JP2000115655A - Program list display device and program recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program list display device, with which a viewer can find out his/her desired program more effectively by preparing a video display means which displays the images concerning the program, that is decided among plural programs displayed by a program display means, based on a prescribed rule on a small screen. SOLUTION: The operations of a viewer which are carried out via a remote controller 14 are processed by a program selection means 12. A program list display means 11 displays a program list on a screen 15, based on the information given from a program unitary managing device 10. The means 12 also displays a cursor on the screen 15. A small screen animation selection means 6 selects the animations of the program, that is designated by the means 12 among those recorded images which are stored in an image storing means 5. Then a multi-small screen animation display means 7 displays the images concerning the program, that is decided among plural programs which are currently displayed on the screen 15 in a still and/or scrolled state by the means 11 on a small screen.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program guide display device for displaying a program guide sent from a broadcasting station.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recent image compression technology and a recording apparatus capable of recording large-capacity data such as moving image data (for example, a large-capacity hard disk using a magnetic disk as a recording medium or a DVD using an optical disk as a recording medium) With these developments, it has become possible to record a large number of broadcast programs using video.

[0003] As for such broadcast programs, in addition to broadcast programs by terrestrial broadcasting and satellite broadcasting, the number of programs to be recorded has been rapidly increasing due to enhancement of programs by cable television. I have.

[0004] When a large number of broadcast programs can be viewed, it takes a considerable amount of time to find a program to be viewed.

[0005] Therefore, it has been practiced to efficiently search for a program to view using a program table sent from a broadcasting station.

For example, a program table is displayed on a television monitor, and a program to be viewed is searched for while scrolling the program table using a remote controller. When a program to be viewed is found, a cursor is moved to a column of a program to be viewed in a program table using a remote controller. Next, the program is selected using the remote controller. Then, the selected program is displayed instead of the program guide displayed on the television monitor. Next, when the viewer watches another program, the program displayed on the television monitor is switched using the remote control to display the program guide again, and the displayed program guide is scrolled to display the program desired to be viewed. And select a program.

When a viewer searches for a program he / she wants to view while checking the video, the above procedure must be repeated. That is, it is necessary to repeat the operation of displaying the program guide, selecting the program and displaying the program desired to be viewed.

As described above, by displaying the program guide on the television monitor, the program can be selected more efficiently than in the case where the program is selected from the program guide printed on a paper medium.

[0009]

However, by displaying the program guide on a television monitor, the program can be selected more efficiently than when selecting a program from a program guide printed on a paper medium. Nevertheless, more efficiency has been required.

In the conventional example, a program table is displayed when a program is selected, and a program is displayed only when a program desired to be viewed is selected. In other words, there is a problem that the viewer needs to repeat the operation of selecting a program from the program guide, displaying the program, and returning from the video of the program to the program guide, which is not efficient until the viewer finds a favorite program.

The present invention takes into consideration the problem that such a conventional program guide display device is inefficient in finding a program that a viewer wants to view, and more efficiently finds a program that the viewer wants to watch. It is an object of the present invention to provide a program guide display device capable of performing the above-mentioned operations.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first invention (corresponding to claim 1) comprises a program table display means for displaying a program table in two dimensions, and a two-dimensional program table display means. A small-screen display means for displaying a number of small screens determined from the currently displayed number of any one of the coordinate axes, and a program table display means for displaying the small screen at present in a stationary state and / or a scroll state; Video display means for displaying, on the small screen, video related to a program determined from a plurality of programs based on a predetermined rule.

[0013] The second invention (corresponding to claim 2) provides:
The program table display device according to the first invention, wherein the predetermined rule is a program most recently recorded on each coordinate axis.

A third aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 3) is:
The program guide display device according to the first invention, wherein the predetermined rule is a program to be broadcast next on each coordinate axis.

A fourth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 4) is:
The program guide display device according to any one of the first to third inventions, wherein the number of the small screens is equal to the number currently displayed on the one coordinate axis.

A fifth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 5) is:
The video relating to the program is the program guide display device according to any one of the first to fourth inventions, wherein the video of the program is a content of the program or a reference image transmitted in a program guide for the program.

A sixth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 6) is:
The program guide display device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the one coordinate axis is a channel.

A seventh aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 7) is:
7. The program guide display device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the one coordinate axis is a genre.

An eighth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 8) is:
The program guide display device according to any one of the first to seventh inventions, wherein a new program guide is synthesized by removing a duplicated portion from a program guide sent from a broadcasting station.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 9),
Program table synthesizing means for synthesizing a new program table excluding the overlapping portion from the program table sent from the broadcasting station, program table displaying means for cutting out a predetermined area from the synthesized program table and displaying the same, and scrolling. And a scroll means for continuously displaying the program table from the past to the future and from the future to the past.

The tenth invention (corresponding to claim 10)
Is a program recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute all or some of the functions of each component of the program guide display device according to any one of the first to ninth aspects. .

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) First, a first embodiment will be described.

In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which a past program table is displayed and a recorded program is selected for viewing.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a program guide display device for generating a display screen. The program guide display device includes a broadcast wave receiving means 1, a program guide extracting means 2, a program guide data storage means 4, a video storage means 5, a small screen moving image selecting means 6, a multi-small screen moving image displaying means 7, a recording reservation means 8 Stored program management data 9, program table unified management means 10, program table display means 11, program selection means 12, cursor position control means 1
3, a remote control 14, and a screen 15.

The broadcast wave receiving means 1 is a means for receiving a broadcast wave transmitted from a broadcast station. Program guide extracting means 2
Is a means for extracting a program table of programs to be broadcasted in the future from broadcast waves received by the broadcast wave receiving means 1. The program guide data storage means 4 is a means for storing a program guide of a program to be broadcasted in the future extracted by the program guide extraction means 2. The recording reservation means 8 is a means for recording a program reserved for recording, and the video is received by the broadcast wave receiving means 1 and sent to the video storage means 5 for recording. Stored program management data 9
Is data for managing recorded programs in the program table data. The program guide unified management means 10 is a means for centrally managing the program guide data of the programs to be broadcast in the future and the stored program management data 9 and sending them to the program guide display means 11. The program guide display means 11 is a means for displaying a program guide on the screen 15. The program selection means 12 sends information to the cursor position control means 13 to move the program selection cursor frame as instructed by the remote controller 14, selects a video to be reproduced, and reproduces this video from the video storage means 5. It is a means to do. The cursor position control unit 13 is a unit that performs control such as moving the cursor position. Remote control 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes various operations such as movement of a cursor. The video storage means 5 is a means for recording the video of the program received by the broadcast wave receiving means 1. The small-screen moving image selecting means 6 is a means for selecting a small-screen moving image of a past program guide display screen described later. The multi-small screen moving image display means 7 is means for displaying a moving image on a plurality of small screens. The screen 15 is a means for displaying a program guide, a cursor, a small screen, a video of a program, and the like.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

First, as described above, in the present embodiment, the screen 1
The past program guide display screen displayed in 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which a channel is set on the horizontal axis, a broadcast time is set on the vertical axis, and the screen is handled on a daily basis. The horizontal axis indicates three channels, and the vertical axis indicates a program table for three hours. . The date display 16 of the program table indicates the date of the program table, and is displayed as, for example, "Program table on Monday, October 5". The broadcast station name 17 displays a channel corresponding to the broadcast station name. The recorded program title 18 displays the title of a program that has already been recorded. The recorded program title 18 has a recorded mark added to a part of the title of the recorded program so that the difference from the unrecorded program can be seen at a glance. It is displayed by changing the display color of the entire title column. The small frame moving image display target title frame 19 is a title of a program corresponding to the moving image displayed inside the small screen moving image display frame 21.
What is displayed in the small-screen moving image display frame 21 as a moving image is the most recently recorded program for each channel. The portion of the title frame 19 to be displayed on the small-screen moving image is associated with the moving image displayed in the small-screen moving image display frame 21 so that the entire title field blinks. The time display column 20 of the program guide displays the time of the program guide. Small screen video display frame 21
Is a moving image of the program most recently recorded in the displayed program table. OnAir screen 2
Reference numeral 2 denotes an image of a program currently being broadcast on the currently selected channel. OnAir program title name 23
Is the title of the program currently being broadcast on the currently selected channel. The remote control operation description 24 describes the operation of the remote control. When the cursor frame matches the column of the recorded program, the moving image of the corresponding program is displayed in the small-screen moving image display frame 2.
1 is displayed.

The program table is sent by any of the following methods, but is not limited thereto. First, in the case of analog terrestrial waves, the broadcast wave VBI (Vertical Blank) is used.
A program table is transmitted as character multiplexed information during a “kind Interval” period. As an example, ADAMS-EP
G and so on. In the case of digital broadcasting, MPEG
SI (Service Information) in the stream
Atioin information is broadcast with a program guide incorporated therein. The program guide extracting means 2 shown in FIG. 1 extracts a program guide from these broadcast waves, but is not limited to a program guide incorporated in a broadcast wave and sent. The program guide may be sent via the communication path.

In FIG. 1, a broadcast wave transmitted from a broadcast station is received by broadcast wave receiving means 1. Program guide extracting means 2
Extracts a program guide from a received broadcast wave and stores it in the program guide data storage means 4. The program table of the program to be broadcasted in the future stored in the program table data storage unit 4 is stored in the recording reservation unit 8.
Is transferred to the program integrated management means 10. Recording reservation means 8
Receives program table data of a program to be broadcast in the future from the program table data storage means 4 and makes a recording reservation. Then, the recorded video is recorded in the video storage means 5, and the program table of the recorded program becomes the stored program management data 9.
Further, the stored program management data 9 is stored in the program
Passed to. The viewer uses the remote control 14 to display the screen 15
Operate. The operation performed by the viewer using the remote controller 14 is processed by the program selection unit 12, and the operation related to the cursor movement is controlled by the cursor position control unit 13. The program guide display means 11 is a program
The program guide is displayed on the screen 15 based on the information from. The program selecting means 12 displays a cursor on the screen 15. The small-screen moving image selecting unit 6 selects a moving image of the program specified by the program selecting unit 12 from the recorded images stored in the image storing unit 5. Multi small screen video display means 7
Displays the selected moving image on the screen 15.

In FIG. 2, the program table is scrolled when the cursor frame 25 for program selection is moved vertically and horizontally using the remote controller 14 and the cursor frame 25 is moved beyond the displayed frame. That is, if the cursor frame 25 for program selection is continuously moved to the right using the remote controller, the channel scrolls to the smaller channel number. If the cursor frame 25 for program selection is kept moving to the left, the channel scrolls to the larger channel number. If the cursor frame 25 for program selection is continuously moved upward, the program scrolls to the past. If the cursor frame 25 for program selection is kept moving downward, it scrolls to the future.

Further, the moving image displayed in the small-screen moving image display frame 21 is automatically switched when the program guide is scrolled. That is, as described above, the display is switched to the moving image display of the program most recently recorded in the program guide displayed for each channel. Therefore, when there is no program recorded within the displayed time zone, no moving image is displayed in the small-screen moving image display frame 21 of the corresponding channel, and a blue screen or the like is displayed. Then, the program being broadcast at the current time of the channel on which the cursor frame 25 for program selection is located is displayed on the OnAir screen 22, and its title is displayed as an OnAir program title name 23.
Will be displayed.

The OnAir screen 22 does not necessarily have to be linked to the program selection cursor frame 25 displayed on the screen 15 and may display the video of the channel that was viewed before the selection of the program guide.

Next, by operating the remote controller 14 shown in FIG.
How 5 changes will be described with reference to the state transition diagram of FIG. First, it is assumed that the screen 15 is displaying a past EPG. That is, it is assumed that the past EPG is in the state of the display 27. The cursor frame 25 for program selection is shown in FIG.
Is located on “C broadcast 3ch” as shown in FIG. Further, it is assumed that the remote controller 14 has an enter button, a play button, a stop button, a cancel button, a program guide button, and a cursor moving button.

Now, it is assumed that the enter button or the play button of the remote controller 14 is pressed. At this time, if the program in which the program selection cursor frame 25 is located has been recorded, the reproduced video is displayed on the entire screen 15. In FIG. 3, the state of the screen 15 changes from the display 27 of the past EPG to the full screen reproduction 30. In FIG. 2, the cursor frame 25 for program selection indicates “C broadcast 3
ch ", and the recorded program title frame 18
, There is a moving image to be reproduced. In such a case, the screen 15 transits to the full screen reproduction 30.
When the stop button is further pressed, the transition from the full-screen reproduction 30 to the display 27 of the past EPG is made.

Next, it is assumed that a program table button or a cancel button is pressed. Then, the screen 15 changes from the state of the display 27 of the past EPG to the state of the On-Air viewing screen 28. That is, the program displayed on the OnAir screen 22 is displayed on the entire screen. Further On
If you press the program guide button in the state of the Air screen 28, the screen 15
Transitions the future EPG to the state of display 29. Future E
The screen configuration of the PG display 29 will be described later. If the program selection cursor frame 25 is scrolled up on the display 29 of the future EPG, the screen 15 displays the past EPG again.
Transition to 7. When the past EPG is displayed 27 and the cursor frame 25 for program selection is scrolled down, the state of the future EPG is displayed 29. This will also be described later.

Next, when the past EPG is in the state of the display 27, when the program selection cursor frame 25 moves out of the frame, or when the program selection cursor 25 If it is positioned above the recorded program, the state changes to the small screen playback screen change 26, and the screen 15
Is updated.

As described above, the program is automatically selected,
Not only can the program guides of a plurality of channels be viewed at the same time, but also a recorded moving image can be referred to at the same time, and a recorded video can be searched simply and efficiently.

The small-screen moving image display frame according to the present embodiment is an example of the small screen according to the present invention.

Further, the video storage means of the present embodiment may be a single type device such as a hard disk, an optical disk or a tape device, or may be a hierarchical storage device combining a hard disk and an optical disk. . Further, in the case of a hierarchical storage device, the recorded program itself may be stored in a large-capacity storage device such as a tape device, and the first video and reference video of the program may be stored in a semiconductor or a hard disk.

(Embodiment 2) Next, a second embodiment will be described.

The configuration of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment, and the description is omitted. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the time axis is eliminated from the vertical axis on the screen 15 and only recorded programs are stacked in the recording order.

FIG. 4 shows a screen 15 according to the present embodiment. In this example, the channel is taken on the horizontal axis, the broadcast time is taken on the vertical axis, and the screen is handled on a day-by-day basis. The date display 32 of the program guide represents the date of the program guide, and is displayed as, for example, “Program guide for Monday, October 5,” or the like. The broadcast station name 33 displays a channel corresponding to the broadcast station name. Since the vertical axis has been eliminated, the broadcast time zone is displayed in the column where the program title is displayed. The small frame moving image display target title frame 34 is a title of a program corresponding to the moving image displayed inside the small screen moving image display frame 35. The part of the title frame 34 to be displayed on the small-screen moving image is associated with the moving image by blinking the entire title field. What is displayed as a moving image for each channel in the small-screen moving image display frame 35 is the most recently recorded program. OnAir
The screen 36 is an image of a program currently being broadcast on the currently selected channel. The OnAir program title name 37 is the title name of a program currently being broadcast on the currently selected channel. Remote control operation explanation 3
Reference numeral 8 describes the operation of the remote controller. The program selection cursor frame 39 is used to display a moving image of the corresponding program in the small-screen moving image display frame 35 when the cursor frame matches the column of the recorded program.

As described above, by displaying only the recorded programs without the time axis, the number of recorded program titles displayed on the screen can be increased.

The small-screen moving image display frame according to the present embodiment is an example of the small screen according to the present invention.

Further, the OnAir screen 36 does not necessarily have to be linked with the program selection cursor frame 39 displayed on the screen 15 and may display the video of the channel watched before selecting the program guide.

(Embodiment 3) Next, a third embodiment will be described.

The configuration of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the time axis is eliminated from the vertical axis on the screen 15 and the genre is set on the horizontal axis instead of the broadcast station as in the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows a screen 15 according to the present embodiment. The broadcast station names 40 are classified according to genres such as drama, movie, and English conversation. Since the horizontal axis is not a broadcast but a genre, the time zone to be broadcast and the name of the broadcast station are displayed in the program title portion. The small frame moving image display target title frame 41 is a title of a program corresponding to the moving image displayed inside the small screen moving image display frame 42. The portion of the title frame 41 to be displayed on the small-screen moving image is associated with the moving image such that the entire title field blinks. The moving image of the program most recently recorded in the program table displayed for each genre is displayed in the title frame 41 of the small-screen moving image display target. The OnAir screen 43 is an image of a program currently being broadcast on the currently selected channel. OnAi
The r program title name 44 is the title name of a program currently being broadcast on the currently selected channel. The remote control operation explanation 45 describes the operation of the remote control. The program selection cursor frame 46 is used to display a moving image of the corresponding program in the small-screen moving image display frame 42 when the cursor frame matches the column of the recorded program.

The OnAir screen 43 does not necessarily need to be linked to the program selection cursor frame 46 displayed on the screen 15 and may display the video of the channel watched before selecting the program guide.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the genre is set on the horizontal axis, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a keyword may be used. However, if the horizontal axis is a keyword, the title of a recorded program corresponding to each keyword is displayed.

In the present embodiment, the number of recorded program titles displayed on the screen can be increased by eliminating the time axis on the vertical axis and using the axis of the genre or keyword instead of the broadcast station on the horizontal axis. In addition, a recorded program can be selected more efficiently.

Note that the small-screen moving image display frame of the present embodiment is an example of the small screen of the present invention.

(Embodiment 4) Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, a case will be described in which a future program table is displayed, and a program reference image related to a program is also transmitted from a broadcasting station.

This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that reference pictures for all programs are sent.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a program guide display device for generating a display screen according to the present embodiment. The program display device includes a broadcast wave receiving unit 1, a program table extracting unit 2, a program table data storage unit 4, a small-screen moving image selecting unit 6, a multi-small-screen moving image displaying unit 7, a recording reservation unit 8, an accumulated program management data. 9. Program guide unified management means 10, Program guide display means 1
1. Program selection means 12, cursor position control means 13, remote controller 14, screen 15, reference video extraction means 47, reference video and broadcast video storage means 49.

The broadcast wave receiving means 1 is a means for receiving a broadcast wave sent from a broadcast station. Program guide extracting means 2
Is a means for extracting a program table of programs to be broadcasted in the future from broadcast waves received by the broadcast wave receiving means 1. The program guide data storage means 4 is a means for storing a program guide of a program to be broadcasted in the future extracted by the program guide extraction means 2. The recording reservation means 8 is a means for recording a program reserved for recording, and the video is received by the broadcast wave receiving means 1 and sent to the reference video and broadcast video storage means 49 for recording. The stored program management data 9 is data for managing recorded programs in the program table data. The program guide unified management means 10 manages the program guide data of the program to be broadcasted in the future and the stored program management data 9 in a unified manner.
1 means to send to The program guide display means 11 includes a screen 15
Is a means for displaying a program guide. The program selection means 12
The information is sent to the cursor position control means 13 to move the cursor frame for program selection as instructed by the remote controller 14, the reference video or the reproduced video is selected, and this video is displayed from the reference video and broadcast video storage means 49. It is a means to do. The cursor position control unit 13 is a unit that performs control such as moving the cursor position. The remote controller 14 performs operations such as moving a cursor. The reference video and broadcast video storage means 49 is a means for recording the video of the program received by the broadcast wave receiving means 1 and the reference video extracted by the reference video extraction means 47. The small-screen moving image selecting means 6 is a means for selecting a small-screen moving image of a future program guide display screen described later. The multi-small screen moving image display means 7 is a means for displaying a moving image on a plurality of small screens described later. The screen 15 is a means for displaying a program guide, a cursor, a small screen, a video of a program, and the like. Reference video extracting means 4
Reference numeral 7 denotes a unit for extracting a reference video sent from a broadcasting station.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

First, as described above, in the present embodiment, the screen 1
5 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which the channel is set on the horizontal axis, the broadcast time is set on the vertical axis, and the screen is handled on a daily basis. The horizontal axis indicates three channels, and the vertical axis indicates a program table for three hours. . The date display 50 of the program guide represents the date of the program guide, and is displayed as, for example, "Program schedule on Monday, October 5". The broadcast station name 51 displays a channel corresponding to the broadcast station name. Small screen reference video display frame 5
Reference numeral 2 denotes a reference image of a program closest to the present in the displayed program table. The reference image display target title frame 53 is a title of a program corresponding to the reference image displayed in the small-screen reference image display frame 52.
The title frame 53 of the small-screen moving image display target is displayed in a different display color. The reference image displayed in the small-screen reference image display frame 52 is a reference image of a program to be broadcast next for each channel. Time display column 54 of program guide
Indicates the time. The OnAir screen 55
This is the video of the program currently being broadcast on the currently selected channel. The OnAir program title name 56 is the title name of a program currently being broadcast on the currently selected channel. The remote control operation explanation 57 describes the operation of the remote control. Cursor frame 5 for program selection
Reference numeral 8 denotes a small-screen moving image display frame 52 in which a reference image of a program at the location is displayed.

The manner of sending the program guide is the same as in the first embodiment.

In FIG. 6, a broadcast wave transmitted from a broadcast station is received by broadcast wave receiving means 1. Program guide extracting means 2
Extracts a program guide from a received broadcast wave and stores it in the program guide data storage means 4. The program table of the program to be broadcasted in the future stored in the program table data storage unit 4 is stored in the recording reservation unit 8.
Is transferred to the program integrated management means 10. Recording reservation means 8
Receives program table data of a program to be broadcast in the future from the program table data storage means 4 and makes a recording reservation. Then, the recorded video is recorded in the reference video and broadcast video storage means 49, and the program guide of the recorded program becomes the stored program management data 9. Further, the stored program management data 9 is passed to the program unified management means 10. Viewer is remote control 1
4 is used to operate the screen 15. Viewer is remote control 1
4 are processed by the program selection means 12, and those relating to cursor movement are controlled by the cursor position control means 13. The program guide display means 11
A program guide is displayed on the screen 15 based on information from the program centralized management means 10. The program selecting means 12 displays a cursor on the screen 15. The reference video extracting means 47 extracts the reference video sent from the broadcasting station via the broadcast wave receiving means 1 and records it in the reference video and broadcast video storage means 49. The small-screen moving image selecting unit 6 selects the video of the program specified by the program selecting unit 12 from the reference video and the video stored in the broadcast video storing unit 49. The multi-small screen moving image display unit 7 displays the selected moving image on the screen 15.

The program table is scrolled when the cursor frame 58 for selecting a program is moved vertically and horizontally using the remote controller 14 and the cursor frame 58 is moved beyond the displayed frame. That is, if the cursor frame 58 for program selection is continuously moved to the right using the remote controller, the scroll is performed in the direction of the smaller channel number. Cursor frame 5 for program selection
If 8 continues to be moved to the left, the channel will scroll to the larger channel number. If the cursor frame 58 for program selection is kept moving upward, it scrolls to the past. If the cursor frame 58 for program selection is kept moving downward, it scrolls to the future.

Further, the reference image displayed in the small-screen moving image display frame 52 is automatically switched when the program guide is scrolled. That is, as described above, the display is switched to the reference video of the program to be broadcast next for each channel in the displayed program table. Then, the program being broadcast at the current time of the channel where the cursor frame 58 for program selection is located is displayed on the OnAir screen 55, and its title is displayed as the OnAir program title 56.

The OnAir screen 55 does not necessarily have to be linked to the program selection cursor frame 58 displayed on the screen 15 and may display the video of the channel that was viewed before the program guide was selected.

Next, by operating the remote controller 14 shown in FIG.
How 5 changes will be described with reference to the state transition diagram of FIG. First, it is assumed that the screen 15 is in a state of displaying a future EPG 29. It is assumed that the program selection cursor frame 58 is positioned on the program “hit chart” of “C broadcast 3ch” as shown in FIG. Further, it is assumed that the remote controller 14 has an enter button, a play button, a stop button, a cancel button, a program guide button, and a cursor moving button. The types of buttons on the remote controller 14 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Now, it is assumed that the enter button of the remote controller 14 is pressed. At this time, the program in which the program selection cursor frame 58 is located is reserved for recording. That is, the state transits to the recording reservation 31. In FIG. 6, recording of the program "hit chart" of "C broadcast 3ch" is reserved. Here, if the cancel button is pressed in the recording reservation 31 of FIG. 3, the recording reservation just made is canceled. If the user presses the enter button, the recording reservation just made is determined. When the cancel button or the enter button is pressed, the state of the screen 15 shifts to the state of the display 29 of the future EPG.

Next, when the program guide button or the cancel button is pressed, the state of the screen 28 transits to the On-Air viewing screen 28. In the On-Air viewing screen 28, the On-Air viewing screen 28 shown in FIG.
The program displayed on the Air screen 55 is displayed on the entire screen. When the user presses the program guide button on the On-Air viewing screen 28, the state of the screen 15 returns to displaying the future EPG again.

As described above, the program is automatically selected.
Not only can the program guides of a plurality of channels be viewed at the same time, but also the reference video can be referred to at the same time, so that the recording reservation can be made efficiently while checking the program contents easily.

Note that the reference image of the present invention is not limited to a moving image.
Still images, bitmaps, and animations may be used.

Further, in the present embodiment, the reference video is transmitted for all programs. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reference video is transmitted only for some programs. It does not matter. In this case, if there is no reference video of the program where the program selection cursor frame 58 is located, a blue screen screen or a blackout screen is displayed in the small screen reference video display frame 52.

The small-screen reference video display frame according to the present embodiment is an example of the small-screen according to the present invention.

Further, the reference video and broadcast video storage means of the present embodiment may be a single device such as a hard disk, an optical disk, or a tape device, or a hierarchical storage device combining a hard disk and an optical disk. You may. Further, in the case of a hierarchical storage device, the recorded program itself may be stored in a large-capacity storage device such as a tape device, and the first video and reference video of the program may be stored in a semiconductor or a hard disk.

(Embodiment 5) Next, a fifth embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the display of the past program table is seamlessly shifted from the display of the past program table to the display of the future program table and the display of the past program table.

The configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the fourth embodiment. When a past program table is displayed, the screen 15 is displayed as shown in FIG. 2, and when a future program table is displayed, the screen 15 is displayed as shown in FIG.

The transition between displaying the past program table and displaying the future program table will be described with reference to the state transition diagram of FIG. However, buttons on the remote control are the same as those in the first and fourth embodiments.

First, a case will be described in which a state in which a past program table is displayed is shifted to a state in which a future program table is displayed. In the state transition diagram of FIG. 3, it is assumed that the past EPG is displayed 27 and the screen 15 is displayed as shown in FIG. At this time, the cursor 25 for program selection is continuously moved downward using the remote controller 14. Cursor 25 for program selection
When reaches the bottom of the screen, the displayed program table scrolls. If you continue scrolling, you will see screen 1
5 is switched from FIG. 2 to FIG. The future EPG
To the state of the display 29.

Next, a description will be given of a case where a state in which a future program table is displayed is shifted to a state in which a past program table is displayed. In the state transition diagram of FIG. 3, it is assumed that a future EPG is displayed 29, and the screen 15 is displayed as shown in FIG. At this time, the remote control 14 is used to continuously move the program selection cursor 58 upward. Program selection cursor 58
When reaches the top of the screen, the displayed program guide scrolls. If you continue scrolling, you will see screen 1
5 is switched from FIG. 7 to FIG. That is, the past EPG
To the state of display 27.

When the past EPG is in the state of display 27, it operates as in the first embodiment, and when the future EPG is in the state of display 29, it operates as in the fourth embodiment. Operate.

In order to seamlessly transition between the past and the future in this way, a new program table is synthesized from the program table sent from the broadcasting station, excluding the overlapping part, and the synthesized program table is synthesized. And the operation described in the first and second embodiments can be easily and seamlessly performed between the past and the future.

Further, the multi-small-screen moving image display means of the present embodiment is an example of the small-screen display means of the present invention, and the multi-small-screen moving image display means of the present embodiment also serves as the video display means of the present invention. I have.

The program table of the present invention is not limited to the case where one program is one unit in the above-described embodiment. One program may be treated as a combination of n (n is an integer of 2 or more) scenes and expressed in scene units. For example, as a display method of the program guide, a configuration may be employed in which a program unit is further subdivided into predetermined scene units, and the first screen of each scene is displayed as a small screen.

Furthermore, the number of small screens of the present invention is not limited to the number currently displayed on the horizontal axis in the above-described embodiment, but may be smaller than the number currently displayed on the horizontal coordinate axes. There may be. For example, if you are viewing a past program listing, if there is no recorded program,
The small screen display frame of the axis may be deleted, and the program guide may be displayed in the deleted portion. When a future program guide is displayed, if there is no program having a reference video, the small-screen display frame of that axis may be deleted, and the program guide may be displayed in the deleted portion.

Further, the program guide display device of the present invention may be an independent device, or may be built in AV equipment such as a television, a video, and an AV-compatible personal computer. The AV device itself having the functions of the present invention may be used.

Further, a program recording medium characterized by storing a program for causing a computer to execute all or some of the functions of each component of the program guide display device of the present invention also belongs to the present invention.

[0089]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention can provide a program guide display device that can more efficiently and easily find a program that a viewer wants to view.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for displaying a past program table according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a screen configuration when displaying a past program table according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a state transition diagram of a screen by a remote control operation according to the first, fourth, and fifth embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen configuration when a time axis is eliminated from a vertical axis according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a screen configuration when a horizontal axis is a genre according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram for displaying a future program table according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a screen configuration for displaying a future program table according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Broadcast wave receiving means 2 Program table extraction means 4 Program table data storage means 5 Video storage means 6 Small screen moving image selecting means 7 Multi small screen moving image display means 8 Recording reservation means 9 Stored program management data 10 Program table unified management means 11 Program guide display means 12 Program selection means 13 Cursor position control means 14 Remote control 15 Screen

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshinori Harada 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5C025 AA23 CA09 CA12 CB09 DA05

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A program guide display means for displaying a program guide in two dimensions, and a small display for displaying a number of small screens determined from the currently displayed number of any one of the two-dimensional coordinate axes. Screen display means, and video display means for displaying, on the small screen, an image relating to a program determined based on a predetermined rule from a plurality of programs currently displayed in a still state and / or a scroll state by the program guide display means And a program table display device. 2. The program guide display device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined rule is a program most recently recorded on each coordinate axis. 3. The program guide display device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined rule is a program to be broadcast next on each coordinate axis. 4. The program guide display device according to claim 1, wherein the number of the small screens is equal to the number currently displayed on the one coordinate axis. 5. The program guide display according to claim 1, wherein the video relating to the program is a content of the program or a reference image transmitted in a program guide for the program. apparatus. 6. The program guide display device according to claim 1, wherein said one coordinate axis is a channel. 7. The program guide display device according to claim 1, wherein the one coordinate axis is a genre. 8. The program guide display device according to claim 1, wherein a new program guide is synthesized from the program guide sent from the broadcasting station by removing the overlapping portion. 9. A program table synthesizing means for synthesizing a new program table excluding the overlapping part from a program table sent from a broadcasting station, and a program table for cutting out a predetermined area from the synthesized program table and displaying the cut out area. A program guide display device comprising: display means; and scroll means for continuously displaying the program guide from the past to the future and from the future to the past by scrolling. 10. A program recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute all or a part of the functions of each component of the program guide display device according to claim 1. .