JPH11298821A - Program information display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain the program information display device where a TV channel not indicated by program information on a program list is selected on an electronic program guide EPG menu without switching a menu of the program list. SOLUTION: The display device displays an EPG menu consisting of a program list of a matrix indication comprising time and channels for program information of m-sets of channels ((m) is an integer of >=1 and smaller than an integer n>=2) among n-sets of channels of >=2 broadcast at present, of program list revision buttons to revise channels displayed on the program list of matrix indication, and channel selection buttons that are used to select channels broadcast at present and not displayed on the program list of matrix indication.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program information display device for displaying a television screen and an EPG (electronic program guide) on a screen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digital broadcasting as well as analog broadcasting has become widespread, and with this, television broadcasting has been multi-channeled. As the number of channels increases, the range of selection by the viewer increases, and at the same time, it becomes difficult for the viewer to select a desired program efficiently. In order to enable a viewer to efficiently select a desired program from such multi-channel broadcast programs, information on programs of a plurality of channels is displayed as a program table on a display screen of a television receiver. An electronic program guide (EPG) has been put into practical use that allows a user to select a program while displaying the program information while checking the program information in the program table.

As a conventional display device for performing such an electronic program guide operation, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-504165.
The one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-260, 1993 is known. This special table 6
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 504165 discloses a program information display device that simultaneously displays a TV program screen and a program table in which program information (program titles and the like) for several channels are displayed in a time and channel matrix on a display screen. Have been.

[0004] Here, in the program information display device disclosed in this document, a program table displaying program information (program titles and the like) for several channels in a matrix of time and channel is displayed on a screen. The user selects a TV channel by selecting a channel number in the program guide for a TV channel in which the program guide displays program information, and selects a program in a TV channel in which the program guide does not display program information. The program information of the TV channel desired to be selected is displayed by scrolling the table or the like, and the TV channel is selected by selecting a channel number in the program table.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional program information display device, only a program table displaying program information (program titles and the like) for several channels in a matrix of time and channel is displayed. Therefore, the user can select only the TV channels on the program guide on which the program information is displayed on the program guide, and scroll the program guide for the TV channels on which the program guide does not display the program information. For example, it is necessary to display program information of a TV channel desired to be selected and to select a channel, which is inconvenient for the user.

A TV channel can be selected by pressing a channel number key on a remote controller. However, the remote controller is usually provided with more number keys than the number of channels being broadcast. Since it is difficult to distinguish a channel being broadcast from a channel that is not being broadcast, there is a problem that a channel number that is not being broadcast is selected by mistake.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a TV channel in which a program guide does not display program information can be selected on the program guide without switching the screen of the program guide. It is an object to provide a program information display device.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a program information display apparatus according to the present invention (claim 1) comprises:
Television screen and electronic program guide (EPG) on display screen
In the program information display device for displaying a screen, the EPG
As a screen, program information of m (m is an integer of 1 or more and less than n) channels out of n (n is an integer of 2 or more) channels currently displayed is displayed in a matrix of time and channels. A program guide, a program guide change button for changing a channel displayed by the matrix-displayed program guide, and a channel selection button for selecting a currently broadcast channel that is not displayed in the matrix-displayed program guide are displayed. The screen is displayed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the program information display device according to the first aspect, wherein the program guide change button is used to select each channel not displayed in the program guide. The button is displayed on the display screen.

A program information display device according to the present invention (claim 3) is a program information display device that simultaneously displays a television screen and an electronic program guide (EPG) screen on a display screen, and is currently being broadcast. n (n is an integer of 2 or more)
Of the m channels (m is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than n), a program table displaying a matrix of time and channels, a button for selecting a currently broadcast channel, and a program table. A button for changing the channel to be displayed is used as a common button, and a screen displaying a program table and a channel change button for changing channels and changing the program guide display channel by different operations is displayed.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 Hereinafter, a program information display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the program information display device according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes an input unit for receiving an external input from a remote controller or the like; 102, a display control unit; 103, a display unit;
Is a display image creation unit, 105 is a TV screen reception unit, 10
6 is a program table creation unit, 107 is a search unit, 108 is a program table information storage unit, 109 is a TV screen selection unit, and 110 is a TV screen creation unit.

Next, the operation of the program information display device according to the present embodiment will be described. After the power is turned on, the search unit 107 searches the program table stored in the program table information storage unit 108 to obtain a program table of a time zone including a program being broadcast at the current time, and obtains a program table creation unit 106 Pass to. The program guide creation unit 106 creates a program guide in which program information (program titles and the like) is displayed in a matrix of time and channels for several channels before and after the channel having the smallest channel number, and further, a program guide information storage unit Based on the program table information stored in the program table 108, it is not displayed in the program table of the matrix display, but extracts the channel number currently being broadcast, and assigns this channel number to, for example, a channel selection button beside the program table created above. Sequenced EP
A G screen is created, and the created EPG screen is passed to the display image creating unit 104.

The TV screen selecting section 109 causes the TV screen receiving section 105 to receive the channel having the smallest channel number, and passes a screen signal to the TV screen creating section 110. T
The V screen creating unit 110 creates a TV screen (reduced screen) according to the screen size of the EPG display state, and transfers the created TV screen to the display image creating unit 104.

The display image creation section 104 receives the EPG screen received from the program guide creation section 106 and the TV screen creation section 1
A screen image to be displayed on the display screen is created by synthesizing the TV screens received from 10 and passed to the display control unit 102. The display control unit 102 displays the screen image received from the display image creation unit 104 on the display unit (display screen) 103.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen image displayed on the display unit 103 by the above operation. This figure 2
In the example of, the channel having the smallest channel number is channel 2, and a program table for one channel before and after the channel 2 is created, and currently broadcast channel numbers 6, 8, 10, and not displayed in the matrix-displayed program table. 17 shows a case where 17 is arranged and displayed as a channel selection button beside the program table.

When the user clicks a channel scroll button with a right arrow on the EPG screen in the state shown in FIG. 2, the program guide creating unit 106 changes the channel number displayed at the center of the program guide from "2" to "4". ”→“ 6 ”, and a program table in which program information (program titles and the like) is displayed in a matrix of time and channel for several channels before and after that channel is created. A channel number that is not displayed but is currently being broadcast is extracted, and this channel number is arranged and displayed as a channel selection button next to a newly created program table.
A PG screen is created, and the created EPG screen is passed to the display image creating unit 104. At the time of this program guide scrolling operation, the channel on which the TV screen is displayed does not change.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen image displayed on the display unit 103 by the above operation. This figure 3
In the example of FIG. 2, the case where the channel scroll button is scrolled rightward by two channels from the state shown in FIG. 2, that is, in the direction in which the channel number displayed in the center of the program guide increases. Channels 10, 12,
17, 19 and 2 are channels which are not displayed in the program guide but are currently being broadcast.

Next, an operation when the user selects a channel not displayed in the program guide in the state shown in FIG. 3, for example, will be described. When the user clicks, for example, a channel selection button “12” on the EPG screen, T
The V screen selecting unit 109 causes the TV screen receiving unit 105 to receive the selected channel (for example, channel “12”), and passes a screen signal to the TV screen creating unit 110. The TV screen creation unit 110 creates a TV screen (reduced screen) according to the screen size of the EPG display state, and transfers the created TV screen to the display image creation unit 104. At the time of this display channel selection operation, the program guide displayed on the EPG screen is not changed. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen image displayed on the display unit 103 by the above operation.

As described above, in the program information display device according to the present embodiment, in the program information display device displaying the television screen and the electronic program guide (EPG) screen on the display screen, the program information currently being broadcasted as the EPG screen is displayed. A program table displaying program information of some of the plurality of channels in a matrix of time and channel; a program table change button for changing a channel displayed by the program table of the matrix display; Since a screen that displays a channel selection button for selecting a currently broadcast channel that is not displayed in the program guide is displayed, without switching the program guide screen,
TV channels whose program information does not display program information
A program information display device that can be selected on the PG screen can be realized.

Embodiment 2 Embodiment 2 of the present invention
Will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 shows an EPG screen and a TV in the second embodiment.
It is an example of a screen. In the first embodiment, the program guide creating unit 106 does not display the program guide, but extracts the channel number currently being broadcast, creates this channel number as a channel selection button, and displays it on the EPG screen. However, in the second embodiment, in addition to this channel selection button, the channel number which is not displayed in the program guide is displayed next to the channel selection button as the program guide selection button. When the user selects the program guide selection button from the input unit 101, the program guide creation unit 106 causes the search unit 107 to search the program guides of the channels before and after the selected channel from the program guide storage unit 108 to create a program guide. . Further, although not displayed in the program guide, the channel numbers currently being broadcast are each displayed as a channel selection button and a program guide selection button. At the time of this program guide change operation, the channel on which the TV screen is displayed does not change. The operation when the channel selection button is selected is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the program table displayed on the EPG screen is not changed, and only the TV screen is changed.

As described above, in the program information display device according to the present embodiment, in the program information display device displaying the television screen and the electronic program guide (EPG) screen on the display screen, the program information currently being broadcast as the EPG screen is displayed. A program table displaying program information of some of the plurality of channels in a matrix of time and channel; a program table change button for changing a channel displayed by the program table of the matrix display; A channel selection button for selecting a channel that is not displayed in the program guide but is currently being broadcast, and is not displayed in the program guide,
Since the screen displaying the program guide selection button for selecting the channel program guide currently being broadcast is displayed, the display of the program guides of all the channels not currently displayed in the program guide can be realized by a single selection operation. .

Embodiment 3 FIG. Third Embodiment of the Present Invention
Will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 shows an EPG screen and a TV according to the third embodiment.
It is an example of a screen. In the first and second embodiments, the button for changing the program guide display channel is different from the button for changing the channel. However, in the third embodiment, these two buttons are the same, and different functions are called by different operation methods. The program guide creation unit 106 extracts the channel number currently being broadcast and displays the channel number as a program guide and a channel selection button, for example, in the upper part of the program guide. In FIG. 6, for example, when the program guide and the channel selection button are clicked once, it is determined that the program guide change button is pressed, and when double clicked, it is determined that the channel selection button is pressed, Different functions can be realized by different operation methods with the same button.

In the state shown in FIG. 6, when the user once clicks the program guide and the channel of the channel selection button, the program guide creating section 106 stores the program guide of the channels before and after the selected channel in the search section 107. Part 1
08 and a program table is created. At the time of this program guide change operation, the channel on which the TV screen is displayed does not change. When the channel selection button is selected by double-clicking, the program guide displayed on the EPG screen is not changed, and the TV screen is switched to the program of the selected channel and displayed.

As described above, in the program information display device according to the present embodiment, in the program information display device displaying the television screen and the electronic program guide (EPG) screen on the display screen, the program information currently being broadcasted as the EPG screen is displayed. A program table that displays program information of some of the multiple channels in a matrix of time and channel, and a program that selects all currently broadcasted channels or selects a channel to display the program table Since the screen on which the table and the channel selection button are displayed is displayed, the display of the program table of all the channels not currently displayed in the program table and the display of the TV programs of all the channels can be realized by a single selection operation.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention (claim 1), a television screen and an electronic program guide (EP) are displayed on a display screen.
G) In a program information display device for displaying a screen,
As a PG screen, program information of m (m is an integer of 1 or more and less than n) channels out of n (n is an integer of 2 or more) currently broadcasted is displayed in a matrix of time and channels. A program table change button for changing the channel displayed by the matrix-displayed program table, and a channel selection button for selecting a currently broadcast channel that is not displayed in the matrix-displayed program table. Since the configuration is such that the displayed screen is displayed, it is possible to realize a program information display device capable of selecting a TV channel on which no program information is displayed on the EPG screen without switching the screen of the program guide. effective.

According to the present invention (claim 2), in the program information display device according to claim 1, the program guide change button is used to select a button for selecting each channel not displayed in the program guide. Since the displayed screen is configured to be displayed, there is an effect that the program guide of all channels not displayed in the program guide can be displayed by selecting the channel selection button. That is, in the program information display device of the first aspect, it is necessary to sequentially scroll the program table when displaying the program table of a desired channel. However, in the invention according to the second aspect, any channel can be operated by a single operation. There is an effect that a program guide can also be displayed.

According to the present invention (claim 3), in a program information display device for displaying a television screen and an electronic program guide (EPG) screen on a display screen, the EPG screen is currently being broadcast. n (n is an integer of 2 or more)
Of m channels (m is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and smaller than n), a program table displaying time and channel matrices, selecting all currently broadcasted channels, Since a program table for selecting a channel for displaying a table and a screen on which a channel selection button is displayed are displayed, a program table of all channels not currently displayed in the program table and a TV program of all channels are displayed. Can be realized by one selection operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a program information display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display for explaining the operation of the program information display device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display for explaining the operation of the program information display device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display for explaining the operation of the program information display device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display for explaining the operation of the program information display device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display for explaining the operation of the program information display device according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 input unit 102 display control unit 103 display unit 104 display image creation unit 105 TV screen reception unit 106 program table creation unit 107 search unit 108 program table information storage unit 109 TV screen selection unit 110 TV screen creation unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Horioka 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A program information display device for simultaneously displaying a television screen and an electronic program guide (EPG) screen on a display screen, wherein the number of EPG screens currently being broadcast is n (n is an integer of 2 or more). Of the m channels (m is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and smaller than n), and a program table displaying a matrix of time and channels, and a program for changing the channels displayed by the matrix-displayed program table A program information display device for displaying a screen displaying a table change button and a channel selection button for selecting a currently broadcasting channel which is not displayed in the matrix-displayed program table. 2. The program information display device according to claim 1, wherein a program guide change button displays a screen displaying a button for selecting each channel not displayed in the program guide. Display device. 3. A program information display device for simultaneously displaying a television screen and an electronic program guide (EPG) screen on a display screen, wherein the number of EPG screens currently being broadcast is n (n is an integer of 2 or more). Of the m channels (m is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than n), a program table displaying a matrix of time and channels, a button for selecting a currently broadcast channel, and a program table. A program information display characterized by displaying a screen displaying a program guide and a channel change button that can change channels and change a program guide display channel by different operations using a button for changing a channel to be displayed as a common button. apparatus.