JPH1084512A - Internet television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the border of video signals including internet information not distinct by allowing the television receiver having an inernet reception function to display the internet information on a full screen. SOLUTION: An internet circuit 18 receives internet information from a modem 16 in a form of digital data and converts the data into a video signal. The video signal forms a smaller image pattern than a valid scanning area displayed on the television receiver to be a pattern having a blanking part to the left and right sides of the pattern. On the other hand, a level setting variable resistor 23 is used to set a DC level to obtain a prescribed (30-50%) white level for the left and right blanking periods. The DC level or the video signal from the internet circuit 18 is selected by a switch 21 and the selected signal is outputted to a video output amplifier 19 and displayed on a CRT 6, then a video image whose left right blanking areas has a prescribed white level is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an Internet television receiver capable of receiving information via the Internet, converting the information into a video signal on a screen, and displaying the video signal on a television receiver. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of personal computers (hereinafter referred to as personal computers), information has been actively transmitted and received using the Internet. Conventionally, information collection through the Internet has been transmitted from electronic mail such as characters to image and sound information.

[0003] Accordingly, recently, the number of users who view the Internet as a place for providing information has increased. WWW (World Wide Web) is in the spotlight as a server that provides the information.

As a factor that has attracted the attention of the WWW server, the spread of client software capable of searching for information using a graphical menu has a great influence. Since this software makes it easier to search for network information, traffic to the WWW server has rapidly increased, and as a result, each user has paid attention as an advertising medium, and many users have used it.

[0005] By the way, in order to view information in the WWW server, client software is required as described above. For example, this client software is available in the Nikkei Communication Supplement issued by Nikkei BP: Internet Handbook for Corporate Users (Issued November 30, 1994) Nos. 164 to 167.
Some are described on the page.

On the other hand, such Internet-based W
The only way to view information on the WW server was for a user with a personal computer to view it using client software.
However, it is also true that many people who do not have a personal computer want to see it but do not need a personal computer. And it is considered that such people want to simply view information on the Internet.

Therefore, as a method that can be easily viewed, it is conceivable to display information on the Internet by using a television receiver in an ordinary household instead of a display. According to this, there is no need to buy a personal computer,
Only a device for receiving and displaying information on the Internet can be built in or externally attached to the television receiver. When the information on the Internet is not viewed, the device functions as a television receiver as described above. It is very convenient for a simple user.

A television receiver equipped with such a function has a configuration as shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 4, 1 is a tuner, 2 is a VIF (video intermediate frequency) circuit, 3 is a video detection circuit, 4 is a video amplifier,
Is a first switch circuit for switching video signals, and 6 is a CR
T (cathode ray tube), 7 is SIF (sound intermediate frequency) circuit,
8 is an audio detection circuit, 9 is an audio amplifier, 10 is a second switch circuit for switching audio signals, 11 is a mixing circuit, 12 is a speaker, 13 is a remote control (not shown) and an operation unit on the front panel of a television receiver, 14 is A microcomputer for performing various controls of the television receiver, an on-screen display (hereinafter referred to as O) for generating an on-screen character signal;
SD) circuit, 16 is a modem, 17 is a carrier amplifier that amplifies a carrier sound from the modem 16, and 18 is an Internet circuit that receives Internet information data from the modem 16, converts it into a video signal, and outputs an audio signal. , 19 are video output amplifiers for outputting video signals from the Internet circuit 18, and 20 is an audio output amplifier for outputting audio signals.

Next, the operation will be described. First, when watching a television broadcast, when a desired channel is selected by the operation unit 13, a tuning voltage corresponding to the selected channel is supplied from the microcomputer 14 to the tuner 1. Then, the television signal of the selected channel is input to the VIF circuit 2, the video signal is extracted by the video detection circuit 3, and the video signal is input to the video amplifier 4. On the other hand, an SIF signal is detected from the VIF circuit 2 by the SIF circuit 7, an audio signal is extracted by the audio detection circuit 8, and supplied to the audio amplifier 9.

When the television receiver is watching a television broadcast, the microcomputer 14 connects the first switch 5 to the video amplifier 4 and outputs a video signal to the CRT 6. Further, the microcomputer 14 connects the second switch 10 to the audio amplifier 9 and converts the audio signal through the mixing circuit 11.
It is supplied to the speaker 12. The volume of the audio signal is changed by controlling the audio amplifier 9. This can be realized by controlling the audio amplifier 9 from the microcomputer 14 under the control of the operation unit 13.

On the other hand, when a channel is selected, the microcomputer 14
Controls the OSD circuit 15 so as to generate a character signal indicating the channel number, and supplies a character signal from the OSD circuit 15 to the first switch 5. At this time, the microcomputer 14 controls the first switch 5 so as to switch to the character signal from the OSD circuit 15. This OSD circuit 15
Can display not only channel characters, but also various displays such as a volume adjustment display and various adjustment mode displays.

Next, the operation for receiving Internet information will be described. First, when the Internet connection mode is selected on the operation unit 13, the microcomputer 14 controls the OSD circuit 15 so as to display an Internet menu screen (a variety of information menus such as travel, stock, etc.) from a screen for receiving a television broadcast. I do. Then, when desired information is selected from the menu screen by the operation unit 13, the microcomputer 14 transfers the data to the Internet circuit 18, and the Internet circuit 18 operates the modem 16 to connect the telephone line to the provider. When the mode is not the Internet connection mode, the screen for receiving the television broadcast remains as it is.

At this time, the menu screen is switched to the television broadcast screen. Then, when the modem 16 connects the telephone line (calls the provider),
A carrier sound is output from the modem 16. In the same manner, the information that the connection of the telephone line from the modem 16 is started is transmitted to the Internet circuit 18 and the information is
Supply to

The microcomputer 14 receives the signal and controls the audio amplifier 9 for amplifying the audio signal of the television broadcast so as to lower the volume to a predetermined level. The audio signal and the carrier sound from the modem are mixed by the mixing circuit 11. Is output to the speaker 12. As a result, even when watching a television broadcast, the volume is automatically lowered and the carrier sound of the modem can be heard.

A character signal indicating that the telephone line is being connected is generated by the OSD circuit 15 from the microcomputer 14 and displayed on the CRT 6 together with the television signal.

Further, when the telephone line is connected to the other party (when the connection is made to the provider), data is received from the modem 16, and information is transmitted to the microcomputer 14 via the Internet circuit 18 that the connection has been completed.

When connected, the Internet circuit 18
Receives data from the modem 16 and outputs a video signal and an audio signal. The video signal is supplied to the first switch 5 via the video output amplifier 19, and the audio signal is supplied to the second switch 10 via the audio output amplifier 20, so that information on the Internet can be viewed on the CRT 6 and the speaker 12.

Incidentally, a television receiver does not display all video signals broadcasted by television broadcasting, but has a range called an effective scanning area in the horizontal direction.
You can watch it on RT6. That is, the horizontal scanning period is 63.5 μS, of which the video signal is in the period of 54.6 μS. The television receiver displays about 49 μS (this is called an effective scanning line area) in a period excluding a period (overscan region) of 5% before and after the period of the video signal.

Accordingly, in the information on the Internet, since characters and images are displayed from end to end, when these are converted into video signals, they are formed as video signals including the above-described overscan area. Therefore, characters and images in the overscan area cannot be seen by the television receiver (see FIG. 3B).

In order to prevent this, the following may be performed. In other words, in order to view the Internet information on a personal computer monitor, the information can be viewed on a screen of 640 dots in the horizontal direction and 480 dots in the vertical direction. In particular, the number of vertical effective scanning lines of the television receiver is 480, and it can be easily realized. In order to obtain such a screen size, since 640 dots in the horizontal direction have a clock of 14.3 Mhz, a video signal area of 1 clock (0.07 μS) × 640 = 44.8 μS is sufficient. become. This is within the effective horizontal scanning line area 49 μS, so that all Internet information can be seen (see FIG. 3A).

By the way, if the display is performed in this manner, a break in the video signal is also displayed. In this case, the black level is set in the left and right periods when there is no video signal. However, at the boundary between the video signal and the black level, the level of the video signal suddenly changes, so that the high voltage circuit fluctuates. Here, the fluctuation of the high voltage circuit will be described. If the level of the video signal suddenly changes from the black level,
Although the beam current of RT6 does not flow, the beam current naturally flows when there is a video signal level. And C
A high voltage is supplied to the RT 6 from a high voltage circuit, and the high voltage changes when a beam current flows. This high voltage circuit is a flyback transformer (FB
T), and the horizontal deflection operation is performed from the FBT. Therefore, when the high voltage changes, the deflection current of the horizontal deflection also changes (the amplitude changes). The image size is changed due to a change in the horizontal size (see FIG. 3A). Especially,
That happens at the boundaries of the video signal.

In the case of displaying on a wide television receiver such as 16: 9, the screen can be divided into two screens and displayed, so that a video signal of a television broadcast is displayed on one screen. On display, another screen can display the Internet video signal. Even in such a case, the video signal of the Internet may be such that a video signal with the above-described white level added to the left and right boundary surfaces is displayed.

[0023]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and has a television receiver equipped with an Internet receiving function, which displays Internet information on a full screen and displays the Internet information. An object of the present invention is to make the boundaries between video signals inconspicuous.

[0024]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a television signal receiving means for receiving a television signal, and a video signal output for extracting and outputting a video signal from the television signal received by the television signal receiving means. Means, display means for displaying the video output by the video signal output means, and digital data transmitted and received from the telephone line, so that the digital data is converted into a carrier signal by sound at the time of transmission, and the carrier signal by sound is converted at the time of reception. Modulation / demodulation means for demodulating to digital data, data for transmitting digital data to the modulation / demodulation means, receiving digital data from the modulation / demodulation means, and converting the received digital data into a video signal having a blanking period on the left and right sides. Conversion means, and a period corresponding to left and right blanking periods of the video signal Level setting means for setting a level; switch means for selecting the output of the video signal and the level setting means; and a switch signal for switching the switch to an output from the level setting means during the left and right blanking periods. And a video signal output means for outputting an output from the switch means to the display means.

The present invention is also an Internet television receiver, wherein the level set by the level setting means is a white level of 30% to 50%.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a waveform chart showing the operation thereof. According to the present invention, as shown in the block diagram of the embodiment of FIG. 1, a switch 21 is provided between the Internet circuit 18 and the video amplifier 19 with respect to the configuration of FIG. 23 and the other end is the Internet circuit 1
The output terminal is connected to a video amplifier 19, and a logic circuit 22 for generating a switching signal is provided.

Next, the operation will be described. The telephone line is connected, and information on the Internet is sent to the Internet circuit 18 via the modem 16. Internet circuit 1
8 converts Internet information (digital data) into a video signal and outputs the video signal to the switch 21.

The DC level adjusted by the level setting volume 23 is set at the other end of the switch 21. This DC level is set so that the white level of the video signal is 30% to 50%.

On the other hand, a blanking (BLK) pulse corresponding to the period of the converted video signal (FIG. 2A) is output from the Internet circuit 18 (FIG. 2B). Also,
A horizontal blanking (HBLK) pulse for blanking a period before and after the horizontal synchronizing signal is created by a horizontal deflection circuit (not shown) (FIG. 2C). This BLK pulse and HB
When the LK pulse is input to the logic (OR) circuit 22, a switching signal (FIG. 2D) for switching the switch 21 is output.

Accordingly, the switch 21
Is controlled to output a video signal from the Internet circuit 18 when the switching signal is "H", and when the switching signal is "L", the level setting volume 2 is controlled.
Switching is performed so as to output the white level set in step 3.
As a result, an output in which the video signal is mixed with the DC level voltage set to the white level from the switch 21 is supplied to the video output amplifier 19 (FIG. 2E).

The output from the video output amplifier 21 is CR
The video signal is output to T6, and the left and right portions of the video signal can be set to a predetermined white level (gray) as shown in FIG. 3C so that the boundary between the video signal and the video signal is inconspicuous.

[0032]

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the image from being bent at the boundary between the video signal and the left and right blanking periods and to make the boundary inconspicuous.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an operation waveform diagram of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a screen display unit according to the present invention and the prior art.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 18 Internet circuit 19 Video output amplifier 21 Switch 22 Logic circuit 23 Level setting volume

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A television signal receiving means for receiving a television signal, a video signal output means for extracting and outputting a video signal from a television signal received by the television signal receiving means, and the video signal output means And display means for displaying the video output by the device, and to transmit and receive digital data from the telephone line, convert the digital data into a carrier signal by sound during transmission,
At the time of reception, a modulation / demodulation means for demodulating a carrier signal due to sound into digital data, transmitting the digital data to the modulation / demodulation means, and receiving digital data from the modulation / demodulation means. Data converting means for converting the video signal into a video signal having the same; level setting means for setting a level of a period corresponding to a left and right blanking period of the video signal; and switch means for selecting an output of the video signal and the level setting means. Switching signal generating means for generating a switching signal for switching the switch to an output from a level setting means during the left and right blanking periods; and a video signal output means for outputting an output from the switching means to the display means. An Internet television receiver, comprising: 2. The Internet television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the level set by said level setting means is a white level of 30% to 50%.