JP2003219197A - Apparatus, method and program for generating image - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the remote operation of a video monitor by a remote controller. <P>SOLUTION: Base ball players P<SB>1</SB>and P<SB>2</SB>included in a program image being displayed on a video monitor are handled as objects and areas A and B becoming the anchors actuating a program for indicating a menu window indicating the attributes (home run, strikeout, hit, hitting average) are set for the objects P<SB>1</SB>and P<SB>2</SB>. The video monitor captures infrared rays transmitted from a remote controller and controls movement of a cursor being displayed on the video monitor from the movement of the remote controller. If switch input operation is performed by the remote controller when the cursor is located in the area A or B, the menu window is displayed while being superposed on the program video. <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 video monitor image generation technique suitable for remote control by a remote control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a video-on-demand system has been proposed which delivers video contents in real time from a video server via a network in response to a request from a viewer. According to the video-on-demand system, the two-way communication allows the viewer to immediately download the desired program as if he / she were operating a VCR.

The video server uses MPEG to transfer the video data.
The data is stored in a storage medium such as RAID in a compressed form by two methods or the like, and moving image data and audio data are sent to the client in response to a request from the client. Video server to CATV network, CCTV network, A
The moving image data and audio data sent to the network such as the TM network are received by the set top box on the client side. The set top box has a built-in MPEG decoder and the like, decodes the received data to reproduce the original data, outputs the video signal to the video monitor, and outputs the audio signal to the speaker.

[0004]

By the way, in the next 10 years, televisions of ordinary homes will be connected to a broadband network, and it is expected that the video-on-demand system will become widespread. If the video-on-demand system becomes widespread, it is expected that the positioning of televisions in the home will be further improved. In addition, as TVs become more sophisticated,
While the number of buttons provided on remote control devices is increasing more and more, it is expected that complicated and delicate operation of small buttons by elderly people will be difficult as the aging population expands. Realization of TV operation means is desired. In recent years, the visual acuity of small children has been significantly reduced, and small explanatory characters such as cursors displayed on the TV screen are more likely to be shunned.Therefore, development of means that allows even small children to easily operate a multifunctional TV Is expected.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to propose a technique for simplifying the remote control of a video monitor by a remote control device.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, the coordinates of pixels in a frame belonging to a hotspot area set in a predetermined object included in frame data forming a program video. Values are stored in advance, an operation menu window including at least channel switching of a program and / or volume adjustment of a video monitor is superimposed on a program image to generate an image to be displayed on the display, and transmitted from the remote control device. The received signal is received, the moving direction and the moving amount obtained by projecting the moving direction and the moving amount of the remote controller in the three-dimensional space on the two-dimensional plane are obtained, and the remote controller projected on the two-dimensional plane is moved. The moving direction and moving amount of the cursor displayed on the display for displaying the program video according to the moving direction and moving amount When the switch input signal sent from the remote controller is calculated and detected by the receiver, the coordinate values of the pixels in the frame belonging to the hotspot area stored in advance and the frame in which the cursor is located are stored. If the position of the cursor is within the hotspot area, the menu window previously associated with the object in the hotspot area is overlaid on the program image on the display. Generate an image for display.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of frame data of a moving image distributed from a video server, which will be described later, to a set-top box installed in the home of a viewer. The moving image data distributed to the set top box is compressed by the MPEG2 system and converted into digital data of 30 frames per second. Each frame has 720 x 480 pixels in DVD, 640 x 480 pixels in VGA resolution, and 1280 x 1024 pixels in SVGA resolution. The frame data is a DCT-transformed I picture, a P picture obtained by motion compensation from the previous frame,
It includes B pictures in which motions in both directions are compensated for from two frames before and after. According to the display order in each frame,
Frame addresses of F ₁ , F ₂ , ..., F _n are given.

In each frame, various objects such as people, animals, buildings, vehicles, etc. are displayed as images in accordance with the contents of the program. If the program content is a baseball relay, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, two baseball players (objects) P ₁ and P ₂ are displayed in the frame F _n . In the present invention,
In order to make the video display image function as an interactive medium with the viewer, the objects P ₁ and P _{2 are}
Area surrounding the area (hereinafter referred to as "hot spot area")
A and B are provided, and an interactive operation (for example, menu window display) corresponding to the objects P ₁ and P ₂ is performed by viewer access to the hot spot areas A and B.

The hotspot area is an area on a video screen (frame) that serves as an anchor for executing a preset program for each hotspot area in response to a viewer's access. The access to the hotspot area means, for example, an active access operation by the viewer such as moving the cursor to the hotspot area displayed on the video screen and performing a switch operation. A program for performing an operation corresponding to the hotspot area in response to the viewer's access to the hotspot area is called an interactive digital media program (IDM program). The IDM program detects the cursor position on the video screen at the timing synchronized with the frame update period and checks whether the viewer has accessed the hotspot area. When it is determined that the viewer has accessed the hotspot area, the hotspot area is referred to as an anchor and a program required for displaying the menu window or the like is called. In this specification, a menu window displayed in response to access to the hotspot area is referred to as a "hotspot menu window".

Displaying the hotspot menu window corresponding to the objects P ₁ and P ₂ means, for example, displaying the menu of the attributes of the corresponding object. Specifically, if the object is a baseball player. , "Home run", "Strike out", "Hit", "Batting average"
It includes displaying various grades such as etc., advertisements such as uniforms and mail order menus. The hotspot area can be defined as a set of the frame address F _i and the coordinates P (j, k) of each pixel belonging to the hotspot area. For example, the coordinate data F (A) of the hot spot area A surrounding the object P ₁ is F (A)
= {P (j, k)}. Here, {P (j,
k)} indicates a set of coordinates P (j, k). In this specification, the coordinate data F (A) is referred to as "hot spot mapping data".

Of the objects displayed on the video screen, which object the hot spot area is mapped to can be freely set by the program provider or the like. The mapping of the hotspot area can be edited using a contouring tool well known in the field of computer graphics, and if the contour of the object or its surroundings is traced using a pointing device such as a mouse, the inside of the closed closed curve is traced. The coordinates of each pixel of can be stored in the data file as hot spot mapping data.

On the other hand, the menu item displayed on the video screen when the viewer accesses the hot spot area A can be expressed as G (A) = {home run, strikeout, hit, batting average}. In the present specification, the G (A)
Is referred to as "hot spot menu data". When the viewer accesses the hotspot area A, the hotspot menu data is "home run",
"Strikeout", "Hit", and "Batting rate" mean that they are displayed as menu items on the video screen, but for each of these items displayed as a menu bar,
It is possible to set hotspot areas hierarchically. For example, if a hotspot area is set for the "Batting rate" menu item, when the viewer positions the cursor on the "Batting rate" portion of the menu bar and performs a predetermined switch operation, The IDM program uses the hotspot area accessed by the viewer as an anchor to call a program necessary for displaying the batting average, and displays the batting average of the corresponding baseball player on the video screen.

The hot spot mapping data, menu data, and IDM program described above are prepared separately from the frame data. In other words, the viewer can realize an interactive operation on the video screen without directly embedding the anchor tag in the frame. As a result, the program provider uses well-known techniques to create the frame data required for video display, while creating the hotspot mapping data, menu data, and IDM program required for interactive operation separately. Network distribution along with frame data to the set-top box at the viewer's house makes it possible to provide programs with interactivity while making maximum use of existing video display technology.

FIG. 1 is a network connection configuration diagram of a video-on-demand system. In the figure, 10 is a set-top box installed in the viewer's home,
Reference numeral 30 is a video monitor, 50 is a remote controller, and 60 is a video server system operated by a video-on-demand service provider. The viewer can operate the remote controller 50 to request the download of the desired program from the video server system 60. A program download request is sent from the set top box 10 to the video server system 60 via the ATM network 65.
The video server 62 implements a network operating system corresponding to a transmission protocol for transmitting a program at high speed and smoothly in response to a program distribution request from the set top box 10, and is further encoded by MPEG2. The frame data is stored in the disk array device 61.

In order to improve the reliability of data access, the frame data is interleaved and recorded on a plurality of disks in block units by the RAID3 system. RAI
The MPEG2 transport stream recorded in D61 is sent by the video server 61 to AAL5-PDU.
It is mapped to (ATM adaptation layer type 5 protocol data unit) and divided into 48 bytes, and then a 5-byte length header is added to form an ATM cell having a fixed length of 53 bytes.

After the ATM cells sent from the video server 62 are accommodated in the ATM switch 63, the SLT (optical subscriber line terminal equipment) 64 performs electrical / optical conversion suitable for optical transmission, and further, optical conversion is performed. Optical / electrical conversion is performed by an ONU (optical line terminating device) 66 installed in the subscriber's home via an ATM network 65 of high-speed broadband transmission composed of a fiber communication network, and delivered to the set-top box 10. .
The frame data distributed to the set top box 10 is transferred to the video memory 1 via the communication interface 14.
6 is stored. In addition to frame data, hotspot mapping data, menu data, and IDM programs are distributed from the video server 62, and these data and programs are stored in the console memory 15 via the communication interface 14.

The frame data, the hot spot mapping data, the menu data, and the IDM program may be modulated into a digital broadcasting signal such as BS or CS and transmitted via a wireless line. These data and programs modulated into a digital broadcast signal are received by the antenna 11, converted into an intermediate frequency by the tuner 12, further QPSK demodulated by the demodulation circuit 13, and error correction and descrambling of the data generated on the transmission path are performed. The original data and program are restored by performing processing and the like. The restored frame data is stored in the video memory 16, and the hot spot mapping data,
The menu data and the IDM program are stored in the console memory 15. That is, the request for program reception by the viewer reaches the program distribution system via the low-speed upstream line such as the Internet, and from the program distribution system, the frame data, hotspot mapping data, and menu data are transmitted by the digital broadcasting signal. , And the IDM program are distributed via a high-speed downlink.

The viewer operates the remote controller 50 to move the cursor 32 displayed on the display 31 of the video monitor 30, thereby operating the channel of the video monitor 30 and adjusting the volume. The remote control device 50 includes a switch 51, a modulator 52, and an infrared L.
The ED 53 is provided so that infrared light emitted from the infrared LED 53 can be modulated by a pulse signal of several kHz in response to a switch operation of a viewer. Display 31
Light receiving sensors 23, 24, and 25 are respectively arranged at the three corners of the, and the movement trajectory of the remote control device 50 is calculated from the amount of change in the amount of received light, and the position of the cursor 32 displayed on the display 31 is controlled. It is configured as follows.

The modulator 52 responds to the input operation of the switch 51 with respect to infrared rays emitted from the LED 53.
The start bit "110", the data "001", and the stop bit "11" are modulated. Light receiving sensor 23, 2
By detecting the signal "11001111," 4, 4 and 25 detect that the input operation of the switch 51 is performed from the remote control device 50. The input operation of the switch 51 is executed when the viewer accesses the hot spot area described above. A plurality of cursors displayed on the display 31 can be set according to the number of remote control devices. The light receiving sensors 23, 2 are set by setting the signals by switch operation from another remote control device (not shown) in the figure to start bit “110”, data “010”, and stop bit “11”, for example.
4, and 25 can distinguish the signals from a plurality of remote control devices. That is, when the number of bits of the data part is 3, eight remote control devices can be distinguished.

The X coordinate detection circuit 21 includes light receiving sensors 23, 2
4 calculates the X coordinate of the cursor 32 based on the output signal, and the Y coordinate detection circuit 22 calculates the Y coordinate of the cursor 32 based on the output signals from the light receiving sensors 24 and 25. The coordinate calculation circuit 20 calculates the coordinates of the cursor 32 on the display 31 based on the output signals from the X coordinate detection circuit 21 and the Y coordinate detection circuit 22. The console processor 17 is an IDM stored in the console memory 15.
It is a processor that executes a program and detects the position of the cursor 32 on the display 31 at a timing synchronized with the frame update period to check whether or not the viewer has accessed the hotspot area. When it is determined that the viewer has accessed the hotspot area, the hotspot area is referenced as an anchor, and the corresponding hotspot menu data is displayed in the console memory 15.
And issues a hotspot menu window display command to the video processor 18.

The video processor 18 includes an MPEG decoder and reads the frame data stored in the video memory 16 and decodes the frame data to generate a video signal. When a hotspot menu window display command is received from the console processor 17, the hotspot menu data stored in the console memory 15 is read, a hotspot menu window is created, and this is displayed on the display 31 as frame data. The video signal overwritten on the NTS
Output to the C encoder 19. NTSC encoder 19
Generates an NTSC luminance signal, a chroma signal, and a composite signal from the video signal output from the video processor 18, and outputs them to the video terminal of the video monitor 30 via a buffer amplifier.

FIG. 2 shows the remote controller 50 and the light receiving sensor 2
The positional relationship of 3, 24, and 25 is shown. Light receiving sensor 2
A straight line passing through 3 and 24 and parallel to the horizontal direction is the X axis, and a straight line passing through light receiving sensors 24 and 25 and is parallel to the vertical direction is the Y axis,
A straight line that passes through the midpoints of the light receiving sensors 23 and 24 and is orthogonal to the X axis is a Z ₁ axis, and a straight line that passes through the midpoint of the light receiving sensors 24 and 25 and is orthogonal to the Y axis is a Z ₂ axis. FIG. 3 is a plan view including the XZ ₁ axis system. The light receiving sensor 23 includes a detector 42 and a condenser lens 41. On the other hand, the light receiving sensor 24 includes a detector 44 and a condenser lens 43. Condensing lens 41, 4
Reference numeral 3 collects infrared rays emitted from the remote controller 50 to form spots S ₁ and S ₂ on the detectors 42 and 44.

Here, the optical axes of the condenser lenses 41 and 43 are X.
The angle formed with the axis is θ, the distance from the origin O to the condenser lenses 41 and 43 is A, and the coordinate of the light source (remote control device 50) is Q.
A straight line connecting (X, Z ₁ ) and Q (X, Z ₁ ) to the center of the condenser lens 41 is m, and a straight line connecting Q (X, Z ₁ ) to the center of the condenser lens 43 is n, a straight line. The angle between m and the optical axis of the condenser lens 41 is α, the angle between the straight line n and the optical axis of the condenser lens 43 is β, and the condenser lenses 41 and 43 and the detector 42,
44, h, the optical axis of the condenser lens 41 and the spot S
The distance to ₁ is a, the optical axis of the condenser lens 43 and the spot S ₂
Assuming that the distance to is b, the equations for α, β, the straight line m, and the straight line n can be expressed as follows. α = tan ⁻¹ (a / h) β = tan ⁻¹ (b / h) Formula of the straight line m: Z ₁ = −tan (θ−α) X−Atan (θ−
α) The formula of the straight line n: Z ₁ = tan (θ + β) X−A tan (θ + β) Q (X, Z ₁ ) is given by the solution of the simultaneous equations for finding the intersection of the above two straight lines, and the horizontal solution X is It can be represented by variables a and b. The X coordinate detection circuit 21 includes a light receiving sensor 23,
The values of a and b are obtained from the output signal from 24, the simultaneous equations are solved, and the value of X is obtained. Similarly, the Y coordinate detection circuit 22 obtains the value of Y from the coordinates on the YZ ₂ plane of the remote controller 50 from the output signals from the light receiving sensors 23 and 24.

The remote control device 50 is provided with only one switch 51, and the viewer can change the channel of the program displayed on the video monitor 30, adjust the volume, and perform the above-described interactive operation with this one switch. can do. Since the set-top box 10 obtains the tilt angle and the moving distance of the remote control device 50 from the change in the amount of received infrared rays, the movement of the cursor 32 can be finely adjusted by a relatively large movement by the viewer, and the fine adjustment of the cursor movement of the elderly or the like can be performed. Even people who have difficulty in doing so can easily perform cursor control.

When the video monitor 30 is powered off,
When the switch 51 is pressed with the remote control device 50 toward the light receiving sensors 23, 24, and 25, the video monitor 30 is powered on, and a menu window for channel switching, volume adjustment, etc. is displayed together with the cursor 32 on the display 3.
1 is displayed above. At the same time, the initial position of the remote control device 50 at the time of the switch operation is stored as the origin, and the cursor 32 displayed on the display 31 in the vertical and horizontal directions according to the movement or tilt of the remote control device 50 in the vertical and horizontal directions. Movement controlled. Here, when the viewer moves the cursor from the menu window to the menu bar for channel switching and presses the switch 51, the channel number is displayed, and when the cursor 32 is moved to the viewed channel number and the switch 51 is pressed, the channel is displayed. You can switch.

On the other hand, when the power of the video monitor 30 is turned on and the switch 51 is pushed toward the light receiving sensors 23, 24, and 25 with the remote controller 50, the console processor 17 causes the pixel for which the switch input operation has been performed. Check whether the coordinates of is in the hotspot area. If it is in the hotspot area, display the hotspot menu window that reflects the attributes of the objects in the hotspot area. If it is outside the hotspot area, , Delete the cursor. A specific processing procedure in the IDM program at this time will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9. FIG. 6 is a flowchart describing the operation steps of the IDM program, and FIGS. 7 to 9 are transition diagrams of the video display screen in the baseball relay program.

In FIG. 7, two baseball players P ₁ and P ₂ are displayed, and hotspot areas A and B are set for each. Here, when the viewer moves the cursor 32 into the hot spot area A and executes the switch operation (FIG. 6; S1), the console processor 17 causes the frame address and the hot spot at the time when the switch operation is performed by the viewer. Referring to the mapping data (FIG. 6;
S2), the cursor 32 output from the coordinate calculation circuit 20
It is checked whether the point operated by the viewer by the switch belongs to the hotspot area from the coordinate data of (FIG. 6;
S3). Here, when it is determined that the point where the viewer operates the switch belongs to the hot spot area A (FIG. 6; S
3; YES), the console processor 17 issues a hotspot menu display command to the video processor 18 (FIG. 6; S4). Upon receiving the command, the video processor 18 refers to the hotspot menu data, generates an image of the hotspot menu window, and generates a video signal by overwriting the image on the frame data of the program video. The NTSC encoder 19 uses N based on the video signal supplied from the video processor 18.
A TSC type luminance signal, a chroma signal, and a composite signal are generated and output to the video terminal of the video monitor 30. Then, the hot spot menu window 33 is displayed on the display 31 as shown in FIG. 8 (FIG. 6; S5).

FIG. 8 shows a state in which a menu window 33 consisting of "home run", "struck out", "hit", and "batting rate" is displayed in response to the viewer's access to the hot spot area A. Has been done. A hotspot area is set for each of these menu items, and when the viewer positions the cursor 32 on the menu bar 34 of "Batting rate" and performs a switch operation, as shown in FIG. 9, the baseball player P ₁ The batting average of is displayed in the window 35. On the other hand, when the console processor 17 determines that the point where the viewer operates the switch does not belong to the hot spot area A (FIG. 6; S3; NO), it issues a cursor erasing command (FIG. 6; S6). Upon receiving the command, the video processor 18 generates a video signal in which the cursor 32 is deleted from the program image, and the NTSC encoder 19
Supply to. Then, the cursor 3 appears on the display 31.
The program in which 2 is deleted is displayed (FIG. 6; S7).

The cursor 32 and the menu window 33 are automatically erased even if the switch operation of the remote control device 50 is not performed within a predetermined time, and the origin position of the cursor 32 is reset. To be done. Further, the window size of the hotspot menu, the size of characters displayed in the menu, the font type, etc. can be arbitrarily set by the user setting. For example, large-sized characters are preferable for the elderly and children. Further, the contents of the items displayed in the hotspot menu window may be changed for each remote control device. The remote control device can be identified by the data part of the pulse signal. Further, by mounting an ultrasonic wave transmitter in place of the infrared LED 53 and mounting an ultrasonic microphone in place of the light receiving sensors 23, 24, and 25 in the remote control device 50, the remote controller is controlled from the time difference of arrival of ultrasonic pulses. It may be configured to determine the moving direction and the moving amount of the device 50.

According to the present embodiment, since the menu window required for operating the video monitor is displayed when necessary, it is not necessary to arrange a large number of switches on the remote control device, and it is possible to perform all operations with simple operation. Operation becomes possible. Further, since the channel can be switched, the volume can be adjusted, the hotspot menu window can be displayed, etc. without taking an eye from the video monitor 30, even a person with bad eyesight or a person who cannot move freely cannot change the posture without force. It can be operated easily with one hand while looking. Also, since only menu items that can be selected at the time of operation can be displayed,
Malfunctions can be prevented. Further, the remote control device 50 itself is equipped with an infrared LED or an ultrasonic wave transmitter, so that the number of switches is very small (one in this embodiment).
Since all operations can be performed with, the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced.

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned console processor 17, console memory 15 and the like are installed in a home television receiver, so that the hot spot mapping data, the menu data and the IDM program can be provided along with the analog program broadcast. It is also possible to realize the above-described interactive operation by delivering the to the home television receiver.

[0033]

According to the present invention, the operation required for video monitor control can be realized by moving the remote control device and a simple switch operation, so that the operation can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a network connection configuration diagram of a video-on-demand system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a remote control device and a light receiving sensor.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining coordinate calculation of a remote controller.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of moving image frames that form a program.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a hot spot area.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart describing an operation procedure of an IDM program.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of program images displayed on a video monitor.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of program images displayed on a video monitor.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of program images displayed on a video monitor.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Set-top box, 11 ... Antenna, 12
... tuner, 13 ... demodulation circuit, 14 ... communication interface, 15 ... console memory, 16 ... video memory,
17 ... Console processor, 18 ... Video processor, 19 ... NTSC encoder, 20 ... Coordinate operation circuit,
21 ... X coordinate detection circuit, 22 ... Y coordinate detection circuit, 23 ...
Light receiving sensor, 24 ... Light receiving sensor, 25 ... Light receiving sensor, 3
0 ... Video monitor, 50 ... Remote control device, 51 ... Switch, 52 ... Modulation circuit, 53 ... Infrared LED, 60 ... Video server system,

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 7/173 630 H04N 7/173 630 H04Q 9/00 301 H04Q 9/00 301E F term (reference) 5C025 AA30 BA14 BA25 BA28 CA06 CA09 CB10 DA05 5C056 AA05 BA01 CA06 DA06 DA08 DA11 5C064 BA01 BB10 BC16 BC23 BC24 BD02 BD08 5E501 AB06 BA05 CB20 EA09 FA05 5K048 AA04 BA03 DB04

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A device for generating an image displayed on a video monitor in response to a remote operation by a remote controller operated by a viewer, wherein at least three devices receive a signal sent from the remote controller. And a moving direction and a moving amount obtained by projecting a moving direction and a moving amount of the remote controlling device in a three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional plane based on a signal from the remote controlling device received by the receiver, Computation means for computing the moving direction and the moving amount of the cursor displayed on the display for displaying the program video corresponding to the moving direction and the moving amount of the remote control device projected on the two-dimensional plane, and the program video A storage circuit that stores coordinate values of pixels in a frame belonging to a hotspot area set in a predetermined object included in frame data that configures An operation menu window including at least program channel switching and / or video monitor volume adjustment is superimposed on the program image to generate an image for display on the display, while a switch input signal transmitted from the remote control device is received. When detected by the detector, the coordinate value of the pixel in the frame belonging to the hot spot area stored in the storage circuit is compared with the cursor position calculated by the calculation means, and the position of the cursor is determined to be the hot position. If it is in the spot area, it is provided with an image generating means for generating an image for displaying a menu window, which is associated in advance with the object in the hot spot area, on the program video in a superimposed manner,
Image generation device. 2. The image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the menu window is for displaying the attribute of the object as a menu item. 3. The image generating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the menu item is set as a hotspot area for displaying an item related to the menu item. 4. The display contents of the menu window are
The image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image generating apparatus is set for each remote controller. 5. The signal transmitted from the remote control device is infrared light, according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The image generation device according to the item. 6. The image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal transmitted from the remote control device is an ultrasonic wave signal. 7. A method for generating an image displayed on a video monitor in response to a remote operation by a remote controller operated by a viewer, the predetermined object included in frame data constituting a program video image. The coordinate values of the pixels in the frame belonging to the hotspot area set in are stored in advance, and the operation menu window including at least the channel switching of the program and / or the volume adjustment of the video monitor is superimposed on the program image and displayed on the display. While generating an image to be displayed, a signal sent from the remote control device is received, and the moving direction and the moving amount of the remote control device in a three-dimensional space are projected on a two-dimensional plane. Then, the program image is displayed according to the moving direction and the moving amount of the remote control device projected on the two-dimensional plane. For calculating the moving direction and the moving amount of the cursor displayed on the display, and when the switch input signal sent from the remote control device is detected by the receiver, it belongs to a hotspot area stored in advance. The coordinate value of the pixel in the frame is compared with the coordinate value of the pixel in the frame where the cursor is located, and if the position of the cursor is in the hotspot area,
A menu window that is associated in advance with the object in the hotspot area is superimposed on the program image to generate an image for display on the display,
Image generation method. 8. The image generation method according to claim 7, wherein the menu window is for displaying the attribute of the object as a menu item. 9. The image generation method according to claim 8, wherein the menu item is set as a hotspot area for displaying an item related to the menu item. 10. The image generation method according to claim 7, wherein the display content of the menu window is set for each remote control device. 11. The image generation method according to claim 7, wherein the signal transmitted from the remote control device is infrared rays. 12. The image generation method according to claim 7, wherein the signal transmitted from the remote control device is an ultrasonic wave signal. 13. A program for causing a computer device to execute the method according to any one of claims 7 to 12. 14. A computer-readable recording medium in which the program according to claim 13 is recorded.