Patent Publication Number: US-8542974-B2

Title: Portable information terminal apparatus, information processing method, computer-program storage medium

Description:
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/787,393, filed Apr. 16, 2007, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/084,871, filed Feb. 27, 2002 (Abandoned), with a claim of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 to Japanese Application 2001-053305, filed in Japan on Feb. 28, 2001, the entirety thereof being incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a portable information terminal apparatus, an information processing method, a computer-program storage medium, and a computer-program. More particularly, the invention relates to a portable information terminal apparatus, an information processing method, a computer-program storage medium, and a computer-program, whereby a user operating the portable information terminal apparatus such as a so-called PDA can preset a desired TV program to be recorded unattended. 
     Some TV program recorders known as VTRs (video tape recorders) allow users to preset desired programs to be later recorded unattended using the so-called G code (trademark of Gemstar Development Corp.). This technology involves the user operating a remote commander to input a G code corresponding to the desired TV program, the G code being transmitted as an infrared ray signal to the VTR. Upon receipt of the infrared ray signal, the VTR decodes the G code carried by the signal to find out the date of broadcast, the name of the TV station concerned, the name of the TV program to be recorded, a program start time, and a program end time for analysis, and presets accordingly the TV program for recording. 
     Examples of the technology above are disclosed illustratively in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,335,079 and 5,307,173. 
     One disadvantage of the above-disclosed method is its complexity of operation. The method requires the user to look up a G code of up to eight digits corresponding to a desired TV program in the program list carried by the newspaper, magazines or other publications and to manually input the selected G code. 
     Recent years have seen the launch of a service based on a system utilizing a TV program preset website on the Internet allowing users to preset website programs to be later recorded unattended. According to this preset recording system, a user operates a portable information terminal apparatus such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or a personal computer initially to access a TV program preset website offering TV program information (in the form of a TV program list). Browsing through the program information, the user searches for the desired TV program. Once the desired program is chosen, the user operates a preset button to download the relevant program information describing the name of the TV station concerned, the name of the TV program to be recorded, a program start time, and a program end time. 
     A disadvantage of the recording preset system above is that users must keep displaying the TV program list on their PDA or personal computer screen after gaining access to the TV program preset website, until they find the programs they have been searching for. The search process is time-consuming and expensive in an online communication environment. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide techniques involving a portable information terminal apparatus allowing users to acquire and record program information in advance so that they can later browse through the recorded program information as needed to look up a desired program offline and to preset unattended recording of the desired program. 
     To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect thereof, there is provided a portable information terminal apparatus connected to a recording/reproducing apparatus, including: a first generating element for generating a first signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to acquire program information about a program, the generation of the first signal being based on an operation performed by a user; a first transmitting element for transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the first signal generated by the first generating element; a second generating element for generating a second signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to display the acquired program information, the generation of the second signal being based on an operation performed by the user; a second transmitting element for transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the second signal generated by the second generating element; a third generating element for generating a third signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to preset the program for unattended recording, the generation of the third signal being based on an operation performed by the user; and a third transmitting element for transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the third signal generated by the third generating element. 
     In one preferred structure of the portable information terminal apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the first transmitting element, the second transmitting element and the third transmitting element may transmit infrared rays modulated to represent the first signal, the second signal and the third signal generated by the first generating element, the second generating element and the third generating element respectively. 
     In another preferred structure of the portable information terminal apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the first transmitting element, the second transmitting element and the third transmitting element may transmit radio waves modulated to represent the first signal, the second signal and the third signal generated by the first generating element, the second generating element and the third generating element respectively. 
     A further preferred structure information terminal apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention may further includes: a fourth generating element for generating a fourth signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to convert the recorded program to video data in a predetermined file format before outputting the converted video data, the generation of the fourth signal being based on an operation performed by the user; and a fourth transmitting element for transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the fourth signal generated by the fourth generating element. 
     In an even further preferred structure of the portable information terminal apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the fourth transmitting element may transmit infrared rays modulated to represent the fourth signal generated by the fourth generating element. 
     In a still further preferred structure of the portable information terminal apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the fourth transmitting element may transmit radio waves modulated to represent the fourth signal generated by the fourth generating element. 
     According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an information processing method for use with a portable information terminal apparatus connected to a recording/reproducing apparatus, including the steps of: firstly generating a first signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to acquire program information about a program, the generation of the first signal being based on an operation performed by a user; firstly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the first signal generated in the first generating step; secondly generating a second signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to display the acquired program information, the generation of the second signal being based on an operation performed by the user; secondly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the second signal generated in the second generating step; thirdly generating a third signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to preset the program for unattended recording, the generation of the third signal being based on an operation performed by the user; and thirdly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the third signal generated in the third generating step. 
     According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer-program storage medium which stores a computer-program readable by a computer for controlling a portable information terminal apparatus connected to a recording/reproducing apparatus, including the steps of: firstly generating a first signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to acquire program information about a program, the generation of the first signal being based on an operation performed by a user; firstly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the first signal generated in the first generating step; secondly generating a second signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to display the acquired program information, the generation of the second signal being based on an operation performed by the user; secondly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the second signal generated in the second generating step; thirdly generating a third signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to preset the program for unattended recording, the generation of the third signal being based on an operation performed by the user; and thirdly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the third signal generated in the third generating step. 
     According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer-program for causing a computer connected to a recording/reproducing apparatus to execute the steps of: firstly generating a first signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to acquire program information about a program, the generation of the first signal being based on an operation performed by a user; firstly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the first signal generated in the first generating step; secondly generating a second signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to display the acquired program information, the generation of the second signal being based on an operation performed by the user; secondly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the second signal generated in the second generating step; thirdly generating a third signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to preset the program for unattended recording, the generation of the third signal being based on an operation performed by the user; and thirdly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the third signal generated in the third generating step. 
     Through the use of the portable information terminal apparatus, information processing method, and computer-program according to the first, the second and the fourth aspects of the invention respectively, an operation carried out by the user generates the first signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to acquire program information about a specific program, and the first signal is transmitted to the recording/reproducing apparatus. Another operation performed by the user generates the second signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to display the acquired program information, and the second signal is transmitted to the recording/reproducing apparatus. Yet another operation effected by the user generates the third signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to preset the program for unattended recording, and the third signal is transmitted to the recording/reproducing apparatus. 
     According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a portable information terminal apparatus connected to a recording/reproducing apparatus, including: a first generating element for generating a first signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to acquire program information about a program, the generation of the first signal being based on an operation performed by a user; a first transmitting element for transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the first signal generated by the first generating element; a second generating element for generating a second signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to display the acquired program information, the generation of the second signal being based on an operation performed by the user; a second transmitting element for transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the second signal generated by the second generating element; a third generating element for generating a third signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to preset the program for unattended recording, the generation of the third signal being based on an operation performed by the user; a third transmitting element for transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the third signal generated by the third generating element; and a receiving element for receiving a fourth signal transmitted from the recording/reproducing apparatus. 
     In one preferred structure of the portable information terminal apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the first transmitting element, the second transmitting element and the third transmitting element may transmit infrared rays modulated to represent the first signal, the second signal and the third signal generated by the first generating element, the second generating element and the third generating element respectively. 
     In another preferred structure of the portable information terminal apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the first transmitting element, the second transmitting element and the third transmitting element may transmit radio waves modulated to represent the first signal, the second signal and the third signal generated by the first generating element, the second generating element and the third generating element respectively. 
     In a further preferred structure of the portable information terminal apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the fourth signal may be carried either by infrared rays or by radio waves. 
     An even further preferred structure of the portable information terminal apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the invention may further includes: a fourth generating element for generating a fifth signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to convert the recorded program to video data in a predetermined file format before outputting the converted video data, the generation of the fifth signal being based on an operation performed by the user; and a fourth transmitting element for transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the fifth signal generated by the fourth generating element. 
     In a still further preferred structure of the portable information terminal apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the fourth transmitting element may transmit infrared rays modulated to represent the fifth signal generated by the fourth generating element. 
     In a yet further preferred structure of the portable information terminal apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the fourth transmitting element may transmit radio waves modulated to represent the fifth signal generated by the fourth generating element. 
     According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided an information processing method for use with a portable information terminal apparatus connected to a recording/reproducing apparatus, including the steps of: firstly generating a first signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to acquire program information about a program, the generation of the first signal being based on an operation performed by a user; firstly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the first signal generated in the first generating step; secondly generating a second signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to display the acquired program information, the generation of the second signal being based on an operation performed by the user; secondly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the second signal generated in the second generating step; thirdly generating a third signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to preset the program for unattended recording, the generation of the third signal being based on an operation performed by the user; thirdly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the third signal generated in the third generating step; and receiving a fourth signal transmitted from the recording/reproducing apparatus. 
     According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer-program storage medium which stores a computer-program readable by a computer for controlling a portable information terminal apparatus connected to a recording/reproducing apparatus, including the steps of: firstly generating a first signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to acquire Program information about a program, the generation of the first signal being based on an operation performed by a user; firstly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the first signal generated in the first generating step; secondly generating a second signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to display the acquired program information, the generation of the second signal being based on an operation performed by the user; secondly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the second signal generated in the second generating step; thirdly generating a third signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to preset the program for unattended recording, the generation of the third signal being based on an operation performed by the user; thirdly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the third signal generated in the third generating step; and receiving a fourth signal transmitted from the recording/reproducing apparatus. 
     According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer-program for causing a computer connected to a recording/reproducing apparatus to execute the steps of: firstly generating a first signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to acquire program information about a program, the generation of the first signal being based on an operation performed by a user; firstly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the first signal generated in the first generating step; secondly generating a second signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to display the acquired program information, the generation of the second signal being based on an operation performed by the user; secondly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the second signal generated in the second generating step; thirdly generating a third signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to preset the program for unattended recording, the generation of the third signal being based on an operation performed by the user; thirdly transmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the third signal generated in the third generating step; and receiving a fourth signal transmitted from the recording/reproducing apparatus. 
     Through the use of the portable information terminal apparatus, information processing method, and computer-program according to the fifth, the sixth and the eighth aspects of the invention respectively, an operation carried out by the user generates the first signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to acquire program information about a specific program, and the first signal is transmitted to the recording/reproducing apparatus. Another operation performed by the user generates the second signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to display the acquired program information, and the second signal is transmitted to the recording/reproducing apparatus. Yet another operation effected by the user generates the third signal for causing the recording/reproducing apparatus to preset the program for unattended recording, and the third signal is transmitted to the recording/reproducing apparatus. In turn, the portable information terminal apparatus receives the fourth signal that is transmitted from the recording/reproducing apparatus. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view showing a typical configuration of a TV program data acquisition system according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a PDA included in the setup of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the PDA in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram depicting a typical electrical structure of the PDA in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a function block diagram of the PDA in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic view indicating a typical data structure of a TV program list recorded to a TV program list memory shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram illustrating a typical structure of a personal computer included in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram of an image processing board shown in  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a function block diagram of the personal computer in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a block diagram depicting a typical structure of a TV program information service provider included in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic view of an initial screen that appears on the PDA; 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic view of a typical display screen that appears on the PDA; 
         FIG. 13  is a flowchart of steps in which the PDA illustratively acquires TV program information from the TV program information service provider; 
         FIG. 14  is an explanatory view of a TV program information management screen; 
         FIG. 15  is an explanatory view of menu indications on the TV program information management screen; 
         FIG. 16  is an explanatory view of a setting screen; 
         FIG. 17  is an explanatory view of a channel setting screen; 
         FIG. 18  is an explanatory view of a scheduled date setting screen for TV program information acquisition; 
         FIG. 19  is a schematic view of a typical message window; 
         FIG. 20  is a schematic view of a typical TV program information management screen; 
         FIG. 21  is a schematic view of a typical change window; 
         FIG. 22  is an explanatory view of other menu indications on the TV program information management screen; 
         FIG. 23  is an explanatory view of icons displayed after acquisition of TV program information; 
         FIG. 24  is a flowchart of steps in which the PDA illustratively acquires TV program information from the TV program information service provider via the personal computer; 
         FIG. 25  is a schematic view of a typical TV program list screen; 
         FIG. 26  is an explanatory view of menu indications on the TV program list screen; 
         FIG. 27  is an explanatory view of other menu indications on the TV program list screen; 
         FIG. 28  is a schematic view of another typical message window; 
         FIG. 29  is a schematic view of a typical channel table display; 
         FIG. 30  is a schematic view of a typical date table display; 
         FIG. 31  is a schematic view of a typical list box in which to establish TV program list display start times; 
         FIG. 32  is a schematic view of a typical detailed advertisement screen; 
         FIG. 33  is a schematic view of a typical display screen in effect when a Web browser is started; 
         FIG. 34  is a schematic view of a typical display screen in effect when an e-mail program is started; 
         FIG. 35  is a schematic view of a typical table of TV programs in a designated time slot; 
         FIG. 36  is a flowchart of steps constituting a recording preset process; 
         FIG. 37  is a schematic view of a typical detailed TV program screen; 
         FIG. 38  is a schematic view of a typical preset list screen; 
         FIG. 39  is a schematic view of a typical schedule detail screen; 
         FIG. 40  is a schematic view of another typical message window; 
         FIG. 41  is a schematic view of icons displayed illustratively to indicate the current recording status; 
         FIG. 42  is a flowchart of steps constituting a preset list changing process; 
         FIG. 43  is a schematic view of a typical schedule list display reflecting a preset TV program schedule; 
         FIG. 44  is an explanatory view of other menu indications; 
         FIG. 45  is a schematic view of a typical infrared communication screen; 
         FIG. 46  is a flowchart of steps in which the PDA illustratively transmits a recording command to the personal computer through infrared communication; 
         FIG. 47  is a flowchart of steps in which the PDA illustratively carries out a remote control process; 
         FIG. 48  is a schematic view of a typical remote commander display screen; 
         FIG. 49  is a schematic view of a typical recording preset screen displayed on the personal computer; 
         FIG. 50  is a schematic view of a typical video recorder window displayed on the personal computer; 
         FIG. 51  is a schematic view of a typical AV content management/search screen displayed on the personal computer; 
         FIG. 52  is a flowchart of steps in which the personal computer illustratively transmits content data to the PDA; 
         FIG. 53  is a schematic view of a typical content data reception/reproduction screen; 
         FIG. 54  is a schematic view of a reproduction command screen displaying icons denoting reproducible content data; 
         FIG. 55  is a schematic view of a typical display screen displaying content data; and 
         FIG. 56  is an explanatory view showing how a content conversion process is executed from the AV content management/search screen. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Preferred embodiments of this invention will now be described by referring to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view showing a typical configuration of a TV program data acquisition system according to the invention. 
     In  FIG. 1 , PDA  1 - 1  and PDA  1 - 2  are each a portable information terminal apparatus running on a Palm OS (trademark). The PDAs may be connected in a wired or wireless manner to a digital portable telephone  2 , a personal computer  9 , and a VCR (video cassette recorder)  13 . In the setup of  FIG. 1 , the PDA  1 - 1  is wired to the digital portable telephone  2  via a communication module, not shown. The PDA  1 - 2  is wired to the personal computer  9  through a cradle  7  and is connected wirelessly to the VCR  13 . Obviously, the PDA  1 - 1  and PDA  1 - 2  may also be connected to any of the digital portable telephone  2 , personal computer  9  and VCR  13  or may operate on a stand-alone basis. 
     In the description that follows, the PDA  1 - 1  and PDA  1 - 2  will be referred to generically as the PDA  1  except where they need to be distinguished from one another. 
     The cradle  7  is an interface device that connects the PDA  1  with the personal computer  9  to carry out what is called a hot sync process. This is the process of synchronizing files and data between two computers of different types, i.e., between the PDA  1  running on the Palm OS on the one hand and the personal computer  9  on the other hand. The synchronization is made possible regardless of dissimilar computer models. Illustratively, the cradle  7  interfaces with the PDA  1  through an RS-232C port and with the personal computer  9  through a serial bus interface or a USB (universal serial bus). 
     The digital portable telephones  2  connect with a base station  3  (fixed wireless terminal) allocated to each of so-called cells suitably dividing the area where the communication service is offered. The base station  3  allows the digital portable telephones  2  to link up with a public communication network  4 . The personal computer  9  is also connected to the public communication network  4 . 
     The base station  3  connects wirelessly with each digital portable telephone  2  (mobile wireless terminal) on a W-CDMA (Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access) basis. The wireless connection ensures high-speed communication of large quantities of data between the base station  3  and the digital portable telephone  2  at data transfer speeds of up to 2 Mbps over a 2-GHz frequency band. 
     The base stations  3  are wired to the public communication network  4 . The public communication network  4  is connected to the Internet  8  via an access server  6  of an Internet service provider. The network  4  is also connected to wired subscriber terminal equipment, computer networks, and local area networks such as those inside corporations, not shown. 
     The digital portable telephone  2  is capable of exchanging large amounts of data at high speed with the base station  3  on a W-CDMA basis. Through the digital portable telephone  2  that it hooks up to, the PDA  1  can send and receive e-mail, browse simple-format websites, send and receive image data, and perform many other forms of data communication. 
     The PDA  1 - 1  connects with a TV program information service provider  14  via the digital portable telephone  2 , base station  3 , public communication network  4 , access server  6 , and the Internet  8 . Through the connection, the PDA  1 - 1  may request the service provider  14  to transmit TV program information. The transmitted program information allows the PDA user to look up a TV program list and preset accordingly the unattended recording of a desired program broadcast by a particular TV station. As with the PDA  1 - 1 , the personal computer  9  also connects with the TV program information service provider  14  via the public communication network  4 , access server  6 , and the Internet  8 . Through the connection, the personal computer  9  can request the service provider  14  to transmit TV program information so that the PC user may likewise perform what the PDA user was shown carrying out above. 
     In reference to  FIG. 1 , the PDA  1 - 1  was described above as capable of connecting with the public communication network  4  via the digital portable telephone  2  and base station  3 . Alternatively, the PDA  1 - 1  may gain access to the public communication network  4  through a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) terminal or a data card-type PHS terminal linked to a suitable base station that provides PHS call services. 
     When connected to the digital portable telephone  2 , the PDA  1 - 1  obeys a simple-format transport protocol of 2 Mbps for connection to the base station  3  and in accordance with TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) for communication from the base station  3  to the TV program information service provider  14  and a WWW (Word Wide Web) server, not shown, over the Internet  8 . 
     An administrative control unit  5  is connected to wired subscriber terminal equipment, to the personal computer  9  or to the digital portable telephone  2  via the public communication network  4 . Through the connection, the administrative control unit  5  performs authentication, settlement of charges and other related processes with regard to the wired subscriber terminal equipment, personal computer  9  or digital portable telephone  2 . 
     The personal computer  9  admits signals from an antenna  17  that receives radio waves from TV stations. From the input signal, the personal computer  9  reproduces video and audio data (i.e., images and sounds of TV programs) and records them. The personal computer  9  further receives analog signals from a VCR  10  or digital data from a DVCR (digital video cassette recorder)  11  through a network  12  such as an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 1394 network. The personal computer  9  then reproduces and records images and sounds derived from the analog signals or digital data thus received. 
     The personal computer  9  supplies analog signals representing recorded sounds and images to the VCR  10  or feeds digital data constituting recorded sounds and images to the DVCR  11 . Furthermore, the personal computer  9  receives TV program information from the TV program information service provider  14  over the Internet  8 . Upon receipt of the program information, the personal computer  9  forwards the information to the PDA  1 - 2  or presets accordingly a TV program to be later recorded unattended. 
     The TV program information service provider  14  provides the service of offering users TV program lists, detailed introductions to specific programs and other relevant information by way of the Internet  8 . An internal database of the service provider  14  contains EPG (electronic program guide) information, TV program information used to preset unattended recording of particular TV programs from particular TV stations, advertisement information distributed along with the program information, and user information about registered users. 
     The TV program information service provider  14  receives a message requesting transmission of TV program information pertaining to a specific date. The message is sent from the PDA  1 - 1  or personal computer  9  connected to the digital portable telephone  2 . In response to the message, the service provider  14  transmits the program information to the PDA  1 - 1  or personal computer  9  through the digital portable telephone  2  and by way of the Internet  8 , access server  6 , and public communication network  4 , for use in presetting unattended recording of a specific program from a specific TV station. 
     The TV program information service provider  14  offers TV program information in pdb (Palm Database) format files to the personal computer  9  or to the PDA  1  in response to requests from the latter. Web-based TV program information offered by existing TV program service providers has been typically described in such page description languages as HTML (HyperText Markup Language), XML (eXtensible Markup Language) and Compact-HTML. While being fit for general use, the program information written in these languages tends to be bulky and structured hierarchically using tags. That means the data are flexible in terms of formats but require analysis before use following their retrieval. In its related-art form, the program information is thus not very suitable for browsing by the PDA  1 . 
     By contrast, the pdb format is a general-purpose database format compatible with the Palm OS. Binary data and text data can be stored in mixed fashion in the pdb format that is dependent on Palm OS applications. Because pdb-format data are converted by a converter to a specific format, there is no need for data analysis. With no extra tag information to deal with, the amount of the data can be minimized. 
     Related-art terrestrial broadcasting setups were subject to limited numbers of available channels carrying TV programs. Today&#39;s widespread acceptance of satellite broadcasts and cable TV distributions has resulted in a far larger number of available channels. If the TV program information service provider  14  were to address broadcast services with multitudes of channels by furnishing the user with program information about all available channels, then the quantity of the data involved would be so enormous that the user would find it extremely difficult to search the offered program information for a desired TV program using the PDA  1  with its small display screen. 
     The problem above is bypassed by the TV program information service provider  14  accepting from each user a registration of desired TV channels in advance. The registered user is then supplied with program information about the desired channels. The TV program information service provider  14  issues a unique user ID to each user who has registered desired TV channels. 
     On receiving from the personal computer  9  or PDA  1 - 1  a request including a user ID for transmission of TV program information, the TV program information service provider  14  determines whether the user in question is a registered user. If the user is judged to be properly registered, the service provider  14  looks up the registered content applicable to the user ID, selects program information about the TV channels based on the registered content, and transmits the selected program information in keeping with a designated date. Upon receipt of a program information transmission request without a user ID, the TV program information service provider  14  transmits a relatively small quantity of terrestrial broadcast program information about the most-commonly-watched channels in keeping with a specified date. 
     In that manner, the TV program information service provider  14  can furnish users with desired TV program information that addresses multiple-channel broadcast services covering satellite broadcasts and cable TV distributions. 
     The Internet  8  is connected with personal computers  16  owned by corporations  15  and with numerous WWW servers, not shown. While only one personal computer  16  of a corporation is shown connected to the Internet  8  in  FIG. 1 , it is obvious that a plurality of personal computers  16  are in fact connected. The WWW servers, not shown, are accessed in accordance with TCP/IP by the PDA  1 - 1 , by the personal computer  9 , or by personal computers  16  owned by corporations  15 . 
     The corporation  15  in  FIG. 1  is assumed to be a sponsor for advertisement attached to the program information offered by the TV program information service provider  14 . Using a personal computer  16  typically over the Internet  8 , the corporation  15  asks the service provider  14  to carry advertisement and is charged a fee for the advertisement. 
     Alternatively, the corporation  15  may ask the TV program information service provider  14  to carry advertisement and be charged a fee for the advertisement by mail or by other suitable offline means. 
       FIGS. 2 and 3  are provided to show what the PDA  1  typically looks like and how it is structured.  FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the PDA  1  as gripped by a user&#39;s hand.  FIG. 3  is a front view of the PDA  1 . 
     The PDA  1  is housed in an enclosure small enough to be gripped and handled by a single hand. At the top of the PDA  1  is a slot that accommodates a memory card  21  incorporating a semiconductor memory. Also located at the top is an infrared communication unit  22  that exchanges information with other devices. The PDA  1  further comprises a wireless LAN (local area network) communication unit  64 , not shown (but is included in  FIG. 5 ). 
     At the bottom of the PDA  1  are a modem, not shown, for connecting with the public communication network  4 , and a USB port or an RS-232C port, not shown, for exchanging data with other devices. This PDA  1  is assumed to possess an RS-232C port. Also furnished on the PDA  1  are a display unit  31 , keys  32 , and a jog dial  33 . 
     The display unit  31  is made of a thinly formed display device such as a liquid crystal display which gives displays of icons, thumbnail images and text. In the lower part of the display unit  31  is a touch pad  31   a  that the user may push by fingertips or by a pen to enter relevant data or operation commands into the PDA  1 . 
     The keys  32  are operated by the user to input various commands into a CPU (central processing unit)  41  (see  FIG. 4 ) of the PDA  1 . 
     The jog dial  33  is rotated on its axis or pushed into the enclosure by the user selecting an icon, a thumbnail image or a text portion appearing on the display unit  31 . With a plurality of icons displayed on the display unit  31 , the user may rotate the jog dial  33  to reach a desired icon and then push the dial into the enclosure. The pushing action finalizes the selection of the currently displayed icon. If the finalized icon corresponds to an application program, that program is then started. 
     Alternatively, a rotate-while-push action of the jog dial  33  may be arranged to correspond with commands different from those of ordinary dial rotating operations. Illustratively, with a TV program list of a given channel shown on the display unit  31 , turning the jog dial  33  may feed the program list of the same channel until a desired program name is reached; turning the jog dial  33  while pushing it may call up a TV program list of a different channel on the display unit  31 . 
     The correspondence between the operations of the jog dial  33  and what actually occurs in the apparatus is not limited to what was described above. Any other operation-performance combinations may be devised and implemented as desired on the PDA. 
     The PDA  1  is designed to be mountable on the cradle  7 . The cradle  7  connects with the PDA  1  illustratively through the RS-232C interface. The PDA  1  automatically determines whether it is currently connected to the cradle  7 . The cradle  7  has a hot sync button  35 . With the PDA  1  mounted on the cradle  7 , pushing the hot sync button  35  causes the PDA  1  and personal computer  9  to carry out the hot sync process to synchronize files and data therebetween. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram depicting a typical electrical structure of the PDA  1 . 
     In synchronism with a clock signal from an oscillator  42 , the CPU  41  runs the operating system and performs various programs such as application programs, all retrieved from a flash ROM (read-only memory)  43  or an EDO-DRAM (extended data-out dynamic random-access memory)  44 . 
     The flash ROM  43  is made up of a flash memory, a variation of EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory). Generally, the flash ROM  43  accommodates basically fixed data as part of those constituting programs and operation parameters used by the CPU  41 . The EDO-DRAM  44  stores programs executed by the CPU  41 , data needed for the program execution, and parameters varied as needed during the execution. 
     A memory card interface  45  reads data from the memory card  21  loaded in the PDA  1  and writes data coming from the CPU  41  to the memory card  21 . 
     The memory card  21  is illustratively a Memory Stick (trademark), a variation of flash memory card developed by this applicant. The memory card  21  is composed of flash memory elements housed in a plastic case measuring 21.5 mm by 50 mm by 2.8 mm. The memory elements constitute an EEPROM, a nonvolatile read-only memory that is electrically erasable and programmable. Through a 10-pin terminal, various data including image, voice and music data may be written to and read from the memory card  21 . 
     The Memory Stick adopts a proprietary serial protocol that ensures the compatibility of the memory with a host device having undergone specification changes of a built-in flash memory for a larger storage capacity. Data are written to and read from the Memory Stick at high speeds of up to 1.5 MB/S and 2.45 MB/S respectively. A write-protect switch is provided to ensure high reliability of the memory. 
     when accommodating the memory card  21  of the above-described type, the PDA  1  can readily share data with other electronic devices through the card. 
     In synchronism with a clock signal from an oscillator  47 , a USB interface  46  admits data or programs from a drive  61 , i.e., an attached USB device, and feeds data coming from the CPU  41  to the drive  61 . 
     The drive  61  reads data or programs from a magnetic disk  71 , an optical disk  72 , a magneto-optical disk  73 , or a semiconductor memory  74  loaded into the drive as needed. The data or programs thus retrieved are fed to the CPU  41  or EDO-DRAM  44  through the USB interface  46 . The drive  61  also writes data or programs to the magnetic disk  71 , optical disk  72 , magneto-optical disk  73 , or semiconductor memory  74  that is loaded in the drive. 
     The flash ROM  43 , EDO-DRAM  44 , memory card interface  45 , and USB interface  46  are connected to the CPU  41  via an address bus and a data bus. 
     The display unit  31  receives data from the CPU  41  through an LCD bus and displays images or characters represented by the received data. When the display unit  31  or the touch pad  31   a  is operated, a touch pad control unit  48  receives data representative of the operation (e.g., coordinates of the touched location) from the display unit  31  or touch pad  31   a  and supplies a signal denoting the received data to the CPU  41  through the serial bus. 
     An EL (electroluminescence) driver  49  drives electroluminescent elements at the back of a liquid crystal display portion of the display unit  31 , controlling the brightness of displays on the display unit  31 . 
     The infrared communication unit  22  receives data from the CPU  41  through a UART (universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter) and sends the received data as infrared ray signals to an external device, not shown. The unit  22  also receives infrared ray signals from the external device and transfers the received signals to the CPU  41 . The UART also allows the PDA  1  to communicate with other devices. 
     The wireless LAN communication unit  64  is used to communicate wirelessly with other devices (e.g., in a wireless communication setup based on Bluetooth that is a wireless communication scheme utilizing a 2.4-GHz frequency band). Data received from the CPU  41  are converted by a predetermined method into radio waves that are transmitted to other devices, not shown. Radio waves sent from another device are received by the wireless LAN communication unit  64  which in turn supplies the CPU  41  with data represented by the received radio waves. 
     An audio reproduction unit  51  is made up of speakers and audio data decoding circuits. As such, the unit  51  decodes and audibly outputs audio data that were previously recorded by the PDA  1  or received from another device. Illustratively, the audio reproduction unit  51  is supplied with audio data from the CPU  41  via a buffer  50 , reproduces the supplied data, and gives an audible output representative of the data. 
     A power supply circuit  52 , connected to a loaded battery  62  or an attached AC (alternating current) adapter  63 , converts the supplied voltage into power at suitable levels. The power is then fed to the components ranging from the CPU  41  to the audio reproduction unit  51 . 
     A communication unit  53  is connected to the cradle  7  or to a communication module illustratively through the RS-232C interface. Typically, the communication unit  53  connects with the Internet  8  via the communication module and digital portable telephone  2 . Using a suitable packetizing method, the communication unit  53  arranges data from the CPU  41  (e.g., e-mail) into packets that are sent to other devices over the Internet  8 . Upon receipt of packets from another device over the Internet  8 , the communication unit  53  retrieves data or programs from the packets and outputs what is retrieved to the CPU  41 . 
       FIG. 5  is a function block diagram of the PDA  1 . With the PDA  1  at hand, a user may utilize such basic functions as address book, memo pad, e-mail and schedule list and may execute various applications called Palmware. All functions (i.e., programs) shown in  FIG. 5  run under the Palm OS. 
     A data communication program  81  controls communications that may take place between an application run by the CPU  41  (e.g., TV program recording preset program  83 ) on the one hand, and other devices on the other hand. The communications are effected through the communication unit  53 , infrared communication unit  22 , or wireless LAN communication unit  64 . 
     An I/O control program  82  furnishes a given application with signals representing operations or commands performed or entered by the user using the display unit  31 , touch pad  31   a , or keys  32 . Based on the processing of the application executed by the CPU  41 , the I/O control program  82  further controls output of data through the buffer  50  to the audio reproduction unit  51  for audio playback or to the display unit  31  for image display. 
     In accordance with the user&#39;s operation, a TV program recording preset program  83  writes to a preset information memory a date for which to acquire TV program information along with the program broadcast region of interest, remote commander mode, and/or user information including a member ID. In turn, the TV program recording preset program  83  downloads relevant program lists  101 - 1  and  101 - 2  from the TV program information service provider  14  and stores the downloaded lists into a TV program list memory  91 . In order to preset desired TV programs for unattended recording, the user performs operations to select relevant program information from the program lists  101 - 1  and  101 - 2  held in the TV program list memory. When selected, the program information is established as preset information in a preset list  92  by the TV program recording preset program  83 . The preset program  83  also causes the program list  101  stored in the TV program list memory  91 , preset information established in the preset list  92 , or user information held in a preset information memory  93 , to be displayed on the display unit  31 . Furthermore, in keeping with the user&#39;s operation, the TV program recording preset program  83  stores or establishes new information in the TV program list memory  91 , preset list  92 , or preset information memory  93  or updates what is stored or established in these memories or list. 
     A schedule list program  84  is a schedule management program that allows the use to register his or her schedule in a schedule list along with start and end times of the events involved, their locations, and other details. Based on the user&#39;s operation, the schedule list program  84  writes new information to the schedule list  94  or updates what is stored therein. In addition, the schedule list program  84  allows the user to set an alarm that will be activated illustratively five or ten minutes before a specific start time so as to remind the user of the approaching event scheduled earlier. 
     An e-mail program  85  is a software program that transmits and receives e-mail to and from the access server  6 . 
     A Web browser  86  is a software program that allows the client side to browse information provided by WWW servers. Between a WWW server and a WWW client, the Web browser  86  ensures communications based on appropriate communication protocols (HTTP and HTML). The Web browser  86  also ensures security in communication, provides reproduction of multimedia data such as audio data and moving picture data, and supports extended language (e.g., Java) enabling program transfer between the WWW server and the WWW client. 
     A moving picture display program  87 , under control of the I/O control program  82 , performs data conversion and image processing causing the display unit  31  to display moving picture data retrieved from any one of the magnetic disk  71 , optical disk  72 , magneto-optical disk  73  and semiconductor memory  74  loaded in the drive  61 . 
     A memo pad  88  is a text editor program which, under control of the I/O control program  82 , receives signals reflecting text data entered by the user operating the touch pad  31   a . Text data are generated corresponding to the received signals and are displayed on the display unit  31  under control of the I/O control program  82 . 
     The programs outlined above all run under the Palm OS. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the TV program list  101  is constituted by advertisement data, a program list proper, and program data. The advertisement data are data that describe an advertisement entrusted by each corporation  15 . Typically, the advertisement data may include information such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the website run by the corporation  15  and an e-mail address through which the corporation  15  accepts inquiries from the public, or reference information allowing the public to send or receive the advertisement data using a protocol other than TCP/IP commonly adopted on the Internet. 
     Because advertisement data are sent to users possessing the PDA  1 , it is conceivable more or less to identify a particular group of users to which particular advertisement data can be targeted. Illustratively, it is possible effectively to sell targeted PDA users on Palm OS applications, new mobile computers, and novel personal computers using suitable advertisements. 
     As its name implies, the TV program list is a list TV programs that are to be broadcast over specific channels on a particular date. The program data illustratively describe the cast of each program, program contents, and other detailed information associated with the program. 
     The TV program list is linked to advertisement data and program data. That is, each program list is displayed together with a plurality of advertisements that are changed periodically. When the user selects a specific TV program name from the program list, the program data about that program are displayed. The advertisement data contain information designating a display time during which the advertisement is allowed to appear continuously on the PDA  1 . The TV program recording preset program  83  changes the advertisement data on display by referring to the display time information included in the data. 
     If the display time information specifies an extremely short time or a very long time, the user may feel uncomfortable being interminably fed with, or abruptly deprived of, the advertisement. To avert that eventuality, the TV program recording preset program  83  may automatically set the advertisement data display time for, say, five seconds if the previously set time is anything other than three to seven seconds. 
     Where each set of TV program information is furnished with a plurality of advertisements switched over time, the business operator running the TV program information service provider  14  can gain more advertisement revenues than before. 
     If necessary, the advertisement data, program list proper, and program data making up the TV program list  101  may be provided with valid period information, update time limit information, and/or version information about the data involved. The program data are updated in one of two ways using such information. 
     On the one hand, if valid period information is contained in the advertisement data, program list proper, and program data making up the TV program list, then the TV program recording preset program  83  checks periodically or at certain events (e.g., upon writing of new data to the TV program list  101 ) whether or not the TV program list  101  has any expired data. If any expired data are detected, the preset program  83  attempts to update the data. Even if the updated data turn out to be identical to the old data, the data in the TV program list  101  are simply overwritten. 
     On the other hand, suppose that when a data update time limit or version information is contained in the advertisement data, program list proper, and program data making up the TV program list, the TV program recording preset program  83  is to write new data to the TV program list  101 . In that case, based on the data update time or version information, the recording preset program  83  checks the data source (e.g., personal computer  9 , another PDA  1 , or TV program information service provider  14 ) to see whether the most recent information (updated information) is available. If the latest information is judged available, the program  83  obtains the information anew. 
     One of the two updating methods above may be adopted depending on the updating frequency or the size of the data involved. Illustratively, if the updating cycle is constant, then the data in the TV program list  101  may be furnished with valid period information eliminating any additional and wasteful communications. If an exact update time is uncertain, then it is better to furnish the data making up the TV program list  101  with data update time or version information whereby the latest information is made available reliably. 
     When TV program information (TV program list  101 ) is exchanged between the PDA  1 - 1  and the PDA  1 - 2  or between the PDA  1 - 2  and the personal computer  9 , advertisement data are first to be transmitted ahead of the program list proper and program data. If advertisement data are deleted from the TV program list  101  or if program information excluding any advertisement data is written to the TV program list memory  91  as a TV program list  101 , then the TV program recording preset program  83  will not display the program list  101  corresponding to the specified date, giving a warning message such as this: “The TV program list for this date cannot be displayed. Please download data again.” 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram depicting a typical structure of the personal computer  9 . 
     In the setup of  FIG. 7 , a CPU  131  carries out various application programs under a basic OS (operating system). A ROM  132  generally accommodates basically fixed data as part of those constituting programs and operation parameters used by the CPU  131 . A RAM  133  stores programs executed by the CPU  131  and parameters varied as needed during the program execution. These components are interconnected via a host bus  134  constituted by a CPU bus or a memory bus. 
     A host bus  134  is connected via a bridge  135  to an external bus  136  such as a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect/Interface) bus. 
     A keyboard  138  is operated by the user entering various commands into the CPU  131 . A mouse  139  is also operated by the user pointing to and making choices on the screen of a CRT (cathode ray tube)  140 . The CRT  140  displays diverse kinds of information in text and images. A hard disk drive (HDD)  141  and a floppy disk drive (FDD)  142  drive a hard disk and a floppy disk respectively, writing programs and information to and from the disks for execution by the CPU  131 . Speakers  143  provide audio reproduction. The components ranging from the keyboard  138  to the speakers  143  are connected to an interface  137 . In turn, the interface  137  is connected to the CPU  131  via the external bus  136 , bridge  135 , and host bus  134 . 
     An image processing board  144  under control of the CPU  131  generates video and audio data based on video and audio analog signals from the antenna  17  or VCR  10  or on the basis of video and audio digital data coming from the DVCR  11  through the network  12 . The video and audio data thus generated are output to the hard disk drive  141  via the external bus  136  and interface  137 . 
     The image processing board  144  also admits video and audio data retrieved from the hard disk drive  141  via the external bus  136  and interface  137 . In turn, the image processing board  144  generates analog signals representing the input video and audio data before supplying the generated signals to the VCR  10 , or produces digital data denoting the input video and audio data so as to feed the produced data to the DVCR  11  over the network  12 . 
     In the setup of  FIG. 7 , the image processing board  144  is connected to the CPU  131  via the external bus  136 , bridge  135 , and host bus  134 . 
     A communication board  145  is a device that ensures connection with the public communication network  4  or with the cradle  7 . Typically, the communication board  145  is constituted by an Ethernet board or the like and connected to the CPU  131  through the external bus  136 , bridge  135 , and host bus  134 . 
     An infrared communication unit  146  receives infrared ray signals sent illustratively from the PDA  1 . The received signals are output to the CPU  131  via the external bus  136 , bridge  135 , and host bus  134 . Given signals from the CPU  131 , the infrared communication unit  146  coverts them into infrared ray signals for output to the outside. 
     A wireless LAN communication unit  147  receives radio waves sent illustratively from the PDA  1 , converts the received radio waves by a suitable method into data compatible with the CPU  131 , and outputs the data to the CPU  131  through the external bus  136 , bridge  135 , and host bus  134 . The wireless LAN communication unit  147  also converts signals from the CPU  131  into radio waves for output to the outside. 
     A detailed structure of the image processing board  144  will now be described by referring to  FIG. 8 . 
     A 1394 interface  151 , structured to comply with IEEE 1394 criteria, is connected to the network  12 . In accordance with an IEEE 1394-compatible protocol, the 1394 interface  151  receives video and audio digital data in DVCR format from the DVCR  11  and feeds the received data to a DV (digital video) data interface  152 . 
     The 1394 interface  151  supplies the DVCR  11  with video and audio digital data in DVCR format sent from the DV data interface  152 . The supply of the digital data to the DVCR  11  is effected in accordance with the IEEE 1394-compatible protocol. 
     The DV data interface  152  outputs to a DV data compression/decompression circuit  153  video and audio digital data in DVCR format coming from the 1394 interface  151  or from a digital selector  157  (such as 4:1:1 decompressed digital data). The DV data interface  152  also outputs to the 1394 interface  151  video and audio digital data in DVCR format coming from the DV data compression/decompression circuit  153 , and supplies the digital selector  157  with decompressed audio and video digital data sent from the DV data compression/decompression circuit  153 . 
     The DV data compression/decompression circuit  153  converts video and audio digital data in DVCR format from the DV data interface  152  into decompressed video and audio digital data for output to the DV data interface  152 . The compression/decompression circuit  153  also converts decompressed video and audio digital data from the DV data interface  152  into compressed video and audio digital data in DVCR format for output to the DV data interface  152 . 
     A tuner  154  admits RF (radio frequency) signals from the antenna  17  and outputs the corresponding video and audio analog signals on a given channel to an analog selector  155 . The analog selector  155  selects the video and audio analog signals from any one of the tuner  154 , VCR  10 , and a D/A (digital/analog) conversion circuit  161 . The selected signals are output to either an A/D (analog/digital) conversion circuit  156  or to the VCR  10 . 
     The A/D conversion circuit  156  converts the video and audio analog signals from the analog selector  155  into digital data for output to the digital selector  157 . The digital selector  157  selectively admits the video and audio digital data from any one of the DV data interface  152 , A/D conversion circuit  156 , and an MPEG decoder  160 . The selected digital data are output to a bridge  159  as well as to the DV data interface  152 , to an MPEG encoder  158 , or to the D/A conversion circuit  161 . 
     The MPEG encoder  158  converts the video and audio digital data sent from the digital selector  157  into compressed MPEG-format digital data for output to the bridge  159 . The MPEG encoder  158  further converts scene switching images into still pictures for output to the bridge  159 . 
     The bridge  159  outputs decompressed video and audio digital data from the digital selector  157  to the CRT  140  by way of the external bus  136  and interface  137  of the personal computer  9  to which the image processing board  144  is attached. The bridge  159  also outputs MPEG-format video and audio digital data from the MPEG encoder  158  to the hard disk drive  141  or to the CPU  131  via the external bus  136  of the personal computer  9  to which the image processing board  144  is attached. Furthermore, the bridge  159  receives MPEG-format video and audio digital data from the hard disk drive  141  of the personal computer  9  via the external bus  136  and outputs the received data to the MPEG decoder  160 . 
     The MPEG decoder  160  converts the MPEG-format video and audio digital data from the bridge  159  into decompressed video and audio digital data. The decompressed data are output to the digital selector  157 . 
     The D/A conversion circuit  161  converts video and audio digital data from the digital selector  157  into analog signals. The converted analog signals are output to the analog selector  155 . 
     Alternatively, the above-described processes performed by the MPEG encoder  158  and MPEG decoder  160  may be taken over by the CPU  131  performing suitable programs. 
       FIG. 9  is a function block diagram of the personal computer  9 . 
     In  FIG. 9 , an I/O management program  171  provides control on furnishing a given application with signals denoting the operations or commands input by the user operating the keyboard  138  or mouse  139 . Using its control capability, the I/O management program  171  outputs to the infrared communication unit  146  the data derived from the processes performed by various applications so that the communication unit  146  may transmit infrared ray signals representing the derived data to other devices; the program  171  may alternatively output the relevant data to the wireless LAN communication unit  147  so that the latter may output radio waves carrying the data to other devices. The I/O management program  171  outputs video data to the image processing board  144  for image processing, sends audio data to the speakers  143  for audio reproduction, and feeds image data to the CRT  140  for image display. The management program  171  further controls supply of data to the hard disk drive (HDD)  141  to record the data thereto. 
     A hot sync manager  172  is a program that permits exchanges of information with the PDA  1  running on the Palm OS. The program is designed to synchronize files and data between two different computers, i.e., between the PDA running on the Palm OS and the personal computer  9 . The synchronization is effected regardless of dissimilar computer models. 
     A Palm desktop  173  is a program that allows the personal computer  9  to share information with the PDA  1  running on the Palm OS, the information having been exchanged under control of the hot sync manager  172 . 
     A preset monitoring program  174  monitors presetting of TV programs for unattended recording based on TV program information received from the PDA  1  by means of the hot sync manager  172 , as will be described later with reference to  FIG. 36 , or on the basis of recording preset information established by a recording preset program  178 , to be described later. 
     An AV content conversion program  175  is used to convert AV content (i.e., recorded TV program data) held on the HDD  141  in a common image format such as MPEG into data of a format compatible with a portable terminal apparatus with limited image processing capability, such as the PDA  1 . The conversion is performed prior to transmission of the AV content to the PDA  1  through the processing by the hot sync manager  172 , as will be described later with reference to  FIG. 36 . 
     An AV content management/search program  176  receives a signal representing the user&#39;s operation or a command from another device under control of the I/O management program  171 , and searches the hard disk drive  141  for the applicable AV content based on the received signal. The program  176  then outputs the retrieved content to the AV content conversion program  175  that is requested for data conversion or to a recording/reproduction program  177  which is solicited to provide content reproduction. 
     The recording/reproduction program  177  is a program that reproduces the AV content searched for and retrieved by the AV content management/search program  176 . 
     The recording preset program  178  is a program that receives a signal representing the user&#39;s operation or a command from another device under control of the I/O management program  171 , and presets unattended recording of a desired TV program over a specific broadcast channel on the basis of the received signal. 
       FIG. 10  is a block diagram indicating a typical structure of the TV program information service provider  14  included in  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 10 , a TV program information server  191  controls a converter  193  and a charge server  197  based on information received over the Internet  8 . The server  191  also stores information into a TV program information database  192 , a pdb-format TV program information database  194 , a user information database  195 , and an advertisement information database  196 . Furthermore, the TV program information server  191  searches for and retrieves specific pieces of information from the stored information as designated. 
     Stored in the TV program information database  192  in a suitable database format is EPG information for retrieving particular program information, as well as TV program information for use in presetting unattended recording of a desired TV program furnished by a specific TV broadcasting station. The TV program information comprises at least the TV channel of each TV program, the date of its broadcast, the name of the program, and the start and end times of the program broadcast, along with detailed information associated with the TV program in question. The detailed program information may include, as needed, a URL of the website run by the production company having produced each TV program and an e-mail address through which the company accepts inquiries from the public. 
     When users want to acquire detailed information regarding to a specific TV program, they gain access to the website run by the production company that produced the program in question and/or inquire about the program using the e-mail address. In such cases, the information involved is exchanged in accordance with TCP/IP commonly used on the Internet or by use of any other suitable protocol. 
     The advertisement information database  196  stores in a suitable database format information about advertisements sent from corporations  15 . The advertisement information includes, as needed, a URL of the website run by the sponsor (e.g., corporation  15 ) of each advertisement and an e-mail address through which each sponsor accepts inquiries from the public. As with the TV program information database  192 , the advertisement information database  196  has its advertisement information furnished with URLs and e-mail addresses. The information is sent and received in accordance with TCP/IP commonly used on the Internet or by use of any other suitable protocol. 
     The converter  193  under control of the TV program information server  191  reads TV program information from the TV program information database  192  and advertisement information from the advertisement information database  196 , and converts the retrieved information into pdb-format data. Following the conversion, the pdb-format advertisement information is attached to the TV program information which is then stored into the pdb-format TV program information database  194 . 
     The user information database  195  contains user-related information including user IDs and user-registered channels. Each user ID is associated with the channel information needed by the user identified by the user ID. 
     The charge server  197  is used to settle charges on the corporations  15  for advertisements they sponsor. 
     The TV program information server  191  receives a TV program information transmission request over the Internet  8 . If the received transmission request is judged to be coming from the TV program data acquisition system embodying the invention, then the server  191  selectively retrieves from the pdb-format TV program information database  194  user-requested TV program information along with related advertisement information based on the information included in the transmission request, and sends the retrieved information to the user concerned. 
     If the received TV program information transmission request contains a user ID, then the TV program information server  191  retrieves registered information about the user identified by the user ID from the user information database  195  and, based on the registered information thus retrieved and on the date information included in the transmission request, selectively retrieves user-requested TV program information along with related advertisement information from the pdb-format TV program information database  194 . The information retrieved by the server  191  is transmitted to the user in question. 
     The TV program information server  191  may alternatively carry out a related-art Web-based TV program information providing process. That is, if the received TV program information transmission request turns out to be a program information transmission request described in page description language such as HTML, then the TV program information server  191  retrieves user-requested TV program information from the TV program information database  192  on the basis of the information included in the request. The retrieved information is converted to data of a specific format such as HTML before being sent to the user involved. 
     That is, the TV program information service provider  14  may operate in one of two ways. The information service provider  14  may transmit pdb-format TV program information to users through the use of the TV program information server  191  offering the related-art Web-based program information feeding service; the service provider  14  may also provide the pdb-format TV program information alone to users as described. 
     The TV program information server  191  is connected via the Internet  8  to the personal computer  16  owned by each corporation  15 . The connection allows the information server  191  to accept requests for carrying advertisements from the corporation  15  and to register advertisement information with the advertisement information database  196 . When the charge server  197  has calculated charges on the corporations  15  for the advertisements they sponsor and has sent the results of the calculations to the TV program information server  191 , the server  191  in turn transmits the calculated charges to the personal computers  16  of the corporations  15  for settlement. 
       FIG. 11  is a schematic view of an initial screen that appears on the PDA  1  when it is powered. The display unit  31  displays icons representing the programs described above with reference to  FIG. 5 . The user may select any one of the icons with a pen  201  to start the desired program. 
     Suppose that with no TV program list  101  recorded in the TV program list memory  91 , the TV program recording preset program  83  is now started (by the user selecting the icon marked “TV Program Preset”). In that case, as shown in  FIG. 12 , a window  211  appears carrying a message prompting the user to acquire TV program information. Viewing the window  211 , the user selects an OK button  212  to proceed with operations to acquire TV program information. 
     The PDA  1  may acquire TV program information from the TV program information service provider  14  by one of two methods. By one method, the PDA  1  may connect directly with the TV program information service provider  14  via the digital portable telephone  2 , base station  3 , public communication network  4 , access server  6 , and the Internet  8 . By another method, the PDA  1  may be connected to the personal computer  9  by means of the cradle  7 . The personal computer  9  then connects with the TV program information service provider  14  through the public communication network  4 , access server  6  and the Internet  8 , and acquires TV program information from the service provider  14 . The PDA in turn obtains the TV program information from the personal computer  9  through the cradle  7 . 
     Described below with reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 13  is how the FDA  1  acquires TV program information by directly connecting with the TV program information service provider  14  via the digital portable telephone  2 , base station  3 , public communication network  4 , access server  6 , and the Internet  8 . The flowchart specifically outlines the workings of the PDA  1 - 1  and the TV program information server  191  in the TV program information service provider  14 . 
     In step S 1  of  FIG. 13 , the Palm OS run by the CPU  41  of the PDA  1 - 1  detects application of power, and accordingly displays on the display unit  31  the initial screen shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     In step S 2 , the Palm OS starts the TV program recording preset program  83  in response to a command input for program start-up (from the user selecting the icon marked “TV Program Preset” on the screen of  FIG. 11 ). If no TV program list is currently held in the TV program list memory  91 , the display screen of  FIG. 12  appears. 
     In step S 3 , the TV program recording preset program  83  writes to the preset information memory  93  a scheduled date for which to acquire TV program information and other settings reflecting the user&#39;s operations under control of the I/O control program  82 . The settings are made as described below with reference to  FIGS. 14 through 19 . 
     Illustratively, pushing the OK button  212  on the screen of  FIG. 12  causes a TV program information management screen to appear as shown in  FIG. 14 . This management screen contains a display area  221  in which the scheduled date for which to acquire TV program information is displayed, an OK button  222 , a NEW button (for new registration), a CHANGE button  224 , a DELETE button  225 , and a tag  226  to be selected for calling up a menu. 
     The OK button  222  is selected when what has been established on the screen is judged correct. Selecting the OK button causes the display screen preceding the TV program information management screen to reappear on the display unit  31 . The NEW button  223  is selected to register a newly scheduled date for which to acquire TV program information. The CHANGE button  224  is selected when any established date for which to acquire TV program information needs to be changed. The DELETE button  225  is selected to delete any such established date for TV program information acquisition. Where scheduled dates for which to acquire TV program information are displayed in the display area  221 , selecting any one of the dates and activating the DELETE button  225  deletes the information about the selected date. 
     Selecting the tag  226  causes a TV program list tag  231  and an option tag  232  to appear as shown in  FIG. 15 . If the option tag  232  is selected, a drop-down list box  233  is displayed. 
     Selecting a “Set” item in the drop-down list box  233  causes a setting screen to appear as shown in  FIG. 16 . The setting screen includes a region setting list box  241 , a remote commander mode setting box  242 , a check box  243 , a text box  244 , another text box  245 , an OK button  246 , and a CANCEL button  247 . 
     The region setting list box  241  is used to set the region for which to acquire TV program information. The remote commander mode setting box  242  is used to set remote commander mode. The check box  243  is either checked or left unchecked to determine whether or not to reflect preset information in the schedule list  94  that is established under control of the schedule list program  84 . The text box  244  is used to set an inserted keyword by which to distinguish a program recording preset schedule from other schedules when the preset information is to be reflected in the schedule list  94 . 
     The text box  245  is used to establish a member ID granted beforehand to each user who registered with the TV program information service provider  14 . The OK button  246  is selected when the settings in the boxes ranging from the region setting list box  241  to the text box  245  are judged correct. The CANCEL button  247  is selected if it is desired to cancel the settings made so far. 
     Selecting a “Set channel No.” item in the drop-down list box  233  causes a channel setting screen to appear as shown in  FIG. 17 . The channel setting screen indicates in tabular form displayed channels (CHs), received channels, and channel names (i.e., station names). Details of these indications may be changed as needed depending on the selected region. The channel setting screen further includes an OK button  248  and a CANCEL button  249 . The OK button  248  is selected when the channel settings are judged correct, and the CANCEL button  249  is selected to cancel the channel settings made so far. 
     If the NEW button  223  is selected on the TV program information management screen of  FIG. 14 , then a scheduled date setting screen for TV program information acquisition of  FIG. 18  is displayed for the user to make a new registration. On the screen, the user first calls up a calendar of a desired month by selecting the month and the year. In the calendar, the user chooses a desired date for which to acquire TV program information. If the user wants to obtain today&#39;s TV program information, selecting a TODAY button  252  generates a command designating this day as the date for which TV program information needs to be acquired. Selecting a CANCEL button  251  terminates the operation. 
     If the user selects any past date, a window  255  appears carrying a message such as “Download of any past TV program information cannot be preset,” as shown in  FIG. 19 . 
     On the scheduled date setting screen for TV program information acquisition of  FIG. 18 , the dates selected by the user are indicated in the display area  221  as shown in  FIG. 20  and are stored into the preset information memory  93 . In the state of  FIG. 20 , only the dates are set for TV program information acquisition; the program information has yet to be obtained. 
     If the user wants to change any date scheduled for TV program information acquisition, the date in question is selected from the scheduled date list in the display area  221 , and the CHANGE button  224  is selected. This causes a change window  261  of  FIG. 21  to appear. 
     The change window  261  includes a date setting box  262  in which to change the scheduled date, a region setting list box  263  in which to change the established region, an OK button  264  that is selected when the changes made are judged correct, and a CANCEL button  265  selected when it is desired to abandon the changes. When the user selects the OK button  264  in the change window  261 , the date and the region established in the window are stored into the preset information memory  93 . 
     From among the scheduled dates for TV program information acquisition displayed on the TV program information management screen in  FIG. 20 , the user may select a date or dates for which TV program information is desired to be obtained directly. In that case, the TV program information about the selected date or dates is acquired by connecting with the TV program information service provider  14  directly through the digital portable telephone  2 , base station  3 , public communication network  4 , access server  6 , and the Internet  8 . 
     Referring again to the flowchart of  FIG. 13 , the TV program recording preset program  83  now goes to step S 4 . In step S 4 , the recording preset program  83  receives commands for selecting dates for which to acquire TV program information directly and for acquiring that information on the basis of the user&#39;s operations. 
     More specifically, when acquiring TV program information directly, the user first selects a date or a plurality of dates from among the scheduled dates for TV program information acquisition displayed on the TV program information management screen in  FIG. 20 . The user then selects the tag  226  to get the TV program list tag  231  and option tag  232  displayed, and selects the TV program list tag  231 . In response to the user&#39;s operations, the TV program recording preset program  83  displays a drop-down list box  268  shown in  FIG. 22 . It is assumed here that the user will select an “Acquire information” item in the box  268  to acquire TV program information for a desired date, by connecting with the TV program information service provider  14  through the digital portable telephone  2 , base station  3 , public communication network  4 , access server  6 , and the Internet  8 . The connection will be established and the information obtained illustratively as described below. 
     In step S 5  of  FIG. 13 , the TV program recording preset program  83  checks to see whether a communication module is attached to establish a link between the PDA  1 - 1  on the one hand, and the digital portable telephone  2 , a PHS, a data card type PHS, or like connective device on the other hand for connection with the public communication network  4 . The check is made based on the information entered under control of the data communication program  81 . 
     If in step S 5  the communication module is not judged connected, then step S 6  is reached in which the TV program recording preset program  83  generates an error message informing the user of the absence of the module. The message is output to the I/O control program  82  which in turn forwards the message to the display unit  31  for display. Control is then returned to step S 4  and subsequent steps are repeated. 
     If in step S 5  the communication module is judged connected, step S 7  is reached. In step S 7 , the TV program recording preset program  83  starts connecting with the TV program information server  191  of the TV program information service provider  14  through the digital portable telephone  2 , base station  3 , public communication network  4 , access server  6 , and the Internet  8  under control of the data communication program  81 . 
     In step S 8 , the TV program recording preset program  83  transmits a user-entered TV program information acquisition request (including the region and the date(s) for which to obtain the program information, or the date(s) and the user ID registered beforehand with the TV program information service provider  14 ) to the TV program information server  191  of the TV program information service provider  14 . 
     In step S 9 , the TV program information server  191  receives the TV program information acquisition request from the PDA  1 - 1 . In step S 10 , the server  191  checks to see whether any user ID is included in the received request. 
     If in step S 10  a user ID is judged included in the received TV program information acquisition request, step S 11  is reached. In step S 11 , the TV program information server  191  reads from the user information database  195  the registered content corresponding to the date(s) and the user ID included in the received request. 
     Step S 12  is reached either at the end of step S 11 , or if in step S 10  the user ID is not judged included in the received TV program information acquisition request. In step S 12 , the TV program information server  191  retrieves the TV program information corresponding to the input TV program information acquisition request (including the region and the date(s) for which to obtain the program information, or the date(s) and the user ID registered beforehand with the TV program information service provider  14 ) from the pdb-format TV program information database  194 . In step S 13 , the server  191  transmits the retrieved TV program information to the PDA  1 - 1  that sent the information acquisition request earlier. 
     In step S 14 , the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1  receives the TV program information sent from the TV program information server  191  in step S 13  under control of the data communication program  81 . The received information is stored into the TV program list memory  91 . In step S 15 , the TV program recording preset program  83  severs the connection with the Internet  8  and terminates the processing. 
     The processing described in reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 13  stores the TV program information for the date desired by the user into the TV program list memory  91  in the PDA  1 - 1 , of the scheduled dates for which to acquire TV program information displayed on the program information management screen of  FIG. 20 , the date whose TV program information has been recorded to the TV program list memory  91  is furnished with an icon  271  indicating that the information has been obtained already, as shown in  FIG. 23 . 
     Described below with reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 24  is what takes place in a setup where the PDA  1 - 2  connects with the personal computer  9  via the cradle  7 ; where the personal computer  9  gains access to the TV program information service provider  14  through the public communication network  4 , access server  6 , and the Internet  8  in order to acquire TV program information from the service provider; and where the PDA  1 - 2  obtains the TV program information from the personal computer  9 . The flowchart outlines the workings of the PDA  1 - 2 , the personal computer  9 , and the TV program information server  191  of the TV program information service provider  14 . 
     Steps S 21  through S 23  of  FIG. 24  are equivalent to steps S 1  through S 3  in  FIG. 13 . 
     In step S 24  of  FIG. 24 , the TV program recording preset program  83  under control of the data communication program  81  receives through the communication unit  53  the input of a signal indicating that the hot sync button  35  is pushed on the cradle  7 . In step S 25 , the TV program recording preset program  83  starts communicating with the personal computer  9  via the cradle  7 . 
     In step S 26 , the CPU  131  of the personal computer  9  activates the hot sync manager  172  to interface with the Palm desktop  173 . In step S 27 , the hot sync manager  172  illustratively transmits a TV program recording history and other information to the PDA  1 . 
     The hot sync process is a process that synchronizes files and data between two different computers, i.e., between the PDA running on the Palm OS and the personal computer  9 . The synchronization is effected regardless of dissimilar computer models. 
     In step S 28 , the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1 - 2  transmits a TV program information acquisition request to the personal computer  9 , and receives a TV program recording history and other information therefrom in return. In step S 29 , the recording preset program  83  writes to the schedule list  94  the TV program recording history and other information sent from the personal computer  9  in step S 27 . 
     In step S 30 , the hot sync manager  172  receives the TV program information acquisition request from the PDA  1 - 2  through the cradle  7 . In step S 31 , the hot sync manager  172  under control of the I/O management program  171  connects with the TV program information service provider  14  over the Internet  8 . In step S 32 , the hot sync manager  172  sends to the TV program information service provider  14  the TV program information acquisition request received in step S 30 . 
     In step S 33 , the TV program information server  191  of the TV program information service provider  14  receives the TV program information acquisition request from the personal computer  9  over the Internet  8 . In step S 34 , the server  191  checks to see whether the received request contains any user ID. 
     The user ID is unique identification information granted to each user of the PDA  1 - 2  who in advance registered detailed information such as desired TV channels for program information acquisition with the TV program information service provider  14  (i.e., the ID is given to the user whose detailed information about desired TV programs is stored in the user information database  195  described above with reference to  FIG. 10 ). The user ID is established on the setting screen discussed above by referring to  FIG. 16 . 
     If in step S 34  the TV program information server  191  judges that a user ID is included in the received TV program information acquisition request, then step S 35  is reached. In step S 35 , the server  191  reads the registered content corresponding to the user ID from the user information database  195 . 
     Step S 36  is reached either at the end of step  935 , or if in step S 34  the TV program information server  191  judges that no user ID is contained in the received TV program information acquisition request. In step S 36 , the TV program information server  191  searches for and retrieves the TV program information specified by the user-requested date, region, channel, etc., from the pdb-format TV program information database  194 . 
     In step S 37 , the TV program information server  191  transmits the TV program information retrieved in step S 36  to the personal computer  9  over the Internet  8 . 
     In step S 38 , the I/O management program  171  of the personal computer  9  receives the TV program information from the TV program information service provider  14  via the Internet  8 . The hot sync manager  172  sends the received TV program information to the PDA  1 - 2  through the cradle  7  under control of the I/O management program  171 . 
     In step S 39 , the I/O management program  171  of the personal computer  9  disconnects from the Internet  8 . 
     In step S 40 , the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1 - 2  receives the TV program information from the personal computer  9  through the cradle  7 , writes the received information to the TV program list memory  91 , and terminates the processing. 
     By resorting to the processing discussed above in reference to  FIG. 24 , any user who does not possess the digital portable telephone  2  can still acquire TV program information through the use of the personal computer  9 . The personal computer  9  allows the user to acquire TV program information by connecting with the TV program information service provider  14  that may offer a flat-rate communication service at a particular telephone number during a specific time period (e.g., 23:00 to 8:00). 
     In the processing of  FIG. 13  or that of  FIG. 24 , the TV program list  101  is recorded into the TV program list memory  91  of the PDA  1 . With the program list  101  held in the TV program list memory  91 , the user may select with the pen  201  the icon designating the TV program recording preset program  83  on the initial screen of  FIG. 11 . In that case, the activated TV program recording preset program  83  causes the display unit  31  to display a TV program list screen shown in  FIG. 25 . 
     The TV program list screen displayed on the display unit  31  includes a TV program list  281 , an advertisement banner  283 , and a tag  282 . The TV program list  281  includes a channel name  284 , a date  285 , and a time  286 . The advertisement banner  283  illustratively changes its indication automatically in accordance with display time information contained in the advertisement data. The tag  282  indicates the current time (21:22 in this example). 
     When the tag  282  is selected, the display unit  31  displays a TV program list tag  291  and an option tag  292  as shown in  FIG. 26 . If the user then selects the TV program list tag  291 , then a drop-down list box  293  appears. When a “Preset list” item is selected in the drop-down list box  293 , there appears a preset screen, to be described later by referring to  FIG. 38 . If an “Information management” item is selected in the drop-down list box  293 , the information management screen of  FIG. 23  is displayed. If the start time of a desired TV program shown in the TV program list  281  is first chosen followed by selection of a “Time-slot TV program table” item, then there appears a table of TV program in the designated time slot, to be described later with reference to  FIG. 35 . 
     If the user selects the option tag  292 , then a drop-down list box  294  appears as shown in  FIG. 27 . Selecting a “Fonts” item in the drop-down list box  294  displays a setting screen that permits setting of a font in which to give displays on the display unit  31 . Selecting a “Set” item in the drop-down list box  294  causes the setting screen of  FIG. 16  to appear. 
     If a “Delete TV program information” item is selected in the drop-down list box  294 , a window  295  appears carrying a message prompting the user to confirm the ensuing erasure of TV program information, as shown in  FIG. 28 . The user selects a CANCEL button  296  if not wishing to erase the TV program information; the user selects an OK button  297  when deleting the information. This arrangement is intended to prevent inadvertent erasure of TV program information if the user has made an erroneous operation. 
     If a “Version information” item is selected in the drop-down list box  294 , then version information about the TV program recording preset program  83  is displayed. 
     When a “Remote commander” item is selected in the drop-down list box  294 , the display unit  31  displays a remote commander display screen, to be described later with reference to  FIG. 48 . The remote commander display screen provides remote control processes that will be described later by referring to  FIGS. 47 through 50 . 
     When the channel  284  is selected in the TV program list  281  displayed on the display unit  31 , a channel list  301  appears as shown in  FIG. 29 . In the channel list  301  thus displayed, the user selects the desired channel for display on the display unit  31 . 
     When the date  285  is selected in the TV program list  281  on the display unit  31 , a date list  311  made up of the dates in the TV program list  101  currently held in the TV program list memory  91  appears as shown in  FIG. 30 . From among the listed dates  311 , the user selects the desired date for which to display the TV program list on the display unit  31 . 
     When the time  286  is selected in the TV program list  281  on the display unit  31 , a list box  321  appears in which to set a time-of-day at which to start displaying the TV program list on the display unit  31 , as shown in  FIG. 31 . The user then selects the desired start time from the time settings in the list box  321 . 
     The advertisement banner  283  changes its indication automatically at predetermined intervals as mentioned above. A click on the advertisement banner  283  by the user displays a detailed advertisement screen as shown in  FIG. 32 . Where necessary, the detailed advertisement screen may include a link text  331  carrying a URL and/or a mail-to text  332  containing a mail address, as well as an OK button  333  by which to go back to the preceding display screen. 
     If the user selects the link text  331 , the Web browser  86  is activated as shown in  FIG. 33 . In turn, the Web browser  86  starts the data communication program  81  executing necessary steps to connect with a WWW server, not shown, over the Internet  8 . A website page designated by the URL of the link text  331  then appears. 
     If the user selects the mail-to text  332 , the e-mail program  85  is activated as shown in  FIG. 34 . The e-mail program  85  displays a mail preparation screen on which to prepare a mail message destined for the address designated by the mail-to text  332 . The user&#39;s command to transmit the prepared mail causes the e-mail program  85  to start the data communication program  81  which in turn executes necessary steps to connect with a mail server, not shown, in the access server  6 . The connection permits transmission of the e-mail to the designated address over the Internet  8 . 
     Before actually presetting the most desired TV program for unattended recording, the user may wish to know what TV programs are available on various channels in the same time slot. In that case, the user may first select the start time of the currently chosen program in the TV program list of  FIG. 25 , get the drop-down list box  293  of  FIG. 26  displayed, and select the “Time-slot TV program table” item. This will cause a table  335  of TV programs in the designated time slot to appear as shown in  FIG. 35 . 
     The TV program recording preset program  83  under control of the I/O control program  82  accepts input of the user-selected start time of the desired TV program. Whereas the user selects a TV program start time, the TV program recording preset program  83  extracts the start and end times, not the user-selected time, of the TV program in question from the TV program list memory  91  and retrieves accordingly the information about all TV programs to be broadcast between the extracted start and end times in order to create the table  335  of TV programs in the designated time slot shown in  FIG. 35 . The TV program table thus created is output under control of the I/O control program  82  to the display unit  31  for display. 
     In the TV program list of  FIG. 25  or in the table  335  of TV programs in the specified time slot in  FIG. 35 , the user can select the desired TV program and preset its unattended recording using the personal computer  9 . 
     Described below with reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 36  is what takes place when unattended recording of a given TV program is preset by use of the personal computer  9 . 
     In step S 51  of  FIG. 36 , the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1  under control of the I/O control program  82  receives input of a signal representing the selection of a desired TV program by the user in the TV program list  281 . In step S 52 , the recording preset program  83  displays a detailed TV program screen corresponding to the selected TV program as shown in  FIG. 37 . 
     More specifically, the user first selects the desired TV program in the TV program list  281  (or from the table  335  of TV programs in the designated time slot in  FIG. 35 ). The user&#39;s selecting action causes the detailed TV program screen to appear as depicted in  FIG. 37 . 
     The detailed TV program screen includes detailed information about the TV program of interest (detailed information is part of the TV program data in the TV program list  101  described with reference to  FIG. 6 ), an OK button  341  that is pushed to go back to the preceding display screen (TV program list  281  or table  335  of TV programs in the designated time slot), and an “ADD TO PRESET LIST” button  342  that is operated to add this TV program to the preset list  92 . The detailed TV program screen may alternatively indicate the URL of a website administered by the TV broadcasting station in question, or the URL of a website from which the information about the TV program in question is made available. 
     In step S 53 , the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1  under control of the I/O control program  82  accepts selection of the “ADD TO PRESET LIST” button  342 . In step S 54 , the recording preset program  83  retrieves the corresponding TV program list  101  from the TV program list memory  91  and copies the TV program data in the retrieved TV program list  101  to the preset list  92 . 
     Suppose that on the detailed TV program screen of  FIG. 37 , the “ADD TO PRESET LIST” button  342  is selected to copy the relevant TV program data to the preset list  92 . In that case, a preset list screen appears as shown in  FIG. 38 . This preset list screen displays the dates, times and titles constituting the TV program data copied into the preset list  92 , as well as a “TV PROGRAM LIST” button  351  and a check box  352 . The “TV PROGRAM LIST” button  351  is used to go back to the TV program list  281 . The check box  352  is checked or left unchecked to determine whether or not to display the past data yet to be deleted from the preset list  92 . 
     When the user selects a given TV program name in the preset list screen, a schedule detail screen appears as depicted in  FIG. 39 . The schedule detail screen displays detailed information about the selected TV program such as the scheduled date and time for the program broadcast, the channel of the broadcast, the title of the program, and a comment. The schedule detail screen also includes an OK button  351 , a DELETE button  362 , and a SEND button  363 . The OK button  351  is operated to go back to the preceding display screen, i.e., the preset list screen of  FIG. 38 . The DELETE button  362  is selected when what is preset for this TV program needs to be erased. The SEND button  363  is used to transmit an unattended recording preset command regarding the TV program of interest to the personal computer  9  (or to the VCR  13 ) in a command transmission process that will be described later in more detail with reference to  FIG. 46 . 
     Selecting the DELETE button  362  displays a confirmation window  365  carrying a message such as “Are you sure you want to delete this schedule?” as shown in  FIG. 40 . The window  365  also includes an OK button  366  that is pushed to delete the selected schedule, and a CANCEL button  367  that is activated to cancel the subsequent erasure. 
     In step S 55  of  FIG. 36 , the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1  under control of the data communication program  81  receives a signal from the cradle  7  through the communication unit  53 , the signal indicating that the hot sync button  35  is pushed. In step S 56 , the data communication program  81  starts communicating with the personal computer  9  via the communication unit  53  and cradle  7 . 
     In step S 57 , the CPU  131  of the personal computer  9  starts the hot sync manager  172  (discussed earlier in reference to  FIG. 9 ) in response to a communication start signal sent from the cradle  7  via the communication board  145 , external bus  136 , bridge  135 , and host bus  134 . Upon activating the hot sync manager  172 , the CPU  131  interfaces with the Palm desktop  173 . In step S 58 , the CPU  131  under control of the I/O management program  171  transmits a history of TV program recordings made after the preceding hot sync process and other information to the PDA  1  through the communication board  145  and cradle  7 . 
     In step S 59 , the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1  under control of the data communication program  81  transmits the registered content of the preset list  92  to the personal computer  9  through the cradle  7 , and receives the TV program recording history and other information from the personal computer  9  (i.e., the information sent by the personal computer  9  in step S 58 ). In step S 60 , the TV program recording preset program  83  updates the preset list  92  based on the received TV program recording history. 
     Illustratively, the TV program data currently recorded in the preset list  92  include the TV program recording history sent by the personal computer  9  in step S 58 , the history containing information about the status of previously established unattended recordings monitored by the preset monitoring program  174  of the personal computer  9 . After the TV program recording preset program  83  has updated the preset list  92  based on the received information, the preset list screen subsequently displayed by the user may indicate any or all of icons  371 ,  372  and  373  reflecting the content of the preset list  92 , as shown in  FIG. 41 . The icon  371  indicates that the icon-marked TV program has been recorded. The icon  372  shows that the corresponding TV program is currently preset for unattended recording. The icon  373  warns of an error such as double booking. These icons let the user of the PDA  1  know the current status of the selected TV programs being preset for unattended recording or having been recorded already by the personal computer  9 . 
     In step S 61 , the hot sync manager  172  of the personal computer  9  under control of the I/O management program  171  receives the registered content of the preset list  92  from the PDA  1  via the cradle  7  and communication board  145 . In step S 62 , the hot sync manager  172  registers new recording preset information with the preset monitoring program  174 . 
     In step S 63 , the preset monitoring program  174  checks whether any of the start times preset for unattended TV program recording is reached. If in step S 63  none of the start times preset for unattended recording is judged reached, step S 63  is repeated until one of the start times is judged reached. 
     If in step S 63  one of the preset start times is judged reached, then step S 64  is reached. In step S 64 , the preset monitoring program  174  carries out an automatic recording process. After the recording, the processing is terminated. 
     The above-described processing first causes the preset recording information registered in the preset list  92  on the PDA  1  to be sent to the personal computer  9 . The personal computer  9  in turn takes over the automatic recording process of the TV program or programs as desired by the user. 
     The PDA  1  has the schedule list program  84  installed therein in a readily executable manner, as described above with reference to  FIG. 5 . The schedule list program  84  is a program that manages the user&#39;s schedule. 
     Sometimes the user may wish to include in his or her schedule the presetting of a desired TV program or programs for unattended recording. In such a case, the user need only check the check box  243  on the setting screen of  FIG. 16  in order to reflect the registered content of the preset list  92  in the schedule list  94 . 
     How to change the schedule list  94  on the PDA  1  will now be described by referring to the flowchart of  FIG. 42 . 
     In step S 71 , the TV program recording preset Program  83  of the PDA  1  determines whether or not the check box  243  is checked, i.e., whether the preset information in the preset list  92  is set to be reflected in the schedule list  94  of the schedule list program  84 , based on the content set in the preset information memory  93 . 
     If in step S 71  the TV program recording preset program  83  judges that the preset information in the preset list  92  is set to be reflected in the schedule list  94 , then step S 72  is reached. In step S 72 , the TV program recording preset program  83  checks to see if unattended recording of any TV program is newly preset in the preset list  92 . If in step S 71  the TV program recording preset program  83  judges the preset information in the preset list  92  is not set to be reflected in the schedule list  94 , then the processing is brought to an end. 
     If in step S 72  the TV program recording preset program  83  judges that unattended recording of a TV program is newly preset in the preset list  92 , then step S 73  is reached. In step S 73 , the TV program recording preset program  83  determines whether the newly preset TV program extends beyond the time 0:00 (i.e., goes into the next day) if recorded. If in step S 72  the TV program recording preset program  83  judges that unattended recording of any TV program is not newly preset in the preset list  92 , then step S 79  is reached. 
     If in step S 73  the TV program recording preset program  83  judges that the newly preset TV program will extend beyond the time 0:00 if recorded, then step S 74  is reached. In step S 74 , the TV program recording preset program  83  sets the recording end time of the TV program in question for 23:59 of the same day as the recording start time in the schedule list  94 . 
     Step S 75  is reached either at the end of step S 74 , or if in step S 73  the TV program recording preset program  83  judges that the newly preset TV program will not extend beyond the time 0:00 if recorded. In step S 75 , the TV program recording preset program  83  creates a DID assigned uniquely to each newly preset TV program to be recorded unattended. In step S 76 , the TV program recording preset program  83  copies the corresponding data from the preset list  92  and stores the copied data along with the DID to the schedule list  94  of the schedule list program  84 . 
     In step S 77 , the schedule list program  84  determines whether an alarm has been set to go off a certain time period before a scheduled start time. 
     If in step S 77  the schedule list program  84  judges that the alarm is set, then step S 78  is reached. In step S 78 , the schedule list program  84  sets the alarm based on the preset recording start time of the newly booked TV program. For example, if the alarm has been set to go off 10 minutes before the start time of a certain event, then the schedule list program  84  sets the alarm to go off 10 minutes before the start time of the newly preset TV program for unattended recording. If in step S 77  the schedule list program  84  judges that the alarm is not set, then step S 79  is reached 
     In step S 79 , the TV program recording preset program  83  checks to see whether any preset TV program has been deleted from the preset list  92  since the last change made in the preset list  92 . 
     If in step S 79  the TV program recording preset program  83  judges that a preset TV program is deleted from the preset list  92 , then step S 80  is reached. In step S 80 , the TV program recording preset program  83  supplies the schedule list program  84  with the UID of the preset TV program that has been deleted. In response, the schedule list program  84  deletes from the schedule list  94  the information about the TV program corresponding to the supplied UID. 
     The processing is terminated either at the end of step S 80 , of if in step S 79  the TV program recording preset program  83  judges that no preset TV program has been deleted from the preset list  92 . 
     The processing described above with reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 42  causes the data in the preset list  92  to be reflected in the data held in the schedule list  94 . In turn, on the initial screen of  FIG. 11 , selecting the icon for activating the schedule list program  84  displays a schedule list screen that contains the added schedule of the preset TV program for unattended recording. 
     On that schedule list screen an inserted keyword  244  appears, followed by the name of the preset TV program to be recorded unattended. The keyword  244 , described earlier with reference to  FIG. 16 , is indicated to distinguish the scheduled TV program recording from the rest of the schedule. The distinction may alternatively be made by suitably changing the colors of display on the screen. 
     The data communication program  81  of the PDA  1  may also communicate with other devices by either using infrared rays through the infrared communication unit  22  or by utilizing radio waves via the wireless LAN communication unit  64 . 
     What follows is a description of how the PDA  1 - 1  sends the information established by the TV program recording preset program  83  illustratively to the FDA  1 - 2 . 
     The user first displays the information management screen described above by referring to  FIG. 20 , and selects on the screen the date corresponding to the acquired TV program information or the preset content of any unattended TV program recording to be transmitted. A plurality of dates may be selected. The user then causes the drop-down list box  268  shown in  FIG. 22  to appear and selects an “Infrared communication of information” item in the box. Through infrared ray communication, the TV program recording preset program  83  transmits the acquired TV program information along with advertisement information or the preset content of the unattended TV program recording corresponding to the selected date or dates. At this point, the advertisement information is sent first so as to circumvent attempts to transmit only the information excluding the advertisement. 
     On the initial screen of  FIG. 11 , the user may alternatively get menu items displayed including an application tag  391  and an option tag  392 , as shown in  FIG. 44 . The user then selects the application tag  391 . 
     In response to the user&#39;s input operation, the Palm OS of the PDA  1 - 1  displays a drop-down list box  393 . In the drop-down list box  393 , the user selects an “Infrared communication” item to get an infrared communication screen displayed as depicted in  FIG. 45 . 
     The infrared communication screen displays a table of applications possessed by the PDA  1 - 1 . The screen also includes an END button  401  for terminating infrared communication mode, and an INFRARED COMMUNICATION button  402  by which to send the data of the selected application through infrared communication. 
     In the application table, the user selects a “TV Program Preset” application and operates the INFRARED COMMUNICATION button  402 . Given the user&#39;s input operation, the Palm OS of the PDA  1 - 1  searches for the destination device for infrared communication (PDA  1 - 2  in this example). When the destination device is found, the information held by the TV program recording preset program  83  (such as the downloaded TV program list  101  in the TV program list memory  91  or the scheduled TV programs for unattended recording in the preset list  92 ) is transmitted to that device through infrared communication. In this case, as in the previous example, advertisement information is sent first. 
     Explained in the above example was how to send the downloaded TV program list  101  from the TV program list memory  91  or the preset TV program schedule from the preset list  92  by means of infrared communication. Needless to say, the same transmission process can be executed alternatively by resorting to wireless communication. 
     Because the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1 - 1  is capable of sending to the PDA  1 - 2  the data representing the preset TV programs from the preset list  92  by means of infrared or wireless communication, there can be an advantageous situation like this: one user possessing the PDA  1 - 1  may download beforehand TV program information to prepare a list of preset TV programs on behalf of another user who owns the PDA  1 - 2 . The preset list  92  thus prepared may be transmitted to the PDA  1 - 2 . In turn, the user of the PDA  1 - 2  may preset unattended recording of the TV programs in question on the personal computer  9  or on the VCR  13  in the manner described above with reference to  FIG. 36 . 
     The TV program recording preset program  83  is also capable of transmitting a preset TV program recording command to the personal computer  9  or to the VCR  13  using the infrared communication function of the PDA  1 . A push on the SEND button  363  by the user on the schedule detail screen of  FIG. 39  causes the TV program recording preset program  83  to generate a command for recording the currently displayed TV program. The recording command is output through the infrared communication unit  22  (or wireless LAN communication unit  64 ) under control of the data communication program  81 . 
     How the recording command is transmitted to the personal computer  9  through infrared communication will now be described by referring to the flowchart of  FIG. 46 . Command transmission to the VCR  13  instead of to the personal computer  9  also takes place in like manner and thus will not be described further below. 
     In step S 91  of  FIG. 46 , the TV program recording preset program  83  under control of the I/O control program  82  displays on the display unit  31  the preset list screen of  FIG. 38  in response to the user&#39;s operation input from the touch pad control unit  48 , jog dial  33 , or keys  32 . The TV program recording preset program  83  receives the selective input of the user&#39;s desired TV program from the touch pad control unit  48 , jog dial  33 , or keys  32  under control of the I/O control program  82 . 
     In step S 92 , the TV program recording preset program  83  generates the schedule detail screen of FIG.  39  with regard to the selected TV program. Under control of the I/O control program  82 , the generated screen is output to the display unit  31  for display. 
     In step S 93 , the TV program recording preset program  83  under control of the I/O control program  82  receives input of a signal representing the selection of the SEND button  363  from the touch pad control unit  48 . 
     In step S 94 , the TV program recording preset program  83  generates a recording command based on the TV program data held in the preset list  92 , and feeds the generated command to the data communication program  81 . The recording command illustratively includes the channel on which the desired TV program is to be broadcast, as well as the start and end times of the broadcast. 
     In step S 95 , the data communication program  81  transmits the recording command generated in step S 94  to the personal computer  9  through infrared communication. 
     In step S 96 , the recording preset program  178  of the personal computer  9  under control of the I/O management program  171  receives the recording command from the PDA  1  via the infrared communication unit  146  for wireless LAN communication unit  147 ). At this point, the recording preset program  178  may generate an acknowledge command acknowledging the receipt of the recording command from the PDA  1  and send the acknowledge command back to the PDA  1  through the infrared communication unit  146  (or wireless LAN communication unit  147 ) under control of the I/O management program  171 . 
     After steps S 97  through S 99  which are equivalent to steps S 62  through S 64  of  FIG. 36 , the processing is terminated. 
     The processing above allows the user simply to preset the personal computer  9  or VCR  13  for unattended recording of desired TV programs, without recourse to such tedious steps as entering a 0 code number. 
     Using the infrared communication function of the PDA  1 , the TV program recording preset program  83  may also allow the user to make entries on a remote-controlled basis into programs run by the personal computer  9 . The remote control procedure eliminates the need for the user to manipulate the keyboard  138  or mouse  139  of the personal computer  9 . 
     Described below with reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 47  is a typical process of such remote control on the recording preset program  178  of the personal computer  9 . In this example, the recording preset program  178  is started in the personal computer  9  and operated by the FDA  1  on a remote-controlled basis. 
     In step S 111  of  FIG. 47 , the TV program recording preset program  83  under control of the I/O control program  82  displays a remote commander display screen in response to the user&#39;s operation input from the touch pad control unit  48 , jog dial  33 , or keys  32 . 
       FIG. 48  shows a typical remote commander display screen. This display screen includes a group of keys  411  through which to enter various commands, and a tag  412  for calling up menu items. Selecting the tag  412  displays a drop-down list box, not shown, in which the user may designate the end of the remote commander display screen. In addition to the screen end menu item, the drop-down list box includes a plurality of commands such as the command for effecting transition to a display font setting screen. 
     In step S 112 , the CPU  131  of the personal computer  9  starts the recording preset program  178  in response to the user&#39;s operation. Under control of the I/O management program  171 , the CPU  131  displays on the CRT  140  a recording preset screen  415  shown in  FIG. 49 . 
     In step S 113 , the TV program recording preset program  83  under control of the I/O control program  82  receives the user&#39;s operation input from the touch pad control unit  48 , jog dial  33 , or keys  32 . 
     In step S 114 , the recording preset program  178  of the personal computer  9  under control of the I/O management program  171  receives input of a signal representing the user&#39;s operation from the PDA  1  through the infrared communication unit  146  (or wireless LAN communication unit  147 ). At this point, the recording preset program  178  may generate an acknowledge command acknowledging the receipt of the signal from the PDA  1  and send the acknowledge command back to the PDA  1  through the infrared communication unit  146  (or wireless LAN communication unit  147 ) under control of the I/O management program  171 . 
     In step S 115 , the recording preset program  178  of the personal computer  9  carries out the process corresponding to the input signal. All signals representative of the user&#39;s operations input from the PDA  1  are arranged to correspond with commands ordering the recording preset program  178  to act accordingly. For example, if the user has rotated the jog dial  33 , the selected tag on the menu bar or the location of the selected button is changed correspondingly on the recording preset screen displayed in step S 112 . 
     In step S 116 , the TV program recording preset program  83  under control of the I/O control program  82  checks to see whether an operation end command is received. If in step S 116  the TV program recording preset program  83  judges that the operation end command has yet to be received, then step S 113  is reached again and subsequent steps are repeated. 
     If in step S 116  the TV program recording preset program  83  judges that the operation end command is received, then step S 117  is reached. In step S 117 , the TV program recording preset program  83  under control of the I/O control program  82  calls up the display screen preceding the remote commander display screen of  FIG. 48 . This terminates the processing. 
     The steps in  FIG. 47  allow the user simply to operate the PDA  1  in presetting the personal computer  9  for unattended recording of desired TV programs. In that case, the user need not be familiar with the handling of the keyboard  138  or mouse  139  in making the presetting. 
     Described below is another example in which the PDA  1  is used to execute a remote-controlled process, with the recording/reproduction program  177  performing a content reproduction process causing a display screen shown in  FIG. 50  to appear on the CRT  140 . 
     A video recorder window  422  shown in  FIG. 50  illustratively displays either moving picture data selected by the user or a currently broadcast TV program. The user may select and reproduce one of a plurality of program contents listed in a content capsule selection window  423  within the video recorder window  422 . When selectively reproducing the desired content, the user may either push a suitable cursor key (i.e., a key with a directional arrow) among the group of keys  411  in  FIG. 48 , or rotate the jog dial  33 . 
     Based on the signal representative of the user&#39;s operation input through the infrared communication unit  146  (or wireless LAN communication unit  147 ), the I/O management program  171  of the personal computer  9  controls the content name display in the content capsule selection window  423  in such a manner that each text displayed in reverse may be selected by turns. 
     In response to a signal that is input through the infrared communication unit  146  (or wireless LAN communication unit  147 ) denoting either a playback key being pushed within the group of keys  411  in  FIG. 48  or the jog dial  33  being pushed into the enclosure of the device, the I/O management program  171  supplies the recording/reproduction program  177  with a signal indicating that the selection has been finalized. Given the input signal, the recording/reproduction program  177  reproduces the selected content accordingly. 
     Whereas the processing described above applies to the example of  FIG. 50  in which the recording/reproduction program  171  is being active in the personal computer  9 , the same processing basically applies when any other program is being activated in the personal computer  9 . The correspondence above between the operation of the jog dial  33  and the resulting indication on the display screen of the personal computer  9  is only an example and is not limitative of the invention. 
     Using the infrared communication function of the PDA  1 , the TV program recording preset program  83  may function as a remote controller of the VCR  13  in the same manner as described above. 
     Furthermore, the TV program recording preset program  83  may retrieve content data from the HDD  141  of the personal computer  9  by use of the infrared communication function of the PDA  1  and may reproduce the retrieved content data. 
     The HDD  141  of the personal computer  9  accommodates a plurality of content data items. The content data thus stored are managed and retrieved by the AV content management/search program  176 . 
       FIG. 51  shows an AV content management/search screen  431  displayed on the CRT  140  under control of the AV content management/search program  176 . The AV content management/search screen  431  displays a table of content data held on the HDD  141 . The content table shows content names illustratively along with the corresponding dates and times of creation (recording), content status information (reproduced or not reproduced), recorded content lengths, channel names, and recording modes used. 
     The PDA  1  has a smaller data storage capacity and a lower level of performance in displaying moving pictures than the personal computer  9 . To make up for such limitations, the AV content conversion program  175  of the personal computer  9  converts stored content data to a suitable format that allows the PDA  1  to give adequate displays when supplied with limited amounts of content data. The converted content data are transmitted through the infrared communication unit  146  (or wireless LAN communication unit  147 ) to the PDA  1  under control of the I/O management program  171 . 
     The TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1  under control of the data communication program  81  supplies the moving picture display program  87  with the moving picture data from among the content data received from the infrared communication unit  22  (or wireless LAN communication unit  64 ). In turn, the moving picture display program  87  displays the corresponding moving pictures on the display unit  31  in keeping with the user&#39;s operation. At the same time, the audio data out of the content data are transferred to the audio reproduction unit  51  through the buffer  50  for audio playback. 
     Described below with reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 52  is an example in which content data held in the personal computer  9  are transmitted to the PDA  1  through infrared communication for content data reproduction by the PDA  1 . 
     In step S 131 , the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1  under control of the I/O control program  82  receives from the touch pad control unit  48 , jog dial  33 , or keys  32  a command for transition to content data reception/reproduction mode. In step S 132 , the TV program recording preset program  83  displays a content data reception/reproduction screen as shown in  FIG. 53 . At this point, no content name is displayed on the screen because any content list has not been received from the personal computer  9  in step S 132 . 
     The content data reception/reproduction screen of  FIG. 53  includes a “RECEIVE CONTENT DATA” button  441  and a “RECEIVE TABLE” button  442 . The “RECEIVE CONTENT DATA” button  441  is pushed to receive desired content data from the personal computer  9 . The “RECEIVE TABLE” button  442  is operated to receive a table of content data from the personal computer  9 . 
     In step S 133 , the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1  under control of the data communication program  81  transmits a content data table transmission request to the personal computer  9  through the infrared communication unit  22  (or wireless LAN communication unit  64 ). 
     In step S 134 , the AV content management/search program  176  of the personal computer  9  under control of the I/O management program  171  receives the content data table transmission request via the infrared communication unit  146  (or wireless LAN communication unit  147 ). 
     In step S 135 , the AV content management/search program  176  creates a content data table and sends the table to the PDA  1  via the infrared communication unit  146  (or wireless LAN communication unit  147 ) under control of the I/O management program  171 . 
     In step S 136 , the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1  under control of the data communication program  81  receives the content data table through the infrared communication unit  22  (or wireless LAN communication unit  64 ), generates display screen data making up a content data table screen, and outputs the generated data to the display unit  31  for display under control of the I/O control program  82 . 
     Step S 136 , when carried out, displays on the content data reception/reproduction screen the content data table shown in  FIG. 53 , the table having been retrieved from within the personal computer  9 . 
     From the displayed table of content data, the user selects the desired content and pushes the “RECEIVE CONTENT DATA” button  441 . In step S 137 , the TV program recording preset program  83  under control of the I/O control program  82  receives from the touch pad control unit  48 , jog dial  33 , or keys  32  the input of both the selection of the content name and a signal representing the user&#39;s operation ordering the reception of the selected content data (i.e., the signal indicating that the “RECEIVE CONTENT DATA” button  441  is pushed). 
     In step S 138 , the TV program recording preset Program  83  generates a request to convert the relevant content data and to send the converted data. Under control of the data communication program  81 , the TV program recording preset program  83  transmits the request to the personal computer  9  via the infrared communication unit  22  (or wireless LAN communication unit  64 ). 
     In step S 139 , the I/O management program  171  of the personal computer  9  receives the content data conversion and transmission request through the infrared communication unit  146  (or wireless LAN communication unit  147 ), and supplies the received request to the AV content management/search program  176 . In turn, the AV content management/search program  176  searches for and retrieves the corresponding content data and feeds the retrieved data to the AV content conversion program  175 . The AV content conversion program  175  converts the supplied content data into a format that allows the moving picture display program  87  of the PDA  1  to effect content displays on the display unit  31 . The converted content data are sent to the I/O management program  171 . 
     In step S 140 , the I/O management program  171  transmits the converted content data to the PDA  1  through the infrared communication unit  146  (or wireless LAN communication unit  147 ). 
     In step S 141 , the TV program recording preset program  83  of the PDA  1  under control of the data communication program  81  receives the content data through the infrared communication unit  22  (or wireless LAN communication unit  64 ), generates icons representing the content data that are available for reproduction, and outputs the generated icons to the display unit  31  for display under control of the I/O control program  82 . 
       FIG. 54  shows a typical reproduction command screen indicating the icons representing the content data that can be reproduced. That is, the reproduction command screen shows a group of icons  451  corresponding to the reproducible content data, and a “DISPLAY TABLE” button  452  that is operated to go back to the table of content data in the content data reception/reproduction screen of  FIG. 53 . 
     In step S 142 , the TV program recording preset program  83  under control of the I/O control program  82  checks to see whether the selection of an icon is received on the basis of the signal input from the touch pad control unit  48 , jog dial  33 , or keys  32 . If in step S 142  the TV program recording preset program  83  judges that no icon selection has been received, then step S 142  is repeated until selection of any icon is judged received. 
     If in step S 142  the selection of an icon is judged received, then step S 143  is reached. In step S 143 , the TV program recording preset program  83  supplies the content data selected in step S 142  to the moving picture display program  87 . In turn, the moving picture display program  87  under control of the I/O control program  82  outputs the supplied content data to the display unit  31  for playback in response to the user&#39;s operation. The processing is then terminated. 
       FIG. 55  shows a typical display screen  31  displaying content data. In addition to a display area  461  displaying the content as moving pictures, the display screen  31  may include a group of buttons  462  that may be easily operated by the user. 
     The processing of  FIG. 52  makes it possible for the PDA  1  to retrieve content data from the personal computer  9  and to reproduce the retrieved data. In a typical application, the user may enjoy watching content being reproduced on his or her PDA while moving in a train. 
     Without receiving the input of any operation from the PDA  1 , the personal computer  9  can start the AV content conversion program  175  and thereby convert content data into a predetermined format. Illustratively, with the AV content management/search screen  431  displayed as shown in  FIG. 51 , activation of the AV content conversion program  175  causes a content conversion window  471  to appear as indicated in  FIG. 56 . 
     In that state, the user may drag the icon representing the desired content from the AV content management/search screen  431  into the content conversion window  471  and drop the icon there; the user may alternatively copy the icon of interest from the screen  431  into the window  471 . In either case, the AV content conversion program  175  converts the content data corresponding to the user-selected icon into the predetermined format in the same manner as in step S 139  above. 
     After their conversion to the suitable format, the AV data appear represented by icons  472  in the content conversion window  471 . 
     In another example, the content conversion window  471  may include a menu screen allowing the user to operate the personal computer  9  so as to transmit the format-converted content data to the PDA  1  through infrared or wireless communication. 
     The series of steps described above may be executed either by hardware or by software. For software-based processing to take place, programs constituting the software may be either incorporated beforehand in dedicated hardware or installed upon use from a suitable program storage medium into a general-purpose personal computer or like equipment capable of executing diverse functions. 
     Computer-executable programs designed to perform the above-described processes when installed in a computer may be retained on such package media as the magnetic disk  71  (including floppy disks), optical disk  72  (including CD-ROM (compact disk-read only memory) and DVD (digital versatile disk)), magneto-optical disk  73  (including MD (Mini-Disc)), or semiconductor memory  124 ; or may be stored on the flash ROM  43  or the hard disk where the programs reside temporarily or permanently. The programs may be retained on these storage media after being transferred over wired or wireless communication media such as the public communication network  4 , local area networks, the Internet  8 , or digital satellite broadcasting networks via suitable interfaces such as routers and modems as needed. 
     In this specification, the steps which are stored on a program storage medium and which describe the programs to be executed represent not only the processes that are carried out in the depicted sequence (i.e., on a time series basis) but also the processes that are conducted parallelly or individually (e.g., in parallel or object-oriented fashion). 
     In this specification, the term “system” refers to an entire configuration made up of a plurality of component devices. 
     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts or elements denoted by like reference symbols.