JP2008035218A - Recorder/reproducer and automatic videotape recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly convenient recorder/reproducer capable of automatic videotape recording of relay broadcasting without using dedicated data. <P>SOLUTION: When the recorder/reproducer for recording and reproducing video information or sound information performs videotape recording of a program, EPG is used to acquire a completion time of broadcast of a program to be videotape recorded. Information on a program which starts to be broadcast within a prescribed period from the completion time (for example, in a time zone of thirty minutes from the completion time) is acquired by using the EPG. Programs similar to the programs to be videotape recorded are retrieved from a plurality of acquired programs. When there is a similar program as a result of retrieval, videotape recording of the similar program is booked. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording and reproducing video information, and more particularly, to an automatic video information recording method using the recording / reproducing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digital recording / reproducing apparatuses such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) recorder or a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) recorder have been widely used as apparatuses for recording and reproducing video or audio processed in a video apparatus such as a television. It is popular. Conventionally, the existence of a continuous recording function (= relay relay recording function) is known as one of the functions of these recording / reproducing apparatuses.

  The continuous recording function is a function for switching the recording target channel when the first program ends when the same or similar program is continuously broadcast over a plurality of channels. Thereby, it is possible to record a plurality of programs broadcast continuously. For example, when a baseball program is extended due to an extended game and an extended broadcast is broadcast at another station, the user can record the program to the end without being aware of the change of the broadcast station.

  As an invention for realizing the above function, Patent Document 1 discloses a transmission method that allows a user to switch channels without changing the channel, even for a program that is continuously broadcast over a plurality of channels, and to that An adapted teletext receiver is disclosed.

  In the transmission method of Patent Document 1, the transmission side transmits program follow-up information relating to a program for which broadcasting is continued over a plurality of channels using encoded transmission character broadcasting. On the receiving side, the teletext is received and the teletext signal is extracted, and the program following information included in the teletext signal is extracted. The receiving side sets the time for switching channels based on the program following information. Then, channel information relating to the broadcasting station code of the program continuation destination is extracted, and the channel is switched based on the extracted channel information.

  According to the transmission method as described above, in the television receiver, the channel is switched following the broadcast of the program. This eliminates the need for the user to switch channels. In the image recording apparatus, the channel is switched following the broadcast of the program, so that the program can be recorded without interruption.

  In addition, as an invention for realizing the above function, in Patent Document 2, when a program extension accompanied by a channel change or an emergency news program occurs, the viewer is surely notified of the fact, and the current program is continued. A broadcast receiver that can be recorded is disclosed.

  The broadcast receiver of Patent Document 2 includes control signal separation means for separating control signals included in broadcast waves. Further, the user can set in advance conditions for displaying or recording a program to be extended or a program interrupted temporarily. The control signal separated by the control signal separation means is compared with the condition set by the user, and it is determined whether to display or record the program based on the result.

According to the broadcast receiving apparatus as described above, when the program is extended or the special program is suddenly organized, the broadcast receiver changes the display form of the program according to the conditions preset by the viewer. Can be changed. As a result, the user can view or record the original program and the extended program continuously without any gaps, and convenience is improved.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-219483 JP 2002-281404 A

  However, in the conventional transmission method or broadcast receiver, it is necessary to incorporate dedicated data for relay display or relay recording in advance in the broadcast radio wave. For this reason, there is a problem that the function cannot be used for broadcasts to which no dedicated data is added. In addition, there is a problem that the receiving side needs to have an analysis function for embedded dedicated data.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly convenient recording / reproducing apparatus that can realize automatic relay relay recording without using dedicated data as described above.

  In order to achieve the above object, a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention comprises recording means for storing video and audio, receives a program composed of video and audio and records it in the recording means, and broadcast radio waves. An electronic program information acquisition means for acquiring electronic program information from a VBI area, wherein when the program recording means records a program, the broadcast end date and time of the program to be recorded is set as the electronic program information. An end time acquisition unit that acquires using the electronic program information, a proximity program acquisition unit that acquires a proximity program scheduled to start broadcasting within a predetermined period before and after the broadcast end date and time, A similar program acquisition unit that acquires a similar program that shares at least a part of the content with the recording target program from adjacent programs, and a recording reservation unit that reserves recording of the similar program It is.

  According to this, when a recording / reproducing apparatus that records and reproduces video information or audio information records a program, the end time acquisition unit uses an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) to record a recording target program (electronic program information). = Broadcast end time of recording target program) is acquired. Then, the proximity program acquisition unit acquires, using an EPG, information on a program scheduled to start broadcasting within a predetermined period determined from the end time, for example, in a time zone 30 minutes before and after the end time. Then, the similar program acquisition unit searches for a similar program of the recording target program from the plurality of acquired programs. Note that the similar program is a program having at least a part of the contents, and for example, in the case of a baseball broadcast, indicates a broadcast broadcast of the same battle card. If there is a similar program as a result of the search, the recording reservation unit makes a recording reservation for the similar program.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, the similar program acquisition unit divides the program name of the recording target program into a plurality of character strings, and any one of the plurality of character strings. The similar program is acquired by searching for a character string that matches the character string from the program name of the adjacent program.

  According to this, when searching for a similar program of a recording target program, the similar program acquisition unit first divides the program name of the recording target program into a plurality of character strings. Then, a search is performed for a program scheduled to start broadcasting within a predetermined period from the end time of the recording target program using each character string obtained by the division as a search key. As a result of the search, when a program including one or more character strings that match the search key is acquired, the program is determined to be a similar program to the recording target program.

  In order to achieve the above object, the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention includes a genre acquisition unit that acquires the genre of the recording target program from the electronic program information, and the acquired genre is a recording target genre set in advance. A genre confirmation unit that confirms whether or not the genre matches, and if the genre confirmation unit confirms that the genre does not match the recording target genre, the end time acquisition unit, The operations of the proximity program acquisition unit, the similar program acquisition unit, and the recording reservation unit are prohibited.

  According to this, when the recording / reproducing apparatus receives a recording instruction, the genre acquisition unit acquires the genre (for example, sports, news, etc.) of the recording target program using the EPG. If the acquired genre does not match the automatic recording target genre designated in advance by the user, automatic recording reservation is not performed. For example, it is assumed that the user designates only the sports program to use the automatic recording function of the present invention. In this case, a program whose genre is indicated by another genre such as a song program in the EPG is not subject to automatic recording.

  According to the present invention, a recording reservation is made for a similar program scheduled to start broadcasting within a predetermined period from the end time of the recording target program. As a result, for example, when an extended game of a baseball broadcast is broadcasted to a plurality of broadcasting stations, both programs can be reliably recorded. Further, the user only needs to give an instruction to record a recording target program that is broadcast first among similar programs and similar programs. In other words, there is no need to give a recording instruction for a subsequent similar program, and there is an advantage that the work burden on the user is reduced.

  Further, according to the present invention, when searching for a similar program of a recording target program from programs acquired using EPG, a character string included in the program name of the recording target program is used as a search key. As a result, similar programs can be extracted easily and with high probability.

  Further, according to the present invention, automatic recording processing of a program that does not match the genre designated in advance by the user is not performed. As a result, it is possible to exclude programs that have a very low probability of being broadcast over a plurality of programs, such as dramas and travel programs, from automatic recording targets. As a result, since automatic recording unintended by the user can be prevented, processing resources and storage resources can be used effectively.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, embodiment shown here is an example and this invention is not limited to embodiment shown here.

[Embodiment 1]
<1-1. About internal structure of HDD recorder>
Here, the configuration of the main part of the electric circuit system of the HDD recorder (= recording / reproducing apparatus) 1 in the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

  As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2, the HDD recorder 1 of the present invention includes at least a control unit 11, a memory 12, an HDD 13, a data input unit 14, a data separation unit 15, an encoder unit 16, a decoder unit 17, and a data output unit. 18, an OSD generation unit 19, a clock circuit 20, an operation button group 21, and a front panel 22.

  The control unit 11 is a central processing unit for performing overall control of video information processing, for example, content recording or reproduction, by controlling driving of each member of the HDD recorder 1. The control unit 11 is a central part that controls each device (for example, the HDD 13), calculates data, processes, and the like.

  The memory 12 is a medium for temporarily storing various data held by the HDD recorder 1 and is configured by, for example, a writable RAM (Random Access Memory). The memory 12 serves as a buffer memory for temporarily storing, for example, processing data when various kinds of information processing are performed by the control unit 11 and instruction commands received from the user.

  The HDD 13 (= recording means) is a magnetic storage medium for recording video data held by the HDD recorder 1 or management data. Note that the HDD 13 is physically divided into a plurality of areas (= partitions), and it is more desirable to store each area according to the type of data to be stored.

  The data input unit 14 is an input interface for inputting digital data from an external device such as a digital tuner. For example, when analog data is input, analog video data and audio data can be converted into digital data and input using an A / D converter (Analog Digital Converter).

  The data separator 15 is a processing circuit for separating data input from the outside by the data input unit 14. The input data is separated into video data including data related to video and audio, and additional data used for various information processing functions such as EPG. The video data acquired in this way is sent to an encoder unit 16 to be described later. The acquired additional data is sent to and stored in the HDD 13.

  The encoder unit 16 is for compressing video data by a moving image compression method such as MPEG2, and compressing audio data by a sound compression method such as Dolby AC-3 or LPCM. Note that the data to be compressed is, for example, video data and audio data input from the data input unit 14. Note that if the input video data is already compressed by any compression method, it is possible not to perform the encoding.

  The decoder unit 17 is for decompressing the video data and audio data compressed by the encoder unit 16 and the like to generate a video signal or an audio signal. The generated various signals are output to an external device using, for example, a data output unit 18 described later.

  The data output unit 18 is an output interface for outputting video data and audio data to an external device such as a monitor. For example, when the output destination device has only an analog interface, digital video data and audio data can be converted into analog data and output using a D / A converter (Digital Analog Converter). .

  The OSD (On Screen Display) generation unit 19 is a circuit for creating an information display window based on the video signal generated by the decoder unit 17. The OSD generation unit 19 superimposes the information display window at a predetermined position in the screen displayed by the video signal in a format in which the video is transparent (alpha blending method). Alternatively, a video signal is created by replacing video information at a predetermined position with an information display window.

  The clock circuit 20 is a clock circuit for counting the current time, and is used as, for example, a notification of the current time to the user or a trigger for starting the recording process in the recording reservation function.

  The operation button group 21 is an input interface for the user to perform various instructions such as program recording and recording reservation to the HDD recorder 1. The front panel 22 is for displaying various information of the HDD recorder 1 to the user.

<1-2. About EPG display screen>
Here, the EPG display screen displayed by the OSD generation unit 19 of the HDD recorder 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the screen diagrams of FIGS.

  3-6 is an example of the EPG display screen produced | generated by the OSD production | generation part 19 with which the HDD recorder 1 of this invention is provided. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the EPG display screen of the HDD recorder 1 of the present invention includes at least a menu tab 51, a program guide 52, a program selection cursor 53, a display window 54, and a recording icon 55. It is configured.

  The menu tab 51 is a tab for selecting data to be displayed using the OSD function. When the user selects one of a plurality of menu tabs 51, data corresponding to the tab is displayed by the OSD function. 3 to 6 show an example of an EPG display screen displayed when the program guide tab is selected.

  The program table 52 is table data that represents programs scheduled to be broadcast in a table format. The table data displayed here is created based on, for example, broadcast-scheduled program information (= EPG data) extracted from the received data by the data separator 15.

  The program selection cursor 53 is a cursor that can move within the program guide 52. The user can select a program to be recorded or viewed by operating the keys included in the operation button group 21 or the like. Note that the background color of a program for which a recording reservation has been made using the program selection cursor changes as shown in the example of “professional baseball Hanshin × Hiroshima” in FIG.

  The display window 54 is a display frame for displaying various auxiliary information related to the program selected in the program guide 52. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the title name of the program selected by the program selection cursor 53 is displayed.

  The recording icon 55 is an icon for indicating a program that is currently being recorded by the HDD recorder 1. As a method for indicating the program being recorded, in addition to the recording icon 55, the user may be able to discriminate by changing the background color of the program column of the program being recorded to a color indicating recording. .

<1-3. Relay relay recording process>
Here, the recording process of the relay relay program (= similar program) in the HDD recorder 1 of the present invention will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 1, the block diagram of FIG. 2, and the screen diagrams of FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the recording processing of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this process is started when the control unit 11 detects a recording start command for video information. Note that the recording start command here may be any type of recording processing start command such as a recording process manually performed by the user, a recording process using a reserved recording function, or a recording process by genre designation. .

  The control unit 11 that has detected the recording start command executes a recording process of the video information input from the data input unit 14. The recording start command is issued when, for example, the user performs a recording operation using the operation button group 21 or when the clock circuit 20 detects that the recording start time of a preset recording reservation has been reached, for example. Is done.

  In step S110, the control unit 11 that has detected the recording start command confirms whether the relay relay recording function is set to be valid in advance by the user. The relay relay recording setting may be a method set for the HDD recorder 1, that is, a method that is effective for all programs to be recorded if the setting is valid, or for each program. An individual setting method may be used.

  When the relay relay recording function is set to be valid, the process proceeds to the next step S120. On the other hand, when the relay relay recording function is set to invalid, this processing is terminated.

  Next, in step S120, the control unit 11 acquires EPG data (= electronic program information). The EPG data is acquired by separating the VBI data from the VBI area of the broadcast data input from the data input unit 14 using the data separating unit 15. If the latest EPG data already acquired exists in the EPG data storage area of the storage unit 13, it may be acquired by reading the EPG data from the HDD 13.

  Next, in step S130, the control unit 11 acquires the program name of the recording target program. The program name is acquired using the EPG data acquired in step S120. Specifically, the program information of the recording target program is searched from the EPG data using the broadcast channel of the designated recording target program or information such as the current time obtained by the clock circuit 20 as a key. Then, the program name of the recording target program is acquired from the program information obtained by the search. The acquired program name is temporarily stored in the memory 12 or the like.

  Next, in step S140, the control unit 11 acquires broadcast time information of the recording target program. Broadcast time information is time information indicating the broadcast start date and time and the broadcast end date and time of a program to be recorded. Broadcast time information is acquired using EPG data. Specifically, the program information of the recording target program is searched from the EPG data using the broadcast channel of the instructed recording target program and information such as the current time obtained by the clock circuit 20 as keys. Then, broadcast time information of the recording target program is acquired from the program information obtained by the search. The acquired broadcast time information is temporarily stored in the memory 12 or the like. Therefore, the process of step S140 is performed by the end time acquisition unit that acquires the broadcast end time of the recording target program.

  Next, in step S150, the control unit 11 extracts EPG data in a time zone of 30 minutes before and after the broadcast end time of the recording target program from the broadcast time information obtained in step S140. In this embodiment, the extraction range is 30 minutes before and after the program end time. However, the extraction range is not necessarily limited to this range, and an arbitrary range can be used. Therefore, the process of step S150 is performed by the proximity program acquisition unit that acquires the proximity program of the recording target program.

  Next, in step S160, the control unit 11 searches the extracted EPG data (= the EPG data extracted in step S150) for a similar program that shares at least a part of the content with the recording target program. As a method for searching for similar programs, the program name acquired in step S130 is used. The program name is divided into words, and each word obtained by the division is used as a search key. Then, using the search key, it is determined whether there is a word that matches the search key in the extracted EPG data. A program including at least one matching word is extracted as a similar program. Therefore, the process of step S160 is performed by a similar program acquisition unit that acquires a program similar to the recording target program.

  Next, in step S170, the control unit 11 determines whether a similar program to the recording target program has been extracted by the search process in step S160. If it is extracted, in step S180, the recording of a similar program is reserved, and the process is terminated. Conversely, if a similar program of the recording target program is not extracted, the process of step S180 is not performed, and this process ends.

  A specific example of the above series of processing will be described with reference to the screen diagrams of FIGS. FIG. 3 shows an example of an EPG display screen when a recording target program is not selected. FIG. 4 is an example of an EPG display screen when only one recording target program is selected. FIG. 5 is an example of an EPG display screen during the recording process of the recording target program. FIG. 6 is an example of an EPG display screen showing a state in which a similar program is reserved for recording by the relay relay recording process of the present invention.

  For example, as shown in the example of FIG. 4, it is assumed that the recording reservation setting is performed for the program “professional baseball Hanshin × Hiroshima” scheduled to be broadcast from “14:00” on the broadcast station “Sun TV”. Then, the recording process is started at the stage when the time is 14:00, and the state transitions to the state shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, a recording icon is displayed in the program “Professional Baseball Hanshin × Hiroshima”.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5, the broadcast end time of the recording target program is 16:00. Therefore, it is checked whether or not there is a similar program of the program to be recorded in the time zone of 30 minutes before and after 16:00, that is, from 15:30 to 16:30. In this case, the character strings “professional baseball”, “Hanshin”, and “Hiroshima” are acquired by dividing the program to be recorded “professional baseball Hanshin × Hiroshima” into a plurality of character strings. A program that includes these character strings and is scheduled to start broadcasting is searched 30 minutes before and after the broadcast end time of the recording target program. As a result, the program “Pro Baseball Relay Relay Hanshin × Hiroshima” scheduled to start broadcasting is extracted from “16:00” on the broadcast station “ABC TV”. The extracted program is reserved for recording, and the background color changes as shown in the example of FIG.

[Embodiment 2]
<2-1. About internal structure of HDD recorder>
Since it is the same content as Embodiment 1, description is abbreviate | omitted here.

<2-2. About EPG display screen>
Since it is the same content as Embodiment 1, description is abbreviate | omitted here.

<2-3. Relay relay recording process>
Here, the recording process of the relay relay program in the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7, the block diagram of FIG. 2, and the screen diagrams of FIGS.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the process flow of the recording process of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, this process is started when the control unit 11 detects a recording start command for video information. Note that the recording start command here may be any type of recording processing start command such as a recording process manually performed by the user, a recording process using a reserved recording function, or a recording process by genre designation. .

  The control unit 11 that has detected the recording start command executes a recording process of the video information input from the data input unit 14. The recording start command is issued when, for example, the user performs a recording operation using the operation button group 21 or when the clock circuit 20 detects that the recording start time of a preset recording reservation has been reached, for example. Is done.

  Upon detecting the recording start command, the control unit 11 acquires EPG data in step S210. Note that the EPG data acquisition method is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

  Next, in step S220, the control unit 11 acquires genre information of the recording target program. Genre information is information used to group a plurality of programs into one category. Specifically, for example, categories such as sports, news, and travel programs are used as genre information.

  Genre information is acquired using the EPG data acquired in step S210. Specifically, the program information of the recording target program is searched from the EPG data by using the broadcast channel of the designated recording target program or information such as the current time obtained by the clock circuit 20 as a key. Then, the genre information of the recording target program is acquired from the obtained program information. The acquired genre information is temporarily stored in the memory 12 or the like. Therefore, the process of step S220 is performed by a genre acquisition unit that acquires genre information of a recording target program.

  Next, in step S230, the control unit 11 confirms whether or not the genre information acquired in step S220 matches the target genre for relay relay recording. The relay relay recording target genre is information that the user selects in advance a genre of a program that the relay relay recording is desired to store in the HDD 13. A plurality of target genres can be set. Therefore, the process in step S230 is performed by a genre confirmation unit that confirms the genre of the recording target program.

  When the acquired genre information matches the target genre of relay relay recording, the process proceeds to the next step S240. On the other hand, when the genre does not match the relay relay recording target genre, this process is terminated.

  Next, in step S240, the control unit 11 acquires broadcast time information of the recording target program. The details of the acquisition process are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted. The acquired broadcast time information is temporarily stored in the memory 12 or the like.

  Next, in step S250, the control unit 11 uses the broadcast time information obtained in step S240 to extract EPG data in a time zone of 30 minutes before and after the broadcast end time of the recording target program. The details of the extraction process are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, in step S260, the control unit 11 searches for similar programs of the recording target program from the extracted EPG data (= the EPG data extracted in step S250). Since the method for searching for similar programs is the same as that in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, in step S270, it is determined whether a program similar to the recording target program has been found by the search processing in step S260. If found, the process proceeds to the next step S280. On the other hand, if a program similar to the recording target program is not found, the process of step S280 is not performed, and this process ends.

  Next, in step S280, the control unit 11 confirms whether or not the recording reservation setting of another program is performed in the broadcast time zone of the found similar program. If the recording reservation setting has not been performed, in step S290, the recording of a similar program is reserved and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the recording reservation setting for another program is performed during the broadcast time zone of the similar program, in step S285, the failure notification of the relay relay recording reservation setting is notified to the user. The failure notification is performed by, for example, displaying a warning message using the front panel 22 or outputting an error message created by the OSD generation unit 19 to the monitor. The control part 11 complete | finishes this process after giving notification.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments and examples. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiments and examples, and various modifications may be made within the scope of the technical idea. Can be implemented.

  For example, a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the HDD recorder 1, and a computer (for example, CPU) in the HDD recorder 1 reads the program codes stored in the storage medium. Needless to say, it can also be achieved through implementation.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, HDD, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, or the like can be used.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  It goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained even when the video information processing method of the present invention is used in a recording / reproducing apparatus other than the HDD recorder. Note that examples of the recording / reproducing apparatus include a DVD recorder, a DV recorder, a personal computer, and a digital video camera.

  In the present embodiment, the EPG data is obtained separately from the VBI data obtained by the data input unit 14, but other methods such as obtaining EPG data through a communication network such as the Internet are used. Even if it is used, it goes without saying that the same effects as those of the present invention can be obtained.

  In the present embodiment, a character string obtained by dividing a program name is used when searching for similar programs. However, program information other than the program name, for example, an explanatory text explaining details of the program is divided. Needless to say, even if a character string is acquired and search processing is performed using the character string obtained as a result, the same effect as the present invention can be obtained.

It is a processing flow figure of relay relay video recording processing in a first embodiment of the present invention. It is the block diagram which showed the principal part structure of the electric circuit of the HDD recorder of this invention. It is the screen figure which showed an example of the EPG display screen of this invention. It is the screen figure which showed an example of the EPG display screen of this invention. It is the screen figure which showed an example of the EPG display screen of this invention. It is the screen figure which showed an example of the EPG display screen of this invention. It is a processing flowchart of relay relay video recording processing in the second embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 HDD recorder (recording and playback device)
11 Control Unit 12 Memory 13 HDD (Recording Unit)
15 Data Separator 19 OSD Generator 20 Clock Circuit 21 Operation Button Group 22 Front Panel

Claims (8)

A program recording means comprising a hard disk for storing video and audio, receiving a program comprising video and audio and recording the program on the hard disk;
Electronic program information acquisition means for acquiring an EPG from the VBI area of broadcast radio waves;
A hard disk recorder comprising:
An end time acquisition unit that acquires the broadcast end date and time of the recording target program using the EPG when the program recording unit records the program;
A proximity program acquisition unit that acquires a proximity program scheduled to start broadcasting within a predetermined period before and after the broadcast end date and time using the EPG;
The program name of the program to be recorded is divided into a plurality of character strings from the neighboring programs, and a character string that matches any one of the plurality of character strings is searched from the program name of the neighboring program. A similar program acquisition unit for acquiring the similar program by
A recording reservation unit for performing recording reservation of the similar program;
A genre acquisition unit for acquiring a genre of the recording target program from the electronic program information;
A genre confirmation unit for confirming whether or not the acquired genre matches a preset recording target genre;
With
When the genre confirmation unit confirms that the genre does not match the recording target genre, the operation of the end time acquisition unit, the proximity program acquisition unit, the similar program acquisition unit, and the recording reservation unit is prohibited. A hard disk recorder characterized by A recording means for storing video and audio, a program recording means for receiving a program consisting of video and audio and recording it in the recording means;
Electronic program information acquisition means for acquiring electronic program information from the VBI area of broadcast radio waves;
A recording / reproducing apparatus comprising:
An end time acquisition unit that acquires the broadcast end date and time of the recording target program using the electronic program information when the program recording unit records the program;
A proximity program acquisition unit that acquires a proximity program scheduled to start broadcasting within a predetermined period before and after the broadcast end date and time using the electronic program information;
A similar program acquisition unit for acquiring a similar program having at least a part of the content in common with the recording target program from the adjacent programs;
A recording reservation unit for performing recording reservation of the similar program;
A recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: The similar program acquisition unit divides the program name of the recording target program into a plurality of character strings, and searches for a character string that matches one of the character strings from the program names of the adjacent programs. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the similar program is acquired. A genre acquisition unit for acquiring a genre of the recording target program from the electronic program information;
A genre confirmation unit for confirming whether or not the acquired genre matches a preset recording target genre;
With
When the genre confirmation unit confirms that the genre does not match the recording target genre, the operation of the end time acquisition unit, the proximity program acquisition unit, the similar program acquisition unit, and the recording reservation unit is prohibited. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: A program recording step of receiving a program consisting of video and audio and storing it on a hard disk;
An electronic program information acquisition step of acquiring an EPG from the VBI area of the broadcast radio wave;
An automatic recording method for performing
An end time acquisition step of acquiring the broadcast end date and time of the recording target program using the EPG when the program recording step records the program;
A proximity program acquisition step of acquiring a proximity program scheduled to start broadcasting within a predetermined period before and after the broadcast end date and time using the EPG;
The program name of the program to be recorded is divided into a plurality of character strings from the neighboring programs, and a character string that matches any one of the plurality of character strings is searched from the program name of the neighboring program. A similar program acquisition step of acquiring the similar program by
A recording reservation process for recording recording of the similar program;
A genre acquisition step of acquiring a genre of the recording target program from the electronic program information;
A genre confirmation step of confirming whether or not the acquired genre matches a preset recording target genre;
Run
When the genre confirmation step confirms that the genre does not match the recording target genre, the end time acquisition step, the proximity program acquisition step, the similar program acquisition step, and the recording reservation step are not executed. An automatic recording method characterized by. A program recording step of receiving a program consisting of video and audio and recording it in a recording means;
An electronic program information acquisition step of acquiring electronic program information from the VBI area of the broadcast radio wave;
An automatic recording method for performing
An end time acquisition step of acquiring the broadcast end date and time of the recording target program using the electronic program information when recording the program in the program recording step;
A proximity program acquisition step of acquiring a proximity program scheduled to start broadcasting within a predetermined period before and after the broadcast end date and time using the electronic program information;
A similar program acquisition step of acquiring a similar program having at least a part of the content in common with the recording target program from the adjacent programs,
A recording reservation process for recording recording of the similar program;
The automatic recording method characterized by performing. In the similar program acquisition step, the program name of the recording target program is divided into a plurality of character strings, and a character string that matches one of the character strings is searched from the program name of the adjacent program The automatic recording method according to claim 6, wherein the similar program is acquired by A genre acquisition step of acquiring a genre of the recording target program from the electronic program information;
A genre confirmation step of confirming whether or not the acquired genre matches a preset recording target genre;
Run
In the genre confirmation step, when it is confirmed that the genre does not match the recording target genre, the end time acquisition step, the proximity program acquisition step, the similar program acquisition step, and the recording reservation step are not executed. The automatic recording method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein:

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