KR20000044728A - Method for reserving program in digital television - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for reserving a program in a digital television is provided to perform a reserved program at a predetermined time by using EPG(Electronic Program Guide) data. CONSTITUTION: A method for reserving a program in a digital television comprises the steps of: checking whether a predetermined reserved program selection key is input, or not; selecting and storing a channel of a current mode as the reserved program if the predetermined reserved program selection key is input; checking whether a system time is a reserved time, or not; extracting channel information of a program corresponding to the reserved time information if the system time is the reserved time; and tuning a channel corresponding to the extracted information.

Description

How to book a program on digital television

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to digital TV, and in particular, a reservation program for displaying reservation information of a program selected by a user using electronic programming guide (EPG) data of a digital TV and tuning to a corresponding channel at a time when the program is broadcast. It is about a selection method.

Digital TV receives a digital broadcast signal in the form of a packet on a packet basis, extracts a broadcast signal of a selected channel among broadcast signals received by a transport demuxer, and converts the extracted broadcast signal to MPEG (Motion Picture Expert). After decoding in a group), it is configured to provide to the display device.

In this digital broadcasting method, a digital broadcasting tuner included in a digital TV (receiver) receives a digital broadcasting signal in the form of a bitstream and mixes it with an IF signal received through a low noise converter to tune a channel selected by a user.

Meanwhile, in digital TV broadcasting, a transmission signal of a digital broadcasting signal received to a digital TV through a fixed channel is restored to a transport stream through a process of converting to an intermediate frequency, demodulating, and error correction. This includes program service data such as television broadcasting, data broadcasting, and electronic programming guide (EPG) data.

Among them, EPG data has a structure in which EPG packet information is transmitted when a unit of time or a subscriber's request is input, and displays an EPG screen menu of a program to be broadcasted through a display device. Through the subscriber can determine the broadcast time, program provider (broadcaster), show time and title of the program you want to watch.

However, the expected number of channels in digital TV is tens of times that of current analog TVs. For example, in the United States, where there are digital TV broadcasts, there are about 100 channels. There is a problem that is difficult to find.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a user reserves a program using EPG data of a digital TV to configure a reserved channel as a database, periodically checks the database to display the reserved program, and the corresponding channel at a time when the reserved program is broadcasted. To provide a way for the user to watch the program.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention stores EPG information extracted from a digital broadcast signal received from a predetermined broadcast receiver of a digital TV in a predetermined memory block, and simultaneously pointers for each program of each channel are sequentially stored in the memory block. In a method for setting a reserved program in a digital television to be stored in a digital TV, when a preset reserved program selection key is input by checking whether a preset reserved program selection key is input, the channel in the current viewing mode is tuned to the reserved program, and the corresponding program is selected. Storing the information, checking whether the system time and the reserved time are the same, and extracting the channel information of the corresponding program corresponding to the reserved time information, and tuning to the channel corresponding to the extracted information. Characterized in that it comprises a step of .

1 is a block diagram of a digital TV suitable for program reservation according to the present invention;

2 is a view showing an example of a reservation program menu screen configuration according to the present invention;

3 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a process of setting a program reservation in a digital TV according to the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a process of setting a program reservation in a digital TV according to the present invention;

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of displaying a reservation program view request from a user according to the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

102: tuner and demodulation block 104: control block

106: memory block 108: reserved program database

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

1 is a block diagram of a digital TV suitable for explaining an apparatus for providing a video according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the digital TV according to the present invention includes a tuner and demodulation block 102, a control block 104, a memory block 106 and a reservation program database 108.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the tuner and demodulation block 102, when the power of the digital TV is turned on, a broadcast signal receiver (i.e., not shown) is provided by a tuning control signal provided from the control block 104 described later through the line L11. And tuning the broadcast channel selected by the user in the broadcast signal received through the digital reception antenna) and converting the tuned broadcast channel signal into an intermediate frequency, demodulation, and error correction, etc. 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, additional information inserted on the transport stream, guide packet data in response to the EPG acquisition request signal provided from the control block 104 via the line L11 when the power of the digital TV is turned on. (Program information and corresponding channel information and time information) are extracted. The extracted packet data is restored to EPG data through a process of converting to an intermediate frequency, demodulation, and error correction, and the restored EPG data is provided to the control block 104 through the line L13.

At this time, the EPG data extracted from the transport stream is stored in the memory block 106, and when the information is requested by the user, the EPG data is extracted from the memory block 106 by the control block 104 to display the program menu screen. Used as For example, when a user presses a predetermined reserved program key provided as an icon on a keyboard or a screen not shown in the viewing mode, and selects a program to be reserved in the EPG menu with an icon or the like, the program title and the corresponding channel and broadcast are displayed. The date and time and location information of the program are recorded in the reservation program database 108.

By repeating this operation during the viewing mode, the reservation program database 108 is stored which stores channels that the user prefers and frequently uses.

In addition, the memory block 106 stores pointers (eg, storage address information) for each program of each channel for configuring the EPG menu, and the pointers for each program of each channel are controlled by the control block 104. The guide packet data input through L13 may be stored in the corresponding area of the memory block 106, or alternatively, may be stored in the memory block 106 when an EPG menu output request is received from the user.

The menu output method selected according to the EPG menu output request as described above can be largely divided into three types: program schedule view, reservation program view, and preferred channel view.

After the reservation program database is configured (one or more channels are selected), if a reservation program view request (operation signal) is input from the user through a keyboard or operation button not shown, the control block 104 reserves the reservation program database 108. In order to search the channel information stored in the C-D, the searched channels are searched in the memory block 106 to align pointers for each program corresponding to the corresponding program. The control block 104 receives program data from the first memory 106 when the alignment is completed and provides the EPG data to the display side in the sorting order. The display side receives the EPG data and outputs the reservation program menu screen. As an example, as shown in Fig. 2, a program list selected by a subscriber is shown, which shows a broadcast start time, a broadcast channel, a broadcast time, and a program title. Although only four programs are shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to set any more programs as reserved programs, and after such setting, it is possible to search for a plurality of reserved programs using the vertical scroll keys.

The system timer 110, which provides the time of the system to the control block 104, is a timer that is operated in the system. The system timer 110 recognizes the time at all times so that the control block 104 can recognize the time and perform processing according to the corresponding time. The time information is transmitted to the control block 104 in units of 1 minute, and the reservation program database 108 is periodically searched based on this time information (for example, 5 minutes), and a predetermined reservation program corresponding to the corresponding time is periodically provided. Check if it is time to broadcast. Checked in the control block 104, if a program of the corresponding time is recorded in the reserved program database 108, the channel information is sent to the tuner and demodulation block 102 to be tuned to that channel. Such an operation may be performed by using a rechargeable battery built in a home appliance, even when the digital TV is turned off.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment in which a user reserves a corresponding program in a digital TV and tunes to a channel on which the corresponding program is broadcast at a time when the corresponding program is broadcast. Referring to FIG. 3, when the power of the digital TV is turned on (step 302), the tuner and demodulation block 102 extracts EPG data in response to the EPG acquisition request signal provided from the control block 104 via the line L11. The extracted EPG data is provided to control block 104 via line L13 (step 304).

Next, the control block 104 stores the extracted EPG data in the memory block 106 while simultaneously channel information, program start time, program progress time, program provider, program title, program rating information, and program position information of each program. Are sequentially stored in the memory block 106. For example, the program is stored in the order of programs for each time slot for each channel (step 306).

At the same time that the digital TV is switched to the viewing mode and the program guide packet data reception is completed, as already adopted by the ordinary TV, the previously watched and memorized channel (ie, the most recently watched digital broadcast channel) is automatically displayed. A program of a channel that is set to tune and is automatically tuned in is broadcast (step 308).

In step 310, the control block 104 checks if a reserved program selection key has been input from the user during the viewing mode as described above. As a result of the check in step 310, if a reserved program selection key is input, the control block 104 extracts the broadcast date time, the broadcast channel, the title, etc. corresponding to the selected program, and extracts the extracted information from the reserved program database 108. In step 312 to reconstruct the reservation program database (step 314).

The control block 104 receives the system time from the system timer 110 periodically (e.g., every minute), for example, every minute (step 316). In step 318, the control block 104 periodically searches the reservation program database 108 to check whether the system time and the reserved time are the same. If checked in step 318 and checked to be the same, control block 104 extracts channel information of the program corresponding to the reserved time information from reservation program database 108 (step 320).

In step 322, the control block 104 causes the tuner and demodulation block 102 to tune to the channel corresponding to the extracted information.

4 illustrates another embodiment in which a digital TV is powered on automatically when a user reserves a corresponding program and then tunes to a channel where the corresponding program is broadcasted at a time when the corresponding program is broadcast, even when the digital TV is turned off. It is a flowchart. 4, when the power of the digital TV is turned on (step 402), the tuner and demodulation block 102 extracts EPG data in response to the EPG acquisition request signal provided from the control block 104 via line L11. The extracted EPG data is provided to control block 104 via line L13 (step 404).

Next, the control block 104 stores the extracted EPG data in the memory block 106 and at the same time the program start time, program progress time, program provider, program title, program rating information, and the like of each program of each channel. The pointers, which are address information, are also sequentially stored in the memory block 106. For example, the program is stored in order of programs for each time zone for each channel (step 406).

At the same time that the digital TV is switched to the viewing mode, and when the reception of the program guide packet data is completed, as is already employed in a normal TV, the previously watched and stored channel (that is, the most recently watched digital broadcast channel) is automatically displayed. A program of a channel that is set to tune and is automatically tuned in is broadcast (step 408).

In step 410, while in the same viewing mode as step 408, control block 104 checks if a reserved program selection key has been entered from the user. As a result of the check in step 410, if a reserved program selection key is input, the control block 104 extracts a broadcast date time, a broadcast channel, a title, etc. corresponding to the selected program, and stores the same in the reserved program database 108. (Step 412), the reserved channel database is reconfigured (step 414).

Power is turned off after reconfiguration (step 416). The control block 104 receives the system time periodically (e.g., every minute) from the system timer 110 (e.g., every minute). In step 420, the control block 104 periodically searches the reservation program database 108 to check whether there is a reservation program corresponding to the system time and the same time as the reservation recorded date. If it is determined in step 420 that the reserved program exists, the control block 104 extracts the channel information and the name and pointer of the program in which the corresponding program is broadcast from the reserved program database (step 422). Power on the power (step 424). In step 426, the control block 104 causes the tuner and demodulation block 102 to tune to the channel corresponding to the extracted information.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of displaying a reservation program view request when a user inputs the reservation program view. Referring to FIG. 5, when the power of the digital TV is turned on (step 502), the tuner and demodulation block 102 collects EPG data in response to the EPG acquisition request signal provided from the control block 104 via the line L11. And the extracted EPG data is provided to the control block 104 via line L13 (step 504).

Next, the control block 104 stores the extracted EPG data in the memory block 106 and at the same time the program start time, program progress time, program provider, program title, program rating information, and the like of each program of each channel. The pointers, which are address information, are also sequentially stored in the memory block 106. For example, the program is stored in the order of programs for each time slot for each channel (step 506).

At the same time that the digital TV is switched to the viewing mode and the program guide packet data reception is completed, as already adopted by the ordinary TV, the previously watched and stored channel (ie, the most recently watched digital broadcast channel) is automatically displayed. The program of the channel which is set to tune and is automatically tuned in is broadcast (step 508).

In step 510, the control block 104 checks whether a reserved program selection key has been input from the user during the viewing mode as described above. As a result of the check in step 510, if a reserved program selection key is input, the control block 104 extracts a broadcast date time, a broadcast channel, a title, etc. corresponding to the selected program, and stores the same in the reserved program database 108. Reconfigure the reservation program database (step 512) and return to the viewing mode (step 514).

In step 516, in a state where a reservation program database is configured (one or more program information is stored), it is checked whether a reservation program view request has been entered. As a result of the check in step 516, if a reservation program view request is entered, the EPG information stored in the memory block 106 is searched (step 518), and the reservation program is adapted to fit the EPG menu to be created based on the search result. The pointer of each reserved program list stored in the database 108 is sorted (step 520). In step 522, the aligned pointer is transmitted to the display side to display the EPG menu.

As described above, the present invention tunes a program that a user wants to watch to a corresponding channel at a corresponding time to view it, and if desired, a list of programs reserved through a key input unit can be viewed through a menu screen. .

Claims (1)

A reserved program in a digital television that stores EPG information extracted from a digital broadcast signal received from a predetermined broadcast receiver of a digital TV in a predetermined memory block, and simultaneously stores pointers for each program in each channel in the memory block. In the setting method, Checking whether a preset reserved program selection key is input and if the reserved program selection key is input, selecting a channel in the current viewing mode as a reserved program and storing corresponding program information; If it is checked that the system time and the reserved time are the same, extracting channel information of the corresponding program corresponding to the reserved time information; And tuning to a channel corresponding to the extracted information.