Method of acquiring program guide information, program guide method appropriate for the same, and program guide apparatus

• US 8,347,331 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2010
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Ju-ha
• Primary Examiner(s): HANCE, ROBERT J
• Application Number:
  US12/822,878
• Publication Number:
  US 20100257558A1
• Time in Patent Office: 922 Days
• Field of Search: 725/39
• US Class Current: 725/39
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/18 Arrangements characterised by circuits or components specially adapted for receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4823 using a channel name

Abstract

A method of acquiring program guide information for a digital television receiver, and program guide method, are provided. A method of channel searching for a digital television receiver, comprising: receiving a digital television transport stream (TS) which includes audio, video, and program information; extracting the program information from the received TS; storing the extracted program information in a storage; accessing the storage to generate a channel list based on the stored program information, wherein the channel list comprises at least one channel number and the at least one channel number comprises at least one main channel number; and navigating the channel list to search a channel number, wherein when the at least the one main channel number has at least one corresponding sub-channel number, the sub-channel number can be listed after the at least one main channel number.

Claims

1. A method of channel searching, comprising:

extracting additional information from a transport stream for audio and video information, with the additional information including Program Specific Information (PSI) table data conforming with an MPEG standard and information transmitted according to an advanced television standard committee (ATSC) standard;

generating a channel list based on the additional information, where the channel list is made up of one or more grouped plural channel numbers, such that each channel number of a respective grouping of channel numbers is identified by a two-part channel number having a same main channel number, as a first numeral part of each two-part channel number, and one or more distinct respective sub-channel numbers, as respective second numeral parts of each two-part channel number, and where each of the one or more grouped plural channel numbers are represented by two-part channel numbers having respectively different main channel numbers; and

providing a user interface to allow a user to navigate the channel list to search a two-part channel number,

wherein the generating of the channel list comprises incrementally providing program information from the additional information through the user interface by respectively updating the channel list as different program information for different two-part channel numbers is obtained from the transport stream, including respectively incrementally providing respective program information based upon determined proximities between one or more two-part channel numbers in a first channel list and additional two-part channel numbers whose program information is to be subsequently provided through the user interface with the one or more two-part channel numbers in the first channel list upon an updating of the first channel list.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a listing sequence can be determined based on proximity between main channel numbers to allow a main channel number to be listed with at least one upper numerically close main channel number or at least one lower numerically close main channel number.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the two-part channel numbers are displayed in the channel list such that a sub-channel number is displayed after a respective main channel number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transport stream includes the audio, video, and additional information for each of plural programs included in the transport stream, with the additional information including respective program specific information (PSI) tables, conforming with the MPEG standard, and respective program guide information of the plural programs, and

wherein the extracting includes separately extracting the respective program guide information from the received transport stream.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a sequence of acquiring up to date program information from the transport stream for the displayed channel list for respective channel groupings is determined based on respective channel number proximities between two-part channel numbers of a current channel grouping and respective two-part channel numbers of channel groupings to be displayed above and/or below the two-part channel numbers of the current channel grouping.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the sequence of displaying the up to date program information in the channel list for respective channel groupings is determined based on proximity between two-part channel numbers to allow up to date first program guide information of the current channel grouping to be displayed along with at least up to date second program guide information of a proximally related upper close grouping of related two-part channel numbers and/or at least up to date third program guide information of a proximally related lower close grouping of related two-part channel numbers, such that the acquiring of the up to date second and/or third program guide information for availability in the displaying of the up to date program guide information in the channel list occurs prior to acquiring up-to-date program guide information of channel groupings corresponding to two-part channel numbers of greater distances from the selected current first two-part channel number than the respective related two-part channel numbers of the upper close grouping or the lower close grouping.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a program according to the MPEG standard is distinguished from a predetermined corresponding two-part channel number and either of the first and second parts of the predetermined corresponding two-part channel number.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the generating of the channel list, the first channel list is generated based on first program information for a first two-part channel number obtained from the transport stream and other displayable channel lists are generated as respective program information for other two-part channel numbers is obtained from the transport stream so respective channel lists can be sequentially displayed, along with the first program information, based upon prioritized sequencing of the obtaining of the respective program information, with the prioritization being based upon determined proximities between the first two-part channel number and the other two-part channel numbers, respectively.

9. A method of channel searching, comprising:

converting an IF signal from a tuner of the-a receiver into a baseband signal;

channel decoding the baseband signal to reconstruct a transport stream which includes audio, video, and additional information;

extracting the additional information from the reconstructed transport stream, with the additional information including Program Specific Information (PSI) table data conforming with an MPEG standard and information transmitted according to an advanced television standard committee (ATSC) standard;

storing the extracted additional information in a storage; and

accessing the storage to generate a channel list based on the stored additional information, where the channel list is made up of one or more grouped plural channel numbers, such that each channel number of a respective grouping of channel numbers is identified by a two-part channel number having a same main channel number, as a first numeral part of each two-part channel number, and one or more distinct respective sub-channel numbers, as respective second numeral parts of each two-part channel number, and where each of the one or more grouped plural channel numbers are represented by two-part channel numbers having respectively different main channel numbers; and

providing a user interface to allow a user to navigate the channel list to search a two-part channel number,

wherein the generating of the channel list comprises incrementally providing program information from the additional information through the user interface by respectively updating the channel list as different program information for different two-part channel numbers is obtained from the transport stream, including respectively incrementally providing respective program information based upon determined proximities between one or more two-part channel numbers in a first channel list and additional two-part channel numbers whose program information is to be subsequently provided through the user interface with the one or more two-part channel numbers in the first channel list upon an updating of the first channel list.

10. A method of channel searching comprising:

receiving a digital television transport stream which includes audio, video, and additional information;

extracting the additional information from the received transport stream, with the additional information including Program Specific Information (PSI) table data conforming with an MPEG standard and information transmitted according to an advanced television standard committee (ATSC) standard;

storing the extracted additional information in a storage;

accessing the storage to generate a channel list based on the stored additional information, where the channel list is made up of one or more grouped plural channel numbers, such that each channel number of a respective grouping of channel numbers is identified by a two-part channel number having a same main channel number, as a first numeral part of each two-part channel number, and one or more distinct respective sub-channel numbers, as respective second numeral parts of each two-part channel number, and where each of the one or more grouped plural channel numbers are represented by two-part channel numbers having respectively different main channel numbers; and

providing a user interface to allow a user to navigate the channel list to search a two-part channel number,

wherein the generating of the channel list comprises incrementally providing program information from the additional information through the user interface by respectively updating the channel list as different program information for different two-part channel numbers is obtained from the transport stream, including respectively incrementally providing respective program information based upon determined proximities between one or more two-part channel numbers in a first channel list and additional two-part channel numbers whose program information is to be subsequently provided through the user interface with the one or more two-part channel numbers in the first channel list upon an updating of the first channel list.