JP3526569B2 - Information receiving method and information receiving apparatus using the method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information receiving method capable of reservation recording and an information receiving apparatus using the method. In particular, the present invention is applicable to a case where the broadcast start time of a program for which recording is reserved for the purpose of recording (hereinafter referred to as a reserved recording target program) is delayed or the broadcast time of the reserved recording target program is changed. The present invention relates to an information receiving method and an information receiving apparatus that allow a user to select and record a more preferable program even when it overlaps with the broadcast time of another reserved recording purpose program.
In addition, the present invention, when receiving the service additional information that introduces the program content in advance, automatically determines whether or not to reserve the recording of the program indicated by this service additional information, and automatically based on the determination. The present invention relates to an information receiving device that reserves recording.

Here, the service additional information is information necessary for program reservation, for example, information including program name, program outline, broadcast time, billing information, distribution form and program genre. Further, the service additional information may be distributed not only by itself for the purpose of introducing the program but also as reference information together with the content which is the content of the program when the program is distributed.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art When a program to be broadcast cannot be viewed at the broadcast time, it is common practice to make a recording reservation of the program in a recording device and reproduce it for later viewing.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-6 discloses a method for reliably recording the reserved recording target program when the broadcast time of the program before the reserved recording target program, that is, the reserved recording target program is extended.
It is known from Japanese Patent No. 5436 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-253221. Also, when the time to start recording is changed, it is fair to change the reserved time.
It is known in Japanese Patent Publication No. 977.

[0004] Further, as the number of channels is increasing due to digital broadcasting, it has become possible to make a recording reservation of programs by using an electronic program guide (hereinafter referred to as EPG).
However, if the EPGs for all channels cannot be displayed on the display screen, even if multiple programs are reserved at the same time, they cannot be confirmed on the screen. Comes out. Further, when a plurality of people use the same recording device, if the EPGs of all channels cannot be displayed on the display screen, it is possible to determine on the screen which program another person has already reserved for recording. It is very difficult to recognize over the entire range. On the other hand, with respect to such a problem, even if an instruction is made to reserve the recording of another program within the same time as the program reserved for recording, it is not accepted, and the user is advised that the reserved recording time is duplicated. A technique of notifying on a screen is known.

[0005]

When the recording start time of the reserved recording purpose program as described above is changed due to the change of the broadcast time of the previous program or the like, generally, the recording end time is also changed at the same time. To be done. Therefore, if there is a second reserved recording purpose program that is reserved for recording on another channel following the first reserved recording purpose program, the recording end time is changed by changing the first reserved recording purpose program broadcast time. If changed, there is a problem that the recording time of the first reservation recording target program and the recording time of the second reservation recording target program overlap, and the overlapping portion of the second reservation recording program is not recorded. .

If a recording reservation for the fourth program is instructed to the third program reserved for recording within the same time as the broadcast time of the third program, the instruction for the fourth recording reservation is given. As described above, there is a conventional example in which the program is not accepted and the user is notified on the screen that the programs are overlapped at the same time. However, in this conventional example, the user makes a duplicate recording reservation by displaying on the screen. After knowing the above, there was a problem that it was inconvenient and inconvenient because it was necessary to reconsider which program should be preferentially recorded and to perform the recording operation again.

Further, in the prior art, it is not possible to automatically select a program to be newly reserved for recording, and the user must make the selection. Therefore, there is a problem that the user must always check the information of many programs in advance from the service additional information and the like to check the broadcast schedule of his or her favorite program.

According to the present invention, when the recording times of a plurality of reserved recording target programs overlap, the required recording is made by making a selection reservation of a program more preferable to the user, judging from the program information of the service additional information. An object of the present invention is to provide an information receiving method capable of automatically performing the above and an apparatus using the same. It is another object of the present invention to provide an information receiving method and a device using the information receiving method, which can automatically make a recording reservation of a user's favorite program by using the service additional information.

[0009]

In order to solve the above problems, an information receiving apparatus according to the present invention (Claim 1) includes an information receiving means for receiving a program and service additional information which is information related to the program. A reservation input means for making a recording reservation of a desired program using an electronic program guide created based on the service additional information received by the information receiving means; and a reservation recording purpose which is a program reserved for recording by the reservation input means. Storage unit control means for detecting duplication of program recording time from the additional service information, and channels to which a plurality of reserved recording target programs for which duplication of recording time has been detected by the storage unit control device are displayed adjacently. And a program guide creating means for rearranging and reconstructing the electronic program guide,
It is characterized by

The information receiving method according to the present invention (claim 2) includes a step of receiving a program and service additional information which is information relating to the program, and an electronic program guide created based on the service additional information. A step of reserving a desired program for recording, a step of detecting the duplication of the recording time of the reserved recording purpose program which is the program reserved for recording from the service additional information, and the duplication of the recording time is detected. The electronic program guides are rearranged so that the channels to which a plurality of reserved recording target programs belong are displayed adjacently.
And reconfiguring.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the information receiving device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the information receiving device will be described below with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 11 denotes an information source including a video signal, a voice signal and / or data composed of a still image or a moving image, and 12 a predetermined encoding method for the video signal and / or the voice signal, for example, MPEG (Moving Picture Image Cod).
ing Experts Group) information encoding unit, 13 is related information that does not need to be encoded again in the service additional information that is information required to select a transmitted program as a recording-reserved program, as well as,
It is a related information generation unit that newly generates information that does not need to be encoded in the content that is the content of the program. The related information is, for example, video, audio and data types which form a program, a program number, a broadcast start time, and the like, which does not need to be encoded. Usually, this information is used in the MPEG system standard document (GENERIC CODING OF MOVING PICTURES AND
ASSOCIATED AUDIO: SYSTEM Recommendation H.222.0,
ISO / IEC 13818-1), or the DVB system standard document (Digital Video Broadcas) which is a European digital broadcasting standard.
ting (DVB) systems, ETS 300468, January 1996). Further, 14 is a multiplexing unit for multiplexing the coded signal and related information, and 15 is a channel including error correction coding means for processing data for protection against transmission errors and digital modulation means for sending out a digital signal. It is an encoding unit. 16 is a transmitter,
It is an actual transmission path and a transmission path configured by a tuner on the information receiving device side.

Reference numeral 100 is an information receiving means, that is, an information receiving device according to the first embodiment, and 17 is a digital demodulating means for demodulating a digitally modulated signal and a transmission line 1.
6, a channel decoding unit composed of an error correcting unit for data error occurring at 6, and a multiplexed digital signal output from the channel decoding unit 17 is encoded video signal, audio signal and / or A demultiplexing unit for demultiplexing the data signal and related information, 19
Is an information decoding unit that decodes the coded signal into a video signal and / or an audio signal, 20 is a related information processing unit that processes related information that is input from the demultiplexing unit 18, and that does not need to be decoded, 21 Is an information synthesizing unit for synthesizing the video, audio and / or data output from the information decoding unit 19 and the related information processing unit 20, and 24 is information for outputting the video, audio and / or data synthesized by the information synthesizing unit 21. It is an output part. Further, 23 receives the output of the information synthesizing unit 21 and the external control signal input via the external signal input unit 22 as input, creates and outputs a program table, that is, EPG, and outputs signals such as programs and service additional information. An input / output information control unit that controls recording.

Reference numeral 150 denotes a first storage unit 25 for storing service additional information for creating the EPG output from the input / output information control unit 23 and information regarding program reservation recording, that is, program recording reservation information, and a recording target. Program content,
And a second storage unit 26 for recording the service additional information to be recorded at the same time as the content. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the input / output information control unit 23 of the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 23a denotes a central processing unit (hereinafter CP) for controlling information via the input / output information control unit 23.
U). A program ROM 23b stores a program for controlling each unit connected to the CPU 23a. The CPU 23a writes data,
It is used to control reading and retrieval. Two
Reference numeral 3c is a work RAM for temporarily storing information when the CPU 23a calculates and controls information. 23
Reference numeral d is an information input / output unit for exchanging information including video, audio and / or data with the information synthesizing unit 21. An external signal input unit 23e inputs an external control signal such as a program reservation input by the user via the external signal input unit 22. Reference numeral 23f is a clock means for counting the current time. When the storage unit control means 23h, which will be described later, compares the time information of the service additional information of a plurality of programs reserved for recording and detects that the recording time overlaps, the recording unit 23g overlaps the recording time. The comparing / determining means has both a selecting means for comparing the service additional information of the programs to determine which program is to be recorded and a means for determining various conditions regarding recording, which will be described later. Storage unit control means 23
h is the storage unit 1 that stores the information received from the information synthesis unit 21.
The storage unit control unit 23h stores the service additional information and / or the program recording reservation information indicating the contents of the recording reservation, which is received from the information synthesizing unit 21. The content which is the content of the program to be recorded or the content accompanied by the service additional information related to the program is recorded in the first storage unit 25 of the storage unit 150 and stored in the second storage unit 150 based on the program recording reservation information. It is recorded in the storage unit 26, and also E
The service additional information necessary for creating the PG is read from the first storage unit 25 and provided to the program guide creating means 23i described later, and the time information of the service additional information of a plurality of programs reserved for recording is compared. And has a function of detecting whether or not the recording times overlap. Program guide creating means 23i
Is a means for creating an EPG based on the service additional information stored in the first storage unit 25 and outputting it to the information output unit 24.

Next, the operation of the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. First, on the information sender side, the information entry unit 12 encodes a video signal, a sound signal and / or data, which is a still image or a moving image, from the information source 11 into an encoding method, for example, an encoding specified by MPEG. The related information generating unit 13 encodes the service additional information necessary for selecting a program, for example, information such as program genre, data size, time information such as program start time and program end time, and the like. Unnecessary information is generated, and the multiplexing unit 14 uses the information encoding unit 1
2 and the signal output from the related information generation unit 13 are multiplexed. The multiplexing is performed, for example, according to the MPEG system standard or the DVB system standard which is a digital broadcasting standard in Europe. Channel encoding unit 1
Reference numeral 5 denotes an error correction code means for processing data in the multiplexed digital signal for protection against a transmission error and a digital modulation means for sending the digital signal. The transmission line 16 is an actual transmission line for transmitting the output signal of the channel encoding unit 15.

On the other hand, the information receiving device 1 which is the information receiving means.
On the 00 side, the channel decoding unit 17 performs digital demodulation and error correction processing on the signal transmitted through the transmission line 16. The channel decoding unit 17 performs a process reverse to that of the channel encoding unit 15 and outputs the same signal as the signal output by the multiplexing unit 14 to the demultiplexing unit 18. The demultiplexing unit 18 demultiplexes the output signal of the channel decoding unit 17, and the demultiplexed signal is output to the information decoding unit 19 and the related information processing unit 20.
The information decoding unit 19 decodes the input coded signal into a video or audio signal according to the MPEG standard, for example. The information combining unit 21 combines the signals output from the information decoding unit 19 and the related information processing unit 20, and outputs the combined signals to the information output unit 24 and the input / output information control unit 23. The signals output to the information output unit 24 are, for example, a video signal to a monitor display unit, an audio signal to a speaker, and a data signal to a computer, for example. Further, the input / output information control unit 23 records the service additional information output from the information synthesizing unit 21 in the first storage unit 25 of the storage unit 150 via the storage unit control unit 23h, and stores the service additional information. Add the contents to the EPG. The operation on the side of the information receiving apparatus is shown in steps 1 and 2 of FIG. 11 (a).

Next, the operation of the reservation input means for making a recording reservation of a program using the EPG will be described below. The user
An external control signal requesting display of EPG is input to the input / output information control unit 23 via the external signal input unit 22. The program guide creating unit 23i reads the service additional information stored in the first storage unit 25 of the storage unit 150 via the storage unit control unit 23h in response to the user's EPG display request, and reads this service additional information. An EPG is created based on this (step 3 in FIG. 11A) and output to the information output unit 24.

The information output unit 24 displays the EPG on the monitor screen (step 5 in FIG. 11 (b)). The user scrolls the EPG on the screen or switches the screen, searches for programs on various channels, selects the cell of the desired program, and the program described in the selected cell is the reserved recording target program. An instruction to add a symbol indicating is input to the storage unit control means 23h of the input / output information control unit 23 via the external signal input unit 22 (step 6 in FIG. 11 (b)). The input is performed using, for example, a remote control device or a keyboard.

The storage unit control means 23h includes a first storage unit 25.
Program recording reservation information indicating the recording reservation content of the reserved recording target program selected on the EPG is recorded in a format as shown in FIG. 3 (step 7 in FIG. 11 (b)), and then the “first If there is a program reserved for recording, the recording start time of the program recording reservation information and the clock means 23 are checked.
The current time output by f is compared, and when the broadcast time of the program comes, the program is recorded in the second storage unit 26. Further, the program guide creating unit 23i uses, as an identification symbol for indicating that the program is a reservation recording target program in the EPG, for example, cells of the reservation recording target program are shaded or the display color is changed to another cell. There is a way to make it different.

As described above, the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment controls the recording of the received service additional information and the information regarding the reservation recording of the program in the first storage unit 25, and the first storage unit The recording time of the reservation recording target program is controlled based on the information regarding the reservation recording of the program recorded in No. 25, and after the recording reservation of the program is performed, the broadcast time of the reservation recording target program is performed. When the additional service information including the change information of the above is received, it is checked whether or not the change causes duplication of the recording time of the reserved recording purpose program already reserved for recording.
When the storage control means 23h detects the duplication of the recording times of a plurality of reserved recording target programs, it compares predetermined information among the service additional information of the plurality of overlapping reserved recording target programs, and the comparison is made. On the basis of the result, the comparison / determination means 23g for selecting any one of the plurality of reserved recording target programs for the portion where the recording times overlap and deciding to record the program is provided. . Therefore,
Even if the recording times of a plurality of reserved recording target programs are overlapped due to the change of the broadcast time of the reserved recording target program after the recording reservation of a plurality of programs, the program that is preferable for the user is automatically selected. Records can be made.

By the way, when recording reservations are made for a plurality of programs, due to a change in the broadcast time of one of the programs, the recording times do not overlap at first, but the recording times overlap. May occur. Hereinafter, the operation relating to the change storage means of the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment in such a case will be specifically described.

FIG. 6 (a) is a diagram showing an example of the EPG displayed on the screen. The first channel (1
ch), the third channel (3ch), and the fifth channel (5ch) from 20:00 to 23:00. In FIG. 6 (a), "Professional baseball: ○○ VS △△" on the first channel and "MOVIE: Jurassic Land" on the third channel, which are shaded, are programs reserved for recording. That is, it means that the program is a reservation recording purpose program. Here, when the broadcast of "Professional baseball XXVS △△" has started and is being recorded in the second storage means 26, "Professional baseball XXVS △" is being recorded.
It is assumed that the broadcasting time of “△” is extended by 20 minutes. At this time, the transmission side transmits the service additional information including the change information of the broadcast time that the broadcast time of “Professional Baseball XXVSΔΔ” is extended by 20 minutes, and the information receiving device 1
00 receives the service additional information including this update information (step 8 in FIG. 12). The service additional information is decoded by the channel decoding unit 17, and is input to the input / output information control unit 23 via the demultiplexing unit 18, the related information processing unit 20, and the information synthesizing unit 21. The update information input to the input / output information control unit 23 is stored in the storage unit control means 2
Input to 3h. Upon receiving the update information, the storage unit control means 23h receives the EPG stored in the first storage unit 25.
It is confirmed that the program indicated by the service additional information is described in (step 9 in FIG. 12), the recorded content is updated based on the updated content (step 11 in FIG. 12), and the program is recorded in another plurality. It is determined whether or not the recording time of the reservation recording purpose program overlaps (step 12 in FIG. 12). In this example, the program currently being recorded is 20:00 from 21:00.
It can be seen that the recording time of “MOVIE: Jurassic Land” of the third channel overlaps with the minute. In addition,
When there is no program corresponding to the time change in the EPG in step 9, the received service additional information is abandoned (step 10 in FIG. 12). Further, if the duplication of the recording time is not detected in the step 12, the process of changing the broadcasting time ends at this point (step 1 in FIG. 12).
3).

When the storage control means 23h detects that the recording times of a plurality of reserved recording target programs are duplicated, the comparison / determination means 23g causes the first storage portion 25 to operate.
The additional service information of "Professional baseball: OOVS △△" and "MOVIE: Jurassic Land" stored in is read and compared to determine which program is to be recorded at an overlapping time (step 14). The service additional information is, for example, information regarding the data size of the program, information regarding the viewing fee of the program, that is, billing information, whether or not the distribution time of the program is fixed, that is, the program is a video-on-demand or near-video-on-demand program. It is possible to include various information such as information regarding whether the program is a one-time delivery program, information regarding whether the program is a series program or a single program.
Comparison / determination means 23g of the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment
Compares predetermined information among these pieces of information included in the service additional information of each program, and determines which of a plurality of programs whose recording times overlap with each other is to be recorded based on a predetermined criterion. It is a thing. The predetermined information can be preset by the user via the external signal input unit 22.

For example, if the billing information of the program is used as the information to be compared, the comparing / determining means 23g checks the billing information of both programs from the service additional information, and the "professional baseball" has a lesser charge than [MOVIE]. If the amount of money is high, continue to record "Professional Baseball" until the end, then "Professional Baseball"
After the end of recording, the storage unit control means 23h changes the contents of the EPG and program recording reservation information in the first storage unit 25 based on the above determination contents (step 15). 16), the program is recorded in the second storage unit 26 based on the changed program recording reservation information.

In the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment described above, the broadcast time of a program is changed after the user makes a recording reservation of the program, and the recording times of a plurality of programs are overlapped. When the deciding means 23g automatically decides to record either one of the programs, the user usually cannot know that such a decision has been made. However, in the information receiving device shown in FIG. 1, display means such as an LED for displaying such a decision, or communication for communicating such a decision to a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone carried by the user. With the configuration including the means, the user can recognize that the content of the program recording reservation has been changed. Further, in addition to the display of the determination, in the information receiving device of the first embodiment,
The program guide creating means 23i causes the EPG including the contents of this decision.
By creating this and displaying this EPG on the monitor screen in response to the user's request, the user can recognize at a glance how the contents of the recording reservation of the program have been changed. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an example of the EPG including the contents of this change. As shown in the example of FIG. 6 (b), in the EPG including the change contents of the decision, even though it is the cell of the reserved recording target program, the non-recorded portion is not shaded, and the program is not programmed. The display is made so that it is visually clear which time zone is actually recorded.

Further, in the above description of the first embodiment, when a part of the recording times of a plurality of programs overlap, each program is recorded in the part where the recording times do not overlap, and the overlapping part is Although one of the programs is selected and recorded, the unit of selection may be a program. In other words, when the comparison / determination means 23g selects a program, it is determined that the program not selected is not recorded not only in the portion where the recording times overlap but also in the portion where the recording time does not overlap. May be performed. With such a configuration, when the viewing fee is charged for the program recording, the disadvantage that the viewing fee is charged even though only a part of the program can be recorded is avoided. be able to.

In the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment, when the recording time of a plurality of programs overlaps due to the change of the broadcast time of the program after the recording reservation operation of the program, the comparison / control in the input / output information control unit 23 is performed. The deciding means 23g automatically decides which program is to be recorded.

A first modification of the information receiving device according to the first embodiment will be described below. This first modification has the structure shown in FIG. 4, and its operation is as shown in steps 17 to 22 of FIG. Step 1 of these
Steps 7 to 21 are exactly the same as steps 8 to 12, and the description thereof will be omitted. The input / output information control unit 230 of this modification does not determine which program is to be recorded only by detecting that the recording times of a plurality of programs have overlapped (step 21 in FIG. 13), and the recording time The fact that the duplication has occurred is displayed by, for example, turning on the display means such as the LED 28 (step 22 in FIG. 13) to notify the user. With this configuration,
The user can recognize that the recording times of a plurality of programs overlap because the LED 28 is lit,
The recording reservation operation can be performed again considering which of a plurality of programs having the same recording time is recorded. Therefore,
The program recording desired by the user can be performed. Although the input / output information control means 230 does not decide whether or not to record a program, the input / output information control means 230 shown in FIG. As shown in steps 23 to 25, if the program whose broadcast time has been changed is the recording reservation program, the program recording reservation information is changed based on the contents of the change, and if it is not the recording reservation program, this operation ends (Fig. Step 2 of 13
4).

However, when the recording times of a plurality of programs are overlapped and the user is out and is not near the information receiving device, the above-mentioned display by turning on the LED 28 indicates that the user has a plurality of programs. Unable to recognize that the recording times overlap. As a countermeasure against this, when the input / output information control unit detects that the recording times of a plurality of programs have overlapped, the recording times of a plurality of programs overlap in a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone carried by the user. It is possible to configure an information receiving device that includes a communication unit that communicates with each other. This allows the user to recognize that the recording times of a plurality of programs overlap, even when the user is away from the information receiving device. In addition, as described above, when the user recognizes the overlapping of the recording times of the reserved programs when he / she is out, he / she makes a call from the ordinary phone, the mobile phone, the PHS, or the PDA to the home where the information receiving device is, and uses the DTMF. It is also possible to adopt a configuration capable of instructing the information receiving device which program is to be recorded by using voice synthesis, voice recognition, or the like.

Next, information to be compared by the comparison / determination means 23i will be described. In the information receiving apparatus of the first embodiment, the comparison / determination means 23g of the input / output information control unit 23 compares the billing information included in the service additional information of each program and selects the program to be recorded. But
You may make it select the program which should be recorded by comparing information other than billing information contained in service additional information.

Further, the information to be compared is not fixed, but the user inputs an instruction for designating desired specific information out of the additional service information from an external input means such as a remote control device or a keyboard. The output information control unit may be provided and set so that a more preferable program for the user can be recorded. When the service additional information includes the charge discount information, it is possible to preferentially record the program to which the charge discount information is attached.

Next, as information of the service additional information to be compared, whether or not the distribution time of the program is fixed, that is, whether the program is video on demand or near video on demand, or only once distribution Is it a show?
An example of using the information regarding will be explained in some detail.
In this case, the comparison / decision means 23g selects which of a plurality of programs whose recording times are overlapped is to be recorded,
For example, it is performed as follows. That is, if one of the overlapping programs has a fixed delivery time, that is, if it is detected that only one delivery is performed and the other is near video on demand or video on demand, the fixed delivery time program is preferentially reserved for recording, The near-video-on-demand or video-on-demand program decides to change the recording time so as to reserve the recording at another time when the recording time does not overlap. At this time,
It is known in advance that even a program with a fixed delivery time will be rebroadcast, and the program included in the information about the rebroadcast, the rebroadcast channel, and the information service additional information such as the date and time is near video on. It may be handled in the same manner as a demand or video-on-demand program.

In the case of handling a program to be rebroadcast with a fixed delivery time in this way, an upper limit value of the recording time change, for example, one month is set, and the program is rebroadcast within that period. The recording time of this program may be changed to the rebroadcasting time, and if the rebroadcasting date and time exceeds this upper limit value, the program may be treated as a program having a fixed delivery time.

Further, the program to be recorded may be determined based on the program charging point included in the service additional information and the program viewable point held on the information receiving device side. This point expresses the amount of the viewing fee in points. An example of the operation in this case will be described below. For example, when the recording times of the program A and the program B overlap, the comparing / determining means 23g reads out the program charging points in the service additional information of the programs A and B from the first storage means and determines the charging points of the program A as the charging points. If the sum of the charge points of program B is larger than the program viewable point, program A
If one of the charging points of B and B is larger than the program viewable point, it can be determined that the program whose charging point is within the program viewable point is recorded and the other is not recorded. If both the charge points of the programs A and B are within the program viewable point, it is possible to decide to record the program with the higher charge point and not record the other. On the other hand, when the sum of the charge points of the program A and the charge points of the program B is within the program viewable point, the respective programs are recorded in the portions where the recording times do not overlap, and the recording times overlap. For the part, it is possible to decide to record the program with the higher billing point.

It should be noted that the user may set so as to decide to record the program with the lower billing point instead of recording the program with the higher billing point in the above description. Further, the program to be recorded may be determined based on the information about the data size of the program included in the service additional information and the storage capacity of the second storage unit 26 for recording the content. An example of the operation in this case will be described below.

For example, when the recording times of the program A and the program B overlap, the comparison / determination means 23g is the first storage means 2
A value obtained by reading the information about the data size of the program in the service additional information of programs A and B from 5, and subtracting the data size of the overlapping portion of programs A and B from the sum of the data size of program A and the data size of program B Is larger than the remaining storage capacity of the second storage unit 26, the priority of the program whose program end time is later is lowered as a whole, and the last portion of the content is recorded as long as the capacity of the storage unit permits. You can For the portion where the recording time overlaps, it is decided to record the previous program so that at least one program can be completely recorded.

On the other hand, if the value obtained by subtracting the data size of the overlapping portion of programs A and B from the sum of the data size of program A and the data size of program B is smaller than the remaining capacity of the storage unit, the recording time does not overlap. It is also possible to decide to record each program for the part and record the program having the smaller data size of the program for the part where the recording times overlap. This is because a program with a large data size has a small ratio of the data size of the overlapping part in the entire program, and it is considered that the effect of not being recorded when viewing the program is small. In the above description, the user may set to determine to record the program having the larger data size instead of recording the program having the smaller data size in the portion where the recording times overlap.

Further, in the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment, the comparing / determining means 23g of the input / output information control section 23.
Determines the program to be recorded by comparing only the information included in the service additional information of each program, but the comparison / decision means records in consideration of information other than the information included in the service additional information of each program. It may be configured to determine the program to be performed. For example, as in the modified example shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to check the balance of the user's payment account through the upstream line, compare it with the charge amount of each program, and select a payable program from the balance.

Next, a second modification of the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a second modification of the information receiving device. This is provided with the viewing tendency survey means 30 for surveying the viewing tendency of the user in the information receiving apparatus of the first embodiment. The viewing tendency surveying means 30 records information on the genres of programs that the user has watched in the past, adds statistical information thereto, and surveys the viewing tendency of the user. In order to accurately perform this viewing tendency,
The sender of the information may code the genre of the program and add it to the service additional information. As described above, the viewing tendency investigating means 30 is provided, and when the recording times of a plurality of programs overlap, the comparing / determining means 23g determines the genre information in the service additional information of each program and the viewing tendency investigating means 30.
It is possible to determine the program to be recorded by comparing the viewing tendency information recorded in the above item with the viewing tendency information of the user.

Embodiment 2. In the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment, the comparison / determination means 23g of the input / output information control unit 23 automatically performs when the recording times of a plurality of programs overlap due to the change of the broadcast time of the program after the recording reservation of the program. Although the information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment makes a recording reservation for a set, the information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment is configured so that the program to be recorded is not reserved with the program already recorded. In the case where the recording times overlap with each other, the input / output information control unit automatically determines which program is to be recorded.

The configuration and operation of the information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described below. The overall configuration of the information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment is exactly the same as that of the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. The configuration of the input / output information control unit 23 is also the same as that shown in FIG. The operation of the storage unit control means 23h is also the same as that of the information receiving apparatus of the first embodiment, but the operation timing is different. That is, the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment operates when a change in the broadcast time of one reserved recording target program is detected, but the information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment makes a recording reservation for one program. Each time, the storage control unit 23h performs an operation of detecting duplication of recording time. This operation includes a case where the user makes a recording reservation and a case where the information receiving apparatus automatically makes the recording reservation.

The operation when the user makes a recording reservation will be described below. The user displays the EPG on the monitor screen (step 27 in FIG. 14) and reserves the recording of the program. However, when the number of channels being broadcast is large, the EPG displays the related programs of all the channels in one screen. Cannot be displayed, the user must switch the screen of the EPG to search for a program to be reserved for recording. in this case,
When selecting a plurality of programs on different EPG screens, the recording times may be erroneously overlapped. In such a case, the storage unit control means 23h of FIG. 2 compares the time information of the service additional information of a plurality of programs reserved for recording to determine whether or not the recording times overlap (FIG. 14). Step 28). When the storage control means 23h detects that the recording times of a plurality of programs reserved for recording overlap, the comparing / determining means 23g causes the recording times recorded in the first storage section 25 to overlap. Read the service additional information of the plurality of programs, and compare the predetermined information in the service additional information of the plurality of programs based on a predetermined reference,
It is decided which program is to be recorded (step 31 in FIG. 14). The EPG and program recording reservation of the program not selected as the determination result are corrected according to the determination result (steps 32 and 33 in FIG. 14). In addition, the step 2
If there is no overlap in the recording time in No. 8, the program is added to the EPG (step 29 in FIG. 14) and program recording reservation information is created (step 30 in FIG. 14).

The above-mentioned predetermined information can be designated by the user in advance. Next, a specific example of the above operation will be shown. For example, if the user has an EPG as shown in FIG.
A case will be described where the recording reservation of "MOVIE: Jurassic Land" of the third channel is made on the screen.

As shown in the screen of FIG. 7 (b) which is not displayed on the current screen of the monitor, channel 51 "M
OVIE: The trees there are now reserved for recording. Since the recording times of these two programs overlap, the storage unit control means 23h detects this overlap. Then, the comparison / determination means 23g reads out the service additional information of both programs recorded in the first storage unit 25 for which the recording times overlap, and based on a predetermined criterion, for example, the above-mentioned first embodiment. Based on the results of comparison between the program billing amount information described above, the data size information of each program and the remaining storage capacity of the program, or the viewing tendency and the genre of each program. , Decide which program to record. Then, the storage unit control means 23h compares,
Based on the determination result of the determining means 23g, the EPG and the program recording reservation information are changed and recorded in the first storage means 25, and the program is stored in the second storage unit 26 based on the program recording reservation information.
To record.

In the information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment, when the user is setting the reserved recording program, the recording time of the program to be set is set for the reserved recording target program whose recording time has already been reserved. When it overlaps with the recording time, the input / output information control unit 23 automatically determines a program to be recorded based on a predetermined standard and makes a recording reservation. Therefore, it is possible to automatically record a program preferable to the user without setting the reservation recording again, and it is possible to improve the operability of the recording reservation. Also, instead of the user making a recording reservation, the same operation can be performed even in the case where the information receiving device automatically performs the recording reservation.

In the information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment, the user sets the reservation recording on the screen shown in FIG. 7 (a), so that the program recording time overlaps and the program selection is decided. Sometimes it is not possible to recognize what has been done. If the information receiving apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a display means such as an LED for displaying the selection of the program, the user can recognize that the content of the program recording reservation has been changed. You can

If the information receiving device shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a communication means for communicating such a decision to a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone carried by the user, the user can go out, etc. The user can recognize that the contents of the program recording reservation have been changed by another person, such as the user's family, who made the recording reservation operation of the program even when not on the side of the information receiving device. Is.

In addition to the display of the above decision, in the information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment, the program guide creating means 23i creates a program guide, that is, an EPG including the contents of this decision, and responds to the user's request. If this EPG is displayed on the monitor screen, the contents of the program recording reservation will be displayed.
It can be recognized by the user at a glance. FIG. 7C is a diagram showing an example of the EPG including the contents of the decision. That is,
The program guide creating unit 23i replaces the channels of the overlapping programs so that the channels of the overlapping programs are adjacent to each other so that the overlapping programs are displayed on the same screen.
The determination result is displayed on both programs on the same screen. In the example shown in FIG. 7 (c), the cells of the program "MOVIE: Jurassic Land" selected by the decision are shaded, and the cells of the program "MOVIE: The Trees Now" are not selected. The ** mark is attached.
In addition, this FIG. 7 (c) is not selected "MOVIE:
"The trees that are there now" is a display that has been decided not to record at all. As a result, the user can easily know the duplicate program name, the duplicate time, and the like, and can recognize at a glance which reservation recording target program is to be recorded. The EPG including the contents of the decision is not displayed according to the user's request, but is automatically displayed on the monitor screen whenever the input / output information control section 23 decides the program selection. May be

In the information receiving apparatus of the second embodiment, when the program recording times overlap, the comparing / determining means 23g of the input / output information control unit 23 automatically determines the program to be recorded. It is configured.

There may be a case in which the input / output information control section 23 only detects that the recording times of a plurality of programs have overlapped and does not decide which program is to be recorded. In this case, when the user makes a recording reservation of the EPG specific program (step 34 in FIG. 15), first, the EPG is read from the first storage unit 25 (step 3 in FIG. 15).
5) It is detected whether or not the broadcast time of the program overlaps with the recording time of another reserved recording target program which is already reserved for recording (step 36 in FIG. 15). When duplication is detected, the program guide creating means 23i of the input / output information control unit 23
Change the order of the channels to be displayed so that duplicate programs are displayed on the same screen, and create an EPG in which the channels of the duplicate programs are swapped so that they are adjacent to each other.
The duplicated content may be displayed on the same screen of the monitor (step 37 in FIG. 15). With such a configuration, the user can recognize that the recording times of a plurality of programs are overlapped by looking at the displayed EPG, and can determine which of the plurality of programs whose recording times are overlapped is to be recorded. By thinking and performing the recording reservation operation again,
The program desired by the user can be recorded (step 38 in FIG. 15). If duplication is not detected in step 36, the recording reservation identification symbol is attached to the program on the EPG (step 3 in FIG. 15).
9) Further, program recording reservation information of the program is created and recorded in the first storage unit 25 (step 40 in FIG. 15).

Embodiment 3. In the information receiving apparatus according to the first and second embodiments, the comparison / decision means 23 in the input / output information control unit 23 when the recording times of a plurality of programs overlap.
g automatically selected which program to record. The information receiving apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention has a configuration in which, when the recording times of a plurality of programs overlap, both programs are divided into fixed time units and are alternately recorded in portions where the recording times overlap. Is.

The configuration and operation of the information receiving apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described below. The overall configuration of the information receiving apparatus according to the third embodiment is exactly the same as that of the information receiving apparatus according to the first or second embodiment shown in FIG. The configuration of the input / output information control unit 23 is also the same as that shown in FIG. 2, but the program recorded by the comparison / determination unit 23g when the storage unit control unit 23h detects the duplication of the program recording time. The difference is that instead of deciding, the decision is made to record both programs by dividing them into fixed time units alternately.

That is, in the information receiving apparatus according to the third embodiment, when the recording times of a plurality of reserved recording target programs are overlapped with each other when recording reservation is made or thereafter, the storage unit control means 23h shown in FIG. However, the comparison / determination means 23g detects the duplication of the recording time, and reads the service additional information of the plurality of programs whose recording times are duplicated, which is recorded in the first storage unit 25, and uses it as a predetermined reference. Based on this, the service additional information of the plurality of programs is compared, and both the programs are alternately recorded at a predetermined ratio for the portions where the recording times overlap.

Next, this will be specifically described with reference to FIG. For example, the program A of the first channel and the program B of the third channel are reserved for recording, and their recording time is 8: 0.
The case of overlapping from 0 to 8:30 will be described below.
The comparison / determination means 23g reads the service additional information of both programs recorded at the same recording time in the first storage unit, and compares the service additional information of the plurality of programs based on a predetermined standard. , The recording format of the program between 8:00 and 8:30 is determined. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a recording format in the overlapping time. In this example, (a-1) of the program A is recorded for 6 minutes from 8:00 to 8:06, and from 8: 6 to 8:00 Up to 8 minutes, 2 minutes of program B (b
-1) is recorded, and (a-2) of the program A is recorded for 6 minutes from 8:08 to 8:14, and 8:14 to 8: 1
(B-2) of program B is recorded for 2 minutes up to 6 minutes, and (a- of program A is recorded for 6 minutes from 8:16 to 8:22).
3) is recorded, and (b-3) of the program B is recorded for 2 minutes from 8:22 to 8:24, and 8:24 to 8: 3.
The program A (a-4) is recorded for 6 minutes up to 0 minutes. As described above, after the program A is recorded for a fixed time, in this example, 6 minutes, the program B is recorded for a fixed time, in this example, 2 minutes, and thereafter, this is repeated, and the recording time overlaps. Records both programs alternately. Here, the unit time for recording each program is
It is also possible to set a predetermined ratio according to the priorities of both programs. Further, the determination of the priority may be made based on the comparison of the service additional information of both programs or the comparison of the service additional information and other information, as in the first or second embodiment. Here, when recording the content of each of the programs thus divided into the second storage unit 26, service additional information regarding the recording format of the content of each of the divided programs is created, and this service is provided together with the content of the program. Record additional information. This service additional information includes "contents related to other" and "individual content" so that the content of each divided program can be continuously reproduced for each program after recording. Information such as "playback order of contents".

That is, in (a-1) which is a part of the content of the program A, the data name of this part is (a-1) as additional service information, and in addition to this (a- 2) to (a-4) that there are related contents to which the data names are added, and (a-
Information such as 1), (a-2), (a-3), and (a-4) being continuously reproduced in this order is recorded together.

As described above, when the user reproduces the recorded program by recording the service additional information together with the divided contents, as shown in FIG.
As shown in 0 (b), the recording time does not overlap, the normally recorded part is reproduced as it is, and the recording time overlaps and the alternately recorded parts are recorded together. It is connected based on the information and continuously reproduced.

In the information receiving apparatus according to the third embodiment, when the recording times of the reserved recording target programs overlap,
Since the input / output information control unit 23 is configured to determine that both programs are alternately recorded at a predetermined ratio in a portion where the recording times overlap, based on a predetermined standard, the recording times of a plurality of programs are set. Even in the case of duplication, it is possible to automatically perform the program recording preferable to the user.

Embodiment 4 All of the information receiving apparatuses according to Embodiments 1, 2 and 3 described above are directed to solving a problem related to duplication of recording time of a reserved recording target program due to change of broadcast time of the program. In the information receiving device according to the fourth embodiment, the information receiving device automatically determines whether or not to reserve the recording of the program newly introduced in the service additional information, and executes the result.

The information receiving apparatus records the information regarding the genre of the program reserved for recording in the past in the information receiving apparatus according to claim 4, and analyzes the information to examine the viewing tendency of the user. 30 is added, and information on the genre of the program added to the service additional information is compared with the viewing / listening tendency by the viewing / listening tendency surveying means in the comparing / determining means 23g, and the recording reservation of the program is made based on the result. The function to judge whether or not is added.

Regarding the operation of this information receiving apparatus, only its characteristic points will be described below. The sender of the service additional information receives the service additional information describing the information regarding the genre of the program, and extracts the genre information of the program (step 41 in FIG. 16).

The viewing tendency investigating means 30 analyzes the genres of programs reserved for recording in the past, and assigns a high recording priority to genres with high frequency of recording reservation (FIG. 1).
6), the genre for recording reservation is determined using the genre-specific recording reservation priority (step 43 in FIG. 16). When the information receiving apparatus receives new service additional information, the comparing / determining means 23g determines whether or not the genre of the service additional information is included in the genres to be reserved for recording (step 4 in FIG. 16).
4) Based on the result of the determination, it is determined whether or not the recording reservation is made, and when the recording reservation is made, the recording reservation symbol is attached to the cell of the program of the EPG (step 4 in FIG. 16).
6), program recording reservation information describing the contents of the reservation recording target program is created (step 47 in FIG. 16). Therefore, even if the user does not judge the recording reservation and does not perform the setting operation, the recording reservation of the program that suits the user's preference, that is, the recording of the program can be performed. If it is decided in step 44 that recording reservation is not made, the extracted genre information is abandoned (step 45 in FIG. 16). The user can also directly input the genre of the program to be recorded.

[0062]

As described above, according to the information receiving device of the first aspect of the present invention, the information receiving means for receiving the service and the service additional information which is the information related to the program, and the information receiving means. Reservation input means for making a recording reservation of a desired program using an electronic program guide created based on the received service additional information, and duplication of recording time of a reservation recording target program which is a program reserved for recording by the reservation input means. Storage unit control means for detecting from the service additional information,
And a program guide creating means for rearranging and reconfiguring the electronic program guide so that channels to which a plurality of reserved recording target programs whose overlapping recording times have been detected by the storage control means are adjacently displayed. Therefore, when the recording times of a plurality of reserved recording-target programs overlap in different screens of the electronic program guide, the user can confirm this at a glance.

Further, according to the information receiving method of the second aspect of the present invention, the step of receiving the service and the service additional information which is the information related to the program, and the electronic program created based on the service additional information. The step of recording-reserving a desired program using a guide, the step of detecting the duplication of the recording time of the reserved recording purpose program which is the program reserved for recording from the service additional information, and the duplication of the recording time are detected. parallel to the electronic program guide as a plurality of reservation recording channels belonging purposeful program is adjacent displayed the
If the recording times of a plurality of reserved recording target programs overlap on different screens of the electronic program guide, the user can confirm this at a glance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information receiving device and a transmitting device related thereto according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of an input / output information control unit 23 of the information receiving device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of program recording reservation information recorded in a first storage unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a modification of the information receiving device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of another modification of the information receiving device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the EPG displayed on the monitor screen in the information receiving device according to the first embodiment of the present invention (FIG. 6A), and the monitor screen of the information receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram (FIG. 6 (b)) showing an example of the EPG after changing the recording reservation displayed in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an EPG for explaining the operation of the information receiving device according to the second embodiment of the present invention and its modification.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a modification of the information receiving device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a recording operation of the information receiving device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram (FIG. 10 (a)) for explaining the reproducing operation of the program B of the information receiving apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention;
And the program A of the information receiving apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention
FIG. 10 is a diagram (FIG. 10 (b)) for explaining the reproducing operation of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flow of an operation of recording additional service information of the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention (FIG. 11 (a)), and a program of the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a flow of the operation for recording reservation of
1 (b)).

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a flow of an operation of changing a recording reservation of a program of the information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flow of operations involved in changing the broadcast time of a program of the information receiving device according to the first and fifth embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a flow of operations relating to recording reservation of the information receiving device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a flow of an operation in which a user makes a recording reservation of a program in the information receiving device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a flow of an operation of automatically making a recording reservation of the information receiving device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Information sources 12 Information encoding section 13 Related information generator 14 Multiplexing unit 15 channel encoder 16 transmission lines 17-channel decoding section 18 Demultiplexer 19 Information decoding section 20 Related Information Processing Department 21 Information synthesizer 22 External signal input section 23,230 Input / output information control unit 23a CPU 23b Program ROM 23c Work RAM 23d Information input / output means 23e External signal input means 23f Clock means 23g Comparison / determination means 23h Storage unit control means 23i Program guide creating means 24 Information output section 25 First storage 26 Second memory 30 Viewing tendency survey means 100 Information receiver 150 storage means

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-184131 (JP, A) JP-A-6-60475 (JP, A) JP-A-5-54464 (JP, A) JP-A-10- 28242 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 5/76-5/956 H04N 5/44-5/46

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A desired program using an information receiving unit that receives a program and service additional information that is information related to the program, and an electronic program guide created based on the service additional information received by the information receiving unit. Reservation input means for making a recording reservation for recording, storage section control means for detecting duplication of recording times of reservation recording purpose programs, which are programs reserved for recording by the reservation input means, and the storage section control means. Program guide creating means for rearranging and reconfiguring the electronic program guide so that channels to which a plurality of reserved recording target programs in which overlapping recording times have been detected are displayed adjacent to each other, are provided. Receiver. 2. A step of receiving a program and service additional information which is information related to the program, a step of recording-recording a desired program using an electronic program guide created based on the service additional information, A step of detecting duplication of recording time of a reserved recording target program, which is a program reserved for recording, from the service additional information, and channels to which a plurality of reserved recording target programs of which the recording time duplication is detected belong to are displayed adjacently. And rearranging the electronic program guide as described above.