JP2000244437A - Data multiplexer and data multiplexing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To receive a plurality of elementary streams each having a format with reference time information added thereto and to multiplex them to a single stream while newly generating reference time information to each multiplexed program. SOLUTION: The multiplexer 10 is provided with an input control section 12 that receives a plurality of packetized elementary streams to which an elementary stream clock reference consisting of a plurality of programs and used to reproduce the time base for each program is added and with a program clock reference PCR packet generating section 18 that newly generates a PCR packet representing the reference time of a stream for each program.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data multiplexing apparatus and a data multiplexing method for multiplexing coded video and audio of a plurality of programs and various data into a transport stream, and more particularly to a digital multiplexing system and the like. And a data multiplexing method and a data multiplexing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, for example, in a transmitting apparatus for transmitting video and audio, various data signals, and the like, for example, MPEG2 (Moving Pic.
Encoding and multiplexing of audio and video signals using information compression and multiplexing technologies according to the Data Experts Group phase 2), high-quality audio and video and various data of multiple programs in a limited transmission band. An image / audio signal transmission system such as a digital satellite broadcasting system in which a signal is converted into one bit stream, the bit stream is transmitted via a communication satellite or the like, and the bit stream is received, separated, and decoded by a receiver. I am doing it.

A transmitting apparatus in such a video / audio signal transmission system encodes video / audio and various data signals by using an encoding technique such as MPEG2, and also multiplexes these digitally encoded data by using a multiplexing technique. Form a bitstream. Thereafter, the transmitting apparatus performs error correction processing and modulation processing on the bit stream, and transmits the bit stream toward a communication satellite by a transmission antenna.

Here, an overview of an encoding device and a multiplexing device that constitute such a transmitting device will be described.

First, an encoding device 150 shown in FIG. 20 will be described. The encoding device 150 is an encoding unit that generates video and audio for one program and associated data associated therewith.

As shown in FIG. 20, an encoding device 150 has input terminals 150a, 150b, 150c, an output terminal 150d, a video encoding unit 151 for encoding input video data, and an input audio signal. A voice encoding unit 152 for encoding data, a data encoding unit 153 for inputting and encoding various data accompanying the program, and a packetized elementary stream (Packetized Elementary Stream).
ntary Stream; hereinafter abbreviated as PES. ), A multiplexing unit 157 for generating a single stream, and a reference clock generating unit 1
58, and a control information encoding unit 159.

The input terminal 150a is a terminal for inputting original video data, and supplies the input video data to the video encoding unit 151.

[0008] The input terminal 150b is a terminal for inputting original audio data, and supplies the input audio data to the audio encoding unit 152.

The input terminal 150c is a terminal for inputting various data accompanying the program, and supplies the input data to the data encoding unit 153.

The video encoding unit 151 has an input terminal 150a
Performs high-efficiency compression encoding as specified in MPEG2 video, for example, to generate an Elementary Stream (hereinafter abbreviated as ES) of the video. This ES is output to the PES conversion section 154 at the subsequent stage.

[0011] The speech encoding unit 152 has an input terminal 150b.
Performs high-efficiency compression encoding as specified in MPEG2 audio, for example,
Generate S. This ES is output to the PES conversion section 155 at the subsequent stage.

The data encoding section 153 has an input terminal 150
Encode the data from c into ES format. This ES
Is output to the PES conversion unit 156 at the subsequent stage.

The PES units 154, 155 and 156 packetize the ES from the video encoding unit 151, the audio encoding unit 152 and the data encoding unit 153 into packets each having a certain code length to form a PES format. To

Here, in the state of the ES, the synchronous reproduction information for specifying the stream type and the time at which the encoding unit of the bit stream is to be decoded is not superimposed. By each E
The stream type of S can be specified, and the coded data indicating the time information can be superimposed even when the decoding time and the display time of each PES on the receiving side (receiving device) are specified. . The encoding device 150 converts each ES into a PES, superimposes information indicating the type of the stream of each ES, and decodes the decoded time stamp (Decode Time Stamp; hereinafter, DTS) as synchronous management information. Abbreviated.)
Time Stamp (Presentation Time Stamp; hereinafter, PT
Abbreviated as S. ) Is superimposed.

The multiplexing unit 157 receives the PES from the PES conversion units 154, 155, and 156 in order to handle a plurality of PESs constituting a single program as a single stream.
Is, for example, a transport stream (Transport Stream; hereinafter, TS
Abbreviated. ) Or a program stream (Program
Stream; hereinafter abbreviated as PS. ). The multiplexing unit 157 generates a program clock reference (Prog) generated based on the system clock from the reference clock generating unit 158 and indicating the time reference of the stream.
ram Clock Reference; hereinafter abbreviated as PCR. )
Is superimposed on a TS capable of transmitting and receiving a plurality of programs. This PCR and the above-mentioned DTS and PT
S is used for performing synchronous reproduction on the receiving side. Further, the multiplexing unit 157 divides the stream received by the receiving side into individual packets by packet type (Packet ID;
Hereinafter, it is abbreviated as PID. ), The program control information generated by the control information encoding unit 159, such as table data, is multiplexed into an output stream.

Such a conventional encoding device 150 has
A single stream is generated by encoding a plurality of source data constituting a program. Then, the encoding device 150
Multiplexes the single stream together with the program control information via the output terminal 150d into the multiplexer 20 shown in FIG.
Output to 0.

Next, the multiplexer 200 shown in FIG. 21 will be described. The multiplexing apparatus 200 receives a plurality of TSs from a plurality of encoding apparatuses 150 ₁ ,..., 150 _n , multiplexes these TSs into one TS, and adds all TSs to the system. Related control information and the like are also superimposed and multiplexed.

The multiplexer 200, as shown in FIG. 21, the encoding apparatus 150 _1, ..., a buffer 201 ₁ for buffering TS input from 150 _n, ...,
And 201 _n, fixed terminal 202 _1, ..., and 202 _n,
A multiplexing switch 203; a multiplexing scheduling control unit 204 for controlling timing for multiplexing the input TS and the like; a control information generating unit 205;
a and an output terminal 200a.

The buffer 201 _1, ..., 201 _n may be the coding device 150 _1, ..., and input rate of the TS input from 150 _n, and the output rate of these TS are multiplexed different , And buffering the TS input from the encoding devices 150 ₁ ,..., 150 _n to adjust the speed.

The multiplex scheduling control section 204 controls the timing for multiplexing the control data of all programs from the input stream and the control information generating section 205. That is, the multiplex scheduling control unit 204
Buffer 201 _1, ..., fixed terminal 202 ₁ for outputting a TS that has been buffered in 201 _n, ·
.., 202 _n and the selected terminal 205 a to which the control data from the control information generating unit 205 is output are selected by the multiplex switch 203.

The conventional multiplexing apparatus 200 operates according to the control of the multiplexing scheduling control section 204.
The multiplex switch 203 is operated to select TS or control data to be multiplexed, and the selected TS or control data is transferred to a transport packet (Transport Packet;
Abbreviated as P. ) Unit multiplex. Further, the multiplexing apparatus 200 uses the multiplexing scheduling control unit 204 to
When it is determined that it is not time to multiplex valid data, a so-called null packet is multiplexed. The multiplexer 200 outputs one TS generated in this way via the output terminal 200a.

In MPEG2, restrictions on coded data to be transmitted, synchronous reproduction information, and control data are defined, and a virtual decoder model (Transpor
t-System Target Decoder; hereinafter abbreviated as T-STD. ) 300 specifies that all buffers operate without failure. Here, the T-STD 300
The configuration will be briefly described.

The video data processing system in the T-STD 300 includes a transport buffer (TB ₁ ) 301,
Multiplexing buffer (MB ₁ ) 302, elementary buffer (EB ₁ ) 303, and video decoder (D ₁ ) 304
And a rearrangement buffer (O ₁ ) 305. Also,
The audio data processing system in the T-STD 300 includes a transport buffer (TB _n ) 306, a main buffer (B _n ) 307, and an audio decoder (D _n ) 308.
Consists of Further, the processing system for control data in the T-STD 300 includes a transport buffer (T
B _sys ) 309, a main buffer (B _sys ) 310,
And a system decoder (D _sys ) 311.

The transport buffers 301, 306, and 309 in the T-STD 300 buffer a bursty, high-speed data stream immediately after demultiplexing.

The video data processing system in the T-STD 300 uses a multiplex buffer 302 and an elementary buffer 303 as main buffers. The multiplexing buffer 302 functions to buffer multiplexed jitter of, for example, 4 ms and PES overhead, so that the data transfer speed to the next-stage elementary stream buffer 303 is consistent.

The multiplexing apparatus 200 has such a T-ST
It is necessary to multiplex TS so that all buffers in D300 operate without causing a failure such as overflow or underflow. Therefore, the multiplexing apparatus 200 performs multiplexing scheduling control so that the frequency of the reference clock reproduced on the receiving side using the above-described PCR falls within a specified range. The multiplexing apparatus 200 also performs appropriate decoding on the payload data of each PES constituting the input TS so that the receiving side can start or display the decoding of the TS received at the time indicated by the above-described DTS and PTS. Multiplexing control is performed at timing.

[0027]

By the way, the conventional multiplexing apparatus 200 described above, like the encoding apparatus 150,
A TS output from a device for multiplexing PESs individually output to a plurality of sources constituting one program is input. For this reason, the conventional multiplexing apparatus 200 cannot handle, as an input, an output from an apparatus that individually outputs a PES to a plurality of sources constituting one program.

The multiplexing unit 157 in the conventional encoding device 150 multiplexes the PES constituting one program. As described above, conventionally, there is no device that handles PES for a plurality of programs at once.

Further, the conventional multiplexing apparatus 200 can be used in a case where data is interfaced in a format such as PES on which the type of stream and the synchronous reproduction information are superimposed.
It has not been possible to meet the demand for reusing data that has been subjected to high-efficiency compression encoding without decoding it. Specifically, in order to further convert the stream multiplexed to the PS to the TS, the PS may be once again converted to the PES, and the PES may be multiplexed and converted to the TS. In such a case, the conventional multiplexer 200
PES could not be input, and it was not possible to cope with such conversion processing.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional multiplexing apparatus, and adds time reference information and synchronous reproduction information to each stream like PES. A data multiplexing apparatus and a data multiplexing method for multiplexing an elementary stream into a single TS while inputting an elementary stream in a predetermined format and generating time reference information for each program to be multiplexed It is intended for.

[0031]

A data multiplexing apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object constitutes at least one or more programs and has a stream time reference for reproducing a single time axis. Input control means for inputting and reading a plurality of coded input streams to which values are added to a header area; time reference value generating means for newly generating a program time reference value unique to each program; Output control means for multiplexing a plurality of coded input streams into a single coded output stream together with the reference value and outputting the multiplexed input stream.

The data multiplexing apparatus according to the present invention having the above-described configuration converts a plurality of input encoded input streams into a single encoded output stream while generating a new program time reference value for each program. Multiplex.

Further, in the data multiplexing method according to the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object, at least one or more programs are constituted, and a stream time reference value for reproducing a single time axis is included in a header area. Input and read a plurality of coded input streams added to the program, generate a new program time reference value unique to each program, and, together with the program time reference value, convert the plurality of coded input streams into a single code. It is characterized in that it is multiplexed and output to a coded output stream.

In the data multiplexing method according to the present invention, a plurality of coded input streams are input, and these coded input streams are generated while newly generating a unique program time reference value for each program. The output is multiplexed into a single encoded output stream.

[0035]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

As a first embodiment to which the present invention is applied, a multiplexer 10 shown in FIG.
The system time clock (System Time) generated as the system reference clock which is the basic synchronization signal by
Clock; hereinafter abbreviated as STC. ) A plurality of encoder 1 _1, ..., and supplies to 1 _n, these encoding device 1 _1, ..., packetized elementary streams from 1 _n (Packetized Elementary Stream; hereinafter, PES), and these PESs are converted into one transport stream (Transport Stream;
Hereinafter, it is abbreviated as TS. ).

Each of the plurality of encoders 1 ₁ ,..., 1 _n connected to the multiplexer 10 generates a PES for one program. Encoding device 1 ₁ , ...
, 1 _n are input terminals ₁₁ a,..., 1 _n a for inputting original video data, respectively, as shown in FIG.
And an input terminal 1 for inputting original audio data
₁ b, ..., includes a 1 _n b, an input terminal ₁ 1 c for inputting various data associated with the program, ..., and 1 _n c. The encoding device ₁ 1, · · ·, 1 _n, respectively,
A video encoding unit 2 ₁ for encoding the input video data,
,..., 2 _n , a voice coding unit 3 ₁ ,..., 3 _n for coding input voice data, and a data coding unit 4 for coding various data accompanying the input program. further comprising _1, ..., and 4 _n. Further, each of the encoding devices 1 ₁ ,..., 1 _n includes a PES conversion unit 5 ₁ ,.
.., 5 _n and PES that constitutes encoded audio data
PES conversion unit ₆₁ for generating, ..., further comprising a 6 _n, PES conversion unit ₇₁ for generating a PES constituting various data associated with the encoded program, ..., and 7 _n .

The video coding unit 2 _1, · · ·, 2 _n, respectively, the input terminal ₁ 1 a, · · ·, for example, the video data input from _{1 n a MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts} G
roupphase 2) Performs high-efficiency compression encoding as specified in video, and performs elementary streams (El
ementary Stream; hereinafter abbreviated as ES. ). These ES, respectively, subsequent PES conversion unit 5 _1, ..., and output to 5 _n.

The speech coding unit 3 _1, ···, 3 _n, respectively, the input terminal ₁ 1 b, · · ·, 1 _n at the audio data for example, MPEG2 audio input from b as defined And performs high-efficiency compression encoding to generate an audio ES. These ESs are output to the subsequent PES units 6 ₁ ,..., 6 _n , respectively.

The data encoding section 4 _1, · · ·, 4 _n, respectively, encoded input terminal ₁ 1 c, · · ·, various data associated with the program input from the 1 _n c in the form of ES I do. The encoded ESs are respectively output to the subsequent PES units 7 ₁ ,..., 7 _n .

The PES conversion unit 5 _1, ..., 5 _n, respectively, the video encoding unit 2 _1, ..., adds a PES header as shown in FIG. 2 to ES from 2 _n (PES Header) Then, the packet is packetized to generate a PES, and the PES is output to the multiplexer 10. That, PES unit 5 _1, · · ·, 5 _n, respectively, received not shown apparatus reproduces the reference clock from the received PES, to be able to handle this PES as a sync playable stream , An elementary stream clock reference (hereinafter referred to as ESC) which is a stream time reference value in the PES header.
Abbreviated as R. ) And ES rate (Elementary Stream ra)
te; hereinafter, described as ES_rate. ) Is superimposed. In addition, PES unit 5 _1, ...,
5 _n are presentation time stamps (PT), which are time management information of reproduction output, as synchronous reproduction information for designating a display time and a decode time on the reception side (reception device).
Abbreviated as S. ) And a decode time stamp (Decode Time Stamp; hereinafter abbreviated as DTS) as time management information for decoding are superimposed as encoded data in a PES header to generate a PES.

The PES conversion unit 6 _1, ..., 6 _n and PES conversion unit 7 _1, ..., 7 _n are, PES conversion unit 5 _1, ..., intended to form a similar to 5 _n operation there are, respectively, the speech coding section 3 _1, ..., 3 _n and the data encoding section 4 _1, ...,
ES from 4 _n is packetized as shown in FIG.
An ES is generated and output to the multiplexer 10.

Such an encoding device 1₁, ..., 1
_nUses MPEG2 to receive the PES as shown in FIG.
Virtual decoder model (PES-System Tar
get Decoder; hereinafter, abbreviated as PES-STD. ) 5
ESCR, ES described above so that 0 operates without failure.
_Rate and time reference information and a time stamp.
PTS is created by superimposing PTS and DTS in the PES header.
To achieve. This PES-STD 50 is as shown in FIG.
And a main buffer as a video data processing system.
(B ₁) 51 and a video decoder (D₁) 52 and rearrangement
Buffer (O₁) 53. Also, PES-ST
D50 is a main buffer as an audio data processing system.
(B_n) 54 and an audio decoder (D_n) 55
I can.

In MPEG2, the time at an arbitrary byte position in the stream when the PES inputs to the PES-STD 50 is defined as expressed by the following equation (1).

[0045]

(Equation 1)

Here, i ′ represents an index of a byte including the last bit of the ESCR_base field, and i is P
It represents the index of an arbitrary byte in the ES. ESCR (i ') is a unit of reference clock, and ESCR_base and ECR
Indicates the time encoded by SCR_extension, and system_
clock_frequency is ± 810 around 27 MHz
Indicates the frequency of the reference clock operating within Hz, and ES_r
ate represents the rate at which data in the PES arrives at the input stage of the PES-STD 50.

Under such restrictions, the encoding devices 1 ₁ ,..., 1 _n perform the above-mentioned time reference information such as ESCR and ES_rate, and PTS and DTS as time stamps.
Is superimposed in the PES header to create a PES, and output to the multiplexer 10.

The multiplexing device 10 for inputting the PES for a plurality of programs created by the coding devices 1 ₁ ,..., 1 _n includes the reference clock generation unit 11 shown in FIG. In addition to the output terminal 10a, as shown in FIG. 4, an input control unit 12 for inputting a PES, and an encoding device 1
PES from the input control unit 12 corresponding to ₁ ,..., 1 _n
Buffers 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ ,..., 1 for temporarily storing
3 _n , 14 ₁ , 14 ₂ ,..., 14 _n , 15 ₁ , 15 ₂ ,.
.., 15 _n , a control data packet generator 16 for generating information related to a program, a control data transmitter 17 for managing a multiplex cycle of control data, and a program time reference value indicating a time reference for each program. A Program Clock Referenc
e; hereinafter abbreviated as PCR. A) a PCR packet generator 18 which is a time reference value generator for generating a packet;
, A null packet generation unit 19 that generates a so-called null packet, and a transport stream packet (TransportStream Packet; hereafter referred to as T) corresponding to the input PES.
Abbreviated as P. ) TP header generation unit 2 for generating a header
0, a multiplex switch 21 that operates under the control of a channel selection control unit 22 described below, a channel selection control unit 22 that operates the multiplex switch 21 to control a multiplex channel, and an output that outputs a TS at a predetermined transmission rate. And a control unit 23.

[0049] Also, multiplexer 10, the coding device ₁ 1, ..., the input terminal 10b ₁ for inputting a PES related to the video data from the 1 _n, 10b _2, ..., 10b
and _n, the encoding device ₁ 1, ..., input terminals 10c ₁ for inputting a PES regarding audio data from the 1 _n, 10c _2, ·
..., and 10c _n, the encoding device ₁ 1, ..., the input terminal 10d ₁ for inputting PES for various data accompanying programs from 1 _n, 10d _2, ..., and 10d _n,
An input terminal 10e for externally inputting information necessary for selecting or decoding a program on the receiving side, and selected terminals 24, 25, 26, 27 ₁ , 27 ₂ ,.
_{n, 28 1, 28 2,} ···, 28 n, 29 1, 29 2, ··
, 29 _n , 30.

The input control section 12 has input terminals 10b ₁ , 1
0b ₂ ,..., 10b _n , 10c ₁ , 10c ₂ ,.
_{10c n, 10d 1, 10d 2} , ···, reads one byte PES coming input from 10d _n, respectively, the multiplex buffer _{13 1, 13 2, ···,} 13 n, 14 1, 14
_{2, ···, 14 n, 15} 1, 15 2, ···, and supplies to 15 _n, and PES header containing the ESCR described above will be captured by searching the ES header of video and audio. Further, the input control unit 12 has a memory (not shown), and an AU (Access Uniform) which is a minimum unit of display and encoding.
An index number indicating the order of t) after the start of the control and header information corresponding to each index number are stored in a memory, and these information are supplied to the channel selection control unit 22.

Further, the input control unit 12 controls the input PE
S is multiplexed into buffers 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ ,..., 13 _n , 1
_{4 1, 14 2, ···,} 14 n, 15 1, 15 2, ···,
When supplied to 15 _n, it deletes the data portion indicating the ESCR and ES_rate superimposed on the PES. That is, these ESCR and ES_rate
Is invalid data in a TS in which a plurality of streams are multiplexed.
After deleting the data portion indicating CR and ES_rate, the multiplex buffers 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ ,..., 13 _n , 1
_{4 1, 14 2, ···,} 14 n, 15 1, 15 2, ···,
15 _n respectively. At that time, the input control unit 12
Are ESCR flags (ESCR_flag) and ES_rate flags (ES_rate_fla), which are flags indicating whether or not ESCR and ES_rate are superimposed in the PES header.
If g) is 1, replace these flags with 0,
The data portions of the ESCR and ES_rate are multiplexed into buffers 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ ,..., 13 _n , 14 ₁ , 14 ₂ ,.
, 14 _n , 15 ₁ , 15 ₂ ,..., 15 _n . In addition, since the PES header becomes smaller with the deletion of the ESCR and ES_rate, the input control unit 12 sets the PES header data length (PES Header dat
a length) and, if necessary, the PES packet length (PES Pack
Information indicating the data length, such as et length), is also replaced.

Multiplexing buffers 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ ,..., 13
_n , 14 ₁ , 14 ₂ ,..., 14 _n , 15 ₁ , 15 ₂ ,.
.., 15 _n are FIFO (First-In First-Out) buffers for temporarily storing the PES from the input control unit 12. Multiplexing buffers 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ ,..., 13 _n , 1
_{4 1, 14 2, ···,} 14 n, 15 1, 15 2, ···,
15 _n indicates that the multiplex switch 21 operated under the control of the channel selection control unit 22 has the selected terminals 27 ₁ , 27 ₂ ,.
.., 27 _n , 28 ₁ , 28 ₂ ,..., 28 _n , 29 ₁ , 2
PES by selecting any of 9 ₂ ,..., 29 _n
Is temporarily stored until multiplexing is performed. Then, the multiplex buffers 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ ,.
.., 13 _n , 14 ₁ , 14 ₂ ,..., 14 _n , 15 ₁ , 1
5 _2, · · ·, 15 _n may be selected to PES which is stored and held each terminal _{27 1, 27 2, ···,} 27 n, 2
_{8 1, 28 2, ···,} 28 n, 29 1, 29 2, ···,
29 _n . The selected terminals 27 ₁ , 27 ₂ ,.
.., 27 _n , 28 ₁ , 28 ₂ ,..., 28 _n , 29 ₁ , 2
The PES supplied to 9 ₂ ,..., 29 _n are respectively
The data is read out and multiplexed in units of TP length by selecting the multiplexing switch 21.

The control data packet generation unit 16 stores information on the entire program and the PID (Program ID) of each program.
PSI (Program Sp.) Which is information necessary for selecting and decoding a program on the receiving side.
To generate SI (Service Information), which is various information related to the entire or a part of the program, the information is input from the outside via the input terminal 10e and is converted into a TP. Is output to the control data sending unit 17.

The control data transmitting section 17 manages a multiplexing cycle for each control data by a timer (not shown), and when a timing to multiplex any control data input from the control data packet generating section 16 is reached, The control data multiplexing request is transmitted to the channel selection control unit 22 and the control data to be multiplexed is transmitted to the selected terminal 2.
4 The control data supplied to the selected terminal 24 is read and multiplexed by selecting the multiplex switch 21.

The PCR packet generator 18 generates a PCR packet, as will be described in detail later, and also includes a system included in the multiplexing apparatus 10 so as to observe restrictions on multiplexing intervals defined by predetermined transmission specifications. The timing for multiplexing the PCR generated based on the STC as the reference clock is managed. That is, the PCR packet generator 18 outputs the ES superimposed on the input PES.
When the time of each program on the time axis reproduced from the CR is encoded as a PCR to generate a PCR packet having no payload data and the timing for multiplexing the PCR packet is reached, the channel selection control unit 22 Send multiplexing request and multiplex P
The CR packet is supplied to the selected terminal 25. The PCR packet supplied to the selected terminal 25 is
Are read out and multiplexed.

The null packet generator 19 performs the multiplexing at a timing when it is not necessary to multiplex any of the PES data packet, the control data packet, and the PCR packet, or at a timing when it is prohibited to multiplex any of these packets. A null packet having no payload data is generated and supplied to the selected terminal 26. The null packet supplied to the selected terminal 26 is read and multiplexed by selecting the multiplex switch 21.

The TP header generator 20 receives the input PES
To generate a TP header corresponding to the multiplexing buffer 13 ₁ , 1 because the input PES is multiplexed.
_{3 2, ···, 13 n,} 14 1, 14 2, ···, 14 n,
15 _1, 15 _2,..., When read respectively from 15 _n, prior to these PES generates TP header that must be multiplexed, and supplies to the fixed terminal 30. The TP header supplied to the selected terminal 30 is read out by the selection of the multiplex switch 21 and the PES to be multiplexed is read.
Is added to

The channel selection control unit 22 determines which of the PES data packet, the control data packet, the PCR packet and the null packet is to be selected. The channel selection control unit 22 includes the multiplex switch 2
A multiplex channel is controlled by transmitting a selection signal to 1 to operate the multiplex switch 21 and connecting the selected terminal that outputs the selected packet to the multiplex switch 21.

In MPEG2, a virtual decoder model (Transport-System Target Deco
der; hereinafter, abbreviated as T-STD. ) Is defined, and the multiplexing apparatus 10 sets the type of the multiplexed packet so that when the multiplexed bit stream is input to the T-STD, all buffers in the T-STD operate without failure. It must be determined and multiplexed. Therefore,
When selecting and multiplexing a PES, the channel selection control unit 22 transmits the PES sent from the input control unit 12.
By referring to and AU header information and the like of multiplex buffer _{13 1, 13 2, ···,} 13 n, 14 1, 14 2, ··
, 14 _n , 15 ₁ , 15 ₂ ,..., 15 _n to manage the attributes of the PESs and AUs in the standby state. Then, the channel selection controller 22 controls the multiplex buffers 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ ,
..., 13 _n , 14 ₁ , 14 ₂ , ..., 14 _n , 1
5 _1, 15 _2,..., By further reference to sent the incoming fullness and the like from 15 _n, selects a multiplex buffer to be read PES.

When the PES to be read is selected, the channel selection control unit 22 precedes the reading from the multiplex buffer buffering the PES, and sets the TP generated corresponding to the PES. T for header
Multiplex switch 2 to read from P header generator 20
1 to operate. Channel selection control unit 22
When reading the TP header from the TP header generation unit 20, the TP header generation unit 20 transmits to the TP header generation unit 20 in advance, of the contents described in the TP header, parameters that change depending on the channel and timing to be read. . The data to be transmitted to the TP header generation unit 20 includes, for example, a PID (Packet ID) and an adaptation field control (adaptation_field_control).
l), cc (continuity counter), stuffing byte (Stuffing byte) and the like.

The output control unit 23 inputs a code string for one packet multiplexed by the multiplex switch 21 as a TP, and illustrates a TS composed of a plurality of TPs at a predetermined transmission rate via an output terminal 10a. Output to the transmission line that does not.

As described above, such a multiplexing apparatus 10 includes the reference clock generator 11 and converts the system reference clock generated by the reference clock generator 11 into the system clock.
It is supplied to each control unit as STC. Further, the multiplexing device 10 converts the STC into the coding devices ₁₁ ,..., 1 _n.
We also supply for ST included in the multiplexer 10
Encoder ₁ 1 C is supplied, · · ·, 1 _n is the S
Operating based on the TC, the ESCR of each PES is generated and superimposed on the PES header.

The multiplexing apparatus 10 thus operates the PES
By capturing the ESCR superimposed on the header only once by the input control unit 12, an STCR (not shown)
S which is the system reference clock count value indicated by the C counter
The time axis based on the ESCR can be reproduced based on the TC counter value. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the ESCR reproduced from the PES in an arbitrary program
Since the speed at which the time flows on the time axis of the multiplexing apparatus 10 and the time axis of the STC of the multiplexing device 10 are the same in principle, the ESCR input and captured at a certain timing to the input control unit 12 And the ST value at that time
The difference value Δ from the time corresponding to the C counter value is always constant. Specifically, E captured at a certain time 0
Assuming that the difference between the SCR decoded value ESCR (0) and the time indicated by ESCR (0) on the STC time axis is Δ, an arbitrary time STC (n) on the STC time axis and this STC (n) Is also a difference value from the time on the ESCR time axis corresponding to. From this, the multiplexing device 10
If the ESCR is captured only once by the input control unit 12, the time axis based on the ESCR can be easily reproduced.

In view of this, the PCR packet generator 18 for one program, as shown in FIG. 6 by way of example, includes an STC counter 31 as system reference clock counting means for counting STC, Output STC counter value and input control unit 1
2, an adder 32 that adds the Δ transmitted from the second, a PCR encoding unit 33 that encodes an output value from the adder 32 as PCR data, and a PCR packet that holds the output of the PCR encoding unit 33. Register 34
And a PC which is a management timing means for managing multiplex timing
An R multiplex timing management timer 35 is provided.

PCR for such a program
The packet generator 18 adds the STC counter value output from the STC counter 31 and the individual Δ to each program transmitted from the input controller 12 by the adder 32, and adds this value to the PCR encoder 33. To enter. Then, the PCR packet generator 18 encodes the output value of the adder 32 as PCR data in the PCR encoder 33 and writes the encoded data into the PCR packet register 34. Further, the PCR packet generation unit 18 manages the time at which the PCR packets are multiplexed by the PCR multiplex timing management timer 35 that counts the STC.
5 to issue a multiplex request to the channel selection control unit 22.

As described above, the multiplexing device 10 can directly input a plurality of elementary streams to which time reference information such as ESCR and ES_rate are added, such as PES, and encoder 1 _1, ..., it generates a PCR is a time reference information for each program based on a common reference clock with the 1 _n, comprising a plurality of PES from a single or multiple programs T
S can be multiplexed and output. Therefore, multiplexer 10, the coding device ₁ 1, ..., when dealing with multiple programs from 1 _n, by entering the PES directly, the encoding device ₁ 1, ..., 1 _n and multiple The multiplexing in the multiplexing device 10 can be performed only once. The multiplexing apparatus 10 can also eliminate the invalid data from the PES data and reduce the PES data rate by setting the input to the PES.

Note that in MPEG2, PCR data is multiplexed in the adaptation field of the TP header. For example, even if the PCR data is transmitted as a PCR packet having no payload data as described above, Alternatively, it may be multiplexed by being superimposed on a part of a video or audio TP header. In the above description, the PCR data is transmitted as a PCR packet having no payload data.
A case where data is superimposed on a video or audio TP header will be described. In this case, the PCR data precedes the video data and audio data serving as the payload data of the TP by the T data.
Superimposed in the P header. The multiplexing apparatus that operates as described above is configured as shown in FIG.

That is, the multiplexer 40 shown in FIG.
The above-described multiplexing device 10 is partially modified, and the PCR packet generation unit 1 in the multiplexing device 10 described above is modified.
A PCR data generator 41 is provided in a stage preceding the TP header generator 20 in place of the terminal 8 and the terminal 25 to be selected.

As shown in FIG. 8, the PCR data generator 41 for one program in the multiplexer 40
An STC counter 42 for counting the STC,
An adder 4 for adding the STC counter value output from the C counter 42 and Δ transmitted from the input control unit 12
3, a PCR encoding unit 44 for encoding an output value from the adder 43 as PCR data, and a PCR multiplex timing management timer 45 for managing multiplex timing. That is, the PCR data generation unit 41 is nothing but the PCR packet generation unit 18 except that the PCR packet register 34 is deleted. The PCR data generation unit 41 includes the PCR packet generation unit 18 described above.
Unlike the above, the output from the PCR encoding unit 44 is output to the TP header generation unit 20. In the multiplexer 40, when reading the PCR data from the TP header generator 20, the PCR data generator 41 issues a multiplexing request to the channel selection controller 22 at the timing of multiplexing the PCR data.

As described above, the multiplexing device 40 generates the PCR data for each program and superimposes the PCR data on the TP header, so that a plurality of PEs
S can be multiplexed and output to a TS composed of a single or a plurality of programs. The PCR data needs to be multiplexed with priority. Therefore, the multiplexer 4
0, when the PCR data generation unit 41 issues a multiplex request to the channel selection control unit 22,
The PES of the channel corresponding to the header is not always read from the multiplex buffer.

Although the multiplexers 10 and 40 have been described as having the reference clock generator 11 therein, the reference clock generator 11 need not necessarily be provided inside. For example, the reference clock generation unit may be provided in any of the encoding devices 1 ₁ ,..., 1 _n , or a reference clock generation unit independent of the encoding device and the multiplexing device. The device may be provided outside the encoding device and the multiplexing device. That is, in the first embodiment, it is sufficient that the encoding device and the multiplexing device are configured to use a common reference clock.

Next, another configuration of the above-described multiplexers 10 and 40 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The multiplexing device 60 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 as a second embodiment has the same basic configuration as the multiplexing devices 10 and 40 shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 7, and 10, 40 and the encoding device ₁ 1, ..., 1 and _n not include the reference clock generating unit 11 which has been supplied a common reference clock, the coding device ₁ 1, ..., each of 1 _n It is characterized in that a reference clock for each program is generated using the ESCR in the PES output from the PES. Therefore, the same components as those of the multiplexers 10 and 40 previously shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0074] Multiplexer 60, as shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of encoder ₁ 1, ..., are connected to 1 _n, these encoding device ₁ 1, ..., 1 _n The PESs for a plurality of programs are input from the PC, and these PESs are multiplexed into one TS.

The multiplexing device 60 includes the encoding devices 1 ₁ ,.
.. PC attached to each program constituting one TS generated by multiplexing a plurality of PESs input from 1 _n
The reference clock used to generate R is reproduced from the ESCR in the PES. Therefore, the multiplexing device 60
Is a digital PLL (Phase Locked Loop) which is a phase locked loop corresponding to each program, as shown in FIG.
p) circuits 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ ,..., 61 _n, and decodes ESCR decode values captured by the input control unit 12 into digital PLL circuits 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ ,.
..., and input to the 61 _n.

The digital PLL circuits 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ ,
.., 61 _n are, as shown in FIG. 11, a decoded value of the ESCR captured by the input control unit 12 and a local time clock (Lo) which is a reference clock described later.
cal Time Clock; hereinafter abbreviated as LTC. A) a subtractor 63 for obtaining a difference value from the counter 68, and a digital filter 64 for filtering an output from the subtractor 63.
And a digital-analog converter (Digital-Analog
Converter; hereinafter abbreviated as DAC. ) 65, a low pass filter (hereinafter abbreviated as LPF) 66 for extracting a DC component of the output from the DAC 65, and a voltage controlled oscillator (oscillating a 27 MHz clock).
ed Oscillator; hereinafter abbreviated as VCO. ) 67,
LT which is a reference clock counting means for counting LTC
And a C counter 68.

Such a digital PLL circuit 61 ₁ ,
61 _2, · · ·, 61 _n, respectively, as indicated by the broken line arrow in the figure, the decoding values of ESCR input from the input control unit 12, for loading the LTC counter 68 only when the control reset. Thereafter, the digital PLL circuits 61 ₁ ,
61 _2, · · ·, 61 _n, respectively, by the subtracter 63 takes a decode value of ESCR input from the input control unit 12, a difference value between the output of the LTC counter 68, a digital to that difference value Pass through the filter 64.
The digital PLL circuits 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ ,.
Each of 61 _n converts the output obtained by passing through the digital filter 64 into an analog signal by the DAC 65, and passes the LPF 66 to extract the DC component of the analog signal. A digital PLL circuit _{61 1, 61 2, ···,} 61 n , respectively, LPF
The signal obtained by passing through 66 is used as a control signal and 27
The clock is input to the VCO 67 that oscillates a clock of MHz to generate LTC as a reference clock of 27 MHz. Then, the digital PLL circuits 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ ,.
, 61 _n respectively input the obtained LTC to the LTC counter 68, and output the LTC counter value, which is the output of the LTC counter 68 and the reference clock count value, to the PCR packet generator 62 in the subsequent stage. Along with
Input to the subtractor 63. Thereafter, the digital PLL circuits 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ ,..., 61 _n repeat such processing, respectively, and the 27 MHz reproduced from the ESCR.
Is obtained.

The PCR packet generator 62 for one program for inputting the LTC counter value generated as described above, as shown in FIG.
A PCR coding unit 69 that encodes the LTC counter value from the LL circuits 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ ,..., 61 _n as PCR data, a PCR packet register 70 that holds the output of the PCR coding unit 69, A PCR multiplex timing management timer 71 for managing timing is provided.

PCR for one program as described above
The packet generator 62 receives an STC from an STC generator (not shown) that generates a stable clock of 27 MHz provided inside the multiplexer 60 and multiplexes the PCR of the program by the PCR multiplexing timing management timer 71. Manage when to do it. When detecting the timing of multiplexing the PCR, the PCR packet generator 62 issues a multiplex request to the channel selection controller 22.

[0080] Also, PCR packet generator 62, the digital PLL circuit 61 _1, 61 _2,..., Enter the LTC counter value from 61 _n, the LTC counter value P
The PCR encoding unit 69 encodes the PCR data into PCR data and writes the PCR data into the PCR packet register 70.

In the multiplexing device 60, when the multiplexing switch 21 is operated under the control of the channel selection control unit 22 and connected to the selected terminal 25, the value held by the PCR packet register 70 is output as a PCR packet at that timing. You. That is, in the multiplexer 60, the ESCR of the PES in an arbitrary program is
The time axis based on the reproduced LTC and the multiplexer 60
FIG. 13 shows a relationship between the STC and the time axis by the STC, and the multiplexing device 60 manages the timing of multiplexing the PES PCR of an arbitrary program on the STC time axis. Then, the multiplexing device 60
When the timing for multiplexing the PCR is detected, the LTC counter value at that timing is read out, and the PCR is read.
Encode to data and multiplex.

As described above, the multiplexing device 60 sets the timing for multiplexing the PCR in an arbitrary program to ST.
The value is managed by C, and the PCR value is generated based on the reproduced ESCR of the reference clock of the encoding device that has output the program. Therefore, the multiplexing device 60 can directly input a plurality of elementary streams to which time reference information such as ESCR is added, such as PES.
PC which is time reference information for each program based on R
R can be generated, and a plurality of PESs can be multiplexed and output to a TS composed of a single or a plurality of programs.

Although the multiplexing device 60 has been described as being generated by an STC generator (not shown) having an STC therein, the digital PLL circuit 6 is used as the STC.
LTC generated by any of 11 ₁ , 61 ₂ ,..., 61 _n may be used. That is, the multiplexing device 60
May use, as STC, a clock recovered from an ESCR that is a reference value of a reference clock included in an arbitrary encoding device. In this case, since the multiplexing device 60 has the LTC counter 68 corresponding to an STC counter (not shown),
The PCR can be generated by directly encoding the LTC counter value indicated by the LTC counter 68 at the timing of multiplexing the PCR of the program corresponding to the ESCR.

Next, another configuration of the multiplexer 60 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show a third embodiment.
Has the same basic configuration as the multiplexer 60 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, and obtains a time reference value to be encoded at the timing of generating a PCR attached to each program. digital PLL circuit 61 _1, 61 ₂ which, ..., without using a 61 _n, P
It is characterized in that a difference value between the ESCR captured at the timing closest to the CR generation timing and the STC counter value at that time is used. Therefore, the same components as those of the multiplexer 60 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted. The multiplexing device 80 includes an STC generator (not shown), and uses the STC generated by the STC generator as a reference clock.

The multiplexing device 80, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of encoder ₁ 1, ..., are connected to 1 _n, these encoding device ₁ 1, ..., enter the PES multiple program content from 1 _n, 1 present these PES Is multiplexed into the TS.

The multiplexing device 80, as shown in FIG.
An ESCR of an arbitrary PES captured n-th after the control is started by the input control unit 12 including the PCR packet generation unit 81
Is a difference value Δ between the decoded value ESCR (n) of the above and the time on the STC time axis when the ESCR (n) is captured.
n is input to the PCR packet generator 81, and a PCR is generated based on Δn. Needless to say, this Δn is not always constant depending on n.

The multiplexing device 80, as shown in FIG.
The ESCR (n) is captured by the input control unit 12, and when the timing of multiplexing the PCR of the program corresponding to the ESCR (n) comes first, the time STC (n) on the STC time axis at that timing For S
By adding the difference Δn ′ between the time on the TC time axis and the time on the PES time axis, a time reference value for encoding the PCR can be obtained. Therefore, the multiplexing device 80 calculates the above-described Δn as an approximate value of the difference value Δn ′.
To obtain a time reference value for encoding the PCR.

As shown in an example in FIG. 17, the PCR packet generating section 81 for one program for realizing this is composed of an STC counter 82 for counting the STC, an STC counter value output from the STC counter 82, and an input. The adder 83 adds the Δn transmitted from the control unit 12, the PCR encoding unit 84 encodes the output value from the adder 83 as PCR data, and holds the output of the PCR encoding unit 84. It comprises a PCR packet register 85 and a PCR multiplex timing management timer 86 for managing multiplex timing. That is, the PCR packet generation unit 81 has the same configuration as the PCR packet generation unit 18 shown in the above-described first embodiment, and is nothing but an input difference value of Δn.

The PCR for such one program
The packet generator 81 adds the STC counter value output from the STC counter 81 and the individual Δn to each program transmitted from the input controller 12 by an adder 83, and uses this value as a time reference value. Coder 8
Enter 4 Then, the PCR packet generation unit 81
The time reference value output from the adder 83 is encoded as PCR data in a PCR
Write to the R packet register 85. Also, PC
The R packet generation unit 81 performs PCR counting STC.
The multiplex timing management timer 86 manages the time at which the PCR packets are multiplexed. When the PCR multiplex timing comes, the multiplex timing management timer 86 issues a multiplex request to the channel selection control unit 22.

As described above, the multiplexing device 80 can directly input a plurality of elementary streams to which time reference information such as an ESCR is added, such as a PES, and based on the STC as a reference clock. Thus, a PCR that is time reference information can be generated for each program, and a plurality of PESs can be multiplexed and output to a TS composed of a single or a plurality of programs.

Although the multiplexing device 80 has been described as being generated by an STC generator (not shown) having an STC therein, for example, as shown in the second embodiment, an input from an arbitrary coding device A digital PLL circuit corresponding to the PES is provided.
A clock reproduced by a circuit may be used as a reference clock.

The multiplexing apparatuses 10, 40, 60, and 80 described as the embodiments of the present invention can be applied to, for example, a transmitting apparatus 100 in a broadcasting system as shown in FIG. That is, the multiplexers 10, 40, 6
0, 80 inputs a plurality of PESs from a device that outputs a PES of a single program or a plurality of programs, such as the above-described encoding devices 1 ₁ ,..., 1 _n , and converts these PESs into TSs. Output to the intra-office sending device 110. Then, the intra-station transmission device 110 converts the TS from the multiplexing devices 10, 40, 60, and 80 into a transmission signal for broadcasting, and transmits the signal to a reception device via a transmission antenna (not shown).

With such a configuration, transmitting apparatus 100
Can perform a series of processes from inputting and multiplexing PES of a single or a plurality of programs, converting the PES into a broadcast transmission signal, and transmitting the signal.

The multiplexing devices 10, 40, 60, 80
Is, for example, as shown in FIG. 19, a PS-TS converter for further converting a stream multiplexed to a program stream (Program Stream; hereinafter abbreviated as PS) defined by MPEG2 into TS. 120 is also applicable. That is, the multiplexers 10, 40, 6
Numerals 0 and 80 input a plurality of PESs from the PS-PES conversion unit 130 or a device having the function of the PS-PES conversion unit 130, which converts the input PS to PES and outputs it, multiplexes them into TS, and outputs them. .

With such a configuration, the multiplexing device 10,
When data is interfaced in a format such as PES, for example, 40, 60, and 80 respond to a request that data that has been subjected to high-efficiency compression encoding such as MPEG2 be reused without decoding. Is possible PS-T
The S converter 120 can be realized.

[0097]

As described above in detail, the data multiplexing apparatus according to the present invention comprises at least one program and has a stream time reference value for reproducing a single time axis. Input control means for inputting and reading a plurality of encoded input streams added to the header area, time reference value generation means for newly generating a program time reference value unique to each program, and program time reference value Output control means for multiplexing a plurality of coded input streams into a single coded output stream and outputting the multiplexed output stream.

Thus, the data multiplexing apparatus according to the present invention can input a plurality of encoded input streams to which stream time reference information is added, and generate a new program time reference value for each program. However, these encoded input streams can be multiplexed into a single encoded output stream.

Further, in the data multiplexing method according to the present invention, at least one or more programs are configured and a plurality of stream time reference values for reproducing a single time axis are added to a header area. Input and read an encoded input stream, generate a new program time reference value unique to each program, and multiplex multiple encoded input streams with a program time reference value into a single encoded output stream Output.

Thus, in the data multiplexing method according to the present invention, it is possible to input a plurality of coded input streams to which stream time reference information has been added, and to convert these coded input streams into programs. It is possible to multiplex and output a single encoded output stream while generating a new program time reference value every time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multiplexing device shown as a first embodiment of the present invention and an encoding device connected to the multiplexing device.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a PES,
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an S header.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a PES-STD defined by MPEG2.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the multiplexer shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a time axis of an ESCR reproduced from a PES in an arbitrary program and a time axis of an STC included in the multiplexer.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration related to one program of a PCR packet generation unit included in the multiplexing device.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration of the multiplexing device.

8 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration related to one program of a PCR data generation unit included in the multiplexing device illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multiplexing device shown as a second embodiment of the present invention and an encoding device connected to the multiplexing device.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the multiplexing device.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a digital PLL circuit included in the multiplexer.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration related to one program of a PCR packet generation unit provided in the multiplexing apparatus.

FIG. 13 PES ESCR in an arbitrary program
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a time axis based on LTC and a time axis based on STC included in the multiplexing apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multiplexing device shown as a third embodiment of the present invention and an encoding device connected to the multiplexing device.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the multiplexing device.

FIG. 16 shows a time axis of an ESCR reproduced from a PES in an arbitrary program, and an STC of the multiplexer.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a relationship with a time axis.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration related to one program of a PCR packet generation unit provided in the multiplexing apparatus.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a transmission device that transmits a broadcast transmission signal to which the multiplexing device described as an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a PS-TS converter that converts a PS to a TS to which the multiplexer is applied.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional encoding device.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional multiplexer.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a T-STD defined by MPEG2.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 _1, · · ·, 1 _n encoder, 10,40,60,
80 multiplexer, 11 reference clock generator, 12
Input control _{unit, 13 1, 13 2, ···} , 13 n, 1
_{4 1, 14 2, ···,} 14 n, 15 1, 15 2, ···,
15 _n multiplex buffer, 16 control data packet generator, 17 control data transmitter, 18, 62, 81
PCR packet generator, 19 null packet generator, 20 TP header generator, 21 multiplex switch,
22 channel selection control unit, 23 output control unit,
31, 42, 82 STC counter, 32, 43, 8
3 adder, 33, 44, 69, 84 PCR coding unit, 34, 70, 85 PCR packet register, 3
5, 45, 71, 86 PCR multiplex timing management timer, 41 PCR data generation unit, 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ ,.
.., 61 _n digital PLL circuit, 63 subtractor,
64 digital filters, 65 DAC, 66
LPF, 67 VCO, 68 LTC counter

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 7/24 F term (Reference) 5C059 LA00 RB01 RB11 RC04 SS02 5C063 AA20 AB03 AB07 AC10 CA11 CA20 CA40 5K028 AA06 EE03 KK01 MM05 MM16 NN21 NN31 SS05 5K047 AA15 DD02 GG02 GG09 GG45 MM56

Claims (40)

[Claims] An input for reading and reading a plurality of coded input streams comprising at least one or more programs and having a stream time reference value for reproducing a single time axis added to a header area Control means; time reference value generating means for newly generating a program time reference value unique to each program; and a single encoded output of the plurality of encoded input streams together with the program time reference value. An output control means for multiplexing and outputting the stream to a stream. 2. The header area includes time information at which a device that has received the single encoded output stream reproduces and outputs data obtained by decoding a coding unit of the single encoded output stream. 2. The data multiplexing device according to claim 1, wherein the data multiplexing device is added. 3. The header area is provided with time information for a device that has received the single coded output stream to decode a coding unit of the single coded stream. The data multiplexing device according to claim 2. 4. A system reference clock, which is a basic synchronization signal, is common to a system reference clock that is a supply source of the plurality of encoded input streams and has the same number of stream output devices as the program. The data multiplexing device according to claim 1, wherein 5. A system reference clock counting means for counting the system reference clock, and a timing for multiplexing a program time reference value newly generated by the time reference value generation means, based on the system reference clock. The time reference reference value generation means includes: an arbitrary stream time reference reference value on a time axis of an arbitrary encoded input stream captured by the input control means; and the stream time reference. A timing for multiplexing a difference value between the system reference clock count value, which is the time counted by the system reference clock counting means when the reference value is captured by the input control means, and a newly generated program time reference value. Is detected by the control timing means, the system reference clock counting means Regenerating an arbitrary time on the time axis of the encoded input stream based on the counted system reference clock count value and generating a new program time reference value. 5. The data multiplexing device according to 4. 6. The system according to claim 5, further comprising reference clock generating means for generating the system reference clock, wherein the reference clock generating means supplies the generated system reference clock to all of the stream output devices. A data multiplexing device according to claim 1. 7. A stream output device which outputs a plurality of coded input streams constituting an arbitrary program and which is generated by a clock generating means provided in an arbitrary stream output device and which corresponds to each of the plurality of programs. 6. The data multiplexing device according to claim 5, wherein a supplied clock is input, and the clock is used as the system reference clock. 8. A system reference clock, which is a basic synchronization signal, is independent of a system reference clock of each of the same number of stream output devices as the program, which is a source of the plurality of encoded input streams. The data multiplexing device according to claim 1, wherein 9. At least one or more phase synchronization circuits corresponding to each program, the number being the same as the number of the programs, each of the phase synchronization circuits being provided with an arbitrary stream time captured by the input control means. 9. The data multiplexing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a reference reference value is input corresponding to said program, and a reference clock on a time axis based on said stream time reference reference value is reproduced. 10. A reference clock counting means for counting the reference clock, and management for managing the timing of multiplexing a program time reference value newly generated by the time reference value generation means based on the system reference clock. Clock reference means, wherein the time reference value generation means is a time counted by the reference clock counting means when the management clock means detects a timing of multiplexing a newly generated program time reference value. 10. The data multiplexing device according to claim 9, wherein the reference clock count value is input and encoded to generate a new program time reference value. 11. The data multiplexing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising reference clock generating means for generating said system reference clock. 12. The data multiplexing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a reference clock reproduced by an arbitrary phase synchronization circuit is used as said system reference clock. 13. A system reference clock counting means for counting the system reference clock, and a timing for multiplexing a program time reference value newly generated by the time reference value generation means, based on the system reference clock. The time reference reference value generation means is counted by the system reference clock counting means when the management clock means detects a timing of multiplexing a newly generated program time reference reference value. An arbitrary stream time reference value on the time axis of the corresponding encoded input stream captured by the input control means immediately before the timing, and the stream time reference value Is captured by the input control means. 9. The data multiplexing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a new program time reference value is generated by adding and encoding a difference value from a system reference clock count value which is a time counted by the lock counting means. . 14. The data multiplexing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising reference clock generating means for generating said system reference clock. 15. A phase synchronization circuit for inputting a stream time reference value corresponding to an arbitrary program captured by the input control means and reproducing a reference clock on a time axis based on the stream time reference value. 14. The data multiplexing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a reference clock reproduced by the phase synchronization circuit is used as the system reference clock. 16. The data multiplexing method according to claim 1, wherein said program time reference value newly generated by said time reference value generation means is stored and output in a packet having no payload data. apparatus. 17. The data multiplexing method according to claim 1, wherein the program time reference value newly generated by the time reference value generation means is output while being superimposed on a part of video data or audio data. Device. 18. The input control means, when detecting time reference information including the stream time reference reference value of an input coded input stream, indicates the time reference information in a header area of the coded input stream. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: changing byte length information relating to the time reference information, inverting a flag indicating presence of the time reference information indicated in the header area, and deleting the time reference information. A data multiplexing device according to claim 1. 19. A single encoded output stream multiplexed by the output control means and connected to a transmission device for outputting a broadcast transmission signal, and output to the transmission device. The data multiplexing device according to claim 1, wherein 20. A method comprising: connecting an external device having a function of converting a single or a plurality of program streams into a plurality of encoded input streams; and inputting the plurality of encoded input streams from the external device. The data multiplexing device according to claim 1. 21. A plurality of coded input streams each comprising at least one or more programs and having a stream time reference value for reproducing a single time axis added to a header area are input and read, A new program time reference value unique to each program is newly generated, and the plurality of coded input streams are multiplexed into a single coded output stream and output together with the program time reference value. Data multiplexing method. 22. In the header area, time information at which a device that has received the single coded output stream reproduces and outputs data obtained by decoding the coding unit of the single coded stream. The data multiplexing method according to claim 21, wherein the data multiplexing method is added. 23. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the header area is provided with time information for a device that has received the single encoded output stream to decode a coding unit of the single encoded stream. 23. The data multiplexing method according to claim 22. 24. A system reference clock, which is a basic synchronization signal, is common to a system reference clock which is a source of the plurality of encoded input streams and which is included in all stream output devices of the same number as the program. The data multiplexing method according to claim 21, wherein 25. An arbitrary stream time reference value on a time axis of an arbitrary encoded input stream input and captured, and counting the system reference clock when the stream time reference value is captured. Based on the difference value between the system clock reference value, which is the calculated time, and the system reference clock count value counted when the timing of multiplexing the newly generated program time reference value is detected. 25. The data multiplexing method according to claim 24, wherein an arbitrary time on the time axis of the coded input stream is reproduced to generate a new program time reference value. 26. Generating the system reference clock,
26. The data multiplexing method according to claim 25, wherein the system reference clock is supplied to all the stream output devices. 27. A stream output device which outputs a plurality of encoded input streams constituting an arbitrary program and which is generated by clock generating means provided in an arbitrary stream output device and which corresponds to each of the plurality of programs. 26. The data multiplexing method according to claim 25, wherein a supplied clock is input, and the clock is used as the system reference clock. 28. A system reference clock, which is a basic synchronization signal, is independent of a system reference clock of each of the same number of stream output devices as the program, which is a supply source of the plurality of encoded input streams. The data multiplexing method according to claim 21, wherein: 29. A system according to claim 2, wherein a reference clock on a time axis based on a stream time reference value input and captured according to the program is reproduced.
9. The data multiplexing method according to 8. 30. When detecting a timing for multiplexing a newly generated program time reference value managed based on the system reference clock, a reference clock count value which is a time at which the reference clock is counted. 30. The data multiplexing method according to claim 29, wherein the encoding is performed to generate a new program time reference value. 31. The data multiplexing method according to claim 30, wherein said system reference clock is generated. 32. The data multiplexing method according to claim 30, wherein said reference clock corresponding to an arbitrary program is used as said system reference clock. 33. A system reference clock meter which is managed based on the system reference clock and which is a time when the system reference clock is counted when detecting a timing for multiplexing a newly generated program time reference value. For a numerical value, any stream time reference value on the time axis of any coded input stream that is input and captured immediately before the timing and counts when this stream time reference value is captured The difference value with the calculated system reference clock count value is added and encoded,
29. The data multiplexing method according to claim 28, wherein a new program time reference value is generated. 34. The data multiplexing method according to claim 33, wherein said system reference clock is generated. 35. Regenerating a reference clock on a time axis based on a stream time reference value corresponding to an arbitrary program inputted and captured, and using the reproduced reference clock as the system reference clock. 34. The data multiplexing method according to claim 33, wherein: 36. The data multiplexing method according to claim 21, wherein the newly generated program time reference value is stored and output in a packet having no payload data. 37. The data multiplexing method according to claim 21, wherein the newly generated program time reference value is output while being superimposed on a part of the video data or the audio data. 38. When detecting time reference information including the stream time reference value of any input coded input stream, the time reference information included in the header area of the coded input stream is added to the time reference information. 22. The data multiplexing method according to claim 21, wherein the related byte length information is changed, the flag indicating the presence of the time reference information indicated in the header area is inverted, and the time reference information is deleted. . 39. The data multiplexing method according to claim 21, wherein the single encoded output stream obtained by multiplexing is output to a transmitting device that outputs a broadcast transmitting signal. . 40. The plurality of encoded input streams:
22. The data multiplexing method according to claim 21, wherein the data multiplexing method is input from an external device having a function of converting a single or a plurality of program streams into a plurality of encoded input streams.