JP4882780B2 - Digital broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiver capable of receiving a digital broadcast signal and presenting an electronic program guide based on program information included in the broadcast signal, and more particularly to a digital broadcast receiver improved in the convenience of the electronic program guide. About.

  In recent years, with the development of digital technology, digitization has rapidly progressed in the field of television broadcasting. For example, CS digital broadcasting, BS digital broadcasting, and terrestrial digital broadcasting have been put into practical use. In this digital broadcasting, data can be compressed more easily and efficiently than analog broadcasting. Therefore, multi-channel (for example, 200 or more channels in CS digital broadcasting), high quality (high-vision broadcasting), high functionality (data broadcasting ( Realization of two-way communication service)) is expected.

  Recent broadcast receiving apparatuses such as a television broadcast receiver, a set top box (STB), and a large capacity HDD recorder have an electronic program guide function called an EPG (Electronic Program Guide). This EPG is generated based on program information included in a digital / analog broadcast signal, and presents information related to a program such as a program title and simple program contents to a viewer as a program guide. Here, the program information included in the digital / analog broadcast signal includes, for example, a program title, broadcast date / time, channel, performer, genre, and the like. In particular, in digital broadcasting, program information can always be transmitted on a digital broadcast signal, so that accurate and detailed program information can be provided in real time.

  Users can use this EPG to select (tune to) a program that is being broadcast at that time, or to easily make a viewing reservation or recording reservation for a program that is scheduled to be broadcast. Can do. Furthermore, using EPG, it is possible to search for programs by genre such as “news”, “sports”, and “movies”, and search for programs by keywords such as performers.

  However, the EPG function provided in the conventional digital broadcast receiving apparatus has a fundamental problem. In other words, since there is a limit to the provision of program information in the radio / TV column (so-called latte column) of newspapers and magazines, even though the EPG has become widespread instead of the latte column with the increase in multi-channels, It cannot be handled in the same way.

  Specifically, since the main purpose of the broadcast station side is to publicize prior information on programs before broadcasting, for example, program information is provided for programs for a total of eight days from now to one week ahead. In the conventional digital broadcast receiving apparatus, when the program information provided from the broadcast station is updated, the program information for the end of the broadcast is deleted, so the information of the program broadcast in the past is stored in the EPG. It is never displayed.

  For this reason, it has not been possible to obtain information related to programs broadcast in the past, such as programs one week ago, using EPG. In addition, past EPGs cannot be used for searching for programs that have been forgotten to be viewed or for viewing / recording reservations for rebroadcast programs.

  Thus, techniques relating to EPG that enable browsing of information on programs broadcast in the past have been proposed (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). Patent Document 1 discloses that a previous day button and a next day button are provided at the bottom of the EPG display unit, and a program table corresponding to a designated broadcast date is displayed.

Further, apart from an EPG that presents detailed program information by a program guide, a technique is disclosed that includes a day-of-week EPG that can easily specify the date and time to be displayed on the program guide (for example, Patent Document 5). .
JP 2003-219196 A JP 2002-335463 A JP 2002-045455 A JP 2001-186429 A JP 2001-245233 A

  By the way, in terrestrial digital broadcasting, program information used for EPG is provided for each broadcast station, and the program information of the own station can be acquired only from the broadcast wave of the own station. In other words, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus can display only the received program information of the channel as EPG. That is, program information is not displayed (for example, blank) for channels that the user has not viewed at all for a predetermined period of time. Further, even for a channel received by a digital broadcast receiver, program information may not be normally acquired due to a radio wave condition at the time of reception, and the EPG may not be updated correctly.

  Therefore, according to the technique described in the above-mentioned patent document, detailed information of a program broadcast in the past can be obtained using the EPG, but there may be a case where there is no information of the program to be obtained. That is, when trying to display an EPG of a desired date and time, for example, the “previous day button” described in Patent Document 1 is repeatedly operated to select a desired date and time. When it is not displayed (for example, it is blank depending on the broadcasting station or time zone), the user's date designation operation is wasted.

  As described above, in the technique described in the above-mentioned patent document, it is possible to display information of a program broadcast in the past on the EPG, but there is an aspect that cannot be said to be excellent in convenience. In addition, when it becomes possible to search for information of programs broadcast in the past using EPG, the amount of information to be searched increases dramatically, so it is necessary to be able to search more efficiently.

  Further, in the conventional digital broadcast receiving apparatus, since the remote control device is not provided with an operation button dedicated to EPG, there is a risk that the operability of the remote control device may deteriorate when the amount of information that can be displayed on the EPG increases.

  The present invention provides a technique capable of improving the convenience of EPG and improving the operability when using an EPG in a digital broadcast receiving apparatus having an EPG function capable of displaying information on programs broadcast in the past. The purpose is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides program information acquisition means for acquiring program information included in a digital broadcast signal, storage means capable of recording the program information acquired by the program information acquisition means, and the program information EPG generation means for generating electronic program guide data including a program table in which information on program content is arranged in time series for each broadcasting station based on program information acquired by the acquisition means or program information recorded in the storage means A digital broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: EPG display control means for controlling display of the electronic program guide generated by the EPG generation means; and broadcast date and time designation means capable of designating a broadcast date and time to be displayed on the electronic program guide Further, a program information manager for managing the acquisition status of the program information recorded in the storage means on a date / time basis. The EPG display control means includes the electronic program in a state where the acquisition status of a predetermined period (for example, current ± 7 days) is visible among the acquisition status of the program information grasped by the program information management means. The program information management means manages the acquisition status of the program information recorded in the storage means for each broadcasting station, and the EPG display control means has a specific broadcasting station (for example, focused on the EPG). the acquisition status of the program information of the broadcast station) which provides a program are characterized by Rukoto be displayed in the electronic program guide.

  For example, a broadcast date frame for designating a broadcast date and time is provided on the EPG, the broadcast date frame is divided by a predetermined number of days, and the divided areas are allocated for each broadcast day, and the acquisition status (for example, Predetermined display (highlighted display, etc.) according to (all acquired, partially acquired, all not acquired).

  As a result, based on the program information recorded in the storage means, it is possible to generate and display an EPG relating to a program broadcast in the past, and program information is provided for each broadcasting station as in digital terrestrial broadcasting. Even when the program information of the broadcasting station is not acquired, the acquisition status of the program information can be easily recognized.

  A case where program information is not acquired despite the presence of a program broadcast is distinguished from a case where there is no program broadcast itself, such as at midnight. That is, for example, when there is only program information in a time zone when there is no broadcast (when it is not recorded in a storage medium), it is determined that all are acquired.

This ensures that the user, for example, since the acquisition status of the past or future program information of the broadcast station that has focus can easily recognize, an electronic program guide if you wish to obtain information about a particular program It can be used efficiently.

  Further, the broadcast date and time designation means has an operation means that can designate a past or future broadcast date for a predetermined period (for example, one day or one week) by a single operation. For example, a dedicated button (one week before (past) button, one week after (future) button, etc.) is provided on the remote control device, and one week before or one week based on the broadcast date and time of the program currently focused on the EPG. Enable jumping on a later broadcast day. As a result, the number of days that can be displayed in the EPG increases, so there is a concern that the amount of information of programs to be searched increases, but for example, information on programs broadcast every week can be obtained efficiently. It can be avoided that the convenience of the EPG is impaired.

  Further, the EPG display control means, when the program information corresponding to the broadcast date designated by the broadcast date and time designation means is not recorded in the storage medium (for example, the date when the program information is not acquired), The program guide is not displayed on the electronic program guide.

  At this time, if there is program information on a broadcast date that is earlier (past) or later (future) than the designated broadcast date on the basis of the present, the program table of the broadcast date may be displayed on the EPG. Further, when part of the program information has been acquired and there is no program schedule for the time zone for displaying the program, the time zone for display may be moved back and forth. As a result, it is possible to solve the problem that the program guide is not displayed correctly (for example, it is blank) and the user's operation is wasted.

  According to the present invention, in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, information of programs broadcast in the past can be displayed on the program table, and can be handled in the same manner as the latte column of newspapers and magazines, and program information can be acquired. Program information management means for managing the status of each broadcast station on a date basis is provided, and among the program information acquisition status grasped by the program information management means, the acquisition status for a predetermined period is displayed on the EPG in a visible state Therefore, it is possible to confirm in advance whether or not there is program information of the date and time that is desired to be displayed on the EPG. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the EPG from being correctly displayed and the operation for specifying the date and time from being wasted because the program information has not been acquired.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an HDD recorder 10 as a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, solid arrows indicate various information flows, and dotted arrows indicate control signal flows.

  The HDD recorder 10 of this embodiment includes an antenna 11, a receiving unit (tuner) 12, a signal demodulating unit 13, a data separating unit 14, a decoding unit 15, an EPG generating unit 16, and a multiplexing unit (OSD unit). ) 17, a program information storage unit (for example, flash memory) 18, a program content storage unit (for example, hard disk) 19, an input unit 20, and a control unit 21.

  Specifically, the receiving unit 12 is a tuner that can selectively receive a digital broadcast signal (for example, terrestrial digital broadcast, BS digital broadcast, CS digital broadcast) via the antenna 11. Note that the digital broadcast signal includes, for example, program information for eight days after the present in a form that matches the terrestrial wave, but includes program information that exceeds eight days (for example, BS digital). Broadcasting). The signal demodulator 13 demodulates the broadcast signal received by the receiver 12.

Data separator 1 4, the broadcast signal demodulated by the signal demodulator 13, separates the content information of the program (video data and audio data) and the program information. The separated content information is supplied to the decoding unit 15 and is recorded in the program content storage unit 19 when a recording reservation is made. On the other hand, the separated program information is supplied to the EPG generation unit 16 and recorded in the program information storage unit 18.

  The receiving unit 12, the signal demodulating unit 13, the data separating unit 14, and the like constitute program information acquiring means for acquiring program information included in the digital broadcast signal.

  Further, the decoding unit 15 composites the content information supplied from the data separation unit 14 or the program content storage unit 19 to generate a video signal and an audio signal.

  The EPG generation unit 16 is an electronic program guide (hereinafter referred to as EPG) in which information about program content is arranged in time series for each broadcasting station based on program information supplied from the data separation unit 14 and the program information storage unit 18. Data is generated (EPG generation means). Further, when the date and time of EPG to be displayed is designated by the input unit 20 described later, EPG data can be generated based on program information corresponding to the designated broadcast date and time.

  The multiplexing unit 17 selectively outputs the display signals from the decoding unit 15 and the EPG generation unit 16 or multiplexes and outputs them.

  The program information storage unit 18 stores the program information separated by the data separation unit 14 (storage means). For example, as program information, information such as program name, program content, program ID (event ID), start time, duration, and genre classification is stored on a daily basis for each broadcast station (channel No.). At this time, for example, information (acquisition status) for discriminating whether all program information for one day is stored, part of the program information is stored, or no program information is stored at all. Record it.

  When the program information is acquired from the digital broadcast signal, the program information storage unit 18 updates the program information for seven days after the acquisition date +, but the program information before the acquisition date is the latest. Will be held.

  The program content storage unit 19 stores content information of the recorded program. The recorded content information is read out during reproduction and supplied to the decoding unit 15. Note that the program content storage unit 19 is omitted in a television receiver or STB that does not have a recording function.

  The input unit 20 is, for example, a remote control device provided with a plurality of operation buttons or an operation panel provided in the main body. Based on an input signal from the input unit 20, channel change, volume adjustment, and cursor movement in the EPG are performed. And predetermined processing such as viewing / recording reservation is executed. Further, by operating a predetermined operation button of the remote control device 20 in a state where the EPG is displayed, the date and time to be displayed on the EPG can be specified (broadcast date and time specifying means).

  The control unit 21 executes, for example, a control program stored in a ROM (not shown) based on an input signal from the input unit 20, and drives and controls each block of the HDD recorder 10. Specifically, content information is written into the program content storage unit 19 during recording, or a video / audio signal based on a broadcast signal or content information from the program content storage unit 19 is output during viewing / playback.

  The control unit 21 performs display control of the EPG generated by the EPG generation unit 16 (EPG display control means). For example, when an operation for displaying an EPG (an input operation of the EPG button 203 of the remote control device 20) is performed by the user, the EPG generation unit 16 generates an EPG of a predetermined format.

  Further, the control unit 21 manages the acquisition status recorded in the program information storage unit 18 on a daily basis for each broadcast day (program information management means). For example, when program information from a received broadcast signal is recorded in the program information storage unit, it is determined whether program information for one day is stored for each broadcast day, and the acquisition status corresponding to the broadcast date is determined. Record it. As the acquisition status, for example, it can be classified into three types of complete acquisition, partial acquisition, and non-acquisition, or a ratio when 24 hours a day is 100%. It should be noted that it is possible to distinguish between cases where there is no program information even though there is a program broadcast, and cases where there is no program broadcast in the first place, such as late at night. For example, in the latter case, program information is acquired for convenience. You may make it treat as what is.

  In the HDD recorder 10 according to the present embodiment, an EPG can be generated and displayed based on program information corresponding to a specified broadcast date, and information on programs broadcast in the past can also be displayed on the EPG. And the same treatment as the latte column of a magazine.

FIG. 2 is an overview of a remote control device as the input unit 20.
The remote control device 20 includes a power button 201 for turning on / off the power, a numeric button 202 for selecting a channel to be received, an EPG display button 203 for displaying an EPG, a button 204 for returning to the previous screen with an EPG, etc. Volume button 205 for adjusting the sound, button 206 for selecting the type of broadcast signal to be received (such as terrestrial / BS / CS), and switching between broadcast services (television broadcast, radio broadcast, data broadcast), and character input Button 207, a color button 208 used when an instruction is issued on the screen, a button 209 used for data broadcasting, a direction button 210 for moving the focus up / down / left / right by EPG, etc., and the selected item. Determination button 211, channel button 212 used for channel selection, and recording / playback of program content It includes a button 213 used, a simple addressable broadcast date designation button 220 broadcast date to be displayed on the EPG, to. In addition, operation buttons for executing predetermined functions such as an audio switching button and a caption on / off switching button may be provided.

  The conventional HDD recorder remote control device is provided with operation buttons corresponding to the operation buttons 201 to 213, but a dedicated operation button for designating the broadcast date to be displayed on the EPG, such as the broadcast date designation button 220. Is not prepared.

  Specifically, the broadcast date designation button 220 includes a one week previous button 221 for displaying the EPG of the previous week on the basis of the broadcast date and time of the currently focused program in the EPG, and the broadcast date one day ago. The previous day button 222 for displaying the EPG of the current day, the current button 223 for displaying the EPG of the current time when the past or future EPG is displayed, the next day button 224 for displaying the EPG of the broadcast date one day later, And a one week later button 225 for displaying the EPG of the broadcast day after the week.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the broadcast date designation button 220 allows a broadcast date in the past or future for a predetermined period to be designated by a single operation. Since the HDD recorder 10 of the present embodiment can also display information on programs broadcast in the past on the EPG, the number of days that can be displayed in the EPG increases and the amount of information of programs to be searched increases. By using the before-week button 221 and the after-week button 225, for example, it is possible to efficiently obtain information regarding a program broadcast every week, and it is possible to avoid the loss of convenience of the EPG.

  FIG. 3 is an example of an EPG displayed on the HDD recorder 10 of the present embodiment, and an EPG in the time zone from 10:00:00 to 17:00 on October 20 is displayed. The EPG is generated and displayed by the EPG generation unit 16 when the EPG display button 203 of the remote control device 20 is operated, for example. Further, display control such as focus movement in the EPG is performed by the control unit 21 as EPG display control means.

  The EPG shown in FIG. 3 includes four display areas D1 to D4. Specifically, the D1 area displays a program guide in which information related to program content is arranged side by side in time series for each broadcasting station. Note that FIG. 3 shows a case where the focus is on “News 10” of KHN1 broadcasting by highlighting with a thick frame and diagonal lines.

  By simply operating the direction button 210 of the remote control device 20 to move the focus on the program guide, and operating the enter button 211 while the desired program is in focus, it is possible to easily schedule recording / viewing of the program Can do. The contents displayed on the program guide in the D1 area can be scrolled according to the operation of the direction button 210 or the like of the remote control device 20.

  In the D2 area, a broadcast date frame divided into 15 by broadcast date is displayed. Each divided area of the broadcast date frame is assigned, for example, a total of 15 days of broadcast days, the past 7 days centering on the present and the future 7 days. Note that FIG. 3 shows a case where “the current day” is in focus by highlighting with a thick frame and diagonal lines.

  By operating the broadcast date designation button 220 of the remote control device 20 to move the focus on the broadcast date frame, the program table of the selected broadcast date can be displayed in the D1 area. The time zone of the displayed program guide is not particularly limited, but may be displayed according to the currently displayed time zone, for example.

  That is, when the previous day button 222 is operated in a state where the EPG shown in FIG. 3 is displayed, the focus is moved to the divided area of “10/19”, and from 10: 00 to 17:00 on October 19. The EPG for the time zone is displayed. Further, when the one week previous button 221 is operated in a state where the EPG shown in FIG. 3 is displayed, the focus is moved to the divided area of “10/13”, and 10: 00 to 17 on October 13: The EPG for the 00 time zone is displayed.

  Here, the one week before button 221 of the remote control device 20 is effective when watching the program information of the future (the day is 10/27 in FIG. 3) from that day, and the handling of the button 225 after one week is reversed. And When the broadcast date specified by operating the broadcast date designation button 220 is not included in the broadcast date frame (that is, when there is no focus movement destination), a message indicating that the focus cannot be moved is displayed on a small screen or the like. You may make it do.

  In this way, by using the broadcast date frame on the EPG and the broadcast date designation button 220 of the remote control device 20 in combination, the program table for one week before / after one week can be displayed, and the program after one week can be viewed. / Since it becomes easy to make a recording reservation, the convenience of the program guide can be improved and the user's request can be met.

  The detailed contents of the program focused in the D1 area are displayed in the D3 area. For example, since “News 10” is focused in the D1 area in FIG. 3, the program name, performers, program contents, etc. are displayed in the D3 area. In addition, the program start time, broadcast time, genre, etc. may be displayed.

  Operation buttons that can be used in the displayed EPG are displayed in the D4 area. That is, in the EPG shown in FIG. 3, the current day button 223, the previous day button 222, the next day button 224, the one week previous button 221, the one week later button 225, the direction button 210, the decision button 211, the return button 204, and the end The button (EPG display button) 203 is usable.

  The EPG displayed in the conventional HDD recorder is composed of contents displayed in the D1, D3, and D4 areas, for example. On the other hand, in this embodiment, in addition to the contents of the conventional EPG, a broadcast date frame for designating a broadcast date is newly provided in the D2 area, and the broadcast date displayed in the D1 area is visually recognized. In addition, the broadcast date to be displayed in the D1 area can be easily specified by the dedicated button 220 newly provided in the remote controller 20.

  Furthermore, in the broadcast date frame of the D2 area, the program information acquisition status grasped by the control unit 21 as program information management means is displayed in a visible state. In the present embodiment, the control unit 21 as program information management means manages, for example, the acquisition status of program information divided into three types of acquisition, partial acquisition, and non-acquisition. Is displayed in a visible manner in the broadcast date frame of the D2 area.

  At this time, the broadcast date frame indicates the acquisition status of a specific broadcast station. For example, for a broadcasting station that provides a focused program on the program guide in the D1 area, the program information acquisition status is displayed in the broadcast date frame. Accordingly, when the up / down direction button 210 of the remote control device 20 is operated on the program guide in the D1 area and the broadcasting station providing the focused program is switched, the display of the broadcast date frame is also switched in a follow-up manner. As a result, the user can easily recognize, for example, the acquisition status of the past or future program information of the focused broadcasting station, so that EPG can be used efficiently when it is desired to obtain information on a specific program. can do.

  Specifically, for example, the acquisition status of program information can be distinguished by the display mode of the background in each divided area of the broadcast date frame. That is, in FIG. 3, the background of the “10/15” divided area is displayed in black, indicating that program information has not been acquired, and the background of the “10/17” divided area is shaded, and the program is displayed. Indicates that some information has been acquired. Further, the background of the other divided areas is displayed in white, indicating that all program information has been acquired.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the program table for a desired broadcast date can be displayed in the D1 area by moving the focus on the broadcast date frame in the D2 area. Depending on the acquisition status of the program information, display control of the program table on the broadcast day is performed.

  For example, when there is no program information corresponding to the broadcast date designated by the broadcast date designation button 220 of the remote control device 20, the control unit 21 as the EPG display control means does not display the program table for the broadcast date. To do. As a result, it is possible to solve the problem that the program guide is not displayed correctly (for example, it is blank) and the user's operation is wasted.

  In this case, that is, when the broadcast schedule to be displayed on the program guide is specified by the user but the program schedule is not displayed, it is desirable to display that the program guide is not updated. As a result, it is possible to prevent the user from suspecting that the apparatus is out of order or malfunctioning in response to the program table not being updated. For example, the visual recognition effect can be improved by displaying a message on the electronic program guide by OSD.

  In addition, for the current or future program, the viewing reservation / recording reservation of the selected program can be performed by operating the determination button 211 of the remote control device 20 while being focused on the program guide in the D1 area. .

  FIG. 4 is an example of a screen displayed when the enter button 211 is operated in a state where the current or future program is focused. For example, the sub screen SD1 is displayed on the EPG shown in FIG. 3 and the content of the selected program is displayed. Above the program content, a button B1 for executing viewing reservation, a button B2 for executing recording reservation, and a button B3 for deleting the sub-screen SD1 and returning to the original EPG are arranged. FIG. 4 shows a state where the return button B3 is in focus.

  In the sub-screen SD1 shown in FIG. 4, a predetermined operation can be executed by operating one of the buttons B1 to B3 and operating the enter button 211 of the remote control device 20.

  On the other hand, with respect to past programs, even if the enter button 211 of the remote control device 20 is operated in a state of being focused on the program guide in the D1 area, the viewing reservation / recording reservation of the selected program cannot be made, and the program contents Can only confirm.

  FIG. 5 is an example of a screen that is displayed when the enter button 211 is operated while a past program is focused. For example, the sub screen SD2 is displayed on the EPG shown in FIG. 3 and the content of the selected program is displayed. Further, above the program content, a button B3 for erasing the sub screen SD1 and returning to the original EPG is arranged. That is, the viewing reservation button B1 and the recording reservation button B2 in FIG. 4 are invalidated.

  As described above, according to the HDD recorder 10 according to the present embodiment, information on programs broadcast in the past can be displayed on the EPG, and can be handled in the same manner as the latte column of newspapers and magazines. Since the acquisition status of the period is displayed on the EPG in a visible state, it is possible to confirm in advance whether or not there is program information for the date and time to be displayed on the program guide, and since the program information has not been acquired, the program guide is correct. It is possible to prevent the date and time designation operation from being displayed without being displayed.

  As mentioned above, although the invention made by this inventor was concretely demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

  In the above embodiment, when there is no program information corresponding to the broadcast date designated by the broadcast date designation button 220 of the remote control device 20, the program table for the broadcast date is not displayed. If there is program information on a broadcast date before (past) or after (future) after the designated broadcast date, the EPG of the broadcast date may be displayed. That is, in FIG. 3, when the previous day button 222 of the remote control device 20 is operated in a state where “10/16” of the broadcast date frame is focused, the program information of “10/15” is not acquired. However, since the program information of the previous day (10/14) has been acquired, the focus is moved to “10/14”, and the program table for this day is displayed.

  In the above embodiment, the remote control device 20 is provided with the operation button 220 for designating the broadcast date. However, a function for designating the broadcast date (for example, one week ago, the previous day, The next day, one week later) may be assigned.

  Further, the period displayed in the broadcast date frame of the D2 area in FIG. 3 is not limited to 15 days. For example, the past program information may be retained for 7 days or more, and when a past broadcast date is designated, the broadcast date frame may be scrolled so that it can be displayed as far back as possible. Further, the future program information is not limited to seven days, but is preferably recorded in the program information storage unit 18 according to the number of days of program information included in the digital broadcast signal.

  In addition, the program information acquisition status may be an aspect that can be visually recognized by the user. For example, when the program information has not been acquired, the division area itself of the broadcast date is transparent (unenable) in the broadcast date frame. In the case where a part of the program information is acquired, it may be expressed in light colors.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the program information is acquired from the digital broadcast signal received when viewing the program. However, the program information may be acquired even during standby when the program is not viewed. . For example, program information may be acquired by scanning all channels during standby after power is turned off, or program information may be acquired by performing a scheduled scan at midnight or the like. In terrestrial digital broadcasting, information can be acquired only by each channel (broadcast station) at the time of viewing. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the unacquired state of program information by periodically scanning all channels.

  In the above embodiment, the program acquisition status is displayed in the broadcast date frame for the broadcast station that provides the program focused on the program guide in the D1 area. You may make it show comprehensively the acquisition condition of all the broadcasting stations every day. Or you may make it display the acquisition condition of the program information corresponding to the time slot | zone currently displayed in the program schedule currently displayed on the broadcast day frame on EPG.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to an HDD recorder has been described. However, digital broadcast reception capable of receiving a digital broadcast signal and presenting an electronic program guide based on program information included in the broadcast signal is possible. It can be applied to all devices. For example, the present invention can be applied to various AV (audio visual) devices such as a digital television broadcast receiver and a set top box.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an HDD recorder 10 as a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention. 2 is an overview of a remote control device as an input unit 20. FIG. It is an example of the electronic program guide displayed in HDD recorder 10 of this embodiment. It is a display example when a program scheduled to be broadcast is selected in the electronic program guide. It is a display example when a program broadcast in the past is selected in the electronic program guide.

Explanation of symbols

10 HDD recorder (digital broadcast receiver)
11 Antenna 12 Receiver (Tuner)
13 Signal Demodulator 14 Data Separator 15 Decoder 16 EPG Generator 17 Multiplexer (OSD Unit)
18 Program information storage unit 19 Program content storage unit 20 Input unit (remote control device)
21 Control unit (EPG display control means)

Claims (3)

Program information acquisition means for acquiring program information included in the digital broadcast signal;
Storage means capable of recording program information acquired by the program information acquisition means;
Based on the program information acquired by the program information acquisition unit or the program information recorded in the storage unit, electronic program guide data including a program table in which information on program contents is arranged in time series for each broadcasting station is generated. EPG generation means;
EPG display control means for controlling display of the electronic program guide generated by the EPG generation means;
A broadcast date and time designation means capable of designating a broadcast date and time to be displayed on the program guide;
In a digital broadcast receiving apparatus comprising:
Furthermore, it comprises program information management means for managing the acquisition status of the program information recorded in the storage means in units of date and time,
The EPG display control means causes the electronic program guide to display the acquisition status of a predetermined period among the acquisition status of the program information grasped by the program information management means in a visible state ,
The program information management means manages the acquisition status of program information recorded in the storage means for each broadcasting station,
The EPG display control means, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim Rukoto display the acquired status of the program information of a particular broadcast station in the electronic program guide. 2. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the broadcast date and time designation means includes operation means capable of designating a broadcast date in the past or future for a predetermined period by a single operation. The EPG display control means does not cause the electronic program guide to display the program table for the broadcast date when the program information corresponding to the broadcast date designated by the broadcast date and time designation means is not recorded in the storage means. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ,

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