Patent Publication Number: US-2005144637-A1

Title: Signal output method and channel selecting apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a technology of selecting a channel on the basis of user&#39;s preference information.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      When a viewer retrieves a desired television (TV) program from a group of TV programs which are presently being broadcasted, the most-familiar and frequently-used method is a method of selecting a channel by using an up/down key or ten keys of a remote controller to find a program while directly viewing programs. In the channel selection with the up/down key, the retrieval order is the order of channels. In the channel selection with the ten keys, a channel is assigned to each of the keys, so that the retrieval order is an order of selection of the ten keys by the viewer. The viewer finds a desired program by using any of the methods (hereafter, an operation of searching a desired program while switching a program to be displayed will be called “zapping”).  
      In recent years, because of digitalization of broadcasting, the number of viewable programs is increasing. For the viewers, it provides an advantage that the number of interesting programs increases. On the other hand, however, the zapping operation has a problem such that a complicated operation is necessary to find a desired program. In zapping using the up/down key, when the number of channels increases, the number of operations required for zapping increases. In zapping using the ten-key pad, although an operation similar to conventional one can be performed to select any of the channels assigned to the keys, in the case of zapping channels which are not assigned to the keys, a complicated operation has to be performed. Another method of finding a program is a method using an EPG (Electronic Program Guide). The EPG usually has a simple sorting function and is suitable for finding a program in some aspects. However, since the EPG is a method of retrieving mainly characters, for viewers who find a program by a conventional method of viewing mainly pictures, it cannot be always the that the method is easy to use.  
      In such circumstances, the present inventor has studied a zapping method with the up/down key, in which the user&#39;s preference is reflected. According to the method, preference of a viewer is estimated from history information of programs viewed by the viewer, and is used for zapping. Specifically, the order of selection is set to not the order of channels but the order of programs from the highest preference of the viewer. If the preference of the viewer is accurately reflected in the order, the viewer can relatively easily find a desired program by an operation similar to conventional one.  
      In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-253325, to make a user select and view a desired channel with efficiency and with precision from among many channels is proposed as a problem. A technology of displaying a recommendation program table that displays a group of programs meeting user&#39;s preference in a display unit by two-dimensional expression of a time axis and a recommendation axis is disclosed as means for solving the problem.  
      Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-275090 disclosed the following technology: when an event (for example, commercial message (CM)) is detected during the viewing of a program, the present channel is switched to a channel of the longest viewing time with reference to history information and when an event (CM) is detected also in the switched channel, the channel is further switched to a channel of the next history (see paraphrase 27 and  FIG. 7  in the above publication).  
     SUMAMRY OF THE INVENTION  
      Even if a channel is selected on the basis of a usage history (user&#39;s preference information), there are cases where an image transmitted by the selected channel is not an image constructing a TV program and an image that is not an image constructing the TV program comes to be displayed.  
      The object of the present invention is to prevent a screen from being brought to a state where only an image that is not an image constructing a TV program is displayed.  
      According to the first aspect of the invention, there is provided a signal output method of outputting an image signal to display an image, the method including: a selection step of selecting a channel according to a signal for giving an instruction of changing a channel; and an output step of outputting an image signal for displaying other image when an image of the channel selected at the selection step is an image that is not an image constructing a program. The “other image” includes information related to a program which is outputted or scheduled to be outputted by the channel selected. Which channel is selected at the selection step is determined on the basis of information related to a usage history of an apparatus having a device for performing the selection step. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram to show the construction of a receiving apparatus  10  according to the first and second embodiments of the invention,  
       FIG. 2  is an illustration to show the relationship between various kinds of information stored in a storing unit  107  according to the first and second embodiments of the invention and respective parts for storing the information,  
       FIG. 3  is a construction example of keys on a remote controller  20  according to the first, second, and third embodiments of the invention,  
       FIG. 4  shows display examples of screen transition in order of channel number when the up/down key of the remote controller  20  is pressed down,  
       FIG. 5  shows display examples of screen transition in decreasing order of viewer&#39;s preference when the up/down key of the remote controller  20  is pressed down,  
       FIG. 6  is a flow chart of a channel selection processing according to the first embodiment of the invention,  
       FIG. 7  is a flow chart of the channel selection processing according to the first embodiment of the invention,  
       FIG. 8  is a flow chart of the channel selection processing according to the first embodiment of the invention,  
       FIG. 9  is a zapping list example according to an embodiment of the invention,  
       FIG. 10  is a display example when some programs are in CM in  FIG. 5 ,  
       FIG. 11  is a display example in the channel selection processing according to the first embodiment of the invention,  
       FIG. 12  is a flow chart of a channel selection processing according to the first embodiment of the invention,  
       FIG. 13  is another display example in the channel selection processing according to the first embodiment of the invention,  
       FIG. 14  is a block diagram to show the construction of a receiving apparatus  10  according to the second embodiment of the invention,  
       FIG. 15  is an illustration to show the relationship between various kinds of information stored in a storing unit  107  according to the second embodiment of the invention and respective parts for storing the information,  
       FIG. 16  is a display example in a channel selection processing according to the second embodiment of the invention,  
       FIG. 17  is a flow chart of the channel selection processing according to the second embodiment of the invention,  
       FIG. 18  is a flow chart of the channel selection processing according to the second embodiment of the invention,  
       FIG. 19  is a flow chart of the channel selection processing according to the second embodiment of the invention, and  
       FIG. 20  is a display example in the channel selection processing according to the second embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      A method of utilizing preference information or history information is effective for accessing a desired TV program with relative ease by a conventional zapping operation even in a multi-channel environment. On the other hand, a zapping method that mainly uses images presents some problems even now. One of the problems is the difficulty of grasping the contents of a TV program at the time of zapping. Usually, in the zapping operation, a plurality of programs is viewed for a certain short period. For example, within a period during which CM (the commercial message) of a program that the viewer is viewing is on the air, in order to check the other programs, the viewer changes other channels in rapid succession. In this case, when a CM is on the air also in the other channel or even when a program is on the air, if the image is too difficult for the viewer to grasp the contents of the program, the viewer has difficulty in judging whether or not the program is interesting to himself. In particular, when the viewer performs the zapping operation in order of the decreasing degree of viewer&#39;s preference especially in a multi-channel environment, it is thought that the viewer does not previously recognize what the destination channel of selection is and hence the viewer has difficulty in judging only from the image whether or not the program is interesting to himself and why the program is selected as the destination channel.  
      Hence, the present inventors made a diligent study of a method of making it possible for a user to grasp the contents of a selected program with more relative ease when programs are displayed in the order determined on the basis of information related to the degree of user&#39;s preference.  
      Hereafter, the embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.  
     First Embodiment  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram to show the construction of a receiving apparatus (channel selecting apparatus)  10  according to the first embodiment of the invention.  
      This receiving apparatus  10  can receive a digital broadcast or an analog broadcast via a receiving unit  101 . Broadcast data received by the receiving unit  101  is demodulated and then sent to a separating unit  102 .  
      The separating unit  102  separates the multiplexed broadcast data. An AV stream constructing the program such as images and voices (hereinafter referred to as “program content 901”) is separated and then sent to a decoding unit  103 . In the case where information related to the program (hereinafter referred to as “program-related information 902”) exists in the broadcast data, the separating unit  102  separates the information from the program content  901  and then sends the information to a storing unit  107 . The program-related information  902  includes not only the same contents as the program information included in SI (service information) transmitted in a manner multiplexed in BS broadcast data but also related information for each scene of the program (hereinafter referred to as “program scene information”).  
      Here, the “scene” is such that divides a program into meaningful units in contents and the lengths (periods) of the respective scenes are different from each other. The program scene information holds information related to the respective scenes of the program. The information related to the scene includes, for example, the identification information of each scene, the starting time of each scene, the length (period) of the scene, general description, a keyword related to the scene, a link to the related information, and the like. The starting time of the scene and the length (period) of the scene is specified by time in some case and by the number of frames of image in the other case. The program scene information like this can be also utilized to search the scene of the program and to view the digest of the program. Further, the program scene information includes information to show whether or not each scene shows the contents of the program. For this reason, a scene including an image showing the contents of the program is differentiated from a scene including an image not showing the contents of the program such as CM. All information described above does not need to be included essentially in all program scene information. For example, in the program of soccer, the program scene information of a scene that possibly becomes a highlight of the program, for example, a goal scene includes much information but the program scene information of the other scenes includes relatively little information or does not include any information at all. However, even in the latter case, when the scene concerned does not show the contents of the program, it is assumed that the program scene information includes some information to show that.  
      Usually, the program-related information  902  of the program until about one week in the future is stored in the storing unit  107 . Depending on the program, the contents of the program are not fixed all this while immediately before the program is broadcast, so that it is thought that the program-related information  902  and the program scene information thereof are very much limited. For this reason, the above-described information can be dynamically updated at any time even when the program concerned is on the air, and the separating unit  102  monitors update information included in the program-related information  902  and updates the program-related information  902  before update, which is stored in the storing unit  107 , and the program scene information included in the program-related information  902  when it turned out that the program-related information is renewed by the above-described information.  
      The decoding unit  103  decodes the program content  901  separated by the separating unit  102  and passes motion image information of the program content  901  to a screen synthesizing unit  104 . Similarly, the decoding unit  103  passes the sound information of the program content  901  to an audio output unit (not shown). The screen synthesizing unit  104  combines the motion image information received from the decoding unit  103  with the information of still images and character figures received from a program information synthesizing unit  114  or switches between these two information. In the case of viewing TV usually, the screen synthesizing unit  104  passes the motion image information in the program content  901  received from the decoding unit  103  to a display unit  105 . On the other hand, in the case of displaying EPG and information showing the contents of the program, the screen synthesizing unit  104  combines the information of still images and character figures acquired from the program information synthesizing unit  114  with the motion image information and passes the combined information to the display unit  105 . The display unit  105  outputs the combined result from the screen synthesizing unit  104  on the screen to provide the result to the viewer. Similarly, the audio output unit also outputs the acquired sound information in synchronization with the motion images.  
      The storing unit  107  stores the program-related information  902  and history information (hereinafter referred to as “user history information 903”) of the programs viewed by the viewer, which will be described later. In  FIG. 2  is shown the relationship between various kinds of information stored in the storing unit  107  and the respective parts storing the information. The storing unit  107  is thought to be a hard disk or a semiconductor memory but is not limited to them. Here, the receiving apparatus  10  has a modem  113 . The program-related information  902  exists in a specific site on the Internet in some case and in this case, the receiving apparatus  10  is connected to the Internet via the modem  113  and can also download the program-related information  902 . The program-related information  902  acquired via the modem  113  is also stored in the storing unit  107 .  
      The viewer uses a remote controller  20  as operating means when viewing the program. The construction example of keys on the remote controller  20  is shown in  FIG. 3 . The remote controller  20  includes at least a power key, a ten-key, a key for regulating a sound level (volume), and an up/down key  401 . Further, the remote controller  20  includes a channel-selection switching key  20 A for switching the order of selecting channels at the time of performing a zapping operation by pressing down the up/down key  401  between the usual order of channel number and the decreasing order of viewer&#39;s preference. Remote control information  904  produced by the viewer pressing down the remote control key is received by a remote control input unit  112 . When this remote control information  904  is information related to the selection of channel, the remote control input unit  112  passes the remote control information  904  to a channel selecting unit  108 . Usually, the information related to the selection of channel means information which occurs when the up/down key or the ten-key provided on the remote controller  20  is pressed down, but is not limited to it. The information related to the selection of channel includes also the selection of channel via EPG. When the channel selecting unit  108  receives the remote control information  904 , it outputs channel-selection control information  907  according to the remote control information  904  to the receiving unit  101 . The receiving unit  101  performs tuning to a channel specified by the channel-selection control information  907 . The tuning to this specified channel corresponds to the selection of a signal path and the selection of a distribution source. On the other hand, the remote control information  904  is sent also to a user history determining unit  111  via the remote control input unit  112 . The user history determining unit  111  generates user history information  903  that is a viewer&#39;s program viewing, history from the program-related information  902  stored in the storing unit  107  and stores the user history information  903  in the storing unit  107 .  
      A user profile generating unit  110  generates a user profile that is user&#39;s program preference information. When the user profile is generated, not only information that is previously set in the receiving apparatus  10  and shows user&#39;s preference such as a program key word inputted by the viewer but also the user history information  903  stored in the storing unit  107  is used.  
      A list generating unit  109  generates a zapping list  906  on the basis of the user profile and the program-related information  902  stored in the storing unit  107 . The zapping list  906  is a list in which a group of programs broadcast during a specific time period are arranged in order of the decreasing degree of user&#39;s preference. The specific time period means a time period during which a certain program is broadcast and an update interval of the user profile. For this reason, every time one program now on the air is ended and a new program starts, the list generating unit  109  updates the zapping list  906 . Similarly, every time the user profile generating unit  110  updates the user profile, the list generating unit  109  regards the user&#39;s preference as having changed and updates the zapping list  906 . That is, the list generating unit  109  is means for determining the order of selecting channels in the zapping operation.  
      When the channel selecting unit  108  receives the remote control information  904  related to the selection of channel, it outputs the channel-selection control information  907  according to the zapping list  906  to the receiving unit  101 . For example, when the viewer performs a zapping operation by the up/down key  401  of the remote controller  20 , the channel selecting unit  108  makes, to the receiving unit  101 , not a request to select channels in order of channel number but a request to select a channel that broadcasts a program of higher degree of user&#39;s preference based on the zapping list  906 . The channel selecting unit  108  sends the information of the selection of channel also to the user history determining unit  111 . The user history determining unit  111  usually generates the user history information  903  from the remote control information  904  and the program-related information  902 , but when the user history determining unit  111  receives the information of the selection of channel from the channel selecting unit  108 , the user history determining unit  111  generates the user history information  903  on the basis of the information of the selection of channel and the program-related information.  
      A program determining unit  106  determines whether or not the image of the program now on the air shows the contents of the program. A determination method utilizes program scene information included in the program-related information  902 . The program determining unit  106  specifies and acquires program scene information corresponding to the image being now provided to the display unit  105  from among the program-related information  902 . Thereafter, the program determining unit  106  makes the determination by extracting information to show whether or not the image concerned shows the contents of the program (in other words, whether or not the image concerned is an image constructing the program) from the acquired program scene information.  
      The program information synthesizing unit  114  acquires information related to the specified program from the program-related information  902  stored in the storing unit  107  and then generates character figure information to be displayed by the display unit  105 . Further, thereafter, the program information synthesizing unit  114  makes a request to combine the information with the other motion image and to output the combined information to the screen synthesizing unit  104 . In this regard, the program information synthesizing unit  114  acquires the reason of recommendation of the program (reason why the program is at a higher level in the list) specified by the list generating unit  109 , if necessary, and then generates character figure information in the similar manner described above and makes a request to combine the character figure with the other motion image and to output the combined information to the screen synthesizing unit  104 .  
      Next, a channel selection processing (signal output method) by the receiving apparatus  10  will be described. In  FIG. 4  is shown the state of screen transition when the up/down key. 401  of the remote controller  20  is pressed down continuously (in other words, when the zapping operation is performed). Here, a case is thought where the viewer is first viewing the image  200  of a music program of a channel number  1 . In this case, when the viewer presses down the down key (or the up key) of the remote controller  20 , the screen transits from the image  200  of the channel number  1  to the image  201  of a channel number  2  and the image  202  of a channel number  3 . Depending on the receiving apparatus, there is a case where a channel not showing an image is automatically skipped, but channels are basically selected in order of channel number. Next, in  FIG. 5  is shown the state of screen in the case of selecting a channel based on the information of viewer&#39;s preference. Although the same remote control operation as described above is performed, the channel is selected not in order of channel number but in order of the decreasing degree of viewer&#39;s preference, so that the channel is selected not in order of selected channel but in irregular order. In  FIG. 5 , when the viewer presses down the down key (or up key) of the up/down key  401  while viewing the image  200  of program of the channel number  1 , the screen transits from the image  200  of the channel number  1  to the image  202  of the channel number  3  and the image  204  of a channel number  42 .  
      Hereafter, a zapping processing based on the viewer&#39;s preference shown in  FIG. 5  will be described by the use of  FIGS. 6, 7 , and  8 .  
       FIG. 6  is a processing flow from the starting of the receiving apparatus  10  to the providing of the first TV program. When the viewer starts the receiving apparatus  10 , the receiving apparatus  10  checks a mode (step S 201  in  FIG. 6 ). There exists a plurality of modes according to difference in order of the selection of channels at the time of zapping operation by pressing down the up/down key  401 . One of the modes is a usual channel-selection mode in order of the channel number and another mode is a channel-selection mode in order of the decreasing degree of viewer&#39;s preference. Here, in the case of the latter mode, the list generating unit  109  in the receiving apparatus  10  acquires a user profile from the user profile generating unit  110  and the program-related information  902  from the storing unit  107  and generates the zapping list  906  ( FIG. 6 , step S 202 ). The list is generated by extracting a corresponding group of programs from the program-related information  902  and by arranging the extracted group of programs in order of the decreasing degree of viewer&#39;s preference on the basis of the user profile. The programs to become objects for the production of the list may include the program now on the air and a program scheduled to be started in a few minutes. For example, many programs start at round times such as 17:00 and 17:30 and when the viewer starts the receiving apparatus  10  at 16:56, it is also recommended that not only the program on the air at that time but also a program scheduled to be started in a few minutes (here, 17:00) be an object for the production of the list. However, when the viewer selects a channel according to the list, in the case where a channel of the program scheduled to be started in a few minutes is selected, the viewer is provided with notification of the effect that the corresponding program is not yet started. It is also preferable to display the name of a program to be started in a few minutes on the display screen. In addition, it is also preferable to display the detailed information of the program such as contents and genre of the program.  
      In  FIG. 9  is shown an example of a zapping list  906 . In the zapping list  906  are described the order of selection of channel, channel number, name of program, stating time, and ending time. Further, reasons for recommendation are also described for programs in higher ranks in the list. The reasons for recommendation are extracted at step S 202 . Frequency according to the degree of viewer&#39;s preference is allotted by a predetermined algorithm in the user profile for each information included in the program-related information  902  of the program viewed in the past by the viewer. For this reason, programs including the information of higher frequencies of the program-related information  902  acquired from the storing unit  107  at step S 202  are arranged in the higher ranks of the zapping list  906 . At step S 202 , the information of higher frequency is stored as reason for recommendation of the program for each program in the list.  
      Here, while it is assumed that the user profile is previously generated, there is also a case where the user profile is generated when the receiving apparatus  10  is started. In this case, the user profile generating unit  110  generates a user profile and then the user profile is acquired by the list generating unit  109 . The zapping list  906  is generated at step S 202  and then the channel selecting unit  108  in the receiving apparatus  10  instructs the receiving unit  101  to select the channel of a program to be provided first ( FIG. 6 , step S 203 ). The program to be provided first may be also a program having been viewed last time. Alternatively, the program may be also a program of the highest rank among the programs described in the zapping list  906 . However, in the latter case, the channel selecting unit  108  needs to acquire the zapping list  906  from the list generating unit  109  before making a request to select a channel to the receiving unit  101 . After step S 203 , the receiving apparatus  10  waits for remote control information  904  to be inputted ( FIG. 7 , step S 204 ). If the remote control information  904  is not inputted for a predetermined period at step S 204 , the receiving apparatus  10  makes a determination of updating the zapping list  906  ( FIG. 7 , step S 207 ). The zapping list  906  is updated when one program of the list is ended (or gets close to the end) ( FIG. 7 , step S 208 ). In the example of the list shown in  FIG. 9 , the list is updated during the time period described in the item of “ending time”. In this case, the zapping list  906  is generated in the form including a program to start newly when the list is updated (or in a few minutes after the list is updated). Further, at step S 207 , the user profile generating unit  110  is checked to see whether or not the user profile is updated. If the user profile is updated, the zapping list  906  is updated aside from the update timing described above ( FIG. 7 , step S 208 ). After this update, the updated user profile is used to update the zapping list  906 . If the zapping list is not updated at step S 207  or the zapping list  906  is updated at step S 208 , after that, the routine again returns to step S 204  where the receiving apparatus  10  waits for the remote control information  906  to be inputted. If the remote control information is inputted from the viewer at step S 204 , in other words, if the remote control input unit  112  receives the remote control information  904 , the remote control input unit  112  determines whether or not the remote control information  904  is information produced by pressing down the up/down key  401  ( FIG. 7 , step S 205 ). If the remote control information  904  is not information produced by pressing down the up/down key  401 , the remote control input unit  112  determines whether or not the remote control information  904  is information of a request to end the receiving apparatus  10  ( FIG. 7 , step S 206 ). Here, if the remote control information  904  is information of a request to end the receiving apparatus  10 , before the receiving apparatus  10  is ended, the receiving apparatus  10  abandons the zapping list  906  and updates the user history information  903  and stores the updated user history information  903  in the storing unit  107 . If the remote control information  904  is not information of a request to end the receiving apparatus  10  at step S 206 , a predetermined processing is performed and then the routine again returns to step S 204  where the receiving apparatus  10  waits the remote control information  904  to be inputted. If the remote control information  904  is information produced by the pressing down the up/down key  401  at step S 205 , the remote control input unit  112  transmits the remote control information  904  to the channel selecting unit  108 . The channel selecting unit  108  having received the remote control information  904  acquires the zapping list  906  from the list generating unit  109  ( FIG. 8 , step S 209 ) and specifies the program corresponding thereto (destination channel) and makes a request to select the destination channel to the receiving unit  101  ( FIG. 8 , step S 210 ). Thereafter, the routine again returns to step S 204  where the receiving apparatus  10  waits the remote control information  904  to be inputted. When the viewer performs the zapping operation, a series of processing from step S 204  in  FIG. 7  to step S 210  in  FIG. 8  are iterated.  
      Next, a processing in the case where an image (for example, CM) that is not an image constructing a program is broadcast during a processing of selecting a channel on the basis the information of viewer&#39;s preference will be described. As shown in  FIG. 10 , when an image  205  of a channel in which CM is being broadcast is displayed during a zapping operation, the viewer falls into difficulty in grasping the contents of a program. For this reason, in this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 11 , when the CM image is being broadcast, “other image”  206  such as description of the contents of program and reason for recommendation is dynamically inserted into the screen. Here, the reason for recommendation is added only to a program of higher rank in recommendation. The description of the program contents includes the description of the program, genre, performers, and program broadcast time. Hereafter, this processing will be described with reference to  FIGS. 6, 7 , and  12 .  
      The processing (step S 201  to step S 203 ) at the time of starting the receiving apparatus  10 , shown in  FIG. 6 , and the processing of waiting for the remote control information  904  to be inputted, shown in  FIG. 7 , step S 204 , are the same as the processing described above. However, the mode selected at the time of checking a mode at step S 201  is a mode in which a channel in order of the decreasing degree of viewer&#39;s preference and in which a CM determination processing is effective.  
      If the remote control information  904  is inputted at step S 204  and it is determined that the information  904  is information inputted by pressing down the up/down key  401 , the remote control input unit  112  sends the remote control information  904  to the channel selecting unit  108  ( FIG. 7 , step S 205 ). The channel selecting unit  108  having received the remote control information  904  acquires the zapping list  906  from the list generating unit  109  ( FIG. 12 , step S 211 ). Then, when the channel selecting unit  108  determines the program of the destination channel by the acquired zapping list  906  (selection step), the channel selecting unit  108  makes an inquiry about whether or the program is broadcasting CM to the program determining unit  106  ( FIG. 12 , step S 212 ). The program determining unit  106  having received the inquiry acquires program scene information in the program-related information  902  stored in the storing unit  107  and determines whether or not the program is broadcasting CM (determination step). If it is determined at step S 212  that the program is not broadcasting CM, just with the above case, the channel selecting unit  108  makes a request to select the channel of the program to the receiving unit  101  ( FIG. 12 , step S 213 ). Thereafter, when step S 213  is ended, the routine again returns to step S 204  where the receiving apparatus  10  waits for the remote control information  904  to be inputted. If it is determined at step S 212  that the program is broadcasting CM (that is, it is determined that the image of the selected channel is an image that is not an image constructing the program), the channel selecting unit  108  makes a request to output an image signal for displaying “other image” including information related to a program which is outputted by the selected channel or a program which is scheduled to be outputted by the selected channel, to the program information synthesizing unit  114 . In this embodiment, the channel selecting unit  108  makes a request to combine the program information and the reason for recommendation with the image (CM) of channel and to output the combined result to the program information synthesizing unit  114 . The program information synthesizing unit  114  having received the request extracts the program information of the program concerned from the program-related information  902  stored in the storing unit  107  ( FIG. 12 , step S 214 ). Similarly, the program information synthesizing unit  114  acquires the reason for recommendation that is described in the zapping list  906  by the list generating unit  109  ( FIG. 12 , step S 215 ). Here, the storing unit  107  and the list generating unit  109  construct a program-related information holding unit that holds information related to a program which is outputted or scheduled to be outputted by the channel selected. Then, the channel selecting unit  108  makes a request to select the channel of the program concerned to a receiving unit  101  and the receiving unit  101  receives the requested program ( FIG. 12 , step S 216 ). Thereafter, at step S 217 , the screen synthesizing unit  104  generates an image signal of combining the character figure information, which shows the description of the program contents and the reason for recommendation received from the program information synthesizing unit  114 , with the image from the receiving unit  1101  and outputs the image signal to the display unit  105  (output step). The description of the program contents and the reason for recommendation may be automatically brought out of display in a certain time or may be brought out of display by the viewer. Thereafter, when step S 217  is ended, the routine again returns to step S 204  where the receiving apparatus  10  waits for the remote control information  904  to be inputted.  
      In the above-described output step, an outputted image signal is such that displays other image (in this embodiment, character figure information that shows the description of the program contents and the reason for recommendation) in at least part of the same display region as a display region where an image constructing a program is displayed when the image of the channel selected is the image constructing the program. For example, in the example shown in  FIG. 11 , the display region of the image  200  and the like constructing the program is the whole screen and the other image  206  is displayed in a portion (the center portion) of the display region (whole screen). Alternatively, like the example shown in  FIG. 13 , when an image constructing the program is displayed in a child screen  207  (in other words, the zapping operation is performed in the child screen  207 ), the other image  208  is displayed in a portion of the child screen  207  thereof. In the multiple screen display, the image of the program now being viewed is displayed in a display region (parent screen)  209  outside the child screen  207  in many cases. If the other image  208  is displayed in at least part of the child screen  207 , it is possible to prevent the other image  208  from interfering with the viewing of an important image displayed in the display region  209  outside the child screen  207 .  
      According to this embodiment, in a channel selection processing of performing a zapping operation in order of the decreasing degree of viewer&#39;s preference, when the image of a selected channel is a CM image, the description of the program contents is dynamically displayed to the viewer. Hence, the viewer is not required to wait for the CM to end nor required to display the description of the program contents by hand and hence can check the contents of the program within a short time. Further, since the contents of the program and the reason for recommendation can be displayed at the same time to the viewer, the viewer can judge the degree of preference for the program with more ease.  
      In this regard, while the CM image has been described here as an image that is not an image constructing the program, the image is not limited to the CM image. An image that is not an image constructing the program, for example, even an image of showing that a program can not be broadcast or a test pattern can also perform the same processing as described above and can produce the same effect.  
      Further, while the determination processing by the program determining unit  106  is performed by the information acquired from the program scene information in this embodiment, the determination processing is not limited to this. Other determination processing such as the direct determination of the contents of the program from the image and sound of the program content  901  can be used. For example, the switching of sound information between monophonic sound and stereophonic sound may be regarded as the switching of the contents of the program and may be used for the determination processing.  
     Second Embodiment  
       FIG. 14  is a block diagram to show the construction of a receiving apparatus  10  according to the second embodiment of the invention.  
      The construction common to the first embodiment is denoted by the same reference symbols and its description will be omitted and only the differences between the first and second embodiments will be described below. In this receiving apparatus  10 , the receiving unit  101  can receive two programs at the same time. The separating unit  102  separates multiplexed broadcast data received through the receiving unit  101  and then sends the program content  901  for display to the decoding unit  103 . On the other hand, the separating unit  102  sends the program-related information  902  separated from the program content  901  to the storing unit  107 . Further, at the same time, the separating unit  102  sends also the program content  901  for storage (hereinafter referred to as stored content  909 ) to the storing unit  107 . Here, it is thought that the storing unit  107  is a hard disk or a semiconductor memory but the storing unit  107  is not limited to the hard disk or the semiconductor memory.  FIG. 15  shows the relationship between various kinds of information stored in the storing unit  107  and the respective parts to store them. As compared with the first embodiment, the stored content  909  is newly stored in the storing unit  107 . Here, the storing unit  107  can be constructed of two or more different storage media to store the stored content  909  and information other than the stored content  909  in different storage media. Here, the storing unit  107  constructs an recording unit that records an image of a program.  
      The decoding unit  103  decodes the program content  901  separated by the separating unit  102  and passes the motion image information of the program content  901  to the screen synthesizing unit  104 . Further, the decoding unit  103  passes the sound information of the program content  901  to the audio output unit (not shown). Further, similarly, the decoding unit  103  decodes also the stored content  909  stored in the storing unit  107  and passes the decode result to the screen synthesizing unit  104  and the audio output unit. When the screen synthesizing unit  104  receives two or more motion image information from the decoding unit  103 , the screen synthesizing unit  104  combines them or switches between them.  
      A store/replay controlling unit  115  controls the storage and replay (reproduction) of the stored content  909  stored in the storing unit  107 . When the list generating unit  109  generates the zapping list  906  at the time of the receiving apparatus  10  being started, the stored content  909  is automatically stored according to the list. The stored content  909  is reproduced when the viewer sends an instruction of replay via the remote controller  20  or when the channel selecting unit  108  makes a reproduction request, which will be described later. When the store/replay controlling unit  115  reproduces the stored content  909 , the store/replay controlling unit  115  makes a request to decode the specified stored content  909  to the decoding unit  103 . Further, when it is necessary to output the combination of the stored content  909  and the program content  901 , the store/replay controlling unit  115  sends control information to be required to combine the stored content  909  with the program content  901  to the screen synthesizing unit  104 . Further, the store/replay controlling unit  115  manages the stored content  909  and grasps the correspondence between the program now on the air and the stored content  909 . Still further, when the program is ended and the zapping list  906  is updated, the store/replay controlling unit  115  automatically deletes the stored content  909  of the program that become unnecessary.  
      The remote control input unit  112 , the user history determining unit  111 , the user profile generating unit  110 , the list generating unit  109 , the channel selecting unit  108 , and the program determining unit  106  are constructed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.  
      The viewer uses the remote controller  20  as operating means at the time of viewing the program. In addition to the same construction as in the first embodiment, a remote control key required to replay the stored content  909  is additionally provided in the remote controller  20 .  
      Next, a channel selection processing of the receiving apparatus  10  in this embodiment will be described. The state of the screen transition when the up/down key  401  of the remote controller  20  is continuously pressed down is the same as in the first embodiment. (refer to  FIG. 4 ). In this embodiment, the state of display when a channel of an image (CM image or the like) that is not an image constructing the program is displayed during processing the zapping operation on the basis of the information of viewer&#39;s preference like this is shown in  FIG. 16 . Here, when the image of the selected channel is determined to be a CM image  205 , an image  210  of a program that is outputted by the selected channel and has been previously stored (recorded) is displayed in the manner superimposed on the CM image  205 . The image  210  having been previously stored is an image constructing the program. Here, in this case, the CM image  205  may be displayed as a child screen on the image  210  of the stored content  909 . Further, only the image  205  of the stored content  909  may be displayed. Hereafter, this processing will be described by the use of  FIGS. 17, 18  and  19 .  
       FIG. 17  is a processing flow from the starting of the receiving apparatus  10  to the providing of the first TV program. When the viewer starts the receiving apparatus  10 , the receiving apparatus  10  checks a mode ( FIG. 17 , step S 301 ). There are a plurality of modes according to difference between the order of selection of channels when the zapping operation is performed by pressing down the up/down key  401  and whether or not a CM determination processing is effective. Here, a mode will be described in which channels are selected in order of the decreasing degree of viewer&#39;s preference and in which the CM determination processing is effective. When a mode is checked at step S 301 , at step S 302 , the list generating unit  109  in the receiving apparatus  10  acquires the user profile from the user profile generating unit  110  and the program-related information  902  from the storing unit  107  and generates the zapping list  906 . The list generating unit  109  extracts a group of programs concerned from the program-related information  902  and then arranges the extracted group of programs in order of the decreasing degree of viewer&#39;s preference on the basis of the user profile, thereby generating the zapping list  906 . The programs to become an object in the generation of the list may include not only the program now on the air but also a program scheduled to be started in a few minutes. The format of the zapping list  906  is the same as in the first embodiment (refer to  FIG. 9 ). Thereafter, the receiving apparatus  10  starts sequential recording of the images according to the generated list ( FIG. 17 , step S 303 ). The sequential recording means an operation of recording each program of a group of programs ranking higher in the zapping list  906  for a predetermined period in sequence. The number of programs to be recorded and a period of recording each program are set by the viewer. When the sequential recording is started at step S 303 , the channel selecting unit  108  instructs the receiving unit  101  to select the channel of a program to be displayed first ( FIG. 17 , step S 304 ). Then, the receiving apparatus  10  waits for the remote control information  904  to be inputted.  
      A processing of sequential recording will be described. First, the store/replay controlling unit  115  acquires the zapping list  906  from the list generating unit  109  and determines a program to be recorded first in the list ( FIG. 17 , step S 305 ). Usually, at first, a program ranking highest in the list is selected. Thereafter, programs are selected in order of the list. When the order of the list is changed because the list is updated or the like, the programs are selected again from the start of order of the list. When there is a program not yet to be recorded, the program is selected with higher priority. Then, an inquiry about whether or not the selected program is now broadcasting CM is made to the program determining unit  106  ( FIG. 17 , step S 306 ). The program determining unit  106  having received the inquiry acquires the program scene information in the program-related information  902  stored in the storing unit  107  and determines whether or not the selected program is now broadcasting CM. If, at step S 306 , it is determined that the selected program is now broadcasting CM, the routine again returns to step S 305  where a program to be recorded next is determined. If, at step S 306 , it is determined that the selected program is not broadcasting CM, the store/replay controlling unit  115  makes a request to select the channel of the program concerned to the receiving unit  101  and at the same time makes a request to change a output destination into the storing unit  107  to the separating unit  102  to start recording images ( FIG. 17 , step S 307 ). The recording of images, which is started at step S 307 , is automatically stopped when a predetermined period is exceeded and then the routine again returns to step S 305  where a program to be recorded next is determined. A series of processing of sequential recording from step S 305  to step S 307  are iterated until the viewer does not make a clear request to end the processing.  
       FIG. 18  shows a processing after the receiving apparatus  10  waiting for the remote control information  904  to be inputted. At step S 308 , the receiving apparatus  10  waits for the remote control information  904  to be inputted ( FIG. 18 , step S 308 ). If the information is not inputted for a predetermined period, the receiving apparatus  10  determines whether or not the zapping list  906  is updated ( FIG. 18 , step S 312 ). The zapping list  906  is updated when one program of the list is ended (or is close to ending) ( FIG. 18 , step S 313 ). Further, at step  5312 , the user profile generating unit  110  is checked to see whether or not the user profile is updated. If the user profile is updated, the zapping list  906  is updated apart from the update timing described above ( FIG. 18 , step S 313 ). After this update, the updated user profile is used for updating the zapping list  906 . If the zapping list  906  is not updated at step S 312 , or after the zapping list  906  is updated at step S 313 , the routine again returns to step S 308  where the receiving apparatus  10  waits for the remote control information  904  to be inputted. If the remote control information  904  is inputted from the viewer at step S 308 , in other words, if the remote control input unit  112  receives the remote control information  904 , the remote control input unit  112  determines whether or not the information is information related to the channel selection ( FIG. 18 , step S 309 ). If the information is not information related to the channel selection, it is determined whether or not the information is a request to end the receiving apparatus  10  ( FIG. 18 , step S 310 ). Here, if the information is a request to end the receiving apparatus  10 , before the receiving apparatus  10  is ended, the receiving apparatus  10  abandons the zapping list  906  and the user profile and updates the user history information  903  and stores the updated user history information  903  in the storing unit  107 . At the same time, the sequential recording is ended and the stored content  909  having recorded until then are deleted ( FIG. 18 , step S 311 ). It is also recommended that if the viewer sets the stored content  909  to be stored, the stored content  909  is stored also after the receiving apparatus  10  is ended. If the information is not a request to end the receiving apparatus  10  at step S 310 , a predetermined processing is performed and then the routine again returns to step S 308  where the receiving apparatus  10  waits for the remote control information  904  to be inputted.  
      If the remote control information  904  is information related to the channel selection at step S 309 , the remote control input unit  112  transmits the remote control information  904  to the channel selecting unit  108 . The channel selecting unit  108  having received the remote control information  904  acquires the zapping list  906  from the list generating unit  109  ( FIG. 19 , step S 314 ). Then, when the channel selecting unit  108  determines the program concerned from the acquired zapping list  906  (selection step), the channel selecting unit  108  makes an, inquiry about whether or not the program concerned is now broadcasting CM to the program determining unit  106  ( FIG. 19 , step S 315 ). If it is determined at step S 315  that the program concerned is not broadcasting CM, the channel selecting unit  108  makes a request to select the channel of the program concerned to the receiving unit  101  ( FIG. 19 , step S 316 ). Then, the routine again returns to step S 308  where the receiving apparatus  10  waits for the remote control information  904  to be inputted. If it is determined at step S 315  that the program concerned is now broadcasting CM (that is, when it is determined that the image of the selected channel is an image that is not an image constructing the program), the store/replay controlling unit  115  is checked to see whether or not the stored content  909  of the program concerned exists ( FIG. 19 , step S 317 , image-recording checking step). If the stored content  909  of the program concerned does not exist in the storing unit  107  at this point in time, the routine proceeds to step S 316  where the channel selecting unit  108  makes a request to select the channel of the program concerned to the receiving unit  101 . At this time, as shown in the first embodiment, the program information related to the program concerned may be displayed at the same time. On the other hand, if the stored content  909  exists already at this point in time, just with the case described above, the channel selecting unit  108  makes a request to select the channel of the program concerned to the receiving unit  101  ( FIG. 19 , step S 318 ) and at the same time makes a request to combine the stored content  909  with the motion image of the program concerned and to output the combined result to the store/replay controlling unit  115  ( FIG. 19 , step S 318 ). When the store/replay controlling unit  115  receives the request, it acquires the stored content  909  of the program concerned from the storing unit  107  and passes the stored content  909  to the decoding unit  103  to decode the stored content  909 . Further, the screen synthesizing unit  104  generates an image signal in which the stored content  909  is combined with the program content  901  according to a predetermined setting and outputs the image signal to the display unit  105  (output step) That is, in this embodiment, when the image of the selected channel is an image that is not an image constructing the program, an image signal for displaying the recorded image of the program concerned is outputted as other image including information related to the program outputted by the selected channel. Here, there is a case where the replay time of the stored content  909  is shorter than the broadcast time of CM. In this case, the stored content  909  may be iteratively replayed or may be ended only once. Then, the routine again returns to step S 308  where the receiving apparatus  10  waits for the remote control information  904  to be inputted. When the viewer performs the zapping operation, a series of processing from step S 308  in  FIG. 18  to step S 316  or to step S 319  in  FIG. 19  are iterated.  
      According to this embodiment, in a channel selection processing of performing a zapping operation in order of the decreasing degree of viewer&#39;s preference, when the image of a selected channel is a CM image, by displaying the recorded image scene of the contents of a program dynamically, the viewer can obtain the same effect as in the first embodiment. Further, in the case where the recorded image of the program is long enough to see, the viewer can more easily grasp the synopsis or story before that time of the program, which is difficult to grasp by the conventional zapping operation. Still further, by the concurrent use of a replay function such as double-speed replay, the viewer can grasp, for example, long hours of program and a program whose theme changes for each corner.  
      Further, while the CM image has been taken and described as an image that is not an image constructing the program, as is the case with the first embodiment, the non-program images can be used.  
      Further, while the determination processing by the program determining unit  106  is such that is performed in this embodiment, just with the first embodiment, by using information acquired from the program scene information, the determination processing is not necessarily performed by the information but may be performed by the use of the other determination processing. For example, it is also recommendable to regard the switching between monophonic sound information and stereophonic sound information as the switching of the contents of the program and to use the switching for the determination processing.  
      Still further, it is also recommendable to combine a recorded image showing program contents with a non-program image such as CM and at the same time to display the description of the program contents and the reason for recommendation of the program, which has been described in the first embodiment. An example of concurrent display is shown in  FIG. 20 . In this case, a child screen is a recorded image  210 . An image  206  including the description of the program contents and the reason for recommendation is displayed outside the recorded image  210 . Here, the image  206  of the description of the program contents and the like may be superimposed on the recorded image  210  for display. In this case, it is recommended that the image  206  be OSD-displayed in a translucent manner in such a way that the recorded image  210  can be recognized.  
      This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2003-435664 filed Dec. 26, 2003 and 2004-345330 filed Nov. 30, 2004, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.