JP2000152115A - Electronic program guide display control method and television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To retrieve a desired program while viewing another program by displaying a program that is selected by a viewer on a 3rd slave screen having a size almost equal to a 1st slave screen if the program is being telecast and displaying the information on a selected program on the 3rd slave screen if the program is to be telecast in the future. SOLUTION: An electronic program guide information setting part 9A of a control means 9 extracts the electronic program guide information sent from a receiving part 5 or a database 9D which stores the electronic program guide information received from the part 5 in response to the retrieval condition that is inputted from an operating part 10. A channel detection means 9B detects the channel that is directly selected by a viewer via the operation of the part 10 or the channel where the program selected by the part 10 is being telecast out of a program list that is produced based on the electronic program guide to be extracted. This channel selecting operation actuates a channel selection means 9C to change the channel of the part 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic program guide display control method and a television receiver, and more particularly to an electronic program guide display control method and a television receiver that enable a viewer to easily select a program. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a television receiver,
Control such as channel selection is performed by various methods. For example, in order for a viewer to select a desired channel, a desired channel is selected by operating a channel button indicating a channel number corresponding to the desired channel using a remote controller or the like.

In recent years, in addition to conventional analog terrestrial broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, cable television, and the like,
2. Description of the Related Art Systems that digitize and transmit television signals via broadcast satellites and communication satellites and receive the signals at homes are becoming widespread, and the number of channels that can be viewed at homes is increasing dramatically. In such a system, an electronic program guide (EPG: EPG) is provided so that a viewer can select a desired program from many programs.
It has been proposed to transmit an Electrical Program Guide, receive and display it on the receiving side, and select a desired program from the electronic program guide. It is also considered that a database is provided, a condition search is performed according to the viewer's preference from the database, and a program is selected.

Here, a display screen of a conventional electronic program guide will be described with reference to FIGS. When the viewer performs a menu display operation, a menu screen (genre selection screen) indicating the genre is displayed on the entire screen. The viewer selects and determines a genre applicable to a desired program from genres displayed on the menu screen. Specifically, "ALL" (all genres), "NEWS" (news), "MOVIE" (movie), "SPORTS"
A plurality of genres such as (sports) are displayed, and the viewer can select a desired genre by moving a cursor (not shown) on the screen by operating an operation device such as a remote controller. .

When a desired genre is selected in FIG. 6, the screen display is switched to the program guide display shown in FIG. 7 for the selected genre. In the program table screen shown in FIG. 3, the vertical axis shows the name of a broadcast station (channel) and the horizontal axis shows time, and the broadcast station on which a program corresponding to a desired genre is broadcast and the broadcast time are shown on two axes. The program name is displayed on the display at the position specified by the above, and is highlighted by changing the color or the like so that the viewer can distinguish it.

For example, when "ALL" is selected on the genre selection screen of FIG. 6, the screen of the television receiver switches from the genre selection screen to the program guide screen shown in FIG. On the switched screen, programs of all genres for each channel are displayed. Note that only a part of the actual program guide is displayed on the program guide screen shown in FIG. 7, and if it is desired to see a position other than the currently displayed area, the display area is provided by a scroll button provided on the remote controller. It can be moved up, down, left, and right by using, for example.

[0007] The viewer can move a cursor (not shown) to a display position of a desired program from a group of programs displayed on the program guide screen.
When the program is currently being broadcast, the desired program is displayed, and when the program is not being broadcast, information on the program (broadcast time of the program, performer names, program contents, etc.) is displayed. Etc.) are displayed.

[0008]

However, in the above-described electronic program guide display control method, the genre selection screen and the program guide screen are displayed on the entire screen of the television receiver. For a viewer who enjoys a video (like a video) or a viewer who is currently watching a program currently being viewed on a television receiver, the display of the genre selection screen or the program guide screen means that a CM is inserted in the middle of the program. Sometimes it feels as disturbing as it is. That is, there is a problem that the viewer cannot confirm another program or information on another program while displaying the predetermined program.

[0009] Also, from the genre selection screen to the program table screen,
Since it is necessary to switch the screen from the program guide screen to the screen of the corresponding program or the screen representing information on the corresponding program, when the viewer is a candidate for viewing a plurality of programs,
Each time, it is necessary to repeat the operation of returning the display to the program guide screen, which is troublesome.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an electronic program guide display control method according to the present invention comprises:
Receiving an externally supplied television signal and electronic program guide information relating to the television broadcast, reproducing the video of the received television signal, and according to search conditions supplied by a viewer, Creating a program guide screen from information; displaying the program guide screen on a first sub-screen; and displaying the video being viewed smaller than the first sub-screen and not overlapping the first sub-screen. Displaying on the sub-screen 2;
If the program selected by the viewer from the programs displayed on the program guide screen is currently being broadcast, the program is displayed on a third sub-screen having substantially the same size as the first sub-screen. Displaying, if the selected program is scheduled to be broadcast in the future, displaying the information of the program on the third child screen.

[0011] Further, a receiving unit 5 for receiving a television signal supplied from outside and electronic program guide information related to television broadcasting, an operation unit 10 to which detection conditions are supplied by a viewer, and the electronic program guide information Control means 9 for creating program guide screen information from the electronic program guide information in accordance with the search condition; a display processor 8 for creating a program guide screen based on the program guide information; A video section 6 for displaying on the first sub-screen and displaying the video being viewed on a second sub-screen smaller than the first sub-screen and not overlapping the first sub-screen. A receiver,
If the program selected by the viewer from the programs displayed on the program guide screen is currently being broadcast, the control means 9 converts the program having substantially the same size as the first child screen. A television receiver for displaying on a third sub-screen, and controlling to display information of the selected program on the third sub-screen if the selected program is to be broadcasted in the future. Is provided.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an electronic program guide display control method and a television receiver according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an electronic program guide display control method and a television receiver according to the present invention. In the figure, a television signal is supplied from a terminal 1 installed in a room to a branch unit 3 via a cable 2. Then, the television signal is input to the receiving unit 5, the video signal is supplied to the video unit 6, and the audio signal is supplied to the audio unit 7. The receiving unit 5 is supplied with the electronic program guide information together with the video signal and the audio signal, and is sent to the control unit 9. The video section 6 reproduces a video signal, and the audio section 7 reproduces an audio signal. The video section 6 includes a multiplexer (MPX) for multiplexing and displaying a plurality of child screens on the screen of the television receiver.

On the other hand, the control means 9 controls the channel, audio level, surround mode, etc. of the receiving section 5,
The electronic program guide information setting unit 9A converts the electronic program guide information sent directly from the receiving unit 5 or the electronic program guide information sent from the database 9D temporarily storing the electronic program guide information sent from the receiving unit 5 into an operation described later. Extraction is performed according to search conditions such as a genre input from the unit 10. The channel detecting means 9B detects the channel directly selected by the viewer by operating the operation unit 10, or selects the operation unit 1 from a program table created based on the extracted electronic program guide.
0 detects the channel broadcasting the program selected. By this operation, the channel selecting means 9
C operates to change the channel of the receiving unit 5.

The operation unit 10 is, for example, a remote controller, on which operation buttons for controlling the channel, audio level, surround mode, etc. of the receiving unit 5 are arranged.・ Surround mode can be set.
Then, the viewer can input a desired search condition by operating a button (not shown) provided on the operation unit 10 or inputting a voice from a microphone (not shown) for voice recognition. The display processor 8 displays the video signal from the video unit 6 and creates a program guide screen based on the electronic program guide information supplied to the control unit 9.

Next, the operation of the electronic program guide display control method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the electronic program guide display control method and the television receiver of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 5 show examples of the electronic program guide display control method and the screen display example of the television receiver of the present invention. FIG.

When the viewer turns on the television receiver, the program currently being broadcast is displayed on the set channel. Alternatively, the viewer is watching some program (step S1 in FIG. 2). The viewer first presses a guide button (not shown) provided on the operation unit 10 to search for a desired program, and the viewer is provided on the operation unit 10 to specify the display mode of the television receiver. A child screen button (not shown) is pressed to display a child screen. At this time, the sound of “small screen” may be input to a microphone (not shown) provided in the operation unit 10 and the small screen may be displayed by voice recognition.

The control unit 9 supplies the electronic program guide information to the display processor 8 in response to an input from the operation unit 10 for displaying the child screen, and the display processor 8 uses the V-RAM (video RAM) 11 to transmit the electronic program guide information. For displaying program guide screen based on
Is created and displayed on the television receiver. Then, the program currently being viewed by the viewer is displayed as a second child screen smaller than the first child screen and not overlapping the first child screen. The first child screen displays a program guide screen of the day covering all genres (step S2 in FIG. 2). When the viewer performs a menu display operation using the operation unit 10, a menu screen (genre selection screen) indicating a genre is displayed on the entire first child screen. The viewer selects and determines a genre applicable to a desired program from genres displayed on the menu screen. Specifically, "ALL" (all genres),
"NEWS" (news), "MOVIE" (movie),
A plurality of genres such as “SPORTS” (sports) are displayed, and the viewer operates a button provided on the operation unit 10 to move a cursor (not shown) in the screen to select a desired genre. Can be.

When a desired genre is selected, the screen display is switched to the program guide screen for the selected genre. On the program guide screen, the vertical axis indicates the broadcast station name (channel) and the horizontal axis indicates the time, and the broadcast station on which the program corresponding to the desired genre is broadcast and the broadcast time are defined by two axes. The program name is displayed on the display of the position, and is highlighted by changing the color or the like so that the viewer can distinguish it.

In the state where the program guide screen of the day covering all the genres is displayed on the first child screen, the above-mentioned operation may be performed by the viewer's voice input relating to the genres. The viewer may input a keyword related to the program (performer, director, program name, etc.) by voice, and a list of programs that meet this condition may be displayed on the first child screen.

While referring to the program guide screen displayed on the first child screen in this way, the viewer operates the operation unit 10 or inputs a desired program name into the microphone provided on the operation unit 10 by voice. Then, a desired program is selected (step S3 in FIG. 2).

The control means 9 checks whether the program selected in this way is a program currently being broadcast (see FIG. 2).
Step S4) If the program is currently being broadcast, it is a screen different from the first sub-screen and the second sub-screen.
A third sub-screen having substantially the same size as the sub-screen is created by the display processor 8, and the program is displayed (step S5 in FIG. 2). On the other hand, if the selected program is not a program currently being broadcast but a program to be broadcasted in the future, a screen for displaying detailed information on the program is created and displayed on the third child screen ( FIG. 2 Step S
6). The display of the child screen at this stage has a configuration as shown in FIG. 3, and is displayed without disturbing the second child screen displaying the program currently being viewed.

At this time, if the viewer sets a plurality of viewing candidates in addition to the above-mentioned programs (step S7 in FIG. 2), the viewer becomes a viewing candidate other than the program displayed on the third child screen. Is continuously selected from the program guide screen displayed on the first child screen, and the newly selected viewing candidate program or information on the program is displayed on the fourth child screen. By repeating this process, the number of child screens can be increased as necessary. In this case, the display of the sub-screens is such that the sub-screens are arranged vertically so as to sandwich the first sub-screen as shown in FIG.
Are displayed so as to surround the child screens.

In this manner, the viewer selects which program to watch in a state where the programs and the information on the programs which are candidates for viewing are displayed on the plurality of sub-screens.

When the selected program is currently being broadcast, all the child screens that have been displayed are deleted according to the selection operation, and the selected program is displayed using the entire screen of the television receiver. (Step S8 in FIG. 2). When the selected program is a program to be broadcasted in the future, the program information of the selected program is displayed on the first child screen,
It is displayed on the entire screen, and the broadcast time and channel of the program are transmitted to the viewer, the television receiver is turned on at the broadcast time of the program, and a reservation operation for switching the channel is performed, or a reservation for the VTR is made. A procedure is performed to ensure that the viewer can view the program, for example, by performing a recording procedure.

In the above-described embodiment, the program guide screen is created based on the electronic program guide information transmitted together with the television signal. However, the electronic program guide information may be obtained via the Internet.

[0026]

As described above in detail, according to the electronic program guide display control method and the television receiver according to the present invention, it is possible to search for a desired program while watching the currently viewed program. At the same time, since the search screen is displayed as a somewhat large sub-screen, it is possible to view fine characters described in the program guide on the television receiver in a viewable manner.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of an electronic program guide display control method and a television receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an electronic program guide display control method and a television receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic program guide display control method according to the present invention and an example of screen display by a television receiver.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a plurality of small-screen displays in the television receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a plurality of small-screen displays on the television receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a genre selection screen of a conventional electronic program guide display control method.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a program guide screen of a conventional electronic program guide display control method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 terminal 2, 4 cable 3 branch unit 5 receiving unit 6 video unit 7 audio unit 8 display processor 9 control unit 9A electronic program guide information setting unit 9B channel detection unit 9C channel selection unit 9D database 10 operation unit 11 V-RAM

Claims (2)

[Claims] A step of receiving an externally supplied television signal and electronic program guide information relating to television broadcasting, reproducing a video of the received television signal, and according to search conditions supplied by a viewer. Creating a program guide screen from the electronic program guide information; displaying the program guide screen on a first sub-screen, wherein the video being viewed is smaller than the first sub-screen; Displaying the program on a second sub-screen that does not overlap the screen; and if the program selected by the viewer from the programs displayed on the program guide screen is currently being broadcast, the program is displayed on the first sub-screen. Displaying on a third sub-screen substantially the same size as that of the selected sub-screen, and displaying the information of the selected program on the third sub-screen if the selected program is to be broadcasted in the future; An electronic program guide display control method, comprising: 2. A receiving unit for receiving a television signal supplied from outside and electronic program guide information related to television broadcasting, an operation unit supplied with detection conditions by a viewer, and storing the electronic program guide information. And control means for creating program guide screen information from the electronic program guide information in accordance with the search condition; a display processor for creating a program guide screen based on the program guide information; And displaying the video being viewed on the screen smaller than the first child screen.
A video unit for displaying on a second sub-screen that does not overlap with the sub-screen of the television receiver, wherein the control means is selected by a viewer from among the programs displayed on the program guide screen. If the program is currently being broadcast, the program is displayed on a third sub-screen having substantially the same size as the first sub-screen. If the selected program is to be broadcasted in the future, the program is displayed. A television receiver, which controls to display program information on the third child screen.