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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. A reception apparatus for receiving a program selection screen for
selection of a plurality of programs of different broadcasting channels,
comprising:
reception means for receiving a plurality of program selection screens,
wherein each one of said plurality of program selection screens has
arranged thereon a plurality of reduced screens corresponding to said
plurality of programs of different broadcasting channels;
display means;
storage means for storing said plurality of program selection screens
received by said reception means, said storage means arranging said
plurality of program selection screens on a virtual screen such that said
virtual screen has a greater number of reduced screens arranged thereon
than can be displayed simultaneously on said display means;
designation means for allowing a user to scroll relative to said virtual
screen in order to selectively designate for display on said display means
an array of reduced screens forming a portion of said virtual screen of
said storage means, said designation means enabling said user to scroll
left, right, up, and/or down to regions of said virtual screen not
presently being displayed to said user; and
outputting means for reading out and outputting to said display means said
selectively designated array of reduced screens from said virtual screen
of said storage means.
2. The reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said reception
means receives said plurality of program selection screens from one
transmission channel.
3. The reception apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising array
control means for controlling a scrolling operation of said designation
means for selectively scrolling through said plurality of reduced screens
located at various positions on said virtual screen in order to designate
said array to be displayed.
4. The reception apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said array control
means reads out said array of reduced screens from said virtual screen of
said storage means after arranging said plurality of reduced screens into
individual program categories.
5. The reception apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising array
designation means for designating a plurality of array positions in said
storage means for a plurality of arrays of reduced screens when said
plurality of reduced screens are stored in said storage means.
6. The reception apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising
changing means for changing said plurality of array positions of said
plurality of arrays of reduced screens stored in said storage means.
7. The reception apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said changing
means changes said plurality of array positions of said plurality of
arrays of reduced screens stored in said storage means in accordance with
an enjoyment history of programs watched by a viewer.
8. A reception method for receiving a program selection screen for
selection of a plurality of programs of different broadcasting channels,
comprising the steps of:
receiving a plurality of program selection screens, wherein each one of
said plurality of program selection screens has arranged thereon a
plurality of reduced screens corresponding to said plurality of programs
of different broadcasting channels;
storing said received plurality of program selection screens such that said
received plurality of program selection screens are arranged on a virtual
screen such that said virtual screen has a greater number of reduced
screens arranged thereon than can be displayed simultaneously on a display
device;
scrolling left, right, up, and/or down relative to said virtual screen in
order to access regions of said virtual screen not presently being
displayed to a user;
selectively designating for display an array of reduced screens from said
virtual screen;
reading out and outputting to said display device said designated array of
reduced screens from said virtual screen; and
displaying said designated array of reduced screens from said virtual
screen on said display device.
9. A broadcasting system wherein a program selection screen for selection
of a plurality of programs of different broadcasting channels is
transmitted from a transmission apparatus and received by a reception
apparatus, comprising:
transmission means provided in said transmission apparatus for multiplexing
and transmitting a plurality of program selection screens, wherein each
one of said plurality of program selection screens has arranged thereon a
plurality of reduced screens corresponding to said plurality of programs
of different broadcasting channels;
reception means provided in said reception apparatus for receiving said
plurality of program selection screens;
storage means provided in said reception apparatus for storing said
plurality of program selection screens received by said reception means,
said storage means arranging said plurality of program selection screens
on a virtual screen such that said virtual screen has a greater number of
reduced screens arranged thereon than can be displayed simultaneously on a
display device;
designation means cooperating with said reception means for allowing a user
to scroll left, right, up, and/or down relative to said virtual screen in
order to selectively designate for display on said display device an array
of reduced screens forming a portion of said virtual screen of said
storage means, said designation means enabling said user to scroll to
regions of said virtual screen not presently being displayed to said user;
and
outputting means provided in said reception means for reading out and
outputting to said display device said selectively designated array of
reduced screens from said virtual screen of said storage means.
10. A broadcasting method wherein a program selection screen for selection
of a plurality of programs of different broadcasting channels is
transmitted from a transmission apparatus and received by a reception
apparatus, comprising the steps of:
multiplexing and transmitting, using said transmission apparatus, a
plurality of program selection screens, wherein each one of said plurality
of program selection screens has arranged thereon a plurality of reduced
screens corresponding to said plurality of programs of different
broadcasting channels;
receiving, using said reception apparatus, said plurality of program
selection screens;
storing in said reception apparatus said received plurality of program
selection screens in such a way that said plurality of program selection
screens are arranged on a virtual screen such that said virtual screen has
a greater number of reduced screens arranged thereon than can be displayed
simultaneously on a display device;
scrolling relative to said virtual screen using a designation apparatus
cooperating with said reception apparatus, said scrolling enabling a user
to scroll left, right, up, and/or down to access regions of said virtual
screen not presently being displayed to said user;
selectively designating for display an array of reduced screens from said
virtual screen; and
reading out and outputting to said display device, using said reception
apparatus, said selectively designated array of reduced screens from said
virtual screen. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an electrical program guide system and method
wherein a plurality of program selection screens in each of which a
plurality of reduced screens indicating the contents of programs of
different broadcasting channels are arranged are transmitted and developed
into a virtual screen to allow a desired program to be selected rapidly
with certainty, intuitively and directly from among a large number of
programs.
In recent years, the number of broadcasting channels has increased in a
cable television (CATV) system or a digital direct satellite broadcasting
system (DSS: Digital Satellite System, a trademark of Hughes
Communications) in the United States of America applying a high efficiency
coding technique such as the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group). As a
result of an increase in the number of channels, for example, 150 to 200
broadcasting channels are now available, it is not easy to find a desired
program from among the multitude of broadcasting channels. In general, to
find a desired program, a broadcasting channel is first selected and the
program of the selected broadcasting channel is actually confirmed. Then,
if the program is not the desired one, another broadcasting channel is
selected similarly. When the number of channels is comparatively small,
the way of selection just described is not very inconvenient; however when
the number of available channels is such a very great number as mentioned
above, the way of selection will make the viewer feel cumbersome.
Thus, in order to allow a viewer to readily recognize the contents of
programs being currently broadcast, a method of displaying images of the
programs being currently broadcast on a so-called multi-screen which
includes a plurality of reduced screens has been proposed and is disclosed
in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. Heisei
6-169448.
According to the method disclosed in the document just mentioned, a screen
is formed as a multi-screen which is divided into 4.times.4 reduced
screens, in each of which a reduced image of a screen of a program
broadcast in a different broadcasting channel is displayed. Further, on
each reduced screen, the number of the broadcasting channel which is
broadcasting the program is displayed in a superimposed condition.
Accordingly, the viewer can recognize, observing the reduced screens of
the multi-screen, outlines of contents of the individual programs, and
when the viewer wants to actually enjoy one of the programs, the viewer
will manually operate a remote commander or a like device to input the
number of the broadcasting channel of the program.
While such an increase in the number of broadcasting channels as described
above is proceeding in the United States of America, a project of digital
television broadcasting is proceeding also in Japan. If the project is
realized, a large number of broadcasting channels are will be provided,
and it will become impossible to present the programs of a large number of
broadcasting channels with a mere 16 reduced screens.
Further, the positions of programs to be displayed on individual reduced
screens of the multi-screen are fixed. Consequently, the image displaying
method described above has a disadvantage that the array of programs of
the broadcasting channels to be displayed on the individual reduced
screens cannot be varied automatically in accordance with the history of
program enjoyment or reduced screens cannot be disposed at arbitrary
customized positions of the multi-screen in accordance with a will of the
viewer. More specifically, in the prior art, it is impossible to dispose a
reduced screen of a program enjoyed comparatively frequently, for example
at the left upper position in the multi-screen.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical program
guide system and method by which a desired program can be selected rapidly
with certainty, intuitively and directly from among a large number of
programs.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical
program guide system and method wherein reduced screens can be re-arranged
arbitrarily or re-arranged automatically at individual optimum positions
in accordance with a program enjoyment history.
In order to attain the objects described above, according to an aspect of
the present invention, there is provided a reception apparatus for
receiving a program selection screen for selection of a plurality of
programs of different broadcasting channels, comprising reception means
for receiving a plurality of program selection screens in each of which
reduced screens reduced from screens of the plurality of programs are
arranged on a single screen, storage means for storing the plurality of
program selection screens received by the reception means in a condition
wherein the program selection screens are developed on a virtual screen
which is greater in size than one of the program selection screens, and
outputting means for reading out an array of a plurality of ones of the
reduced screens from the virtual screen of the storage means and
outputting the thus read out array of the reduced screens.
In the reception apparatus, a plurality of program selection screens
received are stored in a condition wherein the program selection screens
are developed on a virtual screen which is greater in size than one of the
program selection screens, and an array of a plurality of ones of the
reduced screens is read out from the virtual screen and outputted.
Consequently, a user interface in which the large virtual screen is
partially seen can be realized. As a result, a desired program can be
selected rapidly with certainty, intuitively and directly from among a
large number of programs displayed, for example, on a multi-screen of full
motion.
The reception apparatus may further comprise array control means for
arbitrarily changing an array of those of the reduced screens which are to
be displayed. The array control means may read out the reduced screens
from the storage means after re-arranging the reduced screens for
individual categories of the programs. Where the reception apparatus
comprises the array control means, it may further comprise array
designation means for designating array positions of the storage means
when the reduced screens are to be stored into the storage means or
changing means for changing array positions of the reduced screens stored
in the storage means.
In the reception apparatus, when a plurality of the program selection
screens in each of which reduced screens reduced from screens of the
plurality of programs are arranged on a single screen are received and
stored in a condition wherein the program selection screens are developed
on a virtual screen which is greater in size than one of the program
selection screens and then an array of a plurality of ones of the reduced
screens is read out from the virtual screen and outputted, the reduced
screens can be re-arranged into an arbitrary array based on a desire of a
viewer. Consequently, a desired program can be selected rapidly with
certainty, intuitively and directly from among a large number of programs
displayed in a customized array, for example, on a multi-screen of full
motion.
Where the reception apparatus comprises the changing means, preferably the
changing means changes the array positions of the reduced screens stored
in the storage means in accordance with enjoyment histories of the
corresponding programs. With the reception apparatus, the reduced screens
can be automatically re-arranged to optimum positions based on the
enjoyment histories of a viewer. Consequently, a program which is enjoyed
with a high frequency can be found out and selected rapidly and readily.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
reception method for receiving a program selection screen for selection of
a plurality of programs of different broadcasting channels, comprising the
steps of receiving a plurality of program selection screens in each of
which reduced screens reduced from screens of the plurality of programs
are arranged on a single screen, storing the received plurality of program
selection screens in a condition wherein the program selection screens are
developed on a virtual screen which is greater than one of the program
selection screens, and reading out an array of a plurality of ones of the
reduced screens from the virtual screen and outputting the thus read out
array of the reduced screens.
In the reception method, a plurality of program selection screens received
are stored in a condition wherein the program selection screens are
developed on a virtual screen which is greater in size than one of the
program selection screens, and an array of a plurality of ones of the
reduced screens is read out from the virtual screen and outputted.
Consequently, a user interface in which the large virtual screen is
partially seen can be realized. As a result, a desired program can be
selected rapidly with certainty, intuitively and directly from among a
large number of programs displayed, for example, on a multi-screen of full
motion.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
broadcasting system wherein a program selection screen for selection of a
plurality of programs of different broadcasting channels is transmitted
from a transmission apparatus and received by a reception apparatus,
comprising transmission means provided in the transmission apparatus for
multiplexing and transmitting a plurality of program selection screens in
each of which reduced screens reduced from screens of the plurality of
programs are arranged on a single screen, reception means provided in the
reception apparatus for receiving the plurality of program selection
screens, storage means provided in the reception apparatus for storing the
plurality of program selection screens received by the reception means in
a condition wherein the program selection screens are developed on a
virtual screen which is greater in size than one of the program selection
screens, and outputting means provided in the reception means for reading
out an array of a plurality of ones of the reduced screens from the
virtual screen of the storage means and outputting the thus read out array
of the reduced screens.
In the broadcasting system, a plurality of program selection screens
received are stored in a condition wherein the program selection screens
are developed on a virtual screen which is greater in size than one of the
program selection screens, and an array of a plurality of ones of the
reduced screens is read out from the virtual screen and outputted.
Consequently, a user interface in the large virtual screen is partially
seen can be realized. As a result, a desired program can be selected
rapidly with certainty, intuitively and directly from among a large number
of programs displayed, for example, on a multi-screen of full motion.
According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a broadcasting method wherein a program selection screen for
selection of a plurality of programs of different broadcasting channels is
transmitted from a transmission apparatus and received by a reception
apparatus, comprising the steps of multiplexing and transmitting, by the
transmission apparatus, a plurality of program selection screens in each
of which reduced screens reduced from screens of the plurality of programs
are arranged on a single screen, receiving, by the reception apparatus,
the plurality of program selection screens, storing, by the reception
apparatus, the received plurality of program selection screens in a
condition wherein the program selection screens are developed on a virtual
screen which is greater than one of the program selection screens, and
reading out, by the reception apparatus, an array of a plurality of ones
of the reduced screens from the virtual screen and outputting the thus
read out array of the reduced screens.
In the broadcasting method, a plurality of program selection screens
received are stored in a condition wherein the program selection screens
are developed on a virtual screen which is greater in size than one of the
program selection screens, and an array of a plurality of ones of the
reduced screens is read out from the virtual screen and outputted.
Consequently, a user interface in the large virtual screen is partially
seen can be realized. As a result, a desired program can be selected
rapidly with certainty, intuitively and directly from among a large number
of programs displayed, for example, on a multi-screen of full motion.
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 are denoted by like reference characters.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1A to 1D are diagrammatic views illustrating definition of several
terms used for description of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating archiving processing;
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing a broadcasting system to which the
present invention is applied;
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a manner in which archived data
are produced;
FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a manner of arrangement of reduced
screens;
FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing a more detailed construction of part
of the broadcasting system shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a link between data of an
ordinary program and a reduced screen of the program;
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a viewer side apparatus of the
broadcasting system of FIG. 3;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the viewer side
apparatus of FIG. 3;
FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing an electric connection condition of the
apparatus of FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a detailed construction of a receiver
shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an appearance of a remote commander shown in
FIG. 8;
FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view showing an appearance of a small
size stick switch serving as a select button of the receiver of FIG. 11;
FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic view showing operation directions of a lever
shown in FIG. 12 in a horizontal plane;
FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic view showing an internal construction of the
remote commander of FIG. 8;
FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating operation of the arrangement shown
in FIG. 10;
FIG. 17 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a manner in which archived data
are separated;
FIG. 18 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a condition wherein reduced
screens are stored in a matrix array in a virtual frame;
FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing a range of a reduced screen to be
displayed on a monitor apparatus;
FIG. 20 is a schematic view showing reduced screens displayed on the
monitor apparatus;
FIG. 21 is a schematic view showing a reduced screen displayed on the
monitor screen as a result of manual operation of the remote commander for
scrolling;
FIG. 22 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a time delay which occurs on
the receiver side when archived data are transmitted in a condition
compressed in the time base direction;
FIG. 23 is a diagrammatic view illustrating transmission of ordinary data
using a transponder different from another transponder from which archived
data are transmitted;
FIG. 24 is a flow chart illustrating processing of a CPU of the apparatus
of FIG. 8 when the array position of a reduced screen stored in the
virtual frame is to be varied;
FIG. 25 is a schematic view illustrating a manner wherein a reduced screen
of a program which is enjoyed frequently is shifted to the left end of the
uppermost row of the virtual frame;
FIG. 26 is a schematic view illustrating a manner wherein reduced screens
of programs which belong to a category enjoyed frequently are shifted to
the uppermost row of the virtual frame;
FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing a video on demand service system to
which the present invention is applied;
FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing a more detailed construction of a set
top box shown in FIG. 27;
FIG. 29 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a service offerer side
apparatus shown in FIG. 27; and
FIG. 30 is a flow chart illustrating operation of the set top box of FIG.
28.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Before preferred embodiments of the present invention are described, in
order to clearly indicate the corresponding relationship between different
elements of the present invention recited in the appended claims and the
preferred embodiments of the present invention hereinafter described, the
characteristics of the present invention will be described in connection
with the elements with corresponding elements of the embodiments added in
parentheses.
According to the present invention, a reception apparatus includes
reception means (for example, a front end circuit 20, a demultiplexer 24
and a multi-channel real time decoder 25 of FIG. 16) for receiving a
plurality of program selection screens in each of which reduced screens
reduced from screens of a plurality of programs are arranged on a single
screen, storage means (for example, a virtual frame memory 49 of FIG. 16)
for storing the plurality of program selection screens received by the
reception means in a condition wherein the program selection screens are
developed on a virtual screen which is greater in size than one of the
program selection screens, and outputting means (for example, a CPU 29 of
FIG. 11) for reading out an array of a plurality of ones of the reduced
screens from the virtual screen of the storage means and outputting the
thus read out array of the reduced screens.
According to the present invention, the reception apparatus further
includes display means (for example, a monitor apparatus 4 of FIG. 9) for
displaying a program selection screen formed from the array of the
plurality of ones of the program selection screens outputted from the
outputting means.
According to the present invention, the reception apparatus further
includes designation means (for example, a select button switch 131 of
FIG. 12) for designating an area of the virtual screen of the storage
means from within which the outputting means is read out to the reduced
screens.
According to the present invention, the reception apparatus further
includes array control means (for example, the CPU 29 of FIG. 11) for
reading out the reduced screens from the storage means after re-arranging
the reduced screens for individual categories of the programs.
According to the present invention, the reception apparatus further
includes changing means (for example, the CPU 29 of FIG. 11) for changing
array positions of the reduced screens stored in the storage means.
According to the present invention, a broadcasting system includes
transmission means (for example, all elements of FIG. 6) provided in a
transmission apparatus for transmitting a plurality of program selection
screens in each of which reduced screens reduced from screens of the
plurality of programs are arranged on a single screen, reception means
(for example, the front end circuit 20, the demultiplexer 24 and the
multi-channel real time decoder 25 of FIG. 16) provided in a reception
apparatus for receiving the plurality of program selection screens,
storage means (for example, the virtual frame memory 49 of FIG. 16)
provided in the reception apparatus for storing the plurality of program
selection screens received by the reception means in a condition wherein
the program selection screens are developed on a virtual screen which is
greater in size than one of the program selection screens, and outputting
means (for example, the CPU 29 of FIG. 11) provided in the reception means
for reading out an array of a plurality of ones of the reduced screens
from the virtual screen of the storage means and outputting the thus read
out array of the reduced screens.
It is to be noted that naturally the present invention should not be
limited to the specific means described above.
FIGS. 1A to 1D illustrate definitions of several terms used in the present
specification. FIG. 1A shows an ordinary screen (screen of a program)
which signifies a screen on which an original image is displayed in full
motion of the frame rate of 30 frames/second (30 fps) in the full size
(720.times.480 picture elements).
FIG. 1B shows a multi-screen (program selection screen or array of reduced
screens) which signifies a screen on which nine reduced screens of the 1/9
frame size (240.times.160 picture elements) are arranged in a 3.times.3
matrix. Each of the reduced screens is a screen displayed in full motion
(30 fps).
FIG. 1C shows a virtual screen which is an imaginary array screen on which
six multi-screens of No. 1 to No. 6 are arranged in a 2.times.3 matrix.
The virtual screen is successively written into a virtual frame memory at
timings which satisfy the frame rate of 30 fps. Each reduced screen has
the 1/9 frame size (240.times.160 picture elements) and is written so that
it may be displayed in full motion (30 fps).
FIG. 1D shows a selection area (area from which data are to be read out)
for selecting a multi-screen to be read out from within a virtual screen
written in the virtual frame memory in response to a cursor moving
operation. The selection area is moved upwardly or downwardly or
leftwardly or rightwardly as the cursor moves. When reduced screens are to
be displayed in units of a program category or the like, the corresponding
reduced screens in the virtual screen are re-arranged on a predetermined
child screen.
When an image selected with the selection area is displayed on a monitor
apparatus, a multi-preview screen (program selection screen) is displayed.
The multi-preview screen is a multi-screen read out from within the
virtual screen written in the virtual frame memory in response to a cursor
moving operation and displayed on the monitor apparatus. Each of the
reduced screens of the multi-preview screen is displayed in full motion
(30 fps) in the 1/9 frame size (240.times.160 picture elements).
Prior to the description of the preferred embodiments of the present
invention, archiving processing will be described with reference to FIG.
2.
In particular, in the present invention, a plurality of (nine in the
embodiments described below) screens of different programs are
individually reduced (compressed) by thinning out (sampling) processing so
that each of them includes a number of picture elements equal to one third
that of the original screen in the vertical direction and the horizontal
direction. Consequently, nine reduced screens each reduced to one ninth in
area are produced. Then, the nine reduced screens are disposed at
different positions of a multi-screen which is divided into 3.times.3
areas (reduced screens). The multi-screens of No. 1 to No. 6, each of
which corresponds to one screen (one broadcasting channel), are produced
in this manner. Then, as seen in FIG. 2, the six multi-screens of No. 1 to
No. 6 are individually compressed by the MPEG system and then multiplexed
by a multiplexer 211 so that they may be transmitted by one transmission
channel. In the present specification, the compression and multiplexing
processing is referred to as archiving processing.
The data multiplexed into data of one transmission channel by the
multiplexer 211 are transmitted to the reception side via a transmission
line formed from an artificial satellite, a cable, or a like element.
On the reception side, the data of one transmission channel transmitted
thereto via the transmission line are demultiplexed by a demultiplexer 24
so that data of six original broadcasting channels (data of the
multi-screens of No. 1 to No. 6 each having nine reduced screens) are
separated.
Then, the thus demultiplexed data of the multi-screens of No. 1 to No. 6
(data of the program selection screens) are decompressed (decoded) by the
MPEG system and stored into a virtual frame memory 49 so that they may
construct a large virtual screen.
Then, a region of arbitrary 3.times.3 reduced screens of the virtual screen
is selected suitably and then outputted and displayed.
FIG. 3 shows a broadcasting system to which the present invention is
applied. Referring to FIG. 3, a broadcasting station performs broadcasting
of a program of, for example, the DSS. In particular, in the broadcasting
station, a program or a plurality of programs (analog video and audio
signals) of a broadcasting channel or different broadcasting channels are
produced and supplied to a digitization section 51. Also programs of other
broadcasting stations are supplied to the digitization section 51. The
digitization section 51 digitizes the video and audio signals constructing
the received programs and outputs the digitized video and audio signals to
an archiving section 52.
The archiving section 52 receives, in addition to the programs from the
digitization section 51, a digitized program or a plurality of digitized
programs (digitized video and audio signals) of a broadcasting channel or
different broadcasting channels from another station or stations. The
archiving section 52 produces data for program selection (data for a
program selection screen) representative of the contents of a plurality of
programs of different channels inputted thereto for the individual
channels. In particular, the archiving section 52 reduces the screens
(images) of a plurality of channels inputted thereto and forms an image of
a multi-screen with nine reduced screens. Then, for example, programs of
nine broadcasting channels are combined into a multi-screen of one
broadcasting channel.
Since data for program selection (reduced screens) are produced in this
manner using programs broadcast normally as they are, the labor for
production of a program for program selection independent of programs
broadcast normally can be eliminated.
It is to be noted that it is assumed here that the archiving section 52
produces, for a program of each channel, a program of a screen reduced,
for example, to one third in each of the vertical direction and the
horizontal direction from that of the screen of the program (accordingly,
in terms of the area, a screen reduced to one ninth that of the program of
the broadcasting channel). Accordingly, in this instance, on the viewer
side, reduced screens of programs of nine broadcasting channels can be
displayed at a time on one screen.
Further, the archiving section 52 transmits audio signals of the programs
of the individual child screens of the multi-screen (programs received
from the digitization section 51 and the other broadcasting stations)
together with the reduced screens.
Then, the archiving section 52 compresses the data by the MPEG system.
The archiving section 52 produces a plurality of (for example, 6) such
multi-screens (program selection screens) (in other words, reduced screens
totalling 54 (=6.times.9) programs are produced). Then, the data of the
six multi-screens are combined (archived) into data of one transmission
channel. Here, data of a plurality of program selection screens outputted
from the archiving section 52 and including a combination of programs of a
plurality of broadcasting channels into data of one broadcasting channel
may be hereinafter referred to as archived data (the terminology "archive"
is a computer terminology signifying to combine data of a plurality of
files into one file).
A video server 53 receives the archived data outputted from the archiving
section 52 and further receives programs of the plurality of broadcasting
channels digitized by the digitization section 51 and compressed by the
MPEG system (details will be hereinafter described with reference to FIG.
6).
The video server 53 stores the received data once and supplies them to a
transmission section 54.
The transmission section 54 performs error correction processing,
modulation (for example, QPSK modulation or the like) processing and other
necessary processing (for example, encipherment processing, multiplexing
processing, up conversion and so forth) for the data received from the
video server 53. Then, a signal obtained as a result of the processing is
transmitted to an artificial satellite (BS (broadcasting satellite) or CS
(communication satellite)) 61 from a parabola antenna 55 and then
transmitted to the viewer side from the artificial satellite 61. In other
words, from the transmission section 54, the archived data of the program
selection screen are transmitted together with the programs of the
plurality of broadcasting channels to the viewer side via the artificial
satellite 61. Accordingly, when the screen of each program is considered
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