KR19990052326A - Channel Information Display Method in Satellite Broadcast Receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a channel information display method for providing a broadcast program image of a specific channel selected when a satellite broadcast receiver provides a broadcast program guide menu screen according to a user's request. In the state in which the program guide packet data is received and pre-stored in the memory area, when the phase broadcast receiving system composes a menu screen according to a user's request in the viewing mode and displays it on the monitor, a specific channel on the menu screen is displayed on the cursor. If selected, the selected channel is tuned and reconstructed into a reduced image, and the reconstructed reduced image is inserted and synthesized at a predetermined position on the menu screen to provide a mixed menu screen on which the image of the selected channel is mixed on the monitor. do.

Description

Channel Information Display Method in Satellite Broadcast Receiver

The present invention relates to a satellite broadcast receiver, and more particularly, program image information of a selected channel together with various types of menu screen guide information such as channel information received through a satellite channel and broadcast program information of each channel on a monitor. A channel information display method in a satellite broadcast receiver suitable for providing.

In recent years, the broadcast method using satellites, which is rapidly expanding its use, is a method of providing a broadcast signal to a wider area by using a satellite (communication satellite) located at an altitude of about tens to hundreds of kilometers from the surface of the earth. In this satellite broadcasting system, for example, an old band RF signal having a frequency band of 11.7 GHz to 12.0 GHz is used.

To this end, the antenna for satellite broadcasting reception is provided with a low noise blockdown converter for converting a radio frequency (RF) signal into an intermediate frequency (IF) signal, which is a high frequency RF signal. Is converted into an IF (intermediate frequency) signal in the hundreds to thousands of MHz bands (e.g., 950 MHz-2050 MHz) receivable at a satellite broadcast receiver (receiver).

Therefore, in the satellite broadcasting tuner provided in the satellite broadcasting receiver (receiver), the user selects and tunes a channel selected by inputting an IF signal received through a low noise converter. The satellite broadcasting receiver maximizes channel utilization, image and sound. Along with the improvement of signal quality and the ease of transmitting additional digital service data, the significant improvement of the user interface is a big advantage.

Meanwhile, in satellite broadcasting, a transmission signal of a digital broadcasting signal received from a satellite body to a satellite broadcasting receiver through a fixed channel is restored to a transport stream through a process of converting to an intermediate frequency, demodulating, and error correction. The transport stream includes program service data such as television broadcasting and data broadcasting, and program guide data.

That is, satellite broadcasting transmits data to the satellite broadcasting receiver through a packet aging based on the MPEG-2 standard, for example, in a packet stream of 188 bytes, in which the packet is largely a program guide packet and a program service data packet. Each packet includes 4 bytes of header information.

Herein, the program guide packet includes a channel information packet having program combination table (PAT) information including N-bit program identifier (PID) information (eg, 13-bit program identifier) indicating a program number of each channel. A program information packet having program map table (PMT) information of N-bit program identifier (PID) information meaning audio, video, text, etc. of a specific channel; and the program service data packet includes audio data of each channel. Packet, a video data packet, a text data packet, and the like, wherein program guide packets are continuously inserted and transmitted at intervals of several seconds between program service data packets.

Therefore, the satellite broadcast receiver extracts program guide packets inserted at intervals of several seconds between program service data packets based on the header information (ie, PID) when the power is turned on by the user. (Ie, channel guide information and channel identifier (CID), program information and program identifier (PID), text information and text identifier (TID), etc. of each channel) are stored in a memory area of the satellite broadcasting receiver. In more detail, the program guide information includes a channel ID, a program name, a start time and a broadcast time of a program, a grade of a program, a voice mode, and the presence or absence of paid broadcasting.

The program guide information stored in the memory area as such is then used to tune a particular channel selected in the transport stream received over the satellite channel when a particular channel is selected by the user, and also by the user. When a broadcast program information of a channel (i.e., display) is requested, a program guide menu screen is configured and displayed on a monitor. Here, the present invention relates to an improvement of a technique for providing channel information and program information of each channel on a monitor according to a user's request.

On the other hand, in the conventional satellite broadcasting receiver, when the program guide menu is requested by the user, the program guide menu screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the monitor as an example.

That is, when a request signal of a program guide menu screen is received from a user, a graphic tool prepared by extracting channel information stored in a memory area and program information of the corresponding channel (that is, channel information and program information that can be displayed on a monitor) is prepared. For example, a menu screen in the form of a letter as shown in FIG. 4 is configured, and then displayed on a monitor.

Referring to FIG. 4, the program guide information area on the upper right side of the screen includes, for example, various text information such as a title, a program type, a rating, a start time, a broadcast time, and pay broadcasting.

Accordingly, the user can check or search for programs to be broadcast or to be broadcasted in each channel through a menu screen on the monitor, or select to watch or switch to a specific channel desired.

However, as described above, the conventional method of guiding only channel information and program information of each channel on the menu screen in the form of a character is insufficient to satisfy a user's desire for providing more various types of information.

That is, as in the conventional method, when providing a program guide menu screen, not only text information is provided, but actual broadcast program image of a channel selected through movement of the cursor (that is, a channel on the menu screen where the cursor is located). If it is possible to provide with the menu screen, users will be able to more clearly know the program content information of each channel, which will greatly contribute to the user's desired fast channel selection.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned point, and when a satellite broadcast receiver provides a broadcast program guide menu screen according to a user's request, a satellite capable of providing a broadcast program image of a selected channel with a menu screen An object of the present invention is to provide a method for displaying channel information in a broadcast receiver.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a program guide packet and broadcast program data including an N-byte channel information packet of channel information transmitted from a satellite and an N-byte program information packet of program content information of each channel. A method for displaying channel information in a satellite broadcasting receiving system for receiving a stored N-byte program service data packet and storing the received program service data packet in a memory area and serving the guide menu screen using the stored packet information. A first step of checking whether there is a program menu guide service request according to a user's operation when the phase broadcasting reception system is in a viewing mode in a state of being received and stored in the memory area; When the program menu guide service request is requested, channel information and program content information can be retrieved by searching the memory area, and channel information and program content information drawn out using a graphic can be displayed on the monitor. Displaying a second process; A third step of checking whether a specific broadcast channel is selected by a user on the menu screen being displayed; When a specific broadcast channel is selected on the menu screen, tuning the selected broadcast channel, and sampling the broadcast signal of the tuned selected broadcast channel at a predetermined sampling rate to generate a reduced broadcast signal of the selected broadcast channel. 4 courses; A fifth step of generating a mixed menu screen by inserting the reduced broadcast signal into a predetermined position of the menu screen and displaying the generated mixed menu screen on the monitor; A sixth step of checking whether a channel change signal for changing the selected channel is input during the display of the mixed menu screen; A seventh process of repeatedly performing fourth to sixth processes when the selection channel change signal is input; And an eighth process of repeating the third to seventh processes until a menu screen off signal according to a user's operation is input.

1 is a block diagram of a satellite broadcast receiving system suitable for applying a method of displaying a broadcast program image information of a channel selected according to the present invention by mixing the menu screen with a menu screen when providing a menu screen to a monitor;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing, to a monitor, a mixed screen in which a program guide menu screen and a program image information of a selected channel are mixed in a satellite broadcasting receiver according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a mixed screen in which a program guide menu screen displayed on a monitor and a program image of a selected channel are mixed according to the present invention;

4 shows an example of a program guide menu screen provided on a monitor according to a conventional method when there is a user menu request.

<Description of the code | symbol about the principal part of drawing>

102: tuner and demodulation block 104: MPEG decoding block

106: video encoding block 108: control block

110: memory block 112: menu generation block

114: image synthesis block

The above and other objects and various advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the preferred embodiments of the present invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings by those skilled in the art.

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a satellite broadcast receiving system suitable for applying a method of displaying a broadcast program image information of a channel selected according to the present invention by mixing a menu screen when providing a menu screen to a monitor.

As shown in the figure, the satellite broadcast receiving system includes a tuner and demodulation block 102, an MPEG decoding block 104, a video encoding block 106, a control block 108, a memory block 110, a menu generation block. 112 and image composition block 114.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the tuner and demodulation block 102, when the satellite broadcasting reception system is powered on, additional information (ie, channel information, program information, etc.) inserted on a transport stream received through an antenna is extracted. That is, channel information packet data having program combination table (PAT) information of N-bit program identifier (PID) information representing a program number of each channel, and N-bit program representing audio, video, text, etc. of a specific channel. The program information packet data having the program map table (PMT) information of the identifier (PID) information is extracted, and the extracted packet data is converted into an intermediate frequency, demodulated, and error corrected. The reconstruction is then provided to the control block 108 described later through the line L12.

At this time, the channel information packet data and the program information packet data extracted from the transport stream and provided to the control block 108 through the line L12 are selected from the transport stream received through the satellite channel when a specific channel desired by the user is selected. It is used to tune a specific channel, and is also used as actual content information of the guide menu screen when the user is required to provide (i.e., display) a plurality of channel information and broadcast program information of each channel.

Further, in the tuner and demodulation block 102, a user in a broadcast signal received through a broadcast signal receiver (i.e., a satellite reception antenna), not shown, based on a tuning control signal provided from the control block 108 through a line L11. Tunes the selected broadcast channel and restores the tuned broadcast channel signal to the transport stream through the process of converting to the intermediate frequency, demodulation and error correction, etc. Provided to the MPEG decoding block 104.

On the other hand, the control block 108 includes, for example, a microprocessor that performs overall operation control of the reception system, and generates a corresponding tuning control signal when a user broadcast channel selection signal is input from the outside, thereby generating a line L11. To the above-described tuner and demodulation block 102, and when program guide data (i.e., channel information and program information of each channel) is provided from the tuner and demodulation block 102 via line L12, The data is sequentially stored in predetermined areas of the block 110.

In addition, when the broadcast channel guide menu service request signal is input from the outside, the control block 108 extracts channel information data previously stored in a predetermined area of the memory block 110 and program content information data of each channel, respectively, and then lines L17. A screen configuration control signal for providing to the menu generation block 112 and allowing the broadcast program guide menu screen to be configured on the line L19. The screen configuration control signal generated at this time is, for example, a high or low level. A logic signal having

In addition, the control block 108 outputs a tuning control signal for tuning the selected broadcast channel on the line L11 when a specific channel is selected by the user (i.e., channel selection by moving the cursor) during the display of the guide menu screen. Occurs in Therefore, the tuner and demodulation block 102 will tune the particular broadcast channel selected on the menu screen by moving the cursor according to the user's operation.

On the other hand, in the MPEG decoding block 104, the spatial and spatial correlation of the compressed coded audio signal and the video signal, for example, the video signal, of the selected broadcast channel provided from the above-described tuner and demodulation block 102 through the line L13. The compressed and decoded video signal is restored to the original signal before encoding using a decoding technique such as variable length decoding, inverse DCT, inverse quantization, and motion compensation. And a reconstructed audio signal is provided to an audio signal processor (not shown).

In addition, the video encoding block 106 converts the digital broadcast video signal of the selected channel provided in the MPEG decoding block 104 described above into an NTSC or PAL analog video signal and then provides the image synthesis block 114 through the line L16. do.

On the other hand, in the menu generation block 112, when there is a guide screen service request signal, the channel information data and the program content information data of each channel, which are provided from the above-described control block 108 via the line L17, are displayed by using the guide menu. It generates the screen data, and converts the generated guide menu screen data into an NTSC or PAL analog signal and provides it to the image synthesis block 114 through the line L18.

On the other hand, the image synthesizing block 114 selects the selected (or tuned) analog satellite broadcast signal on the line L16 based on the screen configuration control signal having the high or low level provided from the control block 108 via the line L19. It transfers to the display side not shown, or transfers the menu screen which consists of menu screen data on the line L18 to the display side not shown.

In addition, in the image synthesizing block 114, when a specific channel is selected (i.e., a channel on which the cursor is located) according to a user's operation on the guide menu screen, a predetermined preset broadcast signal of the selected channel provided through the line L16 is preset. Sampling in the horizontal and vertical direction at the sampling ratio is reconstructed into a reduced broadcast signal, and the reduced broadcast signal of the reconstructed selected channel is reconfigured as shown in FIG. 3 as an example. Inserted into the upper right part of the () and delivers the mixed menu screen to the display side. In FIG. 3, reference numeral A denotes a broadcast area in which a reduced broadcast signal (video) of a selected channel is displayed.

Therefore, when a user guide service request is made, a guide menu screen will be displayed on the monitor on the display side, and when a specific channel is selected on the menu screen, a mixed menu screen in which a reduced image of a selected broadcast channel is mixed at a predetermined position on the menu screen is mixed. Will be displayed.

Next, a process of performing the channel information display method according to the present invention based on the satellite broadcasting reception system having the above-described configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing, to a monitor, a mixed screen in which a program guide menu screen and program image information of a selected channel are mixed in a satellite broadcasting receiver according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, when a user is watching a phase broadcast television in a state in which program guide packet data, that is, channel information data and program guide information data for each channel are previously stored in the memory block 110 of FIG. 1 (step 202) It is checked whether there is a program menu guide service request (step 204).

If it is determined in step 204 that there is a request for program menu guide service from the outside, in the control block 108 of FIG. 1, the program guide information previously stored in the memory block 110, that is, the channel information and the program information. Is transferred to the menu generation block 112 through the line L17. The menu generation block 112 converts the channel information and the program content information into the menu screen data using a graphic, and generates the generated menu screen. The data is converted into an NTSC or PAL analog signal (step 206), and the menu screen data thus generated is provided to the display side through the image synthesizing block 114.

Thus, on the monitor on the display side, the guide menu screen is displayed, i.e., the guide menu screen does not include a reduced image of the selected channel according to the present invention (step 208).

On the other hand, in step 210, it is checked whether a specific channel on the menu screen is selected by the user during the display of the guide menu screen, that is, whether the cursor exists at the position of the specific channel on the menu screen.

As a result of the check in step 210, when it is determined that a specific channel is selected on the menu screen, that is, when it is determined that the cursor is located on a specific channel on the menu screen, the selected specific channel ( For example, in FIG. 3, the diagonally filled CH12 channel is tuned (step 212), and the currently broadcasted broadcast signal (video signal) of the tuned selected channel is transmitted to the image synthesis block 114.

Next, in the image synthesizing block 114, the broadcast signal of the selected channel is sampled in a horizontal and vertical direction at a predetermined predetermined sampling ratio and reconstructed into a reduced broadcast signal, and the reduced broadcast signal of the selected channel is thus reconstructed. As shown in FIG. 3, a mixed menu screen inserted into a predetermined position on the menu screen (for example, the upper right portion of the menu screen) is synthesized, and the mixed menu screen generated here is transferred to the display side. (Step 216).

Thus, on the monitor on the display side, as shown in FIG. 3 as an example, a mixed menu screen having an area A in which a reduced image of the selected channel is displayed will be displayed (step 218). That is, assuming that the channel selected by the user is a CH12 channel filled with diagonal lines in FIG. 3 and the currently airing program is the “war of stars” program, the “war of stars” program currently being broadcasted in CH12 is shown in the A area of FIG. Will be displayed.

In this case, the program guide information area includes various information such as a title, a program type, a grade, a start time, a broadcast time, and whether or not to pay for the current program broadcast of the selected channel.

Next, in step 220, another channel is selected during the display of the mixed menu screen, i.e., whether the user moves the cursor to another channel position on the menu screen. If it is determined that the selection is made, the process returns to the above-described step 212 and through the same process thereafter, the display of the mixed menu screen including the reduced image of the newly selected broadcast channel is performed.

On the other hand, the check whether the selected channel is changed during the display of the mixed menu screen is performed for a predetermined time, for example, about 30 seconds (step 222), and selecting another channel on the menu screen within the predetermined time (t). If no or other user operation signal (e.g., menu screen off signal) is not input, processing proceeds to step 224, where step 224 displays the mixed menu screen currently being displayed on the monitor. After switching off, the satellite broadcasting receiving system is switched to the viewing mode. In step 224, reference numeral n denotes the current duration of the mixed menu screen currently being displayed.

Thus, on the monitor, the broadcast program of the channel that was first watched will be displayed.

As described above, according to the present invention, when a specific channel on the menu screen is selected by moving the cursor when the guide menu screen is displayed according to a user service request, the selected channel is tuned to display an image of the currently aired program on the menu screen. By displaying together at a predetermined position, it is possible to contribute greatly to the user's faster and more convenient channel selection by diversifying the program guide service and providing broadcast program information of a more realistic broadcast channel.

Claims (2)

Receive a program guide packet including N-byte channel information packets of channel information transmitted from satellites and N-byte program information packets of program content information of each channel, and N-byte program service data packets of broadcast program data. In the method of displaying the channel information in the satellite broadcasting receiving system for storing the information in the memory area and using the stored packet information to service the guide menu screen, A first step of checking whether there is a program menu guide service request according to a user's operation when the phase broadcast reception system is in a viewing mode while the program guide packet data is received and pre-stored in the memory area; When the program menu guide service request is requested, channel information and program content information can be retrieved by searching the memory area, and channel information and program content information drawn out using a graphic can be displayed on the monitor. Displaying a second process; A third step of checking whether a specific broadcast channel is selected by a user on the menu screen being displayed; When a specific broadcast channel is selected on the menu screen, tuning the selected broadcast channel, and sampling the broadcast signal of the tuned selected broadcast channel at a predetermined sampling rate to generate a reduced broadcast signal of the selected broadcast channel. 4 courses; A fifth step of generating a mixed menu screen by inserting the reduced broadcast signal into a predetermined position of the menu screen and displaying the generated mixed menu screen on the monitor; A sixth step of checking whether a channel change signal for changing the selected channel is input during the display of the mixed menu screen; A seventh process of repeatedly performing fourth to sixth processes when the selection channel change signal is input; And And an eighth step of repeating the third to seventh steps until a menu screen off signal according to a user's operation is input. The method of claim 1, wherein if there is no input for the selected channel change signal within a predetermined time, the method turns off the mixed menu screen being displayed and automatically switches the satellite broadcasting reception system to a viewing mode. Channel information display method in a satellite broadcasting receiver further comprising.