CN112040307A

CN112040307A - Play control method and display device

Info

Publication number: CN112040307A
Application number: CN202010857714.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李建军
Original assignee: Hisense Visual Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Vidaa Netherlands International Holdings BV
Priority date: 2020-08-24
Filing date: 2020-08-24
Publication date: 2020-12-04

Abstract

The application discloses a play control method and display equipment, which are used for controlling the play of external equipment accessed to a certain HDMI channel when the HDMI channel is switched with other signal source channels. The display device includes: a display; a controller coupled to the display for performing: when a first high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) channel is switched to a target channel, sending a first key control instruction to external equipment accessed to the first HDMI channel, wherein the first key control instruction carries a first value for indicating the external equipment to pause playing; the target channel comprises a second HDMI channel different from the first HDMI channel, or a non-HDMI channel; and when the target channel is restored to the first HDMI channel, sending a second key control instruction to external equipment accessed to the first HDMI channel, wherein the second key control instruction carries a second value used for indicating the external equipment to start playing.

Description

Play control method and display device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a play control method and a display device.

Background

Currently, a display device such as a smart television generally has a plurality of signal source channels, such as a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) channel, a TV channel, and the like, for receiving input signals of different signal sources respectively. The display device can switch among a plurality of signal source channels to play the contents provided by different signal sources.

However, when the display device is switched among multiple signal source channels, the situation that the external device accessing the HDMI channel continues to play after being switched from one HDMI channel to another signal source channel may occur, which may further cause the problem that the playing content of the display device after being switched from another signal source channel to the HDMI channel is discontinuous with the playing content before being switched from the HDMI channel to another channel.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a play control method and display equipment, which are used for controlling the play of external equipment accessed to a certain HDMI channel when the HDMI channel is switched with other signal source channels.

In a first aspect, there is provided a display device comprising:

a display;

a controller coupled to the display for performing:

when a first high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) channel is switched to a target channel, sending a first key control instruction to external equipment accessed to the first HDMI channel, wherein the first key control instruction carries a first value for indicating the external equipment to pause playing so as to pause playing of the external equipment; the target channel comprises a second HDMI channel different from the first HDMI channel, or a non-HDMI channel;

and when the target channel is restored to the first HDMI channel, sending a second key control instruction to external equipment accessed to the first HDMI channel, wherein the second key control instruction carries a second value used for indicating the external equipment to start playing, so that the external equipment starts playing.

In a second aspect, a play control method is provided, which is applied to a display device, and includes:

In the above embodiment, the display device can control the external device accessing the first HDMI channel to pause playing when switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel, and control the external device accessing the first HDMI channel to start playing when resuming from the target channel to the first HDMI channel. Therefore, the problems that when the first HDMI channel is switched to other signal source channels, the external equipment connected to the first HDMI channel still continuously plays, the playing content recovered from the other signal source channels to the first HDMI channel is discontinuous with the playing content before the first HDMI channel is switched to the other signal source channels and the like can be avoided.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation scenario between the display device 200 and the control apparatus 100;

fig. 1B is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of the control apparatus 100 in fig. 1A;

fig. 1C is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of the display device 200 in fig. 1A;

a block diagram of the architectural configuration of the operating system in the memory of the display device 200 is illustrated in fig. 1D.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a play control method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an implementation of step S41 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an implementation of step S42 provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

To make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the exemplary embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the exemplary embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the exemplary embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described exemplary embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments.

All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the exemplary embodiments shown in the present application without inventive effort, shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Moreover, while the disclosure herein has been presented in terms of exemplary one or more examples, it is to be understood that each aspect of the disclosure can be utilized independently and separately from other aspects of the disclosure to provide a complete disclosure.

The terms "comprises" and "comprising," and any variations thereof, as used herein, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a product or device that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements explicitly listed, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such product or device.

The term "module," as used herein, refers to any known or later developed hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, or combination of hardware and/or software code that is capable of performing the functionality associated with that element.

The term "gesture" as used in this application refers to a user's behavior through a change in hand shape or an action such as hand motion to convey a desired idea, action, purpose, or result.

To facilitate understanding of the playback control method and the display device provided in the embodiments of the present application, the following examples illustrate the structure of the display device and interaction between the display device and the control apparatus:

fig. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation scenario between the display device 200 and the control apparatus 100. As shown in fig. 1A, the control apparatus 100 and the display device 200 may communicate with each other in a wired or wireless manner.

Among them, the control apparatus 100 is configured to control the display device 200, which may receive an operation instruction input by a user and convert the operation instruction into an instruction recognizable and responsive by the display device 200, serving as an intermediary for interaction between the user and the display device 200. Such as: the user operates the channel up/down key on the control device 100, and the display device 200 responds to the channel up/down operation.

The control device 100 may be a remote controller 100A, which includes infrared protocol communication or bluetooth protocol communication, and other short-distance communication methods, etc. to control the display apparatus 200 in a wireless or other wired manner. The user may input a user instruction through a key on a remote controller, voice input, control panel input, etc., to control the display apparatus 200. Such as: the user can input a corresponding control command through a volume up/down key, a channel control key, up/down/left/right moving keys, a voice input key, a menu key, a power on/off key, etc. on the remote controller, to implement the function of controlling the display device 200.

The control device 100 may also be an intelligent device, such as a mobile terminal 100B, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, and the like. For example, the display device 200 is controlled using an application program running on the smart device. The application program may provide various controls to a user through an intuitive User Interface (UI) on a screen associated with the smart device through configuration.

For example, the mobile terminal 100B may install a software application with the display device 200 to implement connection communication through a network communication protocol for the purpose of one-to-one control operation and data communication. Such as: the mobile terminal 100B may be caused to establish a control instruction protocol with the display device 200 to implement the functions of the physical keys as arranged in the remote control 100A by operating various function keys or virtual buttons of the user interface provided on the mobile terminal 100B. The audio and video content displayed on the mobile terminal 100B may also be transmitted to the display device 200, so as to implement a synchronous display function.

The display apparatus 200 may be implemented as a television, and may provide an intelligent network television function of a broadcast receiving television function as well as a computer support function. Examples of the display device include a digital television, a web television, a smart television, an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), and the like.

The display device 200 may be a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting display, a projection display device. The specific display device type, size, resolution, etc. are not limited.

The display apparatus 200 also performs data communication with the server 300 through various communication means. Here, the display apparatus 200 may be allowed to be communicatively connected through a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and other networks. The server 300 may provide various contents and interactions to the display apparatus 200. By way of example, the display device 200 may send and receive information such as: receiving Electronic Program Guide (EPG) data, receiving software program updates, or accessing a remotely stored digital media library. The servers 300 may be a group or groups of servers, and may be one or more types of servers. Other web service contents such as a video on demand and an advertisement service are provided through the server 300.

Fig. 1B is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the control device 100. As shown in fig. 1B, the control device 100 includes a controller 110, a memory 120, a communicator 130, a user input interface 140, an output interface 150, and a power supply 160.

The controller 110 includes a Random Access Memory (RAM)111, a Read Only Memory (ROM)112, a processor 113, a communication interface, and a communication bus. The controller 110 is used to control the operation of the control device 100, as well as the internal components of the communication cooperation, external and internal data processing functions.

Illustratively, when an interaction of a user pressing a key disposed on the remote controller 100A or an interaction of touching a touch panel disposed on the remote controller 100A is detected, the controller 110 may control to generate a signal corresponding to the detected interaction and transmit the signal to the display device 200.

And a memory 120 for storing various operation programs, data and applications for driving and controlling the control apparatus 100 under the control of the controller 110. The memory 120 may store various control signal commands input by a user.

The communicator 130 enables communication of control signals and data signals with the display apparatus 200 under the control of the controller 110. Such as: the control apparatus 100 transmits a control signal (e.g., a touch signal or a button signal) to the display device 200 via the communicator 130, and the control apparatus 100 may receive the signal transmitted by the display device 200 via the communicator 130. The communicator 130 may include an infrared signal interface 131 and a radio frequency signal interface 132. For example: when the infrared signal interface is used, the user input instruction needs to be converted into an infrared control signal according to an infrared control protocol, and the infrared control signal is sent to the display device 200 through the infrared sending module. The following steps are repeated: when the rf signal interface is used, a user input command needs to be converted into a digital signal, and then the digital signal is modulated according to the rf control signal modulation protocol and then transmitted to the display device 200 through the rf transmitting terminal.

The user input interface 140 may include at least one of a microphone 141, a touch pad 142, a sensor 143, a key 144, and the like, so that a user can input a user instruction regarding controlling the display apparatus 200 to the control apparatus 100 through voice, touch, gesture, press, and the like.

The output interface 150 outputs a user instruction received by the user input interface 140 to the display apparatus 200, or outputs an image or voice signal received by the display apparatus 200. Here, the output interface 150 may include an LED interface 151, a vibration interface 152 generating vibration, a sound output interface 153 outputting sound, a display 154 outputting an image, and the like. For example, the remote controller 100A may receive an output signal such as audio, video, or data from the output interface 150, and display the output signal in the form of an image on the display 154, in the form of audio on the sound output interface 153, or in the form of vibration on the vibration interface 152.

And a power supply 160 for providing operation power support for each element of the control device 100 under the control of the controller 110. In the form of a battery and associated control circuitry.

A hardware configuration block diagram of the display device 200 is exemplarily illustrated in fig. 1C. As shown in fig. 1C, the display apparatus 200 may further include a tuner demodulator 210, a communicator 220, a detector 230, an external device interface 240, a controller 250, a memory 260, a user interface 265, a video processor 270, a display 275, an audio processor 280, an audio input interface 285, and a power supply 290.

The tuner demodulator 210 receives the broadcast television signal in a wired or wireless manner, may perform modulation and demodulation processing such as amplification, mixing, and resonance, and is configured to demodulate, from a plurality of wireless or wired broadcast television signals, an audio/video signal carried in a frequency of a television channel selected by a user, and additional information (e.g., EPG data).

The tuner demodulator 210 is responsive to the user selected frequency of the television channel and the television signal carried by the frequency, as selected by the user and controlled by the controller 250.

The tuner demodulator 210 can receive a television signal in various ways according to the broadcasting system of the television signal, such as: terrestrial broadcasting, cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, internet broadcasting, or the like; and according to different modulation types, a digital modulation mode or an analog modulation mode can be adopted; and can demodulate the analog signal and the digital signal according to the different kinds of the received television signals.

In other exemplary embodiments, the tuning demodulator 210 may also be in an external device, such as an external set-top box. In this way, the set-top box outputs a television signal after modulation and demodulation, and inputs the television signal into the display apparatus 200 through the external device interface 240.

The communicator 220 is a component for communicating with an external device or an external server according to various communication protocol types. For example, the display apparatus 200 may transmit content data to an external apparatus connected via the communicator 220, or browse and download content data from an external apparatus connected via the communicator 220. The communicator 220 may include a network communication protocol module or a near field communication protocol module, such as a WIFI module 221, a bluetooth communication protocol module 222, and a wired ethernet communication protocol module 223, so that the communicator 220 may receive a control signal of the control device 100 according to the control of the controller 250 and implement the control signal as a WIFI signal, a bluetooth signal, a radio frequency signal, and the like.

The detector 230 is a component of the display apparatus 200 for collecting signals of an external environment or interaction with the outside. The detector 230 may include an image collector 231, such as a camera, a video camera, etc., which may be used to collect external environment scenes to adaptively change the display parameters of the display device 200; and the function of acquiring the attribute of the user or interacting gestures with the user so as to realize the interaction between the display equipment and the user. A light receiver 232 may also be included to collect ambient light intensity to adapt to changes in display parameters of the display device 200, etc.

In some other exemplary embodiments, the detector 230 may further include a temperature sensor, such as by sensing an ambient temperature, and the display device 200 may adaptively adjust a display color temperature of the image. For example, when the temperature is higher, the display apparatus 200 may be adjusted to display a color temperature of an image that is cooler; when the temperature is lower, the display device 200 may be adjusted to display a warmer color temperature of the image.

In some other exemplary embodiments, the detector 230, which may further include a sound collector, such as a microphone, may be configured to receive a sound of a user, such as a voice signal of a control instruction of the user to control the display device 200; alternatively, ambient sounds may be collected that identify the type of ambient scene, enabling the display device 200 to adapt to ambient noise.

The external device interface 240 is a component for providing the controller 210 to control data transmission between the display apparatus 200 and an external apparatus. The external device interface 240 may be connected to an external apparatus such as a set-top box, a game device, a notebook computer, etc. in a wired/wireless manner, and may receive data such as a video signal (e.g., moving image), an audio signal (e.g., music), additional information (e.g., EPG), etc. of the external apparatus.

The external device interface 240 may include: a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) terminal 241, a Composite Video Blanking Sync (CVBS) terminal 242, an analog or digital Component terminal 243, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) terminal 244, a Component terminal (not shown), a red, green, blue (RGB) terminal (not shown), and the like.

The controller 250 controls the operation of the display device 200 and responds to the operation of the user by running various software control programs (such as an operating system and various application programs) stored on the memory 260.

As shown in fig. 1C, the controller 250 includes a Random Access Memory (RAM)251, a Read Only Memory (ROM)252, a graphics processor 253, a CPU processor 254, a communication interface 255, and a communication bus 256. The RAM251, the ROM252, the graphic processor 253, and the CPU processor 254 are connected to each other through a communication bus 256 through a communication interface 255.

The ROM252 stores various system boot instructions. When the display apparatus 200 starts power-on upon receiving the power-on signal, the CPU processor 254 executes a system boot instruction in the ROM252, copies the operating system stored in the memory 260 to the RAM251, and starts running the boot operating system. After the start of the operating system is completed, the CPU processor 254 copies the various application programs in the memory 260 to the RAM251 and then starts running and starting the various application programs.

A graphic processor 253 for generating screen images of various graphic objects such as icons, images, and operation menus. The graphic processor 253 may include an operator for performing an operation by receiving various interactive instructions input by a user, and further displaying various objects according to display attributes; and a renderer for generating various objects based on the operator and displaying the rendered result on the display 275.

A CPU processor 254 for executing operating system and application program instructions stored in memory 260. And according to the received user input instruction, processing of various application programs, data and contents is executed so as to finally display and play various audio-video contents.

In some example embodiments, the CPU processor 254 may comprise a plurality of processors. The plurality of processors may include one main processor and a plurality of or one sub-processor. A main processor for performing some initialization operations of the display apparatus 200 in the display apparatus preload mode and/or operations of displaying a screen in the normal mode. A plurality of or one sub-processor for performing an operation in a state of a standby mode or the like of the display apparatus.

The communication interface 255 may include a first interface to an nth interface. These interfaces may be network interfaces that are connected to external devices via a network.

The controller 250 may control the overall operation of the display apparatus 200. For example: in response to receiving a user input command for selecting a GUI object displayed on the display 275, the controller 250 may perform an operation related to the object selected by the user input command.

Where the object may be any one of the selectable objects, such as a hyperlink or an icon. The operation related to the selected object is, for example, an operation of displaying a link to a hyperlink page, document, image, or the like, or an operation of executing a program corresponding to an icon. The user input command for selecting the GUI object may be a command input through various input means (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, etc.) connected to the display apparatus 200 or a voice command corresponding to a user uttering voice.

A memory 260 for storing various types of data, software programs, or applications for driving and controlling the operation of the display device 200. The memory 260 may include volatile and/or nonvolatile memory. And the term "memory" includes the memory 260, the RAM251 and the ROM252 of the controller 250, or a memory card in the display device 200.

In some embodiments, the memory 260 is specifically used for storing an operating program for driving the controller 250 of the display device 200; storing various application programs built in the display apparatus 200 and downloaded by a user from an external apparatus; data such as visual effect images for configuring various GUIs provided by the display 275, various objects related to the GUIs, and selectors for selecting GUI objects are stored.

In some embodiments, the memory 260 is specifically configured to store drivers and related data for the tuner demodulator 210, the communicator 220, the detector 230, the external device interface 240, the video processor 270, the display 275, the audio processor 280, and the like, external data (e.g., audio-visual data) received from the external device interface, or user data (e.g., key information, voice information, touch information, and the like) received from the user interface.

In some embodiments, memory 260 specifically stores software and/or programs representing an Operating System (OS), which may include, for example: a kernel, middleware, an Application Programming Interface (API), and/or an application program. Illustratively, the kernel may control or manage system resources, as well as functions implemented by other programs (e.g., the middleware, APIs, or applications); at the same time, the kernel may provide an interface to allow middleware, APIs, or applications to access the controller to enable control or management of system resources.

A block diagram of the architectural configuration of the operating system in the memory of the display device 200 is illustrated in fig. 1D. The operating system architecture comprises an application layer, a middleware layer and a kernel layer from top to bottom.

The application layer, the application programs built in the system and the non-system-level application programs belong to the application layer and are responsible for direct interaction with users. The application layer may include a plurality of applications such as NETFLIX applications, setup applications, media center applications, and the like. These applications may be implemented as Web applications that execute based on a WebKit engine, and in particular may be developed and executed based on HTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and JavaScript.

Here, HTML, which is called HyperText Markup Language (HyperText Markup Language), is a standard Markup Language for creating web pages, and describes the web pages by Markup tags, where the HTML tags are used to describe characters, graphics, animation, sound, tables, links, etc., and a browser reads an HTML document, interprets the content of the tags in the document, and displays the content in the form of web pages.

CSS, known as Cascading Style Sheets (Cascading Style Sheets), is a computer language used to represent the Style of HTML documents, and may be used to define Style structures, such as fonts, colors, locations, etc. The CSS style can be directly stored in the HTML webpage or a separate style file, so that the style in the webpage can be controlled.

JavaScript, a language applied to Web page programming, can be inserted into an HTML page and interpreted and executed by a browser. The interaction logic of the Web application is realized by JavaScript. The JavaScript can package a JavaScript extension interface through a browser, realize the communication with the kernel layer,

the middleware layer may provide some standardized interfaces to support the operation of various environments and systems. For example, the middleware layer may be implemented as multimedia and hypermedia information coding experts group (MHEG) middleware related to data broadcasting, DLNA middleware which is middleware related to communication with an external device, middleware which provides a browser environment in which each application program in the display device operates, and the like.

The kernel layer provides core system services, such as: file management, memory management, process management, network management, system security authority management and the like. The kernel layer may be implemented as a kernel based on various operating systems, for example, a kernel based on the Linux operating system.

The kernel layer also provides communication between system software and hardware, and provides device driver services for various hardware, such as: provide display driver for the display, provide camera driver for the camera, provide button driver for the remote controller, provide wiFi driver for the WIFI module, provide audio driver for audio output interface, provide power management drive for Power Management (PM) module etc..

A user interface 265 receives various user interactions. Specifically, it is used to transmit an input signal of a user to the controller 250 or transmit an output signal from the controller 250 to the user. For example, the remote controller 100A may transmit an input signal, such as a power switch signal, a channel selection signal, a volume adjustment signal, etc., input by the user to the user interface 265, and then the input signal is transferred to the controller 250 through the user interface 265; alternatively, the remote controller 100A may receive an output signal such as audio, video, or data output from the user interface 265 via the controller 250, and display the received output signal or output the received output signal in audio or vibration form.

In some embodiments, a user may enter user commands on a Graphical User Interface (GUI) displayed on the display 275, and the user interface 265 receives the user input commands through the GUI. Specifically, the user interface 265 may receive user input commands for controlling the position of a selector in the GUI to select different objects or items.

Alternatively, the user may input a user command by inputting a specific sound or gesture, and the user interface 265 receives the user input command by recognizing the sound or gesture through the sensor.

The video processor 270 is configured to receive an external video signal, and perform video data processing such as decompression, decoding, scaling, noise reduction, frame rate conversion, resolution conversion, and image synthesis according to a standard codec protocol of the input signal, so as to obtain a video signal that is directly displayed or played on the display 275.

Illustratively, the video processor 270 includes a demultiplexing module, a video decoding module, an image synthesizing module, a frame rate conversion module, a display formatting module, and the like.

The demultiplexing module is configured to demultiplex an input audio/video data stream, where, for example, an input MPEG-2 stream (based on a compression standard of a digital storage media moving image and voice), the demultiplexing module demultiplexes the input audio/video data stream into a video signal and an audio signal.

And the video decoding module is used for processing the video signal after demultiplexing, including decoding, scaling and the like.

And the image synthesis module is used for carrying out superposition mixing processing on the GUI signal input by the user or generated by the user and the video image after the zooming processing by the graphic generator so as to generate an image signal for display.

The frame rate conversion module is configured to convert a frame rate of an input video, for example, convert a frame rate of an input 60Hz video into a frame rate of 120Hz or 240Hz, where a common format is implemented by using, for example, an interpolation frame method.

And a display formatting module for converting the signal output by the frame rate conversion module into a signal conforming to a display format of a display, such as converting the format of the signal output by the frame rate conversion module to output an RGB data signal.

And a display 275 for receiving the image signal from the output of the video processor 270 and displaying video, images and menu manipulation interfaces. For example, the display may display video from a broadcast signal received by the tuner demodulator 210, may display video input from the communicator 220 or the external device interface 240, and may display an image stored in the memory 260. The display 275, while displaying a user manipulation interface UI generated in the display apparatus 200 and used to control the display apparatus 200.

And, the display 275 may include a display screen assembly for presenting a picture and a driving assembly for driving the display of an image. Alternatively, a projection device and projection screen may be included, provided display 275 is a projection display.

The audio processor 280 is configured to receive an external audio signal, decompress and decode the received audio signal according to a standard codec protocol of the input signal, and perform audio data processing such as noise reduction, digital-to-analog conversion, and amplification processing to obtain an audio signal that can be played by the speaker 286.

Illustratively, audio processor 280 may support various audio formats. Such as MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), high efficiency AAC (HE-AAC), and the like.

Audio output interface 285 receives audio signals from the output of audio processor 280. For example, the audio output interface may output audio in a broadcast signal received via the tuner demodulator 210, may output audio input via the communicator 220 or the external device interface 240, and may output audio stored in the memory 260. The audio output interface 285 may include a speaker 286, or an external audio output terminal 287, such as an earphone output terminal, that outputs to a generating device of an external device.

In other exemplary embodiments, video processor 270 may comprise one or more chips. Audio processor 280 may also comprise one or more chips.

And, in other exemplary embodiments, the video processor 270 and the audio processor 280 may be separate chips or may be integrated with the controller 250 in one or more chips.

And a power supply 290 for supplying power supply support to the display apparatus 200 from the power input from the external power source under the control of the controller 250. The power supply 290 may be a built-in power supply circuit installed inside the display apparatus 200 or may be a power supply installed outside the display apparatus 200.

In some embodiments, when the display device is switched among multiple signal source channels, a situation may occur that after a certain HDMI channel is switched to another signal source channel, the external device accessing the HDMI channel still continuously plays, which may cause playing content of the display device switched back from the other signal source channel to the HDMI channel to be discontinuous with playing content before the HDMI channel is switched to another signal source channel, and may also cause problems such as increasing loss of the external device accessing the HDMI channel, and increasing power consumption of the external device.

To facilitate understanding of the above, a simple example is given below:

taking the current signal source channel of the display device as the first HDMI channel, and the external device accessing the first HDMI channel as a Digital Video Disc (DVD) player as an example, the current playing content of the display device is the current playing content of the DVD player.

When the DVD player currently plays the movie a and plays the movie a for the 20 th minute, if the display device is switched from the first HDMI channel to the TV channel, the display device switches to play the content transmitted by the TV channel, and the DVD player still continues to play the movie a.

And if the display equipment is recovered to the first HDMI channel from the TV channel after being switched to the TV channel for 10 minutes, the display equipment is switched to play the current playing content of the DVD player. At this time, the DVD device has already played to the 30 th minute of movie a, the playing content of the display device is also the content of the 30 th minute of movie a, and this playing content is not continuous with the playing content before the display device switches from the first HDMI channel to the TV channel.

In view of the foregoing problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a play control method, which may be applied to a display device such as a smart television, so that when the display device switches between a certain HDMI channel and another signal source channel, the display device controls play of an external device accessing the HDMI channel.

In one example, the play control method may include: and when the first HDMI channel is switched to the target channel, controlling the external equipment accessed to the first HDMI channel to pause playing.

The first HDMI channel may be any HDMI channel in a display device. As an embodiment, if the current signal source channel is an HDMI channel, the HDMI channel may be used as a first HDMI channel, and the play control method provided in the present application is applied.

The destination channel may be any source channel other than the first HDMI channel, and for one embodiment, the destination channel may be a non-HDMI channel, such as a TV channel. For one embodiment, the target channel may be an HDMI channel other than the first HDMI channel. For example, if there are three HDMI channels in the display device: HDMI1, HDMI2, and HDMI3, when switching from current HDMI1 to HDMI2, HDMI1 can be the first HDMI channel and HDMI2 can be the target channel.

In one embodiment, the play control method may further include: and when the target channel is recovered to the first HDMI channel, controlling the external equipment accessed to the first HDMI channel to start playing.

In order to facilitate understanding of the play control method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the play control method is described below by way of example with reference to the flow shown in fig. 2:

referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a play control method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 2, the process may include the following steps:

step S41, when switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel, sending a first key control instruction to the external device accessing the first HDMI channel, where the first key control instruction carries a first value used for instructing the external device to pause playing, so that the external device accessing the first HDMI channel pauses playing.

In this step S41, switching is made from the first HDMI channel to the target channel, so it is easily understood that the current channel of the display device is the first HDMI channel before this step S41 is performed. Before switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel, the display device may play the play content transmitted through the first HDMI channel, that is, play the play content provided by the external device accessing the first HDMI channel; after switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel, the display device may play the play content transmitted through the target channel.

In one example, the display apparatus may switch from the first HDMI channel to the target channel upon receiving a first switch instruction input externally. The first switching instruction herein is for instructing switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel.

As an embodiment, the first switching instruction may be input by a user operating the control device. For example, the display device may display at least one signal source channel in response to a key INPUT instruction corresponding to an "INPUT" key on the control apparatus, and switch to a target channel among the signal source channels in response to a selected instruction INPUT through the control apparatus. Specifically, if the selected instruction input through the control device is directed to the current first HDMI channel, the switching operation may not be executed; when the selected instruction input by the control device is directed to a signal source channel other than the current first HDMI channel, the signal source channel is used as a target channel, and switching to the target channel is executed.

In another example, the first switching instruction may be automatically issued by the display device when a preset condition is satisfied. As an example, the preset condition may include reaching a preset time, etc.

In one example, the display device and the external device accessing the first HDMI channel both enable a configured Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) function. The CEC function allows a user to control a plurality of CEC-function-capable devices on the same CEC bus using one control apparatus, where the plurality of CEC-function-capable devices may include: the display device and at least one external device accessing the display device through the HDMI interface.

As an embodiment, the first key Control instruction sent to the external device in step S41 may be a User Control Pressed instruction and a User Control Released instruction in the CEC function, where both of the two instructions carry a first value Pause (Pause play) for instructing the external device to Pause play. Specifically, the two instructions both carry a key parameter key, and the key parameter key is a first value, which is Pause. It should be noted that the first value is named for the convenience of distinguishing from the second value in the following description, and is not related to the actual value.

In the existing Remote Control Pass Through (CEC) function of the CEC function, a User Control Pressed instruction and a User Control Released instruction are mainly used for transmitting key operations of a User on a Control device, and different key operations are transmitted Through different values of key parameters (keys) carried by the command. The User Control Released instruction is mainly used for transmitting the User to release the key on the Control device, and the two instructions are usually used in pairs; the key-press on the common control device includes: fast forward, fast rewind, Play enabled (Play), Play paused (Pause), previous channel, next channel, stop, exit, up, down, left, right, confirm, etc. In this embodiment, a User Control Pressed instruction and a User Control retrieved instruction, which take the value of the carried key parameter key as Pause, are sent to the external device, so that the User can simulate the pressing and releasing operations of the Pause key on the Control device, and the external device can Pause playing.

Step S42, when the target channel is restored to the first HDMI channel, sending a second key control instruction to the external device accessing the first HDMI channel, where the second key control instruction carries a second value used for instructing the external device to start playing, so that the external device accessing the first HDMI channel starts playing.

In this step S42, the target channel is restored to the first HDMI channel, so it is easily understood that the current channel of the display device is the target channel when this step S42 is executed.

In one example, the display apparatus may switch from the target channel to the first HDMI channel upon receiving a second switching instruction input externally. The second switching instruction herein is for instructing switching from the target channel to the first HDMI channel.

As an embodiment, the second switching instruction may also be input by the user operating the control device, similar to the first switching instruction described above. As another embodiment, the display device may automatically issue the second switching instruction to recover from the target channel to the first HDMI channel when a preset condition is satisfied.

As an embodiment, the second key input instruction sent to the external device in step S42 may be a User Control Pressed instruction and a User Control Released instruction, and both of the two instructions carry the second value Play (start Play) for instructing the external device to start Play. Specifically, the User Control Pressed command and the User Control retrieved command may both carry a key parameter key, and the key parameter key is a second value of Play. In this embodiment, a User Control Pressed instruction and a User Control Released instruction, which take the value of the carried key parameter key as Play, are sent to the external device, so that the User can simulate the pressing and releasing operations of the User on the Play key on the Control device, and the external device starts playing.

As an embodiment, when the target channel is a second HDMI channel, when resuming from the second HDMI channel to the first HDMI channel, a first key control instruction may be sent to the second HDMI channel, similar to switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel, so as to pause playing of an external device accessing the second HDMI channel.

Thus, the flow shown in fig. 2 is completed.

Through the process shown in fig. 2, the display device may control the external device accessing the first HDMI channel to pause playing when switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel, and may control the external device accessing the first HDMI channel to start playing when switching from the target channel to the first HDMI channel.

In one embodiment, in the step S42, when the target channel is restored to the first HDMI channel, the external device may start playing in response to an externally input instruction, without sending the second key control instruction to the external device accessing the first HDMI channel.

In one embodiment, in a case that the first HDMI channel is not previously switched to the target channel, when the target channel is switched to the first HDMI channel, a second key control instruction may also be sent to the external device accessing the first HDMI channel to control the external device to start playing.

In some embodiments, the process of switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel in step S41 described above may include multiple steps. Taking the target channel as the TV channel as an example, a process of switching from the first HDMI channel to the TV channel and when to send the first key control command to the external device accessing the first HDMI channel in the process will be described with reference to fig. 3.

Referring to fig. 3, an implementation flowchart of step S41 provided by the embodiment of the present application is exemplarily shown in fig. 3. As shown in fig. 3, the process may include the following steps:

step S51, the resource occupied by the first HDMI channel is released.

As an embodiment, releasing the resource occupied by the first HDMI channel may include: and releasing the connection between the terminal (terminal) occupied by the first HDMI channel and the player corresponding to the terminal, and releasing the occupation of the terminal by the first HDMI channel.

Specifically, when the connection between the terminal occupied by the first HDMI channel and the player is released, if the terminal occupied by the first HDMI channel is a window terminal (window terminal), the video decoder corresponding to the window terminal may be stopped, and if the terminal occupied by the first HDMI channel is an audio terminal (audio terminal), the audio decoder corresponding to the audio terminal may be stopped. The audio terminal can be an earphone, a loudspeaker and the like, and the window terminal can be a display and the like.

Specifically, when the occupation of the first HDMI channel on the terminal is removed, a path (path) established between the HDMI channel and the terminal may be destroyed, if the terminal occupied by the first HDMI channel is a window terminal, the video decoder corresponding to the window terminal may be closed, and if the terminal occupied by the first HDMI channel is an audio terminal, the audio decoder corresponding to the audio terminal may be closed.

Step S52, sending a first key control instruction to the external device accessing the first HDMI channel, where the first key control instruction carries a first value used to instruct the external device to pause playing.

The specific implementation of the step S52 can refer to the above-described embodiments, and the description by way of example is not repeated here.

Step S53, allocating required resources for the TV channel.

As an embodiment, the present step S53 may establish a path between the TV channel and a terminal required by the TV channel so that the TV channel occupies the terminal. As an embodiment, after a path between a TV channel and a desired terminal is established, a connection between the desired terminal of the TV channel and a player corresponding to the terminal may be established, and the player corresponding to the terminal may be started. For example, when the terminal occupied by the TV channel is a window terminal, a video decoder corresponding to the window terminal is started, and when the terminal occupied by the TV channel is an audio terminal, an audio decoder corresponding to the audio terminal is started.

The flow shown in fig. 3 is completed. The flow shown in fig. 3 may be executed when a switch from the first HDMI channel to the target channel is required, for example, when an instruction indicating a switch to the target channel is received, which is input by a user.

In some embodiments, the process of switching from the target channel to the first HDMI channel in step S42 described above includes a plurality of steps. Taking the target channel as the TV channel as an example, a process of switching from the TV channel to the first HDMI channel and when to send the second key control command to the external device accessing the first HDMI channel in the process will be described with reference to the flow shown in fig. 4.

Referring to fig. 4, an implementation flowchart of step S42 provided in the embodiment of the present application is exemplarily shown in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 4, the process may include the following steps:

step S61, the resource occupied by the TV channel is released.

The specific implementation of the step S61 is similar to the step S51, and specifically refers to the step S51, and the description is not repeated here.

In step S62, the required resources are allocated to the first HDMI channel.

The specific implementation of the step S62 is similar to the step S53, and specifically refers to the step S52, and the description is not repeated here.

Step S63, a second key control instruction is sent to the external device accessing the first HDMI channel, where the second key control instruction carries a second value used to instruct the external device to start playing.

This completes the description of the flow shown in fig. 4. The flow shown in fig. 4 may be executed when a switch from the target channel to the first HDMI channel is required.

In one embodiment, the processes shown in fig. 3 and 4 may be performed by one or more modules in the display device.

It should be noted that the flows shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4 are only examples and are not intended to specifically limit the present application. In practical applications, there may be other processes of switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel and switching from the target channel to the first HDMI channel, and details thereof are not described herein.

As described in the above embodiments, the display device can control the external device accessing the first HDMI channel to pause playback when switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel, and can also control the external device accessing the first HDMI channel to start playback when resuming from the target channel to the first HDMI channel. Therefore, the problems that when the first HDMI channel is switched to the target channel, the external device connected to the first HDMI channel still continuously plays, the playing content recovered from the target channel to the first HDMI channel is discontinuous with the playing content before the first HDMI channel is switched to the target channel and the like can be avoided.

While the preferred embodiments of the present application have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the application.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A display device, comprising:

a display;

a controller coupled to the display for performing:

2. The display device according to claim 1,

the controller switches from the first HDMI channel to the target channel when receiving a first switching instruction input from the outside; the first switching instruction is used for indicating switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel;

the controller restores from the target channel to the first HDMI channel when receiving a second switching instruction input from the outside; the second switch instruction is used for indicating the switch from the target channel to the first HDMI channel.

3. The display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display device and the external device enable a configured consumer electronics control, CEC, function.

4. The display device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first key Control command is a User Control Pressed command or a User Control Released command defined by CEC protocol, and the first value is Pause;

the second key Control instruction is a User Control Pressed instruction and a User Control Released instruction defined by a CEC protocol, and the second value is Play.

5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein when the target channel is a second HDMI channel and the controller resumes from the second HDMI channel to the first HDMI channel, the controller sends a first key control instruction to an external device accessing the second HDMI channel to pause playback of the external device accessing the second HDMI channel.

6. A play control method, applied to a display device, the method comprising:

7. The method of claim 6, wherein switching from the first High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) channel to the target channel comprises:

switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel upon receiving a first switching instruction input from the outside; the first switching instruction is used for indicating switching from the first HDMI channel to the target channel;

the resuming from the target channel to the first HDMI channel comprises:

when a second switching instruction input from the outside is received, the target channel is recovered to the first HDMI channel; the second switch instruction is used for indicating the switch from the target channel to the first HDMI channel.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the display device and the external device enable the configured CEC functionality.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first key Control command is a CEC protocol defined User Control Pressed command, a User Control Released command, and the first value is Pause;

10. The method of claim 6, wherein when the target channel is a second HDMI channel, the method further comprises:

and when the target channel is recovered to the first HDMI channel, sending a first key control instruction to the external equipment accessed to the second HDMI channel so as to enable the external equipment accessed to the second HDMI channel to pause playing.