JPH11298814A - Program reservation control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the burden on the user by changing a reservation time and scheduling it based on schedule list information when the broadcasting time of a reservation program overlaps with that of another already reserved program. SOLUTION: When a scheduling task 231 receives reservation program information from a screen display task 21, is decides if the reservation program overlaps a program that already exits in a reservation programs database 232 in broadcasting time. If there is a program that is broadcasting several times, a schedule list of the program is acquired from the program database 201 and it the program schedule can be changed to a reservation time at which the broadcasting time does not overlap and which is later in the future than the current reservation time, it is decided whether a changed program over laps another reservation program in a broadcasting time after the program schedule is changed to the future. If these do not overlap, the database 232 transmits a message to the effect that it is updated to a supervisory task 233 after updating the database 232 and transmits a message of reservation success to a screen display task 21.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a program reservation control method, and more particularly to a program reservation control method used in a digital broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast program and program program information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, digital broadcast receiving apparatuses for transmitting digitalized television signals via communication satellites and receiving the digital signals at home have become widespread. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus can provide a large number of programs having more than 100 channels to a viewer. In order for the user to select the desired program from many programs,
The digital broadcast receiver is an electronic program guide (EP
G: Electric Program Guide)
It has the function to display. As a technology related to the EPG, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-37169 is disclosed. The user makes a viewing reservation while viewing the EPG, and when the broadcast times of the plurality of reserved programs overlap, the user selects which program to view by himself.

[0003]

Some of the programs provided by digital broadcasters are such that the same program is broadcast a plurality of times at different times. For example, the same program is repeatedly broadcast in one channel, the near-video-on-demand program in which the same program is repeatedly broadcasted at different times using multiple channels, or a rebroadcast program. Things. In the conventional program reservation, when schedules of a plurality of reserved programs including a program scheduled to be broadcast a plurality of times are overlapped, a user has to change a reservation time of a program whose reservation time can be changed. Exists.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide a program reservation control method that satisfies a reservation program scheduling function.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program reservation control method according to the first configuration, wherein when a plurality of reserved programs are broadcast at the same time, the overlapping reserved programs are broadcasted at other times. For example, scheduling is performed by changing a reservation time based on schedule list information of a program included in a bit stream.

Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, when the broadcast time of a plurality of reserved programs overlaps, the reserved time of the reserved program is changed within the period designated by the user at the time of the program reservation request. And perform scheduling.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program reservation control method comprising the steps of:
This is for updating the schedule of the reserved program.

Further, in the program reservation control method according to the fourth configuration of the present invention, the user confirms viewing before playing the reserved program, and cancels the reservation of the reserved program if the user's viewing confirmation is not obtained. Is to do so.

Further, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program reservation control method, wherein a program is reserved at the time of the lowest billing when a request for reservation of a pay program scheduled to be broadcast at another time is received from a user. Is what you do.

A program reservation control method according to a sixth aspect of the present invention stores a program content in a storage device when a reserved program is broadcast, and reproduces the reserved program stored at a user's request. .

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the digital satellite broadcasting system. The broadcast business station 19 that provides program contents transmits the digital broadcast signal 2 to each home using the communication satellite 18. Each home needs a digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 for receiving a program. A television receiver 17 is used to display a reproduced video of a program.

The digital broadcast signal 2 sent from the broadcasting business station 19 uses the data structure of the MPEG-2 transport stream specified in ISO / IEC13818-1. From the MPEG2 transport stream, program specific information such as program content (video and audio) and program channel, broadcast date and time, and broadcast time are extracted. These pieces of information are necessary for reproducing a program and generating an electronic program guide (EPG).

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the MPEG2 transport stream. The transport stream is composed of a packet 30 of 188 bytes and has a packet identifier (P
The packets are classified by ID 31). The payload 32 has a different structure depending on the value of the PID 31. Program Map Table (PMT) identified by PID 31 and located in payload 32 and E
vent Information Table (EI
The section section T) is shown in FIGS. The broadcast program number identification 4 for identifying the channel is provided in the section of the PMT.
1 and stream format type (indicating video or audio) 4
2 and an elementary PID 43 indicating the video or audio PID of that channel. Analyzing the PMT, broadcast program number identification 41 and stream format type 4
2 and the elementary PID 43, it is possible to obtain information as to which packet the video and audio used in the channel are transmitted.

In the section section of the EIT, a service identification 51 for identifying a channel, an event identification 52 for identifying a program broadcast on the channel, and a broadcast start time 5 for the program
3. The duration 54 is defined. Among the descriptors in the descriptor area 55 are, for example, event descriptors shown in FIG. The event descriptor includes a program name (character code) 61 by which the program name is recognized. EIT
Is analyzed to obtain the service identification 51, the event identification 52, the start time 53, the duration 54, and the program name 61, thereby obtaining program information for forming an electronic program guide (EPG).

[0015] Schedule list information of a program broadcasted a plurality of times can be described in the descriptor area 55 of the section of the EIT. A schedule list descriptor of a program broadcasted a plurality of times is configured as shown in FIG. The schedule list descriptor includes the service identification 7 for each program.
1 and the program identification 72 can be arranged in ascending order of broadcast time.

By analyzing the PMT and the EIT including the event descriptor and the schedule descriptor, it is possible to construct a schedule list of a program broadcasted a plurality of times as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the individual program information includes a service identification 51, an event identification 52, and a program name 6
1, start time 53, duration 54, video PID, audio P
It consists of an ID, a pointer to the next program, and a pointer to the previous program. By following the pointer to the next program or the pointer to the previous program, it is possible to search for programs having different broadcast times.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus capable of controlling a reserved program. In the figure, 1 is a digital broadcast receiving device, 2
Is a digital broadcast signal externally input to the digital broadcast receiving device, 3 is a tuner that receives the digital broadcast signal,
4 is a bit stream containing program contents (video and audio) and program program information, 5 is a demultiplexer for separating and extracting the program contents and program program information from the bit stream, and 6 is a program content (video signal) received from the demultiplexer 5. And audio signals), 7 is an audio output device such as a speaker that outputs audio from the AV decoder 6, and 8 is an AV decoder 6
And a video output device such as a TV monitor that outputs a video from the on-screen display 14.

An input device 9 converts a request from a user, such as a button on a remote control or a front panel, into a code and sends the code to an input code processing unit 10.
An input code processing unit for processing a user input code given by the user; 11 is a storage device used for storing programs and data used by the CPU 12; 12 is a CPU for controlling and calculating each unit; and 13 is managing time. The timer 14 is an on-screen display that constitutes an electronic program guide (EPG) and various menu screens.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of reserved program control software in a digital broadcast receiving apparatus.
The reserved program control software is a set of programs that execute processing in functional units called tasks. In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a program database management block, which comprises a program database 201 in which program information is stored, and a program database update task 202 for updating program information in the program database. 21 is a screen display task for setting a viewing program or displaying an EPG and a menu screen;
A reproduction control task 22 manages selection of a program to be viewed and reproduction of video and audio of the program.

In the program database 201, program information updated by the demultiplexer 5 is stored in real time by a program database update task 202. The program database 201 stores program-specific information such as a service identification 51, an event identification 52, a start time 53, a duration 54, and an elementary PID 43.
It is obtained and stored from the IT section. FIG.
The schedule list shown in FIG.
Is stored in

Reference numeral 23 denotes a program reservation control block.
1 is a scheduling task for scheduling a reserved program, 232 is a reserved program database storing information on the reserved program desired by the user, and 233 is a monitoring task for monitoring the broadcast time of the reserved program.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the processing of the screen display task 21 at the time of program reservation. When the user performs an input operation for reserving a program, the screen display task 21 acquires a desired program desired by the user from the input code processing unit 10 (step 100). After acquiring the user's desired program information from the program database 201 (step 101), the program information is transmitted to the scheduling task 231 (step 10).
2). The screen display task 21 enters a sleep state.

When the screen display task 21 receives from the scheduling task a response message indicating whether or not the reservation can be made (step 103), the screen display task 21 displays on the on-screen display 14 whether or not the program reservation can be made (step 10).
4).

FIG. 9 shows the processing of the scheduling task 231 at the time of program reservation. When the scheduling task 231 receives the reserved program information from the screen display task 21 (step 200), it determines whether or not the broadcast time of the reserved program overlaps a program already in the reserved program database 232 (step 201). If the broadcast times do not overlap, the process moves to step 208. If the broadcast times overlap, it is determined whether there is a program that is broadcast a plurality of times among the overlapping programs with reference to the schedule list in the program database 201 (step 202). If there is no program broadcasted a plurality of times, a message indicating that the broadcast times of the reserved programs overlap is transmitted to the screen display task 21 (step 205).

If there is a program that is broadcasted multiple times,
The schedule list of the program is stored in the program database 20.
1 (step 203), and it is determined whether the schedule of the program can be changed to a future reservation time farther than the current reservation time at which the broadcast time does not overlap (step 204). Step 20 if you cannot change
Move to the processing of 5. If the program can be changed, the schedule of the program is changed to a far future in which the broadcast time does not overlap (step 206), and it is determined whether or not the changed program overlaps the broadcast time with another reserved program (step 20).
7). If they overlap, the process moves to step 204. If they do not overlap, after updating the reservation database 232 (step 208), a message indicating that the reservation program database 232 has been updated is transmitted to the monitoring task 233 (step 209), and a message indicating that the reservation has been successful is transmitted to the screen display task 21. (Step 210).

In the processing of the scheduling task 231 at the time of program reservation shown in FIG. 9, an operation for changing the reservation time of a program broadcasted a plurality of times to a future far from the original reservation time is performed so that programs do not overlap. However, the operation may be replaced with an operation of changing the schedule of a program broadcasted a plurality of times to a future closer to the original reservation time (step 204). Also, to avoid overlapping programs,
Although the schedule is changed only for one of the overlapping programs, if the other program is also a program that is broadcast a plurality of times, the schedule change operation shown in FIG. 9 is performed for the other program. May be.

FIG. 10 shows a monitoring task 2 at the time of program reservation.
33 shows the process of No. 33. The monitoring task 233 is
After receiving from the scheduling task 231 a message indicating that the reserved program database 232 has been updated (step 300), the schedule information of the nearest reserved program to be broadcasted from the reserved program database 232 is obtained (step 301). The broadcast start time of the reserved program is set in the timer 13 (step 302).

FIG. 11 shows a screen display task 21, a reproduction control task 22, and a monitoring task 2 when reproducing a reserved program.
33 shows the process of No. 33. Steps 400 to 404 show the processing of the monitoring task 233 when the reserved program is reproduced. Upon receiving the notification of the playback time of the reserved program from the timer 13, the monitoring task 233 sends an instruction to start playback of the reserved program to the screen display task 21 (step 400), and then sets the playback end time of the reserved program in the timer 13. (Step 401), and enters a sleep state.

When receiving the notification of the end time of the reproduction of the reserved program from the timer 13, the monitoring task 233 transmits an instruction of the end of the reproduction of the reserved program to the screen display task 21 (step 402), and thereafter, from the reserved program database 232. Acquisition of schedule information of near future reserved programs (step 4)
03), the broadcast start time of the program is set in the timer 13 (step 404).

Steps 405 to 408 show the processing of the screen display task 21 when the reserved program is reproduced. The screen display task 21 is a monitoring task 23
3 receives a message from the
The ID and the audio PID are obtained from the reserved program database 232 (step 405), and the video PID and the audio PID of the program to be reproduced are transmitted to the reproduction control task 22 (step 406) to enter a sleep state.

When a message indicating the end of the reproduction of the reserved program is received from the monitoring task 233, the video PID and the audio PID of the program to be terminated are recorded in the reserved program database 232.
Then, the video PID and the audio PID of the program to be obtained (Step 407) and to be reproduced are transmitted to the reproduction control task 22 (Step 408).

Steps 409 to 412 show the processing of the reproduction control task 22 when reproducing the reserved program. Upon receiving the video PID and audio PID of the program to be reproduced from the screen display task 21 (step 409), the reproduction control task 22 controls the tuner 3, the demultiplexer 5, and the AV decoder 6 to start reproducing the program (step 409). Step 410), enter the sleep state.

When the video PID and the audio PID of the program to be reproduced are received from the screen display task 21 (step 4).
11), control the tuner 3, the demultiplexer 5, and the AV decoder 6 to end the reproduction of the program (step 41).
2).

In such a program reservation control method, when broadcast times of a plurality of reserved programs overlap, if the overlapping reserved programs are broadcast at other times, the schedule of the program included in the bit stream is Since scheduling can be performed by changing the reservation time based on the list information, the user does not need to manually change the reservation,
This has the effect of reducing the burden on the user.

Embodiment 2 A description will be given of a program reservation control method in a case where a reservation program and a change allowable range of the reservation time of the program are designated from the input device 9 when the user requests the program reservation. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a process of the screen display task 21 when a change request range of a reserved program and a reserved time is requested when a user requests a program reservation.

When the user performs an input operation for program reservation, the screen display task 21 acquires from the input code processing section 10 the program desired by the user and information on the permissible range for changing the program reservation time (step 500). After acquiring the desired program information desired by the user from the program database 201 (step 501), the program transmits the reserved program information and the information on the permissible change range of the program reservation time to the scheduling task 231 (step 502). Thereafter, the screen display task 21 shifts to the sleep state.

When the screen display task 21 receives a response message from the scheduling task 231 indicating whether or not the reservation can be made (step 503), the screen display task 21 turns on or off the program reservation.
Display on the screen display 14 (step 5
04).

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the processing of the scheduling task 231 when a change in the reserved program and the reserved time is specified when the user requests a program reservation. When the scheduling task 231 receives the reserved program information and the information on the permissible range of change of the reserved time from the screen display task 21 (step 600), it determines whether the reserved program overlaps the broadcast time with the program already in the reserved program database 232. Perform (Step 601). If the broadcast times do not overlap, the process moves to step 609. If the broadcast times overlap, it is determined whether there is a program that is broadcast a plurality of times among the overlapping programs with reference to the schedule list in the program database 201 (step 60).
2). If there is no program broadcasted a plurality of times, a message indicating that the broadcast times of the reserved programs overlap is transmitted to the screen display task 21 (step 605).

If there is a program that is broadcast more than once,
The schedule list of the program is stored in the program database 20.
1 (step 603), and it is determined whether the schedule of the program can be changed to a future far from the current reservation time where the broadcast time does not overlap (step 6).
04). If it cannot be changed, the process moves to step 605. If it can be changed, the schedule of the program is changed to a distant future in which the broadcast time does not overlap (step 606), and it is determined whether the changed program overlaps the broadcast time with another reserved program (step 607). If they overlap, the process moves to step 604. If they do not overlap, it is confirmed whether the new reservation time is within the changeable range requested by the user (step 608). If it is not within the changeable range, the process moves to step 605. If it is within the changeable range, after updating the reserved program database 232 (step 6)
09), and sends a message to the effect that the reserved program database 232 has been updated to the monitoring task 232 (step 61).
0), a message indicating the success of the reservation is transmitted to the screen display task 21 (step 611).

The monitoring task 23 when the reserved range of the reserved program and the reserved time is designated when the user makes a program reservation request.
The processing of No. 3 is the same as that shown in FIG. The processing of each task at the time of reproducing the reserved program is the same as that shown in FIG.

In such a program reservation control method, when broadcast times of a plurality of reserved programs overlap, scheduling can be performed by changing the reserved time of the reserved program within the period designated by the user at the time of the program reservation request. Therefore, there is an effect that a program can be reserved at a time desired by the user.

Embodiment 3 A specific example of a program reservation control method for updating a schedule of a reserved program when program schedule information updated before the start of broadcasting is acquired from a bit stream will be described.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the processing of the program database update task 202 when the program schedule information updated until the start of broadcasting is acquired. If program information is obtained from the demultiplexer 5 before the start of broadcasting (step 700), it is already in the program database 20.
It is determined whether or not the program information in No. 1 has been updated (step 701). If not updated, the process ends. If the program information is updated, the program database 2
01 is updated (step 702), and a message to the effect that the program database 201 has been updated is transmitted to the scheduling task 231 (step 703).

FIG. 16 shows the scheduling task 231 when the updated program information is acquired before the start of broadcasting.
It is a figure which shows the process of. Scheduling task 231
Receives a message indicating that the program database 201 has been updated from the program database update task 202 (step 800), acquires program information of the reserved program from the program database 201 (step 801), It is checked whether the program information of the reserved program has been updated by comparing with the information (step 8).
02). If not updated, the process ends. If it has been updated, the reservation program is scheduled (step 803). The scheduling method according to the first embodiment can be used.

In such a program reservation control method, when the program schedule information updated up to the start of the broadcast is acquired from the bit stream, the schedule of the reserved program can be updated. This has the effect of reducing the probability of dropping.

Embodiment 4 FIG. A specific example of a program reservation control method having a function of confirming viewing from a user before performing reproduction of a reserved program and canceling reservation of the reserved program if user confirmation is not obtained will be described. Digital broadcast receiving device 1
1 and FIG. 2 can be used as the model. In this specific example, a case is considered in which the user's viewing confirmation is performed five minutes before the start of broadcasting the reserved program.

The processing of the screen display task 21 and the processing of the scheduling task 231 at the time of a user's request for program reservation can use the procedure as in the first embodiment. FIG. 17 shows the processing of the monitoring task 233 when a program reservation is requested.

When the monitoring task 233 receives from the scheduling task 231 a message indicating that the reserved program database 232 has been updated (step 900), the monitoring task 233 acquires schedule information of the nearest reserved program to be broadcasted in the future from the reserved program database. (Step 901),
The timer 13 sets the broadcast start time of the reserved program and the time 5 minutes before the broadcast start (step 902).

Monitoring task 233 when reproducing a reserved program
18 is shown in FIG. The monitoring task 233 sends a message prompting viewing confirmation to the screen display task 21 5 minutes before the reproduction of the reserved program to the screen display task 21 (step 1000), and waits for a message to stop the reproduction of the reserved program (step 1001).
Scheduling task 231 by scheduled program playback time
When the message of stop of the reproduction of the reserved program is received from, the setting of the timer 13 is canceled (step 1002). If you do not receive a message to stop playing the reserved program,
At the broadcast time of the reserved program, an instruction to start reproduction of the reserved program is transmitted to the screen display task 21 (step 1003), and the reproduction end time of the reserved program is set in the timer 13 (step 1).
004), and enters a sleep state.

Upon receiving the notification of the reproduction end time from the timer 13, the monitoring task 233 transmits an instruction to end the reproduction of the reserved program to the screen display task 21 (step 1005).
The schedule information of the nearest future reserved program is acquired from the reserved program database 232 (step 1006), and the broadcast start time and the 5 minutes before broadcast start time of the next reserved program are set in the timer 13 (step 1007).

Screen display task 2 at the time of playing a reserved program
1 is shown in FIG. When the screen display task 21 receives a message prompting viewing confirmation from the monitoring task 233 (step 1100), it displays a message for viewing confirmation on the on-screen display 14 (step 1101). Wait for a response from the input code processing unit 10 to check whether the user has performed viewing confirmation (step 1).
102), if the user's viewing confirmation is not obtained, a message to stop the reproduction of the reserved program is transmitted to the scheduling task 23 (step 1103).

When the user's viewing confirmation is obtained, an instruction to start the reproduction of the reserved program is received from the monitoring task 233 at the broadcast start time. Then, the screen display task 21 acquires the video PID and the audio PID of the program to be reproduced from the reserved program database 232 (step 1104), and transmits the video PID and the audio PID of the program to be reproduced to the reproduction control task 22 (step 1105). Go to sleep.

Upon receiving an instruction to end the reproduction of the reserved program from the monitoring task 233, the screen display task 21 acquires the video PID and the audio PID of the program to be reproduced from the reserved program database 232 (step 1106), and ends the reproduction. The video PID and the audio PID of the program are transmitted to the reproduction control task 22 (step 1107).

Playback control task 2 when playing a reserved program
The processing of No. 2 is the same as that shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 shows the processing of the scheduling task 231 at the time of reproducing the reserved program. If the scheduling task 231 receives the message of stopping the reproduction of the reserved program from the screen display task 21 (step 120)
0), the status of the stop of the reproduction of the reserved program is stored in the reserved program database 232 (step 1201), and the message of the stop of the reproduction of the reserved program is transmitted to the monitoring task 233. If no message for stopping the reproduction of the reserved program is received, nothing is performed.

In such a program reservation control method, the user confirms the viewing before the reproduction of the reserved program, and can cancel the reservation of the reserved program if the user's viewing confirmation is not obtained. This has the effect of eliminating wasteful money consumption by the user, for example, when the user cannot view the reserved program, the user can cancel the reservation of the paid reserved program.

Embodiment 5 When a user receives a reservation request for a pay program scheduled to be broadcast at another time,
A specific example of a program reservation method for reserving a program at the cheapest charging time will be described. Figure 1 shows the model of the digital broadcast receiver.
And FIG. 2 can be used. In this program reservation method, since it is necessary to hold the charging information of the program, the program database update task 202 stores the schedule list of the program broadcasted a plurality of times as shown in FIG. . The program information entry includes a service identification 51, an event identification 52, and a program name 6
1, start time 53, duration 54, pointer to previous program, pointer to next program, video PID, audio PID,
There is information on program prices. The program price information is stored in the CAT (Conditional Access) of the bit stream 4.
ss Table).

FIG. 22 shows the processing of the scheduling task 231 at the time of a program reservation request in this program reservation method. The scheduling task 231 receives the reserved program information from the screen display task 21 (step 130).
0), the program schedule list is checked to determine whether the reserved program is a program to be broadcast a plurality of times (step 1).
301). If the program is broadcasted a plurality of times, the lowest-priced program is selected from the program schedule list (step 1).
302), and determine whether the broadcast time overlaps with a program already in the reserved program database 232 (step 1).
304) Then, if they do not overlap, the process moves to step 1305. If they overlap, the next low-priced program is searched (step 1307). If there is a program, it is selected (step 1308) and the process moves to step 1304. If there is no program, the process moves to step 1306.

If it is determined in step 1301 that the reserved program desired by the user is not a program to be broadcast a plurality of times, it is determined whether or not the broadcast time overlaps with the program in the reserved program database 232 (step 1303). Is transmitted to the screen display task (step 1306).

If the broadcast time does not overlap with the program in the reserved program database 232, the program is registered in the reserved program database 232 (step 1305), and a message to the effect that the reserved program database 232 has been updated is transmitted to the monitoring task 233. (Step 1309) Then, a message of the reservation success is transmitted to the screen display task 21 (Step 1310).

According to such a program reservation control method, when a request for reservation of a pay program scheduled to be broadcast at another time is received from the user, the program can be reserved at the time of the lowest billing. Is effective in saving the fee for pay programs.

Embodiment 6 FIG. A specific example of a program reservation control method for storing a program content in a storage device at the time of broadcasting a reserved program and reproducing the reserved program stored at a user's request will be described. FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the digital broadcast receiving device 1 including the hard disk 16. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a configuration of reserved program control software in a digital broadcast receiving device having a hard disk.

The digital storage control unit 15 stores and manages the program contents (video elementary stream and audio elementary stream) obtained from the demultiplexer 5 in the hard disk 16 and sends out the program contents in the hard disk to the AV decoder 6. Has functions. The hard disk 16 is a digital storage device for storing the program contents (video elementary stream and audio elementary stream) obtained from the demultiplexer 5.

As such a digital storage device, other devices such as a magneto-optical disk, DVD-RAM, and MD can be used. Further, the digital storage device does not need to be integrated with the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, and can be configured to be detachable from the digital transceiver by using an interface such as IEEE1394.

In the reserved program control software shown in FIG. 24, the reproduction control task 22
5 is characterized by operating. Processing of Reserved Program Control Software When User Requests Program Reservation
The same procedure can be taken.

The processing of the reserved program control software at the time of the reproduction of the reserved program can take the same procedure as that of the first embodiment except for the reproduction control task 22.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the processing of the reproduction control task 22 during reproduction of a reserved program. Playback control task 22
When the video PID and the audio PID of the program to be reproduced are received from the screen display task 21 (step 1400), the tuner 3, the demultiplexer 5, and the digital storage control unit 15 are operated to convert the video elementary stream and the audio elementary stream. The data is stored in the hard disk 16 (step 1401).

The video PID and audio P of the program to be played back
When the ID is received from the screen display task 21 (step 1)
402), the tuner 3, the demultiplexer 5, and the digital storage controller 15 are operated to end the saving of the video elementary stream and the audio elementary stream to the hard disk 16 (step 1403).

The processing of the program reservation control software when the program stored on the hard disk is reproduced based on a user's request will be described. In this case, the screen display task 21
The reproduction of the stored program can be performed in cooperation with the reproduction control task 22.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing processing of the screen display task 21 and the reproduction control task 22 when reproducing a program stored in the hard disk. Steps 1500 to 1503 are processing of the screen display task 21.

When the screen display task 21 receives the user's program reproduction request message from the input code processing section 10 (step 1500), it instructs the reproduction control task 22 to program to be reproduced (step 1501) and enters the sleep state. .

When a request to stop program reproduction is received from the user during program reproduction, that is, when a user's program reproduction end request message is received from the input code processing unit 10 (step 1502), the reproduction control task 22 performs reproduction. (Step 1503).

Steps 1504 to 1507 are processing of the reproduction control task 22. Playback control task 22
Confirms the program to be reproduced from the screen display task 21 (step 1504),
And reproduce the program by operating the AV decoder 6 (step 1).
505), go into sleep state.

When the instruction to end the reproduction is confirmed from the screen display task 21 (step 1506), the digital storage controller 15 and the AV decoder 6 are operated to end the program reproduction (step 1507).

In such a program reservation control method, the user can save the reserved program in the storage device and reproduce the reserved program at a convenient time, so that the user does not view the program on the digital broadcast receiving device side when broadcasting the program. Has the effect that other work can be performed.

[0076]

According to the program reservation control method according to the first configuration of the present invention, when broadcast times of a plurality of reserved programs overlap, if the overlapping reserved programs are broadcast at other times, Since scheduling can be performed by changing the reservation time based on the schedule list information of the program included in the bit stream, the user does not need to manually change the reservation, which has the effect of reducing the burden on the user. .

Further, according to the program reservation method according to the second configuration of the present invention, when the broadcast time of a plurality of reserved programs overlaps, the reserved time of the reserved program is set within the period designated by the user at the time of the program reservation request. Since the scheduling can be performed by changing the program, there is an effect that the program can be reserved at a time desired by the user.

Further, according to the program reservation method according to the third configuration of the present invention, when the program schedule information updated until the start of the broadcast is acquired from the bit stream, the schedule of the reserved program can be updated. Since it is possible, there is an effect of reducing the probability of missing the reproduction of the reserved program.

Further, according to the program reservation method according to the fourth configuration of the present invention, the viewing confirmation is performed from the user before the reproduction of the reserved program, and if the confirmation of the user is not obtained, the reservation of the reserved program is performed. Can be revoked. This has the effect of eliminating wasteful money consumption by the user, for example, when the user cannot view the reserved program, the user can cancel the reservation of the paid reserved program.

According to the program reservation method according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when a request for reservation of a pay program scheduled to be broadcast at another time is received from the user, the program is reserved at the lowest charging time. Since the user can make a reservation, there is an effect that the user can save the charge of the pay program.

Further, according to the program reservation method according to the sixth configuration of the present invention, the program reserved by the user can be stored in the storage device and the reserved program can be reproduced at a convenient time, so that the user can use the digital There is an effect that other work can be performed without viewing on the broadcast receiving device side.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of reserved program control software in a digital broadcast receiving device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the digital broadcast receiving device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the structure of an MPEG2 transport stream.

FIG. 4 is a program map table (PM
It is a figure which shows the section part of T).

FIG. 5: Event Information Ta
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating ble (EIT).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an event descriptor.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schedule list descriptor.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing processing of a screen display task at the time of program reservation.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing processing of a scheduling task at the time of program reservation.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing processing of a monitoring task at the time of program reservation.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing processing of a screen display task, a reproduction control task, and a monitoring task when a reserved program is reproduced.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a schedule list of a program broadcasted a plurality of times.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating processing of a screen display task when a change request range of a reserved program and a reserved time is requested when a user requests a program reservation.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating processing of a scheduling task when a change in a reserved program and a reserved time is requested when a user requests a program reservation.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing processing of a program database update task when program information updated before the start of broadcasting is acquired.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating processing of a scheduling task when program information updated before the start of broadcasting is acquired.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing processing of a monitoring task at the time of a program reservation request.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing processing of a monitoring task when a reserved program is reproduced.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a process of a screen display task at the time of reproducing a reserved program.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing processing of a scheduling task at the time of reproducing a reserved program.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a schedule list of a program broadcasted a plurality of times.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating processing of a scheduling task when a program reservation is requested.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a digital broadcast receiving device including a hard disk.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a configuration of reserved program control software in a digital broadcast receiving device provided with a hard disk.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating processing of a reproduction control task when a reserved program is reproduced.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing processing of a screen display task and a reproduction control task when a program stored on a hard disk is reproduced.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a digital satellite broadcasting system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 digital broadcast receiving device, 2 digital broadcast signal, 3
Tuner, 4 bit stream, 5 demultiplexer, 6 AV decoder, 7 audio output device, 8 video output device, 9 input device, 10 input code processing unit, 1
1 storage device, 12 CPU, 13 timer, 14 on-screen display, 15 digital storage control unit, 16 hard disk, 17 television receiver, 18 communication satellite, 19 broadcasting business bureau, 20 program database management block, 201 program database , 202 program database update task, 21 screen display task, 22 playback control task, 23 program reservation control block, 231 scheduling task, 232
Reserved program database, 233 monitoring task, 30
Transport packet, 31 packet identifier (PI
D), 32 payloads, 41 broadcast program number identification, 4
2 Stream format type, 43 Elementary PI
D, 51 service identification, 52 event identification, 53
Start time, 54 duration, 55 descriptor area, 60
Descriptor tag, 61 program name, 71 service identification, 72
Program identification.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method of receiving a digital broadcast signal composed of a plurality of bit streams and reserving a desired program included in the bit stream, wherein when a plurality of reserved programs overlap in broadcast time, the program is overlapped. A program reservation control method characterized in that if a reserved program to be broadcasted is broadcast at another time, scheduling is performed by changing the reserved time based on the schedule list information of the program included in the bit stream. 2. The scheduling according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of reserved programs are broadcast at the same time, the reservation time of the reserved program is changed within a period designated by the user at the time of the program reservation request. Program reservation control method. 3. The program reservation control method according to claim 1, wherein the schedule of the reserved program is updated when the program schedule information updated before the start of the broadcast is acquired from the bit stream. 4. A method of receiving a digital broadcast signal composed of a plurality of bit streams and reserving a desired program included in the bit stream, wherein a user confirms viewing before playing the reserved program. A program reservation control method, wherein the reservation of a reserved program is canceled if the user's viewing confirmation is not obtained. 5. A method of receiving a digital broadcast signal composed of a plurality of bit streams and reserving a desired program included in the bit stream, wherein the pay program is scheduled to be broadcast from the user at another time. A program reservation method for reserving a program at the time of the cheapest charge when the reservation request is received. 6. A method for receiving a digital broadcast signal composed of a plurality of bit streams and reserving a desired program included in the bit stream, wherein the program content is stored in a storage device when the reserved program is broadcast. A program reservation control method for reproducing a reserved program stored at a user's request.