JP2006174194A - Digital broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To notice a user that following work to frequency change information can not be done due to change of a broadcasting frequency, and a digital broadcast receiver can not receive the broadcast. <P>SOLUTION: The broadcast receiver which receives digital broadcast, analyzes frequency change information warned from a broadcasting station, and memorizes the day, the time, etc. scheduled to change, if the receiving becomes impossible, carries out indication to urge scanning, or carries out update of channel information in timing not to disturb usage of the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus, and more particularly to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus capable of receiving at a frequency after rearrangement following the rearrangement (reassignment) of the frequency of a broadcasting station.

  In digital terrestrial television broadcasting in Japan, it is planned to shift to digital broadcasting completely after simulcast operation with terrestrial analog television broadcasting, and at the end of terrestrial analog television broadcasting, broadcast stations send out signals. It is considered to change the arrangement of frequencies used in (relocation of frequencies).

  As a follow-up technique for the frequency allocation change (frequency rearrangement), for example, in Patent Document 1, the next reception channel table after the frequency change date and time is previously determined based on the change notification information separately from the currently received reception channel table. A technique is disclosed in which when a change date and time is exceeded, data is received by the next reception channel table, and after reception, the current reception channel table is rewritten to follow the change in frequency arrangement.

JP 2002-101352 A

  However, in the tracking technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the frequency arrangement change date and time has elapsed when the receiving apparatus is turned on, there is no room for selection by the user and the tracking operation for the frequency change is performed. For this reason, when the channel being viewed is not the target of change, viewing is interrupted against the user's intention.

Also, if the user is watching or recording digital terrestrial television broadcasting beyond the time of frequency relocation, the tuner is in use, so the channel information cannot be updated, and the frequency allocation change is tracked. There is also a possibility that the work is completed without being completed. For this reason, it is hard to say that it is convenient for the user.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve usability when the receiving apparatus follows the change by changing the frequency arrangement on the transmission side.

  The above object can be achieved by the invention described in the claims.

  The present invention can improve usability when the receiving apparatus follows the change by changing the frequency arrangement on the transmission side.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  A first embodiment according to the present invention is shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, 101 is an antenna for receiving, for example, digital terrestrial television broadcasting, 102 is a tuner, a tuner demodulator for performing OFDM demodulation and error correction, and 103 is encoded from a digital signal demodulated by the tuner demodulator 102. Multiplex signal separator for separating multiplexed signals including audio signals, video signals and frequency allocation change notification information, etc., 104 is a voice decoder for decoding voice signals separated by multiplexed signal separator 103 into original voice signals 105 is an audio signal output terminal, and 106 is a video decoding unit that decodes the video signal separated by the multiple signal separation unit 103 into the original video signal. Reference numeral 107 denotes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls each unit of the receiving apparatus, for example, tuning control of the tuner demodulation unit 102, detection of frequency unlocking used for channel selection determination, and data separated by the multiple signal separation unit 103 (Hereinafter referred to as “system information”) and analyze it. Reference numeral 108 synthesizes the video decoded by the video decoding unit 106 and display information for the user (for example, a notification display for a user to be described later that prompts a follow-up operation to confirm that the signal can be received at the frequency changed in response to the frequency arrangement change). 109 is an output terminal for a synthesized video signal for notification content output from the video synthesis processing unit 108, 110 is an input unit for inputting an operation from a user, and 111 is a storage unit for storing contents necessary for the receiving device. It is a storage device to keep.

  The contents stored in the storage device 111 include the receivable channel information 112 that describes parameters necessary for selecting a channel that can be received by the receiving device, and the broadcast transmission side when the frequency arrangement is changed (frequency rearrangement). There is frequency change information 113 describing frequency change information determined from the frequency change change notification information transmitted as download data from the frequency change follow-up work in the area where the receiving device is installed. . An example of the contents stored as frequency change information is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, information such as a change target broadcast station (service provider), frequency change date and time, frequencies before and after the change, and the implementation status (confirmation flag) of the frequency relocation operation are stored as a list. By using these frequency change information, it is possible to automatically follow the frequency rearrangement as described later. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 120 is version information obtained from the frequency change information. Whether or not the frequency change information needs to be updated can be determined based on the version information. Further, “Done” in the confirmation flag column indicates that the flag is set, that is, the operation for following the frequency rearrangement has been performed.

  The CPU 107 performs channel selection by controlling the tuner demodulation unit 102 based on the receivable channel information 111 stored in the storage device 110. The broadcast wave received by the antenna 101 by channel selection is demodulated by the tuner demodulation unit 102 and output to the multiple signal separation unit 103 as a TS. Multiplex signal separation section 103 separates a control signal stream including an audio signal, a video signal, frequency allocation change notification information, and the like from TS. The audio decoding unit 104 decodes the separated audio signal into the original audio signal and outputs it from the output terminal 15. In addition, the video decoding unit 106 decodes the separated video signal into the original video signal. The video signal decoded by the video decoding unit 106 is superimposed on display information for the user by the video synthesis processing unit 108 and output from the output terminal 109. System information including frequency allocation change notification information separated by the multiplexed signal demultiplexing unit 103 is input to the CPU 107, analyzed, and necessary control information is stored in the storage device 111. Based on the system information, the CPU 107 controls the receiving device in accordance with an instruction from the input unit 110 by the user.

  Next, first, the process of acquiring the frequency change information from the reception of the frequency change notification information in FIG. 1 and the standby (the power is turned off in appearance, but the AC power supply is energized and the minimum function is operable) ) A follow-up process for changing the frequency arrangement will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the frequency change information acquisition process according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the follow-up process for the frequency arrangement change according to the present embodiment.

  First, the frequency change information acquisition process will be described with reference to FIG. When rearrangement of transmission frequencies is scheduled on the broadcast side, download content including frequency change information is distributed from the broadcast side (transmitting station or relay station). When the receiving device receives a broadcast wave including content, in step S21, the CPU 107 acquires change notification information from the content obtained by being separated and obtained by the multiplexed signal separation unit 103. In S22, it is determined by analyzing whether the change notification information includes frequency change information of the area where the receiving device is installed and whether the change date / time has not passed the current date / time. If it is determined in S22 that there is frequency change information related to the receiving device, the version information 120 is referred to in S23 to be stored (updated) as frequency change information 113 in the storage device 111, and the process ends (S23). At this time, the version information 120 is also updated. If there is no frequency change information regarding the receiving device in S22, the process is terminated.

Next, a follow-up process for changing the frequency arrangement will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 4, the CPU 107 starts a follow-up process for changing the frequency arrangement when the receiver is not in use when the receiver is not in use, before and after the change date and time when the frequency relocation is scheduled (for example, around one week).

  When the process is started, in S31, the CPU 107, the list of the frequency change information 113 stored in the storage device 111 shown in FIG. Channel (frequency) after the change is selected (hereinafter, only the changed CH for which reception has not been confirmed is handled). Then, in S32, it is determined whether reception is possible from, for example, frequency unlock detection of the tuner demodulation unit 102 (not shown). If it is confirmed that reception is possible at the frequency (CH), the process goes to S33 to update the channel selection parameter of the channel information 112 that can be received, and thereafter, the channel selection is performed based on the updated channel selection parameter. It is possible to follow the rearrangement of the frequency without making it conscious. At this time, the frequency change information 113 deletes the content of the corresponding item from the list of frequency change information, or when the frequency change information list illustrated in FIG. By setting a confirmed flag, it is possible to identify the content that has not been confirmed for reception at the changed frequency, and the process proceeds to S35. In S35, it is determined whether the changed CH (frequency) currently selected is the last changed CH (frequency) in the list of FIG. 2. If Yes, the process ends. If No, in S36. The next changed CH (frequency) in the list of FIG. 2 is selected and the process returns to S32.

If it has not been received in S32, it is determined in S34 whether the current date has passed the change date, and if not, the process goes to S35, and if it has passed, the process goes to S37.
In S37, although the change date and time has passed, there is a possibility that the arrangement change at that frequency may not have been made, so the corresponding pre-change CH (frequency) is selected and checked whether it can be received. If it can be received, the arrangement has not been changed at the corresponding frequency, so the process goes to S35. If it is not possible to receive even the pre-change CH (frequency) in S37, it is determined that there is some abnormal state, so an abnormal flag is set in the abnormal flag column of the frequency change information 113 and the process goes to S35.
With the above operation, the follow-up operation of the receiving apparatus with respect to the rearrangement of the frequency on the broadcast side is completed. When the power of the receiving apparatus is turned on, the CPU 107 checks the presence / absence of an abnormality flag in the frequency change information 113, and if the abnormality flag is set, the video composition processing unit displays that there is an abnormality. Of course, you may display with LED which is not illustrated arrange | positioned on the housing | casing of a receiver.

As described above, the frequency relocation is performed by performing the follow-up process for the frequency allocation change according to the present embodiment before and after the change date and time when the frequency relocation is scheduled, instead of being triggered by the change date and time of the frequency relocation. Even if the change date and time of the arrangement is advanced or delayed from the scheduled date, it is possible to perform follow-up processing according to the case through reception confirmation.
Here, it is assumed that the follow-up process shown in FIG. 4 is performed at a standby time when the receiving apparatus is not used. However, if the user is viewing or recording beyond the time of frequency relocation, the receiving device is in use. The channel information may not be updated.

When the follow-up operation is not performed as described above, the receivable channel information 112 is not updated, and the frequency change follow-up operation remains in the frequency change information 113 as not being performed (no flag is already completed). When the user selects a program whose transmission frequency has been changed by the frequency rearrangement after the frequency rearrangement on the transmission side is completed, the receivable channel information 112 is not updated in the receiving apparatus. Since tuning is performed, reception is impossible, and it may be surprising that some users do not receive. In this case, in order to view the program again, a channel search by the user is required.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the frequency relocation tracking operation is not performed at the time of channel selection, a display for prompting channel information update is performed, and the tracking process (channel information update) is performed without surprise to the user. Will be described.

In FIG. 5, when the CPU 107 detects that the tuner demodulator 102 cannot receive when selecting a channel in S41, the change information related to the selected frequency is stored in the frequency change information 113 stored in the storage device 111 in S42. Check if it is memorized. If Yes in S42, the process goes to S43, and if No, it is determined that something cannot be received due to some trouble, and the process is terminated.
In S43, for example, the CPU 107 performs a display (notification display to the user) for prompting the user to update channel information (that is, channel selection at the changed frequency (channel)) as shown in FIG. In step S44, the user waits for an instruction to update channel information.

  Here, FIG. 6 will be described. FIG. 6 is an example of a display prompting channel information update. As shown in Fig. 6, an icon for agreeing to confirm the reception status by scanning for a channel with a frequency change is displayed, and the broadcast station information to be changed and the target area are clearly specified so that the user can understand more The content is easy to do.

  Returning to FIG. 5 again, upon receiving the selection of “Yes” by the user who confirmed the display of FIG. 6, that is, the approval of channel selection for updating the receivable channel information 112, the CPU 107 changes the frequency in S 45. Confirm reception on the channel. If the reception on the channel after the change can be confirmed in S45, a flag indicating completion is set in the confirmation flag column of the follow-up work of the frequency change information 113 in S47, and the receivable channel information 112 is updated. Further, the program is re-selected (S48), the program desired by the user is received, and the frequency change tracking operation is terminated. If it cannot be received in S45, it is determined that it cannot be received due to some trouble, and the process is terminated.

When the display as shown in FIG. 6 is performed and the user selects “No” which does not permit channel selection at the time of display, such as during recording of a program, the example is shown in FIG. 7 in S46. By displaying such a screen, the user is notified that the channel information needs to be updated, and after the program being watched is finished, the user manually rescans the channel with the frequency change. To complete the frequency change tracking operation. By this method, the receiving apparatus can follow the change of the frequency arrangement. Note that the notification content of FIG. 7 can also be included in the display of FIG.
In FIG. 6 (that is, in S44), when the user selects “No”, the reception confirmation in the channel after the change is not performed, and the receivable channel information 112 is not updated, so the channel is selected again. Then, the processing after S42 is performed again.

  In addition, after the user selects “No” in FIG. 6, for example, according to the screen display in FIG. 7, when the channel reception confirmation is manually performed, the CPU 107 instructs the input unit 110 to perform an instruction (for example, channel scan in the setting menu). By selection), the same tracking process as S45, S47, and S48 in FIG. 5 is performed. The selection of “Yes” or “No” can be performed by the user from a remote controller (not shown) or a key provided on the receiver main body.

  In the above description, the follow-up operation for one channel that cannot be received has been described. However, if only one channel that is currently unreceivable is the target channel of the screen display of FIG. 6 in S43 and the screen display of FIG. Alternatively, if there are channels in the frequency change information 113 that are not subjected to the follow-up operation, the channels may be displayed together with the channels and the follow-up operation may be performed.

  Accordingly, in this case, when the user selects “No” in FIG. 6 and manually executes channel reception confirmation, the CPU 107 is similar to S45, S47, and S48 in FIG. Follow-up processing is performed for a plurality of channels. That is, reception confirmation at the frequency after the change is performed with respect to the content that the follow-up operation is not performed in the frequency change information 113. When it is confirmed that reception at the changed frequency is possible, the channel selection parameter of the receivable channel information 112 is updated, and the follow-up operation regarding the frequency in the frequency change information 113 is updated. .

In the above example, it is assumed that the selected channel cannot be received (S51), but it is determined that the follow-up operation has not been completed at the time of frequency relocation or after the time of relocation. In this case, the same work (after S42 in FIG. 5) may be performed. This makes it possible for the user to select whether or not to perform the follow-up operation immediately, for example, when a program other than the one being watched is the target of the frequency change, or when the relocation time has passed when the power is turned on. it can.
Further, the follow-up operation may be a method of scanning channels listed in the frequency change information list as described in FIG. 4 or a method of scanning channels in the broadcast frequency region without being limited to the list. As a result, an optimum channel can be selected in an area close to the boundary of the broadcast area.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the follow-up work for the frequency arrangement change is confirmed only with the changed frequency, so that the follow-up work time can be shortened. . In addition, since the follow-up work is performed before and after the change date and time, the follow-up work with respect to the frequency change can be surely performed even if it is ahead of the actual change date and time due to the work situation of frequency relocation. In addition, even if the frequency relocation work situation is delayed, if reception is not possible at the frequency after change, reception is performed at the frequency before change, and reception confirmation is performed at both the frequency before change and after change, thus shortening the follow-up work time. While planning, it is possible to cope with a change in the frequency arrangement with certainty.

  In addition, even if the change date of the frequency arrangement has passed, if the digital broadcast receiver cannot follow the change of the frequency arrangement on the transmission side and reception is impossible on the stored channel, For example, by displaying as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 and urging the channel information to be updated, it is possible to avoid the reception impossible situation in a shorter time. In addition, the channel information can be updated at a timing that does not adversely affect the use of the user, and the user can select whether or not to immediately perform the follow-up work, thereby improving the convenience of the receiving apparatus. .

  Next, a second embodiment in which channel information is updated without notifying the user will be described using the flowchart of FIG. The configuration of the receiving apparatus that implements the second embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the process of the follow-up work for the frequency arrangement change.
In FIG. 8, when selecting a channel in S71, the CPU 107 detects that the tuner demodulation unit 102 cannot receive, and confirms whether or not change information related to the selected frequency is stored in the frequency change information 113 (S72). . If there is the change information of the channel, the CPU 107 immediately confirms the reception in the channel after the frequency change in S73, and if the reception is confirmed, it is displayed in the confirmation flag column of the follow-up work of the frequency change information 113. In addition, the flag is set and the receivable channel information is updated (S74). Then, the channel selection is performed again with the updated receivable channel information, the program desired by the user is received (S75), and the frequency change tracking operation is terminated. If the change information is not stored in S72 or cannot be received in S73, it is determined that it cannot be received due to some trouble, and the process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the digital broadcast receiving device cannot follow the change of the frequency arrangement on the transmission side even after the change date of the frequency arrangement elapses and cannot be received on the stored channel. In this case, since the frequency after the change is selected, it is possible to avoid the reception impossible situation in a shorter time.

  In the first embodiment, the video composition processing unit 108 performs display for prompting channel information update. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and when the frequency is changed, the housing of the broadcast receiving apparatus is used. You may make it notify by display media, such as LED arrange | positioned on the body.

  The user who has confirmed this display can manually update the receivable channel information by rescanning. In the rescanning, depending on the function of the receiving apparatus, a method of scanning only channels with a frequency change or a method of scanning all channels is used as in the first embodiment.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the broadcast receiver by embodiment of this invention The figure which shows the example of 1 structure of frequency change information The flowchart figure which shows one Example of the frequency change information acquisition process concerning a 1st Example. The flowchart figure which shows one Example of the tracking process with respect to the frequency arrangement change concerning a 1st Example. The flowchart figure which shows the 1st Example of the follow-up process in the case of selecting a frequency where the follow-up work is not done. An example of display prompting channel information update Another example of display prompting channel information update The flowchart figure which shows 2nd Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Reception antenna, 102 ... Tuner demodulation part, 103 ... Multiplex signal demultiplexing part, 104 ... Audio | voice decoding part, 105 ... Audio signal output terminal, 106 ... Video decoding part, 107 ... CPU, 108 ... Video composition processing part, 109 ... Video signal output terminal, 110 ... Input section, 111 ... Storage device, 112 ... Receivable channel information, 113 ... Frequency change information

Claims (17)

A receiving means for receiving a broadcast signal and channel frequency change information related to the channel frequency change;
Control means for controlling to display a selection screen as to whether or not to perform the operation of changing the channel frequency after elapse of the channel frequency change time included in the channel frequency change information or after elapse of the channel frequency change time;
A receiving apparatus comprising: The receiving device according to claim 1,
Channel selection means for selecting a channel of the broadcast signal received by the reception means;
Storage means for storing channels that can be selected by the channel selection means;
And a updating unit that updates channel information stored in the storage unit based on channel frequency change information received by the receiving unit. The receiving device according to claim 2,
The receiving device scans a channel frequency after change included in the channel frequency change information. The receiving device according to claim 1,
Channel selection means for selecting a channel of the broadcast signal received by the reception means;
Storage means for storing channels that can be selected by the channel selection means;
Detection means for scanning a plurality of channels in the broadcast frequency band and detecting the presence or absence of a broadcast signal;
And a updating unit that updates channel information stored in the storage unit based on the presence or absence of the broadcast signal. The receiving device according to claim 1,
Channel selection means for selecting a channel of the broadcast signal received by the reception means;
Storage means for storing channels that can be selected by the channel selection means;
Detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a broadcast signal by scanning a channel based on channel change information received by the receiving means;
And a updating unit that updates channel information stored in the storage unit based on the presence or absence of the broadcast signal.   The control means controls to display again that it is necessary to change the frequency of the channel when the frequency of the channel has not been changed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the display. The receiving device according to claim 1.   After the display, when the determination unit determines that the channel selected by the channel selection unit is not receivable, the control unit controls again to display that the frequency of the channel needs to be changed. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving means for receiving a broadcast signal;
Channel selection means for selecting a channel of the broadcast signal received by the reception means;
Control means for controlling to display video,
When the channel selected by the channel selection means cannot be received,
The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls to display that the frequency of the channel needs to be changed.   9. The receiving apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control unit performs control so as to display a selection screen as to whether or not to change the frequency of the channel. The receiving device according to claim 9, wherein
Storage means for storing channels that can be selected by the channel selection means;
And a updating unit that updates channel information stored in the storage unit based on channel frequency change information received by the receiving unit. The receiving device according to claim 10,
The receiving device scans a channel frequency after change included in the channel frequency change information. The receiving device according to claim 9, wherein
Storage means for storing channels that can be selected by the channel selection means;
Detection means for scanning a plurality of channels in the broadcast frequency band and detecting the presence or absence of a broadcast signal;
And a updating unit that updates channel information stored in the storage unit based on the presence or absence of the broadcast signal. The receiving device according to claim 9, wherein
Storage means for storing channels that can be selected by the channel selection means;
Detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a broadcast signal by scanning a channel based on channel change information received by the receiving means;
And a updating unit that updates channel information stored in the storage unit based on the presence or absence of the broadcast signal.   The control means controls to display again that it is necessary to change the frequency of the channel when the frequency of the channel has not been changed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the display. The receiving device according to claim 2.   After the display, when the determination unit determines that the channel selected by the channel selection unit is not receivable, the control unit controls again to display that the frequency of the channel needs to be changed. The receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: Receiving means for receiving a digital broadcast signal in which program related information having channel frequency change information is multiplexed together with a video signal or an audio signal;
Channel selection means for selecting a channel of the broadcast signal received by the reception means;
Storage means for storing channels that can be selected by the channel selection means;
Determining means for determining whether or not the channel selected by the channel selecting means can be received;
Updating means for updating channel information stored in the storage means;
Control means for controlling to display a selection screen as to whether or not to change the channel frequency when the determination means determines that the channel selected by the channel selection means cannot be received;
An input means for receiving an input signal from a key provided on the remote control or the receiver main body, and
The receiving unit updates the channel information stored in the storage unit based on the channel frequency change information when an input to change the channel frequency is made from the input unit. . A receiving step of receiving a digital broadcast signal in which program related information having channel frequency change information is multiplexed together with a video signal or an audio signal;
A channel selection step of selecting a channel of the broadcast signal received in the reception step;
A display step of displaying a selection screen as to whether or not to change the channel frequency after the channel frequency change time or the channel frequency change time included in the channel frequency change information;
A receiving method comprising:

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