JPH09162821A - Multiplex broadcasting system and broadcasting transmission device/broadcasting reception device used in the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily, speedily and precisely select/designate a program when the other program related to the program which is viewed at present is to be viewed by changing the program which is reproduced/outputted when the change request of the program based on indicated link information is inputted by means of a viewer. SOLUTION: In the device of a broadcasting station, information on the other related programs are set as link information for the respective programs, link information is multiplexed with the program and it is broadcasted. In the device of a reception-side, the title of a link destination is superimposed on the video signal of the program which is viewed at present based on link information which is set on the program while the program that the user designates is reproduced and outputted so as to display it on a monitor 37. When the user designates the title of the program by using a remote controller 42 in such a state, the designated program is received instead of the program which is viewed till then or in addition to the program which is viewed till then so as to reproduce and output it.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a broadcasting system using a communication network such as a wireless terrestrial wave, a broadcasting satellite or a communication satellite, a CATV network, a computer network, and the like. A multiplex broadcasting system in which a receiving side receives a broadcast signal sent from a transmitting side, selects a desired program from a plurality of programs multiplexed in this broadcast signal, and reproduces and outputs the selected program. And a broadcast receiving device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the technology for digitizing various information signals such as video and audio and processing the signals has made remarkable progress. Along with this, in many countries around the world, a new digital broadcasting system or a new fusion of digital broadcasting and digital communication has been introduced. The development of broadcasting systems has become popular.

By the way, one of the most important factors in developing such a digital broadcasting system is a technique for compressing a digitized video signal, audio signal, other information data and the like. The standard for this data compression processing technology is MPEG (Moving Pic).
ture Image Coding Experts Group), JPEG (Join
Photographic Coding Experts Group) and H.M. 2
61 is the mainstream, but recently ISO (International Organization for Standardization) / IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 13818 [ISO / IE
C JTC (Joint Technical Committee) 1 / SC (Subcommittee)
29 / WG (Working Group) 11] is being considered.

[0004] In this ISO / IEC13818, not only the above-mentioned data compression method is specified, but also the digital video, audio data and other information data which form a program are compressed by the broadcasting station. The system is also solidified for the control part for a digital broadcasting system in which streams are multiplexed and broadcast, and a receiver selectively receives a desired program.

FIG. 16 shows ISO / IEC13818-1.
2 shows an example of a signal format of a broadcast and communication bit stream defined in 1. In the figure,
The video data and the audio data each have a frame structure. One frame of video data and audio data is P
The header is added to packet data called ES (Packetized Elementary Stream). PE
S has a variable length. On the other hand, the information data has a section format. One section of the information data has a header added to the information data divided into a predetermined length. Then, each frame of the video data and audio data and one section of the information data are divided into 184 bytes each, and then a 4-byte header is added, whereby a 188-byte portion called TS (Transport Stream) is formed. Packets are generated, and these packets are time-division multiplexed in a predetermined order to generate a bitstream of one system.

Although FIG. 16 shows the case where video data, audio data and information data are multiplexed one by one, in actuality, when video data of a plurality of systems is time-division multiplexed such as multi-angle broadcasting. Various types of variations are conceivable, such as time-division multiplexing of audio data of a plurality of systems such as multilingual broadcasting, and time-division multiplexing of information data of a plurality of systems.

Next, FIG. 17 shows an example of a structure for generating a broadcast bit stream on the transmitting side. That is, each of the programs P1 to Pn represents one program, and each of the programs P1 to Pn in the multiplexing circuits 111 to 11n is two video data systems, two audio data systems, one other information data system, and the PMT.
(Program Map Table) Generated by time division multiplexing one system. The PMT includes a PID (Packet Ide) for identifying video data, audio data and information data.
ntify), the description about the program, etc.

The n-system programs P1 to Pn generated in this way are time-division multiplexed by the multiplexing circuit 12. In this case, the multiplexing circuit 12
Then, PAT (Program Association Table) as comprehensive program information for extracting PMT of each program,
CAT (Condit for controlling scramble)
(Arial Access Table) and NIT (Network Information Table) indicating information on the network being used are also time-division multiplexed.

In this way, ISO / IEC13818-
According to the system to which the standard No. 1 is applied, four types of tables, PMT, PAT, CAT and NIT, are set for program information. The PID of these tables is P
AT is "00", CAT is "01", PMT and NIT
Can be freely specified.

Therefore, on the receiving side, in order to specify the program to be viewed, as shown in FIG. 18, first, the PAT is decoded to detect the PID of each PMT, and the PMT of the detected PMT is detected.
Specify the ID. After that, the video data of the specified program,
Various data can be decoded and reproduced by detecting the PID of each of the program additional data such as audio data and information data and designating the PID to be decoded.

[0011]

However, the above-mentioned system has the following problems. (1) Only by decoding the PAT that controls one broadcast channel (streams sent on the same frequency carrier), the user cannot know what program is being broadcast on another broadcast channel. To know this, the user needs to select another broadcast channel, receive the broadcast signal, and decode the PAT included in the broadcast signal to display the program list.

(2) To know the contents of a program other than the program selected by the user within one broadcast channel, the PAT
PID of PMT indicating the contents of other programs described in
Should be detected to decode this PMT. Therefore, the user has to select a desired program to be watched based on the program table created from the PAT.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to easily and quickly select and specify a program when trying to listen to another program related to the program being viewed. Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multiplex broadcasting system and a broadcast transmitting apparatus and a broadcast receiving apparatus for the same, which can be appropriately performed and thereby improve the operability of program selection by the user.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides, on the transmitting side, link information representing, for each of a plurality of programs, link information representing another program having a predetermined relationship with the program. When a desired program is selected from a plurality of programs multiplexed on the broadcast signal sent from the transmitting side and is reproduced and output at the receiving side, the selected program is transmitted. If the viewer inputs a selection request for the above-mentioned link information created regarding the above, presents it to the viewer, and the viewer inputs a request to change the program based on the presented link information, this change request and the link information being presented The program to be reproduced and output is changed based on the above.

Therefore, according to the present invention, on the receiving side, while viewing an arbitrary program, link information having a predetermined association with this program is also displayed, for example. Therefore, when the user wants to view another program that is related to the program being viewed, the user can view the desired program by designating the program based on the displayed link information. For this reason, the switching operation of the receiving channel and P
It is no longer necessary to repeat the operation of searching for a desired program from the AT decoding result by trial and error, and as a result, the desired program can be easily and appropriately reproduced in a short time, and the user can select a program. The operability related to is greatly improved.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A plurality of embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that these embodiments will be described by taking a system based on ISO / IEC13818-1 as an example.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram showing a configuration of a data multiplexing circuit of a broadcast transmitter used in a multiplex broadcasting system according to the first embodiment. In this circuit, description will be made assuming that two video data systems, two audio data systems, and one information data system are multiplexed to form one organization channel (program).

Video data is input to the input terminals 201 and 202, audio data is input to the input terminals 203 and 204, and information data as additional data is input to the input terminal 205.

The video data input to terminals 201 and 202 are subjected to compression encoding processing by video encoders 211 and 212, respectively, and the variable rate outputs thereof are buffered in FIFO memories 221 and 222. The video data output at a fixed rate from the FIFO memories 201 and 202 are packetized by the packetizing circuit 23, respectively.
Packets 1 and 2 are input to the memories 241 and 242.

Similarly for the audio data input to the input terminals 203 and 204, the audio encoders 213 and 21
4, the FIFO memories 223 and 224 and the packetizing circuits 233 and 234 are systematically processed, whereby voice packets are stored in the memories 243 and 244. The information data input to the input terminal 205 is packetized by the packetizing circuit 235 and then stored in the memory 245.

The packet multiplexing controller 25 controls the data read timing and the like so that each memory does not overflow or underflow while monitoring the amount of data stored in each of the memories 241-245. The data of the memories 241-245 are time-division multiplexed and output to a program multiplexing circuit (not shown).

The PMT output unit 26 holds a program map table corresponding to a program. The link information output unit 27 holds a link information table corresponding to each program. Then, the data of the program map table and the data of the link information table held in the PMT output unit 26 and the link information output unit 27 are read out at substantially constant intervals by the read control of the packet multiplexing controller 25, The above video data and audio data are time-division multiplexed.

By the way, the above-mentioned link information table changes for each program, and further according to the passage of time in the same program, and the contents thereof have the following variations, for example.

(1) First, when forming a link regardless of genre, a link information table regardless of genre is generated and transmitted according to each program. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a lesson program is linked with golf, tennis, and TOP programs, and the title of the linked program, the broadcast channel frequency, and the PI of the video data are linked.
The D, the PID of the voice data, the PID of the information data, and the PID of the link information constitute the link information.

(2) In the case of forming a link to a sports program, the title of the database, the broadcast channel frequency, and the PID of the video data of the database that continuously updates the progress of the game being held in the other venue of the genre. ,
The PID of voice data, the PID of information data, and the PID of link information are included in link information. Also, the title of the database that holds information such as the profile of the players participating in the match, its broadcast channel frequency,
The link information may include the PID of video data, the PID of audio data, the PID of information data, and the PID of link information. Furthermore, the title of the program relaying the game at another venue, its broadcast channel frequency, the PID of the video data, the PID of the audio data, the PID of the information data, and the PID of the link information may be included in the link information.

(3) When forming a link to a news or documentary program, the title of the program, the broadcast channel frequency thereof, the PID of the video data, and the audio data of the program that describes the contents of the news or documentary program in more detail. PID, PID of information data
And the PID of the link information is included in the link information.

(4) When forming a link to a drama program, the titles of other sub-programs that are being broadcast at the same time for multi-ending, their broadcast channel frequencies, the PID of video data, the PID of audio data, The PID of the information data and the PID of the link information are included in the link information.

(5) Regardless of the genre of program being broadcast, the emergency broadcast program is linked, and its title, its broadcast channel frequency, video data PID, audio data PID, information data PID and link. The PID of the information is included in the link information.

In the link information generated in the above (1) to (5), in addition to the title, the broadcast channel frequency and the PID of each data, an icon indicating the content of the information and the display of the icon on the display screen are displayed. Information such as position and title display font may be added.

On the other hand, FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram showing the configuration of a broadcast receiving apparatus used in the multiplex broadcasting system according to the present embodiment. A multiplex broadcast signal broadcast from a broadcast transmitter is received by an antenna 31 and then input to a tuner 32 where demodulation processing and error correction decoding processing are performed and the packetized bit stream is output. It The tuner 32 is configured to be capable of selectively receiving and demodulating broadcast signals of a plurality of broadcast channels having different frequencies by a synthesizer (not shown). In this case, the types of receivable broadcast signals are not limited to terrestrial waves, but include those transmitted by being relayed by a broadcasting satellite or a communication satellite.

The packetized bit stream output from the tuner 32 is sent to the depacket controller 39, FI.
FO memories 331, 332, static RAM (SR
AM) 333 and program table memory (PAT memory) 334. Of these, the depacket controller 39 first detects the PAT (packet ID =
Memory control is performed so that the "0") packet is taken into the PAT memory 334. The data captured in the PAT memory 334 is CISC, RISC or DSP.
Is analyzed by the control unit 40 having That is, P
The packet ID of the PMT of each organization channel described in the AT is detected.

On the other hand, the memory 43 stores in advance the packet ID of the organization channel designated by the viewer. The packet ID of this organization channel is stored by operating the operation information input by operating the remote controller 42.
This is performed by analyzing the packet ID of 1 and confirming the packet ID of the designated organization channel.

The control unit 40 depacketizes each ID of the video packet and the audio packet described in the PMT of the program designated by the viewer according to the packet ID of the designated organization channel stored in the memory 43. Instruct the controller 39. In response to this instruction, the depacket controller 39 extracts the corresponding video packet and audio packet from the packetized bitstream output from the tuner 32, and extracts them from the FIFO memory 33.
Write to 1,332. This FIFO memory 331, 3
The video packet and the audio packet written in 32 are read out in synchronization with a sync signal (not shown) and input to the video decoder 341 and the audio decoder 342. These decoders 341 and 342 respectively decode the above-mentioned video packet and audio packet.

The video data output from the video decoder 341 is digital / analog converter (D / A).
After being converted into an analog video signal in A) 35, it is supplied to the monitor 37 through the screen synthesizing circuit 36 and displayed. Further, the audio signal output from the audio decoder 342 is supplied to the speaker 38 and output in a loud voice.

On the other hand, in parallel with the above-described selection output control of video data and audio data, the control section 40 performs selection output control of the link information table of the program designated by the viewer. That is, the control unit 40 first gives an instruction to the depacket controller 39 to load the link information table of the program designated by the viewer into the SRAM 333. Therefore, under the control of the depacket controller 39,
The link information table corresponding to the program designated by the viewer is extracted from the bit stream output from the tuner 32 and loaded into the SRAM 333. The link information table is stored in the SRAM under the control of the control unit 40.
It is transferred from 333 to the memory 43 and stored.

The control unit 40 then analyzes the contents of the link information table stored in the memory 43, creates the display data of the link information based on the analysis result, and once writes it in the video RAM (VRAM) 44. . This VRA
The display data of the link information written in M44 is read out in synchronization with a synchronization signal (not shown), and the D / A converter 4
After being converted into an analog signal in step 5, it is supplied to the screen synthesizing circuit. The screen synthesizing circuit 36 converts the display signal of the link information into a D / A converter 35 according to an instruction from the control unit 40.
It is synthesized with the video signal output from the monitor 37 and displayed on the monitor 37.

Further, the control section 40 has a switching change control function of the received program based on the link information. This control function, when the title of the link information being displayed is designated by the remote controller 42, switches the broadcast channel frequency to be received according to the designated link information, selects the corresponding program, and controls its reproduction output. It is something to do.

Next, the operation of the system configured as described above will be described. First, in the transmitter on the broadcasting station side, a link information table created in advance for each program is stored in the link information output unit 27.
7, the link information table corresponding to the program being broadcast is selectively read, multiplexed with the video data, the audio data, and the information data, and transmitted. The reading of the link information table is controlled so that the optimum link information table is always transmitted according to the change of the broadcast program and the change of the content of the broadcast program with the passage of time.

On the other hand, in the broadcast receiving apparatus, the display of the link information and the program change processing operation based on it are performed as follows. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure and operation contents.

When the viewer (user) designates or switches the program desired to be viewed by the remote controller 42, the operation information is the microcomputer 41 in step 3a.
And the packet ID of the composition channel obtained by this analysis is stored in the memory 43. Then, the control unit 40 gives a frequency selection signal to the tuner 32 in order to receive the corresponding broadcast signal according to the packet ID of the organization channel stored in the memory 43. Therefore, the tuner 32 is tuned, and thereafter, the operation of receiving the broadcast signal of the designated organization channel is performed.

When the operation of receiving the broadcast signal is started,
PAT from the received bitstream in step 3b
Is detected, a packet is extracted and stored in the program table memory 334. And step 3c
At the same time, the PAT is read from the program table memory 334, and the PID of this PMT is stored in the memory 43.
Is stored and transferred to.

Subsequently, in step 3d, the memory 43
The PMT is read from, and according to the contents of this PMT,
The control unit 40 gives an instruction to the depacket controller 39 to extract the packet corresponding to the program designated by the user. Therefore, video packets and audio packets corresponding to the program designated by the user are extracted from the received bitstream and stored in the FIFO memories 331 and 332. Further, the information data and the link information table corresponding to the designated program are read from the SRAM 333 and stored in the memory 43.

Of the video packet, audio packet, information packet and link information table, the video packet and audio packet are read from the FIFO memories 331 and 332 and supplied to the video decoder 341 and audio decoder 342. Then, of these, the video packet is decoded by the video decoder 341 as shown in step 3f, then converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 35 as shown in step 3j, supplied to the monitor 39, and displayed. It FIG. 5A shows an example of the display, and shows a case where the user selects the lesson program shown in FIG.

At the same time, the voice packet related to the lesson program is transmitted to the voice decoder 3 as shown in step 3e.
After being decoded at 42, it is supplied to the speaker 38 and is outputted as loudspeaker from this speaker as shown in step 3i.

On the other hand, the information packet is read from the memory 43 and decoded by the control unit 40 in step 3g. Then, in step 3k, it is determined whether or not the decoded additional information is superimposed on the video signal. Here, if the user gives a superimpose instruction, the additional information is written to the VRAM 44 in step 3m and then D /
It is supplied to the screen synthesizing circuit 36 via the A converter 45, and is synthesized with the video signal by the screen synthesizing circuit 36 and displayed on the monitor 37.

Further, in step 3h, the link information table is read from the memory 43 and decoded by the control section 40, whereby the title of the link information table is reproduced. In step 31, it is determined whether or not to impose the title. Then, if an instruction of imposing has been given by the user, the title of the link information is written in the VRAM 44 in step 3n and then supplied to the screen synthesizing circuit 36 via the D / A converter 45, and this screen synthesizing is performed. The video signal is synthesized by the circuit 36 and displayed on the monitor 37.

Thus, the title of each linked program is displayed on the monitor 37 in a form superimposed on the video of the lesson program. FIG. 5B shows an example of bitmap data of link information formed on the VRAM 44,
Further, FIG. 5C shows a display example when the bitmap data of the link information is combined with the video of the lesson program described above (FIG. 5A) and is displayed on the monitor. This figure shows a case where a golf program, a tennis program, and a TOP program are linked to the lesson program as shown in FIG.

Now, in this state, it is assumed that the user operates the remote controller 42 in step 3o to select a tennis program. Then, the control unit 40 returns to step 3a,
The broadcast channel frequency of the tennis program is determined based on the link information table stored in the memory 43, and a frequency selection signal is given to the tuner 32 to receive the tennis program. Therefore, the tuner 32 is tuned, and thereafter the receiving operation of the broadcast signal of the designated broadcast channel frequency is performed.

Then, similarly to the reproduction output operation of the lesson program described above, the newly received tennis program and the title of the link information attached to this program are reproduced in steps 3b to 3n. Is output. FIG. 6B shows a display example after this program selection change, and as the link information, for example, a lesson program, a tournament program, a sports program, and a game program are set according to the relationship shown in FIG.

Thereafter, every time the user selects and specifies the program title of the link destination being displayed, the reception change control to the corresponding link destination program and the corresponding link are performed in accordance with the steps 3a to 3n described above. Information display operation is performed. FIG. 6C shows a display result when the tennis program is selectively changed to the game program, as an example.

In the above operation example, the lesson program was started, and the programs were selected and changed in the order of the tennis program and the game program, but the programs before the change are individually selected based on the link information of each program. It is possible to return.
Further, the control unit 40 holds all link information of the received and reproduced programs, displays a history of program changes on the monitor screen based on these link information, and allows the user to remote-control the displayed title. By designating and inputting at 42, it is possible to immediately change to the corresponding program.

By the way, the link information can be obtained from the above (2)-
In the case of the configuration described in (5), the broadcast receiving device can reproduce the following programs, respectively. (2) ′ For example, when a sports program such as a baseball game is displayed as shown in FIG. 7A, the title of the program broadcasting the progress of other venues of the same genre is displayed as the link information. It In this state, when the user specifies the title of the link information, the control unit 40 receives the program broadcasting the progress of the other venue together with the baseball relay program being displayed, based on the analysis result of the link information. Then, the received images of these programs are displayed by dividing the same screen into left and right as shown in FIG. 7B, for example. That is, multi-window display is performed.

In order to perform such multi-window display, the output rate of the video data of the baseball relay program obtained from the video decoder 341 and the video data of the program broadcasting the progress of other venues configured on the VRAM 44. It suffices to set the output rates to double and output these video data in synchronization with a horizontal synchronizing signal (not shown). FIG. 8 shows an example of the video signal output timing of each program at this time, where A is the video signal output timing of the baseball relay program that was originally displayed, and B is the additional display in the middle of another venue. The video signal output timing of the program broadcasting the progress is shown respectively.

When the video signal output timing of the baseball relay program is doubled, the display video of the baseball relay program may look unnatural. Therefore, in this case, it is preferable to reduce the vertical deflection when displaying the video signal of the baseball relay program. Video signal processing for reducing this vertical deflection is also performed in the control unit 40.

Further, as the link information of the baseball relay program, in addition to a program that broadcasts the progress of other venues, a program that introduces participating players and the like may be added. FIG. 9B shows a display example of the monitor screen in this case.

Further, when the link information of the baseball relay program includes baseball relay programs of other stadiums, the titles of the baseball relay programs of the other stadiums are displayed on the monitor screen as shown in FIG. 10 (a), for example. To do. In this state, if the user specifies one of the baseball relay programs of other stadiums, based on the link information, the baseball relay program of the other stadium will be received instead of the baseball relay program that has been received so far. Of the video signal of FIG.
Display on the monitor screen as shown in (b).

At this time, the video signal of the baseball relay program being displayed and the video signal of the newly received baseball relay program of another stadium may be displayed in a multi-window display as shown in FIG. 10C, for example. Of course it is possible.

(3) 'If a news or documentary program is linked to a program that describes the contents of the program in more detail, for example, FIG.
As shown in, the title of the linked program "Detailed content" is displayed. In this state, when the user designates a program "detailed contents", this program is newly reproduced and simultaneously displayed on the monitor screen by the multi-window method as shown in FIG. 11B, for example.

(4) 'When a drama program is linked to another sub program that is being simultaneously broadcast for multi-ending, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the titles of other sub-programs are superposed and displayed on the video signal of the drama program. In this state, when the user designates a desired sub program of the story A, this sub program is newly received and reproduced instead of the program which has been received and reproduced until now, and is displayed on the monitor as shown in FIG. 12B, for example. It On the contrary, when the user designates the sub program of the story B, this sub program is newly received and reproduced instead of the program which has been received and reproduced until now, and is displayed on the monitor as shown in FIG. 12C, for example. To be done.

(5) 'When emergency broadcast programs are linked to all programs regardless of genre, the title of the emergency broadcast program is being viewed on the monitor screen as shown in FIG. 13 (a), for example. It is displayed superimposed on the video signal of the program. It is possible to always set the link of the emergency broadcast program, but normally, it is additionally set on the broadcast station side only when the need for emergency broadcast arises.
In this case, the title is displayed on the monitor screen only when the emergency broadcast program is additionally set in the link information.

In this state, when the user designates an emergency broadcast program, the emergency broadcast program is received and reproduced in addition to the programs that have been received and reproduced so far, for example, as shown in FIG. Displayed simultaneously on the screen. Therefore, the user can know the details of the emergency situation such as an incident or disaster from the broadcast contents of the emergency broadcast program in detail.

As described above, in this embodiment, the information of another program that is related to each program is set as link information in the device of the broadcasting station, and this link information is multiplexed with the program and broadcast. On the other hand, during playback and output of the program specified by the user on the receiving side device, the title of the linked program is superimposed on the video signal of the program being viewed based on the link information set for this program. The monitor is displayed. Then, in this state, when the user designates the title of the linked program by using the remote controller 42, the designated program is received instead of the program that has been viewed so far or in addition to the program that has been viewed so far. I am trying to reproduce and output.

Therefore, if the user wants to watch another program related to it while watching an arbitrary program,
It is possible to immediately select and watch a desired program based on the program title of the link information being displayed without performing any operation such as channel switching to search for the desired program.

(Second Embodiment) In this embodiment,
In addition to terrestrial broadcasting and satellite broadcasting programs as linked programs, a user who has added a database information connectable via a computer network such as the Internet and has a receiving device that can access the computer network is The information in the database can be obtained based on the information.

FIG. 14 is a circuit block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the broadcast receiving apparatus according to this embodiment. 2, the same parts as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

This device includes, for example, a subscriber line 4 of a public network.
A modem 46 is provided which is connected via 7 to an internet provider. The modem 46 is connected to the control unit 400 via the bus. The control unit 400 performs control for accessing a desired database on the Internet via the modem 46 based on the link information when the user specifies the information of the database connected to the Internet while viewing the program. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the control procedure and control contents.

That is, when the user designates another program using the remote controller 42, the control section 400 shifts from step 4a to step 4b, and based on the link information, the designated program is a database on the Internet. Determine whether or not. If the designated program is a database on the Internet, a connection request to the Internet provider is made to the Internet provider via the modem 46 in step 4c, and the database on the Internet is accessed by the user. Then, when information is sent from the database for this access, the modem 46 receives this information and writes it in the VRAM 44.

Next, in step 4d, the control section 400 determines whether or not it should be combined with the video signal and displayed on the monitor. At this time, if the user gives an instruction to synthesize and display, the process proceeds to step 4e, where the background screen of the video signal sent from the Internet is transparentized, and then the video signal and VRAM 44 are processed in step 4g. The information is multiplexed and supplied to the monitor 37 for display. If the user gives an instruction to display only the data, the process proceeds to step 4f, where only the data in the VRAM 44 is supplied to the monitor 37 and displayed.

When the user inputs the fact that the viewing is completed with the remote controller 42, the control section 400 shifts from step 4h to step 4i and performs the disconnection process for the subscriber line (telephone line) of the public network. .

After the processing of disconnecting the subscriber line, the control unit 400 returns to the reception / display control of the program that the user was watching before accessing the Internet, based on the link information held in the memory 43.

With such a system, the user can receive and watch the information of the database on the Internet as well as other broadcast programs as needed while watching an arbitrary program.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiments,
Although the title of the linked program is sent from the broadcasting station side as the link information and the title of the linked program is displayed on the broadcast receiving device, the title or content of the linked program is displayed from the broadcasting station side. Send out the icon,
This icon may be displayed on the receiving device.
Further, at that time, the broadcasting station side may also transmit information designating the display position of the icon on the monitor screen, and the receiving device may display the icon in accordance with the designation information of the display position.

Further, if the link information is always displayed, it may be annoying to the user who does not switch the programs. Therefore, the link information should be displayed only when the user performs a display operation. May be. Furthermore, if there are many linked programs,
If these titles or icons are displayed at the same time, it may be unpleasant for the eyes. Therefore, the titles or icons may be scrolled in small numbers in accordance with the operation of the remote controller.

The transmission medium for the linked program is not limited to a wireless broadcasting transmission line such as terrestrial broadcasting or satellite broadcasting, but CA
It may be a cable broadcasting transmission line such as a TV system. In addition, the configuration and transmission method of link information, the display method and display position of the link information in the receiving device, the display system between the original program and the program of the link destination specified by the user, the circuit configuration of the transmitting device and the receiving device, the receiving device With respect to the operation procedure and the operation content in the above, various modifications can be carried out without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0075]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, on the transmitting side, for each of a plurality of programs, link information representing another program having a predetermined relationship with the program is multiplexed into the plurality of programs. When a desired program is selected from a plurality of programs multiplexed in the broadcast signal sent from the transmitting side and is reproduced and output on the receiving side, When link information is received and selected, presented to the viewer, and a program change request based on the presented link information is input by the viewer, reproduction is performed based on the change request and the link information being presented. The output program is changed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the selection and designation of a program can be performed easily, quickly and accurately when trying to listen to another program related to the program being viewed, whereby the program of the user can be performed. It is possible to provide a multiplex broadcasting system capable of improving the selection operability, and a broadcast transmitting device and a broadcast receiving device thereof.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram showing a configuration of a data multiplexing circuit of a broadcast transmitting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram showing a configuration of a broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure and operation contents of the broadcast receiving apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a structure of link information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display operation of link information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing changes in the display screen each time a linked program is selected.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen after displaying link information and selecting a link destination program.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart used for explaining the operation when the original display program and the linked program are displayed in the multi-window method.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a different example of a display screen after displaying link information and selecting a link destination program.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a different example of the display screen after displaying the link information and selecting the link destination program.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a different example of displaying link information and displaying a program after selecting a link destination program.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a different example of displaying link information and displaying a program after selecting a link destination program.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a different example of displaying link information and displaying a program after selecting a link destination program.

FIG. 14 is a circuit block diagram showing a configuration of a broadcast receiving device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

15 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure and operation contents of the broadcast receiving apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a signal format of a broadcast and communication bit stream defined in ISO / IEC13818-1.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for generating a broadcast bitstream on the transmission side.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an operation of selecting a viewing program on the receiving side.

[Explanation of symbols]

 25 ... Packet multiplexing controller 26 ... PMT output unit 27 ... Link information output unit 36 ... Screen synthesis circuit 37 ... Monitor 38 ... Speaker 39 ... Depacket controller 40, 400 ... Control unit 41 ... Microcomputer 42 ... Remote control 43 ... Attached to control unit Memory 44 ... VRAM 46 ... Modem 47 ... Subscriber line 331, 332 ... FIFO memory 333 ... SRAM 334 ... Program table memory 341 ... Video decoder 342 ... Audio decoder

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display area H04N 7/173

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A transmitter multiplexes and broadcasts a plurality of programs,
In a multiplex broadcasting system in which a receiving side receives a multiplex broadcasting signal sent from the transmitting side, selects a desired program from a plurality of programs multiplexed in the broadcasting signal, and reproduces and outputs the selected program, the transmitting side For each of the plurality of programs, link information representing a correspondence relationship between the program and another program having a predetermined relationship with the same program is generated, and the link information is multiplexed into the plurality of programs. The receiving side selects and reproduces and outputs a desired program from a plurality of programs multiplexed in the multiplex broadcast signal sent from the transmitting side, and link information corresponding to the selected program. Is selectively reproduced and presented to the viewer, and when a program change request based on the presented link information is input by the viewer, based on the change request and the link information being presented. Multiplex broadcasting system, characterized in that to change the program to be reproduced and output. 2. When the transmitting side multiplexes and broadcasts a plurality of programs respectively using a plurality of broadcast channels having different frequencies, the link information of each program represents the broadcast channel of the linked program. When a request for changing to a program on another broadcast channel is input, the receiving side performs broadcast channel reception switching based on the information indicating the broadcast channel included in the link information. The multiplex broadcasting system according to claim 1. 3. The transmission side includes, in the link information of each program, information representing another program to which the program is linked and information representing data provided by an information supply source connected to a computer network. When the viewer inputs a change request to the data of the information source connected to the computer network based on the link information sent from the sender,
2. The multiplex broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein the information supply source of the computer network is accessed based on the change request and the link information to receive the corresponding data, and the received data is output. 4. The transmission side transmits the link information including title information indicating the linked program, and the reception side includes title information indicating the linked program included in the link information sent from the transmitting side. 3. The multiplex broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein the multiplex broadcasting system is inserted into a video of a program being displayed and displayed. 5. The transmission side transmits link information including title information representing a program of a link destination and title information representing data provided by an information source connected to a computer network of the link destination, The receiving side displays the title information indicating the linked program included in the link information sent from the transmitting side and the title information indicating the data provided by the information supply source connected to the linked computer network in the display form. 4. The multiplex broadcasting system according to claim 3, wherein the different displays are displayed. 6. The transmitting side multiplexes and broadcasts a plurality of programs,
A broadcast transmitter used in a multiplex broadcasting system in which a receiver receives a broadcast signal sent from the transmitter, selects a desired program from a plurality of programs multiplexed in the broadcast signal, and reproduces and outputs the desired program. In each of a plurality of programs, means for generating link information indicating a correspondence relationship between the program and another program having a predetermined relationship with the program, and the link information generated by the means is used for the plurality of programs. And a means for transmitting the program in a multiplexed manner. 7. The transmitting side multiplexes and broadcasts a plurality of programs,
In a broadcast receiving device used in a system for receiving a broadcast signal sent from the transmitting side on the receiving side and selecting and reproducing and outputting a desired program from a plurality of programs multiplexed on the broadcast signal, A viewer selects and reproduces and outputs a desired program from a plurality of programs multiplexed in the broadcast signal sent from the transmitting side, and selectively reproduces link information corresponding to the selected program. Link information presenting means for presenting the program to the viewer, change request inputting means for the viewer to input a program change request based on the link information presented by the link information presenting means, and the change request inputting means And a reproduction program change means for changing the program to be reproduced and output based on the input change request and the link information being presented. Broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim.