JPH11252475A - Program selecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program selecting device, capable of easily recognizing which position of a hierarchical structure a present program selection screen is at and also the transition of a screen operation. SOLUTION: An electronic program guide screen turns into the program selection screen (channel, time and genre) composed of plural hierarchies. To the program selection screen, plural attribute displays (35a-35d, 47a-47d and 55a-55d) to be selected are displayed. By selecting one of the attribute displays to the program selection screen of the next hierarchy, the display is switched. At the displaying of the selected one-program selection screen, when the program selection screen of an upper hierarchy is present, the plural attributes of the one-program selection screen and the plural attributes of the program selection screen of the upper hierarchy are displayed at the some time, and the form of the display of the attribute display selected on the program selection screen of the upper hierarchy is made different from that of the display of the other attribute.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program selecting apparatus for selecting a program by an electronic program guide (EPG), which is a means for a user to select a predetermined program from a large number of programs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Terrestrial broadcasting, CATV, satellite broadcasting, etc.
EPG has been proposed as a means for the user to select and confirm a predetermined program from a large number of programs, and is recognized as an effective service from the viewpoint of a human interface in response to multi-channel and multi-program broadcasting. Have been.

In the EPG, for example, a horizontal axis and a vertical axis of a screen are a time axis and a channel axis, respectively, and a program table is displayed at a position on a matrix defined by these axes. You can choose. Furthermore, there has been proposed a method of preparing a large number of search screens for program selection, such as by time, channel, or genre, and arranging the search screens in a hierarchical manner to enhance program selectivity. According to this, the user can first select a program selection screen for selecting a desired program, and can select and confirm a predetermined program on the screen.

[0004]

However, in the EPG based on such a hierarchical display method, as the hierarchical structure becomes more complicated in order to enhance the utility value as a guide, while the user is actually operating, , It ’s hard to know where the current screen is in the overall hierarchy,
There is a problem in operability that it is difficult to grasp the transition of the screen operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a problem. In an EPG screen having a hierarchical structure, the present program selection screen is located at a position in the hierarchical structure, and the transition of the screen operation can be easily performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a program selection device capable of recognizing a program.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, an electronic program guide screen is created by decoding program information to be transmitted, and a predetermined program is displayed from the electronic program guide screen. In a program selection device for selecting a program, a means for generating the electronic program guide screen as a plurality of program selection screens having a plurality of hierarchies, and for the plurality of program selection screens, a user corresponding to each program selection screen Means for displaying a plurality of attribute displays to be selected, and means for selecting and displaying one of the plurality of attribute displays to switch to a program selection screen of the next hierarchy and displaying the plurality of attribute displays. When displaying one selected program selection screen in the program selection screen, if there is a program selection screen in a hierarchy higher than the one program selection screen, the one program In addition to displaying a plurality of attribute displays on the upper layer program selection screen in conjunction with a plurality of attribute displays on the selection screen, among the plurality of attribute displays on the upper layer program selection screen, It is an object of the present invention to provide a program selection apparatus characterized in that the display mode of the attribute display selected on the program selection screen is displayed differently from the display modes of other attribute displays.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A program selection device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the program selection device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a remote control transmitter used in the program selection device of the present invention, and FIG. FIGS. 4 to 8 are views showing an example of a program selection screen by the program selection device of the present invention, and FIGS. 9 to 9 are diagrams showing an example of a program selection screen by the program selection device of the present invention. FIGS. 10 to 1 show examples of transitions of the entire program selection screen.
2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

The program selection device of the present invention shown in FIG.
The television receiver 1 including a G decoder (EPG decoding unit 4) is shown as an example. The EPG information is, for example, the ARIB standard “standard television data multiplexing system ARIB STD of a transmission system using a vertical blanking period”.
-B5 1.0 version "and its revised version, and transmitted as telesoftware signals by VBI data multiplex broadcasting. Further, the EPG information includes information on programs on each broadcast channel for several days from the day, for example, the program channel, broadcast time, title, category (genre), and the like.

In FIG. 1, a radio wave of a television is input from an antenna 2, and a video and audio signal of a normal television is subjected to processing such as reception and demodulation in a television signal processing unit 3. The EPG information is received, demodulated,
Processing such as decoding and drawing (EPG screen creation) is performed.
The EPG screen is synthesized with a television video signal as described later, and is displayed by a cathode ray tube (CRT) or the like included in the display unit 5. In some cases, it is output by a speaker (not shown). Note that the display unit 5 is C
It includes a display such as an RT and a speaker.

In the television signal processor 3, the antenna 2
The input television wave is selected and received by the tuner unit 6, and is separated and demodulated into a video signal and an audio signal. The audio signal is processed by the television audio processing unit 7,
Output from a speaker included in the display unit 5. The video signal is subjected to processing such as Y / C separation by the television video processing unit 8 and input to the switch 9. Switch 9 has EP
An EPG image signal is also input from the G decoding unit 4, and by switching between the video signal and the EPG image signal, the television image and the EPG screen are combined, or the EPG screen is output alone. The output of the switch 9 is displayed on a display such as a CRT included in the display unit 5.

The CPU 10 mainly receives an IR (infrared) signal from the remote control transmitter 12 through a user operation through the IR receiver 11 and decodes a remote control code.
Determines and recognizes user commands. And the tuner section 6
And the communication with the CPU 16 in the EPG decoding unit 4 for the EPG display command. CPU1
0 also controls each circuit in the television signal processing unit 3, but here, illustration of signal lines is omitted for simplification.

In the EPG decoding section 4, the antenna 2
The radio wave of the television input from the tuner 13
The video signal is input to the character multiplex decoder 14. Normally, the character multiplex decoder uses V
Waveform equalization (E) is performed on the character signal of the teletext multiplex broadcast superimposed on the BI (vertical blanking interval) lines 14, 15, 21.
Q) Processing, synchronization separation, error correction (EC) processing, etc. are performed to separate the character signal from the VBI line and extract it as packet data.

The character multiplexing decoder section 14 extracts the EPG signal superimposed on the VBI lines 10 to 13 as packet data based on a telesoftware signal and stores it in the RAM 15 as in a normal character multiplexing decoder. The packet data is created as a plurality of files from each header information via the group data group. This file has the format
For example, EPG information such as a channel of a program, a broadcast date and time, a title, and a category (genre) is included. The created file is stored in the RAM 15.

The CPU 16 controls the tuning of the tuner 13, controls the character multiplex decoder 14, the RAM 15, etc., and creates a file from packet data. When the user operates the remote control transmitter 12 and the request for displaying the EPG screen is recognized by the CPU 10 of the television signal processing unit 3, the CPU 10 notifies the CPU 16 of the recognition. CPU
A frame 16 selects a frame that meets the request from a plurality of types of EPG screen frames created in advance and stored in a ROM 17 and develops the frame on a video RAM (V-RAM) 18.

Further, the CPU 10 selects program information matching the request from the EPG information stored in the RAM 15, decodes the program information,
17 to the font data stored in
The font is fitted into the EPG screen frame developed on the V-RAM 18. In addition, a button, an icon, a cursor, and the like for switching the EPG screen and selecting / determining a program are added to create an EPG screen.

The EPG screen data is output at the timing synchronized with the television video signal under the control of the CPU 16.
The data is sent to an SD (On Screen Display) unit 19 and D / A converted by the OSD unit 19. Then, the OSD unit 19
, A video signal (EP) to which a control signal (for example, a YS signal or the like) of the switch 9 in the television signal processing unit 3 is added.
G image signal) and input to the switch 9. The ROM 17 also stores a program for each process executed by the CPU 16 and the like.

The remote control transmitter 12 in FIG. 1 is configured as shown in FIG. 2 as an example. As shown in FIG. 2, the remote control transmitter 12 is a TV for displaying an EPG screen.
/ EPG key 121, detail key 122 for displaying detailed information, attribute selection keys 123a to 123d for selecting a plurality of attributes displayed on the screen, up and down cursor keys 124, enter key 125 is provided. The attribute selection keys 123a to 123d are color-coded according to the color of the attribute display displayed on the screen described later in detail. As an example, the attribute selection keys 123a, 12
3b, 123c, and 123d are respectively colored red, green, yellow, and blue.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an explanation will be given on the operation of the program selection device of the present invention, which leads to the selection and determination of the program, and the flow of an example of the EPG screen. In FIG. 3, 20 surrounded by a solid line indicates a video screen of a normal television, and 21 surrounded by a broken line indicates an EPG screen 21.

When the user operates the TV / EP of the remote control transmitter 12,
When a request to display the EPG screen 21 is made by pressing the G key 121, the screen is switched to the normal television video screen 20, or the EPG screen 21 is displayed on the normal television video screen 20. You. Further, for example, when a television receiver having a wide screen has a two-screen display function, a television image may be displayed on one screen and an EPG screen 21 may be displayed on the other screen. . At this time, an initial screen 22 is displayed as a program selection screen on the EPG screen 21. Details of the initial screen 22 will be described later.

The initial screen 22 displays programs and the like that are currently being broadcast on all available channels. The user refers to the detail screen 27 for displaying detailed information of the program contents, and the like.
A predetermined program currently being broadcast can be selected. The user also switches the initial screen 22 and selects one from a plurality of EPG screens, for example, to reserve a future program.
Can be displayed. In this example, there are four program selection screens, a channel screen 23, a time screen 24, a genre screen 25, and an information screen 26, as a hierarchy next to the initial screen 22.

On the channel screen 23, programs on a specific channel specified by the user are displayed. The details of the channel screen 23 will be described later. As in the case of the initial screen 22, the user can select a predetermined program by referring to the detailed screen 28 for displaying detailed information of the program contents.

On the time screen 24, programs and the like of all channels at a specific time designated by the user are displayed. The details of the time screen 24 will be described later. As in the case of the initial screen 22, the user can select a predetermined program with reference to the detailed screen 29 for displaying detailed information of the program contents.

On the genre screen 25, programs and the like of all channels in a specific genre (category) designated by the user are displayed. Details of the genre screen 25 will be described later. As in the case of the initial screen 22, the user can select a predetermined program with reference to the detailed screen 30 for displaying detailed information of the program contents.

In this example, a program selection screen as a sub-genre screen 31 is provided as a layer next to the genre screen 25. Details of the sub-genre screen 31 will be described later. At the request of the user, the same category can be switched to a sub-genre screen 31 that is further classified into baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, etc. in the case of sports, for example. The user can also select a predetermined program from the sub-genre screen 31 with reference to a detailed screen 33 for displaying detailed information of the program contents.

On the information screen 26, for example, a concert guide, a ticket guide, a travel guide, and other information which are transmitted / displayed in order to increase the added value of the system and are not directly related to the television program, etc., are displayed. Displayed as specified. The user can select necessary information (program) with reference to a detail screen 32 that displays details of information (program) content.

Here, the initial screen 22, the channel screen 2
3, detailed display examples of the time screen 24, the genre screen 25, and the information screen 26 will be sequentially described. Figure 4 shows the initial screen 2
2 shows an example. On the initial screen 22, programs currently being broadcast on all available channels are displayed.
In the top row of the initial screen 22, attribute displays 35a, 35b, and 3 for switching to the next layer, the channel screen 23, the time screen 24, the genre screen 25, and the information screen 26 are displayed.
5c and 35d are displayed. Attribute display 35a, 35
b, 35c, and 35d include “channels”,
“Time”, “genre”, and “information” are described, and red, green, yellow, and blue colors are respectively applied. The colors of the attribute displays 35a to 35d correspond to the colors of the attribute selection keys 123a to 123d of the remote control transmitter 12.

In this example, channels (CH) 1 to CH
Up to 12 programs are displayed, and a cursor display 36 is provided on the left side. The user can select a program by operating the up and down cursor keys 124 of the remote control transmitter 12 to select and confirm a desired program. The selected program is highlighted (or discolored) 37 and the like, so that the user can confirm the selected program. In this state, when the enter key 125 of the remote control transmitter 12 is pressed, the program is determined, and the attribute display 35a is displayed.
A simple program introduction display 38 is displayed below .about.35d. The program introduction display 38 includes, for example, a title, a performer,
Includes director, broadcast date / time, channel, etc.

As described above, when a television receiver having a wide screen has a dual screen display function, a television image is displayed on one screen and an EPG screen 21 (initial screen) is displayed on the other screen. Screen 22) may be displayed. In this case, when a specific program is determined on the initial screen 22 or the like, the video of the selected program is displayed on one of the screens. If the program is currently being broadcast,
When the program is selectively switched on the initial screen 22 or the like, the video of the program is switched and displayed accordingly.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the channel screen 23. When the attribute selection key 123a of the remote control transmitter 12 corresponding to the attribute display 35a of the initial screen 22 shown in FIG. 4 is pressed, the screen shifts to the channel screen 23, which is one of the layers next to the initial screen 22. On the channel screen 23, programs and the like on a specific channel specified by the user are displayed. In the top row of the channel screen 23, attribute displays 35a to 35d of the initial screen 22, which is the previous (upper) hierarchy, are displayed. In the second line from the top of the channel screen 23,
Four attribute displays 39a, 3 on the channel screen 23
9b, 39c and 39d are displayed.

Attribute display 39a, 39b, 39c, 39d
Are marked “↑ back”, “next day”, “channel ↑”, and “channel ↓” respectively.
Green, yellow and blue colors are applied. This attribute display 39a
Are the attribute selection keys 1 on the remote control transmitter 12.
23a to 123d. Attribute selection key 1
By pressing the keys 23a to 123d, it is possible to return to the initial screen 22, change the date, and up / down the channel. Here, the attribute displays 35a to 35
In d, the colors of red, green, yellow, and blue are not displayed, and only the attribute display 35a is highlighted or changed in color to indicate that the attribute display 35a (that is, the channel screen 23) is selected on the initial screen 22. Has been made.

In this example, the program of CH4 from 7:30 pm to 9:54 pm is displayed.
A cursor display 40 is provided. The user can select a program by operating the up and down cursor keys 124 of the remote control transmitter 12 to select and confirm a desired program. The selected program is highlighted (or discolored) 41 or the like, so that the user can confirm the selected program. In this state, when the enter key 125 of the remote control transmitter 12 is pressed, the program is determined and the attribute display 39a is displayed.
A simple program introduction display 42 is displayed below 39d.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the time screen 24.
When the attribute selection key 123b of the remote control transmitter 12 corresponding to the attribute display 35b of the initial screen 22 shown in FIG. 4 is pressed, the screen shifts to the time screen 24 which is one of the layers next to the initial screen 22. On the time screen 24, a program or the like at a specific time specified by the user is displayed. At the top row of the time screen 24, the attribute displays 35a to 35d of the initial screen 22, which is the previous (upper) hierarchy, are displayed. 2 from top of time screen 24
The fourth line shows four attribute displays 4 on the time screen 24.
3a, 43b, 43c and 43d are displayed.

Attribute display 43a, 43b, 43c, 43d
Contains “↑ return”, “next day”, “time ，”,
"Time ↓" is written, and the colors of red, green, yellow, and blue are given, respectively. The colors of the attribute displays 43a to 43d are set by the attribute selection keys 123a to 123 of the remote control transmitter 12.
It corresponds to 3d color. Attribute selection keys 123a-12
By pressing 3d, the display returns to the initial screen 22, changes the date, and increases / decreases (returns) the time.
can do. Here, attribute displays 35a to 35d
In this example, only the attribute display 35b is highlighted or changed in color to indicate that the attribute display 35b (that is, the time screen) has been selected on the initial screen 22 without red, green, yellow, and blue colors. ing.

In this example, CH starting at 9:00 pm
1, CH3, CH4, CH6, and CH8 are displayed, and a cursor display 44 is provided on the left side thereof. In order to select / confirm a desired program, the user operates the up and down cursor keys 1 of the remote control transmitter 12.
By operating 24, a program can be selected. The selected program is highlighted (or changed in color) 45 or the like, so that the user can confirm the selected program. In this state, when the enter key 125 of the remote control transmitter 12 is pressed, the program is determined, and a simple program introduction display 46 is displayed below the attribute displays 43a to 43d.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the genre screen 25. When the attribute selection key 123c of the remote control transmitter 12 corresponding to the attribute display 35c of the initial screen 22 shown in FIG. 4 is pressed, the screen shifts to the genre screen 25, which is one of the next layers of the initial screen 22. On the genre screen 25, programs and the like in a specific genre (category) designated by the user are displayed. At the top row of the genre screen 25, the attribute displays 35a to 35d of the initial screen 22, which is the previous (upper) hierarchy, are displayed. In the second line from the top of the genre screen 25,
Four attribute displays 47a and 47 on the genre screen 25
b, 47c and 47d are displayed.

Attribute display 47a, 47b, 47c, 47d
Include “↑ back”, “movie”, “sports”,
It is described as “forward →” and the colors are red, green, yellow, and blue, respectively. The colors of the attribute displays 47a to 47d are the attribute selection keys 123a to 123 of the remote control transmitter 12.
It corresponds to 3d color. Attribute selection keys 123a-12
By pressing 3d, it is possible to return to the initial screen 22, change to another genre, or display attributes of other genres on the attribute displays 47b and 47c. here,
In the attribute displays 35a to 35d, the color display of red, green, yellow, and blue is not performed, and the attribute display 3c (that is, the genre screen 25) is selected on the initial screen 22 so that it can be understood that the attribute display 35c (that is, the genre screen 25) is selected.
Highlight display or discoloration display is performed only for 5c.

In this example, a program of the genre of a movie is displayed, and a cursor display 48 is provided on the left side thereof. The user can select a program by operating the up and down cursor keys 124 of the remote control transmitter 12 to select and confirm a desired program. The selected program is highlighted (or discolored) 49 and the like, so that the user can confirm the selected program. In this state, when the enter key 125 of the remote control transmitter 12 is pressed,
The program is determined, and a simple program introduction display 50 is displayed below the attribute displays 47a to 47d.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the information screen 26.
When the attribute selection key 123d of the remote control transmitter 12 corresponding to the attribute display 35d of the initial screen 22 shown in FIG. 4 is pressed, the screen shifts to the information screen 26 which is one of the layers next to the initial screen 22. On the information screen 26, various information selected by the user and the like are displayed. In the top row of the information screen 26, the attribute displays 35a to 35-3 of the initial screen 22 which is the previous (upper) hierarchy
5d is displayed. In the second line from the top of the information screen 26, four attribute displays 51a and 51 on the information screen 26 are displayed.
b, 51c and 51d are displayed.

The attribute displays 51a, 51c, and 51d are respectively described as "$ RETURN", "STORE", and "NEXT PAGE", and the attribute display 51b is not displayed. The attribute display 51
a, 51b, 51c, 51d have red, green,
The colors are yellow and blue. This attribute display 51a-5
The color of 1d is the attribute selection key 123 of the remote control transmitter 12.
The colors correspond to colors a to 123d. Attribute selection key 123
By pressing a to 123d, it is possible to return to the initial screen 22, save the information in the RAM 15, and proceed to the next page. Here, attribute displays 35a to 35d
In this example, only the attribute display 35d is highlighted or changed in color so that it can be understood that the attribute display 35d (that is, the information screen 26) is selected on the initial screen 22 without red, green, yellow, and blue colors. It has been done.

In this example, various types of information are displayed, and a cursor display 52 is provided on the left side.
The user can select and confirm desired information by using the up and down cursor keys 124 of the remote control transmitter 12.
By operating, information can be selected. The selected information is highlighted (or changed in color) 53 or the like, so that the user can confirm the selected information. In this state, when the enter key 125 of the remote control transmitter 12 is pressed, the information is determined, and a simple information introduction display 54 is displayed below the attribute displays 51a to 51d.

Further, the transition of the EPG screen in the program selection device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A shows an initial screen 22, which is the same as the initial screen 22 shown in FIG. FIG. 7B is a genre screen 25, which is the same as the genre screen 25 in FIG. (C) is another genre screen 25.
(D) is a sub-genre screen 31 which is the next layer of the genre screen 25. (E) is another sub-genre screen 31. (F) shows the detailed key 122 of the remote control transmitter 12 on the sub-genre screen 31 shown in (D).
It is a detailed screen 33 displayed when is pressed.

In FIG. 9, for the sake of simplicity, the attribute displays 35a to 35d are collectively referred to as 35,
The attribute displays 47a to 47d are collectively designated as 47, and the attribute displays 55a to 55d are collectively designated as 55.

Transitions of the EPG screens shown in FIGS. 9A to 9F are enlarged and shown in FIGS. FIG.
(A), (B) and (D) of FIG. 9 are (A), (B) and
(B)-(E) of FIG. 11 is an enlargement of only (B)-(E) of FIG. 9, and (B)-(E) of FIG.
(D) and (F) are enlargements of only (B), (D) and (F) in FIG.

As described above, the user operates the remote control transmitter 1
When the TV / EPG key 121 of FIG. 2 is pressed, an initial screen 22 shown in FIG. 10A is displayed. Then, the initial screen 22
When the attribute selection key 123c of the remote control transmitter 12 corresponding to the attribute display 35c is pressed, a genre screen 25 shown in FIG. 10B is displayed. At this time, the genre screen 25
, Attribute displays 35a to 35d of the initial screen 22 and attribute displays 47a to 47d of the genre screen 25 are displayed.
The attribute display 35c on the initial screen 22 is
The display mode is different from that of a, 35b, and 35d. Thereby, the user is displaying the second layer of the EPG screen having a hierarchical structure, and the genre screen 25 is displayed.
Can be easily understood.

On the genre screen 25 shown in FIG. 10 (B), a display indicating that there is a sub-genre is displayed in the lowest line of the program introduction display 50, and this part is displayed on the attribute display 47b. Corresponding green color scheme. When the attribute selection key 123b of the remote control transmitter 12 corresponding to the attribute display 47b is pressed, a sub-genre screen 31 shown in FIG. 10D is displayed. At this time,
The sub genre screen 31 has an attribute display 35a to 35d of the initial screen 22 and an attribute display 47a of the genre screen 25.
47d and four attribute displays 55a, 55b, 55c and 55d on the sub-genre screen 31 are displayed.

Attribute display 55a, 55b, 55c, 55d
Are described as “↑ back”, “action”, “comedy”, “forward →”, respectively, and red, green,
The colors are yellow and blue. This attribute display 57a-5
The color of 7d is the attribute selection key 123 of the remote control transmitter 12.
The colors correspond to colors a to 123d. Attribute selection key 123
By pressing a to 123d, the screen returns to the genre screen 25, changes to another sub-genre, or changes to another sub-genre.
Genre attributes can be displayed on the attribute displays 55b and 55c.

In this example, a program of a sub-genre called an action is displayed, and a cursor display 56 is attached to the left side thereof. The user can select a program by operating the up and down cursor keys 124 of the remote control transmitter 12 to select and confirm a desired program. The selected program is highlighted (or changed in color) 57 and the like, so that the user can confirm the selected program. In this state, the enter key 125 of the remote control
Is pressed, the program is confirmed, and the attribute displays 55a-55
A simple program introduction display 58 is displayed below d.

As described above, on the sub genre screen 31, the attribute displays 35a to 35d of the initial screen 22, the attribute displays 47a to 47d of the genre screen 25, and the attribute displays 57a to 57d of the sub genre screen are displayed. You. The attribute display 35c on the initial screen 22 is different from the other attribute displays 35a and 35.
b and 35d, and the attribute display 47b of the genre screen 25 is different from the other attribute displays 47a and 47d.
The display mode is different from that of c and 47d. As a result, the user can access the third EPG screen in the hierarchical structure.
It can be easily understood that the layers are displayed, and that the genre screen 25 is selected, and that the genre of movie is selected.

In the genre screen 25 shown in FIG. 11B, when the attribute selection key 123d of the remote control transmitter 12 corresponding to the attribute display 47d ("Go to") is pressed,
Another genre screen 25 shown in (C) is displayed. In the attribute displays 47b and 47c of the genre screen 25, genre names such as news and mini-frame are displayed. In this way, it is possible to appropriately select and display from among the plurality of genre screens 25.

The sub-genre screen 3 shown in FIG.
In 1, when the attribute selection key 123d of the remote control transmitter 12 corresponding to the attribute display 55d (“forward →”) is pressed,
Another sub-genre screen 31 shown in FIG. 11E is displayed. Attribute display 55 of this sub-genre screen 31
In b and 55c, sub-genre names such as Mystery and Romance are displayed. In this way, multiple sub-
It can be selected and displayed from the genre screen 31 as appropriate.

The sub-genre screen 3 shown in FIG.
In 1, when the detail key 122 of the remote control transmitter 12 is pressed, a detail screen 33 shown in FIG. 12 (F) is displayed.
At this time, on the detail screen 33, the attribute displays 35a to 35d of the initial screen 22 and the attribute display 47a of the genre screen 25 are displayed.
47d and attribute display 55a on the sub-genre screen 31
To 55d and four attribute displays 59 on the detail screen 33
a, 59b, 59c, 59d are displayed.

In the attribute display 59a, "↑ return" is written, and the attribute displays 59b, 59c, and 59d are not displayed. Also, attribute displays 59a, 59b, 59c, 59d
Are provided with red, green, yellow, and blue color schemes, respectively. The colors of the attribute displays 59a to 59d correspond to the colors of the attribute selection keys 123a to 123d of the remote control transmitter 12. That is, in this case, only the attribute selection key 123a is valid, and the attribute selection keys 123b to 123b
d indicates that it is invalid. Attribute selection key 123
By pressing a, it is possible to return to the sub-genre screen 31.

In this example, a detailed display 60 is displayed below the attribute displays 59a to 59d, and a cursor display 61 is provided on the left side. The user operates the remote control transmitter 1
By operating the two upward and downward cursor keys 124, the contents of the detailed display 60 can be sent or returned.

As described above, the detail screen 33 includes the attribute displays 35a to 35d of the initial screen 22, the attribute displays 47a to 47d of the genre screen 25, the attribute displays 55a to 55d of the sub-genre screen, and the detail screen 33. Attribute display 59a
To 59d are displayed. Attribute display 35c of initial screen 22
Is different from the other attribute displays 35a, 35b, and 35d in the display mode, and the attribute display 47b of the genre screen 25 is
The display mode is different from the other attribute displays 47a, 47c, and 47d, and the attribute display 55b of the sub-genre screen is different from the other attribute displays 55a, 55c, and 55d. As a result, the user has a hierarchical structure of E
It is easy to understand that the fourth layer of the PG screen is displayed, and that the genre of the movie is selected on the genre screen 25, and that the sub-genre of the action is selected therein. Can be.

As can be seen from the above description, the program selection device of the present invention converts the EPG screen into a plurality of program selection screens (initial screen 22, channel screen 23, time screen 24, genre screen 25, information screen 25) having a plurality of layers. Means for generating the screen 26). In addition, for the plurality of program selection screens, a plurality of attribute displays (35a to 35d, 3
9a to 39d, 43a to 43d, 47a to 47d, 51
a to 51d, 55a to 55d, and 57a to 57d). Further, there is provided a means for switching to and displaying a program selection screen of the next hierarchy by selecting one of a plurality of attribute displays. These means are realized by the EPG decoding unit 4 in FIG.

When displaying one selected program selection screen among a plurality of program selection screens, if there is a program selection screen of a hierarchy higher than one program selection screen, the one program selection screen is displayed. In addition to displaying a plurality of attributes, a plurality of attribute displays on a program selection screen in a layer above the plurality of attributes are displayed. In the present embodiment, as a most preferred embodiment, when there are a plurality of upper layers, all of the attribute displays on the program selection screen of the plurality of upper layers are displayed side by side. This allows the user to easily recognize where the current program selection screen is located in the hierarchical structure.

Further, the display mode of the attribute display selected on the upper-layer program selection screen among the plurality of attribute displays on the upper-layer program selection screen is displayed, for example, by highlighting the attribute. The display is configured to be different from the display mode. Thereby, the user can easily recognize what operation history has led to the program selection screen, that is, the transition of the screen operation.

By the way, in the present embodiment described above, the case where the present invention is applied to a television receiver having a built-in EPG decoder for receiving terrestrial broadcasting and decoding EPG information has been described as an example. The present invention may be applied to a device that receives broadcast or CATV, or may be applied to another device such as a set-top box or a VTR. The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0059]

As described in detail above, the program selection device of the present invention comprises: a means for generating an electronic program guide screen as a plurality of program selection screens having a plurality of layers; Means for displaying a plurality of attribute displays to be selected by the user in accordance with each program selection screen, and selecting one of the plurality of attribute displays,
Means for switching to a program selection screen of the next hierarchy and displaying the selected one of the plurality of program selection screens. If there is a screen, a plurality of attribute displays of the upper layer program selection screen are displayed together with a plurality of attribute displays of one program selection screen, and a plurality of attribute displays of the upper layer program selection screen are displayed. Of the attribute display selected on the upper-layer program selection screen are displayed differently from the display modes of the other attribute displays, so that the current program selection screen has a different hierarchical structure. It is possible to easily recognize whether the screen is in the position or the transition of the screen operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a remote control transmitter used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of an operation leading to selection and determination of a program and a configuration example of an EPG screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a program selection screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a program selection screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a program selection screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a program selection screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a program selection screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a transition example of the entire program selection screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Television receiver 2 Antenna 3 Television signal processing part 4 EPG decoding part 5 Display part 6, 13 Tuner part 7 Television sound processing part 8 Television image processing part 9 Switch 10, 16 CPU 11 IR reception part 12 Remote control transmitter 21 Electronics Program guide (EPG) screens 22 to 26, 31 Program selection screens 35a to 35d, 39a to 39d, 43a to 43d, 4
7a to 47d, 51a to 51d, 55a to 55d, 57
a to 57d Attribute display

Claims (1)

[Claims] An electronic program guide screen is created by decoding program information to be transmitted, and a predetermined program is selected from the electronic program guide screen. The electronic program guide screen is composed of a plurality of layers. Means for generating a plurality of program selection screens; means for displaying, for the plurality of program selection screens, a plurality of attribute displays to be selected by a user corresponding to the respective program selection screens; Means for switching to a program selection screen of the next hierarchy by selecting one, and displaying the selected program selection screen in the plurality of program selection screens. If there is a program selection screen of a higher hierarchy than the program selection screen, the multiple program selection screens of the upper hierarchy are displayed together with the plurality of attribute displays of the one program selection screen. In addition to displaying the attribute display of the number, the display mode of the attribute display selected on the program selection screen of the upper layer among the plurality of attribute displays of the program selection screen of the upper layer is displayed as another attribute display. A program selection device characterized in that the display is configured to be displayed in a manner different from the aspect of (1).