JP4311269B2 - Recording control apparatus and medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording control device that controls recording of a television program, and a broadcasting station that transmits the television program and program information of the television program.

  The number of programs that can be viewed has increased due to the increase in the number of channels of TV programs and the diversification of user preferences, and it has become difficult for users to select a desired program from many programs. Therefore, an electronic program guide (EPG) that supports the user to select a program that the user wants to watch or record with a simple operation has been used. The user only has to display information on a program to be broadcast on the monitor using the EPG and select a program to be viewed or recorded with a remote controller or the like from the displayed program information. Actual channel selection and recording reservation work are automatically performed. Such a technique using EPG is an indispensable technique particularly in pay broadcasting (PPV: pay-per-view).

  The configuration of a broadcast / reception system composed of such a conventional recording control device and broadcast station will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a conventional broadcast / reception system. A portion surrounded by a dotted line is a recording control device.

  First, in the recording control apparatus, the EPG 1305 inputs program information broadcast from the broadcasting station 1301 via the input unit 1303 and stores it in the program information storage unit 1304. After that, the EPG 1305 displays the program information stored in the program information storage unit 1304 on the monitor using the display control unit 1306 if there is an instruction from the user. The program information is displayed so that a program that has already been viewed or reserved for recording can be identified. Then, the user looks at the displayed program information and, if there is a program to be recorded, selects the program with a remote controller or the like.

  The program selected by the user is input to the EPG 1305 via the reservation information input unit 1302, and the EPG 1305 creates reservation information for the program. The created reservation information is sent to the reservation information management unit 1307 and stored in the reservation information storage unit 1308.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 1308. The reservation information includes a reservation number, date, channel, program name, recording start time, recording end time, recording status, and the like.

  If there is an instruction from the user, the reservation information management unit 1307 causes the display control unit 1306 to display the reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 1308 on the monitor. The reservation information is displayed so that the recorded program can be identified.

  Then, the reservation information management unit 1307 takes out the reservation information having the recording start time closest to the current time after the current time from the reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 1308, and the program of the reservation information is a video. Recording control is performed so that recording is performed on the recording medium of the storage unit 1309.

Note that the input unit 1303 inputs a program as well as program information from the broadcasting station 1301, outputs the program information to the EPG 1305, and outputs the program to the video storage unit 1309.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-21601

  However, in the above-described conventional broadcast / reception system, only a program after the current time can be reserved for recording.

  In other words, the recording control device normally reserves a program after the current time, so there is no problem. However, when a user forgets to make a recording reservation or a program that has failed to be recorded is rebroadcast. It is necessary to schedule recording again.

  However, since the period from the end of the main broadcast to the re-broadcast of the desired program is not determined, the user always checks the date and time when the desired program is actually re-broadcast, and there is a re-broadcast If you find out, you will have to schedule the recording again, and if you do not know that there is a rebroadcast, you will miss it again.

  In addition, for the user, for a program for which viewing or recording reservation has been forgotten, a program for which recording has been reserved, or a program for which recording has been controlled by the user in real time, The problem arises that viewing or recording is not possible until there is a rebroadcast.

  In addition, it is difficult to automatically discriminate rebroadcast because it is impossible to specify which program is a rebroadcast by program information alone.

  On the other hand, for the broadcasting station side, since user preferences are diversified, there may be cases where the user's needs cannot be ascertained as to what program the user wants, and the program that meets the user's needs Selection is becoming difficult.

  In the present invention, in the conventional broadcasting / receiving system, in consideration of the problem that the recording reservation work must be performed again at the time of re-broadcasting for a program that has failed to be recorded, An object of the present invention is to provide a recording control device that controls to record a program without inputting a recording reservation instruction from a user again when the program is rebroadcast.

  Further, the present invention is a program that is not reserved for recording in the conventional broadcasting / receiving system in consideration of the problem that a program for which the user has forgotten viewing or recording reservation cannot be viewed or recorded until re-broadcasting. However, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording control device that performs control so as to be recorded.

  Further, the present invention automatically determines the original program of the rebroadcast program in consideration of the problem that it is difficult to automatically determine the original program of the rebroadcast program in the conventional broadcast / reception system. It is an object of the present invention to provide a broadcasting station that transmits information to be transmitted and a recording control device that automatically determines an original program to be rebroadcast using the information.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides a broadcast / reception system that considers the problem that the broadcast station has not been able to grasp the user's needs, grasps the user's needs, and decides a program to be broadcast based on the needs. The purpose is to provide a station.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, a program information storage unit for storing program information, a reservation information input unit for inputting a recording reservation instruction for a predetermined program from the program information stored in the program information storage unit, Based on the recording reservation instruction input by the reservation information input section, when the designated program is broadcast, the first recording control section for controlling the program to be recorded, and all of the designated programs Or, when a part of the program is not recorded, an unrecorded information storage unit that stores information on the program or the unrecorded unit, and information on the program or the unrecorded unit stored in the unrecorded information storage unit When a program that has not been recorded in whole or in part is rebroadcast, a second recording control that controls so that at least the unrecorded portion of the rebroadcast program is recorded. A recording control apparatus characterized by comprising and.

  The second aspect of the present invention is a program information storage unit for storing program information and a case where a predetermined program is recorded in real time under user control, and when all or a part of the program is not recorded, All or part of the information is recorded based on the information related to the program or the unrecorded part stored in the unrecorded information storage part and the information related to the program or the unrecorded part stored in the unrecorded information storage part. A recording control apparatus comprising: a recording control unit that controls to record at least a portion of the re-broadcast program that has not been recorded when the program that has not been re-broadcast .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program information storage unit for storing program information, a reservation information input unit for inputting an instruction to record a predetermined program from the program information stored in the program information storage unit, and the reservation Based on the recording instruction input by the information input unit, if the instructed program is already broadcast, control is performed so that when the already broadcast program is rebroadcast, the program is recorded. And a recording control unit that performs the recording control.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the recording control device according to any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the program that has not been recorded in whole or in part, or the already broadcasted program is rebroadcasted. The recording control apparatus further includes a request transmission unit that transmits a rebroadcast request of the program to the broadcast station.

  The fifth aspect of the present invention uses a program information storage unit for storing program information, a recording control unit for controlling all programs to be recorded, and program information stored in the program information storage unit. A display control unit for controlling all or a part of the programs stored in a recording medium for recording the program under the control of the recording control unit, and the all or one of the ones displayed by the display control unit. And a remaining program instruction input unit for inputting an instruction of a program to be left on the recording medium.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the recording control device of the fifth aspect of the present invention, a warning issuing unit for detecting a remaining recordable capacity of the recording medium and issuing a warning when the recordable capacity is smaller than a predetermined amount is provided. The recording control apparatus further includes the recording control apparatus.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention is a broadcasting station characterized in that a program to be broadcast is determined using a rebroadcast request for the program from the request transmission unit of the recording control apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the broadcasting station of the seventh aspect of the present invention, rebroadcasting is performed based on the number of hours of use of slots allocated to broadcast a rebroadcast program and the arrival status of the rebroadcast request. The broadcast station is characterized by determining a program to be played.

  The ninth aspect of the present invention is the broadcasting station of the eighth aspect of the present invention, wherein at least the program information of the program to be rebroadcasted is FM character multiplex broadcasting, the vertical blanking interval of the TV signal, and the program other than the program to be rebroadcasted The broadcasting station is characterized in that the transmission is performed using any one of the data channels of data broadcasting using satellite broadcasting, which is logically different from the channel for transmitting the program information.

  In a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the broadcasting station of the eighth aspect of the present invention, at least the program information of the program to be rebroadcasted is transmitted using either FM character multiplex broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, or a public telephone line network. A broadcast station characterized in that the recording control device that has transmitted the rebroadcast request is designated and transmitted.

  In the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the broadcasting station of the ninth or tenth aspect of the present invention, information for specifying the original program of the rebroadcast program is added, and the program information of the rebroadcast program is transmitted. It is a broadcasting station characterized by this.

  In a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the recording control device of any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, information for specifying the original program of the rebroadcasted program from the broadcasting station of the eleventh aspect of the present invention And a rebroadcast determination unit for determining which of the programs that has already been broadcast using the program information to which the rebroadcast is added. It is.

  A thirteenth aspect of the present invention includes any one of the first to sixth and twelfth aspect of the present invention, and the seventh to eleventh aspect of the present invention. Broadcast / receive system.

  A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a program for realizing all or a part of each function of each component of the recording control apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth and twelfth aspects of the present invention is stored. It is a medium to do.

  The fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a medium characterized by storing a program for realizing all or a part of the functions of any of the seventh to eleventh aspects of the present invention.

  As is clear from the above description, the present invention can record a program that has failed to be recorded without inputting a recording reservation instruction from the user again when the program is rebroadcast. It is possible to provide a recording control device that performs control as described above.

  In addition, the present invention can provide a recording control apparatus that controls to record even a program that is not reserved for recording.

  In addition, the present invention automatically determines a broadcast station that transmits information for automatically determining an original program of a rebroadcast program, and an original program of a program that is rebroadcast using the information. And a video recording control device.

  Furthermore, the present invention can provide a broadcasting station that determines a program to be broadcast with reference to the user's needs.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
The configuration of the broadcast / reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described together with the operation thereof.

  FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a broadcast / reception system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the broadcast / reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a recording control device 113 and a broadcast station 101. In FIG. 1, among the recording control devices 113 surrounded by dotted lines, 102 is a reservation information input unit, 103 is an input unit, 104 is a program information storage unit, 105 is an EPG, 106 is a display control unit, and 107 is The rebroadcast reservation management unit 108 is a first recording control unit, 109 is a reservation information storage unit, 110 is a rebroadcast determination unit, 111 is a second recording control unit, and 112 is a video storage unit.

  The broadcast station 101 broadcasts a program and broadcasts program information of the program. The input unit 103 of the recording control device 113 receives the program from the broadcast station 101 and also displays the program information of the program. The program is received, the program is output to the video storage unit 112, and the program information is output to the EPG 105.

  The operation of the broadcast / reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention has two operations, one relating to recording reservation and one relating to recording, and these will be described in order.

  First, the recording reservation operation will be described.

  First, an EPG (Electronic Program Information Guide) 105 of the recording control device 113 inputs program information transmitted using the vertical blanking interval of the TV signal from the broadcasting station 101 via the input unit 103. And stored in the program information storage unit 104.

  Thereafter, when instructed by the user, the EPG 105 causes the display control unit 106 to display the program information stored in the program information storage unit 104 on the monitor. The program information may include information on a program broadcast before the current time. That is, information on programs broadcast in the future may be included in addition to information on programs broadcast in the future.

  Then, the user looks at the program information displayed on the monitor and designates the program to be recorded in the reservation information input unit 102 using a remote controller or the like. Note that the user can designate not only programs to be broadcast from now on, but also programs that have already been broadcast. Then, the EPG 105 inputs a program designated by the user from the reservation information input unit 102, extracts the program information of the program from the program information storage unit 104, and creates program reservation information.

  At this time, if the input program is already broadcast, the EPG 105 adds a re-broadcast recording mark indicating that recording is performed when the program is re-broadcast to the reservation information, and re-broadcast reservation is performed. The data is output to the management unit 107. On the other hand, if the input program is a program broadcast after the current time, the EPG 105 outputs the reservation information as it is to the first recording control unit 108. Then, the rebroadcast reservation management unit 107 and the first recording control unit 108 cause the reservation information storage unit 109 to store the input reservation information.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 109. The reservation information includes a reservation number, date, channel, program name, recording start time, recording end time, re-broadcast recording mark, and the like. The reservation information includes the recording status, and the reservation information storage unit 109 manages the recording status of the program reserved by the user. The recording status indicates whether the program reserved for recording is unrecorded, being recorded, recorded, or errored. , Each is displayed. An error indicates that recording could not be performed for some reason. In the case of an error, the reason is also managed.

  One example of the reason for the error is that the video tape is not inserted or the remaining amount is insufficient. In the above description, since several programs have been reserved for recording and have not yet been broadcast, a mark indicating “not recorded” is written in the recording status column. Thereafter, when a program reserved for recording is broadcast, a mark indicating “recording”, “recorded” or “error” is written in the recording status column of the corresponding program. The reservation information shown in FIG. 2 is assumed to have been created on November 30, 1998.

  Next, the recording operation will be described.

  As the recording operation, there are a case where the program reserved for recording is recorded under the control of the first recording control unit 108 and a case where the user performs manual control during the broadcast of the program. Will be explained.

  First, a case where recording is performed under the control of the first recording control unit 108 will be described.

  The first recording control unit 108 extracts the reservation information that is after the current time and is closest to the current time from the reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 109, and the reservation information according to the extracted reservation information. Control is performed so that the program corresponding to is recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112.

  That is, the first recording control unit 108 outputs a recording start command to the video storage unit 112 based on the reservation information, for example, 5 seconds before the recording start time, and the video storage unit 112 receives from the first recording control unit 108. Recording is started on the recording medium based on the instruction. Similarly, the first recording control unit 108 outputs a recording end command to the video storage unit 112 based on the reservation information, for example, 5 seconds before the recording end time, and the video storage unit 112 Recording is ended based on an instruction from 108. In this way, for example, on December 1, 1998, the first recording control unit 108 controls to record the program with reservation number 1 in FIG.

  When the recording ends, the first recording control unit 108 causes the video storage unit 112 to check the recording status of the program. Then, when the first recording control unit 108 receives a report from the video storage unit 112 that the recording has been interrupted due to insufficient storage capacity of the recording medium, the first recording control unit 108 includes the reservation information of the program stored in the reservation information storage unit 109. A re-broadcast recording mark and information on the recorded part are added. The information is information for specifying a recorded part, and includes a recording start time, a recording end time, and the like of the recorded part. In this case, an error is written in the recording status column of the reservation information. On the other hand, when the first recording control unit 108 receives a report from the video storage unit 112 that the recording has been normally performed, the first recording control unit 108 adds the reservation information of the program stored in the reservation information storage unit 109 to “ A mark “recorded” is added.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of reservation information in this case. The reservation information includes a reservation number, date, channel, program name, recording start time, recording end time, re-broadcast recording mark, and the like. As shown in FIG. 3, the reservation information of reservation number 3 is marked with an error as a recording state, a recording start time and an end time when recording was actually performed, and a rebroadcast mark. Note that the reservation information shown in FIG. 3 was created at 22:54 on Dec. 5, 1998, and as described above, there was an error in recording the program with reservation number 3 However, the program with reservation number 1 is recorded without error.

  Next, a case will be described in which the user performs manual control while recording a program.

  When the user manually controls the start of recording on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 during the broadcast of the program, the first recording control unit 108 generates reservation information for the program being recorded, and the reservation information storage unit 109 is stored. When recording from the middle of a program, a re-broadcast recording mark, a recording start time, and a recording end time are added and stored in the reservation information storage unit 109. In addition, even when information indicating that all or a part of the program could not be recorded for some reason after the manual recording is finished is input from the video storage unit 112, the first recording control unit 108 also performs the re-broadcasting. A recording mark is added and stored in the reservation information storage unit 109. On the other hand, when the program can be recorded from the beginning to the end, the broadcast start time and the recording start time of the program, and the broadcast end time and the recording end time of the program match. The rebroadcast recording mark, recording start time and recording end time are not added.

  Next, like the program of reservation number 2 in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the above-mentioned program that is not recorded in whole or in part when manually controlled and recorded, or the reserved program 3 in FIG. A recording reservation operation for recording a program that has been reserved for recording but has not been recorded in whole or in part will be described.

  The EPG 105 outputs the program information input from the input unit 103 to the program information storage unit 104 and also to the rebroadcast determination unit 110. The rebroadcast determination unit 110 checks whether there is a rebroadcast recording mark reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 109 that represents the same program as the transmitted program information.

  When the rebroadcast determination unit 110 finds reservation information that represents the same program as the input program information, the rebroadcast determination unit 110 determines that the input program information is rebroadcast program information, and the program information is retransmitted. It reports to the EPG 105 that it is a broadcast program and has already been reserved for recording, and the reservation number of the corresponding reservation information. Since the information on the original program is described in the rebroadcast program information, the rebroadcast determination unit 110 uses the information on the original program so that the input program information is the rebroadcast program information. It can be determined that there is.

  When the rebroadcast determination unit 110 detects program information of the same program as the input program information, the EPG 105 receives a report to that effect from the rebroadcast determination unit 110 and reports the program information as rebroadcast program information. The received reservation number is output to the rebroadcast reservation management unit 107.

  The rebroadcast reservation management unit 107 extracts the reservation information of the input reservation number from the reservation information storage unit 109, updates it using the input rebroadcast program information, and stores it again in the reservation information storage unit 109. . The update performed here is to update the channel, broadcast time, etc. at the time of the previous broadcast to those at the time of rebroadcast.

  At this time, if the information of the part that was actually recorded is added to the extracted reservation information, the rebroadcast reservation management unit 107 newly creates reservation information of the unrecorded part, and the reservation information storage unit 109 is stored.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 109 in this way. The reservation information includes a reservation number, date, channel, program name, recording start time, recording end time, re-broadcast recording mark, and the like. The reservation information includes information on related programs, and indicates reservation information related to the program represented by the reservation information. For example, the number of reservation information at the time of re-broadcasting of a portion that could not be recorded in the main broadcast.

  In FIG. 4, the reservation information of reservation number 3 indicates reservation information to which a re-broadcast recording mark and information of the part that was actually recorded are added. The reservation information of reservation number 11 is the reservation information of reservation number 3. The reservation information of the unrecorded part of the program represented by the information is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the program represented by reservation number 3 has been recorded for 30 minutes from the start of the program. In response, the actual broadcast start time of the program of reservation number 11 is 16:00, but the recording start time of reservation number 11 is set 30 minutes after the start of the program, that is, 16:30, and the recording ends. The time is set at the end of the program.

  In addition, 11 is described in the related number of the reservation information of reservation number 3, indicating that reservation information of an unrecorded part of the program is stored in reservation number 11 from the recording time or the like. On the contrary, 3 is described in the related number of the reservation information of the reservation number 11, and it indicates that the reservation information of the reservation number 11 is the reservation information of the unrecorded portion of the reservation information 3 from the recording time or the like.

  Next, the recording operation during rebroadcasting will be described.

  The first recording control unit 108 extracts reservation information closest to the current time after the current time from the reservation information storage unit 109. When the extracted reservation information is reservation information of the unrecorded part during the main broadcast, the first recording control unit 108 also extracts the reservation information related to the reservation information and outputs it to the second recording control unit 111. That is, when the first recording control unit 108 extracts the reservation number 11 of the reservation number 11 shown in FIG.

  Then, the second recording control unit 111 inputs the reservation information of the reservation numbers 3 and 11, and detects and manages where the video of the program with the reservation number 3 is stored in the recording medium of the video storage unit 112. .

  FIG. 5 shows an example of storage information and reservation information managed by the second recording control unit 111. The stored information and reservation information are configured by date, channel, program name, recording start time, recording end time, recording position, reservation number, and the like. The recording position is a physical position where the program is actually stored in the recording medium of the video storage unit 112. FIG. 5 shows the storage information of the video recorded by the reservation number 3 and the reservation information of the reservation number 11 related to the reservation number 3.

  Then, the second recording control unit 111 controls the video storage unit 112 based on the managed storage information and reservation information, and the program reserved in the reservation number 11 after the video recorded by the reservation number 3 Are recorded on the recording medium.

  FIG. 6 shows an example in which the second recording control unit 111 records an unrecorded part to complete a program.

  (1) in FIG. 6 shows a state after the recording operation is performed during the main broadcast, and the hatched portion is a recorded portion. (2) in FIG. 6 shows a state where the program is completed by adding the unrecorded portion by the second recording control unit 111 during the rebroadcast. This is an unrecorded part with the mesh part added.

  Up to this point, the operation for recording an unrecorded portion of a program when a partially recorded program is rebroadcasted has been shown. On the other hand, regardless of whether the program with reservation number 2 in FIGS. 2 and 3 is rebroadcast, or whether the program is controlled by the first recording control unit 108 or the user, the entire program is broadcast. When a program that has not been recorded is rebroadcast, the operation for recording the program is the same as the operation for recording the unrecorded portion described above.

  That is, when the first recording control unit 108 retrieves the reservation information to which only the rebroadcast recording mark is added from the reservation information storage unit 109, in other words, the program of the reservation number 2 in FIG. 2 and FIG. In other words, when reservation information of a program that has already been broadcast or a program that has not been recorded at the time of the main broadcast is retrieved to the first recording control unit 108, the second recording control unit 111 sends the reservation information to the first recording control unit 108. In accordance with the retrieved reservation information, control is performed so that the entire program is recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 during rebroadcasting.

  Then, when the recording is completed, the first recording control unit 108 causes the video storage unit 112 to check the recording status. When the recording is normally completed, the first recording control unit 108 deletes the re-broadcast recording mark in the reservation information and records the recording. Mark the situation as recorded. On the other hand, if there is an error in recording, the “error” mark is attached in the same manner as in the case where there is an error in recording during the main broadcast described above.

  In the first embodiment described above, the first recording control unit 108 as the first recording control unit, the reservation information storage unit 109 as the unrecorded information storage unit, and the second recording control unit as the second recording control unit according to the present invention of claim 1. Two recording control units 111 were used. Further, according to the present invention of claim 2, the reservation information storage unit 109 is used as an unrecorded information storage unit, and the second recording control unit 111 is used as a recording control unit. Further, according to the present invention of claim 3, the reservation information storage unit 109 is used as an unrecorded information storage unit, and the second recording control unit 111 is used as a recording control unit.

  Further, in the first embodiment described above, the reservation information storage unit 109 stores the information of the recorded part when the recording state is an error as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. If the recording state is an error, the reservation information storage unit 109 may store the name of the program in which an error occurred during the recording.

  In Embodiment 1 described above, when a program in which an error has occurred during recording is rebroadcast, the second recording control unit 111 does not record a portion that has already been recorded, but only a portion that has not been recorded. Control is performed so that the recorded part at the time of re-broadcasting is added to the already recorded part, but the second recording control unit 111 performs the re-broadcasting of the program in which an error has occurred during recording. It is also possible to control so that the entire video from the beginning to the end is recorded.

  In addition, the first recording control unit 108 described above displays the reservation status stored in the reservation information storage unit 109 on a monitor or the like using the display control unit 106 if there is an instruction from the user. The reservation status may be a partial reservation status such as for each genre or for each date.

  The display control unit 106 described above can also display a program that has already been reserved for recording at a glance by changing the display color when displaying program information.

  In addition, the first recording control unit 108 described above stores the reservation information in the reservation information storage unit 109 during the rebroadcast recording reservation operation, and that there is a rebroadcast of the program and the recording reservation has been made. Or the like may be displayed on a monitor or the like using the display control unit 106 to notify the user.

  Further, the first recording control unit 108 described above may display on the monitor using the display control unit 106 that the recording of the rebroadcast has been performed when the recording at the time of the rebroadcasting is completed.

  In addition, the program information input by the input unit 103 may be transmitted several times a day from a TV broadcasting station. If the broadcast time is changed due to an extension of a sports broadcast, the information is also included. To do. When the broadcast time is changed in this way, the EPG 105 changes the program information in the program information storage unit 104 based on the program information from the input unit 103 and changes the broadcast time to the first recording control unit 108. Tell that there was. In that case, the first recording control unit 108 checks whether or not the reservation information of the program whose broadcast time has been changed is stored in the reservation information storage unit 109, and if it is stored, stores it in the reservation information storage unit 109. The recording start time and end time of the reserved information being changed are changed. In this manner, the input unit 103 can input program information several times a day to cope with a change in program broadcast time.

  Furthermore, in Embodiment 1 described above, the input unit 103 inputs program information transmitted using the vertical blanking interval of the TV signal from the broadcast station 101. However, the input unit 103 Program information transmitted using multiplex broadcasting or a public line network may be input. The input unit 103 may input program information from a storage medium such as a floppy disk, a memory card, or a CD-ROM that stores program information in units of several weeks, or a program transmitted from a pager base station. Information may be entered.

(Embodiment 2)
The configuration of the broadcast / reception system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described together with the operation thereof.

  FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a broadcast / reception system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the broadcast / reception system according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a broadcast station 101 and a recording control device 213, similarly to the broadcast / reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. However, the recording control device 213 is different from the recording control device 113 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The differences are the reservation information input unit 202 and the reservation information input unit 102 of the first embodiment, the EPG 205 and the EPG 105 of the first embodiment, the first recording control unit 208 and the first recording control unit 108 of the first embodiment. And the second recording control unit 211 and the second recording control unit 111 of the first embodiment. Further, the point that the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 is a recording medium capable of recording for a long time is also different from the first embodiment. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the operation of the broadcast / reception system when the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 is a recording medium capable of recording for a long time, that is, the corresponding units of the broadcast / reception system of the first embodiment Only the operations of the reservation information input unit 202, the EPG 205, the first recording control unit 208, and the second recording control unit 211 having different operations will be described.

  As described in Embodiment 1, the EPG 205 outputs program information from the input unit 103 to the first recording control unit 208. Then, the first recording control unit 208 outputs the input program information to the second recording control unit 211.

  Next, the second recording control unit 211 controls the video storage unit 112 based on the input program information, and records all programs other than the program to be recorded by the first recording control unit 208. Do. The program controlled and recorded by the first recording control unit 208 is a program reserved for recording among unbroadcast programs in the first embodiment. In any case, all programs are recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 under the control of the first recording control unit 208 or the second recording control unit 211. When the broadcast of each program ends, the second recording control unit 211 causes the video storage unit 112 to check the recording status.

  Then, the second recording control unit 211 creates storage information based on the input program information, and puts a deletion possible mark on the storage information of the program recorded on the recording medium. The erasable mark is a mark attached to a program that may be deleted in order to create a free space when the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 has no free space when the program is stored. Of all the programs recorded on the recording medium, it is assumed that the second recording control unit 211 controls the stored information of the recorded programs to put a deletion possible mark.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the stored information created by the second recording control unit 211 in this way. The stored information includes date, channel, program name, recording start time, recording end time, recording position, reservation number, deletion mark, and the like. The recording position represents the physical position of the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 where the program is actually stored.

  Incidentally, the EPG 205 displays the program information stored in the program information storage unit 104 on the monitor using the display control unit 106 in accordance with a user instruction. At this time, the EPG 205 causes the second recording control unit 211 to check the program already recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 in the program information displayed on the monitor via the first recording control unit 208, The program information of the already recorded program is displayed so that it can be seen at a glance by changing the color.

  When the user designates a program that is not recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112, the first recording control unit 208 performs a recording reservation operation for the program. Since the recording operation in this case is a recording reservation operation for an unbroadcast program and is the same as the recording operation described in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted. On the other hand, when the user makes a recording reservation for a program that is already recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112, the EPG 205 outputs reservation information of the program to the first recording control unit 208. That is, the reservation information input unit 202 inputs an instruction of a program to be left on the recording medium among programs already recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112 from the user, and performs the first recording control based on the instruction. The unit 208 sets the recording status of the instruction information of the program to be recorded as recorded, stores it in the reservation information storage unit 109, and reports to the second recording control unit 211 that the recording reservation has been performed.

  Then, the second recording control unit 211 deletes the erasable mark of the storage information of the designated program and describes the reservation number of the reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 109. By the way, why the deletion mark is deleted and the program to be left is instructed, as described above, all programs are recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112, but the capacity of the recording medium is Because there is a limit, the indicated program is kept at least stored, and other programs are allowed to be deleted or overwritten. This is so that can be recorded.

  In the second embodiment described above, the first recording control unit 208 and the second recording control unit 211 are used as the recording control unit of claim 5. As described above, in the second embodiment, either the first recording control unit 208 or the second recording control unit 211 controls recording, and all programs are recorded on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and one recording control unit may control to record all programs on the recording medium of the video storage unit 112.

  In the second embodiment described above, the reservation information input unit 202 is used as the remaining program instruction input unit of claim 5.

  In the second embodiment described above, the reservation information input unit 202 inputs a program instruction to be left on the recording medium from the user after the program has been recorded. It may be before or after recording, and may be an instruction of a genre such as a movie or a sport, for example, instead of an instruction of the program itself.

  Further, the above-described recording control device 213 according to the second embodiment detects the remaining recordable capacity of the recording medium, and issues a warning when the remaining recordable capacity becomes smaller than a preset capacity. May be provided. In this way, when a warning is issued from the warning issuing unit, the user can instruct the program to be left on the recording medium to remain on the recording medium before being deleted or overwritten.

(Embodiment 3)
The configuration of the broadcast / reception system according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described together with the operation thereof.

  FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a broadcast / reception system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the broadcast / reception system according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a broadcast station 301 and a recording control device 313 as in the broadcast / reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. However, unlike the recording control apparatus 113 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the recording control apparatus 313 includes a request transmission unit 309 in addition to the components included in the recording control apparatus 113. The first recording control unit 308 provided in the recording control device 313 is different from the first recording control unit 108 provided in the recording control device 113 of the first embodiment. Therefore, in the third embodiment, only operations of the broadcast station 301, the first recording control unit 308, and the request transmission unit 309, which are different from the broadcast / reception system of the first embodiment of the present invention, will be described.

  The first recording control unit 308 checks whether or not the reservation information storage unit 109 has reservation information to which a rebroadcast recording mark is added, and if there is reservation information to which a rebroadcast recording mark is added, the reservation information Re-broadcast request information for requesting that the program corresponding to is re-broadcasted is created.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of rebroadcast request information created by the first recording control unit 308. The rebroadcast request information includes the date, channel, program name, broadcast time, etc. of the program that has been broadcast.

  Thereafter, the request transmission unit 309 transmits the rebroadcast request information created by the first recording control unit 308 to the broadcast station 301 using a public telephone line network or the like. In other words, the request transmission unit 309 is a program that has not been recorded in whole or in part, or a program that has already been broadcast once, and has a rebroadcast recording mark added to the reservation information storage unit 109. Is rebroadcasted, a rebroadcast request for the program is transmitted to the broadcast station 301.

  On the other hand, the broadcast station 301 aggregates the received request information and determines a program to be rebroadcast from those having a large number of requests. By the way, since it is considered that many rebroadcast requests are sent intermittently for popular programs, recalculation requests for the popular programs are always placed at the top of the request when counting is performed every predetermined period. Will do. Therefore, for a rebroadcast request program that exceeds a predetermined number in a predetermined period, the broadcast station 301 assumes that many requests will be sent intermittently in the future, Set a longer period than the request aggregation period for the program.

Hereinafter, the operation of the broadcast station 301 until it is determined which of the programs for which a rebroadcast request has been transmitted within a predetermined counting period will be rebroadcast.
The broadcast station 301 has a broadcast slot for a program to be rebroadcast. Further, it is assumed that the top three programs among the programs for which rebroadcast requests are transmitted within a predetermined counting period are program A, program B, and program C in order.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a broadcast slot for a program to be rebroadcast and a program with many requests. The hatched portion in FIG. 11 assumes that the broadcast slot for the program to be rebroadcasted, program A, program B, and program C are the programs described above, and the horizontal direction is time, that is, the horizontal length of the rectangle is the length of the program. .

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, the broadcast station 301 requests the program A most frequently, but the broadcast station 301 cannot broadcast all the program A in the number of hours of use of the broadcast slot for the program to be rebroadcast. Judgment is made so as to re-broadcast the program C that is most efficiently accommodated in the number of slot usage hours. The broadcast slot after the determination is shown in FIG.

  Then, the broadcast station 301 creates program information of the program to be rebroadcast, and rebroadcasts using a channel different from the channel for transmitting program information of programs other than the program to be rebroadcasted in FM character multiplex broadcasting. The program information of the program to be transmitted is transmitted.

  At this time, the program information of the rebroadcast program transmitted from the broadcast station 301 is added with a code for identifying the original program and information for specifying the original program so that a program broadcast in the past can be specified. It has become. The code for identifying the original program is a code for identifying that the program information is the program information of the rebroadcast program, such as the date and time when the previous broadcast was performed, and the information that can identify the original program is This means program information of rebroadcast programs. Then, the rebroadcast determination unit 110 of the recording control device uses a code for identifying the original program and information that can specify the original program, and the program to be rebroadcasted is any of the programs that have been broadcast in the past. Identify if there is.

  In the above-described third embodiment, an example of determining a program to be rebroadcast by the broadcast station 301 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and in short, the broadcast station 301 includes a request transmission unit of the recording control device 313. It is only necessary to determine a program to be rebroadcast using the rebroadcast request from 309. At that time, the program to be rebroadcast is determined based on the number of hours of use of the slot allocated to broadcast the rebroadcast program and the arrival status of the rebroadcast request, in a method different from the above example. It is good.

  In the above-described third embodiment, the broadcast station 301 uses a channel other than the channel for transmitting program information of programs other than the program to be rebroadcasted in FM character multiplex broadcasting. Although the program information is transmitted, it may be transmitted using a channel other than the channel for transmitting the program information of the program other than the program to be rebroadcasted in the vertical blanking interval of the TV signal or the satellite broadcast.

  In addition, the above-described broadcasting station 301 designates the recording control apparatus that has sent the rebroadcast request using FM character multiplex broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, or public telephone line network as the program information of the program to be rebroadcasted. May be transmitted. For this purpose, the recording control apparatus that sends the rebroadcast request needs to add the identifier of the recording control apparatus and transmit the rebroadcast request to the broadcast station 301. The broadcast station 301 can retransmit the broadcast by detecting the identifier. The recording control apparatus that has sent the broadcast request is specified. Note that the broadcast station 301 may use e-mail when the program information of the program to be rebroadcasted is designated and transmitted to the recording control apparatus that has sent the rebroadcast request.

  The recording medium of the video storage unit 112 in the first to third embodiments described above corresponds to a VTR or AVHDD.

  In addition, the video storage unit 112 according to the first to third embodiments described above can store a program on a recording medium by changing the compression rate of audio and video according to the genre of the program.

  In the first to third embodiments described above, each component and broadcasting station of the recording control device have been described as being hardware. However, all or part of each component and broadcasting station of the recording control device are described. It is also possible to replace with software having the same function as the corresponding function of the hardware described above.

  Furthermore, the present invention is a medium in which a program for realizing all or a part of each function of each component of the recording control apparatus of the present invention is stored. The present invention is also a medium characterized by storing a program for realizing all or part of the functions of the broadcasting station of the present invention.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for a recording control device that controls recording of a television program by EPG and a broadcasting station that transmits the television program and program information of the television program.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the broadcast / reception system of Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the reservation information which the reservation information storage part of the video recording control apparatus of the broadcast / reception system of Embodiment 1 of this invention memorize | stores. The figure which shows an example of the reservation information which the reservation information memory | storage part of the video recording control apparatus of the broadcast / reception system of Embodiment 1 of this invention different from FIG. 2 memorize | stores The figure which shows an example of the reservation information which the reservation information memory | storage part of the broadcasting and receiving system of Embodiment 1 of this invention different from FIG. 2 or 3 memorize | stores The figure which shows an example of the memory | storage information and reservation information which the 2nd video recording control part of the broadcast / reception system of Embodiment 1 of this invention manages. The figure explaining the video recording operation | movement of the non-recording part of the 2nd video recording control part of the broadcasting and receiving system of Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a broadcast / reception system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the memory | storage information produced by the 2nd video recording control part of the broadcasting and receiving system of Embodiment 2 of this invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a broadcast / reception system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the request information which the request transmission part of the video recording control apparatus of the broadcasting and receiving system of Embodiment 3 of this invention transmits. The figure explaining the operation | movement which determines the program which the broadcasting station of the broadcasting and receiving system of Embodiment 3 of this invention rebroadcasts. The figure which shows an example after determining the program which the broadcast station of the broadcast / reception system of Embodiment 3 of this invention rebroadcasts. Block diagram of a conventional broadcasting / receiving system The figure which shows an example of the reservation information memorize | stored in the reservation information memory | storage part of the video recording control apparatus of the conventional broadcast / reception system

Explanation of symbols

101, 301 Broadcasting station 102, 202 Reservation information input unit 103 Input unit 104 Program information storage unit 105, 205 EPG
106 display control unit 107 rebroadcast reservation management unit 108, 208, 308 first recording control unit 109 reservation information storage unit 110 rebroadcast determination unit 111, 211 second recording control unit 112 video storage unit 113, 213, 313 recording control device 309 Request transmission unit 1301 Broadcast station 1302 Reservation information input unit 1303 Input unit 1304 Program information storage unit 1305 EPG
1306 Display control unit 1307 Reservation information management unit 1308 Reservation information storage unit 1309 Video storage unit

Claims (3)

A program information storage unit for storing program information of programs including already broadcasted programs;
A program storage unit for storing programs;
A program information control unit for controlling program information including already broadcasted programs stored in the program information storage unit;
A reservation information input unit for inputting a recording instruction of a predetermined program from the program information displayed by the program information control unit ,
When a program that is not reserved for recording is broadcasted, it is stored in the program storage unit as a program that can be deleted, and when a program that is reserved for recording is broadcast, the program storage unit is stored as a program that cannot be deleted. And a recording control unit to be stored in
The program information control unit checks whether the program in the program information to be displayed is already stored in the program storage unit via the recording control unit, and the program already recorded in the program storage unit Display different programs that are not recorded,
If the program for which a recording instruction has been input from the reservation information input unit is already broadcast and recorded as a program that can be deleted in the program storage unit, the recording control unit may store the program in the program storage unit. Updating the already broadcasted program recorded as a deletable program to a non-deletable program;
The recording control device according to claim 1, wherein the program storage unit deletes or overwrites the deleteable program when there is no free space. The reservation information input unit inputs a program genre as a recording instruction,
The recording control unit, when there is a program that has already been broadcast and recorded as a program that can be deleted in the program storage unit among the programs of the genre for which the recording instruction is input by the reservation information input unit, 2. The recording control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the already broadcasted program recorded as a program that can be deleted in the program storage unit is updated to a program that cannot be deleted. A medium storing a program for realizing each function of each component of the recording control apparatus according to claim 1.

Images