JP2007150795A - Notice broadcasting system and center equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital CATV system which originally transmits an emergency alarm flag to a digital CATVSTB differently from an emergency alarm flag included in BS digital broadcasting and digital terrestrial broadcasting before a CATV broadcasting station performs modulation conversion. <P>SOLUTION: The notice broadcasting system comprises: a center unit for multiplexing an alarm broadcasting flag indicating the presence of emergency alarm broadcasting and an identification ID indicating a receiver being an object to advise the presence of the alarm broadcasting on broadcasting signals and transmitting them; and the digital CATVSTB for detecting the presence of the alarm broadcasting flag and displaying the presence of the alarm broadcasting when its own ID and the identification ID match each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a notification broadcast system in a digital CATV system that receives a digital broadcast signal that has been modulated and transmitted, and a center device used therefor.

  The conventional CATV broadcasting station only adds and rewrites the minimum descriptors necessary for converting the modulation system to CATV for BS and terrestrial digital broadcasting received from each broadcasting station. Resubmit without change.

Therefore, the conventional announcement broadcasting system uses the emergency warning flag of BS digital broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting before modulation conversion in the CATV station as it is, and digitally viewing the station according to an instruction from the broadcasting station. It has become a system that implements emergency alert broadcasting for CATVSTB (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-77847 JCTEA STD-007-2.0 "Digital Cable Television Broadcasting BS / Broadband CS Digital Receiver" 10 Emergency Warning Broadcast, Emergency Notification Broadcasting and Global Warming Prevention

  As described above, the notification broadcasting in the conventional digital CATV system is performed according to an instruction from the broadcasting station using the BS digital broadcasting before the CATV station performs modulation conversion or the emergency warning flag of the terrestrial digital broadcasting as it is. Since it is a system, only the digital CATVSTB that is viewing the station that is broadcasting the notification broadcast can receive the notification broadcast.

  That is, there is a problem that the CATV station cannot add the notification broadcast independently, and that the digital CATVSTB viewing other networks cannot determine the presence of the notification broadcast.

  Therefore, the present invention is a digital CATV that can independently transmit an emergency alert flag to a digital CATVSTB separately from the emergency alert flag included in BS digital broadcast and terrestrial digital broadcast before the CATV broadcast station performs modulation conversion. The purpose is to provide a system.

  In addition, the emergency warning flag can be transmitted separately from the emergency warning flag included in BS digital broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting, so that the presence of emergency warning broadcasting can be determined regardless of the network currently being viewed by digital CATVSTB. The purpose is to make it possible.

  Furthermore, it is an object of the CATV station to transmit an emergency alert flag only to STBs belonging to a specific subscriber or a specific group by transmitting an emergency alert flag using STB-ID or CAS-ID.

  In order to solve this problem, in the notification broadcasting system according to the present invention, an alarm broadcast flag indicating the presence of an emergency alarm broadcast, and an identification ID indicating a receiver to be notified of the presence of this alarm broadcast, a broadcast signal And a center device that multiplexes and transmits the information, and a digital CATVSTB that detects the presence of the alarm broadcast flag and displays the presence of the alarm broadcast when the own device ID and the identification ID match.

  As a result, the CATV broadcasting station can independently transmit an emergency alert flag to the digital CATVSTB, and the digital CATVSTB can determine the presence of the emergency alert broadcast regardless of the network currently being viewed.

  Further, the CATV station transmits the emergency alert flag using the STB-ID or the CAS-ID, so that the emergency alert flag can be transmitted only to the STB belonging to the specific subscriber or the specific group.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a digital CATV notification broadcast system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram schematically showing data of the link descriptor 201 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows the structure of the link descriptor 201, and FIG. An announcement broadcast link descriptor 202 extended in the invention is shown. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation processing flow of the digital STB in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  This will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In a digital CATV system including a center apparatus 100, a transmission path 107, and a digital CATVSTB 108, the center apparatus 100 includes a BS digital transmitter apparatus 102 that modulates and converts BS digital broadcasts, a CATV remux apparatus 103 that remultiplexes CS digital broadcasts, A terrestrial digital transmitter device 104 that modulates and converts terrestrial digital broadcasts is provided (hereinafter, the BS digital transmitter device 102, the CATV Remux device 103, and the terrestrial digital transmitter device 104 are collectively referred to as "modulation converter").

  The center device 100 also includes a notification broadcast link descriptor insertion device 101 for inserting the notification broadcast link descriptor 202 into each of the modulation conversion devices (102 to 104), the modulation conversion device (102 to 104), and the notification broadcast. A control device 105 that controls the link descriptor insertion device 101 and a mixing device 106 that mixes the output signals of the modulation converters (102 to 104). The signal mixed by the mixing device 106 is sent to the transmission line 107. The

  The digital CATVSTB 108 is provided with a system for inputting a signal from the transmission path 107 and outputting it to the notification display device 109 and the television 110.

  First, the operation when the center apparatus 100 performs announcement broadcasting from the CATV station will be described.

  The BS digital transmitter apparatus 102 that modulates and converts BS digital broadcasting has a function of rewriting a distribution descriptor in the NIT from that of a satellite to that of a CATV.

  The control device 105 controls the control broadcast device 105 to expand the function and to define the broadcast notification link descriptor 202 extended and defined using a vendor-specific area below the vendor ID of the link descriptor 201 created by the broadcast broadcast link descriptor insertion device 101. To insert into 1st loop of NIT.

  The extended definition using the vendor-specific area is performed without departing from the convention as the link descriptor 201, and thus does not affect the digital CATVSTB 108 of other vendors.

  Here, in order to use the download service in the Japan Cable Lab specification “BS digital broadcasting transmodulation operation specification”, the link descriptor 201 can use other than the SDTT method of JCTEA STD-007-1.0. It is a defined descriptor, and the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is defined. The present invention extends the vendor-specific area of the link descriptor 201 originally defined for the download service and defines it as the link descriptor 202 for broadcast notification without departing from the “NIT 1st LOOP” convention. The announcement broadcast link descriptor 202 is to be defined.

  Since the link descriptor 201 itself is defined so as to be inserted into each network, it is possible to detect a notification broadcast while viewing any network, and to provide a method that does not affect the digital CATVSTB 108 of other vendors. Is possible.

  In the present invention, the presence / absence of an announcement broadcast is transmitted to the digital CATVSTB 108 using this extended definition portion. In addition, it is possible to limit the transmission of this notification broadcast to a specific digital CATVSTB 108 and insert it at the timing when each broadcast station starts the notification broadcast.

  As an extended definition of the announcement broadcast link descriptor 202, for example, in the group_ID 16 bits, when the bit position 15 = 0, the remaining 15 bits are used for the STBID group, and when the bit position 15 = 1, the remaining 15 bits are set. Used to designate a group of C-CASIDs inserted in the digital CATVSTB 108.

  Here, for example, in the case where the digital CATVSTB 108 is distinguished and managed for each region by Group_ID, it is possible to perform notification broadcasting by distinguishing for each region. In addition, when performing category management based on a program viewing contract, notification broadcasting can be performed for each program viewing contract. What sort management is performed is determined by the operation of the CATV station.

  The DL_procedure_flag (8 bits) in the announcement broadcast link descriptor 202 is defined as follows.

  The version number of the announcement broadcast is defined using 2 bits at the bit positions 7 to 6. When the content of the announcement broadcast is updated, the version number is incremented using this bit. This notifies the digital CATVSTB 108 that has received the previous announcement broadcast that there is a new announcement broadcast. In this case, for example, “3” is followed by “0”, and the change from “3” to “0” can also be defined as representing the content update of the notification broadcast.

  The channel selection destination index of announcement broadcasting is defined using 3 bits of Bit positions 5 to 3. This channel selection index is used for designating a channel selection destination stored in advance in the digital CATVSTB 108.

  The display form of the notification broadcast is designated using 2 bits at the bit positions 2 to 1. For example, when only the digital CATVSTB 108 currently being viewed is set as the notification target, “00” is described, and in this case, the OSD display is performed so as to overlap the viewing program. In the case of other values (“01”, “10”, “11”), the notification display device 109 connected to the outside is used alone or in combination with the OSD display of the television 110 to notify the viewer of the presence of the notification broadcast. it can.

  The configuration method of Group_ID and DL_procedure_flag is not limited to the first embodiment, and other configuration methods may be used. Further, the bit position and the number of bits are not limited to those in the first embodiment.

  The function of the BS digital transmitter apparatus 102 has been described above. Similarly, the notification broadcast link descriptor 202 is controlled by the control apparatus 105 for the CATV Remux apparatus 103 and the terrestrial digital transmitter apparatus 104 which are other networks. To insert into 1st loop of NIT.

  In the mixing device 106, the output signals of the BS digital transmitter device 102, the CATV Remux device 103, and the terrestrial digital transmitter device 104 are frequency-multiplexed and sent to the transmission path 107.

  As described above, the center apparatus 100 inserts the notification broadcast link descriptor 202 in all networks, not limited to the network that performs the notification broadcast. Therefore, regardless of which network the digital CATVSTB 108 is currently receiving. The viewer can confirm the presence / absence of an announcement broadcast.

  Next, the operation in the case of receiving the announcement broadcast by the digital CATVSTB 108 and displaying it on the screen will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The digital CATVSTB 108 constantly monitors the NIT while receiving a digital broadcast belonging to one of the networks, and has a function that can be immediately detected when the contents are changed.

  Using this function, a process is performed to compare whether or not the descriptor_tag value 0x4A is inserted in the 1st loop of the NIT (301).

  If they match, processing for comparing vendor IDs is subsequently performed (302).

  If it matches the vendor ID, the group ID comparison process is continued (303), and the msb value of the group ID is used as a flag for defining the type. When “0”, STBID, and when “1” Is defined as C-CASID. A comparison process with the STBID group is performed (305), or a comparison process with the C-CAS group is performed (304).

  In the comparison process of (304) or (305), if a match is detected, the version of DL_procedure_flag and the channel selection index are compared with the previously selected value recorded in the nonvolatile memory (306), If they do not match, the display form of DL_procedure_flag is analyzed.

  A comparison process is performed to determine whether the value of the display form of DL_procedure_flag is 0b00 (307). If they match, an on-screen display display process indicating that there is an announcement broadcast on the television 110 being viewed is performed (313).

  When the viewer confirms the display on the on-screen display and selects the viewing of the notification broadcast (314), the display of the notification broadcast is turned off and the channel selection destination corresponding to the channel selection index stored in the nonvolatile memory is selected. At the same time as the station processing (316), the channel selection index and version are overwritten in the nonvolatile memory (317), and the operation of the notification broadcast channel selection is terminated.

  When viewing of the notice broadcast is not selected (314), the process of deleting the notice broadcast is performed (315), the channel selection destination index and the version are overwritten in the nonvolatile memory (317), and the operation of the notice broadcast selection is performed. finish.

  If no match is detected in the comparison process of (307), a comparison process is then performed to determine whether the value of the display form of DL_procedure_flag is 0b01 (308). If they match, the notification display device 109 connected to the outside is displayed. Control is performed to generate a warning sound (309), and the subscriber is notified that there is an announcement broadcast.

  If no match is detected in the comparison process of (308), similarly, a comparison process of whether the value of the display form of DL_procedure_flag is 0b10 is performed (310). When the values of the display forms match, the notification display device 109 connected to the outside is controlled to perform display processing (311) to notify the subscriber that there is a notification broadcast.

  If there is a mismatch in the comparison process (310), the notification display device 109 connected to the outside is controlled to generate a warning sound and a display (312), and both the warning sound and the display inform the subscriber that there is a notification broadcast. .

  The subscriber recognizes that there is a notification broadcast depending on the state of either the display unit or the warning sound generation unit of the notification display device 109, or both, and turns on the television 110 when the television 110 is turned off. .

  Thereafter, the notification broadcast can be selected and the contents can be confirmed by the same operation after the processing (313).

  This vendor ID determination process (302) is executed for the number of times the vendor ID is looped.

  The determination process (306) can prevent the notification display device 109 from being reactivated by the notification broadcast once selected, and the subscriber can be prevented from showing the same notification broadcast a plurality of times.

  As described above, when the digital CATVSTB 108 detects the presence of the notification broadcast, the digital CATVSTB 108 operates the notification display device 109, which consumes much less power than the power consumption of the television 110, and selects the power source of the television 110 by the subscriber. By turning on the power, the notification broadcasting system that considers power consumption can be realized.

  In the first embodiment, the group ID for specifying the digital CATVSTB 108, the display form of the notification broadcast, and the bit assignment of DL_procedure_flag for specifying the channel selection destination are performed. However, the assignment is not limited to this, and other assignments may be used as long as the center device 100 and the digital CATVSTB 108 have the same definition in advance.

  In the first embodiment, the notification broadcast is displayed using the notification display device 109 connected to the outside, but the notification broadcast is displayed using the display function and the warning sound generation function of the digital CATVSTB 108. Is also possible.

  Further, it is possible to display an announcement broadcast even in a power saving mode in which functions other than the reception of the digital CATVSTB 108 are suspended, and an announcement broadcast system with less power consumption can be realized.

  The notification broadcasting system of the present invention is useful for improving the service for each CATV station because it enables the addition of a notification broadcast from the CATV station in a digital CATV system that is modulated and converted.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital CATV notification broadcasting system in the first embodiment The figure which represented the data of the link descriptor in Embodiment 1 typically Flowchart showing operation of digital CATVSTB in Embodiment 1

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Center apparatus 101 Notification broadcast link descriptor insertion apparatus 102 BS digital transmitter apparatus 103 CATVRemux apparatus 104 Terrestrial digital transmitter apparatus 105 Control apparatus 106 Mixing apparatus 107 Transmission path 108 Digital CATVSTB
109 Notification Display Device 110 Television 201 Link Descriptor 202 Link Broadcast Notification Descriptor

Claims (4)

An alarm broadcast flag indicating the presence of an emergency alert broadcast, and a center device that multiplexes and transmits an identification ID indicating a receiver to be notified of the presence of the alert broadcast to a broadcast signal,
Digital CATVSTB that detects the presence of the alarm broadcast flag and displays the presence of the alarm broadcast when the own machine ID and the identification ID match
Announcement broadcasting system consisting of The notification broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein the center device transmits the warning broadcast flag and the identification ID in a vendor-specific area of a link descriptor. The notification broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein the identification ID is a CAS card ID or a CAS card group ID. A center device that receives at least one of BS digital broadcasting, CS digital broadcasting, and terrestrial digital broadcasting, and retransmits it via a CATV transmission path,
Monitor the emergency alert broadcast flag of each digital broadcast to be received, and if the presence of the emergency alert broadcast is detected, the alert broadcast flag indicating the presence of the emergency alert broadcast and the receiver to be notified of the presence of this alert broadcast A center device that multiplexes and transmits an identification ID indicating a broadcast signal.

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