JP2013207318A - Digital broadcast receiving device and scan method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable prioritized scanning beginning with physical channels having high reception possibility.SOLUTION: A digital broadcast receiving device comprises: an intra-area presence index identification processing unit 107 which determines for each broadcast area an intra-area presence index indicating a level of possibility that the device is present in a given broadcast area; a reception possibility index identification processing unit 108 which identifies a physical channel with highest reception possibility based on the intra-area presence index of a broadcast area where physical channels are used and a transmission output value at a broadcast station included in the broadcast area where physical channels are used; an information separation confirmation processing unit 109 which performs the processing of confirming the identified physical channel; and an intra-area presence index update processing unit 110 which, in response to the result of confirmation by the information separation confirmation processing unit 109, identifies a broadcast area in which the device has high possibility of presence and increments the intra-area presence index of the identified broadcast area.

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus and a scanning method.

  Digital broadcast receivers that receive digital broadcasts receive and demodulate broadcast signals for each physical channel in the current region where the device is present, confirm the presence or absence of broadcast signals, and broadcast station information, etc. There is a function called scan that acquires broadcast signal information including Here, the physical channel is a channel assigned with a specific number corresponding to a specific frequency range defined by each digital broadcasting standard. For example, ARIB (Association of Radio Industries and Businesses) standard used in Japan. In this case, channel number 13 corresponds to a frequency range of 470 Mhz to 476 Mhz.

  Receivable broadcast signal information obtained as a result of scanning is normally written and stored in a non-volatile memory in the digital broadcast receiver. When the user gives a channel selection instruction using the remote controller, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus performs a channel selection process such as tuning based on the stored broadcast signal information.

  Situations where scanning must be executed include situations in which broadcast signal information is not stored in the digital broadcast receiver, such as during initial settings immediately after purchase, and reception due to movement of the digital broadcast receiver or changes in the surrounding environment There are situations where the state of possible broadcast waves has changed. In particular, the latter situation is more likely to occur in mobile digital broadcast receivers used as portable devices or in-vehicle devices, compared to fixed digital broadcast receivers that are used indoors.

  Since the broadcast reception system used for searching for each physical channel cannot be used for viewing a program while scanning is being performed, the digital broadcast reception apparatus does not have another broadcast reception system. The user cannot view the program until the scan is completed. Even if other broadcast receiving systems for viewing the program are provided, the broadcast signal information of the program that the user wants to select has not yet been acquired when the broadcast signal information is not stored in the initial setting. In some cases, the user cannot view the program. For this reason, it is desirable that the time required for scanning is as short as possible.

  As a conventional basic scanning method, there is a method of sequentially scanning from the smallest physical channel to the largest physical channel defined by the digital broadcasting standard. In this method, since all the channels are always scanned, there is a problem that the time required from the start to the end of the scan becomes long.

  In order to solve this problem, for example, in the method described in Patent Document 1, physical channel information used by broadcasting stations in all regions is stored in advance, and scanning is started with priority from physical channels that are frequently used in broadcasting stations. Then, information indicating other physical channels used for transmission is extracted from the first extracted stream, and scanning is limited to only the other physical channels indicated by the extracted information. Scanning can be performed at high speed. In this method, when there is a physical channel that cannot receive a stream in other physical channels indicated by the extracted information, all unscanned physical channels are scanned.

JP 2000-253428 A (paragraphs 0014 to 0016, FIG. 2)

  However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, the broadcast station that transmits the stream that can be received first is not the broadcast station in the current region where the digital broadcast receiver is present, but the broadcast station in the adjacent region. In this case, the physical channel of the broadcasting station in the current region having a higher reception possibility is excluded from the scan target, and the physical channel having a higher reception possibility cannot be preferentially scanned.

  In view of the above, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to preferentially scan from a physical channel with high possibility of reception.

A digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes:
A receiver that receives radio waves and generates a stream from the radio waves;
A demultiplexer for separating program information from the stream;
For each broadcast area, a storage unit that stores broadcast area information including a physical channel used in the broadcast area and a value of a radio wave transmission output at a broadcasting station included in the broadcast area;
A control unit that controls the receiving unit and the demultiplexing unit to perform a scanning process for confirming whether the program information can be separated by sequentially selecting the physical channels,
The controller is
For each broadcast area, a regional index specifying processing unit for determining a regional index indicating a high possibility that the device exists.
With reference to the broadcast area information, for each physical channel, the presence index of the broadcast area where the physical channel is used and the value of the transmission output at the broadcast station included in the broadcast area where the physical channel is used are large A receivable index specifying processing unit that determines a receivable index that becomes a large value and identifies a physical channel having the highest receivable index;
The reception unit generates a stream corresponding to the physical channel specified by the receivable index specification processing unit, and confirms whether the demultiplexing unit can separate the program information from the stream An information separation confirmation processing unit;
In accordance with the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation processing unit, a local area update processing unit that identifies a broadcasting area where the device is likely to exist and increases the local area index of the specified broadcasting area, It is characterized by providing.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to preferentially scan from a physical channel with high possibility of reception.

It is a block diagram which shows roughly the structure of the digital broadcast receiver which concerns on Embodiment 1-3. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a broadcast area table in Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a bit configuration of a service ID according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a classification table showing classification of area identification in the first embodiment. 5 is an assignment table showing assignment of regions to region identification values in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an adjacent area table in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a bit configuration of a broadcasting station and transmission output in the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing confirmation processing in the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating scan processing according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a scanning process in a modification of the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating scan processing according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a scanning process in a modification of the second embodiment. 14 is a flowchart illustrating scan processing according to the third embodiment. It is the schematic which shows an example of the broadcast area table in the modification of Embodiment 1-3. It is the schematic which shows an example of the adjacent area table in the modification of Embodiment 1-3.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. It is assumed that digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 corresponds to the ARIB standard used in Japan.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 includes a tuner unit 101, a demodulation unit 102 connected to the output unit of the tuner unit 101, and a demultiplexing unit 103 connected to the output unit of the demodulation unit 102. A decoding unit 104 connected to the output unit of the demultiplexing unit 103, a storage unit 105, a control unit 106, and an input unit 111. Here, the tuner unit 101 and the demodulation unit 102 constitute a reception unit 112 that generates a stream from radio waves. Control unit 106 includes a regional index identification processing unit 107, a receivable index identification processing unit 108, a program information separation confirmation processing unit 109, and a regional index update processing unit 110. In addition, the code | symbol in the parenthesis of FIG. 1 shows the structure in Embodiment 2 or 3. FIG.

  The tuner unit 101 is connected to the antenna 120 and generates a reception signal from radio waves received by the antenna 120. The tuner unit 101 selects a broadcast station based on the instructed physical channel in accordance with the tuning instruction from the control unit 106, and generates a reception signal from this broadcast station. In addition, the tuner unit 101 gives the generated reception signal to the demodulation unit 102.

  The demodulation unit 102 performs demodulation processing and error correction processing on the received signal given from the tuner unit 101, and generates a TS (Transport Stream) as a digital signal. Then, the demodulation unit 102 gives the generated TS to the demultiplexing unit 103. Further, the demodulator 102 gives a frame lock detection signal or a frame unlock detection signal to the control unit 106 according to the result of the demodulation process.

  The demultiplexing unit 103 performs demultiplexing processing on the TS given from the demodulation unit 102. For example, the demultiplexing unit 103 includes information necessary for selecting a service (program) such as program specific information (PSI: Program Specific Information) and program arrangement information (service information: SI: Service Information) from the TS. Separate program information. Further, the demultiplexing unit 103 filters the TS based on the value of the PID (TS packet identifier: Packet Identifier) of the video TS packet and the audio TS packet detected from the separated PSI / SI, and the video TS packet And the voice TS packet is separated. Then, the demultiplex unit 103 gives the separated video TS packet and audio TS packet to the decoding unit 104.

  The decoding unit 104 decodes (decodes) the video packet and the audio packet given from the demultiplexing unit 103 to generate a video signal and an audio signal, respectively. Then, the decoding unit 104 gives the generated video signal to a display device (not shown), and gives the generated audio signal to an audio output device (not shown).

  The storage unit 105 stores information necessary for processing performed by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100. For example, the storage unit 105 stores broadcast area information 105A, adjacent area information 105B, and channel information 105C.

  The broadcast area information 105A is used by the broadcast station and the radio wave transmission output of the broadcast station included in the broadcast area for each broadcast area where digital broadcasting is performed according to the broadcast standard supported by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100. This is information indicating the physical channel that is being used. For example, the broadcast area information 105A is information in a table format such as the broadcast area table BATL shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the broadcast area table BATL has a broadcast area field BATL1, a broadcast station field BATL2, a transmission output field BATL3, and a broadcast physical channel field BATL4.

  The broadcast area column BATL1 stores area identification information for identifying the broadcast area. Here, the area identification information is information that can uniquely identify the broadcast area among the information that can be extracted from the TS. For example, in the case of broadcasting in accordance with the Japanese ARIB standard, there is a network information table (NIT) that is information about the network to be transmitted, and a service description table (SDT) that defines the attributes of services broadcast on each TS. The broadcasting area of the TS can be specified by an area code included in the terrestrial distribution system descriptor or a unique value called area identification which is an upper bit of the service ID included in the SDT. In other words, in the case of broadcasting in accordance with the ARIB standard, a predetermined area identification code is stored as an area code included in the NIT or a value of area identification included in the SDT. It can be used as information. In the broadcast area column BATL1, area identification information of all areas where broadcasting is performed may be stored, or area identification information of a part of the areas may be stored.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a bit configuration of service ID 130 in digital terrestrial broadcasting. As shown in FIG. 3, the service ID 130 includes a region identification 130A. FIG. 4 is a classification table 131 showing the classification of area identification in digital terrestrial broadcasting. As shown in the classification table 131, in the case of broadcasting according to the ARIB standard, the area identification value “0-9” indicates wide area broadcasting, and the area identification value “10-63” is prefectural area broadcasting. It shows that. FIG. 5 is an assignment table 132 showing assignment of regions to region identification values in terrestrial digital broadcasting. For the area identification information obtained from the NIT or SDT, for example, the broadcast area corresponding to the area identification information can be acquired by using the allocation table 132 of FIG.

Returning to the description of FIG. 2, the broadcast station column BATL2 stores information indicating the broadcast stations included in the broadcast region indicated by the broadcast region column BATL1. The broadcasting station here also includes a relay station.
The transmission output field BATL3 stores the value of the transmission output of the radio wave used in the broadcasting station indicated by the broadcasting station field BATL2.
The broadcast physical channel column BATL4 stores identification information for identifying the physical channel used in the broadcast station indicated by the broadcast station column BATL2. Here, a physical channel number is used as identification information for identifying a physical channel.
In the example shown in FIG. 2, in the broadcasting area of “Kyoto”, there is a broadcasting station of “Hieizan” as one of the broadcasting stations, and in this broadcasting station, “13”, “14”, “15”, “16” ”,“ 17 ”,“ 23 ”, and“ 25 ”are used to broadcast using the transmission output“ 60 ”. In addition, there is a broadcasting station of “Fushimi Momoyama” in the broadcasting area of “Kyoto”. In this broadcasting station, a transmission output of “13”, “25”, and “30” is used. 30 "is being broadcast.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 1, the adjacent area information 105 </ b> B is information indicating an adjacent area that is a broadcast area adjacent to the broadcast area for each broadcast area. For example, the adjacent area information 105B is information in a table format such as the adjacent area table NATL shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the adjacent area table NATL includes a broadcast area column NATL1 and an adjacent area column NATL2.

The broadcast area column NATL1 stores area identification information for identifying the broadcast area.
The adjacent area column NATL2 stores area identification information for identifying the adjacent area of the broadcast area indicated by the broadcast area column NATL1. Here, in the broadcast area indicated by the broadcast area column NATL1, when a broadcast radio wave from a broadcast station included in another broadcast area can be received, the other broadcast area is set as an adjacent area. In other words, the adjacent area is a broadcast area including a broadcast station having a broadcast range covering the broadcast area indicated by the broadcast area column NATL1. However, since it is generally difficult and time-consuming to accurately survey the adjacent area, when creating the adjacent area information 105B, for example, the boundary of the broadcast area on the map corresponding to each area identification information Other broadcast areas that are in contact with each other may be adjacent areas.

  As shown in FIG. 6, for example, “41 (Kyoto)”, “42 (Hyogo)”, “44 (Nara)” and “43 (Wakayama)” for the broadcasting area “40 (Osaka)”. The broadcasting area is an adjacent area. In other words, when the current region is “40 (Osaka)”, not only the broadcast transmitted from the broadcasting station in “40 (Osaka)” but also “41 (Kyoto)”, “42 (Hyogo)” , “44 (Nara)” and “43 (Wakayama)” may be able to receive broadcasts transmitted from broadcasting stations.

Returning to the description of FIG. 1, the broadcast area information 105A and the adjacent area information 105B may be stored in advance in the storage unit 105 in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100, or are recorded in an external recording medium and scanned. You may make it read in the memory | storage part 105 at the time of a process start. In the case of the ARIB standard, for example, the control unit 106 automatically downloads the broadcast area information 105A by downloading a frequency list including information such as a broadcast station for each broadcast area and a physical channel to be used from the broadcast radio wave. Can also be generated.
The relationship between the broadcasting station (transmitting station) and the transmission output is stored in the frequency list by a bit arrangement as shown in FIG.

  The channel information 105C is TS information that can be acquired from broadcast radio waves that can be received in a broadcast area where the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 exists. For example, the channel information 105C includes, for each TS generated from broadcast radio waves that can be received in a broadcasting area where the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 exists, a service ID indicating each service in the TS in addition to the physical channel and TS_ID. Including. Note that the channel information 105C is generated by the regional index specifying processing unit 107 in the control unit 106 based on the program information separated by the demultiplexing unit 103 in the scanning process, and the regional index update processing unit 110 Updated.

The control unit 106 controls the entire processing in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100. For example, the control unit 106 controls channel selection processing and scan processing. The channel selection process and the scan process may be executed when the input unit 111 receives an operation input from the user or by automatic determination in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100. When controlling the tuning process, the control unit 106 controls the tuner unit 101, the demodulation unit 102, the demultiplexing unit 103, and the decoding unit 104 based on the channel information 105C stored in the storage unit 105. The broadcast radio wave of the program to be viewed is received, and a video signal and a video signal are generated from the received radio wave and output to the outside. Here, in the channel selection process, the control unit 106 acquires channel selection information from the channel information 105C in the storage unit 105, and sends a tuning instruction to the tuner unit 101 based on this information. Further, when controlling the scanning process, the control unit 106 controls the receiving unit 112 and the demultiplexing unit 103 to check whether the program information can be separated by sequentially selecting physical channels. . The scanning process controlled by the control unit 106 will be described later.
Further, the control unit 106 generates or updates the channel information 105C based on the program information separated by the demultiplexing unit 103.

The regional index identification processing unit 107 identifies the value of the regional index that is an index indicating the high possibility that the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 exists for each broadcasting region. The regional index specified by the regional index specifying processing unit 107 becomes an initial value in the scanning process. Further, the regional index identification processing unit 107 generates channel information 105 </ b> C based on the program information separated by the demultiplexing unit 103.
The receivable index specifying processing unit 108 calculates a value of a receivable index indicating the high possibility of receiving broadcast radio waves on the physical channel. For example, the receivable index identification processing unit 108 increases the value as the presence index of a broadcasting area using a physical channel and the broadcast output value of a radio wave included in the broadcasting area increase. Calculate the receivability index. Then, the receivable index identification processing unit 108 identifies the physical channel with the highest receivable index as a confirmation target.
The program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 performs confirmation processing for confirming whether broadcast radio waves can be received on the physical channel specified by the receivable index specification processing unit 108.
The regional index update processing unit 110 updates the regional index according to the result of the confirmation process in the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109. Further, the regional index update processing unit 110 updates the channel information 105 </ b> C stored in the storage unit 105 based on the program information separated by the demultiplexing unit 103.

  The input unit 111 receives an operation input from the user of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100. For example, the input unit 111 can be realized by a remote controller.

  Next, the scanning process performed by the control unit 106 will be described. The scan process is usually performed by repeatedly performing a confirmation process for one physical channel for a plurality of physical channels.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the confirmation processing performed by the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 of the control unit 106. When the confirmation process is performed for a specific physical channel, first, the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 gives a tuning instruction indicating the physical channel to be subjected to the current confirmation process to the tuner unit 101 (S10). The tuner unit 101 performs tuning processing on the frequency range of the physical channel indicated by the given tuning instruction. Then, tuner section 101 provides demodulating section 102 with a received signal in a specific frequency band generated as a result of the tuning process. The demodulator 102 performs demodulation processing on the given received signal, and when the TS can be normally generated, the frame lock detection signal is obtained. When the TS cannot be normally generated, the frame unlock detection signal is obtained. Is provided to the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109.

  Next, the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 determines whether or not a frame lock detection signal is obtained from the demodulation unit 102 (S11). When the frame lock detection signal is obtained (S11: Yes), the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 proceeds to step S12, and when the frame lock detection signal is not obtained (S11: No). Then, the confirmation process of the physical channel that is the subject of the confirmation process this time is finished. For example, when the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 obtains the frame unlock signal from the demodulation unit 102, it determines that the frame lock detection signal is not obtained. When the frame lock detection signal is obtained from the demodulation unit 102, the demultiplexing unit 103 can separate the program information from the TS, and when the frame unlock detection signal is obtained from the demodulation unit 102, the demultiplexing unit 103 can separate the program information. The unit 103 cannot separate the program information from the TS.

  In step S12, the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 instructs the demultiplexing unit 103 to perform SI filtering (S12). For example, the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 specifies NIT and SDT PIDs and causes the demultiplexing unit 103 to start these filtering processes. When the demultiplexing unit 103 detects TS packets in which NIT and SDT are described, the demultiplexing unit 103 provides the table information to the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109. When these pieces of table information are given, the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 instructs the demultiplexing unit 103 to end the filtering process, and stores the TS information obtained from the NIT and SDT in the channel information 105C. In order to deal with a case where SI cannot be received even after waiting for a long time, a time limit is applied in advance to the filtering process, and when this time limit elapses, the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 automatically ends the filtering process. It may be.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the scanning process controlled by the control unit 106 in the first embodiment. In the scan processing in the first embodiment, the broadcast region where the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 exists is not limited to the broadcast region during the scan processing, and the broadcast region is estimated based on the results of the scan processing up to now. Then, the estimation result is specified by the estimated current region group and the regional index. The estimated current region group is a region set indicating candidates for the current region, and the region index is an index indicating how likely each region is to be the current region. In other words, the regional index is an index indicating a high possibility that the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 exists in each region. Further, in the scan processing in the first embodiment, the degree of possibility that each physical channel can receive broadcast radio waves is specified using the receivability index. The receivable index is a value calculated based on the local index and the transmission output of the broadcasting station existing in the estimated current area, and is calculated every time confirmation processing is performed.

  At the start of the scanning process, first, the regional index specifying processing unit 107 of the control unit 106 initializes the estimated current region group and the regional index values (S20). At the start of the scanning process, the current region is unknown, in other words, all regions can be equally current regions. For this reason, the initial value of the estimated current area group is a set of all broadcast areas. Further, the initial value of the location index is assumed to be the same in all broadcasting regions, and an appropriate value other than “0” is set. Here, for example, it is assumed that “1” point is set as the value of the regional index of each broadcasting area. The control unit 106 causes the storage unit 105 to store the broadcast area included in the estimated current area group and the value of the location index for each broadcast area.

  Next, the receivable index specifying processing unit 108 in the control unit 106 refers to the broadcast region information 105A, and for each unconfirmed physical channel that has not yet been subjected to the confirmation processing in step S23, an estimated current region group. Among the broadcast areas included in the broadcast area, the location index value of the broadcast area using each of the unconfirmed physical channels is specified. In addition, the receivable index specifying processing unit 108 corrects the specified location index value so that the value increases as the broadcast output value in the broadcast area increases. For example, the receivable index identification processing unit 108 can calculate the correction value by adding or multiplying the identified area index value by a larger value as the broadcast output value of the broadcast area increases. . Then, the receivable index specifying processing unit 108 adds the correction values to obtain the receivable index for each of the unconfirmed physical channels (S21). A large transmission output of a broadcasting station indicates that there is a possibility of reception over a wide range. Conversely, a small transmission output of a broadcasting station means that the area where the broadcasting station can be received is limited. It shows that. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2, in Kyoto, the value of the transmission output from Hieizan is “60”, and the value of the transmission output from Fushimi Momoyama is “30”. Therefore, the receivability index for the physical channel output from Hieizan is higher than the receivability index for the physical channel output from Fushimi Momoyama. At the start of the scanning process, the presence index of all broadcast areas is equal, so the receivability index is proportional to the frequency of use of each unconfirmed physical channel and the value of transmission output in the broadcast area information 105A. It becomes the value.

  Next, the receivable index identification processing unit 108 identifies the physical channel number of the physical channel with the highest receivable index for the unconfirmed physical channel (S22). When there are a plurality of physical channels having the same receivability index, the control unit 106 determines the physical channels in a predetermined order, for example, in ascending order of physical channel numbers or in descending order of physical channel numbers. Identify the number.

  Then, the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 of the control unit 106 performs confirmation processing on the physical channel of the physical channel number specified in step S22 (S23). The process in step S23 is the process described with reference to FIG. As a result, the reception confirmation of the physical channel that is estimated to have the highest reception possibility at the present time is executed.

  Next, the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 determines whether or not confirmation processing has been performed for all physical channels used by the broadcasting stations included in the estimated current region group (S24). Then, when the confirmation process is not performed on all the physical channels and there is a physical channel on which the confirmation process is not performed (S24: No), the control unit 106 proceeds to the process of step S25. When confirmation processing is performed for all physical channels and there is no physical channel for which confirmation processing has not been performed (S24: Yes), the scanning processing is terminated.

  In step S25, the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 determines whether the program information, in particular, SI has been successfully acquired. Then, when the acquisition of SI is successful (S25: Yes), the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 of the control unit 106 proceeds to step S26, and when acquisition of SI fails (S25: No). Advances the process to step S28.

  In step S26, the regional index update processing unit 110 of the control unit 106 extracts the region identification information from the NIT and SDT in the SI, estimates the broadcast region indicated by the region identification information as the current region, and performs this estimation. The adjacent information of the current region is identified from the adjacent region information. Since the current area estimated from the area identification information and its adjacent area are likely to be the current area in which the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 exists, the control unit 106 uses the area index stored in the storage unit 105. Add points. At this time, the estimated current area is given a higher score than the adjacent area. Here, for example, “5” points are added to the estimated current area, and “3” points are added to the adjacent area.

  Next, the regional index update processing unit 110 excludes from the estimated current region group stored in the storage unit 105 broadcast regions that do not match any of the current region estimated in step S26 and its neighboring regions ( S27). As a result, the estimated current area group is narrowed down only to broadcast areas that may have the current area. The physical channel used only in the area excluded from the estimated current area group will be excluded from the physical channels to be confirmed because the receivable index value is “0” in the process of step S21. And the control part 106 advances a process to step S21.

  On the other hand, in step S28, the regional index update processing unit 110 of the control unit 106 has a high probability that the physical channel that is the target of the confirmation process is not used in the current region, so refer to the broadcast region information 105A, The presence index of the broadcasting area in which the physical channel targeted for the confirmation process stored in the storage unit 105 is not used is added (S28). The number of points to be added can be arbitrarily adjusted, but here it is assumed to be “3” points. And the control part 106 advances a process to step S21.

  As described above, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 updates the location index indicating the likelihood that each broadcast region is the current region based on the result of the confirmation process for each physical channel. Thus, the current area can be estimated quantitatively according to the result of the confirmation process so far. Furthermore, by updating the receivability index indicating the level of receivability of each physical channel in accordance with the location index, a physical channel with high receivability at each time point can be preferentially subjected to confirmation processing. . For this reason, even if it is a case where the process which specifies an estimated present area group is not performed, a physical channel with high possibility of reception can be made into the object of a confirmation process preferentially.

  Note that, in step S26 of FIG. 9, the estimated region index of the current region and its adjacent region is increased, but only the estimated region index of the current region may be increased.

  Further, in step S28 in FIG. 9, the presence index of the broadcasting area where the physical channel subject to the confirmation processing is not used is added, but the target physical channel is broadcast as shown in step S29 in FIG. You may decrease the territory index of the area. In FIG. 10, both steps S28 and S29 are performed, but only step S29 may be performed instead of step S28.

  In the scan processing in the order of use frequency, when all the estimated physical channels of the broadcasting station cannot be received, all the physical channels are scanned, so that the scan time is likely to be easily affected by an adjacent region. In other words, in the scan process in order of frequency of use, if the broadcast station that is transmitting the first received stream is a broadcast station in an adjacent area instead of a broadcast station in the current area, the current area is more likely to be received. Since the physical channel of the broadcast station is excluded from the target of the confirmation process, the scan time is extended. Furthermore, in the scan processing in order of frequency of use, all of the estimated broadcast stations have been estimated because the estimation of the broadcast station transmitting the first received stream has failed or the radio wave condition has changed during the scan. If a broadcast physical channel stream cannot be received, all unconfirmed physical channels are subjected to confirmation processing, and eventually a scan time equivalent to the basic scan processing is required. On the other hand, in the scan processing according to the first embodiment, in order to narrow down the broadcast area to be scanned in consideration of the influence of adjacent areas, the scan process is performed at high speed without removing a receivable physical channel from the candidates. Can do.

  In the scan processing in order of use frequency, priorities cannot be assigned to physical channels having the same usage frequency of “1”, such as the 16th channel and the 19th channel, and the usage frequency is “1” in the worst case. Of the above physical channels, the physical channel scanned last may be a physical channel from which a stream can be acquired first. On the other hand, in the scan processing according to the first embodiment, since the receivability of each physical channel is estimated according to the scan results so far, even if there are many physical channels with the same usage frequency, It is possible to preferentially check the ones that are highly likely to be received. Therefore, the scan processing according to the first embodiment can perform scan processing particularly faster than other scan processing in an area where broadcasting is performed using only physical channels that are less frequently used.

  As described above, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 updates the location index indicating the likelihood that each broadcast region is the current region based on the result of the confirmation process for each physical channel. Thus, the current area can be estimated quantitatively according to the result of the confirmation process so far. Also, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 updates the receivability index indicating the level of receivability of each physical channel according to the estimated location index and the transmission output of the broadcast station, thereby Even if the current region is unknown before the SI is acquired, it is possible to preferentially confirm the physical channels that are likely to be received at each time point. As a result, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 can shorten the number of scans until the first receivable physical channel is found.

  In addition, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 calculates the receivable index by adding the values obtained by correcting the location index according to the transmission output, thereby estimating which broadcast area the current area is. Based on the result, the use situation indicating in which area a certain physical channel is used, and the estimated transmission output of the transmitting station in the broadcasting area, a physical channel having a high possibility of reception can be obtained in a composite manner.

  Further, in the scan processing in order of use frequency as described in Patent Document 1, when there is a broadcasting station that performs broadcasting using only physical channels with low use frequency, the scan order is later. Scanning time becomes longer. On the other hand, when digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 fails to receive a stream by adding a regional index of a broadcasting area where a physical channel for which SI acquisition has failed is not used In addition, the current region can be narrowed down indirectly. Even if the region that broadcasts only physical channels with low usage frequency is the current region, the location index increases relatively due to failure to acquire SI on the physical channel with high usage frequency. For this reason, in the scan processing according to the first embodiment, it is possible to find a receivable physical channel with a smaller number of times compared to the scan processing in order of use frequency.

  In addition, when the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 succeeds in acquiring the SI, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 adds the location index of the broadcast area and its adjacent area acquired from the area identification information included in the SI. In the subsequent scan processing, it is possible to preferentially check the physical channels used by the broadcasting stations included in these areas.

  In addition, when the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 succeeds in acquiring the SI, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 selects a broadcast area that does not match any of the current area and its adjacent area estimated from the area identification information included in the SI. By excluding from the estimated current area group, broadcast areas that are considered to have almost no possibility of the current area are excluded from the target of confirmation processing, and physical channels that are more likely to be received are subject to confirmation processing with priority. It can be.

  Also, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 ends the scan process when all the confirmation processes of the physical channels used in the broadcast stations included in the broadcast area within the estimated current area group have been completed. Thus, the scan process can be completed in a short time without confirming the physical channel used by the broadcasting station included in the broadcasting area that is considered to have almost no possibility of the current area.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it is assumed that the ARIB standard used in Japan is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a digital broadcast receiving apparatus 200 according to Embodiment 2 includes a tuner unit 101, a demodulation unit 102, a demultiplexing unit 103, a decoding unit 104, a storage unit 105, and a control unit 206. And an input unit 111. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment is different from the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment in a control unit 206.

  The control unit 206 includes a regional index identification processing unit 107, a receivable index identification processing unit 108, a program information separation confirmation processing unit 209, and a regional index update processing unit 110. The control unit 206 according to the second embodiment is different from the control unit 106 according to the first embodiment in terms of processing in the program information separation confirmation processing unit 209.

  The program information separation confirmation processing unit 209 according to the second embodiment performs a scan process when the confirmation process is completed for all the physical channels used in the broadcasting region with the highest regional index when performing the scan process. Is different from the program information separation confirmation processing unit 109 in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing scan processing according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 11, the processes of steps S30 to S33 and steps S35 to S38 are the same as the processes of steps S20 to S23 and steps S25 to S28 of the scan process in the first embodiment shown in FIG. Here, the process of step S34 different from the first embodiment will be described.

  In step S <b> 34, the location index specifying processing unit 107 of the control unit 206 specifies the broadcast area with the highest location index at this time. Then, the program information separation confirmation processing unit 209 performs confirmation processing for all physical channels used in the broadcasting station included in the broadcasting area with the highest regional index by referring to the broadcasting area information 105A. Judge whether or not Then, the program information separation confirmation processing unit 209 proceeds to step S35 when all the physical channels have not been confirmed and there is an unconfirmed physical channel (S34: No), and all the physical channels have been confirmed. If it is confirmed that there is no unconfirmed physical channel (S34: Yes), the scanning process is terminated.

  FIG. 12 shows the second embodiment in which the presence index of the area where the target physical channel is broadcasted is added as a step 39 in addition to the process of increasing the presence index of the area where the target physical channel is not broadcasted in step 38. It is a flowchart in the case of performing the process which decreases a region index. Note that only one of the processes in step 38 and step 39 may be performed.

  As described above, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment scans all physical channels used by broadcast stations included in the broadcast area with the highest location index as the scan processing end condition. Since the scan process is completed when the confirmation process of the physical channel used by the broadcasting station included in the area with the highest possibility of the current area is completed, the time required for the scan process is reduced. It can be shortened.

  Compared to the scan processing of the first embodiment, the scan processing of the second embodiment can be completed in a shorter time, while the adjacent region is determined to be the current region when there is a physical channel that can be received from the adjacent region. There is a possibility that the scan process will be terminated with an erroneous estimation. In other words, when the confirmation of a physical channel that can be received in the current region is completed, even if there is a physical channel that can be received from the adjacent region, the scan process may be terminated without checking such a physical channel. There is sex. For this reason, the detection rate of the physical channel in the final scan processing result is low. Therefore, the scan process according to the second embodiment is more useful than the scan process according to the first embodiment when it is considered that the influence of broadcasting in the adjacent area is negligibly small.

  In the scan processing of the first and second embodiments, the scan processing is automatically terminated when a specific condition is satisfied. At this time, a message is displayed on the GUI screen to the viewer. On the other hand, it is confirmed whether to continue or end the scanning process, and when the viewer selects to continue the scanning process, the scanning process may be continued for an unconfirmed physical channel.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
Next, Embodiment 3 will be described. Note that, in Embodiment 3, as in Embodiments 1 and 2, it is assumed that the ARIB standard used in Japan is applied.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus 300 according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 300 includes a tuner unit 301, a demodulation unit 102, a demultiplexing unit 103, a decoding unit 104, a storage unit 105, a control unit 306, and an input unit 111. Is provided. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus 300 according to the third embodiment is different from the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment in terms of processing in the tuner unit 301 and the control unit 306. The tuner unit 301 and the demodulation unit 102 constitute a reception unit 312.

  The tuner unit 301 in the third embodiment performs the same processing as the tuner unit 101 in the first embodiment, measures the radio wave reception intensity during tuning, and notifies the control unit 306 of the reception intensity.

  The control unit 306 includes a regional index identification processing unit 107, a receivable index identification processing unit 108, a program information separation confirmation processing unit 109, and a regional index update processing unit 310. The control unit 306 in the third embodiment is different from the control unit 106 in the first embodiment in the processing in the regional index update processing unit 310.

  The regional index update processing unit 310 confirms the reception strength from the tuner unit 301 when SI acquisition fails in the scan processing. Then, when the reception strength is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, the regional index update processing unit 310 increases the regional index of the broadcasting area that uses the physical channel that has failed to acquire the SI. On the other hand, if the reception strength is less than a predetermined threshold, the regional index update processing unit 310 increases the regional index of a broadcasting region that does not use a physical channel for which SI acquisition has failed.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating scan processing according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 13, the processes in steps S40 to S47 are the same as the processes in S20 to S27 of the scan process in the first embodiment shown in FIG. Here, processing in steps S48 to S50 different from the first embodiment will be described.

  When the acquisition of SI fails (S45: No), the regional index update processing unit 310 of the control unit 306 compares the received intensity notified from the tuner unit 301 with a predetermined threshold value, and determines its magnitude. (S48). The regional index update processing unit 310 proceeds to step S79 when the reception strength is equal to or greater than the threshold (S48: Yes), and when the reception strength is less than the threshold (S48: No). The process proceeds to step S80.

  In step S49, the regional index specifying processing unit 107 refers to the broadcast region information 105A, and includes a broadcasting station that uses the physical channel that is the target of the confirmation processing and is stored in the storage unit 105. Add to the regional index of the broadcasting area. The value to be added here is determined in advance. Then, the regional index update processing unit 310 proceeds to step S41.

  In step S50, the regional index specifying processing unit 107 refers to the broadcast region information 105A, and includes a broadcasting station that uses the physical channel that is the target of the confirmation processing and is stored in the storage unit 105. Add to the regional index of broadcasting areas that are not. The value to be added here is also determined in advance. And the control part 306 advances a process to step S41.

  The reason for performing the processes in steps S48 to S50 is as follows. There are mainly two factors when the SI could not be acquired. In the first place, the physical channel subject to the confirmation process in the current area is not used, and the physical channel is used, but the reception strength. This is one of the cases where SI was not obtained due to the lack of. In the former case, the reception strength remains at a low level, and in the latter case, there is a high possibility that a reception strength higher than a certain level can be obtained. Therefore, by determining whether or not the reception intensity is equal to or higher than a specific threshold, it is possible to specify to some extent a factor when SI cannot be acquired. As a result of the determination, if the reception strength is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the SI is not acquired, but there is a high possibility that the broadcast is being performed in the current region. Therefore, there is a broadcast region using such a physical channel. The regional index is added.

  As described above, when the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 300 according to Embodiment 3 fails to acquire SI, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 300 is a confirmation target if the received intensity obtained from the tuner unit 301 is greater than or equal to the threshold value. Increase the presence index of regions that use physical channels, and increase the presence index of regions that do not use such physical channels if it is less than the threshold, thereby narrowing down the current region more accurately. It can be carried out.

Modifications of the first to third embodiments.
In the first to third embodiments described above, the digital broadcast receiving apparatuses 100 to 300 corresponding to the ARIB standard used in Japan have been described. However, the present invention can cope with not only the ARIB standard but also other broadcast standards used in other countries. Although there are differences in the number of channels to be scanned, the frequency range, the modulation method, and the like depending on the broadcast standard, the flow of the scanning process is not different from the flows shown in FIGS.

  The area identification code described in the first embodiment is a definition unique to Japanese broadcasting standards, and cannot be used in overseas broadcasting standards. Therefore, SI corresponding to each broadcasting standard or information similar to this is used corresponding to the area identification information.

  When the broadcast standard is the DVB-T standard mainly used in Europe, the broadcast network is uniquely specified by the network name (network_name) or the network ID (network_id) described in the NIT. However, how the correspondence between broadcast networks and regional information is defined varies from country to country.

  For example, in the case of the United Kingdom, since the broadcast network is associated with a specific broadcast area as in Japan, the network name or the network ID can be used as it is as the area identification information. FIGS. 17 and 18 show examples of the broadcast area table T-BATL and the adjacent area table T-NATL when the network ID is used as area identification information.

  As described above, the area identification information is defined according to each broadcast standard, and the broadcast area information 105A and the adjacent area information 105B are used while being switched according to the standard. In the digital broadcast receiving apparatuses 100 to 300 compliant with the DVB-T standard as in the UK, the same effects as those of the first to third embodiments can be obtained.

  Further, even in cases other than the UK, for example, in Germany or the like, as information in the NIT, cell ID (cell_id) when the broadcast range is expressed by a rectangle called a cell, and values of latitude and longitude that are boundaries of the corresponding cell And are included. Therefore, in this case, the cell ID can be used as the area identification information. For example, the broadcast area information 105A may be information indicating a physical channel used in the cell for each cell, and the adjacent area information 105B may be information indicating an adjacent cell of the cell for each cell.

  Furthermore, when target_region_descriptor described in NIT or the like is operated, a set of regions represented by a combination of primary_region_code, secondary_region_code, and tertiary_region_code becomes a broadcasting region. Therefore, in this case, the above information can be used as the area identification information.

  As described above, the area identification information is defined according to each broadcast standard, and the broadcast area information 105A and the adjacent area information 105B are used while being switched according to the standard. In accordance with DVB-T other than the UK, the overseas digital broadcast receiving devices 100 to 300 using Cell_id can obtain the same effects as those of the first to third embodiments.

  In addition, when the broadcast standard is the CMMB standard used in China, it becomes unique by combining the network level and network ID described in the NIT defined in the CMMB standard. Correspond to the region. Therefore, when the CMMB standard is supported, a combination of the network level and the network ID can be used as the area identification information.

  As described above, the area identification information is defined according to each broadcast standard, and the broadcast area information 105A and the adjacent area information 105B are used while being switched according to the standard. Thus, the same effects as in the first to third embodiments can be obtained even in digital broadcasting receivers 100 to 300 for overseas that comply with the CMMB standard as in China.

  Furthermore, when the broadcast standard is the T-DMB standard used in Korea, a list of broadcast stations and broadcasts in each broadcast area are shown in FIG. 0/11 (Fast Information Group type 0, extension 11) included in FIC (Fast Information Channel) information. The range information is included, and each broadcast area is distinguished by RegionId (Region identifier). Therefore, when the T-DMB standard is supported, RegionId can be used as area identification information.

  As described above, the area identification information is defined according to each broadcast standard, and the broadcast area information 105A and the adjacent area information 105B are used while being switched according to the standard. Thus, the same effects as those of the first to third embodiments can be obtained even in digital broadcasting receivers 100 to 300 for overseas that comply with the T-DMB standard as in Korea.

  The digital broadcast receiving devices 100 to 300 according to the first to third embodiments described above do not include a display device and an audio output device, but may include these.

  100, 200, 300 Digital broadcast receiver 101, 301: Tuner unit 102: Demodulator unit 103: Demultiplex unit 104: Decode unit 105: Storage unit 106, 206, 306: Control unit 107: Regional index identification processing unit 108: Receivable index identification processing unit 109, 209: Program information confirmation processing unit 110, 310: Regional index update processing unit 111: Input unit 112, 312: Reception unit

Claims (30)

A receiver that receives radio waves and generates a stream from the radio waves;
A demultiplexer for separating program information from the stream;
For each broadcast area, a storage unit that stores broadcast area information including a physical channel used in the broadcast area and a value of a radio wave transmission output at a broadcasting station included in the broadcast area;
A control unit that controls the receiving unit and the demultiplexing unit to perform a scanning process for confirming whether the program information can be separated by sequentially selecting the physical channels,
The controller is
For each broadcast area, a regional index specifying processing unit for determining a regional index indicating a high possibility that the device exists.
With reference to the broadcast area information, for each physical channel, the presence index of the broadcast area where the physical channel is used and the value of the transmission output at the broadcast station included in the broadcast area where the physical channel is used are large A receivable index specifying processing unit that determines a receivable index that becomes a large value and identifies a physical channel having the highest receivable index;
The reception unit generates a stream corresponding to the physical channel specified by the receivable index specification processing unit, and confirms whether the demultiplexing unit can separate the program information from the stream An information separation confirmation processing unit;
In accordance with the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation processing unit, a local area update processing unit that identifies a broadcasting area where the device is likely to exist and increases the local area index of the specified broadcasting area, A digital broadcast receiver characterized by comprising: The receivable index specifying processing unit adds a value obtained by adding or multiplying a larger value as the transmission output value of the broadcast area is larger to the presence index of the broadcast area where the physical channel is used, The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receivable index is defined. If it is determined that the program information cannot be separated from the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation processing unit, the regional index update processing unit refers to the broadcast region information, and receives the receivable index. Increase the presence index of a broadcasting area that does not use the physical channel selected by the specific processing unit, or the area of the broadcasting region that uses the physical channel selected by the receivable index specification processing unit The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the index is decreased. The regional index update processing unit
If it is determined that the program information cannot be separated based on the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation processing unit, and the reception intensity of the radio wave in the reception unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the broadcast Refer to the area information, increase the area index of the broadcasting area using the physical channel selected by the receivable index identification processing unit,
In addition, when it is determined that the program information cannot be separated based on the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation processing unit, and the reception intensity is less than the predetermined threshold, the broadcast area information is referred to. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presence index of a broadcasting area that does not use the physical channel selected by the receivable index specifying processing unit is increased. When it is determined that the program information can be separated based on the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation processing unit, the regional index update processing unit determines from the region identification information included in the program information. 5. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a current area is specified, and a presence index of a broadcast area corresponding to the specified current area is increased. The storage unit further stores, for each broadcast area, adjacent area information indicating an adjacent area that is a broadcast area adjacent to the broadcast area,
When it is determined that the program information can be separated based on the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation processing unit, the regional index update processing unit determines from the region identification information included in the program information. The current area is specified, and the adjacent area adjacent to the specified current area is specified by referring to the adjacent area information, and the specified current area and the broadcasting area corresponding to the specified adjacent area are identified. Increasing the regional index of
The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein the digital broadcast receiver is a digital broadcast receiver. The regional index specifying processing unit includes a broadcasting region where the device may exist in the estimated current region group,
The regional index specifying processing unit determines a regional index of a broadcasting region included in the estimated current region group,
The receivable index specifying processing unit, for each physical channel, based on a local area index and a transmission output value of a broadcast area included in the estimated current area group in a broadcast area where the physical channel is used, The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the receivable index is defined. When it is determined that the program information can be separated based on the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation processing unit, the regional index update processing unit determines from the region identification information included in the program information. The current area is specified, and the adjacent area adjacent to the specified current area is specified by referring to the adjacent area information, and the specified current area and the specified current area are identified from the estimated current area group. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a broadcast area that does not match any of the adjacent areas is excluded. When the control unit confirms whether or not the information separation confirmation processing unit can separate the program information for all physical channels used in the broadcasting region included in the estimated current region group The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the scanning process is terminated. The control unit, the information separation confirmation processing unit, the program information for all physical channels used in the broadcasting region having the highest regional index among the broadcasting regions included in the estimated current region group. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the scan process is terminated when it is confirmed whether or not separation is possible. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the area identification information is an area identification code included in NIT or SDT defined by the ARIB standard. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the area identification information is a network name or a network ID included in the NIT defined by the DVB-T standard. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the area identification information is a cell ID included in a NIT defined by the DVB-T standard. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the area identification information is a combination of a network level and a network ID included in the NIT defined by the CMMB standard. . The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
11. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the region identification information is a RegionId included in FIG. 0/11 defined in the T-DMB standard. A reception process of receiving a radio wave and generating a stream from the radio wave;
A demultiplexing process for separating program information from the stream;
A control process for performing a scanning process for confirming whether or not the program information can be separated by sequentially selecting physical channels,
The control process is
For each broadcasting area, a regional index specifying process for determining a regional index indicating the high possibility that the device exists,
For each broadcasting area, refer to the broadcasting area information including the physical channel used in the broadcasting area and the value of the radio wave transmission output at the broadcasting station included in the broadcasting area for each broadcasting area. For each channel, the coverage index of the broadcasting area where the physical channel is used and the receivable index that becomes larger as the transmission output value in the broadcasting station included in the broadcasting area where the physical channel is used is larger. A receivable index specifying process for determining the physical channel having the highest receivable index,
Information for generating a stream corresponding to the physical channel specified in the receivable index specifying process in the receiving process and confirming whether the program information can be separated from the stream in the demultiplexing process Separation confirmation process,
Depending on the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation processing process, the broadcast area where the device is likely to exist is identified, and the regional index update process for increasing the regional index of the identified broadcast area, A scanning method characterized by comprising: The receivable index specifying processing step is to add a value obtained by adding or multiplying a larger value to a local area index of a broadcasting area where the physical channel is used, as the transmission output value of the broadcasting area is larger, The scanning method according to claim 16, wherein the receivability index is defined. In the region index update process, when it is determined that the program information cannot be separated based on the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation process, the broadcast index information is referred to and the receivable index is referred to. Increase the presence index of a broadcasting area that does not use the physical channel selected in the specific processing process, or the area of the broadcasting area that uses the physical channel selected in the receivable index specification processing process The scanning method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the index is decreased. The regional index update process includes:
If the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation process determines that the program information cannot be separated and the reception intensity of the radio wave in the reception process is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the broadcast Refer to the area information, increase the area index of the broadcasting area using the physical channel selected in the receivable index identification process,
Further, when it is determined that the program information cannot be separated based on the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation process, and the reception intensity is less than the predetermined threshold, the broadcast area information is referred to. The scanning method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the presence index of a broadcasting area not using the physical channel selected in the receivable index specifying process is increased. If it is determined that the program information can be separated based on the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation process, the location index update process is determined based on the area identification information included in the program information. The scan method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein a current area is specified, and a presence index of a broadcast area corresponding to the specified current area is increased. If it is determined that the program information can be separated based on the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation process, the location index update process is determined based on the area identification information included in the program information. In addition to specifying the current area, for each broadcast area, by referring to the adjacent area information indicating the adjacent area that is the broadcast area adjacent to the broadcast area, the adjacent area adjacent to the specified current area is specified, Increasing the territory index of the identified current region and the broadcast region corresponding to the identified adjacent region;
The scanning method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein: The regional index specifying process includes the broadcasting region where the device may exist in the estimated current region group,
The regional index specifying process determines a regional index of a broadcasting region included in the estimated current region group,
The receivable index specifying process is performed for each physical channel based on a local area index and a transmission output value of a broadcast area included in the estimated current area group in the broadcast area where the physical channel is used. The scan method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, wherein the receivability index is defined. If it is determined that the program information can be separated based on the confirmation result in the information separation confirmation process, the location index update process is determined based on the area identification information included in the program information. The current area is specified, and the adjacent area adjacent to the specified current area is specified by referring to the adjacent area information, and the specified current area and the specified current area are identified from the estimated current area group. The scanning method according to claim 22, wherein a broadcasting area that does not match any of the adjacent areas is excluded. In the control process, when the information separation confirmation process confirms whether the program information can be separated for all physical channels used in the broadcasting area included in the estimated current area group 24. The scanning method according to claim 23, wherein the scanning process is terminated. In the control process, the information separation confirmation process is performed for the program information for all physical channels used in the broadcast area having the highest area index among the broadcast areas included in the estimated current area group. The scan method according to claim 23, wherein the scan process is terminated when it is confirmed whether or not separation is possible. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The scanning method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, wherein the area identification information is an area identification code included in NIT or SDT defined by the ARIB standard. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The scanning method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, wherein the area identification information is a network name or a network ID included in the NIT defined by the DVB-T standard. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The scanning method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, wherein the area identification information is a cell ID included in a NIT defined by the DVB-T standard. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The scanning method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, wherein the area identification information is a combination of a network level and a network ID included in the NIT defined by the CMMB standard. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The scanning method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, wherein the area identification information is a RegionId included in FIG0 / 11 defined by the T-DMB standard.

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