US20040081426A1 - Broadcasting system with means to label programs being recorded and to display the label information - Google Patents
Broadcasting system with means to label programs being recorded and to display the label information Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20040081426A1 US20040081426A1 US10/684,643 US68464303A US2004081426A1 US 20040081426 A1 US20040081426 A1 US 20040081426A1 US 68464303 A US68464303 A US 68464303A US 2004081426 A1 US2004081426 A1 US 2004081426A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- program
- recorded
- programs
- recording
- user
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 24
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 claims description 23
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 claims description 8
- 238000004804 winding Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 21
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 description 14
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 description 4
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 4
- 241001425718 Vagrans egista Species 0.000 description 2
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
- H04N21/433—Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
- H04N21/4334—Recording operations
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B20/00—Signal processing not specific to the method of recording or reproducing; Circuits therefor
- G11B20/10—Digital recording or reproducing
- G11B20/12—Formatting, e.g. arrangement of data block or words on the record carriers
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
- H04N21/25—Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies
- H04N21/262—Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists
- H04N21/26283—Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
- H04N21/414—Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance
- H04N21/4147—PVR [Personal Video Recorder]
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
- H04N21/433—Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
- H04N21/4335—Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
- H04N21/434—Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream
- H04N21/4345—Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
- H04N21/462—Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
- H04N21/4627—Rights management associated to the content
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/47—End-user applications
- H04N21/472—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content
- H04N21/47214—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/47—End-user applications
- H04N21/482—End-user interface for program selection
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
- H04N21/83—Generation or processing of protective or descriptive data associated with content; Content structuring
- H04N21/835—Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates
- H04N21/8352—Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates involving content or source identification data, e.g. Unique Material Identifier [UMID]
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
- H04N21/83—Generation or processing of protective or descriptive data associated with content; Content structuring
- H04N21/835—Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates
- H04N21/8355—Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
- H04N21/83—Generation or processing of protective or descriptive data associated with content; Content structuring
- H04N21/84—Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N7/00—Television systems
- H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
- H04N7/162—Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
- H04N7/163—Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing by receiver means only
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N9/00—Details of colour television systems
- H04N9/79—Processing of colour television signals in connection with recording
- H04N9/80—Transformation of the television signal for recording, e.g. modulation, frequency changing; Inverse transformation for playback
- H04N9/804—Transformation of the television signal for recording, e.g. modulation, frequency changing; Inverse transformation for playback involving pulse code modulation of the colour picture signal components
- H04N9/8042—Transformation of the television signal for recording, e.g. modulation, frequency changing; Inverse transformation for playback involving pulse code modulation of the colour picture signal components involving data reduction
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N5/00—Details of television systems
- H04N5/76—Television signal recording
- H04N5/765—Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N5/00—Details of television systems
- H04N5/76—Television signal recording
- H04N5/765—Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
- H04N5/775—Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N5/00—Details of television systems
- H04N5/76—Television signal recording
- H04N5/78—Television signal recording using magnetic recording
- H04N5/781—Television signal recording using magnetic recording on disks or drums
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N5/00—Details of television systems
- H04N5/76—Television signal recording
- H04N5/78—Television signal recording using magnetic recording
- H04N5/782—Television signal recording using magnetic recording on tape
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N5/00—Details of television systems
- H04N5/76—Television signal recording
- H04N5/84—Television signal recording using optical recording
- H04N5/85—Television signal recording using optical recording on discs or drums
Definitions
- the invention generally relates to a broadcasting system and more particularly to a multimedia recorder with recorded program management functions based on EPG data, a TV receiver provided with such a recorder, and a system for supporting such functions in a broadcasting equipment.
- At least one broadcasting station broadcasts a transport stream (TS) defined in MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group II) standard.
- the transport stream (or a physical channel) includes a plurality of (logical) channels in a time-division-multiplexed form.
- Each logical channel includes many programs.
- Each program comprises at least one video subchannel, at least one audio subchannel and/or at least one data subchannel.
- Program specific information (PSI) and service information (SI) on each program are frequently inserted in the TS.
- Such digital broadcasting systems usually provide far many channels as compared with analog broadcasting systems and accordingly an enormous number of programs. This makes channel or program selection difficult.
- information on programs is transmitted as EPG (Electronic Program Guide) enabling the subscribers to select a program to watch and to program a VCR (video cassette recorder) to record a desired program by displaying a program schedule and selecting the desired program through a remote controller.
- EPG Electronic Program Guide
- VCR video cassette recorder
- the invention is directed to solving this and other problems and disadvantages of the prior art. It is an object of the invention to provide a digital multimedia recorder that makes good use of EPG data to have at least one of the following capabilities of:
- program information includes information necessary for extracting a desired program from the received TS's, information on each program, information on related programs, if any (which are related with each program), and information on recommended programs which a broadcasting party recommends to the subscribers.
- a method of managing recorded programs recorded in a recording medium in a broadcasting system comprises at least one transmitter and a plurality of terminals. Each transmitter broadcasts a data stream. A plurality of channels is multiplexed into each data stream. Each channel comprises a plurality of programs. Each transmitter includes, in the data stream, program information on the programs available in the broadcasting system.
- Each terminal permits a user to select a desired one of the programs; adds the selected program to a recording queue which keeps program-identifying data sets in order of broadcast start time; records on the recording medium a program identified by one of the program-identifying data sets in a first position of the recording queue; records a program information record of the recorded program in a predetermined area on the recording medium; in response to a reception of a playing request from the user; displays a program guide for the recorded programs recorded on the recording medium; prompts the user to select one of said recorded programs for play; in response to the user selecting one of the recorded programs, plays the selected recorded program to provide video and/or audio output(s).
- a multimedia reproducer for reproducing recorded programs recorded on a recording medium.
- Program information comprising program information (PI) records associated with said recorded programs is also recorded on the recording medium.
- the multimedia reproducer comprises: means, responsive to a reception of a reproducing request from the user, for displaying a program guide for the recorded programs and prompting the user to select one of the recorded programs for play; and means, response to the user selecting one of the recorded programs, for reproducing the selected recorded program.
- FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a digital multimedia broadcasting system 100 according to the principles of the invention
- FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of an illustrative embodiment of a digital multimedia disc recorder which is according to the invention and which is used as the recorder 5 of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an exemplary manner of creating a program information table 32 stored in the storage device 20 ;
- FIG. 4 is a diagram showing two exemplary records 32 r of the PI table 32 t.
- FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an exemplary structure of a recommended program list according to the principles of the invention.
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an recording operation executed by the controller 19 in response to the user pressing a request button for programmed recording;
- FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of the recording queue 45 ;
- FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an exemplary structure of a recorded program information record 47 of a recorded program which record is recorded in a predetermined location of the recording medium 9 and which is stored in the recorded program information table 47 stored in the storage device 20 ;
- FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an exemplary RPI (recorded program information) recorded on the recording medium 9 according to the invention.
- FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a exemplary label printing operation executed in response to a printing request from the user
- FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an RPI table maintenance operation executed in response to a loading the TS recorder 13 with a recording medium 9 ;
- FIG. 12 is a diagram for describing an exemplary video rental data registration operation according to the invention.
- FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a exemplary playing operation executed by the controller in response to a pressing of a play button of the man-machine interface 21 in accordance with the principles of the invention
- FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of an illustrative embodiment of a digital multimedia tape recorder which is according to the invention and which is used as the recorder 5 of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 15 is a diagram conceptually showing an example of a transport stream to be recorded
- FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a periodically executed operation of adjusting the frequency of the PI's inserted in the recorded TS in recording operation
- FIG. 17 is a diagram conceptually showing another example of a transport stream to be recorded
- FIG. 18 is a diagram showing steps 371 and 372 which is used in place of step 272 in playing operation of a tape recorder 5 a of FIG. 14;
- FIG. 19 is a schematic block diagram showing a simplified version of the digital multimedia disc recorder of FIG. 2;
- FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of an illustrative embodiment of a digital multimedia player according to the principles of the invention.
- FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a digital multimedia broadcasting system 100 according to the principles of the invention.
- the digital multimedia broadcasting system 100 comprises at least one broadcasting transmitter 1 , a transmission medium 2 and a multiplicity of receiver terminals 5 such as a digital multimedia recorder, a digital TV with a recording capability, and any other terminal with digital broadcast receiving and recording capabilities.
- the broadcasting station 1 preferably transmits, through the transmission medium 2 , a modulated signal of a transport stream (TS) defined in the MPEG-2 standard.
- TS transport stream
- the transmission medium may be any of a satellite, the terrestrial air and cables.
- the digital multimedia broadcasting system 100 may optionally include one or more video rental center 3 , which comprises a computer 30 and a telephone line interface (IF) 31 for permitting the computer 30 to communicate with the terminal 5 through a public switched telephone network 4 .
- the center 3 computer 30 creates and stores a record of a rented video title, information on a customer, and the term of validity or the number of permitted plays for the title in response to a rental request from a terminal 5 , and informs the terminal 5 of the term of validity or the remaining number of permitted plays in response to a request for playing a rented video title.
- FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of an illustrative embodiment of a digital multimedia disc recorder which is according to the invention and which is used as the recorder 5 of FIG. 1.
- the disc recorder 5 comprises a tuner 10 for receiving a plurality of broadcast signals from the broadcasting stations 1 ; a TS processor (M ⁇ N) 11 having its input connected with a tuner 10 output; a TS packetizer 12 having its input connected with a TS processor 11 output; a TS disc recorder 13 having its recording input connected with a TS packetizer 12 output; a one-of two selector 14 having it two inputs connected with a TS disc recorder 13 output and a node between the TS processor 11 output and the TS packetizer 12 input; a TS processor 15 having its input connected with a selector 14 output; a video and audio decoder 16 having its input connected with a TS processor 15 output; an NTSC/PAL encoder 17 having its input connected with a decoder
- the digital multimedia disc recorder 5 further comprises a controller 19 that includes a storage device 20 ; a man-machine interface 21 for enabling the user to control the recorder 5 ; a telephone interface 22 connected with the PSTN 4 ; a label printer 23 ; and a bus 24 for enabling communications among the elements 10 through 16 and 18 through 23 .
- the man-machine interface 21 includes a remote controller.
- the TS recorder 13 of the disc recorder 5 is adapted for a removable disc storage medium 9 , e.g., an optical disc, a magnetic disc cartridge, etc.
- the disc recorder 5 preferably not only keeps it in the storage device 20 as long as the program is being stored in the recording medium 9 but also records it at a predetermined location of the recording medium 9 . This permits the recording medium 9 to be played in other disc recorder 5 of the same kind.
- the TS recorder 13 records TS's on a recording medium 9 such that the recording medium 9 has a program information area of a predetermined size at a predetermined location.
- the storage device 9 is preferably a nonvolatile memory or a battery backed-up RAM (random assess memory).
- FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an exemplary manner of creating a program information table 32 stored in the storage device 20 .
- the broadcast signals (physical channels) from the broadcasting stations 1 are received by the tuner 10 .
- the tuner 10 selectively demodulates one of the received broadcast signals (which include respective transport streams TS 1 , TS 2 , . . . ) into a transport stream TSi (i: a TS number) according to a TS selection instruction from the controller 19 . It is assumed that a transport stream TSi includes M logical channels in a well-known time-division-multiplexed manner.
- the TS processor 11 supplies, to the TS packetizer 12 , packets for N logical channels selected according to a channel selection instruction from the controller 19 , where M is the number of logical channels 1 in the selected transport stream TSi, and N is the number of selected logical channels. So, N ⁇ M.
- the TS processor 11 outputs program information (PI) 31 on the bus 24 in response to a PI request from the controller 19 .
- the program information 31 obtained from the schedule EIT (Event Information Table defined in the DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting)) of TSi includes basic PI for all the programs provided through all the available channels CH1, CH2, . . . , CH100 (it is assumed that 100 (logical) channels are available in this specific broadcasting system 100 ) and detailed PI for the programs provided through the M logical channels in TSi.
- EIT Event Information Table defined in the DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting)
- the controller 19 updates the program information table 32 by using the program information from the TS processor 11 .
- Each record of the program information table has a structure 32 as shown in FIG. 3. Specifically, each record comprises a program serial number 131 the recorder 5 assigns uniquely to each program when program information for the program is received for the first time, a channel ID 132 unique to the channel, a title 133 of the program, broadcast time and date 134 , a subtitle 135 , a broadcast count in a serial 136 which is optionally used for programs in serial form, a category code 137 that contains a category code indicative of the category of the program, time period 138 during which a channel configuration of the program is valid, a channel configuration 139 which indicates channels constituting the program during the corresponding time period 138 , further details 140 on the program, and label information 141 (detailed later).
- Each record of the program information table 32 further includes a rental code 142 indicative of rental conditions of the program and a center phone number 143 (in case of a program for rental) in order to enable rental video business through the digital broadcasting system 100 in a manner as detailed later. It is noted that the storage device 20 stores a category table (not shown) that associates category codes with corresponding category name.
- the program serial number 131 is expressed in such a limited number of digits as can be used for sufficiently larger number. When the number 131 reaches a possible maximum number, the number 131 is set to, e.g., one at the time of registration of the next program.
- FIG. 4 is a diagram showing two exemplary records 32 r of the PI table 32 t.
- the record “100123” for a program which is titled “Dora the vagrant” and which is to be broadcast from 20:00 to 20:54 on Jun. 2, 1999 has three additional values for each of the fields 134 through 136 . Doing this enable a program information for one program to inform the subscribers of the subsequent three broadcasts (i.e., the fourth, fifth and sixth broadcasts of 15 serialized programs in this example) of the serial “Dora the vagrant.”
- the title fields 133 for the additional program information has no values because the additional information is for serialized programs.
- program information for any related programs of different types may be included in each record by containing a title in the title field 133 .
- the record 100234 for a program which is titled “NFL 99: The Super bowl” and which is to be broadcast from 18:00 to 20:59 on Jun. 2, 1999 has one additional value for each of the fields 138 and 139 .
- the program 100234 is broadcast through three video channels and three audio channels for the first 120 minutes from the beginning (i.e., for a period from 18:00 to 19:59) and then through three video channels and four audio channels for the subsequent 60 minutes (i.e., for a period from 18:00 to 18:59).
- This enables the subscribers to select a desired combination of video and audio channels for a multi-channel program (which means a program which is broadcast through more than one optional channels for video, audio or each of video and audio in this document).
- a period for which a certain channel configuration is defined is expressed in terms of relative start and end times from the beginning of the program.
- the period may be identified by a start value and an end values expressed in terms of relative positions from the beginning of the program on the recording medium.
- a multi-channel program is comprised of a video channel and an audio channel
- a program may include a data channel. It should be noted that a program may be comprised of only one or more data channel.
- FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an exemplary structure of a recommended program list 40 .
- the recommended program list 40 comprises a list title 41 , a valid period 42 of the list 41 and at least one record comprising the channel ID 132 and the broadcast time and date 134 . Since the combination of the channel ID 132 and the broadcast time and date 134 is used for identifying a program record associated with the channel ID 132 and the broadcast time and date 134 , information contained in any fields of the record of the program identified by the channel ID 132 and the broadcast time and date 134 can be displayed.
- the broadcasting party is permitted to set a valid period to the list 40 .
- the recommended program list 40 is displayed at 9:00 on 9 Feb. 1998, only the programs that begins after 9:00 on 9 Feb. 1998 are displayed, i.e., only the second and subsequent programs of the list whose valid period includes the time 9:00 and the date 9 Feb. 1998 are displayed.
- the controller 19 deletes not only the record for the just broadcast program from the program information table 32 but also recommended program lists 40 , if any, that contain the channel and program IDs for the just broadcast program as the program to be last broadcast in the list.
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an recording operation executed by the controller 19 in response to the user pressing a request button for programmed recording.
- the controller 19 first displays a program guide table based on the program information table 32 and lets the user select one of the displayed programs. It should be noted that the user is permitted to select a desired number of channels for any identical time period as long as the channels are of an identical TS, e.g., even all the logical channels in a physical channel.
- step 202 the controller 19 adds a data set (i.e., the values of the channel ID field 132 and the broadcast time & date field 134 ) of the selected program to a recording queue 45 of FIG. 7.
- the data sets are preferably arranged in order of broadcast start time in the recording queue.
- step 203 a test is made to see if it is time to record. This step is repeated until it becomes a recording time of an earliest program in the queue 45 . If the time is reached in step 203 , the controller 19 records the earliest program in the queue 45 by informing the tuner 10 and the TS processor 11 of the transport stream and the channel IDs to receive and sending suitable instructions to the TS packetizer 12 and the TS recoder 13 in step 204 . Alternatively, if the user operates the controller or the man-machine interface 21 in a predetermined manner to record the receiving program, the controller 19 also records the receiving program by simply sending the suitable instructions to the TS packetizer 12 and the TS recoder 13 in step 204 . In either case, the TS packetizer 12 packetizes the received packet stream (PES (Packetized Elementary stream) packets in the MPEG-2 standard) into a TS packet stream, which is then recorded by the TS recorder 13 in the recording medium 9 .
- PES Packetized Elementary stream
- step 205 the controller 19 adds a record to the recorded program information table 47 as shown in FIG. 8; stores values in the medium ID field 146 and the recording location field 147 ; copies the fields 132 - 143 from the table 32 to the table 47 ; and deletes the copied record from the table 32 .
- a recorded program serial number is assigned by the controller 19 to each of the recorded programs in the recorded order.
- the controller 19 also assigns a medium (or volume) ID to each of the recording media 9 on which the recorder 5 has recorded any program even once.
- step 206 the controller 19 makes a test to see if the recorded program is the first one for the recording medium 9 . If so, a digital multimedia recorder 5 ID stored in, e.g., a not-shown ROM (read only memory) within the controller 19 is recorded in a predetermined location on the recording medium 9 in step 207 . Otherwise, the controlled is passed to step 208 .
- a digital multimedia recorder 5 ID stored in, e.g., a not-shown ROM (read only memory) within the controller 19 is recorded in a predetermined location on the recording medium 9 in step 207 . Otherwise, the controlled is passed to step 208 .
- step 208 the controller 109 records the added recorded in the recorded program information table 47 and a recommended program list 40 , if any, for the program in the predetermined location of the recording medium 9 .
- step 209 the controller 10 makes a test to see if the queue is empty. If so, the controller 19 ends the operation. Otherwise, the controller 19 returns to step 203 .
- RPI for all of the programs recorded by the recorder 5 is stored in the storage device 20 , then using any suitable database management system and including key words in each RPI record of the table 47 facilitates the management of the recorded programs such as the retrieval of recorded program.
- the switch 14 in recording operation, the switch 14 is kept to b-side. It is noted that the user is permitted to select one of the M logical channels of the received TSi for watching as well as above-mentioned N channels for recording. In this case, the controller 19 controls the TS processor 15 to supply the selected channel for watching to the video & audio decoder 16 .
- the broadcasting transmitter 1 preferably includes label information 141 in the program information for programs for rental.
- the label information 141 of a program includes texts on the program and one or more icons.
- the label information may be printed on a label or seal, which is stuck on the recording medium on which the program has been recorded. Alternatively, The label information may be printed directly on the recording medium.
- FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a exemplary label printing operation executed in response to a printing request from the user. In step 211 , a test is made to see if a medium 9 is loaded in the TS recorder 13 .
- the controller 19 displays program information of the program recorded on the medium 9 in step 212 and asks the user in step 213 if the medium is a correct one. If not, or if the test result is NO in step 211 , the controller 19 prompt the user to load the TS recorder 13 with a desired medium 9 in step 214 and returns to step 211 .
- step 213 the controller 19 displays label information 141 including a list of printable items in step 215 , prompts the user to select desired items in step 216 , and asks the user if it is OK. If not, the control is returned to step 216 . If it is OK in step 217 , the controller 19 pass the data the user selected to the label printer 218 to print as specified by the user in step 218 , and ends the operation.
- FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an RPI table maintenance operation executed in response to a loading the TS recorder 13 with a recording medium 9 . If the user inserts a recording medium 9 into the TS recorder 13 , the controller 19 starts the operation of FIG. 11. In step 222 , the controller 19 makes a test to see if the recorder ID stored in the medium 9 coincides with that of stored in the above-mentioned ROM (not shown) within the controller 19 . If not, then the controller 19 simply copies the RPI records 47 and the recommended program lists from the media 9 to a reserved space in the storage device 20 in step 232 , and ends the operation. Thereafter, the copied data is used in subsequent operation.
- step 222 the controller 19 makes another test in step 224 to see if there are any programs that have been deleted (by other recorder 5 ). If any, the controller 19 deletes the RPI records for the deleted programs from the RPI table 47 in step 226 , and makes further test in step 228 to see if there are any programs that have been added (by other recorder 5 ). If so, the controller 19 copies the RPI records for the added programs from the medium 9 to the RPI table 47 in step 230 , and ends the operation. If the test result is NO in step 228 , the controller 19 simply ends the operation.
- This operation causes the RPI table 47 to reflect the contents of the recording media 9 that have been used in the digital multimedia recorder 5 .
- some of the programs are for rental.
- Information on whether a program is for rental or not is displayed when the program guide for the program is displayed according to the rental code 142 of the RPI record for the program.
- the rental code 142 indicates the state of the program with respect to video rental as shown in the table below. TABLE rental code 0 1 2 state not for for rental rental yet applied applied for rental
- the user finds from the program guide that a program is for rental, he or she may desires to rent the program.
- a video rental data registration operation of FIG. 12 is started.
- the controller 19 places a call to a video rental center 3 using the center phone number 143 contained in the RPI record for the program in step 240 .
- the computer 30 of the video rental center 3 sends default and optional data to the recorder 5 in step 242 .
- the controller 19 displays the received data and prompts the user to select a desired limit value in step 244 .
- the controller 19 sends the selected value and a credit card number of the user to the center 3 .
- the controller 19 sets the rental code 142 to 2, and sets the permitted play count 148 or the expiration date 149 based on the selected limit value, and then ends the operation.
- the center 3 computer 30 charges to the user's account in step 250 and ends the operation.
- FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a exemplary playing (or reproducing) operation executed by the controller in response to a pressing of a play button of the man-machine interface 21 in accordance with the principles of the invention.
- the controller 19 makes a test in step 262 to see if the TS recorder 13 is loaded with a recording medium 9 . If not, the controller prompts the user to set a desired medium 9 or to select a retrieval of a program in step 264 . If the user has selected the retrieval, the controller 19 let he or she find a recording medium 9 containing his or her desired program in step 268 . If a seeking recording medium 9 is found, it will be loaded into the TS recorder 13 .
- step 272 the controller displays a recorded program guide for the recorded programs of the medium 9 including related program schedule (from fields 133 - 136 of RPI table 47 ) and recommended program lists relating to recorded programs or channels, while permitting the user to select a program to record and prompting the user to select a program to play or reproduce.
- each recommended program list may include various information that can be obtained from the program information table 32 by using the channel ID 132 and the broadcast time & date 134 .
- step 274 the user can select either a program to record or a program to play.
- step 274 If the user selects a program to play in step 274 , the controller 19 executes step 202 of FIG. 6 and returns to step 272 .
- selecting a program includes selecting channels from the available subchannels for the program.
- the available subchannels are obtained from the fields 139 of the program information table 32 or the RPI table 47 .
- the controller 19 simply play the program in step 278 . Specifically, the controller 19 set the switch 14 to the a side so as to connect the TS recorder 13 output with the TS processor 15 input, and controls the TS processor 15 to supply packets for the channel selected in step 274 to the video and audio decoder 16 , the outputs from which are converted into such signals as are adapted to a television (TV).
- the programs reproduced from the recording media 9 can be supplied to external TV's and video recorders.
- the controller 19 informs the user to the effect in step 280 , and asks the user in step 282 if the user desires either to apply for the rental of the program or to quit simply. In the latter case, the controller 19 ends the operation. In the former case, the controller 19 executes the application operation of FIG. 12, and ends the operation.
- the controller 19 makes a test to see if the registered condition is still valid referring to the permitted play count 148 and the expiration date 149 in step 286 . If so, the controller 19 plays the selected program in step 288 . If the expiration date 149 field had a valid value in step 286 , the controller 19 ends the operation. If the permitted play count field 148 had a nonzero value in step 286 , then the controller 19 decrements the value of the filed 148 in step 290 .
- step 292 the controller 19 deletes the played program (from the medium 9 ) and the corresponding RPI record both from the medium 9 and the RPI table 47 in step 296 . If the permitted play count 148 is still valid in step 292 , the controller 19 ends the operation.
- step 286 If the registered condition is invalid in step 286 , the controller 19 informs the user of the expiration of valid date 149 or the exhaustion of permitted play count 148 in step 294 , and deletes the played program (from the medium 9 ) and the corresponding RPI record both from the medium 9 and the RPI table 47 in step 296 .
- the controller 19 may execute a step like step 272 .
- the controller 19 displays a program guide based on the program information table 32 instead of the RPI table 47 prompting the user to select a program to record without prompting the user to select a program to play.
- step 286 the validity has been checked by using the fields 148 and 149 . Instead of doing this, the validity may be checked by referring to the center 3 for the validity of the program.
- a rental video business can be carried out through a broadcasting system according to the invention.
- a video software vending business may be carried out through the broadcasting system according to the invention as described later.
- the recorder 5 may be configured such that if the user performs a predetermined operation during the above-described step 278 or 288 , the controller 19 displays a recorded program guide for the program being reproduced including related program schedules and recommended program lists relating to the program or the channel being reproduced, while permitting the user to select one of the programs included in the displayed program schedules and the recommended program lists for recording. In response to the program selection by the user, the controller 19 adds the selected program to the above-mentioned queue.
- FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of an illustrative embodiment of a digital multimedia tape recorder 5 a which is used as the recorder 5 of FIG. 1.
- the tape recorder 5 a of FIG. 14 is identical to the disc recorder 5 of FIG. 2 except that the TS processor 11 , the TS packetizer 12 , the TS disc recorder 13 , and the controller 19 have been replaced with the TS processor 11 a , TS packetizer 12 a , a TS tape recorder 13 a and the controller 19 a . Only the differences are described in the following.
- the TS processor 11 a supplies not only packets of programs specified by the controller 19 a but also program information for the programs to the TS packetizer 12 a .
- the TS packetizer multiplexes the received packets and the program information into a TS packet stream as shown in FIG. 15. In FIG. 15, slashed parts indicate program information.
- PI program information
- the controller 19 a obtains the media bit rate MR from the TS processor 11 a in step 302 .
- a test is made in step 304 to see if the media bit rate MR is sufficiently larger than a required rate. If so, the PI insertion frequency is increased. Otherwise, the PI insertion frequency is decreased.
- each recorded PI does not necessarily include program information for all the programs recorded on the medium 9 a .
- it is preferable to reserve a predetermined area of the tape e.g., a head portion of the tape for recording PI for all the recorded programs and to record only a medium ID 146 in a predetermined location of the reserved area.
- the recording operation is preferably performed according to FIG. 6. In this case, step 208 is omitted.
- step 208 it is preferable to copy all of the RPI records with the same medium ID as the medium being used to the reserved area when the reserved area is accessed (e.g., when the tape is rewound to the beginning of the tape 9 a ).
- the medium ID of the medium 9 a is preferably multiplexed with the media data as shown in FIG. 17.
- the frequency of medium ID insertion can be much increased as compared with PI insertion.
- the playing operation is preferably executed according to the flowchart of FIG. 13.
- step 272 is replaced with steps shown in FIG. 18. Specifically, after step 262 or 270 , the controller 19 a obtains the medium ID 146 from the recording medium 9 a by first winding in either direction to find the medium ID 146 in step 371 .
- step 372 the controller 19 a displays a program guide for the recorded programs of the tape 9 a from the RPI table 47 in the storage device 20 ; and prompts the user to select a program. Then, the controller 19 a proceeds to step 274 of FIG. 13. This enables a program guide of the recorded programs to be promptly displayed by a small quantity of winding or rewinding in response to a play or reproduction request from the user.
- the TS processor 15 of FIG. 2 may be omitted as shown in FIG. 19.
- a controller 19 b sets the switch 14 to the b-side during recording operation and to the a side during playing operation.
- the multimedia recorder 5 (FIG. 2) and 5 a (FIG. 14) permits simultaneous recording and playing, the multimedia recorder 5 b of FIG. 19 does not. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the same simplification may be applied to the recorder 5 a of FIG. 14.
- the broadcasting transmitter 1 has optionally broadcast the values of TITLE 133 , TIME & DATE 134 , SUBTITLE 135 , and COUNT IN A SERIAL 136 fields for a related program (FIGS. 3 and 4), and the values of CHANNEL ID 132 and TIME &. DATE 134 fields for a recommended program (FIG. 5).
- transmitting these data causes the transmission and storage efficiencies to be lowered.
- the broadcasting transmitter 1 may transmit only a channel ID 132 (e.g., the service ID) and a not-shown program ID (e.g., the event ID) unique in the channel as a related program or a recommended program.
- the multimedia recorder 5 can use the channel ID 132 and the not-shown program ID to access a program information record in the PI table 32 associated with the two IDs. Doing this enhances the transmission efficiency and the storage efficiency. However, this technique is only valid for programs the program information of which has been transmitted to to the recorder 5 .
- the broadcast transmitter 1 it is preferable for the broadcast transmitter 1 to transmit the two IDs for a related or recommended program whose program information has been already broadcast and to transmit the above-mentioned field ( 133 - 136 or 132 - 134 ) values for a related or recommended program whose program information has not yet been broadcast.
- a program information record may be identified by using the channel ID 132 and the program ID.
- the values of the time period fields 138 has been described as transmitted from the transmitter 1 .
- the TS processor 11 may monitor the channel configuration of each program. In this case, if the TS processor 11 detects a change in the channel configuration of a program, then the TS processor 11 stores the start and end times of the channel configuration before the detected change which times are measured from the beginning of the program.
- the numeral 3 has been described as a video rental center.
- the video rental center 3 may be replaced with a video software vender's center.
- the RENTAL CODE field 142 is read as a purchase flag, which has only two states, i.e., a “purchased” state and a “not-purchased” state.
- the recorder 5 is so arranged as to initially set the purchase flag of a program for sale to the not-purchased state, and set it to the purchased state in response to a receipt of an acknowledgement which is sent from the video software's center after the user has performed a predetermined operation.
- the TS stream from the TS packetizer 12 has been recorded on the recording medium 9 .
- any of the MPEG-2 bit stream from the TS processor 15 , the video and audio digital outputs from the video and audio decoder 16 , and the analog video and audio outputs from the elements 17 and 18 respectively may be recorded on the recording medium 9 as is apparent to those skilled in the art.
- the present invention is applicable to a multimedia player without a recording capability as shown in FIG. 20.
- the player 6 of FIG. 20 is identical to the recorder 5 of FIG. 2 except that the elements 10 - 12 and 14 have been eliminated and the TS disc recorder 13 and the controller 19 have been replaced with a reproducer 27 and a controller 19 c , respectively.
- the recorded program information of each medium is stored only on the recording medium but not in the storage device 20 .
- the program information recorded on the medium is preferably read out in the storage device 20 for subsequent use.
Abstract
A digital multimedia recorder that makes good use of EPG data to have at least one of the following capabilities of: (a) selecting a program to be played from a displayed program guide for recorded programs; (b) including, in the displayed program guide, program information on programs relating to each of the recorded programs thereby to permit the user to program the recorder to record a selected one of the related program; (c) recording a plurality of programs broadcast at the same time; (d) record a multi-channel program whose channel configuration changes in the middle of the program so as to support the capability (a); and (e) playing a recorded program within a limit prescribed in a contract with a provider. The information includes information on related programs, if any (which are related with each program), and information on recommended programs which a broadcasting party recommends to the subscribers.
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The invention generally relates to a broadcasting system and more particularly to a multimedia recorder with recorded program management functions based on EPG data, a TV receiver provided with such a recorder, and a system for supporting such functions in a broadcasting equipment.
- 2. Description of the Prior Art
- Generally, in digital broadcasting systems, at least one broadcasting station broadcasts a transport stream (TS) defined in MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group II) standard. The transport stream (or a physical channel) includes a plurality of (logical) channels in a time-division-multiplexed form. Each logical channel includes many programs. Each program comprises at least one video subchannel, at least one audio subchannel and/or at least one data subchannel. Program specific information (PSI) and service information (SI) on each program are frequently inserted in the TS.
- Such digital broadcasting systems usually provide far many channels as compared with analog broadcasting systems and accordingly an enormous number of programs. This makes channel or program selection difficult. In order to facilitate program selection, information on programs is transmitted as EPG (Electronic Program Guide) enabling the subscribers to select a program to watch and to program a VCR (video cassette recorder) to record a desired program by displaying a program schedule and selecting the desired program through a remote controller.
- If one of the recorded programs is to be played in conventional video recorder such as a VCR, then the user often takes a lot of time to find a desired one of recorded programs recorded on recording medium. The user may even forget the programs he or she recorded in a recording medium. In this case, the user has to search the recording media to see what programs are recorded on the recording media if he or she has not made notes at the recording times.
- The invention is directed to solving this and other problems and disadvantages of the prior art. It is an object of the invention to provide a digital multimedia recorder that makes good use of EPG data to have at least one of the following capabilities of:
- (a) selecting a program to be played from a displayed program guide for recorded programs;
- (b) including, in the displayed program guide, program information on programs relating to each of the recorded programs thereby to permit the user to program the recorder to record a selected one of the related program;
- (c) recording a plurality of programs broadcast at the same time;
- (d) record a multi-channel program whose channel configuration changes in the middle of the program so as to support the capability (a); and
- (e) playing a recorded program within a limit prescribed in a contract with a provider.
- Generally, information on programs such as EPG is referred to as “program information.” Hereinafter, it is assumed that the program information includes information necessary for extracting a desired program from the received TS's, information on each program, information on related programs, if any (which are related with each program), and information on recommended programs which a broadcasting party recommends to the subscribers.
- According to one aspect of the invention, a method of managing recorded programs recorded in a recording medium in a broadcasting system is provided. The broadcasting system comprises at least one transmitter and a plurality of terminals. Each transmitter broadcasts a data stream. A plurality of channels is multiplexed into each data stream. Each channel comprises a plurality of programs. Each transmitter includes, in the data stream, program information on the programs available in the broadcasting system. Each terminal permits a user to select a desired one of the programs; adds the selected program to a recording queue which keeps program-identifying data sets in order of broadcast start time; records on the recording medium a program identified by one of the program-identifying data sets in a first position of the recording queue; records a program information record of the recorded program in a predetermined area on the recording medium; in response to a reception of a playing request from the user; displays a program guide for the recorded programs recorded on the recording medium; prompts the user to select one of said recorded programs for play; in response to the user selecting one of the recorded programs, plays the selected recorded program to provide video and/or audio output(s).
- According to another aspect of the invention, a multimedia reproducer for reproducing recorded programs recorded on a recording medium is provided. Program information comprising program information (PI) records associated with said recorded programs is also recorded on the recording medium. The multimedia reproducer comprises: means, responsive to a reception of a reproducing request from the user, for displaying a program guide for the recorded programs and prompting the user to select one of the recorded programs for play; and means, response to the user selecting one of the recorded programs, for reproducing the selected recorded program.
- The features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention and the accompanying drawing, in which:
- FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a digital
multimedia broadcasting system 100 according to the principles of the invention; - FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of an illustrative embodiment of a digital multimedia disc recorder which is according to the invention and which is used as the
recorder 5 of FIG. 1; - FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an exemplary manner of creating a program information table32 stored in the
storage device 20; - FIG. 4 is a diagram showing two
exemplary records 32 r of the PI table 32 t. - FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an exemplary structure of a recommended program list according to the principles of the invention;
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an recording operation executed by the
controller 19 in response to the user pressing a request button for programmed recording; - FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of the
recording queue 45; - FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an exemplary structure of a recorded
program information record 47 of a recorded program which record is recorded in a predetermined location of therecording medium 9 and which is stored in the recorded program information table 47 stored in thestorage device 20; - FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an exemplary RPI (recorded program information) recorded on the
recording medium 9 according to the invention; - FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a exemplary label printing operation executed in response to a printing request from the user;
- FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an RPI table maintenance operation executed in response to a loading the
TS recorder 13 with arecording medium 9; - FIG. 12 is a diagram for describing an exemplary video rental data registration operation according to the invention;
- FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a exemplary playing operation executed by the controller in response to a pressing of a play button of the man-
machine interface 21 in accordance with the principles of the invention; - FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of an illustrative embodiment of a digital multimedia tape recorder which is according to the invention and which is used as the
recorder 5 of FIG. 1; - FIG. 15 is a diagram conceptually showing an example of a transport stream to be recorded;
- FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a periodically executed operation of adjusting the frequency of the PI's inserted in the recorded TS in recording operation;
- FIG. 17 is a diagram conceptually showing another example of a transport stream to be recorded;
- FIG. 18 is a
diagram showing steps step 272 in playing operation of atape recorder 5 a of FIG. 14; - FIG. 19 is a schematic block diagram showing a simplified version of the digital multimedia disc recorder of FIG. 2; and
- FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of an illustrative embodiment of a digital multimedia player according to the principles of the invention.
- Throughout the drawing, the same elements when shown in more than one figure are designated by the same reference numerals.
- FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a digital
multimedia broadcasting system 100 according to the principles of the invention. In FIG. 1, the digitalmultimedia broadcasting system 100 comprises at least onebroadcasting transmitter 1, atransmission medium 2 and a multiplicity ofreceiver terminals 5 such as a digital multimedia recorder, a digital TV with a recording capability, and any other terminal with digital broadcast receiving and recording capabilities. Thebroadcasting station 1 preferably transmits, through thetransmission medium 2, a modulated signal of a transport stream (TS) defined in the MPEG-2 standard. The transmission medium may be any of a satellite, the terrestrial air and cables. The digitalmultimedia broadcasting system 100 may optionally include one or morevideo rental center 3, which comprises acomputer 30 and a telephone line interface (IF) 31 for permitting thecomputer 30 to communicate with theterminal 5 through a public switchedtelephone network 4. Thecenter 3computer 30 creates and stores a record of a rented video title, information on a customer, and the term of validity or the number of permitted plays for the title in response to a rental request from aterminal 5, and informs theterminal 5 of the term of validity or the remaining number of permitted plays in response to a request for playing a rented video title. - FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of an illustrative embodiment of a digital multimedia disc recorder which is according to the invention and which is used as the
recorder 5 of FIG. 1. In FIG. 2 thedisc recorder 5 comprises atuner 10 for receiving a plurality of broadcast signals from thebroadcasting stations 1; a TS processor (M→N) 11 having its input connected with atuner 10 output; aTS packetizer 12 having its input connected with aTS processor 11 output; aTS disc recorder 13 having its recording input connected with aTS packetizer 12 output; a one-of twoselector 14 having it two inputs connected with aTS disc recorder 13 output and a node between theTS processor 11 output and the TS packetizer 12 input; aTS processor 15 having its input connected with aselector 14 output; a video andaudio decoder 16 having its input connected with aTS processor 15 output; an NTSC/PAL encoder 17 having its input connected with adecoder 16 video output; and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 18 having its input connected with adecoder 16 audio output. - The digital
multimedia disc recorder 5 further comprises acontroller 19 that includes astorage device 20; a man-machine interface 21 for enabling the user to control therecorder 5; atelephone interface 22 connected with thePSTN 4; alabel printer 23; and abus 24 for enabling communications among theelements 10 through 16 and 18 through 23. The man-machine interface 21 includes a remote controller. - The
TS recorder 13 of thedisc recorder 5 is adapted for a removabledisc storage medium 9, e.g., an optical disc, a magnetic disc cartridge, etc. As for information of each of broadcast programs recorded in arecording medium 9, thedisc recorder 5 preferably not only keeps it in thestorage device 20 as long as the program is being stored in therecording medium 9 but also records it at a predetermined location of therecording medium 9. This permits therecording medium 9 to be played inother disc recorder 5 of the same kind. For this purpose, theTS recorder 13 records TS's on arecording medium 9 such that therecording medium 9 has a program information area of a predetermined size at a predetermined location. - As seen from just above paragraph, the
storage device 9 is preferably a nonvolatile memory or a battery backed-up RAM (random assess memory). - FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an exemplary manner of creating a program information table32 stored in the
storage device 20. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the operation of themultimedia disc recorder 5 will be described in the following. The broadcast signals (physical channels) from thebroadcasting stations 1 are received by thetuner 10. Thetuner 10 selectively demodulates one of the received broadcast signals (which include respective transport streams TS1, TS2, . . . ) into a transport stream TSi (i: a TS number) according to a TS selection instruction from thecontroller 19. It is assumed that a transport stream TSi includes M logical channels in a well-known time-division-multiplexed manner. TheTS processor 11 supplies, to theTS packetizer 12, packets for N logical channels selected according to a channel selection instruction from thecontroller 19, where M is the number oflogical channels 1 in the selected transport stream TSi, and N is the number of selected logical channels. So, N≦M. - (In this document, the terms “physical channel” and “logical channel” mean a TS and a channel included in a TS, respectively. If the term “channel” is simply used, it means “logical channel.”)
- The
TS processor 11 outputs program information (PI) 31 on thebus 24 in response to a PI request from thecontroller 19. Theprogram information 31 obtained from the schedule EIT (Event Information Table defined in the DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting)) of TSi includes basic PI for all the programs provided through all the available channels CH1, CH2, . . . , CH100 (it is assumed that 100 (logical) channels are available in this specific broadcasting system 100) and detailed PI for the programs provided through the M logical channels in TSi. - The
controller 19 updates the program information table 32 by using the program information from theTS processor 11. Each record of the program information table has astructure 32 as shown in FIG. 3. Specifically, each record comprises a programserial number 131 therecorder 5 assigns uniquely to each program when program information for the program is received for the first time, achannel ID 132 unique to the channel, atitle 133 of the program, broadcast time anddate 134, asubtitle 135, a broadcast count in a serial 136 which is optionally used for programs in serial form, acategory code 137 that contains a category code indicative of the category of the program,time period 138 during which a channel configuration of the program is valid, achannel configuration 139 which indicates channels constituting the program during thecorresponding time period 138,further details 140 on the program, and label information 141 (detailed later). Each record of the program information table 32 further includes arental code 142 indicative of rental conditions of the program and a center phone number 143 (in case of a program for rental) in order to enable rental video business through thedigital broadcasting system 100 in a manner as detailed later. It is noted that thestorage device 20 stores a category table (not shown) that associates category codes with corresponding category name. - The program
serial number 131 is expressed in such a limited number of digits as can be used for sufficiently larger number. When thenumber 131 reaches a possible maximum number, thenumber 131 is set to, e.g., one at the time of registration of the next program. - The fields with the left side drawn in a double line in FIG. 3 can have multiple values as shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing two
exemplary records 32 r of the PI table 32 t. - In FIG. 4, the record “100123” for a program which is titled “Dora the vagrant” and which is to be broadcast from 20:00 to 20:54 on Jun. 2, 1999 has three additional values for each of the
fields 134 through 136. Doing this enable a program information for one program to inform the subscribers of the subsequent three broadcasts (i.e., the fourth, fifth and sixth broadcasts of 15 serialized programs in this example) of the serial “Dora the vagrant.” The title fields 133 for the additional program information has no values because the additional information is for serialized programs. However, program information for any related programs of different types may be included in each record by containing a title in thetitle field 133. - On the other hand, the
record 100234 for a program which is titled “NFL 99: The Super bowl” and which is to be broadcast from 18:00 to 20:59 on Jun. 2, 1999 has one additional value for each of thefields program 100234 is broadcast through three video channels and three audio channels for the first 120 minutes from the beginning (i.e., for a period from 18:00 to 19:59) and then through three video channels and four audio channels for the subsequent 60 minutes (i.e., for a period from 18:00 to 18:59). This enables the subscribers to select a desired combination of video and audio channels for a multi-channel program (which means a program which is broadcast through more than one optional channels for video, audio or each of video and audio in this document). - In this example, a period for which a certain channel configuration is defined is expressed in terms of relative start and end times from the beginning of the program. However, the period may be identified by a start value and an end values expressed in terms of relative positions from the beginning of the program on the recording medium.
- Though in just described example a multi-channel program is comprised of a video channel and an audio channel, a program may include a data channel. It should be noted that a program may be comprised of only one or more data channel.
- A broadcasting party is also permitted to include a recommended program list associated with a logical channel or a program in a table, which we have defined and we call “Event Collection Table” or “ECT”. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an exemplary structure of a recommended
program list 40. The recommendedprogram list 40 comprises alist title 41, avalid period 42 of thelist 41 and at least one record comprising thechannel ID 132 and the broadcast time anddate 134. Since the combination of thechannel ID 132 and the broadcast time anddate 134 is used for identifying a program record associated with thechannel ID 132 and the broadcast time anddate 134, information contained in any fields of the record of the program identified by thechannel ID 132 and the broadcast time anddate 134 can be displayed. - It is noted that the broadcasting party is permitted to set a valid period to the
list 40. When the recommendedprogram list 40 is displayed at 9:00 on 9 Feb. 1998, only the programs that begins after 9:00 on 9 Feb. 1998 are displayed, i.e., only the second and subsequent programs of the list whose valid period includes the time 9:00 and thedate 9 Feb. 1998 are displayed. - When the broadcasting of a program has been completed, the
controller 19 deletes not only the record for the just broadcast program from the program information table 32 but also recommended program lists 40, if any, that contain the channel and program IDs for the just broadcast program as the program to be last broadcast in the list. - Recording Operation
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an recording operation executed by the
controller 19 in response to the user pressing a request button for programmed recording. Instep 201, thecontroller 19 first displays a program guide table based on the program information table 32 and lets the user select one of the displayed programs. It should be noted that the user is permitted to select a desired number of channels for any identical time period as long as the channels are of an identical TS, e.g., even all the logical channels in a physical channel. - In
step 202, thecontroller 19 adds a data set (i.e., the values of thechannel ID field 132 and the broadcast time & date field 134) of the selected program to arecording queue 45 of FIG. 7. The data sets are preferably arranged in order of broadcast start time in the recording queue. - In
step 203, a test is made to see if it is time to record. This step is repeated until it becomes a recording time of an earliest program in thequeue 45. If the time is reached instep 203, thecontroller 19 records the earliest program in thequeue 45 by informing thetuner 10 and theTS processor 11 of the transport stream and the channel IDs to receive and sending suitable instructions to the TS packetizer 12 and the TS recoder 13 instep 204. Alternatively, if the user operates the controller or the man-machine interface 21 in a predetermined manner to record the receiving program, thecontroller 19 also records the receiving program by simply sending the suitable instructions to the TS packetizer 12 and the TS recoder 13 instep 204. In either case, the TS packetizer 12 packetizes the received packet stream (PES (Packetized Elementary stream) packets in the MPEG-2 standard) into a TS packet stream, which is then recorded by theTS recorder 13 in therecording medium 9. - On completing the recording of the program, in
step 205, thecontroller 19 adds a record to the recorded program information table 47 as shown in FIG. 8; stores values in themedium ID field 146 and therecording location field 147; copies the fields 132-143 from the table 32 to the table 47; and deletes the copied record from the table 32. A recorded program serial number is assigned by thecontroller 19 to each of the recorded programs in the recorded order. Thecontroller 19 also assigns a medium (or volume) ID to each of therecording media 9 on which therecorder 5 has recorded any program even once. - In
step 206, thecontroller 19 makes a test to see if the recorded program is the first one for therecording medium 9. If so, adigital multimedia recorder 5 ID stored in, e.g., a not-shown ROM (read only memory) within thecontroller 19 is recorded in a predetermined location on therecording medium 9 instep 207. Otherwise, the controlled is passed to step 208. - In
step 208, the controller 109 records the added recorded in the recorded program information table 47 and a recommendedprogram list 40, if any, for the program in the predetermined location of therecording medium 9. Instep 209, thecontroller 10 makes a test to see if the queue is empty. If so, thecontroller 19 ends the operation. Otherwise, thecontroller 19 returns to step 203. - In this way, a specified program and recorded program information (RPI) for the program are recorded on the
recording medium 9 as shown in FIG. 9. This enables arecording medium 9 recorded by onerecorder 5 to be played inother recorder 5 of the same kind. - If the RPI for all of the programs recorded by the
recorder 5 is stored in thestorage device 20, then using any suitable database management system and including key words in each RPI record of the table 47 facilitates the management of the recorded programs such as the retrieval of recorded program. - Turning now to FIG. 2, in recording operation, the
switch 14 is kept to b-side. It is noted that the user is permitted to select one of the M logical channels of the received TSi for watching as well as above-mentioned N channels for recording. In this case, thecontroller 19 controls theTS processor 15 to supply the selected channel for watching to the video &audio decoder 16. - Printing a Label
- According to the principles of the invention, the
broadcasting transmitter 1 preferably includeslabel information 141 in the program information for programs for rental. Thelabel information 141 of a program includes texts on the program and one or more icons. The label information may be printed on a label or seal, which is stuck on the recording medium on which the program has been recorded. Alternatively, The label information may be printed directly on the recording medium. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a exemplary label printing operation executed in response to a printing request from the user. Instep 211, a test is made to see if amedium 9 is loaded in theTS recorder 13. If so, thecontroller 19 displays program information of the program recorded on the medium 9 instep 212 and asks the user instep 213 if the medium is a correct one. If not, or if the test result is NO instep 211, thecontroller 19 prompt the user to load theTS recorder 13 with a desiredmedium 9 instep 214 and returns to step 211. - If the test result is YES in
step 213, thecontroller 19 displays labelinformation 141 including a list of printable items instep 215, prompts the user to select desired items instep 216, and asks the user if it is OK. If not, the control is returned to step 216. If it is OK instep 217, thecontroller 19 pass the data the user selected to thelabel printer 218 to print as specified by the user instep 218, and ends the operation. - RPI Table Maintenance Operation
- FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an RPI table maintenance operation executed in response to a loading the
TS recorder 13 with arecording medium 9. If the user inserts arecording medium 9 into theTS recorder 13, thecontroller 19 starts the operation of FIG. 11. Instep 222, thecontroller 19 makes a test to see if the recorder ID stored in themedium 9 coincides with that of stored in the above-mentioned ROM (not shown) within thecontroller 19. If not, then thecontroller 19 simply copies the RPI records 47 and the recommended program lists from themedia 9 to a reserved space in thestorage device 20 instep 232, and ends the operation. Thereafter, the copied data is used in subsequent operation. - If the test result is YES in
step 222, then thecontroller 19 makes another test instep 224 to see if there are any programs that have been deleted (by other recorder 5). If any, thecontroller 19 deletes the RPI records for the deleted programs from the RPI table 47 instep 226, and makes further test instep 228 to see if there are any programs that have been added (by other recorder 5). If so, thecontroller 19 copies the RPI records for the added programs from the medium 9 to the RPI table 47 instep 230, and ends the operation. If the test result is NO instep 228, thecontroller 19 simply ends the operation. - This operation causes the RPI table47 to reflect the contents of the
recording media 9 that have been used in thedigital multimedia recorder 5. - Application for a Video Rental
- According to the principles of the invention, some of the programs are for rental. Information on whether a program is for rental or not is displayed when the program guide for the program is displayed according to the
rental code 142 of the RPI record for the program. Therental code 142 indicates the state of the program with respect to video rental as shown in the table below.TABLE rental code 0 1 2 state not for for rental rental yet applied applied for rental - If the user finds from the program guide that a program is for rental, he or she may desires to rent the program. In order to apply for a rental of the program, the user presses a predetermined rental button of the man-machine IF21 while selecting a desired program. Responsively, a video rental data registration operation of FIG. 12 is started. In FIG. 12, the
controller 19 places a call to avideo rental center 3 using thecenter phone number 143 contained in the RPI record for the program instep 240. In response to a reception of the call, thecomputer 30 of thevideo rental center 3 sends default and optional data to therecorder 5 instep 242. Responsively, thecontroller 19 displays the received data and prompts the user to select a desired limit value instep 244. Instep 246, thecontroller 19 sends the selected value and a credit card number of the user to thecenter 3. Instep 248, thecontroller 19 sets therental code 142 to 2, and sets the permitted play count 148 or theexpiration date 149 based on the selected limit value, and then ends the operation. Also, thecenter 3computer 30 charges to the user's account instep 250 and ends the operation. - Operation of Playing or Reproducing a Recorded Program
- FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a exemplary playing (or reproducing) operation executed by the controller in response to a pressing of a play button of the man-
machine interface 21 in accordance with the principles of the invention. In FIG. 12, thecontroller 19 makes a test instep 262 to see if theTS recorder 13 is loaded with arecording medium 9. If not, the controller prompts the user to set a desiredmedium 9 or to select a retrieval of a program instep 264. If the user has selected the retrieval, thecontroller 19 let he or she find arecording medium 9 containing his or her desired program instep 268. If a seekingrecording medium 9 is found, it will be loaded into theTS recorder 13. - If the user loads the
TS recorder 13 afterstep controller 19 executes the RPI table 47maintenance operation 220 instep 270. Instep 272, the controller displays a recorded program guide for the recorded programs of the medium 9 including related program schedule (from fields 133-136 of RPI table 47) and recommended program lists relating to recorded programs or channels, while permitting the user to select a program to record and prompting the user to select a program to play or reproduce. In this case, each recommended program list may include various information that can be obtained from the program information table 32 by using thechannel ID 132 and the broadcast time &date 134. Instep 274, the user can select either a program to record or a program to play. - If the user selects a program to play in
step 274, thecontroller 19 executesstep 202 of FIG. 6 and returns to step 272. - If the user selects a program to play in
step 274, thecontroller 19 checks therental code 142 instep 276. It should be noted that selecting a program includes selecting channels from the available subchannels for the program. The available subchannels are obtained from thefields 139 of the program information table 32 or the RPI table 47. - If the rental code is zero, meaning that the program is not for rental, i.e., an ordinary broadcast program, then the
controller 19 simply play the program instep 278. Specifically, thecontroller 19 set theswitch 14 to the a side so as to connect theTS recorder 13 output with theTS processor 15 input, and controls theTS processor 15 to supply packets for the channel selected instep 274 to the video andaudio decoder 16, the outputs from which are converted into such signals as are adapted to a television (TV). The programs reproduced from therecording media 9 can be supplied to external TV's and video recorders. - If the rental code is one, meaning that the program is for rent and has to be registered for rent, then the
controller 19 informs the user to the effect instep 280, and asks the user instep 282 if the user desires either to apply for the rental of the program or to quit simply. In the latter case, thecontroller 19 ends the operation. In the former case, thecontroller 19 executes the application operation of FIG. 12, and ends the operation. - If the rental code is two, meaning that the program is for rent and has been registered for rent, then the
controller 19 makes a test to see if the registered condition is still valid referring to the permittedplay count 148 and theexpiration date 149 instep 286. If so, thecontroller 19 plays the selected program instep 288. If theexpiration date 149 field had a valid value instep 286, thecontroller 19 ends the operation. If the permittedplay count field 148 had a nonzero value instep 286, then thecontroller 19 decrements the value of the filed 148 instep 290. If thecount 148 has become zero instep 292, thecontroller 19 deletes the played program (from the medium 9) and the corresponding RPI record both from themedium 9 and the RPI table 47 instep 296. If the permittedplay count 148 is still valid instep 292, thecontroller 19 ends the operation. - If the registered condition is invalid in
step 286, thecontroller 19 informs the user of the expiration ofvalid date 149 or the exhaustion of permittedplay count 148 instep 294, and deletes the played program (from the medium 9) and the corresponding RPI record both from themedium 9 and the RPI table 47 instep 296. - It is noted that at the end of this operation, the
controller 19 may execute a step likestep 272. In this case, thecontroller 19 displays a program guide based on the program information table 32 instead of the RPI table 47 prompting the user to select a program to record without prompting the user to select a program to play. - According to the present invention, if the user desires to play a
recording medium 9, he or she can select a program from the program guide displayed for the recorded programs of therecording medium 9. - In
step 286, the validity has been checked by using thefields center 3 for the validity of the program. - Also, a rental video business can be carried out through a broadcasting system according to the invention. Alternatively, a video software vending business may be carried out through the broadcasting system according to the invention as described later.
- It is noted that the
recorder 5 may be configured such that if the user performs a predetermined operation during the above-describedstep controller 19 displays a recorded program guide for the program being reproduced including related program schedules and recommended program lists relating to the program or the channel being reproduced, while permitting the user to select one of the programs included in the displayed program schedules and the recommended program lists for recording. In response to the program selection by the user, thecontroller 19 adds the selected program to the above-mentioned queue. - Digital Multimedia Tape Recorder
- FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of an illustrative embodiment of a digital
multimedia tape recorder 5 a which is used as therecorder 5 of FIG. 1. Thetape recorder 5 a of FIG. 14 is identical to thedisc recorder 5 of FIG. 2 except that theTS processor 11, theTS packetizer 12, theTS disc recorder 13, and thecontroller 19 have been replaced with theTS processor 11 a, TS packetizer 12 a, aTS tape recorder 13 a and thecontroller 19 a. Only the differences are described in the following. - In recording operation, the
TS processor 11 a supplies not only packets of programs specified by thecontroller 19 a but also program information for the programs to the TS packetizer 12 a. The TS packetizer multiplexes the received packets and the program information into a TS packet stream as shown in FIG. 15. In FIG. 15, slashed parts indicate program information. - Doing this enables a program guide to be displayed by first forwarding or winding back the
tape 9 a to a location where the program information is recorded when the user issues a play command. For this purpose, the program information is preferably recorded more frequently. However, there is a limitation on the recording rate of program information (PI). Specifically, the maximum recording rate has to be equal to or greater than the average media MR rate plus the average program information rate. For this reason, the frequency of PI's is periodically adjusted as shown in FIG. 16. In FIG. 16, thecontroller 19 a obtains the media bit rate MR from theTS processor 11 a instep 302. A test is made instep 304 to see if the media bit rate MR is sufficiently larger than a required rate. If so, the PI insertion frequency is increased. Otherwise, the PI insertion frequency is decreased. - However, if a plurality of programs of different time periods are recorded in a single tape media, each recorded PI does not necessarily include program information for all the programs recorded on the medium9 a. For this, it is preferable to reserve a predetermined area of the tape, e.g., a head portion of the tape for recording PI for all the recorded programs and to record only a
medium ID 146 in a predetermined location of the reserved area. It should be noted that the recording operation is preferably performed according to FIG. 6. In this case,step 208 is omitted. Instead of omitting thestep 208, it is preferable to copy all of the RPI records with the same medium ID as the medium being used to the reserved area when the reserved area is accessed (e.g., when the tape is rewound to the beginning of thetape 9 a). - Instead of recording PI together with program data, only the medium ID of the medium9 a is preferably multiplexed with the media data as shown in FIG. 17. In this case, the frequency of medium ID insertion can be much increased as compared with PI insertion. In this case, the playing operation is preferably executed according to the flowchart of FIG. 13. However,
step 272 is replaced with steps shown in FIG. 18. Specifically, afterstep controller 19 a obtains themedium ID 146 from therecording medium 9 a by first winding in either direction to find themedium ID 146 instep 371. Instep 372 thecontroller 19 a displays a program guide for the recorded programs of thetape 9 a from the RPI table 47 in thestorage device 20; and prompts the user to select a program. Then, thecontroller 19 a proceeds to step 274 of FIG. 13. This enables a program guide of the recorded programs to be promptly displayed by a small quantity of winding or rewinding in response to a play or reproduction request from the user. - The
TS processor 15 of FIG. 2 may be omitted as shown in FIG. 19. In FIG. 19, a controller 19 b sets theswitch 14 to the b-side during recording operation and to the a side during playing operation. Though the multimedia recorder 5 (FIG. 2) and 5 a (FIG. 14) permits simultaneous recording and playing, themultimedia recorder 5 b of FIG. 19 does not. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the same simplification may be applied to therecorder 5 a of FIG. 14. - In the above-described embodiments, the
broadcasting transmitter 1 has optionally broadcast the values ofTITLE 133, TIME &DATE 134,SUBTITLE 135, and COUNT IN A SERIAL 136 fields for a related program (FIGS. 3 and 4), and the values ofCHANNEL ID 132 and TIME &.DATE 134 fields for a recommended program (FIG. 5). However, transmitting these data causes the transmission and storage efficiencies to be lowered. In order to raise the transmission and storage efficiencies, thebroadcasting transmitter 1 may transmit only a channel ID 132 (e.g., the service ID) and a not-shown program ID (e.g., the event ID) unique in the channel as a related program or a recommended program. Themultimedia recorder 5 can use thechannel ID 132 and the not-shown program ID to access a program information record in the PI table 32 associated with the two IDs. Doing this enhances the transmission efficiency and the storage efficiency. However, this technique is only valid for programs the program information of which has been transmitted to to therecorder 5. For this reason, it is preferable for thebroadcast transmitter 1 to transmit the two IDs for a related or recommended program whose program information has been already broadcast and to transmit the above-mentioned field (133-136 or 132-134) values for a related or recommended program whose program information has not yet been broadcast. - Also, though the above-described embodiments have identified a program information record by using the
channel ID 132 and the broadcast time &date 134 of the program, a program information record may be identified by using thechannel ID 132 and the program ID. - In the above-described embodiments, the values of the time period fields138 has been described as transmitted from the
transmitter 1. Alternatively, theTS processor 11 may monitor the channel configuration of each program. In this case, if theTS processor 11 detects a change in the channel configuration of a program, then theTS processor 11 stores the start and end times of the channel configuration before the detected change which times are measured from the beginning of the program. - In the above-described embodiments, the
numeral 3 has been described as a video rental center. However, thevideo rental center 3 may be replaced with a video software vender's center. In this case, theRENTAL CODE field 142 is read as a purchase flag, which has only two states, i.e., a “purchased” state and a “not-purchased” state. Therecorder 5 is so arranged as to initially set the purchase flag of a program for sale to the not-purchased state, and set it to the purchased state in response to a receipt of an acknowledgement which is sent from the video software's center after the user has performed a predetermined operation. - In the above-described embodiments, the TS stream from the
TS packetizer 12 has been recorded on therecording medium 9. However, any of the MPEG-2 bit stream from theTS processor 15, the video and audio digital outputs from the video andaudio decoder 16, and the analog video and audio outputs from theelements recording medium 9 as is apparent to those skilled in the art. - It should be noted that the present invention is applicable to a multimedia player without a recording capability as shown in FIG. 20. The
player 6 of FIG. 20 is identical to therecorder 5 of FIG. 2 except that the elements 10-12 and 14 have been eliminated and theTS disc recorder 13 and thecontroller 19 have been replaced with areproducer 27 and acontroller 19 c, respectively. In this embodiment, the recorded program information of each medium is stored only on the recording medium but not in thestorage device 20. When a medium is inserted in theplayer 27, the program information recorded on the medium is preferably read out in thestorage device 20 for subsequent use. - Many widely different embodiments of the present invention may be constructed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described in the specification, except as defined in the appended claims.
Claims (41)
1. A method of managing recorded programs recorded in a recording medium in a broadcasting system comprising at least one transmitter and a plurality of terminals, wherein each transmitter broadcasts a data stream, a plurality of channels being multiplexed into each data stream, each channel comprising a plurality of programs and wherein each transmitter includes, in the data stream, program information comprising program information (PI) records associated with respective programs available in the broadcasting system, the method comprising the steps of:
each terminal
permitting a user to select a desired one of said programs;
adding said selected program to a recording queue which keeps program-identifying data sets in order of broadcast start time;
recording on said recording medium a program identified by one of said program-identifying data sets in a first position of said recording queue;
recording a program information record of said recorded program in a predetermined area on said recording medium;
in response to a reception of a playing request from the user, displaying a program guide for said recorded programs recorded on said recording medium;
prompting the user to select one of said recorded programs for play; and
in response to the user selecting said one of said recorded programs, playing said selected recorded program to provide video and/or audio output(s).
2. A method as defined in claim 1 , further including the step of said at least one transmitter optionally including broadcast schedules for programs relating to each program in said program information, wherein if there are any broadcast schedules for related programs relating to said recorded programs, said program guide includes said any broadcast schedules, wherein said prompting step includes permitting the user to select one of said related programs, and wherein the method further includes the step of, in response to, the user selecting said one of said related programs, each terminal adding said selected related program to said recording queue.
3. A method as defined in claim 2 , further including the step of said at least one transmitter optionally including a recommended program list relating to a program or a channel in said program information, wherein said displaying step includes displaying recommended program information relating to said recorded programs and to channels including said recorded programs, and wherein said permitting the user to select one of said related programs includes permitting the user to select one of said related programs and programs included in said recommended program information.
4. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said step of permitting a user to select a desired one of said programs includes the step of permitting a user to select such a program as is to be broadcast concurrently with at least one program which is registered in said recording queue and which is included in a same data stream that includes such said program, wherein said recording step includes the steps of:
extracting such said program and said at least one program from said same data stream;
converting said such said program and said at least one program into a time-division-multiplexed packet stream in a same form as said data stream; and
recording said time-division-multiplexed packet stream on said recording media.
5. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said step of permitting a user to select a desired one of said programs includes the step of permitting a user to select one of video channels and one of audio channels, said video and audio channels constituting said desired program, wherein said recording step includes the steps of:
extracting video data of said selected video channel and audio data of said selected audio channel from a data stream including said video and audio channels;
converting said video data and said audio data into a time-division-multiplexed packet stream in a same form as said data stream; and
recording said time-division-multiplexed packet stream on said recording media.
6. A method as defined in claim 5 , further including the step of each transmitter including, in said PI record of each of programs that varies in its channel configuration in a middle of duration thereof, time periods for respective channel configurations of the program and a channel configuration for each of said time period, each channel configuration indicating said video and audio channels that constitute the program for a time period associated with said each channel configuration, wherein said step of permitting a user and said displaying step includes the step of displaying said time periods and corresponding channel configurations, and wherein said selecting one of video channels and one of audio channels includes selecting, for each time period, a video and a audio channel from a channel configuration associated with the time period.
7. A method as defined in claim 2 , wherein said including said broadcast schedules for related programs includes including only broadcast schedules for related programs that have not yet been broadcast.
8. A method as defined in claim 2 , wherein if there are any broadcast schedules for related programs-relating to said recorded programs, said program guide includes only broadcast schedules for related programs which relates to said recorded programs and which have not yet been broadcast.
9. A method as defined in claim 1 , further including the steps of:
said transmitter including, in said PI record of each of programs, a code indicative of whether the program is for rental and, if the program is for rental, a center telephone number;
the user selecting a recorded program with an indication of rental;
said terminal permitting the user to applying for a rent of said selected recorded program;
including a limit value determined by said application in said PI record of said selected recorded program; and
only if said limit value is not reached, permitting an executing of said playing step.
10. A method as defined in claim 9 , further including the steps of:
said transmitter transmitting label information for use in printing a label to be put on said recording medium; and
printing at least a part of said label information on a label.
11. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said recording medium is a removable disc medium.
12. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said recording medium is a removable tape medium, wherein said step of recording a program includes the step of recording said program and PI record associated with said program in time-division-multiplexing.
13. A method as defined in claim 12 , wherein said step of recording said program and PI record including the steps of adjusting a recording frequency of said PI record according to a possible maximum recording rate minus a transmission rate required for said program.
14. A method as defined in claim 1 , further including the steps of
when a recording medium is recorded for the first time, recording a medium ID unique to said recording medium at a predetermined location in said predetermined area of said recording medium;
including, in said PI record of each of recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, said medium ID of a recording medium storing the recorded program;
including, in said PI record of each of recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, a recorded program ID unique to the recorded program;
storing, in a storage device, all of said PI records for said recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, and
permitting the user to retrieve a desired program.
15. A method as defined in claim 14 , wherein said recording media is a removable disc medium, wherein the method further includes the steps of, each time of loading said disc media, updating relevant PI records stored in said storage device.
16. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said recording medium is a removable tape medium and wherein the method further includes the steps of
when a recording medium is recorded for the first time, recording a medium ID unique to said recording medium at a predetermined location in said predetermined area of said recording medium;
including, in said PI record of each of recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, said medium ID of a recording medium storing the recorded program;
including, in said PI record of each of recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, a recorded program ID unique to the recorded program;
storing, in a storage device, all of said PI records for said recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, and
at a time of accessing a neighborhood of said predetermined area, copying said PI records of programs recorded on said recording medium which are stored in said storage device to said predetermined area of said recording medium, wherein said step of displaying a program guide uses said PI records stored in said storage device.
17. A method as defined in claim 16 , wherein said step of recording a program includes the step of recording said program and said medium ID in time-division-multiplexing, said medium ID being recorded in a raised frequency, wherein the method further includes the step of, at a time of loading said medium, obtaining said medium ID by winding said tape in either direction; and wherein said step of displaying a program guide includes the step of reading said PI records stored in said storage device by using said obtained medium ID.
18. A multimedia terminal capable of managing recorded programs recorded in a recording medium in a broadcasting system comprising at least one transmitter and a plurality of terminals, wherein each transmitter broadcasts a data stream, a plurality of channels being multiplexed into each data stream, each channel comprising a plurality of programs and wherein each transmitter includes, in the data stream, program information comprising program information (PI) records associated with respective programs available in the broadcasting system, the multimedia terminal comprising:
means for permitting a user to select a desired one of said programs;
means for adding said selected program to a recording queue which keeps program-identifying data sets in order of broadcast start time;
means for recording on said recording medium a program identified by one of said program-identifying data sets in a first position of said recording queue;
means for recording a program information record of said recorded program in a predetermined area on said recording medium;
means, responsive to a reception of a playing request from the user, for displaying a program guide for said recorded programs recorded on said recording medium;
means for prompting the user to select one of said recorded programs for play; and
means, response to the user selecting said one of said recorded programs, for playing said selected recorded program to provide video and/or audio output(s).
19. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 18 , wherein broadcast schedules for programs relating to each program are optionally included in said program information, wherein said means for displaying a program guide includes means, activated in the event there are any broadcast schedules for related programs relating to said recorded programs, for including said any broadcast schedules in said program guide, wherein said prompting means includes means for permitting the user to select one of said related programs, and wherein the multimedia terminal further includes means, responsive to the user selecting said one of said related programs, for adding said selected related program to said recording queue.
20. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 18 , wherein said playing means includes:
means, responsive to a predetermined input by the user, for displaying a program information for said selected recorded program, said program information including information on related programs relating to said selected recorded program;
means for permitting the user to selecting one of said related programs for recording; and
means, responsive to the user selecting said one of said related programs, for adding said selected related program to said recording queue.
21. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 19 , wherein said related programs are serialized programs.
22. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 20 , wherein said related programs are serialized programs.
23. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 19 , wherein a recommended program list relating to a program or a channel is optionally included in said program information, wherein said means for displaying a program guide includes means for displaying recommended program information relating to said recorded programs and to channels including said recorded programs, and wherein said means for permitting the user to select one of said related programs includes means for permitting the user to select one of said related programs and programs included in said recommended program information.
24. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 18 , wherein said means for permitting a user to select a desired one of said programs includes means for permitting a user to select such a program as is to be broadcast concurrently with at least one program which is registered in said recording queue and which is included in a same data stream that includes such said program, wherein said recording means includes:
means for extracting such said program and said at least one program from said same data stream;
means for converting said such said program and said at least one program into a time-division-multiplexed packet stream in a same form as said data stream; and
means for recording said time-division-multiplexed packet stream on said recording media.
25. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 18 , wherein said means for permitting a user to select a desired one of said programs includes means for permitting a user to select one of video channels and one of audio channels, said video and audio channels constituting said desired program, wherein said recording means includes:
means for extracting video data of said selected video channel and audio data of said selected audio channel from a data stream including said video and audio channels;
means for converting said video data and said audio data into a time-division-multiplexed packet stream in a same form as said data stream; and
means for recording said time-division-multiplexed packet stream on said recording media.
26. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 25 , wherein said PI record of each of programs that varies in its channel configuration in a middle of duration thereof includes time periods for respective channel configurations of the program and a channel configuration for each of said time period, each channel configuration indicating said video and audio channels that constitute the program for a time period associated with said each channel configuration, wherein said means for permitting a user and said displaying means includes means for displaying said time periods and corresponding channel configurations, and wherein said means for permitting a user to select one of video channels and one of audio channels includes means for selecting, for each time period, a video and a audio channel from a channel configuration associated with the time period.
27. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 19 wherein said broadcast schedules for related programs includes only broadcast schedules for related programs that have not yet been broadcast.
28. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 19 , wherein said means for including said any broadcast schedules in said program guide includes means for including only broadcast schedules for related programs which relates to said recorded programs and which have not yet been broadcast.
29. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 18 , wherein said PI record of each of programs includes a code indicative of whether the program is for rental and, if the program is for rental, a center telephone number, and wherein the multimedia terminal further includes:
means for permitting the user to elect a recorded program with an indication of rental;
means for permitting the user to applying for a rent of said selected recorded program;
means for including a limit value determined by said application in said PI record of said selected recorded program; and
means, activated only in the event said limit value is not reached, for permitting an executing of said playing step.
30. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 29 , further including:
means for receiving, from said broadcasting transmitter, label information for use in printing a label to be put on said recording medium; and
means for printing at least a part of said label information on a label.
31. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 18 , wherein said recording medium is a removable disc medium.
32. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 18 , wherein said recording medium is a removable tape medium, wherein said means for recording a program includes means for recording said program and PI record associated with said program on said recording medium.
33. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 32 , wherein said means for recording said program and PI record including means for adjusting a recording frequency of said PI record according to a possible maximum recording rate minus a transmission rate required for said program.
34. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 18 , further including:
means, activated when a recording medium is recorded for the first time, for recording a medium ID unique to said recording medium at a predetermined location in said predetermined area of said recording medium;
means for including, in said PI record of each of recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, said medium ID of a recording medium storing the recorded program;
means for including, in said PI record of each of recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, a recorded program ID unique to the recorded program;
means for storing, in a storage device, all of said PI records for said recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, and
means for permitting the user to retrieve a desired program.
35. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 34 , wherein said recording media is a removable disc medium, wherein the multimedia terminal further includes means, activated each time of loading said disc media, for updating relevant PI records stored in said storage device.
36. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 18 , wherein said recording medium is a removable tape medium and wherein the multimedia terminal further includes:
means, activated when a recording medium is recorded for the first time, for recording a medium ID unique to said recording medium at a predetermined location in said predetermined area of said recording medium;
means for including, in said PI record of each of recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, said medium ID of a recording medium storing the recorded program;
means for including, in said PI record of each of recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, a recorded program ID unique to the recorded program;
means for storing, in a storage device, all of said PI records for said recorded programs of recording media that have been recorded by said terminal, and
means, activated at a time of accessing a neighborhood of said predetermined area, for copying said PI records of programs recorded on said recording medium which are stored in said storage device to said predetermined area of said recording medium, wherein said means for displaying a program guide uses said PI records stored in said storage device.
37. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 36 , wherein said means for recording a program includes means for recording said program and said medium ID in time-division-multiplexing, said medium ID being recorded in a raised frequency, wherein the multimedia terminal further includes means, activated at a time of loading said medium, for obtaining said medium ID by winding said tape in either direction; and wherein said means for displaying a program guide includes means for reading said PI records stored in said storage device by using said obtained medium ID.
38. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 18 , wherein said PI record of each of programs includes a code indicative of whether the program is for rental and, if the program is for rental, a center telephone number, and wherein the multimedia terminal further includes:
means for permitting the user to elect a recorded program with an indication of rental;
means for permitting the user to applying for a rent of said selected recorded program;
means, responsive to a request for playing one of rental programs, for referring to a rental center for a validity of said one of said rental program; and
means, activated only in the event said one of said rental program is valid, for enabling said playing means.
39. A multimedia reproducer for reproducing recorded programs recorded on a recording medium, wherein program information comprising program information (PI) records associated with said recorded programs is also recorded on the recording medium, the multimedia reproducer comprising:
means, responsive to a reception of a reproducing request from the user, for displaying a program guide for said recorded programs and prompting the user to select one of said recorded programs for play; and
means, response to the user selecting said one of said recorded programs, for reproducing said selected recorded program.
40. A multimedia reproducer as defined in claim 39 , wherein said PI record of each of programs includes a code indicative of whether the program is for rental and, if the program is for rental, a center telephone number, and wherein the multimedia reproducer further includes:
means for permitting the user to elect a recorded program with an indication of rental;
means for permitting the user to applying for a rent of said selected recorded program;
means for including a limit value determined by said application in said PI record of said selected recorded program; and
means, activated only in the event said limit value is not reached, for enabling said playing means.
41. A multimedia terminal as defined in claim 40 , further including:
means for receiving, from external, label information for use in printing a label to be put on said recording medium; and
means for printing at least a part of said label information on a label.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/684,643 US20040081426A1 (en) | 1998-03-03 | 2003-10-15 | Broadcasting system with means to label programs being recorded and to display the label information |
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP10-66038 | 1998-03-03 | ||
JP10066038A JPH11252471A (en) | 1998-03-03 | 1998-03-03 | Center device and terminal equipment for broadcasting program and program information |
US09/260,063 US6714722B1 (en) | 1998-03-03 | 1999-03-02 | Multimedia recorder with enhanced EPG-related functions |
US10/684,643 US20040081426A1 (en) | 1998-03-03 | 2003-10-15 | Broadcasting system with means to label programs being recorded and to display the label information |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/260,063 Division US6714722B1 (en) | 1998-03-03 | 1999-03-02 | Multimedia recorder with enhanced EPG-related functions |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20040081426A1 true US20040081426A1 (en) | 2004-04-29 |
Family
ID=13304326
Family Applications (4)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/260,063 Expired - Lifetime US6714722B1 (en) | 1998-03-03 | 1999-03-02 | Multimedia recorder with enhanced EPG-related functions |
US10/684,488 Abandoned US20040090978A1 (en) | 1998-03-03 | 2003-10-15 | Terminal device for recording program information with means to limit the playing of said program information |
US10/684,643 Abandoned US20040081426A1 (en) | 1998-03-03 | 2003-10-15 | Broadcasting system with means to label programs being recorded and to display the label information |
US10/684,516 Expired - Fee Related US7471876B2 (en) | 1998-03-03 | 2003-10-15 | Terminal device for recording broadcast information and/or playing video and/audio data |
Family Applications Before (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/260,063 Expired - Lifetime US6714722B1 (en) | 1998-03-03 | 1999-03-02 | Multimedia recorder with enhanced EPG-related functions |
US10/684,488 Abandoned US20040090978A1 (en) | 1998-03-03 | 2003-10-15 | Terminal device for recording program information with means to limit the playing of said program information |
Family Applications After (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/684,516 Expired - Fee Related US7471876B2 (en) | 1998-03-03 | 2003-10-15 | Terminal device for recording broadcast information and/or playing video and/audio data |
Country Status (8)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (4) | US6714722B1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP0940985B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH11252471A (en) |
KR (1) | KR100304805B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN1152560C (en) |
AU (1) | AU731514B2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE69934531T2 (en) |
TW (1) | TW417400B (en) |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20010038694A1 (en) * | 2000-02-03 | 2001-11-08 | Sony Corporation | Data recording method and apparatus, data reproducing method and apparatus, and data recording and/or reproducing system |
US20050259534A1 (en) * | 2004-05-21 | 2005-11-24 | Funai Electric Co., Ltd. | Changer type disc apparatus |
US20070047125A1 (en) * | 2005-08-22 | 2007-03-01 | Funai Electric Co., Ltd. | Hard disk recorder |
US20070256100A1 (en) * | 2006-04-28 | 2007-11-01 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Device and method for receiving digital multimedia broadcasting |
US20090286469A1 (en) * | 2008-05-16 | 2009-11-19 | Yong Chan Jeong | Mobile terminal and method of controlling broadcast content purchase therein |
CN102892043A (en) * | 2012-09-29 | 2013-01-23 | 中兴通讯股份有限公司 | Updating method of mobile television service guide, mobile television platform and terminal |
US8418203B1 (en) * | 1999-08-19 | 2013-04-09 | Sony Corporation | Transmission method and receiving device of program guide information including a control signal |
Families Citing this family (142)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP4165445B2 (en) * | 2004-05-07 | 2008-10-15 | ソニー株式会社 | Information processing apparatus and method, and program |
US6769128B1 (en) | 1995-06-07 | 2004-07-27 | United Video Properties, Inc. | Electronic television program guide schedule system and method with data feed access |
CN1625238A (en) | 1996-03-15 | 2005-06-08 | 英戴克系统公司 | Combination of vcr index and epg |
AU733993B2 (en) | 1997-07-21 | 2001-05-31 | Rovi Guides, Inc. | Systems and methods for displaying and recording control interfaces |
JPH11252471A (en) * | 1998-03-03 | 1999-09-17 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Center device and terminal equipment for broadcasting program and program information |
CN1867068A (en) | 1998-07-14 | 2006-11-22 | 联合视频制品公司 | Client-server based interactive television program guide system with remote server recording |
US6898762B2 (en) | 1998-08-21 | 2005-05-24 | United Video Properties, Inc. | Client-server electronic program guide |
TW465235B (en) | 1998-09-17 | 2001-11-21 | United Video Properties Inc | Electronic program guide with digital storage |
US6859799B1 (en) | 1998-11-30 | 2005-02-22 | Gemstar Development Corporation | Search engine for video and graphics |
EP1021048A3 (en) * | 1999-01-14 | 2002-10-02 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Digital video recording system and its recording medium |
KR100605187B1 (en) * | 1999-04-21 | 2006-07-28 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | Method for recording the digital data stream selectively |
EP1047075A3 (en) * | 1999-04-23 | 2005-12-28 | Sony Corporation | Information processing apparatus, information managing method and medium |
US7406706B1 (en) * | 1999-07-28 | 2008-07-29 | Sony Corporation | Method and system for devices efficiently sharing information regarding the content of a digital television bit-stream |
DE60025729T2 (en) * | 1999-08-09 | 2006-11-02 | British Sky Broadcasting Limited | AN ELECTRONIC PROGRAM OVERVIEW USING TELEVISION PROGRAMMETER |
GB9918772D0 (en) | 1999-08-09 | 1999-10-13 | British Sky Broadcasting Ltd | Improvements in receivers for television signals |
JP3408469B2 (en) * | 1999-09-14 | 2003-05-19 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Receiving system |
FR2805699A1 (en) * | 2000-02-25 | 2001-08-31 | Thomson Multimedia Sa | Display system for digital TV broadcasts includes recording system for retaining sequenced information for user selection |
AUPQ590300A0 (en) * | 2000-02-29 | 2000-03-23 | Right Hemisphere Pty Limited | Promotion-linked video recording scheduling system |
US8171520B2 (en) * | 2000-03-02 | 2012-05-01 | Tivo Inc. | Method of sharing personal media using a digital recorder |
EP1269760B1 (en) * | 2000-03-02 | 2013-03-20 | TiVo, Inc. | System and method for internet access to personal television service |
US8812850B2 (en) * | 2000-03-02 | 2014-08-19 | Tivo Inc. | Secure multimedia transfer system |
US7908635B2 (en) * | 2000-03-02 | 2011-03-15 | Tivo Inc. | System and method for internet access to a personal television service |
US8261315B2 (en) * | 2000-03-02 | 2012-09-04 | Tivo Inc. | Multicasting multimedia content distribution system |
JP2001268459A (en) * | 2000-03-17 | 2001-09-28 | Hitachi Ltd | Program retrieval device and method and recording medium having program retrieval program recorded thereon |
US20070127887A1 (en) * | 2000-03-23 | 2007-06-07 | Adrian Yap | Digital video recorder enhanced features |
US8312490B2 (en) | 2000-03-23 | 2012-11-13 | The Directv Group, Inc. | DVR with enhanced functionality |
US20020056102A1 (en) * | 2000-03-23 | 2002-05-09 | Hughes Electronics Corporation | Personal video on-demand system and method |
US7673315B1 (en) * | 2000-03-30 | 2010-03-02 | Microsoft Corporation | System and method for providing program criteria representing audio and/or visual programming |
AR028004A1 (en) | 2000-04-10 | 2003-04-23 | United Video Properties Inc | PROVISIONS OF INTERACTIVE TELEVISION PROGRAMMING GUIDE WITH INTEGRATED PROGRAM LISTS |
US6931657B1 (en) | 2000-04-21 | 2005-08-16 | Microsoft Corporation | Methods and arrangements for providing a novel television and multimedia viewing paradigm |
JP2001359004A (en) * | 2000-06-09 | 2001-12-26 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Video recording reservation system and method |
US7103906B1 (en) | 2000-09-29 | 2006-09-05 | International Business Machines Corporation | User controlled multi-device media-on-demand system |
CA2425479C (en) | 2000-10-11 | 2014-12-23 | United Video Properties, Inc. | Systems and methods for providing storage of data on servers in an on-demand media delivery system |
US20020087988A1 (en) * | 2000-12-28 | 2002-07-04 | International Business Machines Corporation | Interactive TV contextual content surfing using inter-channel hyperlinking: systems, methods & program products |
JP2002209180A (en) * | 2001-01-12 | 2002-07-26 | Seiko Epson Corp | Communication terminal device, communication terminal control method, medium with communication terminal control program recorded thereon, method and device for data distribution, and medium with data distribution control program recorded thereon |
JP4134516B2 (en) * | 2001-01-18 | 2008-08-20 | 三菱電機株式会社 | Storage type digital broadcasting transmitter |
US20020104088A1 (en) * | 2001-01-29 | 2002-08-01 | Philips Electronics North Americas Corp. | Method for searching for television programs |
US6980730B2 (en) * | 2001-02-01 | 2005-12-27 | Thomson Licensing | System and method for processing a program already in progress |
FR2820846B1 (en) * | 2001-02-12 | 2003-05-30 | Thomson Multimedia Sa | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANAGING ACCESS TO A RECORDING MEDIUM |
CA3011879C (en) | 2001-02-21 | 2021-10-19 | Rovi Guides, Inc. | Systems and methods for interactive program guides with personal video recordng features |
US20020166123A1 (en) * | 2001-03-02 | 2002-11-07 | Microsoft Corporation | Enhanced television services for digital video recording and playback |
CA2446617C (en) * | 2001-05-11 | 2010-03-23 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Channel buffering and display management system for multi-tuner set-top box |
US20020188945A1 (en) * | 2001-06-06 | 2002-12-12 | Mcgee Tom | Enhanced EPG to find program start and segments |
US7140032B2 (en) * | 2001-10-29 | 2006-11-21 | Sony Corporation | System and method for establishing TV channel |
US8565578B2 (en) * | 2001-12-06 | 2013-10-22 | Harold J. Plourde, Jr. | Dividing and managing time-shift buffering into program specific segments based on defined durations |
US7257308B2 (en) * | 2001-12-06 | 2007-08-14 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Converting time-shift buffering for personal video recording into permanent recordings |
US7962011B2 (en) | 2001-12-06 | 2011-06-14 | Plourde Jr Harold J | Controlling substantially constant buffer capacity for personal video recording with consistent user interface of available disk space |
AU2003217489A1 (en) * | 2002-03-25 | 2003-10-08 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Recording device, recording method, and program |
US20030188307A1 (en) * | 2002-03-29 | 2003-10-02 | Yusuke Mizuno | Digital broadcasting receiver |
KR100921303B1 (en) | 2002-04-05 | 2009-10-09 | 파나소닉 주식회사 | Communications terminal device allowing content reception and voice communication |
US8255968B2 (en) | 2002-04-15 | 2012-08-28 | Universal Electronics, Inc. | System and method for adaptively controlling the recording of program material using a program guide |
EP1361759A1 (en) * | 2002-05-10 | 2003-11-12 | Canal+ Technologies Société Anonyme | System and method of providing media content |
JP2004030327A (en) * | 2002-06-26 | 2004-01-29 | Sony Corp | Device and method for providing contents-related information, electronic bulletin board system and computer program |
US7693399B2 (en) | 2002-07-11 | 2010-04-06 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Method for providing program specific information recorded on high density disc medium |
US7228054B2 (en) * | 2002-07-29 | 2007-06-05 | Sigmatel, Inc. | Automated playlist generation |
JP2004080673A (en) * | 2002-08-22 | 2004-03-11 | Funai Electric Co Ltd | Digital broadcast receiving/recording apparatus |
US8181205B2 (en) | 2002-09-24 | 2012-05-15 | Russ Samuel H | PVR channel and PVR IPG information |
EP1437890B1 (en) * | 2003-01-06 | 2010-12-29 | Thomson Licensing | Inserting data into a timer for a video recording device |
EP1437889A1 (en) * | 2003-01-06 | 2004-07-14 | Thomson Licensing S.A. | Method for inserting data into a timer for a video recording device |
US7493646B2 (en) | 2003-01-30 | 2009-02-17 | United Video Properties, Inc. | Interactive television systems with digital video recording and adjustable reminders |
GB0303176D0 (en) * | 2003-02-12 | 2003-03-19 | Video Networks Ltd | A system for capture and selective playback of broadcast programmes |
JP4493037B2 (en) * | 2003-03-11 | 2010-06-30 | パイオニア株式会社 | Information recording apparatus and method, and computer program for recording control |
US8438601B2 (en) | 2003-07-02 | 2013-05-07 | Rovi Solutions Corporation | Resource management for a networked personal video recording system |
US7454120B2 (en) | 2003-07-02 | 2008-11-18 | Macrovision Corporation | Methods and apparatus for client aggregation of television programming in a networked personal video recording system |
JP3978197B2 (en) * | 2004-05-31 | 2007-09-19 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Recorder with dubbing function |
US8245269B2 (en) * | 2004-06-25 | 2012-08-14 | Arris Solutions, Inc. | System and method for delivering video programs to a video distribution center |
US20060015580A1 (en) * | 2004-07-01 | 2006-01-19 | Home Box Office, A Delaware Corporation | Multimedia content distribution |
US9021529B2 (en) | 2004-07-15 | 2015-04-28 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Content recordation techniques |
KR100763900B1 (en) * | 2004-08-28 | 2007-10-05 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Method and apparatus for proactive recording and displaying of preferred television program by user's eye gaze |
GB0420058D0 (en) * | 2004-09-10 | 2004-10-13 | Radioscape Ltd | Displaying an electronic program guide on a small embedded receiver |
AU2005284897B2 (en) | 2004-09-14 | 2009-03-26 | Opentv, Inc. | Multimedia queue services |
US8086575B2 (en) | 2004-09-23 | 2011-12-27 | Rovi Solutions Corporation | Methods and apparatus for integrating disparate media formats in a networked media system |
KR100652676B1 (en) * | 2004-09-25 | 2006-12-06 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | Editing apparatus and method for satellite broadcasting in satellite mobile terminal |
US8806533B1 (en) | 2004-10-08 | 2014-08-12 | United Video Properties, Inc. | System and method for using television information codes |
KR100640374B1 (en) * | 2004-11-30 | 2006-10-30 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Digital broadcasting reception terminal for storing digital broadcasting data |
US8229283B2 (en) | 2005-04-01 | 2012-07-24 | Rovi Guides, Inc. | System and method for quality marking of a recording |
DE602006003646D1 (en) * | 2005-04-18 | 2008-12-24 | Home Box Office Inc | CONTINUING AND RECOVERING CONTENT STREAMING IN WIRELESS DEVICES |
JP4921737B2 (en) * | 2005-07-25 | 2012-04-25 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Label printing system, print data generation device, and label printing device |
US7646962B1 (en) | 2005-09-30 | 2010-01-12 | Guideworks, Llc | System and methods for recording and playing back programs having desirable recording attributes |
US8582946B2 (en) | 2005-11-04 | 2013-11-12 | Rovi Guides, Inc. | Systems and methods for recording programs using a network recording device as supplemental storage |
US8731379B1 (en) | 2005-11-04 | 2014-05-20 | Rovi Guides, Inc. | Systems and methods for recording programs with a network recording device upon failure of a user's equipment |
JP2009049446A (en) * | 2005-11-28 | 2009-03-05 | Pioneer Electronic Corp | Recording device |
US9681105B2 (en) | 2005-12-29 | 2017-06-13 | Rovi Guides, Inc. | Interactive media guidance system having multiple devices |
US8607287B2 (en) | 2005-12-29 | 2013-12-10 | United Video Properties, Inc. | Interactive media guidance system having multiple devices |
US20070156521A1 (en) | 2005-12-29 | 2007-07-05 | United Video Properties, Inc. | Systems and methods for commerce in media program related merchandise |
US7787463B2 (en) * | 2006-01-26 | 2010-08-31 | Broadcom Corporation | Content aware apparatus and method |
US7962942B1 (en) | 2006-02-28 | 2011-06-14 | Rovi Guides, Inc. | Systems and methods for enhanced trick-play functions |
US7657526B2 (en) | 2006-03-06 | 2010-02-02 | Veveo, Inc. | Methods and systems for selecting and presenting content based on activity level spikes associated with the content |
EP1999883A4 (en) | 2006-03-14 | 2013-03-06 | Divx Llc | Federated digital rights management scheme including trusted systems |
US8316394B2 (en) | 2006-03-24 | 2012-11-20 | United Video Properties, Inc. | Interactive media guidance application with intelligent navigation and display features |
US20070239611A1 (en) * | 2006-04-10 | 2007-10-11 | Scott Blum | Media player and access system and method |
US8615550B2 (en) * | 2006-05-31 | 2013-12-24 | Red Hat, Inc. | Client-side data scraping for open overlay for social networks and online services |
US8185584B2 (en) * | 2006-05-31 | 2012-05-22 | Red Hat, Inc. | Activity history management for open overlay for social networks and online services |
US9165282B2 (en) * | 2006-05-31 | 2015-10-20 | Red Hat, Inc. | Shared playlist management for open overlay for social networks and online services |
US8612483B2 (en) * | 2006-05-31 | 2013-12-17 | Red Hat, Inc. | Link swarming in an open overlay for social networks and online services |
US7792903B2 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2010-09-07 | Red Hat, Inc. | Identity management for open overlay for social networks and online services |
US8688742B2 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2014-04-01 | Red Hat, Inc. | Open overlay for social networks and online services |
KR101265625B1 (en) * | 2006-09-11 | 2013-05-22 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | The broadcasting receiver for processing broadcasting signals for determining multi channels, and the method for controlling the same |
US8812582B2 (en) * | 2006-11-30 | 2014-08-19 | Red Hat, Inc. | Automated screen saver with shared media |
US9405827B2 (en) * | 2006-11-30 | 2016-08-02 | Red Hat, Inc. | Playlist generation of content gathered from multiple sources |
US8060827B2 (en) * | 2006-11-30 | 2011-11-15 | Red Hat, Inc. | Method and system for preloading suggested content onto digital video recorder based on social recommendations |
US8832277B2 (en) * | 2006-11-30 | 2014-09-09 | Red Hat, Inc. | Community tagging of a multimedia stream and linking to related content |
US9021045B2 (en) * | 2006-11-30 | 2015-04-28 | Red Hat, Inc. | Sharing images in a social network |
US8463893B2 (en) * | 2006-11-30 | 2013-06-11 | Red Hat, Inc. | Automatic playlist generation in correlation with local events |
US8091032B2 (en) * | 2006-11-30 | 2012-01-03 | Red Hat, Inc. | Automatic generation of content recommendations weighted by social network context |
US8943210B2 (en) * | 2006-11-30 | 2015-01-27 | Red Hat, Inc. | Mastering music played among a plurality of users |
US8176191B2 (en) * | 2006-11-30 | 2012-05-08 | Red Hat, Inc. | Automated identification of high/low value content based on social feedback |
US20080133475A1 (en) * | 2006-11-30 | 2008-06-05 | Donald Fischer | Identification of interesting content based on observation of passive user interaction |
US8732734B2 (en) * | 2007-03-03 | 2014-05-20 | Time Warner Cable Enterprises Llc | Methods and apparatus supporting the recording of multiple simultaneously broadcast programs communicated using the same communications channel |
US20080216135A1 (en) * | 2007-03-03 | 2008-09-04 | Howard Pfeffer | Methods and apparatus for improved content delivery including content delivery streams dynamically populated in response to user requests |
US8910222B2 (en) | 2007-03-03 | 2014-12-09 | Time Warner Cable Enterprises Llc | Methods and apparatus for implementing guides and using recording information in determining program to communications channel mappings |
US7801888B2 (en) | 2007-03-09 | 2010-09-21 | Microsoft Corporation | Media content search results ranked by popularity |
US20090019492A1 (en) | 2007-07-11 | 2009-01-15 | United Video Properties, Inc. | Systems and methods for mirroring and transcoding media content |
US9693106B2 (en) * | 2007-07-26 | 2017-06-27 | The Directv Group, Inc. | Method and system for preordering content in a user device associated with a content processing system |
JP5050750B2 (en) * | 2007-09-14 | 2012-10-17 | ソニー株式会社 | Program recording apparatus and preset condition processing method |
US8561114B2 (en) * | 2007-10-13 | 2013-10-15 | The Directv Group, Inc. | Method and system for ordering video content from a mobile device |
US20090099858A1 (en) * | 2007-10-13 | 2009-04-16 | Jeffs Alistair E | Method and system for ordering content from a first device for a selected user device through an interactive interface |
US8046802B2 (en) * | 2007-10-13 | 2011-10-25 | The Directv Group, Inc. | Method and system for ordering and prioritizing the downloading of content from an interactive interface |
US9824389B2 (en) * | 2007-10-13 | 2017-11-21 | The Directv Group, Inc. | Method and system for confirming the download of content at a user device |
US8707361B2 (en) * | 2007-10-13 | 2014-04-22 | The Directv Group, Inc. | Method and system for quickly recording linear content from an interactive interface |
JP4760864B2 (en) * | 2008-06-25 | 2011-08-31 | ソニー株式会社 | Information processing apparatus, information processing method, program, and information processing system |
US10063934B2 (en) | 2008-11-25 | 2018-08-28 | Rovi Technologies Corporation | Reducing unicast session duration with restart TV |
CN101753236B (en) * | 2008-12-12 | 2011-11-30 | 康佳集团股份有限公司 | Method and device for managing electronic program guide (EPG) data |
CA2749170C (en) | 2009-01-07 | 2016-06-21 | Divx, Inc. | Singular, collective and automated creation of a media guide for online content |
US9166714B2 (en) | 2009-09-11 | 2015-10-20 | Veveo, Inc. | Method of and system for presenting enriched video viewing analytics |
US9014546B2 (en) | 2009-09-23 | 2015-04-21 | Rovi Guides, Inc. | Systems and methods for automatically detecting users within detection regions of media devices |
CA2782825C (en) | 2009-12-04 | 2016-04-26 | Divx, Llc | Elementary bitstream cryptographic material transport systems and methods |
US9456247B1 (en) | 2010-05-19 | 2016-09-27 | The Directv Group, Inc. | Method and system for changing communication parameters of a content delivery system based on feedback from user devices |
US9247312B2 (en) | 2011-01-05 | 2016-01-26 | Sonic Ip, Inc. | Systems and methods for encoding source media in matroska container files for adaptive bitrate streaming using hypertext transfer protocol |
US9736524B2 (en) | 2011-01-06 | 2017-08-15 | Veveo, Inc. | Methods of and systems for content search based on environment sampling |
US9049073B2 (en) | 2011-06-28 | 2015-06-02 | Rovi Guides, Inc. | Systems and methods for initializing allocations of transport streams based on historical data |
US9467708B2 (en) | 2011-08-30 | 2016-10-11 | Sonic Ip, Inc. | Selection of resolutions for seamless resolution switching of multimedia content |
US8909922B2 (en) | 2011-09-01 | 2014-12-09 | Sonic Ip, Inc. | Systems and methods for playing back alternative streams of protected content protected using common cryptographic information |
TWI493972B (en) * | 2011-10-17 | 2015-07-21 | Acer Inc | Electronic device and method for displaying an electronic program guide thereof |
US8805418B2 (en) | 2011-12-23 | 2014-08-12 | United Video Properties, Inc. | Methods and systems for performing actions based on location-based rules |
US9191457B2 (en) | 2012-12-31 | 2015-11-17 | Sonic Ip, Inc. | Systems, methods, and media for controlling delivery of content |
US9848276B2 (en) | 2013-03-11 | 2017-12-19 | Rovi Guides, Inc. | Systems and methods for auto-configuring a user equipment device with content consumption material |
US9094737B2 (en) | 2013-05-30 | 2015-07-28 | Sonic Ip, Inc. | Network video streaming with trick play based on separate trick play files |
US9674563B2 (en) | 2013-11-04 | 2017-06-06 | Rovi Guides, Inc. | Systems and methods for recommending content |
US9866878B2 (en) | 2014-04-05 | 2018-01-09 | Sonic Ip, Inc. | Systems and methods for encoding and playing back video at different frame rates using enhancement layers |
US10667008B1 (en) | 2014-12-18 | 2020-05-26 | The Directv Group, Inc. | Method and system for setting and receiving user notifications for content available far in the future |
CN110233803B (en) * | 2019-05-16 | 2021-07-23 | 中国科学院计算技术研究所 | Scheduling device and method for transmission network node |
Citations (20)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4787063A (en) * | 1984-10-19 | 1988-11-22 | Francis Muguet | Acquisition and transmission system for a recorder and a computer center |
US5253066A (en) * | 1989-06-01 | 1993-10-12 | Vogel Peter S | TV recording and viewing control system |
US5361173A (en) * | 1990-01-21 | 1994-11-01 | Sony Corporation | Devices for controlling recording and/or reproducing apparatus utilizing recorded management data and interactive information input apparatus for an electronic device |
US5475835A (en) * | 1993-03-02 | 1995-12-12 | Research Design & Marketing Inc. | Audio-visual inventory and play-back control system |
US5488409A (en) * | 1991-08-19 | 1996-01-30 | Yuen; Henry C. | Apparatus and method for tracking the playing of VCR programs |
US5541738A (en) * | 1994-04-12 | 1996-07-30 | E. Guide, Inc. | Electronic program guide |
US5543929A (en) * | 1993-01-05 | 1996-08-06 | E. Guide, Inc. | Television for controlling a video cassette recorder to access programs on a video cassette tape |
US5592551A (en) * | 1992-12-01 | 1997-01-07 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Method and apparatus for providing interactive electronic programming guide |
US5682206A (en) * | 1995-09-25 | 1997-10-28 | Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. | Consumer interface for programming device |
US5721829A (en) * | 1995-05-05 | 1998-02-24 | Microsoft Corporation | System for automatic pause/resume of content delivered on a channel in response to switching to and from that channel and resuming so that a portion of the content is repeated |
US5745640A (en) * | 1990-01-21 | 1998-04-28 | Sony Corporation | AV data base for VTR |
US5852478A (en) * | 1995-05-12 | 1998-12-22 | Gemstar Development Corporation | Vps compatible apparatus and method for selection of correct IR code sets |
US5861906A (en) * | 1995-05-05 | 1999-01-19 | Microsoft Corporation | Interactive entertainment network system and method for customizing operation thereof according to viewer preferences |
US5909212A (en) * | 1996-07-26 | 1999-06-01 | Sony Corporation | Apparatus and method for controlling display of electrical program guide |
US6160545A (en) * | 1997-10-24 | 2000-12-12 | General Instrument Corporation | Multi-regional interactive program guide for television |
US6195501B1 (en) * | 1996-03-28 | 2001-02-27 | Intel Corporation | Computer control of a video cassette recorder using wireless communication and a vertical blanking interval triggering |
US6266814B1 (en) * | 1995-04-06 | 2001-07-24 | United Video Properties, Inc. | Methods and systems for presenting program schedule information corresponding to a day selection |
US6366731B1 (en) * | 1997-04-14 | 2002-04-02 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Digital broadcast receiving/recording apparatus and method |
US6412110B1 (en) * | 1996-08-06 | 2002-06-25 | Starsight Telecast, Inc. | Electronic program guide with interactive areas |
US6714722B1 (en) * | 1998-03-03 | 2004-03-30 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Multimedia recorder with enhanced EPG-related functions |
Family Cites Families (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE3928175A1 (en) * | 1989-01-21 | 1990-07-26 | Nokia Unterhaltungselektronik | VIDEO RECEIVER |
US5619249A (en) * | 1994-09-14 | 1997-04-08 | Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. | Telecasting service for providing video programs on demand with an interactive interface for facilitating viewer selection of video programs |
JP3644455B2 (en) * | 1994-09-29 | 2005-04-27 | ソニー株式会社 | Program information broadcasting system, program information display method and receiving apparatus |
JP3233850B2 (en) * | 1996-03-13 | 2001-12-04 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Digital broadcast receiving system |
JP3272243B2 (en) * | 1996-06-03 | 2002-04-08 | 株式会社東芝 | Multiplex signal receiving system equipment |
US6078348A (en) * | 1996-06-17 | 2000-06-20 | Starsight Telecast Inc. | Television schedule system with enhanced features |
TW412734B (en) * | 1996-12-26 | 2000-11-21 | Toshiba Corp | Storage medium for recording data, regeneration device for regenerating data recorded in the storage medium, and regeneration system for regenerating data recorded in the storage medium via network |
-
1998
- 1998-03-03 JP JP10066038A patent/JPH11252471A/en active Pending
-
1999
- 1999-03-02 DE DE69934531T patent/DE69934531T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1999-03-02 EP EP99104176A patent/EP0940985B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1999-03-02 US US09/260,063 patent/US6714722B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1999-03-03 KR KR1019990006884A patent/KR100304805B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1999-03-03 CN CNB991025482A patent/CN1152560C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1999-03-03 AU AU18555/99A patent/AU731514B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1999-06-15 TW TW088110023A patent/TW417400B/en not_active IP Right Cessation
-
2003
- 2003-10-15 US US10/684,488 patent/US20040090978A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2003-10-15 US US10/684,643 patent/US20040081426A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2003-10-15 US US10/684,516 patent/US7471876B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (21)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4787063A (en) * | 1984-10-19 | 1988-11-22 | Francis Muguet | Acquisition and transmission system for a recorder and a computer center |
US5253066A (en) * | 1989-06-01 | 1993-10-12 | Vogel Peter S | TV recording and viewing control system |
US5253066C1 (en) * | 1989-06-01 | 2001-05-22 | United Video Properties Inc | Tv recording and viewing control system |
US5745640A (en) * | 1990-01-21 | 1998-04-28 | Sony Corporation | AV data base for VTR |
US5361173A (en) * | 1990-01-21 | 1994-11-01 | Sony Corporation | Devices for controlling recording and/or reproducing apparatus utilizing recorded management data and interactive information input apparatus for an electronic device |
US5488409A (en) * | 1991-08-19 | 1996-01-30 | Yuen; Henry C. | Apparatus and method for tracking the playing of VCR programs |
US5592551A (en) * | 1992-12-01 | 1997-01-07 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Method and apparatus for providing interactive electronic programming guide |
US5543929A (en) * | 1993-01-05 | 1996-08-06 | E. Guide, Inc. | Television for controlling a video cassette recorder to access programs on a video cassette tape |
US5475835A (en) * | 1993-03-02 | 1995-12-12 | Research Design & Marketing Inc. | Audio-visual inventory and play-back control system |
US5541738A (en) * | 1994-04-12 | 1996-07-30 | E. Guide, Inc. | Electronic program guide |
US6266814B1 (en) * | 1995-04-06 | 2001-07-24 | United Video Properties, Inc. | Methods and systems for presenting program schedule information corresponding to a day selection |
US5721829A (en) * | 1995-05-05 | 1998-02-24 | Microsoft Corporation | System for automatic pause/resume of content delivered on a channel in response to switching to and from that channel and resuming so that a portion of the content is repeated |
US5861906A (en) * | 1995-05-05 | 1999-01-19 | Microsoft Corporation | Interactive entertainment network system and method for customizing operation thereof according to viewer preferences |
US5852478A (en) * | 1995-05-12 | 1998-12-22 | Gemstar Development Corporation | Vps compatible apparatus and method for selection of correct IR code sets |
US5682206A (en) * | 1995-09-25 | 1997-10-28 | Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. | Consumer interface for programming device |
US6195501B1 (en) * | 1996-03-28 | 2001-02-27 | Intel Corporation | Computer control of a video cassette recorder using wireless communication and a vertical blanking interval triggering |
US5909212A (en) * | 1996-07-26 | 1999-06-01 | Sony Corporation | Apparatus and method for controlling display of electrical program guide |
US6412110B1 (en) * | 1996-08-06 | 2002-06-25 | Starsight Telecast, Inc. | Electronic program guide with interactive areas |
US6366731B1 (en) * | 1997-04-14 | 2002-04-02 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Digital broadcast receiving/recording apparatus and method |
US6160545A (en) * | 1997-10-24 | 2000-12-12 | General Instrument Corporation | Multi-regional interactive program guide for television |
US6714722B1 (en) * | 1998-03-03 | 2004-03-30 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Multimedia recorder with enhanced EPG-related functions |
Cited By (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8418203B1 (en) * | 1999-08-19 | 2013-04-09 | Sony Corporation | Transmission method and receiving device of program guide information including a control signal |
US20010038694A1 (en) * | 2000-02-03 | 2001-11-08 | Sony Corporation | Data recording method and apparatus, data reproducing method and apparatus, and data recording and/or reproducing system |
US7492895B2 (en) * | 2000-02-03 | 2009-02-17 | Sony Corporation | Data recording method and apparatus, data reproducing method and apparatus, and data recording and/or reproducing system |
US20050259534A1 (en) * | 2004-05-21 | 2005-11-24 | Funai Electric Co., Ltd. | Changer type disc apparatus |
US20070047125A1 (en) * | 2005-08-22 | 2007-03-01 | Funai Electric Co., Ltd. | Hard disk recorder |
US20070256100A1 (en) * | 2006-04-28 | 2007-11-01 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Device and method for receiving digital multimedia broadcasting |
US20110010740A1 (en) * | 2006-04-28 | 2011-01-13 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Device and method for receiving digital multimedia broadcasting |
US20090286469A1 (en) * | 2008-05-16 | 2009-11-19 | Yong Chan Jeong | Mobile terminal and method of controlling broadcast content purchase therein |
US9497420B2 (en) | 2008-05-16 | 2016-11-15 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Mobile terminal and method of controlling broadcast content purchase therein |
CN102892043A (en) * | 2012-09-29 | 2013-01-23 | 中兴通讯股份有限公司 | Updating method of mobile television service guide, mobile television platform and terminal |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US7471876B2 (en) | 2008-12-30 |
DE69934531D1 (en) | 2007-02-08 |
EP0940985A2 (en) | 1999-09-08 |
EP0940985A3 (en) | 2003-11-26 |
US20040109675A1 (en) | 2004-06-10 |
CN1152560C (en) | 2004-06-02 |
US20040090978A1 (en) | 2004-05-13 |
EP0940985B1 (en) | 2006-12-27 |
CN1235473A (en) | 1999-11-17 |
JPH11252471A (en) | 1999-09-17 |
AU731514B2 (en) | 2001-03-29 |
KR100304805B1 (en) | 2001-09-26 |
AU1855599A (en) | 1999-09-16 |
KR19990077542A (en) | 1999-10-25 |
US6714722B1 (en) | 2004-03-30 |
TW417400B (en) | 2001-01-01 |
DE69934531T2 (en) | 2007-10-04 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US6714722B1 (en) | Multimedia recorder with enhanced EPG-related functions | |
US6311011B1 (en) | Device for recording video signals and device for displaying electronic program guide | |
EP1143721B1 (en) | Process for displaying broadcast and recorded transmissions possessing a common characteristic and associated receiver | |
US20090245759A1 (en) | Transmission and reception apparatus, receiver, and reproduction method | |
EP1706871B1 (en) | Recording apparatus, integrated circuit for recording apparatus, recording method, computer program, and recording medium which facilitates content recording | |
CN101572800B (en) | Program accumulation apparatus, program accumulation reservation method, and program | |
CN101151900A (en) | Method and arrangement for storing and playing TV programmes | |
US7715687B2 (en) | System and method of recording and recording apparatus | |
US7337459B1 (en) | Control method and control equipment | |
US7584483B2 (en) | Content-exhibition control apparatus and method | |
US20020019979A1 (en) | Video/audio information retrieving apparatus and method | |
KR100897496B1 (en) | Digital broadcasting receiver for reserving broadcasting program and method thereof | |
JP2000165335A (en) | Cm data reproduction device and recording medium | |
JP2002335463A (en) | Broadcast receiver | |
JPH0721619A (en) | Video recording management device | |
JP2000041211A (en) | Video recording controller broadcast station, broadcast reception system and medium | |
JP4372337B2 (en) | TV broadcast recording and redistribution system and TV broadcast recording and redistribution station | |
JP2001077771A (en) | Broadcasting receiver and program recording medium | |
JP2002140541A (en) | Contents data storage system and program | |
US8401374B2 (en) | Apparatus and method of managing data stored in a data storage unit to ensure a storage space | |
JP3989251B2 (en) | Broadcast receiver with recording device control function | |
US20050004946A1 (en) | Method for distributing contents | |
JP3679939B2 (en) | Reception recording apparatus and reception recording method | |
JP3904189B2 (en) | Program processing apparatus, program receiving apparatus, program processing program, program recording reservation reception method, and provision fee calculation method | |
JP4170136B2 (en) | Rental data deposit system |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: SOVEREIGN PEAK VENTURES, LLC, TEXAS Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:PANASONIC CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:047914/0675 Effective date: 20181012 |