JP2009261031A - Program reservation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program reservation device accurately reserving a program in conformity with an actual broadcasting and displaying a preservation list in conformity with the actual broadcasting. <P>SOLUTION: A picture-recording reservation-information setting section 5 generates picture-recording reservation informations describing reservation time periods in repetitive reservations for successively recording pictures in broadcasting programs having a repeatability in a plurality of days. A reservation-list generating section 7 generates a reservation list collecting the picture-recording informations generated in the picture-recording reservation-information setting section 5 on the basis of the picture-recording reservation informations conserved in a DVR 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a program reservation apparatus and program reservation method for reserving and recording a broadcast program.

  A program reservation device with a function that can reserve and record television broadcast programs can be used as a repeat reservation, such as weekly reservations or daily reservations, for repeatable broadcast programs that are broadcast weekly or daily. Some settings can be reserved every time.

  However, in some broadcast programs having repeatability, the broadcast time varies depending on the day. In such a case, even if the broadcast start time or broadcast end time of the reserved broadcast program is changed, recording is performed in the original reserved time zone, and depending on the day, the desired broadcast program is broadcast from the broadcast start time to the broadcast end time. There were times when it was not possible to record accurately.

  Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for recording a desired broadcast program in accordance with the next broadcast time by using EPG (Electronic Program Guide) to change the reservation time zone each time following the change of the broadcast time. Is disclosed.

JP 2003-46921 A

  However, for example, when a daily reservation is set for a program whose broadcasting time varies depending on the day, if another single reservation is made on the day when the broadcasting time fluctuates several days later, the actual broadcast time zone Even if there is no overlap, the reservation time zone may overlap between daily reservations and single reservations.

  In such a case, in the reservation overlap determination, there is a problem that the reservation overlaps even though the actual broadcast time period does not overlap. At this time, a warning screen is displayed, forcing the user to make some choices. In addition, when the reservation list is represented by a calendar or a program guide, the reservation time zones overlap for a plurality of programs, resulting in inconsistent display.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a program reservation apparatus that performs an accurate program reservation suitable for an actual broadcast and displays a reservation list that is consistent with the actual broadcast.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following apparatus and method.
(1) An electronic program guide for acquiring electronic program guide information including at least broadcast scheduled date information of the program, broadcast start time and end time information of the program on the scheduled broadcast date, and program identification information for identifying the program Acquisition means;
Master reservation information obtained by adding the program identification information of the reservation target program to the first reservation information in which the scheduled broadcast date information and the broadcast start time and end time information for one day of the reservation target program are set, Master reservation information generating means for generating according to an external operation;
Using the program identification information of the master reservation information, from the electronic program guide information, broadcast schedule date information, broadcast start time and end time information of the reservation target program for the number of days held by the electronic program guide information are obtained. Reservation information setting means for acquiring and setting the acquired broadcast scheduled date information and broadcast start time and end time information repeatedly as second reservation information;
Reservation list generation and display means for generating and displaying a program reservation list for displaying a list of broadcast start time and end time information of the reservation target program based on the set second reservation information;
A program reservation apparatus comprising:
(2) The above (1), further comprising changing means for changing the second reservation information based on the electronic program guide information when the broadcast time of the reservation target program varies. Program reservation device.
(3) obtaining electronic program guide information including at least broadcast scheduled date information of the program, broadcast start time and end time information of the program on the scheduled broadcast date, and program identification information for identifying the program;
Master reservation information obtained by adding the program identification information of the reservation target program to the first reservation information in which the scheduled broadcast date information and the broadcast start time and end time information for one day of the reservation target program are set, Generating according to external operation;
Using the program identification information of the master reservation information, from the electronic program guide information, broadcast schedule date information, broadcast start time and end time information of the reservation target program for the number of days held by the electronic program guide information are obtained. Acquiring and setting the acquired scheduled broadcast date information and broadcast start time and end time information as second reservation information repeatedly;
Generating and displaying a program reservation list for displaying a list of broadcast start time and end time information of the reservation target program based on the set second reservation information;
A program reservation method comprising:
(4) The method according to (3), further comprising a step of changing the second reservation information based on the electronic program guide information when the broadcast time of the reservation target program varies. Program reservation method.

  According to the present invention, in a band program that is repeatedly broadcast every day or week, the broadcast time zone is different for each day or week, and the different programs have a periodic pattern such as weekly or monthly, etc. When recording, since the broadcast start / end time on each broadcast day within the cycle can be individually set, it is possible to make an accurate program reservation suitable for the actual broadcast.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the program reservation apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the program from which broadcast time changes with days. It is a figure which shows the recording reservation information in the conventional program reservation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the conventional reservation list. It is a figure which shows the video recording reservation information in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the reservation list | wrist in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the program reservation apparatus of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows master reservation information.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the program reservation apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the program reservation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the program reservation apparatus according to the first embodiment receives a broadcast signal of a desired channel and obtains a received signal, and encodes the received signal by an encoding method such as MPEG. Encoder 2, digital video recorder (DVR) 3 such as HDD or DVD-RW, decoder 4 for decoding encoded data encoded by an encoding method such as MPEG, and recording reservation for generating recording reservation information An information setting unit 5, a changing unit 6 for changing the recording reservation information generated by the recording reservation information setting unit 5, a reservation list generating unit 7 for generating a reservation list based on the recording reservation information, and an on-screen display ( OSD) 8 and a central processing unit (CPU) 9 are connected to a television monitor 10.

  Then, the CPU 9 comprehensively controls each part of the program reservation device. In the DVR 3, the encoded video signal received by the tuner 1 is recorded, and the recording reservation information generated by the recording reservation information setting unit 5 is recorded.

  Next, the operation of the program reservation apparatus configured as described above will be described. First, the state of the DVR 3 will be described. At the time of recording under the control of the CPU 9, a broadcast wave signal of a selected desired channel is selectively received by the tuner 1, converted into a received signal in the baseband, and supplied to the encoder 2, where a moving image such as MPEG is recorded. After being encoded into a digital video signal of a broadcast program of a desired channel by an encoding method, it is written in DVR 3.

  At the time of reproduction, the digital video signal read from the DVR 3 under the control of the CPU 9 is returned to the video signal of the broadcast program of the desired channel by the decoder 4 and added with the operating state etc. by the OSD 8, and then the television monitor 10 Is output and viewed. The user selects an arbitrary broadcast program by remote control operation, and sets or cancels recording reservation on the screen.

  Based on the above, the recording reservation will be described next. In the recording reservation in the program reservation apparatus of the first embodiment, the start / stop of recording is executed under the management of the date and time, as in the existing program reservation apparatus.

  However, in some broadcast programs having repeatability, the broadcast time varies depending on the day. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a program whose broadcast time varies depending on the day. In FIG. 2, the program A broadcast every day is broadcast from 21:00:00 to 23:00 on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but from 22:00 to 24:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday. .

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing recording reservation information in a conventional program reservation apparatus. Conventional recording reservation information includes items for selecting a reservation start / end date and time, a channel of a program to be reserved for recording, a recording mode such as a long-time mode (LP), and a repetition type such as daily reservation and weekly reservation.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the conventional recording reservation information has only one set of start / end times in one recording reservation information. Therefore, if a daily reservation is set for the program A scheduled to be broadcast shown in FIG. 2 from 21:00 to 23:00 as shown in FIG. 3, the broadcast time and reservation of the program A are set on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday. The start and end times of do not match.

  In such a case, for example, if a single reservation is made for program C broadcast on Wednesday from 20:00 to 22:00, the broadcast time of program A on Wednesday is from 22:00 to 24:00. The broadcast time zones of the actual broadcasts of program A and program C do not overlap, but the reservation time zones overlap between the daily reservation of program A and the single reservation of program C. At this time, it is determined that the reservations overlap in the determination of overlapping reservations, and the user is forced to make some choices by displaying a warning screen.

  In addition, when the reservation list is displayed, the reservation time zones overlap between program A and program C, resulting in inconsistent display. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional reservation list. As shown in FIG. 4, the program A and the program C are displayed so that the reserved time zones overlap in the time zone from 21:00 to 22:00.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, recording reservation information describing reservation time zones for a plurality of days is generated. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing recording reservation information in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the recording reservation information in the first embodiment describes a reservation time zone for each day of the week as the reservation start / end date and time. The other items are the same as the conventional recording reservation information shown in FIG.

  The recording reservation information setting unit 5 generates recording reservation information as shown in FIG. 5 for the program A broadcast every day under the control of the CPU 9 in accordance with the user's remote control operation. When a plurality of band programs are reserved and set, a plurality of recording reservation information is generated accordingly. Note that, when making a reservation with a single shot instead of a repetitive reservation, the same recording reservation information as in the prior art as shown in FIG. 3 is generated. The changing unit 6 can change the reservation start / end date and time of the recording reservation information in accordance with the user's remote control operation. The generated recording reservation information is stored in the DVR 3.

  Here, when a single reservation is set for the program C broadcast on Wednesday from 20:00 to 22:00, the CPU 9 refers to the recording reservation information stored in the DVR 3 and reserves the program C. It is determined whether the time zone and the reserved time zone for program A overlap. In the recording reservation information shown in FIG. 5, since the reserved time zone of program A on Wednesday is the same as the actual broadcast from 22:00 to 24:00, it is determined that the reserved time zone does not overlap with the actual broadcast. Is made.

  At the time of recording, the CPU 9 causes the digital video signal of the broadcast program of the desired channel encoded by the encoder 2 to be written in the DVR 3 based on the recording reservation information stored in the DVR 3.

  The reservation list generation unit 7 generates a reservation list based on the recording reservation information stored in the DVR 3. When a plurality of recording reservation information is generated by the recording reservation information setting unit 5, a reservation list in which a plurality of recording reservation information is collected is generated. The generated reservation list is superimposed on the video signal of the broadcast program by the OSD 8 and displayed on the television monitor 10 in accordance with the user's remote control operation.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a reservation list in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the reservation list in the first embodiment displays the reservation time zone for each day of the week described in the recording reservation information shown in FIG. 5 for program A for which daily reservations are set. It is like that.

For this reason, the reservation time zone of program C on Wednesday (20: 00 to 22:00) and the reservation time zone of program A (22: 00 to 24:00) do not overlap and display is consistent. .
As described above, according to the program reservation apparatus of the first embodiment, when the reserved recording of the program A whose broadcast time varies depending on the day, the broadcast start / end time on each broadcast day can be individually set. Therefore, it is possible to make an accurate program reservation suitable for actual broadcasting.

In addition, since the reservation list is generated and displayed based on the recording reservation information in which the reservation time zone is described for a plurality of days, the reservation time zones of the program A and the program C do not overlap and a consistent reservation list can be obtained. Can be displayed.
(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the program reservation apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The program reservation apparatus shown in FIG. 7 obtains and analyzes the EPG inserted in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the broadcast wave with respect to the program reservation apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG. And a master reservation information generation unit 12 that generates master reservation information. In the components of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the same components as those in FIG.

  In the program reservation apparatus shown in FIG. 7, under the control of the CPU 9, the EPG processing unit 11 acquires EPG data inserted from the tuner 1 during the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the received broadcast wave.

  The master reservation information generation unit 12 generates master reservation information in accordance with a user's remote control operation. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing master reservation information. As shown in FIG. 8, the master reservation information is obtained by adding a program title item for identifying a broadcast program to the recording reservation information shown in FIG. Here, the program title may be a program ID.

  Then, the recording reservation information setting unit 5 generates recording reservation information based on the master reservation information and the EPG data. The recording reservation information setting unit 5 refers to the program title included in the master reservation information, acquires the broadcast time of the program A for the number of days held by the EPG data from the EPG data, and is shown in FIG. Similar recording reservation information is generated.

  The change unit 6 changes the reservation start / end date / time of the recording reservation information in accordance with the user's remote control operation, and when there is a change in the broadcast time of the program reserved for recording, the recording reservation information is based on the EPG data. Change the reservation start / end date and time.

  Here, the recording reservation information shown in FIG. 5 has a reservation start / end date / time for one week, but if there is EPG data for two weeks, a reservation start / end date / time for two weeks is stored for one reservation. Describe.

  As described above, according to the program reservation apparatus of the second embodiment, the recording reservation information is generated based on the EPG data, and the reservation start / end date and time for the number of days held by the EPG data is described. It can be managed as recording reservation information that matches the time.

  In the second embodiment, the EPG data is acquired from the VBI of the analog video signal. However, the EPG data acquisition method is not limited to this, and the EPG data may be acquired from the additional information of the digital broadcast wave. It may be obtained through the Internet or an external storage element.

1 Tuner 2 Encoder 3 Digital Video Recorder (DVR)
4 Decoder 5 Recording reservation information setting part 6 Change part 7 Reservation list generation part 8 On-screen display (OSD)
9 CPU
10 TV monitor 11 EPG processing unit 12 Master reservation information generation unit

Claims (4)

Electronic program guide acquisition means for acquiring electronic program guide information including at least broadcast scheduled date information of the program, broadcast start time and end time information of the program on the scheduled broadcast date, and program identification information for identifying the program; ,
Master reservation information obtained by adding the program identification information of the reservation target program to the first reservation information in which the scheduled broadcast date information and the broadcast start time and end time information for one day of the reservation target program are set, Master reservation information generating means for generating according to an external operation;
Using the program identification information of the master reservation information, from the electronic program guide information, broadcast schedule date information, broadcast start time and end time information of the reservation target program for the number of days held by the electronic program guide information are obtained. Reservation information setting means for acquiring and setting the acquired broadcast scheduled date information and broadcast start time and end time information repeatedly as second reservation information;
Reservation list generation and display means for generating and displaying a program reservation list for displaying a list of broadcast start time and end time information of the reservation target program based on the set second reservation information;
A program reservation apparatus comprising:   2. The program reservation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising changing means for changing the second reservation information based on the electronic program guide information when the broadcast time of the reservation target program varies. . Obtaining electronic program guide information including at least broadcast scheduled date information of the program, broadcast start time and end time information of the program on the scheduled broadcast date, and program identification information for identifying the program;
Master reservation information obtained by adding the program identification information of the reservation target program to the first reservation information in which the scheduled broadcast date information and the broadcast start time and end time information for one day of the reservation target program are set, Generating according to external operation;
Using the program identification information of the master reservation information, from the electronic program guide information, broadcast schedule date information, broadcast start time and end time information of the reservation target program for the number of days held by the electronic program guide information are obtained. Acquiring and setting the acquired scheduled broadcast date information and broadcast start time and end time information as second reservation information repeatedly;
Generating and displaying a program reservation list for displaying a list of broadcast start time and end time information of the reservation target program based on the set second reservation information;
A program reservation method comprising: 4. The program reservation method according to claim 3, further comprising a step of changing the second reservation information based on the electronic program guide information when the broadcast time of the reservation target program varies.

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