JP4309000B2 - Digital broadcast program sending device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital broadcast program sending apparatus for sending a program information signal of a digital broadcast based on a composition time in a digital broadcasting system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In analog broadcasting that has been conventionally performed, a program sending apparatus as shown in FIG. 3 is used at a broadcasting station.
[0003]
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 11 denotes a switcher for selectively deriving an arbitrary program information signal to be broadcast from a plurality of program information signals in accordance with a switching instruction given from an APC (automatic program transmission control device) 12. The APC 12 causes the switcher 11 to connect an arbitrary input system and output system according to the knitting data given from the data server 13.
[0004]
By the way, in recent years, the practical use of satellite digital broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting has been promoted. In these digital broadcasting, video signal encoding and synchronization using MPEG2 (Moving Picture Coding Experts Group 2) encoding method, Studio equipment that performs signal processing such as multiplexing is indispensable.
[0005]
Therefore, in digital broadcasting, it is considered to use a digital broadcast program sending apparatus as shown in FIG.
[0006]
That is, the digital broadcast program sending apparatus is a switcher 21, an ENC (encoder) 22 that encodes a program information signal output from the switcher 21, and the ENC22 as a transmission system of a program information signal to be broadcast as a digital broadcast signal. A MUX (multiplexer) 23 that multiplexes the encoded signal encoded with the other encoded signal, and a modulator 24 that modulates the multiplexed signal generated by the MUX 23 into a digital broadcast signal and sends it out. .
[0007]
Further, as control systems, data servers 25 and 26 that generate knitting data, an APC 27 that switches program information to the switcher 21 based on the knitting data output from the data server 25, and an output from the data server 26. And an EMC (encoding multiplex control device) 28 for controlling the encoding process of the ENC 22 and the multiplexing process of the MUX 23 based on the organized data.
[0008]
In other words, the above configuration adopts a method of separating the existing part and the newly established part.
[0009]
By the way, in the digital broadcast program sending apparatus, dedicated data servers 25 and 26 are provided in the APC 27 and the EMC 28, respectively, and the data servers 25 and 26 are configured to perform data communication in order to synchronize with each other. . Here, in each of the data servers 25 and 26, complicated processing such as transferring the composition data to the APC 27 and EMC 28 and performing a synchronization process is performed so that the program information signal is correctly transmitted at the composition time. For this reason, a processor having a high processing capability is required, which causes a cost increase. In addition, causing the data servers 25 and 26 to execute the above processing is a major obstacle to the transmission control of the program information signal in the APC 27 and EMC 28 in real time. Furthermore, in the EMC 28, since the organization data sent from the data server 26 is data determined in advance, even if there is a change in the broadcast time of the program information signal or a change in the program content by the switcher 101 side, this is immediately performed. It is difficult to grasp and it is difficult to perform real-time control on the changed program information signal.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the conventional digital broadcast program transmission apparatus, dedicated data servers are provided for the APC and EMC, and the composition data transmission processing for the APC and EMC and the synchronization between the data servers are performed at the composition time of the program information signal. Since the data processing is performed by each data server, the burden on the configuration and processing of the data server becomes large, which becomes a major obstacle to performing the transmission control of the program information signal in real time and also increases the cost. Has the problem of becoming. Furthermore, in EMC, since the organization data provided from the data server is predetermined data, it is impossible to immediately know about the time change or content change of the program information signal by the switcher, and the changed program information signal There is a problem that it becomes difficult to perform transmission control for the real time.
[0011]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a digital broadcast program transmission apparatus that can easily perform transmission control and change of a program information signal to be broadcast in real time and can be realized at a low cost with a simple configuration. .
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A digital broadcast program transmission device according to the present invention is a digital broadcast program transmission device that transmits a digital broadcast program information signal based on a composition time. A plurality of program information that sequentially processes a program information signal to be transmitted as a digital broadcast signal A first program that controls processing of a program information signal based on given organization information to a processing unit and a first stage program information processing unit such as a program information output switching unit among the plurality of program information processing units A second program for controlling the processing of the program information signal based on the given organization information for at least a part of the information transmission control unit and the program information processing unit other than the first stage, for example, the encoding unit and the multiplexing unit An information transmission control unit, and a server that provides the first and second program information transmission control units with scheduling information necessary for control processing for each program information processing unit, The two program information transmission control devices are connected, a part of the organization information to be given to the second program information transmission control device is transferred as first organization control data from the server to the second program information transmission control unit, At least a part of the composition information different from the one composition control data is transferred as the second composition control data from the first program information transmission control unit to the second program information transmission control unit. The first composition control data transferred from the server to the second program information transmission control unit is data relating to the content of at least a part of program information scheduled to be broadcast, and the second program information transmission control unit transmits the second program information. The second composition control data transferred to the information transmission control unit is data necessary for transmission control of the program information signal to be broadcast at the composition time.
[0013]
According to this configuration, data relating to at least a part of program information contents scheduled to be broadcast is transferred in advance from the server to the second program information transmission control unit, and the second program information transmission control unit transmits the data transferred from the server. Information to be broadcast at the present time from the first program information transmission control section that monitors the processing of the program information output section in the forefront stage, that is, the program information switching process of the program information output switching section Data necessary for signal transmission control is received, and arbitrary program information contents can be analyzed from data received in advance based on the received data. Based on the analysis result, a program information processing unit, that is, an encoding unit and It is possible to control transmission of program information signals to the multiplexing unit in real time. That is, a part of the function to be executed by the second program information transmission control unit is shared by the function of the first program information transmission control unit, and processing by the second program information transmission control unit is required at the composition time Without this, the operation of the second program information transmission control unit can be linked to the first program information transmission control unit.
[0014]
Therefore, it is not necessary to provide separate servers for the first and second program information transmission control units, and only one server is required, and the processing time required for the server and the first and second program information transmission control units can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to improve the real-time property of the transmission control for the program information signal to be broadcast. In the server, the information amount of the organization information to be sent to each of the first and second program information sending control units can be reduced, and the processing capacity of the processor can be lowered accordingly. Therefore, the entire apparatus is inexpensive with a simple configuration.
[0015]
Also, when a time change or content change of a program information signal to be broadcast occurs on the program information switching unit side, the second program information is sent from the first program information sending control unit that monitors the status of the program information switching unit. The program change information is transferred to the control unit, and the second program information transmission control unit controls the transmission of the program information signal in real time based on the transferred program change information, that is, to the changed program information signal. The corresponding encoding process and multiplexing process can be performed.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0017]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a digital broadcast program sending apparatus according to the present invention.
[0018]
The digital broadcast program sending apparatus in FIG. 1 is a switcher 101 that selectively outputs any one of a plurality of program information signals in accordance with a given switching instruction as a transmission system of program information signals to be broadcast as digital broadcast signals. The ENC 102 that encodes the program information signal output from the switcher 101, the MUX 103 that multiplexes the encoded signal encoded by the ENC 102 with other program information signals, and the multiplexed signal generated by the MUX 103. And a modulator 104 that modulates the digital broadcast signal to be sent to the machine. Examples of the program information signal input to the switcher 101 include an HDTV (High Definition TV) signal and an SDTV (Standard Definition TV) signal edited in different editing rooms.
[0019]
Further, as a control system, a data server 106 that generates knitting data stored in the storage unit 105, and an EMC 107 that controls the encoding process of the ENC 102 and the multiplexing process of the MUX 103 based on the knitting data given from the data server 106 The APC 108 controls the switcher 101 to control the program information switching process based on the organization data generated from the data server 106.
[0020]
The EMC 107 causes the MUX 103 to multiplex program information signals of an arbitrary plurality of input systems according to the organization data from the data server 106. At this time, it is determined whether or not the ENC 102 is connected to the input side of the MUX 103. When the ENC 102 is connected, the encoding parameter designated to the ENC 102 is analyzed from the organization data from the data server 106, and the analysis result Based on the above, parameters such as the encoding bit rate of the ENC 102 and the GOP (group of picture) pattern are set.
[0021]
The APC 108 connects an arbitrary input / output system to the switcher 101 in accordance with the knitting data from the data server 106. At this time, when switching the input system connected to the output system, the signal phase of the program information signal of the switching source and the signal phase of the program information signal of the switching destination are determined, and each program information signal is determined based on the determination result. The switching control of the switcher 101 is performed after matching the input timing to the switcher 101.
[0022]
By the way, in this embodiment, the EMC 107 and the APC 108 are connected by a serial line or the like, and data regarding at least a part of program information contents scheduled to be broadcast among the organization data to be given to the EMC 107 is sent from the data server 106 to the EMC 107. The data necessary for transmission control of the number information signal to be broadcast at the composition time, that is, the index data for identifying the program information contents scheduled to be broadcast, is transferred from the APC 108 to the EMC 107. I have to.
[0023]
The operation according to the above configuration will be described. Data relating to program information contents scheduled to be broadcast is transferred from the data server 106 to the EMC 107 in advance. Then, the index data related to the program information signal switched by the switcher 101 from the APC 108 is transferred to the EMC 107 at the composition time of the program information signal included in the transferred data. Based on the index data transferred from the APC 108, the EMC 107 selects data related to the program information content designated by the index from the broadcast program information content transferred in advance from the data server 106, and the selected program information content. Based on the analysis result, the encoding process of the ENC 102 and the multiplexing process of the MUX 103 are controlled in real time.
[0024]
Further, when a time change or a content change of a program information signal to be broadcast on the switcher 101 side occurs, data indicating the program change, that is, index data of the changed program information is transferred from the APC 108 to the EMC 107. Therefore, the EMC 107 performs an encoding process and a multiplexing process according to the program information signal changed based on the transferred index data.
[0025]
As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, data related to the contents of program information scheduled to be broadcast is transferred from the data server 106 to the EMC 107 in advance, and the EMC 107 organizes program information signals included in the data transferred from the data server 106. Index data regarding the program information signal switched by the switcher 101 at the time is received from the APC 108, and arbitrary program information can be searched and analyzed from the data received in advance by this index data. Based on the analysis result, the ENC 102 and the MUX 103 In contrast, the encoding process and the multiplexing process can be controlled in real time. That is, it is possible to share a part of the functions that the EMC 107 should originally execute with the functions of the APC 108 and to link the operation of the EMC 107 to the APC 108 without requiring control processing by the EMC 107 at the composition time.
[0026]
For this reason, it is not necessary to provide separate data servers for the EMC 107 and the APC 108, and the processing time required for the data server 106, the EMC 107 and the APC 108 can be shortened, so that real-time performance of transmission control for the program information signal to be broadcast can be improved. . In addition, the data server 106 can reduce the information amount of the organization data to be sent to the EMC 107 and the APC 108, and accordingly, the processing capacity of the processor can be lowered. Therefore, the entire apparatus is inexpensive with a simple configuration.
[0027]
In addition, when the time change or content change of the program information signal to be broadcast on the switcher 101 side occurs, the index data of the changed program information is transferred from the APC 108 to the EMC 107, and the EMC 107 is transferred. By detecting the changed program information from the program information scheduled to be broadcast by the index data, and analyzing the detected program information, the ENC 102 and the MUX 103 are encoded according to the changed program information signal in real time. Processing and multiplexing processing can be performed.
[0028]
In the above embodiment, the data server 106, the EMC 107, and the APC 108 are connected to each other via a serial line. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the data server 106, the EMC 107, and the APC 108 are connected to each other via a data bus. Of course, the connection may be made by 110.
[0029]
Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the structure from the switcher 101 to the modulator 104 as a program information processing part, you may make it apply another program information processing part. In addition, the type and transfer procedure of the knitting data transferred from the data server to EMC or APC to EMC can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist of the present invention.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a digital broadcast program transmission device can easily perform transmission control and change of a program information signal to be broadcast in real time, and can be realized at a low cost with a simple configuration. Is to provide.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a digital broadcast program sending apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram showing another example of the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a conventional program broadcasting apparatus for analog broadcasting.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a conventional digital broadcast program sending apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
11, 21, 101 ... switcher,
12, 27, 108 ... APC (automatic program transmission control device),
13, 25, 26, 106 ... data server,
22, 102 ... ENC (encoder),
23, 103 ... MUX (multiplexer),
24, 104 ... modulator,
28, 107 ... EMC (encoding multiplex control device),
105. Storage unit,
110: Data bus.

Claims (3)

In a digital broadcast program sending device for sending a digital broadcast program information signal based on the organization time,
A program information output switching unit that selectively outputs any one of a plurality of program information signals;
An encoding unit for encoding the program information signal output from the program information output switching unit;
A multiplexing unit that multiplexes the encoded signal encoded by the encoding unit with other signals;
A modulation unit that modulates and transmits the multiplexed signal generated by the multiplexing unit to the digital broadcast signal;
A first program information transmission control unit that controls program information switching processing based on given organization information to the program information output switching unit;
A second program information transmission control unit that controls at least the encoding process of the encoding unit and the multiplexing process of the multiplexing unit based on given organization information;
A server for providing the scheduling information to the first and second program information transmission control units;
The first and second program information transmission control units are connected to each other, and the first organization control data relating to the contents of program information scheduled to be broadcast becomes part of the organization information to be given to the second program information transmission control unit. An index relating to the program information signal that has been transferred from the server to the second program information transmission control unit in advance and switched by the program information output switching unit at the knitting time of the program information signal included in the first scheduling control data a forward second knitting control data from said first program information delivery control unit shown to the second program information delivery control unit, on the basis of the second knitting control data in the second program information delivery control unit The program information content specified by the index is searched and analyzed from the program information content scheduled to be broadcast included in the first organization control data, and the encoding unit encodes based on the analysis result Digital broadcasting program delivery device and controls the multiplexing process of management and the multiplexer. The first program information transmission control unit receives the second organization control data indicating the index of the changed program information signal when the program information signal to be broadcast is changed in the program information output switching unit. Transfer to the second program information transmission control unit,
The second program information transmission control unit is changed from the program information content scheduled to be broadcast included in the first organization control data based on the second organization control data transferred from the first program information transmission control unit. 2. The digital broadcast program according to claim 1, wherein the program information content is searched and analyzed, and the encoding process of the encoding unit and the multiplexing process of the multiplexing unit are controlled based on the analysis result. Sending device.   2. The digital broadcast program transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second program information transmission control units and the server are connected to each other by a data bus.

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