Patent ID: 7814406
Filing Date: 2010-10-12
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A display apparatus for displaying information in a program table, the program table including pieces of program information, each of the pieces of program information being specified by a time slot and a channel, said display apparatus comprising: a program table accumulation unit in which a program table including information of already broadcast programs is accumulated in a past program table; a first priority decision unit operable to decide a priority for displaying each of the pieces of program information in the program table by (i) comparing (a) the past program table having the information of the already broadcast programs accumulated in said program table accumulation unit, with (b) a future program table having information of programs to be broadcast in the future, (ii) judging whether or not there is a change between (a) the past program table having the information of the already broadcast programs and (b) the future program table having the information of the programs to be broadcast in the future, the change corresponding to a difference in information in a time slot and channel common to both the past program table and the future program table, and (iii) deciding a high priority for a piece of program information in the program table specified by the time slot and channel having the change; a time-slot-and-channel decision unit operable to decide, from among the time slots and the channels that specify the pieces of program information in the program table, a time slot and a channel which include a high-priority piece of program information decided by said first priority decision unit; a table display unit operable to create and display a displayed part of the program table which includes an area having the high-priority piece of program information specified by the decided time slot and channel; and an information obtainment unit operable to obtain communication information via a communication network, wherein said table display unit is further operable to display the obtained communication information on an area of the program table having a low-priority piece of program information, from among pieces of program information in the displayed part of the program table.