Television receiving method and television receiver

• US 7,061,542 B1
• Filed: 10/20/2000
• Issued: 06/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ikeguchi, Yasuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Yenke, Brian P.
• Application Number:
  US09/691,909
• Time in Patent Office: 2,062 Days
• Field of Search: 348/558, 348/555, 348/556, 348569-570, 348/584, 348/721, 348725-729, 348731-733, 455/67.11, 455/67.13, 375/317
• US Class Current: 348/558
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42638 involving a hybrid front-end, e.g. analog and digital tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/46 for receiving on more than one standard at will deflecting circuits of multi-standard receivers H04N3/27

Abstract

A receiving section for digital television broadcasting and a receiving section for analog television broadcasting are provided. When a digital television broadcasting program is selected, it is judged whether or not an analog television broadcasting program having the same contents as those of the selected digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast. In a case where the analog television broadcasting program having the same contents as those of the selected digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast, when the digital television broadcasting program cannot be received, the analog television broadcasting program having the same contents as those of the selected digital television broadcasting program is received and outputted.

Claims

1. A television receiver comprising:

a receiving section for digital television broadcasting;

a receiving section for analog television broadcasting;

switching means for switching an output of the receiving section for digital television broadcasting and an output of the receiving section for analog television broadcasting;

a storage device, in which channel map information has previously been stored at the time of shipment from a factory, the channel map information indicating correspondence between and arbitrary channel of digital television broadcasting and a channel of analog television broadcasting on which a program having the same contents as those of a program on the arbitrary digital channel is being broadcast;

first judging means for causing, when a digital television broadcasting program is selected, the receiving section for digital television broadcasting to receive the selected digital television broadcasting program, then controlling the switching means so as to select the output of the receiving section for digital television broadcasting, and judging whether or not an analog television broadcasting program having the same contents as those of the selected digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast based on the channel map information;

means for causing, when the first judging means determines that the analog television broadcasting program having the same contents as those of the selected digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast, the receiving section for analog television broadcasting to receive the analog television broadcasting program having the same contents as those of the selected digital television broadcasting program;

second judging means for judging whether the received analog television broadcasting program is the same program as the currently received digital television broadcasting program based on a degree of correlation of video signals between the digital and analog television broadcasting programs;

channel searching means for switching, when the second judging means determines that the received analog television broadcasting program is not the same program as the currently received digital television broadcasting program, the channel on which the analog television broadcasting program is being broadcast, and then searching a channel on which an analog counterpart of the currently received digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast by judging whether a received analog television broadcasting program is the same program as the currently received digital television broadcasting program on the basis of a degree of correlation of video signals between the received analog television broadcasting program and the currently received digital television broadcasting program;

means for causing, when a channel on which an analog counterpart of the currently received digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast is located by the channel searching means, the receiving section for analog television broadcasting to continue receiving the analog counterpart, while updating the channel map information to indicate the channel identified by the channel searching means as the corresponding analog channel on which the same program as the currently received digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast; and

means for controlling, in a case where the analog television broadcasting program having the same contents as those of the selected digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast, the switching means so as to select the output of the receiving section for analog television broadcasting when the digital television broadcasting cannot be received.

2. A television receiver comprising:

a receiving section for digital television broadcasting;

a receiving section for analog television broadcasting;

switching means for switching an output of the receiving section for digital television broadcasting and an output of the receiving section for analog television broadcasting;

a storage device, in which channel map information has previously been stored at the time of shipment from a factory, the channel map information indicating correspondence between and arbitrary channel of digital television broadcasting and a channel of analog television broadcasting on which a program having the same contents as those of a program on the arbitrary digital channel is being broadcast;

first judging means for causing, when a digital television broadcasting program is selected, the receiving section for digital television broadcasting to receive the selected digital television broadcasting program, then controlling the switching means so as to select the output of the receiving section for digital television broadcasting, and judging whether or not an analog television broadcasting program having the same contents as those of the selected digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast based on the channel map information;

means for causing, when the first judging means determines that the analog television broadcasting program having the same contents as those of the selected digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast, the receiving section for analog television broadcasting to receive the analog television broadcasting program having the same contents as those of the selected digital television broadcasting program;

second judging means for judging whether the received analog television broadcasting program is the same program as the currently received digital television broadcasting program based on a degree of correlation of audio signals between the digital and analog television broadcasting programs;

channel searching means for switching, when the second judging means determines that the received analog television broadcasting program is not the same program as the currently received digital television broadcasting program, the channel on which the analog television broadcasting program is being broadcast, and then searching a channel on which an analog counterpart of the currently received digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast by judging whether a received analog television broadcasting program is the same program as the currently received digital television broadcasting program on the basis of a degree of correlation of audio signals between the received analog television broadcasting program and the currently received digital television broadcasting program;

means for causing, when a channel on which an analog counterpart of the currently received digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast is located by the channel searching means, the receiving section for analog television broadcasting to continue receiving the analog counterpart, while updating the channel map information to indicate the channel identified by the channel searching means as the corresponding analog channel on which the same program as the currently received digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast; and

means for controlling, in a case where the analog television broadcasting program having the same contents as those of the selected digital television broadcasting program is being broadcast, the switching means so as to select the output of the receiving section for analog television broadcasting when the digital television broadcasting cannot be received.