Abstract:
A broadcasting signal receiver and a method of controlling the broadcasting signal receiver having a user selection unit, the method including: determining whether a plurality of channels that correspond to a selected channel exist; determining whether the plurality of channels have the same contents if it is determined that the plurality of channels exist; selecting a first channel among the plurality of channels according to a priority if it is determined that the plurality of channels have the same contents; and determining whether the first channel provides a corresponding signal; and selecting a second channel among the plurality of channels according to the priority if it is determined that the first channel does not provide the corresponding signal.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0084683, filed on Sep. 12, 2005, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to a broadcasting signal receiver and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a broadcasting signal receiver and a control method thereof, which selects a particular channel when a plurality of analogous channels exist.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Terrestrial broadcasting is now provided in the form of analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting. Therefore, the same contents can be transmitted through both the analog and digital broadcasting forms. For example, contents of a broadcasting network can be shown through an analog channel number of 7 and a digital channel number of 7-1. When a user selects a numeral key of ‘7’ using a remote controller, it is unclear which one of the two channels is to be tuned and displayed.  
         [0006]     In a related art television (TV), a method of selecting a channel will be described with reference to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a flowchart showing a method of selecting a channel among analogous channels in the related art.  
         [0007]     At operation  100  when a user selects a certain channel, e.g., a channel number of  11  through a remote controller, at operation  101  the TV compares the contents of a digital channel number of 11-1 with the contents of an analog channel number of 11. At this time, in the case where only one of an analog or digital channel exists corresponding to the selected channel, the existing channel is immediately tuned and displayed.  
         [0008]     At operation  102 , the TV determines whether the contents of two channels are identical on the basis of program information such as a program name, a program time and the like. In the case where the two channels differ in their contents , at operation  103  the TV displays information about the contents of each channel option through an on screen display (OSD), thereby showing a user the program information corresponding to the currently selected channel. Then, a user can select a desired channel between the analog and digital channels by manipulating a key provided in the remote controller at operation  104 . According to the selection of a user, the TV is tuned to the selected channel and displays the contents of the tuned channel on its screen at operation  105 .  
         [0009]     On the other hand, in the case where the contents of the digital and analog channels are identical, the TV displays the contents of the digital channel at operation  106 . Herein, the TV processes in consideration of the picture qualities of the digital channel and the analog channel.  
         [0010]     However, the related art TV is set to unconditionally select the digital channel among analogous channels in the case where the contents of the analogous channels are identical. Thus, when the digital channel shows no image because the digital channel has a weak broadcasting signal or no broadcasting signal, it is impossible to change the digital channel into the analog channel in spite of repeated selection of the desired channel number even though the analog channel can show a user the corresponding broadcast.  
         [0011]     Further, there are various broadcasting modes such as a cable broadcasting mode, or a satellite broadcasting mode, in addition to the analog terrestrial broadcasting mode and the digital terrestrial broadcasting mode. However, the conventional TV does not consider the cable broadcasting and the satellite broadcasting mode instead of the terrestrial broadcasting with regard to the analogous channels. Therefore, even when the identical content is retransmitted though the same channel in the cable broadcasting or the satellite broadcasting, a problem relating to the priority of the channel selection arises.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     The present invention provides a broadcasting signal receiver and a control method thereof, in which a channel is selected based on a priority determined by which one of a plurality of analogous channels corresponding to various broadcasting modes providing the same contents has a channel signal, thereby allowing a user to easily watch his/her desired contents.  
         [0013]     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a broadcasting signal receiver having a user selection unit, including: determining whether a plurality of analogous channels exist, which correspond to a selected channel; determining whether the analogous channels have the same contents when the plurality of analogous channels exist; choosing one channel among the analogous channels according to a broadcasting mode priority when the analogous channels have the same contents; and determining whether the chosen channel provides a corresponding signal and switching the chosen channel to the following channel according to the priority when the chosen channel provides no corresponding signal.  
         [0014]     According to another aspect of the present invention, the method further includes providing a user interface for setting the priority of broadcasting modes; and storing the priority when the priority is inputted through a user selection unit.  
         [0015]     According to another aspect of the present invention, the choosing the channel according to a the priority includes choosing the channel according to the stored priority.  
         [0016]     According to another aspect of the present invention, the broadcasting mode includes at least one of an analog terrestrial broadcast, a digital terrestrial broadcast, a cable broadcast and a satellite broadcast.  
         [0017]     According to another aspect of the present invention, the priority is set in order of a digital terrestrial broadcast, a satellite broadcast, a cable broadcast and an analog terrestrial broadcast.  
         [0018]     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a broadcasting signal receiver having a signal receiver to receive a broadcasting signal, and a signal processor to process the received broadcasting signal, the broadcasting receiver including: a user selection unit that selects a channel; and a controller that determines whether a plurality of analogous channels having the same contents correspond to a channel selected through the user selection unit, choosing one channel among the analogous channels according to a broadcasting mode priority when the analogous channels have the same contents, and determining whether the chosen channel provides a corresponding signal and switching the chosen channel to the following channel according to the priority when the chosen channel provides no corresponding signal.  
         [0019]     According to another aspect of the present invention, the broadcasting signal receiver may also include a user interface generator that generates a user interface for setting the priority of broadcasting modes, wherein the controller stores the priority to be selected in storage device when the priority is inputted through the user selection unit.  
         [0020]     According to another aspect of the present invention, the controller chooses the channel according to the priority stored in the memory.  
         [0021]     According to another aspect of the present invention, the broadcasting mode includes at least one of an analog terrestrial broadcasting, a digital terrestrial broadcasting, a cable broadcasting and a satellite broadcasting.  
         [0022]     According to another aspect of the present invention, the priority is set in order of, a digital terrestrial broadcasting, a satellite broadcasting, a cable broadcasting and an analog terrestrial broadcasting. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0023]     The above and/or other aspects of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings of which:  
         [0024]      FIG. 1  is a flowchart of selecting a channel among analogous channels in a related art TV;  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is a control block diagram of a digital TV according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a control flowchart of the digital TV according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]     Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.  
         [0028]     A digital TV will be explained as an example of a broadcasting receiver according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to digital TV, and other devices, such as a set top box, may embody the present invention.  FIG. 2  is a control block diagram of the digital TV according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0029]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a digital TV according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a signal receiver  10 , a signal processor  20 , a display unit  30 , a speaker  40 , a user selector  50 , and a controller  60 .  
         [0030]     The signal receiver  10  includes a tuner  11  that tunes and receives broadcasting signals according to various broadcasting modes, e.g., a terrestrial analog broadcasting signal, a terrestrial digital broadcasting signal, a cable broadcasting signal and/or a satellite broadcasting signal; and a demodulator  13  that demodulates a tuned channel signal. Here, the digital broadcasting signal is transmitted as a transport stream packetized by applying time-sharing algorithm to a video signal, an audio signal and data.  
         [0031]     The tuner  11  is tuned to a channel, which has a frequency bandwidth corresponding to a tuning control signal of the controller  60  (to be described later), thereby selecting the broadcasting signal of the tuned channel among the received broadcasting signals. Here, the tuner  11  may either include an integrated multi tuner or separated tuners to be tuned to each of the terrestrial broadcasting signal, the cable broadcasting signal and the satellite broadcasting signal at the same time.  
         [0032]     The broadcasting signal of the tuned particular channel is output after going through a demodulation process, an error correction process, etc. by the demodulator  13 .  
         [0033]     The signal processor  20  processes the channel signal received from the signal receiver  10  and outputs it to the display unit  30  and the speaker  40 . The signal processor  20  according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a demultiplexer  21 , a decoder  23 , and a video signal processor  25 .  
         [0034]     The broadcasting signal of the demodulated channel is separated by the demultiplexer  21  into the video signal, the audio signal, and appendix data including contents information.  
         [0035]     At this time, the digital broadcasting signal is output in the form of a bitstream. The video data separated by the demultiplexer  21  is decoded by a video decoder  23   a , and processed by the signal processor  20 , thereby being displayed on the display unit  30 . Here, the display unit  30  can include various kinds of display modules such as a digital light processing (DLP), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), or the like. In addition, the signal processor  20  may include a scaler to convert the video signal to have a vertical frequency, a resolution, an aspect ratio, etc. adapted for the output standard of the display unit  30 .  
         [0036]     Further, the audio signal is decoded by an audio decoder  23 b and output through the speaker  40 .  
         [0037]     Meanwhile, in the case of an analog broadcasting, contents information, i.e., program information of a channel, is transmitted through vertical blanking interval (VBI). Further, in the cases of a digital terrestrial broadcasting, a cable broadcasting and a satellite broadcasting, the program information is transmitted through a program and system information protocol (PSIP) or as being included in a data table similar to the PSIP. PSIP information basically includes a system time table (STT), a master guide table (MGT), a virtual channel table (VCT), a rating region table (RRT), an event information table (EIT), and an extended text table (ETT).  
         [0038]     The contents information is stored according to data tables in a storage unit  80  by a controller  60  (to be described later). In addition, the digital TV according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may configure a channel map through an automatic channel search when power is on. Here, the channel map can be used while a user selects a channel. Further, information about the channel map can be displayed on a TV screen when requested by a user.  
         [0039]     The user selection unit  50  is used for allowing a user to select the channels and to select and release inputs of various TV functions. For example, the user selection unit  50  can include a menu key (not shown) provided in a wireless remote controller, a key signal generator (not shown) to generate a key signal corresponding to a key manipulation. Alternatively, the user selection unit  50  may be provided as a mouse, a keyboard, etc. or provided in a main body panel of the digital TV.  
         [0040]     The controller  60  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention determines whether a plurality of analogous channels exist when a user selects the channel. When the analogous channels are identical in contents with each other, the controller  60  controls the tuner  11  to be tuned to a channel according to a broadcasting mode priority while considering which one of the analogous channels has a channel signal. Here, the controller  60  can be implemented by algorithm and a microcomputer or a central processing unit (CPU), which is operated by the algorithm.  
         [0041]     In more detail, the controller  60  determines whether the analogous channels exist while a channel is selected through the user selection unit  50 . When the analogous channels exist, the controller  60  determines whether the contents corresponding to the analogous channels are identical on the basis of the program information transmitted using the PSIP or the like. In the case where the analogous channels have the same contents, the controller  60  controls the tuner  11  to be tuned to a channel according to a broadcasting mode priority. At this time, if the tuned channels have a weak signal or no signal, the channel is selected according to the following priority.  
         [0042]     Here, the priority can be established when the TV is manufactured or established by a user. For example, the digital terrestrial broadcasting providing the best picture quality can be set as the 1 st  priority, the satellite broadcasting providing the next picture quality can be set as the 2 nd  priority, and the cable broadcasting and the analog terrestrial broadcasting can be set as the following priorities in that order, respectively.  
         [0043]     Thus, when the plurality of analogous channels has the same contents, a user watches desired contents through the channel selected according to the broadcasting mode priority and/or the channel providing a signal.  
         [0044]     Further, the digital TV according to an embodiment of the present invention can include a user interface (UI) generator  70 . The UI generator  70  is controlled by the controller  60  to generate a priority setting menu to allow a user to select and/or input the priority of the broadcasting modes. For example, the priority setting menu can be provided as various menus for selecting the analog terrestrial broadcasting, the digital terrestrial broadcasting, the cable broadcasting and the satellite broadcasting according to desired priorities. The priority setting menu generated through the UI generator  70  is processed by the video signal processor  25  and displayed on the display unit  30  as being synthesized with a broadcasting video signal.  
         [0045]     With this configuration, a user manipulates a key provided in the user selection unit  50  and selects and/or inputs the desired priority through the priority setting menu displayed on the display unit  30 . At this time, the controller  60  controls a storage unit  80  to store information about the priority selected by a user. Further, while a user selects a channel, the controller  60  selects the channel on the basis of the information about the priority stored in the storage unit  80  in the case where the analogous channels have the same contents.  
         [0046]     Below, a method of selecting a channel, when there are the analogous channels in the digital TV according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, will be described with reference to  FIG. 3 .  
         [0047]      FIG. 3  is a control flowchart of the digital TV according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0048]     When a priority setting function is selected through a user selection unit  50  at operation  200 , the controller  60  controls the UI generator  70  to generate the priority setting menu, and controls the generated priority setting menu to be processed by the video signal processor  25  and synthesized with a video signal, thereby displaying the priority setting menu on the display unit  30  at operation  201 .  
         [0049]     At operation  202 , a user manipulates the key of the user selection unit  50  and inputs and/or selects a desired priority through the priority setting menu displayed on the display unit  30 . For example, suppose that a user sets the priority in order of the digital terrestrial broadcasting, the cable broadcasting, the satellite broadcasting and the analog broadcasting.  
         [0050]     At operation  203 , the controller  60  controls the stores the information about the priority inputted by a user in the storage unit  80 .  
         [0051]     When a user selects a desired channel, e.g., a channel number of 11, through the user selection unit  50  at operation  300 , the controller  60  determines whether the channel corresponding to the channel number selected by a user is overlapped with regard to the terrestrial broadcasting, the cable broadcasting and the satellite broadcasting at operation  301 .  
         [0052]     In the case where no analogous channels which correspond to the selected channel number of  11  exist, the controller  60  controls the tuner  11  to be tuned to a single channel corresponding to the selected channel number, and controls the contents thereof to be displayed on the display unit  30  at operation  302 .  
         [0053]     On the other hand, in the case where analogous channels exist which correspond to the selected channel number of  11 , the controller  60  determines whether the contents of the corresponding analogous channels are identical on the basis of the program information received through the PSIP or the like at operations  303  and  304 . For example, in the case where there exists a digital terrestrial broadcasting number of 11-1, an analog terrestrial broadcasting number of 11, a cable broadcasting number of 11 and a satellite broadcasting number of 11 as the channel corresponding to the channel number of 11, the controller  60  determines whether the contents corresponding to the respective channels are identical.  
         [0054]     When the contents are not identical, the controller  60  controls the tuner  11  to be tuned to a channel based on a preset broadcasting mode and controls the contents thereof to be displayed on the display unit  30  at operation  305 . For example, when a user watches the digital terrestrial broadcasting, the controller  60  controls the digital terrestrial broadcasting number of 11-1 to be selected. Further, when a user watches the satellite broadcasting, the controller  60  controls the satellite broadcasting number of 11 to be selected.  
         [0055]     When the contents are identical, the controller  60  controls the tuner  11  to be tuned to a channel according to a broadcasting mode priority at operation  306 . For example, in the case where a user sets the digital terrestrial broadcasting as the 1 st  priority, the controller  60  controls the digital terrestrial broadcasting number of 11-1 to be selected.  
         [0056]     After selecting the channel, the controller  60  determines whether the selected channel provides a signal at operation  307 . If the display unit  30  displays no image because the selected channel provides a weak signal or no signal, the controller  60  controls the tuner  11  to be tuned to a channel corresponding to the priority to be selected at operation  308 . For example, when the cable broadcasting has the 2 nd  priority, the controller  60  switches the digital terrestrial broadcasting number of 11-1 to the cable broadcasting number of 11. In the case where the selected channel provides a normal channel signal, the controller  60  controls the corresponding channel signal to be displayed at operation  309 . Meanwhile, these processes are repeated until the channel having a normal channel signal is selected and displayed.  
         [0057]     Thus, a user can watch a channel of a desired broadcasting mode when there are analogous channels having the same contents. Further, when the corresponding channel provides no signal, it is switched to a channel providing a normal signal having the identical contents, thereby allowing a user to conveniently watch the contents of a desired channel.  
         [0058]     In the foregoing exemplary embodiment, the digital TV is described by way of example, but not limited thereto. Alternatively, the present invention may be applied to a broadcasting signal receiver such as a set-top box or the like.  
         [0059]     As described above, the present invention provides a broadcasting signal receiver and a control method thereof, in which a channel is selected by a broadcasting mode priority according to which one of a plurality of analogous channels, corresponding to various broadcasting modes providing the same contents, has a channel signal, thereby allowing a user to easily watch his/her desired contents.  
         [0060]     Although a few exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.