Receiver and decoding method of broadcast receiver

• US 20080077969A1
• Filed: 09/26/2007
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Okada, Koji, Fukushima, Michihiro
• Application Number:
  US11/902,854
• Publication Number:
  US 20080077969A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/151
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4384 involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44 Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing a video clip retrieved from local storage with an incoming video stream or rendering scenes according to encoded video stream scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a broadcast receiver includes an operating section which outputs an operation signal of a channel, a tuner section which receives a digital broadcast signal of a specified channel and outputs a video/audio signal, a switch which receives the video/audio signal from the tuner section and outputs the signal to a later tier according to a command signal, a decoder section which decodes and reproduces the video/audio signal from the switch, and a controller which, when an operation signal for switching a first channel to a second channel is given from the operating section, turns off the switch at a first timing of the channel switching, changes the channel of the tuner section into the second channel, and turns on the switch at a second timing elapsed by a predetermined time from the first timing.

Claims

1. A broadcast receiver comprising:

an operating section which outputs an operation signal of a channel;

a tuner section which receives a digital broadcast signal of a specified channel and outputs a video/audio signal;

a switch which receives the video/audio signal from the tuner section and outputs the signal to a later tier according to a command signal;

a decoder section which decodes and reproduces the video/audio signal from the switch; and

a controller which, when an operation signal for switching a first channel to a second channel is given from the operating section, turns off the switch at a first timing of the channel switching, changes the channel of the tuner section into the second channel, and turns on the switch at a second timing elapsed by a predetermined time from the first timing.

2. The broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein the controller turns off the decoder section at the second timing, turns on the switch, and then turns on the decoder section.

3. The broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time between the first timing and the second timing is a period during which, even after the channel of the tuner section is changed, an image of the channel before the change is output as an output of the decoder section.

4. The broadcast receiver according to claim 1, further comprising a processing section which displays or records a decoding signal from the decoder section.

5. A broadcast receiver comprising:

an operating section which outputs an operation signal of a channel;

a tuner section which receives a digital broadcast signal of a specified channel and outputs a video/audio signal;

a first switch which receives the video/audio signal from the tuner section and outputs the signal to a later tier according to a command signal;

a first decoder section which decodes and reproduces the video/audio signal from the first switch;

a second switch which receives the video/audio signal from the tuner section and outputs the signal to a later tier according to a command signal;

a second decoder section which decodes and reproduces the video/audio signal from the second switch;

a selector section which receives reproducing signals from the first and second decoders and outputs one of the signals; and

a controller which controls the channel of the tuner section, the first switch, the second switch, the first decoder, the second decoder and the selector section so as to output a video/audio signal according to the channel operation signal from the operating section.

6. The broadcast receiver according to claim 5, wherein

when an operation signal for switching a first channel to a second channel is given from the operating section, the controller changes the channel of the tuner section into the second channel at a first timing of channel switching, and

the controller makes a control so that the first decoder is used only for a video/audio signal of the first channel, and the second decoder is used only for a video/audio signal of the second channel.

7. The broadcast receiver according to claim 5, wherein

when an operation signal for switching a first channel to a second channel is given from the operating section, the controller changes the channel of the tuner section into the second channel at a first timing of channel switching, and

the controller makes a control so that one of said plurality of decoders is used only for displaying a video/audio signal remaining in a buffer connected to the decoder, and the other decoder is used for displaying a video/audio signal of the first channel before the channel switching and displaying a video/audio signal of the second channel.

8. A decoding method in a broadcast receiver having an operating section which outputs an operation signal of a channel, a tuner section which receives a digital broadcast signal of a specified channel and outputs a video/audio signal, a switch which receives the video/audio signal from the tuner section and outputs the signal to a later tier according to a command signal, and a decoder section which decodes and reproduces the video/audio signal from the switch, the method comprising:

when an operation signal for switching a first channel to a second channel is given from the operating section, turning off the switch at a first timing of the channel switching;

changing the channel of the tuner section into the second channel; and

turning on the switch at a second timing elapsed by a predetermined time from the first timing so as to decode the video/audio signal.

9. The decoding method according to claim 8, wherein the decoder section is turned off at the second timing, the switch is turned on, and then the decoder section is turned on.

10. The decoding method according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined time between the first timing and the second time is a period during which, even after the channel of the tuner section is changed, an image of the channel before the change is output as an output of the decoder section.