JPH0944932A - Transmitting device, receiving device and transmitting-receiving system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transmitting-receiving system in which program can be easily and surely watched, by the program related information encoded into bar codes with video signals and, on the receiving side, by extracting and decoding the bar codes. SOLUTION: The output of a video processing circuit 12 and the information related to a program which includes reservation numbers, etc., encoded into a bar code by a bar code encoder 15 are synthesized by a synthesizer 13 and transmitted, on the transmission side. The bar code is extracted from the received synthesized signal by a bar code extracting section 26, and the bar code extracted by a bar code decoder is decoded to provide a transmitting-receiving system in which simple and sure program information can be easily and surely watched, and program reservation and video shopping are possible.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transmitting device, a receiving device, and a transmitting / receiving system suitable for use in satellite television broadcasting or cable television broadcasting, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Digital television broadcasting using satellites is being put to practical use. In digital television broadcasting using satellites, the number of channels has increased, and the number of channels has reached 150, for example. Also, cable television broadcasting with 10 to several 100 channels has already been put into practical use. As the number of channels increases in this way, the amount of information about broadcast programs also becomes enormous, and it is not possible to deal with such problems with conventional program guides for newspapers and magazines.

Therefore, in digital television broadcasting using such a satellite, a program schedule to be broadcast is electronically distributed and displayed on the television screen so that the viewer can select a desired program from the programs. An electronic distribution system for program guides is used. Such a system is
It is called a PG (Electronic Programming Guide).

In a conventional electronic distribution system, character information such as a broadcast time, a channel, and a title name of a program to be broadcast is transmitted. A viewer searches for a program he wants to watch from electronically distributed programs, notes the channel and broadcast time of the program, and when the time arrives, the viewer sets the channel. Further, when setting a timer for a television receiver or a VTR, a program desired to be watched is searched from among electronically delivered programs, and a channel and a broadcast time of the program are set in a timer. .

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional electronic distribution system, only the character information such as the broadcast time, the channel, the title name of the program to be broadcast, etc. is transmitted.
Therefore, if one does not pay attention to the broadcast start time, he often forgets to watch the desired program. Also,
When setting a timer of a television receiver or a VTR, it is necessary to look at a program table to find a program to watch and set a channel and a broadcast time of the program.
Further, in the conventional electronic distribution system, only the character information such as the broadcast time, the channel, and the title name of the broadcast-scheduled program is sent, and the content of the program cannot be grasped.

[0006] For example, it would be very convenient if a program desired to be viewed can be searched for in a program guide that has been electronically distributed and this program can be reserved with simple settings. Further, in the conventional electronic distribution system, the contents of the program cannot be grasped, but if the information such as the outline of the program and the genre of the program can be seen, it is very useful when searching for the desired program. Furthermore, if the product information in the shopping program, the information such as the telephone number, and the information about the address of the sweepstakes and the donation are sent as data, you can call the other party without writing down the telephone number and send the product. You can place an order and send a donation, which is very convenient.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a transmitting device, a receiving device, and a transmitting / receiving system that allow information related to a program to be viewed easily.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a transmitting apparatus, a receiving apparatus, and a transmitting / receiving system that can easily make reservation settings even in multi-channel broadcasting by using information related to programs.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a transmitting device, a receiving device, and a transmitting / receiving system that can easily perform communication related to a program by using information related to the program.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, an encoding means for encoding program related information data into a barcode, a barcode output from the encoding means and a video signal of a screen to be transmitted are combined. A video signal transmitting apparatus having a synthesizing means and a transmitting means for outputting a video signal in which a barcode is synthesized.

According to the present invention, receiving means for receiving a video signal in which a bar code of program related information is combined, bar code extracting means for extracting a bar code from a video signal in which a bar code is combined, and program related information from the bar code are included. A video signal receiving device having a decoding means for decoding information data.

According to the present invention, the bar code data of the program-related information is encoded, the encoded bar code data and the video signal of the screen to be transmitted are combined, and the bar code and the video signal of the screen to be transmitted are combined. Transmission / reception comprising a transmitting means for transmitting the signal, a receiving means for receiving the video signal in which the bar code of the program-related information is combined, extracting a bar code from the video signal in which the bar code is combined, and decoding the bar code. System.

The program-related information is encoded into a bar code, combined with a video signal and transmitted. Upon receipt, this bar code is extracted and decoded.

By sending the start time and channel of the program by a bar code, the program can be reserved easily. By sending the product number or telephone number by bar code, you can easily do TV shopping. By sending the information related to the program by bar code, the detailed information of the program can be easily viewed.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present invention is used, for example, in digital television broadcasting using satellites. FIG. 1 shows an outline of a television broadcasting system to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a television broadcasting station. The television broadcasting station 1 produces a broadcast program and transmits this television signal to the satellite 2. This television broadcast has a multi-channel structure, and has several tens to several hundreds of channels.

The television signal transmitted from the television broadcasting station 1 is, for example, a digital television signal. The digital television signal is a signal obtained by compressing a digital video signal using, for example, MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) 2 and modulating it with a carrier wave. MPEG2 is a DCT (Discrete Cosine)
Transform) and variable length coding are used to compress and code digital video signals.

The television broadcast signal sent via the satellite 2 is received by the television receiver of each home 3,
Will be played. Then, the broadcast screen is reproduced on the television receiver of each home 3. In the above example,
Each home receives the signal sent via the satellite 2 directly, but once the signal sent via the satellite 2 is
It is also possible to receive the signal at a cable television broadcasting station and deliver it to each home or the like from the cable television broadcasting station.

In one embodiment of the present invention, in such a television broadcasting system, the television broadcasting station 1
When transmitting a digital television signal from, a bar code is transmitted together with the screen. The information of the bar code on the screen is captured by the receiving side. By using the information of this bar code, it is possible to see detailed information of the program, make a program reservation, and order a product in a shopping program. This will be described in detail below.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the structure of the bar code sent together with the screen. During one horizontal period, a bar code signal is transmitted as shown in FIG. 2A. The position of the line for transmitting the barcode signal and the number of lines may be determined in advance, or may be changed as necessary.

The bar code signal is pictorially
It is a screen with sharp edges and high contrast. Therefore, it is desirable to devise the following.

(1) In order to distinguish from a normal video signal,
Insert the identification signal. (2) Reliability is improved by repeatedly sending every field. (3) Reliability is improved by repeatedly sending every line. (4) Invert each line or make a code system in which 0s or 1s are not continuous so as not to disturb the viewer. (5) The band is limited so that the color does not come out. (6) The clock frequency is limited so that there is no deterioration during dubbing. (7) The VTR limits the amplitude so that the reversal phenomenon does not occur during recording. (8) Reducing waveform distortion when image compression coding is performed. For example, the size of the DCT block and the size of the waveform are matched.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the bar code data is composed of 5 words, word 1 to word 5. Word 1 is, for example, 2 bits and indicates the start / end of data. Word 1 is defined as follows, for example.

00 Start of data 01 Midway of data 11 End of data

The word 2 is, for example, 3 bits and indicates the type of data. Word 2 is defined as follows, for example.

000 Program-related 001 Product information 010 Service information 011 Time 100 Program digest 101 Program start

"100" of word 2 is a "program digest", and this recognizes that it is a program guide, and the receiving side automatically saves the program guide on a magnetic disk or VTR, so that you can like it whenever you want. It becomes possible to reserve various programs.

The word 3 is, for example, 3 bits and indicates detailed information. Word 3, word 2 is "000"
The definition is different between the case of "001" and the case of "001". Word 2
Is "000", the detailed information of the program information is "00".
In the case of "1", it is the detailed information of the product information.

When the word 2 is "000", the word 3 is detailed information of the program information and is defined as follows.

000 Program title 001 Start time 010 End time 011 Year / month / day 100 Channel 101 Program genre 110 Time when title is sent 111 Program related information

"100" of word 3 is "the time when the title is sent". This is provided to ensure that you can search at the beginning of the program. That is, there are many cases where commercials and the like are present at the beginning of programs. Therefore, if a search is performed based on only the program start time, commercials are often reproduced. By using this "time when the title is sent",
You will be able to search from the beginning of the program.

When the word 2 is "001", the word 3 is detailed information of product information and is defined as follows.

000 Product name 001 Company name 010 Telephone number 011 Fax number 100 Product code

The word 4 is, for example, 6 bits and indicates data. As for word 4, for example, word 1 is “0
When it is "0", it indicates the data number, and word 1 is "0".
When it is "1", it indicates the data of word 2 and word 3.

The word 5 is, for example, 6 bits and is a CRC code for error detection. Malfunctions can be prevented by detecting an error with this CRC code.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the transmitter of the television broadcasting station 1. The transmitter of the television broadcasting station 1 is provided with a barcode encoder 15 for transmitting such a barcode.

That is, in FIG. 3, a video signal is supplied to the input terminal 11. This video signal is supplied to the video processing circuit 12. The output of the video processing circuit 12 is supplied to the synthesizing circuit 13.

Data to be transmitted as a bar code is supplied to the input terminal 14. This data is supplied to the barcode encoder 15. With the barcode encoder 15,
For example, a bar code signal having the structure shown in FIG. 2 is formed. The barcode signal is supplied to the combining circuit 13.

The synthesizing circuit 13 synthesizes the bar code signal into the video signal. The output of this synthesis circuit 13 is A /
The video signal supplied to the D converter 16 and transmitted is digitized. The output of the A / D converter 16 is supplied to the image compression encoder 17.

The image compression encoder 17 is, for example, MPE.
Video data is highly efficiently encoded by the G2 image compression method. The output of the image compression encoder 17 is supplied to the modulation circuit 18. The modulator circuit 18 modulates the output of the image compression encoder 17 with a carrier wave having a predetermined frequency. The output of the modulation circuit 18 is passed through the power amplifier 19,
It is output from the antenna 20. Radio waves from this antenna 20 are transmitted to the satellite 2.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the television receiver of each home 3. Each home television receiver is provided with a bar code decoder 27 for decoding the bar code sent together with the screen.

That is, in FIG. 4, the antenna 21 receives the radio wave of the digital television broadcast transmitted via the satellite 2. The reception signal of the antenna 21 is supplied to the tuner circuit 22. The tuner circuit 22 selects a desired channel and demodulates this received signal.
The output of the tuner circuit 22 is supplied to the image expansion decoder 23.

The image expansion decoder 23 is, for example, MPEG.
The digital video signal compressed and sent by the two methods is expanded to a baseband digital video signal. This baseband digital video signal is D
It is supplied to the / A converter 24. D / A converter 2
4, the digital video signal is converted back into an analog video signal.

The output of the D / A converter 24 is supplied to the video reproducing circuit 25, and the bar code extracting circuit 2
6. The video signal is reproduced by the video reproduction circuit 25. The output of this video playback circuit 25 is CR
It is supplied to the T display 37. The reception screen is displayed on the CRT display 37.

The bar code extracting circuit 26 extracts the bar code signal sent together with the screen.
The output of the bar code extracting circuit 26 is supplied to the bar code decoder 27. The barcode is decoded by the barcode decoder 27. This data is supplied to the controller 28.

A memory 29 is provided in the controller 28. The memory 29 stores the captured bar code data.

Further, the controller 28 outputs a reception channel setting signal. This reception channel setting signal is supplied to the tuner circuit 22. The reception frequency is controlled by this reception channel setting signal. Further, a power supply setting signal is output from the controller 28, and the power supply circuit 30 is controlled by this power supply setting signal. Further, the controller 28 is connected to the commander 3 via the light receiving unit 31.
2, the command signal is supplied. This command signal sets the operating state of the television receiver.

The commander 32 is provided with a bar code take-in button 36. When the barcode capture button 36 is pressed, the barcode data is stored in the memory 29.

A printer 33, a modem 34, a VTR 35, etc. can be connected to the controller 28.

As described above, in the system to which the present invention is applied, the transmitter of the broadcasting station 1 can transmit the bar code together with the screen. This bar code is for each household 3
Decoded by the television receiver of. in this way,
By sending the barcode, various services can be realized.

For example, a service in the case of program advance notice will be described. As the program announcement, for example, a screen with a screen as shown in FIG. 5A is distributed. As shown in FIG. 5A, in the program preview screen, together with the character information 50 of the program preview,
There is a bar code 51. As described above, the bar code 51 includes the start time and end time of the program, the channel,
Information such as title is included.

The viewer looks at the screen of the program preview as shown in FIG. 5A and determines whether he or she wants to watch this program. When the viewer wants to watch the program, the commander 32
And press the bar code capture button 36 of.

When the bar code fetch button 36 is pressed, the data of this bar code is placed in the list of the memory 29. Data is recorded in the list in order, and when it overflows, it is erased in order. Then, the reservation screen as shown in FIG. 5B is displayed. On this reservation screen, the viewer makes a TV reservation or
Select whether to reserve a TR, reserve a VTR with a television, or just put it on a list. In this way, the program you want to watch is reserved.

The controller 28 includes a timer 38. The time of the timer 38 can be calibrated based on the time information sent by the bar code.

The controller 28 compares the time of the timer 38 with the time of the reserved program obtained from the barcode data and stored in the memory 29. Then, when the time of the timer 38 matches the time of the reserved program, the controller 28 gives a power-on command to the power supply circuit 30 to turn on the power, and causes the tuner circuit 22 to follow the channel information stored in the memory 29. Send the channel setting signal. Thus, at the reserved time, the broadcast will be displayed on the television.

Time data is sent from the broadcasting station on a bar code. Timer 3 in controller 28
Instead of using 8, the time of the reserved program may be compared with the time sent by the barcode. Note that it is convenient to attach a time stamp to each data group in order to prioritize and sort by date and time.

When setting the timer of the VTR 35, the VTR 35 and the television receiver are connected in advance. The controller 28 compares the time of the timer 38 with the time of the reserved program, and when the time of the timer 38 matches the time of the reserved program, gives a recording command to the VTR 35.

In the above example, the program preview screen is displayed. However, the program related information is sent during the program broadcast, and the program currently selected by the viewer is broadcast, the next program of the same program is displayed. The minutes may be reserved by the viewer. Further, it may be determined whether the program is a program that the viewer is always watching, and if the program is a program that the viewer is always watching, the program-related information transmitted during the program broadcasting may be automatically taken in.

Next, the shopping service will be described. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, a bar code 61 is displayed on the shopping screen together with a photograph of the product information and the characters 60. As described above, the bar code 61 includes the product name, company name, telephone number, fax number, product code and the like.

The viewer sees the shopping screen as shown in FIG. 6A and determines whether or not to purchase this product. Then, when the viewer wants to purchase the product, he / she presses the bar code capture button 36 of the commander 32.

When the bar code take-in button 36 is pressed, the data of this bar code is stored in the memory 29. Then, the order screen as shown in FIG. 6B is displayed. On this order screen, the viewer can decide whether to place an order,
You can choose whether to place an order by fax, phone, or just list.

A modem 34 is connected to the controller 28. When ordering a product by telephone, the controller 28 sends a modem 34 to the company offering this product.
Use to auto dial. As a result, detailed information about the product can be heard and the product can be ordered by telephone.
In addition, it is possible to set an ID number so that detailed information can be heard by telephone.

When ordering a product by facsimile, the controller 28 connects to the facsimile of the other party and sends the image of the order form to the facsimile of the other party. This makes television shopping easy.

Although the program preview service and the shopping service have been described above, various other services are conceivable.

For example, a program digest or program-related information is sent to the bar code. By using the program digest and the program-related information, detailed information of the program that cannot be known only by the text information of the program preview can be obtained.

As described above, the bar code includes not only the information such as the start time and end time of the program, the channel and the title, but also the program digest and the program-related information. For this reason, when you record a program, if you make a hard copy of this barcode screen with a printer and attach it as a cassette label, you can later use this barcode information to display information about the recorded program. It can be obtained and is useful for editing and organizing tapes. Also,
The bar code data can be recorded on a magnetic disk and the program can be managed by a computer or the like. In this way, the program search can be easily performed.

Although the example applied to digital television broadcasting using satellite broadcasting has been described, the present invention is also applicable to analog satellite television broadcasting, terrestrial television method, or cable television broadcasting. Of course, it can be applied to.

Further, the bar code data may be recorded together with the image screen on a video tape or a video disc, not limited to television broadcasting. In addition, a bar code may be recorded on a video tape or a video disk over the entire screen and used for data storage or data transfer.

In the above example, the data is converted into a bar code and transmitted in the screen. However, the data sent in the vertical blanking period and the data sent in the screen by the bar code. And may be used in cooperation with each other.

Further, the bar code may be modulated into a carrier wave so that the bar code does not obscure the screen. That is, for example, the carrier of 1.8 MHz is phase-modulated by the bar code. When the barcode is displayed in the horizontal direction on the screen, the barcode shown in FIG. 7A is phase-modulated as shown in FIG. 7B. As a result, it looks as shown in FIG. 7C on the screen. Further, when the bar code is displayed in the vertical direction on the screen, the phase is modulated as shown in FIG. 8A. As a result, the screen shown in FIG.
It looks like shown.

It should be noted that, in this way, the barcode is, for example, 1.
1.8M when modulated by 8MHz carrier
The image signal and the barcode can be discriminated by detecting the presence or absence of a carrier wave using a bandpass filter of Hz.

In the above embodiment, when the capture button 36 is pressed while the barcode is displayed, the barcode data is captured in the memory 29, but before the capture button 36 is pressed (for example, 10 seconds). After (eg 5
The barcode data may be captured with a width of (seconds). For that purpose, a buffer memory on the ring is prepared.

That is, data is constantly taken in the ring-shaped buffer. As shown in FIG. 9A, if there is a program announcement and the bar code is displayed during the period shown in FIG. 9B, the capture button 36 is displayed at the bar code display position.
Is pressed. As shown in FIG. 9C, data is captured from the ring-shaped buffer from before the barcode is displayed until after the barcode is displayed.

By the way, if the bar code data is taken in with a width before and after the bar code data in this way, the take-in time may overlap when the program announcement is continued. That is, as shown in FIG. 10A, when the program announcement is continued and the bar code is displayed as shown in FIG. 10B, the data is taken in as shown in FIGS. _A occurs. There are two possible ways of handling in such a case.

(1) Prioritization Prioritize program 1 in FIG. 10A. (2) Options Take program 1 and program 2 in FIG. 10A, display two,
Let the user choose. It is considered appropriate to take in program 1 as the default value.

[0076]

According to the present invention, the program-related information is sent as a bar code together with the video signal. By sending the program start time and channel by bar code, you can easily make a program reservation. Also, by sending a product number or a telephone number with a bar code, it becomes possible to easily carry out shopping by television. Further, by sending the program related information by the bar code, detailed information related to the program can be easily viewed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view used for explaining an example of a television system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram used for explaining a bar code according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a television transmitter to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of a television receiver to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram used to describe an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram used to describe an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram used to describe a modified example of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram used to describe a modified example of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a timing diagram used to describe a modified example of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a timing diagram used to describe a modified example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 15 Data Decoder 26 Bar Code Extraction Circuit 27 Bar Code Decoder

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An encoding unit that encodes program-related information data into a barcode, a barcode synthesizing unit that synthesizes a barcode output from the encoding unit and a video signal of a screen to be transmitted, and the barcode. And a transmitting means for outputting the combined video signal. 2. The video signal transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program-related information is information related to a broadcast program. 3. A receiving means for receiving a video signal in which a bar code of program related information is combined, a bar code extracting means for extracting a bar code from the video signal in which the bar code is combined, and the program from the bar code. A video signal receiving apparatus having a decoding means for decoding data of related information. 4. The video signal receiving apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising storage means for storing the program-related information. 5. The video signal receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein reception reservation is made based on information related to the broadcast program. 6. The video signal receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein communication is performed by information related to the broadcast program. 7. The video signal receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the bar code capturing time is set longer than the bar code sending time. 8. A signal obtained by encoding bar code data of program-related information, synthesizing the encoded bar code data and a video signal of a screen to be transmitted, and synthesizing a bar code and a video signal of the screen to be transmitted. A transmission / reception system comprising: a transmitting means for transmitting a bar code of the program-related information; a receiving means for receiving a video signal in which the bar code of the program-related information is combined . 9. The transmission / reception system according to claim 7, wherein the bar code is modulated with a carrier wave.