JP2011211634A - Television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a means capable of writing caption information contained in a broadcasting wave into a memory and reading the written caption information from a desired part.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a television receiver having: a receiving unit for receiving a digital television broadcast; a caption information extracting unit for extracting caption information from a signal of the received digital television broadcast; a ring-shaped buffer memory unit; a pointer processing unit which has a read pointer holding means for holding a read pointer of the buffer memory unit and a write pointer holding means for holding a write pointer of the buffer memory unit and manages these pointer holding means; a read unit for starting read processing of the buffer memory unit from a read pointer position; a write unit for starting writing the extracted caption information from a write pointer position to the buffer memory unit; and an operation processing unit having a pointer processing unit control means for controlling the pointer processing unit by giving thereto an instruction for determining values of the pointers to be held by the pointer holding means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital television receiver capable of displaying subtitle information recorded in a buffer memory retroactively.

  The mainstream viewing style for television broadcasting is “viewing programs currently broadcast in real time”. In such a viewing style, for example, when a viewer temporarily sits in the middle, no means has been provided for later knowing the contents of a program broadcast during that space. In recent years, since recording devices such as hard disk recorders have been provided, broadcasting from the point where it was recorded by playing it later by recording the program in the device before the break or by recording the program from the start of the program. You can now watch the contents.

  As described above, in order to know later the contents of a broadcast that has already become a past thing, not only a recording device with a sufficient storage capacity capable of recording the broadcast is necessary, but also a program in advance. An operation procedure is required to record Furthermore, it takes time to view the recorded broadcast. For example, even if an apparatus having a time shift reproduction function is used, it is necessary to additionally divide the time required for the center as viewing time, and it is difficult to catch up with actual broadcasting. It is troublesome for the user to have to take these troubles when it is enough to grasp even the rough part between the middle seats.

  Therefore, if the subtitle information included in the broadcast wave is stored in the memory, and the subtitle information stored can be reviewed from the center when returning from the center to the seat, the above-described extra You can easily grasp the contents of the broadcast while you missed it. By the way, regarding the utilization of caption information included in broadcast waves, for example, there is an invention disclosed in Patent Document 1. However, the present invention customizes the representation form (font type, font size, scroll direction, etc.) of subtitle information (closed caption information) based on the user's preference. It is not something that can be reviewed. Nothing is disclosed about the means to retain the caption information and review it later.

JP2003-9096A

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide means capable of writing subtitle information included in a received broadcast wave in a memory and reading out the written subtitle information from a desired location.

  As means for solving the above problems, the following inventions and the like are provided. That is, as a first invention, a receiving unit for receiving digital television broadcast, a caption information extracting unit for extracting caption information from a received digital television broadcast signal, a ring-type buffer memory unit, and reading of the buffer memory unit Read pointer holding means for holding a pointer, write pointer holding means for holding a write pointer of the buffer memory unit, a pointer processing unit for managing these pointer holding means, and a reading process of the buffer memory unit A reading unit for performing from the pointer position, a writing unit for writing the extracted caption information from the writing pointer position to the buffer memory unit, and a pointer value to be held by the pointer holding unit for the pointer processing unit are determined. Television receiver having an operation processing unit having pointer processing unit control means for giving and controlling a command for To provide.

  As a second invention, the subtitle information written in the buffer memory unit is a signal before decoding the digital signal, and further includes a subtitle processing unit that decodes the subtitle information read from the buffer memory unit by the reading unit. A television receiver according to the invention is provided.

  As a third aspect of the invention, the operation processing unit includes a selection unit for selecting whether to output the superimposed caption information from the readout unit on the received digital television broadcast video or not to output it. A television receiver according to the first invention or the second invention having a selector control means for controlling is provided.

  As a fourth invention, the operation processing unit detects that the number of people change detecting means for detecting a change in the number of viewers watching the received digital television broadcast and the number of people change detecting means have decreased. In this case, the detection pointer position setting means for outputting to the pointer processing unit as the read pointer position that should hold the pointer position at which the writing unit was performing the writing process at that time is provided. A television receiver according to any one of the above is provided.

  As a fifth invention, from the first invention, the operation processing unit further includes user operation means for outputting a command for changing the read pointer held by the read pointer holding means to the pointer processing unit by a user operation. A television receiver according to any one of the four inventions is provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily grasp the broadcast contents during a period of not being viewed by reading out the subtitle information written in the memory from a desired location and reviewing it.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a television receiver according to a first embodiment. 1 is a functional block diagram of a television receiver according to a first embodiment. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a buffer memory unit according to a first embodiment. Conceptual diagram for explaining a pointer processing unit according to the first embodiment. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a television receiver according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of operation processing in the television receiver according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a television receiver according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operation processing in the television receiver according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a television receiver according to the third embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of operation processing in the television receiver according to the third embodiment. Conceptual diagram of a television receiver according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a television receiver according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of operation processing in the television receiver according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a television receiver according to the fifth embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In addition, this invention should not be limited to these embodiments at all, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof.

The first embodiment will mainly describe claim 1. The second embodiment will mainly describe claim 2. The third embodiment will mainly describe claim 3. The fourth embodiment will mainly describe claim 4. The fifth embodiment will mainly describe claim 5.
<Embodiment 1>
<Summary of Embodiment 1>

The television receiver of this embodiment buffers subtitle information in a memory, so that the user can display the buffered subtitle information. FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram of the television receiver of this embodiment. The television receiver (0101) shown in FIG. 1A displays a baseball broadcast currently being broadcast. This broadcast also includes subtitle information, and this subtitle information is buffered in the memory. Here, it is assumed that the batter hits the home run and reverses while the viewer is in the middle (FIG. 1B). The viewer who has returned from the center understands that it has reversed by looking at the point difference, but does not know what kind of game development has reversed it. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), by displaying the subtitles (0102) from the time of sitting down on the screen, it is possible to know the game development while it was overlooked.
<Configuration of Embodiment 1>

  An example of a functional block diagram of the television receiver according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. The “television receiver” (0200) includes a “reception unit” (0201), a “caption information extraction unit” (0202), a “buffer memory unit” (0203), and a “write pointer holding unit” (0205). ) And “read pointer holding means” (0206), “pointer processing section” (0204), “writing section” (0207), “reading section” (0208), and “pointer processing section control means” (Operation processing unit) (0209) having (0210).

  Here, the functional blocks of the apparatus may be realized as hardware, software, or both hardware and software. Specifically, if a computer is used, a CPU, a RAM, a bus, or a secondary storage device (a storage medium such as a hard disk, a non-volatile memory, a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM, and a read drive for the medium) ), Hardware components such as display devices and other external peripheral devices, I / O ports for the external peripheral devices, driver programs and other application programs for controlling the hardware, and users used for information input Interface.

  In addition, these hardware and software processes the programs developed on the RAM with the CPU, and processes, stores, and outputs data stored on the memory and hard disk, and data input via the interface. It is used for processing or controlling each hardware component. The present invention can be realized not only as an apparatus but also as a method. A part of the invention can be configured as software. Further, a software product used for causing a computer to execute such software, and a storage medium in which the product is fixed to a storage medium are naturally included in the technical scope of the present invention (the same applies throughout this specification). Is).

  The “reception unit” (0201) has a function of receiving a digital television broadcast. The receiving unit includes an antenna, a tuner, and the like, and receives one or more of digital terrestrial broadcasting such as terrestrial digital broadcasting, BS digital broadcasting, CS digital broadcasting, cable TV, and Internet broadcasting. Further, when the receiving unit can receive terrestrial digital broadcasting, it may receive normal terrestrial digital broadcasting or only one segment. Note that this does not prevent the reception of analog terrestrial broadcasts.

  The “caption information extraction unit” (0202) has a function of extracting caption information from the received digital television broadcast signal. The caption information is information for displaying a caption corresponding to a broadcast program. For example, in a general text multiplex broadcast, ten or more characters per line are displayed on the lower part of the screen so as to be superimposed on the screen for about 1 to 2 lines for several seconds. Further, the subtitles may be displayed dynamically by scrolling on the screen as well as being displayed stationary for a certain period of time. Most digital television broadcasts digitally modulate a transport stream (TS) multiplexed by the MPEG-2 system and transmit it as a broadcast wave. Subtitle information is also transmitted as a packet in a transport stream like video information and audio information, and has a unique packet identifier separately from video and audio. Further, in the caption information, a time stamp indicating a time to be decoded and a time to be reproduced is described in a packet header DTS (Decoding Time Stamp) or PTS (Presentation Time Stamp). Based on this time stamp, it can be displayed in synchronization with video and audio. The caption information extraction unit identifies and extracts caption information in the received and demodulated transport packet based on the above-described identifier and the like. The caption information may be a unit of caption information that is displayed in one screen. This is because subtitle display / non-display may be processed in units of this group.

  The “buffer memory unit” (0203) is a ring type buffer memory. The ring-type buffer memory is a memory in which a memory area is limited to a certain range and both ends of a linear memory are logically connected. That is, when the index exceeds the end of the buffer memory, it returns to the beginning, and when it comes before the beginning of the buffer memory, it advances to the end. Therefore, when the allocated memory capacity becomes full, the memory returns to the beginning of the memory area and overwrites and accumulates new information. The buffer memory unit is used for temporarily storing the extracted caption information. The buffer memory unit may be realized, for example, by allocating one area of the main memory to the buffer memory unit, or a dedicated buffer memory may be prepared.

  The subtitle information stored in the buffer memory unit may be subtitle information before decoding processing or subtitle information after decoding processing. When subtitle information before decoding processing is stored, the memory can be saved because it is a state before being expanded into an image. The capacity of the buffer memory unit can be arbitrarily determined. For example, it can be set to a capacity capable of storing subtitle information corresponding to a 60-minute program. In addition, when subtitle information corresponding to CM is accumulated, information indicating that the subtitle information corresponds to CM and time information when the subtitle information is broadcasted are accumulated together. Also good. Based on these pieces of information, it is possible to skip displaying subtitles corresponding to CMs, or to display that subtitles corresponding to CMs are displayed when displaying subtitles corresponding to CMs.

  The “pointer processing unit” (0204) includes a “write pointer holding unit” (0205) and a “read pointer holding unit” (0206), and also has a function of managing these pointer holding units. The write pointer holding unit has a function of holding the write pointer of the buffer memory unit, and the read pointer holding unit has a function of holding the read pointer of the buffer memory unit. A writing unit to be described later performs a writing process from the position of the writing pointer held by the writing pointer holding unit. Further, the reading unit described later performs a reading process from the position of the reading pointer held by the reading pointer holding unit. These pointer holding means may hold not only one pointer but also a plurality of pointers.

The pointer processing unit has a function of managing the write pointer holding unit and the read pointer holding unit. The function of the pointer processing unit will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a buffer memory unit in which caption information is stored. The buffer memory unit has a memory area to which addresses “A ₁ ” to “A _m ” are assigned. The caption information is accumulated from “A ₁ ” in the order of extraction. Here, subtitle information indicating the development of a baseball game is sequentially stored. For the write pointer holding means, for example, each time a unit of extracted caption information is written and stored in the buffer memory unit, the previous pointer is written as a write pointer for writing the next unit. The next address in which the last information of one unit is written is held as the next write start address. That is, for first subtitle information of the extracted "5 times Table G first batter ○○○", the A ₁ as its write start address, indicated area in the memory of the number of characters, for example, from A ₁ in A _x The subtitle information is written in a memory area. Then the pointer processing unit, a write start address of the next subtitle information, to determine the A ₂ is the next memory address of A _x, and stores the write pointer holding means. Then, the next extracted subtitle information “5 times batter △△△ full reverse by G run home run” is used as the writing start address of A ₂ held in the writing pointer holding means. For example, writing to an area on the memory for the number of characters.

  For example, in order to allow the user to select past caption information to be displayed because it has not been viewed in the middle, for example, the history of addresses held so far by this writing pointer holding means, its writing time and writing It may be configured to generate and hold management information in association with embedded content. Then, for example, a selection list of writing time and writing contents is displayed on the display, and the user is allowed to select desired time and contents using the selection list. Then, the address associated with the selected time and content is held and read by a read pointer holding means, which will be described later, so that the user can display the desired timing and content from the subtitle information, for example, when he / she is sitting Can be done. Further, as described in the fourth embodiment, by using a detection unit such as a human sensor, it is detected that the user is in the middle and the writing pointer position at that time is held as a reading pointer, so that the user It is also possible to make it possible to view subtitles from the timing at which they were placed without having to select them.

Also, the A _m of A buffered memory unit subtitle information is written is a ring, from the end region A _y required to store the caption information extracted α th (end of linear memory) When the area exceeds the limit, data exceeding A _m is turned over and overwritten in the area on the memory from A ₁ to A _z . Then, the next address of the A _z A _beta is set as the next write pointer is held, and so called. When the writing pointer is appropriately determined according to the information amount of the caption information as described above, only a part of the caption information previously written may be erased by overwriting by folding. In such a case, it is preferable that the management information described above cannot be selected as caption information that cannot be displayed even if a part of the management information remains.

In addition, subtitle information is determined as one unit, for example, a maximum of 64 characters, 128 bytes (1024 bits), etc., and a plurality of write pointers are determined and held in advance so as to ensure the maximum number of characters. May be. That is, a first write pointer and A _1, since the information of 1 byte in one address in the memory (8 bits) can be stored, the second write pointer address 129 th from A ₁ a _p, and the third write pointer becomes more 129 of the address _{a q} from _{a p.} The write pointer holding means holds list information indicating a plurality of addresses A ₁ , A _p , A _q ,... Determined in advance in this way, and writes the addresses according to the subtitle information extraction order. Is determined. Also, a read pointer holding means, which will be described later, may share and select the address to be read from the address described in the list information.

  Further, even when a plurality of addresses serving as write pointers are determined and held in advance as described above, in order to allow the user to select past caption information, the address and time information or writing time when the caption information is actually written there are used. It may be configured to generate and hold management information in association with embedded content.

The management performed by the pointer processing unit for the read pointer holding means will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the pointer processing unit. For example, when the television receiver is set to display subtitles, as shown in FIG. 4A, a memory area (0401a) to which addresses “A ₁ ” to “A _m ” are assigned. ), The read pointer (0402a) is set to the same position as the write pointer (0403a), so that the written subtitle information is immediately read and the subtitle is displayed. Also, as shown in FIG. 4B, by placing the read pointer (0402b) at the address “A ₂ ” located before the address “A ₄ ” where the write pointer (0403b) is actually located, Subtitles can be displayed retroactively from the present time. Specifically, using the above-described management information (information that associates the history of addresses held by the write pointer holding means with the writing time and writing contents), for example, the writing time and writing contents Show selection list on display. Then, the address associated with the time and content selected by the user in the selection list is held as a read pointer, and the subtitle information held there is read and displayed on the display. Furthermore, the address at which the caption information corresponding to the beginning portion of the program is written may be managed as a read pointer. In this way, even if the beginning of a program is missed, the subtitles of the program can be easily reviewed from the beginning or the user's desired past part, and the contents of the program so far can be grasped. it can.

  Further, as described above, for example, the subtitle display processing after the past read pointer is held in accordance with the user selection or the like by the read pointer holding means and the past subtitle information for one unit is displayed on the display is as follows: The form like this is mentioned. For example, by setting the next read pointer to be the same address as the write pointer, real-time caption display may be resumed, or it may be written next to the past caption information. By specifying the address with reference to the management information described above and using it as a read pointer, past subtitle information from the point of time selected by the user is continuously played back (so-called chasing playback). Also good. When the subtitle information is displayed by so-called chasing playback, for example, the subtitle information of the table is displayed seven times despite the end of the baseball broadcast, and the subtitle information has only been displayed halfway. It is also possible. In such a case, it is preferable to reduce the display time of the entire subtitle as follows and catch up with the real-time display while displaying the subtitle sequentially. That is, for example, the end time of the program is acquired with reference to the header information of the electronic program guide or digital broadcast program data. Then, when the address of past caption information is held in the read pointer holding means according to user selection or the like, the (original) display time of the caption is calculated from the time when the caption information was written and the end time of the program To do. Further, the remaining time of the program is calculated from the current time and the end time of the program. Then, the shortened display time is calculated by using the ratio of the two calculation times as the shortening ratio of each caption information. Then, by managing the pointer processing unit so that the read pointer is moved to the next address at the shortened interval, it is possible to catch up with real-time subtitle display while displaying subtitles sequentially. For example, in actual broadcasting, it is conceivable that subtitles corresponding to 10 minutes in total are reproduced in 2 minutes.

  The “writing unit” (0207) has a function of writing the extracted caption information into the buffer memory unit from the writing pointer position. As described above, the writing unit writes the extracted caption information into the buffer memory unit from the writing pointer position held by the writing pointer holding unit managed by the pointer processing unit. Note that the writing unit preferably performs processing so that the caption information is written in the ring buffer even when the viewer does not display the caption information. This is because it is preferable to always maintain subtitle information in preparation for the middle position, since it is possible to easily summarize the contents in between while the subtitle information that was aired at the middle position can be easily summarized even when viewing with subtitles OFF .

  The “reading unit” (0208) has a function of performing the reading process of the buffer memory unit from the reading pointer position. As described above, the reading unit reads the extracted caption information from the reading pointer position held by the reading pointer holding unit managed by the pointer processing unit into the buffer memory unit.

  The “operation processing unit” (0209) includes a “pointer processing unit control unit” (0210) that gives a control to the pointer processing unit to determine a pointer value to be held by the pointer holding unit. For example, when the television receiver is set to display subtitles, the pointer processing unit control unit holds the position of the writing pointer as the value of the reading pointer with respect to the pointer processing unit. Is given and controlled. In addition, when displaying a subtitle past from the current time according to a user operation instruction or the like, the pointer processing unit control unit instructs the pointer processing unit before the position of the pointer where the reading pointer holding unit is currently writing. An instruction for holding the position designated by the user operation as the value of the read pointer is given. In order to accept an operation instruction by the user, for example, a list of past subtitle information writing times and writing contents is displayed on the display using the management information described above, and the list is used to make a desired It may be configured to select time and contents. Besides the operation instruction by the user, for example, a human sensor is provided in the television apparatus, the user's center is detected by the human sensor, and the value of the read pointer is referred to the management information based on the detection time. May be automatically determined. Also, as described above, when an operation instruction such as displaying a subtitle in a shortened manner or displaying the next subtitle from the user is received, the display of subtitle information is shortened as described above according to the operation instruction. The interval is calculated, and the pointer processing unit controls the holding timing of the pointer held according to the calculation result.

In the television receiver of the present embodiment, when displaying buffered subtitles, notification is made by display or audio so that the user can recognize that the displayed subtitles are not real-time subtitles. May be.
<Embodiment 1 Hardware configuration>

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration when the functional configuration of the television receiver of the present embodiment is realized as hardware. As shown in FIG. 5, the “television receiver” of the present embodiment has functions such as “subtitle information extraction unit”, “pointer processing unit”, “writing unit”, “reading unit”, “operation processing unit”, etc. A “CPU” (0501) and a “main memory” (0502) are provided to execute and execute other arithmetic processing. In addition, a “flash memory” (0503) for realizing the function of the “buffer memory unit” and storing programs for executing various arithmetic processes and various data used for the processes is provided. Also, a “user interface” (0504) that accepts user operation instructions and the like, a “tuner” (0505) for realizing the function of a “reception unit” for receiving broadcast waves, and a “VRAM” for displaying subtitles and video ”(0506),“ Display ”(0507), and the like. Although not shown, it is preferable to provide an “Internet connection circuit” and an “I / O port” for external peripheral devices. And they are connected to each other by a data communication path such as “Bus” (0508), and the transmission / reception and processing of information

First, when a digital broadcast wave is acquired via a tuner, MPEG TS data is demodulated by a demodulation circuit (not shown). Then, the CPU interprets the subtitle information extraction program developed in the main memory, and in accordance with the interpretation result, the CPU refers to the PID of the TS packet constituting the demodulated MPEG TS data, and the multiplexed video information, audio information, and Subtitle information is distinguished and subtitle information is extracted. Then, the extracted subtitle information is temporarily stored in the main memory. Subsequently, the CPU interprets the pointer processing program, specifies the _first address A1 (the end of the linear memory) of the buffer memory area, which becomes the writing start address of the first caption information, and writes the pointer processing program according to the interpretation result. Get as a pointer. Then, the CPU interprets the write program and outputs a write pointer “A ₁ ” to a main memory drive circuit (not shown) according to the interpretation result. Then the drive circuit goes write the caption information in the data area of the main memory the address A ₁ as the write start position. Further, since the read pointer is set by the read program so as to be the same as the write pointer by default, the CPU acquires the read pointer as “A ₁ ”, which is the same as the write pointer. Subsequently, the CPU interprets the read program and outputs a read pointer “A ₁ ” to a flash memory drive circuit (not shown) according to the interpretation result. Then the drive circuit reads the caption information from the data area of the main memory the address A ₁ as the read start position. Then, the read subtitle information is decoded by a decoder (not shown), etc., superimposed on the decoded video, transferred to the VRAM, and displayed on the display.

In addition to the subtitle information display processing, processing for acquiring and holding the next subtitle information write pointer is executed as follows. That is, when determining the writing pointer as appropriate according to the information amount of the caption information, the CPU interprets the pointer processing program, and follows the writing end address of the caption information from the driving circuit of the main memory according to the interpretation result. Address “A ₂ ” is acquired. The address is held in the main memory as a write pointer. Alternatively, if multiple writing pointers are determined in advance so that the maximum number of characters can be secured from the maximum number of characters of subtitle information, the subtitle information extraction order is associated with the address indicating the corresponding writing pointer. The table data is previously stored in the main memory (other than the buffer memory area). The address specified using the extraction order of the caption information as a key may be held in the main memory. Each time one unit of subtitle information is extracted in this way, writing to and reading from the buffer memory are repeated. Further, as described above, when the subtitle information is written up to the address “A _m ” at the end of the buffer memory area on the main memory (the end of the linear memory), the subtitle information is turned back to start from the first address “A ₁ ” It is good to perform overwriting process.

In addition, for the above-described “accepting a read pointer change operation instruction from the user”, the address, the write time, and the write content that are held as the write pointer when the write pointer is held. It is preferable to generate management information indicating a writing history associated with the key and store it in the main memory (other than the buffer memory area). Then, for example, when an operation input for starting a display mode of past caption information is received via a user interface such as a remote control device, the CPU interprets the operation processing program using that as a trigger. Then, according to the interpretation result, using the management information held in the main memory, for example, a list of times when the subtitle information is written (that is, read simultaneously and the subtitle information is displayed) is generated, It is displayed on the display as a GUI. Then, the user selects, for example, a time corresponding to the time zone in which he / she is present from the list. Then, the CPU interprets the pointer processing program, acquires an address associated with the time selected by the management information as a read pointer, and stores it in the main memory. Subsequently, the CPU interprets the read program and outputs an address indicating the read pointer to a drive circuit of a main memory (not shown) according to the interpretation result. Then, as described above, the caption information written from the address is read and displayed on the display through the decoding process and the superimposition process. In this way, the television receiver of this embodiment can display subtitle information retroactively.
<First Embodiment Processing Flow>

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operation processing in the television receiver according to the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be executed by each hardware configuration of the television receiver as described above, or constitute a program recorded on a medium for controlling the television receiver. It may be a processing step.

As shown in FIG. 6, first, a digital television broadcast is received (S0601), and caption information is extracted (S0602). Then, the writing pointer is acquired (S0603), and the caption information is written from the writing pointer position (S0604). Subsequently, a read pointer is acquired (S0605), and caption information is read from the read pointer position (S0606). Thereafter, the subtitles are displayed on the display in accordance with the subtitle display setting or the user's operation instruction.
<Embodiment 1 effect>

By watching the stored subtitles with the television receiver of this embodiment, it is possible to easily grasp the broadcast contents during the period when the viewers were not watching.
<Embodiment 2>
<Overview of Embodiment 2>

The television receiver of the present embodiment is a digital signal before subtitle information written in the buffer memory unit is decoded, and is decoded after being read out. By writing the digital signal before being decoded into the buffer memory unit, writing and reading can be performed quickly, and the memory area allocated to the buffer memory unit can be reduced.
<Embodiment 2 configuration>

  An example of a functional block diagram of the television receiver according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. The “television receiver” (0700) is based on the first embodiment, and includes a “reception unit” (0701), a “caption information extraction unit” (0702), a “buffer memory unit” (0703), A “pointer processing unit” (0704), a “writing unit” (0707), a “reading unit” (0708), and a “pointer holding unit” (0705) and a “reading pointer holding unit” (0706). It has an “operation processing unit” (0709) having “pointer processing unit control means” (0710), and further has a “caption processing unit” (0711). Since each component other than the “caption processing unit” has been described in the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the subtitle information written in the buffer memory unit is a signal before being decoded into a character image visible to the user. Digital television broadcasting is displayed through a process of demodulating a received broadcast wave and further decoding a compressed video signal and audio signal. The subtitle is processed into a character image according to the setting selected by the user, and is displayed superimposed on the video. Therefore, by writing the signal in the state before the writing unit is decoded into the buffer memory unit, the memory area allocated to the buffer memory unit can be reduced, and the writing and reading processes can be performed quickly. can do.

The “caption processing unit” (0711) has a function of decoding subtitle information read from the buffer memory unit by the reading unit. The caption information read from the buffer memory unit is decoded by the caption processing unit and displayed as a caption.
<Embodiment 2 Hardware configuration>

The functional configuration of the television receiver according to the present embodiment can be realized in accordance with the hardware configuration according to the first embodiment described above.
<Embodiment 2 Processing Flow>

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operation processing in the television receiver according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, first, a digital television broadcast is received (S0801), and caption information is extracted (S0802). Then, a writing pointer is acquired (S0803), and caption information is written from the writing pointer position (S0804). Subsequently, a read pointer is acquired (S0805), and caption information is read from the read pointer position (S0806). Subsequently, the read subtitle information is decoded (S0807). Thereafter, the subtitles are displayed on the display in accordance with the subtitle display setting or the user's operation instruction.
<Embodiment 2 effect>

With the television receiver of this embodiment, writing and reading processing of subtitle information can be performed quickly, and the memory area allocated to the buffer memory unit can be reduced.
<Embodiment 3>
<Overview of Embodiment 3>

The present embodiment has a selection unit for selecting whether or not to output the read caption information on a video, and has a selection unit control means for controlling the selection unit in the operation processing unit. It is what. As a result, the user can select whether to view past subtitles read from the buffer memory unit with the broadcast video or to view only the video.
<Embodiment 3 configuration>

  An example of a functional block diagram of the television receiver according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. The “television receiver” (0900) is mainly based on the first embodiment, and includes a “reception unit” (0901), a “caption information extraction unit” (0902), a “buffer memory unit” (0903), A “pointer processing unit” (0904) having a “write pointer holding unit” (0905) and a “read pointer holding unit” (0906), a “write unit” (0907), and a “read unit” (0908) And “operation processing unit” (0909) having “pointer processing unit control means” (0910), “caption processing unit” (0911), “selection unit” (0912), and “selection unit” Control means "(0913). Since each configuration other than the “selection unit” and “selection unit processing means” has been described in the above-described embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

  The “selection unit” (0912) has a function of selecting whether to output the superimposed caption information from the reading unit on the received digital television broadcast video or not. To output the caption information superimposed on the digital television broadcast video means to display the caption including the caption video when the program including the caption is displayed. When subtitles are not superimposed and displayed, the video signal is decoded and displayed as it is. The function of the selection unit is controlled by the selection unit control means.

The “selection unit control means” (0913) is provided in the operation processing unit and has a function of controlling the selection unit. For example, when it is set not to display subtitles, the selection unit performs control so that the subtitle information is not superimposed on the video. When it is set to display subtitles, the selection unit controls to output the superimposed subtitle information. When there are a plurality of subtitles corresponding to a program, a selection instruction for displaying one of the subtitles in an overlapping manner may be received from a user operation instruction or the like, and the selection unit may be controlled accordingly.
<Embodiment 3 Hardware Configuration>

The functional configuration of the television receiver of the present embodiment can be realized according to the hardware configuration of the first embodiment described above.
<Embodiment 3 Processing Flow>

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operation processing in the television receiver according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, first, a digital television broadcast is received (S1001), and caption information is extracted (S1002). Then, a writing pointer is acquired (S1003), and caption information is written from the writing pointer position (S1004). Then, a read pointer is acquired (S1005), and caption information is read from the read pointer position (S1006). Then, the read subtitle information is decoded (S1007). Subsequently, depending on the selection of whether or not to output the caption information superimposed on the video (S1008), in the case of the selection result that the caption information is superimposed and output, the caption information is superimposed and output on the video (S1009). In the case of a selection result indicating that the information is not overlapped, the caption information is not overlapped on the video.
<Embodiment 3 effects>

With the television receiver of the present embodiment, it is possible to select whether to display the past subtitles read from the buffer memory unit on the video or not.
<Embodiment 4>
<Outline of Embodiment 4>

The television receiver according to the present embodiment detects a change in the number of viewers, and when the number of viewers decreases, by holding the write pointer position at that time as a read pointer, the viewer who has returned to the seat again By viewing the subtitles from when the person leaves the seat, the broadcast contents during the missed period can be grasped. FIG. 11 shows a conceptual diagram of the television receiver of the present embodiment. The television receiver (1101) shown in FIG. 11 (a) displays a baseball broadcast that is currently being broadcast and has two viewers. Thereafter, when one of the viewers sits down and leaves the seat, the write pointer position when the number of viewers decreases is held as the read pointer position. Then, it is assumed that the batter hits the home run and reverses in the middle (FIG. 11 (b)). The viewer who has returned from the center can immediately see the caption (1102) from the position of the read pointer held, and can know the game development while he / she missed it (FIG. 11 (c)).
<Embodiment 4 configuration>

  An example of a functional block diagram of the television receiver according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. The “television receiver” (1200) is mainly based on the first embodiment, and includes a “reception unit” (1201), a “caption information extraction unit” (1202), a “buffer memory unit” (1203), “Pointer processing unit” (1204) having “write pointer holding unit” (1205) and “read pointer holding unit” (1206), “write unit” (1207), and “read unit” (1208) An “operation processing unit” (1209) having a “pointer processing unit control unit” (1210) and a “selection unit control unit” (1213), a “caption processing unit” (1211), and a “selection unit” ( In addition, the “operation processing unit” includes “number-of-people change detection means” (1214) and “detection pointer position setting means” (1215). Each configuration other than the “number change detection unit” and the “detection pointer position setting unit” has been described in the above-described embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  The “operation processing unit” (1209) of the present embodiment further includes “number-of-people change detection means” (1214) and “detection pointer position setting means” (1215).

  The “number change detection means” (1214) has a function of detecting a change in the number of viewers who watch the received digital television broadcast. The change in the number of people can be detected by a human sensor using infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, visible light, or the like. Other means may be used as long as it is a means that can detect the location of the person and the change in the number of persons in a certain area in front of the television.

  The “detection pointer position setting means” (1215) is a read pointer that should hold the pointer position at which the writing unit was writing at that time when the number-of-people change detection means detects that the number of people has decreased. It has a function of outputting it as a position to the pointer processing unit. As a result, the pointer processing unit causes the reading pointer holding means to hold the pointer position that was written when the number of people decreased as the reading pointer position, and the viewer who has returned to the seat can use the subtitle from the reading pointer position. Can see. In this way, by holding the position of the writing pointer when one of the viewers has left the seat as the reading pointer position, it is possible to immediately see the caption while it was just overlooked.

Also, in the television receiver of the present embodiment, when the number of people decreases, the number of people detection means detects that the number of viewers has decreased after detecting that the number of viewers has decreased. A display for allowing the user to select whether or not to read subtitle information from the read pointer position may be performed. In this way, the user notices that the user can immediately see the caption information that has been missed, and can view the caption information by following the display.
<Embodiment 4 Hardware Configuration>

The functional configuration of the television receiver of the present embodiment can be realized according to the hardware configuration of the first embodiment described above.
<Embodiment 4 Processing Flow>

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operation processing in the television receiver according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, first, a digital television broadcast is received (S1301), and caption information is extracted (S1302). Then, a writing pointer is acquired (S1303), and caption information is written from the writing pointer position (S1304). Then, when it is detected that the number of viewers has decreased (S1305), and the decrease in the number of viewers is detected, the pointer position at which the writing was performed is output as a reading pointer position to be held (S1305). S1306). Subsequently, a reading pointer is acquired (S1307), and caption information is read from the reading pointer position (S1308). Then, the read subtitle information is decoded (S1309). Subsequently, depending on the selection of whether to output the caption information overlaid on the video or not (S1310), in the case of a selection result of overlapping output, the caption information is output over the video (S1311). In the case of a selection result indicating that the information is not overlapped, the caption information is not overlapped on the video.
<Embodiment 4 Effect>

By detecting a decrease in the number of viewers and holding the position as a read pointer position by the television receiver of this embodiment, the viewer can easily review the subtitles from when he / she was sitting. .
<Embodiment 5>
<Overview of Embodiment 5>

The present embodiment is a television receiver that can change a reading pointer position by a user operation.
<Embodiment 5 configuration>

  An example of a functional block diagram of the television receiver according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. The “television receiver” (1400) is mainly based on the first embodiment, and includes a “reception unit” (1401), a “caption information extraction unit” (1402), a “buffer memory unit” (1403), “Pointer processing unit” (1404) having “write pointer holding unit” (1405) and “read pointer holding unit” (1406), “write unit” (1407), and “read unit” (1408) An “operation processing unit” having a “pointer processing unit control unit” (1410), a “selection unit control unit” (1413), a “number change detection unit” (1414), and a “detection pointer position setting unit” (1415). ”(1409),“ caption processing unit ”(1411), and“ selection unit ”(1412), and the“ operation processing unit ”includes“ user operation means ”(1416). Since each component other than the “user operation means” has been described in the above-described embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

The “user operation means” (1416) has a function for outputting a command for changing the read pointer held by the read pointer holding means to the pointer processing unit by a user operation. As described above, the read pointer holding means can hold a plurality of read pointers. For example, a plurality of read pointers such as a read pointer held based on the output of the “detection pointer position setting unit” and a read pointer holding a subtitle information corresponding to the beginning of the program are held. Is done. The user operation means can further change the read pointer held therein. For example, when subtitle information at the beginning of a program is being read out, the read pointer can be changed to the next subtitle information, whereby arbitrary subtitle information can be read out. Further, the position of the read pointer can be changed from the current position of the read pointer to an arbitrary position before the present, such as one previous or two previous. In addition, the management information is used to display, for example, a list of past caption information writing times and writing contents on the display, and the user can select desired times and contents using the list. May be. Or you may comprise so that the position of a reading pointer may be determined automatically according to the conditions which the user set in advance. If the changed position of the read pointer overtakes the position of the write pointer, such a user operation cannot be ignored or cannot be changed to the position of the read pointer ahead. You may make it notify.
<Embodiment 5 Hardware Configuration>

The functional configuration of the television receiver of the present embodiment can be realized according to the hardware configuration of the first embodiment described above.
<Fifth Embodiment Processing Flow>

Since the flow of operation processing in the television receiver according to the present embodiment is the same as the flow of operation processing in the first embodiment described above, description thereof will be omitted.
<Embodiment 5 effects>

  The television receiver of this embodiment further improves the operability for the user when displaying caption information.

0200 Television receiver 0201 Receiving unit 0202 Subtitle information extracting unit 0203 Buffer memory unit 0204 Pointer processing unit 0205 Write pointer holding unit 0206 Reading pointer holding unit 0207 Writing unit 0208 Reading unit 0209 Operation processing unit 0210 Pointer processing unit control unit

Claims (5)

A receiver for receiving digital television broadcasts;
A caption information extraction unit that extracts caption information from the received digital TV broadcast signal;
A ring-shaped buffer memory section;
Read pointer holding means for holding a read pointer of the buffer memory unit;
Write pointer holding means for holding a write pointer of the buffer memory unit;
And a pointer processing unit for managing these pointer holding means,
A reading unit for performing reading processing of the buffer memory unit from a reading pointer position;
A writing unit for writing the extracted subtitle information from the writing pointer position to the buffer memory unit;
An operation processing unit having a pointer processing unit control unit for giving and controlling an instruction for determining a pointer value to be held by the pointer holding unit with respect to the pointer processing unit;
A television receiver.   2. The television according to claim 1, wherein the subtitle information written in the buffer memory unit is a signal before decoding the digital signal, and further includes a subtitle processing unit that decodes the subtitle information read from the buffer memory unit by the reading unit. Receiving machine. A selection unit for selecting whether to output the superimposed caption information from the readout unit on the received digital television broadcast video or not to output it,
The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the operation processing unit includes a selection unit control unit that controls the selection unit. The operation processing unit
A number change detecting means for detecting a change in the number of viewers who watch the received digital television broadcast;
When the number of people detecting means detects that the number of people has decreased, the detection pointer position setting is output to the pointer processing unit as the read pointer position to be held at which the writing unit was performing the writing process. The television receiver according to claim 1, further comprising: means.   5. The operation processing unit according to claim 1, further comprising a user operation unit for outputting a command for changing a read pointer held by the read pointer holding unit to a pointer processing unit by a user operation. Television receiver.

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