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Description  |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In general, the present invention relates to an electronic program guide
system and an electronic program guide displaying method. In particular,
the present invention relates to an electronic program guide system and an
electronic program guide displaying method that allow a telegraphic
program guide to be obtained in a plurality of systems.
The so-called EPG (Electronic Program Guide) system is already known
wherein a program guide for selecting a television broadcast program is
transmitted by superpositioning the program guide on a video signal and
displayed on a display unit on the receiver side.
Examples of the EPG system are a VBI (Vertical Blanking Interval) system
disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 6-504165 and U.S. Pat. No.
5,353,121, a relevant patent, and a digital satellite system used in the
DSS (Digital Satellite System), a trademark of Hughes Communication
Corporation, which was explained by the applicant of the present invention
in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 6-325940. Japanese Patent
Application No. Hei 6-325940 was filed in Japan on Dec. 27, 1994, but is
not published yet.
In the case of the VBI system, VBI data composing an EPG (Electronic
Program Guide) is inserted for transmission into a position which does not
affect the native picture on the horizontal scanning lines in the
ground-wave television broadcasting in the ordinary VHF (Very High
Frequency) band. On the receiver side, this VBI data is accumulated and
display data is then generated from the accumulated VBI data to be
displayed on a monitor.
In the case of the digital satellite system, on the other hand, EPG data is
digitized along with the native picture data and then converted into
packets for transmission. On the receiver side, the EPG data is stored in
memory. Necessary display data is then generated from the EPG data stored
in the memory to be displayed on a monitor.
In either system, the user can select a program that the user desires to
watch by looking at an electronic program guide displayed on the monitor.
Thus, a system for receiving ground-wave television broadcasts allows an
EPG of the VBI method to be received and displayed on the monitor. A
system for receiving satellite broadcasts, on the other hand, allows an
EPG transmitted through a satellite to be received and displayed on the
monitor.
As described above, EPGs are received by systems which work as functional
units independent of each other. To be more specific, in order to know
whether or not a program that the user desires to watch is broadcasted,
whether it is a program broadcasted by using a ground wave or a satellite,
for example, the user searches the EPG of the VBI method for information
such as a date and time. If the desired program is not listed in the EPG,
that is, not broadcasted, it is necessary to again search the EPG of the
satellite broadcasting in a similar way. As a result, the user encounters
a problem that it is difficult to watch a desired program reliably and
immediately.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electronic
program guide system and an electronic program guide displaying method
which allow a desired program to be watched reliably and immediately.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an
electronic program guide system having a storage means for storing a first
electronic program guide of a first system and a second electronic program
guide of a second system different from the first system and an
integrating means for integrating the first and second electronic program
guides.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an
electronic program guide displaying method having the steps of storing a
first electronic program guide of a first system and a second electronic
program guide of a second system different from the first system,
integrating the first and second electronic program guides and displaying
an integrated electronic program guide.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an
electronic program guide system for transmitting electronic program guides
different from area to area, and selecting an electronic program guide of
a predetermined area on the receiving side, wherein information on
mail-matter delivery areas is used for identifying an area to which a mail
matter is to be delivered.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a typical configuration of an AV system
adopting an electronic program guide system provided by the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of an EPG
receiver 6 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 formed by FIGS. 3A and 3B, and FIGS. 3A and 3B are block diagrams
showing a typical configuration of an IRD 4 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of a remote
commander for controlling the IRD 4 shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of a TV receiver
5 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a diagram used for explaining button switches of an EPG-receiver
remote commander 241 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 shows a flowchart used for explaining an operation to store data in
the EPG receiver 6 shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 8 shows a flowchart used for explaining another operation to store
data in the EPG receiver 6 shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 9 shows a flowchart used for explaining an operation to select a
program in the EPG receiver 6 shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of typical processing to display an electronic
program guide carried out at a step S51 of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of other typical processing to display an
electronic program guide carried out at the step S51 of FIG. 9;
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a typical display resulting from the step S51
of FIG. 9;
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a typical display of EPG data of the IRD 4
shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a typical display of EPG data of the TV
receiver 5 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another typical display resulting from the
step S51 of FIG. 9;
FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing another typical configuration of the EPG
receiver 6 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing still another typical configuration of
the EPG receiver 6 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing still another typical display resulting from
the step S51 of FIG. 9;
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another typical configuration of an AV system
adopting an electronic program guide system provided by the present
invention;
FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of an EPG
receiver 6 shown in FIG. 19;
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of an
EPG-receiver remote commander 241 shown in FIG. 19;
FIG. 22 is a diagram used for explaining control of the display for a
system comprising a plurality of EPG receivers;
FIG. 23 is a diagram used for explaining the integration of EPG data of a
plurality of EPG receivers;
FIG. 24 is a diagram used for explaining an operation to display data in a
system comprising a plurality of EPG receivers; and
FIG. 25 is a diagram used for explaining an example of integrating EPG data
through a relay base station.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a typical configuration of an AV system 1 adopting an
electronic program guide system provided by the present invention. In this
AV system 1, VCRs (Video Cassette Recorders) 2 and 3, an IRD (Integrated
Receiver/Decoder) 4, a television (TV) receiver 5 and an EPG receiver 6
are connected to each other by an AV line 11 and a control line 12.
The AV line 11 has three lines: a composite video signal line, an audio L
signal line and an audio R signal line. If a translator 205 of FIG. 2 to
be described later is not provided, the control line 12 can be designed
into the same configuration as the wired SIRCS (or wired Sony Infrared
Remote Control System). Accordingly, these pieces of AV equipment each has
a video-signal transmitting/receiving unit for transmitting and receiving
video and audio signals transmitted through the AV line 11 and an
AV-equipment control-signal transmitting/receiving unit for transmitting
and receiving control data transmitted through the control line 12.
In addition, the EPG receiver 6 has an IR receiving unit 6B for receiving
an infrared (IR) signal generated by an EPG-receiver remote commander 241.
Likewise, the IRD 4 and the TV receiver 5 have IR receiving units 4B and
5B respectively each for receiving an infrared signal generated by a
remote commander 7 shown in FIG. 4.
A typical internal configuration of the EPG receiver 6 is shown in FIG. 2.
As shown in the figure, an input/output (I/O) unit 201 comprises a
video-signal transmitting/receiving unit 202 and an AV-equipment
control-signal transmitting/receiving unit 203. The video-signal
transmitting/receiving unit 202 executes operations to transmit and
receive video and audio signals through the AV line 11. The AV-equipment
control-signal transmitting/receiving unit 203, on the other hand, carries
out processing to transmit and receive control data through the control
line 12.
Embedding an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory)
unit 206 as rewritable memory, the translator 205 converts commands to be
transmitted to pieces of equipment composing the AV system 1, which pieces
of equipment are made by different manufacturers, into commands
interpretable by the pieces of equipment. Commands interpretable by the
pieces of equipment made by different manufacturers are stored in the
EEPROM unit 206 which can be replaced relatively with ease if necessary. A
back-up RAM (Random-Access Memory) unit 207 is used for storing EPG data
received from AV equipment connected to the AV system 1 as a data base. It
should be noted that the RAM unit 207 can be replaced by an EEPROM unit. A
controller 204 appropriately controls these circuits.
A typical internal configuration of the IRD 4 for receiving satellite
broadcasts is shown in FIG. 3. As shown in the figure, an RF signal which
is actually a bit stream output by an LNB (Low Noise Block) downconverter
61a of a parabola antenna 61 is supplied to a tuner 21 of a front-end unit
20 for later demodulation. A signal output by the tuner 21 is supplied to
a QPSK demodulating circuit 22 to undergo QPSK demodulation. A signal
output by the QPSK demodulating circuit 22 is supplied to an error
correcting circuit 23 for detecting as well as correcting errors and, if
necessary, compensating the signal for the errors.
Keys necessary for decrypting encrypted codes are stored along with a
decrypting program in a CAM (Conditional Access Module) 33 which is
implemented as an IC card comprising, among other components, a CPU, a ROM
(Read-Only Memory) unit and a RAM unit. In the case of an encrypted signal
transmitted through a satellite, it is necessary to decrypt the encrypted
signal using keys necessary for the decrypting. Keys are therefore read
out from the CAM 33 through a card reader interface 33 and supplied to a
demultiplexer (transport IC) 24. The demultiplexer 24 decrypts the
encrypted signal by using these keys.
It should be noted that, in addition to the keys necessary for decrypting
encrypted codes and the decrypting program, accounting information is also
stored in the CAM 33.
Receiving a signal output by the error correcting circuit 23 of the
front-end unit 20, the demultiplexer 24 supplies the signal to a data
buffer SRAM (Static Random-Access Memory) memory unit 35 to be stored
therein temporarily. The signal is then appropriately read out and
decrypted video and audio signals are supplied to an MPEG (Moving-Picture
Experts Group) video decoder 25 and an MPEG audio decoder 26 respectively.
The MPEG video decoder 25 supplies the input digital video signal to a DRAM
unit 25a to be stored temporarily therein. The MPEG video decoder 25
decodes the video signal which has been compressed in accordance with the
MPEG method. The decoded video signal is then supplied to an NTSC encoder
27 for converting the signal into a luminance signal (Y), a chroma signal
(C) and a composite signal (V) of the NTSC system. The luminance and
chroma signals (Y) and (C) are each output as an S video signal through
buffer amplifiers 28Y and 28C respectively. The composite signal is, on
the other hand, output to the video signal line of the AV line 11 through
a buffer amplifier 28V.
It should be noted that an MPEG2 decoding LSI (STi 3500) made by
SGS--Thompson Microelectronics can be used as the MPEG video decoder 25.
An overview of this product is introduced by Martin Bolton in documents
such as the Nikkei Electronics magazine of Mar. 14, 1994, No. 603, Pages
101 to 110 which magazine is published by Nikkei PB Corporation.
As for MPEG2--Transportstream, explanation can be found on pages 231 to 253
of `Most Recent MPEG Textbook` published on Aug. 1, 1994 by ASCII
Corporation.
The MPEG audio decoder 26 supplies the digital audio signal supplied by the
demultiplexer 24 to a DRAM unit 26a to be stored temporarily therein. The
MPEG audio decoder 26 decodes the audio signal which has been compressed
in accordance with the MPEG method. The decoded audio signal is converted
into an analog signal by a D/A converter 30. An audio signal of the left
channel is output to the audio L signal line of the AV line 11 through a
buffer amplifier 31L whereas an audio signal of the right channel is
output to the audio R signal line of the AV line 11 through a buffer
amplifier 31R.
An RF modulator 41 converts the composite signal (V) output by the NTSC
encoder 27 and an audio signal output by the D/A converter 30 into an
output RF signal. In addition, when a TV mode is set, the RF modulator 41
passes on an RF signal of the NTSC system supplied by AV equipment such as
a cable box to other AV equipment such as a VCR, outputting the RF signal
as it is.
In the case of this embodiment, these video and audio signals are supplied
to the VCRs 2 and 3, the TV receiver 5 and the EPG receiver 6 through the
AV line 11.
The CPU 29 executes various kinds of processing in accordance with a
program stored in the ROM unit 37 and uses a data buffer SRAM memory 36.
An example of the processing is control of the components such as the
tuner 21, the QPSK demodulating circuit 22 and the error correcting
circuit 23. The CPU 29 also controls an AV-equipment control-signal
transmitting/receiving unit 39 to be described later. In addition, the CPU
29 also outputs predetermined control signals to other AV equipment such
as the VCRs 2 and 3, the TV receiver 5 and the EPG receiver 6 in the case
of this embodiment through the control line 12 as well as receives control
signals from other AV equipment.
Predetermined commands can be directly entered to the CPU 29 by operating
operation button switches on a front panel 40. When the remote commander 7
shown in FIG. 4 is operated, an infrared signal is radiated by an IR
generating unit 51 of the remote commander 7. The infrared signal is
received by the IR receiving unit 4B and a result of the light reception
is supplied to the CPU 29. In this way, a predetermined command can also
be entered to the CPU 29 as well by operating the remote commander 7.
In addition, the demultiplexer 24 also takes in other information such as
EPG data besides the MPEG video and audio data supplied by the front-end
unit 20. The information is supplied to an EPG area 35A of the data buffer
memory unit 35 to be stored therein. The EPG information includes
information on programs of broadcasting channels which programs start from
the present point of time and end at a point of time several tens of hours
later after the present point. Pieces of such information are a program
channel, a transponder number, a broadcasting time, a title, a category,
film stars performing in a program and others. Since the EPG information
is transmitted frequently, it is possible to always keep the most recent
EPG in the EPG area 35A.
The EEPROM unit 38 is used for appropriately storing data which needs to be
kept even after the power supply is turned off. Examples of such data are
a history of reception for the last four weeks of the tuner 21 and a
receiving channel prior to the turning-off of the power supply or the last
channel. When the power supply is turned on again, a program of the last
channel is received once more. If the last channel is not recorded, a
program of a channel recorded in the ROM unit 37 as a default is received.
When a sleep mode is set, the CPU 29 puts as many circuits as required to
a minimum operative state even with the power supply turned off and
updates the present time by using time information included in a received
signal, allowing control and other commands to be executed so as to
request the circuits to carry out predetermined operations at
predetermined times. The circuits include the front-end unit 20, the
demultiplexer 24 and the data buffer memory unit 35. For example, timer
automatic recording is performed by interlocking the VCRs 2 and 3.
In addition, in order to generate predetermined OSD (On-Screen Display)
data, the CPU 29 controls the MPEG video decoder 25. Controlled by the CPU
29, the MPEG video decoder 25 generates the predetermined OSD data and
then writes the data into an OSD area in the DRAM unit 25a. The data is
further read out from the DRAM unit 25a and output. By doing so, an
electronic program guide including data such as predetermined characters
and drawings, a menu and other information can be output and displayed to
the TV receiver 5 appropriately.
The CPU 29 can also communicate with other apparatuses through the
telephone line by controlling a modem 34.
FIG. 4 shows a typical configuration of button switches on the remote
commander 7 for remotely controlling the IRD 4. Not only can a select
button switch 131 be operated in a total of 8 horizontal directions, but
it can also be pressed downward in a direction perpendicular to the upper
surface of the remote commander 7. The 8 horizontal directions are the
upward, downward, left and right directions in addition to the 4 slanting
directions between the upward, downward, left and right directions. The
operations in the 8 directions are known as directional operations whereas
the downward pressing is referred to as a select operation. A menu button
switch 134 is operated to display a menu screen to the TV receiver 5. An
exit button switch 135 is operated typically when it is desired to return
to the ordinary original screen.
A channel up-down button switch 133 is operated to increment or decrement
the number of the received broadcasting channel. A volume button switch
132 is operated to increase or decrease the volume.
Each of numeric button (ten-key) switches 138 marked with the numbers 0 to
9 is operated to enter a number displayed as a mark on the switch. An
enter button switch 137 is operated right after a numeric button switch
138 has been pressed to indicate that the operation to enter the number
has been completed. When the channel is switched from a number to another,
a banner comprising the number of the new channel, a call sign (or a
name), a logo and a mail icon is displayed for 3 seconds. In addition to
such a banner, there is another type of banner to give a total of two
banner types. The other banner further includes information such as the
name of a program, a broadcasting start time and the present time besides
the simple configuration of the first banner. A display button 136 is
operated to switch the displayed banner from one type to another.
A television/video changeover button switch 139 is operated to switch the
input to the TV receiver 5 from an embedded tuner 222 shown in FIG. 5 to
an input terminal which is typically connected to the VCR 2 or 3 or vice
versa. A television/DSS changeover button switch 140 is operated to select
either a television mode for receiving a VHF ground wave or a DSS mode for
receiving a satellite broadcast. When the channel number is changed by
operating the numeric button switches 138, the channel number prior to the
change is recorded in memory. A jump button switch 141 is operated to
return to the channel number prior to the change.
A language button 142 is operated to select a predetermined language when a
program is broadcasted in two languages or more. A guide button switch 143
is operated to directly display an electronic program guide to the TV
receiver 5 without specification through a menu. A favorite button 144 is
operated to select a favorite channel that has been previously entered.
A cable button switch 145, a television switch 146 and a DSS button switch
147 are used for switching from one function to another. To be more
specific, they are used for switching the equipment category for which the
code is conveyed by an infrared signal radiated by the remote commander 7.
The cable button switch 145 is operated in order to request a cable box,
not shown in the figure, to receive a signal transmitted through a cable
and display the signal to the TV receiver 5. The code of an equipment
category assigned to the cable box is thereby output as the infrared
signal.
Similarly, the television button switch 146 is operated in order to display
a signal received by a tuner embedded in the TV receiver 5 whereas the DSS
button switch 147 is operated to request the IRD 4 to receive a signal
through a satellite and display the signal to the TV receiver 5. A LED
148, 149 or 150 lights up when the cable button switch 145, the television
button switch 146 or the DSS button switch 147 is turned on respectively.
The lighted LED 148, 149 or 150 indicates a category of equipment, a code
of which category is transmitted by the remote commander 7.
A cable power-supply button switch 151, a television power-supply button
switch 152 or a DSS power-supply button switch 153 is operated to turn on
or off the cable box, the TV receiver 5 or the IRD 4 respectively.
A muting button switch 154 is operated to set or reset the muting state of
the TV receiver 5. A sleep button switch 155 is operated to set or reset
the sleep mode, in which the power supply is turned off automatically,
when a predetermined point of time has been reached or a predetermined
period of time has lapsed.
A typical internal configuration of the TV receiver 5 is shown in FIG. 5. A
tuner 222 demodulates a signal received by a VHF antenna 221 and outputs
and displays the demodulated signal to a CRT 229 through a synthesizing
circuit 228. In addition, a VBI data slicer 223 extracts VEI data from a
signal output by the tuner 222 and outputs an extracted result to a
decoder 224. The decoder 224 decodes the VBI data output by the VBI data
slicer 223, generating EPG data which is then stored in a backed-up RAM
unit or an EEPROM unit 225.
Based on the EPG data stored in the RAM unit 225, a controller 226 controls
a generating circuit 227 for generating OSD data (or display data) which
is then output and displayed to the CRT 229 through the synthesizing
circuit 228.
A video-signal transmitting/receiving unit 230 executes processing to
transmit and receive video and audio signals through the AV line 11.
Likewise, an AV-equipment control-signal transmitting/receiving unit 231
executes processing to transmit and receive control signals through the
control line 12. The IR receiving unit 5B receives an infrared signal from
the remote commander 7, outputting a reception detecting signal to the
controller 226.
FIG. 6 shows a typical configuration of an EPG-receiver remote commander
241 which is used for remotely controlling the EPG receiver 6. An EPG
button switch 243 on the remote commander 241 is operated in order to
display an integrated electronic program guide to the TV receiver 5. An
equipment button switch 244 is operated in order to specify an electronic
program guide to be integrated. In the case of this embodiment, for
example, even though both the IRD 4 and the TV receiver 5 have a function
for receiving an EPG, when it is desired to display an electronic program
guide of any arbitrary one of these pieces of equipment such as the TV
receiver 5, the equipment button switch 244 is operated. Subsequently, at
this AV system 1, a numeric character representing a number assigned to
the TV receiver 5 is entered by operating a key of the numeric button
switches 245.
When it is desired to specify a channel, a program or a program category, a
channel button switch 246, a program button switch 247 or a category
button switch 248 is operated respectively before operating the numeric
button switches 245. A select button switch 249 is operated in order to
carry out directional and select operations much like the select button
switch 131 of the remote commander 7 shown in FIG. 4.
When a button switch is operated, an infrared signal representing the
operated button switch is radiated from an IR generating unit 242 and
received by the IR receiving unit 6B employed in the EPG receiver 6.
When the power supply of the EPG receiver 6 is turned on, the controller
204 employed in the EPG receiver 6 executes processing to store EPG data
in accordance with a flowchart shown in FIG. 7. First of all, at a step
S21, the controller 204 selects receiving equipment for receiving EPG data
among pieces of AV equipment connected to the AV system 1. For example,
let the IRD 4 be selected initially. The processing flow then continues to
a step S22 at which the controller 204 requests the selected receiving
equipment to receive EPG data. To put it in more detail, the controller
204 requests the IRD 4 to receive EPG data through the AV-equipment
control-signal transmitting/receiving unit 203 and the control line 12.
The IRD 4 receives this command through an AV-equipment control-signal
transmitting/receiving unit 39. The manufacturer of the EPG receiver 6 is
not necessarily the same as that of the IRD 4. As a matter of fact, they
are usually different from each other. In this case, commands for
controlling theses pieces of AV equipment are also different from each
other. For this reason, when the controller issues a command to the IRD 4,
requesting the IRD 4 to receive EPG data, this command is first supplied
to the translator 205 for converting the command into a command known by
the manufacturer of the IRD 4. Commands used in systems made by different
manufacturers are stored in the EEPROM unit 206 so that the translator 205
can convert a command supplied thereto into one of the commands stored in
the EEPROM unit 206. In this example, the translator 205 converts the
command supplied by the controller 204 into a command known by the
manufacturer of the IRD 4 in accordance with the data stored in the EEPROM
unit 206.
It should be noted that, in the case of the AV system 1 to which pieces of
AV equipment are connected, the controller 204 makes inquiries about the
names of manufacturers to the AV equipment through the control line 12 and
stores the manufacturer names in the RAM unit 207. A command used in a
system made by a manufacturer, the name of which is stored in the RAM unit
207, is then output to the translator 205.
Accordingly, the CPU 29 employed in the IRD 4 can receive this command as a
proper command through the AV-equipment control-signal
transmitting/receiving unit 39. Receiving this command, the CPU 29
controls the demultiplexer 24, requesting the demultiplexer 24 to read out
EPG data from the EPG area 35A of the data buffer memory unit 35. As
described above, the contents of the EPG area 35A are always updated so
that the most recent EPG data is stored therein.
The EPG data read out by the CPU 29 is then output to the EPG receiver 6
through the AV-equipment control-signal transmitting/receiving unit 39 and
the control line 12.
The controller 204 employed in the EPG receiver 6 receives the EPG data
through the AV-equipment control-signal transmitting/receiving unit 203.
The processing flow then proceeds to a step S23 to find out whether or not
the user has specified a condition for storing the EPG data by operating
the EPG-receiver remote commander 241. If no condition is specially
specified, the processing flow continues to a step S25 to store the EPG
data into the RAM unit 207 under a condition prescribed in advance as a
default. In this case, basically, a minimum amount of information on
programs of all channels such as broadcast channels, transponder names,
program names and broadcasting times, which information is required for
selecting a program, is stored.
If a condition for storing the EPG data is found specified by the user at
the step S23, on the other hand, the processing flow continues to a step
S24 to store the EPG data into the RAM unit 207 under the condition.
For example, the user can specify a predetermined channel as an EPG to be
integrated (that is, an EPG to be stored in the RAM unit 207) by operating
the EPG-receiver remote commander 241. In this case, the channel is
specified by operating the channel button switch 246 and the numeric
button switches 245 of the remote commander 241. In addition, when it is
desired to store only EPG data of programs pertaining to a predetermined
category into the RAM unit 207, the predetermined category can be
specified by operating the category button switch 248 and the numeric
button switches 245. Furthermore, when it is desired to store EPG data of
a predetermined program into the RAM unit 207, a number specifying the
predetermined program can be entered by operating the program button
switch 247 and the numeric button switches 245.
When a condition for storing EPG data is specified as described above, the
controller 204 stores the EPG data into the RAM unit 207 in accordance
with the specified condition.
The processing flow then returns to the step S21 to select another piece of
receiving equipment. For example, the TV receiver 5 is selected as
receiving equipment. The processing flow then continues to the step S22 at
which the controller 204 requests the TV receiver 5 to receive EPG data.
The request is also converted by the translator 205 into a command
provided by the manufacturer of the TV receiver 5 which command is stored
in the RAM unit 207 in advance. The command resulting from the conversion
is then supplied to the AV-equipment control-signal transmitting/receiving
unit 231 employed in the TV receiver 5.
Receiving this input command from the AV-equipment control-signal
transmitting/receiving unit 231, the controller 226 employed in the TV
receiver 5 reads out EPG data stored in the RAM unit 225. In case no EPG
data is stored in the RAM unit 225, the tuner 222 is co | | |
