JP2004146950A - Digital broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital broadcast receiver capable of acquiring program information on other channels, without interrupting a program being viewed currently. <P>SOLUTION: When a user issues an EPG display command to a receiver A for receiving terrestrial digital broadcasts with the receiver A set in an audiovisual interruption disabled mode, the receiver A transmits a command of acquiring program information to a receiver B. Upon receiving the command for acquiring program information from the receiver A, the receiver B searches for channels to acquire program information of each channel and transmits the acquired program information to the receiver A. The receiver A performs an EPG display, based on the received program information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving device for receiving digital broadcast.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A digital broadcast receiving device that receives digital broadcasts using satellites and terrestrial waves selects an arbitrary broadcast wave from a plurality of broadcast waves received through a dedicated antenna or a terrestrial antenna with a tuner, and selects the selected broadcast wave. An arbitrary channel is selected from a plurality of channels included in the wave by demultiplex processing, a digital signal of the selected channel is extracted, and a video / audio signal is output by decoding the digital signal. In digital broadcasting, program information can be carried on broadcast waves in addition to video and audio, and the receiving apparatus can display an EPG based on the received program information. As a conventional technique relating to EPG display based on program information, there is a technique for acquiring a scheduled broadcast date of a regularly watched program by an EPG function (see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-290862
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the case of satellite digital broadcasting, program information of another channel is carried on each channel, and the program information of another channel can be obtained on the currently receiving channel. In order to acquire program information other than the channel being received, it is necessary to perform a channel search to acquire the program information. If this acquisition is performed, the program currently being viewed will be interrupted.
[0005]
In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a digital broadcast receiving apparatus capable of acquiring program information of another channel without interrupting a program currently being viewed.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention is a digital broadcast receiving apparatus which acquires program information provided for each channel by executing a channel search. A communication interface for transmitting and receiving, program information acquisition control means for executing a channel search in response to a program information acquisition request from another receiving device to acquire program information provided for each channel, and Transmission control means for transmitting to the other receiving device using the communication interface.
[0007]
Since the digital broadcast receiving apparatus as another receiving apparatus can receive the program information obtained by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus having the above configuration, it is not necessary to obtain the program information by its own channel search. The program information of another channel can be presented to the user without interrupting the current program.
[0008]
In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus having the above configuration, if a channel search cannot be executed when a program information acquisition request is received from another receiving apparatus, the program information that has already been acquired is transmitted. It may be configured.
[0009]
Further, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention is a digital broadcast receiving apparatus for acquiring program information provided for each channel by performing a channel search, wherein a communication interface for transmitting / receiving information to / from another receiving apparatus; Acquisition request control means for requesting another reception apparatus to acquire program information, and reception control means for receiving program information transmitted from another reception apparatus using the communication interface. And
[0010]
Since the digital broadcast receiving apparatus having the above configuration can receive the program information obtained by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus as another receiving apparatus, it is not necessary to obtain the program information by its own channel search. The program information of another channel can be presented to the user without interrupting the program currently in progress.
[0011]
In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus having the above configuration, when a setting that does not allow interruption of the video and audio being received is performed by the user, the acquisition request control unit issues a request to acquire program information to another receiving apparatus. It may be configured to do so.
[0012]
Further, when a request for acquisition of program information is made to another receiving apparatus, a target channel may be specified. With such a configuration, for example, a request is made for the first other receiving device to acquire program information of channels 1 to 10 and a request is made for the second other receiving device to acquire program information of channels 11 to 20. As described above, the program information can be shared and acquired by a plurality of devices, and the time required for acquiring the program information can be reduced.
[0013]
Also, the program information transmitted from the other receiving device is compared with the program information held by itself, and a portion newer than the program information transmitted from the other receiving device in the program information held by itself is compared. At some point, it may be configured to give the new part to another receiving device. With this configuration, it is possible to exchange new program information between devices, and each device can hold newer program information.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
[0015]
FIG. 3 shows a state in which three digital broadcast receiving apparatuses 30 according to the present embodiment are placed in a home, and are systematized such that information can be transmitted and received via a communication path (wired or wireless). Here, for example, it is assumed that one digital broadcast receiving apparatus A is a set-top box, one digital broadcast receiving apparatus B is a video tape recorder, and one digital broadcast receiving apparatus C is a second video tape recorder. Is assumed. The configuration of the receiving unit and the processing operation related to the acquisition of EPG data (program information) are the same for each device.
[0016]
In FIG. 1, a terrestrial antenna 1 is arranged outdoors in a predetermined direction, and receives a terrestrial digital broadcast signal. The terrestrial antenna 1 supplies a received signal to a terrestrial digital tuner 2.
[0017]
The terrestrial digital tuner 2 extracts a signal of a specific frequency from high-frequency digital modulation signals including video and audio data. The terrestrial digital tuner 2 includes a demodulation circuit, a deinterleave circuit, an error correction circuit, and the like, and demodulates a selected digital modulation signal to output a transport stream.
[0018]
The demultiplexer (DEMUX) 3 separates the transport stream into a video stream of MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts Group 2), an audio stream, a PSI / SI (Program Specific Information / Service Information), and the like. The demultiplexer 3 supplies a video stream and an audio stream to the AV decoder 4, and supplies program information and the like included in PSI / SI to the CPU 13. Note that a plurality of channels are multiplexed in the transport stream, and a process for selecting an arbitrary channel from among these is performed by selecting a packet ID in the transport stream from the PSI / SI. This is possible by extracting data such as whether the data is multiplexed. Also, the selection of the transport stream can be performed based on the PSI / SI information.
[0019]
The AV decoder 4 includes a video decoder that decodes a video stream and an audio decoder that decodes an audio stream. The video decoder obtains a quantized coefficient and a motion vector by decoding the input coded signal, and performs inverse DCT transform, motion compensation control based on the motion vector, and the like. The audio decoder decodes the input coded signal to generate audio data. The video data generated by the decoding is output to the video processing circuit 5, and the audio data is output to the audio processing circuit 6.
[0020]
The video processing circuit 5 receives the video data from the AV decoder 4, performs D / A conversion, and converts the data into, for example, a composite video signal. The audio processing circuit 6 receives the audio data output from the AV decoder 4 and performs D / A conversion to generate, for example, a right (R) sound analog signal and a left (L) sound analog signal.
[0021]
The video output circuit 7 and the audio output circuit 8 include an output resistor, an amplifier, and the like. The AV output terminal 9 is provided with an output unit (a set of left and right audio output terminals, a video output terminal, and the like). The output unit is provided with a video / audio code 17 and a monitor including a picture tube 16a and a speaker 16b. 16 are connected.
[0022]
The OSD (on-screen display) circuit 12 outputs to the adder 20 video data based on character information and color information instructed by the CPU 13 to output. The adder 20 performs a process of incorporating the video data into the received video data output from the AV decoder 4. The OSD circuit 12 can display an EPG screen, a menu screen, various setting screens and the like as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, as one of the setting screens, there is a screen for setting whether or not video and audio may be interrupted in the program information acquisition processing.
[0023]
The remote control transmitter 10 is a transmitter for transmitting a command to the broadcast receiving device 30. When a key (not shown) provided on the remote control transmitter 10 is operated, a signal light (remote control signal) indicating a command corresponding to the key is transmitted from a light emitting unit (not shown). The remote control light receiver 11 receives the signal light, converts the signal light into an electric signal, and supplies the electric signal to the CPU 13.
[0024]
A memory (for example, a RAM, a flash memory, an EEPROM, or the like) 14 stores data separated from broadcast waves and converted so as to be processed by the receiving apparatus. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, EPG data (channel number, program title, etc.) for displaying an EPG screen and channel selection data (channel number, channel frequency, transport stream ID) are stored. Also, the contents of various settings are stored. In this embodiment, one of the setting contents is whether video and audio may be interrupted in the program information acquisition processing.
[0025]
The communication interface (IF) 15 sends and receives commands and data to and from the other receiving devices B and C by wire or wirelessly.
[0026]
The CPU 13 performs overall control of the receiving device 30, and particularly performs processing relating to the acquisition of EPG data (program information) as processing according to the present invention. Hereinafter, such processing will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0027]
When an EPG display button (not shown) of the remote control transmitter 10 is operated by the user (step S1), the CPU 13 confirms whether or not the video and audio may be interrupted (step S2). In some cases, a channel search (frequency tuning of each channel) is instructed to the terrestrial digital tuner 2 to acquire program information. Then, program information obtained from the broadcast wave of each channel is extracted and stored in the memory 14 (step S3). On the other hand, if the setting is such that interruption is not possible, a program information acquisition command is transmitted to the receiving device B using the communication IF 15 (step S4).
[0028]
Next, it is determined whether the program information sent from the receiving device B is the latest program information (step S5). This determination can be made, for example, based on the current date and time indicated by the built-in calendar and the acquisition date and time of the transmitted program information. If the latest transmitted program is the latest program information, the program information is used to display an EPG on the screen (step S8). On the other hand, if NO in step S5, the acquisition date and time of the program information held by itself and the acquisition date and time of the transmitted program information are compared, and the program information of the own program information is included in the transmitted program information. If there is a newer part, it is taken in. If there is a newer part in its own program information, that part is transmitted to the receiving device B (step S6). Then, a message indicating that the latest program information could not be obtained is displayed on the screen (step S7), and an EPG screen is displayed based on the program information obtained at the present time (step S8).
[0029]
Next, the content of the processing on the receiving device B side will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. When receiving the program information acquisition command from the receiving device A (step S11), the receiving device B determines its own operation status, such as whether or not the receiving operation is being performed and whether or not the reservation receiving process is to be performed a few minutes later (for example). Step S12). When it is determined that the receiving device is not in the receiving state and is not going to be in the receiving state soon (YES in step S12), a channel search is performed to acquire program information of each channel (step S13). The status of the receiving device B, the program information, and the date and time of the acquisition are transmitted to the receiving device A (step S15). On the other hand, when NO is determined in step S12, the state of the receiving device B, the program information that has already been obtained, and the acquisition date and time are transmitted to the receiving device A (steps S14 and S15).
[0030]
In the above description, the request process of the receiving device A and the response process of the receiving device B have been described. However, the receiving device B may request and the receiving device A respond. Requests and responses can be processed between the receiving devices A and C, and requests and responses can be processed between the receiving devices BC.
[0031]
Further, in the request for obtaining the program information, the receiving device A may request the receiving device B to obtain the program information of 1ch to 10ch and request the receiving device C to obtain the program information of 11ch to 20ch. Good. According to this, the program information can be shared and acquired by a plurality of devices, and the time required for acquiring the program information can be reduced.
[0032]
Although not shown in FIG. 6, when a new program information portion is transmitted from the receiving device A, the receiving device B performs a process of incorporating the portion into its own program information.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the program information of another channel without interrupting the program currently being viewed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing data contents stored in a memory.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a system in which three digital broadcast receiving apparatuses according to the embodiment of the present invention are connected.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram exemplifying an EPG screen;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing contents.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing contents.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Antenna 2 Terrestrial digital tuner 3 Demultiplexer (DEMUX)
4 AV decoder 12 OSD circuit 13 CPU
14 memory

Claims (6)

In a digital broadcast receiving apparatus for acquiring program information provided for each channel by performing a channel search, a communication interface for transmitting / receiving information to / from another receiving apparatus, and a program information acquiring request from another receiving apparatus. A program information acquisition control unit that executes a channel search in accordance with the program information to acquire program information provided for each channel, and a transmission control unit that transmits the acquired program information to the other receiving device using the communication interface. A digital broadcast receiving device comprising: 2. In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, when a channel search cannot be executed when a program information acquisition request is received from another receiving apparatus, the already acquired program information is transmitted. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus characterized in that the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is configured to: In a digital broadcast receiving apparatus for acquiring program information provided for each channel by executing a channel search, a communication interface for transmitting / receiving information to / from another receiving apparatus, and acquiring program information for another receiving apparatus A digital broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: an acquisition request control unit for making a request; and a reception control unit for receiving program information transmitted from another receiving device using the communication interface. 4. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the user does not permit the interruption of the video and audio being received, the acquisition request control unit transmits the program information to another receiving apparatus. A digital broadcast receiving device configured to make an acquisition request. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a target channel is designated when a request for acquiring program information is made to another receiving apparatus. Digital broadcast receiver. 6. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein program information transmitted from another receiving apparatus is compared with program information held by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus characterized in that, when there is a newer part than the program information transmitted from another receiving apparatus, the new part is provided to the other receiving apparatus.

Images