JP2006340111A - Digital broadcast receiving device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital broadcast receiving device informing a user that a type of programs the user often watches is being or will be broadcasted on another channel. <P>SOLUTION: A CPU determines whether a program with higher priority (point number) than a currently viewed program exists on other channels (step S1). When such a program exists, the CPU determines whether it has been reported (step S2). When it is not reported yet, the CPU notifies the user by using an OSD function (step S3). Then, the CPU determines whether a specific key (the dedicated button or a decision button) is pressed within predetermined time (steps S4 and S5). When the specific key is pressed within the predetermined time, channel switching processing is performed so as to receive the program with higher priority (step S6). When the specific key is not pressed within the predetermined time, presentation of the currently received program is maintained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a digital broadcast.

  A digital broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a digital broadcast using a satellite or a terrestrial wave selects an arbitrary broadcast wave from a plurality of broadcast waves received through a dedicated antenna or a terrestrial antenna using a tuner, and selects the selected broadcast wave. An arbitrary channel is selected from among a plurality of channels included in the wave by demultiplexing processing, a digital signal of the selected channel is taken out and decoded to output video and audio signals.

  In such digital broadcasting, program information is transmitted in addition to transmitting video and audio in the same manner as conventional analog broadcasting. This program information includes various information such as a program name, program start time, program duration, program content information, and program genre information, and an EPG (Electronic Program) using an OSD (On Screen Display) function on the receiving device side. With the Guide function, a program desired by the user can be selected from multi-channel broadcasting (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-187179 A

  However, it is not easy to find a program desired by the user from among a large number of programs displayed by the EPG.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a digital broadcast receiving apparatus capable of presenting a user with a program that he / she desires.

  In order to solve the above problems, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention comprises means for creating and storing statistical information indicating a higher value for a program of a category having a higher user viewing frequency based on program information, Means for determining a priority program based on information and determining whether the priority program is broadcast on another channel or whether it is broadcast after a while; and the priority program is broadcast on another channel Means for displaying a message informing the presence of the priority program when it is determined to be displayed on the screen of the currently viewed program, and a channel through which the priority program is broadcasted by an operation or non-operation indicating that the priority program is desired to be viewed And means for selecting a channel.

  With the digital broadcast receiving apparatus having the above-described configuration, it is notified that a program of a type that is frequently viewed by the user is broadcast on another channel, so that the program desired by the user can be presented to the user.

  In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus configured as described above, whether or not the program is the priority program is determined by comparing the value of the statistical information in the program currently being viewed with the value of the statistical information in the program currently being broadcast on another channel. It may be determined. Further, whether or not the program is the priority program is determined by comparing the value of the statistical information in the currently viewed program with the value of the statistical information in the broadcast-scheduled program of another channel that starts within the broadcasting time. It is good. The determination as to whether the program is the priority program is based on the value of the statistical information in the program broadcast next to the currently viewed program and the value of the statistical information in the broadcast-scheduled program of another channel that overlaps the broadcast time of the next program. It is good also as determining by comparison with.

  Alternatively, whether or not the priority program is a priority program is not related to the value of the statistical information in the currently viewed program or the next broadcasted program, and the statistical information value in the other channel program exceeds a predetermined value. The other channel program may be determined to be a priority program.

  In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus configured as described above, the priority program may be received immediately by an operation or non-operation indicating that the priority program is desired to be viewed. Alternatively, the reception of the priority program may be executed simultaneously or substantially simultaneously with the start time of the priority program for the program broadcast after a while.

  In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus configured as described above, when the user does not perform any operation for a predetermined time after the message is displayed, the user sets whether to maintain the current reception channel or receive the priority program. It may be configured to be able to. In this configuration, the user may be configured to set the predetermined time.

  In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus having these configurations, when there are a plurality of priority programs, messages about the plurality of priority programs are displayed at the same time, and the priority program corresponding to the message selected by the user is received. Also good. Alternatively, when there are a plurality of the priority programs, the priority programs with the highest value are displayed in order, and the priority program corresponding to the message at the time when the user performs the desired viewing operation may be received. Good. In both the above configurations, if the user does not perform any operation during the display of the message, the current reception channel may be maintained.

  In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus having these configurations, after the message is displayed on the screen of the currently viewed program, if the channel is changed and the same program as the currently viewed program is viewed again, the duplication The display of the message to be performed may be configured not to be executed.

  The digital broadcast receiving apparatus configured as described above may include means for performing user registration and means for determining a user, and the statistical information may be created for each user.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to notify the user that a program of a class that the user often sees is broadcast on another channel or is broadcast.

  Hereinafter, a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Here, a case where a user views a terrestrial digital broadcast is illustrated. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a digital broadcast receiving apparatus 30 of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing contents.

  In FIG. 1, a terrestrial antenna 1 is arranged outdoors in a predetermined direction and receives a terrestrial digital broadcast signal. The terrestrial antenna 1 gives the received signal to the terrestrial digital tuner 2.

  The terrestrial digital tuner 2 extracts a signal having a specific frequency from the high-frequency digital modulation signal including video / audio data. The terrestrial digital tuner 2 includes a demodulation circuit, a deinterleave circuit, an error correction circuit, etc., and demodulates the selected digital modulation signal to output a transport stream.

  The demultiplexer (DEMUX) 3 separates the transport stream into an MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts Group 2) video stream, an audio stream, and PSI / SI (Program Specific Information / Service Information). The demultiplexer 3 supplies the video stream and the audio stream to the AV decoder 4 and supplies program information (program name, program start time, program content information, performer information, etc.) included in the PSI / SI to the CPU 13.

  The AV decoder 4 includes a video decoder that decodes a video stream and an audio decoder that decodes an audio stream. The video decoder decodes the input variable length code to obtain a quantization coefficient and a motion vector, and performs inverse DCT conversion, motion compensation control based on the motion vector, and the like. The audio decoder decodes the input encoded signal to generate audio data. The video data generated by the decoding is output to the video processing circuit 5, and the audio data is output to the audio processing circuit 6.

  The video processing circuit 5 receives video data from the AV decoder 4 and performs D / A conversion, for example, to convert it into a composite video signal. The audio processing circuit 6 receives the audio data output from the AV decoder 4 and performs D / A conversion to generate, for example, a right (R) sound analog signal and a left (L) sound analog signal.

  The video output circuit 7 and the audio output circuit 8 include an output resistor, an amplifier, and the like. The AV output terminal 9 is provided with an output unit (a set of left and right audio output terminals and video output terminals and the like). This output unit includes a display 16a and a speaker 16b provided with a display 16a and a speaker 16b. Is connected.

  The OSD (On Screen Display) circuit 12 outputs video data based on character information and color information instructed to be output from the CPU 13 to the adder 20. The adder 20 performs processing for incorporating the video data into the received video data output from the AV decoder 4. The OSD circuit 12 can display a menu screen, an EPG screen, a message screen, and the like.

  The remote control transmitter 10 is provided with various keys and sends various commands to the broadcast receiving apparatus 30. When the key is operated, a signal light (remote control signal) indicating a command corresponding to the key is emitted. Sent from the department. The remote control light receiver 11 receives the signal light, converts it into an electric signal, and gives it to the CPU 13.

  A memory (for example, RAM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.) 14 stores program information for displaying an EPG screen, statistical information to be described later, and the like.

  The CPU 13 performs overall control in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 30. In particular, as processing according to the present invention, processing such as creation of statistical information and generation of a message based on the statistical information is performed.

  The statistical information is created based on information about what kind of program the user has watched. As an example, “genre” is set as an item of statistical information. Then, a program viewed by the user for a predetermined time or longer (for example, 10 minutes or longer) is set as a statistical target, and genre information is extracted from the program information. At the beginning of the purchase of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, for example, the genre “baseball” = “0”, but by watching a baseball broadcast, the genre “baseball” = “1” and the genre “baseball” = “2” As you can see, the number of points will increase. Such a point-up process is executed for a period from the present time to six months ago, for example.

  The statistical processing is executed for the program currently being viewed, and the number of genres of the program is known from the statistical information. Further, the program information of the same time zone for other channels is searched, the genre of each program is obtained, and the number of points of the genre is obtained from the statistical information. For example, assume that the current time is 19:10 and the viewing channel is 4ch. The CPU 13 searches for program information of other channel programs at the current time, and “the current program of 6ch is“ drama ”and the number of points of this drama is“ 11 ””, “the current program of 8ch is“ Japanese movie ” Acquire information such as “The number of points for Japanese movies is“ 8 ””. Similarly, for the currently viewed program, information such as “4ch current program is“ news ”and the number of points of this news is“ 6 ”is obtained. In such an example, the comparison result of the number of points is 6 ch program> 8 ch program> 4 ch program. The CPU 13 determines another channel program having a higher number of points than the currently viewed program. The determined other channel program becomes the priority program. When there are a plurality of such priority programs, the other channel program having the highest point number is determined. In this case, the other channel program with the highest point number becomes the priority program.

  In the example described above, the CPU 13 recognizes that there is a 6ch program as another channel program having a higher number of points than the currently viewed program. Then, for example, a message “Drama is broadcast on 6ch” is created, and the message is displayed in the lower right corner of the broadcast reception screen by the OSD function. When the user presses the dedicated button or the enter button of the remote control transmitter 10, the CPU 13 gives channel control information for receiving a 6ch program to the tuner 2.

  On the other hand, if no operation is performed after a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) has elapsed since the message was displayed, the CPU 13 deletes the message and maintains the reception state of the 4ch program. The predetermined time can be changed by user setting. User settings are made on a menu screen, for example.

  Note that the digital broadcast receiving apparatus can perform processing such as automatically starting at a predetermined time during non-viewing and executing channel search to acquire program information for each channel. Of course, when channel search is instructed by the user, program information can be acquired for each channel. FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the processing described above. The CPU 13 determines whether or not a program having a higher priority (number of points) than the currently viewed program exists in the other channel (step S1). If there is such a priority program, it is determined whether notification has been made (step S2), and if not notified, a message is displayed using the OSD function (step S3). Next, the CPU 13 determines whether or not a specific key (the dedicated button or the determination button) is pressed within a predetermined time (steps S4 and S5). When the specific key is pressed within a predetermined time, a channel switching process for receiving the priority program is performed (step S6). When the specific key is not pressed within a predetermined time, the presently received program is maintained. Such processing is executed every time a channel switching operation is performed.

  In the above example, when there are a plurality of programs having a higher priority than the currently viewed program, the program having the highest priority (having the highest number of points) is notified as the priority program. May be notified. As a method of such notification, a method of presenting a plurality of priority programs at once, for example, “Drama is being broadcast on 6ch” is displayed, and “Japanese movies are being broadcast on 8ch” below this display. Is displayed. For example, a cursor (highlight) is added to the upper display, and when the pressing of the lower key of the remote control transmitter 10 is detected, the cursor (highlight) is moved to the lower message. The user's desired channel is determined at the cursor position when the pressing of the enter button is detected, and the channel is switched. If the determination button is not pressed for a predetermined time, the message is deleted and the current viewing state is maintained.

  As another method for notifying the plurality of priority programs, there is a method for sequentially notifying a plurality of priority programs. For example, a message “Drama is broadcast on 6ch” is displayed for a predetermined time, and if a specific key is pressed during that time, 6ch is selected. Then, after a predetermined time has elapsed, a message such as “Japanese movies are being broadcast on 8ch” is displayed. When a specific key is pressed within a predetermined period after this display, 8ch is selected. If the specific key is not pressed for a predetermined time, the current viewing state is maintained.

  Note that if a predetermined time elapses without the specific key being pressed, or if the user selects the notified program and then returns to the original program (4ch program in the above example), the message is displayed. It is better not to notify the message again because it has been notified. Further, even when the channel of the program with the second highest priority is switched (8ch in the above example), it is preferable not to perform the message notification again because the message has been notified. Also, when the user switches channels and returns to the original viewing program again, the duplicate message should not be displayed. For such duplication prevention processing, when message display is executed, information for specifying a program related to the message (for example, information indicating a date, a channel number, and a program start / end time) may be stored. Conceivable. Further, in addition to the above information, it may be possible to store information for specifying other channel programs. Then, when displaying a message, if information specifying a program related to the message is already stored, a process for not displaying the message may be performed.

  In the above example, the current time is 19:10, and the CPU 13 searches for program information of another channel program at the current time. For example, the current time is 19:25, and the CPU 13 It is good also as searching the program information of the other channel program which starts from 30 minutes. That is, the CPU 13 may execute the above-described priority order determination (point number comparison) for a program broadcast for a while after the current time. The activation of such processing may be performed, for example, at 25 minutes or 55 minutes at each hour. Here, it is assumed that the currently viewed program is broadcast from 19:00 to 20:00 and the other channel program is broadcast from 19:30 to 20:00. In this case, priority determination is made between the currently viewed program and the program starting from 19:30 on the other channel. On the other hand, if the next program is broadcast from 19:30 to 20:00 on the current channel and the other channel program is also broadcast from 19:30 to 20:00, it starts from 19:30 on the next program on the current channel and the other channel. Priority determination with the program is performed.

  Note that the message notification is not performed again because the message notification is completed when the programs to be compared are all the same. Therefore, as described above, after the notification that “Drama B is being broadcasted in 6ch” for the program A that is currently being watched, when viewing of the program A is continued, A notification such as “Drama C will be broadcast from 19:30” may be given.

  As described above, when there is a notification about a program that starts a while later, when the user has made an intention to view the program, the following two methods can be employed. That is, there are a method of switching the channel immediately when the intention is displayed, and a method of switching the channel at the time when the program starts or at a time (for example, 5 seconds before). It may be set in advance by the user as to which one is adopted. When adopting the method of switching channels at the time when the program starts or just before that time, a message such as “The program has been reserved” is displayed on the screen when the intention is displayed. Also good.

  Further, in the above example, when the notification (message) of the priority program is performed and no operation is performed even after a predetermined time has elapsed, the present viewing program is maintained to be presented. If there is no operation even after a predetermined time has passed since the priority program is notified (message), the priority program may be presented. In this case, the specific key functions as a cancel key, and when the specific key is pressed, the present viewing program is maintained. You may let the user set which one to use.

  In the above example, the process for each user is not executed, but the process for each user may be performed. For example, an item such as user registration is prepared as an initial setting menu item. In this user registration screen, for example, by default, daddy = 1, mama = 2, child 1 = 3, and child 2 = 4. Each number can be changed by operating the remote control transmitter 10. Further, the remote control transmitter 10 is provided with a button labeled “user”, for example. The user presses a numeric key after pressing the button. For example, if the CPU 13 detects the pressing of the “1” key after detecting the pressing of the “user” button, the user recognizes that the user is “daddy”. Then, statistical information on program viewing for “Daddy” is created, and priority program determination is performed based on the statistical information for “Daddy”. User recognition is not limited to the above method. For example, it is also possible for each user to register voice to the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, and to determine the current user from the voice collected by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus from a microphone.

  In the above example, the genre is shown as the statistical information item. However, instead of or in addition to this, “performer” may be used as the statistical information item. For example, at the beginning of the purchase of the digital broadcast receiving device, the performer “Taro XX” = “0” is displayed by viewing the program of the performer (the name of the performer is entered as program information). If so, the number of points increases as the performer “Taro Taro” = “1” and the performer “Taro Taro” = “2”. For each program, the genre points and the performer points may be added together to obtain a total point, and the priority order may be determined by comparing the total points.

  In the above example, the other channel program is determined to be a priority program when the number of points of the other channel program exceeds the number of points of the currently viewed program. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the number of points of the other channel program exceeds a predetermined number of points (for example, 60), it may be determined that the other channel program is a priority program even if it is less than or equal to the number of points of the currently viewed program. Is.

1 is a block diagram showing a digital broadcast receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the flowchart which showed an example of the processing content of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Antenna 2 Tuner 3 Demultiplexer (DEMUX)
12 OSD circuit 13 CPU
14 memory

Claims (14)

A means for creating and storing statistical information indicating a higher value for a program having a higher user viewing frequency based on the program information, and determining a priority program based on the statistical information and broadcasting the priority program on another channel A means for judging whether or not the program is broadcasted for some time based on the program information, and a message notifying the existence of the priority program when the priority program is judged to be broadcast on another channel. Digital broadcast reception comprising: means for displaying on a program screen; and means for selecting a channel on which the priority program is broadcasted by an operation or non-operation indicating that the priority program is desired to be viewed apparatus. 2. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination as to whether or not the program is the priority program is performed by determining a value of the statistical information in a currently viewed program and a value of the statistical information in a currently broadcast program of another channel. A digital broadcast receiver characterized in that it is determined by comparing the two. 3. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein whether or not the program is a priority program is determined by determining a value of the statistical information in a currently viewed program and a broadcast schedule of another channel starting within the broadcast time. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus characterized in that it is determined by comparison with a value of the statistical information in a program. 4. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination as to whether or not the program is the priority program is based on the value of the statistical information in the program broadcast next to the currently viewed program and the next program. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus is determined by comparison with a value of the statistical information in a broadcast scheduled program of another channel that overlaps the broadcast time of the other channel. 2. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination as to whether or not the program is the priority program is independent of the value of the statistical information in a currently viewed program or a program to be broadcast next, and the statistical information in another channel program. When the value of exceeds the predetermined value, it is determined that the other channel program is a priority program. 6. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the priority program is immediately received by an operation or non-operation indicating that the priority program is desired to be viewed. Broadcast receiving device. 6. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein reception of the priority program is executed simultaneously or substantially simultaneously with the start time of the priority program for the program broadcast after a while. A digital broadcast receiver characterized by the above. 8. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a current reception channel is maintained when the user does not perform any operation for a predetermined time after the message is displayed, or the priority program is received. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus configured to allow a user to set whether to receive the broadcast. 9. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a user can set the predetermined time. 8. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of the priority programs, messages about the plurality of priority programs are displayed at the same time, and the message selected by the user is displayed. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus, wherein a corresponding priority program is received. 8. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of the priority programs, the priority programs with the highest values are displayed in order, and the user performs an operation desired to view. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus, wherein a priority program corresponding to a message at the time of execution is received. 12. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, wherein a current reception channel is maintained when a user does not perform any operation during the display of the message. . 13. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after the message is displayed on the screen of the currently viewed program, the channel is changed and the same program as the current program is displayed again. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus configured to not display a duplicated message when viewed. 14. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for performing user registration and means for determining a user, wherein the statistical information is created for each user. Digital broadcast receiver.

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