KR20140053927A - Image processing apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a controlling method thereof. The image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a reception unit which receives an image of a major channel; and a control unit which controls the reception unit in order to receive any one major channel selected by a user among multiple major channels, and controls to select any one minor channel depending on the selected major channel in case multiple minor channels are included in the selected major channel. Thereby, if a user selects a major channel only, any one minor channel can be automatically selected among multiple minor channels which are included in the major channel depending on the selected major channel.

Description

[0001] IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus and a control method thereof for processing a received multi-channel broadcast (MMS).

Recently, digital broadcasting is becoming popular. Unlike analog broadcasting, digital broadcasting provides multi-channel broadcasting in which a plurality of video contents are transmitted per one channel by using a compression technique with high channel efficiency.

For example, when modulation such as 64 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) or 256 QAM is used, more than a dozen image contents can be transmitted through one physical channel. In order to classify a plurality of video contents supplied from several channels and each channel, a virtual channel number in the form of connecting two numbers by '-' is used. For example, when the number of a virtual channel is 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, 11-4, ..., a number preceded by a minus sign, 11 is a major channel, The number indicates the minor channel.

A major channel represents a physical frequency band in which a plurality of video contents are transmitted. The minor channel classifies a plurality of video contents supplied through the same major channel and represents a signal vector region through which the video contents can be supplied through the channel. Thus, providing a plurality of minor channels to one major channel has the effect of increasing the channel by using the same physical frequency band as before.

However, when selecting a channel in a multi-channel broadcast, the channel is not switched by selecting only the major channel, so the user must select both the major channel and the minor channel. That is, in order to switch to the channel number 1-1, the buttons '1', '-' and '1' must be sequentially selected using a remote controller for selecting a channel, There is the hassle of saying.

Thus, a method for selecting a channel without simultaneously inputting a major channel and a minor channel has been disclosed.

In the first method, when a user selects a major channel, a minor channel included in the selected major channel is displayed as an OSD, and the user can select any one of the plurality of minor channels. However, there is a problem that a major channel is selected and a minor channel is selected again in the OSD.

The second method is to set a minor channel that the user desires to switch among a plurality of minor channels included in each major channel, and to switch to the set minor channel when the major channel is selected. However, it is very inconvenient to individually set the minor channel to be switched for every major channel of several tens or hundreds, and it takes a lot of time.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and a control method thereof, in which, when a major channel is selected, one minor channel is automatically selected according to a major channel among a plurality of minor channels included in the selected major channel will be.

The above object is achieved by an image processing apparatus according to the present invention, comprising: a receiver for receiving a video of a major channel; The control unit controls the receiving unit to receive one of the plurality of major channels selected by the user and selects one of the minor channels according to the selected major channel when the selected major channel includes a plurality of minor channels And a control unit for controlling the image processing apparatus.

Here, the controller may identify the plurality of minor channel information and select one of the minor channels according to a predetermined priority.

At this time, the priority may be set by at least one of the resolution, the preferred genre, and the channel number of the image.

Also, the priority may be set by a user.

The priority may be set by a weight calculated based on a resolution, a preferred genre, and a channel number of an image included in the plurality of minor channels.

Also, the priority order can be set by the history of the user.

The apparatus may further include a user input unit for selecting the major channel.

In addition, it is preferable that the priority includes a plurality of items, and if the information of the plurality of minor channels corresponding to the first item is the same, it is preferable that the control unit selects one of the minor channels according to the second item .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an image processing apparatus, comprising: determining whether a major channel among a plurality of major channels is selected by a user; Receiving an image of the selected major channel; Determining whether the selected major channel includes a plurality of minor channels; And selecting one of the minor channels according to the selected major channel when the selected major channel includes a plurality of minor channels.

Here, in the selecting of any of the minor channels, it is preferable that the information for each of the plurality of minor channels is checked, and one of the minor channels is selected according to a predetermined priority.

At this time, the priority may be set by at least one of the resolution, the preferred genre, and the channel number of the image.

The priority may be set by a user.

In addition, the priority may be set by a weight calculated based on a resolution, a preferred genre, and a channel number of an image included in the plurality of minor channels.

The priority order can be set by the history of the user.

In addition, the step of selecting one of the minor channels may include a step of, when the priority includes a plurality of items, and if the information of the plurality of minor channels corresponding to the first item is the same, It is preferable to select the minor channel of the channel.

According to the present invention, when a user selects only a major channel, one minor channel is automatically selected according to a major channel among a plurality of minor channels included in the major channel.

Further, according to the present invention, when the user selects only the major channel, information of a plurality of minor channels included in the major channel is confirmed and automatically switched to a video having the highest image quality or a preferred genre, Is increased.

In addition, if the user selects only the major channel, the image processing apparatus confirms various conditions such as resolution of a plurality of images for each of the minor channels, genre preferred by the user, and automatically selects the most appropriate minor channel according to the user, The convenience of the user can be increased.

1 is a control block diagram of an image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment,
2 is a diagram showing an example of a minor channel included in another major channel according to the present embodiment,
3 is a flowchart illustrating a control process of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment,
4A and 4B are flowcharts illustrating a control process of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a control block diagram of an image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus includes a receiving unit, an image processing unit, a display unit, a user input unit, and a control unit.

The receiver according to the present embodiment includes a tuner unit (not shown) for receiving a broadcast signal. Here, the tuner unit (not shown) may be implemented by one or a plurality of tuners, a demodulator, a decoder, and a mux for demodulating the tuned signals. The tuner unit may include a broadcast signal having a frequency band corresponding to a tuning control signal . In the case of a digital broadcast signal, the demodulator outputs the received broadcast signal in the form of a transport stream through a VSB demodulation process and an error correction process. At this time, the tuner may include both an analog tuner and a digital tuner, and may receive both an analog broadcast signal and a digital broadcast signal, or may use a multi tuner capable of receiving both.

At this time, a multi-channel broadcasting (MMS) in which a plurality of images including a video signal, a voice signal, and a data signal is included in one frequency band, And the minor channel represents a plurality of images.

The digital broadcast signal of the tuned channel is displayed on the display unit through the process of the image processing unit. Here, the image processing unit may be provided with various functions corresponding to the format of the input image signal. For example, an A / D converting function and a digital decoding function for converting input video signals of various formats into a digital video signal of a predetermined format, a digital decoding function, and a vertical A scaling function for adjusting frequency, resolution, aspect ratio, and the like, and a predetermined format conversion function.

The display unit displays images processed by the image processing unit and is applicable to various types of display modules such as CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), DLP (Digital Light Processing), LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), PDP Do. The display unit may be separately provided outside the image processing apparatus.

The user input unit includes a key for selecting a major channel. The user input unit may include a menu key provided on the remote controller or the casing to input a selection signal, and a key signal generator for generating a key signal corresponding to the key operation. At this time, the user input unit may further include a number key, a direction key, and a function key for selecting a function provided in the image processing apparatus.

When a major channel is selected, the control unit controls the selection of one of the plurality of minor channels included in the selected major channel according to the major channel, and may be implemented by a controller such as a CPU or a microcomputer.

Specifically, when a major channel is selected by the user input unit, the control unit determines whether a plurality of minor channels are included in the selected major channel.

Here, the control unit provides a tuning control signal to the receiving unit to tune the frequency band corresponding to the major channel selected by the user input unit. Then, it is possible to determine whether or not a plurality of minor channels are included by checking the received major channel.

If a plurality of minor channels are included in the selected major channel, the control unit controls to select one of the minor channels based on the preset priority. The image of the selected minor channel is processed and displayed by the image processing unit.

At this time, the priority order can be set by at least one of resolution, genre, and channel number of each of the minor channels, and it is needless to say that a priority condition can be set by the user.

First, when a major channel is selected, the control unit confirms additional information included in an image of each minor channel included in the selected major channel.

When the priority is set to the resolution, the control unit compares the resolutions of the images for each of the minor channels and controls to select the minor channel having the highest resolution.

Referring to FIG. 2, if the major channel selected by the user is 4, the minor channels included are 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, and 4-4. Each resolution is 480i, 720i, 720p and 480p as shown in Fig. Thus, the controller controls to select the minor channel 4-3 having the highest resolution of 720p among the four minor channels. Then, the image included in the minor channel 4-3 is processed by the image processing unit.

Also, when the priority is set to the preferred genre, the control unit confirms the genre (e.g., drama, action, melody, comedy) of the image per minor channel, and selects the minor channel including the image of the user's favorite genre.

Referring to FIG. 2, if the major channel selected by the user is 3, the minor channels included are 3-1, 3-3, and 3-5, and the respective genres are comedy, home shopping, and comedy. If the preference genre set by the user is a home shopping, the control unit controls to select the minor channel 3-3.

Here, the preferred genre can be set by the user, or the viewing frequency can be accumulated by the genre of the video watched by the user, so that the genre having the largest viewing frequency can be determined as the user's preferred genre. Of course, it is also possible to select a minor channel that provides the determined preferred genre among the minor channels included in the selected major channel.

In addition, when the priority is set to the channel number, the control unit can control to select the minor channel having the smallest channel number among the plurality of minor channels.

Referring to FIG. 2, if the selected major channel is 1, the included minor channels are 1-1 and 1-2, and the control unit controls to select 1-1, which is the minor channel having the smallest channel number.

The control method of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig.

As shown in FIG. 3, when a major channel is selected from the user (S1), the control unit controls to receive the selected major channel (S2).

Then, the received major channel is checked to determine whether there are a plurality of minor channels in the major channel (S3).

If it is determined in step S3 that the selected major channel includes a plurality of minor channels, the control unit controls to select any one of the plurality of minor channels based on the preset priority (S5). As described above, the priority order can be set by at least one of the resolution of the image of each minor channel, the genre of the image, and the channel number or by the user.

Then, an image included in the selected minor channel is processed and displayed (S6).

As a result of the determination in step S3, when a plurality of minor channels are not included in the selected major channel, the control unit controls to display and display the images of the selected major channel (S7).

Accordingly, when a user selects a major channel, an image of one of the plurality of minor channels included in the major channel can be automatically selected.

Therefore, when the user selects only the major channel, the user can view the image of the best quality or the favorite genre among the plurality of minor channels included in the major channel, and the convenience of the user can be increased.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. In the following description of the second embodiment, the description of the configuration which is the same as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the priority order is set to one of the resolution, the favorite genre, and the channel number. However, in the second embodiment, the priority order is set in the order of resolution, preferred genre, and channel number do.

In the second embodiment, when a major channel is selected from the user, the control unit controls the selected major channel to be received. Then, it is determined whether or not a plurality of minor channels are included in the selected major channel. If a plurality of minor channels are included, the control unit confirms the additional information of the images for each of the minor channels.

First, the control unit checks the resolution of the image for each of the minor channels, and controls to select the minor channel having the largest resolution. At this time, if the resolutions of the images for each of the minor channels are all the same, the controller checks the genre of the images for each of the minor channels and controls the user to select the same minor channel as the genre preferred by the user.

If the genres of the images for each of the minor channels are all the same, the control unit controls to select the minor channel having the smallest channel number among the plurality of minor channels.

Referring to FIG. 2, if the major channel selected by the user is 3, the minor channels included are 3-1, 3-3, and 3-5. The control unit confirms the resolution of the image per minor channel.

As shown in FIG. 2, the resolution of the image of each minor channel is 480p, which is all the same. Therefore, the controller checks whether the genre of the same image as the user's favorite genre exists because the resolutions are all the same.

If the user's favorite genre is a comedy, the control unit selects 3-1 with a smaller channel number from the two minor channels because the minor channels with genre are comedies are 3-1 and 3-5.

A control method of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4A and 4B.

As shown in FIG. 4A, when a major channel is selected from the user (S11), the control unit controls to receive the selected major channel (S13).

Then, the received major channel is checked, and it is determined whether or not a plurality of minor channels are present in the major channel (S15).

If it is determined in step S15 that a plurality of minor channels are included in the selected major channel, the control unit confirms the resolutions of the plurality of minor channels based on the predetermined priority (S17).

If it is determined in step S17 that the resolutions of the images for the minor channels are not the same (S19), control is performed to select the minor channel having the largest resolution (S21).

Then, the image of the selected minor channel is processed and displayed (S23).

If it is determined in step S17 that the resolutions of the images for each of the minor channels are the same, a check is made to see if there is a genre preferred by the user among the genres for each of the minor channels (S27).

As a result of checking in step S27, if there is a preferred genre, the control unit controls to select a minor channel of a preferred genre (S29), and processes the image of the selected minor channel (S23).

As a result of checking in step S27, if there is no preferred genre, the control unit controls to select a minor channel having the smallest channel number (S31) and processes the selected minor channel image (S23).

As a result of the determination in step S15, if the selected major channel does not include a plurality of minor channels, the control unit controls to display and display the video of the selected major channel (S33).

On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the priorities are set in the order of resolution, preferred genre, and channel number. However, the order of the items (for example, resolution, Of course, can be set differently.

Accordingly, when the user selects the major channel, the user is automatically switched to one of the plurality of minor channels included in the major channel, so that the user can select the major channel and select the same channel .

Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the description of the third embodiment, the description of the configuration which is the same as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

In the third embodiment, weights are assigned to the resolution, preference genre, and channel number of images included in the minor channel, and the priority is set by the weight of the minor channel.

In other words, the control unit calculates the weights for the minor channels included in the major channel selected by the user as the resolution is higher and the genre of the image is the user's favorite genre.

For example, if the resolution of the image that can be transmitted is 480i, 480p, 720i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, the weight of 480i is 1, the weight of 480p is 2, the weight of 720i is 3, the weight of 720p is 4, Is set to 5, and the weight of 1080p is set to 6. If the genre of the image per minor channel is the user's preferred genre, the weight is set to 3. If the genre is not preferred, the weight is set to 1. In addition, the weight of the channel number having the largest channel number among the plurality of minor channels included therein is set to 1, and the weight is increased by 1 as the channel number becomes smaller.

2, it is assumed that the major channel selected by the user is 4 and the user's favorite genre is animation.

The control unit calculates the weights of the minor channels 4-1, 4-2, 4-7, and 4-8 included in the major channel 4, respectively. In the case of the minor channel 4-1, since the weight of the resolution is 1, the weight of the genre is 1, and the weight of the channel number is 4, the weight of 4-2 is 6. In the case of the minor channel 4-2, since the weight of the resolution is 3, the weight of the genre is 3, and the weight of the channel number is 2, the weight of 4-2 is 8. In the same way, the weight of 4-3 is 7, and the weight of 4-4 is 4.

Therefore, the control unit 4-2 is selected as the minor channel having the largest weight, and the image included in the minor channel 4-2 is processed and displayed.

Accordingly, when the user selects only the major channel, the image processing apparatus confirms various conditions such as the resolution of the images for a plurality of minor channels and the genre preferred by the user, and automatically switches to the most appropriate minor channel, Can be increased.

Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the following description of the fourth embodiment, the description of the configuration which is the same as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

In the fourth embodiment, it is assumed that the priority order is set by the user's history. That is, the control unit accumulates the number of times selected by the user for each of the plurality of minor channels included in the major channel by the user. When a major channel is selected from the user, the number of accumulated channels for each minor channel included in the major channel is checked. Then, a minor channel having the greatest number of times, that is, the most frequently selected minor channel is selected.

Accordingly, when the user selects only the major channel, the user automatically switches to the minor channel frequently selected by the user in accordance with the history of the minor channels included in the selected major channel, so that convenience for the user can be increased.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications may be made without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention . The scope of the invention will be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

10: Receiving unit 20: Image processing unit
30: display unit 40: user input unit

Claims (28)

An image processing apparatus comprising:
A receiver for receiving a broadcast signal of a major channel;
Wherein the control unit controls the receiving unit to receive any one of the plurality of major channels selected by the user, and when a plurality of minor channels are included in the selected major channel, any one of the minor channels is automatically And a control unit for controlling to select,
The selected major channel is a physical frequency band,
Wherein the minor channel is used for classifying a plurality of contents supplied through the selected major channel,
Wherein the controller selects a minor channel having the smallest channel number among the plurality of minor channels. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit confirms the information of the plurality of minor channels and selects one of the minor channels according to a predetermined priority. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the priority is set by at least one of a resolution and a preferred genre of a video of a minor channel. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the priority is set by a user. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the priority is set by a weight calculated based on a resolution and a preferred genre of an image included in the plurality of minor channels. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the priority is set by the history of the user. The method according to claim 1,
And a user input unit for selecting the major channel. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the priority includes a plurality of items,
Wherein the control unit selects one of the minor channels according to the second item if the information of the plurality of minor channels corresponding to the first item is the same. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a user input unit through which a user inputs the selected major channel,
Wherein one of the minor channels is automatically selected corresponding to the input of the selected major channel of the user. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit selects one channel having a high resolution among the plurality of minor channels when the plurality of minor channels have different resolutions. A method of controlling an image processing apparatus,
Determining whether a major channel of a plurality of major channels is selected by a user;
Receiving a broadcast signal of the selected major channel;
Determining whether the selected major channel includes a plurality of minor channels;
And automatically selecting one of the minor channels according to the selected major channel if the selected major channel includes a plurality of minor channels,
The selected major channel is a physical frequency band,
Wherein the minor channel is used for classifying a plurality of contents supplied through the selected major channel,
Wherein the selecting step selects a minor channel having the smallest channel number among the plurality of minor channels. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the selecting of any one of the minor channels comprises:
The information of the plurality of minor channels is checked, and one of the minor channels is selected according to a predetermined priority. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the priority is set by at least one of a resolution and a preference genre of an image. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the priority is set by a user. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the priority is set by a weight calculated based on a resolution and a preferred genre of an image included in the plurality of minor channels. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the priority is set by the history of the user. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the selecting of any one of the minor channels comprises:
Wherein the priority order includes a plurality of items, and if any of the plurality of minor channels corresponding to the first item is the same, selects one of the minor channels according to the second item. Way. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the broadcast signal is a video broadcast signal. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the broadcast signal is an audio broadcast signal. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the broadcast signal is a data broadcast signal. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the priority is a preference characteristic of the minor channel. 22. The method of claim 21,
Wherein the preference characteristic of the minor channel is determined according to the number of times of viewing the minor channel having the preference characteristic. 23. The method of claim 22,
Wherein the preference characteristic is a resolution of a video broadcast signal. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the image processing apparatus is a television broadcast receiver. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the television broadcast receiver is an IPTV. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the television broadcast receiver includes a display screen. 12. The method of claim 11,
The user inputs the selected major channel by a user input unit,
Wherein one of the minor channels is automatically selected corresponding to the input of the selected major channel of the user. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the selecting further includes selecting one channel having a high resolution among the plurality of minor channels when the plurality of minor channels have different resolutions.

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