Video recording/reproducing apparatus and method based on program information

• US 7,519,269 B2
• Filed: 07/27/2004
• Issued: 04/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tamura, Masafumi, Horiguchi, Takeo
• Primary Examiner(s): Harvey; David E
• Application Number:
  US10/899,170
• Publication Number:
  US 20050238317A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,722 Days
• Field of Search: 386/69, 386/83, 386/95, 725/53, 725/46, 725/60, 725/61, 709/231
• US Class Current: 386/248
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• 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 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

A video recording/reproducing apparatus comprises a receiver which receives a broadcast program, an acquiring unit which acquires program information of the broadcast program, a recording unit which records the broadcast program received by the receiver together with the program information acquired by the acquiring unit, a selector which selects a type of the program, and a searching unit which searches a latest program of the type selected by the selector based on the program information acquired by the acquiring unit and the program information recorded by the recording unit.

Claims

1. A video recording/reproducing apparatus comprising:

a receiver which receives broadcast programs;

an acquiring unit which acquires program information of the broadcast programs, the program information including category information of the broadcast programs;

a recording unit which records broadcast programs received by the receiver together with the program information acquired by the acquiring unit;

a selector which selects a category of the broadcast programs;

a searching unit which searches for a latest program of the category selected by the selector based on the program information currently acquired by the acquiring unit and the program information previously recorded by the recording unit;

a video reproducing unit which reproduces the latest program of the category selected; and

an erase unit which erases an old broadcast program recorded by the recording unit having a same title as that of the latest program at one of a recording time, a play-back time of the recorded program, and a watching time of the broadcast programs.

2. The video recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring unit acquires the program information via Internet.

3. The video recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring unit receives the program information together with the broadcast programs.

4. The video recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the category includes drama, sports, music, cooking, weather forecasting, animation, quiz, news, documentary, and movies.

5. A video recording/reproducing apparatus comprising:

a receiver which receives broadcast programs;

an acquiring unit which acquires program information of the broadcast programs, program information including category information of the broadcast programs;

a recording unit which records the broadcast programs received by the receiver together with the program information acquired by the acquiring unit;

a selector which selects a category of the broadcast programs;

a display unit which displays a list of program information of the selected category, the broadcast programs including at least one of a first program recorded by the recording unit and a second program being broadcasted, together with a recording state or a reproducing state of broadcast programs;

a video reproducing unit which reproduces a selected one of the first program and the second program; and

an erase unit which erases an old broadcast program recorded by the recording unit having a same title at a recording time, a play-back time of the recorded program, or a watching time of the broadcast programs such that the list of program information displayed by the display unit includes program information of a latest program of programs having the same title.

6. The video recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the acquiring unit acquires the program information via Internet.

7. The video recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the acquiring unit receives the program information together with the broadcast programs.

8. The video recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the recording state includes recorded, recording, and broadcast states.

9. The video recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the reproducing state includes non-watched, watching, and watched states.

10. The video recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display unit displays the list of program information in order from new information.

11. The video recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a program selector which selects one of the program information displayed by the display unit; and

a starting unit which starts reproducing a program corresponding to the program information selected by the program selector.

12. A video recording/reproducing method comprising:

receiving broadcast programs;

acquiring program information of the broadcast programs, the program information including category information of the broadcast programs;

recording the received broadcast programs together with the acquired program information;

displaying mode information of the broadcast programs to allow an user to select one of the-types a favorite mode and a category mode of the broadcast programs;

selecting a category mode and a category of the broadcast programs;

searching for programs of the selected category based on the program information currently acquired by the acquiring unit and the recorded program information previously recorded by the recording unit;

displaying a list of program information of the searched programs of the selected category, the searched programs including at least one of a first program recorded by the recording unit and a second program being broadcasted;

reproducing a selected one of the first program and the second program; and

erasing an old broadcast program which has been recorded and has a same title at a recording time, a play-back time of the recorded program, or a watching time of the broadcast programs such that the list of program information includes program information of a latest program of programs having the same title.