JPH02231887A - Terminal equipment for catv - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily realize simultaneous recording and different channel recording in a VTR by a CATV subscriber by providing a distributor and an audio video output terminal in the input part of a terminal equipment and providing an output changeover switch in the output part of the terminal equipment in addition to the constitution of the conventional terminal equipment. CONSTITUTION:A CATV input signal 11 is inputted to the CATV input terminal of a terminal equipment 12 for CATV and distributed by a distributor 14. For example, when the simultaneous recording of retransmission is executed, the channel selection of the terminal equipment 12 is matched with a retransmission channel and an output changeover switch 21 can be selected to both sides. The television/video switch of a VTR 25 can be selected to either a television or a video side. The tuner/external input switch of the VTR 25 is selected to an external input side and an audio video signal is recorded from the terminal equipment 12. By matching the channel selection of a television receiver 24 to the RF output channel of the terminal equipment 12 or VTR 25, the retransmission can be viewed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Field of Application The present invention relates to a CATV (cable television) terminal device, and in particular to simultaneous recording, recording of alternate programs, and tape playback in a recording/playback device such as a video tape recorder. The present invention relates to a CATV terminal device that is compatible with the following.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, the CATV industry has been rapidly increasing in conjunction with the expansion of domestic demand, and the content of programs has become richer and the number of channels has increased. Against this background, CAT
V subscribers have a desire to record valuable CATV programs on a video tape recorder (VTR) or the like.

A conventional CATV terminal device will be explained below. First, channels broadcast on the CATV system will be explained. Channels can be divided into two types: retransmission and independent broadcasting.

Retransmission is a method in which TV radio waves received by an antenna are amplified and normally supplied to a CATV terminal device at the same frequency. This retransmission method allows direct reception with a television receiver or VTR.

On the other hand, there are two types of independent broadcasting: independent programs and paid programs. Independent programs include weather forecasts, local news, live programs produced in studios, etc., and are usually available for a basic fee paid by CATV subscribers every month. Paid programs are valuable programs such as new movies, and the video signals are scrambled (encrypted) to prevent unauthorized viewing.
supplied to the subscriber's terminal. Scrambling processing is well known, and common methods include a synchronous compression method and a video polarity inversion method. If a subscriber wants to view a pay program, he or she applies for it using the remote control attached to the terminal or by telephone. In response to the subscriber's application, the service center puts the subscriber's terminal into a descrambleable state, allowing the subscriber to view the content on a normal screen. When subscribing to this pay program, a special fee will be charged to the subscriber in addition to the basic fee. Since independent broadcasts are supplied to terminals in a CATV frequency band that is different from normal TV radio waves, they cannot be received directly by TV receivers or VTRs, and especially in the case of pay programs, they must be descrambled. Must be.

Here, CATV signals are classified into retransmission and independent broadcasting, and V
TR recording and viewing on a TV receiver can be classified into simultaneous recording and recording of a different program as follows. Here, simultaneous recording refers to recording the program being viewed on the TV receiver on a VTR, and recording a different program means recording a program other than the program being viewed on the TV receiver on the VTR. .

a. Simultaneous recording of retransmission Simultaneous recording of independent broadcast a. Viewing of retransmission and back recording of retransmission d. Viewing of retransmission and back recording of independent broadcast e. Back-recording of viewing and retransmission of independent broadcasts Figures 2 and 3 are block diagrams showing the connection between the circuitry related to television signals of a conventional CATV terminal device, VTR, and television receiver. The parts related to , and the parts related to control of each circuit are omitted. In FIG. 2, the OATV input signal 1 is input to the vHF input terminal of the TR 2, and the VHF output of the VTR 2 is supplied to the CATV input terminal 4 of the terminal device 3. The CATV input signal 1 is converted into an intermediate frequency signal by a channel converter 5, and then sent to a descrambler 6.
The signal subjected to synchronous compression and scrambling processing is descrambled (descrambled) and returned to its original state, and is demodulated into an audio signal and a video signal by a television signal demodulation section 7. The audio signal and video signal are converted into a specific television channel by an RF modulator section 8 and supplied to a television receiver 10 from an RF output terminal 9. In the conventional example shown in FIG. 3, the order of connection between the VTR 2 and the terminal device 3 shown in FIG. 2 is different.

The operation of the connection between the terminal device 3 configured as described above, its VTR 2, and the television receiver 1o will be described below. In FIG. 2, a and C of the sections a to e are shown.
, lil is possible. As an example, the operation of viewing the independent broadcast of e and recording the retransmission will be explained. By setting the tuning of the VTR 2 to the retransmission channel and setting the TV/video switch of the VTR 2 to the television side, the CATV input signal 1 is passed through, and the tuning of the terminal device 3 is tuned to the independent broadcasting channel. The TV receiver 1o selects the same channel as the output channel of the IF output terminal 9.

By the above operations, it is possible to watch the independent broadcast and record the retransmission. Although the explanation is omitted, a, 6ノ\-7C can also be done in the same way.

Next, in the conventional example shown in FIG.
is possible. As an example, the operation when simultaneously recording the independent broadcasting of item b will be explained. The terminal device 3 is tuned to the independent broadcasting channel, and the VTR 2 is tuned to the output channel of the terminal device 3. Channel selection on TV receiver 1o is VT
Match to the output channel of R2. By the above operations, simultaneous recording a of independent broadcasting can be performed. You can also do b in the same way.

Problem to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above conventional configuration,
If it is not possible to satisfy all requirements, for example, if a retransmitted program to be viewed and an independent broadcast program to be recorded are in the same time slot, one of the programs must be sacrificed.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a CATV terminal device that supports all types of simultaneous recording and back recording.

Means for Solving the Problem In order to achieve this object, the CATV terminal device of the present invention includes, in addition to the configuration of a conventional terminal device, a distributor, an audio/video output terminal at the input section of the terminal device, The output section of the terminal device is equipped with an output changeover switch.

Function With this configuration, the VTR can receive both CATV signals and signals from the terminal device, and can output both the RF output signal of the terminal device and the VHF output signal of the VTR to the television receiver. It is possible to support simultaneous recording and back-recording of all of the above ae.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the connections between the TV signal-related portion of a CATV terminal device, a VTR, and a TV receiver in an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the CATV input signal 11 is the
The signal enters the ATV input terminal and is distributed by the distributor 14. One side is the VTR output terminal 15. ! ■ of lllvTR25
The signal is supplied to the HF input terminal 26. The other signal is converted into an intermediate frequency signal by the channel converter 16, synchronously compressed by the descrambler 17, the synchronizing signal is regenerated, the signal is returned to the original signal state, and the signal is sent to the television signal demodulator 18. Demodulated into audio and video signals.

One of the audio and video signals is supplied from an audio/video output terminal 19 to an audio/video input terminal 27 of the VTR 25. The other signal is converted into a specific television channel by the RF modulator section 20 and input to one of the output selector switches 21 . The other side of the output switching switch 21 is the VHF output terminal 2 of the VTR 25.
The signal from 8 is input via the VTR input terminal. The output changeover switch 21 can be changed over using a remote control attached to the terminal. The signal selected by the output changeover switch 21 is output from the RF output terminal 23 to the television receiver 24.

The operation and operation procedure of the CATV terminal device configured as described above will be explained below. In Figure 1, the a
- Simultaneous recording and back recording of all e.9.

a. The retransmission simultaneous recording terminal device 12 may select the retransmission channel in accordance with the retransmission channel, and the output changeover switch 21 may select either side. VTR
The TV/video switch 25 may be selected either way. The tuner/external input switch of the VTR 25 selects the external input side and records audio/video signals from the terminal device 12. The terminal device 1 is used to select channels on the television receiver 24.
By tuning to the RF output channel of 2 or VTR 2B, you can watch the retransmission ~. The above is an example of the operation procedure for simultaneous recording of retransmission.

b. Simultaneous recording of independent broadcasts The terminal device 12 is tuned to the independent broadcasting channel.

The following operating procedures are a. It is similar to

C. The channel selection on the retransmission viewing and retransmission recording terminal device 12 is set to the retransmission channel desired for recording, and the output changeover switch 21 is set to the VTR side. Set the TV/video switch on the VTR 26 to the TV side. Teyuna 1o/. of VTR25. ．． 1. /External input switch selects the external input side, and terminal device 1
Record audio/video signals from 2. The television receiver 24 is tuned to the retransmission channel that the user wishes to view.

d. The viewing of retransmissions and the selection of the sub-recording terminal device 12 for independent broadcasting are tuned to the independent broadcasting channel to be recorded. The following operating procedure is C. It is similar to

e. When viewing and retransmitting independent broadcasts, the recording terminal device @ 12 selects the channel to match the independent broadcast channel to be viewed, and the output changeover switch 21 is selected on the terminal side. The TV/video switch on the VTR 25 may be set in any order. Set the tuner/external input switch on the VTR 25 to the tuner side, and select and record the retransmission channel you wish to record. The television receiver 24 is tuned to match the output channel of the terminal 12.

As described above, according to this embodiment, a distributor is provided at the input section of the terminal device, an audio/video output terminal is provided, and an output switching switch is provided at the output section of the terminal device. eIt is possible to support all simultaneous recordings and back recordings. Furthermore, by providing the terminal device with a timer function, it becomes possible to handle voice mails.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides a CATV terminal device that allows CATV subscribers to easily realize simultaneous recording and back-recording using a VTR, and has great practical effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the connection between a CATV terminal device, a VTR, and a television receiver in an embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 2 and 3 are block diagrams showing connections between the circuit system of a conventional CATV terminal device, a VTR, and a television receiver. 12... CATV terminal device, 13...
・OATV input terminal, 14...Distributor, 15...
...VTR output terminal, 19...Audio/video output terminal, 21...Output selection switch, 22...VTR input terminal, 23...
・RF output terminal.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A distributor that distributes the CATV input signal to the output for the recording/playback device and the internal circuit system of the terminal device;
an audio/video output terminal that outputs an audio/video signal obtained by demodulating an ATV input signal; an RF modulator unit that converts the audio/video signal into a specific channel signal; and a first RF input terminal from an external RF signal input terminal.
A CAT characterized by comprising an output changeover switch that selectively outputs either the signal or the RF signal of the RF modulator section.
V terminal device.