JP4167638B2 - Multi-screen television receiver and multi-screen display method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a multi-screen television receiver and a multi-screen display method capable of simultaneously displaying screens of a plurality of channels.

  Various television receivers capable of multi-screen display have been proposed. As an example, Patent Document 1 proposes a multi-screen television receiver including two tuners. In this multi-screen television receiver, the multi-screen is composed of a main screen and a plurality of sub-screens. The channel received by one tuner is always displayed on the main screen. Each sub-screen displays a still image of each channel obtained by periodically switching the receiving channel of the other tuner. The still images displayed on each child screen are updated at a constant cycle.

Patent Document 2 describes a multi-screen television receiver that has a plurality of tuners and displays a screen of a channel received by each tuner at the same time. In this multi-screen television receiver, a moving image can be displayed on each screen.
JP-A-6-178227 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-067061

  However, the conventional apparatus described above has the following problems.

  In the receiver described in Patent Document 1, since the child screen is displayed as a still image and its update cycle is long to some extent, the correlation between the still image before update and the still image after update is weak. For this reason, there arises a problem that it is difficult to grasp the content of a broadcast program with a still image. In addition, when switching and displaying the reception channel of one tuner, since it takes a certain amount of time to switch the reception channel, it is difficult to shorten the still image update period and make it look like a moving image. .

  In the receiver described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228688, since the moving image of the channel received by each tuner is displayed on the multi-screen, it is possible to easily grasp the content of the broadcast program. However, it is necessary to prepare tuners for the number of channels to be displayed. For example, when displaying a screen of five channels, five tuners are required. For this reason, it becomes disadvantageous in terms of cost, and the apparatus becomes large.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost and small-sized multi-screen television receiver and a multi-screen display method capable of solving the above problems and easily grasping the contents of a broadcast program.

To achieve the above object, a multi-screen television receiver of the present invention, sequentially switched at regular time intervals in a plurality of preset channel reception channel of one tuner even without least you receive a television broadcast A control unit; a storage unit that sequentially stores the moving image data output from the at least one tuner at the predetermined time interval for each channel; and the moving image data stored in the storage unit at the predetermined time interval A playback unit that reads and plays back separately; a display unit that displays moving image data of each channel that is simultaneously played by the playback unit as a multi-screen; a storage unit that stores a program guide for the television broadcast; A multi-screen television receiver having a clock unit for presenting time information of the program, The start time and the program time length of a program broadcast on each of a number of channels are appended, and the control unit adds the time at which the video data was broadcast to the video data stored in the storage unit. Giving based on the time information from the clock unit, and extracting the currently broadcast program from the program start time and program time length of the program table and the current time information supplied from the clock unit, The moving image data of each channel simultaneously reproduced by the reproducing unit has a time given to the moving image data stored in the storage unit after the start time of the currently broadcast program extracted by the control unit, and The moving image data is included in the program time length of the program .

Moreover, multi-screen display method of the present invention includes a first step of sequentially switched at predetermined time intervals in a plurality of channels set in advance the reception channel one tuner even without least you receive a television broadcast, the The moving image data output from the at least one tuner at the predetermined time interval is sequentially accumulated in the accumulating unit for each channel , and the time at which the moving image data is broadcast is stored in the moving image data stored in the accumulating unit. A second step of providing based on current time information supplied from the clock unit, and a third step of simultaneously reading out and reproducing the moving image data of the predetermined time interval stored in the storage unit by channel, look including a fourth step of displaying the video data of each channel obtained by the simultaneous reproduction as the multi-screen, the third scan The step of acquiring a program table with a start time and a program time length added to each of the plurality of channels as a program table related to the television broadcasting, and starting a program of the program table Extracting the program currently being broadcast from the time and the program time length and the current time information supplied from the clock unit, and the moving image data of each channel to be reproduced simultaneously is stored in the storage unit The time given to the moving image data is moving image data included after the extracted start time of the currently broadcast program and within the program time length of the program .

  In the present invention as described above, since the video of each channel is displayed as a moving image on the multi-screen, the contents of the broadcast program can be easily grasped. In addition, the number of tuners can be smaller than the number of channels displayed on the multi-screen, so it is lower in cost and smaller than conventional receivers that need to prepare tuners for the number of channels to be displayed. Can be provided.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a multi-screen television receiver according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This multi-screen television receiver is applied to a personal computer or a recorder, and its main parts are an antenna 1, a distributor 2, tuners 3a and 3b, encoders 4a and 4b, a storage unit 5, and a decoder 6. , A video composition unit 7, a display unit 8, an operation unit 12 and a control unit 9.

  The antenna 1 is an existing antenna for receiving television broadcast waves. The distributor 2 is an existing distributor having one input and two outputs. An output signal from the antenna 1 is supplied to each of the tuners 3 a and 3 b via the distributor 2.

  The tuners 3a and 3b have the same configuration, and the control unit 9 selects a reception channel. The tuners 3 a and 3 b take out the signal of the channel selected by the control unit 9 from the signals of the respective channels included in the output signal of the antenna 1. The output of the tuner 3a is branched into two, one being supplied to the display unit 8 and the other being supplied to the encoder 4a. The output of the tuner 3a is supplied to the encoder 4b.

  The encoders 4a and 4b and the decoder 6 are, for example, MPEG (Moving Picture Cording Experts Group) encoders / decoders. The moving image data encoded (compressed) by the encoders 4 a and 4 b is stored in the storage unit 5. The decoder 6 reads and decodes the moving image data stored in the storage unit 5. The encoding process by the encoders 4a and 4b and the decoding process by the decoder 6 are both controlled by the control unit 9.

  The video synthesizing unit 7 synthesizes video data of a plurality of channels decoded by the decoder 6. The moving image data synthesized by the video synthesis unit 7 is supplied to the display unit 8. The display unit 8 includes a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), or a plasma display.

  The operation unit 12 includes input devices such as input buttons, a touch panel, and a remote controller. The control unit 9 controls the operation of the entire multi-screen television receiver. The control unit 9 receives an input operation by the user in the operation unit 12 to control the operation of each unit of the receiver and stores a memory (not shown). Various processes including a television broadcast reception process, a normal viewing / recording mode process, and a multi-screen display mode process are executed in accordance with a program stored in advance in the apparatus. The normal viewing / recording mode and multi-screen display mode can be arbitrarily switched by the user performing a predetermined input operation through the operation unit 12.

  Next, the operation of the multi-screen television receiver of this embodiment will be described. Here, the operation will be described separately for a normal viewing / recording mode and a characteristic multi-screen display mode.

(1) Normal viewing / recording mode:
In the normal display mode, the tuner 3a is used. The control unit 9 supplies a tuning control signal for selecting a channel designated by the user through the operation unit 12 to the tuner 3a. In the tuner 3a, a reception channel is set according to the channel selection control signal from the control unit 9. After setting the reception channel, the tuner 3 a extracts a video signal of the set channel from the television broadcast wave, amplifies it, and supplies it to the display unit 8. As a result, the video of the channel designated by the user is displayed on the display unit 8.

  Further, when the user performs an operation for recording on the operation unit 12, the control unit 9 starts accumulation of moving image data in the accumulation unit 5 via the encoder 4. Recording is thus started. After the start of recording, when the user performs an operation for ending the recording with the operation unit 12, the control unit 9 ends the accumulation of the moving image data in the storage unit 5 via the encoder 4. Thus, the recording ends. Various kinds of information such as a title and a program name can be given to the moving image data stored in the storage unit 5.

  The storage unit 5 can store a plurality of moving image data (programs and the like). The control unit 9 causes the display unit 8 to display a list of moving image data stored in the storage unit 5, and the moving image data arbitrarily selected by the user through the operation unit 12 from the displayed list is decoded by the decoder 6. And can be displayed on the display unit 8.

(2) Multi-screen display mode:
In the multi-screen display mode, the tuner 3b is used, and multi-screen display with a larger number of channels than the number of tuners is performed. Each channel displayed on the multi-screen is preset by the user. When a predetermined input operation is performed on the operation unit 12, the control unit 9 switches the reception channel of the tuner 3b at a constant cycle within a channel range set in advance by the user. FIG. 2 shows an example of multi-screen display processing when three channels “1ch” to “3ch” are switched at a constant cycle. 2, (a) shows a state of switching the reception channel of the tuner 3b, (b) shows a state of accumulation of moving image data in the storage unit 5, and (c) shows a state of multi-screen display on the display unit 8. .

  First, with reference to FIG. 2A, switching of the reception channel by the control unit 9 will be described. In FIG. 2A, a long broken line indicates a reception channel set in the tuner 3a, and a short broken line indicates a reception channel set in the tuner 3b. The receiving channel of the tuner 3a is fixed to “2ch”, and the receiving channel of the tuner 3b is switched every 10 seconds. Since the video from the tuner 3a is not used here, the description thereof is omitted.

  For the first 10 seconds (“0 s” to “10 s”), the control unit 9 supplies a channel selection control signal of “1ch” to the tuner 3b. For the next 10 seconds (“10 s” to “20 s”), the control unit 9 supplies the channel selection control signal of “2ch” to the tuner 3b. For the next 10 seconds (“20 s” to “30 s”), the control unit 9 supplies the channel selection control signal of “3ch” to the tuner 3b. In this way, the control unit 9 sequentially switches the reception channel of the tuner 3a within the range of the three channels “1ch”, “2ch”, and “3ch” every 10 seconds.

  The storage unit 5 has storage areas for moving image data for each of the channels “1ch” to “3ch”, and the moving image data for a certain period of time supplied from the tuner 3b is sequentially stored in each storage area. It is captured. An image for a certain period of time stored in the storage unit 5 is called one segment. Here, a 10-second video is defined as one segment.

  Referring to the example of FIG. 2B, for the first 10 seconds (“0s” to “10s”), “1ch” video is supplied from the tuner 3b, and the video data of the supplied video is “1ch”. Stored in the storage area. For the next 10 seconds (“10 s” to “20 s”), “2ch” video is supplied from the tuner 3b, and the video data of the supplied video is stored in the “2ch” storage area. For the next 10 seconds (“20 s” to “30 s”), “3ch” video is supplied from the tuner 3b, and moving image data of the supplied video is stored in the “3ch” storage area. Thus, in each storage area of “1ch” to “3ch”, one segment of moving image data is stored in the first 30 seconds (first turn). In the second and subsequent turns, moving image data for one segment is stored in each storage area in the same procedure.

  After moving image data is stored in segment units in the storage areas “1ch” to “3ch” of the accumulation unit 5, the control unit 9 sends a signal for starting decoding of the stored moving image data to the decoder 6. Supply. In response to the decoding start signal from the control unit 9, the decoder 6 sequentially reads and decodes the stored moving image data for each storage area of “1ch” to “3ch” in the storage unit 5. The video data of each channel decoded by the decoder 6 is synthesized by the video synthesis unit 7. The display unit 8 performs multi-screen display based on the synthesized moving image data. As shown in FIG. 2C, the multi-screen in this case includes three screens corresponding to the “1ch”, “2ch”, and “3ch” channels.

  On the “1ch” screen, the moving image data of the first segment (moving image data of “0s” to “10s”) is read from the storage area of “1ch” shown in FIG. 2B and displayed. Subsequently, the moving image data of the second segment (moving image data of “30 s” to “40 s”) is read and displayed. In this way, the moving image data is sequentially read and reproduced in segment units.

  Similarly, on the “2ch” screen, the moving image data of the first segment (moving image data of “10 s” to “20 s”) is read from the storage area of “2ch” shown in FIG. Then, the moving image data of the second segment (moving image data of “40 s” to “50 s”) is read and displayed. In this way, the moving image data is sequentially read and reproduced in segment units.

  Similarly, on the “3ch” screen, the moving image data of the first segment (“30s” to “40s”) is read from the “3ch” storage area shown in FIG. Subsequently, the moving image data of the second segment (moving image data of “50 s” to “60 s”) is read and displayed. In this way, the moving image data is sequentially read and reproduced in segment units.

  According to the multi-screen display described above, after switching to the multi-screen display mode, the moving image data of the first segment (moving image data of “0 s” to “10 s”) is displayed on the “1ch” screen for the first 10 seconds. , The first segment video data (“10s” to “20s” video data) on the “2ch” screen, and the first segment video data (“20s” to “30s” on the “3ch” screen). Is displayed at the same time. For the next 10 seconds, the second segment video data ("30s" to "40s" video data) is displayed on the "1ch" screen, and the second segment video data (" 40 s ”to“ 50 s ”), the second segment movie data (“ 50 s ”to“ 60 s ”movie data) is simultaneously displayed on the“ 3ch ”screen. In this way, a moving image is displayed on the screen of each channel for 10 seconds every 20 seconds.

  Next, a procedure of moving image data storage processing including encoding by the encoder 4b and moving image data reproduction processing including decoding by the decoder 6 in the multi-screen display mode described above will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of the moving image data accumulation process. In the moving image data accumulation processing, the following processing is executed by the control of the control unit 9 for each channel displayed on each screen of the multi-display screen.

  First, it is determined whether or not there is an accumulation start instruction (step S10). The accumulation start instruction is automatically generated when the user performs a predetermined input operation on the operation unit 12. Here, the predetermined input operation may be an operation for switching to the multi-screen display mode or an operation for turning on the power of the receiver. When there is an accumulation start instruction, the reception channel of the tuner 3b is matched with a channel designated in advance (step S11), and storage of moving image data in the storage area of the corresponding channel of the accumulation unit 5 is started (step S12). .

  Next, it is determined whether or not a certain time has elapsed (step S13). If “No” is determined in this determination, the accumulation of the moving image in step S12 is continued. If “Yes” is determined, it is subsequently determined whether or not there is an instruction to end the accumulation (step S14). This accumulation end instruction is also automatically generated when the user performs a predetermined input operation on the operation unit 12. Here, the predetermined input operation may be a switching operation from the multi-screen display mode to the normal viewing / recording mode, or an operation for turning off the power of the receiver. If there is no accumulation end instruction, the reception channel of the tuner 3b is set to the next channel designated in advance (step S15), and the process proceeds to step S12. If there is an accumulation end instruction, the moving image data accumulation processing is terminated.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of the moving image data reproduction process. In the reproduction processing of the moving image data, the following processing is executed by the control of the control unit 9 for each channel displayed on each screen of the multi display screen.

  First, it is determined whether or not a reproduction start instruction has been issued (step S10). The reproduction start instruction is automatically generated when the user performs a predetermined input operation on the operation unit 12. Specifically, the predetermined input operation is an operation for switching to the multi-screen display mode. If there is a reproduction start instruction, it is determined whether or not moving image data for one segment to be displayed is stored in the storage area of the corresponding channel in the storage unit 5 (step S21). When this determination is “No”, the previously displayed moving image data for one segment is displayed again (step S22), and then the determination of step S21 is performed again.

  If “Yes” is determined in step S21, the video data for one segment to be displayed is subsequently extracted and decoded. The decoded moving image data is synthesized and displayed on the corresponding channel screen of the multi-screen. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not a reproduction end instruction has been issued (step S24). If “No” is determined in this determination, the process proceeds to step S21. If “Yes” is determined, the reproduction processing of the moving image data is ended.

  The above moving image data storage processing and reproduction processing are performed in conjunction with each other. According to these accumulation processing and reproduction processing, since a moving image is displayed on the screen of each channel, it is easier to grasp the content of the broadcast program than when a still image is displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when performing multi-screen display for three channels “1ch” to “3ch”, moving image data for three channels is simultaneously read from the storage unit 5. In this case, the moving image reading pace from the accumulating unit 5 is three times the accumulating rate of moving images to the accumulating unit 5, so that the accumulated amount will eventually disappear. According to the above-described reproduction processing, when there is no accumulated amount, the previous moving image display is performed in step S22, so that there is no problem that the display is interrupted (the state where there is no display data).

  The above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the configuration and processing can be changed as appropriate. For example, two tuners 1 and 2 may be used in the multi-screen display mode. In this case, the video data can be stored in the storage unit 5 simultaneously by the tuners 1 and 2 for two channels. Specifically, in the case of multi-screen display from “1ch” to “3ch”, the tuner can be combined with combinations of “1ch” and “2ch”, “2ch” and “3ch”, “3ch” and “1ch”. The receiving channels 1 and 2 are sequentially switched every 10 seconds, and the moving image data is simultaneously stored in the storage unit 5 for the two channels. By doing so, the accumulation rate of the moving image in the accumulation unit 5 is doubled compared to the case of one tuner, and the frequency of the previous moving image display in step S22 can be reduced.

  In addition, when one tuner is used, the screen of each channel displays a video for 10 seconds every 20 seconds, whereas when two tuners are used, the screen of each channel Then, a moving image is displayed every 10 seconds for 20 seconds. In this way, in each channel, the continuity between segments of the moving image displayed in segment units is improved, and as a result, the contents of the broadcast program can be more easily grasped.

  Further, the number of tuners is not limited to two, and the number of tuners is not particularly limited as long as the condition that the number of channels displayed on the multi-screen is larger than the number of tuners is satisfied. However, if the number of tuners is increased, continuity between segments is further improved, but this is disadvantageous in terms of cost and the size of the apparatus.

  Furthermore, it is possible to display the video that is always received by the tuner 1 on one screen of the multi-screen. In this case, when the reception channel of the tuner 2 is switched, the reception channel set in the tuner 1 may be skipped. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 2, an image that is constantly received by the tuner 1 is displayed on the “2ch” screen, and the tuner 2 is used for the remaining “1ch” and “3ch” screens. The video is displayed while switching the receiving channel.

(Embodiment 2)
In the multi-screen display mode, an image of a program broadcast before the program currently broadcast may be displayed. For example, at the same time as the power is turned on, the accumulation of moving image data for multi-screen display is started in the accumulating unit 5, and the accumulation is performed when the switching operation to the multi-screen display mode is performed after 2 hours from the accumulation start. If the moving image data stored in the unit 5 is reproduced from the beginning, the video of two hours ago is displayed. When the program currently broadcast is a program with a broadcast time of one hour, the video two hours before is a program broadcast before the program broadcast at the present time. As described above, when a program that is not currently broadcast is displayed on the multi-screen, the user cannot select a program that the user wants to watch based on the displayed program. Here, a mode in which a multi-screen display of a program currently being broadcast is possible will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a multi-screen television receiver according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This multi-screen television receiver is basically the same as the receiver shown in FIG. 1, but the control unit 9 refers to a program table (EPG: Electronic Program Guide) stored in the storage unit 10. The difference is that control is performed so that the moving image of the currently broadcast program is displayed on a multi-screen.

  The storage unit 10 includes a semiconductor memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and stores a program table acquired in advance through a predetermined television broadcast or the Internet. The acquisition of the program guide itself is a well-known technique and is not so related to the features of the present embodiment, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

  In the multi-screen display mode, the control unit 9 performs the encoding process by the encoder 4b and the moving image data storing process in the storage unit 5 while switching the reception channel of the tuner 3b, and the decoding process by the decoder 6 is stored in the storage unit 10 is executed in conjunction with the program guide stored in the program table 10. When the moving image data is stored in the storage unit 5, the control unit 9 adds time information from the clock unit 11 that supplies the current time to the moving image data. When the decoding process by the decoder 6 is executed, the control unit 9 acquires the broadcast start time of the program currently broadcast from the program guide, and decodes the moving image data to which time information after the broadcast start time is given. The decoder 6 is controlled so as to perform processing.

  FIG. 6 shows a control procedure performed by the control unit 9 when displaying a moving image of a program currently broadcast.

  First, it is determined whether or not a reproduction start instruction has been issued (step S30). The reproduction start instruction is automatically generated when the user performs a predetermined input operation on the operation unit 12. Specifically, the predetermined input operation is an operation for switching to the multi-screen display mode. If there is an instruction to start reproduction, the current time is acquired based on the time information from the clock unit 11 (step S31). Then, the program guide stored in the storage unit 10 is referred to, and information on the currently broadcast program is acquired from the acquired current time (step S32). The acquired program information includes a broadcast start time.

  Next, the program information (broadcast start time) acquired in step S32 and the time information (broadcast time) given to each video data from the video data stored in the storage area of the corresponding channel of the storage unit 5. ) To determine the moving image data relating to the currently broadcast program (step S33). Next, the playback (decoding) start point is set at the head of the video data with the oldest time information (broadcast time) among the video data related to the program currently being broadcast (step S34), and the video data for one segment is played back. (Decoding) (step S35).

  When the reproduction (decoding) of moving image data for one segment is performed, it is then determined whether or not the next segment exists (step S36). If "Yes" is determined in step S36, a reproduction (decoding) start point is set at the head of the next segment (step S37), and the process proceeds to step S34. If "No" is determined in the step S36, it is subsequently determined whether or not a reproduction end instruction has been given (step S38). If “No” is determined in step S38, a reproduction (decoding) start point is set at the head of the same segment (step S39), and the process proceeds to step S34. If “Yes” is determined in step S38, the reproduction control process ends.

  The reproduction control by the control unit 9 is performed for each channel displayed on the multi-screen. As a result, a moving image relating to the program currently broadcast is displayed on the screen of each channel.

  FIG. 7 shows the relationship between moving image data and a program table when a moving image of a currently broadcast program is displayed on a multi-screen. In the left part of the drawing, moving image data (accumulated video) stored in the storage areas “1ch”, “2ch”, and “3ch” of the storage unit 5 is schematically shown, and in the right part of the drawing, A program guide for three channels “1ch”, “2ch”, and “3ch” is shown.

  In the “1ch” column in the program guide, the program D currently broadcast (the broadcast start time is “21:00”) and the program A broadcast before that (the broadcast time is “19: 00 "to" 20:59 ") is stored. In the column “2ch”, the program F currently broadcast (the broadcast start time is “22:00”) and the program E broadcast before that (broadcast times are “21:00” to “20:00”). 21:59 ”) and program B (the broadcast end time is“ 20:59 ”). In the “3ch” column, the program G currently broadcast (the broadcast start time is “20:30”) and the program C broadcast before (program time is “19:30” to “ 20:29 ") is stored.

  As stored images, moving image data D1a to D1d are stored in the storage area of “1ch”, moving image data D2a to D2d are stored in the storage area of “2ch”, and moving image data is stored in the storage area of “3ch”. Data D3a to D3c are stored. Of the moving image data D1a to D1d, the moving image data D1a and D1b are given time information prior to the time “21:00”, which indicates that the moving image data is the program A moving image data. Time information after the time “21:00” is given to the moving image data D1c and D1d, and it can be understood that the moving image data is the moving image data of the program D. Of the moving image data D2a to D2d, the moving image data D2a to D2c are given time information prior to the time “22:00”, which indicates that the moving image data is the program B or the program E. Time information after time “22:00” is given to the moving image data D2d, and it can be seen that this is moving image data of the program D. Among the moving image data D3a to D3c, the moving image data D3a is given time information before the time “20:30”, and thus it is understood that the moving image data is the program C. Time information after the time “20:30” is given to the moving image data D3b and D3c, so that it can be seen that the moving image data is the program G moving image data.

  When displaying a moving image on the “1ch” screen, the control unit 9 among the moving image data D1a to D1d stored in the “1ch” storage area of the storage unit 5, the moving image related to the program D currently being broadcast. The decoder 6 is controlled to sequentially decode the data D1c and D1d. In the case of displaying a moving image on the “2ch” screen, the control unit 9 selects the moving image related to the program F currently being broadcast among the moving image data D2a to D2d stored in the “2ch” storage area of the storage unit 5. The decoder 6 is controlled to decode the data D2d. In the case of displaying a moving image on the “3ch” screen, the control unit 9 selects the moving image related to the program G currently being broadcast among the moving image data D3a to D3c stored in the “3ch” storage area of the storage unit 5. The decoder 6 is controlled to sequentially decode the data D3b and D3c. As a result, on the screens “1ch” to “3ch”, the moving image of the program currently being broadcast is displayed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the multi-screen display regarding the currently broadcast program is possible, the user can surely select the program to be viewed on the multi-screen.

(Embodiment 3)
In the multi-screen display mode, the head portion of a broadcast program may not be displayed depending on the switching timing of the reception channel. The video at the beginning of the broadcast program (the video for a predetermined time from the start of the broadcast) is a part that contains content that is quite important for viewing the program, such as the content of the program to be broadcast and the introduction of performers, The importance is higher than the rest of the program. For this reason, it is desirable to display the top part of the broadcast program as much as possible. Here, a mode in which the head portion of a program is preferentially displayed will be described.

  The multi-screen television receiver of the third embodiment basically has the same configuration as the receiver of the second embodiment shown in FIG. The video data storage process differs. FIG. 8 shows a procedure of the moving image data accumulation process.

  Referring to FIG. 8, it is first determined whether or not an accumulation start instruction has been issued (step S40). This accumulation start instruction is automatically generated when the user performs a predetermined input operation on the operation unit 12. Here, the predetermined input operation may be an operation for switching to the multi-screen display mode or an operation for turning on the power of the receiver.

  When there is an accumulation start instruction, program information broadcast on each channel displayed on the multi-screen is acquired from the program guide stored in the storage unit 10 (step S41). Subsequently, based on the acquired program information, it is determined whether or not there is a channel from which the top of the program is broadcast (step S42). The program information acquired in step S41 includes information related to the broadcast time. Based on this information and the time information from the clock unit 11, the timing at which the head portion of the program is broadcast can be acquired. The determination in step S42 can be made based on the acquired timing.

  If “No” is determined in step S42, normal channel matching is performed, and then one segment of moving image data is stored in the storage area of the corresponding channel in the storage unit 5 (step S43). In normal channel alignment, the reception channel of the tuner 3b is adjusted to the channel with the oldest segment stored in the previous channel. If “Yes” is determined in step S42, it is subsequently determined whether the top of the program is one or more channels to be broadcast (step S44). If “one” is determined in step S44, the reception channel of the tuner 3b is matched with that channel, and the video data for one segment is stored in the storage area of the corresponding channel in the storage unit 5 (step S45). . If “multiple” is determined in step S44, the received channels of the tuner 3b are matched with the received channels of the tuner 3b in order from the oldest segment stored for those channels, and the corresponding channel storage area of the storage unit 5 is set in segment units. The moving image data is stored (step S46).

  After any one of steps S43, S45, and S46 is executed, it is determined whether or not an accumulation end instruction has been issued (step S47). This accumulation end instruction is also automatically generated when the user performs a predetermined input operation on the operation unit 12. Here, the predetermined input operation may be a switching operation from the multi-screen display mode to the normal viewing / recording mode, or an operation for turning off the power of the receiver. If there is no accumulation end instruction, the process returns to step S42 to accumulate moving image data relating to the next channel. If there is an accumulation end instruction, the moving image data accumulation processing is terminated.

  In the moving image data accumulation process by the control unit 9 described above, the moving image data at the beginning of the program is preferentially accumulated, so that when the multi-screen display is performed, the video at the beginning of the program is displayed on each channel. Is possible. Thereby, it is possible to reliably present to the user the video of the head portion of the program that is important for program selection.

  FIG. 9 shows an operation example when the head of the program is preferentially stored in conjunction with the program guide. In the left part of the drawing, the storage order of moving image data (accumulated video) in each storage area of “1ch”, “2ch”, and “3ch” of the storage unit 5 is schematically shown. , “1ch”, “2ch”, and “3ch” are shown for three channels.

  In the program table of “1ch” in the program guide, program D is broadcast from “21:00” following program A. In the “2ch” program column, program E is broadcast from “21:00” following program B. In the “3ch” program column, program G is broadcast from “20:30” following program C. In this case, the control unit 9 acquires the broadcast start times of the programs D, E, and G from the program table, and based on this information and the current time information from the clock unit 11, the programs D, E, The timing at which the head portion of G is broadcast can be acquired, and the determination in step S42 described above is performed based on the acquired timing.

  When moving image data is stored in conjunction with the program guide shown on the right side of the drawing, moving image data is stored in the storage areas “1ch”, “2ch”, and “3ch” as shown on the left side of the drawing. Accumulated. In this accumulation of moving image data, the program information of each channel of “1ch” to “3ch” is acquired from the program guide in step S41, and then the processing of steps S42 to S46 is repeated.

  First, the determination in step S42 is made. At this time, in any of the channels “1ch” to “3ch”, since there is no program to be broadcast from the beginning, the determination in step S42 is “No”. In step S43, the receiving channel of the tuner 3b is set to “1ch” by normal channel matching, and the moving image data D1a related to the program A is stored in the storage area of “1ch” in the storage unit 5.

  After the moving image data D1a is stored, the process returns to step S42 again. At this time, since the broadcast of the program C has started on “3ch”, the determination in step S42 is “Yes”, and “one” is determined in step S44. In step S45, the reception channel of the tuner 3b is set to “3ch”, and the moving image data D3a related to the program C is stored in the storage area of “3ch” in the storage unit 5.

  After the moving image data D3a is stored, the process returns to step S42 again. At this time, in any of the channels “1ch” to “3ch”, since there is no program to be broadcast from the beginning, the determination in step S42 is “No”. In step S43, the reception channel of the tuner 3b is set to “2ch” by normal channel matching, and the moving image data D2a related to the program B is stored in the storage area of “2ch” in the storage unit 5.

  After the moving image data D2a is stored, the process returns to step S42 again. At this time, in any of the channels “1ch” to “3ch”, since there is no program to be broadcast from the beginning, the determination in step S42 is “No”. In step S43, the receiving channel of the tuner 3b is set to “1ch” by normal channel matching, and the moving image data D1b related to the program A is stored in the storage area of “1ch” in the storage unit 5.

  After the moving image data D1b is stored, the process returns to step S42 again. At this time, in any of the channels “1ch” to “3ch”, since there is no program to be broadcast from the beginning, the determination in step S42 is “No”. However, in this case, since it is known that the broadcast of the program G will be started soon in “3ch”, one of the remaining “1ch” and “2ch” in the normal channel alignment in step S43. The reception channel of the tuner 3b is adjusted to “2ch” in which the previously accumulated segment is old. Then, the moving image data D2b related to the program B is stored in the “2ch” storage area of the storage unit 5.

  After storing the moving image data D2b, the process returns to step S42 again. At this time, since the broadcast of the program G is started in “3ch”, the determination in step S42 is “Yes”, and “one” is determined in step S44. In step S45, the reception channel of the tuner 3b is set to “3ch”, and the moving image data D3b related to the program G is stored in the storage area of “3ch” in the storage unit 5.

  After storing the moving image data D3b, the process returns to step S42 again. At this time, since the broadcast of the program D is started at “1ch” and the broadcast of the program E at “2ch” is started at the same time, the determination in step S42 is “Yes”, and “multiple” is determined in step S44. . In step S46, the reception channel of the tuner 3b is first set to “1ch”, and the moving image data D1c related to the program D is stored in the storage area of “1ch” in the storage unit 5. Subsequently, the reception channel of the tuner 3b is set to “2ch”, and the moving image data D2c related to the program E is stored in the storage area of “2ch” in the storage unit 5.

  After the moving image data D1c and D2c are stored, the process returns to step S42 again. At this time, in any of the channels “1ch” to “3ch”, since there is no program to be broadcast from the beginning, the determination in step S42 is “No”. In step S43, the receiving channel of the tuner 3b is set to “3ch” by normal channel matching, and the moving image data D3c related to the program G is stored in the storage area of “3ch” of the storage unit 5.

  After storing the moving image data D3c, the process returns to step S42 again. At this time, in any of the channels “1ch” to “3ch”, since there is no program to be broadcast from the beginning, the determination in step S42 is “No”. In step S43, the receiving channel of the tuner 3b is set to “1ch” by normal channel matching, and the moving image data D3d related to the program D is stored in the storage area of “1ch” in the storage unit 5.

  After storing the moving image data D1d, the process returns to step S42 again. At this time, in any of the channels “1ch” to “3ch”, since there is no program to be broadcast from the beginning, the determination in step S42 is “No”. In step S43, the receiving channel of the tuner 3b is set to “2ch” by normal channel matching, and the moving image data D2d related to the program E is stored in the storage area of “2ch” in the storage unit 5.

(Embodiment 4)
In multi-screen display, for example, a program such as news or sports broadcast needs to always display new information. On the other hand, if a program such as a drama is broadcast on the same day, the importance does not change so much regardless of which part is played. For this reason, it is desirable to perform multi-screen display according to the genre of the broadcast program. Here, a mode for performing such multi-screen display will be described.

  The multi-screen television receiver of the fourth embodiment has basically the same configuration as the receiver of the second embodiment shown in FIG. The process control procedure is different. FIG. 10 shows a procedure for controlling the reproduction processing of the moving image data.

  First, it is determined whether or not a reproduction start instruction has been issued (step S50). The reproduction start instruction is automatically generated when the user performs a predetermined input operation on the operation unit 12. Specifically, the predetermined input operation is an operation for switching to the multi-screen display mode. If there is a reproduction start instruction, then the current time is acquired based on the time information from the clock unit 11 (step S51). Then, the program guide stored in the storage unit 10 is referred to, and information on the currently broadcast program is acquired from the acquired current time (step S52). The acquired program information includes information (information such as sports, news, and dramas) that can specify the broadcast start time and genre.

  Next, based on the program information (broadcast start time) acquired in step S52 and the time information given to each video data, of the video data stored in the storage area of the corresponding channel of the storage unit 5 To determine the moving image data relating to the currently broadcast program (step S53). Subsequently, based on the program information (genre specifying information) acquired in step S52, it is determined whether or not the currently broadcast program is a program of a genre (sports or news) in which the latest information is important (step S54).

  If “Yes” is determined in step S54, a playback (decoding) start point is set at the head of the newest segment of time information in the moving image data related to the currently broadcast program determined in step S53 (step S54). In S55), if “No”, the playback (decoding) start point is set at the head of the oldest segment of the time information (step S56). After either step S55 or S56 is performed, the video data for one segment is reproduced (decoded) (step S57).

  When the reproduction (decoding) of the moving image data for one segment is performed, it is subsequently determined whether or not the next segment exists (step S58). If “Yes” is determined in step S58, a reproduction (decoding) start point is set at the head of the next segment (step S59), and the process proceeds to step S57. If “No” is determined in the step S58, it is subsequently determined whether or not a reproduction end instruction has been given (step S60). If “No” is determined in step S60, a reproduction (decoding) start point is set at the head of the same segment (step S61), and the process proceeds to step S57. If the determination in step S60 is “Yes”, the reproduction control process ends.

  The reproduction control by the control unit 9 is performed for each channel displayed on the multi-screen. As a result, on the screen of each channel, a video related to the currently broadcast program is displayed, and among the displayed programs, the latest video video is always displayed for a genre (sports broadcast or news) program. Is displayed.

  FIG. 11 shows the relationship between moving image data and a program guide when a moving image of a currently broadcast program is displayed on a multi-screen according to the genre. In the left part of the drawing, moving image data (accumulated video) stored in the storage areas “1ch”, “2ch”, and “3ch” of the storage unit 5 is schematically shown, and in the right part of the drawing, A program guide for three channels “1ch”, “2ch”, and “3ch” is shown.

  In the program table, the “1ch” column stores program information relating to program A (broadcast start time is “19:00”, genre is “news”). In the “2ch” column, program information relating to program B (broadcast start time is “18:30”, genre is “sports relay”) is stored. In the “3ch” column, program information related to the program C (broadcast start time is “19:00” and genre is “drama”) is stored.

  As stored images, moving image data D1a to D1d are stored in the storage area of “1ch”, moving image data D2a to D2d are stored in the storage area of “2ch”, and moving image data is stored in the storage area of “3ch”. Data D3a to D3c are stored. Time information before the time “19:00” is given to the moving image data D1a, and it can be seen that the moving image data is related to the program before the program A. Time information after time “19:00” is given to the moving image data D1b to D1d, and it can be seen that the moving image data is related to the program A. Time information after the time “18:30” is given to the moving image data D2a to D2d, and it is understood that the moving image data is related to the program B. Time information after time “19:00” is given to the moving image data D3a to D3c, and it can be seen that the moving image data is related to the program C.

  After the moving image data D2d is stored in the storage area of “3ch” in the storage unit 5, when the mode is switched to the multi-screen display mode, the control unit 9 performs reproduction (decoding) processing according to the procedure shown in FIG. Execute. In this case, since program A (news) is currently being broadcast on “1ch”, the newest segment among the video data D1b to D1d related to program A stored in the storage area of “1ch” in the storage unit 5 The moving image data D1d is reproduced (decoded). In addition, since program B (sports relay) is currently being broadcast on “2ch”, it is the newest segment of the video data D2a to D2d related to program B stored in the storage area of “2ch” in the storage unit 5. Certain moving image data D2d is reproduced (decoded). Further, since program C (drama) is currently being broadcast on “3ch”, it is the oldest segment of the video data D3a to D3c related to program C stored in the storage area of “3ch” in the storage unit 5. The moving image data D3a is reproduced (decoded).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, for programs such as sports broadcasts and news, it is possible to always display the latest video out of the broadcast video, so the convenience in multi-screen display is further improved. .

(Embodiment 5)
In the multi-screen display mode, for programs such as variety programs that are broadcast every time, the past broadcast of one day or one week ago is stored in the storage unit 5 to reproduce the program currently being broadcast. Instead, it is possible to know the configuration of a program to be broadcast from now on by displaying moving image data slightly after the same time in the past broadcast. Here, the form which can display such a past broadcast is demonstrated.

  The multi-screen television receiver of the fifth embodiment has basically the same configuration as that of the receiver of the second embodiment shown in FIG. The process control procedure is different. FIG. 12 schematically shows moving image data reproduction processing based on the control of the control unit 9.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the storage unit 5 stores the video data D1a to D1d of the program A broadcast one week ago in the “1ch” storage area, and one week before in the “2ch” storage area. The moving image data D2a to D2d of the broadcast program B are stored, and the moving image data D3a to D3c of the program C broadcast one week ago are stored in the storage area of “3ch”. The programs A to C are all programs having the same program configuration that is broadcast every time. Time information (broadcast time) is given to the moving image data stored in the storage areas “1ch” to “3ch”, and one of the programs currently being broadcast is based on this time information (broadcast time). It is possible to determine the moving image data of the weekly broadcast.

  Assuming that the programs A to C are currently being broadcast, the decoder 6 converts the video data D1c to which the broadcast time slightly later than the same time one week before from the storage area of “1ch” is stored in “2ch”. The moving image data D2b to which the broadcasting time slightly later than the same time one week ago from the storage area is added to the moving image data D3b to which the broadcasting time slightly later than the same time one week ago from the “3ch” storage area is assigned. Are read and played simultaneously. The simultaneously reproduced moving image data is synthesized by the video synthesis unit 7 and then displayed on the multi-screen of the display unit 8. From the video one week before displayed on the multi-screen in this way, the user can grasp the program configuration to be broadcast from now on for the programs A to C currently being broadcast. As a result, it is possible to reliably select a program to be viewed in the program selection in the multi-screen display.

  The above reproduction process control can also be applied to the broadcast of a rebroadcast program. The rebroadcast program broadcasts exactly the same content as the initial broadcast program, although the broadcast time is different. In this case, the moving image data of the first broadcast program is stored in the storage unit 5. When storing the moving image data, the control unit 9 stores the program specifying information (information indicating the number of broadcasts, title name, etc.) stored in the storage unit 10 so that it can be specified as the first broadcast program. Acquired from the table and attached to the moving image data storing the acquired information. Based on the assigned program specifying information, it is possible to determine which program is the first broadcast program. During the broadcast of the rebroadcast program, the decoder 6 accumulates the video data of a new broadcast time for a predetermined time from the corresponding broadcast time of the first broadcast program, instead of reproducing the video data of the currently broadcast rebroadcast program. Read out from the unit 5 and play back. According to the control of the reproduction process, the user can grasp the contents of the rebroadcast program being broadcast, and as a result, the program to be viewed can be reliably confirmed in the program selection in the multi-screen display. It becomes possible to select.

  Each embodiment described above is an example of the present invention, and the configuration and operation thereof can be changed as appropriate. For example, a configuration in which two or more of the second to fifth embodiments are combined may be used.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a multi-screen television receiver that is a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A and 2B are diagrams for explaining multi-screen display processing performed in the multi-screen television receiver shown in FIG. 1, where FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of channel switching, and FIG. Schematic diagram (c) is a schematic diagram of multi-screen display. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of moving image data accumulation processing performed in the multi-screen television receiver shown in FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of moving image data reproduction processing performed in the multi-screen television receiver shown in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the multi-screen television receiver which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of moving image data reproduction processing performed in the multi-screen television receiver shown in FIG. 5. It is a schematic diagram which shows the relationship of accumulation | storage of the moving image data and program schedule in the multi-screen television receiver shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows one procedure of the accumulation | storage process of the moving image data performed in the multi-screen television receiver which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the relationship of accumulation | storage of the moving image data and program schedule in the multi-screen television receiver which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows one procedure of the reproduction | regeneration processing of the moving image data performed in the multi-screen television receiver which is the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the relationship of accumulation | storage of the moving image data and program schedule in the multi-screen television receiver which is the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of accumulation | storage of the moving image data in the multi-screen television receiver which is the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Antenna 2 Divider 3a, 3b Tuner 4a, 4b Encoder 5 Accumulator 6 Decoder 7 Image composition part 8 Display part 9 Control part 12 Operation part

Claims (3)

And sequentially switching control unit at predetermined time intervals in a plurality of preset channel reception channel of one tuner even without least you receive a television broadcast,
An accumulator that sequentially accumulates video data output from the at least one tuner at the predetermined time interval for each channel;
A reproduction unit that reads out the video data of the predetermined time interval accumulated in the accumulation unit for each channel and reproduces the same simultaneously;
A display unit that displays the video data of each channel simultaneously played by the playback unit as a multi-screen ;
A storage unit in which a program guide relating to the television broadcast is stored;
A clock that presents the current time information and
A multi-screen television receiver having
In the program table, a start time and a program time length of a program broadcast on each of the plurality of channels are added,
The control unit gives the moving image data stored in the storage unit the time at which the moving image data was broadcast based on the time information from the clock unit, and the start time of the program in the program guide and Extracting the currently broadcast program from the program time length and the current time information supplied from the clock unit,
The video data of each channel simultaneously played by the playback unit is the time given to the video data stored in the storage unit after the start time of the currently broadcast program extracted by the control unit, A multi-screen television receiver characterized in that it is moving image data included in the program time length of the program . The multi-screen television receiver according to claim 1,
The control unit, for the plurality of channels, separately from the control of channel switching at the predetermined time interval, determines the beginning of the program from the start time of the program and the current time information supplied from the clock unit. A multi-screen television receiver characterized by extracting broadcast timing and switching channels based on the broadcast timing. Even without least it receives a television broadcast in a plurality of preset channel reception channel of one tuner comprising: a first step of sequentially switched at predetermined time intervals,
The video data output from the at least one tuner at regular intervals is sequentially stored in the storage unit for each channel , and the time when the video data is broadcast to the video data stored in the storage unit A second step of assigning based on the current time information supplied from the clock unit ;
A third step of reading out the video data of the predetermined time interval stored in the storage unit for each channel and simultaneously reproducing the data ;
Look including a fourth step of displaying the video data of each channel obtained by the simultaneous reproduction as the multi-screen,
The third step includes
Obtaining a program table in which start times and program time lengths of programs broadcast on each of the plurality of channels are added as a program table related to the television broadcast;
Extracting the program currently being broadcast from the start time and program time length of the program in the program guide and the current time information supplied from the clock unit,
The time when the moving image data of each channel to be reproduced simultaneously is given to the moving image data stored in the storage unit is after the extracted start time of the currently broadcasted program, and the program of the program A multi-screen display method , which is video data included within the time length .

Images