JP4363493B2 - Receiving apparatus and receiving method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a broadcasting / communication receiving apparatus that transmits information related to a transmission program together with video or audio data and decodes and displays the program related information in the receiving apparatus, and in particular, can display the program related information. About.

  In a conventional television signal receiving apparatus, program related information such as a program name of a broadcast program, a program start time, and an end time is not transmitted together with a video or audio signal, and such information is displayed on a TV screen. It was impossible. Therefore, the viewer has obtained this information from the program guide described in newspapers and the like.

  Also, instead of conventional analog television signals, digital broadcasting is being started in which digitized signals are transmitted to homes by satellite, cable, and terrestrial broadcasting. Some satellite broadcasts in the US have already been broadcast in this form, and preparations are underway in Japan for the start of similar services. In digital broadcasting, various additional information can be transmitted simultaneously with digitized video and audio signals. By using these additional information, a program guide representing the broadcast schedule of the program can be constructed.

  On the other hand, even in the conventional analog broadcasting, by adopting a method of multiplexing the program related information during the vertical blanking interval, it is possible to configure a program table similar to the digital broadcasting. However, the amount of information that can be multiplexed during the vertical blanking period of analog broadcasting is less than the amount of information transmitted by digital broadcasting, and the information that can be handled as the screen display capability of the analog broadcast screen display function. The amount is constrained. Therefore, the display screen realized by analog broadcasting is inferior in expressiveness compared to the screen display realized by digital broadcasting.

When displaying program-related information such as a program guide in a predetermined display area, such as on a TV screen, the display area required to display all display data is limited by the display area. When the display area is exceeded, the entire display data cannot be displayed. For this reason, there exists a fault that some information is missing among the information which can be originally shown.
Therefore, in the present invention, the entire display data is displayed for the specific information selected by the viewer, and if the display data is missing, the display data is limited by adding a display to supplement the information. It is intended to express in the display area.

  In order to solve the above problems, for example, the technical idea described in the claims may be used.

  According to the present invention, when displaying information related to the selected item on the program related information display screen of the broadcast and communication receiving device, the program related information received by the receiving device is not lost, and the display data is displayed. A display screen for displaying the whole can be provided.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 101 is an input terminal for broadcasting and communication from an external antenna or the like, 102 is a separation device that extracts an arbitrary signal from the received signal among a video signal, an audio signal, and a program related information signal, and 103 is a video signal and an audio signal. An A / V decoder that decodes and reproduces the original image and the original sound, 104 is an image composition unit that synthesizes graphics such as video signals and characters, 105 is a television display, 106 is a command reception unit that receives user input, and 107 is An information decoder that decodes the transmitted program related information, 108 is a program related information buffer that holds the decoded program related information, 110 is a control microcomputer including 106 to 109, and 111 calculates display data sent from the information buffer. An input data amount calculation unit 113 is a displayable data amount calculation unit that calculates the number of character strings that can be displayed on the screen. 2 is a comparison unit that compares the amount of input data with the amount of displayable data, 114 is a display data setting unit that sets a character string to be displayed, and 109 is a display control unit that includes 111 to 114 and controls the image composition unit. is there.

  In FIG. 1, the signal input from the signal input unit 101 is sent to the separation device 102. In the separation device 102, the video signal and the audio signal are extracted from the received signal and sent to the A / V decoder. Similarly, in the separation device 102, program related information is extracted from the received signal and sent to the information decoder unit 107 in the control microcomputer 110. The program related information decoded by the information decoder unit 107 is sent to the information buffer 108.

  When a program-related information display request signal is input to the command receiving unit 106, the program-related information held in the information buffer 108 is sent to the input data amount calculation unit 111 in the display control unit 109. The comparison unit 112 in the display control unit 109 compares the number of character strings calculated by the input data amount calculation unit 111 with the number of displayable character strings calculated by the displayable data amount calculation unit 113. The comparison result and input data are sent to the display data setting unit 114, and display characters are set. The display control unit 109 controls the image synthesis unit 104 to synthesize the display data sent from the display data setting unit 114 and the video signal sent from the A / V decoder 103 and display them on the television display 105. .

  In the display data setting unit 114, when the number of character strings of the input data is larger than the number of displayable character strings, a displayable character string in the input data and a symbol indicating omission at the end of the character string are displayed. This is added and sent to the image composition unit 104 as display data.

  FIG. 2 is an example of a program related information display screen. 201 indicates a program start time, 202 indicates a program end time, and 203 indicates a program name. In the example of the program related information display screen shown in FIG. 2, the program start time 201, the end time 202, and the program name 203 are arranged to express the program broadcast schedule, but the program name 203 is displayed. The area is small and the entire program name 203 cannot be displayed on the screen to the end.

  In particular, in the case of a Japanese system, it is necessary to increase the size of characters in order to express kanji, and as a result, the number of character strings that can be displayed in the display area decreases, so that all display data cannot be displayed. Appears prominently.

  FIG. 3 is an example of a first program related information display screen according to the embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 301 denotes an ellipsis indicating that the end of the display data is omitted.

  In the program-related information display screen shown in FIG. 2, it is impossible to determine whether the display data such as the program name is displayed all the way to the end or only the displayable character string is displayed. . On the other hand, in the program related information display screen shown in FIG. 3, when only a displayable character string is displayed in the display data, an ellipsis 301 indicating that the end of the display data is omitted is displayed. It is added at the end of the display character string to clarify that only displayable character strings are displayed in the display data. In the program related information display screen shown in FIG. 3, “...” is used as a symbol indicating omission, but other symbols may be used. The contents to be displayed may be information other than the program related information such as the program start time 201, the program end time 202, and the program name 203.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a second program related information display screen according to the embodiment of the present invention. 401 is a first display area, 402 is a second display area, 403 is a cursor for selecting the first display area 401, and 404 is an option display area in which a plurality of first display areas 401 are arranged.

  The first display area 401 displays at least a part of the display data such as the program name, and the second display area 402 is the same as the display data such as the program name displayed in the first display area 401. All the display data is displayed without abbreviation display. The cursor 403 selects the first display area 401 according to a user input signal.

  Since the user arbitrarily selects a specific first display area 401 by the operation of the cursor 403 from the first display areas 401 arranged in the option display area 404, the second display area 402 includes All display data such as the program name requested by the user can be displayed without being omitted.

  In addition, only the display data requested by the user is displayed in the second display area 402 without being omitted, and the display data displayed in the first display area 401 is abbreviated display using an ellipsis. More first display areas can be displayed inside.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, 115 is a time information discriminating unit for discriminating time information of input data, 117 is a display time zone setting unit for setting a time zone of a program guide to be displayed on the screen, and 116 is displayed as time information of input data. It is a time information comparison part which compares with the time slot | zone of a program schedule.

  When a program related information screen display request signal is input to the command receiving unit 106, the program related information held in the information buffer 108 is sent to the input data time information determination unit 115 in the display control unit 109. The time information comparison unit 116 in the display control unit 109 compares the time information determined by the input data time information determination unit 115 with the display time zone set by the display time zone setting unit 117. The comparison result and the input data are sent to the display data setting unit 114, and the display format is set. The display control unit 109 controls the image synthesis unit 104 to synthesize the display data sent from the display data setting unit and the video signal sent from the A / V decoder 103 and display them on the television display 105.

  In the program related information screen, the information field is a display format using at least a character string and a background, the left end of the program name field represents the start time of the program, and the right end of each information field represents the end time of the program, It is a program schedule showing the broadcast schedule of a program.

  When the display data setting unit 114 determines that the time information of the input data is out of the display time range, the display data setting unit 114 changes the shape of the background at the left end or the right end of the display data and sends it to the image composition unit 104. The shape of the left end or right end of the program name field is changed to clearly indicate that the start time or end time of the program is located outside the time zone indicated by the currently displayed program table.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a third program related information display screen according to the embodiment of the present invention. 501 is a channel number column, 502 is a time scale column, 503 is a first program name display column, 504 is a second program name display column, and 505 is a broadcast start time or broadcast end time of a displayed program table A continuous display pattern 506 representing a position outside is a program name option field in which a plurality of first program name display fields 503 are arranged.

  In this program table screen, the horizontal axis represents time, the horizontal display start position of the first program name display field 503 represents the broadcast start time of the program, and the horizontal length represents the broadcast period of the program. Represents. The time standard is expressed by a time scale field 502.

  The vertical axis represents the broadcast channel, and the channel number column 501 displays the channel number of the broadcast station, the name of the broadcast station, or the logo mark of the broadcast station.

  The user selects one of the first program name display fields 503 displayed in the program name option field 506 by operating the cursor 403 with a key provided on the remote controller or the receiver main body. The selected first program name display field 503 is also displayed in the second program name display field 504. The first program name display field 503 displays at least a part of the program name, and the second program name display field 504 displays all the program names without omitting them.

  The broadcast start time, broadcast period, or broadcast end time of a program is expressed by a time standard displayed in the time scale column 502. However, if the broadcast period of the program is longer than the period that can be displayed on the program schedule screen, or if the broadcast start time and broadcast end time of the program are outside the range of the time zone represented by the displayed program schedule, The broadcast start time or broadcast end time cannot be expressed in the program guide screen. The continuous display pattern 505 is used to express that the broadcast of the program starts from a time before the display time zone or that the broadcast of the program ends at a time after the display time zone.

  By using the continuous display pattern 505, it is possible to express that the broadcast start time or the broadcast end time is outside the range of the display time zone when the broadcast period extends before and after the display time zone. .

  FIG. 7 is an example of a fourth program related information display screen according to the embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 601 denotes a program time information display field.

  In this program guide screen, a time information display field 601 is provided in the program related information display screen to display the broadcast start time of the program and the broadcast end time of the program. Thereby, when the broadcast period of the program is longer than the period that can be displayed on the program guide screen, and the time scale column 502 in the program guide screen cannot express the broadcast start time or broadcast end time of the program, The broadcast start time and the broadcast end time can be displayed, and the time information included in the received program related information can be clearly indicated without being lost.

  The time information display field 601 may be an independent display area, or may be provided in the second program name display field 504 and displayed together with the program name.

  Although the present embodiment has been described with reference to a digital broadcast program guide screen as an example, the present invention is not limited to digital broadcast, and broadcast in which program-related information is multiplexed and transmitted to a conventional analog television broadcast. It can also be applied to a system. The present invention is not limited to the program guide screen, and can be applied to other general displays.

1 is a block diagram of a broadcast and communication receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. Examples of display screens for broadcast and communication receivers Display screen 1 of a broadcast and communication receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention Display screen 2 of a broadcast and communication receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention 1 is a block diagram of a broadcast and communication receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. Display screen 3 of a broadcast and communication receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention Display screen 4 of broadcast and communication receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Broadcasting and communication input terminal 102 ... Separation apparatus 103 ... A / V decoder 104 ... Image composition part 105 ... Television display 106 ... Command receiving part 107 ... Information decoder 108 ... Information buffer 109 ... Display control unit 110 …… Control microcomputer 111 …… Input data amount calculation unit 112 …… Comparison unit 113 …… Displayable data amount calculation unit 114 …… Display data setting unit 115 …… Time information determination unit 116 …… Time information Comparison unit 117 …… Display time zone setting unit 201 …… Program start time 202 …… Program end time 203 …… Program name 301 …… Ellipses 401 …… First display area 402 …… Second display area 403… ... Cursor 404 ... Option display area 501 ... Channel number field 502 ... Time scale field 503 ... First program name示欄 504 ...... second program name display column 505 ...... continued display pattern 506 ...... program name alternative column 601 ...... time information display column

Claims (1)

  A receiver for receiving a digital broadcast signal in which program character information related to a program and time information of a program are transmitted together with a video signal and displaying the digital broadcast signal on a screen,
  A plurality of first display areas for displaying program character information related to the program are arranged along a time axis, and the length of the first display area in the time axis direction is changed corresponding to the broadcast time of the program, When all program character information cannot be displayed in the first display area, a part of the program character information is omitted and an ellipsis is added and displayed in the first display area.
  When one of the plurality of first display areas is selected, a second display in which program character information of a program corresponding to the selected first display area is arranged outside the first display area Display data for displaying in a time information display column arranged outside the first display area and displayed in the area and the program start time and end time corresponding to the selected first display area are output. Display control means;
  A decoder for decoding the received video signal;
  Image combining means for combining the video decoded by the decoder and display data output from the display control;
  The display control means changes in accordance with an input data amount calculation unit that calculates the number of character strings of program character information included in the received digital broadcast signal, and time information of the program included in the received digital broadcast signal. A displayable data amount calculation unit that calculates the number of character strings that can be displayed in the first display area, a number of character strings calculated by the input data amount calculation unit, and a character calculated by the displayable data amount calculation unit A comparison unit that compares the number of columns, and if the number of character strings of the program character information is larger than the number of character strings that can be displayed in the first display area as a result of the comparison by the comparison unit, the program Since all the character information cannot be displayed in the first display area, the program character information is added to the ellipsis and displayed in the first display area, and
  Date information indicating a date is displayed at the upper end of the screen in the vertical direction, the date information and the time information display field are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction of the screen, and the date information is displayed at the lower part of the screen in the vertical direction. Disposing a second display area, and further outputting display data in which a program name option field in which a plurality of the first display areas are disposed is disposed at a lower portion in the vertical direction of the screen of the second display area. A receiver characterized by.

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