JP4591060B2 - PSI / SI generation apparatus, multiplexing apparatus, and program distribution system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to multiplexing of a program distribution system, and in particular, a plurality of services such as a television service, an audio service, a data service, etc. in a CATV (cable television) independent broadcasting, etc., are a single service TS (transport stream). It can be applied to a system in which PSI / SI (program identification information / program arrangement information) is added and multiplexed.

  In the digital CATV system, EPG (program information) is provided as a service to viewers. This program information is provided by repeatedly transmitting a table constituting the PSI / SI together with a program according to a certain period.

  PSI is standardized by MPEG2 Systems (ISO / IEC13818-1, ITU-T H.222.0), and PAT (Program Association Table) and PMT (Program Map) are information necessary for selecting a required program. Table), NIT (Network Information Table), and CAT (Conditional Access Table).

  SI is defined by ARIB STD-B10, and is SDT (Service Description Table), EIT (Event Information Table), BIT (Broadcaster Information Table), TOT (Time), and various information defined for the convenience of program selection. This table is made up of a table such as “Offset Table”.

Although there has been a technique for adding program information to a program and multiplexing and sending it as a TS (see, for example, Patent Document 1), a multiplexing device is a device having only a function of multiplexing input information. In order to multiplex the transport stream (TS) of a program input from different devices and the PSI / SI transmission timing together, the device that transmits the PSI / SI has a period delay while strictly managing the time. It was necessary to input information to the multiplexer so that there was no such problem.
JP 2001-186481 A

  In the independent broadcasting system of the digital CATV system, in order to multiplex and transmit a program and PSI / SI, three devices, a PSI / SI generation device 5, a PSI / SI transmission device 4, and a multiplexing device 6, as shown in FIG. Need.

  The PSI / SI generation device 5 generates a section 202 based on the input PSI / SI information 101, and the PSI / SI transmission device 4 transmits the section 202 as TS204 in a periodic manner while strictly managing the time, Multiplexer 6 multiplexes program TS 201 and PSI / SI TS 204.

  The PSI / SI transmission device 4 requires an expensive dedicated device equipped with a real-time OS in order to perform time management.

  In the present invention, the section 202 generated by the PSI / SI generation apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 is directly input to the multiplexing apparatus 2 without going through the conventional PSI / SI transmission apparatus 4 in order to solve the above-mentioned problem.

  For this purpose, the PSI / SI generating apparatus 1 gives a transmission start time to the section 202, and the section 202 is always input to the multiplexing apparatus 2 only for what is now sent and what is sent next. As a result, the processing load for performing time management of the PSI / SI of the multiplexing device 2 is reduced.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate a dedicated device for transmitting PSI / SI in independent broadcasting of a digital CATV system, simplify the equipment configuration, and reduce the introduction, operation, and maintenance costs of the independent broadcasting transmission system. It becomes.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking PSI / SI generation of a digital CATV system as an example.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows an example of a system configuration for multiplexing a program and PSI / SI.

  The ENC (encoder) 3 encodes the input 301 of analog content such as a voluntary broadcast or community channel into a TS (Transport Stream) 201 and outputs it to the multiplexing device 2.

  The PSI / SI generating apparatus 1 generates a section 202 based on the input PSI / SI information 101, multiplexing apparatus information 102, and period information 103, and outputs the section 202 to the multiplexing apparatus 2. Multiplexer information 102 is information on operation setting values of the multiplexer, and period information 103 is a value of a transmission period interval of the PSI / SI table.

  Multiplexer 2 multiplexes TS 201 and section 202, and outputs the signal as RF signal 203 after 64QAM modulation.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the PSI / SI generation apparatus 1.

  The PSI / SI generation device 1 includes a PSI / SI information storage unit 14 that stores PSI / SI information 101 input to the PSI / SI information input unit 11 and a multiplexing device input to the multiplexing device information input unit 12. Multiplexer information storage unit 15 for storing information 102, cycle information storage unit 16 for storing cycle information 103 input to cycle information input unit 13, and schedule management for managing transmission timing while monitoring internal clock 17 And a section information generation / transmission unit 19 that generates a section 202 in accordance with an instruction from the schedule management unit and transmits the section 202 to the multiplexing apparatus 2.

  Here, the schedule management unit 18 manages the PSI / SI information 101 stored in the PSI / SI information storage unit 14 while monitoring the internal clock 17. When the switching time comes, the schedule management unit 18 notifies the section information generation / transmission unit 19. A section 202 generation / transmission instruction is issued. The switching time includes a predetermined periodic switching time every 3 hours, and switching time due to a change between programs, and the program and program switching time are EIT in the PSI / SI information 101. Is set as the switching time.

  The schedule management unit 18 extracts the broadcast start time of the program from the SI information EIT table stored in the PSI / SI information storage unit 14, and the section information generation / transmission unit 19 incorporates this in the section information and transmits it to the multiplexing device 2. To do.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the section 202. The transmission start time 37 for controlling the multiplexing apparatus, the command ID 33 for communication, the data length 34, the CRC 39, etc. are added to the original section information 38 of PSI / SI. Together, the section 202 is configured.

  The section information generation / transmission unit 19 generates and transmits a section 202 to be transmitted next by giving a transmission start time in advance. However, when the section 202 to be transmitted at the first time or the like has not been transmitted yet, the section 202 that is currently transmitted and the section 202 that is transmitted next are given a transmission start time, and are generated and transmitted.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the multiplexing apparatus 2.

  The multiplexing apparatus 2 includes a section information input unit 21 to which the section 202 is input, a TSP generation unit 22 that converts the input section 202 into a TS packet, a TSP storage unit 23 that stores TS packetized information, The schedule management unit 26 that manages the transmission timing while monitoring the internal clock 25, the TS input unit 24 that inputs TS 201, and the information stored in the TSP storage unit 23 according to instructions from the schedule management unit 26 and the TS input unit 24 The multiplexing unit 27 that multiplexes the TS 201 that has been multiplexed and the 64 QAM modulation unit 28 that 64QAM modulates the information multiplexed by the multiplexing unit 27 and outputs the result as RF 203.

  Here, the TSP storage unit 23 always buffers the next section 202 in addition to the section 202 currently transmitted.

  The schedule management unit 26 monitors the internal clock 25, compares the transmission start time given to the section information stored in the TSP storage unit 23 with the internal clock, and switches the TS packet to be transmitted when the two match. Further, the past section 202 is deleted at the timing when the next section 202 is received from the PSI / SI generating apparatus 1, and the TSP storage unit 23 is updated. If the next section 202 does not exist, it is deleted from the TSP storage unit 23 in response to a deletion instruction from the PSI / SI generating apparatus 1.

  The multiplexing unit 27 multiplexes the switched TS packets.

  As described above, since the PSI / SI generating apparatus 1 can transmit the section 202 to be transmitted next to the multiplexing apparatus 2 in advance, it can be immediately performed at the time of section switching due to a program change or time passage as in the past. Therefore, it becomes unnecessary to switch the section 202, and it is not necessary to strictly manage the time, and the section 202 can be generated and transmitted with a margin. This eliminates the need for a PSI / SI transmission device that manages the transmission timing of the section 202, thereby reducing the cost of the CATV headend equipment.

(Embodiment 2)
Further, in the second embodiment, the section information generation / transmission unit 19 of the PSI / SI generation apparatus 1 acquires the transmission cycle information 103 of the section 202 from the cycle information storage unit 16 and configures the PSI / SI defined by ARIB. The section 202 is transmitted by dividing it into a periodic group in which the tables having the same transmission period are collected.

  The TSP storage unit 23 of the multiplexing apparatus 2 stores TS packets for each periodic group, and the schedule management unit 26 monitors the internal clock 25, and when the transmission start time given to the section 202 comes, the TS packet to be transmitted Are switched, and the switched TS packets are multiplexed according to a predetermined period.

  This eliminates the need for table selection and transmission cycle management required on the multiplexing apparatus 2 side, thereby reducing the burden on the multiplexing apparatus.

  As described above, the first and second embodiments have been described using the example in which each function is an individual element to realize the present invention. However, each means for realizing each function operates on one or a plurality of chips. It is also possible to adopt a configuration. It is also possible to configure each of these means as a computer-readable program or a program that can be incorporated as software in an electronic program guide generation device or a device capable of realizing the same function. Further, these programs can be stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM. As a result, each means for realizing the above functions can be realized by a PSI / SI generating apparatus and various apparatuses capable of realizing the same function.

  In a CATV company, it is possible to introduce and operate a service that distributes a self-broadcast such as a community channel with an electronic program guide (EPG) with a simplified device configuration.

Configuration diagram of a system for multiplexing programs and PSI / SI Block diagram showing the configuration of the PSI / SI generator Block diagram showing the configuration of the multiplexer Configuration diagram of a system for multiplexing conventional programs and PSI / SI Section information structure diagram

Explanation of symbols

1 PSI / SI generator 2 Multiplexer 3 ENC (encoder)
4 PSI / SI sending device 5 Conventional PSI / SI generating device 6 Conventional multiplexing device 11 PSI / SI information input unit 12 Multiplexing device information input unit 13 Period information input unit 14 PSI / SI information storage unit 15 Multiplexing device information storage Unit 16 Period information storage unit 17 Internal clock 18 Schedule management unit 19 Section information generation / transmission unit 21 Section information input unit 22 TSP generation unit 23 TSP storage unit 24 TS input unit 25 Internal clock 26 Schedule management unit 27 Multiplexing unit 28 64QAM Modulator 31 start
32 Address 33 Command ID
34 Data length 35 Service ID
36 Control number 37 Transmission start time 38 Section information 39 CRC
101 PSI / SI information 102 Multiplexer information 103 Period information 201 TS
202 Section information 203 RF
204 TS
205 TS
301 Input of analog contents such as independent broadcasting and community channels

Claims (4)

A first schedule management unit for issuing a section generation / transmission instruction to a section information generation / transmission unit to be described later when a switching time based on PSI / SI information comes while monitoring the first internal clock;
Based on the instruction of the first schedule management unit,
If the section to be transmitted is not yet transmitted, the next transmission section is the broadcast start time based on the SI information of the next transmission program and the next transmission transmission start time for controlling the multiplexer is added to the next transmission section information. Generate a current transmission section that is generated in advance and adds the current transmission transmission start time based on the SI information of the current transmission program to the current transmission section information,
If the section to be sent is not yet transmitted, the next transmission section is generated in advance,
A section information generation / transmission unit for transmitting the generated sections by dividing them into periodic groups in which the same transmission cycle of the table is collected based on the cycle information which is the value of the transmission cycle interval of the table constituting the PSI / SI; ,
A PSI / SI generating apparatus. A TSP generation unit that converts the section information input from the PSI / SI generation apparatus according to claim 1 into a TS packet;
A TSP storage unit that stores the section information and the next transmission section information that are currently transmitted in the form of TS packets for each periodic group of the PSI / SI generation device;
A second schedule management unit that switches between the section information and the TS packet to be transmitted when the transmission start time added to the section information matches the second internal clock;
The TS packet switched based on the instruction of the second schedule management unit is multiplexed according to the period information, and the section information stored in the TSP storage unit and the encoded TS are multiplexed according to the transmission start time. And outputting a multiplexing unit,
A multiplexing device. A PSI / SI generation apparatus according to claim 1;
A multiplexing device according to claim 2;
A program distribution system with 4. The program distribution system according to claim 3, wherein a data format of the PSI / SI to which a transmission start time transmitted from the PSI / SI generation apparatus to the multiplexing apparatus is added is not specified for a section.

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