JPH0974549A - Charging system device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To clearly prescribe a charging method for the records by performing the charging according to the satisfactory or unsatisfactory receiving/recording states or chargeable broadcast signals. SOLUTION: The data transferred from a data sending part 1 are received at an IF part 3, an a receiving state discrimination part 4 discriminates the state of the received signal and sends this discrimination result to a system control part 5. Then the received signal is recorded at a recording/reproducing part 8 of a DVTR 6. Under such conditions, a recording state discrimination part 9 discriminates the recording state of the received signal and reports this discrimination result to the part 5. The part 5 stores the charging information on both receiving and recording state discrimination results in an unshown memory, etc., or sends them to the part 1. When a reproduction confirmation discrimination means 10 obtains the reproduction approval of a receiver 11, the part 5 controls an unshown charging part to perform the charging based on the charging information. Thus it is possible to clearly prescribe the charging of records by carrying out the receiving and recording charging respectively.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a billing system for pay broadcasting for transmitting and receiving pay programs, and particularly to a billing system suitable for billing for recording and reproducing using a recording and reproducing device for recording and reproducing received signals. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, pay-per-view pay broadcasting has been carried out. In general, in pay-per-view pay broadcasting, as a transmission form for transmitting various kinds of image information, there are a transmission method using a cable and a transmission method using radio waves using a communication satellite. Among them, a cable television broadcasting facility using a cable (hereinafter referred to as C
ATV) distributes a television signal from a center device to subscriber terminal devices by a cable, and is expected to provide various image information services as well as to increase the number of channels.

[0003] As CATV services, there are non-broadcasting services such as charging for pay programs, home shopping, and home banking, in addition to broadcasting services such as re-communication and independent broadcasting. Further, in recent years, by using a two-way communication function between a center device and a terminal device group in CATV, a subscriber can access a center device equipped with a video server to receive a video and audio information service via a cable. Video on demand system has been developed. Thus, if the subscriber terminal makes a request for the video software to the center device, the desired video software can be appreciated in real time.

In recent years, digital processing of images has been studied. Various systems have been studied for recording digital image data obtained by compressing a moving image signal in a magnetic recording / reproducing device. Generally, when a video signal is digitized, the amount of information becomes enormous, and it is difficult to transmit or record without compressing the information in terms of communication speed and cost. For this reason, in the transmission or recording of a digital video signal, an image compression technique is indispensable, and various standardization proposals have been studied in recent years. For moving pictures, MPEG (Movi
ng Picture Experts Group) method is standardized.
In MPEG, DCT (Discrete Cosine Transf
orm) transform, inter-frame predictive coding, run-length coding and entropy coding are used in combination to code a video signal. That is, in the MPEG system, not only compression by DCT (intra-frame compression) within one frame but also inter-frame compression that reduces the redundancy in the time axis direction by using the correlation between frames is adopted. The inter-frame compression is to further reduce the bit rate by obtaining the difference between the preceding and succeeding frames and encoding the difference value by utilizing the property that a general moving image is very similar between the preceding and succeeding frames. In particular, motion-compensated inter-frame prediction coding that reduces prediction error by predicting motion compensation of an image to obtain an inter-frame difference is effective.

By performing high-efficiency compression coding on a moving image signal in this way, the code amount can be further reduced and it can be widely used for transmission media, storage media, etc. A system that employs efficient compression coding technology is about to be put to practical use.

By the way, generally, in pay broadcasting, there are at least two types of charging methods. One is, for example, a billing method in which a viewer makes a subscription to a broadcasting station that broadcasts a pay program for a certain period of time to become a subscriber, and pays a fee (a fixed amount) according to the certain period.
This charging method is generally called a flat-rate charging method, and if a fixed fee is paid, all pay programs can be viewed within the contracted period. An example of adopting the flat-rate charging method is pay broadcasting such as satellite broadcasting using communication satellites, and by becoming a subscriber as described above, a decoder for decoding an encrypted television signal such as scramble (Receiver) to get paid programs for viewing.

[0007] Another is to make a subscriber by similarly making a reception contract and input billing information such as a viewing time of a pay program desired by the subscriber into a decoder, so that a billing value can be set according to the viewing time. There is also a billing method that is set and paid collectively after a certain period of time. This billing method is generally called a pay-as-you-go billing method, and is a so-called pay-per-view method in which a fee is paid only for the programs viewed. As described above, this pay-per-view method uses C
It is also used in ATVs and video-on-demand systems. For example, a receiver for receiving a pay program is provided with a billing device to receive and watch a desired pay program, and at the same time, a billing value corresponding to the received program is immediately displayed. It is set.

In the operation method of the decoder adopting these charging methods, basically, the subscriber inputs the charging information indicating the consent of the charging for the received signal to the decoder in order to watch the desired pay program. That is, the decoder is provided with a viewing consent confirmation button for inputting billing information, and by turning on / off the viewing consent confirmation button, billing is performed based on the inputted billing information. There is.

In addition, during viewing, an abnormality due to the transmission medium of the transmission signal or deterioration of the reception level at the time of reception (C /
There is a possibility that the reception signal of the pay program may be interrupted due to the influence of (N ratio decrease). In this case, when the decoder recovers the reception state within the preset recovery waiting time,
The control is performed so that the charging for the received signal accompanying the return, that is, the recharging (double charging) is not performed. As a result, even if a system problem such as an abnormality in the transmission medium or an abnormality in the reception state occurs, it is possible to prevent re-billing and perform normal billing that the viewer is satisfied with.

By the way, as the digital processing of the pay broadcasting system progresses, the receiving side not only displays the transmitted signal on the monitor as in the past but also watches it, but also so-called multi-channel broadcasting such as interactive broadcasting. It becomes possible to use it like a media. For example, a video-on-demand system capable of bidirectional communication between a broadcasting station and a subscriber, and a magnetic recording / reproducing device (DV) for recording / reproducing transmitted pay broadcasting data.
By using an information terminal device or the like equipped with (TR), it is possible to view a pay program or perform home shopping.

In such digital broadcasting, if the digital information in pay broadcasting is important, it is desirable to store the digital information transmitted by the receiving side. Particularly, in pay broadcasting for broadcasting pay programs, a system configuration in which a magnetic recording / reproducing device or a large-capacity memory is provided in a receiver to record and reproduce a received signal and watch the pay program at a time desired by the subscriber Can also be considered. But,
In order to configure such a pay system, in addition to the above-described charging method, charging for recording a pay broadcast signal is also indispensable. Further, in this case, there may be a case where the recording cannot be normally performed due to the reception state or the recording state of the pay broadcast signal, and it is also indispensable to appropriately charge according to these situations.

However, in the conventional pay broadcasting, as described above, the flat-rate charging method or the pay-per-use charging method (pay-per-view method) is used to charge for reception in the pay broadcasting. In reality, no billing method including recording has been proposed, and there is a problem that there is no clear regulation for the broadcasting station side and the viewing side to perform billing optimally.

Considering the recording of the received signal, it may be considered that the function of automatically recording by using timer reservation, that is, the automatic recording function (generally called an answering machine function) is used for recording. As is well known, this function allows subscribers (recipients) to record without being present. Therefore, when the automatic recording mode is selected, the system side determines that the recipient is absent. On the other hand, as for charging for reception, it is general that the received signal is displayed on a display device or the like and the receiver charges for viewing. Therefore, if a paying program is recorded by the automatic recording function and an existing receiver views the paying program that is being recorded, the system side does not receive the paying program even if the receiver is watching it. There is also an inconvenience that it is determined that the person is absent and that the reception fee is not charged. Therefore, it is necessary to stipulate charges for recording when using the automatic recording function.
It is desirable to make a fair charge.

[0014]

As described above, in the conventional billing system device, when the decoder provided with the magnetic recording / reproducing device is used to receive and record the broadcast signal of the pay broadcast and view it at the time of reproduction, the recording is performed. However, there was a problem that the clear billing method was not specified.

Further, since there is no stipulation of a billing method for automatic recording using the automatic recording function,
There was also a problem that it was not possible to make a fair charge.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to clearly specify a charging method for recording by charging according to the reception state and recording state of a pay broadcast signal. It is an object of the present invention to provide a charging system device that can be used.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a billing system device capable of performing fair billing even when automatic recording is performed using the automatic recording function.

[0018]

A billing system device according to the present invention as set forth in claim 1 comprises a receiving means for receiving pay data transmitted by the transmitting means and outputting the received data.
A reception state determination unit that determines whether or not the paid data is normally received by the reception unit and outputs the reception state determination result, a recording / reproduction unit that records / reproduces the reception data, and the recording / reproduction unit. Of the pay data on the basis of the recording state discrimination means for discriminating whether or not the recording of the received data is normally performed and outputting as a recording state discrimination result, and the receiving state discrimination result and the recording state discrimination result. A charging means for charging at least one of a charge for reception and a charge for recording the received data is provided.

In the present invention according to claim 1, the receiving means receives the pay data transmitted by the transmitting means and outputs the received data. At this time, the reception state discrimination means discriminates whether or not the reception means has normally received the pay data, and outputs it as the reception state discrimination result.
Then, the recording / reproducing means records / reproduces the received data. At this time, whether or not the recording of the received data by the recording / reproducing means is normally performed is determined and output as a recording state determination result. The charging means performs at least one of a charge for receiving the pay data and a charge for recording the received data based on the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result. As a result, it is possible to perform at least one of a fee for receiving the pay data and a fee for recording the received data.

According to the billing system device of the present invention as set forth in claim 5, the receiving means for receiving the pay data transmitted by the transmitting means and outputting the received data, and the receiving of the pay data by the receiving means are normally performed. A reception state determination means for determining whether or not the output data is received and outputting as a reception state determination result; a recording / reproduction means for recording / reproducing the reception data;
Based on the recording state determination means for determining whether or not the recording of the received data by the recording / reproducing means has been normally performed and outputting as a recording state determination result, the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result, A charging means for performing at least one of a charge for receiving the pay data and a charge for recording the received data, and a receiver for deciding whether or not to reproduce the received data recorded by the recording / reproducing means. Reproduction determining means for controlling the charging for recording the received data in the charging means based on the operation and controlling the reproduction by the recording / reproducing means.

In the present invention according to claim 5, the receiving means receives the pay data transmitted by the transmitting means and outputs the received data. At this time, the reception state discrimination means discriminates whether or not the reception means has normally received the pay data, and outputs it as the reception state discrimination result. Then, the recording / reproducing means records / reproduces the received data. At this time, whether or not the recording of the received data by the recording / reproducing means is normally performed is determined and output as a recording state determination result. The charging means performs at least one of a charge for receiving the pay data and a charge for recording the received data based on the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result. As a result, it is possible to perform at least one of a fee for receiving the pay data and a fee for recording the received data. Further, the reproduction determining means controls charging of the recording of the received data in the charging means based on an operation of a receiver who determines whether to reproduce the received data recorded by the recording / reproducing means. At the same time, the reproduction by the recording / reproducing means is controlled. As a result, it is possible to more clearly charge the recording of the received data, and it is possible to perform a fair charging on both the transmitting side and the receiving side.

According to the billing system device of the present invention as set forth in claim 12, the receiving means for receiving the pay data transmitted by the transmitting means and outputting the received data, and the reception of the pay data by the receiving means are normally performed. An image to be output as a display determination result by determining whether or not the reception data is displayed by a reception state determination unit that determines whether or not the reception state determination result has been output and a display unit that displays the reception data. Display determining means, recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing the received data, and recording state determining means for determining whether or not the recording of the received data by the recording / reproducing means is normally performed and outputting as a recording state determination result. When,
A timer reservation setting means for setting recording information for automatically recording the received data by the recording / reproducing means, and presence / absence of display by the display means based on the recording information set by the timer reservation setting means. Based on the switch means for controlling, the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result, at least one of charging for receiving the pay data and charging for recording the received data is performed, and the pay data is also charged. And a billing means for billing the reception of the information based on the display determination result.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the receiving means receives the pay data transmitted by the transmitting means and outputs the received data. At this time, the reception state discrimination means discriminates whether or not the reception means has normally received the pay data, and outputs it as the reception state discrimination result.
The image display determination means determines whether or not the received data is displayed by the display means for displaying the received data, and outputs it as a display determination result. After that, the recording / reproducing means records / reproduces the received data. At this time, the recording state discrimination means discriminates whether or not the recording of the received data by the recording / reproducing means is normally performed, and outputs it as a recording state discrimination result. On the other hand, the timer reservation setting means sets recording information for automatically recording the received data by the recording / reproducing means. The switch means controls the presence or absence of the display by the display means based on the record information set by the timer reservation setting means. Thereby, the display by the display means at the time of automatic recording can be turned on / off. Further, the charging means performs at least one of a charge for receiving the pay data and a charge for recording the received data based on the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result, and Charging for reception is performed based on the display determination result. As a result, even when an image based on the received data is viewed during recording, it is possible to charge for reception, and it is possible to perform clearer and fairer charging.

[0024]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a billing system device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a data transmission unit 1 generates transmission data (also referred to as a broadcast signal) of a pay program in pay broadcasting, performs modulation processing according to a transmission medium, and transmits the transmission data. Examples of the transmission medium include radio waves and terrestrial waves using communication satellites, and when the system in this example is adopted as a video-on-demand system, a transmission medium such as a cable is used. . When configured as a video-on-demand system, it is possible to perform bidirectional communication as is well known. Therefore, although not shown, the data transmission unit 1 performs processing based on a request signal from the receiving side. There is provided a center device having a server for.

On the receiving side, the transmission data transmitted by the data transmitting section 1 is transmitted via a transmission medium and is received by a reception information terminal device 2 (hereinafter referred to as a set top box) provided on the receiving side. It The set top box 2 includes a magnetic recording / reproducing device 6 for recording / reproducing transmitted received data. In this embodiment, a digital video cassette tape recorder (hereinafter, DVTR) is adopted as the magnetic recording / reproducing device 6. ing. Incidentally, the magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus may be composed of, for example, a hard disk, an optical disk or the like other than the DVTR 6.

The transmission data transmitted via the transmission medium is input to the IF unit 3 (reception unit) and the reception state determination unit 4 of the set top box 2. The IF unit 3 receives transmission data corresponding to a predetermined pay program from a plurality of pay program data transmitted by radio waves or the like, and gives it to the system control unit 5 as a charging means.

The system controller 5 controls the signal processing means (not shown) to display the received data that has been input. Thereby, the image based on the received data is displayed by the display means (not shown). As for voice, the system controller 5 similarly controls a signal processing means (not shown) so that a voice output based on the received data is output by a speaker (not shown).

On the other hand, the reception state discrimination section 4 discriminates the transmission data corresponding to the reception data at the time of input in order to discriminate whether or not the transmission data is normally received. That is, it is determined whether or not the transmission data corresponding to the reception data is input in a normal state, and the determination result is determined by the system control unit 5.
Give to. For example, when the broadcasting system of the present embodiment is satellite broadcasting, since the transmission medium is radio waves, the C / N ratio may deteriorate due to rainfall or the like. In this case, if an input signal having a deteriorated C / N ratio is received by the IF unit 3, a failure such as a signal interruption or sound quality distortion will occur. That is, the input state of the transmission signal is not a normal state. At this time, the reception state determination unit 4 detects the deterioration of the C / N ratio of the transmission signal, determines from the detection result whether or not normal reception is possible, and determines the determination result, that is, the signal indicating the reception state. Is output.

The system control unit 5 saves the given discrimination result in a memory or the like not shown, or controls the data transmission unit 1 to transmit the discrimination result to the data transmission side so as to inform the data transmission side of the reception state. Although the reception state determination unit 4 is configured to determine the reception state from the state of the broadcast signal at the time of input, the output signal from the IF unit 3 is input to deteriorate the C / N ratio of the reception signal. It may be configured such that the reception state of the above is determined and the determination result is given to the system control unit 5.

The DVTR 6 records the received signal on the basis of a control signal (not shown) indicating the presence or absence of the recording, which is input from the receiver 11. For example, assuming that the received signal is to be recorded, the signal received by the IF unit 3 is given to the recording system processing circuit 7b provided in the DVTR 6 via the system control unit 5. The recording system processing circuit 7b performs signal processing for recording on a recording medium (not shown), and records the received signal on the recording medium (not shown).
And to the recording / reproducing unit abnormality detection circuit 8a. The recording / reproducing unit 8 records or reproduces the received signal on a recording medium such as a magnetic tape (not shown) and outputs the reproduced signal. This allows
The received signal can be recorded on a recording medium (not shown).

After the recording, the receiver 11 has a reproduction confirmation judging means 10 as a reproduction determining means provided in the DVTR 6.
Is used to determine whether to reproduce the recorded received signal. That is, this is for charging the recording according to the reproduction intention of the receiver. The reproduction confirmation determination means 10 is configured as, for example, a reproduction consent confirmation button for deciding whether or not to reproduce the recorded reception signal. By turning on / off the reproduction consent confirmation button, the receiver 1
Input the reproduction intention of 1 (whether or not to reproduce). For example, the reproduction confirmation determination means 10 determines that the reproduction is performed when it is on, and determines that the reproduction is not performed when it is off, and gives the determination result to the system controller 5. That is, the determination result is billing information for billing the recording according to the reproducing intention of the receiver 11, and this billing information is stored in a memory (not shown) in the system control unit 5. It has become.

Further, the reproduction confirmation / determination means 10 is the receiver 11
When it is turned off by the operation by, the reproduction confirmation determination means 10 gives a control signal to the recording / reproducing unit 8 to control the reproduction of the recording / reproducing unit 8 to reproduce the recorded received signal, although not shown. Make it impossible.

Now, it is assumed that the reproduction confirmation discriminating means 10 gives a reproduction instruction by the receiver. Then, the recording / reproducing unit 8 starts reproduction and gives the reproduced signal reproduced to the reproducing system processing circuit 7a. The reproduction system processing circuit 7a performs processing for reproduction on the reproduction signal and gives it to the display means (not shown) via the system control unit 5. As a result, an image and sound based on the reproduction signal can be obtained.

The recording / reproducing section 8 can also output a signal indicating an abnormality of the recording medium during recording / reproducing. That is, when the magnetic tape is cut or the tape ends during recording or reproduction, it is determined that the recording medium is abnormal, and a signal indicating the abnormality is output.

The billing system device according to the present embodiment includes a recording state discriminating unit 9 in addition to the receiving state discriminating unit 4 in order to clearly bill the recording.
The recording state discriminating unit 9 detects whether or not the received data is normally recorded when the recording / reproducing apparatus 8 of the DVTR 6 records it, and discriminates the recording state at the time of recording from the reproduction signal and outputs the discrimination result. . That is, the recording state determination unit 9 includes the recording / reproducing unit abnormality detection circuit 9a and the recording medium abnormality detection circuit 9b.
It is composed of The recording / reproducing unit abnormality detection circuit 9a
The output signal of the recording system processing circuit 7b and the reproduction signal reproduced by the recording / reproducing unit 8 are input, the recording state is detected from these signals, and the abnormality of the recording / reproducing unit 8 is determined. Also,
The recording medium abnormality detection circuit 9b receives the reproduction signal from the recording / reproducing unit 8 and the signal indicating the abnormality, detects the recording state of the recording medium from these signals, and determines the abnormality of the recording medium.

For example, as an example of determining the recording state,
There is a systematic abnormality of the recording / reproducing unit 8 and an abnormality due to the recording medium, and the recording state determination unit 9 determines each abnormality. The systematic abnormality of the recording / reproducing unit 8 is, for example, in the case of the DVTR 6 as in the present embodiment, although not shown, a read after write function used in a general data streamer is used. Then, it is reproduced immediately after recording and it is determined whether or not the recording is normally performed and the recording state is determined. That is, by using this read-after-write function, an error is detected, and if there are many errors, a magnetic head (not shown)
It is judged as a systematic abnormality of the recording / reproducing unit 8 by considering the influence of the clogging of the recording / reproducing unit 8. Even if the recording / reproducing unit 8 is normally recording, for example, the magnetic tape as a recording medium may be cut off due to some influence, or the tape remaining amount may be exhausted during recording. In this case, it is determined that the recording medium is abnormal. In this way, the recording / reproducing unit abnormality detection circuit 9
The recording medium abnormality detection circuit 9b and the recording medium abnormality detection circuit 9b each discriminate the abnormality of the recording state and give the discrimination result to the system control unit 5. When the magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus is an optical disc, for example, when a tracking abnormality occurs during recording due to vibration, it is determined as a systematic abnormality of the recording / reproducing unit 8, and a non-recordable disc is set, Alternatively, if the disc is scratched, it is determined that the recording medium is abnormal, and the determination result is output.

The system control unit 5 controls so that each given recording state determination result is stored in a memory (not shown) or is transmitted to the data transmission unit 1.

In the present embodiment, although not shown, the set top box 2 serves as a charging means for charging so as to set a charging value for reception and a charging value for recording under the control of the system controller 5. A billing unit is provided. That is, when the received signal (paid program) is viewed at the time of reception, the system control unit 5 controls the charging unit (not shown) to switch the charging mode to the normal reception mode, and the charging unit responds to the reception. Set the billing value.
At this time, the system control means 5 controls the charging by the charging unit based on the above-mentioned reception state determination result.

When the received signal recorded and reproduced by using the DVTR 6 is viewed, first, a billing unit (not shown).
After charging for reception by the system, the system control unit 5 controls the charging mode of the charging unit to switch to a charging mode indicating recording and reproduction, and a charging unit (not shown) sets a charging value for recording. To do. In this case, the system control unit 5 controls the charging unit to charge the fee based on the result of the reproduction confirmation determination unit 10 and the given recording state determination result.

With such a configuration, the billing system device according to the present embodiment can separately bill the received signal and the recorded signal.

When the system in this example is configured as a video-on-demand system, the system control unit 5 determines the recipient from the reception state determination result by the reception state determination unit 4 or the recording state determination result by the recording state determination unit 9. It is also possible to control that the request is transmitted to the data transmitting unit 1 again so as to transmit the same transmission data again when it is determined that the viewing cannot be satisfied. In this case, the data transmission unit 1 transmits the desired data again in response to the request.

Next, the operation of the charging system apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail.

Now, the receiver receives the broadcast signal of the pay program using the set top box 2 shown in FIG.
The received signal is recorded by the VTR 6 and then reproduced and viewed.

The transmission data transmitted from the data transmitting unit 1 is given to the set top box 2 via the transmission medium, and the IF unit 3 receives the transmission data corresponding to the desired pay program. At this time, the reception state determination unit 4 determines the reception state, and the determination result is given to the system control unit 5 and stored in a memory or the like. In addition, the IF unit 3
The received signal received by is given to the reproduction system processing circuit 7a via the system control unit 5, is subjected to processing necessary for recording, and is recorded on the recording medium by the recording / reproducing unit 8. The receiver 11 inputs using the reproduction confirmation determination means 12 whether the data recorded during or after the recording by the recording / reproduction unit 8 is reproduced, and gives the reproduction confirmation determination result to the system control unit 5.

When the recording / reproducing unit 8 starts the reproduction, the reproduction signal reproduced by the recording / reproducing unit 8 is given to the recording system processing circuit 9b to be reproduced.
It is given to a display means (not shown) via the system control unit 5. As a result, it is possible to obtain an image and sound based on the received signal recorded. At this time, the recording state determination unit 9
The recording state is determined by the determination result, and the determination result is also given to the system control unit 5 and stored in a memory or the like (not shown). The system control unit 5 controls the charging by the charging unit based on the reception state determination result, the recording state determination result, and the reproduction confirmation determination result, and sets an optimum charging value according to the reception state or the recording state.

For example, the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result given to the system control unit 5 may indicate the following four states.

<Status> Reception status determination result Recording status determination result (1) NG NG (2) NG OK (3) OK NG (4) OK OK The system control unit 5 is in the above status (1), Since the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result are NG, the charging unit is controlled so that the charging for reception and the charging for recording are not performed. As for the state (2), only the recording state determination result is OK, but since the receiving state determination result is NG, it is not possible to obtain an image and sound in a normal state, so the system control unit 5
Controls as in the above so that neither is charged.

Further, in the case of the above state (3), since the reception state determination result is OK, control is performed so that charging is performed only for reception. That is, since the recording fee is judged to be abnormal (NG) in the recording state, the recording fee is not charged.

In the case of the above state (4), since both the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result are OK, the system control unit 5 charges for the reception,
Control to separately charge for recording.

As described above, the system control unit 5 controls the charging unit (not shown), but in this case, the receiver has the will to reproduce, that is, the received signal recorded according to the reproduction confirmation judgment result is reproduced. This is the case when it is determined to do. On the contrary, when the reproduction confirmation determination result determines that there is no intention to reproduce, the system control unit 5 controls a charging unit (not shown) so as not to charge the recording of the recorded reception signal. . In this case, the system control unit 5 controls the recording / reproducing unit 8 in order to make the recorded received signal unreproducible, thereby preventing the receiver from being illicit. As a result, it is possible to charge according to the reception status and the recording status, and it is possible to clearly specify the charging method for recording.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to clearly specify the charging method for recording in addition to the charging for reception. This makes it possible to obtain an optimal charging method for the viewer side and the broadcasting station side.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the billing system device according to the present invention. In the device shown in FIG. 2, the same components as those in the device shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different parts will be described.

In the present embodiment, the reception state discriminating unit is composed of the transmission path abnormality detecting circuit 14a and the IF unit 3, and the reception state of the received signal is discriminated as in the case of the above embodiment. In order to more clearly set the billing method for recording the signal, for example, a reproducibility confirmation means 12 for determining whether or not the recorded reception signal is reproducible according to the intention of the receiver is provided. The point different from the above-described embodiment is that charging is performed for the recording of the received signal recorded based on this determination result.

In FIG. 2, the reception state discriminating section 14 is composed of the IF section 3 and a transmission path abnormality detecting circuit 14a. The transmission path abnormality detection circuit 14a determines the abnormality of the reception signal corresponding to the transmission signal due to the influence of the transmission medium and outputs the determination result. That is, similarly to the embodiment of the invention, the reception state determination unit 14 gives the reception state determination result to the system control unit 5 and stores it in a memory or the like not shown.

The DVTR 6 is provided with a reproduction impossible confirmation means 12. The unreproducibility confirmation means 12 is composed of an unreproducible consent confirmation button for turning on / off the same as in the embodiment of the invention and inputting the unreproducibility intention with respect to the recorded reception signal from the receiver 11. Has been done. For example, the received signal is recorded by the DVTR 6. At this time, for example, recording may be forced to be stopped due to an abnormality in the recording medium during recording. That is, this is a case where an abnormal signal is supplied from the recording / reproducing unit 8 shown in FIG. 2 to the system control unit 5. Then, the received data is recorded only during the period from the start of reception until the recording is stopped, and thereafter, the received data is not recorded. In such a case, the receiver 11 inputs the information indicating whether or not the already recorded data is made unplayable by using the unplayability confirmation means 12. That is,
When the reproduction is impossible (when the receiver does not have the reproduction intention and when the reproduction is not performed), the reproduction impossible consent confirmation button is turned on, and when the reproduction is not impossible (when the receiver has the reproduction intention). Yes, if you want to play), turn it off.
In this way, the reproduction impossible confirmation means 12 gives the reproduction impossible determination result to the system control unit 15.

The system control unit 15 controls the charging by the charging unit based on the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result, as in the above embodiment. Further, in the present embodiment, the system control unit 15 does not charge for recording at the time of recording, but charges for recording at the time of reproduction based on the reproduction impossible determination result from the reproduction impossible confirmation means 12. The charging unit (not shown) is controlled. That is, if the recorded data is not required to be reproduced, the charging is not performed. Normally, the system control unit 5 charges the recording of the recorded data when the reproduction impossible confirmation unit 12 determines that the reproduction is not possible, and does not charge when the reproduction is impossible. To control.

Further, when the reproduction impossible confirmation means 12 judges that the reproduction is not impossible, the system control section 5 transmits the judgment result to the transmitting side together with the reception state judgment result and the recording state judgment result. In this case, the center device of the data transmission unit 1 can control the recording on the receiving side based on the given reproduction impossible determination result, the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result determination result. It is also possible to charge.

In this embodiment, the received signal is DV
During recording by TR6, when the recording is forced to be stopped due to an abnormality in the recording / reproducing unit 8 or when only a part of data such as a program is recorded, the receiver 1
The reference numeral 1 inputs the charging information indicating whether or not the already recorded data is made unplayable by using the unplayability confirmation means 12. Then, assuming that the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result are OK, and the determination result by the unreproducibility confirmation unit 12 is not unreproducible, the system control unit 15 charges the recording of the recorded data. It controls a charging unit (not shown). In addition, the reproduction impossible confirmation means 12
If it is determined that the reproduction is impossible, the system control unit 15 controls a charging unit (not shown) so as not to charge the recording of the recorded data, and the recording / reproducing unit. The reproduction by 8 is controlled to make the recorded reception signal unreproducible.

Further, the system control unit 5 may control the charging information to be given to the data transmitting unit 1, and may charge the recorded data on the transmitting side.

As a result, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained, and even if the recording of the data is stopped regardless of the intention of the receiver, the charging for the recording can be optimally performed, and the clearer charging is possible. A method can be specified.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the billing system device according to the present invention. In the device shown in FIG. 3, the same components as those in the device shown in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different parts will be described.

In the present embodiment, in addition to the constituent requirements of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, how is the data recorded when the recording is stopped due to the intention of the receiver or the abnormality of the recording / reproducing unit 8. The difference from the above-described embodiment is that the recording state holding means 13 for discriminating the recording state indicating whether or not the recording is performed (for example, recording position or recording amount) and giving the determination result to the system control unit 25 is provided. .

In FIG. 3, the reception state discrimination unit 14 discriminates the abnormality of the reception signal corresponding to the transmission signal due to the influence of the transmission medium using the transmission path abnormality detection circuit 14a, that is, the reception state discrimination result is system controlled. It is given to the unit 25 and stored in a memory or the like not shown.

The DVTR 6 is provided with a recording state holding means 13 in addition to the reproduction impossible confirmation means 12. The recording state holding means 13 is composed of a confirmation button which is turned on / off similarly to the reproduction impossible confirmation means 12, and for example, the receiver 11 uses the recording information holding means 13 to determine whether or not to stop recording. Enter. Also, the recording state holding means 13
Is supplied with the recording state abnormality determination result from the recording state determining unit 13. When an abnormality occurs in the recording / reproducing unit 8, the recording state holding means 13 automatically records by the recording / reproducing unit 8. To stop.

For example, if recording is stopped using the recording state holding means 13 according to the intention of the receiver, the recording information discriminating means 13 does not show the recording data or recording information supplied from the recording / reproducing section 8. It is detected how the recorded data is recorded, and the detection result is given to the system control unit 25 as a recording state holding result and held in a memory or the like not shown. That is, the recording state holding result is recording information indicating which portion of the received data is recorded by the recorded data (for example, recording position or recording amount). That is, the recording by the DVTR 6 does not always record all the received data, and the recording may be stopped due to the intention of the receiver or the abnormality of the recording / reproducing unit 8. In this case, the recording state holding means 13 determines whether the recording is stopped by the intention of the receiver or the recording / reproducing unit 8 is stopped, and the system control unit 25 outputs the recording amount holding result together with the detection result of the data amount. give. That is, even if the recording is stopped against the will of the receiver or the user's will, the record state holding result is obtained in order to optimally charge the recording of the already recorded data.

The system control unit 25 controls the charging by the charging unit based on the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result as in the embodiment of the invention. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the system control unit 25 does not charge the recording at the time of recording, and displays the charging information from the reproduction impossible confirmation means 12 and the recording state holding result from the recording state holding means 13. Based on this, the charging unit (not shown) is controlled so as to charge the recording at the time of reproduction. That is, by using the reproduction impossible confirmation means 12 and the recording state holding means 13, it is possible to select whether or not to charge the data recorded until the recording of the received data is stopped. It becomes possible to do.

For example, when the recording of the received data is interrupted, it is interrupted by the intention of the receiver 11 as described above, or when it is interrupted due to an abnormality in the reception state or the recording state other than the intention of the receiver. There is. That is, the billing system device according to the embodiment of the present invention is capable of performing such two kinds of determinations, and when recording is stopped, when the recording side is selected, whether or not to charge the data record is selected by the receiving side. It is possible for both the sender and the sender to be charged fairly.

In this embodiment, the received signal is DV
While recording by TR6, if recording is forced to be stopped due to an abnormality in the recording / reproducing unit 8, or the receiver 1
When the recording is stopped by the intention of 1, the recording state holding means 13 determines the recording state and the recording stop. Then, the recording state holding means 13 gives the recording state holding result to the system control 25. After that, the receiver 11 inputs the billing information indicating whether or not the already recorded data is made unplayable by using the unplayability confirmation means 12. As a result, if the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result are OK and the reproduction is impossible according to the reproduction impossible determination result, the system control unit 5 charges the reception, but does not charge the recording. It controls a charging unit (not shown). If the reception status determination result and the recording status determination result are OK and it is determined that the reproduction cannot be performed based on the reproduction impossible determination result, the system control unit 5 charges the reception and records the recorded data. The billing unit is controlled so that billing is performed based on the recording state holding result. In this case, a billing unit (not shown)
Charges a fee for recording according to the recording amount.
That is, it is possible to set a charge value based on the amount of recorded data or the number of programs from the start of recording to the interruption. As a result, if the recording is interrupted against the intention of the recipient due to the occurrence of an abnormality in the receiving state or the recording state, the receiving state and the recording state are normal and the recipient is not charged. If it is interrupted by the will, it becomes possible to charge for recording according to the amount of recorded data.

When the system of this example is configured as a video-on-demand system, the system control unit 25 controls the data transmission unit 1 to provide the charging information such as the recording state holding result and the reproduction impossible determination result. Thus, it is possible to charge the data recording on the receiving side based on the charging information provided on the transmitting side.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the same effect as that of the above-mentioned embodiment is obtained, and even if the recording of the data is stopped against the intention of the receiver or against the intention of the receiver, the recording is charged. It has an effect that it can be performed more clearly than the above-described embodiment.

Considering the recording mode of the received signal, automatic recording may be performed using the timer reservation function according to the request of the receiver. In this case, the receiver can record the received signal based on the automatically set program information regardless of the existence of the receiver by inputting and setting the program information necessary for recording in advance. It is possible. However, since the pay-per-view method is adopted as the charging method for the received signal, if the receiver views the pay program being recorded during the automatic recording, the reception fee may not be charged. . That is, when the charge for recording becomes clear as shown in the above embodiment, an accurate charge method such as a charge for reception at the time of automatic recording using the automatic recording function is desired. In the present invention, it is possible to meet such a demand, that is, regarding the charging at the time of automatic recording using the automatic recording setting function,
It is possible to charge clearly and fairly. An example of such an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the billing system device according to the present invention. In the device shown in FIG. 4, the same components as those in the device shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different parts will be described.

In the present embodiment example, in addition to the configuration requirements in the first embodiment example of FIG. 1, a system control unit 35 that performs the same control operation as the system control unit 5 shown in FIG.
A timer reservation for inputting information (timer reservation information) for automatically recording a pay program desired by the receiver while providing screen display judging means 35a for judging whether or not the received data is displayed on the screen of the monitor 16 It is possible to charge the reception even at the time of automatic recording by providing a system configuration by providing a switch means 15 for controlling on / off of the screen display of the setting means 14 and the monitor 16.
It is different from the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4, the billing system device of this embodiment is capable of automatically recording the received signal received even if the receiver is absent. That is,
In order to automatically record the received signal based on the desired pay program, the receiver 11 sets the timer reservation mode for automatic recording using the timer reservation setting means 14 of the set top box 2. That is, the timer reservation setting means 14
Is input with information for automatically recording a desired pay program, for example, information such as recording start, recording end and channel, and setting in the timer recording mode is performed. As a result, the timer reservation setting means 14 supplies the input information as the timer reservation information to the system controller 35 when the predetermined time based on the set information is reached. At the same time, when the timer reservation mode is set by the receiver, the timer reservation setting means 14 supplies a control signal for turning off the screen display by the monitor 16 to the switch means 15.

The switch means 15 turns off the screen display of the monitor 16 based on the control signal from the timer reservation setting means 14. Specifically, the output of the received signal to the monitor 16 during recording is prohibited. As a result, the screen display of the received signal being recorded by the monitor 16 can be forcibly prohibited. When the receiver 11 forcibly turns on the switch means 15, the image display determination means 35a in the system control unit 35 that monitors the switch means 15 is turned on.
According to the above, the judgment for charging the reception is made.

On the other hand, the system control unit 35 performs the same control as the system control unit 5 shown in FIG. That is, the system control unit 35 controls the billing unit (not shown) based on the reception state determination result from the reception state determination unit 4 and the recording state determination result from the recording state determination unit 9, thereby performing reception. And / or recording. Therefore, as described in the first embodiment, if the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result given to the system control unit 35 are both OK (good) (4), The billing for reception and the billing for recording are separately performed. That is,
These charges are made when the system control unit 35 confirms the intention of reproduction by the receiver, that is, when the reproduction is performed. However, during recording of a pay program in the automatic recording mode, a charging method for receiving the pay program being recorded is not specified.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when a pay program is watched based on the received signal during recording of the received signal in the timer reservation mode for automatic recording,
The system control unit 35 controls the charging based on the viewing of the receiver, that is, the charging for reception only during the period in which the screen is displayed on the monitor 16. That is, even during recording, the charging method for normal viewing is adopted to charge for reception. At this time, the system control unit 35 controls not to charge for the reception if the received reception state determination result is OK (good) and the screen is not displayed.

Therefore, the system control section 35 is provided with a screen display determination means 35a for detecting whether or not the screen is displayed on the monitor 16. The screen display determination means 35a monitors the switch means 15 and determines whether or not the screen display is performed, for example, while the set timer reservation mode is operating and the reception signal is being recorded, and the determination is made. The determination result is given to the system control unit 35.

The system control unit 35 controls the billing unit so as to bill for the reception based on the given discrimination result. For example, when it is determined that the determination result is not displayed on the screen, as in the first embodiment,
When the reproduction is confirmed by the receiver, the fee for reception and recording is charged at the time of reproduction. Further, when it is determined that the determination result is displayed on the screen, the charging for the reception is performed based on the period displayed on the screen or the data amount of the received data displayed on the screen. At this time, the billing value charged for reception during recording may be temporarily stored in a memory or the like in the system control unit 35, and billed together with the billing for recording during reproduction.
Further, the display may be performed so that the recipient who is viewing only recognizes the calculated charge value for reception.

Further, the system control unit 35 determines that the recipient 11
When the user uses the timer reservation setting means 14 to change to a display mode for forcibly turning on the screen display of the recording reception signal, charging for reception is started based on the determination result from the image display determination means 35a. . As a result, it is possible to reliably charge for reception during automatic recording. Normally, when the receiver sets the timer reservation mode, the switch means 15 is forcibly controlled and the screen display by the monitor 16 is turned off. Therefore, the reception fee is not charged. .

Next, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 will be described in detail.

Now, it is assumed that the timer reservation setting mode for automatically recording the pay program desired by the receiver 11 is input to the timer reservation setting means 14 for automatic recording.
Then, the timer reservation setting means 14 gives the inputted timer reservation information to the system controller 35,
Complete the reservation settings for automatic recording.

After that, when a predetermined time based on the timer reservation information has elapsed, the system control unit 35 controls the recording / reproducing unit 8 to record the received signal based on the given timer reservation information, and the received signal is received. Start recording.
At this time, when recording of the received signal is started, the timer reservation setting means 14 gives a control signal to the switch means 15 to forcibly turn off the screen display based on the received signal being recorded by the monitor 16. That is, the switch means 15 prohibits the output of the received signal to the monitor 16 during recording. As a result, by temporarily restricting the viewing of the receiver 11, it is possible to control so as not to charge for reception during automatic recording / recording.

It is also assumed that during automatic recording, the receiver desires to view an image based on the received signal being recorded, and the setting mode is forcibly changed and the image is displayed on the monitor 16. Then, the judgment result is obtained by the screen display judging means 35a which constantly judges whether or not the screen of the monitor 16 is displayed, and the judgment result is given to the system control unit 35. Therefore, the system control unit 35 controls a charging unit (not shown) based on the given determination result, and charges for reception. At this time, the charging for reception is performed based on the amount of data of the reception signal output for displaying on the screen or on the monitor. After that, the billing value set for reception is temporarily stored in, for example, a memory (not shown) or displayed so that the recipient can recognize it.

The system control unit 35 is used when the received signal automatically recorded by the receiver is reproduced and viewed.
By a, the charge for reception and the charge for recording are respectively performed based on the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result. At this time, the system control unit determines the determination result from the image display determination means 35a. Alternatively, the fee may be output to the terminal 35 to charge for reception.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reliably charge for reception even during automatic recording in the timer reservation mode, and to perform fair charging according to the input mode.

In the embodiment of the present invention,
Although the DVTR has been described as an example of the magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus, if it is determined that the data is not reproduced or cannot be reproduced after the received data is recorded, the recorded tape is taken out without charging the recording. There are cases. Therefore, in order to prevent such a case, the DVT
The R is configured integrally with the set-top box to make it impossible to remove the tape, or control the system to erase the recorded data immediately after the system controller determines that the tape cannot be played or cannot be played. Is also good.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the system control unit may control the charging for recording so as to charge at the time of recording or after recording.
It is also possible to control so as to charge a fee for each recording.

Further, in the embodiment according to the present invention, the set top box 2 is provided with means for immediately paying the billing value set by the billing unit on the receiving side by using a prepaid card or the like. In this case, the system control unit retains the charging information such as the reception state determination result, the recording state determination result, the reproduction intention confirmation result, the reproduction inability determination result, and the recording state holding result in the memory or the like without transmitting them to the transmitting side. The billing unit may be controlled based on the billing information read from the memory or the like at the time of payment by the recipient's prepaid card or the like.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the pay-per-view system is adopted in the present billing system, the system control unit transmits the billing information to the transmitting side at regular intervals after reading the billing information from the memory or the like. May be controlled so that the center device on the transmitting side can set the charging value according to the viewing of the receiver.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the pay broadcasting system is configured as the video-on-demand system, the data transmitting section may retransmit the data in response to the request of the receiver. At this time, the system control unit may control to transmit the billing information generated for each reception to the transmission side for each transmission, or may control for transmission in real time. As a result, there is also an effect that a clearer billing value can be set.

[0094]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By detecting the reception state and the recording state of the pay broadcast signal and controlling the billing unit based on the detection result, it is possible to perform billing for reception and billing for recording, respectively. This has the effect of making it possible to clearly specify the charging method for non-existing records. In addition, since it is possible to reliably charge for reception at the time of automatic recording in the timer reservation mode, there is an effect that a fair charging method according to the input mode can be clearly defined.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first exemplary embodiment of a charging system device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a second exemplary embodiment of a charging system device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of a charging system device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a fourth embodiment of a charging system device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Data transmission part, 2 ... Set top box (reception information terminal device), 3 ... IF part (reception part), 4, 14 ... Reception state determination part, 14a ... Transmission path abnormality detection circuit 5, 15,
25, 35 ... System control section, 35a ... Image display judging means, 6 ... DVTR, 7a ... Reproduction system processing circuit, 7b ... Recording system processing circuit, 8 ... Recording processing section, 9 ... Recording state judging section, 1
0 ... Reproduction confirmation determination means, 11 ... Recipient, 12 ... Reproduction failure confirmation means, 13 ... Recording state holding means, 14 ... Timer reservation setting means, 15 ... Switch means, 16 ... Monitor.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Minoru Yoneda 8 Shinshinsugita-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Stock company Toshiba Multimedia Technology Laboratory

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A receiving means for receiving the pay data transmitted by the transmitting means and outputting the received data, and a receiving state judging result for judging whether or not the pay data is normally received by the receiving means. And a recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing the received data, and whether or not the recording / reproducing means has normally recorded the received data, and outputs it as a recording state determination result. A recording state determination means, and a charging means for performing at least one of a fee for receiving the pay data and a fee for recording the received data based on the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result. A billing system device characterized by being provided. 2. The charging means, when it is determined that both the reception status and the recording status are normal based on the reception status determination result and the recording status determination result, the charging for the reception of the pay data and the 2. The billing system device according to claim 1, wherein both billing for recording received data is performed. 3. The charging means, when it is determined that the reception state is normal based on the reception state determination result and the recording state is abnormal based on the recording state determination result,
2. The billing system device according to claim 1, wherein only billing for receiving the pay data is performed. 4. The billing means, when the reception state is determined to be abnormal by the reception state determination result,
The charging system apparatus according to claim 1, wherein both charging for receiving the pay data and charging for recording the received data are not performed. 5. A receiving unit that receives the pay data transmitted by the transmitting unit and outputs the received data, and a receiving state determination result by determining whether or not the pay data is normally received by the receiving unit. And a recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing the received data, and whether or not the recording / reproducing means has normally recorded the received data, and outputs it as a recording state determination result. A recording state determination means; a charging means for performing at least one of a fee for receiving the pay data and a fee for recording the received data based on the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result; Based on the operation of the receiver for deciding whether or not to reproduce the received data recorded by the recording / reproducing means, the reception data in the charging means is determined. Billing system apparatus being characterized in that anda regeneration determining means for controlling the reproduction by said reproducing means to control the charging of the recording of the data. 6. The reproduction deciding means charges the recording of the received data when the operation of the recipient who decides to reproduce is performed, and the operation of the recipient who decides not to reproduce is performed. The charging system apparatus according to claim 5, wherein if there is, charging of the recording of the received data is not performed and the recorded received data is unreproducible. 7. The operation of the receiver, which determines that the billing means decides to reproduce, when both the reception state and the recording state are determined to be normal based on the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result. In this case, both the fee for receiving the pay data and the fee for recording the received data are charged, and if there is an operation of the recipient who decides not to reproduce, only the fee for receiving the pay data is charged. The billing system device according to claim 5, wherein the billing system device is a billing system device. 8. The charging means determines that both the reception status and the recording status are normal based on the reception status determination result and the recording status determination result, and charges the recording of the received data, The charging system apparatus according to claim 1, wherein charging is performed according to a recording amount of the recorded received data. 9. The charging means charges the reception of the pay data and the reception data in units of programs, and the recording of the reception data by the recording / reproducing means is interrupted during the program. If
2. A program, which is interrupted in the middle of a program, is charged according to the data amount of the received data.
Alternatively, the billing system device according to claim 5. 10. The receiving state determining means determines the receiving state of the receiving means by detecting the C / N ratio of the pay data received by the receiving means. The charging system device according to claim 5. 11. The recording / reproducing means comprises a recording / reproducing section for recording / reproducing the received data and a recording medium for recording the received data, and the recording state judging means, the recording / reproducing section and the recording medium. 6. The charging system apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an abnormality of at least one of the medium and the recording medium is detected to determine the recording state of the received data by the recording / reproducing device. 12. A receiving means for receiving the pay data sent by the sending means and outputting the received data, and a receiving state judging result for judging whether or not the pay data is normally received by the receiving means. An image display determining unit that determines whether or not the received data is displayed by the display unit that displays the received data, and outputs the result as a display determination result; Recording / reproducing means for performing, recording state discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the recording of the received data by the recording / reproducing means is normally performed, and outputting as a recording state discriminating result; Timer reservation setting means for setting recording information for automatically performing, and based on the recording information set by the timer reservation setting means Switch means for controlling presence / absence of display by the display means, and a charge for receiving the pay data and a charge for recording the received data based on the reception state determination result and the recording state determination result. A billing system apparatus comprising: a billing unit that performs at least one of the bills, and bills for receiving the pay data based on the display determination result. 13. The charging unit charges a fee for receiving the pay data based on at least one of a display time of the display unit included in the display determination result and a measured data amount of the received data. The charging system apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the charging system apparatus is performed. 14. The switch means controls to prohibit display by the display means when the received data is recorded by the recording / reproducing means based on the set recording information. The charging system apparatus according to claim 12, wherein: 15. The charging unit forcibly records the received data being recorded by the receiver while the recording / reproducing unit is recording the received data based on the set recording information. 13. The billing system device according to claim 12, wherein, when the billing data is displayed on a display unit, billing for receiving the pay data is performed based on the received data displayed.