JP4621724B2 - Broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a broadcast receiving apparatus provided with a function of searching for a receivable channel, and more particularly to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus in which the convenience of the search function is improved.

  In the case of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus having a large number of broadcast channels in a reception band, a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that can search and store a receivable channel in advance has been known (for example, a patent Reference 1).

  Therefore, this conventional technique will be described with reference to FIG. 6. First, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 103 described here digitally modulates video / audio data as a bit stream in accordance with the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) system. It is intended for digital terrestrial broadcasting systems using OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Dibision Multeplex) method.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the broadcast wave received by the antenna 102 is first input to the tuner unit 1 capable of selecting a predetermined channel and demodulated into a baseband signal by the demodulation circuit 2. After error correction of the data by the error correction unit 3, the video data and audio data are separated from the bit stream by the transport DEMUX 4, and the separated video data and audio data are decoded by the MPEG decoder 5.

  The video data thus decoded is converted into a predetermined television standard system such as the NTSC system by the video encoder 8 and output as a video signal. On the other hand, the decoded audio data is returned to an analog signal by an audio DAC (A / D converter) 9 and output as an audio signal.

  At this time, the CPU 6 controls the entire digital broadcast receiving apparatus 103. First, the OSD (On Screen Display) display unit 7 displays various additional data such as a list of channels that can be received superimposed on the video data, or switches and displays them according to an instruction from the CPU 6.

  Furthermore, a reception state detection unit 10 is provided, which detects the reception state of the channel selected by the tuner unit 1 and sends a control signal to the CPU 6. This is for monitoring the change in the state, and hence the change in the reception state of the selected channel, to determine whether or not reception is possible.

  At this time, the reception status detection unit 10 detects the reception status by detecting the frequency of data error by the error correction unit 3 and determining that reception is impossible when the frequency exceeds a predetermined value. Is done by.

  Here, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 103 will not be described in detail, but when the user stops using and shifts from the operation mode to the standby (standby) mode, the following operation is performed under the control of the CPU 6. It is like that.

  When the standby mode is entered, first the frequency bands used in terrestrial broadcasting are searched in order. Then, check the reception status of the channels included in the selected frequency, and if there is a channel that was in good reception status and could not be received, register it as a newly enabled channel in the list. And stored in the memory 11.

  Then, after this operation procedure is executed over all frequency bands, the original standby mode is set and the operation mode is awaited.

Therefore, according to the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 103, the reception state is automatically checked while the user is not using it, and a search for a channel that can be newly received is automatically obtained. The user can always arbitrarily select a favorite channel from the latest receivable channels only by looking at the displayed list without performing any troublesome operations.
JP 2000-332633 A

  The above prior art does not give consideration to the increase in the number of broadcast channels, and there remains a problem in that the search takes time when the number of receivable channels increases.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a broadcast receiving apparatus capable of performing an efficient search and shortening a search time.

In the broadcast receiving apparatus provided with a search means for detecting a receivable channel, the object is to determine whether the receivable channel detected by the search means is a registered channel, and the detection If the registered channel is registered, no processing is performed, and if it is a new channel, means for displaying the presence of the new channel is provided, and the search means displays the presence of the new channel. Thereafter, when the search operation is stopped and a further search instruction is input from the user, the search is resumed from the next frequency of the new channel.

  According to the present invention, when a search operation is performed, the registered channels are skipped, and only the channels that can be newly received are searched.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, the search is made efficient and the search time can be shortened.

  Hereinafter, a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention. At this time, the same components as those in the prior art shown in FIG.

  Therefore, also in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the broadcast wave received by the antenna 102 is input to the tuner unit 1 that selects a predetermined channel and demodulated to the baseband by the demodulation circuit 2 as in the case of FIG. It is also the same that after the error correction unit 3 corrects the data error, the transport DEMUX 4 separates the video data and the audio data from the bit stream, and the separated video data and the audio data are decoded by the MPEG decoder 5. The same.

  Further, the decoded video data is converted into a standard television format by the video encoder 8 and then output, and the audio data is converted into an analog audio signal by the audio DAC 9 and output. The CPU 6 for controlling the entire system and the OSD display unit 7 for superimposing or switching various additional data on the video data according to instructions from the CPU 6 are the same. The reception state detection unit 10 detects the reception state of the channel selected in 1 is the same.

  In addition, when the standby mode is entered, the frequency band used in the terrestrial broadcast is searched in order, the reception state of the channel included in the selected frequency is checked, the reception state is good, and so far If there is a channel that could not be received, it is registered in the list as a channel that can be newly received and stored in the memory 11, and after performing this operation procedure over all frequency bands, the original standby It is the same in that it enters the mode and waits for the operation mode.

  As a result, the user can always arbitrarily select a favorite channel from the latest receivable channels by simply looking at the list without performing any troublesome operations.

  In the case of the embodiment of FIG. 1, on the block configuration, a preset database 12, a remote controller 13, a determination unit 14, and a display screen creation unit 15 are further added to the configuration of FIG. The contents of control by the CPU 6 are also different.

  In FIG. 1, first, the preset database 12 functions to store channels that are expected to be receivable by a preset function described later. Here, for the preset function, a method of inputting regional information and acquiring corresponding broadcast frequency information, or a method of searching for receivable channels for all frequencies is adopted.

  Regarding the detection of the reception state necessary for the channel search at this time, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the example in which the reception state is detected based on the data error frequency detected by the error correction unit 3 has been described. Alternatively, a method of determining that reception is possible when the reception level is higher than a predetermined value, a method of determining that reception is possible when synchronization is established, and the like may be employed.

  Next, the determination unit 14 determines whether or not the selected channel is stored in the preset database 12, and serves to distinguish between the already registered channel and the channel newly added by the current search. .

  Here, the remote controller 13 and the display screen creation unit 15 will be described in the following description of the operation, and the search operation procedure according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

  First, the remote controller 13 is provided with a button for starting a search, or an operation for performing a search can be performed from the menu screen. When the user performs these operations, the CPU 6 causes the receiving device 103 to be connected. Move to search mode.

  At this time, a channel for starting a search can be designated by inputting a channel from a key of the remote controller 13 or selecting a channel from a menu screen. Here, the remote controller 13 is based on an infrared transmission method. In general, a wireless transmission method or an ultrasonic transmission method may be used.

  When the search mode is thus entered, the channel is switched in order from the designated frequency in the upward or downward direction until a signal is received in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 6.

  During the search, the progress of the search is displayed on the screen of the OSD display unit 7. For this reason, when the reception state detection unit 10 determines that the selected channel is receivable, the determination unit 14 It is determined whether or not the selected channel is stored in the preset database 12, and the display screen creation unit 15 distinguishes the already registered channel from the channel newly added by the current search and displays it to the user. Let

  FIG. 2 is an example of a display screen created by the display screen creation unit 15 in order to present the search progress and channel list in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. As soon as it is determined whether there is a broadcast station that can be received, the progress of the search can be indicated by changing the color of the area indicated by the corresponding channel number.

  As another example for indicating the progress of the search, a method of adding some mark such as “◯” or “→” to the channel number for which the search has been completed may be used. At this time, the progress status may be determined by displaying the corresponding frequency without using the channel number.

  Here, when a channel can be selected, it is determined whether or not the channel is recorded in the preset database 12, and it is determined whether the channel is a new channel or a channel registered in the database. Present to users using color, light, sound, etc.

  In FIG. 2, as an example of means for presenting to the user when a new channel (a channel that can be newly received by searching) is found, remote control numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 are already preset. The registered channel list is displayed.

  At this time, if the channel is selected at a certain frequency, such as “New channel found” or “Preset channel” icon on the same screen, whether it is new or registered Make a display to show.

  In the example of FIG. 2, when a search is performed and a broadcast station E having a remote control key ID of 10 is received, the icon “new channel found” is lit and broadcast on the channel list. The station E is added and displayed in a different color to distinguish it from other channels.

  At this time, if the received channel is registered as a preset, the icon “Preset channel” may be turned on to change the color of the area of the television station E in the channel list.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the three-digit number, the channel number, and the broadcast station name are displayed in the list of receivable channels. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and the region Identification, regional operator identification, operator name, TS (Toll Switch) name, network name, network_id, transport_stream_id, remote_control_key_id, three-digit number + branch number, etc. may be displayed.

  By the way, the screen display of the registered channel list is not limited to the form shown in the table shown in FIG. 2, but may be a simple display as shown in FIGS.

  Here, FIG. 3 is an example of a screen display when the preset channels are displayed simply and the new channels are displayed in detail to distinguish the new channels.

  Next, in FIGS. 4 and 5, both channels are simply displayed, and the shape (FIG. 4) and color (FIG. 5) of the icons are changed for the new channels, thereby distinguishing them from registered channels. It is an example of the screen display at the time of doing so.

  At this time, in FIG. 4, a square icon represents a registered channel, and a round icon represents a new channel. That is, it is distinguished by the type of image.

  Next, in FIG. 5, the color-coded icon numbers (here, the number 10 is a different color) are distinguished by new channels, that is, by color-coding, but here logo marks may be used instead of icons. .

  In the example of FIG. 2, when a new channel or a registered channel is selected, the icon is lit, that is, the user is notified by light emission display. However, the present invention is not limited to this method, and a new channel is found. Or a method of notifying the user that a registered channel has been found, such as sound or peep sound, that is, a sound display, a method of using both screen notification and sound notification, or a lamp A method using a light emission display such as lighting may be used.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, in the second embodiment, a plurality of channel lists corresponding to a plurality of reception areas are stored.

  For this reason, after performing a search, a list of channels that can be received in association with the corresponding region information is stored in the preset database 12, and when performing a search in another region, the corresponding region information and A list of channels that can be received in association with each other is stored, and when a search is performed, the corresponding regional database is updated.

  Therefore, according to the second embodiment, when the user moves to a different area of the reception area, if there is a preset in the area in the past, there is no need to perform the preset again, which is convenient. improves.

  For example, it is assumed that a certain user inputs a region code A to perform a preset in region A, and then performs a search. In this case, the channel list determined to be receivable after the search is recorded in the channel list database associated with the area code A.

  Here, if the user further moves to the area B and inputs the area code B to perform presetting, a list of receivable channels is stored in association with the area code B at this time. After that, when a search is performed, the receivable channel list is recorded in the database corresponding to the region code B, separately from the channel list of the region code A.

  In this way, when the user moves from area A to B and returns to A again, the area code A is input, and the list of received channels recorded in the preset database is read, so that the search is performed without performing the preset again. Can improve convenience.

  By the way, in this example, a method is used in which a list of channels that can be received is stored in association with a region code, and the region code is input to read the channel list.

  However, as another method, when a user intends to read a channel list in a certain area, a list of databases stored in the preset database 12 is displayed, and a corresponding channel list is displayed from the displayed list. In this case, there is no need to associate the area information with the channel list at the time of presetting.

  Also, at this time, a plurality of channel lists may be stored for one reception area. In this case, for example, when one reception device is used by a plurality of users, each one is dedicated. It is possible to have a channel list. Therefore, it is possible to register only a favorite channel or freely change a registration number to the remote controller.

  Also, as the number of broadcast channels increases, the number of numeric keys provided on the remote control will not fit. However, even in this case, according to the above embodiment, a plurality of channel lists for a single reception area. Since the user can select a channel list including a desired channel, the user can select a channel from the corresponding remote control key, and convenience is increased.

  Next, the third embodiment of the present invention will be described by taking as an example the processing after channel selection at a new or preset frequency. In this embodiment, search is performed when a channel is selected at a certain frequency. The operation is stopped, which channel is selected is displayed, and if the user desires, the mode is changed to the remote control key ID setting mode.

  Here, the remote control key ID is automatically set based on information transmitted from the broadcasting station. If it is desired to change the remote control key ID, a registration number for the remote control desired by the user is set and stored in the preset database 12. Remember.

  However, if the user has already changed the registration number for the remote control and it overlaps with the remote control key ID in the newly enabled channel, the registration number for either remote control must be changed. To the user.

  Next, as a fourth embodiment of the present invention, when a search operation is performed, the channels registered in the preset database are skipped, only the channels that can be newly received are searched, and this can be notified to the user. A form is demonstrated.

  Here, in the fourth embodiment, for example, a button for searching only a newly receivable channel is provided on the remote controller 13, and when this button is pressed, the mode is shifted to the new channel search mode. However, there are other operations for shifting to the new channel search mode, such as a method of continuously pressing a button used for performing a search provided on the remote controller 13 for several seconds, or a method of operating from a menu screen. And so on.

  When the mode is changed to the new channel search mode in this manner, the tuning frequency is sequentially changed and the channel selection process is executed under the control of the CPU 6 as in the normal search operation. When a receivable channel is found by the reception state detection unit 10, it is determined whether or not the channel is stored in the preset database 12, and if it is stored, the next frequency is searched.

  On the other hand, if it is not stored, the screen displays that there is a channel that can be newly received as in the normal search, and if the user wishes, the search is performed again from the next frequency. By repeating the above, all frequencies are searched, and all newly receivable channels can be searched.

  Here, in this embodiment, an example is shown in which the search operation is stopped when a new channel is selected, and this information is displayed and notified to the user. All the channels that can be newly received may be displayed.

  Next, as a fifth embodiment of the present invention, any one of region identification, region carrier identification, carrier name, TS name, network name, network_id, transport_stream_id, remote_control_key_id, three-digit number, three-digit number + branch number, etc. An embodiment in which the user is notified of the changed information will be described.

  Now, assuming that the frequency selected by the search operation has already been stored in the preset database 12, the CPU 6 extracts a network information table (NIT) from the reproduced transport stream. Each information such as identification, regional operator identification, operator name, TS name, network name, network_id, transport_stream_id, remote_control_key_id, three-digit number, branch number, etc. is extracted and compared with information registered in the preset database 12.

  If any of these pieces of information is different from the information registered in the preset database 12, the different information is displayed on the screen.

  Therefore, according to this embodiment, when information is changed, it is notified to the user, and the user can know at a glance which information has been changed.

  Next, as a sixth embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment in which a three-digit number is input and a corresponding broadcasting station is searched will be described. In this case, first, the remote controller 13 is provided with a dedicated button for shifting to the search mode from the three-digit number or means for operating from the menu screen.

  When these buttons or means are used to move to the above-described mode, the user is prompted to input a three-digit number to be searched. Thereafter, the three-digit number is input, and the search is sequentially performed in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 6 as in the normal search.

  When a channel that can be selected is found in this way, the search is paused, and compared with the acquired three-digit number of NIT. If both match, the search is terminated here and the found channel is displayed. Make channel information known to users.

  On the other hand, if the three-digit number does not match, the frequency search is continued, and this operation is repeated until a channel matching the three-digit number entered by the user is selected, and the corresponding channel cannot be received. Until it is determined, the search is performed over all frequencies.

  Therefore, according to this embodiment, the search process can be performed from the input of a three-digit number, and the convenience can be improved by corresponding to various input operations.

  Here, in the above embodiment, the corresponding channel is searched by inputting the three-digit number. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the three-digit number, but the area identification and the area operator identification. The search for the corresponding channel can be obtained by the user inputting or selecting at least one of the operator name, TS name, network name, network_id, transport_stream_id, remote_control_key_id, 3 digit number + branch number, etc. It may be.

  Therefore, according to each of the embodiments of the present invention described above, after the search operation, it is obvious whether the selected channel is preset or a new channel, and the same channel is set to a plurality of remote control keys. It is possible to prevent the risk of being lost.

  In addition, according to each of the above-described embodiments, information such as how far the search has progressed and which frequency is being searched is displayed during the search, so that the time required for the remaining search can be estimated. It is possible to provide services that are highly convenient.

  Furthermore, according to each embodiment described above, even when the movement to different areas of the reception area is repeated, it is possible to save time and effort for performing presetting every time the movement is performed, thereby reducing the burden on the user and providing high convenience.

It is a block block diagram which shows one Example of the broadcast receiving apparatus by this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the screen display by one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows another example of the screen display by one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows another example of the screen display by one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows another example of the screen display by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows an example of the broadcast receiving apparatus by a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tuner 2 Demodulator circuit 3 Error correction part 4 Transport DEMUX
5 MPEG decoder 6 CPU
7 OSD display unit 8 Video encoder 9 Audio DAC (A / D converter)
10 reception state detection unit 11 memory 12 preset database 13 remote control (remote controller)
14 Determination Unit 15 Display Screen Creation Unit 102 Antenna 103 Digital Broadcasting Receiver (Overall)

Claims (1)

In a broadcast receiving apparatus provided with search means for detecting receivable channels,
Determining means for determining whether or not the receivable channel detected by the search means is a registered channel;
If the detected channel is already registered, no processing is performed, and if it is a new channel, means for displaying the presence of the new channel is provided,
The search means displays the presence of the new channel, stops the search operation, and resumes the search from the next frequency of the new channel when a further search instruction is input from the user. Broadcast receiving device.

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