KR100700058B1 - Method and system for managing electronic program guide - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic program guide system and a method for arranging a program other than a channel axis based on information of a program object selected by a user. A first step (S1) of receiving and decoding corresponding EPG data; A second step (S2) of objectizing program information included in each channel to output the EPG data; The program display information is output to the first display unit 20 located on one side of the channel display unit 10 (refer to FIG. 5) on which each channel is displayed by using program object information of each channel currently being broadcast, and a predetermined position selected in advance. A third step S3 of allowing a program object of to be selected; A fourth step (S4) of outputting knitting information to the second display unit 30 located on one side of the first display unit 20 by using program object information of each channel to be broadcast after the current time; When the selection of the selected program is changed to another program object due to the user's input using the input interface, the time information of the newly selected program object is checked, and the peripheral program of the selected program is selected based on the checked time information. A fifth step (S5) of rearranging the output information; Including the sixth step (S6) for displaying the rearranged output information on the on-screen display in the fifth step (S5), by providing a more convenient, concise and intuitive interface for the user's broadcast programming information familiar digital It is to provide a broadcasting viewing environment.

Electronic program guide, EPG, EPG output implementation, reordering, display section.

Description

Electronic program guide system and method thereof {Method and system for managing electronic program guide}             

1 is a screen configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional electronic program guide;

2 is a screen configuration diagram showing another example of a conventional electronic program guide;

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the electronic program guide system of the present invention

       Block Diagram,

4 illustrates an embodiment of an electronic program guide method of the present invention.

       Flowchart,

5 to 7 illustrate an electronic program guide system and method thereof of the present invention.

       Configuration diagram showing EPG screen when using,

8 illustrates another embodiment of an electronic program guide method of the present invention.

       Flowchart.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: demultiplex processing unit 200: MPEG decoder

300: broadcast data processing unit 400: audio output unit

500: EPG data processor 600: EPG output implementation

700: image output unit 800: memory unit

900: input interface

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic program guide system and a method thereof, and in particular, a program for aligning and arranging a specific axis with a channel axis in an electronic program guide (EPG) in a terminal device receiving a digital signal, and configuring a channel. The present invention relates to an electronic program guide system and method for utilizing the information as a object and aligning programs other than the channel axis based on information of a program object selected by a user.

Conventional TV program information is generally provided by using a publication such as a newspaper, a magazine, or supplied as program information of a website in the form of a publication. However, with the development of media and technology, services using a number of channels, programs and various business models are being made in line with the digital broadcasting era.

A user viewing a program by a receiving terminal program processing system information and additional information of such a service uses a system called an electronic program guide (EPG) to select a program and a service.

The user can check the program information for a certain period by using the EPG displayed on the OSD (On Screen Display), and when selecting a program, additional information such as the program title, broadcasting time, detailed information, viewing restriction information, category information, etc. of the corresponding program Can be obtained.

Conventional EPG user interface displays the program information on the screen in the form of a grid or static list consisting of a static channel axis and a time axis, and the user uses the EPG information screen displayed on the screen. By obtaining desired information, the user selects a channel item on the EPG information screen to directly control channel selection for the channel.

1 is a screen configuration diagram illustrating an example of a conventional electronic program guide, and illustrates a grid user interface.

The grid interface forms a channel axis on the vertical axis and a time axis on the horizontal axis to display a list of program information for each channel according to the development of the time, and the start time information of each program in each cell. The program name will be displayed with.

Thus, when the user presses an appropriate input key after selecting the cell, the detailed information of the program is displayed or the program is displayed on the television.

However, as described above, the conventional EPG user interface expresses the programs that are the contents of the organization information in a cell in a static grid having a constant size and size, so that information about the program is displayed in one cell. When the font of the letters and the screen elements are inevitably displayed largely, due to the inherent characteristics of the television media, when the title of the program and the display contents in the cell are longer than a certain length, all information included in one cell may be displayed. Since there is no number, since a certain length or more is omitted and additional processing is required, a problem often arises in that essential information of a program cannot be displayed.

FIG. 2 is a screen configuration diagram illustrating another example of a conventional electronic program guide, and illustrates an EPG scheme in which a program list of a selected channel is displayed in the right region when the left channel display region is focused.

However, this EPG method has a problem in that it is not possible to explicitly compare programs at the same time between the selected channel, the adjacent channel, and the displayed channel.

The present invention is to solve the above-described drawbacks, the method of the present invention to rearrange and display the organization information on the basis of the time of the program focused by the user's input is possible to operate all the organized broadcast information centered on the user input By comparing the time between access channels without additional input, it is possible to solidify the user's willingness to watch, and to provide a convenient digital broadcasting viewing environment by providing a more convenient, concise and intuitive interface for the user's broadcasting program information. An electronic program guide system and method thereof are provided.

The present invention includes a tuner for demultiplexing a plurality of desired programs among video and audio data included in an input transport stream; An MPEG decoder for decoding the MPEG transport stream received through the tuner into audio, video and data; An audio processor which receives the decoded audio data and passes the preamplified signal to an audio output unit, a video processor that processes the decoded video data, and a data processor that processes additional data in addition to audio and video. A broadcast data processing unit; An EPG data processing unit for classifying an electronic program for guiding by channel, program objectizing, storing the currently broadcast program object, and creating classification display information according to a user input; The program object information received from the EPG data processing unit is classified according to a condition, and the program object broadcasted in the adjacent channel is rearranged based on the time of the program selected by the user's operation to configure the on-screen display (OSD) information. An output implementation; And a picture synthesizing unit configured to reconstruct and output the screen configuration information transmitted from the video processing unit and the data processing unit and the screen configuration information transmitted from the EPG output implementation unit to the screen.

According to another aspect of the present invention, when the user requests the display of the electronic program guide through the input interface, the first step of receiving and decoding the EPG data; A second step of objectizing program information included in each channel to output the EPG data; A third step of outputting organization information by using program object information of each channel currently broadcasting on a first display unit located on one side of the channel display unit on which each channel is displayed, and selecting a program object of a predetermined position selected in advance; Wow; A fourth step of outputting knitting information by using program object information of each channel to be broadcast after a current time on a second display unit located on one side of the first display unit; When the selection of the selected program is changed to another program object due to the user's input using the input interface, the time information of the newly selected program object is checked, and the peripheral program of the selected program is selected based on the checked time information. A fifth step of rearranging the output information; And a sixth step of displaying the rearranged output information on the on-screen display.

According to another aspect of the present invention, when the electronic program guide (EPG) is executed from the user, the information configuration step of configuring the display information from the program schedule data currently broadcast program objects; A display step of displaying the EPG on the on-screen display with a program of a specific position selected based on the configured information; When the user changes the program selection, the start time and the end time of the newly selected program are set as the reference time, and the first program of the programs broadcast during this reference time is displayed on one side of the channel display unit where each channel is displayed. A first sorting step of aligning for displaying on a first display unit located; A second sorting step of arranging the programs to be broadcast after the reference time of the first sorting step so as to be displayed on a second display part located on one side of the first display part; And a display step of displaying the information configured in the first sorting step and the second sorting step on an on-screen display.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the electronic program guide system of the present invention. The system configuration of an embodiment of the present invention is as follows.

The system of the present invention receives broadcast data from a receiving terminal apparatus such as a set-top box, a VOD, an AOD, an Internet service, a digital home service, a multimedia PC, or a PC used in digital broadcasting. Is displayed so that the user can easily use it. After receiving the RF signal transmitted from the transmission station of the broadcasting station and demodulating the digital signal, a desired number of programs from among the video and audio data included in the input transport stream are selected. And a tuner 100 and an MPEG decoder 200 for demultiplexing, and the broadcast data received through the tuner 100 and the MPEG decoder 200 includes an audio processor 310, a video processor 320, and a data processor. The broadcast data processing unit 300 including the processing of audio packets, processing of video packets, and processing of additional data other than audio and video are performed by the broadcasting data processing unit 300 (330). Happens.

That is, the broadcast data is transmitted to the tuner 100 processing through each service multiplexed according to the channel, and to the MPEG decoder 200 for decoding the received MPEG transport stream into audio, video, and data. By primary processing.

The audio data decoded by the MPEG decoder 200 is transferred to the audio processor 310, and is then transmitted to the audio output unit 400 of the set-top box through preamplification and used through the corresponding audio output interface. The decoded video data The image is transmitted to the image synthesizer 700 via the video processor 320.

In addition, the data processor 330 processes additional data in addition to audio and video. The additional data includes specific system data for digital broadcasting and digital contents for a plurality of specific applications and users. Event information and service information used in the electronic program guide (EPG) are separately transmitted to the EPG data processing unit 500 for processing.

Thereafter, the information passing through the data processor 330 receives the EPG related data received from the EPG data processor 500, and the control data input from the input interface 900 including the user's input device is the control receiver 910. A command is given to the EPG data processing unit 500 via.

The EPG data processing unit 500 classifies an electronic program for guiding by channel, makes a program object, stores a currently broadcast program object, and makes classification display information according to a user input.

Thereafter, the display information is transmitted to the EPG output implementation unit 600. If necessary, the data of the memory unit 800 is read to generate display information of the electronic program information, and new data is updated in the memory unit 800.

The memory unit 800 has data on existing information according to a user's use of EPG, such as information on a reserved program, a bookmark, and favorite channel information.

The EPG output implementing unit 600 lists the program object information received from the EPG data processing unit 500 in order according to a condition and configures on screen display information for outputting information to be displayed.

In addition, the EPG output implementation unit 600 displays a predetermined number of objects in the display unit according to the length of the objects when the objects are displayed, thereby displaying the number of objects displayed according to the length of each object. Can be adjusted, and therefore, there is no concept of a conventional cell in displaying, regardless of the size or length of the program object display area.

However, in the case in which each object is displayed in a predetermined number in the display unit as described above, since the length of the program broadcasted in each channel is different, the currently selected program object and the object displayed in the adjacent channel have different time zones. Can be displayed.

For example, if one channel displays program objects that are aired for 3 hours, while adjacent channels list multiple program objects that are aired for 30 minutes, the user might collect information about these programs in a similar time zone. This can be confusing rather than a program, and it is inconvenient to know the programs of other channels in the same time zone.

Therefore, the EPG output implementation unit 600 of the present invention classifies the program object information received from the EPG data processing unit 500 according to a condition, and broadcasts on the adjacent channel based on the time of the program selected by the user operation. It will rearrange the program objects.

More specifically, when the user changes the program selection, the rearrangement process sets the start time and the end time of the newly selected program as the reference time, so that each channel is assigned the first program that is broadcasted during this reference time. Arranged to display on a first display unit located on one side of the channel display unit to be displayed, and to display a program aired after the reference time of the first alignment step on a second display unit located on one side of the first display unit. To be aligned.

On the other hand, the screen configuration information transmitted from the video processing unit 320 and the data processing unit 500 and the information transmitted from the EPG output implementation unit 600 is transmitted to the image synthesis unit 700, the image output unit 710 The on screen display is displayed.

4 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the electronic program guide method of the present invention. In the electronic program guide method of the present invention, when the user requests the display of the electronic program guide through an input interface, the EPG data is received. A first step (S1) of decoding; A second step (S2) of objectizing program information included in each channel to output the EPG data; A third step of outputting organization information by using program object information of each channel currently broadcasting on a first display unit located on one side of the channel display unit on which each channel is displayed, and selecting a program object of a predetermined position selected in advance; (S3); A fourth step (S4) of outputting knitting information by using program object information of each channel to be broadcast after a current time on a second display unit located on one side of the first display unit; When the selection of the selected program is changed to another program object due to the user's input using the input interface, the time information of the newly selected program object is checked, and the peripheral program of the selected program is selected based on the checked time information. A fifth step (S5) of rearranging the output information; The technical features include a sixth step S6 of displaying the rearranged output information on the on-screen display in the fifth step S5.

More specifically, the fifth step (S5), when the selection is changed by the user in the output EPG, step 5-1 (S5-1) to set the start time and end time of the newly selected program as the reference time )Wow; A fifth step (S5-2) of arranging the program objects broadcast for the set reference time to be displayed in order on the first display unit; And a fifth step (S5-3) for arranging program objects broadcast after the reference time to be displayed on the second display unit.

5 to 7 are diagrams illustrating the EPG screen when the electronic program guide system and the method of the present invention are used, and show a process in which program objects are rearranged by a user's selection. Hereinafter, the operation and effects of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7.

The EPG display of the present invention first receives and decodes corresponding EPG data (step 1), and then objectizes program information included in each channel to output the EPG data (step 2), and then displays each channel. The program information is output to the first display unit 20 located on one side of the channel display unit 10 by using program object information of each channel currently being broadcast, and the program object 21 at a predetermined position selected in advance is selected. (Step 3), and outputs the knitting information to the second display unit 30 located on one side of the first display unit 20 by using program object information of each channel to be broadcast after the current time (fourth). step).

At this time, on the upper side of the EPG display unit 50, a screening unit 40 on which a program designated by the currently selected program object 21 is displayed is located.

In the Electronic Program Guide (EPG), ordinary program objects are represented by a single line. However, an object of a program that is selected (focused) may be represented in two or more lines depending on the amount of information in the program.

Each object displays additional information (reservation availability, parental control information) of the corresponding program in right alignment.

After outputting the EPG data as described above, if there is a change of the object selected by the user, the objects around the selected object are rearranged in the same process as the fifth step S5, so that the user can program the adjacent channel of the same time zone. Make it easy to know.

On one side of the first display unit 20, a time display unit 22 for displaying (On Air) that the selected program is on air is located in the process of the third step, and the time display unit 22 has a fifth step (S5). If the selection is changed during the process, the airing time of the newly selected program object is displayed.

In addition, the selected program object 21, the program object being broadcasted at the airing time of the selected program object 21, and the program object to be broadcasted later than the airing time of the selected program object 21 are separately displayed. It is preferable.

That is, the object of the programs currently being broadcast is different from the other objects and the display method (object expression color, font). As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the selected program has a width (height) higher than that of other channels. This large, emphasizing background color and font color different from other channels can be used, the background color of a cell can be different, and time information can be expressed in an object.

As described above, when the user uses the EPG, the present invention allows the EPG to be expressed in the same manner as described above. Hereinafter, the operation when the user changes the initially selected program will be described.

For example, when the user moves the focus (selection) by pressing the right arrow key while watching a program that is currently being broadcast, as shown in FIG. 6, the time display part 22 of the first display part 20 displays on-air display (On). The start time of the program that is in focus is displayed instead.

In this case, schedule information is displayed on the cells of the first display unit 20 and the second display unit 30 based on the time displayed on the time display unit 22 of the first display unit 20. That is, programs in which the time when the program of the adjacent cell ends and the time indicated on the time display unit of the first display unit 20 belong to the designated time of the selected program are displayed, and the second display unit 30 displays the focus. Program objects to be displayed after the programmed program object 21 are arranged and displayed, and the state is as shown in FIG.

That is, the start time at which the newly selected " 88 times " broadcast starts is shown on the time display section 22, and the program is rearranged based on this time and displayed in the adjacent cell.

As shown, the program object located in the second display unit 30 of FIG. 5 does not move to the first display unit 20 of FIG. 6, but the start and end times of the selected "selection (88)" broadcasts. You can see that it is rearranged accordingly.

At this time, as described above, the focused "selection (88 times)" program is displayed with a different color, and the program being broadcasted and the program to be broadcasted on the basis of the current time are displayed with different display colors and fonts. Thus, the user can intuitively understand the program information.

When the user presses the right arrow key once more and the " experience! Global homestay " in the second display unit 30 of Fig. 6 is focused, the user is rearranged in the same manner to obtain a state as shown in FIG.

That is, the time display part 22 displays the start time of this newly selected program, and the program of the adjacent channel is rearranged and displayed by this newly designated time.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of the electronic program guide method of the present invention. When an electronic program guide (EPG) is executed by a user, an information construction step of configuring display information from program schedule data currently broadcasted is performed. (S10); A display step (S20) of displaying the EPG on the on-screen display in a state where a program of a specific position is selected based on the configured information; When the user changes the program selection, the start time and end time of the newly selected program are set as the reference time, and the first program among the programs broadcast during this reference time is located on one side of the channel display unit where each channel is displayed. A first sorting step (S30) for sorting to display on the first display unit; A second sorting step (S40) for arranging a program that is broadcast after the reference time of the first sorting step (S30) to be displayed on a second display unit located on one side of the first display unit; And a display step S50 of displaying the information configured in the first sorting step S30 and the second sorting step S40 on the on-screen display.

The above embodiment is an example for explaining the technical idea of the present invention in detail, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above drawings and embodiments.

As described above, the present invention provides a smooth navigation of a user using an electronic program guide (EPG), supports a system and an interface required therefor, and provides a program object based on an independent channel rather than providing information based on a time base as in the prior art. It is possible to acquire information in units, and when there is a lot of information of a program, which is a problem of the conventional EPG, the broadcast time of the corresponding program is short, so that the program information cannot be shown effectively because it is out of the grid displaying the program information. To show the program information of the selected program.

In addition, since the program information is rearranged and displayed based on the time of the selected program by the user's input, the user can operate the center of the user's input for all the broadcast information, and the time comparison between the access channels is possible without additional input. Active viewing will be solidified, providing a more convenient, concise, and intuitive interface for the user's broadcasting program information, thereby providing a familiar digital broadcasting viewing environment.

Claims (7)

A tuner for demultiplexing a plurality of desired programs among video and audio data included in an input transport stream; An MPEG decoder for decoding the MPEG transport stream received through the tuner into audio, video and data; An audio processor which receives the decoded audio data and passes the preamplified signal to an audio output unit, a video processor that processes the decoded video data, and a data processor that processes additional data in addition to audio and video. A broadcast data processor; An EPG data processing unit for classifying an electronic program for guiding by channel, program objectizing, storing the currently broadcast program object, and creating classification display information according to a user input; The program object information received from the EPG data processing unit is classified according to a condition, and the program object broadcasted in the adjacent channel is rearranged based on the time of the program selected by the user's operation to configure the on-screen display (OSD) information. An output implementation; And an image synthesizing unit configured to reconstruct and output the screen configuration information transmitted from the video processing unit and the data processing unit and the screen configuration information transmitted from the EPG output implementation unit to the screen. A first step of receiving and decoding corresponding EPG data when the user requests the display of the electronic program guide through an input interface; A second step of objectizing program information included in each channel to output the EPG data; A third step of outputting organization information by using program object information of each channel currently broadcasting on a first display unit located on one side of the channel display unit on which each channel is displayed, and selecting a program object of a predetermined position selected in advance; Wow; A fourth step of outputting knitting information by using program object information of each channel to be broadcast after a current time on a second display unit located on one side of the first display unit; When the selection of the selected program is changed to another program object due to the user's input using the input interface, the time information of the newly selected program object is checked, and the peripheral program of the selected program is selected based on the checked time information. A fifth step of rearranging the output information; And a sixth step of displaying the rearranged output information on the on-screen display in the fifth step. The method of claim 2, wherein the fifth step, Step 5-1 of setting a start time and an end time of the newly selected program as a reference time when the selection is changed by the user in the output EPG; A step 5-2 of arranging the program objects broadcast for the set reference time to be displayed in order on the first display unit; And a fifth step of arranging program objects broadcast after the reference time to be displayed on the second display unit. The method of claim 2, wherein one side of the first display unit indicates that the selected program is being broadcast in the process of the third step, and if the selection is changed in the process of the fifth step, airing time of the newly selected program object is displayed. And displaying the electronic program guide method. The method of claim 2, wherein the selected program object, the program object being aired at the airing time of the selected program object, and the program object to be broadcasted later than the airing time of the selected program object are distinguished from each other. Electronic program guide how. The electronic program guide method of claim 2, wherein additional information of the program is displayed together on one side of the program object displayed on the first display unit and the second display unit. An information construction step of configuring display information from program schedule data that is currently broadcast from program schedule data when the electronic program guide (EPG) is executed by a user; A display step of displaying the EPG on the on-screen display with a program of a specific position selected based on the configured information; When the user changes the program selection, the start time and end time of the newly selected program are set as the reference time, and the first program among the programs broadcast during this reference time is located on one side of the channel display unit where each channel is displayed. A first sorting step of sorting for display on the first display unit; A second sorting step of arranging the programs to be broadcast after the reference time of the first sorting step so as to be displayed on a second display part located on one side of the first display part; And a display step of displaying the information configured in the first sorting step and the second sorting step on an on-screen display.

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