Terminal device for recording broadcast information and/or playing video and/audio data

• US 7,471,876 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2003
• Issued: 12/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sovereign Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tsukidate, Ryota
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller; John W
• Assistant Examiner(s): JONES, HEATHER RAE
• Application Number:
  US10/684,516
• Publication Number:
  US 20040109675A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,903 Days
• Field of Search: 386/1, 386/46, 386/83, 348/726, 348/731, 348/732, 725/38, 725/39, 725/44, 725/87, 360/15, 360/55, 360/60
• US Class Current: 386/291
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8352 involving content or source identification data, e.g. Unique Material Identifier [UMID]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

A terminal device for recording broadcast information including means to select a program to be recorded; first and second filter means for discerning program information relative to the program being recorded; and means to record related audio and video data relative to the selected recorded program and the location of that selected program on the recording medium.

Claims

1. A terminal device capable of recording broadcast information, comprising:

an operation unit that enables an operation to be input by a user;

an input unit that receives channel data of a channel including a selected program which the user has selected as a program to be recorded through the operation unit;

a first filter unit that selects, from the channel data, video and/or audio data for said selected program and program formation for the selected program;

a second filter unit that extracts, from the program information selected by the first filter unit, only a program information portion to be recorded other than the other portion of the program information which is not no longer necessary for recording;

an audio-visual data recording unit that records the video and audio data for the selected program;

a program information recording unit that records the extracted program information portion and location information indicative of a recording location of the recorded video and audio data for the selected program wherein the video data is associated with the audio data;

a program information displaying unit that displays the program information portion of the selected program recorded in the program information recording unit and another program information portion of another program already recorded in the program information recording unit;

a unit that prompts the user to select, from the displayed program information portions, one of the recorded programs for play; and

a unit, responsive to the user selecting the one of the recorded programs, for playing the selected recorded program to provide video and/or audio output,

wherein the program information displaying unit includes;

a unit, operative in case any recorded extracted program information portion includes a piece of information to which a valid period is assigned, that displays the any recorded extracted program information portion while excluding the piece of information if a current time is outside the valid period.

2. A terminal device capable of recording broadcast information, comprising:

an operation unit that enables an operation to be input by a user;

an input unit that receives channel data of a channel including a selected program which the user has selected as a program to be recorded through the operation unit;

a first filter unit that selects, from the channel data, video and/or audio data for said selected program and program information for the selected program;

a second filter unit that extracts, from the program information selected by the first filter unit, only a program information portion to be recorded other than the other portion of the program information which is not no longer necessary for recording;

an audio-visual data recording unit that records the video and audio data for the selected program; and

a program information recording unit that records the extracted program information portion and location information indicative of a recording location of the recorded video and audio data for the selected program wherein the video data is associated with the audio data,

wherein the program information recording unit includes;

a monitoring unit that monitors whether the extracted program information portion related to the selected program is adapted to change contents thereof during a broadcast period of the selected program; and

a changed contents recording unit, operative wherein the extracted program information portion related to the selected program being received has changed contents thereof at a certain time during the broadcast period, that records a start time of the selected program, the certain time and contents of the extracted program information portion during a period from the start time to the certain time, the recorded start time and the recorded certain time being expressed either in a relative time measured from the start time, or as a location on the recording media.

3. A terminal device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the program information recording unit further includes:

a last contents recording unit, responsive to detection of an end of the broadcast period, for recording the certain time, a time of the detection and contents of the extracted program information portion during a second period from the certain time to the time of the detection, and

wherein the recorded start time and the recorded certain time are expressed either in relative lime measured from the start time or as a location on a recording medium.

4. A terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the selected program comprises video and/or audio sub-channels,

wherein the changed contents relate to the video and/or audio sub-channels that constitute the selected program during the first period, and

wherein the last contents recording unit is adapted to record the certain time, the time of the detection and the video and/or audio sub-channels that constitute the selected program during the second period.

5. A terminal device as claimed in claim 4, further including:

a unit for enabling a user to select a desired video sub-channel and/or a desired audio sub-channel from the video and/or audio sub-channels that constitute a portion of the selected program that is being played or that is currently being played; and

a unit for playing at least the desired video sub-channel and/or the desired audio sub-channel.