JPH07288784A - Television broadcast method and its reservation and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily reserve recording. CONSTITUTION:A list of selection codes is transmitted from a transmission equipment 1 together with the program table of respective television programs which includes the selection code indicating the classification (genre) of each television program to be broadcasted and time information related to the broadcast time. In a reception equipment 22, the list is displayed; and when a user indicates the selection code corresponding to the classification of programs which he wants to record, the program table is referred to reserve recording of all programs of the genre corresponding to this selection code.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a television broadcasting method suitable for use in recording and recording (reserved recording) a program by, for example, television broadcasting, and a reservation recording apparatus for the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional VTR (video tape recorder) or the like, a program by television broadcasting can be reserved and recorded.

[0003]

However, in the conventional VTR, when a program recorded by television broadcasting (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a television program) is reserved and recorded (reserved recording),
It is necessary to input the broadcast date, broadcast channel, start time, end time, and the like of the program into the VTR, and there is a problem that the user feels troublesome.

Therefore, in recent VTRs, reservation recording can be performed by inputting a so-called G code. Even in this case, however, the user can make a television broadcast program such as a newspaper. It is necessary to look at the column and check the G code of the program to be recorded, which also causes a problem for the user.

Furthermore, programs of the same genre (for example,
Even when recording reservations are made only for sports programs, music programs, etc., recording reservations for each program must be made, and there is a problem that the operation becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and makes it possible to easily make a reservation recording (reservation recording) of a television program.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a television broadcasting method for broadcasting a video signal and an audio signal corresponding to the video signal, at least the type of each television program to be broadcast. A program guide for at least one day of the program is transmitted, which includes a type code indicating the time and the time information regarding the broadcast time.

According to a second aspect of the television broadcasting method of the present invention, a list of program type codes is further transmitted.

A television broadcasting method according to a third aspect is characterized in that the type codes are described in a hierarchical form in the list.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a television broadcasting method for broadcasting a video signal and an audio signal corresponding to the video signal. In the television broadcasting method, the type of each television program to be broadcast is included in the video signal or the audio signal. It is characterized in that the type code shown is superimposed and transmitted.

According to a fifth aspect of the television broadcasting method of the present invention, a list of program type codes is further transmitted.

According to a sixth aspect of the television broadcasting method of the present invention, the type codes are described in a hierarchical form in the list.

A television broadcast reservation recording device according to a seventh aspect is the television broadcast reservation recording device according to the television broadcasting method according to the first aspect, wherein the recording means records the received program guide (for example, Hard disk 75 shown in FIG. 11) and at least one of the type codes
A designation means for performing one designation (for example, the touch panel 93 shown in FIG. 11) and a program guide including the same type code as the type code designated by the designation means are searched from the recording means, and based on the time information of the program. Reservation means for making a recording reservation of the program (for example, the control circuit 8 shown in FIG. 11).
2) and the like.

A television broadcast reservation recording device according to an eighth aspect records the received program guide and list in the television broadcast reservation recording device according to the television broadcast method according to the second or third aspect. Recording means (for example, the hard disk 75 shown in FIG. 11),
Display means for reading and displaying the list recorded in the recording means (for example, CRT 55 shown in FIG. 11) and designation for specifying at least one kind code in the state where the list is displayed on the display means. Means (for example, the touch sensor 93 shown in FIG. 11) and a program guide including the same type code as the type code designated by the designating means are searched from the recording means, and the program is searched based on the time information of the program. Reservation means for reserving recording (for example, in FIG.
1) and a hard disk 75 shown in FIG. 1).

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a television broadcast reservation recording apparatus, characterized in that the reservation means starts recording the program at the time when the recording reservation is made.

A television broadcast reservation recording apparatus according to a tenth aspect of the present invention is the television broadcast reservation recording apparatus according to the television broadcasting method according to the fourth aspect, in which at least one type code is designated. For example, the touch sensor 93 shown in FIG. 11) and extraction means for extracting the type code superimposed on the video signal or the audio signal (for example, the determination circuit 10 shown in FIG. 11).
1) and the type code designated by the designating means,
A recording control means (for example, a control circuit 82 shown in FIG. 11) for comparing the type code extracted by the extraction means and starting recording of the program in accordance with the comparison result is provided. .

A television broadcast reservation recording device according to claim 11 is the television broadcast reservation recording device according to the television broadcast method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the recording means records the received list. For example, in FIG.
1), a display unit for reading and displaying the list recorded in the recording unit (for example, the CRT 55 shown in FIG. 11), and a state in which the list is displayed on the display unit. Designating means for designating at least one of the codes (for example, the touch panel 93 shown in FIG. 11) and extracting means for extracting the type code superimposed on the video signal or the audio signal (for example, the determination circuit 101 shown in FIG. 11). Etc.) and the type code designated by the designating means and the type code extracted by the extracting means, and the recording control means for starting the recording of the program corresponding to the comparison result (for example, in FIG. 11). The control circuit 82 shown in FIG.

[0018]

According to the television broadcasting method of the present invention, at least a program guide for at least one day of the program, including at least a type code indicating the type of each television program to be broadcast and time information about the broadcast time, is provided. Is transmitted. Therefore,
On the receiving side, it is possible to know the time information and the like regarding the broadcast time of the program by simply specifying the type code corresponding to the type (genre) of the desired program.

In the television broadcasting method according to the second aspect, a list of program type codes is further transmitted. Therefore, on the receiving side, for example, the type code can be specified by referring to the list.

In the television broadcasting method according to the third aspect, since the type codes are hierarchically described in the list, the type code corresponding to the desired program type (genre) can be easily set. You can find out.

In the television broadcasting method according to the fourth aspect, the type code indicating the type of each television program to be broadcast is superimposed on the video signal or the audio signal and transmitted. Therefore, by simply specifying the type code of a desired program on the receiving side, the broadcasting of the program having the same type code as the type code is started, and at the same time the output (display) of the program and the You will be able to start recording.

In the television broadcasting method according to the present invention, a list of program type codes is further transmitted. Therefore, on the receiving side, for example, the type code can be specified by referring to the list.

In the television broadcasting method according to the sixth aspect, since the type codes are hierarchically described in the list, the type code corresponding to the desired program type (genre) can be easily set. You can find out.

In the television broadcast reservation recording apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the received program guide is recorded. Then, when at least one type code is designated, a program guide including the same type code as the designated type code is searched, and based on the time information of the program,
A recording reservation for the program is made. Therefore, recording reservations for the same type of program can be easily made.

In the television broadcast reservation recording apparatus according to the present invention, the received program guide and list are recorded, and the list is read and displayed. Then, when at least one type code is specified in the state where the list is displayed, a program table including the same type code as the specified type code is searched,
The recording reservation of the program is made based on the time information of the program. Therefore, recording reservations for the same type of program can be easily made.

In the television broadcast reservation recording apparatus according to the ninth aspect, at the time when the recording reservation is made,
Recording of the program starts. Therefore, reserved recording (reserved recording) can be easily performed.

In the television broadcast reservation recording apparatus according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, at least one type code is designated. On the other hand, the type code superimposed on the video signal or the audio signal is extracted, and the type code is compared with the designated type code. Then, the recording of the program is started corresponding to the comparison result. Therefore, reserved recording (reserved recording) can be easily performed.

In the television broadcast reservation recording apparatus according to the eleventh aspect, the received list is recorded and the recorded list is read and displayed. Then, in the state where the list is displayed, at least one type code is designated. On the other hand, the type code superimposed on the video signal or the audio signal is extracted, and the type code is compared with the designated type code. Then, the recording of the program is started corresponding to the comparison result. Therefore, reserved recording (reservation recording)
It can be done easily.

[0029]

1 shows the principle of the television broadcasting method of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the transmitter 1 on the broadcasting station side is provided with an antenna 2.
As a result, radio waves are sent to the satellite 11, such as a communication satellite or a broadcasting satellite. The satellite 11 receives the radio wave, performs a predetermined conversion process, and then transmits the radio wave to the receiving device 22 arranged in each home. The receiving device 22 receives this radio wave through the antenna 21 and demodulates it.

The transmitter 1 transmits a video signal and an audio signal to the satellite 11 by different channels.

FIG. 2 shows the transmission format of the audio signal. As shown in the figure, the channel for this audio data is 1.7 Mbps.
Of the audio data of 4 channels of “audio 1” to “audio 4” and data channels for other data. Then, for these "audio 1" to "audio 4" and the data channel, a header and a code for error correction (EC
C) is also assigned.

In "audio 1" and "audio 2", stereo (L and R channels) audio data accompanying the broadcast video signal is arranged. Also, in audio 3 and audio 4, stereo audio data for music-only broadcasting is arranged.

On the other hand, the data channel having a bit rate of 480 kbps is composed of 15 packets of "packet 0" to "packet 14" as shown in FIG. 3, and transmits predetermined data in packet units. It is designed to be able to.

In this embodiment, the program table data is transmitted by using a predetermined number of packets among the 15 packets.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the structure of the program guide data. As shown in the figure, when a predetermined broadcasting station broadcasts, for example, 15 television programs per day, program guides 1 to 15 are formed for each program. Each program table introduces a corresponding program. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, three still images of a predetermined scene for introducing the television program and an audio for commentary for a maximum of 15 seconds are provided. Signals, text data (corresponding to display text data described later), genre classification data (corresponding to selection code (selection mark) described later), time information, and other data including program information (control text data described later) Correspondence).

As a still image, one image is 640 × 480.
If it is composed of pixels and is to be displayed in 256 colors, for example, according to the standard BMP format of Windows (trademark), the capacity of one image is 300 KBy.
te. Therefore, the capacity required to represent three still images is 900 KByte.

On the other hand, the audio signal is Windows
According to the standard WAV format of, one sample is represented by 8 bits and the sampling frequency is set to 2
When the frequency is 2.1 kHz and the sound is monaural, the capacity is 300 KByte.

If the capacity of other data (hereinafter, simply referred to as text data) represented by text data (display text data) is 2 KBytes, the capacity necessary to express the program table of one program is About 1.2MB
yte.

The program table data is set so that the next day's worth of data is transmitted every day on the night of the previous day, and the collected data of one week's worth, one month's worth, etc. is freely transmitted.

When the number of programs for one day is 15, the total transfer data amount for one day in this program table is 18 MByte (=
Since it is 1.2 × 15), it can be transferred in about 16 minutes. In the case of transmission for one week or one month, it takes time correspondingly, so that transmission is performed in advance in consideration of the transfer time.

FIG. 6 shows a display example of the program guide of one program. In this embodiment, one still image is displayed in the upper left part of the screen. This still image is one of the three still images shown in FIG. Further, above the still image, the title "alien" of this program is displayed corresponding to the text data (display text data). Furthermore, below the still image, the original name of this program, the script, the name of the director, and the characters introducing this program are displayed in correspondence with the text data (display text data).

On the right side of the still image, a selection mark (genre mark) indicating the type (genre) of this program is displayed.
Are displayed corresponding to the text data (display text data).

The text data forming the program guide data includes not only the data displayed in the program guide (as a program guide) (hereinafter, referred to as display text data) as described above, but also the data of the program. A selection code as a unique code corresponding to the selection mark indicating the genre is included (hereinafter, text data not displayed in the program guide, such as the selection code, will be referred to as control text data). Further, in addition to such a selection code, the control text data includes at least time information regarding the broadcast time of the program (for example, broadcast start time and its end time, broadcast start time and its broadcast time, etc.). ing. In addition to this, the control text data may include a channel (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as channel information) in which the program is broadcast, if necessary.

Further, an advertisement display section for a sponsor who provides this program is provided on the lower right side of the screen. In this advertisement display unit, it is possible to display an advertisement of a sponsor who provides this program as well as a sponsor who provides this program. The data displayed on the notification display unit can be a still image or display text data.

The program table data is composed of the still image (video signal), voice (audio signal), and text data (display text data, control text data) as described above.

In the transmitting device 1 shown in FIG. 1, the selection code can be included in the program guide data and can be superimposed (combined) with, for example, a video signal of the program corresponding to the program guide. . That is, the selection code indicating the type of program is, for example, as shown in FIG.
It is adapted to be superimposed on at least 1H in the range of 1H.

In this case, the type (genre) of the program can be recognized by detecting the selection code superimposed on the video signal on the receiving device 22 (FIG. 1) side.

Here, the transmitter 1 (FIG. 1) displays a screen (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a selection mark display screen) showing all selection marks used, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, for example. Screen data (list of selection marks) for this is transmitted in addition to the program table data shown in FIG. 4, for example. That is, the screen data shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is added and transmitted after, for example, the last program table data (program table 15) shown in FIG. The selection mark display screen data includes data for displaying the selection mark and a selection code corresponding to the selection mark.

In FIG. 8, for example, the selection mark "screen" represents a movie program, and the selection mark "sports".
Represents a sports program. Also, for example, the selection mark "sound" represents a music program, and the selection mark "stage"
Represents a live program or the like.

The television program genres may be finely classified and the selection marks of the classified number of genres may be displayed on, for example, one screen.
The number of selection marks displayed each time increases, and the viewer
It becomes difficult to find the selection mark of the genre to be selected (specified) as described later. Therefore, the transmitter 1
On the (FIG. 1) side, the genres of television programs are classified hierarchically, and screen data of a selection mark display screen is generated and transmitted for each hierarchy. That is, in the list of selection marks, the selection marks (selection codes) are described hierarchically.

FIG. 8 shows a TV program that is roughly classified into genres (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a major classification genre). FIG. 9 shows a genre "screen" among the major classification genres shown in FIG. Is further finely classified, that is, a genre belonging to a lower hierarchy of the genre "screen".

When the receiving device 22 (FIG. 1) receives the screen data shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, first, for example, the selection mark display screen shown in FIG. Is designated, the selection mark display screen as shown in FIG. 9 showing the genres belonging to the lower hierarchy is displayed (details will be described later).

Next, FIG. 10 shows a detailed configuration of the transmitting apparatus 1 of FIG. The text data, video signal, or audio signal forming the program guide data described above is
It is adapted to be supplied to the synthesis circuit 43 and the A / D converter 41 or 44, respectively. Further, the synthesis circuit 43 is also supplied with the text data constituting the screen data of the selection mark display screen as shown in FIGS. A video signal or an audio signal for a television program (television broadcasting) is supplied to the synthesizing circuit 31 or the A / D converter 34, respectively.

The A / D converter 41 or 44 is adapted to respectively A / D convert the video signal or audio signal forming the inputted program table data and supply it to the synthesizing circuit 43. The synthesizing circuit 43 synthesizes the text data forming the program guide data with the video signal or audio signal of the program guide data supplied from the A / D converter 41 or 42, respectively, and synthesizes the synthesized data. After that, the screen data of the selection mark display screen (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as selection mark display screen data) is output to the synthesizing circuit 35.

The A / D converter 34 is adapted to A / D convert an audio signal for a television program and output it to the synthesizing circuit 35. The synthesizing circuit 35 includes an A / D converter 34.
Alternatively, the output data of each synthesis circuit 43 is arranged in accordance with the format shown in FIG. 2 and output to the modulation circuit 33.

In addition to the video signal for the television program, the synthesizing circuit 31 is supplied with the selection code described in FIG. 7, which represents the genre of the television program, as described above. The selection code is superimposed on a predetermined horizontal scanning line in the vertical blanking period of the video signal and is output to the scramble circuit 32.

In the scramble circuit 32, the combining circuit 31
The video signal from (1) is scrambled by a predetermined scramble system (for example, a line permeation system (scan line replacement system)) and output to the modulation circuit 33.

The modulation circuit 33 carries out, for example, QPSK modulation of the output signal from the synthesizing circuit 35, carries out, for example, FM modulation of the output signal from the scramble circuit 32, and outputs the output signal to a transmission circuit at a subsequent stage (not shown). ing.

In the transmitting apparatus 1 configured as described above, the text data forming the program guide data corresponding to the program display of at least one day (selection displayed on the guide screen of the TV program shown in FIG. 6). Control code data consisting of selection code corresponding to the mark, time information of the TV program, channel information, etc., and display text data such as characters, figures, symbols (including selection mark) displayed in the program guide), The video signal or the audio signal is sent to the synthesis circuit 43, the A / D converter 41 or 44,
Each is supplied. In the A / D converter 41 or 44, the video signal or audio signal of the program guide data is A / D converted, respectively, and the video signal or audio signal of the program guide data converted into a digital signal by this is combined into a synthesizing circuit 43. Is output to.

The synthesizing circuit 43 synthesizes the text data of the program table data and the video signal or audio signal of the program table data sequentially supplied from the A / D converters 41 or 44, respectively, as shown in FIG. The data structure is output to the synthesizing circuit 35.

After that, the synthesizing circuit 43 is supplied with the text data constituting the screen data (selection mark display screen data) for the selection mark display screen as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. The text data is added to the last part of the program guide data shown in FIG. 4 and output to the synthesizing circuit 35 (hereinafter, the selection mark is displayed on the program guide data of FIG. 4, which is output from the synthesizing circuit 43. Data with screen data added is called program guide / selection mark screen data).

On the other hand, a video signal or an audio signal for a television program (television broadcasting) is supplied to the synthesizing circuit 31 or the A / D converter 34, respectively. A / D
In the conversion circuit 34, the audio signal for the television program is
A / D converted into a digital signal, which is output to the synthesizing circuit 35.

Although not shown in FIG. 10,
There are two systems of audio signals of L and R channels, and the A / D converter 34 A / D converts the audio signals of the L and R channels and outputs them to the synthesizing circuit 35.

In the synthesizing circuit 35, the L or R channel audio signal from the A / D converter 34 is arranged in the "audio 1" or "audio 2" portion of the format described with reference to FIG. The program guide / selection mark screen data from the circuit 43 is the same as the “data” (data channel) part (however, shown in FIG. 2).
Of the "data" portion, it is arranged in the packet (the portion of FIG. 3) pre-assigned to the program guide / selection mark screen data. Then, the synthesizing circuit 35 adds a necessary header and a code for error correction (hereinafter, E
CC) is added to generate audio channel data of the format shown in FIG. 2 and output to the modulation circuit 33.

On the other hand, the synthesizing circuit 31 is supplied with the video signal for the television program and the selection code described in FIG. 7 that represents the genre of the television program. In the synthesizing circuit 31, the selection code is superposed during the vertical blanking period of the video signal and output to the scramble circuit 32.

In the scramble circuit 32, the synthesis circuit 31
The video signal output from the video signal on which the selection code is superimposed is scrambled and output to the modulation circuit 33.

In the modulation circuit 33, the data output from the synthesizing circuit 35 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as audio data) is QPSK modulated, and the signal output from the scramble circuit 32 (hereinafter appropriately referred to as video system data). The data) is FM-modulated and output to the transmission circuit in the subsequent stage. In the transmission circuit, the modulation signal from the modulation circuit 33 is up-converted to become a signal in a predetermined frequency band, further amplified to a required level and output. Then, the transmission signal output from the transmission circuit is supplied to the antenna (parabolic antenna) 2 (FIG. 1), and emitted from there to the satellite 11.

As described above, the transmitter 1 transmits at least one day of program guide data and selection mark display screen data in addition to the video signal and audio signal for the program. At least one of the inclusion of time information in the program guide data and the superimposition of the selection code representing the genre on the video signal for the program may be performed.

Next, the radio wave from the antenna 2 (FIG. 1) is
It is received by the satellite 11, amplified by a transponder (not shown) incorporated therein, and emitted toward the ground. The radio wave from the satellite 11 is received by the receiving antenna 21, and the received signal is supplied to the receiving device 22.

FIG. 11 shows the detailed structure of the receiving device 22. The reception signal from the antenna 21 is output to a reception circuit (not shown), where it is down-converted into a signal in a predetermined frequency band to be an IF signal (intermediate frequency signal) and supplied to the demodulation circuit 51. It is done like this.

The demodulation circuit 51 demodulates the IF signal from the reception circuit into video data or audio data and outputs the demodulated IF signal to the descramble circuit 52 or the separation circuit 56. The demodulation circuit 51 is also configured to perform error correction processing on the demodulated audio data (FIG. 2) according to the ECC added thereto.

The descramble circuit 52 is a demodulation circuit 51.
Of the video data from 1 to 1, the scrambling circuit 32 of the transmission device 1 is used to descramble the scrambled data, and the resulting signal, that is, the video signal for the television program (with the selection code superimposed) is The data is output to the synthesis circuit 54 and the determination circuit 101.

The synthesizing circuit 54 selects any one of the descramble circuit 52, the D / A converter 76, and the VTR 92 in response to the operation of the input section 81, and CR
It is designed to output to T55. When the output of the D / A converter 76 is selected, the synthesizing circuit 54 synthesizes the outputs of the D / A converter 76 and the character generator 78 when the text data is output from the character generator 78 (for example, , The output of the character generator 78 is superimposed on the output of the D / A converter 76, and the result is output to the CRT 55.

The CRT 55 is adapted to display the output of the synthesizing circuit 54 on its screen. In addition, CRT
A touch sensor 93 made of, for example, a transparent member is provided on the screen of 55, and the touch sensor 93 is a CRT.
When any position on the screen of 55 is touched (touched) by the viewer (user), the position is detected and position information regarding the detected position is output to the control circuit 82. Has been done.

The decision circuit 101 is the descramble circuit 5
When the selection code is superimposed on the video signal for the television program which is the output of No. 2, the selection code is extracted and output to the control circuit 82.

The separation circuit 56 uses the audio data from the demodulation circuit 51 to extract "audio 1" shown in FIG.
And the data arranged in the "audio 2" portion, that is, the L and R channel audio signals for television programs are extracted and output to the D / A conversion circuit 57. Further, the separation circuit 56 uses the audio data from the demodulation circuit 51 to convert the “data” shown in FIG.
The data arranged in the portion (data channel), that is, the program guide / selection mark screen data is extracted and output to the separation circuit 71.

The D / A conversion circuit 57 is adapted to D / A convert the audio signal for the television program from the separation circuit 56 into an analog signal and output it to the synthesis circuit 58. The synthesizing circuit 58 includes the D / A converter 5
Any one of the audio signals output from the VTR 92 and the audio signal 7 or 77 is selected and supplied to the speaker 59. The speaker 59 outputs the signal from the synthesizing circuit 58 as voice.

When the data from the separation circuit 56 is program table data, the separation circuit 71 separates the data into text data (T), video signal (V), and audio signal (A), and the hard disk. It is designed to output to 75. Further, the separation circuit 71 is the separation circuit 5
If the data from 6 is the text data forming the selection mark display screen data, it is output to the hard disk 75 as it is.

The hard disk 75 is controlled by the control circuit 82 and stores (records) the data output from the separation circuit 75. Then, the data recorded on the hard disk 75 is under the control of the control circuit 82.
It is read from there and the character generator 78, D
The signal is output to the / A converter 76 or 77.

The character generator 78 generates a character (for example, a character, a symbol, a figure, etc.) corresponding to the data from the hard disk 75 (display text data of the program guide data or selection mark display screen data), and a synthesizing circuit. It is designed to output to 54. D
The A / A converter 76 outputs data from the hard disk 75 (a video signal of the data forming the program guide data).
Is D / A converted and output to the synthesis circuit 54. The D / A converter 77 D / A converts the data from the hard disk 75 (the audio signal of the data forming the program guide data), and outputs it to the synthesizing circuit 58.

The input section 81 uses a CRT as will be described later.
The operation is performed when the recording reservation of the television program corresponding to the program table (FIG. 6) displayed on 55 is made. When the input unit 81 receives a predetermined input due to its operation, the control circuit 82 outputs a control signal (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as an operation signal) indicating that the predetermined input has been made.
It is designed to output to.

When a control signal is input from the input section 81, the control circuit 82 outputs the time information of the control text data constituting the program guide data of the program guide (FIG. 6) displayed on the CRT 55. The VTR 92 is read out from the hard disk 75 and a recording reservation (recording reservation) is made with respect to the VTR 92. Further, the control circuit 82 recognizes the program of the genre to be recorded (recorded) by the VTR 92 based on the position information from the touch sensor 93, and stores the selection code representing the genre in the memory 91. . The control circuit 82 then selects the selection code stored in the memory 91, the selection code supplied from the determination circuit 101, or the selection code that is one of the control text data of the program guide data recorded in the hard disk 75. And the VTR 92 is caused to record (record) a program, or the VTR 92 is scheduled to record.

Although not shown, the VTR 92 is supplied with the output of the descramble circuit 52 or the D / A converter 57, that is, a video signal or an audio signal for a television program. VTR92 is
Under the control of the control circuit 82, the video signal or audio signal for the television program supplied from the descramble circuit 52 or the D / A converter 57 is recorded (recorded).
The recorded video or audio signal,
The data is output to the synthesis circuit 54 or 58, respectively. Further, for the VTR 92, the control circuit 82
You can make a recording reservation by.

Next, the operation will be described. The radio wave transmitted from the transmission device 1 (FIG. 1) as described above is received by the antenna 21 via the satellite 11, and the received signal is supplied to the demodulation circuit 51 via the reception circuit.

In the demodulation circuit 51, the reception signal (IF signal) from the reception circuit is demodulated into video system data or audio system data, and each is output to the descramble circuit 52 or the separation circuit 56.

In the descramble circuit 52, the video data from the demodulation circuit 51 is descrambled and output to the CRT 55 via the synthesizing circuit 54 for display.

On the other hand, in the separation circuit 56, the audio signals of the L and R channels for television programs are extracted from the audio data from the demodulation circuit 51 and output to the D / A conversion circuit 57. In the D / A conversion circuit 57, the audio signal for the television program from the separation circuit 56 is D / A.
It is A-converted, supplied to the speaker 59 via the synthesis circuit 58, and output.

As described above, the image and sound of the television program are output.

When the receiving device 22 is adapted to receive a plurality of channels of television programs, it is possible to select which channel of the television programs to receive by operating the input section 81. It is designed to be able to.

Next, in the receiving device 22, recording reservation for the VTR 92 can be made by using the above-mentioned program table (FIG. 6). That is, the separation circuit 56 converts the audio data from the demodulation circuit 51 into
When the program table / selection mark screen data is included, the data is extracted (separated) and output to the separation circuit 71.

In the separation circuit 71, the program table data of the program table / selection mark screen data from the separation circuit 56 is
It is separated into text data (both display text data and control text data), a video signal, and an audio signal, and is output to the hard disk 75 and recorded. When the input unit 81 is operated, the control circuit 82
Controls the hard disk 75 so that the display text data, the video signal, or the audio signal forming the program guide data is supplied to the character generator 78, the D / A converter 76, or 77. To do.

The character generator 78 generates a character corresponding to the display text data from the hard disk 75 and outputs it to the synthesizing circuit 54. At the same time, in the D / A converter 76, the video signal of the program guide data from the hard disk 75 is D / A converted and output to the synthesizing circuit 54.

In the synthesizing circuit 54, the character from the character generator 78 and the video signal from the D / A converter 76 are synthesized and output to the CRT 55.

As a result, the program guide as described with reference to FIG. 6 is displayed.

In the D / A converter 77, the audio signal of the program guide data from the hard disk 75 is D / A converted as necessary, and is supplied to the speaker 59 through the synthesizing circuit 58 and output. .

The control circuit 82 is adapted to change the program table data read from the hard disk 75 in response to the operation of the input section 81, so that all the program table data stored in the hard disk 75 is stored in the CRT 55. The corresponding program guide can be displayed. However, the program guide recorded on the hard disk 75 is read at a predetermined time interval (for example, 30 seconds) and is output to the CRT 55.
At RT55, the program guide may be sequentially displayed at predetermined time intervals.

The viewer selects a program desired to be recorded by operating the input unit 81 while looking at the program guide displayed on the CRT 55. As a result, the operation signal corresponding to the operation is output from the input unit 81 to the control unit 82.

The control circuit 82 now uses the hard disk 75.
When the control table is read from the CRT 55 and the program guide displayed on the CRT 55 is recognized, and the control signal is received from the input unit 81, the control text data forming the program guide data corresponding to the program guide displayed on the CRT 55 is read. , Read from the hard disk 75.

Then, in the control circuit 82, from the time information of the control text data, the broadcast time of the program corresponding to the program guide currently displayed on the CRT 55, that is,
For example, the broadcast start time and its end time, the broadcast start time and its broadcast time, etc. are recognized, and the program broadcast at that time, that is, the program guide displayed on the CRT 55 when the input unit 81 is operated. A recording reservation is made for the VTR 92 so as to record the corresponding program.

Therefore, the viewer can make a recording reservation simply by operating the input section 81 while viewing the program guide displayed on the CRT 55 and displaying the desired recording. it can. That is, it is possible to easily make a recording reservation.

When the control text data read from the hard disk 75 includes channel information, the control circuit 82 demodulates the channel corresponding to the channel information at the broadcast time. In addition, the demodulation circuit 51 is controlled.

When the VTR 92 does not have the recording reservation function, the control circuit 82 can control the VTR 92 to start the recording operation at the broadcast time mentioned above.

By the way, generally, the genre of a television program desired to be recorded is almost constant for each viewer.
That is, the viewer may want to record only a television program belonging to the genre of a movie, or may want to record only a television program belonging to the genre of a so-called action movie, for example.

In such a case, as described above, C
It is annoying to the viewer that the recording reservation of the television program belonging to the genre of the action movie must be performed by operating the input unit 81 while changing the program guide displayed on the RT 55.

Therefore, in the receiving device 22 of FIG. 11, by designating a genre desired to be recorded, it is possible to perform reserved recording of all TV programs belonging to the genre.

That is, the separation circuit 56 extracts (separates) the above-described selection mark display screen data from the audio data from the demodulation circuit 51 and outputs it to the separation circuit 71.

In the separation circuit 71, the selection mark display screen data of the program table / selection mark screen data from the separation circuit 56 is output to and recorded on the hard disk 75. Then, when the input unit 81 is operated, the selection mark display screen data recorded in the hard disk 75, which belongs to the highest hierarchy (the TV program genre is roughly classified), is read. It is output and output to the CRT 55 via the character generator 78 and the synthesis circuit 54.

Then, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, first, in step S11, the CRT 55 displays the selection mark display screen of the highest hierarchy read from the hard disk 75.

That is, for example, the selection mark display screen data as described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 is transmitted to the transmitter 1 (FIG. 1).
In the case where the selection mark is displayed on the CRT 55 in step S11, the selection mark display screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the CRT 55.

Then, in step S12, the CRT 55
The control circuit 82 determines whether or not there is an input for selecting (instructing) one of the selection marks on the selection mark display screen displayed in FIG. When it is determined in step S12 that there is no input for selecting the selection mark, the control circuit 82 determines whether or not there is an end input for instructing to end the display of the selection mark display screen in step S13. It Step S13
If it is determined that there is no end input, the process returns to step S11 and the processing from step S11 is repeated. If it is determined in step S13 that the end input has been made, the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S12 that there is an input for selecting the selection mark, the process proceeds to step S14, and the selection code corresponding to the selected selection mark is stored in the memory 91.

Here, the input for selecting the selection mark is such that the viewer looks at the selection mark display screen displayed on the CRT 55 and sets the position on the screen where the selection mark of the genre desired to be recorded is displayed, for example. It is done by touching with your fingertips.

The position on the screen touched by the viewer is detected by the touch sensor 93, and the position information is supplied to the control circuit 82. In the control circuit 82, the touch sensor 9
The selection mark designated by the viewer is recognized from the position information from 3, and the selection code corresponding to the selection mark is retrieved from the selection mark display screen data recorded in the hard disk 75. Further, in the control circuit 82, the retrieved selection code is transferred to the memory 91,
As a result, the selection code corresponding to the selection mark selected as described above is stored in the memory 91.

When the selection code is stored in the memory 91 as described above, the process proceeds to step S15, and the genre of the selection mark designated by the viewer (hereinafter referred to as the designated genre) is in the lower hierarchy. Whether or not there is a (genre obtained by further classifying the indicated genre),
It is determined by the control circuit 82. When it is determined in step S15 that the designated genre does not include a lower-level genre, the process returns to step S11, and step S is performed again.
The processing from 11 is repeated.

If it is determined in step S15 that the designated genre has a lower-level genre, the process proceeds to step S16, and the screen data of the selection mark display screen including the genres belonging to the lower-level tier is read from the hard disk 75. It is output and output to and displayed on the CRT 55 via the character generator 78 and the synthesis circuit 54.

As a result, for example, when the selection mark display screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed, when the selection mark "screen" is selected by the viewer, it is the selection mark display screen of the lower hierarchy. What is shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the CRT 55.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S17, and it is determined whether or not the input for selecting one of the selection marks on the selection mark display screen of the lower hierarchy displayed at step S16 is made by the viewer as described above. , Control circuit 82
It is judged by. When it is determined in step S17 that there is an input for selecting the selection mark, the process returns to step S14, the selection code corresponding to the selected selection mark is stored in the memory 91 as described above, and then the step The processing from S15 onward is performed.

In this case, in step S16 following step S15, for example, the selection mark display screen shown in FIG. 9 is displayed, and in step S17, for example, the selection mark "action movie" in the screen is displayed by the viewer. When the selection (instruction) is made, if there is a lower-layer selection mark display screen that further classifies the genre "action movie", the process returns to step S16 again through steps S14 and S15 to select the genre "action movie". The selection mark display screen of the genres further classified is displayed.

In this case, since the selection code of the upper layer of the selection code (the selection code of the lower layer) determined to have been input in step S17 is stored in the memory 91, the selection code of the lower layer is , Is stored in place of the selection code of the upper hierarchy.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S17 that there is no input to select the selection mark, the process proceeds to step S18, in which the selection display screen of the uppermost layer is selected from the selection mark display screen of the lower layer displayed in step S16. It is determined whether or not there is a return input instructing to return (return) to.

If it is determined in step S18 that there is a return input, the process returns to step S11 and the processing from step S11 is repeated. Also, step S1
If it is determined in step 8 that there is no return input, the process proceeds to step S19, and similarly to the case in step S13, it is determined whether or not there is an end input. When it is determined in step S19 that there is no end input, the process returns to step S16, and the processing from step S16 is repeated. If it is determined in step S19 that the end input has been made, the process ends.

The memory 91 can store a plurality of different selection codes by the above processing.

As described above, the selection code representing the genre of the television program the viewer desires to record is stored in the memory 91.
Then, the control circuit 82 searches the hard disk 75 for program list data including the same selection code as the selection code stored in the memory 91 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. The recording reservation of the program is made based on the control text data).

That is, in the control circuit 82, first, in step S
31, a variable i indicating the index of the program guide data recorded on the hard disk 75 is set as an initial value,
For example, 1 is set, the process proceeds to step S32, the i-th program table data (control text data of the program table data) recorded therein is read from the hard disk 75, and the process proceeds to step S33. In step S33, the selection code associated with the i-th program guide data is stored in the memory 91 (memory 9).
If a plurality of selection codes are stored in 1, it is determined whether or not any one of the plurality of selection codes matches. When it is determined in step S33 that the selection code associated with the i-th program guide data matches the selection code stored in the memory 91, step S3
4, the recording reservation of the television program for the VTR 92 is performed as described above while referring to the time information in the control text data including the selection code.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S33 that the selection code associated with the i-th program table data does not match the selection code stored in the memory 91, step S34 is skipped and step S35 is executed. Then, it is determined whether or not the reading of the program guide data from the hard disk 75 is completed. When it is determined in step S35 that there is still program guide data to be read from the hard disk 75, the process proceeds to step S36, the variable i is incremented by 1, and the process returns to step S32. As a result, in step S32, the next program guide data is read from the hard disk 75, and thereafter, the processing from step S33 onward is repeated.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S35 that there is no program table data to be read from the hard disk 75, that is, if the reading of the program table data from the hard disk 75 has been completed, the process ends.

According to the above processing, the viewer simply designates the genre of the television program desired to be recorded, and the recording reservation of the television program of the designated genre is made by the VTR9.
It is done for 2. Therefore, the recording reservation can be made more easily.

Next, in this receiver 22, the determination circuit 1
The VTR 92 can be made to record a desired television program by using the selection code of the currently received television program output from 01.

That is, as described with reference to FIG. 12, when the selection code of the genre desired by the viewer for recording is stored in the memory 91, the determination circuit 101 determines the TV program currently being received. The selection code is
When extracted from the output of the descramble circuit 52 and output to the control circuit 82, the control circuit 82 causes the determination circuit 10
It is determined whether or not the selection code from 1 and the selection code stored in the memory 91 (when the memory 91 stores a plurality of selection codes, one of the plurality of selection codes) match. It

Then, when the selection code from the judgment circuit 101 matches the selection code stored in the memory 91, that is, the genre of the TV program currently being received is
When it matches the genre designated by the viewer, the control circuit 8
2 controls to start the recording operation of the VTR 92.

Therefore, also in this case, only by instructing the genre of the television program desired to be recorded, the television program of the instructed genre is recorded.

In this embodiment, the transmitter 1
Then, the selection code indicating the genre of the program is superimposed on the video signal of the program, but the selection code may be other than this, for example, the "data" portion (data channel) of the audio data shown in FIG. ) Can be arranged.

Further, in this embodiment, the touch sensor 93
Although the viewer is instructed (selected) to select the selection mark on the selection mark display screen shown in FIG. 8 or 9 via, the other instruction means (for example, a mouse or a joystick) is used. Can be allowed to.

In the present embodiment, the transmitter 1 is provided with the scramble circuit 32. However, if the program does not need to be scrambled, the transmitter 1 is configured without the scramble circuit 32. You can In this case, the receiving device 22 can be configured without the descrambling device 52.

Further, in the present embodiment, the list of selection marks (selection codes) is transmitted from the transmitting device 1 to the receiving device 22, but this list is, for example, the receiving device 2.
It can be stored in the second memory 91 in advance.

[0136]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily make a recording reservation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a satellite broadcasting system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a format of audio data (audio channel) in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a format of a data channel in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the structure of program guide data according to the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a program guide in the embodiment of FIG.

6 is a diagram showing a display example of one program guide shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a video signal on which a selection code is superimposed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a selection mark display screen belonging to the highest hierarchy.

9 is a diagram showing a selection mark display screen belonging to a lower layer of the selection mark "screen" in FIG.

10 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a transmission device 1 of FIG.

11 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a reception device 22 of FIG.

12 is a flowchart illustrating a process when a selection mark display screen is displayed on the CRT 55 of the receiving device 22 in FIG. 11 and the selection mark is selected.

13 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit 82 shown in FIG.
7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation for making a recording reservation for.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 transmitter 2 parabolic antenna 11 satellite 21 parabolic antenna 22 receiver 31 combining circuit 32 scramble circuit 33 modulation circuit 34 A / D converter 35 combining circuit 41 A / D converter 43 combining circuit 44 A / D converter 51 demodulating circuit 52 descramble circuit 54 synthesis circuit 55 CRT 56 separation circuit 57 D / A converter 58 synthesis circuit 59 speaker 71 separation circuit 75 hard disk 76, 77 D / A converter 78 character generator 81 input unit 82 control circuit 91 memory 92 VTR ( Video tape recorder) 93 Touch sensor 101 Judgment circuit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshinao Kobe 6-735 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A television broadcasting method for broadcasting a video signal and an audio signal corresponding to the video signal, wherein the program includes at least a type code indicating a type of each television program to be broadcast and time information about a broadcast time. The television broadcasting method, characterized in that at least one day's worth of program guide is transmitted. 2. A list of the type codes of the program,
The television broadcasting method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting. 3. The television broadcasting method according to claim 2, wherein the type code is described in a hierarchical form in the list. 4. A television broadcasting method for broadcasting a video signal and an audio signal corresponding to the video signal, wherein a type code indicating the type of each television program to be broadcast is superimposed on the video signal or the audio signal and transmitted. A television broadcasting method characterized by: 5. A list of the type codes of the program,
The television broadcasting method according to claim 4, further comprising transmitting. 6. The television broadcasting method according to claim 5, wherein the type code is described in a hierarchical form in the list. 7. A television broadcast reservation recording device according to the television broadcast method of claim 1, further comprising: recording means for recording the received program guide; and designating means for designating at least one of the type codes. And a reservation unit that searches the recording unit for the program list including the same type code as the type code designated by the designation unit, and reserves the recording of the program based on the time information of the program. A reservation recording device for television broadcasting, characterized in that 8. A television broadcast reservation recording apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the recording means records the received program guide and list, and the recording means records the recording means. A display unit for reading and displaying the list, a specifying unit for specifying at least one of the type codes in a state where the list is displayed on the display unit, and a type code specified by the specifying unit Reservation recording of television broadcast, characterized by comprising: reservation means for retrieving the program list including the same type code from the recording means, and reserving recording of the program based on the time information of the program. apparatus. 9. The reservation recording apparatus for television broadcasting according to claim 7, wherein the reservation means starts recording the program at the time when the recording reservation is made. 10. The television broadcast reservation recording apparatus according to the television broadcast method according to claim 4, wherein a designation means for designating at least one of the type codes is superimposed on the video signal or the audio signal. Extraction means for extracting the type code, the type code designated by the designating means and the type code extracted by the extracting means are compared, and the recording of the program is started in accordance with the comparison result. A reservation recording apparatus for television broadcasting, comprising: recording control means. 11. A television broadcast reservation recording apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the recording means records the received list, and the list recorded in the recording means. Display means for reading and displaying, designation means for designating at least one of the type codes in a state where the list is displayed on the display means, and the type superposed on the video signal or audio signal A recording control for extracting the code, comparing the type code designated by the designating unit with the type code extracted by the extracting unit, and starting the recording of the program according to the comparison result. A reservation recording apparatus for television broadcasting, comprising: