JP2008028625A - Television receiving system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a television receiving system capable of automatically recording a television broadcast when a user is unable to view the viewing-reserved television broadcast at the starting time of the television broadcast. <P>SOLUTION: The television receiving system is characterized in that when the reserved television broadcast is displayed on a television receiver, it is decided whether the user can view the television broadcast (S25 to S28) and when it is decided that the user can not view the television broadcast (Yes side in S27), a video recorder is made to automatically record the television broadcast. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a viewing reservation function for reserving a television broadcast to be viewed on a television receiver.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a viewing reservation function that can reserve a television broadcast to be viewed on a television receiver (hereinafter abbreviated as “TV”) that receives and displays the television broadcast.
In this viewing reservation function, when the broadcast time of the reserved television broadcast comes, the reserved television broadcast is automatically displayed on the television. In this way, the user can prevent the television broadcast from being overlooked by using the viewing reservation function.
On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses a program reserved recording device that notifies a user of a fact that recording of a preset interest program is not reserved in order to prevent the user from overlooking the favorite program. Yes.
JP 2001-275067 A

However, even if the viewing reservation function is used to reserve viewing of a television broadcast, the user may not always be able to view the television during the viewing time of the television broadcast. For example, if the user leaves the television for reasons such as going out after making a viewing reservation, the user can view it even if a television broadcast is displayed at the viewing time by the viewing reservation function. After all, there is a problem that the television broadcast is missed.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is automatically when the user cannot view the television broadcast at the start time of the television broadcast reserved for viewing. An object of the present invention is to provide a television receiving system capable of recording the television broadcast.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a television receiver that receives and displays various television broadcasts, a recording device that records the television broadcasts, and the television that is viewed by the television receiver. The present invention is applied to a television receiving system comprising: a viewing reservation function for reserving broadcasts; and a reservation viewing execution function for displaying the television broadcast reserved by the viewing reservation function on the television receiver. Whether or not the user can view the television broadcast when the television broadcast reserved by the viewing reservation function is displayed on the television receiver by the reserved viewing execution function. A viewability determination function for determining whether or not the television broadcast can be viewed by the user. When the Most is determined, constructed as a television system characterized in that it comprises an automatic recording function for automatically recording the television broadcast in the recording apparatus.
As a result, even if the user cannot view the television broadcast at the start of the reserved television broadcast, the user can view the automatically recorded television broadcast later. , It is possible to prevent the television broadcast reserved for viewing from being overlooked.
In addition, the recording of the television broadcast may be performed on various storage media such as a video tape and a DVD. In this case, the previous recording on the storage media set by chance is used. There is a risk that the television broadcast is automatically overwritten on the data. Therefore, it is desirable that a hard disk for recording the television broadcast is provided, and the recording device records the television broadcast on the hard disk.

By the way, the viewability determination function is provided with user detection means such as an infrared sensor for detecting whether or not a user is present in the vicinity of the television receiver, for example, according to the detection result by the user detection means. Thus, it may be determined whether or not the user can view the television broadcast. In addition, a display for confirming whether the user is viewing or not is performed, and after the display is performed, a determination may be made depending on whether or not a response is made to a predetermined operation means such as a remote controller. .
Further, when the user is not in a viewable state, the television broadcast is automatically recorded, so that it is not necessary to display the television broadcast. Therefore, when it is determined by the viewing availability determination function that the user is not in a viewable state, it is desirable to shift the television receiver to a mode in which at least the television broadcast is not displayed. As a result, it is possible to eliminate unnecessary television broadcast display and reduce the power consumption of the television receiver.

However, not all users want the automatic recording function. Therefore, it is desirable that the automatic recording function can be set to either valid or invalid in advance.
For example, if the automatic recording function for the television broadcast can be set to either valid or invalid at the time of reservation for viewing the television broadcast by the viewing reservation function, only the television broadcast that the user thinks is necessary. The automatic recording function can be validated for.

  According to the present invention, since the television broadcast is automatically recorded when the user is not ready to view the reserved television broadcast at the start of the viewing of the reserved television broadcast, the user later records the television broadcast. The broadcasted television broadcast can be viewed, and the television broadcast reserved for viewing can be prevented from being overlooked.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the present invention can be understood. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a television receiver system X according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 explains an example of a procedure of a viewing reservation process executed in the television receiver system X. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the procedure of the reserved viewing execution process executed in the television image receiving system X.
First, a schematic configuration of a television receiver system X (hereinafter abbreviated as “system X”) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the system X is connected to a television receiver 1 (hereinafter abbreviated as “TV 1”) that receives and displays a television broadcast, and is communicably connected to the television receiver 1. , And a hard disk recorder 2 (hereinafter abbreviated as “recorder 2”) for recording the television broadcast on a hard disk 23 provided therein. The recorder 2 is merely an example of a recording apparatus according to the present invention, and a DVD recorder, a video tape recorder, or the like also corresponds.

The recorder 2 has a CPU, a RAM, and the like, and an operation unit including a microcomputer 21 that controls the recorder 2 in an integrated manner, a remote controller for performing various operation inputs to the microcomputer 21, a main body switch, and the like. 22, a hard disk 23 in which various videos are stored, a video processing circuit 24 that performs various video processing on the input video and outputs the video, and a communication method compliant with the HDMI standard to communicate with the television 1. And an input / output interface 25 (hereinafter referred to as “I / F 25”). In the recorder 2, when the control signal is transmitted from the television 1 to the microcomputer 21 via the I / F 25, the microcomputer 21 executes processing according to the control signal. For example, when a control signal for instructing recording of the television broadcast is transmitted, the microcomputer 21 records the television broadcast input from the television 1 via the I / F 25 on the hard disk 23. Execute the process for
The recorder 2 includes other components included in a normal hard disk recorder in addition to those shown in FIG. The recorder 2 is configured to receive the television broadcast from the television 1 via the I / F 25. The recorder 2 is provided with a tuner for receiving the television broadcast. May be.

The television 1 includes a CPU 11, a RAM, and the like, and a microcomputer 11 that comprehensively controls the television 1, and an operation unit 12 that includes a remote controller and a main body switch for performing various operation inputs to the microcomputer 11. , A tuner 13 for receiving various television broadcasts such as terrestrial broadcast signals, BS satellite broadcast signals, and CATV broadcast signals, and an input / output interface for communicating with the recorder 2 in accordance with a communication system compliant with the HDMI standard 14 (hereinafter referred to as “I / F 14”), a video processing circuit 15 that performs various video processing on the input video and outputs it, a liquid crystal panel that displays the video output from the video processing circuit 15, and a television And a display unit 16 composed of a speaker or the like for outputting the sound of John broadcast. The television 1 includes other components included in a normal television receiver in addition to those shown in FIG. 1, but the description thereof is omitted here.
The microcomputer 11 of the television 1 transmits a control signal to the recorder 2 to cause the recorder 2 to execute various processes such as recording of a television broadcast.
In addition, the television 1 sets a television broadcast program to be viewed in advance, so that the program is automatically displayed during the broadcast time of the television broadcast program, and the viewing reservation function allows viewing. And an automatic recording function for automatically recording the program on the recorder 2 when the user is not viewing the reserved program. These functions are realized by the microcomputer 11 executing a viewing reservation process (see the flowchart in FIG. 2) and a reservation viewing execution process (see the flowchart in FIG. 2) described later according to a predetermined control program. Here, the microcomputer 11 when executing the viewing reservation process corresponds to viewing reservation means, and the microcomputer 11 when executing the reservation viewing execution process corresponds to reservation viewing execution means. The microcomputer 11 when implementing the automatic recording function corresponds to an automatic recording means. Hereinafter, the viewing reservation process (see the flowchart in FIG. 2) and the reserved viewing execution process (see the flowchart in FIG. 2) will be described in detail.

First, an example of the viewing reservation process executed by the microcomputer 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the figure, S1, S2,... Represent processing procedure (step) numbers.
In step S <b> 1, the microcomputer 11 determines whether or not a request for starting viewing reservation has been performed on the operation unit 12. The determination in step S1 is repeated until it is determined that the requested operation has been performed (No side of S1). If it is determined that the requested operation has been performed (Yes side of S1), the process is as follows. The process proceeds to step S2.
In step S2, a setting process for reserving a television broadcast to be viewed is performed by the microcomputer 11 in accordance with an operation input to the operation unit 12 by the user. Specifically, the channel and broadcast time of a television broadcast program to be reserved for viewing are set. Hereinafter, the reserved television broadcast is referred to as a viewing reservation television broadcast.

Subsequently, in step S3, the microcomputer 11 displays on the display unit 16 a display for allowing the user to select whether to enable / disable the automatic recording function for the viewing reservation television broadcast.
In step S4, the microcomputer 11 determines whether the automatic recording function is enabled or disabled for the operation unit 12. If it is determined that an operation input for enabling the automatic recording function is performed, the process proceeds to step S41, and if it is determined that an operation input for disabling is performed. The process proceeds to step S5.
In step S5, the microcomputer 11 disables the automatic recording function. In subsequent step S6, the microcomputer 11 displays, for example, “viewing reservation completion, automatic recording function OFF” on the display unit 16. The viewing reservation process ends.

On the other hand, in step S41 executed when an operation input for enabling the automatic recording function is performed, for example, “capacity check is started” is displayed on the display unit 16 by the microcomputer 11. .
In the subsequent step S42, the microcomputer 11 determines whether or not there is a free space in the hard disk 23 of the recorder 2. Specifically, the microcomputer 21 of the recorder 2 is inquired of the free space of the hard disk 23 via the I / F 14 and I / F 25 and is determined based on a response signal transmitted from the microcomputer 21. The determination of the presence or absence of the free space may be, for example, determining whether or not the free space of the hard disk 23 is greater than or equal to the space necessary for recording all of the viewing reservation television broadcasts. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not the capacity is more than necessary for recording for a predetermined time or more, and the present invention is not limited thereto.
If it is determined that there is no free space in the hard disk 23, the process proceeds to step S43. If it is determined that there is free space, the process proceeds to step S45.
In step S45, the microcomputer 11 enables the automatic registration function, and in the subsequent step S6, the microcomputer 11 displays, for example, “viewing reservation complete, automatic recording function ON” on the display unit 16. The viewing reservation process ends.

On the other hand, in step S43, which is executed when it is determined that there is no free space in the hard disk 23, for example, “the free space on the hard disk is low, will the data be erased” or the like by the microcomputer 11. Is displayed on the display unit 16.
In step S44, the microcomputer 11 determines whether the data in the hard disk 23 has been erased. If it is determined that the data in the hard disk 23 has been erased, the process proceeds to step S41 to confirm the free space in the hard disk 23 again, but the data has not been erased. In this case, the process proceeds to step S5, and the automatic recording function is set to be invalid.
Thus, in the television receiving system X, the automatic recording function can be set to be valid / invalid at the time of reservation for viewing each television broadcast. Only when the user thinks it is necessary, by enabling the automatic recording function, useless recording and useless operation of the recorder 2 can be prevented. Here, the microcomputer 11 when executing the setting process of the presence / absence of the automatic recording function corresponds to the automatic recording presence / absence setting means.

Next, an example of the procedure of the automatic recording process executed by the microcomputer 11 will be described according to the flowchart of FIG. In the figure, S21, S22,... Represent processing procedure (step) numbers.
First, in step S21, the microcomputer 11 determines whether or not the broadcast time of the viewing reservation television broadcast has come. The determination in step S21 is repeatedly executed until it is determined that the broadcast time of the viewing reservation television broadcast has arrived (No side of S21), and when it is determined that the broadcast time has arrived (in S21) (Yes side), the process proceeds to step S22.
In step S22, the microcomputer 11 determines whether the automatic recording function for the viewing reservation television broadcast is set to valid or invalid.

First, the reservation viewing execution process executed when the automatic recording function is set to be effective will be described. In this case, the process proceeds to step S23.
In step S23, the microcomputer 11 transmits a control signal for recording the viewing reservation television broadcast to the microcomputer 21 of the recorder 2 via the I / F 14 and the I / F 25. Thereby, in the recorder 2, recording of the television broadcast is started by the microcomputer 21 according to the control signal.
In step S24, the microcomputer 11 switches the television broadcast to be displayed on the display unit 16 of the television 1 to the viewing reservation television broadcast. At this time, when the television 1 is in a so-called standby mode in which the television broadcast is not displayed, the television 1 is shifted from the standby mode to a normal operation mode in which the television broadcast can be displayed. Thereafter, the television broadcast displayed on the display unit 16 is switched.

Thereafter, in step S25, the microcomputer 11 displays a display for confirming to the user whether or not the viewing-reserved television broadcast is being viewed, for example, “Do you view the television broadcast?” In step S26, which is displayed on the display unit 16, the timing after the start of the viewing reservation television broadcast is started. Here, the microcomputer 11 for performing the display corresponds to viewing / listening confirmation display means.
In step S27, the microcomputer 11 determines whether or not the time measured in step S26 has passed 5 minutes. Here, if it is determined that the measured time has not passed 5 minutes, the process proceeds to step S28. If it is determined that the time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S271.

When the process proceeds to step S271, since the user is not ready to view the viewing reservation television broadcast, the microcomputer continues to record the viewing reservation television broadcast started in step S23. 11, after the operation mode of the television 1 is shifted to a standby mode in which at least the television broadcast is not displayed, the reservation viewing execution process is ended. Thereby, useless power consumption for displaying the viewing-reserved television broadcast on the television 1 can be reduced. Here, the microcomputer 11 when executing the mode transition processing corresponds to the mode transition means.
Note that the recording of the viewing reservation television broadcast ends at the end time of the viewing reservation television broadcast.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step S28, the microcomputer 11 determines in step S28 whether or not a confirmation button or the like provided on the operation unit 12 has been operated as a response to the display in step S25. The Thereby, it is determined whether or not the user is present at a position where the user can view the television 1.
If it is determined that the operation unit 12 has been operated (Yes in S28), the process proceeds to step S29, while it is determined that no operation has been performed (in S28). No), the process proceeds to step S27.
Here, by executing the processing of steps S25 to S28, the microcomputer 11 for determining whether or not the user can view the viewing-reserved television broadcast corresponds to viewing / non-viewing determination means. Further, the processing in steps S25 to S28 may be performed before the start of the viewing reservation television broadcast. Whether or not there is a user in the vicinity of the television 1 by an infrared sensor (an example of user detection means) (not shown) provided in the television 1 instead of the processing of the steps S25 to S28. In another embodiment, it is also possible to detect whether or not the user can view the viewing-reserved television broadcast according to the detection result.

In step S29, the microcomputer 11 determines whether the automatic recording setting is valid or invalid. If it is determined that the automatic recording setting is valid, the process proceeds to step S30. If it is determined that the automatic recording setting is invalid, the process proceeds to step S271.
When the process proceeds to step S30, since the automatic recording setting is valid, the viewing reservation television broadcast is recorded, but since the user can view the viewing reservation television broadcast, Recording of a viewing reservation television broadcast is not always necessary. Therefore, in the step S30, a display for inquiring of the user whether or not to continue recording of the viewing reservation television broadcast, for example, “Do you want to continue recording?” Is displayed by the microcomputer 11 on the display unit. 16 is displayed.

In step S31, the microcomputer 11 determines whether the user has performed an operation on the operation unit 12 to select whether to continue / stop recording of the viewing reservation television broadcast. Here, if it is determined that the user has selected to continue recording of the viewing reservation television broadcast (Yes in S31), the step S271 is performed while the recording of the viewing reservation television broadcast is continued. Then, the reservation viewing execution process is terminated.
On the other hand, if it is determined by the user that the recording of the viewing reservation television broadcast has been selected (No in S31), the process proceeds to step S32.

In step S32, the microcomputer 11 transmits a control signal for stopping recording of the viewing reservation television broadcast to the recorder 2. Thereafter, the reserved viewing execution process is terminated via step S271.
In the recorder 2 that has received the control signal for stopping the recording of the viewing reservation television broadcast in the step S32, the recording of the viewing reservation television broadcast is stopped and recorded on the hard disk 23 of the recorder 2. Minutes of the viewing reservation television broadcast data are deleted. Therefore, useless data is not accumulated in the recorder 2.

  As described above, in the reserved viewing execution process, when the automatic recording function for the television broadcast reserved in the viewing reservation process is set to be valid, the user performs the viewing reserved television broadcast. It is determined whether or not it is in a viewable state. When the viewing reservation television broadcast is automatically recorded when it is not in a viewable state, the user can later view the recorded viewing reservation television broadcast. It is possible to watch and prevent the viewing reservation television broadcast from being overlooked.

  Next, the reservation viewing execution process that is executed when the automatic recording function is disabled will be described. In this case, the process proceeds to step 24 without going through step S23, that is, without starting recording of the viewing reservation television broadcast. In step S24, when the television 11 displayed on the display unit 16 of the television 1 is switched to the viewing reservation television broadcast by the microcomputer 11, the automatic recording function is set to be effective thereafter. The process proceeds as in the case. However, in this case, since it is determined in step S29 that the automatic recording setting is invalid, the process proceeds to step S271.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a television image receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart for demonstrating an example of the procedure of the viewing reservation process performed in the television receiving system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart for demonstrating an example of the procedure of the reservation viewing execution process performed in the television receiving system which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Television receiver 11 ... Microcomputer 12 ... Operation part 13 ... Tuner 14 ... Input / output interface 15 ... Video processing circuit 16 ... Display part 2 ... Hard disk recorder 21 ... Microcomputer 22 ... Operation part 23 ... Hard disk 24 ... Video processing circuit 25 ... I / O interfaces S1, S2, ..., ... Procedure (step) numbers

Claims (7)

A television receiver for receiving and displaying various television broadcasts, a recording device for recording the television broadcast, a viewing reservation means for reserving the television broadcast to be viewed on the television receiver, and the viewing A television viewing system comprising: reservation viewing execution means for causing the television receiver to display the television broadcast reserved by the reservation means,
When the television broadcast reserved by the viewing reservation unit is displayed on the television receiver by the reserved viewing execution unit, it is determined whether or not the user is in a state where the user can view the television broadcast. Viewing availability determination means;
Automatic recording means for automatically recording the television broadcast on the recording device when it is determined by the viewing availability determination means that the user is not in a state where the television broadcast can be viewed;
A television receiver system comprising: A hard disk for storing the television broadcast;
The television receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the recording device records the television broadcast on the hard disk.   The viewing permission / non-permission determining means includes user detection means for detecting whether or not a user exists in the vicinity of the television receiver, and the user can detect the television broadcast according to a detection result by the user detection means. 3. The television receiving system according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not an image can be viewed. 3.   The viewing permission / non-permission determining unit includes a viewing presence / absence confirmation display unit that performs a display for confirming whether or not the user is viewing or not. After the display is performed by the viewing presence / absence confirmation display unit, a predetermined operation unit includes The television receiving system according to claim 1, wherein a user determines whether or not the user can view the television broadcast depending on whether or not a response is made.   Mode transition means for causing the television receiver to shift to a mode in which at least the television broadcast is not displayed when it is determined by the viewing availability determination means that the user is not in a state in which the television broadcast can be viewed; A television image receiving system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   6. The television image receiving system according to claim 1, further comprising automatic recording presence / absence setting means for setting in advance whether the function of the automatic recording means is valid or invalid.   The automatic recording presence / absence setting means sets the function of the automatic recording means for the television broadcast to either valid or invalid when the viewing reservation means reserves the viewing of the television broadcast. 6. The television receiving system according to 6.

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