JP2716836B2 - Teletext broadcast compatible video tape recorder - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a teletext compatible video tape recorder capable of receiving, recording, and reproducing teletext.

[Conventional technology]

At present, teletext broadcasting, which is already in full swing in commercial broadcasting, has the advantage that information that does not exist in conventional television broadcasting can be immediately obtained, and is therefore becoming increasingly popular. Along with this, development of television receivers, video tape recorders, and the like capable of receiving teletext has been advanced.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a teletext compatible video tape recorder receives a RF signal and demodulates it into a television broadcast signal (video signal), and a recording / reproducing unit which records and reproduces the television broadcast signal. In addition to a playback unit 2 and a system control microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a system microcomputer) 3 for controlling the entire video tape recorder,
A teletext signal processing unit 4 is provided. The teletext signal processor 4 comprises a teletext signal separation circuit 5, a decoder 6, a memory 7, a signal conversion circuit 8, and a teletext microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a text microcomputer) 9.

The teletext signal separation circuit 5 is a circuit that separates a teletext signal superimposed in the vertical blanking period from a television broadcast signal output from the receiving circuit 1 by a gate pulse. The decoder 6 corrects the error of the digital teletext signal, decodes the error-corrected teletext signal according to the instruction of the text microcomputer 9, and generates pattern data corresponding to the decoded text and graphic information. Circuit. The decoder 6 includes a changeover switch 10 provided between the receiving circuit 1 and the recording / reproducing unit 2.
This is a circuit for outputting a switching signal to be connected to the output of the character sending signal processing unit 4. The memory 7 is a RAM for temporarily storing pattern data output from the decoder 6.
The signal conversion circuit 8 is a circuit that converts the pattern data output from the decoder 6 into a television broadcast signal. The character microcomputer 9 is connected to the system microcomputer 3 and the decoder 6 via a serial data bus, and controls the character broadcast signal processing unit 4 based on a command from the system microcomputer 3.

The system microcomputer 3 is connected to a teletext operation unit 11 for controlling the teletext signal processing unit 4. The teletext operation unit 11 has, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, a television / text switching key 12, a cursor movement key 13, a reservation input key 14, a timer recording set key 15, and a numeric keypad 16. Are connected in a matrix.

The television / text switching key 12 is an operation key for alternately switching between normal television broadcasting and text broadcasting each time the key is turned on. The cursor moving key 13 is an operation key for moving a cursor for selecting a program on a program information page described later in which a list of programs is displayed. The reservation input key 14 is an operation key used when making a reservation for a program. The timer recording set key 15 is an operation key for setting timer recording. The ten keys 16 are numeric input keys from 0 to 9 and are used to input a page number or the like.

In the above video tape recorder, when the television / character switching key 12 is turned on, the system microcomputer 3 sends a command to the character microcomputer 9 to output a character image. In response, the teletext signal separated from the receiving circuit 1 by the teletext signal separation circuit 5 is converted into text image data by the decoder 6 and written into the memory 7. The character image data written in the memory 7 is called by the decoder 6 as needed under the control of the character microcomputer 9, and is converted into a character image signal (television broadcast signal) by the signal conversion circuit 8 and output. At this time, a switching signal for switching the changeover switch 10 to the teletext signal processing unit 4 is output from the decoder 6, whereby the text image signal output from the signal conversion circuit 8 is sent to the recording / reproducing unit 2. Is done.

In the above-mentioned video tape recorder, timer recording (recording reservation) is also possible, and the timer recording setting is performed by using the teletext operating unit 11 as a setting unit, for example, according to a flowchart shown in FIG.

First, when the mode is switched to teletext by operating the TV / text switching key 12 (S1), the program information page is called by the ten keys 16 (S2). On the called program information page, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the page number, the date and time when each program is broadcast, the program name, and the like are displayed as program information. Is turned on to blink a cursor (not shown), and the cursor is moved by operating the cursor movement key 13 to select a desired program (S3). Then, press the reservation input key 14 again.
By turning ON, the reservation setting of the program is performed (S4).
Then, information on the selected program (date and time, program name, etc.)
Is transferred from the character microcomputer 9 to the system microcomputer 3,
Since information required for timer recording is set in the system microcomputer 3, at this time, timer recording is set by the timer recording set key 15 (S5).

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional teletext-compatible video tape recorder, information transferred from the character microcomputer 9 to the system microcomputer 3 is used only as information necessary for timer recording and is not left after recording. The only way to check if the program was recorded was to play it back and watch it. For this reason, when many programs are recorded by the timer recording, there is a trouble that it becomes very difficult to search for the programs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to enable a user to easily search for a recorded program without actually continuing to play the program.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a teletext broadcast-compatible video tape recorder according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises: a recording / reproducing means for recording or reproducing a television broadcast signal; A teletext signal processing means for separating a teletext signal superimposed on the teletext signal and converting the teletext signal into a television broadcast signal by performing a predetermined process; and a program selected from program information on each teletext program. Setting means for setting information as reservation information of a program to be recorded; program information inserting means for inserting the set program information as a character image at the beginning of a program to be recorded when the above setting is performed; At the time of recording, an index signal for detecting the position where the character image is recorded is recorded on a video tape, while at the time of retrieval, the index signal which has already been recorded is recorded. It is characterized in that a recorded program search means for searching for programs recorded by sensing the index signal.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a teletext broadcast compatible video tape recorder according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the recorded program search means detects an index signal from the detected position. It is characterized by comprising a system control means for instructing reproduction of an image recorded for a predetermined time, and in the case where there is no input of continuation or stop of reproduction during this predetermined time, instructing a recorded program search means to detect an index signal again. I have.

(Operation)

In the configuration of the first aspect, the text broadcast program information is used not only for setting the recording reservation, but also for obtaining the recorded program information inserted at the beginning of the program to be recorded. In other words, the program information insertion means inserts information on the program obtained from the teletext program information as a text image at the beginning of the program to be recorded at the time of recording. Can be checked without continuing to play the recorded program. Further, since the recorded program search means detects the index signal to detect the position of the image, the recorded program can be easily searched.

Further, in the configuration of the second aspect, the reproduction is performed for a predetermined time by the system control means when the index signal is detected. At this time, the user looks at the information on the recorded program, and if the target program, inputs the reproduction continuation and continues the reproduction. Since it is only necessary to wait for the detection of the recorded program, the search for the recorded program can be more easily performed.

In other words, it has the function of the so-called VSS (VHS Index Search System). During the search, the video tape is run by rewinding or fast-forwarding, and the index signal is searched. Therefore, the operation of calling the information image of the recorded program becomes very simple.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Note that circuit blocks having the same functions as those of the configuration shown in the conventional example are described below.
The same reference numerals are given and the description is omitted. The details of the teletext signal processing unit 4 and teletext operation unit (setting means) 11 shown in FIG. 1 have already been described in the above-mentioned conventional example, so that the description thereof will be omitted for convenience.

As shown in FIG. 1, a video tape recorder (hereinafter, referred to as VTR) compatible with teletext according to the present invention is a conventional VTR.
Similarly to the TR, a receiving circuit 1, a recording / reproducing unit 2 as recording / reproducing means, a teletext signal processing unit 4 as teletext signal processing means, a changeover switch 10, a teletext operating unit 11
And a system microcomputer (system control unit) 17, a search operation unit 18, and a program information insertion unit.
19 and a recorded program search means 20, and has a VISS function.

The program information insertion means 19 includes a synchronization separation circuit 21, a microcomputer for superimpose (hereinafter, referred to as a superimpose microcomputer) 22, a changeover switch 23, and a voltage source 24.

The synchronization separation circuit 21 is a circuit that separates a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal of a composite synchronization signal obtained from the recording / reproducing unit 2. The superimpose microcomputer 22 is connected to the system microcomputer 17 via a serial data bus. The superimpose microcomputer 22 displays the month / date / hour / minute at the start / end of the program (character image signal) to be recorded and the program name, etc. This is a control circuit for inserting (information image signal) at the beginning of the program. This superimpose microcomputer 22 is a vertical synchronization signal (V synchronization in the figure) obtained from the synchronization separation circuit 21.
Based on the horizontal synchronization signal (H synchronization in the figure) and the position where the signal of the information image signal is inserted, a character insertion pulse is generated at the above position based on the data of the program information output from the system microcomputer 17. The data is transmitted to the changeover switch 23. The data of the program information is obtained from a program information page (see FIG. 8), and is transferred from the character microcomputer 9 to the system microcomputer 17 through a serial data bus.

The changeover switch 23 is provided between the changeover switch 10 and the recording / reproducing unit 2 and connects the output signal from the changeover switch 10 or the voltage of the voltage source 24 to the recording / reproducing unit 2. Is connected to the changeover switch 10, but when a character insertion pulse is input from the superimpose microcomputer 22, the voltage source 24 is connected to the recording / reproducing unit 2. Then, the voltage source 24 outputs a voltage for setting the brightness of the inserted information image with respect to the character image. Accordingly, the connection of the changeover switch 23 is switched every time a character insertion pulse is inserted, and the information image signal is inserted by applying the voltage of the voltage source 24 to the character image signal.

On the other hand, the recorded program search means 20 includes a servo circuit 25 and a control head 26. Servo circuit
Reference numeral 25 denotes a circuit for performing servo control of the rotation drive system of the VTR, which is connected to the system microcomputer 17 via a serial data bus.
At the start of recording in response to the instruction, a function of amplifying and shaping the index signal reproduced by the control head 26 and transmitting it to the system microcomputer 17 is provided. The control head 26 records the index signal from the servo circuit 25 on the control track of the video tape 27 and reproduces the already recorded index signal.

As shown in FIG. 2, the search operation unit 18 is connected to the system microcomputer 17 together with the text broadcast operation unit 11. The search operation unit 18 includes a search key 28 for instructing the start of a search, a fast-forward key 2
9. It has a rewind key 30, a play key 31, and a stop key 32.

In the above configuration, for example, when performing timer recording, the VTR shifts to the recording mode at the recording start time when the timer recording is set in the same procedure as the conventional one (see FIG. 7). At this time, the servo circuit 25 outputs an index signal by inverting the duty of the control signal for 2 seconds in response to a command from the system microcomputer 17, while the system microcomputer 17 outputs the program information transferred from the character microcomputer 9. Is transferred to the superimpose microcomputer 22. When this transfer is completed, the superimpose microcomputer 22 receives a command from the system microcomputer 17 and sends a character insertion pulse to the changeover switch 23 for 20 seconds. The changeover switch 23 switches the connection to the voltage source 24 every time the character insertion pulse is input, and inserts an information signal into the character image signal transmitted from the teletext signal processing unit 4 via the changeover switch 10. When this character image signal is input to the recording / reproducing unit 2, it is subjected to predetermined processing and recorded on the video tape 27 until the recording end time.

On the other hand, when searching for recorded programs, the search key 28
When the fast forward key 29 or rewind key 30 is turned on according to the search position while the search mode is set by turning on
The video tape 27 runs, and the control head 26 searches for an index signal. When an index signal is detected by this search, the VTR shifts to a playback mode and performs playback for 10 seconds. Since the character image reproduced during this time is the information image inserted at the time of recording, the user can confirm what program was recorded. During this time, by turning on the playback key 31, it is possible to continue playback even after 10 seconds have elapsed, and by turning on the stop key 32, the video tape 27 is It is also possible to stop running.
After the end of the reproduction mode, fast-forwarding or rewinding is performed again, and the same operation is repeated to sequentially search for a recorded program.

Here, the operation at the time of recording of the VTR under the control of the system microcomputer 17 will be briefly described based on the flowchart of FIG.

First, when recording is started (S11), an index signal is recorded (S12), and program information data is transferred to the superimpose microcomputer 22 (S13). Next, it is determined whether or not the transfer has been completed (S14). If the transfer has been completed, a character insertion pulse is output from the superimpose microcomputer 22 (S15). Then, it is determined whether or not 20 seconds have elapsed since the start of the output of the character insertion pulse (S16).
If 0 seconds have elapsed, stop outputting the character insertion pulse (S
17), continue recording until the recording end time (S18). Also, if the transfer is not completed in S14, the process of S13 is continued until the transfer is completed, while if the output of the character insertion pulse is not started in 20 seconds in S16,
The process in S15 is continued until 20 seconds have elapsed.

Next, the operation of the VTR at the time of searching for a recorded program under the control of the system microcomputer 17 will be briefly described based on the flowchart of FIG.

The index signal search is started by performing fast forward and rewind with the search mode set (S2
1) It is determined whether an index signal is detected in this search (S22). At this time, when an index signal is detected, the mode shifts to the playback mode (S2
3) If the index signal is not detected, the search is continued until the index signal is detected. Then, it is determined whether or not the playback key 31 is turned on during the playback mode (S2
4) If the play key 31 is not turned on, then the stop key 32
It is determined whether or not is turned on (S25). If the stop key 32 is not turned on at this time, the
It is determined whether or not seconds have elapsed (S26). If 10 seconds have elapsed, the reproduction mode is terminated, and the processing from S22 is repeated.

When the reproduction key 31 is turned on in S24, the reproduction is continued after elapse of 10 seconds (S27), and when the stop key 32 is turned on in S25, the search operation is stopped (S28).
Further, if 10 seconds have not elapsed since the transition to the reproduction mode in S26, the process returns to S24.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the information image of the program is inserted and recorded at the beginning of the program to be recorded, and the index signal for detecting the position of the information image is recorded on the video tape 27 at the time of recording. By detecting the index signal while running the video tape 27 by fast-forwarding or rewinding, the information image of the program can be easily called, and the type of the recorded program can be easily confirmed. .

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, the teletext-compatible video tape recorder according to the first aspect of the present invention has a recording / reproducing means for recording or reproducing a television broadcast signal and a television broadcast signal superimposed on the television broadcast signal to receive the teletext. Character broadcast signal processing means for converting the teletext signal into a television broadcast signal by performing a predetermined process while separating the teletext signal being present, and recording the program information selected from the program information relating to each teletext program. Setting means for setting as reservation information of a program to be set; program information inserting means for inserting the set program information as a character image at the beginning of a program to be recorded when the above setting is made; While the index signal for detecting the position where the character image is recorded is recorded on the video tape, at the time of the search, the index signal already recorded is recorded. A configuration and a recorded program search means for searching for programs recorded by detecting.

Thus, the text broadcast program information can be used not only for setting the recording reservation, but also for confirming the content of the recorded program. That is, by reproducing the character image of the information on the recorded program obtained from the teletext program information, it is possible to easily confirm what kind of program was recorded. In addition, since the position of the character image can be determined by detecting the index signal, it is possible to easily search for a recorded program.

Therefore, the search operation can be simplified,
Even when many programs are recorded by timer recording or the like, it is possible to easily search and confirm programs.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, when the recorded program search means detects an index signal, the teletext-compatible video tape recorder according to the second aspect of the present invention has a predetermined time from the detected position. The system is provided with a system control means for instructing the reproduction of the recorded image, and instructing the recorded program search means to detect the index signal again when there is no input of the continuation or the stop during the predetermined time.

Thus, when the index signal is detected, the reproduction is performed for a predetermined time. At this time, if the target program is the target program, the user inputs the reproduction continuation and continues the reproduction. If the target program is not the target program, the user does not make any input and waits for the detection of the index signal again after a predetermined time. Since it suffices, the operation required for the program search becomes very simple.

Therefore, in addition to the effect of the configuration of the first aspect, there is an effect that the program can be more easily searched.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a teletext compatible video tape recorder. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing each key provided in the search operation unit. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the teletext compatible video tape recorder during recording. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the teletext compatible video tape recorder when searching. 5 and 6 show a conventional example. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a teletext compatible video tape recorder. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing each key provided on the teletext operation unit. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a general procedure for setting timer recording. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a program information page. 2 is a recording / reproducing unit (recording / reproducing means), 4 is a teletext signal processing unit (teletext signal processing means), 11 is a teletext operating unit (setting means), 17 is a microcomputer for system control (system control means) ), 19 are program information insertion means, 20
Is a recorded program search means.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A recording / reproducing means for recording or reproducing a television broadcast signal; and a teletext signal superimposed on the television broadcast signal for receiving a teletext broadcast, and by performing a predetermined process. Teletext signal processing means for converting a teletext signal into a television broadcast signal; setting means for setting program information selected from program information on each teletext program as reservation information of a program to be recorded; Is done, at the beginning of the program to be recorded,
A program information insertion unit for inserting the set program information as a character image; an index signal for detecting a position where the character image is recorded is recorded on a video tape at the time of recording; A teletext broadcast compatible video tape recorder, comprising: a recorded program search means for searching for a recorded program by detecting the index signal. 2. When the recorded program search means detects an index signal, it instructs reproduction of an image recorded from the detected position for a predetermined time. If there is no input to continue or stop reproduction during the predetermined time, the index signal is again output. 2. A teletext broadcast compatible video tape recorder according to claim 1, further comprising a system control means for instructing the recorded program search means to detect the presence of a broadcast.