Patent ID: 7523476
Filing Date: 2009-04-21
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A digital/analogue TV receiver having a function for displaying an electric program guide (EPG) screen comprising: a receiver receiving advanced television systems committee (ATSC) broadcasting signals of a physical channel that includes image information of a plurality of TV programs with virtual channel table (VCT) information showing relations between channels for the TV programs and source IDs which are added to respective of the channels, and event information table (EIT) information showing relations between TV program information of respective TV programs and the source IDs; a decoder reproducing image signals of the TV programs from the ATSC broadcasting signals received by the receiver, outputting the image signals to a display apparatus which is connected to the TV receiver, and extracting the VCT information and the EIT information from the ATSC broadcasting signals; a memory storing a channel map which memorizes the TV program information that includes EIT information and VCT information for the received physical channel and at least one other physical channel; a controller renewing the channel map stored in the memory using the EIT information and the VCT information extracted by the decoder for the received physical channel, forming an EPG screen including at least the channels and the TV program information of respective of the TV programs of the received physical channel and at least one other physical channel based on the TV program information memorized in the channel map, and displays the EPG screen on the display apparatus; and an operation device used for selecting a TV program to be seen, for displaying the selected TV program on the display apparatus, and for displaying the EPG screen on the display apparatus, wherein the channel map has a plurality of memory areas corresponding to the channels; the controller renews the channel map stored in the memory by allocating the source IDs to the memory areas using the EIT information and the VCT information, and memorizing the TV program information obtained from the EIT information in the memory areas to which the source IDs corresponding to the TV program information are allocated, when a source ID obtained from the EIT information is also obtained from the VCT information, and when the source ID is not allocated to any area of the memory areas, the controller allocates the source ID to an area of the memory areas corresponding to a channel obtained from the VCT information; when a source ID obtained from the EIT information is also obtained from the VCT information, and when the source ID is allocated to an area of the memory areas which is not corresponding to a channel obtained from the VCT information, the controller re-allocates the source ID to an area of the memory areas corresponding to the channel obtained from the VCT information; and when a source ID obtained from the EIT information cannot be obtained from the VCT information, and when the source ID is not allocated to any area of the memory areas, the controller allocates the source ID to an area corresponding to a channel having the smallest number among the channels to which no source ID is allocated.