JPH09180292A - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the operability of an electronic device even through the programs, which are reserved by the use of an electronic program guide, are duplicated. SOLUTION: Discrimination is made as to whether the time bands of the specified reserved programs are registered in duplication or not (S002). If a duplication is found in the recording reservation, the recording reservation information is displayed (S015). If a time band, in which more than two programs are reserved in duplication, is found, a modification is made for the starting and the ending times of the programs based on operation keys and one of the recording reservations of the duplicated programs is canceled (S010).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device having an electronic program guide function capable of selecting a desired program from a large number of channels transmitted by space or cable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Programs such as television broadcasts are transmitted to users by radio waves transmitted through space, or by cable television (CATV) supplied via cables, to and from users. Among programs, a program of a favorite channel can be selected and viewed by a television receiver, and can be recorded by a recording device.

The selection of a program such as television broadcasting is generally performed while viewing a printed program guide, but when the number of channels to be transmitted is large, for example, 150.
When it comes to channels, it is not easy to search for a favorite program from the program guides of newspapers and publications in which programs on channel 150 are 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 called an electronic program guide, and a program can be selected from the display screen of the electronic program guide to be received, or a recording reservation of the program can be made.

An example of a program guide screen of an electronic program guide displayed on a monitor device such as a television receiver is shown in FIG. In this figure, the first column is the title of the program guide screen and is displayed as Program Guide, the second column is the column showing the date and time,
Two grids are shown showing the date of SEP 7 and the times of 8:00 pm and 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, on channel CSP2 from 8:00 pm for 1 hour,
NEWS1 will be broadcast and NEWS2 will be broadcast from 9:00 pm. On channel 26, it is 8:00 p
It is shown that Famous American programs will be broadcast for 2 hours from m.

[0006] By displaying such a program guide screen, it is possible to make a recording reservation in a recording device, for example, and a method thereof will be described with reference to FIG.
Display the program guide screen as shown in (a) on the monitor screen, scroll the screen until the program you want to schedule for recording is displayed, or page down. When the program you want to schedule for recording is displayed, press the cursor. Operate the move key to move the cursor to the column of the program you want to schedule for recording.
Then, the display of the column to which the cursor has moved changes as shown in FIG. This change is due to the change in the background color of the relevant column,
This is performed by changing the display mode such as white blank.

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, press the recording reservation button (Rec key) to display the screen shown in Fig. 8 (b).
As shown in, the screen for displaying the program reserved for recording is displayed, and after confirming that the City Slickers broadcast on the channel SHOW for 2 hours from 8:00 pm of SEP 7 has been reserved for recording, the recording reservation on the program guide screen is made. Will be completed.

[0008]

By the way, in the recording apparatus as described above, when the recording is reserved by using the electronic program guide, the program to be reserved for recording may be recorded for a few minutes with the already reserved program. In the case of overlapping programs, it is determined that the program overlaps with a program already reserved for recording, and new recording reservation cannot be performed. However, if the user wants to check the programs for which recording reservations are duplicated, the programs for which recording reservations have been made may be displayed on multiple pages of the program guide screen, making it difficult to search for duplicate programs. there were.

Further, for example, when it is desired to make a recording reservation for a program that overlaps with a program already reserved for recording, it has been necessary to cancel the program already reserved for recording and then make a new recording reservation. Moreover, since the recording reservation using the program guide is made for each program, the recording time cannot be corrected. For example, although the recording times of the programs reserved for recording partially overlap, they do not overlap. There is also a problem that it is not possible to meet a request such as recording only the first half (second half) of the program.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to improve usability in the case where programs reserved for recording by using an electronic program guide are duplicated.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the electronic program guide information superimposed on a television signal or a cable television signal enables reception in a predetermined period and in a predetermined time zone. In the electronic device that can display the program of the receiving channel that is present and perform the scheduled recording of the desired program based on the electronic program guide information, if the time zones of the designated reserved programs are duplicated, Enabled to display the recording reservation information of programs that have been redundantly recorded. Further, in the time zone when two or more programs are duplicated, the start time and the end time of the program can be corrected or the recording reservation of one of the duplicate programs can be canceled based on the operation key.

According to the present invention, when the programs reserved for recording by using the electronic program guide information are duplicated, the duplicate reserved programs can be displayed, and the recording start time of the program on the program guide screen, or Since the recording end time can be corrected or canceled, the usability of the recording reservation by the electronic program guide can be improved.

[0013]

FIG. 1 shows an example of a block diagram of a recording apparatus provided with an electronic program guide function as an embodiment of the present invention. In the recording apparatus shown in this figure, the television signal received by the antenna 1 and input is input to the tuner circuit 2. In the case of the cable television system, various broadcast channels of a specific program broadcast supply company are input from the antenna 1 via a cable via a cable box (not shown). The tuner circuit 2 converts the television signal of the channel selected by the user into a video signal and outputs the video signal to the recording circuit 7 so that recording can be performed, and the microcomputer B (hereinafter, referred to as “μconB”). It is also output to 9. In addition, at a specific time when the recording device is in a standby state, for example, the channel in which the electronic program guide information is inserted in the vertical blanking period is selected,
The electronic program guide information is output to μconB9.

The remote control input circuit 3 receives remote control key information when a key of the remote control 4 is operated, demodulates the modulated remote control key information, and outputs the demodulated remote control key information to a microcomputer A (hereinafter, referred to as "remote control key information"). "Μcon
A ").

When the remote control key information is input from the remote control input circuit 3, the μcon A 5 displays the display information and the like corresponding to the remote control key information on a display means such as a display tube or LED.
And the video recording circuit 7 is controlled. Display information corresponding to the remote control key information is also output to the display circuit 8 for display on a screen of a monitor device such as a television receiver (not shown). The recording circuit 7 controls the recording operation based on the information input from the μcon A5, and the display circuit 8 is provided with, for example, a character generator for displaying the display information on the monitor and a frame memory for the display.

The μcon B9 includes a slice / decode circuit (Slice / Decode) 9a and a display circuit 9b.
The video signal output from the tuner circuit 2 is sliced /
It is input to the decoding circuit 9a. If the electronic program guide information is inserted in the vertical blanking period of the video signal demodulated by the tuner circuit 2, the electronic program guide data is taken out and decoded, and then stored in the memory (SRA).
M) is accumulated in 10.

In this case, the slice / decode circuit 9a shapes the waveform of the electronic program guide data, performs the waveform shaping, and then decodes the electronic program guide data. Further, the μcon B9 is provided with a display circuit 9b for displaying the decoded electronic program guide data on the monitor screen, and the display circuit 9b is provided with a character generator and a frame memory for display. .

The change-over switch 11 is a switch for switching control of screens displayed on the monitor screen, and is provided on a remote controller or the like when the user makes a recording reservation or channel selection using an electronic program guide, for example. When the switch key is pressed, it is controlled to connect to the display circuit 9b. In this case, the program guide screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the monitor screen, and the user specifies the desired program from this program guide screen. You can make recording reservations and select programs.

On the other hand, in the state where the changeover switch 11 is connected to the display circuit 8, for example, when the user makes a recording reservation by inputting the recording date and the recording channel and the recording time from the remote controller or the operation section of the apparatus main body. The recording reservation information is displayed on.

Although the electronic program guide data is inserted in the vertical blanking period (VBI) of the video signal as described above, the program guide data is, for example, 7 bytes.
The memory 10 has a storage capacity capable of accumulating 70 channels of electronic program guide data for 7 days.

When a user makes a recording reservation using the program guide, the program guide is displayed on the monitor screen, and the screen is scrolled until the program guide information desired to be reserved for recording is displayed or the page is advanced. Then, when the program guide information you want to schedule for recording is displayed, operate the cursor movement keys provided on the remote control 4 etc. to move the cursor to the column for the program guide for which you want to schedule recording, and then press the recording reservation button "Rec key". By pressing, the recording reservation of this program will be executed.

In the following, in such a recording apparatus, a correction method in the case where a program to be reserved for recording by using the electronic program guide overlaps with a program already reserved for recording will be described with reference to FIGS. To do.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first reservation correction method which can be performed on the program guide screen when the recording reservations by the electronic program guide are duplicated. First, when the user makes a recording reservation on the program guide screen, in step S001, it is determined whether or not there is a program already reserved for recording, and if it is determined that there is a program that is reserved for recording, in step S002, It is determined whether or not the reserved times of the program already reserved for recording and the newly reserved program are overlapped. Here, if it is determined that the recording reservations do not overlap, the process ends, but if it is determined that the recording reservations overlap, the process ends.
Will proceed to S003

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, SEP 7 has a time of 8:00 p.
If you want to record a new movie to be broadcast on channel B when News to be broadcast on channel A is already reserved for recording for 2 hours from m,
In S002, it is determined that the News program already reserved for recording and the Movie program newly reserved for recording overlap in recording reserved time.

When it is determined in step S002 that the recording times overlap, the program guide screen is displayed as shown in FIG.
A duplicate information screen (Over Lapped Event) in which duplicate programs as shown in (a) are displayed is pop-up displayed (S003). This duplicate information screen is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), reservation information such as overlapping program channels, days of the week, recording start times, program titles, recording times, etc. is displayed at the top of the screen, and recording reservation times of overlapping programs are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Will be displayed on each bar. Furthermore, a blinking cursor is displayed on one rear part of this bar display (S004).

The position of the blinking cursor can be moved by the user operating the cursor movement keys "∧, ∨, <,>" provided on the remote controller. When the cursor is blinking in the rear part of the channel A bar display as shown in FIG. 4 (b), if the cursor movement key "<" is operated, the cursor can be moved to the beginning of the channel A bar display. it can. Also, by operating the cursor movement key of "∨", the cursor can be moved to the rear portion of the channel B bar display.

Here, when the user corrects the start time of the program for which recording reservation is duplicated, the cursor is moved to the top of the bar display of the program to be corrected. If you want to correct the program end time, move the cursor to the rear of the bar display of the program you want to correct (S005, S006) and
Enter the "ter Key" key, the cursor will change from blinking to lighting and the recording reservation time correction mode will be activated (S007, S0
08).

Next, in step S009, "Exit Ke
It is determined whether or not the "y" key has been entered, and here "Exit Key"
When the key is entered, the recording reservations that have been duplicately entered later are forcibly erased and the correction process ends (S009, S010). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S009 that the "Exit Key" key has not been input, the process returns to step S004 and it is determined again whether the cursor is blinking. Therefore, in step S007, "Enter Key
Key is input and the cursor is turned on, or the "Exit Key" key is input in step S009 and the correction process is repeated until this operation is repeated.

If it is determined in step S004 that the cursor is not blinking, that is, it is lit, the process branches to step S011 to determine whether or not the cursor movement key of "<,>" has been input. Will be done. Here, for example, when the "<" cursor movement key is input while the cursor is lit at the rear of the channel A bar display, the recording end time of channel A is shortened in units of 10 minutes, for example.

When the cursor movement key of ">" is input while the cursor is lit at the beginning of the channel A bar display, the recording start time of channel A is delayed by 10 minutes, for example. (S012). If the "Clear Key" key is entered while the cursor is lit, the recording reservation of the program for which the cursor is displayed is deleted (S013, S014).

FIG. 5A shows the case where the end time of the program on channel A is corrected by advancing the end time of the program on channel A by one hour in the duplication information screen as shown in FIG. The display example is shown in FIG.
Shows a display example when the end time of channel A is shortened by 30 minutes, the cursor is moved to channel B, the recording start time of channel B is delayed by 30 minutes, and the recording is corrected so as not to overlap. In addition, in the figure (c), the cursor is displayed on the channel B as a bar,
This is an example of a display when the recording reservation of channel B is deleted by inputting the "ear key" key.

Then, in step S015, it is determined whether or not the recording reservations do not overlap. If it is determined that the recording reservations do not overlap, the correction process is completed. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S015 that the recording reservations still overlap, it is determined again in step S009 whether or not the "Exit Key" key has been input. If the "Exit Key" key has not been input, the process proceeds to step S004. Returning again, blinking of the cursor is discriminated, and the correction processing of the recording time is continued.

As described above, in the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is determined whether or not the reserved times of the programs reserved for recording are overlapped by using the program guide. By displaying the duplication information screen, the user is notified of which program has the recording reservation duplicated. Then, the start time or the end time of the reserved program can be corrected or the desired reserved program can be deleted on this screen to improve the usability.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, a second reservation correction method that can be performed on the program guide screen when the recording reservations by the electronic program guide overlap will be described. When the recording reservation is made using the program guide screen, the recording reservation is made by selecting the program frame to be reserved on the program guide screen and operating the “Rec Key” key. In this case, FIG. As shown in (a), for example, Ne of channel A
When the ws program is reserved for recording, the program frame of this program turns red.

With the recording reservation made in this way,
For example, Movi where the user is broadcast on channel B
e Move the cursor to the program and press the recording reservation button "Rec ke
If you press "y", the recording time will be the same as that of the News program on channel A that has already been scheduled for recording. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
"?" Is displayed before the title of the Movie program,
The display of the program frames of the channels A and B for which recording reservations are duplicated is changed from, for example, red display to yellow display so that the user is notified that program reservations are duplicated.

Here, the user is a movie of channel B.
To shorten the recording time of the News program of channel A so that the program can be reserved for recording so that the recording time of channel A and that of channel B do not overlap,
Move the cursor to the program frame of the News program of channel A that is displayed in yellow, and press the recording reservation button "Rec key" again.
Press. As a result, the program frame of channel A blinks, and in this blinking state, if you press "<" on the cursor movement keys on the remote control, the recording end time of channel A will be shortened as shown in FIG. (For example, every 10 minutes). Then, as shown in FIG. 3D, a red color indicating a normal reserved recording state at the time when the program frame of channel A and the program frame of channel B do not overlap, that is, when the overlapping recording reservation is canceled. Display,
The recording reservation will be completed.

If the ">" key of the left and right cursor movement keys of the remote controller is pressed while the program frame reserved for recording is blinking, for example, the reservation start time is set to 1
It can also be delayed by 0 minutes. If you make a mistake in correcting the recording start time or recording end time with the cursor movement keys, the "CANCEL Key" provided on the remote control
By pressing, the recording reservation can be returned to the initial state. It should be noted that such correction of the recording reservation time can be performed not only when the recording reservations in which the program frame is displayed in yellow overlap, but also in the normal recording reservation state in which the program frame is displayed in red.

By the way, in the above example, since duplicate recording reservations exist in the same program guide screen, the user can easily correct the reservation time while checking the program frame. When the number is large, the program guide information is in multiple pages, and duplicate recording reservations occur in different pages, it is not easy to find out which program the program is duplicated.

Therefore, when the program guide information of the program for which recording is redundantly recorded is present on a plurality of pages, for example, "List Key" on the remote controller is pressed.
Then, the duplication information screen as shown in FIG. 7E is displayed on the monitor, and the user can confirm the list of the duplicated programs. Further, by operating the cursor movement key on this screen, the recording reservation may be canceled, the recording end time may be advanced or the recording start time may be delayed, so that the recording reservation can be corrected.

In the above-mentioned method of correcting the recording reservation time, the recording end time is set to 10 by operating the remote controller or the "<,>" cursor movement keys of the apparatus main body.
Although the recording start time is shortened in units of minutes or the recording start time is delayed in units of 10 minutes, for example, when the cursor movement key is operated, the recording end time or the recording end time is corrected to a point where the recording times do not overlap. You may do it.

The number of days of the electronic program guide data stored in the recording device or the like is limited by the storage capacity of the memory or the amount of transmitted data.
For example, even if you select a program frame on which the date of the electronic program guide is not yet stored, you can make a recording reservation,
You can modify the recording reservation

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the present invention is applied to the recording apparatus provided with the electronic program guide has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an electronic apparatus provided with an electronic program guide function is provided. If applicable, it can be applied.

[0043]

As described above, in the electronic apparatus according to the present invention, when the recording reservations made by using the electronic program guide are duplicated, the programs reserved for the duplicate recording are displayed. Therefore, it is possible to easily identify the programs for which recording reservations are duplicated. In addition, you can correct or cancel the recording start time or recording end time of the program on the program guide, so even if the reserved programs overlap, you can reserve only part of the program or cancel the recording reservation already. It can be easily performed, and usability of recording reservation using the electronic program guide can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing when recording reservations are duplicated according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example when a recording reservation is made by an electronic program guide.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a duplication information screen displayed when a recording reservation is made by the electronic program guide, and a position of a cursor displayed on the overlapping information screen.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example when a recording reservation is corrected on the program guide screen.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example when a recording reservation is corrected on the program guide screen according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of an electronic program guide displayed on the screen.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display screen of a method of recording reservation using an electronic program guide.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Antenna 2 Tuner Circuit 3 Remote Control Input Circuit 4 Remote Control 5 μconA 6 Display Means 7 Recording Circuit 8 Display Circuit 9 μconA 9a Slice / Decode Circuit 9b Display Circuit 10 SRAM

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. The electronic program guide information superimposed on a television signal or a cable television signal displays a program on a reception channel that can be received in a predetermined period and in a predetermined time zone, and the electronic program is displayed. In an electronic device that can perform scheduled recording of a desired program based on guide information, if the designated reserved program time zones are registered in duplicate, the recording reservation of the program that is scheduled to be duplicated is reserved. An electronic device characterized by being able to display information. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the start time and the end time of the program can be corrected based on the operation key in the time zone when two or more programs overlap. 3. In a time zone in which two or more programs are duplicated, it is possible to cancel the recording reservation of one of the programs based on the operation key.
An electronic device according to claim 1. 4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the duplicated programs reserved for recording are identified by color.