JP2010130642A - Information processing apparatus, and display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus and a display device, capable of suppressing video recording from being failed when instructing video recording between apparatuses. <P>SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus includes: a tuner for receiving a broadcast signal; a connector for outputting a video signal and inputting/outputting various commands for operation control; a command control means, for transmitting/receiving various commands via the connector, in which when a video recording starting command is received from another apparatus, a video-recording application is initiated to record a video image of the broadcast signal received by the tuner; a playback means capable of playing back video data recorded in response to an instruction from the command control means; and a display control means for outputting a video signal, that is obtained by playing back video data through the playback means, from the connector to the other apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing device and a display device.

  In recent years, personal computers having functions for receiving, viewing, and recording television broadcast program data are becoming widespread. Thus, for example, if a notebook-type personal computer that can be driven by a battery is carried, video data can be viewed and recorded while moving or away from home.

However, when recording on a portable personal computer, channel settings may differ depending on the region. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that channel setting information and the like can be transmitted between devices via a network.
JP 2007-201734 A

  By the way, when connecting a plurality of electronic devices as in the case of connecting a personal computer and a television broadcast receiver, if all the electronic devices can be operated by an operation on one electronic device (for example, remote If the use of the controller is taken into consideration), the usability can be dramatically improved. For example, between devices compatible with HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) -CEC (Consumer Electronics Control), control signals can be communicated with each other, and a plurality of operations can be performed with one remote controller (hereinafter also referred to as a remote controller). The electronic equipment can be controlled. In HDMI-CEC, a recording command is also stipulated, and between devices corresponding to the command, for example, the user simply starts recording with a DTV (Digital TV) remote controller, and the recording command is transmitted via HDMI-CEC. Recording can be started.

  However, in such a case, if channel settings are different between the operation target device (for example, DTV) and the recording device, a program different from the program intended by the user may be recorded. This problem is particularly noticeable when a portable personal computer or the like is used as a recording device. Also in Patent Document 1, no consideration is given to a problem relating to recording failure based on a difference in channel settings when a recording instruction is given between devices.

  Also, since the HDMI-CEC command is considered for a dedicated device such as an HDD recorder, when a personal computer is used as a recording device, recording cannot be performed if the application is not activated. There is also.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and a display apparatus that can prevent a recording from failing when a recording instruction is given between apparatuses.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus of the present invention includes a tuner that receives a broadcast signal, a connector that outputs a video signal and inputs / outputs various commands for operation control, and the various commands. Command control means for transmitting and receiving via the connector, and when receiving a recording start command from another device, command control means for activating a recording application and recording a video of a broadcast signal received by the tuner, and the command Playback means capable of playing back video data recorded in accordance with an instruction from the control means; and display control means for outputting a video signal obtained by playing back the video data by the playback means to the other device from the connector; It is characterized by providing.

  The display device of the present invention receives a video signal and inputs / outputs various commands for operation control, remote control signal receiving means for receiving a recording command from a remote controller, and the various commands via the connector And a command control means for transmitting a recording start command accompanied by frequency information relating to a recording channel upon reception of the recording command, and a display for displaying a video signal received via the connector. Means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus and a display apparatus that can suppress a failure of recording when a recording instruction is given between apparatuses.

Hereinafter, an embodiment which is an example of an information processing apparatus and a display apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a usage pattern of an information processing apparatus and a display apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this embodiment, the information processing apparatus 1 is realized as a portable notebook personal computer (PC) or the like. The display device 2 is realized as a DTV (Digital TV). In addition, the utilization form of an information processing apparatus or a display apparatus is not restricted to this.

  As shown in FIG. 1, here, it is assumed that the information processing device 1 can be connected to the display device 2 with a cable 3. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the cable 3 that connects the information processing apparatus 1 and the display apparatus 2 is an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) cable.

  Various software (application programs) are installed in the information processing apparatus 1. For example, software for recording (recording) received digital terrestrial television broadcasts on a recording medium such as an HDD, or a built-in HDD (Hard Disk Drive). ), Software for reproducing video data recorded on a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) or the like is installed. As a result, the program received by the tuner can be recorded or reproduced and enjoyed on the information processing device 1 or the display device 2. In this embodiment, the function of recording the received broadcast as video data and the function of reproducing the recorded video data are described as being realized by the same recording application, but each is implemented by a different application. You may make it do.

  The information processing device 1 and the display device 2 connected by the above-described HDMI cable 3 can transmit not only video signals and audio signals via the HDMI cable 3 but also control signals by HDMI-CEC. Suppose that In response to an operation on the display device 2 using the remote controller 2A (remote controller 2A), the display device 2 transmits a control signal (control command) corresponding to each process to the information processing device 1, and as a result, the remote controller Control of the information processing apparatus 1 using 2A becomes possible. Particularly in the present embodiment, a program unintended by the user is recorded by the information processing device 2 due to a difference in channel settings between the display device 2 and the information processing device 1 when a recording instruction is performed using the remote controller 2A. Provide a mechanism that can prevent recording failures caused by.

  Here, the video signal transmitted by HDMI-CEC is transmitted in one direction from the information processing apparatus 1 which is the source side apparatus to the display apparatus 2 which is the sink side apparatus, but the control signal is transmitted from the information processing apparatus. 1 and the display device 2 can communicate bidirectionally.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the information processing apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 1, an information processing apparatus 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a north bridge 12, a main memory 13, a graphics controller 14, a VRAM 14A, a display 15, a south bridge 16, a BIOS-ROM 17, an HDD 18, and an optical disk. A drive device (ODD) 19, a sound controller 20, a speaker 21, an embedded controller / keyboard controller (EC / KBC) 22, a keyboard 23, a touch pad 24, a TV tuner 25, an HDMI connector 26, and a CEC controller 27 are provided.

  The CPU 11 is a processor that controls the operation of each unit in the information processing apparatus 1. The CPU 11 is an operating system (OS) 100 loaded into the main memory 13 from the HDD 18, HDMI-CEC control signal communication, and HDMI-CEC for executing various controls based on the HDMI-CEC control signal. The manager 101 also executes the CPU 11 in the same manner. In addition, an application (for example, the recording application 102) that handles various utilities and AV content data is also executed by the CPU 11. Details of configurations and functions of the HDMI-CEC manager 101 and the recording application 102 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5.

  The CPU 11 also executes a basic input / output system (BIOS) stored in the BIOS-ROM 17. Hereinafter, the basic input / output system itself stored in the BIOS-ROM 17 may be referred to as the BIOS 17.

  The north bridge 12 is a bridge device that connects the local bus of the CPU 11 and the south bridge 16. The north bridge 12 has a function of executing communication with the graphics controller 14 via the bus, and also includes a memory controller that controls access to the main memory 13.

  The graphics controller 14 is a display controller that controls the display 15 on the information processing apparatus 1 side. The graphics controller 14 generates a video signal to be sent to the display 15 from the image data written in the VRAM 14A. The graphics controller 14 also has a function of outputting a video signal from the HDMI connector 26 to the outside.

  The south bridge 16 is a controller that controls various devices on the PCI bus and the LPC bus. The south bridge 16 is directly connected to the BIOS-ROM 17, the HDD 18, the ODD 19, and the sound controller 20, and has a function of controlling them. The HDD 18 stores, for example, television broadcast program data (video data) recorded by the recording application 102, AV content downloaded via the Internet, and the like. The ODD 19 accommodates, for example, a DVD that stores AV content data.

  The sound controller 20 is a sound source controller that controls the speaker 21. The sound controller 20 also has a function of outputting an audio signal from the HDMI connector 26 to the outside.

  The EC / KBC 22 is a one-chip microcomputer in which an embedded controller for power management and a keyboard controller for controlling the keyboard 23 and the touch pad 24 are integrated. The EC / KBC 22 operates even when the information processing apparatus 1 is powered off. For example, the EC / KBC 22 monitors whether or not the power on operation is performed. Execute control. The EC / KBC 22 continues to supply power to the CEC controller 27 even while the information processing apparatus 1 is powered off.

  The TV tuner 25 is a tuner that is electrically connected to an antenna (not shown) and receives a broadcast signal of terrestrial digital television broadcasting. When the recording application 102 executes recording, the TV tuner 25 receives a broadcast signal by adjusting the reception frequency to the frequency related to the recording channel, and receives necessary data (video data, audio data, data for data broadcasting, etc.). Output.

  The HDMI connector 26 is a terminal provided for detachably connecting the HDMI cable 3. The CEC controller 27 executes data transfer control for transmitting and receiving various commands (control signals) for operation control via the HDMI connector 26 under the control of the EC / KBC 22. Here, examples of commands received by the CEC controller 27 include a recording start command and a recording stop command. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the recording start command includes information related to the frequency of the channel to be recorded (hereinafter also referred to as frequency information). Here, the frequency information may directly specify the center frequency of the channel, may specify the channel number for broadcasting, or may be previously set between the display device 2 and the information processing device 1. An index assigned to each frequency band may be used. That is, the frequency information may have any configuration as long as the information processing apparatus 1 is configured so as to know the frequency band to be recorded.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing functional blocks relating to video data recording and reproduction, which are realized in the information processing apparatus 1 having such a configuration. As described above, the recording application 102 has been described as having not only a recording function but also a playback function, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  As described above, when an operation for instructing recording is performed on the display device 2 side connected by the HDMI cable 3 (for example, pressing a predetermined button provided on the remote controller 2A), a recording start command (control) for instructing recording is performed. Signal) is transmitted from the display device 2 to the information processing device 1. As described above, this recording start command includes frequency information of a recording channel to be recorded. Similarly, when an operation to stop recording is performed on the display device 2 side, a recording stop command (control signal) instructing to stop recording is transmitted from the display device 2 to the information processing device 1. The recording start command and the recording stop command are guided into the information processing apparatus 1 via the HDMI connector 26, received by the CEC controller 27, and the reception of the command is notified to the KC / KBC 22.

  Upon receiving this notification, the EC / KBC 22 generates a predetermined key code for starting recording (including frequency information) and stopping recording. This key code is passed to the OS 100 via the BIOS 17 and further passed from the OS 100 to the HDMI-CEC manager 101.

  Upon receiving the recording start command (related key code), the HDMI-CEC manager 101 inquires whether or not the recording application 102 is activated via the OS 100 and activates the recording application 102 if not activated. Further, the recording application 102 is instructed to start recording, and the frequency information is also passed as a parameter, thereby causing the recording application 102 to start recording the program of the recording channel designated as the frequency information.

  Further, when receiving the recording stop command (related key code), the HDMI-CEC manager 101 notifies the recording application 102 to that effect and ends the recording process.

  When the recording application 102 is instructed to record from the HDMI-CEC manager 101, the recording application 102 records the video of the channel related to the frequency information received as a parameter, and starts recording on the HDD 18. Here, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the frequency of only the recording channel is changed based on the frequency information and the settings of the remaining channels are maintained. Thereby, for example, when there are a plurality of tuners, it is possible to avoid failure of the recording reservation or viewing reservation set by a tuner other than that used for the recording. Such a setting method is particularly effective in an area where broadcasting of two or more different frequency settings can be received.

  The recording application 102 also has a function of reproducing (decoding) video data that is being recorded or has been recorded into a video signal. The video signal obtained by decoding the video data is passed to the display driver 100A included in the OS 100. The display driver 100A outputs the video signal to the built-in display 15 or the HDMI connector 26 according to the setting. When the output destination is the HDMI connector 26, the video signal is output to the display device 2 via the cable 3, and the video of the video data being recorded or recorded is displayed on the display device 2. Will be displayed.

  As described above, in the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the recording channel is determined based on the frequency information received together with the recording start command, and the recording channel is recorded. Even when the display device 2 is different from the display device 2, it is possible to suppress recording of a channel in a frequency band not intended by the user. Furthermore, since it can be reproduced and output as a video signal, whether or not the intended channel is recorded can be determined without operating the information processing apparatus 1 directly (by operating the remote control 2A of the display apparatus 2). Since it can be confirmed, it can be easily confirmed whether or not the recording is successful.

Next, the configuration of the display device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the display device 2 according to the present embodiment.
The display device 2 includes a tuner 201, a video processing unit 203, an HDMI connector 205, a selector 207, a display output processing unit 209, a display unit 211, a CPU 213, a memory 215, a CEC controller 217, an infrared light receiving unit 219, an operation unit 221 and the like. I have. Each unit is connected to each other by a bus 223. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the display device 2 further includes an audio processing unit, a speaker, and the like related to audio output.

  The tuner 201 receives a terrestrial digital television broadcast wave (broadcast signal) via an antenna (not shown), demodulates the broadcast wave, and outputs video data of a program related to the reception channel. The video processing unit 203 decodes (decodes) the video data output from the tuner 201 into a video signal.

  The HDMI connector 205 is a terminal provided for detachably connecting the HDMI cable 3, and can receive a video signal from the information processing apparatus 1 and can transmit and receive a control signal (command) based on HDMI-CEC. . The selector 207 is provided to select which one of the broadcast video signal received by the tuner 201 or the video signal received by the HDMI connector 205 is to be output.

  The display output processing unit 209 converts the video signal output from the selector 207 (the video signal regarding the broadcast wave received by the tuner 201 or the video signal received by the HDMI connector 205) into a display signal for display. To do. The display unit 211 displays the output of the display output processing unit 209 on a display screen such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).

  The CPU 213 controls each unit in the display device 2. The memory 215 is used for temporarily storing a memory processed by the CPU 213 and storing firmware.

  The CEC controller 217 performs data transfer control for transmitting and receiving various commands (control signals) for operation control via the HDMI connector 205. Examples of the command transmitted by the CEC controller 217 include a recording start command for instructing recording and a recording stop command for instructing to stop recording. Here, as described above, the recording start command output from the CEC controller 217 includes frequency information regarding the recording channel.

  The infrared light receiving unit 219 receives a command transmitted from the remote controller 2A using an infrared signal. The operation unit 221 includes a plurality of switches. The CPU 213 performs various controls according to the command received by the infrared light receiving unit 219 and the operation content at the operation unit 221. In particular, transmission of a recording start command and a recording stop command from the CEC controller 217 to the information processing apparatus 1 is controlled by the CPU 213 in accordance with a command from the remote controller 2A received by the infrared light receiving unit 219 or an operation on the operation unit 221. Done under. At this time, the recording channel related to the frequency information instructing the information processing device 1 to record can be directly designated by the user, or the channel currently displayed on the display device 2 may be designated. .

  Thus, since the display device 2 is configured to transmit the frequency information to be recorded when the recording start command is transmitted, even if the channel setting is different from the information processing device 1 side, the channel that is not intended by the user It is possible to suppress the recording of the program.

  Next, the flow of processing of the information processing device 1 and the display device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the information processing apparatus 1 and the display apparatus 2.

  When a recording operation for starting recording of the information processing device 1 is performed by the remote controller 2A, the infrared light receiving unit 219 of the display device 2 receives a recording command. When the recording command is received by the infrared light receiving unit 219 (Yes in step A502), the CEC controller 217 transmits a recording start command via the HDMI connector 205 under the control of the CPU 213 (step A502). At this time, the frequency information related to the recording channel is also transmitted together with the recording start command.

  When the information processing apparatus 1 receives the recording start command by the CEC controller 27 (step B501), the information processing apparatus 1 transmits it to the HDMI-CEC manager 101. This information includes the frequency information regarding the recording channel described above.

  The HDMI-CEC manager 101 makes an inquiry to the OS 100 to check whether or not the recording application 102 has been activated (step B502). If the recording application 102 has not been recorded (No in step B502), the HDMI-CEC manager 101 activates the recording application 102 (step B503).

  After the recording application 102 is activated (Yes in Step B502 or Step B503), the HDMI-CEC manager 101 issues a recording instruction command to the recording application 102. At this time, the frequency information regarding the recording channel is also notified to the recording application 102 in the form of an argument (parameter). The recording application 102 changes the frequency setting of the recording channel according to the command from the HDMI-CEC manager 101 (step B504), receives the video data of the changed frequency band channel from the TV tuner 25, and records it in the HDD 18. Recording processing is started (step S505). The recorded video data can be reproduced by the recording application 102 while recording or after the recording is completed, and a video signal obtained by the reproduction is output from the cable 3 to the display device 2 and the video is output. It can be displayed on the display device 2.

  When a recording stop operation is performed by the remote controller 2A after the start of recording, the infrared light receiving unit 219 of the display device 2 receives a recording stop command from the remote controller 2A. When the infrared light receiving unit 219 receives a command related to recording stop (step A503), the CEC controller 217 transmits a recording stop command via the HDMI connector 205 under the control of the CPU 213 (step A504).

  When the CEC controller 27 receives the recording stop command (step B506), the information processing apparatus 1 notifies the HDMI-CEC manager 101 of it. The HDMI-CEC manager 101 issues a command for stopping recording to the recording application 102 in response to the recording stop command. In response to the command, the recording application 102 stops the recording process (step B507) and returns the channel setting to the state before starting the recording (before step B506) (step B508).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the HDMI-CEC manager 101 starts the recording application 102 when recording is instructed from the display device 2 by HDMI-CEC. Even if not, you can record reliably.

  In addition, when recording is instructed from the display device 2 to the information processing device 1 via HEMI-CEC, the frequency information related to the recording channel is also notified. Even when the channel settings are different, it is possible to suppress recording of a channel that is not intended by the user.

  Furthermore, since the channel setting is returned after the recording is finished (stopped), the user does not have to perform an operation to return the channel setting in association with the change of the channel setting which is not intended by the user.

  In addition, since only the portion related to the recording channel is changed using the frequency information, for example, when there are a plurality of tuners, it is not necessary to affect other recording settings.

  In the present embodiment, only the settings relating to the recording channel are changed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, channel settings relating to all channels may be changed. In this case, the frequency information is information regarding the frequencies of all channels including the recording channel. In this way, for example, when used in an area where only one broadcast can be received, the user can set all channels without setting the channels one by one, which is highly convenient.

The figure which shows the system configuration example of the information processing apparatus and display apparatus which concern on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The functional block diagram of the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the display apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the information processing apparatus and display apparatus which concern on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing apparatus 2 ... Display apparatus 2A ... Remote controller 11 ... CPU
12 ... Northbridge 13 ... Main memory 14 ... Graphics controller 14A ... VRAM
15 ... Display 16 ... South Bridge 17 ... BIOS-ROM
18 ... HDD
19 ... ODD
20 ... sound controller 21 ... speaker 22 ... embedded controller / keyboard controller 23 ... keyboard 24 ... touch pad 25 ... TV tuner 26 ... HDMI connector 27 ... CEC controller 100 ... OS
100A: Display driver 101 ... HDMI-CEC manager 102 ... Recording application 201 ... Tuner 203 ... Video processing unit 205 ... HDMI connector 207 ... Selector 209 ... Display output processing Unit 211 ... Display unit 213 ... CPU
215... Memory 217... CEC controller 219... Infrared light receiving unit 221.

Claims (8)

A tuner for receiving broadcast signals;
A connector for outputting video signals and inputting / outputting various commands for operation control,
Command control means for transmitting and receiving the various commands via the connector, and when receiving a recording start command from another device, command control means for starting a recording application and recording video of a broadcast signal received by the tuner When,
Playback means capable of playing back video data recorded in response to an instruction from the command control means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: display control means for outputting a video signal obtained by reproducing the video data by the reproduction means to the other device from the connector. The command control means outputs the frequency information to the recording application and records the video of the broadcast signal of the recording channel in response to reception of a recording start command accompanied by frequency information regarding the recording channel. Item 6. The information processing apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The command control means, upon receiving a recording stop command, stops the recording operation of the recording application and returns the channel setting of the recording application to the setting before the recording start. Information processing device. The recording application records the video of the broadcast signal of the recording channel based on the frequency information according to the recording start command accompanied by the frequency information received by the command control means, and maintains channel settings other than the recording The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recording application changes settings of all channels based on the frequency information received by the command control unit. A connector for receiving video signals and inputting / outputting various commands for operation control,
Remote control signal receiving means for receiving a recording command from the remote controller;
Command control means for transmitting and receiving the various commands via the connector, and with reception of the recording command, command control means for transmitting a recording start command with frequency information regarding a recording channel;
And a display means for displaying a video signal received via the connector. The display device according to claim 6, wherein the command control unit transmits a recording start command accompanied with frequency information regarding all channels. The remote control signal receiving means receives a command to stop recording from the remote controller;
The display device according to claim 6, wherein the command control unit transmits a recording stop command in response to reception of the command to stop the recording.

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