KR101497700B1 - Method and apparatus for program playing in image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for reproducing a program in an image display device, the method comprising: receiving a condition for a preference program from a user; Setting a playback environment of a favorite program meeting the input conditions; And reproducing the program in accordance with the set reproduction environment when the program reaches the reproduction time of the program meeting the condition.

Video display devices, programs, favorites

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reproducing a program in a video display device,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image display device, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for playing a preferred program in an image display device.

As the video and audio output from the video display device gradually increase in quality, alpine and increase in various channels, the user can view and listen to various channels in a preferred environment.

As the operations of the video display device become diversified and specified, users who are skilled in the operation can easily set the environment according to each preferred program. Therefore, there is an advantage in that it can be viewed in an appropriate environmental condition (volume, sound quality, sharpness, etc.) for a program to be viewed more.

However, in general users are unfamiliar with the setting change of various functions, or watching the program by manipulating the environment setting of each program at a time is not highly used because of the time consuming consumption.

Therefore, although most users have functions according to video and audio output in various video display devices, they can use a video display device by watching a program in an environment of a set state at the time of production or simply adjusting the volume up / It is common to have.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an environment setting according to various programs to be reproduced in an image display device.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a variety of output environment elements corresponding to user requests according to respective programs.

According to an aspect of the present invention, Setting a playback environment of a favorite program meeting the input conditions; And reproducing the program in accordance with the set reproduction environment when the program reaches the reproduction time of the program meeting the condition.

In addition, the present invention provides a computer-readable recording medium having a memory unit for receiving and storing a condition of a preference program received from a user and a reproduction environment of the preferred channel; A display unit for outputting an image of a corresponding program according to conditions stored in the memory unit and outputting information on the preference program;

An audio unit for outputting audio corresponding to an image output from the display unit; A controller for determining whether or not the preference program is to be played back according to a condition stored in the memory unit and controlling the program to be output according to the playback environment condition according to the determination result.

As described above, the present invention has the effect of allowing the user to view more diverse and realistic images by setting the program condition of the user's preferred type and playing the program in an appropriate environment corresponding thereto.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of maximizing the expected effect of the user because the user can view the image in various forms corresponding to the user's taste.

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

1 is a block diagram of a video display device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

An image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a receiving unit 100, a processing unit 120, an output unit 130, a control unit 140, a storage unit 150, and an interface unit 170.

The receiving unit 110 may include an external signal input unit 111 and a tuner unit 112. The processing unit 120 includes a video / audio signal switching unit 121, an A / D converter 122, / Audio signal processing unit 123, and an image memory unit 124.

The output unit 130 may include a video signal output unit 131, a display module 132, a voice signal output unit 133, and a speaker 134. The external signal input unit 111 receives an external signal received from an external device such as a digital versatile disk (DVD), a set top box camcorder, or the like, and provides the signal to the video / audio signal switching unit 121.

The tuner unit 112 tunes at least one channel according to a control signal of the controller 140 and decodes or separates video / audio / data signals received through the tuned channel, ). The data signal includes EPG (Electric Program Guide) information including information such as start time and end time of a broadcast program broadcast on a channel.

Particularly, it is possible to receive a condition of the preferred program from the user by using the EPG information included in the data signal according to the embodiment of the present invention. That is, the user can select the condition of the preferred program such as the channel information, the name of the program, the genre of the program, the time zone of the program, among various information included in the EPG information.

The data signal can be decoded into data information by decoding. Control information of a program, which is at least a part of the information, is directly or indirectly transmitted to the control unit 140, and the control unit 140 controls the content It is possible to search another channel on which the same content is broadcast. The step of searching for another channel using the data information is the data use step.

The tuner unit 112 includes an analog tuner unit 112a for receiving an analog signal, a digital tuner unit 112d for receiving a digital signal, an analog decoder 112d for decoding an analog signal, a digital decoder 112e for decoding a digital signal, . ≪ / RTI >

The video / audio signal output through the digital decoder has the form of a transport stream (TS). The video / audio signal switching unit 121 selects at least one channel among the channels provided from the external signal input unit 111 and the tuner unit 112 and separates the video / audio signal of the channel as needed An MPEG decoder and a video / audio signal processor 123, and the like. The video / audio signal switching unit 121 may include a demultiplexer capable of separating video / audio / data signals.

When the signal selected by the video / audio signal switching unit 121 is an analog signal, the analog video signal is separated from the analog video signal and converted into a digital video signal by the A / D converter 122, Decoder and the video / audio signal processing unit 123, and the analog audio signal may be provided to the audio signal output unit 133. If the signal selected by the video / audio signal switching unit 121 is a digital signal, both the video signal and the audio signal of the digital signal can be provided to the MPEG decoder and the video / audio signal processing unit 123.

The MPEG decoder and the video / audio signal processing unit 123 restore and process the video / audio stream among the output signals of the video / audio signal switching unit 121 as video / audio data, Output section 131, and the processed voice signal is provided to the voice signal output section 133. [ In addition, the MPEG decoder and video / audio signal processing unit 123 can mix video signals on which OSD (On Screen Display) data provided by the control unit 140 is reconstructed and processed.

The video memory unit 124 provides a memory area required for decoding and signal processing of the MPEG decoder and the video / audio signal processor 123. In particular, the memory unit 150 is used to compare the contentual identities of two or more channels when performing a symbolic step and an image input step, which can be used in a search step for searching for another channel broadcasting the same content.

The video signal output unit 131 processes the video signal output from the MPEG decoder and the video / audio signal processing unit 123 in a form that can be outputted through the display module 132, and the audio signal output unit 133 processes And processes the audio signal output from the MPEG decoder and the video / audio signal processing unit 123 in a form that can be outputted through the speaker 134.

The interface unit 160 may be, for example, a local key button attached to a remote controller or a video apparatus, receives various commands and information from a user, converts the command into a control signal, and transmits the control signal to the controller 140. In particular, the key input unit 160 according to the embodiment of the present invention performs a function of receiving a condition for a preference program and various output environment conditions from a user.

The control unit 140 is a tuner unit 112. Audio signal processor 121 and the MPEG decoder non-video / audio signal processor 123, and can also be designed and connected to control other components of the video display device as needed. Particularly, in the embodiment of the present invention, the condition and the reproduction condition of the preference program inputted from the user are controlled to be stored in the memory unit 150, and a judgment is made as to whether or not the program meets the condition.

In addition, the control unit 140 controls to output or record the pre-set preference program at the playback point by applying preset playback environment conditions. In particular, when there are a plurality of programs meeting the conditions of the preferred program, the controller 140 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention controls the priority or any one of the programs selected by the user to be immediately reproduced at that point in time, .

The memory unit 150 stores information input by the user or data generated and managed by the control unit 140. [ Therefore, the memory unit 150 according to the embodiment of the present invention can receive and store the condition and the reproduction environment setting for the preference program received from the user. The condition of the preference program may be information of various programs such as a program name, a channel number, a genre of a program, and a viewing age range. In addition, it is possible to set various screen and audio environment settings for playback such as sound quality, volume, image quality, color, whether or not to watch a favorite program, whether to display an OSD screen, And various settings for whether or not to be notified.

A method of reproducing a program in an image display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG.

2 is a flowchart of a program reproduction setting operation according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 150 performs a channel setting mode for setting a user's preferred program and a program reproducing environment according to a user's request. In step 205, the channel setting mode includes a function key or a menu And the like.

The control unit 150 displays a menu list capable of performing registration and environment setting of the preference program according to the channel setting mode and confirms whether or not the condition of the preferred channel is set by the user. If it is determined in step 210 that the menu for receiving the condition of the preferred channel is selected from the user, the channel information and the like for the various programs are displayed or directly inputted from the user to select a specific channel. (Step 215) The plurality of preferred channels to be selected may be input.

Accordingly, the controller 150 can select a specific genre as a subcategory item for the selected channel. (Step 220) In addition, it is possible to register a favorite channel by setting specific items to be set by a user among various program information including a program title, a character, a playback time, etc., in a priority order.

On the other hand, if the mode for setting the preferred channel is not selected in the channel setting mode, the control unit 150 checks whether a menu for receiving the setting of the reproducing environment of the program is selected (step 225) (Step 230), sound quality conditions (step 235), and whether or not the program is to be played back (step 240).

In the embodiment of the present invention, various environment settings such as picture quality, display on a PIP screen, whether or not the channel is switched, and recording are set as examples, Input can be received.

After setting the conditions for the set preference channel and the environment of the program, the controller 150 determines whether to store the selected functions (step 245) and stores the set functions. (Step 250)

As described above, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, various information about the favorite channel and setting of the reproduction environment are performed and stored according to the setting of the preference program, so that various programs suitable for the user's taste can be easily viewed have.

Hereinafter, the reproduction operation of the preferred program will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3 through FIG. 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The control unit 150 operates in a broadcast playback mode in which a specific broadcast program is played through the tuner unit 110 or the external interface unit 170. (Step 305) The controller 150 determines whether the condition of the preference program preset by the user during the broadcast / playback mode is set. (Step 310). When the controller 50 determines that the condition of the preference program selected by the user is set, the controller 50 determines whether the program conforming to the program condition exists in the other channel or the currently-watched channel. (Step 315)

If it is determined that a program satisfying the condition of the preference program selected by the user exists, the control unit 150 determines whether the preference setting for the preference program satisfying the above condition is established. In operation 320, if a playback environment corresponding to the preference program satisfying the condition is set, the control unit 150 checks the corresponding setup state in operation 325. In response to the confirmation result, Set the playback environment for the RAM. (Step 330)

The control unit 150 performs an alarm to notify the user whether or not to switch to the channel when the program satisfying the condition of the preference program selected by the user and the playback environment setting of the program are completed. (Step 335)

Accordingly, the control unit 150 may switch to the corresponding channel (step 340) or record the corresponding program according to the setting of the user according to the alarm. (Step 345) In the embodiment of the present invention, it is exemplified that the preference program is selected by alarming the user whether or not to switch to the corresponding channel at the time of reproduction, but switching to the corresponding channel is performed without a separate alarm And it is possible to output the preference program to the PIP screen or the like.

3 is a flowchart of a program reproducing operation according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the controller 150 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention determines whether a preference program condition is set by a user during a broadcast playback mode (step 405) as in the above- (Step 410) and it is determined whether or not a program satisfying the condition exists. (Step 415)

In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 150 determines whether there are a plurality of programs meeting the preference program condition selected by the user (step 420), and displays a list of the programs if there are multiple programs. (Step 425) The controller 150 selects a program to be viewed from the displayed list of programs. (Step 430)

The control unit 150 displays on the OSD screen whether the program is notified of the recording of the program other than the selected program. (Step 435), the controller 150 checks whether the playback / recording environment for the viewing program or the recording program is set. In operation 440, the control unit 150 checks the predetermined environment setting status according to the program (operation 445), sets a predetermined playback environment in the program (Operation 450), and outputs or records the program. (Step 455)

As described above, the program reproducing method according to the embodiment of the present invention sets a condition for a preferred program from a user, sets a reproducing environment for the program, and when a reproducing program of the user's favorite program arrives, So that it can be reproduced or recorded.

In addition, if there are a plurality of programs meeting the conditions of the pre-set preference program, any one of them may be selected and reproduced according to the priority requested by the user or user setting, and the remaining one may be recorded.

1 is a block diagram of a video display device to which the present invention is applied.

2 is a flowchart of a preferred program setting operation according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a flowchart of a playback operation of a preference program according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart of a playback operation of a preference program according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (13)

Receiving a condition for a preference program from a user; Setting a playback environment of a favorite program meeting the input conditions; Determining whether a program including the same program information as the input condition is present based on broadcast information received from outside; Reproducing the program in accordance with the set reproduction environment when the program reaches the reproduction time point of the program including the program information satisfying the condition; And When there are a plurality of programs meeting the above conditions. And reproducing the highest priority program and recording the other programs according to the priority. The method according to claim 1, wherein the condition of the preference program is at least one of a program reproduction channel and a program information including a genre. The method of claim 1, wherein the playback environment includes at least one of a volume, a sound quality, an image quality, and an alarm condition to be adjusted when reproducing the program. delete The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying the plurality of program information when the plurality of programs are plural; Selecting one of the displayed programs; And playing back the selected program and recording the remaining programs. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 19 > The video display device of claim 1, wherein when an image of a channel different from the reproduction channel of the program is output when the reproduction time point of the pre-set preference program is reached, an alarm for notifying the reproduction time point of the preference program is performed Lt; / RTI > The method according to claim 6, wherein when the reproduction time of the preferred program is reached, the image of the program is displayed as a PIP (Picture In Picture) screen. The method according to claim 1, wherein an alarm is delivered at a reproduction time point of the preference program, and the screen is switched to a corresponding channel. A memory unit for receiving a preference program condition from a user and a preference program playback environment; A display unit for outputting an image of a corresponding program according to conditions stored in the memory unit and outputting information on the preference program; An audio unit for outputting audio corresponding to an image output from the display unit; Wherein the control unit determines whether or not the program including the same program information as the condition stored in the memory unit is based on the broadcast information received from the outside, And a control unit for controlling the output of the program according to the reproduction environment condition according to the determination result, Wherein the control section reproduces the highest priority program according to the priority order and records the other programs in the priority order when a plurality of programs meeting the above conditions are present. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the control unit displays the plurality of programs on the display unit when a plurality of programs meeting the condition of the preference program exist when the playback time of the preference program arrives A program reproducing apparatus in a display device. delete 11. The video display device of claim 10, wherein the controller controls the PIP to output the video of the favorite channel to the video of the program of the currently playing channel when it is detected that the playback time of the preferred program has been reached / RTI > 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the control unit performs channel switching to a playback channel of the favorite program when the currently output channel is different from the playback channel of the favorite program.

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