JP4270675B2 - Recorded program information processing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a recorded program information processing apparatus for digitally recording / reproducing video data such as past broadcast programs and broadcast program information on a digital disk whose capacity is rapidly increasing, and relates to an electronic program based on the reproduction time of the recorded program The present invention relates to a recorded program information processing apparatus that displays a table (EPG: Electronic Program Guide) intuitively and easily.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a prior art of a technique for providing a program guide for a recorded program recorded in the past, a technique described in JP-A-10-42242 is known. The technology described in the publication discloses a program table of recorded programs in order to handle an electronic program guide (hereinafter referred to as EPG) transmitted superimposed on a broadcast signal and an EPG representing a table of contents of the recorded program in an integrated manner. This is a technology that handles the program guide of the program scheduled to be broadcast and the program guide of the recorded program on the same screen in a unified manner and displays them in a multi-window manner to facilitate user operation.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-42242 is limited to the technique as an apparatus for creating and displaying a recorded program guide, and has the following problems when applied to an apparatus for reproducing a recorded program. First, in the technology described in the publication, it is not clear how to display the time axis of the recorded program guide. That is, assuming that the recorded program information is recorded in the required part of the VTR, the playback time (broadcast time) data recorded in the VTR is considered to be the time at the time of recording or the length of the broadcast time. The time at which it was displayed cannot be reflected in the recorded program guide. That is, when the recorded program guide is displayed, the playback time is applied to the current time and is not displayed on the real time axis. For this reason, the program guide displays the time based on the recording date or time, or the program guide based on the playback time length of the recorded program for how many hours and minutes, which may confuse the user. is there.
[0004]
Furthermore, the technique described in the publication stores the table of contents data representing the contents of the recorded video in a specific part such as the top part of the recording medium, and reproduces the recorded program in order to create a program table of the recorded program. Even if the program guide of the recorded program is displayed in the middle of the recording, all the recorded programs are written in the program guide in the same manner as displayed before the reproduction.
For example, when a program table of a recorded program is displayed when a certain one-hour program is played back / viewed for 45 minutes, the program table should include the remaining 15 minutes required for playback of the program. This is a matter of course considering that the electronic program guide (EPG) is used for the program viewing plan of the user. However, since the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-42242 is not originally a technique as a playback apparatus, such a display method is not mentioned at all.
Even though the user has finished viewing most of the recorded programs, the recorded program table displays all the recording time, and cannot know when it is all viewed.
[0005]
The same can be said not only when the recorded program playback program list is displayed, but also when the recorded program is played back / viewed halfway and stopped. In other words, if a recorded program is played back and stopped halfway, when the program guide is displayed later, the recorded program is recorded in the program guide from the middle of the playback stop, and the user remains intuitively. Although it should be possible to see the time, the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-42242 is such that the recorded program data is stored on the medium (VTR) on which the recorded video is originally recorded as described above. The rewriting of the recorded program data is not mentioned at all, so even if it is played or viewed halfway, the next time the program guide is displayed, the entire program is displayed again, and the user can view it correctly. There is a problem that you cannot make a plan.
[0006]
Therefore, the present invention is intended to solve the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is not to display the playback time by length of time when recording / viewing a video program. It is to provide a program guide of a recorded program that can intuitively know the viewing end time of the reproduced program by displaying the actual time starting from.
In addition, when the recorded program table after playback is stopped or the recorded program table currently being played back is displayed, the remaining playback time is calculated by subtracting the length of time the program was played / viewed from the time required for playback. By displaying the program, it is possible to provide a program guide that allows the user to know when it is more intuitive to view the recorded program to the end.
In addition, in a recording device that records a large amount of programs on a large-capacity digital media, it is intuitive how many programs can be recorded by displaying the approximate value of the additional recordable time length on the recorded program table. It is to provide a program guide that can be known.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The first technical means of the present invention comprises a program recording means for recording a program, a program information recording means for recording program information of a recorded program recorded by the program recording means, and a program reproduction for reproducing the recorded program and program information. Means for obtaining a current time, a reproduction time calculating means for calculating a time required for reproducing the recorded program, and an end for calculating a reproduction end time of the recorded program based on the current time and the reproduction time. A recorded program information processing apparatus comprising: time calculation means; and display control means for generating and displaying a program guide including program information stored in the program information storage means and a reproduction end time calculated by the end time calculation means. Features.
[0008]
According to a second technical means, in the recorded program information processing apparatus according to the first technical means, the display control means displays the program information for a plurality of recorded programs in correspondence with the reproduction end time for each program. It is characterized by .
[0009]
According to a third technical means, in the recorded program information processing apparatus according to the first technical means, the display control means determines the length of the time required for the reproduction, the area of the area for displaying the program information of the recorded program It is characterized by generating and displaying a program table expressed by the size of the program.
[0010]
According to a fourth technical means, in the recorded program information processing apparatus according to the first technical means, the program information storage means stores a reproduction stop position of the recorded program, and the reproduction time calculation means uses the reproduction stop position as a reference. And calculating the time required to reproduce the program .
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of a recorded program information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a recorded program information processing apparatus according to the present invention, which comprises a main body 10 and an optical transmission type remote controller 100 (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller).
The main body 10 includes a display device 11 for displaying the program itself and the program guide, and the video output interface such as the recorded program guide and the video program itself uses this display section 11. Although all kinds of display devices can be used as the display device 11, a liquid crystal display device is generally used. The main body 10 is an external storage device that reads a broadcast signal receiving antenna 12, a power switch 13, left and right speakers 14, 15, a light receiving unit 16 for an optical remote control, a clock 17, and a portable storage medium 30 such as a DVD. A device 18 (DVD-RAM drive) is provided.
Note that the broadcasting system targeted by the present invention includes the Internet that can be simultaneously received by a plurality of terminals, and communication systems such as CS broadcasting, and includes not only video broadcasting systems, but also character media broadcasting systems, audio media broadcasting systems, etc. However, any system in which an electronic program guide (EPG) is broadcast superimposed on broadcast content can be used.
[0015]
The remote control 100 includes a recording start switch 101, a recorded program guide display switch 102, a recorded program deletion switch 103, and cursor movement switches 104 to move a selection cursor when options are displayed on the display device 11 of the main body 10. 107, a recorded program reproduction switch 108 and a recorded program reproduction stop switch 109 are provided. When the user presses down when requesting a desired function, a corresponding command is transmitted from the light emitting unit 110.
The operation of the system for each request will be described later.
[0016]
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the recorded program information processing apparatus. When the user presses the recording start switch 101 after receiving the program information signal and the signal of the program itself by the receiving antenna 12 and demodulating them by a tuner (not shown), the program information is recorded by the program information recording means 22 or The program content itself is compressed by the program recording means 21 using the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) 2 method, and the program content itself is recorded on the recording medium 30 such as a DVD by the external storage device 18.
[0017]
The display control means 23 acquires the current time from the time acquisition means (clock) 17 according to the instructions of the various button switches 101 to 109 of the remote control 100 received via the remote control light receiving unit 16 and has been recorded from the program information recording means 22. The program guide of the program is acquired, and the recorded program is acquired from the program recording means 21. Then, the recorded program is reproduced from the respective data using the recorded program reproducing means 24, the time length required for reproduction is calculated using the reproduction time length calculating means 25, and additional writing is performed using the additional writable time calculating means 26. The possible time length is calculated and displayed and controlled on the display device 11 of the recorded program information processing apparatus main body 10.
However, the recorded program reproduction means 24 is dedicated hardware for decompressing the recorded compressed data in the MPEG2 format, manages the time of reproduction / viewing using the reproduction timing storage means 27, and manages the viewing in the program information recording means 22. Create and update files. Thereafter, the display control means 23, the reproduction timing storage means 27, the recorded program reproduction means 24, the reproduction time length arithmetic means 25, the additional writable time calculation means 26, the recorded program deletion means 28, and the recorded program information deletion means 29 are collected. I will call it a system.
[0018]
Next, program recording means for recording a program will be described with reference to FIG.
Since the recorded program information processing apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus that displays and presents recorded video content, when recording a program, the program information of the recorded program is simultaneously displayed in preparation for the recorded program table display described later. Save in the recording means 22. FIG. 3 shows an operation flow when the apparatus starts and ends recording. When the user presses the recording start switch 101 of the remote controller 100 (step 1) and receives a recording command from the light receiving unit 16, program content and program information are acquired via the receiving antenna 12 and a tuner (not shown) (step 2). . The system controls the program recording means 21 and the program information recording means 22 to record the program content on the external storage medium 30 such as a DVD in a compressed data format and the program information as it is (step 3). . The channel to be recorded uses a cursor movement switch on the remote controller 100, that is, when the upper switch 104 is pressed, the reception channel is increased by one channel, and when the lower switch 105 is pressed, the channel is decreased by one channel.
[0019]
When the recording start switch 101 is pressed, the user starts recording the channel / program selected and received by the upper switch 104 and the lower switch 105. At this time, the system decodes the selected channel number and program name from the predetermined position of the electronic program guide data format and stores them in the program information recording means 22 (step 3), and acquires the recording start time from the time acquisition means 17 Then, it is recorded on the program information recording means 22 (step 4). The recorded program information is managed by generating a management format file as shown in FIG. 4 on the external storage medium 30. The format of FIG. 4 will be described in detail later.
[0020]
As described above, the system that started recording continues recording until the stop switch 109 is pressed. When there is no recording area in the system (steps 5 and 6), or when the stop switch 109 is pressed (step 5), the recording end time is acquired from the time acquisition means 17 (step 7). By subtracting the recording start time, the recording time (time length required for reproduction) is stored in the recorded program information management format file of FIG. 4 (step 8). Further, the data size of the recorded program is obtained, the smallest unused number among 0001 to 9999 is used as the file name, and both are stored in the recorded program information management format (steps 9 and 10).
[0021]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a recorded program information management format file. This table is a table of 96 bytes per program having a recorded program name of 64 bytes, a playback time of 4 bytes, a viewing status of 4 bytes, a start frame of 8 bytes, a data size of 8 bytes, and a file name of 8 bytes. In the last column, a NULL character is added to each parameter. As described above, the recorded program name is acquired from the EPG at the start of recording and recorded, and the playback time, data size, and file name are recorded at the end of recording. The viewing status indicating the playback time when playback / viewing is performed halfway and the next start frame number when playback is stopped halfway are parameters stored by the system during playback operations, and will be described later with reference to FIG. Incidentally, for a recorded program that has not been reproduced and viewed at all, the start frame is 00000001 and the viewing status is 00 hours 00 minutes.
[0022]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the recorded program viewing management means.
The user depresses the right switch 106 and the left switch 107 of the remote controller 100 from the recorded program table (FIG. 8) displayed on the display device 11 of the main body 10 to select a desired recorded program, and further presses the playback switch 108. When pressed (step 21), the system controls the recorded program reproduction means 24 to acquire the reproduction start frame number from the management file (FIG. 4) stored in the recorded program information recording means 22 and from the program recording means 21. The recorded program content is reproduced (step 22).
[0023]
As described above, since the program content stored in the program recording means 21 is compressed by, for example, MPEG2, the recorded program reproduction means 24 is dedicated hardware for decoding the MPEG2 signal, and decodes the data in real time. The data is transmitted to the display control means 23, reproduced and displayed from the k-th frame of the start frame (step 22), and the value k of the frame counter is incremented by 1 and written to the management file (steps 23 to 25). At this time, the number of frames currently decoded by the frame counter k is counted and sequentially transmitted to the reproduction time counting storage unit 27.
The reproduction timing storage means 27 measures the I frame number currently decoded by the recorded program reproduction means 24 and the length of time that the recorded program reproduction means 24 reproduced the program, and the recorded program stored in the program information recording means 22 Write sequentially to the management file (FIG. 4). That is, in the MPEG2 compression method, there are I frame, B frame, and P frame, but the I frame is a capture frame of the entire screen, whereas the B frame and P frame are each a difference frame, so that playback is performed halfway. In this case, it is efficient to reproduce from the I frame closest to the point.
[0024]
The k is recorded in the recorded program management file (FIG. 4) for each I frame until the recorded program is watched to the end, that is, until the recording end point, or the stop switch S4 is pressed by the user (step 24, Step 25). When the recorded program is reproduced up to the recording end point or when S4 is pressed by the user (step 24), the last reproduction time (in this case, equal to the reproduction time of the entire recorded program) and the last are the same as in the routine. The decoded frame number is written in the recorded program management file and the reproduction process is terminated (steps 24 and 26). Incidentally, when the recorded program is reproduced up to the recording end point, the reproduction time and the viewing situation time are equal.
[0025]
A means for displaying the recorded program guide will be described with reference to FIG.
When the user presses the recorded program table display switch 102 on the remote controller 100 (step 31), the system reads the recorded program management file shown in FIG. 4 into an appropriate buffer area of the random access memory provided in the display control means 23 (step 31). 32). When the user is reproducing the recorded program, as described in the processing flow shown in FIG. 5, the recorded program management file stores the number of frames reproduced and the reproduction time length.
[0026]
Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the display of program information displayed at the left end of the recorded program table displayed on the display device 11, that is, the portion closest to the present along the real time axis will be described.
When the currently recorded program is being reproduced, the reproduced program is displayed first (steps 33 and 34). At this time, the currently reproduced program is first displayed from the data of the recorded program management file of FIG. 4 (the display flow will be described later with reference to FIG. 7). After the display, the record of the program being reproduced is deleted from the recorded program management file (FIG. 4) on the buffer (step 35), and the recorded program information thereafter is shifted upward.
If the recorded program is not currently being played back, the program with the oldest start date is displayed. In this display method, similarly to the case where the recorded program is being reproduced, the oldest recorded program displayed is erased from the recorded program management file read into the buffer, and the subsequent program information is shifted up one line (step 36). ). This display flow is shown in FIG. 7 and will be described later.
[0027]
The system acquires the current time when the recorded program guide is displayed based on the playback time of the program guide of the recorded program, and displays each recorded program on the real time axis based on the current time. Therefore, the system obtains the current time from the time obtaining means 17 here, and further obtains the reproduction time length from the data of the recorded program management file shown in FIG. 4 stored in the buffer. Addition is performed on the real time axis, and the reproduction end scheduled time is displayed on the display device 11.
[0028]
These operations are repeated (steps 37 to 40), and the second and subsequent recorded programs are all displayed in order from 1 in the column order of the recorded program management file. Until all the programs have been displayed or until the left end of the recorded program table display screen (FIG. 8) has been displayed, that is, the scheduled playback end time of the displayed recorded program determined by the display flow of FIG. The display is repeated until the future schedule time Tmax (the right end of the screen) at which the program table can be displayed becomes equal to or larger.
[0029]
Thereafter, the remaining data size is obtained from the sum of the file sizes for those programs (step 41). The calculation method is very simple. For example, the total file size of recorded programs is subtracted from 5.2 GB which is the standard storage capacity of DVD-RAM. Next, the system calculates how many hours the program can be recorded from the remaining data size. As described above, since this system employs the MPEG2 system as an image recording system, an average bit rate of 4 Mbps and an hour of video can be recorded at about 3.0 GB. Using this relationship, if the remaining data size is XGB,
Remaining recordable time T = X / 3.0 (hours)
Thus, an approximate remaining recordable time T is obtained (step 42). Here, the rectangular area representing the obtained length of T is displayed in the same manner as when the program rectangular area is displayed (FIG. 7) (step 43), and the process ends.
[0030]
However, MPEG2 employs a variable bit rate method, and the bit rate is automatically changed for a screen with little motion and a screen with heavy motion. For this reason, the remaining recordable time T varies depending on the image to be recorded and cannot be accurately obtained. However, in this apparatus, a sufficient display effect is obtained by obtaining an approximate value of whether the remaining recordable time length is 1 hour or 10 hours.
[0031]
Next, a means for displaying the program rectangular area will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the program area or the free time area is a rectangular area, and the reproduction time is expressed by the area. First, the viewing status of the program to be displayed is determined from the recorded program management file read into the buffer area (step 51). That is, if the viewing status in the recorded program management file shown in FIG. 4 is equal to the playback time, the process is returned to FIG. 6 without displaying the program. That is, the program viewed to the end is not displayed in the recorded program table. If the viewing situation is not equal to the playback time, the remaining playback time of the program is calculated as follows (step 52).
Remaining playback time = (program playback time)-(viewing status)
From this remaining reproduction time, the size of the rectangular area to be displayed is obtained (step 53). That is, if the maximum time that the program table can be displayed is T (hours), the width from the left end to the right end of the program guide is a (cm), and the playback time length of the recorded program is b (time), the width of the rectangular area w (cm) can be expressed as follows.
w = ab / T (cm)
The height of the rectangular area is a constant value c (cm).
[0032]
As described above, the rectangular area is obtained, and the rectangular area of the recorded program to be displayed is displayed left justified (step 54). Furthermore, if the displayed program is the leftmost program, the current time is the scheduled playback start time in the program guide. Otherwise, the playback time of the program to be displayed is the scheduled playback end time of the recorded program displayed immediately before. The length is added, and the reproduction end scheduled time is displayed at the upper part of the right end of the rectangular part (step 55). An example is shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 9 shows an enlarged view of each program rectangular part and empty area rectangular part. In other words, it is expressed by the rectangular portion having the above-mentioned vertical and horizontal lengths. In each rectangular area, the program name, recording start date, and playback time length are recorded at regular intervals from the top for the recorded program, and the free area is shown in FIG. For “9”, “free area” and the remaining recordable time length are displayed.
[0033]
Finally, a process associated with erasing program content will be described with reference to FIG. When the user erases the recorded program, the recorded program information needs to be deleted from the recorded program management file. That is, when the recorded program table is displayed on the display device 11 and a recorded program to be deleted is selected by the right switch 106 and the left switch 107 and the recorded program deletion switch 103 is pressed (step 61), the system records program recording means. The program is deleted from the program 21 (step 62). At the same time, the program information is recorded from the program information recording means 22 in the recorded program management file (FIG. 4), and one line of all the program entries is deleted (step 63). .
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a program table of a recorded program that is easier to use when mainly recording and viewing video programs. That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to intuitively know when the recorded program is viewed to the end in the real time when the recorded program table is displayed.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to know the time when a plurality of recorded programs are viewed. According to the invention of claim 3, the playback time of the recorded program can be intuitively known from the size of the area of the program information to be displayed. Further, according to the invention of claim 4, it is possible to know the reproduction end time of the case of viewing the remaining recording program stops playing and viewing halfway.
[0035]
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a recorded program information processing apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a recorded program information processing apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a program recording flow.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a recorded program management format.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a playback flow.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a recorded program display flow.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a program area display flow;
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a “recorded program guide” display screen;
FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the program display rectangle.
FIG. 10 is a recorded program information deletion flow.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Record program information processing apparatus main body, 11 ... Display apparatus, 12 ... Reception antenna, 13 ... Power switch, 14, 15 ... Left and right speaker, 16 ... Light-receiving part for remote controls, 17 ... Time acquisition means (clock), 18 ... External storage device, 21 ... Program recording means, 22 ... Program information recording means, 23 ... Display control means, 24 ... Recorded program reproduction means, 25 ... Reproduction time length calculation means, 26 ... Additional writable time calculation means, 27 ... Reproduction time storage means 28 ... recorded program deletion means 29 ... recorded program information deletion means 30 ... storage medium 100 ... remote controller 101 ... recording start / end switch 102 ... recorded program table display switch 103 ... recorded program Deletion switch, 104-107 ... Cursor movement switch, 108 ... Reproduction switch, 109 ... Stop switch.

Claims (4)

Program recording means for recording a program;
A program information recording means for recording the program information of the recorded program recorded by該番set recording means,
Program reproducing means for reproducing the recorded program and program information;
Time acquisition means for acquiring the current time;
Reproduction time calculating means for calculating the time required for reproducing the recorded program;
End time calculating means for calculating a playback end time of the recorded program based on the current time and the playback time;
A recorded program information processing apparatus comprising: display control means for generating and displaying a program table including program information stored in the program information storage means and a reproduction end time calculated by the end time calculation means . The recorded program information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The recorded control information processing apparatus , wherein the display control means displays program information for a plurality of recorded programs in association with a reproduction end time for each program. The recorded program information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The recorded program information processing apparatus characterized in that the display control means generates and displays a program table that expresses the length of the calculated time required for reproduction by the size of an area for displaying program information of a recorded program. . The recorded program information processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The recorded program information processing apparatus characterized in that the program information storage means stores a reproduction stop position of a recorded program, and the reproduction time calculation means calculates a time required to reproduce the program based on the reproduction stop position .

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