DISPLAY SIGNAL CONTROL APPARATUS, AND DISPLAY SIGNAL CONTROL METHOD

Abstract

The present invention displays a broadcast program without causing discomfort to the viewer caused by a shift in the display position. The burn-in of the display apparatus when displaying EPG and GUI images is prevented. When viewing a channel, the timing of events such as the broadcast start time of the next program and the insertion of CM video are acquired from program attribute information such as the SI and metadata. Information such as the time of the next program or insertion of an advert is detected from the attribute information, and video data that is displayed in the display area of the display unit is changed at that time. The change in video data is executed when setting the area of the video data to be applied to the effective video data area to the display area, by changing the coordinate data of this area.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic example of an apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the decoder unit indicated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing attribute information of a program in order to facilitate the explanation of the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram also showing program information in order to facilitate the explanation of the embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A-5C are schematic diagrams showing the shifting of the display position according to the present invention;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic diagrams also showing the shifting of the display position according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic example according to second and third embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 11A-11D are schematic diagrams showing the shifting of the display position according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are diagrams showing the movement of the display position according to the third embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 13A-13D are schematic diagrams showing the conventional art.

Claims

1. A display signal control apparatus for generating video data for displaying a broadcast program on a display unit, comprising: a generation unit to generate video data that can be displayed in said display unit;an acquiring unit to acquire attribute information of said broadcast program displayed in said display unit; anda setting unit to set a video data area which displays the broadcast program in said display unit inside an effective video data area of said video data generated by said generation unit, whereinsaid setting unit changes said video data area according to the attribute information of said broadcast program acquired by said acquiring unit.

2. A display signal control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said attribute information of the broadcast program includes information indicating the broadcast start time of said broadcast program, andsaid setting unit changes said video data area at said broadcast start time.

3. A display signal control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said video data areas are pre-set by a plurality of coordinate values, and said setting unit selects one of said plurality of coordinate values.

4. A display signal control apparatus for generating video data for displaying a broadcast program on a display unit, comprising: a generation unit to generate video data that can be displayed in said display unit;a display control unit to display graphic data in said display unit according to instructions from a user; anda setting unit to set the video data area which displays in said display unit inside an effective video data area of said video data generated by said generation unit, whereinsaid setting unit changes said video data area if said graphic data is displayed in said display unit.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of said video data areas are pre-set by a plurality of coordinate values, andsaid setting unit selects one of said plurality of coordinate values.

6. A display signal control apparatus for generating video data for displaying a broadcast program on a display unit, comprising: a generation unit to generate graphic data to display in said display unit according to instructions from the user;an accepting unit to accept instructions as input to manipulate said graphic data displayed on said display unit; anda setting unit to set the display position of said graphic data generated by said generation unit, whereinsaid setting unit, when said accepting unit accepts instructions as input, sets the display position of said graphic data corresponding to said instructions as input generated by said generation unit, to a position different from the display position of graphic data displayed before accepting said instructions as input.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display positions of a plurality of said graphic data are pre-set by a plurality of coordinate values, andsaid setting unit selects one of said plurality of coordinate values.

8. A display signal control method for generating video data to display a broadcast program in a display unit, comprising the steps of: a generation step of generating video data that can be displayed in said display unit;an acquiring step of acquiring attribute information of said broadcast program for display in said display unit; anda setting step of setting a video data area which displays in said display unit inside an effective video data area of said video data generated by said generation step, wherein said setting step changes said video data area according to the attribute information of said broadcast program acquired by said acquiring step.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said attribute information includes information indicating the broadcast start time of said broadcast program, andsaid setting step changes said video data area at said broadcast start time.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of said video data area is pre-set by a plurality of coordinate values, andsaid setting step selects one of said plurality of coordinate values.

11. A display signal control method for generating video data for displaying a broadcast program on a display unit, comprising the steps of: a generation step of generating video data that can be displayed in said display unit;a display control step of displaying graphic data in said display unit according to instructions from a user; anda setting step of setting the video data area which displays in said display unit inside an effective video data area of said video data generated by said generation step, whereinsaid setting step changes said video data area if said graphic data is displayed in said display unit by said display unit.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein a plurality of said video data area is pre-set by a plurality of coordinate values, andsaid setting step selects one of said plurality of coordinate values.

13. A display signal control method for generating video data for displaying a broadcast program on a display unit, comprising the steps of: a generation step of generating graphic data to display in said display unit according to instructions from the user;an accepting step of accepting instructions as input to manipulate said graphic data displayed on said display unit; anda setting step of setting the display position of said graphic data generated by said generation step, whereinsaid setting step, when said accepting step has accepted instructions as input, sets the display position of said graphic data corresponding to said instructions as input generated by said generation step, to a position different from the display position of graphic data displayed before accepting said instructions as input.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the display positions of a plurality of said graphic data are pre-set by a plurality of coordinate values, andsaid setting step selects one of said plurality of coordinate values.

15. A computer program which when loaded into a computer and executed performs a method as claimed in claim 8.

16. A computer-readable storage medium for storing the computer program as claimed in claim 15.