JP3932465B2 - Information processing apparatus and method, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a recording medium, and in particular, displays an initial image corresponding to the viewing content stored when the power is turned off, thereby quickly and reliably displaying a desired program. The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a recording medium.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, the number of channels has become more than 100, such as digital broadcasting and cable television. When the number of channels increases in this way, it becomes difficult to select a desired program from among programs of a large number of channels. Therefore, it has been proposed that a program provider transmits an EPG (Electrical Program Guide) to support program selection. FIG. 16 shows a display example of such an EPG program selection screen. In this example, a reduced image showing the contents of a program is displayed on a small screen divided into 4 × 4.
[0003]
FIG. 17 shows a configuration example of a remote controller used when such program selection is performed. In this example, a number button and a cursor button are provided. When the number of channels increases, it becomes difficult to select a program using the number buttons. Therefore, in the program selection screen as shown in FIG. 16, a program is selected using a cursor button. The user can move the cursor up / down / left / right by operating the cursor button. Then, the program can be selected by positioning the cursor on the reduced image of the desired program and operating the enter button.
[0004]
FIG. 18 shows another display example of the EPG program selection screen. In this example, six channels are displayed as a channel list, and a program to be broadcast (broadcast) for each channel is displayed as a program table for each time zone. As in the case shown in FIG. 16, the user can select the program by operating the cursor button of the remote controller, positioning the cursor on the desired program, and operating the enter button.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, such a conventional EPG does not leave the area as the program column defined by the channel and broadcast time, as described in newspapers and program information magazines, etc. Can't help to provide to. For this reason, there is a problem that the selection of a program becomes complicated and a desired program cannot be selected quickly.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and enables a desired program to be selected more quickly and reliably.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The information processing apparatus of the present invention, when the power is turned off, as the viewing contents immediately before, in addition to binary information indicating whether to view either the EPG or the program, when I was watching a program just before the storage means for also storing genre information representing a genre of the program, when the power is turned on, to display the EPG as the initial image when the binary information of the viewing contents stored in the storage means indicating the viewing EPG, The binary information of the viewing content stored in the storage means indicates the viewing of the program, and the recommended program determined based on the user preference and EPG set in advance , or the genre of the stored viewing content the display control hand for displaying a recommended program or the same program category as the initial image when the information is at least one of genre the same genre of the program indicated by the currently supplied Characterized in that it comprises and.
[0008]
An information processing method of the present invention, when the power is turned off, as the viewing contents immediately before, in addition to binary information indicating whether to view either the EPG or the program, when I was watching a program just before the a storing step of also storing genre information representing a genre of the program, when the power is turned on, to display the EPG as the initial image when the binary information of the viewing contents stored in the processing storage step indicates viewing EPG The binary information of the viewing content stored in the processing of the storage step indicates viewing of the program, and the recommended program determined based on the user preference and EPG set in advance , or the stored viewing content when at least one of the genre of the same genre of the program indicated by the genre information is currently supplied, displays the recommended program or the same program category as the initial image And a display control step of causing.
[0009]
Recording medium of the present invention, when the power is turned off, as the viewing contents immediately before, in addition to binary information indicating whether to view either the EPG or the program, when I was watching a program immediately before, A storage step that also stores genre information indicating the genre of the program, and when the power is turned on, when the binary information of the viewing content stored in the processing of the storage step indicates EPG viewing, the EPG is displayed as an initial image , The binary information of the viewing content stored in the process of the storage step indicates the viewing of the program, and the recommended program determined based on the user preference and EPG set in advance , or the stored viewing content when at least one of the genre indicated by the genre information of the same genre of the program is currently supplied, to display the recommended program or the same program category as the initial image Wherein the program for executing the processing including a display control step on a computer of the information processing apparatus is recorded.
[0010]
In the present invention, when the power is turned off, as the viewing contents immediately before, in addition to binary information or indicating the watching any EPG or program, when I was watching a program just before, the program Genre information indicating a genre is also stored, and when the power is turned on, when the stored binary information of viewing content indicates EPG viewing, the EPG is displayed as an initial image , and the stored binary information of viewing content is stored. At least one of the recommended program determined based on the user's preference and EPG set in advance and the same genre as the genre indicated by the genre information of the stored viewing content is currently displayed. When supplied, a recommended program or a program of the same genre is displayed as an initial image .
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but in order to clarify the correspondence between each means of the invention described in the claims and the following embodiments, in parentheses after each means, The features of the present invention will be described with the corresponding embodiment (however, an example) added. However, of course, this description does not mean that each means is limited to the description.
[0012]
The information processing apparatus of the present invention, when the power is turned off, as the viewing contents immediately before, in addition to binary information indicating whether to view either the EPG or the program, when I was watching a program just before the The storage means for storing the genre information indicating the genre of the program (for example, the hard disk 22 in FIG. 2), and when the power is turned on, the binary information of the viewing content stored in the storage means indicates the EPG viewing. Sometimes the EPG is displayed as an initial image, the binary information of the viewing content stored in the storage means indicates viewing of the program, and a recommended program determined based on the user preference and EPG set in advance , Or, when at least one program of the same genre as the genre information indicated by the stored viewing content genre information is currently supplied, the recommended program or the same as the initial image Display control means for displaying the program genre (e.g., CPU 16 in FIG. 2), characterized in that it comprises a.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an AV system and a communication network to which the present invention is applied. In this example, a monitor 5 is connected to the receiving device 1 configured as a set top box. The program and EPG transmitted from the program broadcasting company 61 are received by the receiving device 1 via the satellite 62, the broadcast antenna 63, the Internet 64, or the like. The EPG is distributed from a TV guide service company (not shown) in addition to the one distributed from the program broadcasting company 61. The receiving device 1 receives an infrared signal output by the user operating the remote controller 7, performs processing corresponding to the received signal, and displays a predetermined program or EPG image on the monitor 5. ing.
[0014]
FIG. 2 shows an example of the electrical configuration of an AV system to which the present invention is applied. In this AV system, a receiving device 1, a video deck 2, a CD player 3, an amplifier 4, and a monitor 5 are connected to each other by an IEEE 1394 bus 6.
[0015]
The receiving device 1 includes a tuner 11, a tuner 13, and a communication module 14. The tuner 11 receives a terrestrial television broadcast via the antenna 12. The tuner 13 receives cable television broadcasting. The communication module 14 is connected to a telephone line and communicates via the Internet or other networks.
[0016]
The video processing module 15 is configured to process video signals supplied from the tuners 11 and 13 or the communication module 14. The CPU 16 executes various processes according to programs stored in the ROM 20. The clock 17 always performs a timekeeping operation and gives time information to the CPU 16. The remote controller receiving module 18 receives an infrared signal output from the remote controller 7 and outputs a signal corresponding to the received signal to the CPU 16.
[0017]
The AV control module 19 is connected to the 1394 bus 6 and relates to the exchange of signals with the video deck 2, CD player 3, amplifier 4, monitor 5, etc. as other information processing devices connected to the 1394 bus 6. Interface processing is performed. In the RAM 21, various data and programs necessary for the CPU 16 to execute various processes are stored as necessary. Various information including EPG is stored in the hard disk 22. The internal bus 23 connects each module in the receiving apparatus 1 to each other.
[0018]
The video deck 2 includes an AV module 31 that performs interface processing with the 1394 bus 6 and a memory 32 that stores various types of information. The CD player 3 also has an AV control module 48 and a memory 42 as in the video deck 2. The amplifier 4 includes an AV control module 51 that performs interface processing with the 1394 bus 6, a memory 52 that stores various data, and a speaker 53.
[0019]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tuner 11 is provided with a receiving portion 62 for 32 bits on the upper surface, and a pin 61 for 32 bits is provided on the lower surface. These are connected to a 32-bit internal bus 23. Although not shown, the tuner 13, the communication module 14 and the like are similarly provided with receiving portions and pins on the upper and lower surfaces. For example, as shown in FIG. When placed, the pin 61 of the tuner 13 is coupled to the receiving portion 62 of the tuner 11. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the internal circuit 11 </ b> A of the tuner 11 and the internal circuit 13 </ b> A of the tuner 13 are electrically connected to the 32-bit internal bus 23.
[0020]
Although illustration is omitted, the communication module 14 similarly has a receiving part and a pin. For example, by placing the communication module 14 on the tuner 13 shown in FIG. Connected to.
[0021]
With such a configuration, the internal circuit can be electrically connected to the internal bus 23 simply by loading each module. Accordingly, necessary modules can be easily added in a small occupied space.
[0022]
7 and 8 show a configuration example of the remote controller 7. The power button 101 is operated when the power of the receiving apparatus 1 is turned on or off. The genre selection button 102 is operated when a predetermined genre is selected. In this example, “news”, “sports”, “variety”, “information”, “animation”, “shopping”, “weather forecast”, “movie”, “drama”, “education”, “music” And “recommended” genre selection buttons are provided.
[0023]
Below the genre selection button 102, a program selection cursor button 103 is provided. The program selection cursor button 103 includes a button 103C that is operated when the cursor is moved upward, a button 103D that is operated when the cursor is moved downward, a button 103A that is operated when a return operation is performed, and a forward operation. The button 103B is operated, and the button 103E is operated when performing the determination process.
[0024]
The preference button 104 is operated when a predetermined program is registered in the favorite program list. The EPG switching button 105 is operated when a predetermined type of EPG is selected from a plurality of types of EPGs.
[0025]
A guidance button 106 provided on the left side surface of the remote controller 7 is operated when displaying an assistant screen. The sound adjustment dial 107 provided on the right side surface of the remote controller 7 can adjust the sound by turning up or down. When the voice adjustment dial 107 is pressed, the voice output mode selection mode is set. In this state, the dial is turned up or down to select a desired voice output mode (for example, two languages) and then pressed again. Then, the current audio output method can be switched to the selected audio output method.
[0026]
The cover 108 can be opened and closed. When the cover 108 is opened, a number button 109 and various setting buttons 110 appear as shown in FIG. The number button 109 is operated, for example, when inputting a number such as a telephone number. The various setting buttons 110 are operated when performing predetermined settings.
[0027]
When a predetermined button of the remote controller 7 is operated, an infrared signal is generated and received by the remote controller receiving module 18 of the receiving device 1. The remote controller reception module 18 outputs a signal corresponding to the operated button to the CPU 16. The CPU 16 is configured to execute processing corresponding to the operated button.
[0028]
Next, processing for displaying an initial image when the power of the receiving apparatus 1 is turned on will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. Here, every time the power of the receiving apparatus 1 is turned off, the content viewed immediately before is stored (updated) in the hard disk 22 (details of this point are shown in FIG. 15). Will be described later). When the user operates the button 101 of the remote controller 7 while the power of the receiving device 1 is turned off, first, the power of the receiving device 1 is turned on in step S1. In step S2, the CPU 16 determines whether or not the viewing content stored when the power is last turned off is an EPG. If it is determined that the viewing content is an EPG, the CPU 16 proceeds to a step S7 and monitors the EPG program guide. 5 is executed. Thereby, for example, a program guide as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the monitor 5.
[0029]
At this time, the program guide displays information on programs broadcast within a predetermined time (for example, 2 hours) from the current time.
[0030]
If it is determined in step S2 that the stored viewing content is not an EPG (for example, a predetermined program), in step S3, among the programs registered in the recommended program list of the EPG, It is determined whether or not there is a program broadcast at the time. If it is determined that there is a recommended program broadcast at the current time, the process proceeds to step S4, and the CPU 16 controls the tuner 11 or the tuner 13. Then, the recommended program is received and the image is displayed on the monitor 5.
[0031]
If it is determined in step S3 that there is no recommended program broadcast at the current time, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, the genre (e.g., news) stored as the genre of the program which has been listened seen when the power is turned off program is, whether being broadcast at the current time is determined, corresponding at the current time If it is determined that the program of the genre is being broadcast, the process proceeds to step S6, and the CPU 16 controls the tuner 11 or the tuner 13, receives the program, and executes processing for displaying the image on the monitor 5. Thereby, for example, an image of a program as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the monitor 5. If it is determined in step S5 that the program of the corresponding genre is not broadcast at the current time, the process proceeds to step S7, and the CPU 16 executes a process of displaying the EPG program guide on the monitor 5.
[0032]
In this way, an initial image when the power of the receiving apparatus 1 is turned on is displayed.
[0033]
Note that the priority order of the initial images can be set by the user.
[0034]
In the display example of the EPG program guide in FIG. 10, five programs are displayed as program logos on the left side of the screen, and genre names corresponding to these five programs are displayed at the top of the screen. On the right side of the genre name, the broadcast date and time of the program is displayed. Further, in this display example, text indicating the contents of the program is displayed on the right side of the program image. A text or advertisement indicating the contents of the program is displayed below the program image. Various messages are displayed at the bottom of the screen.
[0035]
When the user selects a predetermined program, when the user operates the button 103C or 103D of the remote controller 7, the cursor positioned on any of the five program logos moves up and down. Then, a reduced image of the program where the cursor is located is displayed at the center of the screen. In this state, when the user operates the button 103E, for example, an image of the selected program is displayed as shown in FIG.
[0036]
When the user operates the button 103A or 103B of the remote controller 7 in the state shown in FIG. 10, the genre is switched and the program displayed in the list is switched to a program corresponding to the genre. When the button 103A is continuously operated, for example, “news”, “sports”, “variety”, “information”, “animation”, “shopping”, “weather forecast”, “movie”, “drama”, “education” ”,“ Music ”, and“ recommendation ”, and the genre circulates and switches. Further, when the button 103B is operated continuously, the genre is switched in the reverse direction of the direction of the button 103A.
[0037]
Note that such a genre switching process is not performed in a state where the program guide is displayed, but in a state where an image of a normal program is displayed on the monitor 5 as shown in FIG. The same processing is performed when 103B is operated.
[0038]
Next, a processing example when the preference button 104 of the remote controller 7 is operated will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. For example, when the user operates the preference button 104 in the state shown in FIG. 10, it is determined in step S11 whether or not the corresponding program is registered in the recommended program list. For example, the user operates the favorite button 104 when he / she wants to see the program or the contents of “program 2” shown in FIG. If this “program 2” is not yet registered in the recommended program list, the process proceeds to step S12, and processing for registering in the recommended program list is executed. As shown in FIG. A check mark is displayed above.
[0039]
If it is determined in step S11 that the designated program is already registered in the recommended list, the process proceeds to step S13, and processing for deleting the program from the recommended program list is executed.
[0040]
The above processing is not performed when the program guide is displayed, but when the favorite button 104 is operated in a state where an image of a normal program is displayed on the monitor 5, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, a message image indicating that the currently viewed program is registered is superimposed on the currently broadcast image and displayed on the monitor 5 as shown in FIG.
[0041]
As described above, the user can register a desired program in the recommended program list. When the user selects the recommended button in the genre selection button 102 of the remote controller 7, a recommended program list in which programs are registered as described above is displayed on the monitor 5.
[0042]
Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 15, a process for storing the viewing content immediately before the receiving apparatus 1 is turned off will be described. When the user operates the button 101 of the remote controller 7 while the EPG or the normal program is displayed on the monitor 5, the CPU 16 records the current viewing content on the hard disk 22 in step S 101. In step S102, the power of the receiving apparatus 1 is turned off.
[0043]
Thus, by storing the viewing content immediately before the power is turned off, the next time the power is turned on, the initial image is displayed corresponding to the stored viewing content.
[0044]
Note that as a transmission medium for transmitting a program for performing the processing as described above to a user, a communication medium such as a network or a satellite can be used in addition to a recording medium such as a magnetic disk, a CD-ROM, or a solid-state memory.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, Ri rapidly and reliably good, it is possible to select a program of interest.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an AV system and a communication network to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an electrical configuration of an AV system to which the present invention is applied.
3 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of tuner 11 in FIG. 2. FIG.
4 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of tuner 11 of FIG. 2; FIG.
5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the tuner 11 and the tuner 13 of FIG. 2 are stacked. FIG.
6 is a diagram showing a connection state of internal circuits of tuner 11 and tuner 13 of FIG.
7 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the remote controller 7 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the remote controller 7 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an initial image display process.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a program guide.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a normal program.
12 is a flowchart for explaining processing when the preference button 104 in FIG. 7 is operated. FIG.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of a program guide when the preference button 104 is operated.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a display example of a normal program when a preference button 104 is operated.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating viewing content storage processing;
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a display example of a conventional EPG program selection screen.
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional remote controller.
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing another display example of a conventional EPG program selection screen.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 receiver, 2 video deck, 3 CD player, 4 amplifier, 5 monitor, 7 remote controller, 11, 13 tuner, 14 communication module, 16 CPU, 22 hard disk

Claims (6)

In an information processing device that displays programs and EPGs ,
If the power is turned off, as the viewing contents immediately before, in addition to binary information or indicating the watching any EPG or program, when I was watching a program on the immediately preceding indicate the genre of the program Storage means for storing genre information ;
When the power is turned on ,
When the binary information of the viewing contents stored in the storage means indicates the viewing of the EPG to display the EPG as an initial image,
The binary information of the viewing content stored in the storage means indicates viewing of the program, and a recommended program determined based on a user preference and EPG set in advance , or the stored Display control means for displaying the recommended program or the program of the same genre as an initial image when at least one program of the same genre as the genre indicated by the genre information of viewing content is currently supplied. Information processing apparatus.   When the power is turned on, the display control means indicates that the binary information of the viewing content stored in the storage means indicates viewing of the program, and the recommended program and the viewing content stored. When no program of the same genre as the genre information indicated by the genre information is currently supplied, EPG Display
  The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   When the power is turned on, the display control means indicates that the binary information of the viewing content stored in the storage means indicates viewing of the program, and the recommended program and the viewing content stored. When a program of the same genre as the genre information indicated by the genre information is currently being supplied, one of the recommended program or the program of the same genre is preferentially displayed as an initial image according to a priority set in advance by the user. Make
  The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. Wherein the display control unit, when displaying EPG, information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that to display the information of the programs broadcasted from the current time within a predetermined time. In an information processing method of an information processing apparatus for displaying a program and an EPG ,
If the power is turned off, as the viewing contents immediately before, in addition to binary information or indicating the watching any EPG or program, when I was watching a program on the immediately preceding indicate the genre of the program A storage step for storing genre information ;
When the power is turned on ,
When the binary information of the viewing contents stored in the processing of the storage step indicates the viewing of the EPG to display the EPG as an initial image,
The binary information of the viewing content stored in the processing of the storing step indicates viewing of the program, and a recommended program determined based on a user preference and EPG set in advance , or stored. A display control step of displaying the recommended program or the program of the same genre as an initial image when at least one program of the same genre as the genre indicated by the genre information of the viewing content is currently supplied. Information processing method. A program for controlling an information processing apparatus that displays a program and an EPG ,
If the power is turned off, as the viewing contents immediately before, in addition to binary information or indicating the watching any EPG or program, when I was watching a program on the immediately preceding indicate the genre of the program A storage step for storing genre information ;
When the power is turned on ,
When the binary information of the viewing contents stored in the processing of the storage step indicates the viewing of the EPG to display the EPG as an initial image,
The binary information of the viewing content stored in the processing of the storing step indicates viewing of the program, and a recommended program determined based on a user preference and EPG set in advance , or stored. A display control step of displaying the recommended program or the program of the same genre as an initial image when at least one program of the same genre as the genre indicated by the genre information of the viewing content is currently supplied ;
A recording medium on which is recorded a program that causes a computer of an information processing device to execute processing including:

Images