JP2000115696A - Television broadcasting temporary stoppage, fast forwarding and rewinding device or circuit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a circuit or a device for adding functions for temporarily stopping, fast forwarding, rewinding and randomly accessing broadcasting information during broadcasting such as image information, sound information and character information to a television device. SOLUTION: Received broadcasting information is recorded in a preservation medium, and the read timing is controlled. That is, received broadcasting signals received by a reception circuit 7 are written to the write position of the preservation medium 1 by a write circuit 3, read by a read circuit from the read position of the preservation medium 1 and then outputted to an output circuit 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a circuit or a device for adding a function of temporarily stopping, fast-forwarding, rewinding, or randomly accessing broadcast information such as image information, audio information, and text information to a television device. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional television apparatus cannot suspend a program being broadcast. Therefore, he could not add other tasks while watching the program.

[0003]

A television apparatus is an apparatus for immediately displaying and viewing broadcast radio waves (electric signals in the case of cable broadcasting) transmitted in real time. Therefore, it is physically impossible with the current technology to temporarily stop the radio wave (electrical signal in the case of cable broadcasting), and thus the television viewer cannot pause the program. If the phone rang or I wanted to go to the bathroom while watching the program, I couldn't watch the program properly and was inconvenient.

[0004]

In describing the structure of the present invention, the following terms are defined. Received broadcast information = physical entity of television broadcast information received by a broadcast wave (electrical signal in the case of cable broadcast) receiver. Physically, it is almost always an electric or magnetic signal, but it is not limited to this. Storage medium = any physical information storage circuit or device. This has been physically realized in various ways. Examples include: random access memory (RAM), rewritable read-only memory (ROM), hard disk, CD-R, mini disk, floppy disk, magnetic tape such as video tape, and magneto-optical disk. There are various other objects, but any object can be used as long as information can be physically recorded and thereafter read. Stored broadcast information = Physical entity of broadcast information read from the storage medium. Like this, it is almost always physically realized as an electric or magnetic signal, but it is not limited to this. Circuit = circuit or device. The circuit referred to here is a logical circuit, but can be physically realized by general techniques. When different logical circuits are physically realized, they may be the same device. This is a lot in the real world of electronic circuits. Real-time mode = A mode for watching television broadcasts in real time. Playback mode = A mode to watch the paused television broadcast again. Fast-forward mode = A mode in which fast-forwarding is performed when listening to a paused television broadcast again. Rewind mode = Rewind mode when listening to a paused television broadcast again. Random access mode = A mode in which a paused television broadcast jumps to a broadcast after an arbitrary time when the viewer watches and listens again. In the configuration of the present invention, (a) the storage medium 1 is provided. (B) A write circuit 3 for recording the received broadcast information 2 on the storage medium 1 is provided. (C) A read circuit 5 for reading the stored broadcast information 4 from the storage medium 1 is provided. (D) Receiver circuit 7 and write circuit 3 of the television device
Connect. Alternatively, a conversion circuit A for converting the received broadcast information 2 may be inserted between the two circuits. This conversion work includes, for example, A / D conversion and image compression. (E) Screen (or audio) output circuit 8 of television device
Is connected to the readout circuit 5. As in (d), a conversion circuit B for converting the stored broadcast information 4 may be inserted between these two circuits. This conversion work includes, for example, D / A conversion and compressed data decompression. (F) In order to control the operation timing of the write circuit 3 and the read circuit 5, a control circuit 6 having necessary functions among the following six functions is provided. In the real-time mode, the position where the write circuit 3 writes the received broadcast information 2 to the storage medium 1 and the position where the read circuit 5 reads the stored broadcast information 4 from the storage medium 1 are set to positions where the television broadcast can be normally viewed in real time. I do. Similarly, the speed at which the writing circuit 3 writes the received broadcast information 2 to the storage medium 1 and the speed at which the reading circuit 5 reads the stored broadcast information 4 from the storage medium 1 are set to the speed at which the television broadcast can be normally viewed. Alternatively, bypass without using a storage circuit. In the pause mode, the reading circuit 5 stops reading from the storage medium 1 or repeatedly reads the same position, and operates at the reading position and reading speed at which the broadcast is recognized as being paused. Further, the writing of the writing circuit 3 to the storage medium 1 is continued so that the stored broadcast information 4 is normally reproduced at the time of reading. In the reproduction mode, the reading of the reading circuit 5 from the storage medium 1 is performed at a reading speed and a reading position at which it is recognized that the broadcast is being reproduced. Writing to the storage medium 1 by the writing circuit 3 is performed in the same manner as at the time. In the fast-forward mode, reading from the storage medium 1 by the reading circuit 5 is performed at a reading speed and a reading position at which the broadcast is recognized as being fast-forwarded. Writing to the storage medium 1 by the writing circuit 3 is performed in the same manner as at the time. In the rewind mode, the readout of the readout circuit 5 from the storage medium 1 is performed at a reading speed and a reading position at which it is recognized that the broadcast is being rewound. Writing to the storage medium 1 by the writing circuit 3 is performed in the same manner as at the time. In the random access mode, the reading of the reading circuit 5 from the storage medium 1 is performed at a reading speed and a reading position at which the broadcast is recognized as being randomly accessed. Writing to the storage medium 1 by the writing circuit 3 is performed in the same manner as at the time. The device is operated as described above. The present device functions by controlling the control circuit 6 skillfully. The easiest way to configure this system is to write in a general-purpose ring buffer type FIFO type image memory (also serving as the storage medium 1) with the writing circuit 3 and read out with the reading circuit 5. The control circuit 6 for controlling the write circuit 3 and the read circuit 5 can be easily realized by driving a microcomputer with a general-purpose CPU by a program. FIFO
By using the formula, normal reproduction and recording of the reproduced image and the recorded image can be realized only by controlling the writing speed, and it is not necessary to manage the writing position. Of course, there are various physical realization methods other than this method as easily predicted. By incorporating this device into a television device or connecting it to an external device, it is possible for the viewer to pause the program being broadcast, and to fast-forward and rewind the broadcast saved during the pause. It is very convenient.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
A television system having this device also has a user interface (for example, a remote control with buttons) that can be easily operated by a viewer. While watching the program, the viewer can press the remote control button when he wants to pause the broadcast by ringing the phone or wanting to go to the bathroom. The image and sound are stopped, and the program being broadcast during that time is stored in the storage medium of the apparatus. Then you can play it back when you are done. Then, the programs are played back in sequence from the place where they were paused, as if the broadcast had started. If it is a commercial part, fast forward. If you miss something or miss it, rewind it. And if you want to return the broadcast to the real-time mode, it is OK with one button. (This will be done when the program that the viewer has watched ends. At that time, the broadcast is skipped for the paused time.) The recording time to this device is determined by the recording capacity of the storage medium 1 and the recording method. It is. Of course, it is impossible for fast forward to go beyond the actual broadcast. This device is not limited to television broadcasting, but is exactly the same as FM,
It is also applicable to an AM broadcast receiving device and the like.

[0006]

According to the present invention, television broadcasting can be temporarily stopped, which is convenient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a state in which a broadcast signal received by a receiving circuit 7 is written by a writing circuit 3 to a writing position of a storage medium 1, read from a reading position of the storage medium 1 by a reading circuit 5, and then output to an output circuit 8. It is an apparatus figure of the present invention. The write circuit 3 and the read circuit 5 are controlled by the control circuit 6 so as to solve the problem of the present invention.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A storage medium 1 for buffering broadcast information is provided. (B) A writing circuit 3 for writing information to the storage medium 1 is provided. (C) Readout circuit 5 for reading information from storage medium 1
Is provided. (D) The operation timing of the write circuit 3 and the read circuit 5 is set such that the television broadcast is paused or rewound,
Thereafter, a control circuit 6 for controlling reproduction so as not to hinder is provided. A circuit or device configured as described above. (A),
The circuits referred to in (b), (c) and (d) are logical circuits, and may be physically the same device. That is, some of the circuits 3, 5, and 6 may be the same device, or for example, the circuit 3 may be divided into several devices. 2. The storage medium 1 according to claim 1, wherein the storage medium 1 is a typical ring buffer type FIFO storage element. 3. A television device incorporating the claim 1. 4. An audio device incorporating the claim 1.