KR101009531B1 - Smart random typed channel selecting method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a method of storing the allocated channel of the IP, or the channel information of the airwave / cable broadcasting in the memory, the TV channel selection command using the remote control to recognize the TV main body or set-top box controller and select a channel,

Built-in smart random key on the remote control, the control unit to recognize whether the smart random key operation on the TV main body or set-top box, and the control unit stores the channel name and the viewing time and the number of the channel in the memory to store in real time Preparation step; And

The controller checks whether the smart random key is activated,

If the control unit recognizes the smart random key operation, the control unit sorts the corresponding channels in order of magnitude multiplied by the number of times watched.

Performing a smart random step of sequentially selecting channels according to the sorting order;

The channel list, which is an assigned channel of the iPi, is configured to set a channel for each category such as sports, drama, movie, song, shopping mall, and performs a smart random step by selecting a channel for each category. Channel channel selection method.

Smart Random, Channel Tuning

Description

Smart random type channel channel selection method {Smart random typed channel selecting method}

The present invention relates to a method of channel selection in a smart random method, wherein a smart random key is provided to a remote control, and a TV main body or a set-top box includes a memory for storing the selected channel and the time and number of times watched, and the memory includes a TV main body. B) a method of channel selection in a smart random method in which a random channel is tuned in order by ranking based on the watched channel and time and number of times by the control of the control unit of the set-top box.

In recent years, the number of broadcast channels has increased significantly as CATV and HDTV broadcasts have been made in earnest, and a number of professional channels have also emerged in the future.

According to this trend, the viewer is in a situation where it is difficult to distinguish where the channel he wishes to tune among the numerous channels is.

Recently, broadcasting stations transmit information about each broadcasting program in a specific frequency band of a broadcasting signal, and a television broadcasting receiver detects and restores the information to obtain rough information about program start and end times or program contents. A broadcasting system (for example, KBPS (Korea Broadcast Program Service)) method that enables to do this has been put to practical use.

In addition, the HDTV broadcasting station periodically transmits the electronic program guide (ELECTRONIC PROGRAM GUIDE) information, and has been developed and put into practical use so that the television broadcast receiver provides a program guide according to the electronic program guide information.

As the above-described analog or digital television station provides various information about a program or a channel to a television broadcast receiver, efforts to provide differentiated services to viewers using the above information have been continued.

For example, Korean Patent No. 1999-043030, filed with the Korean Patent Office under the name of “TV receiver with automatic tuning of the same personality program when switching channels,” allows the user to perform channel switching while selecting a specific broadcast program type. When that

Provided is a television broadcast receiver capable of selecting and selecting only channels on which tangible programs are being broadcast.

However, the technology of selecting and selecting only channels in which a program of a type specified by a user is broadcasted using the KBPS may cause inconvenience of having to designate a program of a desired type at all times. When not specified, there was a problem that channel switching for all effective channels including channels that the user does not watch at all is implemented. In order to solve this problem, the user would find a channel that he did not watch and delete the channel.

For the channels of categories that the user does not watch at all, the automatic channel setting method and the technology for providing a television broadcasting receiver that can simplify the user's editing work for the automatically set channel by removing them from the automatic channel setting are disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 10. The control unit 30 of the television broadcast receiver as well as the overall control of the television broadcast receiver as well as commands the channel switching as shown in FIG. The controller 30 also receives the user command information through the remote controller 50 through the remote controller receiver 32. That is, the remote control receiver 32 receives various commands from the user with the remote controller 50 and provides them to the controller 30. The first and second memories 33 and 34 store electronic program guide information and channel information including a processing program of the controller 30.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the electronic program guide information includes identification information about a channel or a program, a name of the channel or a program, information about a channel or a program category, and the like. And the channel information is as shown in FIG.

 It consists of channel number and category information for each channel.

The tuner 35 tunes a predetermined channel among broadcast signals under control of the controller 30 and provides the tuner 35 to the broadcast signal processor 36. The broadcast signal processor 36 processes the broadcast signal tuned by the tuner 35 and outputs the broadcast signal to the video signal processor 37, and provides the controller 30 with a value measured for the signal strength of each channel to the controller 30. Enable effective channel measurement of 30). The video signal processor 37 includes a TS decoder and a video decoder, and converts a TS provided by the broadcast signal processor 37 into an audio stream, a video stream, and an information stream, and the audio stream is an audio decoder 38. The video stream is decoded and provided to the video signal output unit 39-1, and the information stream is provided to the controller 3.

In this case, the information stream includes the electronic program guide information. The audio decoder 38 decodes the audio stream and provides it to an audio signal output unit 39.

However, this method has the advantage that it is easy to find channels by dividing them into categories, but this also has the inconvenience of checking whether the channels that are not watched suit the viewer's taste.

Recently, an Internet TV capable of bidirectional communication, that is, an IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) has been used. This is a service that combines communication and broadcasting that provides broadcasting, video contents, and information to TV through IP network, and is developing as a TPS (Triple Play Service) that integrates high-speed Internet, VoIP, and IPTV based on IP network. . To use IPTV, you need a television receiver, an IPTV-STB, and an Internet line. You can add a set-top box or a modem to the television set and turn it on just as you turn on the television. Therefore, even a person who is not familiar with a computer can use the remote control to receive various contents and additional services provided by the Internet such as watching movies, home shopping, home banking, online games, and MP3s. The IPTV is not different from general cable broadcasting or satellite broadcasting in that it provides broadcasting contents including video, but it is characterized by the added interactivity.

As described above, the Internet can only be viewed using a computer. However, with the appearance of IPTV, a web service on the Internet can be used through a TV. Conventional TVs are modeled after the Internet function on an existing computer. However,

There are some problems caused by the difference between the computer and the TV, the difference is the biggest problem. In other words, existing TVs use channel up-down keys and four-way keys when using more complex menus.However, with the introduction of IPTV, content and services grow exponentially. Limitations appear on existing TV interfaces based on the arrow keys. In the case of a computer, a freedom of use is guaranteed by using a mouse and a keyboard, but in the case of a TV, there is a problem in that a large amount of contents and services cannot be efficiently accessed using a conventional remote control.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration for general Internet television broadcasting, and Fig. 2 is an example showing the sequence of general Internet television broadcasting.

The system for providing television broadcasting over the Internet is shown in FIG. 4, which is connected to the broadcasting server system 120 for providing television broadcasting services through the Internet 102 and the Internet 102, and requests from clients. And a plurality of web servers 110 for providing a web page according to the present invention, and are connected to the Internet 102 and operated according to a user's operation of the remote controller 150 to provide a television (TV) provided by the broadcasting server system 120. An example may include an IPTV set-top box 130 that receives a broadcast or requests a web page from the web servers 110 and outputs it through the display device 140.

Referring to FIG. 5, the web server 122 is a typical website for providing a web page via the Internet 102, and the broadcast server system 120 is a web server 122 and video content for providing a web service. Or a streaming server 124 for providing a TV broadcast program via the Internet 102.

The IPTV set-top box 130 is equipped with a web browser for using a web service and a multimedia player for playing a video through the Internet 102. The IPTV set-top box 130 receives a TV broadcast or a web page according to a user's remote controller 150. Receives and outputs to the display device 140. The display device 140 is a conventional CRT, LCD, or PDP television or monitor.

As an example of the order of the Internet broadcast service in such a system, as shown in FIG. 5, the browser of the IPTV set-top box 130 connects to the web server 122 of the broadcast server system and requests a meta file of a television broadcast to be watched. (S1). Accordingly, the web server 122 provides the meta file, and the browser of the IPTV set-top box 130 provides the meta file to the media player (S2, S3). The media player of the IPTV set-top box 130 connects to the streaming server 124 using the corresponding metafile, establishes a connection, and requests a play (S4 to S6). Accordingly, the streaming server 124 provides the corresponding audio / video stream to be played by the media player, and terminates the streaming transmission when requesting termination (S7 to S10).

6 is a block diagram illustrating an IPTV set-top box, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a channel allocation concept. As shown in FIG. 6, the hardware of the IPTV set-top box 130 includes a network interface unit 131, a decoder 132, an audio processor 133, a video processor 134, a remote controller receiver 32, and a controller ( 30, the on-screen display unit (OSD) 137, the memory 138, the storage device 139, the control unit 30 controls the overall operation in accordance with the button operation of the remote control 50.

Referring to FIG. 6, the network interface unit 131 connects to a high speed network under the control of the control unit 30 and transmits and receives data according to a predetermined communication protocol such as TCP / IP, UDP / IP, IGMPv2, and a received data packet. Decomposes and transmits the transport stream TS including the television broadcast signal to the decoder 132. The decoder 132 decomposes the TS packet into PES packets, decodes the video or audio data according to a predetermined standard, and delivers the audio data to the audio processor 133, and delivers the video data to the video processor 134. . The audio processor 133 converts digital audio data into an analog audio signal and outputs it. The video processor 134 converts digital video data into an analog video signal and outputs the analog video signal. The on-screen display unit 137 displays additional information such as menu settings and channel display on the screen under the control of the processor 136, and software and data are stored in the memory 138 and the storage device 139. have. In particular, the storage device 139 may store recorded data during recording.

The remote control receiver 32 receives the infrared signal from the remote controller 50, decodes the corresponding scan code, and transmits button information to the controller 30.

The control unit 30 performs an operating system and processes various communication protocols for communication with an application program such as a web browser, a media player, or the Internet, and operates as required by the user according to the button information received from the remote control receiver 32. of

To control. In particular, as shown in FIG. 7, when the channel allocation command is received from the user, the controller 30 performs the function of the allocator 20 to generate the channel list 23, and when the channel number is input, the processor 21. Search for and receive a broadcast or web page corresponding to the channel from the channel list 23.

Referring to FIG. 7, the IPTV set-top box 130 includes a channel list 23 having channel information, an allocator 20 for allocating a web page address to a channel, and a processor 21 for receiving and processing a channel number. It includes, and the viewer can assign a channel number to the web page and then enter the channel number with the remote control 50 to view the web page to facilitate the movement of the web page.

The channel list 23 having the channel information stores all the channels in the system as a list, and with reference to the channel list 23, the channel information can be known and moved to a specific channel. An example of such a channel list may include a channel number, a channel type, and a channel reference position. Here, the channel number has a unique value for each channel to facilitate channel selection, and the user inputs this value to the remote controller 150 to select a channel. The channel type is a value that determines whether this channel is a video channel or a web page channel. This value determines the channel type and executes different commands with the channel reference position value. The channel reference position varies depending on the channel type. If the channel type is video, the video address is located, and if it is a web page, the address of the web page is located.

Therefore, when the user inputs the channel number 1, the channel number 1 is referred to as the video channel by referring to the channel list of FIG. 4, and thus, the reference position is, for example, "mms: // Connect to Server / A5 ". In addition, when the user inputs the channel number 5, referring to the channel list of FIG. 7, if the channel number 5 is a web page, the channel reference position of the channel reference position is " http: //www.yahoo.com" Link to a web page.

However, this method has the advantage of selecting a site or channel set by the channel number by designating the channel, but there is a problem that the user must set the channel with the remote control in advance.

The present invention is intended to solve this problem, and an object of the present invention is to select a channel based on the selected channel and the time and number of times the channel is tuned, so that the channels are sequentially tuned by rank, so that the channel is tuned around the channel. It is to provide a smart random channel channel selection method to reduce the effort to see and select channels even channels that you do not see.

Another object of the present invention is to make the channel channeled around the channel based on the time and the number of times watched by the channel also the contents in addition to the general air / wired broadcasting channel, smart to reduce the effort to see and select the channel invisible one by one It is to provide a random channel selection method.

To this end, the present invention is to store the channel information of the IP channel or air / wired broadcasting in the memory, and to recognize the TV channel selection command using the remote control in the TV main body or set-top box control unit, and to select a channel,

Built-in smart random key on the remote control,

The control unit recognizes whether the smart random key operates in the TV main body or set-top box,

The control unit comprises a preparatory step of storing in real time the channel name and the viewing time and the number of the corresponding channel as a field to be stored in real time; And

The controller checks whether the smart random key is activated,

If the control unit recognizes the smart random key operation, the control unit sorts the corresponding channels in order of magnitude multiplied by the number of times watched.

Performing a smart random step of sequentially selecting channels in a sorting order;
The channel list, which is an allocated channel of IP, is a channel selected by a smart random method that performs a smart random step by setting a channel for each category such as sports, drama, movie, song, shopping mall, and selecting a channel for each category. Provide a method.

According to the present invention, when a channel is tuned, the channel is sequentially selected based on the tuned channel and the time and number of times watched. Relieve

The present invention also allows the channel to be tuned mainly to the channel based on the time and the number of times the IP is channeled and watched in addition to the general air / wired broadcasting channel, thereby reducing the effort of viewing and selecting channels that are not viewed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

8 is a main configuration diagram of the present invention applied to a general TV, FIG. 9 is a main configuration diagram of the present invention applied to an eyepiece, FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is data stored in a memory of the present invention. This is an example of a field.

It stores IP allocation channel or channel information of over-the-air / wired broadcasting in memory, and recognizes TV channel tuning command using remote controller and selects channel by TV main unit or set-top box controller.

The smart random key 52 is built into the remote controller 50,

The control unit 30 recognizes whether the smart random key 52 is operated in the TV body or the set-top box 130,

The control unit 30 includes a preparatory step (S1) for storing in real time the channel name, the viewing time and the number of the corresponding channel as a field in the memory 33 and 34 of the TV and the set top box 130 of the IP; And

The controller 30 checks whether the smart random key 52 is operated,

When the controller 30 recognizes the operation of the smart random key 52, the controller 30 sequentially sorts the corresponding channels in the order of magnitude multiplied by the number of times of viewing time.

The smart random step (S2) of sequentially selecting channels by sorting order is sequentially performed.

When the viewing time is 5 minutes or less, the control unit 30 may exclude the sorting channel and include the sorting channel when the number of times is 1 or 5 minutes or more three times a week. The viewing time of 5 minutes is an example of time for determining a case where the viewers watch boredom instead of a fixed time and not fixed viewing. In addition, if the number is periodic in case of weather forecast or short time means that it is included in the ranking.

The channel list, which is an allocated channel of iPi, may perform the smart random step by setting channels for each category such as sports, drama, movie, music, shopping mall, and selecting channels for each category. This can be usefully applied when a plurality of contents in a category folder are one-time contents (movies, plays, etc.) that are not continuous.

The channel list, which is an allocated channel of IP, sets channels by category such as sports, drama, movie, music, shopping mall, etc., sets sub-channels corresponding to each channel, and selects sub-channels corresponding to channels of each field. To perform the smart random step. This case is advantageously applicable when the contents of the lower channel are dramas with continuity.

In the preparation step, the user recognition button 56 is further added as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and when the user recognition button 56 is pressed, the control unit 30 recognizes the user separately and recognizes the same. Instruct the user to store the watched channel and the viewing time and the number of the user as a field in the memory, and sort only the channel corresponding to the user when the user recognition button 56 and the smart random key 52 are operated. Enables the selection of smart random channels.

In the present invention, the smart random key 52 may be configured as a general button, can be implemented by voice recognition, vibration, and touch, it can be implemented by other means equivalent to this.

In addition, the user recognition button 56 may be implemented in a binary code method, or recognition based on the stored fingerprint. It can be implemented by using a variety of known techniques such as voice recognition according to a unique tone or confirmation by an image.

In the present invention configured as described above, viewing through a display in a general TV or IP TV is the same as the conventional description thereof is omitted.

The present invention applied to the general TV viewers store the channel, the viewing time and the number of times watched when watching the general TV in the memory (33, 34) in the field configuration of the form as shown in Figure 11, the instruction of the smart random key Wait for the time to come (preparation step S1 of FIG. 10).

In this state, when the smart random key 52 of the remote controller 50 shown in FIG. 8 is pressed, the remote controller receiver 32 recognizes it and prepares the memory 33 according to the command of the controller 30 in preparation for the existing smart random key operation. (34) sorting based on the data stored in the field (for example, data stored in the field as shown in FIG. 11) to determine the ranking, and only the channels that match the user's intentions and tastes in random order are linked to the operation of the direction key 54. To automatically select the channel (Smart Random step S2 of FIG. 10).

In this case, the ranking for each channel is determined based on a value obtained by multiplying the viewing time and the number of times of viewing. However, the ranking is not limited thereto and may be weighted according to necessity or adjusted according to various consumer groups.

Specifically, when the present invention is applied to a general TV as shown in FIG. 8, when the smart random key 52 is pressed by using the remote controller 50, the controller 30 recognizes this by converting data through the remote controller receiver 32. Accordingly, the controller 30 stores the channel name and the viewing time and the number of times watched and stored in the memories 33 and 34 based on the channel information so as to include the fields as shown in FIG. It is possible to watch randomly sequentially according to the ranking of the channel. Of course, for this purpose it can be exemplified to change the channel based on the direction key 54 of the remote control 50. In other words, when the smart random function functions as a conventional up-down direction key, the channel changes in a random order even when the direction key 54 is pressed.

On the other hand, the present invention can be ranked by the user as shown in Figure 11 when the user recognition button 56 on the remote control 50. Smart random channel selection for each user is possible. In other words, when I press the user recognition button 56 for recognition, channels are randomly tuned to channels CH4 and CHn by binary codes (for example, 0011) set as me, and Dad is also set as Dad. Only channels CH2 and CH4 are randomly tuned by a binary code (eg 0001), and only channels CH1 and CH3 are randomly tuned by a binary code (eg 0010) that is also set to mother. . Therefore, even in the smart random channel method, it is possible to select a separate smart random channel by the ID (code or setting button), and the same family can watch TV while maintaining privacy.

In the case of FIG. 9 applied to IP, the present invention stores the channel, time, and frequency in the memory 138 according to the command of the controller 30 based on the allocation channel shown in FIG. 7 (preferably, FIG. Save to form a field as shown in FIG. 11) A preparation step S1 is performed as shown in FIG.

As such, when the user presses the smart random key 52 after a predetermined preparation period, the smart random step S2 is performed.

The smart random step S2 is also recognized by the controller 30 as data conversion through the remote controller receiver 32 as shown in FIG. 11, and accordingly, the controller 30 stores the memory 33 and 34 based on the channel information. Based on the channel names that have been watched, and the viewing time and the number of times watched so as to include the fields as shown in FIG. 11, the user can sequentially watch randomly according to the ranking of the channels based on the ranking field. Of course, for this purpose, the channel should be changed based on the direction key 54 of the remote controller 50.

1 is a general TV block diagram,

2 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel or program information used in FIG. 1;

3 is an exemplary diagram of channel information used in FIG. 1;

4 is a system configuration diagram for a general IP broadcast,

5 is a flowchart of a broadcast of a general IP;

6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the set-top box of FIG.

7 is a conceptual diagram of channel allocation of FIG. 5;

8 is a main configuration diagram of the present invention applied to a general TV,

9 is a main configuration diagram of the present invention applied to the eyepiece;

10 is a flowchart of the present invention;

11 shows an example of a data field stored in the memory of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

30; control unit 32; remote control receiver 40; display 50; remote control 52; smart random key 54; direction key 56; user recognition button

Claims (5)

delete delete It stores IP allocation channel or channel information of over-the-air / wired broadcasting in memory, and recognizes TV channel tuning command using remote controller and selects channel by TV main unit or set-top box controller. Built-in smart random key on the remote control, The control unit recognizes whether the smart random key operates in the TV main body or set-top box, The control unit comprises a preparation step for storing in real time the channel name and the viewing time and the number of the channel as a field to store in real time; And The controller checks whether the smart random key is activated, If the control unit recognizes the smart random key operation, the control unit sorts the corresponding channels in order of magnitude multiplied by the number of times watched. Performing a smart random step of sequentially selecting channels according to the sorting order; The channel list, which is an assigned channel of the iPi, is configured to set a channel for each category such as sports, drama, movie, song, shopping mall, and performs a smart random step by selecting a channel for each category. Channel Tuning Method. It stores IP allocation channel or channel information of over-the-air / wired broadcasting in memory, and recognizes TV channel tuning command using remote controller and selects channel by TV main unit or set-top box controller. Built-in smart random key on the remote control, The control unit recognizes whether the smart random key operates in the TV main body or set-top box, The control unit comprises a preparation step for storing in real time the channel name and the viewing time and the number of the channel as a field to store in real time; And The controller checks whether the smart random key is activated, If the control unit recognizes the smart random key operation, the control unit sorts the corresponding channels in order of magnitude multiplied by the number of times watched. Performing a smart random step of sequentially selecting channels according to the sorting order; The channel list, which is an allocated channel of IP, sets channels according to categories such as sports, dramas, movies, shopping malls, shopping malls, sets corresponding channels for each channel, and selects corresponding channels for each channel. Smart random channel channel selection method characterized in that to perform a smart random step. The channel of claim 3 or 4, wherein in the preparation step, the user recognition button 56 is further added, and when the user recognition button 56 is pressed, the control unit 30 separates and views the channel for each user. Smart random channel channel selection method for storing the time and the number of times in the field to include in the memory, and the smart random channel selection by sorting only the channel corresponding to the user when the user identification button and smart random key operation.

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