The present disclosure relates to the subject matter contained in Japanese Patent Application No .2002-12694 filed on Jan. 22, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a digital broadcast receiver for displaying on a display a unique electronic program guide grouped according to each viewer from an electronic program guide based on electronic program guide data and for reflecting information responsive to the reception sensitivity on the unique electronic program guide when a program is watched on the digital broadcast receiver which is installed in a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a digital broadcast receiver for watching programs of multiple channels such as satellite broadcasting has become widespread. In the digital broadcast receiver, a TS (Transport Stream) wherein data of a plurality of channels of television (TV) broadcasting is multiplexed is selected and is played back. An EPG (Electronic Program Guide) is added to the TS.
An electronic program guide for displaying the program contents in text information corresponding to broadcast time for each channel is known. The viewer can display the electronic program guide on a display at any time and can watch the program contents. Thus, when digital broadcasting is watched, if an electronic program guide is displayed on the display, the program contents can be checked, so that the advantage that service for the viewer is improved is provided.
An electronic program guide in a related art is displayed in a mode of text information only or images of icons simplified so as to remind the viewer of the program contents. The electronic program guide displayed with icons is uniformly formed regardless of the characteristics of the viewers such as the age or the gender. The electronic program guides are prepared by digital broadcast receivers based on the EPG data and provide roughly similar display contents although they differ slightly in display mode from one model of digital broadcast receiver to another.
Thus, the viewer watches the electronic program guide in text information or uniformly formed icon images regardless of the characteristics of the viewer such as the age or the gender. Therefore, the ease of use of the electronic program guide may not be good for each viewer. For example, to display a sports program in an icon, there is demand for changing the icon between childs and adults. Thus, in the related art, there is a problem of incapability of meeting the demand for displaying an electronic program guide in a different mode in response to the characteristics of each viewer.
To install a digital broadcast receiver in a mobile unit such as a vehicle, the reception sensitivity may change with running of the vehicle. In such a case, if the viewer watches a broadcast program selected out of channels displayed in the electronic program guide, image degradation is remarkable and thus the viewer's pleasure may be dampened; this is a problem.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a digital broadcast receiver for displaying on a display a unique electronic program guide grouped according to each viewer from an electronic program guide based on electronic program guide data and for reflecting information responsive to the reception sensitivity on the unique electronic program guide when a program is watched on the digital broadcast receiver which is installed in a vehicle.
To the end, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a digital broadcast receiver including a tuner, a display, a program guide preparation section, and a program guide register section. The tuner tunes in to a broadcast program. The display displays an electronic program guide based on electronic program guide data of broadcast programs. The program guide preparation section prepares a unique electronic program guide, in which the broadcast programs are grouped in text information and an image in accordance with content of the broadcast programs, from the electronic program guide data. The program guide register section registers the unique electronic program guide therein.
According to a second aspect of the invention, the program guide preparation section prepares the unique electronic program guide for each viewer.
Thus, a unique electronic program guide grouped from electronic program guide, which is based on the electronic program guide data, according to each viewer is displayed with considering the characteristics of the gender and the age of each viewer. Thus, the electronic program guide matching the actual state of the viewer can be set.
According a preferred mode, in the digital broadcasting receiver according to the first and second aspects, the registered unique electronic program guide and the normal electronic program guide based on the electronic program guide data can be switched therebetween to be displayed on the display.
Thus, the normal electronic program guide can be switched to the previously registered unique electronic program guide to be displayed on the display. Thus, the electronic program guide can be watched easily in response to the broadcast watching situation.
According to a third aspect of the invention, the digital broadcasting receiver is mounted on a vehicle. The group of the unique electronic program guide, which is displayed on the display in response to a condition of the vehicle, can be set in advance.
Thus, the electronic program guide can be displayed with considering the special characteristics as the digital broadcast receiver installed in a vehicle such as the vehicle seat position where the viewer sits and use or no use of a room light.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the digital broadcasting receiver is mounted on a vehicle. The group of the unique electronic program guide, which is displayed on the display in response to current time, can be set in advance.
Thus, the electronic program guide is automatically switched in response to the current time of watching the program, so that the advantage that the need for operation of the viewer is eliminated is provided.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the digital broadcasting receiver is mounted on a vehicle. The group of the unique electronic program guide, which is displayed on the display in response to start time of a preselected program, can be set in advance.
Thus, the unique electronic program guide is displayed in response to the start time of the program to be watched, so that the need for operation of the viewer is eliminated.
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the unique electronic program guide, a broadcast program with poor reception state is displayed in distinction from other broadcast programs.
Thus, the viewer can select the program in a good reception state from the beginning, so that switching operation from the program in a poor reception state to the program in a good reception state becomes unnecessary.
According to a seventh aspect of the invention, the digital broadcasting receiver further includes a watching preselection registration section for registering preselection for watching a broadcast program. The display displays the unique electronic program guide with putting a mark on the preselected broadcast program.
Thus, a mark is put on the program preselected for watching, so that the viewer can check the program preselected for watching on the display.
According to an eighth aspect of the invention, in the digital broadcasting receiver of the seventh aspect, the program guide preparation section prepares the unique electronic program guide for each viewer.
According to a ninth aspect of the invention, the digital broadcasting receiver is mounted on a vehicle. When the vehicle runs, whether or not reception state of the preselected broadcast program is improved is detected. When it is detected that the reception state of the preselected program is improved, a message is displayed on the display.
Thus, fluctuation in the reception state as the vehicle runs is always detected, so that if the viewer rides in the vehicle, when the program preselected for watching is switched, the viewer can cope with the situation. Since a message to the effect that the reception state of the program preselected for watching has been improved is displayed on the display, the viewer can determine whether or not the current program being watched is to be switched to the program preselected for watching.
According to a tenth aspect of the invention, the digital broadcasting receiver further includes a watching preselection registration section, a first time setting section, and a first preselection cancel section. The watching preselection registration section registers preselection for watching a broadcast program. The first time setting section sets a first time. The first preselection cancel section automatically cancels the preselection when the first time has elapsed since a start time of the preselected broadcast program.
According to an eleventh aspect of the invention, in the digital broadcasting receiver of the tenth aspect, the program guide preparation section prepares the unique electronic program guide for each viewer.
Thus, the preselection for watching is automatically canceled after the expiration of the given time since the broadcast start time of the program preselected for watching. Thus, if the viewer does not want to view the preselected program, a measure can be taken.
According to a twelfth aspect of the invention, the digital broadcasting receiver further includes an expiry time specifying section and a second preselection cancel section. The expiry time specifying section specifies preselection expiry time of the preselected broadcast program. The second preselection cancel section automatically cancels the preselection when the expiry time is exceeded.
Thus, the preselection for watching is automatically canceled after the expiration of the expiry time of the preselection for watching, so that preselection cancel operation of the viewer becomes unnecessary.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, the first time is set in a percentage of the whole broadcast time of the broadcast program.
Thus, to cancel the preselection for watching, the passage time of the watching preselection time is set in a percentage of the whole broadcast time of the program. Thus, the whole time of the program need not be considered.
In a preferred mode, the viewer is notified of the expiry time of the watching preselection setting.
According to the mode, the viewer is notified of the expiry time of the watching preselection setting. Thus, the viewer can be prevented from forgetting program preselection.
In a preferred mode, to notify the viewer of the expiry time of the watching preselection setting, a message is displayed in a corner of the display.
According to the mode, the viewer can visually check the expiry time of the watching preselection setting.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the invention, the expiry time of the preselection is notified to a viewer every predetermined period.
Thus, the viewer is notified of the expiry time repeatedly each time the given time has elapsed, so that the viewer can reliably check the expiry time of the watching preselection setting.
In a preferred mode, to notify the viewer of the expiry time of the watching preselection setting, a voice message is issued each time the given time has elapsed.
According to the mode, the viewer can aurally check the expiry time of the watching preselection setting.
In a preferred mode, a section for notifying the viewer of the expiry time of the watching preselection setting can be preset singly or in combination.
According to the mode, the viewer can set the expiry time of the preselection for watching by any desired sections.
In a preferred mode, the expiry time of the preselection for watching can be preset as default setting.
According to the mode, the viewer need not set the expiry time of the preselection for watching each time; the ease of use is improved.
In a preferred mode, when the expiry time of the preselection for watching has elapsed, cancel of the preselection for watching is displayed on the display.
According to the mode, the viewer can visually check cancel of the preselection for watching.
In a preferred mode, when the expiry time of the preselection for watching has elapsed, a message as to whether or not the preselection for watching is to be canceled is displayed on the display.
According to the mode, the viewer determines whether or not the preselection for watching is to be canceled, and can perform necessary operation.
In a preferred mode, the digital broadcast receiver is a digital broadcast receiver for displaying an electronic program guide based on electronic program guide data of a broadcast program selected in a tuner and is provided with a separate tuner from the tuner for monitoring the reception sensitivity of the broadcast program selected for watching.
According to the mode, the viewer can monitor the reception sensitivity of the broadcast program selected for watching even while the viewer is watching another program.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a digital broadcasting receiver including a tuner and a display. The tuner tunes in to a broadcast program. The display displays an electronic program guide based on electronic program guide data of broadcast programs. When a commercial program is received, the tuner is used as a tuner for monitoring reception sensitivity of preselected broadcast program for watching.
Thus, the single tuner enables the viewer to monitor the reception sensitivity of the preselected program for watching, so that the cost can be decreased.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a digital broadcasting reception method comprising the steps of displaying an electronic program guide based on electronic program guide data of broadcast programs, preparing a unique electronic program guide, in which the broadcast programs are grouped in text information and an image in accordance with content of the broadcast programs, from the electronic program guide data, and registering the unique electronic program guide.
In the accompanying drawings:
Referring now to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the invention will be described.
The broadcast wave selected by the tuner 1a is demodulated by a demodulator 1b in 64 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) system, etc. The signal provided by the demodulator 1b is then separated into an MPEG audio signal and an MPEG video signal by a TS decoder 1c. Further, the MPEG audio signal and the MPEG video signal are decoded by an audio decoder 1d and a video decoder 1e. The MPEG audio signal is output from an output terminal to a loudspeaker 4. The MPEG video signal is subjected to display processing by a display processing section 1f and is output from an output terminal to a display 5.
The digital broadcast receiver 1 also includes an input/output interface I/O 1g, RAM 1h, ROM 1i, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1j, a modem 1k, a video degradation detection circuit 11, and an audio processing section 1m. A signal from an operation section 3 such as a remote control key is detected in the I/O 1g and the digital broadcast receiver 1 is turned on or off or the corresponding channel is selected.
Unique program guides prepared in various formats by the viewer whenever necessary as described later are registered in the RAM 1h. A management program for operating the digital broadcast receiver 1 and the like are stored in the ROM 1i. The CPU 1j controls the operation of the digital broadcast receiver 1 by a predetermined program. The modem 1k codes and decodes an external signal. The video degradation detection circuit 11 detects the reception sensitivity of the digital broadcast receiver. The audio processing section 1m provides the viewer with various voice messages.
A preferred embodiment is characterized by the fact that since the viewers of digital broadcasting are distributed in the age brackets from childs to aged persons in genders of males and females, grouping is performed from the received original electronic program guide and a unique electronic program guide prepared in response to the characteristics and taste of each person can be displayed. That is, for example, for an child group in a family, an electronic program guide is formed centering on icon images and is displayed.
For an adult group of housewives, etc., an electronic program guide is formed with appropriately using text and icon images for highly frequently watched programs and is displayed. Thus, considering the characteristics of the gender, the age, etc., of each viewer, a peculiar electronic program guide grouped according to the viewer is displayed, so that the electronic program guide matching the actual situation of the viewer watching programs can be set.
Like
Like
Thus, the electronic program guide is displayed with the icon image mode changed in response to the age bracket although the program contents are the same, so that finer measures can be taken for the viewers. The electronic program guides peculiar to the viewers as shown in
To display an electronic program guide, the CPU 1j shown in
Ka in
b) shows an example wherein the electronic program guide Pa shown in
In the example in
The example in
When the vehicle runs, the electronic program guide can also be switched depending on whether or not a room light is used. That is, when the room light is not used, even the electronic program guide in text information is visible. However, when the room light is used, output light of the room light is reflected at the display and the text information becomes hard to read. Then, in such a case, the electronic program guide is switched to the electronic program guide unique to the viewer formed in the icon images and the electronic program guide unique to the viewer is displayed on the display.
Further, the electronic program guide can be displayed in response to the time at which the vehicle runs. For example, to watch an entertainment program at 5 PM or later, when 5 PM is reached, the electronic program guide Pa in the text information can be automatically switched to the electronic program guide unique to the viewer formed in the icon images.
Such switching of the electronic program guide responsive to the time at which the vehicle runs can also be set to a specific time on a specific day of the week. For example, at 5 PM on Sunday, the electronic program guide in text information is switched to the electronic program guide unique to the viewer formed in icon images. Automatic switching of the electronic program guide is thus performed in response to the situation and the current time when the electronic program guide is watched in the vehicle, whereby the advantage that the need for operation by the viewer is eliminated is provided.
The electronic program guide can also be switched in response to the program broadcast time. In the example in
The digital broadcast receiver 1 of the invention includes the video degradation detection circuit 11 as shown in
As the example of distinguishing the icon of the program of the broadcast station with the reception state degraded from the icon of the program of another broadcast station for display as in
In the invention, when the viewer displays his or her unique electronic program guide, a mark indicating program preselection can be displayed in the electronic program guide. Such preselected program for watching is marked in the electronic program guide, whereby the viewer can check with the electronic program guide as to whether or not any program is preselected for watching.
In the example in
Since automatic switching to the preselected program is thus performed in response to the reception state and the program is displayed, it is not necessary for the viewer to switch the channel several times for displaying the preselected program for watching to check the reception state, and the convenience of the viewer in watching the preselected program can be enhanced. The preselected program for watching not only is displayed in the case where the degraded reception state is recovered as in the example in
Assume that when preselection for watching is set on one channel as in
Then, in the embodiment, a message Gg for informing the viewer that the reception state has been improved is displayed on the display as shown in
In the example of preselecting the high-school baseball game for watching from 9 AM to 11 AM as in
The expiry time of preselection for watching can be set and the preselection can be canceled at a specific time after the expiration of the preselection time. In the example in
Preselection for watching a program can be canceled in accordance with the percentage of the elapsed time since the broadcast start time. In the example in
Whenever a predetermined time has elapsed since the preselection start time for watching, the remaining broadcast time of the program can be displayed on the display. For example, whenever the time of 10 minutes has elapsed since the preselection start time for watching, a message such as “the remainder of the expiry time of preselection for watching is 30 minutes” or “the remainder of the expiry time of preselection for watching is 20 minutes” is displayed. Since the remaining broadcast time is thus displayed, the viewer can check the remainder of the broadcast time of the preselected program for watching.
When a message indicating the remainder of the broadcast time of the preselected program for watching is thus displayed on the display, in the invention, the message may be displayed at a position not interfering with video display, such as a corner of the screen. Thus, the viewer can check the remainder of the preselection time while watching the video display.
Whenever a predetermined time has elapsed since the preselection start time for watching, the remaining broadcast time of the program may be announced by voice. For example, whenever the time of 10 minutes has elapsed since the preselection start time for watching, a voice message such as “the remainder of the expiry time of preselection for watching is 30 minutes” or “the remainder of the expiry time of preselection for watching is 20 minutes” is announced to the viewer. Since the remaining broadcast time is thus announced by voice, the viewer can check the remainder of the broadcast time of the preselected program for watching independently of the screen display.
In the embodiment, a condition of the expiry time of preselection for watching can also be set out of an expiry time specification menu of preselection for watching as a default setting in the system using the digital broadcast receiver. The condition of the expiry time of preselection for watching thus set can be stored in the RAM 1h in
If the tuner Y detects recovery of the reception sensitivity of the broadcast program preselected for watching, a receiver switch control section 12 sends a signal to a video switch control section 13 and an audio switch control section 14 for switching from the tuner X to the tuner Y. Video of the preselected program for watching, which is received in the tuner Y is displayed on the display 15 and audio is output from a loudspeaker 16. In the configuration in
In another embodiment, only a single tuner is provided as shown in
If the degraded reception sensitivity is not improved as a result of checking the reception sensitivity of the preselected program for watching in the single tuner as described above, watching the current program is continued without switching to the preselected program for watching. When the time of preselection for watching has elapsed, preselection for watching can be canceled as described above.
As described above, according to the invention, there can be provided the digital broadcast receiver for displaying on a display a unique electronic program guide grouped according to each viewer from an original electronic program guide and when a program is watched on the digital broadcast receiver which is installed in a vehicle, for reflecting information responsive to the reception sensitivity on the unique electronic program guide.
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2002-012694 | Jan 2002 | JP | national |
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