JP4350003B2 - Cable TV program information transmitter and receiver - Google Patents

Description

   The present invention relates to a multiplexing transmission / reception technique for EPG information transmitted from a cable television station to a cable subscriber, and more particularly to a transmission / reception technique for customized EPG information.

  With the recent digitization of satellite broadcasting, cable television stations receive BS digital broadcasting, CS digital broadcasting, terrestrial digital broadcasting, and the like, and provide these broadcast contents to each cable subscriber through the CATV network. In general, a satellite broadcaster or a terrestrial broadcaster is provided with a frequency bandwidth (6 MHz) for transmitting broadcast contents in order to provide convenience for selecting broadcast contents from an EPG or to provide contract information for paid contents. Attached information such as EPG information and channel selection information is also converted into MPEG transport packets, which are transmitted after being time-division multiplexed onto transport packets of broadcast contents.

  Here, incidental information incidental to broadcast content includes EPG information, limited reception information, channel selection information, and the like. As shown in FIG. 6, in the cable television station, when these satellite digital broadcasts or terrestrial digital broadcasts are distributed to the CATV network, a QAM modulation unit 4 applies QAM modulation to send out a transport stream including incidental information. . On the other hand, when distributing an independent broadcast operated by a cable television station, the independent broadcast content generation unit 3 time-division-multiplexes the independent broadcast content and the incidental information, and similarly performs QAM modulation, and then transmits the result to the CATV network. .

  Here, reference numeral 1 in FIG. 6 denotes an antenna for satellite digital broadcast or terrestrial digital broadcast, and 2 denotes a receiver tuner for satellite digital broadcast or terrestrial digital broadcast. Digital modulation (PSK, OFDM) used in satellite or terrestrial broadcast The MPEG transport stream is transferred to the subsequent stage. Further, reference numeral 3 in FIG. 6 denotes an independent broadcast content generation unit for transmitting the independent broadcast. EPG information for independent broadcast is also inserted into the transport stream by time division multiplexing. 4 in FIG. 4 is QAM modulation. The transport output from 2 or 3 in FIG. 4 is subjected to QAM modulation, and an IF signal is transmitted to the RF converter 5. The RF converter 5 has a function of up-converting the IF signal to a transmission frequency (90 to 770 MHz) desired by the cable television station.

  That is, in the transmission frequency band 90 MHz to 770 MHz transmitted from the cable TV station through the CATV network, the broadcast content and the accompanying information are multiplexed in each broadcast wave (6 MHz) transmitted to the 64QAM1 wave. Waves are arranged at appropriate intervals and provided to each cable subscriber.

  In this prior art, if the incidental information occupies a large amount of information in 6 MHz, which is the transmission band of one broadcast wave, there is a situation that the use band of the broadcast content is reduced correspondingly.

On the other hand, in a transmission method in which additional information is added to the main digital signal such as a digitized video signal, audio signal, and data signal for transmission, the additional information is used as digital watermark information, and a spread code is used for the additional information. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that the additional information subjected to spectrum spreading is superimposed on the main digital signal and transmitted.
JP 2001-43141 A

  However, in the past, cable television stations allocated 1 to 4 Mbps as incidental information within the transmission rate of each broadcast wave (29 Mbps: corresponding to 6 MHz) despite the limited frequency resources of 90 MHz to 770 MHz. Yes. At that time, if the transmission rate of the incidental information is lowered, the load of the band occupied by this can be reduced, but conversely, the receiver side spends a lot of time to acquire the incidental information, and it takes time to display the EPG. The problem that convenience etc. which require is reduced arises.

  Thus, in order not to increase the transmission band of EPG information, cable television stations transmit EPG information common to all users, and each user or contract form (for example, monthly flat-rate viewing, P.P.V. Per View), PPC (Pay Per Channel), etc.), there is a problem that EPG information customized for each cannot be transmitted.

  In addition, the target of the additional information in Patent Document 1 is digital watermark information, and is only disclosed as one form of superimposition of the additional information on the main digital signal, and a specific method for the superimposition is particularly disclosed. There is nothing.

  An object of the present invention is to distribute EPG information in a cable television band using a spread spectrum and frequency multiplex it with the broadcast content in a broadcast wave for transmitting broadcast content in a cable television station, and for each user or contract type. It is another object of the present invention to provide a cable television program information transmitting apparatus and receiver capable of customizing and transmitting provided EPG information.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention mainly adopts the following configuration.
A cable TV program information transmitting device for transmitting broadcast content together with auxiliary information including EPG information and channel selection information through a CATV network,
Per user or monthly flat rate contract P. V. Spread spectrum processing is performed on the EPG information with a different spreading code for each contract form such as a contract,
For the channel selection information, spread spectrum processing is performed with a common spreading code regardless of the user or contract form,
The spread spectrum EPG information, incidental information including the channel selection information, and broadcast waves including the broadcast content are frequency-multiplexed and transmitted to the CATV network.

  In the cable TV program information transmitting apparatus, an amplifier is provided on the upstream side of frequency-multiplexing the spectrum-spread additional information, and C / N in the frequency-multiplexed transmission signal is monitored. The gain of the amplifier is controlled by the output of the C / N monitoring so that N is within a predetermined range.

Also, a cable television receiver that receives broadcast content through the CATV network together with auxiliary information including EPG information and channel selection information,
The received signal is received for each user or a monthly flat-rate contract or P.264. P. V. The EPG information is subjected to spread spectrum processing with a different spreading code for each contract form such as a contract, and the channel selection information is subjected to spread spectrum processing with a common spreading code regardless of the user or contract form. In addition, the spread spectrum EPG information, the incidental information including the channel selection information, and the broadcast wave including the broadcast content are frequency multiplexed,
The EPG information is provided by providing a despread spectrum processing unit that performs a despread spectrum process using a spread code corresponding to each user or each contract form for the spread spectrum EPG information included in the received signal. To obtain EPG information corresponding to the user or contract form.

  According to the present invention, when transmitting EPG information, the 6 MHz band of broadcast waves is not used, and a dedicated transmission frequency is not required. Therefore, the frequency resources of the cable television station can be used effectively.

  In addition, the cable television station can individually send EPG information based on each user or based on a contract form, and a fine distribution service is possible.

  A cable TV program information transmitting apparatus and receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a cable television program information transmitting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific configuration example and description of a C / N monitoring unit in the present embodiment. is there. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the cable television receiver according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of spreading codes used for each user or each contract form in the cable television program information transmitting / receiving apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a spread-spectrum code generation circuit used in this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a transmission apparatus in a conventional cable television station.

  A cable TV program information transmitting / receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a receiving antenna, 2 is a satellite broadcast receiver, 3 is an independent broadcast sending unit, 4 is a broadcast headend unit including a QAM modulation unit, 5 is an RF converter, and 6 is a frequency multiplexing unit. , 7 is an air retransmission credit EPG and channel selection data recording unit, 8 is a QPSK modulation unit, 9 is a spread spectrum processing unit, 10 is a filter, 11 is an RF converter, 12 is an amplifier 1, and 13 is an EPG and channel selection for independent broadcasting Data recording unit, 14 is a QPSK modulation unit, 16 is a filter, 17 is an RF converter, 18 is an amplifier 2, 19 is a 2 distribution unit, 20 is a C / N monitoring unit, 21 is a CATV network, 22 is a customer management system, 23 Is a spread code database, 25 is an RF tuner for broadcasting, 26 is a filter, 27 is a C / N calculation unit, 28 is a transmission C / N appropriateness determination unit, and 30 is a C / N monitoring scheduler. It is.

  In the configuration example of the cable television multiplexer shown in FIG. 1, the receiving antenna 1 receives BS digital broadcasting, CS digital broadcasting, or terrestrial digital broadcasting, and digital modulation (PSK, OFDM) used in these is received. Demodulate and transfer the transport stream to the subsequent stage. In addition to the transport stream from the satellite broadcast receiver (tuner) 2, the broadcast head end unit 4 including the QAM modulation unit includes an independent broadcast transmission unit (independent broadcast content generation unit) 3 generated by the cable television station. The transport stream from is also input. In the satellite broadcast receiver 2, incidental information (EPG data, channel selection data, etc.) added to the broadcast wave including the broadcast content is extracted and recorded in the air retransmission credit EPG and channel selection data recording unit 7.

  In addition to extracting from the transport stream received by the receiving antenna 1, the air retransmission credit EPG data and the channel selection data can be obtained online from a program guide supplier or the like and recorded in the recording unit 7. good. Further, the EPG and channel selection data added to the independent broadcast wave are recorded in the independent broadcast EPG and channel selection data recording unit 13.

  The QAM-modulated transport stream is frequency-converted by the RF converter 5, and as shown in the figure, a signal in which a 6 MHz broadcast wave band obtained by applying QAM modulation to the transmission frequency band of 90 to 770 MHz is arranged at an appropriate interval. It has a form. Eventually, each broadcast content having a band of 6 MHz, its EPG data, and channel selection data are frequency-multiplexed and transmitted to the CATV network 21. The EPG data is electronic program guide data, and the channel selection data is data indicating what channel is assigned to which frequency band.

  In the present embodiment, incidental information (EPG data, channel selection data) that has been transmitted while being superimposed on the 6 MHz broadcast wave band is frequency-multiplexed with the broadcast wave and sent to the CATV network 21 by another multiplexing method. It is characterized by. Specifically, with reference to FIG. 1, additional information (EPG data, channel selection data, etc.) for retransmission credits is taken out from the air retransmission credit EPG and channel selection data recording unit 7, modulated by the QPSK modulation unit 8, and this modulation. The signal is spectrum spread by the spread code in the spread spectrum processing unit 9 and input to the amplifier 12 through the 50 MHz filter 10 and the RF converter 11. Here, a filter of 50 MHz band is used. This is because, in the case of this embodiment, when the spectrum is spread, in the case of this embodiment, EPG data is used. Since the channel selection data occupies 2 to 3 MHz, it means that a filter that passes 10 times the band is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, incidental information such as EPG data for re-broadcasting is subjected to spread spectrum processing using a spreading code, and has a wider band than a QAM modulated signal (6 MHz band signal) of a broadcast wave, The spectrum is weak (50 MHz band), and is arranged in a band of 90 to 140 MHz, for example. Similarly, EPG data and channel selection data for independent broadcasting are arranged at 720 to 770 MHz, for example.

  Here, although the details will be described later, the spread spectrum processing unit 9 performs the spread spectrum processing with a single spreading code in each of the air re-broadcast EPG data or the independent broadcast EPG data. Customization by spread spectrum with different spreading codes for each contract type (for example, monthly flat-rate viewing mode, PPV (Pay Per View) mode, PPC (Pay Per Channel) mode, etc.) It is also one of the main features of the present invention to send out the EPG data, and for this purpose, a customer management system 22 for managing user contract information and user ID is provided. Based on the user ID, an appropriate spreading code in the spreading code database 23 is selected and the user is selected with the selected spreading code. Or it is adapted to deliver different EPG data for each contract. Then, the user or the user for each contract form can view the program based on the EPG data by acquiring the customized EPG data.

  In short, it is possible to prevent a program outside the scope of the viewing contract from being distributed as EPG data, and a program corresponding to EPG data that is not distributed cannot be viewed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent viewing of EPG data of an undesired program by using a unique spreading code as one kind of contract form. For example, when a user who has contracted not to watch such a program for a program prohibited from viewing under the age of 18 is subjected to spread spectrum processing of EPG data with a spreading code unique to the contract, the program The disappeared program guide is distributed, and the user can view only this program guide by the contract. Therefore, the user cannot view the EPG data of the program prohibited from viewing under 18 years old, and the program The contents cannot be viewed.

  Next, these spread spectrum EPG data and 6 MHz band broadcast waves are multiplexed by the frequency multiplexing unit 6, sent to the CATV network 21, and distributed to each cable subscriber. Here, the EPG data is configured to be gain-controlled by the amplifier 12 on the upstream side of the frequency multiplexing unit 6. If the gain of the EPG data subjected to spread spectrum is controlled by the amplifier 12 and the output amplitude becomes large, for example, it becomes easy to extract the EPG data on the receiving side. .

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the C / N monitoring unit 20 monitors the C / N of the transmission signal after the frequency multiplexing so that the EPG data does not interfere with the reception of the broadcast wave. The amplifier gain is controlled so as to be the C / N value. Here, since the EPG data is spread spectrum, it is recognized as a noise component for the broadcast wave. Thus, as will be described later, the EPG data is frequency-multiplexed with respect to the broadcast wave so as to maintain the bit error rate within the reception tolerance of the receiver. Although it has been exemplified that the gains of the amplifier 1 and the amplifier 2 are adjusted (adjustment of amplitude or power) based on the output from the C / N monitoring unit 20, the present invention is not limited to this, and the output from the C / N monitoring unit 20 Based on this, the widths of the bandpass filters 10 and 16 may be variable.

  Next, in FIG. 2, the signal from the two distributor 19 is input to the RF tuner 25, and 6 MHz of the output waveform shown in FIG. 1 is cut out and input to the C / N calculator 27 through the 6 MHz filter 26. . In the C / N calculator 27, the spread spectrum signal of the EPG data is combined with the original noise and measured as a total noise component. Here, qualitatively speaking, if the total noise component including the spread spectrum signal is large, the broadcast wave is disturbed. Therefore, the amplitude of the spread spectrum signal of the EPG data is controlled so as to have an appropriate C / N value. . In order to make an appropriate determination that does not interfere with the broadcast wave (if the calculated C / N is 28 dB or more, it is determined that there is no broadcast interference), a bit error rate is used. Using the conversion table of C / N and bit error rate shown in the figure, the appropriateness of C / N is determined to control the gain of the amplifier.

  In the above-described adequacy determination unit 28, it is determined that the bit error rate is 10-4, for example, as a normal determination standard (Japan CATV Technology Association JCTEA STD-007-1.0 “Digital Cable Television Broadcasting BS Therefore, the amplifier gain is controlled so that this bit error rate value is obtained. The bit error rate of 10-4 corresponds to 28 dB in the C / N ratio in the conversion table shown. As described above, in this embodiment, the bit error rate is used as a numerical value for appropriateness determination, but it may naturally be determined by a numerical value of the C / N ratio. Further, in FIG. 2, a C / N monitoring scheduler 30 is provided, and the C / N ratio of the broadcast wave is monitored by cutting out 6 MHz of the output waveform shown in FIG. Thus, the appropriateness determination is performed over the entire range of the broadcast wave (90 to 770 MHz).

  Next, a cable television program information transceiver according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 40 is a two-divider, 41 is a broadcast RF tuner, 42 is a QAM demodulator, 43 is a DEMUX, 44 is an AV decoder, 45 is a CPU, 46 is a communication RF tuner, 47 is a filter, and 48 is reverse. A spread spectrum processing unit, 49 is a QPSK demodulating unit, 50 is a decoding processing unit, and 51 is channel selection data and an EPG data recording unit for user i.

  In the receiver according to the present embodiment, the signal from the CATV network is distributed by the two distributors 40, one selects a 6 MHz broadcast wave by the broadcast RF tuner 41, and the other selects the 50 MHz by the communication RF tuner 46. Acquires the spread spectrum signal of the incidental information. The broadcast wave signal passes through the QAM demodulator 42, the DEMUX 43, and the AV decoder 44, and the video and audio are decoded and output to the TV.

  The spread spectrum signal from the other communication RF tuner 46 passes through the filter 47 of the 50 MHz band and is input to the inverse spread spectrum processing unit 48. The output waveform of the broadcast wave is generated by despreading as shown in FIG. On the contrary, incidental information including EPG information appears as a band of 2 to 3 MHz. The waveform shown in the figure is demodulated by the QPSK demodulator 49 and processed by the decode processor 50 to obtain channel selection data and EPG data of the user or contract form i, for example. The channel selection data and EPG data decoded in this way are stored in the recording unit 50 and are referred to by the CPU 45, and are used for display of the EPG and viewing restriction based on the contract status.

  FIG. 4 shows a processing example in which the spread spectrum processing unit 9 shown in FIG. 1 spreads EPG data using spread codes that differ for each user or each contract form. Note that the channel selection information indicating which channel corresponds to which frequency band is spread using a spread code common to all subscribers (the channel selection data is not differentiated for each user or contract type). This is an example of uniform transmission).

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a spread code when EPG data is spectrum spread to six individuals having different users or contract forms (for example, monthly flat-rate contract, PPV contract, PPC contract, etc.). Show. On the receiver side, each spread code shown in the figure is stored in advance in a non-volatile memory or the like in the set box at the time of CATV viewing contract, and EPG data multiplexed with a code other than the stored spread code cannot be acquired. Since spread spectrum codes are orthogonal to each other, even if these different EPG data are simultaneously multiplexed and transmitted, they do not interfere with each other, and the receiver side codes orthogonal to the spreading code that they own (non-contract) EPG data) cannot be acquired.

  Here, orthogonal means that the number of bits that match and the number of bits that do not match are the same between the two spreading codes (inner product = 0). In the example of FIG. 4, since the code length is 8 bits, the number of “0” or “1” that matches or does not match between the spreading codes is as follows. There are four.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, for the EPG data, the confidentiality and confidentiality of the spread spectrum code are utilized (the spread code is used as a kind of encryption code between the CATV station and the user), and the CATV station. The EPG data to be provided is customized (for a specific application) and transmitted for each user or each contract form. At this time, the receiver performs the inverse spread spectrum process with a specific spreading code i for each user or each contract form, so that EPG data corresponding to other than the spreading code i is as shown in FIG. Only the EPG data corresponding to the spread code i can be acquired. The tuning data common to all subscribers is a single spreading code, and is used by switching the spreading code when receiving tuning data as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows a general spread spectrum code generation circuit. When the number of subscribers is large in a mobile phone or the like, a PN (Pseudo Noise) code is used as a spread code. In this generation circuit, a combination of an exclusive OR and a register D is configured in multiple stages. With this configuration, 2n-1 spreading codes are obtained. The number obtained by subtracting 1 from this number (subtracting the tuning code for channel selection data) is equal to the type of EPG information (number of users or number of contracts) that can be transmitted simultaneously.

  In the configuration example of FIG. 5, another spreading code sequence can be obtained by changing the feedback path from each register Di even with the same number of register stages (n). By using the well-known configuration example shown in the figure, spreading code sequences corresponding to the number of users or contract forms, which are orthogonal to each other, can be generated in order.

  As described above, the cable television program information transmitting apparatus and receiver according to the embodiment of the present invention are characterized in that the EPG information is not superimposed on the broadcast wave, but spread over a wide range of cable television bands using spread spectrum. Measure the C / N ratio at the head end of the transmitter so that it is distributed, EPG information is frequency-multiplexed and transmitted to broadcast content, and spread spectrum EPG information does not interfere with broadcast wave reception. In addition to making it possible to adjust the power or amplitude of the spread signal, and the spread bandwidth as required, in addition to giving a spread spectrum code for each individual user or each contract form, Simultaneously sending EPG information customized for each contract form. The channel selection information uses a spread code common to all users.

  By having such a structural feature, the following functions or actions can be achieved in the present embodiment. That is, in order to transmit EPG information, the 6 MHz band of broadcast waves is not used, and a dedicated transmission frequency is not required, so that the frequency resources of cable television stations can be used effectively. The cable television station can individually transmit EPG information based on each user or contract type. In the case of bidirectional cable TV, if the viewer's age, viewing history, etc. can be grasped on the CATV station side, it is possible to send an EPG in consideration of a desirable or undesirable (18 prohibited programs for minors) for the viewer.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure in the cable television program information transmitter which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the specific structural example and its description of the C / N monitoring part in this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure in the cable television receiver which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the spreading code used for every user or every contract form in the cable television program information transmitter which concerns on this embodiment, and a receiver. It is a figure which shows the production | generation circuit of the spread spectrum code used by this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the transmitter in the conventional cable television station.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Reception antenna, 2 ... Satellite broadcast receiver, 3 ... Voluntary broadcast transmission part, 4 ... Broadcasting head end part including QAM modulation part, 5 ... RF converter, 6 ... Frequency multiplexing part, 7 ... Air retransmission credit EPG And channel selection data recording unit, 8 ... QPSK modulation unit, 9 ... spread spectrum processing unit, 10 ... filter, 11 ... RF converter, 12 ... amplifier 1, 13 ... independent broadcast EPG and channel selection data recording unit, 14 ... QPSK Modulation unit, 16 ... filter, 17 ... RF converter, 18 ... amplifier 2, 19 ... 2 distribution unit, 20 ... C / N monitoring unit, 21 ... CATV network, 22 ... customer management system, 23 ... spread code database, 25 ... RF tuner for broadcasting, 26 ... filter, 27 ... C / N calculating unit, 28 ... transmission C / N appropriateness determining unit, 30 ... C / N monitoring scheduler, 40 ... 2 distributor, 41 ... R for broadcasting Tuner 42 ... QAM demodulator 43 ... DEMUX 44 ... AV decoder 45 ... CPU 46 ... RF tuner for communication 47 ... Filter 48 ... Despread spectrum processor 49 ... QPSK demodulator 50 ... Decode processing 51, EPG data and tuning data recording unit

Claims (7)

A program information transmitting device for cable television that transmits electronic program guide information (hereinafter referred to as EPG information), additional information including channel selection information indicating a channel and its transmission frequency, and broadcast content through a CATV network,
Spread spectrum processing is performed on the EPG information with different spreading codes for each user or for each contract form such as a monthly flat-rate contract or pay-per-view (hereinafter referred to as PPV) contract,
Spread spectrum processing with a common spreading code regardless of the user or contract form for the channel selection information,
A cable television program information transmitting apparatus, comprising: frequency-multiplexing the spread spectrum EPG information, additional information including the channel selection information, and a broadcast wave including the broadcast content, and transmitting the frequency multiplexed signals to the CATV network. In claim 1,
An amplifier is provided on the upstream side for frequency-multiplexing the spectrum-spread incidental information,
Monitoring C / N in the frequency-multiplexed transmission signal;
A program information transmitting apparatus for cable television, wherein the gain of the amplifier is controlled by the output of the C / N monitoring so that the C / N falls within a predetermined range. In claim 2,
In the C / N monitoring, a C / N appropriateness determination is performed using a detection value of a bit error rate in the frequency-multiplexed transmission signal and a conversion table of the bit error rate and C / N. Cable TV program information transmitter. A cable TV program information transmitting device for transmitting broadcast content together with auxiliary information including EPG information and channel selection information through a CATV network,
A broadcast wave system section having a broadcast RF tuner for selecting a broadcast wave including the broadcast content, a broadcast modulation section for modulating a broadcast wave from the broadcast RF tuner, and
An auxiliary information system comprising an auxiliary information modulation unit for modulating the auxiliary information, a spread spectrum processing unit for spectrum-spreading the output from the auxiliary information modulation unit, and a gain-controllable amplifier for amplifying the output from the spread spectrum processing unit And
A frequency multiplexing unit that frequency-multiplexes signals of the broadcast wave system unit and the incidental information system unit;
A C / N monitoring unit for monitoring C / N at the output of the frequency multiplexing unit,
The spread spectrum processing unit is provided for each user or a monthly flat-rate contract or P.264. P. V. Spread spectrum processing is performed on the EPG information with a different spreading code for each contract form such as a contract, and spread spectrum processing is performed on the tuning information with a common spreading code regardless of the user or contract form. ,
A program information transmitting apparatus for cable television, wherein a gain of the amplifier is controlled by an output of the C / N monitoring unit to generate a spread spectrum signal within a permissible interference range for the broadcast wave. In claim 1, 2, 3 or 4,
The cable television program information transmitting device, wherein the supplementary information includes supplementary information of independent broadcasting of a cable television station in addition to supplementary information in a BS digital broadcast wave, a CS digital broadcast wave, or a terrestrial digital broadcast wave. A cable television receiver that receives broadcast content through the CATV network together with incidental information including EPG information and channel selection information,
The received signal is received for each user or a monthly flat-rate contract or P.264. P. V. Spread spectrum processing is performed on the EPG information with a different spreading code for each contract form such as a contract, and the channel selection information is spread spectrum processed with a common spreading code regardless of the user or contract form. In addition, the spread spectrum EPG information, the incidental information including the channel selection information, and the broadcast wave including the broadcast content are frequency multiplexed,
The EPG information is provided with a despread spectrum processing section that performs a despread spectrum process using a spread code corresponding to each user or each contract form for the spread spectrum EPG information included in the received signal. A cable television receiver characterized in that EPG information corresponding to a user or contract form is acquired from the receiver. In claim 6,
The reverse spread spectrum processing unit switches a spread code for channel selection information when receiving the channel selection information.

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