JP2002335461A - Digital broadcast receiver, digital broadcast system, state information collection method, state information collection program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital broadcast receiver that can more accurately and quickly analyze causes of a defect such as a mechanism for causing the defect. SOLUTION: A storage section 27 stores state data obtained by collecting states of a tuner 21 or the like in the digital broadcast receiver by a collection section 28. A transport decoder 24 stores the state data on the storage section 27 onto an HDD 34. The digital broadcast receiver 20 allows the transport decoder 24 to read the state data recorded on the HDD 34 and to store the state data to the storage section 27 in response to a request of the user. An analysis section 29 outputs data on request among the state data on the storage section 27 onto a monitor 31 via an image synthesis section 30. In this case, the image synthesis section 30 may synthesize related video data and output it on the monitor 31.

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 apparatus, a digital broadcasting system, a state information collecting method, a state information collecting program, and a recording medium, and more particularly to management of state information such as an operation history of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the enforcement of the Product Liability Law, it has become a requirement of the times to investigate in detail the cause of failures such as failures of equipment supplied to general consumers. ing. In such an era,
2. Description of the Related Art Digital broadcast equipment, particularly digital broadcast receiving apparatuses expected to be widely used (hereinafter, simply referred to as "receiving apparatuses").
It is also important that sufficient measures can be taken when a problem occurs.

[0003]

However, in the conventional receiving apparatus, only the internal state of the device after the trouble has occurred is investigated and the cause is determined as in other home devices. However, it is difficult to accurately determine what mechanism caused the failure.

In addition, since it is necessary to investigate immediately after the occurrence of a defect, it takes time to wait for the occurrence of the defect with a low occurrence frequency, and the cause cannot be efficiently investigated. Further, when a failure analysis cannot be performed at the installation location, such as when the installation location of the receiving device is a general house, it is practically impossible to clarify a failure due to the installation environment.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention provides a digital transmission / reception device, a digital broadcasting system, a status information collection method, a status information collection program, and a recording medium that can more accurately and quickly analyze the mechanism of occurrence of a failure. The purpose is to:

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention is a digital broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast and outputting a video and an audio signal. Program recording means for storing in a port packet format, status information collecting means for collecting status information indicating an operation status, status data editing means for converting the collected status information into status data in a transport packet format, State data storage means for storing state data in packet format in the program recording means. With this configuration, since the state information can be stored together with the recording device that stores the program, a large amount of state information can be stored without adding a dedicated device for storing the state information. .

[0007] By accumulating the state information in this manner, the progress of the internal state of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus until the occurrence of the malfunction can be referred to at any time, so that the mechanism of the occurrence of the malfunction can be easily grasped, and the malfunction can be easily understood. There is no need to wait for the occurrence. Further, it is possible to analyze a failure even at a place where the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is not installed.

Further, type designation receiving means for receiving designation of the type of the status information, and status data acquiring means for acquiring status data accumulated by the program recording means and corresponding to the received type. And a state information output means for outputting state information based on the read state data, so that the digital broadcast receiving apparatus alone can detect a failure without using a dedicated terminal or the like specialized for failure analysis. Can be analyzed.

[0009] Further, command extraction means for extracting a transmission instruction command included in the received digital broadcast, and status data accumulated by the program recording means, the status data being designated by the extracted transmission instruction command. If it is provided with state data acquisition means for acquiring state data corresponding to the type, and state data sending means for sending the read state data to a predetermined destination, it is possible to remotely go to the installation location of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, It is possible to refer to the status information of the digital broadcast receiving device to be investigated.

[0010] The command extraction means may separate the transport packet containing the transmission instruction command from the transport stream, the transport packet being a transport packet multiplexed in the received transport stream. Is extracted, the state information can be recorded also as a recording device for storing the transport packets of the program.

[0011] The transmission instruction command may be an ISO / IEC
Private_ in Private Section format specified in 13818-1
If the data is stored in the data_byte field, the state data can be stored in a packet format conforming to the standard. A digital broadcast system according to the present invention is a digital broadcast system comprising: a digital broadcast transmitting device that transmits a program as a digital broadcast; and a digital broadcast receiving device that receives a digital broadcast and outputs video and audio. The broadcast transmitting apparatus includes command transmitting means for transmitting a transmission instruction command for instructing transmission of state data by designating a type of state information, and the digital broadcast receiving apparatus stores a received program in a transport packet format. Program recording means, state information collecting means for collecting state information indicating an operation state, state data editing means for converting the collected state information into state data in transport packet format, and state data in transport packet form. Status data storage means for storing the program in the program recording means; Command extraction means for extracting a transmission instruction command included in the program, and status data accumulated by the program recording means, the status data corresponding to the type specified by the extracted transmission instruction command. It is characterized by comprising status data obtaining means and status data sending means for sending the read status data to a predetermined destination. With this configuration, the state information of the digital broadcast receiving device can be collected by remote control.

Further, the digital broadcast transmitting apparatus includes multiplexing means for storing the transmission instruction command in a transport packet and multiplexing the command into a transport stream, and the digital broadcast receiving apparatus includes a command extracting means. Is characterized in that a transport instruction command is extracted by separating a transport packet multiplexed in a received transport stream, the transport packet including the transmission instruction command from the transport stream. in this way,
If the transmission instruction command is multiplexed with broadcast data of a program or the like, the transmission instruction command can be transmitted without providing a dedicated communication path.

Further, the transport packet is an IS
Pr in Private Section format specified in O / IEC 13818-1
The transmission instruction command is stored in an ivate_data_byte field. If you do this,
State data can be stored in a packet format conforming to the standard. A state information collecting method according to the present invention is a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that receives digital broadcast and outputs video and audio, and a state information collecting step of repeatedly collecting state information indicating an operation state of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus. And a state information storing step of storing state information.

[0014] A state information collection program according to the present invention is characterized in that a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a digital broadcast and outputs video and audio performs the above-described state information collection method. Further, the state information collecting method according to the present invention is a digital broadcast receiving apparatus, comprising: a digital broadcast receiving apparatus including a program recording apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast, outputting video / audio, and recording a received program in a transport packet format. A state information collecting step of repeatedly collecting state information indicating an operation state of the program, a state data editing step of using the collected state information as state data in a transport packet format, and transmitting the state data in the transport packet format to the program recording device. May be executed.

A state information collection program according to the present invention includes a program recording device for receiving a digital broadcast, outputting video and audio, and recording the received program in a transport packet format. In response to this, the above-mentioned state information collecting method is executed. Further, a recording medium according to the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium, wherein the state information collection program is stored.

[0016]

Embodiments of a digital broadcasting system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First Embodiment 1. Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a digital broadcasting system 1 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, broadcast station 2 transmits a broadcast wave toward broadcast satellite 6 using a digital broadcast transmitting apparatus (hereinafter, simply referred to as “transmitting apparatus”) according to the present embodiment. The broadcast satellite 6 includes a plurality of transponders (satellite repeaters), amplifies the broadcast wave received from the broadcast station 2, and relays the amplified broadcast wave to homes 5. Each home 5 is provided with a digital broadcast receiving apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a “receiving apparatus”) according to the present embodiment.

The receiving device is a receiving device for stored broadcasting,
Broadcast radio waves are received via a satellite broadcast receiving antenna.
Then, the received television program is temporarily stored in the storage device, and then is displayed in the form of video and audio according to the operation of the viewer. Further, the receiving device can access the service center 3 via the telephone line 4 and receive various services (reception of mail order and provision of program data, etc.).

2. Configuration of Transmitting Apparatus FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram showing a functional configuration of the transmitting apparatus. 2, the transmitting apparatus 10 includes a plurality of transmitting units 11, 12, 13,... Further, the transmission unit 11 includes a data generation circuit 14, an encoder 1
5, a multiplexing circuit 16 and a modulator 17.
The encoder 15 receives an input of a video signal and an audio signal of a television program to be broadcasted from the outside, and compression-encodes the video signal and the audio signal. The data generation circuit 14 uses the ARI
B (Association of Radio Industries and Businesse
s: The Radio Data Industry Association) generates system data including program arrangement information (Service Information) specified in the standard program “program arrangement information used for digital information”.

The multiplexing circuit 16 converts the output data of the encoder 15 and the output data of the data generation circuit 14 into MPEG data.
(Moving Picture Image Coding Expert Group) Time-division multiplexing is performed on a transport stream specified in the standard. The modulator 17 modulates the transport stream. The modulated transport streams are simultaneously transmitted by the number of transponders of the broadcasting satellite 6.

3. Configuration of Receiving Apparatus Next, the receiving apparatus will be described. FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram showing a functional configuration of the receiving device. 3, the receiving device 20 includes a transport decoder 24 and the like. Receiving device 20, upon receiving a broadcast wave by antenna 35, receives a transport stream from a predetermined transponder of broadcast satellite 6 by tuner 21. The demodulator 22 demodulates the transport stream and outputs it to the packet separation circuit 23. The packet separation circuit 23 separates a transport packet (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “packet”) from the transport stream and outputs the transport packet to the transport decoder 24.

The transport decoder 24 converts the packet output from the packet separator 23 into a packet containing system data (hereinafter, referred to as a "system packet").
The packet is classified into three: a packet including an audio signal (hereinafter, referred to as an “audio packet”) and a packet including a video signal (hereinafter, referred to as a “video packet”). The system packet is written in the storage unit 27 in a section data format. The audio packet is input to the audio decoder 25, and the video packet is input to the video decoder 26.

Further, the transport decoder 24 reads out status data described later from the storage unit 27,
HDD 3 via D (Hard Disk Drive) control unit 33
Write to 4. Also, the transport decoder 24
The video packet and the audio packet can be stored in the HDD 34, and the video packet and the audio packet can be read from the HDD 34 and output to the video decoder 26 and the audio decoder 25.

The audio decoder 25 is a so-called MPEG audio decoder, which decodes an input audio packet, converts it into an audio signal, and causes the speaker 32 to output audio. The video decoder 26 is a so-called MPEG video decoder, which decodes an input video packet into video data and outputs the video data to the screen synthesizing unit 30. Screen composition unit 30
Receives video data from the video decoder 26 and the analysis unit 29, converts the video data into a video signal, and causes the monitor 31 to output the video.

The collecting unit 28 collects status information (described later) of each unit of the receiving device 20 and stores it in the storage unit 27 as status data in a transport packet format defined in ISO / IEC13818-1. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a format of a transport packet storing status information, that is, status data. In FIG. 4, the status data 40 includes a sync byte field 41, a transport error ind
icator field 42, payload unit start indicator
Each field is composed of a field 43 and the like.

The sync byte field 41 stores a fixed value 47H, which is data for establishing synchronization. In the transport error indicator field 42,
Fixed value 0 indicating that no uncorrectable error has occurred
H is stored. Since the status data does not have a pointer field as described later, the payload unit start indicator
The field 43 stores a fixed value 0H.

Since priority control is not performed on the state data, a fixed value 0H is stored in the transport priority field 44. The PID field 45 stores a fixed value 100H indicating the status data. transport scrambling control field 46
Has a fixed value of 0, indicating that no scrambling has been applied.
H is stored. In the adaptation field control field 47, a fixed value 1H indicating that the state data has no adaptation field and has only the payload field 49 is stored. The payload field 49 stores state information in a private section format.

In the figure, bslbf (Bit String, L
“eft Bit First” means a bit string with the leftmost bit at the top, and for example, “8bslbf” is an 8-bit bit string with the leftmost bit at the top. uimsbf (Unsigned I
nteger, Most Significant Bit First) means an unsigned integer starting with the most significant bit, for example, “12ui
“msbf” is 12-bit unsigned integer data starting from the most significant bit. rpchof (Remainder Polynomial
Coefficients, Highest Order First) means coefficients of a residual polynomial starting with higher-order coefficients.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a format (private section format) of the payload field 49 of the status data 40. As shown in FIG. The payload field 49 is
From the top, table id subfield 50, section synt
ax indicator subfield 51, private indicator
It consists of subfields such as subfield 52. The following values are stored in the table id subfield 50 according to the type of status information stored in the private data subfield 55.

In the present embodiment, the status information on the tuner 21 is stored in the private data subfield 5.
5, the table id subfield 50
Stores 90H. In the case of the status information relating to the demodulation unit 22, 91H is the transport decoder 2
Transport decoder LSI (Larg
In the case of e Scale Integrated circuit), 92H is stored.

The audio decoder 25 and the video decoder 26
93H is stored in the table id subfield 50 in the case of the status information of the AV (Audio-Video) decoder LSI fulfilling the function of (1). Further, the receiving device 20 is an IEEE13
IEEE to access other devices via 94 bus
When a 1394 controller IC (Integrated Circuit) is provided and status information of the IC is stored in the private data subfield 55, the table id subfield 5
Store 94H in 0.

The HDD 34 is an IDE (Integrated Device)
Electronics) is a hard disk that conforms to the standard, and thus stores state information of the IDE controller IC that performs the function of the HDD control unit 33.
95H is stored in the subfield 50. Numbers are similarly assigned to the status information of the other parts, and
It is stored in the subfield 50.

In the section syntax indicator subfield 51, a fixed value 0H is stored, and a private section level is set.
The fact that status information is stored in the private data subfield 55 following the ngth subfield 54 is displayed. private indicator subfield 52 and reserved
For the subfield 53, a fixed value 0H is stored. Note that these subfields 52 and 53
Has no particular meaning in the present embodiment.

Private section length subfield 5
4 stores the size of the private data subfield 55 in byte units. private data subfield 5
5, state information is stored in a format corresponding to the value of the table id subfield 50, that is, the type of the state information to be stored. For this reason, in the present embodiment,
pr according to the value stored in the table id subfield 50
The value stored in the ivate section length subfield is determined.

After storing the status data in the storage unit 27 in the format described above, the collection unit 28 instructs the transport decoder 24 to store the status data in the HDD 3.
4 is stored. The analysis unit 29 instructs the transport decoder 24 to read out the state data stored in the HDD 34 and store it in the storage unit 27. afterwards,
The analysis unit 29 analyzes the state data on the storage unit 27,
The analysis data obtained by the analysis is input to the screen synthesis unit 30 and displayed on the monitor 31. The image synthesizing unit 21 displays only the video data from the video decoder on the monitor 31 or synthesizes the video data corresponding to the analysis data with the analysis data from the analysis unit 29 according to the instruction of the viewer. It is displayed on the monitor 31.

The communication processing unit 36 has a function of communicating with the service center 3 via the telephone line 4.
The receiving device status data written in the storage unit 27 is read and transmitted to the service center 3. The HDD 34 is a hard disk device for temporarily storing received programs, and stores transport packets in a predetermined format under the control of the HDD control unit 33. Further, as described above, the HDD 34 is also used for storing state data.

4. Collection and Accumulation of State Information FIG. 6 is a functional configuration diagram mainly showing the functional configuration of the collection unit 28 of the receiving device 20. In FIG. 6, the collecting unit 28
Includes a section data conversion unit 63, an ID generation unit 64, and a packetization unit 65. The section data conversion unit 63 includes a tuner 60, a transport decoder LS
State information is collected from I61, AV decoder LSI 62, etc., and private data subfield data storing the collected state information is created. The ID generation unit 64 stores the numerical value corresponding to the collected state information in the table id subfield 5
Store to 0. Further, in the private section length subfield, a numerical value corresponding to the table id subfield 50 is stored to create private section data.

The packetizing section 65 transfers the private section data created by the section data converting section 63 to a payload.
A transport packet as a field is created, and this is used as state data. At this time, the PID field 45
Stores a PID (100H in the present embodiment) meaning status data. The state data thus created is stored in a predetermined area on the HDD 34 by the transport decoder 24 as described above.

In FIG. 6, the tuner 60 performs the function of the tuner 21 of FIG. 3, and the transport decoder LSI 61 is an LSI that performs the functions of the packet separation circuit 23 and the transport decoder 24. The AV decoder LSI 62 performs the functions of the audio decoder 25 and the video decoder 26 in FIG. Next, collect state data,
The operation of the receiving device 20 when storing is described.
The receiving device 20 collects state information at regular intervals (for example, every 30 seconds), and also collects state information when a predetermined event occurs. The collected status information is stored in the HDD 34 as status data as described above. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the receiving device 20 collects state information and accumulates state data. In FIG. 7, the receiving device 20 first checks whether a predetermined event has occurred. The predetermined event is, for example, that a value 1 is set in a transport error indicator field in a header portion of a transport packet received from the broadcast station 2. When such an event occurs, even if the sound or the video is disturbed, the receiving device 2
Since there is a possibility that the failure is not 0, the status information is collected so that the cause of the failure can be analyzed. That is, when the occurrence of a predetermined event is detected (Yes in step S1),
State information is collected (step S4).

If the occurrence of such an event is not detected (No in step S1), the timer is referred to (step S2). Then, if a timeout has not occurred (No in step S3), it is checked again whether a predetermined event has occurred (step S1). When occurrence of a timeout is detected (Yes in step S3), state information is collected (step S4). As described above, the section data conversion unit 63 collects the state information. The section data conversion unit 63 further converts the acquired status information into section data (step S5).

The ID generation unit 64 includes a section data conversion unit 6
3 stores the numerical value corresponding to the collected state information in the table id subfield 50 of the payload field 49, and also stores the value corresponding to the value stored in the table id subfield 50 in the private section length subfield 54 ( Step S6). Privatesec created in this way
Receiving the option data, the packetizing unit 65 creates a transport packet with the data as a payload (step S7). Thereafter, the packetizing unit 65 stores the created transport packet, that is, the state data in the storage unit 27 (Step S8).

The transport decoder 24 has a storage unit 2
7, the status data stored in the HDD 7 is stored in the HDD 34 via the HDD control unit 33 (step S9). Then, after setting a predetermined time in the timer (step S10), the receiving device 20 waits for the occurrence of a predetermined event or timeout and checks them again (steps S1 to S3).

The receiving device 20 stores the broadcast data in the HDD 34 together with the status data. Here, the broadcast data is data including system data including video data, audio data, and program arrangement information. FIG.
The transport decoder 24
From the collection unit 28 to the storage unit 2
And the status data received via the HDD control unit 3
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state where the data is stored in the HDD via the HDD 3. The transport decoder 24 converts the broadcast data and the status data into HD in a transport packet format.
Store in D34. At this time, the transport decoder 2
Reference numeral 4 designates an area for storing data on the HDD 34 by causing the HDD control unit 33 to store the data. As shown in FIG. 8, the transport decoder 24 specifies a storage area so that the broadcast data and the status data are stored in different areas.

5. Reading and Display of State Data FIG. 9 is a functional configuration diagram showing a functional configuration of the analyzing unit 29 of the receiving device 20. In FIG. 9, the analysis unit 29
An analysis unit 70 and a section data analysis unit 71 are provided. Upon receiving the state data read from the HDD 34 by the transport decoder 24, the ID analysis unit 70
The section data analysis unit 71 that specifies the format of the private data subfield 55 with reference to the table id subfield 50 of the d field 49 and specifies the format of the private data subfield 55 according to the specified format.
Read the status information from. Further, the section data analysis unit 71 converts the read state information into a format for display on the monitor 31 to create data for monitor display, and outputs the data to the screen synthesis unit 30.

Next, the operation of the receiving device 20 when analyzing the state data will be described. FIG.
Is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when analyzing state data. The receiving device 20 includes an operation panel, and receives designation of a display format of status data from the operation panel. There are two display formats, that is, a stream and a no stream. In the case of a stream, the TV program displayed by the receiving device 20 at the time when the status data is collected is displayed on the monitor screen together with the status data. Is done. If there is no stream, only status data is displayed.

When the receiving apparatus 20 is designated to have a stream in the display format (Yes in step S20)
s), the transport decoder 24 reads the broadcast data corresponding to the status data from the HDD 34 (Step S21). If no stream is specified for the display format (No in step S20), or step S2
After the process 1, the transport decoder reads the status data from the HDD 34 (step S22). For the read state data, the ID analysis unit 70 refers to the table id subfield 50, determines the type of the state information stored in the state data, and specifies the format of the private data subfield 55.

The section data analysis section 71 reads out status information from the private data subfield 55 of the status data in accordance with the format of the specified private data subfield 55, and creates monitor display data as described above. (Step S26). Next, when the display format of the status information is “stream” (step S
25 (Yes at 25), the screen synthesizing unit 30 synthesizes the broadcast data and the status information edited for monitor display (step S26). If the display format is no stream (No in step S25), or after the processing in step S26, monitor display is performed. At this time, if there is a stream, audio output based on the broadcast data is also performed (step S27). After displaying the status information as described above, the process ends.

When reading the status data as described above, the transport decoder 24 specifies the storage area on the HDD 34 and performs the reading. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the transport decoder 24 reads out the state data stored in the HDD 34 and stores it in the storage unit 27. The transport decoder 24 is an HDD
The control unit 33 is requested to read the state data by designating an area on the HDD 34. The transport decoder 24 stores the state data thus read out in the storage unit 2.
7 is stored. When the display format is stream, HD
Similarly, the broadcast data read from D34 is stored in the storage unit 2
7 is stored.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
A digital broadcasting system according to the embodiment will be described. The configuration of the digital broadcast system according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the digital broadcast system according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the status information is referred to by directly operating the receiving device 20 and causing the receiving device 20 to display a monitor. However, in the present embodiment, in response to a request from the broadcast station 2, Receiving device 20
Sends the status information to the service center 3.

First, the broadcasting station 2 broadcasts a transmission instruction command for causing the receiving device 20 to transmit state information. That is, the broadcasting station 2 generates a transmission instruction command as one of the system data generated by the data generation circuit 14, and transmits the command in a time-division multiplex manner to the transport stream. The transmission instruction command is data in a transport packet format defined in ISO / IEC 13818-1, and a fixed value 101H indicating that the command is a transmission instruction command is stored in the PID field. Also its payload
The field 49 stores instruction contents in a private section format. table id subfield 50
In this embodiment, a fixed value A0H is stored. The following data is stored in the private data subfield 55 as the instruction content. FIG.
Is a list showing the contents of the transmission instruction command.

As shown in FIG. 12, the instruction content of the transmission instruction command includes maker id, model id, group id and the like. The maker id is an item for designating a maker that has manufactured the receiving apparatus and instructing transmission of state information. mode
l id specifies the model (model number) of the receiving device manufactured by the maker specified by the maker id. maker id and mode
If the value of l id is zero, it is determined that each is not specified.

When a value other than 00 is stored in the version indicator, the receiving device refers to the version id.
The version id specifies the version of the receiving device of the model specified by the model id. Therefore, version
When specifying id, you must specify model id and maker id. Also, if you specify the model id, use maker
id is required. ver when version indicator is 01
If the receiving device of the version indicated by the sion id or later transmits the status information and the version indicator is 10, the version is
The receiving device before the version indicated by id transmits the state information. If the version indicator is 11, version i
Only the version receiving device indicated by d transmits the status information.

The group id specifies a plurality of receiving apparatuses in a group unit. If both the group id and the maker id are specified, only the receiving device that satisfies both conditions transmits the state information. The receiving device 20 is set indica
If a value other than 00 is stored in tor, reference is made to set id. The set id is an identification number for specifying one specific receiving device. When setindicator is 01, receiving devices of the version indicated by set id or later transmit state information,
When the set indicator is 10, the receiving device before the version indicated by the set id transmits the state information. set indica
When tor is 11, only the receiving device having the identification number indicated by set id transmits the state information. The receiver is set indica
When tor is 01 or 10, reference is made to set id duration. The receiving device having the identification number in the range specified by the set id duration or the previous set id duration transmits the status information.

Only the receiving device that satisfies the condition of the logical sum of the above conditions transmits the state information. For example, se
If the specific one receiving device specified by t id does not belong to the maker specified by maker id, the receiving device does not transmit the state information. When these conditions are not specified, none of the receiving devices transmits the state information.

The data type specifies the type of status information to be transmitted by the receiving device. Note that the data type shown in the figure is merely an example, and an appropriate bit assignment is made according to the model and version of the receiving apparatus. The receiving device transmits the state information collected during the period specified by the duration from the time specified by the start time. Note that start time and dura
If the period specified by the option includes a time after the time when the receiving device 20 receives the transmission instruction command, the receiving device transmits the state information after the period has elapsed. destination is the telephone number of the service center to which the receiving device should send the status information.

When receiving the transmission instruction command in the above format, the receiving device 20 reads the status data from the HDD according to the instruction, and converts the data into the format described below. FIG. 13 is a list showing a configuration of a packet for transmitting the state information to the service center 3 by the receiving device 20. In FIG. 13, maker id, model id,
The version id and the set id are fixed values given at the time of shipment of the receiving device, the maker id is a value indicating the maker that manufactured the receiving device, the model id is a value indicating the model of the receiving device, and the version id is The value indicating the version of the receiving device, set id, is the identification number of the receiving device. groupi
d is an updatable numerical value set in the receiving device, and is a value indicating the group to which the receiving device belongs.

The receiving device 20 transmits the status information collected during the period specified by the duration from the time specified by the start time. The data type number indicates the number of data to be transmitted. That is, it indicates the number of state information transmitted subsequent to the data type number. Status information is data type, dat
a data of the above triples of a length and data as one unit
Sent by the number of type number. These status information
They are arranged in the order of the collected time. The data type corresponds to the PID added to the status data, and indicates the type of the subsequent data. In the data length, a value equal to the private data length of the corresponding state data is stored. In the data, the contents of the private data of the corresponding state data are stored.

In the present embodiment, the communication processing section 36 of the receiving device 20 executes the above processing in cooperation with a transport decoder or the like. When the communication processing unit 36 creates a packet in the above format, it transmits the packet to the service center 3 via the telephone line 4. This transmission is performed by a known technique. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of the receiving device 20 as described above. Receiving device 20 waits for a transmission instruction command from broadcast station 2 and receives the transmission instruction command (Yes in step S30), and if the period specified by starttime and duration in the transmission instruction command has not elapsed ( (No in step S31), and waits for the elapse of the period. When the period has elapsed (Yes in step S31), the status data is read from the HDD 34 (step S32), and the individual data is referred to the table id subfield 50, and the data command of the transmission instruction command is read.
Check if the data is of the type specified by pe.

If the table id subfield 50 does not correspond to the specified type (No in step S33), the table id subfield 50 is checked for other status data. If the table id subfield 50 corresponds to the specified type (Yes in step S33), the above-described packet is created with reference to the state data (step S34). When the creation of the packet is finally completed, the created packet is transmitted to the service center 3 (step S35).

In a digital broadcast receiving apparatus prior to a storage broadcast receiving apparatus for storing received television programs in a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD, there is no large-capacity storage device such as an HDD and only a minimum necessary semiconductor memory is mounted. Had not been. On the other hand, since the state information of the receiving device has a data amount of several tens of kilobytes, a conventional receiving device without a large-capacity storage device cannot store such state information at a fixed period. In analyzing the malfunction of the receiver, the history of the state change could not be seen.

On the other hand, if the storage broadcast receiving device records the status information in the transport packet format as in the present invention, the storage device for storing the television program is also used for recording the status information. be able to.
Therefore, it is possible to record and refer to the history of the state information without increasing the number of components of the receiving device.
Therefore, it is possible to perform more accurate failure analysis than the failure in the receiving device.

FIG. 15 is a hardware configuration diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the receiving apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 15, a CPU 93 of the receiving device 80 is connected to a modem or the like via an internal bus 92, and connected to a RAM 95 and a ROM 96 via a memory bus 94. The ROM 96 stores a program for collecting state information (corresponding to the collecting unit 28) and a program for analyzing state information (corresponding to the analyzing unit 29). Also, R
The AM 95 stores collected state information (corresponding to the storage unit 27) and is used as a work area of the program.

The modem 85 is a modem device for communicating with the service center 3 via the telephone line 81. The tuner 86 receives a radio wave from the broadcast satellite 6 via the antenna 82. The AV decoder 87 causes the TV 83 to output video and audio in response to an instruction from the system LSI 88.
The system LSI 88 includes a transport decoder circuit,
An LSI in which an IDE interface circuit, an IEEE 1394 interface circuit, and the like are integrated, and an IDE-HDD
84 and an IEEE 1394 repeater 8
9, a transport packet is stored in the HDD 90, and a TV program is recorded in a VTR (Video Tape Recorder) 91. The system LSI 88 has a 32-bit CRC (Cyclic R) attached to the transport packet.
An error of edundancy check is detected, and status information is notified to the CPU 93 by displaying it in a register or the like.

Table 1 shows an example in which the data amount of the state information is estimated for the receiving device 80 as described above.

[0064]

[Table 1]

In the table, the tuner section and the demodulation section correspond to the tuner 86.
, And the IEEE 1394 unit, the IDE unit, and the system unit correspond to a system LSI. The total amount of data of registers and microcodes for each of these functional elements is about 30 kilobytes. In addition, besides the above, CPU
ECC memory (Error Check
When k and Correct Memory) are used, an ECC error or the like may be added to the status information.

Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the following modifications can be made. (Modifications) (1) In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a television program is broadcast via broadcast satellite 6, but a communication satellite is used instead of BS broadcast using broadcast satellite 6. The used CS broadcast may be used. Further, instead of the digital broadcasting system 1, the present invention may be applied to a digital broadcasting system as described below.

FIG. 16 shows a digital broadcasting system 1 'using a radio tower 6' instead of the broadcasting satellite 6 of FIG. Further, a cable broadcast may be used instead of the wireless broadcast. FIG.
Is a CATV (cable television) system 1 "to which the present invention is applied. The broadcasting station 2 broadcasts a television program via a cable 6" instead of the broadcasting satellite 6 or the radio tower 6 '.

As described above, if the broadcasting station 2 performs digital broadcasting, the effects of the present invention can be obtained regardless of the form of television broadcasting. (2) In the above embodiment, the broadcast data and the status data are stored in different areas on the HDD 35 as shown in FIG. 8, but the following may be used instead. FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a case where broadcast data and status data are stored in the same area on the HDD 35 in order of time. In this way, when both the broadcast data and the status data are combined by the screen combining unit 30 and displayed on the monitor 31, the efficiency of reading these data from the HDD 35 can be improved.

FIG. 19 shows that broadcast data is stored in the HDD 35.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a case where only state data is stored without storing the state data. By doing so, more state data can be stored in the HDD 35, which is effective when it is desired to record the state information of the receiving device 20 for a long time. (3) In the above embodiment, specific values are shown for the values stored in the PID field 45 and the table id subfield 50. However, this is merely an example, and the values shown in the above embodiment are Instead, the PID field 45
For, an appropriate value other than the value already used may be used. Also, table id subfield 50
Similarly, the effect of the present invention can be obtained by using an appropriate value other than the value already used.

As in the second embodiment, when collecting information from the receiving device by remote control, the PI
It is even better if the assignment of D and table id is negotiated by an industry group or the like. Furthermore, transport scrambling contr
The effects of the present invention can be achieved by using appropriate values for each field such as the ol field 46 according to the embodiment.

(4) In the above embodiment, the format of the transport packet is ISO / IEC 1381
This format is based on the provisions of 8-1, but this format is equivalent to the format specified in ITU-T Rec. H.222.0 “General-purpose video and audio coding system”. (5) In the above embodiment, the hardware status information of the receiving device is exclusively collected. In addition to this, the identification code of the program that the viewer is watching using the receiving device is collected. It may be recorded as status information. If the state information recorded in this way is collected by remote control as in the second embodiment, it can be used for investigation of the audience rating and the like.

(6) HDD 3 in the above embodiment
Reference numeral 4 may be an HDD built in the receiving device 20 or an external HDD. In any case, if the transport packet can be written and read via the transport decoder 24, the effects of the present invention can be achieved. That is, the receiving device 20 according to the present invention includes a unit that writes and reads a transport packet to and from the HDD in order to attach the HDD externally even when the HDD does not have the HDD.

[0073]

As described above, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention is a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that receives digital broadcasts and outputs video and audio, and stores received programs in a transport packet format. Program recording means, state information collecting means for collecting state information indicating an operation state, state data editing means for converting the collected state information into state data in a transport packet format,
State data storage means for storing state data in transport packet format in the program recording means. According to this configuration, since the history of the state information of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is recorded, the operation of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus can be more quickly and accurately analyzed in the case of a failure or the like by referring to the history. it can.

Further, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention includes a type designation accepting unit for accepting designation of the type of the status information, and status data accumulated by the program recording unit, the status data corresponding to the received type. It is characterized by comprising status data obtaining means for obtaining status data, and status information output means for outputting video and audio status information based on the read status data. That is, since the state information is recorded together with a recording device such as a hard disk for storing video / audio data, the operation history can be recorded without increasing the number of components of the digital broadcast receiving device.

The digital broadcasting system according to the present invention is a digital broadcasting system comprising a digital broadcasting transmitting device for transmitting a program as a digital broadcasting, and a digital broadcasting receiving device for receiving the digital broadcasting and outputting the video and audio. The digital broadcast transmitting apparatus includes command transmitting means for transmitting a transmission instruction command for instructing transmission of state data by designating a type of state information. Program recording means for storing in a port packet format, status information collecting means for collecting status information indicating an operation status, status data editing means for converting the collected status information into status data in transport packet format, and transport packet Status data storage means for storing status data in a format in the program recording means; Command extraction means for extracting a transmission instruction command included in the extracted digital broadcast, and status data stored in the program recording means, the status data corresponding to the type specified by the extracted transmission instruction command. And status data sending means for sending the read status data to a predetermined destination. Thereby, the operation history of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus can be analyzed even in a remote place.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital broadcasting system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram showing a functional configuration of the digital broadcast transmitting apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram showing a functional configuration of the digital broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a format of a transport packet storing state information according to the first embodiment, that is, a state data.

FIG. 5 shows a state data payload according to the first embodiment.
It is a figure showing the format of a field.

FIG. 6 is a functional configuration diagram showing a functional configuration of a collection unit 28 of the digital broadcast receiving device 20 according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment collects state information and accumulates state data.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the transport decoder 24 of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment,
3 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which broadcast data received from a storage unit 3 and status data received from a collection unit 28 via a storage unit 27 are stored in an HDD 34 via an HDD control unit 33. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a functional configuration diagram showing a functional configuration of an analysis unit 29 of the digital broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment analyzes state data.

11 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the transport decoder 24 of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present embodiment reads out state data stored in the HDD 34 and stores the state data in the storage unit 27. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a table showing a content of a transmission instruction command transmitted from the digital broadcast transmitting apparatus to the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a table showing a configuration of a packet for transmitting state information to the service center 3 by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process executed by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment upon receiving a transmission instruction command.

FIG. 15 is a hardware configuration diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to a second embodiment.

16 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a digital broadcasting system using a radio tower instead of the broadcasting satellite in FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a CATV system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the transport decoder 24 of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention converts the broadcast data received from the packet separation circuit 23 and the status data received from the collection unit 28 via the storage unit 27 into an HDD 35 in time order. It is the schematic diagram shown about the case where it stores in the same upper area.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a case where only state data received from the storage unit 8 via the storage unit 27 is stored.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital broadcasting system 2 Broadcasting station 3 Service center 4 Telephone line 5 Home etc. 6 Broadcasting satellite 20 Digital broadcast receiving device 24 Transport decoder 27 Storage unit 28 Collection unit 29 Analysis unit 33 HDD control unit 34 HDD 45 PID 50 table id subfield 55 private data subfield

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast and outputting video and audio, a program recording means for storing a received program in a transport packet format, and collecting state information indicating an operation state. State information collecting means, state data editing means for converting the collected state information into state data in transport packet format, and state data storage means for storing state data in transport packet format in the program recording means. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. Type information receiving means for receiving a type specification of status information; and status data accumulated by the program recording means,
2. The digital device according to claim 1, further comprising: status data obtaining means for obtaining status data corresponding to the received type; and status information output means for outputting status information based on the read status data. Broadcast receiver. 3. A command extracting means for extracting a transmission instruction command included in a received digital broadcast, and status data accumulated by the program recording means,
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: status data obtaining means for obtaining status data corresponding to the type specified by the extracted transmission instruction command; and status data sending means for sending the read status data to a predetermined destination. A digital broadcast receiving device according to claim 1. 4. The command extracting means according to claim 1, wherein said command extracting means separates the transport packet containing the transmission instruction command from the transport stream, the transport packet being a transport packet multiplexed in the received transport stream. 4. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the digital broadcast receiving apparatus extracts. 5. The transmission instruction command according to ISO / IEC 1381.
Private_data in Private Section format specified in 8-1
The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 4, wherein the digital broadcast receiver is stored in a _byte field. 6. A digital broadcast system comprising: a digital broadcast transmitting apparatus for transmitting a program as a digital broadcast; and a digital broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast and outputting video and audio, wherein the digital broadcast transmitting apparatus comprises: Command transmission means for transmitting a transmission instruction command instructing transmission of state data by designating a type of state information, wherein the digital broadcast receiving apparatus stores program data in a transport packet format. State information collecting means for collecting state information indicating an operation state; state data editing means for converting the collected state information into state data in transport packet format; and program recording means for storing state data in transport packet format. Means for storing status data to be stored in A command extracting means for extracting indicate commands, a state data stored in the program recording device,
A digital broadcasting system comprising: status data obtaining means for obtaining status data corresponding to the type specified by the extracted transmission instruction command; and status data sending means for sending the read status data to a predetermined destination. . 7. The digital broadcast transmitting apparatus includes multiplexing means for storing the transmission instruction command in a transport packet and multiplexing the command into a transport stream, and the digital broadcast receiving apparatus includes a command extracting means. Extracting a transmission instruction command by separating a transport packet including the transmission instruction command from the transport stream, the transport packet being multiplexed with a received transport stream. Item 7. A digital broadcasting system according to item 6. 8. The transport packet according to claim 1, wherein the transport packet is an ISO / IE
Private in Private Section format specified in C 13818-1
The digital broadcasting system according to claim 7, wherein the transmission instruction command is stored in an e_data_byte field. 9. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving digital broadcast and outputting video and audio, wherein a state information collecting step of repeatedly collecting state information indicating its own operation state, and storing the repeatedly collected state information. And a state information storing step. 10. A state information collection program for causing a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a digital broadcast and outputs video and audio to execute the state information collection method according to claim 9. 11. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: a program recording apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast, outputting a video and an audio, and recording the received program in a transport packet format. A state information collecting step of repeatedly collecting information; a state data editing step of converting the collected state information into state data in a transport packet format; and a state data recording step of recording state data in a transport packet format on the program recording device. And a state information collecting method. 12. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a program recording apparatus that receives the digital broadcast, outputs the video and audio, and records the received program in a transport packet format. A state information collection program for executing a state information collection method. 13. A computer-readable recording medium storing the status information collection program according to claim 12.