JP5729999B2 - Digital broadcast receiving apparatus and scanning method - Google Patents

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 issues 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

  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.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable preferential scanning from a physical channel with high possibility of reception.

A digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
A tuner unit that receives radio waves and generates reception signals from the radio waves;
A demodulator that demodulates the received signal and generates a stream;
A demultiplexer for separating program information from the stream;
A control unit for controlling the tuner unit and the demultiplexing unit to execute a scanning process;
For each broadcast area, a digital broadcast receiving device comprising a storage unit that stores broadcast area information indicating a physical channel used in the broadcast area,
The control unit, as the scan process,
A regional index specifying process for determining a regional index indicating a high possibility that the digital broadcast receiving apparatus exists for each broadcasting region, to a predetermined value ;
Refer to the broadcast area information, and for each physical channel , calculate the total value of the area indexes of the broadcast area where the physical channel is used, and the higher the total value, the higher the receivable index. Receivable index specifying process for determining
The physical channel having the highest receivable index is selected, and a reception signal corresponding to the selected physical channel is generated in the tuner unit. The demultiplexing unit is configured to generate the program information based on the received signal. A confirmation process for confirming whether or not separation is possible;
If it is determined in the confirmation process that the program information can be separated, the current area is identified from the area identification information included in the program information, and the broadcast corresponding to the identified current area A regional index update process for increasing the regional index,
Based on the location index updated by the location index update process, the receivable index identification process, the confirmation process, and the location index update process are repeated.

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

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 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. 3 is a flowchart showing confirmation processing in the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating scan processing according to the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating basic scan processing according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing scan processing in order of use frequency in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a simulation broadcast area table in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an adjacent area table for simulation in the first embodiment. 6 is a table showing simulation results in the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating scan processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to a third 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 a modification. It is the schematic which shows an example of the adjacent area table in a modification.

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 107. The reference numerals in parentheses in FIG. 1 indicate the configuration in the second embodiment.

  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 broadcasting 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 broadcasting 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 information indicating a physical channel used in a broadcast station included in the broadcast area for each broadcast area where digital broadcasting is performed according to a broadcast standard supported by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100. . 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 column BATL1, a broadcast station column BATL2, and a broadcast physical channel BATL3.

  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 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 broadcast station here includes a relay station.
The broadcast physical channel BATL3 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 for broadcasting.

  Returning to 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, broadcast areas “Kyoto”, “Hyogo”, “Nara”, and “Wakayama” are adjacent to the broadcast area of “Osaka”. In other words, if the current area is “Osaka”, not only broadcasts from broadcast stations in “Osaka” but also broadcast stations in “Kyoto”, “Hyogo”, “Nara” and “Wakayama”. There is a possibility of receiving broadcasts transmitted from.

  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 stored at the time of starting the scanning process. It may be read by the unit 105. 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 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 105 </ b> C is generated or updated by the control unit 106 based on the program information separated by the demultiplexing unit 103 in the scanning process.

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 107 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. 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 input unit 107 receives an operation input from the user of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100. For example, the input unit 107 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. 7 is a flowchart showing the confirmation process performed by the control unit 106. When the confirmation process is performed on a specific physical channel, first, the control unit 106 gives a tuning instruction indicating the physical channel to be subjected to the confirmation process this time 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 given to the control unit 106.

  Next, the control unit 106 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 (Yes in Step S11), the control unit 106 proceeds to the process of Step S12. When the frame lock detection signal is not obtained (No in Step S11), the control unit 106 The confirmation process for the physical channel that is the subject of the confirmation process is terminated. For example, when the frame unlock signal is obtained from the demodulator 102, the control unit 106 determines that the frame lock detection signal has not been 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 control unit 106 instructs the demultiplexing unit 103 to perform SI information filtering (S12). For example, the control unit 106 designates PIDs of NIT and SDT and causes the demultiplexing unit 103 to start these filtering processes. When the demultiplexing unit 103 detects a TS packet in which NIT and SDT are described, the demultiplexing unit 103 gives the table information to the control unit 106. When these pieces of table information are given, the control unit 106 instructs the demultiplexing unit 107 to end the filtering process, and stores the TS information obtained from the NIT and SDT in the channel information 105C. In addition, in order to deal with a case where SI information cannot be received even after waiting for a long time, a time limit is applied in advance to the filtering process, and the control unit 106 automatically ends the filtering process when the time limit elapses. Good.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing scan processing 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 according to the first embodiment, the degree to which each physical channel can receive broadcast radio waves is specified using the receivability index. The receivable index is a value calculated based on the regional index, and is calculated every time confirmation processing is performed.

  At the start of the scanning process, first, the control unit 106 initializes the estimated current region group and the regional index value (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 control unit 106 refers to the broadcast area information 105A, and for each of the unconfirmed physical channels that have not been subjected to the confirmation process in step S23, among the broadcast areas included in the estimated current area group, A total value obtained by adding together the values of the presence indexes of the broadcasting areas using each of the unconfirmed physical channels is obtained, and this total value is set as the receivable index of each of the unconfirmed physical channels (S21). At the start of the scanning process, since the presence index of all broadcast areas is equal, the receivability index is a value proportional to the frequency of use of each unconfirmed physical channel in the broadcast area information 105A.

  Next, the control unit 106 specifies the physical channel number of the physical channel with the highest receivability 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.

  And the control part 106 performs a confirmation process with respect to the physical channel of the physical channel number specified by 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 control unit 106 determines whether or not confirmation processing has been performed on all physical channels used by the broadcasting stations included in the estimated current area group (S24). Then, when the confirmation process is not performed on all physical channels and there is a physical channel on which the confirmation process is not performed (No in step S24), the control unit 106 proceeds to the process of step S25. When the confirmation process is performed for all physical channels and there is no physical channel for which the confirmation process is not performed (Yes in step S24), the scan process is terminated.

  In step S25, the control unit 106 determines whether or not the program information, particularly SI information, has been successfully acquired (S25). If the acquisition of SI information is successful (Yes in step S25), the control unit 106 proceeds to the process of step S26, and if acquisition of SI information fails (No in step S25), the control unit 106 proceeds to step S28. Proceed to the process.

  In step S26, the control unit 106 extracts area identification information from the NIT and SDT in the SI information, estimates the broadcast area indicated by the area identification information, and sets the adjacent information of the estimated broadcast area as the adjacent area. Identify from information. Since the broadcasting area estimated from the area identification information and its adjacent area are likely to be the current area where 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 broadcast area is given a higher score than the adjacent area. Here, for example, “5” points are added to the estimated broadcasting area, and “3” points are added to the adjacent area.

  Next, the control unit 106 excludes from the estimated current region group stored in the storage unit 105 the broadcast region that does not match any of the broadcast region estimated in step S26 and its adjacent region (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 returns to the process of step S21.

  On the other hand, in step S28, since there is a high probability that the physical channel targeted for the confirmation process is not used in the current region, the control unit 106 refers to the broadcast region information 105A and is stored in the storage unit 105. The presence index of the broadcasting area where the physical channel subject to the confirmation process 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 returns to the process of 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. .

  In step S26 in FIG. 8, the estimated regional index of the current region and its adjacent region is increased. However, only the estimated regional index of the current region may be increased.

  Next, a simulation performed using digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 will be described. In this simulation, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 is scanned with the scan process according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the scan process for performing the confirmation process in the order of the physical channel numbers of the physical channels (hereinafter referred to as basic scan process), Based on the invention described in Document 1, a scan process (hereinafter referred to as a scan process in order of use frequency) for performing confirmation processes in the order of use frequency was performed.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing basic scan processing.
First, the control unit 106 initializes the physical channel number of the physical channel that is the target of the confirmation process at the start of the scanning process, and sets the minimum physical channel number defined in the broadcast standard to the physical channel that is the target of the confirmation process. Set (S30). In the case of broadcasting according to the ARIB standard, physical channel numbers “13” to “62” are used, so the initial value of the physical channel number is “13”.

  Next, the control unit 106 performs a confirmation process on the physical channel number subjected to the confirmation process (S31). This confirmation process is the same as the confirmation process shown in FIG.

  Next, the control unit 106 determines whether confirmation processing has been performed for all physical channels (S31). If the confirmation process is not performed on all physical channels and there is an unconfirmed physical channel (No in step S32), the control unit 106 proceeds to the process of step S33 and sets all physical channels. If the confirmation process is performed and there is no unconfirmed physical channel (Yes in step S32), the scan process is terminated.

  In step S <b> 33, the control unit 106 adds “1” to the physical channel number of the physical channel to be checked. And the control part 106 returns to the process of step S31.

  As described above, in the basic scanning process, scanning is sequentially performed while increasing the physical channel number one by one from the smallest physical channel to the largest physical channel. In such a scanning process, all physical channels are confirmed regardless of the result of the confirmation process for each channel, so the number of confirmation processes is always the maximum.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing scan processing in order of use frequency based on the invention described in Patent Document 1.
When performing scan processing in order of frequency of use, the control unit 106 refers to the broadcast area information 105A at the start of scanning, and the number of broadcast stations used by each physical channel based on the usage status of each physical channel in each broadcast area. A usage frequency value indicating whether the usage frequency value is calculated is calculated, and the physical channels are sorted in descending order of the usage frequency value (S40).

  Next, the control unit 106 confirms the physical channel numbers of unconfirmed physical channels that have not yet been confirmed, starting from the beginning of the physical channels sorted in step S40, that is, in order from the physical channel with the highest use frequency value. (S41).

  Next, the control unit 106 performs confirmation processing on the physical channel of the physical channel number that is the subject of confirmation processing (S42). The confirmation processing here is similar to the processing shown in FIG.

  Next, the control unit 106 determines whether confirmation processing has been performed for all physical channels (S43). If the confirmation process is not performed on all physical channels and there is an unconfirmed physical channel (No in step S43), the control unit 106 proceeds to the process of step S44 and sets all physical channels. On the other hand, if the confirmation process is performed and there is no unconfirmed physical channel (Yes in step S43), the scan process is terminated.

  In step S44, the control unit 106 determines whether or not the acquisition of SI information is successful as a result of the confirmation process. If the acquisition of SI information is successful (Yes in step S44), the control unit 106 proceeds to the process of step S45. If the acquisition of SI information fails (No in step S44), the control unit 106 proceeds to step S41. Return to the process.

  In step S45, the control unit 106 estimates a broadcast station based on the physical channel that is the target of the confirmation process and the correspondence relationship of the TS_ID described in the SI information that has been successfully acquired.

  Next, the control unit 106 determines whether there is an unconfirmed physical channel that has not yet been confirmed among physical channels used by the estimated broadcast station (S46). The NIT in the SI information describes information about other physical channels that are being broadcast within the same broadcast network. Therefore, the control unit 106 may determine whether there is an unconfirmed physical channel among the other physical channels described. If there is an unconfirmed physical channel (Yes in step S46), the control unit 106 proceeds to the process of step S47. If there is no unconfirmed physical channel (No in step S46), the control unit 106 proceeds to step S49. Proceed to the process.

In step S47, the control unit 106 identifies one physical channel from among the unconfirmed physical channels, and sets the physical channel number of the identified physical channel as a target for confirmation processing. Note that the control unit 106 may perform the confirmation processing from among unconfirmed physical channels according to a predetermined order, for example, in ascending order of physical channel numbers or in descending order of physical channel numbers. .
Then, the control unit 106 performs a confirmation process on the physical channel number that is the subject of the confirmation process (S48). The confirmation processing here is similar to the processing shown in FIG.

  In step S49, the control unit 106 determines whether SI information has been successfully acquired on all physical channels used by the estimated broadcast station. Then, the control unit 106 succeeds in acquiring SI information in all physical channels used by the estimated broadcasting station, and when there is no physical channel in which acquisition of SI information has failed (Yes in step S49), scan processing is performed. If all physical channels used by the estimated broadcast station have not succeeded in acquiring SI information and there is a physical channel that has failed to acquire SI information (No in step S49), the process of step S50 is performed. Proceed to

  In step S50, the control unit 106 determines whether there is an unconfirmed physical channel that has not yet been confirmed. Then, when there is an unconfirmed physical channel (Yes in Step S50), the control unit 106 proceeds to the process of Step S51. When there is no unconfirmed physical channel (No in Step S50), the control unit 106 performs a scan process. Exit.

In step S51, the control unit 106 identifies one physical channel from among unconfirmed physical channels, and sets the physical channel number of the identified physical channel as a target for confirmation processing. Note that the control unit 106 may specify the physical channels from the unconfirmed physical channels according to a predetermined order, for example, in ascending order of physical channel numbers or in descending order of physical channel numbers.
And the control part 106 performs a confirmation process with respect to the physical channel number made into the object of a confirmation process (S52). The confirmation processing here is similar to the processing shown in FIG.

  As described above, in the scan process in order of use frequency, until the first receivable physical channel is found, the confirmation process is performed in order from the physical channel with the highest use frequency, and the first receivable physical channel is found. The broadcast network is specified based on the SI information obtained from the TS, and the confirmation process is continued only for the physical channels used in the broadcast network. However, if SI information cannot be acquired for one or more physical channels used in the broadcast network, the confirmation process is performed for all physical channels, so the scan time is the basic scan process. Will be the same.

  Also, in the simulation performed here, it is assumed that digital terrestrial broadcasting scan processing is performed in the Kyushu region of Japan. Therefore, the storage unit 105 of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 stores a simulation area table S-BATL for simulation as shown in FIG. 11 and an adjacent area table S-NATL for simulation as shown in FIG. . The simulation broadcast area table S-BATL and the adjacent area table S-NATL each store only information in the Kyushu region. However, here, in order to facilitate the simulation, it is assumed that only representative broadcasting stations in each broadcasting region are registered in these tables, and no relay station is registered.

  Next, simulation conditions are shown. The simulation is performed with one trial from the start to the end of the scanning process, and the conditions are changed as follows each time. First, it is assumed that the current area is randomly selected from each broadcasting area with equal probability. The set of physical channels that can be received in the current region is that each physical channel that is used by a broadcasting station included in the current region can be received with a probability of 95%. Each channel can receive broadcast radio waves with a probability of 10%, and it is determined for each trial which physical channel can be received. When a receivable physical channel is scanned, acquisition of SI information is always successful. The time required for the entire scan process is the total time required for the confirmation process of one physical channel, and the confirmation process of one physical channel is 3.0 seconds when the acquisition of SI information is successful. In case of failure, it shall be done in 0.5 seconds.

  For each trial, under the same current region and receivable physical channel settings, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 performs the scan processing according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the basic scan processing shown in FIG. The scan process is performed in the order of use frequency shown in. As a result of the scan process, the number of tunings, the time required for the entire scan, the number of tunings until the first stream acquisition, and the ratio of the number of detected physical channels to the number of receivable physical channels are measured.

  FIG. 13 is a table showing simulation results. Here, FIG. 13 shows a simulation result when the number of trials is 10,000. Comparing the number of tunings and the time required for scanning, the scanning process of the first embodiment has a smaller number of tunings and the scanning process is performed in a shorter time than the basic scanning process and the scanning process in order of use frequency. ing. Also, looking at the ratio of the number of detected physical channels to the number of receivable physical channels, the scan of the first embodiment is higher.

  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 broadcasts 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 status has changed during the scan. If a physical channel stream cannot be received, all unconfirmed physical channels are subject 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, since the broadcast region to be scanned is narrowed down in consideration of the influence of the adjacent region, the scan processing is performed at high speed without removing the receivable physical channel from the candidates. Can do.

  Further, when the number of tunings until the first stream acquisition is compared, the average number does not show a large difference, but the maximum number of times of the scan processing of the first embodiment is 10 times (5 seconds) than the scan processing in order of use frequency. Min) It's getting faster. This is because, in the scan processing in order of use frequency, priorities cannot be assigned to physical channels having the same use frequency of “1”, such as 16 channels and 19 channels. The physical channel scanned last among the physical channels of “1” or more is the physical channel from which the stream can be acquired first, whereas in the scan processing of the first embodiment, the scan results up to now are displayed. This is because the receivability of each physical channel is estimated accordingly, so that even if there are many channels with the same usage frequency, it is possible to preferentially check the channels with the highest receivability. Therefore, the scan process according to the first embodiment is different from that in the case where the scan process is performed in an area where broadcasting is performed using only a physical channel with a low usage frequency, such as Saga shown in FIG. Scan processing can be performed particularly faster than scan processing.

  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. In addition, digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 first acquires SI information by updating the receivability index indicating the level of receivability of each physical channel according to the estimated location index. Even when the current region is unknown in the past, it is possible to preferentially confirm a physical channel with a high possibility of reception 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.

  Further, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment calculates the receivable index by adding the location index, and the estimation result as to which broadcasting area is the current area and which area a certain physical channel is. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a physical channel having a high possibility of reception based on the use status of whether or not it is used.

  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, scan in order of use frequency is performed. Then, since the scanning order is later, the scanning time becomes longer. On the other hand, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 could not receive the stream by adding the presence index of the broadcast area where the physical channel that failed to acquire SI information was used. In some cases, the current region can be narrowed down indirectly. As a result, even if the region that broadcasts only the physical channels with low usage frequency is the current region, the acquisition of SI information on the physical channel with high usage frequency fails, so that Therefore, in the scanning process of the first embodiment, it is possible to find a receivable physical channel with a smaller number of times compared to the scanning process in order of use frequency.

  In addition, when the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 successfully acquires SI information, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 adds a location index of the broadcast area and its adjacent area acquired from the area identification information included in the SI information. Thus, 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 successfully acquires SI information, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 does not match a broadcast area estimated from the area identification information included in the SI information and any of its adjacent areas. By excluding the area from the estimated current area group, the broadcast area that is considered to have almost no possibility of the current area is excluded from the target of the confirmation process, and the physical channel with higher possibility of reception is more preferentially confirmed. Can be the target of.

  Also, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 ends the scanning process when all the confirmation processes of the physical channels used in the broadcasting stations included in the broadcasting area included in the estimated current area group are ended. By doing so, 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 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, the ARIB standard digital broadcast receiving apparatus used in Japan is assumed.

  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 107. 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 according to the second embodiment performs almost the same processing as the control unit 106 according to the first embodiment, but differs from the control unit 106 according to the first embodiment in that it controls the scan processing shown in FIG. Yes.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing scan processing according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 14, the processes of steps S60 to S63 and steps S65 to S68 are the same as the processes of steps S20 to S23 and steps S65 to S68 of the scan process in the first embodiment shown in FIG. Here, the process of step S64 different from the first embodiment will be described.

  In step S64, the control unit 206 identifies the broadcast area having the highest regional index at this time. Then, the control unit 206 refers to the broadcast area information 105A to determine whether or not confirmation processing has been performed for all physical channels used in the broadcast station included in the broadcast area with the highest regional index. Judging. If all physical channels have not been confirmed and there are unconfirmed physical channels (No in step S64), the control unit 206 proceeds to the process in step S65, and all physical channels have been confirmed. If no unconfirmed physical channel exists (Yes in step S64), the scanning process is terminated.

  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 with the scan process of the first embodiment, the scan process of the second embodiment can finish the scan process in a shorter time, while the adjacent area has a physical channel that can be received from the adjacent area. In other words, there is a physical channel that can be received from the neighboring area after the confirmation of the physical channel that can be received in the current area is completed. Even so, there is a possibility that the scan process may be terminated without confirming such a physical channel, so the detection rate of the physical channel in the final scan process result is low. For this reason, the scan process of the second embodiment is more useful than the scan process of the first embodiment when it is considered that the influence of broadcasting in the adjacent area is negligible.

  In the scan processing according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the scan 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 the third embodiment is also based on the ARIB standard digital broadcast receiving apparatus used in Japan, as in the first and second embodiments.

  FIG. 15 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of digital broadcast receiving apparatus 300 according to the third embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 15, 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 107. 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 the tuner unit 301 and the control unit 306.

  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 in the third embodiment performs substantially the same processing as the control unit 106 in the first embodiment, but differs from the control unit 106 in the first embodiment in that it controls the scan processing shown in FIG. Yes.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing scan processing according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 16, the processes of steps S70 to S77 are the same as the processes of S20 to S27 of the scan process in the first embodiment shown in FIG. Here, processing in steps S78 to S80 different from the first embodiment will be described.

  If the acquisition of SI information has failed (No in step S75), the control unit 306 compares the received intensity notified from the tuner unit 301 with a predetermined threshold value and determines the magnitude (S78). The control unit 306 proceeds to the process of step S79 when the reception strength is equal to or greater than the threshold (Yes in step S78), and proceeds to step S80 when the reception strength is less than the threshold (No in step S78). Proceed to the process.

  In step S79, the control unit 306 refers to the broadcast region information 105A, and the presence of the broadcast region including the broadcast station using the physical channel subjected to the confirmation process stored in the storage unit 105 is stored. A score is added to the range index (S79). The value to be added here is determined in advance. Then, the control unit 306 returns to the process of step S71.

  In step S80, the control unit 306 refers to the broadcast region information 105A, and the broadcast region that does not include the broadcast station that uses the physical channel that is the target of the confirmation process stored in the storage unit 105 is included. Is added to the regional index (S80). The value to be added here is also determined in advance. Then, the control unit 306 returns to the process of step S71.

  The reason for performing the processing in steps S78 to S80 is as follows. There are mainly two factors when the SI information could not be acquired. In the first place, the physical channel that is the target of the confirmation process in the current area is not used, or the physical channel is used but the reception strength. This is one of the cases where the acquisition of SI information was not reached 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 information cannot be acquired. As a result of the determination, if the reception strength is greater than or equal to the threshold, the SI information could not be obtained, but there is a high possibility that broadcasting is currently being performed. The regional index is scored.

  As described above, when the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 300 according to Embodiment 3 fails to acquire SI information, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 300 is a confirmation target if the reception intensity obtained from the tuner unit 301 is referred to or greater than a threshold value. Increase the presence index of the region that uses the physical channel, and if the area is less than the threshold, increase the presence index of the region that does not use the physical channel to narrow down the current region more accurately. It can be performed.

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 scan processing 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. Accordingly, SI information of each broadcasting standard or information corresponding to the area identification information is used.

  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. How correspondence 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.

  Further, even in cases other than the UK, for example, in Germany or the like, as information in NIT, cell ID (cell_id) when the broadcast range is expressed by a rectangle called a cell, and values of latitude and longitude that serve as the boundary 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.

  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.

  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. 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. Therefore, the same effects as those of the first to third embodiments can be obtained in the digital broadcast receiving apparatuses 100 to 300 for overseas.

  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 : Input section.

Claims (26)

A tuner unit that receives radio waves and generates reception signals from the radio waves;
A demodulator that demodulates the received signal and generates a stream;
A demultiplexer for separating program information from the stream;
A control unit for controlling the tuner unit and the demultiplexing unit to execute a scanning process;
For each broadcast area, a digital broadcast receiving device comprising a storage unit that stores broadcast area information indicating a physical channel used in the broadcast area,
The control unit, as the scan process,
A regional index specifying process for determining a regional index indicating a high possibility that the digital broadcast receiving apparatus exists for each broadcasting region, to a predetermined value ;
Refer to the broadcast area information, and for each physical channel , calculate the total value of the area indexes of the broadcast area where the physical channel is used, and the higher the total value, the higher the receivable index. Receivable index specifying process for determining
The physical channel having the highest receivable index is selected, and a reception signal corresponding to the selected physical channel is generated in the tuner unit. The demultiplexing unit is configured to generate the program information based on the received signal. A confirmation process for confirming whether or not separation is possible;
If it is determined in the confirmation process that the program information can be separated, the current area is identified from the area identification information included in the program information, and the broadcast corresponding to the identified current area A regional index update process for increasing the regional index,
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus characterized by repeating the receivable index specifying process, the confirmation process, and the local index update process based on the local index updated by the regional index update process. The control unit, in the regional index update process,
If it is determined in the confirmation process that the program information cannot be separated,
Referring to the broadcast area information, and increasing the presence index of the broadcast area not using the physical channel selected in the confirmation process;
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the. The control unit, in the regional index update process,
If it is determined in the confirmation process that the program information cannot be separated,
With reference to the broadcast area information, when the reception intensity of the radio wave in the tuner unit is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the presence index of the broadcast area using the physical channel selected in the confirmation process is increased. , when the reception intensity is less than the predetermined threshold value, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that to increase the resident band index broadcast area that do not use physical channels said selected . The storage unit further stores adjacent area information indicating an adjacent area that is a broadcast area adjacent to the broadcast area,
The control unit, in the regional index update process,
Said adjacent area information by referring to a to identify the adjacent areas adjacent to the current region in which the identified any of claims 1 to 3 in which resident frequency index of the adjacent region that is the specified characterized in that it also increased digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an item or. The controller is
An estimated current area group specifying process for specifying a set including all of the broadcast areas as an estimated current area group;
When it is determined in the confirmation process that the program information can be separated, the current area is identified from the area identification information included in the program information, and the identification is performed by referring to the adjacent area information. Estimated current region group update processing for identifying adjacent regions adjacent to the identified current region and excluding broadcast regions that do not match either the identified current region or the identified adjacent region from the estimated current region group And further
In the receivable index specifying process, with reference to the broadcast area information, for each physical channel, the area index of the broadcast area included in the estimated current area group within the broadcast area where the physical channel is used The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein a sum total value is calculated. The controller is
6. The digital broadcast reception according to claim 5 , wherein the scan process is terminated when the confirmation process is completed for all physical channels used in the broadcast area included in the estimated current area group. apparatus. The controller is
The scan process is terminated when the confirmation process is completed for all physical channels used in the broadcast area having the highest location index among the broadcast areas included in the estimated current area group. 6. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 5 , wherein The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , 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 7 , 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 7 , 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 area identification information, either NIT as defined by DVB-T standard, Primary_region_code described in target_region_descriptor included in any of BAT and SDT, claim 1, characterized in that the secondary_region_code and Tertiary_region_code 7 of The digital broadcast receiver according to one item. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , 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 digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the area identification information is a RegionId included in FIG0 / 11 defined by the T-DMB standard. A tuner unit that receives radio waves and generates reception signals from the radio waves;
A demodulator that demodulates the received signal and generates a stream;
A demultiplexer for separating program information from the stream;
A control unit for controlling the tuner unit and the demultiplexing unit;
A scanning method performed by a digital broadcast receiving device including, for each broadcast area, a storage unit that stores broadcast area information indicating a physical channel used in the broadcast area,
The control unit, for each broadcasting region, a region index specifying process for determining a region index indicating a high possibility of the presence of the digital broadcast receiving device to a predetermined value ;
The control unit refers to the broadcast area information, and calculates, for each physical channel, a total value obtained by totaling the presence indexes of the broadcast areas where the physical channel is used, and the higher the total value, the higher the value. and receivable index specific process of determining the receivable index as,
The control unit selects the physical channel with the highest receivable index, causes the tuner unit to generate a reception signal corresponding to the selected physical channel, and the demultiplexing unit is based on the reception signal. Confirming whether or not the program information can be separated,
When the control unit determines that the program information can be separated in the confirmation process, the control unit specifies a current area from the area identification information included in the program information, and the specified current The process of updating the regional index to increase the regional index of the broadcasting region corresponding to the region ,
A repetitive process that repeats the receivable index identification process, the confirmation process, and the local index update process based on the regional index updated in the regional index update process. Scan method. The control unit, in the regional index update process,
If it is determined in the confirmation process that the program information cannot be separated,
Referring to the broadcast area information, and increasing the presence index of the broadcast area not using the physical channel selected in the confirmation process;
The scanning method according to claim 14 . The control unit, in the regional index update process,
If it is determined in the confirmation process that the program information cannot be separated,
Referring to the broadcast area information, when the reception intensity of the radio wave in the tuner unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the presence index of the broadcast area using the physical channel selected in the confirmation process is increased. The scanning method according to claim 14 , wherein when the reception intensity is less than the predetermined threshold value, an area index of a broadcasting area not using the selected physical channel is increased. The storage unit further stores adjacent area information indicating an adjacent area that is a broadcast area adjacent to the broadcast area,
The control unit, in the regional index update process,
Said adjacent area information by referring to a to identify the adjacent areas adjacent to the current region in which the identified any of claims 14 to 16 in which standing frequency index of the adjacent region that is the specified characterized in that it also increased A scanning method according to any one of the above. The control unit, an estimated current area group identification process for identifying a set including all of the broadcast areas as an estimated current area group;
When the control unit determines that the program information can be separated in the confirmation process, the control unit identifies a current region from the region identification information included in the program information, and refers to the adjacent region information Thus, an adjacent area adjacent to the specified current area is specified, and an estimation that excludes a broadcast area that does not match either the specified current area or the specified adjacent area from the estimated current area group And the current regional group renewal process
The control unit refers to the broadcast area information in the receivable index specifying process, and for each physical channel, the broadcast area included in the estimated current area group in the broadcast area where the physical channel is used The scanning method according to claim 17 , further comprising: calculating a total value obtained by summing the regional indexes. The controller is
The scanning method according to claim 18 , wherein when the confirmation process is performed for all physical channels used in a broadcasting area included in the estimated current area group, the repetition process is terminated. The controller is
When the confirmation process is performed for all physical channels used in the broadcast area having the highest location index among the broadcast areas included in the estimated current area group, the repetition process is terminated. The scanning method according to claim 18 , wherein: The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The area identification information, the scanning method according to claims 14 to any one of 20, which is a local identification code contained in the NIT or SDT is defined by ARIB standard. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The scanning method according to any one of claims 14 to 20 , 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 14 to 20 , wherein the area identification information is a cell ID included in an NIT defined by the DVB-T standard. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The area identification information, any one of claim 14, wherein the 20 that it is a DVB-T NIT defined in the standard, Primary_region_code described in target_region_descriptor included in any of BAT and SDT, Secondary_region_code and tertiary_region_code The scanning method according to one item. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The area identification information, the scanning method according to any one of claims 14 to 20, characterized in that is a combination of network-level and network ID included in the NIT as defined by the CMMB standard. The broadcast area is identified by area identification information,
The area identification information, the scanning method according to claims 14 to any one of 20, which is a RegionId included in FIG0 / 11, which is defined by the T-DMB standard.

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