JP2010004486A - Information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus providing a user with a satisfactory viewing and listening environment for video contents. <P>SOLUTION: The information processing apparatus is provided with: an interface 11 for receiving an input of a command and an image signal from a same input unit; a command identification means 20 for identifying whether the command input from the interface 11 is a command that directs change of the image displayed on a display; and an image synthesis means 42 for outputting, when the command input from the interface is identified by the command identification means 20 as the command that directs change of the image, a video signal of an image obtained by synthesizing the image to be newly displayed on the display in response to the command and the image already displayed on the display screen. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

  Video / audio transmission technology includes video / audio transmission method using MPEG compressed data according to IEEE (Institut of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 standard, component terminal, Y (luminance signal) / Pb using D video terminal (Pb) There are a component video transmission system of blue color difference signal / Pr (red color difference signal), an optical digital audio transmission system in a digital audio format according to the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 60958 standard, the IEC 61937 standard, and the like.

  Further, a DVI (Digital Visual Interface) standard is known as an interface for transmitting a digitized video signal at high speed between a computer main body and a display.

  The HDMI standard is a digital connection standard that further develops the DVI standard. In response to changes such as digitization of TV broadcasting and switching of a display device to a flat panel, an output such as STB (Set Top Box) is used in the home. The purpose is to digitally connect the device and the display.

  In this HDMI, a function for transmitting an audio signal and a control command is added to satisfy a requirement for TV use. In the conventional connection between devices, a plurality of cables are used for video, audio, and control signals, but in the HDMI standard, each signal can be input / output with one HDMI cable. In addition, since the control command supports bidirectional transmission, it is possible to relay the control command from a monitor to an output device such as an STB or a DVD player connected via HDMI.

As a technique using such HDMI, for example, Patent Document 1 presents the connection status, device name, logical / physical address, and input / output terminal name of each device existing in the HDMI network to the user. A display device capable of easily switching an input source is disclosed.
JP 2008-035190 A

  However, Patent Document 1 does not consider the continuous display of the currently displayed video when changing the image of the display device such as switching the input source of the video signal.

  In a conventional apparatus, when a control command including an image change request to be displayed on the display screen from an external apparatus existing in the HDMI network is received while viewing a broadcast program or the like, the currently displayed video is interrupted. Switch to a new video. Under such circumstances, for example, even when the user wants to continue viewing the currently displayed video, the current video is unavoidably interrupted, and a good viewing environment cannot be expected.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of providing a user with a favorable viewing environment for content video.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, an interface for receiving a command and a video signal from the same input unit, and whether the command input from the interface is a command for instructing a change of an image to be displayed on the display device. A command identification unit for identifying, and when the command input from the interface is identified by the command identification unit as a command for instructing to change the image, the command is newly displayed on the display device according to the command. And image synthesizing means for outputting a video signal of an image obtained by synthesizing the image to be displayed on the display screen to the display device.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus capable of providing a user with a favorable viewing environment for content video.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows one usage mode of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The information processing apparatus 1 is realized as a television broadcast receiver, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, here, the information processing device 1 and the DVD recorder 2, the DVD recorder 3, and the DVD player 4, which are external devices, are an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) cable A, HDMI cable B, and HDMI. The case where it connects by the cable C is shown.

  Various functions for reproducing high-definition image data are installed in the external devices 2 to 4, and video images reproduced by these external devices 2 to 4 are processed by connecting them with HDMI cables A to C, respectively. It can be enjoyed by the device 1.

  Further, the information processing apparatus 1 and the external apparatuses 2 to 4 can mutually transmit and receive various commands for controlling the operation of the connection partner via the HDMI cables A to C. In other words, the information processing apparatus 1 can be operated by operating the external devices 2 to 4 using a remote controller or the like.

  Note that when the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment receives a command to change the display image from an external apparatus existing in the HDMI network while viewing the content video, the information processing apparatus 1 is newly displayed on the display apparatus according to the command. And an image obtained by combining the image displayed on the display screen and the image currently displayed on the display screen. With this function, the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can continue viewing the video currently being displayed without being interrupted according to the command for instructing to change the image, and also display the image specified by the command. I can do it. Hereinafter, this point will be described in detail.

  First, the configuration of the information processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the information processing apparatus 1. The information processing apparatus 1 processes video signals received via, for example, HDMI cables A to C and the antenna 9.

  The information processing apparatus 1 includes a tuner 10, digital interfaces 11 to 13, a command analysis unit 20, a device information database 30, a display control unit 40, a remote control reception unit 50, a display unit 60, and the like.

  The tuner 10 is connected to the antenna 9 and selects and receives a digital broadcast program transmitted from a broadcast station. For example, a broadcast signal by terrestrial digital broadcasting is received by the antenna 9, converted into a predetermined high-frequency signal by a built-in converter (not shown), and supplied to the tuner 10.

  The digital interfaces 11 to 13 are connected to the HDMI cables A to C, respectively, and receive control commands and video signals output from the external devices 2 to 4. The digital interfaces 11 to 13 output control commands from the external devices 2 to 4 to the command analysis unit 20 and output video signals from the external devices 2 to 4 to the display control unit 40.

  The command analysis unit 20 analyzes the control command output from the digital interfaces 11 to 13 and outputs the obtained information to the device information database 30 or the display control unit 40. Here, the device information database 30 or the display control unit 40 is shown as the information output destination. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the command analysis unit 20 is suitable for executing processing according to various control commands. Output destinations are determined, and instructions based on control commands are output to these output destinations.

  Further, the command analysis unit 20 receives a control command for notifying the start of content data transmission / reception from the external device, and stores information on the external device that has output the command and other external devices that are transmitting / receiving content data to the device information database. Read from 30.

  The device information database 30 stores information on the external device output from the command analysis unit 20. Details of the device information stored and managed in the device information database 30 will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  The display control unit 40 includes, for example, a switch unit 41, a synthesis unit 42, and the like. In addition, the display control unit 40 refers to information from the command analysis unit 20 and the device information database 30 to control the input source of the video signal and execute an image composition process. The configuration of the display control unit 40 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The remote control receiving unit 50 receives an operation input from the remote controller 5 and sends an instruction to the display control unit 40. The display unit 60 includes a display such as a TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display), and generates and displays an image from the video signal output from the display control unit 40.

  Next, the configuration of the display control unit 40 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the display control unit 40 of the present embodiment. The display control unit 40 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a switch unit 41, a synthesis unit 42, an input source selection unit 43, a display form controller 44, and the like.

  The switch unit 41 executes open / close control of the input source of each video signal in accordance with an instruction from the input source selection unit 43. The synthesizer 42 synthesizes an image generated from the video signal output from the switch unit 41.

  The input source selection unit 43 receives source designation information from the command analysis unit 20 or the remote control reception unit 50, selects an input source to be short-circuited, and outputs the input source to the switch unit 41. Here, the source designation information is information included in a command for requesting image change output from the external devices 2 to 4, for example, and includes information for designating an input source.

  The display form controller 44 refers to the importance level information from the command analysis unit 20 and the connection device information from the device information database 30 to determine the display form of the image to be displayed on the display unit 60. Here, the importance level information is information included in a command requesting image change output from the external devices 2 to 4, and the importance of the image generated based on the video signal of the input source specified by the command. Degrees.

  This importance is used, for example, as information for determining the display size of each image when a plurality of images are combined. For example, an image set with high importance is processed to be displayed larger than other images in full screen display, etc., and an image set with low importance is displayed smaller than other images, or not displayed Processing is done.

  As described above, in the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when a command for requesting an image change is received, an image generated from the source video signal specified by the command and the current source video signal are generated. An image obtained by combining the image is displayed. Therefore, the currently displayed video can be viewed without interruption, and a suitable viewing environment can be provided. Further, in the information processing apparatus of the present embodiment, when generating a composite image, the image size is controlled according to the importance of each image, so that important information can be displayed larger.

  In addition, the external devices 2 to 4 according to the present embodiment can set the importance to a message image such as an error, for example. For example, there are situations in which an external device 2 to 4 is notified of a message, for example, an emergency response is required and an emergency response is not required. Therefore, in the external devices 2 to 4 of the present embodiment, the message image that notifies the situation that requires urgent action is set to a high importance level to prompt the user to deal with the situation that does not require urgent action. The message image is set to a low importance level so as not to prevent viewing of the currently displayed video.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the DVD recorder 2 according to the present embodiment and the configuration of a command for requesting an image change generated by the DVD recorder 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the DVD recorder 2 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a command for requesting an image change generated by the DVD recorder 2 of the present embodiment.

  Note that the configuration of the DVD recorder 2 is shown here for the sake of simplification, but the configuration for setting the importance level in the message image for the DVD recorder 3 and the DVD player 4 and the commands generated by these external devices. The configuration of is the same.

  The DVD recorder 2 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a tuner 201, a duplication unit 202, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 203, a reproduction unit 204, a LAN communication unit 205, an error detection unit 206, a display controller 207, a synthesis unit 208, and a command generation unit. 209, a digital interface 210, a remote control receiver 211, and the like.

  A tuner 201 is connected to the antenna 200, and selects and receives a digital broadcast program transmitted from a broadcast station. The duplication unit 202 duplicates the broadcast program received by the tuner 201 to generate content data, and stores the content data in the HDD 203. In addition, the duplication unit 202 generates a duplication from the content data stored in the HDD 203, and outputs the duplication of the content data to the LAN communication unit 205.

  The playback unit 204 decodes the content data stored in the HDD 203 to generate a content image, and outputs the video signal to the HDMI cable A. In addition, the playback unit 204 instructs the command generation unit 209 to generate a command for requesting an image change so that the generated content image is displayed on the display unit 60 of the information processing apparatus 1.

  The error detection unit 206 detects an error that has occurred in the DVD recorder 2 and instructs the display controller 207 to generate an error message image. The display controller 207 generates a message image in response to an error display instruction from the error detection unit 206 or an operation state display instruction from the remote control reception unit 211 or the digital interface 210, and sends the message image to the synthesis unit 208. Output.

  In addition, the display controller 207 outputs information indicating the importance level of the message image to the command generation unit 209 as the message image is generated. In the DVD recorder 2 according to the present embodiment, for example, a high importance is set for a message image for notifying an error requiring urgent action detected by the error detection unit 206, and a message image for notifying the operation state of the DVD recorder 2 is set. Set a low importance for. It should be noted that the importance level can be appropriately adjusted by an operation input from a remote controller or the like.

  The combining unit 208 generates a video signal of an image obtained by combining the content image generated by the playback unit 204 and the message image generated by the display controller 207, and outputs it to the digital interface 210.

  In response to an instruction from the playback unit 204 or the display controller 207, the command generation unit 209 generates a command for requesting an image change and outputs the command to the information processing apparatus 1. Source designation information for designating an input source is written in the command for requesting image change.

  For example, when outputting a message image, the command generation unit 209 writes importance information in a command for requesting an image change as shown in FIG. As described above, in the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the display form of the composite image is determined based on the importance information included in the command for requesting the image change. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the form of the image synthesized by the information processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 6 shows a case where an image currently displayed on the display unit 60 of the information processing apparatus 1 and a message image set with low importance are combined, and FIG. 7 is displayed on the current display unit 60. A case where an image and a message image set with high importance are combined is shown. Here, for example, it is assumed that the image a1 currently displayed on the display unit 60 and the message image b1 notifying the HDD capacity shortage are combined to generate the display image c1.

  In the example of FIG. 6, the message image b <b> 1 output from the DVD recorder 2 is an image in which a message is displayed on the full screen. It may be an image displaying the message.

  The message image b1 includes an icon b2 for erasing the display of the image b1 after confirming the message, an icon b3 for obtaining more detailed information so as to deal with a lack of HDD capacity, and selecting and determining these icons. A cursor b4 for displaying is displayed. The cursor b4 can be operated with, for example, a cross key (not shown) provided in the remote controller of the DVD recorder 2 outputting this message image, and each icon can be processed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the image a1 currently displayed on the display unit 60 and the message image b1 set with low importance are combined, the generated display image c1 is, for example, an image displayed on a full screen. The image includes an image b2 in a1.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when the image a1 currently displayed on the display unit 60 and the message image b1 set with high importance are combined, the generated display image c1 is displayed on a full screen, for example. The image b1 includes the image a1.

  In the present embodiment, in both the display forms of FIGS. 6 and 7, the icon b2 and the icon b3 on the message image b1 are selected / cursed with the cursor b4 by operating the remote controller of the DVD recorder 2 (not shown). It is possible to determine.

  In the present embodiment, for example, the display form of the composite image can be controlled by an operation input from the remote controller 5 or the like. Thereby, for example, it is possible to switch between an image displayed on the full screen after the display image c1 is displayed and another image, or to erase the display of one of the images.

  Further, the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can simultaneously display images from apparatuses existing in the HDMI network on the display unit 60. With this function, for example, it is possible to monitor the operating state of each external device present in the HDMI network.

  For example, in the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when a command for requesting an image change is received from an external device that transmits and receives content data, the external device that transmits and receives content data to the external device is specified, Images from these devices can be displayed on the display unit 60 simultaneously. Hereinafter, a configuration for realizing a function of simultaneously displaying images from a plurality of external devices on the display unit 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a command for notifying the start of content transmission / reception according to the present embodiment, FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a data structure stored in the device information database 30 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for combining images from a plurality of external devices and an image currently displayed on the display unit 60 in the present embodiment.

  For example, when a device existing in the HDMI network of this embodiment transmits content data to another device, the information of the partner device that is the destination of the content data is included in the control command and output to the information processing device 1. To do.

  Here, for example, it is assumed that content data is transmitted and received between the DVD recorder 2 and the DVD recorder 3. For example, when starting to transmit content data, the DVD recorder 2 transmits a command for notifying the information processing apparatus 1 of the start of content data transmission / reception.

  As shown in FIG. 8, this command includes transmission-side device information for specifying a transmission-side device that transmits content data, and reception-side device information for specifying a reception-side device that receives content data. included. Here, the names of the respective devices are shown as the transmission-side device information and the reception-side device information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and information that can identify each device may be included.

  When the command notifying the start of content data transmission / reception is received from the DVD recorder 2, the command analysis unit 20 of the information processing device 1 reads out the transmission side device information and the reception side device information included in this command and writes them in the device information database 30. .

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the device information database 30 of this embodiment, the name of each external device currently connected with the HDMI cable, the name of the partner device during content data communication, and the HDMI cable to be connected Information about the name of the name is managed and stored.

  The information processing apparatus 1 receives a command for notifying the start of content data transmission / reception, and writes the transmission-side apparatus information and the reception-side apparatus information read from the command into the device information database 30, thereby presenting an apparatus that currently exists in the HDMI network Among them, it is possible to specify a device that is transmitting and receiving content data. Further, in response to the command for notifying the end of content data transmission / reception, the information processing apparatus 1 deletes and updates the transmission side apparatus information and the reception side apparatus information during content data communication written in the device information database 30.

  As shown in FIG. 10, in this embodiment, for example, when both devices that transmit and receive content data are connected by an HDMI cable, the images from these devices and the image currently displayed on the display unit 60 are combined. Can be displayed.

  Here, a case where the image a1 currently displayed on the display unit 60, the image d1 from the DVD recorder 2, and the image e1 from the DVD recorder 3 are combined is shown. It is assumed that the importance of the image d1 from the DVD recorder 2 and the image e1 from the DVD recorder 3 are set low.

  In the example of FIG. 10, an image d1 from the DVD recorder 2 is a composite image of a content image being transmitted and a message image notifying that copying of the current content data is being executed. The image e1 from is a composite image of the image of the content being received and the message image notifying that the HDD capacity is insufficient.

  In the image d1, an icon d2 for erasing the display of the image d1 after confirming the message, an icon d3 for canceling copying, and a cursor d4 for selecting and determining these icons are displayed. Further, for the image e1, an icon e2 for erasing the display of the image e1 after confirming the message, an icon e3 for obtaining more detailed information so as to deal with the lack of HDD capacity, and selecting and determining these icons. A cursor e4 for displaying is displayed.

  In this embodiment, for example, the display form of the composite image can be controlled by an operation input from the remote controller 5 or the like. As a result, for example, it is possible to delete the display image c1 so that the display form includes the image d1 and the image e1 or to display either the image d1 or the image e1 on the full screen.

  As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to identify devices that are currently connected to the HDMI cable and are transmitting / receiving content data, and to display images from these devices on the display unit 60 at the same time. .

  In the present embodiment, since the device that currently transmits and receives content data can be specified at the start time, the device that controls the display screen based on an operation from the remote controller 5 and transmits and receives content data It is possible to sequentially monitor the operation status of each.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 11, a process at the time of transmitting content data in the external device 2 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing processing at the time of transmitting content data in the external device 2 of the present embodiment.

  First, the command generation unit 209 of the external device 2 periodically checks whether or not content data transmission processing has started (S11). If the content data transmission process has not been started (No in S11), the process returns to S11 and is repeated.

  When the content data transmission process is started (Yes in S11), the command generation unit 209 generates a command for notifying the start of transmission / reception of content data, and outputs the command to the HDMI cable A. Further, the playback unit 204 outputs the image of the content to be transmitted to the HDMI cable A (S12).

  While transmitting the content data, the display controller 207 periodically checks whether an error display instruction from the error detection unit 206 or an operation state display instruction from the remote control reception unit 211 / digital interface 210 has been received. Confirm (S13). If an error display instruction or an operation state display instruction has not been received (No in S13), the process returns to S13 and is repeated.

  When an error display instruction or an operation state display instruction is received in S13 (Yes in S13), the display controller 207 generates a message image (S14) and determines the importance of this message image to generate a command. The data is output to the unit 209 (S15).

  Next, the synthesizing unit 208 executes a synthesizing process between the generated message image and the content image (S16), and outputs a video signal of the generated synthesized image to the HDMI cable A. Further, the command generation unit 209 generates a command for requesting an image change for displaying the composite image, and outputs the command to the HDMI cable A (S17).

  Next, the command generation unit 209 confirms whether or not the content data transmission processing is completed (S18). If the content data transmission process has not ended (No in S18), the process returns to S13 and is repeated.

  When the content data transmission process is completed in S18 (Yes in S18), the command generation unit 209 generates a command for notifying the end of transmission / reception of the content data, outputs the command to the HDMI cable A (S19), and ends the process. To do.

  Next, processing after receiving a control command in the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating processing after receiving the control command in the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the digital interfaces 11 to 13 of the information processing apparatus 1 periodically check whether or not a control command has been received from the external apparatuses 2 to 4 connected by the HDMI cables A to C (S101). If no control command has been received (No in S101), the process returns to S101 and the process is repeated. When receiving the control command (Yes in S101), the digital interfaces 11 to 13 output the control command to the command analysis unit 20.

  Upon receiving a control command from the digital interfaces 11 to 13, the command analysis unit 20 analyzes this control command (S102), and this control command requests a command for notifying start / end of content data transmission / reception or an image change. It is confirmed whether the command is one of the commands (S103).

  When this control command is neither a command for notifying the start / end of content data transmission / reception or a command for requesting an image change (Yes in S103), the command analysis unit 20 performs processing according to the control command. Are output to these output destinations, and an instruction based on the command is sent to these output destinations (S104).

  In S103, when this control command is one of a command notifying start / end of content data transmission / reception or a command requesting image change (No in S103), the command analysis unit 20 determines that this control command is content data. It is determined whether the command is a command for notifying start / end of transmission / reception or a command for requesting image change (S105).

  If this control command is a command for notifying the start / end of transmission / reception of content data, the command analysis unit 20 updates the device information database 30 (S106). Here, when the control command is a command for notifying the start of transmission / reception of content data, the transmission side device information and the reception side device information included in the control command are written and updated in the device information database 30, and the control command is the content data. In the case of a command for notifying the end of transmission / reception of data, the transmission side device information and the reception side device information written in the device information database 30 are deleted and updated.

  If the control command is a command for requesting an image change in S105, the command analysis unit 20 reads the device information database 30 and confirms whether the device that has output the control command is currently transmitting / receiving content data. (S107).

  If the device that has output this control command is not currently transmitting or receiving content data (No in S107), the command analysis unit 20 outputs the source designation information read from the control command to the input source selection unit 43, and performs processing. Move to S109.

  In S107, when the device that has output this control command is currently transmitting / receiving content data (Yes in S107), the command analysis unit 20 sets the input source to which the video signal of the receiving device is transmitted as the input source selection unit 43. (S108).

  Next, the input source selection unit 43 determines an input source according to the source designation information from the command analysis unit, and issues an instruction to the switch unit 42 (S109). Here, the command analysis unit 20 outputs the importance information read from the received image change request command to the display form controller 44 (S110).

Next, the display form controller 44 determines the display form of each image based on the importance level information (S111), and causes the composition unit 42 to perform composition processing of each image (S112).
Finally, the synthesis unit 42 outputs the video signal of the synthesized image generated by executing the synthesis process to the display unit 60, and ends the process (S113).
As described above, according to the information processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when a command for instructing change of a display image is received from an external device connected via an HDMI cable while viewing content video, the display device is displayed according to the command. On the other hand, it has a function of displaying on the display screen an image obtained by synthesizing an image generated from a video signal to be newly output and an image currently displayed on the display screen. With this function, the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can continue viewing the content video without being interrupted in response to a command for instructing image change. Therefore, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus that can provide a user with a favorable viewing environment for content video.

  Further, in the information processing apparatus of this embodiment, when generating a composite image, the display size of the image can be controlled according to the importance of each image, so that important information can be displayed larger.

  In addition, the external devices 2 to 4 according to the present embodiment can set the importance to a message image such as an error, for example. In the external devices 2 to 4 of the present embodiment, the message image that notifies the situation that requires urgent action is set to a high importance level, thereby prompting the user to perform processing and notifying the situation that does not require urgent action. The importance level of the message image is set low, so that the viewing of the image currently displayed on the display device is not hindered.

  Further, in the information processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, an image from an apparatus connected with an HDMI cable can be displayed on the display unit 60 at the same time. With this function, for example, it is possible to monitor the operating status of each external device connected via an HDMI cable.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

The figure which shows the one usage aspect of the information processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment Block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing apparatus The block diagram which shows the structure of the display control part of a present Example. The block diagram which shows the structure of the DVD recorder of a present Example The figure which shows the structure of the command which requests | requires the image change produced | generated with the DVD recorder of a present Example. The figure which shows the case where the image currently displayed on the information processing apparatus of a present Example and the message image set to low importance are synthesize | combined. The figure which shows the case where the image image currently displayed on the information processing apparatus of a present Example and the message image set with high importance are synthesize | combined. The figure which shows the structure of the command which notifies the content transmission / reception start of a present Example. The figure which shows the data structure stored in the apparatus information database of a present Example The figure which shows about the structure which synthesize | combines the image from the some external apparatus and the image currently displayed in a present Example. The flowchart which shows the process at the time of the content data transmission in the external apparatus of a present Example The flowchart which shows the process after receiving the control command in the information processing apparatus of a present Example.

Explanation of symbols

1. Information processing device (television broadcast receiver)
2 ... External device (DVD recorder)
3. External device (DVD recorder)
4. External device (DVD player)
5. Remote controller 9, 200 ... Antenna 10, 201 ... Tuner 11, 12, 13, 210 ... Digital interface 20 ... Command analysis unit 30 ... Device information database 40 ... Display control unit 41 ... Switch unit 42 ... Synthesis unit 43 ... Input Source selection unit 44 ... display form controller 50 ... remote control reception unit 60 ... display unit 202 ... duplication unit 203 ... HDD
204 ... Playback unit 205 ... LAN communication unit 206 ... Error detection unit 207 ... Display controller 208 ... Composition unit 209 ... Command generation unit A, B, C ... HDMI cable

Claims (12)

An interface for receiving command and video signal input from the same input unit;
Command identification means for identifying whether a command input from the interface is a command for instructing a change of an image to be displayed on a display device;
When a command input from the interface is identified by the command identifying means as a command for instructing the change of the image, an image newly displayed on the display device according to the command and the current display device Image synthesizing means for outputting to the display device a video signal of an image obtained by synthesizing the image displayed on the display;
An information processing apparatus comprising: The image synthesizing unit refers to information included in a command for instructing change of an image to be displayed on the display device, and uses an image generated from a source video signal designated by the command and a current source video signal. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a video signal of an image obtained by combining the generated image is output to the display device. The image synthesizing unit displays the video signal of an image in which an image to be newly displayed on the display device is arranged on the image currently displayed on the display device in response to a command to change the image. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information processing apparatus outputs the information to an apparatus. The image synthesizing unit refers to information included in a command input from the interface, and controls a display size of an image newly displayed on the display device according to a command instructing change of the image. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3. The image composition means displays the video signal of an image in which an image currently displayed on the display device is arranged on an image newly displayed on the display device in response to a command for instructing the change of the image. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information processing apparatus outputs the information to an apparatus. An external device connected by the interface, further comprising a device specifying means for specifying a first external device and a second external device for transmitting and receiving content data;
When the image synthesizing unit receives a command to change the image displayed on the display device from the first external device specified by the device specifying unit, the first external device and the second external device The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an image signal of an image obtained by combining an image input from the apparatus and an image currently displayed on the display apparatus is output to the display apparatus. The image synthesizing means outputs to the display device a video signal of an image in which images from the first external device and the second external device are arranged on the image currently displayed on the display device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6. The information according to claim 7, wherein the device specifying unit specifies the first external device and the second external device with reference to information included in a command input from the interface. Processing equipment. An interface for outputting commands and video signals from the same output unit;
Message image generation means for generating a message image for notifying the operation state;
Command generation means for generating a display request command for displaying the message image on an external display device in accordance with generation of the message image by the message image generation means;
Output means for outputting to the interface the video signal of the message image generated by the message image generation means and the display request command generated by the command generation means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: Playback means for decoding a video signal to generate a content image;
Image synthesizing means for generating a synthesized image obtained by synthesizing the content image generated by the reproducing means and the message image generated by the message image generating means;
The command generation means generates a composite image display request command for displaying the composite image generated by the image composition means on the external display device,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the output unit outputs a video signal of the composite image and the composite image display request command to the interface. It further comprises a communication means for transmitting content data,
11. The information processing according to claim 10, wherein the command generation unit generates a command for notifying the start of transmission of the content data in accordance with the transmission of the content data by the communication unit, and outputs the command to the interface. apparatus. The command generation unit includes information indicating the importance level of the message image in the display request command and outputs the information to the interface with the generation of the message image by the message image generation unit. The information processing apparatus described.

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