JP2004363807A - Broadcast receiver and broadcast program selection method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to select and view a program of a desired genre anytime through an easy operation. <P>SOLUTION: A remote controller has channel select buttons, channel selector switches, etc., which are used in common to specify a "broadcasting station" and a "genre". Further, the remote controller is equipped with a mode selector switch 5 for specifying one of a normal channel mode wherein a choice of a channel number is regarded as a "choice of a broadcasting station" and a channel-by-genre mode where in a choice of a channel is regarded as a "choice of a genre". In the channel-by-genre mode, a broadcast receiver side refers to genre-broadcasting station correspondence information indicating what genre a program broadcast by each broadcasting station currently belongs to, and then selects the broadcasting station corresponding to the genre indicated with a signal from the remote controller to display out its program contents. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast broadcast by a broadcast station and a broadcast program selecting method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in the broadcasting field, the commercialization of digital broadcasting for broadcasting a television signal or the like of a program as compression-encoded data by adopting a high-efficiency encoding technology for video and audio has been promoted. Thereby, it is possible to further increase the number of channels and to provide a high-quality image to the viewer.
[0003]
In such digital broadcasting, service information (SI), which is information indicating the attributes of a broadcasted program, is transmitted together with a broadcast signal. The service information includes genre information necessary for classifying programs by genre, program start / end time information, transmission channel information, and the like. For this reason, by using the genre information in the service information, it is also possible to realize a program search that matches the taste of the viewer.
[0004]
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique in which channels frequently viewed by a viewer are registered in advance in a storage unit as a search list, and a search is performed from a genre of the registered channel based on the search list when searching for a program. .
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-122548
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, programs broadcast on a certain channel (or broadcast station) are not always limited to a specific genre. Depending on the time zone and the day of the week, the genre of the broadcast program varies in many channels. In consideration of such a situation, the technique of Patent Literature 1 cannot sufficiently satisfy the demand of the user (viewer).
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a broadcast receiving apparatus and a broadcast program selection method that allow a user to select and view a program of a genre desired at any time with a simple operation. .
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention manages genre-broadcast station correspondence information indicating to which genre a program being broadcast at each broadcast station belongs, and stores each genre and each broadcast in the genre-broadcast station correspondence information. Information management means for dynamically updating the association with a station; genre determination means for determining a genre specified through an input operation; and reference to the genre-broadcast station correspondence information managed by the information management means. A selection control unit for selecting a broadcast station corresponding to the genre determined by the genre determination unit; and a display control unit for displaying and outputting program contents of the broadcast station selected by the selection control unit. It is characterized by.
[0009]
Also, the broadcast program selection method according to the present invention manages genre-broadcast station correspondence information indicating to which genre a program being broadcast at each broadcast station belongs, and stores each genre-broadcast station correspondence information in the genre-broadcast station correspondence information. The association between the genre and each broadcast station is dynamically updated, the genre specified through the input operation is determined, and the genre indicated by the determination result is referred to by referring to the genre-broadcast station correspondence information. A broadcast station to be broadcasted, and the program content of the selected broadcast station is displayed and output.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a broadcast receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This system includes a broadcast receiving device 1, an antenna 2, a remote controller (hereinafter, referred to as a remote controller), and a television receiver 4.
[0012]
The broadcast receiving device 1 is a broadcast receiver that can receive, for example, a BS (Broadcasting satellite) broadcast or a terrestrial digital broadcast. In addition, in addition to BS broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting, it may be constructed such that it can receive broadcasting signals such as CATV broadcasting and analog satellite broadcasting. The broadcast receiving device 1 includes various devices such as a TV tuner necessary for broadcast reception, software for creating an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) using service information (SI), and the like. It performs channel selection, demodulation, video / audio processing, and the like in accordance with the received various signals, and outputs the corresponding program contents to the television receiver 4 as video and audio signals.
[0013]
In particular, the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment manages genre-broadcast station correspondence information (table) indicating to which genre a program broadcasted at each broadcast station belongs, and the genre-broadcast station It has a function of dynamically updating the association between each genre and each broadcasting station in the correspondence information. The genre of a broadcast program can be determined based on genre information in service information added to a broadcast signal or genre information in a created EPG. By referring to the genre-broadcast station correspondence information, it is possible to select a broadcast station corresponding to the genre specified by the input operation on the remote controller 3 and output the program contents of the selected broadcast station to the television receiver 4. It can be done. Note that the broadcast receiving device 1 may be built in the television receiver 4.
[0014]
The antenna 2 receives a radio wave of a broadcast signal transmitted from each broadcast station, and supplies it to the broadcast receiver 1 as an electric signal.
[0015]
The remote controller 3 is an input device provided in the broadcast receiving device 1, and transmits a signal corresponding to a channel number selected by an input operation of a user (viewer) to the broadcast receiving device 1 by infrared rays. In particular, the remote controller 3 according to the present embodiment not only selectively transmits a signal corresponding to one of a plurality of channel numbers according to a user's input operation, but also broadcasts the signal at the time of the transmission. Mode designation information indicating which one of the first mode as the station selection signal and the second mode as the genre selection signal is to be applied is transmitted (for example, in the form of a flag) and transmitted. It has become something.
[0016]
The television receiver 4 outputs video and audio from a screen and a speaker according to a signal transmitted from the broadcast receiving device 1.
[0017]
Next, with reference to FIG. 2, an arrangement relation of operation buttons and switches on the remote controller 3 will be described.
[0018]
The remote controller 3 includes a channel selection button (channel numbers: 1 to 12), a channel switch, a sound volume switch, and the like, which are commonly used to specify a “broadcasting station” and a “genre”. .
[0019]
Further, the remote controller 3 controls the normal channel mode (first mode) in which the selection of the channel number is regarded as “broadcast station selection” and the genre-specific channel mode (the second mode) in which the selection of the channel number is regarded as “genre selection”. As shown in FIG. 2A having a mode changeover switch 5 for designating one of the two modes, the normal channel mode is designated when the mode changeover switch 5 is in the "normal" position. . On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the mode changeover switch 5 is at the "genre" position, the genre-specific channel mode is designated.
[0020]
When a channel selection signal is transmitted from the remote controller 3 in response to a user's input operation, the channel selection signal is transmitted in a state where mode designation information indicating a mode designated by the mode switch 5 is added to the signal. become.
[0021]
Next, an internal configuration of the broadcast receiving device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0022]
The input terminal 11 is a terminal for inputting an electric signal sent from the antenna 2 to the inside of the broadcast receiving device 1.
[0023]
The tuning circuit 12 selects (tunes) one transmission channel from signals supplied via the input terminal 11 in accordance with a control signal from a control unit 19 described later, and sends the data of the selected channel to the demodulation circuit 13. Output.
[0024]
The demodulation circuit 13 performs demodulation processing on the input data and outputs the data to the video / audio processing circuit 14 and the data extraction circuit 17, respectively. Further, external output can be made from the output port 16.
[0025]
The video / audio processing circuit 14 performs signal processing necessary for displaying a demodulated signal from the demodulation circuit 13 on a screen and, when displaying a display screen containing specific information, is supplied from the control unit 19. On-screen display data is superimposed and output.
[0026]
The output terminal 15 is a terminal for outputting a signal from the video / audio processing circuit 14 to the outside. The output signal is sent to an externally connected television receiver 4.
[0027]
The output port 16 is a port for outputting data demodulated by the demodulation circuit 13 to the outside.
[0028]
The data extraction circuit 17 extracts service information added at the time of transmission from the output signal from the demodulation circuit 12. The extracted service information is supplied to the control unit 19.
[0029]
The memory 18 stores various information tables such as i) normal channel information, ii) genre-specific channel information, and iii) genre-broadcast station correspondence information. The memory 18 also stores in the memory 18 a control program for executing a process related to broadcast program selection using these information tables. Examples of the above-described normal channel information, genre-specific channel information, and genre-broadcast station correspondence information are shown in FIGS.
[0030]
The information table of FIG. 4 shows that in the normal channel mode, five BS broadcast stations and seven terrestrial broadcast stations are allocated to twelve channels. Indicates whether it is being broadcast. The contents of this information table change over time. The information table of FIG. 5 shows what genre is assigned to each of the 12 channels in the genre-specific channel mode. Note that the relationship between the channel number and the genre can be appropriately changed according to the request of the user. The information table shown in FIG. 6 is created based on the information table shown in FIG. 4 and the information table shown in FIG. 5, and indicates to which genre a program being broadcast at each broadcast station belongs at present. The contents of this information table change over time.
[0031]
4 and 6 may be performed when i) the user performs a predetermined operation on the remote controller 3, or ii) when a predetermined time (for example, one minute) elapses. Or iii) when the genre of the program broadcasted by each broadcast station on the EPG is switched.
[0032]
The remote control receiver 19 receives a signal transmitted from the remote controller 3. The received signal is sent to the control unit 20.
[0033]
The control unit (microcomputer) 20 executes a control program stored in the memory 18 to timely update various information tables in the memory 18 using service information and the like obtained from the data extraction circuit 17, In accordance with a signal sent from the remote controller 3, a broadcast station broadcasting a broadcast program desired by the user is determined from various information tables, and a control signal for outputting the program content to the outside is output to the video / audio processing circuit 14. Or send it to
[0034]
Next, a functional configuration of a control program executed by the control unit 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0035]
The mode determination unit 21 determines whether the mode designation information added to the signal transmitted from the remote controller 3 indicates “normal channel mode” or “genre-specific channel mode”.
[0036]
The normal mode processing unit 22 executes a process corresponding to the normal channel mode when the mode determination unit 21 determines that the mode is the “normal channel mode”.
[0037]
The genre mode processing unit 23 executes a process corresponding to the genre-specific channel mode when the mode determination unit 21 determines that the “genre-specific channel mode”. The genre mode processing unit 23 includes a genre determination unit 24, a table management unit 25, a program selection control unit 26, and a display control unit 27.
[0038]
The genre determination unit 24 determines a genre specified by a signal transmitted from the remote controller 3.
[0039]
The table management unit 25 manages, on a memory, genre-broadcast station correspondence information indicating to which genre a program being broadcast at each broadcast station belongs, and stores each genre and each genre in the genre-broadcast station correspondence information. This dynamically updates the association with the broadcasting station.
[0040]
The program selection control section 26 selects a broadcast station (program of) corresponding to the genre determined by the genre determination section 24 by referring to the genre-broadcast station correspondence information managed by the table management section 25. It is.
[0041]
The display control unit 27 displays and outputs the program contents of the broadcast station selected by the program selection control unit 26. In addition, the display control unit 27 can display and output information indicating the correspondence between each genre and each broadcasting station or program content according to a predetermined input operation on the remote controller 3. FIG. 8 shows an example of this case. Although the correspondence between the genre and the broadcast station is shown in the figure, the correspondence between the genre and the program content may be displayed instead. Also, the genre, broadcast station, and program contents may be represented by icons.
[0042]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11, a description will be given of the operation of switching the program content output to the television receiver 4.
[0043]
Now, as shown in FIG. 9, it is assumed that the user is viewing a news program on BS_2 (state A1). Here, it is assumed that the user wants to watch the sports program, sets the genre-based channel mode on the remote controller 3, and selects the channel number 2. Then, the video is switched to the program content of BS_1 which is currently broadcasting the sports program (state A2). When the channel number 2 is selected again, the content is switched to the program content of the place D_5 where another sports program is broadcast (state A3). When channel number 2 is selected again, there is no other broadcast station broadcasting the sports program, so the program returns to the previous program contents of BS_1 (state A4).
[0044]
Further, as shown in FIG. 10, when the user is watching a news program on BS_2 (state B1), he / she wants to view a document program, and selects channel number 8 in the state of channel mode by genre. Shall be done. In this case, since the document program is not currently being broadcast at any broadcast station, a message such as "Document program is not currently being broadcast" is displayed (state B2).
[0045]
Also, as shown in FIG. 11, when the user is watching a news program on BS_2 (state C1), he wants to watch another news program, and sets the channel number 1 in the genre-based channel mode. It is assumed that is selected. Then, the content is switched to the program content of the place D_6 where the news program is currently being broadcast (state C2). When channel number 1 is selected again, the content is switched to the program content of BS_5 broadcasting another news program (state C3). When channel number 1 is selected again, there is no other broadcast station broadcasting the news program, so the program returns to the previous program content of BS_2 (state C4).
[0046]
Next, an operation according to the control program will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.
[0047]
When the depression of the channel button (or the switching of the channel changeover switch) is detected (step S1), it is determined whether one of “genre-specific channel mode” and “normal channel mode” is designated (step S2). ).
[0048]
If the "normal channel mode" is designated, a process corresponding to a normal remote control operation is executed (step S3). On the other hand, if the "channel mode by genre" is designated, various information tables including, for example, "genre-broadcast station correspondence information" are updated to the latest state at this time (step S4). The genre specified by the transmitted signal is determined (step S5).
[0049]
Thereafter, by referring to the updated "genre-broadcast station correspondence information", the process proceeds to a process for selecting (the program of) the broadcast station corresponding to the genre determined in step S5.
[0050]
First, it is determined whether the genre determined in step S5 is the same genre as the currently watched program (step S6).
[0051]
If the genre is the same, it is determined whether or not another program of the genre is broadcast (step S7). If any other program is being broadcast, the video is switched to the next program in the genre (step S8). On the other hand, if there is no other broadcast, a notification message to that effect is displayed (step S9).
[0052]
If the determined genre is not the same genre as the currently watched program in step S6, it is determined whether a program of the determined genre is currently being broadcast (step S10). If it is currently being broadcast, the video is switched to the next program in the genre (step S11). On the other hand, if it is not currently being broadcast, a notification message to that effect is displayed (step S12).
[0053]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the user is watching a news program, for example, and wants to watch a sports program, the user searches a program table or switches channels one by one to search. This can eliminate the hassle. In this case, if the sports program is broadcast on any broadcast station, the candidate is presented, so that a program of a desired genre can be easily and quickly selected regardless of the broadcast station. . If the sports program is not currently being broadcast at any broadcast station, a notification message to that effect is displayed, so that the fact can be immediately known.
[0054]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying constituent elements in an implementation stage without departing from the scope of the invention. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Further, components of different embodiments may be appropriately combined.
[0055]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the user can select and watch a program of a desired genre at any time with a simple operation.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a broadcast receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an arrangement relationship of operation buttons and switches on a remote controller.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the broadcast receiving device.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of normal channel information.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of genre-specific channel information.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of genre-broadcast station correspondence information.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of a control program executed by a control unit.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of association information between a genre and a broadcast station or program content.
FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of an operation of switching program contents output to a television receiver.
FIG. 10 is an exemplary view showing another example of the switching operation of the program content output to the television receiver.
FIG. 11 is an exemplary view showing still another example of the operation of switching the program content output to the television receiver.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation according to a control program.
[Description of Signs] 1 ... Broadcast receiver, 2 ... Antenna, 3 ... Remote control, 4 ... TV receiver, 5 ... Mode switch, 6 ... Control program, 11 ... Input terminal, 12 ... Tuning circuit, 13 ... Demodulation Circuit, 14 video / audio processing circuit, 15 output terminal, 16 output port, 17 data extraction circuit, 18 memory, 19 remote control receiving unit, 20 control unit (microcomputer), 21 mode determination unit, 22: Normal mode processing unit, 23: Genre mode processing unit, 24: Genre determination unit, 25: Table management unit, 26: Program selection control unit, 27: Display control unit

Claims (11)

It manages genre-broadcast station correspondence information indicating to which genre a program broadcasted at each broadcast station belongs, and dynamically associates each genre with each broadcast station in the genre-broadcast station correspondence information. Information management means to be updated;
Genre determination means for determining a genre specified through an input operation;
Selection control means for selecting a broadcast station corresponding to the genre determined by the genre determination means by referring to the genre-broadcast station correspondence information managed by the information management means;
And a display control unit for displaying and outputting the program contents of the broadcast station selected by the selection control unit. In response to an input operation, one of a plurality of types of signals is selectively transmitted, and in this transmission, a first mode in which the signal is a selection signal of a broadcasting station and a first mode in which the signal is a selection signal of a genre. Input means capable of adding and transmitting mode designation information indicating which of the two modes is to be applied;
Mode determination means for determining whether the mode designation information added to the signal transmitted from the input means indicates one of the first mode and the second mode,
It manages genre-broadcast station correspondence information indicating to which genre a program broadcasted at each broadcast station belongs, and dynamically associates each genre with each broadcast station in the genre-broadcast station correspondence information. Information management means to be updated;
A genre determining unit that determines a genre specified by a signal transmitted from the input unit, when a determination result of the mode determining unit indicates the second mode;
Selection control means for selecting a broadcast station corresponding to the genre determined by the genre determination means by referring to the genre-broadcast station correspondence information managed by the information management means;
And a display control unit for displaying and outputting the program contents of the broadcast station selected by the selection control unit. 3. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the input unit is a remote controller and includes a mode changeover switch for designating one of the first mode and the second mode. 3. The broadcast according to claim 2, wherein the display control means can display and output information indicating a correspondence between each genre and each broadcast station or program content in response to a predetermined input operation. Receiver. The selection control means determines whether or not the genre determined by the genre determination means is the same as the genre of the program of the currently selected broadcasting station. If the genre is the same, another program belonging to the genre is determined. 3. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein if there is another broadcast station that broadcasts the program, the switching control to the program of the other broadcast station is performed. The selection control means determines whether or not the genre determined by the genre determination means is the same as the genre of the program of the currently selected broadcasting station. If not, the program belonging to the determined genre is determined. 3. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein if there is a broadcasting station broadcasting the broadcast, the switching control to the program of the broadcasting station is performed. It manages genre-broadcast station correspondence information indicating to which genre a program being broadcast at each broadcast station belongs, and dynamically associates each genre with each broadcast station in the genre-broadcast station correspondence information. Update to
Determine the genre specified through the input operation,
By referring to the genre-broadcast station correspondence information, a broadcast station corresponding to the genre indicated in the result of the determination is selected,
A broadcast program selection method, comprising displaying and outputting the program contents of the selected broadcast station. A first mode in which one of a plurality of types of signals is selectively transmitted according to an input operation on the input device, and the signal is a selection signal of a broadcasting station at the time of transmission, and a genre selection signal is used as the signal. And transmitting with the addition of mode designation information indicating which of the second modes to apply,
It is determined whether the mode designation information added to the signal transmitted from the input device indicates one of the first mode and the second mode,
It manages genre-broadcast station correspondence information indicating to which genre a program being broadcast at each broadcast station belongs, and dynamically associates each genre with each broadcast station in the genre-broadcast station correspondence information. Update to
When the result of the determination indicates the second mode, a genre specified by a signal transmitted from the input device is determined,
By referring to the genre-broadcast station correspondence information, a broadcast station corresponding to the genre indicated in the result of the genre determination is selected,
A broadcast program selection method, comprising displaying and outputting the program contents of the selected broadcast station. 9. The broadcast program selection method according to claim 8, wherein information indicating association between each genre and each broadcast station or program content is displayed and output in response to a predetermined input operation. It is determined whether or not the genre indicated in the genre determination result is the same as the genre of the program of the currently selected broadcast station. If the genre is the same, another genre that is broadcasting another program belonging to the genre 9. The broadcast program selection method according to claim 8, wherein if there is a broadcast station, switching control to the program of the other broadcast station is performed. It is determined whether or not the genre indicated in the genre determination result is the same as the genre of the program of the currently selected broadcasting station. If not, the program belonging to the genre indicated in the genre determination result is broadcast. 9. The broadcast program selection method according to claim 8, wherein if there is a broadcast station, switching control to the program of the broadcast station is performed.

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