JPH10145692A - Muting device for television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To operate a video signal mute means even just after channel switching by detecting and storing the rating information of another program through a 2nd tuner while viewing a certain program. SOLUTION: While viewing the program selected by a 1st tuner 32, a microcomputer means 37 performs control to successively switch the reception channels of a 2nd tuner 11. Then, the tuned television signal is converted to a 2nd intermediate frequency and supplied to a 2nd rating decode means 13 and the rating information is decoded. The rating information for each program successively sent from the 2nd rating decode means 13 is stored in a storage means such as the RAM of the microcomputer means 37. When the channel is switched to receive and reproduce the other new program, a program having necessity to be muted in regenerative images is muted immediately without any time interval.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a television receiver for multiplexing and transmitting rating information indicating the degree of extremity of the content of a television broadcast program into a television signal, and receiving and reproducing the transmitted television signal. This is a muting device for a television receiver that does not perform reception and reproduction on the television receiver depending on the content of the rating information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a current television system,
In order to cope with the effective use of broadcast radio waves and audio-visual impairment, in addition to the transmission of video and audio signals from TV broadcast programs, text information on the programs during the vertical retrace of video signals, or news and weather forecasts other than TV programs Multiplexing and transmitting binary signals indicating character / graphic information such as
A system for reproducing and displaying the transmitted information on a part or the whole of the screen of the television receiver has been developed and put into practical use.
Specifically, a character multiplexing system in Japan, a teletext system in the United Kingdom, a closed caption system in the United States, and the like are representative.

In the Japanese character multiplexing method, one of the vertical blanking periods is used.
A signal having a seven-layer data structure is multiplexed on 4H to 16H and 21H, and the closed caption system in the United States multiplexes English character data on 21H during a vertical blanking period.

[0004] On the other hand, since television broadcasting is intended to transmit various kinds of information to many ordinary people, various programs are produced and broadcast. Some of these programs include violent or obscene videos, and there are cases where it is desired to restrict the viewing of the program depending on the thinking of the viewers. However, even for such programs, it is not possible to judge whether a program is preferred or unfavorable by a viewer before watching the program, except in special cases. Many. To this end, in the United States, the Extended Data Service has been implemented, and sports, news,
Types of programs such as movies, dramas and music,
For children, or rating information indicating violence, degree of obscurity, etc. is multiplexed and transmitted as a part of the information in the closed caption, based on this information the viewer,
The rating level is set in the television receiver in advance, and the viewer is selected for viewing according to the rating of the program.

More specifically, a description will be given using a television receiver having a circuit configuration shown in FIG. The television broadcast signal received by the antenna 31 is selected by a tuner 32 having a channel selection function. The television signal selected by the tuner 32 is converted into an intermediate frequency, amplified by an intermediate frequency amplifier 33, and separated into a video signal, an audio signal, and a synchronization signal. Of the separated signals, the video signal is input to the video signal processing means 34 and supplied to the CRT 35 as luminance and chrominance signals to reproduce the video. At this time, the audio signal is FM-processed by an audio processing unit (not shown).
The signal is demodulated, amplified and guided to a speaker. Further, the synchronization signal is separated into vertical and horizontal synchronization signals by a synchronization demodulation means (not shown), and then used to synchronize the video signal with a broadcast signal.

Next, the signal containing the rating information separated from the intermediate frequency amplifying means 33 is guided to a rating decoder 36. The rating decoder 36 detects rating information multiplexed during the vertical flyback period, takes in the rating information into the microcomputer means 37, and
7 is stored in the storage means. The microcomputer means 37 also stores rating information previously input by the user of the television receiver. As an input means, an input means by a remote control or the like is used, and a rating level is set in advance for a program that the user does not want to view and input and stored.
Then, the rating information in the television signal of the program selected by the tuner 32 is compared with the rating information preset by the user, and the microcomputer means 37 is incorporated in the video signal processing means 38 according to the comparison result. The video signal mute means 38 is controlled. The video signal mute means 38 is operated by a control signal from the microcomputer means 37, and cuts off the video signal supplied from the video signal processing means 34 to the cathode ray tube 35. That is, the user compares the rating information set in advance by the user with the categorizing information multiplexed on the selected program, and if a broadcast signal having a rating level or higher is sent, the video signal processing means. Is muted so that the video cannot be reproduced, and when the rating is below a preset rating level, the muting of the video signal processing means is released and the selected program can be viewed.

The microcomputer means 37 comprises:
Although not shown, a signal for controlling the tuning of the tuner 32 is supplied by an input from the input means, and the channel can be switched by the tuning control signal.

In the television receiver having such a configuration,
If the user switches to another channel while watching a program, the rating information in the TV signal of the selected program and the level of the preset rating information The comparison will be performed again. On the other hand, rating information in a television signal of each program is not continuously transmitted, but is generally transmitted discretely at intervals of several hundred milliseconds to several seconds. For example, when rating information is multiplexed on a television signal at intervals of 2 seconds, it takes time to detect new rating information when switching to another channel. Images that cannot be compared and exceed the rating level are reproduced and displayed on the CRT.

In this specific example, the processing in the microcomputer means 37 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when the user switches the channel in step 41, the tuner 3 is switched in step 42.
2, a channel switching control signal is supplied,
The rating information of the newly selected program is extracted. In step 43, it is determined whether or not rating information is included in the signal of the selected new program based on the output of the rating decoder means 36. If the rating information has not been supplied yet, the rating information is determined. The determination is repeated until it is supplied, and when new rating information is obtained, the process proceeds to step 44. Step 4
In case 3, as described above, if the rating information is multiplexed in the TV signal of the program at intervals of 2 seconds,
The determination is repeated until new rating information is obtained for a maximum of 2 seconds. In step 44, step 43
The level of the new rating information is compared with the level of the preset rating information. If the level is equal to or higher than the preset level, a control signal is supplied to the video signal muting means 38 in step 45 to mute the video signal. . If the result of comparison in step 44 is equal to or lower than the preset level, mute is released in step 46, and video reproduction of the new program is continued.

[0010] In a general television receiver, when a channel is switched, if the selected program is not immediately played back at the same time as the selected channel, a misunderstanding that the television receiver is malfunctioning or incomplete is given. The program is reproduced and displayed at the same time as the channel is selected. Therefore, in such a television receiver, the video signal mute means does not operate until new rating information is obtained after the channel switching and the comparison with the preset level is completed. At
A video having a rating level equal to or higher than a preset rating level is reproduced, which gives the user discomfort.

[0011]

As described above, in the conventional television receiver, the detection of rating information indicating the degree of extremity of a broadcast program is not sufficiently performed immediately after a new program is selected. Even if a program exceeds a preset rating level, it may be reproduced and displayed, causing a problem of giving a user discomfort.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a television receiver for receiving and reproducing a television signal multiplexed with rating information, wherein first and second tuner for selecting a program are provided.
While watching a desired program on the first tuner,
The tuner detects and stores rating information of another program, and when a new program is selected by the first tuner,
The rating information of another program stored in the tuner is read out and compared with the preset level. If the program exceeds the preset rating information level, the video signal is output simultaneously with the program selection in the first tuner. A muting device for a television receiver that controls so that it can be muted.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for a television receiver which displays two different images on one display screen. In particular, in a television called a 16: 9 wide screen, two different screens are provided on the left and right screens. It has a function to display two images simultaneously. To display these two images,
Two tuners are used to receive and select different television broadcast signals, and the present inventor has paid attention to this point.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a muting device for a television receiver according to the present invention. The same parts as those of the conventional television receiver in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A specific program, which is a first tuner 32, is selected from a television broadcast signal received by the antenna 31. The television signal selected by the tuner 32 is converted into an intermediate frequency, amplified by the first intermediate frequency amplifier 33, and separated into a video signal, an audio signal, and a synchronization signal. Of the separated signals, the video signal is input to the video signal processing means 34 and supplied to the CRT 35 as luminance and chrominance signals to reproduce the video. At this time, the audio signal is converted to F by an audio processing unit (not shown).
The signal is demodulated, amplified and guided to a speaker. Further, the synchronization signal is separated into vertical and horizontal synchronization signals by a synchronization demodulation unit (not shown), and is used so that the video signal is synchronized with a broadcast signal. Next, the television signal received by the antenna 31 is multiplexed with rating information indicating the type of the program, violence, degree of wisdom, etc. in the vertical retrace period, and the output signal of the intermediate frequency amplifying means 33 is It is led to the coater 36. The rating decoder 36 detects rating information in a television signal and outputs the rating information to microcomputer means 37.
And R in the microcomputer means 37
It is stored in storage means such as AM. The microcomputer means 37 also stores rating information previously input by the user of the television receiver. As an input means of the rating information, an input means by a remote control or the like is used, and a rating level is set in advance for a program that the user does not want to view and input and stored. The rating level input by the user in advance and the rating information in the television signal of the program selected by the first tuner 32 are compared, and the microcomputer means 37 sends the video signal processing means according to the comparison result. A signal for controlling the video signal mute means 38 built in 38 is supplied. The video signal mute means 38 is operated by a control signal from the microcomputer means 37, and cuts off the video signal supplied from the video signal processing means 34 to the cathode ray tube 35. In other words, the user compares the rating information set in advance by the user with the rating information multiplexed on the selected program, and if the broadcast signal is higher than the preset rating level, muting is applied to the video signal processing means. In this case, the video of the program cannot be reproduced, and when the rating is lower than a preset rating level, the muting of the video signal processing means is released and the selected program can be viewed.

On the other hand, while watching the program selected by the first tuner 32, the microcomputer 37
Controls the reception channel of the second tuner 11 to be sequentially switched, converts the selected television signal to an intermediate frequency by the second intermediate frequency amplifying means 12, and supplies the intermediate frequency to the second rating decoding means 13. Then, the rating information is decoded and supplied to the microcomputer means 37. In the microcomputer means 37, the rating information for each program sequentially sent from the second rating decoding means 13 is recorded in a storage means such as a RAM of the microcomputer means 37.

The operation of the microcomputer means 37 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 2A shows a case where the second tuner 11 extracts rating information of another program while the first tuner 32 reproduces and displays the selected program. First, in step 21, the second
A control signal for selecting another program is supplied to the tuner 11 of the second tuner 11 so that the channel selected by the second tuner 11 is switched. In step 22, the output of the second intermediate frequency amplifying means 13 is supplied to the second rating decoder means 13 to determine the presence or absence of rating information on the receiving channel. If the second
When no rating information is supplied from the rating means 13 of the second rating decoding means 13,
The determination is repeated until rating information is supplied from. When the supply of rating information is confirmed in step 22, in step 23, the broadcast station name or channel number of the program and the rating information are stored in the storage means of the microcomputer means 37. Next, step 2
Returning to step 1, the microcomputer 37 generates a control signal for instructing to select the next channel, and similarly stores the broadcast station name or channel number of the program and the rating information in the microcomputer 37, and sequentially stores Stores rating information of all other programs that are not viewed.

Next, a case where the user changes the channel of the first tuner 32 to reproduce and display another program will be described with reference to FIG. The user is the first tuner 3
When an instruction to switch the second channel is issued, the microcomputer means 37 performs the first
Of the tuner 32 is switched. Accordingly, in step 26, the rating information of the newly selected channel is read from the rating information of each program previously stored in the storage means of the microcomputer means 37. When the newly selected program is equal to or higher than the preset rating level, the video mute means 38 is operated in step 28 to make the video signal processing means 34
Generates a control signal for stopping the supply of video signals to
In step 9, the video mute means 38 is deactivated to generate a control signal for supplying a video signal from the video signal processing means 34 to the cathode ray tube 35.

That is, when the user of the television receiver watches the first program immediately after turning on the operating power for the first time, the rating information in the program signal selected by the first tuner 32 and the user Compares the rating information set in advance, and if the rating level is lower than the preset rating level, the program can be viewed. If the rating level is higher than the preset rating level, the video mute means 38
Operates, and the program cannot be viewed. Further, the user sequentially switches the second tuner 11 while watching a certain program,
The rating information of all other programs is stored, and when the user switches the channel of the first tuner 32, the rating information of a new selected program is extracted from the stored rating information of each program. In addition, comparison with a preset rating level is performed simultaneously, and in the case of a program having a rating information level equal to or higher than the preset rating information level, video mute is immediately applied. That is, instead of waiting for the rating information of a newly selected program to arrive after the channel switching as in the conventional case, the rating information of the new program stored in the microcomputer means is simultaneously stored with the channel selection switch. By reading and comparing, it is possible to mute the video and prevent the program from being viewed at the same time as switching the channel.

Immediately after the operating power of the television receiver is turned on, the reproduced video and audio become unstable due to the unstable operating power. Therefore, until the operating power becomes stable, the video and audio are reproduced. It is common practice to add a mute. Therefore, immediately after the operation power of the television receiver is turned on, there is no problem since the mute is activated even if the rating information is not extracted.

The present invention described above utilizes a point that two different tuners for selecting two broadcast signals are used in a television receiver capable of dual-screen display. By extracting rating information, rating information other than the channel currently being received is extracted in advance, and after switching channels, the rating information of a new channel is immediately read. Note that the display screen of 4: 3 is 1 /
It is clear that the same can be realized in a television receiver called a picture-in-picture which displays a small screen of 4 or less.

In the above description, the rating level in the television signal of another program sequentially selected by the second tuner is simply stored in the storage means such as the RAM of the microcomputer means. , It is also possible to store the result including the comparison result.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a television signal in which rating information having a certain time interval is multiplexed is received and reproduced, rating information of another program which is not received and reproduced is stored. Therefore, when switching to receive and play another new program, the user can immediately mute the program that needs to mute the playback video without putting any time. A television receiver which does not cause any discomfort can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a muting device for a television receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the muting device of the television receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a conventional muting device for a television receiver.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a conventional muting device for a television receiver.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... 2nd tuner 12 ... 2nd intermediate frequency amplifying means 13 ... 2nd rating decoding means 31 ... 1st tuner 32 ... 2nd intermediate frequency amplifying means 34 ... Video signal processing means 35 ... CRT 36 ... No. 1 rating decoding means 37 ... microcomputer means 38 ... mute means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A television receiver for receiving and reproducing a television broadcast signal including rating information, comprising: a first television station for selecting the television broadcast signal and demodulating it into a video signal;
A first and a second tuner and an intermediate frequency amplifying means; a first and a second rating decoding means for decoding the rating information from the video signal demodulated by the first and the second tuners and the intermediate frequency amplifying means; Video signal processing means for displaying the video signal demodulated by the first tuner and the intermediate frequency amplification means on the video display means; video mute means for muting the video signal supplied from the video signal processing means to the video display means; A comparison control unit that compares rating information decoded by the first rating decoding unit with a preset rating level, and controls the video mute unit according to the comparison result; and the second rating decoding unit. Storage means for storing rating information decoded by the first tuner; Television receiver muting device which is characterized by storing the rating information in the second tuner the tuning television broadcast signal in the received playback sequentially receives the other television signals. 2. The storage means for storing rating information decoded by a second rating decoding means when a television broadcast signal selected by the first tuner and intermediate frequency amplification means is switched to another new broadcasting signal. Extracted from
3. The video mute unit according to claim 1, wherein the rating control unit compares the rating information level of the new broadcast signal with a preset rating level, and controls the video mute unit according to the comparison result. Muting device for TV receiver. 3. The control of the first and second tuners and rating decoding means, and the comparison control means is constituted by a microcomputer.
A muting device for a television receiver according to claim 1.