KR20070109139A - Digital broadcasting service switching apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for switching a digital broadcasting service are provided to receive the optimum digital broadcasting continuously, by changing the setting of a digital broadcasting unit based on position information of a digital broadcasting receiver. A position information recognizing unit(10) provides position information. A service switching database unit(40) stores information related to reception of data broadcasting correspondingly to the position information. A digital broadcasting process unit receives and reproduces the digital broadcasting. A controller(30) controls the digital broadcasting processing unit to maintain the reception of digital broadcasting according to change of reception environment based on the position information and contents of the service switching data base unit(40).

Description

Digital broadcasting service switching device and method {DIGITAL BROADCASTING SERVICE SWITCHING APPARATUS AND METHOD}

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

2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital broadcasting receiver.

3 is a structural example of a service switching database.

Figure 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

*** Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing ***

10: location information recognition unit 20: data receiving unit

30: control unit 40: service switching database unit

50: digital broadcast receiver 60: stream demultiplexer

70: decoder unit 80: audio / video rendering unit

90: video output unit 100: audio output unit

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for switching digital broadcast services, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for switching digital broadcast services based on location information of a digital broadcast receiver.

With the rapid growth of digital communication technology and portable device technology, various information and communication industries are becoming networked, broadband and converged.

Among these digital communication technologies, digital broadcasting technology is rapidly emerging. Among them, various technologies for receiving digital broadcasting in portable devices are already commercialized, and subsequent standard proposals for further improving these commercialization technologies are available. Are being enacted one after another.

Digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) is a typical mobile digital broadcasting method that has been successfully commercialized. Commercial services are divided into satellite DMB and terrestrial DMB. In the DMB scheme, a broadcasting station divides allocated frequencies into a plurality of channels and broadcasts video, audio, and data through each channel, and a terminal receiving data through a predetermined local transmitter selects some of the provided broadcasting channels. The desired broadcast is received. In this case, a broadcaster that transmits the DMB content (that is, a broadcast program) divides the frequencies into a plurality of channels by receiving frequencies, respectively, and provides various multimedia programs, and ensemble the allocated frequency bands for each broadcaster. This is called. The broadcaster can set up a plurality of channels by dividing the ensemble. For example, only one 768Kbps video channel is allocated to one ensemble, two 384Kbps video channels are allocated, or three 256Kbps video channels are allocated. And the like. In addition, audio channels or data channels may be allocated.

Since each broadcaster's broadcast program is provided in a predetermined broadcast order by an Electronic Program Guide (hereinafter referred to as EPG), even if it is a digital broadcast, the broadcast program has real time as in a terrestrial television broadcast.

Due to the advancement of the DMB, various subsequent standards have been proposed, and DVB-H (Digital Vedio Broadcasting-Handheld) or DVB-H, which improves the characteristics of the DMB, reduces power consumption and significantly expands the number of channels, or MediaFlo, a digital broadcasting reception method exclusively for mobile communication terminals that increases the number of broadcasting channels and guarantees seamless video during movement by utilizing a communication network for mobile terminals, is drawing attention as a representative next generation portable digital multimedia broadcasting method. .

Therefore, only terrestrial DMB and satellite DMB broadcasting are mixed and used, but when the services of the various digital broadcasting standards are started, each broadcasting company will provide the same program with various digital broadcasting standards. Effective digital broadcasting standards are expected to be selectively applied.

Currently, the digital broadcasting receiver can only receive digital broadcasting according to a fixed broadcasting standard, and if the user leaves the service area providing the service at the same frequency, the channel information must be searched again. If you pass them through the broadcast may be difficult to receive.

Even if the digital broadcasting reception environment is changed according to the position as described above, an object of the present invention, which is newly proposed to maintain an optimal user viewing state, is to change the setting of the digital broadcasting receiver based on the location information of the digital broadcasting receiver. Accordingly, the present invention provides an apparatus and method for switching digital broadcast services to enable optimal continuous digital broadcast reception.

Another object of the embodiment of the present invention is to switch to an optimal digital broadcasting standard by multiplexing a receiver of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus, multiplexing a decoder, and selecting the receiver and the decoder based on position information and signal strength information of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus. It is to provide an apparatus and method for switching digital broadcast services to enable continuous viewing of the broadcast currently being viewed.

Still another object of the present invention is to configure a service switching database unit including ensemble information according to location and reception setting parameters for each broadcast standard, and after receiving the service switching database unit based on a user's location and signal strength, reception performance is improved. The present invention provides an apparatus and method for switching digital broadcast services to enable a user to maintain an optimal state of a digital broadcast reception by switching to a good state.

Another object of the embodiment of the present invention by using at least one of the GPS method using a satellite or a measurement method using a mobile communication module as a location information recognition method, to increase the accuracy of the location information and to provide the location information recognition method It is to provide a digital broadcast service switching device to increase the coupling efficiency with one device.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcast service switching method that enables seamless viewing of the same program even if the digital broadcasting standard or frequency for providing a program is changed by using program guide information.

Still another object of the present invention is to configure a service switching database unit including a reception setting parameter for each broadcast standard according to a location so as to maintain an optimal reception state based on a location, and by configuring a separate data receiver, the service switching database. It is to provide a digital broadcast service switching device to update the negative information to increase the reliability.

Another object of the embodiment of the present invention is to configure a digital broadcasting service switching database corresponding to the location information, and then determine whether to switch the digital broadcasting service corresponding to the location information by the signal strength, or to correspond to the location information by the user's selection or designation. To provide a digital broadcast service switching method to determine whether to switch the digital broadcast service.

In order to achieve the above object, the digital broadcast service switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a location information recognition unit for providing location information; A service switching database unit storing data broadcast reception related information corresponding to location information; A digital broadcast processor for receiving and reproducing one or more digital broadcasts; And a controller configured to maintain digital broadcast reception by adjusting the digital broadcast processing unit according to a change in reception environment based on the location information provided by the location information recognition unit and the contents of the service switching database unit.

In addition, the digital broadcast service switching method according to another embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of receiving a digital broadcast according to a predetermined reception setting parameter; Obtaining location information of the digital broadcast reception device; Acquiring reception setting parameters based on the acquired location information and channel information of the digital broadcast currently being received from the service switching database including the broadcast related information including the digital broadcast channel corresponding to the location and the reception setting parameters; And receiving the digital broadcast by applying the obtained reception setting parameter.

Embodiments of the present invention as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus including the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a location information recognition unit 10 for obtaining location information and, if necessary, information is received or the location information is recognized. A data receiver 20 capable of substituting or supplementing the role of the unit 10, a service switching database unit 40 storing digital broadcast information corresponding to position information, and a digital broadcast processor for receiving and reproducing digital broadcast ( 50 to 100 and the digital broadcasting service unit 50 to 100 by operating the digital broadcasting processing unit 50 to 100 based on the location information provided by the location information recognition unit 10 and the information stored in the service switching database unit 40. It consists of the control part 30 which switches. The service switching database unit 40 may include channel information of digital broadcasting corresponding to location information and reception setting parameters of the digital broadcasting processing unit 50 to 100 for receiving the corresponding channel. On the basis of this, service switching to a specific digital broadcasting channel becomes possible.

The digital broadcast processor 50 to 100 may receive a digital broadcast receiver (or a modem) 50 for acquiring a digital broadcast signal of a specific standard, and the decoders 70 may decode a broadcast signal provided by the digital broadcast receiver 50. Stream demultiplexer 60 that selects a decoder suitable for a digital broadcast standard currently being received, and a stream decoded through a decoder selected from among the decoders 70 as an audio / video signal and then video output unit 90. And an audio / video rendering unit 80 provided to the audio output unit 100.

The location information recognizing unit 10 may be a GPS receiver or a communication module capable of obtaining location information by a plurality of base stations or transmitting stations. The data receiver 20 acquires predetermined information from the outside. When the data receiver 20 is a communication module (for example, a communication unit of a mobile communication terminal) that communicates with a base station or transmitting stations, the location information recognition unit 10 is provided. If the GPS is applied to the location information recognizing unit 10, it may be used for additional or auxiliary location information checking (accuracy increase, alternative in the GPS shadow area), and the service conversion database 40. Can be used to receive content to update the content of. That is, the data receiver 20 may be a means for receiving information from a wireless mobile communication network, a means for receiving information through wired local area communication or a LAN connection, or a means for receiving information through wireless local area communication.

The overall basic configuration shown in FIG. 1 is a mobile communication terminal in which a plurality of means are already configured, such as a communication module, an audio / video rendering unit, a video output unit and an audio output unit, various user interfaces, and a power management unit. When the composite multimedia receiver is configured to be applied to a personal information terminal, a portable computer, a multimedia player, a game machine, and the like, some of the above configurations can be omitted, and thus it is easy to apply.

2 illustrates a structure of the digital broadcast receiver 50 of FIG. 1, which supports a plurality of different digital broadcast standards (eg, terrestrial DMB, satellite DMB, DVB-H, MediaFlo, etc.). (Which may be referred to as a digital broadcast modem) 51 and a selection switch 52 for selecting one or more of them under the control of the controller 30.

The digital broadcast reception device including the digital broadcast service switching device includes a digital broadcast receiver 50 having a plurality of receivers 51 and a selection switch 52 and a digital broadcast standard in order to correspond to various digital broadcast standards. Although a plurality of decoders 70 and a stream demultiplexer 60 corresponding to a compression scheme of video / audio or data broadcasting are provided, it may be configured to support only a single digital broadcasting standard. That is, even if the digital broadcast processing unit 50-100 is composed of only a single receiver and a fixed number of decoders to support a single digital broadcast standard using a plurality of frequencies, a service such as a kind of roaming or handover effect according to the present invention. The transition effect can be obtained. The service switching method using the above configuration will be described in detail with reference to the configuration example of the service switching database unit 40 of FIG. 3 and the structures of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 3 illustrates some exemplary information stored in the service switching database unit, and includes an ensemble identifier, a digital broadcasting standard and subchannel information used, and corresponding location information and subchannel parameters, as shown. In addition, the use frequency information according to the location and use specification and sub-channels may be further added for service switching according to inter-regional movement using a single standard but using different frequencies.

For example, when receiving the corresponding channels through the reception setting parameters Pa1, Pb1 of the digital broadcast processor for viewing sub-channels SUBa and SUBb of the specification SPECa at the positions X1 and Y1, and moving to other positions X2 and Y2, The SPECb providing the same subchannels SUBa and SUBb and the corresponding subchannel parameters Pa2 and Pb2 through the channel and the location information can be found through the service switch data table search. Therefore, if the receiver (receiving modem) is set to receive the specification SPECb using the searched sub-channel parameters Pa2 and Pb2, and another decoder is selected, the broadcast program being watched can be received and watched in different standards without interruption.

Some digital broadcasts have separate video channels, audio channels, and data channels. For example, if you want to watch video and sound at the same time, you should receive two channels simultaneously. Should be. Accordingly, as described above, a method of determining an optimal digital broadcasting standard according to a position and setting all channels to comply with the selected broadcasting standard can be applied accordingly.

On the other hand, if a plurality of digital broadcasting standards are available at the same time, the information on the optimal digital broadcasting standard and subchannels according to the location may be constructed in the service switching database to receive the optimal subchannels based on the location. Note that by selecting subsequent subchannel parameters, multiple digital broadcast standards may be cross received. Since the ensemble identifier may simply be regarded as a broadcasting station identifier, when a single broadcasting station provides the same program (same sub-channel) to several digital broadcasting standards, the plurality of digital broadcasting standards may be simultaneously received to select and combine only optimal channels. Can provide. Such optimized channel determination may be based on a predetermined priority and may be adaptively determined according to the signal strength measurement described later.

If it is possible to receive subchannels according to a plurality of digital broadcasting standards at the same location, information on the same may also be configured in the service switching database unit, in which case it is also adaptively optimized according to a preset priority and signal strength measurement. The service switching can be carried out to the digital broadcasting standard. For example, in the case of the shaded area for the current broadcast standard but not in the shaded area in other standards that support the same channel, if the above method is applied, it may be easier to view a broadcast range region program in a certain region. That is, when the same program is broadcasted in a plurality of digital broadcasting standards in the same area, and if the reception state of the digital broadcasting received by any digital broadcasting standard is poor, another type that can be replaced by using the current position and currently receiving channel information After searching the digital broadcasting standard, the sub channel parameter is acquired accordingly and then the receiver and decoder selection and setting of the digital broadcasting processor are adjusted and the received program is better received without interruption. You can watch continuously in a state.

It is preferable that the conversion of the digital broadcast standard or the digital broadcast standard at the same location is performed in the background without the user's knowledge, and the actual broadcast standard is continuously or periodically based on a simple location. In this case, it is most effective to grasp the reception state of the actual broadcast and to switch the broadcast standard according to the location based on this.

The service switching method based on the reception state detection basically detects switchable alternative specifications by searching the service switching database based on the location when the reception state falls below a threshold, and among them, the highest priority (for example, the current reception) Order of similarity with current standard, order of similarity of decoding method, order of image quality, order of data quantity, order of latest standard, etc.) and then apply it to the digital broadcasting receiver and apply the received status to If it is better compared to the reception status, the service is switched to the reception method according to the new standard. If the reception characteristic is worse than the reception status of the previous standard, the operation of identifying the reception status according to the next priority specification is repeated. Either implement or maintain the previous specification. The reception status check for the different standards may be performed so that the user cannot recognize them, since the digital broadcast receiver may provide the control unit with signal states according to the broadcast standards. That is, the digital broadcast receiver, which consists of a plurality of receivers and provides only a selected one of them to the stream demultiplexer, has a function of monitoring a signal received by each receiver, so that the subchannel parameter according to the standard to which the switching is expected is performed. By resetting the receiver (a kind of modem) corresponding to the standard, the received signal characteristics obtained therefrom can be provided to the controller. Even in this case, broadcast reception according to the currently set receiver is continuously maintained. Therefore, service switching in consideration of the actual reception state may be adaptively performed based on the location information.

In addition to the automatic method as described above, service switching according to a corresponding instruction may be performed based on a current position according to a manual operation of a user.

In all the above cases, if the service switching database unit is searched based on the location information, the service switching may be stopped if the same channel as the currently received channel cannot be supported, and whether or not the sameness of the channels is determined by different digital broadcasting standards. The program guide may be implemented based on various types of program guides provided according to the present invention. If necessary, additional information necessary for compatibility of the program guides may be further configured. In addition, such compatibility information (for example, a channel changes when the standard is changed) may be presented by a broadcasting station that provides the same program in various digital broadcasting standards, which may be updated.

Each of the above-described cases relates to a service switching method between digital broadcasting standards based on reception sensitivity in the same area or based on location shift. However, if the same digital broadcast standard is used in addition to this case, but different frequencies are allocated to each region, service switching may be required at the time when the movement between regions occurs.

In the present embodiment, even if a digital broadcasting processing unit including a digital broadcasting receiver and a decoder supporting only one type of digital broadcasting standard is provided, the channel watched by the location information recognizing unit and the service switching database may be viewed at a different frequency. It supports a way to watch continuously without interruption even when entering the area of use. That is, even if the same standard is used, when the assigned frequency is changed according to the regional movement, the channel that was previously viewed can be received only after the channel search is performed again, even if the frequency is changed using the location information and the service switching database unit. You can avoid this.

For example, when watching the sub-channel SUBa in the location information X1, Y1 with the use specification SPECa, and then move to the location information X2, Y2 area, the information that can receive the sub-channel SUBa in the SPECa of the same standard is searched and accordingly. The subchannel parameter Pd1 information for reception can be obtained, and through this, the digital broadcast receiver and the decoder can be set. In this case, the location information may be automatically performed based on the location information. If necessary, the reception status may be inspected to determine whether the application is applied, or the user may be forced to switch.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a service switching method based on location movement and signal strength among the above-described various digital broadcasting service switching embodiments, so that an operation process of an embodiment may be sequentially described.

First, when certain channels are selected according to a predetermined digital broadcasting standard and the viewing of digital broadcasting is started, location information is extracted through a GPS or a mobile communication module to check whether the service area is moved. The service area may be a unit area based on a broadcast transmitter or a service area in a broad sense encompassing them.

If the movement of the service area is detected by the location information, the signal strength at the current location is measured, and the service that stores broadcaster, communication standard, channel information according to the location, and reception setting parameter for receiving the location based on the current location information. Search the switching database unit to obtain a reception setting parameter according to a digital communication standard for continuously receiving the same channel, determine a digital broadcasting modem (receiver) corresponding to the corresponding standard, and apply the reception setting parameter. In this case, the existing broadcast receiving digital broadcast modem may be continuously operated and selected to provide a program.

Since the digital broadcasting modem having changed the reception setting has a function of monitoring its reception status, the reception status is improved when the reception status is improved compared to the reception status of the current (or existing) broadcast which has previously measured the reception status. Select the digital broadcasting modem whose settings have been changed, and select the existing modem if the reception is not improved. When a separate modem for different standards is provided, a reception modem set to a desired parameter may be selected by only selecting a modem. However, when a single modem supports multiple standards, temporary storage of previous received signal strength and modem parameters is required.

Then, according to the modem selection and parameter change, the stream demultiplexing scheme is changed or maintained to provide a user with a broadcast received through an appropriate decoder.

As described above, the apparatus and method for switching digital broadcast services according to the embodiment of the present invention change the setting of the digital broadcast receiver based on the location information of the digital broadcast receiver, thereby receiving a broadcast program that the user watches. It is effective to keep the program insensitive to changes in the user so that the user can watch the program without interruption.

An apparatus and method for switching digital broadcast services according to an embodiment of the present invention multiplexes a receiver of a digital broadcast receiver and multiplexes a decoder, and selects the receiver and the decoder based on position information and signal strength information of the digital broadcast receiver. Thus, even when the user moves while watching a broadcast program, it is effective to automatically switch to the optimal digital broadcast standard so that the user can continuously watch the broadcast currently being viewed in an optimal state.

The apparatus and method for switching digital broadcast services according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a service switching database unit including ensemble information according to location and reception setting parameters for each broadcasting standard, and the service switching database based on a user's location and signal strength. By retrieving the negative number, the reception performance is switched to a good state, so that the digital broadcasting reception state of the user can be substantially maintained.

Digital broadcasting service switching device according to an embodiment of the present invention by using at least one of a GPS method using a satellite or a measurement method using a mobile communication module as a location information recognition method, to increase the accuracy of the location information and the location There is an effect of increasing the coupling efficiency with the device having the information recognition method.

The digital broadcasting service switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention has an effect of providing the same program substantially continuously even if the digital broadcasting standard or frequency for providing the program is changed using program guide information.

The digital broadcasting service switching device according to the embodiment of the present invention configures a service switching database unit including a reception setting parameter for each broadcast standard according to a location to maintain an optimal reception state based on a location, and by configuring a separate data receiver. In addition, there is an effect of improving the reliability by updating the information of the service conversion database unit.

In the digital broadcasting service switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention, after configuring a digital broadcasting service switching database corresponding to the position information, the digital broadcasting service switching method determines whether to switch the digital broadcasting service corresponding to the position information based on the signal strength, or to select or designate the user. By determining whether or not to switch the digital broadcast service corresponding to the location information, there is an effect of providing a digital broadcast service that can respond to changes in the environment and the user's taste.

Claims (10)

A location information recognizing unit for providing location information; A service switching database unit storing data broadcast reception related information corresponding to location information; A digital broadcast processor for receiving and reproducing one or more digital broadcasts; And a control unit which maintains digital broadcast reception by adjusting the digital broadcast processing unit according to a change in reception environment based on the location information provided by the location information recognition unit and the contents of the service switching database unit. . The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the service switching database unit includes channel information of a digital communication standard that can be serviced according to a location, and setting information of the digital broadcasting processor for reception of a corresponding channel. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller selectively adjusts the digital broadcast processor based on the position information according to the reception state of the digital broadcast processor. The digital broadcasting service as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts the digital broadcasting processing unit based on the location information only when the movement of the service area is identified through the location information provided by the location information recognizing unit. Switching device. The digital broadcasting processor of claim 1, wherein the digital broadcasting processor comprises one or more receivers for receiving a plurality of digital broadcasting standards and a selection switch for selecting at least one of the corresponding receivers, and reproduces a program according to the plurality of digital broadcasting standards. And at least one decoder and a stream demultiplexer for selecting at least one of them. The digital broadcasting service switching device of claim 1, further comprising a wired or wireless data receiver configured to receive information for updating contents stored in the service switching database unit. Receiving a digital broadcast according to a predetermined reception setting parameter; Obtaining location information of the digital broadcast reception device; Acquiring reception setting parameters based on the acquired location information and channel information of the digital broadcast currently being received from the service switching database including the broadcast related information including the digital broadcast channel corresponding to the location and the reception setting parameters; And receiving the digital broadcast by applying the obtained reception setting parameter. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the acquiring of the reception setting parameter comprises a reception setting parameter in which the same or at least similar program reception state can be maintained based on the channel information of the digital broadcast currently received and the program guide information provided by the broadcasting station. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of acquiring. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the acquiring of the reception setting parameter is performed only when a service area is changed based on the acquired location information. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the acquiring the reception setting parameter comprises storing the received signal strength and the reception setting parameter of the digital broadcast currently being received, and converting the received configuration parameter into the obtained configuration parameter. Receiving a broadcast by applying a setup parameter and then measuring the signal strength and applying a digital broadcast setup parameter that provides a better received signal strength compared to the stored received signal strength. Way.

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