JPH09298697A - Electronic program guide display control apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To provide a display form of an electronic program guide capable of selecting a desired program or program information more quickly and reliably, and at this time, displaying a program title and (EN) A user-friendly electronic program guide is obtained by making it easy to visually grasp the relationship with time information related to a program title. SOLUTION: The program information including a plurality of program titles is displayed as a cylinder EPG-like image, and then a time zone bar 10X2 showing a time zone occupied by all programs displaying titles in an area Y and an area Y. The program length bar 11X2 indicating the broadcast time zone of the program selected by the cursor 10Y is displayed on the area X2 for displaying the time so that the time zone of the program can be visually grasped.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic program guide display control device and an electronic program guide display control method, and more particularly to an electronic program guide control guide display capable of quickly and accurately obtaining information on many programs. The present invention relates to a control device and an electronic program guide display control method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, television signals have been converted into digital signals and transmitted by satellites such as broadcast satellites and communication satellites.
For example, a system for receiving and listening to the broadcast signal in each process is becoming widespread. In such a broadcasting system, it is possible to secure, for example, nearly 150 channels, so that a very large number of programs can be broadcast, for example, as compared with conventional terrestrial broadcasting.

In such a broadcasting system, an EPG (Electrical Program Guide) is transmitted as program information to be broadcast in order to ensure that a desired program can be selected from many programs. Then, it has been proposed that the receiving side receives and displays it, and selects a desired program by viewing the electronic program guide.

Here, the display example of the EPG is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In the genre selection screen shown in FIG. 13A, "ALL" (all genres), "NEW"
"S" (news), "MOVIE" (movie) "SPOR"
A plurality of genres related to programs such as "TS" (sports) are displayed, and the user moves a cursor (not shown in this case) displayed on the screen by operating the operation means such as a remote controller. Then, a desired genre can be selected from the displayed genres. When a desired genre is selected on the genre selection screen shown in FIG. 13 (a), the display is switched to the program guide screen shown in FIG. 13 (b) corresponding to the selected genre.

In the program guide screen shown in FIG. 13 (b), the broadcasting station name (channel) is shown along the vertical axis and the time is shown along the horizontal axis. At the position defined by these two axes, the title of the program broadcast at that time on that channel is displayed. In this case, since the horizontal length of each program title display P corresponds to the time on the horizontal axis, the length differs depending on the broadcast time length of the program. Specifically, when "ALL" is selected on the genre selection screen of FIG. 13 (a), the screen of the monitor device (television receiver) is changed from the genre selection screen to the program guide screen shown in FIG. 13 (b). Switch to. On the switched program guide screen, programs of all genres for each channel are displayed. Note that FIG.
On the program guide screen shown in (b), only a part of the actual program guide is displayed. When it is desired to see the program information other than the area currently displayed, the display within one screen shown in FIG. The area is moved vertically and horizontally using a remote controller or the like. Then, the user listens to the selected program by moving the cursor (not shown here) to the display position of the desired program from the program group in which the program guide is displayed on the screen and performing an enter operation. Or you can view information related to this program.

[0006]

However, as shown in FIG.
In the display form of the electronic program guide as described with reference to (b) and FIG. 14, there are a large number of channels and times in the up / down / left / right directions beyond the area of the program guide screen displayed on the monitor screen. Therefore, the number of program titles displayed on the monitor screen is very small. Further, in order to search for a desired program, it is necessary to scroll the display area in one screen shown in FIG. 14 in two directions, that is, the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, which makes the operation of the user considerably troublesome. Become.

Therefore, regardless of the display concept shown in FIGS. 13B and 14, the candidate program titles are displayed on the screen in correspondence with the genre, date / time, etc. designated by the user. It is conceivable to display the programs side by side. According to this method, more program titles can be displayed, and the desired program can be easily searched accordingly. However, when such a display form of the electronic program guide is adopted, it may be difficult to grasp the time information related to the program being displayed. That is, in this case, the program title is shown in FIG.
It is not displayed according to the length corresponding to the broadcast time length as in 4, but is listed in a list format by, for example, character display. Also, the program titles that are candidates for each time differ depending on the specified genre, date / time, etc., and the relationship between all program titles being displayed and the corresponding broadcast time zones is visually related. It becomes difficult to grasp the target. Further, for example, it is also possible to visually check the time zones of all the program titles being displayed and how long and how long a certain program is broadcast in this time zone. It becomes difficult to grasp.

[0008]

In view of the above situation, the present invention provides a display mode of an electronic program guide which allows quicker and more reliable selection of desired programs or program information. At this time, the purpose is to obtain a user-friendly electronic program guide by making it easy to visually understand the relationship between the displayed program title and the time information related to the program whose title is displayed. .

Therefore, in the electronic program guide display control device for controlling the display of the electronic program guide for selecting a program on the display device, a program guide including a plurality of program titles is displayed on the display device and the titles are displayed on the program guide. It is decided to include a display control means capable of performing a display for presenting required information related to the broadcast time zone of the displayed program. Then, the display control means performs bar display with a variable length corresponding to the width of the time zone occupied by all programs whose titles are displayed in the program guide, and the titles are displayed in the program guide. Among the programs, a bar display having a variable length corresponding to the width of the broadcast time zone occupied by one specific program is configured to be displayed. Further, in an electronic program guide display control method for controlling display of an electronic program guide for selecting a program on a display device, a program guide including a plurality of program titles is displayed on the display device, and titles are displayed on the program guide. The required time information related to the broadcast time zone of the program is displayed, and the time occupied by all programs whose titles are displayed in the program guide is used as the necessary information related to the broadcast time zone. A bar display with a variable length corresponding to the width of the band is displayed, and a specific one of the programs whose title is displayed in the program guide is displayed.
It was decided to display the bar with a variable length corresponding to the width of the broadcast time zone occupied by one program.

According to the above configuration, for example, after displaying the titles of a plurality of programs, all the programs currently displayed in the program guide are occupied by the information relating to the broadcast time zones of these programs. The total time zone and the broadcast time zone in which one program specified by the user, for example, of the programs being displayed occupies the broadcast time zone are displayed by a bar display according to the length of each time zone. It becomes possible.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The following description will be given in the following order. 1. Configuration of electronic program guide guide display controller 2. 2. Configuration of remote controller 3. Mode of electronic program guide display according to the present embodiment 4. Processing operation for realizing electronic program guide display according to the present embodiment Electronic program guide display as another embodiment

1. Configuration of Electronic Program Program Guide Display Control Device FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an electronic program program guide display control device as an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. In the electronic program guide display control device according to the present embodiment, broadcast waves received by, for example, an antenna are supplied to the tuner 2. In this broadcast wave, program guide information data (E
PG data) is superimposed. It should be noted that the broadcast wave may be a cable broadcast wave, a terrestrial wave, or the like other than the satellite broadcast wave. Further, the internal configuration of the tuner 2 is appropriately changed depending on whether the received broadcast wave is an analog signal or a digital signal.

The tuner 2 is configured to perform tuning processing in response to control of an internal control microcomputer 3 (hereinafter referred to as internal control microcomputer 3) that controls the entire configuration. The output of the tuner 2 is supplied to a program information extraction circuit 5. The output of the tuner 2 includes program information as well as video / audio information.

The internal control microcomputer 3 responds to an operation command from an operation unit 4 operated by the user (composed of an operation switch serving as a main body of the apparatus or a remote commander 4A shown in FIG. 5). , The tuner 2, the program information extraction circuit 5, and the screen display signal generation circuit 6 are controlled. The detailed configuration of the internal control microcomputer 3 will be described later with reference to FIG.

The program information extracting circuit 5 extracts the program information data contained in the output of the tuner 2 in response to the control of the internal control microcomputer 3 and supplies it to the internal control microcomputer 3. . The program information data is converted by the internal control microcomputer 3 into image data (display screen display data) for a display screen and supplied to the display screen signal generation circuit 6.

Of the output of the tuner 2 input to the program information extraction circuit 5, the video data and audio data are
Video signal reproduction circuit 7 and audio signal reproduction circuit 8 respectively
Is supplied to. The screen display signal creation circuit 6 creates an image signal of the program information (screen display signal) based on the image data of the screen display data (program information data) supplied from the internal control microcomputer 3. It is supplied to the video mix circuit 9. The video signal reproduction circuit 7 reproduces the video data supplied from the program information extraction circuit 5 into a video borrower, and supplies the video signal to the video mix circuit 9. The video mixing circuit 9 includes the video signal supplied from the video signal reproducing circuit 7 and the screen display signal creating circuit 6
The image signal of the program information (tube display signal) supplied from is mixed, and the mixed signal is used as the video output,
The data is output to the monitor device (television receiver) 10. Similarly, the audio signal reproducing circuit 8 reproduces the audio data supplied from the program information extracting circuit 5 into an audio signal and outputs the audio signal (audio output) to the speaker 11.

Next, the internal structure of the internal control microcomputer 3 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. CPU (Central
A processing command or data from the operation unit 4, the tuner 2, and the program information extraction circuit 5 is input to the processing unit 20 via the input / output interface 23. C
The PU 20 is configured to execute a required processing operation in accordance with data or an operation command input from the input / output interface 23 based on various programs included in the control program block 21.

The control program block 21 includes the following programs. That is, the operation input control program 21A is a program for performing processing corresponding to the conversion command input from the operation unit 4.
The tuning control program 21B is a program used for controlling a tuning process of the tuner 2, determining a tuning result, and the like.

The program information extraction control program 21C is a program for controlling the program information extraction processing of the program information extraction circuit circuit 5, and is a screen display data creation program 2
1D is a program for creating screen display data of program information based on the program information data supplied from the program information extraction circuit 5. Pipe surface display signal creation control program 2
1E is a program for controlling the processing of the tube surface display signal creating circuit 6.

Various storage areas are set in the data block 22, and the cylinder EPG database 22 is set.
A, display surface display data 22B and the like are accumulated. The cylinder EPG database 22A is a cylinder EPG database described later with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, and the display screen data 22B is created by executing the display screen data creation program 21D. V
This is data for displaying the tube surface of the cylinder EPG written in a RAM (Video Random Access Memory).

Next, the cylinder EPG database 2
EP of the present embodiment realized by providing 2A
The basic display concept as G will be described. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an EPG of the present embodiment. In the EPG of the present embodiment, the circumferential surface of a cylinder (cylinder) corresponding to the tube surface (display screen) of the monitor device 10 has three regions (regions X, Y, Z) perpendicular to the horizontal center axis. ) (That is, the display screen is vertically divided), and the three regions are classified as follows.

In the region X arranged on the leftmost side of the three divided regions of the cylinder shown in FIG. 3, the date for one week, the day of the year, and the time are arranged in ascending order of the date and the time. , Are arranged in the vertical direction (circumferential direction). In the area Y arranged at the center of the three areas, the title of the program currently being broadcast or the program to be broadcasted in the future is displayed in ascending channel number order and earlier in broadcast start time. , In the vertical direction (circumferential direction). In a region Z located on the rightmost side of the three regions,
The genres of programs (for example, classification items according to categories such as “all”, “movies”, “sports”, “news”, and “music”) are arranged in the vertical direction (circumferential direction).

The user operates the operation unit 4 (for example, the remote commander 4A shown in FIG. 5) to rotate each of the regions X, Y, and Z, so that a display screen shown by hatching in FIG. The desired information can be displayed.

As described above, in the EPG of the present embodiment, the cylinder (cylinder) is divided into a plurality of areas, and the date and time, the program, and the genre are assigned to the respective areas,
The display form is such that each region can be rotated. Hereinafter, in this specification, the EPG displayed in this form is referred to as a cylinder EPG.

2. Configuration of Remote Controller Next, a configuration example of the operation unit 4 illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a remote controller used when remotely controlling the electronic program guide display control device of the present embodiment (that is, the remote controller 4A is provided on the operation unit 4 shown in FIG. 1). Equivalent to).

The power button switch 111 and the television power button switch 112 are operated when the power of the monitor device 10 or the electronic program guide display control device (IRD) 1 is turned on or off, respectively. When the mute button switch 113 is operated, the sound is muted, and when it is operated again, the mute is released. The television switch button switch 114A and the IRD switch button switch 114B
The function of each switch of this remote controller 4A
An operation is performed when switching between a function corresponding to the monitor device 10 and a function corresponding to the electronic program guide display control device 1 is performed. Input select button switch 1
Reference numeral 15 is operated when the input to the electronic dragon set guide display control device 1 is switched. Screen display button switch 11
6 is operated when displaying a channel number or the like (including a station logo and a title name) on the monitor device 10, and when the operation is performed again, the display disappears. The dual sound button switch 117 converts the sound output from the speaker 11 into a bilingual broadcast or multiplex broadcast program.
It is operated when switching to the main sound, the sub sound, the main + sub sound (foreign language, or Japanese and foreign language).

The number button switch 118 displaying the numbers 0 to 9 is operated when inputting the numbers displayed on the respective buttons. Tuning button switch 11
8A, when the operation of the number button switch 118 is completed, the operation is subsequently performed, indicating that the number input is completed and that the input number indicates a channel.

When the above-mentioned television selector button switch 114A is operated and the remote controller 4A is used as the remote controller for the monitor device 10, it is arranged below the "7" button of the numeric button switch 118. The button that is displayed is "10", the button that is displayed "0" is that that represents "11", and the tuning button switch 118A is that that represents "12". On the monitor device 10, the program of the broadcast station (channel) set to the pressed button is displayed.

The menu button switch 119 is operated when displaying a menu screen (not shown) for various settings of the electronic program guide or IRD on the monitor device 10, and the info button switch 120 is used for the info screen (not shown).
Operated when is displayed.

The current program button switch 121 and the program preview button switch 122 are used to select a promotion channel, and are operated to display a preview of a program currently being broadcast or a program to be broadcast in the future. The program guide button switch 123 is operated when displaying an EPG (program guide) as shown in FIG.

Select button (enter key) switch 12
Reference numeral 8 indicates that a pressing operation (selection operation) can be performed in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the remote controller 4A. Up button switch (up key) 124,
The down button switch (get off) 125 left button switch (left key) 126 and right button switch (right key) 127 are cursors displayed on the screen (for example, cursors 100X1, 100X2, 1 shown in FIG. 4).
00Y, 100Z) and the like (up and down, left and right) (direction operation). Volume button switch 129 and channel up / down button switch 130
Is operated to increase or decrease the volume or channel number.

3. Form of Electronic Program Program Guide Display of Present Embodiment Next, a form of electronic program program guide display of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are respectively shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the screen of the monitor device 10 as a specific display form of the cylinder EPG shown in FIG. In FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C, the area in which the date and the day of the week are displayed and the area in which the time is displayed are further divided, and the area in which the date and the day of the week are displayed is referred to as area X1. , Area X2 where the time is displayed
And Further, in each of the areas X1, X2, Y, Z, a cursor (a cursor 100X1 in the area X1 and a cursor in the area Y that can be moved by the user operating the operation unit 4 (remote controller 4A) shown in FIG. 100
The cursors 100Z for Y and area Z) are displayed. In the display states shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C, the area Y is selected by the user's selection operation described later, and the area Y is displayed.
It is shown that only the cursor 100Y of the area 1002 can be moved and the cursors of other areas cannot be moved. In such a case, the cursor 100X of the area X2 can be moved.
2 (shown in FIG. 6 described later) is not displayed.

For example, in FIG. 5A, the cursor 100X1 is placed on "3rd day" (that is, Sunday of the third day) in the area X1 in which the date is displayed. In the area Z where the genre is displayed,
The cursor 100Z is placed on "News", and accordingly, in the area Y, the title of the program corresponding to the genre of "News" to be broadcast after 8:00 am on Sunday on the 3rd is the channel number and the broadcast. It is displayed with the time. The program title displayed in this area Y is
The maximum number of programs that can be displayed with respect to the size of the area Y is displayed. Although not shown in the area Y in this figure, a so-called station logo, which is a symbol of the broadcasting station, is also displayed corresponding to each program title. The program displayed in the area Y is a program after the program currently being broadcast. In this case, the cursor 100Y in the area Y is
It is located for "Economic News" broadcast on channel 22 from 8:30 pm to 9:00 pm.

As described above, in FIG. 5A, the area Y is selected and only the cursor 100Y can be moved. In this state, the area X2 in which the time is displayed is displayed.
In, the cursor is not displayed, and the time zone bar 10X2 and the program length bar 11X2 are displayed as shown in the figure.
The time zone bar 10X2 indicates a comprehensive broadcast time zone occupied by all program titles currently displayed in the area Y by a bar display whose length is variable in the vertical direction. That is, in the area Y of FIG. 5A, a total of eight program titles are displayed in the vertical direction as shown in the figure, but as a total time zone occupied by these eight program titles, From 8:00 am when the broadcast of "Yesterday's event" (shown in the top row of region Y) on channel 1 starts, the broadcast of "Today's event" (shown in the bottom row of region Y) of channel 16 starts. It is supposed to be four hours until 12:00 pm (0:00 pm), which ends. Then, in the area X2, the time frame is displayed for about 24 hours from 3:00 am to 12:00 am (0:00 am) on the 3rd, but in the entire time frame, the above 8:00 am to 12 pm Time zone bar 1 so as to occupy the range (width) of 4 hours up to 0:00
0X2 is displayed. Accordingly, the user can perceptually recognize the time zone occupied by all the programs currently displayed in the area Y by looking at the time zone bar 10X2.

Further, the program length bar 11X2 indicates that the current area Y
Of the program titles displayed in
It is assumed that the broadcast time zone of the program title in which Y is arranged is indicated by a bar display whose length is variable in the vertical direction. In the case of FIG. 5A, the cursor 100
Y is on channel 22 from 8:30 am to 9:00 am
It is arranged for "economic news" that is broadcast over a time period of up to 0 minutes. And program length bar 11X
2 is 8:30 am corresponding to the broadcast time of the "economic news" in the time frame displayed in the area X2.
It is displayed so as to occupy the width corresponding to the time length of 30 minutes for the position from minute to 9:00 am. By looking at the program length bar 11X2, the user can perceptually recognize the broadcast start / end time and the broadcast time length of the program title currently highlighted by placing the cursor 100Y, Further, in comparison with the time zone bar 10X2, of all the program titles currently displayed in the area Y, the broadcast time zone of the program title in which the cursor 100Y is placed is located and how much. It will be possible to intuitively recognize whether or not it occupies a certain proportion of the broadcast time.

FIG. 5B shows a state in which the cursor 100Y is moved from the state of FIG. 5A to the position of the program title of "event of today" on channel 16. The vertical cursor movement in such an area is performed by, for example, the up button switch 124 and the down button switch 12 of the remote controller shown in FIG.
By operating 5, the cursor 100Y is sequentially moved to the upper or lower row. For example, the up button switch 124 or the down button switch 12
Each time 5 is pressed, the position of the cursor is moved up or down line by line. Further, for example, by operating the up button switch 124 and the down button switch 125 in a state in which the cursor 100Y is arranged on the uppermost row or the lowermost row, it is possible to scroll the display content with an image of rotating the cylinder EPG. Has become.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the cursor 100Y
If you move, the program title "Today's Event",
As it will be broadcast from 11:00 pm to 12:00 pm, the program length bar 11X2 will be
11:00 pm corresponding to the broadcast time of "Today's Event"
It is displayed so as to occupy the width corresponding to the time length of one hour with respect to the position indicating minutes to 12:00 pm. For example, when comparing the widths of the program length bar 11X2 in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the program length bar 11X2 in FIG. 5B is approximately twice as wide as in FIG. 5A. Displayed by width.

FIG. 5C shows a display example when the genre is changed from "news" to "movie" by moving the cursor 100Z in the area Z as described later. In addition, the cursor 100X1 in the area X1
It has also been moved, and the specified date has also been changed to Thursday on the 7th. In this figure, in the area Y, eight program titles in total are displayed in the vertical direction from the topmost channel 12 "101 Happiness" to the bottommost channel 16 "Ben Ha". The broadcast time zone indicated by is approximately 7 hours from 5:00 pm when "101 doggie" starts broadcasting to 11:58 pm when "Ben Ha" ends broadcasting,
In the frame of the area X2, the time zone bar 10X2 is displayed with a width of 7 hours at the position corresponding to this time zone. Further, since the program title in which the cursor 100Y is placed in the area Y is "Die Hard 3", the program length bar 11X2 indicates that the broadcast time of "Die Hard 3" is from 6:00 pm to 8:45 pm It has a width corresponding to 2 hours and 45 minutes at the position of, and is displayed on the area X2. Thus, the time zone bar 10X2 and the program length bar 11X2 displayed on the area X2 are the contents of the program title displayed on the area Y and the cursor 10.
The display is changed appropriately according to the position where 0Y is arranged.

In FIG. 5 described above, the change in the display form mainly due to the movement of the cursor in the region Y has been described. Next, referring to FIG. 6, the change in the display form due to the movement of the cursor in the regions other than the region Y will be described. Will be described. FIG. 6C, which is shown substantially in the center of FIG. 6, shows a state similar to that of FIG. 5A as a display state of the EPG according to the present embodiment. That is, the area Y is selected, only the cursor 100Y is movable, and the cursors in the other areas X1, X2, Y, and Z are immovable. If, for example, the user operates the left button switch 126 once from this state, the display screen of the EPG changes to the state shown in FIG. 6B-1. This is a state in which the area X2 that displays the time adjacent to the left of the area Y is selected. In this state, in the area X2, the time zone bar 10X2 continues to be displayed corresponding to the program title currently displayed in the area Y, but the program length bar 1
The 1X2 display will disappear. Then, instead, the cursor 100X2 for designating the time is displayed, and the cursor 100X2 becomes movable, so that the cursors in other areas are in a non-movable state. In this cursor 100X2, for example, as shown in the figure, the number of the time point actually indicated by the cursor 100X2 is displayed with a greater emphasis than the other numbers displayed in the time frame of the area X2 ( In this case, "8" indicating 8 o'clock is highlighted.)

Then, from the state of FIG. 6 (b-1), the up button switch 124 or the down button switch 125.
By operating, it is possible to move the cursor 100X2 in an arbitrary direction up and down and specify a new time. For example, FIG. 6B-2 shows FIG.
The state in which the designated time is changed from “8:00” to “9:00” by pressing the down button switch 125 once from the state of 1) is shown.

If the left button switch 126 is pressed once from the state shown in FIG. 6 (b-1), next, as shown in FIG. 6 (a-1), the area X for displaying the date is displayed.
1 is selected, the cursor 100X1 can be moved, and the display state is such that the movement of the cursor in other areas is disabled. The state of the area X2 at this time is shown in FIG.
It is the same as 1). Then, by operating the up button switch 124 or the down button switch 125 after the state of FIG.
By moving 00X1 up and down, it is possible to specify a new date, and by pressing the down button switch 125 once in FIG. 6 (a-2), Monday of the 4th is newly specified. The state is shown.

Further, each time the light button switch 127 is operated from the state of FIG. 6 (a-1), as shown in FIG. 6 (b-1) → FIG. 6 (c), corresponding to the actual display position. The areas that are sequentially selected are changed. Then, from the state of FIG.
When the user presses 27, the state shifts to a state in which the area Z for displaying the genre in FIG. 6D-1 is selected, and the cursor 100Z can be moved (cursors in other areas cannot be moved). Also in this case, the cursor 100Z can be moved by operating the up button switch 124 or the down button switch 125 to arbitrarily select another genre. In this case, FIG.
From the state where "news" shown in 1) is specified,
As shown in (d-2), the state in which the genre of "movie" is designated is shown. Then, for example, as shown in FIG.
By operating the left button switch 126 from the state shown in FIG. 6, it becomes possible to sequentially select each area as shown in FIG. 6 (c) → FIG. 6 (b-1) → FIG. 6 (c-1). .

Next, a display mode when the user selects and determines a desired program from the programs presented by the cylinder EPG of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As an operation for determining the selection of the program, the select button switch 128 shown in FIG. 4 is pressed while the cursor is placed on the program title selected by the user in the area Y. .

[0045] For example, the present day is 3rd and the Sunday is 8: 3am.
It is assumed that the time is about 0 minutes and the cylinder EPG shown in FIG. 7A is displayed at this time (the cursor 100Y is not shown for convenience of description). And
As the operation of the remote controller 4A described above by the user, the cursor 10 is displayed on the "travel information" (broadcast from 8:05 am to 11:00 am) of the 13th channel in the area Y.
0Y is arranged, and there, select button switch 128
It is assumed that is pressed, that is, the operation of selecting and determining the program “travel information” is performed. Then, since the selected program "Travel Information" is currently being broadcast, the E
The screen of the PG is switched from the broadcast screen of "travel information" shown in Fig. 7 (a) to Fig. 7 (b), and the user can watch the selected program.

On the other hand, for example, it is assumed that the user performs an operation of selecting and determining the "summer suspense" of channel 21 (broadcast from 9:00 am to 10:00 am) by the same operation as described above. To do. The program "summer suspense" selected at this time is a program that is not currently broadcast and will be broadcast in the future. In such a case, in the present embodiment, regarding the screen of the monitor device 10,
It is configured to switch to the screen of the program information of "summer suspense" as shown in FIG. 7 (c).

On the program information display screen shown in FIG. 7C, the broadcast date and time of the program selected by the user (in this case, "summer suspense"), the program content, etc. are displayed. , Various command icons that the user can select are displayed. Note that such program content information is also transmitted together with the broadcast signal as EPG data. In FIG. 7 (c), a "return" icon for displaying the program table (FIG. 7 (a)) again and a bookmark (bookmark) are attached to the program of the program information currently displayed as command icons. A "bookmark" icon (for checking a program), a "timer" icon for receiving and displaying this program at the broadcast start time, and a "purchase" icon used for TV shopping (in the case of this embodiment) Is not used for) is displayed.

The user operates the up button switch 124 and the down button switch 1 of the remote controller 4A.
By operating 25, the cursor can be placed on a desired command icon, and by pressing the select button switch 128, the command icon on which the cursor is placed can be selected and determined.
If the "return" icon is selected and decided, the display is switched from the program information screen of FIG. 7C to the program guide screen of FIG. 7A, and if the "bookmark" icon is selected, A bookmark is attached to the program introduced in this program information, and this program is data block 2
2 (see FIG. 2) is registered in the bookmark list. Also, if the "Timer" icon is selected and decided,
Timer reservation processing of the program introduced in this program information (processing of registering this program in the timer reservation list of the data block 22 to be displayed at the broadcast start time) is performed. Then, when the program is registered in the timer reservation list, the CPU 20 performs a timing operation, controls the tuner 2 when the broadcast start time comes, and receives and displays the program.

As described above, in the present embodiment, one screen of the monitor device 10 is divided into a plurality of vertical regions, and the date, time, program title, genre, etc. are assigned to each region, and Since the program information is obtained by operating the cursor, desired program information can be obtained on the same screen without being aware of the hierarchy. In addition, the area where the title of the program is displayed (area Y)
In the above, a large number of programs are displayed in chronological order in a column starting with the program currently being broadcast, and by moving the cursor in that area, the dates of other areas can be displayed. , The time changes. Therefore, the program can be easily selected without specifying the date and time. Furthermore, if the date, time, or genre is changed, the title display of the program is also changed corresponding to the change.

Further, when the program titles are displayed side by side in the vertical direction in this way, the usability is improved in the above-mentioned points, but as it is, the programs title-displayed in the area Y and those programs are displayed. As described above, it is difficult to correspond to the broadcast time zone, but in the present embodiment, in the time display area X2, the time zone bar 10X2 and the program length bar 11X2 as described with reference to FIG.
Is displayed, the total time zone corresponding to all programs title-displayed in the area Y and the cursor 1
It is possible to visually grasp the broadcast time of one program in which 00Y is arranged, and the usability is improved accordingly.

4. Processing Operation for Realizing Electronic Program Program Guide Display of this Embodiment Next, referring to FIG. 8, FIG. 9 and FIG.
~ Cylinder EP of the present embodiment described with reference to Fig. 7
The processing operation for realizing the display of G will be described. First, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the processing operation for executing the display change based on the operation of the remote controller 4A (operation unit 4) explain. This process is shown in Figure 2.
It is executed by the CPU 20 described in.

The CPU 20 first executes the operation input control program 21A to perform processing corresponding to various operation commands input from the remote controller 4A. That is, the CPU 20 waits for the operation of the program guide button switch 123 of the remote controller 4A in step S1 shown in FIG.

During this period, if, for example, a command for selecting a predetermined channel is input, the CPU 2 performs processing of another routine not shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.
0 indicates a tuning control program 2 corresponding to an operation command input via the input / output interface 23.
Perform 1B. Based on this processing, the tuner 2 tunes the input reception signal and supplies the reception output of the designated channel to the program information extraction circuit 5. The broadcast wave supplied to the tuner 2 is superposed with program information data for one week once every several seconds. This program information data is updated to the latest data, for example, once every three hours. Program information extraction circuit 5
This program information data is also included in the output of the tuner 2 supplied to the.

The CPU 20 uses the control program block 2
Program information extraction control program 21B stored in No. 1
Is executed to control the processing of the program information extraction circuit 5. In response to this control, the program information extraction circuit 5 extracts the program information data included in the output of the tuner 2 and supplies it to the internal control microcomputer 3. The CPU 20 stores this data in the cylinder EPG database 22A. In addition, the screen display signal creation circuit 6 includes a CPU 2
Corresponding to the control of 0 (screen surface display signal creation program 21E), the screen surface display data 22B of the program guide supplied from the internal control microcomputer 3 is converted into a screen surface display signal and supplied to the video mix circuit 9. .

At this time, the video signal output from the program information extraction circuit 5 and reproduced by the video signal reproduction circuit 7 (the video signal of the program selected by the tuner 2) is input to the video mix circuit 9. There is. Video mix circuit 9
Outputs this video signal to the monitor device 10. Also,
The audio signal reproduced by the audio signal reproducing circuit 8 is the speaker 1
It is output to 1. In this way, the image and sound of the designated channel are output by the monitor device 10 and the speaker 11.

For example, when it is determined in step S1 that the program guide button switch 123 of the remote controller 4A is pressed while executing the display control as described above, the process proceeds to step S2. Step S2
In, the CPU 20 executes the screen display data creation program 21D and creates the program display screen display data 22B based on the cylinder EPG database 22A stored in the data block 22. The tube surface display data 22B is accumulated in the data block 22 and is output to the tube surface display signal creating circuit 6 via the input / output interface 23. Also, CPU
20 executes the screen display signal creation control program 21E to control the processing of the screen display signal creation circuit 6. As a result, the cylinder EPG as shown in FIG.
(Program guide) is displayed on the screen of the monitor device 10.

In the next step S3, the program guide button switch 123, the up button switch 124, the down button switch 125 of the remote controller 4A,
Left button switch 126, right button switch 1
The operation of pressing any one of the switch 27 and the select button switch 128 is on standby (determines whether or not there is a key input), and it is determined here that any one of the switches is operated. If so, step S4
Proceed to.

In step S4, it is determined whether the pressed switch is the up button switch 124 or the down button switch 125. If it is determined that the pressed switch is either the up button switch 124 or the down button switch 125, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, the CPU 20 determines which of the areas X1, X2, Y and Z the area in which the movable cursor exists (hereinafter also simply referred to as "selection area"). Here, the currently selected area is area X
If it is 1 (the area in which the date and the day of the week are displayed), the process proceeds to step S7a, and the cursor 10 in the area X1 is displayed.
0X1 is moved up and down in response to the operation of the up button switch 124 or the down button switch 125. Thereby, the date and the day of the week are selected as described with reference to FIGS. 6A-1 and 6A-2. When it is determined in step S6 that the currently selected area is the area X2 (area for displaying the time), the process proceeds to step S7b, and the up button switch 124 or the down button switch 125 for the cursor 100X2 in this area X2. Move up and down according to the operation of. Thereby, the time is selected as described in FIGS. 6B-1 and 6B-2. When it is determined in step S6 that the area Y (area in which the program title and the like are displayed) is the selected area, step S7
6C, the cursor 100Y in the area Y moves in the vertical direction in response to the operation of the up button switch 124 or the town button switch 125, for example, as shown in FIG.
A program is selected as described in 1) and (c-2). If it is determined in step S6 that the area Z (the area in which the genre name is displayed) is the selected area, the process proceeds to step S7d, and the cursor 100Z of the area Z moves the up button switch 124 or the down button switch 125. The genre is selected as shown in (d-1) and (d-2) of FIG. Then, these steps S7a
When the selection of the item displayed in each area is completed by the processing of 7d, the process returns to step S3 and waits for a new key input.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, when the cursor in a predetermined area is moved in the vertical direction, the display in the other area is changed accordingly. In each of steps S7a to 7d, such processing for changing the display of other areas is executed together with the movement control of the cursor. In particular, the time zone bar 10X2 and the program length bar 1 in the area X2 (area in which the time is displayed), which is a feature of the present embodiment.
The processing operation for the display change associated with the movement of the cursor regarding 1 × 2 will be described later with reference to FIG.

When it is determined in step S4 that the key operated by the user is neither the up button switch 124 nor the down button switch 125, the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, it is determined whether the key operated by the user is the light button switch 127. If the key is the light button switch 127, the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, it is determined which of the areas X1, X2, Y and Z the currently selected area is, and it is determined that the area X1 (the area in which the date and the day of the week are displayed) is the selected area. Then, the process proceeds to step S10a.
In step S10a, the area X2 (the area where the time is displayed) arranged to the right of the area X1.
Is changed to the selected area. That is,
In the case of FIG. 6, display control as shown in (a-1) → (b-1) of FIG. 6 is performed. It should be noted that the cursor that can be moved at present is displayed thickest in accordance with such a display change. When it is determined in step S9 that the currently selected area is the area X2, step S1
In step 0b, the selected area is shifted from the area X2 to the area Y (display area for program titles and the like: arranged to the right of the area X2). Then, the cursor 100Y in the area Y becomes movable. In the case of FIG. 6, the display state shifts from FIG. 6 (b-1) to FIG. 6 (c). Step S
If it is determined in 9 that the currently selected area is the area Y, the process proceeds to step S10c, and the area where the movable cursor exists is from the area Y to the area Z (genre display area: right of the area Y). Next, the cursor 100Z becomes movable. In FIG. 6, the state of transition to the display of FIG. 6C → FIG. 6D-1 corresponds to this.

When it is determined in step S9 that the area Z is the currently selected area, the process proceeds to step S10d in the present embodiment, and the key input is invalidated. This is because there are no more areas arranged to the right of the area Z. For example, in step S10d above.
As the processing of 1, the area X1 of the leftmost area may be shifted from the area Z to be the selected area. Then, when the processing in steps S10a to S10d is completed, the process returns to step S3 and waits for a new key input.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S8 that the key operated by the user is not the right button switch 127, the process proceeds to step S11, and it is determined whether the key operated by the user is the left button switch 126. It When it is determined that the left button switch 126 is selected, the process proceeds to step S12, and it is determined whether the currently selected area is the area X1, X2, Y, or Z.

When it is determined in step S12 that the area X1 is the selected area, the process proceeds to step S13a. In this case, since there is no more area to the left of the area X1, the key input is invalidated. Even in this case, it is conceivable that the processing in step S13a is configured such that the area Z, which is the rightmost area from the area X1, becomes the selected area. In step S12,
When it is determined that the area X2 is the selected area, the process proceeds to step S13b, the selected area is moved from the area X2 to the area X1 (the area to the left of the area X2), and the cursor 100X1
Can be moved. In FIG. 6, FIG. 6 (b-1) →
The display change shown in FIG. 6A-1 corresponds to this. Next, when it is determined in step S12 that the area Y is the currently selected area, the process proceeds to step S13c, and the selected area is transferred from the area Y to the area X2 (the area arranged to the left of the area Y). , The cursor 100X2 is made movable (in FIG. 6, the display shown in FIG. 6C → FIG. 6B-1 corresponds). When it is determined in step S12 that the selected area is the area Z, step S1
3d, the selected area is moved from the area Z to the area Y (the area arranged to the left of the area Z), and the cursor 100
Y becomes movable. Then, step S13a-
When the process in S13d is completed, the process returns to step S3 and waits for a new key input.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S11 that the key operated by the user is not the left button switch 126, the process proceeds to step S14 shown in FIG. 9 to determine whether the key operated by the user is the select button switch 128. Is determined. When it is determined in step S14 that the key operated by the user is the select button switch 128, it is recognized that the program of the title in which the cursor 100Y in the area Y is arranged is selected, and the process proceeds to step S15.

In step S15, step S1
It is determined whether or not the program selected in step 4 is currently being broadcast. If it is determined that the program is currently being broadcast, the process proceeds to step S16, and the EPG display is switched to the selected and selected program display. That is, the CPU 20 controls the tuner 2 to receive the channel of the program selected and determined, and displays the image on the monitor device 10. At this time, in step S24, the program guide displayed until then is deleted. As a result, for example, FIG.
The display is switched as shown in FIG. 7 (b).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the selected program is not currently broadcast and is scheduled to be broadcast in the future, the process proceeds to step S17 to display the program information of the program selected and decided. At this time, the CPU 20 determines that the cylinder E
The control for reading out and displaying the program information (for example, the synopsis of the program, the data of performers, etc.) of the selected and stored program stored in the PG database 22A is executed. This corresponds to the display change as shown in FIG. 7 (a) → FIG. 7 (c).

In step S17, as shown in FIG.
When you display the program information screen as explained in
The process proceeds to step S18, and it is determined whether the “return” icon is selected. When the "return" icon is selected, the process returns to step S2, and the EPG screen is displayed again on the tube surface of the monitor device 10. On the other hand, when the "return" icon is not selected, the process proceeds to step S19, and it is determined whether or not the "bookmark" icon is selected.

If it is determined in step S19 that the "bookmark" icon is selected,
Proceeding to step S20, a bookmark (bookmark) is attached to the program currently introduced on the program information screen, this program is registered in the bookmark list of the data block 22, and the process returns to step S18. In addition, the cursor 100 is moved to the bookmark icon in the area Z on the EPG screen.
By arranging Z, it is possible to display in the area Y the list of programs (marked with bookmarks) checked in the process of step S20.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S19 that the "bookmark" icon has not been selected, the flow advances to step S21 to determine whether the "timer" icon has been selected. When it is determined in step S21 that the "timer" icon has been selected, the process proceeds to step S22, and timer reservation processing for the program introduced in this program information (this program in the data block 22, The process of registering in the timer reservation list displayed at the broadcast start time) is performed, and the process returns to step S18. On the other hand, in step S21,
Even when it is determined that the "timer" icon is not selected, the process returns to step S18. When the program is registered in the timer reservation list as described above, the CPU 20
For example, when the broadcast start time arrives, the tuner 2 is controlled to receive and display the program by performing a time counting operation.

Next, as a processing operation performed in parallel with the processing operation described in FIG. 8, the time zone bar 10X2 and the program length bar 1 displayed in the area X2 showing the time.
The processing operation for 1 × 2 display will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. In the process shown in FIG. 10, the program guide button switch 123 of the remote controller 4A is operated, and the default state of the program guide screen displayed first is, for example, a region Y where a program title or the like is displayed. Is the selected area.

In this routine, step S10
0, the input operation of the key (program guide button switch 123) for displaying the EPG program guide is awaited, and if it is determined that the key operation has been performed here, step S10
In step 1, the process for displaying the program guide is executed. The processes of steps S100 and S101 are the same as the processes of steps S1 and S2 of FIG. In this case, following the process of step S101, the time zone bar 10X2 of the time zone X2 is displayed in the area X2 indicating the time so as to correspond to the time zone occupied by all the programs displayed in the area Y in step S102. The display control is executed so that the display is performed, and subsequently, in step S103, the cursor 100Y in the area Y is arranged so as to correspond to the broadcast time zone of the currently selected program, and the area X is displayed.
2, the display control is executed so that the program length bar 11X2 is displayed. As a result, the time zone bar 10X2 is displayed on the area X2 as described with reference to FIG.
And the program length bar 11X2 is displayed. As the processing at the time of displaying the time zone bar 10X2 and the program length bar 11X2, the CPU 20 based on the screen display data creation program 21D of the control program block 21 causes the CPU 20 to display the time zone bar 10X2 and Data for the program length bar 11X2 is appropriately created, and the data block 22
The data is stored in the area of the tube surface display data 22B. Then, based on the data read from the tube surface display data 22B, the tube surface display signal creating circuit 6 is controlled to create a display signal for the EPG screen.

In the next step S104, it is determined whether or not the program currently selected in the area Y (the program in which the cursor 100Y is placed) has been changed by the cursor moving operation of the user, and the selected program If is not changed, the process proceeds to step S106 as it is, but if it is determined that the selected program has been changed, the process proceeds to step S105. In step S105, the program length bar 11X2 is displayed in the area X2 so as to correspond to the time zone of the selected program with the cursor 100Y newly arranged. a) → As shown in FIG. 5B, the display of the program length bar 11X2 is changed according to the change of the selected program. When the process of step S105 ends, the process proceeds to step S106.

In step S106, it is determined whether or not the cursor E is operated to scroll the program title display in the area Y and the display of the cylinder EPG needs to be updated. If it is determined that the display of the cylinder EPG needs to be updated, the process proceeds to step S108 to update the program title display of the area Y according to the scroll amount. Subsequently, in step S109, control is performed so that the time zone bar 10X2 corresponding to the display of the region Y changed by the process of step S108 is displayed, and then the process proceeds to step S110.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S106 that the display does not need to be updated, the process proceeds to step S107, and it is determined whether or not the date, time, and genre have been changed. That is, it is determined whether or not the cursor 100X1 in the area X1, the cursor 100X2 in the area X2, or the cursor 100Z in the area Z has been moved by the user's operation of the remote controller 4A. Then, when the date, time, and genre are changed, the above steps S108 → S are performed.
By executing the process of 109, control for appropriately changing the display content of the cylinder EPG and the display of the time zone bar 10X2 is executed according to the changed date or time or genre, and then the process proceeds to step S110. .
Thereby, for example, from the display of the cylinder EPG corresponding to the "news" genre selected on Sunday the 3rd as shown in FIG. 5A or 5B,
"Movie" on Thursday the 7th as shown in FIG. 5 (c)
Cylinder E corresponding to the selected genre of
Move to PG display. If it is determined in step S107 that the date, time, and genre designation have not changed, the process directly proceeds to step S110.

In step S110, it is determined whether or not the program guide display key (program guide button switch 123) has been operated. If no key operation is performed here, the process returns to step S104. . On the other hand, if the key operation is performed, step S1
The program proceeds to step 11 to stop the display of the cylinder EPG so far, returns to step S100, and waits again for the input of the program guide display key. By such processing operation, the display of the time zone bar 10X2 and the program length bar 11X2 of the present embodiment is realized.

5. Electronic program guide display as another embodiment Time zone bar 10 in the cylinder EPG as the present invention
The display forms of the X2 and the program length bar 11X2 are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, and other display forms are naturally possible. Next, as another embodiment of the present invention, various display modes of such another cylinder EPG will be described with reference to FIG.
1 and FIG. In FIGS. 11 and 12, the same parts as those shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 11A, the time zone bar 10X is shown.
The display form 2 is different from that of the previous embodiment.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the time zone bar 10X2 is indicated by the slanted line, and for example, the display color and the brightness of the region X2 are changed to represent the highlighted display. As shown in FIG. 11A, the start time and the end time of the time zone corresponding to all the programs displayed in the area Y are displayed as horizontal lines in the area X2. It is also possible to use the time zone bar 10X2. Next, FIG.
In the embodiment shown in (b), the display of the time frame at the position of the area X2 is omitted, and only the time zone bar 10X2 and the program length bar 11X2 are displayed. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11C, the time zone bar 10X2 and the program length bar 11X2 are displayed along the area X2 outside the frame of the area X2.

As an embodiment shown in FIG. 12 (a),
First, the time zone bar 10 displayed in the frame of the area X2
The line at the start position of X2 is extended to the upper display frame of the region Y, and the line of the end position is extended to the lower display frame of the region Y, whereby the time zone indicated by the time zone bar 10X2 is currently It is made clear that it corresponds to all programs being displayed in the area Y. Also in the program length bar 11X2, the line at the start position displayed in the region X2 is extended to the upper display frame of the cursor 100Y, and the line at the end position is extended to the lower display frame of the region Y. The program length bar 1
The time zone indicated by 1X2 is the cursor 1 in the current area Y.
It is specified that 00Y is for the arranged program.

As an embodiment shown in FIG. 12B,
Only the time zone bar 10X2 is displayed, and the program length bar 11X
No. 2 is not displayed, and conversely, FIG.
In (c), only the program length bar 11X2 is displayed,
The case where the time zone bar 10X2 is not displayed is shown.

Various other forms of electronic program guide display based on the present invention are possible, including the display forms of the time zone bar 10X2 and the program length bar 11X2.

[0083]

As described above, according to the present invention, for example, the electronic program guide is displayed in the cylinder EPG image in the vertical direction for each date, time, program title, etc. and program genre. Related to the program title, the time zone bar display corresponding to the entire program displayed in the display area of the program title etc. and the time zone bar display of the program selected in the display area of the program title etc. are performed. Since the relationship between the time information and the time information is displayed so as to be easily visually recognized, it has the effect of further improving the usability of the electronic program guide for the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an example of an electronic program guide display control device as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of an internal control microcomputer 3.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of an electronic program guide (cylinder EPG) in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a configuration example of a remote controller according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of an electronic program guide actually displayed on a screen of a monitor device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of an electronic program guide that changes according to an operation of a remote controller.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of an electronic program guide that changes according to an operation of a remote controller.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing operation for electronic program guide display control of the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing operation for electronic program guide display control of the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing operation for displaying a time zone bar and a program length bar as the electronic program guide display control of the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of an electronic program guide according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of an electronic program guide according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of an electronic program guide as a conventional example.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a program guide in the electronic program guide shown in FIG. 13 (b).

[Explanation of symbols]

1 electronic program guide display control device, 2 tuner, 3
Internal control microcomputer, 4 operation unit, 4A remote controller, 5 program information extraction circuit, 6 screen display signal generation circuit, 7 video signal reproduction circuit, 8 audio signal reproduction circuit, 9
Video mix circuit, 10 monitor device, 11 speaker, 20 CPU, 21 control program block, 2
1A operation input control program, 21B tuning control program, 21C program information extraction control program, 21D pipe surface display data creation program, 21E
Pipe surface display signal creation control program, 22 data blocks, 22A cylinder EPG database, 22B
Pipe surface display data, 23 input / output interface, 100
X1,100X2,100Y, 100Z Cursor, 1
0X2 time zone bar, 11X2 program length bar

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electronic program guide display control device for controlling display of an electronic program guide for selecting a program on a display device, wherein a program guide including titles of a plurality of programs is displayed on the display device, and the program guide is displayed. An electronic program guide display control device, comprising: a display control unit capable of performing a display for presenting required information related to a broadcast time zone of a program whose title is displayed. 2. The display control means is configured to perform bar display with a variable length corresponding to the width of the time zone occupied by all programs whose titles are displayed in the program guide. The electronic program guide display control device according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 3. The display control means performs bar display with a variable length corresponding to the width of the broadcast time slot occupied by a specific one of the programs whose titles are displayed in the program guide. The electronic program guide display control device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic program guide display control device is configured as described above. 4. An electronic program guide display control method for controlling display of an electronic program guide for selecting a program on a display device, wherein a program guide including a plurality of program titles is displayed on the display device and the program guide is displayed on the display device. An electronic program guide display control method characterized in that a display for presenting required information related to a broadcast time zone of a program for which a title is displayed is performed. 5. A bar display having a variable length corresponding to the width of the time slot occupied by all programs whose titles are displayed in the program guide is displayed as required information related to the broadcast time slot. The electronic program guide display control method according to claim 4, wherein: 6. The required information related to the broadcast time zone is a length corresponding to the width of the broadcast time zone occupied by one particular program among the programs whose titles are displayed in the program guide. 5. The electronic program guide display control method according to claim 4, wherein variable bar display is performed.