JP2005065009A - Program data acquiring device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that a tuner for program acquisition is needed in addition to a tuner used for usual viewing and listening because a host station has to be selected for a fixed period of time in the case of acquiring program data from a VBI (vertical blanking interval) of terrestrial analog broadcasting. <P>SOLUTION: A message is displayed an OSD (on screen display) to perform guidance so that the program data can be acquired, and an opportunity for acquiring the program data is improved by turning the tuner toward the host station as much as possible so that even one tuner can acquire the program data when the tuner is usually used. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a program data acquisition apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for acquiring program data from a user viewing and a VBI (Vertical Blanking Interval) with only one tuner.

Conventionally, as a method of passing program data of EPG (Electronic Program Guide), there is a method of using terrestrial analog broadcast VBI. In order to acquire the program data, it is necessary to select a channel (host station) that is transmitting during the transmission period of the program data. For this reason, conventionally, two tuners are prepared, one for normal viewing and one for program data acquisition (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The host station also sends time information every minute, and time information can be acquired by selecting a host station for a maximum of one minute.
JP 2000-270277 A

  As described above, when acquiring program data, a tuner for acquisition was necessary in addition to the tuner for viewing, but there was a problem that the cost would be required if a tuner for acquisition was prepared To do.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a program data acquisition apparatus that performs viewing and program data acquisition with only one tuner without preparing a tuner for acquiring program data.

  In order to obtain program data with one tuner, it is necessary to direct the tuner to the host station as much as possible. Therefore, guidance is provided so that program data can be acquired by OSD (On Screen Display), and a host station is selected when the tuner is not used for viewing.

  According to the present invention, improvement of program data acquisition opportunities can be expected even with one tuner, so that program data can be acquired without any problem if used normally.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention. The terrestrial analog broadcast antenna 101 and the tuner 102 receive the terrestrial analog broadcast, and the program data can be acquired by selecting the host station with the tuner 102 when the host station is transmitting the program data. it can. The acquired program data is stored in the storage unit 111. The AV input unit 103 receives inputs such as a composite terminal and a D terminal. The switching unit 104 switches the inputs of the tuner 102 and the AV input unit 103 and determines the source to be displayed. When the user operates the input unit 105, if the power is on, the operation is transmitted to the control unit 106 through the standby control unit 114. The control unit 106 controls the tuner 102 and the switching unit 104 in accordance with a user operation, and selects a source instructed by the user. The source selected by the switching unit 104 passes through the video processing unit 107, is combined with the OSD from the OSD control unit 108 by the combining unit 109, and is displayed on the display unit 110. The OSD control unit 108 selects and displays a message stored in the storage unit 111 according to a situation in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 106.

  When a user connects a connected device such as a video recorder to the AV input unit 103 and is viewing a source from the AV input, the user does not know even if the tuner 102 is pointed at the host station, so that the host station is selected. To. That is, the control unit 106 determines whether the source from the tuner 102 is selected by the switching unit, and if not selected, instructs the tuner 102 to select the host station. When the terrestrial analog broadcast source is selected at the input 105, the previous viewing channel stored in the storage unit 111 is selected and switched to the input source from 102.

  The power control unit 112 controls the power state, and the power off state manages the three states of the main power off state, the standby state, and the function standby state.

  The main power off state is a state in which all the power is off and the power switch of the main body is turned off. The standby state is an operation of only the standby control unit 114 and is turned off by the power button of the remote controller. The function standby state is the same state as the power on except that the tube surface is off.

  The standby state and the function standby state are switched according to an instruction from the power supply control unit 112. The function standby state is set during acquisition of program data, the tuner 102 selects the host station to acquire the program data, and the acquisition is completed when the acquisition is completed. When the remote control power is turned off in the absence of program data, the function standby state is always set, and program data can be acquired by selecting a host station. Also, when the remote control power is turned off with the program data already acquired, the next program data transmission time is included in the program data, so the standby state is set until the acquisition time is reached. Make a transition to the function standby state. Measurement up to the acquisition time is realized by using the measurement unit 113. In the main power off state, since all the power is off, program data cannot be acquired. Therefore, it is possible to automatically acquire program data when the user is not using the television by recommending that the remote control is turned off.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of an OSD message for guiding the user to a state in which program data can be acquired except when the user is watching the program using the tuner 102 and increasing opportunities for acquiring the program data. OSD1 is a message displayed when installation setting is performed. The installation setting is a scene in which a channel setting and a host station for acquiring program data are always set when the user purchases the power for the first time. When this installation setting is performed, the user can know the program data acquisition method by selecting the host station and displaying OSD1. When the user operates the input unit 105 to browse the EPG, the OSD 2 displays it when there is no time information. Since the time information is obtained by selecting a host station for a maximum of one minute, the OSD 2 is continuously displayed until the time information is obtained. The OSD 3 is displayed in a scene where program data cannot be acquired, like the OSD 2. The OSD 2 continues to be displayed until the time can be acquired, and the OSD 3 is displayed until the program data can be acquired. However, the OSD display can be canceled by the return key to return to the normal viewing state.

  FIG. 3 is a determination flowchart when performing the OSD of FIG. First, it is determined whether or not it is in the installation setting state (S301). If it is in the installation setting state, OSD1 is displayed (S302), and a method for acquiring program data is shown. If it is not in the installation setting state, it is confirmed whether the program guide key is pressed (S303), and if it is pressed, the time information is confirmed (S304). Note that S303 applies not only to the program guide key, but also to those that make transitions to the EPG, such as transitions from program content keys and normal menus. When there is no time information, OSD2 display is performed on the full screen (S305), the host station is selected, and the user is kept waiting until the time information is obtained. If there is time information in S304, or if time information can be acquired in S305, it is determined whether there is program data (S306). Since the program data is stored in the storage unit 111, the storage unit 111 is checked, and if there is program data, EPG is displayed (S307), and if not, OSD3 is displayed (S308).

  FIG. 4 is a transition diagram when the user tries to browse the EPG. The case where the current viewing is 8 channels and the host station is 4 channels will be described. 4A is viewing 8 channels, and when the program guide key is pressed, transitions to the 4C EPG. If the time information is not available, the OSD is displayed on the full screen as in 4B to hide the viewing video, stop the sound and monitor out, and then change the tuner 102 from the 8-channel to the 4-channel host station. The video that was being viewed to select the host station is switched, but since the OSD 2 is displayed in full screen, it is not known whether the video has been switched. Further, when the OSD 2 is displayed, the sound and the monitor-out are stopped so that the user does not know that the channel is switched. When the time information can be acquired, the 4C EPG is displayed. When there is no program data, OSD3 is displayed on the full screen as in 4D and the host is selected. As with 4B, 4D also displays the OSD on the full screen and stops the audio and monitor-out, so that the user does not know that the host station has been selected.

  In this embodiment, when a message is displayed when an EPG transition is made, the user is not made aware that the host station has been selected, but this is realized so that the user can understand that the station has been selected. May be. In this embodiment, the time information is acquired from the host station. However, the time information may be acquired from the host station. Alternatively, the time information may be acquired from the host station if it is compatible with digital broadcasting. . If the time and program data cannot be acquired such as when the main power is turned on, the host station may be forcibly selected.

  The program data acquisition apparatus with one tuner according to the present invention can acquire program data if it is normally used without preparing a tuner dedicated to program data acquisition, and is equipped with a tuner mounted on a television, a video recorder, a DVD recorder or the like. Useful as a means to reduce.

Block diagram of the program data acquisition apparatus in Embodiment 1 of the present invention The figure which shows OSD for raising the acquisition rate in Embodiment 1 of this invention The flowchart which shows the OSD condition in Embodiment 1 of this invention Transition diagram up to EPG display in Embodiment 1 of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Terrestrial analog broadcasting antenna 102 Terrestrial analog broadcasting tuner 103 AV input unit 104 Switching unit 105 Input unit 106 Control unit 107 Video processing unit 108 OSD control unit 109 Composition unit 110 Display unit 111 Storage unit 112 Power supply control unit 113 Measurement unit 114 Standby control unit

Claims (1)

Reception means for receiving terrestrial analog broadcast, storage means for storing program information, time information, and information for guiding acquisition of the time information, terrestrial analog broadcast from the reception means, program from the storage means There is a display request to display information or information for guiding the acquisition of time information from the storage means, and when a terrestrial analog broadcast of a desired channel is displayed on the display means, the user has requested a program guide display In the case, it is determined whether or not the time information is stored in the storage means. If it is determined that the time information is not stored, the information for guiding acquisition of the time information stored in the storage means is obtained as the desired information. Switching to the display of the terrestrial analog broadcast of the channel of the channel and displaying it on the display means, and allowing the receiving means to select a predetermined channel and acquiring the time information, Program data acquisition apparatus characterized by comprising a control means for displaying a program guide on the display means causes tuned the desired channel to said receiving means after the acquisition of the time information.

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