JP2003199000A - Television receiver, network server, server-client system, and program video recording and reproducing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To record contents of a large amount of broadcasting programs, etc., without increasing the cost of a video recording and reproducing device that a user owns. <P>SOLUTION: A server 101 equipped with a mass-storage medium and a plurality of client apparatuses 103 are connected through a communication network such as the Internet. A client equipment 103 reserves a program (ST102), makes the server 101 record the reserved program (ST106), downloads the program video-recorded on the server 101 through the communication network 102 (ST408), and reproduces the downloaded program (ST409). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a television receiver with a built-in HDD.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a video tape is generally used to record a television program of terrestrial broadcasting or satellite broadcasting, but recently, an HDD (hard disk drive) is used.
ve) or a rewritable optical disc such as a DVD has come to be used.

[0003]

When recording an arbitrary television program, it is necessary for the user to manage the recording medium and the recording device by himself / herself. For example, in the case of a video tape, the user attaches a label with the program name to a video cassette recording the program, stores and manages it, and also uses a VTR (v
VTR maintenance is required to use the ideo tape recorder) for a long time.

To record a program using a recordable / reproducible optical disc such as a DVD, a DVD recording / reproducing apparatus is required. D
The VD recording / reproducing apparatus is expensive, and there is a problem that the cost of the recording / reproducing system including the television receiver increases.

In order to record a larger amount of programs, it was necessary to prepare a large capacity recording medium. An HDD is one of the large-capacity recording media, but this has a problem that it is difficult to carry. In JP-A-2000-235546, for example, when a plurality of users in one household record and use program information and music information on one server,
A system has been disclosed in which each information and its user can be centrally managed to improve usability. In this publication, access to other users to program information reserved and recorded by a certain user, deletion of data, and the like can be restricted so that the server can be operated efficiently. However, even in this case, the server requires a large-capacity HDD, which raises the problem of increasing the cost of the recording / playback system.

Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to increase the cost of the recording / playback system owned by the user,
It is to provide a system capable of recording a large amount of content such as broadcast programs.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention secures an area for each individual in a network server, and a user records a desired program in the individual area and records the recorded program. A system for downloading and viewing programs via a network is provided.

A television receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to the server via the network and causes a reservation unit for reserving a program and the program reserved by the reservation unit to be recorded on the server. The recording means includes a recording means, a downloading means for downloading the program recorded in the server via the network, and a reproducing means for reproducing the downloaded program.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Communication network 10 capable of high-speed data communication such as Ethernet (registered trademark)
2 via the server 101 and TV or STB (set top b
ox) and other client devices 103, 104, 10
5, 106 ... Are connected. The server 101 is shown in FIG.
As shown in, CPU (central processing unit) 3,
A memory 4, a large-capacity HDD 5, and a network adapter 6 that serves as an interface to the communication network.
Is equipped with. The memory 4 includes a ROM storing a program according to the present invention and a RAM used as a work area of the CPU 3.

The HDD 5 provided in the server is divided into a plurality of user areas and system areas as shown in FIG. Each user area is accessible only to each user and system administrator who have the right to use the area, and the system area is accessible only to the system administrator. A user who is a client of this system makes a recording reservation to the server 101 via the network by using an electronic mail using a mobile terminal or the like, or an electronic program guide (EPG) from a television receiver owned by the user. It is possible.

Next, an example of the television receiver 103 which is the client device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, this television receiver has an input section 7, a tuner 8, a decoder 9 and a memory 1.
0, output control unit 11, CPU 12, graphic processing unit 13, output unit 14, display unit 15, operation unit 16, HDD 1.
7, and a network adapter 18 that realizes an interface to a communication network capable of high-speed data communication such as Ethernet (registered trademark). The display unit 15 is not necessarily an indispensable constituent condition. In that case, the television receiver is 10 in the system shown in FIG.
It is necessary to provide a connection terminal to the display section, which corresponds to STB such as 4.

Broadcast signals received by the antenna are input to the input unit 7. The broadcast signal includes video signals and audio signals corresponding to the content of each program, that is, program data, and program information for creating an electronic program guide is superimposed on the video signals and audio signals.

A tuner 8 extracts specific program data from the broadcast signal input from the input unit 7, and the decoder 9 decodes the specific program data. The output control unit 11 controls the output of the program decoded by the decoder 9 and causes the display unit 15 to display the program via the output unit 14. The graphic processing unit 13 generates display contents when displaying the EPG and various setting screens described later on the display unit 15. The memory 10 includes a ROM storing a program according to the present invention and a RAM used as a work area of the CPU 12. The operation unit 16 is, for example, a remote controller, and the operation unit 16 is provided with various keys for receiving various input operations. For example, an EPG display key 16a, a recorded program list display key 16b, etc. are provided.

Next, the first reservation and recording process according to the present invention will be described.
Will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of this embodiment. In the embodiment described below, the case where the television receiver 103 performs the reservation process will be described, but the operation is the same when other client devices such as the STB 104 and the STB 105 perform the reservation process.

The electronic program guide data is separated from the broadcast signal input from the input section 7 by the tuner 8 and temporarily stored in the memory 10. EPG display key 1
When 6a is pressed, the CPU 12 creates an electronic program guide based on the electronic program guide creation data temporarily stored in the memory 10 and displays it on the display unit 15 via the output control unit 11 (ST101). . FIG. 6A shows an electronic program guide (EP
An example of G) is shown. The user can make a recording or a viewing reservation by selecting an arbitrary program from the electronic program guide.

When the user selects a program to be recorded from the electronic program guide, the recording reservation screen shown in FIG. 6b is displayed. When "Recording reservation" is selected on this recording reservation screen, the CPU
12 transmits the reservation information to the server 101 together with the user authentication information registered in the television receiver 103.
When an acknowledgment is returned from the server 101, FIG.
A reservation completion message like c is displayed to complete the reservation process (ST102).

The server 101 receives the reservation information from the user and executes the reservation process if the authentication information is correct (ST103). When the reserved time comes (ST10
4) The server 103 transmits to the user a power-on command, reservation information, and a command to upload the program data of the reserved program (ST10).
5).

The user's receiver 103 is the server 101
Based on the command received from, the reserved program is received via the tuner 8 and the program data is transmitted to the server 101 via the network adapter 18 and the communication network 102 (ST106).

The server 101 records the program data received from the user in the user area of the HDD 5 (ST10
7), CM (commercial message) data is transmitted to the television receiver 103 of the user via the communication network 102 (ST108). In response to this, the television receiver of the user records the CM data in the HDD 17 (ST109).

In this way, the user can record a plurality of programs on the HDD 5 of the server 101 without worrying about the remaining storage capacity of the HDD 17 of the television receiver 103.

Next, the second of the reservation and recording process according to the present invention.
Will be described. In the second embodiment, program reservation is performed only by the client device such as the television receiver 103 without using the communication network 102. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of this embodiment.

When the EPG display key 16a is pressed, the CPU 12 creates an electronic program guide as shown in FIG. 6 (a) based on the electronic program guide creating data temporarily stored in the memory 10 as described above. Then, it is displayed on the display unit 15 via the output control unit 11 (ST201). When the user selects an arbitrary program from this electronic program guide, the recording reservation screen of FIG. 6b is displayed. When "Recording reservation" is selected on this reservation screen, the CPU 12 stores the reservation information in the memory 10, sets the internal timer, displays the reservation completion message as shown in FIG. 6c, and completes the reservation processing (ST202). .

At the reserved time (ST203),
The CPU 12 receives the reserved program through the tuner 8, and the network adapter 18 and the communication network 1
02 to send program data to the server 101 (S
T204).

The server 101 records the program data received from the user's television receiver in the user area of the HDD 5 (ST205), and transmits the CM data to the user's television receiver 103 via the communication network 102 (ST206). ). In response to this, the user's television receiver records the CM data in the HDD 17 (ST207).

Next, a second embodiment of the server according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 shows a server 110 according to this embodiment.
3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG. The server 110 is shown in FIG.
The input unit 21 and the tuner 2 are different from the server 101 of
2 has been added. The input unit 21 inputs the broadcast signal received by the antenna 23, and the tuner 22 extracts specific program data from the input broadcast signal. The operation of other blocks of the server 110 is the same as that of the server 101 of FIG.
Is the same as.

A third embodiment of the recording reservation process for making a recording reservation using the Internet for the server 110 as shown in FIG. 8 will be described below. A user, who is a client of this system, makes a program recording reservation for the server 101 via the communication network 102 by Internet communication or electronic mail, and
You can record programs to your area in D5. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a recording reservation operation according to this embodiment, and FIG. 10 is an example of a homepage screen for making a recording reservation.

First, the user uses a television receiver or a portable terminal such as a PC (personal computer) or a mobile phone to access a recording reservation homepage as shown in FIG. 10 via the Internet (ST.
301). On this home page screen, the user enters a user name for performing user authentication, a password, a desired recording channel and time, and clicks a register button to perform a reservation process (ST302).

The server 103 receives the reservation information from the user and executes the reservation process if the authentication information is correct (ST303). When the reserved time comes (ST30
4), the server 103 transmits a power-on command and CM data to the user's television receiver 103 (ST305). In response to this, the television receiver 103 of the user records the CM data transmitted from the server 103 in the HDD 17 (ST30
7). Further, the server 103 receives the program of the channel designated by the tuner 22 and records it in the user area of the HDD 5 (ST308).

Next, an embodiment of the reproduction processing of the program recorded in the server will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of this embodiment. When the user presses the recorded program list display key 16b (ST40
1) The television receiver 103 accesses the server 103 and transmits the user authentication information registered in the receiver 103 to the server (ST402). The server identifies the user by performing the user authentication process, and transmits the program information of the program recorded in the user area of the HDD 5 to the user (ST403).

The television receiver 103 of the user displays a list of programs currently stored in the server based on the received program information (ST404). The user
Select the program you want to play from this list (ST4
05). In response to this, the server transmits a CM data reproduction command, and further reads the selected program from the HDD 5 and transmits it to the user (ST406, ST408).

The television receiver 103 takes out the CM data received from the server at the time of recording from the HDD 17, decodes it with the decoder 9, displays it on the display unit 15 via the output unit 14, and downloads the corresponding program from the server. Start (ST407, ST408).
When the download is completed, the downloaded program data is displayed in the same manner as the CM data (ST40).
9).

In this case, the HDD 1 of the television receiver
Since 7 can record and reproduce at the same time, the program can be displayed on the display unit 15 before the download is completely completed. Further, the user may enter into a contract with the server business operator not to download and reproduce the CM data. In that case, the above-mentioned services provided by the server are charged. Further, in this example, the case where the program data is downloaded and reproduced by the television receiver has been described. However, if a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or PHS is used, the user can watch a desired program at any place. it can. This makes it possible to carry the stored data in a pseudo manner.

Next, still another embodiment of the client device will be described. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the television receiver according to the present embodiment. This television receiver 111 can be equipped with the removable memory card interface 19 in the television receiver of FIG. 4 and can use the removable memory card 19a.
In this case as well, the recording reservation is made by the method using the Internet or the electronic program guide as described above.

At the reserved time, the server writes the CM data in the client device. At this time, although the data is written in the HDD in the above-mentioned example, in the present device in which the removable memory card 19 having a sufficient capacity is inserted, the CM
The data and program information are written in the removable memory card 19.

When the user wants to view the program, he or she can view the recorded program by inserting the removable memory in which the CM data and the program information are written into an arbitrary client device. Also in this case, it is possible to carry the stored data in a pseudo manner.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to record a large amount of contents such as broadcast programs without increasing the cost of the recording / reproducing apparatus owned by the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an HDD included in the server.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a client device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an electronic program guide screen and a program reservation screen.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment of the reservation and recording process according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the server according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the third embodiment of the recording reservation process.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a home page screen for making a recording reservation.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation of an embodiment of a reproduction process of a program recorded in the server.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of a client device.

[Explanation of symbols]

3, 12 ... Central processing unit, 4 ... Memory, 5 ... Hard disk drive, 6 ... Network adapter, 7 ... Input section, 8 ... Tuner, 9 ... Decoder, 10 ... Memory, 11 ... Output control section, 13 ... Graphic processing section , 14 ... Output unit, 15 ... Display unit, 16 ... Operation unit, 101, 110 ... Server, 102 ... Communication network, 103, 104, 105, 106, 111 ... Client device

Front page continued (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) // H04N 5/781 H04N 5/781 510C F term (reference) 5C025 DA10 5C052 AC08 GE08 5C053 FA23 FA27 FA28 FA29 JA21 KA01 KA24 LA07 LA11 LA14 5C064 BA07 BB04 BC06 BC18 BC25 BD02 BD08 BD09 BD11

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A reservation unit for reserving a program, a recording unit for recording the program reserved by the reservation unit on a server connected via a communication network, and the program recorded on the server. A television receiver comprising: download means for downloading to a storage medium via a communication network; and reproducing means for reproducing the downloaded program. 2. When the server records the reserved program, it receives CM data from the server via the communication line, saves it in a storage medium, and reproduces the downloaded program. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the CM data stored in the storage medium is reproduced. 3. A removable memory card interface is provided, and the CM data and the program information of the reserved program are stored in a removable memory card connected to the interface.
The described television receiver. 4. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the recording means receives the reserved program and uploads it to the server. 5. A reservation information receiving means for receiving recording reservation information of a program from a client device connected by a communication network, and recording reservation of the program on the basis of the recording reservation information received by the reservation information receiving means. And a storage unit for storing the program reserved by the reservation unit in a storage medium, and reading out the program stored in the storage medium in response to a request from the client device to access the communication network. And a download means for downloading to the client device via the network server. 6. When the storage means stores the program in the storage medium, the CM data is stored in the storage medium of the client device, and the download means downloads the program to the client device. 6. The network server according to claim 5, wherein an instruction for forcibly reproducing the CM data stored in the storage medium of the client device is transmitted to the client device. 7. A system comprising a server having a storage medium capable of storing programs, and a plurality of client devices connected to the server via a communication network, wherein each client device reserves a program for reservation. Means, a recording means for recording the program reserved by the reservation means on a server connected via a communication network, and a download means for downloading the program recorded on the server via the communication network. A storage unit that stores the reserved program in a storage medium in response to a request from the recording unit, and a reproduction unit that reproduces the downloaded program; Accordingly, the program stored in the storage medium is read out, and the program is read via the communication network. Server-client system, characterized by and a transmitting means for transmitting to said client device. 8. A program recording / playback method for a client device in a system comprising a server having a storage medium capable of storing the program, and a client device connected to the server via a communication network communication. A step of making a reservation, a step of recording the reserved program in the server, a step of downloading the program recorded in the server via the communication network, a step of playing the downloaded program, A method of recording and reproducing a program, comprising: