JPH10215440A - Program distribution method and reception reproduction device for digital multichannel broadcast system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to surely view his desired program and also to distribute the programs at a low communication cost by dividing the program data where the video and voice signals are compressed and encoded into many number blocks, transmitting serially these blocks at a low bit rate with addition of the program numbers and block numbers and also inserting a program list at a short interval. SOLUTION: Receiving a list display command from a remote controller 34 or an operation input panel 24, a central controller 21 displays a program list included in a program stream in a data stream that is separated at a multiplex separation part together with the TV program data on a display of a TV receiver, etc. At the same time, the controller 21 displays the program list on a display panel of a reception reproduction device 20. When a user designates his desired program, the controller 21 stores a program block having the relevant program number in a hard disk device 23. Then the controller 21 reads out the program data including all program blocks in the order of blocks and reproduces the programs.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a digital multi-channel broadcasting system, and more particularly to a method of distributing a program and a receiving / reproducing apparatus thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Digital multi-channel broadcasting is capable of broadcasting four to eight channels in one carrier frequency band by multiplexing and transmitting program data obtained by compressing and encoding video and audio signals. Currently, communication satellites (hereinafter CS)
Is operated as a CS digital multi-channel broadcasting system. In this system, program data is
By utilizing data compression according to the EG2 standard, it is possible to distribute video broadcasting of 50 channels or more and audio broadcasting of 100 channels or more in one CS. A dedicated reception / reproduction device is required for reception, and the digital data of the program desired by the user is decoded in real time from the received signal, and the video / audio signal of the program is reproduced.

[0003] The CS digital multi-channel broadcasting system has a delivery method called pay-per-view (hereinafter referred to as PPV) which charges a program viewed by a user in units of one program or in units of time. The viewing information of the PPV program is stored in an IC card set in the IC card interface unit of the receiving and reproducing apparatus, and is transmitted to a broadcasting station via a telephone line at an appropriate communication opportunity. The broadcasting station collects a viewing fee based on the viewing information by a method such as automatic transfer. This allows the user to view video software as if renting a video while at home.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-204954 discloses a method of receiving a user request and distributing a PPV program. In this method, a broadcasting station receives a user request via a telephone line connected to a receiving and reproducing apparatus, and the broadcasting station transmits program data in the order of request. For distribution, data is distributed in a short time by using all carrier frequency bands of one transponder. Alternatively, different program data is simultaneously distributed for each channel. Then, the distributed program data is stored in the data storage unit of the receiving and reproducing apparatus. The user appropriately reads and reproduces the stored program data.

[0005]

The PPV allows the user to view programs such as the latest video software without visiting a rental video store. In addition, since a large number of programs can be broadcast at the same time, it is possible to respond to the user's preference in detail. However, on the other hand, the programs that one wants to watch overlap in the same time zone, and the broadcast time of the desired program often does not coincide with the viewing time. In addition, since the latest video software that the audience most wants to watch is often provided with a copy guard, it is not possible to use a video tape recorder to record a back program or an answering machine. For this reason, there is no choice but to wait for the missed program to be broadcast again.

In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-204954, a program is distributed after a request from a user is received, so that a desired program can always be viewed. However, although the data for one program is distributed in a short time using all the carrier frequency bands of one transponder, if all the requests are supported, it is very difficult from the request until the program is distributed. It takes a long time. This is the same even when a plurality of programs are multiplexed and distributed for each channel. This waiting time is painful for the user because the time when they request it is the time they want to watch. Furthermore, the method of multiplexing and distributing a plurality of programs does not provide any solution to the case where the desired programs described above overlap at the same time. Also, if one transponder or channel is occupied for a small number of requests, the communication cost greatly exceeds the collected viewing fee, and the PPV viewing fee has to be significantly increased in order to recover the communication cost. I can't get it. In addition, since requests are likely to be concentrated on popular programs, if the same program is distributed each time, the use efficiency of the channel is significantly deteriorated. Therefore, the broadcaster may fall into a situation where it is difficult to recover the communication cost even if it is not profitable.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of distributing a program at a low communication cost in a digital multi-channel broadcasting, in which a user can surely view a desired program when he / she wants to view the program, and effectively uses a limited frequency band. And a receiving and reproducing apparatus for the same.

[0008]

According to the distribution method of the present invention,
At a broadcasting station, program data obtained by compressing and encoding a video / audio signal is divided into a number of program blocks, each of which is sequentially transmitted with a program number and a block number added thereto. In addition, the program data is repeatedly transmitted serially at a low bit rate over a long period of time longer than the recording time of the program during a predetermined period, and the program number of a program distributed during the predetermined period between the program blocks And a program list in which titles and the like are described are repeatedly inserted at sufficiently short intervals.

A receiving and reproducing apparatus according to the present invention for receiving and reproducing program data distributed by the above-described distribution method is a means for extracting the program list from a received signal and displaying it on a display as a list in a predetermined format. Means for selecting and reserving a program desired by the user from the program list;
Means for extracting the program blocks with the reserved program numbers from the received signal and sequentially storing the program blocks in a storage unit, and reading out the stored program blocks from the storage unit in the order of the block numbers and performing decoding processing. Means for reproducing a video signal and an audio signal of the program.

[0010] More preferably, means for obtaining the viewable date and time of each program based on the distribution time information of the program data included in the program list, and displaying the date and time in the list are added to the receiving and reproducing apparatus. .

Further, the program classification information is displayed in the list based on the classification information for each program included in the program list, and the user searches for the distributed program using the classification information as a key. By adding a means for selecting freely, viewing reservation can be easily performed.

[0012] Further, when all the program blocks of the program reserved by the user are stored in the storage unit, there is provided means for notifying the user and informing the user that the reserved program is viewable. I have.

By adding a playback control function linked to the billing system of the digital multi-channel broadcasting system in order to correspond to the PPV, it becomes possible to collect an excess fee and to erase data after viewing.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As an embodiment of a digital multi-channel broadcasting system including a program distribution method according to the present invention and a receiving and reproducing apparatus, a CS digital multi-channel broadcasting system using CS as a relay station will be described. FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of the broadcasting station, which comprises a broadcasting station 1, a CS 10, and a receiving / reproducing apparatus 20. Broadcasting station 1 and receiving / reproducing device 20
Are connected by a telephone line 40. These basic configurations are exactly the same as conventional CS digital multi-channel broadcasting.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a data stream 100 distributed by the program distribution method according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is composed of a large number of program blocks 110 and a program list 120 inserted between the program blocks 110 as appropriate. The program block 110 is obtained by dividing program data obtained by compressing and encoding a video / audio signal of a program in accordance with the MPEG2 system into a large number of units each having a predetermined data length. A program number 111 and a block number 112 are added to the program block 110. Many program blocks with the same program number are serially distributed in block number order. The program list 120 is list data of programs distributed during a predetermined period. Classification information such as a program name and a genre, and distribution time information indicating the total number of program blocks to be distributed and the distribution start and end times of the program blocks are added corresponding to the program number.

Further, in the present embodiment, the transfer speed at the time of distribution is transmitted at a low bit rate over an extremely long time as compared with the recording time of the program. Therefore 5-8
About 120 programs are distributed in about 120 hours. When the distribution of the program blocks of all the programs is completed, the program returns to the first program number and distributes the same program block. During the predetermined period, the same program is continuously distributed in this manner. The program list is appropriately inserted between program blocks at intervals of about 5 seconds.
Of course, the distribution time information of the program being transmitted or has been transmitted is rewritten to the time information distributed in the next cycle and distributed.

Multiplexing and distributing a plurality of programs to one carrier frequency band is basically the same as conventional CS digital multi-channel broadcasting. The concept of the multiprocessing system is shown in FIG.
Is shown in A data stream composed of a program block and a program list distributed in this embodiment is multiplexed together with video / audio data such as a normal TV program and various ancillary data such as a program identification code, and transmitted on one channel. You. Then, a plurality of channels transmitted in the same carrier frequency band are program-multiplexed. Here, scramble data is added as needed. These digital data are QPSK-modulated and sent to CS. Here, the data stream is transferred at a low bit rate to be multiplexed with other data such as a TV program broadcast on one channel. Of course, a plurality of data streams described above may be multiplexed on one channel.

FIG. 4 shows a receiving and reproducing apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment.
FIG. An intermediate frequency (IF) signal received / converted by a parabolic antenna or the like is input, and a RAM,
A central control unit 21 including a ROM controls peripheral devices and the like via a bus 22 to input / output data and control the reception / reproduction device 20. Hereinafter, control of the reception / reproduction device 20 by the central control device 21 will be described. When a user's program selection operation is received from the remote controller 34 or the operation input unit 24, the tuning unit 25, the demodulation unit 26, and the demultiplexing unit 27 are controlled. It is tuned to the IF of a carrier wave including the selected program, demodulates program multiplexed data in which a plurality of programs are multiplexed from the carrier wave, and demultiplexes it into program data of each channel. The demultiplexer 27 is controlled so that error correction and descrambling are performed as necessary. And MPEG
The second decoding unit 28 decodes the video / audio signal. The video and audio signals are respectively transmitted to the video and audio control unit 2
The data is input to a TV receiver or the like via 9 and 30. The above is the reproduction control of the data of the normal TV program.

The receiving and reproducing apparatus 20 in the present embodiment has a function of processing a data stream multiplexed on the same channel, in addition to the function of reproducing the TV program described above.
When receiving a list display command from the remote controller 34 or the operation input panel 24, the central control unit 21 causes the demultiplexing unit to execute T
A program list in the data stream separated together with the V program data is displayed on a display such as a TV receiver, and is also displayed on a display panel installed in the receiving and reproducing apparatus 20. Since the program list is transmitted at intervals of about 5 seconds as described above, the user can view the list by waiting at most about 5 seconds. When the user operates the remote controller 34 or the operation input unit 24 to specify a program to be viewed from the list, the central control device 21 stores the program number and stores the program block with the program number in the hard disk device 23. . If the program data is already being distributed at the time of reservation, the program blocks from the middle are accumulated. The transmission cycle of all program blocks is about 1
Since it is 20 hours (5 days), all program blocks of the program desired to be viewed are stored in the hard disk device 23 after 5 days. When all the program blocks of the reserved program are stored, the user is notified of the fact. In the present embodiment, a lamp indicating the completion of storage provided in the operation input unit is turned on. When the program list is displayed on the display, the column of the program is displayed in reverse video to notify that the program can be viewed. Further, control is performed so as not to accept the overlapping reservation of the program. Then, program data including all program blocks is read out from the hard disk device 23 in the order of block numbers in response to a user's operation input, and is transferred to the MPEG2 decoding unit 28 at the same transfer speed as a normal TV broadcast. MPEG2
The decoding unit 28 decodes a video / audio signal and reproduces a program.

On the other hand, the receiving and reproducing apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment
Also has a function of obtaining a viewable date and time of a program distributed from distribution time information included in the program list and displaying the date and time in a program list list. FIG. 5 shows a list displayed on the display. In the figure, the seventh program is being distributed, and when the seventh program is reserved, program blocks subsequent to that time are stored in the hard disk device 23. Then, the first program block before the reservation time is accumulated at the time of distribution of the next cycle in which all programs have made one round.

Further, it has a function of retrieving a program desired by the user using the classification information in the program list as a key and making a reservation. FIG. 6 shows a program reservation screen using the search function. When the user selects and inputs a desired genre, if the desired genre is in the distribution schedule, the title is displayed. The classification information is not limited to the genre, but can be freely set by simply adding it to a program list such as a performer or a production country (a production company in the case of a Japanese movie). in this case,
Flexible search such as a logical product search or a logical sum search is possible using a plurality of classification information as keys.

It is assumed that most of the programs distributed in this embodiment are distributed by the PPV method. Next, the reception / reproduction control linked to the charging system in the case of PPV will be described. FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a process performed by the central control device 21 of the reception / reproduction device 20 when the PPV program is distributed. In the program list, information as to whether the program is a PPV and viewing deadline information of the program are added. If the program reserved for viewing by the user is a PPV, deadline time information is acquired from the program list, and the program blocks of the program are stored in the hard disk device 23 (201 to 204). When all the program blocks stored by the user's operation are reproduced, the program data stored in the hard disk device 23 is deleted. And
It is determined whether the reproduction end date and time has passed the deadline (205 to 208). If it has, the excess fee is calculated according to a predetermined rule (209). The information on the viewing fee is written into the IC card 31 via the IC card interface unit 32, and is transferred to the broadcasting station at an appropriate communication opportunity (211 and 212). Note that the information written in the IC card 31 may be only the program and the viewing time that have been watched. In this case, the viewing fee is calculated by the broadcasting station.

Although a hard disk drive is used as a means for storing program data in this embodiment, a rewritable DVD is used as a storage medium having a larger capacity.
Or the like may be used.

[0024]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the frequency band occupied by the program for distribution is small, and it can be multiplexed with a normal TV program and distributed together. Therefore, the communication cost can be significantly reduced. Since the same program is repeatedly distributed during the predetermined period, the missed program can be viewed at the next distribution opportunity.

According to the second invention, it is possible to view the program distributed according to the first invention. Since the viewing time of the desired program is determined in advance, it is not necessary to wait until the program data is accumulated after the reservation. Therefore, when it is desired to view the program, the program can be immediately reproduced. Moreover, since the program list can be displayed on the display, the programs to be distributed can be seen at a glance.
Further, the reservation is completed only by selecting a desired program on the list. Therefore, no troublesome reservation operation is required.

Further, according to the third aspect, it is possible to immediately confirm when the program desired by the user can be viewed. As a result, a reservation can be made according to the convenience of the user.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to search for a distributed program using the classification information in the program list as a key and make a reservation as it is. Therefore, a desired program can be viewed without checking the entire program list.

According to the fifth aspect, it is possible to immediately confirm whether or not the program reserved by the user is viewable. Further, there is no possibility that the program stored in the storage unit is left as it is and the program is missed.

Further, according to the sixth aspect, an appropriate viewing fee can be imposed on the user. Also, unauthorized copying of the program can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a digital multi-channel broadcasting system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a data structure diagram of a program distributed in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram showing a multiplexing method of a program distributed in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a receiving and reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a program list display screen including a viewable date and time in the receiving and reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a display screen for searching for a program in the receiving and reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing reception / reproduction control linked to a charging system in the reception / reproduction device of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Broadcasting station 20 Receiving / reproducing device 21 Central control device 23 Hard disk device 28 MPEG2 decoding unit 100 Data stream 110 Program block 120 Program list

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A program distribution method in a digital multi-channel broadcasting system, which has the following requirements (1) to (4). (1) Program data obtained by compressing and encoding a video / audio signal is divided into a large number of program blocks, each of which is provided with a program number and a block number, and is sequentially distributed. (2) The program data is distributed at a low bit rate over a much longer time than the recording time of the program. (3) The program data for a plurality of programs is repeatedly serially distributed during a predetermined period. (4) Between program blocks, a program list in which program numbers, titles, and the like of programs distributed during the predetermined period are repeatedly inserted at sufficiently short intervals. 2. A receiving and reproducing apparatus for receiving and reproducing program data distributed by the method according to claim 1, wherein said program list is extracted from a received signal and displayed as a list in a predetermined format. Means for selecting a program desired by the user from the program list and reserving the program block, and extracting the program block with the reserved program number from the received signal and sequentially storing the program block in the storage unit. A receiving / reproducing apparatus comprising: means for accumulating; and means for reading out the stored program blocks from the storage unit in the order of the block numbers, decoding and reproducing the video and audio signals of the program. 3. The reception apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: means for obtaining a viewable date and time of each program based on distribution time information of program data included in the program list and displaying the date and time in the list. Playback device. 4. A means according to claim 2 or 3, wherein means for displaying program classification information in said list based on classification information for each program included in said program list, and wherein a user uses said classification information as a key. A receiving and reproducing apparatus comprising means for retrieving and freely selecting a distributed program. 5. The system according to claim 2, wherein when all the program blocks of the reserved program are stored in the storage unit, the user is notified that the reserved program is viewable. A receiving and reproducing apparatus comprising: 6. The receiving / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for viewing said program data stored in said storage unit in conjunction with a billing system of a digital multi-channel broadcasting system. apparatus.