JP2007258798A - Digital broadcast receiving system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital broadcast receiving system, where latency from channel selection to the output of a video signal is shortened when a user selects a channel on an EPG. <P>SOLUTION: The digital broadcast receiving system includes: at least two channel selection sections 5, 7 for acquiring a digital broadcast signal for channel selection; a program table generation section 27 for acquiring the digital broadcast signal to generate an electronic program table; a display section 11 for displaying the video sound of a channel selected by one of the channel selection sections 5, 7 and the electronic program table generated by the program table generation section 27; and an input means 17 for receiving user operation to the displayed electronic program table. When a channel, which differs from a channel displayed at the display section 11 currently, is designated as a channel selection candidate by the input means 17, the channel designated as a candidate is selected by the selection section 7 differing from the selection section 5 that selects the currently displayed channel. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving system in which a user can perform a channel selection operation on an EPG, and more particularly to a digital broadcast receiving system in which a waiting time until video / audio is output after channel selection is reduced. .

  In digital broadcasting, digitized video data and audio data can be compressed, multiplexed, and broadcasted, so that a number of channels can be broadcast. Also, in digital broadcasting, in addition to program video data and audio data, information related to the program is also broadcast, and the digital broadcast receiver obtains this program related information from the broadcast data, and an electronic program guide (EPG). Can be generated and displayed.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that can display such an EPG and accept a channel selection operation by a user. In this digital broadcast receiving apparatus, since the number of digital broadcast channels is very large and the information of EPG is enormous, it takes a long time for the user to search for and select a desired program. In order to solve this problem, the genre specification of the program is accepted from the user, and only the information of the program belonging to the genre is displayed, whereby the user can quickly perform the operation of selecting a program.

JP 2002-64756 A

  On the other hand, in digital broadcasting, when a channel is selected, PSI / SI (Program Specific Information / Service Information) included in the broadcast signal is acquired, and video data and audio data of the channel are acquired based on the PSI / SI. Is obtained and output. For this reason, a waiting time of several seconds at the maximum occurs after the user selects a channel until the video / audio of the program is actually output. FIG. 9 shows an operation flow when a user selects a channel on the EPG in a general digital broadcast receiving apparatus. While viewing a program, the user displays an EPG in an attempt to select another channel, finds a desired program or channel from the program icons listed in the EPG, and moves the cursor over the program or channel icon. The operation of determining the channel selection is performed. After this operation, since the digital broadcast receiving apparatus performs the above-described channel selection operation, there is a waiting time of several seconds until the user can start viewing the video or audio of the program or channel after the channel selection. Will end up.

  In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus of Patent Document 1, the channel selection operation is speeded up in that it saves time and effort for the user to select a desired program from the EPG. The waiting time caused by the channel selection operation inside the device cannot be eliminated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and when a user performs a channel selection operation on an EPG, the digital broadcast reception in which the waiting time until video / audio is output after channel selection is reduced. Is to provide a system.

  As a result of diligent research in view of the above problem, the present inventor has placed the cursor on a program or channel in a channel different from the channel currently being viewed, not when the user decides to select a program or channel. Occasionally, by starting the channel selection operation of the cursor target channel in the channel selection unit, a time-consuming process such as acquisition of PSI / SI included in the broadcast signal is performed prior to the channel selection determination operation by the user. It has been conceived that it is possible to effectively reduce the waiting time until the video and audio can be viewed after the user performs the channel selection determination operation.

  More specifically, the present invention provides the following inventions.

(1) A digital broadcast receiving system having two or more channel selection units for acquiring a digital broadcast signal and selecting a channel, and a channel different from that currently being viewed during operation of one channel selection unit is selected as a channel selection candidate A digital broadcast receiving system that, when designated, starts a channel selection operation for a channel selected as a channel selection candidate by another channel selection unit.
(2) Two or more channel selection units that acquire a digital broadcast signal and select a channel, a program table generation unit that acquires a digital broadcast signal and generates an electronic program guide, and a channel selected by any one of the channel selection units A display unit for displaying the video and audio and the electronic program guide generated by the program guide generator,
Input means for receiving a user operation for the displayed electronic program guide,
When a channel different from the channel currently displayed on the display unit is designated as a channel selection candidate by the input means, the channel selection unit different from the channel selection unit that selects the channel currently displayed, A digital broadcast receiving system characterized by selecting a channel designated as a candidate.
(3) A digital broadcast receiving system having one channel selection unit that acquires a digital broadcast signal and selects a channel, and when a user operation that may change the channel selection is performed during the operation of the channel selection unit. Digital broadcast reception that stops the operation of the channel selection unit and starts the channel selection operation of the channel selected as the channel selection candidate by the channel selection unit when a channel different from the channel currently being viewed is designated as the channel selection candidate system.
(4) One channel selection unit that acquires a digital broadcast signal and selects a channel, a program table generation unit that acquires a digital broadcast signal and generates an electronic program guide, a video and audio of a channel selected by the channel selection unit, and A display unit that displays the electronic program guide generated by the program guide generation unit; and an input unit that accepts a user operation for the displayed electronic program guide. The input unit instructs the display of the electronic program guide. Then, the operation of the channel selection unit is stopped, and when a channel different from the channel currently displayed on the display unit is designated as a channel selection candidate by the input means, the channel selection unit designates the channel as the candidate. A digital broadcast receiving system, wherein the selected channel is selected.

  As described above, in the digital broadcast receiving system of the present invention, the channel selection operation is started in the background prior to the operation of the user determining the channel selection. The waiting time until it is effectively reduced.

  The best mode for carrying out the digital broadcast receiving system of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 8 are diagrams illustrating embodiments of the present invention. In these drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same components, and the basic configuration and operation are the same. To do.

[First embodiment]
A first embodiment of the digital broadcast receiving system of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a system configuration of a portion related to channel selection and EPG display in the digital broadcast receiving system of the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, a digital broadcast receiving system A includes a first receiving unit 1 and a second receiving unit 3 for receiving a digital broadcasting wave, and a digital broadcasting signal received by each of the first receiving unit 1 and the second receiving unit 3. First tuning unit 5 and second tuning unit 7 that perform tuning, demodulation, decoding, and the like, a program table generation unit 27 that generates EPG from a digital broadcast signal and outputs the EPG to the display unit 11, output of audio and video, and EPG A display unit 11 that performs display, a channel selection control unit 15 that controls operations of the first channel selection unit 5 and the second channel selection unit 7, and user input means 17 such as a remote controller and an operation panel are included.

  The first receiving unit 1 and the second receiving unit 3 receive digital broadcast waves by the antennas 21 and 23, convert them into electric signals, and output them to the first channel selection unit 5 and the second channel selection unit 7, respectively. The first channel selection unit 5 and the second channel selection unit 7 respectively extract the broadcast data of the channel to be selected from the digital broadcast signals input from the first reception unit 1 and the second reception unit 3, and obtain the video signal and the audio signal. Generate and output to the display unit 11. The program guide generation unit 27 acquires a digital broadcast signal from one of the first reception unit 1 and the second reception unit 3, generates EPG display data from program information included therein, and outputs the EPG display data to the display unit 11. To do. The user input unit 17 receives an operation input performed by the user using a cursor or the like on the EPG displayed on the display unit 11, and outputs the operation content to the channel selection control unit 15.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation flow when channel selection is performed on the EPG in the digital broadcast receiving system of the present embodiment. Here, in the digital broadcast receiving system, the operation when the user performs a channel selection operation by EPG from the state where the channel selected by the first channel selection unit is displayed on the display unit will be described as an example. In FIG. 2, the channel selected by the first channel selection unit is initially displayed on the display unit (step S201). At this time, when the user performs an EPG display operation by the user input means, the display unit displays the EPG generated by the program guide generation unit (step S202). The user can perform an operation of moving the cursor or selecting a program on the displayed EPG by the user input means. When the user moves the cursor to a program or channel on the EPG (step S203), the channel selection control unit determines whether the target channel to which the cursor is placed is the same as the channel currently being viewed (step S203). S204). When the cursor target is the same as the channel currently being viewed, no special processing is performed and operation input from the user is awaited.

  In step S204, if the target channel on which the user puts the cursor on the EPG is different from the channel currently being viewed, the channel selection control unit selects the channel of the cursor target for the second channel selection unit. A command is issued to start (step S205). At this time, data such as PSI / SI acquired by the second channel selection unit may be temporarily cached in a memory or the like (not shown). Thereafter, when the user performs a channel selection determination operation with the cursor placed on the target (step S206), the display unit starts from the channel selected by the first channel selection unit and is selected by the second channel selection unit. The channel is switched to the selected channel and displayed (step S207). In step S206, if the user does not perform the channel selection operation and performs an operation such as moving the cursor to another program or channel, the process returns to step S203, and the subsequent operations are repeated. .

  Thus, when the cursor is placed on a program or channel of a channel different from the channel currently being viewed, not when the user decides to select a program or channel, the second channel selection unit that is not currently used By starting the channel selection operation for the channel targeted by the cursor, processing that requires time such as acquisition of PSI / SI included in the broadcast signal may be performed prior to the channel selection determination operation by the user. Therefore, it is possible to effectively reduce the waiting time until the video and audio can be viewed after the user performs the channel selection determination operation. Since the preceding channel selection operation by the second channel selection unit is performed in the background, there is no inconvenience or trouble when the user operates the EPG.

  In the above description, an example is given in which the first channel selection unit is in operation and the second channel selection unit is in a standby state. However, even if these are reversed, they operate in exactly the same way. Therefore, when the EPG display is performed again after starting the display of the channel selected by the second channel selection unit in step S207 of FIG. 2, the first channel selection unit performs the preceding channel selection operation in the background. become.

  3 to 6 show examples of screens displayed by the display unit when the above series of operations are performed. As shown in FIG. 3, when the user performs an EPG display operation while viewing the program “Princess Cup 2005 Day 4,” an EPG is displayed as shown in FIG. 4 (superimposed on the program video). May be displayed). At this time, in the EPG, the cursor is placed in the column of “Princess Cup 2005 Day 4.” The user can move the cursor on any program or channel on this screen. As an example, if the cursor is placed on a program of a channel different from the currently viewed program “Studio Live 2005” as shown in FIG. 5, the one that is not operating among the first channel selection unit and the second channel selection unit. This program selection operation is performed in advance. When the user confirms the detailed program information displayed in the lower column of the EPG and performs an operation for determining the channel selection of the program, the display unit switches the channel selection unit and displays it. In this way, the viewing screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed without requiring a long waiting time.

[Second Embodiment]
A second embodiment of the digital broadcast receiving system of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing a system configuration of a part related to channel selection and EPG display in the digital broadcast receiving system of the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, a digital broadcast receiving system B includes a receiving unit 31 for receiving a digital broadcast wave, a tuning unit 33 that performs tuning, demodulation, decoding, and the like of a digital broadcast signal received by the receiving unit 31, and a digital broadcast signal. A program guide generating unit 35 that generates EPG from the video and outputs it to the display unit, a display unit 37 that outputs video and audio and displays EPG, a channel selection control unit 41 that controls the operation of the channel selection unit, a remote controller and an operation panel User input means 43 such as.

  The receiving unit 31 receives a digital broadcast wave with an antenna or the like, converts it into an electrical signal, and outputs it to the channel selection unit 33. The channel selection unit 33 extracts the broadcast data of the channel to be selected from the digital broadcast signal input from the reception unit 31, generates a video signal and an audio signal, and outputs them to the display unit. The program guide generation unit 35 acquires a digital broadcast signal from the reception unit 31, generates EPG display data from program information included therein, and outputs the EPG display data to the display unit 37. The user input unit 43 receives an operation input performed by the user using a cursor or the like on the EPG displayed on the display unit 37, and outputs the operation content to the channel selection control unit.

  In the digital broadcast receiving system B of this embodiment, the receiving unit and the channel selecting unit are not duplicated as in the digital broadcast receiving system of the first embodiment. The channel selection operation can be configured to start prior to the channel selection determination operation. The method will be described below.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation flow when channel selection is performed on the EPG in the digital broadcast receiving system of the present embodiment. In FIG. 8, at first, the channel selected by the channel selection unit is displayed on the display unit (step S801). At this time, when the user performs an EPG display operation by the user input means, the display unit displays the EPG generated by the program guide generation unit (step S802). With the display of the EPG, the channel selection unit stops the operation of channel selection and output that has been performed so far (step S803). The user can perform an operation of moving the cursor or selecting a program on the displayed EPG by the user input means. When the user moves the cursor to a program or channel on the EPG (step S804), the channel selection control unit determines whether or not the target channel to which the cursor is placed is the same as the channel currently being viewed (step S804). S805). When the cursor target is the same as the channel currently being viewed, no special processing is performed and operation input from the user is awaited.

  In step S805, if the target channel on which the user puts the cursor on the EPG is different from the channel currently being viewed, the channel selection control unit starts channel selection of the cursor target channel to the channel selection unit. An instruction is issued (step S806). At this time, data such as PSI / SI acquired by the channel selection unit may be temporarily cached in a memory or the like (not shown). Thereafter, when the user performs a channel selection determination operation with the cursor placed on the target (step S807), the channel selection unit outputs the video signal and audio signal of the currently selected channel to the display unit. Then, the display unit displays the video / audio of the channel (step S808). In step S807, when the user does not perform the channel selection determination operation and further performs an operation such as moving the cursor to another program or channel, the process returns to step S804 and the subsequent operations are repeated. .

  As described above, even in a digital broadcast receiving system having only a single receiving unit and a channel selection unit, the operation of the channel selection unit is stopped along with the EPG display, and the channel selection unit in the standby state causes the background in the background. By configuring to perform the pre-selection operation, it is possible to effectively reduce the waiting time until the video / audio can be viewed after the user performs the channel selection determination operation in substantially the same manner as in the first embodiment. be able to. Note that after the EPG is displayed, the operation of the channel selection unit is stopped, so that the display of video and audio on the display unit is also stopped. However, since the user only needs to be able to use the EPG, the user's convenience is impaired. There is no.

  As mentioned above, although the specific embodiment was shown and demonstrated about the digital broadcast receiving system of this invention, this invention is not limited to these. A person skilled in the art can make various changes and improvements to the configurations and functions of the invention according to the above-described embodiments or other embodiments without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  The present invention can be used in a digital broadcast receiving system.

It is a figure which shows roughly the system configuration | structure of the part in connection with channel selection and EPG display in the digital broadcast receiving system of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement at the time of channel selection on EPG in the digital broadcast receiving system of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the viewing-and-listening screen displayed by a display part. It is a figure which shows the example of the EPG display screen displayed by a display part. It is a figure which shows the example of the EPG display screen displayed by a display part. It is a figure which shows the example of the viewing-and-listening screen displayed by a display part. It is a figure which shows schematically the system configuration | structure of the part in connection with channel selection and EPG display in the digital broadcast receiving system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement at the time of performing channel selection on EPG in the digital broadcast receiving system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement when a user selects a channel on EPG in a general digital broadcast receiver.

Explanation of symbols

A ... Digital broadcast receiving system, 1 ... first receiving unit, 3 ... second receiving unit, 5 ... first channel selecting unit, 7 ... second channel selecting unit, 11 ... display unit, 15 ... channel selection control unit, 17 ... user Input means, 21, 23... Antenna, 27.

Claims (4)

A digital broadcast receiving system having two or more channel selection units for acquiring a digital broadcast signal and selecting a channel,
When a channel different from that currently being viewed is designated as a channel selection candidate during the operation of one channel selection unit, the digital broadcast receiving system starts channel selection operation of the channel selected as the channel selection candidate by another channel selection unit . Two or more tuning units that acquire digital broadcast signals and select a channel;
A program guide generator for acquiring a digital broadcast signal and generating an electronic program guide;
A display unit that displays the video and audio of the channel selected by the channel selection unit and the electronic program guide generated by the program guide generation unit;
Input means for receiving a user operation for the displayed electronic program guide,
When a channel different from the channel currently displayed on the display unit is designated as a channel selection candidate by the input means, the channel selection unit different from the channel selection unit that selects the channel currently displayed, A digital broadcast receiving system characterized by selecting a channel designated as a candidate. A digital broadcast receiving system having a channel selection unit for acquiring a digital broadcast signal and selecting a channel,
When a user operation that may change the channel selection is performed during the operation of the channel selection unit, the operation of the channel selection unit is stopped, and when a channel different from that currently being viewed is designated as a channel selection candidate, A digital broadcast receiving system that starts a channel selection operation for a channel selected as a channel selection candidate by the channel selection unit. 1 channel selection unit that acquires digital broadcast signals and selects channels;
A program guide generator for acquiring a digital broadcast signal and generating an electronic program guide;
A display unit for displaying the video and audio of the channel selected by the channel selection unit and the electronic program guide generated by the program guide generation unit;
Input means for receiving a user operation for the displayed electronic program guide,
When the display of the electronic program guide is instructed by the input means, the operation of the tuning unit is stopped,
When a channel different from the channel currently displayed on the display unit is designated as a channel selection candidate by the input means, the channel designated as the candidate is selected by the channel selection unit. Digital broadcast receiving system.

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