KR20090074640A - Method of providing an electrical program guide - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of providing an electronic program guide is provided to enable a user to selectively use an EPG which can help watch broadcasting program information provided from channels through one screen or an EPG which can help watch broadcasting program information providing from one channel through one screen. A controller of a digital television outputs a broadcasting program received to a channel which is currently selected(604). A user presses a button of a remote controller or a front panel to request an EPG(606). Or the user requests an EPG through a menu outputted in a screen by a specific button. The controller outputs EPG information stored in a data storage unit(608). When an EPG change request is received, the controller changes and outputs an EPG(610).

Description

How to provide an electronic program guide {METHOD OF PROVIDING AN ELECTRICAL PROGRAM GUIDE}

The present invention relates to a method for providing an electronic program guide (EPG) in a digital television.

Due to the proliferation of high speed internet and the advent of digitalized broadcasting program production environment, digital broadcasting system using digital television which can provide various additional contents as well as functions of existing television has been developed.

Digital television not only provides various information to the user through the Internet, but also stores and provides various contents to the user.

On the other hand, conventionally, before users watch television (hereinafter, simply called 'TV') broadcasts, they searched for and referred to programs they wish to watch through program guides provided in newspapers or program guides provided on the web.

However, since digital television provides a service for showing viewers an electric program guide (EPG) (hereinafter simply referred to as an 'EPG') received from a broadcasting station or a second broadcasting service provider, At any time while watching television, you can view information about various broadcast programs through the EPG.

However, the currently provided EPG provides broadcast program information provided in a plurality of channels through one screen or broadcast program information provided for each channel by time zone. That is, digital televisions provide only one of the above two electronic program guide providing methods.

Therefore, a user using an electronic program guide that provides broadcast program information provided from a plurality of channels through a single screen may move the screen up or down or left and right so that the user can view the broadcast program in all time zones for one channel. do. That is, in the electronic program guide providing method as described above, since broadcast program information for a plurality of channels is provided through a single screen, the broadcast program information for all time zones cannot be provided on a single screen, and the user may move up or down the screen. Or you can move left and right to view broadcast programs in all time zones.

In addition, a user using an electronic program guide that provides broadcast program information provided on one channel through one screen may not experience the inconvenience as described above, but programs that are broadcast in the same time zone on each channel may be Since it cannot be seen, a user who wants to select a specific broadcast program at a specific time has difficulty in selecting a specific broadcast program.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems, an electronic program guide for viewing the broadcast program information provided in a plurality of channels through a single screen, and broadcast program information provided in one channel one It is to provide a method for providing an electronic program guide for the user to selectively use the electronic program guide that can be viewed through the screen of.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing an electronic program guide applied to a digital television, comprising: outputting, by a controller of the digital television, a broadcast program received through a currently selected channel through a display unit of the digital television; When a request for outputting an electronic program guide is received, the entire channel electronic program guide or broadcast program information provided in one channel is provided so that the controller can view the broadcast program information provided in a plurality of channels through a single screen. Outputting through the display unit an electronic program guide set in a basic mode among the selected channel electronic program guides to be viewed through a screen of the display unit; When the request for outputting the selected channel electronic program guide for the selected channel is received while the full channel electronic program guide is output, the controller terminates the full channel electronic program guide and displays the selected channel electronic program guide for the selected channel. Outputting through a display unit; And when the request for outputting the full channel electronic program guide is received while the selection channel electronic program guide is output, the controller terminating the selection channel electronic program guide and outputting the full channel electronic program guide through the display unit. Include.

The present invention provides an electronic program guide for viewing broadcast program information provided in a plurality of channels through one screen, and an electronic program for viewing broadcast program information provided in one channel through a single screen. By making the guide available to the user selectively, there is an excellent effect that the user can search for the broadcast program in various ways.

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

1 is a configuration diagram of a digital broadcasting system to which an electronic program guide providing method according to the present invention is applied.

As described above, a digital broadcasting system using digital television has recently been developed. As one of such digital broadcasting systems, a digital broadcasting system using an Internet Protocol (hereinafter, simply referred to as 'IP') network has been used. A digital broadcasting system using an IP network refers to a service that can provide various contents delivered through an IP-based communication network through a television. The digital television using an IP network is an MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 method through an IP network. It performs the function of displaying digital information compressed and transmitted by technology. Digital television using the IP network as described above can provide a variety of additional services, such as Internet search, watching movies, home banking, short message service (SMS) and reservation services.

In addition, a television (recording function television) equipped with a personal video recorder (PVR) function that automatically records and plays back a broadcast in an internal storage unit (HDD: hard disk drive) is also a digital television. It is widely spread in recent years. Since the recording function TV as described above includes a storage unit (HDD), not only a broadcast program but also various contents such as EPG and schedule information can be stored, so that the user can obtain various information from the digital television.

Meanwhile, in the digital broadcasting system to which the electronic program guide providing method according to the present invention is applied, various broadcasting programs, such as over-the-air broadcasting program, cable broadcasting program, satellite broadcasting program, internet broadcasting program, and cable broadcasting program, are shown in FIG. And a digital television 400 for outputting a broadcast program transmitted from the broadcast station system.

The broadcasting station system 100 is a system for providing broadcast programs as described above, and may be variously operated according to its type. Meanwhile, the broadcasting station system may transmit a broadcast program for selling a product or providing various services to a digital television, and may receive a user's inquiry or purchase request information through the digital television.

The digital television 400 performs a function of outputting a broadcast program transmitted from a broadcasting station system. On the other hand, the digital television can be remotely controlled by the remote controller 500.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the digital television shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the digital television to which the electronic program guide providing method according to the present invention is applied includes a channel tuning unit 410, a signal processing unit 420, a display unit 430, a speaker 440, and a data storage unit. 450, an interface 460, a user selector 470, and a controller 490.

The channel tuning unit 410 may include one or more tuners for tuning a broadcast signal received through an antenna, and a demodulator for outputting the tuned signal in a transport stream form through a demodulation process and an error correction process. The broadcast signal having a frequency band corresponding to the tuning control signal of the controller is tuned.

The signal processor 420 processes a broadcast signal of a channel tuned through the channel tuner and displays the same on the display. In addition, the signal processing unit processes not only the broadcast signal received through the channel tuning unit but also an image signal of an electronic program guide (EPG) (hereinafter, simply referred to as 'EPG') stored in the data storage unit. It can also be indicated in the unit.

The display unit 430 performs a function of outputting a video signal decoded by a signal processor from a broadcast signal of a selected channel so that a user can view it, and may include digital light processing (DLP), liquid crystal display (LCD), and PDP ( Various types of display modules such as Plasma Display Penal) may be applied.

The speaker 440 performs a function of outputting the audio signal decoded by the signal processor among the broadcast signals of the selected channel so that a user can hear it.

The data storage unit 450 is composed of a hard disk drive and the like, and stores a broadcast signal and EPG information received from the channel tuning unit.

The interface 460 is connected to a network and a computer (PC) to transmit and receive various broadcast signals and content information.

The user selector 470 includes various buttons for controlling the controller. On the other hand, the user selection unit includes at least one of a remote signal receiving unit for receiving a remote control signal transmitted from a remote control means such as a remote control or at least one of the front panel consisting of buttons formed on the outside of the television, each of the remote control and the front panel It contains various buttons as one.

The controller 490 is implemented as a CPU or a microcomputer. The controller 490 not only outputs a broadcast program among the broadcast signals transmitted through the channel tuning unit, but also stores the broadcast signal in the data storage unit. It may be.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for providing an electronic program guide according to the present invention. 4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating a state in which an electronic program guide is displayed on a screen of a digital television according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a view of broadcast program information provided in a plurality of channels through a single screen. FIG. 5 illustrates an EPG for enabling the user to view broadcast program information provided from one channel through one screen.

While the digital television is being driven in the power-on state (602), the control unit of the digital television outputs a broadcast program received on the currently selected channel (604).

If the user wants to read which channel the desired broadcast program is being broadcast on while watching the broadcast program being output according to the above process, or the user wants to see which broadcast program is being broadcast on the other channel, the remote controller Alternatively, the EPG may be requested through a menu provided on the front panel by pressing a button provided on the front panel or by a specific button (606).

When the request is received, the control unit extracts the EPG information stored in the data storage unit and outputs the extracted EPG information as shown in FIG. 4 or 5 (608). In this case, FIG. 4 illustrates an EPG for viewing broadcast program information provided from a plurality of channels through a single screen, and FIG. 5 shows broadcast program information provided from one channel through a single screen. It shows the EPG to make it possible. Meanwhile, the controller preferentially outputs the EPG set as the basic mode among the two EPG providing methods shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The basic mode setting may be set by the producer when the digital television is produced, and a user using the digital television may set one of the two EPGs as the basic mode through the basic mode setting menu after purchasing the digital television.

Meanwhile, the user may request an EPG change, and when an EPG change request is received, the controller may change the EPG as shown in FIG. 4 to an EPG as shown in FIG. 5 or output the EPG as shown in FIG. 5, or as shown in FIG. 5. The same EPG may be changed to an EPG as shown in FIG. 4 and output. Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 4, an EPG for viewing broadcast program information provided in a plurality of channels through a single screen is called an all-channel EPG, and is provided in one channel as shown in FIG. 5. The EPG for viewing the broadcast program information through one screen is called a selection channel EPG.

First, a user who reads an entire channel EPG can easily find a broadcast program that he / she wants to watch, since the user can view broadcast program information broadcasted by time zones in a plurality of channels through one screen. However, as described above, the user cannot move the screen to the left or right (or up and down) because the broadcast program information of all broadcasting time periods cannot be simultaneously viewed for one channel through the full channel EPG.

However, as shown in FIG. 4, the full channel EPG according to the present invention is provided with a cursor 10 that allows the user to select a full channel EPG screen, so that the user moves the direction movement button to move the cursor. After the desired channel number is placed at the marked position, when the confirmation button or the selection button is pressed, the controller changes the entire channel EPG shown in FIG. 4 to the selected channel EPG as shown in FIG.

At this time, since the broadcast program information is output only for one channel through the selected channel EPG, the user can view a program broadcasted at all times in one channel at a glance.

On the other hand, if the confirmation button or the selection button is selected in the state that the cursor is placed on the screen providing the title of the broadcast program rather than the position where the channel number is displayed, the controller determines information of the selected broadcast program, that is, a simple plot and performer information. And turn information, and the like.

In addition, it has been described above that the cursor is provided, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the user may output the selected channel EPG as shown in FIG. 5 by directly inputting the output channel number. In addition, when a separate number (not shown) designated for each channel is output next to the channel number of each channel, the user may output the selected channel EPG as shown in FIG. 5 by selecting the number.

However, since there may be a user who views the entire channel EPG while watching the entire channel, the present invention can be divided into the above-described methods to select a selection channel EPG and a method for requesting channel output. have. For example, the present invention outputs the selected channel EPG only when the confirmation button is selected while the cursor is positioned at the position indicating the channel number, and on the other screen, that is, the screen providing the title of the program. When the OK button is selected while the cursor is positioned, or when the output channel number is directly input through the user selection unit, or when a separate number designated for each channel is directly input, a broadcast program received from the selected channel is selected. You can output it.

On the other hand, a user who views the selected channel EPG through the above-described process and wants to view the entire channel EPG again, selects the all channel change button 30 provided in the selected channel EPG as shown in FIG. You can request an EPG output. That is, when the all channel change button 30 is selected, the controller outputs the all channel EPG instead of the selected channel EPG.

In addition, the present invention may output specific broadcast program information in the selected channel EPG through the method described in the full channel EPG.

In addition, the present invention may output the selected channel EPG for the changed channel when the channel change button 40 is selected in the selected channel EPG.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a digital broadcasting system to which an electronic program guide providing method according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the digital television shown in FIG.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for providing an electronic program guide according to the present invention.

4 and 5 are exemplary views showing a state in which an electronic program guide is displayed on a screen of a digital television according to the present invention.

<Description of Major Symbols in Drawing>

410: channel tuning unit 420: signal processing unit

430: display unit 440: speaker

450: data storage unit 460: interface

470: user selection unit 490: control unit

Claims (4)

In the electronic program guide providing method applied to digital television, Outputting, by the controller of the digital television, a broadcast program received through a currently selected channel through a display unit of the digital television; When a request for outputting an electronic program guide is received, the entire channel electronic program guide or broadcast program information provided in one channel is provided so that the controller can view the broadcast program information provided in a plurality of channels through a single screen. Outputting through the display unit an electronic program guide set to a basic mode among the selected channel electronic program guides to be viewed through a screen of the electronic device; When the request for outputting the selected channel electronic program guide for the selected channel is received while the full channel electronic program guide is output, the controller terminates the full channel electronic program guide and displays the selected channel electronic program guide for the selected channel. Outputting through a display unit; And If the request for outputting the full channel electronic program guide is received while the selection channel electronic program guide is output, the control unit terminating the selection channel electronic program guide and outputting the full channel electronic program guide through the display unit. How to provide an electronic program guide. The method of claim 1, Ending the full channel electronic program guide and outputting the selected channel electronic program guide for the selected channel, In the state where the full channel electronic program guide is output, a cursor located at a specific channel number is selected, a specific channel number is directly selected through a user selection unit of the digital television, or a separate number designated for each channel is selected. If directly selected through the user selection unit, the control unit terminates the full channel electronic program guide, and provides the electronic program guide outputting the selected channel electronic program guide for the channel selected according to the process through the display unit Way. The method of claim 1, Ending the selected channel electronic program guide and outputting the full channel electronic program guide, When the button for outputting the full channel electronic program guide is selected while the selection channel electronic program guide is output, the controller terminates the selection channel electronic program guide and outputs the full channel electronic program guide through the display. To provide an electronic program guide. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, When a cursor located in any broadcast program included in any one channel of the full channel electronic program guide or the selected channel electronic program guide is selected, the controller outputs information on the broadcast program through the display unit. The electronic program guide providing method further comprising the steps.

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