KR20120001928A - Method of displaying channel information and display device using same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A channel information display method and a display device using the same are provided to display information about a plurality of broadcast channels by combining EPG information with thumbnail images by a channel. CONSTITUTION: A network interface unit receives data including EPG(Electronic Program Guide) information and thumbnail images by a channel(300). A control unit matches the received EPG information and the thumbnail images by a channel with broadcast channels(310). A display unit displays channel information about each broadcast channel using the matched EPG information and thumbnail images by a channel.

Description

Method for displaying channel information and display device using same

The present invention relates to a method for displaying information on a plurality of broadcast channels in a display device or the like.

With the development and commercialization of digital TV and wired / wireless network technology, which has better signal processing and storage capability than conventional analog TV, real-time broadcasting, contents on demand (COD) using the internet network connected to each household in addition to the existing radio media. Various types of content services such as games, news, and video communication can be provided to users.

An example of providing a content service using the Internet network may be an Internet Protocol TV (IPTV). The IPTV refers to transmitting various information services, moving picture contents, and broadcasting to a user's television through a high-speed Internet network.

Recently, the concept of broadband TV, web TV, etc. has been proposed as a type of network TV which has been further developed in the IPTV. Unlike conventional IPTV, a broadband TV or a web TV has a plurality of content providers, and a user may individually access a plurality of content providers to receive various VODs, games, and the like provided by the content providers.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for efficiently displaying information on a plurality of broadcast channels.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method for displaying channel information includes receiving electronic program guide (EPG) information and thumbnail images for each channel from a network operator server; Mapping the received EPG information and channel-specific thumbnail images to a plurality of broadcast channels, respectively; And displaying information on the plurality of broadcast channels using EPG information and thumbnail images corresponding to the broadcast channels.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display apparatus including a tuner configured to tune to and receive a broadcast signal of one of a plurality of broadcast channels; A network interface unit for receiving EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel; A controller which combines the received EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel to correspond to each of the plurality of broadcast channels; And a display unit configured to display information on the plurality of broadcast channels using the EPG information and the thumbnail images corresponding to the broadcast channels.

On the other hand, the channel information display method may be implemented as a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for execution in a computer.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, by displaying the information on a plurality of broadcast channels by combining the EPG information received from the server and the thumbnail images for each channel, it is easy to add the channel information without adding hardware, such as a separate tuner (tuner) Can be displayed.

1 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration of a display system.
2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a method of displaying information on a plurality of broadcast channels.
4 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a method of displaying information on a plurality of broadcast channels.
5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a display system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of displaying channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 illustrates a third embodiment of a method of displaying information on a plurality of broadcast channels.
8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display system according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a channel information display method and a display apparatus using the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 illustrates a configuration of a display system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates a configuration of a network TV system for receiving content from a content provider using a network.

Referring to FIG. 1, a display system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a network operator 10, at least one contents provider (CP) 20, and at least one network TV 30. They can be connected to each other by a network, for example the Internet.

The network operator 10 may provide the network TV 30 with the software necessary for the contents provided by the content provider 20 to operate normally on the network TV 30 or the software necessary for the network TV 30 to operate. have. In addition, the content provider 20 may also provide hardware information of the network TV 30 necessary for the content to be normally executed in the network TV 30.

For example, the network operator 10 provides a basic screen frame for providing contents provided by the content providers to the network TV 30, and the user selects the content, inputs various commands, or displays the output accordingly. It can provide a user interface for doing so. In addition, the network operator 10 may also serve to provide data for updating the firmware or software of the network TV 30, and the network operator 10 may be the same subject as the manufacturer of the network TV 30. have.

The content provider 20 may generate various contents that can be provided on the network, configure the content in a format that can be played on the network TV 30, and provide contents according to a request of the network TV 30. The content according to the invention can be any multimedia content that can be serviced via a network.

For example, content provided by the content provider 20 may be provided to the network TV 30 by the content provider 20 directly through the Internet, or to the network TV 30 via the network operator 10. It may be.

The network TV 30 may be equipped with dedicated firmware for reproducing, searching, displaying a list, and the like of each content provider 20. The firmware may be installed in the network TV 30 during the manufacturing process of the network TV 30, or may be downloaded and installed by the user from the content provider 20 or the network operator 10 during use.

The firmware of the network TV 30 may be referred to as a program for playing or executing content provided by the content provider 20. The firmware may vary depending on the type of content provided by the content provider 20. For example, when the content provider 20 is a VOD provider, the firmware may be a VOD playback program. When the content provider 20 is an AOD or MOD service provider, the content provider 20 may be an AOD or MOD playback program. If the content provider 20 is a video telephone operator, it may be a video telephone program.

The network TV 30 may receive content from the content provider 20 and play or execute the content. The network TV 30 may include any display device equipped with a network module, such as a TV, a broadcast receiving device such as a set-top box, a network phone, or the like. Although the present specification describes a broadcast receiving apparatus having a broadcast receiving function as an example, embodiments of the present invention may be applied to any display apparatus capable of network connection, and all of them may be included in the scope of the present invention.

More specifically, the content provider 20 may be a provider of making or distributing various contents to be provided to the network TV 30. The content provider 20 may include a TV station, a radio station, a VOD operator, an AOD operator, a game operator, a video phone service provider, a weather information provider, a photo related service provider, and the like.

The TV station refers to a conventional terrestrial or cable broadcasting station. The broadcasting station may create and store a program that users can watch and convert it digitally.

The radio station provides audio content and may provide only audio content with or without video content.

VOD operators and AOD operators have different characteristics from TV stations and radio stations. In other words, in the case of VOD or AOD, it saves the broadcasting program, movie, and music that I want and then plays it for viewing. For example, if there is a broadcast program that is not properly viewed because there is no time for viewing the current broadcast program, the site that provides the broadcast service can be accessed by downloading the file or immediately playing the file.

The AOD provider may provide a streaming service of audio content.

Music On Demand (MOD) service providers can download and listen to the music I want.

The video telephony provider may provide a relay service for making a video call with a user of another network TV through the network. Weather providers can provide weather information for different regions, and photo service providers can provide tools for editing and storing photos.

The portal server is a web service provided by each broadcasting station. When the portal server receives a request from the user terminal, the portal server may connect to a web server of a company that serves a broadcasting station or content. The role of the portal server is to search for a list of programs provided by each broadcasting station or a content provider providing a content service.

The network TV 30 basically has a network interface capable of accessing the network, receives an IP address, receives and processes a data packet through the network, and stores or plays the data packet when the data packet is multimedia data such as video or audio. have.

The network TV 30 may operate to transmit the user's requirements in both directions while processing the multimedia data. In addition, the user input unit such as a remote controller or an operation button for controlling the network TV 30 is preferably provided with buttons for controlling the network TV, that is, buttons for selecting various menus.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the display system as shown in FIG. 1 may not include the network operator 10, in which case the network TV 30 uses the wired or wireless network as described above. The provider 20 may be directly connected to the server of the content provider 20, more specifically, to receive content.

On the other hand, the display device according to an embodiment of the present invention may be composed of a network TV 30 shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the above-described network TV 30 will be described in detail.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. For example, the configuration of the network TV 30 shown in FIG. 1 is illustrated.

The network TV 30 may have a function of receiving a broadcast signal in the form of an RF signal through a radio or a cable through the broadcast receiver 41 in addition to a function of receiving content through a network.

As shown in FIG. 2, the network TV 30 includes a broadcast receiver 41, a demultiplexer 42, a video signal processor 43, a display 44, a network interface 45, and an OSD generator. 46, a user interface 47, a storage interface 48, a storage 49, an external signal input 39, and a controller 50 may be included.

Among the above components, the broadcast receiver 41, the demultiplexer 42, and the image signal processor 43 receive a broadcast signal and process the broadcast signal in a form that can be output to the display 44 through various processes. Can be configured.

In the case of digital broadcasting, the digital broadcasting signal may be transmitted in the form of a packetized transport stream by time division multiplexing the video signal, the audio signal and the additional data.

The broadcast receiver 41 includes an antenna for receiving a broadcast signal transmitted from the outside, and a tuner for tuning a broadcast signal having a frequency band corresponding thereto according to a tuning control signal of the controller 50 to be described later, It may include a demodulator (demodulator) for outputting a broadcast signal of a specific channel in the form of a transport stream through a VSB (Vestigial Sideband) demodulation process and error correction process.

In addition, the broadcast signal received through the broadcast receiver 41 is divided into various types of additional data defined by the demultiplexer 42 as a video signal, an audio signal, and PSIP (Program and System Information Protocol) information, and the like. Can be output as

The video data separated by the demultiplexer 42 may be processed by the image signal processor 43 and displayed on the display 44.

The image signal processor 43 may include an MPEG-2 decoder and a scaler that converts the video data to match the vertical frequency, resolution, aspect ratio, and the like of the output standard of the display 44.

The display unit 44 may display an image using various types of display panels such as digital light processing (DLP), liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display panel (PDP), and the like.

The audio signal is processed by a voice signal processor (not shown) and output to the speaker. The voice signal processor may include an AC-3 decoder.

Meanwhile, the additional data included in the additional data separated through the demultiplexer 42 may be stored in the storage 49 through the storage interface 48 to be described later.

The storage unit 49 may be implemented by an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).

The user interface unit 47 is a means for receiving a request command from a user. In general, the user interface unit 47 may include an infrared receiver for receiving an infrared signal input through a remote controller or a local key input unit provided at one side of the panel.

The network interface unit 45 may receive content or data from the content provider 20 or the network operator 10 through a network. For example, the server may be connected to a server of the content provider 20 through a wired or wireless network such as the Internet, and may receive content such as broadcasts, games, VODs, broadcast signals, and related information provided from the content provider server. .

In addition, the network interface unit 45 may also receive the update information and the update file of the firmware provided by the network operator 10.

The OSD generator 46 may generate a menu screen for receiving a user's determination signal in the form of an OSD.

That is, the OSD generator 46 may display the information related to the content received through the network interface 45 through the display 44.

The external signal input unit 39 is an interface capable of receiving input from another playback device such as a DVD player, a game machine, and the like. The external signal input unit 39 connects another playback device to the external signal input unit 39 to display the multimedia stored in the playback device. It can be output as (44).

The controller 50 may perform overall operation control according to a command input from the user interface 47. The controller 50 may receive and execute an update file of software, that is, firmware, of the content provider 20 received from the network operator 10.

According to an embodiment, the broadcast reception device 40 according to the present invention may output a 3D image. The menu screen of the broadcast reception device 40 may be provided in 3D, and the content provided by the content provider 20 may also receive and output 3D content. Meanwhile, additional components may be needed to output the 3D image.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display device, for example, the network TV 30, receives channel information data such as EPG (Electronic Program Guide) information and channel-specific thumbnail images from the network operator server 10. In addition, the received EPG information and the thumbnail images for each channel may be combined to display information on each of the plurality of broadcast channels.

For example, the network operator server 10 receives the channel information data such as the EPG information and the thumbnail images for each channel from the content provider server 20 that provides the broadcast channel information, and uses a network such as the Internet for network TV. 30 can be sent.

3 illustrates a first embodiment of a method of displaying information on a plurality of broadcast channels.

Referring to FIG. 3, information corresponding to each of a plurality of broadcast channels that can be received by the display apparatus may be displayed on the screen 100.

The displayed broadcast channel information may include a name of a broadcasting station, a channel number of a corresponding channel, a name or content of content broadcasted at a current or specific time zone in the channel, in the form of a text or an image.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the information on the plurality of broadcast channels displayed on the screen 100 includes an image corresponding to an image of each broadcast channel, more specifically, a thumbnail image or a movie clip. It can be provided as a channel browser (channel browser).

For example, a channel browser including thumbnail images corresponding to each of a plurality of broadcast channels receivable by the display apparatus may be displayed on the screen 100.

As such, the channel browser includes thumbnail images corresponding to each of the plurality of channels, so that the user may intuitively recognize contents broadcast in the plurality of channels.

Meanwhile, the channel browser displayed on the display device may further include an editing menu. The edit menu includes a "lock" item that locks the selected thumbnail image so as not to be editable, an "edit" item that edits the selected thumbnail image, a "sort" item for sorting and displaying thumbnail images, and a displayed thumbnail image. Include the "Previous" item to display the previous thumbnail image, the "Next" item to display the next thumbnail image in addition to the thumbnail image being displayed, and the "Exit" item to move to another menu item in the "Video channel list". Can be.

Meanwhile, the thumbnail image displayed on the channel browser may be a still image or a video, and may be an image of a content currently received from a corresponding channel or an image of pre-stored content.

Meanwhile, the thumbnail images may be images processed and output by the channel browsing processor 170 as described above.

When any one of a plurality of displayed thumbnail images is selected while the channel browser is displayed, a broadcast signal image of a channel corresponding to the selected thumbnail image may be displayed on the screen 100.

In addition, the thumbnail images displayed in the channel browser may be arranged according to any one of a channel number, a preset favorite channel, a recently watched channel, and a preset delete channel.

Meanwhile, a cursor or a pointer may be displayed on the channel browser as shown in FIG. 3. For example, when there is a movement input of the cursor or the pointer by a user input means such as a spatial remote controller, up, down, left The cursor or the pointer may be moved according to the moving direction of the right or the like.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 3, the channel browser is shown to be displayed over the entire area of the screen 500. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the channel browser is partially displayed in a state in which a specific image is displayed on the screen 100. A channel browser including a plurality of thumbnail images may be displayed in the.

In addition, at least some of the thumbnail images may be updated periodically or randomly.

4 illustrates a second embodiment of a method of displaying information on a plurality of broadcast channels, in which a program information window displaying program information on each of a plurality of receivable broadcast channels is displayed on the screen 100. Can be displayed on.

Meanwhile, in order to display the information on the plurality of channels that the display apparatus can receive on the screen 10 as described above, the display apparatus may include two or more tuners.

For example, the first tuner included in the display device selects an RF broadcast signal corresponding to a channel selected by a user from among radio frequency (RF) broadcast signals received through an antenna, and converts the selected RF broadcast signal into an intermediate frequency signal or Converts to baseband video / audio signals.

The second tuner sequentially and periodically selects an RF broadcast signal corresponding to each of a plurality of broadcast channels that can be received, for example, all broadcast channels stored in the display device, among RF broadcast signals received through an antenna. Channel information of the plurality of broadcast channels may be extracted therefrom.

In this case, however, the display apparatus should have two or more tuners as described above, and have a separate processing unit for configuring a channel browser including a thumbnail image as shown in FIG. 3 using the channel information. You need to do it.

Accordingly, the display apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention does not have a separate tuner for configuring channel information or a separate hardware for configuring a channel browser, and can receive EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel received from an external server. By corresponding to the plurality of broadcast channels, channel information can be easily displayed.

5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated display system may include a display apparatus 200, a broadcast information server 210, and a network operator server 220. Can be.

Referring to FIG. 5, the display apparatus 200 may be a network TV 30 having the configuration and operation as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and the broadcast information server 210 may be configured as illustrated in FIG. 1. It may be provided by any one of the same content providers 20. In addition, the network operator server 220 may be provided by the network operator 10 shown in FIG.

For example, the broadcast information server 210 is a server provided by at least one of the content providers 20, and includes a packet filter (PF) server, an EPG service provider, an electronic content guide (ECG) service provider, and a portal server ( Portal Server) may be any server operator capable of providing various services to the network TV over the Internet.

The PF server is serviced by a company that manages all broadcasting information and location information provided by the content provider. The service may mainly include broadcasting time of the corresponding broadcasting station or location information necessary for broadcasting, and information that a user can access.

The EPG service may provide EPG information so that a user can search a broadcast program for each time zone and grasp each channel.

The ECG service can provide the user with the information of the contents provided by the content provider, the location and access authority of the access server, for example, the function for easily accessing the servers with the contents and the information of the contents. The note can be an electronic program guide.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the broadcast information server 210 may display EPG meta data indicating broadcast channel information according to time slots as shown in FIG. 4, and thumbnail images for each channel corresponding to each of the plurality of broadcast channels. Data may be provided to the network operator server 220.

In addition, the network operator server 220 connects the EPG metadata and channel-specific thumbnail images provided from the broadcast information server 210 to the display apparatus 200 using a wired / wireless network, for example, the Internet. Can transmit

On the other hand, the display apparatus 200 corresponds to the plurality of broadcast channels that can be received according to the broadcast signal received by the tuner, etc. EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel input from the network operator server 220, the plurality of channels Information about each of the plurality of channels may be displayed by combining the EPG information corresponding to each of the thumbnail images and the thumbnail images for each channel.

That is, a broadcast signal including a plurality of broadcast channels is received through an antenna, a tuner, and the like, and the information about the broadcast channels is a network such as the Internet already connected through the network operator server 220 from the broadcast information server 210. By receiving through another path, the channel information as shown in FIG. 3 or 4 can be displayed without adding hardware such as a separate tuner.

Hereinafter, a method of displaying channel information according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a channel information display method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the channel information display method shown in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 6, the network interface unit 45 included in the display apparatus 200 receives data including EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel from a server (step 300).

For example, the network interface unit 45 may receive the EPG information and channel-specific thumbnail images from the network operator server 220 illustrated in FIG. 5 using a wired or wireless network such as the Internet, or the broadcast information server 210. ) May directly receive the EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel.

Thereafter, the controller 50 associates the received EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel with a plurality of broadcast channels (step 310).

For example, the received EPG information and channel-specific thumbnails correspond to each of a plurality of broadcast channels that can be received by the display apparatus 200 using an antenna and a tuner, that is, physical broadcast channels that are divided into frequency bands and received. Images can be combined and divided.

The display unit 44 displays channel information of each of the plurality of broadcast channels using EPG information corresponding to each of the plurality of broadcast channels and thumbnail images for each channel (step 320).

In this case, the EPG information and the thumbnail images for each channel received from the server are not only a plurality of channels received through the broadcast signal, but also contents receivable from the content providers 20 through the network interface 45. For example, it may also include information about paid channels.

Accordingly, the channel information displayed in step 320 may display not only broadcast channels that can be received through a broadcast signal received using an antenna and a tuner, but also information about various contents that can be received from the content providers 20. have.

FIG. 7 illustrates a third embodiment of a method for displaying information on a plurality of broadcast channels. A description of the same method as that described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 in the channel information display method illustrated in FIG. Will be omitted below.

Referring to FIG. 7, an image 110 of a channel selected by a user may be displayed on the screen 100 of the display apparatus 200, and a partial area of the screen 100, for example, a channel information display area at the bottom of the screen 100, may be displayed. Information about a plurality of broadcast channels may be displayed at 120.

Meanwhile, the channel information displayed on the channel information display area 120 includes broadcast channel information and thumbnail images formed by combining EPG information received from the network operator server 220 and thumbnail images for each channel. It may be displayed to correspond to each of these

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the user may use the user interface 47 to display a first mode for displaying only the received EPG information, a second mode for displaying only thumbnail images for each channel, and the EPG information and the One of the third modes of displaying a combination of thumbnail images for each channel may be selected.

For example, when the user selects the first mode, the channel information display area 120 may display broadcast information according to time slots for each of the plurality of broadcast channels using the EPG information received from the server.

In addition, when the user selects the first mode, the channel-specific thumbnail images received from the server may be displayed to correspond to each of the plurality of broadcast channels.

Meanwhile, when the user selects the third mode, the channel information display area 120 may display broadcast information for each time zone along with thumbnail images of the corresponding channel so as to correspond to each of the plurality of broadcast channels.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display system according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and descriptions of the same elements as those described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 of the configuration of the display system illustrated in FIG. 8 will be omitted below. Let's do it.

Referring to FIG. 8, an external device 230 for providing a broadcast signal to the display device 200 may be connected. For example, the external device 230 may be cable broadcast, satellite broadcast or IPTV. The broadcast signal may be a set-top box (STB) for converting the broadcast signal into a form that can be output from the display apparatus 200 after receiving the broadcast signal through a wired or wireless network.

Meanwhile, the broadcast information server 210 provides the channel operator information for each broadcast service to the network operator server 220 in addition to the above-described EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel, and the network operator server 220 provides a channel for each broadcast service. The knitting information may be transmitted to the display apparatus 200.

The channel programming information for each broadcast service is not only a broadcast channel that can be received using an antenna and a tuner of the display apparatus 200, but also a cable broadcast, satellite broadcast or IPTV channel that can be received through an external device 230, for example, a set top box. It may include channel information for each of the various broadcast services, such as.

Accordingly, the display apparatus 200 may receive broadcast channels that can be received using an antenna and a tuner, and the like, which can be received through a set-top box, which is an external device 230 connected with various contents that can be received from the content providers 20. Information about the channels can be displayed together.

The channel information display method may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium that is produced as a program to be executed in a computer. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium may include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, and magnetic tape. , Floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and the like, and also include those implemented in the form of carrier waves (eg, transmission over the Internet).

The computer readable recording medium can be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. In addition, functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing the method can be easily inferred by programmers in the art to which the present invention belongs.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (12)

In the method for displaying information on a plurality of broadcast channels,
Receiving EPG information and channel-specific thumbnail images from a network operator server;
Mapping the received EPG information and channel-specific thumbnail images to the plurality of broadcast channels, respectively; And
And displaying information on the plurality of broadcast channels using EPG information and thumbnail images corresponding to the broadcast channels. The method of claim 1,
And displaying the EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel from a content provider server through the network operator server. The method of claim 1, wherein the EPG information is
Channel information display method including metadata indicating the time-based broadcast information for the plurality of broadcast channels (meta data). The method of claim 1,
Selecting one of a first mode for displaying the EPG information, a second mode for displaying thumbnail images for each channel, and a third mode for displaying the EPG information in combination with the thumbnail images for each channel; How to display channel information The method of claim 1,
And the EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel are received using a different communication scheme from that of the broadcast channel signal. The method of claim 1,
And receiving channel programming information for each broadcast service from the network operator server. A tuner which tunes and receives a broadcast signal of any one of a plurality of broadcast channels;
A network interface unit for receiving EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel;
A controller which combines the received EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel to correspond to each of the plurality of broadcast channels; And
And a display unit which displays information on the plurality of broadcast channels using EPG information and thumbnail images corresponding to the broadcast channels. The method of claim 7, wherein the network interface unit
Receiving the EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel from a network operator server connected to a wired or wireless network,
The network operator server receives the EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel from a content provider server. The method of claim 7, wherein
The user interface unit may be selected by a user to select one of a first mode for displaying the EPG information, a second mode for displaying thumbnail images for each channel, and a third mode for combining the EPG information and thumbnail images for each channel. Including display device The method of claim 7, wherein the network interface unit
Receives channel programming information for each broadcast service,
The channel information for each broadcast service includes at least one broadcast channel input from an external device connected to the display device. The method of claim 10, wherein the display unit
And displaying information about a channel received from the external device in the information on the plurality of broadcast channels using the channel information for each broadcast service. The method of claim 10,
And an external signal input unit configured to receive a signal of a broadcast channel selected by a user from the external device.

Images