JP2006310960A - Reception system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reception system capable of efficiently sharing limited tuner resources and preventing the occurrence of confusion in users at tuner contention. <P>SOLUTION: In a tuner share television system comprising a master unit including different types of tuners and slave units for receiving a video image from the master unit, the master unit checks a share state of the tuners in response to station selection requests from the slave units depending on broadcast types (BS, CS, terrestrial wave or the like), when a contention of the tuners takes place, the master unit filters a program included in a transponder whose channel is the same as the channel selected by the slave unit being a contention destination, and generates an EPG menu from the filtered program and displays the menu on the slave unit. In this case, the system is characterized in to carry out a resource arbitration processing whereby channel selection in a form of simultaneous viewing is attained when a user of the slave unit being the contention destination admits the simultaneous viewing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a receiving system for receiving a television broadcast.

  Recently, wireless LAN such as IEEE802.11a / b / g is spreading not only in companies but also in homes. In the first place, wireless LAN eliminates physical cable wiring and has the advantage of being able to choose the installation location freely. Therefore, wireless LAN has a strong preference as a replacement for wired LAN. It is currently used for many purposes. However, recent advances in video compression technology such as MPEG2 have made it possible to stream compressed video and audio data to this wireless LAN. In addition, the price of wireless modules has become a tailwind. Therefore, it is one of the technologies that should be noted not only for data communication applications but also for digital home appliances aimed at the distribution of moving picture images.

  In response to such a flow, the received TV video and audio, as well as the Internet information, etc. are transmitted using a wireless LAN and displayed on a remote display terminal, the program is switched from the display terminal, and Internet browser control is performed. It is also possible to use a system that can be operated remotely (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

This will be briefly described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 includes a video transmission unit (master unit) centered on three independent channel selection units and a video reception unit (slave unit) capable of receiving and displaying video from the transmission unit. 30 is a television antenna, 31a to 31c are channel selection units, and 32a to 32c are video processing units. Video data is formed from the selected received data. Reference numerals 33a to 33c denote compression units, which limit the data transmission band to a bit rate that allows wireless transmission. Reference numeral 34 denotes a multiplexing unit. In the example of FIG. 4, three types of compressed data are time-division multiplexed, and 35 radio units perform modulation processing and amplification processing, and are transmitted by 36 radio transmission / reception antennas. The Up to here is the video transmission unit (master unit). The transmitted images 37a to 37c are received from the wireless transmission / reception antennas, are subjected to processing such as demodulation by the radio units 38a to 38c, and are necessary for the data destined for themselves in the demultiplexing units 39a to 39c. Only the data is separated, and the data compressed in the decompression units 40a to 40c is restored and then displayed on the slave monitors 41a to 41c. Up to here is the video receiver (slave unit). In this system, the user can control the channel selection units 31a to 31c of the parent device from the channel selection buttons (not shown) of the child device monitors 41a to 41c to switch programs. As a result, when the installation location of the antenna terminal, etc. is limited at home, etc., the main unit side is installed on the antenna terminal side, and the actual TV can be installed in any place you like as a handset terminal, regardless of the installation location. It takes advantage of the wireless advantage of being able to enjoy.
JP 2001-358966 A

  In the above-described television system, the number of tuners is the same because the number of tuners is the same as the number of display terminals to be received. For example, since channel selection from one display terminal can always occupy the channel selection unit of the transmission unit, when a user switches programs, channel selection requests of a plurality of users are concentrated on one channel selection unit. The video resource contention problem does not occur at all. Therefore, when it is limited to such usage, it can be a very effective means. However, if the tuner type is used under different configuration conditions as described below, there may be a problem of video resource contention when the user selects a channel.

  In the broadcasting industry, so-called digitalization of broadcasting is progressing, and the transition from analog terrestrial broadcasting to BS / CS digital broadcasting is progressing. Furthermore, the operation of terrestrial digital broadcasting has been started. When all such broadcasts are to be received, it is necessary to prepare channel selection units (tuners) having different broadcast types. In this case, even if the number of tuners: the number of display terminals = 1: 1, if the types of tuners are different, there is a possibility that video resource contention may occur due to channel selection designation for the same video resource.

  In either case, when the video resource contention mentioned above occurs, there is a problem that the channel suddenly changes while watching TV or the program that should be able to be watched cannot be selected. As long as there is a possibility of being in a remote place, the user does not know what has happened and can cause great confusion in the operation.

  In addition, as a method for easily solving such a problem, a method of adding as many tuners of different types as required according to the concept of the preceding example is conceivable, but a significant cost increase is expected. So it's not realistic.

  Further, in FIG. 4, the user switches the program to the channel selection button provided in the display terminal. However, in digital broadcasting, in order to easily select a desired program from a large number of programs, an electronic program guide: Electronic It is common to select a channel using a service called Program Guide (hereinafter referred to as EPG).

  That is, the broadcast station side adds program information for program selection to the program data and transmits it, and the receiving side separates the program information added from the received data and forms an EPG screen based on this program information. And display. Thus, the viewer can easily select a program while viewing the EPG screen. If the program frame at the current time is selected, the designated program is selected and a corresponding video is displayed. Further, it is a general function that a recording reservation is made if a program at a future time is selected.

  However, as a matter of course, even in this convenient EPG service, there is no mechanism for solving the video resource contention problem caused by the above-mentioned system. Instead, only program information corresponding to the type of tuner is displayed, and the same problem as described above may occur.

  For the above reasons, it is possible to efficiently share system resources with the minimum necessary tuner resources without depending on the configuration conditions such as the number of tuners, types of tuners, and the number of display terminals as described above. In order to prevent this, further improvements and ingenuity are required with respect to the previous examples. In particular, when applied to digital broadcasting, following the convenience of the EPG service, and further, It is desired to improve the EPG display method and the operation method that can cope with the problem of competition.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem and to provide a receiving system capable of providing a good operating environment when a tuner is shared by a plurality of receiving apparatuses.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to the present application includes: a transmission apparatus that receives a television broadcast by at least one tuner and transmits a video signal related to the received television broadcast program; and the transmission apparatus A receiving system configured to receive a video signal transmitted from a plurality of receiving devices capable of displaying a video related to the received video signal,
Each of the plurality of receiving devices includes a channel selection request input unit that requests an arbitrary reception channel and a channel selection request transmission unit that transmits information on the requested reception channel to the transmission device.
The transmitting device includes a channel selection request receiving unit that receives a channel selection request from the plurality of receiving devices, a video resource management unit that manages a shared state of the tuner by the plurality of receiving devices, and a predetermined rule. In response to the channel selection request from the receiving device, the video resource arbitration unit that performs mediation of the video resource acquisition request, and based on the resource management information from the video resource management unit, Program arrangement information narrowing means for narrowing down selectable programs from program arrangement information corresponding to the broadcast type, and electronic program guide forming means for forming an electronic program guide for programs that can be viewed based on the narrowed program arrangement information And an electronic program guide transmitting means for transmitting the electronic program guide formed by the electronic program guide forming means to the receiving device that has transmitted the channel selection request as video data. .

  By using the present invention, by sharing different types of tuners with a plurality of display terminals, even when tuner resource contention occurs at the time of channel selection, presentation of a channel selection support screen that follows the convenience of EPG, Appropriate resource arbitration processing in conjunction with this makes it possible to efficiently share a limited number of tuner resources and provide a user interface that prevents user confusion during resource contention.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.

[First embodiment]
<Description of each part of the main unit>
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a master unit having a plurality of broadcast video resources according to the present invention. In this embodiment, three independent broadcast video resources can be received. However, this is only an example, and the number of video sources may be larger or smaller than three. .

  Reference numeral 1 denotes a television antenna (such as a parabolic antenna or a terrestrial antenna) that receives BS digital broadcasting, CS digital broadcasting, and further terrestrial digital broadcasting. In this embodiment, satellite broadcasting is taken as an example, but it may be received from an analog terrestrial wave, an optical cable, or the like. 2a to 2c are channel selection units, which pass through a band filter, a down converter, and the like, and then output to the demodulation units 3a to 3c. The channel selection unit may be a different type such as a BS dedicated tuner, a CS dedicated tuner, a BS / CS shared tuner, a terrestrial digital tuner, or all may be the same type. The demodulating units 3a to 3c perform a demodulating process in conformity with the transmission form, perform an error correction process, etc., and deliver a desired MPEG2 transport stream to the 19 TS switching units.

  The 19 TS switching units function as a data path switching circuit for switching three independent TS data output from the demodulation units 3a to 3c to any one of the demultiplexers 4a to 4c. There are two switching methods, and the first is a method of switching the demodulating units 3a to 3c and the demultiplexers 4a to 4c by switching one to one (for example, 3a and 4c, 3b and 4a, 3c). And 4b). The second one connects the demodulating units 3a to 3c and the demultiplexers 4a to 4c by switching to 1 to n (for example, 3a and 4a, 3a and 4b, 3c and 4c, etc.). The TS switching unit 19 can also serve as a switch for turning off the output to the demultiplexers 4a to 4c as well as switching the output destination as described above.

  The demultiplexers 4a to 4c separate the MPEG2 video data, MPEG2 audio data and additional information of the desired program from the transport stream. The separated MPEG2 audio data is decoded by an audio decoder (not shown) and output as an audio signal. If you connect an amplifier and speaker to this, you can hear the audio of the received program. The separated MPEG2 video data is decoded by the video decoders 5a to 5c, converted to a raster scan baseband display format, and then transferred to the subsequent 6 video switching units as broadcast video data. . Further, the separated additional information is transferred to 15 parent device control units. When the additional information is a data broadcast scheduled to be used in BS digital broadcasting, a data broadcast screen can be formed by interpreting the BML script language and obtaining a content scenario of a multimedia information service provider. . If the additional information is EPG (Electronic Program Guide) information, an EPG screen can be formed by interpreting PSI / SI information and obtaining program information (for example, program, broadcast time, title, category, etc.). it can.

  Since the three independent input video processing data paths 2a to 3a, 2b to 3b, and 2c to 3c described above are processing systems integrated with the type of tuner, in the following description of this embodiment, “broadcast video” “Resource”.

  The video switching unit 6 functions as a data path switching circuit for switching three independent video data output from the video decoders 5a to 5c to any one of the resolution conversion units 7a to 7c. . There are two switching methods, and the first is a method in which the video decoders 5a to 5c and the resolution converters 7a to 7c are switched in a one-to-one relationship (for example, 5a and 7c, 5b and 7a, 5c and 7b). In this case, independent broadcast video resources are connected to the resolution converters 7a to 7c. The second one connects the video decoders 5a to 5c and the resolution converters 7a to 7c by switching to 1: n (for example, 5a and 7a, 5a and 7b, 5c and 7c, etc.). In this case, part of the same broadcast video resource is connected to the resolution conversion units 7a to 7c. This is intended to deal with a case where the same broadcast video resource is simultaneously viewed by a plurality of slave units having different display resolutions. Alternatively, the video switching unit 6 can have a role as a switch for turning off the output to the resolution conversion units 7a to 7c as well as switching the output destination as described above.

  Reference numerals 7a to 7c denote resolution conversion units. When the base unit control unit 15 transmits a video to the slave unit monitor described later, the resolution conversion parameter is based on the display format (the number of display lines, the number of dots, the number of colors). The enlargement / reduction processing is performed by setting the enlargement ratio / reduction ratio / enlargement / reduction weighting filter coefficients independently. Further, in order to absorb the difference between the output format of the video decoders 5a to 5c and the scan format of the slave monitor, format conversion processing such as IP conversion and PI conversion is simultaneously performed as necessary.

The slave OSD combining units 8a to 8c are configured by OSD (On Screen) represented by GUI (Graphical User Interface) generated by the 18 OSD generation units based on the drawing commands issued from the 15 master unit control units. Display) and screens 7a to 7c synthesize the video data output from the resolution conversion unit, form the OSD synthesized video data, and then transfer it to the compression units 9a to 9c. Incidentally, the synthesis in the slave OSD synthesis units 8a to 8c is
Composite video = (1−α) × video + α × OSD (0 ≦ mixing ratio α ≦ 1)
By applying the above formula, it is possible to process in units of pixels. When α = 0, only video, OSD only when α = 1, and other video and OSD alpha synthesis are possible. become.

  The following description of the blocks up to 9a to 9c compression unit, 10 multiplexing unit, 11 radio unit, and 12 radio antennas is applied when radio is selected as the physical transmission means between the master unit and the slave unit. Is not required in the case of a wired connection. If the connection to the slave unit is an analog cable, it may be constituted by a D / A converter or a video amplifier, and if it is a digital cable, it may be constituted by a TMDS or LVDS transceiver.

  The compression units 9a to 9c are necessary when the wireless physical transmission band is smaller than the data transmission band transmitted by the slave unit. The compression method is typified by the MPEG method or the like, but is not particularly limited to this method here. Reference numeral 10 denotes a multiplexing unit that associates the compressed video data output from the compression units 9a to 9c with the audio data separated from the demultiplexers 4a to 4c (not shown) and separates them at the transfer destination slave unit. Time division multiplexing is performed in a format to which header information including a transfer destination ID is added so that it can be easily performed. By performing such time division multiplexing, it is possible to effectively use a communication channel divided for each wireless carrier frequency.

  The output from the multiplexing unit 10 is transferred to 11 radio units. Here, the internal configuration of the wireless unit 11 will be described with reference to FIG. The MAC control unit 11a is a block that forms a transmission signal that conforms to a predetermined communication protocol from the signal from the multiplexing unit 10, and is a wireless LAN standard of IEEE802.11a / b / g. It is defined as a common MAC layer. Further, the MAC control unit 11a performs transmission control that guarantees QoS (Quality of Service) of the video and audio multiplexed signal from the multiplexing unit 10. Therefore, when transmitting a command from the master unit to the designated slave unit, it is effective to devise a method such as using a gap (for example, a video blanking period) of the projection sound multiplexed signal. The sound multiplexed signal from the MAC control unit 11a is subjected to modulation processing and the like defined in the physical layer of the wireless LAN standard by the wireless transmission unit 11b, and is amplified in the frequency band of the transmission channel by the 11d RF unit. Then, it is transmitted and output from the radio antenna 12.

  On the other hand, received data such as a control command from the slave unit received from the radio antenna 12 is separated in the frequency band of the reception channel by a BPF (band filter) in the 11d RF section, and LNA (low noise amplifier) etc. After being amplified in step S11, the wireless reception unit 11c performs demodulation processing and the like, and passes it to the MAC control unit 11a. This received data is converted into a signal that can be handled by the base unit control unit 15 by the MAC control unit 11a, and transferred to the base unit control unit 15 as a control signal for the slave unit. Further, since the RF unit 11d separates the transmission and reception frequency channels, it is possible to prevent mutual interference.

  Reference numeral 15 denotes a parent device control unit for controlling command communication between the entire parent device and the child device. The RAM 14 temporarily stores CPU data having computing power, the ROM 13 stores a control program, the counter for measuring time, and the peripherals. It has an input / output interface. Further, the parent device control unit 15 may be composed of only logic logic, or may be a CPU or a media processor capable of parallel operation. The program for controlling may be built in the ROM 13 or transferred from the outside via the peripheral input / output interface. The ROM 13 stores character fonts and the like as necessary, and is used when expanding character information on the OSD screen.

  Reference numeral 16 denotes a resource arbitration unit, which has a function of performing an arbitration operation based on a predetermined rule when a resource conflict occurs in one of the broadcast video resources described above, and notifying the result to the base unit control unit 15. .

  Reference numeral 17 denotes a resource management unit which manages the above-described broadcast video resource in which slave unit is used in a table system, and is referred / updated by the master unit control unit 15 as necessary.

<Description of each part of handset>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a slave unit that receives broadcast video resources from the master unit according to the present invention.

  56 is a slave unit control unit for controlling command communication between the entire slave unit and the master unit, a RAM 58 for temporarily storing CPU data having computing power, a ROM 57 for storing a control program, a counter for measuring time, a peripheral It has an input / output interface. Further, the slave unit control unit 56 may be composed of only logic logic, or may be a CPU or a media processor capable of parallel operation. The program for controlling may be built in the ROM 57 or transferred from the outside via the peripheral input / output interface.

  In addition, 59 remote control light receiving units are connected to the slave unit control unit 56 and can accept commands from the remote control 60 for slave units using infrared rays. The remote controller 60 for the slave unit is not limited to a normal remote controller, but may be a keyboard or a mouse capable of emitting infrared rays, and a joystick.

  First, a flow until reception of the above-described sound data and command data wirelessly transmitted from the master unit will be described. The description of the blocks up to 50 radio antennas, 51 radio units, 52 separation units, and 53 extension units is applied when radio is selected as the physical transmission means between the master unit and the slave units. And is not required for wired connections. When the connection to the master unit is an analog cable, an LPF (low-pass filter) or an A / D converter may be used, and when it is a digital cable, a TMDS or LVDS receiver may be used.

  A radio signal conforming to a predetermined communication protocol is received from the above-described base unit by the radio antenna 50, and transferred to the radio unit 51 (the internal configuration of the radio unit 51 is the same as that in FIG. 2), and 11d. In the RF section, the BPF (band filter) separates the same frequency band as the transmission channel of the base unit, and is amplified by an LNA (low noise amplifier) or the like. After being transferred to the MAC control unit 11a, the multiplexed sound data from the master unit is restored. Next, in the separation unit 52, the multiplexed video data and audio data are separated only when the transmission destination ID of the header information is seen and it is determined that the transmission data is self-addressed transmission data. The separated video data is decompressed by the decompression unit 53 and displayed on the monitor 54. The separated audio data is expanded by an audio processing unit (not shown), amplified, and reproduced by a speaker. Further, only when it is determined that the received data from the master unit is the command data for itself, like the above-described sound data, the MAC control unit 11a generates a signal that can be handled by the slave unit control unit 15. It is converted and passed to the slave unit control unit 56.

  Next, a flow from the operation of the remote controller 60 for the slave unit to the wireless transmission of control information to the master unit will be described.

  As will be described in detail later, the user can control acquisition of video resources of the parent device by operating the remote controller 60 for the child device. The control command of the remote controller 60 for handset is transferred from the remote control light receiver 59 to the handset controller 56. When command transmission from the slave unit to the master unit is performed, the slave unit control unit 56 sends the received command signal to the MAC control 11a of the wireless unit 51, and the MAC control unit 11a similarly sets a predetermined communication protocol. A compliant transmission signal is formed, the wireless transmission unit 11b performs a modulation process defined by the physical layer of the wireless LAN standard, and is amplified in the same frequency band as the reception channel of the parent device by the 11d RF unit. Then, transmission is output from the radio antenna 50. Further, since the RF unit 11d separates the transmission and reception frequency channels, it is possible to prevent mutual interference. As described above, this television system is configured to be able to perform one-way wireless communication of the sound data from the parent device to the child device and bidirectional wireless communication of commands between the parent device and the child device. .

  Further, the master unit and the slave unit TV system of the present invention are configured such that wireless transmission from a plurality of slave units may occur simultaneously for one master unit. Therefore, since the command transmission from the slave unit to the master unit uses the same frequency channel, make sure that no other slave unit is transmitting when transmitting from each slave unit to the master unit. It is necessary to perform control after transmission. This control is performed by the MAC control unit 11a of the wireless unit 51 on the slave unit side. Normally, such access control causes a reduction in wireless transfer efficiency, but no major problem occurs in the case where QoS (Quality of Service) such as command transmission is not required.

<Explanation of slave unit EPG display in resource sharing for each type of tuning unit>
In the following, the processing of the case where a plurality of slave units share different channel selection units with different types of master units in units of types of channel selection units, which is the first feature of the present embodiment, will be described. This will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, in order to solve the problem of the case where resource competition occurs as a case where the tuner types are different, a resource sharing method when the types of the channel selection units 2a to 2c in FIG. 1 are all different will be described.

  Further, for the sake of the following explanation, an example will be described in which the channel selection unit 2a is a BS digital tuner, the channel selection unit 2b is a CS digital tuner, and the channel selection unit 2c is a terrestrial digital tuner. Further, as for the slave units wirelessly connected to the master unit of FIG. 1, the slave units of FIG. 3 are the same as the number of channel selection units 2a to 2c shown in FIG. , Handset B and handset C. In this case, in the master unit of FIG. 1, the slave unit A uses 7a to 9a, the slave unit B uses 7b to 9b, and the slave unit C uses 7c to 9c as slave unit transmission output data paths.

  First, as a case where resource contention does not occur, the handset A is the tuning unit 2a (BS digital tuner), the handset B is the tuning unit 2b (CS digital tuner), and the handset C is the tuning unit 2c (terrestrial digital tuner). The operation of the master unit when acquiring the password will be described.

When the user of the slave unit A operates the slave unit remote controller 60 and selects a program, the remote controller light receiving unit 59 detects this request. Based on this request, the slave unit control unit 56 generates a command to which an identification ID of the slave unit A that can identify the command of the slave unit A is added, and the wireless unit 51 described above can transmit the command to the master unit. After the determination, a command is transmitted from the radio antenna 50 of the slave unit A to the master unit. This transmission command is received by the radio antenna 12 of the master unit, and after the command reception from the slave unit A is identified by the radio unit 11, it is passed to the master unit control unit 15 as a channel selection request from the slave unit A. In S101 of FIG. 5, when the parent device control unit 15 detects a channel selection request from the child device A, the process proceeds to S102, and resource management information is acquired from the resource management unit 17 in this step. Here, the resource management information will be described. The resource management information in the present embodiment includes the current status of which child device terminals (child devices A to C) are using the channel selection units 2a to 2c of the parent device and what channel is selected. Information describing the information. The contents of resource management information at power-on are as follows:
-----------------------------------
Resource name Usage destination Selected channel ----------------------------------
Channel selection unit 2a (BS digital) None None Channel selection unit 2b (CS digital) None None Channel selection unit 2c (terrestrial digital) None None --------------------- ---------------
It is like this.

  In S103, based on the acquired resource management information, a broadcast type selection screen is formed / displayed as shown in FIG. This broadcast type selection screen is characterized in that a viewing status that clearly indicates the usage status of other slave units sharing the system of the present idea at the current time is displayed for each broadcast type. It is possible to select a broadcast type for selecting a program while viewing the information. In addition, it is possible to instruct EPG display indicating program information that can be viewed at the current time according to the broadcast type, using the selection cursor in the figure. The display of the broadcast type selection screen on the slave unit A as described above is performed by the master unit control unit 15 issuing a drawing command to the OSD generation unit 18 and passing the generated OSD image data to the slave unit OSD composition unit 8a. This can be realized by combining with the output video from the resolution conversion unit 7a currently displayed on the machine A.

  When the user of the slave unit A selects the EPG display button on the broadcast type selection screen in order to select the BS digital program, the master unit control unit 15 selects the EPG of the BS digital broadcast from the slave unit A in S104. The display request is detected, and the process proceeds to the slave EPG formation display / operation process of S105. If the cancel button on the broadcast type selection screen is selected, the display of the broadcast type selection screen is terminated and the process returns to S101.

  Details of the process in S105 will be described with reference to the flowchart 1 of the slave unit EPG formation display / operation process of FIG.

  In S201, it is determined whether there is a resource conflict for the broadcast type requested to be displayed on the EPG at the current time. In this case, since there is no resource conflict, the process proceeds to S202.

  In S202, a normal EPG screen formation display process corresponding to BS digital broadcasting as shown in the display example of FIG. 8 is performed. Here, the normal EPG screen is a program frame arranged in a matrix for each broadcast time and broadcast channel, and program information and performer information obtained from the broadcast are displayed in it. .

  In the example of FIG. 8, a current time bar that clearly indicates the current time, a selection cursor frame that supports selection of a program, and the like are overlaid on the EPG screen. In order to ensure the visibility of characters, the normal EPG display is not changed to display all programs, but is generally changed with a scroll bar that moves channels and moves time. . Such a normal EPG screen is an effective measure when there is no resource contention, and has a mechanism that allows all currently broadcast channels to be selected while checking the program contents.

  When the user of the slave unit A operates a direction key (not shown) of the slave unit remote controller 60 and moves the selection frame by cursor navigation in S203, and selects the 104ch program shown in FIG. 15 detects the determination of the program in S204. In response to the determination of this program, the process enters a video transmission process to the slave unit in S106 to S110.

  In S106, the tuning unit 2a is tuned in response to a BS digital broadcast program tuning request from the slave unit A. In S107, the TS switching unit 19 is switched to transfer the data from the tuning unit 2a to the slave unit A. To the slave unit transmission output data path (4a-5a) (specifically, 3a and 4a are connected, 3a and 4b are not connected, and 3c and 4c are not connected).

  In S108, the video switching unit 6 is switched to connect the data from the video decoder 5a to the slave unit transmission output data paths (7a to 9a) to the slave unit A (specifically, 5a and 7a). Are connected, 5a and 7b are not connected, and 5c and 7c are not connected).

  In step S109, video transmission processing is performed. Specifically, the resolution conversion unit 7a performs a resolution conversion process in accordance with the display resolution of the slave unit monitor 54 of the slave unit A, compresses it at 9a, and adds the identification ID of the slave unit A as described above. Multiplexed by the multiplexing unit 10 in this state (in this case, since the slave unit B and the slave unit C have no transmission output, only the data of the slave unit A is included), and the video is transmitted to the slave unit A via the wireless unit 11 Send.

The slave unit A receives the transmission data from the master unit, and displays the requested BS digital broadcast program on the slave unit monitor 54 by looking at its own identification ID according to the processing procedure described above. Finally, in S110, the resource management information content is updated -----------------------------
Resource name Usage destination Selected channel ----------------------------------
Channel selection part 2a (BS digital) cordless handset A 104ch
Tuning unit 2b (CS digital) None None Tuning unit 2c (terrestrial digital) None None ----------------------------- ------
A series of processing is completed by overwriting the latest information in the resource management unit 17.

  When the slave unit B acquires the channel selection unit 2b (CS digital tuner) and the slave unit C acquires the channel selection unit 2c (terrestrial digital tuner), the operation of the master unit is also performed by repeating the same steps S101 to S110 as described above. realizable.

  On the broadcast type selection screen of S103, when the slave unit B is selected, the use status of other slave units is clearly shown sequentially as shown in FIG. 7- (B) and when the slave unit C is selected, as shown in FIG. 7- (C). The feature is that the display changes to the displayed one. When the slave C is finally selected, the TS switching unit connects 3a and 4a, 3b and 4b, 3c and 4c, and the video switching unit 6 connects 5a and 7a. 5b and 7b are connected, and 5c and 7c are connected.

Further, assuming that the slave unit B selects the CS digital 201ch and the slave unit C selects the terrestrial digital 320ch, the resource management information content is finally
-----------------------------------
Resource name Usage destination Selected channel ----------------------------------
Channel selection part 2a (BS digital) cordless handset A 104ch
Channel selection part 2b (CS digital) cordless handset B 201ch
Channel selection part 2c (terrestrial digital) cordless handset C 320ch
-----------------------------------
Has been updated. FIG. 10- (A) shows a display image of each slave unit when there is no such resource conflict.

<Explanation of slave unit EPG display in resource sharing in the same transponder unit>
Next, processing in a case where a plurality of slave units share a channel selection unit with a different type of master unit in the same transponder unit will be described below with reference to a flowchart of slave unit EPG channel selection processing in FIG.

  In order to make the explanation easy to understand, the user of the slave unit C obtains the channel selection unit 2a (BS digital tuner) by switching from the digital terrestrial broadcast program to the BS digital broadcast program from the above resource sharing state. The operation of the master unit when doing this will be described.

  Since the processing from S101 to S104 is the same as that described above, it will be described from S105. In this case, in S201 of FIG. 6, since the BS digital broadcast that the slave unit C is trying to select is being used by the slave unit A, it is determined that the broadcast type has resource competition, and the process proceeds to S205.

  In S205, filtering processing of programs included in the same transponder is performed. Here, the purpose of performing such processing will be described. In analog broadcasting, there is a one-to-one relationship between the channel and the carrier frequency of the broadcast. Therefore, the tuner is tuned to the carrier of the channel to be selected. In the case of digital broadcasting to which this embodiment is applied, A plurality of programs (four channels in the case of BS digital broadcasting) are multiplexed on one carrier frequency, and a program for four channels can be acquired in a state where the tuner is tuned to the same carrier (transponder). it can. This means that even if the slave device C and the broadcast type compete with the slave device C, resources can be shared as long as the programs are included in the same transponder. Therefore, in S205, in order to widen the range of program selection at the time of resource competition, a process for filtering the program group of the same transponder is performed. Specifically, the program group corresponding to the transponder including 104 ch of BS digital broadcasting selected by the competing slave unit A is searched. As a search method, if a network information table (NIT) is acquired from the PSI section information and the content description is checked, the channel (program group) included in the specific transponder can be easily known.

  Next, on the basis of the program information filtered in S205, an EPG screen forming / displaying process for a program in the same transponder as the channel of the competing slave A is performed in S206. A display example of the EPG screen in this case is shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, a viewing destination explicit icon that clearly indicates that handset A is viewing 104 ch is displayed in an overlay, and only the program group (102 ch, 103 ch, 104 ch, 105 ch) of the same transponder as 104 ch is selected. In the lower notification window, there is a limitation that the programs that can be selected by the user of the slave unit C and that simultaneous viewing is possible only when the slave unit A permits it. It is characteristic that it is.

  Similarly, the user of the slave unit C can move the selection frame by cursor navigation in S207 by operating a direction key (not shown) of the slave unit remote controller 60, and the 103ch program shown in FIG. If selected, base unit control unit 15 detects the determination of the program in S208.

  Next, in S209, a process of notifying the user of the competing slave unit A that the slave unit C requests simultaneous viewing is performed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10- (B), a screen for confirming whether or not simultaneous viewing sharing the same transponder as that of the child device A may be output to the child device A. When the same transponder is shared, the slave unit A and the slave unit C can not only view the same program at the same time, but can share different programs as long as the programs are in the same transponder. However, since there is a restriction that the slave unit A that previously acquired the resource cannot select a program included in a different transponder, a warning about this is also notified at the same time.

  If the handset A does not accept this restriction in S211, the process proceeds to S211. In S211, the handset C is notified that the simultaneous viewing channel selection request has been rejected, and the process returns to S101 again. On the other hand, if the child device A accepts this restriction, the process proceeds to S106.

  The resource arbitration process between the slave units as in S209 to S211 is performed by the resource arbitration unit 16 in conjunction with the master unit control unit 15.

  Since the same transponder is shared in S106, the channel selection unit 2a (BS digital tuner) may be left as it is without switching.

  Next, in the TS switching process of S107, since the same transponder is shared by the slave unit A and the slave unit C in the channel selection unit 2a (BS digital tuner), the TS switching unit 19 connects 3a and 4a, 3b And 4b are connected, and 3a and 4c are connected. Then, the demultiplexer 4a separates the sound data of the program requested by the handset A from the TS (transport stream) obtained by multiplexing the plurality of programs output from the demodulator 3a. Similarly, the demultiplexer 4c separates the sound data of the program requested by the handset C from the TS (transport stream) obtained by multiplexing the plurality of programs output from the demodulator 3a. Incidentally, in order to separate the target program from the multiplexed TS, the base unit control unit 15 acquires a PAT (Program Association Table) from the PSI section information of the same transponder (same carrier frequency), and the contents Check the description of. Thereby, the configuration of the service ID (channel) included in the TS can be known.

The same processing is performed in S108 to S109, and the content of the resource management information is changed in S110.
-----------------------------------
Resource name Usage destination Selected channel ----------------------------------
Channel selection part 2a (BS digital) cordless handset A 104ch
Channel selection part 2b (CS digital) cordless handset B 201ch
Channel selection part 2c (BS digital) cordless handset C 103ch
-----------------------------------
By updating as described above, as shown in FIG. 10- (C), the slave unit A and the slave unit C can simultaneously view the BS digital broadcast program in the same transponder.

  As described above, when a plurality of types of tuners are shared by a plurality of display terminals, a means for clearly indicating the sharing state in units of tuner types is given to users of remote display terminals, and when there is no resource contention, When normal EPG display is performed and there is resource contention, it is possible to prevent user confusion at the time of tuning by performing EPG display that displays only programs that can be viewed simultaneously in the same transponder. Even in an environment where limited resources are shared, it becomes possible to increase opportunities to respond to channel selection requests.

  Furthermore, in order to perform simultaneous viewing at the time of resource competition between the slave units, the arbitration unit of the master unit can mediate communication between the two, thereby making it possible to effectively use limited resources. Become. Such a resource arbitration processing method is particularly advantageous in the case of digital broadcasting.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, as an EPG display method that prevents user confusion at the time of resource contention and means for realizing efficient sharing of limited resources, simultaneous viewing of programs included in the same transponder can be performed between slave units. The method of performing mediation in the above has been described.

However, in order to realize more efficient sharing of limited resources, the following user viewing style must be considered in reality.
1) “While watching”
A pattern where you can just turn on the TV vaguely while doing other things, and release resources if there is a request from another user.
A pattern in which unnecessary resources are shared, such as going to sleep or being away from the viewing location while turning on the TV. In this embodiment, situations like the above two examples may also occur. An efficient resource sharing method in consideration will be described below with reference to the flowchart 2 of the slave unit EPG formation display / operation process of FIG.

  FIG. 11 shows the basic processing method similar to FIG. 6 described in the above embodiment, and only the differences will be shown below. The difference from FIG. 6 is the shaded portion in FIG. 11, and there are roughly two differences.

  The first difference from FIG. 6 is that after the program is determined, the viewing importance input step shown in S301 is provided. This step is necessary in order to be able to specify how much importance the companion slave device user is watching the program at the time of resource contention. In this embodiment, as an example, the following 2 Define one importance attribute.

<Importance setting “High”>
Attribute to be set when you want to “watch carefully” regardless of sharing with other users in any situation <Importance setting “Low”>
Attributes to be set in the case of “viewing while watching” that can be released if there is a request from another user at any time. The input setting method in S301 of such importance attribute is only for the “high” setting. A method of setting manually using a setting key (not shown) of the remote controller 60, and particularly setting “low” when nothing is set is suitable for a smooth channel selection operation.

Here, for the following explanation, handset A is 104ch of channel selection unit 2a (BS digital tuner), handset B is 201ch of channel selection unit 2b (CS digital tuner), and handset C is channel selection unit 2c (terrestrial wave). Assuming that channel selection is performed at 320 ch of the digital tuner and only the slave unit A sets the importance level to “high” in S301, the resource management information in S110 is updated as follows.
-----------------------------------
Resource name Use destination Selected channel Importance -----------------------------------
Channel selection unit 2a (BS digital) Slave unit A 104ch High channel selection unit 2b (CS digital) Slave unit B 201ch Low channel selection unit 2c (terrestrial digital) Slave unit C 320ch Low ------------ -----------------------
In this embodiment, an importance attribute is added to the resource management information.

  The operation of the master unit when the user of the slave unit C acquires the channel selection unit 2a (BS digital tuner) by switching the terrestrial digital broadcast program to the BS digital broadcast program from this resource sharing state will be described. To do.

  Since the processing from S101 to S104 is the same as that described above, it will be described from S105. In this case, in S201 of FIG. 11, since the BS digital broadcast that the slave unit C is trying to select is being used by the slave unit A, it is determined that the broadcast type has resource competition, and the process proceeds to S205. The process is the same as in the above embodiment up to the point where the EPG screen clearly showing the program included in the same transponder as the 104 ch of the slave unit A is displayed on the display terminal of the slave unit C in S206, but the difference is that FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, since the viewing destination / importance level explicit icon is displayed in an overlay, it is indicated that the slave unit A is viewing 104 ch with the importance level “high” from the EPG to the user of the slave unit B. It is easy to understand. If the importance level is “high”, it is determined that the user of the slave unit A is watching the channel 104, so if the slave unit A permits the user of the slave unit C in the notification window, , That only simultaneous viewing is possible.

  Here, if it is assumed that the handset A has set the importance level to “low”, the EPG display in S206 is as shown in FIG. 12- (B), and the handset A is displayed in the notification window. Is different from FIG. 12- (A) in that not only simultaneous viewing but also resource release is possible. The resource release here means releasing the competing tuner itself to the slave unit B. In other words, since the user of the handset A is set to the importance level “low”, there is a possibility that the user is watching, and the BS digital tuner may be released upon request.

  In any case, when a program of 103ch is finally selected in S207 to S208, the arbitration process after S302 is started. Subsequent arbitration processing steps are the second difference from FIG.

  When the slave unit A has been set to “high” in S302, the user of the slave unit C can only request simultaneous viewing to the slave unit A in S303. When the simultaneous viewing request is selected, the process proceeds to S304, and the user of the slave unit A notices the confirmation notification screen as shown in FIG. 10- (B) for the slave unit A as shown in FIG. Output with easy warning sound.

  On the other hand, if the slave unit A has been set to “low” in S302, the user of the slave unit B may request not only simultaneous viewing but also a resource release request to the slave unit A in S303. it can. When the resource release request is selected in S308, the process proceeds to S309, where the confirmation notification screen as shown in FIG. 10- (D) is displayed to the child device A as shown in FIG. Is output with a warning sound that is easy to notice. The master unit control unit starts counting time with a count timer (not shown) at the same time as issuing the notification request to the slave unit A.

  The user of handset A selects “Yes” if he / she accepts the contents of this notification screen, and selects “No” if he / she does not agree. In addition, there may naturally be a case where it is not possible to respond to this notification due to the above-mentioned “remaining state”, but the processing in this case will be described later.

  In either case, the process proceeds to S305 and waits for a response from the slave unit A. If a response from the slave unit A is detected in S305, the procedure proceeds to S306 to determine the type of response. If it is detected that the child device A has been accepted, the process proceeds to S301, and the user of the child device C enters a step of inputting the viewing importance. If the rejection of the slave unit A is detected in S306, the process proceeds to S307, where the slave unit C is notified that the request for selecting the simultaneous viewing or resource release is rejected, and the procedure returns to S101.

  If no response from the slave unit A is detected in S305, the process proceeds to S310, and the time counted from the notification to the slave unit A in S304 or S309 is compared with the time set in advance as a timeout. When the timeout is detected, the user of the child device A determines that the user is not watching the television in the “on-going state” and forcibly gives priority to the request of the user of the child device C. Along with this, a message notifying that the resource has been released to the child device C is output to the child device A in S311. Similarly, the process proceeds to S301, and the user of the child device C inputs the viewing importance level. You will be able to enter the step.

  As described above, the arbitration unit of the master unit makes it easy to judge “while watching” by mediating between both parties according to the viewing importance level. It becomes possible to increase. Further, when it is determined that the state is “keep on” due to timeout processing or the like, it is possible to share limited resources more efficiently by quickly releasing the resources.

[Third embodiment]
Up to the above embodiment, an efficient channel selection method using the EPG for the slave unit has been described as a method for preventing user confusion when resource contention occurs due to channel selection at the current time. .

  In the above case, since the arbitration rule of the resource arbitration unit 16 is based on the first-come-first-served basis, it is not guaranteed that a user can always secure a desired program. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a method called a live viewing reservation will be described below as means for allowing the slave device user to surely view a desired program at a desired location.

  Here, the live viewing reservation will be described. In a normal television system, means for recording reservation is used in order to record a program when going out, or to record a back program when a program frame of a favorite program overlaps. Many digital television receivers allow the recording reservation function to be performed from the EPG in consideration of the convenience of operation. However, a tuner sharing type television system such as this system requires a reservation means for securing a program frame at a previous time for the purpose of securing resources for live viewing, in distinction from the recording reservation.

<Description of how to set a live viewing reservation>
First, a method in which the user of the child device A makes a live viewing reservation will be described using the flowchart of the live viewing reservation process of FIG.

  The live viewing reservation can be performed on the slave EPG screen described in the above embodiment. When the user of the slave A operates the remote control 60 for the slave and requests the live viewing reservation, The base unit control unit 15 detects this in S401.

  The user of handset A can operate the direction key (not shown) of handset remote control 60 to move the selection frame by cursor navigation in S402, and in S403, from the 22:00 of 102ch shown in FIG. Suppose that a program frame is selected.

  Next, in S404, it is checked whether there is a resource conflict with other slave units in the broadcast type program frame for which the live viewing reservation is made. If it is determined in S405 that there is a resource conflict, the user of the child device A is notified that the request for live viewing reservation is rejected due to the resource conflict in S407, and the process returns to S402. If it is determined in S405 that there is no resource contention, the process proceeds to S406 and the importance level of the live viewing reservation is input. This step is information necessary for an action to be performed when the parent device control unit 15 reaches a live viewing reservation time, and this purpose will be described in detail later.

  In the present embodiment, the importance of the live viewing reservation is defined as the following two importance attributes.

<Importance setting “High”>
An attribute to be set when the program is a program that should never be overlooked by recording it when it is absent, but it is assumed that the specified slave unit will be viewed live. <Importance setting “Low”>
Attribute that is set when it is a program that may release resources to other handset users when there is no live view on the premise that live viewing is performed on the designated handset, and input setting in S406 of such importance attribute As for the method, only the “high” setting is set manually by the slave user using a setting key (not shown) of the remote control 60 for the slave unit. In particular, when nothing is set, the “low” setting method is used for smooth reservation operation. Is suitable for. In the EPG display after this live viewing reservation, as shown in the EPG of FIG. 14, the live viewing reservation / importance level explicit icon is displayed in an overlay, and therefore, the child device A makes a live viewing reservation with the importance level “high”. This can be easily understood from other EPG users on the EPG.

<Description of resource sharing method during live viewing reservation time>
Next, the resource sharing method at the time of the live viewing reservation set by the user of the child device A will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

  In S501, if the parent device control unit 15 detects that the live viewing reservation time of the child device A has reached 22:00, can the program that has been reserved for live viewing be actually transmitted to the reservation destination child device A in S502? Is output together with a warning sound such as a beep that is easily noticed by the user of the slave unit A. At the same time as issuing a notification request to handset A, base unit control unit 15 starts counting time with a count timer (not shown).

  If the user of the handset A has turned on the handset before the viewing reservation time, the notification from the base unit control unit 15 can be viewed. Then, when accepting resource reservation by viewing reservation, transmission is requested, and when not accepted, cancellation is performed.

  As a result, the parent device control unit 15 monitors the response from the reservation destination child device A in S503, and proceeds to S504 if a response is detected. If the response type in S504 is a response requesting resource reservation from the slave unit A, the process proceeds to S505, the resource of the broadcast type reserved for viewing is secured, and the process proceeds to S106, and viewing is performed in the same steps as in the above embodiment. The reserved program is transmitted to handset A. If the response type in S504 is a response to release resources from the slave unit A, the viewing reservation is canceled in S506 and resources are released for other users.

  On the other hand, if there is no response from the reservation destination child device A in S503 because the child device A is absent at the viewing reservation time or the power of the child device is not turned on, in S507, the communication to the child device A is performed. The time counted from the notification is compared with the time set in advance as a time-out, and if time-out is detected, the user of handset A determines that the live viewing reservation has been abandoned, and proceeds to S508.

  In this case, the importance of the live viewing reservation set in advance by the user of the slave unit A is determined in S508, and if it is determined that the importance is set to “high”, in S509 a hard disk or an external storage device (not shown) is stored. Perform the recording process. If it is determined in S508 that the user of the child device A has set the importance “low”, it is determined that the importance of the live viewing reservation of the child device A is low, and the viewing reservation is discarded in S506, etc. Release resources for other users.

  Such a live viewing reservation that clearly indicates the importance of the reservation not only makes it easy for the user to secure resources, but also prevents a decrease in the efficiency of resource sharing due to a live viewing reservation that is unnecessary in some cases. .

[Fourth embodiment]
In the present embodiment, an example applied to searching for a favorite program will be described with respect to the channel selection method at the time of resource competition described in the above embodiment.

  Here, a general favorite program search function applied to the digital broadcast receiver will be described. This is based on a search keyword specified by the user such as a program category or performer, searching a database of program arrangement information described for several weeks of program information transmitted from a broadcasting station, and displaying a list of applicable programs It is like. The user selects a specific program from this list display screen, grasps the detailed contents of the program, or if it is a program that is broadcast at the current time, displays the channel selection as it is, or is scheduled to be broadcast later You can make a recording reservation from there. Such a search function for favorite programs is an effective means for assisting user channel selection for multi-channel digital broadcasting.

  However, even when this convenient favorite program search function is applied to a system sharing a tuner such as this system, as in the case of the EPG described in the above embodiment, it is possible to solve the video resource contention problem. Further improvements and ingenuity are required. Therefore, means for solving this will be described below with reference to the flowchart of resource sharing processing at the time of favorite program search in FIG.

  At present, the user of the slave unit A is watching the BS digital broadcast 110ch with the “high” viewing importance setting, and the user of the slave unit C is watching the CS digital broadcast 220ch with the “low” viewing importance setting. It is assumed that the user B operates the remote controller 60 for handset and checks whether a program matching the categories “travel” and “sports” is running at the current time from a search screen for a favorite program (not shown). To do.

  When the master unit control unit 15 detects a favorite program search request from the user of the slave unit B in S601, it performs a filtering process for the program at the current time that matches the search conditions “travel” and “sports” in S602. Do. Up to this point, the function is the same as a general favorite program search function. This is a feature of the present embodiment from the next step.

In S603, as in the above-described embodiment, the following resource management information is acquired from the resource management unit 17 in order to refer to the resource sharing status.
-----------------------------------
Resource name Use destination Selected channel Importance -----------------------------------
Channel selection unit 2a (BS digital) Slave unit A 110ch High channel selection unit 2b (CS digital) Slave unit B 220ch Low channel selection unit 2c (terrestrial digital) None None None --------------- ---------------------
Next, in the steps after S604, based on the favorite program database at the current time filtered by the search condition in S602 and the resource management information acquired in S603, as a program that can share resources, as described below, 4 Filter to one pattern.

  In S604, it is determined whether the favorite program is a broadcast type with resource conflict. If it is determined that there is no resource contention (in the above example, a terrestrial digital broadcast program), the process proceeds to S605 and is registered as an immediately viewable program that can be selected unconditionally.

  If it is determined in S604 that there is a resource conflict (in the above example, a BS digital broadcast or CS digital broadcast program), the process proceeds to S606, and the favorite program is set to the same transponder as the program selected by the competing slave unit. Determine whether the program is included. If it is determined that they are not included in the same transponder, it is determined that the channel cannot be selected, and is deleted from the preference registration in S610. If it is determined in S606 that they are included in the same transponder, in S607, the viewing importance specified by the competing child device user is determined. If “High” is set, the above-described implementation is performed in S608. As in the example, the program is registered as a program that can be requested for simultaneous viewing. If it is determined in S611 that the filtering process as described above has been completed for all of the favorite programs searched in S602, the process proceeds to S612 and the final resource-sharable program as described above. Based on the filtering result, the search result screen of the favorite program as shown in FIG. 17 is displayed. This search result screen is characterized in that, in addition to the presentation of channels and program contents, etc., a favorite program is presented in consideration of programs that can share resources, such as sharing status and channel selection conditions. The favorite programs of BS digital broadcasting and CS digital broadcasting can be selected if the competitor permits, under the condition that the same transponder is shared. Here, the processing after the user of the handset B performs an action for requesting simultaneous viewing or release of viewing is the same as the content described in the above embodiment (arbitration processing from S302 to S311 in FIG. 11). is there. In addition, when channel selection is enabled, program channel selection is displayed unconditionally. Also, favorite programs of terrestrial digital broadcasting can be viewed immediately unconditionally because there is no resource contention. Here, the processing after the user of the slave unit B performs the channel selection request is the same as the content described in the above embodiment (the processing from S106 to S110 in FIG. 5).

1 is a block diagram of a master unit of a wireless television system according to the present invention. It is an internal block diagram of a radio | wireless part. It is a subunit | mobile_unit block diagram of the radio | wireless television system concerning this invention. It is a block diagram of the wireless television system in a prior art. It is a flowchart of a subunit | mobile_unit EPG channel selection process. 5 is a flowchart 1 of a slave EPG formation display / operation process. It is a display image of a broadcast type selection screen. It is a display image of a normal EPG screen. It is a display image of the EPG screen at the time of simultaneous viewing of the same transponder. It is a display image of a slave unit transfer process. It is a flowchart 2 of the subunit | mobile_unit EPG formation display / operation process. It is a display image of an EPG screen in which viewing importance is clearly shown. It is a flowchart of a live viewing reservation process. It is a display image of an EPG screen corresponding to a live viewing reservation. It is a flowchart of a resource sharing process in live viewing reservation time. It is a flowchart of the resource sharing process at the time of favorite program search. It is a display image of a favorite program search result screen.

Explanation of symbols

1 TV antennas 2a, 2b, 2c Channel selection units 3a, 3b, 3c Demodulation units 4a, 4b, 4c Demultiplexers 5a, 5b, 5c Video decoder 6 Video switching units 7a, 7b, 7c Resolution conversion units 8a, 8b, 8c OSD combining unit 9a, 9b, 9c Compression unit 10 Multiplexing unit 11 Radio unit 12 Radio antenna 13 ROM
14 RAM
15 Control unit for base unit 16 Resource management unit 17 Resource arbitration unit 18 OSD generation unit 19 TS switching unit

Claims (11)

A transmission device that receives a television broadcast from at least one tuner, transmits a video signal related to the received television broadcast program, receives a video signal transmitted from the transmission device, and receives the received video; A receiving system composed of a plurality of receiving devices capable of displaying video related to a signal,
Each of the plurality of receiving devices includes a channel selection request input unit that requests an arbitrary reception channel and a channel selection request transmission unit that transmits information on the requested reception channel to the transmission device.
The transmitting device includes a channel selection request receiving unit that receives a channel selection request from the plurality of receiving devices, a video resource management unit that manages a shared state of the tuner by the plurality of receiving devices, and a predetermined rule. In response to the channel selection request from the receiving device, the video resource arbitration unit that performs mediation of the video resource acquisition request, and based on the resource management information from the video resource management unit, Program arrangement information narrowing means for narrowing down selectable programs from program arrangement information corresponding to the broadcast type, and electronic program guide forming means for forming an electronic program guide for programs that can be viewed based on the narrowed program arrangement information And an electronic program guide transmitting means for transmitting the electronic program guide formed by the electronic program guide forming means to the receiving device that has transmitted the channel selection request as video data. Receiving system, characterized in that.   The program arrangement information narrowing-down means is means for narrowing down programs in the same transponder as the program selected by the competing receiver when there is resource competition from the plurality of receivers to the same tuner. The receiving system according to claim 1.   The electronic program guide forming means, when there is a resource contention from a plurality of the receiving devices to the same tuner, shares status information clearly indicating the sharing status based on the resource management information of the video resource management means. The receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the receiving system is additionally displayed on a table.   The video resource arbitration means simultaneously requests resource sharing in the same transponder from the competing receiving device when resource contention occurs due to a channel selection request selected by the receiving device based on the electronic program guide. The receiving system according to claim 1, wherein when a viewing request is made and sharing is permitted from a competitor, arbitration is performed so that the video of the selected program is transmitted.   The receiving device further includes viewing importance input means for inputting viewing importance, and the video resource management means manages the inputted viewing importance together with the shared state of the tuner, and forms the electronic program guide If there is resource contention from the plurality of receiving devices to the tuner, the means additionally displays the shared status information clearly indicating the viewing importance based on the resource management information of the video resource management means on the electronic program guide The receiving system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein   The video resource arbitration means, when resource contention occurs due to a channel selection request selected by the receiving device based on the electronic program guide, and when the viewing importance level is set high, the reception of the contention destination A request for simultaneous viewing requesting resource sharing in the same transponder is made to the apparatus, and when the resource contention occurs and the viewing importance level is set low, the simultaneous viewing request or the tuner release is requested. 6. An arbitration in which a video of a selected program is transmitted when a sharing permission or a release permission is received from the receiving apparatus as a competitor, and a viewing release request is transmitted. Receiving system.   If the video resource arbitration means does not respond to a simultaneous viewing request or a viewing release request issued to the competing receiving device from the competing receiving device after a certain period of time, the tuner 7. The receiving system according to claim 6, wherein a broadcast program of a channel requested by the requesting receiving device is received and a video signal related to the broadcast program is transmitted.   The receiving device further includes a viewing reservation input unit for reserving a viewing program, and the video resource management unit manages the viewing reserved program and the reservation importance level that are input together with the sharing state of the tuner. The reserved program transmission is confirmed with respect to the receiving device at the reservation destination at the reservation time, and when there is a transmission request response from the receiving device at the reservation destination, the video signal of the broadcast program of the selected channel is reserved. When there is no response after a certain period of time is transmitted to the receiving device, if the reservation importance is set high, the recording process is performed on the storage means, and if the reservation importance is set low The receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the viewing reservation is canceled.   The receiving device comprises a favorite program search condition input means, and the transmitting device receives from the program arrangement information corresponding to the broadcast type that the tuner can receive when receiving a favorite program search request from the receiving device. Channel selection based on the resource management information from the video resource management means from the first program arrangement information narrowing means for narrowing down the programs that match the search conditions, and the program arrangement information narrowed down by the first program arrangement information narrowing means A second program arrangement information narrowing means for narrowing down possible programs, and a search result screen for a favorite program that can be viewed based on the program arrangement information narrowed down by the second program arrangement information narrowing means are formed as video data. The receiving system according to claim 1, further comprising search result transmitting means for transmitting to the slave unit.   The search result screen of the favorite program displays the channel selection condition according to the resource sharing state, and can request the channel selection request from the reception device to match the channel selection condition to the transmission device. The receiving system according to claim 9.   The channel selection condition according to the resource sharing state is one that can be tuned by permission of the receiving device of the competition destination when there is resource contention, and can be tuned unconditionally when there is no resource contention. The receiving system according to claim 10, wherein: