KR19990056430A - How to Create List Guides for Digital Satellite Broadcasting Receivers - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for generating a list guide of a digital satellite broadcasting receiver capable of reducing a memory capacity for generating a list guide menu and generating a list guide menu at high speed. To this end, the present invention provides a memory for storing guide packet data. Search the block to retrieve all the guide information needed to create the list guide menu, ie channel number, program start time, program title, etc. from one memory block and store it in another memory block, and list the extracted guide information. Unlike the conventional method of rearranging to suit the guide menu structure, only the location information (pointer) of each program of each channel is stored in another memory block, and each pointer is adapted to the list guide menu configuration when the list guide menu request is made. Reorder it, By retrieving the program guide information of the corresponding channel from the memory block in which the guide packet data is stored based on the rearranged pointers, the memory capacity required for the generation of the list guide menu can be reduced and the list guide menu can be quickly generated. will be.

Description

How to Create List Guides for Digital Satellite Broadcasting Receivers

The present invention relates to a satellite broadcast receiver, and more particularly, to a digital satellite broadcast receiver suitable for appropriately generating a list guide menu relating to channel information received through a satellite channel, broadcast program content information of each channel, etc. according to user requirements. To create a list guide.

In recent years, the broadcast method using satellites, which is rapidly expanding in use, uses a satellite tuner equipped with a satellite receiver to tune a channel selected by a user by inputting an IF signal received through a low noise converter. In addition, such satellite broadcasting receivers can maximize the use of channels, improve the quality of video and audio signals, and facilitate the transmission of additional digital service data.

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. The packet is largely a program guide packet and a program service data packet. Each packet includes 4 bytes of header information.

Here, the program guide packet includes a channel information packet having program combination table (PAT) information of N-bit program identifier (PID) (eg, 13-bit program identifier) information 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 broadcasting receiver extracts program guide packets inserted at intervals of several seconds between program service data packets based on the header information (that is, PID) when the power is turned on by the user. (I.e., channel guide information and channel identifier (CID), program information and program identifier (PID) for each channel, text information and text identifier (TID), etc.) are stored in the memory area of the satellite broadcast receiver for the user interface. 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, whether a paid broadcast is present, and the like.

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 a plurality of channel information and each When providing the program information of the channel (i.e., display) is required, it is composed of a menu screen using graphic tools and displayed on the monitor.

On the other hand, the satellite broadcast receiver receives various amounts of program guide information, such as 24 hours, 48 hours, one week, two weeks, etc. at predetermined time intervals, and the program guide information is automatically converted over time. In this case, the satellite broadcasting receiver detects such data at that time and updates corresponding program guide information. That is, each time a guide packet for updating guide information is extracted, the satellite broadcast receiver updates corresponding program guide information previously extracted and prestored in the current memory block with newly extracted program guide information.

On the other hand, a guide menu provided on a monitor according to a user's menu request at a satellite broadcast receiver includes, for example, a grid guide menu and a list guide menu, and the present invention relates to the improvement of this list guide generation technique. .

Here, the grid guide menu has a form in which sequential channel numbers are arranged on a vertical axis, and broadcast program names for respective channels are arranged on a horizontal axis, as shown in FIG. 5. In the case of the grid guide menu screen, the screen can be scrolled up or down or left and right according to the user's operation.

In addition, the list guide menu is a guide menu for a specific purpose. For example, assuming that the user selects menu information on a movie program of each channel that is broadcasted for each time zone after the current time, it is illustrated in FIG. 4 as an example. As shown, the list guide menu screen configured according to the air time sequence will be constructed.

That is, as an example, a list guide menu including a broadcasting start time area A, a channel number area B, and a program name area C may be configured. In this case, each channel number inserted into the channel number area B may be configured. They will be randomly arranged in an order determined by the order based on the broadcast start time, not the sequential channel number order. In this case, in the case of the list guide menu screen as shown in FIG. 4, only the scrolling in the vertical direction according to the user's operation will be set.

In addition, the list guide menu as described above may include, for example, a list guide for each advertising channel, a list guide for paid broadcasting programs, a list guide for each program grade determined according to the viewing of teenagers, and the like. In this case, the menu screen will be configured to correspond to the contents of each list guide.

Meanwhile, in the method of generating a list guide menu according to the conventional method, a guide necessary for generating a list guide from program guide information stored in a memory area in a raw form (for example, in the form of a packet) when a list guide request is made from a user. Extracts and stores the information in different memory areas, sorts the stored guide information according to the order, and sequentially reads the classified guide information to generate a list guide menu according to a user's request. have.

That is, in the conventional method, as an example, assuming that the list guide menu requested by the user is menu information on a movie program of each channel that is broadcasted for each time zone after the current time, the information required for generating the list guide menu is used for each channel. Movie programs, the start time of each movie program, the title of each program, and so on. If you want to retrieve this guide information by time zone and want to store it in a separate memory area, you need a lot of memory. Have no choice but to. For example, the program title is set to include approximately 40 characters (for example, 40 bytes), and for a program start time, a long type variable (for example, 8 bytes).

Therefore, when the list guide menu is generated according to the conventional method, since a large memory capacity is required, the total memory capacity of the satellite broadcasting receiver is excessively excessive.

In addition, when generating a list guide menu according to the conventional method, a large amount of data (for example, a movie program of each channel, a start time of each movie program, a title of each program, etc.) is fetched, stored again, and classified (ie, Since the menu screen is configured by redrawing according to the sorting order after the rearrangement), a time delay occurs and the response speed of the list guide menu service is slow.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the above problems of the prior art, it is possible to reduce the memory capacity for list guide menu generation and to provide a list guide generation method of a digital satellite broadcast receiver capable of generating a list guide menu at high speed Its purpose is to.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program guide packet 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; Receives N bytes of program service data packets of broadcast program data, restores them to a transport stream through demodulation and error correction, and stores the restored program guide packet data in a memory area, based on the stored program guide information. A method of generating a list guide in a satellite broadcasting receiver serving a menu on a monitor, the method comprising: extracting program guide packets inserted at predetermined intervals on a received transport stream when the satellite broadcasting receiver is powered on; ; A second process of storing the extracted program guide packet in a first memory area and extracting location information for each program of each channel and storing the extracted program guide packet in a second memory area; A third step of performing a viewing mode of displaying a broadcast program of a tuned channel on a monitor by tuning a channel selected by a user when extraction of the program guide packet is completed; A fourth step of checking whether there is a request for a list guide menu service according to a user's operation during the viewing mode; When the list guide menu service request is made, the program guide information stored in the first memory area is searched and corresponding to the list guide menu information to generate location information stored in the second memory area based on the search result. A fifth process of positioning; A sixth process of sequentially generating corresponding program guide information of a corresponding channel stored in the first memory area based on the position-aligned respective position information to generate a list guide menu screen; And a seventh step of displaying the generated list guide menu screen on the monitor.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program guide packet 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; Receives N bytes of program service data packets of broadcast program data, restores them to a transport stream through demodulation and error correction, and stores the restored program guide packet data in a memory area, based on the stored program guide information. A method of generating a list guide in a satellite broadcasting receiver serving a menu on a monitor, wherein the program guide packet data is received and pre-stored in a first memory area. List guide according to A first step of checking whether there is a menu service request; A second step of searching for program guide information stored in the first memory area when the list guide menu service request is made, extracting location information for each program of each channel, and storing the extracted program location information in the second memory area; A third step of aligning the position information to correspond to list guide menu information for generating position information stored in the second memory area; A fourth step of sequentially generating corresponding program guide information of a corresponding channel stored in the first memory area based on the position-aligned respective position information to generate a list guide menu screen; And a fifth process of displaying the generated list guide menu screen on the monitor.

1 is a block diagram of a satellite broadcasting receiver suitable for applying a list guide generation method according to the present invention;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating a list guide according to an embodiment of the present invention when a user requests a list guide from a satellite broadcasting receiver.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating a list guide according to another embodiment of the present invention when a user requests a list guide from a satellite broadcasting receiver;

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a list guide menu generated for configuration of a menu screen according to the present invention;

5 shows an example of a typical grid guide menu.

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

102: tuner and demodulation block 104: control block

106: first memory block 108: second memory block

110: menu occurrence 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.

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a typical satellite broadcast receiver suitable for applying the list guide generation method according to the present invention.

As shown in the figure, a typical satellite broadcast receiver includes a tuner and demodulation block 102, a control block 104, a first memory block 106, a second memory block 108, and a menu generation block 110. Include.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the tuner and demodulation block 102, based on a tuning control signal provided from a control block 104 to be described later through the line L11 received through an antenna when the satellite broadcasting receiver is powered on, shown in FIG. Tunes the broadcast channel selected by the user in the broadcast signal received through the omitted broadcast signal receiver (i.e., the satellite receiving antenna), and converts the tuned broadcast channel signal into an intermediate frequency, demodulation, and error correction. The transport stream of the selected broadcast channel signal thus restored is provided to the MPEG decoding block (not shown) through the line L12.

Further, in the tuner and demodulation block 102, in response to the MPG, SPG acquisition request signal provided from the control block 104 via the line L11 when the satellite broadcast receiver is powered on, the additional information inserted in the transport stream ( Channel information packet data having program combination table (PAT) information including N-bit program identifier (PID) information, which means the broadcast program number of each channel. Extract program information packet data having program map table (PMT) information of N-bit program identifier (PID) information meaning audio, video, text, etc. of a specific channel, and apply intermediate frequency to the extracted packet data. After the conversion, demodulation and error correction to the transport stream, the restored guide packet transport stream is controlled via line L13. It is provided with the lock 104. The

At this time, the guide packet data of the channel information packet program information packets extracted from the transport stream is used to tune a specific channel selected from the transport stream received through the satellite channel when a specific channel desired by the user is selected. Also, when the grid guide menu or list guide menu service is required by the user, the grid guide menu screen or the list guide menu screen is used as actual content information.

Meanwhile, the control block 104 is, for example, a microprocessor. When the satellite broadcasting receiver is set (powered on), the first memory block 106 classifies the program guide information for each channel provided through the line L13 by time zone. In each of the partitioned areas (i.e., the corresponding buffer) within, for example, 24 hours of guide information from the current time, 48 hours of guide information after 24 hours, and 1 week of 48 hours after Guide information of 9 days (48 hours + 1 week) after the two days of guide information is stored in a separate memory area.

That is, in the first memory block 106, guide packet data are sequentially stored for each channel or time zone. Here, program guide information for each channel for approximately 48 hours after the current time is stored in a master program guide. MPG) and program guide information for each channel after 48 hours is called a special program guide (SPG).

On the other hand, the second memory block 108 stores pointers (eg, storage address information) for each program of each channel for configuring the list guide menu according to the present invention. May be stored when the control block 104 stores the guide packet data input via the line L13 in the corresponding area of the first memory block 106, or alternatively in response to a menu request when there is a list guide menu request from the user. The data may be stored at a time obtained through the search of the first memory block 106 that is performed.

That is, the control block 104 extracts a pointer (i.e., address information) for each program of each channel when the guide packet data input through the line L13 is stored in the first memory block 106, and the second memory block 108 is extracted. ) Or each channel obtained by searching for the first memory block 106 which is performed correspondingly when a list guide menu request is made from the user in the viewing mode of the satellite broadcasting receiver. Each program pointer may be extracted and stored in the second memory block 108.

In addition, in the control block 104, when a list guide menu request is received from a user, each channel stored in the second memory block 108 may correspond to a specific list guide menu to be searched and generated by the first memory block 106. The pointer of each program of the program is sorted, and when the sorting is completed, the guide information (for example, channel number, program start time, program title, etc.) for specific programs of specific channels is fetched according to the sorting order, and the line L14 is retrieved. Through the menu generation block 110 through.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 4, the list guide menu selected by the user is menu information on the movie program of each channel that is broadcasted by the time zone after the current time (AM 11: 00). Assuming that up to the portion indicated by the reference number Y, the control block 104 includes the Jurassic park pointer of CH9, the terminator pointer of CH14, the Ginkgo bed pointer of CH16,----, CH12 of the CH12 for the creation of the list guide menu. Rearrange the pointers stored in the second memory block 108 in the order of the BenHur pointers, etc., and simultaneously enable the corresponding buffers of the first memory block 106 at the same time as the alignment, thereby providing the corresponding program-specific guide information of the corresponding channel ( That is, the channel number, program start time, program title, etc.) are read, and the guide information read in the order of configuration of the list guide menu is read. Through the L14 provides a menu generation block 110.

Therefore, the menu generation block 110 generates a list guide menu screen based on the guide information for each program of each channel provided from the control block 104 through the line L14 when the list guide service request is made. The list guide menu screen data generated in this way is transferred to the display side, not shown, and as a result, the list guide menu, as shown in FIG. 4, as an example will be displayed on the monitor not shown.

That is, in the conventional method, all the guide information (ie, channel number, program start time, program title, etc.) necessary for generating the list guide menu is searched in the first memory block 106 by searching the first memory block 106. By retrieving and reordering the retrieved guide information to suit the list guide menu configuration, the memory capacity (i.e., the second memory block 108) becomes excessive, and thus an unnecessary time delay for the list guide generation. However, in the present invention, only the program-specific pointer of each channel is stored in the second memory block 108, and when the list guide menu is requested, the pointers are rearranged to be suitable for the list guide menu configuration. Program guide information of a corresponding channel is read from the first memory block 106 based on By ensuring that, reduction in the memory (second memory block 108), as well as it is possible to realize a menu guide list generated at a high speed.

Next, a process of rapidly generating a list guide menu according to the present invention in the satellite broadcasting receiver having the above-described configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

Example 1

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating a list guide menu according to an embodiment of the present invention when a user requests a list guide from a satellite broadcast receiver.

2, when the satellite broadcast receiver is powered on (step 202), the tuner and demodulation block 102 in response to the MPG, SPG acquisition request signal provided from the control block 104 via the line L11, the guide packet; The extracted guide packets are provided to the control block 104 via the line L13 (step 204).

Next, the control block 104 stores the extracted guide packets (ie, MPG and SPG packets) in the first memory block 106, and simultaneously extracts pointers (eg, storage address information) for each program of each channel. Stored in the second memory block 108 sequentially, for example, in order of programs for each channel and for each time zone in the channel (step 206).

Then, if reception of the guide packet for the MPG or SPG is in progress or terminated through the above-described process, the control block 104 determines whether a channel selection (ie channel selection) signal is input by the user. Check (step 208), and this channel tuning check is continued while performing the standby mode until a particular channel is selected by the user (step 210).

At this time, when the channel selection signal is input as a result of the check in step 208, the satellite broadcast receiver is switched to the viewing mode and the channel selected by the user is tuned, so that the broadcast program of the selected channel is broadcast on the monitor (not shown). (Step 212).

In addition, unlike the above, when the guide packet is completely received, as already employed in a normal television, without waiting for channel selection by a user, a previously viewed and stored channel (ie, the most recently watched satellite) Broadcast channel) may be set to automatically tune.

Next, in the course of the viewing mode as described above, the control block 104 checks whether there is a list guide menu request from the user (step 214), and there is a check result list guide request in this step 214. When searching for the guide information stored in the first memory block 106 (step 216), a list for generating a pointer which is location information for each program of each channel stored in the second memory block 108 based on the search result Rearrange to fit the guide menu (step 218).

That is, as an example, as shown in FIG. 4, assuming that the list guide menu selected by the user is menu information on a movie program of each channel that is broadcasted for each time zone after the current time (AM 11: 00), the control block ( 104 is stored in the second memory block 108 in the order of the Jurassic Park pointer of CH9, the terminator pointer of CH14, the Ginkgo bed pointer of CH16,----, the Benhur pointer of CH12, etc. for the creation of the list guide menu. Rearrange each pointer.

Next, in step 220, the corresponding buffer of the first memory block 106 is sequentially enabled in the order in which the pointers are sorted, so that the corresponding program guide information of the corresponding channel, that is, channel number, program broadcast start time, and program The title and the like are read out, and the guide information drawn out in the configuration order of the list guide menu is provided to the menu generation block 110.

Accordingly, the menu generation block 110 generates a list guide menu screen based on the guide information for each program of each channel drawn out using the graphic (step 222), and the list guide menu screen data generated in this way is not shown. In the monitor not shown, the list guide menu, as shown in FIG. 4, is displayed as an example (step 224).

On the other hand, in the control block 104, as described above, when the list guide menu is being displayed on the monitor, it is checked whether a scroll signal according to a user's operation (i.e., a scroll signal in the up and down direction) is input within a predetermined time. (Step 226, 228), when it is determined that the scroll signal is inputted as a result of the check in step 226, the process returns to step 220 described above to repeat the subsequent process, i.e., corresponding to scrolling. The program guide information is fetched to create a new continuous list guide menu.

In addition, if the scroll signal is not input within the predetermined time period as a result of the check in step 228, in step 230, the list guide menu screen currently displayed on the monitor is turned off, and then the satellite broadcasting receiver is switched to the viewing mode. Automatic switching As a result, the broadcast program of the channel that was originally watched will be displayed on the monitor.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, only the pointer information for each program of each channel is stored in the second memory block 108, and when the list guide menu request is made, the pointers are rearranged to be suitable for the list guide menu configuration. By reading out the program guide information of the corresponding channel from the first memory block 106 based on the rearranged pointers, the memory capacity required for the generation of the list guide menu can be reduced and the list guide menu can be quickly generated. It can be realized.

Example 2

3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating a list guide according to another embodiment of the present invention when a user requests a list guide from a satellite broadcast receiver.

Unlike the first embodiment of the present invention, which extracts and stores the guide packet and extracts and stores pointer information for each program of each channel at the same time, the list guide menu request is requested from the user in the viewing mode of the satellite broadcasting receiver. When generated, the program extracts pointer information for each program of each channel obtained through the search of the first memory block 106 correspondingly, stores the pointer information in the second memory block 108, rearranges the stored pointers, The processing after reordering is substantially the same as in Example 1 described above.

Referring to Fig. 3, when the satellite broadcast receiver is in the viewing mode (step 302), the control block 104 checks whether there is a list guide request (step 304), where the check result list guide request is If so, the first memory block 106 is searched to extract pointers for each program of each channel and stored in the second memory block 108 (step 306).

Then, when extraction of the pointers for each program of each channel is completed, in step 308, the guide information stored in the first memory block 106 is searched for, and the second memory block 108 is searched based on the search result. In order to generate a pointer which is location information for each program of each channel stored in the list guide menu to be generated (step 310), the process proceeds to step 312.

At this time, the steps 312 to 322 of the list guide processing in the present embodiment are substantially the same as the processing in the steps 220 to 230 of the above-described embodiment 1, and unnecessary redundant descriptions are provided. To avoid the detailed description here.

Therefore, the present embodiment for extracting pointers for each program of each channel when a list guide menu request is generated from the user in the viewing mode of the satellite broadcasting receiver also has substantially the same effect as that of the first embodiment, that is, the list guide menu. In addition to reducing the memory capacity required for creation, the list guide menu can be created at high speed.

As described above, according to the present invention, the pointer information for each program of each channel is rearranged to be suitable for the configuration required for generating the list guide menu, and the corresponding channel of the corresponding channel for the list guide configuration is based on the rearranged pointers. By extracting the program guide information to configure the list guide menu screen, the memory capacity required for generating the list guide menu can be reduced and the list guide menu can be generated at high speed.

Claims (4)

Receives 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. Restores to the transport stream through demodulation and error correction, stores the restored program guide packet data in the memory area, and executes the list guide in the satellite broadcasting receiver that services the program guide menu on the monitor based on the stored program guide information. In the producing method, Extracting program guide packets inserted at predetermined intervals on the received transport stream when the satellite broadcasting receiver is powered on; A second process of storing the extracted program guide packet in a first memory area and extracting location information for each program of each channel and storing the extracted program guide packet in a second memory area; A third step of performing a viewing mode of displaying a broadcast program of a tuned channel on a monitor by tuning a channel selected by a user when extraction of the program guide packet is completed; A fourth step of checking whether there is a request for a list guide menu service according to a user's operation during the viewing mode; When the list guide menu service request is made, the program guide information stored in the first memory area is searched and corresponding to the list guide menu information to generate location information stored in the second memory area based on the search result. A fifth process of positioning; A sixth process of sequentially generating corresponding program guide information of a corresponding channel stored in the first memory area based on the position-aligned respective position information to generate a list guide menu screen; And And a seventh step of displaying the generated list guide menu screen on the monitor. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is: An eighth step of checking whether a scroll signal is input within a preset predetermined time when the configured list guide menu screen is being displayed on the monitor; A ninth process of displaying a list guide menu screen corresponding to the scroll signal by repeating the process after the sixth process when the scroll signal is input within the preset predetermined time; And If there is no input of the scroll signal within the predetermined time period, further comprising a tenth step of turning off the list guide menu screen displayed on the monitor and automatically switching the satellite broadcasting receiver to a viewing mode. How to create a list guide for a digital satellite broadcast receiver. Receives 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. Restores to the transport stream through demodulation and error correction, stores the restored program guide packet data in the memory area, and executes the list guide in the satellite broadcasting receiver that services the program guide menu on the monitor based on the stored program guide information. In the producing method, A first step of checking whether there is a list guide menu service request according to a user's operation when the satellite broadcasting receiver is in a viewing mode while the program guide packet data is received and pre-stored in a first memory area; A second step of searching for program guide information stored in the first memory area when the list guide menu service request is made, extracting location information for each program of each channel, and storing the extracted program location information in the second memory area; A third step of aligning the position information to correspond to list guide menu information for generating position information stored in the second memory area; A fourth step of sequentially generating corresponding program guide information of a corresponding channel stored in the first memory area based on the position-aligned respective position information to generate a list guide menu screen; And And a fifth process of displaying the generated list guide menu screen on the monitor. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is: A sixth step of checking whether a scroll signal is input within a predetermined time when the configured list guide menu screen is being displayed on the monitor; A seventh process of displaying a list guide menu screen corresponding to the scroll signal by repeating the process after the fourth process when the scroll signal is input within the preset predetermined time; And And if there is no input of the scroll signal within the predetermined time, further comprising an eighth step of turning off the list guide menu screen displayed on the monitor and automatically switching the satellite broadcasting receiver to a viewing mode. How to create a list guide for a digital satellite broadcast receiver.