Patent Publication Number: US-2009219443-A1

Title: Video signal processing apparatus, and digital television broadcast receiver controlling method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-051190, filed Feb. 29, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     One embodiment of the present invention relates to a video signal processing apparatus, and a digital television broadcast receiver controlling method. In particular, the invention relates to a method of controlling display of comments and program table. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A television broadcast receiver is provided with a function of displaying a television program guide and menu as a graphical user interface (GUI). A television program guide acquires program information from digital data sent from a broadcast station, creates an electronic program guide (ERG) based on the program information, and temporarily saves it in a memory (e.g., Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2006-262031). The electronic program guide is displayed on a display unit through an on-screen display (OSD) in response to an operation signal. The contents of the electronic program guide are updated periodically or based on setting conditions. 
     When a display mode is changed from the above electric program guide to a normal program, there arises a problem that the screen brightness of the electronic program guide is too high. To solve this problem, in the prior art, the backlight brightness is automatically lowered interlocking with the display mode change. 
     However, a technique to lower brightness of the electronic program guide to a specified level includes a problem that the electronic program guide becomes unclear in some places to set the receiver. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A general architecture that implements the various features of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a view showing an exemplary configuration of a digital television broadcast receiver to which the present invention is adopted; 
         FIG. 2  is a view explaining a remote controller of the digital television broadcast receiver in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 3A to 3C  are exemplary views showing screens of a display unit when a program table screen of the apparatus of the present invention is adjusted; 
         FIGS. 4A to 4C  are exemplary views for explaining screens of a display unit when a program table screen of the apparatus of the present invention is adjusted; 
         FIG. 5  is a view showing an exemplary configuration of a digital television broadcast receiver according to another embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is an exemplary view of a configuration of essential parts of another embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 7  is an exemplary view of a configuration of essential parts of further embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments according to the invention wills be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     A summary of an embodiment is follows. 
     An object of an embodiment related to the present invention is to provide a digital television broadcast receiver, which is configured to optionally set brightness to an appropriate level on a GUI display such as an electronic program guide, and a method of controlling the receiver. 
     According to one aspect of the embodiment, there is provided an apparatus comprising a first signal processing module configured to process dynamic image content signal; a second signal processing module configured to process static image content signal for multiplexing them with the dynamic image content signal or displaying them independently; a first screen adjustment module configured to output first video setting information for video setting such as brightness and tone for the dynamic image content signal according to an operation input; a second screen adjustment module configured to output second video setting information for individually setting brightness and tone according to an operation input; and a video processing module configured to display the dynamic image content signal by using the first video setting information, and to display the image information signal by using the second video setting information. 
     According to the above means, a character screen and a program table screen are adjusted to appropriate brightness independently of an on-air screen. Further, the user individually adjusts these screens to appropriate states according to places to set the apparatus. 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained by referring to the drawings. At first, we will explain an outline of a broadcast receiver to which the present invention is adopted. 
       FIG. 1  shows a main signal processing system of a digital television broadcast receiver  41  described above. An antenna  43  for BS/OS digital broadcasting receives a satellite digital television broadcast signal. The received broadcast signal is supplied to a satellite digital broadcast tuner  45  through an input terminal  44 , thereby a broadcast signal of a desired channel is selected. 
     The broadcast signal selected by the tuner  45  is supplied to a phase shift keying (PSK) demodulator  46 , and demodulated to digital video and audio signals, and the signals are sent to a signal processing module  47 . 
     An antenna  48  for a terrestrial digital broadcast receives a terrestrial digital television broadcast signal. The received broadcast signal is supplied to a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner  50  through an input terminal  49 , thereby a broadcast signal of a desired channel is selected. 
     The broadcast signal selected by the tuner  50  is supplied to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) demodulator  51 , and demodulated to digital video and audio signals, and the signal are sent to the signal processing module  47 . 
     An analog tuner  58  for receiving a terrestrial analog signal is also provided. A signal received by the analog tuner  55  is demodulated by an analog demodulator  59   f  and applied to the signal processing module  47 . 
     The signal processing module  47  selectively performs predetermined digital signal processing for the digital video and audio signals supplied from the PSK demodulator  436 , OFDM demodulator  51 , analog demodulator  59  and line input terminal, and outputs the processed signals to a graphics processing module  52  and an audio processor  53 . 
     The graphics processing module  52  has a function of superposing an OSD signal generated by an on-screen display (OSD) signal generator  54  on the digital video signal supplied from the signal processing module  47 . The graphics processing module  52  can selectively output the video signal output of the signal processing module  47  and OSD signal output of the OSD signal generator  54 , and can combine these two signals so that each of them constitutes a half of a screen. 
     The digital video signal output from the graphics processing module  52  is supplied to a video processing module  55 . The video processing module  55  converts the input digital video signal to an analog video signal of a format displayable on a video display unit  57 , and outputs and displays the converted video signal on the video display unit  57   
     The audio processor  53  converts the input digital audio signal to an analog audio signal of a format reproducible through a speaker  56 , and outputs and reproduces the converted audio signal through the speaker  56 . 
     All operations of the digital television broadcast receiver  11  including the above-mentioned various receiving operations are collectively controlled by a control module  61 . 
     The control module  61  is incorporated with a central processing unit (CPU). When operation information is received from an operation module  71 , or when operation information sent from a remote controller  72  is received from a light-receiving module  73 , the control module  61  collectively controls each part so that the nature of operations is reflected in the apparatus. 
     In this case, the control module  61  mainly uses a read-only memory (ROM)  611  storing a control program executed by the CPU, a random access memory (RAM)  612  providing a work area for the CPU, and a nonvolatile memory  613  storing various kinds of setting and control information. 
     The control module  61  is connected to a card holder  76 , into which a first memory card  77  can be inserted through a card interface  75 . Therefore, the control module  61  can send/receive information to/from the first memory card  77  inserted into the card holder  76 , through the card interface  75 . The control module  61  may be connected to a card holder, into which a second memory card can be inserted, through another not-shown card interface. 
     The control module  61  is connected to a first LAN terminal  82  through a communication interface  81 . Therefore, the control module  61  can send/receive information to/from a LAN-compatible hard disc drive (HUD) connected to the first LAN terminal  82 , through the communication interface  81 . In this case, the control module  61  has a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server function, and effects control by assigning an Internet Protocol (IP) address to the LAN-compatible HDD connected to the first LAN terminal. The control module  61  may be connected to a second LAN terminal through another not-shown communication interface. 
     The control module  61  is connected to a USB terminal  84  through a USE interface  83 . Therefore, the control module  61  can send/receive information to/from each unit connected to the USE terminal  84 , through the USE interface  83 . 
     The control module  61  is connected to an i. Link (registered trademark) terminal  86  through an i. Link (registered trademark) interface  85 . Therefore, the control module  61  can send/receive information to from each unit connected to the i. Link terminal  86 , through the i. Link interface  85 . 
     The control module  61  can send/receive information to/from each unit connected to a HDMI terminal  88 , through a HDMI interface  87  conforming to the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) standard. 
     The control module  61  has a program table information processing module  621  for processing program information, and a menu information processing module  622 . As explained in detail later, the control module  61  includes a program table screen adjustment module  623  for controlling a program table display state, and an on-air screen adjustment module  624 . The control module  61  further includes a cursor position control module  625  for controlling cursor movement positions when the user operates the apparatus through the remote controller  72 . Each block in the control module  61  may consist of software. 
     The signal processing module  47  constitutes a first signal processing module for processing dynamic image content signals. The graphics processing module  52  and OSD signal generation module  54  compose a second signal processing module for processing static image content signals for multiplexing them with the dynamic image content signals or displaying them independently. 
     The on-air screen adjustment module  624  constitutes a first screen adjustment module, which outputs a first video setting information or video setting such as brightness and tone for the dynamic image content signals according to an operation input. The menu screen adjustment module  622  and program table screen adjustment module  623  compose a second screen adjustment module, which outputs a second video setting information for individually setting brightness and tone according to an operation input. The menu screen adjustment module  622  and program table screen adjustment module  623  include a character information processing module. The video processing module  55  displays the dynamic image content signals by using the first video setting information, and displays the image information signal by using the second video setting information. 
       FIG. 2  shows the external view of the remote controller  72 . The remote controller  72  mainly comprises a power key  17   a , input switching keys  17   b , satellite digital broadcast channel direct tuning keys  17   c , terrestrial broadcast channel direct selection keys  17   d , a quick key  17   e , a cursor key  17   f , a determine key  17   g , a program table key  17   h , page switching keys  17   i , a face net (navigation) key  17   j , a return key  17   k , a termination key  17   l , blue/red/green/yellow color keys  17   m , a channel up/down key  17   n , and a sound volume adjustment key  17   o.    
     When the program table key  17   h  is pressed, a program table is displayed. When the termination key  17   l  is pressed, the display returns to an on-air state (video display of a channel selected at present). 
     When the quick key  17   e  is pressed in the on-air state, a quick menu appears on an on-air screen of the display module  57 , as shown in  FIGS. 3A to 3C .  FIG. 3A  shows an on-air screen, and  FIG. 38  shows a quick menu  571  appeared on an on-air screen. The menu includes items of “change screen size”, “vide setting”, “audio setting” and “other setting”. The user selects a desired item by operating the cursor key. In  FIG. 3B , the cursor is moved to the “video setting”. 
     When the determine key is pressed in this state, adjustment items  572  appear as shown in  FIG. 3C . The adjustment items include “black level”, “color depth”, “tone”, “sharpness”, “color temperature”, “dynamic gamma”, and “V enhancer”. The user moves the cursor to a desired item. For example, move a vertical bar indicating an adjustment position to the right or left by operating the page switching keys  171   i  (or the channel up/down key  17   n ). 
     In the apparatus of the present invention, at least the brightness of a program table can be adjusted. On the screens shown in  FIGS. 4A to 4C , the brightness of a program table can be adjusted. 
     In the program table display state, a program table is displayed, a type of broadcast (characters to identify terrestrial digital broadcast, analog broadcast, and satellite broadcast), and current date and time are displayed in the uppermost stage. As for the program table itself, time of broadcast is indicated in the vertical direction, and a broadcast channel is indicated in the horizontal direction. Program names and performers in each time are indicated by characters. The user can reserve recording of a program by moving the cursor to a desired program name. 
     At first, the user presses the program table key  17   h . A program table appears as shown in  FIG. 4A . The, the user moves the cursor up, down or to the left/right boundary position. The screen is scrolled. The user can display the next time zone, channel or program name. 
     When the quick key  17   e  is pressed in the state of  FIG. 4A , a quick menu  573  for a program table appears as shown in  FIG. 4B . The Quick menu  573  includes “get program information”, “multi-display”, “program signs list”, “change character size”, “genre color setting”, and “program table brightness setting”. 
     If the “program table brightness setting” is selected, further adjustment items “clear” and “standard” appear. The user moves the cursor to a desired item, and operates the page switching keys  17   i  (or the channel up/down key  17   n ). Then, the screen responds to the operation, and changes. The “program table brightness setting” is selected in  FIG. 4B . The user presses the determine key when a desired clearness is obtained. This adjusts and sets the display state specific to a program table. The video setting information sets brightness and tone in the video processing module  55  for a video signal of program table information input to the OS signal generation module  54 . The video setting information is stored in the nonvolatile memory  613  so as too be used when the program table is displayed next time. 
     The nonvolatile memory  613  stores standard setting information as video setting information for a program table. The standard setting information is previously stored in a factory as optional information. 
     In the above explanation, there are two adjustment items, “clear” and “standard” as shown in  FIG. 4C . It is of course permitted to adjust “black level”, “color depth”, “tone”, “sharpness” and “color temperature” as shown in  FIG. 3C . 
     Further, in the above explanation, the effect of video setting appears in the entire program table display. But, the effect is not limited to this. The video setting effect may appear in program information at the position selected by a rectangular cursor. This clarifies the user&#39;s interested item. In addition to this effect, the area selected by the rectangular cursor may be magnified (zoomed in), and the video setting effect may appear in this area. 
     The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. An automatic adjustment function may be provided to adjust brightness of a screen according to surrounding conditions. 
       FIG. 5  shows a digital television broadcast receiver having a sensor  631  for detecting brightness in various surrounding conditions. A brightness-sensitive output of the sensor  631  is supplied to an automatic correction module  630  in the control module  61 . The automatic correction module  630  has a relation to setting information as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     In  FIG. 6 , the output of the sensor  631  is applied to the correction module  632 . Setting information has been applied to the correction module  632  through a selector SL 1 . The setting information consists of the information stored it memory modules  613   a  and  613   b . Namely, the memory modules  613   a  and  613   b  are ensured in the nonvolatile memory  613 . The memory module  613   a  saves the setting information adjusted by the program table screen adjustment module  623 . The memory module  613   b  saves the setting information adjusted by the on-air screen adjustment module  624 . When an on-air program signal is displayed, the selector SL 1  selects the setting information from the memory module  613   b , and supplies it to the correction module  632 . When a program table signal is displayed, the selector SL 1  selects toe setting information from the memory module  613   a , and supplies it to the correction module  632 . 
     Therefore, the correction module  632  outputs corrected video setting information. In this case, also, optimum brightness and tone are independently set for an on-air program and a program table. 
     The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. A means for forcibly controlling a program table signal may be provided.  FIG. 7  shows further embodiment. The output of the correction module  632  is applied to a selector SL 2 . The output of an IC information processing module  135  is also applied to the selector SL 2 . When a specific IC card is held in the IC holder, the IC information processing module  135  reads the information of this IC card. An IC card saves information to control a program table signal to a specific state, for example. When the EC card is recognized, the selector SL 2  is controlled to forcibly select the output of the IC information processing module  135 . The IC information processing module  135  also outputs a selector control signal. The output of the IC information processing module  135  is supplied to the video processing module through the selector SL 2 . 
     This function can be effectively used when the apparatus is installed in a particular environment, for example, when the apparatus is displayed in front of a store. When the apparatus is installed in front of a store, the apparatus may be placed in very bright outdoors. In such a case, normal brightness setting is insufficient for a program table and an on-air screen. Namely, the brightness must be controlled to brightness out of the ordinary setting range. In such a case, exceptional screen brightness control is possible by inserting the above-mentioned specific IC card into the card holder  76 . 
     A program table is explained herein. However, in the present invention, similar video setting is possible for character data to form a text screen. Namely, character data can be obtained from data broadcast, and can be temporarily stored in a memory. Character data is displayed on a screen, when the user makes a display request. The display content includes a text screen, a weather forecast, stock information, etc. When the display is switched to any of this content, the individual setting of brightness and tone described herein is possible. A character, subtitle and menu may be included in the dynamic content signals reproduced from a recording medium (DVD, hard disc, etc.). They are output mainly through the OSD signal generation module. The present invention permits adjustment of brightness and tone independently for such a character, subtitle and menu. When both dynamic and static age content is displayed, the content may be adjusted by different kinds of video setting information. In this case, the static image content may be multiplexed with the dynamic image content, or the dynamic and static images may be switched and independently displayed. 
     While certain embodiments of the invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the novel method and system described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the method and system described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.