JPH09149357A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control the reception channel of a cable box before contracting the reception of an electronic program guide or unless the electronic program guide is used. SOLUTION: In a recording device, the reception channels of the cable box 20 are selected by controlling μconC 12 by controlling the μconC 12 which controls the cable box 20 by a control line 14 from μconA 7 even when the reception of the electronic program guide is not contracted or when the recording of a cable television program is preserved without using the electronic program guide.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus capable of selecting a desired program channel from a large number of channels transmitted by a cable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Programs such as television broadcasts are transmitted to users by a cable television (CATV) which is transmitted by radio waves through space or by cable through a cable. In the case of cable television, which is considered to be cable broadcasting, when a user joins a particular program broadcasting provider, a dedicated tuner device called a cable box is lent and a large number of programs are selected by a dedicated remote controller. Is made possible. In addition to pay programs that can be viewed by contracting, such cable television programs include free broadcast programs that are transmitted through the space.
By selecting from the cable television programs, the user can watch all the programs in the specific area on the television receiver or record them on the recording device.

By the way, a cable television program is generally selected by looking at a printed program guide. However, when the number of channels to be transmitted is large, for example, when the number of channels is 150, the program of 150 channels is selected. It is not easy to search for your favorite program from the program listings of the newspapers and publications that have been published.

Therefore, in order to easily search for a desired program, program table data for each channel to be delivered should not be interfered with a television signal during a vertical blanking period of a video signal of a specific channel. The user inserts and transmits the program, and the user displays the transmitted program table data on a television screen to perform a channel search and select a program of a desired channel. This program guide data is referred to as an electronic program guide. The electronic program guide can be divided into screens for each type of program such as sports, news, movies, etc., and the program can be selected from the display screen of this electronic program guide. It is possible to receive and schedule recording of the program.

Here, an example of a program guide screen of an electronic program guide displayed on a television receiver or the like is shown in FIG. The first column is the title of the program guide screen, Pr
It is displayed as ogram Guide, and the second column is the column showing the date and time, and the date of SEP 7 and 8:00 pm.
There are two grids showing the time at 9:00 pm.
Channels are shown at the left end in the third and subsequent columns, and on the right side, the name of the program broadcast at the time indicated by the date and grid shown in the second row is displayed corresponding to this channel. There is. For example, 8 for channel CSP2
It is shown that NEWS1 will be broadcast for 1 hour from 9:00 pm and NEWS2 will be broadcast from 9:00 pm. Also, on channel 26 2 hours from 8:00 pm Famous American
The program is shown to be broadcast.

[0006] It is possible to display such a program guide screen and make a recording reservation in the recording device. The method will be described with reference to FIG. 6, and the program guide screen as shown in FIG. Is displayed on a monitor such as a television receiver, and the screen is scrolled until the program to be reserved for recording is displayed. When the program to be reserved for recording is displayed, the cursor movement key is operated to move the cursor to the column of the program to be reserved for recording. Then, as shown in FIG. 6A, the display of the column to which the cursor has moved changes. This change is made by changing the background color of the corresponding column or changing the display mode such as white.

In the example shown, City Slicker is broadcast on the 2-hour channel SHOW from 8:00 pm of SEP 7.
The cursor is moved to the program column of s, and the display of that program column is changed. In this state, by pressing the recording reservation button (Rec key), the recording reservation of this program is started. Then, the display screen becomes a screen for displaying the program for which recording is reserved as shown in FIG.
It is possible to confirm that the City Slickers, which will be broadcast on the channel SHOW for 2 hours from 8: 00 pm, has been scheduled for recording.

A recording device (VTR) for recording an image
Generally has a reservation means for making a recording reservation by setting a recording date, a recording time and a recording channel. An example of this will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 shows a display screen in this reservation means. In this display screen, WED on July 6 is recorded as the recording date.
An example of the display screen is shown when the recording start time is 7:00 am, the recording end time is 8:00 am, and the recording channel is 6 channels. The user ends the recording reservation while checking this display screen.

As described above, the recording device includes a reservation means for making a recording reservation by setting the recording date and time, the recording time and the recording channel by the remote controller or the like.
Some have two reservation means, a reservation means for making a recording reservation using the displayed electronic program guide.

By the way, when a television signal of a cable television program selected by the cable box is input to the recording device, the video signal selected by the cable box is input to the recording device. The channel of the cable television program input to is already selected by the cable box. Therefore, the recording apparatus cannot select a cable television program input from the cable box.

However, as described above, the cable television programs include free programs transmitted in space, that is, almost all the programs are transmitted through the cable, and therefore, for example, cable television. When the recording reservation of the program is made, it is preferable in terms of usage that the recording device can automatically select the channel of the cable television program for which the recording reservation is made. Therefore, when a recording reservation is made by the electronic program guide, a recording device or the like has been developed which can send a channel code signal corresponding to the cable box at the recording reservation time and control the channel of the cable box.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a recording device capable of performing such recording. In the recording device 30 shown by the chain line in this figure, the television signal selected by the cable box 20 is converted into the frequency of the RF output channel of the cable box 20 and input to the tuner circuit 3.

When the RF output channel of the cable box is selected by the user, the tuner circuit 3 converts the television signal of the channel selected by the user into, for example, a video intermediate frequency signal and inputs it to the recording circuit 4. In both cases, the microcomputer B (hereinafter, referred to as “μcon
6). The output of the recording circuit 4 is supplied to a recording device (not shown) so as to perform reserved recording.

Microcomputer A (hereinafter referred to as "μco
When a remote control signal is input from the remote control input circuit 8, 32 corresponds to this remote control signal.
For example, the reservation display information and the like are output to a display tube or a display means 9 such as an LED, and the recording circuit 4 and the recording device are controlled. Further, the remote control input circuit 8 includes the remote control 1
Receives the remote control key information when the 0 key is operated,
The modulated remote controller key information is demodulated and the demodulated remote controller key information is sent to the μcon A32.

The electronic program guide device 31 includes μconB
6, a memory (SRAM) 11, a microcomputer for controlling the cable box (hereinafter referred to as “μcon
C ") 34 and the like are provided. The μcon B6 includes a slice / decode circuit (Slice / Decode) 6a and a display circuit 6
b, and the video signal output from the tuner circuit 3 is a slice / decode circuit 6a of μconB6.
Has been entered.

The μconB6 is a tuner circuit 3
Vertical blanking period (VB
The electronic program guide data inserted in I) is taken out, decoded, and then stored in the memory (SRAM) 11. In this case, the slice / decode circuit 6a shapes the waveform of the electronic program guide data, performs the waveform shaping, and then decodes the electronic program guide data.

Further, in order to display the electronic program guide that is decoded as indicated above the screen of the television receiver 21, via the terminal T ₂ from the display circuit 6b which is provided with a frame memory for display Video signal is being output. The display circuit 6b is provided with a character generator and the like. Then, an electronic program guide screen is displayed on the screen of the television receiver 21, and a desired program can be designated and a recording reservation of the program can be made while operating the electronic program guide screen with the operation keys of the remote controller 10 or the like. it can.

The μcon C34 is capable of outputting remote control signals corresponding to the cable boxes 20 of a plurality of makers of the above-mentioned cable television, and the μcon B6 can output, for example, a cable box number and a channel number via a communication bus. When channel information such as is input, a remote control signal corresponding to the cable box 20 is output via the terminal T ₃ .
As a result, the light emitting unit 13 sends a remote control signal to the cable box 20.

In other words, in the conventional recording apparatus 30 having such a structure, when the recording reservation is made by the electronic program guide, the recording reservation time reaches μconB.
Channel information from 6 via the communication bus is μconC3
4 to control the reception channel of the cable box 20, and the recording reservation information is output from the μcon B6 to the μcon A32, thereby controlling the recording operation of the recording circuit 4. At this time, μco
In order to receive a television signal input from the cable box 20 by the nA 32, for example, if the input is an external input, control is performed to select the RF output channel of the cable box 20.

[0020]

By the way, in the recording device 30 as described above, the electronic program guide device 31 is used.
If the user cannot make a recording reservation by the electronic program guide before the reception contract, or if the user makes a recording reservation with the remote program 10 without using the electronic program guide even after the reception contract, the cable box 20 is controlled. However, there is a problem in that it is impossible to use the .mu.conC34.

For this reason, when the electronic program guide is not subscribed or when the recording reservation of the cable television program is made without using the electronic program guide, the dedicated remote controller is used for the channel of the cable box 20. There is a problem in that it has to be controlled and selected in advance for a program to be recorded.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and easily controls the channel of the cable box before the reception contract of the electronic program guide or when the electronic program guide is not used. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device capable of performing the above.

[0023]

In order to achieve the above object, an external receiving means for performing a reception tuning operation for various broadcast signals including at least program guide information and a broadcast signal from the external receiving means are input. The external input means, the recording means capable of recording the supplied broadcast signal, and the program guide information that is received and tuned by the external receiving means, can be extracted and output from the input broadcast signal, and can be output. First control means for controlling the tuning operation of the external receiving means and outputting a broadcast signal to be supplied to the recording means in response to an operation input based on the program guide information, and the first control. When the function of the means is turned off, the tuning operation of the external receiving means is controlled according to the operation input, and the broadcast signal to be supplied to the recording means is output from the external receiving means. Constituting a second control means may

According to the present invention, even if the electronic program guide is not subscribed, or if the recording reservation of the cable television program is made without using the electronic program guide, the channel of the external receiving device is set. You will be able to tune to a channel that is reserved for recording.

[0025]

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of a recording apparatus of the present invention. In the recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, which is indicated by a chain line in the figure, the television signal selected by the cable box 20 is converted into the frequency of the RF output channel of the cable box 20 and input to the tuner circuit 3. . When the user selects the RF output channel (for example, 2 channels or 3 channels) of the cable box 20, the tuner circuit 3 converts the television signal of the channel selected by the cable box 20 into a video signal for recording. If the television signal of the selected channel contains electronic program guide information, the microcomputer B provided in the electronic program guide device 5 (hereinafter referred to as “μconB It is also input to 6.

That is, as will be described later, the cable box 20 is operated by the channel key of the remote controller 10 of the recording apparatus 1.
When the tuner circuit 3 is set to be able to tune in to the RF channel of the cable box 20,
Since it is fixed to the output channel, it becomes an external input means for converting a television signal input from the cable box 20 into a video signal and outputting the video signal without performing channel selection.

The remote controller input circuit 8 receives remote controller key information when a key of the remote controller 10 is operated, demodulates the modulated remote controller key information, and demodulates the remote controller key information into a microcomputer A (hereinafter referred to as " μcon
A ").

When a remote control signal is input from the remote control input circuit 8, the μcon A7 outputs display information and the like corresponding to the remote control signal to the display means 9 such as a display tube and an LED, and controls the recording circuit 4. ing. Also, μc
The onA7 can be set to select the channel of the cable box 20 by operating the channel key of the remote controller 10 or the like.

In this case, the tuner circuit 3 is fixed to the RF output channel of the cable box 20 so as to receive the television signal input from the cable box 20, and the channel information input from the remote control input circuit 8 is pulsed. The output circuit 7a outputs a pulse signal to the pulse receiving circuit 12a of the microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as "μconC") 12 that controls the cable box 20. This pulse output circuit 7a
As shown in FIG. 3, the pulse signal output from each frame forms one frame in units of several bits, and the channel number and the cable box number are designated by the combination of the frames.

Further, since the μconA7 is connected to the μconB6 by the communication bus, the recording reservation information by the electronic program guide is input, and according to the recording reservation information or the channel information from the remote control input circuit 8, ΜconC12 via control line 14
At the same time, the control signal is output and the recording circuit 4 is controlled to perform the recording operation at the recording reservation time.

The electronic program guide device 5 is configured to include a μconB 6 and a memory (SRAM) 11 as well as a μconC 12 for controlling the cable box 20. , ΜconB6 includes a slice / decode circuit (Slice / Decode) 6a and a display circuit 6b, and the video signal from the tuner circuit 3 is μconB6.
Is input to the slice / decode circuit 6a.

ΜconB6 is a microcomputer for controlling the electronic program guide inserted in the received video signal, and is an electronic program inserted in the vertical blanking period (VBI) of the video signal selected by the tuner circuit 3. Memory (SRAM) 1 after extracting guide data or electronic program guide data of a cable television signal supplied from the cable box 20 and decoding the data.
It has accumulated in 1. In this case, the slice / decode circuit 6a shapes the waveform of the electronic program guide data, performs the waveform shaping, and then decodes the electronic program guide data.

In the present embodiment, the tuner circuit 3 is tuned to the RF output channel of the cable box 20, so that the electronic program guide information of the cable television signal is taken out.

In order to display the decoded electronic program guide on the screen of the television receiver 21, the display circuit 6b converts the video signal into a video signal and outputs the video signal from the output terminal T ₂ . The display circuit 6b is provided with a character generator and the like. Then, the electronic program guide screen is displayed on the screen of the television receiver 21, and the remote controller 10 of the recording apparatus 1 is displayed on the electronic program guide screen.
It is possible to specify a desired program and make a recording reservation of the program by using operation keys such as.

Further, μconB6 is μ by a communication bus.
When the recording reservation of the cable television program is made by the electronic program guide by being connected to the conC12, the channel information of the recording reservation is output to the μconC12 at the recording reservation time.

The μconC12 is designed to be able to output remote control signals corresponding to cable boxes of a plurality of manufacturers. For example, when a recording reservation is made by the electronic program guide and the recording reservation time comes, the μconB6 is sent via the communication bus. The channel information of the cable television program whose recording is reserved is input from, and the remote control signal corresponding to the cable box 20 is output through the terminal T ₃ in the pulse receiving circuit 12a. Thereby, the light emitting unit 1
A remote control signal is transmitted from the cable box 20
It is possible to tune in to the channel.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, for example, when the user operates the channel key of the remote controller 10 or the like, the μcon C12 receives the pulse signal as the channel information of the cable television program from the pulse output circuit 7a, The pulse receiving circuit 12a outputs a remote control signal corresponding to the channel of the cable box 20.
As a result, a remote control signal is sent from the light emitting unit 13 so that the channel of the cable box 20 can be selected.

Here, the operation of the μcon C12 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. If the user operates the channel key on the remote controller 10, for example, μcon
The control signal A (for example, High signal) is input to C12 from the control line 14 (F101). At this time, μconC12 is the pulse output circuit 7 of μconA7.
It is determined whether or not there is a control request for the cable box 20 in the pulse signal from a (F102). When it is determined that there is a control request for the cable box 20, the pulse signal from the pulse output circuit 7a is converted into a remote control signal corresponding to the cable box 20 by the pulse receiving circuit 12a, and the remote control signal corresponding to the cable box 20 is transmitted from the light emitting unit 13 to output the cable box. Controls 20 channels (F103).
Then, after the control of the cable box 20 is completed,
That is, after sending the remote control signal, the process returns to step F101 to monitor the control signal again. Also, step F102
Even when it is determined that the pulse signal from the pulse output circuit 7a does not include the control request for the cable box 20, the process returns to step F101 to monitor the control signal.

Further, when the recording reservation is made by the electronic program guide and the recording reservation time comes, the control line 14
A control signal B (for example, a Low signal) is input from (F101). At this time, μconC12 becomes μconB6
It is determined whether or not there is a control request for the cable box 20 in the channel information from (F104). And
If it is determined that there is a control request for the cable box 20, the channel information from the μcon B6 is converted into a remote control signal corresponding to the cable box 20, the signal is sent from the light emitting unit 13, and the channel of the cable box 20 is controlled (F105). After the control of the cable box 20 is completed, that is, after the remote control signal is transmitted, the process returns to step F101 to monitor the control signal again. Further, when it is determined in step F104 that the channel code signal from the μcon B6 does not include the control request for the cable box 20, step F101
Return to and monitor the control signal.

As described above, in the recording apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the pulse receiving circuit 12a is provided in the μconC12 which controls the cable box 20 which has been conventionally provided, and the μconA7 is connected via the control line 14 to the μconC7. The control signal and the pulse signal from the pulse output circuit 7a of the μcon A7 are input. And control line 1
Pulse output circuit 7 according to the control signal from 4
a pulse signal and μcon that are channel information from a
Switching control with the channel information from B6 is performed, and a remote control signal corresponding to the cable box 20 is transmitted to the light emitting unit 13.
It can be sent from.

Note that, for example, when the channel reserved by the electronic program guide is being recorded, the recording device 1
When the channel selection of the cable box 20 is performed by the remote controller 10 or the like, the control signal of the control line 14 is controlled so that the channel of the cable box 20 is not switched so that the recorded contents are not confused.

Therefore, even when the recording reservation of the cable television program is made without using the electronic program guide before the contract of the electronic program guide or after the contract of the electronic program guide, the cable television is automatically set at the recording reservation time. It is possible to select a program, and it is possible to respond even if a plurality of channel switching requests occur at arbitrary timings.

Further, not only at the time of recording reservation but also at the time of viewing by the television receiver, for example, if the channel of the cable box 20 is selected by the remote controller 10 of the recording apparatus 1, the remote controller of the cable box 20 can be operated. There is also an advantage that usability is improved because it is not necessary to use.

Next, a case where the channel information switching control processing is performed without connecting the control line 14 to the μcon C12 that controls the cable box 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this case, the μcon C12 determines whether or not there is a control request for the channel of the cable box 20 from the μcon B6 via the communication bus (F201). For example, the electronic program guide has not made a recording reservation, and N
If it is determined to be o, the pulse output circuit 7a is output in step F202.
Then, it is determined whether or not there is a control request for the channel of the cable box 20 (F202). Here, if the control request for the cable box 20 is determined to be No, the process returns to step F201 again.

If it is determined in step F201 that the μcon B6 has requested control of the channel of the cable box 20, that is, if the electronic program guide makes a recording reservation and the recording reservation time comes, μcon
The channel information input from B6 via the communication bus is converted into a remote control signal corresponding to the cable box 20 and sent from the light emitting unit 13 to control the channel of the cable box 20 (F203).

When it is determined in step F202 that the μcon A7 has requested control of the channel of the cable box 20, that is, when the recording reservation is made by the remote controller 10 of the recording apparatus 1 and the recording reservation time comes, the pulse The pulse signal input from the output circuit 7a and used as the channel information is converted into a remote control signal corresponding to the cable box 20 by the pulse receiving circuit 12a and sent from the light emitting unit 13 to control the channel of the cable box 20 ( F204).

In this way, μconC12 and μconB6
The channel information input from the µconA7 and the µconA7 can be processed by sequentially switching so as to process the channel information from the µconA7.
It becomes possible to perform the switching control of the channel information without providing the control line 14 between nB6.

The case where the present invention is applied to a recording apparatus having a channel box selection function of a cable box and an electronic program guide function has been described as an embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any electronic device having a function of selecting a channel can be applied.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the recording apparatus, the first control means capable of outputting the broadcast signal to be supplied to the recording means in response to the operation input based on the program guide information. , The second control means capable of outputting the broadcast signal to be supplied to the recording means in response to the operation input when the function of the first control means is turned off. The channel of the external receiving device can be selected even if the electronic program guide is not subscribed or if the recording reservation of the cable television program is made without using the electronic program guide.

Further, since the second control means controls the selection of the first control means and the second control means, a plurality of requests can be dealt with even at arbitrary timings. There is an advantage that you can. Further, the selection of the first control means and the second control means can be controlled by sequentially performing polling, and in this case, the hardware configuration can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a μco in the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
It is the figure which showed an example of the pulse signal output from nA.

FIG. 3 shows a μco in the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure showing an example of processing in nC.

FIG. 4 shows a μco in the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure showing an example of processing in nC.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a menu screen of an electronic program guide.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display screen of a method for making a recording reservation using an electronic program guide.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display screen of a method of making a recording reservation by inputting a recording date and time, a recording time, and the like.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a conventional recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recording device 3 Tuner circuit 4 Recording circuit 5 Electronic program guide device 6 μconB 6a Slice / decode circuit 6b Display circuit 7 μconA 7a Pulse output circuit 8 Remote control input circuit 9 Display means 10 Remote control 11 SRAM 12 μconC 12a Pulse receiving circuit 13 Light emitting part 20 cable box 21 television receiver

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location H04N 7/16

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An external receiving means for performing a receiving and tuning operation for various broadcast signals including at least program guide information, an external input means for inputting a broadcast signal from the external receiving means, and recording the supplied broadcast signal. And a recording means capable of performing the operation, based on the output program guide information, capable of extracting and outputting the program guide information from the broadcast signal input by the external receiving means and selected by the external receiving means. First control means capable of controlling the channel selection operation of the external receiving means according to an input and outputting a broadcast signal to be supplied to the recording means, and the function of the first control means being turned off. During this time, the tuning operation of the external receiving means can be controlled according to the operation input, and the broadcast signal to be supplied to the recording means can be output from the external receiving means. Recording apparatus characterized by being configured to include a second control means. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first control means or the second control means is selectively controlled when the broadcast signal is recorded in the recording means. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second control unit controls the selection of the first control unit or the second control unit. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first control unit or the second control unit sequentially performs polling to perform selection control.