JP2002252824A - Timer recorder and timer recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a timer recorder and a timer recording method in which a user timer reserved a satellite broadcast can acquire a program with such a performance as causing no problem in viewing even if the strength of radio wave dropped due to a thundercloud. SOLUTION: The timer recorder for recording timer reserving, recording BS broadcast signals, received and demodulated through a BS receiving circuit 2, by a recording circuit 8 comprises a circuit 4a for detecting the strength of a signal received by the BS receiving circuit 2, and means 7a for setting timer reservation/recording of the channel of BS broadcast and setting the channel of a broadcast program having a content identical to that of the broadcast program set with timer reservation/recording as a sub-channel. A control means, i.e., a microcomputer 7, monitors the strength of a radio wave from the detection circuit 4a during execution of timer reservation/recording and switches recording or setting of reservation/recording from a channel under execution of timer reservation/recording to the sub-channel when the strength of a radio wave of BS broadcast drops below a specified level thus recording a program with such a performance as causing no problem in viewing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a timer recording apparatus and a timer recording method for recording satellite broadcasting by timer reservation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a satellite broadcast is recorded by timer reservation, a user sets a recording start time, a recording end time, and a channel in advance, and waits for timer reservation. Thus, when the start time comes, the set satellite broadcast channel is selected and recording is started, and when the set end time comes, the recording ends.

In the current system, recording is continued even if the radio wave intensity is reduced due to heavy rain or thundercloud during recording, and the image cannot be received.

On the other hand, as a method of monitoring the radio wave intensity,
The level of the C / N (carrier signal to noise signal) of the received signal is converted into a voltage to convert the level into a microcomputer
The microcomputer has a function to monitor the transmitted radio wave intensity, but this monitoring function is intended to display the antenna reception level (the radio wave intensity of the receiving channel) for monitoring when installing a satellite broadcasting antenna. It is used only for the purpose of performing a certain degree of noise reduction when the radio wave intensity is reduced. Regarding the noise reduction at this time, when C / N = about 14 dB, S / N
This is a function to slightly improve the N (luminance signal vs. noise signal) characteristic.

Accordingly, as described above, in the case of the conventional receiving and recording system, when the radio wave intensity is reduced due to heavy rain or thundercloud during the timer reservation recording, the image cannot be received. But even with some noise reduction, I kept recording the reserved channel.

[0006]

As described above, in the case of the conventional reception and recording system, the radio wave intensity is reduced due to heavy rain or thundercloud during the timer reservation recording, and the image cannot be received. , Even if a little noise reduction is applied, the recording of the set channel is continued while the reception state is poor.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to record a broadcast program with no problem even if it falls into an unacceptable state during execution of timer recording of satellite broadcasting. It is an object of the present invention to provide a timer recording device and a timer recording method capable of performing the following.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a timer recording apparatus for selectively receiving and demodulating a satellite broadcast channel having a plurality of channels,
Detecting means for detecting the strength of the radio wave of the satellite broadcast received by the receiving circuit; recording means for recording a demodulated signal from the receiving circuit; and selecting and receiving operation of the satellite broadcast channel by at least the receiving circuit; Setting means for setting a reservation to execute the recording operation by the recording means at a preset time, and setting a channel for broadcasting a program having the same content as the reserved broadcast program as a sub-channel; and recording based on the reservation setting. The radio wave intensity of the receiving channel is monitored by the detection means during execution of the operation, and when the radio wave intensity falls below a predetermined value, recording is performed to record the broadcast program of the sub-channel in place of the channel on which recording is being performed. And control means for performing setting switching.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a timer recording apparatus comprising: a first receiving circuit for selectively receiving and demodulating a satellite broadcast channel having a plurality of channels; and a satellite received by the first receiving circuit. Detecting means for detecting the intensity of the broadcast radio wave; a second receiving circuit for receiving and demodulating a broadcast different from the satellite broadcast received by the first receiving circuit;
Switching means for switching and selecting and outputting the demodulated signal from the first receiving circuit or the demodulated signal from the second receiving circuit; recording means for recording the output of the switching means; A reservation is set so that a satellite broadcast channel selection / selection receiving operation and a recording operation by the recording means are performed at a preset time, and the second program for broadcasting a program having the same content as the reserved broadcast program is set.
Setting means for setting the channel of the broadcast received by the receiving circuit as a sub-channel, and monitoring the radio wave intensity of the receiving channel of the first receiving circuit by the detecting means during execution of the recording operation based on the reservation setting. And control means for switching recording settings so as to record a broadcast program of the sub-channel in place of the channel on which recording is being performed when the radio field intensity falls below a predetermined value.

In a timer recording method according to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a receiving step of selectively receiving and demodulating a satellite broadcast channel having a plurality of channels, and determining the intensity of the satellite broadcast radio wave received by the receiving circuit A detecting step of detecting, a recording step of recording a demodulated signal from the receiving circuit, and at least a selective receiving operation of the channel of the satellite broadcast by the receiving circuit and a recording operation by the recording means are performed at a preset time. A setting step of making a reservation and setting a channel for broadcasting a program having the same content as the broadcast program set as the sub-channel as a sub-channel; Is monitored, and when the radio wave intensity falls below a predetermined value, A changing step of performing recording setting switching order to Ete recording broadcast programs of the sub-channel,
It is provided with.

In the timer recording apparatus or the timer recording method according to the present invention, when the radio wave intensity of the satellite broadcast decreases during the timer recording, if there is a broadcast of the same content in another time zone, the recording is performed in that time zone. If there is a broadcast with the same contents in the same time zone, switch the recording to that broadcasting station (for example, terrestrial broadcasting), so that an image that can withstand reception without recording a noise image with a weak radio field intensity Can be recorded. Therefore,
It is possible to prevent the user from being discouraged by a noise screen while the user plays and views the recorded video.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a timer recording device according to one embodiment of the present invention. An embodiment of the present invention will be described as a timer recording-capable receiving device (hereinafter, simply referred to as a timer recording device) including a BS digital tuner and a terrestrial analog tuner.

In FIG. 1, the timer recording device includes a BS.
An antenna 1, a terrestrial antenna 11, a BS receiving circuit 2 as a first receiving circuit, a terrestrial receiving circuit 12 as a second receiving circuit, a switch circuit 5, a recording circuit 8,
An EPG circuit 6 as program guide data acquisition means, a microcomputer 7 as control means (including a setting means 7a for timer reservation setting and sub-channel setting), a remote controller 10 as operation means, and a display unit 9; Is configured.

A BS receiving circuit 2 receives a BS digital broadcast signal received by a BS antenna 1, receives a tuner 3 for performing channel selection and frequency conversion, and receives a signal from the tuner 3 for digital demodulation and error correction. Correction, descrambling,
And a video processing unit 4 that performs demodulation processing such as data separation, digital decompression, and analog conversion and outputs the result as a BS video baseband signal. The video processing unit 4 is provided with a detection circuit 4a for detecting a radio wave intensity (particularly a decrease thereof) by detecting a reception quality level (C / N) corresponding to a carrier signal versus a noise signal.

The terrestrial wave receiving circuit 12 receives a terrestrial broadcast signal received by the terrestrial antenna 11, inputs a tuner 13 for performing channel selection and frequency conversion, and inputs a signal from the tuner 13 to demodulate. And a detection unit 14 that performs processing and outputs it as a video baseband signal.

The switch circuit 5 receives a BS video baseband signal from the BS receiving circuit 2 and a video baseband signal from the terrestrial wave receiving circuit 12 and selectively switches to either of them according to a control signal from the microcomputer 7. Output. However, in the present embodiment, this switch circuit 5
Is to select and output a BS video baseband signal by BS digital broadcast under the normal radio wave condition under the control of the microcomputer 7.

The EPG circuit 6 inputs data demodulated by the video processing unit 4 in the BS receiving circuit 2 and extracts an electronic program guide (hereinafter, referred to as EPG) as program table data. Alternatively, the EPG circuit 6 inputs the video baseband signal demodulated by the terrestrial wave receiving circuit 12 when data multiplex broadcasting is performed by terrestrial broadcasting (the signal path is indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 1). , Program table data (EPG) multiplexed in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the video baseband signal.

The recording circuit 8 comprises a magnetic recording / reproducing circuit using a magnetic tape such as a VTR as a recording medium, and a recording / reproducing circuit using a hard disk or a flash memory as a recording medium. It has a function of recording and reproducing band signals by timer reservation setting and timer control by the microcomputer 7. In the recording circuit 8, an OSD circuit 8a for superimposing an on-screen display (OSD) signal on a video signal path when displaying the reproduced video signal or the video signal from the switch circuit 5 on the display unit 9 is provided. Is provided. The OSD circuit 8
“a” may be provided separately from the recording circuit 8.

The microcomputer 7 has a hardware configuration including a CPU for arithmetic processing, a ROM for storing programs, and a RAM for storing data. The microcomputer 7 receives, as software, a remote control (command) signal from the remote control 10, a C / N detection voltage from the detection circuit 4, and EPG data from the EPG circuit 6,
Channel selection in the tuner unit 3 in the BS reception circuit 2, channel selection in the tuner unit 13 in the terrestrial wave reception circuit 12, switching of the switch circuit 5, recording and reproduction operations of the recording circuit 8,
On-screen display of EPG data at the time of timer reservation,
Control such as on-screen display of the channel number at the time of channel selection and recording switching to a sub-channel or reservation recording setting switching, which will be described later, in place of the channel on which timer reservation recording is being performed. Further, the microcomputer 7 has setting means 7a for setting, by software, a timer broadcast recording channel of a BS broadcast and setting a broadcast program channel having the same content as the timer broadcast recording set broadcast channel as a subchannel. I have.

The remote controller 10 includes a channel selection key for selecting a channel in the BS and the terrestrial reception circuits 2 and 12, a reservation key for making a timer reservation using the EPG, a cursor key, an enter key, a recording key, and a reproduction key. , Operation means having various keys such as a switching key for switching between BS reception and terrestrial wave reception.

The display unit 9 displays a video signal obtained by reproducing the video recorded by the recording circuit 8, a video signal received in real time by the BS receiving circuit 2 or the terrestrial wave receiving circuit 12, and also displays an on-screen display signal. .

In the above configuration, the signal obtained by frequency-converting the BS digital broadcast signal by the BS
The signal is input to the S receiving circuit 2, one of the channels is selected by the tuner unit 3, is converted into an IF signal, and is input to the video processing unit 4. The video processing unit 4 performs demodulation processing such as digital demodulation, error correction, descrambling, data separation, digital decompression, and analog conversion.
Output as an S-video baseband signal.

The detection circuit 4a of the video processing unit 4 detects the reception quality (C / N) using the data at the time of error correction, and outputs it as a C / N detection voltage to be sent to the microcomputer 7. The microcomputer 7 constantly monitors whether or not the detected voltage has dropped below a predetermined value at least during execution of the timer recording. Further, the data at the time of descrambling in the video processing unit 4 is sent to the EPG circuit 6, where the EPG data is taken out and taken into the storage area in the microcomputer 7.

On the other hand, the terrestrial broadcast signal is input from the terrestrial antenna 11 to the terrestrial tuner 13 as an RF signal, one of the channels is selected and converted to an IF signal, and the video signal is detected by the detector 14. It is output as a video baseband signal.

In the switch circuit 5, the BS video baseband signal from the BS receiving circuit 2 is selected in a normal receiving state. The switch circuit 5 can also be switched to the terrestrial wave side by instructing the switching between the BS and the terrestrial wave by the remote controller 10. One of the video baseband signals selected by the switch circuit 5 is The selected video signal is supplied to the recording circuit 8 and displayed on the display unit 9 as an image regardless of whether or not recording is instructed.

Next, regarding the timer reservation record setting,
The program guide (EPG) taken out by the EPG circuit 6 and taken into the microcomputer 7 is displayed on-screen on the display unit 9 by operating a reservation key of the remote control 10, and a cursor is moved on the EPG screen by a cursor key. When the user moves and decides on the broadcast program of the desired channel with the enter key, the program is set as a timer reservation in a storage area in the microcomputer 7. After setting this timer reservation record,
“Let broadcast programs with the same content be set as second candidates”
An on-screen display is provided and the user follows
By referring to the broadcast program on the PG and selecting and determining the channel of the broadcast program having the same content as the broadcast program set as the timer reservation as the second candidate (sub-channel), the sub-channel program is stored in the microcomputer 7. A subchannel is set in the storage area. As will be described later, this sub-channel setting is performed while the timer reservation time has come and the timer reservation recording is being executed by the recording circuit 8, and the radio wave intensity of the satellite broadcast being recorded has dropped below a predetermined value. At that time, the microcomputer 7 switches the recording to the sub-channel when the sub-channel is broadcasting in the same time zone instead of the channel on which the timer reservation recording is being executed, or switches the recording to the sub-channel in a different time zone. In the case of broadcasting, the reservation recording setting is switched to the sub-channel.

FIG. 2 shows an EPG in BS digital broadcasting.
4 shows an example of a screen. Specific BS digital broadcasting stations,
For example, for NHK, three channels BS101, B
There are S102 and BS103. BS101 and BS102 are the first and second channels of the standard image quality broadcast, respectively, and BS103 is the third channel of the high image quality (high definition) broadcast. For example, with respect to the program table in the time zone from 13:00 to 20:00, there are broadcast programs (shown by oblique lines) at all times of the three channels BS101, BS102, BS103, and the thick line frames (a),
Portions (b), (c1), and (c2) (shown by cross-hatching) indicate that they are broadcast programs having the same contents. That is, (a) 13:00 to 14:00 of BS102,
(b) 19:00 to 20:00 of the same BS102, (c1) BS1
13 of 01: 15: 14: 15, (c2) 1 of BS101
The four broadcast programs from 9:00 to 20:00 are programs having the same contents. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
On the other hand, the broadcast programs (b), (c1) and (c2) having the same contents are arranged on different channels or different time zones. Also, as an actual example, N
For example, in the case of a sumo wrestling program, broadcasts of exactly the same contents can be simultaneously broadcast in the same time zone on the same channel as the HK BS digital broadcast channel BS102 and the same NHK terrestrial broadcast channel (Tokyo). Have been done.

As described above, it is assumed that a broadcast program having the same content is present at a plurality of locations on the EPG screen and the presence or absence of the broadcast program can be confirmed. Will be described.

FIG. 3 shows the time when the timer recording is executed and the change in the operation of the recording circuit. FIG. 3A shows a program in a certain time zone of the BS digital broadcast channel BS102 (see FIG. 2).
(corresponding to (a)) is shown by a line diagram in which the timer reservation recording is set and executed. The solid line indicates the recording execution part. FIGS. 3 (b), (c1) and (c2) show FIG.
A program having the same content as the program set in (a) ((b) in FIG. 2,
(corresponding to (c1) and (c2)) indicate the state in which the sub-channel setting has been made and is being executed by a line diagram.

I) First, the case where the sub-channel setting and execution shown in FIG. 3B are performed for the timer reservation recording setting and execution shown in FIG. 3A will be described. Also in this case, the solid line indicates the recording execution part.

For the BS digital broadcast channel BS102, when the radio wave intensity decreases due to the effect of a thunderstorm or the like during execution of the timer reservation recording set in the time zone of FIG. 2A, the aforementioned C / N detection is performed. At the time when the voltage changes and the microcomputer 7 determines that it cannot endure viewing (that is, when the voltage falls below a predetermined value), the microcomputer 7 controls the recording circuit 8 to interrupt recording and start recording to the position where recording was started. The timer reservation time is changed to a time zone set as a sub-channel as shown in FIG. 2B, and when that time is reached, recording is started again from the beginning of the program. In this way, since the program that the user wants to watch is re-recorded in a completely different time zone, it is possible to record and reproduce a screen without noise.

Ii) Next, the case where the sub-channel setting and execution of (c1) in FIG. 3C is performed for the timer reservation recording setting and execution in FIG. 3A will be described.

For the BS digital broadcast channel BS102, when the radio wave intensity falls below a predetermined value due to a thunderstorm or the like during the timer reservation recording set in the time zone of FIG. The reservation is interrupted, the reservation time is changed to a time zone in which the sub-channel is set by another BS 101 as shown in (c1) of FIG. 2, and when the reservation time is interrupted, recording is started from that time.

Iii) Next, the case where the sub-channel setting and execution of (c2) of FIG. 3C is performed with respect to the timer reservation recording setting and execution of FIG. 3A will be described.

When the radio wave intensity drops below a predetermined value due to a thunderstorm or the like during the timer reservation recording set in the time zone of FIG. The reservation is interrupted, the reservation time is changed to a time zone in which the sub-channel is set by another BS 101 as shown in (c2) of FIG. 2, and when the reservation time is interrupted, recording is started from that time. In this case, the rebroadcast is performed in a time-shifted manner on another channel BS101, and the recording is interrupted in such a state that the first broadcast of BS102 has not been completed. The recording is stopped only in the time zone where the start time is shifted, and the recording is started again from the stopped time zone in accordance with the sub-channel of the rebroadcast.

Iv) Next, a description will be given of a case where a sub-channel is set by the timer reservation recording setting for the manual as shown in FIG. 4 with respect to the timer reservation recording setting and execution in FIG. 3A. This is useful when, for example, a sumo wrestling program is broadcast simultaneously on the BS digital BS102 channel and the terrestrial broadcast first channel, as described above.

With respect to the timer reservation setting screen, operating the reservation key of the remote
Under the control, an on-screen setting screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display unit 9. The user can select a recording channel, a start time, an end time, and a recording mode (standard / 3 times / 5 times). , Set information as a sub-channel. In FIG. 4, the recording channel is BS102,
The start time is 13:00, the end time is 14:00, the recording mode is standard, and the sub-channel is set to terrestrial 1ch.

By setting the sub-channel to the terrestrial channel, the BS digital broadcast channel BS
When the radio wave intensity falls below a predetermined value due to a thunderstorm or the like while executing the timer reservation recording set in the time zone of FIG. 2A for the time period 102, the microcomputer 7 suspends the recording. By switching the switch circuit 5 to the terrestrial wave side and switching the recording to the terrestrial channel, the recording can be continued without time shifting from the time when the recording was interrupted. As a result, the user can record, reproduce, and view the image and the sound quality at a level that is equivalent to the performance of the terrestrial wave but has no problem with the viewing.

A program table including terrestrial broadcasts is described in EP
If G data is stored in the storage area in the microcomputer 7, both the BS digital broadcast channel and the terrestrial broadcast channel as shown in FIG. 4 can be set on the EPG screen as shown in FIG. It is possible to

According to the embodiment of the present invention described above,
If you are unable to receive images due to thunderclouds etc. while executing timer recording of satellite broadcasting, it is possible to record program video without recording noise video and no problem for viewing Becomes

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, a user who has made a timer reservation for a satellite broadcast obtains a program with no problem for viewing even if the radio wave intensity is reduced due to a thundercloud during recording. It becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a timer recording device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an EPG screen.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a change in a time during which timer recording is performed and a recording operation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a timer reservation setting screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... BS antenna 2 ... BS receiving circuit (1st receiving circuit) 3 ... Tuner part 4 ... Video processing part 4a ... C / N ratio detection circuit (detection means) 5 ... Switch circuit 6 ... EPG circuit 7 ... Microcomputer (control Means 7a Setting means 8 Recording circuit (recording means) 8a OSD circuit 10 Remote control (operation means) 11 Antenna for terrestrial waves 12 Terrestrial wave receiving circuit (second receiving circuit) 13 Tuner section

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A receiving circuit for selectively receiving and demodulating a satellite broadcasting channel having a plurality of channels, a detecting means for detecting the intensity of a satellite broadcasting radio wave received by the receiving circuit, and the receiving circuit Recording means for recording a demodulated signal from, and reservation setting to execute at least a predetermined receiving operation of the satellite broadcast channel by the receiving circuit and a recording operation by the recording means, and
Setting means for setting, as a sub-channel, a channel for broadcasting a program having the same content as the broadcast program set as the reservation; and Control means for switching recording settings so as to record the broadcast program of the sub-channel in place of the channel on which recording is being performed when the radio wave intensity falls below a predetermined value. . 2. A first receiving circuit for selectively receiving and demodulating a satellite broadcasting channel having a plurality of channels, and detecting means for detecting the intensity of a satellite broadcasting radio wave received by the first receiving circuit. A second receiving circuit that receives and demodulates a broadcast different from the satellite broadcast received by the first receiving circuit; a demodulated signal from the first receiving circuit or a demodulated signal from the second receiving circuit A switching unit for switching and selecting and outputting a signal; a recording unit for recording an output of the switching unit; a selection and reception operation of a satellite broadcast channel by the first receiving circuit and a recording operation by the recording unit are preset. A broadcast channel received by the second receiving circuit that broadcasts a program having the same content as the broadcast program set as a reservation is set as a sub-channel. Setting means for setting and monitoring the radio wave intensity of the reception channel of the first receiving circuit by the detection means during execution of the recording operation based on the reservation setting, and when the radio wave intensity falls below a predetermined value, Control means for switching recording settings so as to record a broadcast program of the sub-channel instead of the channel on which recording is being performed. 3. The program of the sub-channel is broadcast at substantially the same time as the program for which recording reservation has been set, and the control means, based on the output of the detection means, 3. The timer recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording is controlled to be continuously recorded by the recording unit. 4. The program of the sub-channel is broadcast at a different time from the program for which the recording reservation has been set, and the control means controls the program of the sub-channel based on an output of the detection means. 3. The timer recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting of the reservation recording is changed so as to be recorded by the recording unit. 5. A program table data acquiring unit that receives a signal from a receiving circuit that receives the satellite broadcast and acquires program table data, wherein the setting unit performs setting using the program table data. 3. The timer recording device according to claim 1, wherein the timer recording device performs the following. 6. The program of the sub-channel, the broadcast of which is started after the broadcast of the program reserved for recording is completed, and wherein the control means controls the recording based on a detection output of the detection means. Means for stopping recording of the broadcast program of the satellite broadcast channel for which the recording reservation has been set by means, and controlling the recording means to record the broadcast program of the sub-channel from the beginning of the program. The timer recording device according to claim 4. 7. The program of the sub-channel, the broadcast of which is started during the broadcast time of the program for which recording reservation has been set, wherein the control means, based on a detection output of the detection means, Stopping the recording of the broadcast program of the satellite broadcast channel for which the recording reservation is set by the recording means, and starting the recording from the point in time at which the broadcast program of the sub-channel has reached the same time as the stopped time. 4. The control means for controlling a recording means.
3. The timer recording device according to 1. 8. The timer recording device according to claim 2, wherein the second receiving circuit receives a terrestrial broadcast. 9. A receiving step of selectively receiving and demodulating a satellite broadcast channel having a plurality of channels; a detecting step of detecting the intensity of a satellite broadcast radio wave received by the receiving circuit; And a recording step of recording a demodulated signal from, and at least a reservation setting to execute at least a predetermined time of the satellite broadcast channel selective reception operation by the reception circuit and the recording operation by the recording means,
A setting step of setting, as a sub-channel, a channel that broadcasts a program having the same content as the broadcast program set as the reservation, and while the recording operation based on the reservation setting is being performed, the detection unit monitors the radio wave intensity of the reception channel; A timer recording method comprising: changing a recording setting so as to record a broadcast program of the sub-channel instead of the channel on which recording is being performed when the radio field intensity falls below a predetermined value. .