Abstract:
A display apparatus for video signals has improved operability. The display apparatus includes a tuner which receives a video signal, an external input unit into which a video signal is input from the outside, a display processor operable to select one of the video signal received by the tuner or that obtained from the external input unit as a main video and to perform display processing on the main video, a display unit operable to display the video signals processed in the display processor, an operation unit and a controller operable to combine an operation guidance video with the main video to form a combined display based on a predetermined operation in the operation unit, and to display the combined display, wherein the combined display is displayed in different display modes depending on which video signal forms the main video. The operation unit may be in the form of a touch panel. Furthermore, when a specific button is operated, a display to select a function is performed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   The present application claims priority from Japanese Application No. 2004-002504 filed Jan. 7, 2004, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a display apparatus suitable for applying to a television receiver by which various video programs can be viewed. 
   Conventionally, when viewing content of television broadcasts or the like, a tuner is incorporated in a television receiver so that data received by the tuner can be displayed by the receiver. Accordingly, it is necessary to connect an antenna line to the television receiver and there is a restriction on portability and the like of the receiver. 
   In order to solve this problem, the applicant of the present invention has previously developed a display apparatus that has a configuration in which a base apparatus incorporating a reception means such as the tuner and a monitor apparatus in which video or the like is displayed are provided separately. The display apparatus including such base apparatus and monitor apparatus is described in Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-33714. 
   In the case of the display apparatus having this configuration, IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard method which is the standard of wireless LAN (Local Area Network) is, for example, employed to perform wireless communication between the base apparatus and the monitor apparatus. Therefore, there is no need to connect a video signal source such as the antenna line or a video reproducing apparatus to the monitor apparatus, and the monitor apparatus can be freely carried within a range where communication with the base apparatus is possible. Moreover, if there is a function to connect to the Internet on the side of the base apparatus, content such as video or audio, which are downloaded via the Internet, can be viewed on the monitor apparatus which can be carried freely. Furthermore, it is also possible to transmit and receive e-mail and to display the mail which is transmitted or received. 
   Meanwhile, when the display apparatus has many functions, including viewing television broadcasts, viewing a video program input into an external input terminal, viewing content downloaded via the Internet and the display of e-mail as described above, a certain device for obtaining operability or the like is required so that the respective functions can be operated easily. For example, in order to change a channel of the tuner or change an input on the monitor apparatus side, it is necessary to provide a large number of operating buttons in the monitor apparatus to perform those operations. 
   However, when providing a large number of operating buttons in the monitor apparatus, there needs to be much more space to provide those operating buttons on the monitor apparatus and the monitor apparatus becomes unavoidably large. Therefore, it is not preferable to provide too many buttons when considering the design of the monitor apparatus, and furthermore if simply a large number of buttons are provided, a user needs much time and effort to search for a necessary button, resulting in a problem that the operability thereof becomes unfavorable. 
   Further, it is also possible not to provide the operating buttons directly in the monitor apparatus, but to provide a remote control apparatus used with the monitor apparatus as a set, the remote control apparatus having a large number of operating buttons. However, even in that case the user needs much time and effort to search for a button indicating a required function if those large number of operating buttons are simply provided on the remote control apparatus, resulting in deficient operability. 
   In the display apparatus described in Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-33714, the display screen of the monitor apparatus is formed of a touch panel and when it is brought into a mode capable of operating, the operating buttons which are displayed as operation guidance are shown on the display screen, so that when the user touches the desired button on the touch panel, the corresponding operation is performed; and therefore there is no need to provide physical operating buttons in large numbers on the apparatus. However, even in such case, the operability is not improved simply by displaying a large number of buttons corresponding to the respective functions as the button display on the display screen of the touch panel. 
   Moreover, when the display screen is formed as a touch panel and is used as a screen for operation, there is a problem that while the operation screen is being displayed, it is not possible to view a video of the main object. In order to solve this problem, it has been proposed to display the main video in the display screen by reducing the display size thereof while the operation screen is being displayed. However, when the size of the main video is reduced uniformly for display while the operation screen is being displayed, there may be the case in which the display cannot be shown favorably, which is not preferable. 
   In addition, although the problem has been explained referring to the case where the display apparatus includes the base apparatus and the monitor apparatus separately provided as an example, there exists a similar problem even in the case of the display apparatus in which a tuner and display means or the like are integrated as one unit. 
   The present invention is made in view of such problems and aims at improving the operability of the display apparatus of this kind. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is a display apparatus including a tuner operable to receive a video signal; an external input unit into which a video signal is input from the outside; a display processor operable to select one of the video signal received by the tuner and the video signal obtained from the external input unit as a main video on which to perform display processing; a display unit operable to display video signals processed by the display processor; an operation unit; and a controller operable to cause the display processor to combine an operation guidance video with the main video to form a combined display based on a predetermined operation in the operation unit, and to display the combined display, wherein the combined display is displayed in a first display mode when the main video is the video signal received by the tuner, and the combined display is displayed in a second display mode when the main video is the video signal obtained from the external input unit. 
   Hence, when a predetermined operation is performed in the operation unit to display the operation guidance video combined with the main video, with respect to the display mode of the main video, the mode when the video signal received by the tuner is being displayed differs the mode when the video signal from the external input unit is being displayed, and therefore display modes suitable to the respective cases can be obtained. 
   According to the present invention, with respect to the display mode of the main video in the state where the operation guidance video is being displayed, the mode when the video signal received by the tuner is being displayed differs from the mode when the video signal from the external input unit is being displayed, so that a display mode of the main video suitable for each case can be obtained and, while viewing the main video, operations can be performed with higher operability in a state in which a favorable video display is realized. 
   That is, when the video signal received by the tuner is being displayed, the main video is displayed on the display unit in a display area having a display size which is the same as the display size of the display area of the main video when the operation guidance video is not combined with the main video, and then the operation guidance video is superimposed over a part of the display area of the main video; and when the video signal from the external input unit is being displayed, the main video is displayed on the display unit in a display area having a display size which is smaller than the display size of the display area of the main video when the operation guidance video is not combined with the main video, and then the operation guidance video is displayed in a vacant area made by the reduction of the display size of the display area of the main video, so that a favorable display mode which is suitable for each case and a higher operability can be obtained. In other words, when the video signal received by the tuner is displayed as the main video, the operation guidance video is displayed while the main video thus received is being displayed in the same size, and therefore the display size of the received video does not change and the received video can be viewed without difficulties, so that various operations can be performed favorably while viewing the received video. Moreover, when the video signal from the external input unit is displayed as the main video, the display size of the input video is made smaller and the operation guidance video is displayed in the vacant area, and therefore a comparatively large area can be secured as the display area for operation guidance, so that the operation guidance video which is used for carrying out an operation of multiple functions can be performed favorably. 
   More particularly, a video showing a list of channels which are selectable by the tuner is displayed as the operation guidance video when the video signal received by the tuner is being displayed as the main video, and a video for operating an output device from which the video signal input into the external input unit originates is displayed as the operation guidance video when the video signal obtained from the external input unit is being displayed as the main video, so that the display of each operation function can be performed favorably. 
   Furthermore, the operation unit may include a touch panel on a video display screen of the display unit so that the predetermined operation can be performed by touching the touch panel, and when the operation of touching the touch panel is detected, the controller causes the display processor to combine the operation guidance video and the main video to form the combined display and to display the combined display, and when the operation guidance video is displayed and the operation of touching the touch panel is detected, the controller causes the operation displayed on a touched area of the touch screen to be performed so that the user can perform various operations using the touch panel by only touching the touch panel while viewing the received video signal or the input video signal. 
   Further, in the case where a predetermined operation button is provided separately from the touch panel and an operation of that predetermined operation button is detected, a video of a list of channels selectable by the tuner, a video for the selection of an external input and a video for the selection of a function are superimposed as the operation guidance video over the main video to be displayed, so that it becomes possible to easily perform a basic operation such as a channel change, an input change and a selection of other functions by operating the predetermined operation button. 
   Moreover, since the tuner and the external input unit are accommodated in a casing provided separately from the display apparatus and the video signal is transmitted to the display apparatus either through wire or wirelessly, the present invention can be applied to a display apparatus in which the tuner and the video input unit are separately provided. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an explanatory view showing an example of a display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIGS. 2A to 2D  are views showing an example of a monitor apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which  FIG. 2A  is a front view,  FIG. 2B  is a left side view,  FIG. 2C  is a right side view and  FIG. 2D  is a top view; 
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  are views showing an example of a base apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which  FIG. 3A  is a front view and  FIG. 3B  is a right side view; 
       FIG. 4  is a rear view of the base apparatus of  FIGS. 3A and 3B ; 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  are explanatory views showing an example of the use of the display apparatus of the present invention, in which  FIG. 5A  is a view of the monitor apparatus alone and  FIG. 5B  is a view showing a state where the monitor apparatus and the base apparatus are combined; 
       FIG. 6  is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the monitor apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the base apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 8  is a flow chart showing an example of processing with an operation during a display of video according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 9  is an explanatory view showing an example of a display according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 10  is an explanatory view showing an example of a display according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 11  is an explanatory view showing an example of a display according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be explained referring to the attached drawings. 
     FIG. 1  is a view showing an example of a system configuration according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, a display apparatus (television receiver) includes a base apparatus  200  which receives television broadcasts, inputs a video signal from a video signal source connected thereto, downloads content via the Internet and the like, and a monitor apparatus  100  which is formed to be freely attachable to the base apparatus  200 . In this case, bidirectional wireless communication is performed between the monitor apparatus  100  and the base apparatus  200 , so that a video signal and an audio signal can be transmitted wirelessly from the base apparatus  200  to the monitor apparatus  100  and also control commands or the like can be transmitted wirelessly from the side of the monitor apparatus  100  to the side of the base apparatus  200 . In addition, in the case where the display apparatus is used in a place where a wireless communication environment is unfavorable, it is also possible to transmit signals or the like through wire by connecting a LAN cable (not illustrated) or similar means. 
   For example, wireless communication of a 2.4 GHz band may be used and the communication is performed by forming a communication network which conforms to the wireless LAN according to the IEEE 802.11 standard so that the wireless communication can be performed within a range from several tens of meters to 100 meters at the maximum (reaching distance becomes shorter indoors, though). When this wireless communication is performed, the monitor apparatus  100  and the base apparatus  200  perform authentication processing to recognize each other so that the communication can be performed only with an apparatus registered in advance, and the monitor apparatus  100 , for example, is made not to communicate directly with a base apparatus of another system. 
   First, an example of the configuration of the monitor apparatus  100  is explained.  FIGS. 2A to 2D  are views showing the appearance of the monitor apparatus of this embodiment, and  FIG. 5A  shows a state in which the monitor apparatus  100  is set alone using a stand and  FIG. 5B  shows with a dashed line a state in which the monitor apparatus  100  is attached to the base apparatus  200 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 2A to 2D , a liquid crystal display (LCD)  101  as a video display unit is provided in the front of the monitor apparatus  100 , a touch panel  102  is provided on the display screen thereof, and speakers  107  and  108  are provided on the right and the left sides of LCD  101 . Further, a plurality of operating buttons  109  are disposed around the liquid crystal display  101  or the like of the monitor apparatus  100 . Buttons to perform basic operations, such as a power supply button, a volume up/down button and a channel up/down button, and buttons to perform a part of functions, such as an index button  109   a , are the only operating buttons  109  provided, and more advanced operations are performed using the touch panel  102 . An example of the use of the index button  109   a  is described later on. In addition, a touch pen accommodation portion  106  is arranged in the upper part of the monitor apparatus  100 , in which a touch pen  10  for touching the screen can be accommodated. 
   Further, a card slot  105  to insert a memory card is provided in the monitor apparatus of this embodiment. Moreover, a LAN terminal  185  is provided in order to connect directly to the base apparatus or the like by using a LAN cable. Furthermore, an antenna (antenna  183  described later on) to communicate with the base apparatus is incorporated in the monitor apparatus. 
   Further, a stand  103  capable of opening to make the monitor apparatus  100  stand by itself is attached to the back of the monitor apparatus  100  of this embodiment. In addition, a rechargeable battery is incorporated in this monitor apparatus  100  so that power for operation can be supplied from the rechargeable battery. 
     FIGS. 3A ,  3 B and  4  are diagrams showing an example of a configuration of the base apparatus  200  according to this embodiment. The base apparatus  200  is formed of a front portion  210  and a rear portion  220  joined together into one unit, and antennas  207  and  208  for performing wireless communication with the monitor apparatus  100  are disposed at right and left positions of the front portion  210 . 
   The front portion  210  is made into a form slightly inclined toward the rear and a support  211  for standing the monitor apparatus  100  against the base apparatus  200  is provided at the lower part in the center thereof. Moreover, as shown in  FIG. 4 , in the lower part of the back of the rear portion  220  are provided a power button  231 , a terminal  232  for connecting an AC power adaptor, a VHF/UHF terminal  239  for connecting an antenna line, a telephone line terminal  241 , a LAN terminal  242 , terminals  243  and  244  for connecting an infrared signal light-emitting unit called an AV mouse, an S-video input terminal  245 , video and audio input terminals  246  and  247 , a video and audio output terminal  248 , a USB terminal  249  for connecting an external device such as a printer and the like and so on. 
   Since the monitor apparatus  100  and the base apparatus  200  are configured in this manner, the base apparatus  200  is installed fixedly in a living room or similar places, for example, and the monitor apparatus  100  can be carried to arbitrary places such as to other rooms or to a yard so that the user can view AV content such as a television broadcast on the monitor apparatus  100  available at hand at an arbitrary place. Moreover, access to the Internet, transmission and reception of e-mail and the like can also be performed through the base apparatus  200 . 
   In this case, although the monitor apparatus  100  can be used by holding it by hand, the monitor apparatus  100  can also stand by itself on a suitable plane by opening the stand  103 , as shown in  FIG. 5A . 
   Further, as shown using a dashed line in  FIG. 5B , the monitor apparatus  100  can be used by making it stand against the front portion  210  of the base apparatus  200 . In this case, since a charge terminal on the bottom surface of the monitor apparatus  100  comes in contact with a charge terminal on the side of base apparatus  200  (neither of the charge terminals is illustrated), the rechargeable battery inside the monitor apparatus  100  can be charged by using the power from the base apparatus  200 . 
   Next, a functional block configuration of the monitor apparatus  100  of this embodiment is explained by referring to  FIG. 6 . A controller  170  in the monitor apparatus  100  includes a central processing unit (CPU)  171  which is control means, a ROM  172  in which a program to be executed in this apparatus has been written and a RAM  173  which is used as a work area of the CPU  171  and the like. A program to execute various display processes described later on and the like has also been written in the ROM  172 , and setting information required for the display settings is also stored using a part of an area in the RAM  173 . A user memory  175  into which user data, such as a video file, is written is connected to a bus line  174  and a memory card  141  inserted into the slot  105  shown in  FIG. 2  is also connected thereto. 
   Further, a wireless LAN communication unit  182  and a wired LAN communication unit  184  are connected to the bus line  174  through a communication selector  181 , and commands and various data which should be transmitted to the base apparatus  200  and the like are processed to be transmitted in the wireless LAN communication unit  182  or in the wired LAN communication unit  184 . That is, at the time of wireless transmission, commands and data are transmitted wirelessly from the antenna  183 , and at the time of wired transmission, commands and data are transmitted using the cable connected to the LAN terminal  185 . Moreover, data received by the wireless LAN communication unit  182  or data received by the wired LAN communication unit  184  is sent to the bus line  174 . 
   Moreover, a display processor  191  which functions as display means is connected to the bus line  174 , video data to be displayed is supplied thereto, and display processing is performed so that a video based on that video data is displayed on the LCD  101  which is display means. In this case, in the display processor  191 , when video data received by a tuner  259  on the side of the base apparatus or video data obtained in external input interfaces  266  and  267  is, for example, wirelessly transmitted and supplied, the processing to display that video is performed. Furthermore, when video data for display guidance is supplied from the side of the controller  170 , for example, the processing to display the display guidance video on the LCD  101  is performed. Although a specific example of a display mode with respect to this display guidance video is described later on, there is a first case in which only the display guidance video is displayed and a second case in which the display guidance video is displayed after being superimposed over the video based on the video data supplied from the base apparatus. In addition, when the video is displayed, the controller  170  determines the type of the displayed video (namely, whether it is the video received by the tuner or the video input into the external input terminal, and so on). 
   Further, the speakers  107  and  108  are connected to the bus line  174  through a digital/analog converter  195  and an amplifier  196 . 
   Furthermore, the touch panel  102  is connected to the bus line  174  through a coordinate detector  193  and the operating unit  109  is connected to the bus line  174  through an interface  199 . With respect to the touch panel  102 , the coordinate detector  193  detects the position touched on the display screen of the LCD  101  which is the display unit and the detected data is transmitted to the controller  170 . Although the touch pen  10  shown in  FIG. 2 , for example, is used here to make a contact to the touch panel  102 , another configuration can be employed in which a user&#39;s finger or the like directly touches the screen to be detected. Data indicating the operation of each operating button arranged in the operating portion  109  is also transmitted to the controller  170 . 
   Next, a functional block configuration of the base apparatus  200  according to this embodiment is explained referring to  FIG. 7 . A controller  270  of the base apparatus  200  includes a central processing unit (CPU)  271  which is control means, a ROM  272  in which a program to be executed by this apparatus has been written and a RAM  273  which is used as a work area of the CPU  271  or the like. A program to execute processes required for performing various displays on the side of the monitor apparatus  100  has also been written in the ROM  272 . 
   A VHF/UHF antenna  1  is connected through an antenna line to the VHF/UHF terminal  239  which is a connection terminal of the antenna line, a ground-based television broadcast output which is received by the antenna  1  is tuned and demodulated by the VHF/UHF tuner  259  in the base apparatus  200 , and video data and audio data are taken out to be sent to a bus line  274 . 
   A telephone line  2  is connected to the line terminal  241  to which a line interface  261  is connected, and the line interface  261  is connected to the bus line  274  through a modem  262 . It is possible to connect to the Internet or the like via this telephone line  2 . In addition, it is possible to arrange a terminal, an interface and a modem which are capable of connecting to other lines for Internet connection, such as an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), rather than the telephone line. 
   A digital CS broadcast tuner, a digital BS tuner or the like, for example, is connected as a first external device  6  to the video and audio input terminal  246  which is an external input for video and audio, and the video data and the audio data supplied from those devices are sent to the bus line  274  through the external input interface  266  in the base apparatus  200 . 
   A DVD player, a hard disc recorder or the like, for example, is connected as a second external device  7  to the video and audio input terminal  247  which is an external input for video and audio, and the video data and the audio data supplied from those devices are sent to the bus line  274  through the external input interface  267  in the base apparatus  200 . 
   AV mice  3  and  4 , which are infrared signal light-emitting devices, are connected to terminals  243  and  244 , respectively. Those terminals  243  and  244  are connected to the bus line  274  through interfaces  263  and  264 , respectively, in the base apparatus  200 . Remote control signals transmitted from light-emitting units of the AV mice  3  and  4  as infrared signals are received by light-receiving units provided for the first external device  6  and the second external device  7  through a command signal from the controller  270 , so that the first external device  6  and the second external device  7  can be remotely controlled on the side of the base apparatus  200 . In addition, with respect to the first external device  6  and the second external device  7  which are connected to the video and audio input terminals  246  and  247 , a kind, a manufacturer and the like of a device can be set by a user operation or the like, and the setting information is stored in the memory within the controller  270 . Based on the stored information, the remote control signal of a corresponding code can be transmitted. Further, when an operating panel of a device is displayed on the side of the monitor apparatus  100 , the operating panel corresponding to the registered device is displayed by using this information. For this reason, the information on the first external device  6  and on the second external device  7  is also stored in the memory within the controller  170  on the side of the monitor apparatus  100 . 
   A printer  9 , for example, is connected to the USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal  249 , and a command and data for printing which are sent to the bus line  274  are supplied to the printer  9  through a USB interface  269 . 
   Moreover, a wireless LAN communication unit  282  and a wired LAN communication unit  283  are connected to the bus line  274  through a communication selector  281 , and commands and various data which should be transmitted to the monitor apparatus  100  or the like are processed to be transmitted in the wireless LAN communication unit  282  or in the wired LAN communication unit  283 , so that those commands and data are wirelessly transmitted from the antennas  207  and  208  at the time of wireless transmission and are transmitted using the cable connected to the LAN terminal  242  at the time of wired transmission. Further, data received by the wireless LAN communication unit  282  or data received by the wired LAN communication unit  283  is sent to the bus line  274 . 
   Next, an example of processing at the time of viewing using the monitor apparatus  100  and the base apparatus  200  thus configured is explained with reference to the flow chart shown in  FIG. 8  and also with reference to examples of displays on the LCD  101  of the monitor apparatus  100  shown in  FIGS. 9 through 11 . The flow chart of  FIG. 8  is a diagram showing an example of processing in the case where a user operation is performed while viewing video (and also listening to audio accompanying the video) on the monitor apparatus  100  of this embodiment. Judgment processing which is shown in the flow chart of  FIG. 8  is to be performed such that the judgment is basically made by the controller  170  on the side of the monitor apparatus  100  which sends a command to the display processor  191  to make each display processing performed. Note that video, such as the video obtained from the video signal received by the tuner and the video obtained from the video signal input into the external input terminal, which are displayed on the monitor apparatus  100 , is referred to as the main video in the following explanation. 
   Hereinafter, an explanation is made in accordance with the flow chart of  FIG. 8 . While the video (here, basically a moving picture) is being displayed on the LCD  101  of the monitor apparatus  100 , it is determined whether contact with the touch panel  102  using the touch pen or the like has been detected (Step S 11 ). Then, when contact with the touch panel  102  has been detected, it is determined whether the main video currently being displayed is the video of a television broadcast received by the tuner  259  in the base apparatus  200  (Step S 12 ), and when the main video is the video of a television broadcast, the list of channels or the like is superimposed over a right side of that main video and is displayed as an operation guidance display without changing the screen size of the main video (Step S 13 ). Then, based on the display mode of the operation guidance display at that time, the controller  170  performs an operation function assignment of the touch panel  102  so that an operation being displayed can be performed (Step S 19 ). 
     FIG. 9  is a view showing an example of the display on the LCD  101  at step  13 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , a main video display  11  is shown in which the video of the television broadcast received by the tuner  259  is displayed using the whole display screen of the LCD  101 , and there is shown an operation guidance display  12  on the right side such that the operation guidance display is combined with the main video display  11 . The display size of the main video display  11  remains the same as that when no operation guidance display  12  is shown. The operation guidance display  12  is hereupon a video display of the list of channels which are selectable by the tuner  259 . Specifically, channel numbers which are set in advance to be received by the tuner  259  and abbreviations of broadcast stations are displayed as displays  12   a ,  12   b , - - - ,  12   g  in the order of channel number. This operation guidance display  12  is made into a translucent display in this example, so that the main video of the portion overlapped with the position of that display can be identified (a state in which the main video and the guidance video are overlapped and displayed is not clearly illustrated in the figure due to the restrictions in drawing). Then, when a display area among displays  12   a  through  12   g  is touched using the touch pen  10  or the like, the controller  170  performs processing to send a command to the base apparatus  200  so as to change the channel to the channel number displayed in that area. 
   Further, as shown in  FIG. 9 , there is a receiving channel display  13  at the upper left corner of the display screen which shows the channel number and the abbreviation of the broadcast station which is currently being received, and there is a current state display  14  at the upper right corner showing a remaining battery life, time, the communication state with the base apparatus and the like. Furthermore, there are a video and audio quality adjustment button display  15  and a bilingual audio button display  16  at a lower left corner of the display screen, and a setting list button display  17  at the lower right corner, and when each of the button displays  15  through  17  is touched by the touch pen or the like, the controller  170  makes a control to perform the operation which is shown by the button displayed in the touched area. Specifically, when each operation of those button displays is performed, another display to perform each detailed setup which is not illustrated is displayed on the screen. Those displays  13  through  17  are also made into translucent displays so that the main video of a portion overlapped with the display position can be identified. 
   The explanation returns to the flow chart of  FIG. 8  in which, when it is determined at step S 12  that the video of a television broadcast is not currently being displayed, it is determined whether the main video currently being displayed is a video obtained from the video signal input into the video-audio input terminal  246  or  247  which is arranged as the external input terminal of the base apparatus  200  (Step S 14 ). Here, when it is determined that the main video is an external input video, the size of the main video is reduced and displayed (Step S 15 ) and the operation guidance display for operating the device which is registered as being connected to the selected input terminal  246  or  247  at that time is displayed in a combined display state where the operation guidance display is made to display in a vacant area caused by that reduction (Step S 16 ). Further, based on the display mode of the operation guidance display at that time, the controller  170  performs the operation function assignment of the touch panel  102 , so that the operation being displayed can be performed (Step S 19 ). 
     FIG. 10  is a view showing an example of a display on the LCD  101  at step S 16 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , there is a main video display  21  in a size which is somewhat reduced from the size of the whole display screen of the LCD  101  so that an operation guidance display  22  for operating the registered device can be displayed in the vacant space made on the right side by the size reduction. The operation guidance display  22  in the example of  FIG. 10  is one in which a DVD (Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) reproducing apparatus is registered as the connection device, and shows a device name display  22   a , a ten key display  22   b , a reproduction operation display  22   c  such as replay, stop, fast forward and rewind, a device switching display  22   d , a power supply display  22   e  and a display  22   f  to close (clear) the operation guidance display  22 . Further, when a display area among the displays  22   a  through  22   e  is touched by the touch pen  10  or the like, the controller  170  performs processing to send a command which is displayed in that area to the base apparatus  200 . In the controller  270  of the base apparatus  200 , when the command is received, the remote control signal corresponding to that command is transmitted from the corresponding AV mouse  3  or  4 . 
   Further, as shown in  FIG. 10 , there is a display  23  at the upper left corner of the display screen showing an input number which is currently selected, and there is a current state display  24  at the upper right corner showing the remaining battery life, time, the communication state with the base apparatus and the like. Furthermore, there are a plurality of button displays  25   a  through  25   f , a sub-screen button display  26  and a setting list button display  27  at the lower end of the display screen, and when each of the button displays  25  through  27  is touched by the touch pen or the like, the controller  170  makes a control to perform the operation which is shown by the button displayed in the touched area. Specifically, when each operation of those button displays is performed, another display to perform each detailed setup which is not illustrated is displayed in the screen. Note that, in the case of  FIG. 10 , the display area of the main video and that of the operation guidance display are not overlapped within one screen, so that the operation guidance display is not a translucent display. 
   The explanation returns to the flow chart of  FIG. 8  in which, when it is determined that an external input video is not currently being displayed at step S 14 , the main video currently being displayed is another kind of video and therefore another display processing is performed in accordance with that kind of video. An explanation of this another display processing is omitted herein. 
   Further, when contact with the touch panel is not detected at step S 11 , it is determined whether the index button  109   a  arranged in the monitor apparatus  100  has been operated (Step S 17 ). When the operation of this index button  109   a  is not detected, the processing returns to the contact detection determination of the touch panel at step S 11 . Further, when the operation of the index button  109   a  is detected at step S 17 , the operation guidance video which shows a list of channels and a function selection video is displayed in the combined display state where the operation guidance video is superimposed with the main video (Step S 18 ). Furthermore, based on the display mode of the operation guidance display at that time, the controller  170  performs the operation function assignment of the touch panel  102  so that the operation being displayed can be performed (Step S 19 ). 
     FIG. 11  is a view showing an example of a display on the LCD  101  at step S 18 . As shown in  FIG. 11 , there is a main video display  31  (hereupon, the video of the television broadcast which is received by the tuner  259 ) which uses the whole display screen of the LCD  101 , and an operation guidance display  32  on the right side such that the operation guidance display is combined with the main video display  31 . When the index button is operated, the display size of the main video display  31  remains the same as when the operation guidance display  32  is not shown, no matter which video is being displayed as the main video. The operation guidance display  32  includes the display of the video for the list of channels which are selectable by the tuner  259 , the display of the video for the selection of an external input and the display of the video for the selection of a function. Specifically, the channel numbers which are preset to be received by the tuner  259  and the abbreviations of the broadcast stations are displayed as displays  32   a  through  32   g  in the order of channel number. Also, an Internet connection function display  33 , a mail function display  34  and an album display  35  are displayed as a list of functions provided for this apparatus. Further, as a display for selecting an external input there are arranged a display  36  for selecting a video input  1  (corresponding to the input terminal  246 ), a display  37  for selecting a video input  2  (corresponding to the input terminal  247 ) and a display  38  for selecting a monitor input. The operation guidance display  32  is here made into a translucent display so that the main video of the portion overlapped with that display position can be identified (in this view, a state where the main video and the guidance video are overlapped and displayed is not clearly illustrated due to the restrictions in drawing). Further, when a display area among the displays  32   a  through  32   g  is touched by the touch pen  10  or the like, the controller  170  performs the processing to send a command to the base apparatus  200  so as to switch the channel to the channel number displayed in that area. Moreover, when any of the function display areas  33  through  35  is touched by the touch pen  10  or the like, the controller  170  performs the processing to send a command to the base apparatus  200  so that the function displayed in that area is displayed. Furthermore, when the display area to select any input of the displays  36  through  38  is touched by the touch pen  10  or the like, the controller  170  performs the processing to send a command to the base apparatus  200  so that the input displayed in that area is selected and displayed. 
   As described above, according to this embodiment, settings have been performed so that the display mode in which the operation guidance display is displayed can be changed in accordance with the kind of main video which is being displayed, and therefore a suitable display mode according to each state can be set. 
   Note that, although in the configuration heretofore explained, the touch panel is disposed on the display panel so that the operation can be performed when each area displayed by the operation guidance display is touched directly by the touch pen or the like, the same processing can be performed without using a touch panel. For example, a cursor display may be used within the screen in a state where displays similar to the ones shown in  FIG. 9  through  FIG. 11  are presented, an operation is confirmed in a state where a displayed position of that cursor is overlapped with each area of the operation guidance display, and the function shown in the operation guidance display at the position which is overlapped with that cursor may be performed. 
   Moreover, each of the display examples shown in  FIGS. 9 through 11  shows one example of a display in each case and the present invention is not limited to those displays. For example, in the example of  FIG. 9  in which the received video of a television broadcast is displayed as the main video, the operation guidance display  12  is made into a translucent display; however, a display of similar size and position may be displayed without making it translucent so that the main video of the portion which overlaps with that display  12  cannot be seen. 
   Furthermore, in the embodiment mentioned above, the present invention is applied to a display apparatus having a system configuration in which the monitor apparatus and the base apparatus are separately provided; however, it is also possible to be applied to a display apparatus in which a tuner, an external input terminal and the like are integrally formed with the display unit. 
   Having described preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments and that various changes and modifications could be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.