Image signal processing apparatus and control method for selecting a rating system thereof

An image signal processing apparatus includes: a signal receiving part receiving an image signal including rating system information of an image; a control part causing a UI (user interface) to be displayed to select whether to use the rating system based on the rating system information; an OSD (on screen display) processing part generating the UI under control of the control part; and a first information storing part storing the rating system information under control of the control part if the rating system information is selected to be used.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 2006-0020511, filed on Mar. 3, 2006, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an image signal processing apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an image signal processing apparatus for allowing a user to select a desired rating system, and a control method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, an image signal processing apparatus such as a set-top box, a TV, etc. receives an image signal such as a terrestrial TV broadcasting, a cable TV broadcasting, etc., and processes the received image signal, and displays an image based on the processed image signal. There are various contents in the TV broadcastings, and some contents need to be prevented from being watched by some viewers. For example, contents including violence, sex or the like should be restricted for children.

Thus, a broadcasting program or a channel (hereinafter referred to as a program) is rated according to contents thereof by means of a rating system such as “TV parental guidelines system” and “MPAA film rating system” of the United States of America, “Canadian TV classification system” of Canada, etc.

The image signal includes information related to the rating system (hereinafter referred to as “rating system information”). For example, in a PSIP (program and system information protocol) of an ATSC (advanced television systems committee) standard, rating system information is included in a RRT (rating region table).

A user inputs rating setting information related to a predetermined rating system to the image signal processing apparatus. For example, in the TV parental guidelines system, a user may input “TV-14” for permitting a viewer of over 14 year to watch.

Also, the image signal includes information related to rating of a program thereof (hereinafter referred to as “rating information”). For example, in the PSIP of the ATSC standard, rating information is included in a “content advisory descriptor.”

Here, the image signal processing apparatus extracts rating information from the image signal. Then, if a program of the image signal has a rating higher than “TV-14”, the image signal processing apparatus suitably processes the image signal so that a viewer can not watch the program in a normal fashion. For performing this function, the image signal processing part may include a processing unit such as a V-chip (violence chip).

However, the image signal processing apparatus is typically designed to correspond to one or two rating systems of a region. Also, the rating system has some defined rating references such as age and so on.

In recent years contents of the broadcastings have been increasing rapidly. Accordingly, the rating references need to be more diversified according to interests and tastes of users. For example, an excessive comedy or an extreme tragedy should be restricted to some patients. Thus, the image signal processing apparatus needs to provide a user with a chance to select a rating system to his/her hobby or taste.

Also, the kind of the rating system is expected to be diversified to correspond to various ratings. Thus, it is inefficient for the image signal processing apparatus to store all information related to a large number of rating systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide an image signal processing apparatus allowing a user to select a rating system to his/her taste and efficiently store the rating system information, and a control method therefor.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention can be achieved by providing an image signal processing apparatus comprising: a signal receiving part receiving an image signal including rating system information of an image; a control part causing a UI (user interface) to be displayed to select whether to use a rating system which is based on the received rating system information; an OSD (on screen display) processing part generating the UI under control of the control part; and a first information storing part storing the rating system information under control of the control part if the rating system information is selected to be used.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the image signal processing apparatus further comprises a display part displaying the UI under control of the control part.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the image signal further includes image information, and rating information of the image corresponding to the rating system information, and the control part restricts the display part from displaying an image based on the image information according to a rating selected by a user, the stored rating system information, and the received rating information.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the control part controls the OSD processing part to display the UI if rating system information received by the signal receiving part is different from the rating system information stored in the first information storing part.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the image signal processing apparatus further comprises a second information storing part storing the rating system information received by the signal receiving part, wherein the control part controls the OSD processing part to display the UI based on the rating system information stored in the second information storing part, and deletes the rating system information from the second information storing part if a user selects not to use the rating system information.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the rating system information and the rating information are respectively included in an RRT (rating region table) and a content advisory descriptor based on a PSIP (program and system information protocol) of an ATSC (advanced television systems committee) standard.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention can be achieved by providing a control method of an image signal processing apparatus comprising a first information storing part, comprising: receiving an image signal including rating system information of an image; displaying a UI to allow a user to select whether to use a rating system which is based on the received rating system information; receiving a selection from the user to indicate which is based on the received rating system information; and storing the rating system information in the first information storing part according to the selection of the user.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the image signal further includes image information, and rating information of the image corresponding to the rating system information, the control method further comprises: receiving a rating selection from the user; and restricting displaying the image based on the image information according to the rating selected by the user, the stored rating system information, and the received rating information.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the displaying the UI comprises: determining whether the received rating system information is different from the rating system information stored in the first information storing part; and displaying the UI if the received rating system information is different from the stored rating system information.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the image signal processing apparatus further comprises a second information storing part, the control method further comprises: storing the received rating system information in the second information storing part; and deleting the rating system information from the second information storing part if the user selects not to use the rating system information, wherein the displaying the UI further comprises displaying the UI based on the rating system information stored in the second information storing part.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the rating system information and the rating information are respectively included in an RRT and a content advisory descriptor based on a PSIP of an ATSC standard.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention can be achieved by providing a control method of an audio and/or an image signal processing apparatus comprising a first information storing part, comprising: receiving the audio and/or image signal including rating system information; determining whether the received rating system information is new; displaying a UI to allow a user to select whether to use a rating system based on the received rating system information if it is determined that the received rating system information is new; receiving a selection from the user to indicate whether to use the rating system based on the received rating system information; and storing the rating system information in the first information storing part according to the selection of the user.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the control method further comprises the step of: receiving a rating selection from the user; and restricting at least a portion of the audio and/or image signal depending upon the rating selection, rating system and a rating information of the received audio and/or image signal.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the received audio and/or image signal includes information indicating the portions of the audio and/or image signal that corresponds to the rating information.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the control method further comprises: restricting a portion of the received audio and/or image signal from being presented to the user in response to the information indicating the portions of the audio and/or image signal that corresponds to the rating information.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the received signal is an audio signal.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the audio signal is a radio broadcast.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the received signal is a digital broadcast television signal.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, wherein the digital broadcast is an IPTV broadcast.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the received signal is an ATSC broadcast signal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE, NON-LIMITING EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

As shown inFIG. 1, an image signal processing apparatus100receives an image signal including image information from a broadcasting station, processes the received image signal, and displays an image based on the image information of the processed image signal.

The image signal processing apparatus100may be provided as a digital TV, a set-top box, DMB device (Digital Mobile Broadcast), IPTV or any other types of broadcast receiver for receiving and processing an image signal from a digital TV broadcasting. Alternately, the present invention may be applicable to devices for receiving audio programs (e.g. a radio broadcast) that may have undesirable content. The image signal referred to in this invention may be a still picture signal as well as a video signal. Thus, the signal to be processed in the present invention may any one or a combination of an audio signal, still picture signal and video signal. The image signal processing apparatus100may receive and process the image signal based on an ATSC (advanced television systems committee) standard.

The image signal includes image information about an image or video of a program. For example, an image signal may be a broadcasting signal including video data, audio data, information data, etc. based on the ATSC standard. Here, the video data is one example of the image information. The image signal includes rating system information about a predetermined rating system, and rating information of a program. The rating system information and the rating information are respectively included in an RRT (rating region table) and a “content advisory descriptor” based on a PSIP (program and system information protocol) of the ATSC standard. The rating system include “TV parental guidelines system”, “MPAA film rating system”, etc.

As shown inFIG. 1, the image signal processing apparatus100includes a signal receiving part110, an information extracting part120, an image processing part130, a display part140, a user input part150, a first information storing part160, a second information storing part165, an OSD processing part170and a control part180. In the case that the image signal processing apparatus100is provided as a set-top box, the display part140may be omitted.

The signal receiving part110receives an image signal of a channel selected by a user by tuning to a frequency corresponding to the selected channel under control of the control part180.

The information extracting part120extracts image information, rating system information and rating information from the image signal received through the signal receiving part110. Also, the information extracting part120performs demodulation, A/D conversion, etc. for the received image signal to obtain an MPEG-2 TS (transport stream). Also, the information extracting part120decodes the obtained MPEG-2 TS according to an MPEG-2 standard. The information extracting part120performs a process related to an SI (system information) based on the PSIP of the ATSC standard.

The image processing part130processes the image information obtained through the information extracting part120so that the display part140displays an image. The image processing part130may perform an image enhancement operation for enhancing an image quality for the image signal, and a scaling operation for adjusting an image resolution so that an image has a suitable size. Also, the image processing part130may perform a de-interlacing operation for an interlaced image signal.

The display part140receives the processed image signal from the image processing part130and displays an image according to the processed image signal. The display part140displays a UI (user interface) allowing a user to select the rating system information based on the rating information. The display part140may be provided as a CRT (cathode ray tube), an LCD (liquid crystal display), a PDP (plasma display panel), a DLP (digital light processing), an OLED (organic light emitting diode), an SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display), an FED (field emission display), etc.

The user input part150receives a user's selection related to use of the rating system information, and supplies it to the control part180. Also, the user input part150receives a rating selection from a user, and supplies it to the control part180. The user input part150may be provided as an operating panel (not shown), a remote controller (not shown) or the like.

The first information storing part160continuously stores the rating system information under control of the control part180. The first information storing part160may be embodied by various different memory devices including an EEPROM (electrically erasable and programmable read only memory) or the like. The second information storing part165temporarily stores the received rating system information. The display part140displays the UI based on the rating system information stored in the second information storing part165. The second information storing part165may be embodied by a various different memory devices such as a RAM (random access memory) or the like.

The OSD processing part170processes OSD (on screen display) information of the UI displayed by the display part140under control of the control part180. For example, the OSD information includes a guidance message, a set up window, etc., related to the rating system, to be displayed when a user selects a rating system. The OSD processing part170processes the OSD information based on the rating system information stored in the second information storing part165.

The control part180controls the signal receiving part110, the information extracting part120, the image processing part130, the first information storing part160, the second information storing part165, and the OSD processing part170according to instructions inputted by the user through the user inputting part150.

In the case that rating system information being received is different from the rating system information already stored in the first information storing part160(referring to as “existing rating system information”), the rating system information being received is determined to be a “new rating system information.” If rating system information being received is determined as a new rating system information, the control part180controls the OSD processing part170and the display part140so that a UI is displayed to allow the user to select whether to use the new rating system information or not. The control part180may determine whether rating system information of a program being received is new rating system information or not based on the RRT of the SI.

In the case that rating system information being received is new rating system information, it is preferable but not necessary for the control part180to control the display part so that a guidance message about the new rating system information is displayed based on the RRT. The control part180confirms a user's selection about whether to use the new rating system information or not, and stores the new rating system information in the first information storing part160according to a result of the confirmation. In the case that a user selects not to use the rating system information received, the control part180may delete the received rating system information from the second information storing part165. In the case that the new rating system information is the same as existing rating system information, the control part180may replace the existing rating system information with the new rating system information, just in case the stored rating system information is corrupted; furthermore, the user may designate whether to replace the existing rating system.

Also, the control part180stores a user's rating selection inputted through the user inputting part150in the first information storing part160. The control part180restricts displaying of an image based on the rating selection and the rating system information stored in the first information storing part160, and rating information of a program being received. It is noted that the rating system information may be specific to individual programs; that is, each program may have its own rating system information. Similarly, each channel or broadcasting station (having number of different channels) or a broadcast network may have its own rating system information. For example, a particular broadcast station may have its own idea for implementing various different rating schemes. In any case, the rating system information may have various different scopes depending upon the particular situation. Furthermore, the blocking of the program may be performed in its entirety or only a portion of the program containing the undesired scene may be blocked. In order to block only a portion of a program, additional information for indicating the beginning and end location of the rated scene may be used or an information to allow jumping (blocking and waiting until the undesired scene has passed) within the program may be needed. In the case of the ATSC, the additional information may be included in the unused portion of the PSIP.

Hereafter, an operation of the image signal processing apparatus100will be described by referring toFIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, at first, a user selects a channel through the user input part150, and the signal receiving part110receives an image signal of the selected channel under control of the control part180at operation S101. The control part180stores rating system information obtained from the received image signal in the second information storing part165at operation S108.

Then, the control part180determines whether the rating system information stored in the second information storing part165is new rating system information or not at operation S102. The control part180may determine the above by referring to an RRT of the received image signal. For example, the control part180may determine the above by comparing “version_number”, “dimension_name_text( )”, etc. of the RRT with those of existing rating system information already stored in the first information storing part160. The control part180may determine that the rating system information being received is a new rating system information if the names are different or if the versions or contents are different even though the names are the same.

If the received rating system information is new, the control part180controls the OSD processing part170so that the display part140displays a UI including a guidance message, etc. about the received rating system at operation S103. For example, the control part180refers to “dimension_name_text( )”, “rating_value_text( )”, etc. to display a name, a rating value, etc. of the rating system.

Then, the control part180confirms if a user selects whether to use the rating system information or not through the user inputting part150at operation S104. If the user selects to use it, the control part180stores the rating system information to the first information storing part at operation S105.

In the case that the received rating system information is not new, or the user selects not to use the rating system information, the control part180may delete the rating system information stored in the second information storing part165at operation S107.

Then, the control part180restricts displaying of a program based on the rating system information stored in the first information storing part160, a user's rating selection, and rating information of a program being received at operation106.

The control part180may be embodied by a computer program running on a micro processor such as a CPU. Here, the control part180includes the CPU, a memory such as a hard disk, a ROM or the like storing the computer program.

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides an image signal processing apparatus allowing a user to select a rating system and efficiently storing rating system information, and a control method thereof.