JP4558303B2 - Video channel switching display device, control command transmission device, and video system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention switches and controls video input channels to be displayed on a TV monitor in a video information system that controls display of a digital character video such as an odds screen and a video such as a live video on a plurality of display devices based on a schedule. It relates to technology.

  In a conventional video system that performs channel switching control, a remote control receives a control signal from a control device and sets a reception channel in conjunction with a main video / audio transmission tuner and a data broadcast transmission tuner. A method of switching data contents in a data broadcast signal in a data broadcast tuner has been proposed. (For example, see Patent Document 1)

JP 2002-247546 A (FIG. 2)

  The above conventional technique is channel switching control of a head-end device that sends out video. When it is desired to freely set display video for each TV monitor in the video system, in principle, the head-end for one TV monitor is used. It is necessary to allocate one channel transmitted from the device. Therefore, in the case of a large-scale video system in which a large number of TV monitors exist, an expensive head-end device capable of transmitting a large number of channels is required, and there is a problem that the cost burden in introducing the system is large.

  By the way, in recent years, a new betting ceremony has been introduced in public competitions, and as a result, the amount of information displayed on the odds screen has increased dramatically. In order to cope with this new betting type display, it is conceivable to increase the number of TV monitors installed in the video system. However, if this is done, there will be a problem that the system introduction cost increases due to the increase in the number of TV monitors installed In addition, a new problem of installation space for the TV monitor is caused. Therefore, it is desirable to display a large amount of information on one screen by a TV monitor capable of high-resolution display such as a plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as PDP), and a video system having display devices with various resolutions. Construction of is desired.

  However, in the above-described prior art, since the video is distributed at the video resolution regardless of the video type such as the digital character video and the live video, it is difficult to construct a video system that delivers various resolutions.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and draws and displays digital character images such as odds screens at various resolutions, and controls switching of video input channels to be displayed on a TV monitor. The object is to obtain a video channel switching display device.

  A video channel switching display device according to the present invention includes a network unit that receives a control command transmitted from a remote host computer via a LAN cable, a control type and a control included in the control command normally received by the network unit. The control type is identified after extracting the content and control details. (1) When the control type is video display control, the control content of the control command is identified, the control details are identified, and the data part The digital character video signal is output to the TV monitor according to the type of the TV monitor to be controlled based on the presence or absence of (2), and (2) when the control type is TV monitor control, the control content of the control command And a control signal for switching the video input channel of the TV monitor based on the identification of the control details and the identification of the control details. Form and characterized in that it comprises a circuit means for outputting to the TV monitor.

  Hereinafter, various embodiments of the subject of the present invention will be described in detail along with the effects and advantages thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  According to the present invention, based on a control command transmitted from a host computer via a LAN cable, 1) a digital character image can be received and drawn, and an image corresponding to the resolution of the TV monitor can be output to the TV monitor. In addition, 2) Since the video channel for receiving the signal input to the TV monitor can be freely switched and controlled, the TV monitor can be remotely controlled. Therefore, if this video channel switching display device is used, a video system having display devices including various resolutions can be constructed.

(Embodiment 1)
The characteristic points of the video channel switching display device according to the present embodiment are as follows. First, this device receives a control command transmitted from a remote host computer via a LAN cable, extracts the control type, control content and control details included in the normally received control command, and identifies the control type. (A) When the control type is video display control, the digital character corresponding to the type of the TV monitor to be controlled is determined based on the identification of the control content of the control command, the identification of the control details, and the presence or absence of the data part. The video signal is output to the TV monitor. That is, when the TV monitor is of a type that can handle video signals, the binary data in the data portion of the control command is output as a video signal to the TV monitor, while the TV monitor is only an analog RGB signal as in a PDP television. In the case of a type that cannot be handled, the binary data in the data portion is once converted into RGB signals, and then the RGB signals are output to the TV monitor. If there is no binary data in the data portion of the control command, then the entire screen of the TV monitor is a white or black screen. Output to the monitor. On the other hand, when (B) the control type is TV monitor control, the apparatus performs control for switching the video input channel of the TV monitor based on the identification of the control content of the control command and the identification of the control details. A signal is generated and output to the TV monitor. Hereinafter, specific examples of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video channel switching display device 1 according to the present embodiment, together with a TV monitor 16 controlled by the device 1. In FIG. 1, a network unit 11 is a control command (also referred to as control data) transmitted via a LAN cable 111 from a remote host computer (not shown in FIG. 1; for example, corresponding to the device 4 in FIG. 5 described later). ) 2, the next-stage data processing unit 12 recognizes the control command 2 normally received by the network unit 11.

  Here, the format of the control command 2 that can be handled by the apparatus 1 is shown in FIG. The control command 2 is composed of a 128-bit command part 21 and a variable-length data part 22. Among these, the command unit 21 is 1) a command length 23 for identifying whether or not the control data 2 has been normally received, and 2) a control type 24 for identifying what kind of control the control command 2 is. 3) Control contents 25 for identifying what kind of control is performed, and 4) control details 26 which are parameters for the control contents 25. The control type 24 is a code representing a control type, such as TV monitor control such as video input channel switching, digital character image drawing / signal output control, and the like. It is a parameter which shows the control details with respect to. The data unit 22 is binary data 27 that is image data of a digital character image displayed on the TV monitor 16.

  When the processing content recognized by the data processing unit 12 is video output control (video display control), the drawing unit 13 draws a digital character video based on the recognized control command 2, and the signal output unit 14 The digital character video signal 121 is output to the second video input terminal T2 of the TV monitor 16. At that time, the signal output unit 14 depends on the type of the TV monitor 16, that is, whether the TV monitor 16 is a type capable of receiving an analog RGB signal or a type capable of receiving only a video signal (in this case, a signal). The output unit 14 itself can output a video signal or an analog RGB signal according to the conversion of the analog RGB signal into a video signal. When the analog RGB signal is generated and output, the circuit unit 14 The resolution of the RGB signal is set to a value equal to the resolution of the TV monitor 16 preset in the same unit 14.

  On the other hand, when the processing content recognized by the data processing unit 12 corresponds to TV monitor control such as video channel switching, the remote control unit 15 is a circuit that exhibits a function equivalent to a remote controller that is an accessory of the television. Outputs a TV monitor control signal to the light receiving unit 17 of the TV monitor 16 in accordance with the control command 2 recognized by the data processing unit 12. Here, in order not to affect the TV monitor other than the control target, a light guide such as an optical fiber tube is used to output the control signal output from the remote control unit 15 to the light receiving unit of the TV monitor 16 to be controlled. The procedure of guiding to the vicinity of 17 is performed.

  The TV monitor 16 is a TV monitor having a remote control light receiving unit 17 and a TV tuner 18, and the video channel switching display device 1 draws and outputs a signal in response to a control command 2 sent from a remote host computer. A video signal (or RGB signal) 121 is input from the second video input terminal T2 into the TV monitor 16, while a live video signal (RF signal) 122 distributed over the CATV network is input to the first video input terminal T1. Then, the data is input into the TV monitor 16. When the remote control light receiving unit 17 receives a TV monitor control signal for switching the video channel output from the remote control unit 15 which is similarly remotely controlled by a remote host computer, the TV monitor 16 itself receives the command of the control signal. In response, switching between the first and second video input terminals T1 and T2 is performed.

  Next, the operation of the video channel switching display device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the network unit 11 receives the control command 2 transmitted from the remote host computer via the LAN (step S1). The network unit 11 extracts the command length 23 from the command unit 21 in order to determine whether or not the control command 2 received in step S1 has been correctly received (step S2), and the data length of the control command 2 actually received Are compared (step S3). If the data length of the received control command 2 does not match the command length 23 extracted in step S2 as a result of step S3, the network unit 11 determines that the control command 2 has not been received correctly, and the host computer Is requested to retransmit the control command 2 (step S4), and the control command 2 is received again.

  When the network unit 11 recognizes that the control command 2 received in step S1 has been correctly received as a result of step S3, the data processing unit 12 receives the control type 24, the control content 25, and the control details 26 from the command unit 21. Each is extracted (step S5). Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the command unit 21 is configured with a fixed data length, so that the data processing unit 12 controls the control type 24 and the control content 25 by taking out the upper 32 bits from the command unit 21. And control details 26 are extracted. Next, the data processing unit 12 identifies whether the control type 24 extracted in step S5 is TV monitor control or video display control (step S6).

  If the control type 24 identified in step S6 is TV monitor control, the data processing unit 12 identifies the control content 25 and the control details 26 extracted in step S5 (step S7). The control contents 25 are, for example, video channel switching control, control for turning on / off the TV monitor 16, and the like. The control detail 26 is a parameter for the control content 25, for example, the control content 25 is executed after one second. The remote control unit 15 outputs a control signal to the light receiving unit 17 of the TV monitor 16 in accordance with the control contents 25 and control details 26 identified in step S7, and the TV such as channel control or power control of the TV monitor 16 is output. Monitor control is performed (step S8).

  On the other hand, if the control type 24 identified in step S6 is video display control, the data processing unit 12 identifies the control content 25 and the control details 26 extracted in step S5 (step S9). The control content 25 in this case is, for example, video display control such as display of a digital image image transmitted as binary data in the data unit 22 or clearing of the currently displayed screen. The control details 26 are display effects such as crawls and wipes, and are parameters for the display control contents 25. Next, the data processing unit 12 identifies whether or not the data unit 22 exists (step S10). When the data unit 22 exists, the data processing unit 12 extracts the binary data 27 ( Step S11). The drawing unit 13 draws a digital video according to the control contents 25 and control details 26 extracted and identified in steps S5 and S9 and the binary data 27 extracted in step S11 (step S12), and a signal output unit. 14 performs output control of the drawn video (step S13). When it is determined in step S10 that the data part 22 does not exist, the drawing part 13 knows from the information of the control command 2 in step S12, as described above, whether it is a white screen display or a black screen display. A fixed pattern digital image is rendered.

  As described above, the video channel switching display device 1 can draw and generate a digital character image according to the control command 2 transmitted from the remote host computer, and can freely switch the video channel input to the TV monitor 16. Can be controlled. In other words, the apparatus 1 can achieve 1) a digital character image drawing / generating function and 2) a monitor remote control function through remote control by a host computer via a LAN.

(Embodiment 2)
The feature of this embodiment is that the video channel switching display device according to Embodiment 1 has the control function of the personal computer when the TV monitor is controlled by the external personal computer via the interface. It is in the point made to do. Therefore, the video channel switching display device according to the present embodiment converts the control command into a protocol corresponding to the interface type when the control type of the control command is an interface type indicating control of the interface of the TV monitor. Thus, it exhibits a function of generating a control signal for controlling the interface of the TV monitor based on the converted protocol and outputting it to the interface. Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the video channel switching display device 3 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same components. The TV monitor 16 of FIG. 4 further includes a control port 33 having an interface such as RS232C, and the apparatus 3 controls an external device (for example, a personal computer) conventionally connected to the interface of the control port 33. It has a function instead of the external device. The circuit units responsible for the additional function are both circuit units 31 and 32 of the apparatus 3. Accordingly, the apparatus 3 also receives the control command 2 transmitted via the LAN cable 111 by the network unit 11 and the control command received by the data processing unit 12 as described in the first embodiment. 2 is recognized.

  The control command format that can be handled in this embodiment is the same system as the control command 2 shown in FIG. 2, the control type 24 is an interface type that performs control such as RS232C, and the control content 25 is the control content. The control details 26 are parameters for the control content 25.

  If the processing content recognized by the data processing unit 12 is interface control, the protocol conversion unit 31 converts the control command 2 into a protocol corresponding to the interface type indicated by the control type 24, and the control execution unit 32. The control execution unit 32 executes the control passed from the protocol conversion unit 31 to the interface indicated by the control type 24. Here, the interface held by the TV monitor 16 to be controlled by the apparatus 3 is RS232C, I / O, or USB.

  By using this apparatus 3, according to the control command 2 transmitted from the host computer, 1) digital character image drawing / generation or 2) video channel switching control can be performed. By connecting a TV monitor 16 having a control interface such as RS232C, it is possible to perform remote control of the TV monitor 16 instead of personal computer control.

(Embodiment 3)
The control command transmission apparatus according to the present embodiment constitutes the host computer (for example, a personal computer) described in the first or second embodiment, and corresponds to, for example, the apparatus 51 in FIG. Therefore, in the following, the configuration / operation of the control command transmission apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described based on FIG. 5 while keeping the configuration of FIG. 6 in mind.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control command transmission device 4. The control command transmission device 4 creates a control command 2 that can be handled by the video channel switching display devices 1 and 3 of the first and second embodiments. Then, the control command 2 is transmitted to the corresponding video channel switching display device among the plurality of video channel switching display devices.

  In FIG. 5, terminal data 41 is set in the numbers or names of all video channel switching display devices to which control commands are transmitted from the device 4 and their IP addresses, and in each video channel switching display device. This is a database in which resolution information is registered, and a user or an administrator registers these data in advance.

  The device / control content selection unit 42 corresponds to, for example, an input unit of a personal computer, and includes a timer. Then, the same unit 42 displays a screen for setting the number of the video channel switching display device to be controlled and its control contents, the selection of image data to be displayed, and the timing for transmitting the control command. Are displayed on the monitor (display unit or screen unit), and the user and the administrator make these selections. The timing for transmitting the control command is set, for example, by designating time information or queue information transmitted from an external host computer.

  The address extraction unit 43 automatically extracts the IP address corresponding to the number of the video channel switching display device selected by the device / control content selection unit 42 from the terminal data 41. The control type generation unit 44 automatically generates a control type code according to the selection of the device / control content selection unit 42, and the control content generation unit 45 automatically generates a control content code according to the selection, and generates control details. The unit 46 automatically generates a control detail code according to the selection. The binary data generation unit 47 automatically extracts the resolution set in the selected video switching display device from the terminal data 41, and automatically converts the selected image data into the resolution. The control command generation unit 48 generates a data length based on the code and data generated by each of the units 43 to 47, and generates the control command 2 having the format shown in FIG.

  When the timer detects the timing designated by the device / control content selection unit 42, the unit 42 transmits a clock to the control command transmission unit 49, and in synchronization with the transmission timing, the control command transmission unit 49 The control command 2 generated by the command generation unit 48 is transmitted via the LAN cable 111 to the video channel switching display device of the IP address extracted by the address extraction unit 43.

  For example, when the control command transmission device 4 is used in a video system of a public stadium, the terminal number (video channel switching display device number), the control content, and the timing control information for one day operation, Created in advance by the selector 42. At the set timing, the control command transmitting device 4 transmits a predesignated control command to the IP address of the predesignated video channel switching display device to control the video channel switching display device. I can do it.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a video system according to the present embodiment. This video system is constructed using the video channel switching display device 1 of FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment and the control command transmission device 4 of FIG. 5 according to the third embodiment.

  In FIG. 6, a video system 54, a TV monitor 531, and a video cable (CATV network) are the hearing facilities of a conventional video system. For the conventional hearing equipment of the conventional video system, the control command transmission device 51 (see FIG. 5), the video channel switching display devices 521 to 523 (see FIG. 1) shown in FIG. By adding TV monitors 532 and 533 capable of output, it is possible to construct a video system that displays digital video having a video resolution (VGA) or higher of the TV monitor 531.

  Next, a display control example of the video system in FIG. 6 will be described. In the video system of FIG. 6, the (terminal) numbers, IP addresses, and resolutions of the video switching display devices 521 to 523 to be remotely controlled by the control command transmission device 51 are stored in the terminal data 41 of FIG. Register in advance. For example, when the resolutions of the video channel switching display devices 521 to 523 are set to VGA, SVGA, and XGA, respectively, the number of each video channel switching display device with respect to the terminal data 41 of the control command transmission device 51. , Resolution and IP address are set in advance.

  In addition, the (terminal) numbers of the video channel switching display devices 521 to 523 to be controlled, the control contents, and the timing for performing the control are created in advance. For example, when a live video distributed on the CATV network at 15:00 is displayed on the TV monitor 531, channel switching control is designated as the control content of the video channel switching display device 521. Further, the numbers of the corresponding video channel switching display devices 522 and 523 are selected in advance so that the odds screen (digital character image) is displayed on the TV monitors 532 and 533 at 15:10.

  At this time, when the time of the timer (FIG. 5) reaches 15:00, the control command transmission device 51 transmits a control command for performing channel switching control to the video channel switching display device 521. The video channel switching display device 521 receives the control command, and performs video channel control of the TV monitor 531 according to the received control command. When the time is 15:10, the control command transmission device 51 transmits a control command for displaying an odds screen to the video channel switching display devices 522 and 523, respectively. Since the binary data portion 27 (FIG. 2) in the control command to be transmitted transmits image data having the resolution indicated in the terminal data 41 created in advance, the video channel switching display device 522 has SVGA size image data XGA size image data is transmitted to the video channel switching display device 523, respectively. Then, the video channel switching display devices 522 and 523 receive the control command and display the odds screen according to the received control command.

  As described above, by constructing the video system using the video channel switching display device described in the first embodiment and the control command transmission device described in the third embodiment, display devices having various resolutions are provided. A video system can be constructed.

  Of course, a similar video system can be constructed by using the video channel switching display device described in the second embodiment and the control command transmitting device described in the third embodiment.

(Appendix)
While the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed and described in detail above, the above description exemplifies aspects to which the present invention can be applied, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, various modifications and variations to the described aspects can be considered without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the video channel switching display apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the format of the control data which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the video channel switching display apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the video channel switching display apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the control command transmission apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the video system which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  1,3,521,522,523 Video channel switching display device, 111 LAN cable, 121 video output signal, 122 live video signal (RF signal), 11 network unit, 12 data processing unit, 13 drawing unit, 14 signal output unit , 15 Video channel switching remote control unit, 16, 531, 532, 533 TV monitor, 17, 551, 552, 553 Remote control light receiving unit, 18 tuner, 2 control command, 21 command unit, 22 data unit, 23 command length, 24 control Type, 25 Control content, 26 Control details, 27 Binary data, 31 Protocol conversion unit, 32 Control execution unit, 33 Control port, 4, 51 Control command transmission device, 41 Terminal data (database), 42 Device / control content selection unit 43 Address extractor, 44 systems Type generator, 45 control content generation unit, 46 Control Details generating unit, 47 binary data generating unit, 48 control command generating section, 49 a control command transmitting unit, 54 a video system, T1 first input terminal, T2 second input terminal.

Claims (4)

A network unit for receiving a control command transmitted from a remote host computer via a LAN cable;
The control type is identified after extracting the control type, control content, and control details included in the control command normally received by the network unit. (1) When the control type is video display control, Based on the identification of the control content of the control command, the identification of the control details, and the presence or absence of a data portion, a digital character video signal is output to the TV monitor according to the type of TV monitor to be controlled, (2) When the control type is TV monitor control, a control signal for performing switching control of the video input channel of the TV monitor is generated based on the identification of the control content of the control command and the identification of the control details, and the TV monitor Circuit means for outputting to
Video channel switching display device. The video channel switching display device according to claim 1,
The TV monitor further includes a control port having an interface, which is inherently controllable by a personal computer,
(3) When the control type is an interface type indicating control of the interface of the TV monitor, the circuit means converts the control command into a protocol corresponding to the interface type, and Generating a control signal for controlling the interface of the TV monitor based on the protocol and outputting the control signal to the interface;
Video channel switching display device. A control command transmitting device corresponding to the host computer in the video channel switching display device according to claim 1 or 2,
The control command that can be handled by the video channel switching display device according to claim 1 or 2 is generated by selecting a control target and control content, and the control command is transmitted by the LAN cable.
Control command transmitter. The control command transmission device according to claim 3 sends out the control command, and the video channel switching display device according to claim 1 or 2 scattered in a facility receives the control command, Video drawing / signal output, or switching between digital video and analog video input to a TV monitor connected to the video channel switching display device,
Video system.

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