JP2008236051A - Broadcasting system and broadcasting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a broadcasting system and a broadcasting method for allowing an operator to immediately distinguish difference in program video data between an on-air system and a back up system, when difference arises in the data between those systems. <P>SOLUTION: The broadcasting system comprises a first database for storing first on-air information and material information on a program, a second database for storing second on-air information and the material information on the program, a first transmission portion for transmitting the first on-air information, a second transmission portion for transmitting the second on-air information, a first determination portion for comparing the first on-air information with the second on-air information to determine difference between the second on-air information and the first on-air information, a second determination portion for comparing the second on-air information transmitted by the second transmission portion with the first on-air information transmitted by the first transmission portion to determine difference between the first on-air information and the second on-air information, and an informing portion and an alarm apparatus for reporting each difference information based on the determination by each determination portion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a broadcasting system and a broadcasting method in a redundant configuration.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a broadcasting system is known that is made redundant in two broadcasting systems: a main system that mainly plays programs, and a backup system that is switched when a problem occurs in the main system.

Conventionally, there is already a technology for detecting a difference in program information by providing a main system and a backup system in one difference detection device, and simply comparing program information composed of video and audio transmitted from the main system and the backup system. Published (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-157743 A

  However, in the case of the above-mentioned conventional technology, although the difference between the program video data of the main system and the backup system is detected, only the difference is detected, and the realization such as how the data is different for each system is not realized. Not done. For this reason, it may take time for the operator to determine the difference in the program video data for each system.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem. When there is a difference in program video data between the main system and the backup system being broadcast, the operator can determine how the data differs in each system. It is an object of the present invention to provide a broadcasting system and a broadcasting method that can determine immediately.

  In order to achieve the above object, a broadcasting system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a host control device that broadcasts a broadcast control signal, and a broadcast control signal transmitted from the host control device via a network. A first broadcast transmission device and a second broadcast transmission device that output program video data, and one of the program video data transmitted from the first broadcast transmission device and the second broadcast transmission device, respectively. In the broadcast system including the switching unit that outputs the first broadcast transmission device, the first broadcast sending device includes first on-air information including information for specifying a broadcast content, attribute, type, and target of the program, and material information of the program. First on-air information and program material information from the first database in accordance with a stored first database and a broadcast control signal received from the host controller. A first sending unit that squeezes out and constitutes first program video data, sends second on-air information acquired from the second broadcast sending device, and is read from the first database by the first sending unit. A first determination unit that compares the first on-air information with each other and determines a difference between the second on-air information with respect to the first on-air information of the first program video data currently being transmitted, and a result of the determination by the first determination unit A first notification unit that outputs difference information of the second on-air information in which a difference has occurred, and the second broadcast transmission device uses the first on-air information as a backup for the first program video data. A second database storing equivalent second on-air information and program material information, and second on-air information from the second database in accordance with a broadcast control signal received from the host controller. A second sending unit that reads out the material information of the set to construct and send the second program video data; the first on-air information acquired from the first broadcast sending device; and A second determination unit that compares the second on-air information read from the database to determine a difference between the first on-air information and the second on-air information of the second program video data currently being transmitted; and the second determination Each of the differences output from the first broadcast transmission device and the second broadcast transmission device, and a second notification unit that outputs the difference information of the first on-air information in which a difference has occurred as a result of the determination by the unit. An alarm device for reporting information in correspondence is provided.

  A broadcasting method according to an aspect of the present invention includes a step in which a first sending unit and a second sending unit receive a broadcast control signal broadcast from a host control device via a network, and the first sending unit receives a broadcast control signal. In accordance with the broadcast control signal, the corresponding first on-air information and program material are read out from the first on-air information and program material stored in advance to constitute the program, and the first program video data is generated and transmitted. And the second sending unit corresponding to the second on-air information and the program material previously stored in the same manner as the first on-air information in order to compose the program according to the received broadcast control signal. Reading out on-air information and program material to generate and sending second program video data; and second on-air information for the first on-air information read by the first sending unit. A step in which a first determination unit determines a difference in air information; a step in which a second determination unit determines a difference in the first on-air information with respect to the second on-air information read out by the second sending unit; The first notification unit outputs the difference information of the second on-air information in which a difference has occurred as a result of the determination by the first determination unit, and the first on-air information in which the difference has occurred as a result of the determination by the second determination unit. The second notification unit outputs the difference information, and the alarm device notifies the difference information output from the first notification unit and the second notification unit.

  According to the present invention, when there is a difference in program video data between a broadcasting system and a backup system, an operator can immediately determine how the data differs for each system.

Hereinafter, an embodiment according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a broadcast system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the broadcast system 1 includes an APC (Auto Program Controller) 5, a first broadcast transmission device 10, a second broadcast transmission device 20, a switching unit 30, an alarm device 40, and an encoder 50. Is provided. These devices are connected by, for example, a LAN (local area network).

The APC 5 stores program operation information for broadcasting programs in order in advance in its internal memory, and functions as a host control device that transmits broadcast control signals to the LAN by broadcast transmission using UDP according to the procedure of the program operation information. .
The APC 5 broadcasts a broadcast control signal to the first broadcast transmission device 10 and the second broadcast transmission device 20, thereby controlling the operations of the first broadcast transmission device 10 and the second broadcast transmission device 20 in real time. To do.

The broadcast control signal is a signal for controlling the broadcast transmission operation of the first broadcast transmission device 10 and the second broadcast transmission device 20. This broadcast control signal is a signal including a program code of a program sent at each time, a material code of a program material constituting the program, and the like.
The “program code” is information for specifying the broadcast content of the program.
The first broadcast transmission device 10 includes a first transmission unit 11, a first database 12, a first determination unit 13, and a first notification unit 14.

The first sending unit 11 receives a broadcast control signal from the APC 5. Based on the received broadcast control signal, the first sending unit 11 reads out first on-air information 121 and program material information (hereinafter referred to as program material) 122 previously stored in the first database 12 to read the first program. Video data is generated and sent to the switching unit 30.
When sending the first program video data to the switching unit 30, the first sending unit 11 sends the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data to the first determination unit 13.

The first database 12 stores program material 122 and first on-air information 121. The program material 122 includes, for example, recorded data of a program such as video data and audio data, and super video data to be superimposed on the video data (subtitle data, weather mark, clock mark, bilingual mark, Japanese subtitle data, etc.), Etc.
The first on-air information 121 includes at least one of a program code corresponding to the broadcast control signal, broadcast media, transmission range, and language information.

As described above, the “program code” is information for specifying the broadcast content of a program.
“Broadcast media” is information for specifying the attributes of a program. “Program attribute” indicates, for example, digital high vision, satellite first broadcast, satellite second broadcast.
The “transmission range” is information for specifying a program target. The “program target” is, for example, an area where a broadcast signal is transmitted.
“Language information” is information for specifying the broadcast content of a program. “Language information” is audio and subtitle information such as English and Japanese.

The first determination unit 13 includes a first control unit 131, a timer 132, a memory 133, and a counter 134. The first on-air information 121 and the second broadcast transmission of the first program video data transmitted from this apparatus. The second on-air information 221 described later acquired from the device 20 is compared to determine whether there is a difference between the two on-air information 122 and 222.
The first control unit 131 stores the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data currently transmitted from the first transmission unit 11 in the memory 133.

The first control unit 131 operates the timer 132 at predetermined time intervals to measure a predetermined time.
The “predetermined time” is stored in advance in the memory 133 as time measurement time information. The first controller 131 first reads time information from the memory 133 and controls the timer 132.
The “predetermined time” is, for example, 3 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds or more, and is 5 seconds in this example.

The first control unit 131 sends an on-air information transmission request signal to the second broadcast transmission device 20 at intervals of 5 seconds. The on-air information transmission request signal is a signal for acquiring second on-air information 221 (described later) of the second program video data currently transmitted by the second broadcast transmission device 20.
The on-air information transmission request signal is transmitted every time the first control unit 131 causes the timer 132 to time.

When the time-up time of the timer 132 is set to 5 seconds, for example, an on-air information transmission request signal is sent to the second broadcast sending device 20 every 5 seconds.
The first control unit 131 receives the second on-air information 221 returned from the second broadcast transmission device 20 in response to the transmitted on-air information transmission request signal, and stores it in the memory 133.
As a result, the memory 133 stores the first on-air information 121 and the second on-air information 221.

The first control unit 131 compares the first on-air information 121 and the second on-air information 221 stored in the memory 133 to determine whether there is a difference between these on-air information and the content of the difference when there is a difference. To do.
That is, the first control unit 131 determines a difference between the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data with respect to the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data currently being sent to the switching unit 30 by the first sending unit 11. judge.
When there is a difference in the second on-air information 221 with respect to the first on-air information 121, the first control unit 131 controls the counter 134 to add 1 to the number of mismatches.

The memory 133 stores a count number threshold such as once, three times, six times, ten times, and the like. This threshold value is a reference value for alarm output. In this example, it is assumed that, for example, 3 times is set as the threshold value.
The first control unit 131 generates an alarm and displays an error message when the counter 134 counts the difference between the first on-air information 121 and the second on-air information 221, that is, when the number of mismatches reaches three. The first notification unit 14 is controlled. Note that either one of the alarm sound and the error message may be displayed.

Further, the first control unit 131 receives an on-air information transmission request signal from the second broadcast transmission device 20.
The on-air information transmission request signal from the second broadcast transmission device 20 is the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data currently transmitted by the first broadcast transmission device 10. It is a signal for obtaining.
When receiving the on-air information transmission request signal from the second broadcast transmission device 20, the first control unit 131 reads the first on-air information 121 currently being transmitted from the memory 133, and sends it to the second broadcast transmission device 20. Send it out.

When receiving the second on-air information 221, the first control unit 131 issues a time measurement start command to the timer 132 and operates the timer 132.
The timer 132 starts a time measuring operation under the control of the first control unit 131, and when the predetermined time (here, 5 seconds) is counted, notifies the first control unit 131 that the time is up. The timer 132 is reset by the first controller 131 after the time-up notification. Note that the timer 132 may reset the count value itself after the time-up notification.

The memory 133 stores, for example, the time-up time of the timer 132, the first on-air information 121, the second on-air information 221, the count number (threshold value) of the counter 134, and the like.
The first on-air information 121 and / or the second on-air information 221 is stored in the memory 133 by the first control unit 131 in synchronization with the start of the timer 132 time measurement. If the time-up time of the timer 132 is 5 seconds, the first on-air information 121 and the second on-air information 221 are stored in the memory 133 every 5 seconds.
The first on-air information 121 and the second on-air information 221 may be acquired at different timings, but the on-air information at the same broadcast time is compared.

The counter 134 is controlled by the first control unit 131. This “count control” is a count of the number of mismatches between the first on-air information 121 and the second on-air information 221 and a reset of the counted number of mismatches.
“Reset mismatch count” means that the value counted by the first controller 131 is set to 0 each time the mismatch count is counted a predetermined number of times.
The 1st alerting | reporting part 14 is controlled by the 1st control part 131, and controls the sounding of an alarm with respect to the alarm apparatus 40, or the display of an error message.

The control of the alarm device 40 by the first notification unit 14 is performed by transmitting a predetermined error message and / or audio signal to the alarm device 40. The first notification unit 14 can also transmit a predetermined error code to the alarm device 40.
As described above, the first broadcast transmission device 10 is a main program broadcast device (first broadcast system), stores the first on-air information 121 and the program material 122, and receives the broadcast control signal. The first program video data is generated according to the above and sent to the switching unit 30.
The second broadcast transmission device 20 includes a second transmission unit 21, a second database 22, a second determination unit 23, and a second notification unit 24.

The second sending unit 21 receives a broadcast control signal from the APC 5 via the LAN. Based on the received broadcast control signal, the second sending unit 21 reads the second on-air information 221 and the program material 222 stored in advance in the second database 22 and sends them to the switching unit 30 as second program video data. The second on-air information 221, the program material 222, the first on-air information 121, and the program material 122 have substantially the same contents.
Accordingly, the program material 222 includes, for example, program recording data such as video data and audio data, and super video data to be superimposed on the video data (subtitle data, weather mark, clock mark, bilingual mark, Japanese subtitle data, etc.) , Etc.

When the second sending unit 21 sends the second program video data to the switching unit 30, the second sending unit 21 sends the second on-air information 221 corresponding to the second program video data to the second determination unit 23.
The second determination unit 23 includes a second control unit 231, a timer 232, a memory 233, and a counter 234. The second on-air information 221 and the first broadcast transmission of the second program video data transmitted from this apparatus. The first on-air information 121 acquired from the device 10 is compared to determine whether there is a difference between the two on-air information 121 and 221.
The second control unit 231 stores in the memory 233 the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data currently transmitted from the second transmission unit 21.
The second control unit 231 operates the timer 232 at predetermined time intervals to measure a predetermined time.
Since the timing method and operation of the timer 232 are the same as those of the timer 132, detailed description thereof is omitted here. The “predetermined time” is, for example, 3 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds or more, and in this example, it is 5 seconds as with the timer 132.
The second control unit 231 sends an on-air information transmission request signal to the first broadcast sending device 10 at intervals of 5 seconds. This on-air information transmission request signal is a signal for acquiring the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data currently transmitted by the first broadcast transmitting apparatus 10.

The on-air information transmission request signal is transmitted every time the second control unit 231 causes the timer 232 to time. When the time-up time of the timer 232 is set to 5 seconds, for example, an on-air information transmission request signal is sent to the first broadcast sending apparatus 10 every 5 seconds.
The second control unit 231 receives the first on-air information 121 returned from the first broadcast transmission apparatus 10 in response to the transmitted on-air information transmission request signal, and stores it in the memory 233.
As a result, the second on-air information 221 and the first on-air information 121 are stored in the memory 233.

The second controller 231 compares the second on-air information 221 and the first on-air information 121 stored in the memory 233 to determine whether there is a difference between these on-air information and the content of the difference when there is a difference. To do.
In other words, the second control unit 231 determines the difference between the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data with respect to the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data currently being sent to the switching unit 30 by the second sending unit 21. judge.
When the first on-air information 121 is different from the second on-air information 221, the second control unit 231 controls the counter 234 to add 1 to the number of mismatches.

The memory 233 stores a threshold value of the count number such as once, three times, six times, ten times, and the like. This threshold value is a reference value for alarm output, similar to the threshold value of the count number counted by the counter 134 stored in the memory 122. In this example, it is assumed that, for example, 3 times is set as the threshold value.
The second controller 231 generates an alarm and displays an error message when the counter 234 counts the difference between the second on-air information 221 and the first on-air information 121, that is, when the number of mismatches reaches three. The 2nd alerting | reporting part 24 is controlled.

Note that either one of the alarm sound and the error message may be displayed.
Further, the second control unit 231 receives the on-air information transmission request signal from the first broadcast transmission device 10. As for the on-air information transmission request signal from the first broadcast transmission device 10, the first broadcast transmission device 10 obtains the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data currently transmitted by the second broadcast transmission device 20. It is a signal for obtaining.
When the second control unit 231 receives the on-air information transmission request signal from the first broadcast transmission device 10, the second control unit 231 reads the second on-air information 221 currently being transmitted from the memory 233 and transmits the second on-air information 221 to the first broadcast transmission device 10. To do.

When the second control unit 231 receives the first on-air information 121, it issues a timing start command to the timer 232 and operates the timer 232.
The timer 232 starts a time measuring operation under the control of the second control unit 231. When a predetermined time (for example, about several seconds) is measured, the timer 232 notifies the second control unit 231 that the time is up. The timer 232 is reset by the second control unit 231 after the time-up notification. Note that the timer 232 may reset the count value itself after the time-up notification.
The memory 233 stores, for example, the time-up time of the timer 232, the second on-air information 221, the first on-air information 121, the count number (threshold value) of the counter 234, and the like.

The second on-air information 221 and / or the first on-air information 121 is stored in the memory 233 in synchronization with the start of the timer 232 by the second control unit 231. If the time-up time of the timer 232 is 5 seconds, the second on-air information 221 and the first on-air information 121 are stored in the memory 133 every 5 seconds.
The second on-air information 221 and the first on-air information 121 may be acquired at different timings, but the on-air information at the same broadcast time is compared.
The counter 234 is controlled by the second control unit 231.

This “count control” is a count of the number of mismatches between the second on-air information 221 and the first on-air information 121 and a reset of the counted number of mismatches.
“Reset mismatch number” means that the value counted by the second control unit 231 is set to 0 each time the number of mismatches is counted a predetermined number of times.
The second notification unit 24 is controlled by the second control unit 231 to control the alarm device 40 to generate an alarm and / or display an error message. Control of the alarm device 40 by the second notification unit 24 is performed by transmitting a predetermined error message and / or audio signal to the alarm device 40.

The second notification unit 24 can also transmit a predetermined error code to the alarm device 40.
As described above, the second broadcast transmission device 20 is a backup device (second broadcast system), accumulates the second on-air information 221 and the program material 222, and performs the second operation according to the received broadcast control signal. Program video data is generated and sent to the switching unit 30.
The alarm device 40 has a speaker 41 and a monitor 42. The alarm device 40 is controlled by the first notification unit 14 and / or the second notification unit 24 to generate an alarm and display an error message.

The alarm device 40 may be provided with, for example, a lamp in addition to the speaker 41 and the monitor 42, and may notify whether there is a difference in on-air information by blinking the lamp.
The speaker 41 generates an alarm sound based on the audio signal output from the first notification unit 14 and / or the second notification unit 24 as a result of the comparison of the on-air information by the first determination unit 13 and / or the second determination unit 23. It is a sounding device.
The sound of the alarm sound of the speaker 41 is not particularly limited and can be sounded with a desired sound.
The sound of the alarm sound by the speaker 41 is, for example, an electronic sound, a beep sound, or a synthesized sound.

The sound produced by the speaker 41 can produce different sounds depending on whether it is controlled by the first notification unit 14 or controlled by the second notification unit 24.
The configuration of the speaker 41 is not limited to this embodiment. For example, a speaker that emits an audio signal output from the first notification unit 14, a speaker that outputs an audio signal output from the second notification unit 24, that is, 2 A single speaker may be used.
The monitor 42 is a display device that displays an error message output from the first notification unit 14 and / or the second notification unit 24 as a result of the comparison of the on-air information by the first determination unit 13 and / or the second determination unit 23.

The configuration of the monitor 42 is not limited to this embodiment. For example, a monitor that displays an error message output from the first notification unit 14, a monitor that displays an error message output from the second notification unit 24, That is, two monitors may be used.
The switching unit 30 outputs the switch-operated program video data of the first and second program video data sent from the first control unit 131 and / or the second control unit 231 to the encoder 50. Therefore, the switching unit 30 has a switch 31 for performing a switch operation.

The encoder 50 is for transmitting the first or second program video data output from the switching unit 30 as broadcast data.
In the broadcast system 1 configured as described above, first, a broadcast control signal is broadcast from the APC 5 to the first broadcast transmission device 10 and the second broadcast transmission device 20.
The first broadcast sending device 10 compares the first on-air information 121 stored in the first database 12 with the second on-air information 221 stored in the second database 22 based on the reception of the broadcast control signal, A difference between the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data and the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data currently being sent is determined.

The second broadcast transmission device 20 compares the second on-air information 221 stored in the second database 22 with the first on-air information 121 stored in the first database 12 based on the reception of the broadcast control signal, A difference between the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data and the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data being sent is determined.
If there is a difference between the on-air information as a result of the determination, the alarm device 40 generates an alarm sound and displays an error message.
The switching unit 30 receives the first program video data sent from the first broadcast sending device 10 and the second program video data sent from the second broadcast sending device 20.

The switching unit 30 sends the received first program video data or second program video data to the encoder 50. The switching unit 30 switches the transmission of the first and second program video data 121 and 221 to either one by the switching operation of the selector switch 31.
Next, the error display and error return message displayed on the monitor 42 will be described with reference to FIG. That is, FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of display on the monitor 42.
As shown in the figure, the monitor 42 has a first error display screen 421, a second error display screen 422, a first error return message screen 423, and a second error return message screen 424.

On the first error display screen 421, the difference information of the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data with respect to the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data currently being sent to the switching unit 30 under the control of the first notification unit 14. Is displayed.
The first error display screen 421 displays information ("determination device: first broadcast transmission device") indicating that the on-air information difference determination is performed by the first broadcast transmission device 10.
The “information” to be displayed is not particularly limited, and various information such as “first broadcast transmission device” and “determination source: first broadcast transmission device” may be used.

In addition, information that is the second on-air information 221 added to the second program video data as a determination target (for example, “determination symmetry: second broadcast transmission device”) can be displayed.
That is, it is only necessary to display on the first error display screen 421 that the first broadcast transmission device 10 determines the difference of the second on-air information 221 with respect to the first on-air information 121.
On-air information difference information is displayed on the first error display screen 421 (“the second on-air information does not match the first on-air information”). The display of the difference information is not particularly limited, and can simply be “on-air information mismatch”.

A predetermined error code is displayed on the first error display screen 421 (“error code 1000”). For example, a code sent from the first notification unit 14 can be displayed as the “error code”. The “error code” may be the total number of the message displayed on the monitor 42. In this case, “error code 1000” is the 1000th display.
When there is a difference, the first error display screen 421 displays a program code which is one of the first or second on-air information (“first broadcast transmission device: program code (1111-111)”, “first 2 broadcast transmission device: material code (1111-112) ").

Of course, the on-air information displayed on the first error display screen 421 is not limited to the program code, and can display at least one of broadcast media, transmission range, and language information.
On the second error display screen 422, the difference information of the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data with respect to the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data currently being sent to the switching unit 30 under the control of the second notification unit 24. Is displayed.
The second error display screen 422 displays information indicating that the on-air information difference determination has been made by the second broadcast transmission device 20 (“determination device: second broadcast transmission device”).

The displayed “information” is not particularly limited, and various information such as “second broadcast transmission device” and “determination source: second broadcast transmission device” may be used. In addition, information that is the first on-air information 121 added to the first program video data as a determination target (for example, “determination symmetry: first broadcast transmission device”) can also be displayed.
That is, the second error display screen 422 only needs to display that the second broadcast transmission device 20 determines the difference between the first on-air information 121 and the second on-air information 221.
On-air information difference information is displayed on the second error display screen 422 ("the first on-air information does not match the second on-air information").

A predetermined error code is displayed on the second error display screen 422 (“error code 1001”). This “error code” can display, for example, a code sent from the second notification unit 24.
The second error display screen 422 displays a program code which is one of the second or first on-air information determined to have a difference (“first broadcast transmission device: program code (1111-113)”, “first 2 broadcast transmission device: material code (1111-114) ").
Of course, the on-air information displayed on the second error display screen 422 is not limited to the program code, and at least one of broadcast media, transmission range, and language information can be displayed.

In the first error return message screen 423, when the mismatch of the on-air information corresponding to the error display on the first error display screen 421 is returned, information indicating that the return has been made is displayed (“second for the first on-air information”). The on-air information discrepancy has been recovered. ")
The on-air information mismatch return message is not particularly limited, and may simply be “on-air information mismatch recovered”.
That is, various information corresponding to the first error display screen 421 is displayed on the first error return message screen 423.

In the second error return message screen 424, when the mismatch of the on-air information corresponding to the error displayed on the second error display screen 422 is recovered, information indicating that the error has been returned is displayed ("the second on-air information corresponding to the second on-air information"). The discrepancy in the first on-air information has been recovered. ”)
The on-air information mismatch return message is not particularly limited, and can be, for example, “on-air information mismatch recovered” as in the first error return message screen 423.

That is, various information corresponding to the second error display screen 422 is displayed on the second error return message screen 423.
Next, the difference determination of the second on-air information of the first program video data 221 with respect to the first on-air information of the first program video data currently being transmitted by the first determination unit 13 will be described with reference to FIG. That is, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the difference determination operation of the first determination unit 13.
First, the APC sends a broadcast control signal to the broadcast sending device 10 (S301). At this time, the broadcast control signal is also broadcast to the second broadcast transmission device 20.

Based on the broadcast control signal, the broadcast transmission device 10 transmits the first on-air information 121 stored in the first database 12 to the first control unit 131 included in the first determination unit 13. The first control unit 131 stores the first on-air information 121 in the received memory 133 (S302).
Here, the first control unit 131 determines whether the timekeeping flag is On or Off (S303). As a result of this determination, if the timekeeping flag is Off, the first control unit 131 controls the timer 132 to measure a predetermined elapsed time (S304).

The first controller 131 turns on the timekeeping flag simultaneously with the control of the timer 132 (S305). Thereafter, the first control unit 131 sends an on-air information transmission request signal to the second broadcast sending device 20. The first controller 131 receives the second on-air information 221 sent from the second broadcast sending device 20 based on the on-air information transmission request signal (S309).
When the timekeeping flag is On as a result of the determination in S303 (that is, when the time is measured by the timer 132), the first control unit 131 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed by the timer 132. (S306).

As a result of the determination, when the time counted by the timer 132 is less than the predetermined second, the first control unit 131 ends the difference determination. That is, the difference between the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data with respect to the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data currently being transmitted by the first determination unit 13 is not determined.
As a result of the determination in S306, if the time counted by the timer 132 has elapsed for a predetermined number of seconds, the first control unit 131 continues the difference determination.

To continue the difference determination, first, the first control unit 131 controls the timer 132 to reset the time measurement (S307).
The first control unit 131 sends an on-air information transmission request signal to the second broadcast sending device 20. The first control unit 131 receives the second on-air information 221 sent from the second broadcast sending device 20 based on the on-air information transmission request signal (S308).
The first control unit 131 compares the received second on-air information 221 with the first on-air information (S302) stored in the memory 133, and determines whether there is a difference (S309).

If there is a difference between the first on-air information 121 and the second on-air information 221 as a result of this determination, the first control unit 131 controls the counter 134 to count the number of mismatches of the on-air information (S310).
Next, the first control unit 131 determines whether the counter 134 has counted the number of mismatches as a predetermined number (S311). As a result of the determination, if the count of the number of mismatches by the counter 134 is equal to or less than the predetermined number, the first control unit 131 ends the difference determination process.

That is, the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data is compared with the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data currently being transmitted, but no alarm is sounded.
As a result of the determination in S <b> 311, when the number of mismatches by the counter 134 is greater than a predetermined number, the first controller 131 resets the count of the counter 134. Then, the first notification unit 14 is controlled to cause the alarm device 40 to sound the alarm and display an error.
An alarm is sounded by the speaker 41 based on the control of the first notification unit 14.

An error is displayed on the monitor 42 based on the control of the first notification unit 14 (S312, 213).
The first control unit 131 sets the alarm flag to On (S314) and ends the difference determination.
As a result of the determination in S309, if there is no difference between the second on-air information and the first on-air information, the first control unit 131 determines whether the alarm flag is On (S315).
If the result of this determination is that the alarm flag is not On, the first control unit 131 ends the difference determination.

As a result of the determination in S315, if the alarm flag is On, the first control unit 131 controls the first notification unit 14 to stop sounding the alarm of the speaker 41 (S316). Note that when the alarm sound is stopped, the speaker 41 may sound an alarm sound indicating that the error has been recovered.
The first control unit 131 turns off the alarm flag (S317). The first control unit 131 controls the first notification unit 14 to display an error return message on the monitor 42, and ends the difference determination (S319).

Next, the difference determination of the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data with respect to the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data 22 currently being transmitted by the second determination unit 23 will be described with reference to FIG. That is, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the difference determination operation of the second determination unit 23.
First, the APC 5 sends a broadcast control signal to the broadcast sending device 20 (S401). At this time, the broadcast control signal is also broadcast to the first broadcast transmission device 10.

Based on the broadcast control signal, the broadcast transmission device 20 transmits the second on-air information 221 stored in the second database 22 to the second control unit 231 included in the second determination unit 23. The second control unit 231 stores the second on-air information 221 in the memory 233 (S402).
Here, the second control unit 231 determines whether the timekeeping flag is On or Off (S403).
As a result of the determination, if the timekeeping flag is OFF, the second control unit 231 controls the timer 232 to measure a predetermined elapsed time (S404). The second control unit 231 sets the timekeeping flag On simultaneously with the control of the timer 232 (S405).

Thereafter, the second control unit 231 sends an on-air information transmission request signal to the first broadcast sending device 10. The second control unit 231 receives the first on-air information 121 sent from the first broadcast sending device 10 based on the on-air information transmission request signal (S409).
When the timekeeping flag is On as a result of the determination in S403 (that is, when the time is measured by the timer 232), the second control unit 231 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed by the timer 232. (S406).

As a result of the determination, when the time counted by the timer 232 is less than the predetermined second, the second control unit 231 ends the difference determination. That is, the difference between the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data with respect to the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data currently being transmitted by the second determination unit 23 is not determined.
As a result of the determination in S406, when the time counted by the timer 232 has elapsed for a predetermined number of seconds, the second control unit 231 continues the difference determination.

To continue the difference determination, first, the second control unit 231 controls the timer 232 to reset the time measurement (S407).
The second control unit 231 sends an on-air information transmission request signal to the first broadcast sending device 10. The second control unit 231 receives the first on-air information 121 sent from the first broadcast sending device 10 based on this on-air information transmission request signal (S408).
The second control unit 231 compares the received first on-air information 121 with the second on-air information 221 stored in the memory 233, and determines whether there is a difference (S409).

As a result of the determination, if there is a difference between the first on-air information and the second on-air information, the second control unit 231 controls the counter 234 to count the number of mismatches of the on-air information (S410).
Next, the second control unit 231 determines whether or not the counter 234 has counted a predetermined number of mismatches (S411). As a result of this determination, if the count of the number of mismatches by the counter 234 is less than or equal to the predetermined number, the second control unit 231 ends the difference determination.

That is, the first on-air information of the first program video data is compared with the second on-air information of the second program video data currently being sent, but no alarm is sounded.
If the result of determination in S411 is that the number of mismatches by the counter 234 is greater than a predetermined number, the second control unit 231 resets the count of the counter 234. And the 2nd alerting | reporting part 24 is controlled and the alarm apparatus 40 is made to sound an alarm and display an error.
An alarm is sounded by the speaker 41 based on the control of the second notification unit 24. An error is displayed on the monitor 42 based on the control of the second notification unit 24 (S412, 313).

The second control unit 231 sets the alarm flag to On (S414) and ends the difference determination.
As a result of the determination in S409, if there is no difference between the first on-air information and the second on-air information, the second control unit 231 next determines whether or not the alarm flag is On (S415).
If the result of this determination is that the alarm flag is not On, the second control unit 231 ends the difference determination.
On the other hand, if the result of the determination in S415 is that the alarm flag is “On”, the second control unit 231 controls the second notification unit 24 to stop the alarm sound from the speaker 41 (S416). The alarm flag is turned off (S417).

Note that when the alarm sound is stopped, the speaker 41 may sound an alarm sound indicating that the error has been recovered.
Thereafter, the second control unit 231 controls the second notification unit 24 to display an error return message on the monitor 42, and ends the difference determination (S418).
As described above, according to the broadcast system 1 of this embodiment, the first broadcast transmission device 10 includes the first comparison unit 13 and the first notification unit 14, and the second broadcast transmission device 20 includes the first broadcast transmission device 10. Since the second comparison unit 23 and the second notification unit 24 are provided, for example, during the broadcast of the program video data from the first broadcast transmission device 10 that is the main transmission system, the second on-air information for the first on-air information is broadcast. When there is a difference in information, the difference information from each of the devices 10 and 20 is displayed as a message on the monitor 42. Therefore, the first broadcast transmission device 10 determines which part of the program being transmitted is different. In the broadcast transmission device 20 of FIG. 2, the operator can determine at a glance which part of the program being transmitted is different and broadcasts the appropriate data of the switching unit 30 by switching the switch as necessary. It is possible.

That is, the operator can confirm on the screen the difference between the broadcast signal sent out by one broadcast system and the broadcast signal sent out by the other broadcast system, so that the program video data being sent from the first broadcast sending device 10 can be confirmed. The difference from the program video data of the second broadcast transmission device 20 that should be equivalent to can be surely found.
Further, when the first on-air information 121 and the second on-air information 221 are compared, the comparison execution interval can be easily adjusted by providing the timers 132 and 232. By having the counters 134 and 234, it is possible to prevent accidental on-air information mismatch determination.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the constituent elements can be modified without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Also, by appropriately combining a plurality of elements disclosed in the above embodiment. Various inventions can be configured.
An embodiment in this case is shown in FIG. That is, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a broadcasting system 100 showing another embodiment of the present invention.
(Second Embodiment)
As shown in the figure, the broadcast system 100 of this embodiment includes an APC 5, a broadcast transmission device 110, a switching unit 30, an alarm device 40, and an encoder 50.

The broadcast transmission device 110 includes a first transmission unit 11, a first database 12, a first determination unit 13, a first notification unit, a second transmission unit 21, a second database 22, a second determination unit 23, and a second notification. A part. Since other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.
The first transmission unit 11, the first database 12, the first determination unit 13, and the first notification unit are main program broadcast devices (first broadcast system). The second transmission unit 21, the second database 22, the second determination unit 23, and the second notification unit are backup program broadcast devices (second broadcast system).

In the broadcast system 100 configured as described above, first, the APC 5 sends a broadcast control signal to the broadcast sending device 110 via the LAN. The transmission of the broadcast control signal is broadcast transmission to the first transmission unit 11 and the second transmission unit 21 provided in the broadcast transmission device 110.
The first sending unit 11 receives a broadcast control signal from the APC 5. The first sending unit 11 reads the first on-air information 121 and the program material 122 of the program stored in advance in the first database 12 based on the received broadcast control signal, and sends them to the switching unit 30 as first program video data. To do.

When sending the first program video data to the switching unit 30, the first sending unit 11 sends the first on-air information 121 corresponding to the first program video data to the first determination unit 13.
The first control unit 131 receives the first on-air information 121 sent by the first sending unit 11. The first control unit 131 stores the received first on-air information 121 in the memory 133.
The first control unit 131 controls the timer 132 to measure a predetermined time.
The 1st determination part 13 and the 2nd determination part 23 are connected so that communication is possible.

The first control unit 131 sends an on-air information transmission request signal for causing the second control unit 231 to send the second on-air information 222 to the first control unit 131. That is, the first control unit 131 receives the second on-air information 221.
The first control unit 131 stores the received second on-air information 221 in the memory 133.
The first control unit 131 compares the first on-air information 121 and the second on-air information 221 stored in the memory 133 to determine whether there is a difference between these on-air information.

That is, the determination of the difference by the first control unit 131 is the second on-air information of the second program video data with respect to the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data currently being sent to the switching unit 30 by the first sending unit 11. 221 difference.
If there is a difference between the first on-air information 121 and the second on-air 222 information as a result of the determination by the first control unit 131, the first control unit 131 controls the counter 134 to add 1 to the number of mismatches.

When the count number of the difference between the first on-air information 121 and the second on-air information 221 by the counter 134, that is, the number of mismatches reaches a predetermined number, the first control unit 131 controls the first notification unit 14 to alarm the alarm device 40. Causes the alarm to sound and / or display an error message.
Similar to the first sending unit 11, the second sending unit 21 receives a broadcast control signal from the APC 5 via a network such as a LAN. Based on the received broadcast control signal, the second sending unit 21 reads the second on-air information 221 and the program material 222 stored in advance in the second database 22 and sends them to the switching unit 30 as second program video data.

When the second sending unit 21 sends the second program video data to the switching unit 30, the second sending unit 21 sends the second on-air information 221 corresponding to the second program video data to the second determination unit 23.
The second determination unit 23 compares the second on-air information 221 sent from the second sending unit 21 with the first on-air information 121 received from the first broadcast sending device 10, and the difference between the on-air information 121 and 221 is compared. Determine presence or absence.
The 2nd determination part 23 and the 1st determination part 13 are connected so that communication is possible via LAN, for example.

The second control unit 231 sends an on-air information transmission request signal for sending the first on-air information 121 to the second control unit 231 to the first control unit 131. That is, the second control unit 231 receives the first on-air information 121.
The second control unit 231 stores the received first on-air information 121 in the memory 233. That is, the second control unit 231 stores the second on-air information 221 and the first on-air information 121 in the memory 233.

The second controller 231 compares the second on-air information 221 stored in the memory 233 with the first on-air information 121 and determines whether there is a difference between these on-air information.
That is, the determination by the second control unit 231 is that the first on-air information of the first program video data with respect to the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data currently being sent by the second sending unit 21 to the switching unit 30. 121 differences.
If there is a difference between the second on-air information 221 and the first on-air 122 information as a result of the determination by the second control unit 231, the second control unit 231 controls the counter 234 to add 1 to the number of mismatches.

When the count number of the difference between the second on-air information 221 and the first on-air information 121 by the counter 234, that is, the number of mismatches reaches a predetermined number, the second control unit 231 controls the second notification unit 24 to control the alarm device 40. Causes the alarm to sound and / or display an error message.
In the broadcast transmission apparatus 110 configured as described above, the difference of the second on-air information 221 of the second program video data with respect to the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data and / or the second of the second program video data is one apparatus. The difference between the first on-air information 121 of the first program video data with respect to the 2 on-air information 221 can be determined.

(Other embodiments)
In the present invention, some components may be deleted from all the components disclosed in the embodiment. In this case, for example, any one of the timers 132 and 232 and the counters 134 and 234 can be deleted as appropriate.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the broadcast system 1 of one embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the display of the monitor. 4 is a flowchart showing a difference determination operation of the first determination unit 13. 5 is a flowchart showing a difference determination operation of a second determination unit 23. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the broadcast system 100 of other embodiment of invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,100 ... Broadcast system, 5 ... APC (automatic program operation apparatus), 10 ... 1st broadcast transmission apparatus, 11 ... 1st transmission part, 110 ... Broadcast transmission apparatus, 12 ... 1st database, 13 ... 1st determination part , 14 ... 1st notification part, 20 ... 2nd broadcast transmission apparatus, 21 ... 2nd transmission part, 22 ... 2nd database, 23 ... 2nd determination part, 24 ... 2nd notification part, 30 ... Switching unit, 40 ... Alarm device, 50 ... encoder.

Claims (4)

A higher-level control device that broadcasts broadcast control signals, a first broadcast transmission device that receives broadcast control signals transmitted from the higher-level control device via a network, and outputs program video data, and a second broadcast transmission In a broadcasting system comprising: a device; and a switching unit that outputs a selected one of program video data respectively transmitted from the first broadcast transmission device and the second broadcast transmission device,
The first broadcast transmission device includes:
A first database in which first on-air information including information for specifying broadcast contents, attributes, types, and targets of a program and material information of the program are stored;
A first transmission unit configured to read out first on-air information and program material information from the first database in accordance with a broadcast control signal received from the higher-level control device, and to configure and transmit first program video data;
First program video data currently being transmitted by comparing the second on-air information acquired from the second broadcast transmission device with the first on-air information read from the first database by the first transmission unit. A first determination unit that determines a difference between the second on-air information and the first on-air information;
A first notification unit that outputs difference information of the second on-air information in which a difference has occurred as a result of the determination by the first determination unit;
The second broadcast transmission device includes:
A second database in which second on-air information equivalent to the first on-air information and program material information are stored for backup of the first program video data;
A second sending unit configured to read out second on-air information and program material information from the second database in accordance with a broadcast control signal received from the higher-level control device, and to construct and send second program video data;
Second program video data currently being transmitted by comparing the first on-air information acquired from the first broadcast transmission device and the second on-air information read from the second database by the second transmission unit. A second determination unit that determines a difference between the first on-air information and the second on-air information;
A second notification unit that outputs difference information of the first on-air information in which a difference has occurred as a result of the determination by the second determination unit;
A broadcasting system, comprising: an alarm device that notifies each difference information output from the first broadcast sending device and the second broadcast sending device in association with each other. A host controller that broadcasts broadcast control signals to the network;
A first database in which first on-air information including information for specifying broadcast contents, attributes, types, and targets of a program and material information of the program are stored;
A second database in which second on-air information equivalent to the first on-air information and program material information are stored for backup of the first program video data;
A first transmission unit configured to read out first on-air information and program material information from the first database in accordance with a broadcast control signal received from the higher-level control device, and to configure and transmit first program video data;
A second sending unit configured to read out second on-air information and program material information from the second database in accordance with a broadcast control signal received from the higher-level control device, and to construct and send second program video data;
The first on-air information read from the first database by the first sending unit and the second on-air information read from the second database by the second sending unit are compared, and the first on-air information currently being sent is compared. A first determination unit that determines a difference between the second on-air information of the second program video data and the first on-air information of the one program video data;
The second on-air information read from the second database by the second sending unit is compared with the first on-air information read from the first database by the first sending unit, and A second determination unit that determines a difference between the first on-air information of the first program video data and the second on-air information of the two program video data;
As a result of determination by the first determination unit, a first notification unit that outputs difference information of the second on-air information in which a difference has occurred;
As a result of determination by the second determination unit, a second notification unit that outputs difference information of the first on-air information in which a difference has occurred;
A program video that has a switch for switching an output source and is switched by the switch among the first program video data sent from the first sending unit and the second program video data sent from the second sending unit A switching unit that outputs data as data for broadcasting;
A broadcast system, comprising: an alarm device that notifies the difference information output from the first notification unit and the second notification unit in association with each other. A higher-level control device that broadcasts broadcast control signals, a first broadcast transmission device that receives broadcast control signals transmitted from the higher-level control device via a network, and outputs program video data, and a second broadcast transmission In a broadcasting method in a broadcasting system, comprising: an apparatus; and a switching unit that outputs a selected one of program video data respectively transmitted from the first broadcast transmitting apparatus and the second broadcast transmitting apparatus.
The first broadcast transmission device and the first broadcast transmission device each receiving a broadcast control signal broadcast to the network from the host control device;
The first broadcast sending device reads out the corresponding first on-air information and program material from the first on-air information and program material information stored in advance for composing the program in accordance with the received broadcast control signal. Generating the first program video data and sending it to the switching unit;
The second broadcast sending device corresponds to the second on-air corresponding to the second on-air information and the program material equivalent to the first on-air information stored in advance to constitute the program according to the received broadcast control signal. Reading information and program material information to generate the second program video data and sending it to the switching unit;
The first broadcast transmission device determines a difference between the second on-air information with respect to the first on-air information, and the first broadcast transmission device determines a difference between the second on-air information with respect to the first on-air information; Outputting difference information of the second on-air information;
The second broadcast sending device determining a difference in the first on-air information with respect to the second on-air information, and outputting the difference information in the first on-air information;
And a step of an alarm device informing each difference information output from the first broadcast transmission device and the second broadcast transmission device. The first sending unit and the second sending unit receiving the broadcast control signal broadcast from the host controller via the network;
The first sending unit reads out the corresponding first on-air information and program material information from the first on-air information and program material information accumulated in advance to constitute the program according to the received broadcast control signal. Generating and sending first program video data;
In accordance with the broadcast control signal received by the second sending unit, the second on-air information corresponding to the second on-air information and program material stored in advance equivalent to the first on-air information in order to configure the program. Reading out material information of the program and generating and sending the second program video data;
A step of a first determination unit determining a difference of the second on-air information with respect to the first on-air information read by the first sending unit;
A second determination unit determining a difference of the first on-air information with respect to the second on-air information read by the second sending unit;
As a result of the determination by the first determination unit, the first notification unit outputs difference information of the second on-air information in which a difference has occurred;
As a result of determination by the second determination unit, the second notification unit outputs difference information of the first on-air information in which a difference has occurred;
A broadcasting method comprising: an alarm device correspondingly reporting each difference information output from the first notification unit and the second notification unit.

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