JP2008306301A - Reception device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reception device that displays a program guide picture at the end of a program such that a user requires display of program information most and during CM broadcasting right before the end of the program, so as to prevent an image of the program body being displayed from being hidden, and can minimize the display of the program guide picture in the CM broadcasting. <P>SOLUTION: A CPU 7 acquires the end time of a program being currently viewed from received program information. Based upon the clocking result of a timer unit 15, the CPU 7 decides whether the current time is a predetermined time before the end time. When deciding that the current time is the predetermined time before the end time, the CPU 7 displays an EPG picture (program guide picture) on a display unit 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus that displays a program guide screen based on received program information on a display unit.

  Technological development has brought convenience to people's lives. As one example, there is a function called an EPG (Electric Program Guide) or an electronic program guide, which is installed in a television signal receiving apparatus such as a commercially available television receiver in recent years.

  The EPG function is based on EPG information included in a broadcast wave, and a program guide screen including program information for each channel such as a newspaper TV program guide is displayed on a television receiver. The user can directly select a program to be viewed from the program guide screen without separately viewing a TV program guide of newspapers or magazines.

  As a result, various techniques have also been proposed in view of convenience in use for displaying an electronic program guide. For example, in Patent Document 1, the program information is displayed in the minimum necessary area without reducing the image of the displayed program and hiding the displayed image of the program as much as possible. A digital broadcast receiving system has been proposed in which, even when program information is displayed, the appreciation of the displayed program image is not impaired as much as possible.

  In Patent Document 2, the movement of the video signal on the display screen on which the on-screen display information is displayed or the display position of the on-screen display information is detected. By changing the state, a user has proposed an information display device that allows a user to view a moving image without being disturbed.

Further, Patent Document 3 includes a detection unit that detects a commercial message (hereinafter referred to as CM), displays program information based on EPG information recorded in a memory during CM broadcasting, and displays the program information when CM broadcasting ends. We have proposed a TV broadcast receiver that displays the original screen with the screen turned off.
JP 2003-306695 A JP-A-2005-242204 JP 2002-57956 A

  However, in the case of the digital broadcast receiving system of Patent Document 1 and the information display device of Patent Document 2, the display area of the program information is set to the minimum necessary size so that the image of the program being displayed is covered and hidden. Although it can be prevented as much as possible, in any case, it is inevitable that a part of the image of the program being displayed is hidden.

  Further, in the case of the television broadcast receiver of Patent Document 3, it is possible to prevent the image of the program being displayed from being hidden, but since the program information is displayed every time the CM is broadcast, the user may feel annoying. There is. In addition, some users prefer to view commercials on their own, and display of program information during commercial broadcasts may give an unpleasant feeling to such users.

  However, according to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation broadcasting standard, the program broadcast consists of an opening, main part, and ending, and CM is broadcasted between the opening and main part, in the middle of the main part, and between the main part and the ending. . On the other hand, the timing when the display of the program guide screen is most necessary for the user is at the end of the program. In the display of the program guide screen based on the EPG information, the ending time is displayed as the program end time.

  The present inventor made the present invention paying attention to such matters. An object of the present invention is to display a program guide screen on the display unit prior to the end of the program when a program is displayed on the display unit, so that the user most needs to display the program guide screen. When the program ends, the program guide screen is displayed during the CM broadcast immediately before the end of the program, so that the image of the main program being displayed is prevented from being hidden and the display of the program guide screen during the CM broadcast is minimized. It is an object of the present invention to provide a receiving apparatus that can be suppressed to a low level.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a receiving means for accepting the setting of the predetermined time, thereby enabling the user to set the predetermined period as necessary and changing the predetermined time. To provide a receiving apparatus.

  The receiving device according to the present invention, in a receiving device for displaying a program guide screen based on received program information on a display unit, an acquisition means for acquiring an end time of a program being displayed on the display unit from the program information; Determination means for determining whether the current time is a predetermined time before the end time, and an instruction means for instructing display of the program guide screen when the determination means determines that the predetermined time is before the end time It is characterized by providing.

  In the present invention, the acquisition means acquires the end time of the currently viewed program from the program information. The determination means determines whether or not a predetermined time before the end time acquired by the acquisition means, and if the determination means determines that the predetermined time before the end time, the program guide to the display unit Display the screen. The user uses the program guide screen to select a new program.

  The receiving device according to the present invention acquires a program end time of a program being displayed on the display unit from the program information in a receiving device that displays a program guide screen based on the received program information on an internal or external display unit. An acquisition unit, a determination unit that determines whether the current time is a predetermined time before the acquired end time, and a determination unit that determines whether the predetermined time is a predetermined time before the end time, It is characterized by comprising detection means for starting detection of commercial broadcast and instruction means for instructing display of the program guide screen when the detection means detects commercial broadcast.

  In the present invention, the acquisition means acquires the end time of the currently viewed program from the program information. The determination means determines whether or not a predetermined time before the end time acquired by the acquisition means, and when the determination means determines that the predetermined time is before the end time, the detection means Start detecting. When the detection means detects commercial broadcast, the program guide screen is displayed on the display unit. The user uses the program guide screen to select a new program.

  The receiving apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising receiving means for receiving the setting of the predetermined time.

  In the present invention, the accepting unit accepts the setting of the predetermined time by a user operation. The user changes the setting of the predetermined time as necessary.

  According to the present invention, since the program guide screen is displayed during the CM broadcast immediately before the end of the program when the user most needs to display the program guide screen, the image of the main program being displayed is displayed. It can be prevented from being hidden by the display of the program guide screen, and the display of the program guide screen during the CM broadcast can be minimized.

  According to the present invention, the user can change the setting of the predetermined time as necessary.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, the receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described using a digital broadcast receiving apparatus as an example.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 1 includes an antenna 1 that receives a digital broadcast signal, and the antenna 1 outputs the received digital broadcast signal to the digital tuner unit 2A.

  The digital tuner unit 2A includes a demodulation circuit, a deinterleave circuit, an error correction circuit, and the like, demodulates the selected digital modulation signal, and outputs a transport stream to a DEMUX (demultiplexer) 3.

  The DEMUX 3 separates the transport stream output from the digital tuner unit 2A into an MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts Group 2) video stream, an audio stream, and PSI / SI (Program Specific Information / Service Information). Further, the DEMUX 3 outputs a video stream and an audio stream to the digital broadcast signal processing unit 4 and sends EPG data included in the PSI / SI to the CPU 7. A plurality of channels are multiplexed in the transport stream. However, it is possible to extract from the PSI / SI data relating to which packet ID is multiplexed in any channel in the transport stream. Therefore, an arbitrary channel can be selected from the plurality of channels.

  The digital broadcast signal processing unit 4 includes a video decoder that decodes the video stream and generates image data, and an audio decoder that decodes the audio stream and generates audio data. The image data and audio data generated by the decoding are D / A converted into an image signal / audio signal and output to the output processing unit 5.

  The output processing unit 5 amplifies the luminance signal and the color signal in the image signal output from the digital broadcast signal processing unit 4 to a size necessary for driving the display unit 8, such as a liquid crystal panel and a CRT. Output to the display unit 8. The output processing unit 5 amplifies the audio signal output from the digital broadcast signal processing unit 4 and outputs the amplified audio signal to the speaker 9. Further, the output processing unit 5 performs processing for incorporating an OSD signal output from an OSD (on-screen display) circuit 6 described later into the image signal.

  The OSD circuit 6 processes image data based on character information and color information based on an instruction from the CPU 7 and outputs the processed image data to the output processing unit 5 as an OSD signal. The OSD circuit 6 can display an EPG screen (program guide screen), a menu screen, a message, various setting screens, and the like.

  For example, EPG data, various setting information, and the like are stored in the storage unit 11 such as a RAM, an EEPROM, or a flash memory.

  The CPU 7 instructs the digital tuner unit 2A to select a channel, stores the EPG data sent from the DEMUX 3 in the storage unit 11, acquires the end time of a predetermined program from the EPG data, and is a predetermined time before the end time. Then, processing such as instructing the OSD circuit 6 to display the EPG screen is performed.

  The predetermined time is set as a default from the time of shipment from the factory, but it is also possible for the user to set the predetermined time using the receiving unit 10 described later. In this case, in consideration of the display time of the CM sandwiched between the main part and the ending of one program, it is preferably within a range of 30 seconds to 5 minutes.

  In addition, a reception unit (reception unit) 10 such as a remote controller and a timer unit 15 are provided. By operating the reception unit 10, the user can select a program to be viewed, set the predetermined time, and the like. .

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of the CPU 7 in displaying the EPG screen of the receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that EPG data extracted from the received digital broadcast signal and transmitted from the DEMUX 3 is already stored in the storage unit 11.

  When the user operates the receiving unit 10 to select a channel to be viewed, a channel selection instruction is acquired (S101). In response to the channel selection instruction, the CPU 7 instructs the digital tuner unit 2A to select a selected channel (hereinafter referred to as a selected channel) (S102). The digital tuner unit 2A selects a selected channel in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 7, and an image and sound of the selected selected channel are output to the display unit 8 and the speaker 9, respectively.

  Next, the CPU 7 acquires the end time of the program output to the display unit 8 and the speaker 9 from the EPG data stored in the storage unit 11 (S103) and stores it in the storage unit 11. The CPU 7 instructs the time measuring unit 15 to measure time (S104). Thereafter, the CPU 7 determines whether the current time is a predetermined time before the acquired end time based on the time measurement result of the time measuring unit 15 (S105).

  If the CPU 7 determines that the current time is not a predetermined time before the acquired end time (S105: NO), the CPU 7 waits for the predetermined time before the acquired end time. On the other hand, when the CPU 7 determines that the current time is a predetermined time before the acquired end time (S105: YES), the CPU 7 instructs the OSD circuit 6 to display the EPG screen (S106). In response to an instruction from the CPU 7, the OSD circuit 6 displays an EPG screen based on the EPG data stored in the storage unit 11 on the display unit 8.

  Since the end time of the program acquired from the EPG data indicates the ending time of the program, when the predetermined time is set in the range of 30 seconds to 5 minutes, the display of the EPG screen displays the main part and the ending of the program. It is performed during the CM display during Therefore, the image of the program being viewed is not hidden by the display of the EPG screen. When the user operates the receiving unit 10 to set the predetermined time within a range of 30 seconds to 5 minutes, the user checks the displayed EPG screen and selects a new program, It will be possible to ensure sufficient time to complete before the start of.

  With reference to the EPG screen displayed on the display unit 8, the user confirms the subsequent program of the same channel and the program of the other channel, and operates the reception unit 10 to select a new program.

  Next, the CPU determines whether a channel selection instruction has been acquired (S107). When it is determined that the channel selection instruction has not been acquired (S107: NO), the CPU 7 waits until the channel selection instruction is acquired. On the other hand, when it is determined that the channel selection instruction has been acquired (S107: YES), the CPU 7 instructs the digital tuner unit 2A to select the channel to be selected (S108), and ends the display of the EPG screen. The digital tuner unit 2A selects a selected channel in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 7, and an image and sound of the selected selected channel are output to the display unit 8 and the speaker 9, respectively.

  In the first embodiment, the process of waiting until receiving a channel selection instruction from the user after displaying the EPG screen in S107 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the EPG screen is displayed and the channel selection instruction from the user is not accepted until a certain time has elapsed, the display of the EPG screen may be terminated and the image of the channel being viewed may be displayed. .

  In Embodiment 1, the receiving apparatus according to the present invention has been described by taking a digital broadcast receiving apparatus as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an analog broadcast receiving apparatus may be used. In the analog broadcast receiving apparatus, EPG data can be acquired by providing an EPG decoder, and the end time of the program can be acquired from the EPG data and the EPG screen can be displayed. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to a receiver compatible with simulcast.

(Embodiment 2)
Hereinafter, a receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described using an analog broadcast receiving apparatus as an example.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 2 includes an antenna 1 that receives an analog broadcast signal, and the antenna 1 outputs the received analog broadcast signal to the analog tuner unit 2B.

  The analog tuner unit 2B is a first-stage amplifier that amplifies the received RF signal, an AGC amplifier that makes the gain variable by an external control voltage, and a difference frequency between the local frequency generated by the voltage controlled oscillator and the received RF (high frequency signal) signal. A mixer for generating a certain intermediate frequency (IF) signal, an intermediate frequency amplifier, and the like are provided. The RF from the antenna 1 is selected, converted into an intermediate frequency, and output to the image / audio IF circuit 13.

  The image / audio IF circuit 13 includes various trap circuits, amplifies a frequency in a necessary band from the intermediate frequency signal output from the analog tuner unit 2B with high gain, and outputs the amplified signal to the detection circuit 14. The detection circuit 14 detects the amplified image signal of the intermediate frequency to extract a color television signal (luminance signal, color signal, synchronization signal), detects the audio signal of the intermediate frequency, and sends it to the output processing unit 5 and the CPU 7. .

  Further, the receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment includes an EPG decoder 12, and the EPG decoder 12 includes EPG data (broadcast station name, program name, program name) inserted as digital data in the composite image signal obtained by demodulation. The program start / end time and the like are extracted and sent to the CPU 7.

  The output processing unit 5 amplifies the luminance signal in the color television signal output from the detection circuit 14 to a size necessary for driving the display unit 8 or generates a color subcarrier, and uses this. Processing such as demodulating the color difference signal from the carrier color signal is performed, and the processed signal is output to the display unit 8. In addition, the audio signal output from the detection circuit 14 is amplified and output to the speaker 9. Further, the output processing unit 5 performs processing for incorporating the OSD signal output from the OSD circuit 6 into the image signal.

  The OSD circuit 6 processes image data based on character information and color information in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 7 and outputs the processed image data to the output processing unit 5 as an OSD signal. The OSD circuit 6 can display an EPG screen (program guide screen), a menu screen, a message, various setting screens, and the like.

  The CPU 7 instructs the analog tuner unit 2B to select a channel, instructs the OSD circuit 6 to display an EPG screen, stores the EPG data sent from the EPG decoder 12 in the storage unit 11, and stores a predetermined program from the EPG data. Is acquired, and a process such as detecting a CM from a predetermined time before the end time is performed.

  The receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 2 further includes a storage unit 11, a receiving unit 10, and a time measuring unit 15.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of the CPU 7 in the display of the EPG screen of the receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that EPG data extracted from the received analog broadcast signal and transmitted from the EPG decoder 12 is already stored in the storage unit 11.

  When the user operates the receiving unit 10 to select a channel to be viewed, a channel selection instruction is acquired (S201). In response to the channel selection instruction, the CPU 7 instructs the analog tuner unit 2B to select a selected channel (S202). The analog tuner unit 2B selects a selected channel according to an instruction from the CPU 7, and an image and a sound of the selected selected channel are output to the display unit 8 and the speaker 9, respectively.

  Next, the CPU 7 acquires the end time of the program output to the display unit 8 and the speaker 9 from the EPG data stored in the storage unit 11 (S203), and stores it in the storage unit 11. The CPU 7 instructs the time measuring unit 15 to measure time (S204). Thereafter, the CPU 7 determines whether or not the current time is a predetermined time before the acquired end time based on the time measurement result of the time measuring unit 15 (S205).

  If the CPU 7 determines that the current time is not a predetermined time before the acquired end time (S205: NO), the CPU 7 waits for the predetermined time before the acquired end time. On the other hand, if the CPU 7 determines that the current time is a predetermined time before the acquired end time (S205: YES), it starts detecting the CM broadcast based on the image signal or the audio signal sent from the detection circuit 14. (S206).

  The CM broadcast is detected by using a widely known method. For example, since CM broadcasting is often performed by stereo broadcasting, a method for detecting switching from a monaural broadcasting signal to a stereo broadcasting signal, a method for detecting based on a distance distribution between cut scenes in an image signal, For example, a method for detecting switching.

  Next, the CPU 7 determines whether or not a CM broadcast is detected (S207). When the CPU 7 determines that the CM broadcast is not detected (S207: NO), the CPU 7 waits until the CM broadcast is detected. On the other hand, when it is determined that the CM broadcast is detected (S207: YES), the CPU 7 instructs the OSD circuit 6 to display the EPG screen (S208). In response to an instruction from the CPU 7, the OSD circuit 6 displays an EPG screen based on the EPG data stored in the storage unit 11 on the display unit 8.

  In general, since a CM is sandwiched between a main part and an ending of a program, when the predetermined time is set in a range of 30 seconds to 5 minutes and a signal related to the CM is detected, the display of the EPG screen is as follows: This is performed during the CM display between the main part and the ending of the program. Therefore, the image of the program being viewed is not hidden by the display of the EPG screen. In addition, by setting the predetermined time in the range of 30 seconds to 5 minutes, the user confirms the displayed EPG screen and waits until the new program is selected before completing the subsequent program. Can be secured.

  With reference to the EPG screen displayed on the display unit 8, the user confirms the subsequent program of the same channel and the program of the other channel, and operates the reception unit 10 to select a new program.

  Next, the CPU determines whether a channel selection instruction has been acquired (S209). When it is determined that the channel selection instruction has not been acquired (S209: NO), the CPU 7 waits until the channel selection instruction is acquired. On the other hand, when it is determined that the channel selection instruction has been acquired (S209: YES), the CPU 7 instructs the analog tuner unit 2B to select the channel to be selected (S210), and ends the display of the EPG screen. The analog tuner unit 2B selects a selected channel according to an instruction from the CPU 7, and an image and a sound of the selected selected channel are output to the display unit 8 and the speaker 9, respectively.

  In the second embodiment, the process of waiting until receiving a channel selection instruction from the user after displaying the EPG screen in S209 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the EPG screen is displayed and the channel selection instruction from the user is not received by the lapse of a predetermined time, the display of the EPG screen is terminated and the image of the channel being viewed is displayed. good.

  In Embodiment 2, the receiving apparatus according to the present invention has been described by taking an analog broadcast receiving apparatus as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this and may be a digital broadcast receiving apparatus. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to a receiver compatible with simulcast.

  The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the first and second embodiments, the case where the receiving apparatus according to the present invention includes the output unit (display unit and speaker) has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. An external tuner, also called a box (SET / TOP / BOX), “G Guide”, “ADAMS”, etc. The so-called HDD & DVD recorder that can handle program data distribution services (EPG service) displays the EPG screen on the external output unit Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied.

It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the receiver which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process sequence of CPU in the display of the EPG screen of the receiver which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the receiver which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process sequence of CPU in the display of the EPG screen of the receiver which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

3 DEMUX
7 CPU
8 Display Unit 10 Accepting Means 12 EPG Decoder 14 Detection Circuit

Claims (3)

In a receiving device for displaying a program guide screen based on received program information on a display unit,
Obtaining means for obtaining an end time of a program being displayed on the display unit from the program information;
Determining means for determining whether the current time is a predetermined time before the end time;
A receiving apparatus comprising: an instruction unit that instructs to display the program guide screen when the determination unit determines that the predetermined time is before the end time. In a receiving apparatus for displaying a program guide screen based on received program information on an internal or external display unit,
Obtaining means for obtaining an end time of a program being displayed on the display unit from the program information;
Determining means for determining whether the current time is a predetermined time before the acquired end time;
If the determination means determines that it is a predetermined time before the end time, detection means for starting detection of commercial broadcast before the end time;
A receiving apparatus comprising: an instruction unit that instructs to display the program guide screen when the detection unit detects a commercial broadcast.   The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving unit that receives the setting of the predetermined time.

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