WO2013046766A1

WO2013046766A1 - Display control device, television receiver, display control method, display control program, and recording medium

Info

Publication number: WO2013046766A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/058945
Authority: WO
Inventors: 彩峯原; 義憲大西; 治郎岡田
Original assignee: シャープ株式会社
Priority date: 2011-09-30
Filing date: 2012-04-02
Publication date: 2013-04-04

Abstract

A display control device is achieved for minimizing graphical processing load and improving readability of an electronic program guide. A liquid-crystal television (1) is provided with an infrared light-receiving unit (119) for receiving an instruction for selecting a program cell from a user, and a CPU (118) for displaying the electronic program guide on an LCD (110). The CPU (118) displays the electronic program guide for changing the display size of both the selected program cell and the group of program cells located in a plus-sign-shaped region having the selected program cell at the center.

Description

Display control apparatus, television receiver, display control method, display control program, and recording medium

The present invention relates to a display control device for controlling display of an electronic program guide, and more particularly to a television receiver. The present invention also relates to a display control method for such a display control device. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a display control program that causes a computer to function as such a display control device, and a recording medium on which such a display control program is recorded.

In digital broadcasting, there are three channels per broadcasting station, and there are more channels than analog broadcasting. Also, the expansion of satellite digital broadcasts such as BS digital and CS digital broadcasts and IP broadcasts, and programs in a number of channels are being broadcast in foreign countries by CATV broadcasts.

Recently, most TVs sold are equipped with a function for displaying an electronic program guide. From the situation described above, the number of channels for which program information is displayed in the electronic program guide and the number of selected programs. The amount of detailed information displayed inside increases, and the number of cells and the display size of the electronic program guide displayed on the screen have increased.

In general, on a TV equipped with a function for displaying an electronic program guide, the electronic program guide should be reduced or enlarged when searching for programs that are not currently displayed on the screen due to day of the week or time advance. Thus, it is possible to adjust the size of the range that can be displayed on the screen at once in the entire electronic program guide. In particular, on a large-screen television that has recently become widespread, it is possible to display a large portion of the entire electronic screen table at a time by reducing the electronic program table.

However, when the electronic program guide is reduced and displayed on the large-screen television in this way, the number of program cells displayed on the screen is enormous, and it is determined at a glance which program cell the user has selected. It becomes difficult. Further, when the selected program cell is near the center of the display screen, there is a problem that the correspondence between the broadcast channel name of the program and the corresponding program time is difficult to understand at a glance.

The inventions made in view of such problems are described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. In Patent Document 1, a bar representing a time axis is displayed adjacent to a channel row to which a program cell selected in a program table belongs, and when changing a channel, the bar representing the time axis or a program cell having a display range is displayed. An electronic program guide display device that displays an animated display position movement is described.

Patent Document 2 discloses a program guide display device that grays out a program cell selected by a user in an electronic program guide. Specifically, this program guide display device grays out a program cell when a predetermined operation instruction is received in a state where a program cell is selected. Therefore, the program guide display device can determine at a glance which program cell the user has selected.

In addition, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for making a display mode of a program cell selected based on a predetermined standard different from a display mode of other program cells.

Japanese Patent Publication “JP 2007-116581 A (published on May 10, 2007)” Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-284437 (published on Dec. 3, 2009)” Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-143123” (published on June 2, 2005)

However, with the above-described conventional configuration, it is difficult to grasp at a glance at which channel the program of the selected program cell is broadcast.

In particular, when an electronic program guide is reduced and displayed on a large-screen TV, a program cell displayed near the center of the screen (for example, a program cell with a diagonal line in the electronic program guide of FIG. 9) This problem becomes prominent because it is separated from the edge of the screen on which the band information and the channel information are displayed.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the inventors have proposed a display control device that allows a user to easily grasp the broadcast time or broadcast station of a program in a selected program cell in Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-294117. went. After the application, as a result of repeated studies, the inventors have found that when the selected program cell is continuously switched, the amount of drawing processing of the electronic program guide can be reduced, and improvement that improves readability can be obtained. I got the knowledge.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above knowledge, and its purpose is to allow the user to easily grasp the broadcast time or broadcasting station of the program of the selected program cell and to switch the program cell continuously. An object of the present invention is to realize a display control apparatus that reduces the amount of drawing processing of an electronic program guide when it is running and improves readability.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a display control device according to the present invention is arranged in a tile shape in the electronic program guide displayed on the display unit and display control means for displaying the electronic program guide on the display unit. An instruction receiving unit that receives an instruction from the user to select any one of the plurality of program cells, and the display control unit is configured to perform predetermined processing after the instruction receiving unit has received the instruction last time. After the elapse of time, at least one of the program cell selected by the instruction received last, the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the program cell, and the program cell group positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell The display size of one program cell group is changed to a size different from that of the program cell group that is not positioned in the horizontal or vertical direction of the program cell. , It is characterized in that.

According to such a configuration, the display control means includes the program cell last selected by the instruction by the instruction receiving unit, the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the program cell, and the vertical position of the program cell. Compared to a configuration in which the display size of at least one of the program cell groups to be changed is changed each time an instruction is received, the drawing processing amount can be reduced.

When the instruction receiving unit changes the program cell selected by the instruction every time an instruction is received, the line feed position of the character string displayed in the program cell changes the size of the program cell. Since it changes every time, there is a possibility that readability may be lowered. However, according to the above configuration, since the display control unit does not perform the change process until a predetermined time has elapsed since the instruction receiving unit last received the instruction, the line break of the character string displayed in the program cell is not performed. The position does not change. That is, since the display control unit changes the program cell after a predetermined time has elapsed since the instruction receiving unit finally received the instruction, the display control unit can improve readability.

Further, according to the above configuration, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the instruction receiving unit last received the instruction, the program cell, the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the program cell, and the vertical of the program cell Both of the program cell groups located in the direction and at least one of the program cell groups are displayed prominently to the user. Therefore, the user can easily grasp the broadcast time or broadcasting station of the selected program.

In order to solve the above problems, a display control method of a display control device according to the present invention includes a display control step of displaying an electronic program guide on a display unit, and a tiled shape in the electronic program guide displayed on the display unit. An instruction receiving step for receiving from the user an instruction to select one of the plurality of arranged program cells, and in the display control step, the instruction is received in the immediately preceding instruction receiving step. After a predetermined time has elapsed since the reception, the program cell selected by the instruction received in the instruction reception step, the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the program cell, and the vertical direction of the program cell The display size of at least one of the program cell groups is different from that of the program cell group that is not positioned in the horizontal or vertical direction of the program cell. To change to that size, it is characterized in that.

According to the above configuration, the display control method according to the present invention has the same effects as the display control device according to the present invention.

Note that a television receiver including each means of the display control device and the display unit is also included in the scope of the present invention.

Further, a program for operating a computer as a display control apparatus according to the present invention, characterized in that the computer functions as each of the above-described means, and a computer readable recording such a program Recording media are also included in the scope of the present invention.

The display control device according to the present invention includes any one of display control means for displaying an electronic program guide on a display unit, and a plurality of program cells arranged in a tile shape in the electronic program guide displayed on the display unit. An instruction accepting unit that accepts an instruction to select a program cell from a user, and the display control means lastly after a predetermined time has passed since the instruction accepting unit last accepted the instruction. Both the program cell selected by the received instruction and the program cell group located in the horizontal direction of the program cell and the program cell group located in the vertical direction of the program cell are both The display size is configured to be changed to a size different from that of the program cell group not positioned in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction of the program cell.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the amount of drawing processing and improve readability. Further, the user can easily grasp the airing time or broadcasting station of the selected program.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the liquid crystal television which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A)-(c) is the figure which showed typically one specific example of the display mode of an electronic program guide. (A) to (f) are diagrams schematically showing other specific examples of the display mode of the electronic program guide before the cursor for program cell selection, during the cursor movement, and after the cursor movement is completed. It is. (A) to (f) are diagrams schematically showing other specific examples of the display mode of the electronic program guide before the cursor for program cell selection, during the cursor movement, and after the cursor movement is completed. It is. (A) to (d) are other specific examples of display modes of the electronic program guide, before the cursor for selecting a program cell with respect to the program cell of the 2-hour program, during the movement of the cursor, after the completion of the movement of the cursor, It is the figure typically shown about. (A) to (d) are other specific examples of display modes of the electronic program guide, before the cursor for selecting a program cell with respect to the program cell of the 2-hour program, during the movement of the cursor, after the completion of the movement of the cursor, It is the figure typically shown about. (A) to (d) show other specific examples of the display mode of the electronic program guide, before moving the cursor for selecting a program cell with respect to a program cell of a 30-minute program, during the movement of the cursor, and after the movement of the cursor is completed. It is the figure typically shown about. (A) to (f) show other specific examples of the display form of the electronic program guide, before moving the cursor for selecting a program cell with respect to a program cell of a 30-minute program, during movement of the cursor, and after completion of movement of the cursor. It is the figure typically shown about. It is the figure which showed the conventional electronic program guide typically. It is the figure which showed typically the specific example of the display mode of the electronic program guide in case the selected program cell is shown with the icon. It is the figure which showed typically the specific example of the display mode of the electronic program guide in case the selected program cell is shown with the figure. (A) And (b) is the figure which showed typically the specific example of the display mode of an electronic program guide in case the character string of the selected program cell is shown with the shape different from the character string of another program cell. It is.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, a television receiver (hereinafter referred to as “liquid crystal television”) provided with a liquid crystal display as a display device will be exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the liquid crystal television is only an example of a device that functions as a display device, and can be replaced with other devices such as a plasma television, a video projector, a CRT, and a liquid crystal display monitor.

[Configuration of LCD TV]
The configuration of the liquid crystal television 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of the liquid crystal television 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal television 1 includes three HDMI input terminals 11a to 11c, an HDMI switch 11d, an HDMI receiver 100, a video input terminal 101a, an audio input terminal 101b, a BD drive 102, a tuner 103, and an IP broadcast tuner 104. , Satellite broadcast tuner 105, OSD generator 106, video selector 107, video processing circuit 108, LCD controller 109, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 110, audio selector 111, audio processing circuit 112, digital amplifier 113, speaker 114, Ethernet ( (Registered trademark) I / F 115, ROM 116, RAM 117, CPU (display control means) 118, infrared light receiving unit (instruction receiving unit) 119, camera 120, human sensor 121, and illuminance sensor 122. In FIG. 1, the video signal path is indicated by a solid line, the audio signal path is indicated by a one-dot chain line, and the data (control) path (bus) is indicated by a bold line.

(1) Video received by the HDMI receiver 100, (2) Video input from the video input terminal 101a, (3) Video read out from a BD (Blu-ray） Disc) by the BD drive 102, (4) (Terrestrial digital The video received by the tuner 103 for broadcasting, the video received by the IP broadcast tuner 104, and the video received by the satellite broadcast tuner 105 are supplied to the video selector 107, respectively. Also, (1) audio received by the HDMI receiver 100, (2) audio input from the audio input terminal 101b, (3) audio read by the BD drive 102 from the BD, (4) audio received by the tuner 103, ( 5) The audio received by the IP broadcast tuner 104 and (6) the audio received by the satellite broadcast tuner 105 are supplied to the audio selector 111, respectively.

The tuner 103 and the satellite broadcast tuner 105 receive program information (EPG information that is character information) of terrestrial broadcast and satellite broadcast (for example, BS broadcast and CS broadcast) displayed on the electronic program guide, respectively. However, the program information is supplied to the RAM 117.

It should be noted that (a) the HDMI receiver 101 receives the content input from which HDMI input terminal, that is, the HDMI switch 11 d supplies the content input from which HDMI input terminal to the HDMI receiver 100 ( b) Which channel the tuner 103 receives via which content is transmitted, (c) which server the IP broadcast tuner 104 receives from which content is distributed, (d) which satellite broadcast tuner 105 is which The CPU 118 performs selection control for deciding whether to receive the content transmitted through the other channels. Also, (e) playback control such as playback, stop, fast forward, rewind, chapter transition in the BD drive 102 is performed by the CPU 118.

The video selector 107 is (1) video supplied from the HDMI receiver 100, (2) video supplied from the video input terminal 101a, (3) video supplied from the BD drive 102, and (4) video supplied from the tuner 103. 1, (5) an image supplied from the IP broadcast tuner 104, and (6) an image supplied from the satellite broadcast tuner 105. The video selected by the video selector 107 is supplied to the video processing circuit 108. Note that the CPU 118 controls which video the video selector 107 selects.

The video processing circuit 108 adjusts the image quality of the video supplied from the video selector 107. The video processing circuit 108 scales the video supplied from the video selector 107. Here, adjustment of image quality refers to changing at least one of brightness, sharpness, and contrast, for example. Scaling refers to reducing the size while maintaining the original aspect ratio of the video to be displayed. The image that has undergone image quality adjustment and scaling by the image processing circuit 108 is supplied to the LCD controller 109. Note that the CPU 118 controls how the image processing circuit 108 changes the image quality and how much the image is reduced.

Further, when the UI data of the electronic program guide is supplied from the CPU 118, the video processing circuit 108 converts the UI data into a video signal and supplies it to the LCD controller 109.

The LCD controller 109 drives the LCD (display unit) 110 so that the video supplied from the video processing circuit 108 is displayed. As a result, the image selected by the image selector 107 is output from the LCD 110. When an OSD image is supplied from the OSD generation unit 106, the LCD controller 109 displays the OSD image supplied from the OSD generation unit 106 on the video supplied from the video processing circuit 108.

The audio selector 111 is an audio supplied from the HDMI receiver 100, an audio supplied from the video input terminal 101a, an audio supplied from the BD drive 102, an audio supplied from the tuner 103, and an audio supplied from the IP broadcast tuner 104. And any one of the voices supplied from the satellite broadcast tuner 105 is selected. The sound selected by the sound selector 111 is supplied to the sound processing circuit 112. Note that the CPU 118 controls which sound the sound selector 111 selects. However, the selection of the video in the video selector 107 and the selection of the audio in the audio selector 111 are interlocked. For example, when the video selector 107 selects the video supplied from the HDMI receiver 100, the audio selector 111 is selected. Also, the audio supplied from the HDMI receiver 100 is selected.

The audio processing circuit 112 adjusts the volume and quality of the audio supplied from the audio selector 111. Here, the adjustment of the sound quality refers to changing the frequency characteristics of the sound supplied from the sound selector 111 (for example, emphasizing a low frequency or emphasizing a high frequency). The sound whose volume and sound quality are adjusted by the sound processing circuit 112 is supplied to the digital amplifier 113. Note that the CPU 118 controls how the sound processing circuit 112 changes the sound volume and sound quality.

The digital amplifier 113 drives the speaker 114 so that the sound supplied from the sound processing circuit 112 is output. Thereby, the sound selected by the sound selector 111 is output from the speaker 114.

The CPU 118 controls the above-described units according to the remote control signal received by the infrared light receiving unit 119, the image captured by the camera 120, the sensor signal output by the human sensor 121, and the sensor signal output by the illuminance sensor 122. The sensor signal of the human sensor 121 is a binary signal indicating whether or not a viewer exists within the sensing range. The sensor signal of the illuminance sensor 122 is a multi-value signal indicating the illuminance (brightness) around the illuminance sensor 122. Examples of the control using the infrared light receiving unit 119 include display control for displaying an electronic program guide on the LCD 110, control for moving a cursor for selecting a program cell, control for displaying a function menu related to the electronic program guide, and the like. Is mentioned. The control using the camera 120 includes, for example, control for switching how the image quality is adjusted in the video processing circuit 108 according to the viewer specified based on the captured image. In addition, examples of the control using the human sensor 121 include control for switching whether the LED backlight of the LCD 110 is turned on or off according to the sensing result.

The ROM 116 is a readable and non-writable memory in which fixed data such as a program executed by the CPU 118 is stored. The ROM 116 also stores JPEG data, SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) data, and the like that are referred to by the OSD generation unit 106 to generate an OSD image. Various image data constituting the UI of the electronic program guide (for example, image data of genre icons displayed in the program cell of the electronic program guide) is stored in the ROM 116. On the other hand, the RAM 117 is a readable and writable memory in which variable data such as data referred to by the CPU 118 for calculation and data generated by the CPU 118 by calculation is stored. For example, the RAM 117 stores program information displayed in the electronic program guide.

The Ethernet I / F 115 is an interface for connecting the liquid crystal television 1 to a network. The IP broadcast tuner 104 described above accesses a server on the Internet via the Ethernet I / F 115.

(Operation of LCD TV 1)
Next, an operation in which the liquid crystal television 1 displays an electronic program guide when a user presses a program guide button on a remote controller (not shown) will be schematically described with reference to the drawings. Note that a specific method for realizing the operation schematically described can be appropriately grasped by those skilled in the art based on the common general knowledge at the time of filing of the present application, and therefore, the operation will not be described in detail here.

First, the infrared light receiver 119 receives an operation signal for a program guide button.

When the infrared light receiving unit 119 detects that the operation signal of the program guide button has been received, the CPU 118 generates an electronic program guide by combining the image data stored in the ROM 116 and the program information stored in the RAM 117. The CPU 118 supplies the generated UI data of the electronic program guide to the video processing circuit 108. As a result, an electronic program guide as shown in FIG. 2A may be determined based on, for example, the current time, the channel on which the liquid crystal television 1 last displayed the program, or the like.

(About electronic program guide UI)
2A is a diagram schematically showing an electronic program guide displayed on the LCD 110, which is an electronic program guide for the CPU 118 to create its UI data. In FIG. 2A, the item column (horizontal band region) in the row direction indicates a channel. That is, A to G indicate A channel to G channel. In addition, the column of items in the column direction (vertical strip region) indicates time. That is, the items “1” to “6” in the column direction indicate “1 o'clock range” to “6 o'clock range”. In FIG. 2A, hatched lines are shown, and a program cell CLf of a program aired from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock on the G channel indicates a selected cell. The item column in the row direction may be a channel name or a broadcasting station name. The item column in the row direction may be an area where at least one of the channel name and the broadcasting station name is displayed. The row-direction item column and the column-direction item column may have opposite configurations. That is, the time may be displayed in the item column in the row direction, and the channel may be displayed in the item column in the column direction.

Further, the CPU 118 is configured to display the cursor CS at a position indicating the program cell (selected cell CLf) selected by the instruction received by the infrared light receiving unit 119. In this way, the CPU 118 displays the cursor CS to make it easy to understand the focus position.

Further, the program cell CLv indicated by a black dot pattern in FIG. 2A shows a program cell of the same channel as the selected cell CLf. A program cell CLh indicated by a white dot pattern on a black background indicates a program cell in the same time zone as the selected cell CLf. In the displayed electronic program guide, cells that are not CLf, CLh, or CLv (other program cells) are indicated by CLn.

In FIG. 2 (a), the diagonal lines indicate that the background color of the program cell (selected cell CLf) is yellow, and the black dot pattern indicates that the background color of the program cell CLv is light blue. ing. A white dotted pattern on a black background indicates that the background color of the program cell CLh is orange. The background color of other program cells CLn is white.

The color scheme of these electronic program guides is as described above in the present embodiment, but the intent of the present invention is not limited to the above as long as the color scheme is easy for the viewer to identify.

Note that the above description of FIG. 2A applies to the electronic program guide illustrated in FIG. 2B and thereafter.

2A, the CPU 118 sets the background of the program cell CLv positioned in the vertical direction of the selected cell CLf to light blue, and sets the background of the program cell CLh positioned in the horizontal direction to orange. That is, the background of the program cell of the other channel in the same time zone as the target program is light blue, and the background of the program cell of the program aired in another time zone in the target channel where the target program is aired is orange.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, the CPU 118 sets the horizontal width of the selected cell CLf and the horizontal width of the program cell CLv positioned in the vertical direction of the selected cell CLf to be larger than the horizontal width of the program cell of the channel other than the target channel. Make it relatively large. Further, the vertical width of the selected cell CLf and the vertical width of the program cell CLh positioned in the left-right direction of the selected cell CLf are relatively larger than the vertical width of the program cell in a time zone other than the time zone in which the target program is broadcast. Make it bigger. Strictly speaking, the vertical width of the program cell is a length corresponding to the length of time that the program is broadcast, but when a certain program is a program of the program cell CLh located in the left-right direction of the selected cell CLf. The vertical width of the program cell CLh is longer than the vertical width of the program cell CLn when the program is the program of the program cell CLn.

Note that the CPU 118 receives the program cell CLv positioned in the vertical direction of the selected cell and the horizontal position while detecting that the cursor CS moving command is not received and while the CPU 118 receives the cursor CS moving command. The background color of the program cell CLh to be changed may be changed.

(Regarding the electronic program guide when a continuous movement instruction in the left-right direction is accepted)
In the following, an electronic program guide when a continuous movement instruction in the left-right direction (program cells of other channels in the same time zone) is received will be described. When the infrared light receiving unit 119 receives an instruction to move the cursor CS to the C channel in the left direction (select the C channel) from the state of FIG. 2A, the CPU 118 is displayed immediately before receiving the instruction. The cursor being displayed is moved so as to gradually approach the position indicating the program cell selected by the instruction from the previously positioned position. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2B, the CPU 118 moves the cursor CS to the left one by one to the destination program cell (C channel program cell). At this time, the size of the cursor CS is reduced to the size of the destination program cell.

In this way, the CPU 118 allows the user to easily grasp the movement from the position displayed immediately before receiving the instruction to the position indicating the program cell (C channel program cell) selected by the instruction. it can. Further, the CPU 118 turns the background of the program cell CLv positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS to light blue. When the movement of the cursor CS is completed, as shown in FIG. 2C, the CPU 118 positions the horizontal width of the cursor CS, the horizontal width of the program cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS, and the vertical direction of the selected cell CLf. The horizontal width of the program cell CLv to be set is relatively larger than the horizontal width of the program cell of the channel other than the target channel.

The movement of the cursor CS will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A is a diagram similar to FIG. 2A, and thus the description thereof is omitted. From the state of FIG. 3A, the user continuously presses a direction key (button for moving up, down, left and right) of a remote controller (not shown) to continuously move the cursor CS. Is received by the infrared light receiving unit 119. Here, it is assumed that a continuous movement instruction for continuously moving in the left direction is received. As shown in FIG. 3B, the CPU 118 displays an animation on the LCD 110 so that the cursor CS moves to the program cell of the F channel over a certain time. At this time, the CPU 118 displays an animation so that the cursor CS moves while being reduced so that the horizontal width of the cursor CS becomes the horizontal width of the F-channel program cell.

When the cursor CS moves to the F channel program cell, as shown in FIG. 3C, the background of the program cell CLv positioned in the vertical direction of the cell indicated by the cursor CS (selected cell CLf) is changed to light blue. Further, the background of the program cell (G channel program cell) positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell before the cursor CS is moved is made white.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3D, the CPU 118 displays an animation on the LCD 110 so that the cursor CS moves to the E channel program cell over a certain period of time.

When the cursor CS moves to the program cell of the E channel, the background of the program cell CLv positioned in the vertical direction of the cell indicated by the cursor CS (selected cell CLf) is changed to light blue as shown in FIG. Further, the background of the program cell (F channel program cell) positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell before the cursor CS is moved is made white.

When the movement of the cursor CS is completed, as shown in FIG. 3F, the CPU 118 positions the horizontal width of the cursor CS, the horizontal width of the program cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS, and the vertical direction of the selected cell CLf. The horizontal width of the program cell CLv to be set is relatively larger than the horizontal width of the program cell of the channel other than the target channel. Further, the horizontal width of the program cell before the cursor CS moves and the program cell positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell (G channel program cell) are set to be the same as the horizontal width of the program cell of the channel other than the target channel.

As described above, the CPU 118 receives the program cell (the E channel selection cell CLf) selected by the last received instruction after the predetermined time has elapsed since the infrared light receiving unit 119 received the last instruction, and the program cell. The display size of both the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of CLf and the program cell group positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell CLf is enlarged.

According to such a configuration, the CPU 118 selects at least one of the selected cell CLf, the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the selected cell CLf, and the program cell group positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell CLf. The drawing processing amount can be reduced as compared with the configuration in which the display sizes of both the groups are enlarged each time an instruction is received.

Further, in the case of a configuration in which the selected cell CLf is enlarged each time an instruction is received, the line feed position of the character string displayed in the selected cell CLf is changed every time it is enlarged, so that readability may be reduced. . However, according to the above configuration, the CPU 118 does not perform the enlargement process until a predetermined time has elapsed since the infrared light receiving unit 119 last received an instruction, and therefore the line feed position of the character string displayed in the selected cell CLf. Does not change. Since the CPU 118 enlarges the selected cell CLf after a predetermined time has elapsed since the infrared light receiving unit 119 last received an instruction, the CPU 118 can improve readability.

Further, according to the above configuration, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the infrared light receiving unit 119 last received an instruction, the program cell, the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the program cell, and the program cell Both of the program cell groups positioned in the vertical direction and at least one of the program cell groups are displayed prominently to the user. Therefore, the user can easily grasp the broadcast time or broadcasting station of the selected program.

The CPU 118 is an L-shaped area composed of two areas (a second horizontal band area and a second vertical band area) in contact with the time zone area and the channel area, respectively. The area where the program cell (selected cell CLf) selected by the instruction received by the unit 119 is arranged is arranged on the two areas among the L-shaped areas such that the area intersects with the two areas. At least one of the program cell (CLh, CLv) groups being displayed is displayed on the LCD 110 in a display mode different from the program cell (CLn) group not positioned in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction of the program cell. is doing.

According to the above configuration, there is an additional effect that the user can easily grasp both the broadcast time of the program of the selected program cell CLf and the broadcasting station.

In addition, the CPU 118 selects the program cell CLf selected at the start of the period, the program cell CLf, until the period from the last display size expansion to the next display size expansion expires. The display size of the program cell CLh group positioned in the horizontal direction and the program cell CLv group positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell CLf is maintained.

According to the above configuration, the display size of the program cell CLf, the program cell CLh group, and the program cell CLv group is not changed during the movement of the cursor CS, and the display size of these program cells is changed after the movement is completed. The user can easily grasp both the program cell before moving and the program cell after moving.

Note that the completion of the movement of the cursor CS is assumed to be when the cursor CS movement request is not accepted for a certain period of time (it is detected that the cursor CS movement instruction is not accepted), but is not limited thereto. The movement of the cursor CS may be completed, for example, when the program cell indicated by the cursor CS is selected by, for example, pressing a determination key on the remote controller. As described above, when the infrared light receiving unit 119 receives a predetermined operation (for example, pressing of the enter key) different from the instruction after the infrared light receiving unit 119 receives the instruction to move the cursor CS, the predetermined time elapses. Even before, the display size is increased. As described above, the display size can be changed also by the user performing a predetermined operation, and the operability for the user can be improved.

In addition, the movement instruction | indication of cursor CS is not limited to the instruction | indication by pressing a direction key continuously, For example, the instruction | indication by pressing and holding a direction key may be sufficient. Further, the moving speed of the cursor CS may be increased by long pressing the direction key. Further, the moving speed of the cursor CS may be increased by increasing the rotation speed of the rotary selector provided in the remote controller.

The various display modes of the electronic program guide displayed on the liquid crystal television 1 have been described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, program cells are arranged in a matrix. That is, the electronic program guide shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 shows a program schedule in which a one-hour program is broadcast in each time zone in all channels. However, such a program schedule is not common.

That is, as in the electronic program guide of FIG. 4, generally, program cells of the electronic program guide are arranged in a tile shape. In the following, a description will be given by showing a program schedule in which programs other than one-hour programs are broadcast.

(Regarding the electronic program guide when an instruction for continuous movement in the vertical direction is accepted)
Hereinafter, an electronic program guide when an instruction for continuous movement in the vertical direction (program cells in other time zones of the same channel) is received will be described. As shown in FIG. 4A, it is assumed that the selected cell CLf is a program cell of a program aired from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock on the E channel. The selected cell CLf is surrounded by the cursor CS. From the state of FIG. 4A, the infrared light receiving unit 119 receives a continuous movement instruction for continuously moving the cursor CS. Here, it is assumed that an instruction for continuous downward movement is received. As shown in FIG. 4B, the CPU 118 displays an animation on the LCD 110 so that the cursor CS moves to a program cell broadcast from 3 o'clock over a certain time.

Here, assuming that the program broadcast from 3 o'clock is a 2-hour program from 5 o'clock, the CPU 118 moves while deforming so that the vertical width of the cursor CS becomes the vertical width of the program cell of the 2-hour program. Animate like so.

When the cursor CS moves to the program cell of the 2-hour program, as shown in FIG. 4C, 4 to 3 from among the program cells located in the left-right direction of the cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS. The background of the program cell CLh in the time zone until the hour is made orange. Further, the background of the program cell (the program cell in the time zone from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock) located in the left-right direction of the program cell before the cursor CS moves is made white.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4D, the CPU 118 displays an animation on the LCD 110 so that the cursor CS moves to a program cell in a time zone from 5 o'clock to 6 o'clock over a certain time. Here, assuming that the program broadcast from 5 o'clock is a one-hour program as shown in FIG. 4D, the CPU 118 sets the vertical width of the cursor CS to the vertical width of the program cell of the one-hour program. Animate to move while shrinking.

When the cursor CS moves to the E channel program cell, the background of the program cell CLh positioned in the left-right direction of the cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS is changed to orange as shown in FIG. Further, the background of the program cell (the program cell in the time zone from 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock) located in the left-right direction of the program cell before the cursor CS moves is made white.

When the movement of the cursor CS is completed, as shown in FIG. 4F, the CPU 118 displays the vertical width of the cursor CS, the vertical width of the program cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS, and the horizontal direction of the selected cell CLf. The vertical width of the program cell CLh located at is relatively larger than the vertical width of the program cell in a time zone other than the time zone in which the target program is broadcast. In addition, the vertical range of the program cell before the cursor CS moves and the program cell located in the left-right direction of the program cell (the program cell in the time zone from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock) is the time zone in which the target program is broadcast. The vertical width is the same as the vertical width of the program cell in other time zones.

In FIG. 4C, the background of the program cell CLh in the time zone from 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock among the program cells located in the left-right direction of the cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS is orange. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the background of the program cell in the time zone from 4 o'clock to 5 o'clock may be orange. The background of the program cell in the time zone from 3 o'clock to 5 o'clock may be orange.

(About electronic program guide when moving instructions for multi-hour programs are accepted)
Hereinafter, an electronic program guide will be described in the case where a continuous movement instruction in the vertical direction (program cells in other time zones of the same channel) is received for a program of a plurality of hours. As shown in FIG. 5A, it is assumed that the selected cell CLf is a program cell of a program aired from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock on the E channel. The selected cell CLf is surrounded by the cursor CS. From the state of FIG. 5A, the infrared light receiving unit 119 receives a continuous movement instruction for continuously moving the cursor CS. Here, it is assumed that only one movement instruction is received downward. As shown in FIG. 5B, the CPU 118 displays an animation on the LCD 110 so that the cursor CS moves to a program cell broadcast from 3 o'clock over a certain time.

When the cursor CS moves to the program cell of the 2-hour program, as shown in (c) of FIG. 5, among the program cells located in the left-right direction of the cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS, the time from 3 o'clock The background of the program cell CLh in the time zone until the hour is made orange. Further, the background of the program cell (the program cell in the time zone from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock) located in the left-right direction of the program cell before the cursor CS moves is made white.

When the movement of the cursor CS is completed, as shown in FIG. 5D, the CPU 118 sets the vertical width of the program cell CLh positioned in the left-right direction of the selected cell CLf to other than the time slot in which the target program is broadcast. It is relatively larger than the vertical width of the program cell in the time zone. In FIG. 5D, the vertical width of the program cell CLh in the time zone from 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock is relatively larger than the vertical width of the program cell in other time zones. Further, the vertical width of the cursor CS and the vertical width of the program cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS are also displayed larger than the size shown in FIG. 5C by the size of the program cell CLh. In addition, the vertical range of the program cell before the cursor CS moves and the program cell located in the left-right direction of the program cell (the program cell in the time zone from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock) is the time zone in which the target program is broadcast. The vertical width is the same as the vertical width of the program cell in other time zones.

Note that the method for displaying a program for a plurality of hours is not limited to this. With reference to FIG. 6, another example of an electronic program guide when a continuous movement instruction in the vertical direction is received for a program of a plurality of hours will be described. As shown in FIG. 6A, it is assumed that the selected cell CLf is a program cell of a program aired from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock on the E channel. The selected cell CLf is surrounded by the cursor CS. From the state of FIG. 6A, the infrared light receiving unit 119 receives a continuous movement instruction for continuously moving the cursor CS. Here, it is assumed that only one movement instruction is received downward. As shown in FIG. 6B, the CPU 118 displays an animation on the LCD 110 so that the cursor CS moves to a program cell broadcast from 3 o'clock over a certain time.

When the cursor CS moves to the program cell of the 2-hour program, as shown in (c) of FIG. 6, among the program cells located in the left-right direction of the cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS, 4 to 4 The background of the program cell CLh in the time zone until the hour is made orange. Further, the background of the program cell (the program cell in the time zone from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock) located in the left-right direction of the program cell before the cursor CS moves is made white.

When the movement of the cursor CS is completed, as shown in FIG. 6D, the CPU 118 sets the vertical width of the program cell located in the left-right direction of the selected cell CLf to other than the time zone in which the target program is broadcast. It is relatively larger than the vertical width of the program cell in the time zone. In FIG. 6D, the vertical widths of the program cells in the time zone from 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock and the program cells in the time zone from 4 o'clock to 5 o'clock are larger than the vertical widths of the program cells in other time zones. It is relatively large. Further, the vertical width of the cursor CS and the vertical width of the program cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS are also equal to the size shown in FIG. 6C by the size of the program cell from 3 o'clock to 5 o'clock. Display large. In addition, the vertical range of the program cell before the cursor CS moves and the program cell located in the left-right direction of the program cell (the program cell in the time zone from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock) is the time zone in which the target program is broadcast. The vertical width is the same as the vertical width of the program cell in other time zones.

In this way, when the time of the target program is a plurality of hours, the vertical width of the program cell in a part of the time zone in which the target program is aired is relative to the vertical width of the program cell in the other time zone. The vertical widths of program cells in all time zones in which the target program is broadcast may be displayed relatively larger than the vertical widths of program cells in other time zones.

(About the electronic program guide when a move instruction for a program of less than 1 hour is accepted)
Hereinafter, an electronic program guide will be described in a case where an instruction for continuous movement in the vertical direction (program cells in other time zones of the same channel) is received for a program of less than one hour.

As shown in FIG. 7 (a), it is assumed that the selected cell CLf is a program cell of a program broadcast from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock on the E channel. The selected cell CLf is surrounded by the cursor CS. From the state of FIG. 7A, the infrared light receiving unit 119 receives a continuous movement instruction for continuously moving the cursor CS. Here, it is assumed that only one movement instruction is received downward. As shown in FIG. 7B, the CPU 118 displays an animation on the LCD 110 so that the cursor CS moves to a program cell to be broadcast from 3 o'clock over a certain period of time.

Here, assuming that the program aired from 3 o'clock is a 30-minute program from 3:30, the CPU 118 moves while deforming so that the vertical width of the cursor CS becomes the vertical width of the program cell of the 30-minute program. Animate to do.

When the cursor CS moves to the program cell of the 30-minute program, as shown in FIG. 7C, the program cell CLh located in the left-right direction of the time zone including the cell indicated by the cursor CS (selected cell CLf) is displayed. Make the background orange. Further, the background of the program cell (the program cell in the time zone from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock) located in the left-right direction of the program cell before the cursor CS moves is made white.

When the movement of the cursor CS is completed, as shown in FIG. 7D, the CPU 118 broadcasts the target program in the vertical width of the program cell CLh located in the horizontal direction of the time zone including the selected cell CLf. It is relatively larger than the vertical width of the program cell in a time zone other than the time zone. In FIG. 7D, the vertical width of the program cell CLh in the time zone from 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock is made relatively larger than the vertical width of the program cell in other time zones. Further, the vertical width of the cursor CS and the vertical width of the program cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS are also displayed larger than the size shown in FIG. 7C by the size of the program cell CLh. In addition, the vertical range of the program cell before the cursor CS moves and the program cell located in the left-right direction of the program cell (the program cell in the time zone from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock) is the time zone in which the target program is broadcast. The vertical width is the same as the vertical width of the program cell in other time zones.

In addition, the display method of the program cell of a 30 minute program is not limited to this. With reference to FIG. 8, another example of the electronic program guide when a continuous movement instruction in the vertical direction is received for a program for a plurality of hours will be described. As shown in FIG. 8A, it is assumed that the selected cell CLf is a program cell of a program aired from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock on the E channel. The selected cell CLf is surrounded by the cursor CS. From the state of FIG. 8A, the infrared light receiving unit 119 receives a continuous movement instruction for continuously moving the cursor CS. Here, it is assumed that only one movement instruction is received downward. As shown in FIG. 8B, the CPU 118 displays an animation on the LCD 110 so that the cursor CS moves to a program cell broadcast from 3 o'clock over a certain time.

When the cursor CS moves to the program cell of the 30-minute program, as shown in FIG. 8C, the program cell CLh positioned in the left-right direction of the time zone including the cell indicated by the cursor CS (selected cell CLf) is displayed. Make the background orange. Further, the background of the program cell (the program cell in the time zone from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock) located in the left-right direction of the program cell before the cursor CS moves is made white.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8D, the CPU 118 displays an animation on the LCD 110 so that the cursor CS moves to a program cell of a 30-minute program from 3:30 to 4 o'clock over a certain period of time.

When the cursor CS moves to the program cell of the 30-minute program, as shown in (e) of FIG. 8, the time zone including the cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS is not changed. The background of the program cell CLh located in the left-right direction of the included time zone remains orange.

When the movement of the cursor CS is completed, as shown in FIG. 8F, the CPU 118 sets the vertical width of the program cell located in the left-right direction of the selected cell CLf to a value other than the time slot in which the target program is broadcast. It is relatively larger than the vertical width of the program cell in the time zone. In FIG. 8F, the vertical width of the program cell CLh in the time zone from 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock is relatively larger than the vertical width of the program cell in other time zones. Further, the vertical width of the cursor CS and the vertical width of the program cell (selected cell CLf) indicated by the cursor CS are also displayed larger than the size shown in FIG. 8E by the size of the program cell CLh. In addition, the vertical range of the program cell before the cursor CS moves and the program cell located in the left-right direction of the program cell (the program cell in the time zone from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock) is the time zone in which the target program is broadcast. The vertical width is the same as the vertical width of the program cell in other time zones.

In this way, when the time of the target program is less than 1 hour, the vertical width of the program cell in the time zone including the time during which the target program is aired is relatively larger than the vertical width of the program cell in the other time zone. You may display large.

(Appendix 1)
In the above embodiment, the liquid crystal television 1 is described as an embodiment of the display control device according to the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the liquid crystal television 1. For example, a PC including a CPU that performs display control of an electronic program guide in the same manner as the CPU 118 of the liquid crystal television 1 is also included in the scope of the present invention.

(Appendix 2)
In the above-described embodiment, the description has been given of making it possible for the user to easily grasp the selected portion by displaying the cursor CS in the electronic program guide, but the present invention is not limited to this. In order for the user to easily grasp the selected portion, various display methods such as icon display, graphic display, and text display can be used, for example.

An example of the selected part will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a specific example of the display mode of the electronic program guide when the selected program cell is indicated by an icon.

As shown in FIG. 10, the CPU 118 is configured to display an icon IC at a position indicating a program cell (selected cell CLf) selected by an instruction received by the infrared light receiving unit 119. As described above, the CPU 118 displays the icon IC, so that it becomes easier for the user to identify the focus position. In FIG. 10, the shape of the icon IC is displayed in a star shape, but the shape of the icon IC is not limited to this, and may be any shape that indicates that the selected cell CLf is pointed out.

Further, when the display mode is such that icons for indicating the recording type and genre of the program are displayed in a plurality of cells in the electronic program guide, the program cell is located at the position indicating the selected cell CLf. An icon indicating a selected cell may be configured to display an icon different from other icons.

FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing a specific example of the display mode of the electronic program guide when the selected program cell is shown as a graphic.

As shown in FIG. 11, the CPU 118 is configured to display (graphic display) the program cell (selected cell CLf) selected by the instruction received by the infrared light receiving unit 119 in a shape different from other program cells. ing. As shown in FIG. 11, when the program cells of the electronic program guide are each displayed in a rectangle, the CPU 118 displays the selected program cell CLf in a shape other than a rectangle (for example, a star FG). As described above, the CPU 118 displays the selected program cell in a shape different from that of the other program cells, thereby making it easier for the user to identify the focus position.

In FIG. 11, the selected program cell is displayed in a star shape, but the shape of the selected program cell is not limited to this, and may be any shape different from other program cells.

(A) and (b) of FIG. 12 schematically show a specific example of the display state of the electronic program guide when the character string of the selected program cell is shown in a shape different from the character strings of other program cells. FIG.

As shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. 12, the CPU 118 converts the character string displayed in the program cell (selected cell CLf) selected by the instruction received by the infrared light receiving unit 119 into another program cell. It is configured to display (text display) in a manner different from the character string displayed on the screen. For example, as shown in FIG. 12A, the CPU 118 displays the character string displayed in the selected program cell CLf larger than the character strings displayed in other program cells. Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, the CPU 118 converts the character string displayed in the selected program cell CLf to the character string font (eg, Gothic) displayed in the other program cell. May be displayed in a different font (for example, pop style). As described above, the CPU 118 displays the character string in the selected program cell in a manner different from the character strings in the other program cells, thereby making it easier for the user to identify the focus position.

Thus, the liquid crystal television 1 according to the present invention can display the selected portion using various display methods such as icon display, graphic display, and text display instead of the cursor CS.

(Program etc.)
Finally, display control by the display control device may be configured by hardware logic. Further, the display control by the display control device may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) like the liquid crystal television 1.

That is, the program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of the control program for realizing each control of the liquid crystal television 1 may be recorded so as to be readable by the computer. The liquid crystal television 1 (or CPU or MPU) may read and execute the program code recorded on the supplied recording medium.

The recording medium for supplying the program code to the liquid crystal television 1 is, for example, a tape system such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, or a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD- A disk system including an optical disk such as R, a card system such as an IC card (including a memory card) / optical card, or a semiconductor memory system such as a mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM can be used.

Further, since the liquid crystal television 1 is configured to be connectable to a communication network, the program code may be received from the outside of the liquid crystal television 1 via the communication network and executed by the CPU of the liquid crystal television 1. The communication network may be any network that can supply the program code to the liquid crystal television 1 and is not limited to a specific type or form. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, mobile communication network, satellite communication network, etc. may be used.

The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. For example, wired communication such as IEEE 1394, USB (Universal Serial Bus), power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, infrared such as IrDA or remote control, Bluetooth (registered trademark), 802. 11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network, etc. can also be used. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

The present invention can be limited to the embodiment described above. That is, it is not technically changed as appropriate within the scope of the claims, and embodiments obtained by combining various means within the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

(Preferred form of the present invention)
As described above, the display control apparatus according to the present invention includes display control means for displaying an electronic program guide on a display unit, and a plurality of program cells arranged in tiles in the electronic program guide displayed on the display unit. An instruction receiving unit that receives an instruction from the user to select one of the program cells, and the display control unit has a predetermined time elapsed since the instruction receiving unit last received the instruction. Then, at least one of the program cell selected by the instruction received last, the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the program cell, and the program cell group positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell The display size of both of the groups is configured to be changed to a size different from that of the program cell group that is not positioned in the horizontal or vertical direction of the program cell. To have.

Further, the display control means in the display control device is configured to enlarge both the display sizes after a predetermined time has elapsed since the instruction receiving unit last received the instruction. Is preferred.

According to the above configuration, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the instruction receiving unit finally received the instruction, the program cell, the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the program cell, and the vertical direction of the program cell Both of at least one of the positioned program cell groups are displayed in an enlarged manner. Therefore, the user can more easily grasp the airing time or broadcasting station of the selected program.

In the electronic program guide in the display control device, one band-like area is an area for displaying time, and the other band-like area is an area for displaying at least one of a channel name and a broadcast station name. The display control means includes a second horizontal belt region and a second vertical belt region that are in contact with the vertical belt region and the horizontal belt region, respectively. An L-shaped region in which the program cell selected by the instruction is arranged so that the second horizontal belt-shaped region intersects with the second vertical belt-shaped region. Among the areas, at least one of the program cell group arranged on the second horizontal band area and the program cell group arranged on the second vertical band area Displayed on the display unit in different display aspects also broadcast cell group not be located in the vertical direction in the horizontal direction of the program cell, it is preferable.

According to the above configuration, the display control device according to the present invention has the further effect that the user can easily grasp both the broadcast time and the broadcast station of the program of the selected program cell.

The display control means in the display control device is selected at the start of the period until the period from the last change of the display size to the next change of the display size expires. The display size of the program cell, the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the program cell, and the program cell group positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell is preferably maintained.

According to the above configuration, the program selected by the last received instruction until the period from the last change of the display size to the next change of the display size expires. The display size of both the cell and the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the program cell and the program cell group positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell is maintained, After the period until the next change is completed, at least one of the program cell, the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the program cell, and the program cell group positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell Change the display size of both cells. Therefore, a program cell when the display size is changed last and a program cell after a period until the display size is changed after the display size is changed last is changed. Both can be easily grasped by the user.

Further, it is preferable that the display control means in the display control device is configured to display a cursor at a position indicating the program cell selected by the instruction.

According to the above configuration, the display control means can display the position of the program cell selected by the instruction in an easily understandable manner by displaying the cursor.

In addition, when the instruction receiving unit receives the instruction, the display control unit in the display control device performs stepwise from a position displayed immediately before receiving the instruction to a position indicating the program cell selected by the instruction. It is preferable that the cursor being displayed is moved so as to approach.

Thereby, the display control means can make the user easily grasp the movement from the position where the cursor is displayed immediately before receiving the instruction to the position indicating the program cell selected by the instruction.

Further, the display control means in the display control device is configured to display an icon indicating that the program cell is the selected program cell at a position indicating the program cell selected by the instruction. May be.

According to the above configuration, the display control means can display the icon indicating the selected program cell to display the position of the program cell selected by the instruction in an easy-to-understand manner.

Further, the display control means in the display control device may be configured to display the program cell selected by the instruction in a shape different from other program cells.

According to the above configuration, for example, when the program cells of the electronic program guide are each displayed in a rectangle, the display control means displays the selected program cell in a shape other than the rectangle. Thereby, the position of the program cell selected by the instruction can be displayed more easily by the user.

Further, the display control means in the display control device is configured to display the character string displayed in the program cell selected by the instruction in a mode different from the character strings displayed in other program cells. May be.

According to the above configuration, for example, the display control means displays the character string displayed in the program cell selected by the instruction larger than the character strings displayed in the other program cells. The display control means displays, for example, a character string displayed in the program cell selected by the instruction in a font different from the character strings displayed in the other program cells. Thereby, the position of the program cell selected by the instruction can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner for the user.

The display control unit changes the display size even before the predetermined time has elapsed when the instruction receiving unit receives a predetermined operation different from the instruction after the instruction receiving unit receives the instruction. It may be configured as follows.

As described above, when the user performs a predetermined operation, the display size can be changed even before the predetermined time elapses, and the operability for the user can be improved.

The display control method of the display control apparatus according to the present invention includes a display control step of displaying an electronic program guide on a display unit, and a plurality of programs arranged in tiles in the electronic program guide displayed on the display unit. An instruction receiving step for receiving from the user an instruction to select one of the program cells, and in the display control step, a predetermined time after receiving the instruction in the immediately preceding instruction receiving step At least of the program cell selected by the instruction received in the instruction receiving step, the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the program cell, and the program cell group positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell The display size of either one of the program cells is changed to a size different from that of the program cells that are not positioned in the horizontal or vertical direction of the program cell. It is characterized in that.

The display control device according to the present invention can be generally used for a display device such as a television receiver, a personal computer equipped with a tuner, and the like.

1 LCD TVs 11a to 11c HDMI input terminal 11d HDMI switch 100 HDMI receiver 101a Video input terminal 101b Audio input terminal 102 BD drive 103 Tuner 104 IP broadcast tuner 105 Satellite broadcast tuner 106 OSD generation unit 107 Video selector 108 Video processing circuit 109 LCD controller 110 LCD (display unit)
111 Audio selector 112 Audio processing circuit 113 Digital amplifier 114 Speaker 115 Ethernet I / F
116 ROM
117 RAM
118 CPU (display control means)
119 Infrared light receiving unit (instruction receiving unit)
120 Camera 121 Human sensor 122 Illuminance sensor CLf, CLh, CLv, CLn Program cell

Claims

Display control means for displaying an electronic program guide on the display unit;
An instruction receiving unit that receives an instruction from the user to select one of the plurality of program cells arranged in a tile shape in the electronic program guide displayed on the display unit;
The display control means includes a program cell selected by the last received instruction and a program located in the horizontal direction of the program cell after a predetermined time has elapsed since the instruction receiving unit last received the instruction. The program cell group in which the display size of both the cell group and the program cell group positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell is not positioned in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction of the program cell. The display control device is configured to be changed to a size different from that of the display control device.
The display control means is configured to enlarge both display sizes after a predetermined time has elapsed since the instruction receiving unit last received the instruction. The display control apparatus according to 1.
In the electronic program guide, a horizontal band area and a vertical band pattern in which one band area is an area for displaying time and the other band area is an area for displaying at least one of a channel name and a broadcast station name. The area and
The display control means is an L-shaped region composed of a second horizontal belt region and a second vertical belt region that are in contact with the vertical belt region and the horizontal belt region, respectively, and is selected by the instruction. Of the L-shaped area in which the second horizontal band area and the second vertical band area intersect, the area in which the program cell is arranged is arranged on the second horizontal band area. A program cell in which at least one of the program cell group and the program cell group arranged on the second vertical band area is not positioned in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction of the program cell. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display is displayed on the display unit in a display mode different from the group.
The display control means includes the program cell selected at the start of the period until the period from the last change of the display size to the next change of the display size expires, the program 4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein a display size of the program cell group positioned in the horizontal direction of the cell and the program cell group positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell is maintained. 5. The display control apparatus according to item 1.
5. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit is configured to display a cursor at a position indicating a program cell selected by the instruction. 6. .
When the instruction accepting unit accepts the instruction, the display control unit is displaying so as to gradually approach from a position displayed immediately before accepting the instruction to a position indicating the program cell selected by the instruction. The display control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the cursor is moved.
The display control means is configured to display an icon indicating that the program cell is a selected program cell at a position indicating the program cell selected by the instruction. The display control apparatus of any one of Claim 1 to 4.
5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit is configured to display a program cell selected by the instruction in a shape different from other program cells. 6. The display control apparatus described.
The display control means is configured to display a character string displayed in a program cell selected by the instruction in a manner different from a character string displayed in another program cell. The display control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The display control unit changes the display size even before the predetermined time has elapsed when the instruction receiving unit receives a predetermined operation different from the instruction after the instruction receiving unit receives the instruction. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control apparatus is configured as described above.
A television receiver comprising the display unit,
A television receiver, comprising: each unit included in the display control device according to claim 1.
A display control step of displaying an electronic program guide on the display unit;
An instruction receiving step of receiving from the user an instruction to select any one of the plurality of program cells arranged in a tile shape in the electronic program guide displayed on the display unit,
In the display control step, the program cell selected by the instruction received in the instruction receiving step and the horizontal level of the program cell after a predetermined time has elapsed since the instruction was received in the immediately preceding instruction receiving step. The display size of both the program cell group positioned in the direction and at least one of the program cell groups positioned in the vertical direction of the program cell is set in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the program cell. A display control method for a display control device, characterized in that the size is changed to a size different from that of a program cell group that is not located.
A display control program for operating a computer as the display control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the display control program causes the computer to function as each of the means.
A computer-readable recording medium on which the display control program according to claim 13 is recorded.