KR20100042700A - Apprartus and method for channel changing in image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus and a method for changing a channel in an image display device are provided to obtain a high quality image by performing an optimal channel setting operation. CONSTITUTION: A memory unit(150) stores searched channel information based on search request signal. If a user requests a channel change, the memory unit reads the stored channel information. A display unit displays a channel map based on the user request. The display unit displays a tuned image based on the information of the stored channel map. A control unit(140) tunes a corresponding channel based on the channel change request.

Description

Channel switching method and device in an image display device {Apprartus and method for channel changing in image display device}

The present invention relates to an image display device, and more particularly to a method and apparatus according to channel switching.

In general, channel tuning of a digital broadcast receiver is very flexible as it is affected by the environment. That is, the RF signal environment for receiving digital broadcasts is greatly influenced by environmental factors such as the surrounding environment, the location and region of the broadcast receiver, and accordingly no signal or picture or audio due to the impossible receiver of the broadcast signal. Cracking phenomenon occurs.

In particular, in the case of ATSC, various measurement guides are proposed to ensure that there is no problem with TV images due to such environmental factors. Important factors among these various environments are Co-channel, Adjucent, and Taboo characteristics.

The DTV receiver according to the signal receiving environment factor analyzes the input signal to determine whether it is a Co-channel, Adjucent, Taboo or Normal environment, and adjusts the receiver's settings to suit the signal.

For this reason, it takes a predetermined time until the final image is displayed when switching channels, or if the correct setting is not made, the image cannot be displayed or the image is broken.

As a result, a phenomenon inconvenient to watch a broadcast occurs even in a time loss required for channel switching.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable a user to watch a high-definition video through fast channel switching in a video display device.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to enable an optimal channel setting to be quickly performed using a channel map.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a receiver for receiving a broadcast signal; A processor for extracting channel information data from the received broadcast signal and tuning a corresponding channel according to the extracted information when switching channels; A memory unit configured to store searched channel information according to a search request signal, and to read the stored channel information when a channel switching request is generated from a user; A display unit configured to display a channel map according to a user request, and to display an image tuned according to information of a pre-stored channel map according to channel switching; And a controller configured to control tuning of a corresponding channel according to a channel switch request signal from a user based on channel information stored in the memory unit.

In addition, the present invention comprises the steps of performing an automatic channel search; Generating a channel map including information of each channel according to the automatic channel search; Storing the generated channel map; Tuning a corresponding channel when a user channel selection signal is generated according to the channel map; Characterized in that consisting of.

The image display device according to the present invention has an effect of reducing the tuning time of a corresponding channel during channel switching by generating a channel map including information on characteristics of each channel when searching for a channel.

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 video display device to which the present invention is applied.

The image display device to which the present invention is applied may include a receiver 110, a processor (! 20), an output unit 130, a controller 140, a storage unit 150, and an interface unit 170.

The receiving unit 110 may include an external signal input unit 111 and a tuner unit 112, and the processing unit 120 may include an image / audio signal switching unit 121, an A / D converter 122, an MPEG decoder, and an image. / Audio signal processing unit 123 and the image memory unit 124, the output unit 130 is a video signal output unit 131, a display module 132, audio signal output unit 133 and a speaker 134 may include. The external signal input unit 111 receives an external signal received from an external device such as a digital versatile disk (DVD), a set top box, or the like, and provides it to the video / audio signal switching unit 121.

The tuner 112 tunes at least one channel according to a control signal of the controller 140 and decodes or separates the video / audio / data signals received through the tuned channel to switch the video / audio signal switch 121. ) And so on. The data signal includes electric program guide (EPG) information including information such as start and end times of a broadcast program broadcasted on a channel.

The data signal may be decoded into data information by decoding, and control information of a program, which is at least a part of the information, is directly or indirectly transmitted to the controller 140, and the controller 140 uses the same to broadcast the current signal. You can browse other channels where the same content as the content is being aired.

The tuner unit 110 includes an analog tuner 112a for receiving an analog signal, a digital tuner 112d for receiving a digital signal, an analog decoder 112b for decoding an analog signal, and a digital decoder 112e for decoding a digital signal. can do.

In particular, the tuner unit 112 according to an embodiment of the present invention may receive adjacent channel information, such as strength, frequency information, etc., according to the received broadcast signal, and store the information in the memory unit 150. have.

The video / audio signal switching unit 121 selects at least one channel among the channels provided from the external signal input unit 111 and the tuner unit 112, separates the video / audio signal of the channel as necessary, and then stores the MPEG. The decoder and the video / audio signal processor 123 are provided. The video / audio signal switching unit 121 may include a demultiplexer capable of separating video / audio / data signals.

When the signal selected by the video / audio signal switching unit 121 is an analog signal, after the video signal and the audio signal of the analog signal are separated, the analog video signal is converted into a digital video signal by the A / D converter 122 and the MPEG The decoder and the video / audio signal processor 123 may be provided, and the analog audio signal may be provided to the audio signal output unit 133. When the signal selected by the video / audio signal switching unit 121 is a digital signal, both the video signal and the audio signal of the digital signal may be provided to the MPEG decoder and the video / audio signal processing unit 123.

The MPEG decoder and the video / audio signal processing unit 123 restore and process the video / audio stream from the video / audio signal switching unit 121 into video / audio data, and the processed video signal is a video signal output unit. 131, the processed voice signal is provided to the voice signal output unit 133. In addition, the MPEG decoder and the video / audio signal processor 123 may mix the OSD data provided by the central processor 142 with the restored and processed video signal. The MPEG decoder and the video / audio signal processor 123 according to an embodiment of the present invention, when a channel switch request signal is generated by a user request, the image according to the characteristics of the corresponding channel included in the channel map previously stored in the memory unit 150. The processing may be performed to provide an optimal image to the output unit 130.

The image memory unit 124 provides a memory area required for decoding and signal processing of the MPEG decoder and the video / audio signal processor 123. The control memory unit 143 may be used in a search step of finding another channel that broadcasts the same content. The control memory unit 143 may be used to compare the content identity of two or more channels when the symbol use step and the image comparison step are performed.

The video signal output unit 131 processes the video signal output from the MPEG decoder and the video / audio signal processing unit 123 through the display module 132 and the audio signal output unit 133 performs the MPEG. The audio signal output from the decoder and the video / audio signal processor 123 may be processed through a speaker 134.

The user interface 160 may be, for example, a local key button attached to a remote controller or an image device, and receives various commands and information from a user, converts them into control signals, and transmits them to the central processing unit 142. The embodiment of the present invention performs a function of setting an output environment desired by a user according to receiving a channel switch request signal or changing a channel.

As described above, the image display device to which the present invention is applied receives the corresponding channel through the receiving unit 110 according to a channel search request generated by a user request automatically or manually. A channel map is formed using channel information including the data and the like and stored in the memory unit 150.

Therefore, when a channel selection or switching request signal is generated according to a user's request, a corresponding channel is tuned / set using a channel map stored in the memory unit 150 to output broadcast video or audio through the output unit 130.

Hereinafter, a channel switching operation according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a channel map generation operation according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a table illustrating a channel map generated by the operation of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a channel switching operation according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a channel setting operation when switching channels according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The controller 140 performs an image output mode for outputting an image or audio received through the receiver 110 through the output unit 130 (step 205). The user interface unit 160 performs the image output mode. When the automatic channel search request signal is input through step S210, the automatic channel search according to the broadcast signal received through the receiver 110 is performed.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the execution of the automatic channel search request during the image output mode has been described as an example. However, the channel search may be performed by the user's request during the second mode instead of the image output mode.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the controller 140 generates a channel map including information according to a channel acquired by the automatic channel search (step 220) and controls the channel map to be stored in the memory unit 150. If it is determined that the channel search is ended, the controller 140 ends generation and storage of the channel map and ends the channel search (step 230).

The information of the channels included in the channel map will be described in detail through the table shown in FIG. 3.

The channel map includes information about the channel obtained through the channel search. That is, information on whether there is a signal for each channel, whether a digital / analog signal is present, and the signal strength is stored. In addition, the received broadcast signal includes information on whether ghosts are generated and whether a frequency shift occurs. In particular, the information on the adjacent channel according to channel selection may be checked according to the signal level (strength) and filtering may be performed accordingly.

An operation for channel tuning using the channel map will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings.

The controller 140 performs a broadcast output mode for outputting a broadcast received through the receiver 110 in response to a user request (step 405). The controller 140 performs a user interface unit 160 during the broadcast output mode. When the channel change request signal is input (step 410), the channel map pre-stored in the memory unit 150 is checked in order to check the information on the switched channel.

 The controller 140 determines whether the information of the corresponding channel exists according to the channel map check result (step 420), and if the information of the corresponding channel does not exist, displays the OSD (On Screen Display) such as no channel information (425). On the other hand, if it is determined that the information of the corresponding channel exists as a result of checking the channel map, the controller 140 sets the corresponding channel according to the channel map information (step 430) to output the broadcast of the corresponding channel with an optimal image or audio. (Step 435)

A setting operation of a corresponding channel according to the channel map information will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

The controller 140 checks the channel map information of the switched channel according to the control signal received through the user interface unit 160 (step 505) and determines whether there is a signal for the corresponding channel (step 510). That is, it is determined whether the signal for the channel selected by the user through the channel map of FIG. For example, if a channel such as ch 2, ch 3, ch 5, ch 6 is selected, it is determined that the signal is a no-signal channel by the information stored in the channel map, and the information on the no-signal channel is output through the display module 132. (Step 515)

On the other hand, when the controller 140 determines whether the selected channel has a signal, the controller 140 determines adjacent channel information for the corresponding channel (step 520). Since the signal strength of the adjacent channel of 10 is higher than that of the corresponding channel, the corresponding channel is set by applying a filter that can minimize the interference of the adjacent channel (step 525).

In addition, the controller 140 determines whether there is information on whether or not the frequency shift for the selected channel exists (step 530). For example, the channel selected by the user is ch. In case of 9, the channel is shifted by + 100KHz according to the frequency shift information calculated at the time of automatic channel setting (step 535) and the setting of the channel is completed (step 560).

The controller 140 may determine whether an analog broadcast signal exists according to the same channel number with respect to the selected channel (step 540). For example, ch 13 corresponds to a corresponding channel as the analog signal and the digital broadcast signal coexist. In order to select a digital broadcast signal having a good signal state or to first output the digital broadcast signal, a channel setting for selecting the digital broadcast signal is performed by applying a filter for removing the analog signal (step 545).

The controller 140 determines, for example, whether the Ghost component exists as the channel map information on the selected channel as described above (step 550). As a result, the weak component due to reflection is lately mixed by the Ghost component or due to poor matching. A filter for compensating for the generated error is applied to compensate for the frequency of the corresponding channel (step 555).

As described above, the controller 140 may output a high quality image and audio by tuning a corresponding channel using previously stored channel map information about a channel selected by a user.

In the embodiment of the present invention, some elements that may affect the channel setting are described as an example, but various elements required for channel tuning that may be checked when the channel is set may be stored in the channel map. In addition, the channel tuning elements stored in the channel map may be preferentially compensated for elements corresponding to the tuning characteristics of the corresponding channel, rather than sequential detection or compensation by specific elements.

1 is a block diagram of a video display device to which the present invention is applied.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a channel map generation operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a table illustrating a channel map generated by the operation of FIG.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a channel switching operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a channel setting operation when switching channels according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (7)

Receiving unit for receiving a broadcast signal; A processor for extracting channel information data from the received broadcast signal and tuning a corresponding channel according to the extracted information when switching channels; A memory unit configured to store searched channel information according to a search request signal, and to read the stored channel information when a channel switching request is generated from a user; A display unit configured to display a channel map according to a user request, and to display an image tuned according to information of a pre-stored channel map according to channel switching; And a controller for controlling to tune a corresponding channel according to a channel change request signal from a user based on the channel information stored in the memory unit. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the channel information comprises a channel map including signal strength and adjacent frequency information according to a broadcast signal received from the receiver and is stored in the memory unit. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display unit displays a channel map previously stored in the memory unit by a user request. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the display unit to retrieve channel map information stored in a memory when a channel switching request is generated from a user, and to display information on the absence of channel map information on a display unit when channel map information of a corresponding channel does not exist. Channel switching device in the video display device, characterized in that. On video display device Performing an automatic channel search; Generating a channel map including information of each channel according to the automatic channel search; Storing the generated channel map; And performing tuning of a corresponding channel when a user channel selection signal is generated according to the channel map. The method of claim 5, wherein the channel map is generated including channel signal presence, signal strength, and frequency band. The method of claim 5, wherein the OSD is displayed to indicate that the channel map information does not exist when the channel map information does not exist according to the selected channel.

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