JP2011078107A - Broadcast receiver, control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To take effective countermeasures when a reception failure occurs in IP broadcast by solving the problem during output of the IP broadcast, wherein a broadcast receiver 21 can receive both broadcast using broadcast waves and the IP broadcast, the output of the IP broadcast is limited to only the broadcast from a broadcast station 11 having the present position as a broadcast area, and priority is given to not the broadcast using broadcast waves but to the IP broadcast. <P>SOLUTION: During output of the IP broadcast (S82), the broadcast receiver 21 monitors data reception of the IP broadcast from an IP broadcast server 20 (S84, S88, S96). When either event occurs, i.e., IP broadcast data reception times out (Yes in S84) and connection with the IP broadcast server 20 is interrupted (Yes in S88) or the number of continuous data reception retries made for every time-out of data reception becomes not less than a predetermined value (Yes in S96), the broadcast receiver 21 outputs the content of analog broadcast instead of the IP broadcast (S102). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a broadcast receiver, a control method, and a program for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast.

  Currently, distribution methods such as IP broadcasting for distributing contents such as broadcast programs on the Internet, such as IP (Internet Protocol) retransmission of VOD (video on demand) and digital terrestrial television broadcasting, and Internet radio, have become widespread. . Internet radio can be viewed on a PC (personal computer) connected to the Internet using a Web browser, etc., and VOD can be viewed using a receiver such as a TV or STB (set top box) connected to the Internet. Is possible. In addition, IP retransmission of terrestrial digital television broadcasting can be viewed using an STB connected to NTT's next generation network (NGN: Next Generation Network).

  Here, when a broadcast program is distributed over the Internet, the distribution target area may be a problem. This is not a problem when content that is not restricted in the distribution area, such as Internet radio, is not a problem, but the broadcast target area is defined by law in IP retransmission of terrestrial digital television broadcasting Therefore, it cannot be distributed outside the broadcasting target area approved by the broadcasting station. Therefore, in IP retransmission of terrestrial digital television broadcasting, content is not distributed outside the broadcast target area by controlling the area to be distributed via a closed communication network called NGN, which is different from the Internet. .

  Patent Document 1 discloses a receiving apparatus that enables viewing of Internet-distributed content with regional restrictions (paragraphs 0023 and 0025 of Patent Document 1 and FIG. 1). In this receiving device, the current latitude / longitude information of the receiving device is acquired using GPS (Global Positioning System) (81 in FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1), and the flagged country area, that is, the user is sky perfect, etc. The country that has a reception contract with the satellite broadcast platform operator of the company is checked (82 in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1), and if the current position is within the reception contract area, the content is output. (84 YES, 88 in FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 2 discloses an IP broadcast system (FIGS. 1 and 2 of Patent Document 2). According to this broadcasting system, information on the user-selected channel and the position of the IP broadcasting terminal is sent from the IP broadcasting terminal (set top box) to the IP broadcasting server (S23, S24 in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 2). When it is determined whether the position is included in the viewing area of the selected channel with reference to the operation area table (S25 in FIG. 4 of FIG. 4 and paragraph 0051), it is determined that the position is included. The data of the selected channel is transmitted from the IP broadcast server to the IP broadcast terminal (paragraph 0051 of Patent Document 2 and S27 to S29 in FIG. 4). In the operation area table, an area where the IP broadcast terminal can operate is stored for each channel (paragraph 0047 of Patent Document 2).

  Patent Document 3 discloses a viewing terminal (mobile phone) that can receive content from both a broadcast network and a mobile communication network (FIG. 1 of Patent Document 3). When the content quality on the broadcast network side deteriorates, this viewing terminal transmits the ID of the content broadcast station to the viewing management server via the mobile communication network (for example, S02 and S04 in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 3). On the other hand, the viewing management server searches the corresponding reproduction telephone number or reproduction URL (Uniform Resource Locator) with reference to the content storage information (FIG. 2 of Patent Document 3), and returns it to the viewing terminal ( Patent Document 3 (for example, S05, S06 in FIG. 4). The viewing terminal accesses the returned playback telephone number or playback URL, receives the content from the simultaneous retransmission server of the access destination, and plays back the content (for example, S08 in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 3). ~ S10).

  Patent Document 3 further discloses that viewing of contents distributed in a mobile communication network at a viewing terminal is restricted based on broadcast station identification information (paragraph 0005 of Patent Document 3).

JP 2008-182604 A JP 2008-288814 A JP 2005-136879 A

  The reception quality of broadcast wave type broadcasts (especially analog broadcasts) varies greatly depending on the current location of the broadcast receiver even within the broadcast target area, whereas IP type broadcasts (“IP type broadcasts” are Internet broadcasts and IP re- The reception quality of content such as transmission is defined as broadcasting that distributes content via an IP network.) The reception quality of the broadcast receiver is smaller than the current location of the broadcast receiver. Is higher. In a broadcast receiver for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast, it is more convenient for the user in terms of output quality to preferentially output IP type broadcast content like the broadcast receiver in the specification of the earlier application. .

  In IP broadcasting, when a failure occurs in the IP network, when a sufficient transfer rate cannot be obtained due to traffic congestion, or when you are in the basement, reception of IP broadcasting is interrupted at the broadcast receiver, data buffering The IP broadcast may be interrupted due to the waiting time.

  Although Patent Documents 1 to 3 refer to the output of IP-type broadcast content, they do not disclose or suggest the relationship between broadcast wave-type broadcast and IP-type broadcast when a reception failure occurs in IP-type broadcast. Absent.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a broadcast receiver, a control method, and a program capable of effectively coping with a reception failure in an IP type broadcast in a broadcast receiver for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast. is there.

  In this specification, “IP broadcasting” is used in a concept including Internet broadcasting and IP retransmission. That is, all broadcasts that distribute broadcast content from a server to a broadcast receiver via the network using IP (Internet Protocol) are defined as “IP-type broadcasts”. “Broadcast wave broadcasting” is defined as broadcasting using radio waves, such as normal radio broadcasting and television broadcasting.

The broadcast receiver of the present invention is for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast,
A broadcast output unit that outputs the broadcast wave type broadcast content of the selected station or the IP type broadcast content associated with the broadcast wave type broadcast, and the IP type broadcast of the selected station can be output; and When the IP broadcast content of the selected station is only a moving image or a still image without sound, the content output unit outputs the sound of the broadcast wave broadcasting and the moving image or still image of the IP broadcast. Output controller,
Is provided.

The broadcast receiver of the present invention is for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast,
When a broadcast output unit that outputs broadcast wave type broadcast content of the selected station or IP type broadcast content associated with the broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast content of the selected station can be output If the IP output broadcast content of the selected station is output to the broadcast output unit and the IP broadcast content of the selected station cannot be output, the broadcast output type broadcast of the selected station is output to the broadcast output unit. An output control unit for outputting the content of the output control unit,
When the IP broadcast content of the selected station can be output and the IP broadcast content of the selected station is only a moving image or a still image without a sound, a broadcast is sent to the content output unit. The sound of wave type broadcasting and the moving picture or still picture of IP type broadcasting are output.
The broadcast receiver of the present invention is for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast,
When a broadcast output unit that outputs broadcast wave type broadcast content of the selected station or IP type broadcast content associated with the broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast content of the selected station can be output If the IP output broadcast content of the selected station is output to the broadcast output unit and the IP broadcast content of the selected station cannot be output, the broadcast output type broadcast of the selected station is output to the broadcast output unit. Output control unit to output the contents of
A fault monitoring unit that monitors a reception state of the IP type broadcast during output of the IP type broadcast from the content output unit;
The output control unit outputs the output content from the content output unit if a failure occurs in the reception state of the IP type broadcast, and the broadcast wave type broadcast of a broadcasting station that broadcasts the IP type broadcast from the IP type broadcast. Switch to the content.

The broadcast receiver control method of the present invention is a broadcast receiver control method for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast, wherein the selected station determines whether or not the IP type broadcast can be output, and the selected station is the IP type broadcast. Output the IP-type broadcast content of the selected station if it can be output, and output the broadcast-wave type broadcast content of the selected station if the selected station cannot output the IP-type broadcast,
Have
Further, the broadcast receiver control method of the present invention is a broadcast receiver control method for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast, and determines whether or not the IP broadcast of the selected station can be output,
If the selected station can output the IP type broadcast, the IP station broadcast content of the selected station is output. If the selected station cannot output the IP type broadcast, the selected station broadcast wave type broadcast content is output. Output step,
A step of determining whether the content of the IP broadcast of the selected station is only a moving image or a still image that does not include sound, and the IP broadcast of the selected station is capable of outputting the IP broadcast of the selected station The content output unit includes only the moving image or the still image, and the content output unit outputs the sound of the broadcast wave type broadcast and the moving image or the still image of the IP type broadcast to the content output unit,
Have
Further, the broadcast receiver control method of the present invention is a broadcast receiver control method for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast, and determines whether or not the IP broadcast of the selected station can be output,
If the selected station can output the IP type broadcast, the IP station broadcast content of the selected station is output. If the selected station cannot output the IP type broadcast, the selected station broadcast wave type broadcast content is output. Output step,
Monitoring whether or not a failure has occurred in the reception state of the IP broadcast during the output of the IP broadcast from the content output unit;
Switching the output content from the content output unit from the IP type broadcast to the broadcast wave type broadcast content of the broadcasting station broadcasting the IP type broadcast when a failure occurs in the reception state of the IP type broadcast; Have

  The broadcast receiver control program of the present invention causes a computer to execute the broadcast receiver control method.

  According to the present invention, during the period in which the IP type broadcast is received via the IP network from the broadcast station whose current location is the broadcast wave broadcast target area and the content is output, the IP type broadcast is received. When a failure occurs, the output is switched to the broadcast wave type broadcast content of the broadcast station, which is convenient for the user.

It is a block diagram of a broadcast system. It is a block diagram about the principal part of a broadcast receiver. It is a flowchart of the broadcast switching method. It is a sequence diagram of the process part which accept | permits IP broadcast output among broadcast switching methods. It is a sequence diagram of the process part which prohibits IP broadcast output among broadcast switching methods. It is a structural diagram of the table information which a broadcast receiver holds in order to search for an access destination URL. FIG. 7 is a diagram in which specific data is entered in the correspondence column in the table information of FIG. 6. It is a flowchart of another broadcast switching method. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the presence or absence of the radio broadcast and IP broadcast which the broadcast station selected by the broadcast receiver broadcasts, and the broadcast source of the image | video and audio | voice which a broadcast receiver outputs. It is a flowchart of a reception failure countermeasure method. It is a block diagram of a broadcast receiver. It is a flowchart of a broadcast receiver control method.

  In the following description of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 10, “IP broadcasting” is used synonymously with “IP broadcasting”. The broadcasting station 11 in the embodiment is assumed to be an analog FM radio broadcasting station. It is assumed that “IP broadcast” in the embodiment is a simultaneous broadcast of a broadcast wave type broadcast.

  In FIG. 1, a broadcast system 10 includes a broadcast station 11, a broadcast wave / IP receiver such as a stationary broadcast receiver 12 and a mobile broadcast receiver 13, and the Internet 16 as main components. The mobile broadcast receiver 13 measures the current position using, for example, GPS radio waves from the GPS satellite 17. The broadcast station 11 broadcasts a program by radio waves (broadcast waves) from the radio tower 19 and distributes IP broadcast content from the IP broadcast server 20 via the Internet 16.

  In addition to the stationary broadcast receiver 12 and the mobile broadcast receiver 13, the receiver constituting the broadcast system 10 may be a vehicle-mounted type. In the broadcasting system 10, only one broadcasting station 11 is illustrated, but the actual broadcasting system 10 includes a plurality of broadcasting stations 11, and each broadcasting station 11 includes a radio tower 19, an IP broadcasting server 20, and the like. FM radio broadcasting and IP broadcasting. Although only two receivers are shown for convenience of illustration, the actual broadcasting system 10 includes a large number of receivers. In each receiver, a desired broadcast station 11 is selected by the user, and a broadcast wave or broadcast content of the broadcast station 11 is output. Each broadcasting station 11 has its broadcasting target area defined by law.

  A dual-purpose receiver such as the stationary broadcast receiver 12 or the mobile broadcast receiver 13 receives a broadcast wave from the radio tower 19 and outputs the video and / or audio of the program from its own monitor or speaker. . The dual-purpose receiver also transmits the same program as the broadcast wave from the radio tower 19 and / or another program or other content to each broadcast station 11 by IP broadcast only if it exists in the broadcast target area. It is distributed via the Internet 16 and its output is allowed. The stationary broadcast receiver 12 and the mobile broadcast receiver 13 are connected to the Internet 16 by wireless or wired communication, and receive IP broadcast programs from the Internet 16 via wireless or wired communication.

  Even if the broadcast by the broadcast wave from the radio tower 19 is an analog broadcast, the IP broadcast via the Internet 16 is performed by digital data. Therefore, when the broadcast wave is analog rather than digital, the stationary broadcast receiver 12 The output quality of the program in the mobile broadcast receiver 13 is higher in the IP broadcast than in the broadcast wave. For this reason, as will be described later, the stationary broadcast receiver 12 and the mobile broadcast receiver 13 give priority to the output of the IP broadcast over the output of the broadcast wave.

In the case of an analog radio broadcast station, the relationship assumed by the analog radio broadcast station for content that is broadcast by IP broadcast (IP broadcast content) and content that is broadcast by broadcast waves from the radio tower 19 (broadcast wave content) is as follows. is there. (A) IP broadcast content is the same as broadcast wave content (simultaneous broadcast described above). (B) In addition to broadcast wave content, other content such as video, still images, and advertisement information is added to IP broadcast content.
(C) IP broadcast content is completely different from broadcast wave content. Each broadcast station 11 of the broadcast system 10 can set a plurality of URLs in one or a plurality of IP broadcast servers, and can distribute any of the contents (a) to (c) from each URL.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the main part of the broadcast receiver 21. The broadcast receiver 21 is a generic term for the stationary broadcast receiver 12 and the mobile broadcast receiver 13. The broadcast receiver 21 is installed at a predetermined place in a building such as a house like the stationary broadcast receiver 12, is carried by the user like the mobile broadcast receiver 13, and further mounted on a car. Including The broadcast receiver 21 frequently enters and exits the broadcast target area of the broadcast station 11 to be viewed, particularly when the broadcast receiver 21 is a portable type or an in-vehicle type. Only when the broadcast receiver 21 exists in the broadcast target area of the broadcast wave associated with the broadcast, it is desired to accurately control the broadcast wave so that it is output from the broadcast receiver 21.

  The antenna 22 captures the radio wave of the terrestrial analog radio broadcast from the radio tower 19 (FIG. 1), and the RF signal is sent to the tuner unit 23. The tuner unit 23 selects an RF signal having a predetermined frequency in accordance with an instruction from the main control unit 24, converts it to an IF signal, and sends it to the demodulation unit 25. The demodulator 25 demodulates the IF signal to generate an audio signal and sends it to the main controller 24.

  The communication unit 27 is interposed between the Internet 16 and the main control unit 24, exchanges data with the Internet 16 (FIG. 1) via the wireless antenna 28, and communicates with the main control unit 24. Send and receive data. This data includes IP broadcast content data from the broadcast station 11. The current position detection unit 29 measures the current position based on GPS radio waves from the GPS satellite 17 (FIG. 1), and sends current position information to the main control unit 24.

  Note that the current position detection unit 29 can also detect the current position without using the GPS signal. For example, a database on the frequency distribution of broadcast waves that can be received in each region is equipped, and the frequencies of broadcast waves that are equal to or higher than a predetermined reception intensity at the current position are examined. Then, a region where the examined frequency distribution is obtained is searched from the database, and the corresponding region is recognized as a broadcast target region including the current location. The certified broadcast target area is used to specify the prefecture in the database shown in FIG.

  The operation unit 33 as a user interface is equipped with a key for accepting a user operation, and sends operation information to the main control unit 24. The display control unit 34 is supplied with a signal related to display information from the main control unit 24 and displays the display information on the display device 35. The voice control unit 36 converts the voice data from the main control unit 24 into a voice signal and sends the voice signal to the speaker 37. The speaker 37 converts the sound signal from the sound control unit 36 into sound and outputs the sound.

  A program and fixed data are recorded in the ROM 40, and the main control unit 24 can appropriately read the recorded data in the ROM 40. The RAM 41 is used by the main control unit 24 to temporarily store data during arithmetic processing.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the broadcast switching method 45, and FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram of a processing portion of the broadcast switching method 45 that allows IP broadcast output. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram of a processing portion of the broadcast switching method 45 that prohibits IP broadcast output. The broadcast switching method 45 is applied to the broadcast receiver 21 and is started to be executed when the user turns on the power of the broadcast receiver 21 or switches the broadcast station to listen to in the operation unit 33 (FIG. 2). The When the user switches the listening broadcast station, the broadcast wave selection frequency in the broadcast receiver 21 is switched.

  A predetermined video (eg, advertisement) may be added to the sound of the radio broadcast wave in the IP broadcast content distributed by the broadcast station 11 in association with the radio broadcast wave. The broadcast receiver 21 may output an IP broadcast before the execution of the broadcast switching method 45 is started. In the broadcast switching method 45, first, the output of the broadcast video and audio received before the switching is stopped (S46, S47). At this time, if the IP broadcast is received from the broadcasting station before the switching, the network connection with the distribution source server has been established, so the network is disconnected (S48). Thereafter, the selected frequency in the tuner unit 23 is switched to the frequency of the broadcast wave of the broadcast station after switching (S49).

  Next, in order to confirm whether the reception quality of the frequency after switching is sufficiently ensured, the tuner 23 waits for the reception signal of the selected frequency to stabilize (S50), and after stabilization, The level is acquired (S51), and it is confirmed whether or not the received signal level shows a certain value or more (S52). If the value is greater than a certain value, the process proceeds to S53, and if the value is less than the certain value, the process proceeds to S68.

   The signal level indicating a value greater than a certain value (S52 “YES”) means that the broadcast receiver 21 exists in the broadcast target area of the broadcast station 11 for the broadcast wave related to the received signal. To do. Accordingly, the broadcast station 11 can be permitted to output the IP broadcast content associated with the broadcast wave from the broadcast receiver 21. In order for the broadcast receiver 21 to receive an IP broadcast from the broadcast station 11, the broadcast receiver 21 needs to acquire the URL of the server that is the access destination in order to access the distribution server via the Internet 16. There is.

  FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of the table information held by the broadcast receiver 21 in order to search for an access destination URL. FIG. 7 is a diagram in which specific data is entered in the correspondence column in the table information of FIG. In the table information of FIG. 7, since the current position is managed in units of prefectures, it is necessary to specify the current position of the broadcast receiver 21. As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the broadcast receiver 21 specifies the current position based on the GPS radio wave from the GPS satellite 17 (S53). Thereby, the latitude / longitude of the current position is acquired, and the prefecture is identified from the latitude / longitude. In the broadcast receiver 21, particularly in the stationary broadcast receiver, the user inputs his / her own address, postal code or telephone number (especially the area code) instead of the GPS radio wave, and based on the input, the current The prefecture where the position belongs can be specified.

  As a method of specifying the prefecture from the latitude and longitude, when the receiver has a function corresponding to car navigation, the prefecture can be specified from the latitude and longitude by using the function. If the receiver does not have such a function, there is a known server on the Internet 16 that has the function of specifying the prefecture from the latitude and longitude. Thus, the prefecture can be acquired. A specific method of acquiring the URL by the inquiry will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  In addition, although the access destination for accessing the distribution server (corresponding to the distribution server 74 in FIG. 9 described later) in the Internet 16 is the URL, this is not limited to the URL, and the server Other means such as the IP address may be used. The database (table information in FIGS. 6 and 7) in the broadcast receiver 21 is searched based on the prefectures obtained by these methods and the current selected frequency, and the broadcast station that is the source of the broadcast wave of the selected frequency is searched. Specify (S54), and obtain the URL that is the access destination based on the specified broadcast station. The case of the table information in FIG. 6 will be described as a specific example. When the current position is Tokyo and the current selected frequency is 81.5 [MHz], the radio broadcast station is CCC_FM and the URL is “http: // www .ccc.co.jp / contents.htm "

  6 and 7, the broadcast target area of each radio broadcast is managed in units of prefectures, but may be managed in units of combinations of prefectures and municipalities in more detail. 6 and FIG. 7, one frequency is associated with one radio broadcast station, but the radio broadcast station may transmit broadcast waves from a plurality of relay stations. A plurality of frequencies can be associated with one radio broadcast station. 6 and 7, one radio broadcast station holds a plurality of URLs. This is the case when one radio broadcast station distributes a plurality of IP-type broadcasts. This is because it is considered to switch the broadcast or program to be viewed by accessing the URL, and when only one IP type broadcast is distributed, only one URL needs to be associated with the broadcast station.

  If no URL is stored in this database (in the case of S55 “NO”), the radio broadcast station does not carry out IP broadcast, so the process proceeds to S68.

  When the URL is stored in this database (S55 “YES”), the broadcast receiver 21 establishes communication with the distribution server indicated by the URL in order to access the acquired URL (S60). After the communication is established (S61 “YES”), authentication is performed between the distribution servers indicated by the URL (S62). This means that broadcasts distributed over the Internet are accessed based on URLs, but when distributed over the Internet, once the URL is known, the broadcasts can be transmitted from any region using a personal computer. It becomes possible to receive. This leads to the distribution of broadcasts to any region far beyond the broadcast target region authorized as a broadcaster, so use specific authentication devices such as user authentication and device authentication. The purpose is to limit the viewing so that it can only be viewed on the Internet.

  Returning to FIG. 3, if the authentication is successful (S63 “YES”), the IP broadcast can be received, so that the reproduction of the received IP broadcast video and audio is started (S64), and the reproduced audio is reproduced. Is switched to the IP broadcast decoding side (S65), and then the video and audio mute is released (S66, S67). If the authentication fails (S63 “NO”), the process proceeds to S68.

  The operation when the reception signal level is below a certain value when the frequency is changed and the reception quality cannot be sufficiently secured will be described (FIG. 5). If the received signal level is below a certain value when the frequency is changed (in the case of S52 “NO” in FIG. 3), the broadcast cannot be received sufficiently, so that the broadcast wave is in the broadcast target area. It is impossible to determine whether the broadcast station 11 is from the station. Even if the broadcast station 11 distributes the IP broadcast, the broadcast receiver 21 does not receive the IP broadcast distribution by accessing the distribution server. Therefore, in that case, the process proceeds to S68 so as to view the broadcast wave unconditionally.

  In S68, the main control unit 24 switches the audio output to the broadcast wave decoding side, that is, switches to the audio signal related to the demodulated signal from the demodulation unit 25, and then cancels the audio mute in S69.

  In the flowcharts and sequence diagrams of FIGS. 3 to 5, as is understood from the presence of S46, S47, S66, and S67, the IP broadcast content is assumed to be both video and audio. Regardless of whether the broadcast wave associated with is a radio broadcast or a television broadcast, the content of IP broadcast can be audio-only content, audio + video content, or video-only content.

  A supplementary description will be given of the case where “the signal level is less than a certain value” in S52NO described above. If the constant value is set low, the process proceeds to S68 and S69 in S52 NO, and the audio output is switched to the broadcast wave decoding side. At this time, there are two types: (a) when only noise can be heard, and (b) when the noise ratio is high but can be heard somehow. In the case of analog broadcasting, it is usually (b). Depending on the user, the reception sensitivity is poor, but there are times when it is desired to listen. S68 and S69 deal with such a user, and at least output sound from a broadcast wave even in a situation where the signal level is below a certain value and the Internet broadcast cannot be viewed. Also, depending on the user, there are many noises, so the channel may be switched immediately. In place of S68 and S69, a process of notifying the user by voice output and / or visual display that the current location is a region where IP broadcast output is prohibited may be performed.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of another broadcast switching method 71. In the broadcast switching method 71, the same steps as those of the broadcast switching method 45 in FIG.

  In the broadcasting system 10 of FIG. 1, when the frequency is changed, the received signal level is below a certain value, and when the reception quality cannot be sufficiently secured, the broadcast distributed via the Internet 16 is not received, Broadcast broadcasts are output. On the other hand, in the broadcasting system according to the broadcast switching method 71 in FIG. 8, even if the broadcast wave cannot be received, the current position of the receiver can be specified by the information acquired from the GPS radio wave from the GPS satellite 17. Since it can be determined from the current position whether or not a broadcast wave that cannot be received is within the broadcast target area, it is determined based on the current position whether or not the broadcast distributed via the Internet 16 can be viewed.

  The difference between the broadcast switching method 71 and the broadcast switching method 45 of FIG. 3 is that in the broadcast switching method 71, S52 of the broadcast switching method 45 is omitted. In S54 of the broadcast switching method 71, similarly to S54 of the broadcast switching method 45, the table information (database) in FIG. 7 is used to specify the URL corresponding to the current location and the frequency of the selected broadcast wave. To do. In the table information of FIG. 7, the URL specified from the current position is the IP broadcast URL of the broadcasting station 11 whose current position is the broadcast target area. Therefore, in the broadcast switching method 71, the signal level of the broadcast wave of the IP broadcast However, output of IP broadcast content from the broadcast receiver 21 can be limited only when the broadcast receiver exists in the broadcast target area of the broadcast wave associated with the IP broadcast.

  The entire broadcast switching method 71 will be described. When the viewer switches the broadcast station to receive, the output of the broadcast video and audio received before switching is stopped (S46, S47). At this time, if the received broadcast is a broadcast distributed via the Internet 16, since the connection with the network has been established, the network is disconnected (S48). After performing these procedures, the reception frequency is switched to the target frequency (S49). After waiting for the reception state to stabilize (S50), the latitude and longitude are acquired from the GPS (S53), and the URL corresponding to the current position and the current frequency is acquired as shown in the above-described embodiment (S54). If stored, the broadcast distributed via the Internet 16 is viewed (S55, S60 to S67).

  In terrestrial analog radio broadcasting, there are difficult viewing areas in places where receivers are installed due to insufficient broadcast waves. In the broadcast switching method 71, when it is possible to connect to the Internet 16 even in a difficult viewing area, a broadcast distributed via the Internet 16 can be received, so that it is possible to take countermeasures for the difficult viewing area.

  In the description so far, the broadcast receiver 21 is equipped with the database related to the table information in FIGS. 6 and 7. Information such as the URL at which each broadcast station 11 performs its IP broadcast and the broadcast target area of each broadcast station may be changed, and it is preferable to maintain the latest information in the database, but the user must be updated Is heavy on the user. To cope with this, a database related to the table information of FIGS. 6 and 7 is installed in the URL management server on the Internet 16, and each broadcast receiver 21 is allowed to output IP at the current position with respect to the detected current position. The URL of the broadcast can be inquired from the URL management server so as to be known.

  FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the presence / absence of radio broadcast and IP broadcast broadcasted by the broadcast station 11 selected by the broadcast receiver 21 and the video and audio broadcast sources output by the broadcast receiver 21. The presence / absence of a radio broadcast and an IP broadcast broadcasted by the broadcast station 11 selected by the broadcast receiver 21 (hereinafter referred to as “reception pattern”) is “O”, and “−” is absent. It is filled in. On the other hand, the output patterns of the video and audio broadcast sources output from the broadcast receiver 21 are indicated by words in the rightmost column of the table of FIG. Patterns 1 to 5 in FIG. 9 are input / output patterns that are combinations of reception patterns and output patterns.

  In FIG. 9, a video means a moving image and is distinguished from a still image. 3 to 8 (eg, S46, S64) are used including moving images and still images. In the broadcast station 11, all of the patterns 1 to 5 are in analog broadcast ("O"). On the other hand, the broadcast station 11 broadcasts a combined content in which one or more are selected from video, audio, and still images in IP broadcasting.

  The broadcast receiver 21 has IP broadcast priority by default for its output. Therefore, according to the video / audio output example in the rightmost column of the table of FIG. 9, when the IP broadcast includes audio, the audio output of the broadcast receiver 21 is the audio of the IP broadcast rather than the audio of the analog radio broadcast. Priority. When the IP broadcast does not include audio and is only a video or still image broadcast, the video output of the broadcast receiver 21 is an IP broadcast video or still image, and the audio output of the broadcast receiver 21 is an analog radio broadcast. Of the voice. In the patterns 1, 3 and 4, the output from the broadcast receiver 21 is only the IP broadcast content, whereas in the patterns 2 and 5, the IP broadcast video or still image video content and the analog radio broadcast audio are output. Content is mixed and output.

  Note that whether the priority output in the broadcast receiver 21 is IP broadcast or analog radio broadcast can be changed according to user manual settings or product specifications. When analog radio broadcast is set to priority output by the user or the product specification is analog radio broadcast priority output, even if IP broadcast audio can be received, analog radio broadcast audio is output. Also, even if analog radio broadcasting is a priority output, if IP broadcasting can be received and the IP broadcasting includes video (either moving images or still images are acceptable), the IP broadcasting video is output. Also good. When the user does not want to output IP broadcast video, the broadcast receiver 21 is equipped with a setting that allows the user to reflect his / her preferences so that the video (screen) held by the broadcast receiver 21 is output in advance. You may let them.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the reception failure countermeasure method 80. The reception failure countermeasure method 80 is executed during a period in which the broadcast receiver 21 outputs any one of IP broadcast video, still image, and video by the broadcast switching method 45 or 71 (FIG. 3 or FIG. 8).

  In S81, it is determined whether or not IP broadcasting has been started, and the process proceeds to S82 as soon as the determination becomes positive. In S82, the IP broadcast is received and output from the broadcast receiver 21. Note that the input / output patterns indicating the relationship between reception and output include patterns 1 to 5 in FIG. 9. In patterns 2 and 5, the output of IP broadcast is only video or still images, and the sound is not IP broadcast. It becomes the sound of analog radio broadcasting.

  In S83, it is determined whether or not to end the reception of the IP broadcast. If the determination is positive, the reception failure countermeasure method 80 ends, and if not, the process proceeds to S84. In S84, it is determined whether or not the data reception of the IP broadcast via the Internet 16 has timed out. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S88, and if not, the process proceeds to S85. The broadcast receiver 21 prepares several data buffers for IP broadcast data reception via the Internet 16. When data is received in a data buffer in a small size (for example, in packet units) and the data becomes a meaningful size (for example, in frame units), the data is stored or decoded depending on the situation and played back. It will be.

  If the data buffer is not filled with the received data within the predetermined time, that is, if the data transfer rate is less than the predetermined value, the determination in S84 is positive as a timeout. The traction that the data transfer rate is less than a predetermined value includes down of the IP broadcast server 20, down of the access point to the Internet 16, traffic congestion, and the like.

  S85 is executed when IP broadcast reception is normal. In S85, the retry counter is cleared and the process proceeds to S82. The retry counter counts the number of consecutive times (the number of executions of S95) determined as timeout in S84.

  In S88, it is determined whether or not the connection with the IP broadcast server 20 has been disconnected. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S89, and if not, the process proceeds to S95. Whether or not the connection has been disconnected can be determined by using, for example, a PING command. Specifically, when a PING command is transmitted from the broadcast receiver 21 to the IP broadcast server 20 and no response is returned from the IP broadcast server 20 to the broadcast receiver 21 within a predetermined time, the IP receiver It can be determined that the connection with the broadcast server 20 has been disconnected. When the connection with the IP broadcast server 20 is disconnected, the transfer rate is 0. Therefore, whether or not the transfer amount within a predetermined time is 0 (transfer rate = 0) is determined. It can be replaced with a determination of whether or not there is.

In S89, it is determined whether or not the output of the broadcast receiver 21 is switched from IP broadcast to analog broadcast. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S90, and if not, the process proceeds to S95. Specifically, the determination as to whether or not to switch to analog broadcasting is performed after (a) the connection is disconnected in S88, so the determination of switching is abolished and almost forced (unconditionally). ) You may switch to analog broadcasting. In addition, (b) when the broadcast receiver 21 is portable or in-vehicle, the broadcast receiver 21 may temporarily enter the tunnel and be disconnected from the Internet 16. In addition, it is determined whether or not the current position is in the tunnel by GPS or the like, and the length or passage time of the tunnel is detected based on the map data of the navigation. After the elapse, it is checked whether or not the transfer rate is still less than the predetermined value. If it is less than the predetermined value, the determination in S89 can be made positive.

  In S90, the reception of the broadcast receiver 21 is switched from the IP broadcast to the analog broadcast, and the content of the analog broadcast is output from the broadcast receiver 21. When the output pattern from the broadcast receiver 21 before the execution of S90 is the pattern 2 or 5 in FIG. 9, only the video output from the broadcast receiver 21 is stopped, and the audio output from the broadcast receiver 21 is stopped. Will maintain the sound of analog broadcasting.

  In S95, the retry counter is incremented by one. In S96, it is determined whether or not the count value of the retry counter is equal to or greater than a specified value. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S101, and if not, the process proceeds to S97. In S97, IP broadcast data reception is retried, and then the process returns to S84. In the data reception timeout in S84, the transfer rate after the start of data retry is remeasured.

  In S101, it is determined whether or not the output of the broadcast receiver 21 is switched from IP broadcast to analog broadcast. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S102, and if not, the process proceeds to S97. The specific determination method in S101 is the same as that in S89 described above. In S102, the same processing as in S90 described above is executed.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the broadcast receiver 120. A specific example of the broadcast receiver 120 is the broadcast receiver 21 (FIG. 2). The broadcast receiver 120 may be any of a stationary type, a portable type, and an in-vehicle type. The broadcast receiver 120 includes a content output unit 121, a failure monitoring unit 122, and an output control unit 123.

  The content output unit 121 outputs the content of the broadcast wave type broadcast or IP type broadcast received from the broadcast station whose current position is within the broadcast wave broadcast target area. The failure monitoring unit 122 monitors the reception failure of the IP broadcast while the IP broadcast is being output from the content output unit 121. If an IP type broadcast reception failure occurs, the output control means 123 changes the output content from the content output unit 121 from the IP type broadcast to the broadcast wave type broadcast content of the broadcasting station broadcasting the IP type broadcast. Switch.

  Specific examples of the content output unit 121 are the display device 35 and the speaker 37 (FIG. 2). The IP broadcast reception failure includes, for example, the IP broadcast server 20 being down, the access point to the Internet 16 being down, traffic congestion, and being underground. The broadcast receiver 120 receives an IP type broadcast via an IP network. The IP type broadcast is not limited to the simulcast of the broadcast wave type broadcast. The IP broadcast content may be unrelated to the broadcast wave broadcast content.

  In this way, when an IP type broadcast reception failure occurs during the output of IP type broadcast content from the broadcast receiver 120, the broadcast wave type broadcast content is output instead, and discomfort can be prevented.

Typically, the presence or absence of an IP broadcast reception failure is determined by whether or not the IP broadcast data transfer rate is less than a predetermined value. Preferably, the failure monitoring unit 122 further determines whether or not the current position is a position where a broadcast wave can be received, specifically, whether or not the current position is underground or in a tunnel, and based on map data of the navigation or the like. Detects the length and transit time of the underground and tunnels, suspends monitoring of the reception status within the transit time, and after that transit time has passed, the IP type is based on whether the transfer rate is still less than the predetermined value Determine whether there is a failure in the broadcast reception status. Whether or not the current position is underground or in a tunnel can be determined, for example, by comparing the current position with map data of the navigation. The length of the tunnel can also be detected from the navigation map data.
For example, since GPS radio waves cannot be received in a tunnel, the current position is detected based on, for example, acceleration and vehicle speed detected by a gyro sensor and a vehicle speed sensor, and the current position and navigation map data are collated to determine whether the broadcast receiver 120 is installed. It is possible to determine whether the car has entered the tunnel or has exited the tunnel. Then, the failure monitoring unit 122 stops monitoring the reception state inside the tunnel, and resumes monitoring the reception state as soon as it goes out of the tunnel.

  Typically, the output control unit 123 outputs the IP broadcast content from the content output unit 121 to the broadcast wave broadcast content from the broadcast station during a period in which the IP broadcast content of the broadcast station can be normally output. Give priority to output. The output control means 123 further outputs the content in a period in which the IP station broadcast content of the broadcast station can be normally output when the IP station broadcast content of the broadcast station does not include sound and is only a video or a still image. If the unit 121 outputs the broadcast wave type broadcast sound and the IP type broadcast video or still image, and if an IP type broadcast reception failure occurs, the content output unit 121 sends the broadcast wave type broadcast sound. The output of the IP broadcast video or still image can be stopped while maintaining the output.

  Switched to broadcast wave type broadcast due to reception failure of IP type broadcast, but after switching to broadcast wave type broadcast, if connection of IP broadcast type broadcast at fixed intervals was attempted behind and data could be connected stably May switch the output from the broadcast wave type broadcast to the original IP type broadcast. In the case of the stationary type, when the user performs an output switching operation from the current broadcast wave type broadcast to another broadcast wave type broadcast, an attempt is made to connect an IP type broadcast associated with the switched broadcast wave type broadcast. May be. For in-vehicle and portable devices: (a) When a predetermined time has elapsed, the received signal level of the broadcast wave type broadcast is monitored again, and if the current position is within the reception target area, the connection of the IP type broadcast is established. (B) When the received signal level of the broadcast wave type broadcast is lowered, the IP broadcast connection is attempted, or (c) The broadcast after switching is performed when another broadcast wave type broadcast is switched. You may try connection of IP type broadcasting corresponding to wave type broadcasting.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the broadcast receiver control method 130. The broadcast receiver control method 130 is applied to the broadcast receiver 120. In S131, it is determined whether or not an IP broadcast is being output from the content output unit 121. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S132, and if not, the broadcast receiver control method 130 is terminated. In S132, the reception failure of the IP broadcast is monitored.

  In S133, it is determined whether or not an IP broadcast reception failure has occurred. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S134. If not, the process returns to S132 to continue monitoring. In S134, the output content from the content output unit 121 is switched from the IP broadcast to the broadcast wave broadcast content of the broadcast station broadcasting the IP broadcast.

  The processing of S131 to S133 corresponds to the function of the failure monitoring unit 122 of the broadcast receiver 120 (FIG. 11). The process of S134 corresponds to the function of the output control means 123 of the broadcast receiver 120. The specific modes described above for each means of the broadcast receiver 120 can also be applied as specific modes of corresponding steps in the broadcast receiver control method 130.

  The program to which the present invention is applied causes a computer to function as each means of the broadcast receiver 120. Another program to which the present invention is applied causes a computer to execute each step of the broadcast receiver control method 130.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications (including addition and deletion) are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  This specification discloses various ranges and levels of the invention. In addition to various devices and methods of various technical scopes and specific levels described in the present specification, the present invention has operations and effects independent of each device and each method within the scope of expansion or generalization. Extracting one or more elements, changing one or more elements within the scope of expansion or generalization, and combining one or more elements between devices and methods Includes replacements.

120: broadcast receiver, 121: content output unit, 122: failure monitoring means, 123: output control means, 130: broadcast receiver control method.

Claims (12)

A broadcast receiver for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast,
A broadcast output unit that outputs the broadcast wave type broadcast content of the selected station or the IP type broadcast content associated with the broadcast wave type broadcast, and the IP type broadcast of the selected station can be output; and When the IP broadcast content of the selected station is only a moving image or a still image without sound, the content output unit outputs the sound of the broadcast wave broadcasting and the moving image or still image of the IP broadcast. Output controller,
A broadcast receiver comprising: A broadcast receiver for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast,
When a broadcast output unit that outputs broadcast wave type broadcast content of the selected station or IP type broadcast content associated with the broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast content of the selected station can be output When the IP output broadcast content of the selected station is output to the broadcast output unit and the IP broadcast content of the selected station cannot be output, the broadcast output type broadcast of the selected station is output to the broadcast output unit. An output control unit for outputting the content of
The output control unit can output the IP broadcast content of the selected station, and if the IP broadcast content of the selected station does not include sound and is only a moving image or a still image, A broadcast receiver characterized by causing a content output unit to output broadcast wave type broadcast sound and IP type moving image or still image. A fault monitoring unit that monitors a reception state of the IP type broadcast during output of the IP type broadcast from the content output unit;
The output control unit outputs the output content from the content output unit if a failure occurs in the reception state of the IP type broadcast, and the broadcast wave type broadcast of a broadcasting station that broadcasts the IP type broadcast from the IP type broadcast. The broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast receiver is switched to the content. A broadcast receiver for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast,
When a broadcast output unit that outputs broadcast wave type broadcast content of the selected station or IP type broadcast content associated with the broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast content of the selected station can be output If the IP output broadcast content of the selected station is output to the broadcast output unit and the IP broadcast content of the selected station cannot be output, the broadcast output type broadcast of the selected station is output to the broadcast output unit. Output control unit to output the contents of
A fault monitoring unit that monitors a reception state of the IP type broadcast during output of the IP type broadcast from the content output unit;
The output control unit outputs the output content from the content output unit if a failure occurs in the reception state of the IP type broadcast, and the broadcast wave type broadcast of a broadcasting station that broadcasts the IP type broadcast from the IP type broadcast. A broadcast receiver characterized by switching to the content. A storage unit for storing map data;
The fault monitoring unit determines whether or not the current position is a position where a broadcast wave can be received based on the map data. If the position cannot be received, the monitoring of the reception state is suspended and the position becomes a position where reception is possible. 5. The broadcast receiver according to claim 3, wherein the monitoring of the reception state is resumed. A fault monitoring unit that monitors a reception state of the IP type broadcast during output of the IP type broadcast from the content output unit;
If a failure occurs in the reception state of the IP type broadcast, the output control unit outputs an IP type moving image or still image to the content output unit while maintaining the output of the broadcast wave type broadcast sound. 3. The broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast receiver is stopped. The presence / absence of a failure in the reception state of the IP broadcast is determined by whether or not the data transfer rate of the IP broadcast is less than a predetermined value. Broadcast receiver.   The broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein the selected station is an analog radio broadcast station. A broadcast receiver control method for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast,
Determining whether the IP broadcast of the selected station can be output;
A step of determining whether the content of the IP broadcast of the selected station is only a moving image or a still image that does not include sound, and the IP broadcast of the selected station is capable of outputting the IP broadcast of the selected station The content output unit includes only the moving image or the still image, and the content output unit outputs the sound of the broadcast wave type broadcast and the moving image or the still image of the IP type broadcast to the content output unit,
A broadcast receiver control method comprising: A broadcast receiver control method for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast,
Determining whether the IP broadcast of the selected station can be output;
If the selected station can output the IP type broadcast, the IP station broadcast content of the selected station is output. If the selected station cannot output the IP type broadcast, the selected station broadcast wave type broadcast content is output. Output step,
A step of determining whether the content of the IP broadcast of the selected station is only a moving image or a still image that does not include sound, and the IP broadcast of the selected station is capable of outputting the IP broadcast of the selected station The content output unit includes only the moving image or the still image, and the content output unit outputs the sound of the broadcast wave type broadcast and the moving image or the still image of the IP type broadcast to the content output unit,
A broadcast receiver control method comprising: A broadcast receiver control method for both broadcast wave type broadcast and IP type broadcast,
Determining whether the IP broadcast of the selected station can be output;
If the selected station can output the IP type broadcast, the IP station broadcast content of the selected station is output. If the selected station cannot output the IP type broadcast, the selected station broadcast wave type broadcast content is output. Output step,
Monitoring whether or not a failure has occurred in the reception state of the IP broadcast during the output of the IP broadcast from the content output unit;
Switching the output content from the content output unit from the IP type broadcast to the broadcast wave type broadcast content of the broadcasting station broadcasting the IP type broadcast when a failure occurs in the reception state of the IP type broadcast; A broadcast receiver control method comprising: A broadcast receiver control program for causing a computer to execute the broadcast receiver control method according to claim 9.

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