JP2002057643A - Digital broadcasting system, digital broadcasting transmitter, and digital broadcasting receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently transmit and receive service information in digital ground-based broadcasting. SOLUTION: Programs comprising a plurality of consecutive events are transmitted as a transport stream by transmitters 50 from broadcasting stations 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40, and received by receivers 100. When the transmitters 50 adds service information to a transport stream transmitted in the service areas concerned before transmission, the transmitter 50 transmits service information related to the service areas 10a concerned or service information associated with the network to which the transport stream belongs more frequently than service information related to other service areas or other networks.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving system in which a receiving apparatus receives a terrestrial broadcast transmitted by a transmitting apparatus as a transport stream of a program in which a plurality of events are continuously organized. About the system. In addition, the present invention relates to a digital broadcast transmitting device that transmits such terrestrial broadcasting and a digital broadcast receiving device that receives such terrestrial broadcasting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, for example, MPEG-2 Systems (ITU-T
Digital terrestrial broadcasting using H.222.0, ISO / IEC 13818-1) is being studied for practical use.

[0003] Such digital terrestrial broadcasting is
Expectations for practical use are increasing because they can transmit higher-quality audio information and image information than analog terrestrial broadcasting that has been conventionally used. Also,
Since digital transmission is used, not only audio information and image information, but also various data such as those used via a computer or various information terminals can be transmitted. It becomes easy to do.

In digital terrestrial broadcasting using MPEG-2 Systems, generally, each broadcast program whose start time and end time are determined, such as news and drama, is called an event. A service in which a plurality of events are organized continuously is called a service (servic
e). Then, a plurality of services are transmitted as a transport stream. In the following, in order to avoid confusion with the word “service area”, “service” will be referred to as “program”.

[0005]

In the digital terrestrial broadcasting as described above, information necessary for receiving the terrestrial broadcasting and information indicating the contents of the program being broadcast are provided. , And transmitted as service information in the transport stream. Such service information is provided in PSI (Program Specific Inf
or SI (Service Information), and are described in various tables defined by MPEG-2 Systems.

[0006] In consideration of the convenience of program selection on the receiving side, such service information includes not only service information related to the network to which the transport stream belongs, but also other service information in the transmitted transport stream. It is desired to transmit the service information including the network.

Specifically, in a transport stream transmitted on a network broadcasted by broadcaster A, not only service information related to the network but also service information related to networks of broadcasters B and C are included. Is included, it is possible to improve the convenience in changing the program to be received on the receiving side.

On the other hand, in digital terrestrial broadcasting as described above, it is easy to broadcast various contents in various combinations by the digital system. It is conceivable to provide different programs in each service area.

In this case, for example, in a transport stream transmitted in the service area of each broadcasting station, not only service information relating to the transport stream but also service information relating to another service area is transmitted. It is desired to do.

[0010] More specifically, when the broadcaster A owns a plurality of broadcast stations a, b, and c and broadcasts different programs at each broadcast station, the broadcast stream transmitted from the broadcast station a is In addition to the service information related to the service area of the broadcast station a, the service information related to the service area of the broadcast station b and the broadcast station c is included, so that the program to be received on the receiving side is changed. Convenience can be improved.

In particular, considering the case where the receiving apparatus receives while moving, it is necessary to efficiently switch the receiving target in the destination service area when moving from the service area being received to another service area. As described above, it is preferable that service information relating to another service area can be acquired in advance.

However, as described above, if not only the service information related to the service area and the network but also the service information related to the other service area and the other network is included in the transport stream and transmitted, the service There arises a problem that the bit rate necessary for transmitting information increases, and the transmission efficiency of the program content itself such as events and programs decreases.

[0013] More specifically, for example, a satellite broadcast such as a BS broadcast or a CS broadcast which has been conventionally used has a bit rate of about 20 Mbps. In such a case, the bit rate may be limited to about 400 kbps. In this case, if all the service information relating to another service area or another network is transmitted, the transmission bandwidth is used up by only this service information, and the transmission efficiency of the information content to be broadcast is extremely reduced.

As described above, when the transport stream includes service information related to another service area or another network and is transmitted, the receiving device stores all the service information in the memory. For this purpose, it is necessary to provide a large memory capacity. This causes a problem that the cost of the receiving device is increased.

Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of the above situation, and has been proposed by efficiently transmitting and receiving service information in digital terrestrial broadcasting.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcast system and a digital broadcast transmission device that can improve convenience on the receiving side and can suppress a decrease in transmission efficiency. It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcast receiving device that efficiently receives such digital broadcasts.

[0016]

According to the digital broadcasting system of the present invention, a program in which a plurality of events are continuously arranged is composed of a transport stream.
am) as the terrestrial broadcast transmitted by the transmitting device,
This is a digital broadcasting system that is received by a receiving device. Then, when service information is added to a transport stream transmitted in the service area of the terrestrial broadcast and transmitted, the service area in which the transport stream is transmitted or the network to which the transport stream belongs. Is transmitted more frequently than the service information related to another service area or another network.

Further, a digital broadcast transmitting apparatus according to the present invention is a transmitting apparatus for transmitting a program in which a plurality of events are continuously organized by terrestrial broadcasting as a transport stream, and the terrestrial broadcasting. Service information providing means for providing service information in a transport stream transmitted in the service area. The service information providing unit sets service information related to the service area to which the transport stream is transmitted or the network to which the transport stream belongs to higher than service information related to another service area or another network. Grant by frequency.

In the digital broadcasting system and the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus according to the present invention configured as described above, the service information relating to the service area to which the transport stream is transmitted or the network to which the transport stream belongs is stored. , And can be transmitted to the transport stream at a higher frequency than service information related to another service area or another network. As a result, the bit rate required for transmitting service information does not increase unnecessarily, and it is possible to suppress a decrease in transmission efficiency, and to reduce the transmission efficiency to other service areas and other networks. By transmitting the related service information, the convenience on the receiving side can be improved.

A digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention is a receiving apparatus for receiving a terrestrial broadcast in which a program in which a plurality of events are continuously arranged is transmitted as a transport stream. An information extraction unit and a memory unit are provided. The service information extracting means extracts service information included in the transport stream. The memory means includes:
The service information extracted by the service information extracting means is stored. Then, the service information extracting means converts the service information relating to the service area to which the transport stream is transmitted or the network to which the transport stream belongs to another service area or service information relating to another network. Priority is stored in the memory means.

In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention configured as described above, the service information relating to the service area or the network is prioritized over the service information relating to another service area or another network. Since the information is stored in the means, the service information can be efficiently stored by effectively utilizing the memory capacity of the memory means.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention can be applied to a digital broadcasting system 1 as shown in FIG. The present invention is not limited to the application to the digital broadcasting system 1, but can be widely applied to a system for transmitting and receiving digital terrestrial broadcasting. The contents to be broadcast by applying the present invention include, for example, a television broadcast in which a moving image and audio information are transmitted in combination, a radio broadcast in which only audio information is transmitted, such as a computer and various information terminals. Data broadcasting in which various data is transmitted, such as those used via
Alternatively, a multimedia broadcast in which various data are combined with a television broadcast or a radio broadcast and transmitted is used.

As shown in FIG. 1, a digital broadcasting system 1 receives a terrestrial broadcast transmitted from a plurality of broadcasting stations 10, 15, 20, and 30 in a digital manner.
00 is a system for receiving.

Each of the broadcasting stations 10, 15, 20, and 30 is provided with a transmitting device, and a broadcast wave transmitted from the transmitting device is transmitted from an antenna. Each broadcasting station 1
Since the reach of broadcast waves transmitted from 0, 15, 20, and 30 is limited, the range in which each broadcast wave can be received by the receiver 100 is set to the service area 10.
a, 15a, 20a, and 30a.

The terrestrial broadcast transmitted from each of the broadcasting stations 10, 15, 20, 30 is, for example, MPEG-2 Systems (ITU) which is one of the compression transmission standards for audio information and image information.
-T H.222.0, digital / terrestrial broadcasting using ISO / IEC 13818-1).

As described above, in digital terrestrial broadcasting using MPEG-2 Systems, generally, each broadcast program whose start time and end time are determined, such as news and drama, is defined as an event. And a program in which a plurality of events are continuously arranged is referred to as a service. Then, a plurality of services are referred to as a transport stream,
This transport stream is modulated and transmitted as a broadcast wave. In the following, "service area"
In order to avoid confusion with the word "service", "service" will be referred to as "program".

In the digital broadcasting system 1 to which the present invention is applied, a specific transport stream may include only one predetermined program or a plurality of programs.

Further, in the digital broadcasting system 1 to which the present invention is applied, the transport stream is configured as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the transport stream includes a plurality of transport stream packets (TS packets) continuously. The TS packet includes a 4-byte header section and a 184-byte data section.
It is 88 bytes. In the header of the TS packet, a synchronization code for synchronization and a PID (packet identification number) for identifying each TS packet are described. The data portion of the TS packet includes information content to be transmitted in a broadcast wave.

By the way, in the example shown in FIG.
As shown by the arrow in the middle, the broadcast contents can be relayed, and the broadcast stations 10, 15, 20, and 30 can transmit the transport streams including the programs of the same contents. That is, these broadcasting stations 10, 15, 2
Reference numerals 0 and 30 indicate a relationship in which a predetermined contract has been signed between broadcasters operating the respective broadcasting stations, and are referred to as so-called affiliated broadcasting stations.

[0029] Between such affiliated broadcasting stations, not only when a transport stream including a program with the same content is constantly transmitted, but also when only a part of a predetermined program is transmitted, a predetermined stream is transmitted. May be sent only part of the event. In addition to the case where the same event or program is transmitted at the same time, the same event or program may be transmitted at a different broadcast time.

On the other hand, from the broadcasting station 40, a transport stream including a program having completely different contents is transmitted. The service area 40a of the broadcast station 40 is, for example, the service area 10a of the broadcast station 10.
In some cases, it is located so as to overlap most of them. In this case, in the area where the service area 10a and the service area 40a overlap, the number of receivable program options increases.

In FIG. 1, the service area 15a of the broadcasting station 15 is
a. The broadcasting station 15 is operated by a broadcasting company that operates the broadcasting station 10, for example.
If the broadcasting station 10 is a broadcasting master station (key station), it corresponds to a broadcasting branch station (local station). Such a broadcasting station is installed in a place where a broadcast wave from a broadcasting station is difficult to reach, such as a mountain area or an island.

In the digital broadcasting system 1 to which the present invention is applied, for example, the broadcasting station 10 may be a broadcasting master station and a plurality of broadcasting stations such as the broadcasting station 15 may be provided. Further, the service area 15a of the broadcast branch station is not limited to being located within the service area 10a of the broadcast branch station, and may be located outside the service area 10a.

In the digital broadcasting system 1, the broadcasting stations 10, 20, 30, and 40 respectively constitute their own networks, and the broadcasting stations 10 and 15 constitute the same network. Such a network is, for example, an NIT (Network
Information Table), they are identified by [network_id] identifier or the like.

[0034] The network identified by the [network_id] identifier may be assigned to each broadcaster or may be assigned to each service area. In addition, for example, "Kanto region""Tokairegion"
For example, “Koshinetsu region” may be assigned to each predetermined wide area. However, in the following description, it is assumed that the identification content described in the [network_id] identifier is assigned to each broadcaster, and the broadcast station 10 and the broadcast station 15 configure the same network, and the other broadcast stations 20 and It is assumed that the networks 30 and 40 independently configure networks different from those of the broadcast stations 10 and 15.

By the way, in the digital broadcasting system 1 according to the present invention, in the transport stream transmitted from each broadcasting station, the service information relating to the service area to which the transport stream is transmitted, the transport stream, In addition to the service information related to the network to which this belongs, the service information related to another service area or another network is added and transmitted. Then, the service information related to the service area or the network is transmitted at a higher frequency than the service information related to another service area or the other network.

Specifically, for example, in the transport stream transmitted from the broadcasting station 10, service information relating to the service area 10a or the network (ie, the transport information transmitted from the broadcasting stations 10 and 15) is included. The service information related to the program contents of the stream) is transmitted. At the same time, in the transport stream, service information relating to other service areas and other networks, that is, broadcast station 2
Information indicating the program contents of the transport stream transmitted from 0, 30, and 40 is added and transmitted.
Then, the service information related to the transport stream transmitted from the broadcast stations 10 and 15 is transmitted to the other broadcast stations 2.
It is transmitted more frequently than the service information related to the transport stream transmitted from 0, 30, and 40.

As described above, since the transport stream is provided with service information relating to another transport stream and transmitted, for example,
The receiving device 100 located in the service area 10a includes:
It becomes possible to know broadcast contents in other service areas and other networks.

Thus, for example, the service area 10
a and the service area 40a overlap,
The receiving apparatus 100 can easily switch the receiving state so as to receive the program included in the transport stream transmitted from the broadcast station 40, and can improve the convenience. Also, the receiving device 100
When moving from the service area (for example, the service area 10a) to an adjacent service area (for example, the service area 20a) adjacent to the service area, a program included in a transport stream transmitted in the adjacent service area is received. Thus, it is easy to switch the reception state so that the convenience can be improved.

Further, since the service information relating to the transport stream is transmitted at a higher frequency than the service information relating to the other transport streams, it is possible that the transmission bandwidth is exhausted only with the service information. Therefore, the transmission efficiency of the information content to be broadcast is not reduced. Therefore, digital broadcasting can be transmitted efficiently.

The transmission frequency of the service information added and transmitted in the transport stream is, for example, that the service information relating to the service area is transmitted at the highest frequency, and the service information relating to the other service area is transmitted. It is desirable to transmit at a low frequency according to the number of hops from the service area. The number of hops is, for example, "1" for the service area adjacent to the service area, and "2" for the other service area adjacent to the adjacent service area. The number of hops of another service area adjacent to this service area is set to “3”, and the value is larger as the service area is farther from the service area.

As described above, by transmitting the service information at a low frequency according to the number of hops, the receiving apparatus 100 allows the receiving apparatus 100 to be adjacent to the service area (service area 10a) (for example, the service area 20a).
In consideration of not moving to another non-adjacent service area (for example, service area 30a).
The bit rate required for transmitting service information can be further reduced, and more efficient broadcasting can be performed.

The transmission frequency of the service information to be added and transmitted in the transport stream is, for example, the highest frequency of the service information related to the network and the other network having a series relationship with the network. It is desirable to provide the service information related to the network and the service information related to another network unrelated to the network in the order of low frequency. As a result, the service information of the affiliated broadcasting station with which the predetermined contract has been made can be transmitted prior to the service information of the other broadcasting stations.

In the present invention, when changing the transmission frequency of service information as described above, the transmission frequency may be changed in consideration of both the service area and the network. That is, for example, the service information related to the service area of the network is transmitted at the highest frequency, the service information related to the adjacent service area of the network, the service information related to another service area of the network, the adjacent service of the affiliated network. Service information related to the area, service information related to an adjacent service area of another network, and service information related to another service area of the affiliated network may be transmitted in the order of low frequency.

By the way, as the above-mentioned service information, for example, NIT (Network Information Table)
And SDT (Service Information Table). These NITs and SDTs are MPEG-2 Sys
Based on the basic table structure specified by tems, it is specified by the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) (ARIB STD-B10). Therefore, in the following, these N
IT and SDT will be briefly described.

The NIT has a data structure as shown in FIG. 3, and the TS whose PID value is “0x0010”
Transmitted by packet. In FIG. 3, [table_id]
Is an identifier indicating what the network information section is, and indicates the N of the own network.
The value “0x40” is described in the case of IT, and the value “0x41” is described in the case of NIT of another network.

[Section_syntax_indicator] is an identifier indicating a section syntax instruction, and its value is always "1". [section_length] is a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Ch) immediately after the section length field.
eck) is an identifier that specifies the number of bytes of the section up to the end of the section including (eck). [network_id] is NIT
Is an identifier for distinguishing the distribution system indicated by. From the other distribution systems.

[Version_number] is an identifier indicating the version number of the sub-table. [current_next_indica
tor], if this value is "1", indicates that the sub-table is the current sub-table; if it is "0", the sub-table to be sent is not yet applied and the next sub-table is Is an identifier indicating that is used. [secti
on_number] is an identifier indicating the section number,
If it is the first section in the sub-table, "0x
00 ”. This section number is the same [t
The value is added by “1” each time a section having “able_id” and “network_id” is added.

[Last_section_number] is an identifier indicating the number of the last section of the subtable to which the section belongs, that is, the section having the maximum section number. [network_descriptors_length] is an identifier indicating the total number of bytes of a loop of the following network descriptor (descripter ()). [transport_str
[eam_loop_length] is an identifier indicating the total number of bytes of the transport stream loop that ends immediately before the first byte of the CRC.

[0049] In the transport stream loop, [transport_stream_id] is an identifier for identifying this transport stream from other multiplexes in the distribution system. [original_network_id] is an identifier indicating [network_id] of the original distribution system. [transpo
[rt_descriptors_length] is an identifier indicating the total number of bytes of a loop of the following network descriptor (descripter ()). [CRC_32] indicates a CRC, and is an identifier including a CRC value such that the register output becomes “0” after processing the entire section.

The SDT has a data structure as shown in FIG. 4, and a TS having a PID value of “0x0011”
Transmitted by packet. In FIG. 4, [tabe_id]
Is an identifier indicating what this network section is. If the SDT describes the contents of its own transport stream (ie, a transport stream including this SDT), "0x4"
If the value “2” is an SDT that describes the contents of another transport stream, a value “0x46” is described.

[Section_syntax_indicator] is an identifier indicating a section syntax instruction, and its value is always "1". [section_length] is a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Ch) immediately after the section length field.
eck) is an identifier that specifies the number of bytes of the section up to the end of the section including (eck). [transport_stream_id]
Is an identifier for identifying the transport stream indicated by the SDT from other multiplexes in the distribution system.

[Version_number] is an identifier indicating the version number of the sub-table. [current_next_indica
tor], if this value is "1", indicates that the sub-table is the current sub-table; if it is "0", the sub-table to be sent is not yet applied and the next sub-table is Is an identifier indicating that is used. [secti
on_number] is an identifier indicating the section number,
If it is the first section in the sub-table, "0x
00 ”. This section number is the same [t
able_id], [transport_stream_id], and [original_network]
_id] is incremented by “1” each time a section having “_id] is added.

[Last_section_number] is an identifier indicating the number of the last section of the subtable to which the section belongs, that is, the section having the largest section number. [original_network_id] is an identifier indicating [network_id] of the original distribution system.

[Service_id] is transmitted from another program (service) in this transport stream to this SD.
This is an identifier for identifying the program (service) indicated by T. [EIT_schedule_flag] indicates the EIT (Ev) of this program (service) when this value is “1”.
ent Information Table) is present in the current transport stream. Also,
When this value is “0”, it indicates that the EIT schedule information of this program (service) does not exist in the current transport stream. [EIT_present
_following_flag] is the E of this program (service)
Indicates that the [current / next] information of the IT is in the current transport stream. When this value is “0”, it indicates that the [current / next] information of the EIT of this program (service) does not exist in the current transport stream.

[Running_status] is an identifier indicating the progress status of the program (service) indicated by the SDT.
[free_CA_mode], when this value is “0”, indicates that all component streams in this program (service) have not been scrambled. Also,
When this value is “1”, it indicates that at least one of the component streams in this program (service) is controlled by the CA system.

[Descriptors_loop_length] is an identifier indicating the total number of bytes of the loop of the following network descriptor (descripter ()). [CRC_32] is the CRC
Is an identifier including a CRC value such that the register output becomes “0” after processing the entire section.

Digital broadcasting system 1 to which the present invention is applied
In, for example, service information is configured as a whole by describing various types of information in identifiers and descriptors in NIT or SDT having the above data structure.

Next, a description will be given of a transmitting device provided for each broadcasting station in the digital broadcasting system 1 described above. Hereinafter, a transmission device 50 as shown in FIG. 5 will be described as an example of a configuration to which the digital broadcast transmission device according to the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 5, the transmitting device 50 includes an audio encoder 51 to which an audio signal is input,
A video encoder 52 to which a video signal is input; a data encoder 53 to which a data signal is input; a multiplexing unit 54 that multiplexes digital data obtained by converting each signal by these encoders to generate a transport stream; A transmission line encoding unit 55 that performs processing such as error correction encoding processing on the transport stream generated by the encoding unit 54, and a transport stream that is processed by the transmission line encoding unit 55. A modulation unit 56 that performs digital modulation processing suitable for broadcast characteristics to generate a broadcast signal and a system controller 57 that controls each unit of the transmission device 50 are provided.

The broadcast signal generated by the modulator 56 is output to a transmitting antenna 60 connected to the transmitting device 50, and transmitted from the transmitting antenna 60 as a broadcast wave.

The audio encoder 51, the video encoder 52, and the data encoder 53 receive an audio signal, a video signal, and a data signal, respectively.
Each of these signals is subjected to a compression encoding process and output as digital data. The audio signal, the video signal, and the data signal each include audio information, image information, and various data information used, for example, via a computer or various information terminals. That is, the information content of the program to be transmitted while being included in the broadcast wave is input to each encoder.

In the present invention, for example, when transmitting a radio broadcast of only audio information from a broadcasting station, the video encoder 52 and the data encoder 53 in the transmitting device 50 can be omitted.

The multiplexing section 54 performs packetization on the bit stream of the digital data output from each encoder, and then performs multiplexing processing on the bit stream, thereby forming a transformer compliant with MPEG-2 Systems. Create a port stream. At this time, the multiplexing unit 54
Various kinds of information necessary for broadcasting, such as service information and time information, are input from the system controller, and a process of adding the information to the transport stream is also performed.

In the present invention, when transmitting a single transport stream including a plurality of programs (services) by the transmitting apparatus 50, a plurality of sets of the above-described encoders are provided, and the program A plurality of bit streams are bundled and multiplexing processing is further performed.

The transmission path coding section 55 performs error correction coding processing on the transport stream generated by the multiplexing section 54, and then converts continuous errors into random errors to improve the error correction capability. Interleave processing is performed. Further, in order to facilitate synchronization in the receiving apparatus 100, a frame processing for adding a synchronization signal to the transport stream is performed.

The modulating section 56 converts the transport stream processed by the transmission path coding section 55 into
In consideration of broadcast characteristics, digital modulation processing with high efficiency and high error resilience is performed. Specifically, for example, OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex) is used as a modulation method.
ng) method can be used.

In the transmitting device 50, the processing in the audio encoder 51 and the video encoder 52 is processing in compliance with MPEG audio and MPEG video, respectively, and the processing in the multiplexing unit 54 is processing in MPEG.
-2 This is a process based on Systems.

The system controller 57 includes the transmitting device 5
The operation of each unit is controlled by exchanging various signals with each unit. Also, the system controller 57
Generates various information required for broadcasting, such as service information and time information, and outputs the generated information to the multiplexing unit 54.

In the transmitting apparatus 50 configured as described above, the multiplexing section 54 and the system controller 57 function as a service information providing means for providing service information to the transport stream to be transmitted. I have. Then, the multiplexing unit 54 and the system controller 57 transfer the service information related to the service area to which the transport stream is transmitted or the network to which the transport stream belongs to another service area or another network. It is provided in the transport stream at a higher frequency than the related service information.

Therefore, the above-described digital broadcasting system 1 can be realized by transmitting a transport stream using the transmitting device 50 configured as described above.

In transmitting apparatus 50, multiplexing section 5
4 and the system controller 57 may give the service information related to the service area at the highest frequency, and provide the service information related to other service areas at a lower frequency according to the number of hops from the service area. desirable. Thereby, the receiving apparatus 100 does not move to another service area (for example, the service area 30a) that is not adjacent to the service area (for example, the service area 20a) adjacent to the service area (for example, the service area 20a). In consideration of the above, the bit rate required for transmitting service information can be further reduced, and more efficient broadcasting can be performed.

In the transmitting device 50, the multiplexing unit 5
4 and the system controller 57 assign the service information related to the network at the highest frequency, and provide the service information related to another network that is affiliated with the network and the service information related to another network unrelated to the network. It is desirable to give in order in a low frequency. As a result, the service information of the affiliated broadcasting station with which the predetermined contract has been made can be transmitted prior to the service information of the other broadcasting stations.

In the transmitting device 50, when changing the transmission frequency of the service information as described above, the transmission frequency may be changed in consideration of both the service area and the network. That is, for example, the service information related to the service area of the network is transmitted at the highest frequency, the service information related to the adjacent service area of the network, the service information related to another service area of the network, and the adjacent network. The service information related to the service area, the service information related to the adjacent service area of another network, and the service information related to the other service area of the affiliated network may be transmitted in the order of low frequency.

Next, the transmitting device 50 described above will be described.
Receiving device 10 for receiving terrestrial broadcast transmitted by
0 will be described. Hereinafter, a receiving apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 6 will be described as one configuration example to which the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 6, the receiving apparatus 100 receives a broadcast signal from a receiving antenna 120 for receiving a terrestrial broadcast wave transmitted by the transmitting apparatus 50,
Demodulation unit 1 that performs digital demodulation on this broadcast signal
01, a decoding unit 102 that performs a decoding process on the signal subjected to the digital demodulation processing by the demodulation unit 101 to extract a transport stream, and a decoding unit 102
The extracting unit 103 extracts digital data multiplexed in the transport stream extracted by the extracting unit 103 and outputs the digital data according to the content of the digital data, and the digital data extracted by the extracting unit 103 is input. , An audio decoder 104, a video decoder 105, and a data decoder 106 that generate an audio signal, a video signal, and a data signal, respectively,
(Global Positioning System), a GPS receiving unit 107 for detecting a position based on a signal transmitted by a (Global Positioning System), a memory 108 for storing service information included in a transport stream, and a system controller for controlling each unit of the receiving apparatus 100 109.

The demodulation section 101 is provided with the modulation section 5 of the transmission apparatus 50.
6, which performs digital demodulation processing on the broadcast signal input from the receiving antenna 120.

The decoding section 102 corresponds to the transmission path coding section 55 of the transmission apparatus 50. The decoding section 102 performs a deinterleave processing, an error correction processing, and the like on the signal subjected to the digital demodulation processing by the demodulation section 101. To extract the transport stream.

The extraction unit 103 determines each T based on the PID (packet identification number) described in the TS packet in the transport stream input from the decoding unit 102.
S packets are extracted, and it is determined whether digital data included in each TS packet belongs to an audio signal or a video signal, and the like. Output to the decoder 105 and the like. Also, the extraction unit 103
Is the NIT or S included in the transport stream.
The service information such as DT is extracted and the service information is output to the system controller 109.

The audio decoder 104, the video decoder 105, and the data decoder 106 generate an audio signal, a video signal, and a data signal by performing a decoding process on the digital data input from the extraction unit 103, respectively. .

In the present invention, for example, when a radio station transmits only a radio broadcast of audio information, the video decoder 105 and the data decoder 106 in the receiving apparatus 100 can be omitted.

The GPS receiving section 107 has a GPS (Global P
ositioning system)
The position of the receiving device 100 is detected based on this signal.
Since the receiving device 100 includes the GPS receiving unit 107, the position of the receiving device 100 can be known. Accordingly, even when there are a plurality of adjacent service areas adjacent to the service area being received by the receiving device 100, it is possible to immediately determine which adjacent service area is closest. So, for example,
By referring to the link information included in the NIT, it is possible to select the most suitable adjacent service area to receive at the current position from the information on a plurality of adjacent service areas. The corresponding linked program (service) can be immediately received.

The receiving device 100 is a GPS receiving unit 1
However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration including 07, and another unit for detecting the reception position may be provided. As such means, for example, a reference signal transmitted from a predetermined terrestrial broadcasting station may be received, and the current position may be detected based on the reference signal. In addition, for example, an input unit capable of inputting and operating various information is provided, and the postal code, area code, prefecture name,
The current position may be determined based on a service area name or the like.

Further, receiving apparatus 100 may not be provided with means for detecting a position where terrestrial broadcasting is being received. In this case, based on the link information included in the NIT, it is sequentially tried whether or not a program (service) at a link destination corresponding to a plurality of adjacent service areas can be received. It can be set as the optimal link destination.

The memory 108 can be composed of various rewritable semiconductor memories, and may be, for example, detachable from the receiving device 100.

The system controller 109 controls the operation of each unit by exchanging various signals with each unit of the receiving apparatus 100. The service information input from the extraction unit 103 is stored in the memory 108.

In the receiving apparatus 100 configured as described above, the extracting unit 103 and the system controller 10
9 has a function as service information extracting means for extracting service information included in the transport stream, and the memory 108 has a function as a memory means for storing the service information extracted by the service information extracting means. I have.

Then, the system controller 109
When storing the service information in the memory 108, the service information related to the service area to which the transport stream is transmitted or the network to which the transport stream belongs is related to another service area or another network. The information is stored in the memory 108 prior to the service information.

Thus, the receiving device 100
08, the service information can be stored efficiently by effectively utilizing the memory capacity. That is, the service information related to the service area or the network related to the network having the highest use value and use frequency can be preferentially stored. Therefore, for example, the memory capacity of the memory 108 can be reduced, and cost reduction can be achieved.

If the memory capacity of the memory 108 is sufficient, service information relating to other service areas and other networks can be stored, and a program to be received using these service information can be promptly and surely stored. You can switch to In addition, information included in these pieces of service information can be notified to the recipient by, for example, displaying it on a display unit (not shown in FIG. 6). Therefore, convenience on the receiving side can be improved.

In the receiving apparatus 100, as described above, when the service information to be stored with priority is selected, for example, the transmission frequency of each service information transmitted by the transmitting apparatus 50 is counted. can do. If the transmission frequency of the service information is constant regardless of the service information, the NIT
Using the [table_id] identifier, the [network_id] identifier, the [original_network_id] identifier, or the like in the SDT or the SDT, it is determined whether the service information is related to the service area or the network, and the service information to be stored with priority is determined You may choose.

[0091]

As described above, in the digital broadcasting system and the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus according to the present invention, the service related to the service area to which the transport stream is transmitted or the network to which the transport stream belongs is included. Information can be added to the transport stream and transmitted more frequently than service information related to another service area or another network. As a result, the bit rate required for transmitting service information does not increase unnecessarily, and it is possible to suppress a decrease in transmission efficiency, and to reduce the transmission efficiency to other service areas and other networks. By transmitting the related service information, the convenience on the receiving side can be improved.

Further, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention may store the service information relating to the service area or the network in the memory means prior to the service information relating to the other service area or the other network. Thus, the service information can be efficiently stored by effectively using the memory capacity of the memory means.

Therefore, according to the present invention, service information can be transmitted and received efficiently, and even if the bit rate is limited or the memory capacity of the receiving side is small, the convenience of the receiving side can be improved. Can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a digital broadcasting system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a transport stream transmitted in the digital broadcasting system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a data structure of NIT shown as an example of service information in the digital broadcasting system.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a data structure of an SDT shown as an example of service information in the digital broadcasting system.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a transmission device shown as one configuration example of a digital broadcast transmission device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a receiving device shown as one configuration example of a digital broadcast receiving device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Digital broadcasting system, 10, 15, 20, 30,
40 broadcast stations, 10a, 15a, 20a, 30a, 40
a service area, 50 transmitting device, 51 audio encoder, 52 video encoder, 53 data encoder, 54 multiplexing unit, 55 transmission line coding unit, 5
6 modulation section, 57 system controller, 60 transmission antenna, 100 receiving apparatus, 101 demodulation section, 102
Decoder, 103 extractor, 104 audio decoder, 105 video decoder, 106 data decoder, 107 GPS receiver, 108 memory, 109 system controller, 120 receiving antenna

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A program in which a plurality of events are continuously organized is formed by a transport stream (Transport Stream).
am) as the terrestrial broadcast transmitted by the transmitting device,
In a digital broadcasting system that is received by a receiving device, when service information is added to a transport stream transmitted in the service area of the terrestrial broadcast and transmitted, the service area in which the transport stream is transmitted, or A digital broadcasting system, wherein service information related to the network to which the transport stream belongs is transmitted more frequently than service information related to another service area or another network. 2. A program in which a plurality of events are continuously arranged is transferred to a transport stream (Transport Stream).
am) as a terrestrial broadcast, comprising: a service information providing means for providing service information in a transport stream transmitted in the service area of the terrestrial broadcast, wherein the service information providing means comprises: The service information related to the service area to which the transport stream is transmitted or the network to which the transport stream belongs is assigned more frequently than the service information related to another service area or another network. Digital broadcast transmitting device. 3. The service information assigning means assigns service information related to the service area at the highest frequency, and assigns service information related to another service area at a low frequency according to the number of hops from the service area. 3. The digital broadcast transmitting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The service information assigning means assigns, at the highest frequency, service information relating to the network, service information relating to another network which is affiliated with the network, and another network unrelated to the network. 3. The digital broadcast transmitting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the service information is provided at a low frequency in the order of service information related to the digital broadcast. 5. A program in which a plurality of events are continuously arranged is transferred to a transport stream (Transport Stream).
a) a digital broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving terrestrial broadcasting transmitted as am), a service information extracting means for extracting service information included in the transport stream, and a memory for storing the service information extracted by the service information extracting means. Means, the service information extracting means transmits the service information related to the service area to which the transport stream is transmitted or the network to which the transport stream belongs to another service area or another network. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus characterized in that the information is stored in the memory means prior to related service information.