JP3130983B2 - CATV system and viewing application processing control method in CATV system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a CATV (Cable Tele
(Vision or Community Antenna Television) system and CATV system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a CATV system, a CATV center is connected to a CATV terminal device of a plurality of subscribers via a transmission cable by a cable, and a voluntary broadcast program or a commercial broadcast program being aired from the CATV center side is transmitted. This is a system designed to provide to the subscriber's CATV terminal device. Recently, data communication has also been performed. Further, a bidirectional CATV system capable of transmitting a signal (uplink signal) from the CATV terminal device side to the CATV center side has also appeared. Among the CATV systems, there is a case where the system is called a system CCTV (Closed Circuit TV) in a school or a hotel to make a distinction.

[0003]

In the conventional CATV system, when a pay program is viewed, a fee system such as a so-called PPV (ray rer view) is required. It is used, and even if it is viewed from the middle, a fee for one broadcast program is to be charged. By the way, in the conventional CATV system, since a viewing application for a certain broadcast program can be made at any time during the broadcast of the broadcast program, even if the application is made immediately before the end of the broadcast program, the fee for one broadcast program is not reduced. There was a problem of being charged.

[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a CATV system and a viewing application processing control method for the CATV system, which prevent a viewing application immediately before the end of a broadcast program.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a CAT for transmitting a television signal.
In a CATV system comprising: a V center, a transmission path for transmitting the television signal, a plurality of CATV terminal devices for receiving the television signal, and a receiver connected to the plurality of CATV terminal devices. The CA
The TV center superimposes the television signal to be transmitted with program application reception time data indicating a time during which a program viewing application can be received from the broadcast start time of the broadcast program and broadcast start time data of the broadcast program, and transmits the TV program. Modulating means, wherein the CATV terminal device comprises:
Channel selection means for selecting a broadcast channel to be received by the device; and elapsed time calculation means for calculating an elapsed time from a broadcast start time to a current time based on the broadcast start time data for the broadcast program of the selected channel. Comparing the elapsed time and the program application reception time indicated by the program application reception time data, wherein the elapsed time is longer than the program application reception time. And a program application prohibition unit for prohibiting a program application by the viewing application unit.

A second invention provides a CATV center for transmitting a television signal, a transmission line for transmitting the television signal, a plurality of CATV terminal devices for receiving the television signal, and a plurality of CATV terminals. In a method for controlling a viewing application processing of a CATV system comprising a receiver connected to a terminal device, the CATV center can receive a program viewing application from a broadcast start time of a broadcast program for the television signal to be transmitted. And the broadcast start time data of the broadcast program are superimposed and transmitted, and when the broadcast channel to be received is selected, the CATV terminal device transmits the broadcast program of the selected channel. The elapsed time from the broadcast start time to the current time based on the broadcast start time data Prior to the application for viewing the broadcast program of the selected channel, the elapsed time is compared with the program application reception time indicated by the program application reception time data, and the elapsed time is longer than the program application reception time. Is configured to prohibit the viewing application.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the modulation means of the CATV center comprises: program application reception time data indicating a time during which the television signal to be transmitted can receive a program viewing application from the broadcast start time of the broadcast program; The broadcast start time data of the broadcast program is superimposed and transmitted.

Further, the channel selection means of the CATV terminal device selects a broadcast channel to be received by the CATV device, and the elapsed time calculation means operates the broadcast start based on the broadcast start time data for the broadcast program of the selected channel. Calculate the elapsed time from the time to the current time. The program application prohibition means compares the elapsed time with the program application reception time indicated by the program application reception time data, and if the elapsed time is longer than the program application reception time, that is, if it is just before the end of the broadcast program, the program application is prohibited. Prohibit program application by means.

[0009] Therefore, since the viewing application immediately before the end of the broadcast program is prevented, the viewer is not charged the same fee as the case of viewing the entire broadcast program by the viewing application immediately before the end.

[0010] In a second aspect of the present invention, the CATV center includes: program application reception time data indicating a time during which the television signal to be transmitted can receive a program viewing application from a broadcast start time of a broadcast program; The broadcast start time data of the program is superimposed and transmitted, and the CATV
The terminal device selects a broadcast channel to receive,
Calculate the elapsed time from the broadcast start time to the current time based on the broadcast start time data for the broadcast program of the selected channel, prior to the application for viewing the broadcast program of the selected channel, the elapsed time and The program application reception time indicated by the program application reception time data is compared, and if the elapsed time is longer than the program application reception time, that is, if the broadcast program is about to end, the viewing application is prohibited.

[0011] Therefore, by preventing the application for viewing immediately before the end of the broadcast program, the CATV center side does not charge the same fee as when the entire broadcast program is watched by the application for viewing immediately before the end. The viewer will not be charged the fee.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a CATV system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This CATV system 100
ATV center (headend) 101 and multiple CATs
A V terminal 102 and a TV receiver 3 are provided. CAT
The V center 101 receives a commercial broadcast program from the artificial satellite 103 by the satellite antenna 1, or receives a terrestrial commercial broadcast program by the terrestrial antenna 2. Alternatively, a self-produced program is created, and these television signals are scrambled, for example, by transmitting the transmission cable trunk 108, trunk amplifier 104, trunk branch amplifier 10
5. Distribution service is provided to each CATV terminal 102 via the transmission cable branch line 109, the branching device 106, and the security device 107. Generally, the distribution service is provided by a contract with each user (viewer), and is paid for.

The transmitted CATV signal is transmitted to the CATV terminal 1
02 is received and subjected to a descrambling process for restoring the scramble process for theft viewing prevention, and then sent to the TV receiver 3 to be viewed by the user.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the CATV center. C
The ATV center 101 includes a satellite antenna 1, a BS converter 4 for frequency-converting a satellite signal received by the satellite antenna 1, a signal processor 5, and a mixer 6. The mixer 6 receives signals from the terrestrial antenna 2 for receiving a terrestrial broadcast signal and a signal from the signal processor 7. In addition, a video signal or program V from the TV camera 8 created in the CATV center is used.
The video signal from the TR 11 is input to the mixer 6 via the modulator 10 after being subjected to scramble processing for preventing eavesdropping by the scrambler 9 as a paid independent program. The control computer 15 stores in-band data and F
The SK modulation data is generated and the data is transmitted to the CATV terminal. The output of the SK modulation data is usually transmitted to the mixer 6 by the in-band weight modulation or FSK modulation by the control device 16.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the CATV terminal device. In the case of ordinary program broadcasting, an RF (Radio Frequency) signal from the CATV center is input to the converter 20. The converter 20 selects a desired channel from the input signals, converts the frequency of the signal of the selected channel, and outputs an intermediate frequency signal IF. The intermediate frequency signal IF is input to the descrambler 22 via the selector 21.

The descrambler 22 outputs the intermediate frequency signal I
The scramble data superimposed in F is extracted by AM detection, and descrambling is performed according to the extracted data. The descrambled signal is sent to a modulator 23 via an on-screen control IC (OSDIC) 31, where an audio signal portion is FM-modulated and a video signal portion is AM-modulated, and the RF signal is transmitted to a TV receiver. Is output. At this time, the on-screen control IC 3
1 displays a message or the like superimposed on the video of the selected channel. In the case of a simultaneous emergency broadcast such as an earthquake or storm disaster warning, the scramble processing is not performed, and thus the data is output directly from the selector 21 to the modulator 23 without passing through the descrambler 22.

The CPU 25 controls the entire CATV terminal 102, and controls the memory 26, the notification display LED 27, the buzzer 28, the on-screen control IC 31, and the like. Under the control of the CPU 25, the memory 26 stores the CAT
Various character data and setting data in the V terminal device 102 are stored, and various data sent from the CATV center 101 are stored. The notification display LED 27 and the buzzer 28 want to inform the user that there is a message from the CATV center 101 side. Lights or sounds to notify the user of the case or occurrence of an abnormality. The on-screen control IC 31 performs various on-screen controls such as superimposition.

The keyboard section 29 has a keyboard panel (not shown) for inputting various data. Further, the remote control input unit 30 analyzes and processes an input control signal from a remote control device (hereinafter, referred to as a remote controller) 35 and transmits the signal to the CPU 25.

Here, the configuration of the remote controller 35 will be described with reference to FIG. The remote controller 35 is configured to transmit various data to the remote control input unit 30 by infrared rays.
Power button K to turn on / off the power of ATV terminal
₁ and menu button K to display the menu screen
_2, the order button K ₃ to carry out an instruction to purchase a pay program, channel / response switching button K
_4, a display button K ₅ for displaying various information to the TV receiver 3, and the enter button K ₆ for confirming input various data, a clear button K _7, memory recall button K ₈ to read out the memory contents and, a mute button K ₉ to mute the output sound of the TV receiver, and the volume-up button K _10, volume down button K
And _11, and the last channel recall button K ₁₂ to display the channels of the channel before switching program to the TV receiver,
The channel up and down buttons K ₁₃ of the seesaw format,
And a numeric button group KNUM composed of ten numeric buttons of "1" to "0" buttons. In this case, “1” to “7” of the numeric button group KNUM
The button is used as a day of the week button (“SUN”,..., “SAT”) when performing timer input, and “0”
The buttons are used as buttons (“SUN” to “SAT”) every day. In addition, the channel up and down buttons K ₁₃ at the time of performing a timer input, the morning (AM) button and afternoon (PM)
Used as a button. It is assumed that keys that perform the same operations as those buttons are also provided on the key panel of the keyboard unit 29.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIGS. When the viewer operates the keyboard 29 or the remote control box 35 to select a channel to be viewed (step S1), the CPU 25 determines the start time of the broadcast program currently received from the in-band data of the channel and the application permission. The time is taken out (step S2).

Here, the structure of the in-band data will be described with reference to FIG. The in-band data ID includes, for example, application permission time data AP indicating a purchase application available time of a currently broadcast movie, and first program data PD ₁ indicating a movie title, start time, and broadcast time of the currently broadcast movie. And the second program data PD representing the movie title, start time, and broadcast time of the movie scheduled to be broadcast next time
_{And 2} . More specifically, as the in-band data ID, for example, the application permission time data AP = 1: 30
Is transmitted as the first program data PD ₁ , the movie title = “AAA”, the start time = 10: 00, the broadcast time = 2: 00, and the second program data PD ₂
Movie title = “BBB”, start time = 12:
00, broadcast time = 2: 00 is transmitted.

Next, the CPU 25 obtains the current time from the FSK receiver 24 or an internal clock (not shown) or the like, subtracts the start time of the movie indicated by the in-band data ID from the current time, and finds the difference as the application permission time data. It is determined whether or not the time is shorter than the indicated application permission time (step S3). If the obtained difference is shorter than the application permission time, steps S4 to S4 are performed.
The process of step S6 is performed, and if the obtained difference is longer than the application permission time, the process of step S7 is performed. a) When the calculated difference is shorter than the application permission time For example, when the above-mentioned in-band data ID is transmitted and 1
Assuming that the channel is selected at 1:00, the difference (= elapsed time) between the current time and the start time of the movie is: difference = 11: 00-10: 00 = 1: 00, and the obtained difference is Application permission time data AP (=
1:30) is shorter than the application permission time shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), an application acceptance screen is displayed on the TV set (step S4). That is, a message notifying that the title of the movie currently being broadcasted (“AAA”), the elapsed time since the movie started (= 1: 00), and that a purchase application for the program has been accepted is displayed. You.

At this time, since the characters "AAA" and "1 hour" are variable characters, the data of the fixed character is called from the memory 26 connected to the CPU 25, and the variable character portion is displayed in combination.

Next, the CPU 25 determines whether the application button has been pressed (step S5). If the application button has been pressed, the CPU 25 determines that the movie has been applied for purchase, and the movie is displayed on the screen of the TV set (step S6).

When a predetermined time has elapsed without pressing the application button or when another button has been pressed, the display of the application reception screen is terminated, and the pressing of the channel selection button of another selected channel is performed. Display that prompts the user. b) When the calculated difference is longer than the application permission time If the channel is selected at 11:45 with the above-mentioned in-band data ID being transmitted, the current time and the start time of the movie are Difference (= elapsed time)
Is: difference = 11: 45-10: 00 = 1: 45, and the obtained difference is the application permission time data AP (=
1:30), the application prohibition screen is displayed on the TV set, for example, as shown in FIG. 7B (step S7). That is, a message notifying that the title of the movie to be broadcasted next (= “BBB”), the time until the movie start time (= 0: 15), and that the purchase application for the program has not been accepted is displayed. Is done. This display method is divided into a variable character and a fixed character in the same way as described above, but in order to invite the next viewing, the screen being transmitted during the original transmission is descrambled for several tens of seconds, and the original screen is superimposed. You may pause and display.

As described above, according to this embodiment, after the start of the broadcast program, if the application acceptance time has elapsed, the broadcast program cannot be purchased. The broadcast program viewing fee is not charged by the application, and no trouble occurs with the viewer due to the billing. If the viewing application cannot be made, the program name (= movie title) and start time of the next broadcast program are displayed, so that it is not necessary to look at the program table, and the usability is improved.

[0027]

According to the first aspect, the program application prohibiting means compares the elapsed time with the program application reception time indicated by the program application reception time data, and when the elapsed time is longer than the program application reception time, Since the program application by the viewing application means is prohibited when the broadcasting program is about to end, the viewing application can be prevented from occurring immediately before the end of the broadcasting program. You will not be charged the same fee as watching the entire program.

Further, the second invention compares the elapsed time and the program application reception time indicated by the program application reception time data before the application for viewing the broadcast program of the selected channel, and determines the elapsed time by the program application reception time. In the case of a longer time, that is, when the application for viewing is forbidden immediately before the end of the broadcast program, the application for viewing immediately before the end of the broadcast program is prevented beforehand.
The V center will no longer charge the same fee as watching the entire broadcast program, the viewer will not be charged the fee, and the sense of trust between the viewer and the center operator will deepen, As a result, the CATV system is successfully operated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a CATV center in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a CATV terminal device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an appearance of a remote control device.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of in-band data.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a message display screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Antenna for satellites 2 ... Antenna for terrestrial waves 3 ... TV receiver 4 ... BS converter 5 ... Signal processor 6 ... Mixer 7 ... Signal processor 8 ... TV camera 9 ... Scrambler 10 ... Modulator 11 ... Program VTR 15 ... Control computer 16 Communication controller 20 Converter 21 Selector 22 Descrambler 23 Modulator 24 FSK receiver 25 CPU 26 Memory 27 Notification LED 28 Buzzer 29 Keyboard 30 Remote control input 35 ... remote control device 100 ... CATV system 101 ... CATV center 102 ... CATV terminal device 103 ... artificial satellite 104 ... trunk amplifier 105 ... trunk branch amplifier 106 ... branch unit 107 ... security device 108 ... transmission cable trunk line 109 ... transmission cable Branch line

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tatsuo Takahashi 4-15-5 Omori Nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo Pioneer Corporation Omori Plant (72) Inventor Ryusuke Tozaki 4-15 Omori Nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo No. 5 Inside the Omori Plant of Pioneer Corporation (56) References JP-A-62-164393 (JP, A) JP-A-64-41387 (JP, A) JP-A-62-272690 (JP, A) 2-15792 (JP, A) JP-A-62-183242 (JP, A) JP-A-4-142193 (JP, A) JP-A-59-111437 (JP, A) JP-A-2-199980 (JP, A A) JP-A-2-199979 (JP, A) JP-A-2-199978 (JP, A) JP-A-62-155686 (JP, A) JP-A-62-120793 (JP, A) -113379 (JP, A) JP-A-48-69413 (JP, A) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ^7, DB name) H04N 7/10 H04N 7/14 - 7/173 H04N 7/20 - 7/22

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A CATV center for transmitting a television signal, a transmission line for transmitting the television signal, a plurality of CATV terminal devices for receiving the television signal, and a plurality of CATV terminal devices connected to the plurality of CATV terminal devices. A CATV system comprising: a TV receiver; and a program application reception time data indicating a time when the television signal to be transmitted can receive a program viewing application from a broadcast start time of a broadcast program. The CATV terminal device includes a modulation unit that superimposes and transmits broadcast start time data of a program, wherein the CATV terminal device includes: a channel selection unit that selects a broadcast channel to be received by the CATV device; From the broadcast start time to the current time based on the broadcast start time data Elapsed time calculating means for calculating an elapsed time, viewing application means for applying for viewing of the broadcast program of the selected channel, comparing the elapsed time and the program application reception time indicated by the program application reception time data, A CATV system comprising: a program application prohibition unit for prohibiting a program application by the viewing application unit when an elapsed time is longer than the program application reception time. 2. A CATV center for transmitting a television signal, a transmission path for transmitting the television signal, a plurality of CATV terminal devices for receiving the television signal, and a plurality of CATV terminal devices connected to the plurality of CATV terminal devices. A receiving application control method for a CATV system, comprising: a TV receiver, the CATV center comprising: a program application indicating a time when the television signal to be transmitted can receive a program viewing application from a broadcast start time of a broadcast program; The CATV terminal device transmits the reception time data and the broadcast start time data of the broadcast program in a superimposed manner. When a broadcast channel to be received is selected, the CATV terminal device transmits the broadcast start time data for the broadcast program of the selected channel. The elapsed time from the broadcast start time to the current time is calculated based on Prior to the viewing application for the broadcast program of the selected channel, the elapsed time is compared with the program application reception time indicated by the program application reception time data, and if the elapsed time is longer than the program application reception time, the viewing application is A viewing application processing control method for a CATV device, wherein the method is prohibited.