JP2001352535A - Digital television broadcast receiver and viewer management center in digital television broadcast system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital television broadcast receiver with reduced power consumption. SOLUTION: The digital television broadcast receiver is provided with, an entry means that allows a user to enter revision of a contract form to a viewer management center, and a transmission schedule time acquisition means that makes communications with the viewer management center based on the entry of revision of the contract form by the entry means to acquire transmission schedule time data of new contract form information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a digital television broadcast receiver and a viewer management center in a digital television broadcast system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In digital broadcasting, multi-channel broadcasting is carried out taking advantage of its characteristics, a large number of pay-per-view channels are included, and there are various types of contracts for a plurality of channels. Can be changed freely.

[0003] New contract information is transmitted as radio data from a broadcaster side as data including individual information for specifying a user called an EMM. At the receiver, the received new contract information is transmitted to a C
The contract information is updated by giving it to the onditional Access department.

[0004] In order to change the form of the contract, the user calls the business operator and applies for a change in the contract. If such a contract change application is made, the receiver will
Until data called M is transmitted by radio waves, radio waves must be constantly received and waited. There was no means to know when this EMM data was transmitted by radio waves. For this reason, even if the user turns off the power using a remote controller or the like, the receiver must perform the same operation as in the normal state and constantly acquire and monitor the EMM data. Therefore, there was not much difference in power consumption between when viewing and not watching power consumption.

[0005] In some recent digital TV broadcasting systems, the receiver obtains an EMM retransmission cycle from the Conditional Access unit to save power. However, sudden update of contract information upon a user request is performed. There was a problem that processing could not be performed in real time.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a digital television broadcast receiver capable of reducing power consumption.

An object of the present invention is to provide a viewer management center in a digital television broadcasting system that can reduce the power consumption of a digital television broadcasting receiver.

[0008]

A first digital television broadcast receiver according to the present invention comprises: input means for allowing a user to input to a viewer management center that a contract form has been changed; and a contract form. A scheduled transmission time acquisition unit that communicates with the viewer management center based on the fact that the change has been input to the input unit and acquires scheduled transmission time data of the new contract form information from the viewer management center. It is characterized by having.

A second digital television broadcast receiver according to the present invention is a digital broadcast receiver whose power supply to a digital broadcast receiving circuit is basically stopped when the power of the receiver is off. Input means for allowing the user to input to the viewer management center that the contract type has been changed, and the viewer management center and A scheduled transmission time acquisition unit that performs communication and acquires scheduled transmission time data of the new contract form information from the viewer management center and stores the data in the storage device, and is stored in the storage unit when the power of the receiver is off. Means for turning on the power supply to the digital broadcast receiving circuit when it is immediately before the scheduled transmission time, and when the power of the receiver is off and the digital Means for stopping the power supply to the digital broadcast receiving circuit when the new contract form information is received and stored in the IC card when the power supply to the transmitting / receiving circuit is on; It is characterized by.

[0010] The scheduled transmission time acquiring means is, for example, a code which the user receives from the viewer management center when the user changes the contract form with the viewer management center, and which can be generated by the receiver. A device having means for allowing the user to input a code and means for communicating with the viewer management center when the code input by the user matches the code generated by the receiver is used.

[0011] The viewer management center in the digital television broadcasting system according to the present invention, when the digital broadcast receiver inquires about the scheduled transmission time data of the new contract form information, a new user corresponding to the user of the digital broadcast receiver. The digital broadcasting receiver is provided with means for transmitting scheduled transmission time data of the contract form information to the digital broadcast receiver.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a digital television broadcast receiver.

The broadcast wave is sent to the tuner 1 via an antenna, where high-frequency processing and demodulation are performed. Tuner 1
Output from the transport stream separation unit (hereinafter,
2 (referred to as a TS separation unit), and the packet is decoded.

In the TS separation unit 2, the packet is
It is separated into EG data and program guide information and auxiliary information such as EMM. MPEG separated by TS separation unit 2
The video data is sent to the video processing unit 5. TS separation unit 2
The MPEG audio data separated by the above is sent to the audio processing unit 6. The attached information separated by the TS separation unit 2 is stored in the memory 3.

The second CPU 16 includes a remote control transmitter 15
Is input via a remote control light receiver (not shown). The second CPU 16 has a memory 17. The remote control signal input to the second CPU 16
It is sent to the CPU 10.

The first CPU 10 includes a tuner 1 and a TS
Information for channel selection and the like are sent to the separation unit 2. Also, the first CP
U10 sends an OSD control signal for on-screen display of a program guide screen, various setting screens, and the like to the on-screen generation unit 4. The on-screen generation unit 4 generates display data of various setting screens and sends the display data to the multiplexer 7.

The first CPU 10 has a nonvolatile memory 14. The first CPU 10 is connected to a telephone line 12 via a modem 11.

The video processing unit 5 demodulates the MPEG video data sent from the TS separation unit 2 and
Send to The multiplexer 7 superimposes the display data sent from the on-screen generation unit 4 on the video data output from the video processing unit 5, and sends it to the video output terminal 8.

The audio processing section 6 demodulates the MPEG audio data sent from the TS separation section 2 and sends it to the audio output terminal 9.

The first CPU 10 manages reception of digital television broadcasts, acquires and manages data, presents images, and the like. The second CPU 16 receives a remote control signal and performs power management. In other words, the second CPU 16
It manages power supply to circuits such as the PU 10, tuner 1, TS separation unit 2, memory 3, on-screen generation unit 4, video processing unit 5, audio processing unit 6, and modem 11.

In this embodiment, power is supplied to the second CPU 16 and the memory 17 even when the power is off. In other circuits, power is supplied in principle when the power is turned on, but is not supplied when the power is turned off. However, as described later, even when the power is turned off,
For a certain period of time for acquiring the EMM, the second CPU 16
Power is supplied to circuits other than the memory 17.

[0023] This digital broadcast receiver, after the user performs a procedure for changing the contract form with the viewer management center of the broadcaster, based on the contract form change notification input from the user, sets the contract form E corresponding to the update
It has a function of acquiring the time at which the MM is transmitted from the viewer management center.

This digital broadcast receiver monitors the time at which the EMM is transmitted when the power is turned off, and automatically turns on the power when the scheduled transmission time comes, thereby turning on the EM.
A function for acquiring M is provided.

First, the user verbally or in writing to the viewer management center of the broadcaster using a telephone or the like.
Apply for a contract change. Thereafter, the user notifies the receiver that the contract has been changed.

FIG. 2 shows a procedure of the EMM transmission scheduled time data acquisition processing executed by the first CPU 10 based on the contract form change notification from the user.

When a contract form change notification is input from the user (YES in step 21), as shown in FIG. 3, a password input screen for prompting the user to input a password registered in advance by the user is displayed. Is displayed (Step 2
2). When the user normally enters the personal identification number on this screen and presses the enter button (step 23), a connection permission confirmation screen is displayed as shown in FIG. 4 (step 2).
4).

On the connection permission confirmation screen, the user
5, the first CPU 10 operates the modem 11 to transmit the EMM data to the viewer management center of the broadcaster through the telephone line 12 (step 25). Attempt to acquire the time (step 26). At this time, the user ID is sent to the viewer management center of the broadcaster.

When an access is made from the receiver, the viewer management center of the broadcaster specifies the procedure of the contract change already performed with the user based on the transmitted user ID. Then, EMM transmission scheduled time data including the new contract form information corresponding to the contract form change information is transmitted to the CPU 10.

After starting the communication in step 26,
When the transmission scheduled time data of the EMM is received (step 2
(YES in Step 7), and stores the received transmission scheduled time data of the EMM in the nonvolatile memory 14 (Step 28). Also, the transmission scheduled time data of the received EMM is stored in the second CPU.
Send to 16. (Step 29). The second CPU 16 stores the transmitted scheduled transmission time data of the EMM in the memory 17.

At step 23, a connection permission confirmation screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed. When the contract is changed, the code is transmitted from the viewer management center to the user.
As shown in FIG. 5, a screen for inputting the code may be displayed. The code transmitted to the user from the viewer management center when the contract is changed is a code that can be generated on the receiver side.

For example, a code generated based on the current time and the card number of the IC card 13 is used as the contents of the code. However, in this case, the user needs to input a contract form change notification command within a certain time after the code is transmitted from the viewer management center to the user.

When the user inputs a code on the code input screen of FIG. 5, the first CPU 10 generates a code and determines whether the generated code matches the code input by the user. , Only when they match, proceed to step 25.

FIG. 6 shows an EMM performed by the first CPU 10 when power is supplied to the first CPU 10.
4 shows an acquisition processing procedure.

When power is supplied, the first CPU 10 stores the EMM stored in the nonvolatile memory 14.
It is monitored whether it is just before the scheduled transmission time (step 31). If it is immediately before the scheduled EMM transmission time, a first EMM acquisition command is transmitted to the TS separation unit 2 and a first EMM acquisition operation is stored.
The flag F1 is set (F1 = 1) (Step 3)
2). When the TS separation unit 2 receives this command, the TS separation unit 2
Perform processing for acquiring

When the EMM is sent from the TS separation unit 2, that is, when the EMM can be obtained (Y in step 33).
ES), and stores the obtained EMM in the IC card 13 (step 34). Thereby, the contract form information stored in the IC card 13 is updated to the new contract form information. After that, the completion of the change of contract type information is
The first flag F1 for notifying the CPU 16 and storing that the EMM acquisition operation is being performed is reset (F1
= 0) (step 35).

FIG. 7 shows a power management processing procedure performed by the second CPU 16.

When power is not supplied to circuits other than the second CPU 16 and the memory 17 (hereinafter referred to as other circuits), the second CPU 16 determines whether or not a power-on command has been input from the remote controller (step 41). , And whether the current time is immediately before the scheduled EMM transmission time stored in the memory 17 (step 43).

When a power-on command is input from the remote controller (YES in step 41) or when the current time is set to EMM
If it is just before the scheduled transmission time (YE in step 43)
In S), power is supplied to another circuit (step 4).
4). However, when a power-on command is input from the remote controller (YES in step 41), after the second flag F2 for storing that power is supplied based on the remote control command is set (F2 = 1). (Step 4
2) Power is supplied to other circuits (step 44).

When power is being supplied to the other circuits, the second CPU 16 determines whether or not a power-off command has been input from the remote controller (step 45) and that the change of the contract form information has been completed. It is monitored whether or not a notification has been received from the 1CPU 10 (step 48).

If a power-off command is input from the remote controller (YES in step 45), the second flag F2 is reset (F2 = 0) (step 46), and then the first flag F1 is set. It is determined whether or not it has been performed (step 47). If the first flag F1 is not set (F1 = 0), the supply of power to other circuits is stopped (step 50). Then, the process returns to step 41.

In step 47, when the first flag F1 is set (F1 = 1), it is determined that the EMM acquisition operation is being performed, and the power supply to other circuits is not stopped. Go to step 48.

The completion of the change of the contract form information is the first
When notified by the CPU 10 (YE in step 48)
In S), it is determined whether the second flag F2 has been reset (step 49). If the second flag F2 is reset (F2 = 0), the power supply to another circuit is stopped because the power is not on by the remote control command (step 50). And step 41
Return to

In step 49, when the second flag F2 is set (F2 = 1), it is determined that the power-on state by the remote control command is continued, and the supply of power to other circuits is performed. The process returns to step 41 without stopping.

When the power of the receiver is off and no power is supplied to other circuits, if the current time is immediately before the scheduled EMM transmission time held in the memory 17, another time is set. Rather than supplying power to the entire circuit, a receiving circuit required to receive the EMM and store it in the IC card 13 (in this example, the first CPU 10, tuner 1, TS separation unit 2, memory 3, and IC card 1)
Power may be supplied only to 3).

According to the above embodiment, when the user inputs to the receiver that the contract mode has been changed by the telephone to the viewer management center, the receiver confirms the change. Will be able to

Then, when the receiver confirms that the user has changed the contract form, the EMM including the new contract form information is transmitted by radio waves through two-way communication with the viewer management center. Information can be obtained. Then, when the power is off, the power of the circuit for acquiring the EMM can be turned on only during the time when the EMM is transmitted, so that the power consumption can be reduced.

[0048]

According to the present invention, the power consumption can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital television broadcast receiver.

FIG. 2 shows a first example based on a contract form change notification from a user.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of an EMM transmission scheduled time data acquisition process executed by a CPU 10.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a password input screen displayed in step 22 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a connection permission confirmation screen displayed in step 23 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a code input screen.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an EMM acquisition processing procedure performed by the first CPU 10 when power is supplied to the first CPU 10;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a power management processing procedure performed by a second CPU 16;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 Tuner 2 TS separation unit 3 Memory 4 On-screen generation unit 10 First CPU 11 Modem 13 IC card 14 Non-volatile memory 15 Remote control 16 Second CPU 17 Memory

Claims (4)

[Claims] An input means for allowing the user to input to the viewer management center that the contract type has been changed, and a viewing / listening operation based on the input means for inputting that the contract type has been changed. A digital TV broadcast receiver, comprising: a scheduled transmission time obtaining means for communicating with the viewer management center to obtain scheduled transmission time data of the new contract form information from the viewer management center. 2. A digital broadcast receiver in which power supply to a digital broadcast receiving circuit is stopped in principle when the power of the receiver is off. Input means for allowing the user to input that the contract form has been changed, and communication with the viewer management center based on the fact that the contract form has been changed input to the input means, and transmission of new contract form information Scheduled transmission time acquisition means for acquiring the scheduled time data from the viewer management center and storing it in the storage device, when the power of the receiver is off, and immediately before the scheduled transmission time stored in the storage means Means for turning on the power supply to the digital broadcast receiving circuit, and when the power supply to the digital broadcast receiving circuit is on and the power supply to the digital broadcast receiving circuit is on. When the new contract form information is stored in the received by IC card,
Means for stopping the supply of power to the digital broadcast receiving circuit. 3. The transmission scheduled time obtaining means is a code which is received by the user from the viewer management center when the user changes the contract form with the viewer management center, and which can be generated by the receiver. Means for allowing the user to input, and means for communicating with the viewer management center when the code input by the user matches the code generated by the receiver. 3. The digital broadcast receiver according to any one of 1 and 2. 4. A new contract corresponding to a user of the digital broadcast receiver when the digital broadcast receiver inquires of the digital broadcast receiver of the scheduled transmission time data of the new contract form information at the viewer management center. A viewer management center in a digital television broadcasting system, comprising: means for transmitting scheduled transmission time data of form information to the digital broadcast receiver.