JP4162014B2 - Display control apparatus and display control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a display control apparatus suitable for application to a video search support function for searching for a desired program from a large number of recorded TV programs in a television receiver having a TV program recording and playback function, and it relates to the display control how.

  Specifically, a classification standard for classifying a video program into a plurality of attributes is defined in advance, and the attributes of the defined classification standard are displayed so as to be selectable in the horizontal direction of the monitor screen and are classified into the selected attributes. By displaying information used for searching for a video program so that it can be selected in the vertical direction of the monitor screen, a video program to be viewed from a large number of video programs can be easily and quickly searched.

  In recent years, with the spread of digital broadcasting, digital video recording devices that record digital video composed of video and audio on a hard disk, personal computers, and the like are appearing. Since the digital video recording apparatus can expect high compression of digital video, a large number of video programs (television programs) can be recorded. In addition, with the advent of a DVD-RAM (Digital Video Disk-Random Access Memory) changer and an increase in the capacity of a hard disk, a larger number of video programs can be digitally recorded.

  As a method of searching for a video program recorded in this way, a method of searching while actually watching the video by fast-forwarding or rewinding the recorded video, or adding an index when recording the video program. There is a method of searching for a desired video program by displaying this index as a list on the screen during viewing.

  In addition, with the progress of digitalization of video broadcasting (television broadcasting), information used for searching for video programs has been broadcast superimposed on video. Generally, this is called EPG (Electronic Program Guide). The EPG includes keywords such as a video program category (genre), title (program name), and performers. In current digital satellite broadcasting, this EPG can be displayed on the screen to search for a desired channel. In addition, a service has been started in which electronic program information is embedded in a VBI (Vertical Blanking Interval: vertical regression line), which is a vacant area, in terrestrial broadcasting.

  Along with the progress of such broadcasting services, a method of using information in the EPG as a search index has been proposed. In this case, when the video program is recorded, the EPG of the video program is also stored on the hard disk or the like. When viewing recorded video programs (hereinafter also referred to as recorded programs), the titles of the recorded programs are displayed in a list on the television screen. The user searches for a desired program from the list of program titles.

  In this recorded program search method, EPG representing the contents of the program such as the program title is displayed in a list on the TV screen, so that the user can search for a desired recorded program while checking the program title and the like, which is convenient. . Furthermore, if the EPG described above is used, the program recording function will also be advanced. For example, it is possible to directly specify recording from the title of the video program, or to specify a keyword such as a category or performer included in the EPG and automatically record a program that matches the keyword.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an electronic program guide receiving system. According to this system, a user viewing history including program viewing and program recording / playback by user operation is analyzed, a program that the user seems to like is determined, and a predetermined recommendation level is presented to the user.

JP 2000-253325 A (page 5 FIG. 10)

  By the way, the video program search method according to the conventional method has the following problems.

  i. For example, when searching for a recorded program, the program that the user wants to record is searched for while watching the actual video by fast-forwarding or rewinding the program to be recorded. For this reason, it is necessary for the user to perform complicated and troublesome fast forward and rewind operations while watching the TV screen, and it is necessary to specify the program that the user wants to watch while relying on the user's memory, which increases the burden on the user. .

  ii. In addition, an index is added to a program at the time of recording, and a method of searching for a desired program by listing this index on the screen at the time of viewing searches for a video program based on the index, so that fast forward and rewind operations are performed. The user's burden can be reduced somewhat. However, since the index information is only the recording date and time, other information must be relied upon by the user's intuition and memory. In particular, when automatically recording a video program, it is very difficult to recall the contents of the recorded program only from the recording date and time, and the more video programs that are stored, the greater the burden on the user.

  iii. Furthermore, in the search support method using the EPG described above, the EPG must be stored together with the recorded program, and the titles of the recorded program must be displayed on the screen when viewing the recorded program. For this reason, if a large number of recorded programs are stored, the program titles cannot be displayed in a list on one screen, and the index search becomes complicated. In addition, when a program including a program title is automatically recorded, there is a possibility that the contents are difficult to recall from only the program information (Patent Document 1).

Therefore, the present invention solves such a problem, and makes it possible to easily search for a video program to be viewed from a large number of video programs and to quickly view a desired video program. and an object thereof is to provide a display control apparatus and a display control how.

The above-described problems include classification means for classifying content into a plurality of categories and lists according to predetermined classification criteria, displaying at least three of the categories in a first direction on the display screen, and among a plurality of categories displayed on the display screen, display control means for controlling so as to selectably displaying a list of the content that is classified to a category currently selected in the second direction of the display screen Operating means having at least an operation element capable of instructing the first or second direction, and the display control means is a user by an operation element for instructing the first direction in the operation means. wherein said category is selected in response to an operation first direction sequential toggle Rutotomoni, displays the category of the current selection in the solid-localization location of front and rear category can be confirmed And controls so that selectably displays a list of classified the content into categories currently selected displayed in the fixed position prior Symbol second direction, for the second direction instruction It is solved by Table示制control device that controls so as to correspond to the user operation display sequentially switch the title of the content to be selected previous list SL content currently being displayed by the operator.

According to the display control device according to the present invention, when the three categories displayed so as to be selectable in the first direction of the display screen are selected in accordance with the operation of the operation element capable of giving two types of direction instructions, sequential switching it the category in the first direction, since it is controlled so as to display the category selected in a fixed position, the user in response to the operation of the operator, easily to switch content by category be able to. Moreover, since at least three titles of content within the selected category are displayed, what categories are arranged before and after and what information content is recorded within the selected category. You can see at a glance.

The display control method according to the present invention includes a step of classifying content into a plurality of categories according to a predetermined classification criterion, and at least three of the categories are displayed in a selectable manner in the first direction of the display screen. Displaying a list of the contents classified into one currently selected category among a plurality of categories displayed on the display screen so as to be selectable in a second direction of the display screen; and at least the first or a step of receiving the second direction indication, in response to receiving to said first direction instructions, sequential toggle Rutotomoni the category in the first direction is selected, the front and rear of the categories There displays the current category selected in solid stereotactic location can be confirmed, and the fixed position on the displayed current pre Symbol second list of the content classified into the category of the selected A step of selectively displayed in the direction control so as to display sequentially switch the title of the content that is selected in response to receiving to said second direction indication to the previous list SL content Ru currently displayed Tei that having a and the step is also to at.

According to the display control method according to the present invention, when the three categories displayed so as to be selectable in the first direction of the display screen are selected in accordance with the operation of the operation element capable of giving two types of directions, sequential switching it the category in the first direction, to display the category selected in a fixed position, and can select the information of the content that is classified sequentially switched category in the second direction Therefore, the user can easily switch the contents for each category according to the operation of the operator. Moreover, since at least three titles of content within the selected category are displayed, what categories are arranged before and after and what information content is recorded within the selected category. You can see at a glance.

According to the display control device and the display control method according to the present invention, the category selected corresponding to the user operation by the operator for instructing the first direction is sequentially switched in the first direction, and the preceding and following categories are changed. The currently selected category is displayed at a fixed position that can be confirmed, and a list of contents classified into the currently selected category displayed at the fixed position is displayed so as to be selectable in the second direction. Control is performed so that the titles of the selected contents are sequentially switched and displayed in the list of contents currently displayed in response to a user operation by an operation element for direction indication .

With this configuration, when the three categories displayed so as to be selectable in the first direction on the display screen are selected according to the operation of the operation element capable of giving two types of direction instructions, the category is selected in the first direction. the sequential switching it, since it is controlled so as to display the category selected in a fixed position, the user in response to the operation of the operator, can be easily switching content by category. Moreover, since at least three titles of content within the selected category are displayed, what categories are arranged before and after and what information content is recorded within the selected category. You can see at a glance. Therefore, the user can easily search for a video program to be viewed from among a large number of video programs, and can quickly view a desired video program.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings attached to the display controller and the display control how according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In this embodiment, when supporting video search in a device that records and / or plays a video program, classification criteria for classifying the video program into a plurality of attributes are defined in advance, and then the video program is recorded. The information used for video search can be acquired, and the information used for video program search can be classified by attribute according to the classification criteria, and then the attributes defined by the classification criteria can be selected in the horizontal direction of the monitor screen. In addition to displaying, information used for searching for a video program classified into the selected attribute is displayed in a selectable manner in the vertical direction of the monitor screen so that a video program can be easily searched from a large number of video programs. In addition, a desired video program can be viewed quickly.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a video search support apparatus 100 applied in a video search support method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The video search support apparatus 100 is mounted on a recording / playback apparatus that records and plays back a video program, a broadcast reception apparatus, or a broadcast reception apparatus having a recording / playback function. The video search support apparatus 100 includes EPGs of video programs (hereinafter also referred to as broadcast contents) and recorded video programs (hereinafter also referred to as recorded contents) that are broadcast from each broadcast station every moment. Is a device that classifies into a plurality of attributes based on the above and displays EPGs on a monitor screen by attribute. On the monitor screen, the name of the content, that is, the program name (hereinafter also referred to as a program title) is displayed along the time axis.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the video search support apparatus 100 includes a classification reference information storage unit 21, a program information acquisition unit 23, a program information classification unit 27, a storage unit 29, a display unit 31, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 33 and ROM 35.

  In FIG. 1, for example, an antenna (not shown) is connected to the program information acquisition means 23, and a monitor screen (not shown) such as a broadcast receiving apparatus is connected to the display means 31. The classification reference information storage unit 21 is provided with a terminal for external input.

  The program information acquisition means 23 is an electronic program guide (Electronic Program Guide; hereinafter simply referred to as EPG), which is an example of information used for searching for a video program transmitted superimposed on broadcast content in digital broadcasting such as sanitary broadcasting. It has a function to acquire. The EPG acquired by the program information acquisition means 23 includes keywords such as program attributes (hereinafter also referred to as categories or genres), program titles, and performers. The program information acquisition means 23 can be connected to a telephone line or the like, and an EPG published on the Internet can be acquired.

  A classification reference information storage unit 21 is connected to the program information acquisition means 23 and stores broadcast contents received by the broadcast receiving apparatus and the like, and classification references for classifying the recorded contents into a plurality of categories. Examples of the classification standard include “news”, “sports”, “music”, “movie”, “variety”, “latest”, and the like. “Latest” is a category that includes all contents within 24 hours after recording, for example. For this classification standard, the category set for each broadcast content by the company that supplies the EPG can be used as it is. Further, this classification criterion may be arbitrarily set by the user. In this case, a desired classification standard (category) is stored in the classification standard information storage unit 21 from the external terminal of the video search support apparatus 100 (user setting).

  A program information classification unit 27 is connected to the program information acquisition unit 23 and the classification reference information storage unit 21, and the EPG acquired by the program information acquisition unit 23 is stored in accordance with the classification standard stored in the classification reference information storage unit 21. Classify. For example, when the keyword “news” is included in the EPG transmitted from the broadcast station in a superimposed manner on the broadcast content, the broadcast content is classified into the category “news”. The program information classification means 27 is, for example, a classification processing program, which is executed by a CPU 33 described later.

  A storage unit 29 is connected to the program information classification unit 27 and stores (stores) a management table for managing recorded content and content being broadcast. The EPG (program title, content recording date and time, etc.) classified into categories by the program information classification means 27 is managed on this management table (see FIG. 2). A display means 31 is connected to the storage means 29 so that the attributes defined by the classification criteria are displayed so as to be selectable in the horizontal direction of the monitor screen, and information used for searching for video programs classified into the selected attributes is displayed. The monitor screen is displayed so as to be selectable in the vertical direction.

  In this example, a CPU 33 is connected to the classification reference information storage unit 21, the program information acquisition unit 23, the program information classification unit 27, the storage unit 29, and the display unit 31. The CPU 33 is a main controller of the video search support apparatus 100, and sends a control signal to each component of the video search support apparatus 100 to control its operation and manage the status of these components. have. The CPU 33 is configured to execute various applications on a platform provided by an operating system (OS).

  A ROM (Read Only Memory) 35 stores a program for operating the CPU 33. For example, a self-diagnosis / initialization program executed when the video search support apparatus 200 is turned on, a control code of the video search support apparatus 100, and the like. The above-described display means 31 has a function of displaying the EPG stored in the storage means 29 on the monitor screen for each category in response to a control signal from the CPU 33. The display form of the content on the monitor screen will be described later.

  In this example, the video search support device 100, the monitor screen, and the antenna are separately configured, but these may be integrated. In addition, the video search support apparatus 100 and the recording / reproducing apparatus, the reproducing apparatus, or the broadcast receiving apparatus can be integrated.

  FIG. 2 is a table showing a management table stored in the storage unit 29. The management table shown in FIG. 2 has columns for writing “category”, “program title”, “broadcast date”, “broadcast start time”, and “broadcast time” of the content from the left side. The contents of the EPG classified by the program information classification means 27 (see FIG. 1) are written in this field.

  That is, the classification standard stored in the classification standard information storage unit 21 described above is written in the “category” column. For example, “news”, “sports”, “music”, “movie”, “variety”, “latest”, and the like. “Live” is also provided to manage the content being broadcast. For example, it can be seen from FIG. 2 that the program title “soccer” classified as “sports” was broadcast for 1 hour 30 minutes from 15:00 on June 3, 2003. In addition, “HeyHeyHey” classified as “live” is being broadcast from 23:00 on July 1, 2003, and is scheduled to end at 1:00 on July 2, 2003.

  Further, in the management table shown in FIG. 2, program titles are arranged in time series in each category on the basis of broadcast (recording) date and time. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the newer program titles are arranged in the upper stage, and the older program titles are arranged in the lower stage.

  By the way, in FIG. 2, “sports news xxx” is classified so as to belong to all of “news”, “sports”, and “latest”. This is because the “sports news xxx” is within 24 hours after being recorded, and the keywords “news” and “sports” are included in the EPG. The user can search for “sports news xxx” from sports or news, which is convenient.

  This management table may be provided with a field for writing a broadcast station name and other information in addition to the program title and broadcast date. Further, the arrangement order of program titles is not limited to time series. For example, in “live”, it may be set such that one channel of the broadcasting station is arranged at the uppermost stage and 12 channels of the broadcasting stations are arranged at the lowermost stage. Further, in a category other than “live”, the display order may be set depending on whether or not the recorded content has been reproduced.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the television device 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The television device 200 is configured by integrating the above-described video search support device 100 and a broadcast receiving device having a recording / playback function. Hereinafter, each hardware part of the television apparatus 200 will be described in association with the video search support apparatus 100 shown in FIG.

  The television apparatus 200 shown in FIG. The bus 50 includes an IEEE 1394 interface 15, HDD-I / F 16, graphic processing controller 18, RAM 21, CPU 33, ROM 35, tuner 51, demodulator 52, decoder 53, RAM 54, mixer 55, U / I controller 56, composer 57. The user interface control unit 56 is connected.

  In the television apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 3, the program information acquisition means 23 shown in FIG. 1 includes a tuner 51, a demodulator 52, and a decoder 53 as an example, and has the function. Broadcast waves received by the antenna are supplied to the tuner 51. The broadcast wave follows a prescribed format and may include an EPG. The broadcast wave does not particularly distinguish between terrestrial, satellite, wired, and wireless. The tuner 51 tunes a broadcast wave of a predetermined channel, that is, selects a channel in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 33, and outputs received data to the subsequent demodulator 52. The demodulator 52 demodulates the digitally modulated received data. Note that the configuration of the tuner 51 can be changed or expanded as appropriate depending on whether the broadcast wave transmitted is analog or digital.

  For example, in the case of digital satellite broadcasting, digital data received and demodulated from a broadcast wave is configured by multiplexing AV data compressed by MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts Group 2) method and data broadcasting data. “Transport stream”. The former AV data is video and audio information constituting the broadcast content body. The latter data broadcast data is an EPG attached to the broadcast content body. The transport stream conforms to the “transport layer” defined in the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) reference model.

  The decoder 53 interprets this transport stream and separates it into AV data and data broadcasting data compressed by the MPEG2 system. Further, the real-time AV data compressed by the MPEG2 system is separated into compressed video data and compressed audio data. The video data is decompressed by the MPEG2 method to reproduce the original video signal, and the audio data is decoded with PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) and then synthesized with the additional sound to be a reproduced audio signal. . The decoder 53 may include a memory (RAM) 54 for storing work data locally. The decoder 53 transfers the data broadcasting data separated from the transport stream to the CPU 33 via the bus 50.

  The display means 31 shown in FIG. 1 has the functions of the graphic processing controller 18, the mixer 55, and the composer 57 shown in FIG. A speaker 62 is connected to the mixer 55, and a display 61 is connected to the composer 57. The display 61 displays (reproduces) the selected (recorded) content or program on the monitor screen, for example. The television apparatus 200 is composed of these hardware components, and the CPU 33 as a main controller is interconnected with each hardware component via the bus 50 and performs overall control on each component. It is supposed to run.

  The reproduced video signal described above is displayed and output on the display 61 via the composer 57, for example, and the reproduced audio signal is outputted as audio to the speaker 62 via the mixer 55. A user interface (U / I) control unit 56 is connected to the bus 50 and is a module that processes an input operation from a user. For example, the bus 50 has a function of receiving a remote operation from a remote controller 60 described later.

  A RAM (Random Access Memory) 21 constitutes the classification reference information storage unit shown in FIG. 1, and stores the classification reference for classifying the content category as described above. It is also used to load the execution program code of the CPU 33 and write work data of the execution program.

  The IEEE 1394 interface 15 is a serial high-speed interface capable of transmitting and receiving data of about several tens of MBps. An IEEE 1394 compatible external device can be daisy chained or tree-connected to the IEEE 1394 port. Examples of the IEEE 1394 compatible device include a video camera 64 and a scanner (not shown).

  A hard disk device (hereinafter also referred to as HDD) 29 corresponds to the storage means 29 shown in FIG. The HDD 29 is a random-accessible external storage device capable of storing the recorded content management table shown in FIG. 2 and a large number of received video and audio information in a predetermined format file format. For example, it has a large capacity of about several tens GB (or more than 100 GB). The HDD 29 is connected to the bus 50 via the hard disk interface 18. In realizing the present invention, the large-capacity external storage device is not particularly limited to a hard disk device, but it is more preferable that high-speed random access is possible.

  In response to the remote controller 60 or the like, the CPU 33 issues a broadcast content recording instruction and a reproduction instruction thereof to each hardware. Regardless of the command from the remote controller 60, the recording operation is always performed. During the recording operation, the MPEG2 stream before the decompression process is transferred from the decoder 53 to the HDD 29. The data transfer method is not particularly limited, such as a PIO (program IO) transfer method and a DMA (Direct Memory Access) transfer method. On the HDD 29, each recorded broadcast content is stored in accordance with the management table shown in FIG.

  When playing back recorded content, the MPEG2 stream extracted from the HDD 29 is transferred to the decoder 53 via the bus 50. In the decoder 53, the compressed video data and the compressed audio data are separated as in reception, and the MPEG2 decompression process is performed to restore the original video and audio data, and the playback process is performed.

  The graphic processing controller 18 is a dedicated controller that generates a zapping bar 40, which will be described later, in accordance with a drawing command issued by the CPU 33, and has a drawing capability equivalent to, for example, SVGA (Super Video Graphic Array) or XGA (eXtended Graphic Array). When the reproduced video decompressed and restored by the decoder 53 according to the MPEG2 system and the zapping bar 40 generated by the graphic processing controller 18 are overlapped and processed, the composer 57 combines two or more screens.

  Next, the remote controller 60 that outputs a control signal to the television apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration example of the operation panel of the remote controller 60. As shown in FIG. 4, on the operation panel, there are a number key group assigned to direct channel selection operation of broadcast content broadcasted from a broadcast station, and a cursor key group assigned in each of up / down and left / right directions. It is arranged.

  The cursor / key group has an OK button 44, a lower key, a left key, and a right key at the upper, lower, left, and right positions with the determination button 44 positioned substantially at the center. The left and right cursor keys (hereinafter also referred to as left and right cursor keys) are assigned to the “category” selection operation shown in FIG. Hereinafter, this category selection operation is also referred to as zapping. Also, the up / down cursor keys (hereinafter also referred to as up / down cursor keys) are assigned to the “program title” selection operation shown in FIG. Hereinafter, this program title selection operation is also referred to as warp.

  Further, in addition to the numeric key group and the cursor key group, for example, stop, rewind, fast forward, playback, pause, recording, etc. instruction buttons, volume adjustment, audio switching buttons, etc. are arranged on the remote control 60. Has been. The remote controller 60 is also provided with a screen display button 45, a view button 46, and the like. The functions assigned to the screen display button 45 and the view button 46 will be described later.

  Next, a content search method in the above-described television device 200 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of content switching operation. First, in step A1 of FIG. 5, the power switch of the television apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 3 is turned on. Then, an initial screen as shown in FIG. 8A or 8B is displayed (step A2). FIG. 8A shows an initial screen when the recorded content is reproduced. FIG. 8B shows an initial screen when receiving and displaying broadcast content (live). On the initial screen, content video is displayed on the entire display (monitor screen) 61 (hereinafter, such a display form is also referred to as a normal view), and a zapping bar 40 is displayed at the top of the screen.

  As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the Ch name, that is, the category (genre) of the program is displayed on the left side of the zapping bar 40, and the program titles of the contents classified by category are displayed on the right side. For example, the zapping bar 40 for playing back recorded content includes information such as whether the recorded content has been viewed, recording date (broadcast date), presence / absence of program protection, manual recording or automatic recording. The zapping bar 40 is generated based on the above-described content management table (see FIG. 2).

  When the left and right cursor keys are operated with the above-described remote controller 60 (see FIG. 4), the zapping bar 40 is displayed to slide in the horizontal direction (left and right direction). When the up / down cursor key is operated, the title display portion of the zapping bar 40 is displayed so as to slide in the vertical direction (up / down direction).

  Next, in step A3 in FIG. 3, the category of the content to be viewed is selected. FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of screen transition by zapping. As shown in FIG. 9, the category of the currently selected recorded content is, for example, “sports”. Here, when searching for a category other than “sports”, that is, when zapping is performed, the left and right cursor keys of the remote controller 60 (see FIG. 4) are operated to switch the category displayed on the screen (step A4). .

  Then, the zapping bar 40 displaying the category “sports” and the program title “soccer” moves to the right, for example, disappears, the category “news”, and the program title “news xxx” is displayed. 40 appears from the left and is displayed at the top of the screen. Further, along with the display switching of the zapping bar 40, the video of the recorded content whose program title is “News XXX” is displayed on the screen (step A5).

  After switching the content category, the process returns to step A3 in FIG. If the category to be searched is “news”, the process proceeds to step A6. When searching for a category other than “news”, the process proceeds to step A4 again to perform zapping.

  In this way, between the steps A3, A4, and A5, the “category” shown in FIG. 2 is sequentially switched and displayed by operating the left and right cursor keys of the remote controller 60. For example, when the right cursor key is operated among the left and right cursor keys, the category display of the zapping bar 40 is “news” → “music” → “movie” → “variety” → “latest” → “live” → Switch in the order of “Sports” → “News”. Further, when the left cursor key is operated, the category display of the zapping bar 40 is “news” → “sports” → “live” → “latest” → “variety” → “movie” → “music” → “news”. Transition in this order.

  That is, the category displayed on the zapping bar 40 is the category written in the management table (see FIG. 2). Further, the order of switching of categories in the zapping bar 40 is made to coincide with the order of categories in the management table. Further, the zapping bar 40 displays these categories while looping automatically. By operating the left and right cursor keys of the remote controller 60, switching between recorded contents and seamless switching between recorded contents and live broadcasting can be performed.

  In step A3, the category display of the zapping bar 40 is set to, for example, “sports”. After selecting “Sports” as the category in Step A3 of FIG. 5, the process proceeds to Step A4. In step A4, broadcast contents to be viewed are searched from recorded contents belonging to the selected category.

  FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of screen transition by warp. In FIG. 10, the category of the recorded content currently selected is “sports”, and “soccer” is selected among the program titles recorded so as to belong to this “sports”. Here, when searching for other recorded contents belonging to the category “sports”, that is, when warping, the recorded contents displayed on the screen are switched by operating the up and down cursor keys of the remote controller 60 (see FIG. 4). (Step A7).

  Then, the zapping bar 40 displaying the category “sports” and the program title “soccer” disappears, and the zapping bar 40 displaying the same category “sports” and the program title “night broadcast” is displayed at the top of the screen. The As the display of the zapping bar 40 is switched, the video of the recorded content whose program title is “Nighter Relay” is displayed on the screen (step A8). After switching the program title, the process returns to step A6 in FIG. When the warp is performed again, the process proceeds to step A7. If the warp is not performed, the process proceeds to step A9.

  Thus, between steps A6, A7, and A8, by operating the up and down cursor keys of the remote controller 60, one program title belonging to the category “sports” written in the management table (see FIG. 2) is displayed in time series. Displayed one by one. For example, when the down cursor key is operated among the up and down cursor keys, the program title of the zapping bar 40 is “Nighter relay” →... → “Ski mogul” → “Sport news xxx” → “Nighter” ○ △ □ Relay ”→“ Soccer ”→“ Nighter Relay ”. When the cursor key in the up direction is operated, the program title of the zapping bar 40 is “Nighter broadcast” → “Soccer” → “Nighter ○ △ □ Relay” → “Sport news xxx” → “Ski mogul” →・ ・ → Transit in the order of “Nighter relay”.

  That is, the program title displayed on the zapping bar 40 is the program title written in the management table (see FIG. 2). Further, the switching order of program titles in the zapping bar 40 is made to match the order of program titles in the management table. Further, the zapping bar 40 displays these program titles while automatically looping within the same category. By operating the up and down cursor keys of the remote controller 60, seamless switching between recorded contents classified into the same category can be performed. In this step A4, the program title displayed on the zapping bar 40 is, for example, “night broadcast” belonging to the category “sports”.

  When the warping is completed in step A6 in FIG. 5, the process proceeds to step A9. In step A9, it is determined whether or not to watch the “nighter relay” selected in step A6. Here, when zapping or warping is performed again without viewing “Nighter Relay”, the process returns to Step A3. When viewing “Nighter Relay”, the user presses the OK button 44 on the remote controller 60 (step A10).

  Then, the “Nighter Relay” video is played back on the screen. Here, when the “nighter relay” is new, that is, when the “nighter relay” is not viewed, the video is reproduced from the beginning of the “nighter relay”. In addition, when the “nighter relay” is reproduced and the reproduction is stopped halfway, the reproduction is started from the point where the reproduction is stopped (hereinafter also referred to as a resume point). For example, two seconds after the determination button 44 is pressed, the zapping bar 40 disappears from the screen. (Step A10)) This completes the content switching operation shown in FIG.

  When searching for other contents while watching “Nighter Relay” or after watching “Nighter Relay”, the screen display button 45 of the remote controller 60 is pressed (step A1). Thereby, the zapping bar 40 is displayed again above the screen of the display 61.

  FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of animation display. As described above, the video displayed on the screen is switched by zapping and warping. For example, when switching the video from “soccer” to “news”, selection information that “news” has been selected by the user in FIG. 3 is transmitted to the CPU 33, and in response to this, the “news” video from the HDD 29, etc. Is called. For this reason, there is a time lag of about 3 seconds during which the video is not displayed on the screen when switching the video. In order to fill this time lag, a screen frame (frame part) called animation is displayed.

  By this animation, the process of switching the video program is simulated so that, for example, the video after switching is gradually enlarged from the center of the screen. When the video displayed on the screen is switched, the user feels as if watching the video switching process compared to when the video is suddenly switched or nothing is projected on the screen for about 3 seconds. You can continue to look at the screen without feeling uncomfortable.

  As described above, according to the video search support method according to the embodiment of the present invention, a video program (contents) in a recording / playback device for recording and playing back a video program, a television device, or a television device having a recording / playback function. ), The classification criteria for classifying the content into a plurality of categories are specified in advance, then the EPG of the content is acquired, and this EPG is classified according to the category according to the classification criteria. After that, the category defined by the classification standard is displayed so as to be selectable in the horizontal direction of the monitor screen, and the EPG classified into the selected category is displayed so as to be selectable in the vertical direction of the monitor screen. The

  Therefore, for example, the user can select the category of the video program that he / she wants to watch while searching the content category in the horizontal direction, and can view the video program he / she wants to watch while viewing the EPG of the video program classified into the selected category on the monitor screen. You can search vertically.

  As a result, it is possible to easily search for content to be viewed from a large number of video programs (recorded content and content being broadcast), and to quickly view desired content. In addition, since program information other than the selected category is not displayed on the monitor screen, and a video corresponding to the program information is displayed on the screen, it is possible to prevent misunderstanding of the user during channel selection operation. Even when a program to be viewed is not decided, a video program that meets the user's preference can be easily found from the category.

  It should be noted that the video search support device 100 and the television are set so that the zapping bar 40 is automatically deleted according to the presence or absence of key operation of the remote controller 60 between steps A1 to A10 in the flowchart (example of content switching operation) shown in FIG. The setting of the John apparatus 200 may be changed. For example, the time limit steps T1 and T2 may be inserted immediately after step A3 in FIG. 5 (see FIG. 6). Further, time limit steps T3 and T4 may be inserted immediately after step A6 in FIG. 5 (see FIG. 6).

  Steps A1 to A11 shown in FIG. 6 show the same processing as steps A1 to A11 of FIG. All of steps T1 to T4 shown in FIG. 6 are time limit steps.

  For example, in the example of the content switching operation shown in FIG. 6, when the next key operation is not performed 2 seconds after the zapping bar 40 is displayed on the screen or the left / right (up / down) cursor key is operated. Is set so that the zapping bar 40 is automatically deleted and the recorded content displayed on the screen is played back (in the case of live, the broadcast content is broadcast as it is). This is convenient because when the content search is stopped between steps A1 to A10 in the flowchart, it is possible to save the trouble of pressing the enter button 44 of the remote controller 60 to turn off the zapping bar.

  FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of content search in the high-speed preview mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the first embodiment, when searching for a desired content according to the flowchart of FIG. 5, unlike the zapping bar 40, the category name and the program title name are displayed separately on the screen and displayed at the time of the search. A case where high-speed playback of a video to be recorded is described. Other conditions are the same as in the embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals as those in the embodiment have the same function or perform the same processing, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  When the View button 46 (see FIG. 4) of the remote controller 60 is pressed in any of steps A1 to A11 in the flowchart of FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, the video on the monitor screen 61 is reduced and displayed as shown in FIG. At the same time, a category bar 42 and a content list 43 are displayed.

  The category bar 42 corresponds to the category display part of the zapping bar 40, and three categories are displayed in the horizontal direction (left-right direction). In this category column, the category displayed in the center is the selected category. In FIG. 12, “Sports” is selected as the category. This category is selected by operating the left and right cursor keys of the remote controller 60 as in the normal view mode (full screen display mode) described in the embodiment.

  The content list 43 corresponds to the title display section of the zapping bar 40, and three program titles are displayed in the vertical direction (vertical direction). Although not shown, the content list 43 displays information such as whether the recorded content has been viewed, recording date (broadcast date), presence / absence of program protection, manual recording or automatic recording. In this content list, the broadcast content surrounded by a red line is the selected content. In FIG. 12, “soccer” is selected as the content. This category is also selected by operating the up and down cursor keys of the remote controller 60 as in the normal view mode.

  In FIG. 12, on the reduced content display screen 41 displayed together with the content list 43 and the category bar 42, the selected content is reproduced at a high speed, for example, 300 times. Such a display form is called a high-speed preview mode. In the high-speed preview mode, the recorded content is sequentially played back at high speed (× 300) from the new content to the old content within the selected category (that is, from the top to the bottom of the management table). For example, in the category of “sports”, after the high-speed playback of soccer is completed, the night game is played.

  Further, when all the recorded contents in the selected category are played back at a high speed, the latest recorded contents in the category are returned and automatically played back (looped).

  Further, when zapping is performed by operating the left and right cursor keys of the remote controller 60 during high-speed playback, when the content is switched, the recorded content is played back at high speed while looping within the category after switching. When the up / down cursor keys of the remote controller 60 are operated to warp, the next selected recorded content is played back at high speed.

  When the enter button on the remote controller 60 is pressed during such high-speed playback, the recorded content that was being played back at high speed when the enter button was pressed is selected, and this recorded content is initially recorded at the normal speed (× 1). ).

  Furthermore, even if zapping or warping is performed during high-speed playback, selection of recorded content is not executed unless the determination button 44 of the remote controller 60 is pressed. For example, when the view button 46 of the remote controller 60 is pressed during high-speed playback, the content search operation ends. Then, normal speed playback is started in full screen display from the resume point of the recorded content played back before the search operation.

  In this way, in the high-speed preview mode, three categories are displayed, and at least three broadcast content title names within the selected category are displayed, so what categories are arranged and selected before and after. You can see at a glance what kind of information content is recorded in the selected category. In addition, since the video in the selected category is played back at high speed while looping, the content of the recorded content can be confirmed on the video.

  Therefore, even when there is a large amount of recorded content, the user can quickly access desired content while checking the content by scanning the cursor up, down, left, and right. Further, similarly to the normal view mode, seamless switching to live broadcasting can be performed while searching for recorded content. However, in this case, as a matter of course, the live broadcast cannot be played back at high speed (x300), but is played back at normal speed (x1).

  FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of screen transition in the title list view mode according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, a title list view for separately displaying a category name and a program title name is prepared, and a screen display mode is selected when searching for desired broadcast contents according to the flowchart of FIG. A case where the title list view is arbitrarily switched between the high-speed preview and the normal view will be described. Other conditions are the same as in the embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals as those in the embodiment have the same function or perform the same processing, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 13, in the title list view mode, a category bar 42 is displayed at the top of the screen, and broadcasts recorded so as to belong to the category displayed in the category bar 42 below the category bar 42 are displayed. A display form in which a plurality of content program titles are displayed.

  In FIG. 13, one category “sport” is described as the category displayed on the category bar 42. However, for example, three categories may be displayed in the horizontal direction (left-right direction) as in the first embodiment. The category displayed on the category bar 42 is selected by operating the left and right cursor keys on the remote controller 60. In FIG. 13, nine broadcast contents are displayed in the content list 43, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, six broadcast contents may be used. The content displayed in the content list 43 is selected by operating the up / down cursor keys of the remote control 60. Then, by pressing the enter button on the remote controller 60, the playback is started from the resume point of the selected recorded content.

  Although not shown, the content list 43 displays information such as whether the recorded content has been viewed, recording date (broadcast date), presence / absence of program protection, manual recording or automatic recording. Since the title list view mode has no video display area, the title list view mode has an advantage that a plurality of contents belonging to a specific category can be displayed in a large size or many in comparison with the normal view mode and the high speed preview mode.

  By the way, in the present invention, when searching for desired broadcast contents according to the flowchart of FIG. 5, the title list view mode (see FIG. 13), the normal view mode (see FIG. 8) and the high-speed preview mode (see FIG. The mode of FIG. 12) can be arbitrarily switched. FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a transition example of the screen display mode.

  By pressing the View button 46 of the remote controller 60, the mode can be switched between the normal view mode, the high-speed preview mode, and the title list view mode as shown in FIG. This screen display mode can be switched at any of steps A1 to A11 in the flowcharts of FIGS.

  For example, it is assumed that the warp is performed at step A7 in the flowchart of FIG. 5 and the recorded content with the category “sports” and the program title “soccer” is displayed on the screen at step A8 (corresponding to step B1 in FIG. 7). To do. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a screen display mode switching operation.

  At this time, whether or not to press the determination button 44 of the remote control 60 is selected in step B2 of FIG. If the enter button 44 is pressed, the process proceeds to step B11, where reproduction of the recorded content “soccer” is started. If the enter button 44 is not pressed, the process proceeds to step B3.

  Next, the user presses the View button 46 of the remote controller 60 in Step B3 of FIG. Then, the screen display is switched from the normal view mode to the high speed preview mode (step B4). In the high-speed preview mode, as described in the first embodiment, the video of the recorded content is played back at a high speed, for example, 300 times. In step B4, zapping and warping can be performed by operating the left and right (up and down) cursor keys of the remote controller 60.

  Next, in step B5, it is selected whether or not to press the enter button on the remote control 60. When the enter button is pressed (step B6), the screen display is switched to the normal view mode, and the reproduction of “soccer” is started (step B7). If the enter button is not pressed, the user presses the View button 46 on the remote controller 60 (step B8). Then, the screen display is switched from the high-speed preview mode to the title list view (step B9). Even in this step B9, zapping and warping can be performed by operating the left and right (up and down) cursor keys of the remote controller 60.

  Next, whether or not to press the enter button 44 of the remote controller 60 is selected in step B10. When the enter button 44 is pressed (step B11), the screen display mode is switched to the normal view mode, and the reproduction of “soccer” is started from the resume point (step B12). If the enter button 44 is not pressed, the view button 46 is pressed in step B13 to return to the normal view (step B1).

  Thus, in each screen display mode according to the second embodiment, a large amount of content can be zapped and warped by operating the left and right (up and down) cursor keys of the remote controller 60 vertically and horizontally. Further, by repeatedly pressing the View button 46 of the remote controller 60, each screen display mode can be switched while looping as shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, the screen display mode can be easily switched according to the user's preference, so that the recorded content can be searched more efficiently.

  The present invention is very suitable when applied to a video search support function for searching for a desired program from a large number of recorded TV programs in a television receiver having a TV program recording and playback function.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the video search assistance apparatus 100 applied to the video search assistance method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a table | surface figure which shows the management table of a video program. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the television apparatus 200 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration example of an operation panel of a remote controller 60. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the example of content switching operation. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of switching operation of content. It is a flowchart which shows the example of switching operation of a screen display mode. A and B are conceptual diagrams showing display examples of the initial screen. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of a screen transition by zapping. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of a screen transition by a warp. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of a display of animation. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of a search of the content in high-speed preview mode. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of a search of the content in title list view mode. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of a transition of a screen display mode.

Explanation of symbols

  21... Classification reference information storage unit, 23... Program information acquisition unit, 27... Program information classification unit, 29... Storage unit (program information storage unit), 31. ..CPU, 40 ... zapping bar, 42 ... category bar, 43 ... content list, 44 ... decision button, 45 ... screen display button, 46 ... view button, 60 ... Remote control (remote operation means), 100 ... Video search support device, 200 ... Television device (broadcast receiving device)

Claims (8)

A classification means for classifying content into a plurality of categories according to predetermined classification criteria;
At least, thereby selectably displayed in the first direction of the display screen three of the categories, among the plurality of categories are displayed on the display screen, a list of the content that is classified to a category currently selected Display control means for controlling so as to be selectably displayed in the second direction of the display screen;
At least an operation means having an operation element capable of instructing the first or second direction,
The display control means includes
In response to a user operation by the operator for the first direction indication in said operation means, the said category is selected first direction sequential switching on Toggles Rutotomoni solid before and after the category is confirmed into place to display the category currently selected and controlled to selectably displaying a list of the content classified in categories in the fixed position to the currently displayed selected before Symbol second direction And
In response to a user operation by the operator for the second direction instruction, sequentially switched Viewing control that controls to display the title of the content to be selected previous list SL content being currently displayed apparatus. The operation means includes
Having at least up and down direction keys and left and right direction keys,
The display control means includes
In response to a user operation by the pressing operation of the right and left direction keys, the said category is selected first direction to sequential toggle Rutotomoni, the currently selected to a solid stereotactic location of the front and rear of the categories can be confirmed display category, and controls so that selectably displays a list of the content classified into categories in the fixed position to the currently displayed selected before Symbol second direction,
The display control device according to claim 1 that controls so as to correspond to the user operation to sequentially switch displays the title of the content to be selected in the list of prior SL content currently being displayed by the pressing operation of the up and down direction keys . The display control means includes
The display control apparatus according to the list of contents to be selectably displayed in the second direction to 請 Motomeko 1 that controls so as to be arranged along the recording date and time of the content. The content is
Recorded video content or broadcast video content,
The classification means includes
The display control apparatus according to 請 Motomeko 1 classify the video content being broadcast in different categories and recorded video content. The display control means includes
And displays sequentially switch the title of the content to be selected previous list SL content currently being displayed in response to a user operation by the operator for the second direction indication, it selected the content title the display control device according to 請 Motomeko 1 an image corresponding that controls to display on the display screen. The classification means includes
Using the category of broadcast content that is set in the EPG information, the display control device according to 請 Motomeko 1 classify the content. The classification means includes
User display control apparatus according to 請 Motomeko 1 classify the content according to the classification criteria set arbitrarily. A step of classifying into a plurality of categories in accordance with contents to a predetermined classification criterion, at least, as well as selectably displayed in the first direction of the display screen three of the categories, the plurality being displayed on the display screen Displaying a list of the contents classified into one currently selected category among the categories so as to be selectable in a second direction of the display screen ;
At least receiving the first or second direction indication ;
In response to receiving to said first direction instructions, wherein the category first direction sequential toggle Rutotomoni, category currently selected to a solid stereotactic location of the front and rear of the categories can be confirmed to be selected displays, and a step of selectably displaying a list of the content classified into categories in the fixed position to the currently displayed selected before Symbol second direction,
TABLE示制control how Yusuke and controlling so as to correspond to the receptor has been the second direction indication is displayed by sequentially switching the title of the content to be selected previous list SL content Ru currently displayed Tei .

Images