JP2003209776A - Device and method for selecting source, source selection processing program and broadcast channel selection processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a source selecting device capable of easily and quickly selecting a desired source among many sources and easily and quickly selecting a desired broadcast channel among many broadcast channels in particular and to provide a source selecting method, a source selection processing program and a broadcast channel selection processing program. <P>SOLUTION: The source selecting device for selecting any one source among a plurality of sources is provided with a classifying means for classifying the sources in each attribute on the basis of attribute information given to each of the sources, a sequencing means for sequencing the attributes and also sequencing the classified sources in each of the attributes, and a selection control means for performing selection control of the sources on the basis of at least either the sequence of the sequenced attributes or the sequence of the sequenced sources. <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 source selection device and method for selecting any one of a plurality of sources.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a recording medium for recording various information such as audio (music) information and video information, that is, as a source of information, for example, a magnetic tape (for example, video tape), DAT ( Digital Audio Tape), LD (La
ser Disc), CD (Compact Disc), MD (Mini Dis)
c), MO (Magneto-Optical), DVD (Digital Vers
atile Disc), HD (Hard Disc) and the like are known. In a conventional audio system, such a plurality of sources can be switched and provided to the user.

On the other hand, satellite broadcasting such as BS (Broadcasting Satellite) broadcasting and CS (Communications Satellite) broadcasting, terrestrial broadcasting, CATV (Community Antenna Tele)
Vision or Cable Television) Each broadcast channel in broadcasting via a dedicated cable such as broadcast can be said to be a source that provides various information such as programs, but the number of each broadcast channel is now several hundred. It is rising. Furthermore, with the spread of general lines to broadband, it has become possible to always connect to the Internet, and in the future, when programs will be provided by Internet broadcasting, the number of such sources will increase significantly. is expected. In a conventional system for receiving and providing programs from BS broadcasts, CS broadcasts, and CATV broadcasts having a very large number of broadcast channels, an electronic program guide (EPG: Electronic Pro) is displayed on a TV display.
(Gram Guide) is displayed to allow the user to select a program.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional system, since the program is selected after the EPG is displayed on the TV display, there is an annoyance to the user and the program selection is smooth. There is a problem that is not done.

Further, in the future, if it becomes possible to switch and provide various sources including the recording medium and the broadcast channel in one system, the user can be provided with desired information by selecting which source. The problem is that it's not easy to decide what can be done.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to easily and quickly select a desired source from many sources. In particular, a desired broadcast channel can be easily selected from many broadcast channels. An object of the present invention is to provide a source selection device, a source selection method, a source selection processing program, and a broadcast channel selection processing program that can be selected quickly.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is provided for each source in a source selection device for selecting any one of a plurality of sources. Classifying means for classifying the sources for each attribute based on attribute information, ordering means for ordering the classified sources, and ordering the classified sources for each attribute, and ordering the ordered attributes And a selection control unit that performs selection control of the source based on at least one of the ordered order of the sources.

Here, the source is a magnetic tape (eg, video tape), DAT, LD, CD, MD, M.
Recording media such as O, DVD, and HD are included. In addition, the source includes satellite broadcasting (including BS broadcasting and CS broadcasting).
, Broadcast channels of terrestrial broadcasts, broadcast channels of dedicated cables (including CATV broadcasts, broadcasts of optical fiber cables), and internet broadcast channels. Further, the source includes a recording area of a recording medium in which information (for example, a program or a CM (Commercial Message)) provided from the broadcast channel is recorded in association with the broadcast channel. Further, the source includes a site that provides information on the Internet, a site that provides information on a mobile communication network, and a site that provides information on other dedicated communication lines.

[0009] Further, as the attribute, a genre (news, music, western picture, Japanese picture, variety, drama, etc.) uniquely indicating the content provided by the source, and information (for example, program or CM) provided from the source ( Broadcast time, source (eg, CD, DVD) transfer (including sale) time, user who uses the source (eg, parents and siblings), type of video provided by the source (eg, still image, moving image) , The recording time of the information provided by the source, and various other categories.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the classifying means classifies the sources for each attribute based on the attribute information given for each source. For example, the attribute "music" is given to the XX channel of CD, MD, and CS broadcasting, the attribute of "movie" is given to the Δ △ channel of DVD and BS broadcasting, and the □□ of CATV broadcasting is given. If the channel has the attribute "drama", the channels XX of CD, MD, and CS broadcasting are assigned to the group having the attribute "music", DVD and BS.
The △△ channel of the broadcast is assigned to the group of the attribute "movie", and C
The □□ channels of ATV broadcasting are each classified into a group having the attribute “drama”. Here, it is premised that attribute information is given to each source in advance, but the attribute information may be given to each source, for example, based on an input from the operation device by the user. However, the information about the source may be acquired by the device, and the operation may be performed based on the information.

Next, the attributes are ordered by the ordering means. For example, the attribute "music" is numbered 1st, the attribute "movie" is numbered 2 and the attribute "drama" is numbered 3rd. In addition, the classified sources are ordered for each attribute. For example, in the group with the attribute "music",
The CD is ranked first, the CS broadcast XX channel is ranked second, and the MD is ranked third. In the group having the attribute “movie”, the DVD is numbered 1 and the ΔΔ channel of the BS broadcast is numbered 2. Here, the ordering of such attributes is
It may be performed based on the input from the operation device by the user, or may be performed based on some history information regarding the attribute or the source.

The selection control means controls the selection of the source based on at least one of the ordered attribute order and the ordered source order. For example, the source in the attribute of younger order or the source in younger order is controlled to be preferentially selected.

As described above, since the selection control of the source is performed based on at least one of the attribute ordering and the classified source ordering, the user can easily and quickly select a desired source from many sources. Can be selected. Therefore, the user can easily and quickly receive the information from the desired source among many sources.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the source selecting apparatus according to the first aspect, there is provided a receiving means for receiving an operation instruction from an operation device provided with operation keys for giving at least two kinds of operation instructions. Further, the selection control means controls the selection of the source based on the order of the ordered attributes when the reception means receives an operation instruction of any one of the operation devices, and the reception means When accepting the operation instruction of the other one of the operation devices,
The selection control of the source is performed based on the ordered order of the source.

Here, an operating device provided with operation keys for giving at least two kinds of operation instructions means that even if two kinds of operation instructions are given by one operation key, a plurality of operation keys (for example, up and down) are provided. Alternatively, four cursor keys corresponding to the left and right directions may be used.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the user can easily and quickly select a desired source by properly using the two types of operation instructions.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the source selecting apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the source is identified based on the order of the ordered attributes and the order of the ordered sources. It is configured to further include display means for displaying the information for two-dimensionally arraying the attribute axis and the source axis.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the information for identifying the source is displayed in a two-dimensional array of the attribute axis and the source axis on the display screen. You can easily and quickly select the source.

The invention described in claim 4 is the invention according to claims 1 to 3.
In the source selection device according to any one of items 1 to 3, further comprising a storage unit that stores selection history information indicating a history when the user has selected the source in the past, and the ordering unit, the stored selection history. Based on the information, at least one of the attribute ordering and the classified source ordering is configured.

According to the invention described in claim 4, for example,
Since the sources in the attributes that are frequently selected by the user and the sources that are frequently selected by the user are ordered, the sources that are frequently selected by the user can be preferentially selected.

The invention as defined in claim 5 is defined by claim 1 through claim 4.
In the source selection device according to any one of items 1 to 3, the attribute information is configured to be genre information that uniquely indicates the content provided from the source.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the sources can be classified for each genre based on genre information such as news, music, foreign films, Japanese films, varieties and dramas.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claims 1 to 4.
In the source selection device according to any one of items 1 to 3, the source is configured to be a broadcast channel.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the selection control of the broadcast channel is performed based on at least one of the ordering of the attributes and the ordering of the classified broadcast channels, many users are required. A desired broadcast channel can be easily and quickly selected from the broadcast channels. Therefore, the user can easily and quickly receive the information from the desired broadcast channel among many broadcast channels.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the source selecting apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the attribute information is genre information uniquely indicating the broadcast content of the broadcast channel.

According to the invention described in claim 7, since the selection control of the broadcast channels is performed based on at least one of the ordering of the genres and the ordering of the classified broadcast channels, the user is likely to A desired broadcast channel can be easily and quickly selected from the broadcast channels. Therefore, the user can easily and quickly receive the information from the desired broadcast channel among many broadcast channels.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the source selecting method for selecting any one of the plurality of sources, the source is classified for each attribute based on the attribute information given for each source. And at least one of an ordering step of performing an ordering of the attributes and an ordering of the classified sources for each of the attributes, an order of the ordered attributes, and an order of the ordered sources. And a selection control step of performing selection control of the source based on one side.

According to the invention described in claim 8, claim 1
The same effect as that of the invention described in (1) can be obtained.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the source selecting method according to the eighth aspect, there is provided a receiving step of receiving an operation instruction from an operation device provided with operation keys for performing at least two kinds of operation instructions. Furthermore, in the selection control step, when the operation instruction of any one of the operation devices is received in the reception step, selection control of the source is performed based on the order of the ordered attributes,
In the receiving step, when the operation instruction of the other one of the operation devices is received, the source selection control is performed based on the ordered order of the sources.

According to the invention of claim 9, claim 2
The same effect as that of the invention described in (1) can be obtained.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the source selecting method according to the eighth or ninth aspect, the source is identified based on the order of the ordered attributes and the order of the ordered sources. It is configured so as to further include a display step of displaying the information for two-dimensionally arranged by the attribute axis and the source axis.

According to the invention described in claim 10, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 3.

The invention according to claim 11 is the source selection method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein selection history information indicating a history when the user has selected the source in the past is accumulated. An accumulating step is further included, and in the ordering step, at least one of the ordering of the attributes and the ordering of the classified sources is performed based on the accumulated selection history information.

According to the invention described in claim 11, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 4.

The invention according to claim 12 is the method for selecting a source according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the source is a broadcast channel and the attribute information is a broadcast of the broadcast channel. It is configured to be genre information that uniquely indicates the content.

According to the invention described in claim 12, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 7.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in a source selection processing program for selecting any one of a plurality of sources, the computer is configured to control the sources based on attribute information given to each of the sources. Classifying means for classifying for each attribute, while performing the ordering of the attributes, the ordering means for ordering the classified sources for each of the attributes, the order of the ordered attributes, and the order of the ordered sources. It is configured to function as selection control means for performing selection control of the source based on at least one of them.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the invention, the apparatus according to the first aspect can be constructed by incorporating the program into a computer.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in a broadcast channel selection processing program for selecting any one broadcast channel from a plurality of broadcast channels, the computer is assigned the genre information assigned to each broadcast channel. Classifying means for classifying the broadcast channels into genres based on the genre, ordering means for performing the genre ordering, and ordering the classified broadcast channels for each genre, the ordered genre order, and the ordering It is configured to function as selection control means for controlling the selection of the broadcast channel based on at least one of the order of the broadcast channels.

According to the invention described in claim 14, the device according to claim 7 can be configured by incorporating the program into a computer.

[0041]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are embodiments in which the present invention is applied to a satellite digital broadcast receiver. In the following embodiments, the source of the present invention is a broadcast channel, and the attribute information of the present invention is genre information.

[Structure and Outline Operation of Satellite Digital Broadcast Receiver] First, the structure and outline operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a satellite digital broadcast receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Is a remote control device (hereinafter,
It is an external view of a “remote control device”).

A satellite digital broadcast receiver (hereinafter, simply referred to as "receiver") 100 shown in FIG. 1 is arranged in the home of a viewer as a user, and a digital broadcast signal (broadcast) from a satellite such as BS broadcast or CS broadcast is broadcast. Wave) to receive a television (TV) program on the display 112 of the receiver 1.
It is designed to be displayed above, and at the same time, program information indicating the program content transmitted from the satellite, for example, EIT (Event In
formation table) information is received, and the genre of the broadcast channel is determined and the EPG display is controlled based on the EIT information.

In this embodiment, BS broadcasting or C
A satellite digital broadcast receiver for receiving S broadcast will be described, but the present invention can be applied to reception of cable television broadcast such as CATV.

As shown in FIG. 1, the receiver 100 has a structure in which various elements are connected to a bus 101, and can be operated by a remote control device 102.

The receiver 100 includes a tuner 10 that receives broadcast waves transmitted from satellites via an antenna 103.
4, a demodulation processing unit 105 that performs demodulation processing of the digital signal extracted by the tuner 104, a limited reception processing unit 106 that performs limited reception processing of broadcast waves based on user contract information and the like, and from the demodulated digital signal Demultiplexer 107 for extracting audio data and video data
A video decoder 108 that decodes the extracted video data to generate program video data, and a display processor 109 that converts the decoded program video data, EPG display data, and broadcast channel selection list data described below into video signals. An audio decoder 110 that decodes the extracted audio data to generate program audio data, an audio processing unit 111 that performs audio processing of the decoded program audio data, and displays and amplifies the program video / audio data, respectively. , A TV display 112 as a display unit for displaying the broadcast channel selection list data, an interface (hereinafter referred to as “I / O”) 113 as a receiving unit for receiving an instruction signal as an operation instruction from the remote control device 102, and a predetermined unit. Graphic Day And a flash memory 114 for storing text data, respectively, stores a broadcast channel selection processing program to be described later ROM115
And a RAM 116 for storing data used by a broadcast channel classification / ordering process described later, and selection history information indicating a history when a viewer selects a broadcast channel in the past (hereinafter referred to as "broadcast channel selection history information"). ) Is stored as a non-volatile memory (for example, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmab).
le Read on Memory) 117 and a control unit 118 having functions as a classification unit, an ordering unit and a selection control unit according to the present invention, and controlling each unit based on an instruction signal from the remote control device 102. There is.

A public line, for example, a telephone public network line or an Internet line is connected to the bus 101 via a modem 108. The bus 101 is connected to a telephone or a personal computer of a user's house to connect a broadcasting station and a viewer's home. The necessary communication between the two can be performed.

The tuner 104 receives a broadcast wave (for example, an RF signal) transmitted from a satellite via the antenna 103, and tunes to a reception band selected by the user and receives the signal wave as an IF (digital signal). (Intermediate frequency) signal and output to the demodulation processing unit 105. Here, in this broadcast wave, in addition to the video / audio data which is the video / audio information of the TV program, determination of the genre of the broadcast channel,
It includes EIT information used to control the display of the PG.

The demodulation processing unit 105 demodulates the input digital signal, performs necessary processing such as data frame reconstruction and error correction, and passes the MPEG2 transcoder via the decryption processing unit (descrambler) 200. Data is supplied to the demultiplexer 107 via the conditional access processing unit 106 in the form of a port stream (hereinafter referred to as “TS: Transport Stream”).

The limited reception processing unit 106 is adapted to perform the limited reception processing of broadcast waves based on the user contract information and the like, and specifically performs the following processing.

The limited reception processing unit 106 is adapted to perform pre-contract type limited broadcasting on a service-by-service basis or on a program-by-program basis, and the target MPEG2 TS is encrypted and transmitted. And an IC card 201 that records contract information and determines viewing / listening.

This IC card 201 is distributed to each receiver user from a service center jointly operated by broadcasting companies, and user contract information is described on this card according to the contract status between the user and each broadcasting company. However, the description content is generally different for each user. Therefore, when the user selects the limited broadcast program, the limited reception processing unit 1
06 uses both the user contract information and the decryption related information obtained from the broadcast wave, and if the user has a contract, M
By decrypting the TS of PEG2, the user can watch this program. On the other hand, in the case of non-contract, the TS of MPEG2 is not decrypted and the user cannot view this limited broadcast program. Also,
In the case of a Pay Per View program, the IC card 2 is used every time the user purchases the program.
The purchase status is described in 01, and the pay-per-view program purchase information is transmitted from the receiver side to the broadcast distributor side via the modem 119 and the public line at regular intervals.

The demultiplexer 107 receives the input M
The audio data and the video data of the designated service are extracted from the TS of PEG2 and supplied to the audio decoder 10 and the video decoder 8, respectively.

Further, the demultiplexer 107 has the EIT
Information and control data for controlling each part are input as M
It is designed to be extracted from the TS of PEG2, and the extracted EIT information is output to the control unit 118 and the RAM 116 under the control of the control unit 118.

The audio data is MPEG2-Audi.
The video data is in the MPEG2-Video format. In addition, the EPG display process is performed using the EIT information.

The video decoder 108 receives the video data extracted by the demultiplexer 107, decodes the input video data to generate program video data, and supplies this to the display processor 109. To do.

The display processor 109 is adapted to receive the decoded video data, and performs predetermined processing on the input program video data to output the video.

Further, the display processor 109 is
It has a function of superimposing character information and the like on the program screen (program image) displayed on the TV display 112,
By superimposing the EPG display data or the broadcast channel selection list data on the program screen, or by replacing the program screen and outputting the data, the E on the TV display 112 is displayed.
Display the PG screen or the broadcast channel selection list screen.

The audio decoder 110 is adapted to receive the audio data extracted by the demultiplexer 107, decode the input audio data to generate program audio data, and perform audio processing on this program audio data. It is supplied to the section 111.

The audio processing section 111 has an amplifier for amplifying the audio signal, performs a predetermined audio signal processing on the input audio signal, and outputs the audio to the TV display 112.

The control unit 118 is mainly composed of a CPU as a computer, and when the broadcast channel selection processing program stored in the ROM 115 is incorporated in the CPU, the control unit 118 causes the classification unit,
It functions as an ordering unit and a selection control unit, respectively.

More specifically, the control unit 118 classifies the broadcast channels into genres based on the genre information given to each broadcast channel as a classifying means, and performs the ordering of the above genres as an ordering means. , A process of performing ordering of the classified broadcast channels for each genre (hereinafter referred to as "broadcast channel classification / ordering process") is executed.

Here, the genre information uniquely indicates the broadcast content of the broadcast channel. Control unit 118
Determines the genre of the broadcast channel based on the above EIT information, and assigns it to the broadcast channel as genre information. Determining the genre of the broadcast channel,
For example, it is performed as follows.

The control unit 118 first acquires from the EIT information genre information indicating the genre of each program broadcast for each broadcast channel and broadcast time information indicating the broadcast time of each program. Next, the control unit 118 classifies each program for each broadcast channel based on the genre information indicating the genre of each program and calculates the broadcast time for each classified genre. Then, the control unit 118
The genre of each broadcast channel is determined based on the calculated broadcast time of each genre (for example, the genre having the largest broadcast time among the calculated broadcast times of each genre is determined as the genre of each broadcast channel). ).

Further, the control unit 118 uses the non-volatile memory 1
Based on the broadcast channel selection history information stored in 17, at least one of the genre ordering and the classified broadcast channel ordering is performed. More specifically, the broadcast channel selection history information may include weighting indicating the selection frequency for each genre and each broadcast channel, and the control unit 118 orders and classifies the genres based on this weighting. At least one of the ordering of the broadcast channels is performed. It should be noted that a genre or a broadcast channel having a larger weighting means a higher selection frequency.

Further, the control unit 118, as selection control means, performs processing associated with broadcast channel selection control based on at least one of the ordered genre order and the ordered broadcast channel order (hereinafter,
"Broadcast channel selection control processing") is executed, and an instruction for tuning to the frequency of the selected broadcast channel is sent to the tuner 104.

Further, the control unit 118 sets the broadcast channel cell as information for identifying the broadcast channel on the genre axis and the broadcast channel axis based on the ordered genre order and the ordered broadcast channel order. A process of generating broadcast channel selection list data arranged two-dimensionally is executed (hereinafter referred to as "broadcast channel selection list generation process").

Details of the broadcast channel classification / ordering process, the broadcast channel selection control process, and the broadcast channel selection list generation process will be described later.

On the remote control device 102, as shown in FIG. 2, an EPG key 501 for displaying an EPG screen,
Display a GROUP key 502 for executing the broadcast channel classification / ordering process, a LIST key 503 for executing the broadcast channel selection list generation process and displaying the broadcast channel selection list screen, and a screen for performing various settings in the receiver 100 MENU key 504 for canceling, a BACK key 505 for canceling a previously input instruction and returning to a state before the instruction, an ESC key 506 for returning to a program screen from an EPG screen or a broadcast channel selection list screen, an EPG screen or broadcast Cursor keys (up, down, right, left) 509 to 512 for moving a cursor for selecting a program cell or a broadcast channel cell on the channel selection list screen, EPG
A decision key 513 for selecting the program broadcast channel of the program cell selected by the cursor on the screen (receiving the broadcast wave of the broadcast channel), an input key 514 for inputting the broadcast channel number, and a volume key for increasing or decreasing the volume. 515, and UP and DOWN channel keys 516 and 517 for sequentially selecting channels. The cursor keys 509 to 512 also function as operation keys for giving at least two kinds of operation instructions when selecting a broadcast channel on the broadcast channel selection list screen or the program screen.

When the user presses any of these various keys provided on remote control device 102, I / O 113 receives an instruction (signal) corresponding to the pressed key and sends the instruction to control unit 118. Then, the control unit 118 controls each element in the receiver 100 according to the instruction.

[Program Information (EIT Information)] Next, the digital signal transmitted from the satellite and the program information included in the digital signal will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 3
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a data format of a digital signal in CS broadcasting.

In the present embodiment, the CS digital broadcasting, that is, the program information is explained using EIT information, and the case of the frequency band in the satellite broadcasting is described as "CS".
The term “channel” is used to distinguish from the broadcast channel of each broadcast program received by the receiver 100.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the satellite digital broadcasting system, a plurality of channels (bands) are set and each C
One MPEG2 TS can be transmitted for each S channel, and a plurality of, for example, 4 to 6 services can be transmitted by this one TS. That is, a program (program) provided by a plurality of broadcast channels in one TS
Are multiplexed.

In the case of CS broadcasting, one of a plurality of CS channels, for example, CS channel 1 is used for each broadcasting channel (for 100 ch,
In addition to video / audio data for 101ch and 102ch and control data for performing predetermined control, EIT information of all broadcasting channels, that is, EIT information for one week of all broadcasting channels (hereinafter, "schedule EIT information") , And EIT information of programs currently being broadcast and programs to be broadcast next are multiplexed. The schedule EIT information 302 is EIT information of all programs on all broadcast channels scheduled to be broadcast in the future within a certain period. This includes genre information indicating the genre of each program for all broadcast channels. Broadcast time information indicating the broadcast start time and broadcast time length of each program is included.

Thus, in this embodiment, the receiver 10
At 0, always, that is, even when other channels are being viewed, by receiving the CS channel 1, it is possible to obtain the EIT information of all the channels for one week. . And the control unit 1
Based on the instruction of 18, the genre information indicating the genre of each program included in the EIT information, and the broadcast time information indicating the broadcast start time and the broadcast time length of each program are RAM 116.
And the genre of each broadcast channel is determined based on these pieces of information, as described above.

In the above description, the EIT information in the CS digital broadcasting has been described as an example, but since the EIT information is similarly provided in the cable television broadcasting, the EIT information of each broadcasting channel is provided based on the information. The genre can be determined.

Further, although the present embodiment has been described based on the EIT information in CS digital broadcasting, it goes without saying that BS
In the case of digital broadcasting, SI information can be used as program information to determine the genre of each broadcasting channel.

[Broadcast Channel Classification / Ordering Process] Next, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the control unit 1 of the receiver 100 will be described.
The above-mentioned broadcast channel classification / ordering processing in 18 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the broadcast channel classification / ordering process. Figure 5
FIG. 6 is a diagram conceptually showing an example in which broadcast channels are classified and classified by genre by a broadcast channel classification / ordering process.

In FIG. 4, first, the TV display 1
When the user presses the GROUP key 502 of the remote control device 102 while the program screen (program video) or the EPG screen is displayed on the screen 12, the control unit 118 responds to this (step S1), and proceeds to step S2. To do.
In addition to the step S2 by pressing the GROUP key 502 of the remote control device 102, the step S2 may be performed at a predetermined time, for example, every hour, every day, or every week.

In step S2, the control unit 118 classifies the broadcast channels into genres based on the genre information given to each broadcast channel. For example, a plurality of broadcast channels shown in FIG. As shown in B), they are classified into a "sports" group, a "news" group, a "music" group, a "variety" group, and a "drama" group, respectively.

Here, the genre of each broadcast channel is
As described above, it is determined in advance based on the EIT information. The genre of the broadcast channel may be determined by assigning the genre to each broadcast channel on a menu screen (not shown) displayed by the user pressing the MENU key 504 of the remote control device 102. Further, when the genre information of each broadcasting channel is incorporated in the EIT information in the future, it may be used.

Next, the control unit 118 refers to the broadcast channel selection history information stored in the non-volatile memory 117 and determines whether or not weighting of each genre is set (step S3). When the weighting of each genre is set, the control unit 118 orders the genres based on the weighting of the genres (step S4). For example, of the classified genres
When “music”, “sports”, “news”, “drama”, and “variety” are selected in descending order of weighting, that is, in the order of descending frequency of selection, as shown in FIG. Ordering is done. On the other hand, when the weighting settings corresponding to each genre are not set,
The control unit 118 orders the genres in the preset genre order (step S5). For example, in FIG.
As shown in (B), "sports", "news",
The order is "music", "variety", and "drama".

Next, the control unit 118 refers to the broadcast channel selection history information stored in the non-volatile memory 117 and determines whether or not the weighting of each broadcast channel is set (step S6). When the weighting of each broadcast channel is set, the control unit 118
The broadcasting channels are ordered for each genre based on the weighting of the broadcasting channels (step S7). For example, taking “music” shown in FIG. 5C as an example, “240 ch”, “160 ch”, “130 ch” are arranged in descending order of weighting, that is, in descending order of selection frequency.
In that case, as shown in FIG. 5 (D), ordering is performed in descending order of weighting. On the other hand, when the weighting setting of each broadcast channel is not set, the control unit 118
Performs the ordering of the broadcast channels in the order of the broadcast channel numbers (step S8).

The genre weighting and broadcast channel weighting processing will be described later.

The sequence of the ordered genres and the sequence of the ordered broadcast channels are stored in the RAM 116 as ordering information by the control unit 118 (step S9).

[Weighting Process] Next, the above-described weighting process in the control unit 118 of the receiver 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the weighting process.

In FIG. 6, when a broadcast channel is selected (tuned), counting of the selected time of the broadcast channel is started. The control unit 118 determines whether or not the selected time has passed a reference time (for example, 5 seconds) (step S11), and when it exceeds the reference time, counts up the weighting of the selected broadcast channel. Yes (step S12). Next, the control unit 118 counts up the weighting of the genre of the selected broadcast channel (step S13).

Next, the control unit 118 determines whether or not the broadcasting channel is continuously selected (step S14).
If it is not the continuous selection, that is, if the selection is switched to another broadcast channel, the process returns to step S11. on the other hand,
In the case of continuous selection, the control unit 118 determines whether the selection time has passed a unit time (for example, 1 minute) (step S15). When the selected time has exceeded the unit time, the process returns to step S12, and the weighting of the selected broadcast channel and the weighting of the genre of the selected broadcast channel are counted up again.

Thus, the longer the broadcast channel selection time, the greater the weighting of the broadcast channel and the genre of the broadcast channel.

In the above embodiment, the weighting is incremented based on the broadcast channel selection time (user viewing time), but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, the weighting may be incremented based on the number of times the broadcast channel is selected.

[Broadcast Channel Selection Control Process] Next, the above-described broadcast channel selection control process in the control unit 118 of the receiver 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the broadcast channel selection control process. FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example in which the program screen is switched while the broadcast channel selection control is being performed.

In the process of FIG. 7, the broadcast channel classification / ordering process shown in FIG.
Started when the ordering information is stored in.

When the user presses the cursor key (right) 511 of the remote control device 102 in the program screen display state, the instruction signal is accepted by the I / O 113,
In response to this (step S21), the control unit 118 responds to the RAM
By referring to the ordering information stored in 116, the process associated with the control of selecting the broadcast channel is executed based on the ordered order of the broadcast channels (step S22). As a result, an instruction to tune to the frequency of the selected broadcast channel is sent to the tuner 104, and the program screen 350 of that broadcast channel is displayed on the TV display 112.

For example, in the example of FIG. 8, the broadcasting channel of “240 ch” (for example, the order is “1” from FIG. 5D) in the genre of “music” is currently selected (the program of the broadcasting channel by the user). Is being watched)
The user presses the cursor key (right) 5 on the remote control device 102.
When the user presses 11, the control unit 118 executes the process associated with the selection control of the broadcast channel of "160ch" of the next order "2" in the same "music" genre.

On the contrary, in the example of FIG.
When the user presses the cursor key (left) 512 of the remote control device 102 in a state in which the broadcast channel of “160 ch” is selected in the genre of, the control unit 118 responds to this (step S23) and responds to the same “music”. The process associated with the selection control of the broadcast channel of “240 ch” in the genre is executed (step S24).

When the user presses the cursor key (down) 510 of remote control device 102, the instruction signal is accepted by I / O 113, and control unit 118 stores it in RAM 116 accordingly (step S25). By referring to the ordering information, the processing associated with the selection control of the broadcast channel is executed based on the ordered order of the genres (step S26).

For example, in the example of FIG. 8, when the user presses the cursor key (down) 510 of the remote control device 102 while the "240 ch" broadcast channel is currently selected in the "music" genre, Control unit 118
Is a process associated with the selection control of the first broadcast channel (190ch) of the genre of “music” (for example, the order is “1” from FIG. 5D) and the next genre of “sports” is “2”. Run.

On the contrary, in the example of FIG. 8, when the user presses the cursor key (up) 509 of the remote control device 102 while the broadcast channel of “190 ch” is currently selected in the genre of “sports”. , Control unit 118
In response to this (step S27), the process associated with the selection control of the first "240ch" broadcast channel in the "music" genre is executed (step S28).

Further, in the example of FIG.
When the user presses the cursor key (down) 510 of the remote control device 102 in a state where the broadcast channel of “160 ch” is selected in the genre of, the control unit 118
The process associated with the selection control of the first "190ch" broadcast channel in the "sports" genre is executed (and vice versa).

As described above, by pressing the cursor key (right) 511 and the cursor key (left) 512, the broadcast channel selection control is performed based on the ordered broadcast channel order, and the cursor key (up) 509 and By pressing the cursor key (down) 510, the broadcast channel selection control is performed based on the ordered genre order.

In the above embodiment, the cursor keys 509 to 512 are operation keys for giving at least two kinds of operation instructions when selecting a broadcast channel, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, UP
And DOWN key channel keys 516, 51
7 may be an operation key for giving at least two types of operation instructions when selecting a broadcast channel.

[Broadcast Channel Selection List Generation Processing] Next, the above-described broadcast channel selection list generation processing in the control unit 118 of the receiver 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the broadcast channel selection list generation processing. Figure 1
0 is a diagram showing an example of a broadcast channel selection list screen superimposed and displayed on the program screen by the broadcast channel selection list generation processing.

In FIG. 9, first, the TV display 1
While the program screen is displayed on 12,
When the LIST key 502 of the remote control device 102 is pressed, the control unit 118 accordingly determines (step S31) whether or not the ordering information is stored in the RAM 116 (step S32). The ordering information is RAM11
If it is stored in No. 6, the process proceeds to step S34. On the other hand, if the ordering information is not stored in the RAM 116, after the broadcast channel classification / ordering process shown in FIG. 4 described above is performed, the process proceeds to step S34.

In step S34, the control unit 118 controls the R
Broadcast channel selection list data is generated based on the ordering information stored in the AM 116 (step S3).
4). Next, the control unit 118 performs a display process of the broadcast channel selection list screen (step S35). That is,
The control unit 118 outputs the generated broadcast channel selection list data to the display processor 109, and causes the display channel selection list screen to be superimposed on the program screen.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 10, the broadcast channel selection list screen 400 is displayed on the program screen on the TV display 112. In the example of FIG. 10, the vertical axis is the genre axis and the horizontal axis is the broadcast channel axis.
Broadcast channel cells 401 are arranged in the genre axis direction according to the ordered genre order and in the broadcast channel axis direction according to the ordered broadcast channel order.

A cursor 402 is displayed on the broadcast channel cell 401. Further, an up / down arrow mark 404 indicates that there is a broadcast channel cell 401 of a genre that is not currently displayed on the broadcast channel selection list screen 400, and the broadcast channel cell 401 moves with the movement of the cursor 402. Will be displayed. Further, a right arrow mark 403 indicates that among broadcast channels belonging to the genre, there is a broadcast channel cell 401 which is not currently displayed on the broadcast channel selection list screen 400, and the broadcast channel cell 401 also It is displayed as the cursor 402 moves.

In such a display state, the user operates the cursor keys (up, down, right, left) 509 of the remote control device 102.
By pressing ~ 512, the cursor 402 moves according to the direction of the pressed cursor key (step S36). This cursor key (up, down, right, left)
When the buttons 509 to 512 are pressed, the broadcast channel selection control process shown in FIG. 7 described above is also executed.

The broadcast channel selection list screen 40
In the state where 0 is displayed, the broadcast channel selection control process shown in FIG. 7 is locked, the broadcast channel cell 401 is selected by the cursor 40, and then the remote controller 10
The broadcast channel may be selected (tuned) only after the 2 decision key 513 is pressed.

Then, the user again presses the LIST key 5
When 02 is pressed, the control unit 118 responds to this (step S37) and performs the display canceling process of the broadcast channel selection list screen 400 (step S38). As a result, the broadcast channel selection list screen 400 is deleted from the program screen.

As described above, according to this embodiment, broadcast channels are classified by genre, and a broadcast channel is selected based on at least one of the ordering of the genre and the ordering of the classified broadcast channels. Since the control is performed, the user can easily and quickly select a desired broadcast channel from many broadcast channels. Therefore, the user can easily and quickly receive the program from the desired broadcast channel among many broadcast channels.

In particular, the order of the genre and the order of the classified broadcast channels are associated with the cursor keys (up, down, right, left) 509 to 512 of the remote control device 102 so that the broadcast channels can be selected. Since it is configured, the user can easily and quickly select a desired broadcast channel from more broadcast channels.

Further, since the ordering of the genres and the ordering of the classified broadcast channels are performed based on the broadcast channel selection history information, the broadcast channels in the genre that the user frequently selects or the user selects Since the broadcast channels are ordered in descending order of frequency, it is possible to preferentially select the broadcast channel that is frequently selected by the user.

Furthermore, on the TV display 112, the broadcast channels 401 are arranged in a two-dimensional manner of the genre axis and the broadcast channel axis in correspondence with the directions of the cursor keys (up, down, right, left) 509 to 512. Since the selection list screen is displayed, the user can more easily and quickly select the desired source.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the satellite digital broadcast receiver 100 has been described as an example, the source in the present invention is the broadcast channel, and the attribute information in the present invention is the genre information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is applicable to, for example, an audio device.

[0116]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the sources are classified for each attribute and the source selection control is performed based on at least one of the ordering of the attributes and the ordering of the classified sources, the user selects the desired source from many sources. Can be selected easily and quickly. Therefore, the user can easily and quickly obtain information from a desired source among many sources.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a satellite digital broadcast receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a remote control device as an operating device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a data format of a digital signal in CS broadcasting.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of a broadcast channel classification / ordering process.

FIG. 5 is a diagram conceptually showing an example in which broadcast channels are classified and ordered by genre by a broadcast channel classification / ordering process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of weighting processing.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of broadcast channel selection control processing.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example in which a program screen is switched when broadcast channel selection control is being performed.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation of a broadcast channel selection list generation process.

FIG. 10 shows a broadcast channel selection list generation process.
It is a figure which shows the broadcast channel selection list screen example superimposed and displayed on the program screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 satellite digital broadcasting receiver 101 bus 102 remote control device 103 antenna 104 tuner 105 Demodulation processing unit 106 conditional access processing unit 107 Demultiplexer 108 Video Decoder 109 display processor 110 audio decoder 111 voice processing unit 113 interface 114 flash memory 115 ROM 116 RAM 117 Non-volatile memory 118 control unit 119 modem 112 TV display 350 Program screen 400 Broadcast channel selection list screen 401 Broadcast channel cell 402 cursor 501 EPG key 502 GROUP key 503 LIST key 504 MENU key 505 BACK key 506 ESC key 509-512 cursor keys 513 decision key 514 input key 515 Volume key 516 UP key 517 DOWN key

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/91 H04N 5/91 ZEF term (reference) 5C025 AA23 BA25 BA27 BA28 BA30 CA09 CB10 DA01 DA04 DA10 5C052 AA01 AC08 CC11 DD04 DD06 DD10 5C053 FA20 FA24 FA30 GB38 HA29 JA21 JA30 LA06 LA11 LA14

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A source selecting device for selecting any one source from a plurality of sources, a classifying unit for classifying the source for each attribute based on attribute information given for each source, and the attribute. While performing the ordering of, the ordering means for ordering the classified sources for each of the attributes, the order of the ordered attributes, and the order of the sources based on at least one of the order of the ordered sources. A source selection device comprising: a selection control unit that performs selection control. 2. The source selection device according to claim 1, further comprising a reception unit that receives an operation instruction from an operation unit provided with operation keys for performing at least two types of operation instructions, and the selection control unit. When the receiving unit receives an operation instruction of any one of the operation devices, the selection control of the source is performed based on the order of the ordered attributes,
A source selection device, characterized in that, when the accepting means accepts an operation instruction of any one of the operation devices, the source selection control is performed based on the ordered order of the sources. 3. The source selection device according to claim 1, wherein information for identifying the source based on the order of the ordered attributes and the order of the ordered sources is an attribute axis. The source selection device further comprising display means for displaying the two-dimensionally arranged source axes. 4. The source selection device according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit that stores selection history information indicating a history when a user has selected the source in the past, The source selecting device, wherein the ordering means performs at least one of ordering of the attributes and ordering of the classified sources based on the accumulated selection history information. 5. The source selection device according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information is genre information uniquely indicating contents provided by the source. Selection device. 6. The source selection device according to claim 1, wherein the source is a broadcast channel. 7. The source selection device according to claim 6, wherein the attribute information is genre information uniquely indicating the broadcast content of the broadcast channel. 8. A source selection method for selecting any one source from a plurality of sources, a classifying step for classifying the source for each attribute based on attribute information given to each source, and the attribute. While performing the ordering, the ordering step of performing the ordering of the classified sources for each of the attributes, the order of the ordered attributes, and the order of the sources based on at least one of the order of the ordered sources. A source selection method, comprising: a selection control step of performing selection control. 9. The source selection method according to claim 8, further comprising a reception step of receiving an operation instruction from an operation device provided with operation keys for performing at least two types of operation instructions, and the selection control step. In the receiving step, when the operation instruction of any one of the operation devices is received, the source selection control is performed based on the order of the ordered attributes, and any one of the operation devices is received in the receiving step. A source selection method, characterized in that, when the other operation instruction is received, the source selection control is performed based on the ordered source order. 10. The method for selecting a source according to claim 8, wherein the information for identifying the source is attribute axis based on the order of the ordered attributes and the order of the ordered sources. The source selecting method further comprising a display step of displaying the source axes in a two-dimensional array. 11. The source selection method according to claim 8, further comprising an accumulation step of accumulating selection history information indicating a history when a user has selected the source in the past, In the ordering step, at least one of the ordering of the attributes and the ordering of the classified sources is performed based on the accumulated selection history information. 12. The source selection method according to claim 8, wherein the source is a broadcast channel, and the attribute information uniquely indicates broadcast content of the broadcast channel. A source selection method characterized by being information. 13. A source selection processing program for selecting any one of a plurality of sources, wherein the computer classifies the sources for each attribute based on attribute information provided for each source. Means, ordering the attributes and ordering means for ordering the classified sources for each of the attributes, based on at least one of the order of the ordered attributes and the order of the ordered sources A source selection processing program, which is caused to function as selection control means for controlling the selection of the source. 14. A broadcast channel selection processing program for selecting any one broadcast channel from a plurality of broadcast channels, wherein the computer sets the broadcast channel to a genre based on genre information given to each broadcast channel. A classifying unit for classifying each of the categories, an ordering unit for performing ordering of the genres, and an ordering of the classified broadcast channels for each genre, an order of the ordered genres, and an order of the ordered broadcast channels. A broadcast channel selection processing program, which is caused to function as selection control means for controlling the selection of the broadcast channel based on at least one of them.