JPH07107446A - Related program information supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a viewer to easily select a channel by presenting program information of another channel related to an arbitrary channel at the time of selecting this channel. CONSTITUTION:A synchronizing timing generation circuit 13 generates a timing pulse TP1, which inserts related program information to a television signal VBI to be sent from the transmission side to the reception side, and inputs this pulse to a related program information presenting control circuit 35. Information corresponding to each program channel is read out from a memory 37 where related channel information of channel programs of related program channel frequencies and related program contents, which is inputted from a related channel information input circuit 36, is set in a prescribed start address and is inserted into the signal VBI by a multiplexer 38. The reception side extracts this information to display the program of the selected channel and extracted and reduced contents on a receiver as a main picture and an auxiliary picture respectively. The viewer selects a desired related program by a remote control operation part and switches the main picture to the desired program by a determination key.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a television program serving as a main channel and a related program information supply apparatus in which television programs related to the television program are simultaneously broadcast as a plurality of sub-channels, and particularly, selection on the receiving side. The present invention relates to a device that facilitates station operation.

[0002]

As is well known, in recent years, the number of channels of television programs provided to viewers has tended to increase. In particular, in recent years, satellite broadcasting (BS) systems and communication satellite broadcasting (CS) systems have been provided one after another in addition to terrestrial broadcasting systems.
In a cable television broadcasting (CATV) system, television programs of tens to hundreds of channels have already been provided.

By the way, among television programs provided, for example, in sports programs such as baseball, car racing and soccer, and in many event programs, a plurality of television cameras, microphones and the like are used to provide video and audio from a number of viewpoints. I'm trying to get information about. In this case, by selectively switching each of the obtained information, in addition to the broadcasting system which is finally edited into one television program and then provided to the viewer, each television camera or microphone is changed. A broadcasting system has been considered in which one channel is allocated and broadcast, or a plurality of television programs are finally edited and provided to viewers.

Specifically, for example, in the case of baseball relay,
The batter seen from the back side of the pitcher, the pitcher seen from the back side of the catcher, how the ball hits the outfielder, 1st base bench, 3rd base bench,
A large number of television cameras have taken pictures of the infielder's catching action and the appearance of the home run welcoming home run batters. The former broadcasting method is a method of editing a video image captured by each television camera into a one-channel television program and broadcasting the same, and is a method used in the production of many conventional television programs.

On the other hand, the latter broadcasting system edits the images taken by the respective television cameras into a television program of a plurality of channels and broadcasts together with the television program broadcast by the former broadcasting system. That is, in addition to broadcasting the television program broadcast by the former broadcasting system as the main channel, television programs related to the television program of this main channel are broadcast as a plurality of sub-channels so that The sub-channel can be arbitrarily selected.

[0006] The latter broadcasting system can provide a new program service to the program provider with almost no increase in the labor and cost for program production. It has the advantage of being able to watch and listen to events and attract new interest. Therefore, for a broadcasting station having a large number of tens to several hundreds of channels, it is a system that allows programs to be easily produced and provided.

The latter broadcasting system is compatible with the multi-channel era because the cost per channel may be further reduced due to the progress of digital technology with the recent increase in demand for multi-channel. It can be said that it is a method that can provide the service.

However, when adopting a broadcasting system in which television programs of a plurality of sub-channels are simultaneously broadcast, it is necessary to improve the tuning operation of the viewer on the receiving side. That is, for example, a, b, h, k, p
When the following 5 sub-channels are provided to the viewer, the viewer needs to switch the channels, see all 5 sub-channels, and reselect the desired channel, which makes the tuning operation complicated. The problem arises that Especially when watching a television program, if you want to switch to a sub-channel that captures images from your desired viewpoint, it is difficult to quickly determine which sub-channel to switch to. Inconvenience also occurs.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show a transmitting side and a receiving side in a CATV system which employs a broadcasting system in which a television program serving as a main channel and television programs of a plurality of sub-channels related thereto are simultaneously broadcast. The configuration is shown. It should be noted that FIG. 14 shows the VBI of a television signal transmitted from the transmitting side to the receiving side.
An example of a data signal inserted in (vertical blanking period) is shown.

First, referring to FIG. 12, the headend HE
On the side, five live television cameras 111, ..., 115 that generate television signals a to e, and five VCRs (provide a linked program that generates television signals f to j) ( Video cassette recorder) 121, 12
2, ..., 125 are installed. Each live television camera 111, ..., 115 and VCR 121,
122, ..., 125 are synchronization / timing generation circuit 1
On the basis of the highly accurate horizontal synchronizing signal H, vertical synchronizing signal V, and color subcarrier signal fsc output from 3, the synchronizing operation is performed so that the respective frame and subcarrier phases become equal.

Each live television camera 111, ...
, 115 and the related television programs obtained from the VCRs 121, 122, ..., 125 are scramblers 141, ..., 145, 152, ..., 155, respectively.
After being scrambled by the modulation circuit 161, ...
…, 165, 171, 172,…, 175 RF
It is converted into a signal and sent to the subscriber terminal via the downlink 18. The communication control circuit 19 is used for remote control of each subscriber terminal. For example, the database 20 that stores subscriber data and the communication control circuit are used to perform operations such as permitting subscribed subscribers to watch pay channels. 19
Is connected to a computer 21 for controlling.

On the other hand, referring to FIG. 13, in the subscriber terminal 22, a remote controller I / F (interface) 24 and A tuning instruction is transmitted to the tuning control circuit 26 through the terminal operation control circuit 25. Upon receiving this tuning instruction, the tuning control circuit 26 causes the tuner 27 to perform a tuning operation,
Obtain the television signal of the desired channel. The output of the tuner 27 is converted into a baseband video signal via a demodulation circuit 28 and reproduced as a television signal via a descrambler 29. The descrambler 29 automatically passes a television signal that is not scrambled on the broadcasting station side.

Then, the output of the descrambler 29 is converted into an RF signal by the modulation circuit 31 via the multiplexer 30 and displayed as an image on the television receiver 32.
The output of the demodulation circuit 28 is supplied to the sync separation circuit 33 and the data extraction timing generation circuit 34. The sync separation circuit 33 separates the horizontal and vertical sync pulses HS and VS from the output of the descrambler 29 and supplies them to the data extraction timing generation circuit 34.

The data extraction timing generation circuit 34 includes:
Based on the input horizontal and vertical sync pulses HS and VS, a clock window pulse CWP indicating a data extraction clock extraction pulse position inserted in teletext format in the second field 21 line of VBI and a data extraction indicating a data position Generate window pulse DWP for
A data extraction clock CK is generated so as to synchronize with the data reproduction clock at the beginning of the line of the related program data inserted in the television signal output from the demodulation circuit 28 only during the period when the pulse CWP is effective.

Each subscriber can watch a television program on any channel as described above. However, it is unclear what other programs are provided as the television programs related to the television program of this arbitrary channel. If a cable company or a program provider provides a booklet showing which channels are related channels, or if it is published in the program section of magazines or newspapers such as program guides, etc. It is troublesome to refer to the document. Further, when the number of related program channels is increased or decreased or the channel number is changed depending on the program content or the time zone, the tuning operation becomes more complicated.

[0016]

As described above, when the broadcasting system in which the television program serving as the main channel and the television programs of a plurality of sub-channels related to the television program are simultaneously broadcast is adopted, the viewer can Since the program content of the sub-channel cannot be easily known, there is a problem that the tuning operation becomes complicated.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and when an arbitrary channel is selected, program information of another channel related to a program of the channel is provided to select the channel of the viewer. It is an object of the present invention to provide an extremely good related program information supply device capable of facilitating the above.

[0018]

A related program information supply apparatus according to the present invention constitutes a plurality of television programs in a television broadcasting system for broadcasting a plurality of mutually related television programs on different channels. Related program information indicating each television program related to each television signal is inserted and transmitted to the television signal.

Further, the related program information supply apparatus according to the present invention is concerned with each television signal which constitutes a plurality of mutually related television programs broadcast on different channels. Channel selection means for receiving a television broadcast transmitted by inserting related program information indicating a television program, and selecting a desired television program from a plurality of television programs by designating a channel, and a channel selection means. Extracting means for extracting related program information from the television signals constituting the television program selected by the station means, related program information extracted by this extracting means, and a television program selected by the channel selecting means And a control means for controlling at least one of them to be displayed.

[0020]

According to the above structure, each television program associated with each television signal constituting a plurality of mutually related television programs broadcast on different channels is shown. The related program information is inserted and transmitted, and the receiving side extracts the related program information from the television signals constituting the selected television program, and the related program information and the television selected by the channel selection means. Since at least one of the programs is displayed, if any channel is selected, program information of other channels related to the program of that channel is provided to facilitate the viewer's channel selection operation. Will be able to.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2, in FIG.
13 and those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIG. 13 are designated by the same reference numerals. Note that FIG. 3 shows the frequency spectrum of the television signal transmitted from the transmission side to the reception side. First, referring to FIG. 1, a synchronization / timing generation circuit 1
3 to V for the related program information providing control circuit 35
A timing pulse TP1 for inserting the related program information into BI is generated.

In response to the pulse TP1, the related program information providing control circuit 35 receives the pulse TP1 and outputs the related program channel frequency input from the related channel information input circuit 36 and the related program including the title showing the related program content. Information corresponding to each program channel is read from the memory 37 in which the channel information is set to a predetermined start address, and the multiplexer 38 reads the VBI.
Inserted in.

On the other hand, in FIG. 2, the output of the demodulation circuit 28 is supplied to the data extraction circuit 39. The data extraction circuit 39 uses the data extraction clock CK output from the data extraction timing generation circuit 34 and the data extraction window pulse DWP to insert a relation into the television signal output from the demodulation circuit 28. Program data is extracted and stored in the storage circuit 40 driven based on the data extraction clock CK.

FIG. 4 shows how related program data is extracted by the data extraction circuit 39. FIG. 4A shows V
4B shows a program information signal inserted in BI in a teletext format, FIG. 4B shows a sync pulse separated by the sync separation circuit 33, and FIG. 4C shows a burst gate pulse generated based on the sync pulse. 4E shows a clock extraction window pulse CWP for reproducing the clock for program information extraction, which reproduces the clock generated by the data extraction timing generation circuit 34 based on the synchronization pulse, and FIG. ) Is a timing generation circuit 34 for data extraction
Fig. 4 shows the clock CK extracted and reproduced inside the
4F shows the data extraction window pulse DWP for extracting the program information extraction data generated inside the data extraction timing generation circuit 34, and FIG. 4G shows the extracted program information data.

In order to extract and synchronously reproduce the program information extraction clock transmitted in the period h, which is delayed by a predetermined time from the synchronization pulse shown in FIG. 4B, the data extraction timing generation circuit 34 uses the clock extraction window. Pulse CW
Only during the period when P is L (low), the phase of the transmitted clock is compared with that of the internally generated clock, and the internally generated clock is phase-synchronized with the transmitted clock.

On the other hand, in order to extract the program information data transmitted in the period i which is delayed by a predetermined time from the sync pulse,
Only when the data extraction window pulse DWP is L, the data transmitted based on the reproduction clock CK shown in FIG. 4E, that is, the program information is reproduced. At the same time, the reproduced program information is sequentially stored in the storage circuit 40 according to the memory address given from the data extraction timing generation circuit 34 based on the clock CK.

The related program data stored in the storage circuit 40 are sequentially supplied to the channel selection control circuit 41 via the terminal operation control circuit 25, and the channel selection control circuit 41 converts the related program data given to each channel. Based on this, the tuner 42 is operated in a time division manner. The output of the tuner 42 is converted into a baseband video signal through the demodulation circuit 43, and the descrambler 4
4 to the original television signal. The television signal output from the descrambler 44 is reduced to 1/4 in both the horizontal and vertical directions by the sub-screen display circuit 45 and supplied to one terminal of the multiplexer 30.

Here, the output of the descrambler 29 is also supplied to the multiplexer 30, and the program of the channel selected by the tuner 27 is the program of the television signal output from the main screen and sub-screen display circuit 45. Is switched to a sub-screen, and an image is displayed on the television receiver 32 via the modulation circuit 31.

FIG. 5 shows a display example on the screen of the television receiver 32. At a predetermined position in each screen, the number of the related program channel or the title showing the contents of the related channel program is displayed. This title is received, title information of the related program data stored in the storage circuit 40 is read out simultaneously on the main screen, and is superimposed and displayed on the main screen through the on-screen display circuit 46 and the multiplexer 30.

The viewer, looking at the television screen,
The sub-screen is displayed by operating the display keys on the remote control operation unit 23 as necessary, and one of the desired related programs of the displayed sub-screen is displayed on the up / down keys on the remote control operation unit 23. Then, the operation of switching the main screen to the desired program of the related program channels can be instantaneously performed by the selection key.

As the display form of the sub-screen, in addition to that shown in FIG. 5, it is also possible to perform the display as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 according to the number of related channels. In the display form of FIG. 6, by inserting a time axis reducing means for performing the same processing as the sub-screen display circuit 45 after the descrambler 29, the main screen is horizontally and vertically reduced in size by 3/4. By performing the operation, it is possible to avoid the loss of the main screen information that accompanies the display of the sub screen.

There is also a method of not displaying the related information on the sub-screen. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, a window for displaying related program information in text is provided, and one of the desired related programs is selected by the channel up / down keys on the remote control operation unit 23 and determined as described above. The key can be used to switch the main screen to a desired program of the related program channels.

The method of inserting the related program information into the VBI has been described above. However, when a communication line other than the program providing is provided for data communication such as CATV, this is used as a means for providing the program information. A communication line may be used. That is, the memory 37 in which the related program information is stored
The program information is transmitted from the headend HE to each subscriber terminal 22 at predetermined time intervals via the communication control circuit 19, and the terminal operation control is performed via the downlink communication receiving circuit 47 in each subscriber terminal 22. The terminal 22 may obtain the related program information by storing the program information in the storage circuit 40 through the circuit 25.

In the case of a so-called addressable converter in which each terminal 22 can be accessed from the center or the headend HE with a unique identification number, related program information can be transmitted for each converter identification signal. . In the case where the terminal 22 is a so-called bidirectional addressable converter, when the terminal 22 selects one channel (main channel) of the related program, the terminal 22 sends the upstream communication to the center or the headend HE. Informing that the terminal 22 has selected the related program through the circuit 48,
From the center or the headend HE to the unique terminal 22 through the downlink communication receiving circuit 47 as described above, the terminal 2
The information related to 2 may be transmitted back and stored in the storage circuit 40 of the terminal 22.

Similar to the above, it is possible to transmit related program information by a method of inserting program data into VBI or by using a data communication line in satellite broadcasting. Therefore, the present invention can be applied even to a system for providing a program to a portable television receiver through the airwaves, and the related program described above is not limited to simple image and audio information, but various information can be downloaded. It can be used as a digital data service. Examples thereof include facsimile broadcasting, various data service broadcasting, teletext broadcasting, local weather forecasts, and newly published new information broadcasting such as books and compact discs.

Next, FIGS. 9 and 10 show another embodiment of the present invention. 9 and 10, the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals. Note that FIG. 11 shows the frequency spectrum of the television signal transmitted from the transmitting side to the receiving side.

First, in FIG. 9, a timing pulse TP1 for inserting related program information into the VBI is given to the related program information providing control circuit 35. In response to the pulse TP1, the related program information providing control circuit 35 receives each of the program channels a to e from the memory 37 in which the related channel information input from the related channel information input circuit 36 is set at a predetermined start address. ，
Information corresponding to f to j is read out, and the multiplexer 3
8 are inserted into VBI, and A / D (analog / digital) conversion circuits 491, ..., 495, 501, respectively.
, 502, ..., 505 and image / audio compression circuit 511
, ..., 515, 521, 522, ..., 525, and is supplied to the digital multiplexing / modulation circuit 53.

The digital multiplexing / modulation circuit 53 multiplexes the supplied video and audio signals and outputs the multiplexed signals as one digital multiplexed channel, and the respective programs are supplied to the subscribers.

On the other hand, in FIG. 10, in accordance with a channel selection instruction from the remote control operation section 23, through the remote control I / F 24 and the terminal operation control circuit 25,
A tuning instruction is transmitted to the tuning control circuit 26, and a program selection instruction is transmitted to the program selection control circuit 54. Upon receiving this tuning instruction, the tuning control circuit 26 causes the tuner 27 to perform a tuning operation to obtain a desired digital channel multiplexed signal. The output of the tuner 27 is converted into a baseband digital multiplex video signal via the demodulation circuit 28, and in response to the program selection instruction, the program selection control circuit 54 causes the demultiplexer 5 to operate.
5 is operated to obtain desired one program information from the baseband digital multiplex video signal, and the output of the demultiplexer 55 is subjected to data expansion and D / A (digital / digital).
The original program signal is reproduced by being guided to the (analog) conversion circuit 56.

The program signal reproduced here is supplied to the sync separation circuit 33, the data extraction timing generation circuit 34 and the data extraction circuit 39. In the sync separation circuit 33,
Separate the horizontal and vertical sync pulses HS and VS,
It is supplied to the data extraction timing generation circuit 34. The data extraction timing generation circuit 34 generates a data extraction pulse SP from the supplied pulses HS and VS so as to extract only the second field 21 line of VBI, and expands the data only during the period when this pulse SP is effective. And D / A
Of the related program data inserted into the television signal supplied from the conversion circuit 56, a data extraction clock CK is generated to synchronize with the data reproduction clock at the beginning of the line, and the data extraction circuit 39 and the storage circuit 40 are provided. Supply.

In the data extraction circuit 39, the data decompression and D / A conversion circuit 56 is used by using the supplied clock CK.
The related program data inserted into the television signal supplied from is extracted and stored in the storage circuit 40 at the same time.

The related program data stored in the storage circuit 40 is transmitted through the terminal operation control circuit 25 to the program selection control circuit 5
4 are sequentially supplied to the program selection control circuit 54.
The demultiplexer 57 is time-divisionally switched based on the related program data respectively given, the base band video signal is obtained through the data expansion and D / A conversion circuit 58, and further, by the sub-screen display circuit 59. The reduced size is supplied to one terminal of the multiplexer 30.

Here, the multiplexer 30 is also supplied with the output of the data expansion and D / A conversion circuit 56,
The program signal selected by the data decompression and D / A conversion circuit 56 is switched so that the main screen and the program signal from the sub-screen display circuit 59 become the sub-screen, and the television receiver 32 through the modulation circuit 31. Is displayed as an image.

Also in this case, the viewer, while watching the television screen, operates the display keys on the remote control operating section 23 to display the sub-screen, if necessary, and displays the sub-screen. One of the desired related programs can be selected by the up / down keys on the remote control operation unit 23, and the operation of switching the main screen to the desired program of the related program channels can be instantaneously performed by the enter key. Regarding the display form, the same display as in FIGS. 5 to 8 can be performed. Further, similar to the first embodiment, data communication other than VBI, for example, related program information may be transmitted using a data communication line between the center or the head end HE and each terminal 22. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0045]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention,
To provide a very good related program information supply device capable of providing program information of another channel related to a program of that channel and facilitating a viewer's channel selection operation when an arbitrary channel is selected. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a related program information supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram showing a subscriber terminal in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a transmission spectrum of a television signal in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an extracting operation of related program data in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a display form on a screen in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display form on a screen in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a display form on a screen in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a display form on a screen in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a subscriber terminal according to the other embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a transmission spectrum of a television signal according to the other embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a transmitting side in a conventional broadcasting system.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a subscriber terminal in the conventional system.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a transmission spectrum of a television signal in the conventional system.

[Explanation of symbols]

111 ~ 115 ... Live television camera, 121 ~
125 ... VCR, 13 ... Synchronization / timing generation circuit, 1
41-145 ... Scrambler, 152-155 ... Scrambler, 161-165 ... Modulation circuit, 172-175 ...
Modulation circuit, 18 ... Downlink, 19 ... Communication control circuit, 20
... database, 21 ... computer, 22 ... subscriber terminal, 23 ... remote control operation section, 24 ... remote control I / F, 25 ... terminal operation control circuit, 26 ... tuning control circuit, 27 ... tuner, 28 ... demodulation circuit, 29 ... Descrambler, 30 ... Multiplexer, 31 ... Modulation circuit, 32
... television receiver, 33 ... sync separation circuit, 34 ... data extraction timing generation circuit, 35 ... related program information providing control circuit, 36 ... related channel information input circuit, 3
7 ... Memory, 38 ... Multiplexer, 39 ... Data extraction circuit, 40 ... Storage circuit, 41 ... Tuning control circuit, 42 ... Tuner, 43 ... Demodulation circuit, 44 ... Descrambler, 45
... sub-screen display circuit, 46 ... on-screen display circuit, 47 ... downlink communication receiving circuit, 48 ... uplink communication transmitting circuit, 491 to 495 ... A / D conversion circuit, 501 to 5
05 ... A / D conversion circuit, 511-515 ... Image / audio compression circuit, 521-525 ... Image / audio compression circuit, 53 ...
Digital multiplexing / modulation circuit, 54 ... Program selection control circuit, 5
5 ... Demultiplexer, 56 ... Data expansion and D / A conversion circuit, 57 ... Demultiplexer, 58 ... Data expansion and D / A conversion circuit, 59 ... Sub-screen display circuit.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In a television broadcasting system for broadcasting a plurality of mutually related television programs on different channels, each of the television signals constituting the plurality of television programs is associated with each of the television signals. A related program information supply device, characterized in that the related program information indicating a television program is inserted and transmitted. 2. Related program information indicating each television program related to each television signal, which constitutes a plurality of mutually related television programs broadcast on different channels, is inserted. Channel selecting means for selecting a desired television program from the plurality of television programs by receiving the transmitted television broadcast and designating the channel, and the television program selected by the channel selecting means. Extracting means for extracting the related program information from the television signal constituting the, and displaying at least one of the related program information extracted by the extracting means and the television program selected by the tuning means. A related program information supply device, comprising: 3. A second control means for selectively controlling the tuning means on the basis of the related program information extracted by the extraction means so as to selectively receive a desired television program. The related program information supply device according to claim 2, wherein 4. A third control means for controlling the related program information extracted by the extraction means and the television program selected by the channel selection means to be divided and displayed on the same screen. The related program information supply device according to claim 2, wherein