Method and apparatus for displaying channel information and selecting channel on digital television
A method for displaying channel information on a digital TV. Channel information which can know the number of programs or program numbers received through a currently selected major channel is displayed. As channel information, a major channel number and minor channel numbers are displayed. If a channel up or down key is pressed, a viewing program is selected and corresponding channel information is displayed on a TV screen.
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This application is a U.S. continuation application filed under 35 USC 1.53(b) claiming priority benefit of U.S. Ser. No. 09/179,872 filed in the United States on Oct. 28, 1998, the disclosure of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital television (TV), and more particularly, to a method for displaying channel information on a TV screen so as to select a channel.
2. Description of the Related Art
An analog TV broadcasting system, an NTSC (National Television System Committee) broadcasting system for example, can broadcast only one program with respect to frequency band of one determined RF (Radio Frequency) channel. On the other hand, a digital TV broadcasting system has more RF channels than the analog TV broadcasting system. In addition, it is possible to transmit a plurality of programs in a limited transmission bandwidth of one RF channel. For example, SDTV (Standard Definition Television) programs, such as analog TV broadcasting programs, may be simultaneously broadcast for a specific period of time through an RF channel, and an HDTV (High Definition Television) program may be broadcast for another period of time through an RF channel. The U.S. ATSC (Advanced Television System Committee) standard shows such an example. A channel through which a plurality of programs are broadcast by one physical channel, that is, an RF channel, is called a “major channel”, and a channel of each program broadcast through such a major channel is called a “minor channel”.
Since the digital TV broadcasting system can broadcast a plurality of programs through one major channel, it is necessary to display program guide information on a TV screen so that a user may select one of these programs. For this, the ATSC standard specifies an electronic program guide (EPG) to enable the user to select a desired program. A broadcasting station transmits EPG information with respect to each RF channel. The digital TV then receives and stores the EPG information and displays the EPG information on its screen in response to a demand from the user.
The user can be aware of the number of programs broadcast through one major channel by using the EPG information. For this, however, the user should additionally demand to display the EPG information. In the case where the user directly enters a channel number to select any one major channel, it is inconvenient to see how many programs are broadcast through the selected major channel or to select a program, in comparison with the analog TV broadcasting system. Furthermore, the user may feel confusion in selecting a channel because a broadcasting station broadcasts analog and digital TV broadcasting programs at the same time. Therefore, the digital TV broadcasting system should enable the user to easily be aware of the number of programs broadcast through a selected major channel and to easily select programs. However, in an analog TV, only RF channels 20 can be selected by using a remote control. That is, in a conventional channel selecting method, it is impossible to select a minor channel corresponding to a desired program among a plurality of minor channels broadcast through one major channel in digital TV broadcasting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to provide a channel information displaying method which can be easily aware of the number of programs broadcast through a selected major channel in a digital TV.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a channel information displaying and channel selecting method which can easily select programs broadcast through a selected major channel in a digital TV.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method for displaying channel information on a digital TV for receiving digital multichannel TV broadcasting includes the steps of: changing a current channel to a demanded major channel in response to a demand to change a major channel; and displaying, on a TV screen, minor channel numbers of programs received through a currently selected major channel.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method for displaying channel information on a digital TV for receiving digital multichannel TV broadcasting includes the steps of: selecting a radio frequency (RF) channel corresponding to a major channel number selected from a user; displaying one of programs of minor channels received through a currently selected major channel by the selected RF channel as a viewing program; and displaying minor channel numbers received through the major channel on a television screen.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, a method for displaying channel information on a digital TV for receiving digital multichannel TV broadcasting includes the steps of: displaying a channel select menu on a TV screen in response to a demand from a user, wherein the channel select menu includes a scroll bar window having a scroll bar moving area split into prescribed areas so as to cover all received channels and includes a channel window for displaying channel numbers of partial channels corresponding to a position of a scroll bar; determining if the scroll bar moves; and if the scroll bar moves, changing channel numbers on the channel window to channel numbers of channels corresponding to a position of the scroll bar.
A more complete appreciation of this invention, and many of the attendant advantages thereof; will be readily apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known functions or constructions which may obscure the invention in unnecessary detail are not described in detail.
The audio data is supplied to an audio decoder 110 where it is decoded according to the MPEG or Dolby AC-3 standard. The decoded audio data is processed by an audio processor/generator 112 and then sent as a voice through a speaker 114. Meanwhile, the video data is supplied to a video decoder 116 where it is decoded according to the MPEG standard. The decoded video data is mixed with on-screen graphic (OSG) data by an OSG mixer 118 under the control of the microprocessor 124. The mixed video data is processed by a video processor/generator 120 and then displayed on a TV screen through an image is receiving tube 122. The OSG data is for displaying various information on the screen by a graphic or text mode.
A keypad 130 and an infrared (IR) receiver 134 are connected through a user interface 128 to the microprocessor 124 which controls the overall operation of the HDTV. The microprocessor 124 executes a command supplied from the keypad 130 or from an IR remote 132 through the IR receiver 134, according to a program stored in a memory 126. The IR remote 132 may be a remote control or a pointing device such as an air mouse. The command supplied from the IR remote 132 is transmitted to the IR receiver 134 as an IR signal and then transmitted to the microprocessor 124 through the user interface 128. The supplementary data is also supplied to the microprocessor 124 from the TS decoder 108. The supplementary data includes channel related system information includes the number of major channels, the number of minor channels, and channel numbers of the major and minor channels, such as the above-described EPG information and/or PSI (Program Specific Information). The PSI is a table for program information specified in the MPEG standard.
To store a program of the microprocessor 124, the memory 126 includes a read only memory (ROM), or a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. The memory 126 also includes a volatile memory such as a random access memory (RAM) for temporarily storing data generated in the process of executing the program of the microprocessor 124, and includes an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory (EEPROM) for storing various reference data.
The tuner 102, IF module 104, channel decoder 106, TS decoder 108, audio decoder 110, audio processor/generator 112, video decoder 116, OSG mixer 118, video processor/generator 120, and memory 126 are connected to the microprocessor 124 through a bus 136.
Referring to
An example of displaying the major channel number and the minor channel numbers as the channel information is illustrated in
Therefore, if a channel is changed, the user can easily know program information broadcast through the major channel by seeing the minor channel numbers displayed on the screen as the channel information.
Referring back to
If the user presses a major channel number by using numeral keys on the keypad 130 or the IR remote 132, the microprocessor 124 checks this at step 400 and selects an RF channel of the major channel number by the tuner 102 at step 402. Then, an IF signal of the selected RF channel is generated by the tuner 102 and converted into a baseband signal by the IF module 104. The baseband signal is decoded and reproduced as a data bit stream by the channel decoder 106. The data bit stream is separated into audio data, video data, and supplementary data by the TS decoder 108.
At step 404, the microprocessor 124 obtains information about a major channel received through the selected RF channel and information about minor channels from the channel related system information contained in the supplementary data generated by the TS decoder 108, and displays one of programs received through a currently selected major channel as a viewing program. For example, a program of the lowest minor channel number is selected as the viewing program by controlling the TS decoder 108. Then the audio data and video data of the program selected as the viewing program are generated by the TS decoder 108. Therefore, a voice of the viewing program and an image thereof are sent through the speaker 114 and the image receiving tube 122, respectively. In this case, if only one program is received through the selected major channel, that program is selected as the viewing program.
The microprocessor 124 displays, at step 406, the major channel number and minor channel numbers received through the selected major channel on the screen by using the OSG mixer 118. In such a case, the minor channel numbers are displayed on a viewing program screen in order of number, together with the major channel number.
In
Therefore, if the user selects a major channel by entering a major channel number, he or she can easily know the number of programs or program numbers broadcast through the selected major channel by seeing minor channel numbers displayed on the screen as the channel information.
Referring back to
In more detail, if the channel up key is pressed at step 410 indicated in
On the other hand, if the channel down key is pressed at step 412, the microprocessor 124 determines, at step 420, if the minor channel number of the viewing program is the lowest number among the programs received through the selected major channel. If so, the microprocessor 124 displays, at step 422, a program of the highest minor channel number among the programs. Thereafter, the microprocessor 124 returns to step 406. For example, if the user presses the channel down key under the screen display state shown in
Therefore, the user checks the number of programs broadcast through a current major channel by the major channel number and the minor channel numbers displayed on the screen as the channel information and can easily select other programs by using the channel up or down key.
If the minor channel number of the viewing program is not the highest number among the programs received through the selected major channel at step 414, the microprocessor displays, at step 416, a program of a higher number adjacent to the minor channel number of the viewing program. If the minor channel number of the viewing program is the highest number, the microprocessor 124 selects, at step 426, the RF channel of the next major channel number of the current major channel by the tuner 102. Thereafter, the microprocessor 124 returns to step 404. For example, if the user presses the channel up key under the screen display state shown in
Any one of the programs of the next major channel number “40” may be displayed. In this instance, the program of the lowest minor channel number “40-1” is automatically displayed on the TV screen. Also, the next major channel number “40” and the minor channel numbers “40-2,” “40-3” and “40-4” along with the lowest minor channel number “40-1” are automatically displayed on the TV screen as illustrated in
If the minor channel number of the viewing program is not the lowest number among the programs received through the selected major channel at step 420, the microprocessor displays, at step 424, a program of a lower minor channel number adjacent to the minor channel number of the viewing program. If the minor channel number of the viewing program is the lowest number, the microprocessor 124 selects, at step 428, the RF channel of the previous major channel number of the current major channel by the tuner 102. Thereafter, the microprocessor 124 returns to step 404. For example, if the user presses the channel down key under the screen display state shown in
Any one of the programs of the previous major channel “11” may be displayed. In this instance, the program of the highest minor channel number “11-4” is automatically displayed on the TV screen. Also, the previous major channel number “11” and the minor channel numbers “11-1,” “11-2” and “11-3” along with the highest minor channel number “11-4” are automatically displayed on the TV screen as illustrated in
Therefore, the user checks the number of programs broadcast through a current major channel by the major channel number and the minor channel number and can easily select programs of the currently selected major channel or programs of other major channels by using the channel up or down key.
The microprocessor 124 determines, at step 500, if the user demands to display a channel select menu by using the keypad 130 or the IR remote 132. If so, the channel select menu generated through the OSG mixer 118 is displayed at step 502 on the screen 300 as shown in
The channel select menu indicated in
The scroll bar 608 moves by dragging the pointing device used as the IR remote 132. If the user clicks, by using the pointing device, a position where the scroll bar 608 is not situated, the scroll bar 608 also moves to the clicked position. If the user clicks the up or down button 604 or 606 by using the pointing device, the scroll bar 608 moves up or down by one channel unit.
Under the state that the channel select menu is displayed, if the user shifts the scroll bar 608 by using the pointing device, the microprocessor 124 responds to this at step 504 and displays channel numbers corresponding to the position of the shifted scroll bar 608 at step 506, Referring to
If the scroll bar 608 does not move at step 504 or after the corresponding channel numbers are displayed at step 506, the microprocessor 124 determines, at step 508, if any one of the channel numbers displayed on the channel window 600 is clicked by using the pointing device. If it is not clicked, the microprocessor 124 returns to step 504, and if it is clicked, the microprocessor 124 selects a channel of a channel number selected by the user at step 510.
Therefore, the user selects the channel range by shifting the scroll bar 608 and can accurately select any one of channel numbers selected by the scroll bar 608. Such a channel selecting method is more convenient than a method of selecting a channel directly and faster than a method of selecting a channel by using the channel up or down key.
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention should not be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated above. For example, the present invention may be applicable to all digital TVs in additional to the HDTV. In the second and third embodiments of the present invention, the user changes a major channel or a minor channel by using the channel up or down key However, the present invention may be applied to a method for displaying only the number of programs broadcast through a major channel. Similarly, in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to apply the present invention to a method for displaying only channel information. Therefore, the present invention should be understood as including all possible embodiments and modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A method for displaying channel information on a digital television for receiving digital multichannel television broadcasting, comprising:
- selecting a radio frequency (RF) channel corresponding to a major channel number selected by a user;
- displaying, as a viewing program, a program of a minor channel received through said selected RF channel corresponding to the major channel number selected by the user; and
- displaying minor channel numbers received through said major channel on the digital television.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said displaying a program displays, as said viewing program, a program of a lowest minor channel number among said minor channel numbers.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said minor channel numbers are arranged in a prescribed direction on the digital television.
4. The method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising changing said viewing program by selecting a corresponding minor channel in response to a channel up or down key being pressed.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said changing said viewing program comprises:
- if said channel up key is pressed, determining if the minor channel number of said viewing program is a highest number among said minor channel numbers;
- if the manor channel number of said viewing program is the highest number, displaying a program of a lowest minor channel number as said viewing program, and returning to said displaying minor channel numbers;
- if the minor channel number of said viewing program is not the highest number displaying a program of a higher number adjacent to the minor channel number of said viewing program, and returning to said displaying minor channel numbers;
- if a channel down key is pressed, determining if the minor channel number of said viewing program is the lowest number among said minor channel numbers;
- if the minor channel number of said viewing program is the lowest number, displaying a program of the highest minor channel number as said viewing program, and returning to said displaying minor channel numbers; and
- if the minor channel number of said viewing program is not the lowest number, displaying a program of a lower number adjacent to the minor channel dumber of said viewing program, and returning to said displaying minor channel numbers.
6. The method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising changing said viewing program by selecting a corresponding major channel and a corresponding minor channel whenever a channel up or down key is pressed.
7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said changing said viewing program comprises:
- if said channel up key is pressed, determining if the minor channel number
- of said viewing program is a highest number among said minor channel numbers;
- if the minor channel number of said viewing program is the highest number, selecting an RF channel of the next major channel number of said selected major channel, and returning to said displaying a program;
- if the minor channel number of said viewing program is not the highest number, displaying a program of a higher number adjacent to the minor channel number of said viewing program as said viewing program, and returning to said displaying minor channel numbers;
- if a channel down key is pressed, determining if the minor channel number of said viewing program is a lowest number among said minor channel numbers;
- if the minor channel number of said viewing program is the lowest number, selecting an RF channel of the previous major channel number of said selected major channel, and returning to said displaying one of minor channel; and
- if the minor channel number of said viewing program is not the lowest number, displaying a program of a lower number adjacent to the minor channel number of said viewing program as said viewing program, and returning to said displaying minor channel numbers.
8. A device for displaying channel information on a digital television for receiving digital multichannel television broadcasting, comprising:
- a selecting device to select a radio frequency channel corresponding to a major channel number selected by a user; and
- the digital television to display, as a viewing program, a program of a minor channel received through said selected RF channel corresponding to the major channel number selected by the user, and to display minor channel numbers received through said major channel and the major channel number separately from the corresponding minor channel numbers without any extensions,
- wherein the display displays the minor channel numbers and the major channel number simultaneously and displays in a format of X, X-1, X-2... X-n, wherein X is the major channel number, 1, 2... n are minor channel numbers, and n is the highest minor channel number.
9. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising displaying the program of the selected minor channel, wherein the programs of the non-selected minor channel are not displayed.
10. A method comprising:
- displaying a major channel number and a corresponding minor channel number of a currently received and displayed digital correspond program as received through the major channel.
11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the programs having the minor channel numbers are on a same RF band as the major channel.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 29, 2009
Publication Date: Jan 7, 2010
Applicant: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. (Suwon-si)
Inventors: Pan-Jin Kim (Kyonggi-do), Sik-Won Jeong (Kyonggi-do), Phil-Tae Kim (Seoul)
Application Number: 12/461,001
International Classification: H04N 5/50 (20060101);