CHANNEL SELECTION IN DIGITAL TELEVISION

• US 20030133050A1
• Filed: 09/27/1999
• Published: 07/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: KONDO, SHIGEHARU, SHINTANI, PETER RAE
• Granted Patent: US 6,661,472 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/734
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0008 using a central processing unit, e.g. a microprocessor digital tuning in general H03J5/0245
• 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 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control

Abstract

Methods and apparatus implementing a technique for selecting a channel in a digital television. In one implementation, selecting a channel includes: receiving a major and minor channel number sequence, including a major channel number, a delimiter, and a minor channel number, where the delimiter separates the major channel number and the minor channel number; identifying a physical channel which corresponds to the major and minor channel number sequence by accessing a channel look up table, where the channel look up table includes correspondences between major and minor channel number sequences and physical channels; identifying a virtual channel table which corresponds to the physical channel, where the virtual channel table indicates a virtual channel which corresponds to the major and minor channel number sequence; tuning to the physical channel to receive a signal carried on the physical channel; and decoding the virtual channel from the tuned signal.

Claims

1. An input device for selecting a channel in a digital television, comprising:

a keypad including a plurality of number keys for inputting respective numbers; and

a delimiter key for inputting a delimiter,

where a channel is indicated by a major and minor channel number sequence which includes a major channel number input through one or more number keys of the keypad, a delimiter input through the delimiter key, and a minor channel number input through one or more number keys of the keypad.

2. The input device of claim 1, where the delimiter is a dot.

3. The input device of claim 1, where the keypad includes at least one key which can be used to input a letter.

4. The input device of claim 1, further comprising an enter key.

5. The input device of claim 1, further comprising a channel command key for selecting a sequentially adjacent channel.

6. The input device of claim 1, further comprising a second keypad, where the first keypad is for inputting a major channel number and the second keypad is for inputting a minor channel number.

7. A digital television, comprising:

a display;

a tuner including a connection for an externally supplied broadcast signal, where the tuner provides a signal carried on a physical channel selected from the broadcast signal;

a channel control circuit which derives major and minor channel number sequences from received control signals, where a major and minor channel number sequence indicates a specific channel carried in the broadcast signal;

a channel processing circuit connected to the channel control circuit, the display, and the tuner, where the channel processing circuit causes the tuner to select a physical channel corresponding to the major and minor channel number sequence supplied by the channel control circuit and provide a digital signal carried thereon, decodes a channel indicated by the major and minor channel number sequence in the digital signal, and supplies the decoded channel to the display.

8. The digital television of claim 7, where the received control signals include a major channel number, a delimiter, and a minor channel number.

9. The digital television of claim 7, where the received control signals include a major channel number and a menu selection which indicates a minor channel number.

10. The digital television of claim 7, where the channel processing circuit comprises a channel look up table which indicates correspondences between major and minor channel number sequences and physical channels.

11. The digital television of claim 10, where the channel look up table further indicates correspondences between major and minor channel number sequences and channels encoded in digital signals carried in the broadcast signal.

12. The digital television of claim 10, further comprising an integrated keypad for inputting the received control signals.

13. The digital television of claim 10, further comprising an input device which includes a keypad for inputting the received control signals.

15. The method of claim 7, where the second physical channel is the same as the first physical channel.

16. The method of claim 7, further comprising inputting a completion command to complete selecting a channel.

17. The method of claim 7, further comprising transmitting the major channel number, the delimiter, and the minor channel number to a digital television.

18. The method of claim 17, where the major channel number, the delimiter, and the minor channel number are transmitted to the digital television together.

19. The method of claim 7, where the digital signal is a transport stream.

20. The method of claim 19, where a correspondence between the minor channel number and the channel is provided by a virtual channel table carried in the transport stream.

14. A method for selecting a channel in a digital television, comprising:

inputting a major channel number which indicates a first physical channel carried on a broadcast signal;

inputting a delimiter; and

inputting a minor channel number which indicates a channel encoded in a digital signal carried on a second physical channel, where the second physical channel is indicated by the combination of the major channel number and the minor channel number, and where the delimiter separates the major channel number from the minor channel number.

21. A method for selecting a channel in a digital television, comprising:

receiving a physical channel number sequence which indicates a physical channel which has a corresponding major channel number;

identifying the physical channel as analog or digital;

when the physical channel is digital, determining a major and minor channel number sequence by

displaying a menu listing one or more channels associated with the physical channel,

receiving a selection from the menu, where the selection corresponds to a channel which has a corresponding minor channel number, and

generating a major and minor channel number sequence from the major channel number corresponding to the physical channel and the minor channel number corresponding to the selection.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising tuning to the physical channel corresponding to the major and minor channel number sequence.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising, when the physical channel is analog, causing a tuner to tune to the physical channel to supply a signal carried on the physical channel to a display.

24. A method for selecting a channel in a digital television, comprising:

receiving a major and minor channel number sequence, including a major channel number, a delimiter, and a minor channel number, where the delimiter separates the major channel number and the minor channel number;

identifying a physical channel which corresponds to the major and minor channel number sequence by accessing a channel look up table, where the channel look up table includes correspondences between major and minor channel number sequences and physical channels;

identifying a virtual channel table which corresponds to the physical channel, where the virtual channel table indicates a virtual channel which corresponds to the major and minor channel number sequence.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

tuning to the physical channel to receive a signal carried on the physical channel; and

decoding the virtual channel from the tuned signal.

26. The method of claim 25, where the virtual channel table indicates one or more packet identifiers which correspond to the virtual channel, and decoding the virtual channel further comprises using the indicated packet identifiers.

27. The method of claim 24, where the major and minor channel number sequence is generated by deriving a major and minor channel number sequence corresponding to a sequentially adjacent channel relative to a currently decoded virtual channel.

28. The method of claim 24, where the major and minor channel number sequence is generated by deriving a major and minor channel number sequence corresponding to a sequentially adjacent channel relative to a currently tuned physical channel.

29. A method for selecting a channel in a digital television, comprising:

inputting a major channel number which indicates a frequency band; and

inputting a channel selection which, in combination with the major channel number, indicates a channel associated with the major channel number.

30. The method of claim 29, where inputting a channel selection comprises selecting a channel from a list displayed in a menu, where the menu lists one or more channels associated with the major channel number.

31. The method of claim 29, where inputting a channel selection comprises inputting a minor channel number.

32. The method of claim 31, where inputting a channel selection further comprises inputting a delimiter.

33. The method of claim 32, where the delimiter is a dot.

34. A system for selecting a channel in a digital television, comprising:

means for inputting a major channel number which indicates a first physical channel carried on a broadcast signal;

means for inputting a delimiter; and

means for inputting a minor channel number which indicates a channel encoded in a digital signal carried on a second physical channel, where the second physical channel is indicated by the combination of the major channel number and the minor channel number, and where the delimiter separates the major channel number from the minor channel number.

35. The method of claim 34, where the means for inputting a major channel number and the means for inputting a minor channel number are a keypad.

36. A system for selecting a channel in a digital television, comprising:

means for receiving a physical channel number sequence which indicates a physical channel which has a corresponding major channel number;

means for identifying the physical channel as analog or digital;

means for causing a tuner to tune to the physical channel to supply a signal carried on the physical channel to a display when the physical channel is analog;

means for determining a major and minor channel number sequence when the physical channel is digital, by

displaying a menu listing one or more channels associated with the physical channel,

receiving a selection from the menu, where the selection corresponds to a channel which has a corresponding minor channel number, and

generating a major and minor channel number sequence from the major channel number corresponding to the physical channel and the minor channel number corresponding to the selection.

37. A system for selecting a channel in a digital television, comprising:

means for receiving a major and minor channel number sequence, including a major channel number, a delimiter, and a minor channel number, where the delimiter separates the major channel number and the minor channel number;

means for identifying a physical channel which corresponds to the major and minor channel number sequence by accessing a channel look up table, where the channel look up table includes correspondences between major and minor channel number sequences and physical channels; and

means for identifying a virtual channel table which corresponds to the physical channel, where the virtual channel table indicates a virtual channel which corresponds to the major and minor channel number sequence.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising:

means for tuning to the physical channel to receive a signal carried on the physical channel; and

means for decoding the virtual channel from the tuned signal.

39. A system for selecting a channel in a digital television, comprising:

means for inputting a major channel number which indicates a frequency band; and

means for inputting a channel selection which, in combination with the major channel number, indicates a channel associated with the major channel number.