KR20080030729A - Record subscription method for broadcasting program - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for reserving the recording of a broadcasting program is provided to record a user-desired broadcasting program accurately at the proper time even when a broadcast condition for the reserved broadcasting program is changed. Recording of a broadcasting program is reserved by using EPG(Electronic Program Guide) information by a user(S21). Broadcast information for the reserved broadcasting program is stored(S22). It is checked whether the stored broadcast information is changed, by using a newly received EPG information, before a broadcast opening time of the stored broadcast information(S24). If the stored broadcast information is changed, the stored broadcast information is updated(S26).

Description

Record Subscription Method for Broadcasting Program

1 is an example of a configuration of a PVR to which the present invention can be applied;

2 shows an embodiment of a broadcast recording reservation method according to the present invention;

3 is an example of a screen on which EPG information is output;

4 is another embodiment of a broadcast recording reservation method according to the present invention;

5 is an example of a screen in which broadcast recording reservation is made manually;

6 is an example of a screen for setting a time point to confirm whether to update broadcast information;

7 is another embodiment of a broadcast recording reservation method according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

10: PVR 10-1: channel processing unit

10-2: Transport Decoder 10-3: Audio Decoder

10-4: Video Decoder 10-5: Speaker

10-6: VDP 10-7: EPG Processing Section

10-8: bus 10-9: control unit

10-10: user input unit 10-11: storage unit

10-12: Memory Section 10-13: Timer Section

The present invention relates to a broadcast recording reservation method, and in particular, even when a broadcast situation is changed, such as a change in the broadcast time of a scheduled recording program, so that the user can accurately record a broadcast program that the user wants to record according to the changed broadcast situation. It is about a method.

In addition to the start of full-scale digital broadcasting, various types of storage means such as hard disk drives (HDDs), such as hard disk drives (HDDs), are installed in the TVs to store broadcasts, photos, and music. A variety of products are being developed that can be reproduced and viewed whenever desired. In particular, products such as a personal video recorder (PVR) or a digital TV (DTV) including a PVR function are being produced in earnest.

In such products, it is very important to allow users to accurately record and record desired broadcast programs in a desired time zone, and thus, a method of increasing the success rate of reservation recording is of interest. However, due to frequent changes in broadcast program transmission time of broadcasters, users often do not perform the reserved recording normally and record the wrong program or fail to reserve the recording.

Specifically, there are two general methods of scheduling recording by users.

Firstly, there is a method of recording by using electronic program guide (EPG) information. This method allows a user to schedule a broadcast channel, broadcast program title, broadcast start time, and broadcast end time. The information is automatically set and managed as broadcast information related to the recording reservation. Secondly, there is a passive recording schedule method in which a user sets a broadcasting channel, a recording start time, and how long to record.

Common to both of these methods is that the user reserves a recording to watch a broadcast program that is broadcast at a specific time. That is, a time zone (recording start time to recording end time) in which recording is to be performed is determined at an initial time point when setting a recording reservation.

However, looking at the actual broadcast service situation, the broadcast time of the broadcast programs is not kept correctly, and thus there is a problem in reservation recording. For example, when the user sets a recording reservation, the broadcast time zone of broadcast program A, which is announced by the broadcaster, was 19:00 to 20:00, but due to the broadcaster, the broadcast time zone of the broadcast program A is 19:20 to 20:20. Assuming that the change has been made (or if the broadcast of broadcast program A has been canceled at all), the scheduled recording is 19:00 to 20 regardless of whether the recording is scheduled by the EPG information or the recording is manually scheduled even though the broadcasting situation is changed. It will be done at: 00.

In other words, if the scheduled recording is executed in the preset state, a wrong broadcast program may be recorded or only a part of the broadcast program may be recorded instead of the broadcast program that the user wanted to record. It is happening. In particular, such a problem has been greatly highlighted in connection with a broadcast recording device such as a PVR in which a reservation recording function is important.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and even if the broadcast situation such as the broadcast start time of the scheduled recording program changes, it is possible to accurately record a broadcast program that the user wants to record according to the changed broadcast situation. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a broadcast recording reservation method capable of maximizing a reservation recording success rate of a broadcast program.

In order to achieve the above object, the broadcast recording reservation method according to the present invention comprises the steps of processing a user to make a broadcast recording reservation using the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) information; Storing the recording scheduled broadcast information; Checking whether the stored broadcast information is changed by using newly received EPG information before the broadcast start time indicated by the stored broadcast information is reached; And updating the stored broadcast information with the changed broadcast information when the check result is changed.

In addition, the broadcast recording reservation method according to the present invention comprises the steps of processing the user to specify the broadcast channel and the reservation recording time to make a broadcast recording reservation; Automatically checking and storing broadcast information related to the recording reservation through EPG information; Checking whether the stored broadcast information is changed by using newly received EPG information before the broadcast start time indicated by the stored broadcast information is reached; And when the check result is changed, updating the stored broadcast information with the changed broadcast information.

The information stored as the recording reserved broadcast information may include channel information, a broadcast program title, a broadcast start time, and information representing a broadcast end time.

The process of checking whether the stored broadcast information is changed may be configured to be performed two or more times.

The time point for confirming whether the stored broadcast information has been changed may be configured by the user.

The broadcast recording reservation method according to the present invention can be applied to various broadcast recording apparatuses such as a personal video recorder (PVR).

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A personal video recorder 10 (PVR) will be described as an example of a broadcast recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied with reference to FIG. 1.

The channel processor 10-1 may include a tuner, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter, a down converter, a VSB (Vestigial Side Band), and the like, and are transmitted through various broadcast media. Receives a broadcast signal and converts it into a baseband signal through a tuner, and processes the converted signal through the above-described configuration blocks to process audio data, video data, and the like in a transport stream (TS) format. And outputs Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) data.

The transport stream-type signal output from the channel processor 10-1 is decoded into audio data, video data, and PSIP data by the transport decoder 10-2, respectively, and is output to the transport decoder 10-2. The audio data output from the audio decoder 10-3 is decoded by the audio decoder 10-3, and output through the speaker 10-5. The video data is decoded by the video decoder 10-4, and the video display processor 10-6: VDP, Video Display Processor) outputs to a display screen such as a TV screen.

At this time, the EPG processing unit 10-7 extracts EPG information included in the PSIP data, and the control unit 10-9 stores and manages the EPG information in the memory unit 10-12 or according to a user's selection. The video display processor 10-6 synthesizes the main screen and outputs the result to the display screen. EPG information refers to an application that delivers a broadcast program and related information to a user as data transmitted through a PSIP. The user may select a channel or make a recording reservation through the EPG information. In addition, you can see a plot or detailed description of each broadcast program.

The storage unit 10-11 is a nonvolatile storage unit capable of storing a large amount of digital data such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a flash memory, and stores received broadcast data. When the broadcast program is to be recorded in the storage unit 10-11, the decoding process is not performed by the audio decoder 10-3 and the video decoder 10-4, and stored in the form of a transport stream. Subsequently, when the transport stream stored in the storage unit 10-11 is to be reproduced, the audio decoder 10-3 and the video decoder 10-4 perform decoding.

The controller 10-9 controls the PVR 10 as a whole and broadcasts the signal according to a signal input from the user input unit 10-10 to interface with a user through a keypad or a remote controller provided in the PVR itself. Immediately decode and play the transport stream received from the medium, store the transport stream in the form of a transport stream in the storage unit 10-11, or store the transport stream stored in the storage unit 10-11 in the audio decoder 10. 3) and video decoder 10-4.

The controller 10-9 may be configured using a central processing unit (CPU) or a micro processor unit (MPU), and the like may be connected to each component through a bus 108 and may be received through a broadcast medium. And a memory unit 10-12 for storing and managing information, information about a recording reservation of the user, and the like, and a timer unit 10-13 for counting time.

The operation of the PVR 10 will be briefly described with reference to the recording reservation method.

The controller 10-9 provides a user interface screen so that a user can perform a recording reservation by using EPG information or by directly designating a channel, a recording start time, and a recording progress section, and provides broadcast information related to recording reservation. It is stored and managed in the memory unit 10-12. Then, it is determined whether the scheduled recording start time is reached, based on the time information grasped by the timer unit 10-13, and when the recording start time comes, recording of the transport stream of the broadcast program received on the corresponding channel ends. To the storage unit 10-11 until. The transport stream stored in the storage unit 10-11 may be reproduced through the audio decoder 10-3 and the video decoder 10-4 according to a user's request.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described as an example of the PVR shown in FIG. 1, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The present invention is not limited thereto, and receives and processes EPG information through a broadcast medium. It can be applied to any broadcast recording device that can be stored in the storage means that can be recorded.

An embodiment of a broadcast recording reservation method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

First, the broadcast recording apparatus processes the broadcast recording reservation using the EPG information (S21). That is, step S21 is a process in which the user makes a recording reservation using the EPG information. 3 illustrates an example of a display screen on which EPG information is output, and shows a broadcast program for each channel of a time zone, and a user may view a detailed description of each broadcast program.

In addition, by selecting the 'reservation recording' menu displayed at the bottom of the screen, it is also possible to schedule recording of a broadcast program of a specific channel. In this case, since the EPG information already contains all the broadcasting information necessary for recording the recording of the broadcasting program such as channel information, broadcasting program title, broadcasting start time, broadcasting ending time, etc., the user wants to make a recording reservation for the broadcasting program. The recording reservation can be made by informing that it is.

When the recording reservation is completed in step S21, information related to the recording reservation, such as channel information, broadcast program title, broadcast start time, and broadcast end time of the broadcast program set to be reserved for recording, is stored, and the broadcast recording device becomes a standby state for reservation. (S22).

Now, when the broadcast recording apparatus reaches a certain point of time (hereinafter, referred to as 'broadcast information investigation time') before the broadcast start time indicated by the stored broadcast information in step S22 (S23), using the newly received EPG information In operation S22, it is checked whether the recording reservation related broadcasting information is changed (S24). Specifically, after receiving new EPG information about a recording scheduled broadcast channel, finding the same item as the title of a recording scheduled broadcast program based on the EPG information, and confirming a broadcast start time and a broadcast end time for the same broadcast program. Analyze the difference by comparing it with the information stored at the time of recording reservation.

When the broadcasting information related to the recording reservation is changed as a result of the check in step S24, the broadcasting recording apparatus updates the recording reserved broadcasting information with the changed broadcasting information and switches to the reserved recording standby state. However, when the broadcast information related to the recording reservation has not been changed and the update is not necessary, it is switched to the reserved recording standby state as it is (S25, S26).

These steps S23 to S26 may be understood as a process of correcting recording scheduled broadcast information by comparing with the actual broadcast information, and modifying the recording reservation information set by the user in step S21 according to an actual broadcast situation that may change at any time. . That is, when the broadcast information investigation time comes, the broadcast recording device collects the broadcast information for the channel to perform the scheduled recording again, compares the newly received broadcast information with the preset broadcast reservation related broadcast information, and sets the recording reservation setting. You will be making changes. At this time, the items to be compared include channel information, broadcast program title, broadcast start time, broadcast end time, and the like.

When the recording start time indicated by the newly updated recording reservation related broadcast information is reached in step S26, the broadcast recording apparatus performs actual reservation recording for the corresponding broadcast program (S27, S28).

Referring to the example of the PVR illustrated in FIG. 1, the controller 10-9 displays the EPG information according to a user request input through the user input unit 10-10 as shown in FIG. 3. The user can make a recording reservation through the EPG information, and store and manage the recording reserved broadcast information in the memory unit 10-12. When the broadcast information investigation time comes based on the time information that can be grasped by the timer unit 10-13, the user checks whether there is a change in the broadcast information reserved for recording by the user using the newly received EPG information. In addition, if it is confirmed that the change is made as a result of the confirmation, the recording schedule related broadcasting information set by the user is automatically updated, and when the updated recording start time comes, recording starts.

As a specific example, a user has made a recording reservation for broadcast program A, which is announced to be broadcast between 19:00 and 20:00 through channel 6-1, and the broadcast information investigation time is set to 30 minutes before recording starts. Assume Then, confirmation is made as to whether the broadcast information has been changed using the newly received EPG information at 18:30, 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of recording at 19:00. When it is confirmed that it has been changed from 19:20 to 20:20, the recording start time and recording end time are automatically updated to 19: 20 ~ 20: 20. The recording starts at 19:20 according to this update.

Another embodiment of a broadcast recording reservation method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

First, the broadcast recording apparatus processes a user to directly specify a channel, a recording start time, a recording end time, and the like to make a recording reservation (S41). That is, step S41 is a process in which the user makes a recording reservation directly without using the EPG information.

Referring to FIG. 5, an example of a user interface screen that allows a user to directly input recording related information such as a broadcast type, a channel, a date, a start time, a recording length, and a repetition may be displayed on a display screen of a broadcast recording apparatus. have. Through the user interface screen, the user directly sets each item to perform recording reservation.

Then, the broadcast recording apparatus automatically detects the broadcast information related to the recording reservation made in step S41 through the EPG information and stores it as the recording reserved broadcast information (S42).

That is, in step S41, since the broadcast information is not used when the recording reservation is performed, the broadcast recording apparatus identifies the broadcast information on the corresponding broadcast program by itself through the EPG information, and as the broadcast information on the broadcast program that the user wants to reserve recording. Save it. This step S42 may be understood as a procedure performed in the background state in the broadcast recording apparatus.

Then, the same procedure as in steps S23 to S28 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is performed.

Referring to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 as an example of the PVR illustrated in FIG. 1, the controller 10-9 may be configured as shown in FIG. 5 according to a user request input through the user input unit 10-10. The manual recording schedule screen is displayed so that the user can schedule recording manually. When the recording reservation is completed, the EPG information is received to check the broadcast program title, the broadcast start time, the broadcast end time, etc. of the corresponding time section of the channel set by the user, and the memory unit 10-12 as the reserved recording information. ).

When the broadcast information investigation time comes based on the time information that can be grasped by the timer unit 10-13, the user checks whether there is a change in the broadcast information reserved for recording by the user using the newly received EPG information. In addition, if it is confirmed that the change has been made, the recording reservation related broadcast information stored in the memory unit 10-12 is automatically updated, and when the updated recording start time comes, recording starts.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the information stored as recording reserved broadcast information may include channel information, a broadcast program title, a broadcast start time, a broadcast end time, and the like.

At this time, the broadcast start time and the broadcast end time may be displayed as the broadcast start time and the recording length, of course. For example, it is obvious that the broadcast start time is 19:00 and the broadcast end time is 20:00, so that the broadcast start time is 19:00 and the recording length is 1 hour.

In addition, the broadcast information irradiation time may be set in various ways as necessary, and such broadcast information irradiation time may be set to a default value in the broadcast recording apparatus, or may be configured to be set directly by the user.

That is, as shown in the example shown in FIG. 6, a user interface screen for setting the broadcast information irradiation time may be output so that the user may select whether to confirm whether to update the broadcast information a few minutes before the scheduled recording. In the example of FIG. 6, the user may select the 'broadcast information check' item from the left menu and then select any item among the off, 10, 20, 30 and 60 minutes items as the broadcast information irradiation time.

In addition, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the processes of steps S23 to S26 of checking and updating whether or not broadcast scheduled recording information is changed may be configured to be executed two or more times before recording starts. .

In this embodiment, the time point of the final confirmation and update (final broadcast information viewing time) may be set to the most reasonable value as necessary, and the user may set the broadcast information research time through the user interface screen shown in FIG. Even if it is set by itself, it can be configured to go through confirmation and update once again during the final broadcasting information investigation time.

With reference to FIG. 7, it is assumed that the user sets the broadcasting information research time to 30 minutes before the recording start time, and an embodiment related to this will be described.

First, the broadcast recording device is in a recording standby state (S71), and 30 minutes before the start time of recording (S72), it is checked whether the broadcast information scheduled for recording is changed through the newly received EPG information (S73), and the change of the check result is changed. If so, the recording reserved broadcast information is updated with the new broadcast information (S74, S75).

In addition, the broadcast recording apparatus repeats steps S73 to S75 again when the broadcast information irradiation time set by the user has elapsed 5 minutes before the recording start time (final broadcast information irradiation time). When the recording start time is 1 minute ago, the scheduled recording is performed after waiting for 1 minute (S77 to S79).

At this time, whether or not to apply the last broadcast information survey time or the final broadcast information survey time itself can be configured so that the user can directly set.

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the broadcast status of the broadcast-reserved broadcast program is changed, the broadcast program that the user wants to record can be recorded at the correct time by adapting to the changed broadcast condition. Accordingly, it is possible to maximize the scheduled recording success rate of the broadcasting program that the user wants to record, and greatly improve the reliability and satisfaction of users who use various broadcasting recording apparatuses that can record broadcasting such as a personal video recorder (PVR). have.

Claims (6)

Processing a user to make a broadcast recording reservation using EPG (Electronic Program Guide) information; Storing the recording scheduled broadcast information; Checking whether the stored broadcast information is changed by using newly received EPG information before the broadcast start time indicated by the stored broadcast information is reached; And And updating the stored broadcast information with the changed broadcast information when the check result is changed. Processing a user to make a recording reservation by designating a broadcast channel and a reserved recording time; Automatically checking and storing broadcast information related to the recording reservation through EPG information; Checking whether the stored broadcast information is changed by using newly received EPG information before the broadcast start time indicated by the stored broadcast information is reached; And And updating the stored broadcast information with the changed broadcast information when the check result is changed. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the information stored as the recording reserved broadcast information includes channel information, a broadcast program title, a broadcast start time, and information indicating a broadcast end time. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And confirming whether the stored broadcast information has been changed. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And a point in time at which the stored broadcast information has been changed is configured to be set by a user. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Wherein each step is configured to be performed in a personal video recorder (PVR).

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