JP3797383B2 - Reception device and broadcast signal recording method - Google Patents

Description

  In a receiving apparatus such as a television apparatus equipped with a memory, the present invention automatically selects a desired broadcast program for each genre from various received contents and stores it in a memory first-in and first-out. The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus such as a television apparatus with a memory and a broadcast signal recording method that enables a viewer to view the latest information retroactively at a desired time.

  In recent years, with the remarkable development of telecommunications technology, wireless and wired new media are appearing one after another. High-definition high-definition (HDTV), clear vision (EDTV), still image broadcasting, text broadcasting, data broadcasting, 24-hour satellite broadcasting (BS / CS), and cable television (CATV) in the age of interactive services are also becoming popular. Expected.

  In addition, there are a wide variety of broadcast contents (program software) broadcasted by these new media. In addition to conventional program software mainly for entertainment such as movies, sports, news, and quiz programs, a new interactive Experiments that provide features such as game software, karaoke software, local community information, library materials, home shopping information, home medical service information, program software reservation, and various event reservation services have also started. .

  On the other hand, the development of recording media is remarkable, and the increase in capacity of semiconductor memories and the increase in capacity and speed of recording devices using disk-shaped recording media are progressing further. A rewritable magneto-optical disk (MO: Magneto) Optical) and a phase change type optical disc (PC: Phase Change) system for recording / reproducing data by changing the light intensity has been developed. Related so-called minidiscs (hereinafter simply referred to as “MD”) and digital video discs (hereinafter simply referred to as “DVD”) have also been remarkable. In addition, a recordable / reproducible compact disc (hereinafter simply referred to as “CD”) and a digital video tape recorder (hereinafter simply referred to as “DVTR”) for recording digital signals on a magnetic tape medium are expected to be developed in the future. Has been.

  For these recording media, the compression encoding technique described later is used to produce a moving image for about 1 hour for the MD, about 3 hours for each CD and DVD, about 21 hours for the DVTR, and 20 minutes for the semiconductor memory. To the extent, devices capable of recording / reproducing are being developed.

  Furthermore, the development of compression coding technology for images and audio signals is also remarkable, and with the development of this compression coding technology, the amount of data actually required is compressed and reduced. In addition, a technique for transferring a large amount of images, audio signals, and data information in a short time and recording / reproducing the information is being developed. This compression coding technology for video and audio signals has been put into practical use by the world standard method of video / audio compression called MPEG2 (Moving Picture Image Coding Experts Group Phase 2) extended from MPEG1, which is already in practical use. The stage is being reached.

  Here, what was disclosed by patent document 1 is known as a prior art.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-181656

  However, the application technology of these recording media is still only used for computer storage, and a form in which a television apparatus and these memories are fused has not yet appeared in earnest. In addition, in the environment and circumstances surrounding the television device, the lifestyles of viewers (users) are also diverse, and the user can select from the surplus information provided by the new broadcasting service as described above. Obtaining the desired information is becoming increasingly difficult. Under such circumstances, there is an increasing demand for users' television devices, and there is a demand for television devices that are more than just multifunctional and more suitable for user interfaces.

  That is, a busy user does not have much time to watch the television apparatus slowly, and a form of the television apparatus that can obtain desired information more easily is expected. In order to respond to such a request, it is sufficient to always record the broadcast contents on a recording device such as a VTR. However, since the VTR is rewound and played back, it takes time to access and the category area is inconsistent, and a series of operations is performed. However, the current situation is not complicated and realistic.

  In addition, application to a purpose of reproduction by a portable reproduction device is also desired.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and the user can easily obtain the latest information for each category from the enormous amount of broadcast information without the need for complicated operations, and can be played back by a portable playback device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a receiving apparatus such as a television apparatus with a memory and a broadcast signal recording method.

  In order to solve this problem, in the present invention, a receiving means for receiving a broadcast signal transmitted with a category code for identifying broadcast contents, and a record for selecting and recording the received broadcast signal by category Means and a drive means for driving the user replacement disk. The user replacement disk is capable of inputting / outputting the recorded contents of the recording means via the drive means.

  Here, the user replacement disc is used for playback on a portable playback device or for use in which the users are switched.

  Also, the broadcast signal recording method according to the present invention receives broadcast content transmitted with a category code for identifying broadcast content, and receives a program signal belonging to a predetermined category among the received broadcast signals. In a compressed state, the data is recorded in a reproducible recording means, and the user replacement disc is driven by the driving means. The user replacement disc inputs the recording contents of the recording means via the driving means. The above-mentioned problem is solved by making the output freely.

  According to the present invention, a broadcast content to be transmitted with a category code for identifying broadcast content added is selected according to category and recorded in the recording means, and the driving means drives the user replacement disk to thereby change the user replacement. The disc for recording can be input / output freely through the drive means, and the user replacement disc can be played back on a portable playback device or used for use by users switching between each other. Become.

  A memory-equipped television apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  First, the configuration and operation of the television apparatus with memory of the present invention will be described with reference to the conceptual diagrams showing the embodiment of FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an example of a broadcasting station center on the broadcast transmission side. Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 2 is a television apparatus with a memory according to the present invention, and reference numeral 2 is a remote control unit. The broadcast station center in FIG. 1 is usually collected by a broadcast camera 101 for transmitting information from a production of a program and information from a relay site, a video server 102 serving as a data bank, and a video server 103 as a data bank such as a movie distribution company, These pieces of information are once collected in the transmission device 104.

  The broadcast signal in the transmission device 104 is a standard program A such as sports, news, quizzes, and commercials, regional information B, a library material C that can be freely browsed by the user, and services such as home medical care. Medical registration D, home shopping E, game F, TV guide G providing TV broadcast program software information, karaoke H, message advertisement J, movie software K as a means of transmitting information between users and local community information, etc. All of these broadcast signals are edited by the video editing device 106 with an ID code such as time information and category contents added by the ID code generator 105, and then terrestrial, broadcast satellite 107, coaxial cable, The data is transmitted to each user via the optical cable 108.

  In the television with memory 1 shown in FIG. 2, the tuner 7 receives the broadcast signal via the receiving antenna 5 and the CATV receiver 6. Digital broadcast signals and current analog broadcast signals are input to the program selector 8. The program selector 8 selects a broadcast signal under the control of the system controller 10 to obtain designated data.

  When the broadcast signal is an analog broadcast signal, it is sent to the encoder 9 for encoding into each data of the MPEG2 system (or MPEG2 video, MPEG2 audio), for example. The encoder 9 performs an encoding process for encoding the input analog broadcast signal into a recording format that matches the large capacity memory 11. However, since the digital broadcast signal does not need to be encoded, the encoder 9 processes it as an unprocessed digital broadcast signal and sends it to the large-capacity memory 11 for recording.

  The television device with memory 1 is loaded with a ROM / RAM 11A composed of a large-capacity memory 11, a primary memory 11B, a secondary memory 11C, and a drive device 16 for driving the user replacement disk 4. Yes. A predetermined control program for the system controller 10 is stored in the ROM / RAM 11A, thereby smoothly promoting the operation of the television device 1 with memory.

  The primary memory 11B is used as a so-called cache memory that temporarily waits for data, and stores data for a relatively short time. The secondary memory 11C is a large-capacity memory of several gigabytes and stores long-time data. The drive device 16 records, for example, a user replacement disc 4 that is used for recording movies, overseas news, etc. while the user is sleeping and playing it on the next morning with a portable playback device, or for use in which the users switch between each other. Operates to drive. The user replacement disk 4 can freely input / output the recorded contents of the large-capacity memory 11 via the driving device 16.

  The large-capacity memory 11 is capable of recording / reproducing broadcast services to be recorded and desired program software. The large-capacity memory 11 has an automatic selection mode and a multi-selection mode. Recording capacity can be set freely. These selections are made by the remote control unit 2 or the operation unit (not shown) of the television apparatus with memory of the present invention, and the result is displayed on the display unit 3.

  Further, the system controller 10 performs the following operation which is the main point of the present invention. In other words, the format structure (not shown) of the broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcast station center is a packet that includes at least a header part and broadcast signal part in which necessary information for recording broadcast contents is recorded in advance. The packet is transmitted in such a way that it always exists at the head of the broadcast content. The header part is transmitted with a category code or the like for searching the broadcast content, and the program ID detection 12 decodes and reads the category code added to the broadcast content, via the switch control 13. The program selector 8 classifies them into predetermined category areas. As an example, broadcast contents classified into news, sports, movies, and the like are encoded by the encoder 9 and stored in the large-capacity memory 11.

  The recording capacity for each category in the large-capacity memory is divided in advance into a predetermined time unless otherwise specified by the user. For example, news is determined as 2 hours, weather forecast as 0.5 hours, and movie as 6 hours. When the broadcast content exceeds the predetermined recording capacity of the memory, the old recording content is sequentially deleted, and the recording content of the large-capacity memory 11 is updated using the FIFO function for recording new broadcast content.

  The recorded contents of the large-capacity memory 11 are subjected to decoding processing such as decompression by the decoder 14 and restored as a composite video signal or RGB component signal, and the CRT or It is displayed on the display unit 3 such as a liquid crystal display element. Further, the television device 1 with a memory is provided with a telephone line 16 and can automatically pay for pay broadcasting or the like from a user's bank account. Further, the receiving unit 17 performs decoding in accordance with the control format transmitted from the remote control unit 2 and is processed by the system controller 10.

  The large-capacity memory that may be built into the television device with a memory according to the present invention is a solid-state memory such as a semiconductor memory whose capacity is increasing as a primary memory, and an optical disk is built-in as a secondary memory. Based on. The possibility of secondary memory covers all recording media that are expected to be developed in the future, such as DVD, CD, and DVTR, which are expected to be put to practical use in the development of short-wavelength light sources such as MD and SHG and blue laser. And

  FIG. 3 shows an outline of the remote control unit 2, and an infrared light emitting unit 20 that emits radio waves and infrared rays on which various control signals necessary for the operation of the television device 1 with memory of the present invention are superimposed, and the television with memory. The control information of the apparatus 1 is displayed in a hierarchical structure, and is configured to include an LCD panel unit 21 that displays the current operating point with color highlighting if necessary, a cross key 22 that is an operation unit, and a trackball 23. . The cross key 22 and the track ball 23 of the remote control unit 2 can be operated by operating the cross key button or operating the track ball 23 from the menu screen displayed on the display unit 3 of the television device 1 with memory. The category area is selected by moving the attention item. Further, it is used for inquiry about the remaining amount of memory and confirmation of video shelves in the memory. The LCD panel 21 of the remote control unit 2 can display the same contents as the display on the display unit 3 of the television device with memory 1 together with various control information by a predetermined instruction.

  Next, a display example of the menu screen of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The recorded contents divided and recorded for each category in the category area in the large-capacity memory 11 are displayed on the display unit 3 as a menu screen with icons as illustrated. When the user selects a desired category area with the trackball 23 of the remote controller 2, for example, a pointer 30 (instruction mark) appears on the display 3, and the user clicks a predetermined place on the trackball 23 or the cross key 22 by clicking on it. The category area is determined.

  The latest recorded contents of the determined category area are immediately displayed on the display unit 3 of the television device 1 with memory, and the user can view the latest information recorded in the category area. The category area always stores the latest information by a FIFO operation. For example, if the user selects and confirms the news 31, the latest information recorded in the large-capacity memory 11 of the television device 1 with memory is started to be reproduced from the beginning.

  The menu screen has a hierarchical structure and can easily display menus in a plurality of category areas. The icon display portion of the menu screen changes to an icon according to the user's selection, and the recorded content of each category area can be auditioned in a so-called oblique reading as a still image or a partial moving image.

  When the waste basket 32 is selected and confirmed with the pointer 30, the recorded content currently being viewed is erased at that time, and the content is deleted from the large capacity memory 11 of the television device 1 with memory.

  On the contrary, when the video shelf 33 is selected, the broadcast content is traced back to the beginning of the program and stored in the user area provided in the large-capacity memory. At this time, the menu screen of the display unit 3 is changed, and a display like a video shelf is made, and a title (or still image) of the broadcast content is added and arranged. As another function, while displaying the current broadcast as it is, the latest reproduction information of the category area is displayed on a small screen that can be enlarged / reduced to a large screen, or the current broadcast and reproduction information are displayed on a multi-screen of two or more screens. It is also possible to display. The playback speed of the latest playback information in the category area can be freely changed by the remote control unit.

  Further, ID signal allocation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This figure shows an example of a program ID added to the header of a digital broadcast signal and transmitted. The ID signal allocation is roughly divided into a program ID 40, a recording control 41, and a broadcast program 42. The program ID 40 includes necessary information for searching the broadcast content, and the recording control ID 41 is inserted at the start position and end position of the broadcast program 42. A signal, a recording end control signal, and a rewinding instruction control signal after recording end are inserted.

  As for the category content L in the program ID 40, the broadcast program 42 received with an ID code such as “0011” indicates the news category with “11” at the end. The program content M is data used when the program selector 8 selects a program, and is information on what broadcast program is received in which broadcast format at the present time. If the configuration is header information, program title, and the program is a movie, the distribution software company name of the movie and the name of the star are shown and the correspondence with the ID code is shown. If the program is charged, the fact is displayed and the reception fee is settled after being associated with the user ID. As for the current time N, the device has an automatic time setting function, and an accurate time in the area is built in and used for timer reservation and the like.

  The channel assignment information O indicates the assignment status of the broadcast program to each channel, the broadcast start date / time information P indicates the broadcast start date / time as broadcast start information, and broadcast schedule information for about one week from the present time is broadcast. Useful for reservations. The broadcast end date and time information Q indicates the broadcast end date and time as broadcast end information. The other R is a digital broadcast signal that is broadcasted by compressing a video or audio signal in accordance with, for example, the MPEG2 standard, but the compression rate changes for each program, so that the format information is added and broadcast.

  Similarly, the recording operation of the television with memory of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. While the user is receiving the television device 1 with memory, the user operates the remote control unit 2 to select and start this FIFO operation mode (step SP1). In step SP2, the remaining recordable amount of the large-capacity memory owned by the television device with memory 1 itself is checked and stored. In step SP3, information such as a category is detected from the broadcast content transmitted from the broadcast station with an ID code and stored. In step SP4, it is confirmed whether or not the user has made a program reservation. If the user has made a program reservation, the program is accepted with priority. If there is no user program reservation, the broadcast contents are classified for each category as they are.

  In step SP5, if there is a category area selection and broadcast station designation, the category code is detected and stored. In step SP6, a FIFO operation is performed in which old broadcast contents are sequentially deleted and new broadcast contents are recorded. In step SP7, the remaining amount of the memory capacity allocated to the category area is checked, and if there is a margin in the recording capacity of the category area, the process proceeds to step SP8, and if there is no margin in the recording capacity, the process proceeds to step SP6. The broadcast contents are updated by repeating the return FIFO operation. In step SP8, if the ID codes such as the broadcast time are checked and they match, the process moves to step SP9 to continue recording, and if they do not match, the process returns to step SP8 again to match the broadcast times. In step SP10, the series of recording mode operations ends.

  Next, the operation during reproduction will be described. When the playback mode is selected by the user (step SP11), a menu showing each category area shown as an example in FIG. 3 is displayed based on the control program in the ROM / RAM in step SP12. In step SP13, the preparation for reproducing the large-capacity memory is specified at the same time. In step SP14, the menu display is erased.

  Moving to step SP15, when the user tries to select a desired category area by operating, for example, the trackball of the remote control unit 2, a pointer (instruction mark) appears on the display unit 3, and when the trackball is clicked and confirmed. The category area is determined and the process proceeds to the next step SP16. If the category selection is not confirmed, the menu display is continued. In step SP16, the directory information of the determined category area is inquired, and in step SP17, the latest recorded contents are immediately displayed on the display unit 3 of the television device with memory 1. In step SP18, the user can operate the playback content that has been played back. For example, the viewer can freely change the playback speed by operating the FF button 25 of FIG. Further, when the user selects another category area, the process returns to step SP15 to activate a series of operations.

  In the above-described embodiment, the automatic recording mode has been mainly described. Of course, a manual operation of selecting desired program software and recording it on a desired recording medium as in a normal television device with a built-in recording device is also possible. In that case, desired program software is instructed by a broadcast content selection switch (not shown) in the remote control unit 2 shown in FIG. Similarly, a desired recording medium is instructed from the remote controller 2 to the system controller 10 to start a recording operation.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the user directly operates with the remote control unit 2 has been described. However, the operation mode is displayed on the display unit 3 and can be operated with a trackball or a cross key. The unit 3 can operate only in a large capacity memory in a standby state. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the present invention can be developed in various forms without being limited to the above-described embodiment.

  The receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention described above includes a receiving unit that receives a broadcast signal transmitted with an ID code for identifying broadcast content, and a predetermined category among the received broadcast signals. And recording means capable of randomly accessing and reproducing the recorded program signal in a compressed state. When the received broadcast signal is recorded in the recording means, the broadcast signal to be recorded is recorded in the recording means. When the capacity is exceeded, the old recorded contents in the recording means are sequentially deleted.

  The broadcast signal recording method according to the embodiment of the present invention receives broadcast content transmitted with an ID code for identifying broadcast content, and belongs to a predetermined category among the received broadcast signals. When a program signal is recorded in a recording means that can be reproduced by random access in a compressed state and the received broadcast signal is recorded in the memory, the broadcast signal to be recorded exceeds the recording capacity of the recording means. If so, the old recording contents in the recording means are sequentially deleted.

  At this time, in the television apparatus with memory, the recorded contents selected and recorded for each category are displayed on the display unit as an icon (ICON) as a menu after being classified by category, and an icon indicating a specific category area is displayed by the user. When selected and confirmed, playback of the recorded content starts immediately.

  Further, in the icon display section displayed as the menu, when the user sequentially selects the icon display section, a partial still image or a partial video of the category broadcast content is displayed instead of the icon on the icon display section. is there.

  In the television apparatus with a memory, the memory includes a user area for storing the broadcast content compressed and recorded for a certain period of time, and the playback speed of the recorded content can be freely controlled by the user.

  Further, the display method of the display unit is a picture-in-picture that can be continuously scaled up or down to the entire screen, and a picture-and-picture that can also be a multi-screen of two or more screens has solved the above problem.

  In such a television apparatus with a memory according to the embodiment of the present invention, broadcast contents transmitted by adding an ID code for identifying broadcast contents are selected by category, recorded in the memory by FIFO, and classified by category. Since it is displayed as an icon as a menu, the user can easily select a specific category, and can be reproduced immediately when selected.

  Therefore, in the icon display portion displayed as the menu, when the user sequentially selects the icon display portion, a partial still image or a partial moving image of the category broadcast content can be displayed on the icon display portion instead of the icon.

  In particular, the memory has a user area for storing broadcast content compressed and recorded for a certain period of time, and the playback speed for reproducing the selected recorded content can be varied.

  The reproduced image is a picture-in-picture that can be continuously scaled up or down to the entire screen, and can be displayed as a picture-and-picture that can be a multi-screen of two or more screens.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, there is a high possibility that a form incorporating various types of large-capacity memories will be adopted as a future new media or multimedia compatible television device. The functions, capacity, and quality of these large-capacity memories are steadily improving and are not only incorporated into the television apparatus from the beginning, but may be incorporated into the television apparatus as an option. Even in the advent of such a memory-equipped television device, the user is not particularly aware of the functions and properties of the large-capacity memory that he owns, and from among a huge number of broadcast programs being broadcast even when the user is absent, Since it is automatically classified into categories and recorded, a busy viewer is freed from the troublesome operations as in the case of VTR, and can obtain the latest information easily and quickly.

  In addition, the television device with a memory according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a certain amount of user area, so that it can be used in a VTR manner, and a certain amount of library can be formed. In this case, since the system controller performs recording / reproduction in the optimum recording state, recording does not fail. Further, the processing after recording of the large-capacity memory is easy, and the large-capacity memory is easily arranged because it is organized in order by category and time.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the broadcasting station center relevant to the television apparatus with memory of embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the television apparatus with a memory of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the remote control part of the television apparatus with memory of embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a display of the menu screen of embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic where it uses for description of ID signal allocation in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of the television apparatus with a memory of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Television apparatus with memory, 2 Remote control part, 3 Display part, 4 Disc for user substitution, 5 Reception antenna, 6 CATV receiver, 7 Tuner, 8 Program selector, 9 Encoder, 10 System controller, 11 Large capacity memory, 12 Program ID detection, 14 decoder, 13, 18 switch control, 15 switch / IO, 16 telephone line, 17 receiving unit, 20 light emitting unit, 21 LCD panel unit, 22 cross key, 23 trackball, 24 memory operation unit, 25 FF Button, 30 Pointer, 31 News, 32 Wastebasket, 33 Video shelf, 101 Broadcast camera, 104 Transmitting device, 105 ID code generator, 106 Video editing device, A Normal program, B Regional information, C Book Fee, D medical registration, E home shopping, F game, G TV guide, H karaoke, J message promotion, K movie software, L category content, M program content, N current time, O channel allocation information, P broadcast start date and time information , Q Broadcast end date and time information

Claims (4)

Receiving means for receiving a broadcast signal transmitted with a category code for identifying broadcast content;
Recording means for selecting and recording received broadcast signals by category,
Drive means for driving the user replacement disk,
The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user replacement disc is capable of inputting / outputting the recording contents of the recording means via the driving means.   The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user replacement disk is used for playback on a portable playback apparatus.   The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user replacement disk is used for a purpose in which users are used by replacement. Receive broadcast content sent with a category code to identify the broadcast content,
Of the received broadcast signal, the program signal belonging to a predetermined category is recorded in a recording means that can be randomly accessed and reproduced in a compressed state,
A broadcast signal recording method, wherein a user replacement disk is driven by a driving means, and the user replacement disk allows recording contents of the recording means to be input / output freely via the driving means.

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