JP2006115075A - Scrambled broadcasting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a scrambled broadcasting system that promotes advertisement information while being adapted to a plurality of scramble keys. <P>SOLUTION: A broadcasting device inserts a scramble key into program-related information and transmits it by a program-related information providing server 102, and transmits correspondence information for making programs and the program-related information as related information on the programs correspond to each other to a receiving device. The receiving device 103 receives the correspondence information, selects a program to be viewed according to the correspondence information to specify the program-related information corresponding to the program to be viewed, acquires the scramble key by viewing program management information, and descrambles the program. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a scramble broadcasting system in which a program is scrambled and broadcast, and only a receiving terminal permitted to view the program can view the program by releasing the scramble.

  In particular, the present invention is applied to a descrambling mechanism that enables viewers to descramble a program desired by viewing advertisement information (commercial).

  As a conventional scramble broadcasting system, there is a system in which common information (ECM: Entitlement Control Message) is inserted in a commercial (for example, see Patent Document 1). FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a video transmitter for transmitting the conventional scrambled broadcast described in Patent Document 1. In FIG.

  In FIG. 6, a digital video transmitter includes a program supply server 101 that supplies a digital broadcast program, a CM server 302 that supplies commercials, a scrambler 303 that scrambles the digital broadcast program using a predetermined work key, It comprises a CASS controller 305 that inserts ECM having program information including scrambled digital broadcast program data, commercial data, and work key into the commercial data and multiplexes it with a multiplexer 304 to generate digital broadcast data.

  With such a configuration, the receiving side of the broadcast program receives the corresponding transport stream from the broadcast data in the commercial, extracts the ECM including the work key included in the commercial, and uses the work key included in the ECM. By obtaining a desired digital broadcast program by descrambling, a television transmitter / receiver that always gives the broadcast program receiver an opportunity to watch one commercial has been realized.

  FIG. 7 shows an ECM section structure in a TS (transport stream) packet.

As shown in FIG. 7, the ECM section includes an ECM section header, an ECM body, and a section CRC. In addition, the ECM main body has two keys: a protocol number, pay entity identification, work key identification, determination type, year / month / date / time, recording control, and a scramble key (Odd) and a scramble key (Even). These two keys correspond to the work keys described above and are used as keys for descrambling.
JP 2002-51321 A (page 3-4, FIGS. 1 and 7)

  However, in the conventional configuration, since the ECM including the work key is inserted and sent in the commercial part before the broadcast program body, it is necessary for the viewer to watch the corresponding commercial immediately before the program desired by the viewer. . For this reason, there was a possibility that the program could not be unscrambled frequently, such as when the viewer did not match the channel at the time of commercial distribution.

  Also, there are only two types of scramble keys included in ECM, Odd and Even, and the number of keys that can be rewritten by one commercial viewing is limited to two. For this reason, only two types of scrambled programs can be distributed between commercials.

In order to solve the conventional problem, a broadcasting station apparatus for providing a digital broadcast program according to the present invention includes:
Program transmitting means for transmitting the scrambled program to the receiving device;
Correspondence information creating means for creating correspondence information that associates the program with program-related information that is related information of the program;
Correspondence information transmitting means for transmitting the correspondence information to the receiving device;
Program-related information transmitting means for inserting a scramble key into the program-related information and transmitting it to the receiving device. The scramble key may be inserted into the ECM and transmitted.

The present invention is also a receiving device for receiving a digital broadcast program,
Program receiving means for receiving a scrambled program;
Correspondence information receiving means for receiving correspondence information associating the program with program-related information that is related information of the program;
Program-related information receiving means for receiving the program-related information;
A viewing program related information identifying means for selecting a program to be viewed from the correspondence information and identifying program related information corresponding to the program to be viewed;
Scramble key extraction means for extracting a scramble key from the specified program-related information;
There is provided a receiving apparatus comprising: a descrambling unit that descrambles the program to be viewed using the extracted scrambling key.

The present invention is also a digital broadcast providing method for providing a digital broadcast program,
A program transmission step of transmitting the scrambled program to the receiving device;
A correspondence information creating step for creating correspondence information that associates the program with program-related information that is related information of the program;
A correspondence information transmission step of transmitting the correspondence information to the receiving device;
There is provided a digital broadcast providing method including a program related information transmitting step of inserting a scramble key into the program related information and transmitting it to the receiving device.

The present invention is also a digital broadcast receiving method for receiving a digital broadcast program,
A program receiving step for receiving a scrambled program;
A correspondence information receiving step for receiving correspondence information that associates the program with program-related information that is related information of the program; and
A program-related information receiving step for receiving the program-related information;
A viewing program related information specifying step of selecting a program to be viewed from the correspondence information and specifying program related information corresponding to the program to be viewed;
A scramble key extracting step of extracting a scramble key from the specified program-related information;
There is provided a reception method comprising: a descrambling step of descrambling the program to be viewed using the extracted scramble key.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the correspondence information in the correspondence information creating means further includes scene specifying information for specifying a scene of the program.

  Examples of the scene specifying information include scramble time information and a flag for specifying a scene.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the program related information is program announcement information.

  The present invention also includes a program for causing a computer to execute the digital broadcast providing method or the digital broadcast receiving method, and a recording medium on which these are recorded.

  With this configuration, it is possible to hold the scramble key when viewing the program related information, and to specify the scramble time according to the correspondence information to release the scramble. Further, by holding a plurality of scramble keys, it is possible to increase the number of scramble keys.

  According to the present invention, a program to be viewed is selected from correspondence information that associates a program with program-related information that is related information of the program, program-related information corresponding to the program to be viewed is identified, program management information By viewing, it is possible to acquire a scramble key of a program (or a desired scene of the program) desired to be viewed and to unscramble the program.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
Next, embodiments of a broadcasting station apparatus and a receiving apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a scramble broadcasting system including a broadcasting station apparatus configuration and a receiving apparatus configuration according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  1, the program provided from the program providing server 106 is associated with program related information such as advertisement information provided from the program related information providing server 102 by the program management apparatus 101. Create information. As shown in FIG. 2, this correspondence information is composed of program identification information, a scramble key number, scene specifying information for specifying a scene in the program, and program related information necessary for viewing the program, and is associated with each program. Manage related program information.

  As an example, the correspondence information in FIG. 2 includes five types of program program related information corresponding to the three types of programs A, B and C, which are scrambled using five types of scramble keys. It is out. As scene specifying information, time information in the program and program meta information are used.

  The program management apparatus 101 sends a scramble key to the scrambler 107 and sends the same scramble key to the program related information providing server 102. Further, correspondence information between the program and the program related information is also sent to the program related information providing server 102. The program related information providing server 102 refers to the correspondence information and inserts a scramble key into the program related information.

  Here, the program-related information content is composed of content related to the program content, such as commercials of products and products, promotional videos, and URLs.

  In the correspondence information, the scramble key corresponding to that in the program related information is one or a plurality of information, and one program related information may include a plurality of scramble keys. Also, a case where one program related information corresponds to a plurality of programs, or conversely, a case where a plurality of program related information is related to one program is assumed.

  Next, processing in the receiving apparatus 103 in FIG. 1 will be described.

  The program and program related information scrambled by the scrambler 107 are distributed to the transmission path by the multiplexer 108 and received by the receiving device 103.

  The processing in the receiving apparatus is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the same components as those in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the receiving side includes a receiving device 103, an IC card 104, and a screen display device 105. When the receiver 103 receives the program-related information, when the viewer views the program-related information, the scramble key included therein is sent to the IC card 104, where each key information is held. Also, the correspondence information associates the program and the scramble key included in the program related information necessary for viewing the program in the IC card.

  When the receiving device 103 receives a scrambled program, program identification information and broadcast time are sent to the IC card 104 as information of the program, and scene identification information corresponding to the program identification information is searched. If there is no corresponding scene specifying information, the viewing information display means 201 displays a message telling the viewer of the situation from the receiving device 103 to the screen display device 105.

  If the corresponding program-related information has already been viewed, the corresponding scramble key exists, so that the scramble key can be transferred from the IC card 104 to the receiving device 103 by referring to the program-related information with the corresponding information. The descrambling means 202 of the receiving apparatus 103 performs descrambling of the program.

  The IC card 104 can hold a plurality of scramble keys and scene specifying information, and supply the scramble key to the receiving apparatus 103 according to the correspondence information.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of scramble key supply processing in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 4, the same components as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  In the IC card 104 of FIG. 4, the viewer is already viewing the program related information corresponding to the program A, the program B, and the program C. Further, by using the correspondence information, a scramble key corresponding to the scene information of those programs is also held. For example, when viewing the program C with the receiving device 103, the identification information and the scene information being viewed are sent to the IC card 104. Therefore, the scene specifying information and the scramble key are associated with each other, and the scramble key 4 necessary for releasing the scramble is sent to the receiving apparatus 103. Using this key, the program C can be unscrambled and the program can be viewed.

  According to such a configuration, in order to view a scrambled broadcast program, the viewer needs to acquire a scramble key by viewing the program related information. As a result, it is possible to prevent the program-related information from being skipped by special reproduction such as fast-forwarding, or to promote viewing of the program-related information by presenting the program-related information by the receiving device.

  In addition, since a plurality of scene specifying information and a scramble key are stored in the IC card, it is possible to make fine scramble settings for each program in the program management device, and to control program related information and viewing control. Can be associated with various patterns.

  In the present embodiment, the IC card 104 on the receiving side includes a scene specifying information holding unit and a scramble key holding unit, but the scene specifying information holding unit and the scramble key holding unit are provided in the receiving device 103. May be.

  In the above description, it is assumed that the viewer is viewing the program related information in advance when descrambling, and when the program cannot be descrambled, the related information related to the program is displayed by the viewing information display means. indicate.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 5 shows an example of scramble key supply processing in Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the same components as those in FIG. In the second embodiment of the present invention, the method for associating programs and program-related information and distributing the program through the transmission path is the same as in the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 5, it is assumed that the receiving apparatus 103 receives and holds program related information related to a program. However, the viewer has not yet viewed the program related information. When program related information is received, correspondence information with a program included therein is extracted and held.

  For example, when viewing the receiving device 103 program C, it is necessary to view the program related information 4 based on the correspondence information held in the receiving device 103. When the viewer views the program related information 4, the ECM included therein is extracted and sent from the receiving apparatus 103 to the IC card 104. The IC card 104 extracts the scramble key 4 necessary for viewing the program C from the ECM and returns the key to the receiving apparatus 103.

  With this configuration, the IC card 104 realizes viewing control using the ECM, which is related information of existing limited reception, and therefore, an IC card using the current CAS (Conditional Access System) is applied depending on the receiver. It becomes possible to do.

  The scramble broadcasting system according to the present invention has means for associating a broadcast program with advertisement information related thereto, and is useful as means for promoting viewing of advertisement information. In addition to associating related information such as broadcast programs and promotional videos, it can also be applied to applications such as scramble processing corresponding to the needs of viewers.

The figure which shows the outline | summary of the scramble broadcasting system in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows an example of a structure of the corresponding | compatible information in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the processing content in the receiving side in Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure which shows an example of the supply process of the scramble key in Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure which shows an example of the supply process of the scramble key in Embodiment 2 of this invention The figure which shows the block diagram of the video transmitter which transmits the conventional scramble broadcasting The figure which shows the ECM section structure in TS (transport stream) packet

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Program management apparatus 102 Program related information provision server 103 Reception apparatus 104 IC card 105 Screen display apparatus 301 Program provision server 302 CM provision server 303 Scrambler 304 Multiplexer 305 CASS controller

Claims (8)

A broadcast station apparatus that provides a digital broadcast program,
Program transmitting means for transmitting the scrambled program to the receiving device;
Correspondence information creating means for creating correspondence information that associates the program with program-related information that is related information of the program;
Correspondence information transmitting means for transmitting the correspondence information to the receiving device;
A broadcast station apparatus comprising: a program-related information transmitting unit that inserts a scramble key into the program-related information and transmits the program-related information to the receiving apparatus. The broadcast station apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the correspondence information creating unit, the correspondence information further includes scene specifying information for specifying a scene of the program. The broadcast station apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the program-related information is program announcement information. A receiving device for receiving a digital broadcast program,
Program receiving means for receiving a scrambled program;
Correspondence information receiving means for receiving correspondence information associating the program with program-related information that is related information of the program;
Program-related information receiving means for receiving the program-related information;
A viewing program related information identifying means for selecting a program to be viewed from the correspondence information and identifying program related information corresponding to the program to be viewed;
Scramble key extraction means for extracting a scramble key from the specified program-related information;
A scramble release means for releasing scramble of the program to be viewed using the extracted scramble key. The receiving apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the correspondence information further includes scene specifying information for specifying a scene of the program. The receiving apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the program related information is program announcement information. A digital broadcast providing method for providing a digital broadcast program,
A program transmission step of transmitting the scrambled program to the receiving device;
A correspondence information creating step for creating correspondence information that associates the program with program-related information that is related information of the program;
A correspondence information transmission step of transmitting the correspondence information to the receiving device;
A program-related information transmitting step of inserting a scramble key into the program-related information and transmitting the program-related information to the receiving device. A digital broadcast receiving method for receiving a digital broadcast program,
A program receiving step for receiving a scrambled program;
A correspondence information receiving step for receiving correspondence information that associates the program with program-related information that is related information of the program; and
A program-related information receiving step for receiving the program-related information;
A viewing program related information specifying step of selecting a program to be viewed from the correspondence information and specifying program related information corresponding to the program to be viewed;
A scramble key extracting step of extracting a scramble key from the specified program-related information;
And a descrambling step of descrambling the program to be viewed using the extracted scramble key.

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