JP5012815B2 - Information device, control method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information device having a television viewing function.

  Conventionally, information equipment such as a personal computer has a television reception function. In these information devices, a television broadcast program is displayed on a television screen formed on the display device. The television screen may be displayed on the entire screen of the display device or may be displayed on some windows on the screen of the display device. In some cases, the image is reduced and displayed in a band-like region along a side portion on the screen of a display device called a side bar. Such a screen configuration is not limited to a personal computer, and is also realized in a stationary television viewing apparatus.

  On the other hand, television broadcasting is being shifted from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting. Among digital broadcasts, a broadcast called terrestrial digital broadcast has a channel with a bandwidth of 6 MHz, and the bandwidth is divided into 13 segments (frequency bands). Of these, 12 segments are assigned to high-definition broadcasting, and high-definition programs are broadcast. Further, the remaining one segment is mainly used as a one-segment broadcast for mobile terminals, and a program having a lower resolution than the high-definition broadcast is broadcast.

High-definition broadcasting is high definition, but the amount of information displayed is large. For this reason, when there is a limit to the resources of the information equipment, it is not always desirable to always display the high-definition broadcast. For example, when displaying a program on a reduced television screen or a television screen stored in the sidebar, reducing the high-definition broadcast will cause a very high load on the information equipment. Nevertheless, users who are viewers cannot enjoy the benefits of high definition. In addition, when there is a limit to the information processing capability of the information device, it may affect the execution of processing other than television broadcast reception.
JP 2004-056178 A JP 2002-278658 A JP 2006-19636 A JP 2001-101190 A JP 2001-175239 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-287270

  An object of the present invention is to provide a technology that can enjoy the advantages of high-definition video and the light load of narrow-band broadcasting by selectively using wide-band broadcast reception and narrow-band broadcast reception.

  The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems. That is, the present invention provides a broadcast receiving unit capable of receiving a program from at least one of the first broadcast band and the second broadcast band having a narrower bandwidth than the first broadcast band, and an interface capable of connecting a display device. The present invention relates to a technology for controlling information devices. The present invention relates to a multiple screen mode in which a screen of a display device connected to an interface is divided into a plurality of display areas and information is displayed in each display area, and a single screen mode in which information is displayed in a single display area. And a screen control unit for controlling the screen output mode to the display device. In addition, the present invention monitors the state of the information receiving device including at least one of the state of the broadcast receiving unit, the state of the display device, the state of the screen control unit, and the state of the control device. When it is determined that the condition is met, the broadcast receiving unit is controlled to receive a program from the second broadcast band.

  That is, the present invention provides the following when the state of the information receiving device including at least one of the state of the broadcast receiving unit, the state of the display device, the state of the screen control unit, and the state of the control device satisfies a predetermined condition. A program is received from the second broadcast band whose bandwidth is narrower than one broadcast band. Therefore, it provides a function of using the first broadcast band and the second broadcast band separately according to the state of the information device.

  For example, the present invention has a function of detecting an input operation including a program viewing instruction. When the viewing instruction operation is detected, the display device is used in a multi-screen mode, and the display area where the program is displayed has a size less than or equal to a predetermined size, the present invention The receiving unit may be controlled to receive the program from the second broadcast band. Therefore, the present invention provides a function for viewing the first broadcast band and the second broadcast band separately according to the size of the display area in which the program is displayed.

  Further, according to the present invention, when it is determined that the state of the information device meets a predetermined condition, the display area in which the program is displayed may be reduced to a predetermined size or less. Therefore, the present invention provides a function of adjusting the size of a display area for displaying a program according to the state of the information device.

  The present invention also includes a first receiver that receives a program from the first broadcast band, and a second receiver that receives a program from the second broadcast band, and the program received from the first broadcast band and the first Any one of the programs received from the two broadcast bands may be output to the display device.

  Further, the present invention detects an operation for changing a screen to a multi-screen mode when a program received from the first broadcast band is displayed in a single-screen mode, and the multi-screen mode When the display area in which the program is displayed is equal to or smaller than a predetermined size, reception from the first broadcast band may be interrupted and the program may be received from the second broadcast band. In other words, the present invention provides a function of viewing and using the first broadcast band and the second broadcast band properly according to the state of the screen after the change when the screen mode is changed by a user operation. To do.

  Further, the present invention may monitor the load of information processing executed by the information equipment. Then, when the load is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference load, reception from the first broadcast band may be interrupted and a program may be received from the second broadcast band. Therefore, the present invention provides a function of using the first broadcast band and the second broadcast band separately according to the information processing load executed by the information device.

  The present invention may also include a program monitoring unit that monitors whether at least one of program video, program sound, and information broadcast in association with the program meets a predetermined determination condition. When at least one of the program video, the program sound, and the information broadcast in association with the program meets the determination condition, reception from the first broadcast band is interrupted and the program is received from the second broadcast band. You may make it do. Therefore, the present invention provides a function of using the first broadcast band and the second broadcast band for viewing in accordance with the video of the program, the sound of the program, and information broadcast in association with the program.

  Further, the present invention may monitor whether or not the usage state of the information device corresponds to a predetermined usage condition. Then, when the use state corresponds to the use condition, reception from the first broadcast band may be interrupted and a program may be received from the second broadcast band. Therefore, the present invention provides a function of using the first broadcast band and the second broadcast band separately according to the usage state of the information equipment.

  The first broadcast band is, for example, a high-definition broadcast band in digital broadcast, and the first broadcast band is a one-segment broadcast band. However, the present invention is not limited to digital broadcasting, and can be realized as a television viewing technique for receiving wide-band broadcasting and narrow-band broadcasting separately.

  Here, the usage state refers to, for example, the frequency of input operations on the information device, the state of the screen displayed on the display device including the single screen mode and the multiple screen mode, the size of the screen displayed in the multiple screen mode, and The type of information processing corresponding to the screen displayed on the display device is included.

  According to the present invention, by selectively using wideband broadcast reception and narrowband broadcast reception, it is possible to enjoy the advantages of high-definition video and the light load of narrowband broadcast.

It is a figure which shows the typical usage example of the television viewing-and-listening apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of a television viewing apparatus. It is a detailed block diagram of a television viewing / listening apparatus. It is a detailed block diagram of a broadcast receiving part. It is a process sequence when the television viewing-and-listening apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment starts reception of a television broadcast. It is a flowchart which starts the television broadcast reception which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which performs switching of one segment broadcasting and high-definition broadcasting by the load of a system. It is a flowchart of the switching process of the received broadcast according to the program content. It is a flowchart of the switching process of the received broadcast according to a screen state. It is a flowchart of the switching process of the received broadcast by the operation amount. It is a flowchart of the process which switches a display screen during television broadcast reception. It is a flowchart of the television viewing-and-listening apparatus 10 which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Television Viewing Device 10A Control Device 11 CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Memory 13 Interface 14 Broadcast receiving part 15 Communication part 16 Hard disk drive 17 Portable storage medium drive part 18 Operation part 19 Infrared detection part 20 Infrared remote control 21 Display 22 Image processing part 141 Tuner 142 One segment decoder 143 Hi-vision decoder MW Main Area SB Sub area SW1, SW2 switch

  A television viewing apparatus according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment) will be described below with reference to the drawings. The configuration of the following embodiment is an exemplification, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment.

<Outline of the invention>
High-definition broadcasting and one-segment broadcasting are provided for terrestrial digital broadcasting. The difference between the two broadcasts is that the high-definition broadcast has a high resolution and is beautiful as an image, while the one-segment broadcast has a low resolution. Instead, one-segment broadcasting has the advantage that the load when processing video is light compared to high-definition broadcasting. This television viewing apparatus uses the advantages of each of these broadcasting systems.

  FIG. 1 shows a typical use example of the present television viewing apparatus. For example, when the degree of attention to the television is high, such as when viewing television on a full screen, the television viewing apparatus receives a high-definition broadcast. On the other hand, when processing other than viewing of a television program is performed and viewing is performed in parallel in a window having a small screen size, the television viewing apparatus receives a one-segment broadcast.

  A window having a small screen size is, for example, a window configured in a sub area when the screen is divided into a main area and a sub area. The sub-region is a region called a side bar, for example, and is formed in a band shape close to any edge of the screen. In FIG. 1, a window W1 in which the user is working is displayed in the main area MW. On the other hand, a television display window (hereinafter simply referred to as a television screen) W2 is displayed in the sub-region SB. In such a state of the television viewing apparatus, it can be estimated that the degree of attention of the television screen W2 is low. Therefore, the present television viewing apparatus displays a one-segment broadcast on the television screen W2 instead of the high-definition broadcast.

  For example, when the application program executed in the television viewing apparatus is only the television broadcast reception process, the television viewing apparatus receives the high-definition broadcast. On the other hand, when other application programs to be prioritized are being executed in addition to the television broadcast reception process, the television viewing apparatus receives the one-segment broadcast.

  With such a proper use, in the case of parallel processing of the television program viewing process and other processes, the load of the television program viewing process can be reduced and resources can be preferentially allocated to other processes. That is, the present television viewing device provides an effective viewing function that matches the usage status of the device.

<Outline configuration of television viewing device>
FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration diagram of the television viewing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. The television viewing device 10 receives an operation of the user, operates an operation unit 18 that operates the television viewing device 10, a broadcast reception unit 14 that receives a television broadcast in accordance with an operation on the operation unit 18, and broadcast reception The display unit 21 </ b> A that displays the broadcast program received by the unit 14 and the control device 10 </ b> A that controls the television viewing device 10 are provided.

  Further, the control device 10A includes a detection unit 30 that detects an operation signal generated by a user operation on the operation unit 18, a user operation status through the operation unit 18, a program status received by the broadcast reception unit 14, and a display unit The monitoring unit 11A that monitors the display state of 21A, the detection result of the detection unit 30 or the screen control unit 31 that controls the display state of the screen according to the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 11A, the detection result of the detection unit 30 It has a reception control unit 32 that selects a broadcast received by the broadcast receiving unit 14 according to the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 11A.

  Here, the operation unit 18 is a channel, operation buttons, a computer input device, or the like.

  Of these, the control device 10A can be realized by a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like and a program executed on the computer. The operation unit 18, the display unit 21A, and the broadcast receiving unit 14 are connected to the control device 10A through a predetermined interface.

  The detection unit 30 includes an interface between the operation unit 18 and the CPU, a device driver that processes interface signals, and an OS (operating system) that exchanges signals with the operation unit 18 through the device driver. Then, an operation on the operation unit 18 (for example, switching of a reception channel) is detected.

  However, dedicated hardware may be provided as the detection unit 30. For example, an input signal processing circuit for the operation unit 18 may be provided to share the CPU processing. As such a processing circuit, a keyboard controller, a mouse controller, and the like are known.

  Further, for example, a dedicated input control processor for processing a signal from the operation unit 18 may be separately provided. The input control processor may receive, for example, a reception channel switching instruction from the operation unit 18 and transmit a reception channel switching signal directly to the broadcast reception unit 14 or to the broadcast reception unit 14 through the reception control unit 32.

  The screen control unit 31 displays one or a plurality of screens on the display unit 21A. The screen is also called a window. The screen control unit 31 is realized as a program executed by the CPU that constitutes the control device 10A. However, a processor or an image processing board that executes image processing exclusively may be provided as the screen control unit 31.

  The reception control unit 32 controls the broadcast receiving unit 14 according to the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 11A, and selects either high-definition broadcasting or one-segment broadcasting for reception. The reception control unit 32 is realized as a program executed by the CPU that constitutes the control device 10A. However, a processor that exclusively controls the broadcast receiving unit 14 may be provided as the reception control unit 32.

  The monitoring unit 11 </ b> A also displays programs received by the usage monitoring unit 33 that monitors the usage status of the television viewing device 10, the load monitoring unit 34 that monitors the load on the television viewing device 10, and the broadcast receiving unit 14. A program monitoring unit 35 to be monitored is included.

  Here, the usage state of the television viewing device 10 monitored by the usage state monitoring unit 33 refers to the frequency of user operation through the operation unit 18, the screen configuration on the display unit 21A, and an application program executed corresponding to the screen. Type, the relationship between an active screen and an inactive screen.

  The load monitored by the load monitoring unit 34 refers to an information processing load, a signal processing load, and the like executed by the control device 10A. These loads include, for example, a CPU occupancy rate, a transfer amount of data input / output through the input / output interface, a graphics processor usage rate, an image processing processor usage rate, a memory occupancy rate, and the like.

  The target monitored by the program monitoring unit 35 refers to changes in video in the program, volume level, volume level change, contents of character information associated with the program, and the like.

  The monitoring unit 11A, the usage state monitoring unit 33, the load monitoring unit 34, and the program monitoring unit 35 are realized as programs executed by the CPU constituting the control device 10A. However, you may provide the processor which performs each monitoring function exclusively as the monitoring part 11A, the use condition monitoring part 33, the load monitoring part 34, and the program monitoring part 35. Further, as the load monitoring unit 34, a digital circuit that exclusively monitors the CPU load, the transfer rate of the display unit 21A or the input / output device, the amount of transfer data, and the like may be provided. For example, a logic circuit such as a counter for measuring the number of execution instructions in the CPU, a register for holding a counter value, or the like may be provided.

  A configuration including an interface connecting the control device 10A, the broadcast receiving unit 14, and the display unit 21A corresponds to the information device of the present invention.

<Detailed configuration of television viewing device>
FIG. 3 shows a detailed configuration of the television viewing device 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the television viewing device 10 executes a computer program and controls the television viewing device 10, and a memory 12 that stores a computer program executed by the CPU 11 or data processed by the CPU 11. , An interface 13 for connecting the CPU 11 to various devices, a broadcast receiving unit 14 connected via the interface 13, a communication unit 15, a hard disk drive device 16, a portable medium drive device 17, an operation unit 18, a display 21, and infrared detection And a device such as a unit 19.

  Here, the CPU 11 executes a computer program, controls each part of the television viewing device 10, and provides functions of the television viewing device 10. The memory 12 stores a program executed by the CPU 11 and data processed by the CPU 11. The memory 11 includes a volatile RAM (Random Access Memory) and a nonvolatile ROM (Read Only Member). The ROM includes a rewritable semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

  The interface 13 is a serial interface such as USB, PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), ISA (Industry Standard Architecture), EISA (Extended ISA), ATA (AT Attachment), IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics), IEEE 1394, SCSI (Small Any parallel interface such as Computer System Interface) may be used. In FIG. 3, the interface 13 is described, but the CPU 11 and each device may be connected by different interfaces. A plurality of interfaces may be bridge-connected.

  The broadcast receiving unit 14 has a function of receiving at least a digital television broadcast. In this case, the broadcast receiving unit 14 includes a high-frequency unit including a tuning circuit and an amplifier, a digital signal decoder (for example, an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) demodulator, and an MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group, MPEG). -I (i is one of 1, 2 and 4) etc. Note that the television viewing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is not limited to the type of MPEG, so that this decoder will be described below. Is simply called an MPEG decoder.

  Here, the high-frequency unit converts high-frequency electromagnetic waves into baseband signals. The OFDM demodulator includes an FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) processing circuit and an orthogonal demodulator, and generates a digital signal from the baseband signal. The MPEG decoder generates video data from the generated digital signal according to the MPEG rules. These processes may be configured by a dedicated digital circuit that performs a product-sum operation. Further, it may be constituted by a processor such as a DSP and a program. Further, a demodulation LSI manufactured and sold in accordance with a television broadcast standard may be used.

  Although omitted in FIG. 3, the broadcast receiving unit 14 is connected to an antenna or an interface with a broadband network and receives signals from terrestrial, digital terrestrial broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, broadband network, and the like. . Then, the broadcast receiving unit 14 generates a moving image and a sound from the received signal and displays them on the display 21.

  The communication unit 15 is an interface with a broadband network. The broadband network is, for example, a local area network (LAN), a cable television network, a wired network such as xDSL (x Digital Subscriber Line), ADSL, or an optical network, or a wireless access such as a wireless LAN or fixed wireless access (FWA). Network. The communication unit 15 is, for example, a computer program installed in the hard disk drive 16 from a server on the network, an electronic program guide for television broadcasting, a video data file that records the broadcast program itself (moving image and sound), or Receive data of online broadcast program. These broadband networks are generally connectable to the Internet.

  When the communication unit 15 receives a broadcast program on the blow band network, the received data may be delivered from the communication unit 15 to the broadcast receiving unit 14. Further, the broadcast receiving unit 14 may be connected to the blow band network through an interface different from that of the communication unit 15.

  The hard disk drive 16 stores a program loaded into the memory 12. Further, the hard disk drive 16 stores data processed by the CPU 11. Further, the hard disk drive 16 is linked to the broadcast receiving unit 14 and records the received television broadcast program (video data) on the hard disk. Further, the hard disk drive 16 plays back the program recorded on the hard disk and displays it on the display 21.

  The hard disk drive device 16 is not limited to one, and a plurality of hard disk drives 16 may be provided. For example, different hard disk drive devices 16 may be used for a disk storing a computer program and a disk storing a video data file.

  The portable medium drive device 17 is a drive device such as a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an HD-DVD, or a Blu-ray disc. Further, the portable medium driving device 17 may be an input / output device for a card medium having a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. The medium driven by the portable medium drive device 17 holds, for example, a computer program installed in the hard disk drive device 16 and a video data file.

  The operation unit 18 includes various switches and knobs for channel operation. The operation unit 18 includes a computer input device such as a keyboard and a pointing device. There are no particular limitations on the type of pointing device, such as a mouse, trackball, dial-type control unit, device that moves the pointer on the display in the form of a stick, or a device that detects the operation of the user's finger by capacitance (flat point and A suitable one may be used according to the characteristics of the television viewing device 10, user needs, and the like, such as a touch panel and a joystick.

  The keyboard transmits an electrical signal corresponding to the input key to a keyboard controller (not shown) in accordance with a user input operation. The keyboard controller transmits a code corresponding to the electrical signal to the CPU 11. The device driver of the CPU 11 determines the outline of the font corresponding to the code based on the font data (coordinates of several points for drawing the outline and the curve equation connecting them) built in the OS (operating system). It is formed (called True Font) and displayed on the display 21. Further, the CPU 11 displays a character cursor indicating a character input destination on the screen in accordance with a user input operation, and moves the screen.

  The pointing device detects a user operation and transmits an operation signal to a pointing device control apparatus (not shown) (for example, a mouse controller (not shown) or the interface 13). Upon receiving the operation signal, the pointing device control apparatus transmits information for generating the operation direction and the operation amount to the CPU 11. The device driver of the CPU 11 displays a pointer on the screen on the display 21 and moves it on the screen based on an operation signal from the pointing device control device.

  In addition, the OS of the CPU 11 determines the positional relationship between the pointer and objects (windows, buttons, menus, lists, etc.) on the screen. Then, the object at the position where the pointer exists is set to the selected state or the focused state. Further, the selection of the object is confirmed by a selection confirmation operation on the pointing device, for example, by pressing a mouse button.

  The display 21 is, for example, a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display panel, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), an electroluminescence panel, or the like. The display 21 includes a RAM that stores image data and a drive circuit that drives the display 21 based on the RAM data (see the image processing unit 22 in FIG. 4). However, a RAM for storing image data, a drive circuit for driving the display 21, and the like may be provided independently of the display 21 as an image processing unit. In that case, the data constituting the screen information from the CPU 11 and the video data received by the broadcast receiving unit 14 are input to the image processing unit.

  In addition, the display 21 is provided with a speaker, and is read from the sound (including sound and sound other than sound) generated by the broadcast receiver 14, the hard disk drive device 16 or the portable medium drive device 17, and is not shown. The sound reproduced by the speech synthesis board is output. For example, the speech synthesis board converts digital data such as MP3 into sound.

  The infrared detector 19 detects an infrared operation signal from the infrared remote controller 20, converts it into an electrical signal, and transmits it to each part of the television viewing device 10. However, the CPU 11 may temporarily receive an operation signal through the interface 13 and send a command from the CPU 11 to each unit of the television viewing device 10. The user can operate the television viewing device 10 through the infrared detector 19 by operating the operation button on the infrared remote controller 20.

  The television viewing apparatus 10 as described above can be configured as, for example, a personal computer having the broadcast receiving unit 14. However, the television viewing device 10 is not limited to a personal computer, and may be another device having an equivalent function, for example, a television receiving device having the hard disk 16. In addition, DVD recorders, hard disk recorders, tuners for receiving television broadcasts, set-top boxes, mobile phones with a television broadcast receiving function, personal digital assistants (PDAs), game machines, in-vehicle devices with a television broadcast receiving function, etc. Thus, the television viewing device 10 can be realized.

  FIG. 4 shows a detailed configuration of the broadcast receiving unit 14. The broadcast receiving unit 14 includes a tuner 141 (also referred to as a high frequency unit) that receives a high frequency (RF) through an antenna AN or a communication board 15A, a switch SW1 that switches an output destination of a reception signal of the tuner 141, and a tuner via the switch SW1. 141 includes a one-segment decoder 142 to which a reception signal 141 is input, a high-definition decoder 143, and a switch SW2 that outputs a decoded signal of the one-segment decoder 142 or the high-definition decoder 143.

  The tuner 141 extracts a baseband signal of a band portion corresponding to a reception channel from high frequencies input through the antenna AN or the communication unit 15. The tuner 141 includes, for example, an amplifier and a band pass filter.

  The switch SW1 connects the reception signal from the tuner 141 to either the one-segment decoder 142 or the high-definition decoder 143 according to a control signal from the CPU 11. The switch SW1 can be composed of transistors that are complementarily combined so that either one is turned on and the other is turned off.

  The television broadcast in this embodiment is a digital broadcast in which one channel includes 13 segments. Each segment is carried by OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) subcarriers.

  The one-segment decoder 142 includes, for example, an OFDM decoder and an MPEG decoder that decode only one segment (corresponding to the second broadcast band of the present invention) out of 13 segments. The OFDM decoder generates a digital signal for one segment for which the decoder is responsible from the baseband signal. The MPEG decoder generates a digital video signal and a digital sound signal from a digital signal for one segment.

  The HDTV decoder 143 includes an OFDM decoder and an MPEG decoder for decoding 12 segments (corresponding to the first broadcast band of the present invention) of the 13 segments excluding the one segment. In this case, the MPEG decoder generates a digital video signal and a digital sound signal from digital signals for 12 segments. The one-segment decoder 142 and the high-definition decoder 143 may share the MPEG decoder.

  The output signal of the switch SW2 is supplied to the image processing unit 22 (also referred to as a graphics board). The image processing unit 22 includes screen information from the CPU 11 (for example, a window configuration, a graphics object in the window, an image displayed in the window, text, etc.) and video information of a received program from the broadcast receiving unit 14 (so-called The information on the television screen including the television image) is synthesized and output to the display 21. Such an image processing unit includes, for example, a memory that accumulates images, a graphics processor that executes various operations on the images in the memory, and a drive circuit that generates a drive signal for driving the display from the image data in the memory. Including.

<Processing Flow of First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the procedure of the television program receiving process by the television viewing apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 5 shows a processing procedure when the television viewing apparatus 10 starts to receive a television broadcast.

  In this process, first, the user uses the operation unit 18 to instruct the television viewing device 10 to view a television broadcast. The television viewing device 10 detects an operation on the operation unit 18 by the user and starts receiving a designated television program (S1).

  At this time, the television viewing apparatus 10 determines whether or not the display 21 is in a full screen display mode (also referred to as a full screen mode) using the entire area of the screen. Whether or not the mode is the full screen display mode is designated by a user operation through the operation unit 18. The result of the input operation is stored as a parameter for controlling the display 21 in a file in the hard disk driven by the memory 12 and the hard disk drive device 16.

  When the display 21 is not in the full screen display mode, the television viewing device 10 recognizes that the screen of the display 21 is divided into a plurality of display areas. Therefore, the television viewing device 10 searches for the attribute of the television screen on which the television program is displayed. The attributes of the television screen are stored together with the name of the application program that displays the television broadcast in, for example, a memory 12 called a registry and a file in a hard disk driven by the hard disk drive device 16. However, an attribute of the television screen may be acquired by an application program executing the process of S3 inquiring of an OS (operating system) application interface (calling an OS system function or the like). For example, an application program (hereinafter referred to as a viewing control application) that executes the processing of FIG. 5 acquires identification information called a window ID of a television screen from the OS. Then, the window attribute identified by the window ID may be acquired from the OS.

  Then, the television viewing device 10 determines whether or not the dimension of the television screen is equal to or larger than a predetermined reference dimension. When the size of the television screen is less than the predetermined reference size, the television viewing device 10 controls the switches SW1 and SW2, receives the one-segment broadcast, and displays it on the television screen (S4).

  On the other hand, if it is the full screen display mode in the determination of S2 or the dimension of the television screen is greater than or equal to a predetermined reference dimension in the determination of S3, the television viewing device 10 receives the high-definition broadcast and receives the television screen. (S5). Then, the television viewing device 10 continues to receive the television broadcast (S6A).

  As described above, the television viewing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment determines whether the television screen is in the full screen display mode, or whether the predetermined reference dimension is not used. And when the dimension of a television screen is less than a predetermined reference dimension, the television viewing device 10 receives a one-segment broadcast. Therefore, a high-definition broadcast with a large amount of data is not received on a screen with insufficient resolution. On the other hand, when the television screen is in the full screen display mode or is equal to or larger than a predetermined reference dimension, the television viewing device 10 receives the high-definition broadcast. Therefore, when a user views a television program, the television broadcast can be received with a fine image estimated to be appropriate according to the state of the screen.

  In FIG. 5, the viewing control application of the television viewing device 10 determines the attribute of the television screen and selects a television broadcasting system (high-definition or one segment). However, in addition to such a procedure, the user may be prompted to confirm before starting the reception of the high-definition broadcast and the one-segment broadcast. For example, a message on the screen or a voice inquiry such as “Is the one-segment broadcast received because the current television screen is smaller than a predetermined reference size? You can prompt for input.

<Processing Flow of Second Embodiment>
The processing flow of the television viewing device 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The hardware configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and only the processing flow of the television viewing device 10 is different from that of the second embodiment. Regarding the processing flow, in the first embodiment, the television viewing apparatus 10 receives the one-segment broadcast when the screen size is less than the reference size at the start of the television viewing.

  In the present embodiment, when the screen size is less than the reference size, the television viewing device 10 sets a switching mode between the one-segment broadcast and the high-definition broadcast. In this mode, the television viewing device 10 switches between the one-segment broadcast and the high-definition broadcast according to the system load, the user's work status, the contents of the received program, and the like. On the other hand, when the screen size is equal to or larger than the reference size, the television viewing device 10 receives the high-definition broadcast.

  FIG. 6 shows a processing flow for starting reception of a television broadcast. In this processing, the processing of S1-S3 is the same as that in FIG. In this embodiment, when the dimension of the television screen is less than a predetermined reference dimension in the determination of S3, the television viewing device 10 sets a switching mode between the one-segment broadcast and the high-definition broadcast (S4A).

  On the other hand, if it is the full screen display mode in the determination of S2 or the dimension of the television screen is equal to or larger than the predetermined reference dimension in the determination of S3, the television viewing device 10 sets the high-vision broadcast fixed mode (S5A). ). In this mode, the television viewing device 10 receives the high-definition broadcast and displays it on the television screen.

  Then, the television viewing device 10 executes a television broadcast reception process (S6).

  FIGS. 7 to 10 show processes executed in parallel during the television broadcast reception process in the switching mode between the one-segment broadcast and the high-definition broadcast. FIG. 7 is a processing flow for executing switching between one-segment broadcasting and high-definition broadcasting depending on the system load.

  This process is executed during reception of the high-definition broadcast (S10). In this process, the television viewing device 10 monitors the system load (S11). Here, the system load includes, for example, a CPU load (also referred to as a CPU usage rate), a graphic board load, the number of input / output executions of the interface 13, a memory usage (conversely, a ratio of free memory), and the like. Information regarding these system loads can be acquired, for example, by inquiring of the OS application interface by a control application that executes the processing of FIG.

  That is, first, the television viewing device 10 determines whether or not the CPU load is equal to or higher than a reference value (S12). When the CPU load is less than the reference value, the television viewing apparatus 10 next determines whether or not the load of the image processing unit 22 (not shown) is equal to or higher than the reference value (S13). When the load on the image processing unit 22 is less than the reference value, the television viewing apparatus 10 next determines whether or not the input / output count (abbreviated as I / O count) of the interface 13 is greater than or equal to a predetermined reference value. (S14). Note that the data transfer rate (traffic) of the interface 13 may be determined instead of the I / O count. When the input / output count of the interface 13 is less than the predetermined value, the television viewing device 10 controls the switches SW1 and SW2 to receive the high-definition broadcast (S15).

  On the other hand, whether the CPU load is equal to or higher than the reference value in the determination in S12, whether the load on the image processing unit is equal to or higher than the reference value in the determination in S13, and the input / output count of the interface 13 in the determination in S14 is a predetermined reference value. When any one of the above is satisfied, the television viewing device 10 receives the one-segment broadcast (S16).

  Thereafter, the television viewing apparatus 10 returns the control to S21. In this way, the processing of FIG. 7 is executed at predetermined time intervals during viewing of a high-definition broadcast.

  FIG. 8 shows received broadcast switching processing according to program contents (scene, volume, character data). This process is also executed during reception of a high-definition broadcast, as in FIG. 7 (S20). In this process, the television viewing device 10 monitors the contents of the received program (S21).

  Then, the television viewing apparatus 10 determines whether or not the volume level is equal to or higher than the reference value (S22). In S22, it may be determined whether the change (increase amount) in the sound volume level is equal to or greater than a reference value. This volume level can be calculated as an average value of amplitude within a predetermined period when a sound signal is reproduced. It is assumed that the volume level is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, for example, in a climax scene or a scene of interest. Conversely, when the volume level is less than the predetermined value, it can be determined that the degree of attention of the user is low.

  If the volume level is equal to or higher than the reference value, the television viewing apparatus 10 next determines whether the change rate of the video is equal to or higher than the reference value (S23). The rate of change of video is the amount of change in average density, the amount of change in the number of pixels for video of red, green, and blue, and the amount of change in the amount of movement vector defined by MPEG, for a plurality of video frames included in a predetermined period. Calculated by monitoring the amount of change in the area of a white image (an image in which all RGB are pixels with a predetermined luminance or higher), the amount of change in the area of a black image (an image in which all RGB are less than the predetermined luminance), etc. The Which change amount is used as the video change rate depends on, for example, user setting through the operation unit 18. The designation by the user setting is stored in the memory 12 and the hard disk of the hard disk drive 16 as a system parameter. Here, the case where the change rate of the video is equal to or higher than the reference value is, for example, a case where transition from the main part to commercial is made.

  If the rate of change of the video is less than the reference value, the television viewing apparatus 10 next determines whether a specific character string has been detected during text broadcasting. Here, the text broadcasting is text information (for example, subtitles) broadcast in a vacant band of television broadcasting. In addition, the text broadcast is included in a data broadcast using data such as an XML format that is broadcast in a digital broadcast vacant band and added to the video broadcast.

  In this embodiment, the user operates the operation unit 18 to set a character string to be detected in advance. The set character string is stored in the memory 12, for example. Then, the television viewing device 10 monitors whether or not a character string that has been set exists in the data being broadcast or added to the television broadcast. This is because, for example, when a character string related to a specific product or service is detected, it can be estimated that commercial broadcasting is being performed.

  When the predetermined character string is not detected, the television viewing device 10 controls the switches SW1 and SW2 to receive the high-definition broadcast (S25). On the other hand, either the volume level is less than the reference value in the determination in S22, the rate of change of the video is more than the reference value in the determination in S23, or a predetermined character string is detected in the determination in S24 is satisfied. If so, the television viewing device 10 switches to receiving one-segment broadcasting (S26).

  Note that the sudden change in the volume level in the determination of S23 can be considered as a transition from the main part to the commercial. Therefore, when the change rate of the volume level is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference value, a process of switching to one-segment broadcasting may be executed.

  FIG. 9 shows received broadcast switching processing according to the screen state. This process is also executed during reception of a high-definition broadcast, as in FIG. 7 (S30). In this process, the television viewing device 10 monitors the state of the screen of the display 21 (S31). The state of the screen can be acquired by making an inquiry to the OS application interface by an application that executes the processing of FIG.

  First, the television viewing device 10 determines whether or not there is a window in which video or sound reproduction is being executed, such as a game (S32). Such a category or genre of processing to be determined may be registered in advance in the memory 12 and the hard disk of the hard disk drive 16 by a user operation through the operation unit 18. Whether or not the window is for executing a game may be inquired of the OS application interface.

  If there is no window that is executing such an application of a category such as a game, the television viewing apparatus 10 next determines whether or not the television screen is active (S33). The television screen is active means, for example, a state where a pointer is placed on a window constituting the television screen, and is also said to be focused.

  When the television screen is active, the television viewing device 10 receives the high-definition broadcast (S35). This is because the user is paying attention. On the other hand, if the game or the like is not being executed in the determination in S32 or the television screen is not active in the determination in S33, the television viewing device 10 receives the one segment broadcast (S36).

  FIG. 10 shows received broadcast switching processing according to the operation amount. This process is also executed during reception of the high-definition broadcast (S40). In this process, the television viewing device 10 detects the operation amount of the user (S41). The user's operation amount refers to, for example, the number of detected events for an input operation through the operation unit 18. An event for an input operation can be acquired by a control application through a device driver that controls the operation unit 18 and the OS. For example, the control application may request the OS to notify the event and call an application interface that is waiting for the event.

  Next, the television viewing device 10 counts the operation frequency according to the detected event of S41 (S42). When an event occurs, the OS notifies the control application of the type of the event, that is, the type of the operated operation unit 18 and the operation state (for example, the type of keyboard key, mouse click, mouse pointer position), etc. Is done. The television viewing device 10 counts the number of event occurrences for each event type. Thereby, the operation frequency can be grasped as the number of events. The operation frequency can be defined as a unit time, for example, the number of operations in the latest 10 minutes. This unit time may be stored in the memory 12 or the hard disk of the hard disk drive 16 and can be changed through the operation unit 18.

  Then, the television viewing device 10 determines whether or not the operation frequency is equal to or higher than a reference value (S43). When the operation frequency is less than the reference value, the television viewing device 10 receives the high-definition broadcast (S45). On the other hand, when the operation frequency is equal to or higher than the reference value, the television viewing device 10 receives the one-segment broadcast (S46). This is because the user is devoted to a predetermined operation and it can be determined that the degree of attention of the television screen is low.

  FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of processing for switching the display screen during reception of a television broadcast. This process starts when the television viewing device 10 detects a user operation through the operation unit 18 (S51). The following processing is executed by the user interface processing program of the CPU 11 that cooperates with the operation unit 18.

  First, the television viewing device 10 determines whether or not the user operation is an operation for displaying a plurality of screens (S52). When the user operation is an operation for displaying a plurality of screens, the television viewing apparatus 10 determines whether or not the television screen has a predetermined size (S53).

  Processing in the case where the size of the television screen is less than the predetermined reference size in the determination in S53 is the same as S4A in FIG.

  On the other hand, the process when the full-screen display mode is determined in S2 or the television screen dimension is equal to or larger than a predetermined reference dimension in S3 is the same as S5A in FIG. Then, the television device 10 continues to receive the television broadcast (S6).

  As described above, when the dimension of the television screen is less than the predetermined dimension, the television viewing device 10 receives the signal according to the system status, program content, screen status, user operation frequency, and the like. Switch the broadcasting system to be used. That is, in accordance with such a situation, the television viewing device 10 determines whether to receive high-definition high-definition broadcasting or to receive one-segment broadcasting with a low load. Therefore, it is possible to increase the possibility of receiving a more appropriate broadcast than before depending on the system state, program content, screen state, user operation frequency, and the like.

  The broadcast type switching as described above may be automatically executed according to a control application executed by the CPU 11. In addition, the user interface program to be executed may ask the user for confirmation by displaying the display 21 or by sound before actually switching the broadcast type.

<Processing Flow of Third Embodiment>
The processing flow of the television viewing apparatus 10 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The hardware configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, and only the processing flow of the television viewing device 10 is different from the above embodiments. Regarding the processing flow, in the first embodiment, the television viewing apparatus 10 receives the one-segment broadcast when the screen size is less than the reference size at the start of the television viewing. In the full screen display mode or when the screen size is equal to or larger than the reference size, the television viewing device 10 receives the high-definition broadcast. In such processing, processing similar to that of the second embodiment may be further incorporated. That is, when the condition shown in the second embodiment is detected while the full-screen display mode or the screen size is equal to or larger than the reference size and the television viewing device 10 is receiving a high-definition broadcast, the one-segment broadcast is performed. You may make it receive. In that case, the screen may be reduced to less than a predetermined size. FIG. 12 shows such a processing flow.

  That is, the television viewing device 10 (the CPU 11 thereof) monitors the state of each part of the television viewing device 10 (S61). And CPU11 determines whether the state of each part of the television viewing-and-listening apparatus 10 corresponds to a predetermined condition (S62). The predetermined conditions are the display state of the screen described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the screen size, the system load, the content of the program being received, and the type of application program executed in association with the screen. It means whether the frequency of user operations meets a predetermined condition.

  Then, when these states correspond to cases where attention to the television screen is not high or there is a process that should be prioritized, the television viewing device 10 reduces the television screen to a predetermined size ( S63). Then, the television viewing device 10 receives the one segment broadcast (S64).

  On the other hand, when these states correspond to a high degree of attention to the television screen and no other priority processing, the television viewing device 10 receives the high-definition broadcast (S65). Then, the television viewing device 10 returns the control to S61.

<Other variations>
In the first to third embodiments, the television viewing apparatus to which the present invention is applied has been described taking digital high-definition broadcasting and one-segment broadcasting as examples. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. That is, the essence of the present invention is to receive a wideband broadcast and a narrowband broadcast separately. Therefore, the same applies to the case where the wideband broadcast and the narrowband broadcast are broadcast in the analog broadcast. Can be used properly.

<Computer-readable recording medium>
A program for causing a computer or other machine or device (hereinafter, a computer or the like) to realize any of the above functions can be recorded on a recording medium that can be read by the computer or the like. The function can be provided by causing a computer or the like to read and execute the program of the recording medium.

  Here, a computer-readable recording medium is a recording medium that stores information such as data and programs by electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical action and can be read from a computer or the like. Say. Examples of such a recording medium that can be removed from a computer or the like include a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R / W, a DVD, a DAT, an 8 mm tape, and a memory card.

  In addition, as a recording medium fixed to a computer or the like, there are a hard disk, a ROM (read only memory), and the like.

Claims (3)

A broadcast receiver capable of receiving a program from at least one of a first broadcast band and a second broadcast band having a narrower bandwidth than the first broadcast band;
An interface to which a display device for displaying a program received by the broadcast receiving unit can be connected;
A control device,
The controller is
A monitoring unit that monitors the frequency of input operations to the operation unit that is operated by the user;
The broadcast receiving unit is controlled in accordance with the frequency of the input operation, and when the operation frequency is less than a reference value, a program in the first broadcast band is received, and when the operation frequency is equal to or greater than a reference value, the second broadcast band is used. information device and a reception control unit Ru switched to receive the program. A broadcast receiver capable of receiving a program from at least one of a first broadcast band and a second broadcast band having a narrower bandwidth than the first broadcast band;
An interface to which a display device for displaying a program received by the broadcast receiving unit can be connected;
A program for causing a computer to control an information device having
A monitoring step of monitoring the frequency of the input operation to the operation unit where the user performs an input operation;
The broadcast receiving unit is controlled in accordance with the frequency of the input operation, and when the operation frequency is less than a reference value, a program in the first broadcast band is received, and when the operation frequency is equal to or greater than a reference value, the second broadcast band is used. programs with a reception control step Ru switching to receive a program. A broadcast receiver capable of receiving a program from at least one of a first broadcast band and a second broadcast band having a narrower bandwidth than the first broadcast band;
A monitor for monitoring the frequency of input operations to the operation unit by which the control unit of the information device having the interface capable of connecting a display device for displaying the program received by the broadcast receiving unit is input by the user Steps,
The broadcast receiving unit is controlled in accordance with the frequency of the input operation, and when the operation frequency is less than a reference value, a program in the first broadcast band is received, and when the operation frequency is equal to or greater than a reference value, the second broadcast band is used. control method for an information device to execute: a reception control step Ru switch, the to receive the program.

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