KR20050021684A - Method for notifying broadcasting channel of television by using latter broadcasting - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A broadcasting channel guiding method using caption broadcasting is provided to guide programs of broadcasting channels other than the currently viewed channel to viewers using caption broadcasting of each broadcasting channel. CONSTITUTION: At least one broadcasting channel other than the currently viewed channel is designated as a caption channel for extracting caption information. The caption information is extracted from a broadcasting signal of the caption channel and decoded(208). The decoded caption information and the channel number of the caption channel construct OSD(On Screen Display) data(212). A video signal of the currently viewed channel and the OSD data are synthesized to generate a composite video signal(214). An image corresponding to the generated composite video signal is displayed on a monitor(216).

Description

Broadcast channel guide method using text broadcasting {METHOD FOR NOTIFYING BROADCASTING CHANNEL OF TELEVISION BY USING LATTER BROADCASTING}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a text broadcasting reception technique of television, and more particularly, to a broadcasting channel guide method using text broadcasting suitable for extracting text broadcasting broadcasted through a plurality of broadcasting channels and serving them to viewers.

As is well known, teletext broadcasting involves editing news, sports, tourism and leisure, cultural arts, securities, etc. into text or graphics, encoding them, inserting them into digital signals in the vertical return period of the video signal with a television program, and transmitting them. That's the way.

For this purpose, the broadcasting side (i.e., broadcasting station) of a broadcasting program divides various pieces of information by fields while editing a regular program, edits it into a plurality of page screens with page numbers such as magazines, and digitally displays all the screens in a designated order. The transmission in the form of a signal is repeated periodically, and the broadcast program sequentially extracts only the signals for the page configuration desired by the viewer from the digital signals appearing only in the vertical return period on the receiving side and displays them on the monitor.

The text broadcasting as described above is also very usefully used for foreign language multicasting, language learning broadcasting and the like.

On the other hand, users (viewers) to directly check the program guide information provided in the form of a menu through the user graphic interface on the television to find out which program is being broadcast on a broadcast channel other than the one currently being watched You should see or check the program schedules listed in newspapers.

However, unlike the above, if a user can easily and easily find out which broadcasting program is broadcasted on a specific broadcasting channel or surrounding broadcasting channels that he / she wants while watching a certain broadcasting channel, the user can use it. It will not only increase convenience but also satisfy various service needs. However, there is currently no suggestion or proposal for such a service technique.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the above problems of the conventional method, by using a text broadcast on each broadcast channel to select a text broadcast that can guide viewers the content of the broadcast program other than currently being watched The purpose is to provide a receiving method.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for guiding a broadcast channel in a television broadcast in which a plurality of broadcast channels selectively include a text broadcast, wherein at least one arbitrary broadcast channel other than the current viewing channel is used for character information. Designating a caption channel for extraction; extracting and decoding character information from a broadcast signal of the caption channel; configuring decoded character information as OSD screen data together with a channel number of the caption channel; It provides a broadcast channel guide method using a text broadcasting comprising the step of synthesizing the video signal of the viewing channel and the OSD screen data to generate a mixed video signal, and displaying the generated mixed video signal on a monitor .

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

The core technical aspect of the present invention is to directly check the program guide information provided in the form of a menu through a user graphic interface on a television or a newspaper in order to know what broadcast program is being broadcast on a broadcast channel other than the broadcast channel currently being viewed. Unlike the above-described conventional method of confirming a broadcast program schedule disclosed in the text, etc., characters inserted into other broadcast channels not currently being watched (for example, specific broadcast channels desired by the user or surrounding broadcast channels of the broadcast channel being watched). By automatically extracting the broadcast and displaying it on the monitor in OSD form, the viewer can easily recognize a broadcast program that is being broadcast on a broadcast channel other than the broadcast channel currently being viewed. Purpose It can be easily achieved.

1 is a schematic block diagram of a television system suitable for applying a method of guiding a broadcast channel using text broadcasting according to the present invention, which includes a control block 102, a tuner and a demodulation block 104, and a text decoding block. 106, memory block 108, A / V processing block 110, image processing block 112, OSD processing block 114, and image synthesis block 116.

Referring to FIG. 1, the control block 102 includes, for example, a microprocessor for performing overall operation control of a television, and corresponding channel tuning control signals when a user selects switching of a broadcast channel during a viewing mode. Is generated and provided to the tuner and demodulation block 104 through the line L11, and a channel tuning control signal for extracting character information from a broadcasting channel other than the channel currently being watched is provided at a predetermined time interval (for example, once per second). Etc.) and transmits the digital character information provided from the character decoding block 106 to the tuner and the demodulation block 104 through the line L11, and stores the received digital character information in the memory block 108.

At this time, the memory block () storing the character information extracted from each broadcast channel (b) stores broadcast channel (aka, caption channel) information for extracting character information from a broadcast channel other than the currently viewed broadcast channel. May be a broadcast channel arbitrarily designated by a user (such as a broadcast channel that is frequently watched frequently), broadcast channels from the most recent sequence previously watched, or may be a channel adjacent to the channel currently being watched. For example, assume that there are broadcast channels such as ---- 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, ---- and the currently watching broadcast channel is channel 15. If the text information is set to be extracted and displayed on the monitor, channels 11, 13, 17, and 19 will be designated as caption channels.

In addition, the control block 102, for the broadcast channel guide service using the character broadcast according to the present invention, withdraw the digital character information of each broadcast channel (designated any broadcast channel) stored in the memory block 108 to the corresponding broadcast; The channel information is provided to the OSD processing block 114 to be described later.

Next, the tuner and demodulation block 104 are, for example, a terrestrial broadcast tuner, a satellite broadcast tuner, a cable broadcast tuner, or a composite tuner thereof, based on a broadcast channel tuning control signal provided from the control block 102. After tuning a specific broadcast channel from a broadcast signal received through a broadcast signal receiver (not shown), demodulate it into an original signal before transmission and transmit the demodulated signal to the A / V processing block 110, and then tune to a tuning control signal for extracting character information. Based on this, character information is extracted and demodulated in an arbitrary broadcast channel (ie, a broadcast channel other than the broadcast channel currently being watched) and transmitted to the character decoding block 106.

The character decoding block 106 then decodes the encoded digital character information provided from the tuner and demodulation block 104, where the decoded character information is passed to the control block 102 via line L12 to the memory block. Stored at 108.

On the other hand, the A / V processing block 110 divides the demodulated broadcast program data into audio and video data based on various control signals provided from the control block 102, and compresses and encodes the separated audio and video data. The audio signal is restored to the previous original signal, and the audio signal thus restored is transmitted to the audio processing block (not shown), and the restored video signal is transmitted to the image processing block 112 of the next stage.

Next, the image processing block 112 converts the reconstructed image signal into a signal that can be displayed through the monitor, that is, converts it into an analog signal and transfers it to the monitor side, not shown for display.

On the other hand, the OSD processing block 114 reconstructs broadcast channel information and text information selectively provided from the control block 102 through the line L13 into OSD screen data, and reconstructs the reconstructed OSD screen data into the image processing block 112. To pass. Here, the OSD screen data includes channel numbers of broadcast channels and text information extracted from broadcast signals of the corresponding broadcast channels.

Accordingly, the image processing block 112 outputs only the image signal to the monitor when only the image data is provided from the A / V processing block 110, and the OSD screen data is provided from the OSD processing block 114 simultaneously with the image signal. When the video signal and the OSD screen data are synthesized, the mixed video signal, i.e., as shown in FIG. 3, the mixed video signal having the OSD screen data including the broadcast channel number and character information is output to the monitor side. . In Fig. 3, reference numeral 302 denotes a broadcast screen, 304a, 306a, and 308a denote channel numbers of respective broadcast channels, and 304b, 306b and 308b denote character information extracted from broadcast signals of respective broadcast channels, respectively. Here, it may be desirable to configure the OSD screen displayed on the monitor to be translucent so that it may cause less trouble to the viewing of the broadcast program being watched.

Next, a description will be given of a process of guiding the viewer with content information on specific broadcast channels that are not being watched in accordance with the present invention using a television system having the above-described configuration.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of guiding a viewer with content information on specific broadcast channels using text broadcasting according to the present invention.

First, it is assumed that the caption channel is pre-specified and stored in the memory block 108 for convenience of description and understanding. In this case, the caption channel is arbitrarily designated by the user (that is, a broadcast channel frequently watched by the user). May be a broadcast channel, broadcast channels from the most recent sequence previously watched, or a channel adjacent to the channel currently being watched.

Here, the peripheral channel, for example, there are broadcast channels such as ---- 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, ---- and the current broadcast channel is channel 15, 4 It is assumed that channels 11, 13, 17, and 19 are assumed to be extracted and displayed on the monitor.

Referring to FIG. 2, the control block 102 stores a memory block at a predetermined time interval (for example, once per second, etc.) while a viewer performs a viewing mode in which a viewer watches an arbitrary broadcast channel (step 202). Based on the caption channel information stored in 108, a tuning control signal for extracting the character information of the caption channel is generated through the line L11 and transmitted to the tuner and the demodulation block 104, thereby controlling switching of the broadcast channel tuning of the tuner. (Steps 204, 206).

As a result, the tuner and demodulation block 104 tunes the caption channels in response to the tuning control signal on the line L11, extracts digital character information inserted in the broadcast signal, and transmits the digital character information to the character decoding block 106, and decodes the character. Block 106 decodes the encoded digital character information and passes it to control block 102 over line L12 (step 208).

Subsequently, the control block 102 stores the decoded character information provided through the line L12 in the memory block 108 together with the channel number information of the corresponding broadcast channel, and stores the channel number and the character information of each caption channels in the memory block ( Withdraw from 108 and transfer to line OSD processing block 114 via line L13 (step 210).

In response, the OSD processing block 114 reconstructs the channel number of the gap channel and the text information of each caption channel selectively provided from the control block 102 through the line L13, and then reconstructs the character information of the caption channel into the OSD screen data. (Step 212).

As a result, in the image processing block 112, the OSD screen including the video signal provided from the A / V processing block 110 and the channel number of the gap channel provided from the OSD processing block 114 and the character information of each caption channel. By synthesizing the data, a mixed video signal is generated (step 214), and the mixed video signal generated in this way is transferred to the monitor side and displayed on the monitor (step 216) as an example, as shown in FIG. The user can easily know which program is being broadcasted by another user's designated or arbitrarily designated broadcasting channel through the text information of the OSD screen displayed on the monitor without any user intervention. Switching can be performed.

As described above, according to the present invention, in order to know what broadcast program is being broadcast on a broadcast channel other than the broadcast channel currently being viewed, the program guide information directly provided in the form of a menu through a user graphic interface on the television or Alternatively, unlike the above-described conventional method of checking a broadcasting program schedule disclosed in a newspaper, a text broadcast inserted in a specific broadcasting channel desired by a user or a neighboring broadcasting channel of a broadcasting channel currently being watched is automatically extracted and displayed on the monitor in the form of an OSD. By displaying on the screen, the viewer can easily recognize a broadcast program that is being broadcast on a broadcast channel other than the broadcast channel currently being viewed, thereby enhancing user convenience and effectively satisfying various service needs.

1 is a schematic block diagram of a television system suitable for applying a method for guiding a broadcast channel using text broadcasting according to the present invention;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of guiding a viewer with information on specific broadcast channels using text broadcasting according to the present invention;

3 is a screen example showing an example of displaying on a monitor a text broadcast of another broadcast channel selectively received according to the present invention.

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

102 control block 104 tuner and demodulation block

106: character decoding block 108: memory block

110: A / V processing block 112: image processing block

114: OSD processing block

Claims (5)

A method of guiding a broadcast channel in a television broadcast in which a plurality of broadcast channels selectively include text broadcast, Designating at least one random broadcasting channel other than the current viewing channel as a caption channel for extracting character information; Extracting and decoding character information from the broadcast signal of the caption channel; Configuring decoded character information into OSD screen data together with the channel number of the caption channel; Generating a mixed video signal by synthesizing the video signal of the viewing channel and the OSD screen data; Displaying the generated mixed video signal on a monitor; Broadcast channel guide method using a text broadcast comprising a. The method of claim 1, The method may further include storing the channel number and the decoded character information of the caption channel in a memory block. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The caption channel is a broadcast channel guide method using a text broadcast, characterized in that the user-selected broadcast channel. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The caption channel is a broadcast channel guide method using a character broadcast, characterized in that the broadcast channel in the most recent order previously viewed. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The caption channel is a broadcast channel guide method using a text broadcast, characterized in that the adjacent channel adjacent to the viewing channel.