JPH09121316A - Program content display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability by facilitating the designation of selection at a program content display device for displaying a program list on a CRT screen. SOLUTION: A menu part 10 is displayed on the screen by operating a menu button 5e of an operating part 5 of a remote controller, etc. This menu part is provided with plural parameter designating parts 13, 14 and 15 and a user can designate plural parameters only by this menu part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program content display device for displaying on a screen information necessary for a user to select a desired program from a plurality of channels in television broadcasting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A technique for improving the operability of program selection by displaying a television broadcast program guide on a television screen is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 22770/1990. This is because the data about the program guide of the broadcast program is received from the telephone line and the like, and the program guide is displayed on the screen of the television receiver based on this information, so that the operability of the user such as program reservation can be improved. It is an attempt to improve.

[0003]

By the way, such a program content display device is directly operated by the user, and the ease of use thereof most affects the usability of the receiving device provided with the program content display device. To do. Therefore, it is desired to realize a program content display device with excellent operability. In particular, in digital satellite broadcasting in which the number of programs that can be selected is large, the operation of selecting programs tends to be complicated.
This is especially desired.

[0004]

Therefore, according to the present invention, a menu portion for designating selections for a plurality of programs from a plurality of viewpoints is displayed on the screen.
The menu section is provided with a plurality of designation sections for designating the plurality of viewpoints, and the user operates the designation sections to set parameters for selecting from a plurality of programs that can be viewed. To do. Then, based on the set selection criteria, a guide display screen is created from the program information and displayed on the screen. In addition, the set conditions are
It is also displayed on the menu section and stored in the memory so that it can be recalled later.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention applied to a DSS (Digital Satellite Broadcasting System) put to practical use in the United States will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, DSS, which is digital broadcasting using satellites, will be briefly described. In DSS, MPE
A plurality of programs, data and the like are time-division multiplexed into one bit stream and transmitted by using a digital compression algorithm according to the G method. MPEG is a digital compression method standardized by ISO / IEC, and two types of standardization are currently completed (MPEG1 and MPEG2). MPEG
Details of compression algorithms 1 and 2 are given in ISO / IEC 11172 and 13818, respectively.

Further, in the case of DSS, a channel means transmission of one program, and does not mean one transponder of a satellite, that is, one frequency. That is, in DSS broadcasting, a plurality of channels are transmitted by one transponder, and each channel has a channel number. Therefore, one frequency has a plurality of channel numbers. Therefore, in order to select a program, first, the frequency in which the program is multiplexed is selected, and then the desired program is selected from the obtained bit stream.

FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram of a television receiver having a built-in program content display function. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 1 denotes a reception signal input terminal to which a signal transmitted by a satellite, a cable or the like is input. Reference numeral 2 is a tuner for demodulating a signal modulated by a modulation method suitable for the transmission process to generate a baseband signal, and reference numeral 3 is an image for converting an output of the tuner 2 as an input into a signal according to a display format. It is a processing circuit.

Reference numeral 4 is an on-screen guide generation circuit for generating a program content display screen for on-screen display of the program content, and reference numeral 5 is an operation section for a user to issue an operation command. It The operation unit 5 includes left, right, up and down cursor movement buttons 5a, 5b, 5
c, 5d, menu button 5e, select button 5f
Is provided.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a CPU for controlling the program content display screen based on the information from the operation unit 5 and for controlling the tuner 2 for selecting a program desired by the user, and 7 denotes the video processing circuit. A multiplexer and a multiplexer 8 for controlling the output signal from the CPU 3 and the output signal of the on-screen guide generation circuit 4 to selectively output one of them according to a control signal from the CPU 6 are CRT displays. Reference numeral 9 denotes a memory, which stores setting values relating to program selection set by the user, and also stores a program of the CPU 6,
For example, a writable ROM can be used.

The on-screen guide generation circuit 4
Creates on-screen guide information according to the program information (extracted by the video processing circuit 3) sent from the satellite. This program information includes the start / end time of the program, the title, the content, and the like.

Next, according to the flowcharts of FIGS. 1 and 2,
The operation controlled by the CPU 6 will be described. CPU6
Checks that the menu button of the operation unit 5 is operated (step 50), and when the menu button 5e is operated, the menu unit 10 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the CRT display of the television receiver. It is displayed (step 51). Such a screen is generated by the on-screen guide generation circuit 4 based on an instruction from the CPU 6. At this time, the menu unit 10 is displayed on the upper portion of the CRT 8 and is displayed so as to be superimposed on the image received by the tuner. The display position of the menu section is determined based on the vertical and horizontal synchronizing signals of the video signal displayed on the display from the video processing circuit 3.

The menu section 10 includes a guide display designation section 1
1, a parameter batch setting unit 12, individual parameter specifying units 13, 14, 15 capable of individually specifying parameters, and
The other operation designating section 16 is provided, and by operating the left and right cursor movement buttons 5a and 5b, the currently selected position, that is, the position of the cursor is sequentially moved. Although not shown in the figure, the selected designation section is in a different color from the others, so that the user can be informed that the selected section is selected. These processes are performed in step 52 and step 53. The part where the cursor is moved is the parameter batch specification part 1
2. If there is a submenu like the individual parameter designating sections 13, 14, 15 and the other operation designating section 16, the submenu is displayed and the cursor is positioned on the submenu (steps 54, 55). In FIG. 3, the cursor is on the parameter batch designation section 12 and the submenu 17 is displayed. Further, on the submenu 17, the cursor is positioned at the position of "LATEST".

The submenu 17 includes time, channel,
The parameters of the program content can be specified in a batch. MASTER (state with no restrictions on time, channel, and program content), LATEST (most recently set condition), CUSTOM 1 to 3 (user , Which is the one in which the specified conditions are saved) can be specified.
Also in this submenu, the cursor is moved by operating the up and down cursor moving buttons 5c and 5d. And, in the memory 9, LATEST and CUSTO
An area for storing a total of four data sets M1 to M3 is provided.

The other submenus are shown in FIGS. FIG. 4 is a sub-menu of time-related parameters, ALL (unlimited), Cur
rent (currently being broadcast), + 12H (12 from current time)
You can select the program after the time). FIG. 5 is a sub-menu where channels can be specified. ALL (no limitation), FAV A (setting A in which a favorite channel frequently used by the user is designated in advance), FAV B (user frequently used favorite It is possible to select setting B) in which a channel is designated in advance, PPV (pay-per-view, a channel that can be paid for and receive a fee by subscribing to each program), PROMO (a channel for advertising), and the like. FIG. 6 is a submenu of parameters related to the content and category of the program. ALL (no restrictions), Mo
movies (movie programs), sports (sports programs), specials (special programs), series
(Continuous program), News (News program), Shopp
You can select from ing (shopping program).

After such movement of the cursor, when the select button 5d is operated at the cursor position intended by the user, it is checked whether or not the cursor position is related to the parameter setting for program selection ( Step 57). If the cursor is in the designated part 12 to 16,
Predetermined parameter setting is performed (step 58).
That is, the changed setting is written in the area of the memory 9 that stores the current setting (that is, the area specified by LATEST).

On the other hand, when it is not related to the designation units 12 to 16, that is, when it is on the guide designation unit 11, step 58 is skipped, and after the judgment in step 59, the program guide is displayed on the display. The process is executed (step 60). For example, the program guide display is shown in FIG.
It is performed as follows. In the case of FIG. 7, there is no limitation on time and channel, and the program content is limited to sports. Menu settings are ALL, AL
It is in the state of L, Sports, and when the program guide screen is generated, the on-screen guide generation circuit 4
Refers to the current parameters given from the CPU 6, extracts only the information of the programs meeting the specified conditions from the program information sent from the satellite, and generates the guide screen. In FIG. 7, the cursor is currently on Program 2, and in this state, a part of the video of Program 2 can be viewed.

After the parameter setting process, step 60 is skipped and the process returns to A in FIG. Then, the changed condition is displayed in the menu section. That is,
In the parameter specification sections 13, 14, 15 of the menu section,
The currently set parameter (that is, the LATEST setting stored in the memory 9) is displayed and the user is informed, so what kind of condition is selected is
It's easy to understand. This is executed at all times when the menu is displayed, so that even if the menu button is first pressed, the memory 9L
The settings stored in the ATEST area are recalled,
Is displayed.

In FIG. 8, the set parameters are Cur
The guide screens in the states of rent (currently being broadcast), ALL (no channel number restriction), and Sports (program content is sports) are shown. In this case, the area required for the program guide is reduced, and the guide is displayed near the left edge of the screen (as described above, in relation to the sync signal of the video signal to be displayed at the same time, the guide screen is displayed. Can be created, the display position can be set freely), you can see a significant portion of the video of the program currently being broadcast. Therefore, the user can select the program while actually confirming the contents. In FIG. 8, the guide is displayed at the left end of the screen 8, but it is also possible to display it at the right end or the upper and lower ends.

Next, the operation of the parameter batch designation section 12 will be briefly described. When MASTER is selected, ALL is stored in all the conditions in the LATEST area of the memory 9. Therefore, all restrictions will be set. When CUSTOM 1 to 3 are selected, parameters relating to time, channel, and contents are read from the corresponding area of the memory 9 and written in the LATEST area. On the other hand, CUS
Parameter storage from TOM1 to CUSTOM3
This is performed by a submenu of the other operation designating section 16. That is, although not shown, the submenu of the other operation designation unit 16 includes an operation of storing the current parameter, and this operation is performed, and the storage destination is designated as one of CUSTOM1 to CUSTOM3. For example, you can store the settings at that time and recall them at any time.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to specify a plurality of types of parameters to be selected from a plurality of programs in the menu section that the user first calls, so that the selection can be easily specified. Yes, it has excellent operability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a display screen on which a menu section is displayed.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a submenu of time parameters.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a submenu of channel parameters.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a submenu of content parameters.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a program guide screen.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing another program guide screen.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 tuner 3 video processing circuit 4 on-screen guide generation circuit 5 operation unit 6 CPU 7 multiplexer 8 CRT 9 memory 10 menu unit 11 guide designation unit 12 parameter batch designation unit 13, 14, 15 parameter designation unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. In a program content display device for selecting a program from a plurality of programs and displaying guide information, a menu section is provided with a designating section for designating at least one parameter for selecting from the plurality of programs. Display device. 2. The program content display device according to claim 1, wherein the parameters are broadcast time, channel and program content. 3. The program content display device according to claim 1, wherein the content of the designated parameter is displayed in the menu section. 4. The program content display device according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for the set parameters, wherein the stored parameters are called from the storage means and used. 5. The program content display device according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of sets of setting parameters can be stored in the parameter storage means and are selected at the time of calling. 6. A program information extracting means for extracting information about a plurality of programs, a selecting means for selecting from the plurality of programs according to a predetermined condition, a means for setting the predetermined condition, and storing the set condition. A program content display device having storage means for storing and display signal generating means for generating a display signal for displaying the program selected by the selecting means. 7. The condition setting means includes an operating section operated by a user, and the display signal creating means creates a display signal for displaying a menu section which is a part of the condition setting means, and 7. The program content display device according to claim 6, wherein the condition set in the menu section is displayed. 8. The program content display device according to claim 6, wherein the display signal creating means creates a display signal for displaying the program at left, right, or upper and lower end portions of a display screen.