Patent ID: 8611438

Claim:
A broadcast receiver that receives an analog broadcast and a digital broadcast which have same broadcast contents and which are being broadcasted concurrently from a broadcast medium, said broadcast receiver comprising: a controller programmed to execute a process of switching between said analog and digital broadcasts for outputting, and controlling frequency and left-right separation settings regarding said digital broadcast; a switch controlled by said controller to switch a sound to be outputted between a sound extracted from said analog broadcast and a sound extracted from said digital broadcast; a detecting device that detects a receiving state of said analog broadcast; an analog broadcast sound signal processing device that restricts a frequency characteristic and a degree of left-right separation of left and right channel signals of the sound signal of said analog broadcast; a first adjusting device controlled by said controller to adjust a reproduced frequency band exclusively used for said digital broadcast; and a second adjusting device controlled by said controller to adjust a degree of left-right separation exclusively used for said digital broadcast, wherein said controller is programmed to: determine a restricted setting of the reproduced frequency band and a restricted setting of the degree of left-right separation of the sound signal extracted from said analog broadcast, said restricted settings having been set by said analog broadcast sound signal processing device, from the receiving state detected by said detecting device, control said switching to, when switching from said digital broadcast to said analog broadcast, switch from outputting the sound signal extracted from said digital broadcast exclusively to outputting the sound signal extracted from said analog broadcast exclusively after controlling restricting characteristics of said first and second adjusting devices in such a way that the reproduced frequency band and the degree of left-right separation of the sound signal extracted from said digital broadcast vary from the unrestricted settings exclusively used for said digital broadcast and become equal to said determined restricted settings, and while the sound signal of the analog broadcast is outputted exclusively with the reproduced frequency band and the degree of left-right separation of said digital broadcast equal to said determined settings, make a decision to switch from said analog broadcast to said digital broadcast, and then control said switch to switch from outputting the sound signal extracted from said analog broadcast exclusively to outputting the sound signal extracted from said digital broadcast, and thereafter control said first and second adjusting devices to increase the reproduced frequency band and the degree of left-right separation of said digital broadcast up to the unrestricted settings exclusively used for said digital broadcast respectively.