JP2007214687A - Broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a broadcast receiver capable of notifying whether an EPG can be normally received when this apparatus is installed. <P>SOLUTION: When a present installation area is set, the broadcast receiver 10 displays on a monitor 17 a screen used to urge a user to select whether a diagnostic mode is executed. Upon receiving an instruction of executing the diagnostic mode, a receiving unit 11 receives a television broadcast radio wave of a channel currently transmitting an EPG. An EPG extracting unit 14 extracts EPG data. A control unit 15 calculates the number of lines of extracted EPG data for the predetermined number of frames of the received television broadcast radio wave, and determines that it has not been normally received when the number of lines is not more than a prescribed threshold. On the contrary, if the number of lines is larger than the prescribed threshold, the control unit 15 determines that it has been normally received, and executes the diagnostic mode for displaying an alarm screen on the monitor 17 when the EPG data are not normally received. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a broadcast receiving apparatus using EPG.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for superimposing a character signal on a broadcast radio wave of terrestrial analog broadcasting and transmitting an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) relating to the genre of the program to be broadcast and the broadcast time has been widespread. This EPG is taken out by the broadcast receiving device at each home and displayed as a program guide on the TV screen, thereby making it possible to search for a program that suits the viewer's preference.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a system configuration of a G guide system 100 for displaying an EPG on a television screen. On the transmitting side, the G guide system 100 converts program guide information created by a broadcaster into a predetermined file format, compresses and encrypts it, and then VBI (vertical blanking time: vertical blanking time) of TV broadcast radio waves. Interval) is inserted and organized, and transmitted from the sending device to each broadcast receiving device. On the other hand, the receiving side receives a television broadcast radio wave from the broadcast receiving device, takes out a character signal from the VBI as data, temporarily stores this data in a memory or the like, and then decrypts and decompresses the data, thereby Are taken out and displayed as a program guide on the TV screen.

  By the way, various proposals have been made for the reception of EPG. For example, in Patent Document 1, when an operation for instructing a change from a channel currently being received to another channel is detected, EPG data of another channel and a channel adjacent to the other channel is received and stored in a memory. A receiving device is disclosed that generates EPG display data in accordance with stored EPG data of three channels and displays it on a video display unit.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a history storage unit that stores a history of use of a receiving device, a first setting unit that sets a priority order of times at which EPGs should be acquired based on the history, and an EPG based on the history. And a second setting means for setting the priority order of the channels to be acquired.

  Patent Document 3 discloses an electronic program guide receiver. In this electronic program guide receiving device, the EPG data reception start determining unit determines whether the EPG data file should be received first from the file type and date, and the receiving flag set unit uses the EPG data file to be received first. If so, the receiving flag is set. If there is an interruption during the reception of EPG data, the reception flag is reset, and if the final EPG data file is confirmed, the final file reception flag is set. When the EPG data reception completion determination unit recognizes that both the reception flag and the final file reception flag are set, it is determined that the EPG data has been received without interruption, and is acquired when the reception flag is reset. Discard the EPG data.

Patent Document 4 discloses a broadcast receiving apparatus that enables selection of a channel for acquiring information for creating a program guide based on an external operation and displays the channel for which information is being acquired on a screen. It is disclosed.
JP 2005-184620 A JP 2005-26810 A JP 2001-326872 A JP 2005-57473 A

  In the above Patent Documents 1 to 4, there is a description about reception of EPG, but there is no description or suggestion about whether or not it is an environment where EPG can be received. In the above Patent Documents 1 to 4, it is assumed that EPG can be received.

  However, EPGs cannot be received normally in areas with low power, and EPGs cannot be acquired at all, or omissions occur. This is revealed by the fact that the EPG is not normally displayed after the broadcast receiver is purchased and installed, or after the broadcast receiver is moved and installed by moving or the like. In addition, even when the analog frequency is changed, that is, the so-called analog / analog change, it is possible that the channel for sending the EPG is changed due to the change of the analog broadcast channel, and the EPG may not be displayed normally.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a broadcast receiving apparatus capable of notifying whether or not EPG can be normally received when the apparatus is installed.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a broadcast receiving apparatus including a receiving unit that receives a television broadcast radio wave, an EPG extraction unit that extracts EPG data from the VBI of the television broadcast radio wave, and a control unit that processes the EPG data. In the above, the receiving unit receives a television broadcast radio wave of a channel transmitting EPG, the EPG extracting unit extracts EPG data, and the control unit determines whether the EPG data can be normally received. And having a diagnosis mode for outputting a determination result.

  According to this configuration, it can be determined whether or not the EPG can be normally received by executing the diagnosis mode at the time of installation or the like.

  In the broadcast receiving apparatus, the diagnosis mode may be executed when a current installation area is set. According to this configuration, it can be determined whether or not the EPG can be normally received when the broadcast receiving apparatus is purchased or when the broadcast receiving apparatus is moved and installed by moving or the like.

  In the broadcast receiving apparatus, the diagnostic mode may be executed when a channel for receiving an EPG is changed. According to this configuration, when an analog / analog change is made, it can be determined whether or not the EPG can be normally received when the channel for obtaining the EPG is changed.

  In the broadcast receiving apparatus, the user may be prompted to select whether or not to execute the diagnostic mode before the diagnostic mode is executed. According to this configuration, the user selects the execution of the diagnostic mode at the time of installation when the broadcast receiving apparatus is purchased, or the diagnosis mode is not changed even if the area does not change even if the broadcast receiving apparatus is moved. You can choose not to run.

  In the broadcast receiving apparatus, the determination as to whether or not the EPG data can be normally received is performed by calculating the number of lines of the extracted EPG data with respect to a predetermined number of frames of the received television broadcast radio wave, If the number of lines is equal to or less than a specified threshold value, it is determined that reception is not successful. On the other hand, if the number of lines is greater than the specified threshold value, it is determined that reception is normal. .

  According to this configuration, for example, if the predetermined number of frames is 800, the determination can be made in tens of seconds.

  In the broadcast receiving apparatus, the determination result may be output as a warning screen when EPG data cannot be received normally. According to this configuration, it is possible to prompt the user to install a booster or the like.

  When the present invention is embodied, a receiving unit that receives television broadcast radio waves, an EPG extraction unit that extracts EPG data from the VBI of television broadcast radio waves, a control unit that processes EPG data, and a monitor that displays EPG are provided. In the broadcast receiving apparatus provided, when the current installation area is set, a screen prompting the user to select whether or not to execute the diagnosis mode is displayed on the monitor, and execution of the diagnosis mode is instructed. The reception unit receives a television broadcast radio wave of a channel transmitting EPG, the EPG extraction unit extracts EPG data, and the control unit sets a predetermined number of frames of the received television broadcast radio wave. On the other hand, the number of lines of the extracted EPG data is calculated, and when the number of lines is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that reception is not successful, while the number of lines is Determines that the case is more than the constant threshold is normally received, a configuration for performing a diagnostic mode for displaying a warning screen when the EPG data is not received correctly to the monitor.

  According to the present invention, since it can be determined whether or not the EPG can be normally received at the time of installation, the user can take measures such as mounting a booster when it is determined that the EPG cannot be normally received. As a result, the user does not first notice that the EPG is not normally displayed during use after installation, and can solve the problem in use during installation.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the broadcast receiving apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configurations of the EPG extraction unit and control unit of FIG. 1 and 2 show only the configuration necessary for the present invention, and other configurations unnecessary for the description are omitted. The broadcast receiving apparatus 10 includes a receiving unit 11, an audio detection circuit 12, a video detection circuit 13, an EPG extraction unit 14, a control unit 15, a speaker 16, a monitor 17, a light receiving unit 18, a remote controller 19, and the like.

  The receiving unit 11 includes an antenna 11a, and has a function as a tuner that receives a broadcast radio wave transmitted from a broadcasting station by the antenna 11a, and selects and receives a desired broadcast program. The receiving unit 11 extracts a video signal and an audio signal from the received broadcast radio wave, and outputs the video signal and the audio signal to the video detection circuit 13 and the audio detection circuit 12, respectively. The receiving unit 11 outputs the broadcast radio wave to the EPG extraction unit 14 for extracting the character signal superimposed on the broadcast radio wave.

  The audio detection circuit 12 detects an audio signal from the video signal and audio signal input from the receiving unit 11, amplifies the audio signal by an amplifier circuit (not shown), and outputs the amplified audio signal to the speaker 16.

  The video detection circuit 13 detects a video signal from the video signal and the audio signal input from the receiving unit 11, amplifies the video signal by an amplification circuit (not shown), and outputs the amplified video signal to the monitor 17.

  The EPG extraction unit 14 extracts a character signal transmitted by being superimposed on a broadcast radio wave, and acquires an EPG. Here, the EPG includes information such as a program name, a broadcast date, a program start time, a program end time, a reservation code, a channel, and a genre for about two weeks. These pieces of information are stored in the EPG storage unit ( (See FIG. 2).

  When a channel selection operation, a mode selection operation, or the like sent from the remote controller 19 is input via the light receiving unit 18, the control unit 15 drives and controls each unit of the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 according to a system program or a control program.

  The EPG extraction unit 14 and the control unit 15 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the EPG extraction unit 14 includes a data capturing circuit 14a, a buffer memory 14b, an EPG storage unit 14c, an output IF 14d, and the like. The control unit 15 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 15a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 15b, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 15c, an input IF 15d, and the like. And each part of the EPG extraction part 14 and each part of the control part 15 are connected by the bus | bath 15e.

  The data fetch circuit 14a extracts a character signal that is EPG data inserted into the VBI of the video data input from the receiving unit 11, performs synchronous reproduction and error correction on the character signal, The data is temporarily stored in the memory 14b. The buffer memory 14b outputs the accumulated EPG data to the EPG storage unit 14c in units of pages under the control of the CPU 15a.

  The EPG storage unit 14c stores EPG data transferred in units of pages from the buffer memory 14b, and updates and stores the EPG when it is time to send the EPG from the transmission device on the transmission side under the control of the CPU 15a. The output IF 14 outputs the EPG read from the EPG storage unit 14 c to the monitor 17.

  The CPU 15a operates according to the control program stored in the ROM 15b and the control data stored in the RAM 15c. The CPU 15a controls character signal timing control in the data fetch circuit 14a and data transfer from the data fetch circuit 14a to the buffer memory 14b. Further, the CPU 15a transfers the EPG data temporarily stored in the buffer memory 14b to the EPG storage unit 14c in units of pages and stores it.

  The CPU 15a controls the EPG extraction unit 14 to acquire new EPG data at the time when the EPG is transmitted from the transmission device on the transmission side. As a result, the EPG stored in the EPG storage unit 14c can be updated.

  Further, when an EPG display instruction is input from the remote controller 19, the CPU 15a reads the EPG from the EPG storage unit 14c, outputs the EPG from the output IF 14d, and displays the EPG on the monitor 17.

  The input IF 15d outputs an operation instruction input via the light receiving unit 18 to the CPU 15a.

  Next, a diagnosis mode for determining whether the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 can normally receive EPG data will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the broadcast receiving apparatus 10. When the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 is purchased and installed, or when the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 is moved and installed by moving or the like, the user sets the current installation area as an initial setting. This can generally be set by entering an area code. When the setting of the installation area is completed, the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 displays a screen for prompting selection as to whether or not to execute the diagnosis mode in step S10, that is, whether or not to perform EPG signal diagnosis. FIG. 4 shows an example of the screen. On the screen 30, “Yes” or “No” can be selected with the cursor 31 in response to the question of whether or not to perform signal diagnosis.

  Next, it progresses from step S10 to step S11, and it is determined whether signal diagnosis is carried out. When “Yes” is selected on the screen 30, it is determined that the signal diagnosis is performed, and the process proceeds to step S12 to execute the diagnosis mode. On the other hand, if “No” is selected on the screen 30, it is determined that the signal diagnosis is not performed, and the process is terminated. The user should select “Yes” on the screen 30 at the time of installation when the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 is purchased. However, if the area does not change even if the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 is moved, “No” is displayed on the screen 30. Should be selected.

  Note that the processing in step S10 and step S11 is not necessarily required, and the diagnosis mode may be forcibly executed when the installation area is set in the initial setting. Further, the diagnosis mode may be executed in the case shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing another operation of the broadcast receiving apparatus 10. When there is a change, it is necessary to change the channel for obtaining the EPG. In this case, when the item of the EPG acquisition channel is selected by the user by the initial setting, the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 displays a screen (not shown) for setting the EPG acquisition channel in step S20.

  When the EPG acquisition channel is determined by the user, the process proceeds to step S21 to determine whether or not the EPG acquisition channel has been changed. If the EPG acquisition channel is changed, the process proceeds to step S10. Steps S10 to S12 are the same as in FIG. On the other hand, if the EPG acquisition channel is not changed in step S21, it is not necessary to execute the EPG diagnostic mode, and the process ends.

  Next, the operation of the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 in the diagnosis mode will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the broadcast receiving apparatus 10 in the diagnosis mode. When the diagnosis mode is executed, in step S30, the receiving unit 11 receives the TV broadcast wave of the channel that is sending the EPG in the current installation area (or the changed channel when the EPG acquisition channel is changed). In step S31, the EPG extraction unit 14 extracts EPG data from the video signal of the broadcast radio wave.

  Then, it progresses to step S32 and the control part 15 determines whether EPG data are received normally. Specifically, the number of extracted EPG data lines is calculated for a predetermined number of frames (eg, 800) of the received TV broadcast radio wave image signal, and the number of lines is equal to or less than a specified threshold (eg, 780). It is determined whether or not. Then, if the number of lines is equal to or less than the prescribed threshold value, it is determined that the signal cannot be normally received, and the process proceeds to step S33, where EPG data cannot be normally received as shown in FIG. Display a recommended warning screen. On the other hand, if the number of lines is greater than the prescribed threshold value, it is determined that reception is normal and the diagnosis mode is terminated. If it is determined in step S32 that reception has been successful, the diagnosis mode may be terminated after displaying that fact.

  Thus, by providing the EPG diagnostic mode in the broadcast receiving apparatus 10, it is possible to know whether or not the EPG can be received normally at the time of installation, so that the user attaches a booster when it is determined that the EPG cannot be received normally. Measures can be taken. As a result, the user does not first notice that the EPG is not normally displayed during use after installation as in the prior art, and the user can solve the use problem at the time of installation.

  The broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention can be installed in a television receiving apparatus, a video apparatus, a DVD recorder, an HDD recorder, or the like.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the broadcast receiver of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the EPG extraction part and control part of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the broadcast receiver of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which accelerates | stimulates selection of whether to perform the diagnostic mode of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the other operation | movement of the broadcast receiver of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the broadcast receiver in the diagnostic mode of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the warning screen of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the system configuration | structure of the conventional G guide system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Broadcast receiver 11 Receiving part 14 EPG extraction part 15 Control part 17 Monitor

Claims (7)

In a broadcast receiving apparatus including a receiving unit that receives a television broadcast radio wave, an EPG extraction unit that extracts EPG data from the VBI of the television broadcast radio wave, a control unit that processes EPG data, and a monitor that displays the EPG.
When the current installation area is set, the monitor displays a screen prompting the user to select whether or not to execute the diagnosis mode, and when instructed to execute the diagnosis mode,
The receiving unit receives a television broadcast radio wave of a channel transmitting EPG, the EPG extraction unit extracts EPG data, and the control unit performs a predetermined number of frames of the received television broadcast radio wave. The number of extracted EPG data lines is calculated, and when the number of lines is equal to or less than a specified threshold value, it is determined that reception has not been performed normally. On the other hand, when the number of lines is greater than the specified threshold value, A broadcast receiving apparatus that executes a diagnosis mode in which a warning screen is displayed on the monitor when it is determined that the EPG data has not been received normally. In a broadcast receiving apparatus including a receiving unit that receives a television broadcast radio wave, an EPG extraction unit that extracts EPG data from the VBI of the television broadcast radio wave, and a control unit that processes the EPG data,
The receiving unit receives a television broadcast radio wave of a channel transmitting EPG, the EPG extracting unit extracts EPG data, and the control unit determines whether the EPG data can be normally received. And a diagnostic mode for outputting a determination result.   3. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the diagnosis mode is executed when a current installation area is set.   The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the diagnosis mode is executed when a channel for receiving an EPG is changed.   The broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein a user is prompted to select whether or not to execute the diagnosis mode before the execution of the diagnosis mode.   The determination of whether or not the EPG data can be normally received is performed by calculating the number of lines of the extracted EPG data with respect to a predetermined number of frames of the received television broadcast radio wave, and the number of lines is a predetermined threshold value. 6. If it is below, it is determined that reception is not normal, and on the other hand, if the number of lines is greater than the specified threshold, it is determined that reception is normal. The broadcast receiving device according to claim 1.   The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the output of the determination result is an output of a warning screen performed when EPG data cannot be received normally.