JP4718951B2 - Program recording / reproducing apparatus and program recording method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a program recording / reproducing apparatus and a program recording method capable of recording and reproducing program data of a plurality of channels.

  2. Description of the Related Art Program recording / playback apparatuses that receive analog broadcast or digital broadcast programs, record them on a randomly accessible storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and play them back are now widespread. In such a program recording / playback apparatus, there is known a program that allows a currently viewed program to be viewed from a time that is earlier than the current time.

For example, in Patent Document 1, recording and erasure are performed in parallel so that program data recorded from a current time to a time before a certain time is always stored in a storage device for a channel designated in advance. By doing so, when an explicit instruction to start viewing is generated from the user, the program of the designated channel can be viewed (time-shifted viewing) from a time that is back by a certain time.
JP 2000-184320 A

  In the above-mentioned conventional technology, time shift viewing is possible from a time that goes back a certain time, but the mode of storage of the program data that is the viewing target in the storage device is still after receiving the time shift viewing instruction. The temporary storage mode in which recording and erasing are repeated at regular time intervals is maintained. That is, in order to switch to the permanent accumulation mode, it is necessary to input an explicit recording command from the user. In addition, since permanent storage is started after an explicit recording command is input from the user, the program data that has been temporarily stored can be deleted and added to the permanent stored data. There wasn't.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention can automatically change the storage state of program data in the recording unit from temporary storage to permanent storage without relying on an explicit recording command from the user. Another object of the present invention is to provide a program recording / reproducing apparatus and a program recording method capable of changing the program data for a past period from a time that is a certain time back to the present time, from temporary storage to permanent storage.

In order to solve the above problems, a program recording / playback apparatus according to the present invention records a tuner unit capable of simultaneously receiving program data of a plurality of channels, and program data of a plurality of channels received simultaneously by the tuner unit. Each of the program data for the recording unit so that the program data of a plurality of channels recorded from the current time to a time before a certain time before the current time are temporarily stored in the recording unit. When recording and erasing, and when a specific event accompanied by the designation of program data of any channel occurs, recording for permanently storing the program data of the designated channel in the recording unit is started and recorded. comprising a control unit for controlling so as to leave parts in the specified program data is temporarily stored as a permanent storage, and the control unit, time-shifted viewing Decrees characterized that you determined as the specific event when entered.
Further, the program recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention includes a tuner unit capable of simultaneously receiving program data of a plurality of channels, a recording unit for recording program data of a plurality of channels simultaneously received by the tuner unit, Recording of each of the program data in the recording unit so that the program data of the plurality of channels recorded from a time to a time before a certain time before the current time are temporarily stored in the recording unit; When a specific event accompanied by designation of program data of any channel occurs, recording for permanently storing the program data of the designated channel in the recording unit is started, and A control unit that performs control to leave the designated program data temporarily stored in the recording unit as permanent storage, and the control unit includes: And judging that the program viewed constant time or more continuously occurs as the specific event.

  Further, the control unit obtains a priority for each channel or program according to a predetermined evaluation criterion, and performs control so as to select program data of a plurality of channels received by the tuner unit based on the priority. It may be a thing.

  Thus, by selecting a channel that is temporarily stored in the recording unit based on the priority, there is a high possibility that program data that attracts the user's interest is temporarily stored in the recording unit. Usefulness of time-shift viewing is improved.

According to the present invention, the storage state of the program data in the recording unit is determined based on the event induced from the user's interest in the program without the user explicitly instructing the recording of the program data in the recording unit. It is possible to automatically change from temporary storage to permanent storage, and to change the past program data from a time that is a predetermined time back to the present time from temporary storage to permanent storage.

  The tuner unit includes a plurality of tuners, and the control unit performs control so that each tuner is allocated to each channel while being shifted at predetermined intervals when receiving program data of more channels than the number of tuners. You may do it.

  Alternatively, the tuner unit includes a plurality of tuners, and when the control unit receives program data of more channels than the number of tuners, a part of the tuner unit is dedicated to receiving program data of a specific channel. It is also possible to perform control so that allocation and other tuners are allocated to other channels while being shifted at regular intervals.

  By assigning some tuners exclusively for receiving program data of a specific channel, the program can be viewed and reproduced while guaranteeing temporal continuity.

  According to the program recording / playback apparatus and program recording method of the present invention, the recording of program data is performed by detecting an event in which the user is interested in a specific program regardless of the input of an explicit recording command from the user. Can be automatically changed from temporary storage to permanent storage, and when changing from this temporary storage to permanent storage, The program data can also be changed from temporary storage to permanent storage.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a program recording / playback apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the program recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of this embodiment includes an antenna unit 1, a tuner unit 2 composed of a plurality of tuners 21, 22, 23, and demodulating units 31, 32, 32 for each tuner 21, 22, 23. 33, demultiplexer 4, video decoding unit 5, audio decoding unit 6, CPU (Central Processing Unit) 7, ROM (Read Only Memory) 8, main memory 9, operation input unit 10, HDD 11 (Hard Disk Drive), and system It consists of a bus 12 and the like.

  The tuner unit 2 is composed of a plurality of tuners 21, 22, and 23, and is a means capable of simultaneously receiving broadcast programs of a plurality of channels through the antenna unit 1 using these tuners 21, 22, and 23. In this example, a BS digital broadcast tuner, a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner, and the like are assumed. The demodulating units 31, 32, and 33 demodulate the digital broadcast signals received by the corresponding tuners 21, 22, and 23, respectively. The demultiplexer 4 is means for separating the broadcast program stream signals output from the demodulation units 31, 32, and 33 into video and audio stream signals and outputting them to the video decoding unit 5 and the audio decoding unit 6, respectively.

  The video decoding unit 5 is means for decoding the video stream signal of the broadcast program input from the demultiplexer 4 to generate a video signal and outputting it to the display 13. The audio decoding unit 6 is means for decoding the audio stream signal of the broadcast program input from the demultiplexer 4 to generate an audio signal and outputting it to the speaker 14. The HDD 11 is a drive device that records or reads out the acquired broadcast program stream signal on a hard disk, which is a randomly accessible storage medium.

  The operation input unit 10 is means for inputting various commands and values from the user and outputting them to the CPU 7. The ROM 8 is a memory in which firmware such as programs to be executed by the CPU 7 and various parameters is fixedly stored. The memory 9 is a memory that is used as a work area for the CPU 7 and temporarily holds processing data. The CPU 7 is a device that comprehensively controls each block based on the firmware stored in the ROM 8 and executes various arithmetic processes. The system bus 12 is a transmission path for transmitting various information such as control signals and data signals between the blocks.

  In the program recording / playback apparatus 100 of this embodiment, in order to enable time-shifted viewing, program data of a plurality of channels recorded from the current time to a time before a certain time before the current time are temporarily stored in the HDD 11. When each program data is recorded and erased on the HDD 11 so that it is accumulated, and a specific event accompanied by designation of program data of any channel temporarily accumulated in the HDD 11 occurs, the designation is made. Firmware in which the CPU 7 stores the designated program data in the ROM 8 so as to start the permanent recording of the program data to the HDD 11 and to leave the designated program data temporarily stored in the HDD 11 as a permanent accumulation. Control according to

  Details of the control operation will be described below.

  First, the operation of temporarily storing 8-channel program data received by the three tuners 21, 22, 23 in the HDD 11 will be described. FIG. 2 shows a state of temporary storage of 8-channel program data. Here, the horizontal axis indicates the time axis, and the position of the solid line on the horizontal axis indicates the time position for temporarily storing the program data (program 1-8) of each channel.

  Here, the three tuners 21, 22, and 23 are controlled by the CPU 7 so as to receive in parallel the program data of the three channels allocated to the respective channels while shifting the allocated channels at regular intervals. In this example, since the three tuners 21, 22, and 23 receive 8-channel program data, the program data for each channel is recorded in the HDD 11 in a time-discontinuous manner.

  As for the program data of each channel, only the data recorded between the current time T1 and the time T2 that is a predetermined time Tw before the current time T1 is always temporarily stored on the HDD 11. Recording and erasure on the HDD 11 are performed in parallel.

  Thus, the 8-channel program data temporarily stored in the HDD 11 is selected from all receivable channels by the following method, for example.

  The first method is a method in which a user explicitly designates a channel or a program. The second method is a method in which the CPU 7 obtains a priority for each channel or program according to a predetermined evaluation criterion and selects a channel or program based on the priority. The evaluation criteria for obtaining the priority include, for example, the number of hits for each keyword channel or program designated by the user in advance, the user's own past viewing history, the degree of program reservation by another user, the past or the time point The audience rating is considered. The number of keyword hits is obtained, for example, by acquiring information related to a broadcast program such as an electronic program guide (EPG) through broadcasting or the Internet, and comparing the information related to the broadcast program with a keyword registered in advance by the user. Can be obtained. At that time, the number of keyword hits for each channel or each program can be used as an evaluation criterion. The user's own past viewing history is obtained by the CPU 7 accumulating information related to viewing commands input from the user through the operation input unit 10. Based on the viewing history, the priority of channels and programs frequently watched by the user is increased. Further, by providing a server that collects and processes information related to the program reservation performed by each user's program recording / playback apparatus via the network, the server records the degree of program reservation by other users from this server. Can be distributed. Similarly, data of “viewing rate at the past or at that time” can be acquired from the server.

  As described above, by selecting a channel that is temporarily stored in the HDD 11 based on the priority, it is highly likely that program data that attracts the user's interest is temporarily stored in the HDD 11, and time shifting is performed. The usefulness of viewing is improved.

  FIG. 3 shows the state of storage of each program data when specific program data (program 2 in this example) is changed from temporary storage to permanent storage. In the figure, the thick line along the time axis represents the time position of permanent accumulation, and can be distinguished from the time position of temporary accumulation indicated by a thin solid line. Some event that triggers the start of permanent storage of specific program data (program 2) in the HDD 11 occurs at time T1. At this time, since only the program data of each channel recorded between time T1 and time T2 remains in the HDD 11, the storage state of specific program data (program 2) within this period is changed from temporary storage. Change to permanent accumulation.

  When recording for permanent storage of specific program data (program 2) in the HDD 11 is started, one of the three tuners 21, 22, and 23 is dedicated to receiving the specific program data. The CPU 7 controls channel assignment to the tuners 21, 22, and 23. The other two tuners are assigned to receive program data of other channels temporarily stored in the HDD 11 as before.

  FIG. 4 shows each program data when a certain event that triggers the start of recording of program data for permanent storage in the HDD 11 has occurred at time T1 and when time has further elapsed until time T1 ′. Shows the state of accumulation. At this time, the data before the time T2 ′ of the program data other than the specific program data (program 2) has already been deleted from the HDD 11. The specific program data (program 2) is continuously received by occupying one tuner and recorded in the HDD 11 until the end of the program.

  Next, an event that triggers the change of the storage state of specific program data from temporary storage to permanent storage will be described.

  The event that triggers the change of the storage state of specific program data from temporary storage to permanent storage is when the CPU 7 determines that a specific command has been input from the user using the operation input unit 10. can do. As a specific command given by the user, there is a time-shifted viewing command for instructing viewing of a program from a time that is a certain time back.

  Also, the program data of the plurality of channels temporarily stored in the HDD 11 are respectively set so that the user can easily specify the program data for time-shift viewing among the program data of the plurality of channels temporarily stored in the HDD 11. It may be read and decoded to display a sub-screen for each program on the screen of the display 13.

  FIG. 5 shows an example in which a sub-screen 51-58 of an 8-channel program is displayed on the screen 50 of the display 13. The user selects one of the sub-screens 51-58 displayed in this way (for example, the sub-screen 52) by operating the operation input unit 10 and inputs a time-shift viewing instruction. As a trigger, the storage state of the program data of the channel corresponding to the selected child screen (for example, child screen 52) is changed from temporary storage to permanent storage.

  Other events that trigger the change of the storage state of the specific program data from the temporary storage to the permanent storage include a certain period of time in the programs of a plurality of channels that are temporarily stored in the HDD 11. There are cases where the CPU 7 detects a program that has been viewed (reproduced) continuously.

  In this case, the user selects the program to be viewed by operating the operation input unit 10 from among the programs of a plurality of channels temporarily stored in the HDD 11, and the CPU 7 determines the program from the HDD 11. By reading out the corresponding program data and outputting it to the video decoder 5 through the demultiplexer 4, only the selected program is displayed on the display 13. The CPU 7 measures the display continuous time, and when the measurement time reaches a certain time or longer, the CPU 7 changes the storage state of the program data from temporary storage to permanent storage.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the program data of a plurality of channels that are temporarily stored in the HDD 11 are displayed on the sub screens 61-65, respectively, and one of the sub screens (for example, the sub screen 63) is displayed. ) Is selected by the user, the size of the sub-screen (eg, sub-screen 63) of the selected program is enlarged and displayed as a sub-screen 66. When the CPU 7 measures the display continuation time of the child screen 66 with the enlarged size and determines that the time has reached a certain time or more, the CPU 7 changes the storage state of the program data from the temporary storage to the HDD 11. Change to permanent accumulation.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a time-shift viewing command is input, or when a time-shift viewing command is input continuously (reproduced) for a certain period of time, regardless of an explicit recording command input from the user. As in the case, an event in which the user is interested in the program can be detected, and the storage state of the program data in the HDD 11 can be automatically changed from temporary storage to permanent storage. Further, when the temporary storage is changed to the permanent storage, the program data for the past from the time that is a predetermined time back to the present time can be changed from the temporary storage to the permanent storage.

(Other embodiments)
As shown in FIG. 6, when one of the plurality of sub-screens 61-65 displayed on the screen of the display 13 (for example, the sub-screen 63) is selected by the user, the selected sub-screen (for example, The size of the small screen 63) is enlarged and displayed as the small screen 66. At this time, the CPU 7 assigns a channel to each of the tuners 21, 22, and 23 so that one of the three tuners 21, 22, and 23 continuously receives the program data displayed on the selector screen. Control. As a result, a live video continuous in time is displayed on the enlarged sub-screen 66. The other two tuners are assigned to receive program data of other channels temporarily stored as before. Then, the CPU 7 measures the display continuation time of the child screen 66 that has been enlarged in this way, and determines that the time has reached a certain time or longer, temporarily stores the storage state of the program data in the HDD 11. Change from permanent accumulation to permanent accumulation.

  In the above embodiment, the three tuners 21, 22, and 23 are controlled by the CPU 7 so as to receive the program data of the three assigned channels each time in parallel while shifting the assigned channels at regular intervals. However, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, control may be performed so that the channel having higher priority and the program data (program 1 in this example) have a longer tuner allocation time (Ta). . As a result, it is possible to reduce the past non-video period when time-shift viewing a program of a channel with a high priority. The reception allocation time (Ta) is common, for example, every time.

  In addition, when changing from temporary storage to permanent storage, the bit rate for recording program data in the HDD 11 may be optimally adjusted. That is, when there is sufficient free space in the HDD 11, higher bit rate program data can be permanently stored in the HDD 11 by setting the bit rate high, or there is not enough free space in the HDD 11. For example, the bit rate is lowered so that all program data can be accommodated in the free space.

  Further, the CPU 7 searches for a program in the same category as the program changed from the temporary accumulation to the permanent accumulation based on information about the program such as an electronic program guide acquired through broadcasting or a network, On the other hand, control may be performed so that the reception allocation time by the tuner becomes longer.

  When changing from temporary storage to permanent storage triggered by the input of the time-shift viewing command, the user determines whether or not the program data that has been permanently stored in the HDD 11 at the end of the time-shift viewing is to be discarded. A menu for causing the program to be selected may be displayed, and the CPU 7 may control whether to discard the program data from the HDD 11 in response to a response from the user. Thereby, the program data to be permanently stored in the HDD 11 can be narrowed down by the user's own judgment.

  Further, when both the digital tuner and the analog tuner are employed in the tuner unit 2 and the same broadcast program is received by both the digital tuner and the analog tuner, the digital broadcast program data is continuously recorded in the HDD 11. On the other hand, the received image of the analog broadcast of the same program is displayed on the large-sized sub-screen 66 shown in FIG. Thereby, the channel to be displayed on the child screen 66 can be switched faster than the program data recorded in the HDD 11 is read out, decoded and displayed. Further, the display on the small child screen 61-65 may be similarly performed with the received image of the analog broadcast.

  In the above embodiment, the program data is recorded in the HDD. However, any type of storage device may be used as long as it is a randomly accessible storage device.

  Further, in the above embodiment, an example is shown in which 8-channel program data received by three tuners is stored in the HDD. However, when program data of a plurality of channels is stored in parallel by a plurality of tuners, The invention can be applied, and can also be applied to a case where program data of a plurality of channels is received in a time division manner with one tuner.

  The embodiment according to the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. .

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the program recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state of the temporary accumulation | storage of the program data of 8 channels. It is a figure which shows the state of accumulation | storage of each program data at the time of changing specific program data from temporary accumulation | storage to permanent accumulation | storage. It is a figure which shows the state of accumulation | storage of each program data at the time of having passed further after some event which becomes a trigger for starting recording of the program data for permanent accumulation | storage to HDD. It is a figure which shows the example which displays the subscreen of a some program on a display screen. It is a figure which shows another example which displays the subscreen of a some program on a display screen. It is a figure regarding control of the reception allocation time of the tuner based on a priority.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Antenna part, 2 ... Tuner part, 4 ... Demultiplexer, 5 ... Video decoding part, 6 ... Audio decoding part, 7 ... CPU, 8 ... ROM, 9 ... Main memory, 10 ... Operation input part, 11 ... HDD, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... System bus 21, 22, 23 ... Tuner 31, 32, 33 ... Demodulator, 100 ... Program recording / reproducing apparatus.

Claims (6)

A tuner that can simultaneously receive program data of multiple channels;
A recording unit for recording program data of a plurality of channels simultaneously received by the tuner unit;
Recording of each of the program data to the recording unit so that the program data of the plurality of channels recorded from the current time to a time before the current time is stored in the recording unit temporarily. When a specific event accompanied by designation of program data of any channel occurs, recording for permanently storing the program data of the designated channel in the recording unit is started, A control unit that performs control so as to leave the designated program data temporarily stored in the recording unit as permanent storage ,
The control unit may turn sets the recording and reproducing apparatus you and judging as the specific event when the time-shifted viewing command is inputted. A tuner that can simultaneously receive program data of multiple channels;
A recording unit for recording program data of a plurality of channels simultaneously received by the tuner unit;
Recording of each of the program data to the recording unit so that the program data of the plurality of channels recorded from the current time to a time before the current time is stored in the recording unit temporarily. When a specific event accompanied by designation of program data of any channel occurs, recording for permanently storing the program data of the designated channel in the recording unit is started, A control unit that performs control so as to leave the designated program data temporarily stored in the recording unit as permanent storage ,
The control unit may turn sets the recording you and judging that the program viewed consecutively a predetermined time or longer occurs as the specific event playback device. The tuner unit includes a plurality of tuners, and the control unit assigns each tuner to each channel while shifting the program data every predetermined time when receiving program data of more channels than the number of tuners. The program recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that The tuner unit includes a plurality of tuners, and when the control unit receives program data of a larger number of channels than the number of tuners, the tuner unit includes a part of the tuner unit as a program data of a specific channel. 3. The program recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the program recording / playback apparatus is allocated exclusively for reception, and other tuners are allocated to other channels while being shifted at regular intervals. Receiving program data of a plurality of channels simultaneously;
Recording each of the program data in the recording unit so that the program data of the plurality of channels recorded between the current time and a time before the current time is stored in the recording unit temporarily. Erasing step;
When a specific event accompanied by designation of program data of any channel occurs, recording for permanently storing the program data of the designated channel in the recording unit is started, and the recording unit is temporarily stored in the recording unit. to the stored electrical the designated program data includes a changing step to change persistent storage, and
Wherein in the changing step, the program recording method characterized that you determine when the time-shifted viewing command is inputted as the specific event. Receiving program data of a plurality of channels simultaneously;
Recording each of the program data in the recording unit so that the program data of the plurality of channels recorded between the current time and a time before the current time is stored in the recording unit temporarily. Erasing step;
When a specific event accompanied by designation of program data of any channel occurs, recording for permanently storing the program data of the designated channel in the recording unit is started, and the recording unit is temporarily stored in the recording unit. Changing the designated program data stored in a stored manner to permanent storage,
In the changing step, it is determined as the specific event that a program watched continuously for a predetermined time or more has occurred.

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