JP2008016969A - Information processing device, software receiving system, software transmitting method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the software of an external device to be easily updated independently of whether the power supply of the external device is turned ON or OFF, and the capacity of the software for update is large or small. <P>SOLUTION: A broadcast receiving set 1 compares data, such as [maker_id], [model_id], [Target_version], etc. contained in the received SDTT with data, such as [maker_id], [model_id], [version], etc. of each external device previously stored in a flash ROM 12 etc. whereby DDB of each external device is filtered out from the received DSM-CC data carrousel, and the above DDB is transmitted at once to each external device without holding it once in the flash ROM 12 etc. Prior to the transmission of DDB to each of the external devices, power-ON signals for turning ON the power supply of each external device are transmitted to the external devices. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with an external apparatus via a network and receiving a broadcast signal, a software reception system for updating software installed in the external apparatus, a software transmission method, and a program.

  Conventionally, as a method of updating software installed in an external device used with a PC (Personal Computer), the update software downloaded by the PC is transferred to a removable medium, and the removable medium is attached to the external device. In this case, a software update method is used, and update software downloaded by a PC is transferred to an external device via a LAN (Local Area Network). However, in these methods, it is necessary for the user to intentionally download the update software and install it on an external device via a removable medium or a LAN.

  By the way, in digital broadcasting, in addition to video / audio signals such as broadcast programs, it is possible to broadcast update software for updating various software installed in the digital broadcast receiver. Therefore, by using a digital broadcast receiving device instead of a PC, the update software received by the digital broadcast receiving device by broadcast waves is transferred to an external device that does not have a broadcast receiving function via the network. However, it is possible to update the software of the external device without intention.

  For example, in the following Patent Document 1, a digital broadcast receiving apparatus holds external device specific information such as a manufacturer ID and model ID in a nonvolatile memory or the like, and an SDTT (Software Download Trigger Table) included in the digital broadcast wave. ) A technology is disclosed in which a packet is monitored, update software addressed to an external device is received, temporarily stored in the non-volatile memory, and transferred to an external device via an IEEE1394 interface. Further, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which the received update software addressed to the external device is immediately transferred to the external device without being stored in the nonvolatile memory.

Also in Patent Document 2 below, when a digital broadcast receiver is connected to an external device for the first time via an IEEE1394 terminal, the manufacturer ID, model ID, and program version information of the external device are acquired and received. When a new version of a program code for an external device is extracted from the digital broadcast signal, the technology stores the program code in a non-volatile memory and transfers the program code to the external device when the external device is connected again. ing.
JP 2004-56233 A (paragraphs [0006] to [0014], etc.) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-210183 (paragraph [0010] etc.)

  However, in the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when the update software received by the digital broadcast receiver is temporarily stored in the nonvolatile memory, the nonvolatile memory has a capacity equal to or greater than the capacity of the update software. It is necessary to secure an extra capacity, and an increase in cost is inevitable. In addition, since the capacity of the non-volatile memory is limited, there is a limit to the capacity of update software that can be transferred to an external device. In particular, when there are multiple external devices, all the update software is updated. I can't. Further, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, even in the configuration in which the update software received without being stored in the nonvolatile memory is immediately transferred to the external device, the update software is not in a state in which the power supply of the external device is turned on at the time of transfer. Cannot be sent to an external device for installation, and when the power is not turned on, it is still necessary to store in the non-volatile memory.

  In view of the circumstances as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and a software reception system capable of easily updating software of an external device regardless of the power-on state of the external device and the capacity of update software. Another object is to provide a software transmission method and program.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an information processing apparatus according to a main aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a plurality of external devices via a network, and external device identification information for identifying each external device. Storage means for associating and storing software related information regarding each software to be acquired by each external device, broadcast start time information regarding the external device identification information, the software related information, and the broadcast start time of the software, Included in the first broadcast signal, broadcast reception means for receiving the second broadcast signal including the software, the stored external device identification information and software related information, and the first broadcast signal. The external device identification information and the software related information are compared for each external device, and each software to be acquired by each external device Determining means for determining whether or not there is a broadcast of the air; and when the broadcast start time has arrived when it is determined that there is a broadcast of each of the software to be acquired, the received second broadcast And transmitting means for transmitting each of the software to be acquired extracted from the signal to each of the external devices together with a power-on signal for controlling to power on each of the external devices.

  Here, the information processing apparatus is, for example, a television receiver, a broadcast receiver such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) / DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) recorder (PVR: Personal Video Recorder), or an electronic device such as a PC having a broadcast receiver function. For example, a communication device capable of voice communication by VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), a network camera, etc., a device for performing so-called visual communication, and other AV devices, etc. have a broadcast receiving function. It is an electronic device that does not. The software is software newly installed in an external device or software for updating software installed in the external device. The external device identification information is, for example, the manufacturer ID or model ID of each external device, and the software related information is, for example, version information of software installed in each external device.

  With this configuration, the software necessary for each external device can be appropriately filtered from the received second broadcast signal and transmitted to each external device, and the software received by the broadcast receiving means can be stored in the storage means. Since the data is transmitted to each external device without being stored, it is possible to reduce the capacity of the storage means and avoid an increase in cost. In addition, since the capacity of the software to be received is not limited by the storage capacity, even when many pieces of software to be acquired by many external devices are received at one time, each software is stored in each external device regardless of the capacity. It can be transmitted easily. Furthermore, since it can be controlled to turn on the power of each external device at the broadcast start time of the software, it is possible to avoid a situation where each external device cannot receive software depending on the power-on status of each external device. The power consumption of each external device can be reduced compared to the case where the power is always turned on.

  In the information processing apparatus, the first broadcast signal includes broadcast duration information regarding a broadcast duration of the software, and the determination unit is configured to determine the broadcast start time information and broadcast duration information based on the broadcast start time information and the broadcast duration information. The broadcast end time of the software may be calculated, and the transmission unit may transmit a power-off signal for controlling the external device to be turned off at the calculated broadcast end time. .

  Thus, when the software is transmitted to each external device, it is possible to further reduce wasteful power consumption in each external device by controlling the power supply of each external device to be turned off.

  The information processing apparatus further includes receiving means for receiving the software related information from the external devices, and the storage means has means for updating the stored software related information with the received software related information. It does not matter.

  As a result, the information on the software to be acquired by each external device can always be updated to the latest one, and appropriate software is always filtered from the received second broadcast signal according to the state of each external device. It can be sent to an external device for acquisition.

  A software receiving system according to another aspect of the present invention is a system including an information processing device and a plurality of external devices that can communicate with each other via a network, and the information processing device identifies each external device. Receiving means for receiving external device identification information, software-related information about each software to be acquired by each external device from each external device, and the received external device identification information and software-related information in association with each other Storage means for storing, a first broadcast signal including the external device identification information, the software related information, and a broadcast start time information relating to a broadcast start time of the software, and a second broadcast signal including the software Broadcast receiving means, the stored external device identification information and software related information, and the first broadcast The external device identification information and the software-related information included in the issue number for each external device, and determining means for determining whether there is a broadcast of each software to be acquired by each external device; and When it is determined that there is a broadcast of each software to be acquired and the broadcast start time has arrived, the respective software to be acquired extracted from the received second broadcast signal is transmitted to each external device. And a transmission means for transmitting to each external device together with a power-on signal for controlling to power on the external device, and each external device transmits the external device identification information and the software related information to the information processing device. A transmission unit; a reception unit configured to receive the software and the power-on signal from the information processing apparatus; and power on based on the received power-on signal. It has a power-on means, and storage means for storing the received software.

  A software transmission method according to another aspect of the present invention is a method in which an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a plurality of external devices via a network transmits software to each external device, and identifies each external device. A step of storing the external device identification information in association with software-related information regarding each software to be acquired by each external device; and the broadcast start regarding the external device identification information, the software-related information, and the software broadcast start time Included in the first broadcast signal is a step of receiving a first broadcast signal including time information and a second broadcast signal including the software, the stored external device identification information and software related information, and the first broadcast signal. The external device identification information and software-related information to be compared for each external device, Determining whether there is a broadcast of each software to be acquired, and determining that there is a broadcast of each software to be acquired, and when the broadcast start time has arrived, the received second received Transmitting the software to be acquired extracted from the broadcast signal to the external devices together with a power-on signal for controlling the external devices to be powered on.

  A program according to still another aspect of the present invention provides an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a plurality of external apparatuses via a network, external apparatus identification information for identifying the external apparatuses, and the external apparatuses to be acquired. A step of storing software-related information associated with each software in association with each other, a first broadcast signal including the external device identification information, the software-related information, and broadcast start time information regarding the broadcast start time of the software; Receiving the second broadcast signal including: the stored external device identification information and software related information; and the external device identification information and software related information included in the first broadcast signal. Compared to each external device, it is determined whether there is a broadcast of each software to be acquired by each external device. And the software to be acquired extracted from the received second broadcast signal when it is determined that there is a broadcast of the software to be acquired and the broadcast start time has arrived. And a step of transmitting to each external device together with a power-on signal for controlling to power on each external device.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the software of the external device can be easily updated regardless of the power-on state of the external device and the capacity of the update software.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration of a software receiving system in the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the broadcast receiving device 1 and a plurality of external devices (external device 2, external device 3,...) Are connected via a network such as Ethernet (registered trademark) 4 or the like. ing. The broadcast receiving apparatus 1 can receive broadcast signals such as terrestrial digital broadcasts, and can transfer the received signals to external devices. In the present embodiment, using such a network configuration, the broadcast receiving device 1 downloads software for updating the software installed in each external device via a broadcast wave on behalf of each external device, The software of each external device is updated by transferring the data to each external device via Ethernet (registered trademark) 4.

  As the broadcast receiving apparatus 1, for example, a digital television apparatus, PVR, PC, or the like can be applied. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a digital television apparatus is applied. As each external device, various AV devices such as a digital camera and a digital video camera, and other electronic devices can be applied. In the present embodiment, each external device is a device capable of performing voice communication with other devices connected via Ethernet (registered trademark) 4 and a network such as the Internet by VoIP, for example.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the broadcast receiving apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 1, a broadcast receiving apparatus 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a flash ROM (Read Only Member) 12, an SDRAM (Synchronous Random Access Memory) 13, and an Ethernet (registered trademark) interface (I / F). 14, Ethernet (registered trademark) terminal 15, remote control light receiving unit 16, digital broadcast antenna input terminal 19, digital tuner 20, demultiplexer 21, MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) decoder 22, video signal processing circuit 23, graphic generation circuit 24, a display panel drive circuit 25, an audio signal processing circuit 27, an audio amplification circuit 28, a display panel 26, and a speaker 29.

  The CPU 11 comprehensively controls the broadcast receiving device 1. The flash ROM 12 is a non-volatile memory that stores software and data necessary for the control. As will be described later, the flash ROM 12 also includes “maker_id” for identifying the manufacturer of each external device, “model_id” for identifying the model of each external device, “version” information of the software installed in each external device, and the like. Remembered. Depending on the capacity of the software, the capacity of the flash ROM 12 may be minimized, and another large-capacity external storage device such as an HDD may be mounted. The SDRAM 13 is a memory that functions as a work area when the CPU 11 executes the software.

  The Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 is an interface for connecting to each external device via the Ethernet (registered trademark) terminal 15 in accordance with the Ethernet (registered trademark) standard. The CPU 11, the flash ROM 12, the SDRAM 13, and the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 are connected to the internal bus 30 and can exchange signals with each other.

  The operation of the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 is performed by a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) 17. The remote control light receiving unit 16 receives the remote control signal transmitted from the remote control 17 and outputs it to the CPU 11. The CPU 11 controls each circuit of the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 after decoding the control code of the input remote control signal.

  The digital broadcast antenna input terminal 19 inputs a terrestrial digital broadcast signal, for example, and outputs it to the digital tuner 20. The digital tuner 20 converts the input digital broadcast signal into a baseband stream signal and outputs it to the demultiplexer 21.

  The demultiplexer 21 discriminates a baseband stream signal obtained by multiplexing a plurality of streams into MPEG-TS (Transport Stream) and DSM-CC (Digital Storage Media Command and Control) data, and converts the MPEG-TS into an MPEG decoder. 22 to output the DSM-CC data to the CPU 11. Details of the DSM-CC data will be described later.

  The MPEG decoder 22 performs a decoding process according to the MPEG standard on the MPEG-TS encoded according to the MPEG standard. That is, the MPEG decoder 22 converts a video signal to a digital component signal and an audio signal to a digital audio signal in the MPEG-TS, converts the digital component signal to the video signal processing circuit 23, and processes the digital audio signal to an audio signal. Output to the circuit 27.

  The video signal processing circuit 23 performs various video signal processing on the input digital component signal and outputs the processed signal to the graphic generation circuit 24. The graphic generation circuit 24 generates a graphic screen necessary for the operation of the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 and superimposes the generated graphic screen on a digital component signal (OSD (On Screen Display) processing) or replaces it with a digital component signal. To the display panel drive circuit 25.

  The display panel drive circuit 25 generates a video signal necessary for display on the display panel 26 and outputs the video signal to the display panel 26. The display panel 26 is a liquid crystal panel, for example.

  The audio signal processing circuit 27 performs various audio signal processing on the input digital audio signal and outputs the processed signal to the audio amplifier circuit 28. The audio amplifying circuit 28 adjusts the input audio signal to an appropriate volume and outputs it from the speaker 29.

  Although not shown, the broadcast receiving device 1 has hardware and software necessary for functioning as a general digital television device, such as a power source that supplies power to each unit, a video input terminal, and an audio input terminal. Shall.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the external device 2. As shown in the figure, the external device 2 includes a CPU 31, a flash ROM 32, an SDRAM 33, an Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 34, an Ethernet (registered trademark) terminal 35, an HDD 36, a microphone 37, and an audio A / D (Analog / Digital). The circuit 31, the audio encoding circuit 39, the audio signal processing circuit 40, the echo canceller / synthesis circuit 41, the audio D / A circuit 42, the speaker 43, the power supply control circuit 45 and the power supply 46. The CPU 31 controls the external device 2 in an integrated manner. The flash ROM 32 stores software necessary for the control. The flash ROM 32 also stores the “maker_id”, “model_id”, and “version” information of the software of the external device 2. The SDRAM 33 functions as an execution area for the software. The software may be stored in a large-capacity external storage device such as the HDD 36 depending on the capacity. The Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 34 is an interface for connecting to the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 via the Ethernet (registered trademark) terminal 35. These are connected to the internal bus 44.

  The microphone 37 inputs a sound emitted from the user or the periphery of the external device as a sound signal and outputs the sound signal to the sound A / D circuit 38. The audio A / D circuit 38 converts the input audio signal into a digital audio signal and outputs it to the audio encoding circuit 39. The audio encoding circuit 39 encodes the input digital audio signal in accordance with, for example, the MPEG standard, and outputs it to the audio signal processing circuit 40. The audio signal processing circuit 40 converts the input digital audio signal into IP and outputs it to the Ethernet (registered trademark) 4 via the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F and the Ethernet (registered trademark) terminal 35.

  On the other hand, the voice IP packet transmitted on the Ethernet (registered trademark) 4 is input to the external device 2 via the Ethernet (registered trademark) terminal 35 and the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 34. The audio signal processing circuit 40 decodes the audio IP packet into a digital baseband signal and outputs it to the echo canceller & synthesis circuit.

  The echo canceller & synthesis circuit 41 removes the echo component from the input digital baseband signal, synthesizes it with the audio signal from the microphone 37, and outputs it to the audio D / A circuit 42. The audio D / A circuit 42 converts the input digital audio signal into an analog audio signal and outputs it from the speaker 43.

  The power control circuit 45 controls power supply from the power supply 46 to each unit based on a power-on signal (described later) transmitted from the broadcast receiving apparatus 1. The power source is, for example, a battery, a battery, or an AC power source.

  Each external device other than the external device 2 has the same configuration as the external device 2, but the manufacturer, model, installed software, version thereof, and the like may be different in each external device. And

  Next, a method for downloading software in the software receiving system configured as described above will be described.

  In the present embodiment, a DSM-CC data carousel transmission system is used to download software. In the DSM-CC data carousel transmission system, unlike the stream transmission system such as video / audio, it is possible for the broadcast receiving device to acquire the necessary data at any timing by repeatedly sending the same data for a certain period of time. It is said. Also, in the DSM-CC data carousel transmission system, there are basically two messages: a DDB (Download Data Block) message containing actual content data and a DII (Download Info Indication) message describing the DDB directory information. used. Software data downloaded in the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 is included in the DDB.

  On the other hand, PSI (Program Specific Information) / SI (Service Information) signals are inserted between MPEG-TSs of video signals and audio signals in broadcast signals received by the broadcast receiver 1. The PSI / SI includes a PMT (Program Map Table) and a PAT (Program Association Table). The PMT is a table for specifying TS packets that transmit streams of video, audio, data, and the like. A PMT exists for each service, and a PID (packet identifier) and a stream format identifier of each stream constituting the service are designated. The stream format identifier in MPEG2-TS is defined as “0x0B” or “0x0D”. The PAT is a table for specifying a TS packet that transmits a PMT, and a list of programs included in a certain TS is stored as a PID list of the PMT.

The demultiplexer 21 of the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 determines a stream format identifier included in the PMT and discriminates a DSM-CC packet. Since this DSM-CC packet is not always transmitted, the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 receives SDTT (Software Download Trigger Table) which is notification information (transmission schedule information) of transmitted software, and follows the SDTT. Download the software. The SDTT includes the following information.
maker_id: Manufacturer ID of the broadcast receiving device (external device)
model_id: Model number of the broadcast receiving device (external device)
Target_version: Version number of the software to be updated
New_version: Version number of the downloaded software
Download_level: If "01", forced download
Start_time: Download data broadcast start time
Duration: Broadcast duration

  The broadcast receiving device 1 acquires “maker_id” and “model_id” of each external device and “version” information of software of each external device in advance from each external device via the Ethernet (registered trademark) 4, and the flash ROM 12. Remember to etc. In order to always store these pieces of information as the latest information, it is preferable that the broadcast receiving device 1 periodically receives these pieces of information from each external device and updates the information in the flash ROM 12. Further, these pieces of information may be extracted from the information included in the SDTT and stored when the previous software for each external device is downloaded, without being acquired from each external device.

  Next, operations of the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 and each external apparatus when downloading software in the software receiving system configured as described above will be described.

  First, the operation of the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 in the present embodiment.

  When the CPU 11 of the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 first receives the SDTT packet (step 51), the “maker_id”, “model_id” and “version” information stored in advance in the flash ROM 12 and the received SDTT packet are stored. The “maker_id”, “model_id”, and “Target_version” information included are compared to determine whether or not software broadcasting for each external device is scheduled (step 52). When it is determined that the broadcast is not scheduled (No), the CPU 11 ends this operation.

  If it is determined that the broadcast is scheduled (Yes), the CPU 11 extracts “start_time”, “duration”, and “new_version” data from the received SDTT packet, and stores them in the flash ROM 12 (step). 53).

  Subsequently, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the broadcast start time of the software has been reached based on “start_time” stored in the flash ROM 12 (step 54). When it is determined that the broadcast start time has not been reached (No), the CPU 11 waits until the broadcast start time and repeats the determination.

  When it is determined that the broadcast start time has been reached (Yes), the CPU 11 sends a power-on signal for powering on the external device connected to the Ethernet (registered trademark) 4 to which software is to be downloaded. Transmit to the device (step 55). Then, as described above, the CPU 11 determines the stream format identifier in the PMT from the received broadcast signal, extracts the DSM-CC data carousel, and discriminates the target DDB packet from the DSM-CC data carousel. Then, the data is transmitted to the target external device via the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and the Ethernet (registered trademark) terminal 15 (steps 56 and 57). When there are a plurality of external devices to be downloaded, the CPU 11 filters the received DDB for each external device and transmits it to each external device.

  If the user gives permission for the compulsory download in advance, when the “Download_level” of the SDTT is “01”, software download starts in the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 without the user being aware of it. And transmitted to each external device.

  Subsequently, the CPU 11 calculates the broadcast end time of the DDB from the “start_time” data and “duration” data stored in advance in the flash ROM 12, and determines whether or not the broadcast end time has been reached (step 58). ). When it is determined that the broadcast end time has not been reached (No), the CPU 11 continues the process of receiving the DDB and transmitting it to the external device. If it is determined that the broadcast end time has been reached (Yes), the CPU 11 determines that the DDB broadcast has ended and ends this operation.

  Next, the operation of the external device will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the external device 2 in the present embodiment.

  First, the power supply control circuit 45 of the external device 2 determines whether or not the power-on signal is received from the broadcast receiving device 1 (step 61). If it is determined that the power-on signal has not been received (No), the power control circuit 45 determines that software download has not been performed yet, and ends this operation.

  If it is determined that the power-on signal has been received (Yes), the power control circuit 45 turns on the power 46 of the external device 2 (step 62). The CPU 31 receives the DDB packet transmitted from the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 via the Ethernet (registered trademark) 4 via the Ethernet (registered trademark) terminal 35 and the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 34 (step 63). The received DDB is stored in the flash ROM 32 or the HDD 36 (step 64).

  Then, the CPU 31 determines whether or not reception of download data by the DDB is completed (step 65). This determination may be made by acquiring “start_time” / “duration” information from the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 in advance, or by referring to the data capacity described in the DDB, data corresponding to the capacity. May be determined that the data reception is also completed when the data is stored in the flash ROM 32 or the HDD 36.

  If it is determined that the DDB reception has not been completed (No), the CPU 31 continues to repeat the DDB reception. If it is determined that the DDB reception has been completed (Yes), the CPU 31 uses the received DDB to update the software stored in the flash ROM 32 or the HDD 36 (step 66), and performs this operation. finish. The operations of the external devices other than the external device 2 are the same.

  Through the operation described above, the broadcast receiving device 1 receives the update software (DDB) necessary for each external device, performs filtering for each external device, and does not store it in the flash ROM 12 or the like of the broadcast receiving device 1. By immediately transmitting to each external device, the software addressed to each external device can be transmitted to each external device regardless of its capacity. Prior to transmitting each software to each external device, a power-on signal is sent to power on each external device, so the software of each external device is updated according to the power-on status of each external device. It is possible to prevent it from being disabled, and to avoid a situation in which the software received by the broadcast receiving device 1 must be temporarily held on the broadcast receiving device 1 side when the power of each external device is not turned on. be able to. Then, by turning on the power only when software update is required in each external device, power consumption in each external device can be reduced.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the DDB transmission to the external device ends and the DDB broadcast end time arrives, the broadcast receiving device 1 sends a power-off signal for controlling the external device to be turned off. You may make it transmit to an external device. In this case, the power supply control circuit of each external device receives the power-off signal and stops supplying power to each unit. Thus, when the software update is completed in each external device, it is possible to further suppress wasteful power consumption in each external device by controlling the power supply of each external device to be turned off. In consideration of the time from when the DDB received by each external device is received from the broadcast receiving device 1 to when the update is executed, the broadcast receiving device 1 receives the power supply when a predetermined time elapses from the broadcast end time. A disconnect signal may be transmitted. Also, by acquiring the “version” information of the software from each external device and confirming that the “version” and the “New_version” information in the SDTT received before receiving the DDB are the same version, It may be determined that the software update has been completed and a power-off signal may be transmitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the broadcast receiving device 1 or each external device may have a camera for capturing a user's video and a video input terminal for inputting the video. Thereby, it becomes possible to perform visual communication such as so-called video conference between users of other apparatuses connected via Ethernet (registered trademark) 4 and a network such as the Internet.

  Also, in this case, during the visual communication with other devices via the network, the software necessary for the external device is received by the broadcast receiving device 1 via the broadcast wave and transferred to the external device. However, an external device may be installed. For example, according to instructions from the other party of the visual communication, various software for realizing various functions in the visual communication is received by the broadcast receiving device 1 via the broadcast wave, and the external device is installed, thereby facilitating the visual communication more smoothly. Can be done. The reception and installation operations of the various software may be performed using the display panel and remote control of the broadcast receiving device 1 as an interface.

  In the above-described embodiment, the broadcast receiving device 1 receives the update software for each external device, and transmits the filtered software for each external device. Of course, the software of the broadcast receiving device 1 is updated. You may make it receive the software for doing. In this case, the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 filters the DDB including update software necessary for itself, transmits the necessary DDB to each external apparatus, and stores and updates the necessary DDB in the flash ROM 12. Execute.

  In the above-described embodiment, the broadcast receiving device 1 may be able to receive not only terrestrial digital broadcasts but also satellite digital broadcasts, and update software to be acquired by each external device is also downloaded via satellite broadcast waves. It does not matter.

  In addition, the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 is not limited to software, and may receive various data such as video content and audio content included in a broadcast wave instead of each external apparatus and appropriately transmit the data to each external apparatus. I do not care. As a result, even if the external device does not have a broadcast receiving function, various data can be transferred to the external device and used. Even in this case, the received data is not stored in the broadcast receiving device 1, but is filtered to each external device and then immediately transmitted to each external device together with the power-on signal, so that the capacity of the content etc. Regardless of the power-on state of each external device, it is possible to transmit a large amount of content to a large number of external devices.

It is the figure which showed the network structure of the software receiving system in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the broadcast receiver in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the external device in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of operation | movement of the broadcast receiver in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of operation | movement of the external device in one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Broadcast receiving device 2, 3 ... External device 4 ... Ethernet (trademark)
11, 31 ... CPU
12, 32 ... Flash ROM
14, 34 ... Ethernet (registered trademark) interface 15, 35 ... Ethernet (registered trademark) terminal 21 ... Demultiplexer 36 ... HDD
45 ... Power supply control circuit 46 ... Power supply

Claims (6)

An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a plurality of external devices via a network,
Storage means for associating and storing external device identification information for identifying each external device and software related information regarding each software to be acquired by each external device;
Broadcast receiving means for receiving a first broadcast signal including the external device identification information, the software related information, and a broadcast start time information relating to a broadcast start time of the software; and a second broadcast signal including the software;
The stored external device identification information and software related information and the external device identification information and software related information included in the first broadcast signal are compared for each external device, and each external device obtains A determination means for determining whether there is a broadcast of each software to be
When it is determined that there is a broadcast of each software to be acquired and the broadcast start time has arrived, each software to be acquired extracted from the received second broadcast signal is set to each external An information processing apparatus comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit to each of the external devices together with a power-on signal for controlling power-on of the device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The first broadcast signal includes broadcast duration information regarding the broadcast duration of the software,
The determination means calculates a broadcast end time of the software based on the broadcast start time information and broadcast duration information.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits a power-off signal for controlling the power-off of the external devices at the calculated broadcast end time to the external devices. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
Further comprising receiving means for receiving the software-related information from each external device;
The information processing apparatus, wherein the storage means includes means for updating the stored software-related information with the received software-related information. A system comprising an information processing device and a plurality of external devices that can communicate with each other via a network,
The information processing apparatus includes:
Receiving means for receiving, from each external device, external device identification information for identifying each external device and software-related information regarding each software to be acquired by each external device, and the received external device identification information and software Storage means for associating and storing related information, a first broadcast signal including the external device identification information, the software related information, and broadcast start time information regarding the broadcast start time of the software, and a first including the software Broadcast receiving means for receiving two broadcast signals, the stored external device identification information and software related information, and the external device identification information and software related information included in the first broadcast signal. A judgment method for judging whether there is a broadcast of each software to be acquired by each external device as compared with each device. And when it is determined that there is a broadcast of each software to be acquired and the broadcast start time has arrived, each of the software to be acquired extracted from the received second broadcast signal, Transmission means for transmitting to each external device together with a power-on signal for controlling to power on each external device,
Each external device is
Based on the received power-on signal, transmitting means for transmitting the external device identification information and the software-related information to the information processing apparatus, receiving means for receiving the software and the power-on signal from the information processing apparatus, and A software receiving system comprising: power-on means for turning on the power; and storage means for storing the received software. An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a plurality of external devices via a network transmits software to each external device,
Storing, in association with each other, external device identification information for identifying each external device, and software-related information regarding each software to be acquired by each external device;
Receiving a first broadcast signal including the external device identification information, the software-related information, and broadcast start time information related to the broadcast start time of the software; and a second broadcast signal including the software;
The stored external device identification information and software related information and the external device identification information and software related information included in the first broadcast signal are compared for each external device, and each external device obtains Determining whether there is a broadcast of each software to be
When it is determined that there is a broadcast of each software to be acquired and the broadcast start time has arrived, each software to be acquired extracted from the received second broadcast signal is set to each external And a step of transmitting to each of the external devices together with a power-on signal for controlling power-on of the device. To an information processing device that can communicate with multiple external devices over a network,
Storing, in association with each other, external device identification information for identifying each external device, and software-related information regarding each software to be acquired by each external device;
Receiving a first broadcast signal including the external device identification information, the software-related information, and broadcast start time information related to the broadcast start time of the software; and a second broadcast signal including the software;
The stored external device identification information and software related information and the external device identification information and software related information included in the first broadcast signal are compared for each external device, and each external device obtains Determining whether there is a broadcast of each software to be
When it is determined that there is a broadcast of each software to be acquired and the broadcast start time has arrived, each software to be acquired extracted from the received second broadcast signal is set to each external And a step of transmitting to each external device together with a power-on signal for controlling the device to be turned on.

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