JP2004336649A - Receiving apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital broadcast receiving apparatus which enables a user to acquire latest information on a program of a short transmission cycle such as current programs of all channels or program information on that day in a short period of time with operations easy to comprehend when the user wants to know the program information in terrestrial digital broadcasting. <P>SOLUTION: A digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 displays an EPG acquisition setting picture for the user to set acquisition conditions of the program information on a monitor 3 as an EPG acquisition setting menu that is presented for the user. The EPG acquisition setting picture is displayed to enable the user to select "time setting" for designating an acquisition time per channel or "program kind setting" for designating the kind of the program as user's choices thereon. When the user selects "time setting" or "program kind setting", an EPG data acquisition picture is displayed to acquire program information of all channels receivable with the designated acquisition time or the designated kind of the program. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a receiving device, and more particularly, to additional information related to broadcasting attached to video data and audio data, for example, when receiving program information and displaying an electronic program guide, an acquisition condition specified by a user is satisfied. Accordingly, the present invention relates to a terrestrial digital broadcast receiver capable of acquiring program information of all channels in a short time.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, BS (Broadcasting Satellite) digital broadcasting has been started in Japan, and terrestrial digital broadcasting and the like are planned in the future, and various receiving apparatuses corresponding to these are proposed. In these digital broadcasts, video data and audio data, and additional information related to the broadcast attached to the data, for example, data such as program information are transmitted. These data are configured in units of packets identified by different PIDs (packet identifiers), and further, these packets are collectively transmitted as a transport stream defined by ISO / IEC13818-1. .
[0003]
A digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the related art displays an electronic program guide (EPG (Electronic Program Guide)) using program information (attached information) such as a program title, a start time and an end time, a program outline, and performers. For this purpose, an EIT (Event Information Table) included in SI (Service Information) in the transport stream is acquired. In a BS / CS (Communication Satellite) digital broadcast receiving apparatus, program information of another channel can be acquired only by selecting a channel being viewed. Program information must be tuned for each channel and acquired, so if you are watching a program and you have not yet acquired data such as program information, or if you want to know the latest program information, Must be selected to acquire program information for each channel.
[0004]
As a receiving apparatus capable of acquiring broadcast information, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-234092 (digital broadcast receiver), at the time of channel search, RF setting (frequency setting in the RF unit for receiving broadcast waves) In a digital broadcast receiver that performs synchronization setting and information acquisition such as broadcast information, RF setting that does not require a relatively long time is performed for all frequencies, and synchronization setting that requires a relatively long time and information acquisition is performed on a broadcast wave. There is a technique for shortening the entire channel search time by performing only for existing frequencies (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-2324092 (pages 3, 4 and 4)
[0006]
The above-mentioned additional information of the program information and the broadcast information is transmitted at different transmission periods according to the amount of information, and the period information on the transmission periods is also transmitted periodically as different information from the additional information. The cycle information is information indicating a transmission cycle corresponding to the information amount of the program information. For example, the program information for eight days is transmitted at a cycle of 60 seconds, and the program information for two days is transmitted at a cycle of 10 seconds. Information. In the receiving apparatus of the related art, when acquiring program information, it takes time corresponding to the transmission cycle for each channel. For example, when it is desired to view program information for eight days, the transmission cycle is 60 seconds according to the above example. Therefore, to obtain programs for eight days for all channels, 60 seconds for one channel is required. Since the acquisition time was set, it took 60 seconds × several seconds of the channel. In the case of the program for two days, in the above example, it is 10 seconds × several seconds of the channel.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above-described conventional receiving apparatus sets the transmission cycle corresponding to the program information to be acquired for all channels. Therefore, even if the acquisition of the program information is completed, until the time set for each channel elapses. Does not start the acquisition of the program of the next channel, so that there is a wasteful waiting time, and it takes considerable time to acquire the accessory information of all the channels, and the user has to wait during that time. In particular, in the case of the additional information having a large amount of information, in other words, the additional information having a long transmission cycle, the user has to wait for a longer time.
[0008]
Further, when the acquisition time for acquiring the program information can be designated to the user, if the designated acquisition time is shorter than the transmission cycle of the program desired by the user, the program information desired by the user is obtained. It may not be transmitted in time, that is, the program information that the user wants to watch may not be obtained, and the user can determine whether the program information that the user wants to watch can be obtained at the specified acquisition time. It also has the problem of being difficult.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and in a receiving apparatus that acquires program information from a terrestrial digital broadcast channel and displays an electronic program guide, the period of a program that a user wants to watch (for example, 2 The user can specify an acquisition time for acquiring program information for a desired period, and after acquiring program information for one channel, immediately acquire a program for the next channel. It is an object of the present invention to provide a receiving apparatus which can eliminate unnecessary waste time at the time of acquiring program information and can acquire latest program information of all channels in a short time by switching channels to acquire information. .
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is a receiving device capable of acquiring a desired amount of information from a broadcast channel in which a plurality of pieces of additional information having different information amounts are transmitted at a transmission cycle determined according to each information amount, the receiving device includes: An acquisition condition designation unit that allows a user to designate an acquisition condition for acquiring the attached information, and an attached information acquisition unit that acquires the attached information according to an acquisition condition designated by the acquisition condition designation unit. In a digital broadcast receiving apparatus capable of receiving a plurality of broadcast channels, for example, a channel for acquiring broadcast-related information from the broadcast channels in a digital broadcast receiving apparatus capable of receiving a plurality of broadcast channels. An information acquisition unit, and a unit for designating a condition for acquiring the information by a user, wherein the information of each channel is acquired according to the acquisition condition designated by the user. Acquires, in which so as to provide to the user.
[0011]
Further, the information on the broadcast of the broadcast channel is program information.
[0012]
The acquisition condition designated by the acquisition condition designation means is a scheduled period of a program to be displayed as an electronic program guide, and the receiving device transmits program information corresponding to the scheduled period designated by the acquisition condition designation means. It is obtained for all broadcast channels. For example, program information specified by a user can be selected for each transmission cycle.
[0013]
Further, the acquisition condition designated by the acquisition condition designation means is an acquisition time for acquiring the additional information from one broadcast channel, and the receiving device sets the acquisition time at the acquisition time designated by the acquisition condition designation means. The present invention is characterized in that additional information of the amount of information that can be obtained is obtained for all broadcast channels. For example, a program information obtaining time per channel can be specified by a user.
[0014]
Further, when the acquisition of the program information is completed before the time of the transmission cycle of the program information elapses, the receiving apparatus immediately starts acquiring the program information of the next broadcast channel. Then, for example, when the program information for each channel is acquired earlier than the elapse of the transmission cycle time, the next channel is immediately selected.
[0015]
Further, the acquisition condition designating means, when the acquisition condition is time, displays the amount of information that can be acquired for each predetermined time, and sets, for example, the acquisition time per channel. In such a case, how much program information can be obtained is automatically displayed.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a configuration of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 receives, via the terrestrial antenna 2, broadcast data from a broadcasting station that transmits terrestrial digital broadcasts and additional information data (attached information) attached to the broadcast data. Here, the broadcast data is video data and audio data, and the attached information data is program information necessary for displaying an electronic program guide or a program description.
[0017]
The broadcast data and the accompanying information data received by the terrestrial antenna 2 are input to the terrestrial digital demodulation unit 11. The terrestrial digital demodulation unit 11 is instructed by the system control unit 15 for information such as frequency, selects one desired channel, demodulates the signal of the selected channel, and forms one transport stream including a plurality of packets. (Hereinafter abbreviated as TS). The system control unit 15 sets information necessary for filtering such as a TSID (Identifier) in the demultiplexer 12 to obtain data for selecting a program and data such as program information. Data such as information necessary for the selected program and program information is stored in the channel information acquisition unit 13.
[0018]
Further, the system control unit 15 performs filtering by the demultiplexer 12 using the acquired information necessary for channel selection, and supplies the filtered video data and audio data to an AV (Audio Visual) decoder 14. . The AV decoder 14 decodes the supplied video data and audio data and supplies the decoded data to the adder 18. In addition, graphics data for displaying a GUI (Graphical User Interface) is supplied to the adder 18 from the graphic drawing display unit 16 controlled by the system control unit 15. The output from the adder 18 is supplied to the monitor 3 and presented to the user by screen display and sound.
[0019]
Data such as information for selecting a program and program information stored in the channel information acquisition unit 13 are processed by the system control unit 15 operated by the control program. The remote control light receiving unit 17 receives an infrared signal from the remote controller 4 and outputs the converted remote control code to the system control unit 15. The user selects a desired channel and sets the digital broadcast receiving device 1 from the remote controller 4.
[0020]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a channel search process in an embodiment of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention. In the process performed before the process of obtaining program information, the process is performed to select a channel or obtain program information. This is a process for acquiring necessary information. When the system control unit 15 first selects a channel to be tuned and instructs the terrestrial digital demodulation unit 11 (step S1), the terrestrial digital demodulation unit 11 tunes to the designated channel (step S2). ). The system control unit 15 confirms whether or not information (data) necessary for channel selection has been obtained from the selected channel (step S3), and if obtained, together with the information required for channel selection, The channel is registered in the channel information acquisition unit 13 as a selectable channel (step S4).
[0021]
Next, it is confirmed whether or not a BIT (Broadcaster Information Table) including an SI transmission parameter including information on a transmission cycle of the program information has been obtained (step S5). Register it in the channel information acquisition unit 13 (step S6). If it cannot be obtained, the default value of the transmission cycle is registered in the channel information obtaining unit 13 (step S8). After registering the transmission cycle in the channel information acquisition unit 13, it is checked whether or not there is a channel to be searched (step S7). If there is, the process returns to step S2 to select the next channel, and if not, the process ends. If the information necessary for channel selection cannot be obtained in step S3, the process proceeds to step S7, and it is checked whether or not there is a channel to be searched (step S7).
[0022]
As described above, the channel that can be currently received by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1, information necessary for selecting the channel, and program information of the receivable channel are also registered in the channel information acquisition unit 13. . The currently receivable channel is detected by selecting the entire frequency range such as the VHF band or the UHF band by a channel search or the like as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. 2, and the obtained information for channel selection is obtained. Along with the above, it is registered in the channel information acquisition unit 13.
[0023]
The information necessary for the above-described channel selection is channel selection data such as a Network Information Table (NIT) and a Program Association Table (PAT). Also, information necessary for the present invention includes a transmission cycle of ancillary information such as program information. The transmission cycle is obtained by acquiring a BIT including an SI transmission parameter and transmitting the EIT in the SI transmission parameter. Can be obtained from In addition, a default value of the transmission cycle is registered in advance in case the SI transmission parameter cannot be acquired. As default values of the transmission cycle, for example, in the case of a television service, the transmission cycle of the current program and the next program information of the EIT is 1 second, the program for about 9 hours from the present is 3 seconds, and the current is about 2 days (about 39 days). The program for hour) is registered as 10 seconds, and the program for 8 days is registered as 60 seconds. In the case of the data service, the transmission cycle of the current program and the next program information of the EIT is registered as 1 second, and the program for 8 days is registered as 60 seconds.
[0024]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the program information acquisition processing in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is the processing for acquiring the program information after setting the acquisition conditions. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 displays an EPG acquisition setting screen (FIG. 4) on which the user sets program information acquisition conditions on the monitor 3 as an EPG acquisition setting menu to be presented to the user (step S11). The EPG acquisition setting menu may be displayed by a method selected from a menu of a higher hierarchy in the menu of the entire system, or displayed by directly specifying a menu name from the remote controller 4.
[0025]
As a user's option on the EPG acquisition setting screen, "time setting" for specifying the acquisition time per channel, or "program type setting" for specifying the type of program (the scheduled period of the program to be displayed as the electronic program guide) Is displayed for selection. These menus are created by the graphic drawing display unit 16 and presented to the user on the monitor 3. The user uses the remote controller 4 to send the menu to the system control unit 15 via the remote control light receiving unit 17. By sending an instruction, transition between menus is enabled. If there is no receivable channel and the EPG acquisition setting screen cannot be displayed, a channel search confirmation screen (FIG. 9) displaying "No receivable channel. Do you want to perform a channel search?" After the channel search, the EPG acquisition setting menu is displayed again.
[0026]
It is confirmed whether the user has selected "time setting" or "program type setting" (step S12). If "time setting" is selected, a time setting screen (FIG. 5) is displayed. Then, the user is instructed to input the acquisition time of the program information per channel (step S13). When the system control unit 15 receives the acquisition time input by the user using the remote controller 4 via the remote control light receiving unit 17, the digital broadcast receiving device 1 displays the EPG data acquisition screen (FIG. 7) and displays the program information. Acquisition is performed (step S15). When “program type setting” is selected, a program type setting screen (FIG. 6) is displayed to allow the user to select a program type, for example, “current and next program”, “program until about 9 hours later”. The user is instructed to select a program type such as "Is the program up to about 2 days later" or "Is it a program up to 8 days later" (step S14). When the user selects the type of program, an EPG data acquisition screen (FIG. 7) is displayed to acquire program information (step S15).
[0027]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an EPG acquisition setting screen in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows an EPG acquisition setting menu for a user to set program information acquisition conditions. On the EPG acquisition setting screen shown in FIG. 4, the user is prompted to “acquire EPG of terrestrial digital broadcasting of all channels?”, And the user “acquires by specifying acquisition time”, Alternatively, an example in which “acquire by specifying the type of program” can be selected is shown.
[0028]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a time setting screen in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is a screen for setting an acquisition time for acquiring program information per channel. On the time setting screen shown in FIG. 5, the user is displayed, "Acquire terrestrial digital broadcast EPG of all channels. Please set acquisition time." Time can be specified in seconds. In this case, an indication of the acquisition time is displayed for reference, and specifically, how much the number of receivable channels obtained by the channel search and the transmission cycle obtained from the obtained BIT or default value indicate how much. The type of program information that can be acquired by time is displayed.
[0029]
For example, in the case of the television service, the transmission cycle of the current program and the next program information of the EIT is 1 second, the program for about 9 hours from the present is 3 seconds, and the program for about 2 days (about 39 hours) from the present is 10 seconds. , 8 days of the program are 60 seconds, and in the case of the data service, the transmission cycle of the EIT current program and the next program information is 1 second, the program of the 8 days is 60 seconds, and the number of receivable channels is 60 seconds. If there are 10 channels, the display screen
"Estimated acquisition time
1 second / 1ch: Total 10 seconds: Current program and next program
60 seconds / 1ch: Total 10 minutes: Program until 8 days later
TV service EPG
3 seconds / 1ch: Total 30 seconds: TV program from now until about 9 hours
10 seconds / 1ch: Total 100 seconds: TV program from now about 2 days later "
And so on. This display method can be various other display methods, and is not limited to the example shown here.
[0030]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a program type setting screen in a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a screen for selecting a program type for distinguishing a scheduled period of a program to be displayed as an EPG. is there. On the program type setting screen shown in FIG. 6, the user is displayed as “Acquire terrestrial digital broadcast EPG of all channels. Select the program to be acquired.” Acquisition of next program ”,“ Acquisition of program up to about 9 hours later (TV program) ”,“ Acquisition of program up to about 2 days later (TV program) ”, or“ Acquisition of program up to 8 days later ” Select from the types of programs. In this case as well, an indication of the acquisition time is displayed for each type of program, and specifically, based on the number of receivable channels obtained by the channel search and the transmission cycle obtained from the obtained BIT or default value, The type of the program and the time at which the type of the program can be acquired are displayed.
[0031]
For example, in the case of the television service, the transmission cycle of the current program and the next program information of the EIT is 1 second, the program for about 9 hours from the present is 3 seconds, and the program for about 2 days (about 39 hours) from the present is 10 seconds. , 8 days of the program are 60 seconds, and in the case of the data service, the transmission cycle of the EIT current program and the next program information is 1 second, the program of the 8 days is 60 seconds, and the number of receivable channels is 60 seconds. If there are 10 channels, the screen display is:
"Current / Next Program Acquisition 1sec / 1ch Total 10sec
Acquisition of programs up to about 9 hours later (TV program) 3 seconds / 1 channel, total 30 seconds
Acquisition of program until about 2 days later (TV program) 10 seconds / 1ch 100 seconds in total
Acquisition of program until 8 days later 60 seconds / 1ch 10 minutes in total "
It can be displayed as follows. Various other display methods are possible, and the display method is not limited to the example shown here.
[0032]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an EPG data acquisition screen in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a menu during program information acquisition. As a menu display method, it is possible for the user to obtain the current program information by displaying how much program information can be obtained and how long the program information is to be obtained according to the obtaining condition input by the user. It is possible to display what kind of program information is, and how much time is left until the program information ends, so as to make it easy to understand. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 7, "Program information for about two days is obtained. Please wait. 99 seconds remaining" is displayed. 10 seconds "is input, and the remaining time reaches 99 seconds. The same screen is displayed also when “acquire a program up to about two days later (television program)” is selected on the program type setting screen and the remaining time reaches 99 seconds. When the user selects “cancel”, the user can cancel it during the acquisition. This display method can also be variously displayed, and an example is shown here.
[0033]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the program information acquisition processing in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is the processing for acquiring the program information when time setting or program type setting is selected. First, it is determined whether or not there is a receivable channel (step S21). If there is no receivable channel, the process is terminated. If there is, the channel is selected (step S22), and SDT (Service Description Table) is selected. To confirm whether or not EIT, that is, EPG data is transmitted (step S23). When the SDT cannot be obtained, it may be determined that the EPG data is transmitted or not.
[0034]
If it is determined that the EPG data (program information) has been transmitted, the system control unit 15 sets the acquisition time per channel specified by the user in the timer (step S24). Thereafter, EPG data of the selected channel is acquired, and whether or not program information of an information amount corresponding to the type of the selected program has been acquired, or whether or not the time set in the timer has elapsed. Judgment is made (step S25), and when the program information of the information amount corresponding to the type of the selected program can be obtained, or when the time set in the timer has elapsed, the acquisition of the EPG data of this channel ends. If the EPG data has not been transmitted, the acquisition of the EPG data for the currently selected channel is immediately terminated, and the process proceeds to step S26. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not there is a next channel that can be selected (step S26). If there is, the process returns to step S22 and repeats steps S22 to S26. After the acquisition of the EPG data is completed for all selectable channels, processing such as selecting the channel that was viewed before performing the processing of acquiring the EPG data and displaying an EPG screen is performed.
[0035]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a channel search confirmation screen in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is a screen when there is no receivable channel. A message such as "There is no receivable channel. Do you want to perform a channel search?" Is displayed on the screen of the monitor 3 to confirm whether the user should perform a channel search, and the channel search instruction, that is, "Yes" is displayed. When the instruction is given, the channel search is performed and the EPG acquisition setting menu is displayed again. If the instruction is "No", the process ends without performing the channel search.
[0036]
In the embodiment described above, a case where two types of “time setting” and “program information setting” can be selected has been described, but only one of them can be presented as an EPG acquisition setting menu. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a terrestrial digital broadcast receiving apparatus but also to a digital broadcasting shared receiving apparatus with a satellite or a cable. Furthermore, as for the setting of the type of program information and the setting of time, various other acquisition conditions can be set.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, when a user wants to know the latest information of a program whose transmission cycle is short, such as the current program information of all channels of terrestrial digital broadcasting or the current day's program information, an operation that is short and easy to understand Method, program information can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a channel search process in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a program information acquisition process in an embodiment of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an EPG acquisition setting screen in an embodiment of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a time setting screen in the embodiment of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a program type setting screen in the embodiment of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an EPG data acquisition screen in the embodiment of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a program information acquisition process in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a channel search confirmation screen in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Digital broadcast receiving apparatus, 2 ... Ground wave antenna, 3 ... Monitor, 4 ... Remote controller, 11 ... Ground wave digital demodulation part, 12 ... Demultiplexer, 13 ... Channel information acquisition part, 14 ... AV decoder, 15 ... System Control unit, 16: graphic drawing display unit, 17: remote control light receiving unit, 18: adder

Claims (6)

In a receiving device that can acquire a desired amount of information from a broadcast channel in which a plurality of pieces of additional information having different amounts of information are transmitted at a transmission cycle determined according to each amount of information, the receiving device transmits the additional information. Acquisition condition designation means for allowing a user to designate acquisition conditions to be acquired, and additional information acquisition means for acquiring the additional information according to the acquisition conditions designated by the acquisition condition designation means, corresponding to the designated acquisition conditions And receiving additional information for all broadcast channels. The receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the additional information is program information. The acquisition condition specified by the acquisition condition specifying means is a scheduled period of a program to be displayed as an electronic program guide, and the receiving apparatus broadcasts program information corresponding to the scheduled period specified by the acquisition condition specifying means. The receiving device according to claim 2, wherein the receiving device acquires a channel. The acquisition condition designated by the acquisition condition designation means is an acquisition time for acquiring the additional information from one broadcast channel, and the receiving device can acquire at the acquisition time designated by the acquisition condition designation means. 3. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional information of the information amount is obtained for all broadcast channels. 4. The receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the acquisition of the program information of the next broadcast channel is started immediately when the acquisition of the program information is completed before the time of the transmission cycle of the program information elapses. The receiving device according to claim 1. The receiving apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the acquisition condition designating unit displays an amount of information that can be acquired at predetermined time intervals when the acquisition condition is time.

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