Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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i
IMPROVEMENTS IN RECEIVERS FOR TELEVISION SIGNALS
The inventions relates to improvements in receivers for television
signals.
Background of the Invention
A Hard Disk Recorder (HDR) is known which comprises a television
receiver and a hard disk for recording received television programmes. The
HDR is arranged to be connected to the telephone network in order to receive
through the telephone network television programme schedule information for
display on a television screen. A telephone link must be established with the
provider of the programme schedule data every time the programme schedule
data is to be updated. Such updating may be performed at regular intervals,
say once a day. The programme schedule data may be used by a user to
program the HDR in order to record a desired television programme.
The requirement to establish a link with the HDR via a telephone
network is undesirable. This is because the HDR may not always "on line"
for reasons such as costs, or because the telephone connection is to be used
otherwise. Accordingly, the available programme schedule data may be out of
date. If a user relies on the programme schedule information when
programming his HDR to record a desired programme, he may unknowingly
rely on out-of-date programme schedule data, which in turn may result in the
desired programme not being recorded.
Also, due to the ever increasing variety of television channels and
programmes, it is getting more likely that there will be a clash in the
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programme schedule of television programmes which the user would wish to
record. Currently known video cassette recorders (VCRs) and HDRs fail to
address this problem.
An HDR is also known which allows the recording of a broadcast
television programme, while simultaneously replaying the same television
programme offset in time. This is useful, for example, when a viewer misses
the start of his favourite programme by a few minutes but nevertheless does
not wish to wait until the programme has been recorded completely before he
can start playing back the recorded programme. However, in the case of live
programmes such as live sport events, the knowledge that the "real" live event
is running exerts a strong emotional pull. At present, the user has the choice
of catching up with the live broadcast simply by switching to the live
broadcast, thereby ignoring the missed period, or by watching the programme
offset in time.
In addition, some parts of a recorded television programme may not be
of interest to the viewer. For example, the viewer may not be interested in
advertisements. Users of VCRs who not interested in advertisement breaks,
for example during a movie, respond to this simply by fast-forwarding during
the advertisements. Also, when watching a series of recorded video clips, the
user may not be interested in some of the clips but can only jump forward to
the next clip of interest by fast-forwarding the video tape. This clearly is
inconvenient. To record parts of programmes in which the viewer is not
interested, in any case, is a waste of hard disk storage capacity.
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Advertisements broadcast during interruptions of a television programme are
generally
geared to appeal to the potential viewers of the television programme. Since
this is not a very
exact science, it may be that in certain environments the broadcast
advertisements do not
appeal to the viewers at all, or do at least not use the full potential of the
advertisement breaks.
The prior art has not addressed this problem.
Accordingly, it is desirable to at least address these and other problems of
the prior art.
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Summary of the Invention
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a receiver for
receiving
signals representative of television programmes in a plurality of channels,
the receiver
comprising a first tuner for receiving signals in a first channel; a first
data buffer for buffering
data representative of signals received by the first tuner; a second tuner for
simultaneously
receiving signals in a. second channel; a second data buffer for buffering
data representative
of signals received by the second tuner; a recorder for recording data
representative of signals
in the first and the second channel received simultaneously by the first tuner
and the second
tuner; a third data buffer for buffering data from the recorder representative
of television
pictures to be displayed on a television screen; and a processor for
selectively causing data to
be transferred from the first data buffer or the second data buffer to the
recorder for recording
the transferred data and to transfer data from the recorder to the third data
buffer; whereby the
recorder is operable successively to record data buffered in the first and the
second data buffer,
and to transfer data from the recorder to the third data buffer, the
successively stored and
transferred data being representative of signals simultaneously received by
the first and the
second tuners and output from the third data buffer, respectively.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided areceiver for
receiving
signals representative of television programmes in a plurality of channels,
the receiver
comprising a first tuner for receiving signals representing a first television
programme in a first
channel; a second tuner for simultaneously receiving signals representing a
second television
programme in a second channel; and a recorder arranged simultaneously to
record data
representative of signals in the first and the second channel received by the
first tuner and the
second tuner and to play back a third, previously recorded television
programme, wherein the
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third television programme is selectable for play back from the recorder
independently from
the first and second television programmes.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a receiver for
receiving
signals in a plurality of channels, the signals comprising television signals
representative of
a television programme, and information signals indicative of a predetermined
portion of the
television programme, the receiver comprising a decoder circuit for generating
control signals
responsive to receipt of the information signals; and a hard disk recorder for
receiving the
control signals, and for recording data representative of the received
television signals, the
recorder being responsive to the control signals to interrupt recording of
data representative
of the received television signals during reception of television signals
representative of the
predetermined portion of the television programme.
The information signal may comprise a first information signal representative
of the
start of the predetermined portion of the television programme, and a second
information
signal representative of the end of the predetermined portion, wherein the
decoder is arranged
to generate a first control signal in response to the first information
signal, arid a second
control signal in response to the second information signal, and the recorder
is arranged to
interrupt the recording of data representative of received television signals
responsive to the
first control signal, and to resume the recording of data representative of
received television
signals responsive to the second control signal.
Alternatively, the information signals and the control signals may be
indicative of the
duration of the predetermined portion of the television programme, wherein the
recorder is
arranged to respond to one of the control signals by interrupting the
recording of data
representative of received television signals for the duration indicted by the
one control signal:
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According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a receiver for
receiving
television signals representative of a television programme, and information
signals indicative
of the start and/or the end of a predetermined portion of the television
programme, the receiver
further comprising a recorder for recording programme data representative of
received
television signals and indicator data pointing to the start and/or end of said
predetermined
portion, and for playing back recorded data for display on a screen of the
television programme
represented thereby; and user operable control means operable to cause the
recorder to skip
to the start and/or end of the predetermined portion of the television
programme, as indicated
by the corresponding indicator data, during playback of the recorded data.
In the foregoing the recorder may comprise a hard disk or an optical storage
medium
and the storage medium may comprise a hard disk or a CD.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of exarr~ple
only, with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
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Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a television receiver system;
Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of a Hard Disk Recorder
(HDR);
Figure 3 is a functional diagram showing interaction between
hardware and software of the HDR of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of a remote control which may be
used to control the HDR;
Figure 5 is a functional block diagram of a hard disk arrangement;
Figure 6 is a schematic representation of a "services" screen;
Figure 7 is a schematic representation of a "TV guide" screen;
Figure 8 is a schematic representation of a "planner" screen;
Figure 9 is a schematic representation of a "system setup" screen; and
Figure 10 is a schematic representation of an "advertisements" screen.
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Detailed Description of an Embodiment of the Invention
1. System Overview
Referring now to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, a television
system 1 comprises a television 2 (TV), a hard disk recorder 3 (HDR), and a
satellite dish 4. The HDR 3 comprises a satellite receiver which is connected
to the satellite dish 4 for reception of signals from a satellite (not shown).
The
HDR receives signals from the satellite dish 4, including television signals,
in
a plurality of channels.
2. Hard Disk Recorder (HDR) - Overview
Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings shows the HDR 3 in greater
detail. Signals from the dish antenna 4 (shown in Figure 1) are input to first
and second tuners 10a and lOb and from there to a quadrature phase shift key
(QPSK) demodulator 11. The first and second tuners 10a and lOb are tunable
into the same or different channels for simultaneous reception of the same or
different television programmes. Demodulated signals are error-corrected by
way of a forward error corrector circuit 12. The HDR 3 comprises a hard disk
13 which receives from the forward error corrector circuit 12 compressed
video and audio data forming television programmes for recording and
20- subsequent playback thereof, as will be described in greater detail
hereinbelow. The received signals comprise digitally encoded data. It is
envisaged that the data will be compressed using for example the DVB/MPEG
2 standards which permit both programme data and additional data (for
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example interactive service data) to be transmitted in a single channel.
DVB/MPEG 2 enables high compression ratios to be achieved. The hard disk
13 receives and stores compressed data. The data is decompressed only after
retrieval from the hard disk 13.
5 Satellite (and indeed cable) programmes are usually scrambled to
prevent unauthorised access by non-authorised subscribers. ~ The HDR 3
therefore comprises a conditional access control circuit 14 which co-operates
with a smart card 14a to determine whether the viewer has subscribed to a
particular channel and is therefore authorised to access the channel. Parental
10 control over channel access is also provided, at least in part, by the
access
control circuit 14. The HDR 3 further comprises a descrambling circuit 15
which is controlled by the access control circuit 14 to enable the
descrambling
of the signal by authorised subscribers.
Descrambled data is supplied to a transport/demultiplexer 16 which
separates the data into video data, audio data, user services data, programme
scheduling data, etc. for distribution to various locations within the HDR 3.
The HDR 3 also comprises a video decompression and processing circuit 18
utilizing a dedicated video RAM 17, and an audio decompression and
processing circuit 19, operating according to the MPEG standard, for
example. The video and audio decompression and processing circuits 18 and
19 receive demultiplexed signals directly from the transport/demultiplexer 16,
or from the hard disk 13. Decompressed video signals are input to a SCART
interface 20 for direct input to the TV 2 and to a PAL encoder 21 where they
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are encoded into the PAL format for modulation by a UHF modulator 22 for
output to the UHF input of the TV if so desired.
The HDR 3 is controlled by a processor 23 which communicates with
the various units of the system via a bus 24. The processor 23 has associated
with it ROM 25 (optionally including a CD-ROM drive 25a), RAM 26
(comprising both dynamic RAM and static RAM) and a flash (non-volatile
and writable) memory 27.
The processor 23 controls operation of the HDR 3 by tuning the tuners
10a and lOb to receive signals for the desired channels from the dish antenna
4 by controlling the demultiplexing, descrambling and decompression so that
the desired programme and/or interactive service data is displayed on the
screen of the TV 2, and by controlling the hard disk 13 to record desired
television programmes or to play back previously recorded television
programmes. Viewer selection of desired programmes and customer services
is controlled by way of a remote control unit 28 which in response to viewer
manipulation thereof transmits control signals to a receiver 29 for input to
the
processor. The remote control unit 28 also allows for the control of the
operation of the hard disk 13 to record television programmes, to playback
recorded television programmes, to program the recording of television
programmes, etc. The remote control unit 28 will be described in greater
detail hereinafter.
The HDR 3 further comprises a high-speed data interface 30 and an
RS232 interface 31 providing a serial link. The high-speed .data interface 30
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and the RS 232 interface may be connected to a PC and/or a games console 8
and/or other digital equipment (not shown). The high speed data interface 30
enables the HDR 3 to be connected to other devices (not shown) for example
to enable reception of services transmitted via other media such as broadband
cable and digital terrestrial broadcast. The HDR 3 further comprises a modem
interface 32 for connecting a telephone network.
3. Interaction between Hardware and Software of the HDR
Operation of the HDR 3 is controlled by software that makes the
processor 23 responsive to control signals from the remote control unit 28 and
to data included in the signal received by the dish antenna 4 and/or stored in
the memory units 25 to 27. A schematic representation of the interaction
between hardware and software in the HDR 3 is shown in Figure 3 of the
accompanying drawings. The data in an incoming signal is separated by the
transport/demultiplexer 16 into video data and information data. The
information data is distributed around the hardware and software, as will be
described in greater detail hereinafter. The video data and the audio data is
demultiplexed and output in suitable form for supply to the TV 2 or to the
hard disk 13 by the MPEG video and audio circuits 18 and 19. When
information is to be displayed either with or instead of the video data, data
representing the information is output in suitable form for supply to the TV
via an on-screen display (OSD) driver 33 and the video circuit 18. Signals
from the OSD driver 33 and the video circuit 18 are combined as appropriate
before being supplied to the TV 2.
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Operation of the software and hardware of the HDR 3 is based around
an operating system 35. The conditional access controller 14 has associated
software 36 which interfaces with the operating system. The processor 23 has
its own base operating system 37 which interfaces to the HDR operating
system 35. Applications such as an intelligent electronic programme guide
(IEPG) 39 and other applications 40 including interactive services interface
to
the operating system 35 via an applications interface 41 and associated
application interpreter 42.
The software for conditional access applications such as the IEPG 39
are installed permanently within non-volatile memory, e.g. the ROM 25, of
the HDR 3, but variable information such as new access codes and TV
programme scheduling details is stored in the RAM 26 and updated regularly
via signals received from the dish antenna 4. Demodulated signals from the
demodulator 11 are input to the transport/demultiplexer 16 which examines
the data to decide where it should be sent. From time to time significant
changes may be made to conditional access codes or to the manner in which
the IEPG 39 displays programme information. Also, programmes for
additional applications, say an interactive shopping or banking service for
example, are also supplied via the satellite for the HDR 3. Such application
data is routed by the transporter/deinultiplexer 16 directly to the
appropriate
areas 40 of the memory 26, 27.
Operating data 43 is supplied on a substantially continuous basis in
every channel. The operating data 43 includes conditional access data 44
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associated with a channel and/or programmes therein which enables the
conditional access controller 14 to determine whether or not access should be
allowed to a particular programme by descrambling the data therefor.
Additionally, operating data relating to interactive services is transmitted
in
dedicated interactive service channels which carry control and information
data for use by the hardware and software of the processor 23 and the
associated memory devices 25 to 27. Thus. the operating data 43 depicted in
Figure 3 also includes interactive service programs and information 46 (for
example relating to personal banking services) and indeed any other data 47
required on a substantially continuous or regular basis for the aforementioned
tnteractme seances.
The transport/demultiplexer 16 is arranged to supply the operating data
43 to the processor 23. The data is acted upon by the operating system 35, the
conditional access and/or other operating software. The processor 23
responds to the data by sending appropriate commands or signals to other
units within the system. Control data is also transferred between the
processor
23 and such units as the transporter/demultiplexer 16, the hard disk 13, the
video and audio decompressors 18, 19, the remote control receiver 29 and the
high-speed data interface 30 via respective drivers 48 to 53.
The combined hardware and software of the HDR 3 enables the data in
received channels to be decoded for display or recording of viewer selected
programmes. The scrambling is controlled on a continuous basis and the
HDR can be updated with new descrambling codes as and when required.
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Data for interactive services is supplied and updated substantially
continuously and programmes relating to newly selected interactive services
are downloaded into the HDR 3.
Operation of the HDR 3 in receiving and decoding data representing
5 television programmes and data defining scheduling and other information
related to the programmes is described in detail in our International (PCT)
patent application published as WO 96/37996, aforementioned. Operation of
the HDR 3 in providing interactive services is described in our International
(PCT) application published as WO 97/23997, aforementioned.
10 Within the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standards for digital TV
transmission there exists a standard for the transmission of schedule
information such that it can be decoded and presented correctly to subscribers
in the form of an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG).
This DVB standard is known generally as the SI standard and can be
15 found in the specification: ETS 300 468, ETSI Digital Broadcasting Systems
for Television, Sound and Data Services; Specification for Service
Information (SI) in Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Systems 2nd edition.
Guidelines for using the specification are given in ETSI ETR 211 - DVB SI
Guidelines.
In order to allow broadcasters to utilise any proprietary features of
their EPGs the SI standard includes methodology for extending the format of
the service information (SI) stream by the inclusion of private data tables
and
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descriptors. The HDR 3 is, of course, designed to support the mandatory parts
of the SI specification.
4. Remote Control
Figure 4 illustrates the remote control 28 for the control of the HDR 3
A manipulation of the keys on the remote control 28 causes the remote control
28 to transmit to the HDR 3 corresponding command signals.
The remote control comprises an on/off key 98, a manipulation of
which causes the HDR 3 to be switched on or off. Also, the remote control 28
comprises a playback key 99, a record key 100, a pause key 101, a stop key
102, a fast forward key 103, and a fast rewind key 104. Manipulation of the
playback key 99 causes the HDR 3 to playback a recorded television
programme from the hard disk 13. Manipulation of the record key l00 causes
a television programme to be recorded on the hard disk 13. A manipulation of
the pause key 101 causes the HDR 3 to halt a currently played back television
programme, as described above, while a manipulation of the stop key 102
causes the playback to be stopped. The fast forward key 103 and the fast
rewind key 104 allow a user to operate the HDR 3 in fast forward or fast
rewind modes, as will be described in detail hereinafter.
In addition, the remote control 28 comprises a menu key 105, a TV
guide key 106, a services key 107, and an interactive services key 108. A
manipulation of one of these keys 105 to 108 causes the HDR 3 to display a
corresponding menu screen, as discussed above. Furthermore, the remote
control 28 comprises an "up" key 109, a "down" key 110, a "right" key 11 l,
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and a "left" key 112. ' Manipulation of these keys allows a user to select
displayed menu items. An operation associated with a selected menu item is
executed by manipulation of an execute key 113. Alternatively, a selected
menu item is marked as selected by manipulation of a select key 114.
Similarly, the remote control 28 comprises colour keys 115 of different
colours. Manipulation of one of the colour keys 115 allows a user to select a
menu item which is indicated on a displayed menu screen to be associated
with the colour of the manipulated colour key, as will be described in detail
hereinbelow.
Also, the remote control 28 comprises number keys 116 whose
manipulation causes the HDR 3 to tune to a channel corresponding to the
number entered through the number keys 116.
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5. The Hard Disk
Since the first and second tuners 10a and IOb can be tuned to receive
different channels, it is possible for a first television programme in one
channel to be displayed on the TV 2, while at the same time a second
television programme in another channel is recorded on the hard disk 13.
Furthermore, as will be explained below, two different television programmes
may be recorded simultaneously on the hard disk 13.
The hard disk 13 of the HDR 3 is similar to hard disks used in
computer systems for storing large amounts of data. The hard disk 13 has a
capacity of several gigabytes (e.g. 10-20 gigabytes) and receives video and
audio data for storage in the compressed form in which it is received, for
example, in accordance with the DVB/MPEG 2 standards as discussed above.
This allows for the storage of several hours of television programmes (e.g. 10-
hours) on the hard disk 13. The hard disk 13 comprises two storage areas,
15 one for the storage of television programme data, and the other for storing
"metadata" which is used to control the hard disk 13, as will be discussed in
greater detail hereinbelow. The operation of the hard disk 13 is controlled by
the processor 23. The processor 23 sends control commands to the hard disk
13, to start/stop the recording of a television programme, to play back a
recorded television programme, etc.
Referring now to Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings, a schematic
block diagram of the arrangement of the hard disk 13 is shown. The hard disk
13 has three data channels through two of which data is received for storage
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on the hard disk 13 and through one of which it is output for subsequent
displaying of television pictures. The three data channels consist of two data
input channels 54 and 55 and one data output channel 56. Each of the data
channels has associated with it a data buffer 57, 58 and 59, respectively.
Each
of the data buffers 57, 58 and 59 comprises a RAM of sufficient size to store
several seconds of data (e.g. 8 megabytes). The operation of the data buffers
57, 58 and 59 as well as that of the hard disk 13 are controlled by the
processor 23.
The hard disk 13 is operable to manage simultaneous reception of data
through the data channels 54 and 55 and output of data through the data
channel 56. Data received through the data channels 54 and 55 is not stored
directly on the hard disk 13 as it is received but is buffered by the buffers
57
and 58, respectively: Likewise, data to be output through the data channel 56
is not output directly as it is read from the hard disk 13 but is buffered in
the
buffer 59.
The hard disk 13 is capable of managing a data rate which is higher
than the rate at which data can be transferred through at least two of the
three
channels 54, 55 and 56. That is, the hard disk 13 is capable of managing a
data rate at least as high as the rate of data transmitted through all three
channels 54, 55 and 56 combined. Thereby, the hard disk 13 is capable of
simultaneously storing data received through both the input channels 54 and
55 and outputting data through the output channel 56.
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This is achieved by buffering the received data and the data to be
output in the buffers 57, 58 and 59, and by switching between them in order to
transfer data from the input buffers 57 and 58 to the hard disk 13, or to
transfer data from the hard disk 13 to the buffer 59. Although hard disks
5 comprising separate heads for writing and reading are available, in the
interest
of cost the hard disk 13 comprises one single head for both writing onto and
reading from the hard disk 13. Therefore, while the hard disk 13 at any point
in time stores/reads data associated with only one of the three data channels
54, 55 and 56, it sequentially stores/reads data associated with the three
10 channels 54, 55 and 56, thereby "virtually" dealing with the three data
channels simultaneously.
The switching is controlled by the processor 23 by arbitrating between
any three of the buffers 57, 58 and 59 at a frequency which is in accordance
with their buffer size so as to prevent a data overflow and thereby data loss.
15 For example, if the buffers 57, 58 and 59 are capable of storing 30 seconds
of
received data each, and the HDR 3 is operated to record two simultaneous
television programmes received through the channels 54 and 55, then the hard
disk 13 is operated to receive alternately data from the buffers 57 and 58 at
an
alternation cycle of 30 seconds or less, transferring the buffer content to
the
20 hard disk 13 each time the processor switches from one of the buffers 57,
58
to the other. Accordingly, it is possible to record simultaneous/overlapping
television programmes received by the first and second tuners 10a, lOb in
different channels.
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The buffering of incoming as well as outgoing data by the data buffers
57, 58 and 59 means that the hard disk 13 does not need to be synchronised to
a particular input or output data rate. Instead, the hard disk 13 always reads
and stores data at the same constant data rate. The amount of data stored on
or read from the hard disk 13 is determined by the duration for which the hard
disk 13 is switched through for data transfer to the respective one of the
data
buffers 57, 58 or 59. During such time data is transferred from or to the
respective data buffer at the constant data rate. While the reception data
rate
through the channels 54 and 55 or the output data rate through the channel 56
may vary (for example depending on the bandwidth of received television
signals, or depending on the playback mode), the rate of data transferred
between any of the buffers 57, 58 and 59 and the hard disk 13 is constant and
determined by the data rate the hard disk 13 is capable to manage.
The hard disk 13 is controlled by the processor 23 to operate in
different playback modes, including forward and backward modes, iti which a
recorded programme can played back at the normal frame rate or at a reduced
frame rate (i.e. slow motion). The hard disk 13 is also operable in a fast
forward and a fast rewind mode, in which a recorded television programme
can be played back at an increased frame rate. The viewer may select any of
these modes by giving appropriate commands via the remote control 28.
5.1 Skipping Undesired Programme Parts
In a skip mode, the processor responds to signals from the remote
control 28 by controlling the hard disk 13 to skip forwards and backwards
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through recorded programmes, to skip back to the beginning of a recorded
programme, or to skip forward to the next recorded programme. For this
purpose, the beginning of a recorded television programme on the hard disk
13 is marked by storing metadata in the form of an indicator pointing at and
thereby marking the beginning of the programme.
The indicator data along with other metadata data used for controlling
the hard disk 13 is stored in a metadata area of the hard disk 13. The
indicator
data is based on the standard time codes which is transmitted with television
programme signals.
During playback the viewer may wish to pause a programme part way
through while he goes and does something else. When the viewer operates the
remote control 28 to give a command to pause the playback, the processor 23
generates an indicator signal and causes the hard disk 13 to store
corresponding indicator data in the form of a time code in the metadata area
on the hard disk 13. When the viewer wishes to resume the viewing of the
programme, an appropriate command via the remote control 28 causes the
processor 23 to control the hard disk 13 to read the stored time code and to
skip to the corresponding hard disk position to resume playback of the
programme from that position. In other words, the HDR 3 "remembers" when
the viewing of a recorded television programme was interrupted and resumes
the playback of the remaining television programme accordingly.
Programmes may be broadcast which include "skip" signals indicating
the start and/or the end of parts of the programmes (for example parts of
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programmes separated by advertising breaks). These skip signals are time
code-based and are transmitted in each channel together with the television
signals. When the HDR records a television programme that includes skip
signals in the television signals, the HDR 3 causes the hard disk 13 to store
skip codes representative of the skip signals as a list of successive skip
codes
in the metadata area on the hard disk 13. During playback of such a television
programme a "skip" mode may be selected (by user manipulation of the
remote control) in which the processor 23 responds to the stored skip codes to
control how programme signals are read from the hard disk 13. Thus, for
example, the skip codes might identify time codes for the start and end of
advertising breaks in a programme and the processor 23 may be arranged to
respond to the skip codes by controlling the hard disk 13 to output television
signals for the programme until the frame corresponding to the start time code
is reached and then to continue outputting signals from the frame
corresponding to the end time code. In this way advertising breaks may be
skipped during playback of a recorded programme.
5.2 Halting a Television Programme and Catching-Up Again
The HDR 3 is operable to display a television programme which is
currently being received through one of the tuners 10a, lOb in two different
playback modes. In the first display mode, the television programme is
displayed "directly" without being recorded on the hard disk 13. In the second
playback mode, the currently received television programme is recorded on
the hard disk 13 and the recorded television programme is played back from
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the hard disk 13. The resulting time shift between the played back television
programme and the television programme as it is recorded is marginal and is
not perceptible by a viewer.
Starting from either of these playback modes, the hard disk 13 is
operable to simulate the halting of a currently displayed television programme
and to resume playback of the programme any time after the moment at which
it was 'halted. If the user wishes to halt the current television programme
while the HDR 3 is in the first playback mode, he may do so, for example, by
manipulating the pause button on the remote control 28. The processor 23 is
arranged to respond to a "pause" signal from the remote control 28 by
controlling the hard disk 13 to start recording the current television
programme. In the second playback mode, the hard disk 13 simply carries on
recording.
When "pause" is selected, the processor 23 "freezes" the current
television picture frame by causing the same frame to be repeatedly output to
the TV 2. When the user wishes to resume watching the television
programme, he may do so by again manipulating the pause button on the
remote control 28. The processor 23 responds to this second pause signal by
causing the hard disk 13 to output the recorded data for the halted television
programme from the moment at which the user first manipulated the pause
button.
The hard disk 13 continues recording the television programme as it is
received by one of the tuners 10a or 10b. In other words, the hard disk 13 can
CA 02573300 2007-O1-25
simultaneously record a concurrently received television programme and play
back the television programme offset in time by the period for which the
television programme was halted. (The manner in which the hard disk records
and plays back simultaneously is described above in connection with Figure
5 5.)
The strong emotional pull of a broadcast live event, for example a live
sports event, makes it desirable to be able to catch up with the actual live
broadcast after it has been halted. One possibility of catching up is, of
course,
to switch from playing back the recorded programme shifted in time to
10 displaying the programme as it is received by one of the tuners 10a or lOb
(and simultaneously recorded by the hard disk 13 in the second playback
mode), thereby ignoring the period during which the displaying of the
television programme was halted.
Another possibility is to catch up by skipping advertising breaks or any
15 other parts of the television programme in which the viewer is not
interested.
As discussed above, the HDR 3 is arranged to receive broadcast signals that
indicate the start and/or end of advertising breaks or predetermined parts of
the television programme (such as the half-time break of a football match),
and to store corresponding data pointing at the start and/or the end of such
20 programme parts on the hard disk 13 together with the data representing the
television programme. On receipt of an appropriate command from the
remote control 28, the processor 23 reads this data from the hard disk 13, and
in response thereto jumps to the next point of the recorded television
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26
programme, for example to the end of an advertisement break. ,If there is
more than one advertisement break inside the period in which the live
broadcast was halted, then this operation can be repeated by the user by
giving
the same command during any advertisement break or any other undesired
part of the television programme that can be skipped in this manner.
The HDR 3 is also able to catch-up dynamically. To this end during
playback the recorded television programme is played back at an increased
speed relative to the "live" speed. For example, if a broadcast was halted for
one minute, and the television programme recorded during that one minute
was replayed from the hard disk 13 at 125% of its normal (live) speed, then
the time offset caused by the halt would be overcome in four minutes. The
playback speed is increased by retrieving data from the hard disk 13 at an
increased rate and by "dropping" frames of the television picture to be
displayed during playback. The rate of data retrieval is increased by
transferring more data from the hard disk 13 to the data buffer 59 (see Figure
5), e.g. by switching the hard disk 13 to the buffer 59 more frequently and/or
for longer periods of time (see the discussion of Figure 5 hereinabove). The
catching-up rate, i.e. the playback speed can be selected by the viewer via
the
remote control 28. This dynamic catching-up can be combined with the above
described skipping of advertisement breaks or other undesired parts of
television programmes, thus allowing the viewer to catch-up even more
quickly.
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27
When the catching-up is finished, in the first playback mode, the HDR
3 switches from outputting television signals from the hard disk 13 to
outputting television signals as received by one of the tuners 10a or 10b. In
the second playback mode, the HDR 3 operates the hard disk 13 to switch to
normal playback speed.
5.3 Substituting Broadcast Advertisements
The HDR 3 also is operable to play back pre-recorded advertisements
from the hard disk 13 instead of advertisements received from the broadcaster.
This feature is of interest when the HDR 3 is to be used in public premises,
for example in pubs or sports bars during the transmission of sports events.
In
this latter example, it may be desirable to show, say, beer advertisements
which may tempt the addressed customer immediately to purchase a specific
brand of beer.
The HDR 3 is arranged to receive signals transmitted by the
broadcaster indicating the start and the end of advertisement breaks. On
receipt of a signal by the HDR 3 indicating the start of an advertisement
break,
the processor 23 causes the hard disk 13 to replay a pre-recorded
advertisement sequence which is displayed on the TV 2 instead of the
television programme as received by one of the tuners 10a or 10b. Once the
HDR 3 receives another signal indicating the end of the advertisement break,
the processor 23 causes the hard disk 13 to terminate the playback of the pre-
recorded advertisement sequence, such that the television programme as
received by one of the tuners 10a or lOb is displayed again on the TV 2.
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Furthermore, the HDR 3 is arranged to use the signals indicating the
start and the end of advertisement breaks not to record advertisement breaks
during the recording of a selected television programme. In this case, during
the recording of a programme, the processor 23 controls the hard disk 13 to
halt the recording on receipt of a signal indicating the start of an
advertisement break. Subsequently, on receipt of a signal indicating the end
of an advertisement break, the processor 23 controls the hard disk 13 to
resume the recording.
Instead of using one signal each for indicating the start and the end of
an advertisement break, the HDR 3 may be arranged to process to the same
effect signals indicating the start and the duration of an advertisement
break.
In this alternative embodiment; the processor 23 switches back to the
television programme as received, or operates the hard disk 13 to resume the
recording, at the end of the indicated duration of the advertisement break.
Accordingly, no separate signals to indicate the end of advertisement breaks
are required.
5.4 Programme Scheduling Information
The data in each channel is in compressed form, for example in
accordance with the DVB/MPEG-2 standard as discussed hereinabove. DVB
allows both video data and other data to be combined in a single channel. In
addition to the aforementioned operating data 43 (see Figure 3) for use in
controlling access to channels, the data in a channel can include brief
programme scheduling data representative of so-called event information
CA 02573300 2007-O1-25
29
tables (EITs) defining the scheduling of programmes in each channel as
scheduling events. The programme schedule data is used by the HDR 3 to
control the operation of the hard disk 13. When the HDR 3 is pre-
programmed to record a selected television programme, the HDR 3 operates
the hard disk 13 to start and to stop the recording in accordance with the
scheduling data which comprises the start and the end time of the selected
television programme. Since the scheduling data is updated regularly, the
recording is started and stopped in accordance with the updated programme
schedule, thus guaranteeing that a selected programme is actually recorded
even in case of a change of programme schedule, because such change is
reflected in the programme schedule data in each channel.
The scheduling data may be stored in the RAM 26 and, once stored,
the scheduling information is available effectively instantaneously for
controlling the operation of the hard disk 13. As discussed above, the
scheduling data is transmitted regularly (say every 30 seconds) so that the
HDR 3 will be updated substantially continuously. The information is brief to
enable each channel to carry the scheduling data without excessive overheads
in terms of bandwidth requirements in each channel and memory requirements
in the HDR.
In addition, it is envisaged that a dedicated IEPG channel will transmit
more detailed programme scheduling information. The information
transmitted via this dedicated channel is updated more frequently (say every 3
seconds) and cover a longer period of time (e.g. one week). As a
CA 02573300 2007-O1-25
consequence, an up-to-date television programme schedule of a complete
week will always be available. As will be explained in greater detail below,
the HDR 3 is arranged to display the programme scheduling information on
the TV 2. Also, a viewer can interact with the HDR 3 to program recordings
5 of television programmes, view a desired part of the available programme
schedule, etc., on the basis of the information received via the dedicated
IEPG
channel.
Accordingly, while the programme scheduling data in each channel is
used by the HDR 3 to operate the hard disk 13 to record a pre-programmed
10 television programme in a selected channel at the correct up-to-date time,
the
programme scheduling data in the dedicated IEPG channel is used to display
the programme schedule for several of the channels over a predetermined
period of time (which in turn is used for programming the HDR 3 as will be
described hereinbelow).
15 6. Operation of the HDR
The programme schedule information represented by the digital
signals in the IEPG channel received via the satellite dish 4 can be displayed
under viewer control via the remote control 28 on the TV 2. Selection of the
menu key 105 causes the HDR 3 to output for display a main menu screen.
20 (Similarly, selecting the TV guide key 106, the services key 107 or the
interactive service key 108 will cause the HDR 3 to select an appropriate
control menu screen for display to enable viewer interaction in respect of
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those services as described in our aforementioned international application
W097/23997).
A schematic representation of the services menu screen is shown in
Figure 6. On top of the screen, menu items 60, 61 and 62 represent the
available control menus, of which item 61 - corresponding to the currently.
displayed control menu - is highlighted. One of the other two control menus
can be selected and displayed by pressing the TV guide key 106 or the
interactive service key 108 on the remote control 28, or by pressing the
"left"
or the "right" key 111/117, selection of which causes menu item 60 or 62 to be
highlighted, respectively.
Similarly, menu items 63, 64, 65 and 66 of the services control menu
can be selected by using the "down" or the "up" key 109/110 on the remote
control 28, causing the currently selected menu item 65 to be highlighted,
followed by pressing the "execute" key 113.
6.1 Display of TV Programme Schedule
Figure 7 shows in simplified form a TV programme schedule screen
which is displayed on the TV screen after selection of the "TV guide" item 60
in Figure 5. Signals representing the TV programme schedule are received by
the HDR 3 via the satellite dish 4 in a dedicated IEPG channel, as described
above. The left-hand side column 67 in Figure 7 lists the available channels,
while the right-hand side column 68 lists the television programmes for each
channel in chronological order. If not all available channels can be displayed
on the screen, the viewer can cause the HDR 3 to display 'them by operating
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the "up" or "down" key 109/110 on the remote control 28, thereby causing the
HDR 3 to make the screen to scroll up or down, respectively. Also, if the
viewer wishes to move backward or forward in time to display earlier or
subsequent television programmes, he can do so by operating the "left" or the
"right" key 111/112 on the remote control 28, respectively.
Likewise, the viewer may select one of the displayed television
programmes by using the "up", "down", "left" and "right" keys 109-112 on the
remote control. The currently selected programme "The Doors" is
highlighted. If the viewer wished to select "Voyager" instead, he would have
to operate the "down" key 110. If he wished to select "Deep Space Nine", he
would have to operate the "down" key 110 followed by the "right" key 111.
6.2 Planner
If a selection of a programme is followed by an operation of the
"record" key 100, then data representative of the selected programme is stored
in the RAM 26. The selection of a programme and the resulting storage of
data representative of the selected programme causes the HDR 3 to record on
the hard disk 13 the selected programme at the time when it is scheduled to be
broadcast. As discussed above, the hard disk 13 is operated to record the
selected programme in accordance with the programme schedule data in the
selected channel.
The data stored in the RAM 26 in response to a programme selection
represents information concerning the title of the selected programme, its
start
and end times, as well as status information as to whether a selected
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33
programme is still to be recorded, whether it has been recorded or part-
recorded and is still to be viewed, or whether a recorded programme has been
partially viewed. All this information is displayable on the TV screen by
sending an appropriate command to the HDR 3 via the remote control 28
which causes the HDR 3 to retrieve the corresponding data from the RAM 26
to display the information it represents. The displayed information will be
referred to hereinafter as the "planner" because it allows a user to plan his
personal television schedule by making appropriate selections.
The planner information is stored on the hard disk 13 in form of data
representing a list of successive programmes over time. The processor 23
operates the hard disk 13 to record a television programme at the time stored
in association with the first television programme to be recorded in this
list.
In response thereto, the status information associated with this programme is
updated to indicate that the programme has been recorded. The processor
operates the hard disk 13 again at the time associated with the next
programme in the list to be recorded, and so on.
A planner screen is illustrated schematically in Figure 6. When the
planner screen is selected to be displayed on the TV 2, ,for example by a
selection of the menu item 65 in Figure 5, the processor 28 retrieves the data
representing the planner information from the RAM 26 and causes the HDR 3
to display a planner screen as shown in of Figure 8.
Referring back to Figure 7, the movie "The Doors" is highlighted to
indicate a user selection. Upon operation of the "execute" key 113 on the
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remote control 28, information associated with "The Doors" is stored in the
RAM 26, namely the date on which the "The Doors" is scheduled to be
broadcast, the channel on which it is broadcast "Channel 4", the start and end
time of the broadcast, as well as the name of the programme ("The Doors")
Manipulation of the appropriate key on the remote control 28 causes the HDR
3 to display the planner screen of Figure 8. The names of the television
programmes in the planner (reference numeral 71 ) are displayed together with
the names of channels (reference numeral 72). In addition, status information
(reference numeral 73) is displayed, indicative of whether a programme is
stored on the hard disk 13 and has been viewed ("Trainspotting"), whether a
programme has been partially viewed ("Get Carter"), whether a stored
programme is yet to be viewed ("Friends"), or whether a programme is yet tb
be recorded on the hard disk 13 ("The Doors" and "Silverstone Grand Prix")
Signals representative of such status information are generated automatically
by the processor 28, and the data representative thereof is stored in the
memory RAM 26 on selection of a programme. The data in the RAM 26 is
updated by the processor 28 once a status change has occurred, e.g. when a
recorded and previously unviewed programme has been viewed.
The planner screen of Figure 8 can be used to control several of the
functions of the HDR 3. For instance, a recorded programme can be replayed
from the hard disk 13 by selecting the desired programme using the "up" and
"down" keys 109, 110 and then by operating the "playback" key 99 on the
remote control 28. In case of a partially-viewed programme (such as "Get
CA 02573300 2007-O1-25
Carter"), the viewer may resume viewing such programme by giving the same
commands (selection followed by manipulation of the "playback" key 99).
The processor 23 then operates the hard disk 13 to jump to the point where the
viewing was interrupted and resumes the playback (by operation of the HDR 3
5 as described above in greater detail).
Also, any of the programmes listed in the planner screen as recorded
on the hard disk 13 (such as "Friends") can be deleted from the hard disk 13
by selecting the same and then operating a "delete" key on the remote control
28. Such "delete" key in this embodiment is a colour key whose colour is
10 indicated in box 74 in Figure 8. Also, a programme listed in the planner as
to
be recorded (such as "The Doors" or "Silverstone Grand Prix") can be deleted
by selecting the programme followed by operating another colour key on the
remote control 28 corresponding to the colour indicated by box 75.
The planner screen as shown in Figure 8 furthermore allows for the
1 S execution of a "link" command by selecting one of the listed programmes
followed by manipulating the colour key on the remote control corresponding
to the colour shown in box 76. The link command allows for programmes
related to the one selected to be included into the planner programme list for
recording.
20 A programme may be related in some way to other programmes to be
transmitted at different times and/or on different channels by the same TV
service company. Obviously, programmes in daily or weekly serials are
related to each other. Other relationships are less obvious. For example, a TV
CA 02573300 2007-O1-25
36
service company may wish to run a season of James Bond movies over a
number of different channels with each movie being shown one or more
times. Broadcasting in the digital domain makes it possible to include in the
data for the showings of each movie, together with further data linking that
movie to other movies in the season. The processor 23 is arranged to respond
to such linking data by displaying prompts when the viewer selects one movie
by executing the link command. The prompts alert the viewer to other movies
in the season and ask the viewer whether he/she wishes any of the other
movies to be included in the planner for recording.
Alternatively, the HDR 3 may be arranged to make such selection
automatically without prompting the user to confirm the selection. In this
case, the automatically selected programmes may simply be included in the
planner. Alternatively, they may be listed in a separate screen similar to the
planner screen of Figure 8.
7. System Set-up
Figure 9 shows a system set-up screen as displayed when the system
set-up item 64 of Figure 6 is selected. In this embodiment, three set-up
parameters are listed. A first parameter 80 is shown as highlighted and allows
for a selection of whether or not advertisements received from the broadcaster
are substituted with pre-recorded advertisements, as described above. A
selection is performed by highlighting the parameter 80 by using the "up" and
"down" keys 109, 110, and by manipulating the "left" and "right" keys 111,
112 on the remote control 28 which causes a menu item 81 associated with the
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parameter 80 to switch between the settings "yes" and "no". Similarly,
parameter 82 allows for a selection of whether or not advertisements not to be
recorded during recording of a programme, as described above. A parameter
83 enables the user to activate or deactivate an automatic selection for
recording of programmes linked to a programme previously selected by the
user, as described above. The thus selected parameters are saved in the RAM
26 by selecting the parameter 84 and manipulating the "execute" key 113 on
the remote control 28. The settings may be reset by manipulating the colour
key on the remote control 28 which corresponds to the colour displayed in the
box 85.
8. Advertisement Selection
When the "adverts" icon 66 of Figure 6 is selected, an advertisement
selection screen is displayed as shown in Figure 10 of the accompanying
drawings. The advertisement selection screen allows for selection of the
category of advertisements which will be played back from the hard disk 13 if
the "replace adverts" setting (parameter 80 in Figure 9) is activated (see
above). The selection of the desired advertisement category is performed by
manipulating the "up", "down", "right" and "left" keys 109-112 on the remote
control 28 to highlight a desired category. In the advertisement selection
screen in Figure 10, the category "Motoring" is highlighted (indicated by box
90). The highlighted category can then be activated, for example, by
manipulating the "execute" key 113 on the remote control 28. An activated
category is marked by a tick 91. More than one category can be activated at
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the same time. In the example of Figure 10, the categories "food & drink" and
"motoring" are activated.
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the
embodiment as described above. It is envisaged that various modifications
and variations to the above described embodiment can be made without
falling outside the scope of the present invention as determined from the
claims.
