KR100872516B1 - Apparatus and method for receving a local broadcating data in multi-channel broadcasting - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for receiving broadcast data per a region in a multi channel broadcast and a method thereof are provided to search and select a channel among multi channels through simple hierarchical search, search a desired program by using the first syllable and facilitate setting and selection of a preference channel. A smart card(2232) includes an allocated number per each region. A region checking unit(2334) reads the number included in the smart card. A data extracting unit(2236) receives electronic program guide divided into each region number and extracts only program guide information corresponding to the number read in the region checking unit among the electronic program guide.

Description

Apparatus and method for receving a local broadcating data in multi-channel broadcasting}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for providing an electronic program guide, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for hierarchically searching and selecting respective channel information.

In multi-channel broadcasting, information about each channel is provided through an electronic program guide (EPG), and a set top box (STB) on the user's side processes the received EPG information to allow a user to select a desired channel. Provides an electronic program guide screen for selection.

However, since the conventional set-top box simply displays the EPG information through the screen, when the number of channels is large, the user may have to search for the desired channels by searching the channels.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic program guide providing apparatus and method for searching a channel using a hierarchical menu list composed of multiple stages.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a program search apparatus and method for easily searching for a program provided by a multi-channel broadcast.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a preferred channel management apparatus and method for easily setting and selecting a user's preferred channel among channels provided in a multi-channel broadcast.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for easily collecting and managing information on a channel viewed by a user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for receiving different broadcast data for each region.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the electronic program guide providing apparatus according to the present invention is a menu list up to a predetermined level among a plurality of menu lists displaying hierarchically classified channels according to a predetermined criterion. A multi-stage menu display unit for multi-stage display on the screen for viewing the music; And a single menu display unit which deletes all previous menu lists from the screen from the menu lists after the predetermined step and displays only the currently selected menu list on the screen.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing an electronic program guide according to an embodiment of the present invention. The menu list includes a menu list up to a predetermined level among a plurality of menu lists displaying hierarchically classified channels according to a predetermined criterion. Displaying a plurality of stages on a screen being viewed; And deleting, from the menu lists after the predetermined step, all previous menu lists on the screen and displaying only the currently selected menu list on the screen.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program search apparatus, including: a search word input unit displaying an input keyboard on a screen currently being viewed and receiving a character selected by the user through the input keyboard; A program search unit for searching for a program existing in each channel based on the character received through the search word input unit; And a result display unit for displaying a channel number, a channel name, and a program name corresponding to the searched program.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program search method, comprising: displaying an input keyboard on a screen currently being viewed, and receiving a character selected by the user through the input keyboard; Searching for a program existing in each channel based on the received character; And displaying a channel number, a channel name, and a program name corresponding to the searched program.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the preferred channel management apparatus according to the present invention, a preference channel input unit for storing the preference channel information of the user; A preferred channel search unit which finds a number close to the channel number currently viewed by the user in ascending or descending order among the channels selected by the user when the user calls the preferred channel while watching a predetermined channel; And a channel changer for changing a channel to the found channel number.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the preferred channel management method according to the present invention comprises the steps of: storing user preference channel information; When the user calls a favorite channel while watching a predetermined channel, searching for an ascending or descending order of a number close to the channel number currently viewed by the user among the channels selected by the user; And changing the channel to the found channel number.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, an embodiment of a channel information management apparatus according to the present invention, EPG module for changing the channel to the user's selected channel; And a VBM module for storing channel change information and transmitting the channel change information stored in a predetermined time unit to an external server.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of managing channel information according to the present invention. And transmitting the stored channel change information to an external server on a predetermined time basis.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for receiving broadcast data for each region according to the present invention, including: a smart card including a unique number assigned to each region; An area confirmation unit reading a unique number included in the smart card; And a data extractor configured to extract data corresponding to a unique number read by the region checker when receiving broadcast data including data classified by a unique number for each region.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of receiving broadcast data for each region according to the present invention, the method comprising: receiving broadcast data including data classified by a unique number for each region; Reading a unique number assigned to each region included in the smart card; And extracting data corresponding to a unique number read from the smart card from the broadcast data.

According to the present invention, a user can easily search for and select a desired channel among multi-channels. In addition, it is possible to easily search for a desired program using the first syllable, and it is easy to set and select a favorite channel.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an entire system for providing an electronic program guide.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a system of a provider that provides a multi-channel includes a content information generator 100, a PSIP / SI information generator 110, an integrated information generator 120, a CMTS 130, and an administrator input unit. 140.

The content information generator 100 generates information about content such as a video on demand (VOD). The PSIP / SI information generator 110 generates information about all AV channels and PSIP / SI (Program and System Information Protocol / Service Information) information. The integrated information generation unit 120 integrates and processes the information about the content generated by the content information generation unit 100 and the AV channel information generated by the PSIP / SI information generation unit 110. The CMTS 130 transmits the integrated information of the integrated information generator 120 and the PSIP / SI information generated by the PSIP / SI information generator 110 to the STB 150.

The manager input unit 140 provides an interface for the administrator to process the integrated information generated by the integrated information generation unit 120 and transmitted to the STB 150. For example, the manager adds banner advertisement information to the integrated information through the manager input unit 140, changes a menu and order for providing electronic program guide information, or changes and specifies a group for each channel. That is, since the user can arbitrarily edit the data generated and transmitted by the integrated information generator, the user can perform operations such as adding, deleting, and changing the menu displayed to the viewer, and also changing the order of the displayed menus. Can be.

The EPG application and the VOD application of the STB 150 receive the data transmitted from the integrated information generation unit 120 and display it on the screen.

Figure 1b is a simplified view of another embodiment of an entire system for providing an electronic program guide.

Referring to FIG. 1B, the electronic program guide providing system includes a TCS, an integrated UI server, a VOD catalog server, a VOD server, a VBM server, and an STB, and the STB includes a VOD module, an EPG module, and a VBM module.

The TCS (Traffic Control System) manages information in a centralized way to achieve synchronization for various components required for digital broadcasting, such as VOD, PSIP / SI generator, iTV, H / E, and SMS.

The integrated UI server receives necessary data from the TCS and broadcasts it directly to the subscriber's STB. That is, the integrated UI server receives the integrated information including the VOD content information and the channel information from the TCS and transmits it to the STB.

By including the additional information arbitrarily defined in PSIP / SI, it is possible to include the genre for all channels transmitted by the broadcasting station, and based on this, the integrated UI server is a separate and arbitrarily defined to allow viewers to easily search If you define and transmit the on-screen display method to display only the common channel classification genres among the information of the viewer, the STB of the viewer reads the PSIP / SI information defined by the broadcasting station for the individual channels, Information on how to display the transmitted viewer screen is read and only the same divided genre channels are displayed on the screen.

VOD catalog server receives only VOD related information from TCS, processes and saves it into data suitable for each SO, and sends relevant data to STB's VOD module when it is requested to transmit related data from STB's VOD module. In the search function, channel information and VOD-related information are included together so that the user can view data meeting the search conditions without distinguishing between channel programs and VOD contents. That is, the VOD catalog server collects both channel information and VOD-related information from the TCS and has information in SO units. When the search condition is received from the STB, the channel information and the VOD content information are not separated. Search for all content that is totally viewable and send the result.

The STB's VOD module is a separate application within the STB that responds to a series of actions for the user to watch the VOD. If necessary, request information from the VOD catalog server or stream directly to the VOD server.

STB's VBM module recognizes the event about channel change through the EPG module when the viewer uses the remote control to up / dowm the channel or switches the channel using the numeric buttons on the remote control, and then stores the related contents. . The VBM module analyzes these events, calculates the number of channels watched by the viewer and the channel time, and transmits them to the VBM server at a specific time separately given to each STB. In this way, the VBM server can know the viewing mode of the STB owner in which the VBM module is installed.

When the VBM server collects information on channels or contents watched by each viewer from each STB, the VBM server may analyze and display the viewer's viewing behavior, pattern, and viewing time by analyzing the information.

Figure 2a is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of an electronic program guide providing apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 2b is a flow chart showing the flow of an embodiment of an electronic program guide providing method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2A, an electronic program guide providing apparatus according to the present invention includes a multi-level menu display unit 200, a single menu display unit 210, and an advertisement display unit 220. A description with reference to FIG. 2B is as follows.

The multi-stage menu display unit 200 displays the menu lists up to a predetermined level among the multi-stage menu lists displaying the hierarchically classified channels according to a predetermined criterion in the multi-stage screen (S250). The single menu display unit 210 deletes the previous menu list from the menu list after the predetermined step on the screen and displays only the currently selected menu list on the screen (S260). An embodiment of the method for displaying the menu list will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

The advertisement display unit 220 displays an advertisement screen on one side of the screen when the menu list is displayed on the screen by the multi-level menu display unit 200 or the single menu display unit 210. The advertisement display unit 220 may display a plurality of advertisement screens on the screen, or display the plurality of advertisement screens on the screen in order according to a time schedule (for example, every 5 seconds). In the advertisement screen, a link for moving to another screen may be set. In this case, when the user selects an advertisement screen through a remote controller, the advertisement display unit 220 moves to a specific service or a specific product purchase screen connected to the advertisement screen. The advertisement display unit 220 may delete the advertisement screen when a predetermined time elapses without a user's operation or when a menu list of a lower level is displayed by the user's selection.

The display step and the arrangement position of the advertisement may be implemented in various ways depending on the embodiment. For example, referring to FIG. 7A, when the menu list of the first step is displayed on the screen by the multi-stage menu display unit 200, the advertisement display unit 220 displays an advertisement screen on the lower right side, and referring to FIG. 7B. When the menu list of the last step is displayed, the advertisement display unit 220 displays an advertisement screen on the top of the menu list.

3A and 3B illustrate an embodiment of displaying multi-channels through a menu list of four levels.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the multi-stage menu display unit 200 displays the menu list 300 of the first step on the screen being viewed. When the user selects a specific menu from the menu list of the first step through the remote control, the multi-stage menu display unit 200 displays the menu list 310 of the second step corresponding to the selected menu on the screen. In this way, the multi-level menu display unit 200 displays the menu list 320 of the third stage on the same screen. When the user selects a specific menu of the menu list 320 of the third stage, the single menu display unit 210 displays the menu list 330 of the fourth stage on the screen after deleting the previous menu list from the screen. do. 5A and 5B illustrate an example of displaying a menu list of multiple stages.

3B is a diagram illustrating a case in which the user moves backward from the last menu list to the first menu list. When the user selects the menu list reverse movement through a specific button of the remote controller, the multi-level menu display unit and the single menu display unit correspond to the corresponding menu list. Display them on the screen. When moving from the menu list of the fourth stage to the menu list of the third stage, the multi-level menu display unit displays the menu lists of the first stage to the third stage on the screen, and moves from the third stage to the second stage. The multi-stage menu display unit deletes the menu list of the third stage from the screen through an animation technique.

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of moving a cursor in a menu list according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the cursor moves up and down in the menu list of each step. When all the menus are displayed in the menu list displayed on the screen, the cursor moves cyclically to the top menu when moving down from the last menu. However, when all the menus cannot be displayed in the menu list displayed on the screen, when the cursor moves down from the last menu, the menu moves up one line with the position of the cursor fixed. In this way, when the cursor moves down from the last menu, the cursor cycles back to the top menu.

5A and 5B illustrate an embodiment in which the electronic program guide information according to the present invention is displayed using a menu list of multiple stages.

Multi-channels may be hierarchically classified according to genres / characteristics. For example, multi-channels are classified into TV programs, VODs, latest movies, and the like. Here, each channel belonging to a TV program is classified into terrestrial / home shopping, movie / paid channel, drama / entertainment, news / information, education / female, and the like. In addition, channels belonging to the VOD may be further classified into a movie channel, an adult channel, a replay channel, and the like. In this way, channels may be classified into a plurality of stages, and the menu list of each stage includes each menu indicating a group to which the classified channels belong. For example, when a user selects TV program> drama / entertainment, information (ie, channel number, channel name, current program name, etc.) of each channel belonging to the user is displayed in the menu list.

The menu list of the first step of providing the electronic program guide information may include various menus according to an embodiment such as a configuration menu and a service guide menu in addition to the channel information.

6 is a view showing another embodiment of a method of moving a cursor in a menu list according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the menu list is composed of a plurality of pages, when the cursor moves down from the last line of the menu list, the menu list of the next page is displayed and the cursor is located on the top line of the new page. . Conversely, if the cursor moves up from the top line, the menu list displays the previous page and the cursor is located at the bottom line of the previous page. If you move the cursor left and right, only the page displayed in the menu list is moved to the front and back pages with the line where the cursor is located. If you move the cursor to the left on the first page, the last page is displayed. 6 is preferably applied to the menu list of the fourth step when only one menu list is displayed on the screen, that is, in the case of FIG. 3A.

8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a VOD content list screen of an electronic program guide providing screen according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, when the content list screen selects the VOD menu from the menu list of the first step, selects the kids / infant menu from the menu list of the second step, and selects Disney from the menu list of the third step. A single menu list that appears.

Information shown in the VOD content list includes a content title, paid / free information, and monthly content price information. The sorting criteria of the contents are in descending order of the same name, and in the order of the latest registration date in case of other contents.

9 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a content detail screen of an electronic program guide providing screen according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the content detail screen is a screen that is shown when a menu of VOD> KBS / SBS replay> KBS drama is selected step by step. The content details screen displays a poster, a content title, a rating, a content attribute (HD), a price, a viewing period, and detailed information. If an age limit is set, the poster image is semi-transparent or masked. In the case of FOD content, the price information is marked as free and the password input process is skipped. The quick view and cancel buttons are located at the bottom of the detailed information.

10 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a content storage box screen of an electronic program guide providing screen according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the storage screen is a screen shown when the VOD> Storage menu is sequentially selected from a menu list of multiple stages. If there is no list in the library, the library screen displays 'There is no watch list available.' Adult content should not be displayed in the library list. Purchased adult content can be re-watched within the remaining time of viewing only in the content list. The remaining watchable time is calculated by the number of days for more than one day and the number of hours less than 24 hours. Even if it is less than 1 hour, it is expressed as 1 hour. Free VODs (FODs) are also listed in the library list.

11 is a view showing an embodiment of the latest movie information providing screen of the electronic program guide providing screen according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, the latest movie information providing screen is a screen displayed by sequentially selecting a menu of the latest movie theater> screening work. If the screen is covered by i-Frame before the content is purchased, the channel number, program poster, program name, rating, price, viewing period, start time, plot, and image button are displayed.

12 is a view showing an embodiment of the latest movie library screen of the electronic program guide providing screen according to the present invention.

Referring to Figure 12, the latest movie library screen is a screen that is shown by sequentially selecting the latest movie theater> library menu. The library screen sorts the list by the most recently purchased list, showing the list of available purchases and the next show time. The earliest start time is displayed based on the current time. If the screening time is the next day, the day of the week is displayed.

13 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an event screen among electronic program guide providing screens according to the present invention.

The event menu exists under the VOD or the latest movie theater menu of the menu list of the first step, and when the event menu is selected, the event screen of FIG. 13 is shown. The information displayed through the event menu may be classified into a general notification type, a content list screen link type, and a content detail screen link type.

In the integrated UI server, the user creates and registers a message that the user wants to expose to viewers as an image, or inputs and stores information such as the image and the channel number or VOD content for the purpose of selling to a specific channel. When broadcasting using OOB data to the STB owned by the subscriber (viewer), the EPG application of the user's STB receives the corresponding information and inputs the user to the defined area (for example, the event screen of FIG. 13). If an image or a message is output and there is information about a channel number or VOD content, the corresponding channel or VOD content can be viewed according to the rebound of the user.

14 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a limited channel screen among electronic program guide providing screens according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 14, when a user selects a specific channel using an EPG or the like, but the channel is a parental control channel, the device according to the present invention displays an entire image of the restricted channel in a predetermined image (eg, i-frame). ), And one side of the screen displays a screen where you can enter a password and basic information about the channel (channel number, channel name, program name currently being provided). If the user enters the correct password, the device provides A / V for the restricted channel.

15 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an unsubscribed channel screen of an electronic program guide providing screen according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 15, when the selected channel is an unsubscribed channel, the device according to the present invention hides the entire screen of the restricted channel by a predetermined image (eg, i-frame) and provides a channel subscription screen. The user can subscribe to the channel by entering a password.

16A is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a program search apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 16B is a flowchart showing the flow of an embodiment of the program search method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 16A, a program search apparatus according to the present invention includes a search word input unit 1600, a program search unit 1610, and a channel change unit 1620. A description with reference to FIG. 16B is as follows.

The search word input unit 1600 receives a query for searching for a program from a user (S1650). The search word input unit 1600 provides a screen displaying only Hangul vowels on the screen as illustrated in FIG. 17. When the user selects any one of the collections displayed on the screen through the remote controller, the program search unit 1610 searches for a program name starting with the selected consonant (S1660). The program search unit 1610 searches for a program such as an AV channel and VOD content.

The result display unit 1620 displays the result retrieved by the program search unit as shown in FIG. 18 (S1670). Information displayed in the search results includes a channel number, a channel name, and a program name. The result display unit 1620 displays the searched results in the order of VOD> latest movie theater> A / V channel, and sorts them in alphabetical order or fast start time under the same condition.

As another example, the search word input unit 1600 may receive not only a vowel but all of the consonants as shown in FIG. 19. In this case, more accurate search results can be obtained. Of course, you can search the English title by displaying the English keyboard on the screen.

16C is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of a preferred channel search system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 16C, the preferred channel search system includes a VOD content information generator 1680, a PSIP / SI information generator 1802, an integrated information generator 1684, and an STB 1686.

The VOD content information generation unit 1680 generates information on the VOD content, and the PSIP / SI information generation unit 1802 generates information on each channel. The integrated information generation unit 1684 integrates the information generated by the VOD content information generation unit and the PSIP / SI information generation unit and provides the information to the STB 1686. When the integrated program generation unit 1684 receives a specific program search request from the STB 1686, the integrated information generation unit 1684 searches for a corresponding program and transmits the searched result to the STB 1686.

20A is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of a preferred channel providing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 20B is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an embodiment of a preferred channel providing method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 20A, the preferred channel providing apparatus according to the present invention includes a preferred channel input unit 2000, a preferred channel search unit 2010, and a channel changer 2020. A description with reference to FIG. 20B is as follows.

The preference channel input unit 2000 stores a user preference channel (S2050). The preferred channel input unit 2000 may display a channel information list including a channel number and a channel name on the screen being viewed as shown in FIG. 21, and receive a preferred channel from the user through the channel information list. Alternatively, the preference channel input unit 2000 may search for a specific channel and receive a preference channel through the electronic program guide providing apparatus shown in FIG. 2. The number of preferred channels to be stored is suitable about 20, and when the user selects more than the limited number of preferred channels, it informs the information that the number is exceeded on the screen.

If the user selects the preferred channel through the remote control while the user is watching a predetermined channel, the preferred channel search unit 2010 searches for the channel number closest to the channel currently being viewed by the user in ascending order (or descending order) (S2010). The channel changing unit 2020 changes the channel to the channel number retrieved by the preferred channel searching unit 2010 (S2070).

22 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a regional data providing system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 22, a region-specific data providing system includes a TCS 2200, an integrated UI server 2210, VOD servers 2220, 2222, 2224, and STB 2230 for each SO. In particular, the STB 2230 is composed of a smart card 2232, a local identification unit 2234 and a data extraction unit 2236.

The TCS 2200 selects only information necessary for the viewer among VOD or data related to each channel, generates data specific to each local SO, and delivers the data to the integrated UI.

The integrated UI server 2210 receives data from the TCS 2200 and broadcasts it to the entire broadcast network by putting a delimiter that can be separately distinguished into data for each SO.

The smart card 2232 of the STB 2230 contains a unique number of the region where the STB 2230 is installed. The area identification unit 2234 of the STB checks in which area the STB 2230 is installed based on the area unique number included in the smart card 2232. The data extractor 2236 extracts only data corresponding to the current region detected by the smart card 2232 among data (for example, EPG information) received from the integrated UI server. Therefore, even if all data is transmitted through one communication network, different data may be received depending on the region where the STB 2230 is installed.

Each SO VOD server 2220, 2222, 2224 may receive a stream transmission request from the STB belonging to the local SO in the same manner as described above, and upon receiving the stream transmission request, transmits the stream to the corresponding STB 2230.

The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and the like, and also in the form of a display by a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet). It includes what is implemented. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

So far I looked at the center of the preferred embodiment for the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

1A is a simplified diagram of one embodiment of an entire system for providing an electronic program guide;

1b is a simplified illustration of another embodiment of an entire system for providing an electronic program guide;

2A is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of an electronic program guide providing apparatus according to the present invention;

2b is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for providing an electronic program guide according to the present invention;

3A and 3B illustrate an embodiment of displaying a multi-channel through a menu list of four levels;

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of moving a cursor in a menu list according to the present invention;

5A and 5B illustrate an embodiment in which the electronic program guide information is displayed using a menu list of multiple stages according to the present invention;

6 is a view showing another embodiment of a method for moving a cursor in a menu list according to the present invention;

7A and 7B illustrate an embodiment of displaying an advertisement screen while providing an electronic program guide;

8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a VOD content list screen among electronic program guide providing screens according to the present invention;

9 is a view showing an embodiment of a content details screen of the electronic program guide providing screen according to the present invention;

10 is a view showing an embodiment of a content storage box screen of the electronic program guide providing screen according to the present invention,

11 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen for providing the latest movie information among electronic program guide providing screens according to the present invention;

12 is a view showing an embodiment of the latest movie library screen of the electronic program guide providing screen according to the present invention,

13 is a view showing an embodiment of an event screen of the electronic program guide providing screen according to the present invention,

14 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a limited channel screen among electronic program guide providing screens according to the present invention;

15 is a view showing an embodiment of an unsubscribed channel screen of the electronic program guide providing screen according to the present invention;

16A is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a program search apparatus according to the present invention;

16B is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an embodiment of a program search method according to the present invention;

16c is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a preferred channel search system according to the present invention;

17 is a view showing an embodiment of a search word input screen for program search according to the present invention;

18 illustrates an embodiment of a program search result according to the present invention;

19 is a view showing another embodiment of a search word input screen for program search according to the present invention;

20A is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a preferred channel providing apparatus according to the present invention;

20b is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an embodiment of a method for providing a preferred channel according to the present invention;

21 is a view showing an embodiment of a channel list displayed on a screen for selecting a preferred channel according to the present invention;

22 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a regional data providing system according to the present invention.

Claims (3)

A smart card including a unique number assigned to each region; An area confirmation unit reading a unique number included in the smart card; And Receives an electronic program guide divided by a unique number for each region, and extracts only the program guide information corresponding to the unique number read by the region identification unit of the electronic program guides to access a specific video on demand server for each region. And a data extracting unit. Receiving an electronic program guide classified by a unique number for each region; Reading a unique number assigned to each region included in the smart card; And Extracting program information corresponding to a unique number read from the smart card from the electronic program guide, and accessing a specific VOD (Video on Demand) server based on the extracted program information; How to receive data. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of claim 2.

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