JP2004336692A - Recording method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording method and an apparatus capable of simply making recording reservation or the like when a tuner of a separate unit is connected to the recording apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The recording apparatus is provided with: a tuner 101 for receiving a broadcast signal of a prescribed channel; input terminals 131, 132 for external signals; a switching means 110 for selecting a signal received by the tuner or the signal received at the input terminals; a recording means 105 for recording the signal selected by the switching means; and a control means 121 for reserving the recording by the recording means on the basis of a preset condition, executing the recording of the signal selected by the switching means when a reserved time comes, and allowing the switching means to select the input terminal when the reserved channel is a channel other than those receivable by the tuner. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a recording method and apparatus suitable for application to a recording apparatus for recording a broadcast program on a recording medium such as a hard disk, for example.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for recording (recording) a television broadcast, a hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus using a hard disk as a recording medium has been put to practical use. In the case of this hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus, it is possible to record a television broadcast signal for several tens of hours with a recording capacity of several tens of Gbytes, for example. The recordable time is expected to increase with the improvement of the recording density of a recording medium such as a hard disk and the improvement of the technique of compressing broadcast data.
[0003]
Some of the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatuses receive electronic program guide data called EPG (Electrical Program Guide) in order to easily record a television program. EPG data is added to broadcast data in the case of a broadcasting system such as digital satellite broadcasting, and in the case of terrestrial broadcasting which is analog broadcasting, a blanking period of a video signal of a specific channel is used. To a specific time zone. There is also a form in which the broadcast data is distributed to the recording / reproducing apparatus on the user side via transmission means such as the Internet, completely separately from the transmission of the broadcast data.
[0004]
The EPG data transmitted in this manner is received, a program table of the television broadcast is displayed on the screen of the receiver based on the received EPG data, and a program to be recorded is selected from the program table. By performing the operation, there is an effect that the user can relatively easily make a recording reservation of a desired program.
[0005]
In addition, by using a program table based on EPG data, it is possible to collectively reserve a series program such as a serial drama broadcast at a fixed time every day. It is also possible to search for a program using a preset keyword and automatically make a reservation for the program found in the search.
[0006]
Patent Literature 1 describes an example of a television receiving apparatus that makes a recording reservation using such electronic program data.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-285639
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, television broadcasting has recently become diversified in its broadcasting form, and various broadcasting services have come to exist. For example, in addition to conventional terrestrial television broadcasting, there are BS (Broadcasting Satellite) broadcasting using broadcasting satellites and CS (Communication Satellite) broadcasting using communication satellites. Some of these broadcasting services can be partially shared, but basically, a dedicated receiving device (tuner) is required. Therefore, in order to make a recording device such as a hard disk recording / reproducing device capable of recording two or more broadcast services, a plurality of tuners corresponding to the respective broadcasting systems may be built in the recording device. However, such a configuration makes the configuration of the recording apparatus complicated and expensive.
[0009]
Therefore, when a part of the broadcast service is received, it is conceivable to connect a tuner device separate from the recording device, supply the signal received by the tuner device to the recording device, and record the signal.
[0010]
However, when the EPG data is received and the recording reservation is made based on the EPG data, the output of the built-in tuner is supplied to the recording unit for the recording of the signal received by the tuner built in the recording device. There is no particular problem because the processing may be performed as described above, but there is a problem that it is not easy to make a recording reservation for recording a signal received by an external tuner device as in the case of the built-in tuner.
[0011]
That is, in the case of a configuration in which a separate tuner device is connected to the recording device, a process of switching the input from the built-in tuner to an external input is required as a reservation process in the recording device. In addition, in an external tuner device, a process of switching a reception channel to a corresponding channel is required. Therefore, even if the EPG data can be obtained, if the tuner device is separate from the recording device, it is difficult to make a simple recording reservation based on the EPG data.
[0012]
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily reserve a recording when a separate tuner device is connected to a recording device.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention performs a process of recording a signal obtained by receiving a broadcast signal of a predetermined channel and a signal selected from an externally input signal, and when a reserved time comes, the reserved channel In the case where the broadcast signal is recorded, if the reserved channel is a channel other than the receivable channel, a signal input from the outside is selected.
[0014]
With this configuration, recording reservation of a signal received by an external tuner device can be performed without requiring setting of input switching for selecting a signal input from the outside.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration example according to the present embodiment. In this example, a hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 for recording a television broadcast is connected to a CS tuner apparatus 200 for receiving a CS broadcast, and a television receiver 300 is further connected. The hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is configured as a video recording / reproducing apparatus having a built-in hard disk for recording and reproducing a television broadcast program. The hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 includes a tuner for receiving a terrestrial television broadcast. , For example, and a terrestrial antenna 91 is connected. The CS tuner device 200 is a tuner for receiving a CS broadcast, for example, to which a parabolic antenna 92 is connected, and a received wave of the CS broadcast is supplied from a converter 93 attached to the parabolic antenna 92. The television receiver 300 uses another display device such as a monitor receiver as long as it can input a video signal and an audio signal from the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 and display a video and output audio. May be. The audio signal may be supplied to an audio output device different from the display device and output.
[0017]
The CS tuner device 200 is configured to receive two CS broadcast services. The CS tuner device 200 transmits the video signal and the audio signal of the television broadcast (CS broadcast) received by the CS tuner device 200 through the cables 83 and 84, respectively. To the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 via the hard disk. Note that the two broadcasting services use different communication satellites for relaying radio waves, and the broadcasting data formats are slightly different. The hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 and the CS tuner device 200 are connected to each other by a data communication port provided by a device via a cable 85 so that bidirectional communication can be performed. Data and the like can be sent to the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100.
[0018]
The hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 records a terrestrial television broadcast program received by a built-in terrestrial tuner on a hard disk, and records a CS broadcast television broadcast program received by a connected CS tuner apparatus 200. Can be recorded.
[0019]
In the case of this example, the CS broadcasting service received by the CS tuner device 200 is a digital broadcasting service in which a video signal and an audio signal that are converted into digital data are transmitted. Electronic program data called EPG data is added. The packet to which the electronic program data is added is sent from the CS tuner device 200 to the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 via the data communication port.
[0020]
In addition, a control signal for controlling the operation of the CS tuner device 200 can be transmitted from the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 through the connection between the data communication ports. The commands by the control signal include a power on / off command of the CS tuner device 200, a channel switching command, a switching command of a broadcast service to be received, and the like. However, the command to switch the broadcast service to be received is unnecessary depending on the configuration of the connected CS tuner device 200. Further, instead of a command for directly instructing the operation, a command for inquiring the current operation state of the CS tuner device 200 (for example, an inquiry about whether the power supply is on or in a standby state) may be transmitted.
[0021]
The video signal and the audio signal output from the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 are connected to the television receiver 300 via cables 81 and 82. The television receiver 300 can display a video recorded on a hard disk incorporated in the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and output sound. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the CS tuner device 200 and the television receiver 300 may be directly connected. Further, a video signal source other than the CS tuner device 200 can be connected to the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100, and the video signal and the audio signal supplied from the video signal source can be recorded on the hard disk.
[0022]
Next, the configuration of the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. A terrestrial antenna 91 connected to the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 is connected to a terrestrial tuner 101 built in the device 100, and a terrestrial television broadcast video signal received and received by the tuner 101. And an audio signal are supplied to the terminal 111 of the changeover switch 110.
[0023]
The reception channel of the terrestrial tuner 101 is controlled by the controller 121 of the recording / reproducing apparatus 100. The terrestrial wave received by the tuner 101 is an analog broadcast wave. For a predetermined specific channel, data is superimposed on the blanking period of the video signal several times a day at a predetermined time. Thus, EPG data for displaying the electronic program guide is sent. The EPG data is data for guiding not only a channel on which the EPG data is superimposed but also a program for most terrestrial channels receivable in the area. Therefore, the tuner 101 functions as a program data acquisition unit that receives the channel on which the EPG data is superimposed (added) at the superimposed time to extract the EPG data superimposed on the channel. The EPG data received by the tuner 101 is sent to the controller 121. The controller 121 of this example has a function as a processing unit that extracts only necessary program data from the supplied EPG data. The details of the process of extracting only the necessary program data will be described later.
[0024]
The changeover switch 110 is a switch that switches between a signal received by the tuner 101 and a signal obtained from an external input terminal 131, 132, 133, or 134. The input terminals 131 and 132 are an input terminal for a video signal and an input terminal for an audio signal used as the first input unit. The signals obtained at these input terminals are supplied to the terminal 112 of the changeover switch 110. The input terminals 133 and 134 are an input terminal for a video signal and an input terminal for an audio signal used as a second input unit, and supply a signal obtained at these input terminals to a terminal 113 of the changeover switch 110. Of the video signals and audio signals obtained at these terminals 111, 112 and 113, the signal selected under the control of the controller 121 is obtained at the terminal 114. In FIG. 2, when the supply and the switching of the video signal and the audio signal are performed simultaneously, the transmission path of both signals is shown by one transmission line.
[0025]
Of the external input units, the first input units (input terminals 131 and 132) are used as dedicated input terminals to which video signals and audio signals received and output by the CS tuner device 200 are supplied. You. However, when the CS tuner is not connected, another video signal source may be connected to the first input unit.
[0026]
The second input unit (input terminals 133 and 134) is connected to a video signal source from which a video signal and an audio signal to be recorded by the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 are output. For example, a BS tuner or a video tape recording / reproducing device is connected.
[0027]
The video signal and the audio signal (the signal obtained at the terminal 114) selected by the changeover switch 110 are supplied to an MPEG (Moving Picture Coding Experts Group) encoder 102, and digital video data compressed and encoded by, for example, the MPEG2 method is output. Digital audio data. Since the signal supplied to the encoder 102 is an analog signal, digital conversion for converting the analog signal into digital data is also performed in the encoder 102 (or a separate circuit).
[0028]
The MPEG2 video data and audio data obtained by the MPEG encoder 102 are supplied to a recording / reproducing processing unit 103. The recording / reproduction processing unit 103 is a circuit that performs processing for recording and reproducing video data, audio data, and the like on the hard disk 105. A buffer memory 104 is connected to the recording / reproduction processing unit 103, and recording and reproduction are performed while temporarily storing data in the buffer memory 104. The hard disk 105 is also used as a storage unit (recording unit) for electronic program data. That is, the electronic program data processed by the controller 121 is recorded and reproduced on the hard disk 105 under the control of the controller 121. However, for the electronic program data, a memory (not shown) connected to the controller 121 may be used as a storage unit without using the hard disk 105 as a storage unit. The hard disk 105 is configured to be recorded and reproduced by a head while being rotated at a high speed by a spindle motor. For example, it is possible to record a television broadcast signal of several tens of hours with a recording capacity of several tens of Gbytes. is there.
[0029]
The video data and the audio data reproduced from the hard disk 105 and processed by the recording / reproducing processing unit 103 are supplied to the MPEG decoder 106 and decoded from the MPEG2 system. The decoded video data is supplied to the NTSC encoder 108 via the mixer 107, and supplied to the output terminal 135 as an NTSC analog video signal. The decoded audio data is converted into an analog audio signal by the digital / analog converter 109, and the analog audio signal is supplied to the output terminal 136. The output terminals 135 and 136 correspond to the terminals connected to the television receiver by the cables 81 and 82 in FIG.
[0030]
Further, the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 of the present embodiment includes a data communication port 137 for communicating with the CS tuner device 200. The interface 122 extracts necessary data from the data transmitted from the CS tuner device 200 via the data communication port 137 and sends the data to the controller 121. The data sent from the CS tuner device 200 to the recording / reproducing device 100 includes, for example, electronic program data. Further, data to be sent from the controller 121 to the CS tuner device 200 (such as the various commands described in FIG. 1) is output from the data communication port 137 via the interface 122.
[0031]
The command for operating the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 is configured to be supplied from an input unit 123 including an operation key and a remote control signal receiving unit (light receiving unit). For example, when an operation command is received by an infrared signal from a remote control device (not shown) to the input unit 123, the received command is sent to the controller 121. Examples of the command by operating the remote control device or the keys include, for example, a command for directly instructing recording, reproduction, channel switching, and the like, and a display on the television receiver 300 connected to the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100. , There is also a command of a so-called GUI (Graphical User Interface) operation for performing a multifunctional operation by operating a cursor key, a decision key, or the like.
[0032]
When the controller 121 performs the processing for generating the screen for the GUI operation, the controller 121 sends the generated screen data to the mixer 107, mixes the generated screen data with the video data output from the MPEG decoder 106, and outputs the mixed data to the output terminal 135. The video signal output from the device is a video signal for displaying a corresponding screen.
[0033]
When it is necessary to perform various displays on the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 other than the screen for the GUI operation, the controller 121 similarly generates the data of the display screen and sends the data to the mixer 107. It is. Examples of screens displayed in these processes will be described later.
[0034]
A clock unit 124 is connected to the controller 121, and the result of counting the current time (year, month, day, hour, minute, second) by the clock unit 124 is determined by the controller 121 as needed. The date and time counted by the clock unit 124 is determined by the controller 121, and reserved recording and reproduction are performed. The time counted by the clock unit 124 may be set or corrected by a user operation. However, the time is automatically corrected based on a signal received by the tuner 101 (or the connected CS tuner device 200). You may do it.
[0035]
Further, the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of this embodiment incorporates three light emitting diodes 141, 142, and 143 as lighting means on the front panel of the apparatus, and is driven by the lighting control unit 140 based on the control of the controller 121. The lighting of the three light emitting diodes 141 to 143 is individually controlled. The three light emitting diodes 141 to 143 have, for example, different emission colors. In the case of this example, when light is emitted by the three light emitting diodes 141 to 143, a new recording (specifically, series reservation) is used as a means for notifying that.
[0036]
Further, the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment includes a card slot 125 in which a memory card can be removably inserted. The controller 121 reads out data stored in the memory card 126 inserted in the card slot 125, and reads various data. Processing can be performed. For example, when still image data or moving image data is stored in the inserted memory card 126, the image data is read out by the controller 121 and sent to the mixer 107 side. It can be displayed on the receiver 300. Alternatively, data read from the memory card 126 may be recorded on the hard disk 105 or the like.
[0037]
Further, the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment includes a port 138 for connecting to the Internet, and data exchange via communication means connected by the Internet connection port 138 is performed by the controller 121 via the interface 127. It can be done with.
[0038]
The Internet connection port 138 can be connected to, for example, a router or modem for Internet connection via a predetermined cable. It is also possible to access a server at a predetermined address via the Internet connection port 138 to obtain electronic program data.
[0039]
When the electronic program data is acquired by various processes, the controller 121 saves the electronic program data in a partial area of the hard disk 105, and utilizes the saved data to display the electronic program table. And a function as a recording reservation unit for performing a recording (recording) reservation process based on the program data and the like. Further, it is configured to function as display processing means for generating a display screen of an electronic program guide and a display screen at the time of recording reservation. The electronic program data obtained by the controller 121 includes electronic program data received by the built-in tuner 101, electronic program data obtained from the connected CS tuner device 200 via the port 137, and There are three types of acquired electronic program data, and which electronic program data to use is determined in advance by setting.
[0040]
Note that a nonvolatile memory (not shown) is connected to the controller 121 to store various setting items. Also, the information of the recording reservation is stored in the nonvolatile memory. However, a part of the recording area of the hard disk 105 may be used instead of the non-volatile memory.
[0041]
Next, the configuration of the CS tuner device 200 connected to the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0042]
The CS tuner device 200 is connected to a parabolic antenna 92 for receiving a satellite broadcast wave, and a tuner 201 receives a packet including data of a channel to be received from signals supplied from a converter 93 of the parabolic antenna 92. To process. Selection of a packet to be received is controlled by the controller 210. The packet received by the tuner 201 is supplied to a QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) demodulation unit 202, which performs QPSK demodulation processing on the data of the received packet. The demodulated data is supplied to the error correction unit 203 to perform an error correction process.
[0043]
The error-corrected received data is supplied to the demultiplexer 204, and the video data, audio data, and other data of the channel to be received are extracted from the received packet. Other data includes, for example, electronic program data. This extraction process is executed under the control of the controller 210, and the buffer memory 205 connected to temporarily store data necessary for data processing.
[0044]
The video data and audio data extracted by the demultiplexer 204 are supplied to an MPEG decoder 206, which decodes the video data and audio data encoded by the MPEG-2 system. The video data decoded by the MPEG decoder 206 is supplied to an NTSC encoder 208 via a mixer 207, and is supplied to an output terminal 221 as an NTSC analog video signal. The decoded audio data is converted into an analog audio signal by a digital / analog converter 209, and the analog audio signal is supplied to an output terminal 222. The output terminals 221 and 222 correspond to the terminals connected to the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 via the cables 83 and 84 in FIG. The electronic program data extracted by the demultiplexer 204 is sent to the controller 210.
[0045]
The video signal output from the terminal 221 may be a video signal based on various guidance display images generated by the controller 210. That is, the guide display image data generated by the controller 210 is supplied to the mixer 207, superimposed on the video data output from the MPEG decoder 206, and supplied to the NTSC encoder 208. The image data for guidance display includes, for example, image data for displaying an electronic program guide based on electronic program data added to a signal of a received channel.
[0046]
Further, the CS tuner device 200 of this example includes a data communication port 223 for communicating with the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100. The data communication port 223 is connected to the data communication port 137 of the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 by a dedicated cable (the cable 85 shown in FIG. 1). Broadcast data to be transmitted using the data communication port 223 is transmitted from the demultiplexer 204 to the interface 211, and is output as data in a format output from the port 223 by the interface 211. In the case of this example, the packet itself including the received broadcast data (that is, data including video data, audio data, EPG data, etc.) is transmitted from the port 223 to the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 side. . The hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 extracts only EPG data from the transmitted packet data.
[0047]
Further, when data (various commands, etc.) sent from the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is received by the interface 211 via the data communication port 223, the data is sent to the controller 210. Data may be sent from the controller 210 to the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 via the interface 211.
[0048]
The command for operating the CS tuner device 200 is configured to be supplied from an input unit 212 including an operation key and a remote control signal receiving unit (light receiving unit). For example, when an operation command arrives at the input unit 212 by an infrared signal from a remote control device (not shown), the received command is sent to the controller 210.
[0049]
The CS tuner device 200 has a configuration in which an IC card 213 holding data relating to a reception contract such as registration information of a user and a viewing record is attached. Based on information stored in the IC card 213, a controller is provided. 210 performs processing such as reception of a pay channel.
[0050]
Further, the CS tuner device 200 includes a connection terminal 224 for a telephone line, and data can be transmitted from the controller 210 to the telephone line connected to the terminal 224 via the interface 214. The data sent via the telephone line includes data relating to a reception contract such as a viewing record of a pay channel.
[0051]
As described above, the CS tuner device 200 of this example can receive two broadcast services (service A and service B) and receives different satellites for each broadcast service. When switching from the state of receiving the channel to the channel of the service B (or vice versa), a tuner of a type that requires a channel switching operation after performing a satellite switching operation due to the configuration of the tuner. There are two types of tuners in which a broadcast service is automatically switched only by a channel switching operation. There are many types of tuners requiring a satellite switching operation in relatively old types of tuners.
[0052]
Next, a process for connecting the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 having the above-described configuration and the CS tuner apparatus 200 as shown in FIG. This will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 to 9 and display examples after FIG. A user operation for performing these processes is performed by, for example, a remote control device (not shown) attached to the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100. Specifically, in a state where the video (video for GUI operation) output from the output terminal 135 of the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 is displayed on the television receiver 300, the cursor key or the determination key of the remote control device is displayed. Each item is input by operation. The display examples after FIG. 10 are examples of the GUI operation screen.
[0053]
As described above, the recording of the broadcast program in the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment includes the recording of the terrestrial television broadcast program received by the tuner 101 built in the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and the CS tuner apparatus. There is a recording of a television broadcast program of the CS broadcast wave received at 200. In order to record these broadcast programs, setup is first required in the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100. This setup process is executed under the control of the controller 121, and the items set up are stored (recorded) in a nonvolatile memory (not shown), a hard disk, or the like connected to the controller 121.
[0054]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the setup process. First, the controller 121 of the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 determines whether or not the user's operation is a selection to display a setup screen (step S11). At this time, if the display of the setup screen has not been selected, the process proceeds to another process. When the display of the setup screen is selected, the setup screen is displayed. In the case of the initial setting, the setup screen may be automatically displayed in synchronization with the turning on of the power of the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100.
[0055]
FIG. 10 shows a first display example of the setup screen, in which a menu for performing the setup is displayed. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, there is a display 11 of setup on the upper side of the screen, and a display 12 of a setup menu on the left side. Here, the channel matching display 12a in the menu is in a selected state, and when the channel matching display 12a is selected, the display 13 of the item for performing the channel matching is performed on the right side.
[0056]
With the setup screen displayed, it is determined whether or not channel matching in the setup menu displayed on the screen has been selected (step S12). When the channel matching is selected, it is further selected whether the channel matching is a terrestrial channel matching or a CS channel matching (step S13).
[0057]
As shown in FIG. 10, when the channel matching display 12a is selected, three items of [terrestrial channel], [CS channel], and [terrestrial automatic channel tuning] are displayed as items 13 for channel tuning. Is displayed.
[0058]
Here, when the automatic terrestrial channel setting is selected, a screen for inputting a code number (area number) assigned to each area where the system is installed by a user operation is displayed. To input an area code (step S14). FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an area number input screen, in which a display area 15 for inputting an area number is prepared.
[0059]
When an area number is entered in the display shown in FIG. 12, a list of terrestrial television broadcast channels that can be received in that area is displayed on the screen (step S15). The data of the receivable channel number and broadcast station name for each area code is stored in advance in a memory or the like connected to the controller 121 of the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100.
[0060]
FIG. 13 is an example of a reception channel confirmation screen displayed based on the input of the area code. Here, a list display 16 of received channel numbers, a list display 17 of channel numbers to be displayed, and a list display 18 of broadcast station names are performed. By changing the channel number in the list display 17, it is possible to change the channel number actually displayed on the screen at the time of reception from the reception number. With such a change, the channel number displayed when a so-called satellite station is received can be made to match the channel number remembered by the user. In the case of the terrestrial wave, the channel for transmitting the EPG data is only a specific channel predetermined for each region, and when the channel is set by inputting this region number, the EPG data is transmitted. The channel number received when acquiring data is also automatically set to a corresponding channel number based on data prepared in advance.
[0061]
As shown in FIG. 13, the user checks the displayed list of the received channels, and if that is enough, the process proceeds to the next process. The user confirms the list display of the reception channels, and if there is a channel to be added or a channel to be deleted as a receivable channel, a corresponding user operation is performed. Although not shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, instead of inputting the area code shown in step S14, a channel to be registered may be selected for each station by user operation. At the time of registration for each station, it is necessary to register a channel for acquiring terrestrial EPG data by a user operation.
[0062]
The reception channel selected in the processing up to this point becomes a terrestrial channel that can be received by the tuner 201 under the control of the controller 121. That is, for example, when the channel up key or the channel down key of the remote control device is operated, among the selected reception channels, the reception channels change in the order of the channel numbers.
[0063]
When the setting of the channel for receiving the terrestrial wave is completed, a screen for selecting the channel to be registered as the channel for performing the automatic recording among the receiving channels is displayed (step S16). The automatic recording here is a process in which the controller 121 determines the electronic program data of the broadcast channel, searches for a program that matches predetermined conditions, and automatically makes a recording reservation for the searched program. As the predetermined condition, for example, when a specific keyword is included in the program name or the guide text of the program indicated by the electronic program data, the program is automatically reserved for recording and the program is automatically set. This is a process of recording on a hard disk.
[0064]
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen of a terrestrial automatic recording channel. In this example, a list display 19 of display channel numbers, a list display 20 of broadcast station names corresponding thereto, and a setting display 21 of automatic recording for each channel are performed. By performing an operation of selecting whether or not to automatically record the display of each channel in the setting display 21 of the automatic recording, the setting can be performed for each channel.
[0065]
On the basis of the display in step S16, for a channel selected as a channel on which automatic recording is to be performed among the receiving channels, if a program that matches certain conditions is found based on a keyword specification or the like, The controller 121 automatically makes a recording reservation for the program. In addition, based on the display in step S16, such an automatic recording process is not performed on a channel selected as a channel on which automatic recording is not to be performed among the receiving channels. For a channel that is not selected as an automatic recording channel, recording by user operation (herein, such recording is referred to as manual recording to distinguish it from automatic recording) is possible.
[0066]
If it is determined in step S13 that the channel setting is for the CS channel, the controller 121 displays an input screen for the channel number to be received, and allows the user to input the channel number to be received on the input screen. . The hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is configured so that a maximum of 20 channels can be set as a channel from which the CS tuner apparatus 200 can instruct reception. In the 20 channels, two broadcasting services that can be received by the CS tuner device 200 may be mixed.
[0067]
FIG. 15 is an example of a screen for inputting the channel number of the CS channel. In this example, the display 22 of the area in which the channel number can be input is sequentially displayed one by one, and each time the input of the channel number is completed, the display 22 of the area is increased, and a maximum of 20 channel numbers are displayed. You can input. In the example of FIG. 15, each channel number is shown as a three-digit number.
[0068]
When the channel number is input in step S17 and the confirmation operation is performed, a list of broadcast station names of the input channel number is displayed (step S18). The correspondence between the channel number and the broadcast station name may be stored in the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 in advance, or may be obtained based on data received by the connected CS tuner device 200. The receiving channel of the CS broadcast displayed in the list in step S18 is a channel on which recording reservation can be made based on the electronic program data in the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment.
[0069]
FIG. 16 is a display example of a list of broadcast station names of channel numbers of CS channels. Here, a list display 24 of reception channel numbers, a list display 25 of corresponding broadcast station names, and a list display 26 of broadcast services are performed. As described above, there are two types of broadcasting services that can be received by the CS tuner device 200 of this example (here, referred to as service A and service B), and a radio wave is transmitted (relayed) for each broadcasting service. Communication satellites are different.
[0070]
When the user confirms the list display of the CS broadcast reception channels in step S18, a screen for selecting a channel to be registered as an automatic recording channel among the CS broadcast reception channels is displayed (step S19). . The automatic recording here is the same as the automatic recording on the terrestrial wave. The controller 121 determines the electronic program data of the broadcast channel, searches for a program that matches a predetermined condition, and records the searched program. This is a process for automatically making a reservation.
[0071]
FIG. 17 is a display example of the automatic recording channel setting of the CS channel. Here, a list display 27 of reception channel numbers, a list display 28 of corresponding broadcast station names, and a setting display 29 of automatic recording for each channel are performed. By performing an operation of selecting whether or not to automatically record the display of each channel in the setting display 29 of the automatic recording, the setting can be performed for each channel.
[0072]
For the CS channel selected as the channel for automatic recording among the receiving channels based on the display in step S19, if a program matching certain conditions is found based on the designation of a keyword, The controller 121 automatically makes a recording reservation for the program. Also, based on the display in step S19, such an automatic recording process is not performed on the CS channel selected as a channel on which automatic recording is not performed among the receiving channels. For a channel that is not selected as an automatic recording channel, manual recording in which a program to be recorded is selected by a user operation while the electronic program guide is displayed is possible.
[0073]
If it is determined in step S12 that an item other than channel matching has been selected from the setup screen, it is determined whether or not a setting (other than channel setting) relating to the reception of CS broadcast has been selected (step S20). If it is a broadcast reception setting, a screen for inputting the corresponding item is displayed (step S21).
[0074]
FIG. 11 is a display example of a setup menu related to CS broadcast reception settings. In this example, it is assumed that the CS setting display 12b is selected from the menu display 12, and a list display 14 of details related to the CS setting is displayed on the right side of the screen. The detailed list display 14 will be described in order. An on / off display 14a of the CS function, a display 14b of a manufacturer name of the connected CS tuner device 200, a display 14c of on / off of the satellite switching transmission, A display 14d indicating whether the tuner power supply control is linked or not, a channel number display 14e for obtaining EPG data for displaying the electronic program guide in service A, and an EPG data for displaying the electronic program guide in service B Is displayed, and a display 14g of a desired time at which EPG data is obtained is displayed.
[0075]
In a state where the reception setting screen of the CS broadcast shown in FIG. 11 is displayed, by performing an operation of selecting and changing each display item, it is possible to set a user's favorite setting state. Explaining specific items, by setting the CS function to “ON” in the display 14a of the ON / OFF of the CS function, control of the connected CS tuner becomes possible, and by setting to “OFF”. In this state, such control is not performed. By correctly setting the manufacturer name of the connected CS tuner device 200 in the display 14b of the manufacturer name of the connected CS tuner device 200, correct operation control of the CS tuner can be performed.
[0076]
By setting "on" in the display 14c of the on / off of the satellite switching transmission, when the CS broadcasting service switches the channel to a different channel, a satellite switching command is sent to the CS tuner device 200, and then the channel number is set. Will be sent. When "OFF" is set, even when the CS broadcast service switches the channel to a different channel, the command of the channel number is directly sent without sending the satellite switching command. When the satellite switching command is output, it is necessary to provide a few seconds between outputting the satellite switching command and transmitting the channel number command.
[0077]
In the display 14d indicating whether the tuner power control is interlocking or non-interlocking, when “interlocking” is set, the power of the CS tuner 200 is turned off only when the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 needs to operate the CS tuner 200. It is set to an on state, and otherwise set to an off state (or a standby state). When “non-interlock” is set, the power of the CS tuner is not controlled from the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100. Therefore, in the case of performing the recording reservation of the CS channel and the like after setting “non-linkage”, the power of the CS tuner device 200 needs to be always on.
[0078]
The display 14e of the channel number for obtaining the EPG data for displaying the electronic program guide in the service A and the display 14f of the channel number for obtaining the EPG data for displaying the electronic program guide in the service B are shown in the respective services. The channel number from which the best electronic program data can be obtained is set in advance. In the case of this example, the channel number of the promotion channel prepared for each service is set when the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is shipped. However, since there is a possibility that the channel number of the promotion channel is changed, in such a case, a user input is performed to change the channel number displayed on the display 14e or the display 14f.
[0079]
Regarding the display 14g of the desired time to acquire the EPG data, the time to start acquiring the EPG data of the CS channel is displayed. Basically, the EPG data of the CS channel can be obtained at any time during the time of providing the broadcasting service. However, it takes a relatively long time to obtain the EPG data, and It is necessary that the acquisition time does not overlap with the time reserved for recording as much as possible, and it is basically preferable to set a time that is unlikely to broadcast a program required by the user.
[0080]
Although an example of the screen is not shown, the acquisition time is also displayed on the terrestrial broadcast setting screen so that the terrestrial EPG data can be set (changed). However, terrestrial EPG data is currently transmitted only a few times a day at a predetermined time, and can be selected only from the several transmission times. The time zone that can be set as the EPG data of the CS channel is set so as to avoid the time zone of acquiring the terrestrial EPG data.
[0081]
Here, a processing example in the controller 121 when changing the display 14e, 14f of the channel number for acquiring the EPG data in the display example of FIG. 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in a state where the setup menu shown in FIG. 11 is displayed, it is determined whether or not there is an input for changing the acquisition channel of the EPG data of the service A (step S31). It is determined whether there is an input for changing the acquisition channel of the EPG data of B (step S32). When there is an input to change the acquisition channel of the EPG data of any service, the changed channel number is registered as a channel to be received when the EPG data is acquired by the corresponding service, and is stored in the nonvolatile memory or the hard disk. (Step S33), the channel number displayed as the display 14e or 14f is changed to the registered channel number (Step S34).
[0082]
Since the channel number for acquiring the data of the electronic program guide can be changed in this way, even if the channel number of the promotion channel is changed on the broadcast service side, it can be easily handled by the user operation.
[0083]
The hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can be connected to the Internet, and can obtain various control data added to the broadcast data by receiving and supplying the CS tuner apparatus 200 as a CS broadcast. It is also possible to send software including a command to change the channel number for acquiring the data of the electronic program guide from the broadcast station or the like to the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 in these processes. As described above, by automatically changing the channel number, even when the channel number of the promotion channel is changed, the user operation becomes unnecessary.
[0084]
Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6, a description will be given of a processing example in the controller 121 when setting the time of acquiring the EPG data for displaying the electronic program guide. First, when there is an operation for changing the acquisition time of EPG data, it is determined whether or not the operation is for changing the acquisition time of EPG data of terrestrial waves (step S35). Here, in the case of changing the acquisition time of the terrestrial EPG data, only a plurality of times in which the EPG data is determined to be transmitted in advance are displayed as candidates, and from among the candidate times only, One can be selected (step S36). On the setting screen, for example, only the time at which the acquisition of the EPG data is started is displayed. However, actually, the acquisition of the EPG data requires a relatively long time. Then, it is determined whether or not the operation is for changing the acquisition time of the EPG data of the CS channel (step S37). In the case of changing the acquisition time of the EPG data of the CS channel, a plurality of candidate times are displayed from among the time zones that do not overlap with the time zone of acquiring the terrestrial EPG data, and the candidate time is displayed. , One of them can be selected (step S38).
[0085]
When the acquisition time of the EPG data has been set so far, it is determined whether or not there is a recording reservation for a time overlapping with the acquisition time zone set at that time (step S39). Here, when there is a recording reservation for a time that overlaps the acquisition time, a warning indicating that the recording reservation overlaps is displayed on the setup screen at that time (step S40). The display of this warning may receive a consent from the user. If accepted, the recording reservation is canceled (step S55). If not, the process returns to step S35. If the consent is not received, the process proceeds directly to step S55.
[0086]
The user who has confirmed from the warning display that the acquisition time zone of the EPG data and the recording reservation overlap with each other can avoid a malfunction that does not operate correctly by changing the acquisition time of the EPG data or changing the recording reservation time. .
[0087]
Next, a description will be given of a process of actually obtaining EPG data after the setup in the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 is completed in this manner. First, a process of acquiring terrestrial EPG data under the control of the controller 121 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0088]
The controller 121 determines whether it is time to acquire terrestrial EPG data from the time counted by the clock unit 124 (step S41), and waits until the time to acquire terrestrial EPG data is reached. Then, when it is determined that the time to acquire the terrestrial EPG data has come, the tuner 101 receives a pre-registered channel for acquiring the terrestrial EPG data (step S42). With the reception, EPG data is obtained (step S43). The acquisition process is started, and it is determined whether or not all the EPG data of one unit has been acquired (step S44), and the process is performed until the acquisition is completed. In the case of this example, the electronic program guide data of all the channels broadcast in the area (except for some channels having no EPG data) from the day to one week ahead is acquired.
[0089]
If all of the one unit of EPG data has been acquired, the acquired EPG data is stored in the hard disk (step S45). The storage in the hard disk may be performed sequentially in parallel with the acquisition of data.
[0090]
Then, the EPG data stored in the hard disk is rearranged into a data structure in a form that can be easily used by the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 (step S46), and the terrestrial EPG data acquisition processing ends.
[0091]
Next, a process of acquiring the EPG data of the CS broadcast under the control of the controller 121 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0092]
The controller 121 determines whether it is time to acquire the EPG data of the CS broadcast from the time counted by the clock unit 124 (step S51), and waits until the time to acquire the EPG data of the CS broadcast is reached. Then, when it is determined that the time to acquire the EPG data of the CS broadcast has come, it is determined whether or not the power of the currently connected CS tuner device 200 is turned on (step S52), and the power of the CS tuner device 200 is turned on. If not, a command to turn on the tuner is sent to the CS tuner device 200 (step S53). As for the determination of the power-on state in step S52, if the state of the CS tuner device 200 can be detected through communication with the CS tuner device 200, the detection process may be performed. If the status of the CS tuner device 200 cannot be detected, the power supply is determined to be on when the reception data or the like is currently supplied from the CS tuner device 200. If the reception data is not supplied, the power supply on state is determined. It is not determined. Further, when the power supply of the CS tuner device 200 is set to be unlinked, the processing in steps S52 and S53 is not necessary.
[0093]
Then, after it is determined in step S52 that the power is on, and after the power on command is transmitted in step S53, a channel switching command for receiving a promotion channel of service A or service B registered in advance is transmitted (step S54). Assuming that the service received here is a service to which the channel with the smallest channel number belongs, for example, if the service is to be received in the order of the smallest channel number among the registered reception channels. Here, a description will be given below assuming that reception is performed in the order of channel numbers. Here, when a CS tuner that requires a satellite switching operation is connected, it is necessary to forcibly send a satellite switching command to a desired satellite and then send a channel switching command. If the satellite information at the time of the previous satellite switching command is stored in a memory or the like connected to the controller 121, the satellite switching command is issued only when it is determined that the satellite switching is necessary based on the information. May be sent.
[0094]
Therefore, a process of acquiring the EPG data for the channel with the smallest channel number is performed (step S55), and it is determined whether or not the data of the electronic program guide has been acquired for the channel number up to one week from the current day (step S55). Step S56). It takes, for example, about one minute to acquire one week's worth of electronic program guide data for one channel, and the acquisition in step S55 until one week's worth of electronic program guide data for the corresponding channel can be acquired. Perform processing. When the data of the electronic program guide for one week of the corresponding channel has been obtained, the EPG data for one week is stored in the hard disk (step S57).
[0095]
Next, it is determined whether or not the next smallest channel number among the registered reception channels is a channel of the same broadcast service as the channel number from which the EPG data was obtained immediately before (step S58). If there is, switching is made to reception of a promotion channel of another broadcast service (step S59). Here, when a CS tuner requiring a satellite switching operation is connected, it is necessary to send a satellite switching command and then a channel switching command.
[0096]
Then, when it is determined in step S58 that the broadcasting service is the same, or after the processing in step S59 is performed, processing for obtaining EPG data for the channel obtained at that time is performed (step S60), and the channel number is obtained. Then, it is determined whether or not the data of the electronic program guide for one week from the current day has been acquired (step S61). When the data of the electronic program guide for one week of the corresponding channel is obtained, the EPG data for one week is stored in the hard disk (step S62).
[0097]
The processes from step S58 to step S62 are repeatedly performed as long as there are channels registered to receive. In the case of this example, since the maximum number of CS broadcast channels that can be registered is 20, the acquisition processing of the EPG data is performed a maximum of 20 times. When the EPG data for all the registered channels can be obtained and stored in the hard disk, a command to turn off the power is sent to the CS tuner device 200 (step S63), and the CS tuner device 200 is set to the standby state. However, if the power supply of the CS tuner device 200 is set to be unlinked, the processing in step S63 is not necessary.
[0098]
After that, the EPG data stored on the hard disk is subjected to a data rearranging process for converting the EPG data into a data format that can be easily used by the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 (step S64), and the process of acquiring the CS broadcast EPG data is terminated. If it takes about one minute to acquire the EPG data for one CS channel, it is possible to register up to 20 channels. Therefore, it is necessary to receive up to about 20 minutes, and it is necessary to receive the data at step S64. For example, about 10 minutes are required, and a total time of about 30 minutes is required.
[0099]
FIGS. 18 to 20 show examples in which a program guide is displayed on the receiver 300 based on the EPG data thus obtained. 18 shows an example of displaying a program table by time, FIG. 19 shows an example of displaying a program table by channel, and FIG. 20 shows an example of displaying a program table by genre. In the examples of FIGS. 18 to 20, the program table is for the CS channel, but the same various forms of display can be displayed on the terrestrial channel. Alternatively, a time-based program table or a genre-based program table in which a terrestrial program and a CS broadcast program are mixed and displayed may be displayed. FIGS. 18 to 20 show examples of the program table for one specific time. In this example, since the EPG data is accumulated for one week, the user has designated up to one week later. A program table for an arbitrary time can be displayed.
[0100]
The display example of the time-based program table shown in FIG. 18 will be described. In this example, a display 30 indicating “time-based program table” and a mark representing the current operation state of the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus with a graphic symbol are shown. , A current time display 32, a channel number list display 33 at a specified time, a program name list display 34 for each channel, and a broadcast time display 35 displayed in the program table. Is displayed. By performing a user operation of scrolling the display screen, the display of the list displays 33 and 34 relating to the program can be changed to another channel.
[0101]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 18, a detailed display of the selected program is displayed on the lower side of the screen. That is, for a program selected from the list display, a broadcast time display 36, a broadcast station name display 37, a program content display 38, and the like are performed based on the EPG data. Further, when a program requires age restriction of the viewer, a display 41 indicating the fact is indicated by a mark, and a program (a so-called pay-per-view or pay-per-view) which requires a billing process for each program (or for each day). The display 42 is a mark indicating that the program is a per-day program).
[0102]
If the CS tuner device 200 sets a recording reservation for a program whose age is restricted on the display 41 in a state where the viewer's age is restricted, the tuner 200 performs the age restriction release operation. Need to do. Further, in the case where a recording reservation is made for a program which is indicated on the display 42 as a program requiring charging processing, it is necessary to perform a charging operation on the tuner 200 side.
[0103]
When the user confirms the display shown in FIG. 18 at the time of the reservation operation, the CS tuner device 200 performs the PPV charging operation for the corresponding program and the child lock at the same time as the reservation operation at the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100. Can be performed. Therefore, these operations required on the CS tuner side can be performed without forgetting the user, and the possibility of recording without failure increases.
[0104]
In the example of FIG. 18, the user is notified by displaying the marks 41 and 42 for notifying the billing and the child lock on the screen. However, the user may be notified more securely by using characters or the like. For example, at the stage when the screen for reservation is displayed, the displays 41 and 42 as shown in the example of FIG. 18 are displayed, and when there is an operation for confirming the reservation, “Pay-per-pay” is displayed on the screen. -View program. Please perform billing operation. "Or display" Cannot record unless child lock is released. "
[0105]
Note that the so-called child lock for restricting the viewing age may be set in advance by the tuner 200 or may not be locked. Therefore, for example, when the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is configured to be able to detect the state of the tuner 200, it is determined whether or not the lock is locked, and based on the determination, when the lock is locked, However, when a recording reservation is made for a program with a child lock, a display urging the release of the lock may be displayed.
[0106]
Further, as an example of the processing here, the recording reservation operation in the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 and the charging processing or the viewing restriction release processing in the tuner 200 are individually executed by the user. A command for the age restriction release operation or the billing operation may be sent from the device 100 to perform these processes by remote control. That is, when there is a recording reservation that requires these operations in the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100, "Charging operation is required. Do you want to perform charging operation?" Alternatively, billing may be performed by sending data from the hard disk recording / reproducing device 100 to the tuner 200. In the same way, the parental lock release process is also displayed, and when the finalizing operation is performed, a screen for inputting the password for unlocking the lock is displayed, and the data of the input password is recorded on the hard disk. The lock may be released from the apparatus 100 by sending it to the tuner 200.
[0107]
Also, as shown in FIG. 18, in the case of the present example, the reduced display 43 of the video currently received by the terrestrial tuner 101 built in the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is performed at the lower left of the screen. It is. In this case, the reception channel number and the broadcast station name display 44 are simultaneously displayed.
[0108]
The display example of the program table for each channel shown in FIG. 19 will be described. In this example, a display 40 indicating "program table for each channel" and a mark indicating the current operation state of the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus by a symbol are shown. And a current time display 32. As a program table, a program name display 46 for each time on a designated channel, a list display 47 of the broadcast start time of the program, and a date display 48 are performed. In the case of the program table by channel, similarly to the case of the program table by time, when a specific program is selected from the displayed programs, detailed displays 36, 37, and 38 of the program are displayed. Is In addition, an age limit display 41 and a billing display 42, which are information on the program to be displayed in detail, are displayed as necessary. Further, a reduced display 43 of the video currently received by the terrestrial tuner 101 and a reception channel number and broadcast station name display 44 of the reduced video are also displayed.
[0109]
The display example of the genre-based program table shown in FIG. 20 will be described. In the genre-based program table, the programs are classified by genre based on the genre data of the broadcast program indicated by the EPG data. Is displayed in the order of the broadcast time for the genre specified by. In this example, there are a display 50 indicating "program table by genre", a display 31 of a mark in which the current operation state of the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus is symbolized by a graphic, and a current time display 32. As a program table, a genre display 51, a program name display 52 for each time in the genre, a list display 53 of broadcast start time of the program, and a date display 54 are performed. In the case of the genre-based program table, as in the case of the time-based program table and the channel-based program table, when a specific program is selected from the displayed programs, the detailed display 36, 37 and 38 are performed. In addition, an age limit display 41 and a billing display 42, which are information on the program to be displayed in detail, are displayed as necessary. Further, a reduced display 43 of the video currently received by the terrestrial tuner 101 and a reception channel number and broadcast station name display 44 of the reduced video are also displayed.
[0110]
When such a program table is displayed, one of the programs is selected, and a recording reservation is made for the selected program. Recording starts, and when the program end time comes, the recording stops. If the program is a CS broadcast program, control such as channel switching on the CS tuner device 200 side is also performed.
[0111]
As one input method for making a recording reservation, for example, as shown in FIG. 21, a pop-up menu display 55 is displayed in a state where a list of programs such as a program table is displayed. This is executed by selecting “recording reservation”. Pop-up menu displays other than “Recording reservation”, such as “Play”, “Save period setting”, “Title name change”, “Erase”, “Point play release”, “Repeat play”, “Close”, etc. The corresponding instruction can be performed by selecting each item. However, it is needless to say that settings such as reproduction and deletion cannot be performed for a program that has not been recorded yet. For the item that cannot be executed, the display mode may be changed from other selectable items.
[0112]
FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a display example of the reservation screen. When a specific program is searched for from a program guide or the like and a reservation for the program is set, for example, a display screen of a reservation screen shown in FIG. 22 is displayed. On the reservation screen, a display 71 indicating reservation / confirmation, a current time display 32, a program title display 72 to be reserved, a display 73 of a reserved date, a display 74 of a start time and an end time, and , Channel (broadcasting station name) display 75, recording mode display 76, and display 77 of the period during which the recorded program is stored. For the reserved date, it is possible to specify only a specific day on which the program is broadcasted, but the date can be specified in various patterns, such as the same day of the week, every day, and every day except Sunday. When specifying the day of the broadcast, the display as the date obtained from the EPG data may be set as it is, but when specifying another pattern, a user operation is required.
[0113]
Then, after inputting and confirming the respective items, when a confirming operation for selecting the confirm button display 79 is performed, the displayed reservation is confirmed. In addition, when a confirmation operation for selecting the stop button display 80 is performed, the displayed reservation is stopped. In the example of the reservation screen in FIG. 22, the reservation is made based on the program selected from the electronic program guide. However, without using such an electronic program guide, the user can set the recording start date and time and the recording end date and time. Alternatively, a recording reservation operation may be manually performed by individually specifying recording channels and the like. When performing this manual recording reservation operation, the first input section (terminals 131 and 132) and the second input section (terminals 133 and 134) are directly designated by the changeover switch 110, and these input sections are designated. It is also possible to make a recording reservation for a video signal or an audio signal from an external device connected to the device.
[0114]
When the recording reservation is made in this way, the controller 121 of the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 registers the selection of the input by the changeover switch 110 as the program reservation information based on the channel reserved for recording. This input selection process is executed based on, for example, the flowchart of FIG. That is, the controller 121 determines whether or not the program reserved for recording is a program on a terrestrial channel (step S91). Here, if the program is a terrestrial channel program, the reservation is registered using the terminal 111 to which the output of the terrestrial tuner 101 is supplied as an input (step S92).
[0115]
If it is determined in step S91 that the channel is other than a terrestrial channel, it is determined whether or not the program is a CS broadcast channel (step S93). Here, when it is determined that the program is a program of a CS broadcast channel, a signal obtained at a first input unit (terminals 131 and 132) which is an input terminal prepared to connect the CS tuner device 200 is output. The reservation is registered by using the supplied terminal 112 as an input of the changeover switch 110 (step S94).
[0116]
If it is determined in step S93 that the reservation is not a reservation that specifies a CS broadcast channel program, it is determined whether or not a recording reservation in which the first input unit is directly specified (step S95). If it is determined that the recording reservation is a recording reservation in which the first input unit is directly specified, the process proceeds to step S94, and the terminal 112 to which the signal obtained from the first input unit (terminals 131 and 132) is supplied is switched. As an input to the switch 110, a reservation is registered.
[0117]
If it is determined in step S95 that the recording reservation is not the one for which the first input section is designated, it is further determined whether or not the recording reservation is for the second input section to be directly designated (step S96). If it is determined that the recording reservation is a recording reservation in which the second input unit is directly specified, the process proceeds to step S97, and the terminal 113 to which the signal obtained from the second input unit (terminals 133 and 134) is supplied is switched. As an input to the switch 110, a reservation is registered. If it is determined in step S96 that it is not the second input unit, the process ends without completing the recording reservation here.
[0118]
By performing the input registration process at the time of recording reservation in this manner, when a channel to be received by the CS tuner device 200 as an external tuner is reserved for recording, the first input to which the tuner device 200 is connected is set. The recording is automatically selected by the unit as an input, so that the recording reservation can be made with the same operability as in the case where the recording received by the tuner built in the hard disk recording and reproducing apparatus 100 is performed. Become. In addition, since a recording reservation can be made by directly specifying the first input unit, a video device other than the CS tuner device 200 is connected to the first input unit (terminals 131 and 132), and the first input unit (terminals 131 and 132) is connected. Recording reservation of the supplied signal can also be performed. Therefore, the first input unit can be connected to devices other than the CS tuner device 200, and the versatility is improved.
[0119]
Note that, as one reservation form for making a recording reservation, a series reservation is prepared in the case of the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of this example. Here, the series reservation is a process of collectively reserving a program such as a drama that is broadcast continuously for example every week in a series.
[0120]
FIG. 23 is an example of a display screen when a series reservation is set. In the case of this series reservation, a display 56 indicating reservation / confirmation, a current time display 32, a reserved program title display 57, a recording mode display 58, and a storage period display 59 are performed. It is.
[0121]
In the case of this example, when this series reservation is set, it is necessary to determine the priority. That is, in the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of this example, it is possible to make a recording reservation for up to three series, and to set three reservations of series 1, series 2, and series 3 in descending order of priority. It is. FIG. 24 is a view showing a display example of a screen for deciding the priority of series reservation. There are three displays 60, 61, and 62 of series 1, series 2, and series 3, and any one of them is operated by a user operation. Select one series.
[0122]
When such a series reservation operation is performed, a list of the series-reserved programs shown in FIG. 25 is displayed. With respect to the series-reserved program, a program having the same title as the program is found based on the EPG data, and a list of the found programs is displayed. In the example of FIG. 25, the display about the reserved series includes a display 63 of the program name reserved for the series, a display 64 of the storage period, a display 67 for distinguishing the series 1 to 3, and the like. Then, as a list display searched based on the EPG data, there are a display 65 of a broadcast date and time and a display 66 of a program name. Here, the data of the number of broadcasts is also added as the program name obtained by the EPG data, and the data of the number of broadcasts (display of # 2, # 3, etc.) is added to the end of the program name and displayed. Let me do it.
[0123]
In this way, when a series recording reservation is made and a corresponding program is found in the EPG data, a recording reservation is made automatically. As the automatic recording reservation, in addition to the series reservation, for example, a process of automatically searching and reserving a program based on a keyword specified by the user, or a program of a genre set in advance by a user is automatically performed. There is a reservation process. In making such an automatic recording reservation, the only candidate programs are those of the channel selected as the automatic recording channel set in steps S16 and S19 shown in the flowchart of FIG. The process of searching for a candidate program from a channel not selected as a recording channel is not performed.
[0124]
In this way, the channel for automatic recording can be freely set in advance by a user operation, so that if the user has previously set a channel that is likely to broadcast a necessary program, the user can automatically select a favorite program. Thus, the possibility of recording reservation is increased, and automatic recording reservation can be performed with high accuracy. In this case, the setting of the channel for performing the automatic recording is different from the setting of the channel for acquiring the EPG data and the setting of the receivable channel, so that the automatic recording can be performed better. In addition, by automatically excluding channels with poor reception conditions from the automatic recording channels, it is possible to prevent programs on channels with poor reception conditions from being automatically recorded.
[0125]
Here, in the setting of the channel for which the automatic recording reservation is made, all the processes for which the automatic recording reservation is made are collectively set. Alternatively, the channel for which the automatic recording reservation is individually executed may be set in detail for each mode like the setting of the channel for which the automatic reservation is performed based on the keyword search.
[0126]
In the above-described embodiment, an example is described in which the present invention is applied to a recording / reproducing apparatus using a hard disk as a recording medium. However, the present invention may be applied to a recording apparatus using other various recording (storage) media.
[0127]
In the above-described embodiment, the tuner built in the recording / reproducing apparatus is also a tuner that receives an analog terrestrial television broadcast in the above-described embodiment. A tuner of another receiving form such as a tuner may be used. Although the tuner for receiving the CS broadcast is configured separately from the recording device, the tuner for receiving a channel different from the built-in tuner for receiving the CS broadcast and the like is combined with a recording device such as a hard disk recording device. They may be integrated. Instead of a tuner for receiving CS broadcasts, a tuner for receiving BS broadcasts may be used. Alternatively, a tuner that receives both the CS broadcast and the BS broadcast may be used.
[0128]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the video signal and the audio signal converted into analog signals are transmitted between the separate tuner and the recording / reproducing device. The audio data may be directly transmitted to the recording / reproducing device for recording.
[0129]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, a separate television receiver is connected to the recording / reproducing apparatus. However, a recording / reproducing apparatus having a processing configuration as in this example may be built in the receiver.
[0130]
Also, instead of preparing a dedicated tuner or a recording device as in the above-described example, a large-capacity recording (storage) device corresponding to the recording device in this example is provided in a personal computer device that performs various data processing, for example. As a configuration in which a board or card that performs reception processing equivalent to a tuner is mounted (connected), software (program) for controlling acquisition processing of EPG data and recording processing of broadcast data is implemented in a personal computer device. A similar recording process (recording process) may be performed.
[0131]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a general television broadcast is received and recorded has been described as an example. However, for example, recording of other broadcast data such as a radio broadcast and various data broadcasts is performed by using similar EPG data. You may make it perform based on an acquisition process.
[0132]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, recording reservation of a signal received by an external tuner device can be performed without requiring setting of input switching for selecting an externally input signal. Therefore, even when an external tuner device is connected to the recording device, recording reservation can be easily performed only by setting the channel and the recording date and time as in the case of recording the channel received by the built-in tuner. .
[0133]
In this case, in the case where a plurality of inputs can be selected as a signal to be input from the outside, when a channel other than a receivable channel is selected, a predetermined specific input is selected so that the external input can be performed. It is possible to cope with the case where there are a plurality of input terminals.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a system configuration example according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a hard disk recording / playback apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a tuner device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a setup process according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a program guide acquisition channel change process according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an EPG data acquisition time setting process according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a terrestrial program guide acquisition process according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a CS broadcast program guide acquisition process according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of an input registration process at the time of recording reservation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a setup menu according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing another display example of the setup menu according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example when a terrestrial channel is set according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example at the time of checking a terrestrial channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example when a terrestrial channel automatic recording channel is set according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example when a CS broadcast channel is set according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example when a CS broadcast channel is confirmed according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example when a CS broadcast channel automatic recording channel is set according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a program table by time according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a program table for each channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a program table for each genre according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a pop-up menu according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a reservation screen according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a series reservation screen according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a series reservation screen according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a series reservation list screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
81 to 85: connection cable, 91: terrestrial antenna, 92: satellite dish, 93: converter, 100: hard disk recording / reproducing device, 101: terrestrial tuner, 102: MPEG encoder, 102a: analog / digital conversion 103, a recording / reproducing processing unit, 104, a buffer memory, 105, a hard disk, 106, an MPEG decoder, 107, a mixer, 108, an NTSC encoder, 109, a digital / analog converter, 110, a changeover switch, 121, a controller, 122 interface, 123 input unit, 124 clock unit, 125 card slot, 126 memory card, 127 interface, 131, 132, 133, 134 input terminal, 135, 136 output terminal, 137 data communication port 138: Internet connection port, 140: Lighting control unit, 141, 142, 143: Light emitting diode, 200: CS tuner device, 201: Tuner, 202: QPSK demodulation unit, 203: Error correction unit, 204: Demultiplexer, 205 ... Buffer memory, 206 ... MPEG decoder, 207 ... Mixer, 208 ... NTSC encoder, 209 ... Digital / analog converter, 210 ... Controller, 211 ... Interface, 212 ... Input unit, 213 ... IC card, 221,222 ... Output Terminals, 223: data communication port, 300: television receiver

Claims (4)

Performs a process of recording a signal obtained by receiving a broadcast signal of a predetermined channel by a tuner and a signal selected from signals input from the outside,
At the time when the reservation is set, when recording the broadcast signal of the reservation-set channel, if the channel other than the channel that can be received by the tuner is set for the reservation,
A recording method in which an externally input signal is selected and recorded. The recording method according to claim 1,
A recording method for selecting a predetermined specific input when a plurality of inputs can be selected as a signal to be input from the outside and when a channel other than the receivable channel is used. A tuner for receiving a broadcast signal of a predetermined channel;
An external signal input terminal,
Switching means for switching between a signal received by the tuner and a signal input to the input terminal;
Recording means for recording the signal selected by the switching means,
Based on preset conditions, recording by the recording unit is reserved, and when the reserved time comes, recording of the signal selected by the switching unit is executed, and the reserved channel can be received by the tuner. A control unit for selecting the input terminal by the switching unit when the channel is a channel other than a proper channel. The recording device according to claim 3,
A recording apparatus, wherein a plurality of the input terminals are prepared, and when the reserved channel is a channel other than a channel receivable by the tuner, a predetermined specific input terminal among the plurality of input terminals is selected.

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