JP2009089079A - Video apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video apparatus capable of easily confirming presence/absence of an update program for various kinds of software loaded in the video apparatus and also easily confirming whether various kinds of software have been completely updated or not, before executing broadcast downloading in normal use. <P>SOLUTION: A control section 11 collates version information of an update program stored in a temporary storage section 14 with version information of firmware of a liquid crystal television 100 stored in a storage section 15 and a color or the like of menu display or channel display on a video display section 17 is changed, based on display setting set to an environment setting section 16, between cases where the version information of the update program is matched and not matched with the version information of the firmware of the liquid crystal television 100, as a result of collation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a video device that performs different environment settings depending on whether or not there is an update program for various installed software.

With the recent development of digital technology, digitalization is also progressing in the broadcasting field, and terrestrial digital television broadcasting / BS (Broadcasting Satellite) digital broadcasting / CS (Communications Satellite) digital broadcasting and the like have been put into practical use.
Examples of video equipment equipped with a digital broadcast receiver for receiving these digital broadcasts include a television receiver, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) recorder, an STB (Set Top Box), and the like. Is equipped with vast and complex software including OS (Operating System).

In digital broadcasting, it is expected that new broadcasting services will be started and services will become more sophisticated. Therefore, as with computer software, various software installed in video equipment will be updated, and functions will be improved and added. By doing this, it is necessary to make video equipment compatible.
For this reason, manufacturers that manufacture video equipment need to distribute an update program that improves or adds to the functions of the various software described above. Currently, this update program is in the form of broadcast download, It is distributed to each video equipment equipped with a digital broadcast receiver via radio waves.
This broadcast download is not executed when the video equipment is turned off, when the user is watching, or when a recording reservation is being executed, and is turned off by the remote control device. It is executed only in the state (standby mode).
In addition, this broadcast download is often performed in the time period from midnight to early morning when the frequency of use of video equipment by the user is extremely low.

When a broadcast download is executed, first notice information (delivery time, update program version information, etc.) for notifying the broadcast download is posted in advance on the manufacturer's website, etc. Several hours ago, the notice information is distributed to each video device via digital broadcast radio waves.
Originally, based on this notice information, the user must use the remote control device to turn off the video equipment and prepare for broadcast download. However, it is easy to obtain this notice information during normal use. It is not possible to prepare for the incoming broadcast download.
In addition, regarding the confirmation of whether or not the software status of the video equipment owned is the latest, the software version information obtained by operating the video equipment by the user himself and the update included in the above notice information Since it can be determined only by checking the version information of the program, it is difficult to say that it is a simple method for the user.

  As a video device that updates an installed software by receiving and setting an update program distributed via radio waves of digital broadcasting, there is a vehicle broadcast receiver of Patent Document 1 below. The receiver receives the update program and updates the installed software only when the condition set in advance by the user is satisfied.

JP 2006-020227 A

  In the vehicular broadcast receiver described in Patent Document 1, during normal use, the user cannot confirm the presence or absence of the update program in advance until the update program is distributed and ready for update. For this reason, when the installed software is updated, it is not possible to take appropriate measures such as turning off the power of the receiver with the remote control device in advance, and the update cannot be performed promptly.

  In addition, whether or not the software update by the update program has been completed is the latest version information of various software posted on the homepage or the user who confirmed the “Update end screen” displayed at the completion of the update. Only users who have verified the version information of various software installed in the receiver can know. For this reason, during normal use, it is not possible to easily confirm whether or not various software has been properly updated by the update program.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to easily confirm whether there is an update program for various software installed in the video equipment before the broadcast download is executed during normal use. It is an object of the present invention to provide a video device that can easily confirm whether or not the update has been completely performed.

An image device according to the present invention includes a control unit that controls each unit of the device in an integrated manner, a digital broadcast receiving unit that receives a broadcast signal of a digital broadcast and demodulates the received broadcast signal, and an environment for setting the device It is equipped with a setting unit and an input unit for inputting setting contents to the environment setting unit, and receives update programs for various software installed in devices and update information related to the update programs via broadcast signals. Receive at the department.
In addition, a temporary storage unit that stores the update program and update information and a storage unit that stores version information of various software installed in the video equipment are provided, and the environment setting unit may or may not have an update program. Set different environment settings.
Then, in the control unit, the version information of the update program included in the update information stored in the temporary storage unit and the version information of the software to be updated stored in the storage unit are collated, and as a result of the collation, the update program If the version information of the software matches the version information of the software to be updated, the change is made based on the environment setting when there is no update program. If the version information does not match, the change is made based on the environment setting when there is an update program. I do.

  By doing this, if there is software that needs to be updated among various software installed in the video equipment, the environment settings differ from those when updating is not required. Can easily check for updates.

  In the video equipment of the present invention, the environment setting performed by the environment setting unit is, for example, a display setting in which different screen displays are performed depending on whether or not there is an update program.

  In this way, the screen display that is displayed at a high frequency when operating the video equipment main body can be used as a means for confirming the presence or absence of the update program. The presence or absence can be easily and frequently confirmed.

  According to the present invention, when the version information of the update program matches the version information of the software to be updated, the change is made based on the environment setting when there is no update program, and when there is no match, there is an update program. In order to make changes based on the environment settings, it is possible to easily check whether there is an update program for various software installed in the video equipment before the broadcast download is performed, and to update the various software described above. It can be easily confirmed whether or not the process has been completed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a liquid crystal television 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The control unit 11 in the figure is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and controls each part of the liquid crystal television 100 in an integrated manner. Reference numeral 12 denotes an antenna for receiving radio waves of digital broadcasting. The digital broadcast receiver 13 includes a digital broadcast receiver, and receives a broadcast signal included in the radio wave received by the antenna 12.
Here, the broadcast signal received by the digital broadcast receiver 13 is a TS (Transport Stream) signal 21 shown in FIG. 2, and this TS signal 21 is transmitted by a plurality of transport packets (hereinafter abbreviated as TS packets) 22. Each TS packet 22 includes an individual stream of a video stream 23, an audio stream 24, and a data stream 25.

The video stream 23 shown in FIG. 2 includes a packet header 26 and video information 27. The packet header 26 includes a packet identifier (not shown) indicating the type of each TS packet 22. Similarly, the audio stream 24 includes a packet header 26 and audio information 28, and the data stream 25 includes a packet header 26 and data information 29.
The data information 29 includes a wide variety of data 30. As an example of the data 30, notice information including the execution date and time of broadcast download, version information of the update program, and the like, update program distributed at the time of broadcast download, and the like can be cited.

A video stream 23 (FIG. 2) included in the TS signal 21 (FIG. 2) received by the digital broadcast receiver 13 shown in FIG. 1 is demodulated by the digital broadcast receiver 13, and then via the controller 11. As a video signal, the video signal is output to a video display unit 17 composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). Thereby, an image is displayed on the image display unit 17.
The audio stream 24 (FIG. 2) included in the TS signal 21 (FIG. 2) received by the digital broadcast receiving unit 13 is demodulated by the digital broadcast receiving unit 13, and then the audio signal is transmitted via the control unit 11. Is output to the audio output unit 18 including a speaker. As a result, sound is output from the sound output unit 18.

On the other hand, the data stream 25 (FIG. 2) included in the TS signal 21 (FIG. 2) received by the digital broadcast receiving unit 13 is output as a data signal to the control unit 11, and then converted into data contents by the control unit 11. A corresponding process is executed.
Hereinafter, among the data processed by the control unit 11, processing contents for the above-described notice information and update program will be described. The processing contents for the other data are not related to the present invention and will not be described.

The advance notice information output from the digital broadcast receiving unit 13 to the control unit 11 is, for example, data as indicated by 33 in FIG. 4 and is stored in the temporary storage unit 14 including a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like via the control unit 11. Remembered.
In addition, the update program received by the digital broadcast receiving unit 13 and output to the control unit 11 at the time of execution of the broadcast download is stored in the temporary storage unit 14 via the control unit 11, similarly to the notice information 33.

  The storage unit 15 includes a flash memory or the like, and stores version information of various software installed in the liquid crystal television 100. Here, the various software version information stored in the storage unit 15 is, for example, data as indicated by 31 in FIG.

  In the environment setting unit 16, various settings related to the environment of the liquid crystal television 100 such as screen display settings, channel settings to be received, and clock settings built in the liquid crystal television 100 are performed. These settings are made up of a light receiving unit (not shown) that receives a signal from a remote control device (not shown) and a button operation unit (not shown) provided on the front panel (not shown) of the liquid crystal television 100. This is performed based on an operation command input to the unit 19.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method for confirming whether there is an update program according to the present invention. In this flowchart, the firmware of the software installed in the liquid crystal television 100 will be described.

In step S 1, an operation command for setting the environment of the liquid crystal television 100 is input to the input unit 19 shown in FIG. 1, and the environment setting unit 16 based on the operation command input to the input unit 19. Environment settings are made.
Hereinafter, among the settings performed by the environment setting unit 16, a setting method for easily confirming the presence / absence of the above-described firmware update program will be described. Since other setting methods are not related to the present invention, the description thereof is omitted.
Here, the above-described environment settings refer to display settings for performing different screen displays (menu display, channel display, etc.) depending on whether or not there is an update program.

  In step S2, the digital broadcast receiving unit 13 receives the TS signal 21 (FIG. 2) including the notice information 33 (FIG. 4) including the execution date and time of the broadcast download and the version information of the update program.

  In step S 3, the advance notice information 33 included in the TS signal 21 received in step S 2 is stored in the temporary storage unit 14.

  In step S4, the control unit 11 uses the update program version information (34 in FIG. 4), which is one of the advance notice information 33 stored in the temporary storage unit 14, and the liquid crystal television 100 stored in the storage unit 15. The firmware version information (32 in FIG. 3) is collated.

  In step S5, if the version information 34 of the update program matches the version information 32 of the firmware of the liquid crystal television 100 as a result of the collation in step S4 (step S5: YES), the current display setting is maintained, The flowchart is terminated. If they do not match (step S5: NO), the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, the display method of the menu display or channel display is changed based on the display setting preset in the environment setting unit 16 shown in FIG. Details of the display settings set in advance in the environment setting unit 16 and the display state after the change will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 shows the details of the display setting described above, and 51 and 52 in the figure are items related to the display setting. Item 51 is an item related to a display method, and item 52 is an item related to the presence or absence of an update program.
In the case of the display setting shown in FIG. 6, the menu display after the change is in the state shown in FIG. 7. For example, the background color 55 of the menu screen 54 in FIG. 7 is changed from blue to red based on the setting content 53 in FIG. Changed to

FIG. 8 shows details of display settings different from those in FIG. In FIG. 8, the same or corresponding parts as those in FIG.
In the case of the display setting shown in FIG. 8, the channel display after the change is in the state shown in FIG. 9. For example, the color 59 of the channel number 58 in FIG. 9 changes from blue to red based on the setting content 56 in FIG. Be changed. Further, the display state of the channel number 58 is changed from a steady state to a blinking state such as 60 based on the setting content 57 in FIG.

  In step S7, the update of the firmware by the update program is started when the broadcast download date comes.

  In step S8, it is verified whether or not the update in step S7 has been executed completely, and the version information of the update program (34 in FIG. 4) and the firmware version information of the liquid crystal television 100 (32 in FIG. 3) If they match (step S8: YES), it is determined that the update has been completely executed, and the process proceeds to step S9. If they do not match (step S8: NO), it is determined that the update has not been completely executed. Then, this flowchart is terminated while maintaining the display setting changed in step S6 to prepare for the next broadcast download.

In step S9, the result of step S6 is received, and the display setting changed in step S6 is returned to the display setting before the change.
For example, the background color 55 of the menu screen 54 in FIG. 7 is changed from red to blue based on the setting content 53 in FIG. 6, and the color 59 of the channel number 58 in FIG. 9 is the setting content in FIG. 56, the color is changed from red to blue. Further, the display state of the channel number 58 in FIG. 9 is changed from the blinking state to the steady state based on the setting content 57 in FIG.

As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 11 stores the update program version information (34 in FIG. 4), which is one of the advance notice information 33 stored in the temporary storage unit 14, and the storage unit 15. The version information (32 in FIG. 3) of the liquid crystal television 100 that has been checked is collated, and as a result of the collation, the version information of the update program and the firmware version information of the liquid crystal television 100 match or do not match The screen display (menu display or channel display) is changed based on the display setting (FIG. 6 or FIG. 8) set in the environment setting unit 16.
Thereby, the user can easily confirm whether or not the broadcast download is scheduled to be executed in the near future or the firmware update by the update program received by the broadcast download has been completely executed.
In addition, the changed display settings are restored to the display settings before the change by completely executing the firmware update by the update program received by the broadcast download. It is also possible to easily confirm that it has been executed.

  In the present invention, various embodiments other than those described above can be adopted. For example, in the above-described embodiment, menu display and channel display are given as the screen display for change setting, but volume display displayed when adjusting the volume may be set as the target for change setting.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, only the firmware installed in the liquid crystal television 100 has been described for a method for easily confirming the presence or absence of an update program, but the same applies to other software.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the setting contents shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 are given as an example of the display setting. However, the contents of the item 52 for the item 51 may be changed for each item according to the user's preference. For example, colors other than red and blue indicated by 53 in FIG. 6 and 56 in FIG. 8 may be set. In addition, the type of character such as “MS Gothic” when there is no update program, “MS Gothic” when there is no update program, and “MS Mincho” when there is an update program. You may set to change.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the video display unit 17 that is the output destination of the video signal demodulated by the digital broadcast receiving unit 13 is an LCD and the video device is a liquid crystal television 100. However, the video display unit 17 includes a PDP. (Plasma Display Panel) may be adopted, and the video equipment may be a plasma television.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the liquid crystal television 100 including the video display unit 17 and the audio output unit 18 formed of an LCD is taken as an example. However, the video display unit 17 and the audio output unit 18 are eliminated, and a DVD (Digital Versatile) is used. It may be a DVD recorder equipped with a DVD drive that performs recording and reproduction of a disk.

It is a block diagram of the liquid crystal television which is embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the detail of the broadcast signal contained in the electromagnetic wave received via the antenna. It is the figure which showed an example of the version information of the various software mounted in the liquid crystal television. It is the figure which showed an example of the advance notice information which concerns on broadcast download. It is the flowchart which showed the presence / absence confirmation method of the update program which concerns on this invention. It is the figure which showed the detail of display setting. It is the figure which showed the display state after a change based on the content of a display setting. It is the figure which showed the detail of display setting. It is the figure which showed the display state after a change based on the content of a display setting.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Control part 13 Digital broadcast receiver 14 Temporary memory | storage part 15 Memory | storage part 16 Environment setting part 19 Input part 31 Version information 33 Notice information 54 Menu screen 58 Channel number 100 LCD television

Claims (2)

A control unit that controls and controls each part of the device;
A digital broadcast receiver that receives a broadcast signal of the digital broadcast and demodulates the received broadcast signal;
An environment setting unit for setting the device;
An input unit for inputting setting contents to the environment setting unit;
In the video device that receives the update information of the various software installed in the device and the update information related to the update program at the digital broadcast receiver via the broadcast signal,
A temporary storage unit for storing the update program and the update information;
A storage unit for storing version information of the various software installed in the video equipment;
In the environment setting unit, different environment settings are performed depending on whether the update program is present or not,
In the control unit, the version information of the update program included in the update information stored in the temporary storage unit and the version information of the software to be updated stored in the storage unit are collated,
As a result of collation, if the version information of the update program matches the version information of the software to be updated, a change is made based on an environment setting when there is no update program, and if they do not match, the update program A video device characterized in that a change is made based on an environment setting when there is an image. The video device according to claim 1,
The video equipment, wherein the environment setting performed by the environment setting unit is a display setting in which different screen displays are performed depending on whether or not the update program is present.

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