KR100961296B1 - Method for searching telerecoding list in PVR system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention stores the recorded program list by using the EPG data transmitted from the broadcasting station, and when the user receives the recorded program list search command, extracts and outputs a program list corresponding to the search condition, and outputs the program to the user. Inquiries whether a group is set in the list, and if the user wants to set the group in the program list, the extracted program list is stored with the program group name input by the user. By providing a way to organize groups, the entire program list can be expressed more simply. By combining programs with similar characteristics, users can manage several programs more efficiently and collectively.

PVR, Recording List

Description

Method for searching telerecoding list in PVR system             

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a PVR system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram showing the structure of metadata according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of recording a program according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a program group setting method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a program group setting according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram illustrating a process of creating a program group according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

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

100: IR receiver 110: control unit

120: memory 130: tuner

140: demultiplexer 150: decoder

160: output unit 170: OSD unit

180: IDE interface unit 190: HDD

The present invention relates to a recording list retrieval method in a PVR system for providing an environment in which a user can more easily search for a desired program among a large amount of recorded programs.

Recently, the terrestrial receiver has become more complicated and various products are released according to the trend of widespread and advanced. Recently, the most popular topic is the personal video recorder (PVR).

 PVR is a personal digital video recording device that records and plays back information on a hard disk. Unlike a VCR that stores video signals on a magnetic tape, a PVR is a new concept of digital recording device that records and plays back information on a hard disk. It is a next-generation recording device that can record a certain amount of broadcast programs depending on the capacity without a VCR through the hard disk drive built into the set-top box or television body.                         

When the PVR selects a channel, the signal currently broadcasted on the hard drive is digitally stored and played simultaneously. Therefore, if the stop button is pressed and the play button is pressed again, the stored broadcast signal is played again from the point where it was stopped. You can also watch the program that's currently being broadcast, play it back in slow motion, or skip the boring part, making it easy to find and edit the part you want.

That is, the personal video recording device provides not only basic recording but also various additional functions to meet the needs of the user, such as a timing shift, live playback, and other users. Moreover, the advantages of storing HD-quality high-definition digital broadcasting at any time on the hard disk and various additional service functions exist as a great attraction for the user, and the demands thereof are rapidly increasing and many new technologies are being developed.

With the rapid development and generalization of digital broadcasting technology, numerous digital broadcasting channels in various forms have emerged. Accordingly, an environment in which viewers can access a huge amount of digital broadcasting programs is being established. As a result, the amount of programs stored on the PVR will also be vastly incomparable with current conditions. In the future, with the increase in the capacity of hard disks, it is expected that a hard rack capable of mounting multiple hard disks will be introduced into the PVR. Therefore, the PVR should provide a mechanism that allows the user to more effectively manage a large amount of stored content while securing a large storage space.

In this situation, when a user wants to replay a previously recorded specific program among a large amount of programs recorded by himself or another person, accessibility to the program will be one of the key functions that the PVR should have.

However, in the conventional PVR as described above, there is a problem that it is very inefficient to digest a large amount of storage space by simply displaying a list of stored programs in the order of recording.

In addition, the user is inconvenient to search through a list of a number of recorded programs in order to select a program to be played.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention can provide a recording list retrieval method in a PVR system that provides a simplified program list filtered by a specific condition in order to improve a user's access to a program recorded on a hard disk of the PVR.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording list retrieval method in a PVR system that can edit and manage programs collectively by simplifying the configuration of the program list by configuring programs having similar characteristics into one program group.

According to an aspect of the present invention to achieve the above object, by using the EPG data transmitted from the broadcasting station stored in the recorded program list, and receives the recorded program list search command from the user, extract the program list corresponding to the search conditions Outputting the query list, and asking the user whether to set the group of the outputted program list, and if the user wants to set the group of the program list, storing the extracted program list with the program group name input by the user. In the PVR system, a recording list retrieval method is provided.

The list of recorded programs stored using the EPG data transmitted from the broadcasting station is stored in the form of metadata.

The metadata includes logical information including a title, channel number, genre, performer information, recording time of the program, and physical information indicating a physical location where the program is stored.

Meta data of each program stored in the group includes corresponding program group information.

Each program included in the program group can be collectively processed / managed.

After the program group is set, when a user receives a request for recording a full program list from the user, programs included in the program group are omitted and displayed as a program group name.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a PVR system according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a diagram showing the structure of metadata according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the PVR system includes an IR receiver 100, a controller 110, a memory 120, a tuner 130, a demultiplexer 140, a decoder 150, an output 160, and an OSD unit. 170, the IDE interface unit 180, and the HDD 190.

The IR receiver 100 receives the remote control code information selected by the user and transmits it to the controller 110.

The controller 110 analyzes a remote control code transmitted from the IR receiver 100 and transmits remote control code analysis information to a corresponding device.

For example, if the remote control code analysis information is a channel change request command, the controller 110 transmits the channel change request command to the tuner 130, and if the remote control code analysis information is a corresponding program recording command, the HDD ( Save the program in 190).

In addition, when a recording program list request command is received from the user, the controller 110 outputs the recorded program list stored in the HDD 190 through the output unit 160.

The memory 120 includes a flash ROM that stores software such as an operating system and a DRAM that stores a virtual screen in a bitmap form that can be expressed on an output unit.

The tuner 130 receives a broadcast signal of a channel tuned to the control unit 110 under control.

The demultiplexer 140 parses various information such as audio, video, and other data multiplexed on the broadcast signal supplied from the tuner 130.                     

The decoder 150 decodes the audio and video signals and the data signals obtained by parsing by the demultiplexer 140 and processes them so that the user can view them.

When the recording program list request command is received from the controller 110, the OSD unit 170 controls the display program list extracted from the HDD 190 to be displayed on the output unit 160.

The IDE interface unit 170 receives the TP data transmitted from the decoder 150 for recording and transmits the TP data to the HDD 190, and when a play request command is received, the IDE interface unit 110 controls the data stored in the HDD 190. ) To the decoder 1540.

The HDD 190 stores the TP data transmitted from the IDE interface unit 180. That is, the HDD 190 stores a program selected by the user's recording command. At this time, the HDD 190 stores the characteristics of each recorded program in the form of metadata as shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, metadata of a recorded program is composed of logical information and physical information. The logical information is obtained from EPG data transmitted from a broadcasting station, and includes title, channel, genre, performer information, and recording time information of the program.

The logical information is composed of all data combinations that can sufficiently describe the characteristics of the program among the information obtained from the EPG data.

The physical information refers to a stream pointer. The stream pointer indicates the physical location in the hard disk where the video and audio data of the program is stored. These stream pointers correspond to video and audio data and metadata of the actual program.

Hereinafter, the operation of the PVR system configured as described above will be described.

The digital broadcast tuned through the tuner 130 is converted into a digital stream, and the converted digital stream is separated into video, audio and data signals by the demultiplexer 140.

The signal separated by the demultiplexer 140 is decoded by the decoder 150 and displayed through the output unit 160.

The HDD 190 stores broadcast information such as genre, capacity, and playback time of a program in an index form. This broadcast information enables viewers to easily obtain information on channels through EPG and to select desired programs by genre, actor, and time. It can be easily seen in various conditions such as the stars.

That is, when a user inputs a search condition for searching a recorded program list, the controller 110 outputs a program list corresponding to the input search condition in metadata of the HDD 190. That is, when a user inputs an attribute to search for and a search word, the controller 110 examines only the corresponding field in the metadata of all the recorded programs and outputs a program list having a value matching the search value.

The user may set the output program list as a group. That is, the user can more easily access a desired program by using a simplified list displaying only the results satisfying the search condition, not the vast list. At this time, the user can separately store the simplified list currently displayed by the search result, which constitutes one independent program group.

The meta data of each program included in the program group should include program group information in the form of meta data as shown in FIG. 2. At this time, there is no physical change of the file position while the programs are included in a specific group.

That is, the actual storage location of programs in the hard disk does not change physically, and a program group is a logical unit for grouping several programs into one unit. In other words, the program group is used as a logical unit for the display of the program list and the simplification of the user interface screen required in the batch processing of the programs.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of recording a program according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, when a recording request command is received from a user (S300), the PVR system determines whether to set a group for a corresponding program (S302).

If the user wants to set a group for the corresponding program, the PVR system determines whether to save the group as a preset group for the corresponding program (S304).

If the user wants to save the group in a preset group for the program, the PVR system stores the program in the preset group (S306).

If the user does not want to set the group for the program, the PVR system stores the program without setting the group (S308).

If the user does not want to save the group as a preset group for the program, the PVR system stores the new group name for the program (S310).

4 is a flowchart illustrating a program group setting method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a program group setting according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the PVR system receives the recorded program list search menu selection information from the user (S400), the PVR system receives a search condition from the user by providing a search condition input screen (S402). The search condition may include a field, a search word, and the like.

After performing step 402, the PVR system extracts and outputs a program list corresponding to the received search condition (S404). When the PVR system extracts and outputs a program list corresponding to the search condition from the entire recorded program list, it is displayed as shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5, when a user inputs a search condition using a genre of a field and a search word of a drama, the PVR system outputs a program list 510 corresponding to the input search condition from a list of recorded programs such as 500. .

Therefore, the user can more easily access the desired program by using the simplified list 510 which displays only the results satisfying the search condition, not the vast list. At this time, the user can separately store the simplified list currently displayed by the search result, which constitutes one independent program group.

The screen in which the program group is set is shown in FIG. 6.

After performing step 404, the PVR system inquires whether the user sets the outputted program list as a group (S406).

If the user wants to set up a group for the outputted program list, the user registers a desired group name.

Then, the PVR system stores the corresponding program list in the program group input by the user (S408).

6 is a diagram illustrating a process of creating a program group according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, 600 represents a complete list including all recorded programs, and 610 represents a recorded program list corresponding to a search condition input by a user.

The user can separately store the simplified list by the search conditions. At this time, the programs constituting the stored list are organized into one independent group and program group. In addition, the metadata of each program included in the program group includes corresponding program group information.

At this time, there is no physical change of the file position while the programs are included in a specific group. That is, the actual storage location of programs in the hard disk does not change physically, and a program group is a logical unit for grouping several programs into one unit. In other words, the program group is used as a logical unit for the display of the program list and the simplification of the user interface screen required in the batch processing of the programs. During the saving of the program group, the user can specify the name of the list to be saved or the name of the program group.

The user can collectively process and manage the programs included in the group using a logical unit called a program group. That is, more efficient management can be achieved by assigning a separate group to a series such as drama. For example, batch processing operations such as batch playback, batch deletion, or batch backup can be effectively performed on specific programs that are related to each other.

At this time, when displaying the entire list of recorded programs, programs included in the program group, such as 620, are omitted, and the program group names representing them are displayed instead. At this time, if a user selects a program group and then executes a play command, all programs included in the program group can be played in a batch.

In addition, if you want detailed information about the program group, a program list such as 610 is displayed and the user can edit the list and save it again. The user can use this list to separately play the programs in the program group and perform management functions such as deleting one or more programs from the list or excluding a specific program from the current program group.

For example, when a user inputs a search condition that a title is a title and a search term is a night age in a list of recorded programs such as 600, a screen such as 610 is displayed.                     

That is, the PVR system extracts a list of recorded programs that satisfy the search condition from the list of recorded programs. Then, when the user registers the extracted recorded program list as a program group called 'night time', the entire recorded program list is stored as 620.

Referring to 620, a program group called 'night time' is set. When the user selects the 'night time', a list such as 610 is displayed.

As a result, users can collectively manage programs with similar characteristics into a group, so that they can manage a large amount of recordings stored in the PVR system more effectively.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and many variations are possible by those skilled in the art within the spirit of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a recording list retrieval method in a PVR system that can more efficiently manage programs stored in a PVR system having a large capacity hard disk or a hard rack equipped with several hard disks. .

In addition, according to the present invention, by providing a function of displaying a simplified storage list composed of programs satisfying a search condition among a large amount of recordings, accessibility to a program desired by a user among programs recorded in a storage device of a PVR system is provided. It is possible to provide a recording list retrieval method in the PVR system which greatly improves.

In addition, according to the present invention, by providing a method that can form a single independent program group based on the search results, it is effective that the entire program list can be expressed more simply, and by combining the programs having similar characteristics together It is possible to provide a recording list retrieval method in a PVR system that can manage multiple programs more efficiently and collectively.

Claims (6)

Storing the recorded program list using the EPG data received from the broadcasting station; If a recorded program list search command is received from a user, extracting and outputting a program list corresponding to a search condition; Querying the user for setting a group of the outputted program list; And If the user wants to set a group of the program list, storing the extracted program list in a predetermined program group; And a program included in the program group, which is capable of collective processing and management. The method of claim 1, The recorded program list stored using the EPG data received from the broadcasting station is stored in the form of metadata. The method of claim 2, The metadata includes recording information of a program including title, channel number, genre, performer information, recording time, and physical information indicating a physical location where the corresponding program is stored. Way. The method of claim 1, The metadata of each program stored in the group includes corresponding program group information. delete The method of claim 1, After the program group is set, if a user receives a request for recording a full program list from the user, a program included in the program group is displayed as a name of the program group in the recorded program list. .

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