JPH118809A - Digital broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily recognize the contract situation by displaying the information on a specific retrieved program in a block that is decided by the channel number and the time which are shown in a program list and showing no other programs with their blocks left as they are. SOLUTION: In a program list that is shown on a screen, the channel numbers are shown in the vertical direction of the left end part together with the times shown in the upper horizontal direction respectively. Then the program names are shot in the blocks decided by the channel numbers and times shown in the program list. The non-contracted channels and programs have blank spaces. In regard to a non-contracted channel 275, for example, its channel number is shown and the block part where its program name is shown is left blank. Thus, it's easily recognized that the channel 275 is not contracted yet. Then it's also easily recognized that a channel 450 is not contracted in the time between 21:00 and 22:00 with a channel 680 not contracted in the time between 20:00 and 23:00 respectively. The slashed part shows the position of a cursor, and the cursor never moves to the blank parts.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiver for receiving a program broadcasted by radio waves or cables, and more particularly to a digital broadcast receiving organization in which a display form of a program table is improved.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digitization of satellite broadcasting and cable television broadcasting has been attempted, and the number of channels and programs receivable by general users has increased.
In digital broadcasting, various kinds of program information are transmitted in addition to program contents. Therefore, a program guide is created on a screen, and a program to be viewed is selected.

Here, the operation of a conventional digital broadcast receiver will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the conventional digital broadcast receiver, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a program table by the conventional digital broadcast receiver. FIG.
, When the process starts, it is determined in step S1 whether or not a program guide is being displayed. If not, the process moves to step S2, and it is determined whether or not the program guide display key has been pressed. If the program guide display key has not been pressed, the process returns to step S1, and the above processing is repeated. If the program guide display key is depressed, a program guide is created based on the program information taken in advance in step S3, and is displayed on the screen.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a program guide displayed on the screen.
As shown in FIG. In this display example, a channel number is displayed in a vertical direction at the left end, a time is displayed in an upper left and right direction, and a program name is displayed in a section determined by the channel number and the time. Note that the hatched portion indicates the position of the cursor.

On the other hand, if the program table is already being displayed in step S1, the process moves to step S4, and it is determined whether or not the cursor movement key is pressed. If the cursor movement key has been pressed, the process moves to step S5, and after performing the cursor moving process, returns to step S1. If the cursor movement key has not been pressed, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, it is determined whether the program determination key has been pressed.
If the program determination key has not been pressed, the process returns to step S1. If the program determination key has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S7, it is determined whether the program selected in step S6 can be displayed. This is to determine whether or not the program is a contracted program (or channel). If the program is not displayable (ie,
In the case of non-contract, the process proceeds to step S8, where a message such as "cannot be selected" is displayed, and the process returns to step S1.
If the program can be displayed, the process proceeds to step S9, and it is determined whether the program is currently being broadcast.

If the program selected in step S6 is currently being broadcast, the process proceeds to step S10, where the program is selected, and then the process returns to step S1. Thus, the program selected by the viewer is displayed on the screen. On the other hand, if the program selected in step S6 is not currently being broadcast, the process proceeds to step S11, performs a program reservation process, and then returns to step S1. Thus, the program is displayed at the time when the program is broadcast. Thereafter, similar processing is repeated.

[0008]

In a program table as shown in FIG. 5 by a conventional digital broadcast receiver, for example, a whole program for one week, or a specific channel or time zone which is divided mechanically. Is generally displayed. In digital broadcasting, the number of channels and programs is enormous, so it is complicated to remember which channels and programs have been subscribed. Therefore, as described above, a non-contracted program may be selected, and a message such as "cannot be selected" is recognized to recognize the non-contracted program.

As a conventional technique for solving this problem,
As described in JP-A-9-83888,
It is conceivable to create a program guide only with contracted channels or programs. However, in this,
Although the above problem can be solved, there is a problem in that it is not possible to recognize the contract status of which channel or program is subscribed or not by looking at the program table.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a digital broadcast receiver that does not select a non-contracted program and that can easily recognize the contract status. The purpose is to do.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided a program data receiving section for receiving information on a television broadcast program.
A data storage unit (4) for storing program data received by the program data reception unit; and a program table creation unit for reading out the program data stored in the data storage unit and creating a program table to be displayed on the display unit. In the digital broadcast receiver provided with (3), the program table creating section is searched by the specific program data searching means for searching only the specific program data from the data accumulating section, and is searched by the specific program data searching means. Means for arranging and displaying information relating to a specific program in a section determined by the channel number and time of the program table, and for displaying other programs other than the specific program without displaying the section, (2) a program data receiving unit (1) for receiving information related to a television broadcast program; A data storage unit (4) for storing program data received by the data reception unit, a program table creation unit (3) for reading out the program data stored in the data storage unit, and creating a program table to be displayed on the display unit; In the digital broadcast receiver provided with, the program table creating unit is configured to search for specific program data only from the data storage unit and a specific program searched by the specific program data search unit. The information is arranged and displayed in a first display mode in a section determined by the channel number and the time of the program table, and information on a program other than the specific program is displayed in the section on the first display. Means for arranging and displaying in a second display form different from the form of the digital broadcast receiver.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A digital broadcast receiver 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 a digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital broadcast receiver of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a program table by the digital broadcast receiver of the present invention.

First, the configuration of the digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention will be described. In FIG. 1, a program data receiving unit 1
Receives information (program data) related to a program in digital television broadcasting. The program data received by the program data receiving unit 1 is input to the display drive circuit 2 and the data storage unit 4. The data storage unit 4 stores the received program data. A microcomputer (hereinafter, microcomputer) 3 controls a program data receiving unit 1, a display drive circuit 2, and a data storage unit 4. The microcomputer 3 searches for a specific program, for example, a contracted program, from the program data stored in the data storage unit 4.

Various instruction signals are input to the microcomputer 3 from the remote control transmitter 5, and each section is controlled in accordance with the instruction signals. For example, when an instruction to display a program table is input, the microcomputer 3 searches for and reads a program from the data storage unit 4, and controls the display drive circuit 2 to display a program table as described later on a screen. . The output of the display drive circuit 2 is input to a display unit 6 such as a cathode ray tube, and a program guide is displayed on a screen.

Here, the operation of the digital broadcast receiver of the present invention will be described. In FIG. 2, when the process starts, it is determined in step S21 whether or not the program guide is being displayed. If not, the process moves to step S22, and it is determined whether or not the program guide display key has been pressed. If the program guide display key has not been pressed, the process returns to step S21, and the above processing is repeated. If the program guide display key has been pressed, in step S23, the contracted program data is extracted from the program data stored in the data storage unit 4. Then, in step S24, a program guide is created based on the previously acquired program information, and displayed on the screen.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a program guide displayed on the screen.
As shown in FIG. In this display example, a channel number is displayed in a vertical direction at the left end, a time is displayed in an upper left and right direction, and a program name is displayed in a section determined by the channel number and the time. In the present invention, the portion of the channel or program to which no contract is made is blank. Even when no contract is made as in the case of the channel 275, the channel number is displayed and the section for displaying the program name is blank, so that it is possible to easily recognize that there is no contract. Channel 450 is unsubscribed from 21:00 to 22:00 and channel 680
Then, it can be easily recognized that there is no contract from 20:00 to 23:00.

The hatched portion indicates the position of the cursor. The cursor does not move to the blank part, but indicates only the contract program. In this display example, of all programs for one week, for example, channels and time zones are mechanically separated and partially displayed, and other portions are scrolled as indicated by triangles. Can be confirmed by

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S21 that the program guide is already being displayed, the process proceeds to step S25, and it is determined whether or not the cursor movement key has been pressed. If the cursor movement key has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S26, and after performing cursor movement processing, returns to step S21. If the cursor movement key has not been pressed, the process proceeds to step S27. In step S27, it is determined whether the program determination key has been pressed. If the program determination key has not been pressed, the process returns to step S21. If the program decision key is pressed,
Move to step S28.

In step S28, it is determined whether the program selected in step S27 is currently being broadcast. If it is currently being broadcast, the process proceeds to step S29, where a channel selection process for the program is performed, and then the process returns to step S21. Thus, the program selected by the viewer is displayed on the screen. On the other hand, if the program selected in step S27 is not currently being broadcast, the process proceeds to step S30, performs a program reservation process, and then returns to step S21. Thus, the program is displayed at the time when the program is broadcast. Thereafter, similar processing is repeated.

As can be seen from the above description, it is not necessary to determine whether or not the selected program can be displayed, that is, whether or not it is a contracted program (or channel), as in the prior art. There is no possibility of accidentally selecting a non-contracted program.

In this embodiment, the information of the contracted program (or channel) is arranged and displayed in a section determined by the channel number and the time of the program table, and the information of the non-contracted program (or channel) is displayed. In this case, the display is not displayed while the section is left. Good. In this case, information on non-contracted programs can also be confirmed. If only the contracted program is indicated by the cursor, a non-contracted program will not be selected by mistake.

Further, in the present embodiment, the distinction is made between the contracted program and the non-contracted program. Is also good. In this way, any program may be used as long as it distinguishes a specific program from programs other than the specific program.

[0023]

As described in detail above, the digital broadcast receiver of the present invention arranges and displays information relating to a specific program in a section determined by the channel number and time of the program guide, and displays the information. Other programs other than the program are not displayed while the section is left, or information on a specific program is arranged and displayed in the first display form in the section determined by the channel number and the time of the program guide, and displayed. Since information on programs other than a specific program is arranged and displayed in a section in a second display mode different from the first display mode, a non-contracted program is not selected. Moreover, it has a feature that the contract status can be easily recognized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a program table according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation according to a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a program table according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Program data receiving part 2 Display drive circuit 3 Microcomputer (program table preparation part) 4 Data storage part 5 Remote control transmitter 6 Display part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A program data receiving section for receiving information related to a television broadcast program, a data storage section for storing program data received by the program data receiving section, and a program data stored in the data storage section. A digital broadcast receiver comprising: a program table creating unit that creates a program table to be read and displayed on a display unit; wherein the program table creating unit searches for only specific program data from the data storage unit. Means, information on a specific program searched by the specific program data search means, arranged and displayed in a section determined by a channel number and time in the program table, and information on programs other than the specific program. Means for blanking the display while leaving the section open. 2. A program data receiving section for receiving information related to a television broadcast program, a data storage section for storing program data received by the program data receiving section, and a program data stored in the data storage section. A digital broadcast receiver comprising: a program table creating unit that creates a program table to be read and displayed on a display unit; wherein the program table creating unit searches for only specific program data from the data storage unit. Means for arranging and displaying information on a specific program searched by the specific program data search means in a first display form in a section determined by a channel number and time of the program table; Information relating to other programs than the second display mode different from the first display mode in the section.
Means for arranging and displaying in a display form as described above. 3. The digital broadcast according to claim 1, wherein the specific program is a contract program, and the other programs other than the specific program are non-contract programs. Receiving machine.