programs, a new interactive program is newly added. Experiments to provide local community information, library materials, home shopping information, home-medical service information, etc., which take advantage of the features of, have been started.

On the other hand, the development of recording media is remarkable, and the capacity of semiconductor memories and the capacity and speed of recording devices using disk-shaped recording media are increasing.
Rewritable magneto-optical disk (MO: Magneto Optica
l) and a phase change type optical disc (PC: Phase Change) system for newly recording / reproducing data by changing the light intensity has also been developed. In addition, a digital video disk (hereinafter simply referred to as “DVD”), a recordable / reproducible compact disk (hereinafter simply referred to as “CD”), and a digital video tape recorder for recording digital signals on a magnetic tape medium. (Hereinafter, simply referred to as “DVTR”) has been developed and is expected in the future. These recording media have M
PEG2 (Moving Picture Image Coding Experts Grou
Using a compression encoding technique such as p Phase2), a moving image is recorded for about 2 hours on the CD or DVD, and D using standard tape.
For VTR, a device capable of recording / reproducing for about 21 hours is being developed.

[0006]

However, the applied technology of these recording media is still used only for computer storage, and the form in which the television device and these memories are fused is still in full swing. I have not issued it. In addition, due to changes in the environment and circumstances surrounding television devices, the lifestyles of viewers (hereinafter simply referred to as “users”) are diverse, and there is plenty of new broadcasting services provided as described above. It is becoming more and more difficult for the user to obtain desired information from the information. Under such circumstances, the demand for a television device by a user is increasing, and there is a demand for a television device which is not only multifunctional but has a more user interface.

That is, a busy user does not have much time to watch the television device slowly, and a television device form in which desired information can be obtained more easily is expected. In order to meet such a demand, it is sufficient to constantly record the broadcast contents in a recording device such as a VTR and store it in the VT.
R requires not only a long time for access, but also has a limit of a reproduction speed at a high speed of about twice, and a series of operations such as recording / reproduction was complicated.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and a television device with a memory function that allows a user to obtain the latest information within a desired time from a vast amount of broadcast programs without requiring complicated operations by the user. Is to provide.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to a television apparatus with a memory function, which has a memory for compressing and recording broadcast contents and a display unit, and broadcast contents for each reception channel. A recording means for classifying and recording into a recording medium, an operating means for selecting a desired receiving channel by a user, a reproducing means for reproducing a desired receiving channel, and a broadcast content recorded for each receiving channel together with a still image or A display means for displaying a part of the movie as a menu screen is provided. Therefore, when the user operates the operation means to select the specific reception channel, the reproduction is started.

In addition, in a television device with a memory function having a memory for compressing and recording broadcast contents and a display unit, the broadcast contents transmitted by adding an ID code for identifying the broadcast contents are classified by category. Recording means for classifying and recording, operation means for selecting a desired category by a user, reproducing means for reproducing a desired category, and broadcast contents recorded for each category are displayed as a menu screen by an icon (ICON). And a display means for displaying. Therefore, when the user operates the operation means to select a specific category, the reproduction is started.

Further, the memory is provided with a user area for storing the compressed and recorded broadcast contents for a predetermined period. Further, the display method of the display unit is a picture-in-picture that can be continuously enlarged / reduced to the entire screen, and a two-screen display and a multi-screen of two or more screens are referred to as a picture and picture. The above problems have been solved by making it possible to display in picture and picture.

Further, in a television device with a memory function having a memory for compressing and recording broadcast contents and a display unit, an operating means for setting a reproduction time of the broadcast contents recorded in the memory and a desired reproduction. It is also possible to include a reproducing means for reproducing in time, and display on the display unit within a desired reproducing time according to the operation of the operating means.

[0013]

In the television device with a memory function, which has a memory for compressing and recording broadcast contents and a display unit, recording means for classifying and recording the broadcast contents for each receiving channel,
An operation means for the user to select a desired reception channel,
A reproduction means for reproducing a desired reception channel and a display means for displaying the broadcast contents recorded for each reception channel together with the channel as a still picture or a partial moving picture as a menu screen are provided. Therefore, when the user operates the operation means to select the specific reception channel, the reproduction can be started immediately.

Further, in a television device with a memory function having a memory for compressing and recording the broadcast contents and a display section, the broadcast contents transmitted by adding an ID code for identifying the broadcast contents for each category. Recording means for classifying and recording, operation means for selecting a desired category by a user, reproducing means for reproducing a desired category, and broadcast contents recorded for each category are displayed as a menu screen by an icon (ICON). And a display means for displaying. Therefore, when the user operates the operation means to select a specific category, the reproduction can be started immediately.

Further, the memory has a user area for storing the compressed and recorded broadcast content for a predetermined period. Further, the display method of the display unit is picture-in-picture which can be continuously enlarged / reduced up to the entire screen, and can be displayed in a picture-and-picture mode in which two or more screens can be multi-screened.

Furthermore, in a television device with a memory function having a memory for compressing and recording broadcast contents and a display section, an operating means for setting a reproduction time of the broadcast contents recorded in the memory and a desired reproduction. When the user operates the operation means to set the reproduction time, the reproduction means for reproducing the time can be provided, and in response to the operation, the reproduction can be immediately performed at the desired reproduction time.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a television device with a memory function of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

First, the configuration and operation of the television device with memory function of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is an overall view of the television device with a memory function of the present invention, reference numeral 2 is a remote control unit for operating the television device 1 with a memory function, and reference numeral 3 is an image and information. It is a display unit for displaying. Further, reference numeral 4 is a user replacement disk, reference numeral 5 is a receiving antenna for terrestrial waves or satellites for receiving broadcast waves, and reference numeral 6 is a cable television receiver (CATV receiver: optical cable or coaxial cable). .

In the television device 1 with a memory function shown in the figure, the receiving antenna 5 and the CATV receiver 6 receive a broadcast signal, generate an RF signal and send it to the tuner 7. A tuner for demodulating an RF signal, a music selection circuit, or a CATV decoder is inserted in the tuner 7, music selection and demodulation are performed by these circuits, and a video signal or an audio signal is output to the output of the tuner 7. . The output signal is input to the program selector 8, and the program selector 8 selects an analog broadcast signal or a digital broadcast signal under the control of the system controller 10 to obtain designated data.

When the broadcast signal is an analog broadcast signal,
For example, the data is sent to the encoder 9 for encoding each data of the MPEG2 system or the MPEG2 video. The encoder 9 performs an encoding process for encoding the input analog broadcast signal into a recording format that matches the large capacity memory 11. However, since the digital broadcast signal does not need to be encoded, the encoder 9
Then, it is processed as a digital broadcast signal without being processed, and is sent to the large capacity memory 11 and recorded.

The television device 1 with a memory function is loaded with a ROM / RAM 11A, a primary memory 11B, a secondary memory 11C which is a large capacity memory, and a drive device 16 for driving the user replacement disk 4. It is built in. The operation of the large-capacity memory 11 will be briefly described. A predetermined control program for the system controller 10 is stored in the ROM / RAM 11A so that the operation of the television device 1 with the memory function can be smoothly performed. Promote.

The primary memory 11B is used as a so-called cache memory, and the recording data is once stored in the primary memory 11B, reconstructed in sector units, and transferred to the secondary memory 11C. It also saves data. The secondary memory 11C is a large-capacity memory of several gigabytes and stores recording data for a long time. Drive device 16
For example, when a user records a movie, overseas news or the like while sleeping and plays it back on a portable playback device or the like in the next morning, or when the user drives the user replacement disk 4 for alternate use. do. The user replacement disk 4 can freely input / output the recorded contents of the large-capacity memory 11C via a drive unit 16.

The system controller 10 performs the following operation which is the main point of the present invention. In other words, large capacity memory 1
1 is capable of recording / reproducing a broadcast service to be recorded and a desired broadcast program, and the large capacity memory 11 is capable of selecting either a channel selection mode or a category selection mode under the control of the system controller 10. is there.

In the channel selection mode, when the user specifies a time or a channel by timer reservation or the like, the broadcast content of the channel is preferentially recorded. When no channel is designated by the user, the broadcast content of each channel is uniformly recorded by a FIFO (first in first out) operation.

The category selection mode is a category I for recording the broadcast content in the broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcast station.
As the D code or the like is added and transmitted, the program ID detection 12 decodes and reads the category ID code added to the broadcast content, and the program selector 8 determines in advance via the switch control 13 Record by classifying into the category area. As an example, the broadcast contents classified into movies, sports, and news are encoded in the encoder 9 and then preferentially recorded in the large-capacity memory 11. These modes are selected by the remote control unit 2 or the operation unit (not shown) of the television device with a memory function of the present invention, and the result is displayed on the display unit 3.

The recorded contents of the large capacity memory 11 are recorded in the decoder 1
4 decoding processing such as decompression is applied to NTSC signals and RGB
Demodulated as a component signal, switch control 18
C via the switch / IO15 based on the control information of
It is displayed on the display unit 3 such as an RT or a liquid crystal display element. The display unit 3 is controlled by the system controller 10 to perform on / off control of the monitor. That is, the large-capacity memory 11 can hold the recording state even in the so-called standby state in which the main power source is off.

The television device 1 with a memory function is provided with a telephone line 20, and it is possible to automatically make a payment for pay broadcasting or the like from a user's bank account. Also,
The reception unit 17 performs decoding according to the control format transmitted from the remote control unit 2 and the system controller 10
Sent to and processed. Furthermore, the timer 19 is a timer having an electronic timepiece and an automatic time setting function, and serves as a reference for timer reservation and for setting a reproduction time by the user.

Television device with memory function 1 of the present invention
The large-capacity memory that may be incorporated in the solid-state memory is a solid-state memory such as a semiconductor memory whose capacity is increasing more and more as a primary memory, and basically an optical disk is incorporated as a secondary memory. Further, as a possibility of the secondary memory, the present invention covers all recording media such as CD and DVD, which are expected to be put to practical use in the development of short-wavelength light sources such as SHG and blue laser, and future development such as DVTR.

Next, a display example of the television device with a memory function of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The television device 1 with a memory function of the present invention is configured to include a drive device 16 on which a replaceable user replacement disk 4 can be mounted and a display unit 3 as shown in FIG. The display unit 3 displays a menu screen for reproducing the recorded contents recorded in various modes.

As an example, FIG. 2A shows a large capacity memory 1
1 shows the recorded contents 23 recorded in No. 1 and the state where the channel 21 is displayed for 6 channels. The display form of the channel 21 is displayed in a predetermined color by being superimposed on the recorded content 23 displayed as a still image and a partial moving image. When the user selects a desired channel on the remote controller 2 or the like, it flashes and is highlighted. When the user selects the menu screen, the pointer 22 appears on the display unit 3. The user operates the remote controller 2 to operate the pointer 22 to select a desired channel. FIG. 2B is an example in which the category icon 24 of the recorded contents recorded in the category selection mode appears.
Similar to the case of the channel selection mode, the pointer 22 is operated to select a desired category.

Here, the details of the remote controller will be described with reference to FIG. The remote control unit 2 includes an LED light emitting unit 26, a menu key 27 for calling a menu screen, a manipulator 25 for performing selection and confirmation operations with only one finger, and the like as main components.

The operation will be briefly described with reference to FIG.
The operator 25 in (a) and (b) can be operated with only one finger, and is tilted in any one of at least eight directions, and its tilt angles in the X-axis and Y-axis directions are not shown in X. , Y-axis encoder reads the operation information. Further, the tactile switch (not shown) is activated by the pressing operation of the operation element 25, and the confirmation operation is performed.

For example, when the user wants to select a desired channel or category from the menu screen shown in FIG. 2, when the user first presses the menu key 27 of the remote control unit 2 to call the menu screen, The pointer 22 (instruction mark) appears on the display unit 3. Therefore, the operator 25 is moved vertically and horizontally to move the item of interest of the pointer 22 on the display unit 3, a desired channel is selected, and the tip of the operator 25 is pressed to confirm. L
The ED light emitting section 26 is the television device 1 with the memory function.
Control information is converted into an optical signal such as infrared rays and transmitted.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 2 again, when the user operates the remote controller 2 or the like to select and confirm the reproduction time and the channel 21 by the operation method described later, that channel 2
The recorded content 23 of No. 1 is immediately displayed on the display unit 3 of the television device 1 with a memory function, and the user can watch the broadcast content recorded in the channel at a desired time.

When a storage command for the recorded contents 23 such as a movie recorded in the large-capacity memory 11 is issued by a predetermined operation, the recorded contents 23 are traced back to the beginning of the program and stored in the large-capacity memory at that time. It is stored in the provided user area. Also, as another function, the recorded contents 23 of the channel 21 can be displayed on a small screen that can be enlarged / reduced to a large screen while displaying the current broadcast as it is. It is also possible to display.

Further, the recording / reproducing operation of the television device with a memory function of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the recording mode of the television with memory function of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the reproduction mode of the television with memory function of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a menu screen of the present invention, (a)
Is a display example of the playback mode window, (b) is a display example of the playback time designation window, and (c) is a display example of the playback time window.

First, in FIG. 4, the user operates the remote control unit or the like to activate the recording mode of the television device with a memory function. As described above, the television device with a memory function of the present invention can select the channel selection mode and the category selection mode, and in this embodiment, the category selection mode will be described as being selected. The recording mode of the category selection mode is started (step S
P1). In step SP2, the recordable remaining amount of the large capacity memory of the television device with memory function is checked and stored. At step SP3, information such as a category is detected from the broadcast content transmitted from the broadcast station with an ID code and stored. At step SP4, it is confirmed whether or not the user has made a program reservation, and if the user has made a program reservation, the program is given priority and accepted. If there is no program reservation by the user, the broadcast contents are classified as they are.

In step SP5, if the category area is selected and the broadcasting station is designated, the category code is detected and stored. In step SP6, a FIFO operation is performed in which old broadcast contents are sequentially erased and new broadcast contents are recorded. At step SP7, the remaining capacity of the memory capacity assigned to the category area is checked.

If the recording capacity of the category area has a margin, the process proceeds to step SP8. If the recording capacity does not have a margin, the process returns to step SP6 to repeat the FIFO operation to update the broadcast content. In step SP8, the ID code such as the broadcast time is checked, and if the ID codes match, the process proceeds to step SP9 to continue recording, and if they do not match, the process returns to step SP8 again to operate to match the broadcast times. . At step SP10, the series of recording mode operations ends.

Next, the operation in the reproduction mode will be described with reference to FIG. When the user selects and starts the reproduction mode (step SP11), in step SP12, the menu screen showing each category area shown as an example in FIG. 2B is displayed based on the control program in the ROM / RAM. In step SP13, a desired category is selected (recorded broadcast content) from the menu screen, and if NO, the process returns to step SP12 and Y
If ES, proceed to step SP14. Step SP1
4, the menu screen display is erased, and at the same time, a reproduction mode window as shown in FIG. 6A is displayed. At this time, the display section displays that the predetermined time for normal reproduction is "reproduction time is 60 minutes".

When the user moves to step SP15 and selects a desired category area by operating the operator of the remote controller, a pointer (instruction mark) 22 appears on the display section of FIG. 6A, The normal reproduction mode or the high-speed reproduction mode is selected by moving the operator up and down and clicking (entering). Here, when the normal reproduction mode is selected, the process proceeds to step SP16 and other functions are selected. If YES, step SP17
Then, the selected function is processed and displayed on the display unit. When the selection of other functions is NO, the process returns to the start position.

On the other hand, when the high speed reproduction mode is selected in step SP15, the process proceeds to step SP18 and the reproduction time designation window is displayed as shown in FIG. 6 (b). In step SP19, the operator of the remote controller is operated on the display unit to move the ponter 22 to select a desired time, and the operator is moved up and down to click to select the reproduction time. At step SP20, FIG.
A reproduction time window as shown in (c) is displayed, and an arbitrary reproduction time is realized by combining and selecting the illustrated reproduction times.

At step SP21, it is urged to judge whether or not to start the digest reproduction within the displayed reproduction time.
In case of cancellation, the process returns to the reproduction time window of step SP20. If start is selected, proceed to step SP22,
The ID check and read of the recorded contents added at the time of recording are performed. In step SP23, the recorded contents of the large capacity memory are started to be reproduced at a desired reproduction speed,
It is displayed on the display unit at P24. As described above, the series of operations in the high speed reproduction mode are completed (step SP2).
5).

According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the user is absent even in the arrival of the multimedia-equipped television set with a memory function, which is likely to be adopted in the future in the form of incorporating various large-capacity memories. However, since a desired broadcast program can be recorded from among a huge amount of broadcast programs to be broadcast and a desired reproduction time can be freely set and viewed, even a busy user can perform a complicated operation like a VTR. The latest information can be obtained easily and within a desired time. Also, the method of selecting the reproduction time is easy.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the method of designating the reproduction time is described in the case of the interactive setting on the screen. However, the desired reproduction time may be directly set by the ten-key pad. Manual operation for selecting and recording desired program software as described above is also possible. Further, it goes without saying that the invention can be developed into various forms without being limited to the above-mentioned one embodiment.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, a certain amount of user area is provided, so that it can be used as a VTR and a library can be formed to some extent. In this case, since the system controller records in the optimum recording state, recording will not fail. Furthermore,
Processing after recording in the large-capacity memory is also easy, and since the large-capacity memory is organized neatly by category or by channel, it is easy to access.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a television device with a memory function of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a display example of a menu screen of the present invention, (a) is a display example of a channel selection mode, and (b) is a display example of a category selection mode.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a remote control unit of the television device with a memory function of the present invention, (a) is a front view showing the remote control unit, and (b) is a perspective view showing the remote control unit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a recording mode of the television device with a memory function of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a reproduction mode of the television device with a memory function of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a menu screen of the present invention, (a) is a display example of a reproduction mode window,
(B) is a display example of the playback time designation window,
(C) is a display example of the reproduction time window.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 television device with memory function, 2 remote control unit,
3 display section, 4 user replacement disk, 5 receiving antenna, 6 CATV receiver, 7 tuner, 8 program selector, 9 encoder, 10 system controller, 11 large capacity memory, 12 program ID detection,
13, 18 switch control, 14 decoder, 15 switch / IO, 16 driving device, 17 receiver, 18 switch control, 19 timer, 20 telephone line, 21
Channels, 22 pointers, 23 recorded contents, 24
Category icon, 25 controls, 26 LED emitting section, 27 menu key

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 5C025 AA30 BA25 BA27 BA28 CA02                       CA09 CB10 DA01                 5C052 AA17 AB04 DD04 GA03 GB01                       GB06 GB09 GC03 GC05 GE04                 5C053 FA06 FA07 FA27 GB37 JA16                       KA04 KA24 LA06 LA07

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A memory for compressing and recording broadcast contents,
In a television device with a memory function having a display unit, recording means for classifying and recording broadcast contents for each receiving channel, operating means for selecting a desired receiving channel, and reproducing means for reproducing the desired receiving channel. A display means for displaying the broadcast content recorded for each reception channel together with the channel as a still image or a partial video as a menu screen, and when the viewer operates the operation means to select a specific reception channel, A television device with a memory function characterized by starting reproduction. 2. A memory for compressing and recording broadcast contents,
In a television device with a memory function having a display unit, a recording means for recording broadcast contents transmitted by adding an ID code for identifying broadcast contents and selecting a desired category The operation means, the reproduction means for reproducing a desired category, and the display means for displaying the broadcast contents recorded for each category as an icon (ICON) as a menu screen are provided, and the viewer operates the operation means. A television device with a memory function, which starts reproduction when a specific category is selected. 3. The memory function as claimed in claim 1, wherein the memory has a user area for storing the compressed and recorded broadcast content for a predetermined period. Television device. 4. The television device with a memory function according to claim 1, wherein the display method of the display unit is a picture-in-picture that can be continuously enlarged / reduced to the entire screen. . 5. The television device with a memory function according to claim 1, wherein the display method of the display unit is a picture-and-picture capable of a multi-screen including two or more screens.