JP2004343790A - Transmitters, and transmitting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a device in which a receiving frequency can be set for each area in a receiver in the situation that it is highly possible that frequencies to be used for broadcasting are different for each of areas (prefectures) in terrestrial wave digital broadcasting. <P>SOLUTION: On a transmitting side, a transport stream multiplexing part 105 is provided for multiplexing an area identifier with which an area is identified, and a frequency which is corresponding to the area identifier and receivable in the area, on an NIT and transmitting the NIT. On a receiving side, program arrangement information with the area identifier and the frequency stored therein is extracted from data transmitted from the transmitting side, the area identifier and the frequency receivable in the area which is indicated with the area identifier, are extracted from the extracted program arrangement information, a frequency belonging to an area identifier matched with user's designation on the area identifier of the relevant area is extracted, and the frequency is stored. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital broadcast transmission / reception method and a transmitter in a digital broadcast transmission / reception system, and a transmission method. In particular, even in a terrestrial digital broadcast in which a different frequency is used for each region and each region, the receiver can receive the signal. The present invention relates to an apparatus for providing a configuration for setting a frequency quickly and automatically.

  Satellite digital broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting services have been started in the United States, Europe, Japan, and the like since the late 1990s (for example, see Patent Document 1). A general configuration of a digital broadcast receiver used for these services is shown in FIG. 12 and its operation will be described.

  The digital broadcast radio wave is received by the antenna 1, and the tuner 2, demodulator 3, and error correction unit 4 at the subsequent stage perform detection and demodulation to reproduce the MPEG-2 transport stream. Since the structure of the MPEG2 transport stream is described in the MPEG2 system standard (ISO / IEC13818-1), the description is omitted here.

  Next, video packets and audio packets of the channel (service) selected by the user are extracted by the transport decoder 5, transferred to the video decoder 6 and the audio decoder 7, respectively, and decoded by the video decoder 6 and the audio decoder 7, respectively. The digital-to-analog converter 8 and the second analog-to-digital converter 9 convert the analog signal into an analog signal. The display 10 outputs an image, and the speaker 11 outputs audio.

In the frequency memory 12, correspondence between receivable frequencies and physical channel numbers is written in advance. The physical channel number is a channel number corresponding to one frequency on a one-to-one basis, and corresponds to a transponder (radio wave repeater) number in satellite digital broadcasting. The control unit 13 controls the operation of the entire receiver.
JP-A-8-298647

  The conventional digital broadcast transmission / reception method and digital broadcast transmission / reception device are configured as described above.For example, considering a satellite digital broadcast having a service area of Japan, the frequency for transmitting the transport stream is Since it is the same throughout the country, if the receiver is dedicated to domestic use, the reception frequency is uniquely determined. Therefore, in this case, the reception frequency can be stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) of the receiver.

  By the way, terrestrial broadcasting in Japan is also planned to be digitized in the early 2000s. In terrestrial digital broadcasting in Japan, as in analog broadcasting, each region such as Kinki and Chubu, It is highly possible that the frequency used for broadcasting differs for each region (prefecture region) such as Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo prefectures. Therefore, it is necessary for the receiver to have a mechanism that can set a different reception frequency for each region or each region. However, in the current satellite digital broadcast receiver, one program is provided at a single frequency. Such a mechanism is not prepared, and at present, there is no proposal for a configuration when terrestrial broadcasting is digitized.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem. In terrestrial digital broadcasting in which different frequencies are used for each region and each region, the receiver side quickly and automatically sets a receivable frequency. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcast transmission / reception method and a digital broadcast transmission / reception system capable of performing the same.

  A transmitter according to claim 1 of the present invention multiplexes data including area identification information for identifying a predetermined area and information on frequencies receivable in the predetermined area into NIT and transmits the data at a predetermined frequency. To be performed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the transmitter according to the first aspect, the data is a part of a transport stream of a terrestrial digital television broadcast. .

  Further, in the transmission method according to claim 3 of the present invention, data including area identification information for identifying a predetermined area and information on a frequency receivable in the predetermined area is multiplexed in the NIT and the data is multiplexed at a predetermined frequency. Transmitting.

  A transmission method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the transmission method according to the third aspect, wherein the data is a part of a transport stream of terrestrial digital television broadcasting. .

  According to the present invention, on the transmitting side, data including area identification information for identifying a predetermined area and information on frequencies receivable in the predetermined area are multiplexed in the NIT and transmitted at a predetermined frequency. Therefore, in terrestrial digital broadcasting in which different frequencies are used for different regions and different regions, an effect is obtained in which the receivable frequency can be quickly and automatically set on the receiver side.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a transmitting apparatus for realizing the digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. First, it is assumed that digital broadcasting is performed according to the MPEG2 system standard (ISO / IEC13818-1).

  Reference numeral 101 denotes a PSI generation unit that generates PSI (Program Specific Information), which is information mainly required for channel selection, from program sequence information. Reference numeral 102 denotes an SI generation unit, which generates SI (Service Information) required for a user interface such as an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) in the receiving device from the program arrangement information. PSI is defined by the MPEG2 system standard (ISO / IEC 13818-1), SI is defined by the DVB standard (ETS300 468) in Europe, and ARIB standard (ARIB-STD B10) in Japan.

  Reference numeral 103 denotes a video encoding unit which converts an analog video signal captured from a camera or a VTR into a digital signal, encodes and compresses the digital signal, and generates a video packet (video PES or video ES). An audio encoding unit 104 converts an analog audio signal into a digital audio signal, encodes and compresses the analog audio signal, and generates an audio packet (audio PES or audio ES).

  Reference numeral 105 denotes a transport stream multiplexing unit that implements a second multiplexing unit. The transport stream multiplexing unit 105 converts the data generated by the PSI generation unit 101, the SI generation unit 102, the video encoding unit 103, and the audio encoding unit 104 into a transport packet. And multiplex it into a transport stream. An error correction code adding unit 106 adds an error correction code to the transport stream. Reference numeral 107 denotes a modulator, and OFDM is used as a modulation method in the case of terrestrial digital in Europe and Japan. Reference numeral 108 denotes a transmission antenna unit that emits a radio wave to a transmission path.

  Here, the point on the transmitting side of the present invention lies in the internal configuration of the PSI generation unit 101. Next, FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of the PSI generation unit 101. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes an NIT generation unit, which generates an NIT (Network Information Table). A PAT generation unit 202 generates a PAT (Program Association Table). 203 is a PMT generation unit, which generates a PMT (Program Map Table). A CAT generation unit 204 generates a CAT (Conditional Access Table).

  In the present invention, an identification code (area code) indicating an area and a list of frequencies that can be received in the area are stored in the PSI and transmitted. Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the area code and the reception frequency list are multiplexed on the NIT. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes an area code frequency correspondence information generation unit, which generates area frequency information indicating the correspondence between an area code and a receivable frequency in the area.

  Reference numeral 302 denotes an NIT multiplexing unit that implements a first multiplexing unit, and multiplexes local frequency information with information that should be conventionally included in the NIT to generate an NIT. The information stored in the NIT has been described in detail in the DVB standard (ETS300 468) and the ARIB standard (ARIB-STD B10), and a description thereof will be omitted. Of course, the local frequency information may be multiplexed into a table other than SI and PSI or a packet other than SI and PSI. FIG. 4 shows an example of local frequency information in the form of a descriptor. This descriptor is temporarily referred to as an area frequency descriptor (area_frequency_descriptor). The name of the descriptor is not limited to this, and another name may be used. In FIG. 4, “descriptor_tag” is a tag value (number) uniquely indicating a regional frequency descriptor, and a tag value other than a conventionally used tag value or a tag value reserved in the standard may be assigned. . descriptor_length indicates the total byte length of the descriptor immediately following this field. area_code_number indicates the number (1 or more) of area codes included in this descriptor.

  Area_code is an area code, for example, an area code of a telephone, a part of an area code, a postal code, a part of a postal code, an emergency alert broadcast of analog broadcasting (Article 9-3 of the Radio Equipment Regulations). No. 5, general rules such as "region codes" used in the Radio Station Operation Regulations Article 138 and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications Notification 60, Article 405) may be used. service_id is an organization channel number that can be received in the area indicated by area_code. frequency is a receivable frequency in the area indicated by area_code. Note that this regional frequency descriptor does not have to be exactly the same as the data structure shown in FIG. 4 as long as the above information is included.

  Next, the receiving side used in the digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a receiving device used in the digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 401 denotes an antenna unit which is an interface unit with a transmission line. For example, in the case of terrestrial broadcasting, it is a Yagi antenna or the like and receives radio waves. Reference numeral 402 denotes a tuner unit, in which detection is performed. A digital demodulation unit 403 demodulates an OFDM-modulated stream in the case of terrestrial digital broadcasting scheduled to be broadcast in Japan, for example. An error correction unit 404 performs error correction and outputs a transport packet. A stream separation unit 405 extracts predetermined video packets, audio packets, and other control information from the MPEG2 transport stream. A video decoding unit 406 decompresses and decodes the compressed video data. An audio decoding unit 407 expands and decodes the compressed audio data. Reference numeral 408 denotes a first digital-to-analog converter, which converts the decoded digital video data into an analog video signal (composite signal or component signal). A second digital-to-analog converter 409 converts the decoded digital audio data into an analog audio signal. An image display unit 410 is, for example, a CRT, a liquid crystal display, a PDP, or the like. An audio output unit 411 is, for example, a speaker. A local frequency information extracting unit 412 extracts a local code and a frequency value corresponding to the local code from the program arrangement information. A control unit 413 controls the operation of the entire receiving apparatus. A storage unit 414 stores the correspondence between the organization channel number and the frequency. The storage unit 414 is desirably constituted by a non-volatile memory or the like so that the content is preserved even when the power of the receiving apparatus is turned off. A user interface unit 415 is, for example, an STB (Set Top Box) front panel or a remote controller.

  Hereinafter, an operation of the digital broadcast transmitting / receiving apparatus using the digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method according to the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 6 shows a flow up to the step of storing the receivable frequencies in the processing flow of the receiving method according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 6, in step S 1, NIT is extracted by a stream separation unit 405 from a transport stream demodulated by a tuner unit 402 and a digital demodulation unit 403 and subjected to error correction by an error correction unit 404. Once the NIT is stored.

  Next, the user (viewer) inputs an area code (area_code) using a remote controller or the like. Here, as described above, the area code is, for example, an area code of a telephone number, a postal code or a part of a postal code, or a "area code" used in an emergency alert signal (step S2).

  Next, the control unit 413 extracts, from the regional frequency descriptor multiplexed in the NIT, a list of frequencies and organization channel numbers of the regional codes that match the regional code (area_code) specified by the user (step S3).

  Next, the list of frequencies and channel numbers extracted in step S3 is stored in the storage unit 414 (step S4). Here, FIG. 7 shows an example of a knitting channel number and frequency list stored in the storage unit 414 in the above step S4.

  service_id_1, service_id_2, service_id_3, service_id_4 are organization channel numbers, and f1, f2, f3, f4 are frequencies corresponding to the respective service_id. Of course, the storage unit 414 stores all other receivable channels and their corresponding frequencies.

  Next, processing from the setting of the receivable frequency of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment in storage section 414, to the selection of a knitting channel by the user, and the reproduction and output of video and audio of the knitting channel. 8 is shown in FIG. 8, and the flow of the processing will be described below with reference to FIG.

  First, in step S101, the organization channel number (service_id) received from the user interface unit 415 is specified. Next, the control unit 413 detects a frequency corresponding to the composition channel number (service_id) in the storage unit 414 (step S102).

  Next, the frequency value detected in step S102 is set in the tuner unit 402 and the digital demodulation unit 403, and a transport stream (TS) having a frequency corresponding to the organization channel number specified by the user is received (step S103).

  Next, a PAT is extracted from the received TS by the stream separation unit 405 and the control unit 413 (step S104). Next, the control unit 413 analyzes the PAT and extracts a PMT_PID corresponding to the organization channel number (service_id) specified by the user (step S105).

  In step S106, the control unit 413 sets the stream separation unit 405 to extract the transport packet having the PMT_PID extracted in step S105, that is, the PMT packet, and the stream separation unit 405 extracts the PMT. .

  Next, in step S107, the control unit 413 extracts the PID of the video packet and the PID of the audio packet specified by the user from the PMT, and extracts the packets having these PIDs from the stream separation unit. A video packet PID and an audio packet PID are set for 405.

  Further, in step S108, the video packet and the audio packet extracted by the stream separation unit 405 are transferred to the video decoding unit 406 and the audio decoding unit 407, respectively, decompressed and decoded, then converted into an analog signal, and converted to an analog signal. Display and audio output.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, on the transmitting side, a region code for identifying a region, a receivable frequency in the region, and information on a formation channel number are, for example, NIT ( Network Information Table), multiplex it with other PSI, SI video packets, and audio packets and send it out as a transport stream. On the receiving side, extract the local frequency descriptor from the NIT, From the frequency corresponding to the region code specified by the user, and the list of organization channel numbers are extracted and stored in the memory, so that the frequency that can be received by the receiver in the terrestrial digital broadcasting where the frequency differs for each region Can be quickly set inside the receiver.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method and a digital broadcast transmitting / receiving apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment is characterized in that the data structure of the local frequency descriptor multiplexed in the NIT and the method of storing it in the storage unit 414 on the receiving side are different from the first embodiment.

  The following description focuses on the differences from the first embodiment. FIG. 9 shows the data structure of the regional frequency descriptor according to the second embodiment. In the local frequency descriptor according to the second embodiment, the correspondence between the physical channel number (transport_stream_id) and the frequency is described.

  On the receiving side, the storage section 414 stores the correspondence between physical channel numbers and frequencies, as shown in FIG. FIG. 11 shows a flow of processing from setting a receivable frequency in a storage unit to a user selecting a composition channel and reproducing and outputting video and audio of the composition channel in the receiving apparatus of the present embodiment. Shown in

  In the second embodiment, step S102 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is replaced with step S202 and step S203 described below.

  Hereinafter, steps S202 and S203, which are features of the second embodiment, will be described. In step S202, the control unit 413 determines from the NIT which physical channel (transport_stream_id) the organization channel number (service_id) belongs to.

  Next, in step S203, the control unit 413 extracts a frequency corresponding to the physical channel from the storage unit 414. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, on the transmitting side, an area code for identifying an area, a frequency that can be received in the area, and information of a physical channel number are used as an area frequency descriptor, for example, , Stored in an NIT (Network Information Table), multiplexed with other PSI, SI video packets, and audio packets and transmitted as a transport stream. On the receiving side, a local frequency descriptor is extracted from the NIT, The frequency and the physical channel number list corresponding to the area code specified by the user are extracted from the descriptor, and the list of the physical channel numbers is stored in the memory. The frequency can be set quickly inside the receiver.

  Further, as an example of the digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method according to the present invention, a digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method for outputting a digitized broadcast signal from a transmitting side and receiving the same at a receiving side, Information indicating the correspondence between an area identifier for identifying an area where each program is broadcast and at least one or more frequencies receivable in the area is stored in a program array, which is information necessary for channel selection on the receiving side. It is conceivable to include a step of multiplexing the information on the information and a step of multiplexing the program arrangement information in which the information indicating the correspondence between the area identifier and the frequency is multiplexed on the data to be transmitted.

  Further, in the above digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method, it is conceivable to use all or a part of the area code of the telephone number as the area identifier.

  In the digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method, a method using all or a part of a postal code as the area identifier may be considered.

  Further, in the digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method, a method using an area number of an emergency alert broadcast as the area identifier may be considered.

  Further, as a digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method, a digital broadcast transmitting / receiving method in which a digitized broadcast signal is output from a transmitting side and received by a receiving side, and the digital broadcasting receiving / transmitting method is performed on the receiving side of the digital broadcast. From the incoming digital broadcast data, program arrangement information storing information indicating a correspondence between an area identifier for identifying an area where each program is broadcast and at least one or more frequencies receivable in the area is stored. Extracting, from the extracted program arrangement information, extracting the region identifier and information indicating a receivable frequency dependent on the region identifier, and a user designating a region identifier of the region, From the area identifiers extracted from the program arrangement information, select an area identifier that matches the area identifier specified by the user, Extracting information indicating the receivable frequencies belonging, also conceivable to include a step of storing the frequency based on the information indicating the receivable frequencies above extraction.

  Further, a digital broadcast transmitting / receiving system according to the present invention is a digital broadcast transmitting / receiving system having a transmitter for digitizing and transmitting a broadcast signal, and a receiver for receiving the digitized broadcast signal. Is multiplexed with information indicating the correspondence between an area identifier for identifying an area in which broadcasting is performed and at least one or more frequencies receivable in the area, on program arrangement information which is information necessary for channel selection on the receiving side. A first multiplexing means; and a second multiplexing means for multiplexing program sequence information in which information indicating correspondence between the area identifier and the frequency is multiplexed on data to be transmitted. Program sequence information extracting means for extracting, from digital broadcast data output from a transmitter, program sequence information storing information indicating the area identifier and receivable frequencies, From the issued program arrangement information, a region frequency extracting means for extracting the region identifier and information indicating a receivable frequency in the region indicated by the region identifier, and for the user to specify the region identifier of the region. A region specifying means for selecting, from among the region identifiers extracted from the program sequence information, a region identifier that matches the region identifier specified by the user, and extracting information indicating a receivable frequency dependent on the region identifier; It is also conceivable to include a receiving frequency extracting means for storing the received frequency and a storing means for storing a frequency based on the information indicating the extracted receivable frequency.

  According to the transmitter and the transmission method of the present invention, data including area identification information for identifying a predetermined area and information on frequencies receivable in the predetermined area are multiplexed in the NIT and the data is multiplexed at the predetermined frequency. By transmitting, even in the terrestrial digital broadcasting in which different frequencies are used for each region and each region, the frequency that can be received by the receiver can be set quickly and automatically.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a transmitting device of the digital broadcast transmitting / receiving device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a detailed internal configuration of a PSI generation unit included in the transmission device according to Embodiment 1; It is a figure showing the internal composition of the NIT generation part which constitutes the above-mentioned PSI generation part. It is a figure showing the data structure of the regional frequency descriptor described in the above-mentioned NIT generation part. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a receiving device of the digital broadcast transmitting / receiving device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of processing up to frequency storage in the digital broadcast receiving device. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state of data storage in a storage unit in the receiving device of the digital broadcast transmitting / receiving device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of processing from channel number designation to video display and audio output in the digital broadcast receiving device. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a regional frequency descriptor described in an NIT generation unit of a digital broadcast transmitting apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. It is a figure showing the data structure of the above-mentioned regional frequency descriptor. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow of processing from designation of a channel number to video display and audio output of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional digital broadcast receiving device.

Explanation of reference numerals

Reference Signs List 1 antenna 2 tuner 3 demodulator 4 error correction unit 5 transport decoder 6 video decoder 7 audio decoder 8 first digital / analog conversion unit 9 second digital / analog conversion unit 10 display 11 speaker 12 frequency memory 13 control unit 101 PSI generation Unit 102 SI generation unit 103 Video encoding unit 104 Audio encoding unit 105 Transport stream multiplexing unit 106 Error correction code adding unit 107 Modulation unit 108 Transmission antenna unit 201 NIT generation unit 202 PAT generation unit 203 PMT generation unit 204 CAT generation unit 301 Region Code frequency correspondence information generation unit 302 NIT multiplexing unit 401 Antenna unit 402 Tuner unit 403 Digital demodulation unit 404 Error correction unit 405 Stream separation unit 406 Video decoding unit 4 7 audio decoding unit 408 first digital-analog converter 409 a second digital-analog converter 410 image display unit 411 audio output unit 412 local frequency information extraction unit 413 control unit 414 storage unit 415 the user interface unit

Claims (4)

Data including area identification information for identifying a predetermined area and information on frequencies receivable in the predetermined area are multiplexed in the NIT and transmitted at a predetermined frequency;
A transmitter characterized by the above-mentioned. The transmitter according to claim 1,
The data is a part of a transport stream of digital terrestrial television broadcasting,
A transmitter characterized by the above-mentioned. Data including area identification information for identifying a predetermined area and information on frequencies receivable in the predetermined area are multiplexed in the NIT and transmitted at a predetermined frequency;
A transmission method characterized in that: The transmission method according to claim 3,
The data is a part of a transport stream of digital terrestrial television broadcasting,
A transmission method characterized in that:

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