JP3971758B2 - Recording apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and method suitable for use when, for example, a program recorded by television broadcasting is reserved and recorded (reserved recording).

  In a conventional VTR (video tape recorder), for example, a program by television broadcasting can be reserved and recorded.

  However, in a conventional VTR, when a television broadcast program (hereinafter referred to as a television program as appropriate) is reserved for recording (reserved recording), the broadcast date, broadcast channel, start time, end time, etc. of the program are stored in the VTR. There is a problem that the user has to input and feels annoying.

  Therefore, in recent VTRs, it is possible to make a reservation recording by inputting a so-called G code. However, even in this case, the user sees a television broadcast program column such as a newspaper. Therefore, the G code of the program to be recorded must be checked, and there is still a problem that makes the user feel bothersome.

  Furthermore, even when recording reservations are made only for programs of the same genre (for example, sports programs, music programs, etc.), there is a problem that each program must be reserved for recording, and the operation becomes complicated.

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

A first recording apparatus of the present invention is a recording apparatus that performs a reserved recording of a television broadcast using a program guide based on program guide data. At least information indicating a program broadcast time, information indicating a broadcast channel, and a program type When receiving the program guide on the screen, the program guide is based on the program guide data including the type information indicating the program guide , and the receiving means for displaying the list of selection marks indicating the type of the program. Display control means for displaying a sponsor's advertisement on a part of the screen and displaying a list of program types based on the user's operation, and the user desires from the list of program types displayed by the display control means A designation means for designating a program type and a program having program type information matching the program type designated by the designation means are detected from the program guide data. Search means for, and a reservation unit that performs recording reservation based on the information representing the information and broadcasting channel of a program broadcast time of all the programs searched by the search means, display control means, it is received by the receiving means If it is determined that there is a lower hierarchy type in the program type specified by the specifying means based on the program guide data and the data for displaying a list of selection marks indicating the program type, the program belonging to the lower hierarchy characterized in that to further display a list of selection marks representing the type.

According to a first recording method of the present invention, there is provided a recording method of a recording apparatus for performing a scheduled recording of a television broadcast using a program guide based on program guide data, and at least information indicating a program broadcast time, information indicating a broadcast channel, and When receiving the program guide based on the program guide data including the type information indicating the type of the program and the data for displaying the list of selection marks indicating the type of the program, the program guide is displayed when the program guide is displayed on the screen. Display a sponsor's advertisement on a part of the list, display a list of program types based on user operations, specify the type of program that the user wants from the displayed list of program types, a program which belongs to the type of the designated program, the type of the specified program to identify the information representative of the information and the broadcast channel of a program broadcast time of program to be recorded Searching programs having the type information matches the program from the program table data, based on the data for displaying a list of the selected mark representing the received program guide data, and program type, designated program When it is determined that there is a lower hierarchy type of the above type, a list of selection marks indicating the types of programs belonging to the lower hierarchy is further displayed .

In the first recording apparatus and method of the present invention, a program guide based on program guide data including at least information indicating program broadcast times, information indicating broadcast channels, and type information indicating program types, and program types are provided. When the data for displaying the list of selection marks to be displayed is received and the program guide is displayed on the screen, the sponsor's advertisement is displayed on a part of the program guide, and the type of program based on the user's operation is displayed. A list is displayed, a program type desired by the user is designated from the displayed program type list, and a program having program type information that matches the designated program type is included in the program table data. The recording reservation is made based on the information on the program broadcast time of all the searched programs and the information indicating the broadcast channel. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a lower level type for the specified program type based on the received program guide data and data for displaying a list of selection marks indicating the type of program, A list of selection marks indicating the type of program to which the program belongs is further displayed .

According to a second recording apparatus of the present invention, in a recording apparatus that performs reservation recording of a television broadcast using a program guide based on program guide data, at least information indicating a program broadcast time, information indicating a broadcast channel, and a program genre Receiving means for receiving program guide data including selection code information representing the program, and when displaying the program guide on the screen, the sponsor's advertisement is displayed on a part of the program guide and the genre of the program based on the user's operation Corresponding to the genre of the program specified by the specifying means for specifying the genre of the program desired by the user from the list of genres displayed by the display control means. Retrieval means for retrieving a program having a selection code from program guide data, and at the time of program broadcast of all programs retrieved by the retrieval means With the information and the reservation unit for performing recording reservation based on the information representing the broadcast channel, the display control means, based on the received program guide data by the receiving means, the lower class of the program specified by the specifying means When it is determined that a genre of a hierarchy exists, a list of marks representing genres of programs belonging to a lower hierarchy is further displayed .

According to a second recording method of the present invention, in a recording method for a recording apparatus for performing reservation recording of a television broadcast using a program guide based on program guide data, at least a program broadcast time of a television program broadcast by the television broadcast is obtained. When receiving program guide data including information representing, information representing a broadcast channel, and selection code information representing a program genre, and displaying the program guide on the screen, the sponsor's advertisement is displayed on a part of the program guide. The program genre list is displayed based on the user's operation, the program genre desired by the user is designated from the displayed genre list, and the program belongs to the designated program type and is recorded. a selection code corresponding to the genre of the designated program in order to identify the information representative of the information and the broadcast channel of a program broadcast time should do program A program to be searched from the program table data, based on the received program guide data, when the genre of a lower layer of the genre of the designated program is determined to exist, representing the genre of the program in the lower hierarchy A list of marks is further displayed .

In the second recording apparatus and method of the present invention, a program table including information representing at least a program broadcast time of a television program broadcast by television broadcasting, information representing a broadcast channel, and selection code information representing a program genre. When the data is received and the program guide is displayed on the screen, the sponsor's advertisement is displayed on a part of the program guide, and a list of program genres is displayed based on the user's operation. the user is specified genre of the program you want from the list, a program which belong to the class of the specified program, designated to identify the information that represents the information and broadcasting channel of a program broadcast time of the program to be recorded retrieved program from the program table data having a selection code corresponding to the genre of by program, received program guide data based on Stomach, when the genre of the lower layer of the genre of the given program is determined to exist, a list of mark representing the genre of the program belonging to the lower hierarchy is to further display.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily make a recording reservation.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below 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 4 channels of audio data of “Audio 1” to “Audio 4” and others. A data channel for the data is assigned. A header and a code (ECC) for error correction are also assigned to these “audio 1” to “audio 4” and the data channel.

  In “Audio 1” and “Audio 2”, stereo (L and R channel) audio data associated with a 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 “packet 0” to “packet 14” as shown in FIG. 3, and can transmit predetermined data in packet units. It has been made possible.

  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. Other data including signal, text data (corresponding to display text data described later), genre division data (corresponding to selection code (selection mark) described later), time information, and other program information (control text data described later) Correspondence).

  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 (display text data) (hereinafter simply referred to as text data) is 2 Kbytes, the capacity required to represent the program table of one program is approximately 1. 2 MByte.

  As for this program guide data, the data for the next day is transmitted every day on the night of the previous day, or data such as one week, one month, etc. is freely transmitted.

  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. Also, above the still image, the title “alien” of this program is displayed corresponding to the text data (display text data). Furthermore, under the still image, the original of the program, the script, the director's person name, and characters introducing the program are displayed corresponding to the text data (display text data).

  On the right side of the still image, a selection mark (genre mark) indicating the type (genre) of the program is displayed corresponding to the text data (display text data).

  The text data constituting the program guide data represents the genre of the program in addition to what is displayed (as the program guide) in the program guide (hereinafter referred to as display text data as appropriate) as described above. A selection code as a unique code corresponding to the selection mark is included (hereinafter, text data that is not displayed in the program table, such as the selection code, is appropriately referred to as control text data). In addition to such a selection code, the control text data includes at least time information related to the broadcast time of the program (for example, broadcast start time and end time, broadcast start time and broadcast time, etc.). ing. In addition, the control text data may include a channel (hereinafter referred to as channel information as appropriate) on which a program is broadcast, if necessary.

  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. The data displayed on the announcement display unit can be a still image or display text data.

  The program guide data is composed of the above still image (video signal), sound (audio signal), and text data (display text data, control text data).

  In the transmission apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the selection code is included in the program guide data, and can be superimposed (synthesized) on, for example, a video signal of a program corresponding to the program guide. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the selection code indicating the type of program is superimposed on at least 1H in the range of the 10H to 21H, for example, in the vertical blanking period of the video signal. Has been made.

  In this case, the type (genre) of the program can be recognized by detecting the selection code superimposed on the video signal on the receiving device 22 (FIG. 1) side.

  Here, in the transmission apparatus 1 (FIG. 1), for example, a screen for displaying a screen showing all selection marks used (hereinafter, referred to as a selection mark display screen as appropriate) as shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. Data (a list of selection marks) is transmitted in addition to the program guide data shown in FIG. 4, for example. That is, the screen data shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is added and transmitted after the last program guide data (program guide 15) shown in FIG. 4, for example. The selection mark display screen data includes a selection code corresponding to the selection mark in addition to data for displaying the selection mark.

  In FIG. 8, for example, a selection mark “screen” represents a movie program, and a selection mark “sports” represents a sports program. Further, for example, the selection mark “sound” represents a music program, and the selection mark “stage” represents a live program or the like.

  It should be noted that the genres of television programs may be classified finely, and selection marks for the categorized number of genres may be displayed on, for example, one screen. However, in this case, the number of selection marks displayed at one time is limited. As the number of viewers increases, it becomes difficult for the viewer to find a selection mark of a genre to be selected (designated) as described later. Therefore, on the transmission device 1 (FIG. 1) side, the genres of television programs are classified hierarchically, and screen data of selection mark display screens is generated and transmitted for each layer. That is, the selection mark (selection code) is described hierarchically in the selection mark list.

  FIG. 8 shows television program genres that have been broadly classified (hereinafter referred to as major classification genres as appropriate). FIG. 9 shows the genre “screen” of the major classification genres shown in FIG. Further, the genre classified more finely, that is, the genre belonging to the lower hierarchy of the genre “screen” is shown.

  When the receiving device 22 (FIG. 1) receives the screen data shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, first, for example, the selection mark display screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed, and the selection mark “screen” is designated. Then, a selection mark display screen as shown in FIG. 9 representing a genre belonging to the lower hierarchy is displayed (details will be described later).

  Next, FIG. 10 shows a detailed configuration of the transmission apparatus 1 of FIG. The text data, video signal, or audio signal constituting the above-mentioned program guide data is supplied to the synthesis circuit 43, A / D converter 41, or 44, respectively. Further, text data constituting the screen data of the selection mark display screen as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is also supplied to the synthesis circuit 43. A video signal or an audio signal for a television program (television broadcast) is supplied to the synthesis circuit 31 or the A / D converter 34, respectively.

  The A / D converter 41 or 44 A / D-converts the video signal or audio signal constituting the input program guide data, and supplies it to the synthesizing circuit 43. The synthesizing circuit 43 synthesizes the text data constituting the program guide data and the video signal or audio signal of the program guide data supplied from the A / D converter 41 or 42 respectively, and the synthesized data is synthesized. After that, the screen data of the selection mark display screen (hereinafter referred to as selection mark display screen data as appropriate) is output to the synthesis circuit 35.

  The A / D converter 34 A / D converts an audio signal for a television program and outputs it to the synthesis circuit 35. The synthesizing circuit 35 arranges the output data of the A / D converter 34 or the synthesizing circuit 43 according to the format shown in FIG. 2 and outputs the data to the modulation circuit 33.

  In addition to the video signal for the television program, the selection circuit described in FIG. 7 representing the genre of the television program is supplied to the synthesizing circuit 31. The selection code is superimposed on a predetermined horizontal scanning line in the vertical blanking period and is output to the scramble circuit 32.

  In the scramble circuit 32, the video signal from the synthesis circuit 31 is scrambled by a predetermined scramble system (for example, a line permeation system (scanning line replacement system)) and output to the modulation circuit 33. ing.

  The modulation circuit 33 performs, for example, QPSK modulation on the output signal from the synthesizing circuit 35, and FM-modulates the output signal from the scramble circuit 32, for example, and outputs the result to a subsequent transmission circuit (not shown).

  In the transmission device 1 configured as described above, text data (corresponding to a selection mark displayed on the TV program guide screen shown in FIG. 6) constituting program guide data corresponding to at least one day of program display. Control code data consisting of the time code and channel information of the TV program, and display text data such as characters, figures and symbols (including selection marks) displayed in the program guide), video signal, Alternatively, the audio signal is supplied to the synthesis circuit 43 and the A / D converter 41 or 44, respectively. In the A / D converter 41 or 44, the video signal or audio signal of the program guide data is A / D converted, respectively, and the video signal or audio signal of the program guide data converted into a digital signal by this is combined with the synthesis circuit 43. Is output.

  In the synthesizing circuit 43, the text data of the program guide data and the video signal or audio signal of the program guide data sequentially supplied from each of the A / D converters 41 or 44 are synthesized, and the data structure as shown in FIG. And output to the synthesis circuit 35.

  Thereafter, text data constituting screen data (selection mark display screen data) for the selection mark display screen as shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9 is supplied to the synthesis circuit 43, and the synthesis circuit 43 receives the text data. Is added to the last part of the program guide data shown in FIG. 4 and output to the synthesis circuit 35 (hereinafter, the selection mark display screen data is output to the program guide data of FIG. The added data is called program guide / selection mark screen data).

  On the other hand, a video signal or an audio signal for a television program (television broadcast) is supplied to the synthesis circuit 31 or the A / D converter 34, respectively. In the A / D conversion circuit 34, the audio signal for the television program is converted into a digital signal by A / D conversion and output to the synthesis circuit 35.

  Here, although not shown in FIG. 10, the audio signal has two systems of L and R channels, and the A / D converter 34 performs A / D conversion on the audio signals of the L and R channels. The signal is output to the synthesis circuit 35.

  In the synthesis circuit 35, the L or R channel audio signal from the A / D converter 34 is arranged in the “audio 1” or “audio 2” portion of the format described with reference to FIG. The program guide / selection mark screen data of the “data” (data channel) portion (however, the packet previously assigned to the program guide / selection mark screen data in the “data” portion) is also described in FIG. (Part of FIG. 3). The synthesizing circuit 35 adds necessary headers and codes for error correction (hereinafter referred to as ECC) to generate audio channel data in the format shown in FIG. Output to.

  On the other hand, in addition to the video signal for the television program, the composition circuit 31 is supplied with the selection code described in FIG. 7 representing the genre of the television program. In the synthesis circuit 31, the selection code is superimposed during the vertical blanking period of the video signal and is output to the scramble circuit 32.

  In the scramble circuit 32, the video signal on which the selection code is superimposed output from the synthesis circuit 31 is scrambled and output to the modulation circuit 33.

  In the modulation circuit 33, the data output from the synthesis circuit 35 (hereinafter referred to as audio data as appropriate) is QPSK-modulated and the signal output from the scramble circuit 32 (hereinafter referred to as video data as appropriate). Is FM-modulated and output to the subsequent transmission circuit. In the transmission circuit, the modulation signal from the modulation circuit 33 is up-converted so as to become a signal in a predetermined frequency band, and further amplified to a necessary level and output. Then, the transmission signal output from the transmission circuit is supplied to the antenna (parabolic antenna) 2 (FIG. 1), and is emitted toward the satellite 11 therefrom.

  As described above, the transmitter 1 transmits at least one day of program guide data and selection mark display screen data in addition to the video signal and audio signal for the program. Note that at least one of the time information may be included in the program guide data and the selection code representing the genre may be superimposed on the video signal for the program.

  Next, the radio wave from the antenna 2 (FIG. 1) is received by the satellite 11, amplified by a built-in transponder (not shown), and emitted toward the ground. The radio wave from the satellite 11 is received by the antenna 21 on the receiving side, and the received signal is supplied to the receiving device 22.

  FIG. 11 shows a detailed configuration of the receiving device 22. The reception signal from the antenna 21 is output to a reception circuit (not shown), where it is down-converted to a signal of a predetermined frequency band to be an IF signal (intermediate frequency signal) and supplied to the demodulation circuit 51. It is made like that.

  The demodulation circuit 51 demodulates the IF signal from the reception circuit into video data or audio data, and outputs the data to the descrambling circuit 52 or the separation circuit 56. Note that the demodulation circuit 51 is also configured to perform error correction processing on the demodulated audio data (FIG. 2) according to the ECC added thereto.

  The descrambling circuit 52 descrambles the video data from the demodulating circuit 51, thereby unscrambled by the scramble circuit 32 of the transmitting apparatus 1, and a signal obtained as a result, that is, (a selection code is superimposed). ) A video signal for a television program is output to the synthesis circuit 54 and the determination circuit 101.

  In response to the operation of the input unit 81, the synthesis circuit 54 selects any one of the descramble circuit 52, the D / A converter 76, and the VTR 92 and outputs the selected output to the CRT 55. When the output of the D / A converter 76 is selected and the text data is output from the character generator 78, the combining circuit 54 combines the outputs of the D / A converter 76 and the character generator 78 (for example, The output of the character generator 78 is superimposed on the output of the D / A converter 76) and output to the CRT 55.

  The CRT 55 displays the output of the synthesis circuit 54 on the screen. Note that a touch sensor 93 made of, for example, a transparent member is provided on the screen of the CRT 55, and the touch sensor 93 is touched by a viewer (user) at any position on the screen of the CRT 55. When touched, the position is detected, and position information regarding the detected position is output to the control circuit 82.

  When the selection code is superimposed on the video signal for the television program that is the output of the descrambling circuit 52, the determination circuit 101 extracts the selection code and outputs it to the control circuit 82.

  The separation circuit 56 uses the audio data from the demodulation circuit 51 to the data arranged in the “audio 1” and “audio 2” portions shown in FIG. 2, that is, the L and R channel audio signals for the television program. Are extracted and output to the D / A conversion circuit 57. Further, the separation circuit 56 extracts the data arranged in the “data” portion (data channel) shown in FIG. 2, that is, the program guide / selection mark screen data, from the audio data from the demodulation circuit 51 and separates it. The output is made to the circuit 71.

  The D / A conversion circuit 57 converts the audio signal for the television program from the separation circuit 56 into an analog signal by D / A conversion, and outputs the analog signal to the synthesis circuit 58. The synthesizing circuit 58 selects one of the D / A converters 57 and 77 and the audio signal that is the output of the VTR 92 and supplies it to the speaker 59. The speaker 59 is configured to output the signal from the synthesis circuit 58 as sound.

  When the data from the separation circuit 56 is program guide data, the separation circuit 71 separates the data into text data (T), a video signal (V), and an audio signal (A) and outputs them to the hard disk 75. It is made to do. Further, when the data from the separation circuit 56 is text data constituting the selection mark display screen data, the separation circuit 71 outputs the data to the hard disk 75 as it is.

  The hard disk 75 is controlled by the control circuit 82 and stores (records) data output from the separation circuit 75. The data recorded on the hard disk 75 is read from the data under the control of the control circuit 82 and output to the character generator 78, the D / A converter 76, or 77.

  The character generator 78 generates a character (for example, a character, a symbol, or a graphic) corresponding to data from the hard disk 75 (display text data or selection mark display screen data in the program guide data) and outputs it to the synthesis circuit 54. It is made to do. The D / A converter 76 D / A converts the data from the hard disk 75 (the video signal of the data constituting the program guide data) and outputs it to the synthesis circuit 54. The D / A converter 77 D / A converts the data from the hard disk 75 (the audio signal of the data constituting the program guide data) and outputs it to the synthesis circuit 58.

  The input unit 81 is operated to make a recording reservation for a television program corresponding to the program table (FIG. 6) displayed on the CRT 55 as described later. When there is a predetermined input by operating the input unit 81, the input unit 81 outputs a control signal (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as an operation signal) indicating that the predetermined input has occurred to the control circuit 82. Has been made.

  When a control signal is input from the input unit 81, the control circuit 82 displays time information in the control text data constituting the program guide data of the program guide (FIG. 6) displayed on the CRT 55 as the hard disk 75. And recording reservation (recording reservation) for the VTR 92 based on the time information. Furthermore, the control circuit 82 recognizes a program of a genre to be recorded (recorded) by the VTR 92 based on position information from the touch sensor 93 and stores a selection code representing the genre in the memory 91. . The control circuit 82 selects the selection code stored in the memory 91, the selection code supplied from the determination circuit 101, or one of control text data from the program guide data recorded on the hard disk 75. , And based on the comparison result, the VTR 92 records (records) a program or makes a recording reservation for the VTR 92.

  Although not shown, the VTR 92 is supplied with outputs of the descrambling circuit 52 or the D / A converter 57, that is, video signals or audio signals for television programs. The VTR 92 records (records) a video signal or audio signal for a television program supplied from the descrambling circuit 52 or the D / A converter 57 under the control of the control circuit 82, and also records the recorded video signal or audio. The signal is output to the synthesis circuit 54 or 58, respectively. The VTR 92 can be reserved for recording by the control circuit 82.

  Next, the operation will be described. The radio wave transmitted from the transmission apparatus 1 (FIG. 1) as described above is received by the antenna 21 via the satellite 11, and the received signal is supplied to the demodulation circuit 51 via the reception circuit.

  In the demodulation circuit 51, the reception signal (IF signal) from the reception circuit is demodulated into video data or audio data, and each is output to the descramble circuit 52 or the separation circuit 56.

  In the descrambling circuit 52, the video data from the demodulating circuit 51 is descrambled and output to the CRT 55 via the synthesis circuit 54 for display.

  On the other hand, the separation circuit 56 extracts the L and R channel audio signals for the television program from the audio data from the demodulation circuit 51 and outputs them to the D / A conversion circuit 57. In the D / A conversion circuit 57, the audio signal for the television program from the separation circuit 56 is D / A converted, supplied to the speaker 59 via the synthesis circuit 58, and output.

  As described above, the image and sound of the television program are output.

  In addition, when the receiving device 22 is configured to be able to receive channels of a plurality of television programs, it can be selected by operating the input unit 81 which channel of the television program is to be received. It has been made possible.

  Next, the receiving device 22 can make a recording reservation for the VTR 92 according to the above-described program table (FIG. 6). That is, when the audio system data from the demodulation circuit 51 includes program guide / selection mark screen data, the separation circuit 56 extracts (separates) the data and outputs it to the separation circuit 71.

  In the separation circuit 71, the program guide data of the program guide / selection mark screen data from the separation circuit 56 is separated into text data (both display text data and control text data), a video signal, and an audio signal, and the hard disk It is output to 75 and recorded. When the input unit 81 is operated, the control circuit 82 controls the hard disk 75 from which the display text data, video signal, or audio signal constituting the program guide data is converted into the character generator 78, D / Control is performed so as to be supplied to the A converter 76 or 77.

  In the character generator 78, a character corresponding to the display text data from the hard disk 75 is generated and output to the synthesis circuit 54. At the same time, in the D / A converter 76, the video signal of the program guide data from the hard disk 75 is D / A converted and output to the synthesis circuit 54.

  In the synthesis circuit 54, the character from the character generator 78 and the video signal from the D / A converter 76 are synthesized and output to the CRT 55.

  Thereby, the program guide as described with reference to FIG. 6 is displayed.

In the D / A converter 77, the audio signal of the program guide data from the hard disk 75 is D / A converted as necessary, and is supplied to the speaker 59 via the synthesis circuit 58 and output.

  The control circuit 82 is adapted to change the program guide data read from the hard disk 75 in response to the operation of the input unit 81, whereby the program corresponding to all the program guide data stored in the hard disk 75 is stored in the CRT 55. A table can be displayed. However, the program guide recorded on the hard disk 75 is read out every predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) and output to the CRT 55, so that the CRT 55 sequentially displays the program guide every predetermined time. It can also be displayed.

  The viewer selects a program desired to be recorded by operating the input unit 81 while viewing the program guide displayed on the CRT 55. As a result, an operation signal corresponding to the operation is output from the input unit 81 to the control unit 82.

  The control circuit 82 recognizes the program table currently read from the hard disk 75 and displayed on the CRT 55. When the control circuit 82 receives a control signal from the input unit 81, the program table corresponding to the program table displayed on the CRT 55 at that time. Control text data constituting the data is read from the hard disk 75.

  Then, in the control circuit 82, from the time information in the control text data, the broadcast time of the program corresponding to the program table currently displayed on the CRT 55, that is, the broadcast start time and its end time, for example, the broadcast start time The VTR 92 is recorded so that a program corresponding to the program table displayed on the CRT 55 is recorded when the program broadcasted at that time is recognized, that is, when the input unit 81 is operated. A recording reservation is made.

  Therefore, the viewer can make a recording reservation only by operating the input unit 81 while viewing the program guide displayed on the CRT 55 and displaying the program list desired to be recorded there. That is, it is possible to easily make a recording reservation.

  When the control text data read from the hard disk 75 includes channel information, the control circuit 82 demodulates the channel corresponding to the channel information at the above broadcast time. The circuit 51 is controlled.

  When the VTR 92 does not have a recording reservation function, the control circuit 82 can control the VTR 92 to start a recording operation when the above-described broadcast time is reached.

  By the way, generally, the genre of a television program desired to be recorded is almost constant for each viewer. That is, for example, the viewer may want to record only a TV program belonging to the genre of a movie, or may want to record only a television program belonging to a so-called action movie genre, for example.

  In such a case, as described above, it is necessary to reserve the recording of the TV program belonging to the genre of the action movie by operating the input unit 81 while changing the program table displayed on the CRT 55. Will make you feel annoying.

  Therefore, in the receiving device 22 of FIG. 11, by designating a genre desired to be recorded, it is possible to perform reserved recording of all television programs belonging to the genre.

  That is, the separation circuit 56 extracts (separates) the above-described selection mark display screen data from the audio data from the demodulation circuit 51, and outputs it to the separation circuit 71.

  In the separation circuit 71, selection mark display screen data of the program guide / selection mark screen data from the separation circuit 56 is output to the hard disk 75 and recorded. When the input unit 81 is operated, the selection mark display screen data recorded therein is read from the hard disk 75 and belongs to the highest layer (the television program genre is largely classified). And output to the CRT 55 via the character generator 78 and the synthesis circuit 54.

  Then, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, first, in step S <b> 11, the selection mark display screen of the highest hierarchy read from the hard disk 75 is displayed on the CRT 55.

  That is, for example, when the selection mark display screen data as described in FIGS. 8 and 9 is transmitted from the transmission device 1 (FIG. 1) and recorded in the hard disk 75, in step S11, as shown in FIG. The selected mark display screen is displayed on the CRT 55.

  In step S12, the control circuit 82 determines whether or not there is an input for selecting (instructing) any selection mark in the selection mark display screen displayed on the CRT 55. If it is determined in step S12 that there is no input for selecting the selection mark, the process proceeds to step S13, and the control circuit 82 determines whether there is an end input for instructing to end the display of the selection mark display screen. The If it is determined in step S13 that there is no end input, the process returns to step S11 and the processing from step S11 is repeated. If it is determined in step S13 that there has been an end input, the process ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S12 that there is an input for selecting a selection mark, the process proceeds to step S14, and a selection code corresponding to the selected selection mark is stored in the memory 91.

  Here, the input for selecting the selection mark is performed by the viewer looking at the selection mark display screen displayed on the CRT 55, the position on the screen where the selection mark of the genre desired to be recorded is displayed, for example, with a fingertip. This is done by touching.

  The position on the screen touched by the viewer is detected by the touch sensor 93, and the position information is supplied to the control circuit 82. In the control circuit 82, the selection mark designated by the viewer is recognized from the position information from the touch sensor 93, and the selection code corresponding to the selection mark is searched from the selection mark display screen data recorded on the hard disk 75. Is done. Further, in the control circuit 82, the retrieved selection code is transferred to the memory 91, whereby the selection code corresponding to the selection mark selected as described above is stored in the memory 91.

  As described above, when the selection code is stored in the memory 91, the process proceeds to step S15, and the genre (indicated genre) indicated by the selection mark designated by the viewer (hereinafter referred to as the indicated genre) is added. The control circuit 82 determines whether or not there is a genre that is further classified. If it is determined in step S15 that there is no lower-level genre in the designated genre, the process returns to step S11, and the processing from step S11 is repeated again.

  If it is determined in step S15 that the designated genre has a lower genre, the process proceeds to step S16, and the screen data of the selection mark display screen including the genre belonging to the lower hierarchy is read from the hard disk 75. It is output to the CRT 55 via the character generator 78 and the synthesis circuit 54 and displayed.

  Thus, for example, when the selection mark display screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed, when the selection mark “screen” is selected by the viewer, the selection mark display screen of the lower hierarchy is shown in FIG. What is shown is displayed on the CRT 55.

  Thereafter, the control circuit proceeds to step S17 to determine whether or not an input for selecting any one of the selection marks in the lower layer selection mark display screen displayed in step S16 has been made by the viewer as described above. 82. If it is determined in step S17 that there is an input for selecting a selection mark, the process returns to step S14, and the selection code corresponding to the selected selection mark is stored in the memory 91 as described above. The processing from S15 onward is performed.

  In this case, in step S16 following step S15, for example, the selection mark display screen shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. In step S17, for example, the selection mark “action movie” in the screen is selected (instructed) by the viewer. ), If there is a selection mark display screen in a lower hierarchy in which the genre “action movie” is further classified, the process returns to step S16 again through steps S14 and S15, and the genre “action movie” is further classified. The selected genre selection mark display screen is displayed.

  In this case, since the upper layer selection code of the selection code (lower layer selection code) determined to have been input in step S17 is stored in the memory 91, the lower layer selection code is stored in the upper layer. It is stored instead of the hierarchy selection code.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S17 that there is no input for selecting a selection mark, the process proceeds to step S18, and the selection mark display screen of the lower hierarchy is returned from the selection mark display screen of the lower hierarchy displayed in step S16 ( It is determined whether or not there has been a return input instructing to return.

  If it is determined in step S18 that there is a return input, the process returns to step S11 and the process from step S11 is repeated again. If it is determined in step S18 that there is no return input, the process proceeds to step S19, and it is determined whether or not there is an end input as in step S13. If it is determined in step S19 that there is no end input, the process returns to step S16, and the processing from step S16 is repeated again. If it is determined in step S19 that there has been an end input, the process ends.

  The memory 91 can store a plurality of different selection codes by the above processing.

  When the selection code indicating the genre of the television program that the viewer desires to record is stored in the memory 91 as described above, the control circuit 82 selects the selection stored in the memory 91 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. Program guide data including the same selection code as the code is retrieved from the hard disk 75, and recording reservation of the program is performed based on the program guide data (control text data).

  That is, in the control circuit 82, first, for example, 1 is set as the initial value in the variable i indicating the index of the program guide data recorded in the hard disk 75 in step S31, and the process proceeds to step S32, from which the hard disk 75 The recorded i-th program guide data (control text data in the program guide data) is read, and the process proceeds to step S33. In step S33, the selection code associated with the i-th program guide data is a selection code stored in the memory 91 (if a plurality of selection codes are stored in the memory 91, any of the plurality of selection codes is stored). It is determined whether or not it matches. If it is determined in step S33 that the selection code associated with the i-th program guide data matches the selection code stored in the memory 91, the process proceeds to step S34, and the control text data including the selection code is included. The TV program recording reservation for the VTR 92 is performed as described above with reference to the time information.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S33 that the selection code associated with the i-th program guide data does not match the selection code stored in the memory 91, the process skips step S34 and proceeds to step S35. It is determined whether or not the reading of the program guide data from the hard disk 75 has been completed. If it is determined in step S35 that there is still program guide data to be read from the hard disk 75, the process proceeds to step S36, the variable i is incremented by 1, and the process returns to step S32. As a result, in step S32, the next program guide data is read from the hard disk 75, and thereafter, the processes in and after step S33 are repeated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S35 that there is no program guide data to be read from the hard disk 75, that is, if all of the program guide data has been read from the hard disk 75, the process is terminated.

  According to the above processing, the viewer simply designates the genre of the television program desired to be recorded, and the recording reservation of the television program of the designated genre is made to the VTR 92. Therefore, it is possible to make a recording reservation more easily.

  Next, the receiving device 22 can cause the VTR 92 to record the desired TV program using the selection code of the TV program currently received, which is output from the determination circuit 101. Has been made.

  That is, as described with reference to FIG. 12, when the selection code of the genre that the viewer desires to record is stored in the memory 91, the selection code of the television program currently received by the determination circuit 101 is stored. When extracted from the output of the descrambling circuit 52 and output to the control circuit 82, the control circuit 82 selects the selection code from the determination circuit 101 and the selection code stored in the memory 91 (a plurality of selection codes in the memory 91). Is stored, it is determined whether or not any one of the plurality is stored.

  When the selection code from the determination circuit 101 matches the selection code stored in the memory 91, that is, when the genre of the TV program currently received matches the genre designated by the viewer, the control circuit 82 controls to start the recording operation of the VTR 92.

  Therefore, in this case as well, only by instructing the genre of the television program desired to be recorded, the television program of the instructed genre is recorded.

  In the present embodiment, the transmission device 1 superimposes a selection code representing the genre of the program on the video signal of the program. However, the selection code is, for example, the audio system shown in FIG. It is also possible to arrange it in the “data” portion (data channel) of the data.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the selection mark on the selection mark display screen shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is instructed (selected) by the viewer via the touch sensor 93, but other instruction means (for example, And using a mouse or joystick).

  In this embodiment, the scramble circuit 32 is provided in the transmission apparatus 1. However, if it is not necessary to scramble the program, the scramble circuit 32 is not provided and the transmission apparatus 1 is configured. be able to. In this case, the receiving device 22 can be configured without providing the descrambling device 52.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a list of selection marks (selection codes) is transmitted from the transmission device 1 to the reception device 22. However, this list is stored in advance in the memory 91 of the reception device 22, for example. It can be made to keep.

It is a figure which shows the structure of one Example of the satellite broadcasting system to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the format of the audio system data (audio channel) in the Example of FIG. It is a figure which shows the format of the data channel in FIG. It is a figure explaining the structure of the program schedule data 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 figure which shows the video signal on which the selection code was superimposed. It is a figure which shows the selection mark display screen which belongs to the highest hierarchy. It is a figure which shows the selection mark display screen which belongs to the hierarchy of the selection mark "screen" of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the transmitter 1 of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the receiver 22 of FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining processing when a selection mark display screen is displayed on the CRT 55 of the receiving device 22 in FIG. 11 and a selection mark is selected. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the operation when the control circuit 82 in FIG. 11 makes a recording reservation for the VTR 92;

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transmitter, 2 Parabolic antenna, 11 Satellite, 21 Parabolic antenna, 22 Receiver, 31 Synthesis circuit, 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 (video tape recorder), 93 touch sensor, 101 determination circuit

Claims (7)

In a recording apparatus for performing reservation recording of television broadcasting using a program guide based on program guide data,
Data for displaying a list of program marks based on program table data including at least information indicating program broadcast times, information indicating broadcast channels, and type information indicating program types, and selection marks indicating the types of programs Receiving means for receiving;
When displaying the program guide on the screen, display control means for displaying a sponsor's advertisement on a part of the program guide and displaying a list of types of the program based on a user operation;
Designation means for designating the type of program desired by the user from the list of program types displayed by the display control means;
Search means for searching the program guide data for a program having the program type information that matches the type of program specified by the specifying means;
Reserving means for making a recording reservation based on information on the program broadcast time of all programs searched by the search means and information indicating a broadcast channel,
The display control means subordinates to the program type designated by the designation means based on the program guide data received by the receiving means and data for displaying a list of selection marks representing the program types. When it is determined that there is a type of hierarchy, a recording apparatus further displaying a list of selection marks representing the types of programs belonging to the lower hierarchy . The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when displaying the program guide, the display control unit displays a mark corresponding to information indicating a genre of the program on a part of the program guide. In a recording method of a recording apparatus for performing reservation recording of television broadcasting using a program guide based on program guide data,
Data for displaying a list of program marks based on program table data including at least information indicating program broadcast times, information indicating broadcast channels, and type information indicating program types, and selection marks indicating the types of programs Receive,
When displaying the program guide on the screen, the sponsor's advertisement is displayed in a part of the program guide, and a list of the program types is displayed based on the user's operation,
From the displayed list of program types, specify the type of program desired by the user,
The program belongs to the designated program type, and has information on the program broadcast time of the program to be recorded and the program type information that matches the designated program type in order to specify the information indicating the broadcast channel. Search for the program in the program guide data,
Based on the received program guide data and data for displaying a list of selection marks indicating the type of program, when it is determined that there is a lower-layer type of the specified program type, A recording method further comprising: displaying a list of selection marks indicating types of programs belonging to the lower hierarchy . The recording method according to claim 3 , wherein when the program guide is displayed, a mark corresponding to information representing a genre of the program is further displayed in a part of the program guide. In a recording apparatus for performing reservation recording of television broadcasting using a program guide based on program guide data,
Receiving means for receiving program table data including at least information representing a program broadcast time, information representing a broadcast channel, and selection code information representing a program genre;
Display control means for displaying a sponsor's advertisement in a part of the program guide and displaying a list of genres of the program based on a user operation when the program guide is displayed on the screen;
A designation unit for designating a genre of a program desired by the user from a list of genres displayed by the display control unit;
Search means for searching for a program having a selection code corresponding to the genre of the program designated by the designation means from the program guide data;
Reserving means for making a recording reservation based on information on the program broadcast time of all programs searched by the search means and information indicating a broadcast channel,
The display control means, when it is determined that there is a lower genre of the type of program specified by the specifying means based on the program guide data received by the receiving means, the program belonging to the lower hierarchy And a list of marks representing the genre of the recording medium. In a recording method of a recording apparatus for performing reservation recording of television broadcasting using a program guide based on program guide data,
Receiving program guide data including information representing at least a program broadcast time of a television program broadcast by television broadcasting, information representing a broadcast channel, and selection code information representing a genre of the program;
When displaying the program guide on the screen, a sponsor's advertisement is displayed on a part of the program guide, and a list of genres of the program is displayed based on a user operation,
Specify the genre of the program you want from the list of genres displayed,
A program belonging to a designated program type and having a selection code corresponding to the genre of the designated program in order to specify information on the program broadcast time of the program to be recorded and information representing the broadcast channel Search from the program guide data,
When it is determined that there is a genre of a lower hierarchy of the genre of the designated program based on the received program guide data, a list of marks representing the genres of programs belonging to the lower hierarchy is further displayed. A recording method characterized by the above. The recording method according to claim 6 , wherein when the program guide is displayed, a mark corresponding to information indicating a genre of the program is further displayed on a part of the program guide.

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