FR2658678A1 - METHOD FOR INSERTING SOUND MESSAGES IN A PROGRAM DIFFUSED LOCALLY - Google Patents

Abstract

At a central site (20) sound messages which are to be inserted at a specified instant into a programme broadcast by a local broadcasting station (30) are formulated, converted into digital form, stored, and transmitted in digital form using a digital network (40) between the central site and the local broadcasting centre. In the latter, the messages are stored in digital form and then converted into analogue form and inserted at predetermined instants into the locally broadcast programme. The invention is in particular applicable to the insertion of advertising or local information messages into a general radio-broadcast programme which is retransmitted locally by a retransmitter.

Description

METHOD FOR INSERTING SOUND MESSAGES IN A PROGRAM

DIFFUSE LOCALLY

  The present invention relates to a method for inserting sound messages into a locally broadcast program. A particular, but not exclusive, application of the invention is the insertion of messages at predetermined times in a general broadcasting program. These are, for example, advertisements or information to be inserted into a general program retransmitted by a broadcaster. local rebroadcasting system, or in a program broadcast in a public place or on a

workplace.

  The aim of the invention is to enable the realization of this insertion automatically, that is to say

  without requiring staff at the local broadcast center.

  This object is achieved, according to the invention, by a method which comprises the following steps: conversion in digital form, into a central site, of a sound message to be inserted at a given moment in a program broadcast by a center of local broadcast, transmission of the message in digital form using a digital communication network between the central site and the local broadcast center, and at the local broadcast center, at the determined instant, conversion in analogue form of the digital message received and

  insertion of the message in the program broadcast locally.

  The method may include a step of storing in digital form the program received by the local broadcast center and a step of detecting a time signal for controlling the reading, the conversion in analog form and the insertion of the

  message at the instant determined by the time signal.

  The invention will be better understood on reading the

  description given below, for information but not limiting,

  with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the constituents of a network suitable for implementing the method according to the invention in a particular application thereof, FIGS. 2A to 2D are flowcharts of the

  programs used in the execution of the process.

  An embodiment of the invention will be described below in the context of a particular application consisting of inserting messages into a broadcast program

which is rebroadcast locally.

  There are broadcasting programs that cover an extended territory using a satellite relay between a central transmitter and re-transmitters located in local broadcast centers In each geographical area covered by a local re-transmitter, it is interesting to include, in the general program broadcast by satellite, messages of interest only to the listeners of the geographical area concerned, for example commercials for companies or

  local events or local news messages.

  For obvious reasons of economy in personnel and material, the realization of the local messages is assured in a

  central site, which may or may not be that of the central issuer.

  Currently, messages, recorded on tapes,

  are routed to the different local broadcast centers.

  The insertion of the messages recorded in the general program is carried out by an operator who, at specific times, commands the interruption of the general program and the dissemination of these

  messages by the local re-transmitter.

  The insertion of the messages can be carried out in response to the detection of a specific signal emitted by the central transmitter and retransmitted by the satellite. It is then necessary that the operator, in each local broadcast center, is very

  attentive to the detection of this signal.

  The method according to the invention allows insertion

  automatic messages in the program broadcast locally.

  FIG. 1 very schematically illustrates a radio broadcast network with a central transmitter 10 whose signals are transmitted by a satellite 12 to local broadcast centers. These include a receiving antenna 38 receiving the satellite signals for their rebroadcast by a re-transmitter

  local 31 and a transmitting antenna 39.

  According to the invention, the sound messages to be inserted in the locally broadcast programs are converted into digital form at a central site 20, transmitted to the local centers 30 in digital form via a digital communication network 40 and are, in the various local centers 30, converted in analog form to be broadcast by

  local re-transmitters at the desired times.

  The central site 20 may be the one where the transmitter 10 is implanted, or be different from it. The equipment necessary for the manufacture and the analog recording of the messages, that is to say the preparation of the text, the possible mixing with a background music, and recording on tape, includes for example a tape recorder 21 with a microphone 21a and a

  Equalizer 21b installed at central site 20.

  For the purpose of routing them to the local centers concerned, the messages are converted into digital form and stored in memory of a computer processing unit of the central site. Each message may be associated in particular with address information identifying the local broadcast center.

  for which it is intended, as well as the time-stamped program.

  The output signals of the tape recorder 21 are sampled by means of a sampling circuit 22. The computer processing unit comprises a microcomputer 23 equipped with an analog / digital conversion circuit 26, coding and compression of digital data. Such a circuit is known per se The data produced by this circuit in response to the signals received from the sampling circuit 22 are stored in memory by means of the microcomputer 23, for example on a hard disk. The microcomputer 23 acts as a server to ensure transmission of messages to the local broadcast centers via the digital network 40 This is advantageously the network

  Integrated Services Digital System (ISDN).

  For this purpose, the microcomputer 23 is connected to the network 40 via an SO-type interface circuit 24 and an ISDN access circuit. The circuits 24 and 25 are well known. by the circuits referenced "Device SO" of the French company SCII or "PC SNET"

of the French company OST.

  Each local broadcast center 30 comprises a slave microcomputer 33 connected to the network 40 by an SO-type interface circuit 34 and an ISDN access circuit 35.

  circuits 34 and 35 being similar to the circuits 24 and 25.

  The microcomputer 33 comprises a mass memory such as a hard disk in which the messages transmitted in digital form by the network 40 are stored. The microcomputer 33 is also equipped with a circuit 36 capable of ensuring decompression, decoding and digital-to-analog conversion of the recorded messages, that is to say a circuit performing the inverse operations of those performed by the analog / digital conversion circuit, coding and compression of the microcomputer 23 These two circuits 26 and 36 Equipping the microcomputers 23 and 33 may for example be constituted by sound digitization and compression cards using the ADPCM (National Center for the Study of Human Compression) ADPCM (Adapted Pulse Modulation and Differential Coding in Sub-Band) compression method. Telecommunications) or the CCETT's MASCAM process (WB 48 SBC) using the properties

  psychoacoustics in critical bands.

  The analog signals corresponding to the messages read in the mass memory of the microcomputer 33 and converted into analog form after decompression and decoding are transmitted to the

re-transmitter 31.

  If necessary, the re-transmitter 31 can detect, in the signals received from the satellite 12, any coded synchronization signals indicating the start of a local message insertion In response to the detection of such a synchronization signal, for example by decoding its frequency and its duration, the transmitter 31 produces a control signal, for example by closing a relay, which is applied to the microcomputer 33 to trigger the latter which is in standby and control the reading of a message or a sequence of recorded messages Simultaneously, the re-transmitter is switched as input

  to allow the broadcast of local messages.

  As a variant, the reading of a message with a view to its diffusion is controlled at a given time according to a programming information associated with the message, the detection of

  the time being ensured by means of the internal clock of the micro-

computer 33.

  At the end of the broadcast of the local messages, the microcomputer 33 produces a signal which again causes the re-transmitter to be switched in order to reconnect the input of

  this one to the receiving antenna 38.

  The stages of storage, programming and transmission of digital messages via the ISDN to the various local broadcast centers and restitution of the messages stored in the mass memories of the microcomputers 33 of the local broadcast centers are carried out by programs whose organization and flowcharts are illustrated by the figures

2 to 2 D.

  The program executed by the server (or master) microcomputer 23 comprises modules whose linkage is illustrated in FIG. 2 A. The main menu 100 offers the choice between modules of

  110 studio, 120 programming and 130 network.

  The studio module 110 makes it possible to perform the functions of digitizing messages (module 112) and of mixing and effects

special cases (module 114).

  Scanning of messages consists in triggering the reading of recorded analog messages and storing the scanned messages in mass storage. The scanning module also offers memory access for

  delete messages that have become useless.

  The mixing module and special effects can work on the digitized messages The special effects consist for example in the introduction of echo, inversion, amplification, reverb, These are techniques

well known in themselves.

  The programming module 120 allows the creation, modification, duplication and deletion of programming cards by an operator. A form corresponds to a programming for a time slot of a given day for a local broadcast center and contains the list of messages. to diffuse

  with the day and the broadcast time slot.

  The network module 130 assumes, in particular, the function of

  transmission of programming to local broadcast centers.

  This transmission is done automatically, every night

  and for each local broadcast center.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the programming transmission comprises the following steps: creation and sending of a "programming" file containing the programming files for the following day, and a "list of necessary messages" file containing the programming file. list of messages necessary to ensure the planned programming, reception of a "missing messages" file created by the local broadcast center and containing the list of messages necessary to ensure the desired programming, but not available in the memory of the slave microcomputer of the local broadcast center, and a "history" file created by the local broadcast center and containing the list of messages actually broadcast during the past day and the time of their broadcast, transfer of the missing messages in digital form for storing in memory of the slave microcomputer, and updating the "history" file of the messages with a view, in particular, to billing in anointing of the number and time of

diffusion.

  FIG. 2C shows the sequence of the modules of the program executed by the slave microcomputer 33 of each

local dissemination center.

  The program is waiting in a loop 150 and passes to the network module 160 or broadcast 170 when these modules are called. The network module 160 ensures in particular the reception of the programming This reception takes place according to the following steps (shown in FIG. 2B in concordance with the programming transmission steps): reception of the "programming" files and "list of necessary messages" , creation of the file "missing messages", deletion of the unnecessary messages in mass memory by comparison between the stored messages and the programming, sending to the central site of the file "missing messages" and the file "history" for the past day (the file "history" being updated after each message broadcast), reception of the missing messages and storage in the mass memory of the microcomputer 33, and sort of programming records contained in the received programming, in order to order them in chronological order ,

  the program is positioned on the first future sheet.

  The broadcast module 170 is called when there remains only a predetermined time T before the scheduled broadcast time for the first message of the first record, this being detected by

  scanning an internal clock at the local broadcast center.

  Message delivery includes the following steps

(Figure 2 D): -

  loading of the selected messages, that is to say those appearing on the first programming sheet (the loading is carried out by reading in mass memory and transfer in memory of the microcomputer of the messages to be broadcast), detection of the instant of diffusion by scanning of the internal clock, broadcasting of the messages, by switching of the retransmitter on the output of the card 36 and transmission to it of the messages to be broadcast, updating of the "historical" file, and

  positioning on the sheet this next programming.

  In the case where the broadcast is triggered by a synchronization signal transmitted by satellite, the instant of diffusion is determined by detecting the reception of this signal, and not

  not by scanning the internal clock.

  The functions described above are those specifically related to the manufacture, storage, transfer and

to the diffusion of the messages.

  The available means can be used to

  other functions such as tele-

  monitoring and remote maintenance of local broadcast centers. The method described above is remarkable in that it allows the insertion of local messages in a general broadcasting program by automatic means at each local broadcast center. This is allowed through the network.

  digital 40 which allows a download of digitized messages.

  The download can be made for example at night, at a minimum cost It will be noted that the means described could allow a real-time broadcast, insofar as the network 40 ensures

sufficient flow.

  In addition, the digitization of audio messages not only allows them to be routed to local centers at the lowest cost, using a network such as the ISDN, but

  plus allows a restitution of a sound of high quality.

  The network can also be used to download programs used by local broadcast center microcomputers, as well as for maintenance and modifications.

possible of these programs.

  In addition, a complete reset of the microcomputer hard disks of the local broadcast centers can be done periodically to avoid sectoring too much.

important of these discs.

  Of course, for the sake of security, transmissions between the central site and a local broadcast center may be authorized only after double identification. A first identification is made as soon as the central site calls the local broadcast center since the latter can identify the call on the ISDN A second identification can then be made by reminding the central site by the local broadcast center with sending an identification code that the central site has generated randomly and sent to the

local dissemination center.

  It will be noted that, although a retransmisison of the general satellite broadcasting program has been envisaged, the described application may function in a similar manner in the case of a retransmission by radio

  directly between the central transmitter and the local re-transmitters.

  As already indicated, the application described above has been given by way of example of use of the method according to

the invention.

  Thus, the method can be implemented not to insert messages in a program broadcast by a local re-transmitter, but, for example, to insert messages in a program broadcast in a place such as a public place , a workplace, a shopping center

Claims (5)

  A method for inserting sound messages at specific times in a locally broadcast program, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: conversion in digital form, into a central site, of a sound message to be inserted at a determined instant in a program broadcast by a local broadcast center, transmitting the message in digital form using a digital communication network between the central site and the local broadcast center, and at the local broadcast center, at the predetermined time, analog conversion of the received message and insertion of the message into the program broadcast locally.   2 Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises, in the local broadcast center, the digital storage steps of the received message and detection of a synchronization signal to control the reading, the conversion form analog and insertion of the message at the moment   determined by the synchronization signal.   Process according to any one of claims 1   and 2, characterized in that it further comprises, at the central site, a step of storing in digital form the messages to be transmitted.   4 Process according to any one of claims 1 to   3, characterized in that, at the local broadcast center, the message is transmitted to a re-transmitter for insertion into a program   radio broadcast transmitted to the re-transmitter from a central transmitter.   Process according to any one of claims 1 to   4, characterized in that the insertion of a message is controlled in response to the detection of a synchronization signal contained in   the signals received by the re-transmitter.   Process according to any one of claims 1 to   , characterized in that, for a given local broadcast center, each message is associated with information relating to the range time and day of broadcast.