CN111405332A

CN111405332A - Display device and control method for EPG user interface display

Info

Publication number: CN111405332A
Application number: CN202010152885.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王真; 周立辉; 刘芳超; 马小伟
Original assignee: Qingdao Hisense Media Network Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Vidaa Netherlands International Holdings BV
Priority date: 2020-03-06
Filing date: 2020-03-06
Publication date: 2020-07-10
Anticipated expiration: 2040-03-06
Also published as: CN111405332B

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of display, in particular to display equipment. The display device includes: a display; tuning the demodulator; a user interface; a controller for performing: and controlling the HBBTV application to be closed when the HBBTV application is switched to the EPG in response to the user input, and displaying the EPG user interface so as to avoid the EPG user interface from overlapping with the HBBTV application.

Description

Display device and control method for EPG user interface display

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of display, in particular to a display device and a control method for EPG user interface display.

Background

A Hybrid Broadcast bandwidth TV (abbreviated as HBBTV) is a content distribution platform compatible with Digital Video Broadcasting (abbreviated as DVB) and can provide signaling, transmission and presentation mechanisms for enhanced and interactive TV services.

With the continuous improvement of the HBBTV standard, HBBTV-based applications are increasing. The HBBTV application is designed for both broadcast network and internet and can run on a display device with both broadcast network and internet connectivity. The user can watch traditional television programs and also can watch network videos through the display device provided with the HBBTV application.

An Electronic Program Guide (EPG) may provide users with indexes and navigation of various services. The EPG user interface comprises various menus, buttons and links for users to click on, and also can comprise various dynamic or static multimedia contents for users to browse.

When the user wants to view the program GUIDE, the display device may be caused to pop up the EPG user interface in response to a designated key on the control device, such as an EPG/GUIDE key, being pressed. However, when the EPG user interface is displayed during the running of the HBBTV application, the EPG user interface may overlap with the HBBTV application.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a display device and a control method for EPG user interface display, which are used for avoiding the overlapping of an EPG user interface and HBBTV application.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a display device comprising:

a display;

a tuning demodulator for tuning and demodulating a program in the digital broadcasting signal;

a user interface for receiving user input;

a controller for performing:

switching a first program to a second program provided by the HBBTV application in response to a user input to switch the program while displaying the first program in the digital broadcast signal on the display;

in response to a user input indicating that an EPG is displayed, controlling the HBBTV application to close and displaying an EPG user interface;

the EPG user interface comprises a program menu area and a program preview area, wherein the program menu area is arranged according to the playing time sequence of channels and broadcast programs, and the first program is displayed in the program preview area.

The present invention also provides a display device including:

a display;

a user interface for receiving user input;

a controller for performing:

the EPG user interface comprises a program menu area and a program preview area, wherein the program menu area is arranged according to the playing time sequence of channels and broadcast programs, and the first program is displayed in the program preview area;

and responding to a user input for indicating to close the EPG, closing the EPG user interface, controlling the HBBTV application to start, and displaying a second program provided by the HBBTV application.

The invention also provides a control method for EPG user interface display, which comprises the following steps:

In the above embodiment, the display device controls the HBBTV application to close and displays the EPG user interface when switching from the HBBTV application to the EPG in response to the user input, so as to avoid the EPG user interface from overlapping with the HBBTV application.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation scenario between a display device and a control apparatus;

fig. 1B is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of the control apparatus 100 in fig. 1A;

fig. 1C is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of the display device 200 in fig. 1A;

FIG. 1D is a block diagram illustrating an architectural configuration of an operating system in memory of display device 200;

fig. 2A schematically shows a broadcast program screen provided by the display apparatus 200;

an EPG user interface provided by display device 200 is illustrated in FIG. 2B;

fig. 2C is a schematic diagram illustrating an HBBTV application self-launching configuration interface provided by the display device 200;

fig. 3A to 3D are diagrams exemplarily showing that the display device 200 provides a GUI by operating the control apparatus 100;

an implementation flow of the HBBTV application and EPG switching is exemplarily shown in fig. 4;

the implementation flow of the HBBTV application and EPG switching is exemplarily shown in fig. 5.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation scenario between a display device and a control apparatus. As shown in fig. 1A, the control apparatus 100 and the display device 200 may communicate with each other in a wired or wireless manner.

Among them, the control apparatus 100 is configured to control the display device 200, which may receive an operation instruction input by a user and convert the operation instruction into an instruction recognizable and responsive by the display device 200, serving as an intermediary for interaction between the user and the display device 200. Such as: the user operates the channel up/down key on the control device 100, and the display device 200 responds to the channel up/down operation.

The control device 100 may be a remote controller 100A, which includes infrared protocol communication or bluetooth protocol communication, and other short-distance communication methods, etc. to control the display apparatus 200 in a wireless or other wired manner. The user may input a user instruction through a key on a remote controller, voice input, control panel input, etc., to control the display apparatus 200. Such as: the user can input a corresponding control command through a volume up/down key, a channel control key, up/down/left/right moving keys, a voice input key, a menu key, a power on/off key, etc. on the remote controller, to implement the function of controlling the display device 200.

The control device 100 may also be an intelligent device, such as a mobile terminal 100B, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, and the like. For example, the display device 200 is controlled using an application program running on the smart device. The application program may provide various controls to a user through an intuitive User Interface (UI) on a screen associated with the smart device through configuration.

For example, the mobile terminal 100B may install a software application with the display device 200 to implement connection communication through a network communication protocol for the purpose of one-to-one control operation and data communication. Such as: the mobile terminal 100B may be caused to establish a control instruction protocol with the display device 200 to implement the functions of the physical keys as arranged in the remote control 100A by operating various function keys or virtual buttons of the user interface provided on the mobile terminal 100B. The audio and video content displayed on the mobile terminal 100B may also be transmitted to the display device 200, so as to implement a synchronous display function.

The display apparatus 200 may provide a network television function of a broadcast receiving function and a computer support function. The display device may be implemented as a digital television, a web television, an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), or the like.

The display device 200 may be a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting display, a projection device. The specific display device type, size, resolution, etc. are not limited.

The display device 200 may also be in data communication with the server 300 via a variety of communication means, such as a local area network (L AN), a wireless local area network (W L AN), and other networks, where the server 300 may provide various content and interactions to the display device 200, the display device 200 may send and receive information, such as receiving Electronic Program Guide (EPG) data, receiving software program updates, or accessing a remotely stored digital media library, for example, the server 300 may be a group or groups of servers, one or more types of servers, and other network service content such as video-on-demand and advertising services provided via the server 300.

Fig. 1B is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the control device 100. As shown in fig. 1B, the control device 100 includes a controller 110, a memory 120, a communicator 130, a user input interface 140, an output interface 150, and a power supply 160.

The controller 110 includes a Random Access Memory (RAM)111, a Read Only Memory (ROM)112, a processor 113, a communication interface, and a communication bus. The controller 110 is used to control the operation of the control device 100, as well as the internal components of the communication cooperation, external and internal data processing functions.

Illustratively, when an interaction of a user pressing a key disposed on the remote controller 100A or an interaction of touching a touch panel disposed on the remote controller 100A is detected, the controller 110 may control to generate a signal corresponding to the detected interaction and transmit the signal to the display device 200.

And a memory 120 for storing various operation programs, data and applications for driving and controlling the control apparatus 100 under the control of the controller 110. The memory 120 may store various control signal commands input by a user.

The communicator 130 enables communication of control signals and data signals with the display apparatus 200 under the control of the controller 110. Such as: the control apparatus 100 transmits a control signal (e.g., a touch signal or a button signal) to the display device 200 via the communicator 130, and the control apparatus 100 may receive the signal transmitted by the display device 200 via the communicator 130. The communicator 130 may include an infrared signal interface 131 and a radio frequency signal interface 132. For example: when the infrared signal interface is used, the user input instruction needs to be converted into an infrared control signal according to an infrared control protocol, and the infrared control signal is sent to the display device 200 through the infrared sending module. The following steps are repeated: when the rf signal interface is used, a user input command needs to be converted into a digital signal, and then the digital signal is modulated according to the rf control signal modulation protocol and then transmitted to the display device 200 through the rf transmitting terminal.

The user input interface 140 may include at least one of a microphone 141, a touch pad 142, a sensor 143, a key 144, and the like, so that a user can input a user instruction regarding controlling the display apparatus 200 to the control apparatus 100 through voice, touch, gesture, press, and the like.

Here, the output interface 150 may include L ED interface 151, vibration interface 152 generating vibration, sound output interface 153 outputting sound, display 154 outputting images, and the like, for example, the remote controller 100A may receive an output signal such as audio, video, or data from the output interface 150, and display the output signal as an image on the display 154, as an audio on the sound output interface 153, or as a vibration on the vibration interface 152.

And a power supply 160 for providing operation power support for each element of the control device 100 under the control of the controller 110. In the form of a battery and associated control circuitry.

A hardware configuration block diagram of the display device 200 is exemplarily illustrated in fig. 1C. As shown in fig. 1C, the display apparatus 200 may include a tuner demodulator 210, a communicator 220, a detector 230, an external device interface 240, a controller 250, a memory 260, a user interface 265, a video processor 270, a display 275, an audio processor 280, an audio output interface 285, and a power supply 290.

The tuner demodulator 210 receives the broadcast television signal in a wired or wireless manner, may perform modulation and demodulation processing such as amplification, mixing, and resonance, and is configured to demodulate, from a plurality of wireless or wired broadcast television signals, an audio/video signal carried in a frequency of a television channel selected by a user, and additional information (e.g., EPG data).

The tuner demodulator 210 is responsive to the user selected frequency of the television channel and the television signal carried by the frequency, as selected by the user and controlled by the controller 250.

The tuner demodulator 210 can receive a television signal in various ways according to the broadcasting system of the television signal, such as: terrestrial broadcasting, cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, internet broadcasting, or the like; and according to different modulation types, a digital modulation mode or an analog modulation mode can be adopted; and can demodulate the analog signal and the digital signal according to the different kinds of the received television signals.

In other exemplary embodiments, the tuning demodulator 210 may also be in an external device, such as an external set-top box. In this way, the set-top box outputs a television signal after modulation and demodulation, and inputs the television signal into the display apparatus 200 through the external device interface 240.

The communicator 220 is a component for communicating with an external device or an external server according to various communication protocol types. For example, the display apparatus 200 may transmit content data to an external apparatus connected via the communicator 220, or browse and download content data from an external apparatus connected via the communicator 220. The communicator 220 may include a network communication protocol module or a near field communication protocol module, such as a WIFI module 221, a bluetooth communication protocol module 222, and a wired ethernet communication protocol module 223, so that the communicator 220 may receive a control signal of the control device 100 according to the control of the controller 250 and implement the control signal as a WIFI signal, a bluetooth signal, a radio frequency signal, and the like.

The detector 230 is a component of the display apparatus 200 for collecting signals of an external environment or interaction with the outside. The detector 230 may include a sound collector 231, such as a microphone, which may be used to receive a user's sound, such as a voice signal of a control instruction of the user to control the display device 200; alternatively, ambient sounds may be collected that identify the type of ambient scene, enabling the display device 200 to adapt to ambient noise.

In some other exemplary embodiments, the detector 230, which may further include an image collector 232, such as a camera, a video camera, etc., may be configured to collect external environment scenes to adaptively change the display parameters of the display device 200; and the function of acquiring the attribute of the user or interacting gestures with the user so as to realize the interaction between the display equipment and the user.

In some other exemplary embodiments, the detector 230 may further include a light receiver for collecting the intensity of the ambient light to adapt to the display parameter variation of the display device 200.

In some other exemplary embodiments, the detector 230 may further include a temperature sensor, such as by sensing an ambient temperature, and the display device 200 may adaptively adjust a display color temperature of the image. For example, when the temperature is higher, the display apparatus 200 may be adjusted to display a color temperature of an image that is cooler; when the temperature is lower, the display device 200 may be adjusted to display a warmer color temperature of the image.

The external device interface 240 is a component for providing the controller 250 to control data transmission between the display apparatus 200 and an external apparatus. The external device interface 240 may be connected to an external apparatus such as a set-top box, a game device, a notebook computer, etc. in a wired/wireless manner, and may receive data such as a video signal (e.g., moving image), an audio signal (e.g., music), additional information (e.g., EPG), etc. of the external apparatus.

The external device interface 240 may include: a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) terminal 241, a Composite Video Blanking Sync (CVBS) terminal 242, an analog or digital Component terminal 243, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) terminal 244, a Component terminal (not shown), a red, green, blue (RGB) terminal (not shown), and the like.

The controller 250 controls the operation of the display device 200 and responds to the operation of the user by running various software control programs (such as an operating system and various application programs) stored on the memory 260.

As shown in fig. 1C, the controller 250 includes a Random Access Memory (RAM)251, a Read Only Memory (ROM)252, a graphics processor 253, a CPU processor 254, a communication interface 255, and a communication bus 256. The RAM251, the ROM252, the graphic processor 253, and the CPU processor 254 are connected to each other through a communication bus 256 through a communication interface 255.

The ROM252 stores various system boot instructions. When the display apparatus 200 starts power-on upon receiving the power-on signal, the CPU processor 254 executes a system boot instruction in the ROM252, copies the operating system stored in the memory 260 to the RAM251, and starts running the boot operating system. After the start of the operating system is completed, the CPU processor 254 copies the various application programs in the memory 260 to the RAM251 and then starts running and starting the various application programs.

And a graphic processor 253 for generating various graphic objects such as icons, operation menus, and user input instruction display graphics, etc. The graphic processor 253 may include an operator for performing an operation by receiving various interactive instructions input by a user, and further displaying various objects according to display attributes; and a renderer for generating various objects based on the operator and displaying the rendered result on the display 275.

A CPU processor 254 for executing operating system and application program instructions stored in memory 260. And according to the received user input instruction, processing of various application programs, data and contents is executed so as to finally display and play various audio-video contents.

In some example embodiments, the CPU processor 254 may comprise a plurality of processors. The plurality of processors may include one main processor and a plurality of or one sub-processor. A main processor for performing some initialization operations of the display apparatus 200 in the display apparatus preload mode and/or operations of displaying a screen in the normal mode. A plurality of or one sub-processor for performing an operation in a state of a standby mode or the like of the display apparatus.

The communication interface 255 may include a first interface to an nth interface. These interfaces may be network interfaces that are connected to external devices via a network.

The controller 250 may control the overall operation of the display apparatus 200. For example: in response to receiving a User input command for selecting a Graphical User Interface (GUI) object displayed on the display 275, the controller 250 may perform an operation related to the object selected by the User input command.

The GUI is a user interface related to computer operation, which is displayed in a graphical manner. It may be an interface element such as an icon, a window, a control, etc. displayed in the display screen of the display device, where the control may include a visual interface element such as an icon, a button, a menu, a tab, a text box, a dialog box, a status bar, a navigation bar, a Widget, etc.

Where the object may be any one of the selectable objects, such as a hyperlink or an icon. The operation related to the selected object is, for example, an operation of displaying a link to a hyperlink page, document, image, or the like, or an operation of executing a program corresponding to the object. The user input command for selecting the GUI object may be a command input through various input means (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, etc.) connected to the display apparatus 200 or a voice command corresponding to a voice spoken by the user.

A memory 260 for storing various types of data, software programs, or applications for driving and controlling the operation of the display device 200. The memory 260 may include volatile and/or nonvolatile memory. And the term "memory" includes the memory 260, the RAM251 and the ROM252 of the controller 250, or a memory card in the display device 200.

In some embodiments, the memory 260 is specifically used for storing an operating program for driving the controller 250 of the display device 200; storing various application programs built in the display apparatus 200 and downloaded by a user from an external apparatus; data such as a visual effect image for configuring a GUI provided by the display 275, various objects related to the GUI, and a selector for selecting the GUI object is stored.

In some embodiments, memory 260 is specifically configured to store drivers for tuner demodulator 210, communicator 220, detector 230, external device interface 240, video processor 270, display 275, audio processor 280, etc., and related data, such as external data (e.g., audio-visual data) received from the external device interface or user data (e.g., key information, voice information, touch information, etc.) received by the user interface.

In some embodiments, memory 260 specifically stores software and/or programs representing an Operating System (OS), which may include, for example: a kernel, middleware, an Application Programming Interface (API), and/or an application program. Illustratively, the kernel may control or manage system resources, as well as functions implemented by other programs (e.g., the middleware, APIs, or applications); at the same time, the kernel may provide an interface to allow middleware, APIs, or applications to access the controller to enable control or management of system resources.

A block diagram of the architectural configuration of the operating system in the memory of the display device 200 is illustrated in fig. 1D. The operating system architecture comprises an application layer, a middleware layer and a kernel layer from top to bottom.

The application layer may include a plurality of applications, such as a setup application, a post application, a media center application, etc. these applications may be implemented as Web applications that are executed based on a WebKit engine, and in particular may be developed and executed based on HTM L5, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and JavaScript.

Here, the HTM L, which is called HyperText Markup language (HyperText Markup L anguage) is a standard Markup language for creating web pages, and describes the web pages by Markup tags, the HTM L tags are used to describe characters, graphics, animation, sound, tables, links, etc., and the browser reads the HTM L document, interprets the contents of the tags in the document, and displays them in the form of web pages.

CSS, known as Cascading Style Sheets (Cascading Style Sheets), is a computer language used to represent the Style of HTM L files, and can be used to define the Style structure, such as the language of font, color, location, etc.

JavaScript, which is a language applied to Web page programming, can be inserted into the HTM L page and interpreted and executed by a browser, wherein the interaction logic of the Web application is realized by the JavaScript, the JavaScript can be used for encapsulating a JavaScript extension interface by the browser to realize the communication with a kernel layer,

for example, the middleware layer may be implemented as multimedia and hypermedia information coding experts group (MHEG) middleware associated with data broadcasting, D L NA middleware that is middleware associated with communication with external devices, middleware that provides a browser environment in which applications run within the display device, and the like.

The kernel layer can be implemented as a kernel based on various operating systems, for example, a kernel based on L inux operating system.

The kernel layer also provides communication between system software and hardware, and provides device driver services for various hardware, such as: provide display driver for the display, provide camera driver for the camera, provide button driver for the remote controller, provide wiFi driver for the WIFI module, provide audio driver for audio output interface, provide power management drive for Power Management (PM) module etc..

A user interface 265 receives various user interactions. Specifically, it is used to transmit an input signal of a user to the controller 250 or transmit an output signal from the controller 250 to the user. For example, the remote controller 100A may transmit an input signal, such as a power switch signal, a channel selection signal, a volume adjustment signal, etc., input by the user to the user interface 265, and then the input signal is transferred to the controller 250 through the user interface 265; alternatively, the remote controller 100A may receive an output signal such as audio, video, or data output from the user interface 265 via the controller 250, and display the received output signal or output the received output signal in audio or vibration form.

In some embodiments, a user may enter user commands on a Graphical User Interface (GUI) displayed on the display 275, and the user interface 265 receives the user input commands through the GUI. Specifically, the user interface 265 may receive user input commands for controlling the position of a selector in the GUI to select different objects or items.

Alternatively, the user may input a user command by inputting a specific sound or gesture, and the user interface 265 receives the user input command by recognizing the sound or gesture through the sensor.

The video processor 270 is configured to receive an external video signal, and perform video data processing such as decompression, decoding, scaling, noise reduction, frame rate conversion, resolution conversion, and image synthesis according to a standard codec protocol of the input signal, so as to obtain a video signal that is directly displayed or played on the display 275.

Illustratively, the video processor 270 includes a demultiplexing module, a video decoding module, an image synthesizing module, a frame rate conversion module, a display formatting module, and the like.

The demultiplexing module is configured to demultiplex an input audio/video data stream, where, for example, an input MPEG-2 stream (based on a compression standard of a digital storage media moving image and voice), the demultiplexing module demultiplexes the input audio/video data stream into a video signal and an audio signal.

And the video decoding module is used for processing the video signal after demultiplexing, including decoding, scaling and the like.

And the image synthesis module is used for carrying out superposition mixing processing on the GUI signal input by the user or generated by the user and the video image after the zooming processing by the graphic generator so as to generate an image signal for display.

The frame rate conversion module is configured to convert a frame rate of an input video, for example, convert a frame rate of an input 60Hz video into a frame rate of 120Hz or 240Hz, where a common format is implemented by using, for example, an interpolation frame method.

And a display formatting module for converting the signal output by the frame rate conversion module into a signal conforming to a display format of a display, such as converting the format of the signal output by the frame rate conversion module to output an RGB data signal.

A display 275 for receiving the image signal from the video processor 270 and displaying the video content, the image and the menu manipulation interface. The display video content may be from the video content in the broadcast signal received by the tuner-demodulator 210, or from the video content input by the communicator 220 or the external device interface 240. The display 275, while displaying a user manipulation interface UI generated in the display apparatus 200 and used to control the display apparatus 200.

And, the display 275 may include a display screen assembly for presenting a picture and a driving assembly for driving the display of an image. Alternatively, a projection device and projection screen may be included, provided display 275 is a projection display.

The audio processor 280 is configured to receive an external audio signal, decompress and decode the received audio signal according to a standard codec protocol of the input signal, and perform audio data processing such as noise reduction, digital-to-analog conversion, and amplification processing to obtain an audio signal that can be played by the speaker 286.

Illustratively, audio processor 280 may support various audio formats. Such as MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), high efficiency AAC (HE-AAC), and the like.

The audio output interface 285 is used for receiving an audio signal output by the audio processor 280 under the control of the controller 250, and the audio output interface 285 may include a speaker 286 or an external sound output terminal 287, such as an earphone output terminal, for outputting to a generating device of an external device.

In other exemplary embodiments, video processor 270 may comprise one or more chips. Audio processor 280 may also comprise one or more chips.

And, in other exemplary embodiments, the video processor 270 and the audio processor 280 may be separate chips or may be integrated with the controller 250 in one or more chips.

And a power supply 290 for supplying power supply support to the display apparatus 200 from the power input from the external power source under the control of the controller 250. The power supply 290 may be a built-in power supply circuit installed inside the display apparatus 200 or may be a power supply installed outside the display apparatus 200.

Further, it should be noted that the items in the embodiments of the present invention refer to visual objects displayed in the GUI provided by the display device to represent corresponding contents such as icons, thumbnails, links, and the like. The presentation forms of items are often diverse. For example, the items may include text content and/or images for displaying thumbnails related to the text content. As another example, the item may be text and/or an icon of an application.

It should also be noted that the display form of the selector may be the focus object. The item may be selected or controlled by controlling the movement of the focus object displayed in the display apparatus according to an input of a user through the control means. Such as: the user may select and control items by controlling the movement of the focus object between items through a directional key on the control device. The identification form of the focus object is not limited. The location of the focal object may be achieved or identified by setting the background color of the item, or may be identified by changing the outline, size, transparency, and outline of the text or image of the focused item, and/or the font, etc.

On the basis of the above-mentioned fig. 1A to 1D, it should be noted that: the display device 200 typically displays an EPG thereon, so that a user can view programs (e.g., program content introduction, introduction of actors and directors, etc.) of various channels or reserve a recording of future programs, etc. by using a program menu provided by the EPG. The EPG user interface horizontally arranges and displays broadcasting programs in a matrix form, which generally displays channels and times in a two-dimensional mode, and displays the broadcasting programs constituting the EPG in a size proportional to the broadcasting time length of the broadcasting programs.

The EPG display process comprises the following steps: referring to fig. 1C, the tuner demodulator 210 of the display apparatus receives a broadcast signal, and a decoder (not shown in the drawing) extracts EPG information from the received broadcast signal and outputs the extracted EPG information to an internal bus; thereby causing the controller 250 to store the EPG information output to the internal bus in the memory 260 in preparation for displaying the EPG user interface.

Here, the broadcast signal is also called a Transport Stream (TS) signal, and a data portion other than an audio/video portion in the TS signal is reconstructed to construct a program information table. The program information table includes information of broadcast programs such as a Program Association Table (PAT), a Program Map Table (PMT), a Network Information Table (NIT), and an Event Information Table (EIT). The EIT stores therein the above-mentioned extracted EPG information, which may include a start play time and an end play time of a broadcast program, and a plurality of descriptor fields, such as a short event descriptor field identifying a program name of the broadcast program, an extended event descriptor field identifying a lead actor, a drama, a vignette, etc. of the broadcast program, a component descriptor field identifying a program type of the broadcast program, a short event descriptor and an extended event descriptor identifying which language the broadcast program is displayed in, etc.

When a broadcast program screen as shown in fig. 2A is currently displayed on the display 275 of the display apparatus, an EPG display request signal transmitted by the user through the user interface 265 is input to the controller 250, for example: pressing an EPG or GUIDE key On a remote controller, that is, in response to an EPG display request issued by a user, the controller 250 controls the EPG information to be read from the memory 260 so that an EPG generator (not shown in the figure) can construct an EPG based On the read EPG information and an EPG image generated by an On Screen Display (OSD) generator using pre-stored image data (e.g., EPG interface identification: vertical line, color), and then the EPG user interface shown in fig. 2B is displayed On the display 275 through the video processor 270.

Fig. 2B is a schematic diagram of an EPG user interface. As shown in fig. 2B, the vertical direction is the channel axis direction, and different channels are displayed in a multi-line form; the horizontal direction is a time axis direction, the respective broadcast programs are arranged in the order of broadcast time within each line, and the size of the display area of the respective broadcast programs indicates the length of the broadcast time thereof, the start position of the display area indicates the start broadcast time thereof, the end position of the display area indicates the end broadcast time thereof, and the program names thereof are displayed within the display area.

Five channels (DC a-DC e) are shown in the EPG user interface in fig. 2B, and the broadcast programs of each channel are displayed in a line in the program play time order. For example: fig. 2B shows a menu of broadcast programs between 3:00 and 5:00, broadcast programs a0-a3 for the DC a channel, broadcast programs B0-B4 for the DC B channel, broadcast programs c0-c2 for the DC c channel, broadcast programs d1-d3 for the DC d channel, and broadcast programs e1-e3 for the DC e channel.

As shown in fig. 2B, the EPG user interface may include a program preview area 31, a channel list area 32, a program detail area 33, and a broadcast program display area 34.

When the selector falls on a broadcast program at a position within the broadcast program display area, for example, as shown in fig. 2B, when the selector falls on broadcast program a1, the service content provided by broadcast program a1 is displayed within the program preview area (for example, the program screen shown in fig. 2A is reduced and displayed within the program preview area), the channel identification DC a of the channel to which broadcast program a1 belongs, the play time 3:21-3:45 of broadcast program a1, the program type of broadcast program a1 is a movie, and the content profile of broadcast program a1 are displayed within the program detail area.

In addition, it should be noted that the display device 200 may further display a HBBTV application self-starting configuration interface thereon, so that a user may configure whether the HBBTV application is automatically started when the display device 200 is powered on through the configuration interface.

The display apparatus 200 may display an HBBTV application self-starting configuration interface as shown in fig. 2C on the display 275 in response to an HBBTV application configuration request input by a user through the control device 100. As shown in fig. 2C, the configuration interface includes a configuration switch 41. The display device 200 may configure the configuration switch 41 to be on or off in response to user input. For example, the user may cause the display device 200 to configure the configuration switch 41 on or off in response to user input by pressing left and right direction keys of the control apparatus 100.

Specifically, when the configuration switch 41 is configured to be on, the HBBTV application is automatically started when the display apparatus 200 is turned on. When the configuration switch 41 is configured to be off, the HBBTV application is not automatically started when the display apparatus 200 is powered on, but is started when the user actively starts.

Fig. 3A to 3D are schematic views exemplarily showing a GUI provided by the display device 200 by operating the control apparatus 100.

As an embodiment, as shown in fig. 3A, the display device may provide a playing picture 51 of a program in the digital broadcast signal to the display, and the playing picture may be at least one of an image, a text, and a video content. For example, the playback screen shown in fig. 3A is a picture screen.

When the user wants to watch another program, a program switching instruction may be input by operating the control device, and the display apparatus may switch to the other program in response to the user input.

As shown in fig. 3A, the user causes the display device to provide a play screen 52, as shown in fig. 3B, to the display in response to the key input by pressing a designated key, such as a channel control key, on the control device. In this embodiment, the playing screen 52 is a playing screen of a program provided by the HBBTV application.

Here, it should be noted that, the user may operate the control device to enable the display device to respond to the user input, and the HBBTV application is configured in advance to be automatically started when the display device is powered on, so that the user may view the program provided by the HBBTV application by operating the control device (for example, pressing the channel control key) after the display device is powered on.

The HBBTV application self-starting configuration process comprises the following steps: the user causes the display device to provide a HBBTV application bootstrapping configuration interface to the display as shown in fig. 2C by pressing a designated key on the control means, such as a configuration key. As shown in fig. 2C, the configuration interface includes a configuration switch 41. In fig. 2C, the user may cause the display device to configure the configuration switch 41 on or off in response to user input by pressing a designated key on the control device, such as a left or right directional key. For example, the user may open the configuration switch 41, i.e., configure the display device to launch the HBBTV application at power-on, by pressing the arrow key to the right.

In fig. 3B, when the user wants to view the EPG, an instruction to display the EPG may be input through the operation control device, thereby displaying an EPG user interface. However, the inventors found that: at this time, since the display device cannot reduce the size of the HBBTV application according to the size of the program preview area, the program provided by the HBBTV application below the HBBTV application can be viewed through the EPG user interface, so that the interfaces of the HBBTV application and the EPG user interface overlap.

Accordingly, the display device may temporarily close the HBBTV application in response to a user input to display an EPG, displaying an EPG user interface including a program preview area for playing programs in the broadcast signal shown in fig. 3A.

For example, as shown in fig. 3B, the user causes the display device to close the HBBTV application (exit the play screen 52 shown in fig. 3B) in response to a specified key on the control device, such as the EPG/GUIDE key, and provide an EPG user interface as shown in fig. 3C to the display. The program preview area 31 of the EPG user interface displays the play screen 51 shown in fig. 3A.

Here, it should be noted that the play screen 51 displayed in the program preview area 31 is displayed by the display device in response to a key input for displaying the EPG user interface, and the play screen 51 shown in fig. 3A is reduced to the program preview area 31 in accordance with the size of the program preview area 31 in the EPG user interface.

Further, on the basis of the EPG user interface shown in fig. 3C, the user may input an instruction to close the EPG by operating the control device, so that the display device closes the EPG user interface in response to the user input, and at the same time, controls the HBBTV application to start again, and displays the program provided by the HBBTV application.

For example, as shown in fig. 3C, the user causes the display device to respond to the key input by pressing a designated key on the control device, such as an EPG/GUIDE/BACK key, to close the EPG user interface shown in fig. 3C, and to control the HBBTV application, which has been configured to be self-launched, to launch, and to provide a play screen of the program provided by the HBBTV application to the display, as shown in fig. 3B. That is, the program of the HBBTV application viewed by the user before viewing the EPG is restored.

It can be seen that, in this embodiment, by closing the HBBTV application when the EPG is started, the EPG user interface is not overlapped with the HBBTV application, and by displaying the program of the digital broadcast signal in the program preview area of the EPG user interface, the EPG user interface is prevented from being overlapped with the HBBTV application interface.

Fig. 4 illustrates, as an embodiment, an implementation flow of the HBBTV application and EPG switching. The process includes the following steps S61-S63:

step S61: the program is switched from the digital broadcast signal program to the program provided by the HBBTV application in response to a user input.

For example, in fig. 3A, the display displays a broadcast screen 51 of a digital broadcast signal program. The display apparatus switches from the play screen 51 of the digital broadcast signal program shown in fig. 3A to the play screen 52 of the program provided by the HBBTV application in response to a program switching instruction input by the user, as shown in fig. 3B.

Step S62: the HBBTV application is controlled to close in response to a user input and an EPG user interface is displayed.

For example, in fig. 3B, the display device controls the HBBTV application to close in response to an instruction to display the EPG input by the user, and the play screen 52 of the program provided by the HBBTV application is no longer displayed on the display. At the same time, the display device displays an EPG user interface on the display responsive to the user input, the EPG user interface including a program preview area 31, as shown in FIG. 3C. The display device reduces the size of the digital broadcast signal program that has been played before in accordance with the size of the program preview area 31 and displays the same in the program preview area 31.

Step S63: and closing the EPG user interface in response to the user input, and controlling the HBBTV application to start.

For example, in fig. 3C, in response to an instruction to close the EPG input by the user, the display device closes the EPG user interface and restarts the HBBTV application, and displays a play screen 52 of a program provided by the HBBTV application, as shown in fig. 3B.

It can be seen that, in this embodiment, the corresponding frames of the EPG user interface and the HBBTV application are not displayed at the same time, and therefore, the EPG user interface and the HBBTV application can be effectively prevented from being overlapped. And when the EPG user interface is displayed, the program of the digital broadcast signal is displayed in the program preview area of the EPG user interface, so that the black screen of the program preview area of the EPG user interface can be effectively avoided.

As another example, when the program provided by the HBBTV application shown in fig. 3B is a network video provided by a network channel, such as a connection (Connect) channel or an Internet (Internet) channel, when the EPG user interface is displayed based on a user input, if the HBBTV application is closed, the network video is also closed, so that a program preview area in the EPG user interface may be a blank screen or only one picture, which affects the user viewing experience.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in fig. 3B, when the user wants to view the EPG, an instruction for instructing to display the EPG may be input by operating the control device. The display device responds to the user input, and judges whether the program provided by the HBBTV application is a network video and whether the channel corresponding to the program is a network channel. And when the program is determined to be the network video and the channel corresponding to the program is the network channel, keeping the HBBTV application running continuously and displaying the EPG user interface.

For example, as shown in fig. 3B, the user presses a specific key on the control device, such as an EPG/GUIDE key, to make the display device respond to the key input, and determines whether the program provided by the HBBTV application is a network video and whether the channel corresponding to the program is a network channel. And when the program is determined to be the network video and the channel corresponding to the program is the network channel, keeping the HBBTV application running continuously, and providing an EPG user interface as shown in fig. 3D to the display. The program preview area 31 of the EPG user interface displays a play screen 52 of the network video shown in fig. 3B.

Here, it should be noted that the playing screen 52 displayed in the program preview area 31 is displayed by the display device in response to a key input for displaying the EPG user interface, and the playing screen 52 of the network video shown in fig. 3B is reduced to the program preview area 31 in accordance with the size of the program preview area 31 in the EPG user interface.

It should be noted that, although the display device cannot control the size of the display of the HBBTV application, the network video provided by the display device and the program video in the broadcast signal are both displayed in the video layer, so the display device can control the display size of the playing screen of the network video.

In addition, the process of the display device determining that the program provided by the HBBTV application is the network video and the channel corresponding to the program is the network channel may be:

the display device obtains a Uniform Resource locator (Uniform Resource L adapter, UR L) of the HBBTV application, where the UR L includes a program identifier of a program provided by the HBBTV application and a channel identifier of a channel corresponding to the program.

Specifically, when the program identifier carried by the UR L is the identifier of the network video and the carried channel identifier is the identifier of the network channel, the current program provided by the HBBTV application is determined to be the network video and the channel corresponding to the program is determined to be the network channel.

Further, on the basis of the EPG user interface shown in fig. 3D, the user may input an instruction to close the EPG by operating the control device, cause the display apparatus to close the EPG user interface in response to the user input, and display the program provided by the HBBTV application.

As shown in fig. 3D, the user presses a designated key on the control device, such as an EPG/GUIDE/BACK key, to cause the display device to respond to the key input, close the EPG user interface shown in fig. 3D, and enlarge the size of the program provided by the HBBTV application displayed in the program preview area 31 to return to the original size, as shown in fig. 3B.

It can be seen that, in this embodiment, when the EPG is started, the network video provided by the HBBTV application is displayed by using the program preview area of the EPG user interface, so that the EPG user interface is prevented from overlapping with the HBBTV application, and meanwhile, the program preview area of the EPG user interface is prevented from being blacked.

Fig. 5 illustrates, as an embodiment, an implementation flow of the HBBTV application and EPG switching. The process includes the following steps S71-S73:

step S71: the program is switched from the digital broadcast signal program to the program provided by the HBBTV application in response to a user input.

Step S72: the HBBTV application is kept running in response to user input and an EPG user interface is displayed.

For example, in fig. 3B, the display device, in response to an instruction input by the user to display the EPG, obtains UR L of the running HBBTV application, where UR L includes a program identifier of a program provided by the HBBTV application and a channel identifier of a channel corresponding to the program, when the program identifier carried by UR L is an identifier of a network video and the channel identifier carried by UR L is an identifier of a network channel (e.g., a Connect channel or an Internet channel), displays an EPG user interface on the display, and reduces the size of the network video provided by the HBBTV application according to the size of a preview area in the program of the EPG user interface, and displays the reduced network video in the program preview area, as shown in fig. 3D, and in fig. 3D, the program preview area 31 displays a playing screen of the network video of the HBBTV application.

Step S73: and closing the EPG user interface in response to the user input, and displaying the network video provided by the HBBTV application.

For example, in fig. 3D, the display device closes the EPG user interface in response to an instruction to close the EPG input by the user, and at the same time, restores the size of the network video provided by the HBBTV application, as shown in fig. 3B.

It can be seen that, in this embodiment, the display device displays the network video provided by the HBBTV application by using the program preview window of the EPG user interface, so that overlapping of the EPG user interface and the HBBTV application is avoided, and meanwhile, a program preview area of the EPG user interface is prevented from being blacked.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A display device, comprising:

a display;

a user interface for receiving user input;

a controller for performing:

switching a first program to a second program provided by a hybrid broadcast bandwidth television HBBTV application in response to a user input to switch programs while displaying the first program in the digital broadcast signal on the display;

in response to a user input indicating display of an electronic program guide, EPG, controlling the HBBTV application to close and displaying an EPG user interface;

2. The display device of claim 1, wherein the HBBTV application is configured to be automatically launched when the display device is powered on.

3. The display device of claim 1, wherein the controller is to perform:

in response to a user input indicating display of an EPG, the first program is reduced from a full screen display size to a display size of the program preview area.

4. A display device, comprising:

a display;

a user interface for receiving user input;

a controller for performing:

5. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the control of the HBBTV application launch is in particular:

controls the launching of HBBTV applications configured to be launched automatically.

6. A method for controlling EPG user interface display, the method comprising:

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the HBBTV application is configured to be automatically launched when the display device is powered on.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:

9. A method for controlling EPG user interface display, the method comprising:

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said controlling said HBBTV application start-up is in particular: