CN104602106B - The switching method of television channel and the switching equipment using this method - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for switching television channels and a switching device using the method are provided, the method comprising the following steps: S1. receiving and analyzing electronic program guide (EPG) information, and creating a dynamic program list; S2. acquiring control for switching television channels Information; S3. Call the corresponding dynamic program list according to the control information, and switch TV channels according to the order of channels arranged in the corresponding dynamic program list. On the one hand, the present invention filters out the TV channels that are the same as the programs played on the current channel, so that users will not always switch to repeated TV programs when switching TV channels; on the other hand, it filters out the TV channels that are the same as the programs on the current channel , it is convenient for users to switch to channels with different play times and/or end times but repeated TV programs, realizes fast switching of TV channels according to the channel switching sequence required by users, reduces the complexity of TV channel switching, and improves TV Efficiency of channel switching.

Description

Method for switching TV channels and switching device using the method

technical field

The invention relates to the field of electronic technology, in particular to a method for switching video channels and a switching device using the method.

Background technique

With the development of TV entertainment, there are more and more TV programs and more and more TV channels. But at a certain time, many different TV channels will broadcast the same TV program, and the frequency is not low. For example, some local TV stations will rebroadcast TV programs of national TV stations in a fixed time period, and for another example, various TV channels will also compete to broadcast popular TV programs, so that at the same time period, the same program is broadcast by a large number of TV channels. play simultaneously. When the user does not want to watch the TV program and uses the channel switching up and down keys to switch the TV channel, the same TV program will always appear, and the user needs to switch the TV channel multiple times to switch to other TV programs, which increases the user's operation of switching TV channels. It takes time for the user to switch channels, reduces the user experience, and affects the user's viewing mood. It is also contrary to the modern way of life for most users to obtain information with high speed and efficiency.

On the other hand, for TV programs that do not support the look-back function, although many different TV channels will play the same TV program, the time to start playing is not the same. When the user wants the content before or after the current TV program, the user uses When the channel switching button is used to switch channels, it is also necessary to switch the TV channel multiple times to switch to the target channel, which also increases the user's operation of switching TV channels, consumes the time for the user to switch channels, and reduces the user experience.

For current digital TV, including digital TV based on coaxial cable, satellite, terrestrial transmission and other access methods or IP digital TV based on Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol), the set-top box provides users with an electronic program guide (Electronic Program Guide, referred to as EPG), so that users can switch channels according to EPG information. However, when channel switching is performed according to the electronic program guide (EPG) information, the prior art does not provide information that can judge whether the content of the current channel broadcast program is the same as the content of the TV channel to be switched or not based on the electronic program guide (EPG) information. Different, optimize the switching method of TV channels. Therefore, in order to facilitate the user's operation of switching TV channels, how to realize fast switching of TV channels according to the user's willingness to switch channels and bring a more humanized and intelligent experience is an urgent problem to be solved.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a switching method of TV channels and switching equipment using the method, by using Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information to create a dynamic program list, to achieve fast switching of TV channels according to the channel switching sequence required by the user , reducing the complexity of TV channel switching and improving the efficiency of TV channel switching.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for switching television channels is provided, comprising the following steps:

S1. Receive and analyze Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information, and create a dynamic program list;

S2. Acquiring control information for switching TV channels;

S3. Invoking the corresponding dynamic program list according to the control information, and switching TV channels according to the order of channels arranged in the corresponding dynamic program list.

Further, the dynamic program list includes the same program sorting list and different program sorting lists.

Further, the control information includes channel switching information of the same program and channel switching information of different programs.

Furthermore, the same program sorting list stores a plurality of channel records identical to the programs played on the current channel, and sorts the stored multiple channel records according to the same program priority; Multiple channel records with different programs, and sort the stored multiple channel records according to different program priorities.

Furthermore, the same program priority includes playback start time priority and/or playback end time priority; the different program priorities include user-set priority and/or random-set priority.

Preferably, the sorted list of different programs filters multiple channels that play the same program but are different from the current channel, and only store one of the channels as the corresponding channel record.

Further preferably, the different program sorting lists filter multiple channels that play the same program and are different from the current channel, and only store the channel with the highest priority of the playback start time and/or the highest priority of the playback end time as the corresponding channel Record.

Further, after the step S1, a step S1' is also included: reacquiring and analyzing Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information after a predetermined time elapses, and updating the dynamic program list.

Further, if the program played on the current channel supports the look-back function, the dynamic program list only includes a ranking list of different programs.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a TV channel switching device is provided, and the switching device performs channel switching by using the above TV channel switching method, which specifically includes:

A dynamic program list creation module, used to obtain and analyze electronic program guide (EPG) information, and create a dynamic program list;

A control information acquisition module, configured to acquire control information for switching TV channels;

The TV channel switching module is used to call the corresponding dynamic program list according to the control information, and perform TV channel switching according to the sequence of channels arranged in the corresponding dynamic program list.

According to the TV channel switching method provided by the present invention and the switching device using the method, on the one hand, the TV channel that is playing the same program as the current channel is filtered out, so that the user will not always switch to the repeated TV program when switching the TV channel ; On the other hand, the same TV channel as the current channel broadcast program is filtered out, which is convenient for the user to switch to the channel with different broadcast time and/or end time but repeated TV programs, and realizes the TV channel according to the channel switching sequence required by the user. Fast switching is performed, which reduces the complexity of TV channel switching and improves the efficiency of TV channel switching.

Description of drawings

The above and/or other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more clear through the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows the flowchart of the TV channel switching method provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of a television channel switching device provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.

Fig. 1 shows a flow chart of a method for switching television channels provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, in providing a kind of switching method of TV channel according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, comprise the following steps: S1. receive and analyze Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information, create dynamic program list; S2. obtain with Control information for switching TV channels; S3. Call the corresponding dynamic program list according to the control information, and switch TV channels according to the order of channels arranged in the corresponding dynamic program list.

Wherein, the dynamic program list may include the same program ranking list and different program ranking lists. The control information may include channel switching information of the same program and channel switching information of different programs.

In the specific implementation, since each TV channel has electronic program guide (EPG) information, the TV programs played by each TV channel at each time and the broadcast start and end time of each TV program can be understood through the electronic program guide (EPG) information , then the dynamic program list created by obtaining and analyzing the electronic program guide (EPG) information of each TV channel can store the program information played by each TV channel.

In other embodiments, in addition to creating a dynamic program list through electronic program guide (EPG) information, the dynamic program list can also be created by extracting code streams of TV programs.

In order to achieve fast switching of TV channels according to the channel switching sequence required by users, different switching TV channel control information is provided. According to different control information, different dynamic program lists can be called, so as to realize channel switching according to user needs Quickly switch between TV channels in sequence.

Wherein, the same program sorting list is used to store multiple channel records identical to the current channel broadcast program, and to sort the stored multiple channel records according to the same program priority; the different program sorting list is used to store the same The channel plays multiple channel records with different programs, and sorts the stored multiple channel records according to different program priorities.

Specifically, by acquiring and parsing the electronic program guide (EPG) information, find out the same and different channels as the current channel broadcast program, and sort according to the preset same program priority for multiple channels with the same program as the current channel broadcast After that, it is stored in the same program sorting list; for multiple channels that are different from the programs played on the current channel, they are sorted according to different preset program priorities, and then stored in different program sorting lists.

In the specific implementation, the TV program currently played by channel A is a, and by obtaining and analyzing the electronic program guide (EPG) information, it is found that channels C and D are currently playing TV program a, while channel B is currently playing TV program b , channel E is currently playing TV program e, then sort channel C and channel D according to the same program priority and store them in the same program sorting list, and sort channel B and channel E according to different program priorities and store them in different in the sorted list of programs. When obtaining the control information for switching TV channels is the same channel switching information, then switch from current channel A to channel C or channel D sorted according to the same program priority; when obtaining the control information for switching TV channels is When switching information of different channels, switch from the current channel to channel B or channel E sorted according to different program priorities, so as to realize fast switching of channels according to the switching sequence required by the user.

Preferably, the same program priority may include playback start time priority and/or playback end time priority; the different program priorities may include user-set priority and/or random-set priority.

Although many different TV channels will broadcast the same TV program, except for live programs or rebroadcasting TV programs of national TV stations in a certain period of time, a large number of TV channels that jointly broadcast the same program often have slightly different broadcast times, resulting in different channels at the same time. The playing progress of the programs is not the same. Therefore, when the priority of the playing start time is selected as the priority of the same program, it is convenient for the user to quickly switch to other channels that play the same program as the current channel but have different playing progress, so that the user can choose Watch the content before or after the current broadcast content in the current channel broadcast program; on the other hand, even if the TV channels that jointly broadcast the same program have the same broadcast start time, each channel may have different clips for the same program, and some channels may broadcast For the simplified version, some channels may play the full version, resulting in different broadcast end times of these channels. Therefore, when the priority of the broadcast end schedule is selected as the priority of the same program, it is convenient for the user to quickly switch to the same program as the current broadcast, but Other channels that play different versions of content enable users to choose to watch content of different versions of the currently playing content in the currently playing program. For different program priorities, the user can set them arbitrarily, such as setting according to the user's preference, program type, etc.; time etc. to set.

In the specific implementation, the current TV program played by channel A is a, and by obtaining and analyzing the electronic program guide (EPG) information, it is found that the TV program a is also played currently is channel C and channel D, but the beginning of channel C playing the same program The time is earlier than channel D. Therefore, according to the play start time priority of channel C and channel D, channel C is before channel D, so that users can quickly switch to the channel with content before or after the current playback content. On the other hand, although the start time of TV program a broadcast on channel C and channel D is the same, the TV program a broadcast on channel C is the full version, and the TV program a broadcast on channel D is the abbreviated version, therefore, according to the priority of the broadcast end time The order in which channel C and channel D are arranged is that channel D is before channel C, so that users can quickly switch to a channel that is the same as the currently playing program but plays a different version of the content.

Preferably, the sorted list of different programs filters multiple channels that play the same program but are different from the current channel, and only store one of the channels as the corresponding channel record.

For multiple channels that play different programs from the current channel, since there may be situations where the same programs are played among these channels, in order to facilitate the user to quickly select a channel with different programs, these channels are deduplicated. For Multiple channels with repeated programs are played, and only one of the channels is selected to be stored in the sorting list of different programs. After the user switches to this channel, the dynamic program list can be recreated based on the currently playing programs of this channel.

In the specific implementation, the TV program currently broadcast on channel A is a, and by obtaining and analyzing the electronic program guide (EPG) information, it is found that channel B is currently broadcasting TV program b, and channel F is currently broadcasting TV program b, but the broadcasting of the two The start times are different, therefore, only one of channel B and channel F is selected to be stored in different program ranking lists as the channel record for TV program b.

Further preferably, the different program sorting lists filter multiple channels that play the same program and are different from the current channel, and only store the channel with the highest priority of the playback start time and/or the highest priority of the playback end time as the corresponding channel Record.

In specific implementation, if the broadcast start time of channel B is earlier than channel F, then the channel with the highest priority of broadcast start time is channel B, and channel B is stored in different program sorting lists as the channel record of TV program b; on the other hand , if the broadcast version of channel B is the full version, and the broadcast version of channel F is the simplified version, then the channel with the highest priority of the broadcast end time is channel F, and channel F is stored as the channel record of TV program b in the sorting list of different programs .

Further, after the step S1, a step S1' is also included: reacquiring and analyzing Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information after a predetermined time elapses, and updating the dynamic program list.

Since the TV programs of the TV channel will be updated at intervals, the information stored in the dynamic program list can also be synchronized with the content of the electronic program guide (EPG), such as updating according to the set time period, so as to ensure the real-time information sex. The set time can be set to 5 minutes or 10 minutes.

Further, if the program played on the current channel supports the look-back function, the dynamic program list only includes a ranking list of different programs.

In the specific implementation, for the IP digital TV based on the Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol), since it supports the look-back function, it is convenient to go back and select the currently playing TV program. Therefore, there is no need to provide the same program sorting list, only different program sorting Just list.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of a TV channel switching device provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, according to the switching device provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the switching device performs channel switching using the above-mentioned TV channel switching method, which specifically includes:

Dynamic program list creation module 1, used to obtain and analyze Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information, and create a dynamic program list;

A control information acquisition module 2, configured to acquire control information for switching TV channels;

The TV channel switching module 3 is configured to call a corresponding dynamic program list according to the control information, and perform TV channel switching according to the order of channels arranged in the corresponding dynamic program list.

According to the TV channel switching method provided by the present invention and the switching device using the method, on the one hand, the TV channel that is playing the same program as the current channel is filtered out, so that the user will not always switch to the repeated TV program when switching the TV channel ; On the other hand, the same TV channel as the current channel broadcast program is filtered out, which is convenient for the user to switch to the channel with different broadcast time and/or end time but repeated TV programs, and realizes the TV channel according to the channel switching sequence required by the user. Fast switching is performed, which reduces the complexity of TV channel switching and improves the efficiency of TV channel switching.

The above respective embodiments of the present invention are merely exemplary, and the present invention is not limited thereto. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, wherein the scope of the present invention is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

Claims (7)

1. A switching method of TV channel, is characterized in that, comprises the following steps: S1. Receive and analyze Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information, and create a dynamic program list; S2. Acquiring control information for switching TV channels; S3. Invoke the corresponding dynamic program list according to the control information, and switch TV channels according to the order of channels arranged in the corresponding dynamic program list; The dynamic program list includes the same program ranking list and different program ranking lists; The same program sorting list stores multiple channel records identical to the current channel broadcast program, and sorts the stored multiple channel records according to the same program priority; the same program priority includes play start time priority and/or Play end time priority; The different program sorting list stores a plurality of channel records different from the programs played on the current channel, and sorts the stored plurality of channel records according to different program priorities; The sorting list of different programs filters multiple channels that play the same program and are different from the current channel, and only store one of the channels as a corresponding channel record. 2. The TV channel switching method according to claim 1, wherein the control information includes channel switching information of the same program and channel switching information of different programs. 3. The TV channel switching method according to claim 1, wherein the different program priorities include user-set priorities and/or random-set priorities. 4. The method for switching television channels according to claim 1, wherein the different program sorting lists filter a plurality of channels that have the same broadcast program and are different from the current channel broadcast program, and only store the broadcast start time priority and/or the channel with the highest priority at the play end time as the corresponding channel record. 5. The method for switching television channels according to claim 1, further comprising step S1' after step S1: after a predetermined time, reacquiring and parsing Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information, updating the dynamic programme schedule. 6 . The method for switching television channels according to claim 1 , wherein, if the program on the current channel supports a look-back function, the dynamic program list only includes a ranking list of different programs. 7. A TV channel switching device, characterized in that the switching device uses the switching method described in any one of claims 1-6 to perform channel switching, specifically comprising: A dynamic program list creation module, used to obtain and analyze electronic program guide (EPG) information, and create a dynamic program list; A control information acquisition module, configured to acquire control information for switching TV channels; A TV channel switching module, configured to call a corresponding dynamic program list according to the control information, and perform TV channel switching according to the order of channels arranged in the corresponding dynamic program list; The same program sorting list stores multiple channel records identical to the current channel broadcast program, and sorts the stored multiple channel records according to the same program priority; the same program priority includes play start time priority and/or Play end time priority The different program sorting list stores a plurality of channel records different from the programs played on the current channel, and sorts the stored plurality of channel records according to different program priorities; The sorting list of different programs filters multiple channels that play the same program and are different from the current channel, and only store one of the channels as a corresponding channel record.