JP2012033981A - Control unit and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control unit for providing recommended program information to a user, based on distinction information transmitted from an external device such as a broadcasting station.SOLUTION: A recorder 1 includes a controller 14. The controller 14 acquires a plurality of kinds of program information. The controller 14 acquires broadcasting station distinction information for distinction from another program from information broadcasted by a broadcasting station concerning a part of the program information among the plurality of kinds of program information. The controller 14 allows a display device 2 to display a part of recommended program information of the plurality of kinds of program information as a display image, based on the broadcasting station distinction information.

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device capable of providing a user with program information corresponding to a program stream included in a broadcast from a broadcast station. Note that the program stream includes video, audio, data, and the like related to one program.

  In recent years, program information (for example, EPG information) has been included in broadcasts from broadcast stations. Based on such a background, television receivers, recording devices, and the like can provide program information to users using program information included in broadcasting.

  In addition to such changes in the environment, the number of channels that can be received is increasing in television receivers, recording devices, and the like due to switching from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting.

  By such an increase in the number of channels, the user can benefit from a wider range of programs that can be selected. However, with the increase in the number of channels, the user suffers from the disadvantage of having to search for a program he / she wants to watch from a plurality of programs.

In view of such a situation, conventionally, a technique such as Patent Document 1 has been proposed. In patent document 1, a user's preference is determined using a user's viewing history. And in patent document 1, recommended program information is provided based on a user preference.
JP 2002-112186 A

  By the way, in Patent Document 1, although recommended program information is provided based on the user's preference, it is not described that recommended program information is provided based on the preference of others.

  When the recommended program information is provided based on the user's preference as described above, for example, if the user's viewing history is not sufficient, there is a possibility that the recommended program information useful to the user cannot be provided. That is, the device cannot obtain much viewing information of the user when the use is started, and may not provide useful information to the user.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a control device that can provide more useful recommended program information even at the start of use of a device (device) or a recording device including this control device in order to solve the above-described problems. To do.

  The present invention is a control device that can be connected to a display device, a program information acquisition unit that acquires information related to a plurality of programs, and information related to some programs among the information related to the plurality of programs. Based on the discrimination information acquired by the discrimination information acquisition means and the discrimination information acquisition means for acquiring the discrimination information to be distinguished from the external device, a part of information on the plurality of programs is displayed on the display device as a display screen. Display control means.

  In this way, the control device can provide recommended program information to the user based on, for example, the discrimination information transmitted from a broadcasting station or the like.

  Preferably, the display control means causes the display device to display only information relating to a part of the program based on the discrimination information acquired from the discrimination information acquisition means as a display screen.

  Preferably, the external device is connectable to a plurality of devices different from the own device, and the external device is information relating to viewing of a program corresponding to information relating to the program, information relating to recording, or information relating to reservation. Among these, at least one piece of information can be acquired from a plurality of devices different from the own device. The discriminating information is based on at least one of information relating to viewing of the program, information relating to recording, or information relating to reservation.

  In this way, the control device can provide recommended program information to the user based on the user's preference of other devices.

  That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide more useful recommended program information even at the start of use of the apparatus.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, a recorder 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[1. Outline of Embodiment 1]
The recorder 1 receives a broadcast from a broadcast station. The broadcast includes a plurality of program streams. Note that the broadcast may include program information and / or broadcast station identification information. On the other hand, the recorder 1 can acquire another company's preference distinction information from the server device of the broadcast station via the network 4. Here, the broadcast station distinction information and the other company preference distinction information are information for distinguishing some program information from other program information among a plurality of program information.

  The recorder 1 provides a part of program information as recommended program information to the user based on the acquired broadcast station distinction information or other company preference distinction information. That is, the recorder 1 outputs a display screen indicating recommended program information to the display device 2. The display device 2 displays the received display screen.

[2. Relationship between recorder 1 and other devices (FIG. 1)]
The recorder 1 can be connected to the display device 2, the network 4, and the antenna 5 by wire or wireless. Hereinafter, an apparatus connectable to the recorder 1 will be described.

  The antenna 5 receives a broadcast from a broadcast station (broadcast transmitter) and transmits it to the recorder 1. The antenna 5 can be realized by, for example, a UHF antenna or a parabolic antenna. Note that the broadcasting station generates radio waves using a broadcasting transmission device (broadcast transmission device). The antenna 5 receives this radio wave and acquires a broadcast including program information.

  The network 4 is connected to the server device 6 and the like possessed by the broadcasting station, and is a communication path that connects the server device 6 and the recorder 1, for example. That is, the server device 6 can accept a signal from the recorder 1 via the network 4. Further, the server device 6 can transmit information stored in the own device to the recorder 1 in accordance with a signal from the recorder 1. For example, the server device 6 can transmit a plurality of pieces of program information constituting the program guide to the recorder 1.

  The remote controller 3 receives a user instruction and transmits an operation signal corresponding to the received instruction to the recorder 1. The remote controller 3 includes an operation unit 31 and a transmission unit 32. The operation unit 31 includes a plurality of buttons, and detects that these buttons are operated by the user. The transmission unit 32 transmits an operation signal based on the operation detected by the operation unit 31 to the recorder 1.

  The display device 2 displays a screen on the display based on the screen information transmitted from the recorder 1. Examples of the display device 2 include, but are not limited to, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, and an organic EL display.

  Here, the server device 6 can be connected to a plurality of devices (recorders and television receivers) different from the recorder 1 via the network 4. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the server device 6 is connected to a plurality of devices (for example, the television receiver 200, the television receiver 300, the recorder 400, and the recorder 500) via the network 4. The server device 6 can receive recording reservation history information, viewing reservation history information, viewing history information, and / or recording history information from a plurality of devices. Information on the recording reservation history and viewing reservation history is information on future program information. The viewing history and recording history information is information related to past program information. Details of these pieces of information transmitted to the server device 6 will be described in the configuration of the recorder 1. Here, in the present embodiment, the recorder 1 is configured to be able to transmit the information, but it does not have to be transmitted.

  In the server device 6, the recording reservation history, viewing reservation history, recording history and viewing history information received from a plurality of devices are collected. For example, the server device 6 aggregates which programs are most reserved. Moreover, the server apparatus 6 totals which programs are recorded most. In the case of a recording reservation history, the totaled information is, for example, information as shown in FIG. The server device 6 can transmit the collected information to the recorder 1 as the other person preference distinction information.

  For example, the server device 6 transmits the program information from the program information having the largest recording reservation history to the fifteenth program information as the other person preference distinction information. Thereby, the recorder 1 can provide recommended program information based on the recording reservation history.

[3. Configuration of recorder 1 (FIG. 1)]
The configuration of the recorder 1 will be described. The recorder 1 includes a tuner 11, a flash memory 12, a buffer memory 13, a controller 14, an input / output interface 15, a receiving unit 16, an antenna terminal 17, a memory card slot 7, a LAN connector 18, a drive device 19, and the like. . The controller 14 includes a timer and counts the system time of the own device. This will be specifically described below.

The tuner 11 is a device having a tuning circuit. The tuner 11 acquires the broadcast received by the antenna 5 through the antenna terminal 17. Here, the broadcast includes one or a plurality of program streams and program information corresponding to the program stream to be broadcast in the future. The program stream includes moving images, sounds, data, and the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the program information includes “broadcast date”, “start time”, “duration”, “broadcast station”, “program name”, “reduced partial video” for one program. , “Representative still image”, “program genre” and the like are included.
A “reduced partial moving image” is a moving image having a smaller number of pixels than the program stream. Further, the “reduced partial moving image” is a moving image whose reproduction time is short with respect to the program stream. For example, in the program stream “movie ABC”, when the number of screens is 1080 × width 1920 and the playback time is 3 hours, the “reduced partial moving image” of the program information corresponding to this program stream has the number of pixels. Is 480 pixels long × 640 pixels wide, and the playback time is 10 seconds. The “reduced partial moving image” may not be included in the program information.

Further, the “representative still image” may be, for example, a reduced still image obtained by cutting out a part of a program stream. In the case where the number of pixels of the program stream “Movie ABC” is vertical 1080 × horizontal 1920 pixels, the “representative still image” may be a part of the screen of the program stream having a vertical size of 480 × horizontal 640 pixels. Note that the “representative still image” may be a still image different from a part of the still image of the program stream. The “representative still image” may not be included in the program information.
The “program genre” is assigned a unique identification code, and the genre of the program stream can be determined based on this identification code. In this embodiment, “211” for “movie”, “311” for “sport”, “411” for “animation”, “511” for “drama”, and “911” for “other”. Is assigned.

  In the present embodiment, broadcast station distinction information is included along with program information. This broadcast station distinction information is information given by the broadcast station. Broadcast station identification information is acquired in a state of being added to program information. For example, it is acquired as “recommended program” data accompanying the program information. The data of “recommended program” includes information on a recommended genre (recommended genre) and a recommended level (recommended level of a program in the genre). That is, the broadcasting station includes information as shown in FIG. 7 in the data of “recommended program”. In this case, in the broadcast station “ABJ”, the “movie ABC” has the level “medium” in the genre “all”. Also, in the broadcast station “ABJ”, “movie ABC” has the level “high” in the genre “movie”. That is, in the embodiment, a plurality of “recommended program” data may be included.

  The tuner 11 can separate one program stream from the broadcast. The tuner 11 decodes the separated program stream and stores the decoded program stream in the buffer memory 13. The tuner 11 can separate program information (including broadcast station identification information) from broadcasting. The tuner 11 stores the separated program information (including broadcast station identification information) in the buffer memory 13. In the present embodiment, the tuner 11 is provided with a function for decoding a program stream, but may be provided in the controller 14.

  The controller 14 is realized by a microcomputer and controls each part of the recorder 1. The controller 14 may be realized by a hard wired circuit.

  The controller 14 acquires the program stream stored in the buffer memory 13 by the tuner 11. The controller 14 can store the acquired program stream in the flash memory 12. In addition, the controller 14 can transmit the acquired program stream to the drive device 19 and store it in the storage medium 191 of the drive device 19.

  The controller 14 acquires program information (including broadcast station identification information) stored in the buffer memory 13 by the tuner 11. The controller 14 stores the acquired program information (including broadcast station identification information) in the flash memory 12. In the present embodiment, the program reservation using the program information included in the broadcast will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the program information that can be acquired from the server device 6 such as a broadcasting station via the network 4 is used. You may make a program reservation. In this case, the controller 14 transmits a request signal for requesting program information to the server device 6 at a desired timing (for example, timing for providing program information to the user). When receiving the request signal, the server device 6 transmits a plurality of program information. As a result, the controller 14 can acquire the program information from the server device 6.

  In the same manner, the controller 14 can acquire the discrimination information request signal from the server device 6. That is, the controller 14 transmits a discrimination information request signal to the server device 6. When the server device 6 receives the discrimination information request signal from the recorder 1, the server device 6 transmits other person preference discrimination information to the controller 14.

  The controller 14 can receive the operation signal transmitted from the remote controller 3 via the receiving unit 16. The receiving unit 16 is a sensor that receives information transmitted from the remote controller 3. The receiving unit 16 transmits the received information to the controller 14. The receiving unit 16 can be realized by, for example, an infrared sensor.

  The controller 14 acquires the information transmitted from the server device 6 via the LAN connector 18. The controller 14 stores the acquired information (for example, other person preference distinction information) in the flash memory 12.

  The controller 14 can transmit a program stream and screen information to the display device 2 via the input / output interface 15. The display device 2 displays a display screen on the display based on the information received from the controller 14.

  The buffer memory 13 acts as a work memory when the controller 14 performs control processing. The buffer memory 13 can be realized by, for example, a DRAM.

  The flash memory 12 is used as a built-in memory. The flash memory 12 can store a program for controlling the antenna terminal 17 and a set value. Further, the flash memory 12 can store program information, broadcast station distinction information, other person preference distinction information, and a program stream.

  The drive device 19 can be realized by, for example, a hard disk drive or a BD drive. The drive device 19 stores the program stream transmitted from the controller 14 in the storage medium 191. The storage medium 191 in which the drive device 19 stores the program stream may be a hard disk provided in the recorder 1 in advance, or a replaceable recording medium such as a BD or a DVD. .

  The memory card slot 7 can be loaded with a memory card 8. The memory card 8 can be attached to a commercially available movie or digital camera, and can store moving image data shot with a movie, still image data shot with a digital camera, and the like.

  Here, the recorder 1 can transmit information indicating the recording reservation history, viewing reservation history, recording history, and viewing history to the server device 6. Hereinafter, how these pieces of information are generated in the recorder 1 and how they are transmitted to the server apparatus will be described.

  The description starts from information indicating the recording reservation history. When the controller 14 accepts a recording reservation based on a user instruction, the controller 14 stores the program information for which the recording reservation has been accepted in the flash memory 12 as a recording reservation list (that is, a recording reservation history). For example, when the recorder 1 accepts a recording reservation for “movie ABC” based on the program table (FIG. 4) displayed on the display device 2, the program information for “movie ABC” is added to the recording reservation list. . At this time, the controller 14 adds the recording reservation setting date based on the system time of the recorder 1. The recording reservation list is, for example, as shown in FIG. The controller 14 transmits information of the added recording reservation list (history) every time the server apparatus is accessed. That is, when the controller 14 accesses the server apparatus, if there is a new addition from the previous access to the recording reservation list, the controller 14 transmits information on the recording reservation history to the server apparatus. For example, if the previous access date / time is “November 10, 2008, 17:00” and the current access date / time is “November 20, 2008, 17:00”, the controller 14 determines that the previous access date and time The information added to the recording reservation list is transmitted to the server device 6. For example, in FIG. 8, program information related to the program names “movie ABC” and “drama XYZ” is transmitted to the server device 6.

  The access date and time is stored in the flash memory 12 by the controller 14 when the server device is accessed. In the case of the above example, the controller 14 stores “November 20, 2008, 17:00” in the flash memory 12 as the previous access date. The viewing reservation history is generated and transmitted by the same method as described above.

  Next, information indicating the recording history will be described. The controller 14 records the program stream based on the recording reservation list. The controller 14 records a program stream currently being broadcast based on a user's recording instruction. Here, when recording the program stream, the controller 14 stores the program information of the recorded program stream in the flash memory 12 as a recording list (history). For example, the recording list is as shown in FIG. Similarly to the above, the controller 14 transmits information of a recording list (history) recorded from the previous access to the server device to the server device to the server device. The viewing history is generated and transmitted by the same method as described above.

  In the present embodiment, as an example of information transmitted from the recorder 1 to the server device 6, the recording reservation history, recording history, viewing reservation history, and viewing history information have been described. The same information can be transmitted to the server device 6 in the other recorders 400 and 500 as well. Also, the television receivers 200 and 300 can transmit similar information to the server device 6. Thus, the server device 6 can collect (acquire) information such as a recording reservation history, a viewing reservation history, a recording history, and a viewing history from a plurality of devices.

  Although not shown, the recorder 1 is configured to be connectable to a household power source, and operates by supplying power to each unit from the household power source. The power source is not particularly limited. Therefore, for example, the operation may be performed based on the power of the secondary battery.

[4. Operation of recorder 1]
An example of the operation of the recorder 1 will be described. The recorder 1 realizes a recording reservation function based on program information. While explaining this function, an example of the present invention will be described by applying it to an embodiment. In the present embodiment, the recorder 1 can acquire program information and broadcast station distinction information from a broadcast from a broadcast station. Further, the recorder 1 can acquire other person preference distinction information from the server device 6. That is, in this operation example, the recorder 1 acquires program information from the broadcast of the broadcast station and does not acquire program information from the server device 6.

  First, recording reservation based on a conventional electronic program guide will be described. When the controller 14 receives an instruction to display the electronic program guide (operation signal from the remote controller 3) from the user, the controller 14 reads and reads a plurality of program information (for example, program names) stored in the flash memory 12. The program information is converted into a display screen and output to the display device 2. In the display device 2, for example, a display screen (electronic program guide) as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed. In the display device 2, a plurality of program names are incorporated in a two-dimensional matrix defined by a start time and a channel and displayed on the screen.

  At this time, the user can select a desired program from a plurality of programs by operating the remote controller 3. When the user selects a desired program, a display screen showing the desired program as shown in FIG. The user can give a reservation instruction for the selected program. The controller 14 accepts a reservation instruction for a program selected from the program guide in response to an operation signal from the remote controller 3. Then, the controller 14 stores the program information of the program that has received the reservation instruction in the flash memory 12 as a recording reservation list.

  Thereafter, the controller 14 performs recording based on the program information in the recording reservation list. The recording operation of the recorder 1 will be briefly described. When the start time of the program information in the recording reservation list reaches the system time of the recorder 1, the controller 14 sets the tuner 11 to the broadcast station, that is, the channel included in the program information. The system time is counted by a timer provided in the controller 14. The controller 14 transmits the program stream stored in the buffer memory 13 by the tuner 11 to the drive device 19, and causes the drive device 19 to store the program stream in the storage medium 191. When the controller 14 detects that the duration has elapsed from the start time using the system time of the recorder 1, the controller 14 stops the selection of the program stream in the tuner 11. Further, the controller 14 also stops transmission of the program stream to the drive device 19. This ends the recording of the program stream. At this time, the controller 14 adds the program information to the recording list and stores it in the flash memory 12. In addition, the controller 14 transmits program information to the drive device 19. The drive device 19 stores this program information in the storage medium 191 in association with the previously recorded program stream.

  Note that the recording based on the recording reservation list is a conventional technique, and is not limited to this, and can be realized by various methods.

  Next, an operation example of the recorder 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In the present embodiment, in addition to the program information as shown in FIG. 4 described above, a display screen showing recommended program information can be displayed on the display device 2. As the display screen showing the recommended program information, for example, a display screen as shown in FIG. 15 can be considered. This will be specifically described below.

  First, when the power is set to ON, the recorder 1 causes the display device 2 to display a display screen as shown in FIG. 10 as a menu screen. FIG. 10 is a display screen including a plurality of selection items. For multiple selection items, "Watch TV", "Watch recorded program", "Watch photo", "Watch video", "Reserve recording with program guide", "Record with recommended program information" “Reservation” is included. The main selection item of this time is “Reserve recording with recommended program information”, but other points will be described briefly.

  The user can select one selection item from a plurality of selection items by operating the up and down keys provided on the remote controller 3. That is, the recorder 1 switches the selection of the selection item when the up / down key of the remote controller 3 is operated. Further, when the determination key of the remote controller 3 is operated, the recorder 1 displays the next display screen according to the selected selection item.

  Here, in the present embodiment, in order to make it easy for the user to search for data to be reproduced from the program stream stored in the storage medium 191 or the moving image data stored in the memory card 8, “ When the “view” or “view captured video” selection item is selected, the following operation is performed. The following operation is an operation in a state where the selection item is selected by the remote controller 3, and does not represent an operation in a state where the selection item is determined.

  Specifically, when the selection item “view recorded program” is selected in accordance with a user instruction (operation signal from the remote controller 3), the controller 14 is recorded on the recording medium 191 of the drive device 19. A predetermined or arbitrary number of program streams are partially read from the existing program streams. Thereafter, the controller 14 decodes some of the read program streams, and sequentially displays the combined program streams on the display screen.

  For example, when “program A”, “program B”, “program C”, and “program D” are recorded on the recording medium 191 of the drive device 19, the controller 14 has a predetermined number (for example, three). As a program, only a part of the data of “program A”, “program B”, and “program C” is read. The controller 14 decodes the read data and stores it in the buffer memory 13. It should be noted that the program read by the controller 14 may be read by selecting a new program having a recorded date and time. For example, as described above, when the drive device 19 records a program stream on the recording medium 191, if the program information is recorded in association with the program stream, the “broadcast date” of the program is determined from the program information recorded in association. And by reading out the “start time”, a new recording date and time can be selected. That is, the controller 14 reads “broadcast date” and “start time” from the program information recorded in association with the recording medium 191. Then, the controller 14 searches for the one that is close to the system time of its own device based on the read “broadcast date” and “start time”. Thereafter, the controller 14 reads out the program stream corresponding to the program information close to the system time of its own device as a target program to be read. In this way, the user can easily find the program that he / she wants to watch and can easily know that the program has been recorded.

  Returning to the description, that is, as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C, the controller 14 displays the moving image of the buffer memory 13 “program A” for 10 seconds, and then displays the moving image of “program B” for 10 seconds. Then, the moving image of “program C” is displayed for 10 seconds. When the display of “program C” is finished, the controller 14 displays the moving image of “program A” again for 10 seconds. The controller 14 repeats this operation while the selection item “view recorded program” is selected.

  In the present embodiment, the controller 14 generates some moving images from the program stream and displays them on the display device 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and if the “reduced partial moving image” is included in the program information, the controller 14 reads out the “reduced partial moving image” that is the moving image data and displays it on the display device 2. You can do it.

  In the present embodiment, the same operation is performed even when “view captured video” is selected.

  Further, in this embodiment, in order to make it easy for a user to search for data to be reproduced from still image data (still image data captured by a digital camera) stored in the memory card 8, When a selection item is selected, the following operation is performed. The following operation is an operation in a state where a selection item is selected by the remote controller 3, and does not represent an operation in a determined state.

  Specifically, when the selection item “view photo” is selected in accordance with a user instruction, the controller 14 selects a predetermined or arbitrary number of still image data from the data stored in the memory card 8. Read the thumbnail image. Thereafter, the controller 14 displays a thumbnail image of the read still image data on the display screen.

  For example, it is assumed that 50 still image data captured on “October 19, 2008” and 35 still image data captured on “May 7, 2008” are recorded on the memory card 8. In this case, the controller 14 reads out the thumbnail image of the still image data (50 images) taken on “October 19, 2008”. In this way, the controller 14 reads out the image data (thumbnail image) taken at the closest time and displays it on the display device 2. In this way, the user can easily search for the photograph he wants to see.

  Returning to the above description, the controller 14 generates a display screen so that a plurality of (for example, 16) read image data (thumbnail images) are included in one screen. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, one display screen arranged vertically is created. Here, the controller 14 generates a 4 × 5 display screen, as shown in FIG. 13A, in order to enable display such that the display screen flows. Then, as shown in FIGS. 13B and 13C, the controller 14 causes the display device 2 to display so that the display of the photograph is slightly shifted in the horizontal direction. That is, the display device 2 displays a 4 × 4 display screen as shown in FIG. When the display screen is shifted and the display of the first column is completed, the controller 14 generates a display screen for the column to be displayed next. In this way, the controller 14 causes the display device 2 to sequentially display thumbnail images.

  In the present embodiment, the controller 14 reads 50 thumbnail images. Therefore, when four thumbnail images are displayed vertically, if the first generated display screen is used, the image data of the next line of the 50th sheet is lost as shown in FIG. 14A. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the first and second image data are displayed in the 50th lower row as shown in FIG. 14B. In this way, it is possible to provide a display screen that looks good even when 50 pieces of image data are repeatedly displayed a plurality of times. The still image data recorded on the recording medium 191 of the drive device 19 is not limited to the still image data stored in the memory card.

  Now, the main points of the present embodiment will be described. When “reserve recording with recommended program information” is selected and determined in accordance with a user instruction, the controller 14 causes the display device 2 to display a display screen as shown in FIG. 15 or FIG. This display screen includes selection items of “Recommendation by broadcast station” and “Recommendation by users of other devices”. Hereinafter, “recommendation by broadcasting stations” and “recommendation by users of other devices” will be described separately.

  “Recommendation by broadcast station” is performed based on program information included in the broadcast and broadcast station identification information accompanying the program information. This will be specifically described below.

First, the controller 14 selects recommended program information from among a plurality of program information based on the broadcast station identification information, and causes the display device 2 to display a display screen indicating the selected recommended program information. Specifically, when the program information and the broadcast station distinction information as shown in FIG. 7 exist, the controller 14 sets “recommended genre” in the “recommended program” data to “all” and “recommended level”. The program information of “High” and “Medium” is read, and a display screen showing recommended program information is generated. Specifically, the controller 14 reads “program name”, “representative still image”, and the like, and generates a display screen. And the controller 14 displays the display screen which shows recommended program information like FIG. The display screen showing the recommended program information is displayed in different sizes depending on whether the “recommended level” is “high” or “medium”. As a result, the user can easily grasp the recommended degree of the broadcasting station. The user can also make a recording reservation by selecting a recommended program of the displayed broadcasting station. This method can be realized by a method similar to the recording reservation based on the program guide.
Here, in FIG. 15, tabs of genres for recommending programs are provided. Therefore, when the user selects and decides this tab by operating the remote controller 3, he can see a recommendation regarding the tab. For example, when the user selects and determines the tab “movie”, the controller 14 determines that “recommended genre” is “movie”, “recommended level” is “high”, “middle” in the data of “recommended program”. Is read out. And the controller 14 produces | generates the display screen which shows recommended program information regarding genre "movie", and displays it on the display apparatus 2 (FIG. 16).

  Next, “recommendation by a user of another device” is performed based on program information included in the broadcast and other-person preference distinction information acquired from the server device. This will be specifically described below. In the present embodiment, a case where the other person preference distinction information is information based on the recording reservation history of another person will be described as an example.

  First, the controller 14 selects recommended program information from a plurality of program information based on the other person preference distinction information, and causes the display device 2 to display a display screen indicating the selected recommended program information. The controller 14 can acquire, for example, information as shown in FIG. 17 based on FIG. 6 as the other person preference information. The acquired information is generated by the server device 6 based on the recording reservation history information of a plurality of devices.

  For example, the controller 14 determines whether or not the program information included in the other-person preference distinction information can be reserved for recording based on the “program name” included in the other-person preference program information. Generate a display screen that includes it. The determination of whether or not recording reservation is possible based on the “program name” can be realized by the following method. For example, the controller 14 retrieves program information including the “program name” from a plurality of program information stored in the flash memory 14. The controller 14 acquires “broadcast station” information from the program information searched in this way. Then, the controller 14 determines whether or not the read “broadcast station” information is included in the contract information of a card (for example, a B-CAS card) installed in the receiver. As a result, the controller 14 can determine whether or not recording reservation is possible. Note that the card installed in the receiver holds an IC chip, and contract information and the like are stored in the IC chip.

  With the above configuration, the recorder can reduce the display of program information that the user cannot reserve for recording on the display device as recommended program information. As program information that cannot be reserved for recording, program information of a broadcasting station with which the user is not contracted with respect to equipment used, past program information, and the like can be considered. As a display screen generated by the controller 14, a display screen as shown in FIG. In this case, the “recording reservation number” included in the other person preference distinction information is included in the display screen. Thus, the user can easily determine how popular the recommended and displayed program information is. In the present embodiment, the other person preference distinction information is based on the recording reservation history information of the other person. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the other person preference distinction information may be based on other information such as a viewing reservation history and a recording history. The user can also make a recording reservation by selecting a recommended program of the displayed broadcasting station. This method can be realized by a method similar to the recording reservation based on the program guide.

[5. Correspondence between Embodiment and Present Invention]
The recorder 1 is an example of a recording device of the present invention. The controller 14 is an example of a control device of the present invention. The display device 2 is an example of the display device of the present invention. The controller 14 is an example of program information acquisition means, distinction information acquisition means, and display control means of the present invention.

  Moreover, broadcast station distinction information and others preference distinction information are examples of the distinction information of this invention. The broadcast transmission device of the broadcast station and the server device of the broadcast station are examples of the external device of the present invention.

[6. (Summary)
The recorder 1 according to the present embodiment includes a controller 14. The controller 14 acquires a plurality of program information. The controller 14 acquires broadcast station distinguishing information for distinguishing it from other programs for some of the program information from information broadcast from the broadcast station. The controller 14 causes the display device 2 to display a part of recommended program information of the plurality of program information as a display screen based on the broadcast station identification information.

  In this way, the recorder can provide recommended program information to the user based on, for example, broadcast station identification information transmitted from a broadcast station or the like.

(Other embodiments)
Embodiment 1 was illustrated as embodiment of this invention. However, the present invention is not limited to the first embodiment, and can be implemented in other embodiments. Therefore, other embodiments of the present invention will be described collectively below.

  In the embodiment, the controller 14 provided in the recorder 1 has been described as an example of a control device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be applied to an LSI provided in a television receiver. In this case, for example, the television receiver may include a hard disk drive and record a program stream on the hard disk.

  In the embodiment, the recorder and the display device are connected by wire. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be connected wirelessly. In addition, the recorder and the display device may be directly connected or may be interposed via another device such as a set top box.

  That is, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms.

  The control device of the present invention can be applied to a system LSI provided in a recorder such as BD or DVD. In addition, the control device of the present invention can be applied to a system LSI provided in a television receiver.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a recorder 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the program information which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure which shows the relationship between the server apparatus 6 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, and another apparatus. The figure which shows the example of a display screen which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a display screen which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the ranking information of the video recording reservation log which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the program information which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure for demonstrating the video recording reservation list which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the recording list which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a display screen of the menu screen which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a display screen regarding the moving image of the menu screen which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a display screen regarding the still image of the menu screen which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the transition of the display screen regarding the still image of the menu screen concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure for demonstrating the positional relationship of the photograph which comprises the display screen regarding the still image which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the example of a display screen based on the broadcast station distinction information which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the example of a display screen based on the broadcast station distinction information which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the others preference distinction information which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the example of a display screen based on the others preference distinction information which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recorder 11 Tuner 12 Flash memory 13 Buffer memory 14 Controller 15 Input / output interface 16 Reception part 17 Antenna terminal 18 LAN connector 19 Drive apparatus 191 Storage medium 2 Display apparatus 3 Remote control 31 Operation part 32 Transmission part 4 Network 5 Antenna 6 Server Device 7 Memory card slot 8 Memory card

Claims (4)

A control device connectable with a display device,
Program information acquisition means for acquiring information on a plurality of programs;
Discrimination information acquisition means for acquiring, from an external device, discrimination information for discriminating from other programs for information relating to some programs among the information relating to the plurality of programs;
Display control means for displaying a part of information on the plurality of programs on the display device as a display screen based on the discrimination information acquired by the discrimination information acquisition means;
A control device comprising: The display control means includes
Displaying only information on a part of the program based on the discrimination information acquired from the discrimination information acquisition means on the display device as a display screen;
The control device according to claim 1. The external device can be connected to a plurality of devices different from the own device,
The external device is capable of obtaining at least one information from a plurality of devices different from the own device among information related to viewing of a program corresponding to information related to the program, information related to recording, or information related to reservation,
The distinction information is based on at least one of information on viewing of the program, information on recording, or information on reservation,
The control device according to claim 1. A recording device comprising the control device according to claim 1.