JP2003333441A - Broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a broadcast receiver which makes a scanning process at a high speed to acquire channel-select information data and program information data of all broadcast stations, thereby reducing the scanning time. <P>SOLUTION: Two systems of front ends 101, 102 are provided and a frequency band to be scanned is divided into two bands. Each division frequency band is parallel-scanned with the two systems of front ends. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a broadcast receiving apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of a conventional digital broadcast (television broadcast) receiving apparatus. For terrestrial digital television broadcasting, the reception frequency range is UHF 13ch-
It is specified as 62 ch (470 MHz to 770 MHz). A tuner 601-1 that receives an RF signal in the reception frequency range as an input and tunes to a desired broadcast station is provided as a part of the front end 601. Tuner 6
The tuning frequency (channel) for 01-1 is specified by the user preset (for example, numbers 1 to 12).
When a button is pressed, that is, when a user input device 604 such as a remote controller or a touch panel is operated, an operation signal from the device 604 (a signal in which the numbers 1 to 12 are pressed) is sent to the microcomputer 6
03 user input means 603-1 receives, and the channel selection means 603-2 of the microcomputer 603 controls according to the received operation signal. The broadcasting station-frequency etc. information table corresponding to the preset number is stored in advance in the channel memory 605, and the microcomputer 603 can instantly instruct the tuner 601-1.

The IF signal frequency-converted by the tuner 601-1 is supplied to a demodulation unit 601-2 which is also a part of the front end 601, and this demodulation unit 601-2 regulates digital terrestrial broadcasting in Japan. The modulated OFDM modulated signal is demodulated into an MPEG transport stream (TS) signal. The demodulation time can be shortened by giving the demodulation unit 601-2 the values of the transmission mode and the guard interval that are the modulation parameters of the OFDM modulated signal during demodulation. By recording the values of the transmission mode and the guard interval in the channel memory 605 in the same manner as the frequency, the microcomputer 603 instructs the demodulator 601-2 to set the transmission mode and the guard interval at the same time as instructing the tuner 601-1. It becomes possible to instruct.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a broadcasting station-frequency etc. information table corresponding to a preset number stored in the channel memory 605.

In the MPEG TS decoder 602-1 in the back end 602, a TS signal in which a packet signal of variable length is multiplexed is input, and video data (PES:
Packetized Elementary Str
voice), voice data (PES: Packetized)
The Elementary Stream) and the section (Section) are separated.

The above video data and audio data are respectively I
D (packet ID) is assigned and the system is identifiable. The section is a PSI (Progr) that includes information necessary for channel selection, such as which video data ID and audio data ID the broadcast to be selected is transmitted.
am Specific Information)
And SI (Service) including information necessary to create an electronic program guide (EPG) such as what kind of program is being broadcast at that broadcasting station and what is the future broadcasting schedule.
Information) is a data format that can be transmitted. Packet IDs are also assigned to PSI and SI according to their types. The section decoding means 603-3 of the microcomputer 603 designates the packet ID of the desired PSI and SI to the MPEG TS decoder 602-1 and designates the designated PSI and SI.
Section containing PSI, S
I is extracted and analyzed.

The tuning means 603-2 of the microcomputer 603 is
The PSI is extracted and analyzed through the section decoding means 603-3, and the video data ID and audio data ID obtained from the PSI are specified to the MPEG TS decoder 602-1. According to the specified video data ID and audio data ID, the MPEG TS decoder 602-1 separates the video data and audio data from the TS signal and
Input to the decoder 602-2.

The MPEG AV decoder 602-2 decodes video / audio data, and the video signal is a video image multiplex /
Video signal output unit 602-4 via the switching unit 602-3
The audio signal is input to the audio signal output unit 602-5.

In PSI, NIT (Network)
There is an information table called the Information Table). This table stores values of frequencies, transmission modes, and guard intervals associated with network names (which may be considered synonymous with broadcasting station names).
The data of these frequencies and the like are obtained in the process of scanning to be described later, separated and extracted from the TS signal, and compared and referenced (for example, the frequency of a desired broadcasting station), and then the channel memory 605. Written in.

The data sent in the section contains the S required to create the electronic program guide (EPG) as described above.
I will also be sent. As an information table necessary for creating an electronic program guide, EIT (Event Information)
on Table). The microcomputer 603 instructs the MPEG TS decoder 602-1 to separate the section including the EIT by the section decoding means 603-3, and the section decoding means 603-3 extracts the EIT from the separated section. Analyze and acquire desired program information data. Since these program information data are the program information subsequent to the current broadcast program as a reference, they are contents updated at the end of the program and, unlike the data stored in the channel memory 605, are held in the RAM. The data. The RAM is shown here as an EPG database memory 606 in distinction from the non-volatile channel memory 605. The program information registration means 603-4 writes the program information data in the EPG database memory 606.

The user inputs an EP using the user input device 604.
When the G display command is issued, the user input means 603-1 of the microcomputer 603 receives the EPG display command, and the EPG display command is issued.
The graphic display unit 603-5 is used by the graphic generation unit 6
02-6, the EPG database memory 60
The image of the electronic program guide is generated based on 6. Further, the video image multiplexing / switching unit 602-3 is operated to multiplex the electronic program guide image created by the graphic generating unit 602-6 with the video signal (the transparent image is superimposed on the video. View) or switch (only video or image is displayed).

In order to realize the above-described channel selection and electronic program guide with high responsiveness, the channel memory 60 is used.
5 and the EPG database memory 606 need to be written with appropriate data in advance. In order to realize the above-mentioned channel selection function when the frequency or the like is not known in advance, it is necessary to perform scanning in which tuning is continuously performed from the lowest frequency to the highest frequency specified in broadcasting.
Further, it is necessary to perform scanning and rewrite it to the latest EPG data in order to simultaneously display programs of all stations being broadcast, as in newspaper radio / TV sections.

Scanning for frequency acquisition and E
Since the scanning for acquiring PG data has different purposes, it is possible to operate them separately, but here, the case where they are executed simultaneously will be described.

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart in the case of scanning all frequencies. The following processing is performed by the front end scanning control unit 603-6 shown in FIG. (1) Set the first frequency (step 801). (2) The tuner 601-1 executes tuning (step 802). (3) The demodulation unit 601-2 estimates the transmission mode and the guard interval according to the OFDM demodulation procedure (step 803). (4) The demodulation unit 601-2 performs FFT processing according to the transmission mode and the guard interval, and attempts OFDM synchronization (step 804). (5) If the synchronization cannot be established, the process jumps to the next step for determining whether or not there is a frequency (step 809) (step 80).
5). (6) When the synchronization is established, the demodulation unit 601-2 displays the TMCC
Is received and decoded, error correction is performed based on TMCC, and MP
It is decoded into an EG TS signal (step 806). (7) The frequency, transmission mode, and guard interval obtained in the above process are temporarily stored. (8) The section decoding means 603-3 decodes the NIT from the output of the MPEG TS decoder 602-1,
The contents are compared with the contents of (7) and stored in the channel memory 605 by the frequency registration unit 603-7 (step 807). (9) From the output of the MPEG TS decoder 602-1, the section decoding means 603-3 decodes the EIT and the like to decode the data necessary for the electronic program guide, and the program information registration means 6
03-4, it is saved in the EPG database memory 606 (step 808). (10) The presence or absence of the next frequency is determined (step 80
9), if not present, end. (11) Set the next frequency and return to (2) (step 810). (12) Repeat until the last frequency.

[0015]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention NIT and EIT
In the terrestrial digital broadcasting, only the information of its own station is transmitted in the TS transmitted by each broadcasting station. This is because when the information of all stations is multiplexed, the ratio of the section to the transmission band becomes high, and there is a problem in the transmission band (I want to send the transmission rate of video data and audio data at a rate as high as possible). This is because there are operational problems such as the organization of the organization and who will manage it. Therefore,
If you need data for all channels, you need to scan. Moreover, in the case of EIT, since the data is updated in program units, it is necessary to scan frequently. However, since the program (video / audio) cannot be viewed during scanning, it is desired that scanning be completed in the shortest possible time. Further, particularly when the vehicle-mounted receiving device performs reliable scanning, reception may be missed. Therefore, it is desirable to perform the scanning while the vehicle is stopped in a place with a stable reception state and a good view. In this case as well, there is a great demand for scanning in a short time.

However, the scanning method is an extension of the method used in analog broadcasting, but there is a problem that digital broadcasting takes much longer than analog broadcasting. That is, it takes time for FFT processing and synchronization confirmation, and after that, there is processing in the demodulation unit such as error correction and deinterleave processing. Also, EI
T and the like are transmitted periodically, and the transmission cycle takes several seconds (depending on operation). At worst, you have to wait for that cycle. Therefore, it takes a very long time to perform the above processing over a wide range from UHF 13ch to 62ch.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
An object of the present invention is to provide a broadcast receiving device capable of processing scanning for obtaining tuning information data and program information data of all broadcasting stations at high speed and shortening scanning time.

[0018]

According to the broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of front ends each consisting of a tuner and a demodulation unit and a frequency band to be scanned are divided by the number of front ends. Data acquisition means for acquiring channel selection information data and program information data of all broadcasting stations by performing parallel scanning processing on each of the divided frequency bands by the plurality of front ends.

In a preferred form, the data acquisition means includes a plurality of front-end scanning control means for controlling parallel scanning processing of the plurality of front-ends and a single signal-processing means for processing output signals of the plurality of front-ends. A decoder for analyzing the decoder output to obtain the tuning information data and the program information data, and a memory for storing the tuning information data and the program information data obtained by the decoding means,
Control means for controlling the operation of sharing the single decoder with the plurality of front ends.

Further, as another preferred embodiment, the data acquisition means is connected to a plurality of front-end scanning control means for controlling parallel scanning processing of the plurality of front-ends and each output of the plurality of front-ends. And a plurality of decoders for processing the output signals of the front end, a plurality of decoding means for analyzing the outputs of the plurality of decoders to obtain the tuning information data and the program information data, and a plurality of the decoding means. A single memory for storing the tuning information data and the program information data acquired in step S1, and control for controlling the operation of sharing the single memory with the plurality of front ends, the plurality of decoders and the plurality of decoding means. And means.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an embodiment of a broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a broadcast receiving device according to the present invention. The broadcast receiving apparatus of the first embodiment is greatly different from the conventional example of FIG. 8 in that it has two front ends. That is, the tuner and the demodulation unit are collectively called a front end, and this front end is the first front end 101 and the second front end 102.
There are two systems. The first front end 101 includes a first tuner 101-1 and a first demodulator 101-2. The second front end 102 includes a second tuner 102-1 and a second demodulation unit 102-2.

The outputs of the first front end 101 and the second front end 102 are connected to the input of one MPEG TS decoder 602-1 in the back end 602 via the TS selection unit 103.

Further, in the microcomputer 603, a first front-end scanning control means 603-8 and a second front-end scanning control means 603-9 are provided corresponding to the two front ends. T
S selection circuit control means 603-10 and synchronization control means 603
-11 is added.

The other structure of the microcomputer 603, that is, the user input means 603-1, the channel selection means 603-2,
The section decoding means 603-3, the program information registration means 603-4, the EPG creation display means 603-5, and the frequency registration means 603-7 are the same as in the conventional example of FIG. Further, the configuration of the back end 602, that is, MPEG
TS decoder 602-1, MPEG AV decoder 60
2-2, the audio signal output unit 602-5, the graphic generation unit 602-6, the video image multiplexing / switching unit 602-3, and the video signal output unit 602-4 are also the same as those in the conventional example of FIG. Further, the user input device 604 and the channel memory 60
5. The EPG database memory 606 is also the same as the conventional example of FIG. These same parts are designated by the same reference numerals as in the conventional example of FIG. 8 as described above.

Two systems of front ends 101 and 102
Is used for combined diversity reception in the normal reception state. Since the combined diversity reception is not a feature of the present invention, the combined diversity algorithm will not be mentioned here. However, in the case of combining in a carrier unit of OFDM, for example, the first front end 101 is a master,
If the second front end 102 has a slave relationship,
From the second demodulation unit 102-2 of the second front end 102, the data after the FFT processing is the first front end 101.
Is input to the first demodulation unit 101-2. Then, the first demodulation unit 101-2 performs synthesis for each carrier, and after the synthesis, the first demodulation unit 101-2 performs signal processing,
The first demodulation unit 101-2 outputs the MPEG TS signal. In addition, the TS selection unit 103 is always configured to select the output from the first front end 101.
The TS signal output from the selection unit 103 is the backend 6
02, and video and audio are decoded. At this time, the tuning means 6 of the microcomputer 603 is applied to both the first front end 101 and the second front end 102.
03-2 indicates the same frequency, transmission mode, guard interval, and scan mode instruction is OF.
F, that is, the diversity reception mode is instructed. Further, the TS selection unit 103 is instructed by the TS selection circuit control means 603-10 of the microcomputer 603 to select the output from the first front end 101.

On the other hand, when the user gives a scanning command by the user input device 604, the user input means 603-1 of the microcomputer 603 receives the scanning execution command and sends it to the first front end 101 and the second front end 102. , Scan mode instruction is ON,
That is, the scanning mode is instructed, the relationship between the master and the slave is canceled, and each can be controlled independently. Then, in the broadcast receiving apparatus of the present embodiment, the frequency band to be scanned is divided into two, and each divided frequency band is divided by the independently controlled first and second front ends 101 and 102, that is, Parallel scanning processing is performed by the two systems of front ends to acquire NIT and EIT of all broadcasting stations.

The flow of scanning in the first front end 101 in that case is shown in FIG. 2 and will be described below. The following processing is performed by the first front end scanning control unit 603-8. (1) The first frequency in the first half obtained by dividing the frequency band to be scanned into two is set (step 20).
1). (2) The first tuner 101-1 executes tuning (step 202). (3) The first demodulation unit 101-2 estimates the transmission mode and the guard interval according to the OFDM demodulation procedure (step 203). (4) The first demodulation unit 101-2 performs FFT processing according to the transmission mode and the guard interval, and attempts OFDM synchronization (step 204). (5) If the synchronization cannot be established, the process jumps to the next step for determining whether or not there is a frequency (step 210) (step 20).
5). (6) When the synchronization is established, the first demodulation unit 101-2 transmits T
MCC is decoded, error correction is performed based on TMCC, and M
Decode to PEG TS signal. (7) The back end 602 (more specifically, the MPE in the back end 602) is sent to the synchronization control unit 603-11.
It asks for permission to use the GTS decoder 602-1) (step 206). (8) Back end 602 (MPEG TS decoder 6
If 02-1) is already in use, it is waiting there. (9) When the usage permission is issued by the synchronization control unit 603-11, the TS selection circuit control unit 603-10 is caused to switch the TS selection in the TS selection unit 103 to the first front end 101 side, and the first Front end 101 and back end 602 (MPEG TS decoder 602-
1) Connect with. (10) Temporarily store the frequency, transmission mode, and guard interval obtained in the above process. (11) The section decoding means 603-3 decodes the NIT from the output of the MPEG TS decoder 602-1,
Compared with the contents of (10), frequency registration means 603-7
Then, it is saved in the channel memory 605 (step 207). (12) The section decoding means 603-3 decodes the EIT and the like from the output of the MPEG TS decoder 602-1,
Data necessary for the electronic program guide is decoded and stored in the EPG database memory 606 by the program information registration means 603-4 (step 208). (13) Release the use permission of the back end 602 (MPEGTS decoder 602-1) to the synchronization control means 603-11 (step 209). (14) The presence or absence of the next frequency is determined (step 21
0), if not present, end. (15) Set the next frequency and return to (2) (step 211). (16) Repeat until the last frequency in the first half of the frequency band divided into two.

FIG. 3 shows the flow of scanning in the second front end 102. First front end 101
The second front end scanning control means 603-9 performs the following processing shown in FIG. (1) The first frequency in the latter half of the frequency band to be scanned is divided into two (step 30).
1). (2) The second tuner 102-1 executes tuning (step 302). (3) The second demodulation unit 102-2 estimates the transmission mode and the guard interval according to the OFDM demodulation procedure (step 303). (4) The second demodulation unit 102-2 performs FFT processing according to the transmission mode and the guard interval, and attempts OFDM synchronization (step 304). (5) If the synchronization cannot be established, the process jumps to the next step for determining whether or not there is a frequency (step 310) (step 30).
5). (6) When the synchronization is established, the second demodulation unit 102-2 outputs T
MCC is decoded, error correction is performed based on TMCC, and M
Decode to PEG TS signal. (7) The synchronization control unit 603-11 is requested to use the back end 602 (MPEG TS decoder 602-1) (step 306). (8) Back end 602 (MPEG TS decoder 6
If 02-1) is already in use, it is waiting there. (9) When the usage permission is issued by the synchronization control unit 603-11, the TS selection circuit control unit 603-10 is caused to switch the TS selection in the TS selection unit 103 to the second front end 102 side, and the second Front end 102 and back end 602 (MPEG TS decoder 602-
1) Connect with. (10) Temporarily store the frequency, transmission mode, and guard interval obtained in the above process. (11) The section decoding means 603-3 decodes the NIT from the output of the MPEG TS decoder 602-1,
Compared with the contents of (10), frequency registration means 603-7
Then, it is saved in the channel memory 605 (step 307). (12) The section decoding means 603-3 decodes the EIT and the like from the output of the MPEG TS decoder 602-1,
Data necessary for the electronic program guide is decoded and stored in the EPG database memory 606 by the program information registration means 603-4 (step 308). (13) Release the use permission of the back end 602 (MPEGTS decoder 602-1) to the synchronization control means 603-11 (step 309). (14) The presence or absence of the next frequency is determined (step 31
0), if not present, end. (15) Set the next frequency and return to (2) (step 311). (16) Repeat until the last frequency in the latter half of the frequency band divided into two.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic diagrams in which the conventional scanning and the scanning of the present invention are compared on the time axis. For ease of understanding, the case where the total number of channels is 8 is described. FIG. 4 shows f1, f3, f
6, f7 and f8 are broadcast, and FIG. 5 shows a case where all channels are broadcast.

T1 indicates the time until the synchronization is fixed, that is, the time until the OFDM synchronization determination (steps 205 and 305) in FIGS. 2 and 3. When the OFDM synchronization is not fixed, that is, not broadcasted (see, for example, FIG.
Channel f2) (reference numeral 401) of the channel shifts to the next channel. t2 is the back end 602 (MPEG
After the usage permission of the TS decoder 602-1) has been granted (steps 206 and 306), the TS selection is performed by the TS selection unit 103, and the back end 602 (MPEG TS decoder 602-1) and section decoding means 603-3 are selected.
Obtain NIT, EIT, etc. at the channel memory 60
5 shows the time until the frequency data is stored and the program information data is stored in the EPG database memory 606 (steps 207 to 209, 307 to 30).
9). Both t1 and t2 are not constant times. Especially t
With respect to No. 2, there is a possibility that NIT, EIT, etc. may be acquired at the timing immediately after the MPEG TS signal is input to the back end 602 (MPEG TS decoder 602-1). Here, for ease of understanding,
It is shown at a certain time. In FIG. 4, S (reference numeral 402) is a back end 602 (MPEG TS decoder 602-
1) shows the waiting time until the use is permitted.

The synchronization control means 603-11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Backend 602 (MP
Since there is only one EG TS decoder 602-1),
When performing parallel processing in the scanning mode, the first front end 101 and the second front end 102 need to share the back end 602 (MPEG TS decoder 602-1). As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the synchronization control flag is 1, the back end 602 (MPEG
The TS decoder 602-1) can be used.
For example, when OFDM synchronization is established in the first front end 101, the first front end scanning control means 603-8 instructs the back end 602 (MPEG TS decoder 602-1) to the synchronization control means 603-11.
Request permission (P command) (for example, reference numeral 40 in FIG. 4)
3). If the synchronization control means 603-11 determines that it is usable (synchronization control flag = 1), the first front end scanning control means 603-8 continues and the TS selection circuit control means 603-10 causes the first front end. 101
The output is backend 602 (MPEG TS decoder 6
02-1), and when the acquisition of NIT, EIT, etc., the storage of frequency data, and program information data is completed, a bank end use end command (V command) is issued (for example, reference numeral 404 in FIG. 4). . On the other hand, when the P instruction is unusable (synchronization control flag = 0) (for example, reference numeral 405 in FIG. 4), the synchronization control unit 603-11 determines that the request source
Here, the second front end scanning control means 6
Put 03-9 in standby mode. From the requester's perspective, it can be said that it is a reserved state. When it becomes ready for use (eg, Figure 4
406) of the request, the request source is made to restart the processing. The synchronization control unit 603-11 is standardly installed as a function of an OS (operating system), and is easy to realize.

According to the broadcast receiving apparatus of the first embodiment described above, the frequency band to be scanned is 2
Divide and divide each divided frequency band into two systems of front end 1
Since the parallel scanning process is performed at 01 and 102, the following effects can be obtained. In order to realize channel selection and EPG with high responsiveness, scanning for acquiring various necessary parameters (NIT and EIT) in advance can be processed at high speed. -The scanning time can be shortened.・ It is possible to preset channels in a short time.・ It is possible to acquire the data required to create the electronic program guides for all stations in a short time.

Further, according to the above broadcast receiving apparatus, the single MPEG TS decoder 602-1 is shared by the two front ends 101 and 102, but the synchronization control means 6
Since the sharing control is favorably performed by using the standby by 03-11, even if the MPEG TS decoder has one system, all N from the front ends 101 and 102 of the two systems can be used.
IT and EIT can be reliably acquired.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment is a storage type service, that is, an MPEG TS signal is recorded on a hard disk or the like at the back during normal reception (viewing) (that is, video / audio recording / recording, data broadcasting content Recording) is a broadcast receiving device that is compatible with.
Therefore, the front end is the first front end 10
In addition to the two systems of the first and second front ends 102, the MPEG TS decoder in the back end 602 has a first MPEG TS decoder 602-7 and a second MP.
Two systems of EG TS decoder 602-8 are provided. The output of the first front end 101 is the first MPEG.
The second is directly connected to the input of the TS decoder 602-7.
The output of the front end 102 is directly connected to the input of the second MPEG TS decoder 602-8.

Further, the first MPEG TS decoder 602
-7 and the output of the second MPEG TS decoder 602-8 are selectively MP-selected by the PES selector 602-9.
The internal storage device 602-10, such as a hard disk, is connected to the EGAV decoder 602-2, and an internal storage device 602-10 such as a hard disk is used to record the back MPEG 6 signal (an MPEG TS signal different from the signal being viewed).
It is provided in 02. On the other hand, in the microcomputer 603, a PES selection circuit control unit 603-12 for controlling the PES selection unit 602-9 is provided, and further, as the section decoding unit, first and second MPEG TS decoders 602-7, 602. Corresponding to −8, two first section decoding means 603-13 and second section decoding means 603-14 are provided.

The other structure of the microcomputer 603, that is, the first front end scanning control means 603.
-8, second front end scanning control means 60
3-9, user input means 603-1, channel selection means 603-
2, synchronization control means 603-11, program information registration means 60
3-4, EPG creation / display means 603-5, and frequency registration means 603-7 are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. Further, the configuration of the back end 602 other than the above, that is, the MPEG AV decoder 602-2, the audio signal output unit 602-5, the graphic generation unit 602-6, the video image multiplexing / switching unit 602-3, the video signal output unit 602.
-4 is also the same as in the first embodiment of FIG. further,
User input device 604, channel memory 605, EP
The G database memory 606 is also the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. However, as will be described later, the synchronization control means 603-11 of the microcomputer 603 uses the channel memory 60.
5 and sharing control of the EPG database memory 606. Further, the TS selection unit 103 and the TS selection circuit control means 603-10 of FIG. 1 are omitted in FIG.

In the second embodiment as described above,
Since the front end is also provided with two systems, at the time of scanning, as in the first embodiment of FIG. 1,
The frequency band to be scanned is divided into two, and each divided frequency band is subjected to parallel scanning processing by two front ends.

The flow of scanning in the first front end 101 in that case is shown in FIG. 7 and will be described below. The following processing is performed by the first front end scanning control unit 603-8. (1) The first frequency in the first half of the frequency band to be scanned is divided into two (step 50).
1). (2) The first tuner 101-1 executes tuning (step 502). (3) The first demodulation unit 101-2 estimates the transmission mode and the guard interval according to the OFDM demodulation procedure (step 503). (4) The first demodulation unit 101-2 performs FFT processing according to the transmission mode and the guard interval, and attempts OFDM synchronization (step 504). (5) If synchronism cannot be established, the process jumps to the next step for determining whether or not there is a frequency (step 510) (step 50).
5). (6) When the synchronization is established, the first demodulation unit 101-2 transmits T
MCC is decoded, error correction is performed based on TMCC, and M
Decode to PEG TS signal. (7) The frequency, transmission mode, and guard interval obtained in the above process are temporarily stored. (8) The NIT is decoded by the first section decoding means 603-13 from the output of the first MPEG TS decoder 602-7, compared with the contents of (7), and temporarily stored. (9) The first section decoding means 603-13 decodes the EIT and the like from the output of the first MPEG TS decoder 602-7, decodes the data required for the electronic program guide, and temporarily stores it. (10) The synchronization control unit 603-11 is requested to permit access to the channel memory 605 and the EPG database memory 606 (step 506). (11) If access is already in progress, it is waiting there. (12) When access permission is issued by the synchronization control means 603-11, the content of (8) is added to the frequency registration means 60.
It is saved in the channel memory 605 by 3-7 (step 507). (13) When access permission is issued by the synchronization control means 603-11, the content of (9) is changed to the program information registration means 60.
The data is stored in the EPG database memory 606 by 3-4 (step 508). (14) The permission for access to the channel memory 605 and the EPG database memory 606 is released to the synchronization control unit 603-11 (step 509). (15) The presence or absence of the next frequency is determined (step 51
0), if not present, end. (16) Set the next frequency and return to (2) (step 511). (17) Repeat until the last frequency in the first half of the frequency band divided into two.

Although not described, the second front end 10
The scanning flow in 2 is also the same. In the second embodiment as well, the frequency band to be scanned is divided into two, and the divided frequency bands are subjected to parallel scanning processing by the two front ends 101 and 102. Similar to the first embodiment, NIT and EIT of all broadcasting stations can be obtained at high speed.
Further, in the case of the second embodiment, a single memory (channel memory 605 and EPG database memory 606) is used as the two systems of front ends 101, 102, M.
Although shared by the PEG TS decoders 602-7, 602-8 and the section decoding means 603-13, 603-14, the sharing control is favorably performed by the control using the standby by the synchronization control means 603-11, and from two systems. Can be favorably stored in a single memory (channel memory 605 and EPG database memory 606).

In the above embodiment, two front ends are provided, the frequency band to be scanned is divided into two, and the number of parallel scanning processes is set to two. If three or more systems are provided, the number of frequency bands to be scanned is divided into three or more, and the parallel scanning process is performed with a parallel number of three or more, a faster scanning process becomes possible.

[0041]

As described above in detail, according to the broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention, the scanning for obtaining the tuning information data and the program information data of all broadcasting stations is processed at high speed, and the scanning time is shortened. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of scanning in a first front end according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of scanning in the second front end according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram comparing the scanning of the conventional example and the scanning of the present invention on the time axis, showing channels f1 and f.
The figure which shows the case where 3, f6, f7, and f8 are broadcast.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram comparing the scanning of the conventional example and the scanning of the present invention on the time axis, showing the case where all channels are broadcast.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of a broadcast receiving device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the flow of scanning in the first front end according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional digital broadcast receiving apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a broadcast station-frequency etc. information table corresponding to preset numbers recorded in a channel memory.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for scanning all frequencies in the conventional digital broadcast receiving apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 first front end 102 second front end 101-1, 102-1 tuner 101-2, 102-2 demodulation unit 602 back end 602-1 MPEG TS decoder 602-7 first MPEG TS decoder 602-8 second MPEG TS decoder 603 Microcomputer 603-8 First front end scanning control means 603-9 Second front end scanning control means 603-3 Section decoding means 603-13 First section decoding means 603-14 Second section decoding means 603-11 Synchronization Control means 604 User input device 605 Channel memory 606 EPG database memory

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 7/025 H04N 7/08 A 7/03 7/035 F term (reference) 5C025 AA11 AA24 AA25 BA25 BA27 BA28 BA30 CA09 CB09 DA01 DA05 5C063 AB03 AB07 AC01 AC05 CA11 CA23 DA03 DA07 DA13 EB33 5J103 AA11 BA03 CB05 HA03 HD05 5K061 BB07 DD11 JJ07

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of front ends, each of which includes a tuner and a demodulation unit, a frequency band to be scanned is divided by the number of the front ends, and each divided frequency band is parallelized by the plurality of front ends. A broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: a data acquisition unit that acquires channel selection information data and program information data of all broadcasting stations by performing a scanning process. 2. The data acquisition means includes a plurality of front end scanning control means for controlling parallel scanning processing of the plurality of front ends, and a single decoder for signal processing output signals of the plurality of front ends. A decoding means for analyzing the output of the decoder to obtain the tuning information data and the program information data; a memory for storing the tuning information data and the program information data obtained by the decoding means; The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a control unit that controls an operation of sharing the decoder of (1) with the plurality of front ends. 3. The data acquisition means is connected to a plurality of front-end scanning control means for controlling parallel scanning processing of the plurality of front-ends, and each output of the plurality of front-ends. A plurality of decoders for signal processing, a plurality of decoding means for analyzing outputs of the plurality of decoders to obtain the tuning information data and program information data; and the selection means obtained by the plurality of decoding means. A single memory for storing the station information data and the program information data; and a control means for controlling the operation of sharing the single memory with the plurality of front ends, the plurality of decoders and the plurality of decoding means. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, which is characterized in that.