JP3969096B2 - Digital broadcasting transmission / reception system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital broadcast transmission / reception system, and more particularly to a digital broadcast transmission / reception system that multiplexes and broadcasts multimedia data.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In digital broadcasting, a digital signal in which video data, audio data, and multimedia data described in the BML language are multiplexed is broadcast from the digital signal transmitting side, and this is received by a receiver and sent to a video / audio display device. Some are configured to capture. On the receiving side, a receiver and a remote control device corresponding to the receiver are provided on a one-to-one basis, and a viewer uses the remote control device to perform operations on multimedia data being broadcast.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional digital broadcasting transmission / reception system, the remote controller for operating the receiver and the multimedia data has a one-to-one correspondence. Therefore, when a single video / audio display device is viewed by multiple people, Viewers cannot perform operations according to their intentions with respect to multimedia data. That is, a viewer who does not have a remote control cannot perform operations on multimedia data, and an operation performed by a viewer who has a remote control does not necessarily reflect the transition of each viewer. I can't say. Furthermore, for viewers who do not want to view multimedia, the multimedia data may interfere with the viewing of video / audio data.
[0004]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and when a plurality of viewers watch a digital broadcast using the same video / audio display device, each viewer interferes with other viewers. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcast transmission / reception system that can operate multimedia data in accordance with each person's intention.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, a digital broadcast transmission / reception system according to the present invention includes a digital broadcast transmission apparatus that transmits a digital signal obtained by multiplexing video, audio, and multimedia data, and separates the multimedia data from the digital signal. Multimedia data separating and distributing means for distributing the data over a network, digital broadcast receiving means for receiving the digital broadcast signal, and video for displaying at least video and audio from the digital signal received by the digital broadcast receiving means An audio display device and a portable information terminal that operates independently of the digital broadcast receiving means and can receive multimedia data distributed via the network are provided.
[0006]
As described above, in the digital broadcast transmission / reception system of the present invention, multimedia data is separated from digital data in which video, audio, and multimedia data are multiplexed, and is distributed via a network. The receiving side operates independently from the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, and receives and operates the multimedia data distributed and distributed by a portable information terminal connectable to a network. Therefore, a plurality of portable information terminals are prepared, and each viewer can have this in hand, so that each viewer can view and operate multimedia data according to their intentions on individual terminals. Can do.
[0007]
Here, separation of multimedia data from digital data refers to extracting a multimedia data portion described in BML from a digital signal multiplexed by a digital broadcast transmission facility, or from a digital signal before multiplexing. It means to separate the multimedia data part.
[0008]
In the digital broadcast transmission / reception system of the present invention, the multimedia data separation / delivery apparatus further generates schedule data for generating schedule data describing a list of multimedia data update times for a program being broadcast on the digital broadcast transmission / reception system. The mobile data terminal receives the schedule data and updates the multimedia data according to the schedule data. The mobile data terminal receives the schedule data and distributes the data generated by the schedule data to the network.
[0009]
With this configuration, the viewer can obtain multimedia data synchronized with video and audio of a program being digitally broadcast.
[0010]
The network is the Internet, and the multimedia data separation and distribution means includes a web server that distributes the multimedia data separated from the digital signal and the schedule data generated by the schedule data generation means to the Internet. Is preferred.
[0011]
In this case, when the video / audio display device displays the URL of the web server, the viewer side (portable information terminal) can easily obtain the multimedia data and the schedule data of the update time of the multimedia data. Can do.
[0012]
In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention, the portable information terminal and the network use ATM, FTTH, wired LAN, wireless LAN, fixed telephone line, cellular phone or dial-up connection using PHS, cable TV line. Thus, it is possible to preferably connect by packet communication using a portable information terminal that can be connected to the Internet.
[0013]
The present invention further relates to a digital broadcast transmission facility, which includes a digital broadcast transmission device that transmits a digital signal obtained by multiplexing video, audio, and multimedia data, and a multi-media that separates the multimedia data from the digital signal. Media data separation means, means for creating schedule data describing a list of multimedia data update times for digital broadcast programs transmitted by the digital broadcast transmission means, the separated and extracted multimedia data and schedule data creation means And a web server that provides the schedule data created in step 1 to the Internet.
[0014]
The present invention also relates to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus, which includes at least digital broadcast receiving means for transmitting a digital signal obtained by multiplexing video, audio, and multimedia data, and at least a digital signal received by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus. A video / audio display device for displaying video and audio, and a portable information terminal that operates independently from the digital broadcast receiving means and can receive multimedia data distributed via a network.
[0015]
In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, the portable information terminal acquires schedule data of multimedia data update time for the digital broadcast program received by the digital broadcast receiving means via the network. The multimedia data is acquired according to the above.
[0016]
By configuring for this, the latest multimedia data synchronized with the video and audio displayed on the video / audio display device can be automatically received by the portable information terminal for the program being digitally broadcast. It becomes.
[0017]
Further, it is preferable that the portable information terminal includes a multimedia data converting means for converting BML used for description of multimedia data multiplexed in the digital broadcast into a description language used in the network.
[0018]
Thus, by providing multimedia data description language conversion means in the portable information terminal, it becomes possible to use an existing web browser for an analysis unit that analyzes the converted description language.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a digital broadcast transmission / reception system according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the system of the present invention operates independently from the digital broadcast broadcasting facility 1, the digital broadcast receiving device 2, the video / audio display device 3, and the digital broadcast receiving device 2, and can be connected to the Internet 4. A plurality of portable information terminals 5 having various functions. The digital broadcasting facility 1 multiplexes and broadcasts a video data signal, an audio data signal, and a multimedia data signal, and the digital broadcast receiving device 2 receives this and displays it on the video / audio display device 3. The video / audio display device 3 displays the broadcast video and audio, but can also display multimedia data (a portion described in BML, which is a description language of digital broadcast multimedia data). As will be described later, the digital broadcasting / broadcasting facility 1 has a website that distributes data to the Internet 4, and the viewer receives data distributed on the website with the portable information terminal 5. In this example, radio waves are transmitted and received between the digital broadcast broadcast facility 1 and the digital broadcast receiver 2 via a satellite. However, the present invention is also applied to digital broadcast using terrestrial waves. Can do.
[0020]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing details of each facility constituting the system of the present invention. The digital broadcast broadcasting facility 1 includes a digital broadcast transmission device 11, an antenna 12, a multimedia data extraction device 13, a schedule data generation device 14, and a WWW server 15. The digital broadcast transmission device 11 converts digital broadcast data including video data, audio data, and multimedia data into a digital broadcast signal, multiplexes it, and transmits it from the antenna 12. The multimedia data extraction device 13 extracts the multimedia data portion described in BML from the digital signal multiplexed by the digital broadcast transmission device 11, or separates the multimedia data portion from the digital signal before multiplexing. This is stored in the WWW server 15. Note that the extraction (separation) of multimedia data may be performed by software.
[0021]
When the multimedia data to be transmitted is updated after a lapse of time, the multimedia data extraction device 13 extracts or separates the multimedia data each time and always stores the latest multimedia data in the WWW server 15. Try to keep it.
[0022]
The schedule data generation device 14 generates schedule data describing a time list in which multimedia data is updated for a digital broadcast program being broadcast by the digital broadcast transmission facility 1, and stores the schedule data in the WWW server 15.
[0023]
The digital broadcast receiver 2 receives the digital broadcast signal transmitted from the digital broadcast broadcast facility 1 and displays it on the video / audio display device 3. In this example, only video and audio are displayed on the video and audio display device 3 using a device capable of displaying multimedia data in addition to video and audio, but only video and audio are displayed. An apparatus can also be used. The digital broadcast receiving device 2 and the video / audio display device 3 may be a single integrated device. The configurations of the receiving device 2 and the video / audio display device 3 are well known to those skilled in the art and are not directly related to the present invention, so that detailed description of the configurations is omitted here.
[0024]
In the portable information terminal 5, a central control unit (CPU) 51, a memory 52 composed of ROM and RAM, an Internet communication control unit 53 that transmits and receives data via the Internet 4, an operation unit 54 composed of push buttons, and the like, via the Internet The multimedia data analysis unit 55 that analyzes the multimedia data described in BML acquired in Step 1, the display unit 56, and the display control unit 57 that performs display control of the display unit 56 are connected to the shared bus 58. ing. The multimedia data analysis performed by the multimedia data analysis unit 55 may be performed by software. Note that the present system includes a plurality of portable information terminals 5, and the plurality of terminals can be operated simultaneously.
[0025]
The connection method between the portable information terminal 5 and the Internet 4 is ATM, FTTH, wired and wireless LAN, dial-up connection using a fixed telephone line, mobile phone or PHS, connection using a cable TV line, connection to the Internet is possible. Packet communication by a portable information terminal can be considered.
[0026]
Next, the operation of the central control device 41 constituting the portable information terminal 5 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.
It is assumed that a plurality of viewers watch a digital broadcast by using the digital broadcast receiving device 2, the video / audio display device 3, and the portable information terminal 5 together. As described above, the portable information terminal 5 is configured to be able to receive multimedia data out of digital broadcast data, and each viewer individually holds it. It is to be noted that the digital broadcast program to be viewed is broadcast on the digital broadcast video that the multimedia data portion can be viewed on the portable information terminal and the URL for acquiring the multimedia data, so that the viewer can easily access the WWW server 15. Preferably it is accessible.
[0027]
The portable information terminal 5 acquires the digital broadcast multimedia data from the WWW server 15 of the digital broadcast broadcast facility 1 via the Internet 4 and holds it in the memory 52. This data is analyzed by the multimedia data analysis unit 55, and the analysis result is displayed on the display unit 56 via the display control unit 57 (step 101).
[0028]
Next, it is determined whether or not the schedule data has been acquired (step 102). If it has not been acquired, it is acquired from the WWW server 15 and stored in the memory 42 (step 103). If the schedule data has already been acquired in the memory 52, the schedule data is analyzed, and the time immediately after the current time in the multimedia data update time list described in the data is set as the next update time. In addition, the time when the multimedia data is last updated in the program being viewed is registered as the last update time (step 104).
[0029]
Further, the current time and the last update time are compared (step 105), and if the current time is past the last update time, data will not be updated in the program in the future, and the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the current time is before the last update time, the next update time is set in the timer. (Step 106)
[0030]
When the timer is fired (step 107), the updated multimedia data is acquired (step 101). By repeating the above operation until the end of the program, the latest multimedia data synchronized with video and audio is always displayed on the portable information terminal 5.
[0031]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another configuration of the portable information terminal 5 constituting the system of the present invention. In the example shown in FIG. 4, in addition to the above-described configuration, a multimedia data conversion unit 59 is mounted on the portable information terminal 5. The multimedia data conversion unit 59 converts BML used for description of the digital broadcast multimedia data part into a description language such as HTML, C-HTML, WML, and the multimedia data analysis unit 55 performs conversion after conversion. Analyze the description language.
[0032]
In this way, if the multimedia data conversion unit 59 converts BML, which is a digital broadcast multimedia data description language, into an HTML format widely used on the Internet or the like, the multimedia data analysis unit 45 will Existing web browsers can be used.
[0033]
If the digital broadcast program can be viewed only by a limited number of subscribers, existing authentication technologies such as ID and password are used when accessing digital broadcast multimedia data via the WWW. By authenticating the user, only the contractor can acquire the digital broadcast multimedia data.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the system of the present invention, a multimedia data portion in a digital broadcast signal can be separated or extracted and distributed, and can be displayed and operated on a portable information terminal each viewer holds. Therefore, it is possible for a plurality of viewers to perform operations in accordance with their intentions regarding the digital broadcast multimedia data without interfering with other viewers. In addition, since this portable information terminal is configured to automatically acquire update data according to the schedule data of the program to be broadcast, the video and audio of the digital broadcast program can be obtained without manual operation by the viewer. You can view and manipulate synchronized multimedia data. Furthermore, since the portable information terminal acquires the schedule data of the program being broadcast and grasps the update time of the data, it eliminates useless communication for knowing whether or not the data is updated, and the WWW server and the terminal. The amount of communication between them can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a digital broadcast transmission / reception system of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of each facility constituting the system of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the portable information terminal constituting the system of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another example of the portable information terminal that constitutes the system of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital broadcast broadcasting equipment 2 Digital broadcast receiving apparatus 3 Video / audio display apparatus 4 Internet 5 Portable information terminal 11 Digital broadcast transmission apparatus 12 Multimedia data extraction apparatus 13 Schedule data generation apparatus 14 WWW server 51 Central control apparatus 52 Memory 53 Internet communication control Unit 54 operation unit 55 multimedia data analysis unit 56 display unit 57 display control unit 58 common bus 59 multimedia data conversion unit

Claims (4)

Digital broadcast transmission means for transmitting a digital signal obtained by multiplexing video, audio, and multimedia data;
Schedule data generating means for generating schedule data describing a list of multimedia data update times for programs being broadcast;
And multimedia data separation distribution means for distributing this through a network, to distribute the schedule data generated in the schedule data generation means to the network by separating the multimedia data from the digital signal,
Digital broadcast receiving means for receiving a digital signal transmitted by the digital broadcast transmitting means;
Video and audio display means for displaying at least video and audio from the digital signal received by the digital broadcast receiving means;
For receiving multimedia data and schedule data distributed via the network and browsing BML used for description of the multimedia data on a portable information terminal, which can be operated independently from the digital broadcast receiving means. A portable information terminal including multimedia data conversion means for converting into any one description language of HTML, C-HTML, and WML that can be browsed on the portable information terminal ;
Digital broadcast transmission receiving system characterized in that it comprises a. 2. The digital broadcast transmission / reception system according to claim 1, wherein the network is the Internet, and the multimedia data separating and distributing unit generates the multimedia data separated from the digital signal and the schedule data generated by the schedule data generating unit. A digital broadcast transmission / reception system comprising a web server for distribution to the Internet. 3. The digital broadcast transmission / reception system according to claim 2, wherein the video / audio display means displays a URL of the web server. A digital broadcast receiving means for receiving a digital signal obtained by multiplexing video, audio, and multimedia data;
Video and audio display means for displaying at least video and audio from the digital signal received by the digital broadcast receiving means;
The multimedia data that can be operated independently from the digital broadcast receiving means and distributed via a network, and schedule data of multimedia data update times for digital broadcast programs received by the digital broadcast receiving means, A portable terminal that is obtained via a network and receives the multimedia data according to the schedule data;
The portable terminal converts BML used for description of the multimedia data into any one description language of HTML, C-HTML, and WML that can be browsed on the portable information terminal in order to browse on the portable information terminal. Comprising multimedia data conversion means
A digital broadcast receiving system characterized by the above.

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