JPH07288796A - Catv broadcast system and its reception system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a viewer to easily recognize the charged rate by multiplexing the rate for a chargeable program to broadcast it from the broadcasting side and calculating the accumulated rate for watching to display it on a display picture on the reception side at the time of his watching at the chargeable program. CONSTITUTION:The broadcasting station side converts program related information as auxiliary broadcast information into a signal of the DTMF signal form and multiplexes it with a main broadcast audio signal to broadcast it. The broadcast signal received on the reception side is demodulated into a video signal and an audio signal by a tuner/decoder part 11. The demodulated audio signal is supplied to a DTMF decoder 15 through a processing circuit 14. A CPU 31 always searches the output of the DTMF decoder 15, and it takes in the decoder output to record it in a DRAM 33 when detecting the DTMF signal included in the broadcast program received at present. A control system 30 calculates the rate based on program related information, which is recorded in the DRAM 33 an includes the rate system, and displays it on the picture of a television receiver 200.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a CATV broadcasting system suitable for receiving pay-per-view pay programs and a receiving system thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, television broadcast and FM broadcast programs in the VHF and UHF broadcast frequency bands are retransmitted, and frequencies in the middle (midband) and upper (super high band) frequencies of the VHF television broadcast frequency band are retransmitted. There is known a CATV system that transmits a local independent broadcast, a satellite broadcast, or another television program in a band and distributes it to a large number of subscribers through a transmission medium such as a coaxial cable.

Receivers and transmitters for television broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, etc. are centrally arranged in the center station (head end) of the CATV system, and television signals of a large number of channels transmitted at appropriate levels are transmitted. Is distributed to each subscriber through a relay transmission line called a trunk line system and a distribution system in which a distributor (tap-off) composed of passive elements is connected to the output of a high-power amplifier.

As described above, CATV transmits multi-channel signals, so that a normal television receiver cannot receive all channels. Therefore, each subscriber can lease or purchase a receiving terminal (commonly called a cable box) equipped with a tuner capable of receiving a large number of channels as described above according to a contract with a CATV broadcasting company. A video signal and an audio signal are supplied to the receiver by using this cable box.

Further, in CATV, pay broadcast programs such as so-called pay TV and pay-per-view are scrambled so that the programs cannot be viewed as they are. A descrambler is included to restore the scrambled signal to make it viewable.

There is also an interactive (bidirectional) CATV system capable of communicating between a subscriber and a center station via a public telephone line. In this case, conversion of a digital signal to a voice signal is performed. A modem (modulator / demodulator) is installed in the cable box and connected to the telephone line.

[0007]

By the way, the above-mentioned pay TV is a fixed-rate pay broadcasting in which a fixed fee is paid every month regardless of the number of programs viewed. Pay-per-view is a pay-as-you-go broadcast that pays a predetermined fee for each program viewed.

However, in the conventional pay-per-view system, the charge cannot be confirmed when viewing a broadcast program, and therefore, when watching the program as desired, the charge may unexpectedly overwhelm the household budget. Further, for the purpose of systematic viewing, for example, when comparing with the price of the previous month, it has been necessary to perform a troublesome work of finding and comparing the charge statement or receipt of the previous month.

In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to be able to easily calculate the cumulative charges associated with the viewing of pay-per-view pay broadcast programs, and notify the viewer of the charges.
An object of the present invention is to provide an ATV broadcasting system and its receiving system.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the CATV broadcasting system according to the present invention broadcasts a pay broadcasting program from the broadcasting side and pays the viewing fee of the pay broadcasting program at the receiving side. In the CATV broadcasting system, the broadcasting side multiplexes the information about the fee of the pay broadcasting program on the main broadcast signal and broadcasts it, and the receiving side separates it from the multiplexed broadcast signal based on the information about the fee.
It is characterized in that it is possible to calculate a cumulative viewing charge of a pay broadcast program.

Further, the CATV broadcast receiving system according to the present invention corresponds to the reference numerals of the embodiments described later,
Receiving means 11, 12, 15 for receiving pay broadcast programs
And a display means 16 for displaying the received broadcast program, in the CATV broadcast receiving system, the memory 23,
The reception history of the pay broadcast program is recorded in 24, the cumulative viewing charge of the pay broadcast program for a predetermined period is calculated based on the recorded reception history, and the calculated cumulative viewing charge is displayed on the display means 16. It is characterized by doing so.

[0012]

In the above-described structure of the present invention, since the charges for the pay programs are multiplexed and broadcast from the broadcasting side, the receiving side calculates the accumulated viewing charges as the pay-per-view pay programs are viewed on the basis of the charges. Is calculated and displayed on the display screen. Therefore, the viewer can easily recognize the fee charged by the viewing till then.

When the unit price of the charge for the pay broadcast program is predetermined, the receiving side calculates the cumulative viewing charge based on the unit price and displays the calculated charge on the display screen.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The CATV broadcasting system and its receiving system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

This example is an example of interactive television broadcasting. In this example, the broadcasting station side, when broadcasting an interactive program, as sub-broadcast information, information of a reply destination, a response time limit, etc. Interactive program-related information including is multiplexed with the main broadcast television signal and broadcast. On the other hand, the receiving side separates and reproduces the interactive program related information from the received video signal, stores it in the memory, and uses it for a response to the interactive broadcast program.

In this example, the response information is transmitted to the reply destination (center station or the like) via a telephone line. In addition,
Of course, if the CATV cable is bidirectional, the response information can be transmitted using the CATV cable.

In this example, the program-related information of the interactive program is a signal in an audio band that can be easily distinguished from the main broadcast sound, for example, DTMF (Dual Tone Multi Frequency) used in a push line of a telephone or the like. The signal should be superimposed on the main broadcast audio signal.

That is, on the broadcast station side, the program-related information as the sub-broadcast information is multiplexed (mixed) with the main broadcast audio signal and broadcasted as a signal structure in the DTMF signal format. On the other hand, on the receiving side, the DTMF signal is separated / decoded from the received broadcast audio signal, the program-related information is reproduced, stored in the memory, and used when transmitting the response information to the reply destination.

[DTMF Signal] First, the DTMF signal will be described with reference to FIG. The DTMF signaling system has one low frequency group (low group) and another one
One is an audio band signaling system that simultaneously sends two tones of a high frequency group (high group). Each of these low and high frequency groups consists of tones of four audio band frequencies, no two of which are in articulatory relation.

In the DTMF signal, the four frequencies in the low group are, for example, 697 Hz, 770 Hz, 852 Hz and 941H.
z, and the four frequencies of the high group are, for example, 1209 Hz,
It is set to 1336 Hz, 1477 Hz, and 1633 Hz. Then, each of the low group and the high group is combined with one frequency, and each DTMF composed of the combination is combined.
Signals (each of these DTMF signals are hereinafter referred to as function signals) are assigned to push buttons "0" to "D" arranged in 4 rows and 4 columns, as shown in FIG.

In telephone communication, only 12 out of 16 functional signals of DTMF signals are generally used for subscriber address (telephone number) signals. That is,
"0" used as a so-called numeric keypad on the telephone
The function signals of the above 12 combinations correspond to the numbers "9" and the symbols "*" and "#". Figure 2
The function signals corresponding to the letters "A", "B", "C", and "D" indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3 are not generally used in Japan, but data using the push button (PB) dial. It is only used for transmission.

When line selection is performed by telephone number using such a DTMF signal, the signal transmission conditions are as shown in FIG.
It is prescribed as shown in.

Due to the combination of the two frequencies and the transmission conditions as described above, the DTMF signal rarely occurs in the natural world and can be clearly distinguished from natural sounds such as human voice. It is possible to multiplex (mix) the broadcast audio signal of (1) and broadcast, and separation on the receiving side is relatively easy.

By the way, the DTMF signal is also used in a multi-function telephone, and by pressing a button on a push-button telephone from outside, the message recorded on the telephone at home can be played back or the answering machine can be recorded. You can record, play back, and delete the message.

[Broadcast of Sub-Broadcast Information] On the transmitting side of this embodiment, that is, on the broadcasting station side, when transmitting the sub-broadcast information, "A" and "B" which are not used for PB line selection as described above. Among the functional signals that mean “,” “C” and “D”, the functional signals of “A”, “B” and “C” are used as the transmission start information of the sub broadcast information, and the functional signal of “D” is Used as transmission end information.

Since there are three types of transmission start information, in this example, three types of sub broadcast information can be distinguished and transmitted. In other words, the three types of sub broadcast information are
Any of the function signals of “A”, “B”, and “C”,
It is broadcast by being separated from the function signal of "D".

For example, the information regarding the response access to the interactive program, for example, the sub-broadcast information such as the telephone number (reception telephone number) of the access destination and the transmission rate, is transmitted by using the function signal "A" as the transmission start information. It is transmitted between the function signal “D” which is the end information. Similarly, for sub-broadcast information related to environment settings such as the end limit of the telephone number of the answering side and the current time setting, the received data is cleared between the function signal of "B" and the function signal of "D". The information regarding the information is multiplexed and broadcast as a signal sandwiched between the "C" function signal and the "D" function signal.

On the receiving side, a numerical value sandwiched between any one of the function signals "A", "B" and "C" as the transmission start information and the function signal "D" as the transmission end information. The symbol data is regarded as a sub-broadcast data string (information group) and is separately stored in a predetermined storage area of the memory.

For example, as the information regarding the response access, a reception telephone number 0990 is set for a receiver whose interactive television standard version is 00.
In the case of permitting access to -1234-1234 at a transmission rate of 300 bps, the sub-broadcast information is such that the data string composed of each functional signal of the DTMF signal such as 00 # 0990 * 1234 * 1234 is "A". It is multiplexed with the main broadcast audio signal and transmitted in a state of being sandwiched between the functional signal and the functional signal of "D". Here, the first 00 in the data string indicates that the interactive (bidirectional) television standard version is 00 (transmission rate 300 bps), and the numerical data after the symbol “#” is the reception telephone number.

For the receiver whose interactive television standard version is 01, the telephone number 0990-
In the case of permitting access to the 1234-1235 at a transmission rate of 1200 bps, the data string formed by the respective functional signals of the DTMF signal such as 01 # 0990 * 1234 * 1235 is "A" and "D". It is multiplexed with the main broadcast audio signal and transmitted in a state of being sandwiched between the function signal of "." Here, the first 01 in the data string indicates that the interactive (bidirectional) television standard version is 01 (transmission rate 1200 bps), and the symbol “#” is used.
The numerical data after is the reception phone number.

In the data string relating to the response access as described above, the symbol "#" represents a separator (separation of individual data) and the symbol "*" represents a pause.

As information relating to environment setting, when access is restricted only to viewers having a specific telephone number (subscriber number), for example, when access is permitted only to the numbers ending in 0, 0 When the data string composed of each function signal of the DTMF signal such as # 0 permits access to only the number with the telephone number ending with 1, the each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 0 # 1 The composed data strings are respectively multiplexed with the main broadcast audio signal and transmitted while being sandwiched between the "B" function signal and the "D" function signal. In this case, the number “0” before the symbol “#” means that access is permitted from a telephone number having the number next to the symbol “#” as the end.

When access is permitted only to numbers having an even number at the end of the telephone number, each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 0 # 0 * 0 # 2 * 0 # 4 * 0 # 6 * 0 # 8 is used. The composed data string is multiplexed with the main broadcast audio signal and transmitted while being sandwiched between the "B" function signal and the "D" function signal. Here, the symbol "*" means a logical sum.

Further, as the time information for reservation of broadcast program reception or recording reservation, for example, the present time is 199.
In the case of 7:00 on Tuesday, December 15, 3rd, a data string composed of each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 1 # 1993121520700 is composed of the function signal of “B” and the function signal of “D”. It is multiplexed with the main broadcast audio signal and transmitted in a state of being sandwiched between them.

In addition, when a certain broadcast program is viewed from the present time,
When broadcasting from 7:00 to 7:29 on the next Sunday, the data string composed of each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 10 # 07000729 is composed of the function signals of "B" and "D". When it is sent by being sandwiched between the function signals and another broadcast program is broadcast on the following Monday from 12:00 to 14:15, each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 11 # 12001415 is used. The composed data string is sandwiched between the "B" function signal and the "D" function signal and transmitted.

As information (command) relating to clearing of received data, for example, when clearing the access number restriction, the data string formed by each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 99 # 0 is "C". It is sandwiched between the function signal of "1" and the function signal of "D" and is transmitted during or at the end of the program.

When the reception telephone number is cleared, the data string composed of each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 99 # 1 is composed of the "C" function signal and the "D" function signal. It is sandwiched between and sent at the end of the program.

On the other hand, the current time of the clock circuit 37 is set to 1993.
When set to 7:00 on Tuesday, December 15th, when the data string composed of each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 0 # 1993121520700 is “C” function signal and “D” function signal, It is multiplexed with the main broadcast audio signal in a state of being sandwiched between and and transmitted.

In this embodiment, the pay-per-view type pay program has an identification number (ID) of 0000 to 9999.
Are given respectively. Then, the charge information of each program is added according to the charge system for each program and per unit time.

For example, from a CATV broadcasting station, a program with an ID of 4567 on channel 23 is 1 every 15 minutes.
A viewing fee of 00 yen, 15:00 on December 15, 1993
When broadcasting from 0 minutes, 60 # 15 * 100 # 23 * 4567 * 1993121
A data string composed of each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 51600 is sandwiched between the function signal of "B" and the function signal of "D", and is transmitted at the same time with the corresponding program at an appropriate cycle. To be done.

Further, for example, from the same CATV broadcasting station,
The program with the ID of 2109 on channel 43 has a viewing fee of 500 yen per program, and is available on December 17, 1993.
61 # 500 # 43 * 2109 * 1993121718 when broadcasting from 0:00
A data string composed of each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 00 is sandwiched between the function signal of "B" and the function signal of "D", and is transmitted at the same time with the corresponding program at an appropriate cycle. To be done.

In the data string relating to the pay program as described above, the symbols "#" and "*" represent separators.

As described above, the function signals of "A", "B", "C" and "D" which are not used as the selection signal of the telephone line are set to the transmission start information and the transmission end information of the sub broadcast information. Thus, even if the DTMF sound is transmitted, for example, in a scene where a telephone call is made in a drama, it is not confused with the program-related information. In addition, the sub broadcast information can be transmitted and received with certainty.

[Structure of Receiving System] Next, FIGS.
~ One embodiment of the CATV broadcast receiving system according to the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 8. FIG. 4 shows the configuration of an embodiment of the interactive CATV broadcast receiving system of this example.

FIG. 4 shows an outline of the entire receiving system for bidirectional CATV (cable television) broadcasting in this example. In this example, a modem for communication of response data to a two-way program and a telephone are cascade-connected to one telephone line.

In FIG. 4, 100 is a cable box for receiving CATV broadcasting, 200 is a television receiver, and 300 is a television receiver.
Is a telephone. The cable box 100 includes an AV processing unit 10, a modem 20, a control unit 30, and a remote control receiving / decoding unit 40.

The CATV cable 1 is connected to the terminal 100a of the cable box 100, and the cable broadcast signal is input. The cable broadcast signal input to the terminal 100 a is supplied to the AV processing unit 10. The AV processing unit 10
A tuner / decoder section 11, a video signal processing section 12,
The audio signal processing unit 13, the preprocessing circuit, and the DTMF decoder 15 are provided.

In the AV processing unit 10, the CATV cable 1
The broadcast signal supplied via the is supplied to the tuner / decoder unit 11. This tuner / decoder section 11
Is equipped with the descrambler described above, the pay broadcast program is descrambled, and the broadcast signal of the channel desired by the user is selected. Then, the tuner / decoder unit 11 demodulates the selected signal into a video signal and an audio signal.

Then, the demodulated video signal is led to the output terminal 100b through the video signal processing unit 12 and supplied to the video input terminal of the television receiver 200. Further, the demodulated audio signal is supplied to the audio signal processing unit 13,
Two-channel signal, each output terminal 100
It is supplied to the audio signal input terminal of the television receiver 200 via c and 100d. And this television receiver 20
At 0, the audio and video of the broadcast program are reproduced.

The audio signal from the tuner / decoder section 11 is also sent to the DTMF decoder 1 via the preprocessing circuit 14.
5 is supplied. The DTMF decoder 15 constantly searches the DTMF signal in the input signal, and when detecting the DTMF signal, decodes which function signal the DTMF signal is. That is, the numbers "0" to "9", "#", "*", and "A" to "D" are decoded. Then, the decoded data is supplied to the control system 30.

In the case of this example, a widely available commercially available DTMF decoder is used as the DTMF decoder 15. The pre-processing circuit 14 is provided to perform pre-processing so that the DTMF signal can be decoded with higher accuracy even when a commercially available DTMF decoder is used as the DTMF decoder 15. That is, the preprocessing circuit 14
A frequency component other than the DTMF signal is removed so that the input signal of the DTMF decoder 15 becomes a signal permitted by a commercially available DTMF decoder, which is composed of a filter circuit and the like.

The control unit 30 is composed of a microcomputer, and includes a CPU 31, a program ROM 32, a work area RAM 33, and an SRAM 34.
These are connected via a system bus 35.

The system bus 35 has a video RAM.
36 is connected. A display controller 36C is provided for the video RAM 36. This display controller 36C is a video RAM 36.
It controls the reading and writing of video data to and from the read video data and converts the read video data into an analog video signal.

Then, the display controller 3
The analog video signal obtained from 6C is supplied to the video signal processing unit 12, and the video signal processing unit 12 from the control unit 30 is supplied.
In combination with the control of, the tuner / decoding unit 11 superimposes on the video signal, or the tuner / decoding unit 11
Are combined with the video signal from.

The ROM 32 stores various control programs in addition to the sub broadcast information fetching processing program as described above, and also stores font and graphic data used for display. The DRAM 33 is mainly used as a work area for calculation, and the SRAM 3
4 stores setting information and ID information of the receiving device itself. The video RAM 36 is used for display.

Further, the remote control receiving / decoding section 40 is connected to the system bus 35, and the remote control commander 4
For example, the infrared remote control signal from
The control unit 30 receives and decodes by the decoding unit 40.
Entered in. Although an I / O port actually exists between the remote controller receiving / decoding unit 40 and the system bus 35, the I / O port is omitted in this example to avoid complicated description. did. The same applies to other parts connected to the system bus 35.

The CPU 31 controls the commander 41 according to the user's operation according to the program in the ROM 32. For example, in the case of remote control operation such as tuning or volume control, tuner tuning or volume control is executed, and at the same time, font data for displaying necessary characters and symbols is read from the ROM 32 and stored in the video RAM 36. Transferred. And this video RAM3
The data No. 6 is supplied to the video signal processing unit 12 via the display controller 36C and is combined (for example, superimposed) with the video signal to be displayed on the screen of the television receiver 200 for an appropriate time.

A modem (modulator / demodulator) 20 for data communication is provided in order to support interactive broadcast programs such as responses to viewer participation programs. The telephone line 2 is connected to the line connection terminal Line of the modem 20, and the telephone 300 is connected to the telephone terminal Tel via the modular cable 3. This modem 20 is the control system 3
0 system bus 35.

The modem 20 is an NCU (line control unit)
And the data communication means of either the telephone 300 or the modem 20 has seized the line, the modem 20
Knows the line capture status. Then, the modem 20 is configured to notify the control unit 30 of the line grasping state.

For the call origination, either the modem 20 or the telephone 300, or the terminal with which the call origination request occurs first, preferentially captures the telephone line 2. Further, when there is an incoming call through the telephone line 2, for example, the telephone 300 receives the incoming call, and when the incoming call is the incoming call to the modem 20, the line can be manually switched. Further, for example, the telephone 300 receives the incoming call with priority until the ringer rings for a predetermined number of times, and after the ringer rings for the predetermined number of times, the modem 2 receives the incoming call.
It is also possible to automatically switch the telephone line 2 to the 0 side.

When the viewer of the interactive program makes a response operation, the control section 30 sends the response data to the modem 20.
To the telephone line 2 via. Therefore, the control unit 30 also serves as a data communication unit.

Further, in this embodiment, a clock circuit 37 for notifying real time and generating an interrupt at a predetermined time is provided, and the time data thereof is inputted to the control system 30. The control unit 30 controls the clock circuit 37 while watching a pay broadcast program.
The viewing time is calculated from the time data, and the charge calculation described later is performed.

[Multiplexed Information Reception Processing] Next, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the multiplexed information reception processing of the CATV receiving system according to the embodiment of FIG. 4 will be described.

When the power of the television receiver is on, the preprocessing circuit 14 and the DTMF decoder 15 are used to constantly monitor the DTMF signal mixed with the audio signal of the program of the currently selected channel. To do. That is,
The CPU 31 constantly outputs the output of the DTMF decoder 15 to
Alternatively, a search is performed at a predetermined cycle (step 101), and when it is detected that the DTMF signal is mixed with the audio signal of the broadcast program currently being received (step 102), the decoded output of the DTMF signal is described above. Such numbers and symbols are taken in (step 103).

At this time, the transmission condition as described above, that is, whether the length of the DTMF signal continuing is 50 msec or more, or D
It is checked whether the pause time from the disappearance of the TMF signal to the rise of the next signal is 30 msec or longer, or whether the sum of the length of the DTMF signal and the pause time is 120 msec or more, which is a specified value.
It is checked whether it is an F signal (step 104). As a result, it is possible to prevent the reception of error data when the reception condition of the broadcast radio wave is poor, and it is possible to add D
It is possible to prevent erroneous reception when the same frequency component as the TMF signal is included.

In step 104, the received data is D
If it is determined that the signal is not the TMF signal, the process proceeds to step 105 to clear the temporary storage area of the DRAM 33, initialize the save pointer, and then return to step 101 to continue the output check of the DTMF decoder 32.

If it is determined that the received data is DTMF, the process proceeds to step 106 and it is checked whether the save pointer address is within the range of the temporary storage area. If the save pointer address is not within the range of the temporary storage area, the state immediately after power-on or an error state occurs, and therefore the process proceeds from step 106 to step 107 to temporarily store the save pointer in the save pointer. Area address is initialized. As a result, it is possible to prevent data from being written to the DRAM 33 and causing malfunction or software runaway while the address indicated by the save pointer remains undefined.

When it is determined in step 106 that the pointer address is within the range of the temporary storage area, and after the pointer is initialized to the address of the temporary storage area in step 107, the process proceeds to step 108 and the received data is " 0 "
It is discriminated whether the data are numbers up to "9" or symbol data such as "#" and "*". When it is determined that these are numerical values or symbols, the routine proceeds from step 108 to step 109, and it is checked whether or not there is a free space in the temporary storage area.

Then, if the received data is these numerical or symbol data and there is a vacancy in the temporary storage area,
That is, when the pointer points within the range of the temporary storage area, the process proceeds to step 110, and the received data (“0” to
"9", "#", "*") are stored. Then, after that, the process proceeds to step 111 and the pointer is updated by one character. Then, the process returns to step 101 and the reception check of the DTMF signal is continued.

If it is determined in step 109 that there is no free space in the temporary storage area, a reception error has occurred.
In step 112, the temporary storage area is cleared, and the address of the temporary storage area is initialized to the pointer.

If the received data in step 108 is not numeric or symbol data such as "0" to "9", "#", "*", it corresponds to the above-mentioned four function signals. Character data "A", "B", "C", "D"
, Which is one of
Enter 0. This routine 120 has the contents shown in FIG. 6, and first, at step 121, the start address of the temporary storage area is set in the pointer. Next, in steps 122, 123, and 124, the received data is "A",
Which of the three function signals "B" and "C" is sequentially checked.

If it is determined in step 122 that the received data is the function signal of "A", step 1
In step 25, "A" is set to the address indicated by the pointer. When it is determined in step 123 that the received data is the function signal of "B", the process proceeds to step 126 and "B" is set to the address indicated by the pointer. Further, when it is determined in step 124 that the received data is the function signal of "C", the process proceeds to step 127 and "C" is set to the address indicated by the pointer.

Then, these steps 125, 126,
After 127, go to step 111 and move the pointer to 1
Update only the characters. Then, the process returns to step 101 and the reception check of the DTMF signal is continued.

In steps 122-124 above,
If it is judged that it is not one of the three function signals of "A", "B", and "C", it is judged that it is the function signal of the remaining character "D", and it is stored in the temporary storage area up to this point. The processed data is processed as one data string (information group).

That is, on the broadcast side, when transmitting the DTMF signal, "A", "B", "C" are used as the transmission start signals.
Since any of the function signals of
As a result of ~ 127, at the head of the temporary storage area, "A",
Either "B" or "C" is stored. Therefore,
In the next step 128, it is determined whether the head of the temporary storage area is the character data of "A", "B", or "C".

If the result of this determination is that the head of the temporary storage area is "A", the flow proceeds to step 129 and the data string from the head of the temporary storage area to the last portion indicated by the pointer is stored in the corresponding storage area Ga. Save to. If the head of the temporary storage area is "B", the process proceeds to step 130, and the data string from the head of the temporary storage area to the last portion indicated by the pointer is stored in the corresponding storage area Gb. Further, if the head of the temporary storage area is "C", the process proceeds to step 131, and the data string from the head of the temporary storage area to the last portion indicated by the pointer is stored in the corresponding storage area Gc. These storage areas Ga, Gb, Gc are set to D as described later.
It is set in the RAM 33 or the SRAM 34.

Then, in step 132, the received data string is evaluated and analyzed, and the storage areas Ga, G
When the information stored in b and Gc is a command that needs to be executed upon reception, processing corresponding to the command, for example, clearing some or all of the received information, clock circuit at the current time Setting to 37, menu display selection processing, etc. are performed. After that, the process returns to step 101 to continue the reception check.

As described above, in the multiplex data receiving process of this embodiment, the character data "A" and "D" corresponding to the function signal in the DTMF signal are monitored while constantly monitoring the audio signal of the broadcast program. A data string sandwiched between "B" and "D" and "C" and "D" function signals is regarded as one piece of information, and is divided according to the kind of information as described above, and each piece of information is separated. Are automatically saved in the storage areas Ga, Gb, and Gc.
Thus, in this embodiment, the received information can be classified and stored.

For example, if the starting end is a function signal of "A", the information regarding the response access to the interactive program is as follows.
The data string is saved in the storage area Ga. If the start end is a function signal of "B", it is stored in the storage area Gb as information related to environment setting. Charge information for pay broadcasting is
It is saved in this storage area Gb. Then, if the start end is a function signal of "C", it is stored in the storage area Gc as information regarding clearing of the received data.

Temporary information corresponding to interactive programs, such as information related to response access, may be cleared when the number clear signal is received. Considering the possibility that the channel may be switched when the clear signal is received,
It is desirable that the old number be cleared when the power is turned off. Therefore, the information regarding the response access may be stored in the DRAM 33 as it is. That is,
The storage area Da may be set on the DRAM 33.

On the other hand, the information relating to the environment setting includes time information for the reception reservation and the recording reservation of the broadcast program as described above, and the time information of the reserved program is
For example, it needs to be stored for a relatively long period, such as over a week. Therefore, it is better to transfer these pieces of information to the nonvolatile SRAM 34.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the storage area G
a, Gb, and Gc are stored on the volatile DRAM 33 or the nonvolatile SRAM 34 depending on the nature of the data to be stored, that is, whether they need to be stored for a long time or can be erased when the power is turned off. Is set.

Then, in the response processing as described later, of the simple interactive television using a general telephone line for transmitting the upstream information to the center station, the address stored in the storage area Ga on the DRAM 33 is stored. Necessary information such as telephone numbers and communication conditions can be automatically read and used.

[Process for Displaying Program Viewing Fee] Next, referring to FIG.
Referring to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 as well, in the embodiment of FIG.
The display process of the program viewing fee in the fee system in which the hourly fee is determined will be described.

In step 301 of FIG. 1, when the viewing of the program of the charge system per unit time is started, in the next step 302, the above-mentioned charge information per unit time is taken into the control system 30. As described above, the data is stored in the storage area Gb of the DRAM 33, for example. Then, every time the unit time defined by the fetched charge information elapses and the charge counts up, the cumulative viewing charge from the start of viewing is calculated based on the charge information and recorded in the DRAM 33 (step 303, 30
4). Thereby, the reception history is created.

In this embodiment, when viewing a program of a charge system per unit time, there are a sequential display mode for displaying each time the charge is counted up and an end display mode for displaying at the end of the program. It is selectively set by the person in advance. Further, in the sequential display mode, since it is considered that the power is not turned off while watching the program, the volatile DRAM 33 can be used as the recording memory.

In step 305, it is checked whether the receiving system is set to the sequential display mode. If the sequential display mode is set, the ROM 32 is set.
The required font data is read from the video RAM
An image of the cumulative viewing charge calculated in step 304 is formed by transferring to 36. This image is supplied to the television receiver 200 via the video signal processing unit 12, and as shown in FIG. 7, the cumulative viewing charge is displayed in a superimposed manner, for example, in the lower right part of the screen by superimposing ( Step 306).

If the display mode at the time of termination is set, the process proceeds from step 305 to step 307.
In step 307, as described above, it is checked whether or not the program has ended depending on whether or not the charge information sent simultaneously with the program is still received,
If not completed, the process returns to step 303, and the above-described processing is repeated to update the recorded content in the memory.

When the program ends, step 30
8, and as shown in FIG. 8, from the program end scene,
The display changes to the display screen of the cumulative viewing charge for this program. And
The processing of this routine also ends.

Even when a certain program is finished, when the next program of the same charge system is continuously viewed, in this embodiment, it is substantially processed as one program. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the display of the charges in step 306 and step 308 is erased by clearing the image on the video RAM 36 after a predetermined time of several seconds elapses.

As described above, in this embodiment, when watching a program of a fee system per unit time, while watching the program, the fee is displayed for each count-up, and at the end of the program, the program is charged. Since the total charge is displayed, the viewer can fully recognize the amount of money and use it for planned viewing.

[Display Processing of Program Viewing Fees of Other Systems] Next, referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the viewing fee of the fee system in which the price per program is set in the embodiment of FIG. The display processing of will be described.

In step 311 of the flow chart of FIG. 9, when viewing of a program having a per-program charge system is started, in the next step 312, the above-mentioned per-program charge information is fetched into the control system 30. And stored in the DRAM 33, for example.

Then, in step 313, it is checked whether or not the program has ended depending on whether or not the charge information is continuously received. When the program has ended, the process proceeds to step 314, and a predetermined value is determined based on the fetched charge information. The period, for example, the cumulative viewing charge for the day is calculated and recorded in the memory. Thereby, the reception history is created.

In this embodiment, when viewing a program having a per-program charge system, a comparison display mode for comparing and displaying the cumulative viewing charges of the current predetermined period and the immediately preceding predetermined period, and the current predetermined period. There is a single time display mode in which only the cumulative viewing charge for the period is displayed, which is set alternatively by the viewer in advance.

Further, when viewing a program with a per-program charge system, the power may be turned off until the next program is viewed, so the nonvolatile SRAM 34 is used as a recording memory.

In step 315, it is checked whether or not the receiving system is set to the comparison display mode. If it is set to the comparison display mode, step 3 is executed.
Proceeding to 16, for example, the accumulated viewing charges for the current day and the previous day are read from the SRAM 34 and displayed on the screen as shown in FIG. 10A. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 10B, the difference between the cumulative viewing charge up to that day and the previous day is displayed on the screen.

If the single display mode is set, the process proceeds to step 317, and, for example, only the cumulative viewing charge of the day is displayed on the screen. Then, for example, when a predetermined time of several seconds elapses, by clearing the image on the video RAM 36, the display on the screen is erased and the process ends.

The program viewing charge accumulation period may be on a weekly basis or on a monthly basis. In this case, the reception history on the SRAM 34 is cleared, for example, on weekends or at the end of the month, using the clock circuit 37 built in the control unit 30 as a reference.

As described above, in this embodiment, when watching a program with a fee system per program, at the end of the program,
Since the cumulative viewing charge for each predetermined period such as day, week, and month is displayed, the viewer can fully recognize the amount of money and can make a solid viewing plan.

Even when watching a program of the charge system per unit time as described above, by transferring the reception history on the DRAM 33, which is a recording memory, to the SRAM 34, it is possible to display a day, week, month, or the like. It is also possible to display the cumulative viewing charge for each predetermined period.

Further, in the above example, assuming that the charge of a pay broadcast program changes from program to program, the broadcast side multiplexes the charge information into the broadcast signal and broadcasts it. If the charges are common to all programs and the hourly unit price is the same, the hourly unit price is stored in the SRAM 34, and the cumulative viewing fee of the pay broadcast program can be calculated using the fee data of the SRAM 34. it can.

Further, in this embodiment, the sub-broadcast information as the program-related information is composed by using the DTMF signal and is multiplexed and broadcast with the main broadcast audio signal. However, the sub-broadcast information is the character multiplex broadcast. Similarly, it may be multiplexed in the vertical blanking period of television broadcasting.

[0104]

As described above, according to the present invention, in CATV broadcasting which broadcasts pay-per-view pay programs, the broadcasting side multiplexes and broadcasts information on program charges with the main broadcast signal. On the side, the cumulative viewing charge for the viewed program is calculated based on the information about the charges that is separated from the multiplexed broadcast signal, and the cumulative viewing charge is received in the middle of the program or at the end of the program. Since it is displayed on the screen, the viewer can surely recognize the amount.

If the charge of the pay broadcast program is predetermined, it is not necessary to multiplex the charge information into the broadcast signal for broadcasting, and this charge information can be stored on the receiving side. Based on, the cumulative viewing charge of the pay broadcast program is calculated and displayed on the screen of the receiver in the same manner. In this case as well, the viewer can surely recognize the amount.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining an operation of an embodiment of a CATV broadcast receiving system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a DTMF signal.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a transmission condition of a DTMF signal.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a continuation of the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a charge display example for explaining the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

8 is a diagram showing a charge display example for explaining the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 4. FIG.

9 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining another operation of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of fee display in the embodiment of FIG.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 100 cable box 200 TV receiver 10 AV signal system 11 Tuner / decoder unit 12 Video signal processing unit 13 Audio signal processing unit 14 Pre-processing circuit 15 DTMF decoder 20 Modem 30 Control system 31 CPU 32 ROM 33 DRAM 34 SRAM 37 clock circuit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A CATV broadcasting system in which a paying broadcast program is broadcast from the broadcasting side and the viewing side pays the viewing fee of the paying broadcasting program at the receiving side. Information on the main broadcast signal is broadcasted, and the receiving side calculates the cumulative viewing charge of the pay broadcast program based on the information about the charge separated from the multiplexed broadcast signal. Featured CATV
Broadcast system. 2. Receiving means for receiving a pay broadcast program,
CAT with display means for displaying received broadcast program
In the V-broadcast receiving system, a reception history recording means for recording the reception history of the pay broadcast program and a calculating means for calculating the cumulative viewing charge of the pay broadcast program for a predetermined period based on the reception history are provided. The CAT characterized in that the cumulative viewing charge calculated by the calculating means is displayed on the display means.
V broadcast receiving system. 3. The CATV broadcast receiving system according to claim 2, wherein a cumulative viewing charge from the start of the pay broadcast program is displayed when the pay broadcast program is viewed. 4. The CATV broadcast receiving system according to claim 2, wherein the cumulative viewing charge of the pay broadcast program is displayed at the end of the pay broadcast program. 5. The CATV broadcast receiving system according to claim 2, wherein the cumulative viewing charge for the predetermined period is displayed in a format that can be compared with the cumulative viewing charge for the previous predetermined period.