Image display apparatus and methods for operating the same

• US 9,204,199 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2012
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Jeong, Woojin, Jang, Hoduk, Lee, Byungyoon, O, Yoehan, Lew, Jaeug, Hyun, Jinho, Han, Joonghee
• Primary Examiner(s): Featherstone, Mark D
• Application Number:
  US13/688,057
• Publication Number:
  US 20130145395A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,098 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/231 Content storage operation, e.g. caching movies for short term storage, replicating data over plural servers, prioritizing data for deletion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23418 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• 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 21/4345 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 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• 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 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4756 for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/654 Transmission by server directed to the client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control

Abstract

An image display apparatus, a server, and methods for operating the same are disclosed. The method for operating an image display apparatus includes displaying a broadcast program list listing a plurality of broadcast programs, receiving, upon selection of one of the plurality of broadcast programs, a broadcast signal of the selected broadcast program, and displaying the received broadcast program. The broadcast program list includes real-time viewer rating information, a thumbnail image, and a name for each of the plurality of broadcast programs.

Claims

1. A method for operating an image display apparatus, comprising:

displaying a broadcast program list listing a plurality of broadcast programs;

receiving, upon selection of one of the plurality of broadcast programs, a broadcast signal of the selected broadcast program;

displaying the received broadcast program, wherein the broadcast program list includes real-time viewer rating information, a thumbnail image, and a name for each of the plurality of broadcast programs;

extracting, in a presence of images representing a channel name or a program name in a plurality of images of a plurality of broadcast programs, the images representing the channel name or the program name from the plurality of images;

transmitting the extracted images to a server; and

receiving the real-time viewer rating information about the plurality of broadcast programs from the server.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reception of a broadcast signal comprises:

extracting, upon selection of the one of the plurality of broadcast programs, channel information about the selected broadcast program using a pre-stored channel map; and

receiving the broadcast signal of the selected broadcast program according to the extracted channel information.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving the broadcast program list from the server.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving detailed information about a displayed broadcast image of the broadcast program from the server; and

displaying the received detailed information.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether an image representing broadcasting information is included in the broadcast signal, when recording mode is set; and

storing broadcast content corresponding to the broadcast signal in the recording mode, in the presence of the image representing the broadcasting information in the broadcast signal.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

executing an application related to the broadcast program based on broadcast program information about the broadcast program, upon receipt of an application execution input; and

displaying the executed application.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

entering a fast mode of automatic channel scan mode;

scanning broadcast signals of a part of a plurality of channels available to the image display apparatus, wherein the image representing the channel name or the program name is extracted during the scanning broadcast signals of a part of a plurality of channels available to the image display;

determining channel number information and channel name information about the broadcast signal corresponding to partially scanned channels based on the extracted image;

transmitting the determined channel number information and channel name information corresponding to the partially scanned channels to the server;

receiving channel number information and channel name information about the plurality of channels including the partially scanned channels from the server; and

generating a channel map using at least one of the received channel number information or channel name information about the plurality of channels including the partially scanned channels.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast program list includes at least one of a broadcast program type item, a real time ranking item, a daily ranking item, a weekly ranking item, or a monthly ranking item.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reception of a broadcast signal comprises receiving the broadcast signal of the selected broadcast program from a set-top box.

10. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

entering a channel scan mode;

receiving a broadcast signal of a detected broadcast channel in the channel scan mode;

determining channel number information and channel name information about the broadcast channel based on the extracted images; and

storing the channel number information and the channel name information about the broadcast channel in the channel map.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

transmitting the channel number information and the channel name information to the server, in the absence of the images representing the channel name in the plurality of images of a plurality of broadcast images;

receiving channel map information from the server; and

updating the channel map using the received channel map information.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the determination of channel name information comprises determining a channel name of the broadcast channel by comparing the extracted images with a logo image representing a channel name pre-stored or received through a network.

13. A method for operating an image display apparatus, comprising:

displaying a broadcast program list listing a plurality of broadcast programs;

transmitting, upon selection of one of the plurality of broadcast programs, channel information about the selected broadcast program to a remote controller;

receiving a broadcast signal of the broadcast program corresponding to the channel information from a set-top box;

displaying the received broadcast program;

extracting, in a presence of images representing a channel name or a program name in a plurality of images of a plurality of broadcast programs, the images representing the channel name or the program name from the plurality of images;

transmitting the extracted images to a server; and

receiving the real-time viewer rating information about the plurality of broadcast programs from the server.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the broadcast program list includes real-time viewer rating information, a thumbnail image, and a name for each of the plurality of broadcast programs.

15. An image display apparatus comprising:

a network interface to exchange data with a server;

a display to display a broadcast program list listing a plurality of broadcast programs;

a broadcasting receiver to receive, upon selection of one of the plurality of broadcast programs, a broadcast signal of the selected broadcast program; and

a controller to control display of the received broadcast program,

wherein the broadcast program list includes real-time viewer rating information, a thumbnail image, and a name for each of the plurality of broadcast programs, and

wherein in a presence of images representing a channel name or a program name in a plurality of images of a plurality of broadcast programs, the controller extracts images representing the channel name or the program name from the plurality of images, transmits the extracted images to the server, and receives the real-time viewer rating information about the plurality of broadcast programs from the server.

16. The image display apparatus according to claim 15, wherein upon selection of the one of the plurality of broadcast programs, the controller extracts channel information about the selected broadcast program using a pre-stored channel map, and the broadcasting receiver receives the broadcast signal of the selected broadcast program according to the extracted channel information.

17. The image display apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a memory to store the channel map,

wherein the broadcasting receiver receives a broadcast signal of a detected broadcast channel in a channel scan mode, and in the presence of an image representing a channel name in a broadcast image of the broadcast signal, the controller determines channel number information and channel name information about the broadcast channel based on the extracted images, and stores the channel number information and the channel name information about the broadcast channel in the channel map.

18. The image display apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the network interface is configured to transmit the channel number information and the channel name information to the server, in the absence of the images representing the channel name in the plurality of images of a plurality of broadcast images and to receive channel map information from the server, and

wherein the controller updates the channel map using the received channel map information.