KR20120019050A - Display apparatus and method changing channel thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A display apparatus and channel conversion method thereof are provided to previously receive a broadcast signal by previously predicting a conversion target channel. CONSTITUTION: A channel conversion event is generated in a first channel(S101). A control unit receives the broadcast signal of the first channel through a first tuner(S102). The control unit receives the broadcast signal of a second channel related to the first channel through a second tuner(S112). The control unit displays the broadcast signal of the received second channel when the channel conversion event is generated in the second channel.

Description

Display apparatus and method for changing channel thereof

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display apparatus, and more particularly, to a display apparatus and a channel switching method thereof, which can significantly reduce the time required for channel switching by performing a tuning operation by predicting a channel to be switched in advance. .

In general, the broadcast reception device receives a data stream including a broadcast signal, extracts a video and audio data stream corresponding to a channel desired by a user using service information included in the received data stream, and outputs the stream to the display device.

Digital television receivers, for example, have the ability to convert incoming broadcast signals into digital codes to add high-quality screen playback and add features. In digital broadcasting, video and audio streams are compressed and broadcast as digital information, and system information and program information are compressed and broadcast in accordance with the Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) standard.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a display device and a channel switching method thereof capable of efficiently receiving a digital broadcast signal.

More specifically, the embodiment according to the present invention can predict the next channel to be switched in advance to perform the necessary operation when switching the channel in advance, thereby reducing the time that occurs during channel switching.

 Technical problems to be achieved in the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned above are clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments proposed from the following description belong. Could be.

A channel switching method of a display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the channel switching method of the display apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast signal using a plurality of tuners, the method comprising: generating a channel switching event to the first channel; Receiving and displaying a broadcast signal of the first channel through a first tuner; Receiving a broadcast signal of a second channel associated with the first channel using a second tuner; And displaying a broadcast signal of a second channel received through the second tuner as a channel switching event to the second channel occurs.

In addition, the display device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first tuner for receiving a broadcast signal of the first channel requested to switch the channel; A second tuner for receiving a broadcast signal of a second channel associated with the first channel; A signal processor which processes the broadcast signals received through the first and second tuners; And a controller configured to determine a second channel associated with the first channel when a channel switching to the first channel is requested, and to control a broadcast signal of the determined second channel to be received through the second tuner. And the second channel is changed according to a user command input when the channel switch request is made.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, by predicting a channel to be switched next using a plurality of tuners in advance, and receiving a broadcast signal of the predicted channel in advance, thereby quickly switching to a requested channel when a channel switching request is made by a user. It is possible to receive a broadcast signal, thereby reducing the channel switching consumption time of the display apparatus.

1 is a block diagram of a broadcast system for receiving and displaying broadcast signals.
2 and 3 are block diagrams of a broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a step-by-step method of switching a channel of a display apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a channel map screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a step-by-step method of switching a channel of a display apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment.
7 illustrates an EPG screen displayed according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a flowchart for explaining a step-by-step method of switching a channel to the received second channel;
9 illustrates a channel browser screen formed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The proposed embodiment will be described.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments presented, and other inventions which are further deteriorated by addition, change, deletion, etc. of other components, or other embodiments included within the scope of the present invention can be easily made. I can suggest.

The term used in the present invention was selected as a general term widely used as possible, but in some cases, the term is arbitrarily selected by the applicant, in which case the meaning is described in detail in the description of the invention, the name of a simple term It should be clear that the present invention is to be understood as a meaning of terms.

In other words, in the following description, the word 'comprising' does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a broadcast system for receiving and displaying broadcast signals.

Referring to FIG. 1, the broadcast reception device 100 receives a data stream including a broadcast signal through a satellite or a cable, and includes a video corresponding to a channel selected by a user from the received data stream. The audio data may be extracted and processed and then output to the display apparatus 200.

The broadcast receiving device 100 receives a broadcast signal through a wired or wireless network, converts the received broadcast signal into a form that can be output from the display device, and then outputs the set-top box to the display device 200. top box, STB).

However, the broadcast receiving device 100 according to the present invention is not limited to the set-top box (STB), and can receive all types of broadcast signals transmitted from the outside and output them to the display device 200 connected by wire or wireless. It may include a device.

In addition, the broadcast receiving device 100 and the display device 200 may be integrated into a single device and may be included in a digital television equipped with a tuner.

The display apparatus 200 displays an image using a video signal input from the broadcast receiving apparatus 100. For example, the display apparatus 200 displays an image, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), an electro luminescent display (ELD), or a VFD. You can display images using various display methods such as (Vacuum Fluorescent Display).

In the case of digital broadcasting, video and audio data are compressed into digital information, and system information and program information are compressed according to the Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) standard to generate a data stream together with the compressed video and audio data to receive a broadcast. May be sent to device 100.

The PSIP is a standard for terrestrial and cable digital broadcasting that defines program and system information standards. The PSIP parses signals encoded according to the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) standard and provides various information about a program. It is defined to do so.

More specifically, the broadcast receiving device 100 extracts service information from a received data stream and separates various channel information therefrom, and video and audio data extracted from the data stream. It may include a decoder (not shown) for decoding the.

Meanwhile, the broadcast reception device 100 may be connected to the display device 200 through a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a digital visual interface (DVI), or a D-Sub cable. However, the connection between the broadcast receiving device 100 and the display device 200 is not limited to the above-described method, and may be connected using cables of various communication methods. In addition, the broadcast receiving device 100 and the display device 200 are not limited to being connected by wire, and may be connected through a wireless network using short-range wireless communication such as Zigbee, Bluetooth, or Wlan. .

Meanwhile, although FIG. 1 illustrates that the broadcast reception device 100 is provided as a separate device outside the display device, in another embodiment of the present invention, the broadcast reception device 100 is internal to the display device 200. It may be included in and implemented as a set.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the broadcast reception device 100, and the illustrated broadcast reception device 100 may include first and second tuners 110 and 120 and a decoder 130.

Referring to FIG. 2, the broadcast reception device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of tuners, that is, a first tuner 110 and a second tuner 120 that receive broadcast signals of different channels, respectively. It may include.

For example, the first tuner 110 may extract a broadcast signal corresponding to a channel that the user is currently watching from a data stream received from an antenna (not shown) and output the broadcast signal to the decoder 130, and the second tuner ( 120 may extract and receive a broadcast signal corresponding to a specific channel different from the viewing channel from the data stream.

More preferably, the second tuner 120 may receive a broadcast signal to be displayed through a sub-screen in order to execute a picture in picture (PIP) function.

In addition, in an embodiment according to the present invention, the first tuner 110 receives a broadcast signal corresponding to a channel currently being viewed, and the second tuner 120 all channels present on the channel map to implement a channel browser. The broadcast signal can be sequentially received.

The decoder 130 decodes the broadcast signal of the viewing channel, more specifically, the video signal or the audio signal received by the first tuner 110 into data that can be reproduced by the display apparatus 200 and outputs the decoded data.

Meanwhile, the broadcast signal of the specific channel received by the second tuner 120 may be stored in a memory (not shown), thereby recording content broadcasted in a channel other than the channel currently being watched and simultaneously recorded. .

In addition, when a channel switch is requested, for example, when a user selects a second channel different from the first channel currently being viewed, the first tuner 110 receiving the broadcast signal of the first channel is requested. Channel switching may be performed to receive the broadcast signal of the second channel.

As a result of the channel switching operation of the first tuner 110 as described above, a certain delay occurs from the time of the channel switching request of the user to the time when the broadcast signal of the second channel is actually received and displayed. The time to be increased may be from 2 seconds to 4 seconds in the case of digital broadcasting.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The broadcast receiving apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 includes first and second tuners 110 and 120, a controller 140, and a decoder 130. It may include.

Referring to FIG. 3, the first tuner 110 receives a broadcast signal of a channel that the user is currently watching, and the second tuner 120 extracts and receives a broadcast signal of a specific channel different from the viewing channel, or In order to implement a browser screen, broadcast signals of all channels existing on the channel map may be sequentially received.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second tuner 120 predicts a channel to be switched in advance under an operating condition in which a channel banner is displayed, receives a broadcast signal of the predicted channel, and does not display the channel banner. The channel browser functions in the operating condition.

Here, the operating conditions for displaying the channel banner may include a case where a channel change occurs, a confirmation key for confirming broadcast information of a current channel, a case where an input change occurs, or the like.

That is, when the user changes the channel to be watched to the first channel, that is, when the channel is switched to the first channel, the channel banner corresponding to the switched first channel is displayed on the upper side of the display screen. .

When such a situation occurs, the second tuner 120 predicts a channel to be switched next and receives a broadcast signal of the predicted channel accordingly.

Here, the channel received through the second tuner 120 may be changed according to a channel currently being watched, that is, a channel received through the first tuner 110 and a user command generated when the channel switch request is made.

That is, the actual channel number of the second channel may be changed according to how many times the channel that the user requests for channel switching is substantially the channel, and which key the user inputs to request the channel switching. This will be described in more detail below.

The controller 140 may select one of the output signals of the first and second tuners 110 and 120 and output the selected signal to the decoder 130, and the decoder 130 according to the selection of the controller 140. The broadcast signal received by one of the first and second tuners 110 and 120 may be decoded and output.

That is, when the controller 140 selects the output signal of the first tuner 110, the broadcast signal received by the first tuner 110 is decoded and output by the decoder 130, and the controller 140 outputs the second signal. When the output signal of the tuner 120 is selected, the broadcast signal received by the second tuner 110 may be output after being decoded by the decoder 130.

To that end, the controller 140 may include a switching unit (not shown) for selecting any one of the output signals of the first and second tuners 110 and 120.

More specifically, when there is no channel switch request by the user, the controller 140 controls the broadcast signal of the current viewing channel received by the first tuner 110 to be input to the decoder 130. At this time, the second tuner 120 sequentially receives broadcast signals of all channels existing on the channel map, extracts thumbnails, and generates a channel browser screen based on the extracted thumbnails.

If there is a request for switching to a channel received by the second tuner 110, the controller 140 controls the broadcast signal received from the second tuner 110 to be input to the decoder 130, thereby switching. The broadcast signal of the requested channel may be decoded to the decoder 130 and then output to the display apparatus 200.

As described above, the controller 140 controls the broadcast signal received from the second tuner 120 to be input to the decoder 130 when the channel is switched, so that a separate channel switching operation is performed by the tuner when the user requests channel switching. The user may receive the broadcast signal of the channel requested by the user and output the broadcast signal to the display apparatus 200.

Hereinafter, a second channel received through the second tuner 120 will be described.

The controller 140 determines the channel most likely to be switched in the current state in consideration of the current viewing channel, previous channel switching information, or the user's preference, and accordingly, the broadcast signal of the determined channel is converted into the second tuner ( 120).

More specifically, the second channel received by the second tuner 120 may be any one of two channels vertically adjacent to the first channel, which is a viewing channel received by the first tuner 110.

That is, when the number of the first channel that is the viewing channel is channel 3, the number of the second channel received by the second tuner 120 may be channel 4 or channel 2.

In this case, a channel determined as the second channel among two channels vertically adjacent to the first channel may be determined by a user command input during the channel switching.

For example, if the user previously pressed the "channel UP button" (a button for switching channels by increasing the channel number by 1) to switch to the first channel currently being watched, the "channel UP button" is continuously input. Since the second channel is more likely to be a channel, the second channel received by the second tuner 120 may be a channel having a channel number 1 greater than that of the first channel.

That is, when channel switching is performed by the "channel UP button", since the channel switching is performed by the channel list existing on the channel map, the second channel may be a channel next to the first channel.

On the other hand, if the user has previously switched to the first channel currently being watched by pressing the "channel DOWN button" (a button for switching the channel by decreasing the channel number by 1), the channel switching is continued by pressing the "channel DOWN button". Since it is highly likely to perform, the second channel received by the second tuner 120 may be a channel having a channel number of 1 less than that of the first channel.

The controller 140 may determine the channel of the broadcast signal to be received by the second tuner 120 using the information on the channel currently being viewed and the channel switching performed by the user as described above. The second tuner 120 may control to receive the broadcast signal.

In addition, the second channel received by the second tuner 120 may be a channel watched by the user before the first channel, which is the current viewing channel. That is, when the user watches channel 3 and then switches to channel 8 and is currently watching, the channel of the broadcast signal received by the second tuner 120 may be channel 3 that the user has previously watched.

For example, if the user has previously switched to the first channel currently being watched using the "Previous Watched Channel Button" (the button for performing channel switching to the previously watched channel), Since there is a high possibility of switching again, the second channel received by the second tuner 120 may be a channel that the user was watching before the first channel.

In addition, the second channel received by the second tuner 120 may be a preferred channel located after the first channel, which is the current viewing channel, among channels registered in the preferred channel list.

For example, if the user has previously switched to the first channel currently being watched using a "preferred channel button" (a button for performing channel switching to a channel present in the preferred channel list), Since there is a high possibility of performing channel switching to the located preferred channel, the second channel received by the second tuner 120 may be the preferred channel located after the first channel.

The controller 140 predicts a list of any one of a channel list, a favorite channel list, and a previously viewed viewing history list existing on the channel map, and a next channel to be switched based on a user command input when the channel is switched. In response, the broadcast signal of the predicted channel is controlled by the second tuner 120.

In addition, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, channel switching may be performed on an electronic program guide (EPG) screen. That is, in addition to the channel up / down button, the favorite channel button, and the previous channel button, channel switching may be performed using the direction key and the confirmation key on the EPG screen as described above.

That is, the user moves the selection cursor to the program he / she wants to watch by using up / down / left / right keys on the EPG screen, and inputs a confirmation key accordingly, so that the user watches the program in which the selection cursor is located. You can change the program. In other words, the user can perform channel switching to the channel where the program is being aired.

Accordingly, when the channel switching is performed on the EPG screen, the controller 140 analyzes the direction key input during the channel switching, and accordingly predicts the next channel to be switched, so that the broadcast signal of the predicted channel is transmitted to the second channel. Control to be received through the tuner 120.

Hereinafter, a channel switching method of the display apparatus as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a step-by-step method of switching a channel of a display apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the controller 140 recognizes occurrence of the channel switch event as the channel switch event to the first channel occurs (step 101). Here, the channel switching event may be generated by a local key input unit provided at one side of the remote controller or the display device.

The controller 140 allows a broadcast signal corresponding to the first channel to be received through the first tuner 110 as a channel switching event to the first channel occurs (step 102).

Subsequently, when the channel change event occurs, the controller 140 checks a user command input for generating the channel change event (step 103).

That is, the controller 140 determines whether a channel switching event has occurred as the channel up button is input (step 104).

As a result of the determination (step 104), if a channel switching event occurs by the channel up button, the controller 140 determines the upper channel of the first channel as the second channel (step 105). In other words, the controller 140 predicts a channel located immediately above the first channel among the channels existing on the channel map as the next channel to be switched, and accordingly determines the expected switching channel as the second channel.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a channel map screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the first channel is channel “9” and a channel switching event occurs by the channel up button as described above, the controller 140 controls “10” as an upper channel of the channel “9”. "Channel is determined as the second channel.

In addition, if the channel switching event is not generated by the channel up button (step 104), the controller 140 determines whether the channel switching event is generated by the channel down button (step 106).

As a result of the determination (step 106), if a channel switching event occurs by the channel down button, the controller 140 determines the lower channel of the first channel as the second channel.

That is, referring to FIG. 5, if the first channel is a channel "9" and a channel switching event is generated by the channel down button as described above, the control unit 140 is a lower channel of the channel "9". Channel 8 "is determined as the second channel.

In addition, if the channel switching event has not occurred by the channel down button (step 106), it is determined whether the channel switching event has occurred by the previous viewing channel button (step 108).

As a result of the determination (step 108), if a channel switching event occurs due to the previous viewing channel button, the controller 140 determines the channel that the user watched before switching to the first channel as the second channel (109). step).

That is, for example, when a user performs channel switching to channel "9" using the previous viewing channel button while watching channel "2", the controller 140 controls the current viewing channel (channel 9). The channel "2" which is the previous viewing channel is determined as the second channel.

In addition, if the channel switching event has not occurred due to the previous viewing channel button (step 108), the controller 140 determines whether a channel switching event has occurred due to the favorite channel button (step 110).

As a result of the determination (step 110), the controller 140 determines the preferred channel located above the first channel as the second channel (step 111).

Referring to FIG. 5, when channel switching to channel 34 occurs by the favorite channel button, the controller 140 selects channel 39-3, which is the next channel of channel 34, as the second channel. Determined by the channel.

When the second channel is determined as described above, the controller 140 allows the broadcast signal of the determined second channel to be received through the second tuner 120 (step 112).

6 is a flowchart illustrating a step-by-step method of switching a channel of a display apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6, the controller 140 causes an EPG screen to be displayed and receives a program of a first channel on the displayed EPG screen (step 201).

 7 is a diagram illustrating an EPG screen displayed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the current selection cursor is located in 6-5 channels, and the user may change the position of the selection cursor by using the direction keys (up / down / left / right). In addition, the user may change the position of the selection cursor and select a broadcast program of a specific channel where the selection cursor is located.

If a program of the first channel is selected on the EPG screen, the controller 140 causes the broadcast signal of the selected first channel to be received through the first tuner (step 202). In this case, the broadcast signal received through the first tuner 110 is displayed through a separate area of one side of the EPG screen.

When selecting a program of the first channel, the controller 140 checks a command input by the user (step 203).

That is, the controller 140 determines whether the program of the first channel is selected by pressing the up key (step 204).

If the program of the first channel is selected by the up arrow key being input on the EPG screen, the controller 140 predicts a program located above the selected program as the next program to be switched, and accordingly selects a channel on which the program is being broadcast. 2 channels (step 205).

That is, if the MBC news broadcasted on the channel "7-1" is selected by pressing the up direction key on the EPG screen, the controller 140 selects the channel "6-5" located above the selected channel as the second channel. Decide on

In addition, if the uplink key is not input and the program of the first channel is not selected, the controller 140 determines whether the broadcast program of the first channel is selected by pressing the down key. (Step 206).

If the down arrow key is input and the program of the first channel is selected, the controller 140 determines a channel located below the first channel as the second channel (step 207).

That is, if the MBC news being broadcast on the channel "7-1" is selected by pressing the down arrow key on the EPG screen, the controller 140 selects the channel "9-1" located below the selected channel as the second channel. Decide on

Meanwhile, if a specific genre is selected by the user on the EPG screen, only a program (channel) corresponding to the selected genre is activated on the EPG screen. In addition, the user may perform channel switching only to the activated channel.

As described above, when a specific genre is selected and channel switching is performed only with a program corresponding to the selected genre, the controller 140 moves upward of the first channel among channels in which a program corresponding to the selected genre is being broadcast. Alternatively, the channel located below is determined as the second channel.

For example, channels 7-1, 8-1, 9-1, 10-1, 11-1, 12-1, and 13-1 exist on the EPG screen, and 7-1 and 9- of the channels are present. If only channels 1, 11-1, and 13-1 are active, that is, if channels 7-1, 9-1, 11-1, and 13-1 belong to the genre selected by the user, One channel is determined as the second channel. In other words, when the user performs channel switching to channel 11-1 using the up arrow key, the controller 140 removes channel 9-1 located above channel 11-1 on the EPG screen. Decide on 2 channels. In addition, when the user performs channel switching to channel 11-1 using the down arrow key, the controller 140 selects channel 13-1 located below channel 11-1 on the EPG screen as the second channel. Determined by the channel.

In addition, when the second channel is determined as described above, the controller 140 controls the broadcast signal of the determined second channel to be received through the second tuner 120.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a step-by-step method of switching a channel to the received second channel.

Referring to FIG. 8, the controller 140 first displays a broadcast signal of a first channel corresponding to the channel switching event, that is, a first channel received through the first tuner (step 301).

In addition, the controller 140 determines whether a channel switching event has occurred in the state in which the broadcast signal of the first channel is displayed (step 302). More preferably, the controller 140 determines whether the channel switching event to the determined second channel has occurred.

If a channel switching event to the second channel occurs, the controller 140 causes the broadcast signal received in advance through the second tuner to be displayed (step 303).

If the channel switching event to the second channel has not occurred, the controller 140 determines whether a channel banner is currently displayed on the display screen (step 304).

If the channel banner is not displayed on the display screen, the controller 140 controls the channel browser function to be performed through the second tuner 120 (step 305).

That is, if the channel switching event to the second channel does not occur and the channel switching event to another third channel occurs, the controller 140 broadcasts the broadcast signal of the third channel through the first tuner 110. To be received. At this time, the controller 140 predicts a fourth channel to be switched next based on the switched third channel, and accordingly, the broadcast signal of the fourth channel is received through the second tuner 120.

In addition, since the channel change event no longer occurs, the controller 140 causes the channel browser function to be performed through the second tuner 120 when the channel banner displayed on the display screen disappears.

Accordingly, the second tuner 120 sequentially receives broadcast signals of all channels existing on the channel map, and extracts thumbnail images corresponding to each channel from the sequentially received broadcast signals.

As shown in FIG. 9, the controller 140 allows the channel browser to be generated based on the extracted thumbnail image and displays the generated channel browser according to a user request.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, by predicting a channel to be switched next using a plurality of tuners in advance, and receiving a broadcast signal of the predicted channel in advance, thereby quickly switching to a requested channel when a channel switching request is made by a user. It is possible to receive a broadcast signal, thereby reducing the channel switching consumption time of the display device.

110: first tuner 120: second tuner
130: decoding unit 140: control unit

Claims (16)

In the channel switching method of the display apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast signal using a plurality of tuners,
Generating a channel switch event to the first channel;
Receiving and displaying a broadcast signal of the first channel through a first tuner;
Receiving a broadcast signal of a second channel associated with the first channel using a second tuner; And,
And displaying a broadcast signal of a second channel received through the second tuner as a channel change event to the second channel occurs. The method of claim 1,
The channel switch event is generated by a channel up key,
The second channel is a channel switching method of the display device, characterized in that the upper channel in a continuous relationship with the first channel. The method of claim 1,
The channel switch event is generated by a channel down key,
And the second channel is a lower channel in a continuous relationship with the second channel. The method of claim 1,
The channel switch event is generated by a preferred channel key,
And the second channel is a higher preference channel in a continuous relationship with the first channel. The method of claim 1,
The channel switch event is generated by a previous watch channel key,
And the second channel is a channel watched before performing channel switching to the first channel. The method of claim 1,
The channel switching event is generated by up / down / left / right arrow keys in the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) screen.
And the second channel is a channel located above or below the first channel on the EPG screen. The method of claim 6,
And the second channel is a channel belonging to the same genre as the first channel among the channels existing on the EPG screen. The method of claim 1,
The second channel is received through the idle tuner under the display condition of the channel banner for the first channel,
And the idle tuner is a tuner other than a tuner for receiving the broadcast signal of the first channel. The method of claim 8,
And the idle tuner performs an operation for generating a channel browser under a condition of not displaying the channel banner. The method of claim 1,
And receiving a broadcast signal of a third channel associated with the second channel through the first tuner as the channel switching to the second channel is performed. A first tuner for receiving a broadcast signal of a first channel for which channel switching is requested;
A second tuner for receiving a broadcast signal of a second channel associated with the first channel;
A signal processor which processes the broadcast signals received through the first and second tuners; And,
And a controller configured to determine a second channel associated with the first channel when the channel switching to the first channel is requested, and to control the broadcast signal of the determined second channel to be received through the second tuner. ,
And the second channel is changed according to a user command input when the channel switch request is made. 12. The method of claim 11,
The user command includes at least one of a channel up, a channel down, a favorite channel, and a previous watching channel.
And the second channel is any one of an upper channel, a lower channel, an upper preferred channel, and a previous viewing channel in a continuous relationship with the first channel according to the user command. 12. The method of claim 11,
The channel switching request is generated by the up / down / left / right direction keys on the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) screen.
And the second channel is a channel located above or below the first channel among channels existing on the EPG screen based on the generated direction key. The method of claim 13,
And the second channel is a channel belonging to the same genre as the first channel among upper and lower channels of the first channel. 12. The method of claim 11,
The controller controls the broadcast signal of the second channel received through the second tuner to be processed through the signal processor when a channel switch to the second channel is requested. 12. The method of claim 11,
The control unit allows the broadcast signal of the second channel to be received only under the condition that the channel banner is displayed.
And a channel browser operation is performed through an idle tuner under the condition that the channel banner is not displayed.

Images