JP2004282772A - Video recording controlling equipment, broadcasting station, broadcast/receiving system, and medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that a video recording reservation must be performed again, if video recording of a program fails. <P>SOLUTION: A broadcast/receiving system has: a program information memory 104 which memorizes a program information; a reserved information entry portion 102 which inputs indication of a video recording reserved of a predetermined program from the program information which the program information memory 104 memorized; a first video recording controller 108 which controls so that the program is recorded when the indicated program is broadcasted based on the indication of the video recording reservation which the reserved information entry portion 102 inputted; a reserved information storage portion 109 which memorizes information about the not-recorded portion if all or a portion of the directed program is not recorded; and a second video recording controller 111 for controlling to record at least a portion which was not recorded of the broadcasted program, when the program is rebroadcasted, based on the information about the not-recorded portion memorized by the reserved information storage. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording control device that controls recording of a television program, and a broadcast station that transmits a television program and program information of the television program.

  With the increase in the number of television programs and the diversification of user preferences, the number of programs that can be viewed has increased, and the task of selecting a desired program from among many programs has become difficult for the user. Accordingly, an electronic program guide (EPG) has been used which assists a user in selecting a program to be viewed or a program to be recorded by a simple operation. The user only needs to use the EPG to display information of a program to be broadcasted on a monitor, and then use the remote control or the like to select a program to be viewed or recorded from the displayed program information. Then, actual channel selection and recording reservation work are automatically performed. Such a technology using the EPG is an indispensable technology, especially for pay-per-view (PPV).

  Hereinafter, the configuration of a broadcasting / receiving system including such a conventional recording control device and a broadcasting station will be described together with its operation with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a conventional broadcasting / receiving system. Note that a portion surrounded by a dotted line is a recording control device.

  First, in the recording control device, the EPG 1305 inputs program information broadcasted from the broadcast station 1301 via the input unit 1303, and stores the program information in the program information storage unit 1304. After that, the EPG 1305 displays the program information stored in the program information storage unit 1304 on the monitor by using the display control unit 1306, when instructed by the user. The program information is displayed so that a program that has already been viewed or reserved for recording can be identified. Then, the user looks at the displayed program information and, if there is a program to be recorded, selects the program with a remote controller or the like.

  The program selected by the user is input to the EPG 1305 via the reservation information input unit 1302, and the EPG 1305 creates reservation information of the program. The created reservation information is sent to the reservation information management unit 1307 and stored in the reservation information storage unit 1308.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of the reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 1308. The reservation information includes a reservation number, date, channel, program name, recording start time, recording end time, recording status, and the like.

  Upon receiving an instruction from the user, the reservation information management unit 1307 causes the display control unit 1306 to display the reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 1308 on a monitor. The reservation information is displayed so that the recorded program can be identified.

  Then, the reservation information management unit 1307 extracts the reservation information having the recording start time closest to the current time after the current time out of the reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 1308, and the program of the reservation information is a video. Recording control is performed so that recording is performed on the recording medium of the storage unit 1309.

Note that the input unit 1303 inputs a program together with the program information from the broadcast station 1301, outputs the program information to the EPG 1305, and outputs the program to the video storage unit 1309.
JP-A-10-21601

  However, in the above-described conventional broadcasting / receiving system, recording reservation can be made only for a program after the current time.

  In other words, the recording control device normally makes a reservation for a program after the current time, so there is no problem.However, when a user forgets to make a recording reservation or a program for which recording failed, a rebroadcast is performed. It is necessary to schedule recording again.

  However, since the period from the end of the main broadcast to the re-broadcasting of the desired program is not particularly determined, the user always checks the date and time when the desired program is actually re-broadcasted. If you know this, you have to make a recording reservation again, and if you do not know that there is a rebroadcast, you will miss it again.

  In addition, for the user, for a program for which viewing or recording reservation is forgotten, or for a program for which recording reservation has been made, or for a program whose recording has been controlled by the user in real time, a program for which recording has failed, A problem arises in that it cannot be viewed or recorded until there is a rebroadcast.

  Further, it is difficult to automatically determine the rebroadcast because the program information alone cannot specify which program is the rebroadcast.

  On the other hand, broadcasters may not be able to understand the needs of the users because of the diversification of user preferences, and may not be able to understand the needs of the users. Selection is becoming more difficult.

  The present invention thus takes into consideration the problem that, in the conventional broadcast / reception system, for a program for which recording has failed, it is necessary to perform recording reservation work again at the time of rebroadcasting. It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording control device for controlling a program to be recorded without inputting a recording reservation instruction from a user again when the program is rebroadcast.

  In addition, the present invention considers the problem that a user who has forgotten to view or record a program in a conventional broadcast / reception system cannot view or record until re-broadcasting the program. It is another object of the present invention to provide a video recording control device that controls video recording even when the video is recorded.

  The present invention also considers the problem that it is difficult to automatically determine the original program of a program to be rebroadcast in a conventional broadcasting / receiving system, and automatically determines the original program of the program to be rebroadcast. It is an object of the present invention to provide a broadcasting station that transmits information to be broadcasted, and a recording control device that automatically determines the original program of a program to be rebroadcast using the information.

  Further, the present invention considers the problem that, in the conventional broadcast / reception system, the broadcast station does not fully understand the needs of the user, and determines the program to be broadcast based on the needs of the user and referring to the needs. It is intended to provide stations.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program information storage unit for storing program information, a reservation information input unit for inputting a recording reservation instruction for a predetermined program from the program information stored in the program information storage unit, A first recording control unit that controls the program to be recorded when the designated program is broadcast, based on a recording reservation instruction input by the reservation information input unit; and all of the designated programs. Or, if a part has not been recorded, an unrecorded information storage unit that stores information about the program or unrecorded unit, based on the information about the program or the unrecorded unit stored by the unrecorded information storage unit And a second recording control for controlling, when the program not entirely or partially recorded is rebroadcasted, to record at least the unrecorded portion of the rebroadcasted program. A recording control apparatus characterized by comprising and.

  The second invention is a program information storage unit for storing program information and a case where a predetermined program is recorded in real time under the control of a user, and when all or a part of the program is not recorded, An unrecorded information storage unit that stores information about the program or the unrecorded unit, and the whole or part of the program or the unrecorded unit is recorded based on the information about the program or the unrecorded unit stored by the unrecorded information storage unit. A recording control unit that controls so that at least the unrecorded portion of the re-broadcasted program is recorded when the program that was not rebroadcast is rebroadcast. .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program information storage unit for storing program information, a reservation information input unit for inputting a recording instruction of a predetermined program from the program information stored in the program information storage unit, Based on the recording instruction input by the information input unit, if the designated program is a program that has already been broadcast, control is performed so that when the program that has already been broadcast is rebroadcast, the program is recorded. And a recording control unit.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the recording control device according to any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the program which is not entirely or partially recorded or the program which has already been broadcast is rebroadcast. And a request transmission unit for transmitting a rebroadcast request for the program to a broadcasting station.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a program information storage unit for storing program information, a recording control unit for controlling all programs to be recorded, and a program information stored in the program information storage unit are used. A display control unit that controls display of all or a part of programs stored in a recording medium on which a program is recorded under the control of the recording control unit; and all or one of the programs displayed by the display control unit. And a remaining program instruction input unit for inputting an instruction of a program to be left on the recording medium among the programs of the units.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the recording control device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a warning issuance unit that detects a remaining recordable capacity of the recording medium and issues a warning when the remaining recordable capacity is smaller than a predetermined amount. A recording control device further provided.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a broadcast station for determining a program to be broadcast by using a rebroadcast request of the program from a request transmitting unit of the recording control device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the broadcast station according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, rebroadcasting is performed based on the number of hours of use of slots allocated to broadcast a rebroadcast program and the arrival status of the rebroadcast request. The broadcast station is characterized by determining a program to be performed.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the broadcast station according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, at least program information of the program to be rebroadcasted is stored in an FM character multiplex broadcast, a vertical blanking interval of a television signal, This is a broadcasting station characterized by transmitting using any one of data channels of data broadcasting using satellite broadcasting, which is logically different from a channel for transmitting program information.

  A tenth aspect of the present invention is the broadcast station according to the eighth aspect, wherein at least the program information of the program to be rebroadcasted is transmitted by using any one of FM character multiplex broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, and a public telephone network. A broadcast station for designating and transmitting a recording control device that has transmitted the rebroadcast request.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the broadcast station according to the ninth or tenth aspect, information for specifying an original program of the program to be rebroadcast is added, and program information of the program to be rebroadcast is transmitted. A broadcasting station characterized by the following.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the recording control device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, information for specifying an original program of the rebroadcast program from the broadcast station of the eleventh aspect of the present invention is provided. A rebroadcasting determination unit that determines which of the programs that has been rebroadcasted is one of the programs that have been rebroadcast using the program information to which the program information is added. It is.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the recording control device according to any one of the first to sixth and twelfth aspects, and a broadcast station according to any one of the seventh to eleventh aspects. It is a broadcasting / receiving system.

  A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a program for realizing all or a part of each function of each component of the recording control device according to any one of the first to sixth and twelfth aspects of the present invention is stored. It is a medium to do.

  A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a medium storing a program for realizing all or some of the functions of the broadcast station according to any one of the seventh to eleventh aspects of the present invention.

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, even if a program fails to be recorded, the program can be recorded without inputting a recording reservation instruction from the user again when the program is rebroadcast. And a recording control device that controls the recording to be performed.

  Further, the present invention can provide a recording control device that controls so that a program that is not reserved for recording is recorded.

  The present invention also provides a broadcast station that transmits information for automatically determining the original program of a program to be rebroadcast, and automatically identifies the original program of the program to be rebroadcast using the information. And a video recording control device.

  Further, the present invention can provide a broadcasting station that determines a program to be broadcast with reference to the needs of the user.

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

(Embodiment 1)
The configuration of the broadcasting / receiving system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described together with its operation.

  FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a broadcasting / receiving system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the broadcast / reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a recording control device 113 and a broadcast station 101. In FIG. 1, in the recording control device 113 surrounded by a dotted line, 102 is a reservation information input unit, 103 is an input unit, 104 is a program information storage unit, 105 is an EPG, 106 is a display control unit, and 107 is a display control unit. A rebroadcast reservation management unit, 108 is a first recording control unit, 109 is a reservation information storage unit, 110 is a rebroadcast determination unit, 111 is a second recording control unit, and 112 is a video storage unit.

  The broadcast station 101 broadcasts a program and broadcasts program information of the program. The input unit 103 of the recording control device 113 receives a program from the broadcast station 101 and transmits program information of the program. It is for receiving, outputting a program to the video storage unit 112 and outputting program information to the EPG 105.

  The operation of the broadcast / reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes two operations, one relating to recording reservation and the other relating to recording, and will be described in order.

  First, the recording reservation operation will be described.

  First, an EPG (Electronic Program Information Guide) 105 of the recording control device 113 inputs program information transmitted using a vertical blanking period of a TV signal from the broadcast station 101 via the input unit 103. Is stored in the program information storage unit 104.

  Thereafter, when there is an instruction from the user, the EPG 105 causes the display control unit 106 to display the program information stored in the program information storage unit 104 on a monitor. The program information may include information on a program broadcast before the current time. In other words, information on programs broadcasted in the past may be included together with information on programs broadcasted in the future.

  Then, the user looks at the program information displayed on the monitor, and specifies a program to be recorded in the reservation information input unit 102 using a remote controller or the like. It is assumed that the user can specify not only programs to be broadcasted but also programs that have already been broadcasted. Then, the EPG 105 inputs the program designated by the user from the reservation information input unit 102, extracts the program information of the program from the program information storage unit 104, and creates program reservation information.

  At this time, if the input program is a program that has already been broadcast, the EPG 105 adds a rebroadcast recording mark indicating that recording is to be performed when the program is rebroadcast, to the reservation information, and sets a rebroadcast reservation. Output to the management unit 107. On the other hand, when the input program is a program broadcasted after the current time, the EPG 105 outputs the reservation information to the first recording control unit 108 as it is. Then, the rebroadcast reservation management unit 107 and the first recording control unit 108 cause the reservation information storage unit 109 to store the inputted reservation information.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 109. The reservation information is composed of a reservation number, a date, a channel, a program name, a recording start time, a recording end time, a rebroadcast recording mark, and the like. The reservation information also includes the recording status, and the reservation information storage unit 109 manages the recording status of the program reserved by the user. The recording status indicates whether the program reserved for recording is in an unrecorded, recording, recorded, or error state. , Each will be displayed. An error indicates that recording could not be performed for some reason. In the case of an error, the reason is also managed.

  One example of the reason for the error is that the video tape is not inserted or the remaining amount is insufficient. Note that, as described above, after some programs have been reserved for recording and they have not been broadcast yet, a mark indicating “unrecorded” is written in the recording status column. Thereafter, when the program reserved for recording is broadcast, a mark indicating “recording”, “recorded” or “error” is written in the recording status column of the corresponding program. It is also assumed that the reservation information shown in FIG. 2 was created on November 30, 1998.

  Next, the recording operation will be described.

  The recording operation may be performed by recording a program reserved for recording under the control of the first recording control unit 108, or by performing manual recording by a user during broadcast of the program. Will be described.

  First, a case where recording is performed under the control of the first recording control unit 108 will be described.

  The first recording control unit 108 extracts, from the reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 109, the reservation information after the current time and closest to the current time, and according to the retrieved reservation information, Is controlled so that the program corresponding to the program is recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112.

  That is, the first recording control unit 108 outputs a recording start command to the video storage unit 112, for example, 5 seconds before the recording start time based on the reservation information, and the video storage unit 112 Starts recording on the recording medium based on the instruction. Similarly, the first recording control unit 108 outputs a recording end command to the video storage unit 112, for example, 5 seconds before the recording end time based on the reservation information, and the video storage unit 112 Recording is terminated based on the instruction from. In this way, for example, on December 1, 1998, the first recording control unit 108 controls so that the program of the reservation number 1 in FIG. 2 is recorded.

  When the recording ends, the first recording control unit 108 causes the video storage unit 112 to check the recording status of the program. When the first recording control unit 108 receives a report from the video storage unit 112 that the recording has been interrupted due to insufficient storage capacity of the recording medium or the like, the first recording control unit 108 adds the program reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 109 to At the time of rebroadcasting, a recording mark and information on a portion that can be recorded are added. The information is information for specifying a part that can be recorded, and includes a recording start time, a recording end time, and the like of the part that can be recorded. In this case, an error is written in the recording status column of the reservation information. On the other hand, when the first recording control unit 108 receives from the video storage unit 112 a report indicating that the recording has been normally performed, the first recording control unit 108 adds the “reservation information” of the program stored in the reservation information storage unit 109 to “ The mark “recorded” is added.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the reservation information in this case. The reservation information is composed of a reservation number, a date, a channel, a program name, a recording start time, a recording end time, a rebroadcast recording mark, and the like. As shown in FIG. 3, the reservation information of the reservation number 3 is provided with an error as a recording status, a recording start time, an end time, and a rebroadcast mark at which recording was actually performed. It is assumed that the reservation information shown in FIG. 3 was created at 22:54 on December 5, 1998, and as described above, the program of reservation number 3 had an error in recording. However, it is assumed that the program with the reservation number 1 has been recorded without error.

  Next, a case will be described in which a user performs manual recording during broadcast of a program to perform recording.

  When the user manually controls the start of recording on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 during broadcasting of the program, the first recording control unit 108 generates reservation information of the program being recorded, and stores the reservation information in the reservation information storage unit. 109 is stored. When recording from the middle of a program, a recording mark for rebroadcasting, a recording start time, and a recording end time are added and stored in the reservation information storage unit 109. Also, after the manual recording is completed, if information indicating that all or part of the program could not be recorded for some reason is input from the video storage unit 112, the first recording control unit 108 A recording mark is added and stored in the reservation information storage unit 109. On the other hand, if the program can be recorded from the beginning to the end, the broadcast start time and recording start time of the program and the broadcast end time and recording end time of the program match, so the reservation information includes The replay broadcast recording mark, recording start time, and recording end time are not added.

  Next, like the program of the reservation number 2 in FIGS. 2 and 3, the program in which all or part of the program is not recorded when the user manually controls the recording, or the reserved program 3 in FIG. A description will be given of a recording reservation operation for recording a program for which recording reservation has been made but not all or part of the program has been rebroadcasted.

  EPG 105 outputs the program information input from input unit 103 to program information storage unit 104 and also to rebroadcast determination unit 110. The rebroadcast determination section 110 checks whether or not there is any of the pieces of reservation information with recording marks for rebroadcast stored in the reservation information storage section 109 that represent the same program as the transmitted program information.

  If the rebroadcast determination unit 110 finds the reservation information representing the same program as the input program information, the rebroadcast determination unit 110 determines that the input program information is rebroadcast program information, and that the program information is It reports to the EPG 105 that the program is a broadcast program and that the recording reservation has already been made and the reservation number of the corresponding reservation information. Since the information on the original program is described in the rebroadcast program information, the rebroadcast determination unit 110 uses the information on the original program so that the input program information is the rebroadcast program information. It can be determined that there is.

  When rerun determination section 110 detects program information of the same program as the input program information, EPG 105 receives a report to that effect from rerun determination section 110 and reports the program information as rerun program information. It is output to the rebroadcast reservation management unit 107 together with the received reservation number.

  The rebroadcast reservation management unit 107 retrieves the reservation information of the inputted reservation number from the reservation information storage unit 109, updates it using the inputted rebroadcast program information, and stores it again in the reservation information storage unit 109. . The update performed here means updating the channel, broadcast time, and the like at the time of the previous broadcast to those at the time of the rebroadcast.

  At this time, if the information of the part actually recorded is added to the extracted reservation information, the rebroadcast reservation management unit 107 newly creates the reservation information of the unrecorded part and stores it in the reservation information storage unit. 109 is stored.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 109 in this manner. The reservation information is composed of a reservation number, a date, a channel, a program name, a recording start time, a recording end time, a rebroadcast recording mark, and the like. The reservation information also includes information on the related program, and indicates the reservation information related to the program represented by the reservation information. For example, it is the number of reservation information at the time of rebroadcasting of a part that could not be recorded in the main broadcast.

  In FIG. 4, the reservation information of the reservation number 3 indicates the recording mark at the time of rebroadcasting and the reservation information to which the information of the actually recorded portion is added. The reservation information of the reservation number 11 is the reservation information of the reservation number 3. It shows the reservation information of the unrecorded part of the program represented by the information.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the program indicated by the reservation number 3 is recorded for 30 minutes from the start of the program. In response to this, the actual broadcast start time of the program of the reservation number 11 is 16:00, but the recording start time of the reservation number 11 is set to 30 minutes after the start of the program, that is, 16:30, and the recording ends. The time is set at the end of the program.

  In addition, 11 is described in the related number of the reservation information of the reservation number 3, which indicates that the reservation information of the unrecorded portion of the program is stored in the reservation number 11 from the recording time or the like. Conversely, 3 is described in the related number of the reservation information of the reservation number 11, which indicates that the reservation information of the reservation number 11 is the reservation information of the unrecorded portion of the reservation information 3 from the recording time and the like.

  Next, the recording operation at the time of rebroadcasting will be described.

  The first recording control unit 108 extracts the reservation information that is closest to the current time after the current time from the reservation information storage unit 109. If the extracted reservation information is the reservation information of the unrecorded part at the time of the main broadcast, the first recording control unit 108 also retrieves the reservation information related to the reservation information and outputs it to the second recording control unit 111. That is, when extracting the reservation number of the reservation number 11 shown in FIG. 4, the first recording control unit 108 also extracts the reservation information of the reservation number 3.

  Then, the second recording control unit 111 inputs the reservation information of the reservation numbers 3 and 11, detects where the video of the program of the reservation number 3 is stored in the recording medium of the video storage unit 112, and manages it. .

  FIG. 5 shows an example of storage information and reservation information managed by the second recording control unit 111. The storage information and the reservation information include a date, a channel, a program name, a recording start time, a recording end time, a recording position, a reservation number, and the like. The recording position is a physical position where the program is actually stored in the recording medium of the video storage unit 112. FIG. 5 shows the storage information of the video recorded by the reservation number 3 and the reservation information of the reservation number 11 related to the reservation number 3.

  Then, the second recording control unit 111 controls the video storage unit 112 based on the managed storage information and the reservation information, and after the video recorded by the reservation number 3, the program reserved by the reservation number 11 The unrecorded portion is added and recorded on the recording medium.

  FIG. 6 shows an example in which the second recording control unit 111 records an unrecorded portion to complete a program.

  (1) of FIG. 6 shows a state after the recording operation is performed during the main broadcast, and a hatched portion is a recorded portion. FIG. 6 (2) shows a state where the unrecorded portion is added by the second recording control section 111 at the time of rebroadcasting to complete the program. The mesh portion is the added unrecorded portion.

  Until now, when a program that has already been partially recorded is rebroadcast, the operation of recording an unrecorded portion of the program has been described. On the other hand, regardless of whether the program of the reservation number 2 in FIGS. 2 and 3 is rebroadcast, or whether the program is controlled by the first recording control unit 108 or controlled by the user, the program is completely broadcast during the main broadcast. When an unrecorded program is rebroadcast, the operation of recording the program is the same as the above-described operation of recording the unrecorded portion.

  That is, when the first recording control unit 108 retrieves the reservation information to which only the rebroadcast recording mark is added from the reservation information storage unit 109, in other words, the program of the reservation number 2 in FIGS. In other words, when the reservation information of a program that has already been broadcast or a program that has not been completely recorded during the main broadcast is extracted by the first recording control unit 108, the second recording control unit 111 In accordance with the extracted reservation information, control is performed such that the entire program is recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 at the time of rebroadcasting.

  Then, when the recording is completed, the first recording control unit 108 causes the video storage unit 112 to check the recording status. Mark the situation as recorded. On the other hand, if there is an error in the recording, an “error” mark is attached in the same manner as in the case where the error occurred in the recording during the main broadcast described above.

  In the first embodiment, the first recording control unit 108 as the first recording control unit, the reservation information storage unit 109 as the unrecorded information storage unit, and the second recording control unit as the second recording control unit according to the first aspect of the present invention. 2 The recording control unit 111 was used. Further, in the second aspect of the present invention, the reservation information storage unit 109 is used as the unrecorded information storage unit, and the second recording control unit 111 is used as the recording control unit. Further, the reservation information storage unit 109 is used as the unrecorded information storage unit, and the second recording control unit 111 is used as the recording control unit.

  Further, in the above-described first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, the reservation information storage unit 109 stores the information of the part being recorded when the recording situation is an error, If the recording status is an error, the reservation information storage unit 109 may store the name of the program in which the error occurred during the recording.

  In Embodiment 1 described above, when a program in which an error has occurred during recording is rebroadcast, the second recording control unit 111 does not record the already recorded portion, but only records the unrecorded portion. The control is performed so as to be recorded, and the recorded portion at the time of re-broadcasting is added to the already-recorded portion. May be controlled so that the entire recording from the beginning to the end is recorded.

  In addition, the first recording control unit 108 described above displays the reservation status stored in the reservation information storage unit 109 on a monitor or the like using the display control unit 106 when instructed by the user. The reservation status may be a partial reservation status for each genre, each date, or the like.

  When displaying the program information, the above-described display control unit 106 can change the display color or the like so that the program whose recording is already reserved is displayed at a glance.

  In addition, the first recording control unit 108 described above stores the reservation information in the reservation information storage unit 109 during the recording reservation operation of the rebroadcast, that there is a rebroadcast of the program, and that the recording reservation has been made. May be displayed on a monitor or the like using the display control unit 106 to notify the user.

  Further, the first recording control unit 108 described above may display on the monitor that the rebroadcast recording has been performed on the monitor by using the display control unit 106 at the time when the rebroadcast recording is completed.

  Also, the program information input by the input unit 103 described above may be transmitted several times a day from a TV broadcasting station. If the broadcast time is changed due to the extension of the sports broadcast, the information is also included. I do. When the broadcast time is changed in this way, the EPG 105 changes the program information in the program information storage unit 104 based on the program information from the input unit 103, and the first recording control unit 108 changes the broadcast time. Tell that there was. In this case, the first recording control unit 108 checks whether or not the reservation information of the program whose broadcast time has been changed is stored in the reservation information storage unit 109. If the reservation information is stored, the first recording control unit 108 stores the reservation information in the reservation information storage unit 109. The recording start time and the end time of the reserved information are changed. As described above, the input unit 103 inputs the program information several times a day, so that it is possible to cope with a change in the broadcast time of the program.

  Further, in Embodiment 1 described above, input section 103 inputs program information transmitted using a vertical blanking period of a television signal from broadcast station 101, but input section 103 uses FM Program information transmitted using multiplex broadcasting or a public line network may be input. The input unit 103 may input program information from a storage medium such as a floppy disk, a memory card, or a CD-ROM in which program information is stored for several weeks, or a program transmitted from a pager base station. Information may be input.

(Embodiment 2)
The configuration of the broadcast / reception system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described together with its operation.

  FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a broadcasting / receiving system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the broadcast / reception system according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a broadcast station 101 and a recording control device 213, similarly to the broadcast / receive system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. However, the recording control device 213 is different from the recording control device 113 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The difference is that the reservation information input unit 202 and the reservation information input unit 102 according to the first embodiment, the EPG 205 and the EPG 105 according to the first embodiment, the first recording control unit 208 and the first recording control unit 108 according to the first embodiment. And the second recording control unit 211 and the second recording control unit 111 of the first embodiment. Further, the point that the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 is a recording medium capable of recording for a long time is different from the first embodiment. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the operation of the broadcast / reception system when the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 is a recording medium capable of recording for a long time, that is, with the corresponding units of the broadcast / reception system of the first embodiment, Only operations of the reservation information input unit 202, the EPG 205, the first recording control unit 208, and the second recording control unit 211 having different operations will be described.

  As described in the first embodiment, EPG 205 outputs program information from input unit 103 to first recording control unit 208. Then, the first recording control unit 208 outputs the input program information to the second recording control unit 211.

  Next, the second recording control unit 211 controls the video storage unit 112 based on the input program information, and controls the first recording control unit 208 to record all programs other than the program to be recorded. Do. The program controlled and recorded by the first recording control unit 208 is a program reserved for recording among unbroadcast programs in the first embodiment. In any case, all programs are recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 under the control of the first recording control unit 208 or the second recording control unit 211. When the broadcasting of each program ends, the second recording control unit 211 causes the video storage unit 112 to check the recording status.

  Then, the second recording control unit 211 creates storage information based on the input program information, and attaches a deleteable mark to the storage information of the program recorded on the recording medium. The deleteable mark is a mark attached to a program that may be deleted in order to make free space if the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 has no free space when storing the program. Of all programs recorded on the recording medium, the second recording control unit 211 controls to add a deleteable mark to the storage information of the program recorded.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the storage information created by the second recording control unit 211 in this manner. The storage information includes a date, a channel, a program name, a recording start time, a recording end time, a recording position, a reservation number, a deletion mark, and the like. Note that the recording position indicates a physical position on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 where the program is actually stored.

  By the way, the EPG 205 displays the program information stored in the program information storage unit 104 on the monitor by using the display control unit 106 according to a user's instruction. At this time, the EPG 205 causes the second recording control unit 211 to check the program already recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 in the program information to be displayed on the monitor via the first recording control unit 208, The display of the program information of the already recorded program is changed so that the user can recognize it at a glance.

  Then, when the user specifies a program not recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112, the first recording control unit 208 performs a recording reservation operation of the program. The recording operation in this case is a recording reservation operation of an unbroadcast program and is the same as the recording operation described in the first embodiment, and therefore, the description is omitted. On the other hand, when the user makes a recording reservation for a program already recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112, the EPG 205 outputs reservation information of the program to the first recording control unit 208. That is, the reservation information input unit 202 inputs an instruction of a program to be left on the recording medium among the programs already recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 from the user, and performs the first recording control based on the instruction. The unit 208 sets the recording status of the information of the instruction of the program to be recorded as recorded, stores it in the reservation information storage unit 109, and reports to the second recording control unit 211 that the recording reservation has been made.

  Then, the second recording control unit 211 deletes the deletable mark in the storage information of the designated program, and describes the reservation number of the reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 109. By the way, why the deletion mark is deleted and the program to be left is instructed, as described above, all programs are recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112, but the capacity of the recording medium is Because there is a limit, the designated program should be kept at least stored, and other programs can be deleted or overwritten, and all programs can be deleted and overwritten. Is to be recorded.

  In the above-described second embodiment, the first recording control unit 208 and the second recording control unit 211 are used as the recording control unit of claim 5. As described above, in the second embodiment, one of the first recording control unit 208 and the second recording control unit 211 controls recording, and all programs are recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and one recording control unit may control to record all programs on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112.

  In the above-described second embodiment, the reservation information input unit 202 is used as the remaining program instruction input unit.

  Also, in the above-described second embodiment, the reservation information input unit 202 inputs an instruction of a program to be left on the recording medium from the user after the program has been recorded. The instruction may be before or after the recording, and may be an instruction of a genre such as a movie or a sport instead of the instruction of the program itself.

  Further, a warning issuance unit that detects the remaining recordable capacity of the recording medium and issues a warning when the remaining recordable capacity becomes smaller than a preset capacity to the recording control device 213 of the second embodiment. May be provided. As described above, when the warning issuance is issued from the warning issuing unit, the user can instruct to leave the program to be left on the recording medium before deleting or overwriting the program on the recording medium.

(Embodiment 3)
The configuration of the broadcast / reception system according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described together with its operation.

  FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a broadcasting / receiving system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the broadcast / reception system according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a broadcast station 301 and a recording control device 313, similarly to the broadcast / receive system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. However, unlike the recording control device 113 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the recording control device 313 includes a request transmission unit 309 in addition to the components included in the recording control device 113. The first recording control unit 308 included in the recording control device 313 is different from the first recording control unit 108 included in the recording control device 113 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, in the third embodiment, only operations of the broadcasting station 301, the first recording control unit 308, and the request transmitting unit 309, which are different from the broadcasting / receiving system of the first embodiment of the present invention, will be described.

  The first recording control unit 308 checks whether the reservation information storage unit 109 has the reservation information with the recording mark for rebroadcasting. If there is the reservation information with the recording mark for rebroadcasting, the reservation information Of replay request information for requesting that a program corresponding to is rebroadcast.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of the rebroadcast request information created by the first recording control unit 308. The rebroadcast request information is composed of the date, channel, program name, broadcast time, and the like of the main broadcasted program.

  Thereafter, the request transmission unit 309 transmits the rebroadcast request information created by the first recording control unit 308 to the broadcasting station 301 using a public telephone network or the like. In other words, the request transmission unit 309 is a program that has not been recorded in whole or in part, or a program that has already been broadcast once, and for which a recording mark for rebroadcasting has been added to the reservation information storage unit 109. Is transmitted to the broadcasting station 301 so that the program is rebroadcast.

  On the other hand, the broadcast station 301 counts the transmitted request information and determines a program to be rebroadcast from among those having a large number of requests. By the way, it is conceivable that a large number of rebroadcast requests are sent intermittently for a popular program. Therefore, if tallying is performed every predetermined period, the rebroadcast request for the popular program will always be higher in the request. Will do. Therefore, for a rebroadcast request program that exceeds a predetermined number in a predetermined period, the broadcast station 301 assumes that a large number of requests will be sent intermittently in the future, and sets the request totaling period of the program to another. And set it longer than the request totaling period of the program.

Hereinafter, the operation of the broadcast station 301 up to determining which of the programs requested to be rebroadcast transmitted within a predetermined totaling period to be rebroadcast will be described.
It is assumed that the broadcast station 301 has a broadcast slot for a program to be rebroadcast. It is also assumed that the top three programs among the programs requested to be rebroadcast transmitted within a predetermined counting period are program A, program B, and program C in this order.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a broadcast slot for a program to be rebroadcasted and a program with many requests. In FIG. 11, the hatched portions indicate the broadcast slots for the program to be rebroadcast, and the programs A, B, and C are the programs described above, and the horizontal direction is time, that is, the horizontal length of the rectangle is the program length. Shall be represented.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, the broadcast station 301 requests the program A most frequently, but if the program A cannot be entirely broadcast in the number of hours of use of the broadcast slot for the program to be rebroadcast. Judgment is made, and it is decided to rebroadcast the program C that fits in the slot utilization time without waste. FIG. 12 shows the broadcast slot after the determination.

  Then, the broadcast station 301 creates program information of the program to be rebroadcasted, and rebroadcasts using a channel different from a channel for transmitting program information of a program other than the program to be rebroadcasted in FM text multiplex broadcasting. The program information of the program to be transmitted is transmitted.

  At this time, a code for identifying the original program and information for identifying the original program are added to the program information of the rebroadcast program transmitted from the broadcasting station 301 so that the program broadcast in the past can be identified. Has become. The code for identifying the original program is a code for identifying that the program information is the program information of the rebroadcast program, such as the date and time of the previous broadcast, and the information for identifying the original program is It means the program information of the rebroadcast program. Then, the rebroadcast determination unit 110 of the recording control device uses the code for identifying the original program and the information that can specify the original program to determine whether the program to be rebroadcast is one of the previously broadcasted programs. Determine if there is.

  In the above-described third embodiment, an example has been described in which the broadcast station 301 determines a program to be rebroadcast. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example. It is only necessary to use the rebroadcast request from 309 to determine the program to be rebroadcast. At that time, in a method different from the above-described example, the program to be rebroadcast is determined based on the number of hours of use of the slot allocated to broadcast the rebroadcast program and the arrival status of the rebroadcast request. It may be.

  Further, in the above-described third embodiment, the broadcast station 301 uses the FM character multiplex broadcasting to transmit a program to be rebroadcasted using a channel different from a channel for transmitting program information of a program other than the program to be rebroadcasted. Although the program information is transmitted, the transmission may be performed using a channel different from a channel for transmitting program information of a program other than a program to be rebroadcasted, such as a vertical blanking interval of a television signal and a satellite broadcast.

  In addition, the broadcast station 301 specifies the recording control device that has sent the rebroadcast request by using the FM text multiplex broadcast, the satellite broadcast, or using the public telephone line network for the program information of the program to be rebroadcast. May be transmitted. For this purpose, the recording control device that sends the rebroadcast request needs to add the identifier of the recording control device and transmit the rebroadcast request to the broadcasting station 301. The recording control device that has sent the broadcast request is specified. Note that the broadcast station 301 may use an e-mail when transmitting the program information of the program to be rebroadcast to the recording control device by designating the recording control device that has sent the rebroadcast request.

  Further, the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 according to the first to third embodiments described above corresponds to a VTR or an AVHDD.

  It is assumed that the video storage unit 112 according to the above-described first to third embodiments can store a program on a recording medium by changing the compression ratio of audio and video according to the genre of the program.

  In Embodiments 1 to 3 described above, each component and the broadcasting station of the recording control device have been described as being hardware, but all or a part of each component and the broadcasting station of the recording control device may be used. It is also possible to replace the above-mentioned hardware with software having the same function as the corresponding function.

  Further, the present invention is a medium characterized by storing a program for realizing all or a part of each function of each component of the recording control device of the present invention. Further, the present invention is a medium characterized by storing a program for realizing each function of all or a part of the broadcasting station of the present invention.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for a recording control device that controls recording of a television program by an EPG, and a broadcast station that transmits a television program and program information of the television program.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a broadcasting / receiving system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the reservation information which the reservation information storage part of the recording control device of the broadcast / reception system of Embodiment 1 of this invention stores. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of reservation information stored in a reservation information storage unit of the recording control device of the broadcast / reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which is different from FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of reservation information stored in a reservation information storage unit of the broadcast / reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which is different from FIG. 2 or 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of storage information and reservation information managed by a second recording control unit of the broadcast / reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a recording operation of an unrecorded portion of a second recording control unit of the broadcast / receiving system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a broadcast / reception system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the storage information created by the 2nd recording control part of the broadcasting / receiving system of Embodiment 2 of this invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a broadcast / reception system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the request information which the request transmission part of the recording control device of the broadcast / reception system of Embodiment 3 of this invention transmits. The figure explaining the operation | movement which the broadcast station of the broadcasting and receiving system of Embodiment 3 of this invention determines the program to rebroadcast. The figure which shows an example after the broadcast station of the broadcast / reception system of Embodiment 3 of this invention decided the program to be rebroadcasted. Block diagram of conventional broadcasting / receiving system The figure which shows an example of the reservation information memorize | stored in the reservation information storage part of the recording control apparatus of the conventional broadcast / reception system.

Explanation of reference numerals

101, 301 Broadcasting stations 102, 202 Reservation information input unit 103 Input unit 104 Program information storage unit 105, 205 EPG
106 Display control unit 107 Rebroadcast reservation management unit 108, 208, 308 First recording control unit 109 Reservation information storage unit 110 Rebroadcast determination unit 111, 211 Second recording control unit 112 Video storage unit 113, 213, 313 Recording control device 309 Request transmission unit 1301 Broadcasting station 1302 Reservation information input unit 1303 Input unit 1304 Program information storage unit 1305 EPG
1306 Display control unit 1307 Reservation information management unit 1308 Reservation information storage unit 1309 Video storage unit

Claims (9)

A program information storage unit that stores program information; and a reservation information input unit that reserves recording of a first program among the program information stored in the program information storage unit, wherein the first program is recorded. If not, when recording the program information of a second program having at least one or more of the same program information as the first program, the recording of the second program is reserved. Receiving system. A program information storage unit that stores program information, a reservation information input unit that reserves recording of a first program among program information stored in the program information storage unit, and the first program is not recorded In the case, a reservation information storage unit that stores information about the first program, and whether or not program information of a second program having at least one or more of the same program information as the information about the first program is received. A rebroadcasting determination unit that determines whether the information about the first program is updated to the program information about the second program when the rebroadcasting determination unit detects that the program information of the second program is received. A rebroadcast reservation management unit for performing a rebroadcast reservation, and a recording control unit for recording the second program based on the second program information. A program information storage unit for storing program information; a display unit capable of displaying the program information stored in the program information storage unit; and a program for recording a first program among the program information displayed on the display unit. A reservation information input unit for making a reservation, wherein when the first program is not recorded, program information of a second program having at least one or more of the same program information as the first program is received again A recording system for reserving the recording of the second program. A program information storage unit that stores program information, a display unit that can display the program information stored in the program information storage unit, and reserves recording of a first program among the program information displayed on the display unit A reservation information input unit, a reservation information storage unit that stores information about the first program when the first program is not recorded, and at least one or more of the same information as the information about the first program. A rebroadcast determination unit that determines whether program information of a second program having program information has been received, and when the rebroadcast determination unit detects that the program information of the second program has been received, A rebroadcast reservation management unit that updates information about the first program with program information of the second program; and a recording control unit that records the second program based on the second program information. Receiving system characterized by the following: The receiving system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when a part of the first program is not recorded, a part of the second program is recorded. The receiving system according to claim 3, wherein the second program is a program that is not displayed on the display unit when the first program is reserved. 7. The receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the second program is a program that is not stored in the program information storage unit when the first program is reserved. 8. The receiving system according to claim 1, wherein information on the first program is recorded in the program information of the second program. A program information storage unit that stores program information, a display unit that is stored in the program information storage unit and that is capable of displaying at least program information of a currently broadcasted program, and a program information displayed on the display unit. A reservation information input unit for reserving recording of a third program at least partially broadcasted, and, if recording of the third program is reserved, at least one or more of the third program Receiving the program information of a fourth program having the same program information again, and reserving the recording of the fourth program.

Images