JPH1098656A - Satellite broadcast reception device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a normal display function displaying data within the range of the number of channels and a time range, which are previously set, and an enlargement display function enlarging the number of the channels and the time range and displaying data by providing a prescribed function for switching the program display of a satellite broadcast reception device to normal display and enlargement display so as to select them. SOLUTION: The demultiplexer 3 of the device takes out necessary video data D1 and program information data D2 from multiplexed data. A program display screen generation part 4 generates program displays screen data D3 based on program information data D2. A switching part 5 changes over video data D1 taken out by the demultiplexer 3 and display screen data D3 from the program display screen generation part 4. A display part 6 displays data based on video data D1 or display screen data D3 from the switching part 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a satellite broadcast receiving apparatus, and more particularly, to display of program information data (EPG: electronic program guide) transmitted by digital satellite broadcast.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In digital satellite broadcasting (PerfecTV), which started test broadcasting in April 1996, program information data (EPG) is transmitted together with other video data and the like as part of viewer services. Since the digital satellite broadcast has multiple channels, the program information data is information that is meaningful to the viewer. The receiver displays the program information data on the screen and grasps the contents of the program.

[0003]

However, digital satellite broadcasting has a large number of channels as described above. On the other hand, on the receiver side, display characters and the like may be limited to a certain range due to circuit design restrictions. In this case, the number of channels on which the program can be displayed and the time width are limited, which is inconvenient for effectively utilizing the program information data. Therefore, if the receiver side can display a wide range of channels and time widths even when the display characters are limited to a certain range due to circuit restrictions, the program information data can be more effectively utilized, which is convenient for the viewer. . The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and in addition to a normal display function for displaying within a preset range of the number of channels and a time width, an enlarged display function for expanding and displaying the number of channels and the time width from the normal display. It is an object of the present invention to provide a satellite broadcast receiving apparatus which enables the above.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a demultiplexer for extracting required video data and audio data or program information data from received data in which a plurality of data are multiplexed and outputting the data, and a program from the demultiplexer. Based on the information data, either the data of the normal display screen for displaying the program with the set time width and the number of channels, or the data of the enlarged display screen for displaying the program with the time width and the number of channels enlarged from the normal display screen A program display screen generating means for generating based on the designation, a designation means for designating the content and operation of the screen display in addition to the selection designation of the normal display screen or the enlarged display screen, the video and audio data, and the program Switching means for switching between program display screen data from display screen generation means, and the demultiplexer;
A satellite broadcast receiving apparatus comprising a program display screen generating means, a display designating means, and a control means for controlling a switching means, wherein a program display can be switched between a normal display and an enlarged display.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In normal display, a screen is displayed within a preset range of time width and number of channels. The signal for this display (program display screen data)
The program display screen generation unit generates and outputs the program information data based on the program information data extracted by the demultiplexer. If the function of switching the screen display content is designated by a cursor, the program display screen data includes display character (for example, “enlarged”) data for selecting an enlarged display function. When the enlarged display function is designated by the remote controller or the cursor key of the main unit, the control unit controls the program display screen generation unit,
The program display screen data in which the time width and the number of channels are enlarged from the normal display is output. The data includes display character (for example, “normal”) data for returning to the normal display.

[0006] This enlarged display screen displays each program by replacing it with a predetermined symbol (for example, a triangle mark). If the user wants to check the contents of the program from this display, he or she specifies the display location with the cursor. When this designation is made, the control unit displays the specific contents of the program at a preset position on the enlarged display screen. After this display, when a predetermined operation (for example, pressing a select key) is performed, a program related to this display is selected. To return to the normal display again without selecting a program, specify the above "normal". When this designation is made, the control unit returns the display screen to the normal display.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A satellite broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main part showing an embodiment of a satellite broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a normal display, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of an enlarged display. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a receiving unit that receives a signal from an antenna,
It performs data demodulation and code error correction. 2
Is a descrambler for decoding a scrambled signal. A demultiplexer 3 extracts required video data D1 (including audio data) and program information data D2 from the multiplexed data.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a program display screen generation unit which generates program display screen data D3 based on the program information data D2 extracted by the demultiplexer 3, and includes program information data D2.
, A current time discriminator 4b for discriminating the current time from the current time data included in the data based on the data read from the memory 4a, and a screen display (on-screen display Display character generator 4c, which generates the characters and symbols required for), and outputs the display screen data D3 based on the data read from the memory unit 4a and the data of the characters and symbols from the display character generator 4c. A display screen data output unit 4d and a program start detection unit 4e for detecting the start time of each program. The display screen data output section 4d includes a normal display output section 4d1 for outputting data of the normal display screen, and an enlarged display output section 4d2 for outputting data of the enlarged display screen.

[0008] Reference numeral 5 denotes a switching unit, which outputs video data D1 extracted by the demultiplexer 3 and a program display screen generating unit 4
And the display screen data D3. 6
Is a display unit for displaying based on the video data D1 or the display screen data D3 from the switching unit 5. Reference numeral 7 denotes an operation unit provided on the main unit side, for performing required operations such as an operation for designating a program display to a normal display or an enlarged display. Reference numeral 8 denotes a remote controller for performing the same operation as the operation unit. Reference numeral 9 denotes a light receiving unit that receives a transmission signal from the remote controller 8. Reference numeral 10 denotes a cursor display generation unit that generates a cursor display, and 11 denotes a cursor specification determination unit that determines the contents of the cursor specification. A control unit 12 controls each block shown in the figure, such as the program display screen generation unit 4 and the switching unit 5.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described. The signal from the antenna is subjected to the above-described processing by the receiving unit 1 and the descrambler 2 and sent to the demultiplexer 3. In the case of digital satellite broadcast signals, unlike ordinary ground waves,
The received band includes a plurality of channels of video (audio) data and program information data (EPG) used in the present invention.
Etc. are multiplexed. The program information data also includes data of the current time. Therefore, the required video data D1 and program information data D2
And take out. The video data D1 is sent to the switching unit 5 and the program information data D2 is sent to the program display screen generation unit 4 via the control unit 12.

The program information data D2 is data relating to a channel number (or name), broadcast time, program content, current time, and the like. The data D2 cannot be directly displayed on the screen, and the display screen data D3 must be separately generated based on the data. The program display screen generator 4 performs this generation. The program information data D2 is stored in the program display screen generator 4
Is temporarily stored in the memory section 4a constituting the memory section and then read. The current time is determined by the current time determination unit 4b based on the current time data included in the read data. In the program screen display, a display time zone is set based on the current time according to a predetermined process (software process). For example, when the current time is 5:43 pm, the display start time is 5:00 pm, 5:30 or 6:00, and the time width is 1 hour and 30 minutes from the display start time. Therefore, the program display screen is generated based on the program information data in the time zone determined as described above.

Next, a character, a symbol or a number corresponding to the data read from the memory unit 4a is generated by the display character generation unit 4c. The display character generation unit 4c is formed of, for example, a ROM, and stores required characters, symbols, or numerals for screen display corresponding to the received data. The normal display output unit 4d1 of the display screen data output unit 4d generates and outputs the normal display screen data D3 based on the data of the characters and the like generated by the display character generation unit 4c. Writing and reading the program information data D2 to and from the memory unit 4a, determination of the current time by the current time determination unit 4b, generation of corresponding characters and the like by the display character generation unit 4c, and display screen data D3 by the display screen data output unit 4d A series of controls, such as generation of, are performed by the control unit 12. The display screen data D3 generated as described above is sent to the switching unit 5 and is used for selecting either display of a received video or display of a program. The selection is switched by the control unit 12 in accordance with the designation by the remote controller 8 or the like.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a normal display screen. As shown in the figure, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents channel numbers, and the respective program contents (A to L) are displayed. The time zone is 1 hour and 30 minutes from 6:00 pm to 7:30. The display start time (6:00 pm) is a time set based on the current time determined by the current time determination unit 4b, as described above. In addition, the time width (1
Time 30 minutes) is also predetermined, and is constant in the case of normal display. In the display screen, in addition to the program display, required characters such as "return", "enlargement", and "date and time" are displayed as shown. Displayed characters enclosed by a square such as "return" and "enlarge" are for designating with a cursor. The normal display in FIG. 2 is an example in which a program of four channels is displayed from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm,
The display range is limited as described above because the number of characters to be displayed in the vertical and horizontal directions is restricted by a circuit configuration or the like.

However, there is a case where the user wants to know a program in a wider range than the normal display shown in FIG. In this case, an enlarged display is designated. This designation is a cursor designation in the drawings of this embodiment. Cursor generator 10 and cursor position discriminator in FIG.
11 is for this. The cursor keys are provided on the operation unit 7 on the apparatus main body side or the remote controller 8. The cursor keys are used to move the cursor display position in each direction of up, down, left, and right on the screen. Here, when specifying the above-mentioned enlarged display, for example, the cursor key of the remote controller 8 is operated to designate the “enlarged”. This designation signal is received by the light receiving unit 9 and sent to the control unit 12. This received signal is identified by the cursor designation determining unit 11 via the control unit 12 as "enlargement". When this determination is made, the control unit 12 controls necessary functional blocks such as the enlarged display output unit 4d2 of the display screen data output unit 4d of the program display screen generation unit 4 to display the display screen in the enlarged display of FIG.

FIG. 3 shows the case where the number of channels is 8 (100
To 107), and the time width is from 6 pm to 6 hours (12:00). The beginning of the time width is the same as in the normal display. In the enlarged display, the display characters are limited as described above in the normal display. That is, the entire program contents cannot be displayed in characters. Therefore, for each program, the program itself is replaced with a required symbol, for example, a “triangle” mark as shown in the drawing, and displayed in accordance with the time of the start of the program. Taking 100 channels as an example, there are 4 programs from 6:00 to 8:00,
It indicates that there is one program from 8:00 to 10:00. Also, 1
The “*” mark of channel 01 or 102 indicates that there is no program. Symbols are omitted for channels 103 and thereafter.

In order to replace a program with a symbol according to its start time, it is necessary to detect the start time of each program. The program start detecting unit 4e detects the program start time. The program start detection unit 4e detects the start time of each program from the program information data from the memory unit 4a under the control of the control unit 12. Based on this detection, the control unit 12 reads the data of the required mark (triangular mark) stored in the display character generation unit 4c, and replaces the display with the required mark in the display screen data output unit 4d as shown in FIG. Generate screen data. By doing as described above, the display channel and the display time zone can be displayed in an enlarged manner, but the contents of the program cannot be known because of the symbol display. Therefore, when it is desired to know the specific contents of the program at a certain start time, the symbol is designated by the cursor. When this designation is made, the specific contents of the designated program are displayed at a predetermined position, for example, at the position indicated by reference numeral A in FIG.

As a specific operation, a cursor designation determining unit 11
The control unit 12 reads out the corresponding program data from the memory unit 4a based on the determination, and outputs the program data to the display screen data output unit so as to include the program data at a set position (code a) on the display screen. Control 4d. If the user wants to tune to the program while viewing the displayed contents, the user presses a tune key provided on the remote controller 8 or the operation unit 7. When this operation is performed, the control unit 12 causes the demultiplexer 3 to output the corresponding video (audio) data, switches the switching unit 5 to the video output side (a side), and sends the video data to the display unit 6. Let it. In the case of enlarged display, page feed and time feed can be performed as in the case of normal display. However, the display range of the number of channels and the time width is constant.

In the case of an enlarged display screen, characters "Normal" are displayed at the top of the screen instead of "Enlarged" in the normal display. This means that the control unit 12 controls the display screen data output unit 4d in accordance with the switching to the enlarged display screen, and changes the display to the "normal" display. Therefore, when this "normal" is designated by the cursor, the control unit 12 controls the display screen data output unit 4d based on the designation and returns the screen to the normal display screen. In the example of FIG. 3, the program is displayed for each channel on the basis of the current time.
Alternatively, the display may be specified by date and time. In this case, a required mark may be displayed on the screen, and software processing may be performed so that a corresponding operation is performed when a cursor is designated for the mark. In the above description, the function selection is designated by the cursor. Alternatively, a dedicated key may be provided on the operation unit 7 or the remote controller 8 and the key may be pressed. Also in this case, software processing may be performed so as to perform an operation corresponding to the key operation.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the program display in the digital satellite broadcast receiver can be enlarged in addition to the normal display. In our country,
Starting with PerfecTV, which started test broadcasting in April 1996, digital satellite broadcasting will increase rapidly in the next few years. In this digital broadcasting, various programs are broadcast on many channels. Therefore, since the program display can be enlarged and displayed in addition to the normal display, convenience can be provided to the viewer. As described above, the present invention can contribute to improving the functions of a digital satellite broadcast receiving apparatus which will be a new product in the future.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main block diagram showing one embodiment of a satellite broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining FIG. 1 and is an explanatory diagram of a normal display.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining FIG. 1 and is an explanatory diagram of an enlarged display.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 receiving unit 2 descrambler 3 demultiplexer 4 program display screen generation unit 4a memory unit 4b current time discrimination unit 4c display character generation unit 4d display screen data output unit 4d1 normal display output unit 4d2 enlarged display output unit 4e program start detection unit 5 Switching unit 6 Display unit 7 Operation unit 8 Remote control 9 Light receiving unit 10 Cursor display generation unit 11 Cursor designation discrimination unit 12 Control unit

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A demultiplexer for extracting and outputting required video data and audio data or program information data from received data in which a plurality of data are multiplexed, and setting of a setting based on the program information data from the demultiplexer. A program display screen for generating either a data of a normal display screen for displaying a program by a time width and the number of channels, or a data of an enlarged display screen for displaying a program by enlarging a time width and the number of channels from the normal display screen based on designation. Generation means, and designation means for designating the content and operation of the screen display, other than the selection designation of the normal display screen or the enlarged display screen,
Switching means for switching between the video and audio data and program display screen data from the program display screen generating means; and control means for controlling the demultiplexer, program display screen generating means, display designating means and switching means. A satellite broadcast receiving apparatus, comprising: a program display which can be switched between a normal display and an enlarged display. 2. The program display screen generating means according to claim 1, further comprising: a memory for storing program information data from said demultiplexer; and a current time based on current time data included in the program information data read from said memory. Current time discriminating unit, a display character generating unit that generates necessary characters, symbols, and numbers required for program display, and a time determined based on the current time determined by the current time discriminating unit is displayed. At the beginning of the time width, program display screen data is generated and output based on the program information data from the memory unit and the required characters, symbols and numbers from the display character generation unit. 2. The satellite broadcast receiving device according to claim 1, further comprising a display screen data output unit including a display output unit and an enlarged display output unit. 3. The program display screen generating means is provided with a program start detecting section for detecting the start time of each program based on the program information data from the demultiplexer, and the program display is enlarged and displayed by the specifying means. Wherein the program content is displayed in accordance with a start time of the program detected by the program start detection unit and replaced with a required symbol generated by the display character generation unit. The satellite broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The program according to claim 3, wherein when the symbol is designated by the designation means, the content of the program replaced with the symbol is displayed at a predetermined position on a display screen. Satellite broadcast receiver. 5. The display screen according to claim 4, wherein the display screen switches to the program when the program is selected and designated by the designation means after the content of the program related to the symbol is displayed. Satellite broadcast receiver. 6. A cursor generating unit that generates a cursor display, a cursor specification determining unit that determines the contents of a cursor specification, and an operation unit that includes a cursor key that moves a cursor display position. In addition to the control means, the program display screen generating means displays required characters or symbols on the display screen, and the character or the symbol is designated by the cursor keys of the operation unit to perform switching selection. 2. The satellite broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the satellite broadcast receiving apparatus is configured as described above. 7. The designating means includes a cursor generating unit for generating a cursor display, a cursor designation determining unit for determining the contents of cursor designation, a remote control signal light receiving unit, and a cursor key for moving a cursor display position. And a remote controller comprising the control means, and the program display screen generating means displaying required characters or symbols on the display screen, and designating the characters or symbols with the cursor keys of the operation unit. 2. The satellite broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switching selection is performed by: 8. The satellite broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said designation means is designated by operating a switching key of an operation unit provided in said control means. 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designation unit is configured to perform the designation based on a switching signal from a remote controller received by a remote control signal receiving unit provided in the control unit.
The satellite broadcast receiving device as described in the above. 10. The control means controls the program display screen generating means so as to display a program display at a designated date and time for each channel number or for each genre based on the designation by the designation means. The satellite broadcast receiving device according to claim 1, wherein: