JP2005167664A - Program information system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a time required for acquiring EPG information by integrally managing the EPG information with a server. <P>SOLUTION: A television receiver of each home is connected to a network at the center of an EPG information management server in a cooperative dwelling or the like. The EPG information acquired by each television receiver is integrally held with the EPG information management server. When each television receiver acquires new EPG information, the EPG information is transmitted to the EPG information management server. When there is ungained EPG information, the EPG information can be acquired from the EPG information management server. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

        The present invention relates to a program information storage device for extracting and storing program information in a television broadcast in which information related to a program is multiplexed and transmitted with main information of the program.

      In recent years, in television broadcasting, information (program guide information) necessary for creating a program guide is multiplexed and broadcast on main information (video, audio, etc.) of a program, and this program guide information is based on the receiver. An EPG (Electronic Program Guide) has been put into practical use in which a program guide is created and displayed on the screen, and the viewer selects and reserves the program on the screen.

      For example, in digital broadcasting using MPEG2, SI (Service Information) is transmitted as information that helps a viewer to select and reserve a program. This is information transmitted at regular time intervals for each broadcast station. The service ID for identifying the broadcast station, the program ID for identifying the program, the program title, the broadcast start time of the program, and the broadcast of the program The length of time is included. In addition, there may be a group ID that identifies a group to which the program belongs (program type or the like).

      Television broadcast receivers that can store program information generally include televisions and video recorders. In general, a television has a system structure as shown in FIG.

      The antenna (1) is arranged outdoors in a predetermined direction and receives digital broadcast waves. The antenna (1) is generally provided with a frequency converter, and supplies a received / frequency converted signal to the tuner (2).

      The tuner (2) extracts a signal having a specific frequency from the received high frequency digital modulation signal. That is, a process of selecting one from a plurality of transponders for digital broadcasting is performed. The tuner (2) includes a demodulation circuit, a deinterleave circuit, an error correction circuit, and the like, thereby demodulating the selected digital modulation signal and outputting a transport stream.

      The demultiplexer (DEMUX) (3) separates the transport stream into MPEG2 (Moving Picture Group2) video stream, audio stream, 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 PSI / SI and the like to the system controller (12). Note that a plurality of channels are multiplexed in the transport stream, and the process for selecting an arbitrary channel from among the channels is determined by the packet ID of the arbitrary channel in the transport stream from the PSI / SI. It becomes possible by taking out the data that has been multiplexed by. In addition, transport stream selection (transponder selection) can be performed based on PSI / SI information. Furthermore, SI includes program information (program name, program start time, program duration, program content information, program genre information, etc.). These pieces of information are stored in the memory (15) by the system controller (12) and used for EPG display, program reservation, and the like.

      The video processing circuit (5) receives the video data from the AV decoder (4), performs D / A conversion, and converts it into a composite signal of, for example, NTSC format. The audio signal processing circuit (6) receives the audio data output from the AV decoder (4), performs D / A conversion, and generates a right (R) sound analog signal and a left (L) sound analog signal. The video output circuit (7) and the audio output circuit (8) are provided with output resistors, amplifiers, etc., and the received video is output from the video output circuit (7) through the display unit (11), and from the audio output circuit (8). Sound is output through the speaker (9).

      The OSD (On Screen Display) display circuit (13) outputs a video signal based on the character information instructed to be output from the system controller (12) to the adder (14). The adder (14) performs processing for incorporating the video signal into the video signal output from the video processing circuit (5). The OSD display circuit (13) realizes an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) screen display based on the service information included in the PSI.

      In a memory (for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.) (15), program information (service information for configuring an EPG screen, etc.), user input information, a program executed by the system controller (12) ( Reservation processing program, etc.), program reservation information (start time, end time or program duration, reception channel, recording / viewing type information, etc.) and the like are stored.

      The remote control transmitter (17) is a transmitter for sending a command to the broadcast receiving apparatus. When a key (not shown) provided in the remote control transmitter (17) is operated, 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 receiving unit (16) receives the signal light, converts it into an electric signal, and gives it to the system controller (12).

The system controller (12) performs various processes corresponding to user instructions from the remote control transmitter (17).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-13756

      As described above, in the conventional digital television, the EPG information of the channels other than the channel being viewed takes a long time to acquire because the retransmission cycle is slow. Therefore, it takes a considerable time until the EPG of a channel other than the channel being viewed is displayed after the television is turned on.

      Similarly, for example, when viewing a BS digital broadcast program, the EPG information of the CS digital broadcast cannot be acquired. Therefore, after the TV is turned on, the CS digital broadcast is transmitted from the first BS digital broadcast channel. When switching to a channel or vice versa, it is necessary to wait for a long time until EPG information is displayed when switching from a CS digital broadcast channel to a BS digital broadcast channel.

      Furthermore, even if EPG information of all channels is acquired over a long time as described above, a large-capacity memory (a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory) is required to store and retain all the EPG information. ) Is necessary.

      Also, by storing the EPG information once acquired in the non-volatile memory, when the power is turned off and then turned on again, the EPG information that takes time to acquire can be obtained from the EPG information stored in the non-volatile memory. By acquiring, a method of quickly displaying EPG information may be used.

      However, even if this method is used, EPG information that has not been acquired before the power is turned off before is not stored in the nonvolatile memory. Therefore, it is necessary to acquire the EPG information from the broadcast wave after the power is turned on.

      Furthermore, when a long time has passed since the power is turned off until the next time the power is turned on, the EPG information stored in the nonvolatile memory is old data. Therefore, there is a possibility that the EPG information of the program to be displayed is not included in the EPG information stored in the nonvolatile memory, or the broadcast schedule is changed. In this case, it is necessary to acquire the latest EPG information. After all, as before, the latest EPG information is acquired from the broadcast wave after turning on the power, and there is a problem that it takes time to display the latest EPG information. There is no replacement.

      The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and includes a program information storage unit that stores and holds program information, and a network I / F unit that is connected to one or more televisions via a network. This is a program information system that is a program information management server that receives program information from each television receiver connected via a unit and stores the received program information in the program information storage unit.

      Furthermore, a tuner unit that selectively receives a television broadcast wave and a program information extraction unit that extracts program information from a television broadcast signal received by the tuner unit, the tuner unit and the program information It can also comprise so that it may acquire from a television broadcast wave using an extraction part.

      Furthermore, it has a clock part, and when extracting program information from a broadcast wave, it can also be comprised so that the time which extracted program information may be stored in the said program information storage part with program information.

      The present invention also provides a tuner unit that selectively receives a television broadcast wave, a program information extraction unit that extracts program information from a television broadcast signal received by the tuner unit, and a program information storage that stores the extracted program information. A television receiver having a network I / F unit for connecting to a network and a program information management server for managing program information and transmitting the program information extracted by the program information extraction unit to the program information management server It is also a program information system.

      Furthermore, it has a clock unit, stores the time when the program information is extracted when extracting the program information from the broadcast wave, and transmits the time information simultaneously when transmitting the program information to the program information management server It can also be configured as follows.

      The present invention is also a program information system in which the program information management server and the television receiver are connected via the network I / F unit.

      Further, the television receiver requests unacquired program information from the program information management server, and the program information management server transmits the requested program information to the television receiver via the network I / F unit. It can also be configured to be able to.

      Furthermore, the program information management server can be configured so that the latest program information can be held in the program information storage unit by comparing the time information attached to the program information.

      The present invention also provides a tuner unit that selectively receives a television broadcast wave, a program information extraction unit that extracts program information from a television broadcast signal received by the tuner unit, and a program information storage that stores and holds the program information. Each of the television receivers connected via the network I / F unit refers to the program information stored in the program information storage unit. Thus, the program information system can display program information.

      As described above, when the program information system according to the present invention is used, EPG information can be acquired more quickly than a single digital television according to the prior art. In addition, since the EPG information management server is provided with a memory for EPG information, and EPG information can be stored and retained in an integrated manner, the required capacity of the memory as a whole system can be reduced.

      Furthermore, the latest information can be obtained simply by referring to the information stored in the EPG information management server without providing a memory area for EPG information in the television receiver itself.

      In particular, the present invention can be easily constructed in an apartment house having a hearing system or the like, and the effect of the present invention increases as the number of television receivers that can be connected to a network increases, that is, the apartment house has a larger scale.

The present invention includes an EPG information management server and a plurality of television receivers that communicate with each other, and the communication means may be any system such as wired or wireless. Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Example 1)
In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, each television receiver is connected to an EPG information management server via a network, and the EPG information is integratedly managed by the EPG information management server. In FIG. 1, each television is connected to an antenna, but may share a single antenna as in a hearing system in an apartment house.

      The first embodiment has the configuration shown in FIG. On the television receiver side (10), the antenna (1) is arranged outdoors in a predetermined direction and receives digital broadcast waves. The antenna (1) is generally provided with a frequency converter, and supplies a received / frequency converted signal to the tuner (2).

      The tuner (2) extracts a signal having a specific frequency from the received high frequency digital modulation signal. That is, a process of selecting one from a plurality of transponders for digital broadcasting is performed. The tuner (2) includes a demodulation circuit, a deinterleave circuit, an error correction circuit, and the like, thereby demodulating the selected digital modulation signal and outputting a transport stream.

      The demultiplexer (DEMUX) (3) separates the transport stream into MPEG2 (Moving Picture Group2) video stream, audio stream, 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 PSI / SI and the like to the system controller (12). Note that a plurality of channels are multiplexed in the transport stream, and the process for selecting an arbitrary channel from among the channels is determined by the packet ID of the arbitrary channel in the transport stream from the PSI / SI. It becomes possible by taking out the data that has been multiplexed by.

      In addition, transport stream selection (transponder selection) can be performed based on PSI / SI information. Furthermore, SI includes program information (program name, program start time, program duration, program content information, program genre information, etc.). These pieces of information are stored in the EPG information storage unit (19) in the memory (15) by the system controller (12) and used for EPG display, program reservation, and the like.

      The video processing circuit (5) receives the video data from the AV decoder (4), performs D / A conversion, and converts it into a composite signal of, for example, NTSC format. The audio signal processing circuit (6) receives the audio data output from the AV decoder (4), performs D / A conversion, and generates a right (R) sound analog signal and a left (L) sound analog signal. The video output circuit (7) and the audio output circuit (8) include an output resistor, an amplifier, and the like, and a display unit (11) in which the received video is a display such as a CRT, a liquid crystal panel, or a PDP from the video output circuit (7) The audio output circuit (8) outputs audio through the speaker (9).

      The OSD (On Screen Display) display circuit (13) outputs a video signal based on the character information instructed to be output from the system controller (12) to the adder (14). The adder (14) performs processing for incorporating the video signal into the video signal output from the video processing circuit (5). The OSD display circuit (13) realizes an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) screen display based on the service information included in the PSI.

      In a memory (for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.) (15), program information (service information for configuring an EPG screen, etc.), user input information, a program executed by the system controller (12) ( Reservation processing program, etc.), program reservation information (start time, end time or program duration, reception channel, recording / viewing type information, etc.) and the like are stored.

      The remote control transmitter (17) is a transmitter for sending a command to the broadcast receiving apparatus. When a key (not shown) provided in the remote control transmitter (17) is operated, 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 receiving unit (16) receives the signal light, converts it into an electric signal, and gives it to the system controller (12).

      The system controller (12) performs various processes corresponding to user instructions from the remote control transmitter (17).

      When displaying the EPG by the operation from the viewer, the system controller (12) reads the EPG information from the EPG information storage unit (19), and if there is EPG information that has not been acquired, the network I / F unit (18 The EPG information management server (20) is inquired about whether there is any missing information. If there is desired information in the information management server (20), the information is acquired via the network I / F unit (18) and stored in the EPG information storage unit (19).

      The EPG information thus obtained is displayed on the display unit (11) via the OSD display circuit (13) as described above.

      In addition, when new EPG information is acquired in the television receiver, the EPG information is acquired via the network I / F unit (18) simultaneously with the acquisition or at a predetermined timing after the acquisition (for example, after one minute). It transmits to an EPG information management server (20).

      On the other hand, the EPG information management server (20) can communicate with a plurality of television receivers via the network I / F unit (25), and receives the EPG information sent from each television receiver as described above. And it memorize | stores in an EPG information storage part (21). Conversely, the EPG information requested by the television receiver is read from the EPG information storage unit (21) and transmitted via the network I / F unit (25).

      The power monitoring unit (22) monitors the power state of each television receiver, and when all the television receivers are turned off, reads all EPG information from the EPG information storage unit (21) and is nonvolatile. The power supply to the parts unnecessary for monitoring the power state of the television receiver is turned off.

      Specifically, the system control unit (23) checks the signal response between the network I / F unit (25) and the network I / F unit (18) on the television receiver side, and the link is not established at all. Determines that all television power sources are off in the power source monitoring unit (22). When it is determined that all the TVs are turned off, the power supply other than the power supply monitoring unit (22) is turned off, and power is intermittently supplied to the system control unit (23) and the network I / F unit (25). The signal response with the network I / F unit (18) on the television receiver side is checked. Thereby, it is possible to reduce power consumption in the EPG information management server.

      Alternatively, the power monitoring unit (22) may be provided with a power monitoring line directly connected to each television receiver to monitor the power state of each television receiver. In this case, if it is determined that the power of all the television receivers is off, the power supply to all parts other than the power monitoring unit (22) in the EPG information management server is stopped. Then, when any TV receiver is turned on, power supply is resumed.

      The system control unit (23) controls the above-described operation. When the power of the television receiver is turned on, the network control unit (25) and the EPG information storage unit (21 ), The power supply to the nonvolatile memory (24) is started, and at the same time, the EPG information stored in the nonvolatile memory (24) is copied to the EPG information storage unit (21).

      Next, the operation of the EPG information management server will be described with reference to FIG. In the EPG information management server, no EPG information is stored in the EPG information storage unit (21) in the initial state. When at least one television receiver connected to the network is turned on (step 201), power supply to each unit in the EPG management server is started (step 202). The EPG information immediately before the power supply is turned off stored in the nonvolatile memory (24) is copied to the EPG information storage unit (22) (step 203). Next, when the television receiver acquires the EPG information, the EPG information is transferred from the television receiver via the network I / F (18) (25) (step 204). The EPG information storage unit (21) updates the EPG information already stored in the EPG information storage unit (21) with the transferred information (step 205).

      At this time, the date of the transferred data is compared with the data already stored, and if the transferred data is newer, the stored data is updated with the transferred data. When the EPG information of the channel network is transferred at the same date and time, old data is deleted and new data is stored. However, when the new data and the old data are exactly the same, for example, when the CRC assigned to each data completely matches, such deletion / registration operation may not be performed. If the transferred data is older than the stored data, the data is not updated. The organization of the program is often changed, and the new data is the latest data.

      Here, the date and time related to the EPG data may be the date and time when the broadcast data includes the date and time when it was broadcast, otherwise it is the date and time when the television receiver acquired the EPG data. It doesn't matter.

      Also, the TV receiver may request EPG information necessary for displaying the EPG. If there is a request for EPG information (step 206), the EPG corresponding to the requested date and time and the channel network is received. It is confirmed whether the information is in the EPG information management server (step 207). If there is, the desired EPG information is read from the EPG information storage unit (step 208), and the television receiver that has requested the EPG information is requested. Transmit (step 209).

      On the other hand, if the user does not have the desired EPG information (step 207), the television receiver is notified accordingly.

      When all the TV receivers are turned off (step 210), the EPG information stored in the EPG information storage unit (21) is written into the nonvolatile memory (24) (step 211). The power supply to all parts other than the power monitoring unit (22) in the EPG information management server is stopped (step 212). However, since only the power monitoring unit (22) is operating, the power monitoring unit (22) waits for one of the television receivers to turn on and then goes to each part in the EPG information management server. Restart the power supply.

      By having a non-volatile memory in the EPG information management server (20) as described above, it is not always necessary for each television receiver to have a non-volatile memory, and the capacity of the non-volatile memory as a whole system can be reduced. It becomes possible. If the television receiver does not have a nonvolatile memory, EPG information may be received from the EPG information management server when the television receiver is turned on (described later). Here, the non-volatile memory may be configured to be changed to a medium that can continue the storage state even when the power of the hard disk or the like is turned off.

      In the EPG information management server (20), the EPG information storage unit (21) may be configured by a nonvolatile memory. In this case, the non-volatile memory (24) in FIG. 1 is unnecessary, and the processing of step 203 and step 211 in FIG. 2 is not required. The

Next, the operation on the television receiver side will be described with reference to FIG. When the power of the television receiver is turned on (step 301), EPG information is acquired in the EPG information storage and accumulation unit (19) (step 302). That is, when the memory (15) is composed of a non-volatile memory, the EPG information acquired before the power is turned off is held in the non-volatile memory, so that the EPG information stored in the non-volatile memory is stored. Copying to the EPG information storage unit (19) Alternatively, the EPG information storage unit (19) may be composed of a nonvolatile memory. In this case, since the EPG information already acquired before the power is turned off is held in the EPG information storage unit (19), the operation in step 302 is not necessary.

      The EPG information stored in the EPG information storage unit (19) is checked to check whether there is any unacquired EPG information (step 303). At this time, when the EPG information storage unit (19) is composed of a volatile memory and the memory (15) is not composed of a nonvolatile memory, no EPG information is stored in the EPG information storage unit (19). It will not be acquired.

      Therefore, when there is unacquired EPG information (step 303), the EPG information management server (20) is requested to transmit unacquired EPG information (step 304). At this time, if no EPG information is acquired in the EPG information storage unit (19) as described above, all the EPG information is requested to the EPG information management server (20).

      At this time, the EPG information management server can recognize the necessary EPG information by making a request by specifying the necessary date and time and the channel network.

      If the requested EPG information is held in the EPG information management server (20), the EPG information can be acquired (step 305), and the acquired EPG information is stored in the EPG information storage unit (19). (Step 306).

      On the other hand, if the requested EPG information is not held in the EPG information management server (20), a message to that effect is received because necessary EPG information cannot be secured.

      In this way, after the power is turned on, EPG information is first acquired, and the EPG can be displayed on the screen to view or select a reserved program. At this time, if there is unacquired EPG information, that fact may be displayed on the EPG display screen, and the message may be a message received from the EPG information management server (20). It doesn't matter.

      In this way, a program is selected and EPG information is periodically received from a broadcast wave while watching the program or waiting for a reservation (step 307) (step 308). The information in the EPG information storage unit (19) is updated with the newly received EPG information (step 309).

      At this time, the same broadcast time and the same channel network information as the received EPG information are overwritten with the newly acquired latest information. Furthermore, the date and time when EPG information is newly acquired can be stored at the same time.

      At the same time, the newly acquired EPG information is transferred to the EPG information management server (20) together with the acquisition date data, and contributes to the update of the EPG information stored in the EPG information management server (20) (step 310).

      Until the power of the television receiver is turned off (step 311), the EPG information acquisition from the broadcast wave is periodically executed, and the EPG information in the EPG information storage unit (19) is periodically updated. This update frequency depends on the broadcast frequency of the EPG information in the broadcast wave.

      When the power of the television receiver is turned off (step 311), if the EPG information storage unit (19) is a volatile memory and the memory (15) is a non-volatile memory, the EPG in the EPG information storage unit (19) The information is copied to the nonvolatile memory and the power is turned off (step 312). When the EPG information storage unit (19) is composed of a non-volatile memory, or when the memory (15) is not composed of a non-volatile memory, step 312) is unnecessary.

Here, the non-volatile memory may be changed to a medium that can continue the storage state even when the power of the hard disk or the like is turned off.
(Example 2)
In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a tuner (25) and a demultiplexer (DEMUX) circuit (26) are provided in the EPG management server in addition to the configuration of FIG. 1, and are connected to the antenna (27). Yes. Accordingly, the EPG information management server (20) itself can receive the television broadcast and acquire the EPG information. At this time, the antenna (27) may be a common antenna for a common hearing system or may be shared with the antenna (1).

      As in the first embodiment, each television receiver is connected to the EPG information management server via the network, and the EPG information is integratedly managed by the EPG information management server. In FIG. 4, each television is connected to an antenna, but may share one antenna as in a common hearing system in an apartment house.

      On the television receiver side (10), the antenna (1) is arranged outdoors in a predetermined direction and receives digital broadcast waves. The antenna (1) is generally provided with a frequency converter, and supplies a received / frequency converted signal to the tuner (2).

      The tuner (2) extracts a signal having a specific frequency from the received high frequency digital modulation signal. That is, a process of selecting one from a plurality of transponders for digital broadcasting is performed. The tuner (2) includes a demodulation circuit, a deinterleave circuit, an error correction circuit, and the like, thereby demodulating the selected digital modulation signal and outputting a transport stream.

      The demultiplexer (DEMUX) (3) separates the transport stream into MPEG2 (Moving Picture Group2) video stream, audio stream, 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 PSI / SI and the like to the system controller (12). Note that a plurality of channels are multiplexed in the transport stream, and the process for selecting an arbitrary channel from among the channels is determined by the packet ID of the arbitrary channel in the transport stream from the PSI / SI. It becomes possible by taking out the data that has been multiplexed by.

      In addition, transport stream selection (transponder selection) can be performed based on PSI / SI information. Furthermore, SI includes program information (program name, program start time, program duration, program content information, program genre information, etc.). These pieces of information are stored in the EPG information storage unit (19) in the memory (15) by the system controller (12) and used for EPG display, program reservation, and the like.

      The video processing circuit (5) receives the video data from the AV decoder (4), performs D / A conversion, and converts it into a composite signal of, for example, NTSC format. The audio signal processing circuit (6) receives the audio data output from the AV decoder (4), performs D / A conversion, and generates a right (R) sound analog signal and a left (L) sound analog signal. The video output circuit (7) and the audio output circuit (8) include an output resistor, an amplifier, and the like, and a display unit (11) in which the received video is a display such as a CRT, a liquid crystal panel, or a PDP from the video output circuit (7). The audio output circuit (8) outputs audio through the speaker (9).

      The OSD (On Screen Display) display circuit (13) outputs a video signal based on the character information instructed to be output from the system controller (12) to the adder (14). The adder (14) performs processing for incorporating the video signal into the video signal output from the video processing circuit (5). The OSD display circuit (13) realizes an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) screen display based on the service information included in the PSI.

      In a memory (for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.) (15), program information (service information for configuring an EPG screen, etc.), user input information, a program executed by the system controller (12) ( Reservation processing program, etc.), program reservation information (start time, end time or program duration, reception channel, recording / viewing type information, etc.) and the like are stored.

      The remote control transmitter (17) is a transmitter for sending a command to the broadcast receiving apparatus. When a key (not shown) provided in the remote control transmitter (17) is operated, 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 receiving unit (16) receives the signal light, converts it into an electric signal, and gives it to the system controller (12).

      The system controller (12) performs various processes corresponding to user instructions from the remote control transmitter (17).

      When displaying the EPG by the operation from the viewer, the system controller (12) reads the EPG information from the EPG information storage unit (19), and if there is EPG information that has not been acquired, the network I / F unit (18 The EPG information management server (20) is inquired about whether there is any missing information. If there is desired information in the information management server (20), the information is acquired via the network I / F unit (18) and stored in the EPG information storage unit (19).

      The EPG information thus obtained is displayed on the display unit (11) via the OSD display circuit (13) as described above.

      In addition, when new EPG information is acquired in the television receiver, the EPG information is acquired via the network I / F unit (18) simultaneously with the acquisition or at a predetermined timing after the acquisition (for example, after one minute). It transmits to an EPG information management server (20).

      On the other hand, the EPG information management server (20) can communicate with a plurality of television receivers via the network I / F unit (25), and receives the EPG information sent from each television receiver as described above. And it memorize | stores in an EPG information storage part (21). Conversely, the EPG information requested by the television receiver is read from the EPG information storage unit (21) and transmitted via the network I / F unit (25).

      The antenna (27) is arranged outdoors in a predetermined direction and receives digital broadcast waves. This antenna (27) is generally provided with a frequency converter, and supplies a received / frequency converted signal to the tuner (25).

      The tuner (25) extracts a signal having a specific frequency from the received high frequency digital modulation signal. That is, a process of selecting one from a plurality of transponders for digital broadcasting is performed. The tuner (25) includes a demodulation circuit, a deinterleave circuit, an error correction circuit, and the like, thereby demodulating the selected digital modulation signal and outputting a transport stream.

      A demultiplexer (DEMUX) (26) extracts PSI / SI (Program Specific Information / Service Information) and supplies the PSI / SI to the system control unit (23). Note that a plurality of channels are multiplexed in the transport stream, and the process for selecting an arbitrary channel from among the channels is determined by the packet ID of the arbitrary channel in the transport stream from the PSI / SI. It becomes possible by taking out the data that has been multiplexed by. In addition, transport stream selection (transponder selection) can be performed based on PSI / SI information. Furthermore, SI includes program information (program name, program start time, program duration, program content information, program genre information, etc.). These pieces of information are stored in the EPG information storage unit (21) by the control unit (23) and used as a common information database.

      Accordingly, the system control unit (23) periodically scans the channel to search for receivable channels and updates the channel setting. In order to confirm whether or not EPG information for all receivable channels obtained can be acquired, the system control unit (23) stores EPG information for all receivable channels in the EPG information storage unit (21). Regularly check if is stored. When there is EPG information that has not been acquired, the system control unit (23) uses the tuner (25) to select a channel so that a data stream of a channel for which EPG information has not been acquired can be received. Acquire missing EPG information.

      Here, “regular” means that a predetermined time such as every hour can be measured with a timer.

      The power monitoring unit (22) monitors the power state of each television receiver, and when all the television receivers are turned off, reads all EPG information from the EPG information storage unit (21) and is nonvolatile. The power supply to the parts unnecessary for monitoring the power state of the television receiver is turned off.

      Specifically, the system control unit (23) checks the signal response between the network I / F unit (25) and the network I / F unit (18) on the television receiver side, and the link is not established at all. Determines that all television power sources are off in the power source monitoring unit (22). When it is determined that all the TVs are turned off, the power supply other than the power supply monitoring unit (22) is turned off, and power is intermittently supplied to the system control unit (23) and the network I / F unit (25). The signal response with the network I / F unit (18) on the television receiver side is checked. Thereby, it is possible to reduce power consumption in the EPG information management server.

      Alternatively, the power monitoring unit (22) may be provided with a power monitoring line directly connected to each television receiver to monitor the power state of each television receiver. In this case, if it is determined that the power of all the television receivers is off, the power supply to all parts other than the power monitoring unit (22) in the EPG information management server is stopped. Then, when any TV receiver is turned on, power supply is resumed.

      The system control unit (23) controls the above-described operation. When the power of the television receiver is turned on, the network control unit (25) and the EPG information storage unit (21 ), The power supply to the nonvolatile memory (24) is started, and at the same time, the EPG information stored in the nonvolatile memory (24) is copied to the EPG information storage unit (21).

      Next, the operation of the EPG information management server will be described with reference to FIG. In the EPG information management server, no EPG information is stored in the EPG information storage unit (21) in the initial state.

      The EPG information management server (20) has a clock unit in the system control unit (23). When a predetermined time is reached (step 520), the system control unit (23) turns the tuner (25). A channel search is performed using (Step 521), and a channel setting of a receivable channel is performed (Step 522).

      At this time, the predetermined time may be any time, and may be set by the administrator of the EPG information management server, or may be designated at the time of factory shipment. The designated time can be any number of times per day. Further, without using the clock function, a timer may be provided in the system control unit and set at a certain time interval (for example, every hour).

      If it is not the predetermined time (step 520), this operation is repeated unless the power of the EPG information management server (20) is turned off.

      In parallel with this operation, when at least one television receiver connected to the network is powered on (step 501), power supply to each unit in the EPG management server is started (step 502). The EPG information stored in the nonvolatile memory (24) immediately before the power supply is turned off is copied to the EPG information storage unit (22) (step 503). Next, when the television receiver acquires the EPG information, the EPG information is transferred from the television receiver via the network I / F (18) (25) (step 504). The EPG information storage unit (21) updates the EPG information already stored in the EPG information storage unit (21) with the transferred information (step 505).

      At this time, the date of the transferred data is compared with the data already stored, and if the transferred data is newer, the stored data is updated with the transferred data. When the EPG information of the channel network is transferred at the same date and time, old data is deleted and new data is stored. However, when the new data and the old data are exactly the same, for example, when the CRC assigned to each data completely matches, such deletion / registration operation may not be performed. If the transferred data is older than the stored data, the data is not updated. The organization of the program is often changed, and the new data is the latest data.

      Here, the date and time related to the EPG data may be the date and time when the broadcast data includes the date and time when it was broadcast, otherwise it is the date and time when the television receiver acquired the EPG data. It doesn't matter.

      In addition, the television receiver may request EPG information necessary for displaying the EPG. When there is a request for EPG information (step 506), the EPG corresponding to the requested date and time and the channel network is requested. It is confirmed whether the information is in the EPG information management server (step 507). If there is, the desired EPG information is read from the EPG information storage unit (step 508), and the television receiver that has requested the EPG information is requested. Transmit (step 509).

On the other hand, if the user does not have the desired EPG information (step 207), a notification to that effect is given to the television receiver. Further, the system control unit (23) has a timer, and a predetermined time is counted by the timer. Time (for example, 1 hour) has elapsed (step 510), and it is checked whether there is unacquired EPG information in the EPG information storage unit (step 511). That is, it is checked whether EPG information of each receivable channel set by the channel setting is acquired.

      If there is unacquired EPG information (step 511), the timer is reset (step 512), the tuner (25) is tuned to the channel of unacquired EPG information (step 513), and the received broadcast wave Thus, EPG information is acquired (step 514). The acquired EPG information is stored in the EPG information storage unit (21) (step 515). The processes from step 511 to step 515 are repeated until EPG information of all receivable channels is acquired.

      If a predetermined time (for example, 1 hour) has not elapsed since the timer is counted (step 511), the processing from step 511 to step 515 is not executed. That is, the processing from step 511 to step 515 is repeated at predetermined time intervals (for example, every hour).

      Next, if the power of the EPG information management server (20) is turned off (step 516), the operation is stopped (step 523). If the power is not turned off (step 516), the EPG information management server (20) is connected to the network. It is confirmed by the power supply monitoring unit (22) whether or not all the television receivers are turned off (step 517).

      When all the TV receivers are turned off (step 517), the EPG information stored in the EPG information storage unit (21) is written into the non-volatile memory (24) (step 518). The power supply to all parts other than the power monitoring unit (22) in the management server and the clock function in the system control unit is stopped (step 519). However, since only the power monitoring unit (22) is operating, the power monitoring unit (22) waits for one of the television receivers to turn on and then goes to each part in the EPG information management server. Restart the power supply.

      By having a non-volatile memory in the EPG information management server (20) as described above, it is not always necessary for each television receiver to have a non-volatile memory, and the capacity of the non-volatile memory as a whole system can be reduced. It becomes possible. If the television receiver does not have a nonvolatile memory, EPG information may be received from the EPG information management server when the television receiver is turned on (described later). Here, the non-volatile memory may be configured to be changed to a medium that can continue the storage state even when the power of the hard disk or the like is turned off.

      In the EPG information management server (20), the EPG information storage unit (21) may be configured by a nonvolatile memory. In this case, the non-volatile memory (24) in FIG. 1 is not necessary, and the processing in steps 503 and 518 in FIG. 5 is not necessary. The

      In addition, by operating the clock function, power is supplied to the tuner (25) and the system control unit (23) at a predetermined time, so that the channel setting process from step 520 to step 522 is periodically performed. Can be executed automatically.

The operation on the television receiver side is the same as that of the first embodiment and is as shown in FIG.
(Example 3)
In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a tuner (25) and a demultiplexer (DEMUX) circuit (26) are provided in the EPG management server as in the configuration of FIG. 2, and are connected to the antenna (27). ing. Accordingly, the EPG information management server (20) itself can receive the television broadcast and acquire the EPG information. At this time, the antenna (27) may be a common antenna for a common hearing system or may be shared with the antenna (1).

      As in the second embodiment, each television receiver is connected to the EPG information management server via the network, and the EPG information is integratedly managed by the EPG information management server. In FIG. 6, each television is connected to an antenna, but may share one antenna as in a common hearing system in an apartment house.

      On the television receiver side (10), the antenna (1) is arranged outdoors in a predetermined direction and receives digital broadcast waves. The antenna (1) is generally provided with a frequency converter, and supplies a received / frequency converted signal to the tuner (2).

      The tuner (2) extracts a signal having a specific frequency from the received high frequency digital modulation signal. That is, a process of selecting one from a plurality of transponders for digital broadcasting is performed. The tuner (2) includes a demodulation circuit, a deinterleave circuit, an error correction circuit, and the like, thereby demodulating the selected digital modulation signal and outputting a transport stream.

      The demultiplexer (DEMUX) (3) separates the transport stream into MPEG2 (Moving Picture Group2) video stream, audio stream, 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 PSI / SI and the like to the system controller (12). Note that a plurality of channels are multiplexed in the transport stream, and the process for selecting an arbitrary channel from among the channels is determined by the packet ID of the arbitrary channel in the transport stream from the PSI / SI. It becomes possible by taking out the data that has been multiplexed by.

      In addition, transport stream selection (transponder selection) can be performed based on PSI / SI information.

      The video processing circuit (5) receives the video data from the AV decoder (4), performs D / A conversion, and converts it into a composite signal of, for example, NTSC format. The audio signal processing circuit (6) receives the audio data output from the AV decoder (4), performs D / A conversion, and generates a right (R) sound analog signal and a left (L) sound analog signal. The video output circuit (7) and the audio output circuit (8) include an output resistor, an amplifier, and the like, and a display unit (11) in which the received video is a display such as a CRT, a liquid crystal panel, or a PDP from the video output circuit (7). The audio output circuit (8) outputs audio through the speaker (9).

      The OSD (On Screen Display) display circuit (13) outputs a video signal based on the character information instructed to be output from the system controller (12) to the adder (14). The adder (14) performs processing for incorporating the video signal into the video signal output from the video processing circuit (5). The OSD display circuit (13) realizes screen display of various information based on the service information included in the PSI and EPG information acquired from the EPG information management server (20).

      In a memory (for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.) (15), program information obtained from the EPG information management server (20) (service information for configuring an EPG screen, etc.) is temporarily stored. User input information, programs executed by the system controller (12) (reservation processing program, etc.), program reservation information (start time, end time or program duration, reception channel, recording / viewing type information, etc.), etc. are stored. The

      The remote control transmitter (17) is a transmitter for sending a command to the broadcast receiving apparatus. When a key (not shown) provided in the remote control transmitter (17) is operated, 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 receiving unit (16) receives the signal light, converts it into an electric signal, and gives it to the system controller (12).

      The system controller (12) performs various processes corresponding to user instructions from the remote control transmitter (17).

      When displaying an EPG by an operation from the viewer, the system controller (12) refers to the EPG information stored in the EPG information management server (20) via the network I / F unit (18). . The EPG information thus obtained is displayed on the display unit (11) via the OSD display circuit (13) as described above.

      On the other hand, in the EPG information management server (20), EPG information is managed and held, and a plurality of television receivers refer to this EPG information via the network I / F unit (25).

      The antenna (27) is arranged outdoors in a predetermined direction and receives digital broadcast waves. This antenna (27) is generally provided with a frequency converter, and supplies a received / frequency converted signal to the tuner (25).

      The tuner (25) extracts a signal having a specific frequency from the received high frequency digital modulation signal. That is, a process of selecting one from a plurality of transponders for digital broadcasting is performed. Further, the tuner (25) includes a demodulation circuit, a deinterleave circuit, an error correction circuit, and the like, thereby demodulating the selected digital modulation signal and outputting a transport stream.

      A demultiplexer (DEMUX) (26) extracts PSI / SI (Program Specific Information / Service Information) and supplies the PSI / SI to the system control unit (23). Note that a plurality of channels are multiplexed in the transport stream, and the process for selecting an arbitrary channel from among the channels is determined by the packet ID of the arbitrary channel in the transport stream from the PSI / SI. It becomes possible by taking out the data that has been multiplexed by. In addition, transport stream selection (transponder selection) can be performed based on PSI / SI information. Furthermore, SI includes program information (program name, program start time, program duration, program content information, program genre information, etc.). These pieces of information are stored in the EPG information storage unit (21) by the control unit (23) and used as a common information database.

      Accordingly, the system control unit (23) periodically checks the broadcast wave, acquires all EPG information, holds it in the EPG information storage unit (21), and always holds the latest EPG information. Search for receivable channels and update channel settings.

      Here, “regular” means that a predetermined time such as every hour can be measured with a timer.

      The power monitoring unit (22) monitors the power state of each television receiver, and when all the television receivers are turned off, reads all EPG information from the EPG information storage unit (21) and is nonvolatile. The power supply to the parts unnecessary for monitoring the power state of the television receiver is turned off.

      Specifically, the system control unit (23) checks the signal response between the network I / F unit (25) and the network I / F unit (18) on the television receiver side, and the link is not established at all. Determines that all television power sources are off in the power source monitoring unit (22). When it is determined that all the TVs are turned off, the power supply other than the power supply monitoring unit (22) is turned off, and power is intermittently supplied to the system control unit (23) and the network I / F unit (25). The signal response with the network I / F unit (18) on the television receiver side is checked. Thereby, it is possible to reduce power consumption in the EPG information management server.

      Alternatively, the power monitoring unit (22) may be provided with a power monitoring line directly connected to each television receiver to monitor the power state of each television receiver. In this case, if it is determined that the power of all the television receivers is off, the power supply to all parts other than the power monitoring unit (22) in the EPG information management server is stopped. Then, when any TV receiver is turned on, power supply is resumed.

      The system control unit (23) controls the above-described operation. When the power of the television receiver is turned on, the network control unit (25) and the EPG information storage unit (21 ), The power supply to the nonvolatile memory (24) is started, and at the same time, the EPG information stored in the nonvolatile memory (24) is copied to the EPG information storage unit (21).

      Further, the EPG information can be updated by periodically starting up the tuner (25), the DEMUX (26), and the system control unit (23) with a timer while the power is off.

      Next, the operation of the EPG information management server will be described with reference to FIG. In the EPG information management server, in the initial state, when at least one of the television receivers connected to the network is powered on (step 701), power supply to each unit in the EPG management server is started (step 702). ). The EPG information stored in the nonvolatile memory (24) immediately before the power supply is turned off is copied to the EPG information storage unit (22) (step 703).

      Here, the television receiver may access to refer to the EPG information necessary for displaying the EPG (step 707). If there is access, the EPG information is read from the EPG information storage unit (21) (step 708), and the EPG information is transmitted to the television receiver (step 709).

      At the same time, a television broadcast wave is received by the antenna (27) and the tuner (25) (step 704), and the system control unit (23) extracts EPG information from the PSI / SI data selected by the DEMUX (26) ( In step 705), the EPG information held in the EPG information storage unit (21) is updated with the extracted EPG information (step 706). At this time, the broadcast channel for acquiring EPG information is changed as needed. For example, EPG information may be obtained while performing channel scanning.

      When there is no access from the television receiver (10) (step 707), when EPG information cannot be acquired (step 705), or when the EPG information storage unit (21) is updated with the acquired EPG information (step 706) If all the television receivers are not turned off (step 710), the processing from step 704 to step 709 is repeated.

      On the other hand, when all the TV receivers are turned off (step 710), the EPG information stored in the EPG information storage unit (21) is written in the nonvolatile memory (24) (step 711). The power supply to the parts unnecessary for power monitoring in the EPG information management server is stopped (step 712). However, here, the timer in the system control unit is reset and started (step 713).

      When a predetermined time has elapsed by the timer (step 714), the EPG information management server is turned on, and a television broadcast wave is received by the antenna (1) and the tuner (25) (step 715), and the system control unit (23 ) Extracts EPG information from the PSI / SI data selected by the demultiplexer (DEMUX) (26) (step 716), and stores the extracted EPG information in the EPG information storage unit (21) (step 717). Then, the EPG information held in the nonvolatile memory is updated with the newly obtained EPG information (step 711). At this time, the broadcast channel for acquiring EPG information is changed as needed. For example, EPG information may be obtained while performing channel scanning.

      If the predetermined time has not elapsed due to the timer (step 714), or if EPG information could not be acquired (step 716), check whether the TV receiver connected to the network is turned on. If not (step 701), the operations from step 714 to step 717 are repeated. If the television receiver is turned on (step 701), the operations from step 702 to step 717 are repeated.

      Here, the predetermined time can be set to, for example, 1 hour, but is not limited to this, and may be any interval that is not longer than the interval at which the EPG information is transmitted by the television broadcast wave. Any time interval may be used.

      In addition, by having a non-volatile memory in the EPG information management server (20), it is not always necessary for each television receiver to have a non-volatile memory, and the capacity of the non-volatile memory as a whole system can be reduced. become. If the television receiver does not have a nonvolatile memory, EPG information may be received from the EPG information management server when the television receiver is turned on (described later). Here, the non-volatile memory may be configured to be changed to a medium that can continue the storage state even when the power of the hard disk or the like is turned off.

      In the EPG information management server (20), the EPG information storage unit (21) may be configured by a nonvolatile memory. In this case, the non-volatile memory (24) in FIG. 6 is not necessary, and the processing in steps 703 and 711 in FIG. 7 is not necessary. The

      Unlike the first and second embodiments, the operation on the television receiver side is as shown in FIG. 8 because the television receiver does not need to acquire EPG information from broadcast waves.

      That is, when the power is turned on (step 801), the EPG information management server (20) is accessed (step 802) and EPG information is acquired (step 803). The acquired EPG information is displayed (step 804), and viewing or reservation is performed using the EPG (step 805). Accordingly, in the third embodiment, the television receiver does not necessarily have a memory for storing EPG information.

Block diagram of the first embodiment Flowchart in the EPG information management server of the first embodiment Flowchart in the television receiver of the first embodiment Block diagram of the second embodiment Flowchart in the EPG information management server of the second embodiment Block diagram of the third embodiment Flowchart in the EPG information management server of the third embodiment Flowchart in the television receiver of the third embodiment Prior art block diagram

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Antenna 2 Tuner 3 Demultiplexer 4 AV decoder 5 Video processing circuit 6 Audio processing circuit 7 Video output circuit 8 Audio output circuit 9 Speaker 10 Television receiver 11 Display part 12 System controller 13 OSD display circuit 14 Adder 15 Memory 16 Remote control light reception Unit 17 Remote control transmitter 18 Network I / F unit 19 EPG information storage unit 20 EPG information management server 21 EPG information storage unit 22 Power supply monitoring unit 23 System control unit 24 Non-volatile memory 25 Network I / F unit 26 Demultiplexer 27 Antenna

Claims (9)

      A program information storage unit that stores and holds program information, and a network I / F unit that is network-connected to one or more televisions, and the program information from each television receiver connected via the network I / F unit And a program information management server that stores the received program information in the program information storage unit.       A tuner unit that selectively receives a television broadcast wave, and a program information extraction unit that extracts program information from a television broadcast signal received by the tuner unit. The tuner unit and the program information extraction unit extract unacquired program information. The program information system according to claim 1, wherein the program information system is acquired from a television broadcast wave by using.       3. The information system according to claim 2, further comprising a clock unit, wherein the time when the program information is extracted when the program information is extracted from the broadcast wave is stored together with the program information in the program information storage unit.       A tuner unit that selectively receives television broadcast waves, a program information extraction unit that extracts program information from a television broadcast signal received by the tuner unit, a program information storage unit that stores the extracted program information, and program information A program information system which is a television receiver having a network I / F unit for network connection with a program information management server to be managed and transmitting program information extracted by the program information extraction unit to the program information management server.       It has a clock unit, stores the time when program information is extracted when extracting program information from broadcast waves, and transmits the time information simultaneously when transmitting the program information to the program information management server. 5. The program information system according to claim 4, wherein       The program information system according to claim 1, wherein the program information management server according to claim 1 and the television receiver according to claim 4 or 5 are connected via the network I / F unit.         The television receiver requests unacquired program information from the program information management server, and the program information management server transmits the requested program information to the television receiver via the network I / F unit. The program information system according to claim 6, wherein       8. The program information system according to claim 6, wherein the program information management server can hold the latest program information in the program information storage unit by comparing time information attached to the program information. A tuner unit that selectively receives a television broadcast wave; a program information extraction unit that extracts program information from a television broadcast signal received by the tuner unit; a program information storage unit that stores and holds the program information; A network I / F unit that is connected to the TV through a network, and each TV receiver connected via the network I / F unit displays program information with reference to program information stored in the program information storage unit A program information system characterized by being able to.