CN112040309A - Channel switching method and display device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a channel switching method and display equipment, wherein in response to channel switching operation, if a switching request queue is not empty, whether a request queue to be processed is empty is determined; if the request queue to be processed is determined to be not empty, removing all channel information in the request queue to be processed, and storing the current channel information to be switched into the request queue to be processed; and when the switching request queue is empty, starting to execute a switching task of the channel in the to-be-processed request queue, and moving the channel information in the to-be-processed request queue to the switching request queue. According to the method and the device, when the user can quickly switch the channels in a short time, time consumed for switching among the compressed channels is reduced, so that the latest channels are quickly switched, the channel switching efficiency is improved, and the watching experience of the user is remarkably improved.

Description

Channel switching method and display device

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of intelligent televisions, in particular to a channel switching method and display equipment.

Background

OTT (over The top) refers to providing various application services to users through The internet, and currently, common OTT devices include, for example, a streaming media box, a television stick, a smart TV, and The like. The smart tv can connect the set-top box and the OTT device at the same time, so as to watch a Digital Television (DTV) channel and an internet Television channel (i.e. OTT channel).

In a smart tv, a channel list is usually maintained, in which channel information of DTV channels and OTT channels is recorded, and the DTV channels and the OTT channels are generally stored in the channel list in a crossed manner, so that when a user clicks a channel switching key, a next channel to be switched to may be a DTV channel or an OTT channel.

For example, when a user switches to an OTT channel currently, the smart television needs to acquire audio and video resources of the OTT channel and start a browser application corresponding to the OTT channel to play the OTT channel, and if the user switches to a next DTV channel quickly, the user must wait for two processes of resource loading of the current OTT channel and browser application starting to be completed before starting a switching task of the next DTV channel, where it generally takes 50ms to 100ms to load the audio and video resources, and it may take 3s to 5s to start the browser application. Therefore, when fast switching is performed between different types of channels, the switching speed is slow, the time consumption for waiting for a switching request is long, the latest channel cannot be switched quickly, and the watching experience of a user is influenced.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a channel switching method and a display device.

A first aspect provides a display device comprising:

a user interface for receiving an operation input by a user;

a controller connected to the user interface and configured to perform:

in response to a channel switching operation, if the switching request queue is not empty, determining whether the pending request queue is empty;

if the request queue to be processed is determined to be not empty, removing all channel information in the request queue to be processed, and storing the current channel information to be switched into the request queue to be processed;

and when the switching request queue is empty, starting to execute a switching task of the channel in the to-be-processed request queue, and moving the channel information in the to-be-processed request queue to the switching request queue.

The channel switching method provided by the second aspect comprises the following steps:

in response to a channel switching operation, if the switching request queue is not empty, determining whether the pending request queue is empty;

if the request queue to be processed is determined to be not empty, removing all channel information in the request queue to be processed, and storing the current channel information to be switched into the request queue to be processed;

and when the switching request queue is empty, starting to execute a switching task of the channel in the to-be-processed request queue, and moving the channel information in the to-be-processed request queue to the switching request queue.

In the technical scheme provided by the application, when a user switches channels rapidly and repeatedly, in order to facilitate accurate management of a task flow of channel switching, several queues can be set, such as a switching request queue and a to-be-processed request queue, wherein the switching request queue records channel information of a channel currently being switched, and the to-be-processed request queue records channel information of a channel currently to be switched, and the channel currently to be switched is a channel to which a channel switching operation currently input by the user is positioned. When a user inputs a channel switching operation, the controller firstly judges whether a switching request queue is empty, if the switching request queue is not empty, the task currently exists in channel switching, and then further judges whether the request queue to be processed is empty. If a user switches a plurality of channels quickly before, channel information (namely non-empty) exists in a request queue to be processed, all channel information in the request queue to be processed is removed, namely the request queue to be processed is emptied, and the currently latest positioned channel information is stored in the request queue to be processed, so that the aim of skipping channels between the currently switching channel and the currently latest channel to be switched is achieved, when the currently switching channel is switched, the currently switching channel is directly switched to the currently latest channel to be switched, and therefore a large amount of time consumption caused by switching other channels one by one is avoided.

When the switching request queue is empty, which indicates that no channel is currently being switched, the channel information in the pending request queue is moved to the switching request queue, and the switching task of the current latest pending channel is started. As can be seen from the above discussion, according to the application, when a user quickly switches channels, the to-be-processed request queue only retains information of the current latest to-be-switched channel, skips over the previously overstocked channel switching request, and compresses time consumed for switching between channels, so that the latest channel is quickly switched, the channel switching efficiency is improved, and the viewing experience of the user is remarkably improved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings to be accessed in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings without creative efforts.

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

fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the display device 200 in fig. 1;

fig. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a hardware configuration of the control apparatus 100 in fig. 1;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a software configuration in the display device 200 in fig. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an icon control interface display of an application on display device 200;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating dynamic adjustment of queues during channel change;

a flow chart of the channel switching method is shown in fig. 7 as an example.

Detailed Description

To make the objects, embodiments and advantages of the present application clearer, the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present application will clearly and completely describe the exemplary embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings in the exemplary embodiments of the present application, and it is to be understood that the described exemplary embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments.

All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the exemplary embodiments described herein without inventive step, are intended to be within the scope of the claims appended hereto. In addition, while the disclosure herein has been presented in terms of one or more exemplary examples, it should be appreciated that aspects of the disclosure may be implemented solely as a complete embodiment.

It should be noted that the brief descriptions of the terms in the present application are only for the convenience of understanding the embodiments described below, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application. These terms should be understood in their ordinary and customary meaning unless otherwise indicated.

The terms "first," "second," "third," and the like in the description and claims of this application and in the above-described drawings are used for distinguishing between similar or analogous objects or entities and are not necessarily intended to limit the order or sequence of any particular one, Unless otherwise indicated. It is to be understood that the terms so accessed are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the terms first, second, third, etc. are, for example, capable of implementation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein with respect to the embodiments of the application.

Furthermore, the terms "comprises" and "comprising," and any variations thereof, 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 referred to 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 "remote control" as referred to in this application refers to a component of an electronic device, such as the display device disclosed in this application, that is typically wirelessly controllable over a relatively short distance. Generally access infrared and/or Radio Frequency (RF) signals and/or bluetooth to connect with the electronic device, and may also include WiFi, wireless USB, bluetooth, motion sensor, etc. For example: the hand-held touch remote controller replaces most of the physical built-in hard keys in the common remote control device with the user interface in the touch screen.

The term "gesture" as referred to in this application refers to a user action through a change in hand shape or hand motion to convey an intended idea, action, purpose, or result.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation scenario between a display device and a control apparatus according to an embodiment. As shown in fig. 1, a user may operate the display device 200 through the mobile terminal 300 and the control apparatus 100.

In some embodiments, the control apparatus 100 may be a remote controller, and the communication between the remote controller and the display device includes an infrared protocol communication or a bluetooth protocol communication, and other short-distance communication methods, etc., and the display device 200 is controlled by wireless or other wired methods. The user may input a user command 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.

In some embodiments, mobile terminals, tablets, computers, laptops, and other smart devices may also be accessed to control the display device 200. For example, accessing an application running on the smart device controls the display device 200. The application, through configuration, may provide the user with various controls in an intuitive User Interface (UI) on a screen associated with the smart device.

In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 300 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 300 and the display device 200 can establish a control instruction protocol, synchronize a remote control keyboard to the mobile terminal 300, and control the display device 200 by controlling a user interface on the mobile terminal 300. The audio and video content displayed on the mobile terminal 300 can also be transmitted to the display device 200, so as to realize the synchronous display function.

As also shown in fig. 1, the display apparatus 200 also performs data communication with the server 400 through various communication means. The display device 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 400 may provide various contents and interactions to the display apparatus 200. Illustratively, the display device 200 receives software program updates, or accesses a remotely stored digital media library, by sending and receiving information, as well as Electronic Program Guide (EPG) interactions. The server 400 may be a cluster or a plurality of clusters, and may include one or more types of servers. Other web service contents such as video on demand and advertisement services are provided through the server 400.

The display device 200 may be a liquid crystal display, an OLED display, a projection display device. The particular display device type, size, resolution, etc. are not limiting, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that the display device 200 may be modified in performance and configuration as desired.

The display apparatus 200 may additionally provide an intelligent network tv function of a computer support function including, but not limited to, a network tv, an intelligent tv, an Internet Protocol Tv (IPTV), and the like, in addition to the broadcast receiving tv function.

A hardware configuration block diagram of a display device 200 according to an exemplary embodiment is exemplarily shown in fig. 2.

In some embodiments, at least one of the controller 250, the tuner demodulator 210, the communicator 220, the detector 230, the input/output interface 255, the display 275, the audio output interface 285, the memory 260, the power supply 290, the user interface 265, and the external device interface 240 is included in the display apparatus 200.

In some embodiments, a display 275 receives image signals originating from the first processor output and displays video content and images and components of the menu manipulation interface.

In some embodiments, the display 275, includes a display component for presenting a picture, and a drive component that drives the display of an image.

In some embodiments, the video content is displayed from broadcast television content, or alternatively, from various broadcast signals that may be received via wired or wireless communication protocols. Alternatively, various image contents received from the network communication protocol and sent from the network server side can be displayed.

In some embodiments, the display 275 is used to present a user-manipulated UI interface generated in the display apparatus 200 and used to control the display apparatus 200.

In some embodiments, a driver assembly for driving the display is also included, depending on the type of display 275.

In some embodiments, display 275 is a projection display and may also include a projection device and a projection screen.

In some embodiments, communicator 220 is a component for communicating with external devices or external servers according to various communication protocol types. For example: the communicator may include at least one of a WIFI module 221, a bluetooth module 222, a wired ethernet module 223, and other network communication protocol modules or near field communication protocol modules, and an infrared receiver, 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 signal type such as a WIFI signal, a bluetooth signal, and a radio frequency signal.

In some embodiments, the display apparatus 200 may establish control signal and data signal transmission and reception with the external control device 100 or the content providing apparatus through the communicator 220.

In some embodiments, the user interface 265 may be configured to receive infrared control signals from a control device 100 (e.g., an infrared remote control, etc.).

In some embodiments, the detector 230 is a signal used by the display device 200 to collect an external environment or interact with the outside.

In some embodiments, the detector 230 includes a light receiver, a sensor for collecting the intensity of ambient light, and parameters changes can be adaptively displayed by collecting the ambient light, and the like.

In some embodiments, the detector 230 may further include an image collector, such as a camera, etc., which may be configured to collect external environment scenes, collect attributes of the user or gestures interacted with the user, adaptively change display parameters, and recognize user gestures, so as to implement a function of interaction with the user.

In some embodiments, the detector 230 may also include a temperature sensor or the like, such as by sensing ambient temperature.

In some embodiments, the display apparatus 200 may adaptively adjust a display color temperature of an image. For example, the display apparatus 200 may be adjusted to display a cool tone when the temperature is in a high environment, or the display apparatus 200 may be adjusted to display a warm tone when the temperature is in a low environment.

In some embodiments, the detector 230 may also be a sound collector or the like, such as a microphone, which may be used to receive the user's voice. Illustratively, a voice signal including a control instruction of the user to control the display device 200, or to collect an ambient sound for recognizing an ambient scene type, so that the display device 200 can adaptively adapt to an ambient noise.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the input/output interface 255 is configured to allow data transfer between the controller 250 and external other devices or other controllers 250. Such as receiving video signal data and audio signal data of an external device, or command instruction data, etc.

In some embodiments, the external device interface 240 may include, but is not limited to, the following: the interface can be any one or more of a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), an analog or data high-definition component input interface, a composite video input interface, a USB input interface, an RGB port and the like. The plurality of interfaces may form a composite input/output interface.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the tuning demodulator 210 is configured to receive a broadcast television signal through a wired or wireless receiving manner, perform modulation and demodulation processing such as amplification, mixing, resonance, and the like, and demodulate an audio and video signal from a plurality of wireless or wired broadcast television signals, where the audio and video signal may include a television audio and video signal carried in a television channel frequency selected by a user and an EPG data signal.

In some embodiments, the frequency points demodulated by the tuner demodulator 210 are controlled by the controller 250, and the controller 250 can send out control signals according to user selection, so that the modem responds to the television signal frequency selected by the user and modulates and demodulates the television signal carried by the frequency.

In some embodiments, the broadcast television signal may be classified into a terrestrial broadcast signal, a cable broadcast signal, a satellite broadcast signal, an internet broadcast signal, or the like according to the broadcasting system of the television signal. Or may be classified into a digital modulation signal, an analog modulation signal, and the like according to a modulation type. Or the signals are classified into digital signals, analog signals and the like according to the types of the signals.

In some embodiments, the controller 250 and the modem 210 may be located in different separate devices, that is, the modem 210 may also be located in an external device of the main device where the controller 250 is located, such as an external set-top box. Therefore, the set top box outputs the television audio and video signals modulated and demodulated by the received broadcast television signals to the main body equipment, and the main body equipment receives the audio and video signals through the first input/output interface.

In some embodiments, the controller 250 controls the operation of the display device and responds to user operations through various software control programs stored in memory. The controller 250 may control the overall operation of the display apparatus 200. For example: in response to receiving a user command for selecting a UI object to be displayed on the display 275, the controller 250 may perform an operation related to the object selected by the user command.

In some embodiments, the object may be any one of selectable objects, such as a hyperlink or an icon. Operations related to the selected object, such as: displaying an operation connected to a hyperlink page, document, image, or the like, or performing an operation of a program corresponding to the icon. The user command for selecting the UI object may be a command input through various input means (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, a touch pad, etc.) connected to the display apparatus 200 or a voice command corresponding to a voice spoken by the user.

As shown in fig. 2, the controller 250 includes at least one of a Random Access Memory 251 (RAM), a Read-Only Memory 252 (ROM), a video processor 270, an audio processor 280, other processors 253 (e.g., a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Central Processing Unit 254 (CPU), a Communication Interface (Communication Interface), and a Communication Bus 256(Bus), which connects the respective components.

In some embodiments, RAM 251 is used to store temporary data for the operating system or other programs that are running.

In some embodiments, ROM252 is used to store instructions for various system boots.

In some embodiments, the ROM252 is used to store a Basic Input Output System (BIOS). The system is used for completing power-on self-test of the system, initialization of each functional module in the system, a driver of basic input/output of the system and booting an operating system.

In some embodiments, when the power-on signal is received, the display device 200 starts to power up, the CPU executes the system boot instruction in the ROM252, and copies the temporary data of the operating system stored in the memory to the RAM 251 so as to start or run the operating system. After the start of the operating system is completed, the CPU copies the temporary data of the various application programs in the memory to the RAM 251, and then, the various application programs are started or run.

In some embodiments, processor 254 is used to execute operating system and application program instructions stored in memory. And executing various application programs, data and contents according to various interactive instructions received from the outside so as to finally display and play various audio and video contents.

In some demonstrative embodiments, processor 254 may include a plurality of processors. The plurality of processors may include a main processor and one or more sub-processors. A main processor for performing some operations of the display apparatus 200 in a pre-power-up mode and/or operations of displaying a screen in a normal mode. One or more sub-processors for one operation in a standby mode or the like.

In some embodiments, the graphics processor 253 is used to generate various graphics objects, such as: icons, operation menus, user input instruction display graphics, and the like. The display device comprises an arithmetic unit which carries out operation by receiving various interactive instructions input by a user and displays various objects according to display attributes. And the system comprises a renderer for rendering various objects obtained based on the arithmetic unit, wherein the rendered objects are used for being displayed on a display.

In some embodiments, the video processor 270 is configured to receive an external video signal, and perform video processing such as decompression, decoding, scaling, noise reduction, frame rate conversion, resolution conversion, image synthesis, and the like according to a standard codec protocol of the input signal, so as to obtain a signal that can be displayed or played on the direct display device 200.

In some embodiments, video processor 270 includes a demultiplexing module, a video decoding module, an image synthesis module, a frame rate conversion module, a display formatting module, and the like.

The demultiplexing module is used for demultiplexing the input audio and video data stream, and if the input MPEG-2 is input, the demultiplexing module demultiplexes the input audio and 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 an input video frame rate, such as a 60Hz frame rate into a 120Hz frame rate or a 240Hz frame rate, and the normal format is implemented in, for example, an interpolation frame mode.

The display format module is used for converting the received video output signal after the frame rate conversion, and changing the signal to conform to the signal of the display format, such as outputting an RGB data signal.

In some embodiments, the graphics processor 253 and the video processor may be integrated or separately configured, and when the graphics processor and the video processor are integrated, the graphics processor and the video processor may perform processing of graphics signals output to the display, and when the graphics processor and the video processor are separately configured, the graphics processor and the video processor may perform different functions, respectively, for example, a GPU + frc (frame Rate conversion) architecture.

In some embodiments, 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 noise reduction, digital-to-analog conversion, and amplification processes to obtain an audio signal that can be played in a speaker.

In some embodiments, video processor 270 may comprise one or more chips. The audio processor may also comprise one or more chips.

In some embodiments, the video processor 270 and the audio processor 280 may be separate chips or may be integrated together with the controller in one or more chips.

In some embodiments, the audio output, under the control of controller 250, receives sound signals output by audio processor 280, such as: the speaker 286, and an external sound output terminal of a generating device that can output to an external device, in addition to the speaker carried by the display device 200 itself, such as: external sound interface or earphone interface, etc., and may also include a near field communication module in the communication interface, for example: and the Bluetooth module is used for outputting sound of the Bluetooth loudspeaker.

The power supply 290 supplies power to the display device 200 from the power input from the external power source under the control of the controller 250. The power supply 290 may include a built-in power supply circuit installed inside the display apparatus 200, or may be a power supply interface installed outside the display apparatus 200 to provide an external power supply in the display apparatus 200.

A user interface 265 for receiving an input signal of a user and then transmitting the received user input signal to the controller 250. The user input signal may be a remote controller signal received through an infrared receiver, and various user control signals may be received through the network communication module.

In some embodiments, the user inputs a user command through the control apparatus 100 or the mobile terminal 300, the user input interface responds to the user input through the controller 250 according to the user input, and the display device 200 responds to the user input through the controller 250.

In some embodiments, a user may enter user commands on a Graphical User Interface (GUI) displayed on the display 275, and the user input interface receives the user input commands through the Graphical User Interface (GUI). Alternatively, the user may input the user command by inputting a specific sound or gesture, and the user input interface receives the user input command by recognizing the sound or gesture through the sensor.

In some embodiments, a "user interface" is a media interface for interaction and information exchange between an application or operating system and a user that enables conversion between an internal form of information and a form that is acceptable to the user. A commonly used presentation form of the User Interface is a Graphical User Interface (GUI), which refers to a User Interface related to computer operations and displayed in a graphical manner. It may be an interface element such as an icon, window, control, etc. displayed in the display of the electronic device, where the control may include a visual interface element such as an icon, button, menu, tab, text box, dialog box, status bar, navigation bar, Widget, etc.

The memory 260 includes a memory storing various software modules for driving the display device 200. Such as: various software modules stored in the first memory, including: at least one of a basic module, a detection module, a communication module, a display control module, a browser module, and various service modules.

The base module is a bottom layer software module for signal communication between various hardware in the display device 200 and for sending processing and control signals to the upper layer module. The detection module is used for collecting various information from various sensors or user input interfaces, and the management module is used for performing digital-to-analog conversion and analysis management.

For example, the voice recognition module comprises a voice analysis module and a voice instruction database module. The display control module is used for controlling the display to display the image content, and can be used for playing the multimedia image content, UI interface and other information. And the communication module is used for carrying out control and data communication with external equipment. And the browser module is used for executing a module for data communication between browsing servers. And the service module is used for providing various services and modules including various application programs. Meanwhile, the memory 260 may store a visual effect map for receiving external data and user data, images of various items in various user interfaces, and a focus object, etc.

Fig. 3 exemplarily shows a block diagram of a configuration of the control apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 3, the control device 100 includes a controller 110, a communication interface 130, a user input/output interface, a memory, and a power supply.

The control apparatus 100 is configured to control the display device 200 and may receive an input operation instruction of a user and convert the operation instruction into an instruction recognizable and responsive by the display device 200, serving as an interaction intermediary 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.

In some embodiments, the control device 100 may be a smart device. Such as: the control apparatus 100 may install various applications that control the display device 200 according to user demands.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1, a mobile terminal 300 or other intelligent electronic device may function similar to the control apparatus 100 after an application for manipulating the display device 200 is installed. Such as: the user may implement the function of controlling the physical keys of the apparatus 100 by installing an application, various function keys or virtual buttons of a graphical user interface available on the mobile terminal 300 or other intelligent electronic device.

The controller 110 includes a processor 112 and RAM 113 and ROM 114, a communication interface 130, and a communication bus. The controller is used for controlling the operation of the control device 100, as well as the communication cooperation among the internal components and the external and internal data processing functions.

The communication interface 130 enables communication of control signals and data signals with the display apparatus 200 under the control of the controller 110. Such as: the received user input signal is transmitted to the display apparatus 200. The communication interface 130 may include at least one of a WiFi chip 131, a bluetooth module 132, an NFC module 133, and other near field communication modules.

A user input/output interface 140, wherein the input interface includes at least one of a microphone 141, a touch pad 142, a sensor 143, keys 144, and other input interfaces. Such as: the user can realize a user instruction input function through actions such as voice, touch, gesture, pressing, and the like, and the input interface converts the received analog signal into a digital signal and converts the digital signal into a corresponding instruction signal, and sends the instruction signal to the display device 200.

The output interface includes an interface that transmits the received user instruction to the display apparatus 200. In some embodiments, the interface may be an infrared interface or a radio frequency interface. Such as: 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.

In some embodiments, the control device 100 includes at least one of a communication interface 130 and an input-output interface 140. The control device 100 is configured with a communication interface 130, such as: the WiFi, bluetooth, NFC, etc. modules may transmit the user input command to the display device 200 through the WiFi protocol, or the bluetooth protocol, or the NFC protocol code.

And a memory 190 for storing various operation programs, data and applications for driving and controlling the control apparatus 100 under the control of the controller. The memory 190 may store various control signal commands input by a user.

And a power supply 180 for providing operation power support for each element of the control device 100 under the control of the controller. A battery and associated control circuitry.

In some embodiments, the system may include a Kernel (Kernel), a command parser (shell), a file system, and an application program. The kernel, shell, and file system together make up the basic operating system structure that allows users to manage files, run programs, and access the system. After power-on, the kernel is started, kernel space is activated, hardware is abstracted, hardware parameters are initialized, and virtual memory, a scheduler, signals and interprocess communication (IPC) are operated and maintained. And after the kernel is started, loading the Shell and the user application program. The application program is compiled into machine code after being started, and a process is formed.

Referring to fig. 4, in some embodiments, the system is divided into four layers, which are an Application (Applications) layer (abbreviated as "Application layer"), an Application Framework (Application Framework) layer (abbreviated as "Framework layer"), an Android runtime (Android runtime) and system library layer (abbreviated as "system runtime library layer"), and a kernel layer from top to bottom.

In some embodiments, at least one application program runs in the application program layer, and the application programs can be Window (Window) programs carried by an operating system, system setting programs, clock programs, camera applications and the like; or may be an application developed by a third party developer such as a hi program, a karaoke program, a magic mirror program, or the like. In specific implementation, the application packages in the application layer are not limited to the above examples, and may actually include other application packages, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The framework layer provides an Application Programming Interface (API) and a programming framework for the application program of the application layer. The application framework layer includes a number of predefined functions. The application framework layer acts as a processing center that decides to let the applications in the application layer act. The application program can access the resources in the system and obtain the services of the system in execution through the API interface.

As shown in fig. 4, in the embodiment of the present application, the application framework layer includes a manager (Managers), a Content Provider (Content Provider), a View System (View System), and the like, where the manager includes at least one of the following modules: an Activity Manager (Activity Manager) is used for interacting with all activities running in the system; the Location Manager (Location Manager) is used for providing the system service or application with the access of the system Location service; a Package Manager (Package Manager) for retrieving various information related to an application Package currently installed on the device; a Notification Manager (Notification Manager) for controlling display and clearing of Notification messages; a Window Manager (Window Manager) is used to manage the icons, windows, toolbars, wallpapers, and desktop components on a user interface.

In some embodiments, the activity manager is to: managing the life cycle of each application program and the general navigation backspacing function, such as controlling the exit of the application program (including switching the user interface currently displayed in the display window to the system desktop), opening, backing (including switching the user interface currently displayed in the display window to the previous user interface of the user interface currently displayed), and the like.

In some embodiments, the window manager is used to manage all window processes, such as obtaining display size, determining if there is a status bar, locking the screen, intercepting the screen, controlling display window changes (e.g., zooming out, dithering, distorting, etc.) and the like.

In some embodiments, the system runtime layer provides support for the upper layer, i.e., the framework layer, and when the framework layer is accessed, the android operating system runs the C/C + + library included in the system runtime layer to implement the functions to be implemented by the framework layer.

In some embodiments, the kernel layer is a layer between hardware and software. As shown in fig. 4, the core layer includes at least one of the following drivers: audio drive, display drive, bluetooth drive, camera drive, WIFI drive, USB drive, HDMI drive, sensor drive (such as fingerprint sensor, temperature sensor, touch sensor, pressure sensor, etc.), and so on.

In some embodiments, the kernel layer further comprises a power driver module for power management.

In some embodiments, software programs and/or modules corresponding to the software architecture of fig. 4 are stored in the first memory or the second memory shown in fig. 2 or 3.

In some embodiments, taking the magic mirror application (photographing application) as an example, when the remote control receiving device receives a remote control input operation, a corresponding hardware interrupt is sent to the kernel layer. The kernel layer processes the input operation into an original input event (including information such as a value of the input operation, a timestamp of the input operation, etc.). The raw input events are stored at the kernel layer. The application program framework layer obtains an original input event from the kernel layer, identifies a control corresponding to the input event according to the current position of the focus and uses the input operation as a confirmation operation, the control corresponding to the confirmation operation is a control of a magic mirror application icon, the magic mirror application calls an interface of the application framework layer to start the magic mirror application, and then the kernel layer is called to start a camera driver, so that a static image or a video is captured through the camera.

In some embodiments, for a display device with a touch function, taking a split screen operation as an example, the display device receives an input operation (such as a split screen operation) applied to a display by a user, and the kernel layer may generate a corresponding input event according to the input operation and report the event to the application framework layer. The window mode (such as multi-window mode) corresponding to the input operation, the position and size of the window and the like are set by an activity manager of the application framework layer. And the window management of the application program framework layer draws a window according to the setting of the activity manager, then sends the drawn window data to the display driver of the kernel layer, and the display driver displays the corresponding application interface in different display areas of the display.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5, the application layer containing at least one application may display a corresponding icon control in the display, such as: a live television application icon control, a Video On Demand (VOD) application icon control, a media center application icon control, an application center icon control, a game application icon control, and the like.

In some embodiments, the live television application may provide live television via different signal sources. For example, a live television application may access input providing television signals from cable television, radio broadcasts, satellite services, or other types of live television services. And, the live television application may display video of the live television signal on the display device 200.

In some embodiments, a video-on-demand application may provide video from different storage sources. Unlike live television applications, video on demand provides a video display from some storage source. For example, the video on demand may come from a server side of the cloud storage, from a local hard disk storage containing stored video programs.

In some embodiments, the media center application may provide various applications for multimedia content playback. For example, a media center, which may be other than live television or video on demand, may provide services that a user may access to various images or audio through a media center application.

In some embodiments, an application center may provide storage for various applications. The application may be a game, an application, or some other application associated with a computer system or other device that may be run on the smart television. The application center may obtain these applications from different sources, store them in local storage, and then be operable on the display device 200.

The above embodiments describe the hardware/software architecture and functional implementation of the display device. In some application scenarios, a user may change channels through a channel switching key on a remote controller, where the channel switching key generally includes a "+ key" and a "-key", "+ key" to implement switching channels backwards, and the backwards direction may refer to a direction in which channel numbers in a channel list are incremented; the "-key" implements forward (i.e., backward) channel switching, forward may refer to the direction in which the channel number in the channel list is decremented. The user can tune to a desired channel by operating the switching direction and the number of times of pressing the channel switching key, and the channel type of the channel can be a DTV channel or an OTT channel. Clicking the channel switch button generally achieves fast and continuous channel changing, and in other embodiments, the user may directly input the channel number to directly locate and switch to the channel desired to be viewed, where the channel switching may be discontinuous in number.

Because the OTT service cannot leave the internet, the OTT channel starts the browser application in a network connection state, and the playing of the audio and video resources of the channel is realized through a player built in the browser application, so that the time consumed for switching to the OTT channel generally comprises the time consumed for loading the audio and video resources plus the time consumed for starting the browser application; the DTV channel can be played only by connecting the display equipment with the set-top box without the requirements of connecting a network and starting a browser application, so that the time consumed for switching to the DTV channel is the time consumed for loading channel audio and video resources. The channel type is not limited in the present application, and the scheme for rapidly switching channels according to the present application is also applicable to other types, specifically, a signal source actually connected to the display device is taken as a reference.

TABLE 1

Channel number	Channel ID	Channel name	Channel type
				001	DTVChannel1	CCTV-1	DTV channel
002	DTVChannel2	CCTV-2	DTV channel
				003	OTTChannel1	BBC sports	OTT channel
004	DTVChannel3	CCTV-3	DTV channel
				005	OTTChannel2	Leeds News	OTT channel
…	…	…	…

In some embodiments, table 1 exemplarily shows a channel list, where each row in the channel list represents channel information corresponding to one channel, and the channel information includes a channel number, a channel ID, a channel name, and a channel type. The channel sequence number is used for marking the sequencing position of a certain channel in a channel list, so that the positioning of the channel is convenient to realize; the channel ID is used for identifying and distinguishing each channel, each channel has a unique ID value, and the IDs of any two channels are different; the channel name indicates the actual real name of the channel; the channel type is used to mark whether the channel is DTV or OTT, which corresponds to the source of the marked channel.

As can be seen from table 1, the DTV channels and the OTT channels are uniformly recorded in the same channel list, and the DTV channels and the OTT channels may be mixed and ordered, which enables the user to cross-watch the DTV channels and the OTT channels, thereby preventing the user from intensively watching a single type of channel. For example, if the user presses the "+ key" of the channel switching key once, the currently watched channel of the user needs to be switched to the BBC ports with the serial number of 003, that is, the channel type is switched from the DTV channel to the OTT channel, and for example, the user continuously clicks the "+ key" of the channel switching key once again, the latest switching target is the CCTV-3 with the serial number of 004, and at this time, the channel type is switched from the OTT channel to the DTV channel, and the channel cross-sorting may frequently cause the switching of the channel type.

The bidirectional switching between the DTV channel and the OTT channel is essentially switching between a physical source and a browser application, and resource management is required to be performed at each switching, that is, a process of waiting for application resource release is performed. When fast switching is performed between different types of channels, the switching speed is slow, the time consumption for waiting for response of each switching request is long, the latest channel cannot be switched quickly, and the watching experience of a user is influenced.

In some embodiments, each time a user switches a channel, a corresponding channel switching request is generated, and when the user switches the channel for many times, in order to facilitate accurate management of the channel switching request and task progress thereof, several queues may be set, such as a switching request queue, a pending request queue, a destination queue, and the like. Wherein, the switching request queue records the channel information of the channel currently being switched; recording channel information of a current channel to be switched in a request queue to be processed, wherein the current channel to be switched is a channel positioned by a channel switching operation currently input by a user; and recording channel information of the channel which is switched completely in the endpoint queue. The channel information recorded in the several types of queues described above may include a channel ID. It should be noted that the setting form and the functional configuration of the multi-queue are not limited to those described in this embodiment, for example, the destination queue may not be set, and when the switching task is completed, the corresponding channel information in the switching request queue may be deleted.

When the user switches the channel quickly, that is, the current channel is not switched, a plurality of channel switching requests are received in a short time, and because the channel switching is a dynamic process, each queue is dynamically updated along with the change of each channel switching process.

In some embodiments, taking the channel list shown in table 1 as an example, as shown in fig. 6, when the controller 250 receives a handover request of DTVChannel1, a handover task of DTVChannel1 is started, and DTVChannel1 is added to the handover request queue; then, a switching request of the DTVChannel2 is received, and since the DTVChannel1 is not yet switched, DTVChannel2 is added into a pending request queue for waiting for a response; receiving a switching request of the OTTChannel1 continuously in a short time, wherein the DTVChannel1 is still in switching, so the OTTChannel1 is waiting, that is, the OTTChannel1 needs to be added to the queue of the request to be processed, because the currently newly located channel is not the DTVChannel2 any more but the OTTChannel1, that is, based on the switching operation of the user in time, the request of the DTVChannel2 is equivalent to having expired, the DTVChannel2 can be removed from the queue of the request to be processed, and the purpose of this processing is to skip the DTVChannel2 and to quickly respond and switch to the OTTChannel1 if the switching of the DTVChannel1 is completed; then receiving a switching request of the OTTChannel2, and if the DTVChannel1 does not finish switching yet, removing the OTTChannel1 from the pending request queue in the same way, and adding the OTTChannel2 into the pending request queue; when the switching task of DTVChannel1 is finished, moving DTVChannel1 from the switching request queue to the end-point queue, moving OTTChannel2 from the pending request queue to the switching request queue, and simultaneously starting the switching task of OTTChannel2, the controller needs to continue to monitor whether a switching request of the next channel is received, and so on.

As can be known from the process of dynamically updating and adjusting the multi-queue, the to-be-processed request queue may actually store a channel ID corresponding to a switching request generated when a user switches a channel for multiple times, but in the present application, the to-be-processed request queue only stores a currently newly located channel to be switched (OTTChannel2), and an expired channel (DTVChannel2 and OTTChannel1) between OTTChannel2 and a currently switching channel DTVChannel1 is removed, that is, after the DTVChannel1 is switched, the channel is directly switched to OTTChannel2, so that time consumed for switching between DTVChannel2 and OTTChannel1 is eliminated, time consumed for switching between DTVChannel1 and OTTChannel2 is compressed, and a display device can more quickly display the newly located channel, thereby improving viewing experience of the user.

The multi-queue may be empty or non-empty, where empty indicates that no channel ID is included in the queue, and when at least one channel ID is included in the queue, the queue is non-empty. When the switching request queue is empty, it indicates that there is no channel currently being switched, and at this time, if the controller monitors the switching request of the channel, the channel can be directly added into the switching request queue and the switching task is started; when the switching request queue is not empty, that is, there is a channel currently being switched, the channel needs to be added to the pending request queue.

When the pending request queue is empty, two situations are included: one is that after the currently switching channel, the controller 250 has not received the switching request of other channels, i.e. the user waits to watch the currently switching channel without switching other channels, in this case, if the channel switching request is received, it directly transfers to the pending request queue, and waits for the switching request queue to become empty; the other is that there is no channel being switched or channel to be switched, and the pending request queue and the switching request queue are both empty.

The channel switching method provided in fig. 7 may be configured to be executed by the controller 250 in the display device, that is, the controller 250 is the execution subject of the method, and the method includes the following program steps:

step S10, in response to the channel change operation, determines whether the switch request queue is empty. If the handover request queue is not empty, performing step S20; otherwise, if the handover request queue is empty, step S60 is executed.

In step S20, it is determined whether the pending request queue is empty. If the pending request queue is not empty, go to step S30; otherwise, if the pending request queue is empty, step S50 is executed.

In step S30, all the channel information in the pending request queue is removed, and the channel information currently to be switched is stored in the pending request queue.

Step S30 is to add the current channel information to be switched (i.e. the ID of the newly located channel to be switched) into the request queue to be processed, and delete all the outdated channel information before the current channel information is ready for skipping the outdated channel later and directly switching to the newly located channel, so as to improve the speed and efficiency of channel switching.

Step S40, when the switching request queue becomes empty, start to execute a switching task of the channel in the pending request queue, and move the channel information in the pending request queue to the switching request queue.

In step S40, that is, when the channel switching in the switching process is completed, the channel information currently existing in the pending request queue is transferred to the switching request queue, and the switching task of the currently pending channel is started, so that the channel originally in the next waiting position is changed to the channel in switching.

Step S50, storing the information of the current channel to be switched into the queue of the request to be processed, and waiting for the queue of the request to be switched to empty. When the switching request queue is not empty and the pending request queue is empty, the pending request queue does not need to be emptied, but the received channel information currently to be switched is directly stored in the pending request queue.

Step S60, directly start and execute the switching task of the current channel to be switched, and store the information of the current channel to be switched into the switching request queue. When the switching request queue is empty, if a channel switching request is received, directly storing channel information corresponding to the channel switching request into the switching request queue, and directly starting to respond to the channel switching request to start a corresponding switching task.

In order to make the switching process of each channel clearer and manage the channel information after the historical switching, in some embodiments, an endpoint queue may be provided, where the endpoint queue includes the channel information of the channel that is switched, and after step S40, when the switching task of the channel in the switching request queue is completed, the channel information in the switching request queue is moved to the endpoint queue, so as to ensure that the switching task is completed when the switching process of the corresponding channel has reached the endpoint.

In some embodiments, based on the channel switching operation input by the user, a channel corresponding to the channel switching operation and channel information thereof may be located in the channel list shown in table 1, and the method further includes: in response to receiving a channel switching operation, positioning a current channel to be switched corresponding to the channel switching operation in a channel list, and acquiring information of the current channel to be switched; wherein the channel information includes a channel type and a channel ID.

In some embodiments, a flag bit for identifying a channel type may be set in the channel ID, taking the channel ID as DTVChannel1 as an example, the flag bit reserved in the header of the channel ID identifies the DTV and indicates that it belongs to a DTV channel, in this way, the channel type may be automatically identified when the channel ID is identified, and in this implementation, the channel information stored in the plurality of queues may include the channel ID. The channel information maintained by the plurality of queues may include a channel ID and a channel type if the channel ID does not carry channel type information.

In some embodiments, when the switching request queue is non-empty, it indicates that there is a channel currently being switched, if a channel switching request is newly received, a switching task of a channel corresponding to the channel switching request cannot be started immediately, the channel switching request needs to be switched to be processed, at this time, a channel type of the channel to be switched to be processed needs to be determined first, and if the channel type of the channel to be switched is a DTV channel, a first path can be created, where the first path is a DTV channel path, and is equivalent to creating a DTV television stream (TV flow) for receiving audio and video resources of a certain DTV channel from the DTV stream of the first path when the switching task is subsequently executed; and if the channel type of the current channel to be switched is the OTT channel, establishing a second path, wherein the second path is the OTT channel path, and is equivalent to the establishment of the OTT flow (OTT flow) of the OTT channel, so that the OTT flow of the OTT channel is used for receiving the audio and video resources of the OTT channel from the OTT flow of the second path when the switching task is executed subsequently. Before starting and executing a switching task, each channel needs to correspondingly establish a channel path thereof, so that audio and video streams can be received through the path subsequently, which is equivalent to that preparation work before switching is done in advance at a stage to be processed, when the switching task is started, audio and video resources are received from the corresponding path, and then the audio and video resources are loaded on a UI to be played.

In some embodiments, a television Service (TV Service) application and a browser application are typically pre-installed in the controller 250. When the channel is switched to the DTV channel, the controller 250 sends a channel switching request to the tv service application, the tv service application receives the audio and video resources of the DTV channel from the first path, then loads the audio and video resources to the user interface UI, and feeds back channel switching completion indication information after the audio and video resources are loaded successfully, and then the switching task is ended.

In some embodiments, when the channel is switched to the OTT channel, the controller 250 sends the channel switching request to the tv service application, the tv service application receives the audio and video Resource of the OTT channel from the second path, the audio and video Resource of the OTT channel may be in the form of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and the URL is a network address of the audio and video Resource, and then starts the browser application, and loads the audio and video Resource URL by a player built in the browser application, so that the audio and video Resource of the OTT channel is played on a user interface of the display, and feeds back state information of the browser application, and the switching task is ended.

When the channel switching task is finished, namely the switching request queue is changed into an empty queue, determining whether the request queue to be processed is empty, if the request queue to be processed is empty, the controller 250 does not continue to execute other switching tasks, and the controller continues to monitor the channel processing request until a new channel processing request is monitored, and then the switching task of the channel corresponding to the new request can be directly processed; and if the request queue to be processed is not empty, which indicates that a channel to be switched exists, starting a switching task of the channel corresponding to the currently existing channel information in the request queue to be processed.

According to the technical scheme, when a user switches channels for many times, in order to conveniently and accurately manage the task flow of channel switching, the switching request queue, the to-be-processed request queue and the end point queue are arranged, and channel information in each queue can be dynamically updated and adjusted according to the switching process and state of each channel. When a user inputs a channel switching operation, whether a switching request queue is empty is judged, if the switching request queue is not empty, a task in channel switching is indicated to exist currently, and whether a request queue to be processed is empty is further judged. If a user switches a plurality of channels quickly before, channel information (namely non-empty) exists in a request queue to be processed, all channel information in the request queue to be processed is removed, namely the request queue to be processed is emptied, and the currently latest positioned channel information is stored in the request queue to be processed, so that the aim of skipping channels between the currently switching channel and the currently latest channel to be switched is achieved, when the currently switching channel is switched, the currently switching channel is directly switched to the currently latest channel to be switched, and therefore a large amount of time consumption caused by switching other channels one by one is avoided.

When the switching request queue is empty, which indicates that no channel is currently being switched, the channel information in the pending request queue is moved to the switching request queue, and the switching task of the current latest pending channel is started. As can be seen from the above discussion, according to the application, when a user quickly switches channels, the to-be-processed request queue only retains information of the current latest to-be-switched channel, skips over the previously overstocked channel switching request, and compresses time consumed for switching between channels, so that the latest channel is quickly switched, the channel switching efficiency is improved, and the viewing experience of the user is remarkably improved.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the techniques of the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented as software plus a required general purpose hardware platform. In a specific implementation, the present invention further provides a computer storage medium, where the computer storage medium may store a program, and when the computer storage medium is located in a display device, the program may include all the program steps related to the channel switching method configured by the controller 250. The computer storage medium may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM) or a Random Access Memory (RAM).

In this specification, the same and similar parts between the display device embodiment and the method embodiment may be referred to each other, and related contents are not described again.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This invention is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains. The specification and examples are to be regarded in an illustrative manner only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. With a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

Claims (10)

1. A display device, comprising:

a user interface for receiving an operation input by a user;

a controller connected to the user interface and configured to perform:

in response to a channel switching operation, if the switching request queue is not empty, determining whether the pending request queue is empty;

if the request queue to be processed is determined to be not empty, removing all channel information in the request queue to be processed, and storing the current channel information to be switched into the request queue to be processed;

and when the switching request queue is empty, starting to execute a switching task of the channel in the to-be-processed request queue, and moving the channel information in the to-be-processed request queue to the switching request queue.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to perform:

and when the switching task of the channels in the switching request queue is completed, moving the channel information in the switching request queue to a destination queue.

3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to perform:

responding to the channel switching operation, if the switching request queue is empty, directly starting to execute the switching task of the current channel to be switched, and storing the information of the current channel to be switched into the switching request queue.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to perform:

and if the request queue to be processed is determined to be empty, storing the information of the current channel to be switched into the request queue to be processed, and waiting for the switching request queue to be empty.

5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to perform:

in response to receiving a channel switching operation, positioning a current channel to be switched corresponding to the channel switching operation in a channel list, and acquiring information of the current channel to be switched; wherein the channel information includes a channel type and a channel ID.

6. The display device according to claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to perform:

and if the channel type of the current channel to be switched is the digital television channel, establishing a first path for receiving the audio and video resources of the current channel to be switched.

7. The display device according to claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to perform:

and if the channel type of the current channel to be switched is the network television channel, establishing a second path for receiving the audio and video resources of the current channel to be switched.

8. The display device of claim 6, wherein the switching task is configured to:

and if the channel type of the current channel to be switched is a digital television channel, receiving the audio and video resources of the current channel to be switched from the first path, and loading the audio and video resources to a user interface for playing.

9. The display device of claim 7, wherein the switching task is configured to:

and if the channel type of the current channel to be switched is the network television channel, receiving the audio and video resource URL of the current channel to be switched from the second path, starting a browser application, and loading the audio and video resource URL by using a player built in the browser application so as to play the audio and video resource on a user interface.

10. A method for switching channels in a display device, comprising:

in response to a channel switching operation, if the switching request queue is not empty, determining whether the pending request queue is empty;

if the request queue to be processed is determined to be not empty, removing all channel information in the request queue to be processed, and storing the current channel information to be switched into the request queue to be processed;

and when the switching request queue is empty, starting to execute a switching task of the channel in the to-be-processed request queue, and moving the channel information in the to-be-processed request queue to the switching request queue.

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