JP2008283709A - Information processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to select an electronic program guide (EPG) displayed on a monitor as needed. <P>SOLUTION: The user operates a remote controller to change a display form of an EPG being displayed over all the screen of a monitor. In response to the operation of the remote controller, for example, only information corresponding to four channels that is a half of the number of channels of the EPG in Fig.7 is displayed on the monitor, or information corresponding to 12 channels that is the number of channels 1.5 times as many as the EPG in Fig.7 is displayed on the monitor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and in particular, information that enables a viewer to obtain a desired EPG by changing the display size and display format of the EPG displayed on a monitor. The present invention relates to a processing apparatus and method.

  Recently, in Japan, digital satellite broadcasting has been started, and it has become possible to provide programs on many channels of 100 channels or more. Thus, when the number of channels increases, it becomes inconvenient for the user (viewer) to appropriately select a desired program from among many programs. Therefore, information about a broadcast program is transmitted as EPG (Electronic Program Guide) data separately from the original program information.

  The EPG data includes the program title of each channel corresponding to the broadcast time. For example, based on the EPG data, an EPG as shown in FIG. (Not shown). The user can find a desired program with reference to the EPG displayed on the monitor. In the EPG of FIG. 14, the titles of programs broadcast from the time 3 o'clock to the time 5 o'clock (2 hours) are displayed in the 101st to 108th channels (eight channels).

  By the way, the information amount of EPG displayed on the monitor (in the case of EPG in FIG. 14, information of program titles for two hours in eight channels), the so-called display size, is determined in advance. That is, the same display size is displayed uniformly on both a large screen monitor and a small screen monitor. For this reason, when displayed on a monitor with a small screen, the EPG is displayed in a reduced size than the EPG displayed on a monitor with a large screen. As a result, the characters on the EPG become smaller and it may be difficult for some users to read.

  Further, the EPG may be displayed on the entire screen of the monitor as shown in FIG. 14, or may be displayed in the lower half of the video of the broadcast program as shown in FIG. However, these display formats are predetermined for each EPG, and the user cannot select them. That is, even if the user wants to refer to the EPG while watching the video of the program, if the EPG does not support the display format, for example, the EPG is displayed on the entire screen of the monitor. While browsing the EPG displayed on the screen, you miss the video of the program.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and allows the display size and display format of an EPG to be changed as required by the user.

  An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a holding unit that holds EPG information related to a program, a display control unit that controls the EPG information held in the holding unit to be displayed on a predetermined screen, Command means for commanding a change in the amount of information of the EPG information displayed on the screen, and the display control means displays the EPG information on the entire screen in response to a first command by the command means. It is possible to switch between the first display to be displayed on the screen and the second display to display the EPG information having a smaller amount of information together with the video of the program than the EPG information displayed on the first display.

  The display control means changes the first display, the information amount of the EPG information displayed in the first display, and the display character size in response to the second command by the command means. The third display to be displayed can be switched.

  The display control means can be controlled to display the EPG information in a channel and time display format.

  In the display control means, the EPG information having a smaller amount of information than the EPG information displayed in the first display is displayed on the upper half or the lower half of the screen in the second display. It can be displayed on the lower half or the upper half of the screen, respectively.

  An information processing method according to an aspect of the present invention holds EPG information related to a program in a holding unit, controls the EPG information held in the holding unit to be displayed on a predetermined screen, and displays the EPG information on the screen. A step of commanding a change in the amount of information of the EPG information, and in the display control of the EPG information, in response to a first command, a first display for displaying the EPG information on the entire screen; It is possible to switch between the second display in which the EPG information having a smaller amount of information than the EPG information displayed in the first display is displayed together with the video of the program.

  In the display control of the EPG information, the first display, the information amount of the EPG information displayed in the first display, and the display character size are changed and displayed in response to the second command. The third display can be switched.

  In the display control of the EPG information, the EPG information can be controlled to be displayed in a channel and time display format.

  In the display control of the EPG information, in the second display, the video of the program is displayed in the upper half or the lower half of the screen, and the EPG information has a smaller information amount than the EPG information displayed in the first display. Can be displayed in the lower half or the upper half of the screen, respectively.

  In one aspect of the present invention, EPG information related to a program is held in a holding unit, and the EPG information held in the holding unit is controlled to be displayed on a predetermined screen and displayed on the screen. A change of the information amount of the EPG information is commanded. In the display control of the EPG information, in response to the first command, the first display for displaying the EPG information on the entire screen and the amount of information less than the EPG information displayed in the first display. The second display for displaying the EPG information together with the video of the program is switched.

  According to the present invention, the user can select the display size and display format of the EPG according to the request, and display it on the monitor.

  Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a transmission apparatus 1 that constitutes a transmission / reception system to which an information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied. In the transmission apparatus 1, broadcast program data (audio data and video data) is generated in the program generation unit 11. The main system processor 12 supplies the program data supplied from the program generation unit 11 to the encoder 13 for encoding, and the system information processor 15, the operation system processor 16, the EPG system processor 17, the multiplexer 14, etc. Generate and supply time information. The encoder 13 encodes the program data supplied from the program generation unit 11 via the main system processor 12 according to a scheme such as the MPEG scheme and outputs the encoded data to the multiplexer 14.

  The system information processor 15 generates system information and controls the multiplexing process of the multiplexer 14. The operation system processor 16 processes a command corresponding to an input from a keyboard, mouse, etc. (not shown), and outputs it to the main system processor 12 as necessary.

  The EPG data supply unit 18 generates EPG data and outputs it to the editing unit 19. When the editing unit 19 has a characteristic in each program and wants to display the EPG of the program with the feature recognition information added thereto, the editing unit 19 generates a program flag indicating that, and displays the EPG data. Insert into. The EPG system processor 17 processes the EPG data supplied from the editing unit 19 in synchronization with the signal supplied from the main system processor 12 and outputs the processed EPG data to the multiplexer 14. The multiplexer 14 synthesizes the program data consisting of audio data and video data supplied from the encoder 13 and the EPG data supplied from the EPG system processor 17 and outputs them as a transport stream to a satellite (not shown). Has been made.

  FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration example of a receiving device 31 that receives data transmitted from the transmitting device 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 via a satellite. The receiving device 31 receives a radio wave transmitted via a satellite by a tuner 41 and outputs a received signal to a demodulator 42. The demodulator 42 demodulates the signal supplied from the tuner 41 and outputs the demodulated signal to the demultiplexer 43. The demultiplexer 43 extracts audio data and video data constituting the program data from the data input from the demodulator 42 and also extracts EPG data. Audio data is supplied to the audio decoder 46, video data is supplied to the video decoder 45, and EPG data is supplied to the control CPU 44.

  The audio decoder 46 decodes input audio data and outputs the decoded audio data to, for example, a VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) 63 or a monitor 62 connected to the receiving device 31. The video decoder 45 decodes the input video data and outputs it to the display converter 47. The display converter 47 reduces the size of the image based on the video data supplied from the video decoder 45 to a predetermined size in response to the control from the control CPU 44 and outputs it to the display processor 48. The display converter 47 outputs a video data signal whose image size is not reduced to the VCR 63.

  The OSD control unit 49 is controlled by the control CPU 44, generates OSD (On Screen Display) data to be superimposed on the video data, and outputs it to the display processor 48. The display processor 48 synthesizes the OSD data supplied from the OSD control unit 49 with the video data supplied from the display converter 47 under the control of the control CPU 44, and outputs it to the monitor 62.

  The program flag symbol memory 50 stores data of symbols (feature recognition information) to be superimposed and displayed on the EPG corresponding to the program flags. The EPG data memory 51 stores the EPG data supplied from the demultiplexer 43 by the control CPU 44. The program memory 52 stores programs necessary for the control CPU 44 to execute various processes. The work memory 53 appropriately stores data, programs, and the like necessary for the control CPU 44 to execute various processes. The operation unit 54 receives an infrared signal input from the remote controller 61 or an input from a button or switch (not shown) provided on the main body of the receiving device 31 and outputs the detection signal to the control CPU 44. ing.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the display converter 47. The display size converter 81 corresponds to a command from the control CPU 44 for the size of one screen composed of the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals Cb (BY) and Cr (RY) supplied from the video decoder 45. The image is reduced to a predetermined size and output to the video encoder 82. The video encoder 82 converts the video data input from the display size converter 81 into, for example, NTSC video data, and then outputs the video data to the D / A converter 83. The D / A converter 83 D / A converts the input video data and outputs it to the display processor 48. The display processor 48 processes the input video data, synthesizes a symbol (figure) corresponding to the EPG supplied from the OSD control unit 49 and outputs it to the monitor 62 as described above. ing.

  On the other hand, the video data input from the video decoder 45 is converted into NTSC video data by the video encoder 84, further converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 85, and supplied to the VCR 63. Since the video signal supplied to the VCR 63 does not pass through the display processor 48, the video signal does not include the EPG.

  The display converter 47 is also connected to an SDRAM 91 as a memory for temporarily storing image data when the display size converter 81 changes the display size.

  FIG. 4 shows an external configuration example of the remote controller 61. The power button 110 is operated when the power of the receiving device 31 is turned on or off. The numeric key 111 is operated when selecting a channel. The TV button 112 is operated when displaying an image of a broadcast program on the monitor 62. The EPG button 113 is operated when displaying an EPG video on the monitor 62. The selection button 114 is operated when changing the display form of the EPG.

  Next, the operation will be described. Program data generated by the program generation unit 11 is supplied to the encoder 13 via the main system processor 12 and encoded. On the other hand, the EPG data supply unit 18 generates EPG data of a program for two weeks scheduled to be broadcast, for example, and outputs this to the editing unit 19. The editing unit 19 executes EPG data editing processing. When each program has features different from those of other programs, a program flag for superimposing and displaying feature recognition information for allowing the viewer to recognize the feature on the EPG is added to the EPG data.

  The EPG system processor 17 processes the EPG data supplied from the editing unit 19 into a predetermined format, and then outputs it to the multiplexer 14.

  The multiplexer 14 packetizes the program data supplied from the encoder 13 and the EPG data supplied from the EPG system processor 17, synthesizes them as a transport stream, and transmits them to the satellite.

  In the receiving device 31, in response to a command from the remote controller 61 or the operation unit 54, the control CPU 44 controls the tuner 41 to receive a signal of a predetermined transponder of the satellite. The demodulator 42 demodulates the signal output from the tuner 41 and outputs the demodulated signal to the demultiplexer 43. The demultiplexer 43 extracts audio data, video data, and EPG data from the data supplied from the demodulator 42, and outputs them to the audio decoder 46, the video decoder 45, or the control CPU 44, respectively.

  The audio decoder 46 decodes the input audio data packet and outputs it to the VCR 63 and the monitor 62. The video decoder 45 decodes the video data of the input video packet and outputs it to the display converter 47.

  The display size converter 81 of the display converter 47 stores the input video data in the SDRAM 91 and executes a process of changing to a display size corresponding to a command from the control CPU 44. The video data changed to a predetermined display size is converted into NTSC video data by the video encoder 82, then D / A converted by the D / A converter 83, and input to the display processor 48. .

  The video encoder 84 of the display converter 47 encodes the video data input from the video decoder 45 into NTSC video data without changing the display size, and outputs the encoded video data to the D / A converter 85. The D / A converter 85 D / A converts the input video data and outputs it to the VCR 63.

  The control CPU 44 stores the EPG data supplied from the demultiplexer 43 in the EPG data memory 51.

  For example, when the EPG button 113 of the remote controller 61 is turned on, the control CPU 44 reads the EPG data stored in the EPG data memory 51 and outputs it to the OSD control unit 49. The OSD control unit 49 converts the input EPG data into image data and outputs it to the display processor 48. The display processor 48 outputs the image data supplied from the OSD control unit 49 to the monitor 62 alone or superimposed on the video image data supplied from the display converter 47.

  As described above, for example, an EPG as shown in FIG. In the case of this example, the titles of programs broadcast in two hours from 3 o'clock to 5 o'clock are displayed on eight channels from the 101st channel to the 108th channel.

  Next, the processing of the control CPU 44 when the display size of the EPG is changed while the EPG shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the monitor 62 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S1, the control CPU 44 waits until a control signal instructing to change the display size of the EPG is input from the operation unit 54. When there is an input, in step S2, the control CPU 44 performs OSD control. An EPG display size frame corresponding to the control signal supplied from the operation unit 54 is drawn on the VRAM (not shown) of the unit 49. For example, if a request to change to the EPG display size as shown in FIG. 7 is input, an EPG display size frame for displaying the program titles for four hours broadcast on eight channels is drawn.

  Next, in step S <b> 3, the control CPU 44 reads a program to be displayed from the EPG data memory 51. In step S4, the control CPU 44 causes the title of the program read in step S3 to be drawn in the VRAM built in the OSD control unit 49 in accordance with the corresponding time.

  Next, in step S5, it is determined whether or not the titles for all the display parts of the frame have been drawn. If there are still undrawn display parts, the process returns to step S2, and the subsequent processing is performed. Is repeatedly executed. As a result, EPG drawing for displaying the program titles for four hours from the time 3 o'clock to the time 7 o'clock broadcast on the 101st channel to the 108th channel in FIG. 7 is sequentially executed.

  If it is determined in step S5 that the drawing of the titles on all the display parts of the frame has been completed, the process proceeds to step S6, where the control CPU 44 controls the OSD control part 49 to read out the image data drawn in the VRAM, The image is displayed on the monitor 62 via the display processor 48. Thereby, an EPG as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the monitor 62.

  FIG. 8 shows an EPG whose display size has been changed in response to the operation of the selection button 114 of the remote controller 61 of FIG.

  When the EPG button 113 of the remote controller 61 is turned on, the EPG of FIG. 8A having a standard display size is displayed on the entire screen of the monitor 62. Therefore, when the EPG of FIG. 8A is displayed on the monitor 62 and the button 120A of the selection button 114 (upward button) 120A is turned on, the EPG of FIG. Instead of the EPG of A), it is displayed on the entire screen of the monitor 62. In the EPG of FIG. 8B, only information corresponding to four channels (the 101st channel to the 104th channel), which is half the number of channels of the EPG of FIG. 8A, is displayed. As a result, the EPG in FIG. 8B is enlarged in the vertical direction than the EPG in FIG. 8A, and the program title and the like are indicated by larger characters. In this state, when the button (downward button) 120B of the selection button 114 is turned on, the EPG of FIG.

  Next, in a state where the EPG of FIG. 8A is displayed on the entire screen of the monitor 62, when the button (downward button) 120B of the selection button 114 is turned on, the EPG of FIG. , Instead of the EPG in FIG. In the EPG of FIG. 8C, program titles corresponding to 12 channels (the 101st channel to the 112th channel) which are 1.5 times the number of channels of the EPG of FIG. 8A are displayed. That is, the user can obtain a lot of EPG information from the EPG in FIG. 8C from the EPG in FIG. In this state, when the button 120A of the selection button 114 (upward button) 120A is turned on, the EPG of FIG.

  Further, in a state where the EPG of FIG. 8A is displayed on the entire screen of the monitor 62, when the button 121A of the selection button 114 (right button) is turned on, the EPG of FIG. It is displayed on the monitor 62 instead of the EPG in FIG. In the EPG of FIG. 8D, program titles for 4 hours, which is twice as long as the EPG of FIG. 8A, are displayed. In this state, when the selection button 114 (left button) 121B is turned on, the EPG shown in FIG.

  Further, in a state where the EPG of FIG. 8A is displayed on the entire screen of the monitor 62, when the button 122A of the selection button 114 (button in the lower right direction) is turned on, the EPG of FIG. , Instead of the EPG in FIG. The EPG in FIG. 8 (E) includes the program titles for 12 hours, which is 1.5 times the number of channels in the EPG in FIG. 8 (A), and for 4 hours, which is twice as long as the EPG in FIG. 8 (A). Is displayed, that is, information three times the EPG of FIG. 8A is displayed. In this state, when the selection button 114 button (upper left button) 122B is turned on, the EPG of FIG.

  In this way, the user can change the display size of the EPG by operating the remote controller 61. For example, when the characters on the EPG displayed on the monitor are small and difficult to read, the user can display the EPG in FIG. 8B on the monitor. Further, when it is desired to display more EPG information on the monitor, the user can select the EPG shown in FIG. 8C, FIG. 8D, or FIG.

  Next, in a state where the EPG of FIG. 8A is displayed on the entire screen of the monitor 62, when the button (upper right button) 123A is turned on, the EPG of FIG. It is displayed on the monitor 62 instead of the EPG of A). In the EPG of FIG. 8F, the video of the program is displayed on the upper half screen of the monitor 62, and the EPG is displayed on the lower half screen. In this state, when the button 123B of the selection button 114 is turned on, the EPG of FIG.

  In this way, the user can select the EPG display format by operating the remote controller 61 as necessary.

  FIG. 9 shows an external configuration example of another remote controller 130. In the figure, portions corresponding to those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals. That is, the remote controller 130 is provided with a selection button 135 including a toggle button instead of the selection button 114 including a direction button.

  FIG. 10 shows an EPG whose display size has been changed in response to the operation of the selection button 135 of the remote controller 135. In this example, when the selection button 135 is once turned on while the EPG of FIG. 10A is displayed on the monitor 62, the EPG of FIG. 10B is changed to the EPG of FIG. Instead, it is displayed on the entire screen of the monitor 62, and when the selection button 135 is subsequently turned on, the EPG of FIG. 10C is displayed on the entire screen of the monitor 62 instead of the EPG of FIG. 10B. Is done. In this way, every time the selection button 135 is turned on, FIG. 10 (A), FIG. 10 (B), FIG. 10 (C), FIG. 10 (D), FIG. 10 (E), FIG. The EPG in FIG. 10A is again displayed on the entire screen of the monitor 62 in order.

  The user can select a desired EPG by operating the selection button 135 of the remote controller 130.

  In the case of this example, the EPGs of FIGS. 10A to 10F are EPGs corresponding to the EPGs of FIGS. 8A to 8F.

  FIG. 11 shows a configuration example of the appearance of still another remote controller 140. In the figure, portions corresponding to those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals. That is, the remote controller 140 is provided with an EPG display size setting button 145 and a selection button 146 instead of the selection button 114.

  When the EPG display size setting button 145 is turned on while the EPG shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the monitor 62, an EPG display size selection menu is displayed on the lower right side of the EPG as shown in FIG. The The user can select a desired EPG from the EPG display size selection menu by operating the selection button (vertical direction) 146 and moving the pointer to a predetermined position. When the “Standard” button in the EPG display size selection menu is selected, the EPG in FIG. 10A and the “Video + EPG” button are selected, the EPG in FIG. When the “Time double information” button is selected, the EPG in FIG. 10D is selected. When “CH 1.5 information” is selected, the EPG in FIG. When the button is selected, the EPG of FIG. 10E is displayed on the monitor 62, respectively.

  FIG. 13 shows an external configuration example of another remote controller 150. In the figure, portions corresponding to those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals. That is, the remote controller 150 is provided with a zoom up button 155 and a zoom down button 156 in place of the selection button 114.

  For example, when the user wants to further increase the size of the EPG characters displayed on the monitor 62, the user operates the zoom-up button 155 and continues to operate to continuously expand the displayed EPG. be able to. However, the displayed EPG information decreases. Further, when more EPG information is to be displayed, the user can display more EPG information steplessly by operating the zoom down button 156 and continuing the operation.

  In the above, the EPG is transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device via the satellite, but in addition to this, the signal is transmitted by terrestrial waves or transmitted via a cable such as CATV. Even in this case, the present invention can be applied. Alternatively, the EPG may be provided via a telephone line, or may be provided by a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a floppy (registered trademark) disk.

  In the present invention, the system means an entire apparatus composed of a plurality of apparatuses and means.

  As a providing medium for providing a user with a computer program for performing the above-described processing, a communication medium such as a network or a satellite can be used in addition to a recording medium such as a magnetic disk, a CD-ROM, or a solid memory.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the transmitter 1 which comprises the transmission / reception system to which the information processing apparatus of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the receiver 31 to which the information processing apparatus of this invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a display converter 47 in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of the remote controller 61 of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example on the monitor 62 in FIG. 2. It is a flowchart explaining the change process of the display size of EPG. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display in the monitor 62 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display of the monitor of FIG. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of the remote controller. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display in the monitor 62 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of the remote controller. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display of the monitor of FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an external configuration of a remote controller 150. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the conventional monitor. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display of the conventional monitor.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transmission apparatus, 11 Program production | generation part, 12 Main system processor, 13 Encoder, 14 Multiplexer, 17 EPG system processor, 18 EPG data supply part, 19 Editing part, 31 Receiver, 41 Tuner, 42 Demodulation part, 43 Demultiplexer, 44 control CPU, 45 video decoder, 46 audio decoder, 47 display converter, 48 display processor, 49 OSD controller, 50 program flag symbol memory, 51 EPG data memory, 52 program memory, 53 work memory, 54 operation unit, 61 Remote controller, 62 monitor, 63 VCR, 81 display size converter, 82 video encoder, 83 D / A, 84 video encoder Mode, 85 D / A, 110 power supply, 111 numeric keys, 112 TV button, 113 EPG button, 114 selection button, 120 button, 121 button, 122 button, 123 button, 130 remote controller, 135 selection button, 140 remote controller , 145 EPG display size setting button, 146 selection button, 150 remote controller, 155 zoom up button, 156 zoom down button

Claims (8)

Holding means for holding EPG information about the program;
Display control means for controlling the EPG information held in the holding means to be displayed on a predetermined screen;
Command means for commanding a change in the amount of information of the EPG information displayed on the screen,
In response to the first command from the command unit, the display control unit includes a first display for displaying the EPG information on the entire screen, and an information amount based on the EPG information displayed in the first display. An information processing apparatus that switches between the second display that displays the EPG information with less content together with the video of the program. In response to the second command from the command unit, the display control unit changes the information amount of the EPG information and the display character size displayed in the first display and the first display. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display is switched to a third display. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls the EPG information to be displayed in a channel and time display format. In the second display, the display control means displays the EPG information having a smaller amount of information than the EPG information displayed in the first display in the upper half or the lower half of the screen. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is displayed on a lower half or an upper half of the screen. EPG information about the program is held in the holding means,
Control to display the EPG information held in the holding means on a predetermined screen,
Commanding a change in the amount of information of the EPG information displayed on the screen,
In the display control of the EPG information, in response to the first command, the first display for displaying the EPG information on the entire screen and the amount of information less than the EPG information displayed in the first display. An information processing method for switching between the second display for displaying the EPG information together with a video of a program. In the display control of the EPG information, the first display, the information amount of the EPG information displayed in the first display, and the display character size are changed and displayed in response to the second command. The information processing method according to claim 5, wherein the third display is switched. The information processing method according to claim 5, wherein in the display control of the EPG information, the EPG information is controlled to be displayed in a channel and time display format. In the display control of the EPG information, in the second display, the video of the program is displayed in the upper half or the lower half of the screen, and the EPG information has a smaller information amount than the EPG information displayed in the first display. The information processing method according to claim 5, wherein each of the information is displayed on a lower half or an upper half of the screen.

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