JP2001136443A - Channel selection method for television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a channel selection method for a television receiver that can select channels without discriminating digital or analog broadcast programs. SOLUTION: Position numbers are assigned to each channel of analog broadcast programs, different position numbers are assigned to programs whose service number differs even when the channel is the same for digital broadcast programs. Channel list information consisting of channel information by each position number, identification information denoting whether a broadcast program is an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast, and service numbers, when the broadcast is digital broadcast, is stored, the channel selection method allows a user to directly or indirectly by an up-down key to designate the position number and the channel selection.program extract processing is conducted on the basis of the channel list information corresponding to the position number designated by the user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for selecting a television receiver.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, digital broadcasting has fixed channels for broadcasting such as satellite broadcasting, and has not been mixed with analog broadcasting. However, when digital terrestrial broadcasting is started, analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting are mixed.

In the case of terrestrial broadcasting, broadcasting stations and channels used are different for each region. Therefore, it is difficult to separate digital broadcasting and analog broadcasting by fixing channels.

As described above, in order to receive a broadcast when analog broadcast and digital broadcast are mixed, it is necessary to newly add a digital broadcast receiver to the existing analog broadcast receiver. However, merely by adding, it is necessary to distinguish between the mode at the time of receiving an analog broadcast and the mode at the time of receiving a digital broadcast, and change the channel by a unique channel selection method.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a television receiver capable of receiving both an analog broadcast and a digital broadcast can perform channel selection without distinction between digital broadcast and analog broadcast. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of selecting a television receiver which simplifies the program selection operation.

[0006]

According to a first method of selecting a television receiver according to the present invention, a position number is assigned to each channel for analog broadcasting, and the same channel is used for digital broadcasting on the same channel. Even if there is a program with a different service number, a different position number is assigned to each program, and channel information,
The identification information indicating whether the broadcast is an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast and, in the case of a digital broadcast, channel list information including a service number are stored, and the user is allowed to specify the position number directly or indirectly using an uptown key. In addition, a channel selection / program extraction process is performed based on channel list information corresponding to a position number designated by a user.

In a second television receiver tuning method according to the present invention, a position number is assigned to each channel of analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting, and channel information, whether analog broadcasting or digital broadcasting, is determined for each position number. The main list storing identification list information and channel list information including an index and the number of services for searching for a service number included in the channel in the case of digital broadcasting, and a service number included in each channel of digital broadcasting. Prepare a sublist stored in the order of the digital broadcast with the smallest index number, and if a channel up or down command is input during reception of an analog broadcast, up or down from the position number of the program currently being received Position at the position corresponding to the down command Channel number, and performs channel selection and program extraction processing based on the channel list information corresponding to the moved position number. If a channel up or down command is input during digital broadcast reception, a sub list With reference to, it is determined whether or not the service number included in the currently receiving channel exists at the position corresponding to the up or down command from the service number of the currently receiving program, and If the service number included in the currently receiving channel exists at the position corresponding to the up or down command from the service number of the program of the program, the program extraction processing is performed based on the service number, and the current The service number included in the currently receiving channel is located at the position corresponding to the up or down command from the service number of the program being received. If the position number does not exist, it moves from the position number of the program currently being received to the position number of the position corresponding to the up or down instruction, and selects and selects the channel based on the channel list information corresponding to the moved position number. It is characterized in that a program extraction process is performed.

In the channel selection / program extraction process, it is determined whether the broadcast corresponding to the moved position number is an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast based on the identification information corresponding to the moved position number. In the case of analog broadcasting, channel selection processing is performed based on channel information corresponding to the moved position number. In the case of digital broadcasting, channel selection processing is performed based on channel information corresponding to the moved position number. And, based on the index and the number of services corresponding to the moved position number, obtain the service number included in the channel corresponding to the moved position number from the sublist, and select a channel based on the up instruction. In the case of program extraction processing, program extraction is performed based on the first service number among the acquired service numbers. Performs processing, when it is tuned-program extracting process based on the down-instruction performs a program extracting process based on the last service number of the acquired service number.

When the position number is directly input, it is determined whether the broadcast corresponding to the input position number is an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast based on the identification information corresponding to the input position number. In the case of analog broadcasting, channel selection processing is performed based on the channel information corresponding to the input position number, and in the case of digital broadcasting, selection is performed based on the channel information corresponding to the input position number. In addition to performing station processing, based on the index and the number of services corresponding to the input position number, obtain the service number included in the channel corresponding to the input position number from the sublist, and obtain the service number of the obtained service number. The program extracting process is performed based on the first service number.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[1] Description of Configuration of Television Receiver

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a television receiver.

The video signal fetched from the antenna 1 is
The signal is sent to the analog tuning unit 2 and the digital tuning unit 7.
In analog broadcasting, a channel of a specific frequency is tuned by the analog tuning unit 2 and sent to the analog demodulation unit 3. The analog demodulation unit 3 extracts a video signal and an audio signal from the input signal and sends them to the output selection unit 4.

On the other hand, digital broadcasting is performed by a digital tuner 7.
A channel of a specific frequency is selected and sent to the digital demodulation unit 8. Digital broadcasting is sent in the form of a normal transport stream (hereinafter, stream), and a plurality of programs are multiplexed on one channel. The stream demodulated by the digital demodulation unit 8 is sent to the stream separation unit 9 and specific video data and audio data in the stream are extracted.

The specific video data extracted by the stream separation unit 9 is sent to the video decoder 10, and the specific audio data extracted by the stream separation unit 9 is sent to the audio decoder 11. Video and audio data separated from the stream are encoded and compressed for efficient transmission. The video decoder 10 and the audio decoder 11 generate a video signal and an audio signal by expanding the compressed video data and audio data, and send them to the output selection unit 4.

The output selection section 4 selects either an analog broadcast video / audio signal or a digital broadcast video / audio signal, and outputs the video signal to the monitor 5 and the audio signal to the speaker 6.
Send to Thereby, the received program is reproduced.

Selection of analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting, separation of streams, and selection of output are controlled by the control unit 13. At the time of channel selection, processing is performed with reference to data recorded in the channel list memory 12.

Input from the user is performed by the remote controller 15. The key code sent from the remote control 15 is received by the remote control light receiving unit 14 and sent to the control unit 13. The control unit 13 receives a key input and performs a tuning process according to the input.

[2] Description of channel selection processing in a conventional analog broadcast receiver

Next, a channel selection process using a channel list will be described. First, a channel selection process in a conventional analog broadcast receiver will be described.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a channel list in an analog broadcast receiver.

Here, the position number is a number designated by a user with a remote controller or the like. The channel information is information necessary for channel selection, such as the number or frequency of a channel to be selected. Although the content of the channel information changes depending on the function of the channel selection unit, in the example of FIG. 7, the channel number is defined as a specific frequency.

Here, for example, [1] is used as the position number.
Is input, the contents of the position number [1] in the channel list are referred to and "5" is set as the channel number.
5 ". By instructing the tuning section to select the frequency of this channel number, the position number [1] is obtained.
Can be received.

Also, the contents of the channel up / down location are referenced. In the example of FIG. 7, the channel moves to [5] when the channel goes up from [4], and moves to [4] when the channel goes down from [5].

The channel list can be set by the user using the remote controller 15 or the like. The control unit 13 automatically scans all receivable channels according to the user's instruction, and if there is a broadcast, registers it in the channel list. There are ways to do that.

[3] Description of Tuning Process According to First Embodiment

The channel selection processing according to the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a channel list used in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Here, the position number and the channel information are the same as those in the example of the analog broadcast receiver. The broadcast flag indicates whether the broadcast of the channel is a digital broadcast or an analog broadcast. In the example of FIG. 2, “D” indicates digital broadcasting, and “A” indicates analog broadcasting. The service number is used only for digital broadcasting. In digital broadcasting, a plurality of programs are multiplexed on one channel, and the service number is an identification number used when only one program is taken out of the channel.

In the example of FIG. 2, in the case of digital broadcasting, programs having different service numbers even on the same channel are:
Each has a different position number.

FIG. 3 shows a tuning process procedure when a position number is directly specified. When a position number is input by the user (step 1), channel list data (channel information, broadcast flag and service number) corresponding to the input position number is extracted from the channel list (step 2).

Next, referring to the broadcast flag, it is determined whether the selected program is an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast (step 3). In the case of digital broadcasting, channel information corresponding to the position number input to the digital channel selector 7 is passed to instruct the channel selection (step 4). Also, the service number corresponding to the input position number is passed to the stream separation unit 9 to instruct to extract a desired program (step 5). Lastly, the output selection unit 4 is instructed to output a digital broadcast (step 6). Thereby, the received digital broadcast is reproduced.

If it is determined in step 3 that the selected program is an analog broadcast, the channel information corresponding to the position number input to the analog channel selector 2 is passed to the analog channel selector 2 to instruct channel selection (step 3). 7) Instruct the output selection unit 4 to output an analog broadcast (step 8). Thus, the received analog broadcast is reproduced.

For example, when the position [1] is selected, the analog broadcast corresponding to the analog channel number “55” is received, and when the position [2] is selected, the service number is set to the channel number “2”. But "10
1 "digital broadcast is received.

When an up or down command is input by the channel up / down key, the cursor moves to a position above (in the case of an up command) or below (in the case of a down command) the position number currently being received, FIG.
The analog or digital broadcast is received by the same processing as in step 2 and subsequent steps.

[4] Description of Tuning Process According to Second Embodiment

A description will be given of a channel selection process according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a channel list used in the second embodiment of the present invention.

The channel list in this case is shown in FIG.
It is composed of a main list shown in FIG. 4A and a sub list shown in FIG. The men-in list shown in FIG. 4A includes a position number, channel information corresponding to the position number, a broadcast flag, an index, and data on the number of services. The channel information and the broadcast flag are the same as in FIG. The index and the number of services are added in the case of digital broadcasting.

The index indicates a reference position (index number) of the sub-list in FIG. 4B. The number of services indicates the number of programs multiplexed on the channel. Unlike the example of FIG. 2, even if there are a plurality of programs in one channel in digital broadcasting, only one position number is assigned.

The sub-list shown in FIG. 4B is a list in which the service numbers of the digital broadcasts are arranged in order from the digital broadcast having the smaller position number. Each service number is assigned an index number.

Each channel (channel information) of the digital broadcast includes service numbers from the service number at the position of the sublist indicated by the index of the main list to the service number of the number of services in the main list. I have. For example, the channel corresponding to position number [2] includes service numbers corresponding to indexes 1 and 2 of the sublist.

FIG. 5 shows a tuning process procedure when a position number is directly specified. You.

When a position number is input by the user (step 11), channel list data (channel information and broadcast flag, index, and number of services) corresponding to the input position number is extracted from the main list (step 12). ).

The broadcast flag is checked to determine whether the selected program is an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast (step 1).
3). In the case of digital broadcasting, the service number (service list data) included in the channel information corresponding to the input position number is extracted from the sub-list based on the index and the number of services (step 14).

Then, channel information corresponding to the position number input to the digital tuning section 7 is passed to instruct a tuning (step 15). Next, the first service number of the service numbers extracted in step 14 is passed to the stream separation unit 9 to instruct extraction of a desired program (step 16). Finally, it instructs the output selection unit 4 to output a digital broadcast (step 17). This allows
The received digital broadcast is reproduced.

If it is determined in step 13 that the selected program is an analog broadcast, the channel information corresponding to the position number input to the analog channel selector 2 is passed to the analog channel selector 2 to instruct the channel selection (step 13). 18),
The output selection unit 4 is instructed to output an analog broadcast (step 19). Thus, the received analog broadcast is reproduced.

When an up or down command is input using the up / down key, the processing differs depending on whether the currently received broadcast is an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast. First, a case where an up or down command is input during reception of a digital broadcast will be described.

FIG. 6 shows a channel selection processing procedure when an up or down command is input during reception of a digital broadcast.

When an up or down command is input during reception of a digital broadcast (step 21), a position corresponding to the up or down command from the service number of the program currently being received (up position) is referred to with reference to the sublist. It is determined whether or not a service number included in the currently selected channel exists (in the case of an up command) or in the lower position (in the case of a down command) (step 22).

If a service number included in the currently selected channel exists at a position corresponding to the up or down command from the service number of the program currently being received, the service number is sent to the stream separation unit 9. The user gives an instruction to take out the desired program (step 23).

If the service number included in the currently selected channel does not exist at the position corresponding to the up or down command from the service number of the program currently being received, the current position number on the main list is displayed. Move to the upper (in the case of an up command) or lower (in the case of a down command) position number, and fetch channel list data (channel information and broadcast flag, index and number of services) corresponding to the moved position number (step 24). .

Referring to the broadcast flag, it is determined whether the program corresponding to the moved position number is an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast (step 25).

If it is determined that the program corresponding to the moved position number is an analog broadcast, the channel information corresponding to the position number input to the analog tuning section 2 is passed to instruct the channel selection (step 26) Instruct the output selection unit 4 to output an analog broadcast (step 2)
7). Thus, the received analog broadcast is reproduced.

If it is determined that the program corresponding to the moved position number is a digital broadcast, the program is included in the channel information corresponding to the position number input from the sublist based on the index and the number of services. The service number (service list data) is extracted (step 28).

Then, channel information corresponding to the moved position number is passed to the digital tuning unit 7 to instruct tuning (step 29). Next, it is determined whether the command input in step 21 is an up command or a down command (step 30).

If the command input in step 21 is an up command, the first service number of the service numbers extracted in step 28
And instructs to take out the desired program (step 31). Then, it instructs the output selection unit 4 to output a digital broadcast (step 33).

If the command input in step 21 is a down command, the last service number of the service numbers extracted in step 28 is
And instructs to take out the desired program (step 32). Then, it instructs the output selection unit 4 to output a digital broadcast (step 33).

If an up or down command is input during reception of an analog broadcast, it moves to a position above (in the case of an up command) or below (in the case of a down command) the position number currently being received, Step 24 in FIG.
Analog or digital broadcast reception processing is performed by the same processing as the subsequent processing (processing in steps 24 to 33).

According to the first embodiment or the second embodiment, even if analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting are mixed, it is possible to select all the channels in order only with the up / down key. It becomes possible.

[0061]

According to the present invention, in a television receiver capable of receiving both analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting, channel selection can be performed without distinction between digital broadcasting and analog broadcasting. The selection operation is simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a television receiver.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a channel list used in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a channel selection processing procedure when a position number is directly specified.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a channel list used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a channel selection processing procedure when a position number is directly specified.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a channel selection processing procedure when an up or down command is input during reception of a digital broadcast.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a channel list used in a conventional analog broadcast receiver.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Analog Tuning Unit 3 Analog Demodulation Unit 4 Output Selection Unit 7 Digital Tuning Unit 8 Digital Demodulation Unit 9 Stream Separation Unit 10 Video Decoder 11 Audio Decoder 12 Channel List Memory 13 Control Unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. For analog broadcasting, a position number is assigned to each channel. For digital broadcasting, different position numbers are assigned to programs having the same channel but different service numbers. For each number, channel information, identification information indicating whether it is an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast, and, in the case of a digital broadcast, channel list information including a service number are stored, and the position number is directly or up-to- A channel selection method for a television receiver in which a key is indirectly specified and a channel selection / program extraction process is performed based on channel list information corresponding to a position number specified by a user. 2. A position number is assigned to each channel of analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting. Channel information, identification information indicating whether analog broadcasting or digital broadcasting is provided, and a channel for digital broadcasting are assigned to each position number. A main list that stores an index for searching for included service numbers and channel list information including the number of services; and a sublist that stores service numbers included in each channel of digital broadcasting in the order of the digital broadcasting with the smallest index number. If a channel up or down command is input while receiving an analog broadcast, the program moves from the position number of the program currently being received to the position number corresponding to the up or down command and moves. Corresponds to later position number If a channel up or down command is input during digital broadcast reception while performing channel selection and program extraction processing based on the channel list information Determines whether the service number included in the currently receiving channel is present at the position corresponding to the up or down command from, and responds to the up or down command from the service number of the currently receiving program. If there is a service number included in the currently receiving channel at the position, program extraction processing is performed based on that service number, and an up or down command is issued from the service number of the currently receiving program. If the service number included in the currently receiving channel does not exist at the corresponding position, the position of the currently receiving program is Of the television receiver that moves from the station number to the position number of the position corresponding to the up or down command, and performs channel selection and program extraction processing based on channel list information corresponding to the moved position number Method. 3. In the channel selection / program extraction processing, it is determined whether the broadcast corresponding to the moved position number is an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast based on the identification information corresponding to the moved position number. In the case of analog broadcasting, channel selection processing is performed based on the channel information corresponding to the moved position number, and in the case of digital broadcasting, selection is performed based on the channel information corresponding to the moved position number. In addition to performing station processing, the service number included in the channel corresponding to the moved position number is acquired from the sublist based on the index and the number of services corresponding to the moved position number, and selected based on the up command. In the case of station / program extraction processing, the program is determined based on the first service number of the acquired service numbers. 3. The television receiver according to claim 2, further comprising: performing an output process; and performing a channel selection / program extraction process based on a down command, and performing a program extraction process based on the last service number among the acquired service numbers. Tuning method. 4. When a position number is directly input, whether a broadcast corresponding to the input position number is an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast is determined based on identification information corresponding to the input position number. Channel is determined based on the channel information corresponding to the input position number in the case of analog broadcasting, and based on the channel information corresponding to the input position number in the case of digital broadcasting. Performs the channel selection process, obtains the service number included in the channel corresponding to the input position number from the sublist based on the index and the number of services corresponding to the input position number, and obtains the obtained service. The program extracting process is performed based on the first service number of the numbers. A method of selecting a station for a television receiver according to one of.