JP3900352B2 - Receiving apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a receiving apparatus and method suitable for use in the case where a television broadcast is performed via a satellite and the broadcast is reserved and recorded on the receiving side.

  Conventionally, two methods have been used for pre-recording a program being broadcast on television.

  One method is a method in which a user knows the broadcast time of a desired program from a program guide distributed in a printed state in a newspaper or a booklet, and inputs the time information to a VTR from a remote control device or the like. .

  Another method is to input a 7- to 8-digit number (G code) described in a program guide printed and distributed in a newspaper or a booklet, for example, as represented by a so-called G code. It is a method to do. According to this method, there is the convenience that the reservation input can be performed without considering the broadcast start time and the end time only by inputting the G code corresponding to the program.

  However, the method using the G code, although the operation for reservation is more simplified than the method for inputting the broadcast start time and end time, the number of digits to be input is relatively large. In some cases, it was impossible to memorize the numbers all at once, and the program guide had to be reviewed many times to confirm the numbers. In addition, since many G codes are described in a narrow program guide, an adjacent number may be read and an incorrect number may be input.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and makes it possible to perform reservation recording of television broadcasting more easily.

The receiving device of the present invention sequentially reproduces from a receiving means for receiving program guide data including at least information indicating a program broadcast time, information indicating a broadcast channel, and genre information indicating a type of program, and the received program guide data. The program guide for each program is displayed on the electronic program guide screen based on the program guide data for each program, and advertisement information is displayed in a part of the display area on the electronic program guide screen. Display control means for controlling display so as to display an icon operated when making a reservation in another partial display area on the screen.

Recording means for recording the received program guide data is further provided, and the display control means reads out the program guide data recorded in the recording means and displays the program guide on the electronic program guide screen simultaneously with the advertisement information and the icon. The display can be controlled.
It further comprises determination means for determining whether or not the icon has been operated, and when it is determined that the icon has been operated, the recording means determines the program broadcast time of the selected program from the program guide data recorded by the recording means. The read program broadcast time can be recorded in the reservation table.

  The advertisement information may be advertisement information of a sponsor who provides a program.

  The advertisement information can be advertisement information of a sponsor that provides program guide data.

The reception method of the present invention receives program guide data including at least information indicating a program broadcast time, information indicating a broadcast channel, and genre information indicating a type of program, and each program sequentially reproduced from the received program guide data. Based on the program guide data , the program guide for each program is displayed on the electronic program guide screen, and advertisement information is displayed in a part of the display area on the electronic program guide screen. The display is controlled so that an icon operated when making a reservation is displayed in a part of the display area.

The received program guide data is recorded, the recorded program guide data is read, and the display can be controlled so that the program guide is displayed on the electronic program guide screen at the same time as the advertisement information and the icon.
It is determined whether or not the icon has been operated. When it is determined that the icon has been operated, the program broadcast time of the selected program is read from the recorded program guide data, and the read program broadcast time is read from the reservation table. Can be recorded.

  The advertisement information may be advertisement information of a sponsor who provides a program.

  The advertisement information may be advertisement information of a sponsor that provides program data.

In the present invention, program guide data including at least information indicating the program broadcast time, information indicating the broadcast channel, and genre information indicating the type of program is received. The program guide for each program is displayed on the electronic program guide screen based on the program guide data for each program sequentially reproduced from the received program guide data, and a part of the display area on the electronic program guide screen In addition, the display is controlled so that the advertisement information is displayed and the icon operated when making the reservation is displayed in another part of the display area on the electronic program guide screen.

  According to the present invention, the user can know the outline of a program and can easily make a recording reservation, for example. Furthermore, according to the present invention, advertisement of a sponsor who provides a program or a program guide can be performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows the principle of the television broadcasting method of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the transmitter 1 on the broadcast station side is provided with an antenna 2, and radio waves are transmitted from the antenna 2 to a satellite 11 such as a communication satellite or a broadcast satellite. The satellite 11 receives this radio wave, performs a predetermined conversion process, and then transmits it to the receiving device 22 arranged in each home. The receiving device 22 receives this radio wave by the antenna 21 and demodulates it.

  The transmission device 1 transmits video signals and audio signals to the satellite 11 through different channels.

  FIG. 2 shows the audio signal transmission format. As shown in the figure, the channel for this audio data has a bit rate of 1.7 Mbps, and in this bit rate, there are four channels of audio data of audio 1 to audio 4 and other data. Data channels are assigned. A header and an error correction code (ECC) are also assigned to the audio 1 to audio 4 and the data channel.

  In audio 1 and audio 2, stereo audio data accompanying the broadcast video signal is arranged. Audio 3 and audio 4 are arranged with stereo audio data for music-only broadcasting.

  On the other hand, a data channel having a bit rate of 480 Kbps is composed of 15 packets of packet 0 to packet 14 as shown in FIG. 3, and can transmit predetermined data in packet units. ing.

  In this embodiment, program guide data is transmitted using a predetermined number of the 15 packets.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the structure of program guide data. As shown in the figure, when a predetermined broadcasting station broadcasts, for example, 15 television programs per day, a program guide 1 to a program guide 15 are formed for each program. Each program guide introduces a corresponding program. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, three still images of a predetermined scene for introducing the TV program and audio for explanation for a maximum of 15 seconds. It is composed of a signal and other data including text data, genre division data, time information, and other program information.

  Assuming that a still image is composed of 640 × 480 pixels and is displayed in 256 colors, according to, for example, the standard BMP format of Windows (registered trademark), the capacity of one image is , 300 KBytes. Accordingly, the capacity required to represent three still images is 900 Kbytes.

  On the other hand, if the audio signal is represented by 8 bits in accordance with the standard WAV format of Windows (registered trademark), the sampling frequency is 22.1 kHz, and the sound is monaural, the capacity is 300 KBytes.

  If the capacity of other data typified by text data is 2 Kbytes, the capacity required to represent a program guide for one program is about 1.2 MByte.

  The program guide data is transmitted every day, the next day on the night of the previous day, or a set of data such as one week, one month, etc. in advance.

  If the number of programs for one day is 15, the total amount of data transferred for one day in this program table is 18 MByte (= 1.2 × 15), so that it can be transferred in about 16 minutes. In the case of transmission for one week or one month, it takes time for the transmission, so that transmission is performed in advance in consideration of the transfer time.

  FIG. 6 shows a display example of a program guide for one program. In this embodiment, one still image is displayed in the upper left part of the screen. This still image is one of the three still images shown in FIG. Further, above the still image, the title “alien” of this program is displayed corresponding to the text data. Furthermore, the original of the program, the script, the name of the director, and characters that introduce the program are displayed below the still image.

  Furthermore, an advertisement display section for sponsors who provide this program is provided at the lower right of the screen. In addition to the sponsor providing this program, the advertisement display unit can display an advertisement of the sponsor providing this program guide.

  In addition, an icon for reservation is displayed at the upper right of the screen.

  As a program guide, in addition to such display of images and characters, sound that explains the program is accompanied and output.

  FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of the transmission device 1. In this embodiment, a video signal constituting a television program is supplied to a scramble circuit 32. The output of the scramble circuit 32 is supplied to the modulation circuit 33. An audio signal accompanying the video signal is input to the synthesis circuit 35 via the A / D converter 34 and is supplied from the synthesis circuit 35 to the modulation circuit 33.

  On the other hand, a video signal for constituting the program guide shown in FIG. 6 is supplied to the synthesis circuit 43 via the A / D converter 41 and an accompanying audio signal is sent to the A / D converter 44. Is supplied to the synthesis circuit 43. Furthermore, other data represented by text data is supplied to the synthesis circuit 43. The output of the synthesis circuit 43 is supplied to the synthesis circuit 35 and synthesized with the audio data supplied from the A / D converter 34.

  Next, the operation will be described. The video signals constituting the program are input to the scramble circuit 32, scrambled, and then supplied to the modulation circuit 33.

  On the other hand, an audio signal accompanying the video signal constituting the program is A / D converted by the A / D converter 34 and then supplied to the synthesis circuit 35. The synthesizing circuit 35 is also supplied with program guide data output from the synthesizing circuit 43.

  That is, the video signals constituting the program guide are A / D converted by the A / D converter 41 and then supplied to the synthesis circuit 43. An audio signal accompanying the video signal constituting the program guide is A / D converted by the A / D converter 44 and then supplied to the synthesis circuit 43. Furthermore, text data (other data) is supplied to the synthesis circuit 43.

  The synthesizing circuit 43 synthesizes the input video data, audio data, and text data within the same program guide. The program guide data synthesized by the synthesis circuit 43 is further inputted to the synthesis circuit 35 and synthesized with the audio data inputted from the A / D converter 34. That is, the audio data for the program is arranged in the audio 1 and audio 2 channels in FIG. 2, and the program guide data supplied from the synthesizing circuit 43 is arranged in a predetermined packet of the data channel.

  In this manner, the audio channel data synthesized by the synthesis circuit 35 is supplied to the modulation circuit 33. The modulation circuit 33 modulates and outputs the video signal supplied from the scramble circuit 32 and the audio data supplied from the synthesis circuit 35 by a predetermined method.

  This output is transmitted to the satellite 11 via the antenna 2 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of the receiving device 22. In this embodiment, the received signal is input to the demodulation circuit 51 and demodulated. The video signal demodulated by the demodulation circuit 51 is output and displayed on the CRT 55 via the descrambling circuit 52 and the synthesis circuit 54.

  On the other hand, the video data output from the demodulation circuit 51 is input to the separation circuit 56, where the audio data for the program is separated and output to the speaker 59 via the D / A converter 57 and the synthesis circuit 58. Has been made.

  The program guide data separated by the separation circuit 56 is supplied to the separation circuit 71, separated into video data, audio data, or text data, and then supplied to the hard disk 75 for storage. .

  The video data read from the hard disk 75 is supplied to the CRT 55 via the D / A converter 76 and the synthesis circuit 54. Audio data read from the hard disk 75 is supplied to the speaker 59 via the D / A converter 77 and the synthesis circuit 58. Further, the text data read from the hard disk 75 is supplied to the character generator 78, where it is converted into a corresponding character signal and output to the synthesis circuit 54.

  The hard disk 75 is controlled by a control circuit 82 composed of, for example, a microcomputer in response to an input from the input unit 81.

  Further, a memory 91 such as a RAM is connected to the control circuit 82 so that predetermined data is appropriately stored. In addition, a touch sensor 93 is disposed on the front surface of the CRT 55 so that when the user touches a predetermined position, a detection signal is output to the control circuit 82.

  The control circuit 82 controls the VTR 92 to execute a recording / reproducing operation. The video signal and the audio signal output from the VTR 92 are output to the CRT 55 or the speaker 59 via the synthesis circuit 54 or 58, respectively.

  Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the reservation unit is commanded by operating the input unit 81, the control circuit 82 starts the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in step S1, 1 is initially set to the variable i. Next, in step S2, the program guide i is reproduced. That is, the control circuit 82 controls the hard disk 75 and reproduces the program guide 1 recorded therein.

  The video signal of the program guide 1 reproduced from the hard disk 75 is D / A converted by the D / A converter 76 and then output to the synthesis circuit 54. The text data of the program guide 1 reproduced from the hard disk 75 is supplied to the character generator 78. The character generator 78 generates a character signal corresponding to the input text data and outputs it to the synthesis circuit 54. The synthesizing circuit 54 synthesizes the signals input from the D / A converter 76 and the character generator 78, and outputs them to the CRT 55 for display. As a result, an image as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the CRT 55.

  On the other hand, the audio signal of the program guide 1 reproduced from the hard disk 75 is D / A converted by the D / A converter 77 and then output to the speaker 59 via the synthesis circuit 58. Therefore, the user can know the outline of the program 1 corresponding to the program table 1 from the image displayed on the CRT 55 and the explanation by the sound output from the speaker 59.

  Then, when the user wishes to reserve the program 1 while listening to the image or the explanation, the user touches the reservation icon shown in FIG. 6 with, for example, a finger. When the user touches the icon, the touch sensor 93 detects that the icon is touched, and a detection signal is output to the control circuit 82.

  In step S3, the control circuit 82 determines whether or not the detection signal from the touch sensor 93 is input. If it is determined that the detection signal is not input, the control circuit 82 proceeds to step S4 and determines whether the reproduction of the program guide 1 is completed. Determine whether or not. When it is determined that the reproduction of the program guide 1 has not yet ended, the process returns to step S3 and the subsequent processing is repeated. That is, the reservation input is waited during the period when the program guide 1 is being reproduced.

  If it is determined in step S3 that the reservation input has been made (if the reservation input icon is touched), the process proceeds to step S5 to execute the reservation process for program 1. That is, the control circuit 82 reads the broadcast start time and broadcast end time of the program 1 corresponding to the program table currently output to the CRT 55 and the speaker 59 from the program table data, and records them in the reservation table of the memory 91. To do.

  As described above, after the reservation process for the program 1 is performed in step S5 or when it is determined in step S4 that the reproduction of the program 1 has been completed, the process proceeds to step S6 to the last program table. It is determined whether playback has been performed. When the reproduction has not been performed up to the last program guide, the process proceeds to step S7, the variable i is incremented by 1, and the process returns to step S2. The subsequent processing is repeated in the same manner.

  That is, by repeatedly executing such an operation, the program table configured for each program is sequentially output to the CRT 55 and the speaker 59. Therefore, the user can input a reservation only by touching the icon when the program guide to be recorded for reservation is displayed while viewing the program guide. In this way, the user operates a special key for specifying the program without checking the broadcast start time and end time of the program and the numbers for specifying the program. The recording reservation can be completed simply by touching the reservation button.

  If it is determined in step S6 that the last program table has been reproduced, the process proceeds to step S8, and the contents of the reservation table stored in the memory 91 are transmitted to the VTR 92.

  The VTR 92 has a built-in timer circuit that always performs a timekeeping operation. When the time measured by the timer circuit reaches the time stored in the reservation table transmitted from the memory 91, the reservation recording operation is started. When the end time stored in the reservation table arrives, the recording operation is stopped.

  As described above, the user can easily make a recording reservation in each home.

It is a figure explaining the principle of the television broadcasting method of this invention. It is a figure explaining the format of the audio data channel in the Example of FIG. It is a figure explaining the format of the data channel in FIG. It is a figure explaining the data structure of the program schedule in this invention. It is a figure explaining the data structure of the program schedule in the Example of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of one program schedule of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the transmitter 1 of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the receiver 22 of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the Example of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  1 transmitter, 2 antenna, 11 satellite, 21 antenna, 22 receiver, 32 scramble circuit, 33 modulation circuit, 34 A / D converter, 35 synthesis circuit, 41 A / D converter, 43 synthesis circuit, 44 A / D converter, 51 demodulation circuit, 52 descrambling circuit, 54 synthesis circuit, 55 CRT, 56 separation circuit, 57 D / A converter, 58 synthesis circuit, 59 speaker, 71 separation circuit, 75 hard disk, 76, 77 D / A converter, 78 character generator, 81 input unit, 82 control circuit, 91 memory, 92 VTR, 93 touch sensor

Claims (10)

Receiving means for receiving program table data including at least information indicating a program broadcast time, information indicating a broadcast channel, and genre information indicating a type of program;
The program guide for each program is displayed on the electronic program guide screen based on the program guide data for each program sequentially reproduced from the received program guide data, and a part of the display area on the electronic program guide screen And display control means for controlling the display so as to display advertisement information and display an icon operated when making a reservation in another part of the display area on the electronic program guide screen. Receiving device. Recording means for recording the received program guide data;
The display control means reads the program guide data recorded in the recording means and controls the display so that the program guide is displayed on the electronic program guide screen at the same time as the advertisement information and the icon. The receiving device according to claim 1. A determination means for determining whether or not the icon has been operated;
When it is determined that the icon has been operated, the recording means reads the program broadcast time of the selected program from the program guide data recorded by the recording means, and reserves the read program broadcast time. The receiver according to claim 2, wherein the receiver is recorded in a table. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the advertisement information is advertisement information of a sponsor who provides the program. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the advertisement information is advertisement information of a sponsor that provides the program guide data. Receiving program guide data including at least information indicating a program broadcast time, information indicating a broadcast channel, and genre information indicating a type of program;
The program guide for each program is displayed on the electronic program guide screen based on the program guide data for each program sequentially reproduced from the received program guide data, and a part of the display area on the electronic program guide screen And displaying the advertisement information and controlling the display so that an icon operated when making a reservation is displayed in another part of the display area on the electronic program guide screen. Record the received program guide data,
7. The reception method according to claim 6, wherein the recorded program guide data is read out, and the display is controlled so that the program guide is displayed on the electronic program guide screen simultaneously with the advertisement information and the icon. . Determine whether the icon has been operated,
When it is determined that the icon has been operated, the program broadcast time of the selected program is read from the recorded program guide data, and the read program broadcast time is recorded in the reservation table. The receiving method according to claim 7. The receiving method according to claim 6, wherein the advertisement information is advertisement information of a sponsor who provides the program. The receiving method according to claim 6, wherein the advertisement information is advertisement information of a sponsor who provides the program data.

Images