Digital broadcast receiving and recording apparatus

• US 7,546,627 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2003
• Issued: 06/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kawai, Masanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Koenig; Andrew Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mendoza; Junior O
• Application Number:
  US10/625,006
• Publication Number:
  US 20040120693A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,148 Days
• Field of Search: 725/29, 725/56, 725/88, 725/89, 725/134, 725/142, 386/35, 386/46, 386/124, 386/83, 386/126, 455/151.2, 348/731, 348/732
• US Class Current: 725/142
• 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 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• 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 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums

Abstract

When an operation of starting a time shift recording is input, start a recording of a channel in viewing when the channel is set as a favorite channel. When the channel is not set as the favorite channel, recording is not started and waits for the channel to be switched again or for an input of a stop operation of the time shift recording. When a viewer performs a channel switching operation, it is checked whether or not the switched channel is set as the favorite channel. When the channel switching operation is not performed and the stopping of the time shift recording is not performed, the recording on a hard disk is subsequently made. When the stopping of the time shift recording is performed, the recording is stopped.

Claims

1. A digital broadcast receiving and recording apparatus comprising:

a receiving section adapted to receive a digital broadcast signal of a channel selected by a viewer;

a digital data generating section adapted to generate digital data from the digital broadcast signal;

a recording section adapted to record the digital data in a predetermined format and to sequentially output the recorded digital data;

a storage section adapted to store a favorite channel map indicating a favorite channel of the viewer; and

a control section adapted to control the recording section to start and stop recording the selected channel and to generate an EPG image of the favorite channel based on the favorite channel map,

wherein when the viewer selects one channel which is included in the favorite channel map as the selected channel, the control section controls the recording section to start recording the selected channel;

wherein when the viewer changes the selected channel to another channel which is not included in the favorite channel map while the recorder section records the one channel, the control section controls the recording section to stop recording the selected another channel; and

wherein when the another channel is not changed over a predetermined time while the recording section does not record the selected channel, the control section controls the recording section to restart recording the selected channel.

2. A digital broadcast receiving and recording apparatus comprising:

a receiving section adapted to receive a digital broadcast signal of a channel selected by a viewer;

a digital data generating section adapted to generate digital data from the digital broadcast signal;

a recording section adapted to record the digital data in a predetermined format and to sequentially output the recorded digital data;

a storage section adapted to store a favorite channel map indicating a favorite channel of the viewer; and

a control section adapted to control the recording section to start and stop recording the selected channel,

wherein when the viewer selects one channel which is included in the favorite channel map as the selected channel, the control section controls the recording section to start recording the selected channel;

wherein when the viewer changes the selected channel to another channel which is not included in the favorite channel map, while the recording section records the one channel, the control section controls the recording section to stop recording the selected another channel.

3. The digital broadcast receiving and recording apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control section controls the recording section to start recording the selected channel when the another channel is not changed over a predetermined time while the recording section does not record the selected channel.

4. The digital broadcast receiving and recording apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control section is adapted to generate an EPG image of the favorite channel based on the favorite channel map.

5. The digital broadcast receiving and recording apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising an output section adapted to convert the digital data into analog data and to output the analog data.

6. A digital broadcast receiving and recording apparatus comprising:

a receiving section adapted to receive a digital broadcast signal of a channel selected by a viewer;

a digital data generating section adapted to generate digital data from the digital broadcast signal;

a recording section adapted to perform a time shift recording in which the digital data generated from the digital broadcast signal of the channel currently selected by the viewer is recorded in a predetermined format and to sequentially output the recorded digital data;

a storage section adapted to store a favorite channel map indicating a favorite channel of the viewer; and

a control section adapted to control the receiving section, the digital data generating section, the recording section and the storage section,

wherein when the viewer issues an instruction to perform the time shift recording, the control section determines whether the channel currently selected by the viewer is included in the favorite channel map;

wherein the recording section records the digital data of the channel currently selected and sequentially outputs the recorded digital data when the selected channel is included in the favorite channel map;

wherein the recording section stops recording the digital data of the channel currently selected when the selected channel is not included in the favorite channel map;

wherein when the viewer issues an instruction to change the channel during the time shift recording, the control section determines whether the channel currently changed by the viewer is included in the favorite channel map;

wherein the recording section records the digital data of the channel currently changed and sequentially output the recorded digital data when the changed channel is included in the favorite channel map; and

wherein the recording section stops recording the digital data of the channel currently changed when the changed channel is not included in the favorite channel map.